Fragrance

Sapphire: the Scent by Ainslie Walker for Courtesy of the Artist 2017

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 17 Comments

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TinaG

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Hey APJ!

Perfumer and friend, the gorgeous Ainslie Walker, recently collaborated on a project by Courtesy of the Artist for their Rare Earth: Australian Made jewellery collection. Rare Earth: Australian Made is a showcase by six jewellery artists who design and display their work with precious gemstones which have been fossicked and cut in Australia. For anyone in Sydney, they have a shop in the Strand Arcade so you can view & purchase their pieces. Ainslie brings a new dimension to the project with her luminescent limited edition perfume called Sapphire: The Scent.

Sapphire: the Scent by Courtesy of the Artist 2017

Sapphire: the Scent by Ainslie Walker

Sapphire: The Scent captures the essence of the Australian bush unlike any fragrance I’ve come across. Many native Australian plants and trees naturally release aromatic volatile oils. The heat-haze from eucalypt oils can give the air a shimmering ‘blue’ appearance which, incidentally, is how the “Blue Mountains” were named.

Ainslie has carefully chosen an abundance of raw materials such as Boronia Absolute, Southern Rosalina, Kunzea and sustainable Sandalwood from Western Australia and blended them beautifully. The fragrance has a concentrated cologne style, which is focused through burst of top-note aromatics that lift and shine like the light of sapphire through the hazy majesty of the Australian natives. The effect is a rush of freshness and a feeling of the open freedom of the outdoors.

WikiMedia

On first spray of Sapphire, I am instantly transported by the eucalyptus-style notes, boronia, citrus and light woods to the Blue Mountains on a summer’s day, walking along the sandstone tracks & feeling invigorated by the smells and sounds of the bush.

After a while, my mental image has shifted to the surf beaches around Anglesea in Victoria. Here, Sapphire has a warm and slightly waxy floral, a living wood scent with a slight spiciness, and menthol undertones. We used to walk along scrubby tracks to get to the beach, brushing along Boronia and Rosalina bushes. Ainslie has even managed to capture a sweet stickiness to the woods as if a branch has been broken. The dry down of Sapphire: The Scent continues to have a gorgeous sandalwood and woody notes that are warm on my skin for ages.

Sapphire: the Scent will be available from Courtesy of the Artist in the Strand Arcade from November 16.

What three notes would you chose for a fragrance to capture “Australia”?

Till next time,
Tina G

 

(ED: All photos supplied by Ainslie Walker unless specified)

SOTD 6 – 12 November 2017

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 134 Comments

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Portia

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Hi APJ,

I see these SOTD (Scent Of The Day) threads all the time on Facebook and they are really good conversation generators.

SOTD 6 – 12 November 2017

The idea is you’ll chime in through the week with whatever scent you are wearing. You don’t need to be super knowledgable, have high faluting tastes or be a published author to comment. Just tell us what fragrance you’re wearing, smelling, buying etc.

You probably won’t have time to write every scent, every spritz but whenever you feel the mood take you share your current spritz and a few things about it. Maybe you love/loathe it, want it, are excited by the notes/bottle/SA who sold it: WHATEVER! As always here at APJ, taking sides never means taking offence and everyone keeps it respectful and light, even though we can sometimes trawl the depths.

Hopefully you will come back and see if anyone has responded to your comment and you can reply to them.

Over 100 responses I will draw a Scent Sample Pack (from my collection)
This week:
Guerlain Mitsouko EdT
Pharrell Williams Girl
The Different Company Oriental Lounge
Vintage Fendi original
Vintage YSL Opium EdT
Comment purposefully on yours or anothers comment & you’ll have a chance, random.org will draw on Sunday.

We didn’t get 100 responses last week so no winner.

 

Go To It Crew.
Portia xxx

Saturday Question: What Are Your Favourite Fragrance Styles?

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 80 Comments

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Portia

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Hello Fellow Fumies,

Every Saturday we have a Question, an idea purloined from Olfactoria’s Travels. Everyone gets to chime in with an answer, chat with other responders and it is a fun event each week. Taking sides never means taking offence and everyone keeps it respectful and light, even though we can sometimes trawl the depths.

