oriental floral | The Scented Hound

March 2, 2015
by The Scented Hound 61 Comments

New Release: Les Exclusifs de Chanel Misia

WHAT I SMELL: Misia opens with a powdery light and airy violet that quickly is accentuated by a lovely rounded almost plastic candy coated rose. Candied doesn’t mean that the perfume is overly sweet. In fact, it’s like a dusting of light powder that has been sifted onto the semi-sweet flowers. The fragrance has a sense of fragility about it, but there’s an underlying iris rootiness wrapped in the most subtle of leather that helps Misia to keep itself grounded in confidence. After 10 minutes, the fragrance begins to grow and the leather comes forward but in a way that ensures that it never takes the spotlight away from the pretty powdered florals. After 25 minutes, a slightly sour tonka comes in giving the perfume a greater amount of dimension. There’s a definite vintage makeup and lipstick quality to Misia, but at the same time, Misia has a dynamic that propels it into the present day. In the end, Misia becomes a pretty powder puff of violet and iris…but not overly pretty, you can’t accuse Misia of being too girly-girl.

From the Chanel website:

Named for the art patron Misia Sert, Gabrielle Chanels confidante. Evoking the air of a theater backstage, this exquisite scent features a feminine blend of May Rose and Violet, intertwined with a hint of leather. A truly inspired and distinctive creation.

Ziegfeld Model - Non-Risque - Dancers by Alfred Cheney Johnston

Ziegfeld Girls

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Backstage dressing rooms at the Ziegfeld Follies, full of powder, makeup and unbridled femininity.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE MISIA: daring, unique, confident

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT MISIA: CaFleureBon, Bois de Jasmin

BOTTOM LINE: Misia is a temptress that keeps calling back to me with her siren song. I really like her, but am not sure if I love her, but there’s something so unique and special about her that I can’t stop thinking about her. Misia betwixts me!

Bone Rating: 4 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Oriental Floral
Nose: Olivier Polge
Classification: Feminine
Expense: $160 for 2.5 oz. Eau de Toilette

The Scented Hound has two 2 ml samples of Misia to give away to two lucky readers (U.S only please). To enter the draw, let me know what your favorite Chanel perfume is or why you want to get to know Misia. The draw ends on Thursday March 5 at 6pm EST. Winners will be chosen via random.org. and will be announced on Friday, March 6. Good luck!

February 25, 2015
by The Scented Hound 11 Comments

Hand in Hand by Ramon Monegal

WHAT I SMELL: Hand in Hand opens with this warm mentholated spiced rose, that feels like the rose petals have been tinged in a fire with incense. The oud is smoky and strong and minute by minute the smoke grows in intensity, as if the smoke is being pushed through a pumping bellow. Thankfully, after around the 10 minute mark, the smoke and oud start retreating behind the rose, which now is much cleaner than in the opening. The rose, sanitized by the musk begins to become powdery and very dry. But as it becomes dry, the incense and oud spar with the rose for domination. Eventually, they pair up to share the stage, but the rose, combined with the musk make for this lightly candied cotton candied concoction topped with smoke. Unfortunately, after around an hour, you’re left with a light rose musk dryer sheet.

Notes: Bulgarian rose, oud, spicy notes and musk

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Hanging laundry in the Casbah. It’s the smell of clean sheets washed with rose water that is met by the smell of spice and incense from the city below.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE HAND IN HAND: conflicted, smoky, over-musked

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT HAND IN HAND: I couldn’t find any other reviews.

BOTTOM LINE: To me, this is one of those perfumes that I didn’t wear, but it wore me instead. What started off as rather interesting (yet, kind of discordant), ended up being something that was rather bland and boring. Hand in Hand feels like two hands that clearly missed the handshake.

Bone Rating: 2 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Oriental Floral
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $200 for 50 ml Eau de Parfum

January 29, 2015
by The Scented Hound 11 Comments

Guerlain Shalimar Souffle de Parfum

I love Shalimar and the intoxicating effect is has on me; it stands out in my collection as a classic and revered masterpiece. So when I reached down in my big bag of untested samples and saw the sample of Shalimar Souffle de Parfum I immediately thought to myself that I was going to hate it. I admit, that I was being prejudicial prior to testing this, but the words “souffle” and “Shalimar” together had me very concerned. Shalimar is delightfully refined and adult…I am wondering if this new flanker was mean to bring the kiddies into the big time…maybe like the perfumed Joe Camel?!

Peeps

WHAT I SMELL: Tangy lemon and then a buttered orange creme that’s surprisingly rich, lush, gourmand and inviting. I like the fact that there’s a sweetness about the opening that is rooted in the lemon, but without a high dosage of sugar. There’s also a wonderful shimmering hue that makes the fragrance sparkle. After around 10 minutes the jasmine takes center stage, it’s clean and fresh and topped by the citrus. I have to say that the fragrance thus far feels like a big chemical concoction. However, in this case, that’s not a bad thing. After another 5 minutes, Souffle (as I’ll call it from here out) starts to grown in projection. There’s a creaminess that comes forward combined with vanilla that makes the perfume feel like a cross between an egg custard and a Peep. The white musk adds a dryer sheet effect to the perfume which again, I feel like the combination of the Peeps, dryer sheets, etc. should make this a wreck. Well, it’s not. It’s just a flanker that is targeted to a younger audience and in that case, I would say that it works. In the end, Souffle is a lemony tart souffle that’s bright and sunny.

From Guerlain:

inspired by a fabulous Indian love story, Jacques Guerlain created the legendary Shalimar perfume in 1925. Now, Thierry Wasser has breathed new life into this legendary perfume, taking it to the heights of sensuality. A luminous, modern creation with notes of jasmine, vanilla and white musk.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: An Easter basket.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE SHALIMAR SOUFFLE DE PARFUM: happy, fresh, fluffy

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT SHALIMAR SOUFFLE DE PARFUM: Now Smell This, Colognoisseur, The Candy Perfume Boy

BOTTOM LINE: If you remove yourself from trying to compare this to the original Shalimar you’ll find that this is a nice light treat that’s perfect for a younger audience. And I have to say that the name fits perfectly…this is a souffle of a perfume!

Bone Rating: 3.5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Oriental Floral
Nose: Thierry Wasser
Classification: Feminine
Expense: $100 for 1.7 oz. Eau de Parfum