Contributors

Covet by Ann Gottlieb and Frank Voelkl for Sarah Jessica Parker 2007

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 12 Comments

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Guest Post by Katrina

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Covet Sarah Jessica Parker 2007

What is with the weather in Australia this summer?  While Portia has been exploring a winter wonderland in Europe we’ve experienced heat-waves, flooding, crazy storms and bush fires.  I hope the APJ family has made it through the extreme weather without any major dramas.  The weather in Brisbane this week has been more rain and my backyard is becoming overgrown. Between showers last weekend I got out in the backyard, trudged through the long grass to cut back the overgrown geraniums and prune the lavender.  The damp green smell with lavender and geranium leaves reminded me of Covet by Sarah Jessica Parker.

Covet FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica lists the fragrance notes.
Top:  spicy-green-mint note of geranium leaves, Sicilian lemon, lavender and chocolate notes
Middle:  honeysuckle, magnolia, and lily of the valley
Base: cashmere wood, musk, vetiver, teak wood and amber

When I dare to wear Covet it’s a bit like entering the wilderness of my backyard to prune my geraniums and lavender.   The opening of Covet is energising with some really interesting green notes.  There is loads of lavender that combines nicely with the lemon and chocolate.  The chocolate is not at all sweet and wafts in and out. There are some really lovely floral notes in Covet too. The warm base notes of musk and woods are earthy and long lasting.

Covet is louder, bolder and more sophisticated than Lovely, the original Sarah Jessica Parker fragrance.  However once the initial intense opening of Covet dies down there are a lot of similarities to Lovely with the lavender, lovely floral notes and woody, musk base.

SJP JustJaredPhoto Stolen JustJared

If you like Lovely then you should try Covet for a more intense perfume experience.  But if you prefer sweet fruity celebuscents then you will probably prefer SJP NYC.  See the Sarah Jessica Parker page on my website for more fragrances by SJP.

FrangranceNet has 50ml for $22
MyPerfumeSamples starts at $2/ml and has $6/5ml

Sarah Jessica Parker Covet is a fantastic perfume and its dramatic fragrance commercial is also one of my favourites.  Enjoy!

The Making Of


The Movie

Check out my http://celebrityperfumestore.com” title=”CPStore” target=”_blank”>website for more celebrity perfume news and reviews.

Katrina

Boss Elements Aqua by Hugo Boss 1997

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 14 Comments

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Guest Post by Margeaux

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Hi APJ,

Launched all the way back in 1997 when I was a mere 22 years of age, I didn’t buy my first bottle of this until the early 2000’s when the local department stores interest in it started to wane and the cost came down. After you’ve read a few of my “reviews” you’ll see that there is a recurring theme here – I’m cheap and hate paying full price for fragrance, even if it means waiting for a few years til the novelty has worn off and others are onto the next hot thing. Billed as a woody aromatic for men, in my experience it doesn’t stray too far away from the familiarity of other Boss scents. They’ve carved out a deserved reputation for everyday fragrances for men over the years. Not overly adventurous in my experience but for men that aren’t as into this as we stink junkies are, they can safely rely on a Boss fragrance delivering what they need.

Boss Elements Aqua by Hugo Boss 1997

BossElementsAqua FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica provides these accords:
Top: Lavender, Mint, Pineapple
Heart: Freesia, Tea, Pepper, Coriander
Base: Vetiver, Vanilla, Patchouli, Sandalwood

The first spritzes (again remember I am a super heavy spritzer) I find to be very pleasing, not overly tart or demanding, but you definitely get a strong tantalizing waft of a lovely fresh masculine scent. I’m usually applying this one as soon as I’ve dried off from the morning shower, and I love the crispness of those opening notes and the way it plays with my senses in those minutes as I get ready for my day ahead. Really peps me up!

There’s a lovely wash of the mint and just a hint of the pineapple that opens this up, and as it starts to settle down the lavender joins in keep things interesting. It’s nearly like a gently softly scented soap at this point but nowhere near as soapy sterile for my nose.

