oriental floral | The Scented Hound

May 5, 2014
by The Scented Hound 12 Comments

New Release: Tango by Masque

WHAT I SMELL: Tango opens with a spicy bergamot that dances with pepper followed soon with this wonderful cardamon which gives it a slight medicinal herbal hue. After a few more minutes, a rather boozy almost whiskey like note is introduced and the fragrance begins to get a bit tangy and sharper which helps to lighten the rather deep opening. It feels like its revving itself up like pistons in an engine getting ready for the fragrance to take off. There’s a little sweetness that lurks underneath the spicy elements of the fragrance that help it to be more playful than sedate. The amber provides for a consistent warmth for the base that makes Tango oh so comfortable, yet incredibly sexy like a form-fitting dress that reveals every curve. After around 30 minutes, Tango becomes pure sex. The heady florals matched with the warm base just oozes off your skin. It’s intoxicating and breathtaking.

Tango note from the Masque website:

Head notes: bergamot, black pepper, cardamom

Heart notes: Sambac jasmine abs, Damascena rose oil, patchouli

Base notes: vanilla bean, tonka bean, melilot abs, amber accord, leather accord, benzoin, muscs

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: As the seductive dance between two lovers; Tango is named perfectly!

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE TANGO: lively, nocturnal, peppery

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT TANGO: Colognossieur, CaFleureBon, The Non-Blonde

BOTTOM LINE: Wow! Tango took me by surprise and whipped me up into a carnal frenzy. Tango isn’t a fragrance that’s meant for the office, but is perfect for when you’re prowling the streets at night. Trust me, you’ll be noticed.

Bone Rating: 5 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Oriental Floral
Nose: Cecile Zarokian
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $240 for 100ml EdP

Sample courtesy of Twisted Lily Fragrance Boutique and Apothecary

March 19, 2014
by The Scented Hound 22 Comments

NARCISSE NOIR by CARON

WHAT I SMELL: Narcisse Noir opens with a dark and deep narcissus, like it comes from the depths of a country field that is moistened with a warm undercurrent that runs through it. It’s sharp like the flower, but not so much that it’s all bite. After around five minutes the orange blossom comes to the surface. It’s not bright and it’s not juicy, but rather mixed with the narcissus it retains this darker, more mysterious edge. The jasmine adds a bit of rubberiness to the mix almost like its tuberose. I like it at this stage because it fills your lungs with weighted beefy florals. But soon enough, the darker veil lifts a bit to reveal a lighter side which unfortunately reminds me of expensive hair spray. If only the fragrance could have stayed in that early stage! The drydown….well, see below…

Top notes are african orange flower and narcissus; middle notes are jasmine, orange and tincture of rose; base notes are vetyver, musk and sandalwood.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Years ago, the first home I ever purchased was in a suburb outside of Atlanta, GA called College Park. I lived in a neighborhood where we all had historic plaques on our homes and it was very homey, pretty and was a great place to live. Unfortunately, historic College Park is surrounded by some not so nice areas and quality grocery shopping was hard to come by. In East Point, the town next to us there was the Kroger Citi Center. I don’t know if they were trying to recreate a neighborhood concept, but whatever it was, it failed. Instead of walking directly into the grocery store, you had to walk by a series of mom and pop small businesses in addition to a Popeyes chicken restaurant. One of the business was a nasty looking beauty salon. I don’t know what kind of chemicals were used in that shop, but that horrid burnt hair, chemical smell combined with the smell of Popeye’s Fried Chicken always gave me a headache and made me nauseous. Unfortunately, the drydown in Narcisse Noir reminds me of the Kroger Citi Center. OK, this is better than that, but it still reminds me of the gauntlet that I used to have to walk through to get my groceries.

As I was having a hard time getting past this association, I asked my husband what he thought it smelled like. He said it smells kind of powdery like a girls bedroom and said it reminded him of his sister. Go figure…maybe she ate a lot of fried chicken while she was under the hairdryer!

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE NARCISSE NOIR: sour, strange, pungent

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT NARCISSE NOIR: Bois de Jasmin, The Perfumed Dandy, Perfume Posse

BOTTOM LINE: You would think that I would give this a great big “1 Bone”, but for some reason I am repulsed, yet attracted to this Caron classic and every once in a while will wear it. So even though it’s not for me there is a reason that it has been around since 1911. Besides, who couldn’t love that perfume bottle?

Bone Rating: 3 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Oriental Floral
Nose: Ernest Daltroff
Classification: Feminine, with masculine leanings
Expense: $180 for 15ml Parfum Extrait which this review was based on.

December 16, 2013
by The Scented Hound 29 Comments

Nuit de Noel Parfum Extrait by Caron

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring except for the eBay mouse. The mouse saw that a good deal was found, he had to make a purchase especially one so sound. A few days later a package appeared and the mouse found that his purchase was not to be feared. The mouse was so happy with this new scent, that there was no doubt in his mind that his money was well spent.

WHAT I SMELL: Nuit de Noel opens with a surge of dry oak moss with hints of florals rising out of the from the mossy base. It doesn’t take long before a spicy presence makes itself known. But I hate to use the word “spicy” because I think you instantly think of something heavy and dominating. But it’s not the case here as it’s just this a layer of warmth, which is like putting on a fur-lined glove on a cold winters day. I wish I could say that I could distinguish the florals in the fragrance, but they are blended so wonderfully that nothing sticks out. After some time, the oak moss dissipates and you’re left with this wonderfully creamy floral haze of a fragrance. Nuit de Noel is pretty, feminine and from another era. I love it.

From the Caron website:

In 1922, after the trauma of the First World War, Europe is seized by a frenzy of celebration and exotic escapism. As a testament ot the crazy years, CARON launches NUIT DE NOEL.

NUIT DE NOEL, whose name along is evocative of a magical, fairytale evening, this day continues to spawn a series of iconic limited editions. Pure design theatrically inspired by the roaring twenties, an opaque black glass bottle, encircled with an “urchin” style gold band conjures up all the mystery of a bewitching Christmas Night.

Notes from Fragrantica:

Top notes are ylang-ylang, tincture of rose and jasmine; middle notes are sandalwood and oak moss; base notes are musk and amber.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: I can’t say that Nuit de Noel reminds me of Christmas. I’m not sure what it reminds me of except that is feels classic and timeless. But now that I have this as part of my collection, I’m going to make it my new tradition for wearing during the holiday season and specifically on Christmas Eve from this year forward.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE NUIT DE NOEL: proper, classic, beautiful

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT NUIT DE NOEL: Perfume Shrine, Bois de Jasmin, The Fragrant Man

BOTTOM LINE: This is one of those successful blind buys so I can’t speak for the EdT version of the fragrance, but have heard mixed things about it. I could see where if this was thinned out, that it might not be the same deep and haunting floral as the parfum extrait is. I could easily see my mother wearing this as she was getting ready for a party circa 1965. To me, that makes this a warm fuzzy of a fragrance. I think the mouse did an excellent job of finding this rather perfect holiday fragrance!