Hello Beautiful People,
If ever there was a time where my writing was superfluous, this is it. Please enjoy these 2 Cartier movies. you may have seen one or both before but it’s worth having another look.
Photo Stolen thesnapassembly
Until we see you tomorrow please be good to yourselves and those around you,
Portia xx
Cartier – Behind the scenes of L’Odyssée
Hello Happy Huffers,
Andy Tauer is a name most perfumistas know, many love his work and can’t get enough, some find it horrific and can’t understand why the rest of us are so smitten. Tauer-ade is the killer, long lasting fragrant base that Tauer Perfumers are famous for but on some skins it turns into a screaming nightmare with the half life of uranium. Luckily, i am one of the former, not merely smitten with the fragrances but also with Andy Tauer himself who looks remarkably like Homer Simpson’s sexy Christian neighbour Ned Flanders.
See what I mean? Really, it’s uncanny isn’t it? I can’t take all the credit for this discovery but I am thrilled that you are now in on the secret.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Coriander, cumin, petitgrain
Heart: Rock rose, jasmine
Base: Cedar, vetiver, ambergris
I love this spicy opening, like a blast of herbal resin, sweet, sharp and delicious. The opening feels more wet than you’d expect in a fragrance named for the Moroccan Desert, as if you’ve landed at an oasis after the arid desert dryness. The ambient wetness seems to dry within a few minutes and while keeping a spicy feel the focus turns floral, but not a bouquet. If ambergris it is then I feel its salty tang, but that could be the vetiver, and it flows in before the first half hour is over tamping down the florals and keeping them as background noise. I don’t read vanilla in the notes, or amber, but maybe the rock rose has hints of labdanum because I’m getting a lovely warmth and sweetness. I don’t know really but these are the things I am picking up, the cedar is a lovely freshly hewn scent.
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Photo Stolen saharawelcome
Though L`Air du Desert Marocain is named for the desert I feel the only thing desert-ish about it is the lovely sense of space between the notes, an airiness. I was expecting armpits, camels, dust and dog mixed with zinging spices and the sizzle of oil over a wood fire. What I get is a beautifully constructed fragrance that hints at the cloudless sky, a long expanse of desolate space, the warmth and waxiness of desert plants and the seraglio, filled with clean and bodily hairless women softly sweating in the heat and awaiting their masters pleasure.
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Photo Stolen from bigdave44
Further reading BoisDeJasmin and TheScentedHound
Andy Tauer’s webpage has 50ml $102
PoshPeasant starts at $5/ml
Have you tried any Tauer Perfumes? How were they on you? Do you have a fave?
Thank you so much for dropping in, see you tomorrow.
Portia xx
G’Day to you all,
Do you ever rummage through your samples looking for something and never find it because you’ve been stopped by something else that completely takes your fancy? I was going looking for my INeKE Gilded Lily to spend a little more time in its glorious company when I came across a frag that I had wanted to try but become enamoured of its twin and completely forgot to go back when the next haul of goodies arrived, so
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bitter orange, bergamot, vetiver
Heart: Bourbon geranium, lavender, honey
Base: Texas cedar, Indonesian patchouli, Tonka, Philippine elemi
Fragrantica & LucyScent said: Versilia Vintage – Boise reinterprets how perfumers admire pine forests by making a precious and delicate composition with character. Subtle and elite. A journey modulated by fragrances of citrus, then flowers of lavender and sweet honey, and finally persistent and woody: delicate with character
I love the opening here, my skin gives me a burst of salty citrus, almost minty and very early there is the sweet honey that smells like a spicy sweet Thai dish. The vetiver is lemon grassish and the geranium adds a green snappy spark too. Before half an hour has passed the foodiness has wafted away and left a very appealing something that I can’t parse but its a salty lavender wood, no it’s not exactly that but clearly my scent vocabulary is not up to the task. Thai coconut curry is what happens next including the rice; and before you ask, “NO, I am not hungry, just ate.” Do I have to know what I’m smelling? In the end, no, but I do like to be able to tell you more than just please go try this if you want to smell something usual but slightly skewed, as if I’m smelling something again but it has changed for the better. Much better.
Still pumping away this lovely salty floral after a couple of hours and looks set to stay for the duration. Pushing on to 4 hours and I’m getting really lovely warm woods and some humus rich earth smelling so good; warm and yummy.
Photo Stolen wildattitude
The only Versilia Vintage – Boise reference review I could find was an introduction by NowSmellThis
LuckyScent has .7ml/$5 & 100ml/$240
SurrenderToChance starts at $6/ml
Not so long ago I reviewed, and loved, the companion fragrance Versilia Vintage – Ambra Mediterranea on the PerfumePosse where today we have a LIVE Video Sniff please duck across and have a look.
