Contributors

Respect Your Elders soap by Lush

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Erica Golding

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Warmly fragrant greetings to you all, hope you’re having a fabulous week so far!

Question: Do you ever smell a fragrance that is hauntingly familiar and yet you can’t place it? Your brain says, “Oh! This smells just like…….” and leaves you hanging. Isn’t it so frustrating? I think it’s a pretty common experience, but for a perfume enthusiast, the quest to solve the mystery can easily become an obsession! Can you help me out?

I’ve been trying to figure out what this soap reminds me of, and it’s making me nuts:

Respect Your Elders soap by Lush

Respect Your Elders soap by LushLUSH

LUSH gives these featured accords:
Elderflower, Elderberries, Olibanum (frankincense), and Bergamot

About a year ago, I tried this soap for the first time and had an immediate reaction. The aroma is so familiar, I could just scream from not knowing what it reminds me of! I am so in love with the scent. If it was a perfume, I would just buy bottles until I was broke.

The label on my slice of soap heaven classifies the aroma as fruity, but I don’t agree. The scent is delicately floral, incredibly elegant, and really would make just the most breathtaking perfume. Why oh why doesn’t this exist as perfume??? The signature Lush shot of bergamot lends its own specific associations, but truly, my scent memory trigger feels so very distant, definitely from childhood (which, for me, was the 80s).

Is there a story behind the inspiration for this scent? Have you smelled this soap and been reminded of something else (pretty please)? I will just fall over laughing if it was inspired by Chanel No 5 or something that should be obvious to me!

Respect_Your_Elders LUSH female-cardinal-in-bird-bath PDIPDI

LUSH Australia has $6.95/100gm

From LUSH Australia: Black-berried elder. A tree of legend, but also a great way to describe this magical blackcurrant-scented soap. Elderflower infusion, elderberries and olibanum oil create a potent spell for warding off evil (niffs that is!) Respect Your Elders will leave your skin silky soft and beautifully scented. Everything you look at can be turned into a story, so we say cancel storytime and let this become a part of your daily ritual.

Until next time, Love and Light
-Erica

2017 Top 5 by Cookie Queen

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Val the Cookie Queen

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Yuletide Greetings APJ

Although there has been a ton of new stuff launched this year I cannot pretend to have been interested in much of it. I try to select a few that spark my passion out of a sea of dross. Call me a bitch, I really don’t care. My selection comes in no particular order. If was to chose one that heads my short list, there would be no prizes for guessing which one it would be.

2017 Top 5 by Cookie Queen

Naja by Vero Kern for Vero Profumo

Please note that Naja is a voile formulation and not an edp. In truth it is parfum strength and needs to be treated as such. I feel a deep connection to Vero Kern and had the privilege of accompanying her on the creative voyage as she brought Naja to life. It was a bloody hard trek. Completion took nearly three years of pleasure and pain. The rich tobacco and deeply fragrant osmanthus is narcotic.

Superstitious by Dominique Robin for Frederic Malle

Freaking fabulous. Jasmin, rose, peach, amber, incense, a vetiver that melts into patchouli.
All wrapped in waxy aldehydes. I was stopped at traffic lights the other day, and took a moment to close my eyes and sniffed my wrist, until I could breathe in no more.
As the car behind me beeped, and I opened my eyes, I saw the bloke in the car next to mine staring at me. I am still laughing. My ten mls has nearly gone.

811 Absolute by Mathilde Bijaoui for Giovanna Antonelli Perfumes

A deeply aromatic spicy oriental. This was the surprise of the year. If it hadn’t been for The Silver Fox telling me to get a hold of the collection, I would have written off the perfumes
Fronted Giovanna Antonelli, a Brazilian actress. I mean, really? The 811 lingers for hours on the skin, and I swear there is a golden tobacco running through it. I took the bottle to my hairdresser a couple of
weeks ago to grab a SOTD shot for Instagram (yep, I am a sad person) and left with every stylist wearing it. Came home and did two decants.

