Thanks to Pierre Guillaume for sending this advance sample to share. What a honey. He even sent me this super sexy and tanned pic in his excitement. Next time I’m going to get him to write it in the nude…..
This week we will have 2 winners who will receive: 1 x Limanakia sample (decanted from my press sample) P&H Anywhere in the world
HOUSEKEEPING
Entries Closed Saturday 17th September 2016 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org
Jackie b
Patty Pong
The winners will have till Wednesday 21st September 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
When the niche bomb exploded one of the houses that became an instant line in loads of high end scent stores was perfumes de Marly. Pegasus in 2011, 5 more in 2012, 7 in 2013, 4 in 2014, 3 in 2015 and 3 more in 2016. That’s 23 fragrances in 5 years, almost Montale-ish. Strangely we haven’t yet written about any of their scents here on APJ, I have had some samples but they got ignored so I moved them on. I have just found the amusingly titled Shagya in a carded manufacturers sample and the green caught my eye. Come and have a first impression ride with me.
Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, Lime, Pink pepper
Heart: Geranium, Oud, Cedarwood
Base: Gaiac wood, Musk, Papyrus, Vetiver
Lime and pepper fizz merrily on open and I can already smell the woods/oud giving a dry, dusty, summer in a country woodmill feeling. Hot and muddy like after a summer storm. Having a cold lemonade in the sunshine after the storm. A grown up cologne for wealthy business people with just enough gravitas to feel like old farm money comes to town.
This is not a whole new scent, it’s an old trope that seems smooth and debonairly executed up top with a very nice, crisp woodsy dry down. The scent becomes less and less juicy as the heart progresses and finishes as brittle dried grasses and well polished woods.
I bet this is one of Marly’s best sellers. While not rocking my socks off it is different enough to add that extra edge to the business of making people smell good. In the modern tradition of mens fragrance but I think a woman would smell divine in it, that would be so unexpected.
From Parfums de Marly: The Shagya Arabian horse was developed in Austro Hungaria and is known for its inborn friendliness towards humans. Named after the majestic Arabian breed of horses, Shagya is the most exclusive of the Royal Essence collection. The top notes of the fragrance tingle with the Citric freshness of Limette, Bergamot and Pink Berries and gently give way to a heart of Geranium, Cedar wood and Oud. The fragrance settles with woody scents of Vetyver, wood of Guaiac, Papyrus and musk.
First in Fragrance has €150/125ml (Spend €300 FREE World Shipping!)
(Even FragranceNet is more expensive at €229.60)
Have you tried any of the Parfums de Marly?
Portia xx
I was recently lucky enough to snag a sample of the new Galop d’Hermès in an Hermès boutique in Copenhagen. Well, I say lucky, but what I really mean is that I stomped my little feet until I got one, because I was buying a whole bottle of Osmanthe Yunnan at full retail so you better believe I wasn’t leaving without some loot. I got a chance to fondle the bottle too. I’m not sure what the string is for (hanging it up with your gym wash bag maybe?), but it’s Hermès and it’s shaped like a stirrup, so who am I to quibble.
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Rose, Leather, Saffron, Quince
Galop d’Hermès opens bright and mouth-puckeringly tart, a saffraleine leather glossed to a high shine with rose and cassis. It’s hard not to swoon, to be honest, because the immediately appetizing mixture of velvety rose petals, saffron, and orange swells to fill the nose and make your mouth water. Syrupy and rich, the opening is almost gourmand to my nose, but then a wave of urinous cassis (blackcurrant) crests and washes over the composition, adding a welcome astringency.
Now, don’t be too alarmed by my use of the word “urinous” here – both cassis and grapefruit share a compound that is also present in urine, but if you don’t perceive any “cat pee” note in fragrances such as Aqua Allergoria Pamplelune, then you should be fine with this. I think that this is the only element in Galop that might be considered shocking or animalic, the way the perfume makes that blackcurrant note teeter between pee and unripe fruit. To my nose, rhubarb has a similar effect.
Likewise, despite equestrian-based marketing, there is really nothing horsey or animalic about the leather note, which is the smooth, vegetal leather used in other Hermès fragrances such as Kelly Caleche. But the texture here is less angular. The sleekness of leather fuzzes up even more, gaining a dusky wooliness that really works against the tart cassis. What surprises me is that the lush, velvety rose I smelled in the opening disappears, morphing into a rose-tinted baked apple – a quince basically. I bake with quinces, and the scent matches the taste: a rosy, perfumey apple with a mealy texture. When a slice or two is slipped into an ordinary apple tart, they turn a fabulous shade of blush pink.
