Saturday Question: What Do Family And Friends Think Of Your Perfume Obsession?

November 11, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 71 Comments

Portia

Hello Fellow Fumies,

Every Saturday we have a Question, an idea purloined from Olfactoria’s Travels. Everyone gets to chime in with an answer, chat with other responders and it is a fun event each week. Taking sides never means taking offence and everyone keeps it respectful and light, even though we can sometimes trawl the depths.

The idea is you’ll see it on the weekend or chime in through the week. Hopefully you will come back and see if anyone has responded to your comment and you can reply to them.

Over 100 responses I will draw a $10 Surrender To Chance Gift Card.
Over 200 responses I will draw a $20 Surrender To Chance Gift Card.
Comment purposefully on yours or anothers comment & you’ll have a chance, random.org will draw on Friday.

Last Weeks Winner: Sadly we didn’t hit 100

eMail me at (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with the eMail you’d like me to send your Gift Card to.

Saturday Question:

What Do Family And Friends Think Of Your Perfume Obsession?

A particular longtime friends discovery of my addiction and subsequent question this week got me thinking. I’m pretty sure that loads of our friends and families think we are fully bonkers and are flummoxed by our irrational perfume (and often all things fragrant) ~~hoarding~~ collecting. Do you mainly get intrigue, outrage, bewilderment, support, drama or any kind of reaction to your passion? What are some of the hilarious, upsetting, ridiculous or damning reactions that you have met while being part of this amazing world trend?

The hoarde in 2013

My Answer:

My perfume obsession has baffled so many friends and family through the years. Fortunately Mum was always very supportive of all my quirks and wrapped it all up into a huge blanket of acceptance. I think her laissez faire attitude of do what you want but don’t hurt anyone rubbed off and set me up well to deal with and ignore the worlds need to have people work and live within parameters.

Most of my mates have known me to get very involved in whatever takes my fancy at a given time and are quietly surprised fragrance has lasted so many decades in all different levels and forms. Having discovered the online perfume worked, the boards, blogs, niche stores and discounters I became a man obsessed. It was around this time that Jin and I watched the film Julie and Julia and the pilot light burst into a bonfire and then a conflagration.As Australian Perfume Junkies started my reach and scope became instantly much broader and suddenly I had access to the world. The blog has added a sheen of respectability to my outrageous frag spending and continued my trajectory of try and buy.

Jin doesn’t have anything but support for my habit, though he sometimes wishes we could land in a city without me having a bunch of frag meetings organised. My mates are intrigued and I’ve made a plethora of new friends too.

Last week a guy who I worked in bars with through the 1990s and have remained mates with got in touch and gave me some of his current loves and fave notes and asked for recommendations. I gave him 10 from across the price board. He was disbelieving at some of the prices but happy for the info.

My Saturday Question to you is:

What Do Family And Friends Think Of Your Perfume Obsession?

LuckyScent Sample Shopping Haul

November 10, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 21 Comments

Portia

Hi there APJ,

Somehow the day got away from me. Dog Walks, Meetings, Lunch, Art, Afternoon Tea, Dinner and a Movie (Murder On The Orient Express).

While I was doing all this I had a VERY exciting box arrive from a recent Retail Therapy Session at LuckyScent. Con’t wait to get my sniff on these beauties.

LuckyScent Sample Shopping Haul

Histoires de Parfums Sample Set

J F Schwarzlose Sample Set

LuckyScent November Sample set

Atelier Cologne Cafe Tuberose

GWP Parfum de Nicolai Patchouli Sublime and some extra Samples.

Thanks LuckyScent

What came in your mailbox this week?
Portia xx

Grenats by Keiko Mecheri

November 9, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 7 Comments

Hiya Happy Huffers,

Here is an interesting thing, depending on where I read I learn that Grenats, or Grenades on some sites, was created by either Gabriela Domecq or Yann Vasnier in 2001 or 2005. GOSH! I love it when there is a mystery.

From First In Fragrance: Les Parfums Keiko Mecheri
Born in Atami, Japan, Keiko Mecheri was originally an artist and through painting found her way to the world of fragrances. With her partner, Kemal Mecheri she founded in the 1990s the “Bazaar des Senteurs” where they produced perfumed toiletries and candles. “Les Parfums Keiko Mecheri” was created in 1997 in Beverly Hills, California.

