4 bones | The Scented Hound

May 2, 2012
by The Scented Hound 13 Comments

Iskander by Parfum d’Empire

Inspired by australianperfumejunkies review of some of the Parfum d’Empire line today, I decided to pull out some of my untested samples and give it a go. Since summer is approaching, I thought I would try Iskander. Lemony, citrus freshness in an initial blast, bright and sunny are how I would describe my first impressions with the scent. There initially is almost a barber shop clean aspect to the Iskander. Now I’m not typically a fan of citrus scents so I wonder if I’m going to like Iskander. I find then that the initial citrus blast dissapates and out comes a very light spice, maybe the coriander?. But I don’t consider this a spicy scent by any means. The fragrance soon mellows into a lovely warm, yet fresh, citrus, amber and oakmoss scent which evens out the initial sharpness of the scent. The is an underlying tonality in this fragrance which is similar to the other Parfum d’Empire scents that I have tested; it’s a smooth and silky finish that I find incredibly luxurious. It sits at the scent’s base tying in all of the ingredients for a layer that blends so well on the skin. I don’t know what this is, but so far the Parfum d’Empires scents that I have tried all are equaled in their beauty even though they are composed so differently. I’m not sure yet, but I believe that Iskander might just be my 2012 summer scent.

Iskander Notes:

citron, mandarin, grapefruit, estragon, coriander, orange blossom, oakmoss, amber and musk

UPDATE: Iskander got to me, I had to buy a full bottle!

Bone Rating: 4 out of 5 possible bones
Scent Type: Citrus – Chypre
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $75 for 50ml EDP

April 18, 2012
by The Scented Hound 8 Comments

Voyage d’Hermes by Hermes

I purchased Voyage d’Hermes a couple of years ago and somewhere along the line it ended up being a hand me down to my partner who found it more enticing than I did. I like it. He loves it. Voyage d’Hermes is a wonderful summer scent. It’s refreshing and light; masculine while still being soft and pretty. This scent is green with hints of citrus, green tea, florals and light spice. And there’s just a hint of musk to warm it, keeping it close to the skin. As you wear it, that warmth and musk come more to the surface, but it always maintains its freshness. As nice as this scent is, the one outstanding item about this scent is the bottle. The bottle is placed on a silver plated swivel carrier that when not in use, the sprayer is concealed on the bottom. It’s a small masterpiece in bottle engineering. This is considered unisex, but I see this as more of a man’s fragrance.

Voyage d’Hermes Notes:

Lemony Notes, Spicy Notes, Cardamom Note, Tea Note, Floral Notes, Hedione, Green Notes, Musky Notes, White Woods

Bone Rating: 4 out of 5 possible bones
Scent Type: Woody – Floral Musk
Classification: Unisex

April 11, 2012
by The Scented Hound 7 Comments

Wazamba by Parfum d’Empire

Wazamba is a hard fragrance for me to review. It’s exotic nature and unfamiliar notes make for a scent that is for me very distinctive, yet difficult to describe. According to some information I found on the web, a Wasamba (spelled with an S) is a West African instrument made of wooden sticks that is used during circumcision and initiation rites. Now the description above is not going to help describe this scent, but I found the definition pretty interesting upon itself.

So what does Wazamba smell like? When applied its spicy, dry and a little bitter. To me it has almost has hints of Indian curry with a slight dry fruitiness. As time goes on, this becomes even dryer and closer to the skin and a bit sharper. I found that as I wore this throughout the day, it didn’t overwhelm me, but would occasionally rise to surround me at various times. I love this scent, but am not sure how often I would wear it. I would say that it works for both day and night and leans towards the masculine although it would work well for women as well.