Portia

L’Heure Bleue EdP by Raymond Guerlain 1912

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 21 Comments

Hey there Perfumed Peeps,

Tonight I’m giving my fresh bathed skin L’Heure Bleue,  the modern EdP from Madeleine’s reject pile. I am totally ignoring my many other new frags for Madeleine’s unloved babies, they are seeing more wear time than anything else right now, even though I’ve still not finished opening bottles from my various travels this year. I am officially a TRAGIC, GREEDY, FRAG HOARDER!!!

L’Heure Bleue EdP (2011) by Raymond Guerlain 1912

L'Heure Bleue Guerlain FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Lemon, neroli, aniseed, bergamot, coriander
Heart: Bulgarian rose, carnation, tuberose, violet, cloves, ylang, orchid, heliotrope, neroli
Base: Vanilla, Tonka bean, iris, musk, vetiver, sandalwood, benzoin

There has been much talk of reformulation, IFRA regs etc, especially around some of our long term favourite and historical hallmark perfumes. L’Heure Bleue is a case in point, especially because last year was its centenary and that century has seen so many changes in fashion, materials and consumers taste. My oldest L’Heure Bleue in the collection only goes back to the 1980s and is an EdT. What happens on my skin with the modern EdP?

There is no denying that even in the 30 years across my L’Heure Bleue collection that it is changed. The opening is still definitively Guerlain, all sugared citrus candy and adding in the very slight spicy/herbal tinge. In fact for me the openings are the most similar part of the fragrance life. I can’t parse all the flowers for you but the bouquet is still gorgeous and beyond. Lighter, floatier, fluffier: the powders are silken soft and they waft gently in spring breezes compared to the heft and depth of the vintage. More floral and its lasting power is considerable less. It still has something glorious and fun, like eating PEZ in a bakery’s back alley. MMMMMMM

PEZ WikiCommonsPhoto Stolen WikiCommons

It has had some of it’s animalics and dirty back end amputated and towards the very dry down end in about 5-6 hours, depending, I get a very clean laundry musk that first wear surprised the freakin’ shit out of me. It is nice but not something I expect from a Guerlain, maybe a Body Shop. Really, it’s not offensive, just unexpected.

Wearing the current L’Heure Bleue is fear free. I find it polite and wearable in most situations and it has moderate to low sillage now, with good wear life. I will be interested to see how it changes over the next 30 years. If I am extremely lucky.If L’Heure Bleue was released today as it is currently I think we would love it and it would probably come out in the Guerlain exclusives line, especially with DIOR’s Milly-la-Foret and CHANEL’s 28 La Pausa being popular powdery releases by the big guns.

Further reading: Bois de Jasmin and Olfactoria’s Travels
Fragrance Shop has $74/75ml EdP
Surrencer To Chance starts at $3/ml EdP

Have you smelled any of the L’Heure Bleue formulations or strengths? Which is your favourite?
Till tomorrow, waft fragrantly,
Portia xx

Black (Ananda) by Jean-Claude Astier for M. Micallef 2011

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 12 Comments

Hello APJ Family and Friends,

Recently they had a 20% off sale at Parfum1 and I had been lemming this bottle for a while, so I naughtily purchased. Some people call this Black and some Black Ananda, maybe because the original white bottle was called Ananda.

Black by M. Micallef 2011

Black M. Micallef FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Amalfi lemon, bitter orange, plum
Heart: Jasmine, tuberose, neroli, ylang ylang
Base: Musk, powder, benzoin, vanilla

Before I write about the fragrance I have to tell you the packaging is seriously gorgeous and the bottle feels like a million dollars when you pick it up. The Drag Queen in me adores the cognac rhinestones on the matte black porcelain bottle and the lid is a harem girls dream. Seriously. I know how shallow that is but couldn’t give a rats, this bottle is beautiful.

