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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

March 27, 2012
by The Scented Hound 2 Comments

APOM Pour Homme by Maison Francis Kurkdjian

APOM, which stands for A Part of Me, is one of those “I just got out of the shower” scents. To me, it reminds me of the freshness associated with bathing and the wonderfully clean feeling that you have afterwards. So given that, what exactly does APOM smell like? The listed ingredients are simple, orange flower, amber and cedar wood. This to me is a pretty linear scent; it doesn’t change much and the orange flower is the dominating note. The amber does warm the scent and tone down the orange flower a bit, but it ultimately remains in the background. This to me is a safe fragrance; clean and fresh, but not very interesting. For those of you who like fresh; this would be a great fragrance. Me, I like it a little dirty and will stick with my Absolue Pour le Soir.

From the Maison Francis Kurkdjian website:

APOM (A Part Of Me), a bit of oneself that one leaves on others. A relationship inspired from the beauty of the Orient: movement of people, flavors, colors and scents rediscovered from Lebanon. A combination of softness and strength.

APOM Notes: orange flower, cedar wood, amber

Bone Rating: 3 out of 5 possible bones
Classification: For men, but leans unisex
Expense: From $155 for 75ml, EDT

March 24, 2012
by The Scented Hound 5 Comments

Itasca by Lubin

I was really excited to sample Lubin’s Itasca, the scent that was designed to represent the North American Forest. Itasca is named after Lake Itasca in Minnesota, my home state. My father was actually born not far from Itasca State Park, where the Mississippi River gives birth. So as a native son, I was trying to see if this scent represented what I think of Minnesota. Unlike my last review of 1828 by Histoires de Parfums where I loved the opening of the scent, but did not like the dry down; this is pretty much the opposite. The dry down is lovely and the opening is nice, but considering the fact that with most scents you live with the dry down for the most part, I couldn’t have been happier. Itasca opens with a fresh blast of grapefruit and pine. It’s fresh, green and clean. It’s also very soothing and smooth. Pine can sometimes get sharp, this does not. In the end, Itasca evens out into what I would say is a floral scent, with just a hint of powder. Itasca overall is a cool, clean and refreshing scent. I think Lubin did a wonderful job of representing my home state.