Nocturne by Ainslie Walker 2016

July 19, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 13 Comments

Post by Ainslie Walker

Hi APJ,

A couple of weeks ago we talked Nocturne: my ambient fragrance designed for the Alexi Freeman fashion show at MONA on Tasmania. Today in want to let a few of you try it for free.

See below,

Ainslie Walker

Nocturne. Ainslie Walker for Alexi Freeman

APJ READERS OFFER: contact Ainslie Walker to order sampler in card, including postage for $20

Nocturne limited edition candle from Ainslie Walker or Alexi Freeman’s Studio in Fitzroy, Melbourne.

Limited edition Nocturne parfum via emailing ainslie@ainsliewalker.com

Nocturne GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 3 winners who will receive:
1 x Carded Manufacturers Sample of Nocturne
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 leave a comment on why you’d like to try Nocturne, follow the Ainslie Walker page on Instagram and/or like my Ainslie Walker page on FaceBook

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 21st July 2016 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Sunday 24th July 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.

Nocturne. Ainslie Walker for Alexi Freeman

July 5, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 22 Comments

Post by Ainslie Walker

Hello my favourite fragrant folk!

Earlier this year I developed a fragrance to accompany the scenic launch of Australian fashion designer, Alexi Freeman’s latest collection. The scent was released ambiently during the catwalk showing of White Noise trans-seasonal 2016 on the clifftops at MONA Museum, Hobart – possibly the most southern and most scenic catwalk in fashion history!

“As daylight shifts to the still of night, silhouettes move upon a cliff face. Ultra violet light reflects from pale, voluminous and translucent threads. Nearby vineyard fruits sweeten the air. Vapor escapes from shimmering bitumen. White leather treads, pulsing the earths surface. Light amber woods waft upwards carrying the salted air if the river towards us. Soon darkness reigns, broken only by the glimmer of the star filled sky”

MONA is one of the worlds most iconic Art Museums. I am honored to have been the first ‘fragrance artist’ to scent the iconic outdoor space. Here’s hoping there will be more scent events at MONA in the future! Over a few glasses of the local Pinot Noir I talked to owner, art collector David Walsh, discussing ‘scent as art.’ David finds wearing perfume “misleading.” He likes to smell the “natural scent of a person,” deeming it sexy, rather than “a false mask that wears off and is no longer there in the morning.” We discussed basic instincts and attraction in humans and the potential to find a lover attractive due to their natural odor and how wearing fragrance can potentially mess with proceedings and attract the wrong person! (The concept of odiferous ‘beer goggles?!’)

The event was curated by Brian Ritchie, ex-bassist for The Violent Femmes. Each day as he passed by me he opened his collar for a few squirts of Nocturne and a giggle. He loved it and even read it’s description out for the whole crowd!! (My teenage-90s-grunge inner child SQUEALED all the while, believe me!)

Morag from Aussie Fragrance Network Facebook Group came along to the show with her daughter and here she describes the evening:

“We walked uphill from the bitumen car park past lawns and sculptures. Looking out over the river we watched the mix of fashionistas and conventionally styled audience members drift in. We took our seats on heated benches beneath the ** installation, to wait for the fashion show to begin.
**not-allowed-to-mention-the-artist’s-name-due-to-marketing-restrictions

We basked in the change from daylight to night, watching the silhouette of gum trees against a darkening sky. The sculpture’s coloured lights shifted through the rainbow, whilst seamlessly melding with the sky.

All the while, the air was filled with colour, Ainslie Walker’s Nocturne. Rich, luscious fruits and florals – deeply velvet. Byron Meyer produced accompanying soundscapes which in turn carried ethereal gowns, white on white, floating and gliding past us: Alexi Freeman’s White Noise collection. Shorts and tank tops, beautiful gauzy dresses over bodysuits threaded with silver and textural contrasts of leather and perspex glowed under UV, surrounded by the darkness of night.

A feast for all the senses. A subtle fusing and truly experiential. A sensory experience full of provocation.

Wearing Ainslie’s Nocturne, I am transported to that evening and beyond. Because what I smelt that night was just the beginning. On the skin, the scent is much much more. After the voluptuous ripeness dissipates, there is a calm quiet center of gentle leather and musk. The easing into the night after a spectacular sunset.”

Nocturne. Ainslie Walker for Alexi Freeman

APJ READERS OFFER: contact Ainslie Walker to order sampler in card, including postage for $20

Nocturne limited edition candle from Ainslie Walker or Alexi Freeman’s Studio in Fitzroy, Melbourne.

