Contributors

The 2nd Annual Art And Olfaction Awards 2014 – open for entries!!

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Post by Ainslie Walker

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The 2nd Annual Art And Olfaction Awards 2014 – open for entries!!

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It’s year 2 of the inaugural Art and Olfaction Awards. Last year the Jordan told us all about the awards inhis Australian Perfume Junkies post

Submissions have been trickling in since November 3rd 2014 and entries need to be postmarked by the 19th December 2014 to be in with a chance. The winner will be announced in April 2015.

Perfumes must have been released to market between January 1 and Dec 31, 2014 and can be entered into the Independent Award and/or the Artisan Award. For both of these categories, 2 perfumes will be picked from 5 finalists.

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Excitingly this year there is a new category: The Sadakichi Award For Experimental Scent – This award aims to reward the work of people who engage with scent outside of commercial perfumery. One award will be presented out of five finalists

The Judges: Independent and Artisan Awards (preliminary)

• Ashley Eden Kessler
• Brent Leonesio
• Daniel Krasofski
• Hank Jenkins
• James McHugh
• Laura Johnson
• Neal Harris
• Persephenie Lea
• Steven Gontarski
• Sherri Sebastian
• Yvettra Grantham

The Judges: Independent and Artisan Awards (finals)

• Christophe Laudamiel
• Luca Turin
• Mandy Aftel
• Miriam Vareldzis
• Sarah Horowitz-Thran

The judges for the independent and artisan categories will review entries completely blind with submissions being tracked only by numbers. Text will be provided by the entrants, which explains their intentions for the scent and for the judges to contextualize what they are smelling.

The Judges: Sadakichi Award For Award For Experimental Scent

The Experimental Category judges will select the five finalists, as well as the winner.
• Allison Agsten
• Bettina Hubby
• Dr. Kóan Jeff Baysa
• Marcos Lutyens
• Mark Allen

The twitter handle for the awards is https://twitter.com/AOAwards
The Facebook is https://www.facebook.com/ArtandOlfactionAwards
General Awards website: artandolfactionawards.com

Info about the submissions process: http://artandolfactionawards.com/submission2015/
Info about 2015 Judges: http://artandolfactionawards.com/submission2015/2015judges/
Info about the categories (we’ve added one– experimental!): http://artandolfactionawards.com/submission2015/submission-categories/

GOOD LUCK!!

Sniffapalooza 2014: Breakfast

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Post by Poodle

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On a dreary day in October I boarded a train bound for NYC to attend my second Sniffapalooza. I wasn’t nearly as nervous this year. The city is far less intimidating when you have a native New Yorker to lead you around.

The official start of Sniffa was Saturday morning but I was barely off the train on Friday evening and Daisy had me on the subway heading for some sniffing and shopping. Needless to say, I wasn’t in town two hours and my purse was already lighter. But that’s another post for another day.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s, I mean, Bergdorf’s

Sniffa began on Saturday with breakfast at Bergdorf Goodman which is less about food and more about the newest perfumes along with some old favorites. There were about 20 perfumes presented in the two hour breakfast. They don’t call it Sniffapalooza for nothing. There is a lot to sniff. More than your thinking. I had planned on doing a photo essay but my camera had other plans and decided to stop working so I’ll recap some of the scents for you. From my notes here are some fragrant highs and lows.

The new Shalimar Souffle was disappointing.

Vent de Folie Annick Goutal FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Annick Goutal has released a perfume celebrating NYC called Vent de Folie. It’s supposed to be inspired by Central Park. The scent is very green, fruity and fresh. I can’t say it smells like New York to me but it is a perfume I could see selling well. I did get a compliment on it just the other day at the football game so even if it doesn’t smell like New York it does smell good.

I loved the new Diana Vreeland perfume bottles but haven’t tested the scents enough to form an opinion.

