Perfect Fragrant Gifts for Annoying People

October 24, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 8 Comments

Post by Azar

Happy Impending Holidays, APJ!

The holiday season is upon us and what better way to please the folks on Santa’s list than with perfumed and fragrant gifts. There are also those other, “special people” who deserve lumps of coal or bundles of sticks. Perhaps these stinkers might benefit from pleasant fragrances too!

Perfect Fragrant Gifts for Annoying People

Poo-Pourri Party Pooper – 2016

Our young friend “L” is a wonderful woman – in all ways but one. This lovely person has a very annoying and smelly habit. When visiting our home, “L” will inevitably unload in the bathroom, closest to where the action is. The fan and air fresheners have no effect. “L” usually emerges from the bathroom giggling, knowing full well that she has gassed the entire assemblage and polluted the party. I consider this “marking behavior” and have chided her often to no avail. So for “L” this year’s perfect fragrant gift will be:

Poo-Pourri Party Pooper Gift Set – Potty like a rock star and leave the toilet smelling better than you found it with a pure blend of mandarin, lily and tangerine natural essential oils.

Fragrantica

Empire by Donald Trump – 2015

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Spicy mint, tea, orange blossom, apple, jasmine, amber, musk, tonka bean

The next gift recipient is politico, “G”, who would barge into the house, day or night, trying to convert us to his religion, telling us how to vote and advising us on health matters. We don’t see much of “G” anymore, but if he appears around the holidays I will be ready with a gift, one that I know he will appreciate – Empire by Donald Trump. I have not tried Empire but I’m sure that “G” will resonate with the name and the celebrity candidate behind it.

Fragrantica

Star Trek Pon Farr – 2285

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Nectarine, white violet, orchid
Heart: Egyptian jasmine, mirabelle, vanilla
Base: Patchouli, musk, sandalwood

Finally, I’m sure you’ve met someone like the next special person on our list. “J”, a cougar who imagines she is still a sex kitten, is always on the prowl, showing up at parties looking “other-worldly” in micro minis and skimpy tops. Far be it from me to question anyone’s fashion sense or methods of sexual manipulation, but this girl really needs some help. My gift to her this year will be the Star Trek fragrance Pon Farr. Pon Farr is defined as “a neuro-chemical imbalance in Vulcans occurring every 7 years causing them to be extremely horny.” Pon Farr might actually help “J” by postponing her last hormonal gasp for 7 years, effectively by-passing menopause and temporarily clearing any predatory illusions from her mind.

Today’s give-away is a 5 ml decant of Pon Farr – only shipping to addresses on planet earth. To be eligible let us know how you follow APJ and tell us about a special person in your life who could use a fragrant gift this season?

Live Long and Prosper!

Azar xx

Golden Oldies: Worn For Life

October 23, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 27 Comments

Post by Anne-Marie

Hi all

What is the perfume you have worn the longest in your life?

Golden Oldies: Worn For Life

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Neroli, bergamot, green notes
Heart: Iris, narcissus, rose, lily of the valley
Base: Sandalwood, leather, vetiver, oakmoss

I’ve worn Chanel No 19 on and off for … ahem … something like thirty years. I don’t know how I could afford it but I bought my first 50ml bottle of the EDT in the mid-80s when I was a student. Between then and 1991 (still a student) I went through that bottle and bought two more. I still have them all; the first completely drained, the latter two are nearly used and rather on the turn now. (Why did I buy a third before the second was drained? I can’t remember.)

In later years I added more bottles of the EDT and EDP to my collection. I still wear it No 19. It’s the perfume I’ve worn the longest, more than half my life.

In those early years I also bought Estée Lauder White Linen, Lancome Magie Noire, Laura Ashley No. 1, and Eau Sauvage (two bottles). Later, after I moved cities, I remember buying Paloma Picasso, Patou Joy, Estee Lauder Pleasures, and Eau de Givenchy. The last was a souvenir of a trip to the UK and Europe in 1996. I bought it in Paris. Squeee!

