Niche

Eau Suave by Parfum d`Empire 2005 + Kate Bush

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Hi there Music Lovers and Fumies,

Recently I posted a piece of music and told you how I love to put on the classical music and saif (spray a LOT) myself in a particularly big fragrance, close my eyes and just let myself float away on the music and fragrance together. Sometimes when the world gets too much, when I am bombarded by questions or negativity, when the next step seems unreachable or when I am completely overwhelmed by my to do list. Look at it this way: I could continue freaking out for 5 minutes or I can concentrate myself elsewhere, completely give myself to something else, and let my subconscious do its job. Quite often I find myself at the end of the piece of music 100% calmer, able to focus, aware of the next bite sized step or in touch with my gut feelings.

Eau Suave Parfum d`Empire Josephine WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

Last time it was Debussy: Rêverie but today I went looking for a childhood memory song. One that used to make me feel happy and sad, I used to play it repeatedly on my 3in1 and sing along in my thin childish tenor until one of the family would bang on the door and ask me to turn it down and stop that catterwauling.

Today it brings back happy memories and a smile as I completely let myself be taken away by the amazing voice of Kate Bush. What did I spritz today to listen to it?

Eau Suave by Marc-Antoine Corticchiato for Parfum d`Empire 2005

Eau Suave Parfum d`Empire FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Coriander, saffron, rose
Heart: Peach, raspberry, red berries, pepper, tea rose
Base: Vanilla, musk, oakmoss, patchouli

Spicy, sweet rose. I think the top notes of my bottle have been compromised slightly because the zingy coriander opening that I loved so well is muted nowadays. The rose is still lovely and sweet, not quite jammy but a fruity sweet and that wonderful hint of cracked pepper that some of the apricot rose flowers have when you grow them in the garden. A perfect soft focus fragrance to lose yourself in while listenbing to Kate Bush and beyond into the afternoon where it becomes a lovely soft rose and vanilla wash.

My review is for the vintage, I have not smelled the new in their very austere new bottles.

Further reading: Bois de Jasmin and Now Smell This
LuckyScent have $145/100ml
Posh Peasant has samples starting at $4/ml

Whjat music or fragrance makes you float away?
Enjoy,
Portia xx

Kate Bush – The Man with the Child in His Eyes – Official Music Video

Criminal of Love by Kilian (Russia Exclusive)

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Post by Erica Golding

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Hello loves!

The weather in my neck of the woods is currently a deep freeze. The nights slow the soul, while the moon slices the sky with icy precision – and although I don’t limit my scents to the seasons, that doesn’t mean I never crave sexy warmth to counter the frigid winter darkness!

Tonight, I have chosen to set my aura aglow with a new obsession….

Criminal of Love by Kilian (Russia Exclusive)

Criminal of Love by Dorothee Piot

Criminal of Love By Kilian FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Cardamom, saffron
Heart: Turkish rose, papyrus, atlas cedar
Base: Patchouli, incense, tobacco, immortelle

by Kilian Russia says (via Google Translate): Sharp , sharp and at the same time – oily intoxicating and sensual , this fragrance for dangerous criminals who need to be as soon as possible handcuffed – satin, which you will find in the box with the scent.

On my skin, the opening reveals leather and scotch, a particularly dark leather evoking clean lines and gleaming surfaces. Then, the bracing intensity begins to curve as a juicy, jammy Turkish rose moves into the spotlight. The queen of the flowers remains the star of the show, as warmly aromatic cinnamon, cardamom, and an associative apple cider swirl in perfect harmony. Sweetly smoky tobacco and incense accent the base of the composition, intoxicating and irresistible.

Criminal of Love By Kilian Turkish rose PollyDot PixabayPhoto Stolen Pixabay

I very rarely buy a bottle of perfume unsniffed. I am a sample glutton, to the point where my thumbnail is perpetually fraying from prying open so many vials. Blind buys are very few and far between; however, when I had a chance to score a partial bottle of the highly sought after, ultra-hyped Criminal of Love, I caved and trusted my instinct.

