NEW!! Sakura by DIOR Privé 2017

August 4, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 20 Comments

Portia

Hey Crew,

Just arrived in my hands is one of DIOR’s newest set of releases. Apparently they are available in the Paris store so far and maybe NYC but they still don’t even know about them in the Sydney DIOR store, but were really excited by the news. It’s all so new that aren’t even up on fragrantica or parfumo yet, so no notes lists. So today’s post is mainly guesswork. We can all have a laugh when the lists are revealed.

Sakura by DIOR Privé 2017

The only two notes I can find are on baseNotes and they are Cherry Blossom and Almond. As sakura means cherry blossoms that makes sense.

Cherry and greenery open. A wet, sheer, delicate fragrance that has an interesting warmth underneath the cool fruit and frosty cool morning feel. Like going out to get the newspaper on a frosty weekend morning in your warm tracksuit, Uggs and robe. Though it’s cold you are kept warm by your prior internal heat from being in the house. Why a weekend? Sakura feels like there is time, no rush, a calm embrace to the day. Maybe you have already made your morning tea and while you get the paper it’s steeping. There is also a tea feel, dry tea leaves and the dry ache at the back of your throat when drinking it.

Sakura by DIOR Privé 2017 cherry blossom watercolour pixabay PDI

The almond is a constant base where all the lighter, wetter and more colourful notes can float around but remain anchored. You know after you’ve had a biscotti and tea? There is a curious taste that follows these together, it’s a happy and comfortable taste. Sakura has moments of smelling like that taste. I think there is vetiver and maybe sandalwood but the creaminess could be ylang.

I would more have expected this style of scent to come from L’Occitane than DIOR but it’s smooth, unrumpled, comfortable elegance does also put me in mind of DIOR post Raf Simons and into the Maria Grazia Chiuri era. It’s pretty and effortless, a softly shimmering scent that will be perfect for the modern day fragrance wearer. Not incredible or ground breaking, in fact quite derivative of what we’ve smelled before but done in a luxurious way. Closer to Hermès that DIOR.

Are you excited by the prospect?
Portia xx

Lutens, Mugler, Penhaligon’s GIVEAWAY WINNERS

August 4, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Portia

Hey Crew,

Thanks for getting i9nvolved this week. SORRY I’m late with the draw. It’s been bloody hectic around here.
Portia xx

Lutens, Mugler, Penhaligon’s GIVEAWAY WINNERS

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 3 winners who will receive:
2 x Carded Samples from the above, not matching (NO you don’t get to choose)
There will also be some interesting extras
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Wednesday 2nd August 2017 10pm Australian EdsT
Winners were chosen by random.org

David Hallinan

Lena

Katherine M

The winners will have till Wednesday 9th August 2017 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit

Savoy Steam by Juliette Karagueuzoglou for Penhaligon`s 2017

August 2, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 11 Comments

Ainslie Walker of Scentsmith

Hello Australian Perfume Junkies!

It has been a while since I have written a piece for you and I hope you’re all fragrant and well.

Last week I attended the Australian launch of Savoy Steam by Penhaligon’s at Sydney’s Langham Hotel. Hosted by Penhaligon’s Australian distributers, Agence de Parfums, it was a beautiful breakfast event with a fitting quaint English feel. There were plenty of familiar faces and I was lucky to be sitting on Michael Edwards of Fragrances of the World’s table. (NB Hot gossip from his world is that at the end of this year he will be moving back to Sydney permanently, yippee!!)

We shared homemade pastries and teacakes over tea and coffees in a ‘high tea’ style. Tables were set gorgeously with personalised calligraphy placards. The venue was in keeping with the colours of the fragrances packaging, in particular the bow on the bottles – beige and blue. The packaging is a nod to the early Turkish bathhouses popular in London from the early 20th century. Blue and beige like the traditional cloths and towels used even now. The box is simplistic yet head turning, wrapped in textured linen, it’s lovely and textured in the hand.

Michael Edwards introduced the brand and it’s long history before Michael, trainer from Agence de Parfums introduced the fragrance – drumroll: Savoy Steam!

