Contributors

November Sample Challenge Part 2

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Post by Gabriella

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Hello fumie friends!

Well, I am continuing the sample challenge set up by a friend on the Aussie Fragrance Network group on Facebook with some unexpected results. Read on to find out what happened.

November Sample Challenge Part 2

Wooden Fishing Tackle Box bdoutdoorsPhoto Stolen BDOutdoors

Sunday, November 10: One terrific by-product of the challenge is that it has made me organize my very disorganized sample lot. Well, the challenge and the fact that Mr M has very kindly bought me a fishing tackle box for said purpose. I categorized things alphabetically and am finding things that I had completely forgotten about. Feel very excited about continuing now and celebrate with a dab of Serge Lutens Bois de Violette. It’s beautiful, but there is just something in the Serge Bois series that just doesn’t agree with my skin chemistry.

In the evening, I fall in love with Amouage Interlude Woman. How on earth did I ignore this for so long? I adore the coffee, kiwi fruit and green goodness that seems to sparkle on my skin. I must get some more of this, so head off and order a decant of this, Amouage Fate Woman, Serge Lutens Santal de Mysore (another big bottle want) and thrown in some Castlebajac for good measure after trawling the site for a while. I’m excited about Castlebajac. It’s a clean almondy scent that I wore years and years ago in London and the thought of it reminds me of a great work Christmas party.

Monday, November 11: I cheat. I wear Lys Mediterranee. Not a sample. Difficult day at work and I needed something I knew and loved to comfort me.

Wednesday, November 13: Chanel Beige. Wearing this today and the sample of 31 Rue Cambon the other week has taught me something: I love Chanel top notes but not the dry down. Chanel Beige starts so luscious with frangipani and the sunshiny-ness of hawthorn, it’s gorgeous. But I want it to stay this way, and of course, last a little longer like all the Exclusifs, sans Coromandel.

La Collection Couturier Parfumeur New Look 1947 FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Friday, November 15: Oh hello lovely! I’ve had a sample of Dior New Look 1947 for ages and thankfully rediscovered it, due to new not-rummaging-around-in-drawers-for-half-an-hour-superorganized sample storage. This just FEELS like ME and I can’t get enough. It makes me pleased cos I’ve been quite cross at the House of Dior for mucking round with my beloved Diorissimo and Diorella. This just might make up for it.

Monday November 18: Bad, bad M. Have fallen totally off the wagon over the past few days due to sampling ennui. Maybe, just maybe, it is because I have been so busy and stressed at work that I haven’t had the headspace to enjoy my samples. I always need to be calm, relaxed and not half asleep or in need of valium and vodka to sample properly. In fact, I have been thinking that, when it comes to perfume, I need much less, not more. Decide to sell some more partial bottles.

 Isles Lointaines Keiko Mecheri FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Wednesday, November 20: Ok, so somebody must have hacked into my computer Monday or I was possessed by my alter ego as that stuff was just craaazy talk. But today, I had another issue: wanting, pining after a sample THAT I DID NOT HAVE. ARGH!!!! The-sample-that-I-must-have-right-now is Keiko Mecheri’s Isles Lointaines. I blame the boss’ PA. She asked for help with planning destinations for her honeymoon and asked if I’d been to the Amalfi coast and Positano in particular. Mr M and I went on one of our first romantic trips to Paris and Positano and Isles Lointaines was one of the samples I wore. I need to revisit those memories. NOW.

Pulp FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Saturday, November 23: Byredo Pulp. This is another one that’s just been sitting right there for ages, completely ignored, but yet, so readily available. I thought Dionne’s APJ review was terrific, but never got round to smelling this. It’s a luscious, full bodied citrus that just can’t help but make you smile. And even though it’s pouring with rain and has been wet for eons, I’m happy and warm with this on.

Samples are available from:
Surrender To Chance
Posh Peasant

So, how did you think I went with the second leg APJ peeps? Have I mentioned any favourites?

