Portia

Shalimar EdC by Guerlain 1925

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Hiya Perfumistas,

As some of you already know Jacques Guerlain created Shalimar in 1925, inspired by the legendary love story between Mughal Indian Emperor Shah Jahan and his lowly born wife Mumtaz Mahal. He loved her so much that when she died he nearly bankrupted his empire by building the Taj Mahal as her tomb, when he started work on a matching black granite edifice on the opposite shore of the river in Agra his sons imprisoned him and kept him incarcerated till his death. Having been twice to the Taj Mahal, the second time spontaneously bursting into tears as it came into view and having to take a seat while my BFF Kath photographed, I think Shalimar a fitting tribute to a love that tore a family, a man’s mind and nearly an empire apart when it was done. I have loved it since my Mum and her friends wore it when I was a child.

Shalimar EdC by Guerlain 1925


Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Today I decided it was time to have an opening ceremony for my incredible Vintage Shalimar EdC find, pre 1990’s but after the bar code was introduced because there is a b/c at the bottom and some Arabic writing there too. Anyone? Still in the lovely shiny embossed gold with matte navy and white box.

Photo Stolen Shopping

Oh boy! OH BOY! It goes on with a rush and susurrus of vanilla that took me so completely by surprise that I missed the entrance of the citrus which all of a sudden appeared and became nearly the sole focus; with vanilla still in the background.

About 15 minutes of these lovely citrus notes and then they are overtaken by the base, there seems to be no stopover in the floral department at all, like it’s been quickly and quietly swept under the carpet. Now it’s back to the incredible woodsy inedible vanilla with unpickable stuff lurking around trying to get noticed but being crushed under the jeweled bootlet of vanilla and wood.

Quite a different experience to my vintage or current parfum or my current EdP , still Shalimar but bolder in some ways and less pronounced in others. Even its staying power is quite good at 2 hours so far and no sign of diminution. I am at around 2 hours starting to get a light leather though, newish leather but soft, curling around the vanilla and giving it a fresh depth. I am reading my book and coming back to type every so often when new facets of the fragrance manifest, what a lovely way to spend a winter afternoon.

Interesting, at about 2.5 hours there is a definite floral intrusion over the top of all else and through it, now that the flowers have decided to make their presence known properly it seems they were there all along but just happy to bide their time filling the fragrance out softly. The extremely powdery iris and soft jasmine/rose accords. I am in heaven.

At just over 3 hours I am left with a sweet, woody, maybe patchouli I can’t quite read it because my Shalimar EdC has become so whispery quiet, still there but I have lost the ability to parse its notes. That was so good, so perfect, I think this is my favourite Shalimar incarnation that I own. It has been a satisfying ride and I am replete.

We are at around 4.5 hours and I just got a citrus and vanilla waft as I turned the page of my book. Still there still humming along. EdC! 4.5 hours! Ridiculously wonderful. Thank you Guerlain.

Thanks for coming along on my fragrant mental wanderings, that you do makes me happy. I hope it brings you joy as well.

On the Perfume Posse today my mate David Watson and I have done a LIVE VIDEO SNIFF. So gay it hurts. Go see.

Do you have a Shalimar story to share, I love them.

Portia xx

Siren by Paris Hilton 2009 Elton John meets Pnau

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Hey Gang,

Photo Stolen marieclaireuk parishiltonsite

HA HA HA, I know. You are all incredulous. Why would Portia review a Paris Hilton fragrance? It’s not niche or expensive or fashionable! Well, you are right, it’s none of these things. Paris probably never even smelt this. Who knows? There are reasons though that I’ve given Paris Hilton Siren a try…

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

The main reason is that recently it was reported in reputable places that Paris Hilton had sold US$1.5 billion worth of perfume. 1.5 BILLION DOLLARS! So I am intrigued by anyone who can generate that many sales for something that everyone is panning. OK, if you are Paris Hilton and you’re a great sales person, businesswoman and advertisement for your product, you are constantly in the media for better and worse keeping the product that you have become alive. I get that part, she does an excellent job at that. Yes, she is kind of pretty (sometimes gorgeous) and articulate, that helps too………..BUT! that means people will buy your product once. Right? If all these people buy the products and they are utter crap then how is there any return custom? How do you sell 1.5 billion dollars worth of perfume when 100ml is around $40, that is a shitload of juice. So I am agog to see what the hell everyone is buying, aren’t you? Honestly, if people are buying and rebuying the celebrity dream, it has to be kind of good.

