HOLIDAYS!! Japan 2016: Photo Essay

November 5, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 22 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey Hey APJ,

Jin and I are in transit from Japan to South Korea. I was hoping to have the post written and organised long before this but, bloody hell, it has been non stop. We are having a ball and wish you all were here with us. 3 nights and 2 full days was a great taster for Jin and a lovely reminiscence for me. Sadly we didn’t get to see everyone on the list but next time we are going to make it a fortnight and travel around a bit.

HOLIDAYS!! Japan 2016: Photo Essay

Korean Air = Roomy & cheap. Staff are amazing and food yummy. NOW I want them to sponsor my ass.

Our first full day in Japan is a public holiday so we get to share the perfect autumn weather with millions of families. Tokyo remains surprisingly roomy. We love the day in temples, parks and galleries.

We particularly loved seeing a few Korean National Treasures stolen during Japanese occupation of Korea. Jin couldn’t help but be excited when one of the most famous historic buddhas was on display.

That night we were taken to Torikizoku, a famously modern young Japanese hang where booze and snacks are the order of the night. Loved it. Thanks Luke. We worked out that we’ve been friends around 27 years. Amazing.

Jin is basically on a gastro-tour. EVERYTHING from street food to hand created sushi, fast food and VERY slow food was on the menu. I think he tried about 20 new dishes, or ate authentic Japanese versions of old favourites. watching him discover new delights was like living with a perfect sunrise.

Of course we had to do the obligatory fragrance shopping. Isetan in Shinjuku is a fabulous department store with the most unbelievable Food Hall in the basement. We spent a small fortune buying Japanese delicacies for Jin’s family in South Korea.

Because we spent so much time & money down there I wasadamant that we check the fragrance section. It was well stocked with a large range of masstige and designer fragrances. From CREED and Le Labo to Annick Goutal and MFK we were thrilled at the choice. I ended up buying the Hermès Jardin of Monsieur Li gift set and extra body wash and a 30ml Samsara parfum which I have put off buying until now they have DCd the fabulous bottle. Having bought the EdT for my Mum many years ago it’s the Parfum I have long coveted and my little vintage 2ml is just a gasp away from empty.

From back in the mid 1990s a lovely girlfriend that used to come watch the shows and hang out in the clubs with us, Miharu, came into Shinjuku for dinner. It was a magical catch up and Jin was on his absolute most hilarious behaviour. We spent the night laughing, eating, wandering and catching up. So many wonderful memories and now a new set of Japan 2016 with Miharu.

OK, so we are now on the plane for South Korea to see Jin’s family. Loaded down with booze, sweets, money and love to pass on to his parents. This is the first time I get to meet his Grandma too. She was a very clever young woman and studied in Japan in her youth. Now she is suffering Alzheimers and Dementia we are hoping the Japanese sweets and savouries will give her a jolt into the past and present.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this very thin slice of Japan.
Where are you going for holidays next? Where would you go if money was no object?
Portia xx

Stress and Perfumes!

October 26, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 26 Comments

Post by Sandra

Hi there fellow perfume aficionados. Hope ya’ll are doing well.

We received a life changing phone call a couple of weeks ago and it is now official – we are moving from Vienna, Austria to Rotterdam, The Netherlands! Yikes! I thought I would never leave Vienna, and yet here I am planning our move which comes unfortunately during the holidays this year.

Stress is of course the norm now but so is the anticipation and excitement. I have lived a largely nomadic lifestyle until I landed in Vienna and got married. Being a global nomad brings its challenges but also its treasures. Home is everywhere. Learning a new language and culture feeds my soul. Meeting new people and making new friends adds color to my life. As I grew up living in a number of countries I find the process of moving painful but the end effect and the nesting period exhilarating. For my husband and son it will be a different experience and I have to try and make it as smooth as possible for both of them. Hence, the stress.

Stress and Perfumes!

Perfumes have always given me a sense of comfort – a cloak in which I am invisible and I can be stronger than I am currently feeling. Here are a couple of perfumes I have been frequently wearing lately.

Fragrantica

Micallef Cuir Vanille has given me a shield with which I protect myself. I can face the day knowing that the leathery vanilla will be there to soothe my anxieties.

Fragrantica

Guerlan Cuir Beluga is my old trusted friend whose shoulder I can lean on for support and guidance. The soft suede laced with vanilla done as only Guerlain can do.

