Australian Sandalwood Oil Spectacular

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Post by Ainslie Walker

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Hello APJ Peeps!

I hope you are all well and fabulously fragrant. I wanted to share a captivating documentary I discovered today. It takes an hour to view, but well worth the time invested for its fascinating content, based in Western Australia and France, all about delicious Australian Sandalwood and more!

Australian Sandalwood Oil Spectacular

The documentary outlines the Australian Sandalwood and Indian Sandalwood oil industries in Australia and highlights environmental issues, indigenous community involvement, poaching, uses of, industry’s worth and traces the oil right through to Givaudon’s laboratory in France where they now use both species of oils for fine fragrance and beauty products.

How would you describe the smell of Sandalwood Oil? Have you had the luck to smell both Indian AND Australian native sandalwood oil? What differences did your nose perceive?

I learnt so much from watching and hope you do too! Make yourself a cuppa or some popcorn, relax and enjoy!

Australian Sandalwood and Indian Sandalwood oil industries in Australia Documentary Link <<<JUMP

Here is an additional ABC news story, which outlines the dodgy poaching industry that is occurring in greater volume than the legal exporting of Sandalwood Oil from Australia. Who knew?!? SO interesting!

After watching the above my mind was inspired, racing in all different directions. My legs took me to my bathroom where I found a bottle of Mecca Cosmetica: Scrub Up Smoothing Body Polish. The reason I raced to find it was I knew it was the only product I had containing Sandalwood KERNEL (i.e. not from the wood) oil CO2 extracted AND the nuts themselves as the exfoliation component. It is from the species Santalum Spicatum which is indeed the Australian Sandalwood kernels. If you remember from the program they were the bigger nuts and sound like they often go to waste…perhaps not anymore!? It seems they have made a slightly more “luxurious version” of the traditional indigenous “chew and spit” kernel poultice/scrub. (..And I do recommend it!)

Sandalwood Mecca Cosmetica

We at APJ would love to hear your thoughts on the above programs including anyone who has personally visited the plantations in Western Australia.

Finally, which are your favorite Sandalwood containing fragrances and do you think they contain Australian or Indian oil…or synthetic molecules?

Pas De Mal(le)! EDP by Le Bienaimé Parfums

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Post by Robert Herrmann

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Hello Fragrant Friends!

This is Robert H. again, writing from my small island home in Washington state, exactly halfway between Seattle and Vancouver B.C. I am an inveterate fragrance lover, occasional writer, full-time business owner, world traveller, ex-Broadway singer, and happily married to an ever-suffering spouse who descends into allergic hell at the faintest whiff of perfume. Just my luck.

“Everything Old Is New Again….”

Pas De Mal(le)! EDP by Le Bienaimé Parfums

Now this is a perfume that speaks directly to my heart!

I live in a community that takes recycling VERY seriously! At our local dump (tip) you not only drop off your trash, but also separate ALL your recyclables (up to 20 various categories) and there’s also a section called the “take it or leave it” if it can be reused, you can drop it off, and someone else can walk off with it at no cost. (Ron and I have found some great treasures, like a vintage Oleg Cassini Jackie O-style suit which we ended up selling for $600!)

Le Bienaimé #1

So when I got word of a new European perfume house dedicated to perfume “upcycling” my fragrant heart went pitter-pat! I went to their website, loved what I saw, and blind-bought 2 bottles right out the gate.

The first one I’m wearing is “Pas De Malle” (a play on words meaning ‘Not bad’), an amalgam of different Frederic Malle perfumes that is far beyond “not bad” and more like “bloody brilliant”!

Le Bienaimé #2

The perfume is composed of various amounts of the following:
Bigarde Concentree, Cologne Indelible, Lipstick Rose, Un Rose, Vetiver Extrordinaire, and a splash of Oud by Robert Piguet.

This was an easy buy for me, I LOVES me some Frederic Malle, and what is most interesting to me is how very vintage the perfume wears on my skin! Categorized as a woody floriental, it is indeed that. Powdery, floral, with a darkness that you can’t exactly put your finger on yet vaguely familiar. This is a wonderful unisex perfume. Who would wear it? Someone who doesn’t want to smell like anyone else. On earth. Ever.

