5 bones | The Scented Hound

April 13, 2015
by The Scented Hound 14 Comments

Neela Vermeire Creations Mohur Extrait

WHAT I SMELL: Mohur Extrait opens with this deep and dreamy lightly peppered and spice haze. The notes dance and swirl in an incredible kinetic motion, but in the most mysterious way. It’s as the perfume want to make itself hidden until it decides it’s time to reveal its true self. In other words, the perfume is incredibly quiet in its opening and it’s impossible to pick out individual notes. The dancing notes bring forward ambered floral and exotic spices all the while remaining dreamy and enticing you with subtle whisps of temptation. The warm florals mixed with the subtle spices are as intoxicating as I have ever experienced. After some time, the mysteriously quiet kinetics begin to open. But this box of jewels will not open quickly; a case of jewels might blind one if opened without care. After some more time, a light creaminess is added to the mix of the spiced florals. And soon enough, a lovely spiced rose quietly moves to the center of the mix. It’s creamy, warm and dreamily enrapturing. In the end, Mohur Extrait wraps you in this warm embrace of lightly powdered radiating spiced rose wrapped up in the most exquisite sandalwood. How come the perfumes that I love so much are so hard to describe? Maybe it’s because their beauty defies words.

Mohur Extrait Notes: Cardamom, coriander, ambrette, carrot seeds, pepper, elemi, iris, jasmine, rose, violet, almond, leather, sandalwood, amber, woody notes, patchouli, agarwood (oud), benzoin, vanilla, and tonka bean.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: The loveliest pearl; majestic, luminescent and a beauty to behold.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE MOHUR EXTRAIT: quiet, thoughtful, cultured

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT MOHUR EXTRAIT: Perfume Shrine, CaFleureBon, EauMG

BOTTOM LINE: The original Mohur Eau de Parfum is incredible; but this limited edition Mohur Extrait is utterly divine and a testament to the incredible art of creating a great perfume. Neela and Bertrand once again have created magic. If only this came in a smaller size so more people could experience it.

Bone Rating: 5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Floral
Nose: Bertrand Duchaufour
Classification: Unisex towards feminine
Expense: $445 for 50 ml parfum extrait

Sample courtesy of Neela Vermeire Creations.

April 6, 2015
by The Scented Hound 24 Comments

New Release: Puredistance WHITE

WHAT I SMELL: WHITE opens with this incredibly warm and sensuous soft bergamot. The opening is absolutely dreamy, serene and incredibly subdued. There’s a floral component, but it’s really hard to distinguish as the perfume is more of a glow than a singular note. WHITE is everything that perfume should be. It wraps you into its spell with a sheer and hazy trail of stately beauty. The perfume is slow to develop, but instead, reveals ethereal nuances, the first of which is a radiating veil of a sheer rose over this exquisite woody vetiver. After quite some time, WHITE starts to intensify in its projection, but all the while continuing to maintain a force field of warm and rapturous beauty. To my surprise, the perfume stays in this exquisite state for a long time, only revealing the most spectacular smooth and creamy sandalwood. In WHITE, there are no harsh edges, just a melding of the finest ingredients. Words escape me.

From the Puredistance website:

The main idea behind the creation of Puredistance WHITE Perfume has been to create a perfume so beautiful and positive that it gives the wearer an instant flow of happiness. We asked Master Perfumer Antoine Lie (who also created Puredistance BLACK for us) to create a white and golden dream; an intimate escape from harsh reality. It took Antoine Lie one year to complete the magic formula, using the best and most expensive ingredients in the world. The result is a one-of-a-kind perfume made to enhance your mood through intense, but comforting beauty – if you like it, a warm and natural happiness will be yours!

Ingredients: Rose de Mai from France, Tonka bean absolute from Venezuela, Orris absolute from Italy, Sandalwood from Mysore, Bergamot from Italy, Musk, Vetyver from Haiti and Patchouli from Indonesia.

The Royal Palace of Brussels

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: The most beautiful chandelier; full of light, beauty and magnificence.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE WHITE: luxurious, captivating, cultured

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT WHITE: Chemist in the Bottle, CaFleureBon, Bonkers About Perfume

BOTTOM LINE: Puredistance is known for their thoughtful and elegant creations. WHITE is perfumery at its best and is easily my favorite from the line. That’s quite the statement because all of their perfumes are incredible in their own right. My suggestion: If you want to live the perfume dream, WHITE is the perfect place to start. C’est magnifique!

Bone Rating: 5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Floral
Nose: Antoine Lie
Classification: Leans feminine
Expense: Launching April 20th. $170 for 17 ml parfum extrait.

Sample courtesy of Puredistance Perfumes.

March 9, 2015
by The Scented Hound 28 Comments

Roja Parfums Risqué (Creation-R)

WHAT I SMELL: Risqué (marketed as Creation-R in the United States) opens with a warm and sensual bergamot that is surrounded by the deepest rounded and lung filling florals that feel as if they are trapped in bosom of a hug and which at first is like they are fighting to get out of that hug, only to surrender and bury themselves deeper into the warm embrace of the feminine mystique. As perfumes go, Risqué is head swimmingly beautiful, yet there is this undercurrent of carnality that draws you in without release. I have said this before, that when I review a Roja Dove parfum, I always have to state that the blending is seamless and as such the individual notes af for the most part are hard for me to pull apart. This creation is no different. After around 10 minutes, the florals starts to sink further into the skin as if they are retreating to a more primal place only to then begin radiate and project from what seems to be a labyrinth below. There is a dusting of leather and civet that wrap themselves around the perfume like a cage that attempts to keep the cat from its prey. And finally, after an hour or so, a layer of creaminess covers the perfume, only to make the cat purr like a kitten. I don’t find that there is particularly a great deal of development with Risqué, but that’s the most wonderful aspect of the perfume overall. So many perfumes start off strong and interesting, only to be left as a shadow of its former self. Instead Risqué remains deeply warm, deeply carnal, deeply passionate and beautifully sensual. And as a plus, Risqué weaves its magic all through the night…leaving a whisper of itself into the morning.

From the Roja Parfums website:

“On The Edge Of The Forbidden”

WARM, DRY, FRESH, SWEET, & LEATHERY

“When I created this I thought of how society tells us how we have to behave, think, and act. So I decided to create a perfume that seemed tailored and disciplined – but as it develops it starts to show its overtly sensual base, which gets warmer, darker and more overt with each breath”. Roja Dove

INGREDIENTS

TOP: Bergamot

HEART: Chamomile, Hyacinth, Jasmine, Rose, Ylang Ylang

BASE: Cedarwood, Civet, Labdanum, Oakmoss, Patchouli, Vetiver

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: The beautiful Simone Simon as Irena in the 1942 version of Cat People, who turns into a panther when aroused by passion.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE RISQUÉ: seductive, pulsating, intense

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT RISQUÉ: Kafkaesque

BOTTOM LINE: There are certain perfumes that hit us on a level that can’t be explained. Every breath of Risqué wraps me up in this enchanted and seductive spell never to let me go. This is a full bottle must for me so I better start saving my pennies…OK dollars, because I’m in love.

Bone Rating: 5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Chypre
Nose: Roja Dove
Classification: Feminine
Expense: $480 for 50 ml Parfum