Flickr

This was all before I had started having children in 1998, and ceased spending money on perfume for several years.

I don’t wear any of those regularly any more. I’ve moved on from the Lauders, as you do. Paloma Picasso has some sad memories. Magie Noire I wear occasionally still. Joy I never really liked and still don’t. I bought it to celebrate the fact that I could actually afford a perfume once touted as ‘the most costly perfume in the world’. By 1993 it wasn’t, but I loved the idea of it. Eau de Givenchy has to compete every summer with a clutch of other eaux, though it is still the best of the bunch probably.

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Grapefruit, mandarin, bergamot, mint, red fruit
Heart: Ylang-ylang, honeysuckle, pure jasmine, narcissus, tuberose, lily-of-the-valley, rose, cyclamen, orris root
Base: Sandalwood, musk, cedar, oakmoss

Anyway – I’m wondering what is the perfume you have worn the longest, and which you still wear? What is the perfume to which you keep returning, no matter how many other perfumed paths you have explored?

Does this long-standing choice suggest something fundamental and abiding about your taste? Note, for instance, that my early perfume collection contained no gourmands, and no orientals except Magie Noire which is part-chypre anyway. Note also that I skipped the marine/ozonic perfumes of the 90s altogether. Thank God. I’d rather squirt L’Eau d’Issey in my eye than wear it on skin.
Or, have you completely left behind all your early perfume explorations and discarded those early, embarrassing bottles?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Until next time, keep spritzing everyone!
AM

Introducing ALTAIA: Marina Sersale and Sebastián Alvarez Murena

October 22, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 5 Comments

Post by Catherine du Peloux Menage

Hello Gorgeous APJ Friends,

ALTAIA is the second perfume love child collection of Marina Sersale and Sebastián Alvarez Murena, whom I met at a beautiful dinner organized by Mecca, the brand’s distributors, to introduce ALTAIA to Australia.

Marina and Sebastián’s first joint creation is Eau d’ Italie, which began as a single scent to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Marina’s family’s hotel Le Sirenuse in Positano on the Amalfi Coast– listen to the story here

Bertrand Duchaufour composed the first much-more-than-a- simple citrus Eau d’ Italie in 2004, then went on to make moody, metallic and stone violet-leaf-iris Sienne L’Hiver, rich rose and incense woody oriental Paestum Rose and the intensely orange blossom grapefruit-green Jardin du Poète. Alberto Morillas, Daphné Bugey and Annick Ménardo created the rest of the range. The packaging and bottles in bright vibrant colours are guaranteed to cheer gloomy spirits before even smelling a single note. At AUS$169 or $200 depending on your choice, they are also on the affordable side.

Introducing ALTAIA

Marina and Sebastian’s second collection, ALTAIA, is spare, elegant and contemporary in presentation. The story behind the range is as captivating as the scents. ALTAIA or A Long Time Ago In Argentina was created after the two discovered that their families had been connected 140 years before they met and fell in love in Italy in 2001.Their great-great-grandfathers, an Englishman and an Argentinian had worked together in Argentina in the 1860s. Sebastián grew up in Buenos Aires and Marina in London and Italy before their fated meeting in Positano.

The three EDPs by Daphné Bugey which launch the collection bring together stories from the past and present.

Fragrantica

By Any Other Name is of course a rose, evoking memories of Marina’s mother’s first proposal of marriage aged 16, in the rose garden of Sudeley Castle in England. Gentle rose and osmanthus intertwine and weave in and out of each other in a soft, slightly fizzy blend. They are supported by the musks in the base and invisible (to me) cedarwood. This is no big bold punch-right-between-the-eyes rose but there is no girly pink lollywater effect. Pretty but with substance.

