parfum | The Scented Hound

January 12, 2015
by The Scented Hound 69 Comments

Caron N’Aimez Que Moi Review and/or How to Break a New Year’s Resolution in Under a Week and 3rd Year Anniversary Draw

Well, it was bound to happen; the fact that I was going to break one of my resolutions for the new year. What I didn’t know that it was going to happen so quickly. On my January 5, post “Goodbye 2014, Hello 2015” I posted the following resolution: Only buy it if I ABSOLUTELY love it. Probably like many of you, I am known to peruse the online offerings of eBay looking at the various fragrant goodies that are listed…and hoping for that incredible deal. Well, a post caught my eye advertising a travel spray of Caron’s Aimez-Moi for $49. If you have ever seen these little jewels of a travel spray, they are 20ml in size and are designed to hold the Caron urned parfum extraits. Typically what these coffrets sell for is a bit over $200 which is a pretty good deal for 20ml of Caron extrait. However, I questioned this posting, but immediately thought that the seller (who said it was from an estate sale) didn’t realize that what he was selling was not Aimez-Moi, but instead was N’Aimez Que Moi (by name alone this could be an easy mistake). Aimez Moi is an oriental floral and is primarily found as an Eau de Toilette and it doesn’t come in parfum concentration which means is doesn’t come from an urn. But N’Aimez Que Moi, a rose based chypre floral does. So I took a chance and purchased the bottle for $49 and upon first sniff, I knew I had made the right deduction!

The lovely little jewel of a Caron travel spray!

WHAT I SMELL: N’Aimez Que Moi (“love no one but me”) opens with this big enveloping and sharp metallic rose. Like Caron’s Or et Noir, the metallic edge is biting and you wonder how this could ever turn into anything pleasant. But after a few minutes the metallic edge is met with a puff of powdered dust, which helps to soften that harsh opening. The rose, tinged with violet and lilac is voluminous and rather stiff and proper. True to when it was created, it feels like a perfume from 1916. Lying underneath the rose is a woody vetiver that is met with a light amber. Even though the perfume is big, there’s something rather tender and heartfelt about it. After 20 minutes or so, a creamy sandalwood comes in, bringing passion into the perfume, but a passion without lustfulness. And further on, the oakmoss pulls some of the creaminess out of the perfume and renders a satined finish to the composition. Most Caron parfum extraits require patience for them to achieve their “state of grace.” N’Aimez Que Moi is no exception and when it does settle down after around the hour mark, this creamy, powdery and radiant rose becomes a restrained heaven on earth.

N’Aimez Que Moi Notes: lilac, rose, violet, iris, vetiver, cedar, sandalwood, vanilla, amber, musk, oakmoss

From the Caron website:

The First World War was raging, young women yearned for their loved ones who had gone to the Front.

N’Aimez Que Moi was given by young soldiers to their sweethearts before they left. It was a pledge of faithfulness, so they could renew their love vows every day until their men returned.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: The creative and beautiful women’s hats from the early 20th Century.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE N’AIMEZ QUE MOI : proper, creamy, nostalgic

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT N’AIMEZ QUE MOI : CaFleureBon, The Black Narcissus, Bois de Jasmin

BOTTOM LINE: The Caron signature Mousse de Saxe is prominent in N’Aimez Que Moi which is a good thing. As most of you know by now, I love my Caron and this is close to love but is more of a like. But to find this gem for such a steal doesn’t make me feel one ounce of guilt in breaking my perfume New Year’s resolution. Maybe this great buy is just a sign of the fantastic things that are going to occur over the new year!

Bone Rating: 4 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Chypre Floral
Nose: Ernest Daltroff
Classification: Feminine

It’s hard to believe that I have been at this blogging/review adventure for 3 years now. What started as a fun way to make sense of a fascination of fragrance has turned out to be an amazing experience. I’ve met some fantastic people, explored some incredible perfumes and opened up doors that I didn’t know existed. It’s’ been fun. And since this is an anniversary post and since we have to have presents at an anniversary party, I am giving away a 50ml bottle of Lady Caron Eau de Parfum. In other words, it’s an all Caron post! Unfortunately, because of shipping issues, I can’t include anyone who doesn’t have a US address. To enter, all you have to do is post a comment on what your favorite Caron perfume is or what your favorite rose perfume is and why. How simple is that? The draw will close on Thursday, January 15 at 6pm EST and the winner will be picked via random.org and will be posted on Friday, January 16th so keep your eyes peeled for the announcement. Good luck to all!

