parfum | The Scented Hound

May 4, 2016
by The Scented Hound 40 Comments

Sniffa New York!

Let me first say that I am a very deficient blogger…deficient in the fact that when I go to an event and meet the fantastic people in the industry I fail to record meetings, greetings and happenings through pictures. And I have a great new iPhone so there’s no excuse. So let me first apologize for the sparse use of original or borrowed pictures.

Twisted Lily

This past weekend was a perfumed whirlwind centered around the 2016 Sniffapalooza Spring Fling. Friday night kicked off the weekend event with an open house at Twisted Lily in Brooklyn. Let me first say that I was proud of the fact that the Hound and hub managed to take the subway from Manhattan to Brooklyn during Friday night rush hour all by ourselves. This is big, even though I may be lax in taking pictures, I am not lax in ordering Uber. So the train took me off my princess perch. If you have never had the pleasure of visiting Twisted Lily, Eric and Stamatis’s store offers the best selection of niche perfumes on the east coast. Wide and varied, they have an incredible diverse and unique range of perfumes. Even if you haven’t been there, check out their website as you can still order their perfumes online. The open house was PACKED…but that made it all that much more fun. It was great to see old friends and to make new ones as well….two of which included the team behind Masque Milano, Alessandro Brun and Riccardo Tedeschi. We had a lovely chat where they introduced me to their latest release Romanza, a perfume inspired by Oscar Wilde’s Portrait of Dorian Gray. It’s a narcissus based perfume that…well, the inspiration says a lot and I plan to complete a review so I’ll let you create your own picture right now. Additionally, they introduced me to their upcoming release L’Attesa, an incredibly beautiful iris perfume that restored my interested in the flower as a note. More to come on that as well. But they also have redesigned their bottles and I have to say that they are incredibly luxurious and wonderful weighted.

Saturday morning was kicked off with the invasion of the Sniffa group to Bergdorf Goodman. I was introduced to a new line I hadn’t heard of before, The Fragrance Kitchen. This Kuwait based perfume house has been around since 2005, but is new to the US market. They had a wide range of perfumes, but found my favorite to be “The Man from Impanema,” a really nice fresh citrus floral with a happy disposition. How can you not love that name??! I also managed to be seduced by Ex Nihilo’s Sweet Morphine, a vibrant pink floral perfume that spellbound me big time. But of course, I didn’t purchase either of those, but instead was enabled by dear sweet Daisy as we both ended up purchasing a 3 ml bottle of Oud Elixir Precieux from Christian Dior. This perfumed oil elixir is out of this world and one of those perfumes where people around me were wondering where the intoxicating fragrance was coming from as it just seems to not necessarily radiate from the skin, but from the atmosphere. Riccardo Tedeschi from Masque was smelling it as we were wrapping up the purchase and he said it was the most magnificent thing he had smelled that day. I have to admit, it’s like owning a little jewel. And it’s not a heavy oud, but more of a smooth and smoky honeyed intoxicant.

I must have these Diors!

The Sniffa lunch revolved around various speakers…but one highlight was a presentation from Barbara Herman introducing her newly released line of Eris Parfums. Barbara, an aficionado on vintage and classic perfumes and author of “Scent and Subversion” has taken this next step into the realm of creation with a trio of classic, yet modern-inspired animalic perfumes in collaboration with perfumer Antoine Lie and co-founder and business partner, the talented Jacinta Bunt. Probably my favorite from the line is Night Flower…and of course, that’s only a teaser as you’ll soon hear more about it!

Cecile, Mary and The Hound

Saturday night culminated in a wonderful small gathering with Puredistance, the perfume house that’s dear to my heart. Their creations, including my beloved White, are all incredible and this gathering was centered around the introduction to the newest member of their collection, Sheiduna. A stunner that is a departure from the rest of the line, I was told that with this creation they were looking to bridge the elegance of Europe with the sensual and exciting nature of the Orient. Those in attendance had the chance to experience Sheiduna and it was incredible how different it developed on each wearer. All I can say is that this oriental has a beautiful drydown that must be experienced. I also finally had a chance to meet the ever gracious Mary Gooding, the Puredistance brand ambassador, as well as have a chat with Sheiduna’s perfumer, the amzaing Cecile Zarokian. Sheiduna is set to be released some time later in 2016.