I can’t put into words how fortunate I feel, nor how exceptionally blown away I am by this pure pleasure-bomb of fragrant allure. The bottle design alone makes my heart flutter, but it’s the nectar within that lights the blaze.

Criminal of Love By Kilian Eagle Nebula Hubble Heritage FlickrPhoto Stolen Flickr

I’ve heard rumors that after four years, the Russia Exclusives will be released to the general market. I hope this is true, so that more scent aficionados will be able to experience this incredibly sexy, addictive potion!

by Kilian Russia has 11 200 rubles/75ml

Have you tried any of the Russia Exclusive perfumes by Kilian? Do you have a favorite fragrance from the Kilian brand?

Wishing you gorgeously scented evenings this winter and always,
Erica

Sydney Libertine Masterclass

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Post by Ainslie Walker

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Sydney’s first stand-alone niche perfume boutique has opened! We can now experience and discover an array of fragrances in the heart of Darlinghurst at Libertine. If you have previously visited Libertine in Brisbane, you will know why this is so freaking exciting!

Sydney Libertine Masterclass #6

Nick Smart is one of the pioneers of niche perfumery in Australia. He is the director of Libertine Brisbane/Sydney, Agence de Parfum (David Jones Sydney), Galerie de Parfum (Myer Sydney/Melbourne) and he also distributes and imports top niche brands such as Creed, Lubin, Juliette Has a Gun, Penhaligons, Amouage, Dear Rose, Keiko Mercheri, L’Artisan, Mark Buxton, Frapin, Rance and more! If you have purchased any of these brands in Australia, no doubt Nick was behind it somehow.

Sydney Libertine Masterclass #1

Sydney Libertine Masterclass

Libertine also holds perfume masterclasses and Nick invited me along to the first Sydney class, which was for the staff of a Flow Athletic Yoga Studio at 1/134 Oxford Street, Paddington NSW 2021. Their boss had sent them along as part of their Christmas “do”. Each of them was to leave with a full bottle of perfume of their choice!! Amazingly generous and a fantastic and memorable gift to give the team!

Sydney Libertine Masterclass #3

Nick had the ladies gather around the table with their complimentary champagne in hand and went through the main fragrance families from Michael Edwards’ fragrance wheel with corresponding fragrances from the boutique. He explained where you might wear each type of fragrance and what’s appropriate for what activity, season and time of day. He says start the day in something light and fresh and ramp it up into the evening with more spice and alluring gourmand notes. Best dating fragrances being Piguet’s Visa and Petit Fracas and Costume National’s award wining, So Nude.

Sydney Libertine Masterclass #4

In explaining the difference between niche and mainstream fragrances he pointed out only 5 companies own all the fragrance brands seen in department stores. Some of the fragrance houses he sells have been around for 200 years, and their fragrances are still relevant now, and still will be in another 200 – unlike the modern scents that come and go quickly.

He mentions someone from a mainstream perfume house said their bottles cost $2 to be made compared to Niche houses who can spend $17 just on a lid! Amouage’s bottle design has a Swarovski crystal on the lid and Lubin’s Black Jade and Gin Fizz bottles are inspired by Grace Kelly’s silhouette in Monaco with her big hat.

Sydney Libertine Masterclass #7

Each attendee filled out a card and I used the new Fragrances of the World/ Libertine fragrance finder app (Nick’s “magic tool”) and the Libertine website to write down a few recommendations for each person to try later. He went through what everyone’s favorites were and the majority of the group was floral.

When he was asked where we should spray perfume Nick said avoid spraying your décolletage as the chemicals and sun in combination can react with the skin and also to protect breast tissue.

Sydney Libertine Masterclass #2

He demonstrated the use of travel atomizers because many people carry full bottles in their bags to top up during the day, but often our handbags are exposed to heat.

Sydney Libertine Masterclass #5

Nick knows EVERYTHING about the product houses, the perfumes themselves, their history and stories and how to really tap into the needs of the individual and find a scent to match them or push them a little further out from their comfort zones. He had the girls opened mouthed in delight as their minds were expanded in to the world of niche and beyond the floral family type.

