beauty

De Profundis by Christopher Sheldrake for Serge Lutens 2011

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 29 Comments

.

Gabriella

.

Hello everyone! Hope you’ve all been well and had a lovely fragrant month.
.
Today’s post is part review and part confessional. The confession is that, until recently, I have somewhat overlooked the Serge Lutens line. Pre-perfumista days, I tried Fleurs D’Oranger and thought it was nice, but a little too much for me at a time when Marc Jacobs was my perfume of choice.  Once on my perfumista journey, I tried a few, but the whole stewed fruits and woods thing that Serge Lutens is famous for scared me a little. Somehow, I also got busy trying other things and the rest is history. Thankfully, I’ve now righted my transgression and have been delving into Serge’s world quite seriously of late, so much so that it now ranks as my favourite line with as many full bottle wants as the line which incited my passion – Frederic Malle.
Photo Stolen marathi.wunderground
Exploring Serge has also been a wonderfully informative journey. The perfumes I thought I would like and that get a lot of love in the blogosphere – Chergui, Ambre Sultan – simply don’t work on me. However, Serge’s weirder florals that I’ve tested with ambivalence are the ones I’ve swooned over and are ones that simply bloom on my skin. These include Datura Noir, Vitriol D’Oeillet and the magnificent Paris exclusive, De Profundis.

De Profundis by Serge Lutens

Photo Stolen zuzafun

De Profundis is a composition based on chrysanthemum, a flower traditionally associated with funerals and death. The name, translated from Latin means “out of the depths” or “a cry of appeal expressing one’s deepest feelings of sorrow or anguish”.  Indeed, literary and biblical references of the term emphasise feelings of melancholy and despair: Oscar Wilde’s letter written during his imprisonment, Christina Rossetti’s poem and Psalm 130, which starts with the line: “From the depths, I have cried out to you, O Lord”.
The copy accompanying the release also emphasises morbidity, stating: “the chrysanthemum invites Death to leave the cemetery and offer us its flower.” For me, however, this fragrance is not so much about death, but a story about the cycle of a complete flower, from the first signs of buds to petals bruising, brown and overripe.
 De Profundis Serge Lutens for women and men
Photo stolen from Fragrantica.
De Profundis’ notes are chrysanthemum flower with additional notes of violets, green and earthy notes.
The perfume’s opening is very sumptuous, green and radiant. It is the smell of a garden after a winter’s storm, a cold wind against dew on stems, bright and chilly. It is reminiscent of other green florals, but here the green notes are voluptuous and full, not austere or astringent in nature. The vivacious opening is tempered by the slight pepperiness of the chrysanthemum and powderiness of violets.
The composition is fairly linear in character, but as it warms on the skin, the wood notes become more prominent, giving the perfume a richness and earthy feel.  It becomes a portrait of flowers left in their vase too long, their blooms now pale and wan, the stems slightly fetid and decaying.
Photo Stolen paranoias
But De Profundis is not nearly as melancholy or moody as I expected. Whilst somewhat haunting, it still manages to have a fresh, sparkling quality that is joyful and bright. What I love most about it is that it full of contradictions: bright but dark, happy but sombre, elegant but vampy, restrained but voluptuous.
De Profundis is a must try for anyone who likes green scents or for those who appreciate some of the stranger Serge florals.  For me, it’s very much full bottle worthy. Mr M and I are now hatching a plan to try and secure one of those bell jars from Paris.
For other reviews, please see Bois de Jasmin, Perfume Posse, and The Non-Blonde
Samples available from Surrender to Chance starting at $4/ml
Have you tried De Profundis? What are some of the more bizarre Lutens creations that have worked for you? Is there a fragrance line that you’ve overlooked and then come to love?
With much love till next time!
Madeleine x

Ambre 114 by Gerald Ghislain and Magali Senequier for Histoires de Parfums 2001

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 18 Comments

Hey Hey Fume Addicted Family,

As it cools down up in the Northern Hemisphere and warms up in the Southern there is some crossover time where the temperatures are similar throughout the days and evenings, still brisk enough to take a cardigan with you but warm enough to often not need it. Now is one of my favourite fragrance wearing times because it seems the range that is comfortably wearable is limitless. Just recently I went in on a split from the lovely MH at FFF and I’m glad I did…

