.
Portia
.
Hey Hey Perfume Junkies,
The idea is that anything worthy of comment, either good or bad, that’s passed under my nose through the week will get a short write up. Up till now I have kept APJ positive comments only, those days are gone. If I think something is terrible, shamefully lazy, greedy or stupid and you should know about it, it will be said. Not everything works for everyone and it would be pretty boring if it did >>> YMMV. I’d love it if you all agree, respectfully disagree, have any thought-out opinion and want to share, do so in the comments below. The point is starting a conversation.
Anything that I’m not keeping becomes a super simple GIVEAWAY. All comments are entered. Next week I’ll tell you who random.org picked. If the winner doesn’t eMail me during the week it will JACKPOT to next weeks winner who will get both.
Last Weeks Winner: MMKinPA
eMail me at (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with your address please
New Sniffs: 6.12.2018
Hey crew, have you heard of new Aussie Indie frag house The Reminiscent Lab? Yeah, me either. They sent me through three fragrances to have a try of. Very excited to sniff what they’ve created.
Chord by The Reminiscent Lab
Primary notes: Bergamot, lemon, white sage, clove, amber, cedarwood
This has the smell of an essential oil blend. Very green and a little earthy with a balminess that smooths it all out. Chord smells like a high end spa. Simple yet interesting enough to enjoy. Like nothing in any designer fragrance, this says artisan all the way.
Shine by The Reminiscent Lab
Primary notes: Cinnamon, bergamot, melon, nutmeg, incense, white cedar, honey, geranium, lavender, patchouli, dark vanilla, amber, sandalwood
Shine smells like one of those candles you light and then wish you had a fragrance just like it. Citrus, fruits and honey combine with the patchouli and vanilla to create a fragrance so ambient in nature it gave me a surprise. Jin says it smells like the fragrance in restaurant and club bathrooms.
Steel by The Reminiscent Lab
Primary notes: Cardamom, bergamot, orange, lemon, musk, dark amber, nutmeg, cinnamon
All the smooth greenness of cardamom mixed beautiful with the rest of the ingredients. This is my favourite by far, it feels the most finished and polished. I can easily imagine someone not really into the smell of designer or niche fragrance, that likes a more natural smelling scent, absolutely loving this. If only more men would wear this in gym locker rooms the world would be a better place.
There have also been a bunch of other new arrivals
Leather Attraction by Olibere Paris
A dark leather, birch and iris dripping over a patchouli heart. Oud brings some very funky depth and the oily vetiver seamlessly tightens the whole fragrance up. A really meaty leather that is right on the verge of foody. Like smoky BarBQ meat. Delicious.
Cuir Altesse by David Jourquin
Another leather but done much more smoothly and waxier, like patent leather. A sweeter, more vanilla and amber leather with a hefty, earthy patchouli to keep the whole fragrance grounded. There is a white floral giving a lightly breathy lift and cloves for that spicy depth that always smells so expensive.
Oud Bouquet EdP by Lancome
The old trope of synthetic oudh, saffron and rose combine with a delicate choc nougat dry sweetness. All of this is drizzled with vanilla essence and one of those ubiquitous base notes which serves to smooth out any rough edges and give a warm lustre. Extremely amiable and wearable. I can imagine this was a huge hit when it was launched in 2014. Now I desperately want a bottle. I bet it’s exorbitant. Doesn’t matter I reckon it;’s worth it, whatever the cost. SWOON!!
Have you tried any of these? How did they work for you?
Portia xx
I own Oud Bouquet.
LikeLike
Lucky you Gina,
Portia xx
LikeLike
I have a decant of Our Bouquet. No need to enter me in the draw this week 😀
LikeLike
Oud….. spell check keeps changing it!!!
LikeLike
Hi! All new to me! Shine and Chord sound best to me. I imagine the Aussie frag house is not available in the US? The Oud Bouquet sound lovely as well with nougat and vanilla. I need to research and see how pricey it is out of curiously!
LikeLike
Actually not bad price and the bottle is gorgeous!
LikeLike
Hey Kathleen,
I’m not sure if they are sending to the USA. You could always write to them and ask. https://reminiscentlab.com
YOU FOUND Oud Bouquet? How much is it?
Portia xx
LikeLike
Sadly they do not ship to the States….that bottle of Bless looked really good though. And the prices are excellent for niche.
LikeLike
Thank you for the link to reminiscent lab! I am somewhat confused about the Old Bouquet. It appears there are two versions; a more recent release is available exclusively at Harrods (2014?). However, I see bottles available on Ebay for $135, from 2012? The bottle is beautiful in gold with the rose cutout. Which version did you sample?
LikeLike
Kathleen you can get a travel spray (14ml) of Oud Bouquet from Nordstroms or Neiman Marcus for 35 USD…excellent price and excellent size and the bottle is as lovely as the large size. They also offer others from that collection in travel sizes as well, like Jasmine Marzipane. and I am fairly certain that the shipping is free.
