Sniffory GIVEAWAY WINNER

October 7, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey APJ,

Thanks to Sniffory for their generosity and Azar for getting in and finding out about them.
Let’s see who won,

Portia xx

Sniffory GIVEAWAY WINNER

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winners who will receive:
1 x 15ml Sniffory designer sample (once they open for business)
P&H USA ONLY

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Thursday 6th October 2016 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org

Gina Tabasso

The winners will have till Sunday 9th October 2016 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit

Australasian Artisan Botanical Perfume Expo

October 5, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 5 Comments

Post by Suzanne R Banks

Hi APJ,

We have a giveaway of 4 DOUBLE tickets today, see below.

Suzanne xx

Australasian Artisan Botanical Perfume Expo

October 23rd ~ Sydney

We are getting really excited about the inaugural Australasian Artisan Botanical Perfume Expo ~ October 23rd ~ Sydney. We are botanical perfumers from the southern hemisphere passionate about the beauty of natural, BOTANICAL perfumes. Be part of the revolution of natural fragrance, beauty, sensuality, health and wellbeing.

WHEN Sunday, October 23, 2016 from 11:00 AM to 3:30 PM (AEDT)

WHERE Kirribilli Neighbourhood Centre – 16-18 Fitzroy Street

Kirribilli, NSW, 2061

** close the to Kirribilli train station with lovely cafes in the village.

INCLUDED IN YOUR TICKET

A variety of teas to enjoy

Award winning dark chocolate mousse by Yalla (Gluten and preservative free)

fruit and more.

Gifts given out during the day by Lord Foppington

and

A door prize will be drawn at 2pm for one attendee to the value of $500 (Winner must be on site to receive the gift)

BUY EVENTBRITE TICKET HERE

Remember to treat yourself first, then everyone will benefit.
Suzanne XXXX

Sniffory GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 4 winners who will receive:
1 x Double Australasian Artisan Botanical Perfume Expo Ticket
P&H SYDNEY ONLY

HOW DO YOU WIN?

Open to everyone worldwide who follows AustralianPerfumeJunkies via eMail, WordPress, Bloglovin or RSS. Please leave how you follow in the comments to be eligible. I must be able to check that you follow so if you have an email address on your gravatar that’s different to your follow address then please email me so I know. Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged.

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please tell us if you have used a botanical perfumes before or if you think you’d like to?

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Friday 7th October 2016 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Tuesday 11th October 2016 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit

Suzanne R Banks Blog
Suzanne R Banks Aromatherapy
Suzanne R Banks FaceBook

Ainslie’s Pitti 2016 Photo Essay

October 4, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

Post by Ainslie Walker

Hi Fragrant Friends,

I popped over to Florence, Italy (Firenze as the locals call it) for Pitti Fragranze in September. The fair showcases the best in Niche perfumery, a whopping 270 brands exhibited this year! If you times that by how many fragrances in each collection, you’ll start to understand how much brain/nose cramming was done over the 3 days – I hope to share some of the magic so you feel you were there too!

Ainslie’s Pitti 2016 Photo Essay

I saw a big sign in front of an almost rundown building, Stazione Leopalda announcing the event. The entrance served as an area where people could relax, interview and of course, being Italy, smoke! The interior was rustic and industrial but with loads and loads of shiny new stalls set up and numbers and flowers hanging from the ceiling. My Pitti app let me know the theme was Numbers and Flowers – an art show running simultaneously expressing connections of numbers and flowers – the right numerical proportions can create palpable sensory experiences.

Die!! I WAS IN NICHE HEAVEN!!

I’d never been to Pitti before, so, full of excitement I began my first day’s journey and spotted Andy Tauer straight away. He was launching his new fragrance Tuberose Flash so I had a chat, sniff and also of newbie, At Coeur Desert…oh and of course had a quick selfie with him.

Turning, I saw the new Atelier des Ors – Iris Fauve and sprayed it, knowing I was more than likely spending $400 if I fell in love – it’s divine: smooth, sensual – I need to wear it some more but the iris was almost caramelised and velvet during the dry down.

Then my phone rang and it was Mark Buxton (OMG!!) – he was running a tad late to meet me – I resniffed his fragrances and neighbouring Eccentric Molecules while I waited for our scheduled interview…which of course you’ll be reading here in the upcoming weeks. HILARIOUSUS chap!

