HEY Crew,
Sorry for the delay. Here are the winners from Azar’s generous giveaways.
Portia XX
Photo Stolen brooklodge
The winners will have till Sunday 7th December 2014 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.
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Post by Ainslie Walker
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Hi all. Do you feel overwhelmed when perfume shopping? I often do, but not today in Peony, Melbourne.
Ever-so-stylish Jill greeted me as I entered, along with an almighty hit of heady fresh jasmine flower, which were cascading, displayed in the window. The interior oozed sophistication and opulence, nothing dusty or out of place. Themed black and white, a nod to French couture and boudoir, sparkling bottles everywhere, super cool touches of quirky humour. Jill has put her heart and soul into this little luxe haven.
With complimentary sparkling fruit juice in hand complete with black and white striped straw, I began my Peony, Melbourne journey…
From the Olfactive Studio stand, the zesty Still Life called to me like a caiparinia on a blazing summers day. Yuzu, elemi and pepper -pink, black and Sichuan pepper. Star anise and galbanum. Dark rum, cedar and ambrox. I absolutely love the lemony citrus combo with slightly soured spice and pepper, almost sherbet fizz working on top of the deeper wood, amber and rum notes.
Jill explained the range is inspired by photography – Still life from a self-portrait, by Frederic Lebain, which was inspiration for perfumer, Dora Baghriche-Arnaud. A boxed “discovery kit”, containing 5 x 4ml for $55 was in my hands: KERR-CHING!!…Purchase #1.
To my left was Ormonde Jayne, I grabbed Ormonde Woman and spritzed it onto a Peony branded blotter. Cardamom, coriander and grass oil. Black hemlock, violet and jasmine absolute. Vetiver, cedar wood, amber and sandalwood YUM. Love at first sniff. Beautiful. Womanly, magical, floral and herbaceous. The bottle feels weighty in my hand as I reluctantly place it back. A boxed “discovery set” ($95) 12 x 2ml landed on the counter -Purchase #2
Jill offers gently delivered advice, then leaves me to my own devices. She is unobtrusive, yet there when I need her. She guides my experience and lets it unfold organically. I am in awe of how many Peony-exclusive brands stocked that I never have had the chance to smell anywhere else in Australia.
Passing the handpicked Hermes selection, I re-sniff Hiris, and Eau de Pamplemousse Rose, two of my favorites of the range.
At Heeley, Cocobella disappoints – the notes sounded better than I experience…too thin. I discover Hippie Rose. Fresh rose and patchouli, it is rose-velvet. Dry down reminds me of a less-dirty Agent Provocateur original fragrance. Jill hands me a sample size to try later, as I’m not sure.
I smell ALL the Cire Truedon candles from their glass cloches that house them. I pop “Ernesto” on the counter, embarrassed at the pile forming. Purchase #3
In the front corner, I’m right besides the Mona Di Orio range. Gah! “I’ve read about these too!” Les Nombres D’or Violette Fumee stops me in my tracks. So elegant, violet, soft but not sweet. Mediterranean lavender, Calabrian bergamot, oak moss from the Balkans, Egyptian violet flowers and leaves, Turkish rose, Haitian vetiver, clary sage, opoponax, cashmeran and myrrh.
Jill tells me the story of how before Mona Di Orio sadly passed away; she designed this rose/tobacco/suede and violet piece for her Co-founder Jeroenu Oude Sougoteu, whom after she died, generously decided to share it as a tribute to her. Jill is full of these stories. She really knows her stuff!
It’s been an hour and 45 minutes of serious olfactory fun. As I pay for my items, Jill shoves more mystery samples in my bag, and I scurry off happy, loaded with even more new things to discover when I get home.
Thanks Jill!
Ainslie Walker X
All Photos (Perfume Porn) Donated Ainslie Walker
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Post by Tina G
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A nice surprise decant from a friend! An intriguing scent – I’d not come across Miller Harris as yet, and I couldn’t begin to think of what Geranium Bourbon entailed. Was it a boozy scent? Did it really have geranium? And how did those two things work together? After a bit of research I discovered that geranium bourbon was actually a particular type of geranium. OK, sure, let’s give this a run through….
