Hi All you Fraggir Friends and Family,
Today we are having a look at one of my mates new ventures, and I knew he was bringing out a range but had no idea he was also the perfumer. WOW! Marlen sent me three fragrances to experience and today we will look at the first of them that I’ve tried.
Chenonceau by Marlen Harrison for King`s Palace Perfumery 2014
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Vanilla, cacao pod, tonka bean, iris, musk, amber
Right, it comes in a lovely velvet pouch. A 5ml roller ball and is a fragrant oil. Recently I was at lunch with my friend Natalie from Another Perfume Blog and we decided to test it together and we both a had a few other beauties to test the same day. I didn’t let her know that I was testing Chenonceau for a mate or even that I had any interest other than intellectual and of course fragrantical. Well, I swiped a little bit across the back of my hand and we didn’t need to dive in and smell because it bloomed like no tomorrow there in the cafe. In fact, instantly the cafe smelled like a fabulously elegant bakery and people looked to see where Chenonceau’s amazing scent came from. Mixed in with the coffee, food and humanity Chenonceau carved right into the groove and took over.
Photo Stolen Flickr
A dry, dusty vanilla that is a cake browned browned on top. I don’t know if you ever made Tea Cakes with your Mum but that is exactly the memory I get from Chenonceau. Jin says it smells like the warm cuddly inside of a house in freezing winter and I agree, there is a firey heat burning and drying out the air, coffee and cake or toast with lashings of butter and an old granny rug. It’s furry and human, a little bed head-ish and sweet like just out of a hot bath skin drying in front of the fire or heater.
How does so much wonderful image come from a swipe of fragrance? There are the bee’s waxy resins that I use on the table to keep it water proof and healthy, face powder, pine cones, fake snow that you spray on the windows, the warmth of a kiss and the exciting prelude before it, chesterfield sofa. My mind whirls with lovely images for a few minutes and then the fragrance calms and I smell much less intense, a warm soft place of comfort, a place to rest and read or just breathe. It’s fluffy and powdery goodness will delight you if it’s the kind of fragrance you like, which I do.
Photo Stolen Wikipedia
After the initial fireworks Chenonceau calms to a perfectly wearable scent that will last you 8hours or more and the price is so ridiculously affordable AND you are doing good too.
From King’s Palace Perfumery: Chenonceau, a gourmand, unisex blend of vanilla, chocolate, and ambery musks inspired by the infamous castle on the water in France’s Loire Valley. Chenonceau is a hand-blended, unisex fragrance oil (alcohol, phthalate & paraben free) made from both natural and manmade ingredients sourced from the USA, UAE, Reunion, France, Australia and India.
In keeping with King’s Palace Perfumery’s charitable mission, 10% of all Chenonceau purchases will be donated to The Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, https://www.michaeljfox.org/.
Further reading: Now Smell This introduces the line
King’s Palace Perfumery has an ETSY store and a 5ml Rollerball is only $22
Photo Stolen TheTruthAboutMummy
Chenonceau GIVEAWAY
WHAT CAN YOU WIN?
This week we will have 2 winners who will each get:
1 x 1ml sample of Chenonceau oil by King`s Palace Perfumery
P&H Anywhere in the world
HOW DO YOU WIN?
Open to everyone worldwide who follows AustralianPerfumeJunkies via eMail, WordPress, Bloglovin or RSS. Please leave how you follow in the comments to be eligible. I must be able to check that you follow so if you have an email address on your gravatar that’s different to your follow address then please email me so I know. Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged.
You must tell me how you follow APJ
and
Please tell me a memory that involves a palace garden, a perfume that makes you think of history or a fragrant oil that you happen to love.
Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Chenonceau by King`s Palace Perfumery GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-2Mn #Perfume #Giveaway
HOUSEKEEPING
Entries Close Sunday 11th May 2014 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Thursday 15th May 2014 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.
Portia xx
Australian Perfume Junkies 
I follow I by e-mail. I think of history when I wear Guerlain Eau Cologne Imperiale because I can’t get that Napoleon story out of my mind. 🙂
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8000 thank you’s for this beautiful commentary. And a “hello and how ya goin” to all my mates in Australia and New Zealand!!!!!!
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Hey Marlen,
LOVING this one buddy.
Portia xx
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My memories of Palace Gardens pretty much all come from Spain, from visiting my brother there. The first was the Madrid Palace gardens.
Making me feel nostalgic for travelling times now….
I follow by email and tweeted.
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Hi Elia,
I’m still waiting to get to mainland Spain. I think 2016 I will get there finally. Fingers crossed.
Portia xx
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Hi Portia, I follow by Bloglovin. Rosenborg Castle in Denmark has a beautiful tiny medieval garden with a high hedge wall and lots of little symmetrical flower sections. I remember having it all to myself for a few minutes, and just enjoying the peace – there was something about strolling through the paths that made introspection easy, and I remember wishing for a similarly set out garden at home!