One stall along further, I ran into Nicolas Chabot who not only had his beautifully reinvigorated Le Galion collection, of which I got to smell a few, new to my nose and his novelty for Pitti, Sang Bleu. I had been anticipating experiencing his new brand, Aether for some time as it rolled out on instagram so he took me through the collection – all based on molecules and there were some really interesting scents I need to try on skin STAT. Overall I love the packaging and vibe which is quite dark and apothecary-like.

Montale had The New Rose on sparking and catchy metallic display – they handed me a small sample, so a review will follow (eventually).

Carner Barcelona was showing newbie, Costarela.

Lovely warm, Neela Vermeire and I had a half hour chat through the range and she doused me in her newest fragrance Raheme, ready for my evening, a lovely osmanthus based floral number made by perfumer Bertrand Douchfour. I left from day 1 in a cloud of exotic goodness!

More Pitti to follow in my next post(s)! Have you ever been?

Ainslie XX

Sniffory: New Decant Service

October 3, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 34 Comments

Post by Azar

Hello Gorgeous Smelling Peeps,

Whatever the purchase (or the path), I feel it absolutely necessary, as well as empowering, to have solid options and viable alternatives. This political season, I’m sure that many of “my fellow ‘Mericans” had hoped to make a good choice between solid, viable candidates in the 2016 presidential election. No such luck! Sadly, what we are being “offered” this time around is anything but viable, let alone believable. The recent political process has left me feeling not only powerless to effect any change but politically disenfranchised as well. The prospect of once again having to vote defensively simply to maintain the status quo is an abhorrent, although seemingly necessary, reality.

Fortunately for me, when the American political landscape is so bleak and devoid of honest, sweet smelling alternatives, I know that I have literally thousands of wonderful fragrances to choose from in Perfumeland. Also, to help me make the perfect full bottle
choice, there are now more than a score of services offering samples and decants for individual purchase or by subscription. I am currently subscribed to two of these and use a couple of the others for occasional sampling and collecting.

Sniffory: New Decant Service

Coming in November, 2016 there will be a new “candidate” for decant services on the sampler/decant ballot. Sniffory, the brainchild of perfume industry veteran Judah Abraham, will be a decant service website, offering an extensive selection, low prices and proposed great customer service. Here are a few of Sniffory’s campaign “promises”:

1 – $15 US for a 15 ml decant of your choice from Sniffory’s extensive collection of designer fragrances. Niche will be in their collection very soon.

2 – Every order, every time, will include a nifty, refillable travel case.

3 – A $15 promo code will be included with each order, good towards the purchase of a full bottle of your choice.

4 – The $15 cost includes US shipping. International shipping is in the works.

While Sniffory is not a subscription service, subscriptions will be rolled out soon and will include even better discounts on the 15 ml decants and the already low priced full bottles. Judah Abraham does not anticipate waiting lists or queues for most of the popular fragrances and plans to work hard to improve any glitches that may surface.

All of this sounds great to me and, unlike the promises of our US political candidates, these assurances seem good for everyone, totally doable and well within the realm of possibility.

Today’s give-away will be for one 15 ml decant of your choice from Sniffory’s designer collection. Sent ONLY TO THE USA. To be eligible to win you don’t have to tell us which candidate you are voting for.

Azar xx

Sniffory GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winners who will receive:
1 x 15ml Sniffory designer sample (once they open for business)
P&H USA ONLY

HOW DO YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please tell us if you have used a sampling or decant service or what you like (or don’t like) about these companies.

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 6th October 2016 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Sunday 9th October 2016 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit

Sycomore EdT by Jacques Polge + Christopher Sheldrake for CHANEL 2008

October 2, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 17 Comments

Post by Robert Herrmann

Hi there fragrant friends,

Autumn in the Northern Hemisphere.

God how I LOVE Autumn.

The gorgeous sunny days in the high 50’s to 60’s, the cool nights that require the extra blanket, all of it just speaks directly to my heart. But especially the light, whose tone and quality manifests as sheer, dreamy, and soft as velvet; the sun lower in the sky beaming through the trees in the woods behind our house. The geese are on a flyway now, heading somewhere, but they stop and gather to feed and sleep in the pasture to the south, providing hours of wonderful albeit noisy viewing. The last of the apples are almost ready to be picked from our tree, just waiting to be stewed for sauce with a buttload of spices and fresh ginger before I ladle them into the steaming hot glass ball-jars for the winter months. Yup, love it.

