Anais Anais L’Original by Cacharel 2014

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Post by Gabriella

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Anais Anais was my foundation perfume. As I have explained previously, it was my very first signature scent and thus accompanied me on many rites of passage throughout the 1980s and 1990s. It was the scent of my high school travails, my first love, my 21st birthday and countless Christmases. I was lucky in that it was not ubiquitous amongst my coterie of friends and so it was truly my scent, inextricably linked with my character and the foundation for my subsequent perfume journey.

The perfume has not been left unscathed by the passing of time. Over the years, the lovely soap, body lotion and deodorant slowly disappeared from shelves. The EDP also went, only to be relaunched in a new guise some years ago with new Kate Moss ads and then became difficult to find. The current EDT, while still lovely, is but a whisper of its former glory: subtle refomulations have rendered it sunbleached and ghostlike as if someone has taken the pastel-hued maidens of the ad campaigns and watered them down: they have become fuzzy and indistinct.

Anais Anais L’Original by Cacharel 2014

Anais Anais L’Original Eau de Parfum FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Hyacinth, galbanum, orange blossom
Heart: Jasmine, rose, lily
Base: Sandalwood, cedar, incense, amber

So when I heard that Cacharel was relaunching the 1978 classic under the name Anais Anais L’Original, I was excited but also somewhat worried and perplexed. Here was the chance to go back to a great love. But what if it didn’t match my olfactory memories? Furthermore, if Cacharel had this formulation at hand, then why had it persisted in keeping the current EDT on shelves?

All my worries vanished upon first sniff. Memories flooded back and I felt like I had come home. Here it was again, my scent, my bastion of a perfume.

Anais Anais L’Original Hyacinths WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

The only difference I could detect between what I was smelling and my olfactory memory is that L’Original appears a to have a stronger hyacinth top note, rendering the composition brighter and rounder. Comparing it to the current EDT, I was struck by the difference between the two: the Anais Anais EDT is harsher upon first spray, the hyacinth is more astringent and the whole composition a little bit more powdery and dry. The sillage and longevity is also markedly different: L’Original sings on my skin as it did all those years ago and lasts and lasts whereas the current EDT is but a mere shadow after a couple of hours.

Anais Anais L’Original Pastel Sunset Versageek FlickrPhoto Stolen Flickr

I’m very thankful to have an old love back. And I’m comforted by the fact that in these days of IFRA restrictions and reformulations that an old classic has been given a new lease of life.

Further reading: Bois de Jasmin and The Non Blonde
Anais Anais L’Original (available in both EDP and EDT) and Anais Anais EDT are widely available at department stores and online sellers.
FragranceNet has the current EDT starting at $31.19/30ml before discount
Surrender To Chance starts at $3/ml

Do you like Anais Anais? Have you tried L’Original? What was your foundation perfume?
With much love till next time!
M x

Roja Dove: Amber Oud 2012 + Lily Extrait 2014

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Post by Val the Cookie Queen

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Roja Dove

THE EMPEROR´S NEW PERFUME OR IS MY NOSE KNACKERED?

Roja Dove Amber Oud 2012 and Lily Extrait 2014

The nose behind these two fragrances is Roja Dove “Master Perfumer”. Fragrances rumoured to be made by Roberetet, a company that works with an international team of 32 perfumers. The whole line of Roja Dove´s work interests me not. On saying that I have had a secret desire to try at least a couple of them to see what, if anything might actually warrant the price.

Hans Christian Andersen’s The Emperor´s New Clothes was published in 1837 in Denmark. The phrase “The Emperor´s New Clothes” has become a standard metaphor for just about anything that smacks of showy pretentiousness, social hypocrisy, hollow ostentatiousness, pomposity and so on. The more something is praised the more it can become a thing of great, but perhaps imagined, beauty ……….

The Emperor's New Clothes BookDepositoryPhoto Stolen BookDepository ($6.75 including postage)

I swapped cookies for generous samples of Amber Oud and Lily Extrait.

