beauty

Hedonist by Cult of Scent

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Heya Perfume Junkies,

I have a small sample of Hedonist. There is no note list online and the brand is so fledgeling that I can’t even find a website for it. There is a Cult of Scent Facebook Page but it doesn’t have a price list, just some beautiful pictures, a couple of meetups and some fragrant knowledge exchange. I don’t even have a picture of the bottle for you all. To be perfectly honest I did not even purchase these scents, my mate Casssandra gave me some tiny test samples that I have put into spritzers.

Hedonist by Cult of Scent

Cult Of Scent

So I do know that Jocelyn is the perfumer though I’m yet to meet her, she is a Sydney based perfumer and very pretty. I spent some time in the delicious citrus/white flower/green extravaganza that is Cult of Scent’s Magnolia ’13 a while ago and loved it sick.

So Hedonist, it opens slightly citrus and balmy but what immediately knocks on my olfactory door is leather. Slightly tar-ish, smoky, woodsy leather. New leather before it’s been made into its final product, the act of walking into a leather shop and being greeted by hundreds of skins in their multi-hued entirety. Hedonist is not big but it does have a fairly ferocious opening on my skin. More Lonestar Memories than Cuir d’Ange if you know what I mean, but not really like Lonestar Memories at all. Michael Borg just told me that the hefty darkness is probably oud assisted, now that he mentions it I tend to agree.

Hedonist Cult of scent VIC_River_Downs WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

Hedonist is a bitter brew yet behind it I smell softness, a creamy something, a white flower. Michael says it’s the tiare flower, he could be correct, I am just going to say creamy white flowers and maybe some lactonic fruit like fig. No matter what it is the smell is beautiful, exquisite, both hefty and during the heart also pleasantly sheer. Wearable to most occasions where people are happy to have you scented, and not overpowering enough to preclude it from dining or the movies. Very wearable.

Hedonist Cult of scent book BonnyBBX PixabayPhoto Stolen Pixabay

The Middle East? A little tease of an introduction to it, yes. A soft core, wearable beauty. Hedonist? Not nearly as overblown or outrageous as I was expecting though towards dry down it does become quite animal and lived in but so soft that it could really be you, just warmer and sexier. GGGGRRROWLL

What fragrance would you call your Hedonist fragrance? For me I think Songes by Annick Goutal, Guerlain’s Shalimar and Parfum de Maroc by Aftelier. These hold something big, overblown and indulgent. What’s yours?
Portia x

Miss Dior 2015: Natalie Portman: Mini Movie

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

Aha! Hey gang,

I was not crazy about Miss Dior really but recently my mate Natalie from Another Perfume Blog (now defunct) gave me some vintage Miss Dior Cherie and I have to admit it rocked my socks off.

miss Dior 2015 Natalie Portman YouTubePhoto Stolen YouTube

As always Natalie Portman is perfect in her role. This time as the grand daughter of the super wealthy. DIOR has done a wonderful job dressing her and the sets.

Enjoy a couple of minutes of pure escapism.
Portia xx

Miss Dior 2015 – The new film (Official Director’s Cut)

Pichola by Neela Vermeire Creations 2015

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Hey Hey APJ,

Guess what arrived in the mail Friday morning!! Neela has sent me a sample! WOW! WOW! WOW!

Pichola by Neela Vermeire Creations 2015

Pichola with Bertrand Duchaufour

Pichola Neela Vermeire Creations fragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Cardamom, cinnamon, saffron, juniper, magnolia, neroli oil, clementine, bergamot
Heart: Orange blossom absolute, rose absolute, tuberose absolute, sambac jasmine, ylang-ylang
Base: Benzoin absolute, sandalwood , driftwood, Haiti vetiver

As you may know India is somewhere I have spent a lot of time, 15 visits so far and hopefully back there again in 2016. Of all the beautiful, magical, amazing spots that my last partner Varun and I saw (and BFF Kath too in 2008) Udaipur is right up there in my Top 3 beside McLeodgang (where the Dalai Lama is in exile) and Agra (where the Taj Mahal is). When we stay in Udaipur we stay in the Taj Hotels Lake Palace on Lake Pichola. It’s pretty close to heaven. When Kath & I stayed in 2008 we were upgraded to a gorgeous, water view suite with 3 rooms. Incredible.