Ambre 114 by Histoires de Parfums 2001

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Nutmeg, caraway
Heart: Sandalwood, patchouli, vetiver, cedar, rose, geranium
Base: Tonka bean, amber, benzoin, vanilla, musk

I have been wearing Ambre 114 to work for the last 3 days and yesterday it even got Disco Nap and Bedtime wears, I will wear it to bed tonight too. If you are frightened of the harsh, powerful or scary reputation that amber has then this is a wonderful gateway amber. It goes on sweet and yummy, slightly burnt like the sugar on brulee, is pretty and leaves a fabulous sillage, at times there is a Shalimar-esque ice cream sweetness to Ambre 114 that never goes so far down the vanilla road but is looking at the signpost on the fork. Creamy, delicious but still cool and light. A contradiction in theory but beautifully brought to life by Gerald Ghislain and Magali Senequier. So smooth and subtle even in the opening and all the way through to dry down. There is never a harsh moment and tonight at work one of the lovely workmen said I smelled “like a rich and fancy lady.” WOW! That is the kind of compliment that could seriously have me buying a bottle if I weren’t already saving.

There are so many featured accords that pass me by when wearing Ambre 114, the 114 is the amount of separate ingredients, that I feel it would be churlish of me to try and parse this perfectly balanced, all weather, fresh and light amber fragrance. I feel comfortable and relaxed in it, as if I’ve been wearing Ambre 114 for years and have always smelled this good.

Maybe a little too fragrant for work but all other occasions will be well served, even dinner or a movie. Jeans or ballgown, Ambre 114 will fit right in. You will smell beautiful.

From LuckyScent: This mythical raw material improves a 114-element composition. A caravanserai of scents for this hot oriental intensifying the natural sensuality of grey amber, sweet perfume and tinted with exoticism. In the Orient, women used to burn incenses, myrrh and amber. It is an oriental vision of voluptuousness.

Photo Stolen balkanholidaysblog

OlfactoriasTravels and TheNonBlonde for further reading
HistoiresDeParfums has 60ml/87euro
LuckyScent has 60ml/$125
SurrenderToChance starts at $5/ml

Whatever you do today make sure you take a moment for yourself,
Love and hugs,
Portia xxx

It’s nearly the 10 year anniversary of the Sydney Gay Games and here is the Opening number of the Opening Ceremony starring Bob Downe. You’ll see me at the end. Unfortunately I couldn’t find us doing our spiel, it was pretty cool, I got the whole stadium to do a Mexican Wave and when they were at the stand up position they had to scream PORTIA!! One of the high points of my career.

Knowing by Jean Kerleo for Estee Lauder 1988

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 19 Comments

Hello Lovelies!

I have had a soft spot for the Estee Lauder (EL) fragrances since someone at a Lauder counter gave me a mini bottle of Beyond Paradise Blue and I wore it for a week while on holiday, came back home and purchased my first bottle, while not a signature scent it has had pretty high rotation through the years and I have a back up bottle because of its discontinuation. I also have a vintage Youth Dew and a couple of Brasil Dream due to its discontinuation too. The rest of the range has completely passed me by so far but because our Guest Blog writer Tim extols the virtues of EL I felt I’d missed something and so when I saw a little Knowing on eBay while buying something else from a seller, I grabbed it.

Knowing by Estee Lauder

Estee Lauder site says: When on a holiday trip in the south of France, Evelyn Lauder, was intrigued with a floral scent that wafted through the garden below her balcony. She searched for the source and found that it was the pittosporum flower, which she immediately knew could be the floral center of a wonderful fragrance.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Mimosa, pittosporum, rose, tuberose, plum, melon, coriander, green notes, aldehydes
Heart: Patchouli, iris, clove, laurel, jasmine, orris, cardamom, cedar, lily of the valley, bay leaf, orange blossom
Base: Sandalwood, vetiver, patchouli, oakmoss, civet, musk, orris, amber, spices

This is the last of its kind, a big brassy 1980s stand out floriental chypre. Everything but the kitchen sink perfumery, but maybe just the kitchen sink taps we wouldn’t want to go overboard.It opens bright, green, herbal and quickly the flowers come in too. The opening is surprisingly long lasting and instead of changing to the heart in a noticeable way Knowing moves gradually towards the sweet, cool, floral heart, cool as in both not warm and hip. Even the orange blossom here is cool. Have you ever been involved in a hot sweaty sex session with someone but your skin has stayed cool to the touch except where the two of you are joined? That’s how I feel Knowing by Estee Lauder is, so much action and almost complete forgetting of yourself but with a cool, unwarmed edge. You have to have a certain presence before you would wear Knowing or it would wear you, that’s how flamboyantly shoulder padded it is (Thank goodness the shoulder pad is coming back, I’ve missed them). There is an animalic undercurrent that serves only as building blocks at this point.