Black opens prettily perfumey, it is softer and less intrusive than I expected from its packaging, the plum taking dominance over the citrus. There is so much space between the notes, so sheer, a pastel scarf of finest gauzy silk Georgette. My skin gives an interesting brown sugar waft as the opening slides into the heart. Here we have white flowers being slightly indolic, a little bit retro, and the fragrance gets a touch more oomph but is still extremely ambient, a feeling of space and lightness, introverted fragrance that generates the kind of heft that you expect from body products. It’s close and personal. I can tell Black by M. Micallef has used some good product in the juice, the composition is seamless (so sheer it is hard to tell imperfections really) and clean. What I am most reminded of is a less milky Burberry Brit (towards the end of BBs life), it has a similar spare musky/vanillic/floral wash. For most perfumistas I think Black by M. Micallef will be a big fat yawn.

Black Micallef Calvin Klein mysuperficialendeavorsPhoto Stolen MySuperficialEndeavours

Maybe as a gateway frag from some of the extremely barely there white musks of Bodyshop etc this would seem a logical step, good for a grown up scent for young girls who have only had those before. Also if you want to feel laundry fresh all day but without being definitively laundry, but close.

Surprisingly for the lack of fragrance Black by M. Micallef lasts well, this is the PERFECT scent if you really want to have perfume but work in a frag phobic environment. Also good for people who don’t really like scent but wear it because ,”It’s the thing you do”. The bottle alone is worth having as a piece of art and looks killer in the bathroom, recently on Perfume of Life there was a conversation about growing up surrounded by people who had The One And Only Perfect Bottle of scent that was displayed on dressers or in bathrooms. If you are that kind of person then Black by M. Micallef could be the bottle for you.

Black Micallef Art Nouveau bottle mararie FlickrPhoto Stolen mararie on Flickr (not the Black bottle)

My question to M. Micallef is how can Black be packaged in this outrageous black, gold and cognac diamond bottle? There is a TOTAL disconnect between the enclosure and the juice. It’s like putting Gendarme into the bottle above when you would expect an Amouage/Lutens/Vermeire/Tauer, weird! It reminds me of the Coco Noir conundrum.

Further reading: I could only find sellers who have written about Black. Sandra on Olfactoria’s Travels does a beautiful job with the original Ananda though
Parfum1 has $115/30ml
Surrender To Chance starts at $7/ml

Are you a Micallef fan? Are there any in their range that you adore? Maybe you’ve tried black? What are your thoughts?

Have a lovely fragrant day,
Portia xx

Liza NUMÉRO August 2013

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

Liza | NUMÉRO | August 2013

I found these extraordinary images on Natascha’s Blog MiSSeychelles and loved them so much that I couldn’t help but share them. These are only a couple from the shoot and you can find many more at MiSSeychelles, do go check them out.

And please also enjoy these gorgeous photos dedicated to Liza Minnelli in her Oscar winning turn as Sally Bowles.

Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome!
Fremde, etranger, stranger.
Gluklich zu sehen, je suis enchante,
Happy to see you, bleibe, reste, stay.

liza-numc3a9ro-august-2013-1

liza-numc3a9ro-august-2013-7

liza-numc3a9ro-august-2013-14

liza-numc3a9ro-august-2013-3

liza-numc3a9ro-august-2013-9

Milano Caffe GIVEAWAY WINNER

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 7 Comments

Hey there all,

We have had a lovely response for the Milano Caffe Giveaway. Thank you all so much for getting involved, I hope you also took a moment to go and follow the La Via del Profumo crew on twitter. If not this is the handle: @LaViaDelProfumo

Milano Caffe GIVEAWAY WINNER

Milano Caffe FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

1 x 2ml Manufacturers Sample of Milano Caffe
1 x 2ml Manufacturers Sample of Palermo Don Corleone
1 x 2ml Manufacturers Sample of Venezia Giardini Segrett
P&H Anywhere in the world

These are remains after I have sampled them so not exactly 2ml (1.5-2ml)

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. Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged.

