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March 11, 2012
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New York by Parfums de Nicolai

Fragrances have a tendency to take you back in time. Memories of your past can come rushing forward with just one whiff of a smell. New York by Parfums de Nicolai is one of those scents. This is a scent that takes me back to my younger days when I was just discovering my love of fragrance. I couldn’t afford the best, but always had a few bottles on my shelf. I don’t know which fragrance this reminds me of, but it reminds me of the early 1980s. Clean, fresh and masculine this scent opens with a rush of citrus. It doesn’t take long for that to move into a very gentle woody spice. But the citrus continues throughout as the dominant note. This is a fragrance for those men who like to feel comfortable in a scent. It won’t offend and will probably lend itself to comments of how wonderful you smell wearing it. Unfortunately it doesn’t have a “wow” factor. Overall a nice scent, just not an adventurous one.

From the Parfums de Nicolai website:

Top note : fresh, citrus, lemon, bergamot, aromatics note, lavender
Heart : spicy, woody, pepper, patchouli and cedarwood
Base : vanilla, leather and amber

Bone Rating: 3 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Woody, Oriental, Citrus
Classification: Unisex, but leans masculine
Expense: $115 for 100ml EDT

February 22, 2012
by The Scented Hound 9 Comments

L’Air du Desert Marocain by Tauer Perfumes

I really wanted to like this scent. I had read some wonderful reviews where people were raving about how distinct and special L’Air du Desert Marocain was. Maybe it’s just my body chemistry but this scent just got lost on me. In the bottle it smells amazing and when I applied it, I got an immediate rush of green in an almost medicinal sense. Then it quickly moved into an ever so slight floral…I was thinking that this may turn sweet? No, it then moved to a very dry and woody single layered scent that I found to be nice. But I need more than nice. As the day wore on, it just disappeared on me. I recently reviewed 07 Tanoke by Odin and found this to be similar, but it lacks the extra special something (maybe the tinge of sweetness?) that Odin found.

From the Tauer Perfumes Website:

Head Notes: Coriander and cumin, carefully blended with petitgrain.

Heart Notes: A warm heart note with rock rose and a hint of jasmine.

Body Notes: Dry cedar woods and vetiver, brilliantly joined on a fine ambergris background.

Powerful, sensual and pure. Laying on the bed, watching the moon raising over the sandy hills of the Saharan desert, he dreamt the fragrance of a Moroccan night.

Bone Rating: 2 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: dry, woody
Classification: Unisex but leans towards masculine
Expense: Moderately expensive – $105 for 50ml EDT intense

February 1, 2012
by The Scented Hound 2 Comments

Cendres de The by Phaedon

New perfume by a new line. I was excited to check out the new Cendres de The and some of their other new scents. So this was my first venture into the Phaedon line. This is a comfortable scent that is very clean, masculine and subtle. The cedar really comes out in the top notes, but then evens out into a nice woody with light musk scent. I typically lean towards heavier scents, but could see myself wearing this. It would fit the workplace very nicely. Given that, I don’t think I’ll be spending any money on a full bottle, but will just stick to enjoying the sample. I recommend this for those who like to smell clean and light…it’s old school with a twist.

Cendres de The Notes:

Cardamom, tea, myrrh, cedar, ho wood oil, musk