September | 2014 | The Scented Hound

September 16, 2014
by The Scented Hound 12 Comments

New Release: The by Kilian Addictive State of Mind Collection

INTOXICATED – WHAT I SMELL: Intoxicated opens with a boozy burnt coffee note that is sweet, yet flattened. It feels like it’s been sprinkled with dry nutmeg and it has a rather marshmallow thickness consistency about it. It makes me want to fire up my espresso machine, because this would make for a nice after dinner drink to go with a hot cup of coffee. As Intoxicated starts to develop, it becomes a bit nuttier, richer and it begins to rise and jump off the skin, growing with projection each minute. There’s a nice herbal quality that rests like a haze on top the layered fragrance and a bit of sweet and light caramel emerges giving it more dimension. As time progresses, the light booziness retreats, but the roasted coffee and nuttiness remains. After around a half and hour, a light vetiver appears, bringing just a bit of sharpness into the mix. As it keeps developing, it turns from the gourmand to a more woody creation. But the great thing about the by Kilian fragrances is that they are so supremely finished and silky smooth so that the different variations in the fragrance make the notes hard to define and pin down.

Intoxicated Notes: cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon, coffee

Gourmet S’mores

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: The most luxurious S’more with a lightly sweet refined cocoa’d chocolate with the finest of graham crackers. And when you’ve finished eating the lovely concoction, the warm, sweet and fired remains of the treat linger in the air.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE INTOXICATED: smooth, delicious, suave

Bone Rating: 4.5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Aromatic Spicy
Nose: Calice Becker
Classification: Unisex

LIGHT MY FIRE – WHAT I SMELL: Light My Fire opens with this dry hay like tobacco and honey. Quickly, a cumin notes comes in along with the patchouli. It’s dry and a bit sour. The honey isn’t thick, but more like a dried and crackled glaze over the hay. It’s rather comforting to me, as it’s a bit dusty too…as if the perfume has been stored in an old barn. Along with the honey, there seems to creep out a bit of a brown sugar note. There’s a tender sweetness about the fragrance that’s very muted which I find quite nice and heart-warming. After around 10 minutes, a putty note appears giving Light My Fire a bit of thickness. At this point, the initial hay that brought in the dryness begins to be filled instead with a more woody note which isn’t quite as devoid of moisture, but it’s still rather dry. Light My Fire doesn’t transform all that much, but it’s such a nice and relaxing fragrance, the kind that’s good for soothing one’s soul. Don’t get me wrong though, as relaxing as this is, there is still some power and projection behind it.

Light My Fire Notes: cumin, hay, patchouli, vetiver, honey, vanilla and tobacco

Late Day, Late Summer – Jan Schmuckal

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A late summer day, where the ground is rather dry as you lay under a big tree while the sun streams all around you.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE LIGHT MY FIRE: peaceful, contented, contemplative

Bone Rating: 4 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Oriental Woody
Nose: Sidonie Lancesseur
Classification: Unisex

SMOKE FOR THE SOUL – WHAT I SMELL: Smoke for the Soul opens big with this warmed eucalyptus topped by a nutty tobacco. It’s quite thick and a bit chewy and somewhat burnt around the edges. After a bit, it begins to dry and it becomes more burnt, like the sticks of wood are actually firing up on your skin. A birch note begins to appear almost as if the already flaky bark is falling off of the perfume exposing a more sharpened cannabis note that’s quite pungent and sour. The fragrance then dries out and becomes pure wood. However, the wood continues its slow burn with a slight smoky and sharp finish sitting above a vetiver base.

Smoke for the Soul Notes: eucalyptus, grapefruit, tobacco, mate, birch, cashmirwood, cannabis and cardamom

burnt twigs

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: burnt twigs

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE SMOKE FOR THE SOUL: crackling, aromatic, burnt

Bone Rating: 3 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Woody Aromatic
Nose: Fabrice Pellegrin
Classification: Unisex

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE ADDICTIVE STATE OF MIND COLLECTION: Colognoisseur, The Style and Beauty Doctor

BOTTOM LINE: With the by Kilian name, you’re getting luxury not only in a scent, but also in the packaging. This new collection is no exception as each perfume comes in a case designed to look like a luxurious cigar holder. Intoxicated and Light my Fire are really smooth, refined and perfectly finished and live up to the by Kilian brand. Smoke for the Soul plays “which one of these is not like the others” with the other two. It’s nice, but it just doesn’t feel like it fits into the mix. In any case, overall, a very nice collection.

Expense: $270 for 50ml Eau de Parfum (each sold separately)

September 8, 2014
by The Scented Hound 16 Comments

New Release: Mojave Ghost by Byredo

WHAT I SMELL: Mojave Ghost has a sweetened and slightly sour tangy opening that’s bright and slightly warmed, like the warmth from sheets drying on a clothesline in the sun. There’s something very sheer and clean about the fragrance and it’s also relatively sweet but in a floral sense, not in a sugary way. There are no distinguishing notes that I can detect as it’s blended seamlessly. As it develops, the slight warmth that was once present, disappears and instead a coolness, like a subtle breeze moves in. After around 30 minutes, Mojave Ghost starts to lift in its projection, but only in the way that it starts to slightly swirl off the skin as if you’ll catch a whiff as another breeze comes through. The musk, combined with a lightest of amber make for crisp base for the pretty florals. Mojave Ghost doesn’t transform or change much, but it is a fragrance that seems to swirl off the skin like it’s lifting to greet you like a desert spirit. Longevity is good, but this is a skin scent that is primarily meant for you and your inner shaman.

