Contributors

Cardinal by James Heeley for Heeley 2006

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Post by Poodle

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I went to a Catholic grammar school. Many of my childhood memories are of being in church. Damn, it seems like there was always a reason to have to go to mass. I have to admit I hated it. We’d even be taken to church during school hours to practice singing so that at mass Sr. Carmeline would be happy and convinced that we were loud enough for God to hear. She was a large, scary woman and had this giant bell she would ring to get our attention. The bell meant business, let me tell you, but that’s another story altogether.

During Lent there wasn’t much singing but we had to go to the Stations of the Cross every week. To a kid it was dreadfully boring, but I loved Lent because there was more incense. Incense was my favorite part of church by far. I still love my incense perfumes in times of stress and when I mentioned Cardinal in my last post Portia asked me to tell you more about it.

Avignon was a blind buy for me and I fell hard for it. It was all dark. brooding, churchy incense. It was love. On my quest to acquire more incense fragrances I stumbled upon Cardinal and found another to love.

Cardinal by Heeley 2006

Cardinal by James Heeley

Cardinal James Heeley FragranticaFragrantica

Heeley gives these featured accords:
White Linen . Baie Rose . Black Pepper
Labdanum . Frankincense . Myhr
Vetiver . Grey Amber . Patchouli

Cardinal is a church incense but it’s more like church on a sunny winter’s day. I remember sitting in church and it was usually cold. If you were strategic you’d try to sit near a window. You wanted to be in that ray of sunlight streaming through the stained glass. It would offer some warmth which was hard to come by in those big, old churches. Cardinal is a lot like that. It has dustiness and cold damp stone notes along with the incense but there’s also that visible ray of sunshine.

heeley-cardinal St.-Marys-Church Mount Pleasant granaryMount Pleasant Granary

It’s all about the aldehydes. They tend to brighten and freshen up a perfume and that’s exactly what they do here. Add to that the amber in the base and Cardinal becomes a much warmer, happier take on incense. My only complaint is with the lasting power. On my skin Cardinal isn’t a powerhouse and it doesn’t last very long. Some days I may get a couple hours out of it but not others. It does linger on clothing nicely. Your mileage may vary.

If you love Chanel No 22 as I do but have always wished the incense was a bit more pronounced then I think you might like Cardinal. If Avignon always seemed a bit too masculine to you then Cardinal’s floral notes and brightness might be just perfect. Yes, it’s still contemplative and calming but it’s also hopeful, like going into dimly lit church, lighting a candle, saying a prayer, and walking out into the sunshine.

Cardinal Heeley St. Augustine's Church, Hedon GeographGeograph.UK

Further reading: NST and Olfactoria’s Travels
Healey has €125/100ml and sends to the world
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $5.40/ml

Have you tried it? Do you like it? What’s your favorite incense?

Hugs
Poodle

Geisha Vanilla Hinoki by Maria McElroy for Aroma M 2016

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Post by Val the Cookie Queen

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Hey APJ Vanilla Vamps and Vampettes.

The Fox becomes a mule……..

Dr Fox, my dear friend, CB therapist and partner-in-crime recently spent a few weeks in the U S and A. I decided on the spot that it was time for a blind buy and ordered Geisha Vanilla Hinoki, the most recent of Maria McElroy´s wonderful Geisha collection. The package was posted to Frau Fox-Mule at her US address. It travelled from New York City to Salt Lake City, onto Philadelphia, down to Kitty Hawk in North Carolina, onto Washington DC, and back to New York. From here it took a flight to Munich and then on into Austria by car.

During the three week waiting period, samples arrived of the Vanilla Hinoki, the EdP and the oil. I put them in the cupboard so that the thrill of the blind buy remained. And I left them there. Hahahaha. Did I hell. The next evening I grabbed the EdP and applied a hefty dose. A gleaming flash of bergamot ignited the room making the blind buy an instant success.

