This perfume world is absolutely crazy, fun, rewarding, uplifting and at times absolutely hilarious.
I have two favourite perfume games. They can be played as solitaire or with multiple players.
Game 1. Are they? / Aren’t they?
As I am out and about in the city, with or without my daughter (non perfume junkie friends don´t play this game)
we like to pick approaching people at random and guess if they are going to walk by in a huge cloud of fragrance,
leaving a trail behind them, a light spritz, nothing, or a bad case of BO. After playing this game for several years it is extremely satisfying to
see just how often I get it right.
(usually played silently and pleasurably in your head, depending how annoying the sales assistant is)
Ever been into a perfumery, department store or wherever and had the sales assistant talk a lot of nonsense?
Freddie from Smelly Thoughts recently told me that the SA in Harrod´s explained Vero Kern´s Onda as a lavender. Need I say more?
So one year on and I am about to meet up with Portia again. We will be in London together.
Harrod´s, be warned.
So APJ lovers and friends, feel free to share any perfume games you play!
So much has been written about this revered yet polarizing fragrance that I debated for quite a while whether it was worth adding my two cents to the conversation. But sometimes a fragrance is so moving and compelling that you just need to write about it. Serge Lutens’ Muscs Koublai Khan is one such fragrance.
Muscs Koublai Khan by Christopher Sheldrake for Serge Lutens 1998
Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Civet, castroneum, cistus labdanum, ambergris, Morrocan rose, cumin, ambrette seed (musk mallow), costus root, patchouli
The scent begins with the oft talked about animalic civet blast but I don’t find it nearly as scary or ugly as some reviews would lead me to believe. In fact, this whoosh of unripe skankiness is something that I find quite compelling and thoroughly enjoyable. Muscs Koublai Khan is very much a jolie-laide fragrance: it’s the nerdy, not very good looking guy that you initially dismissed in your early twenties only to find out when you’re 32 that he is he is the crazy, charismatic guy, full of depth, adventure and the one you should have picked all along. As the cliché says, beauty is only skin deep and so it is with this fragrance.
Given that, Muscs Koublai Khan takes some time to unfold its captivating charm completely. All the unwashed notes of the opening do indeed transport the wearer to other worlds and olden times when women and men roamed the land, ready for battle clad in loincloths; invincible in their leathery hirsute armour. The fetid character also transports me back to sometime in my not too distant past, say the late 1970s or early 1980s, when it was still ok for women to have a fur coat. I would go to my Mum’s closet and smell the slightly mildewed aroma of her cast off handbags sitting in garbage bags ready for a garage sale and her mink coat smothered in dry cleaning sheets. The slightly perfumed mothballed aroma of the fur spoke of sparkled nights and unspoken deeds.
Underlying all this unripeness is a blast of cedar and the composition then becomes considerably more sotto voce: all soft honeyed rose and the smell of salty damp skin after a night of passion and romp. Mr M immediately dismissed Muscs Koublai Khan as something rank and I hate to say that most of my close circle of friends would probably have the same aghast reaction. Thus, Muscs Koublai Khan is destined to be a very personal scent for me: one when I choose to shut out my benign petiteness and become a warrior princess: six foot tall, bound in swathes of tight leather and high heels and just completely indestructible.
Further reading: Bois de Jasmin and The Non Blonde
Muscs is now back in the Paris Exclusives line, but export spray bottles can still be found online. Amazon has it at $113.99/50ml Surrender to Chance starts at $4/0.5ml
What’s your take on MKK? Are there any skanky scents you love?
When I visit op shops and second hand shops, I make a habit of scanning the place for bottles and fragrances, just in case. Mostly I find used minis of varying levels of desirability. Sometimes, very occasionally, luck can be a lot more generous. I was idly browsing through the cabinets in an antiques market a while ago. My eye was originally drawn to a large full flacon of Monsieur Rochas, which sadly turned out to only have coloured water in it. As I idly scanned the rest of the cabinet, I noticed this nestled amongst a few other nondescript empty bottles.
L’Heure Attendue by Henri Almeras for Jean Patou 1946
L’heure attendue. The time that we’ve been waiting for. The name of this perfume celebrates the liberation of France from the Nazi occupation.
After many years of rationing and deprivation during the war years, the Parisian design houses burst forth with an exuberance that was designed to make people forget the hard times, and revel in finally having access to an abundance of pretty and beautiful things one again. Dior’s New Look of 1947 typified this trend, using swathes of previously scarce fabrics to create an ornate and romantic new fashion. The elegant amphora design of the original Miss Dior bottle also echoed a move towards the ornate from wartime-induced privation.
