oriental | The Scented Hound

May 8, 2012
by The Scented Hound 8 Comments

Idole by Lubin

Spicy rum and smoky incense are the first impressions left when applying Idole. The scent is intoxicating in the way it wraps itself around you. That initial opening then starts turning towards the bitter orange. It still a bit boozy, but it now has more of a bite. Still intoxicating. Sometimes, scents with rum as an ingredient can get too thick and will overtake all of the notes. Not in the case of Idole, it accentuates the spices and makes them pop. The real interesting part of this fragrance is that it stays in this boozy, spicy state for a long time, but then hours after wearing it, it does fade and the leather notes are what you are left with. Usually you’ll notice the leather in the scent much earlier, but in this case you don’t find it until the end. And in that end, the leather is soft and warm and very pleasing. So far, this is my second entree’ into the world of Lubin scents and I’m happily surprised. And from the pictures I’ve seen, the bottle is a work of art.

Idole Notes:

Rum absolute, saffron, black cumin, bitter orange peel, Doum palm, rock rose, smoked ebony, frankincense, sugar cane, leather, red sandalwood, amber

Bone Rating: 4 out of 5 possible bones
Scent Type: Oriental – Spicy
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $160 for 100ml EDP

April 30, 2012
by The Scented Hound 4 Comments

Musc Ravageur by Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle

So what’s all the fuss about? Musc Ravageur is a fragrance that evokes the either “I love it” or “I hate it” responses by those who have tried it. It’s also one of those fragrances that have been described as dirty, sexy, sensual (and many other things in which I won’t go into detail). Of course, given the discourse and the descriptors I too had to give this a try. And I can see what everybody is talking about. The first thing that comes to mind when I put this on is the phrase “plastics are the wave of the future!” There is truly an artificial plastic petroleum aspect to this scent. It’s heavy and it’s a heaviness that fills up your lungs. Musc Ravageur starts with a bitch slap to the senses. It’s moist and musky with hints of vanilla. As the slow dry down takes place, out comes more of a warmed peppered base. It mellows ever so slightly but not enough to take away it’s oomph. I would have a hard time seeing a woman pull this one off, because I think of this really as a man’s fragrance because of its heaviness. In going back and reading what I have written so far, you would think that I don’t like this. Wrong. I love it. It’s a fragrance that gives you power. There is nothing shy about Musc Ravageur, so much so that this may have to go on my wish list for a full bottle.

From the Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle website:

Sensual and sophisticated. Powerful yet perfectly controlled. Dramatic and mysterious. MUSC RAVAGEUR is a grown-up perfume, an uncompromising Oriental, which trumps current fads. Its explosive departure of bergamot, tangerine and cinnamon is set against a lusty backdrop of vanilla, musk and amber. No flowers, just a refined and exalted skin scent.

Bone Rating: 5 out of 5 possible bones
Scent Type: Oriental
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $165 for 50ml EDP

April 3, 2012
by The Scented Hound 2 Comments

Indochine by Parfumerie Generale

Intrigued by the name and intrigued by the description of this scent, I knew I had to give this fragrance a try. Indochine is as exotic as its name. Sweet in the bottle and initially sweet on the skin, the far east is emboldened in what I would imagine a Vietnamese Buddhist temple would smell like. Honey, vanilla and incense are the primary notes combined with a smoky haze. I’m a fan or oriental scents, but the incense, as mild as it is, is not a favorite of mine. Bold, without being overpowering, I would recommend this to anyone who likes deep and rich almost gourmand incense fragrances.

From the Parfumerie Generale website:

At once sweet, vanilla-scented, resinous, powdery, milky and spicy, Benzoin Siam is a resin of great olfactory richness that is rarely used as a central theme in Perfumery. Drawing on rare notes such as Kampot Pepper, Burmese Tanakha, or Laos honey, Pierre Guillaume orchestrates a luminous, smooth and airy perfume, delicately reproducing each and every facet of the unprocessed balsam. This sepia-tinged balm infuses Indochine with the radiance of platinum…

Indochine Notes:

Wood, Fresh Spice, Sweet Amber, Powder, Benzoin Siam Resin, Kampot Pepper, Ceylon Cardamom, Burmese Tanakha, Laos Honey.