When the mid notes to start to warm it up ever so slightly, its still quite green, which I am learning is most likely the inclusion of freesia. After a good 30 minutes or so, it definitely begins to progress towards a spicier tone thanks to the tea and pepper, coriander and I can detect the beginnings of the base notes coming through. I’m a sucker for sandalwood based smells and actively go looking for them, and although this one tends to be a little light on the sandalwood, it is there and hangs in for the run which tends to fade around the 8 hour mark on my skin.

LikeAPrayerCover prayer.diletantePhoto Stolen prayer.diletante

The real surprise for me in this set of ingredients is the patchouli, which no matter where I smell it always, ALWAYS, reminds me of opening Madonna’s Like A Prayer album all the way back in 1989. When the album was initially released, it was heavily perfumed with patchouli. I was working in a record store at the time and I found the heady smell intoxicating for those weeks when we held and sold an incredible amount of this album. (Does anyone else remember this? It was amazing!)

So I think you’ve got the idea that Elements Aqua has become a firm favourite of mine, I think I may have gone through at least 5 or 6 bottles so far. I usually have a 100ml and a 50ml on the go at once, the smaller one being my travel smell because it just works brilliantly no matter what I’m doing. I find it to be exceptionally wearable just about anywhere, anytime.

BossElementsAqua perfumeblvdPhoto Stolen perfumeblvd

I also love that as its notoriety has waned, there are fewer guys that seem to be wearing it. If you are looking for a bargain scent that just about everyone will love, you could do worse than ignore this forgotten gem before it disappears forever.

MyPerfumeSamples offers $2/ml and $7/5ml
FragranceNet has the 100ml for a tiny $46

See you next month,
Mx
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A little present forv you Margeaux. Portia XX

Black Orchid by Tom Ford 2006

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

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Gabriella
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Hello fellow perfume heads!
Well, sometimes my perfume discoveries really make me feel like I have been living under a rock. This is slightly due to the fact that my sampling and testing methods are never methodical or take a logical course. I always just sniff what intrigues me at the time, rarely just concentrate on testing an entire line, and sometimes I’ll get round to testing a new release maybe months after it has been out. In the case of Black Orchid it’s been years. The oriental chypre was released way back in 2006 and when I finally got round to sniffing it, I was smacking my head with the combined annoyance and disbelief that I hadn’t stumbled on this magnificent beauty much, much sooner.
Black Orchid Tom Ford for women
Photo stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: French jasmine, black truffle, ylang-ylang, black currant, Amalfi lemon, mandarine, bergamot
Heart: Orchid, lotus, fruity notes, spices
Base: Patchouli, sandalwood, dark chocolate, incense, amber, vetiver, vanilla, balsam
According to the PR, with Black Orchid Ford wanted to create a perfume that was ‘old fashioned but in a new sense’ and in my opinion, he has succeeded. Love it or hate it, this is eons away from the masses of sweet, fruity patchoulis out there and brings classical retro glamour back on to the department store shelf front and centre. It’s safe to say it’s impossible not to have an immediate reaction to this scent. It is so huge, so va-va-voom, so sultry, it like a diva on steroids.
It opens with a dark earthy and woody truffle accord that is so lush and thick, it almost feels like a perfume in reverse, as if the basenotes have been swapped with the top but still have the latter’s volume. It is the smell of a rainforest in bloom, with boggy, peaty soil the colour of midnight ink, tinged with fruity spices. There is also something there, perhaps some of the white flowers and vanilla, that lends a burnt caramel quality to the earthiness of the mix. As the scent develops, the darkness of the opening persists and I get a flash of green grass which heightens the accord’s mineral quality. The composition becomes more tropical in effect and the truffle accord is enhanced by a strong melon note, mostly reminiscent of honeydew, with lush, dense creamy white florals darkened by a resinous mix of patchouli and amber.  Black Orchid is sumptuous, narcotic and wanton. It is the olfactory equivalent of a spiced dark chocolate pudding and a snifter of brandy.
BlackOrchid imagesdeparfums.frjpgPhoto Stolen ImagesDeParfums
I wasn’t surprised to find the ad for the scent was a very retro and glamorous looking shot of a red-lipped brunette because Black Orchid for me would suit the likes of femme fatales such as Gina Lollobrigida or Ava Gardner. A sexy, intelligent woman that is confident in her sexuality. She doesn’t wink and say ‘come hither’, but looks you straight in the eye and says ’take me on.’
When I smell it, I imagine the following scene: an actress is on a film set in a tropical forest locale. Having just filmed a scene at the local colonial manor, she’s hung her scarlet chiffon ballgown on the back of her hut door. Resting on the balcony, she’s changed into a silk slip but is still in full makeup and jewels: flicked inky eyeliner and red lips; ears and throat emblazoned with chunky diamonds. She’s drinking brandy out of a heavy crystal highball looking out into the starry night.