Limited edition Nocturne parfum via emailing ainslie@ainsliewalker.com

PS big thanks to Morag for her support and story xx

Please tell me about a scent installation you’ve attended?

Xx Ainslie

All Photos donated by Ainslie Walker

Queen Of The Night by Bertrand Duchaufour for Grandiflora 2016

June 7, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

Post by Ainslie Walker

Hello gorgeous APJ people! I have some local Sydney fragrant goings ons to share with you today:

You have to be very swift if you wish to chat to Sydney based, floral artist, Saskia Havekes about any particular project, as the minute she completes one she dives head first into the next. I find her humble, inspirational and extremely driven. Beautiful in both looks and personality, I always enjoy and feel privileged for the times I’ve popped into her “flower cave,” Grandiflora in Potts Point for a catchup.

Queen Of The Night by Grandiflora 2016

Queen Of The Night by Bertrand Duchaufour

Saskia Havekes of Grandiflora – A Head Spinning Catch Up and a new fragrance!!

Later this month Saskia will travel to France where she will release Grandiflora’s fourth fragrance – Queen Of The Night by perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour. BERTRAND DUCHAUFOUR!! My mind boggled at how she came about working with one of my (and many of your) favourite perfumers: “ I made contact with Bertrand on a bended knee after I was formally introduced to him by by a dear mutual friend in Cabris. He had heard of our work and of course I always loved his Calamus he created for Comme des Garcons…..An all time favorite of mine” said Saskia.

The transient Queen of the Night flowers open for only 1 hour at night and are rumoured to be a very strong aphrodisiacs, hypnotic, “stirring up the loins.”(Oh my!!) After it flowers, it is spent, thus it is a real privilege to experience it – both the scent and visually. Late night parties do occur to observe the flowers bloom – attending one is now firmly on my bucket list!

Saskia is behind the enlightening floral artistry within the pages of Michael Edwards – Fragrances Of The World, 2016 guidebook, releasing this month. Her partner, Gary Heery is a renowned photographer and together they truly have made magic happen, ensuring every composition is emotive and captivates. The pictures tell the story of each fragrance-family group. Saskia uses her materials – flowers, woods, greenery, spices, honey and more, just like a painter, focused on colours and textures. Materials are overlapped, teased and made prominent. Increased attention to space and light around the materials was given, compared to the dense nature of the beautiful work she did for Fragrances Of The World 2013 guidebook.

Last month I was lucky to work with Saskia and her team as part of Australian fashion label, Aje’s Sydney Fashion Week show at Carriageworks, Sydney. It was my job to fill the huge space with Magnolia Grandiflora Sandrine fragrance, creating an unexpected and much talked about scented ambience for the runway – a first for Sydney fashion week!

In April, Grandiflora released their first candles, Madagascan Jasmine and Queen Of The Night, collaborating with France’s oldest candlemakers, Cire Truden. Both are encased in gold dipped, Italian porcelain vessels and housed in beautiful Magnolia Grandiflora packaging and available from the Grandiflora store and online.

Busy, right?! What an incredible woman and just so great for us she is Sydney based. I’ll be back soon with some more on the Queen of the Night launch in France later this month and hopefully a giveaway or two! In the meantime I think we should all be rushing to find some of these incredible plants so we can all experience the magic of the Queen of the Night in bloom! Have any of you experienced this phenomenon?

Until next time,
Ainslie XX

Eau Des Sens by Olivier Pescheux for Diptyque 2016

May 17, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

Post by Ainslie Walker

A Scent to make you Sparkle and Shine – even in winter!

The most sparkling, fresh and vibrating fragrance I have come across recently is Diptyque’s 2016 release, Eau Des Sens. (Water of Senses). The opening notes are so crystal clear, sparkling away, uplifting, amplified yet remaining true to nature. I was knocked sideways as I compared its effervescent and natural nuances to that of Jean Claude Ellena’s work for Hermes and Frederic Malle. Perfumer Olivier Pescheux has really nailed a similar effervescence, yet added even more glistening sparkle to the citrus genre.

Eau Des Sens by Diptyque 2016

Eau Des Sens by Olivier Pescheux

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Orange blossom, bitter orange
Heart: Juniper berries
Base: Patchouli, angelica

Inspired by and encompassing all parts of the whole of a flowering bitter orange tree, Eau des Sens hummmmmmms. In the best possible way.

