Eliza D

Jardins de Bagatelle by Jean Paul Guerlain 1983

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 17 Comments

.

Post by ElizaD

.

I keep nudging the needle.

In my last post I mentioned that I would soon be making a trip to the Perfume House in Portland, Ore., and had been preparing for that trip by wearing as little scent as possible to prime my nose for the journey that is the Perfume House.

Not long afterwards, we did go to the Perfume House as part of my birthday celebration. My husband came with me, which in itself was a blast. I got to introduce him to this amazing collection, and to hear first hand what he thought of different scents. Oddly enough, everything smelled like food to him: bananas, watermelon, chocolate. It was a hoot! But he was very brave and that made it all the more special.

I went with the hope of finding a new Serge Lutens, and did sample a few including L’Orpheline, a small vial of which came home with me. I wandered in and out of the Amouage room— yes folks, a room dedicated to L’Artisan Perfumers and Amouage—but found nothing there that called.

Jardins de Bagatelle by Jean Paul Guerlain 1983

Jardins de Bagatelle Guerlain FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Jasmine, violet, aldehydes, lemon, bergamot
Heart: Gardenia, rose, orange blossom, tuberose, magnolia, ylang-ylang, orchid, lily-of-the-valley, narcissus
Base: Tuberose, cedar, vetiver, patchouli, musk, neroli

The other sample I asked for was Jardins de Bagetelle, which was a total surprise, because I am not a big flower person. But as I used a little of my sample everyday, I could not get over how incredible this perfume is.

As I picked up the phone and called Tracy to order a full bottle, the bee bottle no less, which sorry to say will not get tucked away in a cupboard as it should, but will grace my vanity until every drop is gone, I thought to myself “I have nudged the needle.” I have finally admitted that I love big, loud, robust, beautiful, perfumes. I have realized that even though I grew up in the era where children were seen and not heard, the women around me smelled anything but quiet, and I have become one of those women. I may not coif my hair and adorn myself with jewels, but I know how to wear perfume.

Jardins de Bagatelle Guerlain elizabeth-taylor-jewelry InStylePhoto Stolen InStyle

Guerlain’s website describes Jardins as a “joyous, luminous, and captivating flora, an airy and luminous essence, a sparkling fragrance. The heart is a real bouquet of white flowers (neroli, jasmine and gardenia) celebrating joie de vivre over a base of poisonous tuberose underscored with woody notes.”

When I first spray Jardins, I smell violets and bergamot, sweet and juicy. It is not long until the tuberose takes center stage, accompanied by rose and gardenia, and it lasts for a very long time until that wonderful Guerlinade takes over. What I love is that this perfume that could be all tuberose, raucous and warm, softens into something so familiar that lasts almost all day.

Jardins de Bagatelle Guerlain Elizabeth_Drexel WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

I am going to be wearing this for weeks to come. I know that I will have to trust my innate ability to not go beyond what is acceptable when spraying, but that is part of the fun: seeing whether I can wear such a big perfume as a day-to-day scent.

Further reading: Perfume Shrine and Monsieur Guerlain
FragranceNet has $120/100ml before coupon
My Perfume samples starts at $2.50/ml up to $7.50/5ml

And I? I will keep nudging that needle.

What about you? Have you tried Jardins de Bagatelle?
ElizaD xx

Week Without Perfume

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

.

Post by ElizaD

.

For some reason I have not worn perfume for the last 14 days. It’s not that my collection is lacking—I have more than enough vials, bottles and pots in my vanity luring me in—it’s just that I wanted to recalibrate my nose completely. Perhaps it’s because of my upcoming trip to the Perfume House (Portland, Oregon, USA) or perhaps because it’s fall, a time for me of fresh starts, but whatever the reason, I just wanted to be free of added fragrances. I wanted to eschew all scents, but that is harder than you think without going out and buying all new everything. Even the foundation I wear, which is supposed to be fragrance-free, has the slightest powdery scent to it, and raises the question whether we can ever live in a smell-free place. Yes, we can try as much as possible not to add smells to our surroundings, but I have come to the conclusion that the air around us always smells of something.