Photo Stolen ImagesDeParfums

If you’re someone that view today’s modern department store fragrances with a sense of disillusionment and haven’t tried Black Orchid yet, you must at least give it a try. It is just that different. Having said this, according to the sales assistant who sold me my bottle, Black Orchid is the line’s bestseller. If that’s the case, it makes me feel just that bit more confident about the future of mainstream scents.

Further reading NowSmellThis and PerfumePosse
TradeServices has 100ml EdP for $92
SurrenderToChance starts at $4/ml

Have you tried Black Orchid? What is your darkest and sultriest scent?
Until next time!
M x

Lumiere Blanche by Sidonie Lancesseur for Olfactive Studio 2012

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 14 Comments

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Guest Post by Dionne

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Hey-O, perfumed peeps!

I typically trundle along at a turtle pace in the frugal corner of fragrance-land, as my budget and my personality both keep me from going crazy ordering massive bunches of samples. Plus, my skin chemistry is such that unsniffed purchases are a baaaaad idea – rate of failure in this area is embarrassingly high. Now I’m totally fine with keeping to my budget and plodding along, but I’ll freely admit one of the downsides is I’m REALLY behind on all the exciting new releases everyone else is talking about, and don’t usually participate in splits of the latest thing all the rest of you are groveling over.

However.

Being a frugal fumehound, one of my weaknesses is inexpensive sampling programs. I am a sucker for a great deal. So when I discovered that the relatively new line Olfactive Studio would send spray samples of their four fragrances, shipping included, for a whopping 6 Euros all the way from France (I LOVE getting mail from France!) I jumped right on it. And I’m glad I did.

Lumiere Blanche by Olfactive Studio 2012

Still Life and Autoportrait are lovely, but it’s Chambre Noir and Lumière Blanche that make my knees weak; because the line is relatively new, I was able to get in on a split over at Facebook Fragrance Friends.

Lumière Blanche showed up on a bunch of “Best of 2012” lists, and it was nice to feel in the loop for a change, because I’d actually smelled this, bought it, and loved it myself. Hey, it’s fun hanging out with the cool kids! And speaking of cool, I really enjoyed the concept behind the brand. Artistic Director Celine Verleure has paired photography and perfumery, and although I don’t know the details about who chose the photographers or the photos or the noses – Olfactive Studio has been very interactive right from the start with social media – it’s fascinating to smell how the four perfumers interpreted their respective photos.

LumiereBlanch OlfactiveStudioPhoto Stolen from OlfactiveStudio

What is especially interesting about this photo by Massimo Vitali is that my initial reaction of “Whoa, is that an iceberg?”  followed by the realization it’s actually a beach in the summertime is mirrored in the perfume itself. Typically, I cannot wear my winter frags in the summertime, or my summer frags in the winter; there’s something simply too jarring about wearing them out of season, and in the case of my winter perfumes in summer, far too oppressive.

Up until now I only owned two that were season-less: L’Eau d’Hiver and Jacomo #08. Lumière Blanche now rounds it out to a aesthetically pleasing trio. Major kudos to the perfumer Sidonie Lancesseur; creating a perfume that wears equally well at minus 40 degrees and plus 35? That’s impressive.

LumiereBlanche FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica and OlfactiveStudio give these featured accords::
Top: Cardamom, cinnamon, star anise
Heart: Iris, almond milk, cashmere wood
Bottom: Cedarwood, sandalwood, tonka bean, white musks

I think Lumière Blanche manages to straddle the summer/winter divide because it wears very lightly for a spicy fragrance. I mainly get cardamom and almond, and there’s a creamy milkiness woven in that keeps everything airy. Don’t be fooled by all the woods listed in the notes; if this was a dessert, it’d be a Pavlova.

