Aftelier Perfumes | The Scented Hound

December 1, 2016
by The Scented Hound 8 Comments

New Release: Aftelier Perfumes Amber Tapestry

WHAT I SMELL: The opening of Amber Tapestry hits the skin with a burst of heliotrope quickly met with a gorgeous, calming and deep mandarin. There’s a very cautious beefiness about the perfume and it radiates a rather marigold golden hue. There’s also somewhat of a gourmand feel as a cinnamon note becomes prominent in a few minutes. The perfume has movement to it, but in a way that feels like it’s rocking in a sun ladened porch swing. After a bit, the fragrance turns a bit darker and the glorious positivity in the beginning moves to the more serious. Here the perfume begins to really project and it moves to an early 1970s vibe as it reminds me of shades of brown, orange and yellow…and yes, it does remind me of a tapestry. The perfume is now dominated by spice as it continues to cradle between the gourmand and amber. The perfume is incredibly vintage…as it really takes me back to a bygone time and place. In the end, the warm yellows, oranges and browns calm down to a softened purr. Amber Tapestry is the comfort you need for those days when it’s cold, damp and rainy outside.

From the Aftelier Perfumes website:

Amber Tapestry is an Oriental Amber perfume evocative of vintage perfumes where the various amber facets are woven together like a golden tapestry. Shot through with other textures and colors, it wraps around you like sumptuous warm cashmere.

Top: heliotropin, yellow mandarin.
Heart: jasmine grandiflorum, jasmine sambac, pear, cinnamon.
Base: ambreine, labdanum, maltol, benzoin, castoreum, ambergris, coumarin.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: The most famous modern-day tapestry of all….Carole King’s 1971 Tapestry album.

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE AMBER TAPESTRY: vintage, heady, beefy

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT AMBER TAPESTRY: Now Smell This, I Scent You a Day

BOTTOM LINE: Amber Tapestry is a great segue from the warmth of the summer to the winter cold. Wearing it is just the layer of golden fabric that you need to keep you warm and cozy.

Bone Rating: 3 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Oriental
Nose: Mandy Aftel
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $180 for 30 ml eau de parfum. Also available in parfum extrait.

*Sample courtesy of Aftelier Perfumes. Opinion my own.

November 6, 2013
by The Scented Hound 21 Comments

Atelier Cologne: Gold Leather & Silver Iris

GOLD LEATHER

WHAT I SMELL: Gold Leather opens with a warm and boozy rum. It’s juicy and it heats the back of your throat when you drink in the fragrance. The rum is tinged with sugar and cinnamon and its so good you want to eat it, like a decadent sugared rum frosting on the best cake you’ve ever tasted. In a bit, the leather starts to make an appearance , but it’s nice and soft. There’s nothing screaming with this leather, it’s like a purring pussycat. Gold Leather is big in that it’s beefy, not loud. The fragrance feels substantial and somewhat gourmand and it’s a fragrance that when you wear it, it makes you feel bold. The warm leather and boozy stage of the fragrance lasts for a long time. Only after a few hours, does the fragrance become a bit more woody and dryer. Gold Leather is destined to be one of my favorites for this fall and winter!

Notes from the Atelier Cologne website:

Top notes : bitter orange from Seville, Indian saffron, Jamaican rum

Heart notes : plum, davana from India, eucalyptus from California

Base notes : fraction of gaiac wood from India, fraction of cedarwood from Texas, leather & oud accord

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A matador in the center of a sun filled stadium.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE GOLD LEATHER: confident, sexy, bold

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT GOLD LEATHER: Chemist in a Bottle, Scents of Self, Men’s Journal

Bone Rating: 4 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Leather
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $175 for 100ml Cologne Absolue

