Portia

Tobacco Rose by Liz Moores for Papillon Artisan Perfumes 2014

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 15 Comments

Hi there Fumies,

Yes, I’ve read OODLES about the Tobacco Rose experience, and my mate Karen Gilbert had brought me a sample in 2014 while she was in Sydney. Yes I fell deeply and madly in love with it and I REALLY want a bottle. What I did instead was buy a decant from a split, it’s nearly empty and I think I’m going to need a LOT more Tobacco Rose….

Tobacco Rose by Papillon Artisan Perfumes 2014

Tobacco Rose by Liz Moores

Tobacco Rose Papillon Artisan Perfumes FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Bulgarian rose, rose de mai, oakmoss, ambergris, beeswax, Peru balsam

When I read the notes list I got in touch with Karen Gilbert to ask if they were all mad, she told me there was in fact NO tobacco in Tobacco Rose. Of course I didn’t believe her so I wrote to Liz Moores and asked her, she said I could quote her response so here it is in full:

Karen is such a star! You’re absolutely right, there’s no tobacco in tobacco rose. I used hay absolute, oakmoss, labdanum, patchouli and vetiver to give the impression of tobacco. Tobacco absolute is fabulous stuff but I found it stamped all over the rose. Hay is very tobacco-like but much softer and I liked the way it interacted with the Bulgarian rose and rose de Mai. Thank you so much for your kind wishes. It means a lot. xxxx Liz Moores

Can I just say that even if the fragrance smelled like shit from the nether hells I would still try my darndest to like it because that is the best answer ever. I’m severely crushing on Liz Moores for taking the time to write, and write so nicely and concisely and with heart. Fan made forever (Unless she does some freaking ghastly shit, obviously)

Tobacco Rose Liz-Moores PapillonPhoto Stolen Papillon

How does it smell? Like slightly jaded big fast roses that have been cut for the house and now they are overblown and losing their petals, I smell sweet jam and pooh, resins and above all the gloriously disarming fragrance if the Queen of flowers, the rose. So YUMMY! Tobacco Rose smells  like chintz look, do you remember those huge comfy chintz lounges through the 1980s in the cottage look houses. A few of my friends families had them and they always seemed so welcoming.

This is a fragrance with movement, story and flow. The honeyed sweetness with the labdanum smells animal to me and I get a whiff of pipe smoke too. I think the thing that you all get as hay doesn’t smell like that to me, if what I’m thinking is correct. It smells kind of boozy to me. Dunno, but Tobacco rose smells great right to the slightly bitter end.

Tobacco Rose Papillon just joey rose Geoff Penaluna FlickrPhoto Stolen Flickr

Further reading: Olfactoria’s Travels and I Scent You A Day
LuckyScent has $160/50ml
First In Fragrance has €135/50ml

Have you tried the Papillon fragrances yet? Is there a standout for you?
Portia xx

Peruvian Ambrette by Ermenegildo Zegna 2014

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 7 Comments

Hi there APJ,

Ermenegildo Zegna (pronounced Er-Men-Jill-Doe) makes great shoes. Comfort out of the ballpark and usually pretty fun to look at too. I have a pair that I really love. When I wear them it feels like, in the words of Mary Horowitz, “Because it makes my toes feel like 10 friends on a camping trip, that’s why” but I have hardly even dipped my toe in the Zegna fragrances.

It does seem that most mainstream brands are releasing a niche inspired highbrow line, inspired by the CHANEL & DIOR prive lines. I have fallen for, and own FB of, quite a few from these including Armani, VC&A, Donna Karan, Cartier etc. Zegna has had fragrance for years and his 1983 Zegna Pour Homme is still cited as a benchmark.

