EDP | The Scented Hound

September 20, 2013
by The Scented Hound 32 Comments

Sideris by Maria Candida Gentile

WHAT I SMELL: Sideris opens with a deep warm breath of saffron, incense and myrrh. It smells like it’s from another world; like it’s been around for ages only to reveal itself again. Sideris sits in a haze. You feel that it’s there, but somehow it exists in aura around you rather than directly on you. Sideris takes its time to transform and when it does, it doesn’t do so in a dramatic fashion. Everything is seamless and it mixes so perfectly that you can easily miss the differences; but they’re there. After about 30 minutes, the light sweetness of the rose makes a rather subdued appearance in a manner that you barely notice. To me this is not “rose,” but a veil of earthen rose shrouded by incense. Sideris then becomes more creamy and yet woody which sounds contradictory, but trust me it’s not. As Sideris continues to progress, the incense from the early stages starts to subside, and the benzoin starts to become prominent and along with the rose and sandalwood, the fragrance becomes a bit sweeter. Sideris is a fragrance that I feel like I just can’t give enough justice to… It’s all too beautiful and sometimes words are just too hard to convey.

Notes from the Maria Candida Gentile website:

Top notes: Incense, Cysts, Corsican Myrrh, White Pepper, Saffron

Heart notes: Turkish Rose, Rose Ayrshire Splendens

Base notes: Sandalwood, Benzoin, Waxed Woods

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Lady with a Fan by Spanish painter Diego Velázquez

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE SIDERIS: dreamy, serious, classical

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT SIDERIS: Scent for Thought, Cafleurebon, The Non-Blonde

BOTTOM LINE: Sideris is unique and incredibly beautiful. I’ve only been introduced to two of Maria Candida Gentile’s fragrances thus far, Cinabre and this. I have the feeling I need to explore some more.

Bone Rating: 4.5 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Aromatic Spicy
Nose: Maria Candida Gentile
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $180 for 100ml EdP

September 8, 2013
by The Scented Hound 16 Comments

Datura Noir by Serge Lutens

WHAT I SMELL: Opens with a bright and sweet tuberose which is very sunny and fresh. After a couple of minutes I detect light citrus with a bit of mint or maybe a slight incense. Whatever it is, it makes this more interesting in that its not just another sweet floral. After about 10 minutes, Datura Noir starts to even out and it becomes a bit creamy. There’s some meat to this beautiful flower as it seems to expand on the skin. After around 20 minutes I can detect a bit of apricot wrapped up in the flowered musk. The fragrance then becomes a bit deeper and richer in its complexity and as time goes on keeps growing in strength, with the almond making it’s appearance in almost a candied fashion which is probably because of a coconut note which adds an “Almond Joy” element to the fragrance. For an expansive period of time Datura Noir is a fragrance that does not know the meaning of shy. In the end though, Dratura Noir quiets down into a light musky tuberose that is comforting in a slightly sweet way.

Datura Noir Notes:

coconut, tuberose, tonka bean, almond, lemon blossom, mandarin orange, musk, chinese osmanthus, heliotrope, myrrh, vanilla and apricot

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Floral happiness.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE DATURA NOIR: rapturous, beautiful, inviting

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT DATURA NOIR: Smellythoughts, Kafkaesque, My Perfume Diaries

BOTTOM LINE: I found the following when I Googled Datura:

da·tu·ra , dəˈt(y)o͝orə/ noun: a shrubby annual plant with large trumpet-shaped flowers, native to southern North America. Daturas contain toxic or narcotic alkaloids and are used as hallucinogens by some American Indian peoples.

Given that, Datura Noir is neither hallucinogenic nor dark…but instead is a charming and intoxicating floral beauty which was a complete and pleasant surprise!

Bone Rating: 4 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Oriental Vanilla
Nose: Christopher Sheldrake
Classification: Unisex, but leans feminine
Expense: Varies for 50ml EdP

September 3, 2013
by The Scented Hound 20 Comments

Orlando by Jardins d’Ecrivains

WHAT I SMELL: Orlando, named after the title character from the Virginia Woolf novel of the same name opens with a combination of spicy orange and ginger. There’s almost a minty quality about the opening which quickly then moves into a mentholated stage as it’s deep and thick as you breath it in. I’ve never smelled camphoric patchouli like it is here. Amber is added to the progression, but it’s not warm and fuzzy, but instead is distant and at arm’s length. After around 20 minutes, Orlando becomes lighter and begins to even out with a woody consistency. There is a tang of sour from the gaiaic wood that comes to play and a musk creates a layer of haze over the composition. Around the 30 minute mark, out comes a urinous quality that doesn’t take away from the scent, but actually adds a bit of additional mystery. Orlando becomes lighter as it wears, but by no means does it disappear and it seems to rotate the notes each time you take a sniff; sometimes spicy, sometime musky, sometimes lighter, but never too wispy or demure.

From the Jardins d’Ecrivains website:

Jardins d’Ecrivains puts its own interpretation on the fascinating Virginia Woolf fantasy. An androgynous character with eternal youth, Lord Orlando in the Elizabethan era becomes Lady Orlando in the 18th century. Quirky blends with the eclectic and timeless in a spellbinding fragrance. Irrational dreams, an eastern monarchy and a sense of the divine linger in its wake. A unusual character comes through in the first notes, before the transcendent heart of the fragrance draws you in. And the warm, soft base notes convey its delicate spirit.

Olfactive pyramid:

Top notes : Orange – Pink peppercorn – Ginger

Middle Notes : Amber – Patchouly – Cloves

Base notes : Wood of Gaiac – Musk – Balsam of Peru

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Melancholy

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE ORLANDO: mysterious, conflicted, emotional

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT ORLANDO: Cafleurebon, BL’eauOG

BOTTOM LINE: Orlando is a strange perfume for me. It’s a fragrance that seems to draw some very primal emotions from inside me. It’s beautiful and pensive and is not something that I could ever wear on a daily basis. However, it’s the perfect fragrance for those quiet fall and winter days when you just want to retreat into your own private world. I was lucky enough to win a full bottle of Orlando from a draw on Cafleurebon, and its the first fragrance that I have ever tried from Jardins d’Ecrivains. If they are all this beautiful, I have to try the rest. Oh, and the bottle is perfection; simple, substantial and classic.

Bone Rating: 4 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Woody Spicy
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $110 for 100ml EdP, available at Beautyhabit.com