The subtlety of this fragrance keeps the sillage close to the skin, so this would be very appropriate for work or anywhere else where you want to keep things low-key.  Of course, the downside is it doesn’t have the longevity of a typical oriental, on my scent-glue skin it’s gone in about 8 hours, about the same period of time that most naturals last on me. Thankfully the milky appearance of the jus means you could spray this on a shirt or scarf without staining, and then it’s still going full-strength the following day. My laundry basket’s been smelling really good lately.

4 piece Sample Set or Full Bottles from OlfactiveStudio

As far as glowing reviews go, here’s my final word. My 15ml decant arrived November 30th, and it’s almost half-empty. Let’s hear it for the impulsive spending of six Euros!

Till next month,
Dionne x

4711 Eau de Cologne, My Grandmother, and Me

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 18 Comments

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Guest Post by Suzanne R Banks

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4711 Eau de Cologne, My Grandmother, and Me

4711 FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Orange oil, peach, basil, bergamot,lemon
Heart: Cyclamen, lily, melon, jasmine, Bulgarian rose
Base: Patchouli, tahitian vetiver, musk, sandalwood, oakmoss, cedar

My grandmother (on my Dad’s side) was a cultured woman from the north of England with Scottish and English heritage. She relocated to Australia with her husband (who I never knew), in circumstances that seem rather dodgy, and that no one is allowed to talk about. She lived her entire life here only visiting England once. I remember afternoon teas every second Sunday with cakes and lollies and chocolate biscuits. Sometimes we were even allowed to have a sugar cube as a treat!
Anyway, as long as I can remember she always had 4711 Eau de Cologne. And as long as I can remember she always gave me gifts of 4711 Eau de Cologne. There were big bottles, small bottles and roll-ons! I always thought the roll-ons were amazing. Unfortunately as an annoying teenager I think I told her I didn’t like it and she was devastated. It wasn’t the fact that I didn’t like it but more the reason that I wanted something else (like glamourous perfumes my friends had). I insulted her and she never gave it to me again. I think I still feel guilty about that. Sorry Grandma.

I have been a practicing Aromatherapist for over 15 years, solidly using essential oils in everyday life for around 20 years. I have a particular yearning for Bergamot (the first oil I bought), Petigrain and Neroli essential oils, the bittersweet citrus oils. It was only a few years ago I realised that it may have been my grandmother who stimulated my interest in Aromatherapy – although it has taken me 30 years to acknowledge it! And it was my grandmother who introduced me to the clean, fresh bittersweet scent of Eau de Cologne. It’s the Kolnisch Wasser I am referring to, although the house has other fragrances. The original Eau de Cologne has a fascinating story, a beautiful scent and it’s own website!

The description of the scent, directly from 4711.com:
“Ingredients and Effects
The precious ingredients are carefully harmonised. Bergamot, lemon, and orange provide a uniquely revitalising effect. Lavender and rosemary have a calming and relaxing effect, strengthening the nerves. Neroli, extracted from the blossom of the bitter orange, has a calming effect in the base note, creating a positive mood.”

4711 eleven.sePhoto Stolen eleven.se

Yay! We can see that this fragrance, created over 200 years ago, was made to therapeutically address physical and emotional issues. The exact recipe is of course a closely guarded secret and it has a fantastic historical story! The water was originally referred to as “aqua mirabilis” – miracle water, and was presented to a wealthy merchant named Wilhelm Muelhens as a wedding gift. The legend has it that Carthusian monk made the miracle water in 1792. Wilhelm went on to found a production facility to make the water, and to market it as a remedy to sickness and general maladies of the day. The rest, you could say, is history. Although the perfume company has been bought and sold over the years it is now owned and produced by Mäurer & Wirtz, a subsidiary of the Dalli Group.
Regardless of the owners, this is one perfume that has retained it’s amazing scent, unique bottle design, particular label design for over 200 years. The branding is unmistakable, and when I even just look at the label, my mouth waters with anticipation of the bittersweet miracle water.