December 31, 2014
by The Scented Hound 13 Comments

Land of Warriors by The Vagabond Prince

In the past year I have shied away from doing negative reviews. As such, if I find that I am confronted with something that I don’t care for I typically toss the sample aside and move on to something else. This is why the number of one and two bone rated perfumes is much smaller than the three to five bone rating categories. Well, since it’s the last day of the year, I thought I could end on a low note which means that the first review of 2015 can only go up from there. So here it goes…

Chaps ala Borat

WHAT I SMELL: Land of Warriors opens quickly with a nice sueded leather that’s topped with blackcurrant. It’s very nicely finished and crisp for a leather. However, it doesn’t take long for the leather to begin to bloom. Where the opening began with a sueded leather, the morphing leather has become salty and sharpened with something that can only be described to me as a chemical peel. It feels as if layers of leather are being folded back from the middle of the fragrance. There’s an herbal vibe that feels like a force field that sits above the fragrance that makes the fragrance more earthy. But soon enough the leather morphs once again, becoming bigger and with some added skank. It seems to move back and forth between smelling like a pair of used leather chaps that have consumed too much sweat and bodily fluids to some kind of 1980s big hair “look at me now” fragrance that wants to be tough, but instead it just screams “I’m trying too hard.”

A big hair warrior princess

Once again, Land of Warriors morphs and this time moves into a lightly boozy, hazy and smoky phase. Thankfully, at this point the fragrance feels more finished rather than raw. But just when I think that it’s going to become a pussycat on me, it turns into a chemical bomb that when sniffed, it scratches the back of my throat and it becomes all too big, tarry and biting. After an hour or so, the perfume becomes a smoky, hazy leather cloud that’s not quite the brute that it wants to be, but is still manages to a chemically enhanced leather punch.

From Fragrantica:

Land of Warriors pays homage to leather notes with a transversal and vertical presence of leather through all the different accords. The juicy top note is at once green, fresh and tart with the combined presence of pomegranate, blackcurrant, juniper, cucumber and violet leaf. The distinctive freshness of the top note is reinforced by the hefty dose of rum, an intoxicating note linked directly to the inclusion of celebrated oakwood absolute.

vegetal leather: angelique seed, violet leaf, cucumber accord reinforced by tomato leaf,blackcurrant leaf;

mineral and spicy leather: oakwood, frankincense, davana, cistus absolute, saffron effect, nutmeg, oregano;

animalic leathery effect: castoreum absolute, ambergris accord;

smoky leathery effect: styrax pyrogéné, tar.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Skanky chaps + 80s big hair + smoke and haze = I’m confused

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE LAND OF WARRIORS: chemicaled, confused, deliberate

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT LAND OF WARRIORS: None to be found.

BOTTOM LINE: There’s a good fragrance hidden inside of Land of Warriors, unfortunately it’s buried somewhere in there and it can’t get out. I have to admit that I am not the biggest fan of leather fragrances, but this is a chemical bomb to me that’s so manufactured and artificial that it makes it rather hard for me to connect to it. I guess if there’s a positive note to this it’s that I may not like the perfume, but the Vagabond Prince bottles are wonderful works of art!

Bone Rating: 2.5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Woody Aromatic
Nose: Bertrand Duchaufour
Classification: Masculine
Expense: $200 for 100ml Eau de Parfum

December 29, 2014
by The Scented Hound 7 Comments

Bottega Veneta Knot

WHAT I SMELL: Knot is immediately cool to the skin and the opening is this refreshing mix of citrus and lavender. It’s clean, fresh and light and irresistibly pretty. After 10 minutes or so the musk and Tonka joins the mix to provide a bit of sour which soon dissipates to create more of a clean haze. The fragrance which started off light and pretty has moved slightly warmer to reveal a more sensual side with the lovely comforting florals sitting front and center. As it further develops, the fragrance becomes a lightly powdery, musky and pretty comfort scent.

From the Bottega Veneta website:

Exotic and refreshing notes of clementine intertwine with a delicate heart of soothing lavender, the rich floral accord of rose and the lingering sensuality of peony essence, evoking the unforgettable breeze of the Italian Riviera on a sultry summer evening. An enigmatic base note of uplifting musk and Tonka absolute adds a passionate and lingering texture.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Dining alfresco under the stars and pretty lights on a warm summer’s eve.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE KNOT: pretty, dreamy, breezy

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT KNOT: Bois de Jasmin, Thirteen Thoughts, The Smelly Vagabond

BOTTOM LINE: Knot is a nice, easy to wear perfume that can easily take your mind off the doldrums of winter. I normally don’t care of clean musk fragrances, but the musk is carefully controlled and doesn’t completely dominate the perfume. Oh, and I love the bottle too; a great design.

Bone Rating: 3.5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Floral
Nose: Daniela (Roche) Andrier
Classification: Feminine
Expense: $125 for 1.7 oz. Eau de Parfum