Interview: Neela Vermeire

December 21, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 14 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey there Fragrant Friends,

I have a huge apology to make. This interview was done back in April 2015 and the email got lost in the wrong folder. I found it this week and thought it would be really nice to put it up. Neela is one of my mates and I know how much of her heart and soul goes into her fragrant creations, I had a few questions and thought you also might like to read her answers.

Interview: Neela Vermeire

Photo Donated Neela Vermeire Creations

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Cardamom, Cinnamon, Saffron, Juniper, Magnolia, Neroli, Clementine, Bergamot
Heart: Orange blossom absolute, Rose absolute, Tuberose absolute, Jasmine sambac, Ylang-ylang
Base: Benzoin absolute, Sandalwood, Driftwood, Haitian vetiver

Pichola is out, congratulations, how do you feel after the launch of one of your fragrances?

Thank you Portia! We feel very excited by the generally positive reaction.

I find Pichola a big departure from your previous 4 releases, what lead you down this path?

We did not intend any conscious departure – but I understand what you mean – it is different compared to the first four (and the fifth Mohur Extrait).
We wanted to create a fragrance that reflected the feeling of the light reflections on Pichola. Also that it is a fragrance that could be worn by people who appreciate a rich yet translucent smell.
The texture of Pichola EDP is complex yet at the same time lighter and it feels like a silk chiffon which has colours yet is light to wear. We did not want a heavy hitting white floral that could knock one out but one that could be a comforting and elegant companion when worn.
The first four are perhaps more complex at first glance, heavier and texture-wise like rich brocade silk.

You are famous Neela as Bertrand Duchaufour’s most exacting client, was your fifth collaboration’s creation any easier?

It gets tougher to create something that in our opinion needs to measure up to the existing creations. Ashoka won an award last year and that raised the bar further up and made it even more difficult. It never gets any easier.
We don’t and will never rest on any laurels (that would be rather unwise) – we work like we did with the very first fragrances – with lots of time, dedication, positive energy, honesty and making sure that the creations weave the magic for everyone who encounters them. Naturally they are not all “people pleasers” but what is the point of us creating unexciting perfumes? We want each of our clients to feel transported into our olfactory universe.

There are two types of visitor to Udaipur’s Lake Pichola: the ones who stay in the Lake Palace looking out and the ones who stay on the shore to view the palace in Pichola. Which one are you and why?

I have stayed both on the shore and on one of the two main islands -where the Lake Palace is located.
The view is very different from the shore.
It is one of objectivity and a wide lens view – if that makes sense.
When you are inside the Lake Palace – you feel it is a personal story and it is a close-up. It is subjective detailed and focused view. You see your view of the shore and the lake according to where you stand in the palace and during what time of a day or night.

Which are your three biggest countries for clients and why do you think that is?

Difficult to say but off the top of my head
Italy, US, Russia – I think it is because these fragrances sing a song for everyone who has an open heart to listen to these creations.

Will we ever see home or body products from Neela Vermeire Creations?

Yes I would personally love this to happen.
However, as a totally independent company – we need to sell our existing perfumes well to focus on our next creations.
We will not launch a new line until we can make this a sustainable business.

However, we do have some beautiful leather clutch bags and some accessories that we only sell when people request through our web boutique.

——
Thank YOU xxxx

“It’s hard to be a diamond in a rhinestone world.” Dolly Parton.

Further reading: Australian Perfume Junkies and What Men Should Smell Like
Neela Vermeire Creations has €205/60ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $7/.5ml

It’s nice to learn a little about Neela and the way she operates, yes? Which is your favourite Neela Vermeire Creation?
Portia xx

CHANEL: Paris in Rome 2015/16 Métiers d’Art show

December 20, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 3 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey Crew,

it’s another beautiful season at CHANEL. Karl Lagerfeld has worked his magic, or pushed others to work theirs, and the results are so wearable. This is beautiful fabrics cut perfectly and I can see the wealthy CHANEL devotees lapping this stuff up. Bravo! Not really groundbreaking but some interesting reinterpretations and some fun frivolities. The girls makeups all look so soft and I also am happy the beehive is on a return.

