review | The Scented Hound

December 29, 2012
by The Scented Hound 22 Comments

Enchanted Forest by The Vagabond Prince

WHAT I SMELL: Enchanted Forest opens with a beautiful juicy blast of ripe blackcurrant. It’s lusciously mouth-watering and evokes the sensation of just picked fruit of a fresh and green fir. It’s so fresh and dense that you want to take a drink of the wine that it represents. After a bit the blackcurrent diminishes and what develops is more fir. It smells like a fresh Christmas tree after it had just been cut and the moist melting snow combined with the smell of the resins fill the air. After a lengthy transformation and many wanderings throughout the forest, you’re left with a slightly sweet and slightly spicy warm and comforting musk. Very beautiful indeed.

Top Notes: pink pepper, aldehydes, sweet orange (traces), flower cassis, blackcurrant leaf, hawthorn, effects of rum and wine, rosemary, davana.

Heart Notes: blackcurrant buds absolute (by LMR from Grasse), CO2 blackcurrant (by Floral Concept from Grasse), Russian coriander seed, honeysuckle, rose, carnation, vetiver.

Base Notes: opoponax resinoid, Siam benzoin, amber, oakmoss, fir balsam absolute, Patchouli Purecoeur®, castoreum absolute, cedar notes, vanilla, musk.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Enchanted Forest is named exactly for what it smells like; an enchanted forest. I can’t do any better than that for a visual. OK, maybe add Hansel and Gretel to the mix (minus an old witch)!

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE ENCHANTED FOREST: lush, ripe, evergreen

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT ENCHANTED FOREST: Kafkaesque, Scents Memory

BOTTOM LINE: I really like this fragrance, especially the top notes which are just incredibly lush and full-bodied. The middle phase is OK, but the drydown makes this a comfort scent. I give an A for the marketing and packaging of this product and I’m sure there are plenty who will be clamouring for this when it goes on sale in the US. I probably would be in line for this as well, but I just wish they would offer this in 50ml size in addition to the 100ml version.

Bone Rating: 4.5 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Woody Aromatic
Nose: Bertrand Duchaufour
Classification: Unisex
Expense: 140 Euros for 100ml EdP. Only available at Jovoy Paris at present.

Promotional sample provided by The Vagabond Prince.

December 19, 2012
by The Scented Hound 29 Comments

Musc Tonkin by Parfum d’Empire

OK…I was sucked in. The following factors make for a dangerous combination:

Limited Edition
Only 1000 bottles
Parfum d’Empire / Marc Antoine Corticchiato

Since the perfumes of Parfum d’Empire are some of my favorites and since I have found that there really isn’t anything in the line that I don’t like, I thought that this would make for the perfect Christmas present for me. As my better half is not a perfumista, I was going to put all the ordering information together for him so all he had to do is push a button. A couple of Mondays ago I saw that Beautyhabit had Musc Tonkin on their website for sale; by Wednesday it was gone. The same situation occurred at Lucky Scent…’SOLD OUT’. I panicked and looked all over the web and the only place that I saw it for sale was on the Parfum d’Empire website. I was not going to lose out, so I placed my order.

WHAT I SMELL: In the bottle it smells very sweet and somewhat fruity. When you first put it on the juice it’s thick, you can see the sheen on your skin. It’s a bit camphoric and incredibly musky. At first the musk is sweet…it’s strong but I rather like it. In a bit, some tuberose or jasmine develops out of the musk. I have never been a fan of tuberose so I was a bit scared. I can’t say that it’s earthy, but instead is more of a ripened floral. I was expecting this to be warm, but while there is a bit of warmth, there is more a green note mixed with the musk. It then turns more animalic and it feels a bit dirty and a bit sour. As it develops it truly becomes stronger. However, in the drydown, Musc Tonkin turns away from the beastly and instead becomes more of a beauty as it reveals itself as a floral scent. In the very end (hours later), its a soft floral that has a bit of a metallic edge.

Since the notes were never published, the following is my guess (I can hear MAC laughing now): tonka bean, jasmine, tuberose, musk, civet, bergamot, camphor or eucalyptus, vetiver, oak moss

I have heard some folks say there is a nice leather note in this. Not to my nose. I have also heard that this becomes powdery. If there is any powder in there, it’s incredibly faint.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A grungey flower

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE MUSC TONKIN: Miss Havisham-ish, pungent, different

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT MUSC TONKIN: Chemist in a Bottle, Perfume Posse

BOTTOM LINE: What I find that I love about the Parfum d’Empire fragrances is that there is an undercurrent of oak moss which creates this lush and luxurious base. I believe it’s here but its very muted. As such it doesn’t create that wonderful base like with the others. Surprisingly, this is a very nice white floral scent once you get past the opening which is an interesting ride. In fact, my hubby likes it (the drydown) and he does not like heavy fragrances. Does Musc Tonkin make me feel hot and bothered? No. Unlike Kurkdjian’s Absolue Pour le Soir which makes me want to take myself on a date, this is more removed. It shouts a bit, but doesn’t beg you to come near. I’m glad I bought a bottle, but I am going to have a hard time figuring out when and where I would wear this. I do have sneaking feeling that this blind buy is going to grow on me more over time.

Bone Rating: 3.5 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Musk
Nose: Marc Antoine Corticchiato
Classification: Unisex
Expense: 120 Euros for 50ml Parfum Extrait

December 16, 2012
by The Scented Hound 17 Comments

Ambre Premier by Jovoy Paris

WHAT I SMELL: On application, Ambre Premier goes on cool to the skin, almost like the feeling when you spray on antiseptic. What is first revealed is almost what I would describe as cocoa/chocolate edge mixed with the coolness of bergemot. It’s lightly warm and a little spicy. On Fragrantica, it says the top notes evoke that of “cotton candy”. Seriously, I am missing that completely (is there such thing as chocolate cotton candy??). As it continues in its development, it become a bit more floral with a subdued rose as the amber starts to take shape. In the end Ambre Premier is amber that is sweetened with a vanilla’d patchouli. It’s cool and warm at the same time with a bit of a tang that lies at its base.

Ambre Premier Notes:

Head: spicy fresh; Heart: pink floral; Background: dominant patchouli, amber, vanilla

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: At first, surprisingly a bit gourmand, like a bittersweet box of chocolate orange creams (you don’t really smell much of the cream, but it’s what chocolate covered creams smell like in the box). I feel like my nose is playing a trick on me so I go to my better half and tell him what I think this smells like and he disagreed. He said a box of chocolate covered orange creams smells really sweet and this does not… I reminded him that I said “bittersweet” as in dark chocolate. He still didn’t agree!

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE AMBRE PREMIER: cooled-warmth, bittersweet, removed

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT AMBRE PREMIER: I was not able to find any other reviews on this!!!

BOTTOM LINE: This is a different amber in that’s it’s not the typical, warm and embracing cuddly sweater that I love so much in the note. Instead, it’s a bit distant and a bit discordant in the way the notes blend together; I feel like they are fighting with each other. I don’t hate this, but I don’t like it either.

Bone Rating: 2.5 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Oriental Vanilla
Nose: Michelle Saramitot
Classification: Marketed as a feminine fragrance, but I believe this suits both men and women
Expense: $180 for 100ml EdP