Tranoï Paris 2016: Photo Essay

March 5, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 27 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey APJ Crew,

One of the great things about being in the frag crowd is getting to do things that few other people do. An invitation from a frag buddy can turn out to be something incredible. One of our great holiday highlights was hanging with the cool niche crews at Tranoï in Paris.

Tranoï Paris 2016

Tranoï

At the entrance I was met by Nicolas Chabot of Le Galion, he had invited Jin & I to come see the show and have some fun with the crew. Suitably attired with my PRESS PASS it was inside to the enormous room and the entryway was an aisle of some of Europe’s Independent Fragrance Houses. WOO HOO!

First stop was Le Galion, Nicolas and his partner Enno. They are a freaking RIOT! Here they are showing me the new range and they gave me a slew of stuff for giveaways. Coming very soon. My current favourite is Cologne Nocturne, a lush cologne that suits me to a T.

Tranoi Paris 2016 #4

Here with Roberto Greco who is the creative genius behind the Le Galion advertising and product look. He was really sweet and I admit to crushing on him madly.

Tranoi Paris 2016 #14

I really like Laboratorio Olfattivo’s clean style and want to spend some more time sniffing their brand. The couple I have smelled were YUMMY!

Woo Hoo! Neela Vermeire was there. So excited to see her and hang out. Any time in Neela’s company is good time. Her frags were very popular on the day and we had to leave her to the retailers and come back at intervals for mini chats.

The gorgeous Ulrich Lang was there too with his girl friend Erin. I noticed Lightscape before I noticed them and exclaimed how much I love it. Ulrich was thrilled and we spent a very happy half hour or so laughing and having a fine time, Neela wandered over because we were making so much noise. It was a really nice moment captured with some lovely people. We will be having a super Ulrich Lang giveaway soon here on APJ so keep your eyes peeled.

Tranoi Paris 2016 #8

OMG! Really? Pierre Guillaume is here! WOO HOO! I’ve been freaking crushing on him for YEARS! The sea of people parted, he looked across and our eyes met, Pierre smiled an uncomplicated welcome and I was lost. Absolutely fucking lost. He had all his ranges there but was hoping to gain more interest in his Pierre Guillaume Croisiere Collection. They are at the freaky end of the fragrance spectrum and I didn’t really feel able to focus to smell anything because the man’s charisma had me firmly in its grip.

Pierre tried to get my opinion on his newest from the PG range but my head and nose weren’t communicating. To be honest I had to get away because I couldn’t breathe or make coherent or cogent conversation. Ha Ha Ha What an ass-hat I am.

Histiores de Parfums are so freaking cool. I love the way they make fragrance and the display was fun too.

After the event we went out to dinner at a super cool restaurant with Nicolas & Enno, one of my buddies happened to be in Paris too (Hey Andrew) and he came and joined the crew. As I was recounting my Pierre G story to the table none other than Mr Pierre G walked in with his partner & some mates and so he got to hear the end of my story before I knew he was directly behind me smiling from ear to ear. He’s cool, I like him.

After that we were absolutely smashed and went back to our hotel and slept like dead people. Our first full day in Paris was done.

LuckyScent, Libertine, Peony Melbourne and First In Fragrance have loads of the houses in stock, Surrender To Chance has samples.

I hope you liked the post, which of these fragrance houses do you like?
Portia xxx

Vidi by Gérald Ghislain for Histoires de Parfums 2013

August 8, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 9 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey Fragrance Family,

It seems we are getting more and more ozone in our fragrances over the last couple of years. I’m glad because I quite like the new ways perfumers are incorporating the fresh air into scent. Gérald Ghislain does some really interesting stuff; I loved his Scent Of Departure range and have quite a few decants but by the time I decided the one I wanted it was gone GRRRRRR. He also has done some of the Alice & Peter fragrances in the cupcake bottles. It would be really interesting to one day meet him and have a chat, if he is as interesting as his fragrances and some of the ideas behind them then I think it would be a wonderful chat.

Vidi by Gérald Ghislain for Histoires de Parfums 2013

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Cardamom, cucumber, ozonic notes
Heart: Rose, cyclamen, saffron
Base: Immortelle, musk, amber, vanilla, blonde woods

It’s 2013 and I am sitting here wearing the remnants of last nights hefty spritzing of Vidi. I have spent the waking parts of the last 14 hours trying to find a different way of putting this but then I realised I should just blurt it out and then we can move forward with the review.

