HI HI
As you know I love fashion and adore Karl Lagerfeld at CHANEL. This is not one of his best seasons but there are some interesting things to note. Midriffs, jewel brights and soft pastels, long skirts still around, flat heels, big outlandish hats.
To be honest the set outperformed the frocks.
Enjoy this short look at SS 2015 CHANEL
Portia xx
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Post by Trésor
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Have you ever in your life encountered a fragrance which so emphatically mirrors your personality to the point that it seems to capture your very essence within those precious drops of sacred aromatic dew? I feel incredibly lucky to say that I have. From start to finish, this wicked brew embodies my identity in a way which no other fragrance I’ve experienced truly has. From the incipient beryl glow to depths of the exquisite drydown, it seems to manifest “me” and coincidentally enough was the very first bottle of niche fragrance I’ve ever bought for myself (unsniffed, no less!). You already know from the title which fragrance I am speaking of, the inimitable Tubereuse Criminelle from our dear friend, Uncle Serge Lutens.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Jasmine, orange blossom, hyacinth, tuberose, nutmeg, clove, styrax, musk, vanilla
The opening sequence of Tubereuse Criminelle is perhaps my favourite in the entirety of perfume and also what’s come to be one of the most polarizing among the fragrance community. On my skin the inaugural fusillade is a breathtakingly intense bravura of jasmine petals which have been profoundly doused in densely mentholated gasoline. I’m often told I am rather strange for this, but I absolutely adore the smell of gasoline so this entire progression is a bit euphoric to me. I relate to this genesis so deeply because I feel her and I are so much the same in this way, just a little off the beaten path.
Photo Stolen DeviantArt
Upon occasion I sense the slightest hologram of orange blossom but if I am being absolutely honest with you I have never been sure if it’s actually there or if I am imagining it simply because it’s included on the list of notes. Beneath the icy petrol fumes lay a tuberose, one who’s beauty beguiles me and leaves me breathless. You can detect every facet, every single atom of her velvet white petals and the narcotic ambrosia bleeding from within. This is, in my opinion, the most beautiful realization of tuberose I have found within a fragrance and worth every ounce of praise it receives.
Photo Stolen Flickr
As the composition progresses something quite fascinating begins to happen, the tuberose seems to further and further meld with the skin but never loses the depth, splendour and unadulterated hypnotism that drew me in so close before. Around about the fifth hour on my skin I can detect just the most delicate tendrils of softly spiced vanilla rising off of my skin. The note is not confectionary in any way, shape or form but a beautifully Lutens-esque vision of a skinscent that leads the way into Tubereuse Criminelle’s final breath on the skin.
Photo Stolen WikiCommons
This isn’t a fragrance that wears a terribly long time on my skin, about 5-6 hours, usually and the sillage is quite moderate. Though not incredibly long, the journey is magnificent and I wouldn’t trade a second of it for the world. From the initial glacial zephyr which greets you to her intimate swan song, Tubereuse Criminelle remains a study in the paradoxical nature that defines the very best of the offerings from the house of Serge Lutens.
Further reading: Olfactoria’s Travels and Australian Perfume Junkies
MeccaCosmetica has $166/50ml (in Australia)
Serge Lutens had €166/75ml
My Perfume Samples start at $3.50/ml up to $10.50/5ml
Have you fallen under the Tubereuse Criminelle spell?
Trésor x
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Post by Val the Cookie Queen
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Hi APJ,
Anne Boleyn had a strawberry birthmark on her neck. Seemingly proof that she was a witch. I doubt that this inspired Josh Lobb´s most recent fragrance Sådanne. Seriously, you gotta be on drugs to wanna smell like a strawberry. But who´s to say that´s a bad thing?
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica Gives these featured accords in one line”
Strawberries, ambergris, resins, rose, white wine, woods
This is a big time strawberry, on a musky, resiny base. Once sprayed there is no turning back. I wonder if The Merry Pranksters drank this? Psychedelic strawberries. Synthetic but who cares? It kicks in lavishly with a hot pink neon flash. Memories of sniffing new Barbie Dolls. It is astonishing and the next 12 hours will be in a cerise haze and you might well be all the better for it.
Photo Stolen Pixabay
Josh Lobb gives no notes for this so who knows? The strawberry is a member of the rose family and there is a suggestion of rose in Sådanne. Have you ever eaten an alpine strawberry? They are very tiny, very sweet and taste first of rose and then strawberry – quite different to your normal strawberry. Ambrosial describes both the strawberries and Sådanne. The strawberry notes remain throughout, but further into Sådanne a deeper, dirtier vibe turns up. Musks and ambergris rumour has it. The stroboscopic-strawberry effect calms down and it becomes more relaxed. You have survived.