Geisha Vanilla Hinoki by Aroma M 2016

Geisha Vanilla Hinoki by Maria McElroy

Geisha Vanilla Hinoki Aroma M FragranticaFragrantica

Notes include: bergamot, clove, cardamom, nutmeg, lavender, smoky vanilla, incense and patchouli, amyris, cedarwood

The luscious and sharp bergamot delights for quite some time, until the tantalizing trio of clove, cardamom and nutmeg push through. With a barely touch of lavender a calmness descends. Moroccan vanilla, the star of the show bides her time, until she decides to make a lazy entrance. She rises above her costars and lies herself across them all….. and stays there for hours. Occasionally disappearing to take a breath of the revitalizing hinoki, a beloved Japanese wood, the oil of which is used in medicinal treatments. But she returns. She is not loud but nonetheless quite stubborn. People do not die in her wake, those who come in close will recognize her. Staunch and stalwart she comforts and keeps tension at bay.

Geisha Vanilla Hinoki Aroma M2

I am very generous with spraying, it is not a one spritz nuclear bomb. It lasts many hours, but I do know that my skin hangs onto fragrance for an extremely long time. Vanilla Hinoki feels like something I have always had – but haven`t . It won´t be for everyone but nothing ever is, except perhaps cookies.

Further reading: Non Blonde and Colognoisseur
IndieScents has EdP $90/50ml
LuckyScent has the Perfume Oil $60/7.5ml

Geisha Vanilla Hinoki Aroma M 1

Maria McElroy mixes her fragrances drop by drop. The bottles are filled by her and wrapped in exquisite imported Japanese paper. A skilled craft worker creating things by hand, the definition of artisanal. May there always be people who care enough to do this.

Have you found a vanilla to wear or do you prefer to eat it?

Bergamot Bussis
CQ

Amsterdam Fragrance Adventures: TinaG’s 2016 Europe Tour

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Post by TinaG

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The Netherlands is home base to a number of fragrance houses – Mona Di Orio, Puredistance, Hiram Green and Nasomatto to name a few. When visiting in May this year I mentioned this to my cousin Kylie, who was very interested in finding out more – so we decided to spend a day in Amsterdam hunting for Dutch perfume. What a great way for me to introduce her to the rabbit hole that is the perfume world!

Amsterdam Fragrance Adventures

TinaG’s 2016 Europe Tour

europe-map-countriesWorld Atlas Book

Annindryia Perfume Lounge

Our first stop also became our longest as I was totally enthralled and excited. We had dropped in to Annindryia Perfume Lounge and I had walked in to a small slice of absolute heaven. They stock a fabulous selection of Dutch and international fragrances. We were warmly greeted and shown around the display room. Kylie took to the whole experience and I’m happy to say she was instantly hooked. We sniffed and chatted for a few hours. Have a look at Annindryia Perfume Lounge site for an idea of their range. Yes they ship to Australia and yes the do samples.

Amsterdam TinaG's 2016 Europe #3

Amsterdam TinaG's 2016 Europe #4

Amsterdam TinaG's 2016 Europe #5

Amsterdam TinaG's 2016 Europe #6

Le Bienaimé by Erik Zwaga

This brand utilises the concept of up-cycling to create new fragrances from existing brands. The bottles would be familiar to most perfumistas – I spotted repurposed Chanel and Etro bottles, tied up with multi-house-branded ribbons. The names of the fragrances hint at their primary constituents: CHA-CHA-CHA-CHANEL, R-I-O-D (Dior spelt backwards), HERMEJESY. I picked up a sample of S.T.I.N.K (how could I not?) that contains Classic Opoponax, Èdition Rare – Petrolium, Floriental, Musk Tonkin, Obsessive Oudh and Song for a Queen.

Amsterdam TinaG's 2016 Europe #1

Amsterdam TinaG's 2016 Europe #2

Eau d’Amsterdam

Eau d’Amsterdam is a fragrant ode to the thousands of elm trees which line the city’s streets and canals. I had noted the springtime ‘snow’ without realising they were elm seeds, which behave like petals caught in the wind as they scatter themselves across the city. It is described as: Sunny green woody
It’s definitely all that, it has the dry astringency of a freshly snapped twig – really light and perfect for a warm spring day.

