Silver Musk by Alessandro Gualtieri for Nasomatto 2007

January 5, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 8 Comments

Post by Ainslie Walker

Hello APJ-ers!

I hope you all had a great festive season and were surrounded by/heard from those you love. Also, that you found time to remember those who did not make it to this New Year. A reminder to ensure those you hold dear always know that you do. It’s too easy to be caught up in the “busy” and never stop to touch base.

I took a day to switch off and read a book that wasn’t about scents or perfume. This only seems to happen once a year and if I’m 100% honest, it did actually make mention of Dior’s Eau Sauvage! Last year it was Vivienne Westwood’s autobiography and this year it was Patti Smith’s Just Kids.

Book Deporitory

The book describes Patti and her soul mate Robert Mapplethorpe’s artistic lives and their evolving relationship from the late 60’s through to the late 80’s, predominantly in New York. Tenants of the infamous Chelsea Hotel – the heart of boundless bohemian ingenuity. Names of individuals who went on to become well known artists, poets, models, drag queens, playwrights, muses and musicians are bountiful throughout the pages. What a moment in history! The book runs in chronological order and references pertinent deaths and historical highlights of these epochal years. It’s easy to imagine being there as it is such a personal account. Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan, William Burroughs, Lou Reed/The Velvet Underground, Candy Darling, Edie Sedgwick, Allen Ginsberg, Vali Myers all get a mention, just to name a few.

Not mentioned above is of course Andy Warhol. His friends, work and The Factory scene weave in and out of the storyline and this led me to think about what fragrance I would scent him with.

Silver Musk by Nasomatto 2007

Silver Musk by Alessandro Gualtieri

Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Citric notes
Heart: Powdery notes
Base: Musk

I chose Nasomatto’s Silver Musk. Its clean, quirky and fuzzy, futuristic scent seems to fit Andy’s avant-garde style and pioneering ideas of the time. The scent creates an ambience of what people thought things would be like in the 2000’s when looking towards them from the 70’s/80’s. Remember the cartoon, The Jetson’s? Lifestyles like that. There is an ethereal and earthy beauty to this fragrance, which is only described on fragrantica as “musky.” To me there is white and grey ash, oak-mossy ozone, aluminium filings, lavender herb soap on clean skin, light tobacco and something coniferous like spruce, fir or pine. The drydown sweetens and smokes. Humming. Spacey. Aquatic. Elfin. Elegant. Volcanic. Mercurial. Otherworldly. Musky enough to have me imagining Warhol’s pale skin sweating gently under his polyester skivvy.

Flickr

I really love this one and gifted it to my dad last Christmas. Anyone who enjoys the eccentric molecule series and pheromones concept should try this clean musk…think Andy with his scruffy hair – the silver mop, wrapped in some sort of neat yet particular flared suit combo. Silver musk is like a polaroid, a snapshot of just one moment in the journey Afternoon of a Faun by Etat Libre d’Orange takes us on…. if the faun was trotting along somewhere silvery, mercurial and out in space.

Further reading: Nathan Branch and Scent For Thought
Libertine Parfumerie has $230/30ml with FREE Australian Delivery
LuckyScent has US$185/30ml + Samples

Tell me a celebrity or book character and a fragrance you’d love to douse them with!

Parfum Divin by Jacques Cavallier for Caudalie 2014

January 4, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

Post by Willa Zheng

Hello APJ,

Often mentioned in the same breath as Nuxe’s Prodigieux Le Parfum, Parfum Divin is Caudalie’s capture, in spray perfume form, the scent of the brand’s cult dry oil. If Nuxe Prodigieux is a tropical beach vacation in a bottle, Caudalie Divin is a late-summer picnic in verdant wine country.

Whilst I am very ambivalent about the bottle packaging of Nuxe Prodigieux, I want to squee to the world that this bottle is très divine. It’s an understated, elegant, high-quality ombre-gold bottle topped with a wooden (non-cheap!) lid. The robust cylindrical shape makes this perfume perfectly portable to throw in your everyday handbag.