Grenats by Keiko Mecheri

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica Gives these featured accords in one line:
Pomegranate, citruses, pomegranate rind, rose, angelica, musk

OK, so I don’t understand why Greats doesn’t get more love. It’s not a blockbuster but a sexy stealth frag. It’s all green, fruits and musk with a softly spicy rose. Pretty is the wrong word for it but one that keeps popping into my mind. It’s an unsweet, in modern terms, rose/citrus. Why aren’t non perfumistas buying this by the bucketload. It reminds me of the feel that the softer DIOR Prive fragrances have. Very luxurious, quiet but insistent, elegant sweet nothings.

Not as tart as pomegranate seeds but with the lightly dry bite of pomegranate juice and melding seamlessly with the bright sparkle of citruses. The musk is pithy and plush, fluffy and whipped and a watercolour wash of green keeps Grenats interesting without being intrusive.

Loads of people love the laundry fresh scents and if you don’t then this burst of sunshine just might turn you around. It’s better, more glam than the others in the genre and perfectly wearable at all times.

PDI

From LuckyScent: Vivid, fresh and sparkling, this pomegranate based scent is for the free spirit. If you’ve banished the blow-out and revel in your curls, if you feel comfortable mixing the wispiest vintage blouse with the toughest leather belt, if you are ginger ale in a diet cola world – this one is for you. Clean, light and utterly charming.

Further reading: From Pyrgos
Essenza Nobile has €149/75ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $3/ml

Where do you stand on Grenats? Love it? Hate it? Never bothered with it?
Portia xx

Nuit de Bakélite by Isabelle Doyen for Naomi Goodsir 2017

November 8, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 15 Comments

Sandra

Hi there APJ, I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying spring or autumn. I am actually quite surprised that autumn is so much nicer than summer here in the Netherlands.

When we arrived in the Netherlands I made it a personal quest of mine to hunt down as many different flowers as I could get my greedy hands on. Not only is almost everything available, but the prices are incredibly low! I have been going through the seasons here looking for specific flowers, such as crocosmia in the summer, hydrangeas the size of basketballs, orchids of all shapes and sizes and this summer I finally, after many years of dreaming, was able to buy fresh tuberose. I have always loved tuberose perfumes, but after experiencing the real thing, my expectations have changed slightly. I no longer want creamy or buttery tuberose, or tuberose that is so difficult to smell because of added ingredients that are an onslaught to my senses. I want the real thing.

When I bought my first stems of tuberose I was taken aback at how complex the flower is. The flowers are so delicate in sight and to the touch – they are almost silky. I expected the flowers to be white, when in reality they are more ivory, tinged with pinks, yellows and the slightest green. The stem itself has different shades of green but not a dark green at all. Visually the tuberose is stunning and then there is the perfume. Oh my is it intoxicating! My home smelled divine for a whole week.

I love that the Naomi Goodsir website describes Nuit de Bakélite as “Floral (2017) The premise of a ‘narcotic lady’…”

Nuit de Bakélite by Naomi Goodsir 2017

Nuit de Bakélite by Isabelle Doyen

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Tuberose, angelica, artemisia, ylang-ylang, karo karounde, carrot seeds, cardamom, leather, styrax, green notes

Don’t take these notes too seriously as they differ on several websites because no note list was released.

I was hoping for something out of the ordinary, something new and bit surprising – narcotic. Let’s sniff…

Wow – what an opening! It starts out bright and fresh green – full of juicy (not sweet at all) slightly bitter green leaves. Usually, I shy away from such green perfumes because they are out of my comfort zone. Not to fear, this perfume surprises me with the turns it takes. After such a fresh green opening it stays that way for a while on my skin, only hinting at the merest inclusion of tuberose. As my skin warms and I am moving around, the tuberose becomes more pronounced, but it is not a soliflore at all. The tuberose is accompanied by a little bit of rooty and woody goodness. To make it more interesting I am sensing that there are other things going on here that I cannot pinpoint.

Then to my surprise once again, Nuit de Bakelite shifts slightly bringing in a leather component. It dries down to a wonderful tuberose leather scent sprinkled with woods to make it rounder. This perfume has all the colors of the blossoms that I smelled this summer. The green stalk, the blossom tinged with pinks and yellows all come through in Nuit de Bakelite.

Further reading: BL’eauOG and Persolaise
LuckyScent has $187/50ml
Surrender To Chance has samples from $6/0.5ml

With this new entry into Naomi Goodsir’s lineup I will buy samples of all of the other ones.

Have you tried Naomi Goodsir? Which of her perfumes should I sample next?

