Author: australianperfumejunkiescom

Denyse Beaulieu: The Perfume Lover

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 8 Comments

Hi Snifffters,

I have recently finished Denyse Beaulieu’s book “The Perfume Lover”. Denyse has been a long time blogger on Grain de Musc and a perfume afficianado, teaching “Understanding Fragrance” courses in London, living and working in Paris. She is a bit of a hero and writes many of her blog posts in English and French.

Unfortunately I am a bit under the weather today and my nose has gone on strike for smelling because it’s already full.

So instead of talking about perfume, I thought perhaps that I would tell you a tiny smidge about Denyse’s book. I found it a delightful and entrancing page turner, teaching me a lot of history, some of the perfume making process, and a whole bunch of side related trivia that you have to be on the inside track to know. Like a perfumed version of a rag trade novel. Behind this font of knowledge though is the story of how a perfume came to be from a vivid recollection of youthful dalliance Denyse had enjoyed in Spain, some of her loves through time and the scented thread holding all together.

Many of you don’t read novels, I know. This is such an easy read that few of you will find it in any way challenging. You may learn some new vocabulary though, which will stand you in much better stead next time you are faced with a pushy salesgirl or the incredible gamut of fragrances available currently. It will also give you some hints of great perfumers and the companies they have created for, who to look out for and what they put into the juice. All knowledge is power, right. For you ladies your buys will look more savvy and for the gentlemen the same holds true. Imagine being able to surprise a loved one with something they’ll cherish or brag about your own splendid choice of fragrance.

Buy The Perfume Lover (after the jump) from Book Depository in hardcover for around $21 delivered to your door. It is also a sensational gift. I was going to write this about a fortnight before Mother’s Day because it is a perfect book for gifting. Beautifully bound, writing not too small, light and entertaining while still informative.

It has inspired me to go and find a couple of the mentioned perfumes too.
Is there a book I need to read about perfume that you adore, please leave it’s title and author in the comments.
Much reading pleasure to you,

Portia xxx

Bud Parfums “Gamekeeper” Review; Thursday GIVEAWAY COMPETITION

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 34 Comments

Hello everyone,

Evie C’s super interview with Howard Jarvis on Monday reminded me I haven’t reviewed any of the samples I ordered from Bud Parfums. What a ning-nong I am sometimes, so I thought as a part down-payment on my full Bud Parfums story I’d give you a sneaky peek at one of my favourite scents from the range.

GAMEKEEPER

“Then, one day, a lovely sunny day with tufts of primroses under the hazels, and many violets dotting the paths, she came in the afternoon to the coops and there was one tiny, tiny perky chicken tinily prancing round in front of a coop.
The keeper, squatting beside her, was also watching with an amused face the bold little bird in her hands. Suddenly he saw a tear fall on to her wrist.
And he stood up, and stood away, moving to the other coop. For suddenly he was aware of the old flame shooting and leaping up in his loins, that he had hoped was quiescent for ever. He laid his hand on her shoulder, and softly, gently, it began to travel down the curve of her back, blindly, with a blind stroking motion, to the curve of her crouching loins. “Shall you come to the hut?” he said, in a quiet, neutral voice.”
‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover’ by D.H.Lawrence


Richard Ansdell’s English Gamekeeper  via goldenagepaintings

This is how Gamekeeper is introduced on the Bud Parfums website and strangely it fits. There is the creak and crack of citrus branch, also the fruit, juice and leaf, humus rich oakmoss, warming resinous labdanum, the musk and clean bright patchouli round the whole lovely, sexy concert out. In truth I don’t know what palmarosa oils smell like so I can’t attest to their inclusion (apparently it smells like Geranium Leaf and is used instead of endangered Rosewood). The fragrances don’t really form a pyramid within Gamekeeper, they are more like tendrils of scent interwoven that spike up occasionally through the life of the scent story, you think they’ve gone but back they come changed, lightened or darkened, in different combinations. This is like a book where firstly you are introduced to all the characters, then throughout they are placed together in different groupings or sometimes nearly alone.

Although this is marketed as a masculine, and there are moments of truly manly cologne-ish glory, this seems to me like a fragrance that would work deliciously and decorously on women, there is a flapper feel to Gamekeeper. It’s very sexy, almost sexual, and has a light skank alert that I find riveting. As if the fragrance has gone inside the cottage with them to partake in the fun but not stayed till the end.

