Library Collection Opus IX by Pierre Negrin and Nathalie Lorson for Amouage 2015

November 27, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

Don’t forget to enter this weeks GIVEAWAY COMPETITION!.<<JUMP

Post by Portia

Hi Crew,

You know how you love some brands, always try them even though the notes don’t really look like they’re going to suit you or if their last few releases were lovely but not quite you? I like to try everything Amouage release because, well, Dia, Gold, Lyric, Interlude and Ubar. Sometimes I worry that the Library Collection are a bit too high brow for me but…

Library Collection Opus IX by Amouage 2015

Library Collection Opus IX by Pierre Negrin and Nathalie Lorson

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica Gives these featured accords:
Top: Camellia, jasmine, black pepper
Heart: Guaiac wood, leather, beeswax
Base: Vetiver, ambergris, civet

Christopher Chong has based this scent on the story of star crossed lovers in La Traviata, based on La Dame Aux Camélias by Alexander Dumas. Particularly with the lead role played by Maria Callas in Lisbon 1958. Poor Maria Callas, seduced from keeping her voice pristine by becoming one of the most popular party girls of the ultra rich tycoons and entertainment industry of her time. From Wikipedia: The press exulted in publicizing Callas’s allegedly temperamental behavior… rivalry with Renata Tebaldi and her love affair with … Aristotle Onassis. …her artistic achievements were such that Leonard Bernstein called her “the Bible of opera” and her influence so enduring that, in 2006, Opera News wrote of her: “Nearly thirty years after her death, she’s still the definition of the diva as artist—and still one of classical music’s best-selling vocalists.”

“Lady Loch” Photo Stolen Ashwood Nurseries

Mum loved camellias, our house was surrounded by both the japonica and sasanqua varieties and it meant the garden had flowers right through winter because different camellias flower at different times. We would pick the perfect newly opened flowers in the early morning by twisting the flower off the bush and Mum had a few shallow crystal bowls that we would float them in all around the house. We had about 20 different flowers and I loved them all, but I don’t remember them having any scent, except the wet green sharp smell of cutting their branches when we pruned the hedges.

Photo Stolen Wallpapers

So, Opux IX? How does it smell for me? Green, woods and peppery and really clearly fragrant, it takes a while for the excitement of the open to recede and then a velvet smooth jasmine steals in: jasmine, smoke and honey that is animalic and a little breathy. Fresh breath though, clean mouth, maybe after drinking a big glass of cold water. We use the Enjo wood wax on our dining table and Opus IX has a similar luxurious balmy smell as the feeling 2 days after waxing the table feels. From arms length though Opus IX is pure jasmine with amber-ish overtones.

I do not get a heart of cacophony as other reviewers have, Opus IX melts into my skin and throws me sweetly honeyed woods and resins with soft rises as other notes come and go: the dry, salt and oily facets of vetiver, animalics that are inextricably linked with the honey in a healthy smelling purr: no poo, sweat, urine or hair in particular. A wash of warmth, those first sexy moments as you undress someone and you smell them, their laundry, their fragrance and their desire all at once for the very first time, intoxicating.

Photo Stolen Flickr

I’m not the only fan of Opus IX, both TinaG and Scott have tried in on their skin with similar gasps of pure fumie pleasure. This is a winner.

Further reading: Colognoisseur and Non Blonde. You want the full story? Alembicated Genie
Libertine Parfumerie has $418/100ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $4/.5ml

Do you have a fragrance house that is ALWAYS on your try list? Which one and why?
Portia xx

Top 10 Christmas Shopping List 2015

October 31, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 13 Comments

Post by Portia

Hi Lovelies,

We are HURTLING towards Christmas with speeds previously unknown to mankind. How did this year disappear so fast? It seems like only yesterday I was having Christmas at home with Mathew, Jin & Kath, opening up my presents, eating, laughing and having a stunningly relaxing day. Jin, Kath & I were all living in an apartment in Redfern (on the edge of the Sydney CBD) and it was great. You know, I can’t believe I’ve been sporting the BEARD for a year!

