Christopher Sheldrake

Bas de Soie by Christopher Sheldrake for Serge Lutens 2010

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Post by Eliza D

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Hi there APJ,

People often talk about fragrance for mood, the more I think about it the more sense it makes.

Bas de Soie by Christopher Sheldrake for Serge Lutens 2010

Bas de Soie Serge Lutens FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Iris, hyacinth, galbanum, spice, musk

If one wears perfume to create a mood, or to prepare oneself to be a certain way in the world, then Bas de Soie (Silk Stockings) is my leather and heels take no prisoners you’re not fooling me I am sorry but you don’t have an appointment work fragrance. I know, I know, this was probably never meant to be worn to work, but sometimes you need a perfume like this to alter the scene.

 Bas de Soie Serge Lutens Blue moon liz west FlickrPhoto Stolen liz west Flickr

Bas de Soie intrigued me from the moment I tried a sample as part of a collection from The Posh Peasant. While most perfumes I wear settle during the dry down to their bass notes, Bas de Soie sings in a mezzo-soprano range from its opening to its last breath. It’s this quality that makes me sit up a little straighter and respond a little more crisply than usual. There’s no time to relax when wearing it.

Though Fragrantica gives the notes iris, hyacinth, galbanum, spice and musk all in a row all I can smell are the flowers. As if someone had pulled them out of the ground, roots and all, and was pressing them under my nose. hard. for a long time.

Sillage is moderate, and longevity on me is very good. After an eight hour day, I can still smell Bas de Soie. So, if you want a flower with a bit of an edge, or as someone on Fragrantica recently wrote “Beautiful and delicate but scary as hell,” try Bas de Soie.

Portrait of a businesswomanPhoto Stolen Victor1558  Flickr

From LuckyScent: With Bas de Soie (aka Silk Stockings) following up on Serge Noire, Filles en Aiguilles and Fourreau Noir in his new vein of sartorially-named fragrances, Serge Lutens has ventured out of black and into the blue by splicing hyacinth and iris. Is this hyaris or iricinth? The two notes are so intimately blended in this shimmering scent that they can’t be teased apart. Those who wondered where the Lutens-Sheldrake tandem would go after their L’Eau Serge Lutens shocker have their answer. And it’s not back to Marrakesh: Bas de soie is as quintessentially Parisian as the gardens of the Palais Royal.

Further reading: Grain de Musc and Olfactoria’s Travels
LuckyScent has $130/50ml
Surrender To Chance samples start at $4/.5ml

What’s your power fragrance at work?

ElizaD

Tubereuse Criminelle by Christopher Sheldrake for Serge Lutens 1999

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Post by Gabriella

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Hello fragrant friends!

Today I want to share my very personal story on how a bottle of a special fragrance came into my life. Almost two years ago, I was in a very bad place. I had returned to Sydney from London after recently getting engaged to Mr M. We moved in together, I was starting a new chapter with the man I loved and it should have been a tremendously happy time for me. However, one thing stood in my way: employment.

The job market for the sector I was in was particularly dire. I searched and searched and got knocked back either because I was way overqualified or just not senior enough. One month turned into two and then three and suddenly, I had been out of work for the longest time since starting in the job market at 15 packing shelves at a local grocery store.

DepressedPhoto Stolen Sander van der Wel Flickr

Still, it should have been fine. Mr M was happily supporting me financially and for the first time in years, I had time to think. But therein was the rub. Work had been so much part of my existence for so long that I now defined myself through my job. Without one, I felt like I had lost my identity and furthermore, my existence. As time rolled on, I became more depressed. I mooched around, drank more, ate tons and put of masses of weight which only exacerbated my unhappiness. When Mr M came home from work, I snapped at him. I was not a very nice person to be with.

Eventually, I did get some freelance work, but it wasn’t quite enough. My birthday was coming up and I would have been out of full time work for six months by that time, something I desperately didn’t want to happen.

So on Mr M’s advice, I went to see my parents who live up in northern New South Wales. It would be a breath of fresh air, allow me to spend some quality time with my Mum and Dad and hopefully, snap me out of my black dog state.

