Amber by Alec Lawless for Essentially Me 2010

Hello Uber Niche Nerds,

Not so long ago I got a request from a reader to try some stuff from the Essentially Me range. Instantly I went on point and found myself a sample set from this natural perfume crew crafted by Alec Lawless. Sadly Alec Lawless was killed in an on board boat electrocution in the shower, what a tragic and dramatic way to go. Now his website is no longer functional so you can’t go and buy any of the fabulous creations there either. Why am I writing? Well when I ordered from Essentially Me they were still functioning and I have had this fabulous fragrance sitting here awaiting moderation but something always got in the way of my wearing it, new samples, holiday, deadlines etc etc. Last week I finally bit the bullet……

Amber by Alec Lawless for Essentially Me 2010

Amber Essentially Me FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Spice, mint, caraway, thyme
Heart: Jasmine, lavender, rose, clary sage
Base: Labdanum, frankincense, sandalwood, myrrh, vanilla, patchouli

One of things that hits me straight off the bat is how little like an all naturals perfume Amber smells like. The opening could be any mainstream niche opening, big, sharp, spicy, herbal and slightly fetid. EXACTLY how I want my fragrance to open. I think mint is a note that I am drawn to, though here in a minor role it freshens up the green opening and makes it sparkle. It’s a funAmber Essentially Me Hans amber Pixabay and mildly feral extravaganza that every now and then gives me a hint of pizza fresh from the oven, hot, foody and a slight charring of the base, MMMMMM.

The heart maintains Amber’s green tinged opening and for once I can smell clary sage clearly, all wrapped up in its lovely bouquet that still maintains its soft echo of the herbal fresh open for quite a while. So this jasmine is quite breathy sometimes, today particularly so, and the indole is very reminiscent of fragrances of a bygone era. There remains something delightfully fizzy about Amber as it progresses, so unusual, and especially in a natural fragrance.

Photo Stolen Pixabay

The base incense and resins have come in under everything and made themselves noticed, they have been there all along in the background but as all the other pieces of the puzzle burn off they are left centre stage with an earthy patchouli and sweet, creamy vanilla. I wonder if the sandalwood is adding that creamy, lactonic touch? Is amber king? No, Amber has too much other lovely stuff going on to let the Labdanum/Vanilla become the ultimate thing in dry down but I enjoy the ride more because it’s still so unexpected, every time.

About 3-5 hours depending, no idea why sometimes it just lasts longer. Good projection for the first hour and then a soft halo around you that gives quite a good sillage till well into the second hour on as normal wear.

I think even if you are not an amber fan that this could be your gateway.

Portia xx

giveaway manoneileenPhoto Stolen manoneileen

Amber by Essentially Me GIVEAWAY

 

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 2 winners who will each get:
1 x 5ml decant of Amber by Essentially Me
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 tell me your favourite Amber fragrance, or why you would like to try this one.

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Amber by Essentially Me GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-2Jr #Perfume #Giveaway

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 22nd June 2014 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Thursday 26th June 2014 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.

Muschio by Santa Maria Novella + Korea Photo Essay

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Post by TinaG

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Hi APJ!

We’ve recently returned from an amazing trip to South Korea – Portia, Jin, Kath, Matt and I travelled around for about two weeks having an absolute ball in a wonderful & welcoming country. Before we left, I had a few chats and did some research on what fragrances I may have access to that I wouldn’t normally get my hands on in Australia. One of the names which came up was Santa Maria Novella, which I happily discovered has a flagship store in Seoul.

“Officina Profumo – Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella” is one of the world’s oldest pharmacies. Originally established in Florence, Italy in 1221 by Dominican Friars, who created herbal potions and remedies for use in their monastery, the pharmacy was opened up to the public in 1612. The original Florence pharmacy still stands, with all of their products continuing to be hand made at their Florence factory site utilising old recipes and classic artisanal methods.

