Criminal of Love by Kilian (Russia Exclusive)

January 22, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 6 Comments

Post by Erica Golding

Hello loves!

The weather in my neck of the woods is currently a deep freeze. The nights slow the soul, while the moon slices the sky with icy precision – and although I don’t limit my scents to the seasons, that doesn’t mean I never crave sexy warmth to counter the frigid winter darkness!

Tonight, I have chosen to set my aura aglow with a new obsession….

Criminal of Love by Kilian (Russia Exclusive)

Criminal of Love by Dorothee Piot

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Cardamom, saffron
Heart: Turkish rose, papyrus, atlas cedar
Base: Patchouli, incense, tobacco, immortelle

by Kilian Russia says (via Google Translate): Sharp , sharp and at the same time – oily intoxicating and sensual , this fragrance for dangerous criminals who need to be as soon as possible handcuffed – satin, which you will find in the box with the scent.

On my skin, the opening reveals leather and scotch, a particularly dark leather evoking clean lines and gleaming surfaces. Then, the bracing intensity begins to curve as a juicy, jammy Turkish rose moves into the spotlight. The queen of the flowers remains the star of the show, as warmly aromatic cinnamon, cardamom, and an associative apple cider swirl in perfect harmony. Sweetly smoky tobacco and incense accent the base of the composition, intoxicating and irresistible.

Photo Stolen Pixabay

I very rarely buy a bottle of perfume unsniffed. I am a sample glutton, to the point where my thumbnail is perpetually fraying from prying open so many vials. Blind buys are very few and far between; however, when I had a chance to score a partial bottle of the highly sought after, ultra-hyped Criminal of Love, I caved and trusted my instinct.

I can’t put into words how fortunate I feel, nor how exceptionally blown away I am by this pure pleasure-bomb of fragrant allure. The bottle design alone makes my heart flutter, but it’s the nectar within that lights the blaze.

Photo Stolen Flickr

I’ve heard rumors that after four years, the Russia Exclusives will be released to the general market. I hope this is true, so that more scent aficionados will be able to experience this incredibly sexy, addictive potion!

by Kilian Russia has 11 200 rubles/75ml

Have you tried any of the Russia Exclusive perfumes by Kilian? Do you have a favorite fragrance from the Kilian brand?

Wishing you gorgeously scented evenings this winter and always,
Erica

Snake Oil by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab (BPAL)

December 18, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 13 Comments

Post by Erica Golding

Greetings, my beautifully fragranced friends!

Those of you who know me a little may have noticed that I have a special place in my heart (and in my collection) for perfume oils. When it comes to iconic fragrances with a loyal cult following, no perfume oil comes close to the magnetic, addictive potion that is Snake Oil by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab (BPAL).

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Vanilla, oriental notes

BPAL is mysteriously coy when describing Snake Oil, listing the official notes as: “A blend of exotic Indonesian oils sugared with vanilla.” This modest preview can never prepare you for the intensely sensual, spicy, powdery, deep character of this shameless temptress. The first impression can be challenging, as is often the case when a perfume is singularly unique and passionate.

The aroma is truly haunting, possessing those who become ensnared in the trail. I always struggle to describe the mystifying spices, hint of precious woods, swirl of thick amber vanilla, and the resinous depth. It elicits reactions from strangers, friends, family, and lovers alike – from the subtle extra attention to the unrestrained exclamation, “what are you wearing? You smell amazing!”

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

Snake Oil ages like fine wine, becoming smoother, deeper, richer, and more viscous as the years pass by. The powdery amber settles, the spices harmonize, the resinous incense gains density, and the vanilla thickens with an insatiable seductive power. Fans boast the year of their Snake Oil vial with swelling pride, with the earliest vintages (circa 2003 – 2004) being the most rare, cherished, and exquisitely aged to perfection. BPAL switched their perfume bottles from cobalt blue to amber glass in 2005, and also discontinued their 10ml bottle size soon after, so cobalt and 10ml Snake Oil bottles are particularly valuable. Good luck finding one – those who own these treasured ampoules aren’t likely to release their clutches!

Photo Stolen DailyMail

This perfume oil is incredibly attractive, anoint your skin and prepare for unexpected flirtation! I would recommend it to others primarily as an evening fragrance, but I don’t follow rules when it comes to conventions such as where and when. So, personally, I flaunt Snake Oil in full force whenever and wherever I damn well please!

Photo Stolen BPAL

Further reading: That Smell
Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab has $17.50/5ml

Have you tried Snake Oil? Do you have a favorite perfume oil, perhaps one from Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab?
I hope you have a lovely scented day,
Erica

Fragrant Gifting

November 20, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 6 Comments

Fragrant Gifting

Hello there my scented friends! The glowing joy of the holiday season is upon us, and what better gift for the one you love most than fragrance? An incredibly personal sentiment, a choice that says “you are one of the people I adore most in this world.” How do I do Fragrant Gifting that feels like it was custom made for that special person?

