Maria Candida Gentile | The Scented Hound

September 29, 2013
by The Scented Hound 11 Comments

Luberon by Maria Candida Gentile

WHAT I SMELL: Luberon opens with a deep and earthy lavender bouquet. It starts off a bit dry, but then it is met with a light mint which sweetens and moistens the fragrance. It’s surprisingly refreshing but warm at the same time. After around 20 minutes or so, there’s almost a light layer of caramel or honey on top of the mint . After a bit more, the oakmoss starts to make its appearance, which then brings out a bit of dryness to make Luberon slightly powdered. Funny, after a while, the drydown reminds me somewhat of vintage Miss Dior. In the end, Luberon retreats to a lovely subtle dry and earthy powdered light lavender.

From the Maria Candida Gentile website:

Luberon is a composition which comes directly from the natural valleys of the south of France in spring. It carries the gently relaxing and comforting scents of this beautiful and happy region, the Luberon. The delicate fresh herbs are blended with an oak musk.

Top note: Mediterranean lavender

Heart note: May Rose

Base note: Oak Musk

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: What I think Provence smells like…old, earthy, rural and beautiful.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE LUBERON: comfortable, earthen, warm

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT LUBERON: Scent for Thought, Notable Scents

BOTTOM LINE: Luberon is another solid fragrance from Maria Candida Gentile that in this case is not earth shattering, but clearly is a fragrance of quality. My one regret that as a parfum extrait, the fragrance seems to disappear on me rather quickly. However, I do notice that even though it vanishes, I do find traces of it still clinging to me in the morning.

Bone Rating: 3.5 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Aromatic, Flower, Citrus
Nose: Maria Candida Gentile
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $165 for 30ml Parfum Extrait

September 20, 2013
by The Scented Hound 32 Comments

Sideris by Maria Candida Gentile

WHAT I SMELL: Sideris opens with a deep warm breath of saffron, incense and myrrh. It smells like it’s from another world; like it’s been around for ages only to reveal itself again. Sideris sits in a haze. You feel that it’s there, but somehow it exists in aura around you rather than directly on you. Sideris takes its time to transform and when it does, it doesn’t do so in a dramatic fashion. Everything is seamless and it mixes so perfectly that you can easily miss the differences; but they’re there. After about 30 minutes, the light sweetness of the rose makes a rather subdued appearance in a manner that you barely notice. To me this is not “rose,” but a veil of earthen rose shrouded by incense. Sideris then becomes more creamy and yet woody which sounds contradictory, but trust me it’s not. As Sideris continues to progress, the incense from the early stages starts to subside, and the benzoin starts to become prominent and along with the rose and sandalwood, the fragrance becomes a bit sweeter. Sideris is a fragrance that I feel like I just can’t give enough justice to… It’s all too beautiful and sometimes words are just too hard to convey.

Notes from the Maria Candida Gentile website:

Top notes: Incense, Cysts, Corsican Myrrh, White Pepper, Saffron

Heart notes: Turkish Rose, Rose Ayrshire Splendens

Base notes: Sandalwood, Benzoin, Waxed Woods

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Lady with a Fan by Spanish painter Diego Velázquez

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE SIDERIS: dreamy, serious, classical

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT SIDERIS: Scent for Thought, Cafleurebon, The Non-Blonde

BOTTOM LINE: Sideris is unique and incredibly beautiful. I’ve only been introduced to two of Maria Candida Gentile’s fragrances thus far, Cinabre and this. I have the feeling I need to explore some more.

Bone Rating: 4.5 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Aromatic Spicy
Nose: Maria Candida Gentile
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $180 for 100ml EdP

May 21, 2013
by The Scented Hound 18 Comments

Cinabre by Maria Candida Gentile

WHAT I SMELL: Hatchi-matchi…Cinabre opens with a dirty peppered gingered-rose. The ginger really stands out in center stage while the rose sits quietly in the back. It’s loud and it’s strong and smells like a heavy petroleum. I know this sounds bad, but it’s not. The rose starts to come to the forefront after a short while. It’s a dirty rose, one that isn’t fresh but one that’s thick and ready to mold off of the vine, almost as if it’s liquifying. I can’t say that I like it and there’s something almost repulsive about it; but it keeps drawing me back in. After a bit Cinabre bring forth a resinous sweetness which radiates and cuts out some of the dirt, but the fragrance continues to retain its earthy living state and still remains shockingly large. Finally, the dirt get whisked away and Cinabre moves into a phase that is slightly powdered and very sweetened rose of which the sweetness is sickening if you bring your arm to your nose. In other words, at this point Cinabre is best from a distance. Finally, the fragrance mellows into a lightly sweet vanilla rose, tinged with a hint of opoponax.

Cinabre Notes:

Ginger, black pepper, rose baies, Splendens rose, Morroccan rose, benzoin, vanilla, opoponax.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A working mexican village. So what does that mean? The combination of and smells of food, dirt, and flowers in the hot sun. It’s alive and earthy and the smells are sometimes beautiful and yet sometimes can be too thick with real life. After the heat of the day settles down, the sweeter smells of the town make their appearance.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE CINABRE: thick, gothish, sweetened

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT CINABRE: Scent for Thought, Perfume Shrine, Make Perfume Not War

BOTTOM LINE: Cinabre is one of the more interesting fragrances that I have sniffed in a long time. I can say that I actually quite like it but a little goes a long way and if they offered it in a 10ml offering I would probably pick up a bottle.

Bone Rating: 3.5 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Oriental
Classification: Unisex more at the opening – more feminine in the drydown.
Expense: $185 for 100ml EdP, currently offered as a May 2013 Olfactif offering