From IndieScents: The newest fragrance from Slumberhouse’s Josh Lobb, Sådanne is a departure from Slumberhouse’s previous offerings. Sådanne opens as a carmelized, fruity rose. Hints of booze, woods and ambergris emerge as the fragrance develops on the skin. Lobb takes a poetic view of the fragrance, describing it as:
“Stained glass syrup
Serenades in damascone minor
Allegory obscured / pastel wound
A slurry of subtlety”
Photo Stolen WikiCommons
For those times when you want to smell like a sensuous and voluptuous and slightly carnal strawberry – and one day you will – then look no further than Josh Lobb´s heroic Sådanne.
“Doubtless God could have made a better berry, but doubtless God never did.” Dr. William Butler, 17th Century English writer.
Further reading: Ca Fleure Bon and Scent for Thought
IndieScents has $160/30ml
Surrender To Chance has samples from $8/.5ml
Are you a Slumberhouse fan? Will you be trying this one?
Strawberry Bussis Forever
CQ
Hey Heyy Niche Nerds,
So you may be familiar with the brand names Nez a Nez or So Oud? Here is the man who created some of those fragrances. The scentbloggosphere has been quite slow to catch onto this house but my mate Sandra from Olfactoria’s Travels put me onto them earlier in the year and I went straight to Ruth at FFF (Facebook Fragrance Friends) and grabbed some of her splits. This was quite a while ago and I’m only now fully getting to the bag she sent, time has been a very scarce commodity around here lately…….
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Violet, sweet notes, resins
Heart: Iris, sandalwood, ambergris
Base: Peru balsam, musk
Khol has long been used through Asia, Africa and the Middle East on children to strengthen their eyes and ward off the evil eye, it was also thought to help kill bacteria from flies and other insects. The lead in khol has been noted as high as 84% and the authorities are trying to regulate it better to make it safer. Khol can be seen around the eyes of many adult women through all the regions and is particularly spectacular when worn with headgear that leaves only the eyes uncovered, framing glorious eyes with black really makes them pop and gives added nuance to every movement of them.
Photo Stolen Wikipedia
MMMMMMMM the opening after I spritz reveals a warm, sweet and engulfing mix of resins, I am surprised that there is no vanilla listed because I get a very bakery themed gush. You know when a fragrance makes you feel safe, loved and hugged from the outset? Here it is. This is the most comfortable comfort scent. Khôl de Bahreïn is what teddy bears should smell like, and fresh washed duvets. Resins, cream, wood that all meld together to smell the way a perfectly polished piece of amber that has warmed in the sun or on your skin feels against your face.
Photo Stolen Flickr
Dense but surprisingly light, and simple but not boring Khôl de Bahreïn reminds me in mood of two of my favourite amber fragrances, Ambre Ceruleen by Huitieme Art and Dries van Noten by Malle. Here we have a scent that hits and triggers every one of my safe, loved and happy buttons. So vanilla it’s almost a hot chocolate, that kind of warming right through feeling and experience. There is a very slight animalic and furry note that creeps in through the heart: it has my eyes rolling in the back of my head as I compulsively sniff myself. Khôl de Bahreïn, where have you been all my life?
Photo Stolen Wikipedia
Thank Sandra for this particular lemming, though I think we must have talked of it because I can’t see a review. Now that I’ve tested it Sandra, even in the high heat of Sydney’s summer Khôl de Bahreïn wears a winner for me. Damnit! I thought I’d finished my amber search and had enough……..
Further reading: Ca Fleure Bon
LuckyScent has $220/50ml and samples
First In Fragrance has €148/50ml and samples
Have you heard of this brand? Is it on your radar? Will you be trying Khôl de Bahreïn?
Portia xx
Heya Fabulous APJ Family,
Shit is real around here, real BUSY. I am spraying new stuff a bit. Today I wore a new Australian house
Magnolia ’13 by Cult of Scent
WOW!! Creamy, furry, citrus with a pithy undertone and a lovely sillage that lasts well into the second hour, even into the fourth hour I can softly smell a musk/vanilla/white flower/citrus wash. I am going to use my very small amount up this weekend, FABULOUS!