Week Without Perfume

So, during the week as I ran my usual route along the trails in and around my town, I tried to be conscious of the scents I encountered and what they evoked: bio-diesel—French fries; cedar wood smoke—a cabin in the snow and skis outside the door.

Week Without perfume Bacon eggs WikiCommonsPhoto Stolen WikiCommons

Eggs, bacon and coffee—I am a child again at my grandmother’s house in Cincinnati, Ohio; pine needles—a trail high in the mountains in the summer; the salty sweat of my partner—I am comforted and everything in the world is okay; dog poo—why don’t people clean up after their dogs; a wonderful perfume on a lovely coiffed woman—yes it was and yes she was; the faintest smell of patchouli—I am sitting in the meadow at our local counter culture fair; and stale cigarettes and dryer sheets—long-term residence.

Week Without perfume Laughing_couple WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

But the most lovely smell, and a welcome one after months of unusually dry weather, was the odor of cool rain on wet plants, of dirt still warm from summer as it was drenched with the first moisture of the fall. This is the smell of clean to me, of the earth being washed and renewed. And as I run, the fragrance washes over me, reminding me that everything natural has a beginning, middle and an end and that each of those phases of the cycle has a different aroma. The plant that smelled fresh and light as it began to grow, and took on a heady aroma as it matured, fades to a mellow earthiness as it dies. It’s no wonder that we have been trying to capture and bottle these fragrances since the beginning of time.

Week Without perfume pine Bergadder PixabayPhoto Stolen Pixabay

And now my senses are refreshed, not just my nose, but the part of my brain that translates what I smell into something I can understand. I am ready for the pleasure of visiting the Perfume House, one of the best hand-selected collections of perfumes anywhere near where I live. I plan to make up for my weeks of asceticism by sniffing to my heart’s content.

I’ll have much to report on when I return.

What do you love to smell in your daily life?
ElizaD

Tom Ford Noir 2012

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 3 Comments

.

Post by ElizaD

.

Tom Ford Noir 2012

Laquer, Pepper, roses, spice, iris, and sweet oranges. Tobacco perhaps? Interesting.

These were my thoughts as I stood in the Sephora sniffing my arm after spritzing Tom Ford’s Noir. The ladies in the Sephora always frown when they see me coming. I SNIFF my perfume. I don’t gently waft the tester under my nose, I spray forcefully and inhale. And I ask for samples! They’re limiting me to two these days. No matter, I am quickly making my way through the whole line of Sephora-approved fragrances at my local outlet. I’m almost done.

Noir Tom Ford Portlandbridges WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

But this was a store in Portland, with many more choices, and saleswomen who were not on to me. I was trying to be discreet, but when you are a head taller and twice as old as almost everyone else in the store, it’s challenging.

Anyway, back to the fragrance. This one gave me pause. With a name like Noir I expected something much more intense. Some oud perhaps, or liquor notes: something thick and viscuous. This was beautiful. It opened with a sparkle of pink pepper and herbs, quickly followed by a sweet laquer note, but quickly settled to a lovely floral bouquet. Powdery with a little spice. Soft and graceful. I could even detect a note of baby shampoo. It reminded me of Jean Charles Broussea’s Ombre Rose. Like the lovely Margaux, who reviewed Noir exactly a year ago, I was intrigued.

Noir Tom Ford FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Italian bergamot, verbena, caraway, baie rose (pink pepper), violet flower
Heart: Black pepper, nutmeg, Tuscan Iris resin, Egyptian Geranium, Bulgarian Rose, Clary Sage
Base: Opoponax, amber, Indonesian patchouli, vetiver, civet, vanilla

So imagine my double surprise when I returned home with my sample and pulled up the information on Fragrantica. A men’s fragrance? Because it has violets and vetiver and verbena? Two months ago I suggested that Essence Aromatique might be suited for a man, and now I seem to be swooning over a men’s fragrance. Hmmm, perhaps after a couple of years my tastes are starting to expand.

