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June 21, 2012
by The Scented Hound 10 Comments

A Vacation From the Everyday: Fico di Amalfi Blu Mediterraneo by Acqua di Parma

It has been incredibly hot the last couple of days here in DC. In fact, today we broke the record by being 98 degrees with over 60% humidity. So basically it felt like it was about 106 degrees today. Thank God for air conditioning. I always wonder what people did before air conditioning, daily showers, etc. I guess if you had money, you covered up your stench with perfumes. Hmmmm, maybe in a past life I really stunk, thus my love of fragrance. In any case, I digress…

Since it was so hot, I thought I would pull out a fragrance from my husband’s collection, Fico di Amalfi from the Blue Mediterraneo line from Acqua di Parma. He received this as a gift last year and I have never really worn it myself. All that I can say is that the first time he wore it, it immediately took me back to our trip to Aruba last fall. Fico di Amalfi is tropical without being beachy, fruity without being too sweet and perfect for a hot summer day.

Fico di Amalfi goes on with zing. It’s really fresh and cool, with bursts of citrus and grapefruit. It’s also very zesty, like fruit that has just come off of ice or even better, a crushed ice fruit cocktail served on the beach. The opening notes are pure happiness!

After a little while that zesty freshness disappears and a light pepper musk comes to the surface. And then the fig. You are left with the fig, which is green and woody and oh so slightly fruity. It’s calming and fresh and a bit creamy and very comfortable. Fico di Amalfi would be perfect for walking around in a t-shirt and flip-flops to putting on your best linen outfit for a night out on a town.

My one disappointment with this fragrance is that late in the drydown, the scent you are left with reminds me a bit of Tide laundry detergent, but it’s not that significant to stand in my way of wearing it. However, I have to admit, I like smelling this on my husband more than on my self.

Fico di Amalfi is a beautiful fragrance that takes you on a mini-vacation from your everyday life. OK, so it’s not as a good as the real thing, but I’ll take it in the meantime.

Fico di Amalfi notes:

bergamot, lemon, grapefruit, citron, fig nectar, pink pepper, jasmine petals, fig wood, cedar wood and benzoin.

Bone Rating: 4 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Floral Fruity
Classification: Unisex
Expense: Varied, around $60 for 60ml EdT

May 6, 2012
by The Scented Hound Leave a comment

Hanae Mori by Hanae Mori

I pulled out my box of samples and found a tester for Hanae Mori hiding on the bottom of the box. Hanae Mori was once part of my full bottle collection, but it’s been years since I have worn it. It’s funny how your tastes change. I still believe that this is a wonderful fragrance, it’s just now a little too sweet for my taste.

Hanae Mori is considered an oriental floral scent. It goes on very fresh, very fruity and as I mentioned before very sweet. It’s a pretty linear scent that does tone down a bit as you wear it, but it never really leaves the sweetness of the base. Maybe I’ve just become annoyed with Lily of the Valley as I’m finding anything these days with it as an ingredient to be problematic for me. Now, I always found the EDT version was perfect for wearing in the summer. Surprisingly, with the floral notes associated with Hanae Mori that it would fit a woman more than a man, but it really does fit a man well. Hanae Mori is a great scent, just not for me at this time.

From the Hanae Mori website:

The first rush of HM is superb lemon, fine lavender, blackcurrant and green notes.

Then a deeper impression of iris, jasmine, Bulgarian rose and Lily of the Valley is revealed.

In time, warm vanilla, appealing amber, hearty moss, rich cedar, sandalwood and Tonka bean are present.

Bone Rating: 4 out of 5 possible bones
Scent Type: Oriental – Floral
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $50 to $70 for 50ml EDT & EDP

April 18, 2012
by The Scented Hound 8 Comments

Voyage d’Hermes by Hermes

I purchased Voyage d’Hermes a couple of years ago and somewhere along the line it ended up being a hand me down to my partner who found it more enticing than I did. I like it. He loves it. Voyage d’Hermes is a wonderful summer scent. It’s refreshing and light; masculine while still being soft and pretty. This scent is green with hints of citrus, green tea, florals and light spice. And there’s just a hint of musk to warm it, keeping it close to the skin. As you wear it, that warmth and musk come more to the surface, but it always maintains its freshness. As nice as this scent is, the one outstanding item about this scent is the bottle. The bottle is placed on a silver plated swivel carrier that when not in use, the sprayer is concealed on the bottom. It’s a small masterpiece in bottle engineering. This is considered unisex, but I see this as more of a man’s fragrance.

Voyage d’Hermes Notes:

Lemony Notes, Spicy Notes, Cardamom Note, Tea Note, Floral Notes, Hedione, Green Notes, Musky Notes, White Woods