Another beautiful pair of fragrances on the list. How many do you have on your FB wish list? Mine is longer than my legs.
See you tomorrow for more fun and fragrance adventure,
Portia x
Hello Frag Hags,
Every now and then I get to town and at one of our department stores, David Jones, there is a niche perfume store hidden on the basement level and the guys there, Gary and Dan, are so incredibly helpful, knowledgeable and friendly. I love to go there and spend half an hour talking fragrance releases, trying the newest releases to hit Australia and shopping. You pay a bit more than overseas prices but the advice and joy the men have in perfume is astounding, and priceless. Not so long ago I was given a sample of today’s fragrance which has morphed magically into a full bottle.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives thee featured accords:
Top: Damask rose, saffron, bergamot, papyrus
Heart: Morroccan rose, agarwood, castoreum, geranium
Base: Patchouli, musk, sandalwood, amber
Love Oudh? Hate Oudh? Never tried the nearly over madness of the 21st century’s most overused and abused new mainstream fragrance ingredient? Worried that you’ll smell like a Band-Aid, medicine or as if you’ve just rolled in horse apples. Maybe you tried an Oudh and Rose fragrance and it scared the living beJesus out of you, punched you in the nose, picked you up by the scruff of the neck and threw you to the ground? And then stayed on your skin for DAYS!! Quell Horror! Calm down, this is not like those scary Rose Oudh oils from the Middle East, it nods elegantly to them, whispers of souks, harems and Ali Baba but does it with a modern and refined European sensibility.
The opening spritz whiff is the most confronting and oudh-ish that Midnight Oud ever gets, and it is so not confronting. It is beautiful and deep and resinous and dusty with rose floating beautifully and dominantly over all. I love to wear Midnight Oud and it is so deliciously wearable. There is a Blue Moon rose blooming in the front yard and it is so like the rose in Midnight Oud a spicy, citric, leather rose. YUMMY!
Though the fragrance has a story and heads sweeter in the dry down it isn’t a huge story with enormous highs and lows but a short story that weaves in and out of itself and comes back to points you think long forgotten. There is a little side swiping at the gold tone bottle in blogs but I love it and the chocolate coloured suedette cylindrical case it comes in is so unusual and hints at the care taken with the juice. Some days I get 8+ hours out of Midnight Oud and others only four but every time I enjoy the ride immensely, a fragrance that should definitely be on your try list.
Photo Stolen ZeusBox
For further reading 1000Fragrances and BeautifulWithBrains
Libertine is the Australian site for Juliette Has A Gun, and many other niche brands, their prices include shipping and they only do Australia
FragranceX has 100ml $95 + shipping to the world
SurrenderToChance starts at $4/ml
Have you tried Midnight Oud or any of the Juliette Has A Gun range? What did you think? Are there any you really want to try?
I hope you enjoyed wandering through my fragrant musings because there is real joy in bringing them to you and I hope it’s a nice place for you to de-stress and just float along with me. We at APJ are grateful that you do come by. See you tomorrow.
Portia xx
Hiya Fumies,
You probably don’t care but my Birthday is September 25, born just after midnight, so when I saw a fragrance for the 24th September I wished that I had hurried but as with much of my life I was just a few minutes late. Hilde Soliani is famous for her quirky fragrances and boundary pushing art. I have only spent time with one of her fragrances before Tutti Matti per Colorno which I enjoyed very much.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Calamus (milky, green, cinnamon like grass root), amber, frankincense, myrrh
The Scoop (Stolen wholesale from LuckyScent):
This one took our breath away. A reverent and contemplative perfume built around the ancient and resinous notes of amber, incense and myrrh, combined with the milky green, uninhibited notes of calamus. The perfume’s name is beautiful and touching homage from a daughter to her late father, a dedication to her “angel.” Hilde was led by her nose from the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem to a local bazaar where she encountered special mixes of resins that spoke to her spirit. One day, while studying about the world’s religions, she discovered that calamus is considered a sacred grass in many religions, and she knew she’d found that touch of earthly spirit she needed celebrate a life she dearly loved.