Caudalie’s website describes this as a ‘delicate, sensual’ fragrance. I think the good folks that write copy at Caudalie HQ do not know the difference between spicy and delicate. For Parfum Divin is a spicy scent; delicate it is not.

Parfum Divin by Caudalie 2014

Parfum Divin by Jacques Cavallier

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Grapefruit, rose, pink pepper, vanilla, musk, cedar

Parfum Divin opens as a blast of fruity, floral musk. It’s a dry, clean-skin kind of musk as opposed to a dirty, animalistic one. The fruity-floral notes are green, rosey and sweet, with an artificial-grape note floating at the top. About an hour in, the ethereal floral-top notes have faded, revealing a dry layer of vanilla pods. At the same time, the rubbery artificial grapes start to be pushed out by punchy, pink peppercorns At the two hour mark, this fragrance is in full flight – it is indubitably about spicy peppercorns and vanilla pods. The peppercorns are just enough to stop you from wanting to lick your yummy sweet self.

Photo Stolen Flickr

Bath and Unwind say: The scent evolves into a sophisticated and sensuous blend with an exotic allure. Combining the essence of Moroccan and Bulgarian rose absolutes, its heady floral bouquet is tempered with sharp grapefruit and spicy pink peppercorn, warm sweetness from Uganda planifolia vanilla beans, deep Virginia cedar and a blend of musks.

The overall experience of Parfum Divin is fresh, elevating but also comforting, like being nuzzled in your favourite clean, fluffy, bath robe. Accordingly, Parfum Divin wafts close to the wearer, for your own personal pleasure. Longevity is 8hrs+, however a mid-day top-up is strongly recommended.

Further reading: Bois de Jasmin and Geek Wearing Make-Up
Sephora has the line but I can’t find it online
Bath and Unwind has AUD$76/50ml (Sadly NOT to Aus & NZ)

Nuxe or Caudalie? Which do you prefer?

Heatwave Fragrances for Summer 2015

December 28, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 7 Comments

Post by Greg Young

Hey APJ,

South-east Australia has been sweltering in a heat wave for days on end. Going outside has been like walking into a brickmaker’s kiln, and staying inside hasn’t been much fun either. Conservative businessmen such as myself are dispensing with their ties and looking fondly at the pub over the road from work, dreaming of a cold craft beer.

Choosing the right fragrance for temperatures like this can be tough. I feel the need for something that picks me up in the morning and sends me out feeling at least a little bit chipper. For me, that usually means something with a citrus hit. It also needs to defy the evaporative force of baking Melbourne heat, so classic EdCs are off the list. Here is how I dealt with the heat this week.

Heatwave Fragrances for Summer 2015

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Thursday: the wave begins
The CBD baked in 36 degree heat. Tauer’s Orange Star has a sharp citrus juice opening that is very refreshing on a hot morning. It’s not really my idea of a summer fragrance; the vanilla and tonka bean give it a sweetness that I think is more appropriate for cooler days. The fact that Orange Star lasted the distance in this heat is impressive; I could still smell its amber drydown 12 hours later at home, in the cooling blast of A/C.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Friday: the swelling wave
When the thermometer climbs to 39 and it’s accompanied by a northerly wind Melbourne becomes positively beastly. I chose Penhaligon’s Blenheim Bouquet for my Friday fragrance. This very traditional fragrance was designed for Winston Churchill’s father – Blenheim Palace is the Churchill family seat. It’s lemon and lime scent was just what I needed, bolstered by a refreshing pine. This was a perfect pick. While not exactly fighting on the beaches, it never surrendered.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Saturday: the wave crests – and a special occasion.
It was 41C (106F) on Saturday. We planned to travel for a weekend away to celebrate our wedding anniversary. This meant we had to go out in blinding heat, sit in a car where the seats set fire to you when you climbed in, and moan to one another about how hot it was.

