World Peace, Hippies, Patchouli Oil and The Evolution of Human Consciousness

September 3, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 17 Comments

Post by Suzanne R Banks

We owe the Hippies from the 60′s a great deal more kudos than they receive today. They tapped into the energy of the coming of the new world age, and displayed a radical yet peaceful way of behaviour. It really was the first signs of the “dawning of the age of Aquarius” and 50 years later we, the common people, are really feeling the vibe in everyday life. The age of Aquarius is finally here and we are being summoned by the universe to improve, change, be kind to animals, be peaceful, add value to the world, be positive, look after the earth, tap into our spirituality and connect with people we have never met before. The scent of change in the 60′s was patchouli oil, and as a scent of peace, it is our oil now! It is an oil of the evolution of mankind.

World Peace, Hippies, Patchouli Oil and The Evolution of Human Consciousness

Photo Stolen WikiCommons

Patchouli oil on it’s own is not particularly lovely, but when used with others oils, really comes alive. It is a “base oil” meaning that is dark, deep and heavy and related to the base and second chakras. The base chakra “Muladhara” is about survival (food, nurturing, shelter) and the second chakra “Svadisthana” is about our scared sexuality.

So it’s easy to understand why the hippie culture used this amazing oil. It is “grounding” as it helps us place our attention on our lower chakras – the ones closest to the earth. It helps us place our feet firmly in this world now and creates an empathy toward the planet and all the beings who reside on this planet. I would even say patchouli oil is almost buddhist in its existence.

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

The “free love” ethos of the hippie culture was supported by patchouli oil, and a need to connect with others in a deeply spiritual and sexual manner. It was all about the sharing the love and if we are to evolve beyond war, famine, politics and money we need to be peaceful and loving. We need patchouli oil!

Patchouli oil is also;

* great for skin disorders like eczema and psoriasis to help calm the symptoms

* wonderful to blend with other oils to help consolidate the scent and keep the formula in harmony

* a good oil to use on nail fungal infections – a drop straight from the bottle is best for this treatment

* an oil used to stimulate cell growth (like lavender) and therefore lovely in skin and hair care

Photo Stolen fragrancebelleslettres

Recipes:

Hair Mask

Warm 6 teaspoons of olive oil, add the following essential oils, then massage into hair and scalp. you can sleep on a towel overnight so the oils really penetrate, or wash and condition after an hour.

“Rapunzel”

Patchouli 4 drops

Lavender 6 drops

Orange 5 drops

—————————————————————————————————————————————

Body Oil

A deep moisturising oil blend to promote peace and harmony in your environment. To 3 teaspoons of oil (almond, jojoba, sunflower, grape seed) add:

“Miss Universe”

Patchouli 2 drops

Rosewood 4 drops

Ylang Ylang 2 drops

—————————————————————————————————————————————-

Scent Your Space

In a traditional oil burner with a candle or an electric vapouriser add:

“Om, Baby”

Patchouli 5 drops

Mandarin 15 drops

Lemongrass 5 drops

—————————————————————————————————————————————-

Patchouli is peace.

Patchouli is worldly love.

Patchouli is the scent of the evolution of human consciousness.

Remember to use your intention when making a blend or using an essential oils as a perfume. You will be creating your life!

Suzanne R Banks

Suzanne R Banks Blog
Suzanne R Banks Aromatherapy
Suzanne R Banks FaceBook

Brie’s Tea + Fragrance: Harney n Sons + Calyx by Prescriptives

September 2, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 9 Comments

Post by Brie

Perfume and Tea Musings: My Introduction to Thai Cuisine

Calyx by Sophia Grojsman for Prescriptives 1987

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Apricot, passionfruit, mint, mandarin orange, cassia, peach, mango, bergamot, grapefruit, papaya and guava
Heart: Cyclamen, lily, melon, freesia, orris root, jasmine, neroli, marigold, lily-of-the-valley and rose
Base: Musk, oakmoss, cedar, sandalwood and vetiver.

For the first thirty years of my life I resided in New York City. My first apartment as a young adult was within walking distance of a miniscule ten table restaurant called “Simply Thai”. It was owned and run by a fearsome threesome team :siblings from Thailand. The brother was the chef while one sister served as hostess and the other as waitress. This restaurant quickly became my weekly haunt. For $8.95 the early bird special offered up a glass of wine, an appetizer, main entrée and dessert. Every Friday evening my friends and I would devour chicken sate, pad thai and black bean ice cream. The fragrance I always wore on those special nights was Prescriptive’s Calyx. The perfume’s overripe, fruity/tartness, with a green tropical vibe perfectly suited the atmosphere and food in Simply Thai.

