Portia

Duel by Camille Goutal + Isabelle Doyen for Annick Goutal 2003

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 18 Comments

Hey there Fellow Fumies,

As you may know I love the Annick Goutal house of fragrance. We have covered the Annick Goutal Story, Perfume Reviews #1, Perfume Reviews #2, Perfume Reviews #3, Songes, and Grand Amour already on APJ, so you can see I’m a bit of a fan. And we still haven’t covered all the bottles in my collection yet. Terrifying, isn’t it? This bottle is a mini 15ml that I’m not quite sure where I came across it, I have decanted and spritzed for the purposes of todays review because I find it has better longevity than when I dab.

Duel by Annick Goutal 2003

Duel Annick Goutal FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Holly, petitgrain
Heart: Orris root, artemisia
Base: Guaiac wood, leather, musk

I’m going to start my story with another perfumer from another country. While in LA earlier this year Tom from Perfume Posse and Perfume Smellin’ Things were invited to see Roxanna Illuminated Perfumes at her magical home in the hills near Malibu. There, her husband Greg made us Green Maté which Tom and I looked at firstly with revolt and then gulped down like it was a milkshake, Tom even finishing the jug off. I have had random yearnings for the taste ever since. So when Annick Goutal writes on her page that Duel has Green Maté I now know what to expect.

The opening is green and striking and interesting, neither of the notes lists I have give any indication of how this lovely, sensual, slinky green sequined sheath of a fragrance smells. Both sharp and breathy, delicate and deep Duel does not make me think masculine at all, rustic, alluring, sparkling and earthy all come to mind but not masculine, though it will be a fabulous scent on a guy I think it equally beautiful for the girls. Oh and if you were wondering there is a real green mate feeling, green and milky but not sappy, full cream milk-ish and though Duel is all green it’s also sweet.

Duel Annick Goutal Mate CafeVirtuosoPhoto Stolen CafeVirtuoso

Further along the woods take over with a backdrop of breath, green and leather. I am surprised that this is not more spoken of in the community because it is beautiful, I feel quite beautiful when I’m wearing it and sexy, dead sexy. If you told me there was fig here I would believe you. Though there is no fruit anywhere on the list I do get something fruity, delicious but not sweet like the current5 rash of bright, sweet, juicy frags this is a deep fruity humm below the main story.

More people should wear Duel. I am going to wear it much more often.

From Annick Goutal site: Always once step ahead, never follower, nor a conformist, Annick Goutal Parfums present Duel, the fragrance for men who live life boldly and with daring. Duel speaks of love, as it is the way of Annick Goutal.
Duel, the triumph of beauty, high expectations, sensuality.
Duel, for the new romantics.
Green Maté absolute, Paraguay petitgrain, iris root, absinth, gaiac wood, leather, musk

Duel Annich Goutal Plush Sweet Green RotoFugiPhoto Stolen RotoFugi

Further reading: Olfactoria’s Travels and Perfume Posse
Beauty Encounter currently has $55/100ml which is less than half price!
Surrender To Chance starts at $3/ml

Which of the Annick Goutal’s, if any, have you tried? Do you like the house? Have you had a hit of Duel?
Hopefully we’ll see you tomorrow for more fragrance fun,
Portia xx
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Les Nombre’s D’Or: Vanille by Mona Di Orio 2011

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 28 Comments

Hey there Niche Nerds,

Les Nombres d`Or: Vanille by Mona di Orio 2011

Les Nombres d`Or Vanille Mona di Orio FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Petitgrain, clove, rum, bitter orange
Heart: Vetiver, sandalwood, guaiac wood, ylang-ylang
Base: Amber, tonka bean, vanille, tolu balsam, leather, musk

The box and bottle are the first things you notice about Vanille. They are both so beautiful, sturdy, hefty and both also have a feeling that the creator is fueled by an ascetic of simple, elegant, design and longevity, this lovely glass brick and lid is completed by the useless but interesting, and intrinsic to its look of utter completeness, wire cage and ring pull. I find myself reaching for the joy of the box and bottle as much as I do for the juice inside, which is no less lovely, complete, designed and created.