Peruvian Ambrette by Ermenegildo Zegna 2014

Ermenegildo Zegna Essenze Collection

Peruvian Ambrette Ermenegildo Zegna FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Ambrette (musk mallow), orris, cashmere woods, guaiac wood

Spicy iris? Is there such a thing? Ginger? Pepper? Woods and some vegetative, humus rich damp healthy soil. Maybe some melon and some wet cardboard? GOSH! I don’t know. Any or all of these

What I smell is the kind of masculine oriented scent that the suit boys love to wear in cooler months. I can almost smell them arriving fresh for work and smelling very crisp and manly, no nonsense woods for us please. We like to smell good but in a pack of forest/woodsy fragrances that are almost synonymous with upper middle management. This fragrance is like code for earning well, on the stepladder of corporate success.

Am I selling it short? I don’t know. Maybe I was over expecting but for $250 I would like to be wowed.

Peruvian Ambrette Ermenegildo Zegna Zegna Lars Plougmann FlickrPhoto Stolen Flickr

Don’t get me wrong, if you own or buy Peruvian Ambrette by Ermenegildo Zegna you will smell good. You will not be a standout fragrant showpony and maybe the culture you would like to be a part of will feel that you smell like you fit the bill. There is nothing shameful about wearing a uniform and if Ermenegildo Zegna was aiming for the handsome, gym before work, power lunches, expensive customised off the rack designer suit crew then bravo because this is how my nose tells me they smell.

Peruvian Ambrette Ermenegildo-Zegna-suit-tie PixGoodPhoto Stolen PixGood

Dry down is a woodsy leather scent still with a clean musk and the lasting power is excellent for a working day. As an aside, I think the bottles look nice and they fit beautifully with the man in suit’s minimalist apartment.

Peruvian Ambrette by Ermenegildo Zegna is available in Department Stores and Zegna boutiques (US$195:£140:AUS$250/125ml)
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $4.50/ml

Do you ever fall for the mainstream prive lines? Favourites?
Have you tried any of the Zegna’s?
Portia xx

Travel Scent Choices: Singapore + South Korea Spring 2015

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 26 Comments

Hey Y’All,

As you may know Jin is changing jobs so to celebrate this sudden rise in fortunes we are bringing our 2015 holiday forward from November to now, we leave on Wednesday. OH YES WE DO!

singapore trip AdvisorPhoto Stolen TripAdvisor

First stop is one of my long time buddies places in Singapore, hey Julie! I have never done a holiday in Singapore before; though my last partner Varun & I spent 36 hours in the airport because he didn’t have a visa while we were on our way to India. You would think we had a bad time, we did not. It was crazy fun, that Changi Airport is enormous.

korea cherry blossom TripAdvisorPhoto Stolen TripAdvisor

Then we go on to South Korea to visit Jin’s family. Cherry blossom time will just be finishing but I think they will still be slightly in flower. It’s Jin’s Dad’s birthday so we are taking them for their first holiday in years, two days on the west coast of South Korea. They think this is a ridiculous extravagance but Jin is hiring a car and we’ll drive 3 hours each way, fully across South Korea, and spend one night at a pension (not even a hotel because that would be too much). They are adamant that this kind of frivolity should be avoided and that we should be putting our money to better use. Fingers crossed they have a good time, Jin has really been working hard on TripAdvisor to get it just right for them.

Travel Scent Choices: Singapore + South Korea Spring 2015

So spring will be WARM in Singapore and mild in South Korea. I need a small range of fragrances to get me by till I can hit the stores and buy Misia by CHANEL. It’s the only fragrance on my To Buy List right now and I know they’ll have it in both Singapore and Seoul. So I’m thinking 5 frags, 2 bottles and three decants. It’s only 12 days.

Travel Scent Choices: Bottles

 

L'Heure Convoiteé II Cartier FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

L’Heure Convoiteé II Cartier: This arctic, powdery, furball of a carnation/iris is so fabulously elegant and lasts all day. I can spritz and go and know I’ll smell freaking killer until I shower. I also love that it has it’s own sturdy leather pouch which means I don’t have to worry about it in my checked luggage.

