Samsara EdP by Jean-Paul Guerlain for Guerlain 1990

October 25, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 23 Comments

Post by Val the Cookie Queen

Hello lovely-dovely sweetly-scented Perfumistas,

That was then: This is now
Life before and after the basenotes…….
Val CQ

I was gifted with a bottle of vintage (if you can use that word for a relatively young perfume) Samsara EdP last week. I haven´t worn it since the early nineties, nor retried it during my perfumista journey

PRE-PERFUMISTA
Samsara EdP

I bought a bottle of the Samsara EdP in 1990. Lovely. Nice bottle. I carried on with my life.

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, lemon, ylang-ylang, peach, green notes
Heart: Jasmine, woodsy iris, narcissus, violet, rose
Base: Sandalwood, vanilla, tonka bean, amber, musk

PERFUMISTA

Samsara EdP by Guerlain 1990

Samsara EdP by Jean-Paul Guerlain

“Oh my gosh! This is fabulous. It´s kind of lemony and leathery and is that jasmine, and wait, I think I read once there´s some sort of licorice note in it. Is there, can I smell it, concentrate hard, it must be there. I got it! Yeah, licorice. I found it. And yang-ylang and jasmine, I can’t believe I never knew. It´s so oriental, spicy, and SANDALWOOD? The Guerlain vanilla, tonka, orris, but WAIT I have never smelled sandalwood like this. Really? All this incredible sandalwood, which after Googling I found out was enhanced by John-Paul Guerlain whisking in a dash of polysantol, giving it a massive lift so it wouldn´t sit flat on the skin? Whoa (Thanks Monsieur G)”
I then pass out on the floor into an exhausted sandalwood oblivion.

Photo Donated Val CQ

Samsara EdP Conclusions

The question is which incarnation of me enjoyed it more? I have been pondering this question for the last week. My good grief, I can most certainly say I had NO idea when I wore it in the early 90s and I went through at least three bottles of it, that there were top, heart and basenotes. I just enjoyed the whole experience without having to think myself insane. But once you walk through that field of poppies and end up in Oz there is no going back. (And then you do think yourself insane!) Hard to fathom that I never clocked the sandalwood in it, and this IS a sandalwood bomb if ever there was one. Creamy and divine. I have come to the conclusion that
the younger me delighted in Samsara while the perfumista me delights in, savours, relishes, revels in, and most of all appreciates Samsara for the magnificent oriental Guerlain masterpiece that it is.

Further reading: Bois de Jasmin and Black Narcissus
Any Guerlain counter or store will have Samsara
Surrender To Chance is selling out their Samsara EdT at $15/5ml

Any of you APJ readers had a similar experience? Do tell. 🙂

Batshit Crazy Perfumista Bussis
CQ

Angel Muse by Quentin Bisch for Thierry Mugler 2016

October 11, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 17 Comments

Post by Val the Cookie Queen

All Hail APJ Earthlings,

MUSEology

Muse: Drones Tour 2016

I went to Vienna earlier in the year to see MUSE on their Drones Tour. I knew that it would be good but had no idea that it would blow my mind. It opened with futuristic soldiers complete with glowing blue eyes, patrolling the perimeter of the 360°rotating stage. Drones in their docks suspended from the ceiling ready to fly around the hall. Retractable silk banners hanging, acting as cinema screens.

The band came on dressed in black, as opposed to their normal prominent and flamboyant outfits. Matt Bellamy, lead singer and guitarist was uncharacteristically chilled, letting the incredible and perfectly synchronized production shine. This was a thrill ride of the most epic proportions and I cannot forget it. Six months later and I am still playing MUSE at top volume. One of my top three gigs and I have been to hundreds.

Angel Muse by Quentin Bisch for Thierry Mugler 2016

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Grapefruit, pink pepper
Heart: Hazelnut, whipped cream, rose
Base: Vetiver, patchouli

Browsing through the perfumes at the airport last week I picked up Muse, a Mugler production and relative to the iconic Angel. Not wanting to kill my fellow passengers on the blue and yellow Lego flight I was about to take, I spritzed it on paper. A hefty sniff coated the inside of my nose for the next ten hours. (I was inspired by Clare of the Take One Thing Off Blog, and of our own APJ, and the Candy Perfume Boy to do so.)

