The Scented Hound

Perfume blog with abbreviated perfume reviews & fragrance reviews.

Tag Archives: 3 bones


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Roja Parfums Oceania

Hard to believe that it’s already 2022.  The past two years have been challenging at best, but with the beginning of a new year there’s a promise of rebirth with positive energy.  So I wanted to start off this new year with a perfume that beckons of adventures to come.   Hopefully the world will reopen this year and travel and exploration will once again be part of our collective.  We have to believe that there are some exciting new adventures on the horizon!

WHAT I SMELL:   Oceania opens with a sparkling bergamot and a clean and fresh lemon that quickly moves to the more herbal highlighted with a tinge of lime.  It’s soft, unassuming and very easy on the nose as it resides quietly on the skin with the lightest of a whisper as if a lovely breeze brushes it off of your skin.  The perfume soon begins to quietly grow with a very subdued geranium and a soft jasmine creating a pretty heart within the lightly salted citrus.  Here, the florals begin to round out and push out the citrus from the center.  Oceania isn’t a perfume with twists and turns, instead it slowly melds into it’s finish which is not far off from first spritz.  As such, in the end, Oceania lives in a gentle cocoon of light moss with the whisper of florals resting on top of a lightly salted sandalwood.  Oceania is quietly beautiful.

From the Roja Parfums website:

“Deeply concerned by the vulnerability at the heart of our fragile oceans, a donation from every sale of Oceania Eau De Parfum will be made to charities dedicated to protecting our precious seas. Echoing the infinity of our oceans, this fragrance opens with a wave of invigorating freshness from Bergamot, Lime and Mandarin. Geranium and Jasmine drift in on the breeze from a nearby island, whilst Moss, Sandalwood and Orris offer a warm caress as if kissed by the sun, whose light reflects on the waves.” – ROJA DOVE.

A Citrus cocktail opens this creation and runs throughout, as Lemon and Grapefruit mingle with Bergamot, Mandarin and Lime. Fresh, aromatic Herb notes extend the distinct freshness of this accord and mingle beautifully down into a floral heart based around the fresh sweetness of Geranium and the creamy, exotic tones of Jasmine. A bold base acts like velcro, enabling this resolutely fresh composition to stay close to the skin and permeate throughout the day, mingled around a dry, natural base of Moss notes and the skin-like combination of Sandalwood and Orris.

KEY INGREDIENTS: Bergamot, Lime, Mandarin, Geranium, Jasmine Sambac, Moss Notes, Sandalwood, Orris

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME:  The free flying seagull; one with the ocean below and the sky above.

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE OCEANIA:  soft, contemplative, serene

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT OCEANIA:  Fashion for Lunch

BOTTOM LINE:  Oceania is probably the quietest of any Roja Parfums perfume that I have experienced.  While quiet, it is amazingly beautiful and when you wear it it feels like it’s just meant for you.  And the fact that a portion of each sale goes to helping preserve our oceans, makes it just that much more special of a perfume.  And for those of you who think the bottle is as important as the perfume, the Oceania bottle and cap are exquisite.

  • Bone Rating: 3.5 out of possible 5 bones
  • Scent: Woody Aromatic
  • Nose:  Roja Dove
  • Classification: Masculine, but easily unisex
  • Expense:  $380 for 100 ml eau de parfum


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New Release: Sarah Baker Loudo

WHAT I SMELL:   Loudo opens with a fizzy bergamot that is quickly met by warmed white chocolate followed by something that smells like woolen mittens that have a bit of a salty worn patina.  The woolen mittens then turn to the sock drawer as the perfume now takes on a combination of wood and cotton with the tinge of the lightly creamy chocolate still lingering overhead.  But soon after, a light sueded leather comes forward.  At this point, the leather dominates and moves all of the other accords to the side.  The perfume is warm and comforting and approachable in that it carries with it familiar scents of many of the comforts of home.  Slowly, the perfume begins to radiate and pushes off the skin as the leather begins to dry.  And I’m not sure if my nose is deceiving me, but there’s a very light buzzing peppermint that seems to pop in and out.   After a long time, the leather begins to retreat, leaving a soft and pretty orange blossom to take it’s place sitting atop a woody semi-sweet flattened vanilla.  At this point, the perfume softly hugs the skin in the quietest of ways.  Loudo is a wonderfully interesting and a delightful journey of a perfume.

