EDP | The Scented Hound

December 31, 2014
by The Scented Hound 13 Comments

Land of Warriors by The Vagabond Prince

In the past year I have shied away from doing negative reviews. As such, if I find that I am confronted with something that I don’t care for I typically toss the sample aside and move on to something else. This is why the number of one and two bone rated perfumes is much smaller than the three to five bone rating categories. Well, since it’s the last day of the year, I thought I could end on a low note which means that the first review of 2015 can only go up from there. So here it goes…

Chaps ala Borat

WHAT I SMELL: Land of Warriors opens quickly with a nice sueded leather that’s topped with blackcurrant. It’s very nicely finished and crisp for a leather. However, it doesn’t take long for the leather to begin to bloom. Where the opening began with a sueded leather, the morphing leather has become salty and sharpened with something that can only be described to me as a chemical peel. It feels as if layers of leather are being folded back from the middle of the fragrance. There’s an herbal vibe that feels like a force field that sits above the fragrance that makes the fragrance more earthy. But soon enough the leather morphs once again, becoming bigger and with some added skank. It seems to move back and forth between smelling like a pair of used leather chaps that have consumed too much sweat and bodily fluids to some kind of 1980s big hair “look at me now” fragrance that wants to be tough, but instead it just screams “I’m trying too hard.”

A big hair warrior princess

Once again, Land of Warriors morphs and this time moves into a lightly boozy, hazy and smoky phase. Thankfully, at this point the fragrance feels more finished rather than raw. But just when I think that it’s going to become a pussycat on me, it turns into a chemical bomb that when sniffed, it scratches the back of my throat and it becomes all too big, tarry and biting. After an hour or so, the perfume becomes a smoky, hazy leather cloud that’s not quite the brute that it wants to be, but is still manages to a chemically enhanced leather punch.

From Fragrantica:

Land of Warriors pays homage to leather notes with a transversal and vertical presence of leather through all the different accords. The juicy top note is at once green, fresh and tart with the combined presence of pomegranate, blackcurrant, juniper, cucumber and violet leaf. The distinctive freshness of the top note is reinforced by the hefty dose of rum, an intoxicating note linked directly to the inclusion of celebrated oakwood absolute.

vegetal leather: angelique seed, violet leaf, cucumber accord reinforced by tomato leaf,blackcurrant leaf;

mineral and spicy leather: oakwood, frankincense, davana, cistus absolute, saffron effect, nutmeg, oregano;

animalic leathery effect: castoreum absolute, ambergris accord;

smoky leathery effect: styrax pyrogéné, tar.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Skanky chaps + 80s big hair + smoke and haze = I’m confused

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE LAND OF WARRIORS: chemicaled, confused, deliberate

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT LAND OF WARRIORS: None to be found.

BOTTOM LINE: There’s a good fragrance hidden inside of Land of Warriors, unfortunately it’s buried somewhere in there and it can’t get out. I have to admit that I am not the biggest fan of leather fragrances, but this is a chemical bomb to me that’s so manufactured and artificial that it makes it rather hard for me to connect to it. I guess if there’s a positive note to this it’s that I may not like the perfume, but the Vagabond Prince bottles are wonderful works of art!

Bone Rating: 2.5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Woody Aromatic
Nose: Bertrand Duchaufour
Classification: Masculine
Expense: $200 for 100ml Eau de Parfum

December 29, 2014
by The Scented Hound 7 Comments

Bottega Veneta Knot

WHAT I SMELL: Knot is immediately cool to the skin and the opening is this refreshing mix of citrus and lavender. It’s clean, fresh and light and irresistibly pretty. After 10 minutes or so the musk and Tonka joins the mix to provide a bit of sour which soon dissipates to create more of a clean haze. The fragrance which started off light and pretty has moved slightly warmer to reveal a more sensual side with the lovely comforting florals sitting front and center. As it further develops, the fragrance becomes a lightly powdery, musky and pretty comfort scent.