Much later in the day you will start to notice a warming of the flowers but not in a sweet way, its more a herbal and animal warmth and then the amber comes in and pumps a richness in until tomorrow morning when you shower it all off and start again.

In eastern Australia and on many international islands the Sweet Pittosporum has reached weed status, even though it is native here, causing shade, fire and outstripping local flora problems. It is so easy to grow and quickly reaches a height of 14 meters, so it is often used for screening hedges around the world

Photo Stolen ThePerfumeGirl

.
ThePerfumeChronicles and TheMuseInWoodenShoes reviews for further reading
TheFragranceShop has 75ml EdP Tester under $60 after discount!
SurrenderToChance starts at $3/ml

I hope you have enjoyed your wander through my fragrant musings about Knowing.. My day has finished and I am still immersed in a fragrant cloud of Knowing. I can only hope that you smell this good to yourself,
Till tomorrow.
Love,
Portia xx

Gilded Lily by INeKE Ruhland 2010

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 25 Comments

Hello APJ Family,

I was blissfully unaware of this line of fragrance till Lanier posted about Field Notes From Paris (FNFP). Righto said I, better try this, sounds rather good. I did and was blown away by the quality, story and beauty of FNFP and have tried it a few times since because it did not then or now capture my heart. Not the fragrances problem, it has everything I wish for in a personal scent except I don’t love it. Since then I have also been trying…..

Gilded Lily by INeKE

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Pineapple, rhubarb, grapefruit, elemi
Heart: Goldband lily
Base: Patchouli, oakmoss, labdanum

Ha ha Ha I love the opening of sweet tinned pineapple and slightly tart grapefruit with beautiful, resinous elemi keeping it from slipping into modern fruity sugar nightmare. I wouldn’t know what fresh rhubarb smelled like if you hit me with some and I can’t smell the rhubarb from apple & rhubarb pie that Mum used to make. No matter the opening is FAN TAS TIC! Makes me want to respritz again and again. This glorious opening is just for the wearer though because within ten minutes the outrageousness has settled into a very pretty fruity floral and a cool, calm and collected lily steps up and ever so gradually takes centre stage and the whole fragrance takes about 6 notches down. This is a good thing because that initial fireworks section would have many people gasping for air.

Once the opening craziness ends Gilded Lily (which is a FABULOUS Drag name BTW) becomes almost skin scentish. It is the way I dream my skin smells, the lily is so soft and the base notes so airy that though I am still fragrant and will give a lovely sillage, up close it is soft enough to believe it could just be me with a very slight residue of my floral/fruit fragrance. Lasting power is good in this stage at somewhere between 4-7 hours depending on the day and my original spritzes. It’s leather more than anything else at the end, soft well loved leather that has been a seasons firm favourite and started to take on the wearers scent and fragrance a little.

Photo Stolen from wetcanvas

Only the most fragrance phobic or closest of work environs would have a problem with this lovely scent. A great all round beauty that has enough story to keep a perfumista interested but is pretty enough for a non perfume hound to enjoy it too. Have I mentioned that incredibly desirable bottle? It’s not often I like the soft ones but Gilded Lily has a quiet dignity, an aloof warmth that I think is extremely alluring and provocative without trying. Bravo INeKE! You have captured my heart and all it took was a Gilded Lily.

For further reading try TheNonBlonde or CaFleurBon

INeKE has 75ml $95 and a wonderful World Stockists page
Anthropologie has the range including the Sample Set and ships worldwide
SurrenderToChance starts at $3/ml

Which ones from the INeKE range have you tried? Is there a quiet fragrance that surprised you with its beauty? Tell us in the comments below please, we love to chat!

Till tomorrow we wish you well,
Portia xx

Sheila Eggenberger Interview

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 11 Comments

Hello fellow Perfume Junkies,

Many of you will be familiar with Sheila Eggenberger of TheAlembicatedGenie and her as yet unpublished novel Quantum Demonology that has become a seriously cult-style hit in the fragrance community. Some of you will be going, “Um, What?” and it is to you that I offer this rare insight into a blogger, author and general all round great girl of the scentbloggosphere. Sheila has been a mate and champion in the short time that APJ has been running and I am proud to count her among my yet to be met net friends. Her never say die attitude is a beacon we should all learn to follow.