We went to dinner at a rural Italian restaurant of considerable note and I chose D.S. & Durga’s Italian Citrus, with its powerful, complex, almost bitter citrus note that really stays with you. It developed a sweeter musk as the night wore on, but the citrus remained until the end rather than giving way to the base notes. It lasted a good four hours.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Sunday: the wave breaks
Only by comparison to the furnace of Saturday could the 39 degrees we reached on Sunday be considered cooler. We were in the car again travelling home. At the outset we could feel every one of those 39 degrees, cutting short our trip to get into the car and just leave.

I wore Masque Terralba. There is a cedary opening to this, but it’s cut by a little bit of lemon. It has an oceanic note that I can’t quite place, which reduces the woodsiness. Some herbal green notes emerge later as well.

Shortly after arriving home, the heat wave broke. Intermittent showers of rain brought relief from the fearsome dry, and the temperature tumbled ten degrees in just a few hours. The heat wave was over – until the next one.

Surrender To Chance is a great place to sample most of these.

How do you cope with heat?
Greg Young

Amarige by Dominique Ropion for Givenchy 1991

December 27, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 12 Comments

Post by Anne-Marie

A little while ago I did a round-up of print and online reviews of one of the most reviled perfumes on the counter: Givenchy’s Amarige. Now I’d like to share my own views. An astute reader will probably have decided that I would not be going to this much trouble if I hated Amarige, and you are right. I do love it. So THERE!

Amarige by Givenchy 1991

Amarige by Dominique Ropion

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Mandarin, Neroli, Peach, Plum, Rosewood, Violet Heart
Heart: Gardenia, Carnation, Jasmine, Cassia, Mimosa, Orchid, Black locust, Rose, Red berries, Black currant, Tuberose, Ylang-ylang
Base: Amber, Woody notes, Musk, Sandalwood, Tonka bean, Vanilla, Cedar

Firstly, the notes (deep breath):
Top: orange blossom, plum, mandarin, violet, peach, neroli, Brazilian rosewood.
Heart: red berries, mimosa, carnation, black locust, tuberose, blackcurrant, gardenia, casie, orchids, jasmine, ylang ylang, rose.
Base: sandalwood, tonka, amber, musk, vanilla, woody notes, cedar

How does it smell to me? I don’t much bother trying to separate the notes. To me Amarige smells of peaches, white flowers, and sunshine. Yellow is a dominant colour in the marketing and while I don’t dress in yellow, I get my ‘yellow’ from Amarige. It’s a colour – and a scent – of confidence, happiness and optimism.

Amarige’s bottle was designed by Pierre Dinand and inspired by a blouse Hubert de Givenchy had designed in 1952 for his model, muse and some time press agent, Bettina Graziani. High-collared and narrow at the waist, the sleeves of the ‘Bettina blouse’ were deeply ruffled with broderie anglaise, and those ruffles are referenced in the cap on the bottle.

Photo Stolen Pinterest

Tuberose? I compared Amarige with other ‘scoundrels’ (Luca Turin’s word) of the era: Giorgio of Beverly Hills and Elizabeth Arden’s Red Door. The tuberose in those is indeed very and harsh and synthetic, to my nose, whereas in Amarige the tuberose is balanced and blended with other notes, especially that joyful peach.

Too strong? Oh for goodness sake! Just wear less. Nobody is forcing you to spritz Amarige 16 times, are they? What? Your Auntie Sharon did actually spritz it 16 times, back in the 90s? Well good on her. She smelled better than if she had been wearing any amount of Issey Miyake. Yes she did.

Speaking of Issey Miyake, some perfume critics write of the 90s as a time of freshness and restraint in perfume. In the 80s, perfumes were too strong and we all wore too much. In the 90s we detoxed, apparently, on fragrances like Calvin Klein’s CK One and Clinique’s Happy. But no, that’s not quite true. The divas kept coming. Not just Amarige, but Lancome’s Trésor and Poème, Liz Taylor’s White Diamonds, Gucci’s L’Arte di Gucci and Rush, Thierry Mugler’s Angel, YSL’s Yvresse, Hermès’ 24 Faubourg, Dior’s Docle Vita and J’Adore, and Chanel’s Allure.

