beauty

Flower by Alberto Morillas for Kenzo Fragrance 2000 Perfume Review and 2013 Ad Campaign

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Hello Lovely APJ Family,

Flower by Kenzo Fragrance 2000

KenzoFlower FragranricaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Mandarin, hawthorn, Bugarian rose, blackcurrant
Heart: Parma violet, rose, opoponax, jasmine
Base: Vanilla, white musk, incense and woody notes

I was given an ENORMOUS bottle of this by my girlfriend Annie, every time I spritz, or smell someone in the street wearing, Flower I think of her and the great big hugs she gives, her warmth, fun and joyfulness. Because Flower is so sheer and spare it’s hard to believe there are so many ingredients that make it come together. Also there have been so many imitations of its style that I am at a loss to remember how ground breaking it was when it was first released. That hefty airiness that doesn’t skunk but has impressive sillage, so that as you waft fragrantly past someone they are entranced by your scent, a la Perfume by Patrick Suskind, or a room slowly fills with your fragrance and you can smell it softly on return to the room, but not in a pushy intrusive way, just a haunting memory.

It opens green and fresh on me with a sharp sweetness, then the warm resinous bouquet slowly takes over until a clean, warm musky vanilla finishes the story in around 4-6 hours depending on the day and whether I’m moisturised.

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Interestingly Tania Sanchez in Perfumes: The A-Z Guide says that, “Albert Morillas almost certainly knew Caron’s Royal Bain de Champagne (now Royal Bain de Caron) by heart when he replicated it and added a splash of hedione to make Flower, but it seems no one else knew….” but I have only a modern incarnation of Royal Bain de Caron for comparison and they seem only distantly related.

I love the 2013 ad campaign, the lightness and airiness of the poppies flying through the air isa a perfect symbolism for this still lovely fragrance.

See you tomorrow,

Portia xx

Flower by Kenzo Fragrance 2013 Ad Campaign

Picture provided by one of my go-to fashion bloggers art8amby

The campaign girl is Chinese/Taiwanese actress, Shu Qi.

Image via TFS.

Indus (oil) by Dawn Spencer Hurwitz 2012

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Hey Hey Stink Monkeys,

Every now and then I like to try a fragrance for a while before I read any notes. I enjoy the thrill of wearing the fragrance with no preconceived ideas of what it may smell like and the freefall of having it surprise you as it grows and develops. I have given this particular perfume 3 days wear at different times through those days and my mind kept telling me what a wonderful and spectacular iris perfume I was wearing, so powdery soft and fluffy with that woody, earthy base. Then when I decided to write this post I had to check the notes as I put together my story. OH WELL! Can’t be right all the time.

Indus by Dawn Spencer Hurwitz 2012

Indus FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves
Heart: Black tea, ginger, honey, beeswax and jasmine
Base: Amber, patchouli, musk, tolu balsam, vanilla and milk.

Now that I’ve read the notes list I find it hard to remember why I thought what I thought. There is a definite burst of spices and pepper (black not bell) though they all conspire together to be cool rather than warming, an aloof opening that slowly warms into the heart.  That powdery opening must have been the sparkle of bergamot over these cool spices. The heart is almost exactly like a spicy chai had on a train in India, the cool spices warm and ferment with the honey, ginger and milk. How could I have missed these things. HA HA HA! Just goes to show that the moment you start getting cocky about stuff the world comes along to remind you of reality and bring you back to earth. Hilarious.

My mind was getting comfort scent but couldn’t make the connections. I will tell you though that Indus is a crazy good perfume. A couple of the girls at trivia last night were raving about it and because it’s an oil you have to sit with people for a minute or two before they notice it, it slowly fills the space around you and leaves terrific sillage while not being overpowering or obnoxious.

ChaiWallah mitchellktravelphotoPhoto Stolen mitchellktravelphoto

Honestly, even after all that I still get beautiful moments of powdery, rootish iris and sandalwood and it transports me away to years gone far by and my Grandma, who was a rock for me, and her big cuddles and cooking.

The DSH site:
The great sub-continent, India;  a  land filled with treasures of spice and tea.  Chai tea brings these elements together in an elixir of true comfort, warmth, sensuality and vitality.  Perfect for Fall and it’s inevitable chill, Indus is soft enough to compliment other spice and amber perfumes and rich enough to be worn alone.  We love this for both men and women!