Many of you are not Christian, have horrible Christmas memories or are very lonely at Christmas. Depression is made even harder when the world expects you to be joyful and smiling. I too have spent Christmas with the black dog. One of the things that helps me through is organisation, make a plan for the day and stick to it. Leaving the house can seem like an insurmountable mountain, especially in the dead of winter, but if it’s safe to do so then getting bathed, dressed and outside for a short while can really help. Even if it’s just to a porch or balcony. Inside, spend an hour tidying up your kitchen and table and making it a really nice place to have a meal, polish the damn thing if you have to and if you have a placemat put it down, set up your cutlery and condiments. Even if all you have for lunch is a Cup-A-Soup please make it a SPECIAL Cup-A-Soup moment. Do you know someone else who is lonely or in need? Nothing puts the Christmas blues behind as much as helping someone else. Just do it for yourself, helping them will help you through, selfishness harnessed for the greater good is still wonderful.

Anyway, here are my Top 10 Christmas Gifts 2015, I know you have some great ideas to help people with their gift giving, please leave your comments below. Also good ideas for beating the Christmas Blues would be great too.

Top 10 Christmas Shopping List 2015

L’Occitane Shea Fabulous Oil: Seriously, L’Occitane Shea Fabulous Oil is FAN fricken TASTIC! It smells so beautiful, sinks into your skin in moments, leaves your skin feeling soft, supple and with a light sheen. I can’t imagine anyone male or female who would not be thrilled receiving a bottle of this beautiful baby at Christmas (or any other time). Whoever you give this to will be seriously impressed with your good taste and sense. Retailing AUD$45/100ml at L’Occitane Australia

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Miller et Bertaux – A Quiet Morning: On our first trip to Europe together while shopping with Birgit and Sandra Jin spritzed some Miller et Bertaux – A Quiet Morning. It was instant love. We were busy buying other things at the time but later in the evening I got a whiff of him and it still smelled killer. The top notes and heart are put together in such a way that they smell like nothing in my scent memory and are based around Saffron, Rice & Neroli but the deep Woody dry down is where it really shines. First In Fragrance has €98/100ml

Photo Stolen SmartDraw

Surrender To Chance Gift Certificate: Don’t know what to get someone? Know they like fragrance and don’t want to double up or worse give them a scent nemesis note? Surrender To Chance Gift Certificate‘s are a great idea. Your friend will have the joy of receiving your card explaining their gift, you can send them a Gift Voucher via eMail, they will have enormous fun picking their order and once it arrives the fun of wearing a bunch of brand new fragrances. Excellent gift from $1 to $200. I usually give $25 or $50, depending on my financial status and our friendship.

Photo Stolen Parfum1

Penhaligon’s Blenheim Bouquet Bath Oil: I love baths, and here is a fabulous way to soften and lightly scent your skin while enjoying that most relaxing and mentally detoxifying pursuit. The Blenheim Bouquet range from Penhaligon’s is chock full of fabulous stuff, from Shaving Soaps and Shower Gels to EdT and Body Lotion and it all comes beautifully packaged. Aimed at the men but blissfully unisex. Parfum1 has $85/200ml Bath Oil.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Lolita Lempicka EdP: The original Lolita Lempicka fragrance. One of the loveliest, and much more wearable, Angel spin offs. Licorice, Sugar & Violets all drizzled with Vanilla Praline and smoothed over with Musks. I often gift this one. It suits all ages and everyone loves the fun bottle, even the men. It’s sweet but won’t rot your teeth, light enough to wear to most events but fragrant enough to be interesting. Perfumery Australia has AUD$40/50ml

Photo Stolen Book Depository

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo: If any book could change your life then this is the one. Imagine being surrounded by ONLY the things that bring you joy. Perfect if you or someone you know needs to de-clutter. Marie Kondo is clever and a bit whacko but her book really does give an excellent guide to making your life cleaner, sparer and more able to let in the joy. I’ve not done the full clean but it will happen when I’m ready. Book Depository has the hardback for AUD$19.20 delivered.