Intoxicated By Kilian FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Kilian Hennessy of By Kilian was there in person and he introduced the scented jewelry collection along with the three perfumes in the new Addictive State of Mind collection. The jewelry is lovely as are the perfumes. I think I may have found a By Kilian to love with Intoxicated. It’s all coffee and booze with some smokiness. I came thisclose to buying a bottle. I had fears over the lasting power so I decided to wait and sample it some more when I was thinking more rationally. It’s easy to get caught up in the frenzy that is Sniffa. Light My Fire didn’t light mine although it did have some fans at our table. Smoke for the Soul was one of the stranger scents of the day.

Gardenia Robert Piguet FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Another scent worth sniffing is Gardenia by Robert Piguet. It’s not a screaming, in your face white floral and it’s far more interesting than the name implies. It has much more going on than just gardenia. There are notes of ylang-ylang, leather, and vanilla. I could see myself wanting more of this one. It’s not too feminine and has a great warmth to it.

There were more perfumes as well but it would be too much to list them all here. It’s amazing how much you can sniff in the course of two hours. Breakfast definitely whets the appetite for shopping right after on the fragrance floor. The rest of the day was filled with lunch, more presentations, sniffing, and shopping. The day was fabulous and I came home with lots of samples, a few bottles, and a few new friends. I’m looking forward to next year.

Hugs
Poodle

Mamluk by Sonia Espelta and Laura Santander for Xerjoff 2012

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Post by Trésor

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I have a fascination with gold. To me there is something so powerfully mesmeric about the opulent splendor of visions graced by the hand of Midas. Anything from the lustrous sheen of a treasured piece of jewelry to the scintillating hue of a lover’s skin bathed in a radiant aura of summer sunlight, just before the star collapses into dusk. I am enraptured. For ages I’ve been on a ravenous hunt for fragrances which mirror the essence of this exquisite ore and very few have fully realized my desire. Very few except for Mamluk.

Mamluk by Sonia Espelta and Laura Santander for Xerjoff 2012

Mamluk Xerjoff FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Musk, osmanthus, jasmine, amber, benzoin, vanilla, bergamot, agarwood (oud), honey, caramel

Mamluk opens in a most extraordinarily ebullient sequence of rich, highly sacchariferous honey and a lemon who’s skin seems almost bio-luminescent in its vivid incandescence. It is a prismatic pas de deux, illuminated citron trapezing alongside the toothsome honey’s molten gold as if in a cosmic light show. There is a fleeting animalic undercurrent, the very faintest whiff of urinous vapors making way for scintillating flashes of an almost candied oud.

Mamluk Xerjoff Scintillating water drops Steve Beger FlickrPhoto Stolen Flickr

This is not the challenging, fecal oud found by the tola in prolific collections of connoisseurs but oud envisioned as an utter confectionery delight. Beneath the oud lay a bed of blossoming jasmine flowers, their indolic form bathed in the oozing fluid luxuriance of decadent and flowing caramel. It’s sumptuous amber hue held in glorious juxtaposition with narcotic white petals, all the while maintaining a perpetual radiance which never quite disappears despite being ensconced in an exorbitantly dulcet density.

BenQ Digital CameraPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

As the composition progresses your sensory experience is permeated with the dazzling facets of a beautiful crystalline musk that calls to mind the scent of salty, sun soaked skin but as seen through the fractured light of broken crystal. It bounces and refracts in the most peculiar way that leaves me in a state where I am transfixed, my wrist glued to my nose. The hours pass and the composition gains a speherical quality and becomes exquisitely diffuse until finally it registers at a faint hum of honeyed sweetness just above the skin.

Mamluk Xerjoff blue_line_swinger derekdavalos DeviantARTPhoto Stolen DeviantArt

A word to the wise: this is one potent elixir so I implore you not to go guns blazing with the atomizer. A single spray (or two if you’re a hedonist like me) will do, trust me. When I first received my bottle I sprayed at least 6 times and thought I just might just drown in those gilded, thrashing tides of honey. This darling has quite a gorgeous, fairly powerful sillage and wears like iron. I get a good ten to twelve hours, quite impressive if I do say so myself.

