The Scented Hound

Perfume blog with abbreviated perfume reviews & fragrance reviews.

Tag Archives: Perfume Review


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Atelier Des Ors Riviera Lazuli

WHAT I SMELL:  Wow, what an opening…Riveria Lazuli is instant sunshine combined with bright, breezy and juicy lemon citrus.  This amazing opening would make any cloudy day turn sunny in a second.  The bright and energized opening sails right into a lightly herbal woody backdrop.  Here, the sun meets the Riviera coast with cedar lined trees hugging the top of the hill.  I’m not sure how they captured the essence of the coast and put it in the bottle, but Rivera Lazuli is like taking a mini vacation with just a couple of spritzes.  After some more time, the brown sugared guaic wood meets a very light immortelle as the perfume becomes less sunny, but more sophisticated.  It’s as if the perfume moved from day to night.  The combination of the guaic wood and immortelle is very spellbinding.  Each of them can be a bit too much on their own, but they really compliment each other here evening out each of their harsher aspects.  In the end, Riveria Lazuli wraps up the sun-tinged day and quiet evening with a lightly sugared woody ember.  

Riviera Lazuli Notes:

Top notes:  lemon, cypress and bergamot

Middle notes:  sage, cedar and guaiac wood

Base notes: immortelle, balsam fir and incense

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME:  The French Riveria…bien sûr!

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE RIVIERA LAZULI:  bright, sunny, delightful

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT RIVIERA LAZULI:  CaFleureBon, The Plum Girl, Australian Perfume Junkies

BOTTOM LINE:  Riveria Lazuli is one of three perfumes in the new Riviera Collection, along with Pomelo Riviera and Riviera Drive.  All are perfectly suited for the warm weather and each provide their own characteristics of the sunny Riviera.  All in all, they are positively perfect for a quick vacation when all you can do is reach for a bottle of perfume!

  • Bone Rating: 3.5 out of possible 5 bones
  • Scent: Woody Aromatic
  • Nose:   Marie Salamagne
  • Classification: Unisex
  • Expense: Approximately $185 for 100 ml eau de parfum.


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Vintage Guerlain Chamade Eau de Cologne

I love living in my adopted country of Mexico, but will wholeheartedly admit that one of the downsides of living in this beautiful country is the access to perfume.  Mexicans love their perfume; when you walk down the street everyone leaves behind a trail of perfumed bliss.  That said, you can find the standard department store fragrances without issue, but anything out of the ordinary (niche or high end) is impossible to get, at least here in the Yucatan.  And forget shipping from overseas, Mexico, like many countries, does not allow for the shipment of “flammable liquids.”  So yes, getting the latest and greatest new releases in a timely manner is something that I have had to learn to live without.

Another thing I miss is the ability shop on eBay.  Instead, here they have a similar site called MercadoLibre.  But perfume shopping is pretty much limited to the same perfumes found in the stores.  Of course, that doesn’t keep me from scanning the site every now and then just as I did the other day.  To my surprise, someone was selling an unopened bottle vintage bottle of Guerlain Chamade Eau de Cologne.  They said the bottle was 200 ml and in researching pricing, I found it to be a pretty good deal.  So I thought what the heck, this doesn’t happen every day and I have never ordered anything from MercadoLibre, so I went for it.  The shipper said they would ship “next day,” but I have to admit I was skeptical.  Two days after placing my order, a heavy box arrived from Mexico City.  I opened the box which was packed perfectly and found the largest bottle of perfume I had ever seen.  My first thought is that it was a factice, but once I put my nose up to the stopper I could clearly smell that it was indeed perfume.  The perfume didn’t come with a box, and the size was not labeled on the bottle.  After some research it was determined that the bottle is a 16 oz. or 500 ml bottle….for the size, the purchase turned out to be an incredible deal.

For size comparison, the Vol de Nuit on the left is 3 oz. and the Mitsouko on the right is 1.7 oz.

I love my Guerlains with Vol de Nuit being one of my all time favorite perfumes, but I never really paid much attention to Chamade.  A light green floral is perfect for the hot weather here, but that doesn’t mean I would like the perfume.  So did I make a good purchase?

