George by Anais Biguine for Jardins d'Ecrivains 2012

January 14, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 15 Comments

Post by Trésor

There are few aromas which bring me quite the same sense of ease and incredible comfort as that of the orange blossom. The diaphanous white floral glow that radiates from these precious petals seems to convey a dream sequence of softness, delicate femininity and and that inimitable eau de cologne chic. Yet in the throes of all of this beauty I am still left with one desire unsatiated, the desire and carnal yearning for something subversive; something incendiary and of the night. I’d wondered for quite some time if it would be possible to find an orange blossom who’s calyxes oozed forth wicked elixir and one lucky day, entirely by chance, I found exactly what I was looking for. I found George.

George by Anais Biguine for Jardins d’Ecrivains 2012

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Neroli, bergamot, heliotrope, coffee, tobacco, peru balsam, musk, myrrh

George opens on the skin with a hyper-realized vision or orange blossoms, ablaze in hues of searing titian and rust. The petals are bleeding with menthol and wrapped carefully within a swathe of rich leather. As the orange blossom begins to settle into the skin the leather takes a more dominant role and becomes adorned with the powdery inflorescence of heliotrope. This moment in particular is the line where George teeters the line of modesty and filth so beautifully. The balsam of Peru which was but a hologram beneath the surface is now cascading forth in its hue of moonlit umber. The balsam is so extraordinarily rich and dense with enveloping aroma that for a period it is all I can smell. As the weight begins to lift I can smell the luxuriant vapours of spectacular honeyed tobacco. This stage is divinity, absolute and beyond words. The camphorous whisper from the previous synapse remains, adding a faint emerald scintillation to the warm and redolent base. It truly is a most comforting and also rather sexy olfactory sensation. As the final stages of the dry down take their descent you are left with the gossamer aura of a dancing and delicious, resinous myrrh-y skinscent. It softly hovers above the skin until it finally fades into nothing at all.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

I get an incredibly good wear out of George, garnering about 10 hours before it finally disappears entirely. The sillage one my skin is rather strong but I don’t find it overpowering whatsoever. It’s simply dense but not necessarily loud. I think if you’re a fan of either orange blossom, leather inflected or balsamic fragrances I wouldn’t hesitate to give George a go. It truly is a brilliant brew.

Photo Stolen WikiCommons

Further reading: Now Smell This and The Non Blonde
Beauty Habit has $110/100ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $3.25/ml

I hope that you like it as much as I have!

Trésor xx

Lipstick, Perfume and Pop Heroes: A True Story

January 13, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 45 Comments

Post by Val the Cookie Queen

The Clash and subsequently Big Audio Dynamite are amongst my all time favourite bands. Mick Jones is my lyric writing hero.

Amsterdam 1985. I never go anywhere without my red lipstick. In the early days of my relationship with Chris he would ask why it was so important. I always answered the same “You just never know, I might bump into Mick Jones one day.”

Lipstick, Perfume and Pop Heroes: A True Story

Photo Stolen Pixabay

Amsterdam 1987. We were in the Paradiso at a Hoodoo Gurus gig. Which all these years on is kind of fab since they were Sydney´s coolest band, and now I´m with Sydney´s most sublime drag queen. But life IS strange. About half way through the gig, a colleague of mine from the “Melkweg” where I worked, tapped me on the shoulder. (The Melkweg is a famous concert venue and multimedia centre. It includes an art gallery, cinema, dance/theatre and teahouse. It was founded in 1970. It is known as the “Milky Way” in english.)
He asked me to leave the gig and go over to the Melkweg as the boss wanted me too look after an English band who were visiting. I had absolutely no intention of leaving the Hoodo Gurus gig. I yelled at him over the music, asking who it was. He replied “Some band called Big Audio Dynamite.” I kid you not. I leaned over and told Chris I had to leave because Mick Jones was waiting for me. I touched up my lipstick and left.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

Chris stayed on until the end of the Gurus, and then joined me. We hung out with the band for a couple of days, and they went onto support U2 at a stadium gig in Rotterdam. Don´t ask. What happened in Amsterdam stayed in Amsterdam. 🙂 It did not lead to a life long friendship, but we did get to join up with the band in 1989 for three brilliant Big Audio Dynamite gigs in Boston.

