4 bones | The Scented Hound

September 20, 2013
by The Scented Hound 32 Comments

Sideris by Maria Candida Gentile

WHAT I SMELL: Sideris opens with a deep warm breath of saffron, incense and myrrh. It smells like it’s from another world; like it’s been around for ages only to reveal itself again. Sideris sits in a haze. You feel that it’s there, but somehow it exists in aura around you rather than directly on you. Sideris takes its time to transform and when it does, it doesn’t do so in a dramatic fashion. Everything is seamless and it mixes so perfectly that you can easily miss the differences; but they’re there. After about 30 minutes, the light sweetness of the rose makes a rather subdued appearance in a manner that you barely notice. To me this is not “rose,” but a veil of earthen rose shrouded by incense. Sideris then becomes more creamy and yet woody which sounds contradictory, but trust me it’s not. As Sideris continues to progress, the incense from the early stages starts to subside, and the benzoin starts to become prominent and along with the rose and sandalwood, the fragrance becomes a bit sweeter. Sideris is a fragrance that I feel like I just can’t give enough justice to… It’s all too beautiful and sometimes words are just too hard to convey.

Notes from the Maria Candida Gentile website:

Top notes: Incense, Cysts, Corsican Myrrh, White Pepper, Saffron

Heart notes: Turkish Rose, Rose Ayrshire Splendens

Base notes: Sandalwood, Benzoin, Waxed Woods

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Lady with a Fan by Spanish painter Diego Velázquez

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE SIDERIS: dreamy, serious, classical

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT SIDERIS: Scent for Thought, Cafleurebon, The Non-Blonde

BOTTOM LINE: Sideris is unique and incredibly beautiful. I’ve only been introduced to two of Maria Candida Gentile’s fragrances thus far, Cinabre and this. I have the feeling I need to explore some more.

Bone Rating: 4.5 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Aromatic Spicy
Nose: Maria Candida Gentile
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $180 for 100ml EdP

September 15, 2013
by The Scented Hound 24 Comments

Onda EdP by Vero Profumo

WHAT I SMELL: Onda opens with a rush of warm and medicinal herbal coriander and basil. It’s almost minty and slightly chocolate and very gourmand. When you put your nose to your arm, you’ll easily open your sinuses with its powerful menthol. In a short bit, the herbs start to feel like they are beginning to be covered in salt. Onda sits in this mentholated stage for some time and it’s big and strong and must be applied with discretion because a little goes a long way. After around a half hour or so, Onda becomes slightly honeyed and slightly sweet with a bit of funkified fruitiness that seems to be peppered with a bit of ginger. Onda’s a bit strange in that it’s warm, but there’s a cool quality about it that keeps the wearer at a distance. After many, many hours In the end, Onda leaves you with a light and honeyed earthy dried vetiver. And trust me, this has some lasting power. 24 hours after wearing Onda you’ll still know that she’s there.

Onda Notes (from Luckyscent): bergamot, citron, mandarin, ginger, coriander, basil, passion fruit, iris, ylang-ylang, honey, vetiver bourbon, patchouli, musk, cedar wood

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A jute rug. That’s not a bad thing, but if you have ever laid on a jute rug you’ll know exactly what I mean. It smells like it’s from the earth.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE ONDA: herbal, potent, sharp

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT ONDA: Smellythoughts, Kafkaesque, Indieperfumes

BOTTOM LINE: Freddie from Smellythoughts passed me a sample a while back. As a sample, I dabbed it on and found it incredibly interesting. Enough so that I decided I had to have a bottle for myself. When I received my purchase, I spritzed some on and thought…”what have I done???!!!” For the price point, Onda is not something you want to have sitting on the shelf. So after a couple of days, I went back to it. Maybe I had spritzed too much on the first time, but the second time I liked it more. And now I have days when there isn’t anything else that I want to wear! However, Onda is one of those perfumes that you have to wear when you are in just the right mood and right frame of mind. Today I was driving around in the convertible with the top down on a sunny day that wasn’t too hot. Onda did her job well 🙂

Bone Rating: 4 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Woody Spicy
Nose: Vero Kern
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $200 for 50ml EdP

September 8, 2013
by The Scented Hound 16 Comments

Datura Noir by Serge Lutens

WHAT I SMELL: Opens with a bright and sweet tuberose which is very sunny and fresh. After a couple of minutes I detect light citrus with a bit of mint or maybe a slight incense. Whatever it is, it makes this more interesting in that its not just another sweet floral. After about 10 minutes, Datura Noir starts to even out and it becomes a bit creamy. There’s some meat to this beautiful flower as it seems to expand on the skin. After around 20 minutes I can detect a bit of apricot wrapped up in the flowered musk. The fragrance then becomes a bit deeper and richer in its complexity and as time goes on keeps growing in strength, with the almond making it’s appearance in almost a candied fashion which is probably because of a coconut note which adds an “Almond Joy” element to the fragrance. For an expansive period of time Datura Noir is a fragrance that does not know the meaning of shy. In the end though, Dratura Noir quiets down into a light musky tuberose that is comforting in a slightly sweet way.

Datura Noir Notes:

coconut, tuberose, tonka bean, almond, lemon blossom, mandarin orange, musk, chinese osmanthus, heliotrope, myrrh, vanilla and apricot

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Floral happiness.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE DATURA NOIR: rapturous, beautiful, inviting

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT DATURA NOIR: Smellythoughts, Kafkaesque, My Perfume Diaries

BOTTOM LINE: I found the following when I Googled Datura:

da·tu·ra , dəˈt(y)o͝orə/ noun: a shrubby annual plant with large trumpet-shaped flowers, native to southern North America. Daturas contain toxic or narcotic alkaloids and are used as hallucinogens by some American Indian peoples.

Given that, Datura Noir is neither hallucinogenic nor dark…but instead is a charming and intoxicating floral beauty which was a complete and pleasant surprise!

Bone Rating: 4 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Oriental Vanilla
Nose: Christopher Sheldrake
Classification: Unisex, but leans feminine
Expense: Varies for 50ml EdP