Month: August 2012

Femme by Edmond Roudnitska for ROCHAS 1943

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Hello Fellow Fumies,

I have always madly loved this bottle. One of my courtesy Aunts always had a bottle of Femme on her dressing table and I thought, and think, that the simple fat swirl of a bottle is gorgeous. That this courtesy Aunt was secretly one of my favourites, and a big hug from her was like being awash in a sea of fragrance, also means that the juice has happy memories for me every time I smell it. Yes, it is thinner than the Edmond Roudnitska masterpiece that I remember it due to a reformulation in 1989 overseen by Olivier Cresp making it a little more gourmand, a little less skank and apparently lemon, but there is still that va va voom so lacking in much of today’s perfumery. A saucy wink of a fragrance that takes real self possession to carry off, and a killer Feck You attitude. I think I’m finally ready for Femme.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these notes/accords:
Top: Bergamot, peach, cinnamon, lemon, Brazilian rosewood, plum, apricot
Heart: Cloves, jasmine, rose, iris, rosemary, ylang ylang, carnation
Base: Benzoin, leather, vanilla, amber, musk, oakmoss, patchouli

Photo my own Charles by Norman Lindsay

What do I get? Well the opening is still a complete backhand bitch slap: sweet, spicy, woody fruit and I think the cloves are already there, right up front, or maybe it’s the bergamot? Femme has me at “Hello”. As this extraordinary opening burns off a little I get a swoosh of breathy jasmine and ylang ylang and there is unmentioned cumin here too, the herbaceous notes play more of a backing role filling the fragrance out and giving it light and shade. It’s so hard to parse a big fragrance like this when I am basically scent illiterate and they are all so harmoniously blended. Although we are well into the heart of Femme I am still getting scrummy super ripe fruits alongside the bouquet, this is over an hour into the life of.

I think I’m getting a tingle of patchouli, amber and the musks, there is still a very healthy human sweat and breath feeling running through that has to be cumin, and the bouquet has not left. I does seem to be getting more intimate, snuggly and warm, the civet could be asserting itself (also not mentioned). Not like but reminiscent of waking in the night with someone nude spooning in your arms who is wearing a killer fragrance on top of really fit skin and a soft whisper of the generally bovine effluvia of sleeping person in love.

The amber and vanilla come quite late to the party on my skin and the jasmine is still pumping through till very late. As it dries down it gets very naughty, I think this is what people mean when they talk about Ho Panties. I smell deliciously fornicatory and floral and amber-ish all at once. There’s a long road to travel before it’s gone. I’m going to bed to sleep on it. Wake up and like a dream Femme has gone.

Photo Stolen parfemi

ConfessionsOfAPerfumeNerd does a super review of the Vintage EdC and NowSmellThis helped flesh out my meager knowledge.

FragranceShop has 100ml for around $33
ThePerfumedCourt has Vintage Femme PdT $12/ml and Vintage Parfum $20/ml
SurrenderToChance has Modern Femme EdT $3/ml

This is a must try on your olfactory journey. If you are only au fait with modern perfumes then this will blow your mind.
Love, Love, Love to you all,
See you tomorrow hopefully,
Portia xx

Blonde by Nathalie Feisthauer for Versace 1995

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Hey Hey All You Lovely Blondes (natural, imaginary or enhanced),
This fragrance was created by Versace to celebrate his sister, now head of the empire, Donatella. That’s her in the ad, which is a fabulous testament to the mid 90’s don’t you think? Funiily, we had a Queen in Sydney from Italy for a while called Donatella Anyone! I know, hilarious.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

This came out the year before Dreamer, who was in charge of fragrance at Versace at the time? They seriously need a medal. Two of my all time favourite spritzes from the same house in 2 years, unheard of. Sadly Blonde was either way ahead of its time or too late, and I am gunning for too late. It is big enough, dense enough, note heavy enough to have been an 80’s blockbuster but by 1995 the people still wearing big fragrance had chosen their faves and stuck like glue. Brand loyalty had not yet lost its flavour.
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Fragrantica gives these notes/accords
Top: Gardenia, pitosporum (jasmine-ish), violet, orange blossom, bergamot
Heart: Tuberose, daffodil, ylang-ylang, carnation, pepper
Base: Benzoin, musk, civet, sandalwood
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Photo Stolen Fragrantica

What do I get from this vixen of a perfume? Sparkling, powdery, effusion of white flowers cascading like a voluptuous traditional bridal bouquet, it’s almost aldehydic in its bombasity. It has power and sillage, oh yes, you will certainly attract attention in Blonde. It’s almost a parody they’ve taken it so far. More than one spritz and you’ll skunk a suburb, let alone a work environment. And it doesn’t let up either, once the initial power conflagration burns off we run head first into another set of big fat screamingly heady florals, buttery, spicy and sweet.

