parfum | The Scented Hound

July 20, 2015
by The Scented Hound 12 Comments

Mona di Orio Nuit Noire

WHAT I SMELL: Nuit Noire opens with a plasticined orange, it’s slightly bitter and sour and rather animalic (to be honest, there’s a skankiness that is quite unexpected). Given the opening, I would think that the perfume would be heavy and thick. Instead, the perfume feels light and airy, albeit it incredibly potent. Now don’t get me wrong, I like it when a perfume has a bit of a funky edge as long as it doesn’t dominate. And after around 10 minutes or so, the funk, although still present, makes way for a warmed mix of spice and a light creaminess. The projection is low which makes the perfume feel mysterious and rather forbidden. The transition of the soured orange to more of a flattened musk brings a more evened edge to the perfume and after around 30 minutes the tuberose melds with the orange blossom which helps to soften the perfume even further. In the end, Nuit Noire is a sultry and sexy exotic creamy floral with just the right amount of naughty edginess.

From the Mona di Orio website:

Nuit Noire elicits the steaming sensuality of a dark, sultry night in North Africa, exotic, spicy, and animalic. A strikingly carnal affair, the raw energy and heat at the start rises from floral notes colliding with woods, spices and leather, but as it is with lovers, this sophisticated floriental dries down richly intimate into a velvety seduction of spices.

The honeyed floral sweetness of orange blossom, intense tuberose, and robust, spicy cardamom seduce each other and tease for dominance. The indolic quality of the orange blossom and tuberose pulses with a ripe lushness. Brighter notes of ginger and oranges arrive on the hot wind of this vibrant souk and bring with it an intense accord of incense, spices and woods from frankincense, cinnamon, cloves and cedar and sandalwood.

Notes of animalistic musk, comforting leather, vanilla-sweet tonka and warm resinous amber develop into a creamy, velvet intoxication. This primal nocturnal journey becomes darker and spicier.

Notes: Orange flower, cardamom, ginger, orange, frankincense, cinnamon, tuberose, sandalwood, clove, cedarwood, amber, leather, musk, tonka.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A 1960s supermodel Jean Shrimpton.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE NUIT NOIRE: mysterious, sensual, exotic

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT NUIT NOIRE: CaFleureBon, The Sounds of Scent, The Black Narcissus

BOTTOM LINE: There’s something about orange blossom that has a 1960s connection to me. As modern Nuit Noire is, to me, there’s a bit of vintage vibe to the perfume. Modern or vintage, Nuit Noire’s perfumed ride goes from the wild to the absolute sublime.

Bone Rating: 3.5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Oriental Floral
Nose: Mona di Orio
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $195 for 75 ml Eau de Parfum

Sample courtesy of Twisted Lily Fragrance Boutique and Apothecary.

July 15, 2015
by The Scented Hound 7 Comments

New Release: Frida by En Voyage Perfumes

WHAT I SMELL: Frida’s opening is wonderfully minty and fruity and the perfume feels like a cornucopia of fruit on a carved out watermelon on a beautiful summertime al fresco dinner party table. It’s juicy, a little spicy and rather snappy. There’s also an energy in the opening as if a bee is buzzing around all of the juicy goodness and as it lands on various fruits, it carries the juice from one gorgeous and ripe fruit to another. After around fifteen minutes, the fruit starts to make way for an indolic tuberose. It’s thick, spicy and incredibly intoxicating. But just as soon as the spiced tuberose starts to dominate, the other florals begin to take over evening out the sharper edges. At this point, Frida is pure loveliness, its bright, soft, tender, but not demure as there’s a projection that is quite large, but the perfume at this point is radiant and full of life. After the 30 minute mark, the tuberose starts to make its way to the center and once again, the perfume begins to become more spicy with a haze of incense hanging over the florals. In the end, Frida leaves you with a lush, fruitful and floral bounty of beauty that I have the feeling will reveal different nuances depending the person’s skin. Whatever is revealed, I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

From the En Voyage Perfumes website:

This perfume celebrates the life of Frida Kahlo; the woman and artist, her suffering, her Mexican heritage and her love of nature.

