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February 25, 2012
by The Scented Hound 2 Comments

Lumiere Noire by Maison Francis Kurkdjian

Winter has come back with a vengeance today. The sun shines for a few minutes, then the sky returns to gray and the snow swirls through the heavy winds that are blowing. As it’s still February I guess this kind of weather is to be expected. But we have been spoiled by a lovely winter thus far. After reading the newspaper, feeding the cats and going for a winter walk, I put on my Saturday comfy clothes to go run my weekend errands. I thought I would check out a sample of Maison Francis Kurkdjian’s Lumiere Noire pour homme that has been sitting on my shelf for a while. When first applied, I found this to be a little spicy (most likely the cumin and cinnamon), but surprisingly green at the same time. OK, I typically love heavy scents and my husband loves the lighter green scents; so I’m thinking this is nice, but not really my cup of tea. So I go to my husband and ask him what he thinks. No surprise, he loved it. So we head out of the house, run to the stores, and I could not help finding that this scent, in a lovely dry down, wafted and swirled up and around me through the wind. Lumiere Noire is a rose scent, but it is so faintly so that you don’t immediately think “roses.” Although this is for men, I do believe this easily fits into a unisex category. This is a lovely scent that I found to be clean and fresh. I would also say that this is a safe scent; you won’t offend others or yourself when you wear this. Lumiere Noire worked perfectly for a gloomy errand running winter day, so much so that I can’t wait to see what it can do for a beautiful and warm spring day. Simply lovely.

From the Maison Francis Kurkdjian website:

Olfactory family: Rose – Cumin – Cinnamon – Patchouli – Wormwood

Play of opposites for both agreements as two extremes which meet. An eau de toilette fragrance mysterious that draws up cause the abandonment of self.

Bone Rating: 4 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Floral
Classification: Masculine or Unisex
Expense: Moderately Expensive – $155 for 70ml EDT

February 20, 2012
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Fiori D’Ambra by Profumum

More ambers; more to love. This lovely perfume opens up with a rush of spice, I would say almost cinnamon in nature, along with a faint sweetness. Funny, my husband said that it smells like root beer. I can see that. That had me a bit worried. But once again, as time would tell, the scent transformed from that spicy blast to a nice and mellowed amber. This is neither harsh or medicinal, but an almost vanilla sweet, lightly spiced amber with great longevity. I would say that it leans a bit on the feminine side, but it is a scent that is close to the skin and therefore when walking through a crowd, no one would assume that a dowager is passing by. Light, sweet, subtle. A very nice amber indeed.

From the Profumum website:

Olfactory notes: Opium flowers, Amber, Spices

Bone Rating: 4 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: amber, spicy, vanilla, light, subtle
Classification: Unisex
Expense: Expensive – $240 for 100ml Parfum

February 1, 2012
by The Scented Hound 2 Comments

Cendres de The by Phaedon

New perfume by a new line. I was excited to check out the new Cendres de The and some of their other new scents. So this was my first venture into the Phaedon line. This is a comfortable scent that is very clean, masculine and subtle. The cedar really comes out in the top notes, but then evens out into a nice woody with light musk scent. I typically lean towards heavier scents, but could see myself wearing this. It would fit the workplace very nicely. Given that, I don’t think I’ll be spending any money on a full bottle, but will just stick to enjoying the sample. I recommend this for those who like to smell clean and light…it’s old school with a twist.

Cendres de The Notes:

Cardamom, tea, myrrh, cedar, ho wood oil, musk