Savoy Steam by Penhaligon`s 2017

Savoy Steam by Juliette Karagueuzoglou

Savoy Steam Penhaligon`s fragrantica Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, lemon, eucalyptus, mint, pink pepper, rosemary
Heart: Rose, geranium, cardamom, hedione, tea
Base: Benzoin, incense, vanilla, white musk

The fragrance celebrates the very first fragrance in Penhaligon’s portfolio, Hammam Bouquet from 1872. Also, as evident by the name, the scent honours the Savoy Hotel an iconic London Establishment.

If I’m honest, on arrival I expected an old fashioned barbershop scent and nothing more. I worked for years in the men’s grooming industry in London, so believe me I have smelt a few of these!! However in more ways than one, I ate my hat!! Dubbed “gender neutral” in the press release I also found the scent very much ‘on the fence.’ On paper I initially smelt rosemary – aromatic. However on skin, quite, quite different. I quickly understood a focus on the sweeter aspect of rosemary as being in the spotlight. Spiciness, described in the notes as pink pepper also to me has a cardamom like freshness. Geranium in combination makes for a rosy heart.

On my skin the fragrance remains quite sweet but spiciness lingers somewhere…incense like a faint Come des garcons Avignon – tart, bright frankincense and still huffs of sweetness. There is a juicy, wet feel to the beginning of Savoy Steam. I can imagine steam on cement. Nothing though is barbershop or old fashioned. A very nice and modern easy wear. Gentle and slightly feminine in its sweetness. If either of my grandfathers were still alive I would gift them my bottle. Not at all because it’s old fashioned, just because its gentle and sweet like they were – I think this fragrance would be absolutely lovely on a more mature gents skin, a silver fox of sorts…someone like softly spoken but majestic David Attenborough. He could wear it out to dinner.

Further reading: Scented Salamander
Libertine Parfumerie has $279/100ml

It makes me wonder what else I feel works for this age group…Do you have any favourite fragrances for folk over 60? What works, what doesn’t and why? Are fragrances ageist?

Until next time,
Ainslie XX

(Ed: All photos by Ainslie Walker unless specified. Beautiful Ainslie XXXX)

Philippe Starck Fragrances 2016

August 1, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

Greg Young from AusScents.

Hi APJ,

Last year, designer Philippe Starck ventured into the fragrance world with three perfumes. In keeping with Starck’s minimalist design philosophy, these scents are very subtle and stick close to the skin. There is some playing with preconceptions about what a gender-specific fragrance should be like; the female fragrance morphs into something more masculine, and vice versa. And it simply would not be Starck without some unusual twists on “normal” design.

Starck Parfums

Philippe Starck Fragrances

From Silk to Rock

Fragrantica

Peau de Soie by Dominique Ropion for Philippe Starck 2016

Skin of Silk. The most feminine fragrance in the range, Peau de Soie is as silky-smooth as the name implies. It’s a very soft, powdery scent. Peau de Soie opens with unobtrusive woody notes and then develops a mild floral note reminiscent of iris and a candy-like musk. On my skin this lasted about half the day, but it had almost zero projection. One needs to sniff one’s wrist closely to enjoy it.

Fragrantica

Peau d`Ailleurs by Annick Menardo for Philippe Starck 2016

Skin from Elsewhere. Yes, well this is very well-named in a sense, because it has notes that I’ve never encountered in a fragrance before. It opens earthy, with a green, vegetal whiff to it. A few close sniffs revealed an aroma of freshly cut beetroot which, once identified, became inescapable.

After a while, a transition away from earthiness begins and we get a faint lemony smell followed by musk and a little bit of wood. This also lasted about half a day on my skin.

Is beetroot a thing? Not according to the Fragrantica database. Nevertheless, I found myself quite liking this very different take on an earthy scent. I could easily see this one polarising sniffers; it’s a brave attempt from a designer renowned for his original thinking.