Roja Dove: Amber Oud 2012

Amber Aoud Roja Dove FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, lemon, lime
Heart: Jasmine, rose, yang-ylang, fig
Base: Agarwood, birch, cinnamon, oakmoss, patchouli, saffron, sandalwood, ambergris, civet, musk, orris root

Amber Oud falls into the oriental spicy fragrance group for men and women. It costs around 655 Euros for 100 mls.

Wow.

Sound fabulous? It is nice, harmonious and safe. Read – boring. For a perfume that uses Oud in it´s name, I would expect to see a more dominant use of it. There is nothing unique about this.. Call me snotty if you will but I would desire something that cries out “fabulousness and originality” if I was paying that price for it. It is quite smooth, but is smooth enough? I read that it´s a beast, luxurious, undeniably exquisite, opulent. Hmmmmm. Emperor´s New Perfume? Or is my nose is knackered?

Roja Dove: Lily Extrait 2014

Lily Extrait Roja Dove FIFPhoto Stolen First In Fragrance

First In Fragrance gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, lemon
Heart: Jasmine, lily, rose, tiare blossom, lily of the valley, carnation, ylang-ylang
Base: Clove, woods, vanilla, musk.

About 365 Euros for 50 mls. “I have always loved the exotic, enveloping, carnal, sensual warmth of this majestic flower.” Roja Dove. Oh.

It starts off a lot like Serge Luten´s Un Lys, which I love. It grooves along with the similarity for about an hour or so. Then the Lily Extrait takes a sharp turn into sweetness, where the Un Lys
gets musky and dirty. Lily Extrait stays sweet and pretty and linear. It does remind me of an übersweet bubble gum that I used to chew as a kid and I cannot get that out of my mind. The longevity of it is epic. I got at least 14 hours out of it. I could still smell it in the morning. I am singing the great Lonnie Donegan´s hit “Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour on the Bedpost Overnight?” as I write this.

First In Fragrance has both to sample

So for a good 1000 Euros, that is about $1350 I could have both of these, including the nice bottles? Astonishing.

Meanwhile, back to the football.

Bussis
CQ

Noble Leather by Julie Massé of Mane for Yves Saint Laurent 2013

Hey hey APJ,

Loving the house; YSL has been a fave of mine since before fashion school and during became a hero for both his fashion and foresight but also because he lived this incredibly flamboyant life in a time when the world seemed to be quite conservative. He showed me, through his own actions that you could be whoever you choose to be if you have a talent, a little luck, work really hard and choose your friends wisely. That the people in charge of Yves Saint Laurent have taken the name Yves from his fashion house is a complete travesty and I hope never to own anything from the house without all three names on them, so anything pre 2013 and I can still grab YSL fragrances and makeup. I have received this decant in an order from Surrender To Chance, they have a special area where you can find the brand newest things from a year or a month, as you can see I have a backlog….

Noble Leather by Julie Massé of Mane for Yves Saint Laurent 2013

Noble Leather Yves Saint Laurent FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Leather, amber, wood, vanilla, patchouli, saffron, dried fruit

The first time I wore Noble Leather it was late and I was trying to think of what I should write, take some notes etc but my mind was completely blank. Not processing anything. So I decided to do some reading about it on the blogs. There isn’t much around and most of it hates Noble Leather. It was no help because I don’t hate it. In my mind the best leather of them all is the Pineider: Cuoio Nobile, followed closely by Bottega Veneta. Noble Leather is more like Cuoio Nobile with a hefty dash of Lonestar Memories thrown in. Dark, erotic leather, like a whisper of the feeling of the scent of the inside leg of a party monster’s chaps or the saddle that’s been ridden in all day and is still warm.