Love,
M

Reb’l Fleur by Caroline Sabas and Marypierre Julien of Givaudan for Rihanna 2011

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Don’t forget to enter our Olympic Orchids GIVEAWAY!!<<<JUMP

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Post by Katrina

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My fascination with celebrity perfumes is no secret. I love the marketing and hype and the fact that they are so cheap to buy. One of the things that interests me is how well a perfume fits with the celebrity’s own brand. Sometimes they line up and sometimes the perfume does not match my expectations for a particular celebrity. The Katy Perry perfumes in their fabulous bottles match Katy Perry’s young, fun image. Madonna’s Truth or Dare fragrances smell expensive and are in line with her more mature age and image.

There have also been a few times where I’ve had low expectations of a perfume based on my perception of a celebrity’s ‘trashy’ image. See my previous APJ review of the original Kim Kardashian perfume, which does not smell at all trashy.

Today I am reviewing another perfume that was a pleasant surprise when I was expecting fruitchouli, the first from pop star Rihanna. Rihanna has since released another four fragrances Rebelle, Nude, 777 Nude by Rihanna, Diamonds and Rogue.

Reb’l Fleur by Caroline Sabas and Marypierre Julien of Givaudan for  Rihanna 2011

Reb'l Fleur Rihanna FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Berries, plum, peach
Heart: Hibiscus, violet, tuberose, coconut water
Base: Vanilla, patchouli, amber and musk.

A perfume from Rihanna with fragrance notes reminiscent of a tropical cocktail and presented in an inverted stiletto heel. I did not have high expectations!

Thankfully Reb’l Fleur does not smell how I expected. I anticipated Pina Colada, but there is not much emphasis on the fruit and coconut and more on the florals and patchouli. The main fruit note I smell is a deep rich plum with a small dose of sweet peach. I don’t smell berries. The fruit notes are combined with strong floral notes and a hint of creamy coconut. The florals are heavy with a nice blend of tuberose and violet. There is just the right amount of tuberose for my taste as I only like it in small doses. The patchouli adds some spice and the amber is earthy and warm.

Reb’l Fleur is a warm, sensual perfume and the lasting power is very good. Reb’l Fleur is a great fragrance for evening wear and one of the sexiest in my collection

Reb'l Fleur Rihanna Red Carpet WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

Further reading: Bois de Jasmin Although not a raving review by Victoria, she does makes comparisons to Chanel Coco Mademoiselle and Narciso Rodriguez for Her. At a fraction of the cost this makes Reb’l Fleur a winner!
FragranceNet has Rihanna Reb’l Fleur $27/100ml before Coupon
My Perfume Samples starts at $2/ml

For more celebrity perfume news and reviews, check out my website: Celebrity Perfumes

Katrina xx

Olympic Orchids 2013 Gift Set

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Post by Azar

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Olympic Orchids 2013

How to Give a Gift Set

Giving chocolate, red roses or wreaths of evergreen boughs are popular ways to celebrate the holiday season. This year Olympic Orchids perfumer Ellen Covey has put together her 2013 Holiday Sets featuring fragrances that are reminiscent of these traditional gifts.

Olympic Orchids 2013 Gift SetPhoto Stolen Olympic Orchids

The Standard Olympic Orchids Gift Set includes three of her most popular 5 ml parfum sprays: California Chocolate, Ballets Rouge and Olympic Rainforest. The Deluxe Set comes with these fragrances as well as 1 oz. of Amber-Labdanum All Purpose Oil, a bar of hand made Patchouli Lovers Soap and a $25 coupon good toward the purchase of any 30ml parfum in the new packaging. The Standard Set is priced at $35 (easily a $45 value) and the Deluxe Gift Box at $45 (in my estimation worth at least $100).

Olympic Orchids 2013 DELUXE Gift SetPhoto Stolen Olympic Orchids

I’m always bargain hunting, especially during the holidays. The Standard Set would make a wonderful surprise for a special individual or couple but I have other plans for the deluxe version. Please don’t think me “cheap”, but I could solve several gifting dilemmas, stuff a few stockings or be ready for any unexpected guests by simply breaking the larger set up into individual gifts. Here is my plan for Olympic Orchids‘s Deluxe Gift Set:

Olympic Rainforest might be for the brother who sails the San Juan Islands and works near the Olympic Rainforest.