CheapSmells starts at about $8
FragranceShop from $12

See you next month,
Suzanne R Banks

Here is the Aussie ad I remember from my childhood (Portia)

FACEBOOK  https://www.facebook.com/suzannerbanks.com.au

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TWITTER     https://twitter.com/suzannerbanks

BLOG          http://suzannerbanks.wordpress.com

Boutonniere No 7 by Rodrigo Flores-Roux for Arquiste 2012

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 19 Comments

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Gabriella

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Hello APJ friends! Hope you are all well and enjoy my contribution today.

 

I’ve loved gardenias even longer than I have loved perfume. The velvety white blooms have been a constant in my house over summer ever since I was a little girl. As a result, I associate their heady scent with freedom, happiness and good times: summer holidays, splashing around in the backyard pool, savouring a cold ice cream, sultry starlight evenings and Australian Christmas. My adoration is so big that I’ve developed a little ritual each time I visit my parents at Christmas. As soon as my suitcase is unpacked, I cut some of the creamy buds and arrange them in a vase to put in my bedroom, their intoxicating scent allowing me to forget my work stress and delve deep into joyous memories.

 

Gardenias may be my perfumed perfection, but sadly, as many have encountered, it’s difficult to obtain a perfect gardenia perfume. As most will know, scent can’t be extracted directly from the flowers and needs to be created via synthetics. In addition, most great gardenia perfumes have been discontinued: Tuvache and the wonderful Velvet Gardenia by Tom Ford (which in my estimation is the most exquisitely lifelike rendition of the flower ever). Others are good, but miss the mark in my estimation: Chanel’s is more jasmine and a little uptight, Isabey’s is more of a floral bouquet, Il Profumo’s a much stronger rendition of the Chanel, Van Cleef’s is more lily and not narcotic enough.

 

Thankfully, the perfume gods were listening in 2012 and a number of perfumes featuring gardenia were released: Ineke’s Hothouse Flowers (which I haven’t tried yet), the dark, brooding gardenia of Serge Luten’s Une Voix Noire and

Boutonniere No 7 by Arquiste 2012

BoutonniereNo7 beyondblackwhitePhoto Stolen beyondblackwhite

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Lavender, pettigrain, gardenia, vetiver, genet, oakmoss

 

Interestingly enough, Boutonniere was conceived as a gardenia fragrance for men. This intrigued me, as when it comes to the flower, I can’t think of anything more femme fatale other than gardenia. According to the copy, the perfume is meant to evoke the scent of a group of gentlemen gathered at intermission at the Opera-Comique in Paris in 1899. They are wearing gardenia boutonnieres; the heady scent from the lapels intermingled with the bergamot and lavender colognes the men are wearing.

Boutonniere does have the crisp feel of cologne and I can see some men wearing it, but it is still decidedly feminine enough to satisfy this girly-girl. What Boutonniere brings to the aforementioned gardenia line-up is a luminous, very green rendition of the flower. The aromatic bergamot and lavender temper the creamy, ripe quality of the velvety petals and give them a soft incandescence. The fragrance has the lush quality associated with the flower but remains bright and soft.

londonDawn telegraph.co.ukPhoto Stolen telegraph.co.uk

When wearing it, I have been thinking of a young woman on summer holidays at a country estate. It’s almost dawn and she can’t sleep, restless with excitement about long languid days ahead. In her ivory nightie, she slowly opens the French doors to a luxuriant private garden filled with gardenia bushes, lavender and huge lemon trees. She breathes in the cool air, steps out with grass crunching underfoot. The daybreak sprinklers are on: petals and roots washed fresh under a sky of milky lilac; the air filled with hushed promise of new possibilities.

Boutonniere to me is the first part of a triptych of the perfect gardenia. If Velvet Gardenia is the flower in full bloom, ripe and voluptuous in the midday sun and Une Voix Noire the flower with petals gone sweet and overripe, then Boutonniere is the bloom yet to be born: tight white buds softly creamy and earthy green.