In the same sentiment, the house of Jean Patou released L’heure Attendue in 1946. As the photos show, the bottle was highly ornate and luxurious. This formulation of L’heure Attendue is very rare, being discontinued around 1956. As you can see, the bottle is intact, with even some of the decorative tassel left, and the stopper still fits tight. The bottle’s curves and detailing show clear influences of Art Deco design, but moving slightly in Dior’s direction; the stopper bears comparison with Dior’s, but I think Dior’s amphora design uses a feminine styling that reflected Dior’s wasp-waisted models, whereas Patou’s 1946 bottle design is clearly influenced by the geometric sweeps and fine detailing of classic Art Deco designs such as the Chrysler Building.
The box is in good shape apart from some peeling, but significant staining has occurred on the front. Shame, because it can’t be hidden if you want to display the interior of the packaging (which I do). I suppose I could always imagine that this is an antique coffee stain left by some chic French lady sipping cafe au lait on the Champs-Elysee. Like the bottle, this is very much an Art Deco design, but a lot plainer and more utilitarian. The cream, gold and royal blue of the packaging is very elegant, and complements the much more ornate bottle styling very well.
Most of the perfume remains in bottle. The colour of the juice is a deep amber and still looks attractive enough, compared to the inky murk of the vintage Gilvo I wrote about a while back on APJ. The juice is consistent and there are no sediments. Without another bottle to compare to, I can’t really say if this is the colour it is supposed to look like. I suspect not, as some degradation has almost certainly occurred in the 50-60 years since this was opened.
It’s described on Fragrancenet as a floral chypre. When I sniff my bottle, I get a big, deep blast of what seems to me to be rich, white florals; I think what I am smelling are the heart notes, made richer by the sweet myrrh. It seems very old-fashioned and feminine, but there doesn’t seem to be anything there that you would find objectionable. Not being a connoisseur, it’s a bit hard for me to say.
This perfume is so extremely feminine that I’m simply not game to wear it, so I can’t tell you if the base notes are intact. I guess I will need a Melbourne-based femme to volunteer and help me write a postscript to this story.
So much hate for this lovely scent. I have managed to find a couple of other lovers in further reading but the majority don’t like it. Apparently people think it loud, really? I just don’t get loud…..
Champs Elysees by Jean Paul Guerlain 1996
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords: Top: Blackcurrant, almond, anise, melon, peach, violet Heart: Lilac, lily of the valley, hibiscus, almond flower, rose, mimosa, peony Base: Almond tree, cedar, benzoin, vanilla, sandalwood
I have a story, it’s a little bit embarrassing because I’m worried you are all going to kick me to the perfumista curb. I have Champs-Élysées in EdT, EdP and Parfum strengths and also have the body wash. I love it so much and you can get it at the discounters for NOTHING!! Like, seriously, they almost pay you to take their excess stock off their hands. I bet there are a dedicated few who love and wear Champs-Élysées almost exclusively and they are going to be GUTTED when it dies the death of the unloved scent, discontinuation. My belief is that 10 years after this is axed it will be worth a fortune. That core of lovers will be bereft and RICH.
Today I’m wearing a 2011 Champs-Élysées EdP, it’s the 75ml and while I adore the bottle design, to me it harks back to the art deco era but there is a stupid, ugly whilt plastic shoulder and neck that gives the air of a budget $3 “Smells Like” scent from the dollar shop.
Straight out of the gate I get a watery melon backed up by the soft waxy plastic feel of mimosa, that recedes into the background quite quickly as a sweet milky green-ness flows through. Champs-Élysées is so GIRLY! Soft , fresh, innocent and totally animalic or humanity free. The cleanest of all my Guerlains I can understand why hardcore perfumistas eschew its sheer, even prim and airy charms, there is only floating, no heft or pushiness, just a breeze blowing through that happens to be beautifully scented. The almonds milk stays softly insistent through Champs-Élysées life and is the closest thing to a grounding force that it has. This is what 60% of the celebuscents are trying to be and I can imagine it being a perfect first grown up fragrance for a teen or tween.
Fortunately Guerlain, while keeping Champs-Élysées light and youthful, has done it with such a deft hand that it is ageless, the lilacs and peonies through the heart blend beautifully with the return of mimosa and if you are 16 or 600 years old I think you will be pleased, if this is what you are after. Normally my skin sweetens scents but here I get the almonds all the way through and the woods and vanilla play only supporting roles as an amorphous chorus.