Le Bienaimé #3

Yup, that would be me. Renew, re-use, recycle, re-spray!
Check out their website Le Bienaimé

(Ed: LATE NEWS: “Annindraya Perfume Lounge” in Amsterdam. The owners name is Tanja Deurloo and she’s a total sweetheart, and made my transaction smooth as silk! RH)

Do you have a favorite Malle? (Besides Carnal Flower, because…well….Carnal Flower.)

 

Chanel No 19 EdP by Henri Robert for Chanel 1971: Vintage + Modern

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Post by Anne-Marie

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The good thing about loving a perfume by Chanel is that Chanel does not discontinue its fragrances very often. You can have an affair for life with a Chanel perfume, and know that you will be rewarded by the company’s constant investment in high quality raw materials and packaging. If you wear a perfume for years you get to know it well, and will notice differences even in newer bottles of the same concentration. Although of course many classic fragrances have been reformulated out of all recognition, sometimes the distinctions are very subtle, and may even be improvements.

Today I’m going to talk about Chanel No 19 EDP, but please do chime in down in the comments if you have had experiences like this with other long-time perfume loves.

 Chanel No 19 EdP by Chanel 1971

 Chanel No 19 EdP by Henri Robert: Vintage + Modern

Chanel No 19 Eau de Parfum Chanel FragranticaFragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Neroli, bergamot, green notes
Heart: Iris, narcissus, rose, lily of the valley
Base: Sandalwood, leather, vetiver, oakmoss

Although the EDP is not my favourite concentration, when I noticed that my old one, bought in 1999, had started to turn I instantly bought a new one. I was prompted especially by having spritzed from department store testers and noticed a greater emphasis on vetiver in the current EDP compared to my old one. Sure enough, when I opened my new bottle (a Christmas present to myself!), the vetiver is indeed, to my nose, more prominent than of old.

My old EDP demonstrates more rose and powdery orris than the new. The difference is not great, but it’s there. And actually, I quite like it. To me there is more structure in the newer version, and it’s more masculine and less powdery.

Years ago when I first smelled the EDP I wondered why I found it a bit depressing. I didn’t know the notes for No 19, and didn’t know that orris (iris) can induce a feeling of melancholy. Once I learned that – the feeling magically went away, and I began to wear the EDP with more enjoyment.

Chanel No 19 Eau de Parfum Chanel William_Blake_Melancholy WikipediaWikipedia

I’m liking my new bottle very much and strongly recommend it to vetiver lovers, male and female.

A word about the other concentrations: the parfum to me is quite dark and leathery, with yes – lots of vetiver. Portia”s review. The EDT is my favourite. It is (to me) the least powdery; it sparkles with a mixture of spring sunshine and rain. I adore it, and I’m on my … ahem … fourth bottle. I’ve not smelled the old EDC but here’s Portia”s review.

It can be a complex business to maintain a perfume to an even standard over the years, not just because of restrictions on raw materials, but because the natural materials will vary from place to place and harvest to harvest. Ensuring that the materials are produced ethically and sustainably is another consideration.

Chanel No 19 Eau de Parfum Chanel Sara Beneath Rain FlickrFlickr

Further reading: Now Smell This and Olfactoria’s Travels
CHANEL counters everywhere have No 19, go grab a FREE spritz
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $3.50/ml

So – over to you. Do you have a long-time favourite fragrance which has let you down, or does it continue to bring joy?

Welcome To 2016: Some Helpful Insights

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Post by Portia

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Hey Hey Crew,

This is the other side! You’ve made it through the western festive season and new year. OK, you now have had a little time to reflect on 2015 and what it taught you. I learned some valuable things in 2015 and I’d like to share some of them with you. Yes, most of you have already learned these but maybe having them reiterated will give you a great 2016.

