fragrance | The Scented Hound

April 20, 2015
by The Scented Hound 7 Comments

Vintage Dior Diorling

WHAT I SMELL: Dior Diorling opens green, dry, mossy and quite powdery. It has a vintage feel, but at the same time feels easily modern. I can’t tell if the top notes are somewhat lost, but the florals are incredibly well blended. They’re deep, rather beefy and they feel very structured and firm. As with Miss Dior, Diorling is pretty in a rather masculine fashion. That’s what I love about these old classics, they are allowed to be feminine without resorting to sweetness and fruit. The hyacinth and iris are the anchors here and combined with the moss they make for this powdered haze of sophisticated beauty. Then add this light punch of leather to the base and you’ve got the perfume wrapped up. There’s not a lot of development here, (although the lily of the valley pokes it head out ever now and then), but it does soften and becomes somewhat like a perfumed Angora sweater. Overall from the beginning to the end (and it lasts), you have a classic chypre at its best.

Dior Diorling Notes:

Top notes are hyacinth and bergamot; middle notes are iris, jasmine, rose and lily-of-the-valley; base notes are vetiver, musk, patchouli, oak moss and leather.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Peanut’s Pig-Pen. OK, to explain myself…take away the dry dusty dirt and replace with a dry dusty mossy cloud. Besides, the perfume has a very 1960’s vibe about it which was the heyday of the Peanut’s era. See it all makes sense now, right??!

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE DIOR DIORLING: drrrryyyy, powdered, unisex

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT DIOR DIORLING: Perfume Shrine, The Black Narcissus, Now Smell This

BOTTOM LINE: Ridiculously expensive on eBay, I found this beauty for a great price and snatched it up. So there was a little chip on the stopper and the stopper was stuck (we perfumistas know how to conquer that!), but the perfume is divine! I don’t think it will ever live up to my love of Miss Dior, but I get giddy every time I put this on because it’s just that good!

Bone Rating: 4.5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Chypre
Nose: Paul Vacher
Classification: Unisex
Expense: Varies greatly. Review based on the parfum extrait version.

April 15, 2015
by The Scented Hound 9 Comments

Balenciaga Paris

WHAT I SMELL: Balenciaga Paris opens quite sweet and soft then quickly it becomes sour, like bitter apple, which then dissipates to reveal a buttery and creamy green note. The fragrance is rather discordant to me because one part smells like something I should like, a rather fresh element. But at the same time, there’s a dirty feet smell that is radiating above it. Wierd. After five minutes, the perfume becomes dryer and more woody and the dirty feet smell is lessened. I am not getting any violet from the perfume at all, just wood and an uninteresting wood at that. OK, maybe if I stick my nose right up against my wrist there’s a faint hint of violet? After 15 minutes, the perfume perks up a bit with a sugared patchouli that comes to the surface. The fragrance then becomes significantly drier and muted. Again, I’m missing any violet, but am left a woody and slightly musky pleasant, but unremarkable fragrance, that at the end creates some pretty impressive projection.

From the Balenciaga website:

A Chypre Violet with the green, fresh signature of the flower and its leaves, blended into a precious harmony of fresh woods.

My apologies to the gentleman in the picture, but there’s something not quite right about his outfit.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: “It’s just not quite right”, well, at least the opening wasn’t.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE BALENCIAGA PARIS: discordant, pleasant, middle of the road

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT BALENCIAGA PARIS: Now Smell This, Bois de Jasmin, Muse in Wooden Shoes

BOTTOM LINE: Maybe it’s my allergies, or maybe it’s just my skin, but the opening on this perfume was just not right. If you read the other reviews, they generally thought the opening was delightful. Oh well. In the end, Balenciaga Paris is a nice enough perfume, but it’s nothing that is out of the ordinary or all that special.

Bone Rating: 2.5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Chypre Floral
Nose: Olivier Polge
Classification: Feminine? I would say more unisex.
Expense: Varies, around $50 for 1 oz. Eau de Parfum

April 13, 2015
by The Scented Hound 14 Comments

Neela Vermeire Creations Mohur Extrait

WHAT I SMELL: Mohur Extrait opens with this deep and dreamy lightly peppered and spice haze. The notes dance and swirl in an incredible kinetic motion, but in the most mysterious way. It’s as the perfume want to make itself hidden until it decides it’s time to reveal its true self. In other words, the perfume is incredibly quiet in its opening and it’s impossible to pick out individual notes. The dancing notes bring forward ambered floral and exotic spices all the while remaining dreamy and enticing you with subtle whisps of temptation. The warm florals mixed with the subtle spices are as intoxicating as I have ever experienced. After some time, the mysteriously quiet kinetics begin to open. But this box of jewels will not open quickly; a case of jewels might blind one if opened without care. After some more time, a light creaminess is added to the mix of the spiced florals. And soon enough, a lovely spiced rose quietly moves to the center of the mix. It’s creamy, warm and dreamily enrapturing. In the end, Mohur Extrait wraps you in this warm embrace of lightly powdered radiating spiced rose wrapped up in the most exquisite sandalwood. How come the perfumes that I love so much are so hard to describe? Maybe it’s because their beauty defies words.

Mohur Extrait Notes: Cardamom, coriander, ambrette, carrot seeds, pepper, elemi, iris, jasmine, rose, violet, almond, leather, sandalwood, amber, woody notes, patchouli, agarwood (oud), benzoin, vanilla, and tonka bean.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: The loveliest pearl; majestic, luminescent and a beauty to behold.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE MOHUR EXTRAIT: quiet, thoughtful, cultured

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT MOHUR EXTRAIT: Perfume Shrine, CaFleureBon, EauMG

BOTTOM LINE: The original Mohur Eau de Parfum is incredible; but this limited edition Mohur Extrait is utterly divine and a testament to the incredible art of creating a great perfume. Neela and Bertrand once again have created magic. If only this came in a smaller size so more people could experience it.

Bone Rating: 5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Floral
Nose: Bertrand Duchaufour
Classification: Unisex towards feminine
Expense: $445 for 50 ml parfum extrait

Sample courtesy of Neela Vermeire Creations.