beauty

Le Sillage Blanc by Pissara Umavijani for Parfums Dusita 2017

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 23 Comments

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Portia

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Hello Independent Fragrance Lovers,

OK, so I’m not sure exactly where my set of Dusita samples came from. I do know they were carded originally and that someone not from their company gave them to me. I bet heaps of you are dying to try the newest one and here’s your chance.

Le Sillage Blanc by Parfums Dusita 2017

Le Sillage Blanc by Pissara Umavijani

Le Sillage Blanc Parfums Dusita FragranticaFragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Orange blossom, Neroli, Tobacco, Artemisia, Galbanum, Leather, Ambrette, Patchouli, Oakmoss

There has been a LOT of talk over the scentbloggosphere about Le Sillage Blanc, I’ll summarise by noting that the house has said they were inspired by Piguet Bandit. People are adding that it is also a kissing cousin of the Aromatics Elixir, Aramis and Cabochard triumvirate. Good, these are all fragrances I love so it will be interesting to see what a 21st century incarnation may smell like.

Le Sillage Blanc by Parfums Dusita uluru PixabayPDI

The opening is sharp and noxious, like weed poison. It’s so queer I’m immediately captivated and can’t stop smelling my freaky armed self. The greenness is of broken green leaves and slightly off vase water. Le Sillage Blanc’s got a not quite rightness about it that feels like it’s about to drop over the edge into unwearable but it skates nimbly around the edge. It’s on a knife edge whether it’s going to work or fail.

It takes minutes to skate safely into the realms of the beautiful, artisanal style of independent fragrance. Not for the faint hearted or those that have never ventured beyond the safety of the department store. Even against its kissing cousins Le Sillage Blanc is a tough mother. After the super spiky green opening it becomes dry, parched, as if quite suddenly I find myself in the Australian outback riding a camel under the burning sun and surrounded by red dirt with occasional shade created by a scraggly gum or rock ledge.

Le Sillage Blanc by Parfums Dusita olgas PixabayPDI

And dry it stays, dry and bitter like long lost regret and heartache. Only smoothing out slowly and becoming more comfortable as it melds with my skin scent and becomes ever so slightly human.

Further reading: Megan In St Maxime and Scenthurdle
LuckyScent has $205/50ml and Samples

Le Sillage Blanc GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 1 winner who will receive:
1 x Carded Manufacturers Sample of Le Sillage Blanc (Hopefully I can find the card)
1 x Porcelain Esxence Bracelet (Perfect fragrant handbag jewellery)
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 tell us in the comments if you love the chypre style and which of them particularly moves you or if you hate it and why?

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Wednesday 10th May 2017 10pm Australian EdsT and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Wednesday 17th May 2017 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

Grand Soir by Francis Kurkdjian for Maison Francis Kurkdjian 2016

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 13 Comments

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Portia

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Hey Hey Lovers Of NEW!

So many people with noses that I revere are raving about Grand Soir. I tried it a couple of times while out shopping and it left me bored to tears and cold. By the note list I should be madly in love with Grand Soir. All those fabulous resins, tonka and amber? I’m not quite sure why it didn’t grab me by the scruff of the neck, shake me around and throw me to the ground with my eyes rolling into my head, panting and palpitating.  Pretty sure that it’s not the fragrances fault so I’m going to give it a home along wearing. I ordered 3ml from Surrender To Chance and I’m ready to go.

Grand Soir by Maison Francis Kurkdjian 2016

Grand Soir by Francis Kurkdjian

Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Spanish labdanum
Heart:Siamese benzoin
Base: Brazilian tonka bean, Amber, Vanilla

So, in the comfort of my home with no other fragrant distractions grand Soir is a beautiful resinous amber. Softly comforting, tree sap sweet and cuddly. Actually the light touch here reminds me of Pierre Guillaume’s work. Toffee, maple syrup, salted caramel icing and peanut brittle are the images and tastes created in my mind & mouth.

