The Scented Hound

Perfume blog with abbreviated perfume reviews & fragrance reviews.


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New Release: Mojave Ghost by Byredo

Byredo Mojave GhostWHAT I SMELL:  Mojave Ghost has a sweetened and slightly sour tangy opening that’s bright and slightly warmed, like the warmth from sheets drying on a clothesline in the sun.  There’s something very sheer and clean about the fragrance and it’s also relatively sweet but in a floral sense, not in a sugary way. There are no distinguishing notes that I can detect as it’s blended seamlessly.  As it develops, the slight warmth that was once present, disappears and instead a coolness, like a subtle breeze moves in.  After around 30 minutes, Mojave Ghost starts to lift in its projection, but only in the way that it starts to slightly swirl off the skin as if you’ll catch a whiff as another breeze comes through.  The musk, combined with a lightest of amber make for crisp base for the pretty florals.  Mojave Ghost doesn’t transform or change much, but it is a fragrance that seems to swirl off the skin like it’s lifting to greet you like a desert spirit.  Longevity is good, but this is a skin scent that is primarily meant for you and your inner shaman.

Ghost Flower

Ghost Flower

From the Byredo website:

In the xeric wilderness of the Mojave Desert, trees and vegetation more ancient than many civilizations defy conditions that prey on human vulnerability.  The Ghost Flower is a rare species that dares to bloom above this baked, hard ground.  Despite its arid surroundings and inability to produce nectar, the Ghost Flower or Mohavea Confertiflora, maintains its perfect, majestic beauty and thrives year after year.  In an astonishing feat of ingenuity, the flower uses mimicry to attract the pollinators of a neighboring plant species by developing markings that resemble those of a female bee genus attracted to its subject and duping the male bee into following suite.  This moving human-like behavior and captivated tale of survival lies int he foundation that inspired “Mojave Ghost,” an homage to this most bewitching flower.

Mojave Ghost notes:

Top:  Ambrette, Jamaican Nesberry

Heart: Violet, Sandalwood, Magnolia

Base:  Chantilly Musk, Crisp Amber, Cedarwood

Mojave Desert Morning

Mojave Desert Morning

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME:  For me, this perfume is named perfectly.  However, this is not the Mojave Desert of high noon.  Instead, it’s the desert as it quietly awakens from a cool evening, ready to once again spring to life.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE MOJAVE GHOST:  windswept, delicate, haunting

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT MOJAVE GHOST:  No reviews found thus far.

BOTTOM LINE:  Mojave Ghost is different from anything else out there.  It’s a clean, sheer and pretty floral that although light, isn’t dainty or feminine.  And the name, Mojave Ghost, is perfect in its naming convention – in two words, it clearly sets the tone for the fragrance.

  • Bone Rating: 3.5 out of possible 5 bones
  • Scent: Oriental Floral
  • Classification: Unisex
  • Expense: $145 for 50ml EdP, via Barneys or the Byredo website

Perfume courtesy of Byredo.


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New Release: Black Flower Mexican Vanilla and the Launch of Dame Perfumery Scottsdale

Dame Perfumery LogoI guess it’s only fitting that on Labor Day I should write about one of the hardest working men in the fragrance industry, Jeffrey Dame.  Together with his son, Cullen, they have founded Dame Perfumery Scottsdale.  Jeffrey’s roots are deep within the fragrance industry.  Over 35 years ago he started his perfumery career in the buying office at Neiman-Marcus in Dallas and spent a few decades in New York and Paris working in fragrance for Estee Lauder, Parfums Caron Paris and with the American fashion designers Oscar de la Renta, Bill Blass and Geoffrey Beene to name a few.  So it’s not surprising that this new venture has culminated with him combining his knowledge and love of fragrance with his love of family.

Dame Perfumery Collection of 6 Eau de Toilette Fragrances

Dame Perfumery’s Collection of 6 Eau de Toilette Fragrances

As part of the initial collection, Dame Perfumery has launched six creations for women, all of which are eau de toilettes and all of which are designed with a bright top note, a pretty floral heart and a warm sensual drydown.  Just this past August, the monthly perfume subscription service Olfactif offered all six as an exclusive preview:

  • Mate, Heliotrope & Patchouli
  • Pear, Waterlily & Amber
  • Verbena, Freesia & Musk
  • Cassis, Rose & Sandalwood
  • Passion Fruit, Orange Blossom & Vetiver
  • Peach Blossom, Violet & Vanilla

Of course, I have a favorite among the group;  the Cassis, Rose and Sandalwood.  Who can’t resist a sparking rose and deep juicy cassis??!