Kisses – Sandra

(ED: All photos supplied by Sandra unless specified)

Sapphire: the Scent by Ainslie Walker for Courtesy of the Artist 2017

November 7, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 17 Comments

TinaG

Hey APJ!

Perfumer and friend, the gorgeous Ainslie Walker, recently collaborated on a project by Courtesy of the Artist for their Rare Earth: Australian Made jewellery collection. Rare Earth: Australian Made is a showcase by six jewellery artists who design and display their work with precious gemstones which have been fossicked and cut in Australia. For anyone in Sydney, they have a shop in the Strand Arcade so you can view & purchase their pieces. Ainslie brings a new dimension to the project with her luminescent limited edition perfume called Sapphire: The Scent.

Sapphire: the Scent by Courtesy of the Artist 2017

Sapphire: the Scent by Ainslie Walker

Sapphire: The Scent captures the essence of the Australian bush unlike any fragrance I’ve come across. Many native Australian plants and trees naturally release aromatic volatile oils. The heat-haze from eucalypt oils can give the air a shimmering ‘blue’ appearance which, incidentally, is how the “Blue Mountains” were named.

Ainslie has carefully chosen an abundance of raw materials such as Boronia Absolute, Southern Rosalina, Kunzea and sustainable Sandalwood from Western Australia and blended them beautifully. The fragrance has a concentrated cologne style, which is focused through burst of top-note aromatics that lift and shine like the light of sapphire through the hazy majesty of the Australian natives. The effect is a rush of freshness and a feeling of the open freedom of the outdoors.

WikiMedia

On first spray of Sapphire, I am instantly transported by the eucalyptus-style notes, boronia, citrus and light woods to the Blue Mountains on a summer’s day, walking along the sandstone tracks & feeling invigorated by the smells and sounds of the bush.

After a while, my mental image has shifted to the surf beaches around Anglesea in Victoria. Here, Sapphire has a warm and slightly waxy floral, a living wood scent with a slight spiciness, and menthol undertones. We used to walk along scrubby tracks to get to the beach, brushing along Boronia and Rosalina bushes. Ainslie has even managed to capture a sweet stickiness to the woods as if a branch has been broken. The dry down of Sapphire: The Scent continues to have a gorgeous sandalwood and woody notes that are warm on my skin for ages.

Sapphire: the Scent will be available from Courtesy of the Artist in the Strand Arcade from November 16.

What three notes would you chose for a fragrance to capture “Australia”?

Till next time,
Tina G

(ED: All photos supplied by Ainslie Walker unless specified)

SOTD 6 – 12 November 2017

November 6, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 134 Comments

Portia

Hi APJ,

I see these SOTD (Scent Of The Day) threads all the time on Facebook and they are really good conversation generators.

SOTD 6 – 12 November 2017

The idea is you’ll chime in through the week with whatever scent you are wearing. You don’t need to be super knowledgable, have high faluting tastes or be a published author to comment. Just tell us what fragrance you’re wearing, smelling, buying etc.

You probably won’t have time to write every scent, every spritz but whenever you feel the mood take you share your current spritz and a few things about it. Maybe you love/loathe it, want it, are excited by the notes/bottle/SA who sold it: WHATEVER! As always here at APJ, taking sides never means taking offence and everyone keeps it respectful and light, even though we can sometimes trawl the depths.

Hopefully you will come back and see if anyone has responded to your comment and you can reply to them.

Over 100 responses I will draw a Scent Sample Pack (from my collection)
This week:
Guerlain Mitsouko EdT
Pharrell Williams Girl
The Different Company Oriental Lounge
Vintage Fendi original
Vintage YSL Opium EdT
Comment purposefully on yours or anothers comment & you’ll have a chance, random.org will draw on Sunday.

We didn’t get 100 responses last week so no winner.

Go To It Crew.
Portia xxx

Saturday Question: What Are Your Favourite Fragrance Styles?

November 4, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 80 Comments

Portia

Hello Fellow Fumies,

The idea is you’ll see it on the weekend or chime in through the week. Hopefully you will come back and see if anyone has responded to your comment and you can reply to them.

Last Weeks Winner: Bernadette Winfield Gray

eMail me at (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with the eMail you’d like me to send your Gift Card to.

Saturday Question:

What Are Your Favourite Fragrance Styles?