The idea is you’ll see it on the weekend or chime in through the week. Hopefully you will come back and see if anyone has responded to your comment and you can reply to them.

Over 100 responses I will draw a $10 Surrender To Chance Gift Card.
Over 200 responses I will draw a $20 Surrender To Chance Gift Card.
Comment purposefully on yours or anothers comment & you’ll have a chance, random.org will draw on Friday.

Last Weeks Winner: Bernadette Winfield Gray

eMail me at (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with the eMail you’d like me to send your Gift Card to.

Saturday Question:

What Are Your Favourite Fragrance Styles?

There are so many styles of perfume. Floral, Aquatic, Woody, Fougere, Oriental, Citrus etc. Plus there are piggy back groups like Woody Floral Musk or Aromatic Green. I have a few groups that I particularly gravitate towards and I’m sure you do too. Let’s question our own faves today and share,

My Answer:

 

Chypre:

From the bright citrus top to the furry, bitter oakmoss/leather/patchouli depths I love Chypres. They are so understated, dark and mysterious. Interesting because they stand apart yet somehow they make me feel at ease. A dry, calm waft of reason. Try wearing a Chypre when you are wandering an art gallery, everything becomes instantly more poignant, deeper, personal.

From Le Gallon Sang Bleu, Oriza L Legrand Relique d’Amour, Bottega Veneta EdP (I thought this was a leather), Cacharel Liberté and Aedes de Venustas EdP to the historical Deneuve, Miss Dior, Aromatics Elixir, Ungaro DIVA, Guerlain Sous le Vent, Robert Piguet Bandit, Niki de Saint Phalle, Paloma Picasso and CHANEL Pour Monsieur the chypre has long been something I loved. Some of my favourite chypres end up being classified under other groups, which is bloody annoying.

 

Floral Green:

Green with the added levity of flowers. This is a broad spectrum, some of which I would put in the chypre pile. Nevertheless, Fragrantica puts them here. From the galbanum rich end and the mossy dry downs to the sweeping majesty of the floral with a hint of green. From aloof to prim, austere to pleasantly engaging they all call me. Different moods and weathers call for a different hint of whatever each fragrance holds personal in its fragrant folds.

CHANEL No 19, Jacomo Silences, Robert Piguet Futur, Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Jasminora, Byredo Green, Estee Lauder Private Collection, Naomi Goodsir Nuit de Bakelite and Nicolai Parfumeur Le Temps d’une Fête are just a few of the floral Green collection I own.

 

Oriental:

Oriental was the first real fragrant love of my life. Vanilla with resinous overtones in almost any combination and with most additives work for my psyche and my skin. You want to see me go Ga-Ga over a scent on first application, show me a new, beautiful Oriental.

Guerlain Shalimar and Oriental Brulant, Caron Bellodgia, Amouage Library Collection Opus IX, DIOR Privée Amber Nuit, Hermès L`Ambre des Merveilles, Art Collection by Jacomo #02, L’Artisan L’Eau d’Ambre, MFK Grand Soir and Huitième Art Collection Ambre Céruléen are a smattering of the bottles here in the oriental range.

My Saturday Question to you is: What Are Your Favourite Fragrance Styles?

 

 

Au Bord de L’eau by Fabrice Pellegrin for L`Artisan Perfumer 2017

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 3 Comments

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Portia

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Hi there Punsters,

Just so you know Au Bord de L’eau means “At the water’s edge”. It’s not a joke on the way it sounds when I say it, A Bordello. Or is it? That is the top of my mind now that I’ve seen the name written as a heading on my WordPress editing board. Yep, I am an 11 year old boy hiding in a 49 year old drag queens body.

It’s been interesting to see the new directions L’Artisan has forged since the Puig buyout. While not totally sold on the kooky animal head lid set I do love a couple of the new Natura Fabularis privée line, 32 Venenum and 9 Arcana Rosa. Haven’t smelled them all yet but those two were very nice.

Au Bord de L’eau by L`Artisan Perfumer 2017

Au Bord de L’eau by Fabrice Pellegrin

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Bergamot, lemon, violet, musk, orange blossom, rosemary

Sharp citrus opens, it’s tart and lip puckering at first then mellows quickly into a sweet and fizzy version of itself. Orange blossom and musk keep the journey into the heart of the fragrance smooth. Refreshing, without all the modern wet or cucumber tropes. The orange blossom is only ever so slightly breathy, mainly it is clean and suede-ishly plush. There is something of a summer storm about Au Bord de L’eau, all bright and light and then a cooling, breath of wind rushing ahead of the clouds. The fragrance cools just a little.