(Sadly, Calyx has been reformulated. I own a small vial of the current version. Although it bears the skeletal remains of the original, the overripe fruit, extremely tart concoction has been replaced with a milder, more floral, fresher scent).

Bangkok Tea by Harney and Sons

Photo Stolen Steepster

Harney and Sons Bangkok, a green tea with notes of ginger, lemongrass, coconut and vanilla might appear to be an oddity: a schism between the green/spicy lemongrass and ginger combo and the creaminess of the coconut/vanilla mix. Nonetheless, the notes manage to come together to make this an unusually delectable tea. It is the perfect accompaniment to the Thai food and Calyx perfume.

My introduction to Thai food in this quaint little restaurant whetted my appetite and desire to explore other cultural and ethnically diverse cuisines which developed into a lifelong endeavor. When I drink Bangkok tea and wear my Calyx perfume, I reflect back to that time and place. It serves as a powerful reminder of how truly blessed I was to be surrounded by the very best of friends, great food and an unusual, fabulous, fragrance!

Harney and Sons site has Bangkok starts at as little as $2 for samples.
FragranceNet starts at $22/15ml for Calyx
Surrender To Chance starts at $5/2ml

Till next month,
Brie x

(Ed: Brie wrote these lovely musings in advance and will not be able to reply but Portia will if you comment)

Puredistance Sample

September 1, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 66 Comments

Hello lovely Fumies,

We have an excellent giveaway for you today, earlier in the year I hosted the SCENTSATION Bus Tour of Los Angeles for the Perfume Posse crew. It was an amazing day and all of us had a super great time. Our first stop was at the Lucky Scent brick and mortar shop Scent Bar where we had brunch and sniffing with several perfumers and promoters in attendance to lead us through their wares. We all got the most incredible goody bags and because I was hostess and a good shopper I got an extra. Inside were, and there still are, some outrageously amazing things. Today you get to be in the running for one of two sets of something extremely precious!!

Puredistance Sample GIVEAWAY

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

From Fragrantica: Puredistance was founded by Jan Ewoud Vos in Vienna (Austria).
The choice to make Vienna the city from which Puredistance would gradually spread over Europe and the rest of the world is a consequence of the fact that only Vienna seamlessly fits the philosophy of the Puredistance concept.
Not only is Vienna the city of elegance and pureness, it also has for many centuries been a centre of art, attracting artist and free thinkers from all over the world. Notably the world famous Wiener Werkstätte (Wiener Werkstätte was a production community of visual artists, it was founded in 1903. by the artists Josef Hoffmann and Koloman Moser). The Wiener Werkstätte style is characterized by pure lines and minimal decoration.

Photo Stolen Kesha&Co

PUREDISTANCE GIVEAWAY!

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

There are 2 prizes this week in our PUREDISTANCE GIVEAWAY. Each winner will receive:

4 x 1ml dab vials from PUREDISTANCE (Antonia, Opardu, M and I)
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

Open to everyone worldwide 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.

All I need is a HELLO with how you follow for you to be eligible for the draw.

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Puredistance GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-1Wc @puredistance #Perfume #Giveaway

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 5th September 2013 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by putting names on same sized papers, folded similarly, put on a tray and Jin will pick a winner.
The winners will have till Sunday 8th September 2013 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.

Go To It!!
Portia xxx

Dangerous Complicity by Violaine Collas for Etat Libre d’Orange 2012

August 31, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 19 Comments

Hey frag hounds,

There has been a lot of talk about the two fragrances released around the same time by ELdO, Afternoon of a Faun and today’s offering. Having loved the Claude Debussy Prelude to Afternoon of a Faun as a child I will spend some real time with it, and the fragrance, soon for you. I really enjoy the name of the fragrance that we’ll be talking about today….

Dangerous Complicity by Etat Libre d’Orange 2012

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one linew:
Rum, ginger, Chinese osmanthus, coconut, bay leaves, calamus, leather, patchouli, ylang ylang, Egyptian jasmine, Lorenox, cashmere wood, sandalwood

So you have probably read the back story of Dangerous Complicity, Adam & Eve: “By eating the forbidden fruit, complicity took on another dimension, and became dangerous. They lost their innocence and their paradise. The door was opened to carnal energy, they were liberated from restrictions, and they could now create their own version of Eden” The inspiration is a story that most Christians and many others are aware of. A good place to start but fraught because we all have our own preconceived idea of how that fall should smell.

