I have a super friend called Undina from Undina’s Looking Glass, (called Undinaba because she is Bloody Amazing) which is one of the frag blogs that I read EVERY installment of. We have sent each other a couple of fragrance care packages and my most recent one arrived just this week, a veritable scent filled goldmine of things long read & heard about, pored over and pondered upon while making hasty “Can I justify/afford this?” calculations in my head. Ormonde Jayne’s Champaca is just such a one. Even the frickin box looks too posh for me. This stuff is SERIOUSLY GORGEOUS!!
I must now say that having done some looking I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the affordability of the range, well within reasonable splurge range even on a way less than CEO style financial package.
Photo Stolen fragrantica
The internet tells me that the Michelia champaca is closely related to the fragrant magnolia but the flowers are yellow and smaller but their scent stronger. It is native to South and South East Asia and some of China, and has been used for millenia in fragrance.
Fragrantica gives these main accords:
Top: Neroli, pink pepper, bamboo
Heart: Basmati rice, champaca, freesia
Base: Myrrh, musk, green tea
Photo Stolen fragrantica
That fizzy pink pepper and orange blossom opening that is so 21st century is only slightly softened by the dry light bamboo, had we not had a stand of bamboo in the back yard that we played in and around as children I would probably never have noticed its inclusion.
Basmati rice really does come through the champaca and freesia, like it’s buoying them up and they float beautifully above it. There is still a definite orange blossom through the very heart of the fragrance and still there 5 hours into my wear. I was expecting Champaca to become a skin scent much sooner than this, though the musk is making itself known. I think staying close to me rather than skin scent, Champaca doesn’t seem to need to announce itself to the room though for the first couple of hours on returning to a room I could smell I’d been there. My skin gives me no tea, everyone else raves about the green tea, I went and made myself a cup to check but to no avail, my skin drank the tea.
It’s now 8+ hours, we’ve been for dinner, watched a movie at home on TV and I’m finishing up my post, there is now a slightly musky smell but it’s a sweet sweat, the myrrh and still, amazingly, a little of that sexy neroli; but you have to be close enough to….
Photo Stolen OrmondeJayne
Above you can see pictured the ORMONDE JAYNE DISCOVERY SET 12 x 2ml for only 48 pound including postage worldwide!
If you’d rather spring for a bottle prices start at 64 pound for 4 x 10ml Travel Purse Sprays or 80 pound for 50ml EdP at the OrmondeJayne site which is a pretty good deal for such outstanding niche fragrance presented so beautifully.
Thank you for coming and wandering through my fragrant thoughts, I hope you have enjoyed yourself as much as I did to bring them to you.
Wishing each of you only the good stuff you wish for yourselves,
Till tomorrow,
Portia xx
This is Linda Pilkington chatting about Champaca from her Ormonde Jayne website.
When I finally discovered you all it was a complete revelation. My own fragrance story was so introverted and self fulfilling that though I shopped online quite a lot I had not twigged that there would be other people who were already reading, writing, exploring, sharing, corresponding and generally enjoying the community that is the fragrance wormhole, for years!! Who knew there was a world of scent-ualists online?
I don’t know about you but I am often intrigued by the people who found the scentbloggosphere years before I did. They are now an elite crew whose knowledge, entrenchment and sophistication are world renowned, as are each of their personalities. They all took their baby fragrant steps together or helped the new kids on the block towards their own perfumista status, and still do.
Today we are talking to Anita Berlanga, you may know her from PerfumePosse as Musette, with the sharp and witty wisecracks. Anita has been unstintingly warm and generous to me and I’m sure many others of you so I thought it would be fun to get into her head a bit. She gets the APJ question but just tweaked a little….
Photo Stolen Musette’s Private Cache
Give us a brief history, who was young you, important you defining moments or early fragrant memories that may have herded you towards the ever moving now?
I was a typical Midwestern teenaged nerd with romantic literature leanings (windswept moors, dark, brooding heroes)…went well with my braces and zits. Early scent? Heaven Sent. Vats of it. My high school REEKED of the stuff. That, and Love’s Baby Soft. Enough to bring up your lunch. Oooh! and Coty Elan, which I liked because it smelled romantically windswept and had a cool bottle (I just scored a vintage bottle recently – it’s a greenery-yallery scent. But such a fab bottle!