Au Bord de L'eau L`Artisan Parfumeur Vincent_van_Gogh_-_Landscape_from_Saint-Rémy WikiMediaWikiMedia

A green herbaceousness creeps in and makes everything interesting. It could well be rosemary but it has no rosemary smell as I know it. Certainly doesn’t speak to me of the bush or on potatoes and lamb, honestly I would be more inclined to call it a smooth basil scent but that could easily be the way everything, especially the iris, has been placed around it. No matter what it is I think you’ll find Au Bord de L’eau a very easy wear, spritz and respritz summer fave that will take you from board room to dinner date comfortably.

Au Bord de L'eau L`Artisan Parfumeur Rosemary WikiMediaWikiMedia

For a cologne style the longevity is quite good and on clothes it is tenacious.

Just to be clear, Au Bord de L’eau doesn’t smell like A Bordello at all.

Further reading: Colognoisseur and Love To Smell
Sweet Fern has $189/100ml
Surrender To Chance has samples from $3.89/ml

Are you excited by the new things Puig is doing with the L’Artisan range?
Portia xx

Khanbaliq by Enrico Buccella for Sigilli 2013

/ australianperfumejunkiescom

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Portia

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Hello lovers of Underrated Fragrances,

Somehow Sigilli has slipped through the cracks. The fragrances mainly come from the early 2000s but Khanbaliq was released in 2013, it’s the most modern offering from the house and not all of the fragrances are available on the Sigilli website anymore.

Jin and I discovered the brand in Venice on our first big holiday together. There is a maze of shops behind the Piazza San Marco and somewhere in there is an extremely well stocked little perfumery, run by two sisters. I purchased Pyrgos at that time but since have wished that I grabbed a couple of others.

Khanbaliq by Sigilli 2013

Khanbaliq by Enrico Buccella

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bitter orange, ginger, cinnamon, coriander
Heart: Cloves, plum, fir, pine tree, peony
Base: Peony, violet, ambergris

Spicy oranges and a slightly bitter chocolate smell. Pine and my nose is telling me patchouli, a breathy and earthy smelting that could be the ambergris. A weird dissonant herbaceous green and mentholated woodiness wars with the citrus and fruits. It’s an interesting fragrant contrapuntal effect. Unusual without being challenging, straight through the heart.

PDI

 

My surprise in Khanbaliq is that while projection is not enormous it is still very good at changing the smell around me. It also fills the room when I leave and return. Insidious, it seems to march off my skin and try to fragrantly populate whatever area i’m in.

A really good nod to some older fragrances. Breathy indole, some animals and a beautiful bouquet tempered by greenery. I am surprised there are no white flowers mentioned because Khanbaliq gives the feeling they are in there somewhere.  Though the nod is to vintage I feel that it may be the clarion call of a style we are about to see i the fragrant world. A return to having some ass in our fragrances.

WikiMedia

According to Wikipedia: Khanbaliq (or Dadu) was the capital of the Yuan dynasty, the main center of the Mongol Empire founded by Kublai Khan in what is now Beijing.

First In Fragrance has €95/100ml
Surrender To Chance have samples from $3.50/ml

Beach Hut Man by Elise Benat for Amouage 2017

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 9 Comments

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Portia

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Hi there Niche Nerds,

When I heard the name Beach Hut Man I laughed out loud. Not because it’s funny but because I was so surprised. The new direction that Amouage is going in is interesting. No one can say that Christopher Chong is afraid of change, experimentation or surprise. Having built up a stable of hefty, Arabic inspired, gloriously fabulous perfumes in the Amouage house he then moved to produce the Library series. They took me a while to get but others were much faster learners. Now he is bringing The Midnight Flower Collection which started with Bracken.