Downton Abbey series 3.Photo Stolen kued.com
It’s exquisite.
For other reviews, please see BoisDeJasmin and AnotherPerfumeBlog
You can purchase a 55ml bottle directly from Arquiste for US$195.
SurrenderToChance has samples starting at US$5/.5ml
Have you tried Boutonniere? Do you like any gardenia-based scents? What perfume signals freedom and summer holidays to you?
Until next time!
Madeleine x

Elixir by Shakira 2012

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 5 Comments

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Guest Post by Katrina

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Elixir by Shakira 2012

Elixir FragranticaPhoto Stolen Frasgrantica

Fragrantica gives the following notes.
Top: Orange blossom and black pepper
Heart: Peony, freesia and peach
Base: Amber, musk, styrax, brown sugar and white cedar extract

Elixir is a gorgeous oriental fragrance by Colombian born singer Shakira.  Some of her biggest hits include ‘Whenever, Wherever’ and ‘Hips Don’t Lie’.  Shakira works with Spanish perfume house Puig along with Antonio Banderas who has a swag of celebrity scents.  I’ve been really impressed by the few I’ve tried by these Latino celebs and eager to try more, particularly the original S by Shakira, another oriental perfume.

I love wearing Shakira Elixir and hubby loves smelling it on me.  He seems to find it very alluring!  Right from the start I get a lot of wood, which I love.  It is warm and spicy, tending towards masculine.  In the background are some lovely floral notes and a hint of sweetness that provides balance to the perfume.  I was surprised to see peach listed in the fragrance notes.  Now I know its there I can pick it out but I didn’t notice any peach until I started looking for it.   The peach, brown sugar and powdery musk are more noticeable in the heatwave that has hit.

shakira-elixir protothemaPhoto Stolen protothema

I love the commercial and packaging for Elixir.   The design on the box is so pretty and the bottle is shaped like a flask used to create a mysterious intoxicating elixir.  The Elixir commercial is set in a desert landscape with Shakira wearing a beautiful flowing skirt.

Shakira Elixir is anything but the sweet fruity floral you often find with celebrity perfumes.  This warm oriental perfume is gorgeous and my only criticism is the lasting power, which isn’t great. .   When I first spray on Elixir is seems quite heavy but it doesn’t last and I need to re-spritz through the day.

NowSmellThis introduces Elixir
FragranceNet starts at $27.19 for a 2.7oz tester

Don’t forget to come see us at CelebrityPerfume if you want the latest news and gossip,
Katrina x

Oscar For Men by Oscar de la Renta 1977 (1999 re-release)

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 12 Comments

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Guest Post by Margeaux

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Hi all, and thanks for joining me for my very first Junkies review. Please be kind as I am new to discussing the smells that I have loved for some time or have just been recently introduced to. You may have seen me in some of the live sniff movies that have happened – my first was the Cher Uninhibited sniff that Portia and I did way back at the start of 2012. I tend to be quite conservative in what I will buy or try, and tend to stick to the big name fashion houses but slowly over time Portia and the rest of the APJ gang are schooling me on smelling all that the perfume world has to offer. What a great journey ahead of me!

Oscar For Men by Oscar de la Renta 1977 (1999 re-release)

OscarforMen FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Mandarin orange, fir resin, bergamot, pepper
Heart: Nutmeg, lily, lavender, jasmine, violet leaf, cloves, rose
Base: Leather, sandalwood, musk, balsam fir, vanilla, incense

So today I’m tackling a scent from one of fashion’s most iconic designers – Oscar de la Renta. This is one of his few men’s fragrances and what he lacks in quantity, he certainly makes up for with quality.  Oscar for Men was launched all the way back in 1977 but relaunched in 1999 so its far from new. Sadly, it doesn’t seem to rate so highly anymore over at ODLR as it doesn’t appear on the website at all – to find out anything about this one you’ll have to go to blogs and perfume sites.

But on to the scent itself, and it’s a lovely fresh, herbaceous fragrance, that is cool and even slightly aquatic to my nose. The opening notes remind me of walking through moss covered forests everything slightly wet underfoot but fresh smells wherever the wind wafts. After it settles down the freshness remains, but it becomes a more subtle blend of woods and pepper, and on my skin I still get just a hint of something sweet – not in a fruity way, but just with this tantalizing hint of sweetness like a not quite ripe granny smith apple perhaps. Still quite tart, but definitely some sugar in there too. When I close my eyes while smelling this, I get lots of images of forest greens rushing my mind.