La Chasse aux Papillons L`Artisan Parfumeur FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

La Chasse aux Papillons L`Artisan Parfumeur: 7.5ml Rollerball (not pictured). Nick from Libertine Parfumerie gave me this one to test because they are brand new in 2015 and I thought what better place to try it than on holiday. Space will be tight, I need something small and easily accessible and the bottle feels surprisingly hefty. I also find that rolling La Chasse aux Papillons makes it last longer on my skin.

Travel Scent Choices: Decants

Chanel Misia Chanel FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Misia CHANEL: Yes, my decant is almost drained already. Makeup and leather together so beautifully, a delightfully powdery and lightly soapy wash of pure elegance. I can’t tell you what a zing this gives me whenever I spritz, it’s not just its own scent but the memories of all the other scents that it reminds me of through its life and you know what? I love it so much that I’m going to wear it on the plane.

Manto di Rugiada i Profumi di Firenze BaseNotesPhoto Stolen BaseNotes

Manto di Rugiada i Profumi di Firenze: I keep forgetting to wear this lovely green, resinous amber. It’s light enough for spring and will smell gorgeous on the cooler evenings. Softly nuanced and beautifully blended I always enjoy my ride. There’s a couple of ml left in my decant, I might as well use them up.

07 Vetiver Dance Tauer Perfumes FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

07 Vetiver Dance Tauer Perfumes: One of my mates Natalie from Another Perfume Blog (now defunct sadly) gave me a manufacturers sample of this one. I like vetiver very much and Vetiver dance has been sitting in my Must Try box for ages. I’m taking it with me so I can spend some time with one of the few Andy Tauer fragrances that I’ve not smelled.

What do you think of my choices? What would you pick if you had to take 5? It’s not forever, only a fortnight, so it’s not a really big decision. it is fun planning and choosing though.

Portia xx

Vintage Cabochard Parfum by Bernard Chant for Gres 1959

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 20 Comments

Hey Vintage Fumies,

Recently I was lucky enough to find a 2/3 full bottle of the vintage Cabochard parfum in its gorgeous black & white pedestal box. It wasn’t cheap but it wasn’t outrageously expensive either and I had long wanted to own a bottle for myself, having sampled earlier in my fragrant life.

Vintage Cabochard Parfum by Bernard Chant for Gres 1959

Cabochard Gres FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Aldehydes, spices, tarragon, fruity notes, sage, lemon, asafoetida
Heart: Orris, jasmine, geranium, rose, ylang ylang
Base: Tobacco, vetiver, oakmoss, coconut, musk, patchouli, amber, sandalwood, leather

Bernard Chant: Cabochard 1959, Aramis 1966, Aromatics Elixir 1971. A trilogy or family of fragrance. His three masterpieces, all similar but riffing different elements. If you want to know what a car looked like then, below is a 1959 Cadillac.

Cabochard Parfum gres 1959-Cadillac WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

Now my top notes are slightly rusty, not in a big way but they have changed from the sample I had worn. I will have to use this up in the next year or so and I don’t think that’s any great hardship. The fruity sparkle is herbaceous, aromatic and dense. Imagine being in the storeroom of an Indian bazaar, the spark and buzz of faulty electrics, fruit and veg in waxy cardboard boxes, sizzling spices, bitter herbs, and the scent of dozens of boxes of sandalwood soap. That’s as full on as you can imagine, heavy, hectic, psychedelic scent that manages to be all this and warm & classy too. That is quite a feat to keep something so big from flying out of control.

Cabochard Gres Mary_Tyler_Moore WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

The flowers are a bouquet and I can’t pick any of them out, not really pick them out though I get flashes of ideas of flowers. It doesn’t matter anyway because already the base notes are coming through: sandalwood, tobacco, patchouli, leather and oakmoss are the ones I can detect but what I really smell is Cabochard. It’s the base of Cabochard that IS Cabochard to me. A gravel voiced granny with a fabulous high end leather handbag, a cigarette, hair done and nails painted and attitude. She’s lived and loved her life, and is reveling in her twilight years. A little bit creakier but mind as sharp as a tack and still ready for fun, a drink and a laugh.

