Feminine | The Scented Hound

June 11, 2015
by The Scented Hound 7 Comments

Bottega Veneta Eau de Parfum

WHAT I SMELL: Bottega Veneta Eau de Parfum opens up light and sweet with an oh so pretty bergamot that’s sparkling and fizzy. The jasmine is lively and full of energy and it has an incredibly happy disposition. The projection of this delightful perfume is big and rather candied. But there’s a slight spice that keeps the candied aspects from going full-blown lollipop. There’s not a lot of morphing with the perfume, but the addition of patchouli brings another sweet tincture to the scent and the fragrance begins to become a bit more woody and it starts to flatten. There’s a high level of radiant projection here, but the patchouli begins to completely take over with a brush of musk. The perfume begins to dry with an oak moss powder, but the one spritz I applied begins to overpower. What started off a lovely, is now turning into a shouting superpower that’s too sweet, too artificial and too in your face. In the end, it does quiet down, but what promise there was in the beginning just makes me feel a bit tired. What else is there to say?!

From the Bottega Veneta website:

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A overpefumed cotton ball.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE BOTTEGA VENETA EAU DE PARFUM: overt, sweetened, billowing

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT BOTTEGA VENETA EAU DE PARFUM: Now Smell This, The Candy Perfume Boy, Olfactoria’s Travels

BOTTOM LINE: Boy, my nose missed the boat on this perfume. If you read the other reviews, there was a much more positive experience had by most. And the suede or leather aspects? I got nothing of the sort and I wore this several times to see if it was just the heat, humidity, my skin at the time, etc. I guess all perfumes are not equal when it comes to the wearer….especially in this case. But I have to say, it does come in a lovely bottle!

Bone Rating: 2 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Chypre Floral
Nose: Michel Almairic
Classification: Feminine
Expense: $115 for 50 ml Eau de Parfum

May 4, 2015
by The Scented Hound 10 Comments

A Goodnight Kiss by Roja Parfums

WHAT I SMELL: A Goodnight Kiss opens with a rush of aldehydes and a light powder which is like a quick wisp of a makeup brush. The opening is then quickly met with a lightly burnt floral which reminds me a bit of hairspray and of Lanvin Arpege which makes the perfume feel modernly old-fashioned and very familiar. A few minutes into the wear, the perfume becomes large and rather juicy, which is strange because there is nothing sweet nor fruity about the composition. However, the perfume is bursting at the seams with incredible florals which seem to dance around a maypole each making their way to the center. Most prevalent to me is the violet, but as soon as I say that the ylang, ylang comes into focus. In all, the florals while large, never veer from being contained and they’re very controlled and pretty in slightly masculine way. Soon enough a green powder comes into play, which takes the perfume back to the wisp of a makeup brush. In all, the perfume does feel like the many contents found on a vanity table. Finally, the masculine and lightly spiced florals then turn towards soft and cloudy when the perfume relaxes into a haze of comfort. A Goodnight Kiss is a perfume that is meant to leave a wake of a memory behind the wearer and it does so in the most beautiful of fashion.

From Roja Parfums:

Roja Dove owes his vocation to the kiss of a very special muse…“I remember vividly my mother coming to kiss me goodnight when I was about 6 years old. She was on her way out to a cocktail party and dressed in a gold lame dress, the light from the hallway illuminated her from behind, transforming her into an ethereal figure. It is an image that will always stay with me and the resonating smell of her face powder and perfume that lingered in the room once she had kissed me goodnight marked the beginning of my love for perfume” – Roja Dove

A Goodnight Kiss is the celebration of how precious a small exchange of affection can be, and the lasting effect it can have upon us. In a world where human contact is becoming increasingly digitised, the smallest acts of physical interaction seem more meaningful than ever before. The fragrant embodiment of humanity’s most intimate gesture — the soft, evanescent whisper of A Goodnight Kiss.

TOP NOTES: Aldehydes, Bergamot

HEART NOTES: Rose, Ylang Ylang, Jasmine, Orange Blossom, Carnation, May Flower, Violet

BASE NOTES: Green Accord, Cedarwood, Clove, Spice Notes, Rice Powder

DEEP BASE: Orris, Leather, Musk

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Perfectly named; a tender and loving goodnight kiss from mother to child.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE A GOODNIGHT KISS: memorable, comforting, thoughtful

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT A GOODNIGHT KISS: No other reviews found.

BOTTOM LINE: A Goodnight Kiss is a wonderful tribute to Roja Dove’s mother; and what is even more lovely in this intimate creation is that others, like myself, will immediately recognize the familiar scents revolving around a bygone era when dressing up on a Saturday night for your mother meant wearing her finest topped off by a silken gloves. To us, our mother’s were glamour embodied and A Goodnight Kiss captures this in the most magical of way.

Bone Rating: 4.5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Oriental Floral
Nose: Roja Dove
Classification: Feminine
Expense: $1,750 for 100 ml Parfum

August 19, 2012
by The Scented Hound 26 Comments

Mitsouko by Guerlain

Every once in a while there is a fragrance that for some reason calls to me like some siren song begging me to check it out. Mitsouko by Guerlain is one of those scents. I am certainly not the target market for this fragrance but that’s not going to stop me. Maybe it’s the bottle, it seems very old-fashioned and stylish, but whatever reason here it goes…

WHAT I SMELL: Mitsouko goes on herbal and medicinal, it’s very strong and rounded. It then moves into a warmer phase that is hard to describe, still herbal, a little sour and eucalyptus like with hints of Jasmine and Peach. Mitsouko’s drydown sits in this light and powdery spiced peachy understated chypre stage that is soft and subtle. I have to admit, this is really a hard fragrance to describe. The blended notes are masterfully composed into a scent that is very unusual and distinct.

From the Guerlain website:

Fruity chypre Mysterious, Balanced, Velvety. A masterpiece of balance and originality, Mitsouko marries a fruity note of peach with jasmine flowers and May rose. The mysterious dry-down of the fragrance blends spicy notes with those of underbrush and vetiver.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: When I first put this on, for some reason it reminded me of my dentist office growing up. Maybe someone there wore this or something similar or maybe it is that medicinal edge that first comes out. But at the time, the dentist office was already an older building from the 1930s so it had this kind of deco feel about it. Mitsouko also had that feeling of being from a bygone era. My hubby said it smelled like an old lady. I don’t know if I agree, but it definitely is a scent for the more mature.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE MITSOUKO: exotic, unique, full-bodied

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT MITSOUKO: Bois de Jasmin, I Smell Therefore I Am, Scentsate

BOTTOM LINE: I will revisit this scent again. I can’t say that I love it, but I do believe that Mitsouko has stood the test of time for almost 100 years for a very good reason. It’s not for everybody, but I know that if I wore this on the right day, it would be perfect.

Bone Rating: 3.5 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Chypre Fruity
Classification: Feminine
Expense: Varied, in EdT and EdP (review based on the EdP version)