review | The Scented Hound

May 23, 2013
by The Scented Hound 19 Comments

Vintage Samsara by Guerlain

WHAT I SMELL: Samsara contains a lovely thickened and slightly sweet creaminess which to me becomes cravable. Yummy! Fragrantica lists the top notes as bergamot, lemon, ylang-ylang and peach. They exist, but only for a few seconds. Samsara quickly moves into the lovely stage where the subtle florals are seamlessly entwined in a way that makes it hard to distinguish between the notes. It’s warm and intoxicating. If I didn’t know this was a classic fragrance, I would say that it is. After a bit, a woodiness arrives with almost what I would call a hint of a hair spray smell, but it doesn’t detract nor is it noticeable unless you’re really trying to sniff it out. Samsara finally warms to a wonderful sandalwood where it becomes incredibly calming with just a lightly spiced floral. It doesn’t take long for Samsara to reach it’s destination, but all roads lead to loveliness!

Samsara Notes (from Fragrantica):

The top notes are juicy and fresh: bergamot, lemon, ylang-ylang, peach and green notes. The heart is blooming in opulent flowers: elegant jasmine, cold woodsy iris, luscious narcissus, violet and delicate rose. The base is composed of sandal wood, vanilla, Tonka bean, amber, and musk

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A luxurious and exotic scarf.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE SAMSARA: smooth, elegant, timeless

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT SAMSARA: Bois de Jasmin, Perfume Shrine, Yesterday’s Perfumes

BOTTOM LINE: I picked this beauty up on eBay and managed to get a great deal on an unopened bottle at a great price. I have no regrets and I have the feeling when this small bottle is emptied, a larger one will be on my list of “to buys”.

Bone Rating: 5 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Oriental Woody
Classification: Leans feminine
Expense: Varies. Review based on vintage EdP.

May 21, 2013
by The Scented Hound 18 Comments

Cinabre by Maria Candida Gentile

WHAT I SMELL: Hatchi-matchi…Cinabre opens with a dirty peppered gingered-rose. The ginger really stands out in center stage while the rose sits quietly in the back. It’s loud and it’s strong and smells like a heavy petroleum. I know this sounds bad, but it’s not. The rose starts to come to the forefront after a short while. It’s a dirty rose, one that isn’t fresh but one that’s thick and ready to mold off of the vine, almost as if it’s liquifying. I can’t say that I like it and there’s something almost repulsive about it; but it keeps drawing me back in. After a bit Cinabre bring forth a resinous sweetness which radiates and cuts out some of the dirt, but the fragrance continues to retain its earthy living state and still remains shockingly large. Finally, the dirt get whisked away and Cinabre moves into a phase that is slightly powdered and very sweetened rose of which the sweetness is sickening if you bring your arm to your nose. In other words, at this point Cinabre is best from a distance. Finally, the fragrance mellows into a lightly sweet vanilla rose, tinged with a hint of opoponax.

Cinabre Notes:

Ginger, black pepper, rose baies, Splendens rose, Morroccan rose, benzoin, vanilla, opoponax.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A working mexican village. So what does that mean? The combination of and smells of food, dirt, and flowers in the hot sun. It’s alive and earthy and the smells are sometimes beautiful and yet sometimes can be too thick with real life. After the heat of the day settles down, the sweeter smells of the town make their appearance.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE CINABRE: thick, gothish, sweetened

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT CINABRE: Scent for Thought, Perfume Shrine, Make Perfume Not War

BOTTOM LINE: Cinabre is one of the more interesting fragrances that I have sniffed in a long time. I can say that I actually quite like it but a little goes a long way and if they offered it in a 10ml offering I would probably pick up a bottle.

Bone Rating: 3.5 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Oriental
Classification: Unisex more at the opening – more feminine in the drydown.
Expense: $185 for 100ml EdP, currently offered as a May 2013 Olfactif offering

May 16, 2013
by The Scented Hound 10 Comments

Le Parfum Couture by Denis Durand for M. Micallef

WHAT I SMELL: The newly released Le Parfum Couture has a bright opening of cinnamon and tangerine where the mix is slightly medicinal. Quickly the middle notes (rose, orange blossom and honey) circle around in a warm thick haze of oudish gourmand goodness. At this point, Le Parfum Couture is incredibly lovely and I have to say it is my favorite part of the olfactory journey. The fragrance then comes out of it thicket of juice and becomes lighter, with almost a tinge of incense with an ever so slight metallic edge (in this case that’s not bad). The patchouli then starts to reveal itself and what was once exotic now somehow becomes familiar. I think it’s the sweet amber that reminds of me another fragrance, but I can’t put my finger on what. In the drydown, Le Parfum Couture is a nicely sweet woody amber fragrance.

Le Parfum Couture Notes:

Head Notes – Ceylong cinnamon, Italy tangerine

Heart Notes – Bulgaria rose, orange blossoms, honey and animalis

Base Notes – sandalwood, patchouly, amber and white musk

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A bee drenched in the juice of a honeyed flower.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE LE PARFUM COUTURE: sweet, alluring, inviting

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE LE PARFUM COUTURE: That Smell, Kafkaesque, Chemist in a Bottle

BOTTOM LINE: Le Parfum Couture is very appealing, even though it might be a bit sweet for my taste. It is one of those fragrances that I see as being very versatile in the fact that it is wearable for day or night and in warm or cold weather. Overall, a nice effort from Denis Durand and Martine Micallef.

Bone Rating: 4 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Oriental
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $190 for 50ml EdP

Disclosure: Sample for review provided courtesy of M. Micallef Parfums.