Photo Stolen fanpop

In conjunction with this interview if you drop in at PerfumePosse today I have reviewed the Olympic Orchids Devilscent Project fragrances Lil#1 & Dev #2 so down the bottom there is a jump you can easily hit to trot across and read there too.

Sheila Eggenberger

Give us a brief history, who was young you, important you defining moments or early fragrant memories that may have herded you towards the ever moving now?

I grew up with a perfume-mad mother, so perfume was everywhere as I grew up, and living in South Florida – a very fragrant spot! – helped, too. Defining perfumista moment: (It ruined me for life!) A coming-of-age trip to Paris for a 14th birthday, when Maman took me to the Guerlain flagship store and told me to buy what I loved. I bought Jicky, since she didn’t wear it and I loved it. Today, I can’t believe I would choose something so …audacious! The next day, I bought (the original) Miss Dior. I was a great-smelling teenager.

What spurred you onto creating the Alembicated Genie?

It was my book, Quantum Demonology, believe it or not. By the time I neared the ending, I had had it with testosterone bombs and rock’n’roll. I wanted an outlet for my girlie sensibilities, so I created Scent Less Sensibilities which became The Alembicated Genie. I never in my wildest dreams expected to become a perfume writer. But life has been exciting ever since!

Do you have a favourite independent perfumer?

Too many to count! Andy Tauer, Vero Kern. Mandy Aftel, Dawn Spencer Hurwitz, Neil Morris, Ellen Covey, Kedra Hart, Maria McElroy of aroma M and Alexis Karl, Amanda Feeley – and a new discovery who has blown my mind – Juan M. Perez of Exotic Island Perfumes. A definite one to watch – and sniff!

What do you see as the most important trend in perfume currently?

Perfume as an art form in its own right. The trend towards indie perfumers pushing the boundaries of defining perfumes is redefining the industry as well as our own perceptions of it. That more and more people are turning to the artistry and dedication of indie perfumers. And I think it’s interesting that more and more, different art forms are coalescing into projects – books and movies to go with perfumes, for instance. And a far sadder trend – world-renowned brands killing the very heritage that made them what they are.

Do you have a signature scent?  If so, what is it and how did you find it? If not, why do you think that is?

In terms of perfume, I’m an utterly faithless slut. I’m fully capable of being virtuous to my favorite brands, but the idea of picking just one perfume gives me hives – and a massive case of indecision. I have complete perfume AHDH. Where would I start, when perfume to me is a case of “Who do I want to be today – tonight – this instant?” But the closest would be Chanel no. 19 eau de parfum, which I’ve worn for over 30 years with no end in sight. It was perfect for a punk and for the Goth that punk became. It’s perfect for this walking midlife crisis and writer wanna-be, even today.

Tell us about Quantum Demonology?

It began with a discography and a discussion in a Copenhagen record store. When I came across a certain inspiring image, it evolved into a short story I wrote one night out of boredom as a joke and posted on my soapbox blog. I never thought I would be asked to continue it, but I was. So I did. Nine months to the day (!), I had a finished first-draft novel. An ode to …music, madness, passion, redemption and perdition, among other things.

How did that translate into the Devilscent Project

I blame Andy Tauer. And Ellen Covey. Perfume was always woven into the storyline. Frankincense and labdanum – two of my favorite notes – are mentioned many times, as are several other perfumes. When I reviewed Andy Tauer’s Incense Extreme as a “Would this be the Devil’s Scent?”, Ellen commented that I nearly dared her to make …the Devil’s Scent and that was how it started. Since then, it’s grown to ten bloggers, eight US indie perfumers, and no less than 19 incarnations of mind-blowing, category-defying perfume, including an incense and a deviously delicious massage bar. 

If there’s anyone reading from the world of Literature Publishing, where can they taste your Quantum Demonology?

They can find some explanations as well as samples of the prologue and the first three chapters in draft form at the Quantum Demonology blog: http://quantumdemonology.wordpress.com, many more inspirations on both the book and the Devilscent Project at the Quantum Demonology fan page on Facebook: http://facebook.com/quantumdemon, and follow the Devilscent Project on Twitter through the hashtag #devilscent.