Fragrantica

Peau de Pierre by Daphne Bugey for Philippe Starck 2016

Skin of Stone. This one represents the end of a journey from silky lightness through an indefinable greenness down to earth and woods. There is a trace of sharp citrus on the first spray with a green note that I thought might be galbanum. A dominant cedary smell takes over, with a smoky aura about it. It comes across a little bit soapy at times, so I don’t think it quite fulfils the promise of its name, but it is probably my favourite of the three. It lasted a bit less than the others; maybe about 6 hours.

The subtlety of these scents means that individual notes rarely dominate; they are designed to be appreciated as a melange of their various parts. They all last a good long time on skin and are ideal if you’re wearing a fragrance solely to please yourself, or in an intimate encounter. If you’re up for something a bit different, the Starck range may be for you.

These reviews were based on samples given to me by Marco at Mason’s Menswear Boutique in Flinders Lane which is, I believe, the sole Australian outlet for the Starck line. (Ed: These guys have only been open for 13 weeks and are already generating a lot of media interest. We will watch with interest! They were super friendly on the phone today)

Greg XX

Lutens, Mugler, Penhaligon’s

July 31, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 31 Comments

Portia

Hey Crew,

I’m drowning in samples here. It’s getting out of hand so I’ve decided this week to put a few samples in the giveaway. They’re all carded manufacturers samples. Good luck.

Lutens, Mugler, Penhaligon’s

Serge Lutens: Arabie and Cedre

These samples were given to me on my 2013 first visit to the Serge Lutens Palais Royale store in Paris. I was so overwhelmed at even being there I didn’t notice that the SA was giving me samples for bottles already in my collection. They have sat forlorn and untouched since. It’s time to move them on.

Thierry Mugler: Alien and Angel

While buying Mon Guerlain, A*Men Kryptomint and something for Jin in Luxembourg earlier this year, as we were leaving to catch the train, I was given a bag of samples by the SA which was full of wonderful stuff. I have bottles of both of these though and they really need a new home. Bugler has done some really excellent scents, these two are just the beginning.

Penhaligon’s: Clandestine Clara and Roaring Radcliff

I love the stories that came with this set of fragrances, go look them up. Hilarious and naughty. The quirky (and extremely heavy) brass heads are fun too. I had longevity issues with these but hopefully they will hold to your skin better than mine because the scents are very nice.

Lutens, Mugler, Penhaligon’s GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

HOW DO YOU WIN?

Open to everyone worldwide who follows AustralianPerfumeJunkies via eMail, WordPress, Bloglovin or RSS. Please leave how you follow in the comments to be eligible. I must be able to check that you follow so if you have an email address on your gravatar that’s different to your follow address then please email me so I know. Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged.

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please tell us which of these you would most like to try

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Wednesday 2nd August 2017 10pm Australian EdsT and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Wednesday 9th August 2017 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit

Calligraphy Rose by Trudi Loren for Aramis 2013

July 28, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 18 Comments

Portia

Hey APJ,

I remember wanting this trilogy so bad when they came out but somehow they never made it into the final buy. Recently a friend sent me a large sample in with a bottle I bought and I thought it might be fun to take a look at it now after four more years to see if it’s still on the list. Especially now that the discounters have it for a song.

Calligraphy Rose by Aramis 2013

Calligraphy Rose by Trudi Loren

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Oregano, saffron, honeysuckle
Heart: Turkish rose, myrrh, styrax, lavender
Base: Labdanum, musk, ambergris, olibanum

The opening of Calligraphy rose is very much like Turkish Delight. A soft rosewater jelly rolled in sugar, beautiful. This impression doesn’t last very long before the fragrance turns very rose, a clean, green, dry, tea rose. It’s sweet but not sickly, the perfect balance. Sheer but fragrant and not something you’d expect from the mass market. It also tackles the Middle East in a very soft and gentle manner without any of the usual hyper-masculine oud and woods attached to the rose.

Flickr

In Calligraphy Rose the resins and rose join seamlessly and the humanity is very clean. I’m imagining, from my zero experience of such things other than through literature and TV, this is what a freshly washed woman in the harem or zenana would smell like. It’s a hairless fleshiness, overlaid with spicy resins and rosewater. A cool sensuality that I would love to smell on a man. On the average Aussie guy Calligraphy Rose would be totally unexpected and a delightful surprise. Also, thinking of the hours of work and the way fragrance melds with the bodies own fragrant offerings it would add dimensions undreamed of.

