sandalwood | The Scented Hound

June 15, 2015
by The Scented Hound 10 Comments

The Peradam by Apoteker Tepe

WHAT I SMELL: The Peradam opens with a buttery, thickened and plasticine lily. There’s so much volume and weight to the perfume, but there’s an incredible smoothness about that it feels like a sheen of dense paint has been layered on my skin. Lily can go horribly wrong on my skin and it has a tendency to overpower. Here the lily, ever evident and deeply weighted, remains surprisingly subdued. After a slow progression, the jasmine, thick and bold, starts to bring an ever so slight ray of light to the perfume, but that’s not saying much as this is the most indolic jasmine that I have experienced in some time. The perfume is heady, thick, earthy, bold and spicy but surprisingly close to the skin. After another 20 minutes or so, the sandalwood makes it way in giving what I feel is like a layer of light sandpaper in which the perfume sits on. After an hour, all the notes soften and converge to reside in blended and mysterious harmony that’s topped off with a radiant and buttery finish. Where many fragrances leave their best for the beginning and then fade in beauty towards the end, The Peradam bucks that standard. Because as interesting and unusual as this goes on, hours afterwards, the warm, light and radiant finish is the quiet and reverenced beauty that is the star.

From the Apoteker Tepe website:

The Peradam combines the most precious materials in perfumery for a fragrance of unusual character, depth, and rarity.

According to the French author René Daumal, a ‘peradam’ is an object that only appears to those who seek it. For those who have been seeking the most precious and rarely experienced raw ingredients in perfumery, The Peradam combines a rare SCO2 extraction of Jasmine grandiflorum, real orris butter, and sustainably harvested Mysore Sandalwood into a fragrance that is warm, enveloping, uniquely addictive, and impossible to find elsewhere.

Notes: Madonna lily, Jasmine, Orris butter, Sandalwood
Profile: Floral, Jasmine, Indolic, Woody

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Unimaginable grief from the loss of a most beautiful of love.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE THE PERADAM: gothic, storied, evocative

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE PERADAM: None to be found as of yet.

BOTTOM LINE: The Peradam is a perfume with a story, as you can see from my description of what it smells like to me. There’s passion, decay, beauty and a quiet intensity about the perfume that’s very haunting. There’s a lot of emotion in this creation. I can’t say that for many perfumes and that makes it distinctively unique and all that more special.

Bone Rating: 4 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Floral
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $130 for 50 ml Eau de Parfum

Sample courtesy of Twisted Lily Fragrance Boutique and Apothecary.

April 1, 2012
by The Scented Hound 10 Comments

Ambra Nobile by Nobile 1942

Sometimes I like to gamble. Not gamble in the Las Vegas sense, but I sometimes will make a purchase sight unseen. I took a gamble with Ambra Nobile because at present Luckyscent has the marked down by 35%. So knowing my love of ambers I took a chance. I couldn’t be any happier. Ambra Nobile is a sophisticated, warm and lovely fragrance. When I applied this for the first time, I was a bit worried. It went on a bit sharp and had almost a putty smell that came to the surface? Where was the amber that I so wanted? After a bit, the sharp citrus smell retreated and the mix of the other ingredients came together along with a light spice. Finally, the vetiver and sandalwood came through and mixed with the amber. The combination in the end makes for a modern twist to a very old-time scent. Ambra Nobile is considered a unisex fragrance and would satisfy both sexes easily. But for me and probably for most men, this scent will derive memories of barbershops of past. Ambra Nobile would be fine for day and evening wear. It’s warmth, like many ambers, is enveloping and a spritz on my hand is perfect for satisfying my sniffing needs throughout the day. I am a happy hound with my latest purchase!

From the Nobile 1942 website:

Ambra Nobile evokes “nights for happy lovers are bright and brief” inebriated by the perfume of amber aphrodisiac, combined with the warm, citrusy, notes of labdanum resin, the notes of liquorice Helichrysum, Whose leaves shine like gold in the sun (“golden leaf “), the” manly “tobacco hints of the Tonka bean, and a slight, delicate sandalwood finish as the calm after the storm olfactory.

Ambra Nobile Notes:

Neroli, Bergamot, Ambergris, Labdanum, Patchouly, Tonka Bean, Sandalwood, Cedarwood, Vetiver

Bone Rating: 5 out of 5 possible bones
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $135 for 100ml EDP

February 9, 2012
by The Scented Hound Leave a comment

L’Hetre Reve by Nez a Nez

I love good surprises. I am always hesitant with scents that are comprised with elements of leather. I know as a man, I should embrace that rustic side of me, but I usually find that the leather is just too heavy. When I first applied this to my skin, the leather was clearly present, but it mixed wonderfully with the spices of cinnamon and clove. I can live with that kind of leather. As a unisex perfume, I thought at first that this was a decidedly a masculine scent; manly but warm and very enveloping. By the time I arrived at work, the magic continued but on a whole other level. Still warm, but now sweet. The leather dissipated and out came the light floral elements, a tinge of musk and a tinge of powder. I noticed that as the day went on, depending on what I was doing, sitting at my desk quietly or running to a meeting very busily, the scent changed… warm, cool, sweet, powdery, musky. It was like I was applying a new scent throughout the day. My one downside is that by the time I got home, the scent had pretty much disapearred on me. Well, I guess that just means that I’ll have to apply some more!

Notes:

Star anise, mandarin, cinnamon, clove, sandalwood, vetiver, patchouli, plum, wisteria, cedarwood, gaiacwood, jacaranda, leather, musk, port