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Portia
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Hello lovers of NEW!
There were already rumblings about Atelier Colognes newest frag before it was released. It was the kind of hype I’d not felt about a scent in ages. The using of polar opposite ingredients, breaking with tradition, interesting, exciting, NEW! So obviously as soon as LuckyScent had some, and because it comes in a very freaking sensible 10ml spritz I grabbed one while ordering something else. Continue reading
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Portia
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Hey Ultra Rich Perfumistas,
These babies are expensive. So expensive my mind is having trouble grasping it. US$18.33/ml. Yes, you read that right. PER MIL.
Yes, I know they’re extrait but seriously, that is aspirational pricing out of this world. For the same price as 30ml of La Selle I can buy 2 x 100ml Serge Lutens with enough spare to buy a 7.5ml Byredo Roll On Oil in Mojave Ghost. So from a price point perspective they have set the bar extremely high, my expectations for performance, beauty and wit are through the roof.
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Black tea, cashmere
Heart: Leather, tobacco leaf
Base: Birch, oakmoss
Opening is that 21st century niche woodsy scent with the slight throat drying bite of tea. Within a minute the leather has made itself known and the familiar birch component, that dark charred wood and sweat smell, comes forth. La Selle keeps it friendly and welcoming and even the most birch averse will not be totally overwhelmed. Not listed but I smell honey and beeswax, there also is a soft fruitiness like banana peel.
La Selle is all luxury. If this is saddle leather it has never been on a horse and never known a horsemans bum. It has also been sitting in the shop for a decade because that new leather saddlery smell is gone leaving much more of the waxy resins and the fabric & stuffing.
PDI
La Selle is to die for. I have three large spritzes on my arm and it is sheer but surprisingly insistent. I am not allowed to forget that I’m wearing it. I get busy and halfway through a process it comes back and reminds me I’m wearing La Selle. It seems very sweetly resinous but I can’t pinpoint which ones. Also I’ve smelled the dry down, or very similar before, but I can’t bloody well remember where. It hangs around softly pulsing into tomorrow, dry but sweet, smooth and lightly creamy.
Aha! Light bulb moment. La Selle’s dry down is similar to Guerlain Samsara in dry down. Not exactly the same but boy are they related.
If I wore a single fragrance daily and had $550 to spend on 30ml of fragrance (about two to three months if I wear it exclusively everyday) then I would be seriously considering a purchase here. I’m not that guy though. Actually I’m being a bit silly. A CHANEL 15ml of No 22 is $225 currently so La Selle is exactly double that, I wouldn’t bat an eye at paying that for No 22 and I honestly think I’d get more wear from the Byredo.
PDI
Further reading: Colognoisseur
LuckyScent has $550/30ml and Samples
Would you pay that money for something spectacular?
Portia xx
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Portia
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Hiya Fragrant Friends,
My mates at Libertine Parfumerie sent me a bunch of samples recently. One of the scents I really liked a lot is Tobacco Nuit. Don’t forget, we Aussies get FREE Australian Shipping from the Libertine crew and they throw in generous samples.
Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Italian clementine, Coriander, Cumin
Heart: Labdanum, Tobacco blossom, Uzbek incense
Base: Atlas cedar, Brazilian tonka bean, Indonesian patchouli
Bittersweet citrus smoothed by soft waves of coriander and labdanum wash out of the opening. The cumin plays a very background role, merely adding a worn-in feeling rather than a sweaty jock strap. Tobacco Nuit smells extremely luxurious and balmy. Rich, dark and woody with chocolate facets and resinous sweet cool glassiness. I am reminded of the way Mona di Orio created perfumes, there is a rich, seamless haughty arrogance to Tobacco Nuit that has me smiling and enjoying it’s grandness. I can see it becoming a firm favourite of the 21st century dandies, should they ever get to try it.
I’m really surprised that there is no honey mentioned in the note list but it may be the way that the tobacco, patchouli, tonka and labdanum combine. Whatever it is Tobacco Nuit feels thick, lustrous and buffed to a high sheen.