Libertine Parfumerie @ 1-3 Taylor St, Darlinghurst 2010

Since fragrances hold memories it’s great to start a new year with a new fragrance and this can really motivate you forwards instead of holding on to old memories and ex-partners! What new scents are on your list to start 2015 with a bang?

Ainslie Walker x

Fantasia de Fleurs by Henry Creed Third Generation for Creed 1862

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Hiya Fumie friends,

A bottle I have long had in my possession, one of the earliest big ticket purchases I made, Creed’s Fantasia de Fleurs. I think I’ve told you before of my love for many things Austrian? Back in 1994-5 while I was living in London one of my childhood friends was in the Vienna Stat Opera Ballet. I would go to Vienna and visit him. These were in the days of the Ringstraße trams that were free and you just hopped on and off and they would take you around the inner precinct of Vienna. Even though there was not a lot of English in Vienna at the time it was totally easy for me to navigate and I felt incredibly safe at all times day & night.

Fantasia de Fleurs by Henry Creed III for Creed 1862

Fantasia de Fleurs Creed FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot
Heart: Bulgarian rose, Florentine iris
Base: Ambergris infusion

The reason I went on about Austria at the top is because this wonderful fragrance, Fantasia de Fleurs, was created for Empress Elisabeth of Austria-Hungary (or Sisi as she is known there) and I fell madly in love with her story when first in Vienna, seeking out all the places I could find from her biography and trying to piece together in my mind what her history could have been like. My mate was rehearsing and doing classes most days, we would hang in the nights unless he was performing, then I’d go see the show. It was cool.

Fantasia de Fleurs Creed Empress Elisabeth of Austria WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

SO, when I found out that Sisi had a fragrance made for her I bought it unsniffed when there was an incredible sale on somewhere. BTW I do NOT think blind buying is a good idea.

I was SOOOO lucky that on first sniff I was wrapped in a super sweet, jammy rose that has other stuff buoying it up but really stays pretty gorgeously linear through its life, getting slightly more salty and animalic at the end which is also added to by my sweaty man skin. The opening has this great dryness, like a tea note that cuts through the sweetness, making the whole fragrance easy to wear and quite unisex.I am under no illusion that this is EXACTLY how Fantasia de Fleurs smelled in 1862, I am pretty sure we are smelling an updated version but it still is a big, blowsy, royal fragrance that has a sillage you could do waterski jumps on.

Fantasia de Fleurs Creed WadeWilliams WikiCommonsPhoto Stolen WikiCommons

Through most of my time with Fantasia de Fleurs I have complained of its lack of longevity but recently I learned the trick. You need to wear it for a couple of hours and then do a light respritz. It brings fragrance life up to a ridiculous length, after doing this last night after my shower and then giving myself a blast in the morning i was still quite fragrant at 5pm this afternoon! That is awesome longevity for me.

So if you like the sweetest and most jammy roses, want to smell like an Empress and love the Creed bottles for ladies then Fantasia de Fleurs could be one to try. I am surprised at how much of my bottle has gone.

Fantasia de Fleurs Creed Mathilda Samuelsson FlickrPhoto Stolen Flickr

Further reading: I Smell Therefore I Am and EauMG
Peony Melbourne has $279/75ml with FREE Australian P&H
First In Fragrance has €155/75ml

Which Creed do you love or which fragrance that is aligned with a celeb or royal did you ever buy because of that affiliation alone?
Portia xx

Woodcut GIVEAWAY WINNERS

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 3 Comments

Heya APJ Crew,

Another sensational GIVEAWAY comes to a close. Thanks to Azar and Ellen Covey. Do go and check out the wonderful stuff for sale at Olympic Orchids, you’ll be glad you did.
Portia xx

Woodcut GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Woodcut Olympic OrchidsPhoto Stolen Olympic Orchids

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week we will have 2 Winners who will each get:
1 x 1ml sample of Woodcut by Olympic Orchids
2 x additional decants of “woody” fragrances from Azar’s collection
P&H to the world

HOW DID YOU WIN?