One of my most perfect scents for the Fall, and always in my top 10 of all time would have to be Sycomore EdT. It is to me simply autumn in a bottle.

Sycomore EdT by CHANEL 2008

Sycomore EdT by Jacques Polge + Christopher Sheldrake

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Vetiver, sandalwood, aldehydes, tobacco, violet, spicy notes, pink pepper, juniper, cypress

One of my all-time favorite vetivers, this is a jus that always takes me on a journey to the heart of a forest, late afternoon or early evening just as it’s starting to get cold. The leaves and soil underneath my feet releasing the heat of the day in a perfect, loamy scent. The last glimpses of sunlight throwing brass and copper colored beams through the branches, like light in nature’s own cathedral, providing solace and beauty and an almost holy silence.

WikiCommons

I can smell the smoke from the wood-stove in our house combined with the rich forest smells. I inhale deeply, the cold air providing a slightly bitter and piney aroma that mixes with the scent of the last flowering bushes of the season. It always makes me smile like a crazy man, creating that white, hazy and unmistakeable fog that turns me back towards home, promising warmth and security unlike anything else.

All of this and more is what Sycomore gives me, and I always re-apply with abandon trying to hang on to that perfect introspective vision in the changing of the seasons.

Yup. Autumn. Damn near perfect.

PDI

Further reading: Bois de Jasmin and What Men Should Smell Like
CHANEL now has sycamore EdP! Go spritz it at a CHANEL store.

What are some of the scents that remind you of a changing season?

Robert XoX

Bois de Paradise by Michel Roudnitska for Parfums DelRae 2002

October 2, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 16 Comments

Post by Claire Vukcevic

Hi there APJ folk!

Have you ever built a fragrance up in your head for ages before even smelling it? I do that a lot. The town where I live sells nothing fancier that Beyonce Heat, so I am completely dependent on the Internet. So, I read. 95% of the pleasure I get from perfume is reading other people writing about it. Words set off a moving train of vivid images in my head, and if a person is a talented writer, they can bring a perfume to life for me in a way that just smelling the damn thing simply will not do.

These images and dreams of a perfume can slosh around my head for years until I actually smell it. Can you imagine the utter joy when the images I’ve filed away in my mental library actually lines up with how the perfume smells? Unfortunately, Parfums DelRae Bois de Paradis doesn’t quite live up to the movie reel in my head.

Bois de Paradise by Parfums DelRae 2002

Bois de Paradise by Michel Roudnitska

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Citruses
Heart: French rose, blackberry, spices, fig
Base: Amber, woodsy notes, resins, incense

There is just something a little too insistent, too overwrought about Bois de Paradis. It bowls me over….then sticks in my craw. Each time I put it on, I think of the immortal lines of Hotel California – this could be heaven, or this could be hell.

The problem: In the middle of a pool of rich, luscious florals, fruits, and woods, a strident tone eventually juts out and catches my skin on its jagged edges. It’s like running your hand down a gleaming wooden banister and finding one tiny splinter. It gets in the way of what I signed up for.

Wikipedia

What I signed up for: A luscious rose-berry syrup, heavily spiced but suspended in a golden elixir, so delicious I want to drink it. Fresh blackberries and dried currants swimming in some kind of quaint alcohol, like mead or mulled wine and draped in the same golden, autumnal haze that I associate with other rich, honeyed harvest scents such as Botrytis and 1270 by Frapin. This, right here, is my bailiwick. Mah wheelhouse.

The splinter: The syrup boils over and becomes pure resin. The woods funnel into pine sap, with a helping of mint, blackcurrant leaf, and camphor, introducing an “aftershave”-like aftertaste. These notes interfere with a creamy-dry, rosy sandalwood in the base. I want to shove aside the throat-catching resin, pine needles, and mint, and enjoy my sandalwood unfettered. It won’t allow me. (If I wanted pine needles and mint, I would wear Nuit Etoilee).