Noir Tom Ford Sephora MyNamesAxel FlickrPhoto Stolen Flickr

It was in the women’s section. I swear.

Further reading: Candy Perfume Boy and Bois de Jasmin
FragranceNet has 50ml/$95 before discount
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $4/ml

So tell me, APJers, where do you find fragrances to try locally? Are you lucky enough to have sympathetic salespeople at your local stores, or do you have to travel to satisfy your senses? I think I need a roadtrip, STAT!

Gucci Envy by Maurice Roucel for GUCCI 1997

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 14 Comments

.

Post by ElizaD

.

An Old Friend

I don’t know about you, but sometimes my senses get worn out from trying new things. After my post about linden perfumes I ordered Zeta by Andy Tauer, and of course had to get three other Tauer samples so I could fill that cute little shipping tin. It just seemed wrong to get only one to try. Ten days later my vanity was strewn with little vials, and my nose was starting to itch.

First I took a vacation, during which the only fragrance I wore was a sultry mix of Coppertone SPF 50, sea salt and my own skin warmed by the sun, but when I returned home, I stowed all the samples back in their tin and pulled out my old friend, one of the few perfumes of which I own a whole bottle…or about a third of one now.

It’s crisp, it’s light, cool mornings, warm days, and mellow nights, flip flops and hair in a pony tail. I love to spray it behind my knees and let it extend my summer even after I have returned to work. It’s so simple, and sadly, discontinued.

Gucci Envy by Maurice Roucel for GUCCI 1997

GUCCI Envy Gucci FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, peaches, freesia, magnolia, pineapple
Heart: Lily of the valley, hyacinth, jasmine, violet, hyacinth, rose
Base: Cedar, oakmoss, musk, sandalwood.

With all those notes, you’d think it would be a big hot mess, but Envy is really quite easy to wear.

On first spray, the bergamot and peaches perk up my senses, and I am reminded of another favorite, the original Chloe by Karl Lagerfeld. In fact, these two perfumes evoke the same late summer floral and fruit fest, but Envy is less likely to offend at work—some day I will just spritz a heady perfume with abandon, but that is a thought for another post. Eventually the top notes are joined by the flowers and then the whole thing warms on my very cool, dry skin. The top and heart notes never fade completely, but are wonderfully mellowed by the oakmoss and sandalwood. It’s this last stage that makes Envy so fun to wear…it helps me growl.

GUCCI Envy Gucci tiger_eye annemaria48 DeviantArtPhoto Stolen DeviantArt

Longevity is great on me. As for sillage, honestly, I can never tell how far I project my perfume. No one has ever gone running out of the room when I enter, and people don’t generally comment on what I am wearing. But then again, I don’t wear perfume for other people, I wear it for me, so if I can smell it, I am likely to say that sillage is pretty good.

Some day I will open my perfume cabinet, and that long slender bottle with the missing cap will be empty of its green tinted juice. That will be a sad day. For now, I will just enjoy this lovely thing and be grateful for those of us capable of making liquid art.

GUCCI Envy Gucci Glass Art WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

Further reading: Bois de Jasmin and Perfume Posse
FragranceNet has $55/30ml before coupon
Surrender To Chance have samples starting at $3/ml

Do you have any perfumes that have been discontinued? Do you search for replacements, or just celebrate that you knew them and move on?

ElizaD

Linden: An Ode to Linden in Fragrance

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 17 Comments

,

Post by ElizaD

.

An Ode to Linden

Not rose, not lilac, not peony, not gardenia, not jasmine, not lavender, not lily, not carnation, not geranium, not mimosa, not freesia, sets my heart a leaping like linden. And many thanks to that wise city planner who years ago planted them along streets and in parks in the town where I live.