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Wow Annamaria,
Sounds perfect. Denmark is another country on the list not yet visited.
Portia xx
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Ooh, mouthwatering review!
There is a place in Ravello, on the Amalfi Coast, called Villa Cimbrone which is now a posh hotel, but you can visit there and wander around the beautiful gardens. There are artworks everywhere and views over the water. In the early 1900s it was a meeting place for writers and artists, and the sense of history is powerful. And the smell of the cypress trees too!
I follow by email.
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Can you stay in the hotel Jackie or is it prohibitive for plebs?
Portia xx
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I follow via RSS on Feedly!
I don’t know if this counts as a garden, but in Krakow, Poland, there’s a place called Wawel Castle. A river and a park run all along about 2/3 the side of the castle, and on one of those sides, there’s a statue of a dragon that “breathes” fire every hour. There’s a legend that goes with it, but to keep this short, that dragon used to eat virgins until a smith killed it and it fell into the river.
We have picnics there every spring, so I’ve got lots of good memories there! The best so far has to be one where we stayed long enough to lay in the grass and watch the sunset. It was beautiful: http://instagram.com/p/Yk1am0vnbS/
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Hey Xiu Jing Loo,
I love that story. We were in the polish snow fields in 2013, they were lovely. People extra friendly and the men so sexy.
Portia xx
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I follow by email, and my memories of palace gardens are all from travelling in Europe the summer after graduating from college. I had barely any money to spend, but so many good memories 🙂
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Nemo, That sounds like an awesome gift to yourself on completion of your studies.
Portia xx
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by mail. hmmm i think MDCI ? 😀
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Nice one Edith.
Portia x
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I follow via email. I’m afraid I have no experience with palace gardens, but there is a place here in Northeast Ohio that, to me, comes close. It is called Stan Hywet Hall, a manor house built at the turn of the twentieth century with 70 acres of gardens. The gardens include a birch tree allee, a lagoon, a grape arbor, and, of course, thousands of flowers! I never get tired of walking some of the many paths and enjoying the amazing sights and scents. Thanks for the giveaway!
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Hi Claudia,
If it was in Europe it would probably have been a palace. I reckon it counts.
Portia xx
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It sounds very appealing and I hope the line will be successful. But I must say: almost anything smells better in the company of a perfumista friend in general (and in particular when it comes to Natalie ; -) ).
DNEM
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You are SO right Undina. Natalie is a bit like Snow White, the whole world looks better when you’re with her and you half expect birds and fawns to come and say hi.
Portia xx
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Email follower! I visited a stack of beautiful castles in the UK a few years ago, and I particularly loved Hever’s gardens. Oh, and Hampton Court’s massive ones, with a little maze and a fountain. Drool drool!
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Ha Ha ha! DROOL DROOL! Hilarious.
Portia xx
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Portia, this sounds lovely. I’ve recently fallen in love with vanilla and would love to try this. I follow via email. One of my earliest memories of a large garden was Butchart Gardens in Victoria Canada. We visited when I was small. I don’t remember the scents, but I remember the riot of color everywhere. It was one of the few family vacations my family ever went on. Thanks for reminding me of such a happy time 🙂
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YAY Kandice,
I’m glad to have given you a joyful reminder. I think travel is bred into the Australian genes.
Portia x
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I love most vanilla-based fragrances, and this one sounds gorgeous! The closest to a palace garden I’ve seen are the gardens at Ripponlea, a heritage mansion garden, or the Royal Botanic Gardens, both in Melbourne (Australia). As far as history is concerned, whenever I smell a classic perfume I am reminded of the history of the era in which it was created! I follow by email.
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Hey Roslyn,
Where are the Melbourne Royal Botanic Gardens? I’ve never been there, are they where Captain Cook’s childhood cottage is on the way to St Kilda?
Portia xx
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Hi Portia, the Botanical Gardens are in South Yarra while Captain Cook’s Cottage is in the Fitzroy Gardens in East Melbourne. The Botanical Gardens are very special and worth a visit! We’re very lucky in Melbourne to have lots of beautiful gardens quite close to the inner city.
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I will definitely have a squiz next time I’m down, yes Melbourne is beautiful.
Portia xx
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Hi, I follow APJ via email. I live in Australia and there aren’t too many palaces here. I have visited some old estates in the Adelaide Hills and their Rose gardens always fill me with joy; burying my nose into the blooms and inhaling… bliss! Carolyn
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Hi Carolyn,
I wasn’t in an estate garden but at a friends this morning and her roses are extraordinary. Big fat mauve flowers and about 30 buds still on the bush. I was extremely jealous. My roses are done and dusted by March.
