Niche

L’Eau d’Hiver by Jean Claude Ellena for Frederic Malle 2003

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Post by Gabriella

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Hello perfumed Peeps!

I’ve loved the Frederic Malle range ever since it launched here in Sydney years ago but Jean Claude Ellena’s pared down aesthetic has never really been my cup of tea. It therefore took me some time to first appreciate and then fall in love with his masterpiece for the Malle line. And it’s been well worth the wait.

L’Eau d’Hiver by Jean Claude Ellena for Frederic Malle 2003

Picture 308Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Bergamot, heliotrope, jasmine, iris, honey, angelica, white musk.

The real beauty of this scent is its enigmatic quality. It manages to feel both cool and warm at the same time and the gentle unfolding of these polar opposites is what makes L’Eau d’Hiver so magical. There’s the slight cool tang of the bergamot in the opening underscored with the piquant pepperiness of angelica.

The addition of iris exacerbates the detached coolness and earthiness before the soft powderiness of heliotrope is joined by sweetness of honey. Even as the scent warms up, the angelica and iris continue to peek through the layers like soft droplets of snow or sparkling white ice.

L'Eau d'Hiver Frederic Malle angel_desnudo_ DeviantArtPhoto Stolen DeviantArt

L’Eau d’Hiver is somewhat of a mesmerising drug of a fragrance. Under its spell, I manage to detach from my normal frazzled self and become a calm, serene, contemplative being. It also makes me feel completely elegant. It is the olfactory equivalent of a white silk blouse, fluid and graceful and something that just makes you feel “put together”.

And as Dionne noted in her much more comprehensive APJ L’Eau d’Hiver review, despite its name, L’Eau d’Hiver works in all sorts of temperatures and seasons. I’ve been enjoying wearing it recently on temperate summer’s days.

L'Eau d'Hiver Frederic Malle Harkness_Tower WikiMediaPhoto Stolen WikiMedia

Further reading: Chemist in the Bottle and Olfactoria’s Travels
Mecca Cosmetica starts at $124/3 x 10ml
Surrender to Chance has samples starting at $6/ml

Have you tried L’Eau D’Hiver? What are your I-just-feel-complete fragrances?

With much love till next time!

M x

Nuit de Tubéreuse by Bertrand Duchaufour for L`Artisan Parfumeur 2010

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Hello Fans of Floral Extravaganza,

Even some of you who hate the BWF, that is the Big White Floral, may take to todays L’Artisan Parfumeur offering. Who knows? Don’t knock it till you try it at least 20 times say I. One of the prettiest L’Artisan bottles with its additional art nouveau inspired bottle paintings on the iconic heptagon bottle that could easily be your one and only.

Nuit de Tubéreuse by Bertrand Duchaufour for L`Artisan Parfumeur 2010

Nuit de Tubereuse L`Artisan Parfumeur FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Clove, pink pepper, mandarin, black pepper, cardamom, citrus
Heart: green mango, tuberose, orange blossom, ylang-ylang, rose,
Base: Broom, musks, vanilla, sandalwood, palisander, benzoin, styrax, angelica

So fragrantica.com have different pictures to their notes text so as we all think most of the notes lists are bullshit anyway I’ll just tell you what I smell on me, and I have been in the pool today so you might get s slightly skewed reading.

Well, the Nuit de Tubéreuse rush at first is completely pepper/citrus and there is a sweetness that feels fruity and modern, it has a juniper waft and I am reminded slightly of gin. Pretty, potent and fun are the words that jump into my head. To be completely honest the opening could be an expensive and well thought out celebuscent/designer offering. I digress…

Nuit de Tubereuse L`Artisan Parfumeur Jason Bache FlickrPhoto Stolen Jason Bache  Flickr

The heart of Nuit de Tubéreuse is what makes me love this fragrance so much, the bouquet with a sharp sizzle of unripe fruit and I think this is where we see the herbal cardamom more than the opening and the angelica is a lovely counterpoint through quite a bit of Nuit de Tubéreuse, the whole is so different to anything else I own. The green sappy tuberose and the un-sensual warmth of clean orange blossom and ylang-ylang combine with the rest to create something audacious but wearable. This is not a sexy siren of a scent, there is no come hither and get funky, the flowers are very strictly controlled, cleaned and virginal.  A new interpretation of an old theme, which is what L’Artisaan is so loved for, but done in a way that is accessible to everyone. Some perfumistas find Nuit de Tubéreuse tiresome and boring because it doesn’t push the limits of tuberose but I don’t think that is a necessity, there is definitely room for a softer, more languorous tuberose that doesn’t feel like a confrontation or that you need to get it to have your perfumista stripes.

