Hey Hey APJ,
Loving this brand new campaign from Mugler. Though I don’t love Angel I do understand its iconic status and trhat is was a game changer. Of course, what else do you expect from Thierry Mugler?
Portia xx
Georgia May Jagger is the new face of Thierry Mugler iconic fragrance, Angel. (source)
Here it is gang,
Here is the thing that almost NONE of us have been waiting for. Yes, Gucci is releasing an Oudh fragrance. It’s being sold as a Gucci by Gucci flanker. My fingers are crossed, maybe it will surprise us all. To be fair I always get people sniffing about and asking when I wear GUCCI Guilty and even GUCCI Envy Me II is nice. GUCCI by GUCCI is a real lovely floral amber spritz. Maybe it will be nice…
Portia xx
Photos Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Pear, raspberry, saffron
Heart: Bulgarian rose, orange blossom
Base: Oud, patchouli, amber, musk
Hey Hey APJ,
Today we are wandering the mainstream halls of department stores. Yes it’s designer fragrance day and I was surprised to see a lovely new bottle in the designer section last year. Earlier this year I gave myself a quick spritz. Lolita Lempicka is a favourite mainstream house because they are often edgy and boundary pushing. Their original Lolita Lempicka, Lolita Lempicka Au Masculin and L de Lolita Lempicka Coral Flower have been favourites of mine through smelling on my mates. So, how did the new one measure up?
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, neroli, lime
Heart: Coconut, jasmine, ylang-ylang
Base: Sandalwood, vanilla, myrrh
Can I first say how terrible I think the name is when you aren’t French. Elle L’aime? Isn’t that like “Pretty Lame”? or “So Lame”? What a crap name.
Elle L’aime, for those that are wondering means “It’s Like”. So what is Elle L’aime like? Well, the fragrance is pretty and wearable. The citrus opens with a zing and already there is a beautiful fat coconut note pushing through, it’s very gourmand on my skin. Like a Lemon Meringue Pie with Coconut sprinkles and Vanilla and Biscuit base. All ice cream delicious. Fun.
As the very slightly breathy jasmine and the thick, glutinous, fatty ylang oozes in all slinky-like they are paired very nicely with the citrus remnants and the coconut. Though I am pretty sure there aren’t a LOT of natural parts in this recipe the whole vibe is surprisingly dense and the sillage is quite noticeable though you have to sit somewhere for nearly a minute before the fragrance pushes its way out from you. The jasmine and ylang heart is surprisingly green, maybe remnants of the neroli(?), but it feels like some kind of sappy leaf has been torn and it’s just a hint behind the rest of the fragrance.
I think Elle L’aime will be a perfect first grown up fragrance or a lovely addition to your easy wear, spritz and forget wardrobe. In fact, though they don’t smell much the same I am reminded of Annich Goutal’s Songes, a sugared version made in the 21st century perhaps.
They have done a nice job on the sandalwood, it has some lovely facets of the Australian sandalwood but there’s probably not much of the real deal, if any. It’s warm, buttery and cuddly and has a lovely softly polished age to it that sits very well with the vanilla and of myrrh I can see no sniff or scanty scent. But that could very easily be me, my nose is notoriously wonky.
The girl in the picture is well chosen as representative. Elle L’aime is pretty, creamy, at once lovely and perfectly groomed, she is probably arriving at the party in this shot and will not change overly throughout the night. I imagine her leaving only very slightly mussed and a little less expectant, perhaps even a little sparkle from the dancing and the kissing. While hard core perfumistas will probably be bored to tears by Elle L’aime because it is in no way challenging or outrageous. If the job of perfume is to smell good then Elle L’aime is doing a good job. I smell lovely right to dry down in well over 5 hours till Elle L’aime is just a quiet hum of something close to nothing….
Further reading: Now Smell This and NYMag: The Cut
FragranceNet starts at $37/38ml after coupon
My Perfume Samples has $2/ml to $7/5ml
Do you ever go mainstream? Which designer fragrance house in department stores will get your attention when you wander through? Do you await a particular crews latest? Does a bottle ever capture your attention?
