Perfume | The Scented Hound

March 29, 2014
by The Scented Hound 10 Comments

TRIOMPHE by RANCE

WHAT I SMELL: Triomphe opens with a spicy bergamot and a little pepper; it’s warm and inviting and well blended. After a few minutes the rose makes it presence, but it’s really muted by the warmth of the base which is rather smooth and creamy. As time progresses, the fragrance projects the patchouli woodiness and seems to sink deeper in a warmish pool. The fragrance begins to dry out, but it’s so full-bodied with the florals that help to give this so much shape. After around 30 minutes the fragrance really dries out and that rounded floral makes way for the balsam and the patchouli takes the center stage. In the end, you’re left with a lovely slightly smoky, nutty and peppery woody scent.

From the Rance 1795 website:

Only the word Triumph could describe Napoleon’s immense glory. And Triomphe was the name of one of the perfumes François Rancé dedicated to the idol of his life.

Napoleon loved the fragrances of his native island, and François Rancé drew inspiration from these: the light perfume of citrus fruit merges with the fragrance of roses and orange blossom, adorned with Grasse jasmine and Florentine iris. Cedar wood and musk, with hints of vanilla, give the fragrance intensity.

A decoration which represents the military virtues of the Victor was etched onto the glass by a Parisian master glassmaker. It is today as it was 200 years ago.

The precious perfume is made entirely of the rarest and most highly-prized natural essences, obtained from the best years, i.e. “millésimé“(vintage) mixed, stirred and left to age according to Rancé tradition.

Head Notes: bergamot, neroli, mandarin

Heart Notes: Bulgarian Rose, magnolia, wisteria, nutmeg

Base Notes: patchouli, cistus labdanum, tolu balsam, Reunion vanilla

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: The sophisticated hound

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE TRIOMPHE: classic, classy, gentlemanly

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT TRIOMPHE: None to be found. How is this possible given how fantastic this is?!

BOTTOM LINE: Rance has been operating in perfumery since the 18th Century and I can see why. If this is any indication of their products, I need to do some more exploring. And how pretty is that bottle?!

Bone Rating: 4 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Aromatic Fougere
Classification: Masculine
Expense: $110 for 50ml EdP

March 19, 2014
by The Scented Hound 22 Comments

NARCISSE NOIR by CARON

WHAT I SMELL: Narcisse Noir opens with a dark and deep narcissus, like it comes from the depths of a country field that is moistened with a warm undercurrent that runs through it. It’s sharp like the flower, but not so much that it’s all bite. After around five minutes the orange blossom comes to the surface. It’s not bright and it’s not juicy, but rather mixed with the narcissus it retains this darker, more mysterious edge. The jasmine adds a bit of rubberiness to the mix almost like its tuberose. I like it at this stage because it fills your lungs with weighted beefy florals. But soon enough, the darker veil lifts a bit to reveal a lighter side which unfortunately reminds me of expensive hair spray. If only the fragrance could have stayed in that early stage! The drydown….well, see below…

Top notes are african orange flower and narcissus; middle notes are jasmine, orange and tincture of rose; base notes are vetyver, musk and sandalwood.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Years ago, the first home I ever purchased was in a suburb outside of Atlanta, GA called College Park. I lived in a neighborhood where we all had historic plaques on our homes and it was very homey, pretty and was a great place to live. Unfortunately, historic College Park is surrounded by some not so nice areas and quality grocery shopping was hard to come by. In East Point, the town next to us there was the Kroger Citi Center. I don’t know if they were trying to recreate a neighborhood concept, but whatever it was, it failed. Instead of walking directly into the grocery store, you had to walk by a series of mom and pop small businesses in addition to a Popeyes chicken restaurant. One of the business was a nasty looking beauty salon. I don’t know what kind of chemicals were used in that shop, but that horrid burnt hair, chemical smell combined with the smell of Popeye’s Fried Chicken always gave me a headache and made me nauseous. Unfortunately, the drydown in Narcisse Noir reminds me of the Kroger Citi Center. OK, this is better than that, but it still reminds me of the gauntlet that I used to have to walk through to get my groceries.

As I was having a hard time getting past this association, I asked my husband what he thought it smelled like. He said it smells kind of powdery like a girls bedroom and said it reminded him of his sister. Go figure…maybe she ate a lot of fried chicken while she was under the hairdryer!

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE NARCISSE NOIR: sour, strange, pungent

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT NARCISSE NOIR: Bois de Jasmin, The Perfumed Dandy, Perfume Posse

BOTTOM LINE: You would think that I would give this a great big “1 Bone”, but for some reason I am repulsed, yet attracted to this Caron classic and every once in a while will wear it. So even though it’s not for me there is a reason that it has been around since 1911. Besides, who couldn’t love that perfume bottle?

Bone Rating: 3 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Oriental Floral
Nose: Ernest Daltroff
Classification: Feminine, with masculine leanings
Expense: $180 for 15ml Parfum Extrait which this review was based on.

March 17, 2014
by The Scented Hound 5 Comments

THIRTY THREE by EX IDOLO

WHAT I SMELL: Thirty Three opens with a deep rose and oud in that plasticine way that sometimes oud can project. It’s exotic, smooth, lush and it’s tinged with hints of spice. After a couple of minutes a bit of leather is added giving it a rather burnished finish, like a saddle that has been rubbed with some expensive oils to keep it soft and subtle. But just as soon as I think this is turning leathery, those aspects fade away. Interesting, the fragrance has a wonderful way of bouncing off my skin. One minute I think it’s retreating and soon afterwards it seems to project significantly off my skin. I just put a couple of drops on my wrist and trust me, those couple of drops are going a long way. After around the 30 minute mark, Thirty Three begins to soften and dry out and after around an hour, it becomes almost smoky. In the end, Thirty Three is pretty linear, but that’s fine as it’s big, bold, yet thankfully rather handsome too; and there’s nothing wrong with that.

From the Ex Idolo Perfumes website:

Thirty-three is a fragrance crafted from very special ingredients. The soul of the fragrance is built around a vintage oud – distilled in 1980 and aged until its release in 2013. It is also the only modern perfume to use a significant amount of wild-harvested Chinese oud oil and natural Chinese rose oil to build the scent profile. Contrary to most ouds however, Thirty-three is a surprisingly soft and velvety fragrance, and genuinely fits in an innovative space in terms of the wider oud category. Thirty-three is a deep and dark unisex fragrance, with dry and cold facets

TOP NOTES: Soft black pepper, Candied mandarin, Caoutchouc

HEART NOTES: Chinese white tea, Chinese rose, Taif rose, Orris, Damascus steel

BASE NOTES: Rare, natural vintage ouds, Aged patchouli, Heliotropin

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Confidence

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE THIRTY THREE: persistent, deep, warmed

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THIRTY THREE: Kafkaesque (thanks for the sample), Olfactoria’s Travels, The Perfume Chronicles

BOTTOM LINE: To me, Thirty Three isn’t an office scent as it could easily overpower if you weren’t careful with your application. But if you’re looking for something that makes a bold statement without beating up others with that statement, this might be a great choice.

Bone Rating: 3.5 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Oriental Woody
Classification: Unisex, but to me it leans masculine
Expense: $120 for 30ml EdP