Cabochard Gres granny YourStyleJourneyPhoto Stolen YourStyleJourney

Further reading: Bois de Jasmin and Perfume Shrine
My bottle from Ebay
FragranceNet has modern EdP $28/100ml before Coupon
Surrender To Chance has Vintage Parfum $6/.25ml

Do you have a vintage you love? Something that has changed in its newest form or is it gone altogether?
Portia xx

Louis Vuitton: Singapore City Guide

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

Hello Intrepid APJ Travelers,

As you may know Jin has accepted a new job and we have bought a new abode. Very exciting times and because we are unsure of when we’ll next be able to travel (probably January 2016 UK & Europe) we have decided to bring our November family visit forward to NOW, leaving Wednesday. We’ll do a few days in Singapore, where neither of us have stayed other than the airport, with one of my longtime girlfriends Julie and then go on to South Korea to celebrate Jin’s father’s birthday. We are taking them away to the West side of South Korea for a couple of days, their first holiday in years.

singapore DesignerPoint PixabayPhoto Stolen Pixabay

So I thought it best to give you a glimpse of Singapore through the eyes of Louis Vuitton.
Do please enjoy,
Portia xx

Louis Vuitton Presents the Singapore City Guide

Montaigne by Richard Fraysse for Caron 2007

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

Hi there Frag Family,

Caron is a fragrance house that is very hit and miss for me. A bunch of my all time favourite fragrances are from them. With Bellodgia I have a horde of the parfum as well as an ample stash of the EdP. Infini, Parfun Sacre, Nocturnes, 119, Nuit de Noel, Tabac Blond and Royal Bain are all in my collection and that’s a LOT from one house. There are a bunch that don’t work though, and they REALLY don’t work, so it’s always nice to find a new one that does. My frag buddy Scott and I were shopping the importer sale the other day and we spied a Caron I’d not yet tried…..

Montaigne by Richard Fraysse for Caron 2007

Montaigne Caron FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Jasmine, coriander, bitter orange, mimosa, tangerine
Heart: Narcissus, black currant
Base: Sandalwood, amber, vanilla

So my batch code tells me my Montaigne is a 2007, so re-released with the reformulation and I think it did not do so well. It’s certainly not one of the Caron’s you read or hear much love for, Victoria at Bois de Jasmin delightfully scathing of the sandalwood accord and the frag in general. Her nose is 100 times better attuned to picking such things and I miss the screech completely. Maybe my bottle has had a lot longer to settle?

Opening spritz has me smelling this fabulous fruity hairspray and makeup scent, there’s something completely over the top and carnival about Mointaigne, it feels irrepressible to me. It’s so perfumey it’s almost a caricature of perfume. honestly the notes bear very little resemblance to what my nose and brain smell. I get a high octane, 100% synthetic, dance all night, laughing, singing along, party girl scent. If ever a scent swang from the chandelier then Montaigne is it.

montaigne-caron disco PixabayPhoto Stolen Pixabay

Part of me is just laughing inside at how much fun someone wearing Montaigne could have.

Basically Montaigne wears pretty linearly for me, hairspray, nailpolish, makeup mixed with fun fruity tingles and a very thin dry down with a little amber/woods but really it is just a soft wash of sweet woods with a shade of fruit. This wash wafts softly around me for a few hours, longevity is quite good.

Further reading: Perfume Posse and EauMG
Beauty Encounter has $45/50ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $4.50/ml

Do you have a Caron favourite? Tell me…. and why?
Portia xx

Costume National GIVEAWAY WINNERS

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

WOO HOO! Thanks for getting involved APJ, this is a particularly good giveaway. Thanks again to the whole crew at Libertine Parfumerie. You guys are amazing.

