L`Interdit Givenchy: LIVE Video Sniff

February 19, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 5 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey Happy Huffers,

This is one of Scott’s favourite fragrances. To be honest I’d never knowingly sniffed it. He loves it, and has loved it for years. It was really lovely of him to bring his amazing parfum find for us to do an opening video of, it’s nice to share the moment.

L`Interdit by Francis Fabron for Givenchy 1957

LIVE Video Sniff

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Aldehydes, spices, mandarin orange, peach, bergamot, strawberry
Heart: Iris, violet, narcissus, orris root, jasmine, ylang-ylang, lily-of-the-valley, rose
Base: Sandalwood, amber, musk, benzoin, vetiver, tonka bean

If you have never smelled vintage L’Interdit parfum do yourself a favour and stay far away from its loveliness. Who needs an expensive, discontinued, nightmare to find obsession?

Mitsouko by Guerlain vintage parfum C1988

February 18, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 6 Comments

Post by Portia

Hi there Vintage Frag Freaks,

You know I’m a bit of a Guerlainophile? Well, I rather like their work. Recently I picked up a little bottle of the parfum, used but still about 80% full, in the iconic bottle, only 7.5ml. Well I can’t stop dabbing it. It sits here on my desk and calls to me with its luscious sweet fruity dryness and what can I do but indulge?

Mitsouko by Guerlain vintage parfum C1988

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, Lemon, Mandarin, Neroli, Jasmine, Rose
Heart: Peach, Rose, Clove, Ylang-Ylang, Lilac, Jasmine
Base: Oakmoss, Labdanum, Patchouli, Benzoin, Vetiver, Cinnamon

Tonight, quite late, I drew the bath and put some Radox Bath Salts in. About half way through the running I decided to add in 15 drops of Jo Malone Red Roses Bath Oil. Suddenly the room smelled unbelievable, deep, blood red roses, dry black tea and the crackle of split branch and wood. We are having an unseasonal summer cold snap so I made the water lovely and hot. An hour later I arose like an extremely obese Birth of Venus both clean and rosy, rosy skin and smell.

Having come back to my desk afterwards I had thought I’d wear Mohur or Ballets Rouges but instead decided to dab myself like crazy with Mitsouko. MMMMMMM I smell freaking amazing and the rosy underlay has definitely amped the rosy nature of Mitsouko and given it a whole new more austere and aloof mien than usual. It’s different but lovely, different enough to be a rose Mitsouko flanker and I for me the Red Roses adds a lightness and freshness that is very modern, is there a bunch of white musk under Red Roses? I’m getting them even if there isn’t.

Wikipedia

Still Mitsouko but slightly changed, some air between the heavily constructed, dense, historic notes. An extra swish and zing from the 21st century yet still laid over the intricate, nuanced and slightly dirty grace of one of the most revered fragrances in the books.

Now I have applied a second layer of extrait over the same spots as before and the Mitsouko is pretty much back to normal now. Maybe because I have rose on my mind there is still a large overblown old fashioned fruity cabbage rose in my olfactory picture but the other notes like clove, peach, ylang and amber are much more prominent and noticeable. HA! Maybe I just needed more Mitsouko juice on my skin?

This morning, I wake up to the softest thrill of something not quite me above my skin. My guess is oakmoss and vanilla from Mitsouko and some white musks from Red Roses, it shimmers above my skin but is not really a fragrance. It’s the ghost of the memory of being fragrant.

Geograph

Further reading: Australian Perfume Junkies and Persolaise
Mitsouko can be tried at any department store with a Guerlain counter for FREE. Go spritz lavishly.
Surrender To Chance have vintage parfum samples starting at $10/0.25ml

Please tell us your Mitsouko story? I’d love to read it.
Portia xx

Pichola by Bertrand Dachaufour for Neela Vermeire Creations 2015

February 17, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 12 Comments

Post by Erica Golding

Hello all of you gorgeous fragrance lovers!

Let’s just jump in and get personal. Pull up a velvet floor pillow, and please enjoy this glass of wine. My question today is:

Do you believe in love at first sight?