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Kokorico by Jean Paul Gaultier
Also a divinely delicious scent Kokorico is smooth, woody and sweet. I was surprised that vanilla was not in the notes. Why was this not a huge hit, I only have a decant but I freaking LOVE it. I smell really good. MMMM
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Now, please do yourself a favour. Just for an hour. Log off, get up and walk around, make a coffee and sit in a room you rarely sit in, go to the corner store, go pat your dog, go pull up some weeds. Spritz yourself with fragrance and get going. You will feel better about almost everything if you do.
See you back here later.
Portia xx
Hi there APJ,
French, the word inspires terror in speakers everywhere. Not only is the language at least as convoluted as English but their words have SEX! Pronouncing French words is bound to make all except the most intrepid, dextrous and fearless quake in their boots. When I am in France I say my very poor schoolboy French in the most obvious and terrible Australian accent so that everyone can at least have a laugh, and then get on with speaking English to me.
Photo Stolen lovemeagan
When questioned why I speak so little French I always tell the asker that I went to Sydney University (our most prestigious halls of learning) to learn Hindi and if they’d like to switch to that I can also massacre that language with an Aussie accent. Usually they are so ridiculously impressed that I would try to learn something so outlandish as Hindi that they forget to ask me to say a few words, remaining unused for so long I have only a smattering of half formed sentences and a plethora of swear words.
So here is a helping hand. A word I hear massacred quite regularly and in fact pronounced disgracefully until my friendly SA at Hermès in Sydney put me right. I made sure to OK it on my travels just to be sure she wasn’t extracting the urine (taking the piss, as we so elegantly say in Australia).
So I used to say Her-Mees. How do YOU say it? Are there any other hard ones?
Portia xx
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Post by Liam
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Good evening flamboyant frag heads
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all. I hope the fragrant Gods were good to you and you got all that you wanted.
For me, I decided to load up on the cologne side of things. I’m a hellbent oriental wearer, and whilst they are ever so lovely, they are rather impractical for hot Australian summers; especially on those scorching 40+ degree days.
Photo Stolen Flickr
I was spoilt with colognes as I requested – and one that I was dying to get was Eau de Guerlain from (you guessed it) Guerlain. I am madly in love with the Guerlain ‘eaux’ series, and my first was Pierre-François Pascal Guerlain’s creation. When I found Eau de Cologne Imperiale I was stoked! Unfortunately here in Oz the Guerlain range is very very limited – and so obtaining the ‘eaux’ fragrances was a mighty task in itself. I have my contacts.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Fruity notes, basil, bergamot, lemon
Heart: Caraway, carnation, sandalwood, patchouli, lavender, jasmine, mint, bergamot, rose
Base: Amber, musk, oakmoss, neroli
In this fragrance, the citrusy note used here is actually a rather soft verbena note, made peppy with a citrus clash of lemon and bergamot. This 1974 Jean-Paul Guerlain creation contains a neutral collection of notes too, acting more in terms of functionality than pleasure. The rose, jasmine, carnation, and lavender floral accents are almost invisible – with a baby soft amber and musk addition lifting this fragrance into perpetuity – as far as cologne and eaux fraiche can go.
Photo Stolen Wikipedia
There’s a bit of a bitter crunch to this cologne too, with a certain facet smelling anisic and almost salty. I’m certain herbs attribute to this factor, in this case basil and mint, with caraway seed in there somewhere. We can also expect the herbs de Provence accord found in many Guerlain works.
With many of my reviews, I always try to reach and attain an emotional standing with the fragrance in question, and Eau de Guerlain surprises me. To think Chamade was only made 5 years before this (1969). Chamade for me is a classic Guerlain artwork, whereas this cologne is decidedly modern. I think Eau de Guerlain may have heralded a new dawn in perfumery and a new stage in Guerlain works. Don’t you think?
Many regard this as the perfect cologne. Whilst my heart lies somewhere else, the balance demonstrated here is enviable, and truly showcases Jean-Paul Guerlain’s perfume prowess. As mentioned before, the tactile use of amber and musk (and sandalwood, apparently) raise longevity to a relatively high 2 hours. The sillage is moderate to low, fading dramatically over time.
Photo Stolen WikiCommons
Further reading: Now Smell This and Monsieur Guerlain
Beauty Encounter has $95/100ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $3/ml
Keep hydrated! What’s your favourite cologne to spritz on?