Nuit de Tubereuse L`Artisan Parfumeur Carolyn Jewel FlickrPhoto Stolen Carolyn Jewel  Flickr

Above all I think Nuit de Tubéreuse feels clean, fresh and pampered. It is hefty for a L’Artisan and gives good projection and sillage but the lasting power is similar, at 3-5 hours depending, to most others they make. A showstopper? Yes. A devil may care naughty wink with attitude? Not so much.

During my clean out I have found more than one bottle of Nuit de Tubéreuse, I am a NAUGHTY frag addict.

Further reading: Kafkaesque and Now Smell This
Libertine Parfumerie have $188/100ml (Australia)
Parfum1 have$120/50ml
Surrender To Chance start at $5/ml

Have you tried this tricky tuberose? Do you want to?
Loads of good wishes till tomorrow, see you then,
Portia xx

Pervious L’Artisan Parfumeur APJ reviews
Amour Nocturne/Deleria/Skin on Skin
Cote d’Amour
L’Eau d’Ambre
L’Eau du Navigateur
Passage d’Enfer
Piment Brulant
Premier Figuier Extreme
Safran Troublant
Seville a l’Aube
Tea for Two
Vanille Absolument
Voleur de Roses

 

Eau Absolue by Mona de Orio 2013

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Hello my lovelies,

One of my favourite Niche/Indie houses Mona do Orio was busy in 2013 bringing out two fragrances. This was the first offering and I wanted to give a bit of space between the lovely reviews for launch and a look at it after some time, giving the dust a moment to settle. I have here a 10ml decant about 1/4 used. Whenever I reach for it I think that I will want to wear it every day but then, of course, pick up something else tomorrow. When I wear it often the thought “Dessert Island Top Ten” passes through my brain. Would it be? Hopefully I’ll never have to choose.

Eau Absolue by Mona de Orio 2013

Eau Absolue Mona di Orio FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica Gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, clementine, petitgrain
Heart: Geranium, java vetiver oil, bay leaf, pink pepper
Base: Cedar, musk, labdanum

BZZZZZZZ! The citrus opening is loads of fun but kept from being a zingy space cadet by whispers of the resins to come even in the first minute. While I sit here in a balmy Sydney summer evening I am enjoying the very unexpected opening. I have read a few reviews before writing tonight, which is not something I usually do, so my expectations were for something quite different, something more mainstream and fizzy. I couldn’t have been more wrong. This is, as I should always expect with a Mona di Orio fragrance, something quite densely layered with everything in the notes list all at once and what will happen is certain accords will get precedence on occasion.

Eau Absolue Mona di Orio Chris Isherwood FlickrPhoto Stolen Chris Isherwood  Flickr

I get zero geranium or pink pepper but the citrus, bay, musk and labdanum seem to be the stars in Eau Absolue for my skin and nose. Eau Absolue is warm, cuddly and inviting without giving any sexual vibes and almost no fleshy animal. It’s so friendly and smells like my Mum and the kitchen would smell during winter, like food seasonings, smoke, wool wash, clean skin and unconditional love. There is something waxy and lip balm-ish too. I am madly in love with the memories Eau Absolue is conjuring. What an enjoyable ride, when I normally spritz Eau Absolue I just enjoy the fragrance and don’t really stop to question the whys and wherefors, sitting here and having the time and space to let my mind wander and really enjoy this beautiful, flawless creation by Mona di Orio is a joyful experience and I think I’ve been smiling for two hours. This is the good stuff and if I wasn’t going on a perfume voyage in a moment I’d be looking up LuckyScent or Peony Melbourne and ordering.

 Eau Absolue Mona di Orio Eleazar FlickrPhoto Stolen Eleazar Flickr

Though Eau Absolue is not a big projector it does have good silllage and I get around 5-6 hours of fragrant wear before it dries down to a soft fuzzy powdery wash. Wearable? Anywhere. Everywhere. Dress up or down. Dawn or dusk or romantic interlude.

