Clair de Musc by Christopher Sheldrake for Serge Lutens 2003

September 14, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 11 Comments

Portia

Heya Fumies,

So recently there have been wild rumours going around about the Serge Lutens brand. Bottle changes, discontinuations, export going to bell and vice versa. It has freaked me out so I finally bit the bullet and bought a few I’ve been humming and having over. Grabbed some of them on the discount sites and others I paid retail. Got a couple of the DCd vaporisator bottles and a brand new 100ml of La Fille de Berlin. Expensive couple of months but I am glad.

Clair de Musc by Serge Lutens 2003

Clair de Musc by Christopher Sheldrake

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Iris, musk, neroli, bergamot

My noses telling me fruity musks but it doesn’t smell like citrus. Actually it has a kind of metallic smell like icy gutters. Sheer and weightless yet surprisingly full of scent. An interesting oxymoron.

In Clair de Musc the iris is earthy and only slightly cardboard, a very cool, aloof, spacious iris that whispers elegant restraint.

I have some problems smelling some musks but these are fragrant to me. Both clean and animal come through, there’s a very soft funkiness but the focus is laundry clean.

Clair de Musc by Serge Lutens -John_Downman_-_The_Ghost_of_Clytemnestra_Awakening_the_Furies WikiMedia WikiMedia

My mind keeps wandering to who this scent could be created for. It seems to sit at a weird crossroads between animal and mechanical. As if a robot or computer are trying to generate human smells to cloak their inhumanity. It seems they can only work within the confines of their AI scented vocabulary though. Though Clair de Musc gets furry, it’s not a puppy or even a piglet but the scratchy glass fibres of roof insulation or the petrochemical created fake fur in flour colours. Everything seems just a bit off true. It makes the journey really interesting.

So I’m thinking it would be an excellent scent for work, to project the scent of absolute industrial strength dedication and a computers focus. Brilliant job interview scent, especially for someone in IT, engineering or construction.

Will I wear mine? I’m not sure that it will reached for often but the times that I want to smell just like this it will definitely get a triple spritz.

Clair de Musc by Serge Lutens chipmunk lilac & green field jil111 pixabay PDI

Further reading: I Scent You A Day and Non-Blonde
FragranceNet has around $100/50ml before Coupon
Surrender To Chance has samples from $6/ml

Also, having read a few reviews of Clair de Musc it seems everyone gets entirely different experiences from it. So even if my review has you gasping to grab a bottle do test first.

Have a lovely day.
Do you like musks?
Portia xx

Nuda by Alessandro Gualtieri for Nasomatto 2010

September 13, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 5 Comments

Erica Golding

Greetings all of you fragrance lovers! I hope this little note finds you well.

Today I am having a nostalgic mommy moment. I took a pause to think about what kinds of perfume my 7-year old tends to react to, and he is just all about the florals! Every time I ask him to help me pick a scent, he always selects a floral aroma. Sometimes I let him sniff a few sprayers and he chooses my perfume that way. Other times, I name general categories like “woodsy, sweet, soapy, or flowers?” Without exception he always picks florals, with a high affinity for jasmine and orange blossom.

Nuda by Nasomatto 2010

Nuda by Alessandro Gualtieri

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
French jasmine, animalic notes

I got to thinking why he might lean this way, and I truly hope that it’s because of the following shared scent memory.

When my little boy was just a baby, I had a soft blue sling to carry him in, nuzzled into my chest. I didn’t wear perfume when he was an infant because I didn’t want to risk harming him or causing irritation, but once he was about 6 months old, I started lightly applying very small amounts. One of the first perfumes that he probably ever experienced was Nasomatto Nuda.

I had a treasured sample vial from Luckyscent, and one day I swiped a little on. The narcotic fragrance washed over me with a wave of pure euphoria, intensely lush and passionate. I was overcome with the joy of finally enjoying the extravagant yet simple adornment of perfume, after sacrificing that pleasure for so long. I will never forget that snapshot in time, his warm little body cozy against me, his sweaty baby head soaking my blouse, feeling peaceful and like a living safe haven for the miraculous life developing in my very arms. For several days, the sling hung onto the spellbinding perfume, a haze of luxurious delight. I like to think that this sensory association is something that we share, and that subconsciously, he associates the intoxicating perfume of sugared jasmine sambac to my boundless love.

