parfum | The Scented Hound

November 24, 2014
by The Scented Hound 9 Comments

A Bergdorf Goodman Exclusive from Roja Parfums: Bergdorf

Since 1901, Bergdorf Goodman has been providing the utmost in quality, service and luxury to New York City on the corner of 5th Avenue and 58th Street. To celebrate this New York landmark, Master Perfumer Roja Dove was asked to create two exclusive perfumes that embody this legendary institution. Back in September, I reviewed Goodman’s, Roja Dove’s creation named for the Bergdorf Goodman men’s store. And now, Roja Dove has launched Goodman’s female counterpart, Bergdorf. Together, they were both created to personify Bergdorf Goodman, the pinnacle of style, service and inspiration for over a century.

WHAT I SMELL: Bergdorf’s opening is comprised of airy florals which dance around a bright bergamot. The florals are lightly sugared and candied making the opening so incredibly bright and cheerful that it feels like you’re running through a summer field of delicate wild flowers in a warm and sunny afternoon. The florals are hard to distinguish as they’re flawlessly blended, but the violet pops out as a cheery leader of the bunch. The fragrance is grounded by a hazy base of sandalwood which warms the fragrance as it moves from the shiny and carefree opening, to more of a refined, graceful and full-bodied floral that is wrapped around the edges with pink pepper. After around 15 minutes, Bergdorf turns into a ball gown. The fragrance dances, moves and twirls under a shimmering light. It’s pretty, lush and full of gaiety. As more time passes, the fragrance quiets as if the dancing slows and the party retreats to quieter and contained refinement. The florals then become deeper and they’re met with this lush and comforting warmth that is very secure in its majestic self. As beauty is not always what it seems, there is just a bit of dirty (I think it’s the castoreum) that brings a bit of realness to the florals as if to say, “all that glitters is not gold.” My favorite part of the fragrance arrives after around an hour when Bergdorf’s becomes smooth as golden silk covering the windows to the garden outside, which at this point, the now lightly creamy florals are hauntingly and beautifully restrained.

Bergdorf Notes:

Top – Bergamot

Heart – May Flower, Orange Blossom, Heliotrope, Rose, Jasmine, Gardenia, Tuberose, Violet, Pink Pepper

Base – Patchouli, Sandalwood, Cedarwood, Storax, Oakmoss, Vanilla, Benzoin, Musk, Frankincense, Castoreum

“Bergdorf Goodman, in my mind, has always embodied the refinement, glamour, and polish that is the very best of Manhattan.

With Bergdorf, I wanted to create an incredibly feminine scent that was unapologetically refined, elegant and sensual. A rich bouquet, with notes of Gardenia and May Flower, nestling on a base of Oakmoss and Vanilla”.

Roja Dove, Master Perfumer

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: The life of Marie Antoinette, starting with her carefree youth as an Archduchess of Austria through her infamous and larger than life reign as Queen of France. It’s charming innocence in the beginning and grand, refined and strikingly beautiful throughout the end even when her world became oh so real.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE BERGDORF: refined, graceful, stately

BOTTOM LINE: The problem with reviewing a Roja Parfum creation is that the development is so seamless and pulling apart notes is next to impossible. But what a great problem to have. It’s just testament to the talent of Roja Dove. I have to admit that at first, I was going to give Bergdorf’s a rating of 4 bones, but each time I wear this, my love grows stronger. So in the end, I have to up the ante. Bergdorf is a legendary perfume for a legendary store.

For those of you lucky to in be in NYC on Thursday December 4th, Roja Dove will be appearing at Bergdorf Goodman’s from 5 to 6pm. This is your opportunity to have Roja Dove himself, sign your exclusive bottles of Bergdorf and Goodman’s!

Bone Rating: 4.5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Floral
Nose: Roja Dove
Classification: Feminine
Expense: $545 for 50ml parfum, exclusively at Bergdorf Goodman via Roja Parfums’ Bergdorf Goodman Representative, Tom Crutchfield, 212-872-2768.

Sample courtesy of Bergdorf Goodman.

November 20, 2014
by The Scented Hound 5 Comments

Eau de Patou by Jean Patou

WHAT I SMELL: Eau de Patou opens with this airy, fizzy, bubbling citrus, it’s so sparkling that its like dancing bubbles when you put your nose up to a glass of champagne. The bergamot and citrus combination is very much alive and joyous and full of bright energy which can’t help but make you smile. After a bit, the lively opening levels off and the citrus mellows as a floral melody highlighted by lavender brings the fragrance to more of a hazy hued of radiance. As, it dries down, a peppered and powdered finish adds just the right amount of mystery to make this perfume something very much out of the ordinary. For a fragrance without a huge amount of progression there is something incredibly rapturous about Eau de Patou, so much so, that I find it extremely sensual and sexy.

From the Jean Patou website:

EAU DE PATOU – A crisp and vibrant scent that epitomizes carefree days and relaxation, EAU DE PATOU has a lightness of touch and a subtle freshness unparalleled in the JEAN PATOU archive. Created originally in 1976 as a unisex fragrance EAU DE PATOU is a genuine expression of freedom and style that lasts throughout the day. A light tonic with fruity notes that sparkle with accords of bergamot, Sicilian Citrus, Guinea Orange and Sweet Lime mixed with Pepper Lavender and Orange Flower. This Eau de Toilette is light and fresh yet it is undeniably sophisticated and unmistakably JEAN PATOU.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A young Robert Redford; clean-cut, handsome and incredibly sexy.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE EAU DE PATOU: classic, sophisticated, unassuming sexiness

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT EAU DE PATOU: Bois de Jasmin

BOTTOM LINE: Eau de Patou was my one purchase at Sniffapalooza this past Fall. It was immediate love and all the other perfumes were tossed aside once I smelled this. I don’t believe that Eau de Patou is groundbreaking, nor revolutionary. Instead, it’s classical with a peppered twist that speaks directly to my inner self. Who doesn’t love a perfume that makes them feel sexy?