Welcome To 2016: Some Helpful Insights

Jin & I often talk about how lucky we are. Not just in the Health, Wealth and Happiness sectors but in our friends. You may know I sometimes suffer black dog days, they are rare but intense. Jin is pretty good most of the time only experiencing anything nearing depression when his work life is toxic or unsteady. We do have friends though that battle depression on a daily basis and though we can’t help them with their demons we do provide a good distraction and try and give people new focus. Sometimes after a completely random day a friend will thank us for lifting their blues, even though we were completely unaware they were in a hole….

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One of the pieces of advice we live by, and offer our friends as an antidote, is to step outside of our comfort zone. Even just for a short time and with a get out of jail plan if things turn out less fabulous than expected. Often depression is fed by fear, knowing you have the ability not only to make a decision but that you have the where-with-all to note drama or disaster and deal with it is an effective way of lifting depression or habitual poor choices. Also, knowing beforehand that not everything will work out perfectly and that it will be alright can be helpful.

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Next we have something that took me 47 years to learn. I can’t believe that I am so freaking dense sometimes and am thinking about many instances in my life where I have behaved poorly because someone did not share my headspace. An opinion or a lifestyle is not an attack. GAWD! So simple. You don’t have to bring someone around to your point of view, it’s not a challenge or a threat. Conversation is full of disagreements, it’s good to know people who will challenge your thought processes, you may not change your minds but it’s excellent to hear and understand the other side of a point of view. Just because we don’t agree doesn’t mean the people you are interacting with are less of an anything than you, be nice to them. They are doing their best to live in this crazy, fucked up world too.

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And lastly for today. Cut yourself some slack. The world will not end if your bathroom isn’t spotless for guests, in 100 years nobody will care that you were outrageous at the Christmas party and life will go on if you didn’t get your list finished and finalised today. Not everything we do in 2016 will be successful, you may not get the new set of information into your brain on the first go, any change takes time so be prepared to help yourself along. We are all a work in progress, no one was born the dream they have for themselves.

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YOU are special to us at APJ. Thank you for being here, reading, commenting and being a part of the APJ family.

WE LOVE YOU and wish you a wonderful 2016.
Portia xxx

Pink Marshmallows in the Morning by Banks Botanicals 2014

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Post by Portia

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Hey there crew,

More than anything I get asked about the Hand Wash in my bathroom. Every time we have visitors at least one of them question the provenance of what I consoder to be the best smelling and most effective Hand Wash in the history of the universe. I love it so much that this December I bought ten of them, two for my home and eight to give as gifts over the festive season.

Pink Marshmallows in the Morning by Banks Botanicals 2014

Pink Marshmallows in the Morning by Suzanne R Banks

Pink Marshmallows in the Morning by Banks Botanicals bathroom

Based on coconut oil and glycerine, 100% natural and as eco-friendly as possible to find, Suzanne adds a dazzling fragrance that is marshmallows and Australian bushlands all rolled into one. The bite & twang of boronia and eucalyptus set in a sweet base that is so unusual that I find it doesn’t really compare with anything concrete but may bear some links with pink marshmallows. Naah, it doesn’t really but when you smell it you’ll understand why it is so named.

One of things I really like about Pink Marshmallows in the Morning is the enormous burst of fragrance as you wash your hands that goes a long way towards masking any unsavoury human de-catering smells. Yet once you leave the bathroom it disappears in a couple of minutes, meaning you won’t compromise your fragrance choice for the day.

Pink Marshmallows in the Morning by Banks Botanicals hand wash

Something else I love is the simple, no nonsense packaging. No boxes, just the recyclable plastic bottle and a pump that screws up. Plastic is so much better in the bathroom where I am often barefoot and the tiles are unforgiving of dropped glass. Also, ALL the ingredients are listed on the side of the container and Suzanne makes sure everything she puts into her products are the most harm free she can find and fair trade.

The price is particularly reasonable too. Normally $25, I got a great discount because I bought 10 bottles at only $20/bottle and I went and picked them up. Because Pink Marshmallows in the Morning is a Hand Wash and not alcohol based fragrance Suzanne can send to the world, but postage from Australia is a bit pricey.

Pink Marshmallows in the Morning from Suzanne R Banks FaceBook. Send Suzanne a message if you’d like to purchase. You won’t regret it.