Portia xx

Costume National GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Costume National 10 ml Rollerballs

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week we will have 2 winners who will receive one of these sets:
1. 10ml Rollerballs of Cyber Garden and Pop Collection
2. 10ml Rollerballs of Scent Intense and Homme
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 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 (portia underscore turbo @ yahoo dot com dot au) so I know. Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged.

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please go to Libertine Parfumerie<<JUMP, find any Costume National fragrance and ONE of its notes…. NO DOUBLE UPS!

Extra Chance?
Tweet:  Costume National Rollerball  http://wp.me/p3PURw-3Mn  

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Thursday 9th April 2015 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org

winners-are prospectsplusPhoto stolen prospectsplus

Connie

Gregory Young

The winners will have till Monday 13th April 2015 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.

Patrick & Wayne: Magnolia Grandiflora

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 8 Comments

Hi there APJ,

I don’t have a perfume post for you tonight. Life has been very hectic around here and somehow there is no post for now. OOOOPS! Jin & I have been out to dinner with a couple of totally top blokes that I have been friends with for 20 years and some other long standing friends. Though Jin & I have been together for 3 years still they’d not met him. So to make it happen they organised a dinner party. Roast goats chees stuffed figs wrapped in prosciutto and drizzled with honey & balsamic vinegar. Slow cooked curried chicken breasts with cous cous and sugar snap peas with a spicy jus. Chocolate souffle with raspberries and clotted cream. Fabulous drinks served to suit each course and basically a heaven night out.

Patrick & Wayne: Magnolia Grandiflora

Through the whole dinner though I was mesmerised by the perfection and beauty of the centerpiece, a couple of dinner plate sized magnolias from the front garden. Their ginger, lemongrass, citrus, vanilla and sweat scent wafting over towards me and completelyt breaking my train of thought again and again throughout the evening.

I stole one and brought it home. Here it is in the kitchen.

Perfection.
Portia xx

Patrick & Wayne Magnolia 2015b

Patrick & Wayne Magnolia 2015a

NEW! Costume National 10 ml Rollerballs

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 29 Comments

Woo Hoo APJ Family,

I was at the Libertine Parfumerie New Season Launches last week. There is so much great new stuff out this time I got carried away. It was quite the Aussie beauty biz room, Sydney Morning Herald Lifestyle Liftout Beauty Editor, Vogue Living Beauty Editor, Beauty Directory Editor,  Elysée Collective PR Director, Libertine Parfumerie Director and me. I felt like I was swimming with the big boys and they were all really fun & sweet, it was a great hour with champagne, chi chi sparkle water and sweet nibbles.

Libertine New season April 2015 #3
Nick smart, as always, the host with the most took us through some great new things and new ways of packaging things. It seems the Rollerball is back in a big way, L’Artisan and Costume National especially. There were new Penhaligon’s, Dear Rose, Creed has a new LE golden bottle, Le galion, Cire Trudon and heaps of other stuff I can’t even remember.

Libertine New season April 2015 #1

So, long story short: Nick has given me some Costume National Rollerballs valued at $59 each to give away! I’ve made up 2 sets. Set 1. Homme by Dominique Ropion with Scent Intense by Laurent Bruyere and Set 2. Cyber Garden by Ennio Capasa + Antoine Lie with Pop Collection by Dominique Ropion. How freaking cool? So each pack is worth $118!

Go To It Crew!
Portia xx

Save From YouTube giveaway 4Photo Stolen YouTube

Costume National 10 ml Rollerballs

Costume National 10 ml Rollerballs GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 2 winners who will receive one of these sets:
1. 10ml Rollerballs of Cyber Garden and Pop Collection
2. 10ml Rollerballs of Scent Intense and Homme
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 (portia underscore turbo @ yahoo dot com dot au) so I know. Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged.

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please go to Libertine Parfumerie<<JUMP, find any Costume National fragrance and ONE of its notes…. NO DOUBLE UPS!

Extra Chance?
Tweet:  Costume National Rollerball  http://wp.me/p3PURw-3Mn  

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 9th April 2015 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Monday 13th April 2015 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.