Linden Blossom Lime_tree Tilia WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

As the days start to grow long and the earth warms, the lindens blossom. The air is magical. As the wind moves, and the sun filters through the leaves, the trees seem to sparkle in their greenness. I could sit under a linden tree for hours watching bees work each tiny burst of cream-colored flower.

Perhaps it is because I love the real fragrance so much that I have been disappointed by the two linden-based scents I have tried. Fragrantica indicates there are many more to sample, but I am afraid each will let me down.

Linden Blond Tabac Voluspa FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Linden Blond Tabac by Voluspa

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Blond tabac absolute, lime (linden) blossom, tuberose, red grapefruit, woodsy notes, tonka bean

In my collection is a full bottle of Voluspa Linden Blond Tabac. It’s a lovely perfume on its own, sweetness mellowed by tobacco, but it doesn’t smell like linden to me.

Linden. Tilleul D`Orsay FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Tilleul (Lime or Linden) by D’Orsay

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Lemon blossom, watermelon
Heart: Cyclamen, linden blossom
Base: Acacia tree, bee wax, hay

Tilleul by D’Orsay comes closer, and though it is purported to have a top, heart and base it’s very linear, warming to my skin as I wear it. It has decent sillage and good longevity, and if someone were to gift me with more, I would happily accept. Because now my brain recognizes the smell as the perfume Tilleul, and Tilleul is supposed to be linden, and linden makes me happy.

But I want to open a vial without knowing what I will smell inside, a blind test if you will, and find myself transported onto the grass under a linden. To be wrenched off my forward path to go in search of the tree that emanates such a lovely smell, as I do often when I am riding around town—I think I know each tree within a 2 mile radius of my home.

Is that too much to ask? Does such a thing exist? If you know, pray tell. It’s summer here now, and while the shade of a linden offers a cool respite, and the gorgeous heart shaped leaves still sparkle, the fragrance is just a memory.

Fragrantica has a wonderful article on The history of the Linden

And here is another way one might Experience the “intoxication” of linden flowers

So now it’s up to you. Do you have a favourite Linden Fragrance that I need to try, one that you love particularly or do you have memories of Linden trees too?
ElizaD x

(Ed: Dear ElizaD, you just taught me that Linden Blossoms are not from the citrus fruit bearing plant but a totally different species. I am the complete dumb ass. Ha Ha Ha Laughing. Thank You.)

Essence Aromatique by Michel Almairac for Bottega Veneta 2014

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 12 Comments

.

Post by ElizaD

.

Hi APJ,

On a beautiful spring morning, I sit on a park bench, sipping my coffee and watching people as they stroll by. Suddenly I am drawn to one couple, both of them sharply dressed, tall and lithe, arms touching as they walk. Her fragrance intrigues me. It is a bit of Chanel, a bit of Bulgari, some tea, citrus, flowers and patchouli, soft and powdery. I rise to follow them, determined to find out what it is. I have never been so bold, but I have to know.

Bottega Veneta Essence Aromatique Couple hands WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

I approach them. “You smell so lovely” I say to the woman, “what is that fragrance you are wearing?” She responds “I am not wearing fragrance today.”

Now I am confused. Clearly this wonderful soft aroma emanates from this couple. “But my husband is,” she finishes, “it is called Essence Aromatique.” I walk away delighted.

Essence Aromatique by Michel Almairac for Bottega Veneta 2014

Bottega Veneta Essence Aromatique Bottega Veneta FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot and coriander
Heart: White rose, tonka and vanilla
Base: Patchouli and sandalwood

Essence Aromatique eau de cologne is advertised on the Bottega Veneta website as a women’s fragrance, along with their other three feminine perfumes: Bottega Veneta, their signature scent; Bottega Veneta Eau Legere; and Bottega Veneta in Murano Glass Parfum. But Fragrantica readers consider it to be unisex. The leather notes, which lurk at the bottom, offer a balance to the floral heart notes, while the bergamot adds that splash of aftershave freshness. The coriander, tonka bean and vanilla become the suggestion of warm skin. In the right place–probably not Eugene, Oregon, where I live–I can envision my well-dressed and self-assured gentleman wearing this. His fragrance need not make any more of a statement than his other carefully selected accessories.