Photo Stolen Olympic Orchids

Olympic Orchids Devilscent Project fragrances are running a terrific sample program 5 x 3ml Devilscents for $30 delivered to the world.
Read Sheila Eggenberger at TheAlembicatedGenie
Go check PerfumePosse for my reviews of the Olympic Orchid Devilscent Project, go on!

I hope you enjoyed our Sheila Eggenberger interview and also hope to see you tomorrow but till then, love, love, love, from us at APJ.
Portia xx

25:43 by LUSH 2012 and Johnny Ruffo

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 18 Comments

Hey Fumies!

So I know it’s not extravagantly pricey or hard to find but I was trolling the local mall recently and I stumbled across, no my nose led me to, a new LUSH kiosk in the middle of the mall. The crew at the kiosk were so friendly and fun, knew about their products and had clearly been testing the range and then talking together about their tastes and one of the girls had a definite perfumista in training feel, it was a great experience. Now I will always reward a good shopping experience with a sale, especially when the price is SO DAMN REASONABLE!! WOW!

25:43 by LUSH

Photo stolen LUSH

The LUSH site says:
Fresh, sophisticated and light
LUSH inventor and co-founder Mark Constantine created this perfume in twenty-five minutes and forty-three seconds especially for his son Simon on his wedding day. Talk about a flash of brilliance! Simon’s bride wore this fresh and citrusy perfume down the aisle, and it captured the moment beautifully with notes of tonka and lime accord. Simon (not one to be bested by his Dad) later added notes of lemongrass, vanilla, ylang ylang and listsea to round out the already light and clean essence of 25:43.

I love LUSH, my BFF Kath is a Bath Bomb fan, they are a great fun affordable range. Their fragrances can often be quite overpowering but in a soapy, fresh, bathroom spray way. That sounds like I dislike them but I don’t. I love their sillage and scent bubble, love that though they are quite strong they don’t seem to be skunkers, like you have applied a scented body lotion that smells amazing all day. 25:43 is no exception, it goes on all lemongrass and lime and not much later the warmer tones come through and then the fragrance stays as is for most of the day till it decides to be just an almost edible vanilla and then it disappears. If you are testing 25:43, or any of the LUSH frags, make sure you do it on a card first because they last so well that you are making a decision about how you smell for most of the day. Excellent products if you are not a huge perfume person but want to smell good all day every day.

Man, woman or child appropriate. I think this would be a super after gym and off to the evening choice, weekends, casual adventures, holidays et al. Perhaps too scented for offices or cinema or really close confines.

LUSHAustralia has 33ml under $40, 10ml under $15, 3ml sample $3

Johnny Ruffo

Completely off topic but this is the latest viral campaign for McDonald’s Australia. Cool squared! Obviously the web and social media is spaz-la-la over it here and I thought you may like to see how we advertise burgers down under. I also added 2 of the getting it together videos because then you get a sense of who the LOVELY star, Johnny Ruffo, is. I know!! SO CUTE! And not overly complicated by genius. My favourite combination in pop stars.

Rive Gauche by Jacques Polge and Michel Hy for YSL 1970

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 11 Comments

Hey Hey APJ Fumie Family,

A lot of the time we smell, think or write about perfume is spent on the memories it evokes when we smell them. It is amazing to me that when I get a whiff of many fragrances popular during the 1970s, 80’s and 90’s I am instantly transported back. One of the most glamorous girls in our circle as teens was Margie G. she had a horde of older sisters and they were the coolest of the cool. In many ways Margir G. was the diffused collective knowledge of her older sisters as well as her own striking personality. She was the first to bring back the mini skirt, corduroy, black wool skivvies and a host of other marvelous things in our crew, needless to say we all adore her. I remember her also as the one who wore Rive Gauche.