Longevity is pretty good – I get about 6-8 hours. Projection is quiet, though, which is hardly surprising, given it’s an extrait. I can see this working for posh girls and boys who know their way around a tack room or two. It’s as refined as the JC Ellena scents for Hermès but has just enough of that Christine Nagel richness of touch to push more towards glamorous equestrian ball territory than sheer daytime wear.
Can you believe I live in the same city as Grandiflora yet I’ve never set foot in the place? Well, sadly it’s true. Not because I’ve purposely stayed away but I just never seem to be in that part of town without a time budget, or I’m there after hours for work. It is on my bucket list to get there though so hopefully sometime soon I’ll be able to show you some pics of a visit. Till then I’ve finally been to Surrender To Chance and grabbed myself a decant.
Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Jasmine, Green notes, Musk
The first person I knew that had Madagascan Jasmine was Ainslie Walker and I tried it at her place but was woefully under impressed. I’m not sure what my problem was but even then I felt maybe I was missing the point. I was.
Madagascan Jasmine opens green, yes, I know that that term covers a lot of ground. It’s the green of tearing soft, fleshy, succulent leaves. The green of hedging camellias, rubbing your nail down the long thin, dark green leaves of clivia, the metallic green of clean kitchen basins and the extreme yellow green of narcissus. It’s also white, the white of the jasmine growing over the side fence, the white of expensive little bathroom soaps, Lily of the Valley white and the soft plush white of clean flannelette sheets. Laundry musks but done as a binding note rather than a solo performer. Though they are huge and in your face they seem to buoy the rest and keep it floating and radiant.
Imagine being sandblasted by scent, it’s so full on that it rips away your skin and bones leaving you a sheer, bodiless, cloud of scent. If you close your eyes while wearing Madagascan Jasmine I think it could take you anywhere. The most gorgeously engulfing jasmine and it lasts well too. Almost as adamant as Tawaf by La Via Del Profumi.
WOW! Thanks to Azar for her amazing generosity!
Let’s see who won,
Portia xxx
Pionus GIVEAWAY WINNER
WHAT CAN YOU WIN?
The winner will receive:
1 x 5 ml of Note Fragrances Blood Orange Chocolat P&H Anywhere in the world
HOUSEKEEPING
Entries Closed Wednesday 7th September 2016 10pm Australian EST
Winner was chosen by random.org
TIFFANIE
The winner will have till Saturday 10th September 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.
In the lead up to Christmas and a change in seasons, we’re seeing an influx of new releases…including Grace by Grace Coddington.
We’ve been waiting an eon to smell Comme des Garçons and Grace Coddington’s fragrance. It was released April 2016 overseas and late August in Australia, exclusive to Mecca nationwide.
As April came and went I observed some ‘spoilers’ on Instagram etc, however all I really knew was there was a cat connection and I had also heard it was rose based. Grace has been obsessed with roses since her English childhood experiences in rose gardens. She used to wear Floris’s Red Rose as a teen.
I have a soft spot for Comme des Garçon’s edgy fragrances. How might they ‘shake up the rose’ for Grace? Roses are well loved and Grace spending more than a decade with her finger firmly on the fashion pulse means it should really hit the nail on the head. [NB for those who do not know, Grace was Vogue’s Creative Director for at least a decade and before that a model, originally from England. If interested you can find out more about the fashion icon from her book, Grace – A Memoir or by watching The September Issue movie.]
Grace by Grace Coddington and Comme des Garcons 2016
Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, Mint, Basil leaf, Cardamom, Pink pepper
Heart: Moroccan rose absolute, Freesia, Peach blossom
Base: Vetiver, Cashmere wood, White musk, Crystal amber
On first whiff its light, fresh, rosy and white musk, with some transparency. Second whiff deeper rose notes with an impression of freshly laundered towels. Sweetness, maybe juicy peach. Sparkle..maybe green pepper, or still the fizz of laundry powder. What I see in my minds eye is; a rose growing on another planet wrapped in a thick clean towel, warm from the dryer, looking at the twinkling stars.
The lovely Grace bottle, designed by Fabien Baron is actually a cute, sophisticated cat. A heavy bottomed, curved – almost egg-shaped glass bottle. The lid is a weighted silver metal ball with little ears. A little drawstring bag features illustrations by Grace herself. VERY handbag friendly. The bottle feels lovely in the hand. There’s that swoony weight / balance thing…sigh.