One day, I was doing some of my freelance stuff in Dad’s study. Rummaging around his desk drawer for a pen is when I spotted it: there in the drawer was a bottle of…..

Tubereuse Criminelle by Serge Lutens 1999

Tubereuse Criminelle Serge Lutens FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Jasmine, orange blossom, hyacinth, tuberose, nutmeg, clove, styrax, musk and vanilla

I was flabbergasted, excited and also perplexed. This was obviously my birthday present but how did Dad know to buy me this? Sure, Dad knew of my perfume love and I’d probably mentioned tuberose as a note here and there, but he certainly didn’t know Serge. And how had he discovered Tubereuse Criminelle, which at that point, had only been recently released into the export line?

I went into the kitchen to see Mum.

“Mum, don’t tell Dad, but I think I have accidentally found my birthday present.”

“Oh really?”

“Yes, the perfume in his desk drawer. But how did Dad know about it and how to get it and that I’d want Tubereuse Criminelle?”

“Well, you’ve been so very down lately darling and we know you love perfume and tuberose and all that. So Dad did some investigation online and found that this was a good one and quite hard to find. He just wanted to give you something really special to make you happy.”

Tears came to my eyes. The thought of Dad reading perfume reviews and doing background research was beyond overwhelming. I was deeply, deeply touched and thankful. It was a very special present in more ways than one. Now when I take that precious bottle out, I am reminded that good can come out of bad. The jolie laide character of Tubereuse Criminelle with the sharp mentholated opening before the full bloom of white flowers is a reminder that things do get better.

And, I’m also reminded that there is a hell of a lot more to life than work. It’s not the thing that defines me.

Tubereuse Criminelle Serge Lutens Trees Sun WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

For more in-depth reviews of the scent itself, please see Bois de Jasmin and The Candy Perfume Boy.

Tubereuse Criminelle is available at
Mecca Cosmetica $166/50ml
LuckyScent $150/50ml
Surrender to Chance has samples starting at $4/.5ml.

Do you have a special story on one of your perfumes? What’s your take on Tubereuse Criminelle?

With much love till next time!

M x

5 Spring/Fall Perfume Loves: Gabriella

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Post by Gabriella

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Hello perfume friends!

Lately I have been suffering a little bit of there’s-nothing-I really-desperately-want-to test-right-now-and-no-new-releases-are-causing-hissy-fits-of-‘oh-I-must-have-it-even-if-my-credit-card-breaks’ kind of ennui. So, instead of shelling out for new decants and going on stupendous sniffing sprees, I have been focusing on what I already own and rediscovering why I love them.

So, today I present to you

5 Spring/Fall perfumes from my collection that “I’m Loving Right Now!”

Datura Noir by Christopher Sheldrake for Serge Lutens 2001

Datura Noir Serge Lutens FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Datura Noir was the first perfume I knew I’d love simply from reading the list of notes. However, upon going to test in store, the (very knowledgeable) SA recoiled in horror, exclaiming: “I have never had that smell good on anyone!” One spritz on me and her abhorrence transformed into adoration. Datura Noir is a sumptuous, creamy and smooth white floral, accentuated by notes of bitter almond. And yes, this gourmand floral is probably not for everyone but for me, it’s the carefree, slightly tropical smell of sundrenched skin on a beach in Goa.

There are rumours that Datura Noir is, or is about to be, discontinued (please share if you know more), but it is still available at
Luckyscent, $130/50ml;
Surrender to Chance has samples starting at $3.99/.5ml.

Fleurs d’Oranger by Christopher Sheldrake for Serge Lutens 2003

Fleurs d'Oranger Serge Lutens FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Orange Blossom is a love or hate note for me. My skin tends to amplify citrus, meaning that the heady bloom can sometimes end up a hot mess. Not so with Fleurs d’Oranger. Tuberose and jasmine temper the orange blossom with their sweet, honeyed tones and the addition of cumin adds a “come closer and let me sniff you more” vibe. Fleurs also wins the prize for the perfume that has had the most negative reactionfrom another: my friend’s husband actually walked out of my house coughing and gasping for air after kissing me hello one evening (thankfully, he survived and is quite OK now).