Open to everyone in the world 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

Leave a comment about the new Woodcut fragrance or name your favorite tree or wood smell.

Extra Chance?
Tweet: Olympic Orchids Perfume GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-3vv  

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Thursday 8th January 2015 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by pulling names from a sunhat (maybe)
The old sunhat was getting pretty ratty looking.  As sunhats don’t sell well in the winter around here I was able to fund a nice new one for a really cheap price.

Azar New sunhat

The Woodcut winners names were drawn from my spiffy new hat!  And the winners are:

Robert Hermann

Jaybee

The winners will have till Sunday 11th January 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.

Azar xx

Smoke For the Soul by Fabrice Pellegrin for by Kilian 2014

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Post by Poodle

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Hi APJ

I love smokey scents.  Burning leaves, pipe tobacco, fireplaces, incense…all those wonderful notes that make you just want to curl up under a warm blanket.  With a name like Smoke for the Soul I thought I’d find that type of scent.  I thought wrong.

Smoke For the Soul by Fabrice Pellegrin for by Kilian 2014

Smoke for the Soul By Kilian FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Eucalyptus, grapefruit, mate, birch, casmirwood, cannabis, cardamom

Sure, there’s a touch of smokiness in the beginning.  Smoke for the Soul takes me back to college where I knew some people who occasionally smoked marijuana.  I was never one to smoke anything because it made my throat and lungs burn which was not enjoyable.  I was sometimes around people who did though, and this is the perfume of one of those evenings.

Smoke for the Soul By Kilian Unrolled_joint WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

It all starts with lighting the joint.  There’s that bit of smoke and the unmistakable smell of cannabis in the air.  The scent gets stronger as it gets passed around the room.  There’s not much smokiness anymore really because everyone is holding the smoke in for a bit and then coughing.  It’s a bit much so I decide I’m going to wait outside in the cold.  There’s a chill in the autumn air and I can smell the leaves blowing on the ground.  My friends emerge from the house and with them trails the scent of pot.  By this point they’re silly enough to think that a piece of gum will cover up the smell and look to me for that.  I’ve got no gum but I do have cough drops so now there’s a hint of eucalyptus in the mix.

Smoke for the Soul By Kilian Eucaluptus Sydney Oats FlickrPhoto Stolen Flickr

The usual goofiness ensues and soon after the munchies kick in.  I’m not driving this bunch anywhere so it’s back inside to raid the fridge.  There is leftover roast chicken with thyme and lemon in there so that gets popped into the microwave to heat up.  Later there’s still the faint smell of cannabis mixed with some generic men’s fragrance the guys spritzed earlier in the evening to try to make themselves appealing to the ladies.

Smoke for the Soul By Kilian DigitalBob8 FlickrPhoto stolen Flickr

That’s the perfume in a nutshell.  I can’t say I’d want to smell like this.  It’s probably not something you’d wear to work unless you want to get sent to human resources to discuss your drug problem.  I’d call it masculine.  My hubby agrees but said he wouldn’t wear it.  It’s weird and definitely worth a sniff but would I spend a ton of money to smell like it?  Nope. No chance.

Further reading: Colognoisseur and Ca Fleure Bon
LuckyScent has $270/50ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $5/.5ml

The search for a Kilian perfume for me to love continues…

Hugs
Poodle

George by Anais Biguine for Jardins d'Ecrivains 2012

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Post by Trésor

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There are few aromas which bring me quite the same sense of ease and incredible comfort as that of the orange blossom. The diaphanous white floral glow that radiates from these precious petals seems to convey a dream sequence of softness, delicate femininity and and that inimitable eau de cologne chic. Yet in the throes of all of this beauty I am still left with one desire unsatiated, the desire and carnal yearning for something subversive; something incendiary and of the night. I’d wondered for quite some time if it would be possible to find an orange blossom who’s calyxes oozed forth wicked elixir and one lucky day, entirely by chance, I found exactly what I was looking for. I found George.