I tend to reach for amber or vanilla in stressful situations, but the other day I encountered a stunning perfume which made me feel like I was prepared for anything that may come. I wore Hermes Le Galop and was blown away at its morphing capabilities. It started out all fruity and slightly sour then moved to a leathery suede which made me feel strong. In the evening I noticed that the gorgeous gentle rose tinged with suede. My world seemed ok.

Fragrantica

Last but not least – Neela Vermeire Creations Mohur – deep velvet red cushions embroidered with royal purple and golden threads. I rest my head and breathe a deep sigh of relief. Home.

Fragrantica

My husband has turned to Serge Lutens Ambre Sultan – it smells completely different on him – smooth, rich, dry amber deliciousness. He has never before been complemented by a man on his choice of perfume until the other day … .

Fragrantica

My son, seven years old, has always enjoyed a spritz or two of Hermès Un Jardin Sur la Toit until recently when he keeps wanting a spritz of Stéphane Humbert Lucas 777 Mortal Skin. It must be that he is also needing an extra layer of perceived protection with all the stress.

Fragrantica

As the moving date nears I will find it interesting which perfumes I will reach for most. Let me leave you with some of my recent pictures of Vienna which has been home for 22 years.

What perfumes do you wear when you are under a lot of pressure and stress? On another note, have any of you shopped for perfumes in The Netherlands? Any suggestions?
SX

Galop d’Hermès by Christine Nagel for Hermès 2016

September 14, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 19 Comments

Post by Claire Vukcevic

Hey there, you lovely-smelling APJ guys!

I was recently lucky enough to snag a sample of the new Galop d’Hermès in an Hermès boutique in Copenhagen. Well, I say lucky, but what I really mean is that I stomped my little feet until I got one, because I was buying a whole bottle of Osmanthe Yunnan at full retail so you better believe I wasn’t leaving without some loot. I got a chance to fondle the bottle too. I’m not sure what the string is for (hanging it up with your gym wash bag maybe?), but it’s Hermès and it’s shaped like a stirrup, so who am I to quibble.

Galop d’Hermès by Hermès 2016

Galop d’Hermès by Christine Nagel

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Rose, Leather, Saffron, Quince

Galop d’Hermès opens bright and mouth-puckeringly tart, a saffraleine leather glossed to a high shine with rose and cassis. It’s hard not to swoon, to be honest, because the immediately appetizing mixture of velvety rose petals, saffron, and orange swells to fill the nose and make your mouth water. Syrupy and rich, the opening is almost gourmand to my nose, but then a wave of urinous cassis (blackcurrant) crests and washes over the composition, adding a welcome astringency.

Now, don’t be too alarmed by my use of the word “urinous” here – both cassis and grapefruit share a compound that is also present in urine, but if you don’t perceive any “cat pee” note in fragrances such as Aqua Allergoria Pamplelune, then you should be fine with this. I think that this is the only element in Galop that might be considered shocking or animalic, the way the perfume makes that blackcurrant note teeter between pee and unripe fruit. To my nose, rhubarb has a similar effect.

Likewise, despite equestrian-based marketing, there is really nothing horsey or animalic about the leather note, which is the smooth, vegetal leather used in other Hermès fragrances such as Kelly Caleche. But the texture here is less angular. The sleekness of leather fuzzes up even more, gaining a dusky wooliness that really works against the tart cassis. What surprises me is that the lush, velvety rose I smelled in the opening disappears, morphing into a rose-tinted baked apple – a quince basically. I bake with quinces, and the scent matches the taste: a rosy, perfumey apple with a mealy texture. When a slice or two is slipped into an ordinary apple tart, they turn a fabulous shade of blush pink.

Longevity is pretty good – I get about 6-8 hours. Projection is quiet, though, which is hardly surprising, given it’s an extrait. I can see this working for posh girls and boys who know their way around a tack room or two. It’s as refined as the JC Ellena scents for Hermès but has just enough of that Christine Nagel richness of touch to push more towards glamorous equestrian ball territory than sheer daytime wear.