Then I found that greeny galbanum Norell on my mother’s dresser, which I thought smelled so…windswept, with heathery scarves and velvet cloaks (hey! I was – what? 14? 15? And I was totally on that moor, with the wind whipping my straight, shiny, Cathy-esque black hair and sooty black lashes fringing my violet eyes, with a young Laurence Olivier striding towards me. Yah.. Except on me it smelled like I’d guzzled a bottle of Scotch. Then it was Nina Ricci Bigarade (which was the beginning of my bitter orange love, though Bigarade is, in truth, an unassuming orange blossom – but that is for Another Day). To be honest, I have NO idea how I came upon that one. But that leads us into your next question…
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What perfume started your journey?
Nina Ricci Bigarade. Well, it didn’t actually start my journey. It started my journey HERE. Blame the Internet. Blame NST. Blame …?? 40 years later, I began to wonder about that perfume, which led to the Internet to revisit (I dunno how old you are but when you hit 50 you start looking for the weirdest things from your past. Puppet Fairy Tale books from your childhood.
Hostess cupcake packaging from the early 60s. Perfume is a biggie. Google has a LOT to answer for, lemme tell you. But in all honesty, it really was Google. I Googled Nina Ricci Bigarade, which led me to Now Smell This, which led me to the Posse. And the rest……..well, you know!Most embarrassing thing about my journey? I wasted SUCH an opportunity. At 23 I was a card-carrying moron. I didn’t know where I would be, 25 years later…… back when I worked as the Ad Mgr for Marshall Field & Company (only THE most elegant department store in Chicago -nay, the Midwest. At one point it was one of the few department stores in the country to rival Bergdorf) – managing advertising for COSMETICS AND FINE FRAGRANCES. Morong. I had access to Every. Single. House. Guerlain. Chanel. Dior. I met Karl Lagerfeld and Bill Blass and Calvin Klein – back when they were doing their own perfumes. (remind me to tell you about Herr Karl and me …and our fans….) I had No Clue. I took my first trip to Paris, without telling the Fragrance honcho I was going. He was stunned! What did I wear? Only what everybody else did. Chloe. Anais Anais. Though I did scent my sheets with Patou Vacances – but to tell you the truth that was more because I loved the little emerald-green stopper. I had scads of that stuff. Scads!! I wasted it. On sheets! 30 years later I am in tears about it. Who knew?
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How did you get your perfume education and did you have any mentors?
I’m still a student and hope to always have a beginner’s mind. Otherwise this will become a bore. This is going to sound like a cop-out but it’s true: my mentors are the perfumistas who come on the blogs and the FB perfume pages. I’m stunned at how much I’ve learned from them. There is no ‘teacher’ – we are all amateurs, in the truest sense of that word, loving and learning as we spritz. And when it comes to parsing out notes? Nobody can do it like the folks on the Posse.Speaking of notes, though, I will tell you one of my very first ‘note’ experiences. I’d just started writing for the Posse and a friend sent me several samples to try – one being Anne Pliska. So..I spritz on the AP and am immediately assailed by this…note. Can’t for the life of me figure out WHY I KNOW THIS DAMN NOTE! It teases me allll day but I don’t have time to research (aka Google) it. So time ticks by, I’m working and this note is worrying my Very Last Nerve. Finally, bedtime arrives. El O and I go to bed, the boys just outside our bedroom door. All is peaceful…suddenly, at 2am, I sit bolt upright in bed and shout ‘PLAY-DOH!!!’. Used to my craziness, nobody in my house even turned over! But that was my very first ‘note’ experience. And yes, Anne Pliska smells persackly like Play-Doh. Which is not a bad thing.
What is your current favourite mass market perfume house?
Guerlain. Even when they miss, they do it spectacularly and they get huge points for keeping the classics in their line and even showcasing some of the lesser-known perfumes of yesteryear (Neiman Marcus in Chicago had a breathtaking display of the Guerlain ‘oldies’, some in the original bottle design. It made my heart sing!) In my opinion, they are the embodiment of Western haute perfumery (non-niche). Large niche house: tie between Amouage and Frederic Malle. Both Houses are intriguing, unwilling to pander to focus groups and mass trends. And they consistently deliver stellar perfumes . I wish they were better known. I don’t understand the urge to smell ‘exclusive’ – as far as I’m concerned, a roomful of people wearing Carnal Flower or Epic is a GOOD THING!
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Do you have a favourite independent perfumer and why, or if that is too politically loaded; what makes a good indie perfumer?