Portia xx
Hi APJ,
What great comments! I learned a lot and was happy to realize that I am not the only one in perfume-land who smells what isn’t there!
Don’t forget July 17th at Tigerlily Perfumery,
973 Valencia Street in San Francisco, CA USA.
If you are in the area consider dropping by between 5:00 and 8:00 pm PDT to meet the Antonia and the PNW perfumers whose work I reviewed in the post.
For more information check TigerLily
Azar xx
Photo Donated Azar
Photo Donated Azar
Meredith Smith of Sweet Anthem Perfumes in Seattle has generously provided the prize for today’s drawing, one complete sample set of the Indie Fragrance Criterion – DiscoverPacific Northwest Perfumes.
P&H Anywhere in the world
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 comment about “the obvious but not present”> In your perfume experience have you ever smelled a note that wasn’t really there?
Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Indie Fragrance Criterion GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-2Xc #Perfume #Giveaway
Entries Closed Thursday 10th July 2014 10pm Australian EST
Once again B-Azar drew the winning name from the old sunhat. And the
Photo Stolen nodepositforum
CONGRATULATIONS!! You have till Monday 14th July 2014 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.
Hi there Frag Buddies,
In case you needed a reminder:
Here is one of the most exciting things I’ve had to tell you about, EVER! Michael Edwards will be hosting Fragrance Masterclasses in Melbourne & Sydney later in 2014. I’m so excited I’m fit to burst. The man inducted into the Fragrance Foundation Hall of Fame in 2009 for “the impact Edwards’ work has had across the whole fragrance industry”, Australian and Internationally. His book Fragrances of the World is in it’s 30th year of publication, from “what started as a small guide for retailers with just 323 fragrances has become the industry’s fragrance ‘bible’”.
Everyone who meets Michael Edwards tells me that he is a very friendly gentleman, so happy to share his knowledge, his passion and extend the hand of friendship. I can’t wait to meet him at the Sydney Masterclass. To get one of the very exclusive seats at this once in a lifetime event Michael Edwards Masterclass<<JUMP
Michael Edwards
Melbourne 22 July 9am – 5pm
Sydney 21 August9am – 5pm
Attend the workshop and you will have the opportunity to buy Michael’s Fragrances of the World 2014 guidebook valued at $195 at HALF PRICE – only $97.50. Provided at the workshop.
Hopefully we’ll see some of you there, I think there will be a crew of APJ writers and readers. It will be a wonderful way to learn more about our passion, and you’ll make some buddies too hopefully.
Portia xx
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Post by TinaG
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Hi AJP,
On our recent trip to South Korea in May 2014, I had a chance to pick up some local fragrances as a reminder of some of the great places we had the opportunity to visit. Here’s a quick run down of two brands.
Photo Stolen Wikipedia
Photo Donated by TinaG
South Korea’s JeJu Island lies south of the mainland in the East China Sea, and is a popular romance and honeymoon destination. The island is volcanic in origin, and dotted with the peaks of multiple volcanic vents with the spectacular Mount Hallasan dominating the skyline. The island is well known for its stunningly beautiful sun rises. There is a type of volcanic rock which has little bubbles all the way through it like an aero chocolate bar, and this material is used abundantly in building walls around the island. It is also used to carve “Old Grandfather” statues, Dol Hareubang, which are the main symbol of Jeju Island. These statues are stout, hands on bellies, and have a mushroom shaped hat. Another romantic feature of JeJu is the fields of yellow rape seed flowers – please don’t get caught up over the plants name, it just is what it is. You may have heard of canola, which is the genetically modified version of the rape plant and is commonly utilised to make canola oil. We were lucky enough to visit in late May when the beautiful fields of rape were in full bloom.