Black Perfecto by La Petite Robe Noir for Guerlain

Commercial and fairly mainstream – meaning I can buy it in a store not 3 km away from me. Black tea, black cherry, black licorice and an marvelous black bottle. With the almond and a slight smokiness it´s just the bizz in our frosty and foggy winter. I would go so far as to say I wouldn’t wear it in the summer

L’Animal Sauvage for Marlou

This is the first perfume from Marlou. Claire from Take One Thing Off recommended I give it a go.
I wore a musk from the head shop when I was about seventeen. My mother would tell me that I stank like a polecat. And really since this time I have not explored the musk shelf, although I did use up 10mls of MKK from Lutens a couple of years ago.
This is sexiness pure, wrapped in florals that lie to you.

I have also worn a lot of Hiram Green´s Arbolè Arbolè, Malle`s Portrait of a Lady and Dries Van Noten, and Luten`s La Fille de Berlin.

Perfumista highlights 2017 would be meeting Portia and Jin in Milan, and finally making it to Aus Liebe Zum Duft/First in Fragrance up in Germany.

Perfume tips for 2018 would be Dusita`s Fleur de Lalita and Hiram Green´s Slowdive.

That’s it. A fabulously scented year, as always.
Tune back in on the Feast of Stephen. I´ll give away something you might like.

Thanks for tuning in.
Have a Cool Yule.
Misteltoe Bussis.
CQ

 

(ED: Photos by Val)

Top Five Hot Weather Fragrances: Gabriella 2017

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Gabriella

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Hello perfumed peeps!

We’ve had quite sultry weather in Melbourne lately with temperatures over 30C for days straight. The heat has caught everyone by surprise, including me, as it usually doesn’t get this hot until January or February. The change was sudden too: one day I was in jumpers and coats and luxuriating in my dark rose and woody scents and the next day I’m sweltering in a sundress and wondering what perfume to wear. So, today I want to share my:

Top Five Hot Weather Fragrances

Fragrantica

Amyris Femme by Francis Kurkdjian for Maison Francis Kurkdjian 2012

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Lemon leaf, orange leaf
Heart: Amyris, iris
Base: Vetiver, agarwood (oud)

The Parisian chic choice. Amyris Femme dazzles from the opening with bright and juicy lemon blossom coupled with soft iris and delicately spiced woods. It’s a joyous scent that is still incredibly elegant and poised.

Further reading: The Candy Perfume Boy
Mecca Cosmetica has 70ml/$228

Fragrantica

Carnal Flower by Dominique Ropion for Frederic Malle 2005

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, melon, eucalyptus
Heart: Ylang-ylang, jasmine, tuberose, salicylates
Base: Tuberose absolute, orange blossom absolute, coconut, musk

The sexy diva. Carnal Flower is the perfume equivalent of diving head first into a huge florist’s fridge brimming with creamy tuberose flowers. Lush tuberose is front and centre, but the eucalyptus provides a lovely green quality to the fleshy white blooms laced with a touch of coconut.

Further reading: Bois de Jasmin
Mecca Cosmetica starts at 10ml/$84

Fragrantica

Lily by Florence Idier for Comme des Garcons: Olfactory Library 2000 (reissued 2017)

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Lily of the valley, freesia, syringa, dog rose buds

The lovely green one. I’ve struggled to find a good lily of the valley scent since the original Christian Dior Diorissimo was reformulated beyond recognition, but this may just be it. Here, the lily of the valley is very stemmy and verdant but devastatingly pretty.

Mecca Cosmetica has 50ml/$130

Fragrantica

Original Vetiver by Olivier Creed and Erwin Creed for Creed 2004

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Ginger, mandarin, bergamot
Heart: Vetiver from Haiti, Mysore sandalwood, Florentine Iris
Base: Musk, ambergris

The “It’s too hot for perfume” choice. Many vetivers tend to be on the heavier side but this is the soft caress of a feather on skin. Mandarin and bergamot keeps things bright and fresh with a touch of gentle iris and salty ambergris.