Sunday was a day spent with friends so I didn’t get a chance to experience day 2 of the Sniffapalooza, but that’s OK…I managed to pack in a sensory overload in a day and a half.

Next time however, I PROMISE to take pictures. Well…I guess I should never promise should I.

Thanks to Daisy, Ari, Hajusuuri, Mary, Carlos, Michelyn and the many others for making this such a special weekend.

xoxoxoxox Steve

April 25, 2016
by The Scented Hound 33 Comments

Les Exclusifs de Chanel Beige

WHAT I SMELL: Beige opens with bright aldehydes and then quickly moves to a soft, cottony mix of delicate flowers. The perfume is incredibly demure and unassuming and the freesia and frangipani are wonderfully muted. I often wondered if I could ever like a perfume that held frangipani…I think I finally found “the one.” The perfume doesn’t transform much, but instead, feels as if a ray of sunshine has warmed the perfume and made it grow oh so slightly. There’s a lovely combination of warmth and coolness at play; it feels tinged with sunshine, but there’s a cool breeze that provides for an underlay. After around 10 minutes, the perfume begins to dry and the perfume begins to powder. At this point, it feels like a light layer of talcum is covering your skin. The florals also begin to retain a woody texture, rather like a light balsa wood. After around 20 minutes, the perfume takes on a delicate sweetness of honey. It’s just the right amount of light sugar to make the perfume sparkle. Who knew beige could be so beautiful?

From the Chanel website:

“I take refuge in beige because it’s natural,” said Mademoiselle Chanel. An elusive colour with infinite variations, beige may seem quite ordinary. And yet, behind this apparent simplicity, it hides a discreet sensuality that builds slowly before revealing itself fully. This sensual outburst is interpreted by Jacques Polge through a bouquet of Hawthorn, Freesia and Frangipani, with shimmering hints of honey. A stunning blend of white petals and yellow gold…in other words, a breath of beige.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Central Park, NYC. The Upper East side social set meets the tranquility of the park.

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE BEIGE: unassuming, elegant, effortless

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT BEIGE: Bois de Jasmin, Now Smell This, Perfume Shrine

BOTTOM LINE: I believe that I have overlooked Beige over the years due to the name. The name renders thoughts of cardboard boxes and abject nothingness. Instead, Beige proves to be an uncomplicated, subtle and beautiful understated classic. I’ll never think of beige as being boring anymore.

Bone Rating: 4 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Floral
Nose: Jacques Polge
Classification: Leans feminine, but is rather unisex
Expense: $160 for 2.5 oz. Eau de Toilette (review based on the EdT version. Also available in parfum extrait.)

April 18, 2016
by The Scented Hound 21 Comments

New Release – Tauerville Fruitchouli Flash

WHAT I SMELL: Fruitchouli Flash does open with a flash…a flash of warm, peach, apricot and ripe fruit, topped with a nutty, rather carameled syrup. It is rich, thick, heavy and interestingly burnt. The perfume smells like a fruit and nut topping that you would put on an ice cream sundae. After around five minutes, the syrupy thickness gives way, but the fruity sweetness begins to really grow and project. At this point it’s hard to tell where the fruity ends and the patchouli begins as this is just, sweet upon sweet. After some more time, the fruity turns to floral. Though still sweet, it now feels like a bit of caramel has covered a bouquet of flowers vs. a fruit compote. As the perfume continues to develop, the sweets adds an undercurrent of creaminess and the perfume becomes smoother. After quite some time, the perfume begins to pull considerably back with the sweetness and the woody patchouli seems to air the perfume out. In the end, the fruity floral sweetness is still there, but it thankfully recedes to softer level.

Fragrance Notes:

Apricot, Peach, Rose, White Flowers, Musk, Patchouli

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A deluge of sweet caramelized fruity cream.

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE FRUITCHOULI FLASH: over-the-top

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT FRUITCHOULI FLASH: Now Smell This, Colognoisseur

BOTTOM LINE: I just dabbed on the smallest amount on my wrist and I think the sweetness travelled up to my mouth and I’m about to lose a couple of teeth. You really have to love sweet perfumes to like Fruitchouli Flash. It makes me feel like I just left the ice cream parlor and that sticky sweet bright atmosphere is still stuck to my skin.

Bone Rating: 2 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Floral Fruity
Nose: Andy Tauer
Classification: Unisex
Expense: The price is very right at $63 for 30 ml eau de parfum.