Santal Massoïa by Jean-Claude Ellena for Hermès 2011

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Post by Liam

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There is no secret that I dislike gourmand perfumes: I can’t stand them! But, there’s another side of myself that secretly adores the sort of gourmand that doesn’t make itself out to be one. Shalimar and L’Heure Bleue are considered gourmands to an extent, but perhaps because whilst they themselves are totally and utterly edible perfumes (Shalimar oscillates beautifully between incense oriental and vanilla dessert amazingly), they do not actively come across as perfumes designed to be eaten. This is where my distinction is drawn. I am a gourmand loving anti-gourmand fan, who happens to love vanillas, chocolatey patchouli and milky woods when they don’t market themselves as edible.

Santal Massoïa by Jean-Claude Ellena for Hermès 2011

Hermessence Santal Massoïa Hermes FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords: in one line:
Massoïa wood resin from New Guinea, coconut, peach, butterscotch, sandalwood, milk sweets, dried fruits

Jean-Claude Ellena (my favourite perfumer) has treated Santal Massoïa as a meditation on the characteristics of wood notes in perfume. ““There are linear, vertical woods like cedar, and others that are horizontal, round, supple and velvet-smooth, such as sandalwood and massoïa”. Ellena grapples the curvaceous facets of sandalwood and massoïa, and bolsters it to intensify comfort, like an embrace or a soft blanket. Gone are the vertical conventions of wood found often in masculine scents, as Santal Massoïa has been scrubbed down to reveal a genderless woods fragrance, with its apparent lightness an overall illusion.

The result then is a creamy creation, round and indirectly delicious, pushing Ellena’s trademark minimalism to the very edge, described by Chandler Burr as: “maximal minimalism”. Massoïa wood and sandalwood maintain inherent lactic qualities, cradled gently in a bath of warm milk and carmel. To add complexity, Ellena adds an additional dimension of florals and fruits, taking indolic creamy white florals (jasmine, and perhaps tuberose stripped of its carnal severity) with moreish fruits, such as apricots and the sweet skin of green figs. Together, this creates an encompassing impression of coconut and dulce de leche (custard), again, this is warm, decadent and skin-like. A sort of luminism with a clear depiction of calm, and a natural stillness creating beauty.

Hermessence Santal Massoïa Hermes calm UnSplash PixabayPhoto Stolen Pixabay

The sandalwood here is assertive and importantly doesn’t smell synthetic, opening with a tropical humid quality that at certain angles appears wet and nutty, with a tame oiliness. Thus, there are pleasantly pungent aromatic hits from time to time, which is nasally very pleasing and thankfully breaks the wooded monotony. Inviting yet distant, Santal Massoïa trails away with frothy lactic notes and a green fruitiness, but always pulls back into familiarity with gourmand impressions of creamy desserts and scintillating florals.

This fragrance becomes a very elegant second skin that moulds with the wearer and additionally with the seasons. It smells clean and inviting, with it smelling dense in nature but not heavy. I wear this for quiet periods and nervous moments, as I closely project a welcoming and warm presence.

Hermessence Santal Massoïa Hermes Tree Clours PhotoPhilDe FlickrPhoto Stolen Flickr

Further reading: Olfactoria’s Travels and Non Blonde
Hermès stores stock the Hermèssence range exclusively
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $4/.5ml

What’s your second skin fragrance?

-Liam

Hermès – Voyage en Ikat: Mini Movie

Hi All,

Hermès, even the name conjures images of wealth and luxury. Now the designers at Hermès bring us a beautiful tablewear set inspired by the ancient art of Ikat.

Hermès - Voyage en Ikat porcelain tablewear HermesPhoto Stolen Hermès

From Hermès: Inspired by ikat, an exceptional weaving and dyeing technique originating in Asia, Voyage en Ikat celebrates intermingled uses and an ongoing dialogue between East and West. More than twenty hues centered on sapphire, ruby and emerald, are enhanced by 24-carat matte gold and come to life in designs composed ‘thread by thread’.

I hope you enjoy the under 2 minute mini movie of the Hermès inspirations for their new porcelain,

Portia xx

Hermès – Voyage en Ikat

Vétiver Tonka by Jean Claude Ellena for Hermès 2004

Heya APJ Frag Family,

You might remember that I bought an Hermès 4 x 15ml Travel Set while on holidays. Vetiver is one of my favourite notes, not just for its amazingly versatile scent profile but also because the grass is so useful in many different ways, anyway here is one of the clever ways Jean-Claude Ellena sees vetiver.