I put the Behind The Scenes first because it’s only a few minutes but if you have the time check out the full show. Fabulous.
Portia xx

Photo Stolen CHANEL

CHANEL: 2015/16 Métiers d’Art show

Behind the Scenes Film – Paris in Rome

CHANEL: Paris in Rome 2015/16 Métiers d’Art show

Sotto La Luna Tuberose by Andy Tauer for Tauer Perfumes 2015

December 19, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 6 Comments

Post by Portia

Hi there Independent Niche Nerds,

Andy Tauer became known on the frag scene through blogging about his fragrance creation adventures. He was the first perfumer to engage the world in such a way and he and his style of perfumery are loved even though his scents can be polarising. Many people have problems with his Tauer-ade: a sweet citrus/honey/amber baseline to my nose that can last days on skin and indefinitely in fabrics. Personally I really like his style and I purchased a decant of his newest offering from Surrender To Chance which has just arrived. Scott was over and we decided to trial it first on paper and then on skin. It’s even more fun testing fragrances with a mate because different people pick up different nuance.

Sotto La Luna Tuberose by Tauer Perfumes 2015

Sotto La Luna Tuberose by Andy Tauer

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Cinnamon, cloves, geranium, galbanum
Heart: Tuberose, ylang-ylang, jasmine
Base: Tuberose, patchouli, amber

I can’t tell you what I was expecting from Sotto La Luna Tuberose but I was surprised by what I got. The green and oily, petrochemical reminiscent opening still manages to be smooth and is offset by sweet bubblegum. It’s an engaging dichotomy that keeps my nose glued to my wrist. Tuberose, imagine a bunch of tuberose on a table in an air conditioned office, Sotto La Luna Tuberose. Tuberose with that unreal, artificial coolness. We get a lovely sappiness of whitest green, like cutting hydrangeas and their sap.

There are also herbal, tropical, balmy and resinous notes flowing through and both Scott and I were convinced (without looking at notes) that there is a honey that is cleaned of most of its animalics but leaving a thick, glutinous sweetness that has nothing to do with the 21st century craze for confectionery. Maybe this is Andy’s amber.

Photo Stolen Flickr

After about 30-40 minutes we couldn’t decide how to describe the smell and came up with three similar but all just wide of the mark: smoky caramel, lightly burnt vanilla or sun pinked skin after a day at the beach. It’s an undercurrent running beneath the tuberose which stays right to the end of the fragrance. For anyone who has ever been upset by the longevity of the tuberose ferociousness in Versace Blonde, SL Tubereuse Criminale, L’Artisan Nuit de Tubereuse, Piguet Fracas or Ava Luxe Tubereuse Diabolique then here is a tuberose for you. Ferocious at the start and maintaining a fun level of outrageous throughout its lengthy lifespan. NSFW people unless you are in a very cool workplace where they like people to be fully fragrant.

How is Sotto La Luna Tuberose different? Longevity, tuberose staying power, opening oily green and bubblegum together and the patchouli/amber is different, unpickable for us as exactly a thing to reference we spent ages trying to find good and easily understandable correlations. Scott said he will now buy a decant to see if he loves it as much as he thinks, being a bit of a BWF hater. Different enough? Definitely.

Photo Stolen Flickr

Further reading: Now Smell This and Perfume Posse
IndieScents has $145/50ml
Surrender To Chance has samples from $3.45/.5ml

What is your Tauer favourite?
Portia xxx

Fabulous Department Store Pick Ups!

December 18, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 15 Comments

Post by Portia

AAAARRGGGHHHH! Are you still left with a HEAP of shopping to do? Running out of time & ideas? Want to get something with a WOW factor but just can’t cope with another screaming run around? I get it. Today I wandered around a suburban department store beauty section to see what was still available in regular stores that will give whoever you’re shopping for a thrill. Don’t be afraid, we’ve got your backs…

Fabulous Department Store Pick Ups!

Photo Stolen Bottega Veneta

Bottege Veneta Shower Gel 200ml: If you are anything like us then you can’t get enough of the original Bottega Veneta fragrance. Jin has already flown through a big bottle and a small one, he’s getting another for Christmas. The matching Shower Gel is AUD$60 at David Jones.

Photo Stolen CHANEL

CHANEL Le Vernis Nail Colour 18 Rouge Noir: Dark plummy, lavish and elegant. Who can resist the double Cs of CHANEL? Only AUD$39 at David Jones so it’s all the glamour and only a little of the price.

