Contributors

Tom Ford: Meet-Up with Matthew Tyler: International Director of Tom Ford Beauty

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Post by Ainslie Walker

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Tom Ford Fragrances with Matthew Tyler – International Director of Tom Ford Beauty

Organized by Catherine Du Peloux Manage of Sydney Perfume Lovers

Hi APJ, Ever wondered what a Meet Up group is like? Me too and I wanted to see how the Sydney Perfume Lovers group worked. Arriving at the ground floor of David Jones, met with Moet and sat at a glamorous oval marble table, by the gorgeous ladies of Tom Ford, is my kind of Thursday evening! And this was just the start…

If anyone has seen Tom Ford, his every movement is considered, every last detail of his attire-perfection, his hair immaculate…poised, elegant, sexy. An ICON. One who has dared to, with confidence, define his own style of fashion, film, cosmetics and of course fragrance.

The apothecary bottles surrounded us, with their 23 carat gold labels gleaming at us, sophisticated and intriguing.

Matthew arrived, and was introduced by Catherine. He looked sharp, manicured, perfectly dressed head to toe in Tom Ford!

Tom Ford Meet Up #1

We were given an insight into Tom Ford – the man. The designer, originally a trained architect, has extreme passion for detail, quality and perfection. (Watch the film he directed, A Single Man). Tom Ford is a leader and master in fashion and even with his perfumes and cosmetics, he makes no mistakes. Matthew pointed out, Tom Ford tried every shade of every lipstick and eye shadow before he approved them for sale!! (Unfortunately no photo’s available…!)

Onto the fragrances, not surprisingly each is a showstopper and even it’s packaging feels exquisite. These fragrances are for the discerning, the stylish and the bold. Somehow Tom Ford is able to bridge a gap back to the strength and glamour of fragrances from a bygone era. He is acclaimed for being the first to bring Oudh to the masses, where it has stayed at the top of his best sellers.

Tom Ford Meet Up #2

The Private Blend range are unique, being constructed as single heart notes, wrapped in secondary notes. The traditional top/heart/base note structure ignored. Only rare and precious ingredients are used.

Out came the Tom Ford ladies with their sparkling white trays, sample cards all lined up and given out.
Neroli Portofino: transporting us to the coast of Italy’s Riviera, including visually, the azure bottle.
Jasmine Roug: so voluptuous and sensuous, made with Jasmine Sambac Absolute and presented in a red glass bottle to signifying confidence and seduction of the potential wearer.
Oudh Wood: Rare, distinctive and exotic…a blast from the Middle East.

Tom Ford Meet Up #5

We learnt part of the private blend range is The Jardin Noir collection, inspired by the dark elicit pleasures experienced in a garden at night. (OH MY!).
Café Rose: the best selling “whore of the range” (Matthew Tyler said “for the lady who is always available for men’s darkest desires”…!)
Ombre de Hyacinth: floral, green, moist and dark, the shadows of a regal garden.

Tom Ford Meet Up #6

The Signature Collection is distinctive yet mainstream.
Black Orchid: containing all things black. Black truffle, fig, plum, blackcurrant and orchid. Its unfolding smell, go on and on, down into a deep black, milky, gourmand accord!
Violet Blonde: exuding old school Hollywood glamour.
Sahara Noir: encapsulates smoldering smoky frankincense, burning on an alter.
Grey Vetiver: traditionally masculine but loved by all the meet up on this evening, with Catherine picking up the nutmeg hidden in the blend.
Noir: which is the most personal to Tom Ford, designed to mirror the duality of his public and private personalities. Its crisp bergamot and verbena citrus top notes, pepper, nutmeg and patchouli middle, eventually giving way to a warm leathery vanilla dry down.

Tom Ford Meet Up #3

Before we disappeared into the night we were given generous goody bags with 5 x 2ml samples.

If you are in Sydney and would like to participate in these wonderful events, no perfume knowledge needed just a love of fragrance in all forms, Meet Up Sydney Perfume Lovers<<< JUMP

Big thanks to Catherine! (Ed: Who also supplied all the photos)

Ainslie Walker xxx

Tawaf by La Via Del Profumo 2012

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Post by FeralJasmine

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Hey APJ

If there’s a class of perfumes that I want to love and generally can’t, it’s the all-naturals. I love the basic ingredients. Few things make me happier than dabbling with essential oils, admiring how each drop is not a note but a chord progression. I adore the pungency of resins and the unbelievable richness of attars. Open a little vial and a garden of roses blooms! it’s an extraordinary conjuring trick. Recently I have learned to love the pure CO2 extracts, especially vanilla, so hard to handle, so perfect a rendition of the lovely fermented bean.