-Liam
Hiya Fumie friends,
A bottle I have long had in my possession, one of the earliest big ticket purchases I made, Creed’s Fantasia de Fleurs. I think I’ve told you before of my love for many things Austrian? Back in 1994-5 while I was living in London one of my childhood friends was in the Vienna Stat Opera Ballet. I would go to Vienna and visit him. These were in the days of the Ringstraße trams that were free and you just hopped on and off and they would take you around the inner precinct of Vienna. Even though there was not a lot of English in Vienna at the time it was totally easy for me to navigate and I felt incredibly safe at all times day & night.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot
Heart: Bulgarian rose, Florentine iris
Base: Ambergris infusion
The reason I went on about Austria at the top is because this wonderful fragrance, Fantasia de Fleurs, was created for Empress Elisabeth of Austria-Hungary (or Sisi as she is known there) and I fell madly in love with her story when first in Vienna, seeking out all the places I could find from her biography and trying to piece together in my mind what her history could have been like. My mate was rehearsing and doing classes most days, we would hang in the nights unless he was performing, then I’d go see the show. It was cool.
Photo Stolen Wikipedia
SO, when I found out that Sisi had a fragrance made for her I bought it unsniffed when there was an incredible sale on somewhere. BTW I do NOT think blind buying is a good idea.
I was SOOOO lucky that on first sniff I was wrapped in a super sweet, jammy rose that has other stuff buoying it up but really stays pretty gorgeously linear through its life, getting slightly more salty and animalic at the end which is also added to by my sweaty man skin. The opening has this great dryness, like a tea note that cuts through the sweetness, making the whole fragrance easy to wear and quite unisex.I am under no illusion that this is EXACTLY how Fantasia de Fleurs smelled in 1862, I am pretty sure we are smelling an updated version but it still is a big, blowsy, royal fragrance that has a sillage you could do waterski jumps on.
Photo Stolen WikiCommons
Through most of my time with Fantasia de Fleurs I have complained of its lack of longevity but recently I learned the trick. You need to wear it for a couple of hours and then do a light respritz. It brings fragrance life up to a ridiculous length, after doing this last night after my shower and then giving myself a blast in the morning i was still quite fragrant at 5pm this afternoon! That is awesome longevity for me.
So if you like the sweetest and most jammy roses, want to smell like an Empress and love the Creed bottles for ladies then Fantasia de Fleurs could be one to try. I am surprised at how much of my bottle has gone.
Photo Stolen Flickr
Further reading: I Smell Therefore I Am and EauMG
Peony Melbourne has $279/75ml with FREE Australian P&H
First In Fragrance has €155/75ml
Which Creed do you love or which fragrance that is aligned with a celeb or royal did you ever buy because of that affiliation alone?
Portia xx
Hey there Junkies,
You know those serendipitous moments? You’ve been searching for a long discontinued fragrance that someone sent you a sample of. Had you known it was discontinued you may have chosen not to try it and passed it along to a friend. One more freaking impossible lemming may send me to the poor house. Anyway, you’ve basically given up the search and one day you’re in a SALE, you look down and there it is….. All alone, lidless, friendless and looking kinda beat up. A just over half full 50ml TESTER.
I picked it up and walked over to the counter. There I proceeded to tell the story of this fabulous fragrance, how it was now long discontinued, they’d be getting no more stock, it was a sad but hopeless case to find it anywhere. Could I please buy the tester? Half the retail price? Are you mad? Look it’s been used and badly stored in light and the heat of a shop. How about a quarter of the retail? A third? SOLD!
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Orange blossom, heliotrope
Heart: Caraway, iris, thyme
Base: Incense, leather, sandalwood, musk, vanilla, cedar essence
I Smell Therefore I Am gives these featured accords:
Top – orris, heliotrope, orange blossom, vanilla absolute
Heart – cistus, cumin, thyme
Base – patchouli, vanilla, deep musk
I put both these note lists here to show how arbitrary they are, yet both have pieces to the puzzle that are completely valid to me.
Daniela (Roche) Andrier is nose from well known fragrances like: Bottega Veneta Pour Homme, Tardes Carner Barcelona, Angélique Noire Guerlain, Marni, Prada Candy and Infusion d’Iris. That’s quite a roll call and only a fraction of her output.
That opening spritz! It reminds me of two of my favourite fragrances that see quite a bit of wear around here Oriza L Legrand Jardins d’Armide and Terry de Gunzberg Ombre Mercure. It’s a fabulously plastic/powdery iris/heliotrope/violet thing that my nose aches for, in a good way. All of them have white flowers as a raft to float the rest of the fragrance on too. Similar but different. Succulent and desirable GUCCI Eau De Parfum is not huge but it is insistent.