Rive Gauche by Yves Saint Laurent

Recently I wanted to be transported and went to a counter to spritz. The bottle is pretty much the same but I can’t smell my memory of Rive Gauche in Rive Gauche. Maybe the reformulation has changed it, said I. So off to eBay.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Aldehydes, honeysuckle, green notes, peach, bergamot, lemon
Heart: Carnation, rose, lily of the valley, ylang ylang, jasmine, gardenia, iris, magnolia
Base: Sandalwood, musk, vetiver, tonka bean, oakmoss, amber

Vintage Rive Gauche EdT opens sharp, metallic and green but also seriously sweet: it is an interesting counterpoint and has a very retro feel to it. I think my smell-o-vision has changed somewhat because though this hints at my memory it is not as I remember. Already in that opening half minute there is a fecal feral snarl though that is decidedly of the time and now IFRA and animal rights removed via Tom Ford’s direction of Daniela Andrier during the early 2000’s. That sweet citrus metal welcome warms enchantingly as the flowers come in, it is a big bouquet and no one flower makes a huge stand on my skin but it is honeyed, sweet but not the modern sugary sweet more fresh breath sweet. Beyond flowers but floral, when you smell it you’ll know what I mean but my vocabulary is not up to the task. The heart lasts for hours before allowing the base accords to shine, they are there but very background buoying the whole composition up. It is sweet amber/tonka and wood over dark oakmoss and something animalic that may be the musk. It is quiet by this time, around 5 hours, and will remain so on my skin for longer than I take notice of it, or sometimes I want a respritz before it has gone.

Leroy Neiman CafeRiveGauche Photo Stolen MyNewMaster

BoisDeJasmin and PerfumeShrine for further reading.

FragranceShop has 100ml/$60
MyPerfumeSamples has modern Rive Gauche EdT starting at $2/ml & 5ml/$7

Though my memory wasn’t served perfectly this is a lovely fragrance. Is there a fragrance that should ring bells for you but doesn’t? Have you had a similar experience? I love to read your stories too in the comments below.
Till tomorrow, oodles of love to you from us at APJ,
Portia xx

1980’s Rive Gauche ad, French

Tuberose Diabolique by Serena Ava Franco for Ava Luxe

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 22 Comments

Hello Perfume Peeps,

So nice to have you back with us, for first timers, WELCOME to the APJ Family. The name of this fragrance alone was enough to send me to the shopping basket.

Tuberose Diabolique Parfum by Ava Luxe

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Indian tuberose, wild gardenia, Egyptian tuberose, amber, spice, white carnation, bitter orange

This opens so lavish, lush and white floral, it is a tropical miasma so thick and treacle-ish that you feel like you must wade through the scent to get across the room. If Tuberose is your thing OMFG!!! Not as outrageously over the top as Madonna’s ToD, and I don’t get the same sweetness of Fracas. Here I find a greener, less sexual tuberose but beguiling none the less. Maybe that is the crispness of carnation and sharpness of bitter orange keeping that cloying OTT head ache away. I find it very hard to concentrate when I am wearing Tuberose Diabolique when I spritz my brain goes out the window and into la la land.

As the fragrance ages it becomes softer in scent bubble though please don’t take that to mean unnoticeable. Even 12 hours after application it is still more potent than most L’Artisans first spritz. Wearing this at dinner I found it interfered with my food flavours and I would never put a cinema, bus or work environment through it. You will feel fragrant but they will be skunked!! Very linear through its lifespan it does get warmer and woodsier/spicier towards the end at around the 16 hour mark.

Where would Tuberose Diabolique be wearable? Outdoor activities, shopping, cleaning, bed if you’re lucky enough to have one to yourself, washing day, al fresco dinning, the beach, anywhere that you are not enclosed.

Do I like Tuberose Diabolique? OMG YES!!! And, it’s so ridiculously well priced that I went and bought both Parfum and Oil last night in my second day of wearing the Parfum. The Ava Luxe site has 5ml Perfume Oil $25 & 5ml Parfum Extrait $27.

The Ava Luxe website has this to say:
A French legend of tuberose warns young girls not to breathe in its intoxicating fragrance after dark for fear that it would put them in an amorous mood. we, on the other hand, would encourage you to wear this tuberose fragrance after dark (or anytime) with wild abandon.

Photo Stolen AusGardener

I can’t believe no blogger on the first 3 pages of google has written about this. Make Up alley has a fair smattering of love and hate.

Have you ever scored an under the radar hit? What is your story? I love to hear about new and interesting unknowns. Leave us a message in the comments.

Till tomorrow we wish you enough wealth, good health and enough sense to be happy with those 2.
Love,
Portia xx

A beautiful piece of Indian guitar music in honour of the tuberose.