Bottega Veneta Paris WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

I was not disappointed by the fragrance of Essence Aromatique. On me, it’s perfect: a light woody floral that is professional and age-appropriate but not dowdy. I feel grown up in this perfume. And Essence Aromatique could have become a new addition to my collection, save for one drawback. Sillage is nonexistent. An hour after first applying this, I was wishing I had brought my tiny sample with me to the office so I could respritz. It’s an eau de cologne with an eau de parfum pricetag.

Further reading: Colognoisseur and Now Smell This
StrawberryNET has $86/50ml and body products
My Perfume Samples starts at $3/ml

Ah well, perhaps I will try the shower gel, or wait until it hits the discounters. Too bad.

How do you feel about unisex fragrances…where do you draw the line?

ElizaD

Sniffa – Eugenie, Oregon 2014

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

.

Post by ElizaD

.

Hi Australian Perfume junkies,

What do you get when you combine wine, food, perfume and friends in Eugene, Oregon USA? A Sniffa – Eugenie!!!!

Sniffa – Eugenie, Oregon 2014

Here’s the recipe:

Sniffa – Eugenie! Ingredients

1 tiny coffee table
5 fabulous fumehead friends
lots of small glasses
lots of cotton balls
your favorite perfumes–any size bottle or container will do
food
drink
stories

Sniffa - Eugenie 2014 girl Esri Nederland FlickrPhoto Stolen Flickr

Sniffa – Eugenie! Instructions

Invite your friends over and ask them to each bring 3 to 5 of their favorite perfumes. If they only have one, tell them not to worry, you have lots! Encourage them to think of a story about their perfume and be ready to share it. Then ask them to bring a little something to nosh on and a complementary beverage.

Prepare your space by gathering as many small glasses as you can muster and a bag of cotton balls (which is what we call them here in the States–I think others call them cotton wool 😉 ). Place the glasses and the cotton on your coffee table, along with a small bowl of lemon slices (coffee beans make everything smell like coffee, lemon dissipates quickly). Spend the rest of the day thinking about what perfumes you will choose to share from your expansive collection of samples and bottles. Will it be your treasured 1978 bottle of Guerlain L’Heure Bleue, which you bought on eBay for a song, or your tiny sample of Chanel No. 5 Eau Premiere? Your equally small sample of Cacharel LouLou or your mini of Prada L’Eau Ambrée? Remember, only three to five!

Vacuum your floors, puff the sofa pillows, prepare the food table, and wait for the magic to happen.

Which it did!

C brought an amazing walnut spread, olives, and a lovely bottle of Blanquette de Limoux, a sparkling wine from Languedoc; K brought home-made brie en croute; and E provided bread and veggies and other bottles of whites and reds.

Since C and E are enthralled with perfume history, they arranged the fragrances by release date, using the book Scent and Subversion: Decoding a Century of Provocative Perfume by Barbara Herman as a guide. As each perfume was introduced, the owner carefully sprayed or dabbed a cotton ball and then placed it under an upturned glass. As the scent released, it was caught in the glass from which each took a sniff. Anyone watching this group would surely had thought we were participating in something most illegal!

Sniffa - Eugenie 2014Photo Donated ElizaD

And the stories!

C had her treasured bottle of Guerlain’s Mitsouko, brought all the way from Paris, and her Andy Tauer minis. She told the stories of how she had been captured by Mitsouko’s incense notes, and how she had discovered Andy Tauer on her trip to the Perfume House in Portland. E shared how she had been sitting in a meeting when she found out that she had won the eBay bid for her bottle of L’Heure Bleue and had immediately launched into a hamster dance. K had everyone in fits of giggles as she related how her perfume, Revlon Intimate, had been a gift during high school and how it still made her feel oh so sexy, even fifty years later. S was so happy that she had found other fumeheads and how perfume was becoming a wonderful connection between her and her daughter. T brought a tiny bottle of Holy Smoke Oil….”one drop lasts all day”…and entertained us with the story of how she found it in a small shop on the lower East Side of Manhattan, far from where she lives now.

