Antimony by Christi Meshell for House of Matriarch 2016

June 28, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

Erica Golding

Hello, scented greetings to you! I hope this little note finds you all well.

Today, I have saturated my wrists with a breathtaking new natural perfume that has completely stolen my heart! It made a crazy day seem much more manageable, a bubble shield of serenity. As a bonus, the magnetic pull of my perfume became evident at the office today. I was alone in a conference room when a friend ran in and sniffed the air, immediately guessing that my fragrance must be the amazing scent that drew him in. Flattered, I shared a link with him – I hope his wife will be getting a phenomenal gift soon:

Antimony by House of Matriarch 2016

Antimony by Christi Meshell

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Olibanum, pandanus, henna, palo santo, galanga, sandalwood, ash, nard himalayan (jatamansi), butter, copal, agarwood (oud), mitti attar, madam, rose

This pure pleasure of a perfume opens with depth and sincerity. I sense golden resins, buttery soft leather, smoky India ink, and a kiss of the syrupy sweetness of immortelle flower. The heart and soul of the aroma on my skin from start to finish is a luxuriously balanced high end frankincense, woody but not dry. Hours later, the other notes have dissipated, but the resonant olibanum just sings and sings, an absolute joy.

The inspiration for Antimony is the ritual of applying jet black kohl around the eyes, a talisman of protection and glamour. The darkness of the intensity is spot on, but the aroma is not heavy. In fact, it lifts from the skin, buoyant and graceful, infused with the delight of confident victory.
I applied this perfume 12 hours ago and it is STILL wafting healthily from my skin. The vibrant longevity of this 99.99% natural fragrance is just unreal! Antimony is unique enough to get you noticed no matter the occasion, while pleasantly attractive enough to be wearable without challenging your companions.

Further reading: The Scented Apprentice
House of Matriach has samples from $20

I love the points system on House of Matriarch’s website. My purchases over the last year have earned me a 50% off coupon code, how rad is that? These perfumes are highly concentrated treasures rich with top-of-the-line absolutes and worth every cent.

Have you sampled House of Matriarch yet? What is your favorite?

Until next time, be well and take time to smell the roses!

Love and light,
Erica

Curious GIVEAWAY WINNER

June 25, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

Portia

Hiya APJ,

Thank you Mandy Aftel for your generosity. Seems everyone is really excited to try your new fragrance. WOO HOO!
Let’s see who won.
Portia xx

Curious GIVEAWAY WINNER

Aftelier gives these featured accords:
Tobacco, hay, smoke, orange leaf, Siam wood, dirty orange

Aftelier has samples starting from $7

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 1 winner who will receive:
1 x Curious by Aftelier Perfumes sample
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Saturday 24th June 2017 10pm Australian EdsT
Winner was chosen by random.org

Brad Woolslayer

The winners will have till Saturday 1st July 2017 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit

Dama Koupa by Spyros Drosopoulos for Baruti 2016

June 23, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 13 Comments

Portia

Hey Independent Perfume Peeps,

I got a bunch of stuff a while back from a split group I’m in. For some reason todays fragrance didn’t get sniffed. I’m not quite sure why. Anyway, in the words of Pretty Woman, Big Mistake.

Baruti

Spyros the Baruti perfumer and (I think) owner writes:

THIS IS WHAT MY DREAMS SMELL LIKE
I MAKE PERSONAL AND IMMEDIATE PERFUMES
DECEPTIVELY PLAYFUL
ROOTED IN THE UNCONSCIOUS
PERPLEXING THE SENSES
LIKE KALEIDOSCOPIC EXPLOSIONS OF BEAUTY
THEY CAN BLOW YOU AWAY

SPYROS (AMSTERDAM 2014)

Dama Koupa by Baruti 2016

Dama Koupa by Spyros Drosopoulos

Fragrantica

Baruti gives these featured accords:
Bitter almonds, Grappa, Tonka bean, Vanilla, Cocoa, Iris, Osmanthus, Musk, Amber, White woods, Beeswax, Fir Balsam Absolute.

Before we even start this review I want to tell you that I have already been in touch with Spyros at Baruti and bought at full retail a bottle of Dama Koupa. The website was playing silly buggers so I wrote to him direct and got a response within hours, he offered to send me a PayPal invoice and get my fragrance out to me ASAP. YAY! On its way.

