vintage perfume | The Scented Hound

June 17, 2015
by The Scented Hound 3 Comments

Vintage Dior Dioressence

WHAT I SMELL: Dioressence opens with a warm and bold patchouli combined with a tad of vanilla. It’s pretty, warm and inviting. That initial blast of patchouli starts to diminish to reveal a creamy floral mix punctuated with a spicy carnation. After 10 minutes, the perfume begins to dry and become lightly powdered which is great because it helps to pull the perfume away again from being dominated by the patchouli. After another 20 minutes the softens a bit more, but at the heart of Dioressence is a warm and inviting patchouli that tops a rounded and rather beefy mix of florals. Dioressence is radiant, slightly carnal and very in control.

Notes from Fragrantica:

Top notes are aldehydes, orange, fruity notes, patchouli, green notes and bergamot; middle notes are carnation, tuberose, cinnamon, violet, orris root, jasmine, ylang-ylang, rose and geranium; base notes are musk, patchouli, benzoin, vanilla, oakmoss, vetiver and styrax.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Central Park NYC in the Fall.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE DIORESSENCE: secure, confident, sensual

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT DIORESSENCE: Now Smell This, I Scent You a Day, The Non-Blonde

BOTTOM LINE: As with many vintage perfumes, the top notes are first to go, so I didn’t experience any aldehyde and bergamot rush in the opening. But that doesn’t mean this isn’t a beauty. Au contraire…it’s very pretty. Actually, it reminds me greatly of the discontinued MPG George Sand. No wonder I like it so much!

Bone Rating: 3.5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Chypre Floral
Nose: Guy Robert
Classification: Unisex
Expense: Varies. Review based on vintage Eau de Toilette

April 20, 2015
by The Scented Hound 7 Comments

Vintage Dior Diorling

WHAT I SMELL: Dior Diorling opens green, dry, mossy and quite powdery. It has a vintage feel, but at the same time feels easily modern. I can’t tell if the top notes are somewhat lost, but the florals are incredibly well blended. They’re deep, rather beefy and they feel very structured and firm. As with Miss Dior, Diorling is pretty in a rather masculine fashion. That’s what I love about these old classics, they are allowed to be feminine without resorting to sweetness and fruit. The hyacinth and iris are the anchors here and combined with the moss they make for this powdered haze of sophisticated beauty. Then add this light punch of leather to the base and you’ve got the perfume wrapped up. There’s not a lot of development here, (although the lily of the valley pokes it head out ever now and then), but it does soften and becomes somewhat like a perfumed Angora sweater. Overall from the beginning to the end (and it lasts), you have a classic chypre at its best.

Dior Diorling Notes:

Top notes are hyacinth and bergamot; middle notes are iris, jasmine, rose and lily-of-the-valley; base notes are vetiver, musk, patchouli, oak moss and leather.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Peanut’s Pig-Pen. OK, to explain myself…take away the dry dusty dirt and replace with a dry dusty mossy cloud. Besides, the perfume has a very 1960’s vibe about it which was the heyday of the Peanut’s era. See it all makes sense now, right??!

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE DIOR DIORLING: drrrryyyy, powdered, unisex

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT DIOR DIORLING: Perfume Shrine, The Black Narcissus, Now Smell This

BOTTOM LINE: Ridiculously expensive on eBay, I found this beauty for a great price and snatched it up. So there was a little chip on the stopper and the stopper was stuck (we perfumistas know how to conquer that!), but the perfume is divine! I don’t think it will ever live up to my love of Miss Dior, but I get giddy every time I put this on because it’s just that good!

Bone Rating: 4.5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Chypre
Nose: Paul Vacher
Classification: Unisex
Expense: Varies greatly. Review based on the parfum extrait version.

June 14, 2014
by The Scented Hound 19 Comments

Vintage Molinard de Molinard

WHAT I SMELL: Molinard de Molinard’s opening is all smoke and incense on top of bergamot and a muted fruit. This is quite the contradiction in notes, but somehow it really works and makes the kick off incredibly interesting. After around 5 minutes the florals start to brush away the smoke and incense (but not too much though) to reveal a rather bright undercurrent filled with my favorites, ylang-ylang and rose (somehow that combination always seems to work for me). The fragrance is quite large and at times seems more fruity than floral but the one consistent is the veil of incense that seems to glide and move around the other notes. There’s a strange mix of cool and warmth with this; the base is warm but there is this sheered gauze above that seems to be a bit cooler. This is one of the fragrances that when sniffed you can feel the movement of the molecules running under your nostrils. As the fragrance begins to settle, the movement dies down and the incense calms to a whisper and the fragrance becomes golden warmth. It’s incredibly sensuous and very womanly, a real radiant beauty. After a few hours, you’re left with a lightly sweetened fruity comforting dream.

Molinard de Molinard notes via Fragrantica:

Top notes are black currant, fruity notes, green notes, asafoetida, lemon, bergamot and cassis; middle notes are jasmine, ylang-ylang, lily-of-the-valley, Bulgarian rose and narcissus; base notes are labdanum, amber, musk, vetiver, incense and patchouli.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Beautiful and mysterious, like an early 1930s Myrna Loy when she was still playing “exotics” prior to becoming a star.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE MOLINARD DE MOLINARD: mysterious, sensuous, radiant

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT MOLINARD DE MOLINARD: Post Modern Perfume (the only review I could find and which was based on the EdT version which was a very different experience from my Parfum Extrait version)

BOTTOM LINE: I found this little 7.5ml beauty at an estate sale and only wish that I had more. I don’t wear it often, but when I do, I always ask myself, why I don’t. Part of it is that I hide it away in a cabinet like a precious jewel that I just don’t ever want to lose. Oh, and what a little jewel it is…the bottle is an exquisite Lalique beauty.

Bone Rating: 4.5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Fruity Floral
Classification: Feminine
Expense: Varied for vintage. Review based on the Parfum Extrait version.