The Scented Hound

Perfume blog with abbreviated perfume reviews & fragrance reviews.

Tag Archives: New Release


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New Release: Jardin Nocturne by Shalini

WHAT I SMELL:  Jardin Nocturne opens with a soft warm enveloping jasmine with a mildly spicy and intoxicating saffron.  The perfume moves deep into your lungs with a spellbinding sensuality.  A quiet oud meditates in the background as if it’s a secret veil moving oh so gently under a moonlit sky; and combined with the saffron it creates an effect of the lightest of leather.  A facet that I love in this perfume is that the oud is used in such a perfect and elegant manner, never coming to the forefront to overcome the perfume.  Instead, front and center is the night-blooming jasmine which radiates like the beaming moonlight.  As Jardin Nocturne develops, it weaves itself slowly down a garden path.  Each step along the way the perfume continues to unfold its mysterious secrets.  Its lightly wafting tendrils rise and tease the wearer and those she seduces as the warmth vibrates of the skin as if it has a pulse, enveloping the wearer with a carnal aura.  Jardin Nocturne is a magical perfume.

“Le Tourbillions” Lalique flacon

From Shalini:

Moonlight reflecting upon the water.  A night garden filled with night-blooming flowers, ponds, waterfalls, fountains, winding paths, discreet garden benches where lovers meet under the stars.

The peace, beauty and the light of the night in full bloom…

The soft sounds of the night, the fireflies lighting up the atmosphere…

Jardin Nocturne reflects the nuance and poetry of such a garden…

Jardin Nocture is inspired by the night air.

Notes: Night Blooming Jasmine absolute from India, Assam Oud, Saffron, Mysore Sandalwood, Musk

The Music of the Faun, Ferdinand Keller, 1910

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME:  Ferdinand Keller’s – The Music of the Faun

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE JARDIN NOCTURNE:  seductive, serene, sublime

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT JARDIN NOCTURNE:  CaFleureBon, Colognoisseur

BOTTOM LINE:  Good things come to those who wait.  Over 10 years after introducing her debut perfume Shalini, designer Shalini, once again in a collaboration with Maurice Roucel has created a perfume that lives up to her debut perfume.  I loved Shalini for the fact that is was supremely feminine it all its white floral quiet beauty.  With Jardin Nocturne, the perfume is unabashedly sensual.  It’s a fragrance that fills the room with seductive mystery that will beckon anyone towards its heavenly refrain.  Jardin Nocturne was definitely worth the long wait.

  • Bone Rating:  4.5 out of possible 5 bones
  • Scent: Oriental Floral
  • Nose: Maurice Roucel
  • Classification: Leans feminine, but easily unisex
  • Expense:  $500 for 50 ml parfum or $2,400 for the Lalique crystal flacon “Le Tourbillions.”  Available in November at Aedes de Venustas.


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New Release: Mona di Orio Dõjima

WHAT I SMELL:  Dõjima has a soft and subtle opening which quickly gives rise to a warm and milky rice and a nutty amber.  The perfume is quiet and contained and it seems to possess a zen like reverence.   While the miky rice note remains as it develops, the amber takes on more a floral hue.  And the florals seem to float above the milkiness as if they are dancing lightly atop a ripple on a quiet pond.  The remaining nutty amber seems to flicker in and out which makes the perfume lightly gourmand with hints of green tea.  Dõjima is slow to transform, but being true to the serenity of the fragrance, its gentle unfolding is like a quiet journey for the soul.

From the Mona di Orio website:

The name derives from the Dōjima Rice Exchange founded by Samurai in 1697 in Osaka, Japan. Let us travel back to this moment in time, have the beauty and serenity of a single rice grain work as your seductive armor.

Dõjima turns to powder as it combines with the warmth of the skin and a cloud of rice powder surrounded by jasmin and orris radiates through the day. The soft texture of rice is lifted by a warm powdered amber speckled with dry spices and woods on a creamy musk base.

Rice Accord, nutmeg absolue, ambrette, jasmin, orris, clary sage absolute, labdanum CO2, sandalwood and precious musks.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME:  Lotus flowers scattered amongst the rice fields.

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE DÕJIMA:  quiet, serene, balanced

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT DÕJIMA:  CaFleureBon, Colognoisseur

BOTTOM LINE:  I am a big fan of perfumer Fredrik Dalman, his Mona di Orio debut Bohea Boheme was one of my picks for new releases of last year.  Like Bohea Boheme, Dõjima quietly unfolds the mysteries of the east.  There is nothing brash, nor hard about this gem, but like a jewel, its beauty sparkles with a reverent dignity.

  • Bone Rating:  4 out of possible 5 bones
  • Scent: Floral Woody Musk
  • Nose: Fredrik Dalman
  • Classification: Unisex
  • Expense:  $200 for 75 ml eau de parfum


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New Release: Arielle Shoshana Eau de Parfum

What’s the next thing you do after you’ve opened the first perfume shop dedicated to niche perfumery in the Washington DC area?  Well, if you’re the petite dynamo, Ari Weinberg, proprieter of Arielle Shoshana, you team up with perfumer Cécile Hua to create your very own branded perfume.

WHAT I SMELL:  Arielle Shoshana opens with a blend of zesty, fresh grapefruit and ripe passion fruit.   It’s citrusy (is that a word??), completely refreshing and applying it gives you the sensation as if you sprayed the most delightful summer cocktail on your skin.  After a bit, the initial zing of the perfume settles down, but the tangy and slightly sour fruity and citrus aspects still remain, as if the sun has evaporated the cool juice off of your skin.  At the same time, a very interesting cardamon note lurks underneath, giving it a more mysterious feel…almost as if the tangy and juicy passion fruit holds a bit of poison.  A dulled rhubarb note then arrives along with a slight soured sandalwood which gives the perfume a dimension of carnality.  In the end, the perfume quiets, but leaves and indelible wake of fruited passion.

From the Arielle Shoshana website:

Perfumer Cécile Hua used a proprietary CO2 extraction technique to create the first natural passion fruit extract in perfumery history. Cécile’s gorgeous passion fruit material was already practically a perfume in itself, but the unexpected tang of saffron elevates Arielle Shoshana Eau de Parfum into a fragrance worthy of the Arielle Shoshana mission statement: “fragrances as interesting as you are.” Sandalwood, ambroxan, and vanilla give the drydown fullness and warmth. 

Notes: Passion Fruit, Grapefruit, Rhubarb, Mandarin, Peach, Saffron, Pink Pepper, Cardamom, Magnolia, Sandalwood, Ambroxan, Vanilla, Vetiver Bourbon, Iris, Musk

Forbidden Fruit Dinner Party by Chris Antemann

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME:  Forbidden fruit.

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE ARIELLE SHOSHANA EAU DE PARFUM:  zesty, refreshing, naughty

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT ARIELLE SHOSHANA EAU DE PARFUM: Now Smell This, Colognoisseur

BOTTOM LINE:  Ari and Cécile have created a wonderful perfume as an initial launch for this brand.  It’s the perfect antidote for the hot summer months.  And even better, the perfume could have been a simple take on citrus and passion fruit, but instead there’s an added depth making it more interesting than a summer splash.  I have no doubt that this will be the debut perfume in the Arielle Shoshana line….with, many, many more to come.

  • Bone Rating:  4 out of possible 5 bones
  • Scent: Floral Fruity
  • Nose: Cécile Hua
  • Classification: Unisex
  • Expense: $125 for 3.4 oz. eau de parfum via Arielle Shoshana.