For me, I will say that my own sunlit optimism always battled with my analytical realism. This made me enjoy the idea of instantaneous true love, but I was never capable of believing in it. Of course, perfume truly possesses a force of enchantment, and all it took was a breath of this precious fragrance to make me believe (in love at first sniff, anyhow):

Pichola by Neela Vermeire Créations 2015

Pichola by Bertrand Duchafour

Photo Donated Neela Vermeire Creations

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Cardamom, Cinnamon, Saffron, Juniper, Magnolia, Neroli, Clementine, Bergamot
Heart: Orange blossom absolute, Rose absolute, Tuberose absolute, Jasmine sambac, Ylang-ylang
Base: Benzoin absolute, Sandalwood, Driftwood, Haitian vetiver

I received a generous decant of Pichola as a gifted sample from a friend. Uncharacteristically, I decided to just go for it and spray it on my skin – no checking the notes, no sniffing from the vial first, no tiny skin test with just a drop. I don’t know why I chose to be so reckless that day, but let me tell you – it was a fabulous decision!

My first inhale shocked me. My instinctual reaction was overwhelmingly joyous bliss: visions of glittering light, giggling childlike innocence, warm tender breezes. This was soon tempered by my protective, cynical pessimism. The aroma was so intensely delightful that my fear of being let down soon took over, and I convinced myself that the beauty I beheld was only fleeting top notes, soon to disappear. So, I left my house for work, and huffed and huffed the magic of Pichola all day long. Slowly, I allowed myself to accept the exquisite truth – the blissful charm of that first sniff had lasted all day!!

Pixabay

I wore Pichola the next day. And then again for a third. I NEVER wear the same perfume twice in a row, and to wear it for three days – I mean, it just doesn’t happen. But when it comes to true love, it seems I’ve broken all my rules. J

On my skin, the aroma features a fresh tropical bouquet of dewy blossoms, balanced beautifully by sweet golden ice wine and precious woods. The accent notes make the composition shimmer with touches of saffron, vetiver, and bergamot. It is clean yet lush to me, a very difficult effect to execute in perfumery. I will say that jotting down my impressions of the notes is entirely insufficient and practically a useless exercise. Pichola is more than a swirl of perfumery materials. It is an emotion, it is a memory, it is a dream. It is unabashedly saturated with love, light, innocence, positivity, and joy. It is love at first sight.

WikiMedia

Further reading: Australian Perfume Junkies and What Men Should Smell Like
Neela Vermeire Creations has €205/60ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $7/.5ml

Have you ever felt this way about a new perfume? Do you have a favorite from Neela Vermiere Creations? Get comfy on that pillow, and let’s dish!

Stay sensationally scented,

-Erica

Atelier Cologne: Big Fuss About Atelier Cologne!

February 16, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 8 Comments

Post by Ainslie Walker

Hello APJ gang!

During the windup of last year I popped into Agence de Parfums Head Quarters and found Nick Smart bent over an interestingly archaic looking machine. It was in fact a leather embossing tool and array of cool looking metal fonts that went with. It was the personalizing tool for the Atelier Cologne travel cases I heard were coming into Australia in time for Christmas. Four of the machines will be on circulation in Australia and New Zealand, ongoing, so perhaps you’ll get to go see?! I know Myers Melbourne had an event in December and Sephora have one planned for the early 2016.

I sat down for a demo and had a play with the range, making a few delicious discoveries from the brand I have neglected until the recent renaissance Down Under! A curious creature, I sniffed about until I had a good overview and here are some snippets I learnt about Atelier Cologne

Atelier Cologne: Big Fuss About Atelier Cologne!

The brand started in 2009 aiming to be the first fragrance house to exclusively “deal” in cologne. However owners Sylvie Ganter and Christophe Cervasel pushed boundaries and have given the classic cologne a big squeeze (get it??), inventing the Cologne Absolue…designed not to disappear but evolve on the skin.

The formula? Take an overdose of traditional citrus notes for transparency, add to these additional raw materials for depth and richness then add a high percentage of this “juice” (15-20%) to the base! The result should be longer lasting power out of cologne style fragrances.

So have they managed it?

My instant eyebrow raises went to:

Fragrantica

Blanche Immortelle was an instant knockout. Packaged in a metallic bottle, smelling unique, heavy and beautiful. Australian sandalwood, immortelle absolute, jasmine, rose, patchouli and vetiver give great velvety depth and impact. Orange, mimosa, mandarin and bergamot add sparkle. For development on skin this is just WOW. Quite a beautiful, intimate journey. I will buy a bottle of this as autumn kicks in.

Fragrantica

Trefle Pur – I JUST LOVE IT. Listed as bitter orange, violet leaves and patchouli I also get a fig and freshly GREEN cut wet grass, moss, patchouli and basil. So so very green and cooling. I feel like a frog hiding under rainforest canopy!