Vanille Mona Di OrioPhoto Stolen Mona di Orio

Before doing this review I had not looked at a note list except in passing in preparation for my purchase after going through a decant at light speed. When I saw a nearly full bottle being sold very reasonably on facebook I jumped on it. Since its arrival it has had the second most skin time of any fragrance in my wardrobe and I reach for it even more often without spritzing, just to enjoy its whole beauty. So it was quite a surprise to come back now and find that loads of people are talking about the amazing top note of bitter orange, which I now completely get. Ha ha ha the joke is on me, I had NO IDEA. My nose gave me only the spicy, fizzy, citrus like clove and some booze on a sweet vanilla and amber. I knew there was much more and the smokiness, earth and woods were more like the dying embers of a BarBQ for me than specifics. I felt the darkness, soared with the sensual ylang and dug down into the grounding vetiver without knowing what or why, Vanille is beyond lovely. It’s interesting, full of twists and turns that unexpectedly jump somewhere new but through it all I find it wearable, unchallenging, accessible and comfortable.

Vanille by Mona Di Orio HappyHome TheCoastPhoto Stolen TheCoastNZ

Surprisingly Vanille is becoming my comfortable jeans and favourite hoody. I have sometimes said a fragrance feels like a hug, this is a bear hug under a blanket with the one you love on a rainy day where you have cancelled all plans and have oodles of yummy leftovers and an endless supply of delicious teas, coffee and hot chocolate, and LOADS of Ferrero Rocher. I can wear it to slum, dine, relax, go out and stay home sniffing the story. I urge you to try Vanille and then come tell me if you enjoyed it. It’s pretty enough to gift a non perfumista and intriguing enough to keep a hard core perfumista entertained for hours.

EXTRA: I did a side by side throw down of Vanille MdO and Vanille Absolument L’Artisan the other day. The MdO is more interesting and has a better journey but the L’Artisan is warm amber, vanilla and booze all the way through, it’s richer, grander and sticks like glue in a very linear progression. Of the two I still find MdO a more relaxed and comfortable fit but L’Artisan has done an excellent job if you are thinking about grabbing it before it disappears forever.

Vanille by Mona di Orio The Picnic Manet WikiMediaPhoto Stolen WikiMedia

Further reading: Olfactoria’s Travels takes us beautifully through the scent and Scents Of Self talks of Mona di Orio.
Parfum1 has $230/100ml (and I tell you to join their mailing list for the 20% Discount coupons that come every so often)
Surrender To Chance starts at $7/ml

Have you tried the Mona di Orio scents? Which did you like? Do you have a favourite vanilla other than this? I love them and want to know more.

See you tomorrow,
Portia xx

Cafe V by Ellen Covey for Olympic Orchids 2013

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 26 Comments

Wooo Hooo Fellow Fumies,

Don’t forget to enter our Anya’s Garden Giveaway <<<<<JUMP

Two lovely, new and unusual fragrances arrived and have been sitting  on my desk waiting for me to do their review since before I went to LA. Finally I have picked up the box and am getting some skin time with one of my favourite niche brands, Olympic Orchids. There’s a special 3rd BIRTHDAY Discount Code at the bottom of the page, a discount on Olympic Orchids already extremely reasonable prices. YAY!! Today you get to meet…..

CAFÉ V by Olympic Orchids 2013

Cafe V Olympic Orchids GreatCafesPhoto Stolen GreatCafes

From Ellen Covey at Olympic Orchids: Café V is … inspired by one of Seattle’s many cozy neighborhood cafes….. It’s not quite gourmand, and not quite a fragrance of place, but something in between with notes of espresso-roast coffee, dark cacao, vanilla, cream, spicy chai bursting with cardamom, leather, and well-worn wood, and just a little skank from all of the rain-drenched actors who have over the years congregated in this little café in Seattle’s Capitol Hill.

