Mystery Fragrance NYE 2016/7

January 3, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 91 Comments

Robert Herrmann

Hello. my name is Robert and I’m a fragaholic……

I started writing this in response to something that happened to me on New Year’s Eve day. I suspect it’s happened to all of us. I was working in my office (a.k.a. The perfumed desk from hell) and decided to finish off a sample vial that was sitting next to my right arm. I applied the perfume, and threw the vial in the trash can and BOOM! Suddenly I was facing seeing the old year out wearing something truly spectacular! But I had NO idea what the hell it was 😡 !!

Mystery Fragrance NYE 2016/7

Because as soon as I applied the remainder of the perfume I was Immediately surrounded by the most GORGEOUS scent, floral, animalic, deep, intense. Just stunning. My first thought was “Wait…. Do I have a bottle of this marvel? And if not, how fast can I order one???”

So I went searching through the trash (of course it was at the very bottom), found the vial only to realize to my horror that the vial was unmarked. U.N.M.A.R.K.E.D. !!!! wtf?? I LERRRRVE this perfume, I MUST own it, it might be my “precioussssss….”

I scoured my desk for a clue.
I searched UNDER the desk for a missing tag.
I sneezed my way through monumental dust bunnies.
I TORE THE FREAKING HOUSE APART…. but no such luck.

I then started noticing the god-awful pile up of perfume on my desk. And on the table next to my easy chair. And the TWO full boxes of samples awaiting sniffing since 2014!!! Suddenly I realized that my rabbit hole was a “perfumeaggedon” waiting to happen. It was clearly out of control.

Now I know for a fact that Ikea and Target have a multitude of storage options available to me if I could just figure out which was best. More shelves? Possibly. A wine cooler for perfume bottles? Sounds a bit too intense. Chic and cunning little boxes to HIDE the mess? Oh, you mean like I already have? Le sigh….. Only time will tell, hopefully the next few weeks…. now if I could just start making that damned perfume spreadsheet I’ve been thinking of for the last few years….

My name is Robert and I am a fragoholic.

Are your samples like this?? Here’s where I take a stand. Let’s do a draw for yet ANOTHER mystery sample…….

Mystery Fragrance GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x Mystery Fragrance from Robert’s collection
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 us some effective perfume and sample storage ideas, or a sample you tried recently that you swooned for

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 5th January 2017 10pm Australian EdsT and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Wednesday 11th January 2017 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit

Last Sydney Sniffy Get Together 2016

January 2, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 1 Comment

Portia

Hi there crew.

On the 30th December 2016 a small crew of fragrance/fragrant enthusiasts got together to troll the Sydney City department store David Jones. Then we headed down the road to extremely Ra Cha Cha hotel and watering hole QT Sydney at 49 Market St for nibbles and beverages. It was a fun, frolicsome crew with loads of smiles and laughs, spritzing, bitching and fabulous repartee. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment and got to spend some quality time with people I’d only ever spent skim time with.

Last Sydney Sniffy Get Together 2016

Normally we would fit in more than one fragrant store but on this particular day David Jones had enough to keep our noses and credit cards working hard for about 2 hours before we all catwalk down to drinks.

Here is a small snapshot of our afternoon.

Here are TinaG, Jocelyn Fullerton of Cult Of Scent and Angela.

With the handsome Simon

Kerri & Gina

Angela, Gina & Chairman Meow

Angela, Gina, TinaG, Chairman Meow, Kerri

At QT Sydney

Maybe you should get together with some like minded frag heads in 2017. It’s amazing how much fun we all have together.
Portia xx

Amora EdP GIVEAWAY WINNER

January 2, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 1 Comment

SHIT!! Totally forgot this APJ,

Let’s see who won,
Portia xxx

Amora EdP GIVEAWAY WINNER

Fragrantica

Hensley Perfumes gives these featured accords:
Stone fruit, mixed berries, rose absolute, blonde tobacco, sweet resins, musk complex, ambergris

Hendley Perfumes has $18/9ml + Samples

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x 9ml Amora EdP Travel Spray
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Thursday 29th December 2016 10pm Australian EdsT
Winners was chosen by random.org

BBMc

The winners will have till Wednesday 4th January 2017 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit

Apollo Hyacinth by Alberto Morillas for Eric Buterbaugh Florals 2015

January 1, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

Portia

Hey fumes,

I wrote about Apollo Hyacinth back in 2015. It has remained in my head and on my To Buy List since, so recently I bought another 3ml decant to see if I’ll go through it. My major concern, and why I haven’t gone FB on this green beauty is the bottle. I really love how it looks and think it’s perfectly gorgeous but if I had to decant it out to wear I think it would just not ever get used. Yes, I know how petty that sounds but let’s be honest here. If I have 17 green fragrances to choose from and 3 of them need to be decanted out to be worn then you can be bloody certain that those three will end up being totally ignored while I spritz some CHANEL No 19, Giverny In Bloom, Silences or Niki de Saint Phalle.