Pichola Neela Vermeire Creations Udaipur_Lake_Palace WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

From Wikipedia: …built between 1743- 1746 under the direction of the Maharana Jagat Singh II (62nd successor to the royal dynasty of Mewar) of Udaipur, Rajasthan as a royal summer palace and was initially called Jagniwas or Jan Niwas after its founder.  The palace was constructed facing east, allowing its inhabitants to pray to the Surya, the Hindu sun god, at the crack of dawn. The successive rulers used this cool haven as their summer resort, holding their regal durbars in its courtyards lined with columns, pillared terraces, fountains and gardens.

Neela has worked with Bertrand Duchaufour to recreate the play of light across the waters of Lake Pichola, the luxurious feeling of being part of the majestic history of India’s Maharajas yet with all the mod-cons that make current day life comfortable. Water in the desert, which Udaipur’s state Rajasthan is, is not just beautiful it is life. Twice, that I know of, since the turn of the century Lake Pichola has been bone dry with crops and livestock growing.

I have only had one wear of Pichola but I will say that is you love white flowers then Pichola is going to blow you away.

I will review Pichola in the next week or so after I have worn it a couple of times and have a real feel for its loveliness. Does it remind me of Lake Pichola? Well it certainly is as rich and luxurious as staying at the Lake Palace.

Neela will be revealing Pichola in Milan. I wish I was coming to hang with you all there.

Portia xx

Néroli & Orchidée by L`Occitane en Provence!

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 32 Comments
Hey Crew,
As you may already know one of my mates is on the marketing team for L’Occitane Australia. We often get together to chat about the world of fragrance, beauty and L’Occitane (we also chat about heaps of other stuff but none, or very little, printable HA!) and how the crew at L’Occitane have repositioned the company and its products in the last decade or so. From what was a small, provincial French company making really good products on a small scale to a huge brand that has really good recognisability the world over and stores in around 60 countries. They have tried to stay true to their great product, reasonable price credo and I think they’ve largely achieved that too.
One of the things that L’Occitane really wanted to do this decade was take their fragrances to the next level. That’s how La Collection de Grasse came into being with perfumer Karine Dubreuil. Designed to be easy wear, casual fragrances that are better smelling and filled with more expensive ingredients than their price competitors. In Australia a 75ml bottle of the La Collection de Grasse fragrances is around $80. As a comparison at David Jones online $80 will buy you 30ml Versace Bright Crystal, Armani Acqua di Goia or Belle d’Opium, 50ml Crabtree & Evelyn Evelyn Rose, Tommy Hilfiger Tommy Girl or Gucci Flora By GUCCI.  I think La Collection de Grasse as good or better than these mainstream offerings and you get more juice. Win win.

Néroli & Orchidée by L`Occitane en Provence

Néroli & Orchidée L`Occitane en Provence 1 FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Orange, mandarin
Heart: Neroli, lily of the valley, fig milk, peach
Base: Madagascar orchid absolute, iris, musk

Néroli & Orchidée opens bright and fresh, a crisp citrus with a slight pithy undertone. If it reminds me of anything it is a Guerlain Aqua Allegoria, the same pretty and energetic opening so summery and lively. Suitable for young girls, mums and grandmas Néroli & Orchidée seems happy and uplifting, also excellent for the gents. I could imagine it being a go-to fragrance for the warmer weather or when the dreary greys and cold days of winter are starting to get you down, then Néroli & Orchidée would be a fabulous panacea.

Through the fruity floral heart L’Occitane has cleverly kept it bright but left out the sugar hit so many modern frags have, I would love to try it in a more concentrated parfum form. The base is a soft, furry wash that smells clean and fresh. Nothing terribly groundbreaking here and the die hard perfumistas will be bored but Néroli & Orchidée is definitely good value and you will smell great.

Portia xx

AllSteele giveaway 1Photo Stolen AllSteele

Néroli & Orchidée by L`Occitane GIVEAWAY!

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 4 winners who will each get:
1 x 75ml bottle of Néroli & Orchidée by L’Occitane (Australians will get a special surprise extra)
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.

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please go to L’Occitane and find me a fragrance and one of its notes. NO DOUBLE UPS!!!

Extra Chance?
Tweet: Neroli & Orchidee    http://wp.me/p3PURw-3E6

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 1st March 2015 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Thursday 5th March 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.

Bottega Veneta: Emotion of Sound: Mini Movie

/ australianperfumejunkiescom

Hi there Fashion and Fragrance Fiends,

Like so much of the work done by Bottega Veneta this 1.45m mini movie is beautifully crafted. As one of the leading new forces in designer perfumery as well as being my favoured brand of leathergoods, that woven leather is just irresistible.