Through the heart I can feel the scent drying out and becoming more woodsy, and warmer. Like sitting in a cold room where someone lights a fire. That moment when the big logs are alight and all the kindling gone, suddenly there is this clean warmth and the room smells amazing.
Longevity is excellent, better than many EdPs, and even after a bath I have remnants of Tobacco Nuit, just the amberish warmth of utter dry down. Gorgeous from start to finish.
Further reading: WMSSL and Colognoisseur
Libertine Parfumerie has $299/100ml (FREE Australian Shipping)
First in Fragrance has €175/100ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $3.50/ml
Have any of the Atelier Colognes called your name?
Portia xx
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Tara: A Bottled Rose
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Hi APJ,
Creamy petals in the breeze…
Whenever I’ve encountered LM Parfums online, the brand has come across as rather sleek and sexy. It also has some intriguing English fragrance names such as Army of Lovers, along with de rigueur French ones.
LM Parfums is a New York based niche line launched in 2010 by fashion designer Laurent Mazzone, after first releasing a collection of scented candles. Sensual Orchid is a floral oriental launched in 2012 composed by Jerome Epinette who has done a number of fragrances for Atelier Cologne and Byredo.
Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Mandarin, Almond, Neroli
Heart: Heliotrope, Jasmine sambac, Orchid, Peony, Ylang-ylang
Base: Benzoin, Blond woods, Labdanum, Musk, Vanilla, White cedar
From the name and my impression of the brand, I expected Sensual Orchid to be a nocturnal, narcotic scent. Therefore the fresh opening was a surprise; comprising sweet, juicy mandarin and a dash of booze which together create a cocktail effect.
Almond is a nemesis note of mine but here, combined with orange, it doesn’t trigger an adverse reaction and I may not have even identified it if I hadn’t read it in the notes. The almond and heliotrope merely round out the fruit (and later the florals) giving the composition a gourmand twist.
The luscious fruit continues into the body of the fragrance which is made up of creamy, velvety white florals, mostly ylang-ylang. The finish is plush and the whole composition feels top quality. Sensual Orchid is labeled Extrait de Parfum and the lasting power is extremely good, coupled with noticeable presence.
The style of Sensual Orchid is the vein of the gorgeous Pichola by Neela Vermeire Creations. Both have an exotic feel but are billowy and citrusy.
The mood is tropical-lite, starting off with a gentle ocean breeze and blue skies, getting a little duskier over time but never quite hits sultry on me. While I get that vacation vibe it’s not a trashy beach scent in the slightest. It keeps it classy throughout. You will feel like you’re lounging in hotter climes but you won’t have people in the city wondering who’s wearing Hawaiian Tropic sun cream.
As attractive as it is,Sensual Orchid feels too laid back for me to imagine its scent coming from the striking orchid flower. Those blooms are seductive attention grabbers while remaining rarefied and delicate. I wanted the fragrance to be darker, sexier and more mysterious but it is well done, if a tad too sweet for my taste. It’s overtly feminine and entirely wearable.
Further reading: APJ and Scented Hound
LuckyScent has $220/100ml + Samples
It’s not setting my world aflame but then white florals are rarely my thing. I can imagine it working well for those who like a sweet, rich, hothouse floral with substance.
Have you tried this or anything else from LM Parfums? I’d be particularly interested if you know Hard Leather or Army of Lovers.
Tara xx
(Ed: We are so lucky to have Tara drop in today from A Bottled Rose. Do go have a look at her blog. You’ll love it. Thanks buddy!)
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Portia
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Hey Hey APJ,
Do you remember Coty’s Emerald? Well I love it, even in its modern form, but in the interests of full disclosure I rarely wear it anymore. As soon as I saw the name of todays fragrance I couldn’t wait to get my sniff on it. Add to that the lovely green (my favourite colour) of the label and it being brand new to the Atelier Cologne Metal Collection and I was practically panting. Not too far from the truth in the very hot summer we are having here in Sydney, Australia.