Surprisingly, for something so ethereal and wispy, Champs-Élysées has good longevity and 5-6 hours go by before I lose the scent completely. The sillage is quite mild as is the projection, I think you could wear Champs-Élysées to work as long as the space is not confined or your workplace completely fragrance averse. Really, I don’t get the loud thing, not loud on me at all.
Are you a Champs Elysees lover or a hater? Please leave your feelings and a short why in the comments. No judgements made on any answers, either way, as long as you keep it respectful.
Portia xx
The below photo is me standing outside Guerlain 68 Champs-Élysées, Jin and I decided to leave it to the last night we were in Paris February 2013. That afternoon it closed for renovation!! I KNOW!! This photo was the last thing done just before I broke down crying like a little bitch. Poor Jin, he had his hands full. It still makes me sad, thank goodness I have been back to Paris, in fact all going to plan I have just left it for London. From the Sydney Summer of my writing I have everything crossed that this time I will have been able to cross the threshold.
Le Temps d’Une Fête (Time for a Party) is a fragrance I discovered through The Muse In Wooden Shoes, who adores it and writes so lovingly of it that I really felt I would like to know it but it was always shunted out of the Shopping Basket at the end of an online shopping extravaganza in favour of something more pressing. Then came the news that it would be either discontinued, or made limited distribution, and I realised it may be now or never.
Fragrantica gives these featured accords: Top: Galbanum, opoponax Heart: Narcissus, jasmine Base: Oakmoss, sandalwood, patchouli, woody notes
Phwoar!! Just recently I was lucky enough to grab an old bottle of Le Temps d’Une Fête and the difference in opening sequence is astounding. Here I find immediate and awesome ZWOOOSH of narcissus, like you’ve crushed a flower in your hand with back ups by the resins creating a feeling of leaf pulp too, maybe even a bit of bulb. I also get a fruity, fun and waxy vibe floating through. More intense and deeper than my current edition, which I like very much BTW but they are like two similar sisters. If you were to meet them solo they would look alike but to see them together there are a bunch of differences. Patricia de Nicolai has made this very spare note list work super hard and Le Temps d’Une Fête is a full bodied sensual diva of a fragrance, in both old and new forms but now I completely understand where The Muse In Wooden Shoes is devastated at the changes.
Someone on Fragrantica describes Le Temps d’Une Fête as having “pollen like skankiness” and I think that sums the earlier hour or so but as it starts to head into its late heart/early dry down that skankiness becomes the clearest ringing bell of narcissus, so lovely and so innocent smelling. Like a young person on the verge of discovery, restrained, pretty, sweet even but underneath beats a heart just learning its power.
The base reads warm, soft and buttery for me. It may be the summer heat that gives it that feeling. What I do get through the whole life of Le Temps d’Une Fête is a shine, luminescence, radiance, a feeling that something wonderful could happen while wearing it. Time for a Party? Yes indeed!
I get around 4-5 hours from Le Temps d’Une Fête, though the last hour is not really fragrance but a hint that I smelled quite good earlier. First two hours had good projection and sillage before in moved to a quieter register and began the fade. Where would I wear Le Temps d’Une Fête? Date night, as a pick me up, reading, shopping, cleaning. Anything that could be enhanced by smelling beyond incredible is a good time for a sneaky spritz.
One of the many blessings in my life is having whole new landscapes of experience opened up to me through investigation of fragrance. In a lot of respects I still feel very much like a “newbie” and can’t believe how lucky I am when friends drop the topic of perfume into a conversation, or hand me a sample, or take the long way round to lunch through a few shops to try new things. Portia kindly gifted me with a sample set from Olfactive Studio, who are a niche perfume company run by Founder and Creative Director Céline Verleure, with headquarters in Paris. The sample set included Autoportrait, Still Life, Chambre Noir, and Lumière Blanche.
Still Life by Dora Baghriche-Arnaud for Olfactive Studio 2011
Fragrantica gives these featured accords: Top: Yuzu, elémi, pink pepper, black pepper, Sichuan pepper Heart: Star anise, galbanum Base: Dark rum, cedarwood, ambrox
Usually when I am looking into new perfumes, I’ll do a bit of research on ingredients and accords and work out what it is that I “should” be finding. This time I decided to take a different approach, and to test cold, to see what story the fragrance was going to tell me. First perfume out of the box was Still Life.