This is a perfume blog so it would do to mention what I was wearing. Amsterdam would have been

Photo Stolen instyle

Chanel No 5 Extrait

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Aldehydes, bergamot, lemon, neroli, ylang-ylang
Heart: Jasmine, rose, lily of the valley, iris
Base: Vetiver, sandalwood, vanilla, amber, patchouli

Boston was

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Samsara EdP by Guerlain

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, lemon, ylang-ylang, peach and green notes
Heart: Jasmine, iris, narcissus, violet, rose
Base: Sandalwood, vanilla, Tonka bean, amber, musk

Samples of CHANEL No 5 Extrait and Samsara EdP both available Surrender To Chance

I still carry my red lipstick.

Be Prepared. You never know.

Happy 2015.

Bussis
CQ

Woodcut by Ellen Covey for Olympic Orchids 2014

January 12, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 60 Comments

Post by Azar

Hello APJ,

Happy New Year – and I am ready for it! There have been too many changes in 2014. This time last year I was dealing with emotional trauma associated with the destruction of the small forest behind our home in Issaquah, WA, “Tree City USA”. The smell of sap and tree blood was almost toxic, the whole experience brutal. After the trees were ripped out and hauled away, a monstrosity of a house was erected not far from our lot line. In an effort to mitigate the view of our neighbors’ kitchen, bedrooms and bathrooms we installed 150 feet of cedar fencing, several varieties of timber bamboo, 20 cedar saplings, prayer flags and a large polycarb greenhouse. It will be several years before the bamboo and cedars obscure the up-slope action, but eventually we hope that we will no longer be a part of our neighbors’ intimate daily lives. In the meantime we have been enjoying our greenhouse and looking for peaceful retreats away from the fishbowl that is our home.

Photo Donated Azar

On December 29th Ellen Covey, her husband Michael Clune, Brad and I set out over the Puget Sound to visit Troy Meyers Orchid Conservatory near Poulsbo, WA. The conservatory, residence, greenhouse, shops and guesthouse are located on several acres of beautiful cedars, hemlocks and Douglas firs. When we arrived at our destination an all too familiar smell assaulted my nose…sawn wood and tree sap! Initially I was stunned, but when I took a closer look I could see that our host had very carefully and selectively cut a few trees in order to manage the forest, preserve the buildings and allow the solar panels to continue generating electricity. This well considered stewardship of the land was a far cry from what had happened behind our home in late 2013. Visiting Troy Meyers Orchid Conservatory, staying in the lovely guest cottage and seeing how Troy and his wife Phyllis managed their sustainable and self sufficient life style was the perfect and positive ending to a year dominated by the life, death and smell of trees.

Speaking of the smell of trees: 2014 also saw the launch of Ellen Covey’s new fragrance Woodcut.

Woodcut by Ellen Covey for Olympic Orchids 2014

Photo Stolen Olympic Orchids

Woodcut was released late last year and has already made it to the Cafleurebon “Best of 2014” list. The name Woodcut describes the fragrance perfectly.

My first impression of Woodcut was of a bracing, outdoor cedar board scent associated with new fences and carpentry. For me this introduction lasted, at the most, five minutes. There was no gradual transition to the next phase but simply an immediate and sudden shift to a dense and heavy sap, recalling the brooding woodcuts of American artists Leonard Baskin and Edward Gorey. Within 10 minutes or so Woodcut shifted again and a completely different personality appeared. Sugar, caramel, and vanilla surrounded the resinous balsam and created a cozy and comforting perfume that lasted for many hours. Woodcut is perhaps the first fragrance I have experienced that manifests such distinctly different and delineated personalities. The bracing cedar, the dark sap and the caramelized resin do not evolve from one to another but simply change in an instant.

Photo stolen lavanyasrecipes

Woodcut GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 2 Winners who will each get:
1 x 1ml sample of Woodcut by Olympic Orchids
2 x additional decants of “woody” fragrances from Azar’s collection
P&H to the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

Open to everyone in the world who follows AustralianPerfumeJunkies via eMail, WordPress, Bloglovin or RSS. Please leave how you follow in the comments to be eligible. I must be able to check that you follow so if you have an email address on your gravatar that’s different to your follow address then please email me so I know. Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged.

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Leave a comment about the new Woodcut fragrance or name your favorite tree or wood smell.

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Olympic Orchids Perfume GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-3vv #Perfume #Giveaway @EllenCovey1

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 8th January 2015 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by pulling names from a sunhat (maybe)
The winners will have till Sunday 11th January 2015 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.