This is exactly how my last partner smelled when he wore L’Eau d’Issey Man. It is unbelievable how well Gérald Ghislain has married one of the iconic scents of the 20th century and my exes chemistry. Varun is a subcontinental Indian and has very spicy skin, it makes fragrance take on completely different hues. We could wear the same fragrance, and often did, and they would smell utterly different. Interestingly if we’d been out boozing and partying and went home to make love the smell of him wearing L’Eau d’Issey Man would so overwhelm me that I would be sick, yes you read right I would need to go and do a technicolour yawn, drive the porcelain bus, spew or chunder (whichever idiom your area uses). It was a damper indeed and it happened a few times before we worked out the root cause.

Nevertheless it is a happy smell for me, so reminiscent of a super fun part of my life…….

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

Anyway, Vidi is supposed to smell like air that Caesar smelled when he said his immortal, and I’ve always thought pre-prepared in advance for such an outcome, words Veni, Vidi, Vici. On me it smells like water, or the dream of water. It’s cool and refreshing. The cucumber and ozone are particularly appealing together and when I spritz it’s like the first dip in the pool on the 25th September each year. Thrilling and terrifying. The flowers are a complete abstract and as such don’t really register as themselves but I do get a twang of iced water in a metal vase and air conditioning in a florist. Of warmth I get very little, it’s more a lessening of the cool and the immortelle has been shorn of all its lovely natural weirdness.

The jolt was so real and so potent in my fragrant memory bulb that I had to call Varun and tell him. I think that I’ll buy him a bottle and take it to him, any excuse to visit him and India.

Further reading: Chemist In A Bottle and Ca Fleure Bon
LuckyScent has $175/60ml + Samples
First In Fragrance has €125/60ml + Samples

What have you smelled lately that reminds you of the past?
Portia xx

Tubereuse 3 Animale by Gérald Ghislain for Histoires de Parfums 2010

June 20, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

Hey Hey APJ,

Not long ago I bought this 15ml travel size off one of the FaceBook pages. It’s been sitting here awaiting my attention ever since. I think a few things arrived that day and it got shunted aside. Lately I have been searching out some skank and the word animal when applied to fragrance is a high def pointer for me too, add that to tuberose and……..

Tubereuse 3 Animale by Histoires de Parfums 2010

Tubereuse 3 Animale by Gérald Ghislain

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Kumquat, Neroli, Tuberose
Heart: Herbs, Plum, Tuberose
Base: Immortelle, Blond tobacco, Tuberose

How come the notes list for Tubereuse 3 Animale doesn’t say honey? What I am hit with immediately is an incredibly rich honeyed tobacco that sits like a big ole can of molasses in the same room as a vase of tuberose. Front and centre is this rich viscous scent that is absolutely beautiful, mesmerisingly so. It’s hard to focus myself to write this piece and not get caught up in the magic. Citrus I get none, maybe a little way in I get some sweetish fruit but it’s only a very soft side dish. I get the feeling of thick, hot, molten amber-glass before it gets made into stuff.

Photo Stolen Flickr

Later I get a lovely dry whiff of immortelle, that strangely dry green sapless dessicated scent that is both raspy and smooth, like the point where sandpaper scours pebbles into smooth, shiny, cool nuggets. Tubereuse 3 Animale also has a furry something that is what I think of as a perfumers version of a very old mink coat, dry and dusty but still with the faintest whiff of the poor creature it was stolen from.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

This is what I imagine the screen sirens of yesteryear would have LOVED to smell like and I can see some of the more famous 21st century cougars getting a thrill from the overt sensuality that Tubereuse 3 Animale displays. What I did not expect was the general size of Tubereuse 3 Animale, it is a sillage and projection monster compared to most other modern offerings and it has a sweetness bordering on urinous, definately skirting the edges of downwind from junkie alley.

Who would and when could Tubereuse 3 Animale be worn? Well let’s just say straight up that for most work situations it is completely over the top, especially for the first hour or two. I think you would have to be careful to use a light hand if food is involved or confined spaces. Personally, I will wear it to my Turbo Trivia work and definitely for my own selfish pleasure at home, it may even get a spritz for the grocery shopping.