Further reading: Katie Puckrik Smells 
Libertine Parfumerie has $339/75ml

Fragrantica

Rosa Greta by Fabrice Pellegrin for Eau d’Italie 2017

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Litchi, white tea
Heart: Rose bud, Damascus rose infusion
Base: Cedarwood, ambrox

The summer office scent. Made to commemorate Greta Garbo’s disappearance from the paparazzi in the Amalfi Coast in 1938, Rosa Greta is joyful but still very elegant. Lychee and a gorgeous tea note lend a vibrancy to soft rose.

Mecca Cosmetica starts at 100ml/$204

So what are your favourite perfumes for when the mercury starts to rise?

With much love until next time!

G x

Sharing my Perfume Passion

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Sandra

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Hiya wonderful smelling APJers! How is everyone doing?

As many know, I have had a love affair with perfume since I was a child. I have other passions as well, such as travel, photography, sketching and music. I am not sure if it is the language or age, but I am obviously more comfortable in my skin now and where I would normally keep mum about my loves, I find myself expressing myself more freely. This is a great opportunity for me because it takes me to new places and I am meeting so many wonderful people.

A friend of mine approached me a few weeks ago to speak at an expat morning meeting at the school. About perfume! I was skeptical at first but decided to go ahead and it was a pleasant revelation for me of how open and curious people were.

Sharing my Perfume Passion

I decided to share my love of Neela Vermeire Creations. Big question was how to go about doing so. I adore Neela’s perfumes as they use some of my favorite notes and spices. The Netherlands is the place to live if you love flowers so my first stop was the florist where I discussed what kinds of flowers are readily available in November and they did a marvelous job. I chose to include fragrant flowers and not all are used in the NVC perfumes. We had lily, tuberose, freesia, ‘Yvette Piagaitte’ rose, ‘Free Spirit’ rose, a third rose which they could not name and finally stock also known as matthiola incana which is clove-like in scent.

I included fresh mango, cinnamon bark, cardamom pods, vanilla bean paste, essential oils of frankincense, sandalwood and jasmine and a leather clutch for its scent.

We kicked off the meeting by starting to sniff the various flowers. Many of the participants were astonished at how different each of the roses smelled.

There was the obvious love/hate reaction with tuberose. Interestingly though those from tropical climates loved the tuberose. We moved through the spices, oils and finally the fresh cut mango. Once that was done I sprayed Bombay Bling onto a tester paper and all were amazed that they could easily identify the mango and also the lychee. A friend of mine loved Trayee not for the incense but for the ganja which she could identify (I cannot). Several participants could identify cardamom or cinnamon.

In attendance was a man who did not know exactly what to expect but enthusiastically sniffed the flowers, spices and oils. When it came to testing the perfumes he was under the impression that a man could not possibly wear any of these perfumes. I convinced him to try Mohur as I find men can really rock its spicy rose with glorious sandalwood. He loved it and went away with the knowledge that perfume can be unisex and that it will smell differently on each and every one of us!

Each of the participants had a clear favorite so at the end of the talk I gave the participants samples of the perfumes they were interested in and a flower of their choosing. It was a lovely morning and I would like to thank the expat group for giving me this opportunity.

Neela Vermeire Creations Discovery Sample Set €55 

Do you have any inhibitions when it comes to talking about your perfume passion? What would you talk about?

Wishing everyone a wonderful start to December.

Oodles of fragrant kisses,
Sandra xo

 

(ED: All photos supplied by Sandra. Thank you. XXX)

Kyphi by Ellen Covey for Olympic Orchids 2011

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Erica Golding

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Hello all of you perfume lovers!