WikiMedia

MUSE is a Walnut Whip of wizardry. A splendid burst of patchouli droplets, each wrapped in effervescent grapefruit and pinkness. Joyous and mouthwatering, heartwarming and sparkling. It glides into a swirling creamy nutty heart, as light as a marshmallow, tinged with a green orange. Divineness. The underlying vetiver stops Muse from becoming too sweet, as it smoothly glides into the base teaming up with vanilla and the ever-hovering patchouli. A kaleidoscope of enjoyment. I have been wearing it non-stop. Madness. 🙂

MUSE pushed me outside of my comfort zone. Available everywhere, a flanker, mainstream. Who would have thought it? I bought the 30ml Cosmic Pebble bottle, which sounds like something off of a Hawkwind album. We have come full circle. It´s available all over the world. Comparatively cheap and worth a shot. You just never know.

#HateToLove Angel Muse Making of – Mugler

Further reading: Candy Perfume Boy and Now Smell This
David Jones has AUD$99/30ml

Which Muse would you prefer to be around darling hearts, sweeties?

Angelic Bussis
CQ

(Ed: All photos donated by Val unless specified. Thanks lady. XX)

Random Fragrant Ramblings + MFK

September 27, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 32 Comments

Post by Val the Cookie Queen

Good Day APJ

It has been chipmunk on crack mode the last couple of weeks. I am in the process of developing and selling vegan brownies and blondies, we have a trial run going on, and a new store has opened, one of the chain that offers my cookies. Absolute fun but hectic.

Val the CQ´S Random Fragrant Ramblings

CHANEL Boy, MFK Petit Matin and Grand Soir and a trip to London

CHANEL BOY EdP by Olivier Polge 2016

It opens with the radiant and gleaming brilliance of grapefruit and lemon wrapped in a muted lavender. The blend is very Chanel, the
lavender short lived. As these more volatile components evaporate, a sweet rose arises, perhaps a little orange blossom, and it effortlessly glides into a warm and a delectable heliotrope, swirling with sandalwood and musks. This is the first EdP in the Exclusifs collection and it does stay the course for a good twelve hours on my skin. Fab. I bought a bottle.

LONDON – A Conclave Of Bloggers

I fly to London tomorrow and am combining a trip round London with more than twenty bloggers and perfumers with a visit to my family. So excited to see everyone. Tara from A Bottled Rose is meeting me on the day that I arrive. We`ll fit a shifty sniff in, go on a red lipstick crusade, lunch together and drop into Bloom Perfumery to deliver some cookies. I don´t really have a sniff list but will take a look at the Grandifloras, and Le Galop from Hermès. Stay tuned to find out how it all went.

MFK Sample GIVEAWAY

The two new fragrances from Maison Francis Kurkdjian were on my London list, but I came across them in Linz yesterday. I tried both on paper and the lovely SA gave me carded samples of each one, Petit Matin and Grand Soir. I can get samples anytime I want but I know not everyone can. The Petit Matin is a delicious creamy lemon floral number and the Grand Soir is a kill you with vanilla benzoin and tonka bean number.

Drop me your thoughts on any of today’s randomness and you are in the draw. I will be extremely fast at sending them out because they are already prepared! Whoohoo. I hate decanting with a passion.

Loving Bussis
CQ

(Ed: All Photos Donated by Val. Thanks buddy)

MFK Sample GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x Carded Manufacturers Sample Grand Soir
1 x Carded Manufacturers Sample Petit Matin
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:
Anything you think I should look for in London?
OR Do you like vegan baking?
OR Have you tried Boy yet? Thoughts?
OR Which MFK, if any calls to you?

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 29th September 2016 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Sunday 2nd October 2016 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.

Cookie Queen’s Adventure Photo Essay

September 13, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 31 Comments

Post by Val the Cookie Queen

Hello all you APJ Perfumistas and Bikers!

Each year my husband attends the Eurobike International Trade Show in Friedrichshafen, Germany. It´s freaking enormous, supposedly
the biggest bike show in the world. He needs two days to get around it. Journalists, superstars from the downhilling world to The Tour de France,
plus the industry visitors make up the some 45,000 in attendance on the trade days, along with an extra 20,000 bike fans on the public day.