Photo Stolen Pixabay

Further reading: Smelly Thoughts and Perfume Polytechnic
Parfum1 has $36/15ml
Posh Peasant has samples starting at $4.75/ml

Do you DO tuberose? What about tobacco? Are there fragrances with these lovelies that you wear? Share.
Portia xx

SmackDown: Petroleum by Histoires de Parfums Vs Eau de Engine by Team Vodafone

March 2, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

Post by Willa Zheng

Reader,
I have a dirty little secret. I love the fume of petrol. All narcotic, sweet and floral. It’s a wonder that a substance so noxious smells so euphoric!

Apparently, I’m not alone. Histoires de Parfums released Petroleum as an “editions rare” in 2011 to capture all of the pretty aspects of petroleum fuel, whilst leaving out the nasty nausea-inducing bits. When Carlos at the Luckyscent Scent Bar introduced this to me last year, I thought I’d found the liquid gold I never knew I’d been searching for all my life!

Petroleum by Histoires de Parfums
Vs
Eau de Engine by Team Vodafone

Photo Stolen LuckyScent

From LuckyScent: A symbol of wealth and prosperity, Petroleum is an unexpected essence. Once referred to as ‘Black Gold’, it is rich, dark and mysterious…a miraculous gift from the depths of our Earth.

Petroleum opens like a stroll through a wet garden. You’re brushing against fresh green foliage (bergamot) mixed with the smell of damp soil (patchouli, petrichor). Unlike the other reviews online, I cannot detect any aldehyde. Five minutes in, the leather begins to emerge, as well as the ozonic top notes of real petrol. And then you discover the real heart of this fragrance – a clean floral (rose), white musk, and amber base – coated in sheer, miasmic leather and oud. It’s pretty and sexy.

Photo Stolen AllSense

Eau De Engine by TeamVodafone – Jamie Whincup

From Vodaphone: Nothing says motor racing quite like the smell of a V8 Supercar. That’s why we created Eau De Engine, a bespoke fragrance that embodies the very essence of V8 motorsport, fuel and burnt rubber – to promote Vodafone’s sponsorship of V8 motorsport.

Eau de Engine is a limited edition cologne released by Vodafone in 2010 to promote its team in the Sydney 500 V8 Supercar motor race. The marketing brains behind it introduced it to the unsuspecting Australian public with the tagline: “Why smell like a man, when you can smell like a V8”. Indeed.

It opens as a mixture of lime, bergamot and smokey birch tar. Then, just like HdP Petroleum, the leather notes emerge. But it’s a different kind of leather. The leather in HdP Petroleum can perhaps be described as horse leather, the kind that makes me recall L’Artisan Dzing. Eau de Engine is about car leather seats. And comingled with the smell of leather interiors is the scent of ashes after a fire. Overall, this opening is very linear and simple.

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

30 minutes later…

By now, the rose at the heart of HdP Petroleum has subsided and made way for a sweet amber-musk base with a hint of jasmine. Leather and oud notes still envelop this base, like a cosy chiffon scarf, just seductive enough to lure the boys into the yard. The very last note to reveal itself is the civet. Petroleum isn’t shy on silage.

For Eau de Engine, the smoky carbon and leather seat dance at the start has softened. The cologne evokes the smell of standing in a garage, behind the exhaust of an expensive sportscar in idle. Hello, Sabrina.

Neither of these two fragrances have a drydown. After the middle impressions, they just fade away to nothing.
HdP Petroleum: 6hrs (reapplication is recommended after 3hrs)
Team Vodafone Eau de Engine: 1-2hrs.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

Verdict:
Wearing Petroleum and Eau de Engine cannot be more different experiences. One is like seeing the world in technicolour and the other, in black and white. In terms of beauty, complexity and longevity, HdP Petroleum wins hands down. Eau de Engine definitely has its novelty value, but if I smelt it on another person, I’d probably tell them to take a shower.

Disclosure:
I dabbed Histoires de Parfums Petroleum and spritzed eau de engine for this review. Your experience and mileage may differ.
Now, do you have any scent vices?