I have several but my steadfast favorite is Liz Zorn – I think it’s because so many of her scents touch my core, immediately and viscerally. The first one, Historical Chypre, I thought might’ve been a fluke. But we’re well into double digits now, so obviously there’s a connection there. The first time I smelled Violets and Rainwater, I teared up! I was back on Lexington Ave in NY, in front of a florist shop, after a pelting Spring rain. Busted pot of violets on the sidewalk. Nobody loved them. Or me. I was bereft. Then I realized, if I just picked the damn violets up and put them back in the pot everything would be just fine. And it was. By the way, none of that actually happened (though there was a florist on Lex that I loved) But such is the power of Liz’s scents that the entire scenario leapt, unbidden, into my psyche and became part of my history. In one spritz.
What do you see as the most important trend in perfumery currently?
I think all trends suck. Truly. The one ‘trend’ (in mass market) I would like to see is a return to ‘real’, structured perfumery, for adults, crafted with quality ingredients. But I suspect that time has come and gone. There’s too much money invested in the quick ROI, ingredients are astronomically expensive and the general public’s taste seems to be devolving, with the aspiration more for the marketing image rather than what stuff smells like. Then again, I love the smell of Clinique Happy – so what do I know??
Isn’t she AH MAY ZING? Thank you Musette for taking the time out of your busy schedule to do this. I feel blessed that you’d come and chat so openly, honestly and interestingly for us.
Wishing you all painless, easy and harmless world domination,
Last week the LuckyScent Summer Sample Collection arrived so I thought I would trot out 4 of the 10 new scents involved and give you the usual 3 sentences and a star rating. I figured you all liked this so much last week that we’d look at another 4 this week, cool? Follow the jump to find our Rating System Page (<<jump).
If you’d like to be a part of the LuckyScent Sample Program just join their eMail Newsletter Signup and every so often they will offer you a bunch of great new stuff to try, no pushy sales or minimum amount to buy, it’s either yes please or ignore. They are very reasonably priced; the 10 piece Summer Sample Collection was only $30 + P&H. There is a downside though, they are only .7ml vials so if you want to spritz you’ll have to self decant. I would pay double happily for a 1.5ml spray set, I have asked for it but you all need to too.
Photo Stolen LuckyScent
In the bag:
• The Different Company – After Midnight , Limon de Cordoza, Tokyo Bloom, Sienne d’Orange
• Keiko Mecheri – Un Jour d’Ete
• Mona di Orio – Rose Etoile de Hollande
• Parfums MDCI – Un Coeur en Mai, newly reformulated
• Penhaligon’s – Peoneve
• L’Artisan Parfumeur –Seville a l’Aube
• Ramon Monegal – Lovely Day
AFTER MIDNIGHT by THE DIFFERENT COMPANY 2012: If you dab this you could be excused asking “why bother?” because this needs to be spritzed for me to even smell it. Once you do spritz though its a fun winter version of EdC with a warmer more vanilla and musk tone but with the light frothy approach so desirable in cologne. It is interesting and I think you could get away with it in a work environment without feeling like you’d given up fragrance. It gets sexier the longer you have it on and respritzing after 4 hours will give you an even better, deeper, longer lasting version with itself as a base. $120/90ml S=**** L=** D=***
TOKYO BLOOM by THE DIFFERENT COMPANY 2012: This is interesting, it opens as sharply as hairspray and is a wonderful awkward blend of green, milky, musky, spicy and fizzy tones that I’ve never met together before yet still manages to smell GREAT! I was expecting an aqueous nothing and am beyond pleasantly surprised. You must at least take some time to try this marvelous, well priced, innovative fragrance. $120/90ml S=***** L=*** D=****
UN COEUR EN MAI EdP by PARFUMS MDCI 2012. A very lively green, peppery and citrus opening quickly leads to a spicy floral romp through a spring garden, white flowers, lily, rose, geranium all combine with some sweet (but not THAT sweet) fruity accords as if you’ve arrived at the garden lunch table for fresh fruit salad. I get a very slight cashmeran woods beneath the whole and towards the end but miss the musk unless it’s sprayed, I enjoyed this perfume immensely though it’s priced well out of my interest range. $250/60ml S=**** L=*** D=****
PEONEVE by PENHALIGON’S 2012. The violet leaf is a fresh, pretty, unpredictable, expensive feeling opening, such a change from pink pepper, bergamot or aldehydic blasts. I become almost complete anosmic to it for about 20 mins, just an extremely whispery floral tinkle in the air around me and then a beautiful light floral symphony surrounds me, reminiscent of a way less intense Gucci Guilty. Peoneve has an almost fruity, peppery rose and dry down is a little green, earth and musky at skin scent level then 4-5 hours gone. $120/50ml S=**** L=** D=***
These samples were from LuckyScent where you can buy full bottles of these fabulous perfumes and samples
Have you tried anything this week that you’d like to share with us? We’d love to read it so leave a message, you’ll get a response.