You had to go to La Via Del Profumo and find me ONE perfume and ONE of its ingredients. NO DOUBLE UPS!! EASY!

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday August 4 2013 10pm Australian EST.
Winner chosen by putting names on same sized papers, folded similarly, put on a tray and Jin picked a winner. He hardly even looked up from his iPad because he is choosing a hotel for a weekend in Melbourne. YAY!! I love Melbourne, can’t wait.

AND THE

Winner ganjerPhoto Stolen ganjer

NATALIE

CONGRATULATIONS!! You have till Thursday August 8 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.

Thanks everyone!!

Portia xx

Burberry Brit Parfum by Nathalie Cracia-Getto 2003

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 15 Comments

Hey there Stink Monkeys,

Recently they had a big sale at Parfum1 and I wanted to know what they had done to Burberry Brit that made them want to produce it as an extrait version. Even why they did it has me baffled, unless it was made purely to sell as a top of the range glam moment for men to buy their girlies when hunting for that elusive something that says “I know you, your taste and want the best for you.”

Burberry Brit Parfum 2003

Burberry Brit Parfum 99perfumePhoto Stolen 99Perfume

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Green lemon, pear, almond
Heart: White peony
Base: Vanilla, amber, mahogany, tonka bean

The Burberry box and the bottles shape, heft and colouring are all fabulous and fun, I enjoyed the process of opening up the package the first time and continue to do so every time I go back for a spritz.

So Burberry Brit Parfum opens in the extremely popular hefty sheer way that so many perfumes of the new millenium do, was Gucci Rush or Kenzo Flower among the first? It was a step from watery ozonic to floral but with a delicacy like a silk crêpe Georgette scarf that has been heavily printed, or do you remember those Versace silk shirts in the 1990s? You could see flesh and muscle through them but the patterns were bold and intricate. This family of fragrances is a soft shimmer of perfume but with fabulous sillage and projection. They are like a neon light, no heat but extra full on light.

 BurberryPhoto Stolen WearIt.com

The pear is the same fake pear that you would expect , sweet and fizzy, but the almond meal/milk scent grounds it beautifully. I am so embarrassed by how much I enjoy Burberry Brit Parfum. I can understand why it is so popular, well understand why the EdT and EdP have remained constant great sellers and why they decided to do a parfum. The peony has a overblown, blousy, 3 days in their water smell that is my favourite time of peonies, they are on the verge of fully opened and their promise is palpable still. Such a wonderful flower, does anyone grow them? Do you have hints? I’m not sure our winters are cold enough here in Sydney, Australia? The milky almond meal comes back in later and melds beautifully with the amber and vanilla before we hit deep dry down.

The dry down is pretty sweet vanillic woods, slightly generic. There’s a reason that it is so common, it’s pretty and wearable and doesn’t get cloying or annoying. That fades and your left with very slightly better smelling skin, nondescript but better.

Burberry Trench Platinum FlickrPhoto Stolen Platinum

I am getting between 3-4 hours fully fragrant and then a long time in dry down, even next morning there are traces.

Further reading: Now Smell This and Perfume.org(Ellen’s blog)
Parfum1 has $35/15ml
My Perfume Samples has a great Burberry Brit selection starting at $2/ml, sadly no parfum

Have you ever been happily surprised by a fragrance that you thought you’d dislike?
See you tomorrow,

Portia xx

Shanti Shanti by Miller et Bertaux 2008

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 17 Comments

Don’t forget to enter our La Via Del Profumo GIVEAWAY!!<<<<JUMP

Hello lovers of fine fragrance,

I think this little gem came in my box of goodies from Birgit or Sandra at Olfactoria’s Travels but I could be wrong, it may have been from Sheila at The Alembicated Genie or even as a Gift With Purchase. It is a manufacturers carded sample in a beautiful heavy, matte, white card with silver writing and inside was a 2ml dab vial that I immediately upon opening decanted into a spritzer to get the scent thatv you would get from the bottle.