Photo Stolen songonlyrics

So, what do I smell when I put on Paris Hilton’s Siren? It has been compared to Viva La Juicy, I have one on each hand. On my skin Viva La Juicy is similar, and nice, but not as interesting, though it ends way more gourmand. Siren, on the other hand (literally), starts out with a citrus softened by a delicious buttery frangipani, maybe it is partly the orchid which seems very night blooming and rich. The sandalwood, lotus and musk are apparent but I don’t get even a hint of the honeysuckle. This is a full-throated floral, surprisingly quite big and unashamed. Maybe I have a thing for drugstore scents but I like Siren, it’s a very good name for the scent that is cool, delicious and exotic with hints of warmth, especially as it dries down to a shimmery vanilla/musk accord that lasts well, in barely there status, before it too is gone. Somewhere between 4 & 5 hours, which is great on my scent hungry skin.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

I am as surprised as you that this isn’t instant scrub. There are much better respected and more expensive brands doing a far worse job on their fragrances than Paris Hilton did on Siren. It just goes to show, doesn’t it.

CheapSmells has 100ml for $22

Portia xx

PS I also thought you might like this. Apparently, Elton John has made a compilation of mash ups with Australian musicians’s Pnau called Good Morning To The Night, here is a taste. I am LOVING it. I stole it from another blogger lechehelsinki. Thanks.

Salvador Dali EdT 1983/1985/2011 Review

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Welcome Heaven Scented People,

One of my great art loves is Salvador Dali. Even his sketches seem finished and perfect. It seems to me that he was obsessed with producing the feeling, MORE. As if choosing canvases that were not big enough to hold all his ideas. His perfect sense of placement and storyline make some of his works transcendental, whole body experiences rather than mere visions.


Photo Stolen znanje


Photo Stolen znanje


Photo Stolen znanje

He and beloved wife Gala thought that an obvious extension of his visual medium would be fragrance. Salvador once said “Of the five senses, the sense of smell is incontestably the one that best conveys a sense of immortality” from Fragrantica. The original fragrance “Salvador Dali Le Parfum” was released for a limited run in 1983, the year after Gala’s death, and was such an instant iconic hit that it was reformulated for the mass market and released in 1985. All reformulations from Le Parfum to now have been created by Alberto Morillas.


Photo Stolen xtimeline

Pierre Dinand designed the bottle after Dali’s death, “We spent probably three years on the project…. Dali had absolutely no idea of what could realistically be done in glass. He thought you could do anything in glass, but no, glass is a very different material to use ….After his death the secretary signed a contract, and the famous bottle with the nose and lips was created, but that was not really what Dali would have wanted.” Stolen interview from Phaidon

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives the notes
Top: Tangerine, bergamot, orange blossom
Heart: Rose, jasmine, magnolia
Base: White musks, vanilla, woods

What do I get when I wear Salvador Dali? In the opening the citrus and orange blossom is so good and disgusting that it smells like bad breath or about to turn milk, this lasts only momentarily but it does set you up for how naughty the undercurrent of the fragrance will be. No sooner have you left the opening rush behind when the jasmine and magnolia collude/collide to give an extremely come here and do that again fragrance, have they left out some cumin or caraway in the notes here? SEXY! Magnolia is supposed to smell citric so that’s there but I don’t get rose at all. The vanilla and woods keep a low profile, into the second hour and they are not starring. Maybe the musk is pushing the sexy button?
FragranceNet has 100ml EdT $25
eGlobalBeauty has 100ml PdT for $44 including P&H