So I’ve poured the whole sample vial on at once, arms and chest.
Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Angelica, Bergamot, Black pepper
Heart: Eucalyptus, Geranium, Turkish rose absolute
Base: Gaiac wood, Malayan oud, Mysore sandalwood
Black pepper with a tinge of green over bro-woods is my initial thought. In the rose/oudh category this little baby is leaning to the masculine but in a 21st century niche woodsiness that speaks to me of gym changing rooms and boozy middle management on Friday night. TBH I was expecting more from the note list. Very little Angelica on me, the Eucalyptus passes me by and the geranium fails to even add its perky kick in any meaningful way.
I just read that back and it reads like a diss. Nah, not a diss. I quite like the way Emerald Agar smells but it’s hardly a boundary pusher or even feeling very niche OR it feels like all the lazy formulaic niche. Maybe I’m just feeling bitchy in the 41C humid heat.
PDI
The sandalwood is a very nice approximation. Creamy, soft, supple sandalwood like running your hand over one of those beautifully carved and polished wood bowls you see in country style stores for extravagant prices. Add that to the plethora of other wood in the base, and the super subtle hint of oudh, it’s my favourite part of the whole experience. Lasting power is good for an Atelier too. I could imagine a one fragrance person going through a bottle of Emerald Agar in the cooler months of the year in record time and even have it work well into the summer. If you told me there was ambergris in the base here I’d believe you, salty driftwood dry down with a creamy smooth overlay, seriously the end is wonderful.
LuckyScent has $130/30ml
Surrender To Chance has $4.80/ml
Can you be tempted by name and bottle? Does the colour of the packaging ever help you decide?
Portia xx
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Post by Portia
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Hey there Frag Family,
I bought a big decant of this beautiful baby when it was released in a split. For some reason then I ordered another, maybe I forgot I’d ordered the first. Anyway, most of the second one is sitting here and I think you should all get a chance to smell it.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Calabrian bergamot, Chinese ginger root, Turkish rose essence
Heart: Turkish rose absolute, Somalian frankincense, Oud accord
Base: Indonesian patchouli, Indian papyrus, Laotian benzoin
Ginger, oud, patchouli and rose are the stars of Rose Anonyme’s opening. I’m surprised how dry and desiccated the fragrance feels. Interesting how sheer yet curiously dense the combination feels, like a particularly opaque silk chiffon. I know it’s not mentioned in the notes but I get a lovely carroty iris note through the heart and it feels very leathery.
Photo Stolen WikiCommons
Rose Anonyme is tenacious, it lingers at pretty much rose, leather and base notes for the rest of the ride. The rose is curiously overwhelmed on my skin. Like it’s a back up singer creating a lovely baseline to add the stars above, ironically the stars are in the base. A lovely model in the rose/oud/leather line up. I like JHaG’s Midnight Oud and DIOR’s Oud Ispahan better for me, they seem to be more engaging and create much more excitement within me. Not knocking Rose Anonyme, it is beautiful in its way and if I hadn’t already lost my heart to the others it may have been FBW.
Photo Stolen DeviantArt
Further reading: Chemist In A Bottle and Non Blonde
Neroli Budapest has 45000ft (AUD$225)/200ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $3/ml
Want to try Rose Anonyme? Read on….
Portia xx
Photo Stolen sassisamblog
This week we will have 2 winners who will receive:
1 x 5ml decant of Rose Anonyme from my stash
P&H Anywhere in the world
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 (portia underscore turbo @ yahoo dot com dot au) 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 tell us what you would like to buy a 10ml split of
Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Rose Anonyme by Aftelier Cologne GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-4jo #Perfume #Giveaway
Entries Close Sunday 4th October 2015 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winner will be chosen by random.org
The winner will have till Thursday 8th October 2015 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.