Who would wear this? I recommended it as a gift for my friends’ daughter’s 18th, however the fragrance is not limited to a younger audience. I think the lightness, elegance and playfulness of a flirty cat is captured and who does not want to smell like that some days?
You could wear it to work, dates or outdoors. There’s a cosy feel to it…and yet a watery luminescence too. A nod to old-fashioned English rose scents, but interpreted in a more lasting, modern way. At no point does it feel thin, however for me longevity is medium – one that I would top up midway through my day.
Did you ever want to smell like someone or something else – a flower perhaps, a celebrity or a parrot? A parrot you say? Some of these birds can smell pretty foul (sorry). Many psittacines have distinct, oily, dusty, musky odors. If you have ever walked into a parrot shop or indoor aviary you know what I’m talking about – a kind of sweaty, hormonal scent. While some parrots have a pleasant version of this musk, others smell like wet, dirty socks.
Parrot Perfume – Smell Like a Pionus
The parrot I want to smell like is Gomez, the beautiful Blue Headed Pionus (Pionus menstruus). Wild Pionus parrots hail from Central and South America and are common birds in their home range. The fragrance of each Pionus is unique and, like human scent, changes depending on individual chemistry, diet, environment and myriad other factors. Gomez has three distinct “perfumes” that I’ve noticed in our 14-year relationship.
The first is the musky odor – Gomez’ “I am pissed off.” smell or “I’m really horny!” smell or “You are wearing a red dress therefore I am going to bite you.” smell. Pionus are shy birds and don’t like change. New earrings, radically different clothing or unfamiliar scents will, with luck, result in warning wafts of musk.
Gomez also has two beautiful fragrances that tell me he is happy or that something interesting is in view. The original Pleasant Pionus Perfume (PPP) is a honeyed, dusty floral with notes of mimosa, nuts, milk, iris and a light parrot musk. The second (PPP II) is a flanker and I believe an intentional reaction or response to a new fragrance I’ve been wearing lately. The other day I was hanging out near Gomez’ cage and smelled something very familiar – Note Fragrances Blood Orange Chocolat. Previously I detected a similarity between PPP and BOC but this time it was full blown Blood Orange Chocolat. I moved my nose closer to Gomez’ cage, calling his name in dulcet tones. Gomez wafted what was unmistakably the dry down phase of BOC. Had he, at some point, noticed me wearing Blood Orange Chocolate and reformulated his original PPP into PPPII to better communicate with me? Was my intelligent, albeit bird-brained companion, trying to augment his limited vocal vocabulary with scent-based inter- species communication?
For several years I have been suggesting someone come up with a parrot perfume – perhaps one will show up sooner than later! Now I’m wondering if anyone is currently researching reciprocal, scent based inter-species communication? I’m also wondering what message Gomez was really trying to send to me via PPP II and what did my wearing Blood Orange Chocolat really mean to him.
Azar xx
Pionus GIVEAWAY
WHAT CAN YOU WIN?
The winner will receive:
1 x 5 ml of Note Fragrances Blood Orange Chocolat 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
Tell us if you have experienced inter-species communication or know which fragrance your significant other (any species) prefers you wear
HOUSEKEEPING
Entries Close Wednesday 7th September 2016 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winner will be chosen by random.org
The winner will have till Saturday 10th September 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.
Loads of you came along and got involved in this one. Great to see so many of you. I hope life its treating you kindly wherever you are.
Portia xx
Sample GIVEAWAY Sep 2016 WINNER
WHAT CAN YOU WIN?
The winner will receive one each of these samples:
Manhattan Rose by Krigler
Fiore del Dragone by Tesori d`Oriente
Poopoo Pidoo by Egofacto
Jamais le Dimanche by Egofacto
Le Americhe Caribbean Fruits by Compagnia Delle Indie
Bleu de Nice Santal by PierSaintPier
Equinox Bloom by Penhaligon’s
Opus X by Amouage
San Francisco by A Wing & A Prayer
Dreams & Visions by A Wing & A Prayer
Bella by A Wing & A Prayer
Coeur de Vetiver scare by L’Artisan
Holiday No. 14 by DSH Perfumes
JaLouSie by perfumes Lalun
Vetiver des Sables by Montale
Aoud Lime by Montale P&H Anywhere in the world
HOUSEKEEPING
Entries Closed Saturday 3rd September 2016 10pm Australian EST
Winner was chosen by random.org
Tarena
The winner will have till Wednesday 7th September 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.