The website and Fragrantica give the same information.

If you go to the Bud Parfums website choose any size refill and it will take you to the fragrance lists. Also, bottle purchase is separate, such a wonderful idea, so you get to choose. AWESOME!

I’ll finish up this review with the first gamekeeper to steal my heart, Rupert Graves played D H Lawrence’s sublimely delicious gay gamekeeper in the movie Maurice. I spent years searching for just such a specimen, and while the search was rewarding in and of itself, the closest I have ever come is now a blogger himself, the one who inspired me to start writing this blog. I hope he’s reading.

Rupert Graves, Maurice 1987 Stolen from IMDb

Another excellent and enjoyable week here for me, I hope for you too, and we’ve looked at a lovely bunch of fragrances. Here’s you chance to win a small selection of them. In fact, this week there are 6 great reasons to enter our….

THURSDAY GIVEAWAY COMPETITION!

In honour of our Annick Goutal Review we are putting a 1.5ml spray decant of Annick Goutal’s Passion in
From Sunday Quicksniff Reviews 3ml spray decant of Fracas for Men by Robert Piguet
and 1.5ml spray decant of Eau Mega by Viktor & Rolf
Evie C did a lovely interview with Howard Jarvis from Bud Pafums so a 1.5ml spray decant of Bud Parfums Gamekeeper
and lastly, the remains of my by Kilian Water Calligraphy manufacturers sample
and Aedes de Venustas EdP sample from the Extraordinaries That Arrived By Post

Plus P&H anywhere in the world.

How do you win? Simply leave a short comment on your favourite gamekeeper, in life, film, novel or story, or if that’s too hard just leave a Hello in the comments. I do love to read your contributions though so do try.

If you win you must get in touch by Wednesday 23.5.12 or I’ll give your prize to someone else. As TARA didn’t get in touch last week her prize will go to Penny Cascio.

See you all tomorrow,

Portia xx

Extraordinaries That Arrived By Post #1

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 8 Comments

Hello all you lovely Fume Heads,

Photo Stolen from inetgiant.com.au

I love to go to the post box and find something there that’s not a bill, don’t we all? Sometimes though the post box turns up unexpected, interesting, heartening or WOW! Forgot I won/bought/snaggled this. So I want to write about some of the ones that really took my breath away lately, for different reasons..

LE PARFUM DE THERESE.

Photo Stolen from mimifroufrou

Today I went to the box and there was a mail bag from the USA. Tatiana had sent me a surprise sample of Frederic Malle’s Le Parfum De Therese, the fragrance Edmond Roudnitska created in the early 1950s for his wife Thérèse, and it was hers exclusively. In March I had confessed never smelling it on Patty from the Perfume Posse’s review, which was a fun read but definitely not a loving one. I am constantly amazed at the generosity shown in the worm hole de scent (why have I never heard of a fragrance called D Scent, that’s funny) by people who are continents away that I’ve never met. AH MAY ZING! From this fragrance I get roses, broken branch, fresh cut ripe melon and humus in the first rush. It doesn’t really change a lot after the first 15 minutes on my skin, it is mainly fruity floral but not sweet like many of today’s perfumes, ripe and fresh with an underlying strength like feminine women who have made a choice to be so while living, working, loving and generally getting on with the joys and heartaches of modern life.. As apposed to what I had read this smells to me of rise above, fly over, be magic. I know, I’m not making sense but I have been transported. Not for long though, 90 minutes gone. Respritz and begin again.

SEPIA.

Photo Stolen from perfumepharmer

From my reading on other blogs I was expecting this to be an aquatic airy whisper, so spare that my nose was going to miss it completely. What a surprise; Aftelier’s newest scent Sepia is a bit of a blockbuster on my skin. It is warm and dusty, floral and powdery, woody, smoky, dry and sere and smells to me like rural Australia. I can close my eyes and smell the unbroken expanses of sun beaten, dessicated red-earth desert where the properties are 1000’s of square kilometers with sheep, wheat and cattle. Many of the smaller towns have been engulfed in the last 50 years and stand silent, crumbling, with only their stone chimneys left like a mouth full of broken teeth. Sepia is the outback. It is also lovely and surprisingly strong. Thank you Mandy Aftel, something I never would have thought to wear or want in my library. Still powering at 3 hours, now smelling like attics and bookstores. I purchased this sample from Aftelier when buying a FB of Parfum de Maroc, should have ordered FB of this too. On my must have list.