Despite the odds stacked in its favor at the start, it is not a buy for me. But I am grateful to have been given the chance to try it. DelRae stuff is almost impossible to find in Europe.

Flickr

Further reading: Non Blonde and EauMG
LuckyScent has $150/50ml
Surrender to Chance has samples from $4/0.5ml

What about you guys? Have you ever built a fragrance up in your mind while reading reviews, only to have your hopes (and expectations) dashed to the ground when you actually get your nose on it?

Slán from sunny but cold Ireland,
Claire

Claire also writes for Take One Thing Off

Taklamakan by Stéphane Humbert Lucas 777 2016

September 28, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 36 Comments

Post by Sandra

Heya APJ!

Hope ya’ll are doing well.

School started at the beginning of September, the leaves are changing ever so slightly and I am getting excited about heavier perfumes already.

I have been a fan of Stéphane Humbert Lucas for a while now and once I heard that he was creating a vanilla centered perfume my ears perked up and I could not wait to sample it in Vienna.

Taklamakan hit the stores in August this year and truth be told I did not know what to expect. The name Taklamakan had me looking it up on wikipedia which states ‘It is the world’s second largest shifting sand desert with about 85% made up of shifting sand dunes ranking 16th in size in a ranking of the world’s largest deserts.’ The desert is in northwestern China and was part of the Silk Road route. This desert has also been nicknamed “the sea of death”. One can imagine why a desert would have that nickname but a perfume to bear this desert’s name? Intrigued I am…

Taklamakan by Stéphane Humbert Lucas 777 2016

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Bergamot, rose, Chinese cedar, sandalwood, iris, patchouli, guaiac wood, benzoin, vanilla, labdanum, musk

Mr Lucas has a deft hand at creating some beautiful perfumes with incredible lasting power. As my skin usually eats up perfumes very quickly, I am always looking for some tenacity in that area. So, naturally I was curious as to what awaited me. Fragrantica gives us the following as notes for Taklamakan: bergamot, rose, chinese cedar, sandalwood, iris, patchouli, guaiac wood, benzoin, vanilla, labdanum and musk.

The perfume opens with a sharp spicy note reminiscent of cinnamon. The cinnamon is quite strong at first and I wondered if this was going to be off-putting at all – but thankfully this subsides quickly and then I do detect the delecate iris which is beautiful. Taklamakan shifts very quickly to a linear state and I will try to describe that as best a possible for you. The initial perfume dries down quickly to a contemplative, spiritual and quiet perfume not so much dark, brooding and extremely dry. This is more of a woody vanilla scent with little to no sweetness on my skin. In fact it has a hint of incense and smoke with amber and only a touch of vanilla in the dry down.

Wikipedia

Having tried this in solely warmer weather and receiving the woodsy vanilla incense drydown with no sweetness I understand the link to a desert comprised of shifting dunes. Take a look at some of the pictures of the Taklamakan desert and the varying colours of the sands and dunes. However, I also wonder if the colder temperatures will bring forth more vanilla, more sweetness, or more incense and dryness. I will be going back to test this again as soon as the temperature shifts because this could possibly be a full bottle purchase in the near future.

Flickr

Thanks to Maison de Parfum in Vienna, I have one sample decant for a lucky winner to try.

SmoochyWoochy,
Sandra

Taklamakan GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winners who will receive:
1 x decanted sample of Taklamakan
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please let me know what scents you consider to be meditative or spiritual in character. I would love to hear what you have to say.

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Friday 30th September 2016 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Monday 3rd October 2016 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit

Random Fragrant Ramblings + MFK

September 27, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 32 Comments

Post by Val the Cookie Queen

Good Day APJ

It has been chipmunk on crack mode the last couple of weeks. I am in the process of developing and selling vegan brownies and blondies, we have a trial run going on, and a new store has opened, one of the chain that offers my cookies. Absolute fun but hectic.

Val the CQ´S Random Fragrant Ramblings

CHANEL Boy, MFK Petit Matin and Grand Soir and a trip to London

CHANEL BOY EdP by Olivier Polge 2016

It opens with the radiant and gleaming brilliance of grapefruit and lemon wrapped in a muted lavender. The blend is very Chanel, the
lavender short lived. As these more volatile components evaporate, a sweet rose arises, perhaps a little orange blossom, and it effortlessly glides into a warm and a delectable heliotrope, swirling with sandalwood and musks. This is the first EdP in the Exclusifs collection and it does stay the course for a good twelve hours on my skin. Fab. I bought a bottle.

