Fashion

Knowing by Jean Kerleo for Estee Lauder 1988

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Hello Lovelies!

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

Knowing by Estee Lauder

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

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

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

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

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

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

Photo Stolen ThePerfumeGirl

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

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

Gilded Lily by INeKE Ruhland 2010

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Hello APJ Family,

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

Gilded Lily by INeKE

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

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

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

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

Photo Stolen from wetcanvas

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

For further reading try TheNonBlonde or CaFleurBon

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

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

Till tomorrow we wish you well,
Portia xx

25:43 by LUSH 2012 and Johnny Ruffo

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Hey Fumies!

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

25:43 by LUSH

Photo stolen LUSH

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

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

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

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

Johnny Ruffo

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

Rive Gauche by Jacques Polge and Michel Hy for YSL 1970

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Hey Hey APJ Fumie Family,

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

Rive Gauche by Yves Saint Laurent

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

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

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

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

Leroy Neiman CafeRiveGauche Photo Stolen MyNewMaster

BoisDeJasmin and PerfumeShrine for further reading.

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

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

1980’s Rive Gauche ad, French

CHANEL No 19 by Henri Robert and Monarch Butterfly Life Cycle

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 23 Comments

Hiya Fume Heads,

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

CHANEL No 19 Parfum

Photo Stolen factio-magazine

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

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

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

Photo Stolen girlwiththecuriousnose

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

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

Gardenia by Marc Jacobs 2007 LIVE Video Sniff

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Hey Ho Everyone,

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

Gardenia by Marc Jacobs

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

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

Photo Stolen mgonline

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

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

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

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

Photo Stolen hollywoodreporter

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

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

Aoud Lime by Montale

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 25 Comments

Hey All,

On Monday I had my first sniff into the big, bad, scary world of Montale (<<Jump to read). Guess what? It wasn’t any of that, um, no, I mean yes, it IS big! Montale has an enormous range and I have a sample group of 10+ and still I have only dipped my toe in their offerings. In the comments on Monday I was asked , challenged, dared even, to try Aoud Lime. People are saying it will take my chest (where I spray all first time frag sniffs), pick me up, shake me, throw me against a wall and leave me there groaning and too sore to cry. Well, never let it be said that Portia Turbo was one to walk away from a Cer Ay Zee Challenge.

Aoud Lime by Montale

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

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Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Pakistan oudh, Indian rose, Italian orris, sandalwood, patchouli, saffron, amber

11am: As my 2 samples of Aoud Lime go into a glass decant spray the juice is the same colour as one of my 1970s Shalimar parfums, rich amber coloured nectar and it smells like ambrosia. The initial rush is reminiscent of Bar B Q’d citrus or limes left in the sun after a cocktail has been drunk. An alcoholic, slightly dry, hot, citrus with a clean, synthetic oudh smell that could be medicinal but is mainly herbal to me so far and has no hint of the pooh smell.

Photo Stolen TheRawRecipe

1.30pm: I have now cleaned the bathrooms, dusted, vacuumed and steam mopped the house. Quite regularly throughout my cleaning frenzy I have been given little huffs that have stayed almost linear with just a push into rose territory, a spicy and honeyed rose. Aoud Lime has become a quiet scent by now, very pretty rather than the audacious, extreme, screamer I was expecting. I think after the first half hour that you could totally wear Aoud Lime to dinner, movies, theatre or not close proximity work environs. It has become a classy and cool fragrance on my skin that I would be proud to wear as a regular day scent or with an extra spritz or 2 for a big night on the town.

3pm: Finished the washing, swam, sunbaked for 45 minutes and still a lovely sweet oudh, citrus and wood, slightly powdery. Heading for skin scent but it really has been through the wringer today. I’m going to wear it again tonight to see if less strenuous activity gives it a different run.

Photo Stolen flickrhivemind

Go see the WhatMenShouldSmellLike review for further reading.
LuckyScent has 50ml/$110
FourSeasons has 100ml/$160
SurrenderToChance starts at $4/ml

Photo Stolen foodmatters

Sorry everyone. I don’t understand what all the fuss was about. this is beautiful and wearable for me. I will seriously be contemplating a full bottle of Aoud Lime after I’ve tried the rest of the Montales.

We wish you painless, easy and harmless world domination in whatever is your chosen field, and at least one beautiful moment before we see you tomorrow.
Till then,
Portia xx

Fendi by Fendi 1985 and Shake Your Groove Thing by Peaches n Herb

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 50 Comments

Hiya Gang,

Once upon a time there were 2 baby drag queens. They were young, thin, glamorous, popular and ready to be superstars. Devoted fashionistas they were caught up in the 1980’s swirl of ENORMOUS fragrances and in the end they both chose their signature scent, the same scent. Roll on 1990 and their worlds collided in fast friendship, creativity and seismic tremors. Together in shows, at parties, in magazines and newspapers, even sharing the funeral scene in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert: you could smell us coming for MILES. What were we wearing?