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

Opens sprightly citrus, ginger, vanilla and tea-ish, like a milky chai. This is a surprise because everything I’ve been reading says that Dangerous Complicity is only dangerously generic. Not how Dangerous Complicity opens for me at all, um, HA HA HA HA!! Note to self, put your glasses on before you spritz! Ha Ha Ha HA HA HA!! I am an IDIOT. Hilarious. Sorry all I’ll be back to review this after my next bath.

OK Back on track and we have spritzed…….

So are these notes for real? I miss all ginger and rum completely but get a soft wash of very pretty flowers that are absolutely depthless. A fragrant solo soprano equivalent, floating and disconnected from anything earthly but without any of the chills and goosebumps. Soft, feminine and wispy, a winsome fragrance for people who don’t want to overshadow their own scent but enhance it with pretty waxy florals that float through the heart. Is this made for Asia? For schoolgirls? How did they get this name? Seriously, this is the perfumer who brought us Honour Woman by Amouage, at least this shows diversity, he he he.

I think Dangerous Complicity is called that because it’s Dangerous to Comply with the current trend for some drugstore offerings and some celebuscents: ethereal whispers of bland nothing. Or are the ELdO people proclaiming their outrage at the IFRA regs coming in and making a bland statement against what could end up being all we are allowed to have in perfume very soon? Remember the fuss when By Killian brought out the Asian Tales series? Was there the same outrage for this or was everyone so uninspired that they let it slide?

Photo Stolen ⚫ Flickr

Further reading: The Non Blonde
LuckyScent has $149/100ml and samples
Surrender To Chance starts at $4.50/ml

Have you tried Dangerous Complicity? Is it just not working on my skin? Please tell me that it’s not as banal as I am getting.
Portia xx

DIOR: Miss Dior Infintity Mini Movie: Le Parfum

August 31, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

Hiya Gang,

Here we have another beautiful fragrance ad. DIOR has taken the simplest concept and made it spectacular, of course. Though I’m not a huge fan of Miss Dior it is a worldwide hit and has an enormous following. Here also are Australian Perfume Junkies Mini Review and Natalie Portman Ad and Miss Dior: The Floral Waltz Mini Movie

Miss Dior Infintity Mini Movie: Le Parfum

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Italian mandarin
Heart: Egyptian jasmine absolute and rose
Base: patchouli and musk

Photo Stolen huntlogo

Whether or not you love the fragrance the Mini Movies are always worth watching.

Please enjoy Miss Dior Infinity: Le Parfum
Portia xx

Tom Ford: Meet-Up with Matthew Tyler: International Director of Tom Ford Beauty

August 30, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 5 Comments

Post by Ainslie Walker

Tom Ford Fragrances with Matthew Tyler – International Director of Tom Ford Beauty

Organized by Catherine Du Peloux Manage of Sydney Perfume Lovers

Hi APJ, Ever wondered what a Meet Up group is like? Me too and I wanted to see how the Sydney Perfume Lovers group worked. Arriving at the ground floor of David Jones, met with Moet and sat at a glamorous oval marble table, by the gorgeous ladies of Tom Ford, is my kind of Thursday evening! And this was just the start…

If anyone has seen Tom Ford, his every movement is considered, every last detail of his attire-perfection, his hair immaculate…poised, elegant, sexy. An ICON. One who has dared to, with confidence, define his own style of fashion, film, cosmetics and of course fragrance.

The apothecary bottles surrounded us, with their 23 carat gold labels gleaming at us, sophisticated and intriguing.

Matthew arrived, and was introduced by Catherine. He looked sharp, manicured, perfectly dressed head to toe in Tom Ford!

We were given an insight into Tom Ford – the man. The designer, originally a trained architect, has extreme passion for detail, quality and perfection. (Watch the film he directed, A Single Man). Tom Ford is a leader and master in fashion and even with his perfumes and cosmetics, he makes no mistakes. Matthew pointed out, Tom Ford tried every shade of every lipstick and eye shadow before he approved them for sale!! (Unfortunately no photo’s available…!)

Onto the fragrances, not surprisingly each is a showstopper and even it’s packaging feels exquisite. These fragrances are for the discerning, the stylish and the bold. Somehow Tom Ford is able to bridge a gap back to the strength and glamour of fragrances from a bygone era. He is acclaimed for being the first to bring Oudh to the masses, where it has stayed at the top of his best sellers.