But go beyond the single ingredients and pitfalls await. If it sounds as though combining them into lovely perfumes would be easy, I can only suggest that you give it a try. The vibrant beauties, each so perfect alone, can add up to something distinctly less than the sum of its parts. Not that the result is bad, by any means, but it can be pretty ordinary, not the totally-unique-and-wonderful thing you were hoping for. Then when you do get a combination that you like, you dab it on and revel in it luxuriously, loll back in the cloud of beauty that you’ve created, and within half an hour reality is tugging at your sleeve again because natural perfumes are a fleeting pleasure. The gospel on many natural-perfume websites is that their perfumes should last two hours. My experience is more like one good hour at most, often less, although of course those rich in resins can last a lot longer. Part of this may be that I have dry skin and live in a desert climate, but what I hear online indicates that it’s common to have to reapply frequently. Generally I am running from the time I hit the office door until I leave, so this is not a viable option.But sometimes reapplication is worth the trouble.

Tawaf by La Via Del Profumo 2012

Tawaf La Via Del ProfumoPhoto Stolen La Via Del Profumo

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Jasmine sambac, rose, opoponax, narcissus, myrrh

I have become deeply enamored of the all-natural creations of Dominique Dubrana at La Via de Profumo.  I took my screenname from his Tawaf, a delicious and perfect combination of dark Jasmine sambac, rose, and opoponax. This is no bridal jasmine. This one is a wolf, but a groomed and elegant wolf that just might walk by your side for a while. Jasmine sambac is a wild, dense,  and even somewhat masculine jasmine, and I would bet that there’s a hefty dose of it in Tawaf. The rose isn’t very noticeable to me but serves to flesh out the floral cascade. The opoponax provides a caressing base. Mmmmm. Can’t get enough. Within an hour it’s pretty much gone, and on Tawaf days I have to carry my little bottle with me. It’s worth it. I long to have my hair aranged in India someday so that I can get strings of jasmine wound through it, and I may or may not ever get there, but a little Tawaf at the hairline gives the effect without the airfare.

Tawaf La Via Del Profumo Ka’abah Turki Al-Fassam FlickrPhoto Stolen Turki Al-Fassam Flickr

From La Via Del Profumo site: Tawaf is the name of the ritual consisting in circumambulations around the Ka’abah, the cube shaped building in Mecca, adorned with black silk. The Ka’abah is the geographic center of the Arabian soul, of it’s spirituality, culture and civilisation. The Tawaf fragrance is the aromatic “melody” of the scents that surround those performing the Tawaf.

Rumor has it that the perfumer is as interesting as his creations. You can read about him here http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/22/t-magazine/22face-scent-t.html?_r=0 and it’s quite a read. His website is one of my favorite browsing places. Will I ever buy 2ml of concentrated tincture of genuine ambergris for 80 Euros? Probably not, but we can all dream.

Tawaf La Via Del Profumo AbdesSalaam Attar NYTimesPhoto Stolen NYTimes

Further reading: Perfume Posse SmellyThoughts and Perfume Shrine
La Via Del Profumo has from €17.85/5.5ml to €148/50ml
Surrender To Chance starts at $9/ml

Next time I hope to discuss another favorite from this line.

FJ x

 

CQ`S Cooking Tips #3: Hommus + Pesto

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Post by Val the Cookie Queen

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Cookie Queen’s Infrequent Cooking Tips No 3

Hommus + Pesto

Hungry APJs? I greet you.

I am expecting five visitors from England and have been running round like a chipmunk on speed.

Chipmunk Running SeagullStevePhoto Stolen SeagullSteve

Turning my 20 year old bodybuilding, XBox playing son`s bedroom into a room for an 8 year old girl to have for a week. No mean feat I can tell you. Changing my teenage girl´s room into a small haven for the mum and dad I was stunned to find that there was actually a carpet on her floor. I had forgotten she had one. Two young lads coming along too, but I have bunged them in the attic. Washing, cleaning and of course cooking!!
Yay!! I can do that. Fast. Simple and bloody good. If I do say so myself.
It goes without saying that I baked a few cookies in the morning, and no, I will never share the recipes for them.