The South Korean store in Seoul is located near pretty Dosan Park in an upmarket shopping district within Gangnam-Gu. We were greeted and kindly looked after by the shop hostesses. I made a beeline for the colognes whilst Portia explored all of the other wonderful goodies on display.

From Fragrantica: Santa Maria Novella is one of the oldest pharmacies in the world. It was opened in Florence, Italy in 1612, taking the formulas of Dominican friars that originate from 13th century.

Their products are all the types of things you may expect to find in an apothecary: high quality and beautifully presented soaps, fragrances, herbal extracts and essences, side by side with more modern home items such as wax candles and dog & cat grooming collection. I could so easily have stayed there for hours on end, but I did manage to get my nose to a fair few bottles including the recently released Alba de Seoul which had a refreshing pine needle note, a nod to the cultural importance of the South Korean pine trees. I wished I could have taken more home, but I decided to treat myself to a full bottle of ….

Muschio by Santa Maria Novella

Muschio (Musc) Santa Maria Novella FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Musk, powdery notes

Muschio is a really gorgeous comforting scent and has quickly become my go-to fragrance this winter. Although technically a cologne, Muschio isn’t one of those which can be splashed on liberally or needs refreshing every couple of hours – there is no need as it has very good longevity and silage. On opening there is a predominant puff of musk with slightly woody undertones, a touch of vanilla and a ghost of lemon hovering over the top. The musk is nothing animalic but it light and airy. The dry white wood in the background keeps it from being overly candy-shop sweet, giving it a lovely powdery feel. It doesn’t change appreciably in dry down, although the musk softens and the woods become more prominent. I also get a cinnamon-stick note, spicy wood without the peppery kick, adding to the warmth.

The visit to Santa Maria Novella was a fragrant highlight of a fantastic holiday. I’m so glad I purchased Muschio, it holds a dozen happy memories for me along with the continued enjoyment of a really fabulous cologne.

Do you have a fragrant holy-grail location that you’ve managed to visit, or wish to? Here are some pics of mine.

TinaG

Santa Maria Novella Korea #1

Santa Maria Novella Korea #2

Santa Maria Novella Korea #3

Santa Maria Novella Korea #4

Santa Maria Novella Korea #5

Santa Maria Novella Korea #6

Santa Maria Novella Korea #7

Santa Maria Novella Korea #8

 

“14°S 48°E” EdP Natural Terroir Perfume GIVEAWAY WINNERS

WOW APJ!!

Two giveaways in one week! This place is JUMPIN’ Thanks again for being part of our crew, our family of frag nuts. Glad to have you along in a place where your Fragrant Freak Flag is always welcome.
Portia xx

“14°S 48°E” EdP Natural Terroir Perfume GIVEAWAY WINNERS

ValCQ Vero Tree

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week we will have 2 winners who will each get:
1 x “14°S 48°E” EdP sample
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DIDD 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 leave a comment with a reason as to why the Terroir interests you.

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 15th June 2014 10pm Australian EST
Val cracked out her dead armadillo, which did not come from Madagascar, popped the names into it, and got one of the kids to pick one.

WINNERS dryiconsPhoto Stolen dryicons

Connie

Einsof

The winners will have till Thursday 19th June 2014 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.

 

Kalimantan by Pierre Negrin for Chantecaille 2010

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Post by SarahK

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Amber is a fragrance family that I really like in theory, but in practice rarely end up wearing. Many just feel too heavy for me to wear even in the dead of winter. I may like the smell, but if it doesn’t meld with my skin, and just sits there like a thick layer of gold, I feel like a fraud wearing it.

Kalimantan by Pierre Negrin for Chantecaille 2010

Kalimantan Chantecaille FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Thyme, rosemary, bergamot
Heart: Incense, labdanum, patchouli
Base: Benzoin, agar, styrax, vanilla, cedar

Kalimantan is not like this. It’s an amber suitable for any time in my book. It is my Goldilocks amber – not too sweet, not too spicy, it has some heft but is not too over the top. I can feel several layers in this scent. There’s a smooth labdanum-benzoin mix, some cedar, a gentle kicker of incense and some dry herbs, though these are not in any way foody. The aromatic green edge that the cedar and herbs give the scent means that I am as happy to wear it in the heat of summer as I am in colder weather. For me, this isn’t the smell of the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo after which the fragrance was named. It is the scent of a thyme-covered Greek hillside baking in the sunshine, so it suits the warm weather, while in cold weather it reminds me of the heat.