Imagine if you took Absolue Pour Le Soir and dialled the animal back from 20 to one. Grand Soir has the same furry yet porcelain smooth feeling. Through the heart the sweetness lessens and Grand Soir becomes drier, more sweet warm summer evening winds.

PDI

My thoughts are that Francis Kurkdjian is a bit like Serge Lutens, he makes a rare few challenging and outrageous fragrances and a bunch of more accessible ones. These accessible ones are the bread and butter of his business, have a wide department store appeal but with the niche cachet. It’s a clever business model and it has worked for him, bringing MFK the brand to a place where it’s become one of LVMHs new acquisitions.

So Grand Soir is a beautifully blended amber/resinous scent. Easy to wear, lasts well and smells good. If I didn’t already have a dozen ambers in my collection or if I was newer to the perfumista life I would definitely put down my dollars for a bottle.

Wikipedia

Further reading: BLeauG
LuckyScent has $215/70ml
Surrender To Chance have samples from $4.50/0.5ml

Does Grand Soir appeal to you?
Portia x

Fumee d’Or by Dawn Spencer Hurwitz for DSH Perfumes 2014

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 6 Comments

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Portia

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Hello Independent Fragrance Lovers,

A bunch of DSH samples arrived at once a while ago and I liked so many of them but having been trying to space them out so you all don’t get overwhelmed our bored. You know I love Dawn’s work, something about her style fits me really well and I LOVE the way she picks a note or style and creates the perfect setting to highlight it. The more fragrances I spend time with in her collection the more impressed she makes me.

A note of advice though. This is Independent Small Batch Perfumery. If you ONLY know or like the department store, super smooth, focus group tested out of all ingenuity or flair, ultra sweet fragrances that you are offered on a daily basis then you are in for a surprise. Give yourself a moment to adjust, don’t put your nose to the wet patch you just spritzed, give it at least a full 20 seconds before you go in for the up close sniff. These fragrances have top notes but they are also deeper, more interesting and have a real journey that you will have much more fun with if your nose hasn’t been blown out.

Fumee d’Or by DSH Perfumes 2014

Fumee d’Or by Dawn Spencer Hurwitz

DSH Perfumes

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Aldehydes, Australian sandalwood, bergamot, oakmoss, Bulgarian rose, civet, jasmine, immortelle, incense, leather, myrrh, neroli, agarwood (oud), jasmine sambas, tobacco

Created as part of the Brilliant Collection for Denver Art Museum’s “Brilliant: Cartier in the 20th Century”. Fumee d’Or is designed as a stand alone AND to be used as a base for the other three fragrances in the DSH Brilliant Collection, to add the lustre of the goldsmiths creative process. I bloody wish I’d read that before I used up all the others. Oh well.

The first thing I smell is immortelle, civet and oudh. I swear there is also honey in here. Imagine the most gorgeous, brilliant cut cognac diamond set in a ring of clear pave diamonds in a matte yellow gold setting and you have some idea of how Fumee d’Or smells.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gottlieb-Salome%27s_Dance_1879.jpgWikiMedia

I’m sure all the notes listed are inside but I am solely captivated by the metal and animal facets. This is exactly my level of animals. They are friendly and furry, plush even. As thick as bear fur and as light as caribou. A very interesting juxtaposition of the dense and sheer that is absolutely captivating.

Here Dawn shows her absolute power over notes that in many others hands would become clunky, cumbersome and sickening. This is vintage done 21st century and without the stringent IFRA laws. A fun feral frolic with depth, elegance and a sense of having been made especially for me. Luminous, yet deep, hot and exotic.

Wikimedia

Further reading: IndiePerfumes and Colognoissseur
DSH Perfumes has a variety of strengths and sizes from $6

Does Fumee d’Or sound like something you might wear?
Portia xx

Miller et Berceaux GIVEAWAY WINNER

/ australianperfumejunkiescom

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Portia

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Thanks APJ and Miller et Bertaux,

This was a really popular giveaway. Good luck.