Bottega Veneta says: Bottega Veneta is pleased to present its latest creative collaboration through a unique endeavor that seemingly brings Tomas Maier’s Spring-Summer 2015 collection for Bottega Veneta to life. The film, entitled “Emotion of Sound”, is the centerpiece of a unique initiative designed to emotionally engage and indulge the senses.

emotion-of-sound Bottege VenetaPhoto Stolen Bottega Veneta

I hope you enjoy this lovely piece,
Portia xx

Emotion Of Sound: Bottega Veneta

J'ai Fait un Reve – Elle by Dorothée Piot for Majda Bekkali 2010

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Post by FeralJasmine

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The main thing that I remember about childhood vacations in Florida was the extraordinary scent of orange blossoms. The cottage that we rented was rural at that time, and when I left the house early in the morning I could nearly always smell orange trees blossoming nearby. That extraordinary mix of hypnotic sweetness and underlying spice and indoles is not something that I will ever forget. I love a lot of orange blossom perfumes, but to interest me they have to be fairly complex and have enough sweetness to at least somewhat resemble the real thing. Orange Blossom is a traditional bridal flower both because of its sweet and innocent aspects and its underlying narcotic properties. Drifting along like an angel, it wafts hints of the demonic and the damned. That’s for me.

J’ai Fait un Reve by Dorothée Piot for Majda Bekkali 2010

J’ai Fait Un Reve - Clair (Elle) Majda Bekkali LuckyScentPhoto Stolen LuckyScent

LuckyScent gives these featured accords in one line:
Petitgrain, elemi, cumin, currant leaves, orange blossom, jasmine, lisylang, castoreum, white musk, white cedar, guaiac, leather, labdanum, incense, papyrus

I always become fervently interested in Orange Blossom perfumes in late winter, and this year I am loving J’ai Fait un Reve Elle by Madja Bekkali. The notes are simple enough. There are drifts of orange blossoms, a few fruits hanging in the background, the sweet white musk (on the clean side) underlying the flowers, a bit of petitgrain, with the whole given a sensual undertone by a hint of cumin.I am no fan of cumin in perfumes, but this is very subtle and really well done. It has a quality of movement on the skin that reminds me of the blossoms blowing gently in an early morning breeze. Right now, I can’t get enough of it. My orange blossom addiction usually crashes by late February, so this is a time-limited pleasure, and I use it to the hilt while it lasts.

J’ai Fait Un Reve - Clair (Elle) Majda Bekkali Orange_Blossom WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

I suspect that J’ai Fait un Reve will have a difficult time finding its audience, or maybe the audience is rather limited. It isn’t elegant and structured like 24, Faubourg. It isn’t a cuminy skank bomb like Rubj. It isn’t indolic, cumin-laden, and narcotically sweet like the SL Fleurs d’Oranger, and it isn’t a sweet delight like the Houbigant Orangers et Fleurs with its absurdly pretty nutmeg note. I love all of these except Rubj and will be wearing them constantly for the next month. But I reach for J’ai Fait un Reve more often than any of the others, simply because, right now, it smells like my orange grove, the one where I long to be lying, within hearing distance of the sea.

J’ai Fait Un Reve - Clair (Elle) Majda Bekkali Jacek Yerka PlayingWithSpacesPhoto Stolen PlayingWithSpaces

Further reading: Now Smell This (the whole line overview)
LuckyScent has $125/50ml (Currently the 120ml is on special for $125)

Dream with me, gang! What orange grove scent do you long to lounge in right now?
FeralJasmine x

Cédre Atlas by Jerome Epinette for Atelier Cologne 2015

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 14 Comments

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Post by Trésor

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It is this time of year when I most like to indulge myself in longing daydreams of summertime sunlight and balmy afternoons passed to combat what seems to be a lifetime sentence within a glacial dimension of never-ending ice and snow, otherwise known as a typical Canadian winter. I imagine myself not far off, lounging in tranquility on the crystalline white sands of the Maldives but within the splendid embrace of an evening’s breeze on a midsummer’s stroll through the forest behind my home. The exquisite fragrance of the trees dancing a gossamer tango with the vapours of an eau de cologne I’d lavishly splashed prior to my departure, unifying in paradisiacal harmony and guiding me so gracefully through my frost-bound reality. It is within the vitreous sapphire flacon of Atelier Cologne’s new Cédre Atlas where perfumer Jerome Epinette has mirrored this dream sequence so effortlessly, an olfactory time machine into one of my most treasured escapes.