California Chocolate would be much appreciated by an adult student, a total chocoholic.

Ballets Rouge could make a lovely gift for the sister with the rose garden.

Patchouli Lovers Soap is a “can’t miss” for my old (my age) activist, hippie friend.

Amber-Labdanum All Purpose Oil is perfect for the son who has totally fallen for the scent of this product.

And the $25 coupon? Well, maybe I’ll just give that one to myself! (I bet you saw that one coming.)

giveaway kbairdPhoto Stolen kbaird

Olympic Orchids GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 1 winner who will receive:

1 x 1ml sample of Olympic Orchids Tropic of Capricorn
1 x 1ml sample of Olympic Orchids Seattle Chocolate
1 x 1 mystery sample or decant
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.

To be eligible for the draw just mention how you follow APJ. Here are a couple of questions: Do you ever split gift boxes? Have you tried Olympic Orchids Patchouli Lovers Soap or the Amber-Labdanum All Purpose Oil? Comment on either of these questions and be eligible to win my (Azar’s) last give-away for 2013.

Extra Chances?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Olympic Orchids GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-2ex #Giveaway #Perfume @EllenCovey1

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 28th November 2013 10pm Australian EDST and winners will be announced in a separate post
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Sunday 1st December 2013 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.

Happy Holidays!
Azar xx

Scents Of My Mother: Sydney Perfume Lovers Scent Salon

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Post by Catherine du Peloux Menage

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APJ and the Sydney Perfume Lovers have teamed up to run monthly Sunday Scent Salons. Perfume evokes memories and few memories are deeper than those associated with a mother, which is how thirteen men and women, some of them complete strangers met to talk about Scents Of My Mother, bearing photographs, perfumes and recollections. It was a moving, warm and sometimes funny event.

Scents Of My Mother

Sydney Perfume Lovers Scent Salon

Complex is the best word to describe the relationships we brought to the table.
We met many mothers. The one who smoked a joint with her son on his 18th birthday, the one who said ‘disgusting’ about a daughter’s folds of flesh, the one who criticised her naturally slender daughter for deliberately being too thin, the one who still tidies up when entering her daughter’s home, the insightful one who told her son that she thought he probably wouldn’t marry a girl…

SOMM#1-1

There was a gentle woman whose softness didn’t prepare her daughter for the tough world which awaited, the timid one who couldn’t give her daughter the strong role model she craved, the one who came out as a lesbian and couldn’t forgive her daughter for leading a different life. The one who had a child at 15 and brought him up with her own mother.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Many were artists or studied art. Few fulfilled themselves in the workplace. Many were clean and tidy freaks who always look good. (No prizes for making a connection between the last two sentences.) Many were critical, many were loving and most were both at the same time. Many of us around the table described our feelings of love or pain or both for Glenda, Jane, Lauraine, Cheryl, Marie, Rosemary, Waina, Joan, Francoise, Teresa.

SOMM#4

What were our scent memories? One of us recollected trying to please her mother by making perfume for her by soaking flowers in water. Another brought biscuits from her mother’s handwritten recipe book to evoke the smell of baking. There were memories of babysitters arriving and mothers leaving in clouds of Chanel N’5, Chant d’Aromes and L’Air du Temps. I would love to have met the mother who wore Shalimar parfum during the day. Her child was fated not to be timid!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Fresh green beans evoked one mother who survived breast cancer. Another always had acrid smelling salts in the bathroom cupboard in case they were needed and wore Arpege – a startling juxtaposition. Rive Gauche featured twice. It is still worn today by one daughter to differentiate herself as the opposite to her mother who like more run of the mill Avon fragrances, and was worn by another mother when it came out to stamp herself as modern. She also wore Tabu and Oleg Cassini. We encountered one generous perfume collector mother with over 300 bottles who loves giving her daughter bottles of Serge Lutens as well as one who never wears scent but does have scented handcream which smells like Fragonard’s Billet Doux. Cie Perfume (with Candace Bergen as its face) was an early favourite of a mother who also wore Tresor but now is faithful to Champs Elysees. La Cabrasella, a bergamot citrus scent from Calabria has always sat on the dressing table of one Italian mother.