Apollo Hyacinth by Eric Buterbaugh Florals 2015

Apollo Hyacinth by Alberto Morillas

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Neroli, pear, galbanum
Heart: Hyacinth, lily of the valley, angelica
Base: Haitian vetiver, oakmoss, cedar

Candied pear, or pear with sugar on top, galbanum and greenery. Imagine a stinking hot day and you’re walking through the shaded bushland eating a pear and drinking pear fizzy soda. That’s how Apollo Hyacinth opens for me. Elegant, spacious and yet friendly. This is no austere No 19 or arctic Giverny in Bloom, no, this is welcoming green. Even the angelica has a sweetness to it and I’m not sure how it has happened but it’s so different that I am surprised every wear. About an hour or so in I smell the soft, drippy, green stalk of cutting flowers from bulbs as plain as day. Also the LotV makes an appearance around this time but not as a lead player.

Because I’m wearing Apollo Hyacinth today in 35C heat my own sweat has added an extraordinary saltiness that I have never noticed before that skews the whole fragrance a little towards the salty white floral. Very interesting.

Lasting power is excellent, though after 4 hours you have to be very close to notice.

I’m thinking I will buy the Discovery Kit at $315 with 8 x 10ml of the whole range except the new one. They are all spritzers and come with a Travel Case.

Further reading: Perfume Posse and Australian Perfume Junkies
Eric Buterbaugh Florals has EdP $295/100ml
Surrender To Chance has samples from $5/.5ml

Would you be bothered decanting?
Portia xx

Eau de Sud by Annick Goutal 1996

December 29, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

Post by Portia

Hello Fragrance Family,

Few niche houses have the success or longevity of Annick Goutal. Writing about Nuit Etoilee and wearing it over the Christmas season reminded me to grab out the rest of my Annick Goutal collection. I’ve whittled it down to the favourite few, maybe 6 FBs and some large decants. Here’s one of my oft worn faves.

Eau de Sud by Annick Goutal 1996

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Mandarin orange, basil, grapefruit, bergamot
Heart: Mint, lime, lemon verbena, jasmine
Base: Vetiver, patchouli, oakmoss

Even though the citrus in Eau de Sud is a little sticky it still feels cooling in the heat of Sydney summer. I love it too as a summer reminder in the dead of winter so even if you Northern Hemisphere peeps feel like a spritz it will be perfect. So much citrus in the opening and there is a soft minty pop to keep it refreshing. Add to that a salty zing like eating oranges after swimming in salt water or a Margarita. My nose smells creaminess and I am unsure of the origin, maybe the jasmine adds a creamy note? Anyway, I get a balmy smoothness that equates to creamy in my brain, it’s really galbanum-esque. If I give myself a second spritz after about 20 minutes the basil is quite noticeable compared to the original application.

Cavendish & Harvey

Eau de Sud reminds me of this hard lollies that used to come in a tin with loads of super fine white sugar powder around them, do you remember? They were deliciously sweet with recreations of fruits but had only the merest tenuous connection to fruit, more of a fruit allusion. Here the fruits are more nameable but still that sweetness and mild sharpness is completely here. We used to suck them on planes to stop our ears popping and Mum would use them to give us a sugar hit if we looked like we were flagging and needed to be alert. Especially useful before exams or after a footy game.

The body and dry down of Eau de Sud are still salty/creamy all the way through but the whole fragrance dries out considerably and leaves a dustiness over the citrus and adds a walking over summers-browned-grass brittleness. So easy to wear and longevity of around 4 hours maximum, the first hour sillage is moderate before dropping back to soft.

My bottle is old, apparently Annick Goutal have remade Eau de Sud in 2016 and its note list is bergamot, mandarin orange, grapefruit and resins.