Dry, nutty, boozy, sprinkled with sugar that seems to accentuate the lack of sweetness rather than lightening Dama Koupa up. Woodsy, like sawdust with this completely unexpected feeling of desiccated florals. You know those almond biscuits? Like the first unsweet bite into one of those….. but not. Actually, through the heart I get something grain-ish, like barley broth.

PDI

I know other people are getting the scent of Macaroons, the original coconut meringue confection, but my nose is getting something much more masculine, outdoorsy and mountainous.

Longevity is excellent and I smell Dama Koupa almost exactly as it went on hours later. Who could wear it? I think anyone with a sense of olfactory adventure because where I am getting manliness others get this bakery style gourmand.

WikiCommons

Further reading: Persefume and Fragrance Daily
Baruti has €92,56/30ml and ships worldwide

Are gourmands in general enticing or repulsive to you? Do you know another gourmand that skews dry and masculine?
Portia xx

Curious by Mandy Aftel for Aftelier Perfumes 2017

June 22, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 42 Comments

Portia

Hey Hey APJ,

Mandy aftel is a mate of mine. She sends me her updates and we chat irregularly over the net. One day with a bit of luck we shall meet and I know I’ll be transported. Her fragrances are bold and daring and she has inspired a whole generation of Indie Perfumers. Yesterday I got news of her newest creation and an offer of a sample. So rather than wait 10 days for it to arrive we thought it might be fun to do an immediate giveaway for one lucky APJer as soon as it’s released! How freaking cool is that? You will be among the first to try this magical new Mandy Aftel creation.

Coins is aligned with another fabulous new thing Mandy has created the Aftel Archive of Curious Scents!

Location: Cottage at end of brick driveway,
1518-1/2 Walnut St. Berkeley, CA 94709
Phone: 510-841-2111 Email: info@aftelier.com

Details:
Open only on Saturdays 11 am – 6 pm.
Limit of 6 visitors per hour.
Tickets are $20 for a 1-hour time slot, starting and ending promptly.

Curious by Aftelier Perfumes 2017

Curious by Mandy Aftel

Aftelier gives these featured accords:
Tobacco, hay, smoke, orange leaf, Siam wood, dirty orange

Here’s the Press Release: Curious, inspired by the atmosphere of my Archive of Curious Scents, is a smoky musk perfume, with notes of dried fruit and precious woods. The rich muskiness of Curious allows it to mix with each person’s body chemistry in an intimate and idiosyncratic fashion. I adore tobacco absolute and think of it as the ultimate botanical musk note, especially when paired with the sweet mossy apricot-like hay absolute.

An airy smokiness laces through the perfume from the opening to the ending, — burnt fruitwood and caramel. Mesmerizing orange leaf absolute, like a green orange, is refreshingly tart, animalic, and indolic. Curious opens with creamy and smooth wood brightened with dirty citrus and punctuated with spice. The texture of the perfume is like soft fur. My Aftel Archive includes an exhibit that deconstructs Curious perfume note by note, and chord by chord, so that visitor can explore the mystery of how each essence locks together to create the perfume.

Aftelier has samples starting from $7

Curious GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 1 winner who will receive:
1 x Curious by Aftelier Perfumes sample
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

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

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please go to Aftelier Perfumes<<jump and find ONE INGREDIENT and name both ingredient & fragrance. (No DOUBLE UPS)

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Saturday 24th June 2017 10pm Australian EdsT and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Saturday 1st July 2017 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit

Yes I Do v I Don’t Swallow GIVEAWAY WINNERS

June 22, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

Portia

Woo Hoo!
Thanks to Bronwyn from Gascoigne & King, the Australian ELdO importers and distributors.