Sniffa - Eugenie 2014 The Perfume House Portland TwitterPhoto Stolen Twitter

And when the wine was drained and there were just crumbs left of the brie, we all agreed that this event had only sharpened our appetite for even more fragrance fun…Perfume House in Portland, here we come!

Have you ever participated in a fragrance get-together? DO TELL!
ElizaD xx

Cristalle Eau Verte EDT by Jacques Polge for CHANEL 2009

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 19 Comments

.

Post by ElizaD

.

What I will be wearing at the starting line.

In two short weeks, on April 21, and along with 35,999 others, I will be toeing the line for the 118th running of the Boston Marathon. Yes, this floral and musk girl is also a runner. I have given lots of thought to what I will wear, my outfit, my favorite hat, my lucky necklace, and this year, a little spritz of something to carry me through the challenging parts and more importantly, the emotions of the day.

Cristalle Eau Verte Chanel Boston Marathon Logan Ingalls FlickrPhoto Stolen Flickr

Most of you are probably aware of the events at the finish line of last year’s Boston. I was not there, so I can only imagine what it was like, and my heart broke at the thought of anyone being impacted by the devastation that the bombs caused. I don’t usually wear perfume when I run, unless it’s the last breaths of what I put on earlier in the day, but this year it seems fitting to be wrapped in a little comfort and to make a statement with my whole self as I run, resolved to do my best in this purest expression of human competition.

So, I laid all my samples and bottles out on the top of my vanity and my choice is….

Cristalle Eau Verte EDT by Jacques Polge for CHANEL 2009

Cristalle Eau Verte Chanel FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Sicilian lemon, bergamot
Heart: Magnolia, neroli
Base: Musk, jasmine, iris

I received a sample from the lovely ladies at the Nordstrom counter and have fallen in love with this easy to wear perfume. It’s citrusy, a bit spicy and very feminine. It’s also light, so it will hopefully not offend those around me, but leave a soft trail as I pass people in the last miles of the course, and will be a fragrant mantra, a reminder of what is beautiful. It’s a little like Bvlgari Eau Parfumee au The Vert, a little like Hermes Un Jardin Sur Le Nil, but decidedly more feminine, less unisex. Sillage is moderate.

Cristalle Eau Verte Chanel Green abstract PixabayPhoto Stolen Pixabay

The lemon is of course the first to appear, and that’s why I chose this over some of my other more heady favorites. It gives a crispness that will be welcome in the early morning before the race begins. As I log the miles, Cristalle Eau Verte will unfold and by the time I reach the fabled Newton Hills and then the finish, will have dried down to just a whisper of spice and flowers.

Further reading: Perfume Posse and Grain de Musc
Galaxy Perfume has $90/50ml
Posh Peasant has samples starting at $4/ml

People have often asked me why I run. I run for the same reasons that I wear perfume: It makes me happy; it allows me to express myself; it helps me give my best self; and most importantly, it reminds me that there is loveliness in this world, I just have to open my heart and welcome it in.

What is your thing that helps you to see the loveliness in the world?

ElizaD

L'Eau d'Ambree by Daniela (Roche) Andrier for Prada 2009

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

.

Post by ElizaD

.

A perfume. Not a study, not an irony, not an invitation, or memoir, or a response. A perfume. A “your skin but better” plain old perfume. Friends, I give you

L’Eau d’Ambree by Daniela (Roche) Andrier for Prada 2009

L`Eau Ambree Prada FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Amalfi lemon, citruses
Heart: May rose, patchouli
Base: Amber, oppoponax, vanilla

L’Eau Ambree seems to be the forgotten child of the Prada line, which is unfortunate because it is a lovely, soft and warm, comfortable sweater of a scent. Not loud and boastful, yet still elegant enough to wear for many different occasions. I first learned about it from Katie Puckrik, one of the funniest perfume vloggers around.