Beach Hut Man by Amouage 2017

Beach Hut Man by Elise Benat

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Mint, orange blossom, galbanum
Heart: Vetiver, moss, ivy
Base: Myrrh, patchouli, woody note

interesting, like a chic mint patty being eaten while sitting on the damp grass under a tree near the compost heap. There’s also a note I’m smelling quite a lot in modern niche that is woody, warm and slightly electric. It’s a funny note because it jumps over everything else for me, thank goodness I really like it. Something warm and cosy about sit yet largely space age. Maybe it’s the idea of the smell of burning sand and baking driftwood?

Beach Hut Man Amouage wreck_wood_metal_rusted_weathered_decay_beach PXHerePDI

I really like how Beach Hut Man smells. It has this electro mint thing, a green, dank, earthy space smell and this weird woody/salty/glassy smell. Interesting.

One thing it doesn’t smell is finished. There felt like no synchronicity was ever reached, no full melding and blending of the parts. It’s like they are warring factions, unresolved and unhappy to be in the same perfume. I’m no perfumer, or even a real connoisseur, but Beach Hut Man smells slightly lazy and/or amateur to me. (Ducks) It smells like a newly minted indie frag, a boundary pusher, a slap. It in no way smells like a super smooth finished product from a mass-tige brand sold in department stores. Maybe that’s why I like it so much. It’s raw, a bit rough, weird and eminently wearable.

Beach Hut Man Amouage beach pivabayPDI

Will I wear my decant? Yes, I’m so bloody intrigued that I’m taking it with me on holidays. By the time you read this I’ll probably have bought a bottle.

Further reading: Persolaise and Brooklyn Fragrance Lover
Libertine has $435/100ml FREE Australian Delivery
Surrender To Chance has samples from $4.59/0.5ml

Are you interested in trying this one?
Portia xx

Incense Rose by Andy Tauer for Tauer Perfumes 2008

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 19 Comments

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Portia

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Hiya Fragrance Lovers,

Andy Tauer was my first niche perfume buy. He holds a special place in my heart because he was a pioneer. He let us see into his process of creating fragrance via his blog and opened a whole new world of ideas. What he was creating was revolutionary. That was the early days of niche and indie perfumes. We are so spoiled by a unbelievable onslaught of newness that I think it’s important to remind you all of some historically great perfumes that may become swamped and overlooked. Incense rose is one such, I’ve had this bottle ever since Andy first brought out the 3 x 15ml Explorer Set. Not sure why I never reviewed it. Remiss.

Incense Rose by Tauer Perfumes 2008

Incense Rose by Andy Tauer

Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, Clementine, Cardamom, Wild rose
Heart: Castoreum, Orris root, Frankincense
Base: Myrrh, Patchouli, Vetiver, Texas cedar

Sweet roses and jams, a zingy, bright and slightly green opening. All the citrus cut through pretty quickly by incense and iris but that just serves two highlight the fizzy drink nature of the top notes and ground them. For something that smells so strong initially Incense rose is remarkably diffuse smelling too. It’s huge but not overpowering or ferocious, more like a big friendly but well behaved dog.

06 Incense Rose Tauer Perfumes Incense_coils WikiMediaPDI

 

As the wood slides in under the rosy animalic incense, it seems to dry Incense Rose out. This is my favourite part of the fragrance. Still lightly sweet florals with a hint of urinous but now it’s contained in a box. I get mental images of wooden walled saunas.

Longevity is excellent and for the first hour or so the scent is quite large, then it dips back to a soft focus blur of scent. Still sweet rosy but now much attenuated and it’s incense with the upper hand and grassy woods.

06 Incense Rose Tauer Perfumes Incense_coils WikiMediaWikiMedia

Further reading: Olfactoria’s Travels and I Smell Therefore I Am
Men’s Biz has $209/50ml
Surrender To Chance has samples from $4/0.5ml

What is your Tauer of preference?
Portia xx

SOTD 30 October – 5 November 2017

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 91 Comments

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Portia

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Hi APJ,

I see these SOTD (Scent Of The Day) threads all the time on Facebook and they are really good conversation generators.

SOTD 30 October – 5 November 2017

The idea is you’ll chime in through the week with whatever scent you are wearing. You don’t need to be super knowledgable, have high faluting tastes or be a published author to comment. Just tell us what fragrance you’re wearing, smelling, buying etc.