LONDON – A Conclave Of Bloggers

I fly to London tomorrow and am combining a trip round London with more than twenty bloggers and perfumers with a visit to my family. So excited to see everyone. Tara from A Bottled Rose is meeting me on the day that I arrive. We`ll fit a shifty sniff in, go on a red lipstick crusade, lunch together and drop into Bloom Perfumery to deliver some cookies. I don´t really have a sniff list but will take a look at the Grandifloras, and Le Galop from Hermès. Stay tuned to find out how it all went.

MFK Sample GIVEAWAY

The two new fragrances from Maison Francis Kurkdjian were on my London list, but I came across them in Linz yesterday. I tried both on paper and the lovely SA gave me carded samples of each one, Petit Matin and Grand Soir. I can get samples anytime I want but I know not everyone can. The Petit Matin is a delicious creamy lemon floral number and the Grand Soir is a kill you with vanilla benzoin and tonka bean number.

Drop me your thoughts on any of today’s randomness and you are in the draw. I will be extremely fast at sending them out because they are already prepared! Whoohoo. I hate decanting with a passion.

Loving Bussis
CQ

(Ed: All Photos Donated by Val. Thanks buddy)

MFK Sample GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x Carded Manufacturers Sample Grand Soir
1 x Carded Manufacturers Sample Petit Matin
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Tell us:
Anything you think I should look for in London?
OR Do you like vegan baking?
OR Have you tried Boy yet? Thoughts?
OR Which MFK, if any calls to you?

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 29th September 2016 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Sunday 2nd October 2016 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.

Moonlight Patchouli by Van Cleef & Arpels 2016: Revisited

September 26, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 3 Comments

Post by TinaG

Hello and welcome to another fabulously fragrant week!

Back in June APJ & I gave away five decants of Moonlight Patchouli by Van Cleef & Arpels, to help me gather some feedback on the fragrance and whether I was going nuts in smelling some of the more unusual notes that I found.

Reviews have been received back from Koyel and Patsi, thank you! Neva, I’m sorry the post missed you while you were on holidays, I’ll resend, I promise! Bridget I hope you enjoyed the fragrance/s! Greg, offer is still open if you wish to get in touch. 🙂

Moonlight Patchouli by Van Cleef & Arpels 2016

Collection Extraordinaire

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Cacao, patchouli leaf, woodsy notes
Heart: Iris flower, Bulgarian rose
Base: Fruity notes, leather, suede

Koyel wrote:
Moonlight Patchouli starts out in-your-face boozy for a moment, then burns off to a gorgeous, sweet, very green patchouli. There is a warmth to it that might be the cacao. After half an hour, a buttery iris starts poking its head out. Unfortunately, another half hour later, the sweet, buttery side of the iris has left behind a more cardboard-y iris note that I don’t like very much.

Maybe an hour later, the green-ness of the patchouli becomes more pronounced, and the sweet butter scent comes back. It mixes with a skin scent/warm leather (suede?) to make the absolute softest leather note. The soft, buttery leather/suede sticks quite close to the skin. I’m not quite sure when the smell faded away completely, but it lasted for far less time than a workday on multiple occasions.

I don’t get salty/seaweed/chlorine at all, luckily! Dewy, perhaps, at times, particularly in the beginning. I like this scent a lot, and find it quite wearable, though not FB-worthy. The cardboard note in the middle is a bit off-putting, but mild enough to be tolerable.

Patsi wrote:
Moonlight Patchouli is reminiscent of something familiar from way back. It reminds me of a sweet wine at the beginning becoming richer and syrupy like but with the patchouli and suede/leather notes keeping the sweetness from running over and ruining everything. The Iris and patchouli are soft and beautifully blended together with a light suede note.

The patchouli is not too strong and I love its presence with a bright fresh lemonade-like citrus, accompanied by white flowers and rose. I find it very comforting, not overpowering and it dries down to a wonderful sensual, rich base.

I kept getting wafts where the perfume had gone on my hair and I thought – who is that – what is that beautiful smell – ohhh its me!!! 🙂 I find it to be long lasting – a good 7 hours. The ladies at work loved it and declared that I smelled really good! 9/10 for me – Beautiful fragrance and definitely full bottle worthy!