The Private Blend range are unique, being constructed as single heart notes, wrapped in secondary notes. The traditional top/heart/base note structure ignored. Only rare and precious ingredients are used.

Out came the Tom Ford ladies with their sparkling white trays, sample cards all lined up and given out.
Neroli Portofino: transporting us to the coast of Italy’s Riviera, including visually, the azure bottle.
Jasmine Roug: so voluptuous and sensuous, made with Jasmine Sambac Absolute and presented in a red glass bottle to signifying confidence and seduction of the potential wearer.
Oudh Wood: Rare, distinctive and exotic…a blast from the Middle East.

We learnt part of the private blend range is The Jardin Noir collection, inspired by the dark elicit pleasures experienced in a garden at night. (OH MY!).
Café Rose: the best selling “whore of the range” (Matthew Tyler said “for the lady who is always available for men’s darkest desires”…!)
Ombre de Hyacinth: floral, green, moist and dark, the shadows of a regal garden.

The Signature Collection is distinctive yet mainstream.
Black Orchid: containing all things black. Black truffle, fig, plum, blackcurrant and orchid. Its unfolding smell, go on and on, down into a deep black, milky, gourmand accord!
Violet Blonde: exuding old school Hollywood glamour.
Sahara Noir: encapsulates smoldering smoky frankincense, burning on an alter.
Grey Vetiver: traditionally masculine but loved by all the meet up on this evening, with Catherine picking up the nutmeg hidden in the blend.
Noir: which is the most personal to Tom Ford, designed to mirror the duality of his public and private personalities. Its crisp bergamot and verbena citrus top notes, pepper, nutmeg and patchouli middle, eventually giving way to a warm leathery vanilla dry down.

Before we disappeared into the night we were given generous goody bags with 5 x 2ml samples.

If you are in Sydney and would like to participate in these wonderful events, no perfume knowledge needed just a love of fragrance in all forms, Meet Up Sydney Perfume Lovers<<< JUMP

Big thanks to Catherine! (Ed: Who also supplied all the photos)

Ainslie Walker xxx

LA LÉGENDE DE SHALIMAR Mini Movie

August 30, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 16 Comments

Hello Gorgeously Gorgeous and Fragrant Fumies,

My favourite fragrance of all is Guerlain’s Shalimar. Inspired by the legendary love story between Mughal Indian Emperor Shah Jahan and his lowly born wife Mumtaz Mahal (Jewel of the Palace). You can read more in Portia’s Shalimar EdC Review.

LA LÉGENDE DE SHALIMAR

You may have seen this already but I couldn’t let it pass those of you it missed by. My only complaint is that they didn’t use Bollywood stars. Why would you use Europeans when there is a veritable plethora of the real deal? Just sayin

Portia xx

Tawaf by La Via Del Profumo 2012

August 29, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 19 Comments

Post by FeralJasmine

Hey APJ

If there’s a class of perfumes that I want to love and generally can’t, it’s the all-naturals. I love the basic ingredients. Few things make me happier than dabbling with essential oils, admiring how each drop is not a note but a chord progression. I adore the pungency of resins and the unbelievable richness of attars. Open a little vial and a garden of roses blooms! it’s an extraordinary conjuring trick. Recently I have learned to love the pure CO2 extracts, especially vanilla, so hard to handle, so perfect a rendition of the lovely fermented bean.

But go beyond the single ingredients and pitfalls await. If it sounds as though combining them into lovely perfumes would be easy, I can only suggest that you give it a try. The vibrant beauties, each so perfect alone, can add up to something distinctly less than the sum of its parts. Not that the result is bad, by any means, but it can be pretty ordinary, not the totally-unique-and-wonderful thing you were hoping for. Then when you do get a combination that you like, you dab it on and revel in it luxuriously, loll back in the cloud of beauty that you’ve created, and within half an hour reality is tugging at your sleeve again because natural perfumes are a fleeting pleasure. The gospel on many natural-perfume websites is that their perfumes should last two hours. My experience is more like one good hour at most, often less, although of course those rich in resins can last a lot longer. Part of this may be that I have dry skin and live in a desert climate, but what I hear online indicates that it’s common to have to reapply frequently. Generally I am running from the time I hit the office door until I leave, so this is not a viable option.But sometimes reapplication is worth the trouble.

