review | The Scented Hound

October 20, 2016
by The Scented Hound 44 Comments

The 7% Solution by En Voyage Perfumes and Sherlock Holmes Inspired Draw

WHAT I SMELL: The 7% Solution opens with a buttery, warm and intoxicating osmanthus and the deepest almost wild mandarin that’s feels like it’s been boiled and concentrated. The creaminess in the perfume feels like a lullaby with peppered florals that are being rocked to sleep under a warmed flicker of a candle. The perfume stays in this dreamlike state with none of the flowers taking dominance besides a soft and pretty tiare. You can picture the damp, cool rain from the gray skies outside your window…but The 7% Solution is like a woolen blanket of comfort keeping you warm and secure. As the perfume slowly develops, the creaminess once again turns more towards the buttery as if remnants of hot buttered rum (without the booziness) were lingering in a mug next to the fire. In the end, the perfume resides in this warmed creamy and lightly spice dreamlike dimension with softened florals dancing down an autumn path. The 7% Solution is liquid opium for your skin.

From the En Voyage website:

Legal at the time, heroin and cocaine allowed Holmes to relax and refuel. Sherlock alternated between morphine and cocaine, which he always took in a 7% solution. Transcendently stimulating and clarifying to the mind, such drugs were regularly taken by aesthetes of the day, including the poet Colridge and even Queen Victoria herself.

TOP NOTES: Wild Oranges, Mandarin, Green Citron, Osmanthus, Curacao

HEART NOTES: Tiare, Frangipani, Narcissus, Summer Blooming Flowers

BASE NOTES: Sandalwood, Vanilla, Amber, Oak, White Woods and Musks

Cumberbatch and Freeman as Holmes and Watson

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: I will not argue with perfumer Shelley Waddington’s inspiration of Sherlock Holmes.

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE THE 7% SOLUTION: easy, comforting, calming

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE 7% SOLUTION: CaFleureBon, Megan in Saint Maxime

BOTTOM LINE: I fell in love with this perfume when I first smelled it as a judge for the 2015 Artisan Salon Fragrance awards. It’s a perfume that is truly unique, interesting and like no other. Shelley Waddington captures perfectly a dreamy state of comfort.

Bone Rating: 3.5 out of possible 5 bones
Nose: Shelley Waddington
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $60 for 1 oz. eau de cologne. Review based on eau de parfum version.

DRAW: For US readers only, one 15 ml bottle of The 7% Solution Eau de Parfum to be chosen via random.org. To enter, please provide a comment below stating who your favorite actor portrayal of Sherlock Holmes is…or list your favorite En Voyage perfume and why. Drawing closes at midnight EST on Thursday, October 27, 2017. Good luck!

October 17, 2016
by The Scented Hound 23 Comments

New Release: DSH Perfumes Chinchilla

WHAT I SMELL: Yowsa…so musky, so lusty and so full of sweet delicious honey…Chinchilla’s introduction is amazing. At its core, the perfume’s opening is set with a delicious honeyed floral civet that’s lightly waxy and full on scintillating. And just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, the perfume becomes a bit thicker as it feels like a light honey is being dripped over the burgeoning florals. In a short while, what started off as pure sex, begins to move to the more sensual. The animalic notes are still there, but they begin to tone down and tame. I’m not going to try to pick apart any notes because they are so seamlessly blended, but I do notice just a hint of cinnamon peppering the honeyed florals. In the end, Chinchilla lightens to a wonderfully soft semi sweet honeyed floral that leaves a perfect trail of come-hither behind you as you wear it. Chinchilla is a stunningly sexy and sensual perfume.

From the DSH Perfumes website:

A ‘retro nouveau’ floriental/honey musk animalic fragrance. It’s gorgeously sexy, and yet so very cozy and comforting.

Chinchilla notes include hyrax, ambrette (musk mallow), bergamot, vetiver, oakmoss, carnation, castoreum, rose de mai, cinnamon, civet, beeswax, gardenia, honey, musk, nard himalayan (jatamansi), tonka bean and white pepper.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: The art of seduction.

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE CHINCHILLA: alluring, tempting, magnetic

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT CHINCHILLA: The Fragrant Journey, Scent Hussy

BOTTOM LINE: Chinchilla is a beautifully smooth seductress. It has just the right amount of animalic elements without being over the top; which means it whispers it’s seduction rather than screams it. The other plus is that Chinchilla could easily be worn by a man or a woman, being easily captivating on both.

Bone Rating: 4 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Floral Woody Musk
Nose: Dawn Spencer Horowitz
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $125 for 1 oz. eau de parfum. Available in various sizes and concentrations. Check out the DSH Perfumes website for the full line.

Sample courtesy of DSH Perfumes. Opinion my own.

October 11, 2016
by The Scented Hound 15 Comments

New Release: Amouage Lilac Love

WHAT I SMELL: Not surprisingly, Lilac Love opens with a soft sweet powdery lilac which quickly turns to cocoa…which smells like milk covered Count Chocula cereal. But that only lasts for few minutes as it moves towards a powdered floral that’s quite dusty and dry. After some more time, the perfume gains a lightly sharp sandalwood bite. The cocoa that was once front and center now seems to pop in and out of the perfume which makes the perfume much more alluring and moves the fragrance away from the gourmand. As Lilac Love continues to develop, a soft sweetened patchouli appears that’s pretty and rather demure. Without any big twists and turns in the development, Lilac Love leaves with you with very little lilac, but instead, you get a soft and powered slightly sweet sandalwood perfume. Lilac Love, like many Amouage perfumes, lasts a long time…but what’s different with this release is that it’s not a powerhouse. And that’s a pleasant surprise.

Notes from the Amouage website:

Top notes: lilac accord, gardenia, peony and heliotrope

Heat notes: orris, cacao and tonka bean

Base notes: sandalwood, patchouli and vanilla

Parmalee by Sophie Gamand

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Puppies and purple flowers*

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE LILAC LOVE: soft, fuzzy, ladylike

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT LILAC LOVE: Colognoisseur, Kafkaesque, Brooklyn Fragrance Lover

BOTTOM LINE: I found the cocoa opening a bit disjointed, but eventually the blending of the florals and the chocolate are more in sync. What started off as a little strange, ends up being a soft and light sweet dream.

Bone Rating: 3.5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Floral
Classification: Leans feminine
Expense: $400 for 100 ml eau de parfum

* I’m not sure why visuals pop up in my head with a fragrance, but they do. With Lilac Love, my first impression was of labrador puppies romping in a field of purple flowers. In trying to find such a picture in Google Images, I ran across some wonderful pictures of pit bulls in flowered headdresses which then led me to the website of photographer Sophie Gamand. Sophie created a series of photographs entitled “Flower Power, Pit Bulls of the Revolution.” This series was designed to provide a softer look at the much maligned pit bull. Each of the photographed subjects is/was up for adoption. For more information on this series, as well as Sophie’s cause, check out her website at: www.sophiegamand.com. Seeing these beautiful creatures memorialized with such love, respect and warmth will bring a smile to your face and joy to your heart.