Shanti Shanti by Miller et Bertaux 2008

Shanti Shanti Miller et Bertaux FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Bulgaria rose, iris, warm spices, cardamom, patchouli, sandalwood

LibertineParfumerie gives this list:
Top: Rose (Bulgarian or Damascene)
Heart: Iris, rose (Baie)
Base: Cardamom, patchouli, sandalwood (Indian)

Rose, ROSE, a big, wet, musky, sweet, spicy rose with tea facets and a little leaf and twig. Clean and fresh, no hint of manure or humus, like sitting in the middle of a field of roses very early in the morning and it’s cold, as the sun comes up it warms the flowers and the dew and fragrance flies, on an icy but stunningly fragrant breeze. Thank goodness for the thermos of tea because otherwise you’d be freezing. Adult rose, manly rose, green, crisp and alive are all things I’ve jotted while sniffing. It’s a wonderful opening.

Shanti Shanti Rose Fields Woodborough WikiMediaPhoto Stolen WikiMedia

As Shanti Shanti settles the rose stays and is joined by cool, rooty, powdery iris but it feels very musk also, maybe the thing that my nose/brain thinks is musk is another ingredient. At two hours wear time and though the fragrance has softened appreciable it still is a very fresh green rose, I can just detect some sandalwood/patchouli/cardamom but it’s a green, milky softness rather than each note separately. Shanti Shanti has work quite linear really, not much story, but not boring either. That they have kept it so defiantly green is beautiful, I bet this would be a fabulous Summer scent.

Why is it called Shanti Shanti? Shanti (from Sanskrit शान्तिः śāntiḥ) means peace, rest. Yes, this is extremely peaceful and restful, the final dry down has a musk and herbal tinge over the rose that could with your eyes squinted and a bit of imagination be a referral to India, but only the travel brochure pictures of India not physically being there.

Shanti Shanti Bulgaria Rose Bulgaria-TripsPhoto Stolen Bulgaria-Trips

Shanti Shanti has opening heft, I am decidedly fragrant but it would take mega spritzes to get skunkish. After an hour it calms to a light, but not too light, fresh fragrance that is green and clean without being generic or laundry. Like a breath of fresh air all day, well for around 5-6 hours.

Further reading: PerfumeNW and Perfume Posse: both these reviews are smaller bites in a post but I couldn’t find others on the first 3 pages of Google. Sorry. They’re both worth a read though because they catch stuff I miss.LibertineParfumerie has $195/100ml including FREE Australian Shipping
First In Fragrance has €94/100ml and does samples €4

Shanti Shanti Red Gown Alianna Logan FlickrPhoto Stolen Alianna Logan Flickr

See how this girl is both elegant, dressed up, lovingly thought out but then her hair is artfully disarrayed, that’s how Shanti Shanti feels. Perfect but comfortably so. Miller et Bertaux is a line that I keep coming across and I think I like them very much. Spiritus/Land #2, A Quiet Morning and now Shanti Shanti have all been winners for Jin & I.

Have you tried any of the Miller et Bertaux fragrances? If so, what did you think? If not, are they now on your radar?
See you tomorrow,
Portia xx

Milano Caffe by AbdesSalaam Attar for La Via del Profumo 2013

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 65 Comments

Heya Frag Hags,

Recently there has been a flurry of excitement because La Via del Profumo, the natural perfume house from Italy, run by a French ex-pat who dresses like a fairytale Arabian desert bedouin (plural of badawī بَدَوِي,) is releasing a series of fragrances in honour of his adopted country Italy. The first of these arrived today with samples of two others for me to try. VERY EXCITED!!

Milano Caffe by La Via del Profumo 2013

Milano Caffe FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Coffee, cappuccino, chocolate, iris, woody notes, spicy notes, opoponax, tonka bean, amber

Milano Caffe, the name alone is fabulous. I have a 15.5ml spray bottle and love its aesthetic. Chunky square glass with a smaller version repeated in the lid in plastic, its simplicity is exotic, feels expensive and is so perfectly simple. I have only had Milano Caffe 3 days and have worn it all three mornings, just for myself, completely selfishly and have enjoyed it immensely.