Photos Donated by TinaG
At one of the tourist shops I was pleased to find some local perfumes, marketed under the JeJu Tammora brand, “Tammora” being one of the previous names given to the island. I grabbed myself two bottles, one of rape flowers, and one of orchid which was in the shape of the island’s Old Grandfather statues. The orchid was a pretty cool, soft and powdery floral, but I had no frame of reference for the rape flower fragrance. Luckily, on the way home the next day we stopped and had a chance to wander through a field of the metre-high plants in full bloom. Their scent is difficult to describe, as subtle as a breath of wind, green and sweet – and it was quite accurately reflected in the perfume albeit in a more concentrated form.
Photo Stolen EtudeHouse
Etude House is a playful chain of stores filled to the brim with cosmetics including the famous BB cream foundation. The first one we visited in Busan was a treat, pink and sweet and oh so cute! They have an adorable range of mini fragrances based on “romance” slogans “Why Not Me”, “Love Me Forever”, “Before You Go” etc… that kind of thing.
Photo Donated by TinaG
I chose to pick up “Bite Me”. Ha! Love the ambiguity in that statement. One spray releases a sherbet-fizzy grapefruit, fresh and sparkling, as dizzying as an unexpected kiss. Simple fun, and you can imagine scores of young girls picking up a few bottles from this range.
Photo Donated by TinaG
I’m glad I picked up a few cheap and cheerful fragrances during the holiday, it was a special way of bringing home a few extra memories of the trip!
Tina G
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Post by Suzanne R Banks
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Photo Stolen Flickr
Ah frankincense it’s a good oil! It’s an oil that helps you breathe deeply, relax and connect with your spirit. It’s an oil that can help skin looking and feeling younger. It’s an oil that’s been around for thousands of years. It’s an oil of truth.
Frankincense has a fine scent and I have written more about it previously with my article ‘Frankincense is the Scent of Truth’. It is from the family Burseraceae and the genus Boswellia.
Many years ago a friend of mine (he’s not around any longer, hi Peter!) was having a really bad asthma attack and was getting very anxious. He called me and I went to him immediately with a vapouriser and some Frankincense oil. I sat him down next to the stream of vapour and within 5 minutes he was better and after 20 minutes he could breathe normally. He also felt much more relaxed and I left the set up with him for a few weeks so he could access the treatment whenever he needed it.
Frankincense has many applications so let’s get into some recipes –
Usually add 1 or 2 drops of oil to some clay and add water, floral water or hydrosol. Keep the mask on for 5 minutes then rinse off with cool water. Mist with a hydrosol or floral water and moisturise.
I would use 2 drops of frankincense in pink clay to rejuvenate your skin, help tone oilier skin and to treat acne.
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Do this with frankincense to help you relax and gather your energy. It will give you a chance to stop and catch you breath too.
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Photo Stolen WikiCommons
In a little dish mix these oils and anoint your pulse points or chakras – 3 drops of essential oils and dilute with a few drops of carrier oil – always patch test first!
“Peace and Quiet”
Frankincense 2 drops
Lavender 1 drop
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“I’m Ready for the Day”
Take a deep breath and go!
Frankincense 1 drop
Neroli 3% 3 drops * see my article for more info on 3% blends in jojoba
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“Sweet”
Life IS sweet –
Frankincense 2 drops
Peru balsam 1 drop
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“Now is the Best Time”
Do it now!
Frankincense 1 drop
Lemongrass 1 drop
Rose Geranium 1 drop
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Photo Stolen AromatherapyDiffuser
In a traditional oil burner with a candle or a diffuser add 25 drops of oil
“Sunday Night Settle Down”
You’ve got school in the morning!
Frankincense 10 drops
Orange 9 drops
Marjoram 6 drops
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“Fresh Vibe”
A great blend for when you’ve finished cleaning the house –
Frankincense 10 drops
Lime 6 drops
Cedarwood Atlas 5 drops
May Chang 4 drops
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Photo Stolen Wikipedia
For a coat of your body use 3 teaspoons of carrier oil in a little dish and, add 7 – 8 drops of essential oil. It’s always best to patch test first, before you apply all over.
