Portia

Plum by Francois Robert for Mary Greenwell 2010

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

Hello Frag Friends,

Do you ever rummage around in your samples and find things you have no memory of getting? That is exactly what happened today. So finding something I vaguely remember reading about but not remembering a damn thing about it except the is it a Chypre or not question I was thrilled to find it to try for myself. I couldn’t find a lot of it for sale on the net and wonder if it’s been discontinued? Amazon has a few, so does Parfum1 but elsewhere there is merely white noise. Of reviews though there are many and they range from completely beserk adoration to thoughtful and questioning disdain. The premise and pedigree of this fragrance seemed to divide perfumistas and I though that was interesting too. So what we are going to do today is try

Plum by Mary Greenwell 2010

Plum greenwell FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Peach, bergamot, lemon, plum, black currant
Heart: gardenia, tuberose, orange blossom, rose, jasmine
Base: sandalwood, oak moss, patchouli, amber, white musk

Well Plum opens with a dirty great punch in the nose with a fruit basket, it’s fizzy and fun and harks back to some of the big ole perfumes of yore. Citrus, black current and plum, but not like you’ve taken a bite of a plum more like plum jam or an ideal plum plus sugar. The flowers follow behind, winding through the sweetness with a white flower trumpet call that, like the horns in a 70s disco song, call the fragrance towards the chorus, the top and heart play off each other for a while showing flashes of themselves before settling down to a slightly human, breathy bouquet with a bit of spice. Of course the modern re-inventions of oakmoss aren’t the same as the original, they are less deep, dark and humus rich but I do get a sense of them among the woods and the amber is not sweet on me but a little dry, maybe the patchouli has the upper hand here? The sandalwood is the last impression I have with Plum by Mary Greenwell, it warms the fragrance back up at the end while it gently becomes my skin again.

WhiteWeddingBouquet VictorTheFloristPhoto Stolen VictorTheFlorist

I get quite good lifespan with 4 – 6 hours of noticeable fragrance, depending on my day. Where would I wear it? If I needed to be fragrant but not overpowering, if I wanted to be reminded of some of the fabulous but now defunct chypres, enticing or trying to befuddle then this is your frag. It is a strong persons fragrance, or someone needing a bit of strong, and sassy. This is what I imagine Charlize Theron and Anne Hathaway wearing to the Academy Awards.

CharlizeTheron USMagazinePhoto Stolen USMagazine

Further reading NowSmellThis and CaFleurBon
Parfum1 has 50ml/$100
SurrendetToChance starts at $4/ml

Did you try Plum when it came out? What did you think?

See you tomorrow for more merry frag madness.

Portia xx

Bal a Versailles by Jean Desprez 1962

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 32 Comments

Hey APJ Family,

On this day in 2001 my Mum died, it was a years battle against leukemia and the leukemia won. She was a tough lady and fought hard for the first half of that year and then the fight seemed to go out of her completely. I have so much to thank her for and still randomly talk to her picture as if she is in the room. If ever I have had a conscience it is all due to her reprimands, which I can still hear today when I pee with the door open or don’t put my knife and fork down between mouthfuls or even choose unwisely in  love. I think she would approve of the current one though. Her unconditional love even though I was often an ungrateful, snide or screaming bundle of TNT, and constant vigilance over my future wellbeing has left a stamp upon me and I am so lucky that she chose me when I was a baby.

We were kids and always playing with dolls, cars, lego etc etc. One of our favourite games was dressing up the Barbies and putting Mum’s perfume on them so they smelt like they were really going out. You can see where this is going right? We thought that the little bottle was a toy bottle of perfume that Mum had put on her make up, jewellery and fragrance shelf in the wardrobe. What a cute little bottle, just the right size for the Barbies and that gorgeous technicolour reproduction of a Fragonard painting (Sorry, can’t find the original online and there seems to be much conjecture about the pic! I love drama). How could it not be meant for the Barbies?

I don’t remember Mum being angry or upset with us using it ALL on the Barbies, not like the time I dropped a 16oz bottle of Joy EdC or gave away a bottle of Shalimar to a girlfriend because she liked the gold toned case or a million other deserved rants.