Noble Leather Yves Saint Laurent Remington Dash Timber WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

Vanilla leather, amber leather, saffron leather an amalgam to begin with, dark, sweet and waxy. It smells birch-ish once the fireworks die down, darker and more tannins, with avery interesting super sweet overlay that must be the dried fruits but is really just an amorphous sweetness to my nose, not the same as the vanilla sweetness though which also play around the edges. There are momentary Cuir Ottoman memories but nowhere near as challenging or evocative. What whistles through my mind are images of cowboys and their saddles, drovers and their sheep, the labdanum having some similarities to the Lanolin we get from wool. I think it’s very aromachemical based because the scent goes in and out of my ability to smell if I am paying it close attention for more than a couple of minutes, when on a hand and it comes and goes from my olfactory vision then it comes back again whenever I put my hand to my chin or face area.

Noble Leather Yves Saint Laurent Walter_Wither Drover WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

There are some spices that tickle my nose and the patchouli makes a lovely dusty cameo for a while, so reminiscent of working the Australian outback, but this is a leather/amber/vanilla for most of its journey and in dry down Noble Leather maintains much the same story to fade.

Further reading: Katie Puckrik and Kafkaesque
House of Fraser has £195/80ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $5/.5ml

Sillage is excellent and longevity quite good, I think I might like it much more if it wasn’t priced so outrageously. £195 that’s 3 – 4 Serge Lutens (Tubereuse Criminelle, Bas de Soie, Muscs Koublai Khan, Un Bois Vanille or Noble Leather’s sweeter and lovelier brother Chergui)  or 2 Neela Vermeire Creations Discovery Packs. Sorry I don’t see the value YSL and I think you, as a consumer, can spend your dollars better elsewhere.

Did you get your sniff on the Oriental Collection from YSL yet? Thoughts?
Portia xx

 

DIOR: Le Petit Théâtre Dior

OMG!!

DIOR is taking a traveling show of DIOR miniature replicas around the world. First stop was Chengdu in China. This is the kind of fabulously amazing thing that makes me so happy. All the creative people that an event like this would employ and the sheer genius of the idea taken from the The Theatre of Fashion, a 1945 exhibition in Paris, a post war French fashion exhibit done in miniature whose inspiration came from Lucien Lelong, Christian Dior’s boss and mentor at that time.

I hope you enjoy a look at the event and a couple of the miniature dress creation movies. Amazing.
Portia xx

Le Petit Theatre Dior Chengdu Buro247Photo Stolen Buro247

DIOR: Le Petit Théâtre Dior: Chengdu IFS mall in China

DIOR: Le Petit Théâtre Dior – The Exhibition

DIOR: Le Petit Théâtre Dior – Making of “Miss Dior” dress

DIOR: Le Petit Théâtre Dior – Making of “Mexique” dress

 

Source

Rose Kashmirie by Marie-Helene Rogeon + Francois Robert for Les Parfums de Rosine 2007

Hello Lovely Fumie Friends,

While in Paris in February Michael and I stumbled across the Les Parfums de Rosine store in the Palais Royal shopping strips after doing a shop in Serge Lutens while upstairs they were having a launch party. I was very sad that we weren’t invited up to have a drink and a sniff.

Don’t forget our AMBER GIVEAWAY<<  JUMP

Rose Kashmirie by Les Parfums de Rosine 2007

Marie-Helene Rogeon + Francois Robert

Rose Kashmirie Les Parfums de RosinePhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Saffron, coriander, bergamot, rose
Heart: Myrhh, rose, peony
Base: Vetiver, sandalwood, amber, benzoin, vanille, grass, cypriol oil (nagarmotha)

So I first dabbed my sample of Rose Kashmirie and what I got was a lovely sparkling, very slightly spicy, fresh rose scent. One of those roses that you buy in a bunch that has the merest whiff of fragrance so fragile and tenuous but amped up 1000 times. Very pretty but nothing groundbreaking or really interesting at all, there are at least 100 rose frags doing the same thing for 1/4 the price, meh.