Amsterdam TinaG's 2016 Europe #7

Amsterdam TinaG's 2016 Europe #8

People of the Labyrinths

After leaving Annindryia Perfume Lounge I visited the store of fashion house People of the Labyrinths. Fabulous clothing, exquisite materials… I thoroughly enjoyed looking around & chatting to the sales assistants. They have two fragrances – A.Maze and Luctor Et Emergo. I tried both on skin and they generously gave me a sample of A.Maze.

Amsterdam TinaG's 2016 Europe #9

Amsterdam TinaG's 2016 Europe #10

Amsterdam TinaG's 2016 Europe #11

Skins Cosmetics

Our last stop of the day was a shop & beautician Skins Cosmetics, located in the Het Conservatorium Hotel. They had a wonderful range of fragrances however most of the brands stocked I do have access to in Australia – Hermès, Frederic Malle, Byredo, By Killian, Le Labo. There were a few fragrances that I tried – the Clean range, and some of the Hermès range such as Eau de rhubarb écarlate, and Eau d’orange vert which I hadn’t tried before.

I had a fantastic day introducing Kylie to the fragrance world and checking out some special places & perfumes in Amsterdam.

Do you have a favourite Dutch fragrance house?

Tina G

Peter Morrissey Bath and Body Products

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Post by Anne-Marie

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Hi all, I recently had a quick trip to Sydney and in a hotel in Darlinghurst found a vanity packed with Peter Morrissey products. These days when I travel I tend to take my own bathroom stuff. Hotel soaps and shampoos can be drying, and it’s a waste to use them once and then leave them. If I take them home I find I don’t use them and they kick around the bathroom drawer until I throw them out.

Peter Morrissey Bath and Body Products

Hotel Room Finds

Peter Morrissey Bath and Body

But I had not heard of Peter Morrissey and I was tempted. Peter Morrissey, I discovered, is an Australian fashion designer and entrepreneur. His clothes and homewares are sold in Australia through discount department store Big W. Grey and white seem to be the theme colours; the style is minimalist. Morrissey also specialises in eyeware, luggage, corporate uniforms and gifts.

It looks like his bath and body products – ‘Peter Morrissey Essentials’ – are available only in hotels. That’s disappointing because I really enjoyed the two I tried, the body wash and the body balm. White musk is the scent for all the products and for me, the white musk that many of us dread in perfume works beautifully in products like these. It’s a warm, clean but slightly earthy musk, skewed masculine. I used the balm after my morning shower and sallied forth in search of breakfast feeling elegant, put together and ready to face the day. I imagine the scent would layer well under something like Narciso Rodriguez for her or Chanel No 19 Poudré.

This and the body wash did not dry my skin. (Some hotel room moisturisers do the opposite of what they say on the label.) The claims for the Morrissey products are that they ‘use the world’s purest essential oils, organic plant extracts and avoid the use of preservatives and synthetics … There are no parabens, petrochemicals, artificial colours or animal ingredients’.

Now I wish that I had claimed the shampoo and conditioner, but at least I have the generous 30 ml tubes of body wash and balm. I’m sad I can’t buy more, but I’ll just have to go back to that hotel more often I guess!

So I’m curious to hear about other people’s experiences of hotel (and airline?) products. Are they generally awful, or am I staying in too many cheap hotels?

Until next time everyone, keep spritzing!
Anne-Marie

N’Aimez Que Moi by Ernest Daltroff for Caron 1916

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Post by Willa Zheng

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Hi reader,

“Love no one but me” from the venerable but nowadays much overlooked House of Caron is, in my humble opinion, one of the great romantic perfumes of 20th century. Launched during the height of WW1, it also happens to celebrate its 100 year anniversary this year.