Thank you for coming along, has Dali moved you too? How?
Portia xx

Eau Sauvage by DIOR 1966 and Secret Garden Video

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Hiya Perfume Junkies,

Firstly, HAPPY JULY 4 USA! Photo Stolen Chiquero


Photo Stolen perfumeshrine

Recently I was lucky enough to grab a sample of Eau Sauvage but gave it to a mate instead of sniffing it myself. Since then it has played on my mind, trying to remember it because I used to wear it back in the late 1980’s and loved it. I happened to grab a SurrenderToChance: Perfumer Guy Robert Selects Perfume Masterpieces 24-Sample Pack and guess what, there it is! Guy Robert (Caleche, Madame Rochas, Dioressence, Amouage Gold) felt Edmond Roudnitska, the perfume genius responsible for Eau Sauvage, had created a masterpiece. Even 46 years later, after IFRA prohibitions and reformulations, it still bears solid traces of its magic and majesty.

Photo Stolen onlyfornow


Belonging to the Citrus Chypre family it opens fresh, bright  herbalcitrus on me, then the flowers which are kept surprisingly cool by carnation and iris root yet buttery warm through the sandalwood & patchouli, it’s interesting the way the flowers work against the green against the woods and herbs before the deep base comes plodding from below giving us the dank river bank near a produce market. This scent is surprisingly country and rural, considering that it’s been the epitome of masculine scent for a cool and classy city slicker.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives the notes/accords as
Top: lemon, basil, bergamot, cumin, lavender, fruit
Heart: Jasmine, rose, carnation, iris root, coriander, patchouli, sandalwood
Base: Oak moss, vetiver, musk, amber

NowSmelllThis and BoisDeJasmine do great reviews, both much more in depth with great historical data included.

As a special treat I’ll leave you with the DIOR Secret Garden movie. Glorious! Raf Simons stamping his modern nod to the houses history quite firmly over his predecessors kooky, often disconnected flamboyance. BAM! Yesterday’s fashion is again today’s news.

I hope you’ve enjoyed our look at Eau Sauvage, I really just wanted an excuse to play that video.

Is there a DIOR in your sights? Are you craving?
Portia xx

SUNDAY QUICKSNIFF REVIEWS #8

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Hey Hey Scentabillys,

Click here for more graphics and gifs!

The Sunday QuickSniff Review page is opened on Monday morning and every time I spritz and am near the computer I’ll give a 3 sentence review with a rating out of 5 each for, well, see the key after the reviews. Often these are samples I’ve bought or had sent to me by friends, or a FB that I may fully review later, or have done before and want to remind you of its existence. Just sniffs done quick, it’s Sunday, I’m relaxing with my dogs and buddies. I hope you’re having a good one too.

SOUS LE VENT  by GUERLAIN 1933. AHHHH Chypre, designed for and around the incredible Josephine Baker. The citrus as it opens, fresh and due to the lavender and tarragon herbal, almost masculine in its spareness and jolting briskness. It’s not long before the flowers make their presence known but it’s a cool, fresh, green bouquet with an aloof jasmine, carnation and basil. I missed the full base because I went to bed but this morning there is still a minuscule whiff of woods, soft soft soft something, maybe vanilla? PerfumePosse starts at $6.5/ml Ebay has a vintage bottle $3000  S=***** L=**** D=****

JITTERBUG EdP by DSH New Creations 2003. Jitterbug came as a 1ml extra “Thank You” sample in an order from DSH and is designed to be a glamorous memory scent like the ones your Mum and Grandma used to wear, that smelled so delicious and was laden with extraordinary amounts of love. Well they hit this one way out of the ball park because POW! everything warm and cuddly and curled up on the couch together watching TV are here. There is Mum, her clothes, her hair spray, her busy day body odours (not bad, just life) like hair, pits and breath. DSH Perfumes starts at a $4 sample S=**** L=*** D=****