Photo Stolen Libertine

Amouage Body Lotion: You want to make someone feel like they are incredible beautiful and important to you? Want them to think lovely thoughts of you every time they get out of the shower and are moisturising themselves? Top quality and smells amazing, my favourite of the Amouage Body Lotions is DIA filled with glycerine, shea butter, aloe vera, almond oil and silicone. A softly fresh bouquet on a base of powdery woods, vanilla & incense. Sensual and elegant. Libertine has $119/300ml with FREE Australian Shipping

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Magnolia Grandiflora – Michel: You are looking for something different, beautiful, easy to wear and vibrant to gift your partner. You are expecting to pay a bit of money but cant go too far over the top. Magnolia Grandiflora – Michel is an excellent choice. Citrus and fresh green up top through a softly white floral bouquet and into a dry patchouli and vetiver skin scent to finish. Unisex, magical and Australian. Peony Melbourne has AUD$185/100ml

Photo Stolen FragranceX

Rancé 6 x 104 ml Iris Royal Soap Box: Rancé has been producing excellent soaps in Italy since 1795 and their production methods remains basically unchanged from their founding. That’s quite an amazing thing. The soaps are presented beautifully, six in a box and they smell incredible. The soap leaves your skin clean, moist and lightly fragrant. This is the good stuff. FragranceX has AUD$73.50

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

CHANEL Misia: You want their friends to be as impressed as they are. Grab the 2015 release from CHANEL, Misia. It shows you are cool, clever and bang up to date. There’s nothing like the thrill of finding something by CHANEL under your tree or given any way a gift can be given. Make sure the sales person wraps the box and ties with CHANEL ribbon, roll it in the CHANEL bag and only then can you put your own Christmas paper on it. Give them the whole thrilling experience. It will be worth it. CHANEL Boutiques and large department stores have 75ml or 200ml bottles.

Did any of these tickle your fancy? What would you like to give or be given?
Portia xxx

Amouage Love GIVEAWAY WINNER

October 19, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 1 Comment

Post by Portia

Thanks to Amouage and Nick from Libertine Parfumerie for this amazing giveaway. Can’t wait to see who’s won,

Portia xx

Amouage Love GIVEAWAY WINNER

Photo Stolen Amouage

Amouage has room sprays £55

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x Amouage Love Room Spray Tester (No box, 90% full)
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 18th October 2015 10pm Australian EST
Winner was chosen by random.org

Photo Stolen sistersavealot

puhfume

The winner will have till Thursday 22nd October 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.

Amouage Love Room Spray

October 16, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 38 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey there FUMIES!

My mate Nick from Libertine Parfumerie is a lovely guy who wants to have the best range of niche fragrances for Aussies to choose from. A short while ago I was in his warehouse and he handed me one of the Amouage Room Sprays. WOW! Definitely special enough to be fine fragrance, probably not IFRA compliant. SO GOOD!

Amouage Love Room Spray

Photo Stolen Amouage

Opening bright sparkly citrus Love quickly hits its stride with deep patchouli woods, dark oud and a sweet resinous rose. I can’t place the green herbaceousness but it could be mint and coriander, there is also a dry hay bale in a barn feel. I have worn Amouage Love as a fragrance too, it sinks into my skin beautifully creating a sheer wall of spice market in a forest. When Love burns down its vanilla/patchouli/oud/woods base is still lovely, especially when melded with my skin chemistry.

Trouble is Jin doesn’t like something in the base, it irritates him. My loss is your gain.

Amouage has room sprays £55

Photo Stolen AllSteele

Amouage Love Room Spray GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x Amouage Love Room Spray Tester (No box, 90% full)
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 (portia underscore turbo @ yahoo dot com dot au) so I know. Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged.

