unisex | The Scented Hound

May 15, 2012
by The Scented Hound 6 Comments

06 Amanu by Odin

06 Amanu recently won the Fragrance Foundation’s 2012 Fifi “Indie” Fragrance Award. Given such high regard, I had to check this fragrance out. I loved 07 Tanoke, and since this is an award winner, I was sure I was going to like this as well. Hmmmm, not sure what the fuss is all about.

06 Amanu is a light and airy fragrance. It goes on almost a bit salty and then quickly turns floral and lightly sweet. I can smell the blood orange and the jasmine along with a light musk. As time goes on, the musk and amberwood warm 06 Amanu a bit, reducing the original sweetness. This is about as discreet of a fragrance that you can find. It hugs close to the skin and feels very personal, almost bath like in its composition. To me, that means that I could have just emerged from taking a bath with some pretty bath salts and would have smelled the same. 06 Amanu is marketed as unisex, but I do think this leans more feminine. I’m not digging it on me and would have a hard time seeing other men wear this.

For an award winner, I was expecting something more daring. This scent is pretty safe… and not for me.

From the Odin website:

The primitive ambiance of southern Mediterranean peaks combined with the ancient fertility of Anatolian soils brings forth a herbaceous blend of verdant galbanum and raw lentisque. The cortex of Amanu revolves around the woody rusticity of cedarleaf and the heady complexity of jasmine sambac. Rooting textures of amberwood, musk and live moss endow this earthy scent with a lush maturity.

Top: Blood Orange, Green Galbanum, Lentisque
Middle: Aged Cedarleaf, Jasmin Sambac, Magnolia
Bottom: Amberwood, Sheer Musk, Live Moss

Bone Rating: 3 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Woody – aromatic
Classification: Unisex but leans feminine
Expense: $125 for 100ml EDT

May 8, 2012
by The Scented Hound 8 Comments

Idole by Lubin

Spicy rum and smoky incense are the first impressions left when applying Idole. The scent is intoxicating in the way it wraps itself around you. That initial opening then starts turning towards the bitter orange. It still a bit boozy, but it now has more of a bite. Still intoxicating. Sometimes, scents with rum as an ingredient can get too thick and will overtake all of the notes. Not in the case of Idole, it accentuates the spices and makes them pop. The real interesting part of this fragrance is that it stays in this boozy, spicy state for a long time, but then hours after wearing it, it does fade and the leather notes are what you are left with. Usually you’ll notice the leather in the scent much earlier, but in this case you don’t find it until the end. And in that end, the leather is soft and warm and very pleasing. So far, this is my second entree’ into the world of Lubin scents and I’m happily surprised. And from the pictures I’ve seen, the bottle is a work of art.

Idole Notes:

Rum absolute, saffron, black cumin, bitter orange peel, Doum palm, rock rose, smoked ebony, frankincense, sugar cane, leather, red sandalwood, amber

Bone Rating: 4 out of 5 possible bones
Scent Type: Oriental – Spicy
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $160 for 100ml EDP

May 2, 2012
by The Scented Hound 13 Comments

Iskander by Parfum d’Empire

Inspired by australianperfumejunkies review of some of the Parfum d’Empire line today, I decided to pull out some of my untested samples and give it a go. Since summer is approaching, I thought I would try Iskander. Lemony, citrus freshness in an initial blast, bright and sunny are how I would describe my first impressions with the scent. There initially is almost a barber shop clean aspect to the Iskander. Now I’m not typically a fan of citrus scents so I wonder if I’m going to like Iskander. I find then that the initial citrus blast dissapates and out comes a very light spice, maybe the coriander?. But I don’t consider this a spicy scent by any means. The fragrance soon mellows into a lovely warm, yet fresh, citrus, amber and oakmoss scent which evens out the initial sharpness of the scent. The is an underlying tonality in this fragrance which is similar to the other Parfum d’Empire scents that I have tested; it’s a smooth and silky finish that I find incredibly luxurious. It sits at the scent’s base tying in all of the ingredients for a layer that blends so well on the skin. I don’t know what this is, but so far the Parfum d’Empires scents that I have tried all are equaled in their beauty even though they are composed so differently. I’m not sure yet, but I believe that Iskander might just be my 2012 summer scent.

Iskander Notes:

citron, mandarin, grapefruit, estragon, coriander, orange blossom, oakmoss, amber and musk

UPDATE: Iskander got to me, I had to buy a full bottle!