Fragrantica

Don’t Cry For Me revisits Sebastian’s memories of Buenos Aires. Again, it’s soft and airy, an almost dreamlike sweet jasmine, no indolic raunch here. Freesia, sweet cherry blossom (which I can’t pick) and jasmine ,blend with a touch of powder (heliotrope?) and a cloud of soft pink musk and gentle woody notes. Nostalgic and sophisticated.

Fragrantica

Yu Son is love in an Italian citrus grove. For starters, it’s choc-full of mandarin, bitter orange and greenness (is that the green tea in the note list?). On a humid summer when you’re looking for interesting cool, not cologne cool, this would be perfect. It’s got sweetness from orange blossom, a dry iris note gives it backbone and woods bring richness and persistence.

The range will be available at Mecca Cosmetica stores and Mecca online exclusively from 8 November $277 for 100 mls. Eau de parfum.

Which of the three will you try first?
CdPM

Perfume I’m Wearing: October 2016

October 21, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 22 Comments

Post by Portia

Hi All,

Fairly mixed week and these aren’t everything but they did get skin time and I love them. This week has been wholly and solely about our new puppies. They are so wonderful and we are already deeply in thrall to them. Here’s the moment when my beautiful boy Paris discovers the joys of chewing toys.

Perfume I’m Wearing: October 2016

Fragrantica

Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Nectarine, bergamot, rosewood, lavender
Heart: Apple martini, white daffodil, orchid
Base: White amber, cedar, woody notes, white musk

Lovely smells to me like a spicy-fruit jammy rose and cool jasmine bouquet-fragrance over the most enormous hit of fluffy, powdery, clean woody musks. There are no roses or jasmine in the notes list but even now that I’ve read the note list my nose is not getting the memo. Recently I smelled this on Anna-Maria’s husband Johnny and he smelled fabulous in it.

Fragrantica

CHANEL No 22

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Aldehydes, Lily-of-the-valley, Neroli
Heart: Jasmine, Rose, Ylang-ylang
Base: Vanilla, Vetiver

The big soapy, syrupy, fizz of CHANEL No 22 EdT that tramples the lily of the valley into plush and velvet submission. The sparkly, soft/sharp aldehydic scintillation which makes way for the hearts bouquet, still glittering but with a creamy and slightly fruity warmth. There is even a cool whisper of oily vetiver and incense through the heart that remains alongside the still extant aldehydes.

Fragrantica

Mitsouko by Guerlain

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, Lemon, Mandarin, Neroli, Jasmine, Rose
Heart: Peach, Rose, Clove, Ylang-Ylang, Lilac, Jasmine
Base: Oakmoss, Labdanum, Patchouli, Benzoin, Vetiver, Cinnamon

Normally this space would be reserved for Shalimar but lately I have bought a lovely old EdT of Mitsouko and it has been getting quite a bit of skin time alongside some of my vintage parfum. Its fruity floral goodness undercut by a thick and resinous oakmoss base, creating a brilliant depth for the rest to sparkle above.

Fragrantica

Mohur by Neela Vermeire Creations

Fragrantica, LuckyScent and Neela Vermeire Creations give these featured accords:
Top: Cardamom, coriander, ambrette (musk mallow), carrot seeds, black pepper, elemi oil
Heart: Turkish rose oil, Moroccan Rose Absolute (rose accords around 11%), jasmine, iris/orris, aubepin (midland hawthorn), almond milk accord, leather, violet
Base: Sandalwood, amber, patchouli, oudh Palao from Laos, benzoin, vanilla, tonka bean

Mohair is my rose. Done in a batter of herbs, spices, resins and woods it creates a fabulous cloak of scent around me and fits like a glove. It’s hard to feel anything but regal when floating on such luxury.

Fragrantica

Antaeus by CHANEL

Fragrantica lists the following accords:
Top: Lemon, lime, coriander, myrtle, clary sage, and bergamot
Heart: Thyme, basil, rose and jasmine
Base: Patchouli, castoreum, labdanum and oak moss

Citrus and herbs that open in what we’ve come to think of as men’s Woody Chypre style that dries down to a lovely leathery amber with a hefty dose of animal growling around. Mine is an older bottle but I think the modern is still very wearable.

