fragrance | The Scented Hound

July 17, 2012
by The Scented Hound 10 Comments

Ciel Man by Amouage

It’s always a good sign when you walk into the office and no sooner than you sit at your desk a co-worker comes over and says to you, “you always smell great, but today, whatever you’re wearing is incredible.” To me, Ciel is not groundbreaking, but it’s a very well crafted fragrance that is easy to wear and offers incredible quality. But I just had a feeling that someone was going to compliment me on wearing it. Maybe I’m psychic?!

WHAT I SMELL: Ciel introduces itself with a refreshing blast of bergamot. This is a scent that will wake you up if you’re a bit sleepy. Listed as part of the top notes are rose and lily of the valley. I’m not getting much rose, but I can sense the lily of the valley behind the bergamot. As it wears a bit, the frankincense starts to become more prominent.

As I was driving to work, what I noticed about Ciel is that it was almost two scents in one. From a distance, it smelled incredibly fresh, almost breezy. But as my arm would get nearer to my nose, that freshness was taken over by the incense which made what seemed to be a simple scent into something that was more mysterious, complex and spicy (and a little sour, but not in a bad way). It stays in this middle phase for a long time and this is where the fragrance resided when I received my lovely compliment.

In the end the fragrance settles into a nice and comfortable, slightly bitter sandalwood. For an Amouage scent the longevity is average, but the sillage is good.

From the Amouage website:

This fragrance bursts alive with the freshness of rich floral scents. Like a rain shower on a hot summer’s day it cools and invigorates. Using the intensity of silver frankincense and sensual woods it leaves an inner sense of serenity and softness, reflecting the warmth of the sun.

Top notes: rose, bergamot, lavender, lily of the valley.

Heart notes: peach, jasmine, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, orange blossom.

Base notes: frankincense, vetiver, patchouli, cedarwood, sandalwood.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A very masculine and powerful almost metallic fragrance that epitomizes strength without being unapproachable.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE CIEL MAN: modern, traditional, mysterious

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT IO CIEL MAN: Launched in 2003, I didn’t find any bloggers with recent reviews. Comments can be found on Basenotes and Fragrantica.

Bone Rating: 4 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Aromatic Spicy
Classification: Masculine
Expense: $265 for 100ml EdP

July 15, 2012
by The Scented Hound 5 Comments

Io Capri by Carthusia

WHAT I SMELL: Mint, mint and more mint. Refreshing at first, the mint is sparkling. The sparkle then diminishes and you are left with more of an herby peppermint. The scent then moves slowly into a green tea phase where it resides for the remainder. I’m not really picking up the fig. Io Capri disappeared on me in less than 2 hours; that’s way too quick.

Io Capri notes: citric notes, fig, tea

From the Carthusia website:

Dedicated to the goddess in whose honor Tiberius built the most important of the imperial villas on Capri, “I” is a dynamic and decisive melange, sophisticated, modern design that combines ripe and sweet notes of wild fig tree happy and inspiring to those of the tea leaves .

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: The mint reminds me of mint flavored dental floss or mint flavored toothpicks. It’s OK for dental care, but I’m not sure if it’s how I want to smell.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE IO CAPRI: minty, light, simple

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT IO CAPRI: Now Smell This

BOTTOM LINE: Poor longevity and sillage make this rather disappointing. It feels right for summer, but if you’re looking for a good summer fig fragrance, I recommend Fico di Amalfi Blu Mediterraneo by Acqua di Parma.

Bone Rating: 2.5 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Aromatic
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $85 for 50ml EDT (also available in EDP version)

July 11, 2012
by The Scented Hound 13 Comments

Keiko Mecheri at the Beach

My hubby Mark and I had a wonderful trip to the beach this past weekend. Getting away for a little sun and fun for four days was the perfect way to re-charge our batteries. Rehoboth Beach, DE is nice from the standpoint that it’s small enough so that it isn’t too crazy and crowded, but its big enough to have some fun shops and great restaurants. I now have a nice tan and about five extra pounds around my waist thanks to good eating and drinking.

As mentioned in my last post, Rehoboth Beach also has a niche perfumery, Penny Lane Perfumes. For such a small town, this is a great treat. As it’s been a few years since being in Rehoboth and this was my first trip to Penny Lane Perfumes. I’ll be back.

The Penny Lane Scent Bar

Mark and I sauntered into the store mid-afternoon on Sunday after being out on the beach for most of the day. When we arrived, we were greeted warmly by Cassandra, who manages the store. The store’s not big, but it’s perfectly setup with a scent bar and some beautiful displays. Once I got over my initial excitement of being there (which means that I acted like I had major ADHD by getting distracted by shiny bottles, etc.), we sat down at the bar and got down to business. As we were the only two in the store at the time, we let Cassandra lead us down the road to various fragrance families, starting with florals, then moving too some citrus scents, etc. Again as I was being ADHD, I was ready to start purchasing at first sniff!

The lovely Cassandra

In all, Cassandra sat with us for about 2 hours. By the time we were finished sniffing,my nose and throat were raw. But I could live with that. We had a wonderful time and we felt very special by the wonderful treatment we received. So you are asking yourselves, “what did you buy?”. We’ll I’m almost to that point. Both Mark and I ended up finding 3 fragrances that we wanted to test before we purchased:

Mark’s choices:

L’eau Froide by Serge Lutens
Sanguine by Keiko Mecheri
Grand Siecle by Parfumerie Generale

Steve’s choices:

Damascena by Keiko Mecheri
Vanilla et Coco by E. Cordray
Brulure de Rose by Parfumerie Generale

Are we in Paris?

After spritzing ourselves with our three choices, we headed over to the Mexican Restaurant down the block for happy hour priced Margaritas (which means that we had more than one each). We sat at the bar sniffing each other’s arms, trying to decide which we liked best. The bartender gave us a strange stare until we let her in on what we were doing and she joined in and gave us her opinions. After about an hour, we trekked back to Penny Lane Perfumes and told Cassandra what we decided on. To our surprise, we both fell in love with our respective Keiko Mecheri fragrances!

In all, it was a great and fun experience. And here’s a tip for all perfumistas; you’ll never feel guilty about spending money on fragrance if you include your spouse in your excursion! Thanks again to Cassandra for her wonderful assistance. If you ever get a chance to get to Rehoboth Beach, DE, be sure to check them out!

Well let’s get down to the nitty-gritty, why did I choose Damascena? here’s my review:

WHAT I SMELL: Damascena isn’t a complex fragrance. When first applied, it seems rather sweet and a little herbaceous. That sweetness is punctuated by juicy black current. It remains in this stage for some time. It’s almost edible without being heavy and it’s fresh and fruity without being artificial. As it dries, out comes the rose. It’s a modern rose that’s light and slightly sweet. It’s funny though, each time I wear this, it takes on a slightly different tonality. On the first day I wore this it reminded me a great deal like Kilian’s Rose Oud in its drydown. For men, some rose scents can come across as too feminine and some may argue that Damascena may as well. To me, I believe that it can work for both men and women alike.

Damascena Notes from Keiko Mecheri website: Dades Rose, May Rose, berries notes, musk

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: When it first goes on, Damascena reminds me of a lovely garden; but a garden that’s not too formal or tended. In the garden, the roses and currents are a bit wild and overgrown and are fragrant in the morning sun and dew. The sweetness of the scent is pure happiness and joy.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE DAMASCENA: fruity, sweet, fresh

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT DAMASCENA: Raphaella’s Roses