Thank you for dropping by and being part of our APJ family,
Portia xx
While I have never sniffed Le Nuit de l’Homme I do think they’ve done a great job with the ad. Not feminist inspired or even acceptable probably but I think it is the ultimate fantasy of most men. Wanted by 3 women at the same time, all gorgeous, all elegant all within a certain circle of society. The reality would be a disaster but it looks nice in this ad.
Out of interest, has anyone smelt this fragrance? Is it as good as the ad? Does the ad sell the correct product?I expect it to be screamingly masculine by the movie but….
Please enjoy the mini movie, even if it’s just to growl BASTARD at the computer,
I have had a decant of Borneo 1834 for some time. I would look at it and pass it over for something else. I don’t know why, clearly its pedigree is good and people rave about it but it just never got picked. An interesting name, Borneo is divided by 3 countries Indonesia, Malaysia and the Sultanate of Brunei and I think they plucked 1834 out of their arses because I can’t find anything interesting to do with that time and Borneo on the net. (edit: It was the year patchouli first arrived in Paris, and thus perfume, from Borneo)
Photo Stolen Borneo.com
So today I bit the bullet.
Fragrantica gives the featured accords: Patchouli, white flowers, cardamom, galbanum, french labdanum, cacao
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Someone somewhere wrote that this is like chocolate covered raisins and I can’t get the scent image from my head. It’s uncanny! I love the uber bitter chocolate here with forestry patchouli, this is not sweet at all to begin with. The cardamom and crackly green galbanum work double time under the radar to keep the whole dusty, smoky, murky; like being in a cold furnace with only the memory of woods or being in an underground cellar. I completely miss all traces of white flower on my skin until about an hour into the fragrance life and then just almost wafts, like they are outside a window. The labdanum is slightly vanilla but still not sweet until about 3 hours in when it gets an extremely low hum of a bakery feel to it but very quietly, just huffs every now and then, like those chocolate sea shells that are vanilla chocolate. Borneo 1834 is gloriously bitter sweet and has a dark resinous quality that is maintained through the 7+ hours I get of real and fully apparent lifespan, I feel like I’ve made a new friend. Sometimes you just have to wait for the right time to test something.
So now it’s 16 hours after I triple spritzed, I’ve worked, slept, woken, done my emailing and breakfasted and there is still a fabulous soft spicy vanilla presence on my skin, astounding.
Will this be a full bottle in my collection? I have a feeling it will be very soon gracing the fragrance fridge here in Sydney.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
TheNonBlonde does as great review as does AnotherPerfumeBlog FragranceNet has 50ml for $112 after discount SurrenderToChance does decants starting at $3.99/.5ml but for only $12.99 you can have a 2ml spray.
Thank you for dropping by. I’m not sure if you know how happy it makes me that you do? Very Fecking Happy!
Don’t forget to come check out my Guest Post on ThePerfumePosse it’s one of the biggest frag blogs on earth and I am so proud and honoured to be a regular contributor.
If you have been anywhere on the scentbloggosphere then you’ve probably seen this, It’s been popping up all over the place. I know though that some of you read here only so this is Lady Gaga’s FAME advertisement/movie. As usual she has chosen strong visual imagery that gives more to original black fairy tales than the modern one and could even be skirting horror. I don’t think I’d have wanted to see this before I was 10 years old, I probably wouldn’t have slept for a week,
Today I have finally had a moment to give to a fragrance hugely anticipated. I was worried because the build up has been so extraordinary that I felt dwarfed by the sheer weight of prose already directed at it, about it, a book was written of the creation of it and the moment it was inspired by. What could I add? Then I was lucky enough to win a sample from the author of the book The Perfume Lover and scent muse for this fragrance, Denyse Beaulieu of Grain de Musc. I feel it would be churlish to not at least give my fumbling impressions and add to the well deserved clamour surrounding another L’Artisan Parfumeur and Bertrand Duchaufour masterpiece.
Photo Stolen L’Artisan Parfumeur
Fragrantica gives these notes: Top: Petit grain, olive blossom Heart: Lavender, orange blossom, beeswax, tobacco Base: Benzoin, olibanum (frakincense)
What do I small? The opening is green, but a warm woody green that in a short while sings with orange and beeswax that already resonates with the frankincense and benzoin. The lavenders create an interesting, almost manly, depth and the whole manages to stay fresh and herbaceous throughout. The orange blossom and tobacco, I think, meld at some points to smell like there is another person with you. It’s uncanny, I keep expecting a hug from behind.Having read the novel I can see the progression but I would love this fragrance even had I not. I smell like sexy, holy, oranges!