Azar xx

Amouage Library Collection: Opus IV by Jacques Flori for Amouage 2010

January 11, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 18 Comments

Post by Sister Mary Magdalen, Patron Saint of Perfumers

Peace APJ,

Tis the season: for the upward curl of incense, for journeys and visitors from afar, for the exchange of gifts, peak season no vacancies and the occasional unplanned pregnancy. Whatever is going on at your place I hope it’s fragrant. It certainly is here with the sisters. Both a busy and reflective time of year, the cloisters are shrouded from matins to vespers with billowing frankincense. What better to focus my meditations in this holy time than Amouage Library Collection Opus IV.

Amouage Library Collection: Opus IV by Jacques Flori for Amouage 2010

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Coriander, grapefruit, amalfi lemon, mandarin orange
Heart: Cardamom, caraway, elemi, rose, rosehip, violet
Base: Incense, French labdanum, musk

This was unknown to me until a generous benefactor aware of my love of resinous fragrances bestowed a small sample upon me.

Immediately I understood I was no longer in the mystical cool veil of an ecclesiastical resin, this fragrance is an immediate jumble of sweetness, citrus oils and spices, as though the scent of someone’s pre-dinner lime cordial has lingered through until the arrival of pudding. And what a pudding! Laden with cinnamon and clove brandied fruits, boozy sweet and rich. The feasting is most certainly wrapped around by the scent of a piney Tannenbaum.

Photo Stolen Flickr

Then, like a miracle, incense rises. It is a smoky, earthy olibanum as though from the burning of darker, lower grade tears that can give almost a urinous aroma. Wonderful stuff, it gathers strength and becomes the soul of the scent.

The other elements remain and mellow joined by rose and labdanum in becoming the harmonious choir to this soloist, a warm and sonorous tenor.

I am a humble woman of modest good works, and I confess I feel somewhat of an imposter wearing this as it smells like the sweat of a hardworking angel on my skin.

Photo Stolen WikiCommons

Now I read that the aim of the Library Collection is to “defy categorisation, transcend gender, and allow the wearer to create their own unique narrative”. Oh, that’s just what happened, isn’t it?

Opus IV pulsed off my skin for half the day and received several favourable comments, so the sillage is admirable. Some may find it too intimate or distracting for professional settings, but I found it easy and comfortable to wear.

Photo Stolen GTArcade (Problem using image please get in touch)

Further reading: Perfume Shrine and The Non Blonde
LuckyScent has $355/100ml
Surrender To chance has samples starting at $4/.5ml

Pray tell, ye faithful, what books have you taken from the Amouage Library? Is there more I should know?

My fond prayer is that you have all rested well and can greet this new year refreshed and reinspired.

Sister Mary Magdalen, Patron Saint of Perfumers

Louis Vuitton Presents the Singapore City Guide

January 11, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Heya Fragrant Travel Nuts,

In under 3 minutes Louis Vuitton is about to show you a couple of things in Singapore that you probably never thought of doing, and a few on everyone’s lists.

No matter what style of travel you choose, backpacker to 6 star, there are always a few “Must See” destinations in every city you land, disembark or alight. Of course I have been to cities and not seen them all, often unwittingly or because I’ve been working in the clubs and our hosts have taken us to do very low key local stuff instead (equally valid way to see a city but very different). Louis Vuitton always manages to pick a couple of things I’ve not done in the city or did too quickly to enjoy.

Photo Stolen WikiCommons

I hope you enjoy a little slice of Singapore, one of the few places I’ve landed in that I felt totally at home.
Portia xx

Louis Vuitton Presents the Singapore City Guide

Cadjmere by Pierre Guillaume for Parfumerie Generale 2007

January 10, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 18 Comments

Hello Frag Family,

It was very early in 2014 and Michael & I were traveling through Europe, first stop Vienna in Austria where we met up with Birgit and Sandra of Olfactoria’s Travels and Val the Cookie Queen who writes both for OT and APJ. Vienna is its most beautiful in winter but sadly 2014 was not so cold as previous years and there was almost no snow, to make up for that loss we did get loads of rain which meant the city was greener than I’d ever seen it while maintaining its bare branches on the trees. Basically, though we were there in winter it felt like we had arrived in spring, a very pleasant way to see Vienna especially for Michael’s first glimpse of Europe.

Of course, what is it that perfumistas do when they are in a new city? We shopped fragrances! I did a fair spend at the CHANEL store there and a couple of vintage finds in the smaller, niche hole in the wall stores that Vienna seems to have an abundance of yet also these places seem to have stock from 60 years ago too.