We could have talked for many more hours and left feeling happy to have shared these perfumes and memories. I’m sure another Scent Salon will revisit this topic one day for another group.

CdPM xx

Fils de Dieu du riz et des agrumes by Ralf Schwieger for Etat Libre D’Orange 2012

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Post by Chairman Meow

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I like me a good gourmand, and from my many readings about this scent, this was meant to be a good gourmand, so I went about sniffing Fils de Dieu with high hopes. Its billing as the New Skool Shalimar did nothing to lower expectations.

Fils de Dieu du riz et des agrumes

by Ralf Schwieger for Etat Libre D’Orange 2012

Fils de Dieu du riz et des agrumes Etat Libre d`Orange FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica lists the following accords:
Top: Ginger, coriander, lime, shiso
Heart: Coconut, cardamom, jasmine, cinnamon, rose
Base: Tonka bean, vetiver, musk, amber, leather, castoreum

And indeed the first nanosecond of its performance, with that recognisable dusty vanillic citrus intro, is familiar. But thenceforth Shalimar and Fils de Dieu (FdD) set out on quite different trajectories. Shalimar, animalic and belching plumes of smoky opoponax, flounces off in one direction, loudly crying “dahling!” to all and sundry. FdD, on the other hand, has eased into a pair of Birkenstocks and has gone backpacking around Thailand, and before I could wheeze “for shaaaaaaame”, I died in ecstasy and face planted into a bowl of steaming coconut rice.

Fils de Dieu du riz et des agrumes Etat Libre d`Orange Cooked Rice WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

From first huff to its expiration a lamentably short period later, FdD is an ode to the fluffy cooked grain. Its moniker is quite apt (Son of God, Rice and Citrus). The notes read like an ingredient list for a laksa, yet it remarkably it smells quite restrained, spartan almost, with the muted, powdery qualities of rice being showcased by the other elements. Bemusingly, rice itself not listed above, illustrating yet again what a load of twaddle this notes business is, and how we should all just make of things What We Will. Rather than being overtly tart or astringent, the lime lends a certain buoyancy, with much the same role as lemongrass or kaffir lime leaf in a dish, and with a little imagination I can just detect the soapy zing of coriander leaf/cilantro right at those first few seconds. Tonka is also evident, tinting everything with a little of its caramel hue.

Fils de Dieu du riz et des agrumes Etat Libre d`Orange Laksa Alpha FlickrPhoto Stolen Alpha  Flickr

But all this sounds too gourmand, too literal a take on cooking, which is it most assuredly not. It’s as if Heston Blumenthal has come along with his lab gear, extracted the qi or life force out of south east Asian cuisine and infused the distillate into a perfume for the global citizen. Just to remind you that you are perfumed, and have not just finished a double shift in the kitchen of your local Thai eatery, there is a soupcon of musk and castoreum, endowing the composition with that unctuous, slightly vomitous twang. With time, FdD remains rice-y, but becomes more rosy, and is the sweeter for it.

Further reading: Perfume Shrine and Candy Perfume Boy
Etat Libre d’Orange has €69/50ml with worldwide delivery
LuckyScent has $80/50ml with worldwide delivery
Surrender To Chance starts at $4.75/ml

It is a short ride (on me at least), requiring a top-up spritz or three ere I’d finished writing a paragraph of this review. Ordinarily, I would find this pretty irksome, but in this case I’m content to reapply because it is so terrifically evocative: sweat, gods, ruby-skinned tourists, anarchic markets, decay. It’s witty yet eminently accessible. Consider me a fan.

C M x

Guerlain, Guerlain, Guerlain Samples

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Post by Eliza D

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I’ve been in a bit of a rut fragrance-wise for a few months, then I got to go to The Perfume House in Portland and I was instantly lifted out of my snit. Though the two samples I brought home were not right for me, there was a fragrance on the sleeve of my sweater that had to be a Guerlain, since I spent a lot of time in that corner of the store, sniffing fragrance and making weird murmery noises that scared the other shoppers.