The sandalwood, animalics and benzoin have all been working under the radar to uphold the extravaganza that has been going on for the last 2-3 hours but they really start to shine through soon after. It’s not that the flowers have departed but they have started to give some room to move, it gets pretty sexy around 4-6 hours as we dry down towards my being unable to smell anything not me at around 6-7 hours, depending on the day and activity levels. If I wear Blonde to bed there will still be a waft left after 9 hours but it smells very, very naughty indeed.
WARNING!!! Do not wear this to dinner, a movie or work. People will complain and ruin your buzz.

Photo of January Jones 2010 Versace Blonde stolen istyleyou

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Amazon starts at around $60 for 50ml EdT
FragranceNet has 15ml Parfum under $40
ThePerfumedCourt has EdT $3/ml or Parfum $9/ml
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I just put the January Jones shots in because it’s so fabulously outlandish, like this fragrance. Have you tried it? Is there a Versace frag that you wear? Tell me? I’m agog.
Till tomorrow,
Portia xx

Tous Gold EdP by Olivier Cresp for Tous 2002

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 24 Comments

Hi Gang,

As you may remember we had a perfume chain close down around here recently and I managed to procure some ridiculous bargains. One of those spectacular grabs was Tous EdP in the gold package with the TOUS bear on top. Is it just me or does the TOUS bear look like a bear putting its arms behind its enormous BOOBS!!!! It looks very Dolly Parton/Pamela Anderson to me.

Fragrantica gives this blurb (edited):
Tous is a Spanish (Catalan) jewelry house founded in 1920 by Salvador Tous Blavi and his wife Teresa Ponsa Mas. Originally focused on watch repair, their small workshop gradually transitioned to jewelry. Tous remains a family business today and the brand has more than 380 stores in 45 countries across five continents.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

and also gives notes/accords as:
Top: Coriander, cassia, bergamot and violet leaf
Heart: Peony, jasmine, gardenia and rose
Base: Iris, Moroccan cedar and white musk

What do I smell? It starts with a sweet green waft that already has some white flowers. It’s pretty, I know that sounds like I’m damning it, but there’s no other word for Tous Gold. A very pretty perfume and softly fragrant that is kept from being boring or banal by the green and herbal accord that continues past the opening and into the heart. Innocent without being innocuous, would be absolutely lovely on a girl or a woman. In fact, I’ve just sprayed in on TSO Jin and it rocks on him too, almost cologne-ish and lasts forever. I love the fatty, almost milky white flowers in the centre that are very human, motherish, embracing. The cool iris and warm cedar and musks are just playful enough to keep this out of laundry territory but Tous does skirt that genre towards the 4 hours mark of its cycle. It lasts extremely well though, still powering away quietly at the 8 hour mark.

Tous Gold is not a big dramatic number or groundbreaker and I’m not going to tell you I can’t live without it; it’s fresh, light, youthful and lovely. You won’t need to work at liking it, there’s no confrontation, even if you are usually white floral phobic. It would also be a good dinner/movie/work fragrance (it may be a bit big for no perfume works), great for people who want to spray in the morning and not think about fragrance again all day.

FragranceShop has 50ml for under $24
FragranceNet has 90ml for $30

I hope you liked our look at Tous Gold, have you tried any others of their range? I quite liked the look of some of their handbags too.
I am so grateful for all of you who come and look regularly, and leave messages. Every one is appreciated.
Portia xx

Un Jardin En Mediterranee by Jean-Claude Ellena for Hermes 2003

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Heya Stink Monkeys,

I don’t know about you but Hermes has always held a special, uber glamorous place in my head and heart. When I think of Hermes (pronounced Air-Mez) instantly I think of class, quality and longevity. Un Jardin En Mediterranee by Jean-Claude Ellena is my equal favourite fig fragrance with Mandy Aftel’s Fig. They are very different, let me introduce you to the way Hermes treats a fig; the one to really start the ball rolling back in 2003.

