oriental floral | The Scented Hound

January 18, 2016
by The Scented Hound 14 Comments

Iris Cendré by Naomi Goodsir

WHAT I SMELL: Iris Cendré opens up cool, yet warm with a suede-like bergamot that starts to sparkle quickly with a dash of tangerine. The perfume is semi-light and airy and reminds me of feathers descending to the ground after a pillow fight. Soon the incense comes rushing to the forefront, but in a powdered and light-handed matter. At this stage of the perfume, it feels like a giant powder puff of feminine floral magic. What I find interesting is that you can feel the complexity and quality in the perfume, yet it carries itself in the most simple and elegant manner. So where’s the iris? It’s been there all along, but it’s soft, delicate and basking in warmth behind the other notes. It doesn’t want to be the center of attention and instead choosing to be cool and aloof like iris can sometimes be. As the perfume dries down, it becomes stripped of most of its moisture and ends it’s journey in a haze of incense which finally gives way to a light floral musk. Iris Cendré has me mystified.

From the Naomi Goodsir website:

A fresh floral tone, led by bergamot, tangerine & spices. A rich & powdery heart of incense & purple iris. Sensuality is enhanced by cistus, tobacco & amber.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Black swan feathers.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE IRIS CENDRÉ: elegant, elusive, restrained

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT IRIS CENDRÉ: Kafkaesque, Colognoisseur, CaFleureBon

BOTTOM LINE: Iris Cendré is an incredibly beautiful and restrained iris beauty. It’s elegant simplicity and cool demeanor conceals a complex heart. My only regret with the perfume is that the opening doesn’t last as long as I would like.

Bone Rating: 3.5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Oriental Floral
Noses: Julien Rasquinet
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $187 for 50 ml eau de parfum

Sample courtesy of Lucky Scent.

January 6, 2016
by The Scented Hound 2 Comments

Polianthes by Bottega Profumiera

WHAT I SMELL: Polianthes’ opening is soft and creamy and highlighted by a lightly spicy mentholated tuberose. There’s an underlying candied aspect from the tiare flower that adds a light spun sugar or cotton candy dimension to the perfume. After a few minutes, a woody note comes forward which decreases the light sweetness. Though full of projection, the perfume itself is not heavy nor dense. Instead, the perfume seems to hover above the skin. But as soon as I write that, I find a rather creamy buttery note comes forward that brings the perfume back to earth and what was light and ethereal now becomes a sheen of buttery vanilla tuberose with a curiously dry undertone. Here the perfume gracefully resides in its dry down. A rather lady-like, but secure, existence at that.

From the Bottega Profumeira website:

Polianthes Tuberose or in common name from Latin “Tuberosa” is the note that gives name to this perfume. “Sexy”, “heady”, “sultry”, “carnal” are the sorts of descriptions that are typically applied to tuberose perfumes, but in this case I add also “soft”, “reflective”, “independent”, “strong” like a complete woman is. All these peculiarities are in every woman and I tried to put all these facets in a single perfume. There is no sensuality without intelligence, there is no passion without strength, there is no love without independence… So the opulent white flowers of tuberose, thiaré, gardenia, jasmin match together with the solid notes of vetiver, sandalwood, teakwood…

Notes: thiaré, tuberose, gardenia, ylang-ylang, jasmin, benzoin, frankincense, amber, vanilla, teakwood, vetiver, sandalwood

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: The taming of the tuberose tiger.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE POLIANTHES: secure, buttery, harnessed

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT POLIANTHES: Chemist in the Bottle, BL’eauOG

BOTTOM LINE: Polianthes is the tuberose perfume for those who don’t want their tuberose to completely overwhelm or dominate. Instead it politely takes its place where it’s lovely presence is noticeable, without being overbearing.

Bone Rating: 3 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Oriental Floral
Nose: Maurizio Lembo
Classification: Unisex, but leans feminine
Expense: $150 for 100ml Eau de Parfum (plus 30ml travel refill)

Sample courtesy of Twisted Lily Fragrance Boutique and Apothecary

October 12, 2015
by The Scented Hound 4 Comments

New Release: Comme des Garcons Floriental

WHAT I SMELL: Floriental opens cool to the skin, but warm to the nose with a comforting labdanum and a light and airy incense which is rounded and full-bodied without being heavy. Soon a subdued plum note enters along with an earthiness that keeps the fruit grounded, but the fragrance is pleasingly lightly gourmand at this stage. After a bit, a creamy sandalwood enters the mix along with a lightly sweetened tobacco. Floriental is a comfort perfume in that it’s light smoky radiance is like a transitional sweater taking you from the warm summer months to the cool of the fall. In the end, Floriental exists in a lightly boozy, incensed sandalwood haze.

From the Comme des Garcons Parfums website:

Floriental is a disrupted floral fragrance that challenges the traditions of perfumery to reimagine a flower that has no scent.
A creative collision that blurs the lines between the floral and the oriental to create something completely new.
An odourless flower is given life, a virtual scent imagined: enigmatic, contrasted, intense.

Labdanum, lavish sandalwood, vetiver, incense, pink pepper and plum liqueur.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A rain-soaked fall day when you enjoy a quiet walk through the colored leaves.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE FLORIENTAL: introspective, calming, quiet

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT FLORIENTAL: Katie Puckrick Smells

BOTTOM LINE: Now that it’s getting cooler outside, I should be excited about switching gears toward wearing some fantastic cooler weather fragrances. However, I could easily live in a climate where it was summer all year-long and where I could just remain smelling of white flowers. Unfortunately that’s not the case…but a fragrance like Floriental is a welcomed gentle push into the cooler months making for an easy seasonal transition without effort.

Bone Rating: 4 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Floral Oriental
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $103 for 50 ml eau de parfum

Sample courtesy of Twisted Lily Fragrance Boutique and Apothecary