Further reading: The Non-Blonde and Chemist In A Bottle
LuckyScent has $230/100ml
Surrender To Chance samples start at $7/ml

I think this could be my everyday wear frag. Eau Absolute is comfortable like so many of the Mona di Orios and so fabulously unusual too. Is there one of these for you that you still don’t have a Full Bottle of? Why?

My answer is that I will never get through 100ml of it. 100ml is a LOT of fragrance for a perfumista but if I see someone selling their 50mls left, reasonably priced, on a list I will jump all over it.

I hope your day is happy and bright,

Portia x

 

Limette 37 by Le Labo 2013

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Hi Hi Hi,

I know, I know, I know! I’m late to the party, this has finished its scheduled sale. Yes, I know. Here’s the thing though, I have been so inundated by fragrance that this and another 2013 release Cuir 28 have been lying idle in their pack awaiting moderation. I remember this being slated for its incredible cost $440/100ml and that it didn’t last at all well, nor was its development interesting enough to warrant such outrageous pricing. OK, so I will try it and see how it goes…

Limette 37 by Le Labo 2013

Limette 37 Le Labo FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Lime, bergamot, jasmine, petitgrain, cloves, vetiver, tonka bean, musk

Soapy, that’s what I smell. It’s like a soap we had here in Australia when I was growing up called Palmolive Gold. The tagline “Don’t wait to be told, you need Palmolive Gold” was a schoolyard maxim that would be sung to anyone showing the least sign of body odour.

Here the fresh lemony/citrus smell is tempered by jasmine, actually after the first 10 minutes jasmine become the main focus on my skin. A very clean, pretty jasmine with still a zesty citrus wash over it. I think musk is around too, though I can’t smell it exactly it feels like its there just out of my olfactory reach. All the other accords are not in evidence at the one hour mark to me, but my nose is notoriously wonky.

This morning I awoke to a very soft scent that was still humming around, a musky vanilla citrus. It was easily discernible while lying on my hand in the moments of half asleep and half awake but when I got up and walked to the kitchen to make a cuppa I lost most of it and was left with something not quite fragrant.

Limette 37 Le Labo Lemon_slice DeviantArtPhoto Stolen DeviantArt

I am sorry to agree with the majority in this instance, for the kind of dollars Le Labo were asking I want much more, I want it to sing and tap dance across the air from skin to nostril, I want fireworks and magic tricks. Don’t get me wrong, if you are filthy rich then this will be a perfectly good fragrance for you and I hope you enjoy it and your lovely life of luxury. On the other hand, if you are like me, that $440 could be spent on two or even four much more worthy bottles. For my money that’s a bottle of Ashoka by Neela Vermeire Creations and a export bottle of Serge Lutens Tubereuse Criminelle.

Further reading: The Perfume Shrine and Now Smell This
Surrender To Chance samples start at $6/.5ml

Did you try Limette 37? Was it worth the hype for you? Did you wish for a spare $440?
Portia xx

Magnolia Grandiflora Sandrine by Sandrine Videault for Grandiflora 2013

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Guest Post by Jordan River

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The fragrance world lost a cherished luminary in 2013. Perfumer and fragrance visionary Sandrine Videault passed away on July 3rd last year. Today we remember not only her amazing fragrances, but her touching, inspiring words.

la-parfumeuse-sandrine-videault

Magnolia Grandiflora Sandrine by Sandrine Videault for Grandiflora 2013

Sandrine studied perfumery under Edmond Roudnitska. Her final perfume is Magnolia Grandiflora, which she worked on with floral artisan Saskia Havekes. This extraordinary fragrance has been highly anticipated by the fragrance community and was launched this month on Lucky Scent.

Magnolia Grandiflora Bottle Hero

Magnolia Grandiflora
Perfumer: Sandrine Videault
Release Date: August 2013
Classification: Soliflore
EDP 100ml
Recommended Retail Price: $185 AUD / $168 EUR
Pre-orders: fragrance@grandiflora.net

Notes
Top citrus, grapefruit, pepper
Heart dry woods, fresh garden accord,
Drydown marine, musk

Grandiflora Arrangements cover

 

Many flowers today are bred to be beautiful but not necessarily fragrant. Saskia has sources for particularly fragrant flowers which she artfully combines with beautifully bred ones for a scented atmosphere with visual delights. Photographing nature is also a passion. Grandiflora is the name of Saskia’s atelier in Potts Point.