Nasomatto Nuda Erica and Jimmers

Further reading: Olfactoria’s Travels and Memory of Scent
Nuda is discontinued but eBay sometimes has bottles

Have you built a shared scent memory with a loved one? Was it intentional or a happy coincidence? Tell me your story!

With love and light,

-Erica

(Ed: Love the photo Erica. You two look so peaceful)

Individualistic Perfume Behaviour and Biking for a Burger

September 12, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 19 Comments

Val the Cookie Queen

Hello you gorgeous fragrant peepsie poohs,

Individualistic Perfume Behaviour

As I headed off to the hairdresser the other day, not a rare thing as I go every fourteen days, I grabbed a spritz for my wrists and jumped into the car. I never spray my neck as I don´t want the stylist to have to breathe in what they might not like. And to be honest a good haircut is a notch above my perfume habit. Years of perfecting my OCD I´ll be damned if I am just gonna let it go. Actually I take care a lot not to get up anyone´s nose. Dentists, meetings, doctors, stuff like that. I find myself thinking ahead before applying perfume to make sure the people in my day can handle it, or not. Probably another reason I love pure perfume and the sublime art of The Dab. Perhaps I should change my attitude and just Spray for England, whaddayareckon?

Biking for a Burger

There is this great place for burgers, unique Austrian burgers, about a 35km bike ride from here. Well, it would be a 35 km car ride too, but I don´t allow myself a burger unless I have ridden my bike to get. (70km round trip 🙂 ) Talking of OCDs ……… So we took off yesterday on the bikes for a late lunch.

When I was a ten year old I had mega bike crash, one that puts all my husband´s downhilling buddies to shame. I fell off as I was steaming down a hill, and actually have no idea to this day why exactly happened. I was found lying in the street with a couple of teeth next to me, with their roots attached. I had a fractured jaw, and a massive hole in my lip. One could say fairly traumatic. I didn´t look in a mirror for about nine months and spent the next eight years having work done on my teeth, some really weird shit I can tell you!! I didn´t step on a bike again until I was 26 years old, when my now husband
made me get on a bike when we lived in Amsterdam. I was terrified. But yeah, I got used to it and started to love it and even spent a year riding around the city at top speed on an old piece without brakes. Just using my feet. Ha! Can hardly imagine that now. Some sucker stole that bike outside of The Melkweg.
I hope they fell off.

Yesterday I fell off again. Forty seven years after my first fall. Hard to believe it took so long. Luckily Chris was there to take a pic for a later Instagram post before picking my bike up. I was riding so slowly it didn’t matter, although I got seriously nettled. Was glad I had a helmet on as I did knock my head. Teeth stayed in place.

Here’s a few pics.

The stone lion is a statue along the lake, in Traunkirchen. A local artist was commissioned by the Emperor Franz Josef. He cast several bronzes. When the Kaiser inspected it, he saw it had no tongue. He mentioned it to the artist who was so upset he later chucked himself into the lake and died. The Emperor felt so bad he vowed never to criticise someone who had done something for him again. The locals celebrate this event each year.

The coffee is a double espresso Affogato in our favourite place in Bad Ischl We have that after our burger. The mirror in the loo is in the same place. How totally cool is that, that you can fix your makeup whist on the bog? Talk about mirrors in the bathroom ….. lalalala.

Ride on.
Bussis.
CQ

Summertime Favourites and Sharing a Dream

September 11, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 17 Comments

BlondesWunder

How you all doing APJ?

I guess I am in a very lucky position still being able to chose what I want to do with my life. I pretty much have no boundaries (except money, haha), and a world welcoming me with open arms. That makes it freaking difficult to make a choice. It is hard enough selecting a perfume each day, how the hell am I supposed to choose between studying, au-pairing, work and whatever else? (I think I am gonna study and do freelance makeup, but watch this space)

Summertime Favourites and Sharing a Dream

Being honest with you, I do have a dream; one that I have pushed aside for a few years, always finding an excuse not to quite start it. It is scary and even a bit embarrassing. Now that I am going to tell you I will have to go through with it! Maybe some of you will follow along. My big dream is to make YouTube videos, and lots of social media. There, I said it.

Flickr

I know how much work it will be, well actually I probably don´t, and I will need to learn everything, especially editing. I am sure I will get the hang of it.