Since it is still warm here, and our southern hemisphere friends are getting ready for summer, I have made hummus and a batch of pesto, perfect summer food.

HUMMUS (Hommus for Aussies)

Hommus ExclusivelyFoodPhoto Stolen ExclusivelyFood

Soak about half a kilo of chickpeas for a few hours or overnight.
Cook them for about 50 minutes in the pressure cooker. Turn off and leave to cool down.
I then swirl them around in the water, lightly running them through my fingers, to remove the skins.
Pour the skins and water away. Keep doing it until most or all of the skin is gone. It really does make a difference to
the end result.

So now ……..
About 4 cups of cooked chickpeas
1 cup of tahini (sesame paste)
Juice of 2 or 3 lemons
A hefty amount of finely chopped garlic
A decent amount of salt
7 tablespoons of iced water

Put the chickpeas into a food processor. Process until mashed up.
Add the tahini, lemon juice, garlic and salt. Process some more.
Drizzle in the iced water, and then process/puree for 3 or 4 minutes.

Job done. (You can do the whole lot with a fork if you don´t have a mixer. It will just be coarser.)

Put into a nice serving bowl, drizzle with olive oil and decorate with whatever – chilies, parsley, cracked black pepper.

DO NOT ADD OIL WHEN MAKING THE HUMMUS ………. that is a western practice.

Serve with nice bread, raw vegetables, whatever. This is so good you will never buy it again. You can use canned chickpeas of course,
but cooking your own has the edge.

So that´s supper out the way.

BASIL PESTO

Pesto Ingredients ThePleasuresOfThePalatePhoto Stolen ThePleasuresOfThePalate

Rinse out your food processor and make the pesto now. Please don´t buy pesto from the store. Ugh.

Around 2 cups of chopped basil
Maybe about half a cup of pine nuts
Half a cup of grated fresh Parmesan cheese
Crushed garlic to taste (anything fro 1 – 6 cloves!!)
Salt
Olive oil
Fresh squeezed half a lemon, maybe a little zest if you fancy

lemons-1.jpg
http://bluebutterfliesandme.wordpress.com/2012/05/29/75/

Put everything into the processor except the oil and lemon juice.
Process away, scraping down the sides.
Then drizzle the olive oil in until you have whatever consistency you like – hard to say how much, half a cup, more??
Add the lemon juice right at the end. It literally brightens it, and freshens it up. Beautifully. And fragrantly.

Put it into a jar, sealing it with a layer of olive oil.

Cook up a pot of linguine or spaghetti. Drain. Put a huge dollop of pesto into the bottom of a nice
serving bowl and put the noodles on top. Mix in well. Maybe grate some extra Parmesan on top.
Done. Serve with a large plate of sliced tomatoes and some goat´s cheese. Lunch is served.
There will be pesto leftover. Put it into a jar, and seal it with a layer of olive oil to keep it fresh.
Keeps for a while.

I suggest that when working with this much garlic, that you don´t apply any perfume until you have
finished and showered!! You all know what I think of perfume and garlic.

Let me know how you like it.

Bussis
CQ

Champaca Absolute by Tom Ford 2009

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Post by Gabriella

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Hello fragrant friends!

Well, we’ve been very lucky here in Sydney. It’s supposed to still be winter but we’ve had gloriously warm weather with some days reaching the mid-20 celsius level. As a result, some of my favourite winter perfumes have sadly been neglected and my big white florals that I save for the warmer months have been getting a good workout. Because of this I have been looking for something new for the summer months, something that still falls within the white floral category but has something that is just that little bit different.

Champaca Absolute by Tom Ford 2009

Champaca Absolute Tom Ford FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accordfs:
Top: Cognac, bergamot, dyer’s greenweed
Heart: Champaca, orchid, violet, jasmine
Base: Vanilla, amber, sandalwood, marron glace

My search led me to Tom Ford’s Champaca Absolute. I thought it would be the perfect choice as I already love Tom Ford’s grandiose aesthetic and adore his Black Orchid and Velvet Gardenia. Reading reviews, I was expecting a full-blown diva of a scent akin to the others. Champaca Absolute opens with a big blast of sweet booziness which quickly recedes before the bergamot and champaca come out to play. The citrus tempers the sweetness of the champaca and lends a joyous feel to the composition. One pictures the regal blooms of magnolia petals warmed by spring’s first rays of golden sunshine; their petals creamy but haughty, holding their poise within the liquid warmth and sprays of dust motes in the air.