What are you wearing this week?
Portia xx

NEW! Pierre Guillaume presents L’Atmosphere

October 20, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 3 Comments

Post by Portia

Woo Hoo!
Sexy man and grande perfumer Pierre Guillaume presents his newest idea. It’s about ambient scent and they look fantastic. Can’t wait to try them. I’ve copied and pasted the bits I thought were fabulously exciting from the Press Release.

The 240g Cruise Collection Scented Candles : ARUBA, AMSTERDAM, HIBISCUS, LEAF, SAÏGON and TAÏGA, propose to shade the room with a touch of exoticism, as visual as olfactive.

La Gachette (the trigger) 500ml, available with 4 fragrances : HIBISCUS, LEAF, SAÏGON and TAÏGA, set an olfactive ambience with just a gesture from the index.

Pierre Guillaume presents L’Atmosphere

Peety GIVEAWAY WINNER

October 20, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 3 Comments

Post by Portia

Woo Hoo,

Loads of excitement for this giveaway. Thanks Azar for your generosity.
Portia xx

Peety GIVEAWAY WINNER

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Jasmine, rose, tobacco leaf, moss
Heart: Mandarin orange, bitter orange, amber, cinnamon, pink pepper
Base: Patchouli, sandalwood, tonka bean

LuckyScent has $180/50ml + Samples

Azar xx

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x 2ml spray decant of Peety by O’Driu
1 x 5ml decant of vintage Eau de Rochas
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Wednesday 19th October 2016 10pm Australian EdsT
Winner was chosen by random.org

Lindaloo

The winners will have till Sunday 23rd October 2016 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

Salome by Liz Moores for Papillon Artisan Perfumes 2015

October 19, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 8 Comments

Post by Erica Golding

Warmest fragrant greetings to you all!

Tonight, I am luxuriating in an addictive perfume that I actually did not care for upon first impression. Have you ever given a scent a second chance, trying to unlock its mysteries and nuances? I am so thrilled that I didn’t give up on:

Salome by Papillon Artisan Perfumes 2015

Salome by Liz Moores

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bitter orange, bergamot
Heart: Turkish rose, orange blossom, tobacco, carnation, jasmine, hyrax
Base: Styrax, vanilla, hay, patchouli, oakmoss, cumin, birch, castoreum

Let’s just put it out there: Salome is a cumin-saturated, purring, sexually charged explosion! The cumin dominates with amplified intensity on my skin, accented by the animalic musks, creating a panting, sweaty body odor accord that’s definitely not safe for work on me. 😉

This growling feral opening delayed me from even skin testing my gorgeous giant decant, which was a gift from my goddess Barbara. I would unscrew the sprayer and sniff the tubing, considering swiping a drop for a skin test, and couldn’t even will myself that far! Where was the jasmine, or orange blossom, or bergamot? All I could sense was the cumin, but as an adventurous soul, I was surprised that I was wimping out.

So one evening, I just said, screw it. Let’s go! Onto my wrists she went. Admittedly, the first skin test confused me. The cumin and the furry animalics still roared, but underneath I could also sense a dazzlingly gorgeous perfume – a classic bouquet of tender blossoms, with oakmoss and the distinctive vintage tone of a bygone era.

I almost gave up after that first test. But then I couldn’t stop coming back to the decant just to sniff the sprayer. I started wearing it on occasion as an evening scent after my child went to bed. Slowly, my addiction to the entirety of this masterpiece began to blossom. It wasn’t long before my craving became an obsession. Now, I can’t get enough!

The cumin truly does ignite on my skin, and Salome is too daring and sexual for me to consider wearing it casually. However, I am deeply enamored with its dirty, prowling sensuality as a private indulgence. If you love Bogue Maai and Absolue Pour Le Soir, this is one step further – if you dare!