Bal a Versailles by Jean Desprez 1962

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Rosemary, orange blossom, mandarin orange, cassia, jasmine, rose, neroli, bergamot, Bulgarian rose, lemon
Heart: Sandalwood, patchouli, lilac, orris root, vetiver, ylang-ylang, lily-of-the-valley, leather
Base: Tolu balsam, amber, musk, benzoin, civet, vanilla, cedar, resins

I have had the EdT of this in a modern incarnation for a while and I love to spritz its dirty great feline self on and go about my business but I have often been intrigued by the reasonable priced Extrait and ordered som. Well, it was the Barbies bottle!! OMG!!

This seems to be particularly dark juice and BOY does it take the back of your head off. Right at the start the cat is out of the bag and ready to roar!! All the flowers and citrus are completely overshadowed by a rich, dark purr of animal. After a short time the flowers decide it’s time to shine and fly in above the animal and do their very best in an orgy of florals, fruit and woods. What a fragrance! I love the powdery iris that takes control for a while and the bitter leather side by side with the ylang ylang. Bal a Versailles warm, sweet dry-down is also the welcome reprise of the animal with a lusty growl, till it becomes a purr of amber nothing. It doesn’t seem as intense as my memories of Barbies perfume but maybe my childhood nostrils were more acute, still this is a fragrance that you must try before you earn full perfumista stripes.

Versailles chateauversaillesPhoto Stolen chateauversailles

I get between 6-8 hours of fragrant bliss before I can detect only myself, even in the summer heat of Sydney today I’m pushing 6 hours and still growling. Wear this while at home for your own enjoyment. Leaving the house please take bodyguards.

Further reading MuseInWoodenShoes and ThePerfumePosse
Parfum1 starts at $12.50 for a 50ml Tester. This is where I found my Extrait but it is now sold out.
SurrenderToChance has all sorts starting at $3/ml but I particularly like the Vintage Parfum + EdC combo for $11

marieAntoinette habituallychicPhoto Stolen habituallychic

I’m wearing Bal a Versailles tonight to work. Let’s see if the punters can take the heat! Do you ever wear outrageoius scents just because? What is your fave and where would you really like to wear it that would be less than PC?

Off to splash some on now, see you tomorrow,
Portia xx

La Petite Robe Noire by Thierry Wasser for Guerlain 2012

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 8 Comments

Hello Fragrant Fume Family,

It’s no secret that I love house Guerlain. I enjoy their famous oldies, am constantly pleasantly surprised by many of their new releases and a few lately have had me gasping because they are so incredible. Somehow, though I love the movie that advertises today’s fragrance I thought I would hate it and that it was going to be basically a bad squeaky sugar dripping CelebuScent but at a higher price point.

It is my sister’s Birthday today so if you’re reading Jodie. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

La Petite Robe Noire by Guerlain 2011

LaPetiteRobeNoireGuerlain FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Sicilian lemon, almonds, anise
Heart: Roses, raspberry macaroons, licorice
Base: Vanilla, patchouli, smoked tea, musk

There has been some exciting goings on with La Petite Robe Noire by Guerlain. Originally small release, then a big release sequel and now a tweaked big release original. Guerlain light is how I want to describe what I smell on my skin. It is fruity, flirty and fun, smells expensive and modern but also pushes a few of my perfumista buttons. the opening is all the frightful fizzy sweet now frag but the almonds and anise give it a heft and warmth that is quite unexpected. Though it is a gourmand the raspberry macaroons and vanilla are only mildly bakery-ish, this is a slightly grown up, sophisticated version of what is a very mainstream acceptable fragrance. Thierry Wasser has walked a very fine line and while maintaining the integrity of the Guerlain history brings us, and the youth market that is moving on up from Bieber and Beyonce, something wholly wearable and wholly Guerlain, or should that read Holy Guerlain.