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Post by Trésor
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Where I grew up the opportunities to express my authentic self were few and far between, it was not until later in life when I’d developed a certain degree self confidence that I was able to manifest who I truly was and see that very person staring back at me from the mirror for the first time. It was in significant part through the exploration of exquisite fragrance and rituals of beauty that I found myself growing more comfortable in my own skin and experiencing a newfound symbiosis between body and spirit.
The one thing I recall so vividly with a great deal of fondness from these early years is so simple, the pacifying aromas that would accompany the application of my skincare and makeup. With each breath inward I could feel myself transforming, the chrysalis breaking away and the gentle warmth of lambent sunbeams filtering though upon my skin. As you can imagine, this olfactory landscape holds a rather profound emotional significance to me so when I came across a fragrance that encapsulated this sacred microcosm with such ease and incredible grace I was moved to tears. Sensual Orchid is a time capsule, the contents of which are the essence of what afforded me threads of hope and unimaginable joy when both were in short supply.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Mandarin orange, almond, neroli
Heart: Orchid, jasmine sambac, ylang-ylang, peony, heliotrope
Base: Vanilla, musk, woody notes, cedar, labdanum, benzoin
Upon my initial breath I am taken by the heartbreakingly voluptuous vapours rising forth from my skin, crystalline wedges of mandarin orange glistening with cognac dew drops falling gracefully into an ebbing ocean of almonds imagined as heavenly cream. The technicolor petals of sumptuous ylang ylang rise from beneath the surface, radiant in hues of canary, languid with lashings of the almond cream and what’s now materializing as sweet, fleshy coconut. This achingly luscious olfactory texture calls to mind that of the creams my grandmother would apply each and every morning and night, a practice she passed down to me and one which would later exhibit itself as the genesis of one of my greatest passions. A veritable kaleidoscope of indulgent florals unveils itself, each petal metamorphosing into another before the one preceding can be identified in full. From narcotic jasmine, jovial peony, the syrupy richness of heliotrope to what I swear are tendrils of libidinous tuberose and back again in a display of decadent hedonism and dancerly motion.
Photo Stolen FotoCommunity
As Sensual Orchid dries down it takes on the scent of something very dear to my heart, the aroma which resides within the silk lined leather bag where I keep my favourite makeup, the cherished treasures that have done well to assuage dysphoria in the throes of growing up as a transgender youth in an environment of hostility and rage. A dulcet aura of soft vanilla permeates the background, not unlike the aroma of my beloved Russian Red lipstick. A gleaming hologram of cashmere woods flickers, redolent of the shavings of well loved kohl pencils, illuminating the diaphanous dust of delicate French face powder dancing in the air.
Photo Stolen DeviantArt
On my skin Sensual Orchid radiates in full bloom for just about six hours, tapering into a translucent whisper for another three until it finally exists as an exquisite memory. Initially the sillage is considerable but as time passes Sensual Orchid recedes closer and closer to the skin until finally fades away, becoming a sensory delight for only those you choose to draw near.
Further reading: Australian Perfume Junkies and Scented Hound
Jovoy Paris has €195/100ml
Osswald NYC has $225/100ml
Do you have a fragrance that reminds you of a particular metamorphosis in your life?
Until next time, my darlings.
Trésor
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Post by Trésor
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It is this time of year when I most like to indulge myself in longing daydreams of summertime sunlight and balmy afternoons passed to combat what seems to be a lifetime sentence within a glacial dimension of never-ending ice and snow, otherwise known as a typical Canadian winter. I imagine myself not far off, lounging in tranquility on the crystalline white sands of the Maldives but within the splendid embrace of an evening’s breeze on a midsummer’s stroll through the forest behind my home. The exquisite fragrance of the trees dancing a gossamer tango with the vapours of an eau de cologne I’d lavishly splashed prior to my departure, unifying in paradisiacal harmony and guiding me so gracefully through my frost-bound reality. It is within the vitreous sapphire flacon of Atelier Cologne’s new Cédre Atlas where perfumer Jerome Epinette has mirrored this dream sequence so effortlessly, an olfactory time machine into one of my most treasured escapes.