24-09-11 is part of the Hilde Soliani The Invisibles range, meant to compliment your own fragrance and enhance your confirm your presence. What a stunning way to think of perfume. In reality though 24-09-11 is way too fragrant to be melded with your skin and enhance it, you will be decidedly and lavishly fragrant when wearing this. the opening is sweet and spicy, a non edible radiant caramel incense. Warm and lush and ever so slightly discordant, as if it’s about to topple over into disgusting over sweetened caramel slice at any moment but the green calamus and the incense win out and keep it delightful, wearable and distinguished. Caramel slice is a good analogy though because the calamus has a bitterness that could be dark chocolate and mixed with the sweet amber reads like an imaginary caramel slice. Absolutely unisex 24-09-11 has great staying power and dries down to a smooth amber/vanilla with a touch of smoke and takes between 4-7 hours depending on my day to be lost.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
While being too fragrant for close office work I would not hesitate to spritz for any other venture. You are fragrant and have a lovely sillage but unless you are within a meter people will only get hints of how lovely 24-09-11 smells on you. This is on my FB buying list.
For further reading Sandra Raičević Petrović writes for Fragrantica
LuckyScent has .7ml/$4 or 100ml?$160
SurrenderToChance start at 1ml/$5
Have you tried any of the Hilde Soliani? Did you like them? Maybe you have heard but not yet tried, tell us about it in the messages please. I love a chat.
I hope you are as happy and busy as I am leading up to the end of the year. I am about to take an hour for myself, it will be the first time I’ve stopped completely for a week and I bloody well deserve it. Going to go lie with the dog in the sun with a cuppa and a biscuit.
Till tomorrow, fragrantly yours,
Portia xx
Completely off topic but we made 80,000 IVs today. That is only 2 weeks since 70,000 IVs and I want to thank you for coming, reading, commenting and coming back again. You are our APJ Family, the secret scent society, and we love you. THANK YOU!!
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Guest Post By Tim
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(current formulation)
In this day and age where fragrances are sold through the art of embellished story telling, celebrity endorsement and multi million dollar advertising campaigns, I look to the past to see how much times have changed! In an era where themes were simpler, all you had to work with was the truth. We were not so seduced by faux inspirations, someone else’s ideal of femininity and masculinity or that sudden moment you fall in love. There was a different notion of what smelt clean and fresh. Fragrances were made with a vast variety of non synthetic accords, giving perfume outstanding character and brilliance. Although many fragrance category’s were still to be discovered it seems to me perfume had more to offer its wearer, a list of notes as long as your arm for example, and the simple promise of what fragrance was designed to do, to make u smell good.
Advertising quote-
“Aramis was created to be the most elegant mens cologne in the world.
Somewhere along the way it became the most provocative.
Aramis, the impact never fades”
If you research Aramis you will see the opinions in black and white! Love and hate, the men who can take it and commonly, the women who can’t . What could be more provocative than this, and I’m sure you already know it’s the fragrances that polarise opinions that are usually the most interesting and the bottles you want in your collection.
1966, Estée Lauder and her cosmetic chemist uncle Joseph Lauder formed brother company ‘Aramis’. Named after the fictional character in Alexandre Dumas vintage classic novel ‘The Three Musketeers’ they presented the world with the first line of prestige mens grooming products. This included the company’s debut namesake Aramis by Aramis , a leather chypre created by long time collaborator Bernard Chant (Estee, Azuree, Cinnabar) Aramis raised the bar higher and went on to become an instant best seller for the brand, and continues to be over 56 years later.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica lists notes –
TOP Artemisia, Aldehydes, Bergamot, Gardenia, Clover, Myrrh, Thyme
MIDDLE Jasmine, Patchouli, Orris, Sage, Cardamom and Sandalwood (PerfumeShrine also adds Cumin and Castoreum)
BASE Leather, Oakmoss, Vetiver, Amber, Sandalwood, Musk, Coconut
Aramis opens as discreetly as a king hit in a bar room brawl. Do you know that moment when a tradie sparks a blow torch and it ignites into a searing flame, well such is the first hit of Aramis. It’s challenging to describe perfectly the initial rush as it presents multi- dimensional and busy. My nose reads Body odour over antiseptic pine and parched grass enhanced by recognisable Lauder style Aldehydes. Any florals have been dialed down to give full impact to the spicy cumin kick start that aims to crash tackle you in the opening. At first it’s rank, dirty and unclean but before u have time to pinpoint what exactly your smelling it blends into one of the most overtly masculine openings of any fragrance I have. The Artemisia adds bite and bitterness which is wisely balanced out by the Alderhydes. This creates a manly playoff between unwashed arm pits with subtle hints of soap. It’s animalic and shockingly beautiful.