When I tell people this is what I want to do the first thing they say is “don´t you think there are enough people doing it?” My passion is still makeup. However, as a makeup artist I think there are too many extreme makeup tutorials out there. Working for MAC has really made me see that the majority of people don´t want to wear neon eyeshadows or green, blue and black lipstick. At least not every day! Here is where I hopefully step in and show you how the right concealer and a touch of mascara not only makes you look fresher, it also changes your mood. I want to do vlogs and short #scentoftheday clips too. I will be myself and see where it leads me. I am going to start working in some videos. If you have any advice for me ….. Join me on my crazy journey if you have time.

Perfume!

This has been my first summer that I have worn perfume. I never liked perfume in the heat, but my nose seems to have changed drastically over the last year and I have been enjoying it a lot. I have been lavishly wearing:

Fragrantica

Guerlain Terracotta
Malle´s Dries van Noten and Malle´s Carnal Flower (The Carnal Flower hair mist is on my shopping list, it is divine.)
Serge Lutens Tubereuse Criminelle (I have nearly emptied my Mum´s old bell jar)

Fragrantica

What have your summer staples been?

If you wear perfume, wear a lot of it! I want people to faint next to me on the train because I smell so fab.

Love and peace, follow your dreams,

xxx Blondewunder
@b.londedswunder

Scent Diary: 4.9 – 10.9.2017

September 10, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 16 Comments

Portia

WHIRLWIND WEEK APJ,

Getting ready, getting out, getting here. It’s been so bloody hectic and 100% fun. Yes, there have been some surprises, not all of them ultimately happy ones, but that’s what holiday adventures are all about. This is hope I would love to live, travelling the world in search of experience. Meeting new people and having a momentary connection, or making new friends. Heaven.

Scent Diary: 4.9 – 10.9.2017

Monday 4:

Getting ready for going away

In the evening Alice, TinaG and Phil dropped around and it was great to see them even though I was preoccupied.

A Press Sample of Parfumerie Generale Suede Osmanthe 5.1 arrived in the mail. It is unutterably beautiful. Sweet, green, fruity, plush suede and very sexy. Imagine if Daim Blond was amped towards canned fruit in sugar syrup and greened out.

Fragrantica

Tuesday 5:

Running around and getting the final things done. Scott came over and helped, Jin was of work so we ran around together. It was fun. I love these guys.

Jacomo Silences PdT was my daytime accompaniment. Excellent mossy chypre. It was about AUD$11/30ml spray from FragranceNet and smells divine.

Worked, back in drag tonight after 2 weeks out with my ankle. All seems good now.

Neela Vermeire Creations Trayee was my choice for work tonight and I smelled utterly fabulous. There were moments when I drifted off into frag head land. BLISS!

Packed the bags tonight. Cleaned the fish tank. Emptied all the bins for bin night. Cleaned up our dining table and put all my fragrances into my perfume room. Folded the washing and put it away.

Just before bed I spritzed some vintage CHANEL No 5 EdP. Sleepy time.

Wednesday 6:

Took the dogs out to the kennels because Jin will be working weird hours and the boys really like their regimented life. They also love going back out to the trainers to brag about their forever home adventures. I wore vintage Caron Infini that comes in a pressurised spritz. The initial aldehydes have become shrill, oily and metallic but one minute in and HEAVEN! My mate margo reckons it’s early 1970s PdC from a gift set. Very cool.

Home for some lunch. The last of the Chinese reheats.

Here are my hairy Hobbit feet and lavish red nail polish. I’m ready for India now.

Keihl’s Original Musk lotion, Olympic Orchids Amber/Labdanum Bath Oil, Cuir Pleine Fleur James Heeley was my bathing ritual for the flight. Fragrant but hopefully not IN YOUR FACE.

Got my gear together and Jin took me to the airport. Happy to be going, sad to be leaving stuff. You get it, I know.

The American Express Lounge is not so much fun solo. I nearly drank them out of sparkling and still water. Hydration pre flight.

Historic entertainment units on China Southern. Actually it was nice not being bombarded with movies from less than a metre away and I got some solid reading done too. Finished Handmaid’s Tale and started on some new thing that was recommended but I’m not sure whether I even understand it yet.

The staff were so good, no problems, full of smiles. I enjoyed the flights immensely.

Thursday 7:

ARRIVED Delhi Airport.

We stayed in Gurgoan and had dinner there.

Showered quickly at night and doused myself in vintage Miss Dior parfum.

Friday 8:

Hotel breakfast, more vintage Miss Dior parfum then off for a flight to Assam. Arrived safely, though the kangaroo style landing left me in doubt of our ultimate survival for a few moments. Careening around like a drunken sailor with St Vitus Dance.