Further reading: Olfactoria’s Travels and Bonkers About Perfume
LuckyScent has $160/50ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $4/0.5ml

Have you ever become obsessed with a perfume that didn’t work for you at first?

Love, light, and scented hugs,
-Erica

With Guerlain’s Sylvaine Delacourte in Paris + Photo Essay

October 18, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 13 Comments

Post by Ainslie Walker

Hello Fragrance lovers – something very special for you today!

Sylvaine Delacourte’s story is of hard work and perseverance. Currently Guerlain’s Artistic Director of Fragrance, an inspiring pioneer, in an historically male dominated industry. She has instigated change and innovation within Guerlain’s traditional curtains.

I attended Atelier Il Était Une Fois prior to the meeting, smelling 25 original, discontinued Guerlain fragrances. A beginner when it came to Guerlain, my visit to Paris was certainly rectifying this. Basics covered and now who better to bring me up to speed than Sylvaine Delacourte!?

With Guerlain’s Sylvaine Delacourte in Paris

Australian visit announcement!

AW: From the beginning, tell me about your career?

SD: I was a makeup artist! Knowing nothing about perfume I joined Guerlain, became a trainer in makeup for France and internationally, then Product Manager.

AW: How did you progress into fragrance?

SD: I became curious. I worked for the most beautiful perfume brand in the world. There was no in-house training for perfume so I attended Cinquième Sens and it was a revolution! My teacher Monique Schlienger was inspiring. I fell in love with perfume. I started to buy books and bottles – my collection was enormous!

I asked, “If I can study perfume, after I will create training for Guerlain.” I was given 2 years, paid, to learn perfume.

I attended Isipca, Firmenich and many more! I spent one week with Jean Claude Ellena.

I kept my word and created perfume training for Guerlain. I was the first person to do sales training about perfume at that time.

AW: From trainer to perfumery?

SD: Jean Paul Guerlain invited me for lunch. Handing me 3 blotters, he said “I’m creating a fragrance” I replied, “I am a beginner, I know nothing!” He insisted, I made my choice and he said, “I feel exactly the same.” It was Heritage. He said “stop what you’re doing and come work with me.”
I became evaluator, technological coach and psychological coach. [Laughs]
We did many perfumes together; from after Samsara, to Champs Elysees – a turning point: I was quite alone in that project, working with Olivier Cresp from Firmenich, nobody knew -it was secret and it was chosen to launch!!

JPG was upset about Champs Elysees, “Sylvaine, go into marketing, it will be good for you.” He developed Coriolan and Mahora – good perfumes but commercial disasters.
Guerlain was not in good health, I was asked to come back, “we have to launch a perfume, it must be a success!”

I developed one with Maurice Roucel and won against JPG and other perfumers it was L’Instant de Guerlain I cosigned with Maurice. Next, I won Pour Homme and after I won a floral, Insolence.

Finally I was made Director of Creation.

AW: Your current role?

SD: I control all the tools and language about perfumes we transmit to beauty advisers, press and marketing. I know all the steps of the perfumer; I know what’s inside. I know how to talk about it, so I know perfectly the message we need to give.

AW: Bespoke Fragrances?

SD: Since 2006 I’ve made 35 bespoke fragrances. I have 6 to make now! I created a 2-hour consultation with psychoanalysis, olfactive tests – I make them anosmic, almost in an hypnotic state to find positive smells from their life.

AW: Working with Michael Edwards?

SD: He is very cute. He comes many times, yes, to see me – twice a year to talk new products and their pyramids. He asks, “Are you ok with this category,” first. He is very professional and serious, does not take risks. Very kind -a gentleman. He understands perfectly the fragrances.

AW: Two fragrances most special to you?

SD: They are all my babies, but 2 are very important:

L’Instant de Guerlain for Women as it was tough at that time. I cosigned with Maurice Roucel, I was in the spotlight and it meant a new life for me.