Overdoses of orange blossom absolute, petitgrain and bitter orange make me feel like I am buzzing. Or even that I should have a cloud of bees surrounding me. I see orange, maybe some green and feel instantly healthier and brighter on first sniff. (Fragrant Berocca anyone?!) I can almost feel the warmth of sun on my skin and I feel transported to the South of Spain/France during the height of Summer. It is officially late autumn here in Australia, however and still this fragrance works. Spice and wood notes of angelica, patchouli and juniper bring with them an edge of coziness, a touch of softer, powdered late afternoon sunshine and ensuring the sunny fragrance is not to glaring.

A beautiful floral presence weaves throughout the fragrance; a clean soapiness enters midway, with musk and amber adding undertones of more sensuality than I first anticipated during the opening. I’m reminded of skin after a day in the sun, freshly washed and moisturized.

The spirit of the scent does seem to replicate, even amplify nature and there is a feeling of lively health and happiness each time I smell it – perhaps green ginger contributes to this.

Diptyque aim to touch our emotions with each of their scents, evoking olfactory moments and memories of travel. In this case an extraordinary tree – the whole tree – fruit, leaves, wood, peel and blossoms. Fresh, zesty and sparkling with an underlying caress which is sensual and soft. Perhaps the senses evoked the most are happiness and humor,

Packaging features drawings of all parts of the bitter orange tree on the front label and on the back, a spiral design perhaps indicating vibration or movement? Promotional material features and a silvery black moving optical illusion. Something I had not experienced before was, appearing suddenly on the scent blotter card, once sprayed, is the three cheeky monkeys hear no evil, see no evil and speak no evil. Over the dry down they again disappear and the paper becomes white…until you top up again! HOURS of entertainment inspired by the three founders of Diptyque – who originally met as art students in the 1960’s.

Available in 50ml, 100ml, a soap. The closest candle to this fragrance is Choisya. If you want to pair a lotion under for longevity I would suggest Diptyque’s Fresh lotion.
In Australia Diptyque is available exclusively from Mecca. (not on the site yet)
LuckyScent has $125/100ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $3.75/ml

What’s your favorite uplifting fragrance to put a spring in your step? Have you stumbled upon a new release recently, which has captured your attention?

Thanks for stopping by,
Ainslie X

My Motherland by Dzintars 1981: from Latvia with love

May 3, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 9 Comments

Post by Ainslie Walker

Hello lovelies!

The first time I pondered smells of Latvia, I was in my kitchen in Sydney circa 1995 toasting a slice of “Latvian Sweet and Sour Bread.” The smell was divine – spicy, slightly sweet and tart. The bread was a dark rye/sourdough containing aromatic seeds. On further investigation I established the seeds were caraway, a new and delicious flavor to me. The bread, with new and improved politically correct name, is still available from Coles supermarkets in Australia. Particularly delicious toasted with butter- spread thick and vegemite- spread sparsely.

Was it just an odd Australian-ism naming this bread Latvian or was it traditional to the country? Thanks recently to Google (which was not really around back then) and some further international travels, I learnt caraway is used in a lot of Latvian cooking, including in their traditional cheese. I still always ask about the bread to any Latvians I come across and it usually starts an interesting conversation…or a really odd stare!!

Recently my wonderful Latvian friend was speaking to her mother about Latvian scents when her mum wandered off, coming back with a small collection of old bottles and boxes she called me straight away. The bottles were treasures she had collected and brought over from Latvia when immigrating and also gifts she had received from travelling friends and relatives over the years. In the package was plenty of vintage bottles of Joy by Jean Patou, but the one that caught my attention the most was something I had never seen before. They requested I do some research for them, so here goes:

My Motherland by Dzintars

From Latvia with love

From the site (Thank you Undina)
Top: Lily-of-the-valley, geranium, bergamot
Heart: Rose, jasmine, neroli, iris, hyacinth, ylang-ylang
Base: Musk, amber, black pepper, cinnamon

Dzintars by Dzintars – a product house based in Riga dating back to 1849. With 188 fragrances in their back catalogue, they are deemed the largest manufacturer of cosmetics and perfumery in the Baltics.

You can see in the photos, the beautiful cut glass bottle, silk covered and lined box – complete with hand embroidered ribbon and medallion pinned to it. Just gorgeous! Opening the bottle, which is now empty I can smell traces of patchouli, civet, musky oakmoss and balsamic sweet, sticky notes. Research says the fragrance from 1981 is a chypre containing bergamot, lily-of-the-valley, cyclamen, iris, orange blossom, jasmine, tuberose, patchouli, cloves, musk, sandalwood, oakmoss and civet.

