2 bones | The Scented Hound

October 29, 2012
by The Scented Hound 10 Comments

Intrigant Patchouli by Parfumerie Generale

WHAT I SMELL: Opens almost medicinal and like Vick’s vapor rub which then moves quickly to a civet and castoreum phase… I am hoping to God that this gets better. Finally, this moves to a honeyed ambered patchouli that is not too sweet, but not my cup of tea. How come this reminds me of Tauer’s Orange Star? Both have patchouli in them but not other similar notes but somehow the combination just hits me wrong in the worst possible way. I could go on with descriptors but I think you already got my point: I don’t like it!

Intrigant Patchouli Notes: ginger, animal patchouli, Mysore’s Sandal Wood, Benzoin, Amber and Musk.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: What I envision Courtney Love early 90’s to smell like; dirty and grungy and trying to smell like a 60’s hippie (don’t get me wrong, I love Courtney Love and Hole big time, I just don’t want to smell like her).

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE INTRIGANT PATCHOULI: scrubbable, strong, wrong

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT INTRIGANT PATCHOULI: Fragrance Bouquet, Smellythoughts, Pour Monsieur

BOTTOM LINE: I am finding that I do like patchouli as a note. However, this takes patchouli down the wrong path for me. Uggghhh, I need to go wash this off now as it’s making my stomach turn.

Bone Rating: 2 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Animalic Chypre
Nose: Pierre Guillaume
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $100 for 50ml EdP

August 24, 2012
by The Scented Hound 20 Comments

Seville a l’Aube by L’Artisan Parfumeur

So many words have been used to describe the collaboration and inspiration for the creation of Seville a l’Aube. Me, I’ll just get to the down and dirty…

WHAT I SMELL: Goes on almost medicinal, then quickly turns green, like cut grass…wait, that lasts for just a minute. Here comes the orange blossom, lots of orange blossom mixed with jasmine. I keep waiting for this to become sweet, but it never does. It rests in this layer of subdued floral, green and orange blossom purgatory. After about 6 hours, the scent had pretty much faded into oblivion; not that I minded so much.

Seville a l’Aube Notes: lavender, pink pepper, lemon tree leaves, orange blossom, jasmine, magnolia, beeswax, incense, Benzoin Siam, Luiseiri lavender

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A cross between floor cleaner and sour shampoo.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE SEVILLE A L’AUBE: labored, sour, pensive

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT SEVILLE A L’AUBE: Second Cherry, AustralianPerfumeJunkies, Bonkers About Perfume

BOTTOM LINE: As you could note from the reviews above, this fragrance is loved by some, just not by me. What I do love is the story about the creation of this scent and have to laugh at the thought of what would be created with me as the muse (civit comes to mind!) so I can’t fault the fragrance as a whole. However, I think I’ll stick with fragrances with citrus and neroli rather than orange blossom (see Orange Star review).

Bone Rating: 2.5 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Oriental Floral
Classification: Unisex
Nose: Bertrand Duchaufour
Expense: $165 for 100ml EdP (limited edition)

August 8, 2012
by The Scented Hound 17 Comments

Mechant Loup by L’Artisan Perfumeur

WHAT I SMELL: Oddly, when I first applied Mechant Loup it was hardly noticable. I asked my better half to take a sniff and he said he couldn’t tell what it smelled like because it was almost non-existent. Maybe it was due to the fact that I had just gotten out of the shower because later in the day I applied some more and it didn’t disappear like it had in the morning. In any case, it does not go on strong. This fragrance has a bit of a sharp edge to it in the beginning, I smell the licorice and I get almost a bit of green tea (don’t see that in the note, maybe it’s the cedar). It stays in that location for a bit but then moves into the base which ends up as a mild honeyed hazelnut close-to-the-skin fragrance which is cool in nature. Mechant Loup doesn’t have great longevity or sillage. I find it rather boring and don’t find it particularily distinguishable from many other men’s fragrances (although I am having problems defining which ones, which means they too have not made an impression on me).

Mechant Loup Notes: licorice, hazelnut, cedar, honey

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Mechant Loup means “Big Wolf” in French, but the L’Artisan Perfumeur website lists it as “Big Bad Wolf.” With that kind of name, I expect something over the top and powerful. Sorry, there is nothing wolf like about this scent. Instead, maybe it should be called “Nutty Ecureuil” or “Nutty Squirrel,” in English as it’s about as big and bad as a squirrel and holds a hazelnut note.