Thanks also to all who entered.
Portia xx

Yes I Do v I Don’t Swallow GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Orange blossom, lily-of-the-valley, patchouli, jasmine, aldehydes, amber, cacao pod, marshmallow, musk

Etat Libre d’Orange has €85/50ml (Shipping to the world only €15)

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 3 winners who will receive:
1 x 10ml decant Yes I Do
1 x 10ml decant I Don’t Swallow
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Wednesday 21st June 2017 10pm Australian EdsT
Winners were chosen by random.org

Anna-Maria

Hage

Kandice

The winners will have till Wednesday 28th June 2017 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit

Verveine Figuiere by Pierre Guillaume for Phaedon 2012

June 2, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 9 Comments

Portia

Hey Fumie Freakazoids,

Pierre Guillaume does some fun & interesting stuff in his Phaedon range. The blurb on the Phaedon Website says: The house of Phaedon was founded by two Parisian aesthetes with a passion for travel and the ancient cultures of the Mediterranean. I love that these scents are affordable beauty, Pierre seems secure enough to release at realistic prices yet still produce absolutely luxe scent. When the brand came out Tabac Rouge was all we heard about but the other scents in the range bear inspection also. So let’s…

Verveine Figuiere by Phaedon 2012

Verveine Figure by Pierre Guillaume

Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Verbena, Fig leaf
Heart: Glycyrrhiza, Cedar
Base: Benzoin, Oakmoss

Lemon Balm and Lemon Verbena are different. I just learned that. Lemon Verbena is a hardy perennial South American plant and is used to flavour drinks, meats and salads. Lemon Balm is part of the mint family. Both can be grown in pots and are often brought indoors during winter. Mum used to use Lemon Balm to sweeten fish, add a pop to salad and in her famous alcoholic fruit punch. The net says that they are basically interchangeable in food.

Verveine Figuiere is quite different dabbed or sprayed. I’m going to talk about the spray today because that’s how I’ve applied.The opening is very lemon and a dry background that smells a little eucalyptus, it’s fresh and refreshing without any of the ozonic or aquatic tropes and is quite photo realistic of my childhood memories of cutting up minty lemon balm. So much so that I can even taste it. The woods take it out of fragrant trick into fragrance.

WikiMedia

As the minty lemon zing softens, from nothing to a smellable contender comes a crisp fig smell. It’s only very dry to begin with but as the fragrances processes towards dry down the milkiness and sweetness blooms to a beautiful resinous foggy scent. I really love that Vervain Figure does a complete about face from sprightly zing to warm and mellow hug.

Dabbed the fragrance is more cohesive and has a much shorter story.

The other week I reviewed another of Pierre’s fragrances but didn’t include a pic. Sorry about that. Here’s a shot he sent me a while ago. Isn’t he beautiful?

Further reading: Scent for Thought
First In Fragrance have €89/100ml + Samples

Do you have a favourite Pierre Guillaume fragrance?
Portia xx

Rose Pivoine by Patricia de Nicolaï for Nicolai Parfumeur Créateur 1998

June 1, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

Portia

Hey there fumes,

Only twice in my life have I been engulfed by the scent of peonies. Once a friend who came for lunch brough them as a gift and told me that they only open if the house is filled with love. Needless to say they never opened but they did fill the house with their glorious scent. It was utterly heavenly.

The next time was in south Korea with Jin and a bunch of our mates. We had gone to visit Mummy and Pappa and across the road there was a bush with the most enormous magenta peonies covering it. The bush itself was easily taller than me and in the cool misty morning the scent travelled across to us. Like a zombie I was drawn across the road to get close to these exquisitely fragrant blooms, they were calling me and I could not resist.

So every time I smell even the cheapest, nastiest, ugliest peony scent recreation I am taken to one or both of those moments. Thankfully todays fragrance is all class.

Rose Pivoine by Nicolai Parfumeur Créateur 1998

Rose Pivoine by Patricia de Nicolaï

Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Red fruits, Roman chamomile
Heart: Rose absolute, Rose essence, Geranium
Base: Woods, Musk

Dry, sizzling opening leads to red fruity roses that are fresh and dewy, the change in the first 20 seconds is marked. I love the watery feel that comes through, it’s so pretty. This is the style of fragrance that has saturated the mid-price designer market. Patricia de Nicolai was doing it last century and doing it better than any of the imitators. There’s a fresh, velvet rose petal pressed against your cheek, you’re burying your nose into a blooming peony. There is also the powdery yet crisp snap of geranium leaves rubbed or crushed as you wander past the bush. All done in a transparent, aquatic style, very watercolour.