The word Dzintars is Latvian for amber and more than 4000 men in Latvia share the name – it is often also a surname! On eBay I found a CD called Dzintars: Songs of Amber by the Latvian Women’s Choir! Anyone who knows me knows how much I love amber, so this is hugely impressive to me!! Perhaps I have found my calling in the Baltics? Ha ha.

My own mother was a “10 pound Pom” back in the 50’s, emigrating from the UK to Australia with her parents via boat with 1 suitcase between them. Have you ever considered what fragrant treasures people bring from country to country and what their stories are? It is interesting to ponder the trails fragrances take before landing in our possession. It’s fascinating to get people talking about the fragrance bottles they have stashed away when empty, yet not thrown out – there is always a sentimental tale to discover.

What’s your favorite and sentimental fragrance story? Have you any Dzintars fragrances? What can you tell me about them?

Until next time! X

Ed: There are some changes to the original post because Undina has found extra information and can read the language. Thanks Undina. XXX)

A mixed tape from Geza Schoen? Ephemera by Unsound

April 19, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

Post by Ainslie Walker

Hi Fumees! Hope you are well?

I am a big fan of nose, Geza Schoen’s work, which includes creation of the Eccentric Molecules collection, many Ormonde Jayne fragrances, Beautiful Mind Series, the naughty Kinski and plenty beyond.

Late last year I observed Geza was working on a project linking sound and scent, so I reached out and got in touch. A week later I received three fragrances with specific and intriguing instructions, printed on transparent paper, explaining the method behind creating the fragrances and allowing me to follow the same journey as the nose himself.

A mixed tape from Geza Schoen?

The project was called Ephemera, the initiative of Unsound – one of the worlds leading electronic and experimental music festivals.

The letter clearly indicated not to open the fragrances, instead diverting me to a link, suggesting I also pop on some headphones:

Clicking on the first video is a track by Steve Goodman (aka Kode9) which inspired Geza to create the fragrance ‘Bass” I open the fragrance whilst listening and watching the video by Marcel Weber. With bass sounds interspersed with crackling white noise, I inhale and smell earthy woods, dirty, smoky cigar, rum, lapsang souchong tea, mossy robust leather and castoreum seeping into my olfactory system. I see tan/reddish brown but I feel a dark green presence too…something slightly soapy. A woody, kind of dirty, aromatic.

Neutralizing my nose I pop on the second track called “Drone” by Tim Hecker, whilst smelling the accompanying fragrance and watching the video, which I feel is a perfect match. Otherworldly…out-of-spacey and surreal to begin with visually…I hear an ethereal airiness in the music. Aldehydes sparkle and an almost citrus sharpness mix in a more hyper-real way with juniper trees, cold, possibly covered in snow…and there’s some definitely ‘unnatural’ aspects. Earthy and in time, getting more oily and rounded. Notes of patchouli, ambergris and vetiver pass by leaving a kind of cannabis and papyrus scent, which is not unpleasant, but strange.

After a third break, Noise by Ben Frost begins dry, peppered and pencil case-like-cedarwood with a saffron sour tang. Birch tar smoulders, reminding me of the scent after an Aussie bushfire, very thick and ashy in its nature. (Seen before in Naomi Goodsir’s Bois d’Ascese, but still quite different) Continuing smelling the ash turns a little like welding, metallic. The notes make total sense when watching the film, which to me looks like X-rayed smoke!!

Wearability: I like Bass best, followed by Noise, then Drone (based on the drydown on my skin after an hour or so)

Interestingly the bottles are handmade in Krakow (see my article involving Polish glass and vodka tasting for APJ last year: Borscht, Vodka and Tears) I like them a lot, especially the design printed on the thick glass.

Naomi Goodsir, Andrea Maack, Byredo, By Kilian, Nasomatto and Comme de Garcons fans, these will most certainly be up your street

Which of the three fragrances do you want to try the most and why? What scents do you have at home that you would match to the videos/music?

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

NEWS: Michael Edwards’ Fragrances of the World 2016

March 22, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 6 Comments

Post by Ainslie Walker

To their absolute credit, Michael Edwards, ‘the perfume experts expert’ and his Fragrances of the World team have once again produced the industries only comprehensive, accurate and impartial fragrance classification annual.

