Oriental Lounge (2009)
by Different Company

Prim and proper or pusillanimous? It's all a matter of taste, I suppose--one which I have yet to acquire in the case of the kinder, gentler, thinner orientals of which The Different Company ORIENTAL LOUNGE is one. Upon application, I was sure that I recognized the scent, and I probably did in the form of fleeting traces of many classic oriental perfumes, but here it was all too foggy and distinct, mealy-mouthed and weak.

"Thin orientals" seem to be wanting to be all things to all people but end by being simply too wishy-washy for me. I guess that I'm just old school when it comes to orientals. I like them dark, strong, and intoxicating. The sort of perfume that you'd have to wear to be noticed in a dark, smoke-filled oriental lounge, come to think of it. Does ORIENTAL LOUNGE smell bad? No, not at all. But it smells to me like the silhouette of a perfume.

Although ORIENTAL LOUNGE is not for me, anyone who likes this sort of "thin oriental" should definitely check out the Romea D'Ameor line (also composed by a great nose, but not his best work, IMNSHO).

7th September, 2011.

This is easy to throw in the oriental category, but it indeed does have a lighter feel to it. There is a green edge that runs almost all the way through the life of the fragrance that keeps it from becoming cloying or heavy. I think it is the curry leaf note that I am smelling. It's an herbal, green note that pops in shortly after the familiar bergamot opening.

The amber pretty quickly settles in and stays all the way through. It is a soft amber, but very present. Mid way, a very nice rose note projects just a hint (tiny) bit of powder, but that is about all that shifts and changes in this fragrance.

I enjoyed Oriental Lounge very much, and I do think it offers a new twist to a very tried and true genre. If you want a fresher, lighter take on the big orientals, certainly give this a try. It is well done and smells great.

15th May, 2011.

A strong, quite beautiful predominantly ambery rose ,tonka and wood - alittle syrupy and a whole lot of sweet - but in a good way . Has quite a presence.

4th October, 2010.

First off, I'd like to disclose a couple thing. 1) I'm new at this. 2) I love most offerings from TDC.

However, on the simplest terms...this reminds me of Old Spice + bergamot.

20th May, 2010.

At first I was reluctant to sample "Oriental Lounge" because of the name. At work, sometimes heady, rich fragrances, such as are typical of "oriental" fragrances, can really overwhelm the people with whom I work. But, my fears were allayed, because Oriental Lounge didn't really strike me as a typical Oriental. And I can see that others who have reviewed it feel similarly as I do. My first thoughts upon spraying it were, "Hey! Nice!" I could smell something fruity (I guess that's the bergamot), something spicy (could that be the pepper?), and I swear something smelled sandalwood-y. Upon looking up the notes, I find "satinwood" listed. What the heck is "satinwood"? Well, in a wonderful interview of the perfumer Celine Ellena by graindemusc (see http://graindemusc.blogspot.com/2009/08/celine-ellena-speak-of-oriental-lounge.html), she reveals that in a way, it *is* sandalwood. So I guess my nose is not completely off-kilter. All in all, it's a lovely spicy sandalwood fragrance. And I love spices and sandalwood. No patchouli! Thumbs up from me!

6th January, 2010.

The Different Company Oriental Lounge

I have not been as impressed with The Different Company and their nose Celine Ellena as I thought I would have been. I am a big fan of Sel De Vetiver but the rest of the line has just failed to make me sit up and take notice. For that reason I wasn't overly excited about the 2009 release, Oriental Lounge.

Oriental Lounge is supposed to be Mme. Ellena's modern take on an oriental. This is a style of perfume that I like a lot and I was worried that this would be too light in tone to really be an oriental. That worry turns out to be the case as Oriental Lounge is a light airy amber-centric fragrance that I can't really call an oriental even though some of the classic bones of an oriental are present. On the other hand I found it to be a delightfully wearable amber that is surprisingly complex for its airiness.

The top of Oriental Lounge begins with a mix of bergamot followed by a hint of pepper and the note that many will be talking about who try this, curry leaf. The curry leaf adds a green woody aspect that also has the hint of a metallic nature to it. This is never overwhelming but it is present throughout the development of Oriental Lounge and it add an air exoticism to it. The heart is a mix of semi-sweet boxwood and spicy rose, again layered so as to feel as if wafted in on a breeze. It is during this phase that I first detect the presence of amber and it starts off at a distance before growing in intensity. There is a wonderful moment in Oriental Lounge where the curry leaf and amber are in equal balance and that mix is very enjoyable. The base adds in tonka, to sweeten things up a bit, and labdanum to add a touch of resin.

Oriental Lounge has excellent longevity for something as sheer as it is. The sillage is modest and that's what makes this so wearable in my opinion as most scents with this note list would be overpowering and Oriental Lounge is never that.

Maybe I'm fooling myself by not thinking of Oriental Lounge as a true oriental because it doesn't have the strength of so many others of that class. I like Oriental Lounge a lot for being something less than oriental but at the same time something more.

11th December, 2009.