Tawaf by La Via Del Profumo 2012

Photo Stolen La Via Del Profumo

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Jasmine sambac, rose, opoponax, narcissus, myrrh

I have become deeply enamored of the all-natural creations of Dominique Dubrana at La Via de Profumo. I took my screenname from his Tawaf, a delicious and perfect combination of dark Jasmine sambac, rose, and opoponax. This is no bridal jasmine. This one is a wolf, but a groomed and elegant wolf that just might walk by your side for a while. Jasmine sambac is a wild, dense, and even somewhat masculine jasmine, and I would bet that there’s a hefty dose of it in Tawaf. The rose isn’t very noticeable to me but serves to flesh out the floral cascade. The opoponax provides a caressing base. Mmmmm. Can’t get enough. Within an hour it’s pretty much gone, and on Tawaf days I have to carry my little bottle with me. It’s worth it. I long to have my hair aranged in India someday so that I can get strings of jasmine wound through it, and I may or may not ever get there, but a little Tawaf at the hairline gives the effect without the airfare.

Photo Stolen Turki Al-Fassam Flickr

From La Via Del Profumo site: Tawaf is the name of the ritual consisting in circumambulations around the Ka’abah, the cube shaped building in Mecca, adorned with black silk. The Ka’abah is the geographic center of the Arabian soul, of it’s spirituality, culture and civilisation. The Tawaf fragrance is the aromatic “melody” of the scents that surround those performing the Tawaf.

Rumor has it that the perfumer is as interesting as his creations. You can read about him here http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/22/t-magazine/22face-scent-t.html?_r=0 and it’s quite a read. His website is one of my favorite browsing places. Will I ever buy 2ml of concentrated tincture of genuine ambergris for 80 Euros? Probably not, but we can all dream.

Photo Stolen NYTimes

Further reading: Perfume Posse SmellyThoughts and Perfume Shrine
La Via Del Profumo has from €17.85/5.5ml to €148/50ml
Surrender To Chance starts at $9/ml

Next time I hope to discuss another favorite from this line.

FJ x

CQ`S Cooking Tips #3: Hommus + Pesto

August 28, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 18 Comments

Post by Val the Cookie Queen

Cookie Queen’s Infrequent Cooking Tips No 3

Hommus + Pesto

Hungry APJs? I greet you.

I am expecting five visitors from England and have been running round like a chipmunk on speed.

Photo Stolen SeagullSteve

Turning my 20 year old bodybuilding, XBox playing son`s bedroom into a room for an 8 year old girl to have for a week. No mean feat I can tell you. Changing my teenage girl´s room into a small haven for the mum and dad I was stunned to find that there was actually a carpet on her floor. I had forgotten she had one. Two young lads coming along too, but I have bunged them in the attic. Washing, cleaning and of course cooking!!
Yay!! I can do that. Fast. Simple and bloody good. If I do say so myself.
It goes without saying that I baked a few cookies in the morning, and no, I will never share the recipes for them.

Since it is still warm here, and our southern hemisphere friends are getting ready for summer, I have made hummus and a batch of pesto, perfect summer food.

HUMMUS (Hommus for Aussies)

Photo Stolen ExclusivelyFood

Soak about half a kilo of chickpeas for a few hours or overnight.
Cook them for about 50 minutes in the pressure cooker. Turn off and leave to cool down.
I then swirl them around in the water, lightly running them through my fingers, to remove the skins.
Pour the skins and water away. Keep doing it until most or all of the skin is gone. It really does make a difference to
the end result.

So now ……..
About 4 cups of cooked chickpeas
1 cup of tahini (sesame paste)
Juice of 2 or 3 lemons
A hefty amount of finely chopped garlic
A decent amount of salt
7 tablespoons of iced water

Put the chickpeas into a food processor. Process until mashed up.
Add the tahini, lemon juice, garlic and salt. Process some more.
Drizzle in the iced water, and then process/puree for 3 or 4 minutes.

Job done. (You can do the whole lot with a fork if you don´t have a mixer. It will just be coarser.)

Put into a nice serving bowl, drizzle with olive oil and decorate with whatever – chilies, parsley, cracked black pepper.

DO NOT ADD OIL WHEN MAKING THE HUMMUS ………. that is a western practice.

Serve with nice bread, raw vegetables, whatever. This is so good you will never buy it again. You can use canned chickpeas of course,
but cooking your own has the edge.

So that´s supper out the way.

BASIL PESTO

Photo Stolen ThePleasuresOfThePalate

Rinse out your food processor and make the pesto now. Please don´t buy pesto from the store. Ugh.