I have a bunch of samples that I have tried, written about and loved or not. Some are carded manufacturers samples, shop bought decants, gifted decants etc. They are lying around in my office and will probably never be looked for again. A couple of them are only half full but others are only 2 spritzes used or brand new, some I have bottles or doubles of. There are .7ml all the way up to 3ml. So what better way to share the love than a FABULOUS GIVEAWAY!!
Sample GIVEAWAY September 2016
WHAT CAN YOU WIN?
The winner will receive one each of these samples:
Manhattan Rose by Krigler
Fiore del Dragone by Tesori d`Oriente
Poopoo Pidoo by Egofacto
Jamais le Dimanche by Egofacto
Le Americhe Caribbean Fruits by Compagnia Delle Indie
Bleu de Nice Santal by PierSaintPier
Equinox Bloom by Penhaligon’s
Opus X by Amouage
San Francisco by A Wing & A Prayer
Dreams & Visions by A Wing & A Prayer
Bella by A Wing & A Prayer
Coeur de Vetiver scare by L’Artisan
Holiday No. 14 by DSH Perfumes
JaLouSie by perfumes Lalun
Vetiver des Sables by Montale
Aoud Lime by Montale 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
Tell us a perfume on your wish list.
HOUSEKEEPING
Entries Close Saturday 3rd September 2016 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winner will be chosen by random.org
The winner will have till Wednesday 7th September 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.
I hope ya’ll are enjoying a summer or winter break and that life is good for you.
Summer vacation started and my son and I left the house at 0400 to get to the airport to catch the first flight on our way to Seattle. It had been 2,5 years since my last trip to the US to see family – to see my sister’s new home in Seattle.
I hope you enjoy my olfactory and visual trip of my travels this summer.
Summer Holiday Smells 2016 + Photo Essay
One of the first smells that I encountered was the airplane petrol that hits me every time I get to the airport and puts me right into vacation mood. I love it.
Summer Holiday Smells: Seattle
Smell of the BBQ at home and the smoke of the fireworks on the 4th of July on Lake Union.
Smell of flowers and raw fish at Pikes Market. Crocosmia with the vibrant red flowers have a very distinctive smell. The hydrangeas so big and colourful..
Smell of tossed Copper River salmon at Pikes Market. Seriously – we picked out the fish we wanted to buy and the fishmongers put on a show of tossing the fish to each other. The Copper River salmon was sublime.
Smell of the wet trees at Mr. Ranier National Park and fresh clean mountain air. I could actually smell the fresh water cascading down the waterfall at Paradise.
Smell of my hand after squeezing a ripe apricot at a roadside farmers market and of the juice from a Rainier cherry after biting into it. The Rainier cherry is incredible in its texture, flavor, sweetness and juiciness.
Smell of the lowest of the low tides at Carkeek Beach and searching for crab under the rocks – seaweed, moss and anemones on my fingertips. We found a largish crab and all sorts of little crabs.
Summer Holiday Smells: Atlanta
Smell of hand disinfectant and medicines at Urgent Care and doctors offices while getting my son’s broken arm in a cast. But we got to see colourful Australian Gouldian finches and their babies.
Heat and humidity creating a wall of comfort for me outside while everyone else ran for the AC. The humidity has a smell in Atlanta. Try to describe it? Sorry.
Smell of sun screen and chlorine every day. Yes – waterproof casts exist and we went swimming every day. That is what I enjoyed as a child and obviously so did my son. Vienna is not warm enough to have warm swimming pools outdoors.
Smell of the steam coming off of the side walks and roads after an afternoon thunderstorm and shower. How I miss the thunderstorms!
Smell of fresh boiled shrimp and cocktail sauce. Reminds me of my summer on Tybee Island where my friend’s parents caught 70 pounds of shrimp and all of us kids had to peel them all.
Sound of the cicadas in the trees. The night comes to life and the sound is magical and takes me back to my childhood in Atlanta.
I had forgotten of how abundant Crepe Myrtle trees are in Atlanta. They were in full bloom and my favourite colours were bright pink and deep red.
All in all it was a great trip. Next summer vacation perhaps a different destination with sights, smells and sounds that will make memories for a lifetime.
I would love to hear from you. How are you doing and which perfumes are you reaching for?
Sandra
Australian Perfume Junkies 