Further reading NowSmellthis welcomes Indus but doesn’t review and I couldn’t find another
DawnSpencerHurwitz has a super sample for $4 or I bought the 1 dram oil essence for $30

With loads of love and below I’ve added a video on how to make chai. I’m off to make some right now.

Portia xx

DIOR – New Flagship Store in Sydney!

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Hey Hey All You Fashion & Fragrance Lovers,

We have a wonderful new DIOR flagship store in Sydney. That means that the exclusive collection perfumes are now here for me to sample at my leisure. WOO HOOO! Not quite as lavish as the Harrods productions but Andy has twice taken friends and I through the store, been incredibly helpful and knowledgeable, and shown us absolute courtesy. If you happen to be in Sydney, ask for Andy, he is the best SA DIOR in Sydney has.

Here are a couple of shots of a day recently when two girlfriends of mine Domenica (from VogueVandal fashion blog) and her Mum Anna and I went for a grand tour of the establishment. At the top you’ll see them with Andy, then on the menswear level catwalk, the stairs to the underground and Domenica holding one of the fabulous new peachy orange coloured bags. Super fun day. Thanks DIOR.

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From March 14th to April 16th, the department store Harrods in London, UK celebrates the House of Dior, hosting a pop-up store with exclusive items as well as a unique ‘So Dior’ exhibition and a Dior Café.

Most of us can only dream of being there. But dream we must.

Portia xx

Here are the Harrod’s DIOR movies.

L’Eau D’Hiver by Jean Claude Ellena for Frederic Malle 2003

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Guest Post by Dionne

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Hello frag heads!

It’s been my plan for a while now to write a review of the fabulous Frederic Malle scent L’Eau d’Hiver, created by Jean-Claude Ellena. Part of my trifecta of season-less scents, which also includes Lumière Blanche and Art Collection #08 by Jacomo, this is one of the few perfumes I can wear year-round, no matter what the season.
“No matter what the season.” I’ll admit to a knowing chuckle as I type out that phrase, because March is the craziest month of the entire year where I live. Here in southern Alberta just west of the Canadian Rockies, spring doesn’t really arrive until late April, but it doesn’t feel like winter anymore either. Which is strange to say because we get more snow in March than any other month; it’s just that we also regularly get an interesting phenomenon called a Chinook, a warm wind that blows from the west and can raise temperatures 30 degrees in a matter of hours. So you never quite know what you’re going to get.

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What does this all have to do with L’Eau d’Hiver? It’s that no matter what the day is like, it’s been a great fit. I’ve worn it a lot this last month, when it’s plus 15, clear blues skies and I’m lifting my face to the sun while my little ones happily jump in all the puddles and rivers that are everywhere. It’s the perfect accompaniment for a sunny, joyful day. It’s also worked when it’s minus 20, there’s been a 25cm snow dump and whiteout conditions and I can barely get out of my driveway without getting stuck. Since staying home and declaring a snow day isn’t going to happen, (Albertans just lace up the Sorels and dig ourselves out, we’re kinda Boss that way) spraying L’Eau d’Hiver and enjoying its snuggly comfort while Getting Stuff Done is an enjoyable second option.

Back and forth, back and forth, that’s what March is like. How Jean-Claude Ellena managed to create a perfume that works on such different days, I’m not quite sure. All I know is that I’m impressed.

L’Eau D’Hiver by Jean Claude Ellena for Frederic Malle 2003

Picture 308Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Notes according to Fragrantica:
Bergamot, heliotrope, jasmine, iris, honey, angelica, white musk.

L’Eau d’Hiver is JCE’s tribute to Après l’Ondée, and I tried them both shortly after falling down the rabbit hole. For some strange reason, I had this idea in my head at the time that I needed to choose which one to own, as if there was some sort of contest. Fortunately I eventually realized how silly that was, and now have both.

If you ever want to try a fascinating experiment, do a wrist-to-wrist of the two and see what happens – just make sure the Al’O is the pre-2011 formulation. I love doing wrist-to-wrist comparisons as it helps me get better at this whole smelling thing, and in the three years I’ve done comparisons, I’ve never encountered anything quite as interesting as these two together. They seem to dance around each other, smelling alike for a moment, than different 5 minutes later, than alike again ten minutes later, then different again, back and forth, back and forth. To expand that particular image, it’s like a dance couple where the male, L’Eau d’Hiver, moves within a tight circle and the female, Après l’Ondée, twirls and leaps and runs off all pointy-toes before flitting back and smiling and then twirling off again. This is a very fancy way of saying that JCE has made L’Eau d’Hiver streamlined and modern, the essence of heliotrope, and its beauty lies in that simplicity.

