review | The Scented Hound

March 21, 2012
by The Scented Hound 2 Comments

1828 by Histoires de Parfums

1828 (Jules Verne) by Histoires de Parfums is a scent that when I first put it on, I knew I was going to love. Today was going to be a pretty spring day so I wanted to try something light. In looking at the composition, I thought this would be a perfect fit. The top notes are fantastic; citrus, grapefruit, eucalyptus…the perfect refreshing mix to get the day started. Nothing like a good zesty opening to put a spring in your step! After a bit, the citrus dissipated and out came a woody and peppery mix; still zesty, but the scent started moving into a more piney embodiment. I still was in awe. OK, sometimes, good things must come to an end. Unfortunately, 1828 moved into a direction in the end that didn’t agree with me. In the end, this fragrance just became sharp. Still woody, still piney, but something else left the scent, some bit of warmth, and it just became a bit annoying. I found this sharp and biting quality driving me to a headache. Can I just have the top notes back please??

From the Histories de Parfums website:

Top Note: Grapefruit, Citrus, Tangerine, Eucalyptus
Heart Note: Nutmeg, Pepper
Base Note: Cedar, Incense, Vetiver, Pine cone

Bone Rating: 2 out of 5 possible bones
Classification: Masculine
Expense: $125 for 2 oz., EDP

March 18, 2012
by The Scented Hound 9 Comments

Terre d’Hermes by Hermes

Spring has definitely sprung this year. But today, the day started off a bit chillier than it has been for the last couple of weeks. This gave me opportunity to break out one of my favorites, Terre d’Hermes. I’m not much for “this is a winter” or “this is a summer” scent classifications, but in this case this fragrance best suits my fall and winter moods. On initial application, you get a rush or citrus and orange with a slight clove note (I don’t notice cloves as an ingredient, but to me it’s there). The orange then takes background to a beautiful and warm cedar scent. When you mention cedar, I typically think of hamster cages; but in this case, the hamster would be lounging on the most luxurious bedding imaginable. Terre d’Hermes is a unique scent that has great longevity and sillage. It’s a captivating scent without being intrusive. Although marketed to men, a female co-worker of mine was wearing this once and it worked perfectly for her as well. This is one of my favorites; so much so that I’m on my third bottle!

Terre d’Hermes Notes:

grapefruit, orange, shiso, flint accord, woody notes

Bone Rating: 5 out of 5 possible bones
Classification: Masculine
Expense: Varied; available in EDT and EDP

March 17, 2012
by The Scented Hound Leave a comment

Charles Street by Mark Birley

Today is St. Patrick’s Day, so I thought I would celebrate by wearing an Irish fragrance. The only problem is that I don’t have anything that is from, or resembling anything near Irish, like a Creed’s Irish Tweed. So as blasphemous as it may be, the closest I could come to Irish is a scent from England. Charles Street by Mark Birley is nice and subtle, almost too subtle. When applied, the initial smell is of soft leather and raspberries. But wait, there are no raspberries in the composition, so where does that come from? Who knows, but it’s there and it’s nice. It mellows into almost a raspberry/cherry wet pipe tobacco smell with a hint of light leather. Again, I use the word nice. It’s nothing that wows and I found that it quickly dissipated and disappeared. Too bad. I guess that’s what I get for going English on St. Patrick’s Day!

Charles Street Notes:
Coffee, mace oil, angelica root, leather, vanilla, musk, patchouli