Friedrichshafen is on Lake Constance, also known as the Bodensee. The lake is situated in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. I decided
to grab a ride to Friedrichshafen with Chris then hop on a bus to Zürich, meet Vero for lunch, and hop on a bus back again. Why not? Life is too short
to sit still.

Cookie Queen’s Adventure

Bikes, Ferries and Caron Perfume
A lunch date at the Hammam in Zürich with Vero Kern
A Photo Essay

I got up at 03:15 and opened the fridge door for a drink. A large glass of what had been Oma`s frozen cream of pumpkin soup fell out of the door and
smashed on the kitchen floor. By 03.30 I was vacuuming up the last bits of glass and the cat thought I had lost my mind. We were out the door by
04.30 and on our 350 km way. I got out in Friedrichshafen and an hour later was on the bus. By 13:30 I was in Zürich with Vero and by 16:00 I was heading back to Friedrichshafen. Anyway – here´s some piccies.

On the ferry crossing from Friedrichshafen to Konstanz. 15 minutes. Absolutely gorgeous.

Frierichshafen. Home to the Zeppelin.

Isi, Vero’s superstar dog meeting me at the central station in Zürich.

Lunch at the Hammam Basar. Fantastic salad followed by thick Turkish coffee fragrant with cardomom.

Ferry back from Konstanz to Friedrichshafen. Stunning.

Evening with Chris. (Ice cream makes nice pictures but I don’t like ice cream, I really don’t.)

Next day. Heading to the bike show. Cookies for our dealers. SOTD was vintage Caron En Avion Extrait by Ernest Daltroff: featuring carnation, jasmine, neroli and opoponax. A gift from Vero. Thick dark deep orange, spicy, lush and leathery, What a joy.

Bike Desires. Me looking at the new Rotwild Electric bike. €7000. Do not let anyone tell you electric bikes are for old people. And the below shot is a 12 speed SRAM Eagle cassette. ( for the biking perfumistas amongst us )

Fragrant Biking Bussis
CQ

Dilettante by Hiram Green 2016 + EASY Orange Cake Recipe

August 23, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 34 Comments

Post by Val the Cookie Queen

Sunny Salutations APJ

“It is the sun shining on the rain and the rain falling on the sunshine.” Francis Hodgson Burnett.

Dilettante by Hiram Green 2016

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
French orange flower, petitgrain, orange

I prefer not to write about a fragrance that I do not have at least 10mls of and in most cases a full bottle. I make an exception in the case of Hiram´s Dilettante as it is just so gorgeous. And I used up two whole samples, four full wearings and would like more. Hiram Green informs us “Dilettante is an enchanted and light-hearted celebration of summer” but it would have healing power in the dark and cold long days winter.

“Based on a triptych of orange flower, petitgrain and essential oil of orange” Dilettante springs into life sharp, sweet and bitter. Succulent and mouthwatering, exuberant and effervescent. Unhurriedly it winds its way into a floral waxy orange blossom, sweet and delicious to the senses. The muskiness in the base combined with the bitterness of the petitgrain is sultry on the skin. A very beautiful perfume.

LuckyScent has $165/50ml

It is interesting to note that orange oils, and especially petitgrain are known to promote clarity of mind and to aid concentration. They balance the emotions, clearing off mental depression.

“I’m happy, I’m feeling glad, I got sunshine, in a bag ……….” Gorillaz

Super Citrus Bussis
CQ

Mouth watering from all this talk of orange, why not make a cake?

Orange Juice Loaf Cake + Fresh Orange Juice Syrup

(Works well with lemons too)

Ingredients.

168 grammes of butter (3/4 cup)
3/4 cup of sugar
3 large eggs
1/4 cup sour cream/yoghourt/buttermilk
1 generous teaspoon of vanilla
1 tbsp orange zest
2 tbsp fresh orange juice
1 1/2 cups of flour
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt

Syrup
4 tbsp fresh orange juice
1/2 cup of sugar

1. Line the bottom of the 9 x 4 inch loaf pan with baking paper and lightly grease the sides of the pan.
Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C

2. Cream the butter and the sugar well with an electric mixer. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each one.
Chuck in the sour cream (or whatever you use), the vanilla, zest and orange juice. Mix well.

3. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt mixture. Gently mix it in.

4. Spread the batter into the pan. Bake about 40 minutes. Grab a bike spoke if you have one handy, otherwise a toothpick will do.
Insert it into the middle of the cake. If it comes out clean it´s done. Otherwise give it a couple of more minutes.

5. While it is baking, put the 1/2 cup of sugar and 4 tbsp of orange juice into a small pan. Cook it until the sugar has dissolved and then for another minutes or so. Take it off the heat and stand on the side.

6. When the cake is out of the oven let it cool for a few minutes. Remove from pan and set it on a rack.
Then prick it all over with the spoke or toothpick, I pay particular attention to where the cake is cracked
along the top. Brush or spoon the glaze over the warm cake. Leave to cool, or not!

(Ed: All Photos Donated by Val the Cookie Queen unless otherwise stated. Thanks Val, gorgeous!)

Shalimar EdC by Jaques Guerlain for Guerlain 1925

August 9, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 32 Comments

Val the Cookie Queen

Shalom APJ Shalimar Lovers!

I never had the slightest intention of writing about Shalimar. Suddenly I fell in love with the extrait last year and bought myself a bottle. Of course everyone said “ But the vintage is so much better, blah, blah, blah ….” Fingers in my ears, it might well be, I don´t care. Indeed I have a few drops of a vintage version which Portia kindly sent to me. Of course I LOVE it. Actually I was talking to Vero the other day about rare and vintage perfumes and the business they have become. I AM interested. Duh. But have no intentions of hunting old stuff down. Not prepared to pay the prices nor take the risk. I do own a couple of exquisite vintage fragrances but they came to me as gifts.

Amazon, eBay, Walgreens, Low Price Shoppers. No Shalimar Shame!

As I placed an order on Amazon a few weeks ago, an advertisement came up for Shalimar Eau de Cologne. Of course the NSA know all the perfumistas and stalk us by offering us Amazon perfume deals. This one was interesting though. I frantically Googled the EdC and came up with next to nothing. Except that it is only available through low price, super deal, bog standard drug stores and the big two, Amazon and eBay.

Thirty five euros including postage? Ordered. Nice bottle if nothing else. Shalimar was created as a tribute to the love story between Emperor Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal. After thirteen kids and dying in childbirth with the fourteenth, she left her husband devastated (but with enough offspring to take care of him I guess). He built the Taj Mahal in her memory but seriously, I guess we all know the story? Did you know Shalimar is named after the Gardens of Shalimar, Mumtaz´s favourite garden?

Shalimar EdC by Guerlain 1925

Shalimar EdC by Jaques Guerlain

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, lemon, mandarin orange, cedar
Heart: Iris, patchouli, jasmine, vetiver, rose
Base: Leather, sandalwood, opoponax, civet, musk, vanilla, incense, Peru balsam, benzoin

It’s absolutely fantastic, Shalimar EdC. Gobsmacked to be honest. It knocks spots of the current EdP and EdT. It opens with a divinely cooling bergamot lemon zing, and I just want to drown in it. Delicious but not sweet. Iris and rose are there. Slightly smoky, leathery and a veil of such exquisite vanilla. Unlike the current EdP there is no patchouli in the base and it is all the better for it. Spraying it in abundance leaves you shimmering with Shalimar for hours. It has a lot in common with the current Shalimar Extrait, albeit a cologne with a the raunchy drydown. Absolutely fabulous.

This is where Val lives, the view from her balcony

Further reading: Australian Perfume Junkies
FragranceNet has $50/75ml Before Coupon

Dislike Shalimar? Don´t bother. Nearly like it but not quite? Try the Shalimar EdC. Own the vintage version already? Tell me about it. This is hands down my favourite Shalimar and my take to the pool staple this year. Who would have thought of it?
Love Shalimar? Buy it.

Fourteen kids?
Sheesh.

Aromatic Bussis
CQ

(Ed: Photos donated by Val. Thanks. XXOX)

Scent of the Cookie Run. A Five Year Anniversary.