Photo Stolen Hermes

Fragrantica gives these notes/accords:
Top: Mandarin orange, bergamot, lemon (unmentioned but something very green here too)
Heart: Orange blossom, white nerium oleander
Base: Red cedar, cypress, juniper, fig leaves, pistachio, musk

From the very first moment I get only an extreme green crack of citrus with green bark and split leaves but then a glorious figgy sweetness intrudes, wafting gently through and they try to hover together side by side, one up then the other. It’s like sitting under a tree in the breezy sunlight, sometimes you feel the warmth moving over your face and at other times you are shaded completely. Soon the sweetness wins out and in come spices and some salt, warming the whole confection up and making it almost like a sweet fruit cheese, you can almost taste it. My mouth has watered! HA HA really watered, ohhh this is so good.

Today has been cleaning day and I’ve washed and scrubbed and sweated over 3 bathrooms, top to bottom, there is still the magnificent sweep of sweet spicy fig floating from my wrists. Nearly 2 hours of cleaning and going strong and it has combined with my sweat to give a really briny fresh sea water smell, gorgeous. Le Jardin En Mediterranee is tenacious, the house is spotless, cleaning, vacuming, dusting, steam mop all done, nearly 5 hours since I spritzed a single spritz and wrist mash and the sweet, salty fig is only just letting in the woods. There are hours before the dry down, I’m going to get some winter sun and enjoy the ride.

Photo Stolen static.lookbooks

There is no heaviness to Un Jardin En Mediterranee, except the clunky title. Personally I would HATE to have to tell someone that I’m wearing it and mangle the French beyond recognition, forever showing my absolute blundering year 9 French roots to the world. I think I will call it Hermes, Mediterranean Garden if asked.

WhatMenShouldSmellLike does a wonderful review, as does Olfactoria’sTravels. Undina searches for the ultimate fig in her Looking Glass too.

FragranceX has 50ml for $65
eGlobalBeauty has 100ml under $100 including world wide postage
MyPerfumeSamples has decants starting at $1.99/ml and $7.99/5ml (The Un Jardin collection will be on sale there this weekend)

I hope you’ve enjoyed a little look at Un Jardin En Mediterranee, thank you for your wonderful support. Please leave a message telling me your favourite Hermes or Fig Fragrances? Go on, send me some lemmings!
Love to you and yours,
See you tomorrow.
Portia xx

Vanille Absolument (was Havana Vanille) by L’Artisan Parfumeur 2009

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 12 Comments

Hiya all you lovely Perfumistas,

I ordered my Vanille Absolument from the French sale online recently but it was once known as Havana Vanille too. Different name, same juice apparently. I have a long standing love of vanilla in food and fragrance so add this to rum, leather and musk; it was a no brainer.

Photo Stolen L’Artiisan Parfumeur

Fragrantica gives these notes/accords
Top: Clove, Mexican vanilla pod, leather and crystallized dried fruit
Heart: Narcissus, rum, everlasting flower, tonka bean, tobacco leaves and honey
Base: Balms, vanilla absolute, smoked woods and musks

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

OMG! The opening of slightly bitter vanilla is mesmerising, and to have put the leather in right up top to cut through the sweet, spicy candied fruit and give you a blast of dark cakery is genius. I get a milky/ice-creamy blush through the beginning too. Dark rum and honeyed tonka come in to give the whole a cocktail-ish almost Brandy Alexander feel that is both boozy, alcoholic, spicy and cozy warm. I am trying to parse the narcissus and everlasting daisies but they are completely subjugated by the other notes; but every now and then I almost smell them. Although this is a vanilla fragrance there is so much more to it, twists and turns within turns. The dry down is a warm and sweet vanilla that is held back from being foodie by the musk and woods, though I don’t get smoke in the traditional sense.

This is a classy, elegant fragrance that still remains friendly and approachable with good longevity (at about 5 hours before I lose 3 spritz completely) and the sillage & scent bubble are good too. Where would I wear it? This is so divine that I’m finding it hard to think of somewhere I couldn’t wear Vanille Absolument. It may be a little too much for a workplace where there are anti-perfume rules or very close quarters, otherwise from jeans to Haute Couture, Bar B Q to meet the Queen. Excellent as a date night fragrance because it’s sensual rather than sexual.

NowSmellThis and TheNonBlonde do great reviews with much more knowledge than I posess, go check them out too.

LuckyScent have 100ml for $165
Parfum1 has 100ml for $165 (still as Havana Vanille and I’m wondering if it’s pre-reformulation there?)
ThePoshPeasant has decants starting at only $5

How do you all feel about Vanilla? Does it spark your attention and is there one I should definitely try?

See you all tomorrow, thanks for dropping in.
Portia xx

Ophelia by James Heeley 2010

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 16 Comments

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Gabriella

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All Things Bright and Beautiful

Heeley Ophelia

Hello Junkies!

It’s Madeleine back again. I trust you have all had a wonderfully fragrant time since my last post and hope you enjoy this review of one of my all-time favourites.
 