Cadjmere by Pierre Guillaume for Parfumerie Generale 2007

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Myrtle, cypress, Brazilian rosewood, blood mandarin, vanilla, sandalwood, coconut milk, amber

Amber, vanilla and something green burst off my skin as soon as I spritz Cadjmere. They turn almost immediately to this weird, funky almost nasty curdled green leafy milk. It’s interesting, intriguing and awkward: LOVING IT! The notes really aren’t correlating to what I am smelling, what I get here in my head is a bakery in a plant nursery and lumberyard that’s in turn right next to a tip. There’s something of that compost sweetness, rotting vegetation and plastic. Ha ha ha ha! I have just read back what I wrote. OMG! I make it sound dreadful but it’s not.

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

Pierre Guillaume has a way with fragrance and often combines beautiful sweet notes, comfortable and comforting notes with something dark, less desirable. What then happens for me is that I will happily smell the sweetness and every so often I will be surprised by an off kilter piece of the puzzle that will draw me in again, searching for it.

Into the heart of Cadjmere I find most of the sharp edges rounded nicely and we are in sweet woods territory, I don’t know if Pierre Guillaume was using Australian sandalwood or a chemical sandalwood but it has some of the lovely eucalyptus menthol hints that the Australian one displays (or it could be some of the greenery). I don’t know and am often getting stuff wrong note wise, it doesn’t matter.

Photo Stolen WikiCommons

What does matter is that Cadjmere is ridiculously gorgeous, a totally beautiful fragrance that will warm the cockles of your heart and give you comfort if you are low. Later on I get a fabulously animal fur and resins mingling with the woods, glorious.

Longevity is above average and for the first couple of hours sillage is moderate, you are fragrant without skunking, after that Cadjmere hums along quietly for hours and hours. If you spray your clothes they will still smell fabulous next day MMMM MMMMMM!

Further reading: Olfactoria’s Travels and The Non Blonde
I was given my sample at Le Parfum in Vienna, Austria
First In Fragrance have €95/50ml
Surrender To Chance have samples starting at $5/ml

Have you tried or bought Cadjmere? Are you a Pierre Guillaume fan? Do you have a favourite?
Portia xx

Versace Blonde by Nathalie Feisthauer for Versace 1995

January 9, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 21 Comments

Hi there Sniffa Crew,

Today we are going back to 1995. It was a particularly good year for me, I was finishing up my time in London (which was totally incredible in itself) and coming home to Sydney in time for Christmas with the family. I cannot tell you how excited I was. HOME!

Anyway, we got this fragrance in Australia in time for Christmas but I think we might have had it for Christmas 1996 because I was working as a drag hostess at one of our clubs and we had to give out samples of Versace Dreamer and A’Men by Mugler on the same night. The whole club smelt incredible with everyone dousing themselves in fragrance and the night was a huge success, one of my favourite nights ever. Though it took me years to stop retching whenever someone was wearing A’Men because right at the end of the night someone Guerrilla spritzed me and it went in my mouth, not nice and the scent seemed to stick in my nostrils for about 3 days.

This is a vintage frag but you can still get your hands on a bottle of extrait/parfum for very reasonable prices

Versace Blonde by Nathalie Feisthauer for Versace 1995

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Gardenia, Pitosporum flowers, violet, orange blossom, bergamot
Heart: Tuberose, daffodil, ylang-ylang, carnation
Base: Benzoin, musk, civet, sandalwood

Perfumer Nathalie Feisthauer has worked on a few frags that you’ve definitely heard of: Hermes Eau des Merveilles, VC&A Collection Extraordinaire Gardenia Petale, ELdO Putain des Palaces and Delicious Closet Queen as well as Must de Cartier Pour Homme. This is just a very small portion of her output.

How does Blonde wear on me? Well it opens green and sappy with a photorealistic (but clean) gardenia that’s sweet, green like bulb flower stems, creamy and the whole experience in the first 5-10 minutes is one of enormous presence. It’s not mentioned but I get a mild galbanum feeling through the opening too. HUGE! Outrageously gorgeous white flowers lightly framed by the citrus.

The opening of the extrait is sweeter and fruitier, very canned peachy.

Photo Stolen WikiCommons

No need to fear, Blonde doesn’t stay at these nuclear sizes for long. 15 minutes in and though you are still quite fragrant the power has been turned down considerably and my head can think of other things. Here is where Blonde is really beautiful and wearable. The heady mix of white and yellow flowers are kept crisp by the carnation and already some of the resins make their way in to give depth and breadth. Then Blonde stays pretty much the same for a few hours getting more lived in and raunchy, up to 5 on a really good day, and slowly the whole fragrance goes from that very sensual animalic base as it fades leaving a very soft wash of nothing pickable to nothing at all.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

Further reading: Australian Perfume Junkies
FragranceNet has $40/15ml extrait (I prefer to decant and spritz)
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $4/.5ml extrait

In 2013 I did a LIVE Video Sniff with Blonde, it kinda captures the feeling of the fragrance better than mere words on screen can. Please be ready to hear the word bombastic about 300 times though.