Luca Turin accurately states: it is “…a map, the only one in existence, which lets everyone, beginner or pro, set out into the mysterious world of perfume”

Michael Edwards’ Fragrances of the World 2016

32nd Edition: April release

The small team undertakes an immense workload to stay abreast of the wave…or should I say tsunami of global fragrances launched each year. In 2014, 1768 new fragrances were launched and in 2015 there were 2044 – the first time more than 2000 have occurred over any 12 month period. To illuminate you a little into their workday, a minimum of 6 fragrances per day require evaluation, 8 if weekends are excluded and holidays ignored! Considering the rigorous classification methods employed by Michael and the team – evaluating every new fragrance and crosschecking the results with the brands and the perfumers to ensure accuracy – you have to wonder if they ever sleep?!

For this edition, a change in design, binding and layout was necessary to accommodate the sheer quantity of fragrances now showcased between the covers. Michael explains the eruption of new artisan fragrances, more than 800 compared to some 500 in 2014 and the increase in “collections, collections and more collections” as the reason for the steep rise in numbers.

Presented in both French and English, this year’s data is showcased alongside captivating imagery of raw perfume ingredients. The work of internationally acclaimed Australian floral artist Saskia Havekes of Grandiflora. The images define each family and illustrate the raw emotion and textures of the fragrance groups.

A forward by Luca Turin, renowned fragrance critic and commentator, impresses the magnitude of Michael’s work labeling him ‘the Linnaeus of perfume’ and describing Fragrances of the World ® as ‘’the only comprehensive, historically accurate, factually reliable and artistically consistent database of fragrance in existence.’

Michael is indeed the industry’s only impartial and independent authority. He makes no charge for listing or classifying new fragrances, declining both advertising and sponsorship. This year sees feminine, masculine and shared (unisex) fragrances merged into one consolidated index, with gender colour coded. Discontinued fragrances now are separately indexed for easier referencing.

Known fondly as ‘the fragrance bible,’ each edition is a collector’s item, keepsake, object of desire and THE industry’s go-to, exhaustive, encyclopedic reference. A masterpiece. Irreplaceable to the industry and to this day, unmatched. Each volume is an historic capsule of this moment in time, in fragrance, and all that has lead up to it.

“I use his book and database practically every day, and never cease to be amazed at the connections it allows me to make, the insights it provides, the “aha!” moments it springs on me. “ Luca Turin

Available from www.fragrancesoftheworld.com from April. WE NEED THIS EDITION, I can assure you.

Have you ever owned/seen/used a copy? Tell me some of your “aha!” moments.

Xx Ainslie

Naomi Goodsir Interview

March 8, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 16 Comments

Post by Ainslie Walker

“A perfume can be viewed as an invisible accessory. It is a personal choice which creates a statement of style”
Naomi Goodsir

Naomi Goodsir is a tremendously talented Australian, taking the world by storm with her couture designs – hats, bags, body accouterments…and since 2012 niche fragrances.

Fantastic news in February, when I spent an afternoon with her in Sydney, was that her most recent release, Iris Cendré had been announced as a finalist for the Fragrance Foundation Awards, France (THE FIFI’S) in the Prix des Experts category!! Naomi has no idea how it was chosen as one of the top 12 out of 350 entries as usually one must nominate their own fragrance and yet she did not. Perhaps she will find out who the mysterious initiator was when she attends the awards in mid April for the big announcement! (I have my fingers crossed for her)

Naomi Goodsir Interview

The fragrances are currently available in 28 countries, here in Australia Peony Melbourne has carried them since 2012. In fact Naomi tells me proudly that Jill was the first buyer in the world to order any of her fragrances, recognizing instantly their beauty and appeal.

Originally studying fashion design in Sydney, Naomi worked her way into millinery, molding, stitching and creating her pieces by hand. She relocated to France, near Grasse to be near her life and business partner Renaud.

Today her creations are in demand, with Naomi also collaborating with designers for their collections, fashion catwalks including Kanye West’s in Paris, window displays and National Opera Houses. From 2008 Naomi expanded into handbags and body accouterments fashioned from luxe raw materials including buffalo/veal/cow/goat/kangaroo leather, horse hair, lace, felt, silk, feathers, barramundi, crinoline, Bakelite, American alligator skin, and Australian and African crocodile skin.