Saskia outside Grandiflora, her atelier in Potts Point, Sydney.

The story of this fragrance begins millions of years ago, before humans or many other creatures we know today existed. The ancient genus Magnolia appeared before bees did, and pollination occurred thanks to the help of beetles. The tree adapted to the strength of its hardworking pollinators, resulting in the longevity of this beautiful, fragrant tree.

The magnolia is a true sight to behold – tall trees mantled with startling blossoms come to life in the springtime, shrouding surrounding areas in a fragrance known to this earth for more than 20 million years. The magnolia’s timber is heavy and robust, and the flower has continued to bloom and burst with lush fragrance across the ages, yet the flowers fade so fast. To hold magnolia’s fragrance is a kind of magical blessing.

Magnolia Grandiflora Sandrine Magnolia WikiCommonsPhoto Stolen WikiCommons

Many of us will remember Sandrine through the tropical intensity of Manoumalia. In the Pacific tourists are often charmed by the scent of the local manoi oils which are used for tanning, moisturising skin and hair as well as for bath and massage oil. Manoi oil is coconut oil usually blended with the Tahitian gardenia known as Tiare but also with frangipani, ylang ylang and vanilla, in an enfleurage type process. Coconut oil is the carrier fat for the scent. Unfortunately when these oils leave the tropics the scent changes to ‘off’ or more precisely, indolic at the unpleasant end of the spectrum. The amazingness of Manoumalia is how Sandrine captured the heady lush scent of The Perfume Tree (Fragrea), Tiare, Ylang Ylang, Amber, Vetiver and Sandalwood within a perfume that could then be enjoyed anywhere in the world like an instant tropical holiday. Truly an expression of the art of perfumery.

Her other notable works – Ambre Indien by Esteban, Violeta by Les Néréides, and the recreation of the ancient Egyptian Kyphi live on in the hearts and minds of those of us grieving her passing.

Sandrine lived in New Caledonia and loved working in her creative laboratory in Noumea. In an interview with Perfumes, Trends and Inspirations, she said:

“Avoir son lieu de création près de Dame Nature est un cadeau”
(“Having a place of creation near Mother Nature is a gift”)

In an interview with Perfume Shrine, she said living in New Caledonia connected her with her roots.

“I feel more beaming or blooming and I am more serene. If something is wrong inside of you then you won’t create with harmony. You can not cheat with perfume authoring. States of mind come to light in perfume authoring. Bad moods are forbidden. Moreover, New Caledonia with its nature and ethnic groups is a mine of inspiration for me.”

Sandrine was both a perfume visionary and a woman wise beyond her years. She will be remembered for the scents she created and the words she left behind. May we now cherish the gifts she has left behind, and learn from the lessons she sought to teach.

“The most important lesson…..that we know nothing! So many things left to learn, to discover, to live.”

© AFP Photo/Marc Le Chelard

© AFP Photo/Marc Le Chelard

Farewell Sandrine, you will be missed.

Further Reading
Grain de Musc – Manoumalia
Perfume Shrine – Manoumalia
Perfume Shrine – Interview with Sandrine
The Fragrant Man – Magnolia Grandiflora

In Memory of Sandrine Videault
Grain de Musc
Olfactoria’s Travels
Perfume Shrine – poetry
The Scented Salamander

Update
Grain de Musc – Two Magnolias will blossom in January 2014 at Grandiflora

Le Temps d’une Fête by Parfums de Nicolaï 2007

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Post by Maya

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Happy New Year APJ,

I have always been amazed at how the same scent can be perceived in so many different ways. It often made me wonder if something was wrong with me. My perceptions were usually in with the minority; for example, those who only get green beans and nothing but green beans from The Unicorn Spell.

So thank you to the New Zealand study. Scent is genetic. Our scent realities are all unique! And on that note, I’m going to give my scent opinion on a sample that tragically laid around, ignored, for way too long.

