The Scented Hound

March 9, 2014
by The Scented Hound 24 Comments

NEW YORK MUSK by BOND NO. 9

Let me first say that I have avoided Bond No. 9 fragrances. I don’t know what it is, the plastic looking bottles with garish and bright colors? Or could it be that they seem to be like rabbits wherein they breed and multiply as quickly as you can turn your head. In any case, I really have had no desire to check them out. But as it would happen, a lovely friend sent me a nice size sample of New York Musk, so of course I had to check it out.

WHAT I SMELL: New York Musk opens with juicy black currant tinged with a slight citrus. It’s not quite edible, but extremely pleasant, yet seems somehow manufactured, like a smell that is part wood and part plastic like the inside of a shipping container…no, it smells a bit like a new outdoor jute rug…no, kind of like the inside a tweed coat. Whatever the case, it didn’t last all that long. I was expecting the opening to be overwhelming, but instead it’s relatively subdued. After a few minutes the patchouli really starts to flourish along with a hint of cocoa. At this point, New York Musk is nice and soothing. After around the ten minute mark, the fragrance starts to build in projection and the patchouli boldly takes center stage. The vetiver woodiness keeps the patchouli in line, not allowing it to completely explode. What I like is that there is a just a hint of nutty sugar that sits on top that makes it slightly gourmand. However, I do think to myself that if it stays in this state wearing it could tire me out. But after around an hour, the gourmandish patchouli makes way for the linen like musk which tends to flatten the overall fragrance, and also gives a slight wet and dirty tube sock finish. Unfortunately, in the end you’re left with a pretty pungent sour musk.

New York Musk Notes: grapefruit, black currant, osmanthus flower, green lilies, nutmeg, musk, patchouli, sandalwood and vetiver

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A wig. Why? Because this sits on top of your skin, it’s pleasant, adds some dimension, and like the right wig, it adds a nice finish to your ensemble. But then a wig can also sit on your head slightly askew and that means it’s just not quite right.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE NEW YORK MUSK: dichotomous, innocuous, semi-sugared

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT NEW YORK MUSK: Scentrist, CaFleureBon

BOTTOM LINE: I can’t really figure out what’s going on here. I like part of it, don’t mind some of it, and am left scratching my head with the dull dirty sock like finish. In other words, I’m not running to the Bond No. 9 counter any time soon to check out more of the line.

Bone Rating: 2 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Floral Woody Musk
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $260 for 50ml EdP

March 4, 2014
by The Scented Hound 19 Comments

PERFUMED RESOURCES

A couple of times a year, there is something called the Big DC Flea Market that comes to town. Vendors from around the region come to show their wares; some good, some bad. It can be fun to see if you can find yourself a good bargain or treasure of some type. Typically, I have found that if I do find some perfume, its overpriced and/or the bottles are in bad shape. Yesterday, I saw various bottles, of Opium, Lanvin’s My Sin, Worth’s Je Reviens to name a few; all of which were not a good enough deal for me to go after. I then ran across another vendor who a 1/2 filled bottle of vintage Van Cleef and Arpel’s First Parfum (which I found I loved this summer, well, at least the EdT) and a full heart-shaped stopper bottle of some unknown Guerlain (it’s massive, it has to be at least 2.5 ounces). Now, the Guerlain didn’t have a label, was huge and had the Baccarat stamp on the bottom. I knew it either had to be L’Heure Bleue or Mitsouko. The sales lady said that it was sealed and had never been opened as far as she knew. From the amount of liquid in the bottle I figured that was true. So, she said she wanted $75 for both…I offered her $60 and walked away with these two to add to my collection.

I can appreciate a pretty perfume bottle with juice in it, but I really want the juice. So what to do about getting that stopper out of the bottle? Luckily I remembered that I had read an article on Perfume Shrine stating how to open a stuck stopper through the use of rubbing alcohol. I ran to the drugstore and got myself some alcohol and 15 minutes later the bottle was open. The juice revealed a deep rich civet heavy fragrance of yesteryear (it is definitely not MItsouko, so I figure it’s L’Heure Bleue). I have no idea how this has been degraded, but to me it smells wonderful. And the bottle is big enough so that I can get my index finger down into the bottle. What a treat.

So where is this taking me?…I decided that I keep running into these fantastic articles and blog entries that are informative and helpful, so I decided to launch my Resources page. As I find an interesting or helpful article I’ll link them to this page. I hope that you find the articles and links to be useful and feel free to send your recommendations to be included on the page. And yes, how to get a stuck stopper open can be found on the page. I’m ready to find my next great deal!

March 3, 2014
by The Scented Hound 24 Comments

Hard Leather by LM Parfums

Let me start off this post by saying that it’s not my intent to offend. So please forgive me if I do! OK, given that…

WHAT I SMELL: Back in the mid-to-late 90s a group of my friends would head down to New Orleans during the Labor Day holiday season. At that time of year, the heat and humidity are oppressive. Combine that with small bars that are packed to the rafters mixed with sweat and alcohol, our group line was that “New Orleans smells like ass!” Hard Leather “smells like ass.” Yes, the opening is about as fecal as I have ever smelled. It smells like the back of a dirty bar where the mix of leather, urine and all other kinds of debauched happenings are going on. Does that mean that Hard Leather is horrific? No, it’s just real. After around 20 minutes a light honey comes out which helps to break the “hard” from the hard leather. But don’t get me wrong, this is all leather, it’s just not quite as dirty as it was. After that, Hard Leather get’s just a tad sweeter with the inclusion of some vanilla. But just when I thought the progression was over, Hard Leather becomes dryer, rather smoky and it loses any hint of sweet, but it still remains all leather, there is no doubt!

From the LM Parfums website:

This fragrance opens with a masculine soaring of rum associated with leather tonalities. The heart reveals the elegance of iris supported by the intoxicating honey.

The rich and spicy base notes of sandalwood, cedarwood, oud, frankincense, styrax and vanilla exude strength and Styrax,Vanilla depth .

Top Notes: Rum, Leather
Heart Notes: Iris, Honey
Base Notes: Sandalwood, Cedarwood, Oud, Frankincense, Styrax,Vanilla

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A hot sweaty dance floor.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE HARD LEATHER: semi-tough, strapping, potent

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT HARD LEATHER: Kafkaesque

BOTTOM LINE: This is a Saturday night guys night out on the town kind of fragrance. I’m not sure where else I would wear this unless I added a layer of my favorite feminine floral fragrance on top to make it my own personal “angel with a dirty face” scent!

Bone Rating: 3.5 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Leather
Classification: Masculine
Expense: 295 Euros or approximately $400 for 100ml Parfum Extrait

Thanks to Kafkaesque and LM Parfums for the 10ml bottle I received via a Kafkaesque sample draw.