Mohur Extrait GIVEAWAY WINNER

April 8, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 1 Comment

Post by Portia

SHIT! Sorry APJ,

Sandra and I completely forgot about drawing this giveaway! You all are so great and got really involved.
Let’s find out who our lucky winner is.
Good Luck everyone!
Portia xxx

Mohur Extrait GIVEAWAY WINNER

Sandra

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Cardamom, coriander, ambrette (musk mallow), carrot seeds, pepper, elemi
Heart: Iris, jasmine, rose, violet, almond, leather
Base: Sandalwood, amber, woody notes, patchouli, agarwood (oud), benzoin, vanilla, tonka bean

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x sample pack of all of Neela’s creations including a tiny bit of the Extrait
P&H Worldwide

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Tuesday 5th April 2016 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winner will be chosen by random.org

HighestSelf

Helen Burrows

The winner will have till Monday 11th April 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.

Indian Wood 11.1 by Pierre Guillaume for Parfumerie Generale 2016

April 7, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 28 Comments

Post by Portia

Hi there APJ,

I meant to have this review out to you by last weekend but stuff got in the way. Sorry. As you know I’m madly in love with Pierre Guillaume so you’ll be getting a review coloured by my adoration.

Beaute-Test

I know, it’s rude how gorgeous he is. My experience of one afternoon was that in life he is sweet as pie, funny, charming and naughty. There is a brilliance to him that I found quite dazzling. he quickly put me at my ease and we talked for a while. Yes, besotted.

Indian Wood 11.1 by Parfumerie Generale 2016

Indian Wood 11.1 by Pierre Guillaume

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Sandalwood, vetiver, moss, spicy mint, nutmeg, cardamom, coconut milk, lemon zest

The Parfumerie Generale site gives an ingredient list: Alcohol, Parfum (Fragrance), Aqua (Water), Limonene, Linalool, Citronellol, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Citral, Coumarin, Benzyl Alcohol, Benzyl Benzoate, Cinnamyl Alcohol, Benzyl Salicylate, Geraniol.

Chai! I smell chai, in the pot being made by my last partners maid in Gurgaon, just outside New Delhi, India. Sweet, milky, spicy and warming but with a green facet that gives it a papery rasp and picks Indian Wood up. Interestingly I am finding it very hard to parse the notes, though I’m sure someone better at that particular trick could do it, and after a couple of wears I’m finding myself thinking of Indian Wood in the opening as chai and then Indian Wood. A smell unto itself.

Yes, as Pierre’s way is, this is a sweet fragrance. Not sugar sweet though. His sweetness comes from the sweetness of milky woods, piquant spices and the warm memories of cooking with Mum.

Through the heart Indian Wood dries out and becomes a solid, smooth, resinous and sheer cloak. I feel wrapped safely in a cocoon of softest wool that is spiderweb light yet warming and tough.

If you are already a fan of Pierre Guillaume’s work then you’ll love this new warmer and spicier extension on Harmatan Noir from 2006. If you don’t like his style then I can’t imagine Indian Wood winning you over, though I have been wrong before…..

First In Fragrance will have Indian Wood very soon

kbaird

Indian Wood GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x 2ml Indian Wood manufacturers sample
P&H Worldwide

HOW DO YOU WIN?

Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged. 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 (portia underscore turbo @ yahoo dot com dot au) so I know.

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please tell us if you like Pierre’s work? Is there a favourite already or are you awaiting the one?

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 10th April 2016 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winner will be chosen by random.org
The winner will have till Thursday 14th April 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.

Vanille d’Iris by Geza Schoen for Ormonde Jayne 2015

April 6, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 20 Comments

Post by Tara

Hey APJ!

I’ve come across from A Bottled Rose today to hang out at my mate Portia’s place and talk about a perfume I came to with great expectations…

Vanille d’Iris by Ormonde Jayne 2015

Vanille d’Iris by Geza Schoen

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Coriander seed, Sicilian bergamot, carrot seed, schinus molle (pink pepper)
Heart: Orris absolute, jasmine absolute, magnolia bud oil, osmanthus
Base: Vanilla extract, Tahitian vanilla bud, cedar wood, vetiver, amber, musk

From the moment I heard about its release last year, I couldn’t wait to try Vanille d’Iris. Ormonde Jayne’s fragrances are well done and wearable, while still having something interesting to say. I love iris and was interested to find out how it would be combined with vanilla.