George by Anais Biguine for Jardins d’Ecrivains 2012

 

George Jardins d’Ecrivains FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Neroli, bergamot, heliotrope, coffee, tobacco, peru balsam, musk, myrrh

George opens on the skin with a hyper-realized vision or orange blossoms, ablaze in hues of searing titian and rust. The petals are bleeding with menthol and wrapped carefully within a swathe of rich leather. As the orange blossom begins to settle into the skin the leather takes a more dominant role and becomes adorned with the powdery inflorescence of heliotrope. This moment in particular is the line where George teeters the line of modesty and filth so beautifully. The balsam of Peru which was but a hologram beneath the surface is now cascading forth in its hue of moonlit umber. The balsam is so extraordinarily rich and dense with enveloping aroma that for a period it is all I can smell. As the weight begins to lift I can smell the luxuriant vapours of spectacular honeyed tobacco. This stage is divinity, absolute and beyond words. The camphorous whisper from the previous synapse remains, adding a faint emerald scintillation to the warm and redolent base. It truly is a most comforting and also rather sexy olfactory sensation. As the final stages of the dry down take their descent you are left with the gossamer aura of a dancing and delicious, resinous myrrh-y skinscent. It softly hovers above the skin until it finally fades into nothing at all.

 George Jardins d’Ecrivains Delacroix WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

I get an incredibly good wear out of George, garnering about 10 hours before it finally disappears entirely. The sillage one my skin is rather strong but I don’t find it overpowering whatsoever. It’s simply dense but not necessarily loud. I think if you’re a fan of either orange blossom, leather inflected or balsamic fragrances I wouldn’t hesitate to give George a go. It truly is a brilliant brew.

George Jardins d’Ecrivains George_Sand_en_Madeleine Louis_Boulanger WikiCommonsPhoto Stolen WikiCommons

Further reading: Now Smell This and The Non Blonde
Beauty Habit has $110/100ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $3.25/ml

I hope that you like it as much as I have!

Trésor xx

Amouage Library Collection: Opus IV by Jacques Flori for Amouage 2010

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 18 Comments

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Post by Sister Mary Magdalen, Patron Saint of Perfumers

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Peace APJ,

Tis the season: for the upward curl of incense, for journeys and visitors from afar, for the exchange of gifts, peak season no vacancies and the occasional unplanned pregnancy. Whatever is going on at your place I hope it’s fragrant. It certainly is here with the sisters. Both a busy and reflective time of year, the cloisters are shrouded from matins to vespers with billowing frankincense. What better to focus my meditations in this holy time than Amouage Library Collection Opus IV.

Amouage Library Collection: Opus IV by Jacques Flori for Amouage 2010

Opus IV Amouage FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Coriander, grapefruit, amalfi lemon, mandarin orange
Heart: Cardamom, caraway, elemi, rose, rosehip, violet
Base: Incense, French labdanum, musk

This was unknown to me until a generous benefactor aware of my love of resinous fragrances bestowed a small sample upon me.

Immediately I understood I was no longer in the mystical cool veil of an ecclesiastical resin, this fragrance is an immediate jumble of sweetness, citrus oils and spices, as though the scent of someone’s pre-dinner lime cordial has lingered through until the arrival of pudding. And what a pudding! Laden with cinnamon and clove brandied fruits, boozy sweet and rich. The feasting is most certainly wrapped around by the scent of a piney Tannenbaum.

Opus IV Amouage Pine Trees John Vetterli FlickrPhoto Stolen Flickr

Then, like a miracle, incense rises. It is a smoky, earthy olibanum as though from the burning of darker, lower grade tears that can give almost a urinous aroma. Wonderful stuff, it gathers strength and becomes the soul of the scent.

The other elements remain and mellow joined by rose and labdanum in becoming the harmonious choir to this soloist, a warm and sonorous tenor.

