eau de parfum | The Scented Hound

March 2, 2016
by The Scented Hound 7 Comments

Limited Edition New Release: Stones by Atelier de Geste

WHAT I SMELL: Stones opens with a bright, dry and uplifting galbanum. It’s beautiful and earthy, very vegetal and pulsating with life. There’s a great deal of movement with the perfume as it seems to breathe, move and dance across my skin. The perfume resides in this lyrical state for quite some time which is just fine with me as it’s incredibly beautiful. After around 20 minutes or so, the perfume adds an additional earthiness of moss. A woody vetiver, which was there from the beginning, starts to take root at the center of the perfume. Still very radiant, the perfume continues to feel very alive as it adds a minty ginger to the composition. After some more time, the perfume begins to dry and become more powdered, but still ever radiant. Stones is an incredibly beautiful perfume.

Notes: Galbanum, Geranium, Physalis, Tomato, Pine, Ivy, Lotus, Ginger, Vetiver, Moss, Lichen (nightshade), Vetiver root, Muguet flowers

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A mossy and earthen forest that’s tinged with rays of cooled sun.

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE STONES: lively yet serene, earthen

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT STONES: None to be found.

BOTTOM LINE: Stones is the more earthy cousin of Chanel No. 19. The opening is breathtaking and it ends up as this equally as pretty earthy powdered beauty. Stones is a limited edition of 200 hand painted bottles, each which is numbered and signed. Stones is easily full bottle worthy.

Bone Rating: 4.5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Aromatic
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $125 for 50 ml Eau de Parfum

Sample courtesy of Twisted Lily Fragrance Boutique and Apothecary. Opinion my own.

February 24, 2016
by The Scented Hound 9 Comments

New Release: Le Quatrième Parfum by Coolife

WHAT I SMELL: Le Quatrième Parfum initially opens up smoky warm only to be quickly met with a boozy, but green sharpness. Almost gourmand at first, the perfume rapidly begins to lighten as the air meets the perfume; as if a genie had been let out of the bottle. For being so balsamic, the perfume is rather light and ethereal. As the perfume continues to develop, there’s a light sweetened honey that appears as a layer to the smoky notes. After a bit, the patchouli makes it way to the center, but it’s ever so soft and it feels as if it’s wrapped within a fruited tobacco and incense. After some more time the patchouli continues to grow along with a coating of vanilla, but it always remains contained, subdued and at peace. Le Quatrième Parfum is a perfume that will help you to believe that all is right with the world.

From the Coolife website:

Designed to engage with the root chakra, our most physical energy center, Le Quatrième Parfum is the fourth fragrance created by Pauline Rochas and Carole Beaupré. In homage to our ancient connection with earth, Le Quatrième is grounding, erotic, and lush. It captures passion and draws out that exquisite moment of connecting with our roots. Known as Muladhara in Sanksrit, the root chakra is the border between animal and human consciousness. Like the deep and sturdy roots of a tree, the root chakra is the stem of life, the smoldering origin of our sexuality, seated at the basal end of the spine. Le Quatrième conjures the scent of rum, an invigorating liquor blended in the heat of the islands, intertwined with smoky, organic tobacco leaves. This deep, Oriental fragrance stimulates the body at its base, with essences of Myrhh and Resinoid, Indonesian Patchouli, and Peru Balsam. Heady top and mid notes of aphrodisiac honey, vanilla, and plum intoxicate the senses, stirring a tempest within the body. Muladhara is the chakra of scent, our most primal sense. Le Quatrième manifests the power of fragrance, entrancing strangers and rapturous lovers to linger in your presence, luxuriating in romantic union. With a balanced root chakra, you are at once sensual and instinctual, magnetic and in control. Surrender to the allure of Le Quatrième and, with the energy of the earth surging through your body, you hold the key to the realm of desire.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: serenity

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE LE QUATRIÉME PARFUM: calming, warm, peaceful

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT LE QUATRIÉME PARFUM: None to be found as of yet.

BOTTOM LINE: If you’re looking for a perfume that really puts the ease in easy, Le Quatrième Parfum is an incredibly relaxing and centered perfume that doesn’t try to be anything more than it is. And what it is, is a beautiful and peaceful perfume full of positive and calming energy.

Bone Rating: 3.5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Oriental
Nose: Yann Vasnier
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $175 for 50 ml Eau De Parfum

Sample courtesy of Twisted Lily Fragrance Boutique and Apothecary. Opinion my own.

February 8, 2016
by The Scented Hound 8 Comments

A Perfume Made for Valentine’s Day: Baccarat Rouge 540 by Maison Francis Kurkdjian

WHAT I SMELL: Baccarat Rouge 540 opens with a striking warm and luxurious jasmine that feels soaked and saturated with saffron. It’s heady, exotic, spicy and mysterious. It’s also incredibly sexy and erotic. There’s a very slight incense and smoke that feels like an extinguished candle that moves off the skin. And the perfume itself seems to live a couple of inches off of the body. After some time, a woody base which was there all along, comes more to the forefront, with the radiant jasmine and saffron still pulsating. As the perfume continues to develop, the perfume becomes more of an ambered spice. In the end, the fragrance evens itself out and your left with a nicely spiced and lightly sweetened cedar and amber perfume that lingers with the memory of the passionate flame that burned when the perfume first hit the skin.

From the Maison Francis Kurkdjian website:

Luminous and sophisticated, Baccarat Rouge 540 lays on the skin like an amber, floral and woody breeze. A poetic alchemy. A graphic and highly condensed signature.

Notes: Jasmine, Saffron, Cedar wood, Ambergris

Marilyn Red Velvet, 1949

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A sexy and erotic boudoir scent.

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE BACCARAT ROUGE 540: lustful, erotic, sexy

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT BACCARAT ROUGE 540: No reviews to be found outside comments on Fragrantica.

BOTTOM LINE: Baccarat Rouge 540 is a collaboration between Maison Francis Kurkdjian and Baccarat, to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the iconic crystal house. As such, I was expecting a big, bold and proper perfume. Instead, I found the perfume to be highly sensual, and erotic…which makes this the perfect perfume to tempt your Valentine with.

Bone Rating: 4 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Oriental Floral
Nose: Francis Kurkdjian
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $300 for 70 ml Eau de Parfum

Sample courtesy of Twisted Lily Fragrance Boutique and Apothecary