Fall down a rabbit hole with me. I have stumbled upon a natural perfume that almost dives into chaotic emotion, yet somehow maintains a deep, peaceful balance. Its purity and elegance are just astounding. I sense echoes of my own vulnerability hovering above my skin as it rises around me.

Tonight, I am intoxicated by the vapors of: Olympic Orchids – Kyphi parfum

Kyphi by Olympic Orchids 2011

Kyphi by Ellen Covey

Kyphi Olympic Orchids Artisan Perfumes FragranticaFragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Frankincense, myrrh, benzoin, labdanum, beeswax, spikenard, henna, lemongrass, wild orange, calamus, cassia, cyperus, saffron, juniper berry, spices

If you love true frankincense and honeyed myrrh, you will lose it when you inhale this gorgeous composition! The intricacy and stealthy complexity of Kyphi make it unlike any perfume I’ve loved. The aroma is woody but not dry, sweetened but not gourmand, spiced but not sharp. Singing accent notes such as wild orange and saffron ring like laughter, easy and genuine.

I want to saturate my life with this fragrance. I want it in my hair, on my clothes, in my atmosphere, and on my linens. Kyphi is truly an achievement, a stunningly gorgeous study in ancient art and modern technique. Wear this parfum if you want tendrils of incense to reach into your spirit and caress the center of your being.

Kyphi Olympic Orchids British_Museum_Egypt Tolomeo_I WikiMediaWikiMedia

Further reading: Life With Perfumes
Olympic Orchids has samples from $3

From Olympic Orchids: Based on the common themes that run throughout various ancient formulas for the Egyptian incense that was burned to welcome the night, this version of Kyphi is a 100% natural mix of resins, essential oils, and absolutes, a liquid version of the incense formula that can be worn as an uplifting and offbeat perfume and is especially well suited for meditation, yoga, or other activities that require concentration. 100% natural.

Kyphi Olympic Orchids Sphinx NadineDoerle PixabayPDI

Do you ever love a perfume this much, or am I just crazy? What else from Olympic Orchids do I need to try?

Until next time,
Love and light,
Erica

Geisha Marron EdP by Maria McElroy for Aroma M 2017

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Val the Cookie Queen

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Hi there super scented APJers,

From New York.

“Brown us surely the most underserved colour in all of perfumery. More than any other, it evokes the musty scent scent of succulent overripeness at sweetness that dares to skirt the edge of seductive decay.”

Geisha Marron EdP by Aroma M 2017

Aroma M Geisha Marron EdP by Maria McElroy

Aroma M

Maria has slowly expanded her original oil-based perfumes to include eau de parfum versions. I adore the oils, but a lot of people prefer
to spray. The Geisha Marron Eau de Parfum is a creamy warm autumnal lily. Smelling completely French, it totally surprised me. I have
the Geisha Noire and the Vanilla Hinoki, both orientals, and the Geisha Marron couldn´t be more different. Geisha Marron is white blooms tinged with auburn, with the sparkle of citrus; mandarin, bergamot and grapefruit, correct balance being critical to Maria McElroy´s creations. If the scent of the lily traditionally see the Spring in each year, then it would be appropriate that they continue their journey through the Autumn, preparing us for the chill of winter. This time wrapped in speckled brown leaves, fallow fields, and the bare trees with their dark branches.

Aroma M

In French, Marron means both chestnut and the colour brown. Maria has included the Japanese chestnut and magnolia to complement the lily and reign it in, so as not to let it quite take over. Geisha Marron EdP is the perfect introduction, for someone wanting to move from more traditional perfumes, into the artisanal world of the fabulous New York based Aroma M Perfumes.

Aroma M

You can order from Aroma M. It is a bit of a pain ordering from the US but there is a German company that carry some of the line and Maria McElroy will happily inform you as to the best way of going about it.

 

Chestnut flavoured bussis,

Val CQ X

Korres Black Sugar Oriental Lily Violet

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Gabriella
(ED: Welcome back our lovely Madeleine who has returned)

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Hello Fragrant Friends,

It’s great to be back reviewing here on APJ after such a long time.