Then, searching through my samples I came across the 2ml vial and decided to decant it into a spritz atomiser. WOW! The difference is beyond compare, they are two entirely different entities in the open. Now that luscious green herbal coriander and slightly plastic saffron add depth and breadth to the rose. Now I’m smelling a garden rose that has bloomed to a plate size, full of the wonderful sweet, spicy, boozy, green magic that is a rose. A riot of rose, loads of the roses with a lovely citrus twang that sets my heart aflutter and my eyes wanting to roll back in my head.

Rose Kashmirie Les Parfums de Rosine Kashmir Tony Gladvin George FlickrPhoto Stolen Flickr

There is a watery, cool breath through the rose that rises through a wind of cool incense born from some temple, this is Srinagar on a houseboat in the cool of morning. I think it’s lovely peony come to waft through the rose, a dewy cool peony plucked fresh in the morning dark. Still Rose Kashmirie is all cool and no warmth well into its heart. At this point the rose becomes slightly generic (that’s the wrong word but I can’t find a better fit), still beautiful but now like a bath product rather than fine fragrance, maybe a lavish body wash or a soap. Yes, we are definitely traveling soapy territory, but it is lovely, exquisite soap. The finest.

Rose Kashmirie Les Parfums de Rosine Rosa_damascena WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

Later Rose Kashmirie warms through as the rose becomes more vanilla/amber hued and the incense becomes a lovely smoky crackle. The dried grasses add a tobacco-ish feel and my nose picks out some lovely honey tones too. Is my nose playing tricks or is there an animal lurking beneath all the prettiness? A big hairy animal on heat. WOW! Breathing right down my rose scented neck. Though all of these extras add on still the shining star is rose, rose in its many facets and phases, bud, bloom, petals and leaves. Here they are in one of the worlds loveliest places, war torn, strife filled Kasmir. This is the Kashmirie Rose.

Next morning there is a nearly scent left that hints of roses, powder and healthy compost. Soft but very, very pretty.

Further reading: Chickenfreak’s Obsessions and Scent for Thought
First In Fragrance has €88/50ml and samples
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $4/ml

Interestingly, the other reviews I read either dismissed or didn’t find Rose Kashmirie worked for them.
Damn it, I like it and am seriously thinking FBW. Have you tried it? What did you think?
Portia x

Essence Aromatique by Michel Almairac for Bottega Veneta 2014

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Post by ElizaD

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Hi APJ,

On a beautiful spring morning, I sit on a park bench, sipping my coffee and watching people as they stroll by. Suddenly I am drawn to one couple, both of them sharply dressed, tall and lithe, arms touching as they walk. Her fragrance intrigues me. It is a bit of Chanel, a bit of Bulgari, some tea, citrus, flowers and patchouli, soft and powdery. I rise to follow them, determined to find out what it is. I have never been so bold, but I have to know.

Bottega Veneta Essence Aromatique Couple hands WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

I approach them. “You smell so lovely” I say to the woman, “what is that fragrance you are wearing?” She responds “I am not wearing fragrance today.”

Now I am confused. Clearly this wonderful soft aroma emanates from this couple. “But my husband is,” she finishes, “it is called Essence Aromatique.” I walk away delighted.

Essence Aromatique by Michel Almairac for Bottega Veneta 2014

Bottega Veneta Essence Aromatique Bottega Veneta FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot and coriander
Heart: White rose, tonka and vanilla
Base: Patchouli and sandalwood

Essence Aromatique eau de cologne is advertised on the Bottega Veneta website as a women’s fragrance, along with their other three feminine perfumes: Bottega Veneta, their signature scent; Bottega Veneta Eau Legere; and Bottega Veneta in Murano Glass Parfum. But Fragrantica readers consider it to be unisex. The leather notes, which lurk at the bottom, offer a balance to the floral heart notes, while the bergamot adds that splash of aftershave freshness. The coriander, tonka bean and vanilla become the suggestion of warm skin. In the right place–probably not Eugene, Oregon, where I live–I can envision my well-dressed and self-assured gentleman wearing this. His fragrance need not make any more of a statement than his other carefully selected accessories.