AEDES DE VENUSTAS EdP.

Photo Stolen From edgeboston

I won this from Grain de Musc, blog queen turned author Denyse Beaulieu who wrote The Perfume Lover. What a divisive fragrance Aedes de Venustas has turned out to be. People are loving and hating it all over the scentbloggosphere and there seems to be no Meh factor at all. Dividing them is price point (US$225 per 100ml) and rhubarb accord reality. Mum used to grow rhubarb and cook it with apple in a pie that Dad loved, I can’t remember the taste because it would have to be smothered with ice cream for my sister and I to eat it. So no preconceptions here. What I smell is sharp, tomato leaves/broken ivy/squashed ants but offset by an underlying smell of powdery warmth like tame domestic birds have, mixed with apple and something that could be the vetiver or cold incense, after it’s burnt. I find that I’m divided, it is interesting and I would love a bigger sample which I will now invest in. Good longevity even on my skin, 4 hours and still pumping bitter and sweet softly in equal measure.

WATER CALLIGRAPHY.

Photo Stolen from aedes

I received this generous sample set from by Kilian in the best marketing ploy ever, join his facebook page and he will send you a sample of his new scents as and when they come out. Water Calligraphy by Kilian is like writing with water on a hot stone, like buttery tea, chewed grass, human boob milk and baby in the next room. It is nothing and everything. If you are rich and want the best of a slew of watery scents at about eight times the price, or maybe you just love Kilian, the ridiculously gorgeous bottle, the glamour or want to look like you are living the dream; then I say go for it. He has definitely shown everyone else that he can do the same better and it is more complex than any of the others. But we’re talking levels of air here. I get about 2.5 hours of smelling it before it’s lost to me but TSO Jin can smell a difference still.

There are more but I’ll save them for another day. If you have something you’d like me to sniff, consider me your Aussie nostril. Just ask and I’ll send you my address. Nothing makes me happier than going to the mailbox and finding a packet.

Photo Stolen from free-graphics

Should you want something in your mailbox, don’t forget tomorrow is THURSDAY GIVEAWAY COMPETITION. There’s some wonderful stuff in the pack tomorrow, so see you then,

LOVE, Love, LOVE,

Portia xxx

Miss Dior Cherie Review

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 8 Comments

Hey hey,

How good was Evie C’s interview with Aussie Perfumer Howard Jarvis of Bud Parfums yesterday?

I found this somewhere on FaceBook a while ago, or maybe one of my friends sent it to me. Thank you to who ever it was. Every now and then I come back to it and worry about how silly we are as a race. Will the earth survive us?

MISS DIOR CHERIE

Photo of Natalie Portman Stolen from beautysorority

On a completely other track. Below is the incredible Natalie Portman for Miss Dior Cherie. I love her most in the bath with sunnies. HILARIOUS! Don’t you think so?

For me Miss Dior Cherie was too Fruit Tingle-esque, it sizzled away on my skin and though others thought it almost gone; every time I went to sniff, there it was larger than life but not in a good way. This is what the girls of today like to wear and good luck to them. My question though is, “Aren’t there a hundred fragrances out there that smell almost the same but half the price?” On a $20 bottle of Ambre de Cabochard the bow is cute, here I find it offensive and desperate, even though I know it’s a re-representation of an old school Miss Dior bottle. I’m sorry to anyone who loves this fragrance, it just did not work on my skin or for my nostrils. And, of course, because I hated it, it lasted on my skin for HOURS! which has made me tetchy with the whole shebang.

Yes, not a great literary endeavor today, nor is it sufficiently objective, sorry. Didn’t like it, can’t pretend. You may love it, try it at any department store for free. The DIOR SA’s are usually lovely, helpful and smiley.

Have you spritzed something lately that tried your patience? Tell me in the comments, I love to read others tales of fragrant torment too.

