fragrance | The Scented Hound

March 3, 2014
by The Scented Hound 24 Comments

Hard Leather by LM Parfums

Let me start off this post by saying that it’s not my intent to offend. So please forgive me if I do! OK, given that…

WHAT I SMELL: Back in the mid-to-late 90s a group of my friends would head down to New Orleans during the Labor Day holiday season. At that time of year, the heat and humidity are oppressive. Combine that with small bars that are packed to the rafters mixed with sweat and alcohol, our group line was that “New Orleans smells like ass!” Hard Leather “smells like ass.” Yes, the opening is about as fecal as I have ever smelled. It smells like the back of a dirty bar where the mix of leather, urine and all other kinds of debauched happenings are going on. Does that mean that Hard Leather is horrific? No, it’s just real. After around 20 minutes a light honey comes out which helps to break the “hard” from the hard leather. But don’t get me wrong, this is all leather, it’s just not quite as dirty as it was. After that, Hard Leather get’s just a tad sweeter with the inclusion of some vanilla. But just when I thought the progression was over, Hard Leather becomes dryer, rather smoky and it loses any hint of sweet, but it still remains all leather, there is no doubt!

From the LM Parfums website:

This fragrance opens with a masculine soaring of rum associated with leather tonalities. The heart reveals the elegance of iris supported by the intoxicating honey.

The rich and spicy base notes of sandalwood, cedarwood, oud, frankincense, styrax and vanilla exude strength and Styrax,Vanilla depth .

Top Notes: Rum, Leather
Heart Notes: Iris, Honey
Base Notes: Sandalwood, Cedarwood, Oud, Frankincense, Styrax,Vanilla

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A hot sweaty dance floor.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE HARD LEATHER: semi-tough, strapping, potent

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT HARD LEATHER: Kafkaesque

BOTTOM LINE: This is a Saturday night guys night out on the town kind of fragrance. I’m not sure where else I would wear this unless I added a layer of my favorite feminine floral fragrance on top to make it my own personal “angel with a dirty face” scent!

Bone Rating: 3.5 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Leather
Classification: Masculine
Expense: 295 Euros or approximately $400 for 100ml Parfum Extrait

Thanks to Kafkaesque and LM Parfums for the 10ml bottle I received via a Kafkaesque sample draw.

March 1, 2014
by The Scented Hound 13 Comments

Konig by Yosh

WHAT I SMELL: Zesty is what I call the opening of Konig…like a flash of light of bergamot and sugared apple. It’s very fresh and clean. Soon enough, the bright top layer begins to retreat but the apple remains, although it loses some of its sweetness. Underneath, there’s a layer of vetiver and musk that provides an almost fog or cloud like base for the floraled apple. Add to that some warm amber and Konig starts to become more rounded. After around 10 minutes or so, the fragrance becomes more woody, but still with this slightly candy appled goodness on top. But it doesn’t take long for the wood to turn into more of a firewood as the scent seems tinged around the edges with a lingering burnt wood. What I like about Konig is that it’s masculine, but not stuffy, nor over the top brutish, plus it has nice projection and some real lasting power.

From the Yosh website:

An homage to the king within, perfumer Yosh Han, introduces Konig, a dark charismatic elixir fit for royals of yesterday and mortals of today. Konig takes us to a deep, black Bavarian forest during the time of medieval kings.

Notes: aromatic bitters, sage, cypress, red apple, smoky papyrus, snow flowers, bois d’landes, vetiver, white musc, saddle leather, amber, firewood.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Maybe it’s the name and the inspiration behind it, maybe it’s because it’s quite masculine without being dark, or maybe it’s that I’m not feeling very creative at the moment, but I can’t help but think of Thor.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE KONIG: Semi-sharp, plentiful, confident

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT KONIG: CaFleureBon

BOTTOM LINE: I’ve recently been basking in the glory of feminine florals as of late. Konig is a nice change of pace without going down a completely different and darker path. I think Konig could have some pretty wide appeal.

Bone Rating: 3.5 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Floral Woody Aromatic
Nose: Yosh Han
Classification: Masculine
Expense: $130 for 50ml EdP

February 23, 2014
by The Scented Hound 8 Comments

New Release: Nocturnes (2013) by Caron

This review is based on the 2013 Nocturnes release that is part of the Caron La Selection collection of fragrances.

WHAT I SMELL: Nocturnes opens bright and beautiful and very similar to one of my all time favorites, Givenchy Ysatis. It’s bold with florals highlighted by gorgeous ylang-ylang and warmed rose with hints of pepper; although this is perfectly blended so that notes are hard to distinguish on their own. Soon enough the Ysatis like boldness upon first application starts to retreat and you start noticing the tuberose a bit more. But it’s a soft tuberose and one that’s rather comforting and pretty. The fragrance doesn’t change much after this except that the vetiver woodiness becomes more prominent. Nocturnes is pretty, close to the skin and an overall lovely surprise.

Nocturnes Notes: Top notes are orange, rose and neroli; middle notes are jasmine, tuberose and ylang-ylang; base notes are sandalwood, vetiver and musk.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A lilting melody.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE NOCTURNES: uncomplicated, pretty, endearing

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT NOCTURNES: Perfume Shrine. I can only find additional reviews for the older version of the fragrance.

BOTTOM LINE: I can’t say how this compares to the older version of the fragrance, but this is really quite pretty, but nothing groundbreaking. Nocturnes is the perfect fragrance for when you just want to feel content and happy as there’s nothing dark about this at all. It would be perfect for the office, or running errands in your jeans. I have read some complaints about the new Caron bottles that are part of the La Selection collection where people thought that the bottles were too boring and masculine. I think they’re better in person than in pictures. They’re simply designed, heavy in weight and the cap is magnetized so that it won’t fall off of the bottle. For me, the new bottles definitely work!

Bone Rating: 3.5 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Floral Woody Musk
Classification: Feminine
Expense: $126 for 100ml EdP