Jusbox Perfumes | The Scented Hound

Winter here in the Yucatan of Mexico is heaven. Low humidity, moderate temperatures and lots of sun make for perfect indoor/outdoor living. For some reason, this year, the weather is acting a bit strange just as it seems to be for others around the world. Today, albeit cool, it’s rainy and overcast and just a bit gloomy. So I thought why not “think spring” and review a perfume that sounds perfect for the upcoming season. Let’s see if it does the trick to lighten the mood of the day…

WHAT I SMELL: Spring Dance opens with a lightly sweet lemony grapefruit that quickly turns to neroli. I don’t see neroli within the notes, but it seems to be there front and center. There’s a softness to the perfume where right from first spritz there’s a dusting of musk that blankets the perfume and keeps the citrus and the subsequent florals wrapped in fuzzy warmth. As the perfume develops, a full bodied and rounded jasmine begins to emerge. It’s very pretty and I find it to be rather comforting. After some more time, a honeysuckle squeezes its way in. What was once soft and inviting now has a bit of a bite, but that’s not a bad thing because it makes the perfume just a little more interesting. The perfume then settles in to a lightly warmed jasmine infused musk. Spring Dance did a fine job in lifting my spirits, but the sun just came out too.

From the Jusbox website:

Spring Dance is an olfactory concert that celebrates life as an expression of beauty and power, in the moment of its inception. Spring Dance is an emotional composition in which the top notes of grapefruit and LMR Tunisian rosemary open to an ensemble of LMR jasmine sambac absolute and honeysuckle, extolling the blossoming of flowers that saturate the air with a fragrance that is both powerful and gentle at its heart. The elegant rhythms of dry amber and musk are the base notes in an olfactory harmony in which wellbeing and balance are the libretto of an extraordinary opera. Spring Dance is an olfactory counterpoint that interweaves the canon of perfumery art with a contemporary and innovative technique. The allegro of the top notes, which are clean, fresh, soft and discreet, is inserted in a structured and very persistent olfactory intrigue.

Perfume Notes:

Top: Grapefruit, LMR Tunisian rosemary

Heart: Honeysuckle accord, LMR jasmine sambac absolute

Bottom: Dry amber, musk

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A green gauze wrap.

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE SPRING DANCE: safe, pretty, innocuous

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT SPRING DANCE: None to be found.

BOTTOM LINE: Spring Dance is pretty, it’s pleasant, it’s nice…

Bone Rating: 3 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Floral Musky
Nose: Dominique Ropion
Classification: Unisex, but leans feminine
Expense: Approximately $165 for 78 ml eau de parfum.

*Jusbox is an exclusive range of perfumes whose concept is based on the similarity between perfume and music. Music is the key inspiration for all of their fragrances. Each of the perfumes is accompanied by a playlist of music associated with the perfume. In the case of Spring Dance, Vivaldi comes to life. To play the playlist, go to the Spring Dance page on the Jusbox website.

Sample courtesy of Twisted Lily Fragrance Boutique and Apothecary.

WHAT I SMELL: Beat Café eases it way on to the skin with a warm, deep, striking coriander which is met with a soured boozy note. The perfume almost has an undertone of body odor…but not in a repellent way, but in a way that says a shirt has been worn for a few days and has retained a mix of smoke, sweat and booze. As soon as I write that, a leather note adds another layer to the well worn ensemble. The leather adds a bit of funk combined with a light hint of danger and a lot of “I just don’t give a damn.” As the perfume continues to develop, the funky turns more subtle as a sweetened tobacco and light wood adds the right amount of chill. Here the perfume sits in the perfectly relaxed state of comfort, with a hint of an edge that says although it’s OK to kick back, at any time it might be time to stand up to make a difference in the world.

From the Jusbox website:

The early sixties mark a turning point in history. While war rages around the world, the youth starts to rally against the blind violence and oppression of an establishment it can no longer tolerate. The Beat Generation composed of a group of authors whose literature explores and influences American culture in the post-World War II era, finds its voice in Bob Dylan’s music. His bluesy melodies tinged with vitality, a rich and direct timbre, spread their message of freedom from the USA to Europe. Poet, writer and underground singer, he starts his career with amazing cafe performances. Back then cafes have become mythical meeting points where the younger generation come together to build a counter culture through music, poetry, politic, literature and fashion. A scent of revolution hangs in the air, saturated with tobacco, spirit and leather exuded from the couches where this rebel generation sits imagining a new order till the break of dawn.

Perfume Notes:

Black Pepper, Coriander Seed, Fine Cognac Accord

Cistus Labdanum Oil, Black Leather, Tobacco

Vetiver, Cedarwood, Benzoin Balm

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A young Bob Dylan.*

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE BEAT CAFÉ: semi-funky, semi-dangerous, semi-hip

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT BEAT CAFÉ: CaFleureBon

BOTTOM LINE: Beat Café delivers on its’ evocation of the Beat Generation. It feels like a modern perfume, but has the soul of a bygone era.

Bone Rating: 3.5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Oriental Woody
Nose: Domanique Ropian
Classification: Unisex
Expense: Approximately $190 for 78 ml eau de parfum.

*Jusbox is an exclusive range of perfumes whose concept is based on the similarity between perfume and music. Music is the key inspiration for all of their fragrances. Each of the perfumes is accompanied by a playlist of music associated with the perfume. In the case of Beat Cafe, much of the playlist contains music by Bob Dylan. To play the playlist, go to the Beat Café page on the Jusbox website.

Sample courtesy of Twisted Lily Fragrance Boutique and Apothecary.