HONEY BLOSSOM by THE BEEHIVE. I can’t work out where this 1ml carded sample came from, I thought it was an AVON that my mate Penny had given me? If you like Dior’s Miss Dior Cherie then this is for you and a quarter the price, it’s like wearing a Fruit Tingle………… sorry just had to swallow a bit of puke in the back of my throat. Just went out and patted the dogs and their smell has added a reasonable depth to the fragrance, I still hate it, sorry. Parfum1 has 100ml $35  S=*** L=** D=*

FLEUR ORIENTAL by MILLER HARRIS 2000. A soft, modern floriental. Totally wearable, not too in your face so could be worn at work while still feeling scented. It gets more interesting and warms up beautifully on your body with unexpected caramel depths and cool flower descant, there is a spiciness here too, lovely. FragranceX has 100ml EdP $80  S=**** L=*** D=****


Photo Stolen from shirtsays

Scent, Obviously the number 1 priority here is how does it smell. My reviews are completely subjective and will differ widely from your own experience with the scent but it’s a good starting point. As yet I am not a trained perfumer so any and all descriptions are merely that, descriptions. There are plenty of blogs that offer technical details and chemistry, in 3 sentences I’ll pass.
Longevity, This is a biggie for me because like enfleurage where flower petals are left in fats to steal the scent, my fatty body works the same and eats it up, yum. So for a scent to last well on me, it will probably last a whole day on you and need a radioactive decontamination shower to defuse it from your skin.
Desirabilty, Wrapped up in this is scent, price, house, history, longevity, packaging, availability and a billion other things.

Photo Stolen from bittbox

* in any of these being the, “You couldn’t pay enough to spray this God awful stink on me again, it smells like public toilets in India, long time fridge malfunction while on Summer holiday and the vile stench of poverty all rolled into one.” You are putting innocent people in danger if you wear this.
** means it’s a nothing, wearable, boring, maybe the price is prohibitive for what you get or it’s ubiquitous. You should definitely get a sample of this to stop a buying boo boo.
*** is a perfectly good product that smells good and lasts a while at a decent price. You should definitely think about trying a sample or squirt but should you miss out your life will continue. Sample size worthy.
**** is the one you try, want a lot but can wait for a birthday/Christmas. It’s better than most of the stuff you’ve sniffed and may fill a void in your library. This is also an excellent decant product 5ml will get you through the season and maybe buy it next year.
***** meaning, stop reading this, grab your cash, credit card (or partners), roll the elderly or rob a petrol station and purchase this product. NOW! If you don’t have this fragrance you could die.

With a bit of luck you’ve found something to be a lemming for but if not your wallet will thank you. How has your weeks scent sniffing gone? What delicious bits and pieces did you try this week?

Portia xx

TABAC by La Via del Profumo: Review

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 16 Comments

Hello Stinkophiles,

Photo of Faun by Forest Rogers

I have been wearing sporadically a group of samples bought from the La Via del Profumo range of Scents Of The Soul. When you buy a set of 6 generous, and beautifully mini bottled, 5ml samples you get a special wooden coffret to house them. This simple wooden box sits on my desk at all times and sometimes I open it up just to sniff the air inside, redolent with the magic in the tiny bottles.


Photo stolen Profumo

Today instead of just opening the box though I decided to lavishly spread Tabac upon my skin. It opens up deliciously vanilla and murky green tobacco on my skin, deep and humus rich earthy, maybe the cistus (rock rose) flies above but to me there is a fruity/jammy quality to the higher notes so you have a 2 speed fragrance. The depth and steady boom of the vanilla/tonka/smoking tobacco are played against this light flower/green tobacco/hay/fruity accord, there may even be a boozy side story here just on the edge of smelling. It is quite a ride, you can almost feel the sun on the cut grass, warming and drying it. This is a perfume, hefty, tasty, lusty and delicious; not for the faint hearted or affeared of fragrance. There is no hint of light aquatic, fruity nothing here. As it begins to lose its potency and aims towards dry down Tabac becomes sweeter before it goes dark, like the vanilla has come back to round the whole story out. Scent, longevity and sillage; Tabac by La Via del Profumo seems to have it all for me. When I finish this nearly empty sample it will be FB time.