You probably won’t have time to write every scent, every spritz but whenever you feel the mood take you share your current spritz and a few things about it. Maybe you love/loathe it, want it, are excited by the notes/bottle/SA who sold it: WHATEVER! As always here at APJ, taking sides never means taking offence and everyone keeps it respectful and light, even though we can sometimes trawl the depths.

Hopefully you will come back and see if anyone has responded to your comment and you can reply to them.

Over 100 responses I will draw a Scent Sample Pack (from my collection)
This week:
Guerlain Mitsouko EdT
Pharrell Williams Girl
The Different Company Oriental Lounge
Vintage Fendi original
Vintage YSL Opium EdT
Comment purposefully on yours or anothers comment & you’ll have a chance, random.org will draw on Sunday.

 

Go To It Crew.
Portia xxx

WINNER SOTD 23-29 October 2017

/ australianperfumejunkiescom

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Portia

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Hey there APJ,

Wonderful SOTDs, what excellent variety we all wear and love.

Thank you all for getting involved and being a part of the APJ Frag Family.

SOTD 23-29 October 2017 WINNER

Over 100 responses I will draw a Scent Sample Pack (from my collection)
This week:
Bal a Versailles parfum
Eau d’Italie Morn to Dusk
Guerlain L’Heure de Nuit
Neela Vermeire Creations Pichola
Vintage DIOR Miss Dior EdC
Comment purposefully on yours or anothers comment & you’ll have a chance, random.org will draw on Sunday.

WINNER: Sue Mills

eMail me at (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with your address please

Saturday Question: Serge Lutens, Guerlain or Amouage?

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 101 Comments

.

Portia

.

Hello Fellow Fumies,

Every Saturday we have a Question, an idea purloined from Olfactoria’s Travels. Everyone gets to chime in with an answer, chat with other responders and it is a fun event each week. Taking sides never means taking offence and everyone keeps it respectful and light, even though we can sometimes trawl the depths.

The idea is you’ll see it on the weekend or chime in through the week. Hopefully you will come back and see if anyone has responded to your comment and you can reply to them.

Over 100 responses I will draw a $10 Surrender To Chance Gift Card.
Over 200 responses I will draw a $20 Surrender To Chance Gift Card.
Comment purposefully on yours or anothers comment & you’ll have a chance, random.org will draw on Friday.

Last Weeks Winner: Only 74 Responses

eMail me at (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with the eMail you’d like me to send your Gift Card to.

 

Saturday Question: Serge Lutens, Guerlain or Amouage?

Three of the most revered houses in the Mass-tige line up. Most large department stores have a pretty good line up of all of them with a counter to themselves. Most perfumistas have a couple or a few from each of these houses and almost all of us lament the dumbing down of their products. They all have though inspired, frightened, delighted and made us question ourselves at different times in our journey.

This answer is just for today. You can change your mind at many time and no one will think twice about it. We are perfumistas, the most mercurial herd on earth.

Serge Lutens was the defining change for many perfumistas. The perfumes that really took us and shook use by the neck. Fragrances that changed the way the world smells perfume and one of the earliest radical niche brands. This awesome collection creative directed by one of perfumes most mythical creatures, Serge Lutens himself.

Guerlain has the history and though now owned by LVMH have the longest lineage. They also have some of the best stories focused around their products. Marketing jargon that has now become indelibly linked to out psyches and the way we smell the scents. The story of the Guerlain perfumers as interesting as the products.

Amouage also has a stellar history. The King of Oman wanting his country to again be the centre of the world for the best smelling perfumes, known for exquisite ingredients and a Middle Eastern/Asian focus that had only been dabbled in before. Suddenly the East, the real scents of the East, were being made available to the wealthy and perfumistas the world over.

My Answer:

Today I choose Guerlain. It has been with me since my Mum and some of her friends wore Shalimar in my childhood. The first perfume I bought her was Samsara.
My own deep love for Shalimar, Mitsouko, L’Heure Bleu and even many of the newer releases like Paris to Moscow, Mahora, AA Lys Soleia, Champs Elysees, Vega, Terracotta and even the current Mon Guerlain.
If I had to choose only one fragrance house it would probably be Guerlain but PLEASE don’t make me.

My Saturday Question to you is: Serge Lutens, Guerlain or Amouage and Why?