Guerlain, Guerlain, Guerlain Samples

So, I went to the Posh Peasant, and found out that I could get 5 x 1.5 ml spray samples of any Guerlain fragrance they carry for $26 US+shipping. and ordered Shalimar PI, L’Heure Bleue, Champs Elysee, Vol de Nuit and Chamade. They arrived in four days!

Vol de Nuit

Vol de Nuit Guerlain Fragranticahoto Stolen Fragrantica

First on was Vol de Nuit. Oh my gosh, how wondrous! The bergamot and light top notes gave way very quickly to that incredible powdery dry down anchored with vanilla and moss that is so familiar to me from the other two Guerlains that I have owned or tried: Samsara and Mitsouko (the latter of which instantly transports me to my mother’s bedroom in the 60s…she did not wear perfume, but her friends did, and when we had parties the impromptu coat room was a glorious treasure trove), but I was disappointed with its longevity.

Chamade

Chamade Guerlain FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Next day was Chamade. Oh my word! Lovely cripsness followed by flowers and then sandalwood. Could this be my new forever fragrance? Could I wear this to work and not feel as if I was pushing the limit of acceptance? Was it better suited for home, when I was alone with my loved one? What an amazing feat, and of course created in the era I consider to be my formative time.

Champs Elysees

Champs Elysees Guerlain FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Monday was Champs Elysees, and of all the five, this was the most disappointing. No bones, just fluff, and too sweet. Yes roses, but grocery store roses, not boutique roses…I almost washed it off.

Shalimar Parfum Initial

Shalimar Parfum Initial Guerlain FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Then I tried Shalimar Parfum Initial. This was the one I almost did not order. I had read so much about how it was JUST a flanker, and what was Thierry Wasser thinking to mess with an old classic and how it was made for soccer moms and teenagers. I sprayed with trepidation. First came the citrusy top notes calling out while the rest of the perfume gathered in the wings. Then jasmine and iris and some rose, but a different rose. Yes, sweet, but not bubble gum headache sweet…more precious. Lovely, soft, modern, patchouli and vanilla. Incredible. I loved this from first sniff. Great sillage! Could it be the one?

L’Heure Bleue

L'Heure Bleue Guerlain FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

But I still had one more to go: L’Heure Bleue. I chose this because it is a classic, and because of the line in the Bond Movie about it…

I sprayed it on after arriving home from work. Immediately I knew this was not the same as the others, but still somehow similar. Licorice topnotes warm and balmy from the start, it deepened as I wore it with neroli and tuberose taking main stage. I was swept away to a place where the air is thick with fragrance all the day long, this is an after the hot tub fragrance, a bundle up in fur in winter and dream of longer days fragrance.

I am so grateful to Guerlain for continuing the art of perfumery through the years. Perfumery is divine. I am blessed. And I am wearing Shalimar PI.

Eliza D

Armani Prive Figuier Eden by Mane for Giorgio Armani 2012

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Post by Ainslie Walker

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I have a soft spot for fig. I always try any perfume, hand cream, candle, bath product etc containing fig… But my truest love is standing under or near a fig tree and breathing in it’s complete smell. The whole tree. The woody, slightly milky, slightly coconut, a little sweet and a little sharp and vast green smell gives me a sense of stillness.

The first fig fragrance I wore was Diptych Philosokos and I wore it for at least 10 years almost religiously. I was in London during that whole time and the perfume always took me straight back to Australia when I sprtitzed it, to memories of my favorite Moreton Bay fig tree in Sydney that I used to climb and sniff in the early 90s. The fragrance encompasses the whole tree and is a very green and robust scent with beautiful coconutty undertones.