N’Aimez Que Moi by Caron 1916

N’Aimez Que Moi by Ernest Daltroff

N`Aimez Que Moi Caron FragranticaFragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Lilac, violet, rose
Heart: Iris, cedar, vetiver, sandalwood
Base: Vanilla, amber, musk, oakmoss

Fittingly for a perfume that sounds like an Edith Piaf love song, N`Aimez Que Moi opens like an old skool rose fragrance – geraniumy and drenched in clove-like eugenols that IFRA could banish this juice at any moment. My 22 year old, Miu Miu wearing work colleague says it smells just like her grandma. Well darling, your grandma has excellent taste.

Five minutes in, powdery, cosmetic-like notes such as violets and lilac emerge to join in the waltz with garden roses. Ever prised open the lid of Caron’s famous loose face powders? This is its fragrance!

Ten minutes later, woody chypre base notes creep in to give the fragrance a bit depth and some character. The main experience of wearing N’Aimez Que Moi conveys a big, radiant rose fragrance sitting on a dry layer of sandalwood. Emotionally, it’s the olfactory equivalent of an operatic Aria. The wearer of N’Aimez Que Moi is beautiful, assertive and yet lamentful.

The drydown of N’Aimez Que Moi, which emerges after about 4 hours, is a classic vintage chypre-base comprised of amber, musk and oakmoss, not dissimilar to the base of vintage Arpege. It creates a heavy, dark, rounded base that is a nuanced melange of the sweet, the skanky and the dirty.

My N`Aimez Que Moi edp (vintage 2007) has moderate to heavy silage, depending on the body heat of the wearer. Like an olfactory forget-me-not, this edp sustains itself for an impressive 12hrs +.

Further reading:
LuckyScent has $100/7ml extrait
Surrender To Chance has extrait samples from $5/0.5ml

Do you have a favourite Caron?

Queen Of The Night by Bertrand Duchaufour for Grandiflora 2016

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Post by Ainslie Walker

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Hello gorgeous APJ people! I have some local Sydney fragrant goings ons to share with you today:

You have to be very swift if you wish to chat to Sydney based, floral artist, Saskia Havekes about any particular project, as the minute she completes one she dives head first into the next. I find her humble, inspirational and extremely driven. Beautiful in both looks and personality, I always enjoy and feel privileged for the times I’ve popped into her “flower cave,” Grandiflora in Potts Point for a catchup.

Queen Of The Night by Grandiflora 2016

Queen Of The Night by Bertrand Duchaufour

Saskia Havekes of Grandiflora – A Head Spinning Catch Up and a new fragrance!!

Queen Of The Night by Grandiflora Screen Shot 2016-06-05 at 4.50.45 PM

Later this month Saskia will travel to France where she will release Grandiflora’s fourth fragrance – Queen Of The Night by perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour. BERTRAND DUCHAUFOUR!! My mind boggled at how she came about working with one of my (and many of your) favourite perfumers: “ I made contact with Bertrand on a bended knee after I was formally introduced to him by by a dear mutual friend in Cabris. He had heard of our work and of course I always loved his Calamus he created for Comme des Garcons…..An all time favorite of mine” said Saskia.

The transient Queen of the Night flowers open for only 1 hour at night and are rumoured to be a very strong aphrodisiacs, hypnotic, “stirring up the loins.”(Oh my!!) After it flowers, it is spent, thus it is a real privilege to experience it – both the scent and visually. Late night parties do occur to observe the flowers bloom – attending one is now firmly on my bucket list!

2016 Standing Book

Saskia is behind the enlightening floral artistry within the pages of Michael Edwards – Fragrances Of The World, 2016 guidebook, releasing this month. Her partner, Gary Heery is a renowned photographer and together they truly have made magic happen, ensuring every composition is emotive and captivates. The pictures tell the story of each fragrance-family group. Saskia uses her materials – flowers, woods, greenery, spices, honey and more, just like a painter, focused on colours and textures. Materials are overlapped, teased and made prominent. Increased attention to space and light around the materials was given, compared to the dense nature of the beautiful work she did for Fragrances Of The World 2013 guidebook.