PDI

Further reading: EauMG and APJ
FragranceShop have the old men’s packaging Testers $44/100ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $3/ml

Are you an Eau de Sud fan?
Portia xx

Island Gardenia by Jovan 1982

December 28, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 18 Comments

Anne-Marie

Hi everyone, and Happy New Year to all!

Big White Florals. Not my usual line of country, but with jasmine and gardenia blooming on my patio, I’m tempted to try them in perfumery. My latest exploration is Jovan’s Island Gardenia.

Island Gardenia by Jovan 1982

Fragrantica

Fragrantica only gives gardenia as a note, and the perfumer is unstated, but a Basenotes reviewer offers:
Top: coconut, peach
Heart: gardenia, tuberose, jasmine, neroli, cyclamen
Base: vanilla, civet, Siamese benzoin

I find mixed white florals heavily dominated by tuberose. That is what I get straight out of the bottle: a rich, buttery tuberose, luscious and unmistakeable. I agree on the peach but if you live in terror of the peach-tuberose combo in Givenchy Amarige, relax. The peach fades quickly.

The coconutty facet of many white florals is present, though not to my nose a major player. I don’t notice any of those listed base notes, certainly not civet.
The thing I really don’t get is gardenia. The gardenia I grow is a miniature and I think it is sweeter and less green and earthy than the classic, Billie Holiday-style gardenia. Still, I feel I know how they smell and I get very little gardenia in Island Gardenia. That’s a disappointment.

And then, I had been expecting monstrous flesh eating sillage so I was very surprised when IG shrank to my skin in less than half an hour. After a shower this afternoon I gave myself about five big spritzes (yes, I stayed home, just in case!). The sillage is moderate, but I don’t somehow expect it to last the whole evening.
The opening is my favourite part. Then, on some wearings the dry down seems a little harsh and chemically, but on others I found it pleasantly creamy and slightly salty. I prefer the sillage, especially as it wafts up from my shirt, to the scent on skin.

PDI

For all that, Island Gardenia is relaxing to wear. It is warm but only slightly sweet; maternal I would say, rather than sultry. Which brings us to – you know it’s coming – Piguet’s Fracas. Island Gardenia is sometimes likened to Fracas: lighter, more timid and much less complex. Well, I have never comprehended Fracas. I like the orange blossom in the opening, but as the tuberose emerges it turns weird and unpleasant on my skin. I do have a sample and I will keep comparing them, but if you know both fragrances well, do comment. And please, if you have compared it to Jungle Gardenia by Tuvaché, I’d love to hear what you think!

On Fragrantica, you have to squint hard to find any really negative comment about Island Gardenia. I normally find that at least a quarter of the reviews of any given fragrance will condemn it, but ‘love the heck out of this’ is a pretty common reaction to this one.

PDI

FragranceNet has US$14/45ml before coupon

And the price! I gone mine for about AUD $21 on Fragrancex.com. No complaints there.
Ah gardenia! Do you have a favourite?
Bye for now.
Anne-Marie

Amora EdP by Hans Hendley 2016

December 27, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 41 Comments

Val the Cookie Queen

Good Day APJ, Wake up, Christmas is over and we survived!!

It´s impossible to keep up with all the small perfume houses and independent artisanal perfumers. I see names come and go on social media, or on other blogs and pay little attention. However Hans Hendley´s name is popping up a lot and I felt prompted to look a little further. I took the plunge and ordered the 9ml travel size of Amora, his most recent launch. I had to wait a while as the first batch was sold out. I rather like the idea of someone so passionate about perfume that they bother to formulate, blend and bottle the potion themselves. After all, that´s how I run my own business.

BALMY BERRIES ON BONGS – I did Inhale. YUM!!

Amora EdP by Hans Hendley 2016

Fragrantica

Hensley Perfumes gives these featured accords:
Stone fruit, mixed berries, rose absolute, blonde tobacco, sweet resins, musk complex, ambergris

A couple of years ago I I wrote of Sådanne, the astounding strawberries-on-crack scent by Slumberhouse. Hendley´s Amora reminds me of the experience, but here we have balmy berries on bongs. It´s tantalising and impossible to stop inhaling. The sillage will leave noses quivering in your wake. There is something more alternative lying beneath the fruity opening, a kind of salty resinous layer, resting on musk maybe? I understand there is a touch of ambergris in the formula too. Gorgeous on a bloke as well I must say.