Cuir Beluga I made for myself, it is me! It is my perfume! Cuir Beluga is the most beautiful fragrance I have created. It is difficult to stay at that level. This will be by my gravestone!

AW: Working with Thierry Wasser?

SD: I worked with Thierry on 3 fragrances before he joined Guerlain, when he was still at Firmenich, Quand Vient La Pluie, Iris Ganache and Guerlain Homme.

La Petite Robe Noir, the original, was an exclusive. When Thierry joined Guerlain he said in an elegant way “I have kidnapped your formula to make it more international!” [Smiling]

AW: Difficulties as a woman?

Always fighting as a woman – I did not want to be in the spotlight but when you do something you are proud of, you want to be recognized. Now, everyone in the team is important.

AW: “Musk-inade,” working with musk -L’Instant Magic days!

I am very fond of musk! It is very comforting, elegant, refined, and warm. Some are difficult to catch. You must blend a bouquet musks for everyone to smell it. It’s not easy to work with musk, it hugs close to skin, and it’s hard to make it extraverted. Musk is tenacious but has no trail. We have to add trail to the musk.

AW: Raw materials you like / don’t like?

I love vanilla, mimosa, heliotrope, iris and violet. I love vetiver and patchouli. Vetervyl acetate, heliotropin and hedione.

I work on delicacy and subtlety. I like to work raw materials in contrasting ways e.g. Cruel Gardenia – I made Gardenia like lace, very delicate and subtle. I made vanilla fresh and green in Angelique Noire. Rose Barbare’s rose is not romantic or fresh but dark, musky, nutty.

I don’t like indole – too animalic for me!

Oud I find the hardest – I don’t like it. Thierry loves working with that kind of note. I am happy he takes care of this!

Sylvaine Delacourte Australian Visit:

Sylvaine visits Australia November 3rd – 5th, launching L’Art et la Matiere collection, David Jones, Sydney.

Sylvaine oozes such passion for the brand and fragrances; specifics roll off her tongue without hesitation. She will share her remarkable knowledge to attendees. In addition she will host workshops, where VIP’s will create their own floral fragrances.

– 3rd November 6:30pm / 5th November 4pm instore at DJ’s.
– Perfume Creation Workshop $65, 4th November 10am / 5th November 1pm

BOOK through Sydney Perfume Lovers Meetup Group online or David Jones.

Thankyou for reading! Hope to see you there!
Ainslie X

Peety by Angelo Pregoni for O`Driu 2013

October 17, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 52 Comments

Post by Azar

Hi there fellow Junkies!

In 20 13 I wrote a review of O’Driu Peety and a subsequent two-part interview with O’Driu’s controversial perfumer Angelo Pregoni. Several readers were put off, maybe even pissed off, at the suggestion of adding pee to perfume. At the time, adding bodily fluids to fragrance smacked of a middle school science project and seemed an ill conceived, sophomoric attempt at marketing. In retrospect I see that the reference to pee served its purpose, drawing attention to the House of O’Driu and to the talents of Pregoni – not an easy thing to do in an industry that has so many accomplished perfumers and where at least 1,600 new fragrances are introduced every year!

Peety by Angelo Pregoni for O`Driu 2013

Peety Revisited – The Truth be Told

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Jasmine, rose, tobacco leaf, moss
Heart: Mandarin orange, bitter orange, amber, cinnamon, pink pepper
Base: Patchouli, sandalwood, tonka bean

Three years on I am still enjoying Peety – without any adulterants. On me it is a gorgeously warm, animalic oriental, the perfect scent for autumn or for any time I want to feel good. I don’t care about Pregoni’s antics or what he believes in (and the same goes for Coco Chanel) – I just love the perfume and appreciate the talent that created it. And Unlike many of my other indie and niche fragrances, Peety never goes into storage. It is out for use all year long.