Photo Stolen crosswordcorner
You better be in it for the long hall as Aramis has stamina and longevity. The middle reads like a anthology dedicated to my favourite category…. leather! Chapter one through ten, the heart notes come together to deliver. The credit belongs to the leather, castoreum and musk which seem to meld early on to deliver a ballsy leather accord. Cumin lingers to give it undeniable carnal funk. A earthy patchouli manages to pull the bergamot a little further as I can detect citrus well into the first 2 hours wearing. Still spicy and ripe well into half a days wear Aramis is a obvious and unapologetic. I can only imagine the damage caused if allowed to fall in the wrong hands. Proceed with caution reader.
FragranceX has Aramis EdT 15ml/$8.40 & 100ml/$51
MyPerfumeSamples starts at $2/ml
Till nest month,
Fragrant Regards,
Tim
Hello Glorious Stink Monkeys,
I have to tell you that before I fell down the fragrant wormhole I only knew Pierre Balmain as a fashion designer, not a perfume house. We looked at his work in the history section of the fashion course I studied, can’t remember a thing except his name and that while I was not blown away by his work it was solid and he was clearly talented in a banal, perfectly proportioned, no statement except “I can afford Balmain” kinda way. For a student of fashion he just didn’t push enough boundaries.
Photo Stolen plunderhere
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Aldehydes, coriander, gardenia, lemon, green notes
Heart: Carnation, narcissus, orris root, jasmine, rose, lily-of-the-valley
Base: Leather, amber, patchouli, coconut, oakmoss, vetiver, tonka bean
I love the squeally, nail varnish and green first few seconds. They are enough to blow the back of your head off and I wonder if the top has slightly gone askew. After about a minute though we settle into a fresh green citrus and herbal extravaganza that would have most non perfumistas in the current fragrance climate running for a shower, My little 4ml sample looks exactly like the photo above but the juice is even darker and I’ve decanted it into an atomiser so I get the effect it would have had in the bottle tears ago. After 5 minutes I get a gloriously heady white flower, OMG if only this is how Miss Balmain stayed for hours. This is exactly how I want to smell forever, when I get to this point in the fragrance I wish the same thing every time.
Photo Stolen milliedeel
The bouquet floats in winding its way through the spectacular whites as a cool, sharp, earthy floral. This is take no prisoners perfume and at this point there comes an human, bed head, morning breath hint under the flowers giving it guts and growl. So comfortable and so raunchy. I can’t even imagine wearing this to an office nowadays but step back in time and it was considered a fresh and girly version of perfume for the young woman on the go.
After about 3 hours I am all creamy leather, amber and earth with a touch of the cool bouquet rising faintly above on and off into the foreseeable future, not really disappearing from my skin entirely until my shower next morning.
Photo Stolen liveauctioneers
I have not yet tried a current incarnation of Miss Balmain to do a comparison test but will come back and add my thoughts when and if I do. There are a couple of ml left in my atomiser in case.
For further reading go see PerfumeShrine and TheNonBlonde
FragranceShop has 100ml $36
ThePerfumedCourt has Vintage Miss Balmain Parfum $12/ml
For some reason this was not taken as a serious contender by the other blogs I read. I don’t know why, it has everything a Vintage perfume lover could ever ask for, classified as a floral chypre with anamalic undertones it really is magic. I am thinking I’d like to try the current Miss Balmain formulation but no sample sites have it. I can wait, but at $36 probably not for too long.
Do you have a vintage fave that few people talk about or reviewers have overlooked. Tell me in the comments, I love reading about new stuff. Just as an added extra I have given you the Balmain latest runway effort which is SO 1980’s that I fair fainted. AWESOME.
Till tomorrow, be good to yourselves,
Portia xx
Balmain | Spring Summer 2013 Full Fashion Show
Hey Everyone,
We had a lovely, if small, group of responses to this weeks challenge. All the people that did enter into the spirit of the competition did it with enthusiasm and a great sense of fun. I Thank You All. Some made me laugh hot soup into my nose. So what did you have to do and what could you win?
Your mission, had you chosen to accept it, was to give the OK GO guys in the Here It Goes Again video fragrances that you think would suit them.
Painted Desert Photo Stolen AustralianTraveller
THE PRIZE: A 15ml mixed set of Australian Artisan Perfumers, uber niche stuff from down under. Do yourselves a favour and go check their sites by clicking on their names below.
Bud Parfums– 2ml Jezabel and 2ml Gamekeeper (Read APJ Gamekeeper Review and APJ Jezebel Review)
Emerald Vintners Parfums (EVP)– 2ml Baume (Read APJ Baume Review)
One Seed– 4ml Sweet Water (Read PerfumePosse Sweet Water Review)
Perfume & Skincare Company– 5ml Fig & Olive (Read APJ Fig & Olive Review)
P&H Anywhere In The World
Alice Springs Photo Stolen NothingLikeAustralia
THE RULES: Open to anyone from anywhere in the world but you must be a follower of AustralianPerfumeJunkies and yes you could start following to be included. Tweeting earned you an extra point (@OaPerfumeJunkie https://australianperfumejunkies.com/ are having a SUPER SIZED GIVEAWAY!!) Entries closed Saturday night 17 November 2012 at 10pm EADST. All names that fulfilled requirements were put on papers, folded and TSO Jin chose one. The winner has till Wednesday 21 November 9pm AEDST to get in touch with details or I will give the prize to someone else. All measurements are approximate.