LittleBlackDresses frannyLovesMariiePhoto Stolen FrannyLovesMarie

Thomas at TheCandyPerfumeBoy notes that in this incarnation the rose steals the heart and I’m inclined to agree. A marvelous fruity and slightly spicy, honeyed rose that does a continued dance with the anise/licorice and the sugary, fruity macaroon. As the base comes through it is the vanilla and musk that really perform on my skin leaving a sweet laundry smell, more like the laundry liquid than the clean garments, over a vanilla. The patchouli must be washed clean because I barely notice it at all and very little smoke or tea. This could just be my skin and out weather here in Oz.

SpiritOfTheBlackDress polkadotbridePhoto Stolen polkadotbride

About 3-6 hours on different days of real fragrance and a little too fragrant for work I think unless you are the boss or not in close contact. Excellent dress up or date night wear and surprisingly for something skewed so feminine it is ripper on TSO Jin.

Further reading TheCandyPerfumeBoy and NowSmellThis
FragranceX has 100ml/$94
MyPerfumeSamples starts at $4/ml or $12/5ml

Do you ever believe something is going to be ghastly and then try it only to find out that it is lovely and wearable? You must have at least one story to share, please do in the comments below.

Till tomorrow. I’m off to have a cup of tea and a biscuit, really I feel I’ve earned it.
Loads of love,
Portia xx.

La Petite Robe Noire – GUERLAIN

Tropic Lime Vanille by Liz Zorn for Siovohle 2012

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 12 Comments

Hey Fellow Fumies,

One of the things I love, and hate, about being a fragrance addict is short release fragrances, usually summer releases that stay for one season. Sometimes they are rebottlings, flankers or in very special cases a whole new fragrance that a niche perfumer may only make one batch of.

Tropic Lime Vanille by Liz Zorn for Siovohle 2012

TropicLimeVanille SOIVOHLEPhoto Stolen SOIVOHLE

BaseNotes gives these featured accords:
Top Notes: Lime, linden (lime) blossom, coconut
Middle Notes: Jasmine, apricot, white violet, clean linen, petigrain sur fleur
Base Notes: Bourbon vanilla, benzoin, musk

From Liz Zorn’s blog (edited): A completely new formulation. Tropic Lime Vanille is a fun summery indulgence. It is a refreshing scent that has just enough of the creaminess from the coconut and apricot notes to keep it from being too flimsy, and enough of the citrus to keep it light. My goal was to weave that lime essence as far into the dry-down as possible. I love lime, it is one of my favorite things. so it is really the centerpiece here.

For a refreshing spritz or a memory of summer and holidays abroad there is no better fragrance than Tropic Lime Vanille. The instant burst of lime and coconut is a burst of energy for the enervating long days of summer, yesterday it was 42C (108F) here in Sydney, still 35C (95F) when I came home from work at 10pm!! Seriously hot weather folks and after I’d taken my gear off and had a swim it seemed the only choice.

TLVanille CaFleurBonPhoto Stolen CaFleurBon

After the initial citrus and creamy coconut opening the fruit and flowers settle very nicely and quietly. I become nearly anosmic to the scent but if I return to my office after making a cup of coffee or a chat the smell is glorious. Jin says it leaves a wonderful soft sillage too, or when I’ve been sitting with him for a minute or so he’ll say that I smell lovely. Interesting huh?

The vanilla end starts from early in the heart and slowly takes over Tropic Lime Vanille as the other ingredients burn off leaving and very soft musky vanilla that is only a smidge of scent overlain on my own skin. This takes around 4 hours in summer but a bit longer in the cooler weather. This morning after sleeping in that terrible heat with the AC on till 3am I can still smell something good that isn’t me and it’s 10am. Just  the merest something that is nothing better.

CoconutLime fallForwardPhoto Stolen FallingForward

Recently Liz Zorn has refined the SOIVOHLE range to Absolutes and Demi-Absolutes and you can find her incredibly beautiful and interesting works on the SOIVOHLE site.
There is a limited amount of Tropic Lime Vanille in the Clearance Section of the site 15ml EdT for $15 BE QUICK!!
They have a fantastic selection and the sample program is really good too. Check out my faves: TOBACCO & TULLE, LEATHER KREM, ANUBIS

Which short term fragrances have you loved and maybe do you miss? Have you tried SOIVOHLE’s fragrances? Tell us in the comments, we love a chat.