Photo Stolen Profumo

From the LaViaDelProfumo site

The absolute of tobacco is the theme of this perfume. In the composition the overwhelming aroma of the tobacco is moderated with the spicy and resinous essences traditionally used to scent pipe tobacco…. Vanilla, cistus, tonka etc.
However, it’s interest and success lies in in its effect on the psyche and the vital energy. In perfume therapy, the scent of tobacco absolute confers warmth and well being and strength without overpowering. In effect, tobacco absolute should be taken into consideration for persons who have misused their own forces to the point where they are enervated and depleted of physical and psychic energy.

Please go and visit LaViaDelProfumo where you can find 100% natural perfumes created by extraordinary perfumer Abdes Salam Attar. The sample program is great, I love to try everything so it suits me perfectly. Just so you know, in my coffret I purchased Tabac, Hindu Kush, Sharif, Mecca Balsam, Tartar Leather and African Night, and as a bonus getting a small vial of Oud Caravan No. 3.

Thanks for dropping by, are there any tobacco perfumes that I should smell or that you love? Please leave us a comment so I can go look,
I hope your day is lovely.
If it’s not, things will and do get better, promise,

Portia xx

Portia xx

Giorgio Beverly Hills 1981 Review

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Hey Hey! Ho ho Ho Y’All,
What the…? I hear you ask. Why? Well, they have introduced an Eau de Giorgio 2012, I haven’t smelt it but just the thought of my teen years spent smelling the original has brought back big smiles, happy memories and a little melancholy. When my fave SA from a closing down sale offered me a half full ex tester bottle for $5 I jumped at the chance, just for the joy of jay walking down Memory Lane.


Photo Stolen paradiseemporium

Putting Giorgio Beverly hills on made me tear up with memories. The scent is burned into my olfactory memory centre like looking at the sun during an eclipse can burn your retina. Giorgio Beverly Hills was one of the fragrances that all Mum’s would wear in the 1980’s, so hugging Mum, family & friends and being engulfed by this enormous, wonderful and terrifying powerhouse fragrance was just how life was. It was the women who made all the decisions in our lives, we would watch them making a million split second choices, they ran their houses, domestic help, businesses, families and social lives in a way that just doesn’t seem to exist any more. Yet they still seemed to have time to relax, laugh and live. And everyone pretended they lived in Dynasty.

Photo Stolen blankstareblink.

OMG! How can this have been an every day scent? It is almost toxic in its utter hugeness. Everything happens at once! Flowers, fruit, wood, moss… BOOM! No wonder Giorgio Beverly Hills was banned from many restaurants, cinemas and work places. Ha! I am adrift on a sea of gorgeousness, there is nothing else, even sound can’t enter the walls of my Giorgio prison. BOOM! Close my eyes and I am alone in the world, just this enormous scent and I.

Fragrantica gives the notes and history as

Top notes: Orange blossom, peach, apricot,  bergamot
Middle notes:  Ylang-ylang, tuberose, gardenia, jasmine, rose, orchid
Base notes: Sandalwood, patchouli, vanilla, amber, cedar, oakmoss, musk

The Giorgio Beverly Hills fragrance was launched in 1981 by Fred Hayman and then-wife Gale Hayman with a fanfare normally reserved for a major perfume house launch, and never before seen for an independent boutique brand. Love it or hate it, the fragrance captured the public’s imagination in the 1980s, and was perfectly suited to the era’s glamorous and over-the-top fashions.

In 1987, the Giorgio Beverly Hills fragrance was sold to Avon for an astounding $165 million, and the boutique subsequently changed its name to Fred Hayman Beverly Hills.

This has been a terrific journey, I hope you have enjoyed the ride. Are there any scents that take you back in a heartbeat? That you smell and all of a sudden you’re in a memory time machine? Please share, I love to read other peoples stories.