A warning: Give Milano Caffe a minute to soften off before you put nose to wrist, or in my case down your top, it will burn you out very quickly and some of the enjoyable development will be lost for you.

Milano Caffe Bar Brera Özge Okcuer FlickrPhoto Stolen Özge Okcuer Flickr

OK second go. First spritz gives me a blast of woodsy, resinous amber that could be the creating of coffee at the barista bar, that blast of hot water meeting ground beans, the milk being heated and the street smells of cars, pets and humanity all encompassed in that five minute rush of excitement. It is big and loud and in your face, just like a busy Summer streetside coffee house (though I’ve only done Florence, Rome and Venice, assuming similarities) in the middle of the tourist section.

Milano Caffe Corso Vittorio Emanuele 1890s WikiMediaPhoto Stolen WikiMedia

Interestingly here I get the amber and other resins through the heart of the fragrance with some totally gorgeous smoke, still with a coffee teinté over the top. The whole fragrance then softens off and becomes a sweet/woodsy very sensual wash before drying off to cool, earth and woods, then just wood, dry wood alone and then gone. Around 4-6 hours before I lose the scent completely depending on the day, it may still be hovering over my skin but I can’t smell it. That’s pretty good longevity for a natural.

Further reading: Perfume Shrine and Now Smell This
La Via del Profumo has €12,40/5.5ml (Splash), €33/15.5ml (Spray), €71,40/33ml (Spray), €98/50ml (Spray)

Giveaway Kesha&CoPhoto Stolen Kesha&Co

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

1 x 2ml Manufacturers Sample of Milano Caffe
1 x 2ml Manufacturers Sample of Palermo Don Corleone
1 x 2ml Manufacturers Sample of Venezia Giardini Segrett
P&H Anywhere in the world

These are remains after I have sampled them so not exactly 2ml (1.5-2ml)

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. Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged.

Go to La Via Del Profumo and find me ONE perfume and ONE of its ingredients. NO DOUBLE UPS!! EASY!

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie La Via del Profumi ITALIAN SERIES GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p2fQBU-1QK @LaViaDelProfumo #Giveaway

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday August 4 2013 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by putting names on same sized papers, folded similarly, put on a tray and Jin will pick a winner.
The winners will have till Thursday August 8 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.

Good Luck Everyone!
Go To It.
Portia xx

THE HORSE WHISPERER (A tale)

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 16 Comments

THE HORSE WHISPERER

Winter horses MorgueFile

A guy calls his buddy, the horse rancher, and says he’s sending a friend over to look at a horse.

His buddy asks, ‘How will I recognize him?’

‘That’s easy; he’s a dwarf with a speech impediment.’

So, the dwarf shows up, and the guy asks him if he’s looking for a male or female horse.

‘A female horth.’

So he shows him a prized filly.

‘Nith lookin horth. Can you lifff me up tho I can thee her eyeth?’

So the guy picks up the dwarf and he gives the horse’s eyes the once over.

‘Nith eyeth, lifff me again tho I can thee her earzth?’

So he picks the little fella up again, and shows him the horse’s ears.

‘Nith earzth, liff me so I can thee inthide her mouf?’

The rancher is getting pretty ticked off by this point, but he picks him up again and shows him the horse’s mouth.

‘Mmmmmm, nice mouf and teefff, can I see her twat?’

Totally mad at this point, the rancher grabs him under his arms and rams the dwarf’s head up the horse’s fanny, pulls him out and slams him on the ground.

The midget gets up, sputtering and coughing.

‘Perhapth I should rephrase that. Can I thee her wun awound a widdlebit?’

.