See you tomorrow,
Till then do something thoughtful for yourself,
Portia xx

Something fun and uplifting to go with Tropic Lime Vanille. Danni Minogue does Put The Lime In The Coconut

Elixir Charnel Oriental Brulant by Sylvaine Delacourte and Christine Nagel for Guerlain 2008

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 17 Comments

Hello Fellow Fumies,

Another split that has taken me a while to get my review sniffer onto, thanks again Ruth K from FFF, and Sydney has turned inexplicably cold just so I could feel really comfortable rocking a fully fledged glorious Oriental in Summer (honestly! Who am I kidding? I wear anything ANYTIME the mood grabs me!). For all the Northern Hemisphere people this will be a super dooper winter WINNER!

Oriental Brulant by Guerlain 2008

OrientalBrulant fragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Tangerine
Heart: Almond
Base: Tonka bean, styrax, vanilla

Tangerine? Nope. Nougat? YES!! Maybe some citrus but it is a soft counterpoint to almond essence and vanilla/tonka beans. MMMM This is gourmand but not sweet, sweet. Bakery but the combined smell of a bakery, not the foodstuffs themselves. Maybe the dream of a bakery or a cartoon one. What does happen though is a fabulous fragrance that has enormous scent bubble and sillage while not being a punch in the face. Oriental Brulant is a sheer, seductive vanillic force of nature that makes even me feel pretty and feminine, like the seductress below. Less confrontational than its older sister Shalimar yet still with that enthralling super waft of vanilla cleanness. Like a very fit athletes skin after a shower, but even more delicious. Quite linear but with a little extra warmth and depth through its long dry down, over 6 hours.

Also very girlish, young and accessible scent that would be a super great Sweet 16 or 21st Birthday first fine fragrance, if you can meet the price tag. There is also an underlying sophistication to Oriental Brulant that will appeal to the more mature woman and a nod back to the old days of perfumery while being bang up to date. Now that it’s gone onto my skin it’s surprising how quickly the decant is emptying, I think 4ml of 10 is gone. I think a likeable, loveable, cuddly, delicious, sensual, easy, go-to scent for cool weather but wearable even in Sydney summer.

Underneath the review you’ll find a recipe that will give you a very similar scent, if you like the cake then the fragrance will bowl you over.

Woman layOutSparksPhoto Stolen LayoutSparks

Further reading TheNonBlonde and OlfactoriasTravels
PoshPeasant starts at $6.50/ml
From your Guerlain counter you can grab 2.5oz/75ml for $250, not sure about Australia

Have you tried Oriental Brulant? Any of the Charnal Elixers from Guerlain? What did you think? Would you like to? Why?

Till tomorrow I wish only the good stuff for you,
Portia xx

Carrot, Almond and Orange Cake

CarrotAlmondOrangeCake Taste.com.auStolen from Taste.com.au

  • Melted butter, to grease
  • 1 orange, unpeeled, coarsely chopped, deseeded
  • 150g butter, melted
  • 155g (3/4 cup) caster sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 (about 320g) carrots, peeled, coarsely grated
  • 225g (1 1/2 cups) plain flour
  • 1 x 110g pkt almond meal
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • 50g (1/2 cup) flaked almonds
  • Double cream, to serve
  1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Brush a round 22cm (base measurement) cake pan with melted butter to lightly grease. Line the base and side with non-stick baking paper.
  2. Place the orange in the bowl of a food processor and process until finely chopped. Add the butter, sugar and eggs and process until well combined. Add the carrot, flour, almond meal and baking powder and process to combine.
  3. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Top with flaked almonds. Bake in oven for 1 hour 10 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Set aside for 1 hour to cool. Cut into wedges and serve with cream.