We ordered an Uber who drove us the four hours into the mountains of Meghalaya state, to the capital Shillong. We only stopped once but the scenery on the journey was absolutely breathtaking. The middle shot is a boarding school, the most spectacular grounds and scenery.

For some reason Varun was expecting a tiny town perched atop a mountain, much like McLeod Gang was back in 2001 when we visited. Sadly it is a HUGE city. Well, sadly for Varun, I’m very happy here. The hustle and bustle leaves NYC for dead.

At night we wandered the markets and had Mo-Mos. A selection of steamed chicken and fried pork.

Saturday 9:

We woke at around 5am and set out on an adventure walk around 5.30am. Varun had found a nearby lake park with a walking track around the gardens. Lodki Park was designed and built by the British while they were here and it seriously looks like time has stood still since then. We wandered around it for about an hour then came back to the hotel for breakfast.

Spectacular hedges of dahlia glowed in the cool morning mist, they lit up the walk and reminded me how precious the gift of adventure is. I’ve never seen such a display and these hedges dotted the walk all around the lake and through the parklands.

Breakfast! Yeah, I know it doesn’t look like much. That’s because it’s my third helping of dal, vegetables, yoghurt and paratha. Happy place reached.

Todays excursion was to the wettest places on earth, Mawsynram and Cherrapunji. What better time to see them than in monsoon. The heavens did not disappoint. We drove through clouds more than half the day with sporadic clearings. When it rained it bucketed down and the rest of the time it drizzled and spritzed. Not terribly cold until you got into the winds.

We hiked to some spectacular waterfalls, three sets in all but we only got real photographable vision of one set.

We had Masala Chai to celebrate. Hint for India travel: buy a large bottle of mineral water and get them to make your tea with this. Saves dirt in your coffee. This place was every sort of gorgeous and the kids who run it super sweet.

We also went into a cave complex. It wasn’t terribly long, about 150m, but there were some very low and tight squeezes. We also ended up knee deep in water a couple of times and the rest was climbing over rocks. All done in bare feet. Sadly it wasn’t really photographable but it was an amazing experience.

Varun had chicken Mo-Mos and chilli jam at a roadside stall. I was feeling a bit queazy from driving the winding mountain ranges so I just drank water.

We stopped at a town and looked around a bit. Some dog started barking at me. That never happens, they always love me. I was extremely downhearted by it.

As we drove home the clouds closed in around us. Visibility was about 10m at the most. It was beautiful and eerie, like floating. Amazing trip.

We wandered around to the City Family Dhaba, Shillong’s #1 recommended restaurant. Everybody we spoke to told us it was a must visit. It didn’t disappoint either.

We were so full at the end we couldn’t even finish the garlic Naan. Sacrilege!!

Varun: What do you want to listen to
Portia (being a smart arse) Karen Carpenter of the Carpenters
Music comes on: It’s Gonna Take Some Time by the Carpenters

Consider this smart arse put in his place. SNAP!

Then we hit the club on the roof of our hotel. Varun and I danced until my t-shirt was dripping wet. We sat for a while and then I needed a shower and then bed. Bloody hell. I’m DEAD!!

Sunday 10:

Couldn’t sleep last night. The dogs of Shillong must be having gang territory wars. It sounded vicious and intense and continued for hours. From the sounds there were dogs being torn apart. Terrifying. Every time I thought it had stopped and drifted towards the lands of nod another round would begin.

So I am sleepless and a trifle sweaty this morning.

Best fixer for that? Jacomo Silences. Freaking perfect.

SORRY I’m a bit late posting this addendum! Out all day. Had a wonderful time seeing more waterfalls and lakes.

This is our Shillong driver Yuvraj, his name means prince destined to be king. He has perfect English and is excellent company, we have asked him to drive us tomorrow and day after too.

Varun took this shot. I think it a very flattering likeness.

We had lunch at the poshest place in the whole area. Took our lovely driver there with us and we all sat and chatted companionably while stuffing our faces. I made the hotel staff pull a table and chairs out of the restaurant onto the verandah so our view and the breeze would be wonderful. It was a huge drama but once we were settled it was absolutely amazing.

Hey! So what have you been doing? Tell us all in the comments below please. Anything, fun, fragrant, friends, family or food related. ANYTHING! Tell us about your week.