LikeLike
Oud Bouquet sounds divine
LikeLike
It is Matty, Seriously divine.
Portia xx
LikeLike
So excited to win the draw! Thanks! I haven’t sniffed a single one if these. Steel sounds right up my alley.
LikeLike
Congrats on your win!
LikeLike
Congratulations and enjoy the goodies.
LikeLike
Congratulations and happy sniffing!
LikeLike
All of them sounds good to me 🙂 but didn’t had the chance to test any of them. Still the most intriguing fragrance , is the oud bouquet from Lancome since i’ve heard a lot of great things about it and i must confess, that bottle is a beauty. Just wonderful. Congrats MMK for the win ✌🏻✌🏻
LikeLike
Hey Alen,
yeah, it was so me, ticked every box. Let’s see how long I can last before I go out and buy it.
Portia xx
LikeLike
I have only heard of Oud Bouquet and Cuir Altesse. All of those sound intriguing, especially the two leather scents and Chord. Seems like we’re going to hear more about the Reminiscent Lab, aren’t we?
Ask me tomorrow about the new sniffs of the week: I’m waiting for a cute little package from my perfumista friend! Looking forward to trying La Fleur de Lalita by Dusita. I’m not usually that excited to sniff a white floral perfume but I have a soft spot for Parfums Dusita 🙂
LikeLike
Maybe you’ll fall in love with Fleur de Lalita ,like I did.
LikeLike
I’ll keep you posted, Saffy 🙂
LikeLike
These are all new to me, but then again I usually avoid leather and oud. Steel sounds like something I just might like.
LikeLike
Hey Ingeborg,
You would have been gagging while we had this particular sniff session then.
The Reminiscent Lab stuff is very nice. Steel might just ring your bell.
Portia xx
LikeLike
Where do you ever get the energy Portia?The Lancôme sounds pretty fabulous though, I must say. Not heard of any of the others and none call my name. Love ya. xxx
LikeLike
Heya Val,
I have to make myself sit down and do this or I end up with the most ridiculous backlog. It’s fun once I start. About one third of what I sniff in each session goes down into the post because quite a bit of what I’m smelling is boring, derivative or dreck. Only fragrances I think need to be commented upon get in.
These are mostly the ones that made it onto my skin.
Portia xx
LikeLiked by 1 person
My hero. ☺️
LikeLike
I didn’t like the Altesse… it somehow ‘overwhelmed’ me. Where might someone purchase the Reminiscent Lab scents from? Shine appeals to me.
Congrats PA on your win.
Please don’t enter me in any draws , Portia, because my ability to get here is currently scatty.
LikeLike
Hey there Saffyishere,
Go check https://reminiscentlab.com
Portia xx
LikeLike
I was lucky to buy Oud Bouquet at a pretty good price and despite my usual terrible luck at buying unsniffed it turned out just fine. I think of it as a fancy version of Prada Candy, as it turns to a caramel on me. Diana, I am a Dusita fan too – let us know what La Fleur de Lalita is like!
LikeLike
YAY! I love hearing Good Luck stories AnnieA.
Portia xx
LikeLike
Annie, I will! I’m excited to try FdL and their nameless iris. Hope the latter will arrive one of these days.
LikeLike
I am anxiously awaiting your mini review of the nameless iris to see how it compares to the other offerings 🙂 so I hope you get it soon too!
LikeLike
I have not tried any of these but today I am wearing D&G Sicily for the first time. The opening is weird but the drydown is lovely though it takes like 7-8 hours to get to that lovely drydown. Do give it credit for being a unique composition and I can understand why it was discontinued. The best way to wear is probably to spray it on a shirt you plan to wear next day so that the drydown is there when you wear the shirt.
LikeLike
I love Sicily. I have had it for some years. It has been relaunched in the private collection and been given a price hike because of this. Don’t think it will encourage many new fans. It has probably been reformulated anyway.
LikeLike
Sigh, no. The Lancome one, along with their other range, are ones I am very keen to try. Others have suggested them before.
LikeLike
I’ve been eyeing Oud Bouquet for soooo long!
LikeLike
Haven’t even heard of most of these, let alone tried them. Luckily you do the leg work for us, Portia.
LikeLike
With relish Cassieflower,
I do wish a few of you lived closer so you could come and sniff with me. More noses means a better review.
Portia xx
LikeLike
Not heard of any of these. I’m so uncool. I’m intrigued by the one that smells like a spa. Would love to scent my bathroom with this, but doubt that I would wear it. Oud Bouquet. Hmm….could probably get behind that one, though.
In my first testing of Casablanca. BWF. I thought, in the first two hours, too big for me, but…..it’s smelling amazing right now.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh I don’t know this mob either? Aussie,, Yay! I would love to try Shie and. Steel. Yup! I have a Lancôme but for the life of meI can’t remember what it is! Gah!
I have heaps of “New to Me Sniffs” that I should start adding to these Thursday posts!
LikeLike