Have a lovely day all,

Portia xx

Australian Perfumers: Howard Jarvis of Bud Parfums

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 11 Comments

By Evie C.

Portia recently discovered the wonderful Bud Parfums, based in the Australian state of Victoria.  Howard Jarvis, Bud Parfums’ founder, was kind enough to let us add him to our series on Australian perfumers.  Enjoy!

Howard Jarvis developed his love of fragrance early – at the age of three he was found eating jasmine flowers in his grandmother’s garden.  Despite his early interest, however, he lived several different lives before finally deciding to seriously pursue his love of perfume.  He was variously a bricklayer, builder, photographer, naturopath, homeopath and herbalist.   He even consulted to the Sultan Brunei on medicinal uses for Brunei’s rainforest plants.  By the time he decided to focus on fragrance, he had 15 years experience as a naturopath and a long-held fascination with the oils of Australian native plants on which to base his company, Bud Parfums.

Jarvis says he is self-taught as a perfumer but names Jonathan Midgley of Brisbane-based fragrance laboratory Damask Perfumes as an important mentor.  “My mentors and inspiration come from the genius of Jonathon Midgley and avant-garde perfumers who buck the trends like Jean-Claude Ellena and Christopher Brosius. These three are changing perfumery as we know it into something finer.”  Jarvis also cites independent perfumers Andy Tauer and Neil Morris as favourites.  “I do admire the boldness and the perfumes of Tauer and Morris. They’re both introducing people to new experiences.”

Jarvis is not a huge fan of mainstream perfumes. “Mass market perfumes seem to be a little boring at present. I see the same things rehashed with a new ad campaign. I was impressed by the difference of Angel when it first arrived.”  His personal signature scents are constantly changing, he says, “I have a brief ‘fling’ with each new perfume I create. I’ve had a long ‘affair’ with Shalimar ever since I was knee-high. Our perfume Sophia is a tribute to the beauty of Shalimar.”

As to the business of making it as a perfumer in Australia, Jarvis says, “Australian perfumers can make a living, however it takes years to build a reputation or become known by the rest of the world. Blog sites are fast changing this situation – the world is now as small as the click of a mouse.”  Bud Parfums is presently primarily an online business.  Jarvis says he will continue to run online for another two years until his customer base is large enough to support opening a shop.  “My plan is to have a 19thcentury apothecary where tourists can come to Warburton and watch me making perfumes.”

Bud Parfums’ devotees include all types and range in age from 8 to 90 years old.  “We sell slightly more perfumes internationally than in Australia,” says Jarvis. “The Europeans love rich, deep, dark perfumes, while Brazilians love fruits. Our Asian customers enjoy light, airy, soft scents. I think climate and cultures influence perfume buyers.”

Jarvis has a line of perfumes for men and women with names ranging from the strident – ‘Ugly Bastard’ – to the delicate – ‘Elysium’.  His latest scents, ‘Scarlet’ and ‘El Diablo’ were the result of a long Warburton winter.  “Each day here it either rained or snowed. I was craving spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, clove etc. Scarlet is a gypsy dancer and El Diablo is her torrid partner. It took a long time to fine-tune both and I only just managed to have them ready for the cold European Christmas. Our German friends at www.parfumo.net loved them both.”

Jarvis says he can still be found nibbling on jasmine flowers from time to time and no doubt they’ll continue to aid his inspiration as he brings more Australian scents to life.

Howard Jarvis of Bud Parfums

 

SUNDAY QUICKSNIFF REVIEW #1

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

Hiya all,

Picture Stolen from dazzlejunction.com

I wear a lot of perfume and write about surprisingly little of it, hard to believe isn’t it? So I’m going to try something new. I will open this Sunday QuickSniff Review page on Monday morning and every time I spritz and am near the computer I’ll give a 3 sentence review with a rating out of 5 each for

Scent, Obviously the number 1 priority here is how does it smell. My reviews are completely subjective and will differ widely from your own experience with the scent but it’s a good starting point. As yet I am not a trained perfumer so any and all descriptions are merely that, descriptions. There are plenty of blogs that offer technical details and chemistry, in 3 sentences I’ll pass.
Longevity, This is a biggie for me because like enfleurage where flower petals are left in fats to steal the scent, my fatty body works the same and eats it up, yum. So for a scent to last well on me, it will probably last a whole day on you and need a radioactive decontamination shower to defuse it from your skin.
Desirabilty, Wrapped up in this is scent, price, house, history, longevity, packaging, availability and a billion other things.