Vétiver Tonka by Jean Claude Ellena for Hermès 2004

Vetiver Tonka Hermes FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords in one line:
Hazelnut, Lily-of-the-valley, Praliné, Sandalwood, Tobacco, Tonka bean, Vetiver

I really enjoy the melange that Vétiver Tonka offers up while still wet on your skin; it’s like the whole note list wants to meet you all at once. In the first 10 seconds I smell quite distinctly the austere, dry yet fresh greenness of vetiver, the sweetness of sugared lollies and nutty sweets, creamy sandalwood and a whisper of the dewy fresh prim white floral that is lily of the valley. They all pop out in succession as if you are meeting them on a conveyor belt.

Then something interesting happens on my skin, at about the two minute mark they all decide it’s time to get friendly and create a fragrance. The beautiful slightly salty, little bit bitter green smoky dryness of vetiver is front and center but everything else then becomes a fragrant cushion that surrounds and bolsters the star.

vertiver-tonka HermesPhoto Stolen Hermès

As we go further into the heart of Vétiver Tonka the sweetness starts to really shine through. A lovely shiny patina of creamy caramel with the slightly dry bite of nuts waltz through and around the vetiver creating some very interesting fragrant formations that keep my nose fresh to the scent and my wrist lifted permanently in front of my face. Thank goodness I’m home and not out, it would be embarrassing.

It’s interesting wearing Vétiver Tonka to review rather than as my scent of the day. I am much more able to detect subtle differences in its moods, during a regular wear I get occasional wafts of sweet creamy woods that make me smile through the day but in my room on close inspection the heart is caramelised and smoky, the nuttiness shines through more too. A sweet dryness prevails to the end, very elegant and totally unisex.

Longevity is really good most days but some days I spray on Vétiver Tonka and it seems to disappear before the two hour mark. No I can’t work out why, there seems to be no defining circumstances but I have only worn a 3ml sample in the past and now this is my fourth wear since buying my 15ml four pack.

Vetiver Tonka Hermes Bamboo_forest WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

Further reading: What Men Should Smell Like and Olfactoria’s Travels
Hermessence are available only in Hermès stores or onlineSurrender To Chance has samples starting at $4/.5ml

How do you like your vetiver? Dry and stark or warm and delicious?
Portia xx

 

Top 10 Spring/Autumn Fragrances 2015 Perfume Reviews

Hello Gorgeous APJ Family,

It’s Top 10 Spring/Autumn Fragrances time again, my favourite seasons are Autumn and Spring, the mid seasons. I love that in both these seasons the weather can be remarkably similar, sunny and warm on one day, freezing or blustery on another, nights are cool to cold and so the overall wearings are quite similar. These fragrances are on my desk and within easy spritz reach and they only stay on the desk while they are getting regular spritz time, if they’ve been sitting there for more than a few days without attention they go back in the cupboard.

Top 10 Spring:Autumn Fragrances mrhayata FlickrPhoto Stolen Flickr

Top 10 Spring:Autumn Fragrances PixabayPhoto Stolen Pixabay

Top 10 Spring/Autumn Fragrances 2015 Perfume Reviews

Futur* – Robert Piguet: The ungreenest green ever. Sappy, sweet, green and extremely wearable all year round. Futur has been out of the cupboard and on my skin quite a bit lately and it fits any occasion.

Liberte* – Cacharel: A screaming, sizzling, BarBQ’d orange that is so sugary and ends up in a vanilla/patchouli/orange finale. I’ve loved it for years and now that it seems to be discontinued I’ve had to grab a couple of back up bottles.

Shalimar EdP* + Parfum – Guerlain: My old faithful. Shalimar fits every season, every mood and every event. From it’s citrus gelato opening to the resinous, vanilla and leather dry down I love Shalimar through and through. If I had to pick a fragrance to be my one and only Shalimar would be it.

CHANEL No 22: Yes, it’s the modern EdT. I bought it in NYC on our trip and that aldehydic zwoosh is too fabulous for words. Lasts all day, smells incredible and I feel like a million dollars from spritz to shower.

Mitzah – DIOR Prive: For those cooler nights Mitzah. Sweet, spicy, animal roses that feel like they have a whisper of oud in with the patchouli. Warm and sensual but cool enough to wear all year.