PDI

I know some women who wear scents like this. I grew up with them and now they are Mums and business runners. Big glasses and beautiful pearly white toothed smiles (not the ultra white of American TV), well maintained and presented women with trophy cars/handbags/houses and a couple of kids at exclusive Sydney private schools. There’s something eternally casual about these women, even when they dress up for galas. They are not brittle social X-Rays but living, breathing women who work really hard on their businesses, families and relationships but can still cackle at a girls dinner or drinks at the club. This is their style, a very fragrant yet sheer, fresh and pretty scent that is absolutely luscious when you get caught up in a hug.

Flickr

Of this style I think Rose Pivoile a very well made version, it’s seamless, reeks of good ingredients and quite gorgeous.

BeautyHabit has $45/30ml and samples

Is there a peony fragrance that you like?
Portia xx

Saffron Veil by Irina Adam for Phoenix Botanicals

May 24, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 11 Comments

Erica Golding

Hello all, I hope your day is spectacular so far!

Today, I am letting a secret out and telling you all about the most beautiful perfume I have smelled in many years. I’m not exaggerating. It is UNREAL!

Many of you may have heard about Phoenix Botanicals, an up and coming natural perfume company. I’ve been digging Irina’s scents for years, and she was a 2017 Art and Olfaction finalist nominee for Vanilla and the Sea. I adore her vision and the trajectory of her talent, but nothing prepared me for the supernova of obsession that flared when I recently inhaled this masterpiece:

Saffron Veil by Phoenix Botanicals

Saffron Veil by Irina Adam

Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Violet, Saffron, Herbs, Tuberose, Boronia, Sandalwood, Resins, Smoke

When was the last time that you tried a sample on your skin and almost fell over? That was my first impression of Saffron Veil. I curiously swabbed a drop on my skin, interested but not expecting much from the afterthought sample add-on to my order.

Truly, my knees gave out for a second and I had to sit on my bed.

The opening is boozy for a moment, as the grape alcohol carrier announces the aroma with a triumphant symphonic blast. And what a triumph it is – have you ever experienced genuine high-grade saffron absolute? Words can hardly approximate the experience, but this saffron exhibits a leathery richness like the finest buttery suede. It also has a touch of bitterness like vetiver grass, sunlit smoky hay. This saffron anchor, although a lower note in the fragrance, dominates the opening. Interestingly, the saffron also offers longevity even as it slides into its decrescendo.

Etsy

As the saffron detonation begins to settle and equilibrate, the composition makes way for the most heartbreaking floral bouquet I have ever known. Hawaiian tuberose, magnolia, boronia, and violet harmonize like an unlikely squad of lifelong friends who are all incredibly unique and different. The tuberose is the primary note that I detect, and it is pure magic. This tuberose is the real deal, highly prized (and accordingly costly), and my self-expression shuts down into a sputtering of small words as I try to describe it: Wax, butter, sugar, lush, humid, sweet, green, tropical, delicate, voluptuous. Quietly humming at the bottom, I sense a hint of smooth sandalwood and perhaps benzoin and myrrh.

The perfume longevity on the skin is exceptional for a natural fragrance, especially one with such soul-smashingly breathtaking volatile notes. Saffron Veil lasts for several hours, and if I spray it onto my clothing, it lasts all day. It’s a bold fragrance, possibly a little daring for work but that hasn’t stopped me!

What a dream.

Etsy

Saffron Veil from Au$69/5ml

I hope you will consider trying a sample of Saffron Veil, I would love to talk about it! I haven’t fallen for a perfume this hard in years.

Love and light,
Erica

Oliver & Co + LuckyScent Sample

May 22, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 23 Comments

Portia

Hey Crew,

I was looking through my unused/untried/unloved samples today.In the box there are a few of the LuckyScent Sample Bags. Every month they put together a bunch of samples of their new, seasonal or interesting stuff. I like to buy these packs because invariably there are a few things I would NEVER try on my own. Also I trust the LuckyScent guys to have the best of the best. If they’re flogging it then it must be in some way spectacular.

In every couple of bags though there are things I have already tried. So there are a bunch of bags in the box with the vials as yet unopened. Today we are giving away one such set. A company that doesn’t get enough attention on blogs or press but who recently won a big award, the Duftstar 2017 for “Best Artistic Independent Perfume” for their latest offering Ambergreen.