Further reading: Kafkaesque and Perfume Posse
First In Fragrance have €247/50ml
Surrender To Chance have samples starting at $7/.5ml

So tell me, my sweet honeybees, what are your favourite fragrances for those who’ve an appetite for the olfactory manifestation of this precious ore?

Trésor xx

Polvere Per Bianchire le Carni by Santa Maria Novella

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Post by Val the Cookie Queen

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The company, we´ll call it the SMN Pharmacy, was founded in 1612. I am sure most of you know of their stunning fragrances but maybe not the skin care and other things that they offer, including shampoos and deodorants for your pets! The SMN Pharmacy in Florence is one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever been into. You enter through a most unassuming door and it opens up into a multi-roomed Aladdin´s cave.

 

Santa Maria Novella Ceiling ValPhoto Donated Val CQ

They have candles, liqueurs, teas, supplements and even ceramics. I seriously wanted to buy everything!

The store is also a favourite of Neela Vermeire from Neela Vermiere Créations. I purchased the almond hand cream, highly praised by Birgit from Olfactoria´s Travels and the Polvere Per Bianchire le Carni recommended by the immaculate sales assistant. It is a natural facial scrub, or perhaps a delicate facial exfoliator is a better description. At 20 euros it was quite affordable.

Polvere Per Bianchire le Carni by Santa Maria Novella

Officina Profumo Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella in Firenze

Polvere per bianchire le carni Santa Maria Novella ValPhoto Donated Val CQ

That´s ground up orris root, a little rice powder, and a touch of fragrance to you and me, not to forget a little lupin if I read the box correctly. I am sure the Medicis themselves probably used it. It certainly can´t have changed much in the last 400 years. It is 105 grammes of legal white powder in an utterly gorgeous cardboard box. Enough for a lifetime!

It smells lovely but I cannot for the life of me describe the smell. It is so unique that I could pick the product out in a blind test. Very simple to use. You take yourself out about a teaspoonful, not heaped and mix it with a little water. Massage onto a damp face and rinse off. Take out more than a teaspoonful and mix it to a paste and use it as a mask. As simple as that. Your skin will be beautifully soft and ready for moisturizing. It leaves the skin quite luminous and with regular use would probably lighten the skin a little. Which is perfect
if you are looking for an alternative to arsenic.

As I understand it you cannot order online. They do however have shops on 5 continents, and many multibrand stores where their products are sold. Do take a look at their homepage to see if there is one near you. If you are ever in Florence it is an absolute must see.

Have a good week APJ Peeps.

Bussis
CQ

Rosa Ardiente by Kenneth Cory for On The Nose

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Post by Azar

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“We take fragrances into our bodies and feel them as much as understand them.” Kenneth Cory

Hello APJ,

Kenneth Cory is an artist, writer and perfumer working in San Francisco, CA. The powerful and subtle beauty of Cory’s scented creations are a testament to his understanding of the primal connection of fragrance to emotion and memory. The seven fragrances listed in Kenneth Cory’s Etsy shop (https://www.etsy.com/people/kennethcory) are more than aromas. Each has an almost corporeal or physical presence. In my experience his perfumes actually feel like the smooth petals of a flower or the light translucent touch of a veil of fabric.

Today I am reviewing my husband Brad’s favorite On The Nose perfume, Rosa Ardiente.