Luckily I didn’t have to pay to get hold of some. My great pal Val the Cookie Queen sent me an unwanted sample, being far from enamoured with it herself. I had only read positive reviews therefore I was now beyond intrigued.

There’s nothing to dislike about the immediate opening combo of pink pepper and bergamot. Once it settles down, I become more puzzled than anything else. I get a watery thin vanilla and some papery iris before the overall impression quickly turns into one of a Stargazer lily. How strange.

Flickr

I don’t find it a scrubber but I don’t find it enjoyable either. Mind you, I’m not normally a lily fan and I don’t like the indoles thrown out by Stargazers. I thought maybe I was imagining things: How could an OJ be anything other than squeaky clean?

A little while later, I felt validated when I saw Portia’s typically perceptive review on Perfume Posse mentioned a “poopy undercurrent”. Ha! Not just me then.

I must say Vanille d’Iris is most definitely NOT a skanky scent but if you do register that facet and it’s not to your taste, it’s hard to disregard.

The vanilla is not the cupcake, sugary variety but it’s also missing the comfort factor. The iris isn’t powdery or doughy but rather carrot-y. Looking at the note list, I wonder if it’s actually the carrot seed that’s throwing it for me because I’m normally a fan of iris accords.

l was disappointed because I really like the Ormonde Jayne line as a whole and had high hopes for this one. I own and love both Ormonde Woman and Champaca but for some reason Vanille d’Iris sadly just hits an off-note (literally) with me.

Geograph

It should be pointed out that other reviewers love it so don’t be put off if you’re yet to try it. Portia found the subtle indolic backnote to be earthy in a good, if unexpected way and sums up the perfume as “classic and classy”.

Further reading: Perfume Posse and I Scent You A Day
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $4/.5ml

If you’ve tried Vanille d’Iris I’d love to hear about your own experience in the comments.

Tara xxx

(Ed: Go read A Bottled Rose)

A ‘Mix Tape’ from Luca Turin!

April 5, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 23 Comments

Post by Ainslie Walker

Hello Gorgeous APJ-ers!

It’s been an eventful month in my little world and thus I have plenty of potential fragrant stories wafting around inside my head. I’ve begun a few, though I realized they were all paving a path to LUCA TURIN! Scent critic and olfactive/olfactory know-it(-almost)-all! The more I learn of this man and his work the more I am in awe. I mean lets start with his office: I hear next to his desk is a shiny GCMS machine that one could only dream of having!! He often references in his articles, running this and that through to compare and check on chemical compositions, changes between vintages etc. (sigh)

Amazon

Recently I posted about Luca Turin’s book ‘FOLIO Columns 2003-2014’ The next day I got a thank you message from a “Luca Turin.” Of course immediately I thought it was someone merely posing as him! After a few cryptic messages that he answered correctly I realized it was THE REAL HIM!!

Jeepers. My mind went into overdrive plucking up courage to perhaps ask for a little interview…one with a twist. Something interesting for someone I imagined easily bored by inane questions.

A ‘Mix Tape’ from Luca Turin!

As our correspondence continued and I trawled slowly through his book I observed his passion for fragrance is parallel to a love of classical music. Being more of an…I guess predominantly… “rock chick’ I have a limited understanding of classical music, save for dusty old Bach numbers in the back of my head from school aged piano and clarinet lessons and Pachelbel’s Canon (which you can’t avoid if you’ve ever worked in the Spa industry). So the idea came to me to ask the great Luca Turin for A MIX TAPE!! My idea was for him to make me a list of his favorite tunes and then match fragrances to them and email them through. Simple!

Luca wrote back with a link to a similar style broadcast he did for Radio BBC 3’s Saturday Classics:

Listen here

As it all goes by very quickly, here is the list of both music and fragrances for you to read along too:

Luca Turin’s Fragrance and Music Matches

• Diorama (Edmond Roudnitska for Dior 1949): Mouret’s Rondeau
• Cristalle (Henri Robert for Chanel 1974): Martinu’s Concerto for flute, violin and chamber orchestra Mvt 1
• Apres L’Ondee (Jacques Guerlain 1906): Debussy’s Images ‘Reflet dans l’eau’ and ‘Et la lune descend sur le temple qui fut’
• Emeraude (Francois Coty 1921): Brahms String Sextet no. 1 in B flat major Op.18 Mvt 1
• Habanita (Molinard 1921): Enrique Santos Discépolo Esta Noche Me Emborracho
• Shaïna (Atelier Delteil release date unknown): Howard Skempton’s Lento
• Nombre Noir (Jean-Yves Leroy for Shiseido 1982): Scriabin’s Prelude in B-flat Major
• Chamade (Paul Guerlain 1969): Barber’s Violin Concerto Opus 14
• Vivre (Molyneux 1971): Vishal-Shekhar’s ‘Zehnaseeb’ from the Bollywood musical Hasee Toh Phasee
• New York (Patricia de Nicolai 1989): Ralph Towner’s Blue Sun
• Vetiver (Jean-Paul Guerlain 1961): Shostakovich’s String Quartet no. 10 in A flat major Op.118 – 1st mvt
• Chinatown (Aurelien Guichard for Bond No 9 2005): Egberto Gismonti’s Lôro
• Tanismal (Luca’s own creation – flexitral molecule 2008): Brahms Piano Concerto no. 2 in B flat major Op.83 – 4th mvt

HOW FREAKING FABULOUS IS THAT?!!

Book Depository

You can check also out Luca Turin’s new blog Perfumes I Love

Let me know your thoughts? Did you enjoy? Agree? Have you any songs and fragrances that seem to be a perfect match?

XX Until next time! Ainslie XX

Elizabeth Taylor Black Pearls 1996

April 4, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 31 Comments

Post by Azar

Hi there, Perfume Pals!

It’s time for spring -cleaning! Well…I’ve actually been at it for over a month now! While rummaging around in the chaos of the perfume storage I discovered mass quantities of back-ups bottles https://australianperfumejunkies.com/2016/02/15/back-up-bottles/. This stash includes a surfeit of vintage Elizabeth Taylor Black Pearls, in various concentrations, totaling approximately 400 ml. At one point I must have been grooving on Black Pearls, but for some reason I forgot all about it. 2016, the 20th anniversary of the Black Pearls fragrance, seems to be a good year to resurrect this old beauty and re-discover –

Elizabeth Taylor Black Pearls 1996

The Power of the Peach (Part I)

Fragrantica

When I sat down to write this post I wasn’t surprised that the name of the individual perfumer or team responsible for creating Black Pearls has vanished in the mists of time. I did learn that the fragrance was concocted and distributed by the Elizabeth Arden division of Parfums International, the same company that put together Elizabeth Taylor’s White Diamonds, the fragrance that is, arguably, the best selling celebuscent in the world.

The creation of the Black Pearl fragrance, like most ventures associated with Elizabeth Taylor, has a romantic back-story featuring gifts of precious gems. Elizabeth Taylor was a client of Salvador Assael, the flamboyant New York pearl trader and marketing genius who single handedly transformed what were once considered “junk” pearls grown in the black lipped oyster into precious Tahitian cultured pearls, creating new multimillion dollar pearl farming businesses in the process. It is rumored that Assael was infatuated with Elizabeth Taylor and courted her with a perfect pair of very large Tahitian pearl earrings. It is also said that he claimed to have inspired the creation of the Black Pearl fragrance. In addition to Elizabeth Taylor, Assael’s client list included many other celebrities, politicos, industrialists, their wives and mistresses, including Margaret Thatcher, Ronald and Nancy Reagan, Rosalynn Carter and Evelyn Lauder. Several of the women were also recipients of precious black pearl earrings.

NYTimes (If there’s a problem using this photo please get in touch)

Elizabeth Taylor’s Black Pearls perfume seems to have been designed to appeal to a consumer who wanted to associate herself with the 1990s NY celebrity scene and the glamorous excesses of Assael’s clients. I have to admit that it is hard for me to understand how spritzing a cheap fragrance created by a big mass-market firm could create the illusion of exclusivity, wealth and glamour. It may very well be that the power of the press, featuring print ads of the beautiful Elizabeth Taylor and the power of the fragrance itself, rife with luscious peach, amber, lotus and vanilla contributed to a public image of sexy, sensual entitlement.

I’m running out of room here and will have to reserve my actual review and a give-away of the vintage version of Elizabeth Taylor’s Black Pearls perfume for my next post. I do have a couple of questions this week. Can a fragrance make you feel like a celebrity? Do you ever wear a perfume that is over the top sensual or one that gives you a sense of entitlement and privilege?