Fragrantica

Further reading: Bois de Jasmin and AnOther
Hermès Australia has $275/50ml

What about you? Will you miss JC Ellena when he goes? What are your fave JC Ellena frags?
Slán from rainy old Ireland,
Claire

Claire also writes for Take One Thing Off

Equipage Géranium by Jean-Claude Ellena for Hermès 2015

August 28, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 14 Comments

Post by Robert Herrmann

Hey there Frag Friends,

Robert H. here writing from my small island home in the Pacific Northwest. Lately I’ve been wearing the beautiful Equipage Géranium by JCE…..

Equipage Géranium by Hermès 2015

Equipage Géranium by Jean-Claude Ellena

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Spices, geranium, rose, mint, sandalwood

Imagine a summer’s day, warm and dry and perhaps you’ve been invited to a friends house in the countryside. Your first day there, you decide to go horseback riding, so you throw on a pair of jeans and a well-worn pair of boots. You cross the drive to the stables and immediately the smell of damp hay hits your nose.

You notice a wine barrel planter next to the stables, with bright red and spicy geraniums growing next to some errant mint plants. The geranium has that dusty/floral/spicy aroma, almost rose-like, as you lean in to sniff. You take a mint leaf and crush it between your fingers, the aromas mingling and melding to create an almost floral vibe but cooled and tempered by the mint.

From inside the stable you catch a whiff of freshly groomed horse and the leather tack hanging on the wall.

This is Equipage Géranium.

The first flanker to the now iconic Equipage, this gorgeous scent goes one better to me, the addition of the geranium spiciness and mint sitting on a base of creamy sandalwood amps it up to a new level. Yes it is masculine, but with a classic Jean-Claude Ellena soft-focus edge.

Jean-Claude Ellena has created a scent that is assertive, bold, and nothing like his lighter, spare scents of the past.

«I tried to capture the smell a thousand times, a thousand times it escaped me. Drawn by its complexity, its sumptuousness, I took this perfume with me when I travelled, to discover it.» Jean-Claude Ellena

Hermès

Further reading: Black Narcissus and Colognoisseur
Hermès Australia has Au$145/100ml

And although marketed as a men’s cologne, I can see a woman easily wearing this, commanding attention and exuding confidence, like Joan Crawford’s first meeting with the board of directors of Pepsico… “Don’t F#*k with me boys, this ISN’T my first time at the rodeo!”

Giddyup!!

Have you tried this Geranium? Which Jean-Claude Ellena creations do you love?

C Ya Sweet Smellers
RH

Portia’s Fragrant Week 24 – 30 July 2016

August 12, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 24 Comments

Post by Portia

Hi there Frag Fiends,

Some of mates have been doing weekly wrap up shots of their fragrances. I loved the idea but kept forgetting to do it. Last week I put a box in my office and every time I spritzed something it went into the box. It was fun to watch the bottles and boxes pile up in there.

Portia’s Fragrant Week 24 – 30 July 2016

Yes, this is 7 days of fragrant wear for me. I think/hope I got them all. There were a couple of samples that I finished and threw away while not thinking, oops. (Bloody forgot Aesthete by Le Galion and Infini by Caron)

So from top to bottom 4 rows, left to right.

Miss Dior vintage parfum by DIOR: Pretty floral, furry dry down. Why did they have to change it? GRRR

Mohur by Neela Vermeire Creations: One of my all time faves. India meets Europe in a temple rose garden.

Exultat by Maria Candida Gentile: Incense and woods, one of the most comfortable incense bombs ever.

Epice Marine by Hermès: The modern aquatic, lifted by spices and that sheer oily JCE signature.

Aqua Allegoria Lys Soleia by Guerlain: Lily and cool white flowers with a touch of coconut cream. Tropical yet elegant.

Midnight Oud by Juliette Has A Gun: Rose & oudh, smells great, lasts for the whole day, won’t break the bank.

Coco vintage parfum by CHANEL: Coco, is Coco, is Coco. Heavenly oriental, so spicy and full.

Fantasia de Fleurs by Creed: Sweet, jammy roses and marmalade. YUM!

Giverny In Bloom by DSH Perfumes: Put your head in a florists fridge while wearing a heavily galbanum fragrance and you will smell Giverny In Bloom.

LouLou by Cacharel: BOOM! LouLou is like wearing a technicolour shirt that glitters and shimmers. Careful of she’ll wear you out.

Tweed by Taylor of London: MEMORIES!!! Mum. Back then it was Tweed by Lentheric.