CHANEL No 19 by Henri Robert and Monarch Butterfly Life Cycle

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 23 Comments

Hiya Fume Heads,

Today’s post is a little different. I am sitting at the computer surrounded by a soft cloud of CHANEL No 19 Parfum (the start of this century formulation) it is green, crisp and powdery and I am loving it. Though I must say that audacious and assertive aren’t adjectives I’d use when describing it. Effortless, Collected, Arrived. This is fragrance for someone who doesn’t need to show off because they are so comfortable with their success. I’m imagining silk jersey and jeans, hair tousled but chic, cuban heeled brogues and that look of welcome contentment that comes from success;  financial, physical and moral.

CHANEL No 19 Parfum

Photo Stolen factio-magazine

CHANEL No. 19 includes featured notes of galbanum, hyacinth, neroli, bergamot, jasmine, rose, lily of the valley, iris, vetiver, sandalwood, leather, musk.

Really, I am enjoying the gorgeous wafts emanating from my person too much. It is green, crisp and powdery to open and though it has a lovely bouquet of flowers that used in most fragrances would be flirty, lively and bold here they are pretty and fresh but they are restrained because of choice. for the next couple of hours of the fragrance on my skin it seems that one little push would send this good girl bad, it skirts the sensual side of jasmine offering glimpses of what it could become but never goes beyond hints, much later on CHANEL 19 Parfum will become ever so slightly warmed by leather and sandalwood, but not so much that it becomes anything other than cool, fresh and wearable. MMMMmM MMMMMMmm MMmMmm MmMm!!! I smell GOOD! I knew that I would now…..

Unfortunately my scent hungry skin finds CHANEL 19 Parfum delicious too and I’m lucky to get 5 hours before it is completely eaten up, you will probably get much better lasting power.

Photo Stolen girlwiththecuriousnose

For further reading I suggest you take a look at BoisDeJasmin and Olfactoria’sTravels
TradeServices has CHANEL No 19 100ml EdT (tester) and 50ml EdP under $90
ThePerfumedCourt have a terrific selection of samples from $3/ml for EdT to $18/ml for Parfum
But I would go directly to me nearest Department Store and have a spray at the CHANEL counter. Tell them Portia sent you.

I thought I’d leave you with the 4 minute life story of a Monarch Butterfly. Till you come by again tomorrow please try to do one thing that will lead to a dream of yours coming true. What will I do? I am going to take Jin to the accountant to organise his company and also sort out my Public Liability Insurance so I can hire some more Drag queens to host Turbo Trivia’s for me. What are you going to do caterpillar?
Loads of love,
Portia xxx

Gardenia by Marc Jacobs 2007 LIVE Video Sniff

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 26 Comments

Hey Ho Everyone,

Today has been so lovely, slept in, went to brunch with TSO Jin, did some grocery shopping for the next 2 weeks, caught up with Clayton from WhatMenShouldSmellLike for late lunch at AGNSW Members Lounge to find out about his sensational travels and Grasse Perfume Short Course and we  wafted some seriously fabulous frags down there, home for a disco nap, cooked dinner for Jin & I and now I get some computer time. EXCELLENT Saturday!! I hope you had some fun too.

Gardenia by Marc Jacobs

Margeaux and I have another mental video for you today. This time we are reviewing Marc Jacob’s Gardenia. Yet again, we are up late, have had a few boozy beverages and are completely full of shit. You must not take anything we say for the absolute truth. What you must do is come along for a rolicking adventure through the opening notes of a lovely Gardenia perfume. We have so much fun making these videos.

As always I need to do a THANK YOU shout out to my BFF Kath for her Video & Editing skills, Margeaux for being such a good sport, TSO Jin for making the video blog ready. You guys are so wonderful and I am blessed to have you all in my life. XXXOX

Photo Stolen mgonline

So for some reason I have become obsessed lately with that clean musk scent of a freshly waxed ballbag of someone who swims. It’s a scent I will always associate with clean, fresh and daring sexual adventures during my school days and then later at the gym. I know! Bad girl. So that smell holds for me MANY happy memories of my glorious youth, now a memory so sweet.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives only these featured accords:
Middle: Honeysuckle, gardenia and jasmine
Base: Ginger, musk and cedar.

I put those notes there so you can see what we are talking about and the photo below is referenced also.

Photo Stolen hollywoodreporter

PerfumeEmporium has 300ml $60
SurrenderToChance starts at 2ml $4

I hope you enjoy our look at Marc Jacob’s Gardenia.
Till tomorrow take care of yourself, please,
Portia xx