Azar xx

Cologne Nocturne GIVEAWAY WINNERS

April 4, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Post by Portia

Hey APJ,

We have 4 winners today. I hope you guys love the Cologne Nocturne, I think it’s gorgeous.

Portia xx

Cologne Nocturne GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, lemon, palisander rosewood
Heart: Clary sage, rosemary, thyme, lavender, spicy notes
Base: Cedar, patchouli, woody notes

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 4 winners who will receive:
1 x decant of Cologne Nocturne by Le Galion
P&H Worldwide

HOW DO YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please tell us what is your favourite Cologne?

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 3rd April 2016 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org

markmontanoblogs

TIM

SUN MI

NEVA

DAMIR

CONGRATULATIONS!! The winners will have till Thursday 7th April 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.

Mohur Extrait by Bertrand Duchaufour for Neela Vermeire Creations 2014

April 3, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 82 Comments

Post by Sandra

When Val, the Cookie Queen, comes to Vienna I know that we will have a great day chatting, laughing, walking and perhaps sniffing some perfumes together. New Year’s Eve 2014 she came into town to have brunch together with Birgit from Olfactoria’s Travels and Lady Jane Grey. This day was a celebration.

Sandra

Val and I first met at Starbucks with our men in tow and she pulls out a cosmetic bag and whispers “Hey, Sandra, try this new perfume from Neela Vermeire – Mohur Extrait.“ Knowing how precious the extrait could be I was still hesitant and wrinkled up my nose carefully smelling the lid. Ha! As if I could get an idea of what was to come! Gingerly I spritzed the tiniest bit on my wrist, had a good sniff, promptly forgot about it and we were off chatting and laughing.

Mohur Extrait by Neela Vermeire Creations 2014

Mohur Extrait by Bertrand Duchaufour

Fragrantica

Little did I know the burning ache that Mohur Extrait would light in my soul. After I came home I discovered the true beauty of this elixir and spent the next 6 hours with my nose glued to my wrist and dreaming.

On to the perfume… Let me begin by saying that I absolutely adore Neela’s bottles. The box arrived and as I unwrapped the paper and removed the bottle from the box my breath was taken away with the beautiful amethyst colour of the glass. The feel of the bottle in my hand is a perfect fit. The lid is solid, heavy and embossed with her logo.

Sandra

The first spray of Mohur Extrait opens with a smooth spicy rose accord. The spices are not, to my nose, distinguishable from each other. They mold the rose so that it quietly whispers come hither to me. The almond milk is swirled together with the roses and spices and makes the whole impression comforting, warming and welcoming. This is not a rose soliflore perfume. Don’t be afraid of the list of notes nor of the spices, the extrait is extremely well balanced and just stunning. Longevity is excellent but on me it sits close to the skin. It brings to mind the deep red roses or the velvet smooth texture of the scarlet amarylis that I had in the flat on New Year’s Eve 2014. The lights twinkling in the background resemble the sparkling elegance of the Extrait.

Sandra

The drydown is where my love affair began and continues with Mohur Extrait. Sandalwood is interwoven with the rose to create a most scrumptious combination of creamy, slightly sweet woody rose which beckons every fibre of my soul to let go of all of the stress and worries in life. There is a tinge of vanilla but it is not sweet at all, in fact it is a dry vanilla if that makes any sense at all. The star of the Extrait for me is where the sandalwood sings its loving ballad to the roses and releases me to a dreamy state.

lavanyasrecipes

Mohur Extrait GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x sample pack of all of Neela’s creations including a tiny bit of the Extrait
P&H Worldwide

HOW DO YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please tell us if you have tried any of the NVC perfumes and which one is your favourite. If you have not tried any please tell me which one most appeals to you.

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Tuesday 5th April 2016 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winner will be chosen by random.org
The winner will have till Friday 8th April 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.