Bottega Veneta Paris WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

I was not disappointed by the fragrance of Essence Aromatique. On me, it’s perfect: a light woody floral that is professional and age-appropriate but not dowdy. I feel grown up in this perfume. And Essence Aromatique could have become a new addition to my collection, save for one drawback. Sillage is nonexistent. An hour after first applying this, I was wishing I had brought my tiny sample with me to the office so I could respritz. It’s an eau de cologne with an eau de parfum pricetag.

Further reading: Colognoisseur and Now Smell This
StrawberryNET has $86/50ml and body products
My Perfume Samples starts at $3/ml

Ah well, perhaps I will try the shower gel, or wait until it hits the discounters. Too bad.

How do you feel about unisex fragrances…where do you draw the line?

ElizaD

Kalimantan by Pierre Negrin for Chantecaille 2010

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Post by SarahK

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Amber is a fragrance family that I really like in theory, but in practice rarely end up wearing. Many just feel too heavy for me to wear even in the dead of winter. I may like the smell, but if it doesn’t meld with my skin, and just sits there like a thick layer of gold, I feel like a fraud wearing it.

Kalimantan by Pierre Negrin for Chantecaille 2010

Kalimantan Chantecaille FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Thyme, rosemary, bergamot
Heart: Incense, labdanum, patchouli
Base: Benzoin, agar, styrax, vanilla, cedar

Kalimantan is not like this. It’s an amber suitable for any time in my book. It is my Goldilocks amber – not too sweet, not too spicy, it has some heft but is not too over the top. I can feel several layers in this scent. There’s a smooth labdanum-benzoin mix, some cedar, a gentle kicker of incense and some dry herbs, though these are not in any way foody. The aromatic green edge that the cedar and herbs give the scent means that I am as happy to wear it in the heat of summer as I am in colder weather. For me, this isn’t the smell of the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo after which the fragrance was named. It is the scent of a thyme-covered Greek hillside baking in the sunshine, so it suits the warm weather, while in cold weather it reminds me of the heat.

Kalimantan Chantecaille Hill GeographPhoto Stolen Geograph

There aren’t a lot of reviews around for this fragrance, but those that exist often compare it to Serge Lutens’ Ambre Sultan or Andy Tauer’s L’Air du Desert Marocain. For me, LADDM is a lot drier and has a gasoline note that I do not get at all in Kalimantan. It brings to mind a road running through a parched desert, not Kalimantan’s aromatic, sun-baked hill. Kalimantan does strike me as very similar to Ambre Sultan, and if you own one, I can’t imagine needing to own the other, but the Lutens fragrance is a touch drier, with a stronger incense note in the heart, while its herbs and cedar are less golden and honeyed until you reach the drydown. Kalimantan is my favourite of the three, but that may be because I tried it before Ambre Sultan.

Oia Iconic ViewPhoto Stolen HuffingtonPost

Further reading: EauMG and Perfume Posse.
Nordstrom has $175/75ml

Come and sit with me on a Greek hilltop at sunset, watching the last rays of sun bouncing off the warm stone of a church. The bells are ringing and incense is already burning.

L’Occitane Ultra Soft Shea Butter Body Cream – GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Hey All,

We LOVE giveaways at APJ, thank you all for getting involved. This is a super special prize and I can’t wait to see who won this week. Thanks to L’Occitane Australia who are always so generous and friendly, not to mention the fabulous product. LOVE IT!

Portia xx

L’Occitane Ultra Soft Shea Butter Body Cream – GIVEAWAY

Karité Douceur de Crème - Zeste de CitronPhoto Stolen L’Occitane France

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week we will have 2 winners who will each get:
1 x 100ml L’Occitane Ultra Soft Shea Butter Body Cream
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DID 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

Go to L’Occitane Australia<<JUMP and find any fragrance, tell me one of its note please. NO DOUBLE UPS!

