3 bones | The Scented Hound

August 28, 2014
by The Scented Hound 5 Comments

Cristina by Hilde Soliani

WHAT I SMELL: Cristina’s note are all there upon opening…sweet creamy vanilla, labdanum and patchouli. The fragrance feels as if it’s a big juicy gourmand cake that’s all thick and rich. Very quickly, an incense is added to the mix along with a resinous spice. After the initial cake like opening, Cristina becomes hazy, smoky, spicy and somehow familiar, yet different. As it begins to drydown, the fragrance becomes dryer and more earthy. And after around 30 minutes a salty accord adds a rather sweaty and natural component which makes it feel more real. In the end, the fragrance becomes woody and dry, with the incense just hovering above the labdanum. The development overall is not complex, but it feels like a fragrance that has a story to tell. The only real downside to Cristina is the longevity; after around an hour, it pretty much becomes a very light skin scent.

Cristina Notes: patchouli, labdanum, vanilla

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Sophia Loren in 1960’s Two Woman (La Ciociara). Her heartbreaking Academy Award winning performance about a woman and her daughter in war-torn Italy in WWII supports this earthy, worn, smoky and haunting perfume.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE CRISTINA: ominous, storied, melancholy

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT CRISTINA: Now Smell This, Bloody Frida

BOTTOM LINE: I was always curious about the Hilde Soliano line, especially the Gli Invisibili series depicting a female saint on a cross with an angel kneeling by her side which is bizarrely and intriguingly different from a branding standpoint. Overall this is good, but is similar to two Maria Candida Gentile perfumes, Exultat and Sideris which I believe are executed a little better with more longevity and projection.

Bone Rating: 3 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Oriental Woody
Nose: Hilde Soliani
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $160 for 100ml EdP

July 14, 2014
by The Scented Hound 10 Comments

New Release: Eau de Magnolia by Frederic Malle

WHAT I SMELL: Eau de Magnolia opens with a lightly fizzy warmed bergamot. It’s rather sour and green, but that sour aspect retreats after around 10 minutes when the magnolia makes an entrance. The fragrance at this point is very light and wispy and is sweetened with a breath of patchouli. All of this seems to be sitting upon a dry woody base that feels like it’s pulling the moisture from the fragrance. After around 20 minutes the magnolia begins to radiate, but it’s contained and never reveals too much of itself. It’s also cool and feels rather removed and distant. After another 20 minutes, the coolness is replaced by some warmth, as if the afternoon begins to filter through the curtains to help lighten and heat up a dark room. In the end you’re left with this light and delicate muted floral that is infused by a interesting citrus component.

Eau de Magonlia notes from the Frederic Malle website:

Top note is Calabrian bergamot; middle notes are magnolia, vetiver and patchouli; base notes are cedar, moss and amber.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A fading southern beauty.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE EAU DE MAGNOLIA: somber, muted, fragile

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT EAU DE MAGNOLIA: Olfactoria’s Travels, CaFleureBon, Kafkasesque

BOTTOM LINE: Magnolia can be tricky to recreate; the floral effect can leave a perfume loud, artificial and cloying. Eau de Magnolia manages to escape that trajectory and instead takes it in a direction that is soft, haunting and full of melancholy. It’s pretty, but it’s a perfume that leaves me feeling rather sober.

Bone Rating: 3 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Floral
Nose: Carlos Benaim
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $175 for 50ml

July 7, 2014
by The Scented Hound 5 Comments

New Release: Aedes de Venustas Oeillet Bengale

WHAT I SMELL: Oeillet Bengale opens with a sparkling bergamot, followed very quickly by pepper and rose. It’s spicy, herbaceous and incredibly medicinal. The turmeric is pronounced along with the clove. Oeillet Bengale is all about the spice as it seems to be geared more towards being a herb mixture meant to put on grilled vegetables than something you would wear. At the same time, it smells like Band Aids that have been treated with some kind of built in medicine. The fragrance does pulse off the skin as if the heat of your body helps to make it radiate. You would think with this herbal spice combination that the fragrance would seem heavy, but it doesn’t. After around 20 minutes, the fragrance deepens a bit and it seems to slip down further into the spice. But there’s some light at the end of the tunnel as the drydown begins to feel more floral as it evens out and becomes slightly powdered and dry and tinged with incense. In the end, Oeillet Bengale turns into this exquisite spiced floral that has me completely entranced. You wouldn’t have guessed that from what I wrote just a few sentences before right?

From the Aedes de Venustas website:

A Flower on Fire. A rose that wants to be a carnation, set ablaze by an exotic spice explosion. Red petals turned black by frankincense.

Top Notes: bergamot, white pepper

Middle Notes: rose, black pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, saffron, turmeric, clove

Base Notes: Tolu balsam, labdanum, ylang-ylang, benzoin, vanilla

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Lucrezia Borgia. The spices and herbs brought from the east were used by her perfumer to create this exotic, beautiful, yet dangerous mix of mystery.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE OEILLET BENGALE: fascinating, spicy, incomparable

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT OEILLET BENGALE: Grain de Musc, CaFleureBon, Now Smell This

BOTTOM LINE: The first time I wore this all I got was a Band Aid smell and I really didn’t care for it. In subsequent wearings, I start off not caring for it, but then it weaved this spell on me and I find myself bewitched by it. Oeillet Bengale is complex, of great quality and a seducer. I just reviewed another fragrance by Rodrigo Flores-Roux, Arquiste L’Etrog Acqua…this it the exact opposite of that on every level and what an incredible addition to his line of creations.

Bone Rating: 3.5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Citrus Aromatic
Nose: Rodrigo Flores-Roux
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $240 for 100ml EdP