And yet the clean watery fragrances did sell like crazy, so perhaps the only explanation is that they were bought by people who would otherwise not wear fragrance at all – memories of Auntie Sharon – meaning that the fragrance market overall must have expanded in the 1990s.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

FragranceNet has $28/30ml
My Perfume Samples starts at $2/ml

I started out with Amarige and have ended up with 90s fruity florals in general.
What do you think? A good era for perfume, the 90s? Or … not?

Poison by Edouard Flechier for Christian Dior 1985

December 23, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 5 Comments

Post by Joseph Sagona

Hi APJ,

Review #300

I have a history with Poison, it’s one of my Mothers all time favorite perfumes, she still wears it to this day, every time I wear it, it reminds me of her. I can remember being nine years old and going into my Mother’s bed room and on top of her dresser would be that beautiful purple bottle of Poison, I would steal a few sprays here and there, I loved the smell so much, it was so sweet and fruity.

My Mother has no idea that I do fragrance reviews, she would probably wonder why I do them, so I never told her, but she does know I love fragrance. This review I will show her, I want her to know how much I love her and what she means to me, and for her to know that Poison is the fragrance that started me on my love, passion and amazing journey of fragrances today.

Poison by Christian Dior 1985

Poison by Edouard Flechier

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Brazillian rosewood, plum, wild berries, anise, coriander
Heart: Carnation, jasmine, opoponax, African orange flower, tuberose, white honey, rose, incense, cinnamon
Base: Virginian cedar, heliotrope, amber, vanilla, vetiver, sandalwood, musk

Dior’s Poison is the type of fragrance that you have to have attitude and confidence to wear, it is strong, classy, elegant, charming, sophisticated and bitchy.

I get the Plum, White Honey, Incense, Wild Berries, Tuberose and Cinnamon it opens up with a lush, dark plum and a tart, sweet wild berries, the dark plum and wild berries are strong. Then after thirty minutes the plum dissipates, the wild berries soften, in comes a dry, aromatic cinnamon and a whispering, creamy tuberose, the cinnamon is soft, the tuberose is mild.

After three hours the cinnamon dissipate and the tuberose softens. In comes a golden, silky white honey and a warm incense with a touch of sweetness, the honey and incense are mild.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Poison reminds me of Jeanne Arthes Cobra, and Christian Dior’s Poison Extrait, Cobra is spicier, citric and stronger woods, Poison Extrait has stronger florals, softer spices and comes off soapy.

Poison is very fruity, sweet, dark, floral, syrupy and unisex. It leans more towards the feminine side, with soft woody and spicy undertones: a floral fragrance. This can be worn all year ’round, it would be better suited for the Fall and Winter, I get good projection and good longevity, a Christian Dior masterpiece.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Further reading: Yesterday’s Perfume and Black Narcissus
FragranceNet has $73/50ml before Coupon
My Perfume Samples starts at $2.50/ml

What is your Poison? Have you ever worn it?
Joseph Sagona

Val CQ’s Christmas Giveaway 2015: Hermès + Vero Profumo

December 22, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 59 Comments

Post by Val the Cookie Queen

Hi APJ

All in all 2015 has been quite a perfumed year. I went to the Esxence in Milan and had a seriously fun perfume extravaganza trip through the USA. I have deepened my friendship with several perfumista bloggers (you know exactly who you are) and am incredibly thankful for that. It has enriched my my life.
I have tried quite a number of new perfumes although nowhere near the amount that proper perfumistas do! I am as fussy as ever. I fell in love with Geisha Noire from aroma M and have recently discovered that Neela Vermeire´s Pichola is fabulous in the cold weather.

All my favorite blogs have wonderful lists of what to buy for Christmas, the top ten favourites of the year, not to mention gift buying guides. I can only refer you to them, as I am not capable of coming up with anything that detailed!

As is well known, I mostly wear Vero Profumo and 2015 saw no change in that. I am über-excited at the upcoming launch of the new VP fragrance, have been lucky enough to try it and can only say if you love leather, tobacco and a dash of red apple you are in for a serious treat. And that is just the EdP.