Well, one obvious tip is to keep the scent amicable and easy to love. Unless you are gifting perfume to a collector or connoisseur, selecting a challenging or overly complex scent is a great way to ensure it gets secretly returned or left lonely and unsprayed in a dark drawer.

Another consideration is budget, because let’s be real – why blow the bank when you can blow their mind (at a modest price)?

The three fragrances below are my picks for charming your loved ones.

Fragrant Gifting

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Green mango, tomato, grapefruit, carrot
Heart: Orange, peony, lotus, hyacinth, bulrush
Base: Labdanum, incense, iris, musk, cinnamon

Un Jardin Sur Le Nil by Hermés: This scent is bright, clean, and has a great reputation for being well-received. Primarily a ginger aroma on me, it sparkles with a green hue that stays true to form throughout the wearlength. A fresh delight for either him or her!

My Perfume Samples has samples starting at $3/ml

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Jasmine, vanilla, pink pepper, tonka bean, cacao, ylang-ylang, ambrette (musk mallow

Sweet Jasmine Brown by Providence Perfume Company: This artisan perfume oil is an exquisite gateway to natural perfumery. The jasmine is simply darling, the perfect balance of sweet and clean, starlit enchantment. The accents include tonka bean and vanilla, warm like honey, adding smoothness and intrigue. Ultra-feminine and impossible to resist!

Providence Perfume Co perfume oil Sample Set $30/6 x .5ml

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
White pepper, musk, jasmine, cloves, vetiver, neroli, cedar, bergamot, cardamom

Vettiveru by Comme des Garçons: Quite simply, this is my favorite scent on a man. It’s astoundingly simple, but so well done, and doesn’t challenge the senses or intimidate. Vettiveru delivers the sunshine side of vetiver, of hay scenting a late summer breeze. Paired with a soft yet citrusy bite and a touch of pale woods, the overall aroma is crisp yet inviting. Buy it for him, and tell him to wear with caution….

Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $2/ml

Have fun sniffing! I wish you and yours a warm, joyful winter solstice.

Hugs,
Erica

Absolue Pour Le Soir by Maison Francis Kurkdjian 2010

October 23, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 14 Comments

Post by Erica Golding

Hi! Today, I would like to share my love for an intensely sexy work of art that has been getting a lot of steady attention.

Absolue Pour Le Soir by Maison Francis Kurkdjian 2010

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Maison Francis Kurkdjian lists the following accords on its website:
Benzoin from Siam, Bulgarian and Iranian rose, honey, incense absolute, ylang ylang, cumin, Atlas cedar and sandalwood

The first time I sniffed Absolue Pour Le Soir by Maison Francis Kurkdjian (affectionately dubbed “MFK APLS” in fragrance circles), I was popping open a sample vial gifted to me from a precious new friend. She had tucked it into a packet labeled “Favorites,” and that was the only sales pitch I needed. However, when I opened the vial and sensed the first waft of fragrance, all I could think was that it was too much for me – too intense, too animalic, too concentrated. A few days later, upon reading glowing praise in a review, I decided to try the Cologne Pour Le Soir sample that she had also included in the same packet. The simpler composition and cologne dilution of this fragrance allowed me to experience the key notes without being overwhelmed, and unlocked my heart. Passionately, I enjoyed the cologne’s thickly rich dark honey, incense with musky resins, and amber’s benzoin woody-vanillic swirl. I thought to myself, if the cologne was so magical on my skin, then I should give the Absolue a chance.

Photo Stolen Flickr

The next night, I graced my skin with one drop from the wand-capped vial of Absolue Pour Le Soir. It blossomed into an incredibly deep, powdery honey, a viscous scent with accents of warm precious woods and spices, and a haze of resinous incense drifting lazily. It’s the honey that made me purr, it’s truly sensual – erotic, honestly. There was a hint of rose in the opening that made me think of rose petals floating in a bathtub, a luxurious excess that yields simple, pure delight.

As I have been getting to know APLS more intimately and being more courageous with the volume I apply, I have fallen completely in love, sailing past infatuation and into blind devotion. It’s not for everyone, proceed with caution – the intensity and unrepentant sexuality of this perfume can be challenging, especially if you aren’t prepared for it or dive in too deep, too fast. However, for those of us who have synchronized our souls to this extraordinary aroma, it can bring us to tears.