What is your favourite handwash? Would you try a 100% natural and as eco-friendly as possible hand wash if it smelled amazing and cleaned your hands?
Portia xxx

Guerlain x JonOne – The Dark and Wild Becoming: Video

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Post by Portia

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Hi there Guerlainophiles,

You’ve probably seen the newest way to wear your bee bottle. Custom painted by artist JonOne. They are priced far out of reach of the normal mortals pocket but they are beautiful and utterly desirable. I find myself torn. Should I eat this year and keep my lovely home, or should I buy a JonOne Bee Bottle?

Le flacon aux Abeilles Par JonOne GuerlainGuerlain

It’s a trifle at €9000 and this startling orange one is filed chock full of Rose Barbare, there is blue for Shalimar and pink for La Petite Robe Noire.

Maybe not, for me. Still the video is sensational. So full of existential artist angst.
Enjoy.
Portia xx

Guerlain x JonOne – The Dark and Wild Becoming

Everything’s Coming Up Russian Roses

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Post by Poodle

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Hey APJ,

I was recently sent a lovely box of samples from the 1st Festival of Indie Perfumery in Russia. The non-commercial event is creative exchange between Russian Perfumers and bloggers and reviewers who love perfume. It’s a way of sharing Russian Indie perfumery with the world and was organized by Anna Zworykina. Anna has been making perfume for more than 15 years and has published a book in Russian about natural perfumery. The theme of the event was “Rose and Water” and all the perfumes were created during a six week time period with that theme in mind. There were 18 perfumers who participated and the perfumes covered every aspect of the theme. Some were all natural, others natural and synthetic. It was interesting to sniff so many interpretations of roses and water. The perfumers really managed to show the versatility of roses.

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So I picked out my favourite five to highlight for you.

Everything’s Coming Up Russian Roses

Festival of Indie Perfumery in Russia 2015

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Pool by Anastasia Denisenkova.
Pool is a bright juicy rose perfume with Rose de Mai, Rose Otto, and Rosa Damascena. It’s highlighted with melon and ozonic notes and grounded with amber, musk, and oakmoss. Melon can be a difficult note for a lot of people but it really does help to give a watery feel to the perfume. Imagine rose petals floating on crystal blue water and you’ve got Pool.

Ophelia by Art of Perfume
This one is an herbal interpretation of roses and water. They could have called it noir if they wanted. It smells like the blackness of water in the moonlight. Walking along the bank there’s the crush of wormwood, lavender, and daisies underfoot, the brush of rose blossoms against you as you pass by. Resins and fir balsam add more darkness and earthiness. I love how this one reminded me of absinthe because of the wormwood.

Russian Roses Snow rose PixabayPixabay

Winter Rose by Anna Zworykina
The snow might be fluffy but this rose is not powdery at all. The rose’s scent is tempered by the snow. I can smell an almost citrusy sweetness. Although its called Winter Rose it’s not cold or metallic but warm and ambery. Starts cool and frosty but warms to a bouquet seen through Russian amber.

Rose Garden After the Rain byAnna Vtyurina
Think of the rosiest rose you’ve ever smelled. This is a big rose perfume. It opens with a bold citrus and rose. It’s juicy and watery, crisp and green. On me there’s a little tough of mintiness but it’s barely there so I could be mistaken. Remember when those bouquets of roses from the florists actually smelled like roses? This is that smell. The bouquet, the fern green filler, the water in the vase. Early summer bottled.

Russian Roses Marilyn_Monroe WikipediaWikiMedia

Marilyn’s Kiss by Galina Anni
This perfume isn’t as rosy as some of the others but was really fun to smell. There’s just enough mint to give it a watery feel along with some citrus. At the heart of it the rose blends with ylang-ylang and fruits. It’s sweet but not like a fruit punch. It’s creamier than that. It’s vanilla pudding with rose petals and buttery ylang-ylang. I didn’t expect to like this but the mint and ylang really make it work.

I’m so happy I got the opportunity to sample all the perfumes from this event. It was interesting to see how each perfumer approached the theme. I hope this will be the first of many such festivals.