Val CQ’s Christmas GIVEAWAY 2015

Hermès + Vero Profumo

Photo Donated Val

I want to share what I love this year. Proper decants out of my own bottles. I have chosen Mito EdP from Vero Profumo and Cuir d’Ange from Hermés. (I used up three travel sizes of it before I got a full bottle from my husband for my birthday.) It is such a soft and intimate leather.

January is going to be fabulous this year. Portia and I and our various friends and many others will be meeting up for the
Perfume Lovers London event at the end of the month. I will also be visiting with my own family, aunt and uncle, cousins and my brother. It will be a chance to meet perfume people that I have online friendships with too. And yes of course I know what perfume I am gonna be wearing.

Photo Stolen Flickr

“It is a fair, even-handed, noble adjustment of things, that while there is infection in disease and sorrow, there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.” Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

So let us don our gay apparel.

Bussis and strength for 2016.
CQ

Photo Stolen manoneileen

CQ Xmas GIVEAWAY!

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have one winner who will receive:
1 each decants Mito and Cuir d’Ange (from Val’s bottles)
P&H Worldwide

HOW DO YOU WIN?

Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged. 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 (portia underscore turbo @ yahoo dot com dot au) so I know.

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Tell us any favorite quotes or Christmas carols? Mito or Cuir d’Ange?

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 24th December 2015 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winner will have till Monday 28th December 2015 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.

Beauty Is About Serenity: Part 1

December 20, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 5 Comments

Post by AF Beauty

As we head towards the festive season, or if you’re in the northern hemisphere, you’re probably over the festive period already – it’s easy to get caught up in the stresses and pressures of the season. There are expectations, promises, family and friends, presents and no presents (!) and inevitably, something’s been forgotten.

For these days, rather than frown and develop those fine lines, you need serenity! And I’m here to suggest that glorious smells are a good way to start you down this road. I have been testing a number of candles – less so in smell – because, as you sophisticated perfumistas will surely know – smell is so very much a personal thing, I’ve been considering the rest of the package, including, unsurprisingly, the packaging, the burn, the wick and the smokiness.

Beauty Is About Serenity: Part 1

Candles

The first candle I’ve used this season is from the Ecoya range. This is an Australian brand of soy wax candles – I’ve tried the jar in fragrance, Wild Frangipani. Typically, since I’ve tried this fragrance, they’ve discontinued it! But the range is wide as you can see at the Ecoya Website. The packaging on this candle is great, a very solid glass jar, comparable to this alternative fragrance, comforting in it’s heaviness. The candle burns well, evenly so you’re not left with half the candle up the sides and smokiness is minimal. The wick is reliable and strong and doesn’t burn off so you’re left with a stub, that’s just irritating. I regularly rebuy this range as it’s so reliable.

The second candle I’ve tried is from the MOR Voluspa range. This is a range developed in California and, if you ask me, slightly oversells their product range by talking up the range being used by the Hollywood elite. To quote Shanian Twain, that don’t impress me much! However the candle isn’t bad. I have been testing fragrance Crane Flower in a large base candle with three wicks. This is an interesting smell in my opinion, but the thing I like most is that the candle burns incredibly evenly with no smokiness at all, which I really like. The container is beautiful, but metallic and I am worried about it causing a burn on the bookcase as it starts to reduce. Best of all it’s only $20 online at Voluspa.

Lastly I’ve tried the Woodwick candle range by Virginia Candles, another US brand. The selling point of this candle is that the wick burns and crackles like a fire. This is particularly tempting during winter where the sounds of a wood fire would be endearing. But this candle is very disappointing. I was so keen that this would be lovely, that I’ve tried two different versions. Both let me down. The crackle *is* pleasant, but let’s face it, unless you’re sitting in absolute silence, it’s almost impossible to hear. Add to this, the wick itself sometimes burns too low and then is difficult to relight. But the worst thing about this candle is the smokiness, it’s far too much in my opinion. So much so that I had to burn this candle on the balcony as I was so worried about smoke damage to my walls! Currently on sale at Woolworths