Naomi and I discussed her process for her perfumes, where she collaborates with independent master perfumers Julien Rasquinet and Bertrand Duchaufour. She says, like with her designs, she always starts with a raw material she loves and ideas develop from there. The raw material provides texture and inspiration and further ingredients add layers, similarly to when she creates her hats and bags. With Cuir Velours, it was leather, immortelle, rum, with Bois d’Ascèse it was incense, tobacco and whiskey, Or du Sérail, which featured on the cover of Fragrances of the World 2015 annual, features golden honeyed tobacco and Iris Cendré, of course has delicate orris at the core.

Naomi was wearing Bois d’Asèse when I met her and divulged the very personal and moving story behind the scent. Its inspiration coming from the warm incense smells she remembers from within a church in the rural NSW town of Coonabarabran – the last place she visited with her dad before he passed away. It also embraces the scent of bushfire from her childhood memories. When I sprayed her personal bottle on my arm we both observed the “fatherly” aspects -my skin amplifies oakmoss and I did feel a warm sense of fatherly comfort.

The following day I wore Cuir Velours from a handmade gift Naomi gave me and I texted her saying “I feel I have awoken, bewildered and happily crawled out of one of your giant leather handbag creations into a boozy dream…complete with immortelle stuck in my messed up hair!” She replied with “A wonderfully apt description- the labdanum, rum et immortelle work perfectly together- a ‘bon mariage’ “ (yes she is beautifully spoken and fluent in French)

Her next release is collaboration with Isabel Doyle, Annick Goutal’s in-house perfumer which they have been working on for some years and are calling it Nuit de Bakelite for now.

Fascinating and elusive, usually Naomi avoids the camera, however she agreed to just a few just for me to share and even shared with me her very first selfie!!

Have you tried the fragrances from the collection? Which is your favorite and why?

Atelier Cologne: Big Fuss About Atelier Cologne!

February 16, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 8 Comments

Post by Ainslie Walker

Hello APJ gang!

During the windup of last year I popped into Agence de Parfums Head Quarters and found Nick Smart bent over an interestingly archaic looking machine. It was in fact a leather embossing tool and array of cool looking metal fonts that went with. It was the personalizing tool for the Atelier Cologne travel cases I heard were coming into Australia in time for Christmas. Four of the machines will be on circulation in Australia and New Zealand, ongoing, so perhaps you’ll get to go see?! I know Myers Melbourne had an event in December and Sephora have one planned for the early 2016.

I sat down for a demo and had a play with the range, making a few delicious discoveries from the brand I have neglected until the recent renaissance Down Under! A curious creature, I sniffed about until I had a good overview and here are some snippets I learnt about Atelier Cologne

Atelier Cologne: Big Fuss About Atelier Cologne!

The brand started in 2009 aiming to be the first fragrance house to exclusively “deal” in cologne. However owners Sylvie Ganter and Christophe Cervasel pushed boundaries and have given the classic cologne a big squeeze (get it??), inventing the Cologne Absolue…designed not to disappear but evolve on the skin.

The formula? Take an overdose of traditional citrus notes for transparency, add to these additional raw materials for depth and richness then add a high percentage of this “juice” (15-20%) to the base! The result should be longer lasting power out of cologne style fragrances.

So have they managed it?

My instant eyebrow raises went to:

Fragrantica

Blanche Immortelle was an instant knockout. Packaged in a metallic bottle, smelling unique, heavy and beautiful. Australian sandalwood, immortelle absolute, jasmine, rose, patchouli and vetiver give great velvety depth and impact. Orange, mimosa, mandarin and bergamot add sparkle. For development on skin this is just WOW. Quite a beautiful, intimate journey. I will buy a bottle of this as autumn kicks in.

Fragrantica

Trefle Pur – I JUST LOVE IT. Listed as bitter orange, violet leaves and patchouli I also get a fig and freshly GREEN cut wet grass, moss, patchouli and basil. So so very green and cooling. I feel like a frog hiding under rainforest canopy!

Fragrantica

Bois Blonds – Light, crisp, musky-wood and citrusy white floral blend. It was my final pick to go in my personalized case. Orange blossom for me is always my “happy place”. Combined with jasmine, amber, musk, bergamot, lemon and neroli, it’s an easy to wear, portable fragrance for the upcoming heat of summer. I want to layer this with other fragrances in the day as a “top up” and it will live in my handbag. Not sweet, but CRISP. Perfect.

How cute that Atelier Cologne invites wearers to create their own signature spray bottle by engraving a 30ml leather case for free, to complement any purchase of a full sized bottle! Do you have a stockest near you? Which of the range have you tried? Which were your favourites?

Further reading: Now Smell This
Libertine Perfumerie has the range
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $3/ml

I look forwards to hearing!

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