***** Always put the drops of essential oil into the bottle or dish first, then add the carrier oil. It gives the scents time to create a synergistic fusion.
For a 50ml bottle of oil add 25 drops and see my articles “Ratios for Blending Essential Oils – A Reminder of the Basics” and “Aromatherapy – It’s Easy as 1 2 3”
“Renew”
A blend to feel hydrated with a new outlook –
Frankincense 3 drops
Palmarosa 3 drops
Lavender 2 drops
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“It’s All About Me Tonight”
Shower off the day and oil yourself –
Frankincense 2 drops
Ylang Ylang 2 drops
Mandarin 3 drops
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Happy blending and remember to use your intention when you are creating your formulas.See my article about intention.
Suzanne R Banks XXX
Suzanne R Banks Blog
Suzanne R Banks Aromatherapy
Suzanne R Banks FaceBook
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Post by Ainslie Walker
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I acquired today’s fragrance last week in the midst of my “whale excitement”, it has now become my “go to” fragrance of the month. Every time I wear it, there are positive comments. I find I get that with anything animalic, smoky or “mysterious”. It’s a fragrance many wouldn’t dare to buy off the shelf, as it may not seem instantly pretty, but once worn or smelt on someone else, the depths and layers come alive.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Amber, incense, vanilla, olibanum, labdanum, woody notes
As we would expect from Tom Ford, the box and the bottle is distinctive, mysterious and understated. It looks black, but held up to the light it’s actually a dark, dark amber colour. The label is gold-plated. I love holding the bottle in my hand. It’s cold, solid and sends a small shiver of excitement into me every time I pick it up.
Amber Absolute is delicious and sultry, warm and engulfing. In fact I would happily bathe in it! I love it as a winter scent. It makes me feel cosy, yet glamorous. There’s strength to it, akin to a sip of spiced rum. It’s a more old school kind of a smell, one of old wooden ships and incense…explorers on the high seas. It’s definitely unisex.
Photo Stolen Pixabay
Amber Absolute makes a statement, whilst also crowd pleasing, with it’s coumarin and vanilla bean notes, though avoids becoming overpoweringly or generically sweet. I love that the notes remain savory, so to speak, and I think it’s amped up incense and old woody church/ship smell is behind this. It nods quite a lot to TF’s Sahara Noir…Olibanum/woods/balsamic…It’s this part that I think divides the love or hate for this fragrance. I don’t think many would remain on the fence about it. There’s dry salt air from go to whoa. It’s robust and full, a little goes a long way. During the dry down (8 hours or more, later) it gets a more leathery and animalic then tapers to sweet, powdery and a little smoky-vanilla. There’s treemoss and oakmoss, but not enough for it to stand out too much, just enough to let the other ingredients ride on their back.
Photo Stolen Flickr
It’s good, really good. It’s not really doing anything too new, but doing it really well. That ‘niche’ colliding with ‘mainstream’ thing that TF does so well. That “smells expensive” thing he also always seems to nail. Marketed as the strongest, most concentrated amber, I rule out real ambergris is in the ingredients list, but it is an ‘amber’, that plays with the elements of raw ambergris.
Further reading: Bois de Jasmin and Olfactoria’s Travels
A little ode to Ambergris:
“It’s hard not to fall in love with ambergris. Here is a solid lump of whale feces, weathered down—oxidized by salt water, degraded by sunlight, and eroded by waves — from the tarry mass to something that smells, depending on the piece and whom you’re talking to, like musk, violets, fresh-hewn wood, tobacco, dirt, Brazil nut, fern-copse, damp woods, new-mown hay, seaweed in the sun, the wood of old churches, or pretty much any other sweet-but-earthy scent”
Christopher Kemp’s Floating Gold: A Natural (and Unnatural) History of Ambergris $22 delivered from BookDepository
Sadly Amber Absolute has been pulled off the shelf and discontinued…the TF house says, fragrances, like fashion, (and whales) have their seasons…
Ainslie xx
http://www.ainsliewalker.com
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Post by Azar
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Hello APJ!