July 26, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 51 Comments

Post by Val the Cookie Queen

Hey There Fabulously Fragrant Foodies and Funsters

Scent of the Cookie Run. A Five Year Anniversary.

A Perfume Geek Post.

History

Five years ago I began supplying cookies to a Salzburg based firm, Indigo. As a number of you know I have a business together with my husband. Bikes and Cookies. He is a downhill bike specialist and runs the bike shop, and I make cookies by hand. From the milling of the grains, to the specialist vanilla, along with chopping all the chocolate by hand, I bake up small batches to fill the orders of the stores. I started with seven and as of September this year, with the opening of a new one in Linz, I will have eleven. My kitchen is located in the back of the shop, closed in of course, with a wall to wall window looking out into my husband´s workshop. There is a good chance that we are the only bike shop with a cookie kitchen in it.

Milling the spelt (Cookies are half each spelt & wheat)

Husband Chris & BFF Kirk shopping

Daughter Hannah (Blondes Wunder) chopping

Method

Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings are spent preparing and making the dough and turning it into weighed balls. It can be anything from three to five hundred cookies and I weigh each one separately. It all gets packed in-between sheets of waxed paper and kept in a very cold refrigerator. Top up dough is made on Monday as I can never quite guess all the orders correctly. Tuesdays I get up at the butt crack of dawn and bake. Once the oven is turned on it´s a race against the beeper! The cookies are baked and cooled, boxes are packed with the orders. (I can be flexible with the prepping times, but orders need
to be delivered Tuesday noon time.) I load the car and head to Salzburg, but not before changing my clothes and applying my perfume.

Dayle Ann Clavin

Resting

Buckets ready for packing

SOTCR* (The Geeky Part)

Monday evening I decide which perfume I will wear on Tuesday. I very seldom, nearly never, wear anything that I don´t have a full bottle of. I choose a couple of photos or pictures that give the vibe of the perfume and subsequently post the information onto a couple of the private perfume groups on Facebook. SOTCR*. Hahahahahaha. I am laughing my arse off here as I type this. Only a perfume junkie would understand. Trying something new in the car is an absolute no, I have no desire to sit in a confined space with something nasty.

The Cookie Run favourites

Indigo

Cookie Queen

The day I met Portia in Vienna, more than three and a half years ago was the day I became Cookie Queen. It has stuck now and I have my own logo which as well as being on my blogging and cookie cards, is also on our mountain biking downhill jerseys. I sponsor our small racing team with cookies, indeed I seem to sponsor half the bloody world!

The day we met in Vienna Feb 2013

Chris wearing the logo

Dayle Ann Clavin

So come on and crack out your geeky perfume habits and spill the beans. Or perhaps you have a cookie addiction?

Armadillo bussis
CQ

*{Ed: SOTCR = Scent Of The Cookie Run (I know you didn’t need to look)}

Most photos were donated by Val the Cookie Queen
Some were from Dayle Ann Clavin (<<<Go check the site, GORGEOUS!)

Opus X by Pierre Negrin + Annick Menardo for Amouage 2016

July 12, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 22 Comments

Post by Val the Cookie Queen

Hey Hip APJ Cats.

Ever taken acid? When you place it in your mouth there is a distinct metallic sensation and a little apprehension for what is about to come. Are you familiar with (electric) Kool-Aid Magic Twists? Normally Kool-Aid dissolves to match the colour of the packaging. The Twists don´t. You empty the green powder into the jug, add water and it turns red. Pretty cool, and weird if you don´t expect it.

Amouage Opus X by Amouage 2016

Amouage Opus X by Pierre Negrin + Annick Menardo

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: May rose, red rose, rose
Heart: Geranium, leather, varnish accord
Base: Metallic notes, laotian oud, ylang-ylang, ambrarome

“”Everyone smiles as you drift past the flowers, that grow so incredibly high.” (The Beatles)

Opus X erupts with droplets of green and an aluminium red blast, roses dripping in metal and varnish. Your consciousness needs a little time.

“Turn off your mind, relax and float down stream …” (The Beatles) The cacophony of notes smooth down into reds, cerise to crimson, cherry,
scarlet and vermilion. Layers of roses, the deeper you look into the mirror the more you see. The hovering silvered sheen prevents you
from going to deep. Never look into the mirror for too long. The Opus X meanders into a gentler territory softening up with leather, oud, and the
duskiness of a pile of rose petals. Stellar longevity. Bewitching.