Libertine has the range in Australia
Aedes has the range in the USA

Portia xxx

 

Miller et Berceaux GIVEAWAY WINNER

Fragrantica

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 1 winner who will receive:
1 x set of Carded Manufacturers Samples of the above
NB: The A Quiet Morning will be a decant from my bottle
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Wednesday 3rd May 2017 10pm Australian EdsT
Winner was chosen by random.org

Robert H.

The winners will have till Wednesday 10th May 2017 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

Fragrance Shopping – USA Premium Outlet Centres

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 15 Comments

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TinaG

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Hi APJ!

During my trip to Southern California in April 2017, we had an opportunity to check out two Premium Outlet Centres, one in Camarillo on the way to Santa Barbara, and Desert Hills which is just outside of Palm Springs. If you’re ever heading to one of these massive shopping areas, my top tips are:

* Take water, snacks and lunch. Yes there’s food there but you’ll need actual sustenance to get through the shopping day.
* Time evaporates there. If you think you’ll be 2 hours, basically just double it. We had multiple text messages between us saying “1/2 hour more? 1 hour more?”.
* Do you research before-hand of what is top of your hit list, and roughly the RRP. Then grab a centre map and plan your shop visits. This will save you heaps of time and possibly money. Don’t forget that tax is variable and added on at the register.

USA Premium Outlet Centres TinaG 2017

Fragrance Shopping – USA Premium Outlet Centres

Of course I went straight to the fragrance stores. As these are outlets / seconds, the content of the shops varied from place to place. I found the shops such as Perfumania and the Fragrance Outlet very similar to Chemist Warehouse back in Aus. The prices weren’t what I would call a bargain – for example I found Bvlgari Black at $34US, before tax and conversion this is not cheaper than what I can pick it up for at home. One shop (I think Perfumania in Desert Hills) had a whole section dedicated to Paris Hilton fragrances, and a similar display for Britney Spears.

USA Premium Outlet Centres TinaG 2017 a

I did get to try Ivanka Trump’s fragrance which was OK, actually. It was a fruity floral, of course, but it had a coolness about it which I think was brought on by a decent apple accord, keeping the sweetness in check. After I picked this up the sales assistant kept coming over with some horrendous options for me to “try as you might like this”. After the third sniff to be ‘polite’ I had to say no – just – No, you need to stop doing that please! My nose was full of pink gunk smells by that stage and I had to literally run out, much to the SA’s surprise.

USA Premium Outlet Centres TinaG 2017 b

After trying the dedicated fragrance stores I looked at branded stores for fragrances & interest. Barneys and Etro were clothes-only. Aww. I came across a Porche Design store in Desert Hills, which I’d never heard of before. WOW!!!! They’ve got some great gear, the mens shoes were amazing and the handbags sleek and functional. I had a lot of fun chatting with the sales assistant who was beyond helpful, was a great experience and I’m glad I dropped in.

My visit to SoCal did have fragrant leanings but would you believe all I brought home with me were three small samples from Lucky Scent in LA. I think that’s a first. I did get some jeans, jacket, shoes and an iron. But that’s another story.

What about you – do you hit up the fragrance stores hard when you travel, or is it more of a reconnaissance like my US trip?

Till next time,
Tina G xx

NEW! NEW! NEW! Miller et Bertaux

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 48 Comments

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Portia

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Hi there Fragrance Family,

One of the houses that flies under everyones radar is Miller et Bertaux. I really love their lack of trend following and general wearable outrageousness. From people so obviously Arty they work really well to create unusual, challenging, mood altering scents that also can be worn as a daily go-to. My personal thought is that spritz volume makes the difference. When I’m home alone sometimes I do 15 chest spritzes so they fumes engulf me, it’s really trippy. In the world though my usual 5 or 6 spritzes is ample, for some the openings could still be formidable.