On first spray I encounter a bright harmony of sharp and sweet citruses and peppery notes, containing something slightly resiny and green. Although the top notes in Still Life are full of pepper – pink, black and Sichuan, they are balanced as a supportive counterpoint rather than a triple-barrelled shotgun. After half an hour some warmer notes come through, and all of a sudden I have an image in my head of the inside of an old school desk draw, cedarwood with the ink and pencils and paper that it holds.
Traditionally in life drawings, “Still Life” subjects are typically fruit or flowers, but the warmth of the drydown as the citrus fades brings a feeling that the fruit bowl has now been overlooked, gently moved to one side for a subject with softer curves and skin. At four hours, I get a sense of focused calmness. There is a lot of wood and furniture, sunlight falling thick with dusty flecks through a closed window, and a female model posing half reclined on a soft sofa. But there is such an intense presence of that moment in time – she being relaxed, daydreaming but enjoying being observed, and the artist who is showing appreciation of her curves with every stroke of the pencil. However, the purpose of the moment is also its totality, and there is no sense of time passing – there is no before or after, no anticipation of “what next”. Just this rich, warm, sensual atmosphere captured in a bubble of time.
So, here I am in the middle of the day, overwhelmed and slightly disorientated by the strength of the image that this fragrance has managed to evoke. But how? How has that kind of beautiful false memory been triggered? One of the basenotes in Still Life, ambrox, I’m not at all familiar with so I do some research. Perfume Shrine describes ambrox: “(ambrox)…oscillates between an impression of ambergris (salty, smooth, skin-like), creamy musky & labdanum-like …something that smells warm, oddly mineral and sweetly inviting… approximating a person’s aura rather than a specific component…” Wow. That quite accurately explains how this story unfolded for me with Still Life. What a wonderful ride.
When we talk about essential oils, it’s often an umbrella term for many different kinds of aromatic liquids.
Essential Oils
These are usually water/steam distilled, and this is the most common way to date that oils are extracted. All the oils you would commonly buy today would be steam and water distilled and this process is simple, traditional and dates back through the past century.
Absolutes
These are usually made flowers or very delicate plants where a chemical extraction process is used (see my article Absolutes? Not Absolutely) but they resemble essential oils in viscosity and are used in the same way as essential oils. They tend to be more concentrated then essential oils.
Oleoresins and Resinoids
These are highly concentrated liquid extracts that are a combination of resins and aromatic oils. The plants they come from have a high resin content so they fall into their own category. Once again they can be used in the same way as essential oils.
CO2 Extraction is also called Super-critical CO2 extraction and it produces a couple of plant products – extracts or selects, and totals.
A relative newcomer in the world of extraction, the name makes it sound bad but it’s not! There are lots of good things about this process and I’ll try to sum it up briefly and succinctly.
The extraction process uses carbon dioxide heated to a degree where it has both liquid and gaseous properties- this part is the super-critical part. It’s less hot them steam and water distillation so this is a bonus as it doesn’t change the plant materials as much. It’s this liquid form that extracts the volatile plant material. Aromatic oils, resins and other cellular materials like pigments are extracted by the liquid CO2 which evaporates easily, leaving a substance that more closely resembles the plant.
CO2 extracts more closely aromatically resemble the whole plant, whereas essential oils are specifically the volatile oil component of the plant.
CO2 extracts may be better scent wise, or less attractive. It depends on the plant.
Some CO2 extracts that are now available are – ambrette, cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, clove, nutmeg, caraway, fennel, ginger
sea buckthorn
amaranth
cocoa, coffee, vanilla
pomegranate
evening primrose, rosehip
chamomile, champaka, ginger lily, jasmine, juniper, linden blossom, patchouli
arnica, calendula, lavender, hops, St Johns wort,
angelica root, orris root, kava
agarwood, frankincense, galbanum, myrrh, spikenard
I don’t use CO2 extracts extensively in my practice yet, as many of the extracts are semi-solid and aren’t easy to work with. It seems some of the extracts are better suited to using in creams and lotions. As I move more into the area of natural perfumery I know I’ll use some of the extracts more often. I haven’t actually spent the time looking at the analysis of each oil, which will indicate the therapeutic property of the “oil”.
According to Nature’s Gift, “totals” are a secondary product of the CO2 process: “are usually thick and pasty due to the beneficial fats, resins and waxes they contain that come from the plant material itself. These totals are soluble in essential oils and vegetable oils. …. These potent extracts are wonderful for cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. The Calendulas extract, for example, in a dosage of 2 grams extract to 1000 grams ointment is effective for it’s anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial activity.”