* in any of these being the, “You couldn’t pay enough to spray this God awful stink on me again, it smells like public toilets in India, long time fridge malfunction while on Summer holiday and the vile stench of poverty all rolled into one.” You are putting innocent people in danger if you wear this.
** means it’s a nothing, wearable, boring, maybe the price is prohibitive for what you get or it’s ubiquitous. You should definitely get a sample of this to stop a buying boo boo.
*** is a perfectly good product that smells good and lasts a while at a decent price. You should definitely think about trying a sample or squirt but should you miss out your life will continue. Sample size worthy.
**** is the one you try, want a lot but can wait for a birthday/Christmas. It’s better than most of the stuff you’ve sniffed and may fill a void in your library. This is also an excellent decant product 5ml will get you through the season and maybe buy it next year.
***** meaning, stop reading this, grab your cash, credit card (or partners), roll the elderly or rob a petrol station and purchase this product. NOW! If you don’t have this fragrance you could die.

AMBRE de CABOCHARD by GRES 2006.  This has a bright, warm, almost plastic opening like so much else these days and warms down nicely to a nutty, floral, fruit buzz. Tania Sanchez call this a “chemical fruitcake.. with a thin, oddly waxy floral-and-spice formula so cheap…” and while that is true Ambre de Cabochard is affordable, wearable and fun, FragranceX has it for under $25. S=** L=*** D=**

AROMATICS ELIXER by CLINIQUE 1971. Every time I spritz this massive fragrance on myself I feel joyous, sexy and gorgeous. It is a sure fire compliment fragrance and has uber wattage that lasts and lasts. Flowers, wood, herbs, spices, it has them all in abundance; go to your local Clinique counter and ask for the 4ml tester. S=***** L=***** D=*****

COVET by SJP 2007. In 2007 this was probably very new and cutting edge, 5 years on it smells fresh, light, crisp and harmless. I like this as a daywear/worklife nothing but the bottle is really fun/camp/silly/cute and I wanted it on my dresser, FragranceShop has a coffret for under $25 with 15% discount. S=*** L=*** D=***

EAU MEGA by VIKTOR & ROLF 2009. This is pretty flowers, fruity pears, leaves, musk in a light but slightly muddy scent that never quite reaches lift off for me. I like it, but the bottle that looks cool in ads is cheap and awkward in your hand. People that want a fragrance but not a statement piece will love this because it’s so easy to wear and no one will be offended; 2.5oz $50 and up. S=** L=** D=**

FRACAS for MEN EdC by ROBERT PIGUET. (Not to be confused with Fracas by Robert Piguet) This is a lovely fresh, cheap, sexy fragrance with light but persistent staying power, for someone who likes to smell barbershop, woods and sexy leather all day long. Amazon has 100ml from $10. S=*** L=**** D=**** (extra for the ridiculous price point)

RUSH 2 by GUCCI 2001. Everyone gripes about this bottle but I think it’s fun and quirky, great for a gym bag or purse where you don’t have to worry about a cap. The scent is an interesting soft linear scent that just needs to be ramped up a bit for me but is nicely unusual on a man if you can get him past the hot pink casing. FragranceX has 5ml for $10. S=** L=** D=***

I hope you have enjoyed reading through the new Sunday Quicksniff Review. I’d love your feedback please. Any comments, advice, things you like or hate, any way you think Sunday Quicksniff Review could better cater to you.

Grateful you’ve dropped by, please do so again,

Portia xx

The Making of Amor Amor by Cacharel ad, WINNER ANNOUNCED

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

Hey all,

Thanks for leaving your wonderful stories on Thursday, I enjoyed reading all of them and hope you’ll continue to come read and comment here at AustralianPerfumeJunkies.

THURSDAY COMPETITION GIVEAWAY!!

To win you had to leave a message in Thursday’s comments about an exceeding expectations retail/hotel/service experience. This is what our winners will receive.

