cologne | The Scented Hound

March 25, 2015
by The Scented Hound 7 Comments

Etat Libre d’Orange Cologne

WHAT I SMELL: Cologne opens with a clean crisp warmed bergamot and blood orange. It’s tangy and sparkling without being overly juiced. An orange blossom soon joins the mix of this nice and easy composition. Not too sweet and not too sour, the perfume maintains this perfect balance of carefree wear. After around 10 minutes a musk comes into play. It’s not too clean and it brings in some added dimension. However, it does make the fragrance seem more like Febreeze than a perfume. After another 5 minutes, a sugared element comes forth making the orange blossom more prevalent and it helps to dissipate the musk. And then a bit later, the jasmine comes in to give the cologne a really nice boost of fresh florals. In the end, Cologne stays in this easy to wear mode that works at being fresh, without being too fresh.

Composition: Blood orange, orange blossom, bergamot, jasmine, musk, leather…

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Welcome to L.A. The ease of sun and casual living with a hint of a wicked underbelly.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE COLOGNE: easy, wearable, one-off

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT COLOGNE: CaFleureBon, Colognoisseur, Perfume-Smellin’ Things

BOTTOM LINE: I like Cologne but I don’t like it. How’s that? I like it because it takes the standard citrus perfume and make it a little bit dirty. Unfortunately, the musk gets in the way; and it seems to be random. At times, the musk isn’t present, then all of a sudden it comes charging through. Take away the musk and you have a winner.

Bone Rating: 2.5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Woody Spicy
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $149 for 100 ml Eau de Parfum

July 14, 2014
by The Scented Hound 10 Comments

New Release: Eau de Magnolia by Frederic Malle

WHAT I SMELL: Eau de Magnolia opens with a lightly fizzy warmed bergamot. It’s rather sour and green, but that sour aspect retreats after around 10 minutes when the magnolia makes an entrance. The fragrance at this point is very light and wispy and is sweetened with a breath of patchouli. All of this seems to be sitting upon a dry woody base that feels like it’s pulling the moisture from the fragrance. After around 20 minutes the magnolia begins to radiate, but it’s contained and never reveals too much of itself. It’s also cool and feels rather removed and distant. After another 20 minutes, the coolness is replaced by some warmth, as if the afternoon begins to filter through the curtains to help lighten and heat up a dark room. In the end you’re left with this light and delicate muted floral that is infused by a interesting citrus component.

Eau de Magonlia notes from the Frederic Malle website:

Top note is Calabrian bergamot; middle notes are magnolia, vetiver and patchouli; base notes are cedar, moss and amber.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A fading southern beauty.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE EAU DE MAGNOLIA: somber, muted, fragile

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT EAU DE MAGNOLIA: Olfactoria’s Travels, CaFleureBon, Kafkasesque

BOTTOM LINE: Magnolia can be tricky to recreate; the floral effect can leave a perfume loud, artificial and cloying. Eau de Magnolia manages to escape that trajectory and instead takes it in a direction that is soft, haunting and full of melancholy. It’s pretty, but it’s a perfume that leaves me feeling rather sober.

Bone Rating: 3 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Floral
Nose: Carlos Benaim
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $175 for 50ml

August 18, 2013
by The Scented Hound 10 Comments

Revisiting Jo Malone: Dark Amber & Ginger Lily and Amber & Patchouli

Last week I reviewed my first Jo Malone fragrance, Wild Bluebell, and was completely underwhelmed not only with the fragrance itself, but with the way the fragrances don’t speak to me via their marketing or their store presence. After some prodding by others, I was told to give the Jo Malone line another chance, specifically their Cologne Intense line. Since I had to return a purchase to my local Nordstrom store this weekend, I thought it would be a good opportunity to check out some of the other Jo Malone fragrances. Surprisingly, my local Nordstrom store has a large space dedicated to Jo Malone, but I still don’t find their display captivating as it is quite sterile and uniform. After giving a few sniffs of the various Cologne Intense fragrances on paper, I settled on samples of the Dark Amber & Ginger Lily and Amber & Patchouli.

DARK AMBER & GINGER LILY –

WHAT I SMELL: Opens with an astringent cardamom, which then quickly lightens and sweetens with an almost buttery undertone. Funny, the sweetness only stays for a minute and then it evens out into this wonderful ginger with the cardamom sitting beneath almost smelling like cedar. After about 10 minutes Dark Amber & Ginger Lily becomes very light but with a nice warm amber base, with a hint of incense. This is nice, but very light and close to the skin. After around 20 minutes the fragrance doesn’t morph much, but it really is lovely in its light presence.

From Fragrantica:

Dark Amber & Ginger Lily includes aromas of black cardamom, ginger and pink pepper in the top notes; the middle notes are jasmine, orchid, water lily and rose; while the base notes encompass leather, sandalwood, kyara incense, patchouli, black amber.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A hint of Fall.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE DARK AMBER & GINGER LILY: meditative, mellow, peaceful

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT DARK AMBER & GINGER LILY: Call it Beauty, Perfume Posse, The Scented Salamander

Bone Rating: 3 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Oriental Woody
Classification: Marketed to women, but easily worn by a man
Expense: $145 for 100ml Cologne Intense

AMBER & PATCHOULI –

WHAT I SMELL: Opens with a big astringent blast of patchouli. The patchouli is sweet, not earthy and rather pretty. After a few minutes you can detect a bit of sour guaiac wood which starts to pull some of the moisture out of the fragrance making this more woody… and woody in the way of the smell of old barn planks. But that quickly moves to the background as the sweet patchouli takes center stage… with the amber and the wood keeping this dry and slightly powdery and flattened in a linear sense.

From Fragrantica:

Amber & Patchouli is a rich woody – spicy scent of amber, patchouli and guaiac wood.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: The perfumed cotton/silk lining of a 1960s patent leather coat.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE AMBER & PATCHOULI : semi-sweet, semi-musty, pretty

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT AMBER & PATCHOULI : The Scent Critic, London Makeup Girl

Bone Rating: 3 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Oriental Woody
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $145 for 100ml Cologne Intense

BOTTOM LINE: Will these two fragrances make me run to Jo Malone in the future? Probably not. But they also won’t make me discount the line as a whole either. Nicely done Jo Malone!