Rosa Ardiente by Kenneth Cory for On The Nose

Rosa Ardiente On The NosePhoto Stolen On The Nose

Here are the perfumer’s listed notes:
Top: Bitter Orange, Saffron, Pink Peppercorn, Ginger, Himalayan Cedar
Heart: Moroccan Rose, Jasmine Sambac, Calamus, Beeswax Absolute
Base: Cistus, Black Musk, Vanilla Australian Sandalwood, Frankincense

My first impression of Rosa Ardiente is that of a deep, red rose suffused with the warm tones of saffron and beeswax complimented by the darker, herbal complexity of cistus. Brad’s first impression is quite different from mine, featuring a bright citrus, pink pepper, a light rose, the beeswax and a lot of cedar. After about 30 minutes the perfume (a 33% concentration) evolves on my skin to saffron and amber, drying into a tangy citrus spiked with frankincense and ginger. Brad’s experience of this phase of the fragrance seems to be overwhelmed by cedar and amber. Both of us find that Rosa Ardiente begins to hug the skin at about one hour, eventually fading to an ephemeral wash of cedar, frankincense, musk and sandalwood, disappearing completely after six hours of wear.

A backlit red rose with water dropsPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

I find it fascinating that saffron and beeswax play such a big role in my appreciation of this fragrance. I can barely detect the cedar element that is central to Brad’s experience of the scent, except, of course, when I sniff his skin instead of mine. Unisex fragrances like Rosa Ardiente are fun to share and compare (a lot of mutual arm sniffing). Sharing fragrances can also be budget friendly as one bottle serves to delight more than one person. The two of us actually share several fragrances including the Amouage Interlude Man that is technically Brad’s but has somehow managed to find its way to my dressing table.

Have you have tried Kenneth Cory’s perfumes?

On The Nose has an ETSY store that sends worldwide

Azar xx

Giveaway Time sassisamblogPhoto Stolen sassisamblog

Rosa Ardiente GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 2 Winners who will each get:
1 x 1ml sample vial of Rosa Ardiente (generously provided by Kenneth Cory)
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

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

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Tell us about YOUR favorite shared (unisex?) fragrance OR tell us about a perfume you will NEVER share with anyone.

Extra Chance?
Tweet: On The Nose: Rosa Ardiente by Kenneth Cory http://wp.me/p3PURw-3lO GIVEAWAY @KPCNose  

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 13th 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.

Habit Rouge by Jean-Paul Guerlain 2003 (Or: 1965)

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Post by Liam

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Hello fantastic fragrance heads,

It’s a pleasure to meet you all. I’m Liam and I love to smell anything and everything, which I’m sure everyone else loves to do also! Appropriately, for my first post on this marvelous website I felt it was only appropriate I talk about the introductory Guerlain fragrance that changed my life – Habit Rouge (EdT). It’s really bloody good. It’s novel, it’s historical, it’s a reference fragrance! When I become king of the world my first order of business is to rename Habit Rouge to ‘Happiness’.

Habit Rouge by Jean-Paul Guerlain 2003 (Or: 1965)

Habit Rouge EdT Guerlain FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

BaseNotes gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, Lemon, Rosewood, Basil, Pimento
Heart: Sandal, Carnation, Patchouli, Cedar, Rose, Cinnamon
Base: Vanilla, Amber, Moss, Leather, Benzoin, Labdanum, Olibanum

Habit Rouge embodies effortlessly what I love in a fragrance. It’s somewhat pompous without being obvious or nauseating. It has a gentlemanly quality that is comforting, very exciting and delicious! It opens like a lemony orange soda with a sherbet-like crispness. It’s a citrus accord moulded with opopanax and sweet and sticky tree resins. It’s incredibly toothsome, and has these light floral nuances that tickle the feminine side… Carnation and rose especially.

My favourite thing with Habit Rouge is the fact that it was (according to Guerlain) the first male fragrance to use a heavy dosage of vanilla. I love vanilla – I mean, who dare say that vanilla is a boring ingredient? The vanilla stems from Shalimar also by Guerlain, but in this fragrance the vanilla presents itself with less of a coumarin spike and more of a refined stickiness softened with discreet herbs. Vanilla, benzoin and a touch of orange blossom create the Guerlain Marshmallow accord, which is obvious… A tart and somewhat sugary smell reminiscent of white marshmallow.