Fleurs d’Oranger is available at
Luckyscent: $130/50ml;
Surrender to Chance has samples starting at $399/.5ml.

Lady Vengeance by Romano Ricci for Juliette Has A Gun 2006

Lady Vengeance Juliette Has A Gun FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Mr M loves rose. I thought I did not. After Mr M and I got together, we decided to go and find a rose fragrance we would both like (come on, as if I needed an excuse to go perfume shopping!) Some roses we tested were too ripe and green, some were too dark, others too spicy and incense-y. One spritz of Lady Vengeance and we realised we’d hit the jackpot: it is the true Goldilocks rose for me. The full red bloom is tempered by the sweetness of vanilla and a a kick of patchouli. Not too green, not too sweet, not too dark, just sumptuous. Plus, the sillage on this one is simply amazing.

Lady Vengeance is available from
Luckyscent starting from $90/50ml

Le Parfum de Therese by Edmond Roudnitska for Frederic Malle 2000

Le Parfum de Therese Frederic Malle FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

When I am contemplating my perfumes of a morn and simply don’t know which one to wear, it is Le Parfum de Therese that usually wins. It is just such a happy and radiant perfume and unlike some others, it never gives rise to spritzing remorse a few hours in. But then, I am a big Roudnitska fangirl, and while my faves, Diorella and Diorissimo, are beyond recognition due to IFRA-induced plastic surgery, I’m very thankful that this beauty is still around.

Le Parfum de Therese is available from
Mecca Cosmetica starting from $155/3 x 10ml
Surrender to Chance has samples starting from $6.99/ml

Musc Ravageur by Maurice Roucel for Frederic Malle 2000

Musc Ravageur Frederic Malle FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

 

I will always remember the day I fell in love with and came to acquire Musc Ravageur. I was living in London, it was a few weeks before Christmas and I woke up to find a world blanketed in pillowy white. I had an exciting, girly day planned of shopping, perfume sniffing and getting my hair done before dinner and drinks. I dressed up and blow dried my hair to perfection only to walk out into yet another snowstorm. Whitened coat and wet hair aside, my day went as planned. One spritz of Musc takes my back to that day of joyful chaos that ended with a fabulous meal, good conversation and the twinkling of fairy lights on snow covered streets.

Musc Ravageur is available at
Mecca Cosmetica starting from $142/3 x 10ml
Surrender to Chance has samples starting from $5.99/ml.

So, have I mentioned any of your faves? What perfumes are getting a good wearing from you right now?

With much love till next time,

M x

Arabie by Christopher Sheldrake for Serge Lutens 2000

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 16 Comments

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Post by Portia

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Hey There Fellow FUMIES,

We recently had a fragrant get togetrher at my place and Madeleine brought some unloved bottles and I bought this…

Arabie by Serge Lutens 2000

Arabie FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Cedar, sandalwood, mandarin, dried fig, date, nutmeg, cumin, caraway, clove, bay-leaf, Tonka, Siamese benzoin, myrrh, labdanum

My first whiff of Arabie is all cooking spices and humanity: cooking, slightly blackened toast, baking too with loads of vanilla, spice and citrus/fruit. I get a heavy tea backnote but I could be mistaking resins/incense for smoky tea. My question is how has anyone found Arabie hard to wear? Potent? Yes, but not scorchingly so like Angel or Giorgio Beverly Hills. Warm, dusty, foody, like eating sweets at a Dhaba in rural India sitting on plastic Coca Cola chairs with only a piece of cloth as roof between you and the desert sun, or in the freezing winter cold of a Korean fishing village where you duck out of the stormy winds to get a Korean version of a donut, searingly hot with sizzling spicy sugar and juices inside, straight from the hot oil, that is guaranteed to warm you up.

Arabie is sweet and dessicated, it could be a million miles from anyone or right by their side cuddled safe and warm under a blanket in front of a fire. Each wear is slightly different for me and I think much of the difference is what I bring in my demeanor, happiness, what I am mindful of. No wonder Arabie is still talked and written about as one of the Serge Lutens must try, must have fragrances.