Also, check out the PerfumePosse (<<JUMP) today. I have a guest spot and a special deal for you over there.
See you tomorrow,

Portia xx

Grand Bal by DIOR 2012 Review

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 14 Comments

Hey All,

Grand Bal by Christian Dior from La Collection Couturier Perfumeur range opens bright and cool, like a room lit with only LED light. As the juice warms on your skin so too does the scent. I was expecting it to be a very quiet and unassuming fragrance from the reviews I’ve read but no, it is cool bergamot, sexy, musky, white flowers, buttery ylang-ylang and sandalwood that are set in a perfume harking back to days of Grand Balls and the enormous gowns they wore that were made with the lightest and most expensive materials, enormous amounts of them. It doesn’t have the deep skank factor of days gone by, nor does it have the modern clean feel, the fleshiness here is not OCD clean but really living and breathing.

Photo Stolen DIOR

As you expect from Dior the fragrance is timeless and modern, giving a delicious and obvious nod to history, using the same materials available to everyone else and then doing it better, classier, more luxuriously, yet without pandering to the lowest common denominator. It is the same but more than the rest, a perfect scent accompaniment to all those delicious Dior gowns I always fantasized about but will never own except in my head.

Photo Stolen FashionBombDaily

From the DIOR website:
Literally fascinated by the excess of the imposing balls that he would not miss for anything, Christian Dior used his fashion to celebrate a certain luxurious and timeless celebratory spirit…”Grand Bal is an echo of Christian Dior’s great ball gowns, whose full skirts and beauty evoked the petals of a flower in full bloom,” François Demachy.

Photo Stolen piroskawolf

1000 Fragrances says in his review
The fresh sambac jasmine with its sensual sparkling green touch dominates the perfume while a small exotic vibe is brought by ylang-ylang Mayotte. The drydown is very sensual and alluring because it uses a new quality of natural sandalwood from Nouvelle Calédonie.

Photo Stolen shinystyle

Just by whacky chance Undina’sLookingGlass has also reviewed Dior’s Grand Bal today. She has done a very different review and it smells different on her skin, go see.

Fragrantica gives the notes in one line as
Musk, jasmine, orange blossom, ylang-ylang, sandalwood, bergamot

My only down side with this lovely fragrance is that my skin has eaten most of it in 4 hours, there is the vaguest musk and wood hint left that is not a skin-ish scent.

I was lucky enough to grab 5ml at SurrenderToChance in a Daily Chance Special, still they have Grand Bal decants starting at $3 for 1ml.
DIOR counters everywhere will probably have it too but I’m not sure. It’s fun to go seeking though,

Have you tried any of La Collection Couturier Perfumeur range? Do you have a favourite? What did you think? If not, are you avoiding them?
Thanks for dropping by,

Portia xx

Musc Ravageur by Maurice Roucel from Frederic Malle 2000 Review

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 14 Comments

Hiya Fumies,

I have had a sample of Musc Ravageur glaring with its almost Vivienne Westwood red cover at me since my scent Mother Emma took me on a tour of the Frederic Malle range at our Sydney city Mecca corner under Myer. On the day my 3 standouts were Carnal Flower, Geranium Pour Monsieur and Musc Ravageur. I was given samples of CF and Musc Ravageur but have been afraid of how much I will love them and crave FB of the whole damn lot. Well, to hell with waiting…

MUSC RAVAGEUR by MAURICE ROUCEL from FREDERIC MALLE 2000

Photo Stolen Frederic Malle

A lot has been written about this startling fragrance, Katie Puckrik does word and video, PerfumeSmellingThings and GrainDeMusc do words better than I could ever dream. Check them out. Fragrantica gives these notes

Top notes: Lavender and bergamot
Middle notes: Cinnamon and cloves
Base notes: Sandalwood, tonka bean, vanilla, guaiac wood and cedar