Truth or dare by Madonna: Yes. This is my current favourite big white floral. So good and practically free.

Amazone vintage by Hermès: Oakmoss and a little bit of other stuff. Furry and genteel.

What did you wear last week?
Portia x

Amazone vintage by Maurice Maurin for Hermès 1974

July 29, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 20 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey there Vintage Frag Fiends,

There is something really exciting about getting a vintage in the mail. That very first spritz, will it: have propellant, be real, still smell good, work for me? Those days when the top notes are gone off or completely missing can be a bummer. Recently this old chestnut showed up, it’s about 80% full and looks fresh as the day it was made. The nozzle smells great, exactly like a mossy frag from the 1970s should smell like. Come have a first spritz experience with me.

Amazone by Hermès 1974

Amazone by Maurice Maurin

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, Cassia, Geranium, Hyacinth
Heart: Iris, Jasmine, Lily-of-the-valley, Rose
Base: Amber, Oakmoss, Vetiver, Cedarwood

OK, so we have propellant and the opening notes have been totally eclipsed by their greasy cold metal otherness. It takes a couple of minutes for the headache inducing, stomach churning mess to sort itself out. Then this bottle of Amazone has a dry grass, light geranium/spicy fruit rose and furry jasmine/oakmoss scent that softens, plushes out and gets more comfortable and lived in over the next couple of hours. I can easily imagine this appealing to the horsey daughters and youngish wives of a certain social strata as so many reviews allocate its fan base. Being a chypre its slightly floral heart and bone dry dry-down seem a little mature to me, sophisticated and cooly aloof. You can easily imagine the wearer to be wearing Shetland wool and corduroy or denim instead of cashmere, linen and silks. Yet another part of me can see someone, man or woman, in a sharp business suit using Amazone as their tasteful undercurrent of a point of difference.

The far dry down of vetiver, moss and woods is perfectly balanced and shimmers softly over my skin for hours and hours, tomorrow morning I will still have a whisper of wonderful to wake up to.

Hermès

From Hermès: Symbolic of a free, modern femininity, Amazone takes its inspiration from the mythical horsewomen who, according to legend, ruled over the shores of the Black Sea. A novel composed by Maurice Maurin in 1974 and orchestrated around blackcurrant buds, the fragrance is a green floral harmony in which daffodils, narcissi, galbanum, red fruits and vetiver take turns to shine.

Further reading: Yesterday’s Perfume and Non Blonde
Hermès have the modern variation and it still smells very nice but totally different.
Surrender To Chance has samples of the modern version from $3/ml

Which is your vintage or your Hermès?
Portia xx

FLANKERS!! Let’s Talk About Flankers

July 10, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 16 Comments

Post by Anne-Marie

Howdy folks, it’s Anne-Marie, here to chat about the issues that matter in this crazy perfume-y world. Today, it’s … yay! Flankers!

FLANKERS!! Let’s Talk About Flankers

A flanker, as I’m sure you know, is a perfume which ‘flanks’ a pillar release. It perpetuates the name of the original but otherwise they may have little in common. Often the flanker has much less money spent on it and will be chucked at the market to see if it sticks.
It tends to be a given that flankers are not worthy of the perfume lover’s attention, but here are some which I have enjoyed.

Stylefrizz

Chanel No 5 Eau Premiere (2007, and re-packaged in 2015). The first flanker (as opposed to different form or concentration) to the 1921 classic. It is beautiful variant, less aldehydic than No 5: sunshiny, and with a lovely lemony top note. A perfect all-occasion fragrance. Apparently sales were disappointing, and we have a new flanker to look forward to this year, No 5 L’Eau.

Shalimar: what can you say without making Shalimar lovers’ blood boil? Well, I love Eau de Shalimar (2008/9) and Shalimar Cologne Eau de Toilette (2015). The lime top-note in EdS is admittedly a little weird, but I find the fragrance very relaxing overall. The Cologne? Oh my – gorgeous! Lemon instead of lime, very bright but beautifully blended with vanilla. It’s addictive but not (for me at least) especially foodie. Neither these two flankers, nor any of the Shalimar flankers as far as I know, are as heavy on the smoke and leather as the original.

CHANEL

I bought Chanel No 19 Poudre (2011) when it came out but sold it eventually. The iris is superb, the powder is not stifling, and the fragrance wears like a silk slip. But the white musk in the base seems timid and produces a lack-lustre result overall.

