fragrance | The Scented Hound

April 15, 2012
by The Scented Hound 9 Comments

L’Etrog by Arquiste

I had high hopes for my first foray into the line of Arquiste perfumes which launched this past year. Unfortunately, L’Etrog does not generate a great deal of enthusiasm in me. This is not a bad fragrance, it’s just a nice fragrance. Upon application, you receive a nice rush of citrus. Like most citrus scents, it’s clean and fresh. The sharpness of the citrus quickly moves to the background and you are what I am assuming is the date fruit that is listed in the notes. This scent is very familiar to me. It doesn’t remind me of anything specific, but that means I can’t really distinguish it from other like-minded scents. Unfortunately, after a couple of hours this really just vanished on me. I am still holding out hope for some of the other Arquiste fragrances as I’m a hopeless optimist.

Notes include: Etrog citron, Calabrese Cedrat, Myrtle, Date Fruit, Vetivert

Bone Rating: 3 out of 5 possible bones
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $165 for 55ml EDP

April 14, 2012
by The Scented Hound 2 Comments

Colonia Assoluta In Villa by Acqua di Parma

In Villa has been sitting on my shelf for several years. It’s has remained in the back of my collection for a long time. I thought I should dust off the bottle and give it another chance. There are a couple of things to note about this fragrance:

1. It comes with a bulb atomizer. If my recollection is correct, that was a huge selling point. It seems very glamorous. The reality is that it’s awkward to use.

2. This only comes in 200ml bottles. As a result, I have enough of In Villa to last 2 lifetimes.

OK, past that, what does In Villa smell like? It’s green. When applied, you get hints of citrus, and lots of cypress. The citrus quickly disappears and you just get the cypress. I am confused a bit, because the notes list cedar and to me cedar is more woody than green and as such, I think cypress, not cedar. According to the Acqua Di Parma website, this scent is rounded off with warm spicy notes. These spicy notes help to balance out the green to lessen the sharpness of the scent. In Villa is a very old-fashioned scent. It reminds me of scents from the 1970’s and has hints of barber shops smells. It’s pretty linear, lasts a long time and is a cologne that will not offend. That said, I find it a bit boring. Would I purchase this again (if I didn’t have a 200ml bottle)? Probably not.

In Villa Notes:

Top notes: lemon, bitter orange, bergamot, and cardamom
Middle notes: chilli pepper, jasmine, ylang ylang and rose
Base notes: white musk and cedar

Bone Rating: 3 out of 5 possible bones
Classification: Unisex, but leans masculine
Expense: $160 for 200ml Eau de Cologne

March 2, 2012
by The Scented Hound 7 Comments

The Dilemma – 15% off

For all of us who love fragrances, the ultimate dilemma is whether we should or should not spend our hard-earned money on purchasing new scents when we already have an extensive collection that could last us for a lifetime. But when we find out that one of our favorite retailers of high-end fragrances has a 15% off online promotional code, the tug of war really comes to the surface. I found out that MiN New York presently has a 15% off promotional code that as far as I know, has no expiration date. So that means it could be good for one day or one month. In looking at the store’s online selections I am wringing my hands trying to decide of I should purchase a 50 ml bottle of Penhaligon’s LP No. 9. Now, I haven’t ever sampled this fragrance and have only read reviews, but sometimes it’s just fun to purchase something sight unseen. In the past when I have done this I’ve been happy with my purchases, with a few exceptions. Of course there is more to this story. As I hadn’t added anything to my collection since Valentines Day (ok, I know that was only 3 weeks ago… but that was a gift), after sampling Ambra Nera by Farmacia SS. Annunziata dal 1561, I found that I was craving this fragrance so much that I went ahead and purchased a full bottle. As I type this, it’s on the UPS truck making its way across the country. So do I really need another purchase? No. Do I really want to make another purchase? Yes. Should I make another purchase????? Thoughts?