Paris Hilton Fairy Dust by Cecile Krakower 2008

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 19 Comments

Hey Fragrance Fiends,

I have a fragrance find for you all. You will probably be outraged that I even put this Drug Store dross here on a fine fragrance blog. I’m not sure I’m 100% thrilled at myself. Back up a few months, early last year, I tried for a gag one of the Paris Hilton line of fragrances. It was deeply discounted and you know, what the hell right? Tragically I LOVED it. Loved the damn thing SICK!! Bought a bottle of it and wear it quite a bit. Don’t get me wrong, I knew and still know it’s crap. It smells AWESOME on, and to, me though and I’ll be damned if I’ll give up frag enjoyment to snob value. Some of you are nodding, others are retching violently. It was a bitter pill for me to swallow too. That was Siren, now there’s another and I swear they put something addictive in this stuff because I CAN’T GET ENOUGH!!

Paris Hilton Fairy Dust 2008

FairyDust FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives the featured accords:
Top: Pink peony, orange blossom
Heart: Gardenia, peach nectar, lotus
Base: Patchouli, cashmere, musk, vanilla cream

So, mildly funny story. I thought this was a rose perfume before I read the notes list. HA HA HA!! That’s how perfectly indistinguishable this fragrance is. It opens waxy and orange blossom with a slight greenness. It stays like this for around a quarter of an hour or so with a borderline breathiness, underneath that though there is a rich fruity rose smell, like one from your garden. Apricot Nectar is the name of the rose that this reminds me of and when I read that it’s peach and lotus it kind of makes sense to me, the gardenia could easily be a part of the orange blossom, an extension rather than its own note. Then Fairy Dust becomes a waxy super clean patchouli and vanilla. I get 3-4 hours, sometimes longer.

If you wear Fairy Dust you could easily get away with saying the fragrance is your fabric softener clinging tenaciously to your clothes. There is something very clean laundry about it. That sounds like I hate it but I’m thoroughly addicted. I’m going to go respritz right now!!

FairyDust parksonPhoto Stolen Parkson

Further reading NowSmellThis and CelebrityPerfumeStore
FragranceShop has 100ml/$16
MyPerfumeSamples start at $2/ml but I became hooked with 5ml for $6

Do you ever feel fragrance shame? Maybe feel like you are letting all the incredible niche perfumers down? I certainly do and would love to hear your stories of loving the Dark Fragrances… Come out of that closet and share.
Loads of love.
Portia xx

Coco Mademoiselle by Jacques Polge for CHANEL 2001: LIVE Video Sniff

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 20 Comments

Dear Glamour Girl Frag Hags,

Here we are as an APJ crew, back again, tormenting another poor fragrance with our complete lack of knowledge, or in fact good taste (yes Portia, looking at you!!) but doing it all with a big tongue in cheek and great good humour, to us anyway. The crew EmmaKate, Margeaux and Robert “Radium” Maxwell are here to help me have a look at one of the big best seller blockbusters of last year.

As always we need to remind you that we are merely enthusiasts and that our unplanned LIVE Video Sniffs often contain oodles of crap. Funny crap but nonetheless……
Please enjoy our little bit of NSFW madness!

Coco Mademoiselle by CHANEL 2001

CocoMademoisell FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Orange, mandarin orange, orange blossom, bergamot
Heart: Mimose, jasmine, Turkish rose, ylang-ylang
Base: Tonka bean, patchouli, opoponax, vanilla, vetiver, white musk

Can I please say that I ADORE Coco by CHANEL and think Mademoiselle is nothing to do with it and should have been named CHANEL Mademoiselle instead of building up false hope and then dashing it, had I not expected AH MAY ZING beyond Coco Oriental bliss I would have been less let down and much less likely to sneer. On mature reflection it is a solid scent that crosses loads of boundaries, both sexes love it; albeit for different reasons. We laugh about it in the video but that 5ml decant went in under a week here at Chez Portia and I am still seriously thinking about a small bottle for myself for those girlish moments that come across us all, even the truck driving army dudes.