Photo Stolen BookDepository
The staying power is excellent, I wake up with subtle but recognisable wafts of orange and soft vanilla after wearing for dinner and 8 hours of sleep. The sillage is good but not extreme. I was able to eat dinner without it interfering with my palette but TSO Jin could smell it and liked it.
CandyPerfumeBoy, NowSmellThis, BoisDeJasmin, all do amazing reviews filled with stories and information I can only hint at. LuckyScent sells 100ml for $165 and ships worldwide BookDepository sells The Perfume Lover book around $20 including delivery worldwide!
Besides the fact that this is a wonderful fragrance, I love that a blogger’s dream has come true in so many ways. Published book, worked with one of the world’s most respected and loved perfumers, was the muse for a fragrance and is now traveling doing book and fragrance talks and launches. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Please do try it and tell me how you liked Seville a l’Aube by L’Artisan Parfumeurs,
DIOR is special. I’ve never owned anything from the fashion house except fragrance but when I was studying fashion in the 1980’s and then working in the industry they were already stand out leaders in the field. I did buy my long term partner Varun a Christian Dior suit a few years ago and it was, like him, incredibly gorgeous. Christian Dior the man’s story is a good one too if you like biographies. Whenever I go to try a new to me fragrance from DIOR I have to steel myself because when I am disappointed by their work it makes me sad. Not to worry here though, this one is a hit!
Photo stolen allurabeauty
Mitzah is painted in the Press Releases as an elegant, feminine and mysterious oriental fragrance and I guess that is a pretty fair assessment but it is more than that too. Like the woman the fragrance is named for, Mitzah Bricard, one of Christian Dior’s most important muses throughout his amazing career, Mitzah the fragrance has ZING. It is a spectacular leap into gorgeousness. It seems to me that Mitzah has in fact taken the very best of all the other great Ambers and collected them into one extraordinary fragrance with great sillage and longevity thrown in for extra good measure. I ask you, “What more could you possibly want?” If your answer is a smaller bottle then I do agree, a 50ml would sell like hot cakes, and I would also like it to be available in more stores.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives its notes/accords as:
Coriander, rose, spices, cinnamon, labdanum, vanilla, honey, patchouli and incense.
I love how Mitzah opens all hot smoky spices and incense, I feel that there are unmentioned leather and tobacco notes too but maybe they are some of the rose facets, roses have a million faces so it’s hard for me to pinpoint. A cracker of a perfume, swirling around itself, making me feel all glamorous and giving me the va va voom of a Gabor sister in her prime. This is not an intense journey through the perfume with mountainous peaks and troughs, while there are definite start middle and end notes it’s more of a progression. The kick at the start warms slowly and languidly through mildly sweet towards a honeyed amber dry down. On a good day I get 8+ hours before Mitzah is lost. As the PR says elegant, feminine and mysterious, but I think not so feminine; a man could wear it very comfortably because it is spicy amber.
EmmaKate here again for my monthly guest blog appearance. This month I am going to be talking to you about one of my favourite fragrances, Lipstick Rose from Frederic Malle.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
As you may know I was lucky enough to meet Frederic Malle himself while I was working at Mecca Cosmetica. While he was in Australia I was able to ask him about his fragrances and learn more about the range. I have always had a soft spot for this perfume and I had NO idea why (except for the fact that it was gorgeous)…Until Frederic enlightened me that it is designed to smell like lipsticks and powder compacts from a bygone era. As a beauty junkie I knew that certain brands continued to make their products with that luxury in mind, so this fragrance was two of my favourite things combined, fragrance and makeup.
The story goes: Ralf Schwieger (the nose behind this, Eau des Marveilles for Hermes and 3 scents for ELdO in 2012) created this fragrance based on a memory from his childhood. When he was young his parents would go to society events and his mother would come to kiss him goodbye before she would leave. The scent that he associates with this memory is the scent of his mothers lipstick and a sense of love and safety. He brought these memories to life in Lipstick Rose.
Photo Stolen globalrose
Fragrantica gives these featured notes/accords all in a line:
Rose, violet, musk, vanilla, vetiver, amber and grapefruit
Lipstick Rose opens with an orchestra of rose and violet followed by a softer powdery style vanilla and musk. It is then rounded out with vetiver and dries down to smell like candied roses and lilacs. It is reminiscent or Turkish delight and children’s lolly bracelets but with a sophisticated edge. It is well worth checking out if you like a sweeter scent, and even if you don’t. Let it sit with you, you might be surprised.