Willa Zheng xx

1725 Casanova by Magali Senequier and Gérald Ghislain for Histoires de Parfums 2001

February 2, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

Post by TinaG

So, who is Casanova? If you follow the story in this scent, Casanova doesn’t stand out in a crowd. He’s the type of person you’d easily walk past in the street and not notice directly. But he knows himself – he is cool, calm, and confident. Dressed immaculately, the quality material of his suit and shirt shows that he has a refined taste and attention to detail. But it’s more than that. He has a subtle charisma which is alluring – once noticed. And he knows it. Catch his eye, and you’ll find a deep, challenging sparkle which you’ve taken a few steps towards involuntarily, drawn in like a house mouse to candy.

1725 Casanova by Histoires de Parfums 2001

1725 Casanova by Magali Senequier and Gérald Ghislain

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, citruses, grapefruit, licorice
Heart: Lavender, star anise
Base: Vanilla, almond, sandalwood, cedar, amber

1725 Casanova opens with lavender and multi-citrus top notes, primarily smoky bergamot and grapefruit, with a fleeting touch of amber. After 15 minutes a dark green, moist, sticky liquorice joins the lavender. The impression I get from the liquorice is that of a thick glossy black stick which has been snapped in half exposing the softer centre.

The oily fresh lavender mingles with the liquorice and lifts it up, preventing it from being too overpowering. At half an hour an almond comes through – thankfully only lasting to the hour mark before it subsides back to lavender/liquorice, and the bergamot which has lost its smokiness and become much more orange in nature.

Photo Stolen Flickr

The fragrance has an air of alcohol about it, which I can’t quite place until I realise it is just like basic aftershave. The absence of any herbaceous notes in 1725 brings a grey, austere effect to the fragrance. The effect is a smoothness of a well-cut good quality men’s suit. There is an almost transparent cedar in the background, which gives an anthropogenic slant to the scent. The cedar is refined, dead, cut and shaved into a cupboard or a set of draws in a room, almost undetectable but providing a sense of presence to the room.

I originally felt that 1725 had a longevity of around 5 hours, but I realised later that after that time the remaining skin scent sticks around for about 12 hours. This base still contains the lavender but gains vanilla. The combination of vanilla and lavender in the dry down has an oddly gourmand feel to it. So, overall, this feels like a relatively ordinary scent. But who ever said ordinary can’t be interesting? I wore this on a warm summers day, respritzed quite a few times, and the combination of lavender, bit of dust and residual oils from my skin created a clean muskiness that neither my skin nor the fragrance alone would have shown.

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

Casanova is the man you’ll find standing quietly at a bar, watching a group of young men acting up and playing the fool to try and get the attention of a group of young women. He doesn’t need to do anything – just smiles and watches whilst stirring the ice in his drink. Slowly, one of the women notices him, and starts watching back. And another. Who is this silent stranger? They move over to chat. Eventually, the group of guys have given up, and Casanova is still standing at the end of the bar, which is now lined with ladies all talking quietly, sipping on their own drinks, and waiting for their chance to get closer to him…

Further reading: Chemist in a Bottle and Olfactoria’s Travels
Parfum1 has $36/15ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $5/ml

Have you tried 1725 Casanova by Histoires de Parfums? Is it on your list?

Tina G xx

RAOK: Random Acts Of Kindness in a Perfumista’s World

July 22, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 15 Comments

Post by Ainslie Walker

RAOK

Random Acts Of Kindness in a Perfumista’s World

I noticed “ROAK” trending on the Facebook Fragrance groups I belong to (Fragrance Guru Nation, Facebook Fragrance Friends etc.) It stands for Random Act Of Kindness.

In short, people give out sample vials, atomisers or bottles of fragrances, for free. Announced sometimes with a question or quiz people must answer, sometimes it’s first in, best dressed and BINGO! Some lucky member anywhere in the world gets to try new fragrances FOR FREE! Crazy, no?

For various reasons, I like having bottles in their original packaging. Recently I bought a perfume and to my surprise, the parcel included FIFTEEN 3ml decants!! A lucky dip. Was I going to be converted?!