Habit Rouge EdT Guerlain White_Marshmallows WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

Subdued modulations of leather are to be found here. The carnal quality is lost, or at least pushed to the very back whilst a buttery and more rounded form of supple leather can be smelt. The underlying oriental spiciness differs heavily from the female archetype, and the oriental category has been made for men.

Habit Rouge is effervescent like lemonade and trails like sweet orange dust. It’s slightly poignant at stages with a gloomy quality, but I’ve found this often entails a sense of complexity. Habit Rouge is perfectly crafted for a man with a sincere and dapper facet, yet also has a mild primal quality that suggests something a little more after that.

Have you seen the advertisement with the red whip?! Grr that’s hot!

“Non, Habit Rouge c’est comme les petits pains,” — [Habit Rouge is] a French institution as constant as croissants

Habit Rouge has a slightly above average longevity and a mild sillage on my skin. It’s inoffensive and universal. You can wear it whenever, wherever and however. Work, rest, play.

Habit Rouge EdT Guerlain Braekeleer Wikipedia.jpgPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

Further reading: Now Smell This and Memory of Scent
FragranceNet has $45/50ml (before coupon)
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $3/ml

Thanks for reading! For more please check out my site Olfactics. My journey is still in my infancy! Can you think of any other male oriented orientals? Spare me the Paco Rabanne pl-ease! See ya later!

Liam 🙂

Dia Pour Femme by Jean-Claude Ellena for Amouage 2002

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Post by Gabriella

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Hello perfumed peeps,
Today I want to delve into the perfume archives and revisit a fragrance that I featured in my very first post here on APJ. This fragrance captured my heart all those years ago, then other sniffing fests and bottles came my way, so it then got put on the backburner and largely forgotten. Last weekend, I spritzed some again and it’s had me swooning ever since. That perfumed delight is Amouage Dia.

Dia Pour Femme by Jean-Claude Ellena for Amouage 2002

Dia pour Femme Amouage FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Fig, cyclamen, bergamot, tarragon, sage, violet leaves
Heart: Precious and fresh flowers: peach blossom, rose oil, orange flower, peony. orris
Base: White musk, mysterious incense, vanilla, heliotrope, cedarwood, sandalwood, Guaiac wood

On my skin, Dia opens up with the gentlest of aldehydes and the subtle juicy warmth of fig, tempered by a fresh burst of cyclamen and the gentle greenness of violet leaves. I can’t really detect the herbs here, they’re more playing a supportive role to give the fig and the floral notes some depth. The heart of Dia is all floral richness, there’s definitely rose and peony which are just smooth and warm. It then segues gently into the woody base.

Dia pour Femme Amouage peony pixabayPhoto Stolen Pixabay

Overall, the notes are so well-blended that Dia presents as a whole picture of a fragrance rather than a simple sum of the notes. The overall feeling is one of staid elegance and sophistication, something I noted in my original review:
Dia is all about a refined wool sheath dress, pearls and leather ballet flats.

Dia is something I’d imagine that Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn or Jackie Onassis wearing with ease. For me, because of its inherent chicness, it’s also very much an aspirational fragrance. It makes me feel calm, put together and above all supremely beautiful, even when I’m feeling anything but. At a time when I have been working all hours of the day and weekends too, it’s been both a tremendously uplifting and calming companion. I feel like I could wear it any day at any time and just feel like a million bucks.

Dia pour Femme Amouage Audrey_Hepburn WikipediaPhoto Stolen Pixabay

As for the staying power, what on earth was I thinking when I wrote my original review?:
My only complaint is that it lasts barely two hours on me.

Let me eat my words! Dia’s lasting power is well over eight hours from one or two small spritzes. The other morning, I put on a cardigan which had the remnants of a Dia application from a couple of days before. I then proceeded to spray myself lavishly with Le Parfum de Therese, and let me tell you, the remnants of Dia outshone the latter.