Do you have a particular favourite candle range? Do you favour particular smells, or do you look for the way it burns? Or are you obsessed with smokiness, like me?!
AF Beauty

India Temple Oil by Song of India

December 16, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 5 Comments

Post by Erica Golding

Hello you wonderful people! My, don’t you smell amazing today. 🙂

Not to brag, but I smell pretty gorgeous myself right now, and it’s all thanks to my evil enabler friend Kelly. She let me in on a secret, whispering about a little unassuming potion that delivers a breathtaking experience – for less than $10. Tonight, I am luxuriating in a the shockingly lovely glow of:

India Temple Oil by Song of India

Photo Stolen Amazon

My expectations were completely blown away when I first inhaled this complex beauty. I haven’t found official notes online for India Temple Oil, so I can only share my wild guesses as to what I have fallen in love with. (Many have told me that it smells exactly like the incense of the same name, so joy of joys, I have even more shopping to do now.)

An initial blossoming rose gives way to a pleasing jasmine bouquet. Jasmine and champaca balance on a fulcrum between round humidity and knife-edged intrigue. Citrusy bergamot lifts the aroma, while a touch of vetiver lends a crisp yet almost smoky accent. Smoothly mellow at the base, familiar sandalwood hums with a hint of oudh.

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

This captivating poetry comes boxed in an 8 mL rollerbottle. I especially appreciate how the bottle arrives with a plastic cork, and the rollerball separate. As convenient as they are, rollerbottles have a tendency to leak (especially when exposed to varying pressures during shipping). Securing the bottle with a stopper is a thoughtful detail, and ensures that the precious liquid arrives intact after its journeys.

It’s not easy to find something so special at such an affordable price point. This is truly a diamond in the rough, and a really low-risk blind buy.

Photo Donated Erica

Amazon has $8.84/8ml

Do you have this little delight tucked into your collection? What is your favorite inexpensive perfumed pleasure?

I can’t wait to hear your thoughts!
Fragrant hugs,
Erica

Last Minute Gift List 2015

December 15, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

Post by Ainslie Walker

Hello Australian Perfume Junkies!

How are you coping with the fast approaching “festive season?!” At this point most are either in their element or completely over it! Which are you? If you are like me you might still need to buy some gifts, so I thought I would make another little list of some favorite products I personally recommend…all scent-based of course!

PS Remember: you can just highlight the relevant items and hope Santa or someone finds it and takes the hint!

Last Minute Gift List 2015

Perfume Legends – French Feminine Fragrances by Michael Edwards
I bought this special classic book from Amazon last year (approx. $195) and it’s worth its weight in gold. The ultimate gift for anyone with an interest in history and perfumery right through to design buffs, fashionistas, French obsessed and complete fragrance heads. The book is now out of print and is a collector’s item, yet second hand copies still do pop up on eBay/amazon. The ultimate cult coffee table book, who’s content continually expands my depth of knowledge on fragrance and the fragrance industry, as I flick through its beautiful pages. I would like to halt time so I can cozy up and read it from cover to cover a few more times.

Photo Stolen Libertine Perfumery

L’Artisan L’Hiver reed diffuser
I have always resisted reed diffusers, however this one is truly delicious. I bought the same fragrance last year in candle form and enjoyed it, but here in diffuser form the fragrance is set off nicely with a great throw. The scent is not too “up the nose” and rather floats around in an atmospheric way. A possibly more appropriate method to create Christmas ambience during the complete fire ban across most of Australia at this time of year. Pine needles, smoky wood all riding on a sweet, dry vanillin/wood base. A personal favorite home scent available from Libertine Perfumery and online for $96.

