The Scented Hound

Perfume blog with abbreviated perfume reviews & fragrance reviews.

Tag Archives: Mona di Orio


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New Release: Mona di Orio Bohea Bohème

MdO Bohea BohemeWHAT I SMELL:  Bohea Bohème initially sings with a beautiful leathered bergamot covered in a swath of cardamom, with hints of sweetness and brown sugared florals.  Incredibly exotic and lightly warmed, the perfume pulls you in and holds you captive as soon as it touches your skin.  After a few minutes, the perfume adopts of light creaminess and the sugared flakes turn more to a muted lotion.    There’s a haze that emanates from the cream, like smoked incense.   There’s also a tea note that emerges, but instead of dominating the perfume with a watery thin high pitch, the tea is rooted and thickened as if it’s made up of a reduction of warmed tea leaves in a bottom of a cup.  As the perfume continues to deepen, it seems to develop as if its a sheet that is unfurled and a dreamy sandalwood takes hold as the perfume seems to darken in color and depth. Bohea Bohème ends its journey quietly with a radiant breath that’s softly spiced and completely exotic.

From the Mona di Orio website:

Bohea Bohème captures the smoldering delicacy of the distinctive tea cultivated in the Wuyi Mountains of China. The precious Bohea Tea, fumed with pinewood, is prized for its complex aroma and rich character.

Notes:  Italian Bergamot, Cardamom Absolute, Florentine Iris, Blue Chamomile, Poplar Bud Absolute, Fir Balsam Fraction, Boxtree absolute, Geranium Absolute, Black tea oil, Smoked Juniper, Oakwood absolute, Sandalwood India, Beeswax Absolute, Bay leaf Absolute.

Chinese Snake PaintingWHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A snake in the most beautiful sense of being…the perfume doesn’t develop as much as it slowly glides through the most subtle of movements revealing small nuances as it wraps itself around the wood and green.

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE BOHEA BOHÈME:  gorgeous, mysterious, exotic

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT BOHEA BOHÈME:  CaFleureBon, Colognoisseur

BOTTOM LINE: When I found out that the new Mona di Orio perfume was tea based I have to say that I was not excited as tea based perfumes are one of my least favorite genres.  However, Bohea Bohème broke the mold for me…it’s absolutely breathtaking in its originality and the tea note is just one amongst all the notes that blends seamlessly to create this skin hugging mystery.  Perfumer Fredrik Dalman has created something very special here.

  • Bone Rating:  4.5 out of possible 5 bones
  • Scent:  Woody Spicy
  • Nose: Fredrik Dalman
  • Classification: Unisex
  • Expense: $245 for 75 ml eau de parfum


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The Random 10: Jeroen Oude Sogtoen, Creative Director for Maison Mona di Orio

Jeroen Oude Sogtoen 1 (1)

I don’t know of anyone else in the perfume industry with a haunting gaze like Jeroen Oude Sogtoen.  A creative mind, with a passion for life, art and beauty; no doubt adds to this intensity.

Portrait Mona di Orio 1 (1)

Mona di Orio

What you may not know about Jeroen is that the fragrance industry wasn’t  his original chosen profession.  Instead, he started his career in fashion design after graduating from the Amsterdam Fashion Institute and worked for ten years as a fashion designer, which then led to a transition in interior design leading to work in the hospitality industry.    It’s while working in hotel development that  he founded ZENOLOGY a lifestyle company committed to bringing hotel luxury to the home with environmentally friendly products.  In his search for a perfumer to help in this endeavor, he met Mona di Orio. In Mona, Jeroen saw an exceptional and talented artist that needed a brand to call her own.  Together they founded Maison Mona di Orio wherein Mona  became the brand’s nose and Jeroen the brand’s  eyes.  In 2004, the company launched their first fragrances, Lux, Carnation and Nuit Noire and a successful brand was born.  Tragically, in December 2011, Mona passed away leaving a legacy of launched and un-launched fragrances. After her death, Jeroen kept Mona’s legacy alive by continuing to develop and create perfumes under the Mona di Orio brand name which remain truly Monaesque; perfumes that are harmoniously balanced between the light and the dark.

In the spirit of rebirth, in 2015, Mona di Orio launched a new look in keeping with the brand’s philosophy and aesthetic by debuting a bold, yet soft, sleek and sensual, new bottle design. And just recently, Mona di Orio launched their newest creation, Bohea Bohème, created by perfumer Fredrick Dalman, a perfume designed to capture the smoldering delicacy of the distinctive and precious Bohea Tea cultivated in the Wuyi Mountains of China. Thanks to Jeroen, Mona di Orio lives on through the brand’s original iconic perfumes and new ones designed in elegance and uncompromising luxury.