Have you ever found that being away from your usual routine makes you reconsider your fragrance tastes? A perfume that you may have loathed becomes a new love or a style of perfume that you’d always considered not for you now captures your heart? This is what happened to me recently on the last night of a five-week European trip with my husband.

We were in Oia, a small town in Santorini, hoping to catch a glimpse of the gorgeous and much-photographed sunsets there. Sadly, it was too cloudy that evening and so we wandered around the little alleyways for a little bit before stopping for dinner. While wandering, we came upon a small apothecary full of Korres and other fragranced goodies, and of course, I went in to have a little spritz or two. Surprisingly, it was a gourmand, a genre I usually hate, that had me at first sniff…

Black Sugar Oriental Lily Violet by Korres 2015

Black Sugar Oriental Lily Violet Korres FragranticaFragratntica

Fragratntica gives these featured accords:
Brown sugar, Asian lily, violet, vanilla, caramel

Black Sugar Oriental Lily Violet starts out all sugary violet but it’s more parma violet or violet candy floss, very airy and light, rather than all syrupy and cloying. It feels gentle and soothing on the skin and shines softly. A burnt quality to the sugar note also prevents it from veering too much into toothache territory while a soft, salty and slightly milky lily note lends the composition a cuddly lactonic vibe. There’s caramel and vanilla here too, but again, an incense-like element to these notes cuts the sweetness and adds some depth to the overall vibe.

Black Sugar Oriental Lily Violet Klimt Portrait of Emilie Louise Flöge WikiMediaWikiMedia

It’s this smokiness and incense, the salty-milky quality of the lily and the burnt aspect of the sugar that make the scent quite intriguing compared to your usual gourmand. It has an almost ethereal and other-worldly quality, which makes it both soothing and relaxing. Overall, it’s also a fairly linear scent that stays close to the skin, but different notes seem to peek out more each time I put my nose to wrist. Longevity is around 3-4 hours.

Due to its snuggly aspect, Black Sugar Oriental Lily Violet is definitely a comfort scent and one to wear after a hard day’s work or to soothe frazzled nerves. I’d love to have this in bath gel form, so I could sink into lovely violet milky bubbles and forget the world around me. Despite being more on the snuggly side, the airiness of the scent means it can be worn all year round and not just consigned to the colder months.

Black Sugar Oriental Lily Violet Jim, the Photographer After Eight Oriental Lily FlickrFlickr

Korres has 50ml/€39
Sephora has 50ml/$US44.50

What’s a perfume or scent style that you used to hate and have now come to love? Has a trip or a holiday ever taken you out of your scented comfort zone?

With much love until next time!

M x

Vanille Tonique by Mark Evans for Evocative Perfumes 2014

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Kate Apted

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G’day APJ folk!

Vanilla? Yuck, no thanks!

I hate vanilla in perfumes. End of story. It belongs in foods and reminds me of endlessly of vanilla ice cream and vanilla flavoured rice puddings. Just don’t bring me a bottle and ask me to try it if it is vanilla centred. But then one day…

I bought a sample set of Mark Evans’ Evocative Perfumes; the alcohol based scents. Out of a solid sense of duty to the effort gone by Mark to make all the scents in the pack, I felt I owed it to him to try every single scent. Even the dreaded one called Vanille Tonique. I sprayed with my breath held and forgot I was even wearing it minutes later.

Vanille Tonique by Evocative Perfumes 2014

Vanille Tonique by Mark Evans

Vanile Tonique begins in a very humble, quiet way. There is nothing booming about it in the way some other vanillas open. It eased its way to my nose about 15 minutes later with a slightly spiced, non sweet glow. I actually had to wrack my brain to think of what I was wearing. I was running errands that day and quite busy, so it had slipped my mind. I got home to find out what I had sprayed. Aha! Vanille Tonique. Oh. No.