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please tell us an Amouage fragrance you love and why

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Amouage Love Room Spray #GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-4nQ #Perfume @AmouagePerfumes @LibertineParfum

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 18th October 2015 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winner will be chosen by random.org
The winner will have till Thursday 22nd October 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.

Journey Man by Alberto Morillas + Pierre Negrin for Amouage 2014

October 3, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 8 Comments

Post by Portia

Hi there Frag Family,

There is no secret how much I admire Christopher Chong his curatorship of Amouage and think him excellent company. So when I first tried Journey Man, with its spectacular box and signature Amouage man bottle in ruby and gold I was saddened by my lack of instant and all moving lust. Expectation is a funny thing, sometimes I hype stuff in my head so much that they can never live up to the dream. It’s a bit of a killer actually so I thought it a good idea to grab a sample from my mate Nick at Libertine Parfumerie recently so I could revisit the fragrance with less expectation….

Journey Man by Amouage 2014

Journey Man by Alberto Morillas + Pierre Negrin

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Sichuan pepper, Bergamot, Cardamom, Neroli
Heart: Juniper berry, Frankincense, Geraniol, Tobacco leaf
Base: Tonka bean, Cypriol oil, Leather, Ambrox

Journey Man smells quite like a lot of other niche offerings for men, a hark back to the woodsy tobacco and smoke fragrances so popular for men in the designer genre. If GUCCI hadn’t forgotten how to make perfumes this could easily have been in their line-up and it sometimes through its life smells like it should have come from Tom Ford. I know we try to shy away from sexual mandate here at APJ but Journey Man really feels rugged, rough and ready yet smooth and cozy. Through the sharp and bitey pepper which tickles my throat just like it does in food, the tobacco that has a faintly green resinous quality and the brand new leather and woodsy burn the whole fragrance feels calm and unruffled. I can imagine a thousand would be lumberjack hipsters showering, trimming and combing their beards, moisturising, gelling, clear mascara-ing and spritzing from this uber glam bottle before dressing in their office attire in their walk through robes.

Photo Stolen Pixabay

By the time these imaginary hip gents made their way to work they would be a softly focused spicy tobacco that fades to lightly salted leather/woods throughout the day. By the time they hit the gym after work there will be a barely there, mixed with their own manly odours, whisper of the woodchoppers life left to entice the gentlemen gym junkies. Tired, pumped and freshly showered they would emerge like lumberjack butterflies from the gym to hang loudly and obnoxiously with a jar of beer at their local cruise and booze joint, eyeing each other off and making coded conversation till someone takes their physical fancy.

First line from intended? “You smell amazing!”

Below is my buddy Darren, he is EXACTLY what I’m talking about when I think of Journey Man. Darren is recently 100 days clean and his Instagram @bobbydazzler_ has photos and videos of him showing his joy at being clean and his abhorrence of wearing clothes. I swear 99% of the shots are him either standing or dancing in his jocks. Pretty freaking hot actually, go see.

What I’m left withof Journey Man next morning is a faded something, still woodsy and a little resinous. Very nice to wake up to. MMMMMMM

Further reading: What Men Should Smell Like and Non Blonde
Libertine Parfumerie has $445/100ml with FREE Australian Postage
LuckyScent has $345/100ml
Surrender To Chance have samples starting t $4/.5ml
Currently US$345 = AUD$495. That’s a saving of around AUD$50!

What is your favourite Amouage?
Portia xx

Ubar by Robertet for Amouage 2009 remix

August 31, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 12 Comments

Hi hi hi APJ,

I recently rediscovered an Ubar decant and have been spritzing madly. It is on equal footing with Interlude Man as my favourite Amouage and please don’t ever make me choose. Both are so freaking good and when I wear them I feel that I could rule the world.

