fragrance | The Scented Hound

July 13, 2015
by The Scented Hound 9 Comments

Nin-Shar by Jul et Mad Paris

WHAT I SMELL: Nin-Shar opens warm and lightly boozy with a creamed rose. It has a thick texture and a lovely milky radiance that when smelled warms the back of your throat. The perfume is lightly sweetened, but it can’t be called a sweet perfume. Instead, the rose, front and center, is wrapped around some beefy wood and an oud that blends masterfully with the rose rather than takes it over. Nin-Shar develops slowly as you wear it, but the nuances are so wonderfully subtle as not to jar the wearer. But what becomes a bit more predominant with the drydown is a cedar note that brings a marvelous natural note to the perfume. But after an hour or so, that cedar blends towards the back of the perfume. The perfume then adds a light layer of powder along with a very rounded juiciness to the mix providing for the perfect finishing touch to make this perfume the utmost in rose elegance. Overall the projection is impressive and the longevity is superb. Nin-Shar is a rose lover’s dream.

From the Jul et Mad website:

This very contrast is evoked in “Nin-Shar”. The purest and best quality absolute of Turkish Rose was employed here, revealing a rich, profound, strong, powerful multifaceted fragrance where soft, comforting, floral, powdery facets, intertwine with strong, green, balsamic, woody, earthy notes, a pure representation of the entire plant, from the soft, floral petals to the green leaves, stem and thorns, and all the way to the roots.

Top Notes: Bergamote, Liqueur de Rose, Essence de Davana
Middle Notes: Absolu de Rose Turque, Jasmin d’Egypte, Fraction Patchouli
Base Notes: Oud, Benjoin, Vanille Bourbon, Cèdre de Virginie, Santal, Absolu d’Encens

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A beautiful pink and cream-colored rose.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE NIN-SHAR: creamy, opulent, rapturous

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT NIN-SHAR: Colognoisseur, Chemist in the Bottle, Persefume

BOTTOM LINE: One of the three perfumes in the Les White collection, Nin-Shar is my favorite. But surprisingly enough, Nea, a fruity gourmand, which typically would not be something that I would normally gravitate to, comes a close second. But all in the collection are wonderful in their own right. I’m also not a big oud fan, but there is something about the rose-oud combination that is wonderful. On their own, the two notes can over dominate any perfume, but here they work their magic in perfect harmony.

Bone Rating: 4 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Oriental Woody
Nose: Sidnoie Lancesseur
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $190 for 50 ml parfum extrait

July 1, 2015
by The Scented Hound 5 Comments

New Release: Savage Garden by Thorn & Bloom

WHAT I SMELL: Savage Garden’s opening is warm and inviting yet cool to the skin and the florals are rapturous right from the first spritz. The herbal notes ground the florals making them more earthy and real. After a few minutes the mint begins to radiate making the perfume very comforting. Savage Garden is so grounded in nature that wearing it makes you feel like you’re in the middle of a garden even though you might be in the heart of the city. After some more time, a moistened soil comes into play and the perfume transforms from herbal to more green. This helps to lighten the initial radiating warmth. What was once more comforting is now more light and joyous. In the end, Savage Garden is just that, a wild garden full of herbs, spices and flowers that seem to transform with each step down a path. At times, it feels more floral and then it turns more herbal. Whatever step you take it really is a tranquil beauty of a stroll.

From the Thorn & Bloom website:

Verdant, cool and lush, this spring garden is brimming with unruly sensual delights. Creamy white narcotic blooms of Ylang Ylang andTuberose explode against a backdrop of tangled green foliage, minty herbs, damp earth and young wood. The bouquet is refreshingly vegetal, herbal, floral and earthy. Reminiscent of lilies in full bloom.

Notes: Bluegrass, Tarragon, Ylang Ylang, Tuberose, Vetiver, Orris Root, Sandalwood

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: The perfume is named perfectly…beautiful, untamed, with a new discovery around every turn of a path.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE SAVAGE GARDEN: herbal, natural, comforting

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT SAVAGE GARDEN: None found as of yet.

BOTTOM LINE: Jennifer Botto’s just launched new line of perfumes is a must for anyone who loves natural perfumes and for anyone who loves perfumes that feel like a work of art. Each perfume in the collection is unique and stunning in their own right. My other favorite in the line is Wild Rose. Where I always think that I have had enough of rose based fragrances, I am once again corrected! Jennifer’s introduction to the perfume world makes me excited as to what we’ll see of her in the future.

Bone Rating: 3.5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Floral
Nose: Jennifer Botto
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $200 for 30 ml or $65 for 7.5 ml Eau de Parfum (thank you Jennifer for the smaller sizes!)
Available exclusively at the Thorn & Bloom website.

Samples courtesy of Thorn & Bloom. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

June 22, 2015
by The Scented Hound 16 Comments

Afrika-Olifant by Nishane

WHAT I SMELL: Afrika-Olifant opens like an interesting incense and smoky mystery. I can’t help think of a wrestler walking through clouds of smoke at a WWE event as they walk in the arena. It’s spicy, rather sour and in your face without being heavy-handed. However, there’s a primal male sexuality that’s powerfully overt. The perfume screams SEX. After a few minutes, the leather makes it way in, but as if like a stranger snuck in through the back alley, come up behind you and you feel their presence but can’t see them. That initial rush of smoldering sex, starts to tone down after 10 minutes, but that doesn’t mean the perfume is any less provocative or subdued. The animalic, smoky, spiced and civet laden creation smolders like burning embers. The heat is there and if you get to close you’re going to get burned. After 30 minutes, the musk comes to the forefront, adding another layer of pure sex. Yes…this perfume is all about sex. And as I try to find in my mind descriptors, I just end up back with “damn this is pure sex.” In the end, Afrika-Olifant dries out to leave this layer of burning ash hinting at the power that came before but is now subtle, subdued, but still all that magnetic.

From the Nishane website:

Stimulates hidden desires… The fragrance opens with frankincense and myrrh. As animalic notes castoreum and civet settle down, leather and oud dominate the battlefield. Timid and audacious at the same time…

TOP NOTES: ambergris, frankincense, myrrhe, labdanum

HEART NOTES: castoreum, civet, leather, oud

BASE NOTES: muscenone, thibetone, muscone, civetone

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: As you can see from above, this perfume is all SEX. So many images conjure in my mind, but I’ll go for the G-rated version: the power, the leather, and the viral men of 300!

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE AFRIKA-OLIFANT: smoldering, sexy, primal

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT AFRIKA-OLIFANT: Fashion Lifestyle, Pierre de Nishapur

BOTTOM LINE: Afrika-Olifant is not an office scent and it’s not a fragrance for going on a picnic. It is for wearing when you’re out on the prowl or if you want to create an aura of mystery. In the end, the perfume leaves just enough of a trail to leave those around you wondering where that incredibly sexy smell is coming from. This is my first introduction to the Nishane line, a niche brand from Istanbul, but it won’t be my last because they have some incredible varying perfumes in the line. Duft Bluhten, an beautiful magnolia and gardenia creation is the polar opposite of Afrika-Olifant, but equally as wonderful. Actually, the pretty floral is probably more my style than this perfume which would be on my full bottle list if I was still single and needed to add a layer of testosterone to my Saturday night bar hopping wardrobe.

Bone Rating: 4 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Oriental
Nose: Jorge Lee
Classification: Classified as unisex, but to me, this is completely masculine.
Expense: $230 for 50 ml parfum extrait. Sold exclusively at Twisted Lily in the U.S.