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Palmarosa, cassis, geranium
Heart: Violet, rose, black pepper
Base: Vanilla, amber, patchouli
Geranium Bourbon opens with a watery pink rose, like rain which has been cupped in a heart of a bloom and then poured across my skin. It is so refreshing and light, really wonderful. After about 10 minutes there is a peppery scent which comes through along with a lemon ‘juice’ accord. I’ve never smelt geranium bourbon plants themselves, but fresh geraniums definitely have that peppery/lemony background to their leaves. The scent deepens throughout the first half hour, gradually becoming more earthy and green.
I enjoy the dry down of Geranium Bourbon as it transitions from fresh & light, to earthy, and then some amber & smoky notes come through with a trace of vanilla in the basenotes. And then this becomes for me one of those scents which triggers some strong visual imagery – I hope you don’t mind if I indulge in the story it wove for me:
Photo Stolen Pixabay
Sitting on the cold, wet white wood of the outside furniture & wrapped up in a blanket stolen from near the inside fire, I sit watching the drips of water fall from the plants in the luscious English summer garden. The storm shower passed through quick and heavy though there is no sign of sunlight yet through the grey sky. The trellis behind me is thick with a blooming tea rose vine, the myriad of simple pink flowers releasing a pervasive but delicate fragrance into the now-still air. The earth in the flower bed has been turned recently and is damp and rich.
Photo Stolen Wikipedia
The bedded violet and geranium plants have been beaten by the heavy rain. There is a lemony-rose scent from the geranium flowers, mixed in with a tart herbal pepperiness from the succulent leaves. For a while I sit in the coolness just watching, listening, and breathing, until the damp starts to seep in. Snuggling down into the blanket further I can smell the sweet smoke from the lounge room hearth embedded in its fibres. From somewhere inside the house, a tendril of sweet vanilla from something delicious baking is enough to rouse me from quiet contemplation and head inside to the warmth.
Photo Stolen Wikipedia
Further reading: What Men Should Smell Like and I Smell Therefore I Am
Perfumery Australia has $110/100ml
Posh Peasant has samples starting at $4/ml
What about you? Have you tried Geranium Bourbon? Any of the Miller Harris range? What did you think?
Wishing you all a lovely week.
Tina G
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Post by FeralJasmine
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Some time ago, my friend Kafkaesque did a review of a then-unknown perfume called Kalemat, from Arabian Oud. It was $60 for a big bottle, and such is the seductive power of Kafkaesque’s prose that large numbers of us blind-bought it.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Blueberry, anise
Heart: Rosemary, cashmere wood, floral notes
Base: Musk, amber, honey
To see exactly what seduced us, there is no alternative to reading the original post, because nobody can write like Kafkaesque. You will also note that, like a comet, the post developed a very long tail as we all reported back with our experiences. My own response was a tiny bit disappointed at the time, and that’s where matters stayed until a few months later, when I noticed that the level in my bottle had decreased visibly and bought a back-up bottle. In cool weather, I reach for it at least three times a week, and often wear it as a comfort scent in the evening and on weekends.
Photo Stolen WikiMedia
So why did it take me weeks to fall in love? Chasing a youthful dream, I’m afraid. To this day, my dream amber is one that I smelled on a woman in Egypt over 20 years ago as she passed me in the street, and I am still seeking that honeyed amber spice-bomb and haven’t found it. When I read about Kalemat, I was sure I had found it, and felt irrationally disappointed when Kalemat was its duplicate but, on my dry perfume-eating skin, was a soft memory rather than the concentrated bombshell original. All the notes are there, but the volume is turned down.
Photo Stolen Flickr
Is that a bad thing? Not at all. If I found my dream amber, Kalemat Cubed, it would probably clear elevators. Kalemat has a beautiful sunset-honeyed cloud of an opening that has excellent projection and killer sillage, and for the first 20 minutes projection is several inches off my skin. I spray before going to work, and enjoy this part along the commute. By the time I arrive, the sillage is soft and polite and it never raises an eyebrow among my colleagues. I don’t get the rivers of amber that Kafkaesque got, but I do get trickles of honeyed spiced amber that delight me every time I can sniff my wrist surreptitiously, and waft to me with every movement of my hands. A few other notes, like the blueberry-spice note, drift by and turn my thoughts firmly to pleasant things when they reach my nose. Sprayed more heavily in the evening, it reminds me that life is so lovely and generous that those of us who can’t afford the Roja Doves can still smell wonderful. It is killer on a scarf in the winter, warming you subtly. The packaging is also lovely, with a heavy, substantial 100ml glass bottle that arrives in a lovely Arabic-lettered book box.