HerbBouquet bynaturePhoto Stolen ByNature

I was initially disappointed with how long it lasted on my skin as I’m a pretty heavy spritzer to make sure I get a good stink happening, but the first go of this one seemed to disappear quite quickly. In more recent times as my nose is recovering function after many years of smoking, lo and behold, Oscar lasts a lot longer than I initially thought. Now I will often get a waft late into the afternoon that is quite charming, still woodsy fresh and appealing.

LinenSuit mens-fashion.lovetoknowPhoto Stolen mens-fashion.lovetoknow

Other reviewers have noted that this is a good fragrance for summer months and I would heartily agree. Its definitely not one you’d wear in the dead of winter but otherwise I’d be tempted to wear it just about any other time of year. I tend to headache pretty easily (JPG’s Man and the original Tommy Hilfiger were instant headaches for me) when a scent is simply too much, but this sits nicely after it dries so you should be good to wear it just about anywhere you want to.

CheapSmells has 100ml EdT from $26
MyPerfumeSamples from $2/ml.

Smell ya later sassy stinkers!

Margeaux xx

The Enchanted Forest by Bertrand Duchaufour for The Vagabond Prince 2013

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 20 Comments

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Guest Post by Jordan River

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The Enchanted Forest by The Vagabond Prince 2013

EnchantedForest EdP

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Pink pepper, aldehydes, sweet orange (traces), flower cassis, blackcurrant leaf, hawthorn, effects of rum and wine, rosemary, davana.
Heart: Blackcurrant buds absolute (by LMR from Grasse), CO2 blackcurrant (by Floral Concept from Grasse), Russian coriander seed, honeysuckle, rose, carnation, vetiver
Base: Opoponax resinoid, Siam benzoin, amber, oakmoss, fir balsam absolute, Patchouli Purecoeur®, castoreum absolute, cedar notes, vanilla, musk

Arvo 1.30pm I’m beaming as I stroll this enchanted forest. Straight off I hear John Muir say; “The clearest way into the universe is through a forest wilderness.” Will you stroll with me? These trees are giant blackcurrent bushes with super fragrant leaves and juicy juicy buds. The light rain is made of pink peppercorns sparking with aldehydes and sweet orange. Once this settles on your skin you feel energized and cleansed. Across the valley is an alembic aroma of wine or perhaps something stronger. Deeper into the heart of this forest you are walking on rose petals, past wild carnations and banks of vetiver until you come to The Balsam Fir Tree and a carpet of pine needles. This spot is where I paused and lay down for a fragrant rest after removing a log from my eye. Which you may need to do too, to appreciate this scent. A dream fragment of been snared by a dictator is chased away by a forest floor of myrrh resinoid, Siam benzoin, amber, oakmoss, castoreum absolute, cedar notes, vanilla, musk and a pure hearted patchouli. The dry down is blended to perfection so I can’t differentiate these base notes; I just inhale. This forest dances in green dappled light – there are no scary places here.

Berries

An absolute of blackcurrent buds strengthened with a CO2 extract of blackcurrent as well as two blackcurrent bases give this eau de parfum it’s solifruit character. No it doesn’t smell like Ribena though this may be your only real life blackcurrent reference. Nor is it sweet. A man or a woman could wear this anywhere knowing that they are wafting a unique fragrance that is right here and right now.

Enchanted Forest

Evening 5.30pm Susurrating nicely as a skin scent.

Those great lovers of perfume, the founders of fragrantica.com (2007), Elena Knezhevich and Zoran Knezevic commissioned this scent from Bertrand Duchaufour for the launch of their own perfume house called The Vagabond Prince. Perfumistas, this is an entire new Kingdom to explore. Flankers would be welcome so we can discover more in this Enchanted Forest. An Enchanted Vetiver would be nice. So would 50ml. The Vagabond Prince has promised us an encyclopedia of scent. Well, I’d go anywhere with a vagabond Prince, wouldn’t you? Predicting Awards, Accolades, and Acclamations for this original 2013 release. A great start to The Perfume Year.

For a more prismatic stroll you can walk this very same route with Kafkaesque or you could meander alongside Lanier.

Jovoy Paris has 100ml EdP for 140 Euros
Lucky Scent has $5 Samples

Enchanted Forest, Enchanté.
Jordan River

All product photos from The Vagabond Prince other photos authors own