Neroli & Orchidee – L’Occitane: Another great L’Occitane cheap and cheerful fragrance! Spring has definitely sprung. I have been loving it sick but the final stamp of approval was given by Willa Zheng on Friday, she totally agrees and I trust her nose completely.

Niki de Saint Phalle: I can’t stop spritzing this glamorous green. Bright, fun and energetic. Niki de Saint Phalle is take charge with a twinkle in your eye. I think it’s the mint in the opening contrasting with the fruit and galbanum, gets me every time.

Nirvana Black by Elizabeth & James: Warm sandalwoodsy vanilla. Great price, excellent packaging. Wear this shit everywhere.

Pichola – Neela Vermeire Creations: The softest, most complex and wonderful tuberose. Surrounded by other notes and accords but it is the tuberose, sheer and clean, shorn of all its intimate, breathy and shitty bits we are left with the clearest, green herbs and spice overlaid tuberose. Beautiful, wearable and a complete divergence for the line while maintaining so many of the things I love.

Un Jardin Apres la Mousson by Hermes: That thick oily, wet, sweet, herbaceous freak of a fragrance. I find it addictive and love to lose myself in its heavy sheer wafts.

There are my current mid-season Top 10. They will probably be changed by next week but right now these ten fragrances are getting good skin time and working extremely well in the changeable conditions that the mid-seasons hand us.

What are you wearing right now? Give me a Top 3 if you’ve got one…..

Loads of love to you all, wherever and in what ever weather,
Portia x

The roses of Heliogabalus oil on canvas 132.7 x 214.4 cmPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

* Second year in the Top 10

Eau d`Orange Verte by Jean-Claude Ellena for Hermès 2009

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Post by Trésor

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I am a self professed cologne hater, I hate colognes…or at least that’s what I like to tell myself. “I am HARDCORE” I say, convincing myself that the only potions I care to anoint myself with are those so dense with utter depth and debaucherous subversion that they practically have fangs. This is all, of course, an incredible delusion because the truth of the matter is that of all the fragrances I own it tends to be the bottles of eau de cologne that I find myself emptying first. I’ve had my fair share of undisclosed affairs with an eau de cologne, a splash of Eau Sauvage here and a another of Eau de Coq there but there is one I return to each and every time: Eau d’Orange Verte from Hermès. A true study in how a fragrance can be so much more than just the sum of its parts.

Eau d`Orange Verte by Jean-Claude Ellena for Hermès 2009

Eau d`Orange Verte Hermes FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Amalfi lemon, orange, mandarin, cassis, mint, patchouli, oakmoss

Eau d’Orange Verte opens with the most extraordinarily effulgent lightshow of photorealistic orange, so vivid in its juicy titian hue that you are left with the visceral impression of smelling a orange that has just been cut in half. I find this to be at the same time both inimitably refreshing and also a gentle act of hypnotism, leaving you entranced and transported into a dimension of glorious and gleaming sunbeams. It’s a powerful experience, mores than in any eau de cologne I have experienced.

There is an assertiveness and charisma in how Eau d’Orange Verte takes charge of your senses in its incipience but also a confident and effortless elegance. You wouldn’t imagine an orange to be the most particularly sexy note, but there is something I find so terribly seductive about this interplay of power and geniality. As the verdancy of the orange begins to diffuse the composition draws itself closer to the skin and the incredible sparkling radiance of the opening becomes a gleaming aurora of mandarin inflected with a delicate whisper velvet jasmine petals, not petals of a present reality but the tendrils of aroma encapsulated within a precious memory; blurry and fleeting but deeply beautiful.

Eau d'Orange VertePhoto Donated Trésor

The dry down of Eau d’Orange Verte is one of silken emerald moss and the most graceful kiss of delicate patchouli, a chypre hologram; the traditional density stripped away but the spirit remaining in breathtaking entirety. It’s shortly after this that Eau d’Orange Verte finally fades into nothing and you are left with but a beloved recollection of the time you’d spent together.

The longevity on Eau d’Orange Verte is rather short. This time of year, when it is still rather cold where I reside I can get about 30 minutes though in the sweltering heat of the summertime an hour or two is not unheard of. The projection is very delicate as well, a treat for yourself and those you draw incredibly close. I urge you to give this precious little potion a whirl if you are looking to experience a proper, incredibly refined eau de cologne or just so happen to be in need of a little sunshine.