Ubar by Robertet for Amouage 2009 remix

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Tangerine, orange, litsea cubeba, violet leaf
Heart: Jasmine, orange blossom, ylang-ylang, tuberose, freesia, lily-of-the-valley, palisander rosewood
Base: Sandalwood, vanilla, patchouli, vetiver, copahu balm, black amber

Ubar is a rarity, a gorgeous spiced white floral and woods extravaganza that is so chock full of ingredients that it’s hard for me to distinguish them. Ubar wears like it’s its own scent and nothing like anything else ever created. Ubar is like soup simmering on the stove: the whole house is filled with the smell of soup and as ingredients get put in the pot if you’re chatting in the kitchen then you’ll be able to pick some of them even if you haven’t seen what went in and if you look in the pot you’ll see some of the ingredients rise and fall. If though you are in your bedroom and the smell is wafting temptingly towards you then all you can smell is the melange, the soup itself. Maybe garlic will be noticeable or beef or tomato but everything else becomes a part of the soup. That’s how I wear Ubar.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

Ubar starts out sharp green and citrus but already you can smell the base underneath them and the white florals just waiting behind the scenes to jump out at you and whirl you away on a veritable cloud of bouquet. The patchouli, resins and sweet vanilla all create the most stridently glorious dry down that hums away for ages on my skin and all the way to tomorrows bath or shower I can smell the magic that is Ubar.

When I think about it Ubar seems to be a cold weather fragrance, and I do love it to warm me up, but to really experience Ubar best you need to wear it in stifling heat. It blooms unbelievably and shows a whole other side to its luscious self.

Today is the last day of summer in the north and winter here in Australia. Perfect time at both ends to wear Ubar.

Photo Stolen Pixabay

Where do I wear Ubar? I love to give myself a big spritz and do very mundane things like cleaning, clothes washing and grocery shopping. I get funny looks sometimes because I’m so obviously scented for an EVENT yet there I am buying milk, bread and a bag of tomatoes. Fuck It! Fragrance helps me to celebrate the fact that I’m alive, helps me to waft on fabulously even through the most hum drum moments because I am the star of my life. So are you, go live life AND hug yourself from me.

Further reading NowSmellThis and PerfumeShrine
FragranceNet has $185/100ml unboxed Before Coupon
Posh Peasant has $4.50/.5ml

What fragrance makes you feel like the tedious is fabulous?
Portia xx

EDIT: Originally I had Creations Aromatics as the perfumers but the Amouage crew told me it was Robertet so I have fixed it.

Super Sample RAOK

July 31, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 45 Comments

Hey Hey Crew,

Yes, I’m cleaning out the sample drawers and YOU get to be the winner if you’re lucky. Here are a bunch of samples that I’ve tested but now live in the swap/gift pile. Some of the reasons for being there? Maybe I bought a FB, it had an issue that renders it unwearable, I liked it but have something similar, somehow I have double, I hated it, I LOVED it and completely forgot about it, I’ve moved on. So many reasons, so MANY samples. They are all used a bit but they have heaps for testing and trying. I know you’re going to love at least one thing in this pack, but hopefully a few will tickle your fancy. Whether or not they do I hope they bring someone the joy of testing new stuff that I get.

Most of these samples have been purchased from Perfume Niche, LuckyScent, Posh Peasant, My Perfume Samples and Surrender To Chance since 2010, but some are gifts or manufacturers samples. Mosat are over half full and a couple are double ups I have so full.