Amora stands alone out of the new releases of 2016. The many that have the same dry down with the same woody accords that freak my nose out and have me running? These accords don´t seem to appear in American perfumery, very interesting. Quite daring to launch a fruity scent as an artisanal perfumer don´t you think? This is underground though, don´t confuse it with the mainstream fruit bombs please.

Of course it might not be your thing, but you don´t know until you´ve tried it now do you? Hans Hendley offers affordability, a wonderful sample service, and brilliant customer relations. APJ, I wanted to put Hendley Perfumes onto your radar. That is part of our responsibilty as bloggers I think. You are more than welcome. 🙂

And for those of you who are still too exhausted from your festivities to move much, look no further. With thanks to Hans Hendley, and my love of going to the post office we have one of the 9ml travel sprays to giveaway. Check below.

Hendley Perfumes has $18/9ml + Samples

May we all have strength for 2017 because bloody hell, we sure are gonna need it.
Lots of love to all of you who so faithfully stand by APJ, it is not taken for granted.
Bussis
CQ

Amora EdP GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x 9ml Amora EdP Travel Spray
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please tell us what interests you about such an unusual fragrance and I won´t accept how much you have always loved berries. Hahahaha!!

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 29th December 2016 10pm Australian EdsT and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Wednesday 4th January 2017 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit

Volume II: Precision and Grace by Geza Schoen for The Beautiful Mind Series 2015

December 26, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 3 Comments

TinaG

Hi APJ, hope you have all had a lovely start to the festive season.

I wrote briefly about one of my go-to perfumes in an article on Adelaide a few weeks back. This is Precision and Grace, Volume II of the Beautiful Mind Series. It is a great warm weather fragrance and a good all round travel pick-me-up. I’ve always finished decants when I’ve taken it away with me. “Finished” is not a word many perfume hobbyists use too often…..

I thought I’d revisit Precision and Grace with a bit more detail on the development of the scent on skin and why I enjoy wearing it so much.

Volume II: Precision and Grace by The Beautiful Mind Series 2015

Volume II: Precision and Grace by Geza Schoen

Fragrantica

LuckyScent gives these featured accords:
Williams pear, bergamot, mandarin, lemon, Egyptian jasmine, plum, osmanthus, rose, mimosa, pink pepper, freesia, violet, sandalwood, myrrh, moss, amber

Precision and Grace is described as a Fruity Floral. That, in itself, is enough to send many a perfumista screaming and ducking for cover. But with descriptions, you have to start somewhere, right? It puts us in the ball park of maybe what to expect – it’s the quality that then defines the fragrance experience itself.

I always give this a few generous sprays, and it opens a slightly metallic lemon. Over the next 15 minutes or so, from this centre point softly emerges a beautifully balanced sphere of co-habiting notes – mandarin, pear, osmanthus and freesia primarily. The osmanthus and pear are really the stars on my skin. The pear is amazingly juicy and fresh, never wandering in to room-deodorant territory. And osmanthus…. Wow…. It is present with a glowing soft yellow radiance, calming and uplifting.

PDI

After about 1.5 hours, a jasmine comes through – nothing indolic, this is fresh as it would be still on the vine. The freshness is tempered with a plum note which drawn the scent down into slightly heavier olfactive territory.

There is something really special about the way this fragrance is balanced, each note is clear and real, but no divas, nothing pushing front and centre. I think that’s why I visualise a sphere, with the lemon surrounded by three main auras at first – floral, citrus, and fruit. You’ve got the precision in the photorealism, and grace in the balance, everything has a purpose and a place, working in harmony.

The fragrance changes ever so slowly, and at about 4 hours I find that a woody notes and dry sandalwood have appeared but I really didn’t have any hint of them coming. The dry down is subtle, and fragrance long-lasting at 8+ hours.

WikiCommons

Further reading: Megan In St Maxime
LuckyScent has $165/100ml and samples

I enjoy wearing Precision and Grace very much. I find it is one of those which grounds and centres me – I suspect that is why I wear it travelling, when I’m working in unfamiliar territory and need to move through my day with a sense of happiness, kindness and purpose. And, of course, the grace to work around those unforeseen hiccups that you always come across on the move.

What is your go-to scent when you need to get things done?

