review | The Scented Hound

May 16, 2016
by The Scented Hound 8 Comments

New Release: Rrose Sélavy by Maria Candida Gentile

WHAT I SMELL: Rrose Sélavy has a very herbal opening with a minted tarragon sitting on top of a vibrant deep and masculine rose. I don’t want to say that the opening is discordant, but its incredibly different and unique in a way that makes you to wonder where this perfume path is going to lead you. After a few minutes, a mentholated and camphorous warmth helps to give the perfume a pulsating heart. Here the perfume feels beautifully earthy as if there’s a great story that accompanies the wearer of the fragrance. The perfume is deep, warm, slightly spicy and completely herbal and a little goes a long way as the projection is quite big, but it still manages to remain down to earth. Even though this is a rose perfume, there’s something so darkly mysterious and beautiful about it that belies my vision of a rose. In the end, Rrose Sélavy quiets considerably, leaving you with a faint wisp of a creamy rose that feels as if it’s holding a secret.

From the Maria Candida Gentile website:

A Velvet rose, persistent and unique, dedicated to one of the leading artist of Dadaism: a homage to Marcel Duchamp and to his “double” Rrose Sélavy.

Rrose Sélavy

With Rrose Sélavy Maria Candida interprets the “double” of Marcel Duchamp, and his jeux des mots Rrose Sélavy which sounds in French like “eros, c’est la vie”, or “arroser la vie”, to make a toast to life. Maria Candida pays tribute to Duchamp, making a toast to life with her velvet, soft, fresh, just harvested, with its olfactory vibration, which fill the air and the space, tridimensional just like his art crafts. The name Sélavy emerged in 1921 in a series of photographs by Man Ray of Duchamp dressed as a woman. Through the 1920s, Man Ray and Duchamp collaborated on more photos of Sélavy. Duchamp later used the name as the byline on written material and signed several creations with it.

Notes: Rose petals, Turkish rose, May rose , Rose accord, Michelle rose, Rose stems, Rose leaves

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A Victorian parlor, full of the non-air conditioned worn wood, rugs, upholstery and books – it’s earthy, natural and comforting.

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE RROSE SÉLAVY: herbal, mentholated, meditative

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT RROSE SÉLAVY: Colognoisseur, perfumesilove

BOTTOM LINE: As I have said in the past, Maria Candida Gentile’s perfumes have a very MCG distinct fingerprint that is all hers. Rrose Sélavy is no exception. I find that you either really love her perfumes or you don’t and that there’s not a lot of in between. I really like her creations, they’re bold, different and incredibly unique and to me, this take on rose is wonderfully unexpected. Rrose Sélavy is a masculine perfume that melds to the feminine in the end and it perfectly fits the inspiration; the alter ego of Marcel Duchamp, Rrose Sélavy.

Bone Rating: 4 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Floral
Nose: Maria Candida Gentile
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $195 for 100 ml or $49 for 15 ml Parfum Extrait

Sample courtesy of Twisted Lily Fragrance Boutique and Apothecary. Opinion my own.

May 11, 2016
by The Scented Hound 15 Comments

Vintage Chaldée by Jean Patou

WHAT I SMELL: Vintage Chaldée opens with a deep warm full-bodied floral bouquet. I’m not sure if the top notes are still there as the perfume sets very quickly into the resin based floral presentation. The perfume is thick and rich with a deep lilac presenting itself as the floral star. But the lilac isn’t soft and gentle, instead its thickened with the opoponox. After a while, a dust covers the base of the perfume, giving it a vintage feel without making it feel like it belongs in another time. The dust then turns to more of a cotton and for some reason it reminds me if the smell of brand new white tube socks. After around 20 minutes, the vanilla brings an ever so slight sweetness to the warmed florals. Funny, after around 1/2 hour, a little bit of civet seems to creep in giving the perfume an added depth and dimension. Finally, the perfume ends it’s journey in this warmed and flattened bouquet that projects this beautiful and confident persona.

Top notes: orange blossom and hyacinth. Heart: jasmine, lilac and narcissus. Base: opoponax, amber and vanilla.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A grand hat from a bygone era.

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE CHALDÉE: warm, contained, deep

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT CHALDÉE: Now Smell This, Perfume Shrine, I Smell Therefore I Am

BOTTOM LINE: For an eau de toilette, vintage Chaldee has a large personality and is incredibly long-lasting. I recently had a chance to test the newly reissued version in eau de parfum concentration and it opened up grand and glorious much like the original. I was ecstatic. However, surprisingly enough, it didn’t have the lasting power and it turned rather dark on me. I do need to give it another chance though…but the vintage….oh my, beautiful. Thanks to Holly for this beautiful gift!

Bone Rating: 4 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Oriental Floral
Nose: Henri Almeras in 1927
Classification: Leans feminine, but could be unisex
Expense: Prices vary on eBay.

May 9, 2016
by The Scented Hound 10 Comments

New Release: Night Flower by Eris Parfums

WHAT I SMELL: Sex sells…and the Eris Parfums line is all about sex. But before I get ahead of myself…on the skin, Night Flower is initially very sweet and sparkling, then quickly a warm and voluptous cardamom that’s seems to be wrapped in a light coating of honey comes rushing forward. The perfume is wonderfully sexy at this point, rather like the movement of a silken slip that playfully falls off the shoulders. There’s a warmth to the perfume, but the warmth feels like it’s generating from the skin vs. the perfume. After 10 minutes, a dirtied light leather moves its way in. The leather adds another dimension of seduction as the playfulness of the opening moves towards a more serious tone. After some more time, the perfume seems to recede and darken as you’ll need to lean in close to experience its hidden mysteries. In the end, the perfume is this quiet whisper of a burning ember of patchouli. It feels like at any time, the spark of the fire could explode and burst out of control.

From the Eris Parfums website:

NIGHT FLOWER Eau de Parfum opens with a blast of fresh, aromatic cardamom. Animalic leather and suede wrap around a narcotic Indian tuberose, drying down to a cozy base of birch tar, patchouli, cinnamon and tonka.

“Night Flower is a leathery, animalic floral fragrance. Spellbinding, sexual and addictive.” – Antoine Lie (Perfumer)

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Natalie Wood as Deanie in Splendor in the Grass…a girl stuck between love, lust and trying to remain good.

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE NIGHT FLOWER: come-hither, tempered, controlled

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT NIGHT FLOWER: Indieperfumes, The Non-Blonde, Katie Puckrick Smells

BOTTOM LINE: Letting your inner sexual self reveal itself is easy to do with the new line of Eris Parfums. Night Flower is my favorite in the line and is probably the most tame of the three in the collection. But there’s just enough hidden mystery to make one just feel that you’re letting your dark side come out to play.

Bone Rating: 4 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Floral Woody Musk
Nose: Antoine Lie
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $150 for 50 ml eau de parfum