HotGirl leftosPhoto Stolen leftos

Further reading BoisDeJasmin and KatiePuckrik
TradeServices has 100ml EdP Aus$113
SurrenderToChance starts at $3/ml

Have you tried Coco Mademoiselle by CHANEL? Are you the demographic? Did or do you love or loathe it?

See you all happy and well tomorrow hopefully,
Portia xx

Fleurs de Gardenia by Olivier Creed VI for Creed 2006 (2012 L.E.)

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

Fumies!!

In the lead up to the holidays SurrenderToChance were having a special deal in the DailyChanceSpecial section. Which I always try to have a squiz at, at least twice a week so I don’t miss anything FABULOUS!! Sometimes the deals are so good that even if I am not a desperate fan of the manufacturer I will grab it to see if I’m wrong. Always happy to be taught a lesson. On top of that Patty has been wittering on SO MUCH about Gardenia, a scent I’ve always loved in the garden, and though I have a few I always like to have comparison frags, OH DEAR I AM A PERFUME BORE!! Ha, if you’ve read this far you probably are too so let’s continue

Fleurs de Gardenia by Creed 2012

FleursDeGardenia FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Pink pepper, galbanum, black currant
Heart: Gardenia, floral notes, lily-of-the-valley, peony, lavender
Base: Musk, cedar, patchouli

WOW!! The first spritz waft is almost photo realistic Gardenia, that burns off quickly and I have a softly sizzling pink pepper and galbanum with morning breath. Sounds ghastly doesn’t it? It is not at all ghastly, deep, bright and intense are the 3 words that spring to mind but no notes, they are blended into a blue cheese and sweet floral naughtiness. Quite alluring I think. My BFF Kath loves it and thinks I smell gorgeous, so we agree which is good. After the fun and naughtiness Fleurs de Gardenia becomes a soft and very discrete floral with no hint of its outrageous beginnings, the patchouli has been scrubbed raw and musks are barely there. The flowers are pretty and prim and sexless and after the first 20 minutes would be a very good work fragrance.

Gardenia gardendebutPhoto Stolen gardenDebut

In the heat of summer here in Sydney, maybe 38 degrees celsius/100+F today I am lucky to get 3 hours but what I get is lovely and interesting. I have quite a big decant, let’s see how fast it goes and whether I feel I need a bottle at the end. Really though, I doubt it, for the money Creed is asking I want my fragrance to last through dinner.

I have worn Fleurs de Gardenia again tonight and in the cooler temperature it has a longer story, I am at 4 hours and there is still a whiff of something that is lovelier than me, it could be the extra layers of scent as this is the 3rd respritz today but it is hanging in there.

Further reading TheScentrist
Buying from Creed counters (Limited Edition Re-Release)
SurrenderToChance $5.25/ml

Have you been trying anything just because? Do you have a frag house that you WANT to love but they don’t ever seem to fit? Tell me, I love to read your stories.

Till tomorrow, have some fun,

Portia x

Eau Claire des Merveilles by Jean-Claude Ellena for Hermes 2010

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 17 Comments

Hey Gang,

This is a long awaited treat for me. I have been watching the Eau des Merveilles story and flankers for a while, even ordered a set of decants that I have misplaced, and now I get to share with you my first wear impressions. This is another extra that a friend threw in to a fragrant care package that I am only just getting to now. I don’t even quite know how to pronounce the name, every time I try I laugh at myself for sounding like a pretentious twat. I will ask the French exactly how to say it while on my trip.

Eau Claire des Merveilles by Hermes 2010

eauClaireDesMerveilles FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Floral, woods, amber, vanilla

How does Jean-Claude Ellena make so much beauty out of so few noted accords. Opening with a sparkling/brisk floral that feels like there is also some citrus somewhere around but before long the smell I get is the open ocean when you are out on a sports fishing boat. At once salty, metallic, refreshing and underneath a low level humm of warm excitement. To be perfectly honest I am having trouble believing that this is how these accords have combined but maybe my skin or nose is playing silly buggers. I can smell zero vanilla but maybe I’m anosmic to this particular vanilla? Jin says he smells something softly floral but I still get sheer salty sea spray after 3 hours. Clearly this fragrance is not suitable for my skin, even though I really like the way it smells. So light and gossamer soft for summer. On you it will smell different, which is a shame bacause I’m thinking of getting a bottle for my own selfish enjoyment and everyone else will think I smell merely softly, prettily, floral.

