The Scented Hound

Perfume blog with abbreviated perfume reviews & fragrance reviews.

Tag Archives: oriental


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Cuir Ottoman by Parfum d’ Empire

I thought it was timely that I do a review of Cuir Ottoman by Parfum de Empire as I have read some interesting reviews as of late and just received a sample myself.  Now my preferences don’t lean towards the leather scents, but I have learned to be open to new avenues of fragrances.  So after reading what others thought about this fragrance, I decided to give this a try.  The first thing that I found when I applied this was a lovely floral note, mixed with what I found to be almost a rubber or plastic smell.  Is that the leather trying to come out?  Yes.  The rubber smell dissipated quickly and the leather made its presence.  Now this is not leather that is harsh or strong, but is more of a buttery, suede leather.  The mix of floral and leather is very interesting and quite refreshing.  This is a scent that stays close to the skin and is surprisingly light, a little sweet and clean and airy.  Cuir Ottoman is quite different from what I think of a typical leather scent.  As nice as I found this scent to be, my one disappointment was that it disappeared on me after a few hours.  In the end, I found Cuir Ottoman to be an elegant surprise.  For those of you who love leather scents, I recommend giving this a try.

Cuir Ottoman Notes:

jasmine, leather, iris, benzoin, balsams, resins, incense

  • Bone Rating:   4 out of 5 possible bones
  • Scent:  Iris and Leather Oriental
  • Classification:  Unisex
  • Expense:   $75 for 50ml EDP


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New York by Parfums de Nicolai

Fragrances have a tendency to take you back in time.  Memories of your past can come rushing forward with just one whiff of a smell.  New York by Parfums de Nicolai is one of those scents.  This is a scent that takes me back to my younger days when I was just discovering my love of fragrance.  I couldn’t afford the best, but always had a few bottles on my shelf.  I don’t know which fragrance this reminds me of, but it reminds me of the early 1980s.  Clean, fresh and masculine this scent opens with a rush of citrus.  It doesn’t take long for that to move into a very gentle woody spice.  But the citrus continues throughout as the dominant note.  This is a fragrance for those men who like to feel comfortable in a scent.  It won’t offend and will probably lend itself to comments of how wonderful you smell wearing it.  Unfortunately it doesn’t have a “wow” factor.  Overall a nice scent, just not an adventurous one.

From the Parfums de Nicolai website:

Top note : fresh, citrus, lemon, bergamot, aromatics note, lavender
Heart : spicy, woody, pepper, patchouli and cedarwood
Base : vanilla, leather and amber

  • Bone Rating:   3 out of 5 possible bones
  • Scent:  Woody, Oriental, Citrus
  • Classification:  Unisex, but leans masculine
  • Expense:   $115 for 100ml EDT


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Armani Prive’ Ambre Soie by Armani

You will notice that I have been reviewing a lot of amber scents as of late.  Last month, I ordered a Men’s Amber sample pack from The Perfumed Court.  If you’re not familiar with them, they offer decant service on an incredible variety of fragrances, including hard to find ones.  But I digress.  One of the samples that was part of this group was Ambre Soie.  I was very excited to try this and found that I wasn’t disappointed.  I found this to be an incredibly luxurious scent.  Upon application, I was first greeted with a beautiful combination of ginger, pepper and spices.  It then moved on to a lovely creamy and ethereal amber and patchouli. Ambre Soie is a very calming and elegant fragrance.  I just wish I had more than what I have in my small vial.  I can only imagine how wonderful it would be to spray this gem on!

From the Giorgio Armani Beauty website:

Amber’s voluptuousness and depth appealed to Giorgio Armani. He re-interpreted this rare olfactive essence using the light of wood and eastern spices. It is a blend of Cinnamon and Clove, a hint of Ginger which rustles on the waves of Patchouli. The light touch of spices and liquorice wood venture deliciously into the amber. More weighty: Artist and magician, Giorgio Armani transforms the amber into a golden fluid, silky and smooth, revealing the skin, the ultimate elegance of exposure. The top, inspired by the most sumptuous amber stone reveals its transparency with golden, coppery tones. Its warmth echoing its sensual and radiant energy.

  • Bone Rating:   4 out of 5 possible bones
  • Scent:  Oriental
  • Classification:  Unisex
  • Expense:   Expensive – $200 for 100ml