fragrance | The Scented Hound

July 14, 2014
by The Scented Hound 10 Comments

New Release: Eau de Magnolia by Frederic Malle

WHAT I SMELL: Eau de Magnolia opens with a lightly fizzy warmed bergamot. It’s rather sour and green, but that sour aspect retreats after around 10 minutes when the magnolia makes an entrance. The fragrance at this point is very light and wispy and is sweetened with a breath of patchouli. All of this seems to be sitting upon a dry woody base that feels like it’s pulling the moisture from the fragrance. After around 20 minutes the magnolia begins to radiate, but it’s contained and never reveals too much of itself. It’s also cool and feels rather removed and distant. After another 20 minutes, the coolness is replaced by some warmth, as if the afternoon begins to filter through the curtains to help lighten and heat up a dark room. In the end you’re left with this light and delicate muted floral that is infused by a interesting citrus component.

Eau de Magonlia notes from the Frederic Malle website:

Top note is Calabrian bergamot; middle notes are magnolia, vetiver and patchouli; base notes are cedar, moss and amber.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A fading southern beauty.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE EAU DE MAGNOLIA: somber, muted, fragile

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT EAU DE MAGNOLIA: Olfactoria’s Travels, CaFleureBon, Kafkasesque

BOTTOM LINE: Magnolia can be tricky to recreate; the floral effect can leave a perfume loud, artificial and cloying. Eau de Magnolia manages to escape that trajectory and instead takes it in a direction that is soft, haunting and full of melancholy. It’s pretty, but it’s a perfume that leaves me feeling rather sober.

Bone Rating: 3 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Floral
Nose: Carlos Benaim
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $175 for 50ml

July 7, 2014
by The Scented Hound 5 Comments

New Release: Aedes de Venustas Oeillet Bengale

WHAT I SMELL: Oeillet Bengale opens with a sparkling bergamot, followed very quickly by pepper and rose. It’s spicy, herbaceous and incredibly medicinal. The turmeric is pronounced along with the clove. Oeillet Bengale is all about the spice as it seems to be geared more towards being a herb mixture meant to put on grilled vegetables than something you would wear. At the same time, it smells like Band Aids that have been treated with some kind of built in medicine. The fragrance does pulse off the skin as if the heat of your body helps to make it radiate. You would think with this herbal spice combination that the fragrance would seem heavy, but it doesn’t. After around 20 minutes, the fragrance deepens a bit and it seems to slip down further into the spice. But there’s some light at the end of the tunnel as the drydown begins to feel more floral as it evens out and becomes slightly powdered and dry and tinged with incense. In the end, Oeillet Bengale turns into this exquisite spiced floral that has me completely entranced. You wouldn’t have guessed that from what I wrote just a few sentences before right?

From the Aedes de Venustas website:

A Flower on Fire. A rose that wants to be a carnation, set ablaze by an exotic spice explosion. Red petals turned black by frankincense.

Top Notes: bergamot, white pepper

Middle Notes: rose, black pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, saffron, turmeric, clove

Base Notes: Tolu balsam, labdanum, ylang-ylang, benzoin, vanilla

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Lucrezia Borgia. The spices and herbs brought from the east were used by her perfumer to create this exotic, beautiful, yet dangerous mix of mystery.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE OEILLET BENGALE: fascinating, spicy, incomparable

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT OEILLET BENGALE: Grain de Musc, CaFleureBon, Now Smell This

BOTTOM LINE: The first time I wore this all I got was a Band Aid smell and I really didn’t care for it. In subsequent wearings, I start off not caring for it, but then it weaved this spell on me and I find myself bewitched by it. Oeillet Bengale is complex, of great quality and a seducer. I just reviewed another fragrance by Rodrigo Flores-Roux, Arquiste L’Etrog Acqua…this it the exact opposite of that on every level and what an incredible addition to his line of creations.

Bone Rating: 3.5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Citrus Aromatic
Nose: Rodrigo Flores-Roux
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $240 for 100ml EdP

July 3, 2014
by The Scented Hound 14 Comments

New Release: Arquiste L’Etrog Acqua

WHAT I SMELL: L’Etrog Acqua opens with a fresh dewy lemon on top of a light cedar. It’s a relaxed and happy smell and rather dreamy and It radiates lightly off the skin. The fragrance soon moves into this semi sweet cedar with a light lavender, but it really is hard to distinguish notes as they blend so nicely. After around the 15 minute mark, the labdanum comes in to lower the tone of the fragrance making it warmer and more grounded. After a while more, the fragrance starts to dry out, becoming more woody, but thankfully still retaining this slightly sweetened tinge which gives it just an extra something special. L’Etrog Acqua does not project a great deal, but it’s one of those fragrances that when someone gets close in to you they’ll let you know that you smell incredible.

From the Arquiste website:

Early Morning, October 1175, Calabria, Italy. The cool night air dissipates under the sun’s first rays. The ripe citrus in the field has absorbed all the water of the morning dew and the farmers are ready to work on the misty green fields, speckled by the bright yellow of the citron. They leave their woody cabin and take a deep breath…

Notes include: Myrtle leaf, Calabrese Cedrat, Sicilian Lemon, Italian Mandarin, Petitgrain Citronnier, Bergamot, Mediterranean Lavender, Labdanum, Cedar wood, Vetiver.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Flirtation. There is a subtle sexiness about it.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE L’ETROG ACQUA: easy, gentle, comfortable

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT L’ETROG ACQUA: CaFleureBon, Chemist in a Bottle, Colognoisseur

BOTTOM LINE: L’Etrog Acqua is a nicely done and easy to wear fragrance that is perfect for when you’re in the mood for a no fuss, no muss, easy to wear perfume. I do like it better than the original L’Etrog which I found to be a rather undistinguishable citrus scent. This has the citrus, but it also has just a bit of something extra to make it a cut above the original.

Bone Rating: 3.5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Citrus Aromatic
Nose: Rodrigo Flores-Roux
Classification: Unisex, but to me leans more masculine
Expense: $190 for 100ml EdP