The Scented Hound

Perfume blog with abbreviated perfume reviews & fragrance reviews.

Tag Archives: 4 bones


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Fougere Bengale by Parfum d’Empire

It had been a while since I purchased a full bottle of any perfume.  Fall is on it’s way (very evident today with highs in the 50s) and I felt the need for a new fragance, one that had a big personality that would put me in the mood.  It’s been a while since I had last sampled Fougere Bengale, but I knew that it was the perfect scent to put me in the spirit of the change of season.

WHAT I SMELL:  Strong lavender, mint and ginger which combined smells like curry (Immortelle?).  It’s very medicinal and masculine.  This is not an unassuming scent and a little goes a long way.  After this initial rush to the senses, Fougere Bengale becomes almost thick in its form. It gets heavier and turns to a slight syrup; it’s spicy, curried and green and ready to bite.  The drydown is the best part, like many of the Parfum d’Empire perfumes, the oakmoss leaves a light dustiness to the fragrance which is left without the sharp top notes, but still remains exotic and spicy but much calmer thanks to the vanilla and patchouli mixed with the tobacco.  Fougere Bengale is a truly unique fragrance.

Fougere Bengale notes:  lavender, tea, ginger, mint, hay, tobacco, pepper, oakmoss, patchouli, vanilla and tonka bean

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME:  To me this is not heavy and hot India sweltering in the sun, but instead India after a cool spell where the rain and a good breeze has tamed the land.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE FOUGERE BENGALE:  spicy, exotic, forceful

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT FOUGERE BENGALE:  Memory of Scent, The Non-Blonde, Ars Aromatica

BOTTOM LINE:  This is an either you love it or hate it perfume.  I can’t get enough of it, my better half HATES this and doesn’t like for me to be around him when I’m wearing it.  Also, a little goes a long way and I have to be very cognizant of how I apply it.  Parfum d’Empire once again makes it very easy for me to love them with this creation!

  • Bone Rating: 4.5 out of 5 possible bones
  • Scent: Aromatic Fougere
  • Classification: Masculine
  • Nose:  Marc-Antoine Corticchiato
  • Expense: $75 for 50ml EdP


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Portrait of a Lady by Frederic Malle

If it had not been for the wonderful Undina, I would have probably never have thought about sampling this fragrance.  Thankfully, she sent me a vial of this wonderful jewel.

WHAT I SMELL:  Portrait of a Lady opens with an herbal and minty full-bodied musky rush.  With the name, I would have thought that this was going to be an over the top big floral.  What a surprise.   It start off very masculine and medicinal.  I had no idea where this was going.  After a while, out comes a very dusty and understated rose with black current along with a tempered cedar woody note.   There are many notes at play here, fruity and somewhat jammy mixed with wood in a way that’s all very subtle and really lovely.  I find that it’s proper and refined and seems like something from another era.

From the Frederic Malle website:

Portrait of a Lady is a new breed of oriental rose, a baroque perfume. It is based on an accord of benzoin, cinnamon, sandalwood and, above all patchouli, musk and frankincense. It takes off with an excessive dosage of the best Turkish rose essence that Dominique Ropion linked to the rest of the formula, thanks to a red berries and spice accord.

After hundreds of trials needed to balance such an excessive formula (Portrait of a Lady is undoubtedly the perfume containing the strongest dosage of rose essence and patchouli heart), a rare symphonic perfume appeared:  a new oriental rose, a sensuous beauty that attracts people like a magnet, a modern classic:  Portrait of a Lady. 

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Gillian Anderson in “The House of Mirth.”  Yes, I know this is fragrance is based on a Henry James novel, but The House of Mirth is what popped up in my mind!

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE PORTRAIT OF A LADY: subdued, discreet, controlled

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT PORTRAIT OF A LADY: Scentsate, Katie Puckrik Smells, 1000 Fragrances

BOTTOM LINE:  This is definitely full bottle worthy.  I just wish Frederic Malle’s perfumes weren’t so on the high-end of cost.  And don’t let the name fool you, this can easily be worn by men or women.  Thank you Undina for this wonderful discovery.

  • Bone Rating: 4.5 out of 5 possible bones
  • Scent: Oriental Floral
  • Classification: For women, but I believe this is easily unisex
  • Nose:  Dominique Ropion
  • Expense: $225 for 50ml EdP


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Sombre Negra by Yosh

I received this sample yesterday and I believe a little of it leaked out of the vial.  As soon as I opened the package, I was greeted by this incredible scent… so of course I had to sample it right away.

WHAT I SMELL: Out of the bottle, I got this warm, spicy and smoky patchouli scent.  But when I first applied it I was greeted with a smoky incense and a dry woodiness.  I thought, this was going to take me down the road via L’Air du Desert Marocain which I know many people love, but is not one of my favorites.  Luckily, that dry woodiness was matched with the warmth of the patchouli and pepper.  Sombre Negra starts to grow and become rounded; lightly sweet and lightly spicy.  The funny thing is when I first started wearing this is that when I sniffed my wrist, I would smell incense and wood…but as I was driving my car, and smelling the scent from a distance, what I was smelling was the patchouli sweetness.  I love schizophrenic fragrances!  As time wears on, Sombre Negra becomes a warm, close to the skin scent; one that you find entices you to keep sniffing your wrist as the day goes on.  Can this really be a vetiver fragrance??

Sombre Negra notes:  vetiver, patchouli, cedar, olibanum (Frankincense), pink pepperberry, black peppercorn, clove, juniper, citrus, nutmeg, cumin, tonka and orris root

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME:  What the beginning of Fall smells like, only a bit more exotic!

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE SOMBRE NEGRA:  comfortable, metamorphosic, easy

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT SOMBRE NEGRA: Notable Scents, EauMG, Smellythoughts

BOTTOM LINE: This may be a keeper.  I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about this at first, but it’s really growing on me.  I just wish my tester hadn’t leaked so I could have more to play with!

  • Bone Rating: 4 out of 5 possible bones
  • Scent: Woody Vetiver
  • Classification: Unisex
  • Nose: Yosh Han
  • Expense: $130 for 50ml EdP (2011 reformulation)