Armani Prive Figuier Eden Giorgio Armani Fig Tree DeviantArtPhoto Stolen DeviantArt

In my travels I’ve smelt many a fig tree. In Sardinia growing in a cave, in London parks, on Greek Islands, in Spain, Perth, Brisbane, Byron Bay, in Croatia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Corfu, Italy…the list goes on. Always bringing my first thought back to that tree in Sydney.

I have also smelt many a fig based perfume; L’Artisan Parfumeur Premier and Intense Figeur, Hermes, Aqua Di Parma Fico di Amalfi, Marc Jacobs, Theirry Mugler’s Womanity and of course Figeur Eden.

Armani Prive Figuier Eden by Mane for Giorgio Armani 2012

Armani Prive Figuier Eden Giorgio Armani FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Mandarin, bergamot, red pepper
Heart: Tea, grass, green fig
Base: Moroccan iris, amber

And then, 2 weeks ago a gorgeous and generous friend gave me her bottle of Armani Prive Figeur Eden. Sadly, rejected by her husband, this fragrance was neglected on her shelf. I’d tried this fragrance a number of times over the years and found it soft with no real impact…perhaps as I usually smelt it after a full sniff through a beauty hall such as Selfridges or Myers, or perhaps as I’d never wanted a fig fragrance to bring more than just pure fig? But this time I was on a solo 16 hour drive through country NSW and Victoria and it was the only fragrance I had access too!! Just me, the road and a bottle of Figuer Eden….

Armani Prive Figuier Eden Giorgio Armani Fig fruit FlickrPhoto Stolen Serge Melki  Flickr

After dousing myself and starting the drive I started to get excited…was I smelling a fresher, zestier less heady fig…perhaps even a prettier more feminine fig? My first thought was to drive back, tell my friend to ditch her hubby and take the bottle back…my second thought was to step on the accelerator and enjoy every spritz of this new found love.

The prettiness comes slightly powdery and could be a soft iris note. It is not dense and heady as expected, but it is almost airy like a cool breeze carrying the scent. I feel a light fragrant citrus note like a light green tea, perhaps bergamot. It’s a harmony of smells, rather than my robust, phylosikos, which is straight up fig tree. It’s not sweet, plenty of soft blonde woods..sandal rather than cedar, of philosokos, perhaps, and a dry olive tree scent help keep the sweetness to a minimum? There is something spicey but not black or green pepper that I a familiar with….*enter google*…RED PEPPER! I am impressed. Fig leaves are taken down a notch revealing more of a grass note, as if one is lying under the tree on the lawn. The coconut in the breeze reminiscent of someone upwind drinking a pina colada…or similar.

Armani Prive Figuier Eden Giorgio Armani Sunshine Shamefullyso FlickrPhoto Stolen Shamefullyso Flickr

Further reading: The Non Blonde and Perfume Diary
Myer has $140/100ml (Australia only)
House Of Fraser has £82/100ml (UK only)
Bergdorf Goodman has $160/100ml (USA & Canada only)
Surrender To Chance starts at $5/ml

There is something rounded and natural about this one, which I love. The drydown is gorgeous! Gentle and yet unique. Perfect for layering, even with something else…any suggestions out there???

Collection Rouge No2 by Jean Claude Astier for M. Micallef 2013

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Post by Michael

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It’s with mixed feelings that I first picked up the sample vial of Micallef’s relatively new Rouge No2. I’ve been circling the liturgical Shanaan for a while. Should I get a full bottle? I just can’t decide. In any case it’s one of the finest frankincense fragrances I’ve tried, but then, how often am I really going to wear incense? Then there’s Vanille Aoud – so wonderfully intimate and snugly. It’s one of the few fragrances I’d love to be around someone else wearing. Then there’s been misses like Le Seducteur (too pungent) and the Les 4 Saisons that somehow felt unfinished. So with a little trepidation I gave Rouge No2 a sniff.