Lasting power is excellent, I still get traces of salty tang after 6 hours and the taste in my mouth that you get from a stainless steel spoon. I know, my nose is broken but I don’t care.

bigGameFishing wakacjenateneryfiePhoto Stolen wakacjenateneryfie

Further reading NowSmellThis and GrainDeMusc where Denyse gets the salt but not as strongly as I do.
FragranceX has 50ml/$57
PoshPeasant starts at $4/ml

Have you ever had a fragrance misbehave on your skin compared to everyone else and still loved it? It’s a first for me, tell us about your experiences too.

Till tomorrow, thanks for reading,
Portia xx

The Eau des Marvielles movie

Jaipur Homme EdP by Annick Menardo for Boucheron 1998

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 16 Comments

Hello World Travelers Through Fragrance,

Today we are looking at a fragrance named for a city very dear to my heart. I have been lucky enough to be taken by my last partner, an Indian hotelier, to the fabled Pink City of India as a luxe tourist at the Rambagh Palace and as a local staying in run for Indians hotels where a months stay would be about equal to an night at Rambagh. In gratitude I recently sent him a bottle of today’s fragrance and he is loving it. My BFF Kath and I were also blessed to spend some time in the Rajasthani capital city just after Richard Gere had been and bought an enormous amount of stuff from my favourite ex-Raj antique store, the workers were absolutely fit to burst.

rambaghJaipur TajHotelsRambagh Palace Photo Stolen TajHotels

Jaipur Homme for Boucheron 1998

JaipurHomme FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Lime, bergamot, cardamom, lemon
Heart: Carnation, cinnamon, jasmine, rose
Base: Tonka bean, patchouli, benzoin and cedar.

Boucheron’s site says: Jaïpur Homme takes inspiration from the marvelous gardens of the Maharajas and bears all of the precious codes of Maison Boucheron: the golden gadroons, the sapphire cabochon… An Oriental Spicy fragrance, with a fresh start and spicy notes softened by an intense woody signature, it was created for a modern man with a pioneer spirit.

You may already know that I am a Boucheron fan. You may also have guessed I am and Indiaphile. Imagine bringing the two together, it is one of the greatest frag ideas for me. The opening spritz is a great sensual gust of citrus and spice, very human smelling and as a prelude the patchouli says HI up front before fading back again behind the scenes. If this is Jaipur it is a Jaipur of the upper middle classes, very clean marble, the staff cooking in a far away kitchen, A/C cooled homes and beautifully carved wood on the furniture,  The flowers are muted and tastefully never give themselves up to my nose but rather stay huddled together hiding behind the cinnamon and the citrus remnants. The cinnamon stays front and centre throughout the heart and then the powdery woods and patchouli flood through quietly until they are all that’s left, with the merest hint of vanilla, and then gone.

I get about 2 hours of full on fragrance and another 3 or so of powdery, woodsy base. After the initial rush I think Jaipur would be a perfect masculine work scent, great after the gym, dinner, cinema etc only truly frag-phobic workplaces would disapprove of this lovely scent.

JaipurHomme DealMatesPhoto Stolen DealMates

FragranceNet starts at 50ml EdT $35
MyPerfumeSamples starts at 1ml/$2 up to 5ml/$7

Have you traveled to Rajasthan or any part of India? What were your experiences? Have you tried Jaipur Homme?

As we begin 2013 I would like to wish you and all those in your orbit and safe and prosperous 2013 filled with loads of the good stuff that you love. Thanks for your support, friendship, comments, love and fragrant advice. I feel part of a great big fragrant family that spans our beautiful globe.
Loads of love back at you,
Portia xx

Jaipur PanoramioPhoto Stolen panoramio

Jaipur Doco