At Esxence in Milan this year as I was wandering through the overwhelming tunnel of scent I spied the miller et Beaux stand. Fortuitously the gent manning it was available and I wanted to tell him how much I loved their work. When I’m overwhelmed my social ability goes right out the window and so I walked up and blurted out with zero preamble how much I loved their brand and that I’d paid retail for three of their scents, and also had a backup of A Quiet Morning because something so exquisitely me could never last. So this handsome smiling man offers me the newest bottle in their range, that they’re launching. Embarrassed, I declined but when he offered a full set of the Miller et Bertaux range samples I jumped, knowing you guys would LOVE to try them too.

There is a part of me that associates this fragrance house with what niche could have been if greed, laziness and cynicism didn’t become the overriding factors.

Libertine has the range in Australia
Aedes has the range in the USA

Here’s a snapshot of the ones I’m giving away today. Many reviews to follow.

Miller et Bertaux

Fragrantica

New Study/Postcard 2017: Opening citrus is air mail adventure, the hearts warm fig is the arrival and dry down is a woodsy/sweet-fig-milk that could be the postcard on the fridge in the kitchen that gets looked at and brings a smile.

A Quiet Morning 2008: This saffron, turmeric, woods fragrance doesn’t seem so new nearly 10 years from its inception but though the imitators have tried they miss the sheer effortlessness and comfort of wearing A Quiet Morning.

Shanti Shanti 2008: Shanti (from Sanskrit शान्तिः śāntiḥ) means peace, rest. Rose, iris, spices and sandalwood, all backed by patchouli. It opens so cool and dewy before sizzling through the heart to a creamy, earthbound base.

For You/Parfum Trouvé EdP 1 2006: Sweet and spicy like Indian cooking, yet a dewy rose keeps the whole fragrance cool. Once the woods flow through they stay focused and linear till dry down. The perfumes idea is to be a base/dry down.

Spiritus/Land EdP 2 2006: Ahhhh, new incense sticks, soap and spices. Clean without the well worn connotations of marine and citrus. Like the ghosts of Australian Aboriginal Dreamtime Spiritus/Land floats through and above the earth.

Green, Green, Green and Green EdP 3 2006: HA! Surprise, surprise this is a super green fragrance, yet through all the broken leaf and twig shines some soft focus florals and sweet herbs. A soaring green, like the birds smell at the top of trees.

Miller et Berceaux GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 1 winner who will receive:
1 x set of Carded Manufacturers Samples of the above
NB: The A Quiet Morning will be a decant from my bottle
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 tell us in the comments which of the above Miller et Bertaux scents most interested you?

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Wednesday 3rd May 2017 10pm Australian EdsT and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Wednesday 10th May 2017 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

 

Mitzah by Francois Demachy for Christian Dior 2010

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 19 Comments

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Portia

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Hey Crew,

I am so sorry but I have no bloody post for you tonight. Somehow we ended up without on a Friday night. I was wearing Mitzah tonight so here’s how it went.

Mitzah by Francois Demachy for Christian Dior 2010

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Coriander, rose, spices, cinnamon, labdanum, vanilla, honey, patchouli, incense

I love how Mitzah opens all hot smoky spices and incense. Honey gives a sweet animalic, tobacco feel and the patchouli & labdanum make me think of flesh, earth and leather.  A cracker of a perfume, swirling around itself, making me feel all glamorous and giving me the va va voom of a Gabor sister in her prime. This is not an intense journey through the perfume with mountainous peaks and troughs, while there are definite start middle and end notes it’s more of a progression. The kick at the start warms slowly and languidly through mildly sweet towards a honey ouded amber dry down. On a good day I get 8+ hours before Mitzah is lost. As the PR says elegant, feminine and mysterious, but I think not so feminine; a man could wear it very comfortably because it is spicy amber.

I was out to dinner with Ainslie Walker and her partner Ben. We have loved Mitzah since it was released and often talk about it. I wore it in Ainslie’s honour and funnily she almost wore it too. It was a lovely night full of good food and laughs.