Champaca Absolute Tom Ford Magnolia Tree Allen McGregor FlickrPhoto Stolen Allen McGregor Flickr

About half an hour in, the jasmine comes to the fore, further sweetening the composition. It is at this point where the perfume becomes lush, heady and vibrant. Despite the sweetness and fullness, Champaca Absolute still remains supremely elegant. It is very much a ladylike perfume and wouldn’t be out of place with a grey cashmere twinset and pearls.

The drydown, on my skin is still champaca, but with just a dab of vanilla. It quietens down quite considerably and I really don’t get the rich gourmand facets that many others speak of.

What I love most about Champaca Absolute is a sense of nostalgia. It takes me back to being eight years old, in my grandmother’s bathroom in England. It was my first trip overseas and it was a big adventure. She has lots of gorgeous bath and body products that I adored to sniff and explore and each morning, after her bath, I’d go in to wash my hands before going out for the day and the humid air would be filled with the most gloriously bright floral scent; a melange of my grandmother’s bath gel and dusting powder. Champaca Absolute is that smell to me.

Champaca Absolute Tom Ford purple bathroom betterhomeandgardenPhoto Stolen betterhomeandgarden

My only disappointment is that it’s not as loud or diva-esque as I’d expected. It wears extremely close to my skin and I want just that little bit more sillage and oomph. Perhaps it will when the mercury gets a bit higher. I expect hot flesh will give me that vava voom I so crave. If that happens, Champaca Absolute will be perfection.

Further reading: Perfume Smellin’ Things and Bois de Jasmin.
Champaca Absolute is available at David Jones in Australia $290/50ml (Most big city department stores with an Estee Lauder counter)
Surrender to Chance has samples starting at $4/.5ml.

Have you tried Champaca Absolute? What are your favourite Tom Ford fragrances?

With much love till next time,
M

Girlfriend by Justin Bieber 2012

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Post by Katrina

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Hi APJ,

I really like this perfume. I wore it a lot last summer when it seemed like the perfect summer fragrance. But now in winter, wearing it for this review I’ve found that I enjoy wearing it all year round.

Girlfriend by Justin Bieber 2012

Girlfriend Justin Bieber FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: mandarin, blackberry, pear and strawberry.
Heart: pink freesia, star jasmine, apricot and orange blossom
Base: vanilla orchid, luminous musk and white amber

Justin Bieber won big this year taking out US Fifi Awards in 2 categories. Justin Bieber’s Girlfriend, the second fragrance from the Biebster, won both ‘Fragrance of the Year – Women’s Popular’ and ‘Consumer Choice – Women’s’ categories.

Girlfriend Justin Bieber WikiMediaPhoto Stolen WikiMedia

The packaging for this perfume is fun and playful. The cross section of the purple bottle is heart shaped and it slots into a colourful canister that reminds me of a slinky. Fun! Taking the bottle out to spray makes me feel just a little happier.

The perfume starts fresh and fruity with citrus and crisp pear. Girlfriend is sweet but not overly. As the perfume evolves the floral notes come out and the fruit changes to what smells like honeydew melon to me, although it should be apricot based on the fragrance notes listed. The base notes of the fragrance are quite soft and the fresh sweetness stays until the end.

Girlfriend Justin Bieber milagrosschmidt DeviantArtPhoto Stolen DeviantArt

Further reading: EauDeLucy and AccentGirl100
Fragrance Shop has from $26/30ml
My Perfume Samples starts at $2/ml

Which other celebrity perfumes won awards this year? Check out my Celebrity Perfume Website to find out.

Have any of you APJ readers tried Girlfriend? If not I challenge you to give it a try!

Katrina xx

ED: I added the Beaty & The Beat video because I think it’s SUPER FUN!

Rose 31 by Daphne Bugey for Le Labo 2006

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Post by Jordan River

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In Iran, Iraq, The Middle East, Pakistan and India rose perfumes are an essential part of a man’s fragrance wardrobe.

