The Scented Hound

Perfume blog with abbreviated perfume reviews & fragrance reviews.

Tag Archives: oriental spicy


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Puredistance Gold

WHAT I SMELL:   Gold opens with a rush of soft herbed and spiced bergamot that instantly fuses with the warmth of your skin.  The smooth warm opening makes for the most welcoming invitation of what’s to come as from the first spritz, Gold feels as if the perfume is made just for the wearer, and the wearer alone.  As the perfume settles in, Gold begins to flatten and the bergamot and herbs make way for the lightest of labdanum and jasmine bringing the flattened transition to the more rounded.  Here the perfume is pulsing and hypnotic.  After quite some time, Gold begins to dry and the desert begins to emerge from the perfume.  At this point, Gold feels as if the scent is wafting over the ancient dunes and mysterious spices have joined the winds from far away lands.  Gold is a gift from the most ancient of kings.

From the Puredistance website:

A rich and harmonious fusion of gold tones.

Top Notes:  Green Mandarine Essence – Italy, Bergamot Essence – Calabria, Pink peppercorn Essence – Reunion Island,
Rosemary Essence – Morocco, Clove buds Essence – Madagascar

Middle Notes:  Jasmin Absolute – India, Ciste Absolute – Spain, Geranium Essence – Morocco,
Cinnamon Bark Absolute – Madagascar

Base Notes:  Styrax Essence – Honduras, Benzoin Resinoide – Laos, Myrrhe Resinoide, Patchouli Essence – Indonesia,
Vanilla Green Beans – Madagascar, Tonka Beans Absolute – Venezuela, Castoreum Absolute,
Vetiver Essence – Haiti.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME:  The Saharan sands travelling west over the Atlantic bringing the beautiful sunsets to the Americas.

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE GOLD:  intimate, exotic, hypnotic

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT GOLD:  CaFleureBon, Chemist in the Bottle, Colognoisseur

BOTTOM LINE:  As with all of their creations, Puredistance uses the the finest materials and Gold is no exception with its’ 36% perfume oil.  And again, Jan Ewoud Vos and Antoine Lie never disappoint with their majestic collaborations as Gold is an exotic beauty that seems to meld with your DNA for the most intimate of wear.  

  • Bone Rating: 4.5 out of possible 5 bones
  • Scent: Oriental Spicy
  • Nose:   Antoine Lie
  • Classification: Unisex
  • Expense: 295 Euros for 60 ml parfum extrait

 


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Cartier – XII L’Heure Mysterieuse

WHAT I SMELL:  L’Heure Mysterieuse has a strange opening that’s full of smoke and tar as well as a heavy patchouli that is thick, chewy and rather like paste.  The smoke rises off of the skin like some kind of industrial component.  This is a very bizarre as I can’t see how the opening brings promise of anything beautiful or gentile….or something that represents “Cartier.”  Thankfully, after a short time, the tar and heavy smoke begin to lift.  A dried flatness of incense appears instead and the perfume starts to belie a more gentle persona.  But don’t get me wrong, there’s a strength to the perfume in that it has a fighting energy buried beneath the smoky subdued radiance.  After quite some time a light floral appears, once again softening the former intensity.  To me, L’Heure Mysterieuse is a hard perfume to describe, but I can tell you that it has a classic old world heart that reminds me of fragrances from the 1970s.

From the Cartier website:

Silence was on the prowl. You could hear it breathing, lurking like desire. The calmness felt only temporary. Drowsiness gained life, slowly jasmine and heavily PATCHOULI. This was the time for listening to your own pulse at the edge of abandon, like a reverse countdown, a voyage into the intimate where everything both takes shape and disintegrates. Withdraw into yourself, escape and focus your mind on your inner self, reaching that point where self-awareness resides. Was it elemi gum, CORIANDER day? Was it incense, FRANKINCENSE night? Soon you must leave the juniper darkness… but not quite yet. First, savor L’HEURE MYSTÉRIEUSE for just one hour – no longer, that’s a promise – extracted from deep within, and rediscover your own personal roots.

La Liberté guidant le peuple. Eugène Delacroix. 1830

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME:  La Liberté.

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE L’HEURE MYSTERIEUSE:  smoky, intense, retro

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT L’HEURE MYSTERIEUSE:  AustralianPerfumeJunkies, Bois de Jasmin, Katie Puckrick Smells

BOTTOM LINE:  L’Heure Mysterieuse Is a like and not a love for me.  The opening is weirdly interesting, but the drydown redeems the perfume as it turns into a retro classical scent.

  • Bone Rating: 3 out of possible 5 bones
  • Scent: Oriental Spicy
  • Nose:  Mathilde Laurent
  • Classification: Unisex (but to me it leans masculine)
  • Expense: $285 for 75 ml eau de parfum


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Robert Graham Valour

WHAT I SMELL:   Valour has an incredibly wonderful opening that’s made up of bergamot and brown sugar goodness.  It tingles and sparkles like light brown amber crystals.  Not long after the initial opening, the light sugared deliciousness begins to warm as a wonderful creaminess begins to smooth out the sparkle.  The brown sugar (which never is too sweet) feels as if its mixed within the cream along with the lightest note of coffee.  At the same time a clary sage enters adding a marvelously herbaled dimension to the lightly gourmand mix. Eventually, the perfume moves away from the enjoyably edible and takes on a more traditional amber tone.  Valour feels as if it should be heavy and hefty, but instead it remains restrained and contained.  In the end, Valour remains an ambered hue of masculinity wrapped up in gentle sophistication.

From the Robert Graham website:

The art of audacity and boldness for the loyal and the dynamic. The bulldog has always been a symbol of fierce individuality and willful intelligence a fitting way to top off such a determined essence housed in a faceted decanter and finished with a foulard print. This bottle gives a nod to the well-dressed modern gentlemen.

This blended essence walks the line between fresh and sybaritic mixing top notes clary sage coffee santos and amber wood to give it the epitome of eclectic sophistication.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME:  A 1970s sophisticate.

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE VALOUR:  easy, smooth, subtle

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT VALOUR: CaFleureBon

BOTTOM LINE:  Valour is one of three perfumes in the “Collector’s Trio” which also includes Fortitude and Courage, but Valour is my favorite.  The perfume is nicely refined and very easy to wear.  It does have a nostalgic vibe to it, which to me, makes it all that more attractive.

  • Bone Rating:  4 out of possible 5 bones
  • Scent: Oriental Spicy
  • Classification: Masculine
  • Expense:  $125 for 100 ml blended essence (I’m not sure if that means cologne, eau de toilette or eau de parfum)