Sometimes a flanker stands confidently next to its pillar. Hermes L’Ambre des Merveilles (2012) trounces the original Eau de Merveilles for me, perhaps because I simply have trouble smelling the Eau. L’Ambre has a miraculous floaty character: sweet but cool, warm but restrained. The only amber I truly love.

Fragrantica

I’ve reviewed Hermes Kelly Caleche (2007) on APJ, so will just note here that it is a cool, elegant leather with little resemblance to the original Caleche, which I never loved. I’ll come right out with it: Caleche smells dated to me, and too short-lived to bother with.

Finally, Lancome Magie Noire (1978). Yes, it’s a flanker to Magie, released in 1950 and re-released briefly in the mid-2000s. Magie was a classic amber: good but not great. Magie Noire is devastating. A witchy mix of chypre and oriental. Dark, sensual and animalic, it’s haunting if worn lightly, but all-consuming if spritzed heavily. You might pay for this one with your soul.

Over to you! There are LOADS of flankers that you have tried and I haven’t. The good, the bad and the forgettable. Do share!
Until next time, happy spritzing!

Muguet Porcelain GIVEAWAY WINNER

June 28, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

Post by Portia

Hi there APJ!!
Bloody hell! I forgot to draw the winner.

There’s a name below.
WOO HOO!
Portia xx

Muguet Porcelain GIVEAWAY WINNER

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x Muguet Porcelain by Hermès manufacturers sample (my blogging sample)
1 x sample Be Beautiful by Jessica Mauboy (from my bottle)
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Saturday 25th June 2016 10pm
Winner was chosen by random.org

Ellen Covey

The winner will have till Friday July 1st 2016 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.

Muguet Porcelain by Hermès 2016

June 23, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 31 Comments

Post by Portia

Hello Fragrant Friends,

Sandra did a great review for Muguet Porcelain recently. You might like to trot back and read a more in depth review. Special thanks must go to Gene at Sydney City Hermès who always makes sure I get a sample of the latest offerings. Ask for her if you’re in shopping, nobody knows the products better or is more charming.

Muguet Porcelain by Hermès 2016

Muguet Porcelain by Jean Claude Ellena

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Lily of the valley, green notes

So, I really like Lily of the Valley (LotV) even though it can sometimes skew bathroom deodoriser from my childhood, it was my mum’s favourite. So I’m always happy to read that there’s a new one on the market. We’ve had a small bunch of them lately: Miu Miu, Jessica Mauboy (Australian songstress) and every year for May 1st Guerlain produces a new and glam LotV frag.

Now, when I first smelled Muguet Porcelaine I thought it was a dead ringer for Jessica Mauboy’s Be Beautiful. Now I have them on side by side and while they do share some similarities they are not exactly the same. They both seem to be a combination of melon and LotV, both are green and crisp though Hermès has that famous JCE oily petrol slick note that I adore, both of them are cologne like in their longevity though Muguet Porcelaine does last longer.

An hour in and they are very similar to my nose, Muguet Porcelaine is a little dryer, packed with some extra LotV and galbanum, a hairs breath more nuanced but to the average nose it’s pretty much the same. Better noses than mine, of which most of you are, will probably pick up details I miss but as a price comparison Jessica Mauboy’s Be Beautiful is AUD$20 and Muguet Porcelaine AUD$325. I will buy a 15ml travel though because I love to have a couple of the Hermès in my just in case travel kit.

Further reading: Australian Perfume Junkies and Now Smell This
All Hermès stores have Muguet Porcelaine so go spritz yourself

Muguet Porcelain 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

Tell us a fragrance that is springlike for you

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close TOMORROW Saturday 25th June 2016 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Wednesday 29th June 2016 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.

Muguet Porcelain by Hermès GIVEAWAY WINNER

May 29, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 1 Comment

Post by Portia

Woo Hoo APJ!

Thanks for joining in.

Let’s see who our lucky winner is.
Portia xx

Muguet Porcelain by Hermès GIVEAWAY WINNER

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Lily of the valley, green notes

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

The winner will receive:
1 x 4ml Muguet Porcelain by Hermès
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Saturday 28th May 2016 10pm Australian EST
Winner chosen by random.org

Koyel

The winners will have till Wednesday 1st June 2016 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.