Photo Stolen CHANEL

CHANEL Hydra Beauty Nutrition Lip Care Balm: This is the gift that keeps giving. Every time the recipient pulls their CHANEL Lip Balm out in public they will feel like a superstar. The ultimate in nonchalant luxury, and then they can say it was a gift. Cool kid. AUD $54 at David Jones.

Photo Stolen David Jones

Crabtree & Evelyn West Indian Lime Shave Soap In Wooden Bowl: I love the lather and the ease of shaving when I use a brush. My skin feels more ready and is less prone to cuts and abrasions. Great gift for the clean, or partly, shaven AUD$34 at David Jones.

Photo Stolen DIOR

DIOR Addict Lipstick Gotha 967: Deepest darkest mulberry red, enticing enough to make a priest blush. Every time they reapply this you’ll be thanked quietly but fervently. Gotha 967 is AUD$52 at David Jones

Photo Stolen DIOR

DIOR Hydra Life Beauty Awakening Rehydrating Mask: 10 minutes to better hydrated skin! Who doesn’t need this gorgeous DIOR gem. This is a good one to gift the guys who care for themselves too. AUD$75 at David Jones.

Photo Stolen Guerlain

Guerlain La Laque 400 Coque d’Or: Shimmering gold for Christmas, Guerlain is for the discerning gift receiver. A little less well known and all the more luxurious because of it. AUD$30 at David Jones.

Photo Stolen Guerlain

Guerlain Cils dEnfer Maxi Lash Volume Creating Curl Sculpting Mascara Marine: A little hint of navy blue on the tips of your lashes will make your eyes pop whiter and brighter, giving the effect of larger more doe like peepers. AUD$48 at David Jones.

Photo Stolen David Jones

Tom Ford Conditioning Beard Oil Neroli Portifino: Bearded men are EVERYWHERE! It’s as if suddenly in 2005 the razor became anathema to the cool kids and by 2011 the whole world had caught up. Tom’s on the bandwagon and David Jones has 50ml/AUD$72

Photo Stolen David Jones

Yves Saint Laurent Kouros EdT 100ml: Kouros is still gorgeous. Not the urinous, screechy, sexual monster it was originally but now even more wearable and men still smell great in it. I love the new look packaging and it’s AUD$69 at David Jones.

All this from a quick zip around the beauty area in my local David Jones department store. No, not affiliated with David Jones but I wanted to show you that even if you’re running late, or out of money, that there are a few affordable luxury items left within reach.

What’s your last minute gift buying advice? What did I miss?
Portia xx

ck2 by Calvin Klein 2016: New Ad

December 18, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Post by Portia

Hey Gang,

New stuff from Calvin Klein is always enough to set my heart aflutter. Though I was never a big wearer of the Calvin Klein range I was surrounded by it and once I did discover them, either through memory or their general bonhomie, I really enjoy them. There are quite a few in the collection now. Some vintage, some new, all worn with enjoyment.

ck2 by Calvin Klein 2016

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Wasabi, mandarin, violet leaf
Heart: Wet cobblestones, concrete, pebbles, orris root, rose absolute
Base: Vetiver, sandalwood, incense

They are saying available 2016 but I think it might be already available some places. Cool bottle.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

ck2 by Calvin Klein 2016: New Ad

The ad is cool. MOST of Calvin Klein’s ads are cool, this one goes a step further. Even hinting at same sex couples. I love the gritty fun rawness it captures, like remembering a summer of love in the depths of winter.
Enjoy,
Portia xx

Lann-Aël by Amélie Bourgeois for Lostmarc’h 2007

December 17, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

Post by Portia

The Lostmarc’h thing passed me by. I remember there being a flurry of excitement at release but since then I haven’t really noticed much buzz. Someone sent me a handwritten sample of todays fragrance and I had to go do some digging once I sprayed. Having been released in 2007 and still around in the current niche market speaks volumes, also its price is unbelievably reasonable for niche. It was nearly impossible to get into the decant, which is why it’s taken so long to get to it but curiosity can overcome all barriers. I think I may be hooked….