Cafe V Olympic OrchidsPhoto Stolen Olympic Orchids

Top: Cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg
Heart: Spices, dark roast coffee, cacao, cream, sarsaparilla, leather, Madagascar vanilla tincture
Base: Myrrh, cedar, vanilla, dark woods, musk

I love the strong opening like coffee beans being ground with spices and then as the coffee is made the smooth rich black liquid streaming into espresso cups, adding a spoon of demera sugar and cream. This is not just about coffee though, this story and fragrance really is about a cafe. The leather banquets and beeswaxed old, unmatching wood tables, some newspapers, magazines and books on a shelf mouldering and gathering in all the great smells of humanity, then breathing out their vanilla scented decay. There are old forgotten and fresh wet umbrellas by the door, bread and cakes on the bench under glass domes. There is a porch where five tables are set for smokers and you can smell their delicious smoke inside in gusts, or is it the remains of the open fireplace, it could be smoke from the kitchen? All around the drama of life plays out daily, celebrations, disasters, first dates, divorce proceedings, babies in prams, authors, neatly put together ladies in cashmere and camel coats, journalists, the council workers, businesswomen, teenagers, actors and harassed 40 somethings taking a well earned break. The smell of new and old handbags, leather jackets hung behind chairs, shoes, feet and fragrance. Ellen has hit the nail on the head with her CAFE V, it’s exactly what I hoped it would be but even better.

The dry down on my ski is charred wood, amber, sweat and leather. Totally sexy and very old school.  Sexy enough to wake the sleeping in our house certainly, he he he.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAPhoto Stolen McGill

Further reading: Ca Fleure Bon

Available from http://orchidscents.com

Bottles/Retail price:
5 ml parfum spray ($15.00)
15 ml parfum in screw-top bottle ($25.00)
30 ml EdP spray ($40.00)

OLYMPIC ORCHIDS 3rd BIRTHDAY!!

Birthday Cake weddingnotPhoto Stolen weddingnot

THIRD ANNIVERSARY IN JULY!
It’s hard to believe that our third anniversary is coming up this year! Everything still seems so new and such a work in progress that I don’t feel like any time has passed since I first set up my website. On the other hand, we now have a regular line of about 20 fragrances as well as quite a few special editions, and wonderful customers all over the world. We’ve won awards, and received loads of recognition. I would like to send out a huge thank you to everyone who has sampled and purchased Olympic Orchids perfumes over the past three years, and to those who have reviewed and written about them in so many different venues. I appreciate it all!

THIRD ANNIVERSARY DISCOUNT CODES
To celebrate our success over the past three years, I’ll be offering a 10% discount on any order of $10 or more placed between July 1 and July 7, 2013. Enter the code THREE at checkout to receive your discount.

DISCOUNT EXTENDED TO JULY 15 2013

Ellen

There you have it, Cafe V, and it is a doozy. I will be talking about the other new release very soon.
See you tomorrow,

Portia xx

Olfaction and Personality Survey

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 12 Comments

Hey There Fragrant Peoples,

Today I have something quite interesting that you may like to do. My mate Matthew is a student and he is studying Olfaction and Personality as an Honours Student and he is doing a survey to help with his Thesis. You can do the survey by clicking on the link.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/personalityandexpertise

The study takes approximately 15 minutes to complete, can be accessed from any computer using any browser, doesn’t require a download and can be accessed through some smartphones and tablets (it’s trial and error – the website says yes to iPhones, iPads etc but maybe not to some Android phones).

survey UPennPhoto stolen UPenn

Here is Matthew’s standard letter (slightly edited):

*****************************************************************************************************************
My name is Matthew Lukjanenko and I am a Psychology Honours student under the supervision of Dr Mem Mahmut at Macquarie University in Sydney (mem.mahmut@mq.edu.au) completing my thesis this year on olfaction and personality. I am interested in whether people who have a keen sense of smell, by profession or through interest, have differing scores of certain personality traits when compared with the general public. This is an online study and can be completed anonymously. The study should take no longer than 10-15 minutes and will involve completing online questionnaires. If you complete the study you can elect to enter into a draw to win one of three $20 iTunes cards which will be drawn in late October 2013.
Below is the link to the study

.