Portia xx

Saturday Question: Favourite Leather Scents

September 9, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 30 Comments

Portia

Hello Fellow Fumies,

Every Saturday we have a Question, an idea purloined from Olfactoria’s Travels. Everyone gets to chime in with an answer, chat with other responders and it is a fun event each week. Taking sides never means taking offence and everyone keeps it respectful and light, even though we can sometimes trawl the depths.

The idea is you’ll see it on the weekend or chime in through the week. Hopefully you will come back and see if anyone has responded to your comment and you can reply to them.

I’m currently away on holidays in India and will have limited internet but be assured that I’ll read every comment and answer when I can.

Saturday Question: Favourite Leather Scents

Leather is one of my most loved notes. It has so many variations from the stench of tanneries to the finished high gloss shoe or worn and loved glove. It can have the scent ofd its owner as in a leather jacket or sweat from sport and weightlifting. It can be suede, patent, cow, sheep, goat or pony and all of them are peculiar to themselves. Then there are the additives like fruit, incense, oudh, woods, flowers, sweets, vanilla, patchouli and the cavalcade of accords available have all had a go with leather.

What are my Favourite Leather Scents?

Fragrantica

Bottega Veneta EdP

Between Daim Blond, Cuir Amethyst and this is only a question of levels and personal taste. Bottega Veneta is the best lasting of the three on me and Jin has claimed it as his signature scent. Whenever I smell it there are so many happy memories piled on top of the actual smell, which I adore. Fruity leather, soft & supple and so incredibly wearable.

Fragrantica

Knize Ten

people call this a floral leather and though it may be to them on me it’s all about favourite leather jacket. It’s a fantasy scent of a mans jacket after years of wear and it has taken on some of his sweat and cologne. I bought my Golden Edition bottle in Vienna at the original Knize store and my original shopping with Denyse Beaulieu in Paris at a chemist right near Jovoy. Happy memories all.

Trussardi Donna

Long before I was a perfumista I had a bottle of Trussardi Donna. To be honest I didn’t even know then that it was aimed at women. It was a fabulously real leather chypre (Though chypre was not in my vocal either) and I loved to smell of it. Still do.

I find it interesting that my three go-to leathers are all from designer houses. Interesting.

My Saturday Question to you is:

What are your favourite leather scents? Do you have special leather moods? When do you wear them?

Perfume I Still Love

September 8, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 37 Comments

Portia

Hi APJ,

It’s weird. Many fragrances I write about, fall in love with and buy a large decant or bottle. Sometimes it feels like I’m keeping the perfume world solvent, HA! Then you all never hear about that perfume again unless it’s in my Sunday Scent Diary, and then just a tiny entry or picture. So today I thought we’d gran out some things that have been written about before and still see regular skin time.

Perfume I Still Love

Afternoon Of A Faun by Etat Libre d’Orange:

There is something deeply satisfying when I spritz Afternoon Of A Faun. It’s a honeyed immortelle, leather, iris and peppery spices smell like nothing else in my collection. One of the last really fabulous, love to wear even though it’s a bit freaky, releases from the ELdO house. It’s like they have taken the late 20th century mens fragrance and twisted just enough to make it interesting again.

Aqua Allegoria Lys Soleia by Guerlain:

Wearing this beauty today inspired the post. I read the fragrance quite differently to the notes presented. My skin throws lily and creamy coconut mixed with the ylang. A tropical scent using all the old tropes but injects an airy freshness and a jaunty lilt. Well into my second bottle and a back up bought just in case. On cool but sunny days like today, boiling summer heatwaves and even the dead cold of european winter Lys Soleia works.

Antaeus by CHANEL:

Antaeus is often a sneaky spritz for me as I go walking the dogs or shopping for groceries. I think I’ve told you all before that my first long term partner and I wore Antaeus in the late 1980s and early 1990s. There is something so classic and finished about it, from picking up the black, super smooth reflective bottle to the earthy leather dry down. The whole experience feels special.

Madame Rochas by Rochas:

Rochas answer to CHANEL No 5 is a clever play on the aldehydic floral. A thicker, more treacle feeling opening. Yellow flowers feel like the centre of attention and the iris, amber and oakmoss create an earthier, less outer space type fragrance. Madame Rochas manages a similar sparkling glamour as No 5 but does it in a more perfumey way. It manages to cut the aloofness and feel like a Christmas hug from a favourite aunt.