It’s impossible to experience all the fragrances and brands we read about, so RAOK’s enable us to sniff a bunch of newbies, for free! The risk is, of course, that the fragrances may not be in their original condition, contaminated or have experienced poor storage conditions such as heat/light (Ed: which can happen to bottles or decants and it is a risk every time you don’t buy brand new sealed bottles less than 3 years old)…but for the joy, I think it’s a risk worth taking. Here is a quick fun flirt with some;

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Tauer – L’air Du Desert Marocain – I’d never smelt an ‘Andy Tauer’ before. Hooray! Instantly warm and balmy. coriander and a touch of sweaty cumin. The end of a dry hot day? Incense or dry woods like cedar. Sweet in the dry down. The spices continue to smolder. I am reminded of the Middle East. In particular when I spent a night camping in the desert in Egypt. Beautifully odd and a little creepy at times. (APJ LDDM Review<<JUMP)

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Histoires de Parfums – 1969 Parfum De Revolte – An empty vial, as it leaked en route, but can smell powdery peachy, vanillary sweet. It reads well on Fragrantica – cocoa, cardamom, rose, patchouli, clove, musk, apricot, coffee.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Bodadicea The Victorious – Pure – Oooo yum, I’m having images of somewhere tropical. Fresh and fruit-spiced. I could drink this. So fresh and tropical but earthed by some deeper resins and woods. There’s some real strength to this one! Victory is mine! (well at least 3mls of it)

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Jean Charles Brosseau – Fleurs D’Ombre Violette Menthe – Would have walked past this in a store, however this is a hit for me! I love the powdery woody violet notes immediately. The sandalwood is strong and buttery. The mint keeps the violets contemporary. Nicely balanced. I’d like this as bath oil. A few hours on, the freshness dies a little abruptly.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Histoires de Parfums – Tubereuse 1 Capricieuse – Had heard good things about this brand, but never worn them. Saffron, suede, menthol maybe a touch of tuberose, but not the pretty notes… I expected more. It isn’t pretty on me…? Anyone?

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Frapin 1270 you can read Portia’s APJ review<<JUMP. I discovered I do actually like fruity fragrance and have now even bought a full bottle from Peony in Melbourne.

So much fun!! A big thank you to Cassandra* for the hours of pleasure and new discoveries you have given me. I will always remember your kindness.

Ainslie Walker xx

*Name not changed, with permission

1740 Marquis De Sade by Gérald Ghislain for Histoires de Parfums 2008

January 14, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

Guest Post by Michael

Hello fellow Fragaholics

For a kick off I thought I’d review one of my favourite fragrances and, dare I say it, a modern masterpiece –

1740 Marquis De Sade by Histoires de Parfums 2008

1740 is part of the Library of Scents range of Histoires de Parfums and inspired by the: “Birth year of a Parisian gentleman, named Donatien-Alphonse-François, which posterity remembers as the Marquis de Sade. For this man, whose licentious morals had him imprisoned many times, luxury rhymes with literature. The libertine writer would undoubtedly have enjoyed the audacity of this spiced wooded scent, an invitation to pleasure with its bergamot and Davana Sensualis hints, rounded with patchouli and everlasting flower.”

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords::
Top: Bergamot, Davana Sensualis
Heart: Patchouli, Coriander, Cardamom
Base: Cedar, Birch, Labdanum, Leather, Vanilla, Elemi, Immortelle

This fragrance has wonderful depth and volume. The opening combines bergamot, coriander and the high register notes of cedre – you could not call this “fresh” however as sweetness, booziness, leather and naughty spices form the opening too. Cumin and cardamom play they’re dirty little games while the birch and woody notes support the leather undertones. I can understand why some might call out incense however it seems to be more of a fleeting impression than an actual part of the composition. There is a slight persistence of the softer bergamot elements between the opening and the mid offering a soft tone to the dryer spicy woody aspects.

Photo of Marquis de Sade Illustration Stolen art.com

The sweetness is a little syrupy but not cloying despite being reminiscent of maple syrup or molasses. The booziness is not entirely specific but it does give off a somewhat dry sweet liquor impression; something akin to oak aged rum or port pipe aged whisky.

1740 does not change drastically during wearing but the middle phase does see some development. The little there is of fresh notes retreat and the spices are turned down allowing a greater overall balance. The sweetness loses its syrupy edge and moves into a subtle amber accord. The tobacco and leather are still there in dryer incarnations. There is a slightly peppered note but I’m not sure if it’s black pepper or an aspect of the patchouli combining with the cumin and dry woods. Certainly it helps add to the perception of tobacco’s presence. This is where the fragrance is at its best– the warm Indian spices, immortelle , tobacco, dry leather and amber swim and dance on the skin and it smells oh so wonderful and comforting. It’s the olfactory equivalent of a big warm hug from your SO or burying your nose and forehead into the nape of your lover as you cuddle up at night.