Photo Stolen Pixabay
The parent company, Arabian Oud, moved off Amazon but Kalemat can still be found on EBay for very reasonable prices. Someday I still hope to find my dream amber for special occasions, Kalemat Cubed, but this one will hold me just fine until then.
FeralJasmine X
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Post by Trésor
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As I am writing this the very first snow of the season is beginning to fall and winter’s crystalline breath is rushing through the labyrinth of tree branches outside my window, sounding with an orchestral percussion as if greeting the frigid embrace and welcoming it with open arms. My world is now captured within a veil of glimmering virginal white and my heart longs for a warmth that’s slipped away as sand through an hourglass.
Photo Stolen Flickr
Not the physical warmth of being cocooned within a favourite blanket but an intangible emotional warmth that only blooms with the reminiscence of being held in the arms of one who’s love has served as both shelter and unfailing nourishment. Someone who’s love remains only as radiant aura held within a sacred chamber deep within your heart. Few fragrances are able to manifest such cherished memories for me, to transcend space and time and revive as this fragrance does. Today I review Cuir de Lancôme, a magical potion and olfactory time machine who’s precious vapors transport me and pay tribute to my beloved grandmother. A pulchritudinous woman, a force of nature who’s luminous soul taught me of absolute joy and unconditional compassion.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Mandarin orange, saffron, bergamot
Heart: Patchouli, hawthorn, jasmine, ylang-ylang
Base: Orris root, birch, styrax
The opening of Cuir de Lancôme is a spectacular symphony of brilliant, spherical mandarin and delicately bitter bergamot. The effect is so incredibly familiar, not dissimilar to the aroma of an exquisite artisinal soap procured on a journey through the south of France. This is a most beauteous prelude to what I can only describe as one of the softest, most creamy and positively unctuous leather notes I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing.
Photo stolen Wikipedia
Cuir de Lancôme is not akin to the subversive, BDSM black of Etat Libre d’Orange’s Rien but a master class in restrained elegance. Utterly smooth with textural symmetry to that of whipped butter and kissed with delicate swirls of saffron and I’m certain other spices which are so meticulously blended that they simply register as a gossamer veil of whispering heat. Beneath this leather smolders a rich, deep and dry patchouli interlaced with the balsamic splendor of a languid styrax and an exceptionally photorealistic note of birch.
What’s so terribly beautiful about this act of the fragrance is how it pulsates from the skin in a soft and gloriously diffuse halo, maintaining a poised restraint while beckoning you closer as if to draw you into a tender hearted embrace. It is this precise moment where Cuir de Lancôme is most fragile but as with all creatures of beauty it is in this fragility where it exhibits it’s most extraordinary power, an immaculate vulnerability. An achingly divine swan’s song leading the fragrance into conclusion, just traces of powdery warmth dancing upon the skin.
Photo Stolen DeviantART
I usually get a good 8 hours wear out of this deeply beautiful elixir with a moderate sillage that’s surprisingly enveloping despite it’s modest nature. Though I prefer it as the temperatures descend I think one could wear it any time they pleased, it’s really quite versatile in that way.
Further reading: Now Smell This and Olfactoria’s Travels
Galaxy Perfume has $79/50ml
FragranceX has $102/50ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $5/ml
I’d love to know which fragrances bring to life memories of an incredible happiness as this does for me. Sending each of you all of my love.
Trésor xx
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Post by Val the Cookie Queen
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Hi APJ
1. “There was nothing Lucy liked so much as the smell and feel of fur. She immediately stepped into the wardrobe and got in among the coats and rubbed her face against them, leaving the door open, of course, because she knew that it is very foolish to shut oneself into any wardrobe.” C.S Lewis. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Photo Donated Val CQ
2. “I think I’m on another world with you
I’m on another planet with you
You always get under my skin
I don´t find it irritating
You always play to win ……” “Another Girl, Another Planet” The Only Ones 1978
3. “When you go in search of honey you must expect to be stung by bees.” Joseph Joubert 1754 – 1824
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Vetiver, ginger, mace, coriander
From Vero Profumo site:
“Ambrosial whisperings, sweet nothings, tender and potent – and deeply moving.”
Photo Donated Val CQ
It is just about a year to the day that I received my bottle of Onda Extrait.
There has been much written about Vero Kern’s Onda masterpiece. Like it or hate it, it will leave you reeling. And it delights me. It took time to understand it, it wasn´t love at first try, Slowly it wrapped its coils around me. Now I long for it.