Flickr

Harrods has £126/75ml
Surrender To Chance has samples from $4/0.5ml

Thank you both so much for your lovely reviews! I’m glad you enjoyed the decants.

What it has shown me is that the salt/chlorinated water note is just me, that it’s something to do with my skin or the way I interpret the smell. It is a consistent note, for a while I thought it might be the chlorinated water is stronger where I live, but I think not. I’ve been wearing Moonlight Patchouli this week and that middle note is consistent.

Thanks again guys!! It’s been fun.

Has anyone else had a chance to smell Moonlight Patchouli as yet?

Have a great week everyone.

Tina G xx

Extreme Perfumes

September 25, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 12 Comments

Post by Anne-Marie

Hi all
I’m interested to know what are extreme perfumes for you? How far can a perfume push a genre for you before it’s too much?

Extreme Perfumes?

What Pushes You Over The Edge?

Van Clef & Arpels

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Aldehydes, Bergamot, Raspberry, Mandarin, Peach, Black currant
Heart: Carnation, Hyacinth, Orris root, Jasmine, Lily-of-the-valley, Narcissus, Orchid, Tuberose, Turkish rose, Ylang-ylang
Base: Amber, Oakmoss, Honey, Musk, Sandalwood, Tonka bean, Vanilla, Vetiver, Civet

I got thinking about this when I read Portia’s Van Cleef & Arpels’ First post which, as I said in a comment, is too rich and opulent for me. No matter how I wear it or try to dress it down, it seems to demand silks and satins, furs and pearls. I might aspire to that sort of glamour occasionally, but it’s like getting mum’s old patent leather stilettoes out of the dress-up basket and stumping around the lounge room in them. Fun, but I’m not going to step out the front door. Indeed I think that on release in 1976 First took us to the zenith of the aldehydic floral genre, beyond which no fragrance has ever gone since.

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Basil, bergamot, amalfi lemon, tangerine, artemisia
Heart: Jasmine, rose, peach, pepper, white honey
Base: Oak moss, woodsy notes, patchouli, leather, Virginia cedar, civetta

The civet and oakmoss in Paco Rabanne’s La Nuit make it unwearable for me – me! A chypre lover! But La Nuit out-chypres all chypres and I’m really not surprised that it was discontinued ages ago. Were it released today on the niche market, La Nuit would be a darling of the cognoscenti.

Fragrantica

BaseNotes gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, Mandarin, Hyacinth, Green notes
Heart: Tuberose, Jasmine, Orange Flower, Lily of the valley, White iris, Violet, Jonquil, Carnation, Coriander, Peach, Osmanthus, Pink geranium
Base: Musk, Cedar, Moss, Sandalwood, Orris, Vetiver, Tolu balsam

Piguet’s Bandit and Fracas, now: they both take us to the edge – over the edge – in the leather chypre and white floral families, respectively. I can’t wear either of them. Bandit is too bitter and Fracas just too freakin’ weird for me. I’ve tried them, though. You need to test the boundaries, or you won’t know where your boundaries actually are.

I don’t wear orientals much, or certainly not extreme spicy or skanky ones, but I know that they are out there. Do share your experience with these. Love them or hate them?

And what about extreme powder in fragrances? Where does that take us?

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Lemon, basil, bergamot, cumin, lavender, fruit
Heart: Jasmine, rose, carnation, iris root, coriander, patchouli, sandalwood
Base: Oakmoss, vetiver, musk, amber

Ultimately I think I must believe in that old maxim: restraint in all things. It’s not just a style choice, it’s a fundamental personality trait. I rarely go to extremes in anything. I can stop at two chocolate biscuits, two glasses of wine, and one (okay two) pairs of red shoes. Cheese is harder, admittedly.
Here’s a parting thought. Are there extremes in the citrus cologne genre, or are they inherently minimalist? Dior’s Eau Sauvage (or 4711, or insert your favourite here) may be the very best citrus cologne ever, but no-one is going to back away and call the scent police on you, are they?

Most of these fragrances are available at Surrender To Chance to sample

Bye for now everyone, but do drop in a comment and share your thoughts!
Anne-Marie xx