Portia xx
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I follow with bloglovin’ and email.
I like Nectar Rose and fennel oil, and Al Rehab Choco musk. Tonka Imperiale and Gourmand Coquin both make me think of palaces because of how rich (and expensive) they are.
Tweet: https://twitter.com/ladyisla123/status/465001602764775424
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Thanks for the Tweet LisaB,
Guerlain knows how to do regal so well.
Portia xx
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It sounds lovely! Visited a few castles in UK, Spain and France over the years and the one I really loved walking around was Kenilworth Castle and its Elizabethan Garden in England. When we visited there, there weren’t many visitors so we could practically keep the place for ourselves! It was a tranquil place…
I’m following via email 🙂
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The only palace garden I instantly come up with is the Versailles one. 🙂
Loved it there and I sincerely hope to go again.
I’m a wordpress follower. Hope I’m lucky. 🙂
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Hey Ines,
Were you there in warm or cold months? It’s so different depending on season.
Portia xx
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I Follow by newsletter and Facebook posts.
A fragrant oil i discovered in india Its called Kerala flower – flower and wood extract . Its a pure flower oil extract by spr fragrances.. I also bought their orchid oil .. and just adore their scents.. much commented on by friends and passers by.
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WOW! Did you get it in Kerala? I love the state, did you go there? Beaches, mountains, tea plantations, beauty everywhere.
Portia xx
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I follow by email.
I love the gardens of the Musee Rodin in Paris. The gardens are beautiful and filled with Rodin Sculptures and right across the street is a restaurant called Arpege – so in my memory this place is linked to perfume.
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Bec! I have not done thew Rodin gardens in Paris. We have so much of his fabulous work in Australia that I’ve not felt the need. Is it a must see?
Portia x
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It isn’t really a must see, but it where the original bronze of the thinker lives and the gardens are lovely … but there are just so many beautiful things to see in Paris I am not sure how high it would be on my list.
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I follow by email.
The amazing gardens of the Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh, with lots of flowers, trees, even some ruins…
Thank you for the draw
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Hey Joaquim,
I don’t remember seeing these gardens when in Edinburgh but I was working. I’d like to take Jin, my partner, through the UK one day soon. Thanks for the tip.
Portia xx
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Such a romantic image you evoke in my mind – beautiful words for probably an amazing fragrance! Thank you, Portia! It felt so cuddly! I haven’t heard of the brand, so thanks once more for a new data and scents to explore!
You know, I follow by email and on the FB page.
I love the fine landschaft design of the Schonbrunn gardens, but I have only experienced them in the winter! Besides the beautiful greenhouse, I would like to stroll down its alleys in the spring and summer! I should go back to Vienna someday, and I will! And I hope I could meet the lovely Birgit there, as well!
I guess it’s some kind of predisposition, but Histoires des Parfums are my history perfumes. I don’t know any of Jardins d’Ecrivains, but they would make it for my history association, too!
My go-to fragrant oil – tangerine. Bright, warm, lifting and also safe.
Thanks for the chance and the draw!
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Hi there Lyubov,
I LOVE Shonbrunn. Back in the mid 1990s one of the guys I learned ballet with became a Principle in the Vienna stat Opera Ballet and while I was living in London it was easy to pop across and see him. While he was rehearsing and practicing I had the run of Vienna to myself and that’s when I discovered Shonbrunn, in spring with it’s full magic. Since then I’ve seen it again in Winter a few times too and it’s a totally different type of perfect. Such happy memories.
And the Vienna crew would welcome you with open arms, they are all wonderful.
Portia xx
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I follow by email, and the closest I’ve come to a palace garden was probably exploring the old abbeys of Scotland on a family vacation when I was 7 or 8. What a wonderful trip that was- not with much in the way of gardens, but a beautiful interaction of the crumbling walls and native flora- like heather and thistle. The garden at Mohunk Mountain House in the Catskills is more what I imagine a palace garden might be like. It’s expansive and beautifully arranged- I visited last year and took hundreds of pictures of the flowers.
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Connie,
I love that you have these two wonderful garden memories. A Scottish ramble at an early age would have been tremendous, it was still pretty fun in my 20s. Heery Coos.(Hairy Cows)
Portia xx
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Palace garden memories?
Back when I was 13, I went to Mexico City with my family. We went to the Chapultepec forest and after a bit of taking the scenery in, we went to the zoo near the castle. It had been a lovely sunny day until about 15 minutes into being at the zoo grounds. Suddenly, as I was walking towards the area where the pandas were, it started raining and almost immediately after, hail started falling… HARD we ran for shelter and settled somewhere near the gardens where we decided it’d be best to grab some food and head back to the hotel – which we did. Unfortunate as the weather was, the whole ordeal is actually a positive memory to me – one that I laugh at in retrospect.
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