.

Please feel free to share the link with your colleagues or anyone you might think suitable to participate.

Thank you for your time.

***************************************************************************************************************

The study will provide useful information regarding the differences in how thoughts and emotions are processed and expressed between those with a keen interest in fragrances and those without.
I am hoping to recruit as many people as possible, there are no exemptions.
If people choose to participate, they will need to do so by Monday 22 July 2013.
I appreciate your help.
Matt 🙂
Survey AlpICTPhoto Stolen AlpICT

I appreciate your help too. This is one of the things EvieC and I hoped to do with AustralianPerfumeJunkies, grow perfume knowledge and awareness. Here is the link again,

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/personalityandexpertise

We have an interview with Matthew later today where Jordan River asks a lot of the questions you may have.

Go to it,
Portia xx

Anya’s Garden Perfumes Miami

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 75 Comments

Hello Niche Nerds,

Today I bring you a perfumer who is doing some beautiful work, Anya McCoy: perfumer for Anya’s Garden, President of the Natural Perfumers Guild and Founder & Head Instructor of the Natural Perfumery Institute.. This is small batch, niche, natural perfumery from Miami, Florida, USA that has been produced by Anya since 1991. The beautiful Anya sent these samples for me to try and so I’m going to spend a couple of days with them and do a review on my 3 favourites.

Anya's Garden FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

The instruction card that comes with them tells you to sniff from lightest to heaviest so you don’t over or under whelm your nose at any point, clever. Even the packaging is beautifully thought out and presented, it all bodes very well.

Temple Anya's Garden VK.comPhoto Stolen VK.com

Light 2010: Crisp, bright, sharp and sexy are the four words that keep springing into my mind here. we have a very citrus fragrance with deep green facets, floral wafts and an animalic backbeat. This is like a 1950s men’s fragrance, before they took all the good stuff out. Slightly outrageous and narcotic, this is exactly how I want to smell. Light must mean physical light rather that lack of heft because this fragrance has a wonderful sillage making my room smell fresh and friendly when I return to it. Being all natural I’m surprised at how long the citrus lasts on my skin, also the incense is cool and rich and hums along nicely, weaving in and around, reminding me it’s there at intervals. I would LOVE to smell this on someone else but I’ve used up my whole sample over the last two days and will have to wait for a bottle to arrive.

LightA truly modern take on a classic cologne-style, blended as a pure perfume. Israeli yellow grapefruit, cedrat (citron) from Sicily, aglaia flower, genet, frankincense.

Modern Citrus Cologne

cedrat Sicily
yellow grapefruit Israel
juniper berry Bulgaria
neroli Tunisia
genet France
aglaia China
aglaia tincture Anya’s Garden
ambergris Ocean
frankincense Oman
frankincense resin Somalia

Temple Anya's Garden HDWallpapers4DesktopPhoto Stolen HDWallpapers4Desktop

Amberess 2010: At once haunting and riveting Ambress opens sweet, spicy, resinous and a little sweaty. Gorgeous in a way only natural perfumerie can be. Layered, hefty, intricate and deep yet has a sheer floating beauty that slowly unfolds and becomes an ethereal veil that highlights the beauty of my own human smell. Yes i smell rose and spicy/minty geranium, the warm resins, soft and regal sandalwood melting deliciously into vanilla but Amberess is more than all these notes. Amberess is a journey, there is no smoky darkness here it is all smooth glamour and light. Way too over the top for most workplaces before the hour and half mark it is a siren song of entrapment. Lasting power is moderate and sillage excellent.