Le Temps d’une Fête by Parfums de Nicolaï 2007

Le Temps d'une Fête Parfums de Nicolaï FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Galbanum, opoponax
Heart: Narcissus, jasmine
Base: Oakmoss, sandalwood, patchouli, woody notes

Le Temps D’Une Fete is a green floral. There is an interesting green flash at opening, and it’s gone. Then comes the true opening of narcissus and hyacinth vying for attention. I sniff one, then the other, then back again and again and again. It’s like they’re dancing and with each twirl, the other appears. It’s the early spring garden when both are in bloom. The scents of both swirl around in the breeze. You smell one then the other. Sometimes they blend together. It’s wonderful.

 le temps d'une fete parfums de nicolai *higetiger FlickrPhoto Stolen *higetiger Flickr

There is a pretty green, grassy, hay-like note that soon enters the dance floor. It has a lovely familiar element that I can’t name but really really like. This green overwhelms the flowers for a few minutes, but they will not be restrained and come out again, only more softly and gently blended. The jasmine, sadly, is sitting out the dance. The green eventually weakens a little as the oakmoss and patchouli appear on the dance floor. They twirl and swirl and here and there narcissus and hyacinth are dancing again too. This is their fete also and they’re staying. Sandalwood is shy and only does an occasional dance.

After more than an hour, the notes blend together in a happy waltz, except for narcissus. This diva makes sure she is always in the spotlight. Le Temps D’Une Fete teases me and surprises me. Most perfumes do not. With Le Temps D’Une Fete, the notes switch partners often. Both the green and the flowers share equal time. Neither takes over the dance. What fun! I have not enjoyed a new fragrance like this in a long time.

Le Temps D’Une Fete has a medium silage and I’m happy to say that I get to enjoy it on myself for at least 7+ hours.

le temps d'une fete parfums de nicolai Echo_and_Narcissus WikipadiaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

Further reading: Perfume Posse and Bois de Jasmin
LuckyScent have $115/100ml
Surrender To Chance have samples starting at $3/ml

A happy and beautiful fragrance. I love it! I had heard that it was being discontinued, but have now heard, that at the very least, it will be available on demand! Have you found a new love recently or reacquainted yourself with an old one?

MayaXX

Kashmir Spice by Serena Ava Franco for Ava Luxe

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Hey Hey Niche Nerds,

Ava Luxe is a super surprise package of fabulous frag gems. The great news is that for a micro niche brand the prices are extremely affordable and sizes are also kept small so you can try 4 or 5 Ava Luxe frags for the cost of a mainstream offering.

Kashmir Spice by Ava Luxe

KashmirSpice FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

From the Ava Luxe site:
An alluring blend of exotic spices, cashmere woods, and incense. Turkish Rose absolute weaves it way through this sensual scent.
Featured Notes: East Indian spices, frankincense, myrrh, Cashmere woods, Turkish Rose Absolute, gaiacwood, amber.

WOW!! Kashmir Spice goes on hefty and gourmand, it’s a big fat glorious wander through one of the fabulous spice stores in Northern India. There is even the dry, throat raspy feeling of intense heat and spices in enclosed spaces during an Indian summer. Totally edible and smelling like a sweeter version of the first moment the spices hit hot oil in a pan Kashmir Spice is an assault on your senses that is both enticing and memorable. The amber, frankinsense and myrrh give a lively resinous counterpoint that is sweet, balmy and dusty (The dusty may be the spices actually) at the same time. The woods and rose play only background on my skin but on Jin the rose is quite prominent, maybe you have to be further than I can get to smell it, on him Kashmir Spice’s Turkish rose absolute is like honey and rosewater baklava. MMMM! I even get a hint of ginger through the body of the fragrance and it works in the heat and the cold. I’m thinking of taking it with me on my holidays next week, that’s how much I love it.

kashmirBoats ToshaliToursPhoto Stolen ToshaliTours

I get a medium life span of around 4 hours of fragrance but after that my skin still smells better than reality, just ever so slightly vanillic, for another couple of hours and then gone. Way too perfumed for close working, borderline for dinner and cinema but perfect for all other moments when smelling gorgeous is important. At these prices you can afford to wear it as your daily after hours go-to frag, Kashmir Spice would be on a current short list for my 10 Desert Island frags.