There are so many styles of perfume. Floral, Aquatic, Woody, Fougere, Oriental, Citrus etc. Plus there are piggy back groups like Woody Floral Musk or Aromatic Green. I have a few groups that I particularly gravitate towards and I’m sure you do too. Let’s question our own faves today and share,

My Answer:

Chypre:

From the bright citrus top to the furry, bitter oakmoss/leather/patchouli depths I love Chypres. They are so understated, dark and mysterious. Interesting because they stand apart yet somehow they make me feel at ease. A dry, calm waft of reason. Try wearing a Chypre when you are wandering an art gallery, everything becomes instantly more poignant, deeper, personal.

From Le Gallon Sang Bleu, Oriza L Legrand Relique d’Amour, Bottega Veneta EdP (I thought this was a leather), Cacharel Liberté and Aedes de Venustas EdP to the historical Deneuve, Miss Dior, Aromatics Elixir, Ungaro DIVA, Guerlain Sous le Vent, Robert Piguet Bandit, Niki de Saint Phalle, Paloma Picasso and CHANEL Pour Monsieur the chypre has long been something I loved. Some of my favourite chypres end up being classified under other groups, which is bloody annoying.

Floral Green:

Green with the added levity of flowers. This is a broad spectrum, some of which I would put in the chypre pile. Nevertheless, Fragrantica puts them here. From the galbanum rich end and the mossy dry downs to the sweeping majesty of the floral with a hint of green. From aloof to prim, austere to pleasantly engaging they all call me. Different moods and weathers call for a different hint of whatever each fragrance holds personal in its fragrant folds.

CHANEL No 19, Jacomo Silences, Robert Piguet Futur, Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Jasminora, Byredo Green, Estee Lauder Private Collection, Naomi Goodsir Nuit de Bakelite and Nicolai Parfumeur Le Temps d’une Fête are just a few of the floral Green collection I own.

Oriental:

Oriental was the first real fragrant love of my life. Vanilla with resinous overtones in almost any combination and with most additives work for my psyche and my skin. You want to see me go Ga-Ga over a scent on first application, show me a new, beautiful Oriental.

Guerlain Shalimar and Oriental Brulant, Caron Bellodgia, Amouage Library Collection Opus IX, DIOR Privée Amber Nuit, Hermès L`Ambre des Merveilles, Art Collection by Jacomo #02, L’Artisan L’Eau d’Ambre, MFK Grand Soir and Huitième Art Collection Ambre Céruléen are a smattering of the bottles here in the oriental range.

My Saturday Question to you is: What Are Your Favourite Fragrance Styles?

Au Bord de L’eau by Fabrice Pellegrin for L`Artisan Perfumer 2017

November 3, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 3 Comments

Portia

Hi there Punsters,

Just so you know Au Bord de L’eau means “At the water’s edge”. It’s not a joke on the way it sounds when I say it, A Bordello. Or is it? That is the top of my mind now that I’ve seen the name written as a heading on my WordPress editing board. Yep, I am an 11 year old boy hiding in a 49 year old drag queens body.

It’s been interesting to see the new directions L’Artisan has forged since the Puig buyout. While not totally sold on the kooky animal head lid set I do love a couple of the new Natura Fabularis privée line, 32 Venenum and 9 Arcana Rosa. Haven’t smelled them all yet but those two were very nice.

Au Bord de L’eau by L`Artisan Perfumer 2017

Au Bord de L’eau by Fabrice Pellegrin

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Bergamot, lemon, violet, musk, orange blossom, rosemary

Sharp citrus opens, it’s tart and lip puckering at first then mellows quickly into a sweet and fizzy version of itself. Orange blossom and musk keep the journey into the heart of the fragrance smooth. Refreshing, without all the modern wet or cucumber tropes. The orange blossom is only ever so slightly breathy, mainly it is clean and suede-ishly plush. There is something of a summer storm about Au Bord de L’eau, all bright and light and then a cooling, breath of wind rushing ahead of the clouds. The fragrance cools just a little.

WikiMedia

A green herbaceousness creeps in and makes everything interesting. It could well be rosemary but it has no rosemary smell as I know it. Certainly doesn’t speak to me of the bush or on potatoes and lamb, honestly I would be more inclined to call it a smooth basil scent but that could easily be the way everything, especially the iris, has been placed around it. No matter what it is I think you’ll find Au Bord de L’eau a very easy wear, spritz and respritz summer fave that will take you from board room to dinner date comfortably.

WikiMedia

For a cologne style the longevity is quite good and on clothes it is tenacious.

Just to be clear, Au Bord de L’eau doesn’t smell like A Bordello at all.