Further reading: ISmellThereforeIAm and Olfactoria’s Travels

Have you ever swanned around in lashings of Mitzah?
Portia xx

Atelier des Ors GIVEAWAY WINNER

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 1 Comment

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Portia

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Het Crew,

You all are amazing. Thank you all so much for getting involved and being a part of the APJ family.

HUGE thanks also go to Megan In St Maxime who works for Atelier des Ors and gave me the set to give.
Portia xxx

Atelier des Ors GIVEAWAY WINNER

Fragrantica

Kate Apted

You have till Monday May 1st 2017 to get in touch [portia (underscore) turbo (at) yahoo (dot) com (dot) au] with your address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit

Perfume Discontinuations: Grab them before they are gone

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 22 Comments

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Anne-Marie

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Hi all,

It’s a common thing in perfumista land that you only really start paying attention to a perfume when you hear rumours of discontinuation. You ignore it happily until suddenly you realise it could be too late. Then FOMO sets in – Fear of Missing Out. Oh no!

I got thinking about this recently when, after YEARS of dithering, I finally bought a bottle of Sarah Jessica Parker Covet. This one may have been discontinued some time ago and I’d decided not to bother until a chain of discount chemists in Australia suddenly started stocking it. Cheap – $20. I bought one, and no regrets. Lavender and chocolate; it should not work but it does.

Perfume Discontinuations

Grab them before they are gone

What else have I made a wild grab for, and what have I let go?

Covet FragranticaFragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Mint, geranium leaves, Sicilian lemon, lavender, chocolate notes
Heart: Honeysuckle, magnolia, lily of the valley
Base: Cashmere wood, musk, vetiver, teak wood, amber

Perfume Discontinuations: The Ones I Grabbed

Sarah Jessica Parker Covet, as mentioned.

Bvlgari Black. Vanilla and fresh tyre rubber! I bought a back-up for my son to own and me to borrow.

Lancome Cuir de Lancome. . A cult leather. I bought mine while it still going for about $50.

Rochas Tocade. A laughing vanilla fragrance, this one is not discontinued as far as I know, just re-packaged. Re-packaging always makes the perfume enthusiast nervous, and I grabbed a bottle.

Yves Saint Laurent Y.  Same as for Tocade. It’s always worth grabbing a chypre if you think it’s under threat. It probably is.

Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Casablanca lily, Black locust, White carnation
Heart: Golden pollen, Gold dust, Violet leaf
Base: Amber, Indian patchouli, Resins

Perfume Discontinuations: The Ones I Let Go

If there’s a bottle out there with my name on it, someone else can have it.

Donna Karan Gold. This has been cheap at the discounters for years and you can still get it. I have tested it thoroughly and decided it’s not for me, but it is wonderful stuff. I’d rather leave a bottle available for someone who loves monster lily perfumes. I don’t, it seems.

Parfums de Nicolai Le Temps d’une Fete. I should love this green wonder but somehow it has never moved me. Anyway, I have YSL Y, as noted, so I’m happy.

Fendi Theorema. I have a decant but I just can’t get on board with Theorema. It’s too much of a gourmand for me. It can still be had I think, not sure of the prices.

Yves Saint Laurent Yvresse. Again, a re-packaging. I could have bought a 75 ml bottle this classic fruity chypre for $60 in the old packaging but I just don’t love it. My only regret is that prices on Yvresse are now so high I could easily have got my money back three times over if I had bought that bottle.

Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Gardenia, Neroli, Tuberose
Heart: Benzoin, Jasmine, Lily
Base: Amber, Musk, Vanilla

Perfume Discontinuations: The One I Missed

Oh darn!

Madonna Truth or Dare. I tried TD Naked but didn’t like it much. The original was apparently not widely distributed in Australia and I decided not to bother. It was a wonderful white floral, I gather. I should have bought it when it was going cheap on Fragrancex.com but I didn’t. Now it’s gone. I’m stupid.

What about you? What are the ones that got away from you? Any regrets?
Keep spritzing everyone!