From the Bottega Veneta website:

Exotic and refreshing notes of clementine intertwine with a delicate heart of soothing lavender, the rich floral accord of rose and the lingering sensuality of peony essence, evoking the unforgettable breeze of the Italian Riviera on a sultry summer evening. An enigmatic base note of uplifting musk and Tonka absolute adds a passionate and lingering texture.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Dining alfresco under the stars and pretty lights on a warm summer’s eve.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE KNOT: pretty, dreamy, breezy

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT KNOT: Bois de Jasmin, Thirteen Thoughts, The Smelly Vagabond

BOTTOM LINE: Knot is a nice, easy to wear perfume that can easily take your mind off the doldrums of winter. I normally don’t care of clean musk fragrances, but the musk is carefully controlled and doesn’t completely dominate the perfume. Oh, and I love the bottle too; a great design.

Bone Rating: 3.5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Floral
Nose: Daniela (Roche) Andrier
Classification: Feminine
Expense: $125 for 1.7 oz. Eau de Parfum

December 22, 2014
by The Scented Hound 9 Comments

Shangri La by Hiram Green

For me, there are few fragrances that I am introduced to that end up receiving a 5 bone review. This past year, perfumer Hiram Green’s Moon Bloom was one of those fragrances that did. I had heard so many wonderful things about Moon Bloom and was late the game in checking it out, but it was well worth the wait. So when I found out that Hiram was launching his second creation, I had to be front and center to check it out. But before I get into my review, I posed a few questions to Hiram:

Hiram Green

The Scented Hound: From what I read, Shangri-La was inspired by the Coty fragrance of the same name (Coty Chypre). What motivated you to create this homage?

Hiram Green: I was experimenting with a variety of different materials, once I started to picture a Shangri La paradise in my head, the Chypre accord developed intuitively. I did not set out purposely to create this homage, it just happened.

The Scented Hound: Moon Bloom, your freshman effort was a critical success. Was it intimidating at all developing Shangri-La knowing that you set the expectations so high for your sophomore release?

Hiram Green: It was very intimidating launching Moon Bloom. I am a bit more relaxed with Shangri La. I feel that many of the people who enjoyed Moon Bloom should find similar qualities in Shangri La.

The Scented Hound: What’s on the horizon for Hiram Green next?

Hiram Green: I am always working on new fragrances. Nothing is quite yet finished. Are there any fragrances that you or anyone else would like to see from me? (see the Hound’s response in the Bottom Line section).

On to the review…

WHAT I SMELL: Shangri La opens with this curiously warmed citrus which seems tinged with a bit of clove. The fragrance is prickly to the nose with a peach note that’s rather jammy without being thick. There’s a mulled spice aspect about the composition that exchanges rounds between being more floral and then once again becoming more spiced. After around 20 minutes, the tonality of the fragrance begins to find its middle ground between the floral and the spice and Shangri La at this point feels herbal, as if it’s a special and mysterious creation that’s housed in an unassuming pouch made of burlap, leather and twine. After some more time, the herbs and spices are met with just a hint of light sugar or sweetened floral. It’s not until around the 45 minute mark that you really start to get wrapped up in the dust of the oakmoss which makes for a wonderful haze to base the spiced florals on. But just when you think that the fragrance is going to settle in to its final phase, the peach note really comes forth and it’s a bit dirty and roughened. In the end, Shangri La remains this dusty spiced peach of a perfume.

From the Hiram Green website:

Almost one hundred years after Francois Coty defined the chypre genre with a perfume of the same name, Hiram Green presents his adaptation of this classic accord. Named after the fictional land described in James Hilton’s novel Lost Horizon, Shangri La evokes a mystical fragrant paradise.

Shangri La opens with a sharp burst of citrus, followed by a rich bouquet of peach, jasmine, rose, iris and spices, all anchored by an earthy base of vetiver and oakmoss.

Lost Horizon – 1937

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Hiram Green named his perfume well…Shangri La.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE SHANGRI LA: mysterious, spiced, dusty

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT SHANGRI LA: Colognoisseur, Kafkaesque, Cafleurebon

BOTTOM LINE: Mr. Green’s second creation is wonderful and there is a quality and underlying spice that ties it to Moon Bloom and it is distinctively his. As far as I can tell from these first two fragrances, he can’t do any wrong so I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next…but I do have my weakness for big white florals, I would probably love it if he came up with a head spinning jasmine!

Bone Rating: 3.5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Chypre
Nose: Hiram Green
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $165 for 50ml Eau de Parfum

Sample courtesy of Hiram Green.