Photo Stolen developmentagezim

The drydown sees a further drying of the composition. A somewhat gritty but non head shop patchouli has been at play all the way through but it seems more prominent now with the immortelle, spices, tobacco and leather still rumbling along, albeit at a lower volume. All in all a masterful unisex masculine; hah!

1740 has moderate projection and excellent longevity.

Further reading KatiePuckrikSmells and Olfactoria’sTravels
LuckyScent has 60ml/$125
SurrenderToChance starts at $5/ml

See you soon,
Michael

Noir Patchouli by Gerald Ghislain for Histoires de Parfums

December 22, 2012 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 27 Comments

Hey Hey Fellow Fumies,

I am finally getting to some things I’ve had for ages but haven’t had the time to enjoy fully because life has been hectic. Happily hectic. Then I got the dreaded sinus lurgy and my nose went on strike so it’s nice to be fully functioning again. One of the frags that slipped through the cracks when it arrived but is now getting a bit of skin time is

Noir Patchouli by Histoires de Parfums

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Patchouli, coriander, cardamom
Heart: Patchouli, bouquet of flowers, juniper berries
Base: Patchouli, musk, vetiver, foam, leather, vanilla

Histoires de Parfums site says: The patchouli flower, grown in the East, exhales an intense and bewitching scent from its leaves. Wooded, Chypre like, this elixir stimulates the senses. A breath of mystery, as deep as black absorbing the light.

Called a Woody Chypre but I though there should be a citric opening, labdanum middle and mossy base? Is the modern take allowed to do away with all three? The very first whiff I get here is vanilla, it is fleeting but immediately comforting. Following closely come the herbs making an interesting green melange with the patchouli; green and rural like a healthy, freshly turned compost heap, earthy. The juniper berries soon add a sharp sparkling counterpoint and I think the rooty/salty vetiver is already showing its colours. My body completely eats all floral traces, there is nothing pretty here, though the whole fragrance is entrancing. I’ve been sitting here happily huffing away at myself and staring into space while my hand backs alternately and then simultaneously waft past my nose. Rich, rugged and raunchy are the three words I am constantly saying in my head, and powerhouse.

Noir Patchouli’s heart is a beautiful mixture of patchouli, healthy young mans hot day and hard work sweat and a cologne-ish brightness above it all. Maybe there’s a hint of lavender? Perhaps a little something bovine and flatulent, that sweet muggy fragrance of an animal barn in the morning sunlight. The leather is creamy as we wander, or meander rather, back to inedible soft vanilla, but Noir Patchouli remains a hefty unsuburban, free and wild fragrance till the end.

I get really good life of about 6 hours very noticeable scent before it turns skin-ish and combines beautifully with my own body scent, giving the impression that this is how I smell in real life for another 4 hours. I really would LOVE to smell this on a couple of my girl friends because though aimed at the boys I think Noir Patchouli would be devastatingly killer on a woman. Far too fragrant for close proximity work or anywhere fragrance phobic, super great for date night. I’m going to wear it for wrapping Christmas presents.

Photo Stolen gayatriforum

Further reading TheNonBlonde and OlfactoriasTravels
Histoires de Parfums site has 60ml €87
SurrenderToChance starts at $5/ml

Do you have a favourite patchouli fragrance? Have you tried this? Tell us about it in the comments because we love to converse.