It was created by Daniela Andrier as were Infusion D’Iris in 2007 and Candy in 2011. I have tried all three and like them for different reasons: Infusion D’Iris is a lovely iris scent, and is a little sharper but more powdery; Candy has the same sweet balsam notes with warm musk and that wonderful caramel that makes me want to drench myself in it before cuddling; but for me, L’eau Ambree is the Goldilocks just right version–just the right amount of sweet and skin, but not too come hither or too standoffish.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

The top notes dissipate quickly on my skin, settling into the heart and dry down very quickly. In fact, this is one scent where I am not striving with every inhale to determine what is where. It just works. And in this world of too much information, too much stimulus, too much too much, that is what makes this scent so reassuring. Plus, it’s one perfume that I never mind smelling on my clothes the day after.

She's focusedPhoto Stolen Flickr

You can get L’Eau Ambree for a decent price. It comes in the complete line of layering options, from EdP to shower gel. Sillage is moderate and longevity is about 4 hours. Carry a rollerball and reapply if necessary. I also have layered this on top of Jovan’s White Musk to give it greater longevity.

Further reading: Daly Beauty and Now Smell This
FragranceNet has $40/30ml
My Perfume Samples start at $2/ml

What’s your comfortable sweater all occasion perfume?

Bas de Soie by Christopher Sheldrake for Serge Lutens 2010

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 8 Comments

.

Post by Eliza D

.

Hi there APJ,

People often talk about fragrance for mood, the more I think about it the more sense it makes.

Bas de Soie by Christopher Sheldrake for Serge Lutens 2010

Bas de Soie Serge Lutens FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Iris, hyacinth, galbanum, spice, musk

If one wears perfume to create a mood, or to prepare oneself to be a certain way in the world, then Bas de Soie (Silk Stockings) is my leather and heels take no prisoners you’re not fooling me I am sorry but you don’t have an appointment work fragrance. I know, I know, this was probably never meant to be worn to work, but sometimes you need a perfume like this to alter the scene.

 Bas de Soie Serge Lutens Blue moon liz west FlickrPhoto Stolen liz west Flickr

Bas de Soie intrigued me from the moment I tried a sample as part of a collection from The Posh Peasant. While most perfumes I wear settle during the dry down to their bass notes, Bas de Soie sings in a mezzo-soprano range from its opening to its last breath. It’s this quality that makes me sit up a little straighter and respond a little more crisply than usual. There’s no time to relax when wearing it.

Though Fragrantica gives the notes iris, hyacinth, galbanum, spice and musk all in a row all I can smell are the flowers. As if someone had pulled them out of the ground, roots and all, and was pressing them under my nose. hard. for a long time.

Sillage is moderate, and longevity on me is very good. After an eight hour day, I can still smell Bas de Soie. So, if you want a flower with a bit of an edge, or as someone on Fragrantica recently wrote “Beautiful and delicate but scary as hell,” try Bas de Soie.

Portrait of a businesswomanPhoto Stolen Victor1558  Flickr

From LuckyScent: With Bas de Soie (aka Silk Stockings) following up on Serge Noire, Filles en Aiguilles and Fourreau Noir in his new vein of sartorially-named fragrances, Serge Lutens has ventured out of black and into the blue by splicing hyacinth and iris. Is this hyaris or iricinth? The two notes are so intimately blended in this shimmering scent that they can’t be teased apart. Those who wondered where the Lutens-Sheldrake tandem would go after their L’Eau Serge Lutens shocker have their answer. And it’s not back to Marrakesh: Bas de soie is as quintessentially Parisian as the gardens of the Palais Royal.

Further reading: Grain de Musc and Olfactoria’s Travels
LuckyScent has $130/50ml
Surrender To Chance samples start at $4/.5ml

What’s your power fragrance at work?

ElizaD