Kalimantan Chantecaille Hill GeographPhoto Stolen Geograph

There aren’t a lot of reviews around for this fragrance, but those that exist often compare it to Serge Lutens’ Ambre Sultan or Andy Tauer’s L’Air du Desert Marocain. For me, LADDM is a lot drier and has a gasoline note that I do not get at all in Kalimantan. It brings to mind a road running through a parched desert, not Kalimantan’s aromatic, sun-baked hill. Kalimantan does strike me as very similar to Ambre Sultan, and if you own one, I can’t imagine needing to own the other, but the Lutens fragrance is a touch drier, with a stronger incense note in the heart, while its herbs and cedar are less golden and honeyed until you reach the drydown. Kalimantan is my favourite of the three, but that may be because I tried it before Ambre Sultan.

Oia Iconic ViewPhoto Stolen HuffingtonPost

Further reading: EauMG and Perfume Posse.
Nordstrom has $175/75ml

Come and sit with me on a Greek hilltop at sunset, watching the last rays of sun bouncing off the warm stone of a church. The bells are ringing and incense is already burning.

L’Occitane Ultra Soft Shea Butter Body Cream – GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Hey All,

We LOVE giveaways at APJ, thank you all for getting involved. This is a super special prize and I can’t wait to see who won this week. Thanks to L’Occitane Australia who are always so generous and friendly, not to mention the fabulous product. LOVE IT!

Portia xx

L’Occitane Ultra Soft Shea Butter Body Cream – GIVEAWAY

Karité Douceur de Crème - Zeste de CitronPhoto Stolen L’Occitane France

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week we will have 2 winners who will each get:
1 x 100ml L’Occitane Ultra Soft Shea Butter Body Cream
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DID 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

Go to L’Occitane Australia<<JUMP and find any fragrance, tell me one of its note please. NO DOUBLE UPS!

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 15th June 2014 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org

WINNERS berryreviewPhoto Stolen berryreview

Christine Higgs

Kath

The winners will have till Thursday 19th June 2014 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.

Felanilla PG21 by Pierre Guillaume for Perfumerie Generale 2008

Hiya Happy Huffers,

I hope this finds you happy and well. Obviously, it may not. If you are not either or neither happy nor well then I hope at least we can take your mind off your troubles for a few minutes. If you can, or want to, go grab a cup or glass of your favourite. I have a cup of Korean tea here, it has a freaky nutty flavour that is both repulsive and more-ish. Jin also tells me that it is a good aid in digestion, cool, I’ll take that too. Hang on, I’m going to grab a refill…. I put some honey in this one to soothe my throat, trying to make yourself heard above rowdy pub crowds can take it out of your voice and my throat is a little tender tonight.

Felanilla PG21 by Pierre Guillaume for Perfumerie Generale 2008

PG21 Felanilla Parfumerie Generale FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Italian iris, amber, hay, saffron, Tahitian vanilla, banana leaf

My mate Lakshmi swapped me a 10ml split decant of this for something in my collection, I didn’t even try it for a while after he gave it to me. One day though it made it to the front of the to try box and I think I was running out the door and grabbed the first thing to hand without really looking, mmmmm warm was all I thought till in the car I was assailed by the most beautiful and sensual vanilla/amber and I was lost. That 30 minute journey became all about Felanilla,