Arabie Roadside Dhaba Flickr NehaSingh7Photo Stolen Flickr (NehaSingh7)

Arabie, maybe the name has swayed my thinking, feels like wearing adventure. It is busy and interesting, beautiful and welcoming, lavish and sparse, all of these things at different times. Unfortunately it doesn’t have an enormous longevity on my skin as a fragrant event but turns soft and skin warmed by sun scent-ish after only a couple of hours. Then it is a wash of resinous warmth both sensual and exotic but alas only for those very close.

Arabie Cresent Lake Oasis China Environmental graffitiPhoto Stolen EnvironmentalGraffiti

Further reading: Perfume Smellin’ Things and My Perfume Diaries
FragranceNet has $106/50ml
Posh Peasant starts at $6/ml

Did you try Arabie yet? What was your experience? If not, what have you tried that correlates?
Thanks so much for wandering through my fragrant musings today,
See you tomorrow,
Portia xx

Fleurs de Citronnier by Christopher Sheldrake for Serge Lutens 2004

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Hiya APJ Family,

This was originally scheduled to go live the day after Lucasz at Chemist In A Bottle but I didn’t want to tread on his beautiful post (follow the jump if you’d like to read it). So mine is happening a couple of weeks later now. Enjoy.

I found a 5+ml decant of todays fragrance and have no idea where it came from or how it’s in my collection. The writing is almost illegible and I had to check Fragrantica for things that might match. Whoever I have to thank for this lavish largesse you have my complete and utter gratefulness, I would never have chosen to try it and am so glad I have. It seems to be quite hard to find, Lucky Scent has almost every other Serge Lutens except this one and a few of the other regulars are either out of stock or don’t mention it at all.

Fleurs de Citronnier (Lemon Blossom) by Serge Lutens 2004

Fleurs de Citronnier FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Lemon blossom, petitgrain, nutmeg
Heart: Lemon blossom, neroli, white honey, tuberose
Base: Iris, several musks, styrax resin

Citrus, spicy, fresh, fizzy and fun. Fleurs de Citronnier is everything I loved about growing up with citrus trees in the back yard. I miss them but in our temperate climate in Sydney they are particularly prone to infestations and disease. Mum spent a lot of time maintaining a lemon and orange tree. We LOVED them. Fresh orange juice, a great shady place to hide, pretending perfume from flowers, leaves and fruit and let’s not forget the endless uses for a stink bug! Sunny winter days drinking sugared, fresh orange juice with lemon to make it zing.

So now you know where it takes me, what does Fleurs de Citronnier smell like on me? Green, citrus and green, later the honey makes a beautiful, almost naughty, appearance with a silky sweet urinous warmth and the tuberose (white flower) is a little skanky but more soapy. Though it stays citrus it becomes warmer and more lived in as it heads into the 2 hour mark. There have been a couple of times during the first two hours that I thought Fleurs de Citronnier was going to fall into a deep hole of cleaning product fragrance but it nimbly skirted the edge of that nasty abyss and continued beautifully.

Fleurs de Citronnier Serge Lutens lemon blossum AromaPersonaPhoto Stolen AromaPersona

Tonight I wore Fleurs de Citronnier to work, I felt beautiful and floated through the night, catching wafts of myself throughout the evening. Driving home and now back home I can still smell some citrus, some white flowers and the musks have come through very cleanly but the resin is a back up whisper, like a little bit of sweet toffee floating underneath. That’s nearly 6 hours of wear and still going strong, impressive.

I think that unless you have a VERY light hand that Fleurs de Citronnier may be too strong for most workplaces, maybe even a little overpowering for dining unless you have some time between spritz and eat. For my work it’s an excellent choice, a big, phat, bombastic fragrance that takes no prisoners. FAB U LOUS!!!!