KashmiriSpiceMarket ABC.netPhoto Stolen ABC.net

I have worn Kashmir Spice to my work a few times and it is a guaranteed compliment gatherer and people want to get in for a big ole snuffle of you, then they ask what it is that you smell of and where can they get it. Every time so far! It has also seen some fairly intense wear on my skin over time, there’s quite a lot of air in my 15ml and I will soon need to replace it.

Further reading: I could only find reviews on Make Up Alley and there is love and hate in equal measure
AvaLuxe site has 15ml EdP/$30 and 5ml extrait/$27

Take care of yourselves,
Portia xx

Disclaimer: This is a repeat post. If you have been a long time reader and this twigged your memory. I was halfway through writing a new post about Kashmir Spice when my brain asked me to check, and yes, this was originally posted on December 30 2012. I have given it a couple of tweaks but it really is the same post.

ONE SEED SCENT BAR: NEW!!

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 5 Comments

Heya APJ Friends and Family,

Here is the most exciting thing I’ve seen in a while. we love One Seed and their creator Liz Cook here at APJ and when news like this hits the desktop I get very happy.

This is what I just got sent. WOW!!!
Portia xx

one seed text logoscent bar banner 1We are thrilled to launch our new Scent Bar online! Now you can create your own custom-fragrance using natural extracts and accords from our collection.
Simply choose your favourite top, middle and base notes from those listed, and we will expertly blend them into an 8ml atomiser for only $29.95!

VISIT THE SCENT BAR NOW…<<<JUMP

And for a limited time, we are giving you $10 off your first Scent Bar order!
This is a subscribers-only offer and wont be offered to the general public. It’s our little ‘thankyou’ to you!

Just use code 2Y34CQTG9R59 at checkout. (Offer expires 31st January 2014)

Here is how mine looked:
Top note: spice (clove; cardamom; fennel; nutmeg)
Middle note: white flowers (jasmine;magnolia;tuberose;champaca;orange blossom)
Base note: amber
Optional-up to 2 extra notes: Orange, Ylang
Which note to be dominant?: Amber

Under $30. What a great idea.

VISIT THE SCENT BAR NOW…<<<JUMP

M’Eau Joe No.3 Hollywood Whiskey by Kedra Hart for Opus Oils 2013

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 6 Comments

Hey Hey Happy Huffers,

Last year while in LA for the Perfume Posse ScentSation Bus Tour our last fragrant stop of the day was Opus oils. Kedra Hart was there and boy is she a knockout. We sniffed and laughed, it was fun, we shopped and then we finished the day on the bus. I bought a bottle of Isis and today’s frag…

M’Eau Joe No.3 Hollywood Whiskey by Kedra Hart for Opus Oils 2013

M’Eau Joe No 3 - Hollywood Whiskey Fragrance Opus Oils FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Limnophila aromatica, whiskey, saffron, cognac, rice flower
Heart: Tobacco, honey, rose, violet, dark chocolate
Base: Amber, vanilla, tobacco, musk, moss, woody notes

The opening is FIERCE!! Do NOT put your nose near wet fragrance unless you want it completely burned out.

Once the initial screech has flown M’Eau Joe is extremely unusual. Sweet and green, a little nasty and very boozy. There is a something that feels awkward and it is hard to decide if I’m smelling gorgeous or disgusting. You know when you haven’t drunk alcohol for a while and then someone gives you a drink, or you buy one, and that first sip is both repellant and mother’s milk. I find it especially with white spirits. By the end of the first glass though it is delicious and you want more, right? So goes M’Eau Joe No.3 Hollywood Whiskey, I think it may be the Limnophila aromatica which is a plant from Asia used widely in Vietnamese, Cambodian and Thai dishes with a green/sweet scent reminiscent of lemon and cumin that gives this incredibly unusual and most interesting hue to the other accords.

M’Eau Joe No 3 - Hollywood Whiskey Opus Oils Flaming_cocktails WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

Sweet, honeyed tobacco and booze, the amber is very soft in the dry down on me and it’s mainly about the vanilla, tobacco and booze right to the end, around 5-6 hours tops. I adore M’Eau Joe No.3 Hollywood Whiskey and I wish that I found it more wearable on a daily basis. When I do grab it and spritz I get a splendid, thought provoking, good freaky fragrant ride. Nothing I own smells like it, sadly that is also its downfall. I must be TOTALLY in the mood for a journey, need to have the time and space to follow the story and be wowed by the development, time to really take note. Those times are few and far between lately and M’Eau Joe has been sitting in the frag cupboard for too long. I will make a concerted effort to give it more skin time this week…..