Best wishes to all of you for a wonderful start to 2017! Lots of Love.

Tina G xx

Surrender To Chance GIVEAWAY WINNER

December 25, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 3 Comments

Thanks APJ Crew,

We have a WINNER! Check below.

Portia xx

Surrender To Chance GIVEAWAY WINNER

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x $30 Surrender To Chance Gift Voucher
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Saturday 24th December 2016 10pm Australian EdsT and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winner waschosen by random.org

Saffyishere

The winners will have till Wednesday 28th December 2016 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

Nuit Étoilée EdT by Isabelle Doyen for Annick Goutal 2012

December 24, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 13 Comments

Portia

Hello Fume Fiends,

We forget in the far off lands of 2016 that Annick Goutal the fragrance brand has been around since 1980. Many of its fragrances were groundbreaking fragile beauties that thrilled and surprised fragrance lovers. Mixed with its determined homespun style, interesting note combinations and eye rollingly beautiful floral concoctions they became a hit with the newly borne perfumistas in the heady days of the 1980s and 90s. Sables, Folavril, Eau de Monsieur, Passion and Eau d’Hadrien were ground breaking scents. Now known by perfumistas as a safe, easy to wear brand some of the wow factor has definitely been lost. Especially through reformulation, the changing out of the vibrantly coloured bottles and the bland introduction of plain glass by AmorePacific, the south Korean owners of Annick Goutal. So it comes as quite a surprise to find something so outlandish and weird in the collection as Nuit Étoilée.

Nuit Étoilée EdT by Annick Goutal 2012

Nuit Étoilée by Isabelle Doyen

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Citron, sweet orange, peppermint
Heart: Siberian pine, fir resin
Base: Angelica seed, tonka, immortal

If you like to smell your fragrances 5 plus hours later then most of the Annick Goutal range will give you the shits. Nuit Étoilée EdT is no exception and you better have bought the 100ml bottle because respritzing becomes addictive.

WikiCommons

ZING!! Bright citrus and mint, like alcoholic fruit punch on a hot summers day or Mojitos in the evening. A fresh burst of wake up and live. Every time I spritz it feels like an energy burst for the brain. The mint lasts only minutes and I’m left with a woodsy citrus, green and dry. As the heart dries off on my skin all I’m left with is a very soft wash of musks and something greenish but barely noticeable. This whole process takes about an hour, unless I spray on fabric or card and then I get at least 4 hours on fabric and on card I can smell Nuit Étoilée next morning.

Nuit Étoilée is going to be my Christmas Eve scent this year. In the fresh woodsiness I find an Aussie summer whispered hint of a wintery, white Christmas that still fits with our 30C+ heat, and yes, there will be fruit punch with fresh mint in it. What would an Aussie Christmas be without it?

PDI

Further reading: EauMG and Non Blonde
FragranceX has some old blue EdT stock for AUD$75/100ml
Surrender To Chance has samples from $3/ml

Have you tried Nuit Étoilée? Does your family do alcoholic fruit punch with fresh mint chopped into it?
Portia xx

Australian Perfume Junkies

Olfactory Opinions from Oz

Niche

Mystery Fragrance NYE 2016/7

Mystery Fragrance NYE 2016/7

Mystery Fragrance GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

HOW DO YOU WIN?

HOUSEKEEPING

Last Sydney Sniffy Get Together 2016

Last Sydney Sniffy Get Together 2016

Apollo Hyacinth by Alberto Morillas for Eric Buterbaugh Florals 2015

Apollo Hyacinth by Eric Buterbaugh Florals 2015

Apollo Hyacinth by Alberto Morillas

Eau de Sud by Annick Goutal 1996

Eau de Sud by Annick Goutal 1996

Island Gardenia by Jovan 1982

Island Gardenia by Jovan 1982

Volume II: Precision and Grace by Geza Schoen for The Beautiful Mind Series 2015

Volume II: Precision and Grace by The Beautiful Mind Series 2015

Volume II: Precision and Grace by Geza Schoen

Surrender To Chance GIVEAWAY WINNER

Surrender To Chance GIVEAWAY WINNER

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

HOUSEKEEPING

Saffyishere

Nuit Étoilée EdT by Isabelle Doyen for Annick Goutal 2012

Nuit Étoilée EdT by Annick Goutal 2012

Nuit Étoilée by Isabelle Doyen