I am a humble woman of modest good works, and I confess I feel somewhat of an imposter wearing this as it smells like the sweat of a hardworking angel on my skin.

Opus IV Amouage Leloir Jacob_Wrestling_with_the_Angel WikiCommonsPhoto Stolen WikiCommons

Now I read that the aim of the Library Collection is to “defy categorisation, transcend gender, and allow the wearer to create their own unique narrative”. Oh, that’s just what happened, isn’t it?

Opus IV pulsed off my skin for half the day and received several favourable comments, so the sillage is admirable. Some may find it too intimate or distracting for professional settings, but I found it easy and comfortable to wear.

Opus IV Amouage anime-angel-boy GTArcadePhoto Stolen GTArcade (Problem using image please get in touch)

Further reading: Perfume Shrine and The Non Blonde
LuckyScent has $355/100ml
Surrender To chance has samples starting at $4/.5ml

Pray tell, ye faithful, what books have you taken from the Amouage Library? Is there more I should know?

My fond prayer is that you have all rested well and can greet this new year refreshed and reinspired.

Sister Mary Magdalen, Patron Saint of Perfumers

Cadjmere by Pierre Guillaume for Parfumerie Generale 2007

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 18 Comments

Hello Frag Family,

It was very early in 2014 and Michael & I were traveling through Europe, first stop Vienna in Austria where we met up with Birgit and Sandra of Olfactoria’s Travels and Val the Cookie Queen who writes both for OT and APJ. Vienna is its most beautiful in winter but sadly 2014 was not so cold as previous years and there was almost no snow, to make up for that loss we did get loads of rain which meant the city was greener than I’d ever seen it while maintaining its bare branches on the trees. Basically, though we were there in winter it felt like we had arrived in spring, a very pleasant way to see Vienna especially for Michael’s first glimpse of Europe.

Of course, what is it that perfumistas do when they are in a new city? We shopped fragrances! I did a fair spend at the CHANEL store there and a couple of vintage finds in the smaller, niche hole in the wall stores that Vienna seems to have an abundance of yet also these places seem to have stock from 60 years ago too.

Cadjmere by Pierre Guillaume for Parfumerie Generale 2007

Cadjmere Parfumerie Generale FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Myrtle, cypress, Brazilian rosewood, blood mandarin, vanilla, sandalwood, coconut milk, amber

Amber, vanilla and something green burst off my skin as soon as I spritz Cadjmere. They turn almost immediately to this weird, funky almost nasty curdled green leafy milk. It’s interesting, intriguing and awkward: LOVING IT! The notes really aren’t correlating to what I am smelling, what I get here in my head is a bakery in a plant nursery and lumberyard that’s in turn right next to a tip. There’s something of that compost sweetness, rotting vegetation and plastic. Ha ha ha ha! I have just read back what I wrote. OMG! I make it sound dreadful but it’s not.

SONY DSCPhoto Stolen WikiMedia

Pierre Guillaume has a way with fragrance and often combines beautiful sweet notes, comfortable and comforting notes with something dark, less desirable. What then happens for me is that I will happily smell the sweetness and every so often I will be surprised by an off kilter piece of the puzzle that will draw me in again, searching for it.

Into the heart of Cadjmere I find most of the sharp edges rounded nicely and we are in sweet woods territory, I don’t know if Pierre Guillaume  was using Australian sandalwood or a chemical sandalwood but it has some of the lovely eucalyptus menthol hints that the Australian one displays (or it could be some of the greenery). I don’t know and am often getting stuff wrong note wise, it doesn’t matter.

Cadjmere Parfumerie Generale Red Sandlewood WikiCommonsPhoto Stolen WikiCommons

What does matter is that Cadjmere is ridiculously gorgeous, a totally beautiful fragrance that will warm the cockles of your heart and give you comfort if you are low. Later on I get a fabulously animal fur and resins mingling with the woods, glorious.

Longevity is above average and for the first couple of hours sillage is moderate, you are fragrant without skunking, after that Cadjmere hums along quietly for hours and hours. If you spray your clothes they will still smell fabulous next day MMMM MMMMMM!