Around 2 cups of chopped basil
Maybe about half a cup of pine nuts
Half a cup of grated fresh Parmesan cheese
Crushed garlic to taste (anything fro 1 – 6 cloves!!)
Salt
Olive oil
Fresh squeezed half a lemon, maybe a little zest if you fancy

lemons-1.jpg
http://bluebutterfliesandme.wordpress.com/2012/05/29/75/

Put everything into the processor except the oil and lemon juice.
Process away, scraping down the sides.
Then drizzle the olive oil in until you have whatever consistency you like – hard to say how much, half a cup, more??
Add the lemon juice right at the end. It literally brightens it, and freshens it up. Beautifully. And fragrantly.

Put it into a jar, sealing it with a layer of olive oil.

Cook up a pot of linguine or spaghetti. Drain. Put a huge dollop of pesto into the bottom of a nice
serving bowl and put the noodles on top. Mix in well. Maybe grate some extra Parmesan on top.
Done. Serve with a large plate of sliced tomatoes and some goat´s cheese. Lunch is served.
There will be pesto leftover. Put it into a jar, and seal it with a layer of olive oil to keep it fresh.
Keeps for a while.

I suggest that when working with this much garlic, that you don´t apply any perfume until you have
finished and showered!! You all know what I think of perfume and garlic.

Let me know how you like it.

Bussis
CQ

Champaca Absolute by Tom Ford 2009

August 27, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 11 Comments

Post by Gabriella

Hello fragrant friends!

Well, we’ve been very lucky here in Sydney. It’s supposed to still be winter but we’ve had gloriously warm weather with some days reaching the mid-20 celsius level. As a result, some of my favourite winter perfumes have sadly been neglected and my big white florals that I save for the warmer months have been getting a good workout. Because of this I have been looking for something new for the summer months, something that still falls within the white floral category but has something that is just that little bit different.

Champaca Absolute by Tom Ford 2009

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accordfs:
Top: Cognac, bergamot, dyer’s greenweed
Heart: Champaca, orchid, violet, jasmine
Base: Vanilla, amber, sandalwood, marron glace

My search led me to Tom Ford’s Champaca Absolute. I thought it would be the perfect choice as I already love Tom Ford’s grandiose aesthetic and adore his Black Orchid and Velvet Gardenia. Reading reviews, I was expecting a full-blown diva of a scent akin to the others. Champaca Absolute opens with a big blast of sweet booziness which quickly recedes before the bergamot and champaca come out to play. The citrus tempers the sweetness of the champaca and lends a joyous feel to the composition. One pictures the regal blooms of magnolia petals warmed by spring’s first rays of golden sunshine; their petals creamy but haughty, holding their poise within the liquid warmth and sprays of dust motes in the air.

Photo Stolen Allen McGregor Flickr

About half an hour in, the jasmine comes to the fore, further sweetening the composition. It is at this point where the perfume becomes lush, heady and vibrant. Despite the sweetness and fullness, Champaca Absolute still remains supremely elegant. It is very much a ladylike perfume and wouldn’t be out of place with a grey cashmere twinset and pearls.

The drydown, on my skin is still champaca, but with just a dab of vanilla. It quietens down quite considerably and I really don’t get the rich gourmand facets that many others speak of.

What I love most about Champaca Absolute is a sense of nostalgia. It takes me back to being eight years old, in my grandmother’s bathroom in England. It was my first trip overseas and it was a big adventure. She has lots of gorgeous bath and body products that I adored to sniff and explore and each morning, after her bath, I’d go in to wash my hands before going out for the day and the humid air would be filled with the most gloriously bright floral scent; a melange of my grandmother’s bath gel and dusting powder. Champaca Absolute is that smell to me.

Photo Stolen betterhomeandgarden

My only disappointment is that it’s not as loud or diva-esque as I’d expected. It wears extremely close to my skin and I want just that little bit more sillage and oomph. Perhaps it will when the mercury gets a bit higher. I expect hot flesh will give me that vava voom I so crave. If that happens, Champaca Absolute will be perfection.

Further reading: Perfume Smellin’ Things and Bois de Jasmin.
Champaca Absolute is available at David Jones in Australia $290/50ml (Most big city department stores with an Estee Lauder counter)
Surrender to Chance has samples starting at $4/.5ml.

Have you tried Champaca Absolute? What are your favourite Tom Ford fragrances?

With much love till next time,
M