Rose petals used to be crushed and mixed with oil to obtain a strong perfume which was labour intensive and therefore not easily mass-produced. Harun al-Rashid,  of A Thousand and One Nights fame, sent Charlemagne several gifts of non-distilled rose perfumes, along with the white elephant Abul Abbas, to his court in Aachen (modern-day Germany). The gifts of Charlemagne to Harun al-Rashid were woven woolen garments from Flanders and German hunting dogs.

About 200 years later, a Persian man, born in Bukhara (modern-day Uzbekistan near Afghanistan), called Ibn Sina, perfected the steam distillation of essential oils from plants when he distilled rose petals into a wearable fragrance which could be made in great quantities.

Rose Oil DistillationA distillation plant in Damascus consisting of multiple units for producing rose water – 13th century manuscript

Ibn Sina
Hakim (Doctor/Chemist/Alchemist) Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sīnā, known as Avicenna in the west, took the most beloved flower of Islam, the rose, and made a fragrance which was eagerly worn by men as Mohammed, the prophet of Islam, encouraged the use of perfume ‘if it is available’ as part of the preparation for Friday prayer.

Rose 31 by Le Labo

Rose 31 FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Rose, caraway
Heart: Rose, vetiver, cedar
Base: Musk, guaiac wood, olibanum, labdanum, agarwood (oud)

Le Labo gives these featured accords in one line:
Grasse rose, cumin, pepper, clove, nutmeg, ginger, frankincense, cedar, amber, gaiacwood, oud, cistus, vetiver, animalic notes, ISO e-super and 16 unrevealed notes

Le Labo’s Rose 31, so named because it has 31 ingredients, is a modern rose using cumin to create a human scent among the other ingredients. Cumin in perfumery smells like a hint of fresh healthy sweat and when combined with rose is sensual. The warmth of this fragrance comes from ginger which is spiced up with pepper, clove, nutmeg and caraway. You will not smell like a spice rack or a kitchen as the essentials oils blend into a strong masculine scent-wall which is overgrown with Grasse roses and vetiver grass. Overlooking the wall are strong cedars, frankincense bushes and an agarwood tree which further enhance the masculine appeal of this scent.

Rose 31 Frankincense Tree WikiMedia Frankincense Tree Photo Stolen WikiMedia

This was my favourite and only rose scent until I discovered Mohur by Neela Vermeire Creations. Rose 31 is a great everyday fragrance for men. Mohur is more a special occasion scent, although I find that spritzing Mohur as a sleep scent brings the sweetest dreams.
Nathan Branch recommends wearing this with jeans and t-shirt, or a black tux
Mary P Brown from Texas thinks that Rose 31 is like a hot rose conservatory full of sweaty men – but in the nicest possible way
Lucky Scent describes a rose for men destined to be stolen by women

Bottles are mixed on the spot if you happen upon a Le Labo store. Online orders are also freshly blended at the time of order. Rose 31 has become so popular that it is also available as a laundry detergent, a great way to wash 32 loads of your keffiyeh, khameez, khurtas or business shirts.

Further Reading
In-depth analysis – Kafka’s review
Le Labo store – includes alcohol-free options
Le Labo – travel spray

Options & Prices
Sample $US6
Travel Spray $US135
Oil Dropper $US120 – no alcohol
Perfuming Balm $US80 – no alcohol
Massage and Bath Perfuming Oil $US65 – no alcohol
Laundry Detergent $US45 – plant based and biodegradable

Edp
15ml $US58
50ml $US145
100ml $US220
500ml $US700

Jordan River

Jordan River

Rouge Avignon GIVEAWAY WINNERS

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Hey there APJ crew,

We had a great response for Val the Cookie Queen’s Rouge Avignon draw. All the entries have been collated, cut, folded and drawn. I hope you get as much fun out ofd these draws as we do.

Portia xx

Rouge Avignon GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Rouge Avignon Les demoiselles d'Avignon, Pablo Picasso Gautier Poupeau FlickrPhoto Stolen Gautier Poupeau Flickr

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

There are 3 prizes this week. Each winner will receive:

1 x Rouge Avignon by Phaedon 2013  Sample
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DID YOU WIN?

Open to everyone worldwide who follows AustralianPerfumeJunkies via eMail, WordPress, Bloglovin or RSS. Please leave how you follow in the comments. Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged.

All you needed to do was tell us how you follow and exactly why this juice might float your boat!