AmberessRare musk rose from Africa opens this soft, lush amber perfume. Ten carefully-blended base notes provide a gorgeous amber base that melts into your skin.
Floral Amber

musk rose absolute and otto Zambia
rose geranium sur fleurs South Africa
ylang ylang extra Madagascar
balsam of peru El Salvador
 styrax Honduras
labdanum Spain
tolu balsam Brazil
amber fossil Himalayas
tonka bean Venezuela
sandalwood Sri Lanka
benzoin siam Laos
vanilla Madagascar

Temple Anya's Garden Lotus Temple RealWowzPhoto Stolen RealWowz

Temple 2007: Interestingly with Temple my skin skips the oranges almost completely and goes straight to spicy, herby, sizzling BarBQ goodness. The juice is there but it’s not top of nose, I get the warmth, animalics and smoke of ambergris, ambrette, civet, castoreum and oudh. I get a waft of coffee, cool grounds after they’ve been used, slightly bitter and wet. The spices are rich and dry like being in the spice marketplace in Fiji or Vietnam and what feels, or smells, like an incense. This fragrance is killer! I want to start all over again. Temple is beautiful but I think it may need some warmth to really blossom. Currently I’m in Sydney winter and its lovely and lively but I think I’m missing something. Sillage is good and the scent bubble is not too big, but noticeable across a cafe table. The story as it dries to a smoky, soft, warmth is cuddly like polar fleece but stylish like leather.

TempleOrange juice surprises you, spices warm you and exotic Oud soothes you

Modern Oud Spicey

orange juice Brazil
ginger Indonesia
cardamom Indonesia
aglaia flower China, Anya’s Garden
coffee Brazil
civet Ethiopia
temple spice blend Anya’s Garden
benzoin siam Thailand
oud Laos
castoreum Canada
mitti – India, Anya’s Garden
ambrette India, Anya’s Garden
ambergris Ocean

4th of july gif photo: 4th Of July GIF_7.gif

Anya’s Garden GIVEAWAY!

giveaway kbairdPhoto Stolen kbaird

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

There are 3 prizes this week in our special 4th of July GIVEAWAY. Each winner will receive:

3 x .5ml Anya’s Garden samples (missing what I used to review and no you don’t get to choose)
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. Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged.

Go to Anya’s Garden website and get an ingredient from one of her perfumes not mentioned in this post, and the perfume it came from. NO DOUBLE UPS!!

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie @AnyasGarden PERFUME SAMPLES GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p2fQBU-1Fm #Perfume #Giveaway

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 7th July 2013 11pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post Monday 8th.
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 Sunday 14th June 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,

Portia xx

APJ Day Out #1: Hermes, Robert Piguet, Tom Ford, DIOR: Photo Essay

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 52 Comments

Hey there APJ!

Last Wednesday we had our first APJ Day Out. There were 13 of us, normally an unlucky number, but it turned out to be super lucky. We were treated extremely well by all the stores we went to, were given two amazing Masterclasses and loads of samples. It was great to meet some of you for the first time and an excellent opportunity for those of us who are already buddies to catch up, talk fragrance, shop, laugh and generally enjoy each others company. FABULOUS!

As we arrived a little early for our masterclass with Joe Garces, the CEO of Robert Piguet, I thought it would be a great time to pop across to Hermes, where the wonderful Jean was our hostess. She happily took us through some of my favourite scents in the Jean Claude Ellena Hermessence range and also some more of the Hermes fragrance catalogue including the Jardin range and then introduced me to one of their scents that I had never spent any time with, Rouge. WOW!! I can definitely see a full bottle in my very near future. Thank you Jean. XXX