Calligraphy Rose Aramis Senior_wives_chaupar_1790 WikiCommons WikiCommons

Like most Aramis scents the longevity is excellent and projection very good for the first few hours. I wish more men smelled like this.

Further reading: Australian Perfume Junkies and Persolaise
FragranceNet has around $50/100ml

Did you try or buy this one?
Portia xx

Woodcut by Ellen Covey for Olympic Orchids 2014

July 27, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 16 Comments

Portia

Hello Indie Frag Heads,

This was the Winner of the 2015 Art and Olfaction Award in the artisan category. How has it passed me by? Heard, as a huge fan of Ellen’s work to not know this. I find her ability to create magnificent, multifaceted fragrance with depth and luster second to none. If you have only ever smelled designer and niche fragrance then Olympic Orchids is a horse of a different colour. Your nose will be surprised.

OK, I’ve found why I never got to Woodcut. Azar wrote very early on about it here on Australian Perfume Junkies. Now if one of the team gets to a frag first that usually means I can go smell something else in my ever expending pile of unsniffed fragrance so sometimes, even with a favourite perfumer, I gratefully let that one slide. Anyway, I recently bought this sample and WOW!

Woodcut by Olympic Orchids 2014

Woodcut by Ellen Covey

Olympic Orchids

Olympic Orchids gives these featured accords:
Fractional distillations of pine and cedar, oakwood absolute, tolu balsam, olibanum, caramel, burnt sugar, vanilla

Eating chocolate by the woodpile, maybe making chocolates in a wood kitchen, I am smiling from ear to ear. The wood is SO REAL and the hint of chocolate is making my tummy grumble for some. Soon the smell of charred wood or blown out matches joins the fray and that heavenly overlay of caramel keeps everything sweet. Maple syrup sweet rather than fairy floss. BOY this is good stuff, no surprise that it won the Art & Olfaction Award.

PDI

Sweet, warm and resinous woods. My friend TinaG said, “Hello snuggily winter days”. She’s right. It is a perfect winter fit but I also bet it would be refreshing in the heat of summer too.

Further reading: Fragrance Daily and Australian Perfume Junkies
Olympic Orchids has a 5ml Travel Spray for only $18

Do you ever try the Indie Perfume makers? Which is a favourite?
Portia xx

Maison Francis Kurkdjian Samples GIVEAWAY WINNER

July 27, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

Portia

WOO HOO APJ,

This one was a good one. Thanks to Maison Francis Kurkdjian for sending extras in my pack.
Portia xx

Maison Francis Kurkdjian Samples GIVEAWAY WINNER

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 1 winner who will receive:
1 x MFK 745 carded manufacturers sample
1 x MFK Oud carded manufacturers sample
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Wednesday 26th July 2017 10pm Australian EdsT
Winner was chosen by random.org

Sue Mills

The winners will have till Wednesday 2nd August 2017 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit

Figment Woman by Dorothée Piot, Karine Vinchon-Spehner for Amouage 2017

July 26, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 9 Comments

Erica Golding

Hi everyone! I hope you are having the most gorgeous day.

As for myself, I’m enjoying yet another knock-me-over-with-a-feather moment thanks to an aromatic marvel. However, the magic of this perfume is not from drama and fireworks and bombastic notes; rather, its spell is cast by subtly enhancing a popular floral absolute just enough to launch it into the night sky.

Tuberose.

Now, I know you may be thinking that this beloved blossom has graced an infinite range of fragrances, and who needs yet another Tuberose when you’ve got Fracas and Carnal Flower and La Chasse Aux Papillons?