  • Each of our 4 winners will receive a 3ml spray decant of GUCCI RUSH 2
  • One each of the 4 winners will also receive a 1.5ml spray decant of either Chanel No 5 EdP or Liberte by Cacharel, or 1ml manufacturers sample of River Town by SOIVOHLE or a surprise Tommi Sooni
  • Plus free P&H anywhere in the world

Our winners this week are.


Photo Stolen from sistersavealot.com

Tara, Vinery1, KillerRabbit and Annie

Please send your addresses to portia underscore turbo at yahoo com au
You have to get in touch by Wednesday 16.5.12 midnight Australian EST or I will give your prize to someone else.


Photo Stolen from Cacharel

Here’s a little present for you all. I don’t know about Amor Amor by Cacharel but the making of the ad is lovely, the kids are so believable in their making of roles.

Have a super lovely weekend. I have a new thing starting on the blog tomorrow, it’s an idea that’s been percolating away in my dizzy head for a while now. Please come and look and give me some feedback about it. I would be honored by your input.

Love and gratitude that you have bothered to drop by,

Portia xx

Annick Goutal Reviews III

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 9 Comments

Hey all,

Last month we did a 3 day epic Annich Goutal story that talked about the woman, her family and the business (Annick Goutal Story) then we went on to review some of the houses better known and loved fragrances (AG Reviews #1, AG Reviews #2) but there are so many more in this lovely collection that I felt the need to show you three more. Here is a link to the Annick Goutal site, but I have also found some great deals on FragranceNet and Parfum1. In Australia if you are desperately looking for Mother’s day, David Jones has a selection of Annick Goutal and there is something for everyone in the range.

Ambre Fetiche: Yes, we had the lovely Dionne from Beauty On The Outside give us a glowing report but at the time I had not smelled it. Well I went straight to the Surrender To Chance site and ordered 5ml, while I was there taking a sneaky peek (and purchase) at the Daily Chance specials, He He. This starts out raw and sexy, anyone whose personality is strong enough to carry such a statement scent will smell amazing wearing Ambre Fetiche; men, women and inbetweenies. I am sure I’ve smelled a woman wearing this at the local mini mall and remember registering olfactory delight. My nose gets loads of incense, balms and leathers right from the outset, almost a clean synthetic oud smell without the cow poo backdrop. It’s rich and ambrosial, there is a honeyed sweetness here too alongside the vanilla. After such a bam bam bam start we settle into a very comfortable, soft and warm leathery vanilla. This is haute couture gown, frock and jeans wear if you want to smell warm, delicious and sexy.

Fragrantica or Anick Goutal’s site says

Classic and modern at the same time, a very textured and sensual interpretation of the amber.

  • Creation date : 2007
  • Olfactory family : Amber, Vanilla, Leather (Frankincense, labdanum, styrax – Benzoin, absolute of iris – Vanilla, geranium, patchouli, Russian leather)

Un Matin d’Orage (A Morning Of Storm): “OH MY GOD! I LOVE THIS!” is what I say in my head every time I spritz myself with Un Matin d’Orage. Does it smell like a stormy morning to me? No. Maybe the sunshine an hour after a stormy morning, when all the flowers are getting their scent on as if to make up for lost time. The lemon and ginger are so fresh, green and crisp, the warm jasmine as it saunters in swinging its hips is doing sexy dances with the gardenia and magnolia (I wouldn’t know what champaca smelt like if you hit me with it but it’s name does remind me of the hairy guy in Star Wars, I’m pretty sure I can’t smell him though) calling, yearning, begging you to come closer and sniff deeply and luxuriously, the sandalwood giving a creamy and delicious base for this all to float above. This smells like money to me, loads of it.


Fragrantica or Anick Goutal’s site says

The perfume of a flower of gardenia floating in the mist of a Japanese garden.

  • Creation date : 2009
  • Olfactory family : Floral, fresh, white flowers (Sicilian lemon, green perilla leaves, ginger, magnolia, jasmine Sambac, Indonesian champaca)

Passion: Passion was the Annick Goutal I thought I would definitely love, Love, LOVE!!! And to an extent, I do. Like a very excited young lover the party is over long before I’m ready for it to finish. The opening is spectacular, all white flowers, broken leaves and stem and as it warms up the ylang-ylang and jasmine bring some vanilla with them for a very short sashay past my nostrils and then the whole shebang is eaten by my skin. This is not what I’d hoped for. At times like this I feel jealousy for those lucky enough to have scent keeping skin, rather than scent eating skin. It does make Passion a super good choice for days when I want a short sharp burst of delicious before moving on to something else, or for a nap fragrance so I can enjoy the ride and wake up ready for new scent vistas. This was the first fragrance Annick Goutal made for herself.