Amouage Gold pour Homme by Guy Robert for Amouage 1998

April 2, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 16 Comments

Post by Portia

Heya Bargain Hunters,

Recently there was a very excited thrill through the frag community. One of the biggest discounters, FragranceNet, was having an end of year clearance on eBay. I think they were getting rid of the years returns and calling them 95% full. The postage was a bit of a bummer to Australia but still the deals were so good it was hard to pass up. (I sent mine to a mate in the USA who sent it on at a fraction of the cost) So, what did I buy? Extra Niki de Saint Phalle 60ml splash in a beautiful bottle, a 100ml Parfum de Peau by Montana that still has enormous amounts of outrageously naughty bits and for a steal a lidless 100ml of …

Amouage Gold pour Homme by Amouage 1998

Amouage Gold pour Homme by Guy Robert

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top Dog rose, Lily-of-the-valley, Frankincense
Heart: Orris root, Jasmine, Myrrh
Base: Amber, Oakmoss, Musk, Patchouli, Sandalwood, Cedar, Civet

Disclaimer! I wore this the night it arrived and I may have overspritzed. Jin got in the car and within a minute was asking what fragrance I was wearing because it’s disgusting and so big and reminds him of the smell they spray in old peoples homes to get rid of the old people smell. His head was pounding so badly from it that he had to take headache tablets and open his window to full. Poor boy.

I on the other hand am swept away by Amouage Gold Man.

YouTube

On opening I get a fabulous blast of incense, the rose and lily of the valley play backing roles and were they not mentioned in the notes list I’d be hard pressed to pick them. What I smell is an animalic frankincense that is like a 1000 x blast of the little pebbles you can buy in the Middle East markets. Patchouli and woods are present after a few minutes and white flowers but not specifically jasmine, my nose also picks some daffodil/narcissus. There is something CHANEL No 5-ish about Amouage Gold Man that I like very much.

Then the whole fragrance turns beautifully soapy on me, expensive, waxy soap like in the 20th century. I’m not sure what the notes are now, the scent has become Amouage Gold Man for me now. A conglomerate scent that is sexy and big but not overbearing (Jin would beg to differ). I find it a very comfortable scent to wear. Intricate, harmonious and nuanced; like lying on a silk, hand knotted rug from Kashmir and still being able to smell the market you bought it in and remembering the people who are fun to bargain with and smile so happily.

Wikipedia

Next morning I still have traces of Amouage Gold Man lingering, buzzing over my skin. Soft woods and resins of no name that have now melded with my own scent; me but not me. Better by far….

Further reading: Non Blonde and Candy Perfume Boy
Libertine Parfumerie has $415/100ml and FREE Australian Delivery
Peony Melbourne has $415/100ml and FREE Australian Delivery
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $4/0.5ml

What is your Amouage?
Portia x

Cologne Nocturne by Le Galion 2016

April 1, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 30 Comments

Post by Portia

I wrote this while on holidays and then totally forgot about it!

Heya APJ,

So we have been on holidays for a couple of weeks now but I’m getting my first chance to write to you all about my favourite scent from an amazing day spent with the men from Le Galion at the Tranoi event in Paris. They have so much new stuff on the way for you all and I know it’s going to knock your socks off. New releases and a new brand, we were treated to previews and so much information that most of it has filtered from my brain. Sorry about that.

Further down check out how you can be the first to smell Le Galion’s newest release.

Right now I’m at a Slovakian Hot Springs but am too shy to get undressed and go in.

Jin is loving the hot spring in the freezing cold of winter

Our niece & nephew were having the time of their lives. So happy to get to hang out with us and their parents. Jin’s brother took his first day off this year to be able to take us on an adventure.

The lower half of my body is covered in psoriasis and it makes me feel very self conscious so while everyone else is going batshit crazy in the acres of pools and waterslides I am happily ensconced at a table and rugged up to chat to you.

Cologne Nocturne by Le Galion 2016

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, lemon, palisander rosewood
Heart: Clary sage, rosemary, thyme, lavender, spicy notes
Base: Cedar, patchouli, woody notes

(Ed: Added the notes after. I was surprised that my guesses wasn’t ridiculously wrong. YAY ME!)
So I am flying blind without a note list because the product is yet to hit Fragrantica and I have completely forgotten the conversation with Nicolas and Enno. What you will be getting is a Portia Nose View of Cologne Nocturne. When it’s released we can all have a bit of a laugh at how poorly I did. No problem, I’m tough.

We open citrus sweet and herbal. I’m guessing the usual suspects of bergamot and mandarin, but it could be pomelo because the sweetness is softer, I get very little pith or creaminess. The herbaceous vibe could be coriander, basil, tarragon or green hay. Lavender swirls around and through. A very traditional opening, attractive and clean.