Morn to Dusk by Eau D`Italie:

Yes, it lasts all day. The jolt of citrus over vanilla starts this beauty out with a zing but it’s the vanilla heart that goes on all day long. A crunchy, caramelised vanilla that changes with your mood and the weather. Some days it’s more sheer and weightless and others Morn To Dusk can be sweet, thick and heavy. It seems to feel my mood and offer its own magical accompaniment. Simplicity with levels.

Most of these are available as samples & decants from Surrender To Chance.

What are your not so new Perfumes You Love?
Portia xx

Oyedo by Diptyque 2000

September 7, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 12 Comments

Portia

Hey Hey Frag Family,

Today we are looking at a scent that Kate Apted sent me in a fragrant care package. One of the wonderful things about this ~~addiction~~ hobby is the joy of sharing and Kate was extremely generous. THANKS!! So I have a few new to me things that I’m snuffling happily.

Oyedo by Diptyque 2000

Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Lime, Mandarin, Orange, Lemon
Heart: Caraway, Thyme
Base: Woody notes

You feeling down? A bit blue/ Dog tired/ Maybe you are just exhausted from running the rat race. Oyedo seems to be the perfect foil. Even though I’m at that 3/4 way through the year slump lately, plus being super busy, and turning my ankle somehow Oyedo makes me want to jump back into the fray.

Citrus backed by herbs that seem smooth as resins. A citrus with poopy, sweaty background.A citrus as vibrant and fresh as the farmers fruit markets on an early Saturday morning. Cool and alive and zinging. A jolt of lively scent that makes my eyes pop open and my body lighten its load.

Oyedo Diptyque farmers Fruit_market WikiMedia WikiMedia

The citrus stays right through the heart, still zingy like a mixture of their zests. The herbs really smell to me like they have labdanum or elemi helping them to stabilise and give a lovely smooth growl purring underneath the rest.

I can so imagine Oyedo being someones go-to spring or autumn scent and them using it to get everyone around them on board with fun and ideas. Longevity is pretty good and you stay quite fragrant for over two hours before the perfume softens off considerable. Basically the woody base is hardly relevant because the citrus/herbs/resins stay around getting softer and a bit dryer.

Oyedo Diptyque oranges flowers field pixabay PDI

Further reading: Scentualist and Now Smell This
Mecca has $108/50ml FREE Australian Shipping
My Perfume Samples has $2.50/ml

Citrus. Are you a fan? When do you wear it?
Portia xx

Carner Barcelona Floral Collection 2017

September 6, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 5 Comments

Sandra

Hey there APJ! How are you all doing? Are you already changing seasons? It is still August as I write this and I am blown away that we have already entered autumn and all I can think is – stop it! It is only August! This is NOT supposed to be happening yet.

Carner Barcelona launched three new perfumes in 2017 starting the Floral Collection and described them as Three luminous perfumes that talk about love, passion and seduction through the flower, which has been and will always be the best expression of love.

Carner Barcelona Floral Collection 2017

Fragrantica

Besos by Carner Barcelona

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Italian mandarin, Madagascar pepper
Heart: Jasmine sambac, iris
Base: Benzoin, vanilla, musk

Carner Barcelona describes it as A come-hither kiss, sensual and deep that leaves you wanting more, Besos has an air of romance with a robust sprinkling of lust.

Besos which means kisses in Spanish is an aptly named perfume in my mind. It opens with a delicious mouthwatering citrus with a hefty sprinkling of pepper. It really is scrumptious and lasts for about an hour in this stage. The floral heart moves in and I get a predominantly jasmine powdered puff with the hint of spices humming along in the background. It rounds out a bit powdery, but not sweet at all. I find this romantic and billowy – it is a white blouse with long cuffs.

Fragrantica

Latin Lover by Carner Barcelona

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, ylang-ylang, magnolia
Heart: Violet, jasmine sambac, French narcissus, lily-of-the-valley
Base: Benzoin, Indonesian patchouli leaf, white musk

Carner Barcelona describes Latin Lover as a fine balance between smooth seduction and hot-blooded passion… What do you think of the name Latin Lover? I find it fun to be honest. Latin Lover opens up with a cocktail of flowers exquisitely tied in a bouquet. The flowers are so intricately intertwined that it is next to impossible to pick them apart. The narcissus and lily of the valley are inviting, intoxicating, yet tempered with the other flowers and patchouli – all of my senses are aware. Well worth a sniff in my books.