Last month I was lucky to work with Saskia and her team as part of Australian fashion label, Aje’s Sydney Fashion Week show at Carriageworks, Sydney. It was my job to fill the huge space with Magnolia Grandiflora Sandrine fragrance, creating an unexpected and much talked about scented ambience for the runway – a first for Sydney fashion week!

grandiflora jasmine candle

In April, Grandiflora released their first candles, Madagascan Jasmine and Queen Of The Night, collaborating with France’s oldest candlemakers, Cire Truden. Both are encased in gold dipped, Italian porcelain vessels and housed in beautiful Magnolia Grandiflora packaging and available from the Grandiflora store and online.

Saskia-portrait-1

Busy, right?! What an incredible woman and just so great for us she is Sydney based. I’ll be back soon with some more on the Queen of the Night launch in France later this month and hopefully a giveaway or two! In the meantime I think we should all be rushing to find some of these incredible plants so we can all experience the magic of the Queen of the Night in bloom! Have any of you experienced this phenomenon?

Until next time,
Ainslie XX

Miyako Extrait by Eugene and Emrys Au for Auphorie 2015

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Post by Azar

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Hello Frag Junkies!

Have you ever encountered a scent that you like (maybe even love) one day and then can’t abide the next? Recently I had that experience with Auphorie’s Miyako, one of the winning fragrances in this year’s Art and Olfaction Awards Artisan Perfumer category.

Miyako Extrait by Auphorie 2015

Miyako Extrait by Eugene and Emrys Au

The Power of the Peach III – Jekyll and Hyde

 

Miyako Auphorie Fragrantica

Fragrantica

Fragrantica Gives these featured accords:
Top: Apricot, yuzu, peach
Heart: Osmanthus, jasmine, green tea, leather
Base: Hinoki wood, cedar, sandalwood, patchouli, musk, katsura leaf

YUM! It is easy to imagine the power of this peach!

In late March, after reading a couple of complimentary reviews, I purchased a sample of Miyako Extrait and fell in love at first sniff. The heavy richness of peach and sweetness of osmanthus (reminiscent of Olympic Orchids Red Cattleya) were brightened and lifted by the dry, airy elements of an astringent yuzu and a perfect green tea (not the screechy kind). This rather unique take on peach developed into warm, woodsy leather, integrated with the continued presence of osmanthus. As time went by Miyako opened up as a glowing floral, eventually settling into comforting, amber-y sandalwood. The beautiful experience lasted about five hours, the last three as skin scent. My initial sampling of Miyako Extrait convinced me that here was a fragrance worthy of the time it takes to write up a post. As you can see, I’m still writing, but with trepidation…

Miyako Auphorie peach-1463244530FZgPDP

My next encounter with Miyako was not so pleasant. Two weeks after the first spritz I sampled the extrait again. Instead of being transported to a garden of earthly delights, I found myself opening a nasty closet in an old, smoky motel room; a closet that had not been cleaned or even aired for many years in a room redolent of mildew, old leather, dust and ineffectual fruity/floral room freshener. What ever happened to my lovely Miyako?

The weekend after this experience I was visiting a couple of friends who just happened to have their own sample of Miyako. That day we all experienced the smell of nasty motel room. Previous to this my friends had been in love with their sample too. But the story doesn’t end with a stink.

Yesterday one of the friends joined us, at our home, for dinner and a distillation. After the fun we decided to sample Miyako once again. We were surprised and pleased to find that the perfume (my sample this time) was once again a beauty.

Miyako Auphorie Woven_silk,_Western_Han_Dynasty WikipediaWikipedia

So…what’s going on here? I’ve pretty much ruled out body chemistry as the cause, as three different bodies had similar good and bad experiences. The only explanation that comes to mind has to do with atmospheric pressure, humidity and/or temperature. Last night I loved Miyako but who knows what tomorrow will bring?

Further reading: Perfumes I Love and Colognoisseur
Scent Trunk has $90/30ml

Have you ever smelled a perfume that exhibited such a blatant split personality disorder? Do you have any idea what explains this Jekyll and Hyde effect? Have you tried Miyako?

Azar xx

Replacing Discontinued Beauty #2

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Post by AF Beauty

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Replacing the discontinued – Body Shop Nutriganics Softening Cleansing Gel – Part 2
Hello loves.