I lasted out the few hours of the day til shower time to gauge the development of Vanile Tonique; desperate to find a reason to hate it. I sprayed all of Mark’s other creations on cards and tried each of them again. As much as I love several other of Mark’s scents nothing captured me quite like Vanille. I had to admit by shower time that the mildly buttery development and the simmering spices were a love. My body heat had amped up the voracity of the whole composition without once making the vanilla sweet or overpowering. And though not a powerhouse, it had accompanied me in my shadow the whole 6 hours. It had trailed off to a skin scent by 5 hours, but I find I get bored of scents by then.

Vanille Tonique by Evocative Perfumes vanilla-flower PixabayPDI

A week later, at Tafe, I had been craving something, but I wasn’t sure what. I grabbed a few of the Evocative samples and smelled them at all the red lights on my way to Tafe. Vanille Tonique still stood out. It was exactly what I was after. I ordered a bottle during my break and as I ate my food, I pondered on what had shifted in me. I smelled my arm and it did not interfere with my appetite.

One of the things I totally deplore about sweet, gourmandish scents is that they do affect my desire to eat. As a half-arsed body builder (that is another story), I have to fit a certain number of calories into my day. Vanille Tonique doesn’t ever interfere with my food and appetite. As projection is arm’s length, and the spices are what bring the subtle heat, the vanilla is left to be what it is. Just a delightful, somewhat sensual, warm glow that does not have that hyper vanilla of ice cream.

PDI

Further reading: Australian Perfume Junkies
Evocative Perfumes has $40/12ml oil + Samples from $4

Are there any gateway scents that have completely spun you around? Are there any notes you still won’t try?

Kate xxx

NEW! April Aromatics + The Different Company

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Sandra

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Hi APJ! How are you all doing? Can you believe we are nearing the end of the year already?

Where has the time gone? We are in full autumn swing here, buckling down for the coming winter. The heat is on and there is a chill in the air outside. I have been here in Rotterdam for soon to be eleven months! It definitely feels like home now, but I still have not hung any paintings on the walls – what is up with that?

Autumn is a time of closure for me. Summer is over with its long days and warm air kissing my skin. My son goes back to school which ends the innocent joys of childhood summers. The trees show colours of vibrant yellows, oranges and reds and then loose their foliage all too quickly. Even the birds are changing – many fly south and yet others arrive for the milder winters here. I have not seen the hedgehog in a while, perhaps he is already hibernating? All of this closure has brought me to think about my first year here in The Netherlands.

When I am completely honest and look past the challenges here and there of navigating a new language and culture, it has been a year of awakening and coming back to myself. I have lovely friends and neighbors and this is now home. I am no longer weary, I am stronger and more self assured than I have been in years.

With this new awakening I am now ready and excited to try and test new perfumes and there are two perfumes that fit into this new self quite well.

NEW! April Aromatics + The Different Company

Fragrantica

Pink Wood by Tanja Bochnig for April Aromatics

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Sandalwood, Agarwood, Cistus, Labdanum, Oakwood, Rose Otto, Rose absolute, Geranium, Rosewood, sweet pink fruity notes

Pink Wood is my first experience with April Aromatics. I eagerly sprayed my first spritz of Pink Wood and was taken by surprise by the beautiful rose and wood opening. Many roses turn sour on my skin but this is actually remaining rosy which is a big plus in my books. There are no pink fruity notes for me though. The warmer my skin is the woodier the perfume. The roses stay more in the background leaving me with a wonderful woody rose perfume perfect for autumn days and walks in the park.

