The Scented Hound

Perfume blog with abbreviated perfume reviews & fragrance reviews.

Tag Archives: review


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Ormonde Jayne Tiare

WHAT I SMELL:   What a lovely way to start off the new year.  Tiare’s opening is wonderfully fresh with a luminescent orange met with a gorgeous and slightly sour orange blossom.  The perfume is citrus at first, but soon the rush of flowers come sweeping forward.  These flowers shine bright and sing in the softest way with ladylike joy wrapped in serenity.  The perfume is based on the tiare flower, but to me, the tiare does not stand out amongst the other floral in the composition.  Instead, the ylang-ylang is slightly more pronounced, but that’s ok because overall the perfume is divine.  A very light soapy note brushes the flowers, but not in a way to make the perfume soapy.  After quite some time, a mossy cedar note enters, giving a light dimension like that of pencil shavings and it’s the perfect base for the innocence of the flowers.  As the perfume settles, it retains this ethereal beauty that seems to dance upon the skin.  Tiare is not harsh, loud, nor groundbreakingly different.  What it is however, is beyond beautiful…a classic stunner.

From the Ormonde Jayne website:

Like precious jewels resting on dark green foliage, the unsurpassed beauty of the Tiare flower is hand-picked whilst still unopened and laid in oil for 15 days to extract the fragrance. Like the woman who wears Tiare, this is a perfume that totally ignores seasons and the time of day, a perfume so artfully blended and infinitely refined… but with a dash of scintillating appeal.

Top: Mandarin, Orange Flower and Sicilian Lime
Heart: Tiare, Freesia, Water Lilies, Jasmine, Orris and Ylang
Base: Cedar, Vetiver, Sandalwood, Patchouli, Moss and Musk

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME:  Feminine white.

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE TIARE:  lyrical, serene, bewitching

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT TIARE:  Bois de Jasmin, Perfume Shrine, Fragrance Bouquet

BOTTOM LINE:  I’m a bit behind on my introduction to the Ormonde Jayne line of perfumes, but late is never too late to experience wonderful.  In fact, there are a few in the line that sing to me just as much as Tiare, which may just end up as part of my private collection.  I love beautiful, classic perfumes that elevate your mood to a special place; Tiare does just that and I’m in love.

  • Bone Rating:  4.5 out of possible 5 bones
  • Scent: Floral
  • Nose:  Geza Schoen
  • Classification: Lean’s feminine but a man could wear it.
  • Expense:  $150 for 50 ml eau de parfum

Sample courtesy of Twisted Lily Fragrance Boutique and Apothecary.


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Oriza L. Legrand Gentry Jockey Club

WHAT I SMELL:   Gentry Jockey Club goes on the skin with a warm and comforting bergamot with soft touches of iris and rose. It buzzes with vibrancy, yet at the same time retains a sense calm and a sense of security.  A light leather soon enters, but like the florals, it too remains soft and inviting.  To warm the perfume even more, an ambered hue of sandalwood is injected which begins to dry out the opening softness of the perfume.   I’m not sure what is responsible for the next movement, but a light earthy element is brought in.  It’s a combination that feels like earthy and mossy soil which has been dried in the sun.  A birch note helps to give it a slightly burnt edge as if in the distance you can smell the remains of recent fire.  This is where the perfume settles in for bulk of its wear, it radiates and pulses as continues to grow with some intensity resting in a dry burnt wood and hay consistency.

Feast day at the racecourse: ribbons and hats in the wind, the elegant look at the fiery horse, the one that will lead to victory …
The air perfumes the leather of the horses treading the hot sand and the smell of blond tobacco.
Jockey Club, the perfume of victory …
 
Top notes:  Italian bergamot – Ylang of the Comoros – Saffron
Heart notes:  Iris Pallida – Bulgarian rose – Leather notes – Patchouli – Birch essence
Background notes:  Real Sandalwood from India – Tonka Bean – Ambrette – Ambergris – Vetiver Haiti

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME:  Gentry Jockey Club smells less like a race track and more like what I envision a medieval farm to small like…dirt, hay and scorched earth.


THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE GENTRY JOCKEY CLUB:  rustic, earthy, dried

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT GENTRY JOCKEY CLUB:  None found.

BOTTOM LINE:   Gentry Jockey Club remains true to the roots of the Oriza L. Legrand brand.  It has a nostalgic sensibility, but feels modern at the same time.  If you like the smokiness of birch tar you’ll probably like this.  To me however, after some time, the perfume just gets too smoky on me.

  • Bone Rating:  3 out of possible 5 bones
  • Scent: Woody
  • Classification: Unisex
  • Expense:  120 Euros for 100 ml Eau de Parfum


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Robert Graham Valour

WHAT I SMELL:   Valour has an incredibly wonderful opening that’s made up of bergamot and brown sugar goodness.  It tingles and sparkles like light brown amber crystals.  Not long after the initial opening, the light sugared deliciousness begins to warm as a wonderful creaminess begins to smooth out the sparkle.  The brown sugar (which never is too sweet) feels as if its mixed within the cream along with the lightest note of coffee.  At the same time a clary sage enters adding a marvelously herbaled dimension to the lightly gourmand mix. Eventually, the perfume moves away from the enjoyably edible and takes on a more traditional amber tone.  Valour feels as if it should be heavy and hefty, but instead it remains restrained and contained.  In the end, Valour remains an ambered hue of masculinity wrapped up in gentle sophistication.

From the Robert Graham website:

The art of audacity and boldness for the loyal and the dynamic. The bulldog has always been a symbol of fierce individuality and willful intelligence a fitting way to top off such a determined essence housed in a faceted decanter and finished with a foulard print. This bottle gives a nod to the well-dressed modern gentlemen.

This blended essence walks the line between fresh and sybaritic mixing top notes clary sage coffee santos and amber wood to give it the epitome of eclectic sophistication.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME:  A 1970s sophisticate.

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE VALOUR:  easy, smooth, subtle

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT VALOUR: CaFleureBon

BOTTOM LINE:  Valour is one of three perfumes in the “Collector’s Trio” which also includes Fortitude and Courage, but Valour is my favorite.  The perfume is nicely refined and very easy to wear.  It does have a nostalgic vibe to it, which to me, makes it all that more attractive.

  • Bone Rating:  4 out of possible 5 bones
  • Scent: Oriental Spicy
  • Classification: Masculine
  • Expense:  $125 for 100 ml blended essence (I’m not sure if that means cologne, eau de toilette or eau de parfum)