M’Eau Joe No 3 - Hollywood Whiskey Opus Oils Cheroot_Cigars fotopediaPhoto Stolen FotoPedia

Further reading: Perfume Posse and EauMG
Opus Oils has a huge range of ways to buy <<<JUMP
Surrender To Chance start at $6/ml

Are you a whisky or tobacco in fragrance fan? What are your favourites?
Portia x

Jasmin et Cigarette by Antoine Maisondieu for Etat Libre d’Orange 2006

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 9 Comments

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Post by Sister Mary Magdelene, Patron Saint of Perfumers

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Worshippers rejoice! Another year given us to praise the fragrance!

New Year usually means hot and dry midsummer where I am, and although on the calendar Summer commenced a month ago, this season she drags her feet. I’m delighting in this extended Spring with its long season of jasmine flowering.

The earliest variety is even now providing heady sprays of indolic pinky tipped blooms borne on their vigorous vine. When the flowers first appeared I dipped some briefly in vodka and the result served over sorrel sorbet was a taste of spring garden. Later the Chinese Star variety popped, its dark handsome foliage and pure white flowers providing such pretty visual contrast to complement the quite different fresh citrus blossom fragrance of those blooms. Both these jasmines seem to feature in today’s fragrance.

Let us spray…

Jasmin et Cigarette by Antoine Maisondieu for Etat Libre d’Orange 2006

Jasmin et Cigarette Etat Libre d`Orange FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Jasmine asbolute, tobacco notes, apricot, tonka beans, curcuma, cedar, amber, musc, hay

When I first smelled Etat Libre d’Orange Jasmin et Cigarette I was startled to have novel nuances of that indolic pink tipped jasmine flower brought front and centre. These smoky stale aspects evident both in the flowers’ natural bouquet and in jasmine absolute became so obvious to me as Antoine Maisondieu accentuates them in this composition. He gave me an “Aha!” moment of observational clarity that was enough to intrigue me with this perfume from the outset.

Ah and a memory came – shameful confession – of my younger self, a mere novice, happened upon in a clandestine moment behind the chapel where the exuberant jasmine vine frothed and tumbled. I had just inhaled the fug exhaled by the flowers commingled with my first (and last) gasp of a gasper. Sister Ignatia’s smile on seeing me was quiet and indulgent. She wisely intoned: “Tread carefully with anything you cannot set down as readily as you have taken it up…” and strolled on.

Jasmin et Cigarette Etat Libre d`Orange Frederick Dennstedt FlickrPhoto Stolen Frederick Dennstedt  Flickr

Ancient entwined echoes of shame swirling with Jasmin et Cigarette’s initial intoxicating headrush of indolic jasmine fragrance and ashy, smoky cigarette fumes soon dissipate. The fragrance becomes expansive with notes of crushed greenery, fresh tobacco and earthiness, all scents that also arose long ago as I hastily snuffed my illicit cigarette underfoot!

Jasmin et Cigarette might commence slightly left of centre for some, the bitter earthy note of curcuma (turmeric) reading too ashy or metallic. These dimensions soon recede as the earthier side of turmeric emerges, a sweet dust that merges with the anchoring warm cedar whilst the tonka lends hints of honey and hay to the now rather delectable aromas of fresh cured tobacco. Over all this a light citrusy jasmine blossom floats and the fragrance hums thusly quiet and elegant for several hours.

Jasmin et Cigarette Etat Libre d`Orange Princess Jasmine DeviantArtPhoto Stolen DeviantArt

Although it seems to wear quite close, I have several times wandered into the delicious light floral breeze of my own sillage. I have worn Jasmin et Cigarette in a range of contexts to numerous yums and no condemnation. After 5 or 6 hours its last whisper fades with the warmth, sweetness and wisdom of a benediction.

Further reading: Now Smell This and Bois de Jasmin
LuckyScent has $80/50ml
Surrender To Chance starts at $4.75/ml

Fragrant blessings,
Sister Mary Magdelene, Patron Saint of Perfumers.