My search for my long lost Body Shop cleansing gel has been long but I hope, fruitful. As well as targeting products texturally similar to the gel, I tried a couple of liquid oil cleansers, hopeful that despite the texture difference at the start, the overall cleansing would still be good.

Replacing Discontinued Beauty #2

Mango Seed, Body Shop + Clinique

Mango Seed Oil to Foam

 

The first is a Korean product in a range called Mango Seed product called Oil to Foam. This is a nicely light oil and I anticipated it work by doing the oily thing to clean off the make up and then turn foamy with water. Unfortunately, the oil texture is not long lasting enough for me to properly remove heavier make up. Almost immediately as being dispensed it turns to a foamy soapy texture and then cleans like a regular foam. Positively, it smells lovely, very light and citrusy. I would use this as a second cleanser – I know, extravagant! But sometimes I feel like the first cleanse didn’t capture everything, this would be a good round two.

Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Oil

The second is from Clinique from their Take The Day Off range. I have heard nothing but good things about their Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm – but I had been at Clinique getting the contour stick (that I wrote about a few weeks back) and the SA had used the Take The Day Off Cleansing Oil to clean my face and it felt good, so I thought I’d give the oil a go at home.

So the big negative of this product for me is the smell – of lack of it. As all Clinique products, it is entirely unperfumed. This could be great for anyone sensitive to fragrance – but I’m guessing that’s not this crowd. Unscented in this case means that the product smells of what’s it’s made of – so it smells a bit chemically. Not overpowering but noticeable. But really, that is my only criticism. I really didn’t want to like this product as much as I do but the texture is beautiful – very light and smooth. It dissolves makeup in an instant, turns milky on water and washes away to leave clean skin, lovely. I admit, this one is my favourite and is my default for when I need an easy simple clean.

So, having tested four products as replacements for my Body Shop gel, I think the Clinque has been my favourite in texture, the Korean Mango Seed, my favourite in smell and probably all but the Mango Seed have done excellent work at removing make up. All that said, you could probably try Baby Oil to dissolve makeup, but for me, the milkiness on contact with water ensures I’m not left feeling oily on my skin and potentially clogging pores – and that’s important.

What other products like this have you tried? What oil based cleansers would you recommend?
Ciao ciao, AF x

Perfumer H – Lyn Harris: TinaG In Europe Photo Essay

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Post by TinaG

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Hi APJ!

I was treated to a fabulous day out in London during my travels, hosted by Tara from A Bottled Rose. Tara has written up our adventures in more detail on her blog. One of the exciting discoveries of the day was a visit to the Perfumer H lab & shop in Crawford Street, London.

Perfumer H Liz Harris Tina 2016 #2

Perfumer H – Lyn Harris

‘Making Air Visible’

Perfumer H was started by Liz Harris (of Miller Harris) roughly 8 months ago. The shop contains an extensive lab out the back which is both Lyn Harris’s workshop, and a ingredient display. We were greeted by Caroline who kindly ran us through the concepts of the fragrance company.

Perfumer H Liz Harris Tina 2016 #6

Perfumer H Liz Harris Tina 2016 #7

Perfumer H releases new fragrances seasonally – their first being Winter 2015 and the current range for Summer 2016. Past seasonal fragrances are ‘archived’ but not discontinued, which means they continue to be accessible. Two of the Winter 2015 releases were rolled-over to Summer 2016 – Leather and Cologne, which join Atlas, Musk and Rain Cloud for this season’s suite of five. I wish that I wrote down the archived Winter fragrances – I do know one was Velvet. There were three that had been shelved.

Perfumer H Liz Harris Tina 2016 #3

There are a selection of five home fragrances which are available as candles – Orange Blossom, Dandelion, Leaf, Ivy and Smoke. The perfume bottles and candle holders are each hand-made, heavy and lush. You can choose to purchase the fragrances in 100ml functional screw-cap bottles, which I did for ease of travelling.

