3 bones | The Scented Hound

August 14, 2012
by The Scented Hound 14 Comments

Black by Comme des Garcons Play Series

I love spicy and peppery food. I practically put Tabasco sauce on everything that I eat. And like perfume, I would have a hard time living without it. As much as I like spice and pepper, I don’t want to smell peppery! As a pepper scent, Black isn’t all that bad, it’s just not my thing so I’ll try to do it justice without being too prejudiced.

WHAT I SMELL: Black goes on cool to the touch almost sweet in a fashion. That quickly fades and a smoky incense comes to the surface. I’m not really smelling the pepper at this point, instead it’s almost a woody incense that swirls and curls like smoke. Eventually, the pepper comes to the surface and it’s sharp. The incense that seemed so smoky still is there, but the punctuated sharpness of the pepper gives it all a bite. But like the incense, the pepper seems to be a bit subdued as well. It’s like you are waiting for the ingredients to jump out in a blast, but as each note appears it manages to contain itself without being too loud.

Black Notes: black pepper, pepperwood, red pepper, violet, thyme, black tea, birch tar, incense, tree moss

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Dried wood boxes that have been sitting in a smokehouse storage basement, but not as they just came out of a building, but rather if had been sitting outside for a month or so to smooth out the sharper edge of the remaining smoky smell.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE BLACK: dry, subdued, dusty

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT BLACK: Bois de Jasmin, Grain de Musc, CaFleureBon

BOTTOM LINE: This is an interesting scent and I find that its well done if you like your scents to feel more modern and remote. For me, it’s great for sampling but not for wearing. Black is one of a trio of scents in the Play Series. The other two scents are Green and Red which you can read more about in the above cited links. I do like the playful bottle though!

Bone Rating: 3.5 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Woody Spicy
Classification: Leans Masculine
Nose: Antoine Maisondieu
Expense: Approximately $100 for 100ml EdT

July 24, 2012
by The Scented Hound 16 Comments

Grand Neroli by Atelier Cologne

This has been a summer of citrus. Perfect for the hot days of summer because of its freshness, I have found a couple of loves in Parfum d’Empire’s Iskander and Azemour les Orangers. Not all of my citrus encounters have been the same however; Tauer Perfume’s Orange Star bucked that love primarily because the citrus in Orange Star is artificial and not fresh. The same can’t be said about Grand Neroli. I’m not sure if it’s love, but it’s a definite like.

WHAT I SMELL: Pure unadulterated sweet juicy orange. Nothing artificial, just the juice of a sun-ripened orange. Lovely. As time goes on, the orange remains without the sweetness and in comes a bit of green and musk. Non-complicated in it’s composition, it’s simpler and less sophisticated than Iskander and Azemour les Orangers, but remains a close cousin… maybe their country cousin? Grand Neroli doesn’t seem to have great longevity, but I’m working off a small sample that I dabbed on and that might make a difference.

Grand Neroli Notes: Moroccan neroli, lemon, Sicilian bergamot, petitgrain, Persian galbanum, moss, birch leaves, clean musk, white amber, vanilla from Madagascar

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Sunshine and casual Saturday mornings. What I imagine Florida to smell like when you’re in the middle of a blossoming orange grove.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE GRAND NEROLI: sweet, fresh, sunny

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT GRAND NEROLI: Scentsate, Olfactoria’s Travels, Now Smell This

Bone Rating: 3.5 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Chypre
Nose: Cecile Krakower
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $60 for 30ml Cologne Absolue

May 15, 2012
by The Scented Hound 6 Comments

06 Amanu by Odin

06 Amanu recently won the Fragrance Foundation’s 2012 Fifi “Indie” Fragrance Award. Given such high regard, I had to check this fragrance out. I loved 07 Tanoke, and since this is an award winner, I was sure I was going to like this as well. Hmmmm, not sure what the fuss is all about.

06 Amanu is a light and airy fragrance. It goes on almost a bit salty and then quickly turns floral and lightly sweet. I can smell the blood orange and the jasmine along with a light musk. As time goes on, the musk and amberwood warm 06 Amanu a bit, reducing the original sweetness. This is about as discreet of a fragrance that you can find. It hugs close to the skin and feels very personal, almost bath like in its composition. To me, that means that I could have just emerged from taking a bath with some pretty bath salts and would have smelled the same. 06 Amanu is marketed as unisex, but I do think this leans more feminine. I’m not digging it on me and would have a hard time seeing other men wear this.

For an award winner, I was expecting something more daring. This scent is pretty safe… and not for me.

From the Odin website:

The primitive ambiance of southern Mediterranean peaks combined with the ancient fertility of Anatolian soils brings forth a herbaceous blend of verdant galbanum and raw lentisque. The cortex of Amanu revolves around the woody rusticity of cedarleaf and the heady complexity of jasmine sambac. Rooting textures of amberwood, musk and live moss endow this earthy scent with a lush maturity.

Top: Blood Orange, Green Galbanum, Lentisque
Middle: Aged Cedarleaf, Jasmin Sambac, Magnolia
Bottom: Amberwood, Sheer Musk, Live Moss