Further reading: Olfactoria’s Travels and The Non Blonde
I was given my sample at Le Parfum in Vienna, Austria
First In Fragrance have €95/50ml
Surrender To Chance have samples starting at $5/ml

Have you tried or bought Cadjmere? Are you a Pierre Guillaume fan? Do you have a favourite?
Portia xx

Message in a Bottle by Mark Buxton 2015 + Floriography

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Post by Ainslie Walker

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Picture yourself walking along a beach and discovering a bottle of (undamaged) perfume. What would you do? What might be inside? Where could it have come from? And who might have sent or lost it? Mark Buxton’s soon to be released “Message in a Bottle” conjures up many a romantic scene and barrage of questions for me, both from the name, as well as from the fragrance itself.

Message in a Bottle by Mark Buxton 2015

Message in a Bottle New release for 2015!!

It is beautiful, uplifting, fresh and easy to wear. I had no information or clues about its contents and thus in an attempt to decode its message I turned to researching Floriography. The “language of flowers” was most commonly used in Victorian times and allowed people to send messages through giving and wearing of flowers or a scented handkerchief. Each flower had significance and provided a symbolic message. Sometimes a handkerchief was scented instead.

Message_in_a_bottle Mark Buxton WikiCommonsPhoto Stolen WikiCommons

Message in a Bottle Floriography

Here’s what I discovered about what Buxton’s “Message in a Bottle” may be all about:
Magnolia – freedom, grand splendour, nobility, perseverance, old-fashioned romance and enduring true love – love that lasts throughout time and space.
Neroli – spiritual cleansing and is thought to aid a return to innocence, thus often used at weddings. It symbolises new love blossoming into eternal love and fulfilment.
Ylang-ylang – is strongly aphrodisiac in its properties. A man with one of these in his lapel would certainly mean business!
Petitgrain (Orange leaf) is sweet, slightly sour and citrus in fragrance and is immediately uplifting, promoting a sense of wellbeing and cleanliness. Its freshness would have stood out during Victorian times, where it was uncommon to bathe regularly.
Jasmine – symbolises demure beauty, elegance and comfort for the soul. Indian jasmine references attachment, whilst other jasmines can represent sensuality, modesty and grace.
Rose – multiple layers of scented petals represent everlasting beauty and love. Every colour rose has its own meaning. Usually in perfumery we use damask, which denotes love or pink Bulgarian roses, which mean happiness. Red roses scream of love and passion and are traditionally the most popular way, even today, to say “I love you”, white are for purity, yellow for infidelity, tea rose for never forgetting and receiving a bunch of thornless roses means love at first sight.
Ambergris – aphrodisiac and a fixative from way back, its marine notes further enhance the mystery surrounding a bottle washing ashore. Traditionally ambergris is found just like a Message in a Bottle, washed up on the seashore. It’s marine, faecal and musky odour screams of “sex.”
Cistus – belongs to the rockrose family and it’s the resin from the leaves (labdanum) that is generally used in perfumery. In the past goats and sheep were herded through the bushes and the hair on their underbellies collected the sticky resin, which was then combed or cut out. Balsamic and resinous in aromatherapy it is thought of as a calming aphrodisiac, which also enhances intuition, elevates emotions and keeps one grounded.
Civet – to stabilise a fragrance and the civets of the world use their secretions to attract a mate during mating season. In this bottle it’s more than likely synthetic, however, the message of attraction is clear.
Sandalwood – invokes deep states of relaxation, meditation and to cleanse negativity.

Message Bottle Mark Buxton Victorian Fashion 1866 Charmaine Zoes Marvelous Melange FlickrPhoto Stolen Flickr

Strength and longevity is great. It’s a beautiful bouquet of creamy wood, floral and amber that feels fresh yet beautiful, both for day and evening wear.
Soon available at Libertine

Have you tried Mark Buxton’s fragrances yet?
Ainslie Walker x