Photo Stolen Geograph
Onda permeates my thoughts. I listen to music and feel Onda. I read and feel Onda. When I met Vero Kern she was wearing Onda. If I had not know that it, I would have wondered if she was wearing anything at all. It was a part of her. Vero Kern says “I´m not interested in “clean” scents. I need characterful scents both in my creations but also as a wearer. Besides this, I love everything that reminds of the smell of skin.” Onda Extrait in that case is a breathtaking success.
Onda is very erotic, very sensual, but furthermore it is calming.
Photo Stolen Pixabay
Like wearing black patent stilettos, Onda is for when the time it right. It might not be often but it is critical to own both.
Onda is much more than a perfume, indeed it is art. It is a part of the current exhibition “Nirvana, Strange Forms of Pleasure” at the MUDAC (musée de design et d’arts appliqués contemporains) in Lausanne, Switzerland, which runs from the end of October 2014 until the end of April 2015.
Photo Stolen Flickr
Further reading: Now Smell This and Olfactoria’s Travels
First In Fragrance has €160/7.5ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $10/.25ml
A year on I say thank you to Vero Kern. Her creations complete me.
What about you? Do you love Vero’s work? Have you tried them? If so, what was your favourite?
Bussis
CQ
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Post by Azar
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Hi APJ!
The latest fragrances from Olympic Orchids, Peace, Love and Perfume, were created as a numbered series for the Peace – Love – Perfume Facebook group and released on August 31st of this year. Each of these new scents (each flower child) is a take on one aspect of the “Hippie” counterculture/youth movement of the 1960s and early 70’s.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Ellen Covey describes the first in the series, Peace, as “the serious oldest child”.
Listed Notes: Frankincense, cedar, New Caledonian sandalwood, vetiver, double distilled patchouli, benzoin, vanilla, tarragon, Oregon lavender.
My Perceived Notes: Peace opens with a startling dose of tarragon and lavender quickly dissolving into woody resin, frankincense and sandalwood. This incense blend, with just a breath of patchouli, suffuses the skin with an aura of contemplation, lingers for 24 hours and finally fades to a memory of frankincense and vetiver touched with vanilla. Peace is rich, warm, resinous and comforting, perfect for blustery fall and winter evenings by the fire.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Love, “the middle flower child”, is a humid floral featuring an exotic blue lotus accord.
Listed Notes: Blue lotus, sandalwood, frankincense, benzoin, humid air, vanilla, musks, tarragon.
My Perceived Notes: Once again I am momentarily surprised by the minty, camphorous, sweet tarragon top note. A wet blue lotus, with a hint of vanilla and resin, quickly takes over the composition and remains in place throughout the long life of the fragrance. Love finishes with a suggestion of damp vanilla and musk. I would be comfortable wearing Love anytime of the year but especially in spring and early summer.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
The third fragrance, Perfume, is the bright “free spirited youngest child”.
Listed Notes: Cedar, benzoin, vetiver, frankincense, pine wood fraction, myrtle, airy note, Oregon lavender, pink grapefruit.
My Perceived Notes: Perfume is really a cologne with an Olympic Orchids’ twist. Instead of the ubiquitous lemon or generic citrus and herbs, this cologne opens with a combination of pink grapefruit and sweet-sour myrtle continuing into pine, cedar and lavender. Perfume does not radically change over time and fades completely from my skin at about five hours. The refreshing grapefruit/myrtle combination and the cooling effect of the pinewood are perfect for long, hot summer days.
Even though my nose doesn’t register everything, I do NOT encounter any phantom notes or the “obvious but not present” effect in any of these fragrances. In the words of Flip Wilson’s 1970’s comic character Geraldine “What you see is what you get”! Each scent has been designed by the perfumer to be worn separately or layered together for a variety of stunning effects. Peace, Love and Perfume are available at Olympic Orchids boutique website (www.orchidscents.com) individually and in two different boxed sets, perfect for holiday giving.
Peace, Love and Perfume for All!
Azar xx
Photo Stolen sassisamblog
This week we will have 2 Winners who will each get:
1 x set of 1ml samples of Peace, Love and Perfume
P&H Anywhere in the world
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
Tell ell us about your favorite vintage/retro scent, describe your scent memories of the 60′ and 70’s (if you were around in those days) or which Olympic Orchids fragrance do you like best?
Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie On The Nose: Rosa Ardiente by Kenneth Cory GIVEAWAY @KPCNose #Perfume #Giveaway
Entries Close Thursday 27th November 2014 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org or some fun way
As Portia is away on Holidays we will release winners when possible, keep an eye out.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.
Fragrant Gifting
Hello there my scented friends! The glowing joy of the holiday season is upon us, and what better gift for the one you love most than fragrance? An incredibly personal sentiment, a choice that says “you are one of the people I adore most in this world.” How do I do Fragrant Gifting that feels like it was custom made for that special person?
Well, one obvious tip is to keep the scent amicable and easy to love. Unless you are gifting perfume to a collector or connoisseur, selecting a challenging or overly complex scent is a great way to ensure it gets secretly returned or left lonely and unsprayed in a dark drawer.
Another consideration is budget, because let’s be real – why blow the bank when you can blow their mind (at a modest price)?
The three fragrances below are my picks for charming your loved ones.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Green mango, tomato, grapefruit, carrot
Heart: Orange, peony, lotus, hyacinth, bulrush
Base: Labdanum, incense, iris, musk, cinnamon
Un Jardin Sur Le Nil by Hermés: This scent is bright, clean, and has a great reputation for being well-received. Primarily a ginger aroma on me, it sparkles with a green hue that stays true to form throughout the wearlength. A fresh delight for either him or her!
My Perfume Samples has samples starting at $3/ml
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Jasmine, vanilla, pink pepper, tonka bean, cacao, ylang-ylang, ambrette (musk mallow
Sweet Jasmine Brown by Providence Perfume Company: This artisan perfume oil is an exquisite gateway to natural perfumery. The jasmine is simply darling, the perfect balance of sweet and clean, starlit enchantment. The accents include tonka bean and vanilla, warm like honey, adding smoothness and intrigue. Ultra-feminine and impossible to resist!
Providence Perfume Co perfume oil Sample Set $30/6 x .5ml
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
White pepper, musk, jasmine, cloves, vetiver, neroli, cedar, bergamot, cardamom
Vettiveru by Comme des Garçons: Quite simply, this is my favorite scent on a man. It’s astoundingly simple, but so well done, and doesn’t challenge the senses or intimidate. Vettiveru delivers the sunshine side of vetiver, of hay scenting a late summer breeze. Paired with a soft yet citrusy bite and a touch of pale woods, the overall aroma is crisp yet inviting. Buy it for him, and tell him to wear with caution….
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $2/ml
Have fun sniffing! I wish you and yours a warm, joyful winter solstice.
Hugs,
Erica
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Post by Ainslie Walker
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Hey APJers, remember recently, that night, full of heavy rain, flash floods, sideways downpours, thunder, lightening and hail in Sydney? That night I attended the Agent Provocateur Fatale fragrances launch at Carousel Bar in Kings Cross.
Entering the club in my water-filled heels, I was spritzed with FATALE PINK fresh and light it struck me as different to the Agent Provocateur fragrances I already knew.
Gathered were TV personalities from The Bachelor, foodie Rick Stein, beauty editors, PR people and Fragrances of the World lovelies, Anna and Virginia. We had a giggle, ate canapés and “stalked” Rick together – he partook in a 30 minute conversation with us about fragrance, flavors, travel and food – a highlight of the night.
Newly designed bottles were on display, a big change from porcelain curves of past fragrances. Marketing blurb says the facets reflect the many sides of a woman’s personality…not at all original, but pretty. Boxes are indented stylishly, a nod to fishnet stockings and very Agent Provocateur!
In the background, a seductive Agent Provocateur film was projected, staring Monica Cruz. The evening was relaxed, glamorous and cool.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Pink pepper, black currant, mango
Heart: Patchouli, orris, gardenia
Base: Vanilla orchid, musk, chocolate, labdanum
Mango- juicy and ripe, in a bed of vanilla, and chocolate, hinting at seduction but not as sultry and distinctive as expected. Pink pepper fizzes with the mango. Blackcurrant, tart with a dollop of cream. Patchouli? I’d say a touch of maltol / fairy floss in there too. Musk and orris come out to play after 30 minutes or so. Lasting power of 4 hours. It’s fun, I suppose it’s sexy, but not in the way Agent Provocateur’s first fragrances were- they were naughty and daring. Agent Provocateur has stepped into mainstream terrain. Within an hour I am reminded of Coco Mademoiselle. I have none to hand right now to compare, but somehow it nods in that direction…fresh, fruit, sweet and isoE!