Fragrantica or Annick Goutal’s site says

The mystery intoxicating of chypre accented by Egyptian jasmine and Grasse tuberose.

  • Creation date : 1983
  • Olfactory family : Floral (Jasmine, ylang-ylang, tomato leave, tuberose, patchouli, oakmoss, vanilla)

Thanks for coming along for the ride again today. I love the Annick Goutal range so there will be another update soon. I did notice a new blue fragrance on the site and am intrigued. Hmmm, do you have a favourite Annick Goutal? Is there one I should try but haven’t? I’d love to read your thoughts so leave a comment.

I hope you have a happy and safe weekend.

Portia xx

All the pictures today are stolen from Fragrantica, except the Annick Goutal image from multibrand. AustralianPerfumeJunkies is not affiliated with any of the businesses talked about or recommended, except as a customer.

Good News Story, Thursday Competition Giveaway

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 25 Comments

Hey all you beautiful smelling people,

A couple of weeks ago I finally took the plunge and ordered a bottle of GUCCI RUSH. I love it, it’s been discontinued for a while and I wanted to have it in the collection before it’s gone forever and then I’ll be sad and angry at myself. One of the joys of perfumery for me is the hunt for a good price, the ordering, waiting, box arriving, opening box, looking at packaged fragrance for a while, opening ceremony, spritz, wear, love to be me of it all. So the whole web shopping is perfect for me.


Photo Stolen from yournextperfume.com

I ordered from a crew I’ve not used before; California Perfumes. Being a first time buy I ordered 2 fragrances and kept well under my $100 first time use limit including P&H. I waited for a couple of weeks and the package arrived, opened the box and……. GUCCI RUSH 2. OH NO!!! Now I don’t have a problem with GUCCI RUSH 2 but it was not what I ordered or wanted. Hello heartbroken.


Photo Stolen from crazysales.com.au

Onto the email and sent a complaint on the 26th and a follow up received on the 28th April offering a 50% discount on miss sent item. Wrote back asking if they had GUCCI RUSH could they please send me a Paypal for half the cost and send immediately. On Friday 4th I received an apology for response delay but the department head was away on leave, they would be with me as soon as they had an answer. This was the answer received Wednesday 9th May,

Ma’am,
Unfortunately, we do not have Gucci Rush in stock.  A request has been submitted to our suppliers but it could take weeks to ship if they have it.  I could offer you a refund of that missing item instead.  Please advise.
I am looking for your kind consideration.
Best regards,
Kate

Yes please California Perfumes. I will have that lovely refund, that as I write has already been transferred. Although there was some email delay, you have shown yourselves to be interested in your clients continued support and have so far exceeded my expectations that I will definitely shop with you again. Even through the email delays I was kept in the loop as much as possible. I am deeply impressed.

THURSDAY COMPETITION GIVEAWAY!!

So in the spirit of my story today there will be not one but 4 winners of our Thursday Giveaway Competition. How to win? Leave a message in the comments about an exceeding expectations retail/hotel/service experience. I’ll pick 4 winners on Saturday 12.5.12 at around 10pm Australian EST, all you have to do is get in touch by Wednesday 16.5.12 midnight Australian EST or I will give your prize to someone else. So if you enter please check back on Sunday to see if you’ve won. Last weeks prize was not collected so our new winner is Julieswhinge.

Each of our 4 winners will receive a 3ml spray decant of GUCCI RUSH 2

One each of the 4 winners will also receive a 1.5ml spray decant of either Chanel No 5 EdP or Liberte by Cacharel, or 1ml manufacturers sample of River Town by SOIVOHLE or a surprise Tommi Sooni

Plus free P&H anywhere in the world

No, you can’t pick which one you get.  Hello UNGRATEFUL!