Collection Rouge No2 by Jean Claude Astier for M. Micallef 2013

Collection Rouge No2 M. Micallef FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Citruses, black currant, nutmeg
Heart: Jasmine, violet, orchid
Base: Vanilla, labdanum, amber, castoreum

Rouge No2 opens fruity, resinous and animalic. The fruit is miscellaneous red candied fruit, the resins ultimately a vanillic amber and some animalic tendencies courtesy of some nutty castoreum. This fragrance is SWEET, literally. I can’t remember a fragrance I’ve tried that’s sweeter. As it dries down the vanillic amber becomes more prominent supported by the labdanum. A leatherish note comes through a bit later but ultimately this is a sweet fruity fragrance over a sweet vanillic amber base.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAPhoto Stolen Flickr (couldn’t find attribution)

For my taste this is just far too sweet but for those that like sweet fruity vanilla fragrances this is a must try, especially if you’re comfortable with animalic notes. Rouge No2 is miles ahead of the sweet fruity fragrances you’ll find in your typical department store.

Sillage is average on my skin and longevity is excellent.

Further reading: Perfume Shrine and Olfactoria’s Travels
LuckyScent has $245/100ml + Samples
First In Fragrance has €185/100ml+ Samples

M x

Pink Quartz by Olivier Durbano 2010

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Post by Maya

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Hello APJ.

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose; By any other name would smell as sweet.” — William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

Lately I have been haunted by roses and I wanted to know more about them. I found that references to roses are everywhere in history and mythology and symbolism.They are an ancient flower. Fossils of roses have been found going back 35 million years. They thrived across the entire northern hemisphere with flowers that were originally all shades of pink, with a few white ones. Wild yellow roses were only discovered in Afghanistan and Southwest Asia in the 18th century. The Chinese cultivated them 5000 years ago and Egyptians planted rose gardens in their palaces at about the same time.

Pink Quartz Olivier Durbano Roses Jeff Kramer FlickrPhoto Stolen Jeff Kramer  Flickr

These beautiful flowers were found in ancient Egyptian tombs, in the form of mixed floral garlands believed to have been worn by mourners and then left in the tombs. The ancient Greeks and Romans identified the rose with the goddess of love, Aphrodite and Venus respectively, but it was the goddess nymph of flowers, Chloris, who created it. Chloris found the lifeless body of a nymph in the forest. She called the gods and goddesses to help her. Aphrodite gave the body beauty, Dionysus added nectar to give a sweet scent and Zephyr blew away the clouds so Apollo could shine and make the flower bloom. So the rose was born, the beautiful symbol of an immortal love that will never fade – even through time or death.

Pink Quartz Olivier Durbano Shopfloor Roses Sistak FlickrPhoto Stolen Sistak Flickr

In India, Brahma, the creator of the world, and Vishnu, the protector of the world, argued over whether the lotus was more beautiful than the rose. Vishnu said the rose; Brahma said the lotus. Brahma, who had never seen a rose, admitted he was wrong when he saw one. He then created a bride for Vishnu and called her Lakshmi. She was created from 108 large and 1008 small rose petals. Ancient peoples made and used rosewater. It was the Persians who first extracted pure rose oil from varieties of the Damask rose. And in their poetry, the longing song of the nightingale is said to be caused by the beauty of the rose. Even today, rose symbolism is strong. The rose is the national flower of England, dating from the time of Henry VII and the War of the Roses and in 1986, it was named the floral emblem of the United States. This leads me to another rose:

Pink Quartz by Olivier Durbano 2010

Pink Quartz Olivier Durbano FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, pink grapefruit, olibanum, saffron, ginger
Heart: Palmarosa, damask rose, palisander rosewood
Base: Rose, amber, patchouli, myrhh, benzoin, white musk

Pink Quartz starts out as a very spicy rose. The citrusy notes listed as top notes are lost on my skin, overwhelmed by the ginger, a note I’m not usually fond of, but it works well here. The rose in this scent is ALWAYS first and foremost. It’s a big red rose that lasts and lasts! It never really fades but does eventually mellow to a more musky rose with less ginger and hints of patchouli and amber. It is one of those fragrances that the more I wear it, the more I like it.The spicy aspect to Pink Quartz makes it a warm scent, but not a winter scent. It is for all seasons with a pleasant medium silage that I doubt would offend anyone and it lasts for 7-8 hours.