In “the naughties” I was a party girl living in London – out EVERY night- obsessed with Agent Provocateur underwear. Gifted Chanel’s Mademoiselle and I wore it, a touch of fun glamour. Today I am more likely to be wearing Chanel clothing and add this fun Agent Provocateur fragrance on top, nodding back to those fun days!!
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Tangerine, pear blossom, yuzu, whipped cream
Heart: Datura flower, white camellia, pink lotus
Base: Bamboo, musk, black saffron
This fragrance was released for the Asian market and they’ve nailed it! I would wear this on a hot humid day, it’s watery and light. I love the pear notes. Gritty like tinned pears. The other notes give a pretty, white cream floral and fresh blur. Tangerine gives soft citrus. It’s easy to wear, easy to gift, clean, perfect for summer. Unobtrusive. Hours later there is a surprising sudden floral peak. There is a “thinness”- I think pink lotus has that effect, but with cream, and interesting sounding notes like saffron and datura I would expect a denser scent. Enigmatic and glamorous could describe this, but seductive? Introverted, innocent seduction- a hugely new direction for this usually racy brand. Perhaps we are to experience the many facets of seduction and provocation from this brand? From innocent, pretty and clean, right through to hot, foxy and downright naughty!!
Ainslie Walker x
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Post by TinaG
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Whilst first wearing Mona di Orio’s Tubéreuse I must admit I was confused. It really wasn’t the “tuberose” fragrance that I had expected to find….
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Pink pepper, green notes, bergamot
Heart: Tuberose, benzoin, heliotrope
Base: Musk, amber, coconut, milk, cashmeran
Tubéreuse opens with a flash of floral milkiness. This quickly changes to an enticing sweet pink pepper with a shadowy smoky bergamot lifting and supporting it. The scent shifts and changes rapidly in the first 10 minutes, slowly settling into a light fresh green accord. I can smell a warm and slightly waxy scent, like coconut water, translucent and milky. The greenness draws a linear thread through the life of the scent as a supporting anchor point. There is a gentle powder which joins the flow at about 1 hour and it stays this way during the dry down. So fresh, peppery, floral, clean, milky, waxy – I realised this fragrance is a study of the tuberose flower itself.
Photo Donated TinaG
I found my thoughts being drawn back to evenings where I’ve had bunches of tuberose in the house. Tuberose is “night-blooming”, in that the bloom’s fragrance intensifies during the early evening to night. The time of transition to twilight is a treasure. If I can resist switching a light on, instead maybe lighting a candle, with some quiet background tunes, and may or may not have a glass of chilled white wine – it’s lovely to sit for a while letting my thoughts ramble in whatever direction they take me.
Photo Stolen Pixabay
The scent of real tuberose at this time of day is quite simply stunning. Its fragrance edges into the consciousness, bringing thoughts back to the present and reminding that it is this moment, this time, which is precious. It reminds me of the novel “Island” by Aldous Huxley – in a fictitious country where the inhabitants recognise the importance of the ‘conscious self’, taking a step back from your thoughts to be able to see more clearly. The islanders had trained mynah birds to call out “Attention”, and “Here and Now” at random intervals as a reminder to bring one’s self back to the moment. The growing intensity of tuberose scent at twilight has this same effect – the headiness is all encompassing and so beautiful, why wouldn’t you just want to breathe deeply, silently watching as the day fades to calmness, and colours start to drain away into grey-blues and blacks.
Photo Donated TinaG
It was at this point whilst wearing Tubéreuse that I realised I was experiencing the work of a master artist. Mona di Orio has captured the impression of night-blooming tuberose with a deeply profound and exquisite skill. There is an expression, that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Trying to dissect and analyse Tubéreuse you could definitely identify the parts, but that’s not the story, not the whole picture, and certainly not the limit of its boundaries. The fragrance has a three-tiered connection with me now – the practical identification of notes, a reminiscence of the quiet times, and the deeper meditative space that the ‘present’ can provide. I’m grateful for that journey.
Further reading: What Men Should Smell Like and Perfume Posse
Peony Melbourne has $230/100ml with FREE shipping in Australia
Parfum1 has $230/100ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $7/ml
How many of you have tried the MdO Tubéreuse? Or any of her scents? Did you love them or not?
Tina G
Australian Perfume Junkies 