Jean Patou is re-releasing some of their classic fragrances from the past in their Collection Heritage. Eau de Patou (originally released in 1976), along with Patou Pour Homme (1980) and Chaldee (1927) were the first three to be released and others will be forthcoming. I love this concept as a vintage perfume lover and I can’t wait to be introduced to the others in the line! You can find more about their Collection Heritage on the Jean Patou website.

Bone Rating: 4.5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Citrus Aromatic
Nose: Thomas Fontaine
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $245 for 100ml Eau de Toilette

October 22, 2014
by The Scented Hound 5 Comments

Tom Ford Velvet Orchid

WHAT I SMELL: Velvet Orchid opens with a sweet, rather honeyed opening that quickly moves to an odd combination of honey and graham crackers. Yes, that’s it…like honey graham crackers. After a few minutes, the orchid reveals itself and the honey graham cracker note leaves the room. This is sugared and sweet and very rounded with florals that feel like they’re manufactured in a Chinese factory. After around 15 minutes, the fragrance settles down a bit to become slightly woody with some added radiant warmth, but overall, it feels like a sweet and big Everlasting Gobstopper. OK…maybe I spoke to soon. After around an hour and a half, Velvet Orchid becomes creamy and lighter with a smooth sandalwood finish. At this point, the fragrance finally finds it’s “pretty.” Oh, but what a horrific ride to get there.

After reading what I wrote above, I had to give this fragrance another shake to see if I was being fair to the perfume. So I pulled out the tester a couple of days later. Let’s take a look at round two…

Testing Round 2: Maybe it’s the weather (it’s cooler the 2nd time I tested this) or maybe it’s just my disposition, but the 2nd time I wore this I spritzed on just a bit less which I should always remember to do with a Tom Ford fragrance. In any case, the harshness that I first experience was much more toned down. I didn’t get the honey-graham cracker aspect that I did at first and albeit being sweet, the florals were far less manufactured. The perfume is sweet and somewhat powdery, but much more palatable. There’s a rather tropical feel to the fragrance this time as if the florals are hanging off of a vine and radiating in the sun. There still is a honeyed note, but it’s light, not thick and just adds a sheen to the overall composition, like a layer of fine shellac. This time there’s a slight hair spray aspect that I didn’t get at first, but it’s not offending and it adds just a tad of sharpness to the mix, but as soon as I smell that, a creaminess comes in with a radiant warmth. The fragrance seems to transform much quicker than it did earlier, but that’s a good thing as it moved much faster to the stage of where I want it to be; a creamy orchid that’s soft, a little powdery and very smooth and pretty.

From the Tom Ford website:

INTRODUCING TOM FORD’S NEW SIGNATURE FRAGRANCE. VELVET ORCHID LIVES IN A WORLD OF GLAMOROUS MYSTIQUE, EVOLVING THE CARNAL GRANDEUR AND SEDUCTIVE POWER OF TOM FORD’S ORIGINAL BLACK ORCHID INTO A HARMONIOUS AND UBER-FEMININE FRAGRANCE. LAVISHED WITH COOL FRESHNESS, DRAMATIC PETALS, HONEY AND RUM, TOM FORD VELVET ORCHID IS AN ORIENTAL FLORAL FRAGRANCE THAT TEASES AND CARESSES WITH ENVELOPING AND BRILLIANT WARMTH.

From Fragrantica:

The fragrance opens itself with bergamot, mandarin, Succan absolute (purified rum extract) and honey. At the core of this creation (made of “corporeal floral notes.”) isTom Ford’s distinctive, “timeless” signature – an imaginary accord of black orchid blended with notes of velvet orchid, which gives the perfume its name, with intense Turkish rose oil and jasmine and a new accord of purple orchid that grows in the wilds of southern Brazilian coast. There are also additional floral notes of orange blossom, rose absolute, narcissus, hyacinth and heliotrope. The base is warm due to the rich flavors of Peru balsam, myrrh, labdanum, sandalwood, suede and vanilla.

Trouble in the cul de sac…the cast of Knots Landing.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: What I got the first time I test was a “Knots Landing” kind of big 80’s glamour stuck in a cul-de-sac perfume. The 2nd time, what I got was just Donna Mills in Knots Landing, the prettier and more glamorous of the show’s entourage.

Donna Mills…the eyes have it!

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE VELVET ORCHID: Test 1: artificial, over-the-top, relentless…Test 2: velvety, fuzzy , pretty

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT VELVET ORCHID: Kafkaesque, Now Smell This, CaFleureBon

BOTTOM LINE: I never said that I was infallible and I try to keep an open mind when testing fragrances. Tom Ford and I don’t always mix well with each other and I thought maybe this was one of those cases. But I found that my review was rather harsh so I had a give the perfume another visit since my words were over the top even for me. Whatever the reason, the difference between the 1st and 2nd wear was like night and day. I loved Black Orchid and couldn’t imagine that this would be so polar opposite. In any case, Velvet Orchid really is pretty…just remember to use a light application so you don’t get full on Everlasting Gobstopper!

Bone Rating: 3.5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Oriental Floral
Noses: Yann Vasnier, Calice Becker, Shyamala Maisondieu and Antoine Maisondieu
Classification: Feminine
Expense: $112 for 1.7 oz. Eau de Parfum