fragrance | The Scented Hound

April 6, 2015
by The Scented Hound 24 Comments

New Release: Puredistance WHITE

WHAT I SMELL: WHITE opens with this incredibly warm and sensuous soft bergamot. The opening is absolutely dreamy, serene and incredibly subdued. There’s a floral component, but it’s really hard to distinguish as the perfume is more of a glow than a singular note. WHITE is everything that perfume should be. It wraps you into its spell with a sheer and hazy trail of stately beauty. The perfume is slow to develop, but instead, reveals ethereal nuances, the first of which is a radiating veil of a sheer rose over this exquisite woody vetiver. After quite some time, WHITE starts to intensify in its projection, but all the while continuing to maintain a force field of warm and rapturous beauty. To my surprise, the perfume stays in this exquisite state for a long time, only revealing the most spectacular smooth and creamy sandalwood. In WHITE, there are no harsh edges, just a melding of the finest ingredients. Words escape me.

From the Puredistance website:

The main idea behind the creation of Puredistance WHITE Perfume has been to create a perfume so beautiful and positive that it gives the wearer an instant flow of happiness. We asked Master Perfumer Antoine Lie (who also created Puredistance BLACK for us) to create a white and golden dream; an intimate escape from harsh reality. It took Antoine Lie one year to complete the magic formula, using the best and most expensive ingredients in the world. The result is a one-of-a-kind perfume made to enhance your mood through intense, but comforting beauty – if you like it, a warm and natural happiness will be yours!

Ingredients: Rose de Mai from France, Tonka bean absolute from Venezuela, Orris absolute from Italy, Sandalwood from Mysore, Bergamot from Italy, Musk, Vetyver from Haiti and Patchouli from Indonesia.

The Royal Palace of Brussels

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: The most beautiful chandelier; full of light, beauty and magnificence.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE WHITE: luxurious, captivating, cultured

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT WHITE: Chemist in the Bottle, CaFleureBon, Bonkers About Perfume

BOTTOM LINE: Puredistance is known for their thoughtful and elegant creations. WHITE is perfumery at its best and is easily my favorite from the line. That’s quite the statement because all of their perfumes are incredible in their own right. My suggestion: If you want to live the perfume dream, WHITE is the perfect place to start. C’est magnifique!

Bone Rating: 5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Floral
Nose: Antoine Lie
Classification: Leans feminine
Expense: Launching April 20th. $170 for 17 ml parfum extrait.

Sample courtesy of Puredistance Perfumes.

March 30, 2015
by The Scented Hound 18 Comments

New Release: Neela Vermeire Creations Pichola

WHAT I SMELL: Pichola opens with a light, soft combination of magnolia and tempered spice. It’s like a whisper that meets the back of your neck with a breath of tenderness. In a couple of minutes that whisper opens to what feels like dawn, or the rising of the sun. You can feel the perfume becoming brighter, more radiant and alive. The blending of the notes makes it difficult to distinguish individual notes, but that’s a good thing because together they paint such a beautiful picture. The florals are front and center of the perfume, but they are subdued, rather gentle and oh so pretty and graceful. After 15 minutes or so, the florals begin to grow, becoming more lush and slightly sweeter with the jasmine most pronounced along with a creamy ylang-ylang. The sandalwood provides a touch of dimension under the budding florals. As the perfume continues to grow, the creaminess expands to create a milky wrap around the florals as if it’s trying to contain the uncontainable burgeoning blossoms. I keep waiting for the florals to explode, but instead they blossom and grow large without shouting. The perfume culminates in this creamy haze of floral and lightly woody and sweet delightfulness.

From the Neela Vermeire Creations website:

Lake Pichola is the crown jewel and central focus of the princely city of Udaipur. A myriad of colourful historic, architectural and spiritual re!ections fall on this splendid water body – the sunlight and moonlight of each season bringing out the eternal and timeless beauty of Lake Pichola. Our latest fragrance captures such countless re!ections on the lake from the past to the present – showcasing the splendour of opulent and vibrant flowers, princely spices and precious woods taking us on an unforgettable and hypnotic fragrant journey. Once you have experienced the diverse and stunning beauty of these indescribable re!ections you will understand the true meaning of timeless luxury and e”ortless beauty….

TOP NOTES Cardamom, cinnamon, saffron, juniper, magnolia, neroli oil, clementine, bergamot

HEART NOTES Orange blossom absolute, rose absolute, tuberose absolute, Jasmine sambac, ylangylang

BASE NOTES Benzoin absolute, sandalwood, driftwood, vetiver from Haiti

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Daybreak. The sun, warmth and quietness opening up to a new and glorious day.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE PICHOLA: reflective, jeweled, comforting

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT PICHOLA: Kafkaesque, The Goodsmellas, Persolaise

BOTTOM LINE: Pichola is the quiet cousin of the fantastic Bombay Bling. Both are incredibly uplifting floral beauties and there is an unmistakable connection in their composition. But, Pichola is more restrained and subdued. It’s as if the Bombay Bling party has ended and it’s time for some down time to reflect on the excitement of the day.

Bone Rating: 4 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Oriental Floral
Nose: Bertrand Duchaufour
Classification: Unisex
Expense: Launching in April 2015 in the US. EU residents can place orders via the Neela Vermeire website for 205 Euros for 60ml.

Sample courtesy of Neela Vermeire Creations.

March 25, 2015
by The Scented Hound 7 Comments

Etat Libre d’Orange Cologne

WHAT I SMELL: Cologne opens with a clean crisp warmed bergamot and blood orange. It’s tangy and sparkling without being overly juiced. An orange blossom soon joins the mix of this nice and easy composition. Not too sweet and not too sour, the perfume maintains this perfect balance of carefree wear. After around 10 minutes a musk comes into play. It’s not too clean and it brings in some added dimension. However, it does make the fragrance seem more like Febreeze than a perfume. After another 5 minutes, a sugared element comes forth making the orange blossom more prevalent and it helps to dissipate the musk. And then a bit later, the jasmine comes in to give the cologne a really nice boost of fresh florals. In the end, Cologne stays in this easy to wear mode that works at being fresh, without being too fresh.

Composition: Blood orange, orange blossom, bergamot, jasmine, musk, leather…

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Welcome to L.A. The ease of sun and casual living with a hint of a wicked underbelly.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE COLOGNE: easy, wearable, one-off

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT COLOGNE: CaFleureBon, Colognoisseur, Perfume-Smellin’ Things

BOTTOM LINE: I like Cologne but I don’t like it. How’s that? I like it because it takes the standard citrus perfume and make it a little bit dirty. Unfortunately, the musk gets in the way; and it seems to be random. At times, the musk isn’t present, then all of a sudden it comes charging through. Take away the musk and you have a winner.

Bone Rating: 2.5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Woody Spicy
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $149 for 100 ml Eau de Parfum