Perfumer H Liz Harris Tina 2016 #4

Perfumer H has a range of ‘laboratory editions’ which are a fun way to purchase some of Liz Harris’s creative work. Names like Ink, Vetiver, Rose & Smoke line the shelves. Each fragrance in the whole range is also given a unique identifier, and if you wish, you can purchase that perfume outright – including choosing it’s name, having it registered in Grasse, and it is then taken out of general circulation – so it is yours and yours alone. You can buy single bottles without claiming rights though – just careful if you fall in love, it may just disappear one day!

I tried four fragrances on skin – Velvet, Musk, Atlas and Leather as I was keen to pick up a bottle, but wow…. What a difficult decision! I would have been happy to walk away with any of them, but I decided on Musk.

Perfumer H Liz Harris Tina 2016 #1

Musk – no. g116 3995
Notes: Bergamot (Italy), Mandarin, Petitgrain (Paraguay), Iris absolute (China), Heliotrope, Cedarwood (Virginia), Benjoin (Siam), Vanilla absolute, White Musk.

On opening I get a floral Iris and fluffy musk along with a subtle plant-stem note in the background. After an hour this changes to an iris/cedar combination. It is sexy, gentle and very wearable. Sticky vanilla notes waft in and out. I find the citruses after 8 hours in a sheer veneer of smoke & juice that makes me wish I sprayed more skin. Interestingly the iris has a great staying power and it remains throughout (+12 hours). It is a gorgeous fragrance and I’m extremely glad I picked it up. I’m half tempted to go back & get the Leather as well, time & funds permitting.

Perfumer H Liz Harris Tina 2016 #5

Perfumer H Liz Harris Tina 2016 #8

Perfumer H is a great concept which has been actualised with wonderful fragrances and beautiful glass bottles. They do ship to Australia but you will be paying a premium for hazardous goods ~£70.

What do you think, APJ? Sound like a fun venture to you?

Tina G xx

Rainmaker edp by Shelley Waddington for En Voyage Perfumes 2016

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Post by Robert Herrmann

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Hey APJ

A woody-amber chypre for men and women?

When I hear news of a new perfume release by award winning perfumer Shelley Waddington, it is VERY good news indeed! You might even call me a bit of a fanboy for her creations, there are just so many wonderful scents in her range!

Prompted by her recent relocation from California to the Pacific Northwest, Shelley has wasted no time in producing a glorious creation that honors this beautiful region, combining notes that are timeless reminders of the misty Northwest with cutting edge essences that reflect the ever-changing and on-point contemporary lifestyle found here.

Rainmaker edp by En Voyage Perfumes 2016

Rainmaker edp by Shelley Waddington

rainmaker-edp-en-voyage-perfumes
En Voyage Perfumes

 

Top: Rose Leaf, Silver Pine Tips, Wild Citrus
Heart: Incense, Patchouli, Iris, Rhododendron
Base: Mossy Rain Forest notes of Cedar, Fir, Redwood Leaf, Petrichor, Ash, Oakmoss and Amber

Shelley’s perfumes are an extraordinary example of olfactory storytelling that take you on a scent journey, conjuring up memories and images, and Rainmaker is no exception!

Rainmaker is a gorgeous incense/wood/floral and green scent. For all you incense and chypre lovers, this is right up your ally! Now I must say that I struggle with incense-heavy notes, but Rainmaker is one of the few I would happily add to my collection!

For me this is a camping trip to the Northwest rain forest in the Autumn. Rain is dripping from the low-hanging evergreen boughs. Night is falling along with the temperature, cold and crystal clear. The glittering stars are so close through the tree tops, you feel like you could touch them.

rainmaker-edp-en-voyage-perfumes Forest Mist Michael (a.k.a. moik) McCu FlickrFlickr

Lighting your campfire, the smell of burning wood drifts towards the sky, and someone starts telling stories of the First People. You feel the weight of myth and history all around you. It is no wonder that these woods are sacred to the North Coast Native tribes. The mystery is palpable.

Rainmaker edp is currently available exclusively from En Voyage Perfumes Starting June 11th 2016
Rainmaker will also be available at Tigerlily Perfumery in San Francisco, CA