Sometimes we need a little sunshine in our lives. As we’re still in the midst of winter here in Sydney, these words could never ring more true in my mind. When it’s cold outside, I sometimes pull out the traditional comfort scents to lift my spirits, but more often than not, my weapons of choice to combat dreary days are what I call my ‘joyful’ scents. These are the perfumes that herald balmy days ahead, of t-shirts and warmth, and are perfumes that just simply put a spring in my step. They are my olfactory mood enhancers. Fracas, with her brash, diva-esque tuberose never fails to make me smile, as does Le Parfum de Therese with her sun-tinged melon. But there’s a third perfume in my arsenal that just makes me feel happy and beautiful: the exquisite Heeley Ophelia.
Ophelia James Heeley for women
 
Conceived as an olfactory homage to Shakespeare’s tragic heroine in Hamlet, this perfume is an elegant, graceful and gauzy white floral. It is an outstandingly beautiful perfume and while it does have some love out there in the blogosphere, in my mind it remains a seriously underrated fragrance.
Ophelia’s notes are listed as: Green stems, Water lily, Jasmine, Yalang ylang, Tubereuse, White musk, Grey amber and Moss
 
Heeley’s website calls it “too pretty for words” and while I wholeheartedly agree with this statement, I shall nevertheless try to negate it and try to do the perfume some justice here.
 
Ophelia is a composition of radiant beauty, the scent of a summer’s day after a storm.  Dawn breaks and is greeted with the damp and dewy scent of green stems and leaves, verdant, deep  and lush. As the sun slowly starts to peek over the horizon, lilies and jasmine start to unfurl their petals and fill the air with their lovely delicate scent. The temperature continues to lift and tuberose starts to bloom, giving the composition a slightly carnal, creamy edge. Delicate musk tempers the heady white floral bouquet as the sun recedes and daylight fades. Ophelia also has an aquatic aspect, but here the watery notes give the green floral core a luminous quality and not the oceanic vibe that many perfumistas dread.
 
Ophelia is the scent of white gossamer; the wings of butterflies; the breath of an angel. It is profoundly delicate and graceful, but the depth of the green notes and the white florals mean it is decidedly a woman’s fragrance and not too girly girl or flimsy in nature.
 
The perfume’s pretty, feel-good vibe means some reviewers have been puzzled by the Shakespearian reference, given that the character of Ophelia in Hamlet is ultimately a tragic one. Torn between her love for Hamlet and her duty to her father, she goes mad and eventually drowns, which may or may not be an act of suicide.However, I think James Heeley composed this fragrance as an ode to Ophelia’s grace, her purity, and her beauty, not as a reflection on her darkness and despair.
Photo Stolen flavourscatering
 
Ophelia is truly romantic and would be a perfect wedding fragrance or for those in the throes of new love. It is also a perfume for those who love life. Ophelia just makes you feel good to be alive.
 
Have you tried Ophelia and do you love it as much as I do? What perfumes are your weapons against cold winter days? What are your favourite fragrances to lift your mood?
 
With much love till next month,
M x

Louis Vuitton fall/winter 2012/13

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 9 Comments

Hello Everyone,

It’s Sunday and I know you’re all dying to see the making of the Louis Vuitton 2012/13 fall/winter ads, which I thought were gorgeous!

The whole train trip as an event you got spruced up for, rather than a necessity is wonderfully evocative to me. Here are the print ads and making of video. I wish Vuitton would bring out a fragrance, even though I understand that they don’t want their stuff in the discounters and they want to maintain absolute control over the image, but wouldn’t it be amazing?

Photos Stolen millionlooks
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Sorry there’s no QUICKSNIFFS today, it’s been CRAZY around here, hopefully they’ll be back next week.
Love to you all, I hope your Sunday is glorious like ours is. Sunny, cool and a little breezy here, the wind-chimes are tinkling and bonging in the background as I type.
See you tomorrow for Madeleine’s post,
Much love and hope for your good health,
Portia xx

Sweet Darling by Thierry Wasser for Kylie Minogue 2007

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 9 Comments

Hiya Fellow Fumies,

This is not a fragrance I would ever have seen myself owning or reviewing and I’ve not read a review of any of Kylie’s fragrances but instinctively felt they’d be shite. Even the name Sweet Darling has my “WTF why another super sweet boring clone-ish confection by one more celeb with NO FECKING CLUE about perfume,” face on.