Hugs
Poodle

RIP Gucci Marie Turbo 200? – 13.1.2016

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Post by Portia

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Hi APJ,

Gucci is gone. She looked me straight in the eyes when the vet gave her the injection and then she laid her head down and died. It was peaceful and dignified. I am sad but curiously happy for her too.

Thank you all for your messages of support, your love and for sharing your stories of your beautiful pets.

Perfume people are the best. I floated on the wings of your love and Gucci left this world in as perfect a way as could be arranged.

What fragrance did I wear? For the night before I drenched myself in Gucci Envy Me and then for the day I wore Gucci Eau de Parfum, tonight I will wear Gucci No 3, tomorrow I will wear Gucci Envy Men.

RIP Gucci Marie Turbo

Here are some shots of our last days together.

Gucci Marie Jan 2016 #1

Gucci Marie Jan 2016 #2Final family photo, it was a sad moment but thank goodness for Kath & Jin. No one could ask for better people in  their lives.

Gucci Marie Jan 2016 #3Gucci’s last morning, she is telling me it can’t be time to wake up yet.

Gucci Marie Jan 2016 #4Jin says his final goodbye before going to work.

Gucci Marie Jan 2016 #5Once Jin has left Gucci & I scurry onto the main bed. He He he. Don’t tell Jin.

Gucci Marie Jan 2016 #6Here is Gucci’s last photo. I walked her the two short blocks to the vet so I wouldn’t have to drive afterwards. We took 20 minutes to get there because Gucci needed to stop and rest and also to give her one last sniff of this world. It looks like she is smiling but in reality she cannot breathe and is desperately trying to get some air.

The vet was so sweet. Every time she sees Gucci she asks what we did to keep her in such good condition, even though she can’t breathe and she has lost a lot of weight she still has silky soft fur, is alert and looks old but healthy.

Gucci had the needle, looked me straight in my eyes and was desperately trying to communicate something (I’m so stupid I couldn’t tell if it was Thank you or Why?) and with the vet repeating “Good Girl” and me repeating “Thank You” and “Good Luck Gucci” she went on to the next big adventure.

Farewell my beautiful skinny blonde bitch, there is now a Gucci shaped hole in my world.

Thank you all for your messages. Be well.
Portia xx

Scent Eating Skin: Fact or Fiction

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Post by Val the Cookie Queen

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New Year´s Salutations APJ.

I saw the New Year in wearing Bandit EdP and Extrait together. An old fragrance but new to me. I received a large decant of the EdP as a gift and went straight out and bought the Extrait. Sometimes you just know. I have made two perfume related resolutions for the new year. Not to walk around with my nose glued to my wrist, as it totally distorts my impressions, being the first. The scent sticks in my nose cavity and that is useless. Second, I am not going to investigate note lists before trying anything new, which will mean walking round the Esxence in Milan with a blindfold on I expect. Just looking at a list stops me from trying so much. Not that I expect to like any more than I usually do, but you never know!

Scent Eating Skin: Fact or Fiction

Each time I come across the phrase “on my scent eating skin” I roll my eyes loudly. I have done absolutely no research on this subject matter, presuming it to be a myth; but a more serious interest wast triggered by a panic phone call from a dear perfumista (S) friend about a month ago. She had ordered and received a bottle of perfume that she had loved on me. Not exactly a blind by as she had spent the best part of a day continually sniffing my hand. As we perfume geeks do.

“Val, I generously sprayed this perfume on and in less than ten minutes it is GONE.” Dead. Deceased. Departed. Finished. Spent. Exhausted. It is no more. Bringing to mind Monty Python´s Dead Parrot Sketch. I quietly rolled my eyes, a little unsure at this point. “Perhaps there has been mistake at the production end?” she asked me. I doubted it but stranger things have happened.

Belvedere Palace, Vienna - AUSTRIA WikimediaWikipedia

Weird. I hopped on a train to Vienna to smell this thing for myself. It is always better to have a witness in a serious situation so we called in the help of another perfumista (M). The three of us sat comfortably around a table, ordered breakfast and cracked out the bottle in question. With intently serious faces, for this was a scientific analysis, S and I heftily spritzed. M remained on the sideline as an impartial judge.