So let’s see what Jeroen’s words reveal behind that haunting gaze:

  1. My favorite way to relax is …biking through big cities, having a drink at my local bar with my friends and talk about “life” (read: nothing)
  2. What drives me most crazy is…people who are not curious to learn and discover and people who lack passion.
  3. The greatest piece of advice I ever received has been …SEE what is around you and find inspiration in literally everything.
  4. What makes me smile is…young talent, like our new in-house perfume Fredrik Dalman (and of course: new shoes!)
  5. A guilty pleasure of mine is …when it’s a pleasure I don’t feel guilty, but I understand what you mean. Disco music, and since I am a very romantic guy, Romantic music of the sticky kind.
  6. My favorite food is…Asian, Chinese, Korean, Thai, and of course Japanese.
  7. When it comes to my organization skills, I…have the ability to make people enthusiastic and curious and push them the excel.
  8. My one recommendation for the fragrance industry is…make less but more relevant creations.
  9. I am hopelessly challenged by…having my own two companies – ZENOLOGY and Maison MONA DI ORIO – and to make sure that we keep on making it work.
  10. I get my fragrance industry news from…I try to stay away from getting too much information, because it can be confusing when you see so many new launches. I try to follow my own rhythm and get inspired by fashion, art, people, and traveling.

Who would have guessed that those eyes were hiding a love of disco and sappy romantic music?!  Thanks to Jeroen for revealing a little more of himself to our readers.

For more information on ZENOLOGY products and the Mona di Orio perfumes, including the newest release, Bohea Bohème, go to the websites below:

www.monadiorio.com

www.zenology.com

For more information on The Scented Hound’s Random 10, click here.


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Mona di Orio Nuit Noire

MdO Nuit NoireWHAT I SMELL:  Nuit Noire opens with a plasticined orange, it’s slightly bitter and sour and rather animalic (to be honest, there’s a skankiness that is quite unexpected).  Given the opening, I would think that the perfume would be heavy and thick.  Instead, the perfume feels light and airy, albeit it incredibly potent.  Now don’t get me wrong, I like it when a perfume has a bit of a funky edge as long as it doesn’t dominate.  And after around 10 minutes or so, the funk, although still present, makes way for a warmed mix of spice and a light creaminess.  The projection is low which makes the perfume feel mysterious and rather forbidden.  The transition of the soured orange to more of a flattened musk brings a more evened edge to the perfume and after around 30 minutes the tuberose melds with the orange blossom which helps to soften the perfume even further. In the end, Nuit Noire is a sultry and sexy exotic creamy floral with just the right amount of naughty edginess.

From the Mona di Orio website:

Nuit Noire elicits the steaming sensuality of a dark, sultry night in North Africa, exotic, spicy, and animalic. A strikingly carnal affair, the raw energy and heat at the start rises from floral notes colliding with woods, spices and leather, but as it is with lovers, this sophisticated floriental dries down richly intimate into a velvety seduction of spices.

The honeyed floral sweetness of orange blossom, intense tuberose, and robust, spicy cardamom seduce each other and tease for dominance. The indolic quality of the orange blossom and tuberose pulses with a ripe lushness. Brighter notes of ginger and oranges arrive on the hot wind of this vibrant souk and bring with it an intense accord of incense, spices and woods from frankincense, cinnamon, cloves and cedar and sandalwood.

Notes of animalistic musk, comforting leather, vanilla-sweet tonka and warm resinous amber develop into a creamy, velvet intoxication. This primal nocturnal journey becomes darker and spicier.

Notes:  Orange flower, cardamom, ginger, orange, frankincense, cinnamon, tuberose, sandalwood, clove, cedarwood, amber, leather, musk, tonka.

jean_shrimptonWHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME:  A 1960s supermodel Jean Shrimpton.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE NUIT NOIRE:  mysterious, sensual, exotic

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT NUIT NOIRE: CaFleureBon, The Sounds of Scent, The Black Narcissus

BOTTOM LINE:  There’s something about orange blossom that has a 1960s connection to me.  As modern Nuit Noire is, to me, there’s a bit of vintage vibe to the perfume.  Modern or vintage, Nuit Noire’s perfumed ride goes from the wild to the absolute sublime.

  • Bone Rating:  3.5 out of possible 5 bones
  • Scent:  Oriental Floral
  • Nose: Mona di Orio
  • Classification: Unisex
  • Expense: $195 for 75 ml Eau de Parfum

Sample courtesy of Twisted Lily Fragrance Boutique and Apothecary.