SAMPLE PACK ROAK GIVEAWAY

Craft by Andrea Maack
Olympic Amber by Olympic Orchids
Midsummer Day’s Dream by Olympic Orchids
Secretions Magnifiques by Etat Libre de Orange
Vintage Vogade Parfum by Charrier
Amouage Opus VI
Amouage Opus V
Nepal Aoud by Montale
Indian Coconut Nectar by Pacifica
Six Scents Series Two 3 Henrik Vibskov: Solar Donkey Power
Unknown/Unnamed Fragrance
Souffle des Indies by Comptor Sud Pacific
Cologne for Alice by Evocative Perfumes Manufacturers Sample
CHANEL Jersey Manufacturers Sample
Elixer by Penhaligon’s
Amber Nuit by Atelier Cologne
Knize Ten Gold Edition
Cold Water Canyon by Surrender To Chance

Please help me with my clear out and leave a comment.
Portia xx

Photo Stolen TheTruthAboutMummy

SAMPLE PACK ROAK GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x SAMPLE PACK RAOK
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please tell us which one from the pack you would most like to sample

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie SAMPLE PACK RAOK GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-486 #Perfume #Giveaway

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 2nd August 2015 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winner will be chosen by random.org
The winner will have till Thursday 6th August 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.

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

Sunshine by Amouage 2014: Meeting Christopher Chong

December 16, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 18 Comments

Post by Ainslie Walker

Tea with Christopher Chong, Nick Smart and Portia

When Portia invited me to meet Christopher Chong of Amouage I was obviously there in a flash!! Libertine Parfumerie‘s Nick Smart and his team from Agency De Parfums had allocated us a 30 minute time slot to chat about Amouage and introduce a new fragrance.

We left 2 hours later!!!!

Starting out ceremoniously, we were served tea amongst beautiful flower arrangements and the new brightly packaged Midnight Flower candles and room sprays. With the 4 ambient fragrances – Hope, Smile, Love and Happy Christopher shares the positive memories of his dog Georgi, who sadly passed away. The scents contrast with the sophisticated Amouage back catalogue, yet hold resemblance amid the depth of emotions behind them. With 50% of the sales going to the guide dog foundation it has been a healing project for Christopher who much prefers nights in, in his home in London’s Battersea with his dogs rather than going out.

Christopher’s role as Creative Director of Amouage means he sets the story, mood, tone and suggests ingredients he wants included and then briefs a perfumer of his choice. He is not a nose, however has worked with top perfumers including Bernard Ellena, Alexandra Carlin, Emilie (Bevierre) Coppermann. Nathalie Feisthauer, Alexandra Carlin and Violaine Collas.

Christopher then told us about Sunshine, releasing in December in Australia exclusively

Sunshine by Amouage 2014

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Artemisia, black currant, almond
Heart: Osmanthus, jasmine, magnolia, vanilla
Base: Juniper, patchouli, papyrus, white tobacco

Packaged in yellow, gold and white and nestled in an eggshell blue and gold wooden box, Sunshine immediately screams of a new direction for Amouage, a more mainstream idea and Christopher Chong mocking all the brands that have been influenced by (or even copied) his innovations.

It’s creamy white goodness engulfs me…

Sunshine starts sweet as if an excited infant with mouth full of a fruit and marzipan-loaded wedding cake has breathed in my face in delight. It’s somehow juicy and powdery at the same time. I can also smell a bunch of balloons. I am thinking happy and celebratory thoughts while wearing this. Weddings, fairs, rollercoasters and jolly things like that. It’s bright, big white floral and gourmand for sure. But is it sunshine? The sun is definitely out, but I’d almost say its balmy late afternoon sunshine, not the scorching middle of the day sun we have here in Australia.

Osmanthus provides an enchanting and slightly exotic twist that somehow levels the swarm of sweetness engulfing me. It’s now as if the sunshine is surrounded by some thick deep and cosy cumulus clouds that we peer through olfactively. Osmanthus is a relative of lilac and has a similar kind of creamy powderyness to its scent. They do seem like cousins, smellwise, with Osmanthus being fruitier to me, somewhere between peachy mango and dried apricot in its heart. Osmanthus flowers can be creamy white right through to orange, but for perfume its the orange flowers that are used.

There is heavy waxy floral jasmine component evident throughout. Milky notes are waxy almond and nutty.