Ghost Flower

From the Byredo website:

In the xeric wilderness of the Mojave Desert, trees and vegetation more ancient than many civilizations defy conditions that prey on human vulnerability. The Ghost Flower is a rare species that dares to bloom above this baked, hard ground. Despite its arid surroundings and inability to produce nectar, the Ghost Flower or Mohavea Confertiflora, maintains its perfect, majestic beauty and thrives year after year. In an astonishing feat of ingenuity, the flower uses mimicry to attract the pollinators of a neighboring plant species by developing markings that resemble those of a female bee genus attracted to its subject and duping the male bee into following suite. This moving human-like behavior and captivated tale of survival lies int he foundation that inspired “Mojave Ghost,” an homage to this most bewitching flower.

Mojave Ghost notes:

Top: Ambrette, Jamaican Nesberry

Heart: Violet, Sandalwood, Magnolia

Base: Chantilly Musk, Crisp Amber, Cedarwood

Mojave Desert Morning

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: For me, this perfume is named perfectly. However, this is not the Mojave Desert of high noon. Instead, it’s the desert as it quietly awakens from a cool evening, ready to once again spring to life.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE MOJAVE GHOST: windswept, delicate, haunting

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT MOJAVE GHOST: No reviews found thus far.

BOTTOM LINE: Mojave Ghost is different from anything else out there. It’s a clean, sheer and pretty floral that although light, isn’t dainty or feminine. And the name, Mojave Ghost, is perfect in its naming convention – in two words, it clearly sets the tone for the fragrance.

Bone Rating: 3.5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Oriental Floral
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $145 for 50ml EdP, via Barneys or the Byredo website

Perfume courtesy of Byredo.

September 5, 2014
by The Scented Hound 11 Comments

A Bergdorf Goodman Exclusive from Roja Parfums: Goodman’s

Since 1901, Bergdorf Goodman has been providing the utmost in quality, service and luxury to New York City on the corner of 5th Avenue and 58th Street. To celebrate this New York landmark, Master Perfumer Roja Dove was asked to create a perfume exclusively for Goodman’s the Bergdorf Goodman men’s store. Creating a perfume for such a legendary institution is no small feat. To meet the challenge, Roja Dove wanted to create a perfume, that in his words, captures the “special mix of sophistication, excitement and pure luxury” of this exclusive and iconic store.

Bergdorf Goodman – New York, NY

WHAT I SMELL: Goodman’s opens with a rich and deep bergamot and cedar, quickly followed by a spiced mandarin. The cedar retreats quickly to make room for this incredible jasmine. It’s warm and lush and it feels like you’re walking (or should I say sinking in) on deep piled carpet. The florals are heady while still maintaining a masculine edge of rounded and achingly beautiful thickness. I love my florals and this bouquet meets all my standards of what a good floral mix should be comprised of; rounded, voluminous, mixed and blended to perfection so that you can’t see distinguish one floral note from another. There’s also a rather buttery tone that the florals rest on which after around 10 minutes lightens and retreats as do the heady aspects of the florals. This makes way for a more woody timbre with the vetiver taking center stage in concert with an herbal and slightly peppery finish. Soon enough, as if a fog has started to creep in, the frankincense starts to appear very lightly from below. What started off as full on traditional floral is now taking a more exotic turn as the frankincense then becomes front and center. The woody and dry patchouli mixed with the incense renders the fragrance to an almost powdery consistency. I am amazed by the fragrance’s transformation; it feels as if you are making the descent from a temperate and fertile elevation down to a more dramatically arid zone in the space of 30 minutes. Goodman’s then takes on a more sober and formal turn as the fragrance settles into quiet dignity with a warmish patchouli and vetiver with streams of incense weaving throughout. That, combined with just an ever so slight sweetness and a bite of civet, lets you know that although the perfume is dignified, there’s still a bit of mischief that abounds.

From the Bergdorf Goodman website:

A dynamic burst of Mandarin and Bergamot creates a fresh foil for a rich bouquet of Rose, Jasmine, Ylang Ylang, Neroli, and May Flower, enlivened with Cinnamon Leaves, Cinnamon, Cardamom, and Coriander, warmed by Cedarwood, Patchouli, and Vetiver, nestling on a refined, sensual base of Frankincense, Castoreum, and Civet.

Top Notes: Bergamot, Mandarin

Heart Notes: Neroli, Rose, Jasmine, Jasmine Sambac, Ylang Ylang, May Flower

Base Notes: Cinnamon Leaves, Cinnamon, Cardamom, Coriander, Cedarwood, Patchouli, Vetiver, Frankincense, Castoreum, Civet

A Royal Ride

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: An 18th century French royal carriage ride; leaving the majesty of Versailles to journey to the historically holy Avignon.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE GOODMAN’S: dignified, calm, self-assured

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT GOODMAN’S: I haven’t found any other reviews thus far.

BOTTOM LINE: If you look solely at the notes, the fragrance could read like many others as individual parts. However, like Bergdorf Goodman, Roja Dove has used the finest of materials to create this incredibly luxurious compliment to this grand institution of enduring style, refinement and quality. I have to admit that the floral aspects of the opening and of the heart blew me away and I wish the fragrance would have stayed there forever. Mr. Dove if you’re listening, maybe this could be the inspiration for a new exclusive Scented Hound perfume??!

Bone Rating: 4 out of possible 5 bones
Classification: Masculine
Expense: $545 for 50ml parfum, exclusively at Bergdorf Goodman via the website or by directly calling Roja Parfums Bergdorf Goodman Representative, Tom Crutchfield at 212-872-2768.

Sample courtesy of Tom Crutchfield, Roja Parfums.