Eau d'Orange Verte Hermes Vincent_van_Gogh_-_Green_Wheat_Field_with_Cypress WikiCommonsPhoto Stolen WikiCommons

Further reading: Perfume Smellin’ Things and Perfume Posse
FragranceNet has $56/50ml before Coupon
My Perfume Samples start at $2/ml

Now tell me, what are your favourite eau de colognes?

Until next time, kittens.
Trésor xx

How do you pronounce Hermès?

Hi there APJ,

French, the word inspires terror in speakers everywhere. Not only is the language at least as convoluted as English but their words have SEX! Pronouncing French words is bound to make all except the most intrepid, dextrous and fearless quake in their boots. When I am in France I say my very poor schoolboy French in the most obvious and terrible Australian accent so that everyone can at least have a laugh, and then get on with speaking English to me.

Hermes Box Maegan Tintari  FlickrPhoto Stolen lovemeagan

When questioned why I speak so little French I always tell the asker that I went to Sydney University (our most prestigious halls of learning) to learn Hindi and if they’d like to switch to that I can also massacre that language with an Aussie accent. Usually they are so ridiculously impressed that I would try to learn something so outlandish as Hindi that they forget to ask me to say a few words, remaining unused for so long I have only a smattering of half formed sentences and a plethora of swear words.

So here is a helping hand. A word I hear massacred quite regularly and in fact pronounced disgracefully until my friendly SA at Hermès in Sydney put me right. I made sure to OK it on my travels just to be sure she wasn’t extracting the urine (taking the piss, as we so elegantly say in Australia).

So I used to say Her-Mees. How do YOU say it? Are there any other hard ones?
Portia xx

How do you pronounce Hermès?

Hermès Cuir d’Ange by Jean-Claude Ellena for Hermès 2014

Hello my lovelies,

The other day I was in town to get shouted at by my accountant. Luckily for both of us he didn’t shout but he did get quite sober a couple of times and gave me dry looks of disbelief and incomprehension. He is generally quite genial and full of bonhomie and we did have a few laughs but still I felt like a very naughty boy. Aside from that I was lucky enough to get a motor bike parking space right in the center of Sydney’s CBD (Central Business District) and trotted into Hermès to see my favourite SA there Jean. Jean of the sexiest voice known to woman, the friendliest smile and the most elegant figure. I was on a mission, having tried (and adored) Cuir d’Ange at the Hermès store in the Bellagio, Las Vegas because my mate and co-contributor here Val the Cookie Queen had raved, it was time to get myself a sample and really come to terms with it.

Hermès Cuir d’Ange by Jean-Claude Ellena for Hermès 2014

Hermessence No 12

Cuir d`Ange Hermes FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica give these featured accords in one line:
Heliotrope, hawthorn, violet, narcissus, musk and leather

Now, Cuir d’Ange is so Jean Claude Ellena, from the opening fireworks and can can girls squealing their lungs out in brand new chorus heels, slightly sweaty and a trifle tannery, their corsets silk all musty and a little dank from years of wear and poor ventilation in the store room, ripe with their yearnings and disappointments. Really, this is exactly what I smell in Cuir d’Ange’s first 15 minutes, the story unfolds and I even get whiffs of the resins they use to give their chorus shoes grip and slide. There is also something of feet in Cuir d’Ange, a worn shoe, a well loved leather jacket or a vintage leather and fur purse.

Hermès Cuir d’Ange Toulouse-Lautrec WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

Having spent some time with CB I Hate Perfumes Narcissus I really can smell its disgustingly gorgeous ripeness, over ripe ness that has me both retching and reaching for more. It really brings that shoe/bag worn and loved feel and I am enjoying it immensely. It could even be the scent of a ballet shoe after a show, maybe the next day. Though now Cuir d’Ange has softened considerable and I think it would be only slightly noticeable sillage if I walked past you in the office, certainly hardly noticeable at all in a bar until you got very close to me. We are at about the one hour mark and I really love how this extremely soft, highly nuanced concoction keeps surprising me.

Hermès Cuir d’Ange Ballet Shoes MinasCreativeExpressionsPhoto Stolen MinasCeativeExpression

It’s a very circular fragrance, the notes seem to return at odd intervals, darting out and back to keep your nose on its toes. A lovely ride. You could easily wear Cuir d’Ange in a work situation and it will be killer for date night, a real stealth bomber through the movie and not overpowering for dinner. I can feel a 15ml bottle coming on, at least. I might even wear the rest of my sample on New Years Eve.