Fragrantica

Bois Blonds – Light, crisp, musky-wood and citrusy white floral blend. It was my final pick to go in my personalized case. Orange blossom for me is always my “happy place”. Combined with jasmine, amber, musk, bergamot, lemon and neroli, it’s an easy to wear, portable fragrance for the upcoming heat of summer. I want to layer this with other fragrances in the day as a “top up” and it will live in my handbag. Not sweet, but CRISP. Perfect.

How cute that Atelier Cologne invites wearers to create their own signature spray bottle by engraving a 30ml leather case for free, to complement any purchase of a full sized bottle! Do you have a stockest near you? Which of the range have you tried? Which were your favourites?

Further reading: Now Smell This
Libertine Perfumerie has the range
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $3/ml

I look forwards to hearing!

Ainslie X

Back-up Bottles: Obsession or Collection?

February 15, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 76 Comments

Post by Azar

Hello Perfume Pals,

The other day, while digging through “the collection” in search of an old Bal a Versailles, I was surprised to find a number of un-opened back-up bottles of fragrances that I still like or even love but rarely use. I had forgotten that I had so many of these extras lying around and began to wonder what had prompted me to purchase them. Had I been dreading a reformulation or discontinuation? Were the extras received as gifts? Did I find such a good deal that yet another bottle was simply irresistible? Why wasn’t I using up these scents? This last question opened up a real can of worms: How much perfume do I actually use?

Back-up Bottles: Obsession or Collection?

YouTube

I pondered this for a while and realized that I probably average no more than two sprays or dabs per day – unless, of course, I am testing or sampling or writing a post. At two per day I will need several lifetimes to use up all the perfume I’ve stashed away over the many years I’ve been collecting and enjoying fragrance. Here is an incomplete list of partially full bottles, ranging in size from 30 to 300 ml, all backed up with at least two extra, full size bottles:

Annick Goutal Grand Amour
Aramis Calligraphy Rose
Basile EdP – vintage
Bourbon French Oriental Rose
Dior Hypnotic Poison EdT – vintage
Elizabeth Taylor Black Pearls EdP – vintage
Fidji EdT – vintage
Jacomo Silences EdT – vintage
L’eau de Monteil EdP – vintage
Lucien Lelong Sirocco cologne – very vintage
Maria Amalia
Micallef Black
Micallef Gardenia
Niki de Saint Phalle EdT – vintage
Olympic Orchids Siam Proun
Queen Latifah
Rasasi Amber Oud
Red Moscow
Sung EdT – vintage
Tom Ford Estee Lauder Youth Dew Amber Nude (I’d forgotten I had this and bought another!)

The list goes on, but there is simply not enough room to complete it in this post! I have reviewed several of these, either on APJ or on Perfume NW.

There will be a HUGE giveaway in March when Portia gets back from Europe.

How many back-up bottles do you have in your collection? How much fragrance in the form of parfum, extrait, cologne, EdP or EdT do you use on a daily basis? It’s OK to guess!

Azar xx

Anne-Marie’s Perfume & Mothers

February 14, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 7 Comments

Post by Anne-Marie

No, it’s not Mother’s Day just yet, don’t panic!
I was mucking about on the perfume blogs the other day and came across a very striking post by March on Perfume Posse dating right back to 2006. Not a review, but a meditation, you might say, on her mother’s perfume, Lanvin’s My Sin.

Perfume & Mothers

It reminded me of a few other posts of this nature that I have read over the years. A few bloggers – mostly women – have written very movingly about the perfumes worn by their mothers, and the emotions that a whiff of perfume can elicit. These posts make for very interesting reading and I thought it might be good to bring them together here.

The mothers have left their daughters with very strong perfume memories. Usually the women were indeed very strong women, and a girl’s first lessons in femininity are often learned at the dressing table through the wonder of watching her mother apply perfume. If you are familiar with the latest Chanel No 5 ad, featuring Gisele Bündchen, you will remember how beautifully this moment is evoked.
In different ways the bloggers’ daughters have tried to ‘read’ their mothers’ lives through their perfumes. They conjure up the mother as young woman, younger perhaps than her daughter is at the time of writing. They try to imagine their mothers as people separate from their children, as career women perhaps, or lovers to their husbands, or trying to juggle all their many roles.

Flickr

What were my parents like before we children came along? Can I gain any insight into them just as people, not as parents? Does perfume open a different window on to my mother’s life and personality than the person I normally remember? If so, where do I belong in that picture?

Anyway, here are the posts.
March on Perfume Posse on Lanvin My Sin.

Beth on Perfume Smellin’ Things on Guerlain Shalimar.

Shelia on the Alembicated Genie on a variety of classic perfumes, especially VC&A’s First.

Michelle on Glass Petal Smoke on Dior Miss Dior.

