EDP | The Scented Hound

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.

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

February 1, 2016
by The Scented Hound 6 Comments

Ex Nihilo Venenum Kiss

WHAT I SMELL: Venenum Kiss (poison kiss) opens with a saffron laden ripened fruit. The perfume is fleshy and thick, and it feels like fruit that’s ready to fall off the limb of a tree with the weight of the rotting juice. That’s not a bad thing, it’s just very narcotic and rather fermented. Or in other words, it is forbidden-fruit in the best sense of the word. Overall, the perfume is warm, radiant and seductive. And as the perfume develops, the rose and the sandalwood come forward with a soured and sharpened melding of forces. What once was more seductive and fruited, is now more of a poisoned arrow; still beautiful and seductive, but it feels more deadly. As the perfume continues to morph, the sharpened edges soften, but not by much as the vanilla base continues to provide a sweetened, oudish bounty of menace. And in the end, it’s all topped off with a bit of incense, making it all so very seductive.

From the Ex Nihilo website:

VENENUM KISS, a sensual and sophisticated liquor with hints of candied apricot and vanilla.

The strong and intense feel of an electric night in the Orient…
The women are wearing their evening perfume, in their wakes, a veritable storm of scents.
Wherever you go at night, you succumb to this same hypnotic smell.

TOP: Neroli, Saffron, Nutmeg

HEART: Rose absolute, Davana, Amber

BASE: Vanilla, Styrax, Sandalwood

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: The sin of desire.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE VENENUM KISS: sinful, dangerous, fleshy

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT VENENUM KISS: Colognoisseur

BOTTOM LINE: Venenum Kiss is named perfectly. The perfume is decadent, poisonous and it feels predatory and rather deadly. It also reminds me a bit of Armani Prive’ Cuir Noir, except that Venenum Kiss feels a lot more dangerous and over the top. Venenum Kiss is NOT an office scent and it would have to be worn on just the right occasion. Perfect when you want to bring out your deviled horns.

Bone Rating: 4 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Oriental
Nose: Quentin Bisch
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $225 for 50 ml Eau de Parfum.

Sample courtesy of Lucky Scent.