Pink Quartz Olivier Durbano Red roses DeviantArtPhoto Stolen DeviantArt

Further reading: Ca Fleure Bon and Now Smell This
LuckyScent has $205/100ml EdP and samples
Olivier Durbano has  €170/30ml Parfum

I love roses – the flower and the scent. How about you?

M

Cuir de Gardenia by Mandy Aftel for Aftelier Parfumes 2013

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 7 Comments

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Guest Post by Jordan River

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On ya APJ,

Imagine…

Portia has lost the plot. Well not exactly; Portia has lost the perfume. (Ed: All is not lost, I have found my package) We will have to wait another week while she rechoreographs her collection, reorientates herself and finally reviews this ‘fume. In the meantime here are some impressions as we await hers. As with all choreography; the show must go on.

Imagine…

A moonless, starless tropical night so dark that you cannot see.

But at least you can smell.

You can even smell a star, but it is not in the sky. It is the star of the island jungle, Tiare, the Tahitian gardenia.

Cuir de Gardenia by Mandy Aftel for Aftelier Parfumes 2013

Cuir de Gardenia Aftelier PerfumesPhoto Stolen Aftelier

Notes
Straight to the Heart: tiare (gardenia) absolute, jasmine grandiflorum absolute, benzyl acetate.
Dry Down: castoreum, ethyl phenyl acetate, malto

The Leather Gardenia is dense with this kind of potency. Not sticky but almost. I was talking with young Portia here at APJ about a new perfume which is called Cuir de Gardenia.

Portia, I am blooming! ‘Tis dense, strong and full of ANTIQUE CASTOREUM ABSOLUTE! Opps, sorry for shouting. No time-wasting top notes at all thank you very much. Straight to the gardenia and jasmine heart although you may want to pause there before the terrifying beautiful drydown. Portia this is a strange and secret show, this scent.

Jordan to Portia

Cuir de Gardenia by perfumer alchemist Mandy Aftel does not encourage much writing because once you close your eyes and inhale that is it. I cannot call this a perfume; it is a potion.

Cuir de Gardenia Aftelier Perfumes Calsidyrose FlickrPhoto Stolen Calsidyrose  Flickr

I think what makes this one so special, even beyond the real Tiare absolute (until now a synthesized aroma in perfumery) is the combination of that with an ingredient that Mandy received from an outgoing perfumer’s estate. Aged ingredients are rarer and rarer as the market for perfume consumption has grown. Some ingredients go off with age and some change and improve as the years go by. Vintage Ouds, Sandalwood, Musk and Castereum all intensify with age. In this perfume, as mentioned above, there is antique castoreum which enriches the already intense smell of Tiare, the Tahitian gardenia. It also provides the smooth leather drydown.

Over at Fragrantica there are some unusual questions by Elena Vosnaki with refreshing replies by Mandy Aftel in an interview called The Viewpoint of the Artisan Businesswoman and Perfumer.

Cuir de Gardenia – notes and Mandy’s thoughts.

Book Update: according to Virginia at Té de Violetas the title of Mandy’s next book is Fragrant: The Secret Life of Scent. The book focuses on five epic aromatics: mint, cinnamon, ambergris, jasmine, and frankincense. It explores their powerful connection to history, philosophy, and our most essential human appetites.

Cuir de Gardenia
Aftelier Perfumers
Perfumer: Mandy Aftel
Release Date: November 2013
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Solid perfume – 1/4 ounce sterling silver compact $US240
Perfume Oil – 1/4 ml sample $US6

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For the Holiday 2013 season, a limited-edition extrait version of Cuir de Gardenia is available in a mini 2 ml bottle $US55

Aftelier Perfumes – website

Further Reading
The Non-Blonde – Cuir de Gardenia – review
The Black Narcissus – Cuir de Gardenia – reaction
Aftelier Perfume – The Secret Accord – Ancient Resins
Olfactoria’s Travels – Tea Time with Mandy Aftel
Té de Violetas – Mandy Aftel interview and Ylang Organic Face Elixir . The English version is below the Spanish version.