And the
Photo Stolen sistersavealot
YAY! Congratulations! Email, DM Tweet or Message on Facebook your address details please buddy and I’ll send it off this week.
See you later today for our regular post.
Loads of love,
Portia xx
Here is an ad for Australia’s most famous rum. It’s fun.
Hello all you gorgeous Frag Hags,
Today Robert “Radium” Maxwell and I are bringing you the magic of an AustralianPerfumeJunkies LIVE Video Sniff. You need to be aware that while we are complete fragrance enthusiasts, we are in no way creditable live reviewers. Take this video for example:
We tell you that Ys-Uzac is a Japanese brand when in fact it is a Swiss brand, we talk about ambergris when in fact there is none but I’m bang on with the salty, herbal, floral opening. YAY! It doesn’t matter, we are here to entertain you with our sparkling wit and repartee, failing that we fall back on sex and bum jokes. What is important though is that we have a great time, some of the stiuff we say is completely correct and we are hoping you will come watch for the fun and silliness of an APJ Live Video Sniff.
Photo Stolen fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Shiso (awkward pepperish mint)
Heart: Jasmine, French labdanum, artemesia, grass
Base: Immortelle, tobacco, sage, liatris, vanilla
Photo Stolen Ys-Uzac
You too can sample from Ys-Uzac Sample Page
As always bi fat juicy Thank Yous go out to my BFF Kath who videos and edits, TSO Jin who makes it blog ready and Robert “Radium” Maxwell, who just quietly is a fricken SPUNK!!
Here it is, hope you love it!
See you tomorrow.
Portia xx
Hello APJ Family,
For years every day when I go to work there is a ritual I follow and it has included as its first step a bath. Super hot with no cold water run into it and till recently just a haphazard dash of Radox bath salts because one day not long ago while looking on eBay for vintage Patou 1000 I stumbled across someone selling what looked like a deceased estate fragrance collection with Vintage EdT bottles of 1000 and Joy, Shalimar, Grand Amour and No 5. Also a bunch of Penhaligon’s Bath Oils and most of them had only a bit left but there was a brand new, unopened 500ml bottle and it was calling my name.
I’ve never used Bath Oils before but the price was so ridiculously cheap that I figured even if I didn’t like it there would be someone in my orbit that would be thrilled.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Lavender, amalfi lemon, lime
Heart: None
Base: Musk, pine, black pepper.
So the someone in my orbit who is thrilled is me. Penhaligon’s Bath Oil is absolutely gorgeous, the fragrance is soothing and calming while I’m abluting and my skin has never felt softer. I find the Bath Oil creates a wonderful fragrance-holding dewy moisture that my skin has never had before but there is no interference with my fragrance scents except up to double the lifespan on some of my shorter staying ones. That is a good thing.
Photo Stolen Jarrold
If you are stuck for what to buy someone who seems to have everything, and they have a bath, a Penhaligon’s Bath Oil could be the answer. I use my bath time as a moment to forget the world’s needs and let all life’s stresses go. It’s almost zen. Also a great time to have uninterrupted thinking time when a problem seems unsolvable. recently i saw a doco on Tom Ford and he too likes to bathe for think time, spiritual cleansing and refreshment. Admittedly he has up to 6 per day and I only have the one. Oh yeah, and he’s a genius.
AYearOfPerfume and TheChapBlog were 2 new blogs I found while researching Blenheim Bouquet.
Christmas and other great religious and secular gift giving moments are very close so why don’t you have a look at:
Penhaligon’s has 200ml Bath Oil in Blenheim Bouquet £39.00
Parfum1 has 200ml Bath Oil in Blenheim Bouquet $85
There are so many people that I am completely stumped for presents for this year. I think I will order a couple more Penhaligon’s Bath Oils. Even if they never go out as gifts I’ll have them for myself. Good thinking 99!
What are you fragrant gifts that you are already buying for the celebratory period? Have you tried the Penhaligon’s Bath Oils? Have you tried Blenheim Bouquet? Did you like them?
Till we see you tomorrow, I hope you find a moment to shine.
Portia xx
Australian Perfume Junkies 