Milkiness enters, I can’t decide if I’m getting a creamy sandalwood/amber, almonds or am I smelling a milky byproduct of fig. What I can tell you is that the fragrance warms through slightly and maintains its sweetness, the sweetness of fruits not sugar. Maybe it’s vanilla I smell? Naah, probably not that kind of sweet. Woods play a part but I’m struggling here.

Let’s chat about how Cologne Nocturne makes me feel, where it takes me on a journey too, who I can imagine wearing it. Cologne Nocturne smells super expensive and luxe, more depth and warmth than I expect from cologne, more fragrant twists and a sweet heart that could very easily become fabulously killer in the cool of winter cologne, or the dark of night. You want to smell nonchalant but magnificent. This is the fragrance that doesn’t try too hard, smells like you are comfortable in your skin and don’t need to be making bold statements or to challenge your sense of smell.

I could imagine snuggling into the scent on a partner or loved one and also imagine wearing it as a seduction tool.

The men of Le Galion, here I am with Enno Ebels and Nicolas Chabot. Handsome men who make yummy frags.

Not sure when it will be released as yet but it will be available at LuckyScent and First In Fragrance.

Have you spent any time with Le Galion? Maybe you remember the brand from before its resurrection?
Portia x

Kesha&Co

Cologne Nocturne GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 4 winners who will receive:
1 x decant of Cologne Nocturne by Le Galion
P&H Worldwide

HOW DO YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please tell us what is your favourite Cologne?

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 3rd April 2016 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winner will be chosen by random.org
The winner will have till Thursday 7th April 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.

Poivre Samarcande by Jean-Claude Ellena for Hermes 2004

March 31, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 22 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey there Hermès fans,

I know there are a bunch of you out there. There’s something ultra lux, a feeling of family and extra care, about Hermès that none of the other multinationals have retained. That’s my personal take on them anyway, the company is probably as money hungry and paracious as the rest but with better marketing, who of us will ever really know?

Poivre Samarcande by Hermès 2004

Poivre Samarcande by Jean-Claude Ellena

Hermès Australia

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Virginia cedar, patchouli, paprika, oakmoss, caraway, green notes, oak, pepper

Released as part of the original Hermessence range in 2004. I tried it around then but was overwhelmed by the incredibly over the top grandeur of Ambre Narguile and for the longest time felt no need to even bother with the others. It’s funny, both reviews that I have linked below write of similar experiences but with different of the five first scents. Clearly JCE had his bases covered, but then if we bypassed Poivre Samarcande then did the rest of the world too? Now 12 years on and we still find Poivre Samarcande in the Hermessence range and both Birgit and Clayton have come around to its charms.

London Crew 2014

Three years ago while in London with Michael, Val, Tara and the London crew our last stop of the evening was Selfridge & Co. We were all dog tired and emotionally exhausted from a super fun day shopping, eating, sniffing, laughing and generally being mayhem. Tara and I scooted off to Hermès to try the newest in the range at that time Epice Marine and were given some samples, including Poivre Samarcande. The samples were drained and I bought Poivre Samarcande in a Travel Set, yet I’ve never written of my love for this quietly elegant stunner, so here goes……

WikiMedia

How does Poivre Samarcande smell and make me feel?

Well, it opens wet and spicy, An unusual green that is cut through with fresh cracked black pepper and the taste of cutting into a capsicum (bell pepper). Then the green turns a different shade and I’m smelling a cross between electric sawing green wood and the sting of a pickled caper. None of these describe the scent accurately but Poivre Samarcande is hard to pin down. It has the sheer, wet, metallic, oily signature of Jean Claude Ellena yet the nuance is so subverted from the note list that I can only give my impressions.

How does it make me feel? Well, I enjoy smelling like this. Actually, it’s more than that I LOVE smelling of a JCE creation. They are clever and classy, never over the top but weird enough that I enjoy the fun of the fragrance, the mad whimsy that seems so buttoned up until you lavishly overspritz and suddenly they fragrance becomes a thick, ropey, cage of scent. You can see through it but you are captured, overwhelmed and must live the scent story alone.

Flickr

Further reading: What Men Should Smell Like and Olfactoria’s Travels
Available at Hermès stores, online and some large department stores
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $4/0.5ml

Which of the Hermès line do you love?
Portia xx