Do you ever stop and take 3 really deep breathes to clear your mind? Do it now. I find it lets heaps of stress go in about 10 seconds.
Till tomorrow,
Portia xx

Ambre 114 by Gerald Ghislain and Magali Senequier for Histoires de Parfums 2001

November 4, 2012 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 18 Comments

Hey Hey Fume Addicted Family,

As it cools down up in the Northern Hemisphere and warms up in the Southern there is some crossover time where the temperatures are similar throughout the days and evenings, still brisk enough to take a cardigan with you but warm enough to often not need it. Now is one of my favourite fragrance wearing times because it seems the range that is comfortably wearable is limitless. Just recently I went in on a split from the lovely MH at FFF and I’m glad I did…

Ambre 114 by Histoires de Parfums 2001

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Nutmeg, caraway
Heart: Sandalwood, patchouli, vetiver, cedar, rose, geranium
Base: Tonka bean, amber, benzoin, vanilla, musk

I have been wearing Ambre 114 to work for the last 3 days and yesterday it even got Disco Nap and Bedtime wears, I will wear it to bed tonight too. If you are frightened of the harsh, powerful or scary reputation that amber has then this is a wonderful gateway amber. It goes on sweet and yummy, slightly burnt like the sugar on brulee, is pretty and leaves a fabulous sillage, at times there is a Shalimar-esque ice cream sweetness to Ambre 114 that never goes so far down the vanilla road but is looking at the signpost on the fork. Creamy, delicious but still cool and light. A contradiction in theory but beautifully brought to life by Gerald Ghislain and Magali Senequier. So smooth and subtle even in the opening and all the way through to dry down. There is never a harsh moment and tonight at work one of the lovely workmen said I smelled “like a rich and fancy lady.” WOW! That is the kind of compliment that could seriously have me buying a bottle if I weren’t already saving.

There are so many featured accords that pass me by when wearing Ambre 114, the 114 is the amount of separate ingredients, that I feel it would be churlish of me to try and parse this perfectly balanced, all weather, fresh and light amber fragrance. I feel comfortable and relaxed in it, as if I’ve been wearing Ambre 114 for years and have always smelled this good.

Maybe a little too fragrant for work but all other occasions will be well served, even dinner or a movie. Jeans or ballgown, Ambre 114 will fit right in. You will smell beautiful.

From LuckyScent: This mythical raw material improves a 114-element composition. A caravanserai of scents for this hot oriental intensifying the natural sensuality of grey amber, sweet perfume and tinted with exoticism. In the Orient, women used to burn incenses, myrrh and amber. It is an oriental vision of voluptuousness.

Photo Stolen balkanholidaysblog

OlfactoriasTravels and TheNonBlonde for further reading
HistoiresDeParfums has 60ml/87euro
LuckyScent has 60ml/$125
SurrenderToChance starts at $5/ml

Whatever you do today make sure you take a moment for yourself,
Love and hugs,
Portia xxx

It’s nearly the 10 year anniversary of the Sydney Gay Games and here is the Opening number of the Opening Ceremony starring Bob Downe. You’ll see me at the end. Unfortunately I couldn’t find us doing our spiel, it was pretty cool, I got the whole stadium to do a Mexican Wave and when they were at the stand up position they had to scream PORTIA!! One of the high points of my career.

Australian Perfume Junkies

Olfactory Opinions from Oz

Histoires de Parfums

Tranoï Paris 2016: Photo Essay

Tranoï Paris 2016

Vidi by Gérald Ghislain for Histoires de Parfums 2013

Vidi by Gérald Ghislain for Histoires de Parfums 2013

Tubereuse 3 Animale by Gérald Ghislain for Histoires de Parfums 2010

Tubereuse 3 Animale by Histoires de Parfums 2010

Tubereuse 3 Animale by Gérald Ghislain

SmackDown: Petroleum by Histoires de Parfums Vs Eau de Engine by Team Vodafone

Petroleum by Histoires de Parfums
Vs
Eau de Engine by Team Vodafone

Eau De Engine by TeamVodafone – Jamie Whincup

1725 Casanova by Magali Senequier and Gérald Ghislain for Histoires de Parfums 2001

1725 Casanova by Histoires de Parfums 2001

1725 Casanova by Magali Senequier and Gérald Ghislain

RAOK: Random Acts Of Kindness in a Perfumista’s World

RAOK

Random Acts Of Kindness in a Perfumista’s World

1740 Marquis De Sade by Gérald Ghislain for Histoires de Parfums 2008

1740 Marquis De Sade by Histoires de Parfums 2008

Noir Patchouli by Gerald Ghislain for Histoires de Parfums

Noir Patchouli by Histoires de Parfums

Ambre 114 by Gerald Ghislain and Magali Senequier for Histoires de Parfums 2001

Ambre 114 by Histoires de Parfums 2001