When I smell this I have visions of pink and red roses. For me it evokes romance and a sense of beauty, inner and outer. I wear this fragrance when it is cooler as I find it a bit overwhelming during the warmer months, I love to wear it when I am feeling a bit sassy and a lot girly.
I also have a DIY blog full of fun, simple things to do, please come by and have a look at TheOriginalEmmaKate
Can’t wait to see you next month here on APJ,
EmmaKate XOX
We missed last week because the universe rejected Quicksniffs. What am I gunna do when the universe says NO? Acquiesce. This week arrived the LuckyScent Summer Sample Collection so I thought I would trot out 4 of the 10 new scents involved and give you the usual 3 sentences and a star rating. Follow the jump to find our Rating System Page (<<jump).
If you’d like to be a part of the LuckyScent Sample Program just join their eMail Newsletter Signup and every so often they will offer you a bunch of great new stuff to try, no pushy sales or minimum amount to buy, it’s either yes please or ignore. They are very reasonably priced; the 10 piece Summer Sample Collection was only $30 + P&H. There is a downside though, they are only .7ml vials so if you want to spritz you’ll have to self decant. I would pay double happily for a 1.5ml spray set, I have asked for it but you all need to too.
Photo Stolen LuckyScent
In the bag:
• The Different Company – After Midnight , Limon de Cordoza, Tokyo Bloom, Sienne d’Orange
• Keiko Mecheri – Un Jour d’Ete
• Mona di Orio – Rose Etoile de Hollande
• Parfums MDCI – Un Coeur en Mai, newly reformulated
• Penhaligon’s – Peoneve
• L’Artisan Parfumeur -Seville a l’Aube
• Ramon Monegal – Lovely Day
SIENNE d’ORANGE by THE DIFFERENT COMPANY 2012: Described as a neo cologne in which carrot (LOVE!) and orange come out to play in a bright, fresh, vivacious fragrance that cardamom, leather and woods make interesting enough to try again. I’m figuring the product is made from the best of the best ingredients because of this companies genesis (Jean-Claude & Celine Ellena) though it’s very reasonable for niche at $120/90ml and created by Emilie (Bevierre) Coppermannn. My skin unfortunately devours it in under 3 hours but it is a cologne so respritz and start again. S=**** L=** D=***
Photo Stolen LuckyScent
UN JOUR d’ETE by KEIKO MECHERI 2012: WOW!! This is deliciously warm and cool simultaneously with bergamot, coconut, jasmine, ambergris and woods combining uniquely. Sometimes even the first whiff of a fragrance announces its difference, this is a beguiling blend where only wearing on your skin could make you understand how much more fabulous than I can ever write for you. Sweet, spicy, interesting, sensual, heartbreakingly beautiful and only $115/75ml at LuckyScent. Still could smell a faint whiff 11 hours later next morning. S=***** L=***** D=*****
ROSE ETOILE DE HOLLAND by MONA DI ORIO 2012. Mona di Orio was taken from us too soon but her business partner will make sure she and her work remain unforgotten. From Rose Etoile de Holland’s sparkling top through its spicy rose heart to the soft, not quite sweet oriental dry down the journey is wonderful. Don’t be afraid to give yourself an extra spritz because it lives longer and louder if you do. $210/100ml S=**** L=*** D=****
LOVELY DAY by RAMON MENEGAL 2012. I was recently asking about Spanish perfumers and BINGO here one is: The opening is fresh but though I’m supposed to smell jasmine, rose and blackcurrent I just can’t for the life of me smell that, there smells to me like there’s some unmentioned herb or seed that overlays all. Olfactoria’s Travels does a great job describing this fragrance (almost ELdO SM-ish). After about 20 minutes the jasmine struts in and the rest of the fragrance is as lovely as you would expect something called Lovely Day to be to its lovely soft sweet woody end. $185/50ml S=*** L=*** D=***
These samples were from LuckyScent where you can buy full bottles of these fabulous perfumes and samples
Have you tried anything this week that you’d like to share with us? We’d love to read it so leave a message, you’ll get a response.
Thank you for dropping by and being part of our APJ family,
Portia xx
Photo Stolen fragrantica
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Photo Stolen OrmondeJayne
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Photo Stolen globalrose
Australian Perfume Junkies 