Perfume | The Scented Hound

April 15, 2015
by The Scented Hound 9 Comments

Balenciaga Paris

WHAT I SMELL: Balenciaga Paris opens quite sweet and soft then quickly it becomes sour, like bitter apple, which then dissipates to reveal a buttery and creamy green note. The fragrance is rather discordant to me because one part smells like something I should like, a rather fresh element. But at the same time, there’s a dirty feet smell that is radiating above it. Wierd. After five minutes, the perfume becomes dryer and more woody and the dirty feet smell is lessened. I am not getting any violet from the perfume at all, just wood and an uninteresting wood at that. OK, maybe if I stick my nose right up against my wrist there’s a faint hint of violet? After 15 minutes, the perfume perks up a bit with a sugared patchouli that comes to the surface. The fragrance then becomes significantly drier and muted. Again, I’m missing any violet, but am left a woody and slightly musky pleasant, but unremarkable fragrance, that at the end creates some pretty impressive projection.

From the Balenciaga website:

A Chypre Violet with the green, fresh signature of the flower and its leaves, blended into a precious harmony of fresh woods.

My apologies to the gentleman in the picture, but there’s something not quite right about his outfit.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: “It’s just not quite right”, well, at least the opening wasn’t.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE BALENCIAGA PARIS: discordant, pleasant, middle of the road

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT BALENCIAGA PARIS: Now Smell This, Bois de Jasmin, Muse in Wooden Shoes

BOTTOM LINE: Maybe it’s my allergies, or maybe it’s just my skin, but the opening on this perfume was just not right. If you read the other reviews, they generally thought the opening was delightful. Oh well. In the end, Balenciaga Paris is a nice enough perfume, but it’s nothing that is out of the ordinary or all that special.

Bone Rating: 2.5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Chypre Floral
Nose: Olivier Polge
Classification: Feminine? I would say more unisex.
Expense: Varies, around $50 for 1 oz. Eau de Parfum

April 13, 2015
by The Scented Hound 14 Comments

Neela Vermeire Creations Mohur Extrait

WHAT I SMELL: Mohur Extrait opens with this deep and dreamy lightly peppered and spice haze. The notes dance and swirl in an incredible kinetic motion, but in the most mysterious way. It’s as the perfume want to make itself hidden until it decides it’s time to reveal its true self. In other words, the perfume is incredibly quiet in its opening and it’s impossible to pick out individual notes. The dancing notes bring forward ambered floral and exotic spices all the while remaining dreamy and enticing you with subtle whisps of temptation. The warm florals mixed with the subtle spices are as intoxicating as I have ever experienced. After some time, the mysteriously quiet kinetics begin to open. But this box of jewels will not open quickly; a case of jewels might blind one if opened without care. After some more time, a light creaminess is added to the mix of the spiced florals. And soon enough, a lovely spiced rose quietly moves to the center of the mix. It’s creamy, warm and dreamily enrapturing. In the end, Mohur Extrait wraps you in this warm embrace of lightly powdered radiating spiced rose wrapped up in the most exquisite sandalwood. How come the perfumes that I love so much are so hard to describe? Maybe it’s because their beauty defies words.

Mohur Extrait Notes: Cardamom, coriander, ambrette, carrot seeds, pepper, elemi, iris, jasmine, rose, violet, almond, leather, sandalwood, amber, woody notes, patchouli, agarwood (oud), benzoin, vanilla, and tonka bean.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: The loveliest pearl; majestic, luminescent and a beauty to behold.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE MOHUR EXTRAIT: quiet, thoughtful, cultured

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT MOHUR EXTRAIT: Perfume Shrine, CaFleureBon, EauMG

BOTTOM LINE: The original Mohur Eau de Parfum is incredible; but this limited edition Mohur Extrait is utterly divine and a testament to the incredible art of creating a great perfume. Neela and Bertrand once again have created magic. If only this came in a smaller size so more people could experience it.

Bone Rating: 5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Floral
Nose: Bertrand Duchaufour
Classification: Unisex towards feminine
Expense: $445 for 50 ml parfum extrait

Sample courtesy of Neela Vermeire Creations.

April 6, 2015
by The Scented Hound 24 Comments

New Release: Puredistance WHITE

WHAT I SMELL: WHITE opens with this incredibly warm and sensuous soft bergamot. The opening is absolutely dreamy, serene and incredibly subdued. There’s a floral component, but it’s really hard to distinguish as the perfume is more of a glow than a singular note. WHITE is everything that perfume should be. It wraps you into its spell with a sheer and hazy trail of stately beauty. The perfume is slow to develop, but instead, reveals ethereal nuances, the first of which is a radiating veil of a sheer rose over this exquisite woody vetiver. After quite some time, WHITE starts to intensify in its projection, but all the while continuing to maintain a force field of warm and rapturous beauty. To my surprise, the perfume stays in this exquisite state for a long time, only revealing the most spectacular smooth and creamy sandalwood. In WHITE, there are no harsh edges, just a melding of the finest ingredients. Words escape me.

From the Puredistance website:

The main idea behind the creation of Puredistance WHITE Perfume has been to create a perfume so beautiful and positive that it gives the wearer an instant flow of happiness. We asked Master Perfumer Antoine Lie (who also created Puredistance BLACK for us) to create a white and golden dream; an intimate escape from harsh reality. It took Antoine Lie one year to complete the magic formula, using the best and most expensive ingredients in the world. The result is a one-of-a-kind perfume made to enhance your mood through intense, but comforting beauty – if you like it, a warm and natural happiness will be yours!

Ingredients: Rose de Mai from France, Tonka bean absolute from Venezuela, Orris absolute from Italy, Sandalwood from Mysore, Bergamot from Italy, Musk, Vetyver from Haiti and Patchouli from Indonesia.

The Royal Palace of Brussels

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: The most beautiful chandelier; full of light, beauty and magnificence.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE WHITE: luxurious, captivating, cultured

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT WHITE: Chemist in the Bottle, CaFleureBon, Bonkers About Perfume

BOTTOM LINE: Puredistance is known for their thoughtful and elegant creations. WHITE is perfumery at its best and is easily my favorite from the line. That’s quite the statement because all of their perfumes are incredible in their own right. My suggestion: If you want to live the perfume dream, WHITE is the perfect place to start. C’est magnifique!

Bone Rating: 5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Floral
Nose: Antoine Lie
Classification: Leans feminine
Expense: Launching April 20th. $170 for 17 ml parfum extrait.

Sample courtesy of Puredistance Perfumes.