Off to Libertine Parfumerie stand in David Jones Sydney City Store basement to meet Nick, the sexy proprietor, Gary and Dan, the regular SAs and a new boy whose name escapes me, sorry. There too was Joe Garces, and Joe took us through quite a lot of the range. It wasn’t much about notes etc, we were taken through the creation stories of each fragrance, the troubles, the inspiration and the triumphs. It was an illuminating class and I came away better informed about the way perfumes are created in a mass market niche company. Joe has effectively turned a dying dinosaur of a business back into a going concern with his and his teams plans. He is justifiably proud of the company’s achievements and really loves the perfumes he produces and sells, enthusiasm shining from and infectious. I tried a slew of the range that I had thought definitely NOT my style and walked away with a couple of new loves, a bottle of Bois Noir and a special gift roll on of VISA. YAY!! Review coming soon. Everyone was allowed to choose a Piguet fragrance to sample and were given very generous spray samples.

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Joe Garces #1

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OGLETGUl-mBStwF4D9gcUQB18hDduXT_X-PZYVGGuOY

Then I took the crew up to the Tom Ford section at DJs. The SA there was so pretty, knowledgeable and helpful showing us some of the range and introducing many of us to Sahara Noir. I had tried it before in LA but it was a completely different experience in the cool of Sydney, I LOVED it here. At the end she finished by offering everyone a sample of their choice!

It was time for a sit and a cuppa, I had a sneaky Banana Bread too. During our time at the cafe Ainslie, who is a perfumer, brought out some of her current mods for us to share, smell, critique and enjoy. It was wonderful talking to someone on the cusp of a business and finding out how her perfumes are created. Fascinating. Soon I will have a story on Ainslie because she is thinking of setting up a trial where you can buy a small set of her mods to try and critique for yourself, providing useful perfumista feedback and giving us a chance to try new stuff very reasonably. HEAVEN.

Through Westfield

Past Gucci

Then it was onwards and upwards to DIOR’s outrageously gorgeousbnew flagship store in Sydney, the first in Australia. We were greeted warmly by the staff and Clayton the Oceania head of PR was there to whisk us upstairs to the shoe parlour where we were treated to a stroll through the 10 available Couturier/Privee fragrances exclesively available in Australia through that store. There was also a beautiful DIOR lady there whose name has slipped from my mind, she was helpful and informative and I apologise for my bad brain. It was a delightful ending to an amazing day. I was happy to add bottles of Oud Ispahan and Oud Leather to my perfume library. At the end we were all given DIOR swag bags with a couple of the fabulous 7.5ml FB replicas each and some beautifully presented literature. Just walking down the street with a DIOR bag is thrilling enough but when you’ve been feted by some of the best luxe companies in the world we were all walking on air. Thank you Clayton and DIOR.

As you can see we had lost some of our people along the way, the last photo are the DIOR Late Stayers. Thanks to everyone who came and who helped us have such an amazingly wonderful and special day.

DIOR Shoes

The DIOR late stayers

I am currently thinking of other great APJ Day Out ideas. There will definitely be another day soon,

Portia xx

Vintage Eau Arpege Mist GIVEAWAY WINNERS

/ australianperfumejunkiescom

Hey there APJ Crew,

Thanks for joining in the fun. I hope you enjoyed our Giveaway. We had a HUGE number of lookers but only a few commenters, maybe everyone already has some Vintage Eau Arpege Mist. Thanks to our commenters, you guys make me happy.

Vintage Eau Arpege Mist GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Eau Arpege Mist EtsyPhoto Stolen Etsy

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

There will be 2 winners, each will receive

1 x 2ml decant of my own Eau Arpege Mist
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DID YOU WIN?

Open to everyone worldwide who left a comment and follows the blog via RSS, WordPress, Bloglovin or eMail. You also had to leave how you follow in the comment to be eligible.

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Monday 2nd July 2013 11pm Australian EST.
(Winners will be chosen by putting names on same sized papers, folded similarly, put on a tray and Jin will pick a winner.) This did not happen because Jin and I were both completely tired and grumpy last night so I picked the winners, sorry for the misleading information.

winners propercoursePhoto Stolen propercourse

DKChocoMan + Roslyn

The winners will have till Monday 10th July 2013 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or their prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.