In my last post, an interview with Meredith Smith of Sweet Anthem Perfumes, we talked briefly about the Indie Fragrance Criterion – Discover Pacific Northwest Perfumes. Today I am reviewing all six of the fragrances in the collection (whew!). In an attempt to be brief I will list the perfumers’ notes for each scent, my perceived notes and a short comment about each perfume. Years ago my mbira teacher referred to melodic lines that emerged from complex interactions of rhythmic patterns as “the present and obvious”, the present but not obvious” and, my favorite, “the obvious but not present”. You will notice in my lists of perceived fragrance notes there are scents that are totally obvious to me but not at all present in the perfume compositions.
Photo Donated by Azar
The Perfumer’s Listed Notes: Savory basil, pepper, cardamom, a spicy carnation accord, irresistible chocolate, lavender, cocoa, pink pepper, amber accord.
Perceived Notes: Top – milk chocolate, cocoa, pink pepper. Middle – lavender, garden herbs, Herbes de Provence, a peppery red flower, cardamom. Base – cocoa, amber.
Otto is a rich and complex oriental semi-gourmand that smells a lot like the cabinet where I store my dried herbs, flowers and spices for cooking, and the extracts, powders and chocolates for baking. I am a sucker for fragrances with basil. My 2 ml sample will soon be gone.
The Perfumer’s Listed Notes: Cedar leaves, green sword fern, rhododendron, forest mushrooms, wild flowers from the clearing, oakmoss, Port Orford cedar (also bee-balm, myrtle, black spruce, balsam fir).
Perceived Notes: Top – the Olympic Rainforest in WA state USA. Middle – wild flowers, sweet grass, myrtle, cedar greens and wood. Base – cedar, balsam and oakmoss.
This is one of my favorite “scents of place” from Olympic Orchids. I really hate breaking down and dissecting this one. To me it IS the scent of the Olympic Rainforest; fecund, lush, cool, verdant, wet and dripping with life. The sillage is moderate and longevity a respectable six hours on the skin and longer on clothing.
The Perfumer’s Listed Notes: Crown – bergamot, fern, spruce. Heart – spice, smoke, leather. Root – vetiver, tobacco, roots.
Perceived Notes: Top – Vicks Vapo Rub, vanilla, bergamot, spruce. Middle – lime, spice, spruce, smoke. Base – spice, vetiver, spruce.
The medicinal, “Vicks Vapo Rub” component actually serves to pull me into this fragrance. The bergamot morphs to lime at the heart. I don’t really get the tobacco but perhaps what I believe to be vanilla is actually part of the listed tobacco note. After exhausting my sample I immediately purchased full bottles of cologne and cologne oil as well as a shaving soap for B.
The Perfumer’s Listed Notes: Top – white grapefruit. Middle – Russian rose, Bulgarian rose, organic jasmine. Base – cognac, oud, sandalwood.
Perceived Notes: Top – funky oud, cumin, coriander, dry white grapefruit. Middle – woods, labdanum and just a touch of rose. Base – labdanum, woods, a whiff of grapefruit.
Several of the notes I smell in Royal Couple are in the “obvious but not present” category. The oud is scorched and funky and partners well with the white, dry grapefruit. The rose is almost invisible but the grapefruit lingers throughout the entire life of the composition, evaporating in a dry breath after about two hours. Royal Couple is a unique and fun to wear woody/grapefruit unisex scent.
The Perfumer’s Listed Notes: Head – maple sugar, snow. Heart – lavender. Base – dirt, tobacco, white amber.
Perceived Notes: Top – cumin, celery seed, maple sugar. Middle – muddy snow, lavender. Base – dark patchouli, amber.