Thanks for wandering through my thoughts on one of my all time favourite fragrances.
Do you have a discontinued fave that you’ve hoarded a few bottles of?
Portia xx

Tama Blough: A Party for Tama

January 9, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Tama Blough Oct 18, 1954 – January 9, 2015

Hiya Australian Perfume Junkies,

Tama Blough, who started SF Sniff – the San Francisco group who’d come together and sniff fragrances (obviously, sorry) and Managing Editor for CaFleurBon is in trouble. We have a fragrant friend in need, diagnosed with incurable cancer and a desire to stay at home with her cat for as long as possible. Tama is not a wealthy person and needs our help to make this small wish come true.

Already the fragrant community has rallied behind this cause: April Aromatics released a Limited Edition fragrance that sold out in minutes, Nina Zolotow set up a GiveForward campaign to raise the $25,000 needed to pay for health care and living expenses (who will BTW give $25 for every blog written about it to a max of $1000, very freaking cool)

Paul Kiler of PK Perfumes has now created TNT (Tama N Tuberose) and is donating 90 percent of all proceeds to Tama’s fundraiser.
60ml/$150 90 percent ($135) going directly to a fund managed by Tama’s family.

To buy TNT click here<<JUMP

Do check the original Ca Fleure Bon post about TNT for more information

A Party for Tama

Coming up on the 17th of January are a couple of amazing events in San Fransisco. If you are nearby then you should definitely think about attending.

Private Lunch and Auction: $35 includes Lunch and Auction (more details about Auction nearer the date)

Shopping event & Cocktails: A percentage of all sales will go to Tama from the Tigerlily event.

And Tama, if you get to read this. Best of luck, cuddle the kitty from us at the Australian Perfume Junkies..
Portia & the APJ Crew

Gabriella’s 2015 Top Five Traditional Masculine Scents

January 8, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 27 Comments

Post by Gabriella

Hello perfume peeps,

As time has gone by, I have become less shy talking about my blogging and sharing my love of scent with the wider public. When I do mention my passion to colleagues and friends, I often get questions such as: “I need a new perfume. I love Coco Mademoiselle, what do you recommend?” or “What is the perfume you like the most?” Pleasingly, men are as curious as women, with most asking whether I review men’s colognes or aftershaves?

Photo stolen DeviantArt

Gabriella’s 2015 Top Five Traditional Masculine Scents

This always brings a wry smile to my face as most of us here in perfume land have long ignored the gender divide enforced by the “men’s” and “women’s” sections of department stores. However, it did get me thinking as most of what I wear and write about are the Big White Florals and uber-feminine scents. Apart from the experiment when Mr M let me douse him in Fracas, how many non-perfumista menfolk would wear something like Carnal Flower or Fleurissimo?
So, as an attempt to address the issue, I present my top five traditional masculine scents:

1. Antaeus by Jacques Polge for Chanel 1981

The strong virile hero scent. Antaeus is a machismo concoction of bold proportions that still feels seamless thanks to Mr Polge’s genius. A powerful blend of verdant bergamot and clary sage amplified with rich spices and smooth leather. If you want a scent to put hair on your chest, this is the one.

Fragrantica lists the following accords:
Top: Lemon, lime, coriander, myrtle, clary sage, and bergamot
Heart: Thyme, basil, rose and jasmine
Base: Patchouli, castoreum, labdanum and oak moss

Further reading: What Men Should Smell Like

StrawberryNet has $106.50/50ml

Surrender to Chance has samples starting at $3/ml

2. Eau Sauvage by Edmond Roudnitska for Christian Dior 1966

The epitome of effortless elegance. Eau Sauvage is the Adam of the men’s fragrance world that spawned the Eve of Diorella. To me, the luminosity of the citrus, verdant herbs and something a little sinister and sexy underneath it all means the scent trumps more modern citrus and cologne compositions despite the current watered-down reformulation.