Dia pour Femme Amouage Alice-Pasquini MrPilgrimPhoto Stolen MrPilgrim

Dia is a classical beauty and one that I just can’t afford to ignore again.

Further reading: The Non Blonde and Suzanne’s Perfume Journal
First in Fragrance has €240/50ml
Libertine Parfumerie has $387/100ml
Posh peasant has samples starting at $7/ml

What fragrances have you ignored and come back to love? What fragrance makes you feel a million bucks?
With much love till next time!

M x

Weddings – My Top 5 Perfume Oils For Brides – Part 1

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Post by Suzanne R Banks

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Essential oils are great for anybody to use but there are some stand-out oils for brides.

Why?

The wedding planning can be stressful and it can also take up a lot of time. Of course it’s different for everyone, and whether you have a casual beach wedding or a party in a 5 star resort, you do have to think about a lot of fine details. You are also entering into a contract with your partner, and quite possibly changing your life forever. You are entering a new phase of your life too, with lots of new family members you are required to deal with. There can be many issues surrounding your wedding and marriage, and essential oils can be your scented support system on the journey.

Essential oils not only smell beautiful, they can help minimise stress and help you focus on the things that really matter – like your health and happiness rather than the seating plan, or the boyfriend of his friend who you don’t really like but have to invite anyway. You get the drift.

 Weddings – My Top 5 Perfume Oils For Brides – Part 1

Essential oils work in an holistic way with your own energy, emotions and thoughts to provide a connection to the divine spirit within you.

Bride_with_bouquetPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

1.Wedding Perfume Oils – Neroli

Neroli is a traditional oil for brides as it’s best qualities are those of relieving anxiety and tension – the flowers were strewn over the marital bed to ease tension, and included in the wedding bouquet to help you stay calm. The word Neroli comes from the name of an Italian princess who brought the oil into popular culture a few hundred years ago, so it’s actually quite a new oil to the field of Aromatherapy. Many oils and tinctures of plants have been around for thousands of years, and this is how we know they work.

Neroli is a wonderful oil to use as a perfume straight from the bottle from the moment your wedding fever kicks in. Use it when you are stressed about something not going the way you want it, or simply as a scent to help you cope with any mild anxiety. it is a beautiful scent to wear on your wedding day to give you a stunning, floral perfume and support your emotions and the butterflies in your stomach. This oil is an expensive oil and usually comes already diluted in jojoba to lower costs. The label will say “Neroli oil in 3% Jojoba and you can see my article for more info on 3% blends in jojoba.

Men tend to love this oil too, as it has a bitterness about it even though it’s a floral oil. If your man is stressing try some bergamot in place of neroli to relieve stress! A drop on his solar plexus chakra wouldn’t go astray on the big day.

A_Bride_c_1895_AH_ThayerPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

 

2. Wedding Perfume Oils – Rose

Rose oil is the oil of Cleopatra – the oil of queens. It is sometimes referred to as the Queen of Oils too! Rose is the oil of loving yourself, and others. Whatever you think a Queen embodies – then so does this oil. Not only wonderful for skin, and as a regulator for heat, rose oil will bring a sense of calm and inner strength. This really is a woman’s oil. It is the essence of femininity and strength, of subtlety and fortitude.

Use rose oil during your lead-up to the wedding to help you stay centered and loving.

As for Neroli, rose will often already be diluted in 3% jojoba. Use it a perfume straight from the bottle, use it in your skincare regime in some rosehip oil and even give some the other women in your life who support you. Nurture yourself with rose oil.