Further reading: Colognoisseur and Love To Smell
Sweet Fern has $189/100ml
Surrender To Chance has samples from $3.89/ml

Are you excited by the new things Puig is doing with the L’Artisan range?
Portia xx

Khanbaliq by Enrico Buccella for Sigilli 2013

November 2, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Portia

Hello lovers of Underrated Fragrances,

Somehow Sigilli has slipped through the cracks. The fragrances mainly come from the early 2000s but Khanbaliq was released in 2013, it’s the most modern offering from the house and not all of the fragrances are available on the Sigilli website anymore.

Jin and I discovered the brand in Venice on our first big holiday together. There is a maze of shops behind the Piazza San Marco and somewhere in there is an extremely well stocked little perfumery, run by two sisters. I purchased Pyrgos at that time but since have wished that I grabbed a couple of others.

Khanbaliq by Sigilli 2013

Khanbaliq by Enrico Buccella

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bitter orange, ginger, cinnamon, coriander
Heart: Cloves, plum, fir, pine tree, peony
Base: Peony, violet, ambergris

Spicy oranges and a slightly bitter chocolate smell. Pine and my nose is telling me patchouli, a breathy and earthy smelting that could be the ambergris. A weird dissonant herbaceous green and mentholated woodiness wars with the citrus and fruits. It’s an interesting fragrant contrapuntal effect. Unusual without being challenging, straight through the heart.

PDI

My surprise in Khanbaliq is that while projection is not enormous it is still very good at changing the smell around me. It also fills the room when I leave and return. Insidious, it seems to march off my skin and try to fragrantly populate whatever area i’m in.

A really good nod to some older fragrances. Breathy indole, some animals and a beautiful bouquet tempered by greenery. I am surprised there are no white flowers mentioned because Khanbaliq gives the feeling they are in there somewhere. Though the nod is to vintage I feel that it may be the clarion call of a style we are about to see i the fragrant world. A return to having some ass in our fragrances.

WikiMedia

According to Wikipedia: Khanbaliq (or Dadu) was the capital of the Yuan dynasty, the main center of the Mongol Empire founded by Kublai Khan in what is now Beijing.

First In Fragrance has €95/100ml
Surrender To Chance have samples from $3.50/ml

Beach Hut Man by Elise Benat for Amouage 2017

November 1, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 9 Comments

Portia

Hi there Niche Nerds,

When I heard the name Beach Hut Man I laughed out loud. Not because it’s funny but because I was so surprised. The new direction that Amouage is going in is interesting. No one can say that Christopher Chong is afraid of change, experimentation or surprise. Having built up a stable of hefty, Arabic inspired, gloriously fabulous perfumes in the Amouage house he then moved to produce the Library series. They took me a while to get but others were much faster learners. Now he is bringing The Midnight Flower Collection which started with Bracken.

Beach Hut Man by Amouage 2017

Beach Hut Man by Elise Benat

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Mint, orange blossom, galbanum
Heart: Vetiver, moss, ivy
Base: Myrrh, patchouli, woody note

interesting, like a chic mint patty being eaten while sitting on the damp grass under a tree near the compost heap. There’s also a note I’m smelling quite a lot in modern niche that is woody, warm and slightly electric. It’s a funny note because it jumps over everything else for me, thank goodness I really like it. Something warm and cosy about sit yet largely space age. Maybe it’s the idea of the smell of burning sand and baking driftwood?

Beach Hut Man Amouage wreck_wood_metal_rusted_weathered_decay_beach PXHere PDI

I really like how Beach Hut Man smells. It has this electro mint thing, a green, dank, earthy space smell and this weird woody/salty/glassy smell. Interesting.

One thing it doesn’t smell is finished. There felt like no synchronicity was ever reached, no full melding and blending of the parts. It’s like they are warring factions, unresolved and unhappy to be in the same perfume. I’m no perfumer, or even a real connoisseur, but Beach Hut Man smells slightly lazy and/or amateur to me. (Ducks) It smells like a newly minted indie frag, a boundary pusher, a slap. It in no way smells like a super smooth finished product from a mass-tige brand sold in department stores. Maybe that’s why I like it so much. It’s raw, a bit rough, weird and eminently wearable.

PDI

Will I wear my decant? Yes, I’m so bloody intrigued that I’m taking it with me on holidays. By the time you read this I’ll probably have bought a bottle.

Further reading: Persolaise and Brooklyn Fragrance Lover
Libertine has $435/100ml FREE Australian Delivery
Surrender To Chance has samples from $4.59/0.5ml

Are you interested in trying this one?
Portia xx