review | The Scented Hound

July 21, 2014
by The Scented Hound 5 Comments

Graine de Joie by Eau D’Italie

WHAT I SMELL: Graine de Joie opens with a combination of juicy pomegranate and red berries; it’s fresh, clean and sparkling sweet. Soon enough, a bit of wood enters, but the sweet fruits on top are the main focus. There’s also an underlying current of a kind of light hairspray feel to the fragrance. After around 10 minutes, that hairspray component disappears and the fragrance begins to bloom slightly as it becomes bigger and rounder and more juicy. After around 30 minutes the musk starts to appear along with the freesia which then make the fragrance more “bathtastic”. In other words, it feels like it is more suited to being used as bath oil than as a perfume. Graine de Joie is pretty linear as it’s all about the juice. Unfortunately there’s also something very artificial about this that drives me away.

From the Eau D’Italie website:

Graine de Joie is a tribute to Love, a vibrant and luminous Eau de Parfum that evokes the irresistible feeling of light-headedness of when you fall in love. A bright and joyful fragrance with notes of red berries, pomegranate, pralines, and musk.

Top notes – pomegranate, red fruit; middle notes – freesia, praline; base notes – cedarwood, musk

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Pomegranate red.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE GRAINE DE JOIE: fruity, bathtastic, artificial

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT GRAINE DE JOIE: Chemist in a Bottle, CaFleureBon, Bergamotto e Benzoino

BOTTOM LINE: Graine de Joie is clearly not for me. If you like light, clean and fruity perfumes it might work for you. Actually, I wouldn’t mind this as a fragrance diffuser for my bathroom.

Bone Rating: 2 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Fruity Floral
Nose: Daphne Bugey
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $150 for 3.4 oz. EdP

July 18, 2014
by The Scented Hound Leave a comment

A Hound CaFleureBon Post: Perfume Review: Caron Paris En Avion + Celebrating Amelia Earhart Day July 24, 2014 Fountain Fragrance Draw

77 years ago, Amelia Earhart disappeared while trying to fly solo around the world. Caron’s En Avion was created in celebration of the original adventuresome pilots from the 1920s and 1930s. Check out my new CaFleureBon post about these women and enter into the draw for a 7.5ml Caron fountain bottle of En Avion Parfum Extrait! Sorry, the draw is only open to readers in the U.S. Read the full article by clicking here!

En Avion became a summer staple for me this year. I originally gave it a four bone rating…but it’s creeping up to a 4.5 these day! You can find my original Scented Hound review by clicking here.

July 14, 2014
by The Scented Hound 10 Comments

New Release: Eau de Magnolia by Frederic Malle

WHAT I SMELL: Eau de Magnolia opens with a lightly fizzy warmed bergamot. It’s rather sour and green, but that sour aspect retreats after around 10 minutes when the magnolia makes an entrance. The fragrance at this point is very light and wispy and is sweetened with a breath of patchouli. All of this seems to be sitting upon a dry woody base that feels like it’s pulling the moisture from the fragrance. After around 20 minutes the magnolia begins to radiate, but it’s contained and never reveals too much of itself. It’s also cool and feels rather removed and distant. After another 20 minutes, the coolness is replaced by some warmth, as if the afternoon begins to filter through the curtains to help lighten and heat up a dark room. In the end you’re left with this light and delicate muted floral that is infused by a interesting citrus component.

Eau de Magonlia notes from the Frederic Malle website:

Top note is Calabrian bergamot; middle notes are magnolia, vetiver and patchouli; base notes are cedar, moss and amber.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A fading southern beauty.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE EAU DE MAGNOLIA: somber, muted, fragile

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT EAU DE MAGNOLIA: Olfactoria’s Travels, CaFleureBon, Kafkasesque

BOTTOM LINE: Magnolia can be tricky to recreate; the floral effect can leave a perfume loud, artificial and cloying. Eau de Magnolia manages to escape that trajectory and instead takes it in a direction that is soft, haunting and full of melancholy. It’s pretty, but it’s a perfume that leaves me feeling rather sober.

Bone Rating: 3 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Floral
Nose: Carlos Benaim
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $175 for 50ml