SILVER IRIS

WHAT I SMELL: It’s funny, out of the bottle, Silver Iris smells ungodly sweet, like sugar that has been freeze-dried. However, when it’s applied on my skin something completely different happens. Silver Iris goes on with this flattened layer of woodiness…it’s almost devoid of any depth, but instead is this singular layer of muted musk. After a bit, a slight leather appears, but again, it sits on this muted layer that I wonder is ever going to progress to anything else. After about 5 minutes I note a bit of iris and violet. But these florals are anchored in the ground, although they aren’t rooty, but are earthy in the sense that you see them as derived from a field rather than a gorgeous bouquet. After some additional time, a bit of pepper makes an appearance and the fragrance begins to bloom. The flattened opening starts to disappear like a bottle top has been opened and the genie has been let out of the bottle. As Silver Iris starts to grow it becomes bigger, spicier and a bit sweeter. There is an edge of sugar to the fragrance, but it’s more a sprinkle mixed with spice. After around 40 minutes or so, the sweetness takes over, but the fragrance never throws off too much power that it overwhelms. I wore this to the office the other day and it was the perfect scent for mild projection without objection. Silver Iris to me is one of those fragrances that smells better from afar which means, it smells better when my wrist is not up to my nose for a close up sniff.

Notes from the Atelier Cologne website:

Top notes : tangerine from Italy, pink pepper from China, blackcurrant from Burgundy

Heart notes : violet leaves from Grasse, iris Pallida from Tuscany, mimosa from Grasse

Base notes : patchouli from Indonesia, white amber, tonka bean from Brazil

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: An iris cupcake.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE SILVER IRIS: sweet, cheerful, likable

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT SILVER IRIS: Perfume Posse, Bois de Jasmin, CaFleureBon

Bone Rating: 3.5 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Oriental Floral
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $175 for 100ml Cologne Absolue

BOTTOM LINE: Both of these “Collection Metal” fragrances are winners and both in very different ways. Recently released, both of these are suited well for the cooler weather and will no doubt be used heavily by me this fall and winter.

April 1, 2013
by The Scented Hound 20 Comments

Ramblings for a Monday Morning

I finally had a chance to sit down and get a little writing in. It’s been so busy with work that any random thoughts and ideas seem to be rattling around loose in my brain. But things are actually quieting down nicely and we had a nice quiet Easter Sunday and I managed to eat a ton of candy and Easter ham and all the fixins!

OK… I told you this would be a bit rambling…

I was putting on some perfume for work the other day and as I was digging through my what I believe to be minimal collection, I started thinking about Spring and that I could once again start wearing some more warmer weather fragrances (or puchase some :)). But in looking at my perfumes, I noted that there were a few this winter that I barely touched but once or twice. But last year, I wore these same fragrances multiple times per week (Serge Luten’s Ambre Sultan for instance). I started wondering if my tastes were changing or if my interest in perfume was dominated by the thrill of the chase in purchasing new perfume rather than for the pure love of the fragrance. And then I thought with the increasing size of my collection, how many of those old loves will never ever see the light of day? Or, will next winter become once again, the winter of Ambre Sultan? Is anyone else this fickle in their perfume loves?

Rambling on…

Thanks to the wonderful Kafkaesque I am now hooked on vintage Ysatis by Givenchy. She graciously included a sample of vintage EdT which I emptied in quick time. Thankfully, this is not hard to find on eBay and I recently purchased 2 5ml pure parfum minis for a song. As much as I loved the EdT, I love the pure parfum even more as the floral aspects are tinged greater with the animalic civet. It’s a beauty that is extremely loud and feminine but I don’t care. I am wallowing in it’s loveliness as I write this! The following is the description from Fragrantica:

Magical floral fragrance. Ysatis woman is smart, emotional and distinct. Elegant bottle matches the opulent fragrance that smells like luxury. The top notes are citrus, ylang-ylang, galbanum, coconut, rose wood, and aldehydes. The heart notes are jasmine, rose, iris, tuberose and narcissus. The base notes are musk, amber, vanilla, vetiver, patchouli, sandal wood and civet. The fragrance was created by Dominique Ropion in 1984.

and…

I recently reviewed the wonderful Haute Claire Parfum by Aftelier Perfumes giving it a 5 bone rating. Mandy Aftel graciously sent me the EdP version of Haute Claire and I can easily say that it too is a star. Of course, being an EdP vs. a Parfum concentration means that it’s a little lighter but the overall essence is the same. However, strangely with the EdP I almost get a light cocoa vibe as well. Maybe I’m just smelling all the Easter chocolate in the house?

and finally…

Did anyone else sign up for the Olfactif sample program? The first month was free and I have no idea what to expect. I did receive an email the other day stating that my package had been shipped. No doubt, more to come on this soon.

Happy Monday all!