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It’s a frothy almond milk with a sprinkling of sugar on top. If that sounds really gourmand to you, surprisingly, it’s not; the iris in here adds a cool, elegant vibe that keeps L’Eau d’Hiver from getting cutesy. The perfume is full of these kinds of contrasts: warm and cool, cuddly and elegant, close to the skin but distinctive, straightforward but with a lot to say.

Further reading WhatMenShouldSmellLike or Olfactoria’sTravels
MeccaCosmetica has 50ml for $195 in Australia
FredericMalle has 50ml for $150 in the USA
SurrenderToChance start at $6/ml

I’m in the mood for a dance. L’Eau d’Hiver, shall we?

Dionne xx

How to Scent your Space, Naturally

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Guest Post by Suzanne R Banks

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How to Scent your Space, Naturally

Hey all you perfume lovers out there – use your divine connection to scent to create a beautiful natural aromatic moment in your home or office, and even your car.

Of course you could spritz your perfume around and even though that will work, why not try a more natural approach? By using less chemicals in your life and being mindful about your purchasing decisions, you will be helping your brain and body, by giving them a rest from these toxic ingredients. You CAN have beautiful, natural scent. You don’t have to buy synthetically scented household products or personal care products anymore. There are so many fantastic natural and organic products that are reasonably priced and accessible to everyone.

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The most obvious choice for me is to use essential oils. You can put them in a classic oil burner with a candle, an electric vapouriser or make a mist in a simple mist bottle with oils and water.

For your home try:

“Boudoir”

to get the vibe going for an intimate evening at home add these oils to an oil burner with water, and a candle. The candle also acts as a transformative energy, a cleansing and renewing agent.

Ylang Ylang             8 drops
Orange                   10 drops
Patchouli                  2 drops
Cedarwood Atlas    5 drops

“Doucement”

a chill-out blend for the end of a long day or to get the kids settled quickly

Mandarin                10 drops
Lavender                  8 drops
Marjoram                  6 drops
Vetiver                       1 drop

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For the office try:

(If you have your own office it’s great but if you are working with other people in close proximity it may be better to place a few drops of oil on a tissue and keep it close by. We don’t want to offend or upset others in the work environment).

“That’s a Great Idea”

To inspire creativity and focus

Lemon       10 drops
Lime             5 drops
Basil              5 drops
Rosewood   5 drops

“Come On Friday”

A stress-less blend to take the edge off a difficult day

Cedarwood Virginian     3 drops
Pink Grapefruit               17 drops
Spearmint                         5 drops

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And for your car, you can simply place a few drops of oil onto a tissue, a cotton makeup pad or even a bit of paper towel and stick it in one of the vents.

Wake up and concentration oils:

Lemon
Basil
Rosemary

Calm down oils:

Lavender
Orange
Geranium
Bergamot
Petitgrain

Cake Taste.com.auPhoto Stolen Taste.Com.Au

And if that gets a bit too hard you can always:

  • For home, office or car – buy or pick some scented flowers like gardenias, roses, jasmine, tuberoses, hyacinths, lilies, and anything else you can think of. It’s a great natural way to bring scent into your environment and as it can be quite seasonal you are also more in tune with nature
  • At home you could bake a cake, roast some almonds or make a crème brullee with real vanilla pods
  • At home – add a few drops of essential oils into your cleaning products and mop the floor (you get scent and cleanliness in one go)
  • In the car – eat an orange or mandarin and squeeze the rind around the seats. You’ll be amazed how effective it can be, especially when you get back into the car – it will be a citrus paradise!

I’m sure you can think of some more too. Let your imagination run wild with the scented bounty of nature.

Ed: If you thought this was good go see the Suzanne R Banks site (LINK JUMP) or like her Facebook Page (LINK JUMP)

Suzanne R Banks

Kings Canyon Easter Getaway Photo Essay!

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Hello fabulous FUMIES!

A crew of five of us fled the city on Thursday and went bush to one of Australia’s best kept secrets. Kings Canyon is the place in the movie Priscilla, Queen of the Desert where the three drag queens climb to the top before they go home to Sydney. Having only been involved in the Sydney part of the shooting process I have wanted to come and see the majesty of this place since 1993/4 when Priscilla was filmed as we spent so much time with the cast and crew preparing them for their roles. It was also my first full sighting of Ayers Rock, which beggars the imagination in real life, one day I will come back and climb it.