Photo Stolen Pixabay (searched for something succulent)
As we move from that fun opening GUCCI Eau de Parfum becomes happily lived in. Human/animal/fleshy but not skank really, more clean healthy flesh in the early afternoon. It doesn’t scream sexual tryst or workout, there’s no rankness. The seeds/herbs/roots are curiously sweet, quite inviting. Not bakery sweet but they have a burnished quality, like you are smelling them through lightly ambered glass. Yes as an analogy that is particularly clunky but that’s how my minds nose is seeing/smelling GUCCI Eau de Parfum.
There is something slightly sweltering about GUCCI Eau De Parfum, a let your hair down, relax and let go-ness about it that is very calming.
Photo Stolen WikiCommons
I can absolutely see why Abigail finds patchouli in the base. Now that I’ve read it I can smell it clear as day, a very clean waxy patchouli surrounded by a very soft leather and vanilla with musks that I can smell softly playing back up. All through its life GUCCI Eau de Parfum is a sheer veil but fragrant, not something that will skunk those around you but a designer fragrance from the days when GUCCI knew how to make perfume.
This is how sexy you’ll feel wearing Gucci Eau De Parfum (My mate Brad Mc)
Further reading: I Smell Therefore I Am and Scented Salamander
eBay is selling around $100/30ml
Posh Peasant has samples starting at $4/ml
Did you ever spend time with GUCCI Eau de Parfum? Do you have any other favourites from the house?
Portia xx
Hey Frag Fiends,
Hey Northern Hemisphere, remember summer? Here we are down here sweltering in the heat and humidity and loving it. Days are long, fruit and vegetables are abundant and cheap, the extremely fragrant frangipani, lilies, jasmine and lemon trees are all blooming like crazy, the beach and pool are awaiting, we’ve just had holidays and life feels good. I’m even lightly sunburned, getting my vitamin D levels up so my body will run efficiently and has the tools to fight disease and depression.
Well today In am writing about one of my summer fragrance staples which I also use midwinter to remind me of the warmth and steamy tropical evenings of summer.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, lemon, palm leaves
Heart: Lily, ylang-ylang, tropical fruits
Base: Tuberose, vanilla, white musk
Lys Soleia basically opens right in the heart already for me, the citrus is so fleeting but it does add glitter to the bouquet and there is a green sugariness that I can only detect with a respritz. Lily, ylang and vanilla like a beautiful warm tropical dream. Sweet and sensual I am immediately transported to faraway islands, feasting on platters of fresh cut super sweet fruits and walking through gardens decked with evening blooming exotic flowers that pump out their fragrant song. Hot and sweaty skin fresh from swimming in the sea and from sunbathing, there is even a trace of sun lotion. The white flowers and vanilla wear hot, ripe and sensual in such a “come hither and ravage me” way that I am always blown away. It’s a welcome surprise every time. No wallflower is Lys Soleia but a red blooded, thrumming sex drive, naughty and fabulous adventure waiting to happen.
Photo Stolen Wikipedia
One of the most obvious and perfume-y of the Aqua Allegoria line Lys Soleia is a sirens song that makes me smile in secret, guilty delight. Deeper and more dense than the rest I find its intoxicating and mesmerising beauty a bit of a brain scrambler. Seriously, this will have your dates so befuddled that they will be putty in your hands. Always a good thing.
Rich, yes very rich, and regal I could imagine Lys Soleia on a woman of supreme confidence, Samantha Jones of Sex and the City played by Kim Cattrall in her powerful sexual woman mode. It can also be worn by a man who wants to stand out from the crowd as someone who is unafraid to be their own person, who is happy to be known to be different, maybe someone in business who needs to sell their own angle or point of difference.
Photo Stolen Wikipedia
As we head towards dry down the tuberose and vanilla stand forth over a slightly furry musk that I can barely smell but which feels a bit fuzzy. I know that description is absolute shit and gives you no clue to what I smell but there you have it, that’s the way I perceive Lys Soleia in the later stages before it starts to really fade out.
Fully fragrant and good longevity for an Aqua Allegoria. You need to be careful because with an overzealous application you could suck the air from a room and dry clean the curtains.
Photo Stolen Pixabay
Further reading: Now Smell This and Candy Perfume Boy
Available through Guerlain counters at large department stores
FragranceNet has $61/125ml before coupon
What do you like to wear to remind you of summer, or in the midst of it? Are the Aqua Allegoris to your taste?
Come on and join the conversation, I love to read your thoughts.
Portia xx
Australian Perfume Junkies 