Photo Stolen Sephora
BaseNotes gives these featured accords:
Top: Lemon, Bergamot, Blackcurrant bud
Heart: Atlas cedarwood, Egyptian jasmine, Apricot
Base: White amber, Indian papyrus, Haitian vetiver
Cédre Atlas opens on my skin with the most ebullient note of radiant lemon underscored ever so slightly by a gentle whisper of bitter bergamot. It is not long after the initial burst of lustrous citrine that cedar begins to take centre stage. The cedar in Cédre Atlas has been executed with such visceral clarity and grows increasingly powerful the longer it spends on the skin, pushing my personal boundaries of what I would consider to be “too much” without ever actually crossing the line. I find this bit particularly fascinating and if I am being honest it is quickly becoming my favourite use of cedar I have ever encountered in a fragrance, forceful but delicate; a dichotomy and harmonious synchronicity. After about the sixth hour the cedar begins to ebb and flourishing jasmine petals descend upon the composition and make way for a sweet juxtaposition of juicy apricot painted in empyreal watercolour. The extreme dry down reveals silken tendrils of vetiver enraptured within a sensuous veil of soft, transparent amber. It is within this graceful descent that the composition becomes a skin scent and then finally becomes but a sublime memory.
Photo Stolen Pixabay
The sillage with Cédre Atlas is subtle but most certainly present, hovering around you as a soft cloud of aromatic cirrus. Longevity is what I think impressed me most, managing to cling to my skin for upwards of ten hours and finally dissipating entirely around twelve, an attribute I find rather impressive not only with this fragrance but with most of the offerings within the entirety of the Atelier Cologne range. I urge you to give Cédre Atlas a go if you are looking to experience a cedar note executed with both dynamism and grace or simply wish to take an alternative route to reliving a state of summertime bliss.
Photo Stolen DeviantArt
Further reading: Colognoisseur and Now Smell This
Sephora has $125/200ml
PeonyMelbourne doesn’t have it yet but I’m sure they will soon!
Do you have a favourite Atelier Cologne? Which and why?
Until next time, my darlings!
Trésor xx
Howdy Crew,
Fragrantica says: LM Parfums is a French niche line of scented candles and fragrances… founded by Laurent Mazzoni. Most of the blogs I have read about this crew have been about their most expensive offering Hard Leather, and I do have a sample of it around here somewhere but the one that I am really interested in has very little written about it so far….
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Mandarin orange, almond, neroli
Heart: Orchid, jasmine sambac, ylang-ylang, peony, heliotrope
Base: Vanilla, musk, woody notes, cedar, labdanum, benzoin
The first thing that intrigued me about Sensual Orchid was the perfumer, Jerome Epinette has been the nose behind a bunch of blockbuster mainstream niche offerings: four of the Atelier Colognes, Bel d’Afrique and La Tulipe (coincidentally one of my BFF Kath’s fragrances) for Byredo, three of the LuckyScent Decennial quartet and a bunch of others I’m not familiar with. It’s quite a selection.
Photo Stolen WikiCommons
Almond and orange, like a cake, like a FRIAND!! MMMMMMM. Foody and sweet but still holding onto a very sensual bouquet. GAWD!!! I love it. What a wonderful opening that lasts for a good 15+ minutes before finally giving in to the heart. The flowers are sweet and sexy, a bit ripe and lovely banana-skin tones. I am surprised there is no coconut note because I get something very like it, a creaminess and the back of my throat has the same slight ache it gets when I eat dessicated coconut.
The dry down is soft, creamy woods. An oriental amber wash that is very nice. This lasts for hours and has me feeling very sexy and frisky. A real come-hither scent that would be knockout as a date night frag or a movies with intended partner. The elegant clean thrummmm of Sensual Orchid could definitely push someone over the edge from like to lust.