For just an instant after spraying I smell something dirty and sweaty (cumin?) and then immediately celery seed and maple sugar candy. Despite the dirty aspect, Phoebe leaves an overall impression of something sweet, cold, green and clean, reminding me of playing in the snow and eating snowballs fortified with drops of maple syrup.
The Perfumer’s Listed Notes: Black tea, vetiver, clove, musk, vanilla, heliotrope, tobacco.
Perceived Notes: Top – heliotrope, amber, clove. Middle – heliotrope, carnation/red flowers, black tea. Base – heliotrope, strong sweet vanilla.
Heliotrope is usually not for me and so I was a bit surprised when I initially got along so well with Dead Writers. The sweetness of the flower seemed to be tempered by warm, rich amber. I loved the top and the heart but in the end I was left with just too much heliotrope for my taste. If you are a fan of this purple flower I would highly recommend Dead Writers, a creative, modern and well crafted resurrection of a classic, sweet floral.
If you happen to be in San Francisco on July 17th don’t forget to drop by Tigerlily Perfumery (http://www.tigerlilysf.com) for the Indie Fragrance Criterion event where you can meet the proprietress Antonia and say hello to some of today’s featured PNW noses.
Azar xx
Photo Stolen sassisamblog
Meredith Smith of Sweet Anthem Perfumes in Seattle has generously provided the prize for today’s drawing, one complete sample set of the Indie Fragrance Criterion – DiscoverPacific Northwest Perfumes.
P&H Anywhere in the world
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 comment about “the obvious but not present”> In your perfume experience have you ever smelled a note that wasn’t really there?
Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Indie Fragrance Criterion GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-2Xc #Perfume #Giveaway
Entries Close Thursday 10th July 2014 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Monday 14th July 2014 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.
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Post by SarahK
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Profumum is known for the strength, the depth, and the often sweet, gourmand nature of its fragrances. I find some of their fragrances far too rich for my blood (including their famous Ambra Aurea, though it is adored by many) but I am in love with Rosae Mundi. Portia has already reviewed this scent here, but I wanted to offer another take on this dark rose.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accord in one line:
Rose, patchouli, vetiver, cedar
Rosae Mundi made me sit up and take notice from the very first spray. It’s a glorious perfumey, patchouli rose, which for some reason immediately brings to my mind the cool, dark spaces and stony walls of a soaring gothic cathedral. The aura created by the top notes is more than just a scent to me, it’s a physical space.
Photo Stolen Geograph
Within five minutes, Rosae Mundi has developed a berry overtone that I find familiar: it’s the sweetness and muskiness at the heart of Kilian’s Rose Oud, though Rosae Mundi feels less neon bright and more earthy than the Kilian creation and contains no oud note. Not that I think Kilian’s Rose Oud contains much oud either… An hour or so in, the berries sitting on top of the patchouli rose become juicier and the powdery muskiness gets yet more pronounced. At this stage it’s quite hypnotic. Portia’s review of Rosae Mundi mentioned that this scent could be transportive for those around somebody who wore it as a signature scent, and I totally agree. Beneath its sweet rose facet, this is a deep and meditative scent experience for me. My nose is glued to my wrist for the first 4 hours! During the dry down, the scent continues for a long time as a musky-mossy rose and soft berry mix. At this stage, if the scent were fabric, it would be a dark red velvet. In the far dry-down the rosy patchouli becomes a soft candle-wax that lasts for several more hours.
Photo Stolen IndianWeddingSite
Like all the Profumum fragrances that I have tried, this is potent stuff. A couple of sprays will last all day on me (20+ hours), with a good scent trail for the first few hours.
Further reading: NowSmellThis
LuckyScent has $265/100ml and samples
Have you tried Rosae Mundi? Are roses your thing? What’s your favourite rose?
SarahK xx
(Ed: SarahK will be taking a break from APJ. She is currently pregnant and finding her nose has gone a little wonky. We all wish her the best of luck with the whole shebang and can’t wait for her return)
Australian Perfume Junkies 