See you later today.
Portia xx

Petit Fracas 2012 by Aurelien Guichard for Robert Piguet

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 22 Comments

Hello Fragrance Family,

For many years tuberose lovers, white flower lovers, would talk lovingly of Fracas: that saucy, sensual, bubblegum fragrance that lured many a perfumista through the doorway and down the wormhole. Even the Fracas haters would compliment its artistry, its sweet green sappiness that could read as erotic or toxic, depending on your viewpoint and skin chemistry. I have a very old spray set of Fracas parfum that has weathered time quite well and a bottle of the modern EdP.

As you may know we had Joe Garces from Robert Piguet in Sydney this week and he kindly offered us a special APJ Piguet Masterclass. You’ll find some of the snaps here at APJ on Wednesday if you’re interested in the fun day we had. It was EXCELLENT!

Petit Fracas 2012 by Robert Piguet

Petit Fracas FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, mandarin, pear
Heart: Tuberose, jasmine, gardenia
Base: Cocoa, musk, sandalwood

Recently I got a bottle of Petit Fracas from Libertine Perfumerie and can’t believe how similar and different the Petit Fracas and original Fracas are. Joe Garces tells us that when he went to be CEO for Robert Piguet the house was in deep shit. It needed to be turned around somehow so they decided to add some new fragrances and revitalise some of the old ones with reconstructions that are as close a nod to their same name predecessors as can be produced in modern perfumerie. As they still had a bestseller called Fracas why would they tamper?

Well the story goes that Joe’s daughter hates Fracas, detests it. Which is highly believable in the current age of fragrance tastes. So Joe had the idea to bring something completely new and modern to Fracas to make it more youth oriented, a better version of the fragrances that what many younger fragrance wearers are spritzing now: with its basic body coming from the Fracas mold. I can’t remember who had the idea but someone said gourmand was in and they should add chocolate. ADD CHOCOLATE? To FRACAS?!? So someone DID add chocolate to Fracas, lightened it up, gave it a fruity punch at the beginning and a more interesting and traveling story than original Fracas.

Fracas Sexy Ladies Telegraph.UKPhoto Stolen TelegraphUK

How does it smell on me? Well the fruit leads the way and it’s a milky fruit, like pear and citrus zest whipped cream with a dash of vanilla ( but that could be early chocolate signs). The white flowers are already a part of the equation but they don’t fully take centre stage because there is no room for them until about 20-40 minutes in. It’s fruit, fruit, fruit but not in the ubiquitous modern designer fragrance way, this is hefty fragrance and you feel fully perfumed though in a modern way. There is still some air between the notes, like a glossy, bright and very slightly fizzy aura. The bubble gum, sticky, sappy green candy swoosh heralds the moment of white flower take over. It is regal and alluring, a powerful intoxicant that is less herbaceous than Fracas original and a little bit more fun.  Maybe I’m imagining it but Petit fracas is not Petit, it is younger but not smaller and I think it would be an excellent choice for brides and girls on a night out.

The chocolate is not as pronounced as I expected it to be and reads more vanilla in my nose, and milky, and there is something dark that may be a nod to chocolate, but it seems like dark, bitter chocolate, and only a hint.

Wear time is better than average wit whispers left after 7 hours and I think it way too fragrant for most offices but try it, see if they let you. It’s worth it.

Joe Garces #01Joe Garces: Robert Piguet CEO

Joe was honest about the need to continually tweak to maintain currency and to stay within the IFRA guidelines, also the need to keep the juice consistent because some years the naturals that are used come in extremely different to previous years, or way more expensive or less product because of drought etc so every batch is tweaked to make it as much the same smell as every other bottle you’ve purchased as possible. Interesting.