Hindu_Bride,_Ahmedabad,_GujaratPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

 

3. Wedding Perfume Oils – Lavender

Lavender is the oil of calming, soothing and grounding. It brings all your scattered energy together. Lavender can be used to help induce sleep, to use in a bath when you a feeling overwhelmed, and to vapourise around you when you need to make difficult decisions. if you could only have one oil in your life, I suggest it would be lavender, as it has so many uses. It is the perfect first aid all because it helps cuts and wounds heal, helps burns lose their sting and is perfect for shock. Take some lavender with you to the wedding and have a huge sniff straight from the bottle to give you a blast of solidarity. Share it amongst the bridesmaids and if anyone has a headache a drop on the temples will aid the pain.

The_Bride,_by_Julia_Margaret_CameronPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

 

4. Wedding Perfume Oils – Geranium

This oil is made from the flower and it very definitely a strong floral oil! Geranium is another good oil for skincare -face and body. It is an oil of happiness and playfulness and is bright and full. I use geranium oil when I feel I need a boost, and when I need a bit of stability in my emotions. It’s great for brides who are quite emotional and teary and will help you as you plan your wedding – when you need help looking for the fun and joy in the process. It’s easy to get bogged down in the “doing” of the wedding but it’s just as important to enjoy and be present in this process too. Have fun with geranium oil and it’s floral cheeriness.

Bride_with_Parasol-_AmarellaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

5. Wedding Perfume Oils – Frankincense

Frankincense is the oil of breathing deeply. By taking deep, slow breaths you will automatically relax. Vapourise frankincense oil in your home for relaxation and as an oil to help you connect more deeply with your spirit. Traditionally used in the Catholic church to inspire the congregation reach a meditative and spiritual state, it is also used as a symbol of faithfulness to God, and in worship rituals. This oil is also good in skincare and is particularly indicated for more mature or dry skins. Once again add some of this stunning oil into your rosehip oil and use a a facial moisturiser. I use rosehip everyday on my face and I couldnt recommend anything better and more simple. When you add some essential oils to it, it becomes a powerful softening and nourishing treatment.

Remember to treat yourself first , then everyone will benefit.

Suzanne R Banks XXX

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

copyright suzanne

 

Revelation! My new book out now

Please check out my new book REVELATION! – Reveal Your Destiny with Essential Oils

Amazon USA      Amazon AU      Amazon UK

 

Une Fleur de Cassie by Dominique Ropion for Frederic Malle 2000

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Post by Sister Mary Magdelene, Patron Saint of Perfumers

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Again we gather in awe and reverence to give thanks for our inspiration – perfume. Today I am wondering am I more than usually sensitive to being moved in my soul by artistic creation? Because scents preserve us, I have had quite a response to this divine composition. Although in faith, given the path I have trod in life, there is no doubt my spirit is unusually sensitive…

 Une Fleur de Cassie by Dominique Ropion for Frederic Malle 2000

Une Fleur de Cassie Frederic Malle FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one linew:
Mimosa, jasmine, black locust, rose, carnation, sandalwood, vanilla, cassis

Let us spray!

Like the flight of an albatross, this one. Such heavy molecules to become airborne – and it’s an effort – but after some lumbering along the ground and some ungainly flapping it finds my thermals and flies!

And there it is, aloft. Gliding for what seems an unreasonable time, this beauty is such a resolved whole it seems that evolutionary forces are responsible in bringing about an entity so fit for its purpose.

Une Fleur de Cassie Frederic Malle Albatross WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

Its purpose? To soar. That it brings me pleasure through its being seems an irrelevant aside to its joyous existence. Certainly not all its aspects are uncomplicated or simply pleasing, but there is much simple pleasure herein. It rises far above mere prettiness; I would certainly not call it accessible.

That I am by turns and simultaneously aware of the details and the whole is a brilliant work of balance. I am aware of an effortless grace, of a creaminess, of a softness, of an intimate warm animal smell, of a distant elegance. From some angles I see that extraordinary wingspan, if I turn my head I catch the beaked profile or the curve of primary feathers, the tucked webbed feet that indicate this bird can (but doesn’t often) come to ground or water.

Always it appears a live, breathing thing. It distills the abject magnificence of embodiment, seems connected to earth and heavens but independent of both.