Photo Stolen Pixabay

In my opinion, this is primarily an evening fragrance, although I’m sure true lovers rock this at any hour of the day. The fragrance is concentrated, and lasts a long time on the skin with impressive throw. A little goes a long way, no need to slather and Sex Panther everyone in your wake! Wear this when your focus of the night is romance, and wear it with pride and confidence.

Photo Stolen Flickr

Further reading: Candy Perfume Boy and Australian Perfume Junkies
LuckyScent has $185/70ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $4/.5ml

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this perfume, as I am aware it can be a love-it-or-hate-it fragrance! Are you brave enough to try a drop on your skin?
Warmly fragrant hugs,
Erica

Layering: Tocca Florence + With Love by Hilary Duff

September 18, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

Post by Erica Golding

Layering fragrances is something that I rarely do. I wholeheartedly appreciate that many people delight in the alchemy of mix and match, and personalize their aura by combining two or more scents. According to my personal style, I typically just enjoy a complete fragrance on its own as it was designed, rather than partake in creative experimentation.

I have a few exceptions to this preference, and my ultimate favorite fragrance combination is the insanely breathtaking duet that I am sharing with you today.

Years ago, in college, I was on my way out to party on a Saturday night. I went to my friends’ dorm to pick up my foxy lady crew, and met their neighbor for the first time. She was a vision of pure glamour – glossy blonde mane, perfectly bronzed smooth skin, and piercing clear eyes. She was decked out in a little black dress and heels. (I’m pretty sure I was in jeans and a hoodie, hippie scrub that I was.)

Her fragrance froze me where I stood. Already a perfume junkie, I had no shame in introducing myself by exclaiming: “What perfume are you wearing?!” nShe grinned, beckoned me to follow, and floated into her room. There, she pulled two gorgeous bottles out of a drawer, and offered to spray them on me (“Hell yes, please!”). She stressed that they simply had to be worn together, and that it was pure love potion. “Use with caution!”

Damn right.

Layering: Tocca Florence + With Love by Hilary Duff

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Grapefruit leaf, bergamot, pear, apple
Heart: Violet leaf, iris, gardenia, jasmine, tuberose
Base: Musk, white woods

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives the following notes:
Top: Spices, mango(steen)
Heart: Cocobolo, mango blossom
Base: Amber, musk.

Tocca Florence and With Love by Hilary Duff are great fragrances on their own, each boasting a level of appeal that far exceeds their status as department-store perfumes. Tocca is an unabashedly intense white floral focusing on creamy tuberose, delightfully brightened by a hint of crisp apple and pear. With Love is a symphonious oriental scent featuring cocobolo (which reminds me of sandalwood), vanilla amber, and mango.

Photo Stolen Flickr

Put them together, and it is hard to describe what happens next. Imagine a tropical sunrise, a volcano exploding, a star going supernova – that’s what happens to my soul when these fragrances marry on my skin. They can’t be separated into their original compositions once they join together. The aroma completely changes as each perfume loses itself in the other, fusing seamlessly and morphing into a singular scent experience. The overall impression is simply enchanting, featuring tender white flowers hovering over a musky amber base with tasteful, subtle accents of fruit and spice.

Photo Donated Erica

Please try this if you enjoy tuberose and oriental perfumes. On paper, you may be skeptical about how in the world they could ever work together as one, but I can assure you: It is pure love potion. Use with caution.

Beauty Habit has Tocca Florence 50ml/$68
FragranceX has With Love by Hilary Duff 30ml/$15

Warm wishes for your beautifully fragrant day,
Erica

Sensei by Piotr Czarnecki 2013

August 21, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 17 Comments

Post by Erica Golding

Hello, my finely fragranced friends!

I want to share a scent experience that pierced my heart with true love’s fiery arrow. Of all the aromas that I have fallen for in my many years exploring, learning, and collecting, this creation may be my favorite of all time. I don’t make this statement lightly – it is my declaration of devotion to a work of sensory art. My passion, my power, my spirit:

Sensei by Piotr Czarnecki 2013

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Whiskey, coffee, tobacco
Heart: Incense, myrrh, spicy notes
Base: Ambrette (musk mallow), labdanum, amber and musk

The fragrance opens with a thunderous symphony of precious woods, rich coffee, intense spices, fine tobacco, and full-bodied whiskey. Once the essences meld with skin and chemistry, resinous incense notes, amber, and a subtle swirl of vanilla round out the masterpiece. Each note yields to the next, balanced perfectly and equally, allowing me to either focus on a single element or allow the entirety of the creation to reverberate harmoniously.The aroma is woody, spicy, and vibrates with life, vigor, and purpose.