Photo Stolen Santa Maria Novella

Santa Maria Novella – Wax Tablets
Beautiful and distinctive are Santa Maria’s scented beeswax tablets which for wardrobes or placed in draws to scent clothes and repel moths. Gorgeously packaged and old-worldly to look at, each tablet is decorated with flowers and dried fruits by hand. The scent is super strong so I am just using one at a time. If they were not so beautiful I would break one in half, as that would be plenty for each draw. Peony Melbourne and Franque Melbourne are the stockists in Australia I have seen them in. I have Relax Orange but there was a rose, pot pouri and lavender available too. $48

Photo Stolen The Beauty Apothecary

Edible Beauty – Exotic Goddess Ageless Serum
This Hyaluronic acid based natural serum gives skin additional hydration without adding more oil or grease. I have been adding it under my normal moisturizer and tinted sunscreen to help my skin hold onto more moisture on these hot days AND it’s weightless! Skin stays nice and plump and on top of that I just LOVE LOVE LOVE the smell. It makes me happy every time I slap it on! Available from Sephora and The Beauty Apothecary

Please let us hear about any yummy scent-based presents you are giving or wanting this Christmas??

Gardenia Soliflore by Dame Perfumery 2015

December 14, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 26 Comments

Post by Robert Herrmann

NEWSFLASH: Jeffrey Dame has opened shipping for the Dame Perfumery Oils to Australia. FREE SHIPPING!

Hello Fragrant Friends!

This is Robert H. again, writing from my small island home in Washington state, exactly halfway between Seattle and Vancouver B.C. I am an inveterate fragrance lover, occasional writer, full-time business owner, world traveller, ex-Broadway singer, and happily married to an ever-suffering spouse who descends into allergic hell, at the faintest whiff of perfume. Just my luck.

So what’s my SOTD?

Gardenia Soliflore by Dame Perfumery 2015

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives only the note gardenia.

-“What’s the matter? You don’t like Gardenias?”
-“They’re o.k”
-“So?”
-“So you don’t put them on just to…..go to someone’s apartment….for a late-night supper…”
-“So that’s how it is?”
-“That’s how it is.”
Lady Sings The Blues- Warner Brothers 1972

…..and after that first meeting, Billie Holiday wore gardenias for almost every performance for the rest of her life. It became her personal symbol, a flower that like her life blooms for a short while intoxicating everyone who catches the scent, and then once picked droops and dies.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

True gardenia is a scent that has been difficult for perfumers to capture, and I have any number of various bottles to prove that point….but THIS Gardenia by perfumer Jeffrey Dame is honestly the most photo-realistic gardenia it has ever been my pleasure to wear!

This is not your hot house gardenia, nor the one from the florist’s cooler, ubiquitous accoutrement for so many Prom corsages.

This is a flower blooming in a garden, in it’s natural environment, opening cool and green, medicinal, slightly indolic, but quickly settling down to……REAL Gardenia.

Even my spouse an avowed perfume allergen magnet turned to me yesterday and asked “Hey..did someone give us a potted Gardenia? Again? To kill?” (We don’t have the best of luck with gardenia plants…!”)

I stuck my wrist in front of his nose, he inhaled and smiled and just said “Wow!”

Wow indeed!

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

Dame Perfumery has $35/10ml oil
Now available to Australia with FREE SHIPPING!

Have you tried the Dame Gardenia or any others from Dame Perfumery? What was your favorite?

Australian Perfume Junkies

Olfactory Opinions from Oz

Contributors

Silver Musk by Alessandro Gualtieri for Nasomatto 2007

Silver Musk by Nasomatto 2007

Silver Musk by Alessandro Gualtieri

Parfum Divin by Jacques Cavallier for Caudalie 2014

Parfum Divin by Caudalie 2014

Parfum Divin by Jacques Cavallier

Heatwave Fragrances for Summer 2015

Heatwave Fragrances for Summer 2015

Amarige by Dominique Ropion for Givenchy 1991

Amarige by Givenchy 1991

Amarige by Dominique Ropion

Poison by Edouard Flechier for Christian Dior 1985

Poison by Christian Dior 1985

Poison by Edouard Flechier

Beauty Is About Serenity: Part 1

Beauty Is About Serenity: Part 1

Candles

India Temple Oil by Song of India

India Temple Oil by Song of India

Last Minute Gift List 2015

Last Minute Gift List 2015

Gardenia Soliflore by Dame Perfumery 2015

Gardenia Soliflore by Dame Perfumery 2015