Felanilla Parfumerie Generale Warm Feet PixabayPhoto Stolen Pixabay

Felanilla is beautiful, interestingly I can’t find most of the listed notes, for me and on me Felanilla is a vanilla/amber/saffron bomb that has some other stuff in the background that stops it smelling like a bake sale and keeps it firmly in the un-gourmand sweet range, a warm, dry, comfortable, sweetness that is both enveloping and welcoming. A hug, fire, fresh coffee, hot bread feeling. There are definite nods in Felanilla to the perfumery of years gone by. The amber is soft and resinous with none of the dark or scratchy backbite of an Ambre Russe, here we smell a caramelled amber both smooth and weathered. The story is not a long one, basically Felanilla continues in much the same vein till dry down only getting slightly dryer through the heart (I think it may be the iris/hay), a little bit of a bed-head/fur thing happens and comes & goes and then the whole fragrance grows sweeter towards the end as it fades. Having now read a few reviews and most people get a much more varied journey than I do with Felanilla, maybe I’m not paying enough attention or maybe my skin throws a different ride.

Felanilla Parfumerie Generale Catfur Doug Waldron FlickrPhoto Stolen Flickr

Longevity is excellent but after the first couple of hours Felanilla gets very close to the body and you need to be quite close to notice fragrance.

Even though there is not much story on my skin I totally enjoy wearing Felanilla, the fragrance hits a sweet spot with me and I find myself reaching for it quite regularly, of the 10ml there is now only about 3ml left. Will it be a full bottle in my future? I’m not sure, though it’s different I don’t think it enough different from L’Eau d’Ambre by L’Artisan or Ambre Ceruleen by Huitieme Art. When I finish those bottles though it could be the one I go for.

Further reading: The Non-Blonde and Grain de Musc
First In Fragrance has €94/50ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $5/ml

Have you tried Felanilla? Did you enjoy its warm silky caress?
Portia xx

 

 

 

Orris Ochre by Liz Zorn for SOIVOHLE 2012

Hello Indie Lovers,

One of my favourite Indie Fragrance Houses is SOIVOHLE with it fabulous Artist turned Perfumer Liz Zorn, who still paints incredibly evocative images that have become less attached to pictorial representation and more to finding and conveying emotion. So too with her perfumery, when I wear a SOIVOHLE fragrance I find it completely mood enhancing or changing, depending on the scent and my intention.

Today I would like to introduce you to a fragrance that Liz currently has in her Sale Section for $15/11ml. I know, outrageously affordable and in a perfect size to fit in your purse or as a travel frag, it also looks very nice on the dresser.

Orris Ochre by Liz Zorn for SOIVOHLE 2012

Orris Ochre SOIVOHLE

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Orris root, wild orange, violet, honey, narcissus, cedar, suede, muhuhu (very hard to find wood), palisander rosewood

Orris Ochre opens on my skin with honey and orange peel, there is a soft powdery fuzz too that reminds me of pith. Dabbed I get much more iris in the opening and it is clear and clean, carrot rather than dirt but with a vegetative depth that may be the violet leaf. When I sprayed though I get a lovely warmth, a feral animal heat both sexy and intriguing. They could be two entirely different fragrances. Most interesting.

 Orris Ochre SOIVOHLE See-Ming Lee FlickrPhoto Stolen Flickr

It takes about 20-30 minutes for the two different applications to merge into more related scents and they seem to come together as the woods appear, old dry furniture wood made even more reminiscent of old through the honey. It smells like my 1960s sideboard that has been beeswaxed every few months by my mother and now me since it was new. There is a beautiful richness to its smell now that is both waxy honey and wood. The lovely iris goes all soft and fluffy on me, weaving through the woods and after about 4 hours my skin smells like that lovely, fresh washed, just worked out, healthy young flesh smell.

Orris Ochre SOIVOHLE Carlsons WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

It is absolutely intoxicating and I can’t help putting my nose down my top and huffing hugely. I smell like the lovely nubile young musclebound men I used to tryst with many, many years ago after the disco. It is an extremely specific smell of health: fresh, soft skin over rock hard muscles that have been dancing and are now fresh washed and ready to cavort. This is the EXACT smell. Gorgeous.