Trust me, you’re going to want to get your nose on the just-released:

Figment Woman by Amouage 2017

Figment Woman by Dorothée Piot and Karine Vinchon-Spehner

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Sichuan pepper, saffron, gardenia
Heart: Tuberose, jasmine, orange blossom, lily, ylang-ylang, cassia bourbon
Base: Orris, papyrus, incense, patchouli

I was skeptical when I lifted the cap from my decant and inhaled a first impression. Instantaneously, all that registered with me was a pleasant tuberose note that, although pretty, was not piquing my interest. I placed the little glass vial on my nightstand and almost forgot about it, except for the fact that the warm spring breeze drifting through my window began to carry wafts of an enchanting scent, beckoning for my attention. It didn’t take long for me to realize that this beauty deserved skin time, immediately!

Figment Woman Amouage old-window-distressed PublicDomainPictures PDI

How does it smell?
Wet on the skin, jasmine slinks seductively, sexy and sultry. Orange blossom kisses the top of the fragrance with an effortless freshness, softly cheerful. The tuberose in the heart is of exceptional quality. This is genuine high grade absolute, delicate yet intense, a sweetness that flirts with the edge of imbalance but never tips the scales.
At the base of the fragrance, I sense a whisper of oakmoss amongst the rich yet very quiet and subtle resins. The bottom of this composition is understated. I don’t explicitly pick up on patchouli or incense as components of Figment Woman, they accent the aroma with exquisite grace and moderation.

Amouage Figment Woman is a lovely, attractive perfume that is perfectly pleasant for office/daytime wear, while also exhibiting magnetic properties making it a lovely choice for a hot summer night. I would wear it whenever, wherever, truly! It probably sings a little better in warmer weather but honestly it’s just so damn pretty that I can’t imagine it matters very much.

Figment Woman Amouage doll Ventus17 Pixabay PDI

Vanille Exquise by Isabelle Doyen and Camille Goutal for Annick Goutal 2004

July 25, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 21 Comments

Val the Cookie Queen

Summer Greetings APJ

“I Am A Snotty Perfumista Blog Post”

You would think that I would have enough of vanilla at work and actually I do. I buy 18 litres every couple of years. It breaks the bank but I need it. I have heard that some people dab vanilla extract onto their skin. I do not. Also never had any desire for a straight up vanilla perfume.

Vanessa from Bonkers About Perfume gave me a large decant of Annick Goutal`s Songes EdT recently. Having somehow by passed Annick Goutal in my perfume passion I was totally smitten by it. Then as most perfumistas do jumped online to read all about it. I saw that there was also a EdP of Songes and next trip to Linz had me dropping in for a spritz. Except they didn´t have it. I instead grabbed the tester of Vanille Exquise EdT and gave myself a good soaking. I went back to the shop another two times to repeat the process.

Readers, I bought a bottle.

Vanille Exquise by Annick Goutal 2004

Vanille Exquise by Isabelle Doyen and Camille Goutal

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Angelica, almond, vanilla, musk, sandalwood, guaiac wood.

The best thing is that it’s an EdT that I can soak myself with. Unlike many who have problems with their frags lasting more than a couple of hours, my skin is nuclear. I think this is the first perfume I can really spray to death. It still lasts hours but I can wear a ton with no fear of asphyxiation.

Although it wears fairly close to the skin it leaves a delightful trail. Semi-sweet, warm, soft and enhances my cookie smelling natural self. Hahahahahahaha. It´s aromatic, comforting, but it´s elegant too. It´s not a cake vanilla, nor a childlike vanilla. Absolutely gorgeous in the hot weather. There does seem to be slight pepperiness to it. The whole perfume is light yet persistent. It just smells so damn good. I reckon it´s worth a try even if you think you don´t like vanilla. But what do I know?

I totally shocked myself buying this. Ridiculous huh? It feels like the odd one out in my collection. Which is really just absolutely head up-my-back-side snotty perfumista behaviour and I am ashamed. Anyone else out there find themselves loving something they they think they shouldn´t?

Vanille Exquise Annick Goutal Val July 2017

Further reading: Now Smell This and I Smell Therefore I Am
David Jones Australia has $158/100ml EdT (FREE Australian Delivery)
Surrender To Chance have samples starting from $3/ml

Little fluffy cloud bussis
CQ