WHAT I SMELL: Loudo opens with a fizzy bergamot that is quickly met by warmed white chocolate followed by something that smells like woolen mittens that have a bit of a salty worn patina. The woolen mittens then turn to the sock drawer as the perfume now takes on a combination of wood and cotton with the tinge of the lightly creamy chocolate still lingering overhead. But soon after, a light sueded leather comes forward. At this point, the leather dominates and moves all of the other accords to the side. The perfume is warm and comforting and approachable in that it carries with it familiar scents of many of the comforts of home. Slowly, the perfume begins to radiate and pushes off the skin as the leather begins to dry. And I’m not sure if my nose is deceiving me, but there’s a very light buzzing peppermint that seems to pop in and out. After a long time, the leather begins to retreat, leaving a soft and pretty orange blossom to take it’s place sitting atop a woody semi-sweet flattened vanilla. At this point, the perfume softly hugs the skin in the quietest of ways. Loudo is a wonderfully interesting and a delightful journey of a perfume.
From the Sarah Baker Perfumes website:
Playful and sweet with the flavors of childhood appetites, it dries down to something seriously grown-up. Proustian aromas and a nostalgic glimpse of a beloved game encountered in the attic, realizing years later it was the seed of your adult prowess; the sensual, sexy and clever you.
Notes: bergamot, neroli, petitgrain, black cherry, cypriol, orange blossom, white chocolate, Laos oud, Suyufi agarwood, musk, amber, vanilla
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A cozy farmhouse kitchen laden with all the comfort smells infused in the home.
THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE LOUDO: comforting, nostalgic, unique
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT LOUDO: The Sniffer, CaFleureBon, Stephan Matthews
BOTTOM LINE: When I first heard that Loudo was an oud perfume, I couldn’t conjure in my mind how Sarah Baker would interpret it as it seems we all have been overly ouded over the past many years. Thankfully, Sarah’s use of oud makes it the center of the perfume, but not one that is overt nor dominating. The oud here translates more to the leather. And the white chocolate, black cherry carry the perfume to the slightly gourmand. In all, there’s something incredibly comforting about Loudo in that wraps the wearer up in a quieter and more simple time. And as far as I’m concerned, a oud/leather scent that is a comfort is something that’s very welcomed.
- Bone Rating: 3.5 out of possible 5 bones
- Scent: Woody
- Nose: Chris Maurice
- Classification: Unisex
- Expense: $155 for 50 ml parfum extrait
WHAT I SMELL: Rival in Love opens with a lightly sweetened blood orange that’s quickly met with a juicy, ripe and enticing lychee. It’s so incredibly intoxicating in the softest of ways as there’s nothing sharp here as the perfume just lilts upon the skin with a light and soft sheath of cottony musk. After a bit, the sweetened and soft opening moves to the more round with a lightly peppered rose making it’s entrance. Where the opening was light and demure, the perfume is now more mature and seductive. Here, the perfume begins to radiate and amplify, but never in a way that shouts. As Rival in Love continues its progression, a patchouli enters grounding the florals with a buzzing woodiness. Here, the perfume seems to be in conflict as you can tell that the patchouli is being buffered by something else that is trying to get out on top of it. As the perfume finishes its internal fight, a sweetened vanilla and lychee come out to make the perfume the perfect mix of innocence and seductive maturity. Rival in Love is one “love” of a perfume.
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A fight for love that ends in the most beautiful of ways.
The Scented Hound 