Further reading: Australian Perfume Junkies, Bois de Jasmin and Grain de Musc
If your city doesn’t have a Hermès store you should probably move
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $4/ml

Do you like the Hermèssence range? Is Jean Claude Ellena to your liking or are you meh?
Portia xx

Kelly Calèche by Jean-Claude Ellena for Hermès 2007

Hey Perfume Junkies,

Do you remember when Kelly Calèche was released in 2007? It was a huge kerfuffle, and it seems both a million years ago and yesterday. There was a while that it was the fragrance de jour in the clubs and I think about one in five young women of a certain cadre were sporting it day and night and smelling so young, hip and fresh, even (dare I say it?) GROOVY! I think that many Sydney girls will have fond memories of fun times in Kelly Calèche,

Kelly Caleche Hermes FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Grapefruit, narcissus, lily of the valley
Heart: Mimosa, rose, tuberose
Base: Leather, iris

The opening of Kelly Calèche is a dry, green, astringent burst that shocks you awake and into the here and now. This fun high octane fizz only lasts a few moments but it is an excellent mind refresher. Then the whole fragrance changes into a surprising leather that smells on my skin like the leather, glue, colours and stitchery inside the back of brand new high heels, never worn, straight from box and tissue paper. The flowers and fruits big moment are all over for me so quickly, around 15 minutes, and then play a light backing track to this almost patent leather smell. (From Hermès, Hermès, Hermès in 2012)

Kelly Caleche Hermes pink leather norulesstock DeviantARTPhoto Stolen DeviantART

So fun, light and yet very present, that oh so soft suede-ish iris dry down is my favourite part, though other reviewers find it not so good. A whisper of fragrance that huffs out at you every so often to remind you that you’re fragrant. It’s just for you and your nearest and dearest friends. It’s no wonder that Kelly Calèche was such a hit at the time, I wonder if those pretty young things still wander round in a soft fog of sweet iris leather or if they’ve moved on?

I grabbed my 15ml mini bottle from Birgit of Olfactoria’s Travels wardrobe clean-out back in 2012. To be honest it doesn’t see a LOT of wear but I have made decent inroads into it, there is some good air in the bottle. I like to wear it when I need a pick me up, have to be somewhere that a loud or hefty frag would be inappropriate or to remember the lovely girls who wore Kelly Calèche when it was released.

Further reading: Bois de Jasmin and Now Smell This
Beauty Encounter has $52/50ml EdT
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $3/ml

Are you a fan? Has Kelly Calèche ever been your go to or does its quiet, refined leather waft leave you bored and stone cold?
Portia xx

Fragrant Gifting

Fragrant Gifting

Hello there my scented friends! The glowing joy of the holiday season is upon us, and what better gift for the one you love most than fragrance? An incredibly personal sentiment, a choice that says “you are one of the people I adore most in this world.” How do I do Fragrant Gifting that feels like it was custom made for that special person?

Well, one obvious tip is to keep the scent amicable and easy to love. Unless you are gifting perfume to a collector or connoisseur, selecting a challenging or overly complex scent is a great way to ensure it gets secretly returned or left lonely and unsprayed in a dark drawer.

Another consideration is budget, because let’s be real – why blow the bank when you can blow their mind (at a modest price)?

The three fragrances below are my picks for charming your loved ones.

Fragrant Gifting

 

Un Jardin Sur Le Nil Hermes Fragrantica FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Green mango, tomato, grapefruit, carrot
Heart:
Orange, peony, lotus, hyacinth, bulrush
Base:
Labdanum, incense, iris, musk, cinnamon

Un Jardin Sur Le Nil by Hermés: This scent is bright, clean, and has a great reputation for being well-received. Primarily a ginger aroma on me, it sparkles with a green hue that stays true to form throughout the wearlength. A fresh delight for either him or her!

My Perfume Samples has samples starting at $3/ml

 

Sweet Jasmine Brown Providence Perfume Co. FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Jasmine, vanilla, pink pepper, tonka bean, cacao, ylang-ylang, ambrette (musk mallow

Sweet Jasmine Brown by Providence Perfume Company: This artisan perfume oil is an exquisite gateway to natural perfumery. The jasmine is simply darling, the perfect balance of sweet and clean, starlit enchantment. The accents include tonka bean and vanilla, warm like honey, adding smoothness and intrigue. Ultra-feminine and impossible to resist!