Une Fleur de Cassie Frederic Malle margery_kempe WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

Une Fleur de Cassie is a creation that brings me to tears with its sheer magnificence. Not brought quite undone like weeping Margery Kempe, mystic of the Middle Ages, yet I am moved by such visions and associations. Obviously *I* must take care where I wear this one as I am rendered (spiritually) raw skinned, but practically speaking this is a great one for hot weather, perhaps a little intimate for some of your workplaces, but a lovely combination of gentle, radiant and long-lasting.

Further reading: Australian Perfume Junkies and Smelly Thoughts
MECCA Australia has $209/50ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $7/ml

Am I alone, or are there any perfumes that transport you?

In raptures,

Sister Mary Magdelene, Patron Saint of Perfumers.

O’DRIÙ: Art in Olfaction

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 19 Comments

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Post by Ainslie Walker

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One morning in July 2014 Angelo Orazio Pregoni aka O’DRIÙ woke up with an idea – a wet dream, so to speak.

“WHAAAT?” I hear you ask.

O’DRIÙ: Art in Olfaction

Via email he told me his idea of Wet Dream-Coming Perfumery was based on a search for new expressive horizons, free of limitations. He included a video link and a promise that some of his weird yet wonderful sounding fragrances were in the post to me from Italy.

His video was released during Milan Fashion week in response to Vogue and New York Times criticism that the event “lacked novelty.” It shows a live performance of the initial creation of N°1 PI-SCIANEL by eccentric nose and artist Pregoni and N°2 PI-SCIANEL by Tom Rebl, fashion designer. The N°5 performance was showcased at Pitti Fragranze, an Italian event which gathers the best in artistic perfumery.

Here we see them empty a bottle each of Chanel N°5, fill them with Peety (a conceptual art in the form of perfume, customizable with 10 drops of pee) and add to this their own urine. (Errm gross!)

The duo’s only rule is to break the barriers that prevent communication of new ideas. With perfumes N°5 and PI-SCIANEL together with O’DRIÙ, Pregoni attempts to revolutionize niche perfumery via his artistic path and olfactory research. All the while provoking debate and controversy, leaving no one indifferent.

The following (as he puts it) “contemporary artworks” arrive in the post a week later, along with some strange marketing items:
1. Pathetique – 2014 A woody aromatic featuring tuber, bergamot, incense, juniper berry, black pepper, woody notes, oakmoss, mimosa, vetiver and amyris
2. Peety – 2013 A floral woody musk with top notes of jasmine, rose, tobacco leaf and moss; middle notes are mandarin orange, bitter orange, amber, cinnamon and pink pepper; base notes are patchouli, sandalwood and tonka bean
3. Eva Kant – 2013 An oriental spice for women with top notes of grapefruit, lavender and wood; middle notes are myrrh, sandalwood, ginger, magnolia and ylang-ylang; base notes are chamomile, cardamom, vanilla and benzoin

If scent as art and design is seen as a whole concept along with structure, perfume is then the result of a creative process which represents an expression in its entirety and has a value or disvalue in its totality. Pregoni believes “olfactory analysis of a perfume is subcultural distortion. Perfume should not be described through its ingredients, only through olfactory vibrations and oscillations of emotions, not smells.” Further pondering his work we can absorb the performance; the dream, the coming, the awakening/realization/reality, “the mess”(!!) and of what it still might become.

If we can reprogram ourselves from the clichés of mass-market perfumery in order to reignite our “paleo” (Palaeolithic) sensations and emotions, we can believe that olfactory “orgasms” do awaken us from sensory numbness and bring us into abstract reality. A “wet dream” – complete before we even register it as real?

Is this what Pregoni is saying? With “coming perfumery” he wanted to create a perfume that “lives” one step ahead of the present, whose identity is defined by what it will be tomorrow much more than what it is in the moment it is being observed.

Ainslie Walker