Fragrantica

Santo Incienso, Sillage Sacré by Alexandra Monet for The Different Company

gives these featured accords:
Top: Calabrian bergamot, petitgrain, nutmeg
Heart: Palo santo, atlas cedar, hedione
Base: Incense, myrrh, musk, vetiver, guaiac wood

This is not your usual incense perfume at all. For me it starts with a blast of bergamot with an air of spice. There is something citrusy in there but it slowly fades into the background leaving behind a warm woody accord. I have no idea what Palo Santo smells like, so I cannot assume that this is what I am smelling, however, it is beautiful and intriguing pulling me in. In the middle stage through to the dry down there is a magic happening with the incense and myrrh where the woods are warmed through. What I love about it most of all is that the incense tendrils waft up to my nostril throughout the day and bring me such joy and calm.

Both Pink Wood and Santo Incienso, Sillage Sacré are getting a lot of wear time. The days are shorter and colder but the lighting is stunning taking my breath away on an almost daily basis when the sun is shining. This is my favorite season of the year.

Do you have a favorite perfume for autumn or spring walks? Do you have a favorite season?

Sending sunny hugs to you all.
Sandra xo

Nuit de Bakélite by Isabelle Doyen for Naomi Goodsir 2017

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Sandra

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Hi there APJ, I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying spring or autumn. I am actually quite surprised that autumn is so much nicer than summer here in the Netherlands.

When we arrived in the Netherlands I made it a personal quest of mine to hunt down as many different flowers as I could get my greedy hands on. Not only is almost everything available, but the prices are incredibly low! I have been going through the seasons here looking for specific flowers, such as crocosmia in the summer, hydrangeas the size of basketballs, orchids of all shapes and sizes and this summer I finally, after many years of dreaming, was able to buy fresh tuberose. I have always loved tuberose perfumes, but after experiencing the real thing, my expectations have changed slightly. I no longer want creamy or buttery tuberose, or tuberose that is so difficult to smell because of added ingredients that are an onslaught to my senses. I want the real thing.

When I bought my first stems of tuberose I was taken aback at how complex the flower is. The flowers are so delicate in sight and to the touch – they are almost silky. I expected the flowers to be white, when in reality they are more ivory, tinged with pinks, yellows and the slightest green. The stem itself has different shades of green but not a dark green at all. Visually the tuberose is stunning and then there is the perfume. Oh my is it intoxicating! My home smelled divine for a whole week.

I love that the Naomi Goodsir website describes Nuit de Bakélite as “Floral (2017) The premise of a ‘narcotic lady’…”

Nuit de Bakélite by Naomi Goodsir 2017

Nuit de Bakélite by Isabelle Doyen

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Tuberose, angelica, artemisia, ylang-ylang, karo karounde, carrot seeds, cardamom, leather, styrax, green notes

Don’t take these notes too seriously as they differ on several websites because no note list was released.

I was hoping for something out of the ordinary, something new and bit surprising – narcotic. Let’s sniff…

Wow – what an opening! It starts out bright and fresh green – full of juicy (not sweet at all) slightly bitter green leaves. Usually, I shy away from such green perfumes because they are out of my comfort zone. Not to fear, this perfume surprises me with the turns it takes. After such a fresh green opening it stays that way for a while on my skin, only hinting at the merest inclusion of tuberose. As my skin warms and I am moving around, the tuberose becomes more pronounced, but it is not a soliflore at all. The tuberose is accompanied by a little bit of rooty and woody goodness. To make it more interesting I am sensing that there are other things going on here that I cannot pinpoint.

Then to my surprise once again, Nuit de Bakelite shifts slightly bringing in a leather component. It dries down to a wonderful tuberose leather scent sprinkled with woods to make it rounder. This perfume has all the colors of the blossoms that I smelled this summer. The green stalk, the blossom tinged with pinks and yellows all come through in Nuit de Bakelite.

Further reading: BL’eauOG and Persolaise
LuckyScent has $187/50ml
Surrender To Chance has samples from $6/0.5ml

With this new entry into Naomi Goodsir’s lineup I will buy samples of all of the other ones.

Have you tried Naomi Goodsir? Which of her perfumes should I sample next?

Kisses – Sandra

 

(ED: All photos supplied by Sandra unless specified)