What I find refreshing about these perfumes is that Jeffrey Dame’s philosophy on perfume shines through with these creations.  He doesn’t abide by the thought that perfume is art.  Instead, he believes that perfume is pleasure and that perfumes are meant to be worn and enjoyed and not meant to be worshipped.  I can’t agree more.

And as if introducing six fragrances into the world isn’t enough to kick off the perfumery’s launch, Dame Perfumery also launched Black Flower Mexican Vanilla which is a more unisex composition and very different from the other offerings.  Here’s my view on this fantastic vanilla fragrance:

Dame Perfumery Black Flower Mexican Vanilla

Dame Perfumery Black Flower Mexican Vanilla

WHAT I SMELL:   Black Flower Mexican Vanilla opens with a vanilla and caramel almost cocoa’d opening that’s rather nutty and gourmand.  It’s strange that in one sense the fragrance is dry and peppered, but then again I’ll take another sniff of my wrist and the fragrance appears to be more rich, smooth, creamy and exotic.  Be it peppery and dry or smooth and creamy, the one thing that is consistent with the fragrance is that it’s vanilla richness without the sweetness.  After around 10 minutes, flecks of pepper dot the fragrant landscape as the florals begin to make an appearance. The florals are pretty without becoming too feminine and as they begin to develop the fragrance becomes more radiant and the sweetness from both floral notes and vanilla make for a delightful dance.  As the drydown continues, the fragrance continues to soften and retreats to a light vanilla floral dream that is dry and somewhat powdery.

Black Flower Mexican Vanilla notes:  vanilla absolute with touches of lemon, grapefruit, caramel, nutmeg, gardenia, jasmine, sandalwood, patchouli, vetiver, musk and tonka.

A Mexican Dream

A Mexican Dream

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A Mexican dream.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE BLACK FLOWER MEXICAN VANILLA:  smooth, woody, subdued

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT BLACK FLOWER MEXICAN VANILLA:  The Muse in Wooden Shoes

BOTTOM LINE: Vanilla has a tendency to wear me out as it can easily become overbearing and sweet.  Here, the vanilla is blended nicely with the florals so even though there is a sweetness about the perfume, it can’t be labeled as “sweet.”   And for being 90 degrees today, the fragrance seems to be working, another big feat for a vanilla fragrance because I usually find they work best in cooler temperatures.  Black Flower Mexican Vanilla is a Mexican beauty for sure.

Earlier, I mentioned that Dame Perfumery is a family affair.  Not only is Jeffrey Dame’s son part of this endeavor, his father V. Dave Dame is Dame Perfumery’s Artist in Residence and was the creator of the artwork for Black Flower Mexican Vanilla.  I believe that this family collaboration is going to be making some great waves in the industry and I look forward more to come, including the intriguing sounding Hatch New Mexico Chili fragrance that they will be launching later this year.

All of the fragrances listed above can be found on the Dame Perfumery Scottsdale website!


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Cristina by Hilde Soliani

CristinaWHAT I SMELL:  Cristina’s note are all there upon opening…sweet creamy vanilla, labdanum and patchouli.  The fragrance feels as if it’s a big juicy gourmand cake that’s all thick and rich.  Very quickly, an incense is added to the mix along with a resinous spice.  After the initial cake like opening, Cristina becomes hazy, smoky, spicy and somehow familiar, yet different.  As it begins to drydown, the fragrance becomes dryer and more earthy.  And after around 30 minutes a salty accord adds a rather sweaty and natural component which makes it feel more real. In the end, the fragrance becomes woody and dry, with the incense just hovering above the labdanum. The development overall is not complex, but it feels like a fragrance that has a story to tell.  The only real downside to Cristina is the longevity; after around an hour, it pretty much becomes a very light skin scent.

Cristina Notes: patchouli, labdanum, vanilla

Sophia Loren in WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME:  Sophia Loren in 1960’s Two Woman (La Ciociara).  Her heartbreaking Academy Award winning performance about a woman and her daughter in war-torn Italy in WWII supports this earthy, worn, smoky and haunting perfume.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE CRISTINA: ominous, storied, melancholy

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT CRISTINA:  Now Smell This, Bloody Frida

BOTTOM LINE:  I was always curious about the Hilde Soliano line, especially the Gli Invisibili series depicting a female saint on a cross with an angel kneeling by her side which is bizarrely and intriguingly different from a branding standpoint.  Overall this is good, but is similar to two Maria Candida Gentile perfumes, Exultat and Sideris which I believe are executed a little better with more longevity and projection.

  • Bone Rating: 3 out of possible 5 bones
  • Scent: Oriental Woody
  • Nose:  Hilde Soliani
  • Classification: Unisex
  • Expense: $160 for 100ml EdP