Before breakfast arrived the perfume (an EdP by the way) on S had disintegrated. Disappeared. Time elapsed was probably around ten minutes. I got about 12 hours out of it. WTF? M was equally stunned. S told us that this was not the only fragrance that disappeared on her. I must admit over the years I have been gobsmacked at the amount of fragrance that S sprays not to even mention the fact that she FINISHES bottles, something I have never done. I should add here that I also generously dabbed S in a favorite extrait of mine (guess) and within 45 minutes it was also history. Perturbed.

vienna austria assisi church building PicabayPixabay

I don´t think I own a perfume that gives me less than 12 hours of pleasure minimum. It has truly got me wondering. Are skins really that different? Is that why S smells a million dollars in Amouage and I do not?

There is a happy ending to the story. I received the aforemetioned ordered bottle for Christmas. 🙂

Dear readers of APJ, perhaps you could be kind enough to take time for a quick comment? Do you have an opinion on the scent eating skin theory. Do some skins just outright reject fragrances? Are S and I at opposite ends of the spectrum, both being extreme? It is no wonder that I am scared spitless of spraying something unknown onto my skin if I have to live with it for the next fortnight.

Vienna Scott Swigart some statue in vienna FlickrFlickr

Wishing you all strength for 2016.
Keep on truckin’.

Bussis
CQ

Bat by Ellen Covey for Zoologist Perfumes 2015

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Post by Azar

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Hello APJ,

There has been a lot of buzz about bats on perfume blogs of late directly related to the new Bat fragrance created by Ellen Covey for Victor Wong of Zoologist Perfumes, Toronto. Ellen has an uncanny ability to recreate the ambient fragrance of places where she has lived, worked and visited. On her Olympic Orchids website, there is an entire category devoted to “Scents of Place”. The Bat fragrance, to my nose, is definitely about a place (a cave) and does not, thankfully, smell like its namesake. On the perfume bottle, the portrait of the bat created by Victor Wong’s colleague Daisy Chan, appears to be some kind of leaf nosed fruit bat (Dermanura sp.), While a few bats are reported to have pleasant odors most do not, at least as far as we humans are concerned.

Over the years, as part of her university work on bat hearing and echolocation, Ellen has visited bat habitats throughout the Americas. If any perfumer on the planet is qualified to create a fragrance for a bat cave it is Dr. Ellen Covey!

Bat by Zoologist Perfumes 2015

Bat by Ellen Covey

Bat Zoologist Perfumes FragranticaFragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Banana, fruity notes, soil tincture
Heart: Fig, tropical fruits, myrrh, resins, green notes
Base: Musk, leather, vetiver, sandalwood, tonka bean

My first impression of Bat recalls the smell of parched earth moistened by rain, the fragrance of roots, vetiver, lime and a breath of banana (a la Todd Oldham). There is something about this combination of fruit, dirt, wet stone and vetiver that evokes not only the damp darkness of a cave but the magical lore surrounding the creature itself. As the fragrance dries the smell of petrichor changes as Bat takes on the scent of raw beets, decomposing leaves, friable humus, peat moss, musk, figs and myrrh. This description sounds a bit heavy but, like the smell of peat moss, it is vegetal and light. To me the heart of Bat is a scent for gardeners and people who love the smell of cool, rich earth and green growing things. As time passes the fragrance becomes progressively lighter and cooler with a kind of effervescent quality that suggests the airborne grace of bats in flight. At about 40 minutes sandalwood and tonka bean lift Bat into a woody, vanilla realm that, combined with earth elements, musk and banana, create a comfortingly sweet, fuzzy effect lasting for hours.

Bat Zoologist Perfumes Teacher Traveler Flying Foxes (aka Fruit Bats) FlickrFlickr

With the exception of the initial impression of petrichor, Bat is really quite shy. Sillage is, at the most, moderate and the fragrance remains relatively intimate for hours.

Have you tried Bat or any of the Zoologist perfumes? Tell us what you think. Also stay tuned for more about Bat. In March I will be doing a Mega-Draw for all the fragrances I’ve reviewed in January and February 2016.

Zoologist Perfumes has $125/60ml

Azar xx