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 15th June 2014 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org

WINNERS berryreviewPhoto Stolen berryreview

Christine Higgs

Kath

The winners will have till Thursday 19th June 2014 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.

Felanilla PG21 by Pierre Guillaume for Perfumerie Generale 2008

Hiya Happy Huffers,

I hope this finds you happy and well. Obviously, it may not. If you are not either or neither happy nor well then I hope at least we can take your mind off your troubles for a few minutes. If you can, or want to, go grab a cup or glass of your favourite. I have a cup of Korean tea here, it has a freaky nutty flavour that is both repulsive and more-ish. Jin also tells me that it is a good aid in digestion, cool, I’ll take that too. Hang on, I’m going to grab a refill…. I put some honey in this one to soothe my throat, trying to make yourself heard above rowdy pub crowds can take it out of your voice and my throat is a little tender tonight.

Felanilla PG21 by Pierre Guillaume for Perfumerie Generale 2008

PG21 Felanilla Parfumerie Generale FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Italian iris, amber, hay, saffron, Tahitian vanilla, banana leaf

My mate Lakshmi swapped me a 10ml split decant of this for something in my collection, I didn’t even try it for a while after he gave it to me. One day though it made it to the front of the to try box and I think I was running out the door and grabbed the first thing to hand without really looking, mmmmm warm was all I thought till in the car I was assailed by the most beautiful and sensual vanilla/amber and I was lost. That 30 minute journey became all about Felanilla,

Felanilla Parfumerie Generale Warm Feet PixabayPhoto Stolen Pixabay

Felanilla is beautiful, interestingly I can’t find most of the listed notes, for me and on me Felanilla is a vanilla/amber/saffron bomb that has some other stuff in the background that stops it smelling like a bake sale and keeps it firmly in the un-gourmand sweet range, a warm, dry, comfortable, sweetness that is both enveloping and welcoming. A hug, fire, fresh coffee, hot bread feeling. There are definite nods in Felanilla to the perfumery of years gone by. The amber is soft and resinous with none of the dark or scratchy backbite of an Ambre Russe, here we smell a caramelled amber both smooth and weathered. The story is not a long one, basically Felanilla continues in much the same vein till dry down only getting slightly dryer through the heart (I think it may be the iris/hay), a little bit of a bed-head/fur thing happens and comes & goes and then the whole fragrance grows sweeter towards the end as it fades. Having now read a few reviews and most people get a much more varied journey than I do with Felanilla, maybe I’m not paying enough attention or maybe my skin throws a different ride.

Felanilla Parfumerie Generale Catfur Doug Waldron FlickrPhoto Stolen Flickr

Longevity is excellent but after the first couple of hours Felanilla gets very close to the body and you need to be quite close to notice fragrance.

Even though there is not much story on my skin I totally enjoy wearing Felanilla, the fragrance hits a sweet spot with me and I find myself reaching for it quite regularly, of the 10ml there is now only about 3ml left. Will it be a full bottle in my future? I’m not sure, though it’s different I don’t think it enough different from L’Eau d’Ambre by L’Artisan or Ambre Ceruleen by Huitieme Art. When I finish those bottles though it could be the one I go for.

Further reading: The Non-Blonde and Grain de Musc
First In Fragrance has €94/50ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $5/ml

Have you tried Felanilla? Did you enjoy its warm silky caress?
Portia xx

 

 

 

A day in a life of a toilet – Villeroy & Boch

Hi there,

We don’t normally put non-frag-related ads up on the blog but this new Villeroy & Boch toilet has me wanting to re-renovate the bathrooms. The ad too is pure genius and such a fun representation of life that I really wanted to share it with you too. It had me smiling the whole way through. Great stuff.

Villeroy & Boch Logo DicoverOutletsPhoto Stolen DiscoverOutlets

Villeroy & Boch seem to get it, almost every time.

Nice one guys,
Portia xx

A day in a life of a toilet – New Villeroy & Boch commercial