Further reading: The Candy Perfume Boy and Ca Fleure Bon
Libertine Perfumerie has $198/100ml
I could not find a sample of Petit fracas on any of the major sites. SO ANNOYING!! You’ll have to go to your nearest department store that stocks Robert Piguet.

See you tomorrow. I hope your weekend was good.
Portia xx

Eau Arpege Mist by Andre Fraysse for Lanvin 1927 (Vintage)

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 41 Comments

Hello Vintage frag Hounds,

Recently I was lucky enough to find this beautiful perfume and bottle on Etsy, it was a complete bargain and I bought a few other things at the same time.

Eau Arpege Mist by Lanvin 1927 (Vintage)

Eau Arpege Mist EtsyPhoto Stolen Etsy

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, aldehide, peach, orange bloom, honeysuckle, orris
Heart: Rose, jasmine, ylang-ylang, coriander, sensitive plant, tuberose, violet, geranium
Base: Sandalwood, vetiver, patchoulis, vanilla, musk

The box (shown in picture) looks scuffed and worn in real life and I think the fragrance has kept its fresh colour due to being encased in the refillable case: meaning it has suffered no light damage. Mum had Arpege at one point, I think it may have been a gift, and I remember loving her in it. This is the mist and aged so the scent is slightly different but WOW!!

Тигр на отдыхеPhoto Stolen wPapers.ru

The fizzy, sparkling, slightly unreal growl of Eau Arpege Mist is both lavish, grand and feline. Honeysuckle can take over everything on my skin and it goes very urinous quite often, here is skirts disgusting and is completely in tune with the fruit and citrus, maybe the iris keeps it in check with its cool rooty earthiness? I don’t know but you would never in today’s world of fragrance pick this as made for a daughter’s 30th birthday by her mother, who called in André Fraysse and his helper Paul Vacher back in 1927. Jeannie Lanvin even let her daughter choose the name, Arpege, for arpeggio: from my blog reading I find it was so named because an arpeggio is trickling notes like a cascade of sound rather than chords which is the way Arpege is said to flow. You’ll notice the picture above LANVIN on the box above, legend has it that it’s Jeannie and her daughter preparing for a ball.

If you want to read about the notes do please jump to further reading, parsing this little beauty is beyond me. I want you to know that it feels like I’m a movie star when I wear this beautiful vintage Arpege. The flowers, herbs, spices, woods and grasses all combine to maker an incredible statement, that feels both womanly and iconic. If you ever need a spine stiffener then Arpege will do it for you. Ramrod straight back with a head just floating on your neck and hips that could whip the washing with their sweep, swoosh and sashay. Movie star glamour instantly, even for me!

Arpege Movie star Glamour FoxSaverPhoto Stolen FoxSaver

There is always room for the new but don’t forget to remember the old, it tells us some stories of how we got here and what we’ve lost.

Further reading: Bois De Jasmine and Now Smell This
There is a surprising amount of Vintage Eau Arpege Mist on eBay and Etsy for under $30/60ml
Surrender To Chance has Vintage Eau de Arpege starting at $5/ml
My Perfume Samples has (the 1993 or 2009 reformulation I guess) starting $2/ml to $6/5ml

Do you have Arpege memories? Have you ever sniffed the vintage? Here’s your chance in our

Vintage Eau Arpege Mist

Giveaway lavanyasrecipesPhoto Stolen lavanyasrecipes

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

There will be 2 winners, each will receive

1 x 2ml decant of my own Eau Arpege Mist
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

Open to everyone worldwide who leaves a comment and follows the blog via RSS, WordPress, Bloglovin or eMail. Please leave how you follow in the comment to be eligible. Yes, you can start following to be entered.

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Vintage Eau Arpege Mist GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p2fQBU-1GE @LANVINofficial @lanvin_news

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Monday 2nd July 2013 11pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post Tuesday 3rd.
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 Monday 10th July 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 for wandering through my fragrant thoughts,
See you tomorrow,
Portia xxx