This lovely scent stays around for about 4 hours on my skin, much longer on my clothes. My jumper still smells beautiful at lunch time the next day, it will need a wash but maybe not this week. Really excellent scent.

Don’t miss the SOIVOHLE SALE<<< JUMP

Which of the SOIVOHLE fragrances have you tried?

Portia xx

 

 

Urura's Tokyo Cafe by Sarah McCartney for 4160 Tuesdays

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Post by Poodle

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The name of the company (4160 Tuesdays) is based on how many Tuesdays you’ll live if you make it to 80 years old. The idea is that that’s all you’ve got so make the most of them. Sarah McCartney is the writer and perfumer behind the brand. From what I can gather she’s based in London and had no formal training as a perfumer. Her scents were originally bespoke creations for friends and perfumes created to scent characters in a novel.

Urura’s Tokyo Cafe by Sarah McCartney for 4160 Tuesdays

Urara's Tokyo Cafe 4160 TuesdaysPhoto Stolen 4160 Tuesdays

4160 Tuesdays gives these featured accords in one line:
Grapefruit, tangerine, opoponax, tolu balsam, geranium, violet, rose, raspberry leaf

Recently I was lucky enough to win a bottle of Urura’s Tokyo Cafe by 4160 Tuesdays on Indiescents. I just started hearing about the line so I was excited to try it. If the rest of Sarah McCartney’s perfumes are like Urura’s Tokyo Cafe, she is proof that you don’t necessarily need training to be really good at something. For some it comes naturally.

Urura’s Tokyo Cafe was created to raise money for a charity event. The name of this does not really give an impression of what’s going on in the perfume. Actually it’s hard for me to pin that down as well. I mean that in a good way. It’s a chameleon on my skin. Depending on the day, the weather, my mood, who knows what else, it smells a bit different each time. It was easy to wear but hard to dissect. After wearing it almost daily for a week here’s what I can say.

Urara's Tokyo Cafe 4160 Tuesdays geranium PixabayPhoto Stolen Pixabay

At times I get a lot of grapefruit and tangerine, more rind than juice. There’s a jammy quality but it’s never too sweet. It doesn’t smell overly citrusy either. I think the geranium keeps that in check lending an herbal bitterness which comes and goes to my nose. Some days it smelled chypre-like to me with an almost mossy quality. The rose changed on me day to day as well. It was dark at times, slightly sour and metallic on others, and then full bloom bouquet on the days the violet made an appearance. I have to admit I liked them all. The scent is well blended and a better nose might be able to pick it apart note by note, but I can’t, nor do I want to. It just smells good and unlike anything else I own. With the way it’s changed on me you might have a totally different experience with this perfume too.

Urara's Tokyo Cafe 4160 Tuesdays Pimm's Cup ImpromptuKitchen FlickrPhoto Stolen Flickr

Somehow it made me think of a cocktail, a Pimm’s Cup, which I believe are popular in London. Sweet yet bitter, fruity yet herbal. (I wonder if that was an inspiration in making this perfume…)
I think it’s easily unisex and I get hours of wear on my skin, on clothes it lingers for days and I find I bury my face in my scarf to smell it.

4160 Tuesdays has £40/30ml

Until next time…
Poodle

Neela Vermeire Creations 4 x 8ml Discovery Set

WOO HOO!

Now you all know what a huge fan and friend I am of Neela Vermeire. You also may remember that I am such a devoted fan I went and met her and her husband T with Jin in 2013 and then hung out with her again this year in Paris with Michael. We chat as often as we can on Skype and I love her to the core of my being.

Last time we were together I questioned the luxe value of her samples and discovery set. Well, she told me that it was a problem already being dealt with by the company and that I had to wait and see what was on the cards for later this year. I am extremely pleased to announce the most elegant and lavishly presented…..