What happens when I put Musc Ravageur on? The big lavender and bergamot opening and already there is an undercurrent of the base like a warm hug from a fit young footballer just after practice, then the spices waft in heating things up. Together, at this point the whole fragrance seems to be vying for you attention, all notes together, it’s a busty blonde barmaid gone slightly to seed and working double time. My skin eats these first welcoming moments quickly, within the first half hour Musc Ravageur has settled into a sweet and warm musky vanilla that is way too lovely to be me but after a few hours it could be me if you didn’t know what I smelled of originally. A little bit of exercise, be it dancing or vacuuming, gives it an extra kick of sexy because your own scent blends with it. I think this would be a stunning after gym scent. Your blood is still flowing and you have that yummy sexy scent of just showered hard work, add to that some Musc Ravageur and you will seriously need a BIG stick to get rid of guys like this every morning.

Photo Stolen beautifulmale

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s post. What scent sends you crazy when you smell it?
See you tomorrow,
Portia xx

Tourmaline by Charriol 2010

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

Hey Hey all you Scent Worshipers,

I am new to the world of Charriol.

Photo Stolen airesjewelers

It is a Swiss Jewellery and Watch company started in 1983 in Geneva by Philippe Charriol, a French entrepreneur, and known for it’s patented cable work with gold & steel and Celtic inspirations. Expensive, interesting and beautiful; their jewellery and watches are so artfully designed and constructed that they look timeless.


Photo Stolen airesjewelers

TOURMALINE by CHARRIOL 2010

When my friendly SA Amanda says to me, “Portia, you like a white flower powerhouse, don’t you?” my ears prick up instantly. The perfumer from Givaudan who created this fragrance, Guillaume Flavigny, also created In Black for Byblos which TSO Jin wears, and I love on him. He is good at making big scents even in today’s market so I am already thinking it might be a hit for me.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

According to Fragrantica (and severely de-ad.-speak) the notes go
Olfactory family: floral, green, woody
Top notes: Davana, Green notes, Cyclamen, Ivy leaf.
Middle notes: Gardenia, Frangipani, Water hyacinth.
Base notes: Rosewood, Musk, Patchouli.

Yes, it is a green, white floral but it also has a non specific sweet, fruity style that comes from Artemisia Pallens, commonly called Davana in India, that lifts it beyond your regular white floral. I am reading that this is a fruit-chouli/aquatic but it isn’t wearing like that on me at all. The cyclamen at the start gives this great sweet, floral, waxy feeling to the ivy, davana and green notes that identifies it as unusual for me. Then the night flowers start their song, so inviting and in your face. I love the clear call of the flowers in this middle section, it is feisty. This smells good. It’s so simple.  I could go on and on at you about the story and notes and completely miss the point that this smells so good, and fresh, crisp and light. We had a sunny Autumn day here in Sydney, Australia and Tourmaline stepped up to bat and hit the ball out of the park.

Photo Stolen gemselect

The bottle is nice too, it has heft and I like the side roping, and the nod to a watch face. In fact for once the bottle is nicer in your hand than the ad. The whole package seems well thought out and planned. The paraiba tourmaline was first discovered in the Brazililan state of Paraiba in 1989 by a dedicated miner named Heitor Barbosa and it’s luminous blue/green colour is caused by copper traces within the gem. It is only found in 3 places on earth and sells for thousands of dollars per carat.

It is now night time, I’ve cooked us all here the most delicious Butter Chicken, we’ve watched some TV and the crew is in bed. A respritz of Charriol’s lovely Tourmaline and all of a sudden I know what I will write about tonight. This sneaky, budget little gem that I picked up on my fave SAs word.

Tourmaline by Charriol can be bought from their site
I found it at PerfumeConnection 50ml under $30
Amazon also has 50ml under $30

I’m pretty sure this has slipped under everyone’s radar because the only mention I could find in a blog was NowSmellThis where Robin introduces the fragrance but gives mainly Press Release info. The comments after shed more light on the Tourmaline name, it’s where I got the paraiba from.

Thanks for coming along. It’s wonderful to me that you do. Thank You.
Portia xx