The Rose with Kaleidoscope Eyes.

Flickr

Further reading: Chemist In A Bottle and Candy Perfume Boy
Libertine Parfumerie has $487/100ml with FREE AUSTRALIAN POSTAGE
First In Fragrance has €320/100ml

From First In Fragrance: The wealth of rose facets in Opus X reflects all the stories that the red violin experiences on its journey through the centuries. The centifolia pluck the first string of the violin and play a magnificent, radiant and sensual melody. From the second string a dark rose chord resounds, which lends mystery to the composition. On the third string, rosebuds play a lyrical ode full of brilliance and luminosity. The rose oxide lies like a fine veil upon the composition, culminating in a vigorous and multi-faceted rose. In different pitches, it shows all its perfect beauty and its olfactory richness. The sensual texture of leather, woven with fine geranium notes, accompanies and intensifies the fragrance. The final impression of this woody-floral composition is created by the warmth of ambrarome, the seductive aroma of ylang-ylang and the elegance of Laotian Oud. Opus X lives through its contrasts of light and darkness, innocence and seduction.

The Red Violin Official Trailer – Carlo Cecchi Movie (1998)

“The ´60s aren`t over; they won´t be over until the Fat Lady gets high.” Ken Kesey

Do you see perfume as a drug?

Groovy Bussis
CQ

Aroma M Oils by Maria McElroy

June 28, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 19 Comments

Post by Val the Cookie Queen

Konnichiwa APJ!

After my last post featuring the Geisha Vanilla Hinoki EdP, it would be remiss not to mention the seductive oils from Aroma M. I now own both the Geisha Vanilla Hinoki Oil and the Geisha Noire Oil. Intimate, hypnotic and sensual, they warrant a post of their own. No misunderstanding here, Aroma M´s perfumed oils are not soft nor weak. Quite the opposite. They are breathtakingly intense and personal.

Maria McElroy spent seven years in Japan, and her recognition and gratitude for the culture inspired her line of the Geisha Oils. They are poured by hand into roll-on bottles and each bottle is wrapped in patterned Yuzen papers, handcrafted in Kyoto.

Aroma M Oils by Maria McElroy

The Geisha Noire and the Geisha Vanilla Hinoki Oils. Roll-on perfumes

Geisha Noire Oil by Aroma M

Black amber, sandalwood, tonka bean

This is a concentrated, heavy, dark smoky oil. And yet it is intimate, making it perfect for yoga or meditation. Far be it from me to tell anyone how much perfume to apply but be careful, this is poky stuff. Tenacious as heck, it lasts twenty four hours on me. See the notes? Divine but not angelic!

Geisha Vanilla Hinoki Oil by Aroma M

Bergamot, hinoki, lavender, leather, patchouli, amyris, cedarwood

A condensed, brighter, deeper version of the Vanilla Hinoki EdP. (Which I loved so much I just HAD to order the oil.) The bergamot weightier, the lavender sharper, the spices warmer, the hinoki clearer, Vanilla Hinoki is serene and restful. The rich sugarless smoky Moroccan vanilla surrounded by wisps of patchouli. Harmonious and soothing on its own, but a joyous explosion layered with the EdP.

Aroma M Perfumes offer a wonderful service and samples of everything and ships worldwide.

I don´t always want my fragrance to bounce off of others, hence my love for extraits, dabbing, and as of late oils.
I need to investigate oils further. Is perfume in the form of an oil something you like?

Tranquil Bussis
CQ

Geisha Vanilla Hinoki by Maria McElroy for Aroma M 2016

June 14, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 23 Comments

Post by Val the Cookie Queen

Hey APJ Vanilla Vamps and Vampettes.

The Fox becomes a mule……..

Dr Fox, my dear friend, CB therapist and partner-in-crime recently spent a few weeks in the U S and A. I decided on the spot that it was time for a blind buy and ordered Geisha Vanilla Hinoki, the most recent of Maria McElroy´s wonderful Geisha collection. The package was posted to Frau Fox-Mule at her US address. It travelled from New York City to Salt Lake City, onto Philadelphia, down to Kitty Hawk in North Carolina, onto Washington DC, and back to New York. From here it took a flight to Munich and then on into Austria by car.