Gaia, the Non-Blonde, on the original Chloe.

Barbara on Yesterday’s Perfume on Revlon Charlie. (Her mother also wore Rochas Femme, Lancome Magie Noir, Scherrer No 1, and Ungaro Diva.)

WikiMedia

After you’ve had a browse, come back and share your own memories, if you would like to. And if know of similar posts about fathers, I’d love to know. These seem to be much rarer. And please share your own memories of what your Dad wore.

Anne-Marie

New York by Patricia de Nicolai for Parfums de Nicolai 1989

February 13, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

Post by Portia

Hi there Cool kids,

Back in 2014 my mate Tara reviewed New York by Parfums de Nicolai for Olfactoria’s Travels and I said I would try and find a bit of it because her review made me think it was right up my alley. Then I completely forgot about it. Now looking through my stockpile I rediscovered a sample sent to me at some time by someone, um sorry I’ve forgotten who but thank you. So I decided to spritz it yesterday, now I’m wearing it again….

New York by Parfums de Nicolai 1989

New York by Patricia de Nicolai

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, amalfi lemon, cloves, lavender, green notes
Heart: Thyme, cinnamon, pepper, paprika, patchouli, cedar
Base: Amber, vanilla, leather

Tara mentions that New York is a masculine Shalimar, well you may know that I adore Shalimar and it’s my favourite scent of all time. I have spent the last couple of days searching for the similarities and differences, then getting so lost in the fragrance that I need to reapply so I can do the comparisons. It’s been fun.

So the open is fresh and bracing but the lavender takes me far away from Shalimar. It feels very old school cologne but drier and more biting. The citrus is lovely, sweet and fleshy and pretty photo realistic. All together I find the opening an exemplary riff on an old trope. Not a big departure but enough to make New York interesting.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

As we settle into New York’s heart the spices remind me that a chypre is supposed to be created without flowers, because the island of Cypress is a place of evergreen shrubs & trees and citrus groves (is New York a chypre, if you substituted leather for oakmoss it could be included). My skin maintains lavender and citrus right through the spicy heart. It’s SO good, so beautifully balanced and blended. I love the smooth and unfussy growth, the slow and stately speed that different accords appear and fade, the hints of a bygone era of beautiful fragrances.

Deep into the heart I notice the pepper, the pepper seems to be casually chatting with the woods. No fireworks, they just stood out the front to make sure I noticed them. Base comes extremely late, it’s at least an hour before the warmth of amber/vanilla even shows its face over the leather and heart (it smells quite vetiverish to me too). Like Shalimar? Not at all. New York is pure old fashioned cologne/chypre and I really enjoyed it.

Photo Stolen Flickr

Further reading: Olfactoria’s Travels and Scented Hound
Neroli Budapest has 11,400Ft (US$40)/30ml and posts worldwide
Surrender To Chance has New York Intense samples from $5/ml

Are any of your fragrance favourite old style? Do the masculine leaning frags bring you happy memories or remind you of sexy men?
Portia xxx

CHANEL No 22 EdT by Jacques Polge for CHANEL 2007

February 12, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 16 Comments

Post by Portia

Hiya Crew,

You know when you’re looking through the decants? You pick a couple up, look at the labels, put them back, repeat, can’t find something to apply even though there is more choice than the regular department store. So I was doing this familiar dance the other day and my hand landed on a decant from a mate in Oz, a big decant in a lavish black spritz travel thing. I thought, OK, why the hell not and…

CHANEL No 22 EdT by CHANEL 2007

CHANEL No 22 by Jacques Polge

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Aldehydes, Lily-of-the-valley, Neroli
Heart: Jasmine, Rose, Ylang-ylang
Base: Vanilla, Vetiver

You may remember I discovered CHANEL No.22 in Paris in 2014 with Michael. Since then a few friends have sent or given me different vintages and strengths (Barbara Carter, Ruth M and another couple that have slipped my mind) and I have loved them all. The thing is, that first incredible overdose from Rue Cambon in Paris will stay with me forever as the most fabulous 22 of my life. We even snuck into the stairs and had our picture taken!! WOO HOO SCORE! Yes, the old ones may be fuller and more animal but walking the streets of Paris, shopping, meeting buddies and generally hanging out have made an unbreakable connection to the modern for me. So often scent is tied up with the memories.

