5 bones | The Scented Hound

April 4, 2016
by The Scented Hound 24 Comments

Hermès 24, Faubourg

If you like to shop around and explore estate sales, you know that every once in a blue moon you’ll run across one that is truly special. Recently, I found a sale that mentioned a large collection of perfumes, but didn’t have pictures or brand names listed. I took a chance. As it turns out, the woman of the house was a former sales representative for Escada and Annick Goutal so there was quite the collection. No one at the sale was interested in the perfumes, so I snatched up a collection of 3 100 ml perfumes, a couple of fragrance brand candles and 12 mini perfumes for $90. One of those perfumes was a full 100 ml bottle of Hermes 24, Faubourg eau de toilette. Whereas some of the perfumes there were multiple in stock, the Hermès was the only one. I had to snatch it up. By the way, the next week, I noted that they moved the remaining bottles of perfumes that didn’t sell to another sale that was in walking distance from my house. Of course I had to go back! I managed to pick up two 125 ml tester bottles of Annick Goutal EdTs, Passion and Heure Exquise for $5 each! How could I say no to such bargains?!

Now before I get into my review, I should note that I did purchase a bottle of 24, Faubourg EDP a couple of years ago. As much of a fan as I am of white floral perfumes, I found the eau de parfum version much to cloying and heavy for my tastes. So buying the EdT was a gamble. Let’s see if it payed off…

WHAT I SMELL: 24, Faubourg opens with a vibrant, bright, a rather sugared ylang ylang which quickly moves to a warmer pulsating rapturous collection of florals which are seamless in their blending. After a short time, an ambered warmth sets base for a rounded bouquet dusted with oak moss and a spiced jasmine begins to dominate. There’s not much progression in 24, Faubourg, but in the end, the perfume resides in a pared down “big” floral heaven. 24 Faubourg is a striking beauty that falls into the big floral category like Ysatis and 1000. But 24 Faubourg is one of those perfumes that doesn’t play second fiddle to anyone.

From the Hermès website:

A novel composed by Maurice Roucel in 1995, 24, Faubourg is an invitation to travel, with the sun as its destination. A sparkle of white flowers in the top notes, the radiance of a floral heart enveloped in irises, woods and mystery, while vanilla and ambergris set the tone for the sillage.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A woman of refinement; Princess Grace in her later years.

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE 24, FAUBOURG: radiant, warm, in-control

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT 24, FAUBOURG: Now Smell This, I Smell Therefore I Am, Olfactoria’s Travels

BOTTOM LINE: Whereas the eau de parfum version of 24, Faubourg was just too heavy for me, the eau de toilette version fits just right. I absolutely am in love with this floral beauty. This will be a mainstay in my collection for years to come!

Bone Rating: 5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Chypre Floral
Nose: Maurice Roucel
Classification: Feminine
Expense: $150 for 3.3 oz. Eau de Toilette

February 15, 2016
by The Scented Hound 25 Comments

New Release: Rendezvous by DSH Perfumes

WHAT I SMELL: Rendezvous opens up as pure animal with a strong and breathtaking civet. It’s powerful and primal and it draws you in to take you prisoner. After a few minutes, the initial wave of animalic prowess begins to soften with a light creaminess, but at the same time a dry oakmoss begins to appear along with the most subdued of florals. A dirtied jasmine, mixed with the animalic makes for an interesting play because at times the jasmine comes to the forefront and a minute later the civet and castoreum come to the center stage. After some more time however, the florals win out…still deep, rich and creamy, they provide this heady and voluminous and achingly beautiful arrangement that is wrapped up in an ambered and golden aura. After quite some time, the perfume reveals its final treasure, a gorgeous soft rounded lightly dirty and spicy powdered floral that’s warm, intoxicating and incredibly nostalgic.