Sunshine’s slightly oriental tendancies and magical twists of Artemisia give it depth and keep it interesting. Its unisex for sure. Drydown seems to go forever (eight hours plus!) and at the end of the day my shirt still smells strongly, smoldering more and more…in fact getting quite sexy in contrast to its opening.

At the end of our time together Christopher signs our Amouage discovery box gifts and we leave him, exhausted, but giggling the whole ride down to planet earth via the lift!!

Ainslie Walker xxx

All the clear photos donated by Ainslie Walker, all the shit ones by Portia x

Gabriella’s Christmas Wish List 2014

December 4, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 8 Comments

Post by Gabriella

Hello perfumed peeps!
Well can you believe that another year has gone by? I can’t for sure. Today, I’m bringing you a top-five Christmas wish list and it’s a luxurious one, well because, this year’s been a tough one and if you can’t be decadent at Christmas, well when can you?
So here goes:

Photo Stolen TurnBackToGod

Gabriella’s Christmas Wish List 2014

Photo Stolen Libertine

1. Dia body crème by Amouage:

I haven’t done scented layering since they produced those Anais Anais soap and body lotion gift sets all those years ago, but if there’s any excuse to get back in the habit, then it’s Amouage. The brand’s supremely elegant body and bath line surpasses no other in terms of sophistication and being true to the matching fragance. I’ve already waxed lyrical about my love for Dia, and the body crème would just take its uber feminity and chicness to another level.
Libertine Parfumerie has $169/200ml

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

2. Eight & Bob by Albert Fouquet for Eight & Bob 2012

Ok, prima facie, I would choose this as a gift for Mr M, but even if I were to buy it for him, it doesn’t mean I can’t steal it, right? Eight and Bob has a complicated backstory which would leave many a perfumista rolling their eyes, but this scent had me at hello. If you read Fragrantica, it will give you the low down on the history, John F Kennedy and all, and that the main note is a secretive plant called Andrea. But all you need to know is that this is a lovely, happy, sunshine-laden, very unisex fragrance with fruity, violet and woody notes. Wear it with a linen shirt on a hot day, gin and tonic in hand, and a smile.
Luckyscent has $195/100ml

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

3. Les Exclusifs de Chanel No. 18 by Jacques Polge for CHANEL 2007

So, I may borrow the Eight and Bob, but I’ll have a grand spanking 200ml flacon of this beauty for Christmas all to myself, thank you. I’m not the biggest fan of the Exclusifs collection, but No. 18 has to be one of the most unusual and startlingly beautiful fragrances I have come across. No 18 is all about the fruity and woody ambrette seed and manages to be resonant, green, sweet, sublime and supremely chic all at the same time.
CHANEL Boutiques have $350/200ml

Photo Stolen Naturisimo

4. Rodin Olio Lusso Luxury Face Oil

Olio Lusso Face Oil is technically skincare, but its glorious scent means it definitely straddles the skincare/perfume divide for me. The story goes like this: Linda Rodin, a stylist at Harper’s Bazaar, was sick of all the outlandish claims of all the skincare that came across her desk. So, Olio Lusso was born, a face oil that would make one look and feel good. And, it’s a perfumista and skincare junkies dream, a face oil that doesn’t upset sensitive skin, makes you glow, and above all, has the most opulent, heavenly scent of jasmine that indole lovers will just swoon.
Peony Melbourne has $185/30ml

Photo Stolen Diptyque

5. Tubereuse candle by Diptyque

I’m not a candle fan by any means, but a mini Tubereuse candle by Diptyque might have just changed all that. It sat, unlit in my living room for ages and my whole house was filled with the intoxicating scent of green white petals for months. A proper big one is expensive, but worth it (and the glass container makes for a chic brush or pencil holder once you’re done with the candle).
Mecca Cosmetica has it for $78

So, APJ crew, what’s on your Christmas wish list this year?
Happy holidays and a fabulous New Year to you all and see you in 2015!
With much love,
M x