The big soapy, syrupy, fizz of modern CHANEL No 22 that tramples the lily of the valley into plush and velvet submission. The sparkly, soft/sharp scintillation like lights glittering on Christmas tinsel which makes way for the hearts bouquet, still glittering but with a creamy and slightly fruity warmth. Clear as a bell but still comforting, soapy and clean but in a polished crystal way rather than blankets. Aloof but not snobby No 22 is divinely wearable and lasting power is excellent. There is even a cool whisper of oily vetiver and incense(?) through the heart that alongside the still extant aldehydes create a steel sculpture of fragrance as the binding centre, the core story if you like, of No 22.

There’s no denying that CHANEL No 22 is big, if size in fragrance is a problem for you then you may have trouble, also if aldehydes are in any way less than fabulous then you will definitely want to move along. No 22’s aldehydes leave No 5 for dead and didn’t even notice its presence. If longevity gets boring for you or you prefer to wear multiple fragrances in a day then again, probably steer clear BUT if you want a super fabulous signature fragrance that will wrap you up warm and tight and with a sillage of a size that will give waterskiers trick jumps, a smooth, glamorous, soapy extravaganza? Try CHANEL No 22.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

Further reading: Perfume Posse and Candy Perfume Boy
CHANEL online, stand alone beauty + fashion stores and large department stores
Surrender To Chance has EdT samples starting at $4/ml

What do you wear when you want to go big?
Portia xx

Calandre by Paco Rabanne: LIVE Video Sniff

February 12, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 13 Comments

Post by Portia

Well Hello Vintage Vamps,

Today Scott and I finally open a fragrance that has been in my collection for years. It has winked at me from the recesses of the perfume cupboard and sometimes i grabbed it out only to put it back away. I know, I’m a crazy frag hoarder.

Calandre by Paco Rabanne 1969

Calandre by Michel Hy

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Leaf green, Aldehydes, Bergamot
Heart: Rose, Lily-of-the-valley, Geranium, Jasmine, Iris
Base: Sandalwood, Vetiver, Oakmoss, Musk, Ambergris

Amber Oud by Calice Becker for By Kilian 2011

February 11, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

Post by Portia

Hi there Fragrant Fiends,

Oudh. The 21st centuries answer to IFRA compliant base notes. It is the ubiquitous fully fragrant, dark, deep and dirty base note giving a solid grounding to an industry that has lost its regular, centuries old palette to drug companies greed: the modern multinational fragrance component creators. I’m sure it’s a more complex problem and that I’ve missed most of the memos but from the other side of the world this is how it looks to me. Sorry, end rant.

So, I tried Amber Oud around the time it came out and could not justify the spend to myself at that time, 5 years on I wondered if my thoughts had changed with the ever increasing price of fragrance. Was $395 a reasonable price for something I remember being so lovely, and reading the other reviews written at that time it was as special as I remember and many others were happy to drop that kind of cash on it.

Amber Oud by By Kilian 2011

Amber Oud by Calice Becker

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Amber, Benzoin, Spices, Oud, Vanilla, Cedar

Softest, plushest, tamest oudh ever. So gorgeously rolled and folded into the spicy vanilla/amber bakery and only held slightly dry by the crispness of cedar. Warm and enveloping I can see why even the oudh haters love Amber Oud so. Lightly medicinal, a tiny hint of band aid and only the merest waft of poop Amber Oud is almost a gourmand oudh, oudh light or kiddies oudh. So velvet soft and cozy, as close to a warm beige cashmere lounge throw as oudh can be. Delightful, sweet, sensational and gorgeous: the words that jump into my head while sniffing are not the usual ones associated with oudh in my experience. The By Kilian crew have created the most fabulous general public oudh and it makes me smile.

The amber is sweet and caramelised, lit from within and effulgent Ambre Oud grows more and more lovely. Very reminiscent through its heart of the L’Artisan L’Eau d’Ambre, a similar warmth and purity. It stays pretty and buoyant and luxurious, the most expensive caramel toffee.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

Here’s my quandry: yes this is lovely. It’s incredibly wearable, luxurious and gorgeous, no doubt about it. When I press my nose to my fragrant spots it is utterly swoon worthy. When it’s not so close, when I’m catching whiffs of it as I go about my day, Amber Oud is not a lot better than 50 other ambers on the market. From Queen Latifah through L’Artisan, Nicolai to Giorgio Armani: yes they are all different but at arms length the differences are not so pronounced, yummy amber. Is Amber Oud at $395 from $370-$150 better? Is it really? I hang my head in shame because for me the answer is no…. I’ll put my decant away and try it again one day, maybe then?

Further reading: Olfactoria’s Travels and Bois de Jasmin
LuckyScent has $395/50ml
Surrender To Chance has $5/0.5ml

What is your cut off point? Do you have one? How important is having something in your collection?
Portia xx