Perfumer Dawn Spencer Hurwitz:

I let my imagination go to a time and place when animalic perfumes reigned supreme. Of course, I included the four traditional animal notes: musk, civet, ambergris, and castoreum with added elements of aged oakmoss, and botanical “animalics”; ambrette co2, labdanum, and hyracium tincture (aka African Stone). The heart is filled with indolic juhi jasmine, orange flower absolute, and gardenia balanced by a slightly sharp and spicy white pepper and aldehyde top note. The result is a lush, provocative, and thoroughly sexy perfume for both men and women.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: beautiful decay

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE RENDEZVOUS: haunting, breathtaking, careworn

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT RENDEZVOUS: None to be found as of yet.

BOTTOM LINE: I love it when perfumes can stir something inside your core. Too often, new releases tend to be pleasant and nice but rather uninteresting. Rendezvous however, evoked an emotional response in me that took me by surprise. I don’t know if my words convey exactly how beautiful the perfume is and I don’t want my visual to denigrate its effect. But to me, there’s a fragility in the perfume, like a magnificent beauty that has faded in time…you can see the ravages of time, but at its heart it still possesses a grand presence. Rendezvous is a stunning perfume.

Bone Rating: 5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Aromatic
Nose: Dawn Spencer Hurwitz
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $165 for 1 oz. eau de parfum or $295 for .5 oz parfum extrait (also available in additional sizes and strengths). Available via the DSH Perfumes website.

Sample courtesy of DSH Perfumes. Opinion my own. Review based on the eau de parfum concentration.

August 10, 2015
by The Scented Hound 18 Comments

Antonia by Puredistance

WHAT I SMELL: Antonia opens with an absolutely heady and exhilarating rush of full floral lushness with the beautiful ylang-ylang front and center. The perfume is luxuriant and rather waxy and it sits on the deepest powdered galbanum that seems to push the florals off of the skin. Antonio makes my head swim with its feminine power. There is nothing demure about this lady; but don’t get me wrong she is a lady in every sense of the word. The perfume transforms, but not dramatically or with any sharp or sudden turns or edges, instead, she slowly moves from the brightest and dryest green to more of a warm and lightly soapy symphony of florals. Antonia is a ravishing beauty from the very beginning when the rush of the green florals radiate from the first spritz and continues for hours to come. When you wear this perfume, you are in Antonia’s world and it’s as beautiful of a world as you’ll ever experience.

From the Puredistance website:

Created by Master Perfumer Annie Buzantian in New York, Puredistance ANTONIA is a highly original green floral with a great lushness and warmth of heart, but at the same time pillowy and gentle as can be. Key in the creation of ANTONIA is the image of a strong, positive, but at the same time gentle woman.

The perfume is neither modern, nor old-fashioned. Puredistance ANTONIA is a timeless perfume with a feel of innocence, yet feminine and confident. She grabs you with gentleness and faithfully stays with you, tenacious, but never overwhelming.

Ingredients: Jasmine, Rose Essence, Ylang Ylang, Orris, Ivy green, Galbanum, Vanilla and Vetiver.

Ziegfiled Girl – 1920s

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: All woman; all-powerful in her beauty and sexuality.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE ANTONIA: magnificent, heady, voluminous

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT ANTONIA: Olfactoria’s Travels, Undina’s Looking Glass, Kafkaesque

BOTTOM LINE: Puredistance is turning out to at the top of the list of my favorite perfume houses. Their perfumes are works of art in that they are exquisitely refined and of the highest quality. Where other perfumes develop with harsh twist and turns, their perfumes transform and reveal the loveliest of secrets with a whisper. Puredistance wants to ensure their perfumes are perfection, and because of this new introductions to the line are far and few between. But when they do release a new perfume, its pure magic as evident with their latest release, White.

Bone Rating: 5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Floral
Nose: Annie Buzantian
Classification: Feminine
Expense: $160 for 17 ml parfum extrait or $270 for 60 ml. Note that Puredistance has some fantastic promotions on their website!