Hope that gave you a good laugh. I laughed very loudly, excellent joke.
Portia xx

Photo Stolen MorgueFile

Louis Vuitton: “Up On High Heels” Mini movie

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 6 Comments

Hello Hot Steppers,

I don’t know about you but shoes are something I adore. I have a 10 pair of male and 10 pair of female shoes rule because my collection was excessive and I had to downsize it, do you see a theme running through my life? Anyway, now it’s one in and one out, unless I have a breakage or disaster. So this fun mini movie with shoes, design, art and dance was right up my alley.

So I hope this entertains you while we wait and wait and wait for the Louis Vuitton fragrance…………. STILL WAITING…………

louis-vuitton-fall shoes-2013-stylefrizzPhoto Stolen StyleFrizz

LV Spiel: Louis Vuitton invites you to dance and take a leap in time, moving from more recent collections of shoes to past designs that have marked the House’s fashion history. See the story at http://vuitton.lv/Kn9Xiz

Enjoy,
Portia xxx

Louis Vuitton presents Up High On Heels

Powder Flowers by Montale

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 14 Comments

Hey there FUMIES,

A few months ago I grabbed a bunch of the Montale fragrance samples, I tried a few of them but didn’t get to the rest, here’s one that I should have tried immediately. There are a few of the Montales that don’t seem to have come from the house, Sandflowers is one and this is another….

Powder Flowers by Montale

Powder Flowers Montale fragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Rose, jasmine, osmanthus, cedar, tonka bean

Clear, sheer and fresh are three words I would never have linked in my mind to Montale who usually go for heavy hitters. Powder Flowers is so far from my knowledge of the brand that I had to check I hadn’t mislabeled the spritzer. Even Sandflowers is more Montale-isah than this. Lovely, pretty and dainty are not words I had previously used either but all of these adjectives are absolutely accurate when talking about my skins reaction to Powder Flowers. If you have a celebuscent crazed teen or a fruitchouli addicted friend then this could be the first step in their rehabilitation. While giving the sheer, barely there feel of many of the current offerings there is a story, a level of interest and change, and it is fragrant. The sillage is excellent, changing the air as you walk past and making it interesting, drawing your nose after it, it sits close though and after leaving my office to make coffee and returning there is no appreciable remains of it.

Powder flowers PowderTower WikiCommonsPowder Tower, Prague Photo Stolen WikiCommons

Like many of the Montale fragrances though the parts are so reduced from naturals that they are barely recognisable, there is something in jasmine that reads salty to my nose and I’m wondering if it was in the sunscreen that I grew up with here in Australia and that the memory of the beach is forever locked in stasis with it, I also notice it in other scents featuring this super clean jasmine. Rose passes me by completely in Powder Flowers and though I have often liked osmanthus fragrances it doesn’t seem present because I get no fruity/lactonic emphasis, the cedar and tonka are there all through but it takes a while to notice them.

Powder Flowers Osmanthus Tanaka Juuyoh FlickrPhoto Stolen Tanaka Juuyoh Flickr

It’s called Powder Flowers, it is not a typical powder but an abstract, “If I was the Queen of all powders this is how I’d smell.” I don’t think the notes list tells us much here, could we be missing musk, iris, heliotrope and others? Having now drained my second sample of Powder Flowers I am thinking a large decant to see if I go through it as quickly. The only reason I haven’t bought a bottle already is that I can’t believe that I am so in love with a fragrance so definitively UN-me.

Powder flowers Powder DuboseLawFirmPhoto Stolen DuboseLawFirm

Further reading: Scent For Thought and I could find anything else specific
Parfums Raffy have $105/50ml
Neroli Budapest has €56/50ml
Surrender To Chance starts at $4/ml

You may wonder why the Prague Powder Tower pic is above, well, Jin and I were in Prague earlier in the year and we kept walking around and through this gate so when I saw it while looking for Powder Pix I instantly wanted to share this reminiscence.

Have you tried this far from usual Montale?
See you tomorrow,
Portia xx