Lann-Aël by Lostmarc’h 2007

Lann-Aël by Amélie Bourgeois

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Vanilla, hay, apple, wheat, milk

The Lann-Aël opening is slightly dry and a hint of apple but no big whack of it. Quite rightly, general consensus on the blogs is sweet breakfast cereal, think Fruit Loops or Crunchy Nut Cornflakes, sugary, a little nutty and with milk splashed over all liberally. It’s not the smell in the bowl though, no way, it’s the smell in your mouth as you start to chomp it all together.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

There’s something a little rice-ish about Lann-Aël, Jin’s rice has a very particular smell when he reheats it in the microwave and I am getting scent memory flashes. No wonder this is a hit. It’s summer here in Sydney, temperature is around 35C (95F) at 10am and the sweet warmth of Lann-Aël and its yummy vanilla dry down is working a treat. Not cloying or sickly but balmy and rich feeling.

The opening is the big ticket item in Lann-Aël, after that it smooths to a comfortable vanilla plus some light spices and resins, a sweet amber. It’s not bad or generic but it isn’t ground breaking either. I smell good for hours, 5-6 even in this heat.

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

From LuckyScent: Breakfast in fairyland: lighter-than-air buckwheat cakes; bowls of warm, pudding like cereal topped with cream ladled from the top of the milking bucket; sweet apples “borrowed” by the pixies from a nearby orchard. A delectable honeyed fruit opening eases into a soft and mellow vanilla-tinged milkiness that is as comforting as a mother’s embrace.

Further reading: Olfactoria’s Travels and Perfume Posse
LuckyScent has $85/100ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $3/ml

Do you ever feel the need to wear something fun, frivolous and foody? This could be it for you
Portia xx

Imagine The Possibilities: Barbie: 2015

December 13, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey Crew,

Barbie, and its creators Mattel, have often come under criticism for educating young women that the impossible figure is normal. It’s a serious charge and one that our Mum fought by buying us loads of different dolls including the prettier and less formidably and ferociously sexualised Cindy doll, as well as some cheapies that had very nice but homely faces and much more real bodies. We didn’t care, they were all fun and we found them all equally perfect to inhabit our worlds of make believe. We even had some boy dolls, although they didn’t get nearly as much playtime because their day was done in the games when they drove off to work and the ladies could start living their lives.

Imagine The Possibilities: Barbie: 2015

Photo Stolen Barbie.com

Today I found the new Barbie advertisement and my Mum would have been 100% behind this ad, though I can hear the cynic in her asking if the body had become more realistic and if the barbie had been given Doctor, Lawyer, Scientist, Astronaut, Park Ranger or Engineering outfits in 2015?

This is a small step but a significant one. I hope you enjoy the ad, it makes me want to buy a Barbie for every child I know. Again I hear my Mum saying that the marketing team has done their job well. Yes they have Mum, BRAVO.

Portia xxx

Imagine The Possibilities | Barbie

Apollo Hyacinth by Alberto Morillas for Eric Buterbaugh Florals 2015

December 12, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 15 Comments

Post by Portia

Hi there Fragrant Family,

There are some perfumers whose name will make me prick up my nose in anticipation. A name that I know, though usually cannot pinpoint what it is they did that I love. Alberto Morillas is one such, he has done some of my all time favourite fragrances and a slew of my mates signatures through the years. Let’s talk Byzance by Rochas, M7 by YSL, Mugler Cologne, Kenzo Flower, BVLGARI BLV Pour Homme, BVLGARI Man, Lanvin Oxygene and the original Salvador Dali. These are just my favourites from the plethora of major blockbusters and some very good, well created flops and some absolute shite that I wouldn’t clean my driveway with.

Apollo Hyacinth by Eric Buterbaugh Florals 2015

Apollo Hyacinth by Alberto Morillas

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Neroli, pear, galbanum
Heart: Hyacinth, lily of the valley, angelica
Base: Haitian vetiver, oakmoss, cedar

Apollo Hyacinth opens with unruffled calm. Natural fresh cut fruit sweet and the pear smells cool, ripe and juicy: there’s even a hint of the dry and tarter skin. Galbanum smooths the opening giving green resinous porcelain, breath steals in and suddenly the sweetness becomes a litle candied.

Our heart has arrived and it’s a bouquet, fresh, green and stark. An angular, other worldly bouquet that says broken twig, lichen, moss and the gel like sap of aloe vera. There is peace and calm in Apollo Hyacinth, a breath of fresh air and a humid hothouse in the cool of evening. The energy of healthy soil and growing plants. The angelica adds a wild waywardness that the other flowers never possess, it’s enchanting, riveting. Like hyacinth is all grown and ready to rock.