Hannah & the ArmadilloCQ’s lovely daughter Hannah picking a winner

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Midnight Sunday 18th August 2013 in Austria.
Winners were chosen by putting names on same sized papers, folded similarly, I then put all the names into my long dead armadillo and three winners were drawn by Hannah. Alright?

WINNERS berryreviewPhoto Stolen berryreview

Nadja

Azar

Belle

The winners will have till Wednesday 21st August 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.

Bussis from the CQ

xxxxxxxxxx

Hanbury by Maria Candida Gentile 2010

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Post by Michael

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Thanks to the very kind Ms P I’m wrapping my nose around a new to me Maria Candida Gentile. I very much like what I smelled of Exultat, so I’m excited to be testing out another from the line.

Hanbury by Maria Candida Gentile 2010

Hanbury Maria Candida Gentile FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Lime, bitter orange, orange
Heart: Mimosa, white honey, calycanthus
Base: Musk, benzoin

There are a few nuances but this fragrance can be summed up in two words – bitter orange! Those familiar with Italian bitter orange drinks will have a good idea of what to expect from this little fragrance.

Up top lime and bitter orange jumps off the skin with a seriously tart throw. This is a fragrance you can feel penetrating your sinuses. Once it starts to settle down the benzoin takes control with a little mimosa for balance. I wouldn’t call this a mimosa fragrance by any stretch.

Hanbury Maria Candida Gentile Bitter Oranges PixabayPhoto Stolen Pixabay

From here it becomes a little warmer but it’s never cuddly. Miscellaneous white floral notes become more apparent and they’re quite soft. After only an hour or two it fades to a clean citrus musky skin scent.

From the Maria Candida Gentile site: The inspiration comes from the gardens of the Hanbury Villa in Ventimiglia, a city of northern Italy by the mediterranean sea. The essences of this garden have been assembled during a life time by its owner, a very charming and beautiful lady, Dorothy Hanbury. In spring these essences combines all together in the air and are blended by the soft and warm wind from the sea producing an exquisite harmony which has been recreated in the Hanbury fragrance.

Hanbury Maria Candida Gentile Hanbury Botanic Gardens WikicommonsPhoto Stolen WikiCommons

In the end I’m thinking about Hanbury as a citrus EdC – perfect for summer and when applied liberally and often. Maybe even store it in the fridge for an invigorating summer spray. It’s especially nice if you enjoy very naturalistic bitter orange.
Unfortunately for me, I’m left looking for something a little more…..

Further reading: Perfume Shrine and
Maria Candida Gentile has €25/15ml Travel Size or €115/100ml and sends to the world for €30
Parfum1 has $185/100ml
First In Fragrance has €150/100ml

Which of the Maria Candida Gentile line have you smelled? Does Hanbury sound like your cup of tea?
Michael

Gaiac by Jean-Claude Astier for M. Micallef 2005

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 37 Comments

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Post by Maya

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Hello APJ,
Recently my daughter ordered 6 perfume samples and gave them to me. She said, “These are all different from what you usually like, but they all have at least one note I know you love.” I was skeptical, but they were all nice. One really stood out,

Gaiac by M. Micallef 2005

Gaiac M. Micallef FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot
Heart: Cloves, jasmine
Base: Guaiac wood, vetiver, amber, vanilla

I should note that my love-note in Gaiac is jasmine and it’s all but invisible to me as is the vetiver in it.

I had no idea what gaiac is, but soon discovered that it is a tree, native to the tropical and subtropical Americas. It is a wood so resinous that doesn’t float. It sinks in water. Spanish Conquistadors burned it as incense, something they must have learned from the indigenous peoples, some of whom considered the tree sacred.

Gaiac M. Micallef Bulnesia sarmientoi WikiMediaPhoto Stolen WikiMedia

This is a lovely, low silage scent, that whispers it’s presence, but every word is audible and clear. M. Micallef lists it as masculine. I disagree. I think it is as much a feminine scent as a masculine one. When I dabbed it on, it was unexpectedly sharp, though not unpleasantly so. The sharpness faded quickly and I got sweet vanilla, spicy clove, and what had to be gaiac wood. I cannot describe the scent of gaiac wood. It’s unique and a bit exotic. The balance of the sweetness, the spice, and the wood is wonderful. The clove lessens after a few hours but the vanilla and gaiac wood stay as equal partners until the end, which is about 6-8 hours on me, except on humid days, when it fades after about 4 hours. Gaiac by M. Micallef is linear, which is fine. It doesn’t need complexity. It’s an evening around a campfire, burning gaiac wood, watching the flames dance, everyone feeling relaxed and stress free, laughing. And maybe, just maybe, some sensual feelings could awaken!