Photo Stolen Pixabay

Sensei doesn’t need a hype train, it stands on its own by merit of the exquisitely moving fragrance alone. Handmade in small batches, the genuine emotion that breathes life into Sensei is palpable. I would classify this scent as masculine, but only on a superficial level. Rather than requiring an exceptionally strong and confident soul to “pull it off,” Sensei somehow possesses the ability to draw forth the strength and poise of the wearer instead of demanding it. When I anoint my skin with this cherished treasure, I breathe deeply and stand straighter. I carry myself throughout the day with a peaceful invincibility, harmonizing with my fragrance’s serene energy.

Photo Stolen Flickr

Some may classify Sensei as a winter scent, and understandably so; but I met Sensei in the blazing heat of the glowing summer sun, and my associations with it are solar, radiant, and powerfully joyful. Wearlength on me is variable, depending on whether my skin is moisturized and how much I apply, but I get about 5-7 hours. Interestingly enough, the longevity of Sensei is not dependent on the concentration of the scent that I choose. Personally, I find that the Eau de Toilette allows the vanilla to come forth a little more; the Eau de Parfum highlights the smooth tobacco; and the Extrait is all about the spice blend. Sensei comes in a triple-chambered glass bottle, offering each of the concentrates in a singular, cohesive presentation.

Further reading: Kafkaesque
LuckyScent has $160/3 x 33ml

Sensei is pure pleasure for me and I hope that you have enjoyed my impressions of this composition!
Erica Golding

Shalimar by Guerlain 1925

July 16, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 24 Comments

Post by Erica Golding

Hello! My name is Erica, and I’ve enjoyed a lifetime obsession with scent. In all my journeys, I never gave Shalimar a chance on my skin. Shalimar, the bottle waiting patiently at practically every perfume counter, mysterious yet familiar. Recently, I was inundated with a torrent of love for this perfume by fans of all ages, all over the world. In the face of such genuine devotion, who was I to resist? I headed straight to a perfume counter, and my first impressions of modern-day Shalimar EdP are as follows:

Shalimar by Jacques Guerlain for Guerlain 1925

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Citruses, mandarin orange, cedar, lemon, bergamot
Heart: Iris, rose, vetiver, jasmine, patchouli
Base: Civet, musk, tonka bean, opoponax, leather, incense, vanilla, sandalwood

This scent opens with a citronella-like, sharp, insect-repellant bergamot. I just really don’t like the beginning. Much brighter on the card than on my skin. The aroma becomes a little more interesting after settling. Nicely spicy, but with some undertone that comes across as almost rubbery. I’m still not into it, but I admit that I am starting to be hypnotized by the unique, complex puzzle of it all. I keep sniffing, curiously. Later, the fragrance begins to warm into something more harmonious with my aesthetic. I am starting to sense precious woods, amber, and sandalwood, maybe a waft of vanilla as well.

Later still, even more attractive, almost like vanilla pipe tobacco.

And then….

Yes.

Now I understand. It takes about 30 minutes to get there for me, but – wow. Gorgeous and singularly exceptional, yet hauntingly familiar. Woods and amber with a hint of vanilla, but so much more that defies my recognition. Indescribable. A sensual poem.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Next, I sought out vintage bottles. My first scores were EdC in the “watch” bottle and Parfum in the “rosebud” bottle. I decided to review them side by side:

Shalimar EdC:

A quieter, softer opening. Morphs into soft vanilla incense tobacco magic within a few minutes. Fades fast on my skin, a quiet haze that hugs my body closely and shares its presence only with those I allow in that space.

Shalimar Parfum:

A sharp, bold opening. Spicy, and the citronella note is not as bright as with modern EDP but surprisingly still pronounced. Throw is fairly intense, yet somehow focused for me – not a diffusive cloud of fragrance, but a moonbeam piercing the humid summer night’s sky. The aroma drifts into a powdery stage before reaching the equilibrium of the true intent of Shalimar: a warm, almost indescribable perfume that slows my breathing and makes me feel powerfully magnetic. Sultry, mysterious, dark, thickly sensual.

Photo Stolen WikiCommons

Shalimar lasts anywhere from 5-8 hours on my skin. It is definitely an evening, date-night fragrance by tradition ~ and I am a very non-traditional person, so I wear it whenever and wherever the hell I please! That being said, I often crave it at night and wear it as my midnight aromatherapy.

Further reading: Australian Perfume Junkies EdC and Australian Perfume Junkies Parfum
FragranceNet has $48/74ml EdC and other selections
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $3/ml

Erica’s Shalimar Collection Photo Donated Erica Golding

I hope you have enjoyed my account of how I lost my Shalimar virginity; and I hope that I’ve either conjured precious scent memories of your own, or piqued your interest in sampling this beauty for your own first time.

With warmly fragrant hugs,
Erica Golding