Photo Stolen DeviantART
From Osswald NYC: 20% perfume concentration “Like a feminine model on the catwalk, Sensual Orchid captivates your senses with its incredible aromas. The second essence of perfume will take you to the front of the stage. The carnal pleasures evoked by this sumptuous arrangement of natural sophisticated fragrances. A first subtle scent of citrus fruit and almond leads you into a refined heart of orchid, jasmine sambac, Lysilang, peony and heliotrope then leaves a voluptuous final touch made of vanilla, musk, blonde wood, white cedar wood, labdanum and benzoin.”
Further reading: Scented Hound and CaFleureBon
Jovoy Paris has €195/100ml
Osswald NYC has $225/100ml (Hey Hey Josie & Clement!!)
Have you tested any of the LM Parfums fragrances? Do you like their aesthetic?
Portia xxxx
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Post by SarahK
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Hello ‘fume fans!
Today’s fragrance is one that I confess I first sprayed with trepidation. I enjoy leather notes in perfume, but am not generally one for heavy animalics or smoky leathers, and some other reviews mentioned the words ‘sweat’ and ‘faecal’, making me hesitate. So, one small spritz later, I was rather surprised to discover a smooth, true leather. It is the rich saddle-leather of Chanel’s Cuir de Russie, though Hard Leather is all leather, with none of Cuir de Russie’s soap and flowers covering it. There is some stable and horse in here, and the top and basenotes are more cowboy than show-jumper (particularly with a more generous spraying than I tried at first) but nothing I would describe as truly dirty. Believe me, I’ve smelled dirty ‘fumes – some vintage Detchema had me retching in the 15 minutes that I managed not to scrub it – but I would say that L’Artisan’s Dzing smells dirtier than Hard Leather.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Leather, rum
Heart: Iris, honey
Base: Sandalwood, cedar, agarwood (oud), olibanum, vanilla, styrax
Hard Leather has a tarriness that I’ve also found in some other fragrances with oud notes, like Dior’s Leather Oud, and Kilian’s Pure Oud. I have a limited tolerance for tarry notes, but here it’s soft enough still to seem like rich leather, rather than bitumen, at least until the drydown. Even better, I do not get the harsh rubbing-alcohol edge that I have experienced from some other modern leather and oud perfumes. This is a rich fragrance, particularly in its heart, but there’s a cool iris in it that, for me, adds a feeling of hauteur and restraint. Apparently there are rum and honey notes in here, but I don’t really notice them. The fragrance is never sweet or boozy on me, so those elements appear to serve just to smooth out the leather
and styrax, occasionally even creating an impression of musky blackberries.
Photo Stolen WikiMedia
Hard Leather becomes drier and somewhat ashy over the course of its life. This makes the drydown feel more animalic, chemical and masculine – if there’s a ‘dirty’ stage in the fragrance, this is where I experience it. I still find the scent fascinating, but I much prefer the heart of the scent, and the way I experience the drydown means that I probably wouldn’t wear this fragrance outside the house, particularly because it’s the drydown stage that lasts and lasts.
To me, the heart of Hard Leather evokes the aristocratic world of the early 20th Century – a mix of power, money, straitlaced manners and 
naughtiness. In other words, it’s a class act, and if the scent stayed that way in the drydown, I would love it. This is a long way from some of the reviews I have read (witness, for example, the sweaty New Orleans summer stink that Hard Leather’s topnotes evoked for The Scented Hound!). It’s clear that this is a fragrance where existing associations and skin chemistry can make a big difference in how you perceive it. I find the top and heart very enjoyable, but the long-lasting base is simultaneously too dry and animalic for me. However you perceive it, I don’t think the scent is a complete sillage monster, but it does project well for several hours, and its arid drydown sticks around for the whole day.
Photo Stolen WikiMedia
Further reading: The Scented Hound and
First In Fragrance have €295/100ml and €9/4ml Samples
What’s your favourite leather fragrance?
Australian Perfume Junkies 