Fragrantica lists the following accords:
Top: Lemon, basil, bergamot, cumin, lavender and fruit
Heart: Jasmine, rose, carnation, iris root, coriander, patchouli and sandalwood
Base: Oak moss, vetiver, musk and amber

3. New York by Patricia de Nicolai for Nicolai Parfumeur Createur 1989

It is just that good. Say lavender and bergamot and I usually run a mile, hence why you’ll never find me raving about Jicky or Bois du Portugal. New York, however, took me from hate to love when we were searching for a new scent for Mr M as I think it is the smoothest, most well- rounded of the combinations on the market. Plus there’s a candied, powdery vibe to the lavender, which makes manages to be both sexy and snuggly.

Fragrantica lists the following accords:
Top: Bergamot, amalfi lemon, cloves, lavender and green notes
Heart: Thyme, cinnamon, pepper, paprika, patchouli and cedar
Base: Amber, vanilla and leather

4. Paco Rabanne Pour Homme by Jean Martel for Paco Rabanne 1973

Debonair in a bottle. A quintessential fougere with piquant notes of rosemary and clary sage, what strikes me most about Pour Homme is the quality and depth of the musk in the drydown. It’s earthy, animalic and seductive, like snuggling into your man’s chest after a heated, passionate night.

Fragrantica lists the following accords:
Top: Rosemary, clary sage and brazilian rosewood
Heart: Tonka bean, lavender and geranium
Base: Honey, amber, musk and oakmoss

5. Polo Ralph Lauren for Men by Carlos Benaim for Ralph Lauren 1978

The scent of boyfriends past. Probably a bit OTT now, but god, how I loved this back in the day. Even though it was pretty much ubiquitous in the early 1990s, Polo stood out for being a brooding Heathcliff of a scent amid the onslaught of flimsy aquatics and calones. Deep greens, herbs, spiky woods and a powerful wallop of pine makes this not for the fainthearted.

Fragrantica lists the following accords:
Top: Artemisia, basil and thyme, with spicy notes of cumin, coriander and cloves
Heart: Conifer woods, decorated with notes of patchouli, oakmoss and vetiver
Base: Leather, tobacco and thyme

Further reading: What Men Should Smell Like

FragranceNet has $53.99/2oz before coupon

Surrender to Chance has samples starting at $2.99/ml

So what are your top ‘traditional’ masculine scents? Ladies, do you wear any of these? What was the scent that broke the gender divide perfume wise for you once you got past department store classifications?

With much love till next time!
M x

All photos stolen Fragrantica unless specified

2015: The Universal Number of 8

January 7, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 6 Comments

Post by Suzanne R Banks

Hi APJ,

Happy 2015. Last year I wrote about The Universal Number of 7! In this article I wrote about meeting a numerologist and apart from being totally wonderful and charming, she was very insistent I write about the number 7. So following on from that meeting lets see what’s in store for us next year.

2015: The Universal Number of 8

Photo Stolen Wikimedia

In numerology the number 8 represents where we are in our journey, through the cycle of 1 to 9. So with 2015, equaling 8, we are almost at the end of the cycle.

I’ve always associated the number 8 with abundance and money, but the more I read about it the more I realise these are simplifications. There are many kinds of numerology out there and just as many interpretations, so what I can gather about the number 8 and our year in 2015 is:

* 8 is as much about karmic balance and the Law of Cause and effect than it is about money

* the energy of the infinity sign gives us strength and allows us to express our leadership qualities

* we are confident and fair to others

* we can access our personal power (without too much ego) which can not only help others but can also help us reap the benefits of the past 7 years of hard work

* we may have more abundance and money in our lives but it is less important to us than before

* the number 8 is about balance and a greater expression of money vs abundance

* if we are truly living up to the number 8 we can feel and express the need to help those around us

Photo Stolen DeviantArt

So what essential oils can we use to meld with the number 8?

1. Sandalwood (Indian or Australian)

– see the needs of the many are met through social awareness throughout the world

– feel your spirit rise within you and overflow to help those in need

2. Cypress

– inspiration and creativity without the need for ego

– clarity and worldliness, softness

3. Patchouli

– world peace

– connect to mother earth

4. Vetiver

– tranquility, abundance

5. Rosewood

– flow of love through the heart chakra

– true “affluence” (meaning “to flow”)

– this is an endangered tree so please see my article Rosewood – A Story of Ecology and Conservation for more info

– Indian rosewood could be used vin its place – Dalbergia sissoo I MUST Have You!

Good luck.

Best wishes.

PEACE.

Remember to treat yourself first, then everyone will benefit.

Suzanne R Banks xx

Suzanne R Banks Blog
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Suzanne R Banks FaceBook

Please check out my new book REVELATION! – Reveal Your Destiny with Essential Oils

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