Gaiac M. Micallef Bulnesia sarmientoi WikiCommonsPhoto Stolen WikiCommons

Further reading: The Scented Hound and I Smell Therefore I Am
Parfum1 and LuckyScent have $90/30ml and $185/100ml
Surrender To Chance starts at $5/ml

Gaiac wood seems to be an underused note in perfume which is a shame. I will be looking for it in more scents. What about you? Have you tried Gaiac by M. Micallef or other fragrances containing gaiac wood?
Maya

Red Cattleyea by Ellen Covey for Olympic Orchids 2010

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Post by Poodle

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When I was first married my in-laws told me I’d have a hard time cooking for my husband because he was so picky. I knew this but since I had persuaded him to try different foods while we were dating I knew I’d come up with a plan so I could cook what I wanted and not have him go hungry. I figured out that it was almost like cooking for a child (no offense, my love, if you’re reading this).

If he knew a dish had certain ingredients he wouldn’t try it. He was convinced he didn’t like certain things, even things I knew he’d eaten in the past and loved. The catch was that those times he hadn’t seen what was going into the pot. He came home and it was already prepared and waiting for him. I stopped telling him the ingredients or I told him what was in a dish after it was in his stomach. It worked, and cooking is much easier.

How does this relate to perfume? There are times when I think too much information is a bad thing. Sometimes I think knowing the notes before smelling can alter one’s opinion of it. If something smelled awful on me before or has a lot of notes I dislike I shouldn’t waste my time with it…or so I thought.

Red Cattleyea by Olympic Orchids 2010

Red Cattleya box smallPhoto Stolen Olympic Orchids

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Citrus, peach, apricot, melon, hyacinth, gardenia, violets, lilac, musk, woods, vanilla

I asked for the Olympic Orchids Just Orchids sampler set for Christmas. I didn’t see many reviews and I didn’t really study the note lists prior to trying the perfumes.

When I tried Red Cattleyea it was juicy and tropical and a great counterpoint to the chill in the air at the time. Since it is named after a flower I was expecting it to be a floral, but there was more, something sweet yet wonderful…then it hit me. Fruit! Yes, the dreaded fruity floral. This was nothing like the mainstream fruity scents, this was a fruity floral with personality. My first impression was favorable so I just kept enjoying my perfume, sniffing happily at my wrist now and then.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAPhoto Stolen MorgueFile

When I looked at the notes I was horrified. This has multiple notes that usually turn ugly on me. Citrus, peach, and melon can make me run from the fragrance counter. Had I read the notes first I may have never sprayed but Ellen Covey worked some magic here.

Red Cattleyea opens sweet and fruity, more candied citrus than kitchen cleaner. Then there’s peach, on my skin peach usually smells like, well, let’s just say it’s not how I want to smell. But not this time. The peach is blended with apricot and it’s more jammy and sun warmed than fresh. Alongside this is a bouquet of gardenia and lilac. Hints of wood and vanilla keep peeking through and there’s an undercurrent of spice to my nose. As the fruit subsides the gardenia becomes fleshy and rich before fading. I don’t find the musk very strong, rather it holds everything together and gives the perfume warmth as well. On my extreme scent eating skin I could smell it easily for hours and ended up with the most wonderfully warm vanilla base.

Red Cattleyea Peaches Flickr Brett SpanglerPhoto Stolen Flickr Brett Spangler

This isn’t a light skin scent, it’s got some kick to it, I’d say that if applied with a light touch it would be office friendly. I’ve worn Red Cattleyea to work and gotten compliments. If you work with fragrance-phobes, perhaps it might be a little too bold.

Further reading: The Alembicated Genie and Hortus Conclusus
Olympic Orchids has $40/30ml EdP, isn’t that the best deal EVER?
Olympic Orchids $15/5ml Parfum

So Red Cattleyea’s fruity and sweet and peachy. On paper I shouldn’t like it yet I absolutely love wearing Red Cattleyea and there aren’t many fruity florals I can say that about.
Have you tried it?

Poodle. x