FENDI

Photo stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives the featured accords:
Top: Aldehydes, bergamot, lemon, mandarin, Brazillian rosewood, cardamom, coriander
Heart: Carnation, jasmine, cypress, rose, ylang ylang, lily of the valley, geranium
Base: Cedar, amber, vanilla, tonka bean, oakmoss, sandalwood, leather, musk, patchouli, spices

I have been looking for a Fendi that I could afford for ages and then one of my favourite eBay shops got a 4ml EdT and I was on it!! Boy oh boy! The memories come flooding back. WOW! It opens spicy citrus, all gloriously sparkling and effervescent and the cardamom makes it funky and slightly feral and happily blows your brains out with the back of your head. Trying to pull notes out of this magnificent cacophony is not really possible, there is a bouquet but it doesn’t smell like any flower on this earth yet manages to smell like ALL of them. The only thing shining above the bouquet is a sexy, breathy, bedheadish jasmine and ylang ylang but I’ve been wearing my little eBay 4ml of Fendi for over an hour before it properly started to show. I think I’m in for a seriously long ride. I’m still getting serious cardamom and coriander action too. I start to get some woods and amber at about the 2.5 hour mark but still the fragrance is dominated by this incredible breathy, salty, body scent. Is there unmentioned ambergris here?

It’s 2am here and the woods and amber have moved in. There is a murky depth that I think may be the oakmoss or patchouli and there are hints of old, well loved saddle leather, almost an oudh-ish backdrop all washed over with the lovely smell of humanity, slightly rank but real and beautiful. Nearly 4 hours into the life Fendi and still pumping out full throated power frag. I reckon there’ll be some left in the morning.

Photo Stolen Italymag

Speaking of Priscilla; Queen Of The Desert I have a special treat for you below. My gratitude to Stephan Elliott for involving me in that wonderful film can never be expessed often enough or fully. Way back in 1994-5 I was living in London and had just finished with the Priscilla making when I left Sydney, when the cast and crew were off to the Cannes Film Festival for the opening I was lucky enough to be invited along, more on that another time. Another incredible upshot from being in the film was that because I was easily available to the powers that be there, and Oscar winning Costume Designer Tim Chappell was staying with me at the time, I was asked to be the star of the next single from the soundtrack’s video because the group Peaches & Herb had no interest in doing it. Here are a bunch of the Drag queens who I was friends with and my 2 male dancers for pub and club shows I was doing across the UK and Europe all together having a HOOT! Do please enjoy.

BTW It’s my first Thursday at Perfume Posse and we have a LIVE Video Sniff going on over there featuring Frederic Malle fragrances. Please drop in and say HI.

Thanks for dropping by. Do you remember Fendi? Priscilla; Queen Of The Desert? What are your recollections? I love to read your thoughts and this should be a conversation so leave a comment in the box, even a hello would be wonderful. Till tomorrow,
LOVE YOU ALL,
Portia xx

Grand Amour by Isabelle Doyen for Annick Goutal 1996

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 14 Comments

Well Hello there Fragrant Friends,

AustralianPerfumeJunkies has a long held love affair with Annick Goutal’s fragrances. They are beautiful and interesting without being confrontational or divisive. You are elegantly fragrant and perfumed, without the 1980’s strength but with a nod to the depths and intricacies that went into fragrance then. Even if you are a brand new perfumista, and for many people who will never fall down the fragrant worm hole, they are easy to love. Often it’s the Annick Goutal I reach for because they are so wearable, just add an extra spritz for evening.

Grand Amour EdT by Annick Goutal

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives the featured accords as Floral, Amber & Musk: these are further divided into :
Top: Turkish rose, lily, honeysuckle, hyacinth, fruity notes
Heart: French jasmine, lydia broom, leather, Indian mimosa
Base: Amber, vanilla, myrrh, musk

Annick Goutal’s website says: Grand Amour is the perfume of the serene passion Annick experienced with her husband, the cellist Alain Meunier, who would bring her a bouquet of white flowers every week.