Providence Perfume Co perfume oil Sample Set $30/6 x .5ml

Vettiveru Comme des Garcons FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
White pepper, musk, jasmine, cloves, vetiver, neroli, cedar, bergamot, cardamom

Vettiveru by Comme des Garçons: Quite simply, this is my favorite scent on a man. It’s astoundingly simple, but so well done, and doesn’t challenge the senses or intimidate. Vettiveru delivers the sunshine side of vetiver, of hay scenting a late summer breeze. Paired with a soft yet citrusy bite and a touch of pale woods, the overall aroma is crisp yet inviting. Buy it for him, and tell him to wear with caution….

Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $2/ml

Have fun sniffing! I wish you and yours a warm, joyful winter solstice.

Hugs,
Erica

What Fragrances Got Packed For USA 2014

Hi there Frag Heads,

It’s the age old question. What do you pack fragrance wise for a holiday? Do you take a set of 5ml decants of your faves, one bottle or a mix of both? Is it go large or go shopping?

What Fragrances Got Packed For USA 2014

Well, as always it has been a hell of a decision making process. I ummed and ahhed about it through the unpacking of the move and have been madly spritzing myself to see what would fit for me on this trip. Knowing that I’ll be stopped in 4 MeetUps in the best that the USA has to offer in Niche Perfumery, as well as the Guerlain store in the Bellagio Las Vegas where we are staying, I am pretty sure I will be heavily scented and shopping up a storm. So I decided that three was the magic number for this trip. I need a cold weather, a cool weather and a temperate weather fragrance that are all not so temp specific that I’ll feel ridiculous wearing them interchangeably. Another criteria is that they not be in regular decant atomiser bottles, I would like them to be a little more sturdy than that.

So here are my USA 2014 three:

Epice Marine Hermes FragranticaPicture Stolen Fragrantica

Epice Marine by Hermès 15ml EdT: After first trying Epice Marine in Selfridge & Co with Tara I became quite obsessed with it. There’s something completely captivating in it’s cool, clear, cut crystal and salty herbal-ness. It starts out fizzy like a cold lemon squash with ice, it has a salt rim and some greenery floating in it that feels minty but is less sweet. Unlike so many of the Hermessance range I get excellent longevity and a very soft but noticeable sillage.

Ma Folie de Noel (My Christmas Folly; Holiday no.6) DSH Perfumes FragranticaPhoto Stolen Dawn Spencer Hurwitz

Ma Folie de Noël by Dawn Spencer Hurwitz 10ml EdP: Ma Folie de Noël was a gift from Natalie who used to run Another Perfume Blog. There is no 10ml option on the DSH site now and I think I will finish this bottle while on holidays, it’s a conundrum. The fragrance? Well it’s everything a cold weather fragrance that you want to make you warm should be. Anise, booze and cream all spiced and gorgeous. Even writing about Ma Folie de Noël makes me smile: happy scent and memories. I think it will be the one I reach for most while away.

Vanille Galante Hermes FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Vanille Galante by Hermès 15ml EdT: Vanille Galante, that cool, dark chocolate and booze infested vanilla that wafts lightly and smoothly from my skin. An oxymoron, sleek and fat, cool and hot, heavy and transparent. Vanilla so completely UN-vanilla-ish that it hardly bears its name. The flowers are awkward and frigid, the spice is so cool it reads like incense and the vanilla like nothing you would ever bake with. Wrap the whole fabulously spare concoction in sugar free chocolate and inhale. This was not love at first sniff for me, in fact it’s taken a while for me to warm to it, now I couldn’t live without Vanille Galante.

Visual_of_USA_Flag_stars_and_stripes_FJM88NLPhoto Stolen WikiCommons

Here are our MeetUp USA 2014 Dates:

Please come hang with us somewhere

SCENT BAR LA Wednesday NOVEMBER 19 2014 with Killian Hennessy MeetUp 5-7pm

BARNEYS + NEIMAN MARCUS CHICAGO Monday NOVEMBER 24 2014 MeetUp Barneys (Beauty Downstairs) 1.30pm

OSSWALD N.Y.C Saturday NOVEMBER 29 2014 MeetUp 2-4pm

TWISTED LILY BROOKLYN NYC Sunday November 30 2014 MeetUp 11am-1pm

How do you like my choices? What do you wear to travel? Many or few?
Portia xx