During the three week waiting period, samples arrived of the Vanilla Hinoki, the EdP and the oil. I put them in the cupboard so that the thrill of the blind buy remained. And I left them there. Hahahaha. Did I hell. The next evening I grabbed the EdP and applied a hefty dose. A gleaming flash of bergamot ignited the room making the blind buy an instant success.

Geisha Vanilla Hinoki by Aroma M 2016

Geisha Vanilla Hinoki by Maria McElroy

Fragrantica

Notes include: bergamot, clove, cardamom, nutmeg, lavender, smoky vanilla, incense and patchouli, amyris, cedarwood

The luscious and sharp bergamot delights for quite some time, until the tantalizing trio of clove, cardamom and nutmeg push through. With a barely touch of lavender a calmness descends. Moroccan vanilla, the star of the show bides her time, until she decides to make a lazy entrance. She rises above her costars and lies herself across them all….. and stays there for hours. Occasionally disappearing to take a breath of the revitalizing hinoki, a beloved Japanese wood, the oil of which is used in medicinal treatments. But she returns. She is not loud but nonetheless quite stubborn. People do not die in her wake, those who come in close will recognize her. Staunch and stalwart she comforts and keeps tension at bay.

I am very generous with spraying, it is not a one spritz nuclear bomb. It lasts many hours, but I do know that my skin hangs onto fragrance for an extremely long time. Vanilla Hinoki feels like something I have always had – but haven`t . It won´t be for everyone but nothing ever is, except perhaps cookies.

Further reading: Non Blonde and Colognoisseur
IndieScents has EdP $90/50ml
LuckyScent has the Perfume Oil $60/7.5ml

Maria McElroy mixes her fragrances drop by drop. The bottles are filled by her and wrapped in exquisite imported Japanese paper. A skilled craft worker creating things by hand, the definition of artisanal. May there always be people who care enough to do this.

Have you found a vanilla to wear or do you prefer to eat it?

Bergamot Bussis
CQ

PRE-PERFUMISTA Samsara EdP

PERFUMISTA

Samsara EdP by Guerlain 1990

Samsara EdP by Jean-Paul Guerlain

Samsara EdP Conclusions

Muse: Drones Tour 2016

Angel Muse by Quentin Bisch for Thierry Mugler 2016

#HateToLove Angel Muse Making of – Mugler

Val the CQ´S Random Fragrant Ramblings

CHANEL Boy, MFK Petit Matin and Grand Soir and a trip to London

CHANEL BOY EdP by Olivier Polge 2016

LONDON – A Conclave Of Bloggers

MFK Sample GIVEAWAY

MFK Sample GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

HOW DO YOU WIN?

HOUSEKEEPING

Cookie Queen’s Adventure

Bikes, Ferries and Caron Perfume A lunch date at the Hammam in Zürich with Vero Kern A Photo Essay

Dilettante by Hiram Green 2016

Orange Juice Loaf Cake + Fresh Orange Juice Syrup

(Works well with lemons too)

Shalimar EdC by Guerlain 1925

Shalimar EdC by Jaques Guerlain

Scent of the Cookie Run. A Five Year Anniversary.

A Perfume Geek Post.

History

Method

SOTCR* (The Geeky Part)

Cookie Queen

Amouage Opus X by Amouage 2016

Amouage Opus X by Pierre Negrin + Annick Menardo

The Red Violin Official Trailer – Carlo Cecchi Movie (1998)

Aroma M Oils by Maria McElroy

The Geisha Noire and the Geisha Vanilla Hinoki Oils. Roll-on perfumes

Geisha Noire Oil by Aroma M

Geisha Vanilla Hinoki Oil by Aroma M

Geisha Vanilla Hinoki by Aroma M 2016

Geisha Vanilla Hinoki by Maria McElroy

PRE-PERFUMISTA
Samsara EdP

Bikes, Ferries and Caron Perfume
A lunch date at the Hammam in Zürich with Vero Kern
A Photo Essay