That being said, I am not focusing here on defending Peety or the talents of Pregoni, or ranting against attempts to marginalize someone or something because it doesn’t fit into a prescribed template. My reason for revisiting Peety is that I’ve come to realize to what extent other peoples’ opinions affect me. Sadly, up until today, I have been wearing Peety secretly – not admitting how much I adore this stuff and what I really think of Pregoni’s talent, for fear I too will be marginalized or sniffed at.

Flickr

I have always considered myself outspoken, but the Peety thing made me realize that I carry around plenty of irrational fears revolving around not being liked, “friended” or appreciated for who I really am…but how can anyone know who I really am (and what I really like) if I’m afraid to say what I think? It seems this kind of honesty often involves some risk – either to the sense of self or to the sensibilities of others.

LuckyScent has $180/50ml + Samples

Azar xx

Petty GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x 2ml spray decant of Peety by O’Driu
1 x 5ml decant of vintage Eau de Rochas
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 us if you ever find yourself intimidated by the knowledge of a perfume expert or the consensus of a crowd – so much so that you keep your ideas and opinions to yourself? Does the prospect of defending your favorite fragrance or navigating a gauntlet of criticism take the wind out of your sails or, like the Union Civil War naval officer David (James) G. Farragut, do you simply say “Damn the torpedoes…go ahead…full speed!”

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Wednesday 19th October 2016 10pm Australian EdsT and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Sunday 23rd October 2016 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

L’Attesa by Lucca Maffei for Masque Milano 2016

October 16, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 15 Comments

Post by Robert Herrmann

L’Attesa by Lucca Maffei for Masque Milano 2016

Hello beautifully fragrant friends,

I know I’ve talked about it before, that magic moment when you discover a scent that absolutely sweeps you off your feet. A scent that makes you just HAVE to sit down before you fall down in an orgasmic faint. In other words, swoon-worthy.

L’Attesa by Masque Milano 2016

L’Attesa by Lucca Maffei

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, neroli, champagne
Heart: Iris, orris root, tuberose, ylang-ylang
Base: Sandalwood, oakmoss, leather

Yup. That would be the effect that Masque Milano’s L’Attesa had/has on me.

Luca Turin in writing about this magnificent scent said last spring (and I paraphrase):
“…an excellent iris (I cannot think of a better one available today)….”

And boy-howdy it is SO iris, or rather IRIS (IN ALL CAPS) and it lasts on my skin a very long time. On and on, A veritable over-abundance of iris in the very best way possible. So. Iris? Check. Gorgeous? Check. Long lasting? Check. FBW??? Check.

Luca Maffei, the nose behind this fragrance is a niche-fragrance genius having authored such perfumes as Néa and Garuda for Jules Et Mad, the exquisite Rose De Taif edp AND extrait for Perris Monte Carlo, and Cologne Intense for Houbigant among many others.

PDI

L’Attesa (the wait) is exactly that. With three different types of iris, it’s simply anticipation amped up X 1000. Luxurious, smooth as hell, rich and deep. To me, it brings to mind the minutes before a clandestine midnight meet-up in a private hothouse, two glasses of champagne just poured and tested for taste, the fizzy bubbles tickling your nose with that glorious yeasty fermented odor.

The hothouse is full of blooming iris and white flowers, and orange trees, their scent mingling in the warm moist humid air with the perfume of hundreds of bouquets.

A sexual encounter is ensured in a setting like this, so you lay your well-worn leather jacket on the bark-chip pathway creating a place for love making, the leather scent mixing with the smell of just-tilled gardens, rooty, earthy, and fecund.

You hear some soft steps on the gravel path outside. The hothouse door opens. And there is your lover.

The night has just begun.

Flickr

Further reading: Colognoisseur and
LuckyScent has $165/35ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $7/0.5ml

Have you tried L’Attesa? What other iris fragrances do you love?
Robert Herrmann x