Thank you for reading. I hope you are commenting because we love to read your stories,

Much love,

Portia xx

Bedtime Perfume; Chanel No 5 Review

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 27 Comments

Hey gang,

“To sleep, perchance to Dream; Ay, there’s the rub, For in that sleep of death, what dreams may come,” Hamlet; Shakespeare

Does anyone else wear a different perfume to bed? It’s a ritual with me. I like to put on a favourite to send me off to sleep, quite often it’s a perfume that doesn’t get much daytime or work wear, for any number of reasons. To loud, too floral, too celebuscent, too often ignored. Sometimes you just pass fragrances over for a while because other things have caught your attention or you are testing, on you or a room of Turbo Trivia players. When your scent wardrobe starts to become a scent library you need to find new times to wear perfume so they all get smelled. I know, these are the most shallow of first world problems but I like it.


Photo Stolen from bootsandcateyes

The other night I decided to put on some Chanel No 5 EdP before I went to bed. No 5 is an old memory scent for me, of my Mum. She left me a black bakelite and gold large refillable spray when she died that must have been almost full because it lasted for ages. At the time though she’d not thought to tell me they were refillable so it has been lost to eternity. Through my mind ran the most wonderful memories of my Mum, always smiling and glamorous when wearing No 5 because it was one of her grown up “going out” scents, a swirl of skirt, swish of hair and a wall of perfume. It was the 80’s and 90’s so she was unafraid to multispritz. Nowadays she would be frowned upon probably as an olfactory pollutionist and not allowed into restaurants, cinemas, workspaces or buses. Back then you were supposed to have a scent that entered the room before you and left weeks later, and all the curtains in every venue felt as if they’d been dry cleaned nightly.


Photo Stolen from bookdepository

Evie C wrote us some great No 5 stories recently and I find it hard to believe that any of you wouldn’t know what Chanel No 5 smells like because it was as ubiquitous as Shalimar, Georgio, Joy et al but I think the world has moved on in some respects, so…

Chanel No 5 is a big, fat, delicious, glamorous, gorgeous, mouth watering, head turning, man pulling siren of a fragrance designed by one of last centuries style icons, Gabrielle Coco Chanel in 1921 with Ernest Beaux, to grab you by the nose and take you to places you never thought you’d be. It was released 5/5/21 because 5 was Coco’s lucky number, and so last week it celebrated its 91st birthday. They say it was a stolen formula from the Russians who were fleeing the collapse of their empire. They say a million things. If you want a history The secret of Chanel No 5 by Tilar J. Mazzeo is a rollicking great read and could even be the true story. You may have heard Marilyn Monroe’s scandalous quote about wearing only Chanel No 5 to bed. What matters is the scent; reformulated many times over the years, even the great Luca Turin is amazed at how true to its ancestors it smells. I have a few different bottles of Chanel No 5. A fairly recent EdP, an 80’s EdT and a 1940’s US made, wartime .5oz Parfum, still wax sealed and waiting for an enormous opening ceremony. I think maybe a perfumista dinner party where we can all sniff, snort and snuffle unashamedly.

Fragrantica gives…

Top notes; neroli, ylang-ylang, bergamot, amalfi lemon and aldehydes;

Middle notes; iris, jasmine, orris root, rose and lily-of-the-valley;

Base notes; vetiver, musk, sandalwood, patchouli, oak moss, amber, vanille and civetta.

…but you can’t read this litany and think you know what it will smell like. That’s like looking at a Claude Monet painting of Giverny and thinking you know what spring is like, though you’ve never left your home.


Monet’s Spring at Giverny (1886) from thecultureconcept.com

The wonderful thing about Chanel No 5 is that you need only go to your nearest department store and try it. It costs nothing to go and spray yourself silly with it. But beware, Chanel No 5 is magic, even still. There is a little drop of white witch in every bottle. You will become a walking siren should you dare to cross the threshold. Go on.

I dare you

The ad below was recently on Olfacroria’s Travels and it thrilled me. I’d not seen it before and it felt so gorgeously expensive, even for a fragrance commercial which are notoriously spendthrift. Now whenever I put Chanel No 5 on I feel transported to this imaginary story as well. It is a hard working fragrance that takes me to a million places.

What do you wear to bed? Is there a special fragrance or are there many?

Portia xx