From the Sarah Baker Perfumes website:

Playful and sweet with the flavors of childhood appetites, it dries down to something seriously grown-up. Proustian aromas and a nostalgic glimpse of a beloved game encountered in the attic, realizing years later it was the seed of your adult prowess; the sensual, sexy and clever you.

Notes: bergamot, neroli, petitgrain, black cherry, cypriol, orange blossom, white chocolate, Laos oud, Suyufi agarwood, musk, amber, vanilla

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME:  A cozy farmhouse kitchen laden with all the comfort smells infused in the home.

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE LOUDO:  comforting, nostalgic, unique

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT LOUDO:  The Sniffer, CaFleureBon, Stephan Matthews

BOTTOM LINE:  When I first heard that Loudo was an oud perfume, I couldn’t conjure in my mind how Sarah Baker would interpret it as it seems we all have been overly ouded over the past many years.  Thankfully, Sarah’s use of oud makes it the center of the perfume, but not one that is overt nor dominating.  The oud here translates more to the leather.  And the white chocolate, black cherry carry the perfume to the slightly gourmand.  In all, there’s something incredibly comforting about Loudo in that wraps the wearer up in a quieter and more simple time.  And as far as I’m concerned, a oud/leather scent that is a comfort is something that’s very welcomed.

  • Bone Rating: 3.5 out of possible 5 bones
  • Scent:  Woody
  • Nose: Chris Maurice
  • Classification: Unisex
  • Expense: $155 for 50 ml parfum extrait


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Cartier – L’Heure Promise

WHAT I SMELL:  Promise opens with a soft and cottony musky iris that is quickly infused with a combination of herbs that are too light to distinguish or specify.  The perfume is so transparent and barely there that unless I stick my nose in my arm, I’m not able to smell much, if anything.  As the perfume develops, the lightest of wood draws the perfume back from the iris and musk and moves it to a light paper pulp.  But as soon as I say that, the iris comes gliding gracefully back to the center of the perfume.  Promise is a sheer fragrance where the iris is warmed by a light sunny sandalwood.  It’s beautiful, but it’s so barely there at the beginning that you wonder if you sprayed anything on at all.  Thankfully, as the perfume wears, it begins to grow, but it never deviates from the warmed iris that first came forward; except for the addition of a wonderful powder that helps the perfume to radiate in just the right way.

From the Cartier website:

It was time to capture a life full of fresh early mornings, Petit grain, FRESH HERBS at the dawn of intentions. Everything seemed possible – love, creation, belief. The time had come to embrace the day, comforted by self-confidence and honesty IRIS, and to fly or walk in the first glimmers of a spring of existence. The sheer newness was just waiting to be explored like an undiscovered continent bathed in hope, with the promise of cherishing the moment a little longer while everything remained quiet. Prolonging, preserving the moment: L’HEURE PROMISE by Cartier. An eiderdown of fragrance sandalwood, for leaving the night behind without affronting sleep. Outside, I sense, like a veil of tulle MUSK NOTES, my own deciding scent – that of my destiny unfolding and of an adventure that is anxious to take place.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME:  Iris colored tulle.

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE L’HEURE PROMISE:  soft, elegant, sheer

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT L’HEURE PROMISE:  Perfume Posse

BOTTOM LINE:  L’Heure Promise is incredibly beautiful in a simply elegant way.  I would probably give the perfume a 4 bone rating, but this is so much of a skin scent that I would find it hard to do so given the hefty price tag.  But would I like to have this as part of my perfume collection?  That would be a definitive “yes!”

  • Bone Rating: 3.5 out of possible 5 bones
  • Scent: Floral Green
  • Nose:  Mathilde Laurent
  • Classification: Unisex
  • Expense: $275 for 75 ml eau de toilette