Fleurs de Citronnier Serge Lutens Lemon BlossomPhoto Stolen LifeWorksRestaurants

Further reading: Now Smell This and Olfactoria’s Travels
Beauty Encounter has $100/50ml (I have enjoyed FdC so much that I bought one today)
Surrender To Chance starts at $4/.5ml

Have you tried Fleurs de Citronnier? What are your impressions?
Till tomorrow, be nice to yourself and those around you,
Portia xx

N°5 CULTURE CHANEL – Interview with Christopher Sheldrake, CHANEL Perfumer

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Hi All,

After some missing of planes and arriving 12 hours late and a whole bunch of stuff I must apologise that this is very little and late. Still it is interesting to see Christopher Sheldrake talk about CHANEL No 5 Exhibition. He is quietly handsome and engaging. I hope you like it.

Portia xx

CHANEL SeedOfHappinessStolen from SeedOfHappiness

N°5 CULTURE CHANEL – Interview with Christopher Sheldrake, CHANEL Perfumer

Chergui by Christopher Sheldrake for Serge Lutens 2001

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 26 Comments

Hello Stink Monkeys!!

This fragrance I’ve had a decant sitting in my cupboard for a while. I often see it for a good price and read reviews but it has never reached my skin until recently. To be truthful I was a little Ho Hum about it and wasn’t sure that it would be my thing. Honey, hay, dust, sweet tobacco and balmy amber, hang on, that sounds exactly what a fragrance should be made up of…

Chergui by Serge Lutens 2001

Chergui FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Tobacco leaf, honey, iris, sandalwood, amber, musk, incense, rose and hay

I love the entrance to Chergui, the super honeyed tobacco and amber rise up softly and gracefully on my skin. It is sweet and dusty at the same time, like an old forgotten second hand bookstore in the desert at dusk. The smell of wood and paper and earth and that chill as the daylight leaves. I only get the merest hint of hay, though there is something like it hiding behind the honey/tobacco sweetness which is amplified on my skin. Has anyone else had the honey/tobacco take over during the first hour or so?

Chergui Serge Lutens Leakeys Secondhand Bookstore TripAdvisorPhoto Stolen TripAdvisor

Once the sweetness burns off for me the whole fragrance becomes more dessicated and interesting, like dried out greenery snapped or crumbled in your hands with a very cool smoky incense, before you light it, and here I get a little spicy rose and a whisper of something that smells like orchid.

For some reason I had it in my head that Chergui was a difficult fragrance but I find it pretty and wearable. Not too strong, not too outrageous in the cool of Sydney late Autumn and definitely wearable by both sexes. On my skin this is reminiscent of some of the best vintage women’s fragrances and some of the 1990s excellent mens, all of which have been discontinued or reformulated out of even a whisper of themselves.

I wish I had taken my decant of Chergui to LA with me because I think it will bloom even more beautifully in the warmth. As it is I’m getting moderate life of about 4-5 hours and moderate sillage. This is only my second wear though, I can’t wait to wear Chergui to work and see if people love it.

Dust Storm DailyTelegraphPhoto Stolen DailyTelegraph

Further reading Olfactoria’sTravels and Kafkaesque
FragranceNet has $97/50ml and with the oft available 15% discount that’s around $83!!
SurrenderToChance starts at $4/.5ml

How did Chergui live on your skin? Was there a note that really stood out and was surprising? Did you have a similar experience to most others?
Please join the conversation, I love it when people tell us how a fragrance affected them,
Portia xx

Un Bois Vanille by Christopher Sheldrake for Serge Lutens 2003

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Guest Post by EmmaKate

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Hello fumies,

As the weather is starting to get cooler my thoughts turn to things that make me feel warm on the inside during Autumn and Winter. I have chosen to write about

Un Bois Vanille by  for Serge Lutens

UnBoisVanille FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Sandalwood, black licorice, coconut milk, beeswax, bitter almond, musk, vanilla, benzoin, guaiac wood and tonka bean.

When I first started working at Mecca Cosmetica I found the fragrances all too much in terms of how different they were to anything I had ever smelt before. I couldn’t sell them because I had no back story, had no understanding of the notes and quite frankly didn’t like any of them. Being the girl I am I set out to find out about these fragrances that had grown women running in and gasping with delight. My first port of call was Serge Lutens. This brand was all round scary due to all that French – Eek! I chose to work with what I knew and selected Un Bois Vanille- a woody vanilla fragrance. And here our journey begins.

