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Portia
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Hi Fumies,
Australia has had a few niche perfume lines. The first I fell in love with was the Tommi Sooni range, which I only bought two of the bottles and now wish I’d bought the range and backups. We also have a few very talented natural perfumeries like One Seed. So it’s exciting when a new brand comes along and brings a very Australian feel to the noble French art of perfumery. Goldfield & Banks are named for our historic goldrushes and first European botanist Joseph Banks. Did you know that Australia’s sandalwood (Santalum spitacum) used to be a marker for gold rich areas? Me too.
Desert Rosewood by Goldfield & Banks 2016
Desert Rosewood by Francois Merle-Baudoin
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Palisander rosewood, Sicilian mandarin, cardamom, benzoin, vanilla, patchouli
How is this not Goldfield & Banks most popular scent?
Imagine a rosewood vanity desk in Australia’s outback. It’s been the in the wives bedroom pride of place at the homestead for three generations. The wood inside the drawers is dry and parched, full of the fragrance of old pot pouri, powder, makeup, body lotion, perfume and leather bound diaries. The exterior shows a few bumps, scratches and stains but shines with the patina of a century of care.
This is the place where wives of the farmer have kept themselves or made themselves beautiful, often doubling as the place where they wrote letters, kept the farms accounts, diarised, thought, dreamed and wept with anguish. Desert Rosewood captures the story of and memorialises these pioneering women from their quiet moments inside, following them out of the glare of the Australian sun.
Desert Rosewood is a beautiful creation, unisex and deep with story. Not overwhelming but mildly fragrant with a soft, insistent sillage but only moderate projection. I can imagine it being the corporate choice for someone who wants to show their independent streak through an under the radar, beautifully blended, interesting and unusual perfume but doesn’t want to stop the room or make coworkers uncomfortable. A couple of extra spritzes and Desert Rosewood is ready to party, is bright, warm, vivacious and solid.
Further reading: What Men Should Smell Like and Mr Neo Luxe
Goldfield & Banks has $229/100ml and Samples
Have you tried Australia’s Goldfield & Banks yet?
Portia xx
Australian Perfume Junkies 
From the one fragrance I have sampled and have a decant of (Wood Infusion…and thank you again for my win!) I have to say that I am extraordinarily impressed with this brand and hope to one day sample the entire line. (someone in the States needs to start distributing this one). I think you Aussies have a lot to be proud of with regard to talented perfumers….Forte and Manle have been on my radar and are getting lots of accolades and One Seed is a fantastic all natural brand (I drained a full bottle of something I won on a draw many years ago but right now the name escapes me). I know there are other brands as well…so exciting!
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oh and I forgot to say that given it is in perfume formulation it lasts forever on my scent eating skin and price per ml is therefore quite reasonable…would be nice if the company considered 15ml bottles or maybe a discovery kit with 7.5 ml travel sprays of each scent…just sayin’ 🙂
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Hey CM,
Yeah, a 15ml bottle would be cool.
Love travel sizes.
Portia xx
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Agreed, CM. 100ml is going to last me a lifetime. Xx
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I think US distribution is on the cards…
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This looks good. Any fragrance this reminds you of? It is so hard for me to predict what it smells like, even after you detailed review and the list of notes.
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Hey Fazal,
Even if I could explain better the experience would still be different for you. That’s the trouble with trying to write an olfactory experience.
No, I can’t think of anything I’ve smelled that bears close resemblance.
Portia x
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Goldfield & banks have amazing scents. I got all the samples just recently. Smart packaging too. For some reason I don’t enjoy Wood infusion, but Desert rosewood and the White sandalwood are standouts for me. I’ll try Wood infusion again when it’s cooler weather. They last a long time on which is great. Would love to see some smaller sizes, even 30ml. Better for the piggy bank too in smaller sizes!
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Hey Melanie,
Wood Infusion is full on, I cam easily understand it being overwhelming. I love it.
Glad to see others are getting on the G&B train.
Portia xx
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Hi Portia,
That sounds gorgeous and right up my alley. The sample set is very reasonably priced too so looking forward to trying this and their other scents.
Lil Xx
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Hey Lilklibet,
Nice to see you.
Yeah, a reasonable ample set is a wonderful thing.
Portia x
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Sounds lovely! Have they sent a sample set to Luckyscent, Twisted Lily or ZGO for consideration? Would be nice to have a US distributor. I love rosewood.
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I’m not sure TaraC,
They’re pretty clever so I imagine so.
Portia xx
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Love G&B, the quality of the whole product is just beautiful, and they do all have that character of “Australiana” despite being quite different to each other. I guess we needed a Frenchman to achieve that without the cultural cringe being crippling! Wood Infusion is an absolute knock out.
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YAY Ros,
I’m so glad you love them too.
Portia xx
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I loved the range the minute I tried my samples. All of them bring a sense of Australiana in an olfactory manner. Outstanding quality from the packaging to the ingredients. I would love to see a boronia and wattle series too…hint, hint, Dimitri!
If you want to sample them and you are out in SE Melb, pop in to Berwick Pharmacy. The are on display, so you can pick up the bottles and handle them yourself.
Desert Rosewood is extremely hard to explain. It has a zing to it that reminds me of the baby food by Heinz – the choc pudding in a can. No idea why, but there is something mildly vanilla and metallic about it. It has a ‘thick’ consistency to it; almost like I’m expecting a rich, creamy food to eat. None of this will make any sense at all until you have tried it.
Dimitri has done a magnificent job with this range.
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I desperately miss the old Dior Eau Fraiche which had a heart of rosewood. So my own heart skipped a beat or two when I read your write up of Desert Rosewood. Sounds gorgeous, evocative, not to be missed. I hope the whole line from Goldfield & Banks will come to California someday soon.
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