Photo Stolen Annick Goutal

YUM as I spritz the first glorious waft is pure lily and fruit salad with a vegetative greenness that I attribute to the hyacinth but of course I’ve been wrong before. It is lush, ripe and crisp simultaneously and a perfect mid season scent, light enough for Spring and deep enough for Autumn. When the Turkish rose makes its entrance it seems to herald the introduction of French jasmine which does not come through as the sensual dirty ho at first but as a honeyed green sweetness pours in there are definite signs of all primness being forgotten and the rigid bun being let down. As Grand amout turns towards dry down I get a very sweet resinous musk, for some reason it doesn’t read vanilla and is definitely not gourmand, it is alluring though in a soft and calm come hither way.

I think you could wear Grand Amour by Annick Goutal in most social situations and at work as long as they aren’t fragrance phobic. You will be fragrant but not skunking unless you go spritz crazy. Go on, everyone deserves a Grand Amour.

Photo Stolen whitelibratexas

If I am intending to wear Grand Amour for any length of time I have to do a full respritz at the 2 hour mark. This self layering gives me a much greater fragrance life, depending on my movements and the weather up to 8 hours. Otherwise I’m lucky to get 4 hours.

ISmellThereforeIAm does a wonderful review for further reading.
MyPerfumeSamples start at $2/ml and does $7/5ml (What a FRICKEN BARGAIN)

So if you’re looking for a Grand Amour Annick Goutal has you all covered. You’ll smell awesome and don’t have to feed it breakfast.

The whole time I was writing this post Oh L’Amour by Erasure was playing through my head. It has the same sweet, sparkly, engaging sound as Grand Amour has fragrance. I put the video for you to enjoy. He He He.
Till tomorrow only the good stuff coming your way,
Portia xx

Un Jardin Apres La Mousson by Jean-Claude Ellena for Hermes 2008

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 30 Comments

Hello Perfume Aficionados,

There are 2 things that I quite like as a rule. Hermes, I think they are uber-luxe, and Jean-Claude Ellena who is blazing his own trail and is doing it to capture his ideal of beauty. I like his style, the way he can communicate his reasons and some of his motivations through his books and interviews, his mystique and his fragrances. Not all of them are perfect fits for my skin or personal style but I really enjoy their stories and their sheer, light quality that means my own smell is not completely masked but expanded by beauty. By the way don’t confuse sheer with poor sillage or scent bubble, you are decidedly fragrant for the life of the perfumes.

Un Jardin Apres La Mousson by Hermes

Garden After Monsoon is the translation from French and we are to be swept up into a garden at the bottom tip of India in the state called Kerala where the monsoon first arrives in India. Legend has it that if you are standing there when the monsoon arrives your sight will be restored to its former glory and there seems to be some truth to the tale. I read it in Alexander Frater’s “Following the Monsoon”. Now I really want to go back and be there for the beginning of the monsoon, not least because my eyesight is beginning to deteriorate.

Photo Stolen Hermes

Fragrantica givees these featured accords:
Ginger, ginger flower, cardamom, coriander, pepper and vetiver

Un Jardin Apres La Mousson opens wet and crisp like you’ve just cut up a fresh, cool bell pepper and put it in the blender with a very small slice of ginger and some fruit, all done near a fresh garden salad, washed and prepared but still undressed. As the cardamom and coriander show their selves they are interesting and while still cool add a skinnish depth and a citrus pith feeling. When I huff a big breath out into my top it all warms up and becomes almost overpoweringly beautiful. The vetiver is earthy and rich playing background through the life of the fragrance till near the end it has a little limelight all to itself and then the fragrance, around 3 hours on me, is gone.

Photo Stolen ibnlive.in

Not necessarily in India, but there too, I love the bright green world when the storm is rolling in. There is a heightened expectation and an electric charge running through everything. It has never stopped being exciting for me. I also love the vegetative fragrance of wet grass and humus, the spicy twang of wet leaves and flowers. When in Rajasthan there is a grassed area out the front of my buddies hotel where the family often congregates for morning and afternoon tea, it is particularly lovely after rain. Though Un Jardin Apres La Mousson smells noting like any of this it does evoke a feeling exactly like it. I feel refreshed, energised and ready to accept a new, fresh, change. Jean-Claude Ellena has an unerring instinct for making his work capture my imagination and though I think the title of this fragrance has been a clunky wall in the way of it being loved, this is my favourite of the Un Jardin series.

Photo Stolen article.wn

BoisDeJasmine and OlfatroriasTravels both get very interesting differences in their reviews, great further reading.
FragranceShop has 50ml for $44 and 100ml for $66 after discount
PoshPeasant starts samples at $3.50/ml

Below I’ve added in a 6 minute doco. of one of the palaces I’ve been lucky enough to spend some time in in Deeg, Rajasthan, India. My last longtime partner and his family had a refrigeration plant there. During the torturous, baking, Summer madness the gardens still offer a cool spot to get away. Enjoy!
Heaps of love from us,
Portia xx