Fragrantica

Sweet William by Carner Barcelona

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: White pepper, cardamom, Chinese cinnamon wood, galangal
Heart: Dianthus, ylang-ylang, rose water, tobacco blossom
Base: Ambraromei, styrax, Tuscan iris, vanilla absolute

Carner Barcelona describes it During times of gallatry lovelorn bachelors sat to have their portrait painted with a red carnation, a sweet william, symbolizing their search for true love.

Sweet William is decidedly the more unisex leaning perfume of the three entries. With warm spices throughout the development of the perfume, this is also the most complex of the three. There is a sense of lush green, almost vegetal green, which has been warmed by the sunshine that mingles with the spices. It is a element of the unkown that captures my interest. Could it be the galangal that is keeps me thinking green? It is a rich perfume which lasts all day with intriguige – pulling me back in for a further sniff.

ParfuMaria has the collection starting at €95/50ml
Career Barcelona has 3 x 1.7ml Samples €15 (EU Only)

Summer vacation here was a mere six weeks and we had a wonderful fully packed vacation in Spain where we lapped up the abundant sunshine, warm sea air and water and friendly people. What have you all been up to? I would love to hear from you.

Sandra xoxo

Summer Scentsations: Heat Busters

September 5, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

TinaG

Hi gang!

Last year I struggled to find fragrances which I could wear on a daily basis, which cut through the ridiculous heat of summer. I gravitated towards modern watery aquatics and fruits. My mainstays were Hermès – Un Jardin Apres La Mousson, and L’Artisan Parfumeur – Mandarine, and the occasional blast of Serge Lutens – Borneo 1834 for sultry evenings.

I was discussing summer fragrances with friends recently – Here’s a list of a few that we talked about for our wish lists:

Summer Scentsations: Heat Busters

Fragrantica

Heeley – Sel Marin

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, lemon, green notes
Heart: Salt, sea water, sea grass, moss
Base: Musk, cedar, leather.

I’ve been craving more of this fragrance – I had a quick sniff last year when I was in the UK. There was something intimately sexy about it – underlying clean funkiness, like a salty sun-kissed person’s chest at the end of a very active day. A far cry from your regular ‘marine’ fragrance.

Fragrantica

Estée Lauder – Bronze Goddess

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, ginger, mandarin
Heart: Indian samba jasmine, coconut, jasmine
Base: vanilla, cashmere wood, musk, amber.

I know that this is a general favourite for summer, but both my friend and I weren’t all that familiar with it. We will get together and split a bottle when the next round hits the shelves. I think this would definitely cover off the tropical beach coconut vibe for a summer’s day.

Fr Fragrantica

CB I Hate Perfume – At The Beach 1966

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Coppertone, North Atlantic, wet sand, seashell, driftwood, boardwalk.

This transports me back to the days of kicking around the beach as a kid. I remember using Coppertone, usually SPF 2 of 4….. I don’t know how we didn’t get absolutely toasted. This perfume smells like a day at the beach. Totally. It’s brilliant.

Fragrantica

BeauFort London – Fathom V

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Juniper berries, tangerine, black currant, green notes, soil tincture
Heart: Thyme, lily, jasmine, ylang ylang, ginger, cumin, black pepper, mimosa
Base: Patchouli, vetiver, oak moss, salt, incense, atlas cedar, amber

My friend Kerri recently purchased the BeauFort London – Come Hell or High Water discovery set, which in itself is magnificent. It is a leather roll with generous 7.5ml travel sprays of each of their fragrances. I had been lusting after this for a while so I was both dead jealous and super excited to have a look at them. The green hit in the opening of Fathom V is a mix of bright freshly cut flowers and deeper greens, which we likened to walking into a cool florist shop. I need to spend more time with all of this range, they are both amazing fragrances and an intriguing aesthetic.

Fragrantica

Le Labo – Lys 41

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Jasmine, tuberose, lily, woody notes, vanilla, musk

Lys 41 is a beautiful cool white floral. The lily is subtly sweet and there’s nothing I find overpowering. There’s a time in the morning just before the sun rises where a blue-grey haze lights up the frosted panelling of my bedroom door. I’ve been finding myself spritzing Lys 41 at this time as part of a gentle fragrant wake up, and then re-spritzing throughout the day while the sun moves through its daily arc casting different shadows and colours through the house. I really enjoy it and I will definitely be bringing this routine over into the summer months.

You can get samples of most of the at Surrender To Chance

So how about you, APJ? What have your worn this summer, or are planning to?

Till next time,
Tina G