Cédre Atlas by Jerome Epinette for Atelier Cologne 2015

cedre-atlas-atelier-cologne SephoraPhoto Stolen Sephora

BaseNotes gives these featured accords:
Top: Lemon, Bergamot, Blackcurrant bud
Heart: Atlas cedarwood, Egyptian jasmine, Apricot
Base: White amber, Indian papyrus, Haitian vetiver

Cédre Atlas opens on my skin with the most ebullient note of radiant lemon underscored ever so slightly by a gentle whisper of bitter bergamot. It is not long after the initial burst of lustrous citrine that cedar begins to take centre stage. The cedar in Cédre Atlas has been executed with such visceral clarity and grows increasingly powerful the longer it spends on the skin, pushing my personal boundaries of what I would consider to be “too much” without ever actually crossing the line. I find this bit particularly fascinating and if I am being honest it is quickly becoming my favourite use of cedar I have ever encountered in a fragrance, forceful but delicate; a dichotomy and harmonious synchronicity. After about the sixth hour the cedar begins to ebb and flourishing jasmine petals descend upon the composition and make way for a sweet juxtaposition of juicy apricot painted in empyreal watercolour. The extreme dry down reveals silken tendrils of vetiver enraptured within a sensuous veil of soft, transparent amber. It is within this graceful descent that the composition becomes a skin scent and then finally becomes but a sublime memory.

cedre-atlas-atelier-cologne peace-of-mind PixabayPhoto Stolen Pixabay

The sillage with Cédre Atlas is subtle but most certainly present, hovering around you as a soft cloud of aromatic cirrus. Longevity is what I think impressed me most, managing to cling to my skin for upwards of ten hours and finally dissipating entirely around twelve, an attribute I find rather impressive not only with this fragrance but with most of the offerings within the entirety of the Atelier Cologne range. I urge you to give Cédre Atlas a go if you are looking to experience a cedar note executed with both dynamism and grace or simply wish to take an alternative route to reliving a state of summertime bliss.

cedre-atlas-atelier-cologne Winter_Wonderland SimplyBackgrounds DeviantArtPhoto Stolen DeviantArt

Further reading: Colognoisseur and Now Smell This
Sephora has $125/200ml
PeonyMelbourne doesn’t have it yet but I’m sure they will soon!

Do you have a favourite Atelier Cologne? Which and why?

Until next time, my darlings!
Trésor xx

Shangri La by Hiram Green 2014

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 25 Comments

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Post by Val the Cookie Queen

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I run a mile when I hear the word “naturals”. Not only with fragrances, but skin care, shower gels, foodstuffs – you know? Not because I am anti-natural (whatever that means) but because it generally sucks. Just read the backs of anything that claims to be all natural to see what I mean. However there are exceptions to every rule. After the explosive beauty of Hiram Green´s Moon Bloom I was thrilled to get the opportunity to try Shangri La. I do not know the first thing about natural perfumery. Hiram Green obviously does.

Shangri La by Hiram Green 2014

Shangri La, Pinks + Preconceived Ideas

From Hiram Green site: “Hiram Green creates handcrafted fragrances made exclusively from natural materials.
After founding Scent Systems, a perfumery located in central London, Hiram learnt that most perfumes, even the best quality ones,
are manufactured using synthetic materials. Wanting to offer a natural alternative to his customers, he was hard-pressed
to find anything suitable.
After relocating to the Netherlands, Hiram spent several years researching and experimenting with natural fragrant materials. in his
studio in Gouda he develops and produces his natural fragrances in small batches.”

Hiram Green Shangri La jacek-yerka-bible-dam FreshWetPaintPhoto Stolen FreshWetPaint

Shangri La is named after the mythical city in the Kunlan Mountains, from the 1933 novel Lost Horizon by James Hilton. Random info –
US President Franklin D Roosevelt named the presidential hideaway in Maryland Shangri La. It has since been renamed Camp David.
(Camp David conjures up an interesting picture as a fragrance name huh?) )

Coty´s Chypre played a role in Hiram Green´s inspiration. I have yet to smell it. One day when Portia takes me to Paris perhaps I will have the chance. Hiram Green is extremely talented. In my limited knowledge I do know the classic chypre, with the countless regulations in force, is an endangered species. Somehow with new technology, knowledge and talent, Hiram Green has found a way to keep it alive.