Neela Vermeire Creations 4 x 8ml Discovery Set 2014

Neela Vermeire creations 4x8ml #1

Neela Vermeire creations 4x8ml #2

Neela Vermeire creations 4x8ml #3

Neela Vermeire creations 4x8ml #4

Yes, it now has 4 x 8ml. Your gateway to incredible fragrances created by Bertrand Duchaufour with Neela. Every one a tantalising taste of India done in a very French style, an amazing quartet and each one very different from the other. In my nose these are the diamonds in Duchaufour’s work and Ashoka recently won the Art & Olfaction Award for Independent Perfume. A huge honour and Neela is completely chuffed.

Neela-Vermeire-WET-WILLYNeela & I in Paris 2014

If you don’t know about Neela Vermeire’s fragrances here is some further reading:
Ashoka: Val the Cookie Queen on APJ and Portia on APJ
Bombay Bling: Val the Cookie Queen on APJ and Portia on APJ
Mohur: Portia on APJ
Trayee: Portia on Perfume Posse

Do you want one of these lovely sets?
Currently sending to Europe and the USA at €100 including postage
Write to Neela Vermeire Creations<<<JUMP because the EBoutique is currently under reconstruction. You can buy Discovery Sets and Bottles from NVC directly.

I will definitely need to spend some more time with Trayee now I have this set. I promise a review in the not too distant future.

Portia xx

Flashback by Olivier Cresp for Olfactive Studio 2013

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Post by TinaG

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Perfume holds a vision of truth – a truth which can strike deeply to our core, a trigger which can bring to the surface a crazy mix of visions in a flash of memory, borne only from a single, deep breath. It is such a personal sensation, that rush, corners of the mouth relaxing into a smile and just the enjoyment of being swept away in an all-encompassing pure experience, if only for a few moments.

One of the challenges I find is conveying that feeling, those emotions to other people. How do you capture that? You can’t photograph a smell, but you can convey the sense of a moment through an image. Sometimes we write beautifully crafted landscapes to try and explain what it is that we are experiencing – I think that is often the most successful way, but ultimately one may need to go on that experience themselves to see whether they agree, disagree, or are led down a completely different olfactory path.

Flashback by Olivier Cresp for Olfactive Studio 2013

Flash Back Olfactive Studio FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Rhubarb, orange, grapefruit
Heart: Granny Smith apple, pink pepper
Base: Vetiver, cedar, amber, musk

Olfactive Studio’s fragrances have taken a different approach to their scent creations, by starting with photographic art, and creating a fragrance which reflects that moment. Sometimes I get it, like the half-light of a distant hotel room with Chambre Noir, other times I’ve been taken my own journey like the amazingly visual images I got whilst testing Still Life – albeit quite different from the photograph Still Life was created in conjunction with. And I’m OK with that, it is all part of the story.

Flash Back Olfactive Studio pic  FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

So here on another Olfactive Studio journey, I give my wrists a light dewy dusting of Flashback, allowing the fragrance plenty of breathing space. The reward is a whoosh of gentle pink pepper and a deep moist green rhubarb. The rhubarb here is freshly picked, the stem snapped in half with juices flowing. This fresh bitterness is countered and lifted by the beautiful understated warmth and sweetness of the pink pepper.

After half an hour it is joined by grapefruit, such as one which has just been cut and squeezed. It is crossing over between smell and taste in a big way as I can feel my tongue tingling from the sharp juiciness. The wallflower orange is shyly floating in the background but never really makes a stand. At two hours cedar comes through along with some pink musk which help soften the citrus, but this seems to fade after an hour and I get the predominant grapefruit back again but this time with a lingering underlying touch of vetiver, and this combination lasts and lasts.

Flash Back Olfactive Studio Alice Henneman FlickrPhoto Stolen Flickr

Further reading: The Non Blonde and Olfactoria’s Travels
First In Fragrance have €72/50ml and samples

Libertine Parfumerie has 100ml/$195 including postage within Australia
Peony Melbourne has 100ml/$195

Because of the tanginess of this fragrance I’m considering it for a travel scent, as the rhubarb and citrus would be a refreshing pick-me-up after a long haul flight. So perhaps there may be stories in our future – always happy to make some new & fun memories!

Tina G