None of my suppliers in Sydney provide these “totals” and I don’t have first hand knowledge of how they work – but it sounds interesting!
Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Rose, plum, amber, labdanum absolute, sandalwood, cedar, vetiver, heliotrope, clove, cinnamon, oakmoss, subtle aldehydes
Holy basil, or tulsi, is a herb renowned in India for its health benefits. Out of all the tulsi teas from this line, Cinnamon Rose is one of my favorites. It combines holy basil with the delicate note of rose and spicy cinnamon and, with a dash of honey, it is so soothing. When I drink it I can instantly feel myself relax. SSS Rose Volupte has that same effect on me.
Although I usually do not gravitate towards rose dominant scents, I make exception with Rose Volupte. When I press my nose to my wrist this ambery, honeyed, spicy, rose perfume instantly comforts me.
I imagine myself on a rainy day, curled up on the couch reading Bronte, wearing Rose Volupte and sipping Tulsi Cinnamon rose tea: aahhhh…….
Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Guaiac wood, cedar, sandalwood, birch tar, cade, oakmoss absolute, castoreum, amber, labdanum absolute, vetiver, ambergris, musk.
Bedouin Chai tea was gifted to me and after the first sip I immediately purchased four boxes. As a blend of black tea, sage leaves and cardamom one would imagine this to be a loud, herbaceous monstrosity. Although it is bold at the onset (I brew it for a full five minutes) when combined with a dollop of organic raw honey and fresh cream it becomes utterly smooth and mellow. Bedouin Chai is quickly becoming my favorite tea, the one I want to drink daily.
Similarly, when I first read the perfume notes in SSS Winter Woods I envisioned an over the top smoky, tarlike, animalistic cacophony. Au contraire! On my skin, Winter Woods is a complex, richly satisfying dry vanilla with wood notes (there is no vanilla listed but Laurie tells me that the amber may be imparting that vanilla-esque quality).
Sitting in front of a roaring fire with my hubby on a snowy Winter night drinking Bedouin Chai and scented in Winter Woods- now that is heavenly!
Brie wrote this post ahead of time and will not be responding to comments, it is her last. I am sad. I (Portia) will pick up the slack though so please leave a message in the comments if you’d like to continue the conversation. Be Well and Happy Brie, wherever you are. You are loved. XXX
My mate Birgit (Olfactoria’s Travels) sometimes has amazing clearances from her Frag Wardrobe and last year I snaffled this little beauty from her. I think she grabbed the Limited edition bottle and knew two was more than she’d ever use. COOL! I have often nearly bought 24 Faubourg but there seemed to be something more pressing at each near buy and it was deferred, now it’s mine (Cue evil laugh and gratuitous hand wringing Mwa HA haaaaa HAAAAAAAaaaa)
Fragrantica gives these featured accords: Top: Orange, peach, bergamot, yalan ylang, hyacinth Heart: Black elder, iris, jasmine, gardenia, orange blossom Base: Sandalwood, amber, patchouli, vanilla
What I get in the opening is ylang, peach and sweat, like a beautifully perfumed person has gone a little bit long without a shower and they’ve added more fragrance instead of a bath. Maybe 24 Faubourg even smells like the smell of perfume on a scarf the next morning, beautiful, elegant, memorable and a little tired. It is so good, without being totally in your face, that tiny hint of bed head, that après un rapport sexuel (probably a terrible translation by google).
The berries/citrus doesn’t really appear on me till well into the heart and seems woven through the white floral accord so beautifully that it’s hard to separate anything. Currently I am sitting in 31C (88F) inside the house! The fan is doing a lovely job and 24 Faubourg is sublime. I sit in a fragrant cloud of what feels like big money, old money. There’s a dry rustle of patchouli and amber towards the end that I feel is missing some of its buttery goodness from a cool temp wearing.
In this heat I’m lucky to get two hours of fragrant wear before 24 Faubourg becomes a sheer patina of woodsy vanilla that will then stay around another two to three hours and slowly fade away to nothing.
By the time you read this I will be in frozen Europe, Paris by now and I have lunch at Guerlain, 68 Champs Elysees booked with Neela, a catch up with Denyse Beaulieu, off to do a private English class at the Osmotheque and stomp around Versailles and hopefully two full mornings in the Louvre. YAY! Sometimes I can’t believe my good fortune.
Val and Portia Mozart Cafe Vienna 2013
Photo Stolen Wikipedia
Australian Perfume Junkies 