Frida was feminine, fearless and a revolutionary; she cross dressed, smoked cigars, and has been a part of pop culture for over 50 years. A world-travelled sophisticate who had love affairs with both men and women, Frida remained happiest at Casa Azul, her traditional family home.

Tuberose, a flower that the Aztecs called the Boneflower, is an important note in this perfume as an homage to Frida’s brutal calamities and artistic transformation. Other notes include the hibiscus that she wore in her hair as well as the tropical blossoms and plants of Frida’s garden. The fragrance also devotes close attention to other details of Frida’s life, such as the heat of her native Mexico City, the smells of her cigarettes and her heavy hair.

TOP NOTES: The fruits of Frida’s Garden including Apricots, Watermelon, Peaches, Lemons, and Lush Greenery

HEART NOTES: Tuberose, Hibiscus, Cactus Flower, Champaca, Ylang Ylang, Gardenia, and Jasmine

BASE NOTES: Light Woods, Sugar, Oak moss, Aldehydes; Myrrh, Frankincense, and Copal; Tobacco, Green Pepper, Sexual Animalic Notes, Musk, Amber

Still Life with Parrot and Flag, 1951

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A Frida Kahlo still life painting; except there is nothing “still” about her work.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE FRIDA: bountiful, exotic, complex

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT FRIDA: Brooklyn Fragrance Lover, Perfume Polytechnic, The Sounds of Scent

BOTTOM LINE: There is something for everyone with Frida; a little fruit, beautiful florals and just a hint of wood and some wonderful spice make this a beautiful celebration of the one and only Frida Kahlo.

Bone Rating: 3.5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Floral
Nose: Shelley Waddington
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $95 for 1 oz. Eau de Parfum

July 13, 2015
by The Scented Hound 9 Comments

Nin-Shar by Jul et Mad Paris

WHAT I SMELL: Nin-Shar opens warm and lightly boozy with a creamed rose. It has a thick texture and a lovely milky radiance that when smelled warms the back of your throat. The perfume is lightly sweetened, but it can’t be called a sweet perfume. Instead, the rose, front and center, is wrapped around some beefy wood and an oud that blends masterfully with the rose rather than takes it over. Nin-Shar develops slowly as you wear it, but the nuances are so wonderfully subtle as not to jar the wearer. But what becomes a bit more predominant with the drydown is a cedar note that brings a marvelous natural note to the perfume. But after an hour or so, that cedar blends towards the back of the perfume. The perfume then adds a light layer of powder along with a very rounded juiciness to the mix providing for the perfect finishing touch to make this perfume the utmost in rose elegance. Overall the projection is impressive and the longevity is superb. Nin-Shar is a rose lover’s dream.

From the Jul et Mad website:

This very contrast is evoked in “Nin-Shar”. The purest and best quality absolute of Turkish Rose was employed here, revealing a rich, profound, strong, powerful multifaceted fragrance where soft, comforting, floral, powdery facets, intertwine with strong, green, balsamic, woody, earthy notes, a pure representation of the entire plant, from the soft, floral petals to the green leaves, stem and thorns, and all the way to the roots.

Top Notes: Bergamote, Liqueur de Rose, Essence de Davana
Middle Notes: Absolu de Rose Turque, Jasmin d’Egypte, Fraction Patchouli
Base Notes: Oud, Benjoin, Vanille Bourbon, Cèdre de Virginie, Santal, Absolu d’Encens

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A beautiful pink and cream-colored rose.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE NIN-SHAR: creamy, opulent, rapturous

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT NIN-SHAR: Colognoisseur, Chemist in the Bottle, Persefume

BOTTOM LINE: One of the three perfumes in the Les White collection, Nin-Shar is my favorite. But surprisingly enough, Nea, a fruity gourmand, which typically would not be something that I would normally gravitate to, comes a close second. But all in the collection are wonderful in their own right. I’m also not a big oud fan, but there is something about the rose-oud combination that is wonderful. On their own, the two notes can over dominate any perfume, but here they work their magic in perfect harmony.

Bone Rating: 4 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Oriental Woody
Nose: Sidnoie Lancesseur
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $190 for 50 ml parfum extrait