Lasting power is unbelievable, though after 4 hours you have to be close to notice. Next day, 20+ hours later I can still smell the tiniest trace of sweet oily green that is only smellable with my nose against my arm. If it was a sexual tryst though whoever my lucky partner was would be getting a waft from me that is freaking gorgeous, I’m me and I want to root me.

Apollo Hyacinth is 100% unisex, a beautiful, billowing cloud of fresh green and white flowers. I cannot think of a place where you would feel mismatched were you lucky enough to own this glamour frag. SERIOUSLY WANT!!

Further reading: Perfume Posse and Scented Hound
Eric Buterbaugh Florals has EdP $300/100ml
Surrender To Chance has samples from $5/.5ml

Aren’t the bottles stellar? How lavish. Do you want one yet?
Portia xx

Shalimar by Guerlain: Back To My Favourite

December 11, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 33 Comments

Post by Portia

Hiya Frag Fiends,

Shalimar has been my enduring fragrant love. Since it was the fragrance of my Mum for years and some of her friends continued to wear it right through our childhood. Then working a couple of summers at the fragrance counter in a suburban mall, Carlingford Grace Bros. and getting to know a slew of fragrances it still held sway as the most beautiful of them all. Even now after being down the fragrant worm hole for years I still come back to Shalimar regularly and every time I do I quietly ask myself why I ever needed to stray from its billowing extravagance.

Shalimar by Guerlain 1925: Back To My Favourite

Shalimar by Jacques Guerlain

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Citruses, mandarin orange, cedar, lemon, bergamot
Heart: Iris, rose, vetiver, jasmine, patchouli
Base: Civet, musk, tonka bean, opoponax, leather, incense, vanilla, sandalwood

All I knew of Shalimar through my childhood was that it smelled incredible: its sweet, lemon ice-creamy vanilla over a hefty dollop of animal warmth, woodsy incense and plush leathers was so alluring and engulfing.

Named for the Shalimar gardens of Lahore (and Kapurthala’s homage) but the back story is of the love of Shah Jahan for a princess from the Persian nobility who he fell in love with, married and made her his favourite queen, after she died giving birth to their 14th child he nearly bankrupted his kingdom building the Taj Mahal as her crypt. The second time I was at the Taj Mahal the whole experience was so overwhelming that I needed to sit on the steps leading into the park and have a little moment. Yes, I was wearing Shalimar.

Above is a picture of my Shalimar collection. Only the bottles of open boxes are shown, quite a few remain unopened because they are doubles, I have decants or they are discontinued and having/holding/looking at them is as good as smelling them. One of my parfums is not parfum at all (maybe EdC?) and another smells like it has been stretched with perfumers alcohol. The rosebud bottle is still sealed as are the 16oz watchface bottle and the little parfum on the navy box. The batwing bottle that is 1/3 full is my 4th bottle of EdT over the years, I really want to buy one of the newest but feel naughty as I have 2 backups bought at extremely reasonable prices when buying this one. What is interesting is that though the Shalimars are all different, they are so similar that if you’re wearing them for pleasure rather than parsing and blogging they are all pretty much one. No matter what era though the lemon ice-creamy fizz with the vanilla and an animal growl fits me like a glove. My number one.

Further reading: Erica Golding at APJ and Portia on EdC at APJ
FragranceNet has EdT $49/90ml before Coupon
Surrender To Chance has EdP samples from $3/ml

What is your number one?
Portia xx

When Adele was Jenny: Graham Norton Show

December 11, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 6 Comments

Post by Portia

OK APJ,

Things I love include people with everything who are prepared to have a laugh and who happily help to make others lives a little bit more magical. Adele is a superstar, from this piece I get that she is also a funster with a sense of humour. How she changes a bunch of impersonators lives and gives them a little tiny piece of magic that they can have forever is so lovely and endearing. The impersonators are all ….. well, watch this, enjoy it, it made me so happy for the women and for Adele. I hope we have her singing and being herself for a very long time.
Portia xxx

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

Adele at the BBC: When Adele wasn’t Adele… but was Jenny!