Here is a short photo essay of our time there. Unfortunately the main camera belonging to Kath has not yet been downloaded but I will add some photos of the climb itself when she returns on Monday from an overnight camping trip. The four I was lucky enough to travel with are all in the top shot, all Australian citizens but I’ll put where each was born for interests sake. From left: Seb (France), Kath (Australia), Alice (UK) and Jin (South Korea). At the bottom I’ve added a choral rendition of one of Australia’s most famous poems, My Country by Dorathea Mackeller. It’s kind of dopey but does show some of Australia’s most wonderful scenery.

On the perfume front I took two The Different Company travel size fragrances, Sel & Vetiver and Oriental Lounge. (The jump I’ve added at the name is for 3 x 10ml Travel Size mixture at $105. I think it’s a super bargain!!)

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This pic from my BFF Kath…

Jin&Portia KingsCanyon 2013 Kath

Spikenard Giveaway Winner

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Hello Gorgeous!!

As you may remember we had a sensational week of 1st Birthday Giveaways last week that culminated in a giveaway that was transcontinental and trans-blog. There were 6 blogs involved in an Easter Giveaway for an amount of foot oil that harks back to the Jesus and Mary Magdalen story in the Bible and the washing of the feet. This giveaway was made particularly poignant by the current Pope’s decision to wash 6 young prisoners feet, including 2 young girls one of whom was a Muslim. It was a courageous act that may not change the world and bring about peace but it certainly had us that can thinking. Symbolically the gesture is enormous.

PopeFrancis-washing patheosPope Francis on Holy Thursday 2013 Stolen Patheos

Brie in New York has made a small batch and sent it to The Fragrant Man (Jordan River who is one of our esteemed Guest Writers here at APJ). Would you like to know a bit more about this amazing Brie? Jump to read her Guest Posts from CaFleurBon December 30 2012 and CoolCookStyle February 25 2013. If you like her style, and we certainly hope you do, then you will be thrilled to know that Brie has come on board at APJ as a regular guest writer the first Monday of the month. YES TOMORROW!!

SPIKENARD GIVEAWAY WINNER

SpikenardGiveaway JordanPhoto Stolen TheFragrantMan

If you entered the Spikenard Giveaway then you must jump to TheFragrantMan blog (<<<JUMP) where you will find out if you’ve won. Thank you to everyone who became a part of this wonderful giveaway by commenting, thanks to Jordan river and Brie for hosting it.

Later today I’ll upload some pics from our trip to Kings Canyon this weekend. I hope you’ve had a happy Easter, whether or not you believe the stories, are religious, Catholic, Christian or in fact anyone. We hope that the idea of giving and helping, and doing things for others without counting the cost sometimes becomes a universally accepted mode of action.

Here are the other blogs involved in the Spikenard Giveaway, as well as TheFragrantMan, as it’s Easter and you may have some spare time why not have a little squiz at them. Their names are jumps.
AllIAmARedhead
CoolCookStyle
ScentsMemory
ThePerfumeDandy

Wishing you all great and wonderful weekends.

Portia xx

Lanvin Me Fragrance 2013 Ad Campaign

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Lanvin Me Fragrance 2013 Ad Campaign

Yet again stolen a fresh and lovely advertising image from. art8amby

Released April 2013, Lanvin used a reprint image of Iselin Steiro by Steven Meisel from the mainline Spring Summer 2009 campaign.

Can’t wait to see if they have given us a masterpiece or an insult to our olfactory systems. Could this be the new Arpege? Maybe? A fragrance to stand the test of time and reformulation? Let’s cross our fingers.

Portia x

Image via TFS.

Ambre Gris by Guillaume Flavigny for Pierre Balmain 2008

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Hello Happy Huffers,

Today we look at a fairly new acquisition for me. I went through a 5ml decant in record time so gave myself permission to indulge.