M.O.U.S.S.E. by Oliver & Co 2012

Fragrantica

Oliver & Co gives these featured accords:
Aldehydes, clove bud, iso e super, lavender absolute, lime, Mysore sandalwood, oakmoss, white musks

Spicy clove and green notes, peppery. Zingy, glittering spices that seem to shoot from my arm like the reflected lights of a disco ball through the light smoky haze of a club. Metallic, cool and sharp through the heart I find M.O.U.S.S.E. both challenging and alluring. My nose continually sniffing for changes in mood and texture. They come slowly and with graceful dignity, nothing in M.O.U.S.S.E. is fast paced after the initial fireworks. It’s gradual sliding into a new fragrant level.

Only towards the very deepest dry down does M.O.U.S.S.E. show any sign of warming through, as if my personal scent is finally winning the battle with this fragrant interstellar intruder and finally humanising it. The ride is sensational without being too freaky for daily wear.

Oliver & Co has €110/50ml
LuckyScent has some of the range $130/50ml

LuckyScentOliver & Co Sample GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 1 winner who will receive:
1 x 0.7ml Oliver & Co Dunard LuckyScent Sample
1 x 0.7ml Oliver & Co Gincense LuckyScent Sample
1 x 0.7ml Oliver & Co La Colonia LuckyScent Sample
1 x 0.7ml Oliver & Co M.O.U.S.S.E. LuckyScent Sample
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please go to the Oliver & Co site <<JUMP and tell us in the comments a Fragrance and ONE Ingredient (Don’t be greedy and name more than one, those entries will be ignored) NO DOUBLE UPS

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Wednesday 24th May 2017 10pm Australian EdsT and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Wednesday 31st May 2017 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit

Fumee d’Or by Dawn Spencer Hurwitz for DSH Perfumes 2014

May 4, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 6 Comments

Portia

Hello Independent Fragrance Lovers,

A bunch of DSH samples arrived at once a while ago and I liked so many of them but having been trying to space them out so you all don’t get overwhelmed our bored. You know I love Dawn’s work, something about her style fits me really well and I LOVE the way she picks a note or style and creates the perfect setting to highlight it. The more fragrances I spend time with in her collection the more impressed she makes me.

A note of advice though. This is Independent Small Batch Perfumery. If you ONLY know or like the department store, super smooth, focus group tested out of all ingenuity or flair, ultra sweet fragrances that you are offered on a daily basis then you are in for a surprise. Give yourself a moment to adjust, don’t put your nose to the wet patch you just spritzed, give it at least a full 20 seconds before you go in for the up close sniff. These fragrances have top notes but they are also deeper, more interesting and have a real journey that you will have much more fun with if your nose hasn’t been blown out.

Fumee d’Or by DSH Perfumes 2014

Fumee d’Or by Dawn Spencer Hurwitz

DSH Perfumes

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Aldehydes, Australian sandalwood, bergamot, oakmoss, Bulgarian rose, civet, jasmine, immortelle, incense, leather, myrrh, neroli, agarwood (oud), jasmine sambas, tobacco

Created as part of the Brilliant Collection for Denver Art Museum’s “Brilliant: Cartier in the 20^th Century”. Fumee d’Or is designed as a stand alone AND to be used as a base for the other three fragrances in the DSH Brilliant Collection, to add the lustre of the goldsmiths creative process. I bloody wish I’d read that before I used up all the others. Oh well.

The first thing I smell is immortelle, civet and oudh. I swear there is also honey in here. Imagine the most gorgeous, brilliant cut cognac diamond set in a ring of clear pave diamonds in a matte yellow gold setting and you have some idea of how Fumee d’Or smells.

WikiMedia

I’m sure all the notes listed are inside but I am solely captivated by the metal and animal facets. This is exactly my level of animals. They are friendly and furry, plush even. As thick as bear fur and as light as caribou. A very interesting juxtaposition of the dense and sheer that is absolutely captivating.

Here Dawn shows her absolute power over notes that in many others hands would become clunky, cumbersome and sickening. This is vintage done 21st century and without the stringent IFRA laws. A fun feral frolic with depth, elegance and a sense of having been made especially for me. Luminous, yet deep, hot and exotic.

Wikimedia

Further reading: IndiePerfumes and Colognoissseur
DSH Perfumes has a variety of strengths and sizes from $6

Does Fumee d’Or sound like something you might wear?
Portia xx