The first spray is a sweet creamy vanilla with a slightly bitter tart scent. (Back in the day I used to judge fragrances from the very first whiff, thank god that changed quick smart or I wouldn’t be sharing my thoughts with you all.) I didn’t like it. Not one bit. Oh well, try again with something else tomorrow. Except, about 20 minutes later I caught a whiff of it again and it had evolved beautifully into this full bodied creamy vanilla that I wanted to be engulfed by. It reminds me of pannacotta before it sets and I wanted to swim in it.

Un Bois Vanille PANNA-COTTA lafestaPhoto Stolen lafesta

This is a grown up vanilla that makes me glow on the inside during winter. It makes me feel like I am wrapped up in a thick silk scarf and nothing can touch me. The tonka bean gives it body and cuts the slightly acidic note that vanilla can have, it gives it a milky feel while almond gives it strength.

Un Bois Vanille by Serge Lutens is a Oriental Vanilla fragrance and wears well, I would say around 8 hours, but this always depends on the wearer.

VanillaWood 123rfPhoto Stolen 123rf

Further reading Olfactoria’sTravels and ChemistInTheBottle
SurrenderToChance starts at $4/.5ml
You can also grab a bottle at the usual places, I found an unboxed 50ml for $94 at FragranceNet

EmmaKate 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)

UnLys FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

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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.
girlNlily mi9Photo Stolen mi9
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.
field-of-lily travelizationPhoto Stolen travelization
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

Coromandel by Jacques Polge + Christopher Sheldrake for CHANEL 2007

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 15 Comments

Hey Hey APJ!

I was recently lunching with Clayton from WhatMenShouldSmellLike and he brought me some amazing gifts from his OS travels. The loveliest of which, so far, is the 4ml gorgeously boxed CHANEL Les Exclusives Coromandel EdT that I am rocking today. It is my first wear of it and I’m dabbing, so do come on a journey with me.

Coromandel EdT by CHANEL 2007

Coromandel FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Neroli, bitter orange, citruses
Heart: Rose, jasmine, patchouli, orris
Base: Tahitian vanilla, benzoin, white chocolate, incense, woodsy notes, musk, olibanum

Can I tell you before we start that this packaging has me excited already, the card, beautifully presented bottle and the whole feel is incredibly luxe for a 4ml tester. Also, different sites and reviewers attribute Coromandel to both of these magnificent perfumers Jacques Polge + Christopher Sheldrake but only BaseNotes , that I read, attributed it to both. Interesting huh?

Oh MY! The first rush I get is all the base notes springing up my nose and creating a warm, woodsy and sweet amber-ish waft that was so unexpected from the notes that I gasped audibly. They don’t really leave either as the citruses begin to show their bright and lovely acidic colours. They don’t stay long because patchouli has wandered in shrouded in a lovely powdery floral veil and it seems like I’m sitting in a cafe, there is a breezy cafe au lait waft that is surprising. Maybe it’s the chocolate and vanilla together with the patchouli, ahh, who knows or cares how they’ve created this wonder?The patchouli is like the undercurrent of Coromandel, it comes and goes over time again and again, but I never even get a hint of the flowers.

I am happily and dizzily transported somewhere other. Closing my eyes and breathing deeply it’s as if Coromandel is zen perfume I feel so relaxed and comfortable in it like this is the fragrance I’ve been waiting for. Do you ever feel like you’ve come home? Amazing!!

MilkCoffee wallPaperHerePhoto Stolen WallPaperHere

Coromandel is all about the base for me, and on my skin, it has sped there is under an hour and maintains itself there indefinitely with only a modicum of change as it progresses deeper into itself, warming and becoming more foodish as it fades till all I’m left with is a mildly resinous vanilla around 6 hours later that hums ever so softly above my skin for a while longer before disappearing. I am ordering a large decant to stop myself immediately buying an FB. I am moved.

Further reading NowSmellThis and BoisDeJasmin
I think Coromandel is only available at CHANEL Boutiques
SurrenderToChance starts at $3/ml

Have you fallen for something unattainable lately? Are you going the sample route or another way?

Wishing you all good luck in your searches,
Till tomorrow be well,
Portia xx
I LOVE CHANEL