WHAT I SMELL: 

The beauty of Chamade is instantaneously revealed with it’s opening of bright sparkling aldehydes which quickly meld with a green stem-ladened hyacinth.  This is spring in a bottle…I picture bouncing lambs running on hills of green.  The opening of this perfume is utterly delightful and so incredibly pretty.  For being a vintage bottle that is most likely from the 1970s, the top notes are surprisingly intact.  The perfume stays in this greenish floral bliss for quite some time, but after some time its met with a layer of powder that smells like makeup.  After more time, the galbanum takes front and center as the perfume dries out and continues to powder.  The perfume is green without being too sharp and to me this makes this easier to wear.  And just when I thought the perfume couldn’t get any prettier, out comes a floral heart with rose at the center topped with a comforting smooth vanilla and sandalwood combination, which helps to cut the powdery green.  Here, the perfume moves from the spring to the more serious…or should I say more seriously beautifully refined and mature.

From the Guerlain website:

For the first time in perfumery, Guerlain introduced to a formula the green and fruity accent of blackcurrant bud, freshened with a green harmony of hyacinth. Lastly, this symphony is embellished with Guerlinade, which majestically showcases jasmine, vanilla and sandalwood.

One of these Easter lovelies is probably wearing Chamade…which one is it?

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME:  Although launched in 1969, Chamade to me is quintessentially early to mid-1960s as it’s rooted in the past and not so much in the modern era of the time.

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE CHAMADE:  springtime, happiness, contentment

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT CHAMADE:  Yesterday’s Perfume, Perfume Posse

BOTTOM LINE: Chamade, where have you been all of my life?  This perfume is so pretty and easy to wear that it might be one of those perfumes that just doesn’t get the love that it deserves.  As for me, I’ll continue to search on MercadoLibre for the parfum extrait version.  Chamade is truly a love.

  • Bone Rating: 4.5 out of possible 5 bones
  • Scent: Fruity Floral Oriental
  • Nose:  Jean-Paul Guerlain
  • Classification: Leans feminine
  • Expense:  Varies for vintage


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Hacivat by Nishane

WHAT I SMELL:  At first sniff Hacivat opens with a quiet and slightly chalky bergamot topped with a soft and lightly sweetened pineapple with hints of citrus.  I thought the perfume would go on loud, but instead it’s beautifully muted and contained.  Along with the sweetened notes, there’s an underlying smell of pencil shavings that gives the opening some depth.  The perfume stays in this mild sweetness for some time and that’s perfectly fine with me, because it’s incredibly calm and reassuring in it’s essence.  After some time, the citrus makes way for the woody.  Now it’s time for the perfume to grow as every minute it seems to build with a warm and lightly floral cedar.  What was soft and reassuring in the beginning is now bolder and rather masculine with a patchouli note that seems to dominate.  Here the perfume turns to a slightly sugared, but rather flat wood.  After a great while longer, the perfume begins to project and dry with some powder.  Overall, Hacivat’s development to me was a mixed bag:  the opening was incredible, the middle stage had me worried, but in the end the perfume begins to redeem itself with a softness that’s rather elegant and again, rather reassuring.  But as I say that, out comes a soured note that leaves me a little cold.

From the Nishane website:

Is a tribute to elegance, kindness, competence, and love of art. Inspired by the traditional shadow play character, this eau cypre will help you live in your best dreams by the everlasting sparkles of its joyful structure made of the stimulating notes of pineapple and bergamot backed with the genuine woody notes. Enjoy being loved!

TOP NOTES – bergamot – pineapple – grapefruit

HEART NOTES – jasmine – patchouli – cedarwood

BASE NOTES – clearwood – oakmoss – dry timberwood

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME:  Ambivalence.  I love it…I like it…I don’t like it.  Every sniff leaves me with a different feeling.

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE HACIVAT:  secure, even-tempered, safe

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT HACIVAT:  BL’eauOG, That Luxurious Feeling

BOTTOM LINE:  As mentioned above, every time I wear this perfume I get a little something different from it, but the one consistent aspect is that I kind of like it, but am not anywhere near loving it.  And that to me that’s rather disappointing.

  • Bone Rating: 3 out of possible 5 bones
  • Scent: Citrus Chypre Woody
  • Nose:  Jorge Lee
  • Classification: Unisex, but leans masculine
  • Expense: Approximately $240 for 50 ml perfume extrait.