I love Kylie, have performed to her music, had it blaring from my car/house/radio, loved her videos, fashion, concerts. I’ve been in the same room as her even, though we’ve never spoken. A girlfriend of mine (Heya Annie!) has a few of her fragrances but this one didn’t work for her so she wondered if I would like it. Um, sure….

Photo Stolen girl

So brought said bottle home and looked it up, Thierry Wasser (of Guerlain fame) made both Darling and this sweet flanker Sweet Darling. Maybe it won’t be so bad starts to click over in my head. What if it was fabulous and we’d all been ignoring it because we thought it was a celebutards celebuscent? Could it be so?

Fragrantica gives the accords as:
Top: Passionfruit, freesia
Heart: Boronia, cotton candy
Base: Australian sandalwood, patchouli and vanilla

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

How does it smell on? If you like Miss Dior Cherie or whatever they call it these days then this is for you. It’s a super bargain slightly different version of that. GAK!!!

Fizzy and uber sweet opening, honestly it’s just sweet, I can’t pick passionfruit or freesia out of this, maybe some pineapple? I can’t THINK!! Like that little bit of vomit in the back of your mouth sometimes, sweet, acidic, wrong, swallow, burning sensation. It stays sweet and ripe, but not so searing after about 20 minutes, and the cotton candy is definitely doing a kissy kissy twirl thang but the boronia has passed me by, there’s a slightly spicy note that may be boronia? I can’t tell. At about the 40 minute mark I am getting a vanilla/patchouli swirl through the sweet stuff. It stops being quite so sweet by the one hour mark and starts to be a very conventional, and quite nice, vanilla/wood/chouli base. I don’t know how long it lasts because I am going for a bath.

CheapSmells has 50ml for $20.27, and the rest of the range

I hope all is your world is SWEET, Darling. Have you tried it? Any of Kylie’s fragrances?
See you tomorrow for another instalment.
Portia xx
Even though I didn’t love Sweet Darling, I do LOVE Kylie’s current single, TIMEBOMB. Yes, I’ve shown it before but it ROCKS!!

L’Eau Du Navigateur by L’Artisan Parfumeur 1982

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 15 Comments

Hey Hey All You Stink Junkies,

Don’t miss my VIDEO guest spot on the PERFUME POSSE today<<<JUMP

They were having a sale at L’Artisan Parfumeur, one of my favourite fragrance houses but I live in Australia. Then my girl friend Alice went to England. So I shopped like KER-AY-ZEEE!!

The first cab off the rank will be L’Ea Du Navigateur. Why? Because it’s fricken AWESOME! This is a slick, classy and elegant creation.


Photos Stolen boatbuildingindonesia

The Phinisi Spirit (Boat Pictured Above)
The highly valued spices, and the fabled spice route itself, actually originated on the islands of the Malay Archipelago, later known as the “East Indies” or spice islands. Spices from these small islands were transported along a well developed network of sea routes by even more impressive sailing vessels, ancestors to the modern Phinisi. (Plagiarised from boatbuildingindonesia)

Fragrantica gives these notes and accords all in one mine: coffee, spices, woodsy notes, floral notes, rum, resin, incense, tobacco, leather, cedar and myrrh

Photo Stolen L’Artisan Parfumeur

What do I smell? I smell a boozy, spicy, coffee; a warm and cheeky Jamaican Coffee, that you used to get after dinner in restaurants. There is wood, I get a salty tang too, the flowers are very quiet and each time I think I’ve nailed one it disappears on me. The resins after half an hour are boat reminiscent but warm like a salty amber, maybe it’s the leather accord and my nose is misreading it. Tar?

The myrrh has been there all along but it makes a centre stage appearance, quite profound for a note that I often find lurking rather than doing a diva turn on my skin, 2-3 hours in. After that last big note the whole melange goes very quiet, like the background smells of cargo at sea I imagine. Starting to smell myself in the mix too, like L’Ea Du Navigateur has found my scent and decided it works very well in the mix so it might as well use everything at its disposal to create a spellbinding and narcotic miasma.

I get zero of the smoke, tobacco and incense that others rave about, and that’s a shame, but I’ve only worn L’Eau Du Navigateur twice. I think there will be surprises wearing it for different things and in changing temperatures. Next morning, over 8 hours, there is still a trace of a better smelling me.

Back in 2006 PerfumeSmellin’Things review is excellent as is 1000Fragrances.

Get hold of a sample/decant because it’s so lovely. I can’t believe there isn’t more of a song and dance done about it. Maybe because it’s been around for 30 years.

Do you have a favourite L’Artisan Parfumeur fragrance I should try? Please leave me a note so I can,
Till tomorrow,
Portia xx