Shangri La reminds me of Mitsouko.

Hiram Green writes: “Shangri La opens with a sharp burst of citrus, followed by a rich bouquet of peach, jasmine, rose, iris and spices,
all anchored by an early base of vetiver and oakmoss.” And you know what? It really does.

Shangri La is fruity and spicy, and melds perfectly with the body. It doesn’t hover over you announcing its presence. I like that in perfumery. It is a vintage-y perfume but of the moment too. Softer than normal carnation, it smells of old fashioned “pinks”. The gardens of yesteryear. They fill the summer air with the scent of cloves. Soft, natural beauty. In medieval times, pinks were added to wine to give the flavor and smell of cloves. Spices would have been very expensive and this plant was a very good substitute and
would give the impression of mulled wine. Hiram Green has a nose and an eye for beauty, not to mention a nostalgic streak.

Hiram Green Shangri La Skyline_sunset WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

Shangri La is gorgeous. The reputation that naturals have of being short lived is not the case here. Shangri La lasts around ten hours.
Musky, peachy, slightly leathery, right up until the end. Office or opera.

And the icing on the cake? Hiram Green do 5ml bottles. No excuse not to try either Moon Bloom or Shangri La.
The 50 ml bottles are stunning and I would love to have one. I think it´s time for another trip to Holland.

Further reading: Scented Hound and Chemist In A Bottle
LuckyScent has $165/50ml
Hiram Green has €25/5ml

All natural bussis.
CQ

 

Wisteria Hysteria by Nathalie Feisthauer for CdG/Stephen Jones 2014

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 16 Comments

Hi there Niche Nerds,

Sometimes I look at a notes list and an idea of what a fragrance will smell like pops into my head, an olfactory guess. When I first wore Wisteria Hysteria it was a complete surprise. That pretty white bottle, those interesting green/spicy notes, I thought they would be a blind for a modern, sweet, light, slightly green, spicy and creamy composition. BOY was I wrong.

Wisteria Hysteria by Nathalie Feisthauer for CdG/Stephen Jones 2014

Wisteria Hysteria Stephen Jones FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Cloves, mate, carnation
Heart: Wisteria, rose, incense
Base: Musk, styrax, benzoin, amber

Wisteria Hysteria opens GREEN, so outrageously green I find it hard to believe this is a mainstream UK designer release, well Stephen Jones is a milliner and hats are part of design right? This is a fabulously edgy green, very Comme des Garcons metallic science fiction and also verging on a natural perfumery style, quite the dichotomy.

Wisteria Hysteria Stephen Jones Millinery FashionStrokePhoto Stolen FashionStroke

Sweet green, a funky, gothic, marshland fragrance. There is nothing here of my memory of our enormous wisteria vine that grew over two 30 foot tall tree stumps in our back yard. Spicy green, that only softens slightly with the introduction of the bouquet in the heart yet still has a cool unburned incense mixed with old BarBQ coals. Weird, unusual, interesting and moreish.

Wisteria Hysteria Stephen Jones wisteria Cliff FlickrPhoto Stolen Flickr

After about an hour Wisteria Hysteria calms down considerably, becomes a softer, creamier version of itself but still holds the green tight. At some point through the heart I get a scent that reminds me of Indian spices on some of their packet snack foods, spicy and delicious but HOT!

At this point I am instantly transported to some of my earlier visits to India. I would be there for around 6 weeks and the first 2-3 weeks I would be eating as much Indian food as I could and loving every bite. Then at around the 3 week point I would suddenly get overwhelmingly homesick and turn bitchy. Varun would be waiting for this and produce some Indian snack foods and mandarins or mangoes depending on the season. Those delicious snack foods would tide me over and I would be OK to deal with till the end of the trip. So Wisteria Hysteria brings to mind some incredibly happy reminiscences of some of the best times of my life.

Wisteria Hysteria Stephen Jones Indian Snack Foods OpenCagePhoto Stolen OpenCage

Then it is softly, softly green to sweet, warm, still green dry down.

Further reading: Now Smell This and Grain de Musc
LuckyScent has $165/55mlSurrender To Chance has samples starting at $4.50/.5ml

Did you get to try this? Is Stephen Jones a milliner that you know?
Portia xx