Ambre Gris by Pierre Balmain 2008

AmbreGris FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Myrrhe, benzoin, pink pepper, cinnamon
Heart: Immortelle, tuberose
Base: White musc, benzoin, amber, guaiac wood (tree of life)

Before I started researching Ambre Gris I was under the impression that it was a vintage fragrance from the house of Pierre Balmain. Not so, released in 2008 it sparked a veritable sensation throughout the scentbloggosphere for a few reasons: the last few Balmain frags had been met with surly derision by the perfumista community, this one was only available in a few select locations in Europe, named after that intriguing and hard to source perfumers magic ingredient ambergris from the intestines of one perr cent of sperm whales and because it was rumored to be fabulous. This was before my time on the scentbloggosphere, at this point I was a lone hoarder.

I love the fabulously hefty 100ml bottle with its thick, greyed glass and the golden disco ball on top is perfect to me, though many do not love it. In fact the whole package screams quality to me, even the understated label and box it comes in. I can imagine it fitting well into a mans or wamans wardrobe.

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How does it smell? Having read the other blogs I feel that I have a completely different product because my skin amplifies the salt in a fragrance, even though there is none in the note list. Ambre Gris opens warm and sweet on my skin, like eating Brighton Rock on the pebble beach.  There is a common complaint about Ambre Gris that it has a plastic vibe through the centre of it, which I often find in real life white flowers, it is not here for me sadly because I quite like that note. My experience with the heart are not everlasting daisies and tuberose, at all, unless it’s a small chemical found in both that also smells like the ocean, it feels breezy and windswept to me, and gives me a sense of freedom. Really, the notes list reads like gibberish compared to what I smell. The dry down is pretty and here I do get a salty amber and a little smoke. In the heat of Sydney summer Ambre Gris is giving me about 4-5 hours of discernible fragrance but I bought it so cheaply that I am very happy to reapply. I like it as my morning scent for some reason.

Ambre Gris works as a super base during its dry down adding a lovely heft to every perfume I have layered over the top for an afternoon or evening refresh, including: Sandflowers, Geranium Pour Monsieur, Bombay Bling, Coco and Songes (And many others)

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Further reading PerfumeSmellingThings and TheNonBlonde

FragranceNet has 50ml around $32
MyPerfumeSamples starts at $2/ml but the $7/5ml is EXCELLENT value

Have you tried Balmain’s Ambre Gris? Was it love or hate? Were you one of the frenzy buyers in 2008/9?

Until tomorrow,

Portia xx

Un Lys by Christopher Sheldrake for Serge Lutens 1997

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Gabriella
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Hello fellow perfumaholics. I hope you enjoy my story today on one of my favourite scents.

Un Lys by Christopher Sheldrake for Serge Lutens (1997)

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Fragrantica gives these featured accords on one line:
Lily, musk and vanilla
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Many years ago, a long, long time before I became a perfumista and perhaps even before the advent of perfume blogging, I found an exquisite bottle of fragrance in a local boutique. It was housed in the most elegant rectangular bottle I’d ever seen and emblazoned with a peculiar name: Serge Lutens. It was called Un Lys.
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I fell in love with its clear bright beauty immediately. It was simply the best thing I had ever smelled. Its price tag, however, was another matter.  (You see, back then, I thought that anything over $100 way just way, waaay too much money to spend on a bottle of perfume. How things have changed!) I winced at the price, stood there for a while, decided against it and left. And I then promptly forgot about it.
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Fast forward some years later, and it was actually another lily perfume, the magnificent Lys Mediterrannee that sent me tumbling down the rabbit hole of full-blown perfume obsession. Its hold on me was so great, that for years, I did not think I needed another lily fragrance in my collection.
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However, earlier this year, Un Lys started calling my name again. I ordered a bottle, completely unsniffed besides that brief, but powerful encounter many years ago.
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Second time around, Un Lys took her time to ensconce me with her charms. I pulled it out one steamy Sydney morning thinking it would be the perfect accompaniment to a summery Saturday. But now, compared to Lys Med’s spicy voluptuousness, Un Lys struck me as rather wan, pale and uninteresting but therein lies the rub, Un Lys’ lack of complexity is its beauty and its simplicity is its mark of exquisiteness. Whereas Lys Med emphasises the tropical, heady, vampy vibe of the lily and others, like Donna Karan Gold, emphasise its green qualities, Un Lys is aims to be no more than an olfactory portrait of the flower. It needs no adornments and no bells and whistles to amplify its serene and quiet beauty.
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Further reading BoisDeJasmin and NowSmellThis
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ThePerfumeShoppe sends 50ml to the world $140 before shipping
SurrenderToChance starts at $4/.5ml
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Till next time.
Mx