Perfume

Rose Alcane by Amélie Bourgeois and Anne-Sophie Behaghel for Aether 2016

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

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Portia

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Hiya Frag Heads,

The Aether brand is created scent for the 21st century that manages to remain beautiful, interesting and wearable. Modern is their catch cry, these guys use nothing but captured and created molecules in their scents. Every time I wear one of their perfumes I’m more swayed towards their concept.

I grabbed this decant from Surrender to Chance recently.

Rose Alcane by Aether 2016

Rose Alcane by Amélie Bourgeois and Anne-Sophie Behaghel

Rose Alcane Aether fragranticaFragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Rose, green notes, metallic notes

Lick a cold spoon, put your hand into the fibrous up to 80% recycled glass insulation batts and smell a vintage fur coat in a florist. Now you understand how the opening of Rose Alcane is. A freaky fabulous melange of weird, and it doesn’t stop here. As all that burns off the rose becomes more prominent, but not a garden rose, not the glamorous rose of La Fille de Berlin or Mohur, not even the sweet rose of LUSH Rose Jam, patchouli intense Agent Provocateur or heady, oud filled Montale offerings. Here the rose is made of crystal, with metal thorns on torn stems and leaves.

The guys at Aether have discovered the Space Rose and brought it back from a galaxy far, far away. No, they have in fact been to the Rose Center for Earth and Space by Frederick Phineas and Sandra Priest, New York and used the modern stylings to centre their fragrance on.

This image is available from the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID highsm.04003. This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See Commons:Licensing for more information.WikiCommons

After about 30 minutes the whole of Rose Alcane warms through. I’m picking up a salty woodiness and hints of jammy rose, hot sand and super clean stainless steel kitchen bench tops.

If you really love to smell roses in the garden and expect your fragrance to mimic that then you need to go elsewhere. Rose Alcane is a future fragrance now. I would love to smell this on people that wear suits to work, it would be sensationally ironic, and I also think it would fly under the fragrance radar because it smells so decidedly other.

Rose Alcane by Aether NGC 2244 Rosette Nebula WikiCommonsWikiCommons

Further reading: Scented Salamander and BL’eauG
Aether, First In Fragrance, Harvey Nichols and Twisted Lily all stock Aether
Surrender to Chance has samples starting from $3.60/0.5ml

What do you think? Love your rose a bit freaky?
Portia xx

 

Black Perfecto GIVEAWAY WINNERS

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 1 Comment

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Portia

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Hey there APJ,

Thanks to the lovely Guerlain SA at David Jones Sydney City Store for his generosity.

Let’s see who our winners are
Portia xx

Black Perfecto GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Sour cherry, almond, black tea
Heart: Rose, liquorice
Base: Leather, musk, patchouli, tonka bean

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 3 winners who will receive:
1 x Black Perfecto carded manufacturers sample
1 x Mon Guerlain carded manufacturers sample
P&H Anywhere in the world

 

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Wednesday 19th July 2017 10pm Australian EdsT
Winners were chosen by random.org

ESG23

Laura

Monsie Beaton

The winners will have till Wednesday 26th July 2017 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit

Figue Aoudii by Jean-Claude Gigodot and Irina Zhurikhina-Nesa for Maison Incens 2014

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 19 Comments

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Kate Apted

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Hi APJ.

I was inwardly devastated when my youngest son announced he will be moving to Canada when he turns 18. D, now 12, then added that he didn’t expect me to make the long journey to visit him; his awkward teenage way of saying he doesn’t want me to visit. Still, I hugged him and responded that I hope he finds Canada not too cold. As I always do when I hug him, I take a deep breath in of his skin scent. D has the most divine natural smell. I will miss that not being around.

When D was about 2, he wore the most adorable navy blue Clarks runners with yellow laces. I have kept one pair of those shoes because the smell of Dede and the rubber of the soles created a scent combo that is forever etched in my mind. I have even placed them in a sealed bag to preserve the scent.

By chance, earlier this year, I found a lovely niche house that has two fig scents in their repertoire. The first I tried is a crisp green fig, and the second gave me the most unexpected jolt of instant recognition. This gem of a fig is Figue Aoudii by Maison Incens.

Figue Aoudii by Maison Incens 2014

Figue Aoudii by Jean-Claude Gigodot and Irina Zhurikhina-Nesa

Figue Aoudii Maison Incens FragranticaFragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, orange
Heart: Fig, ylang-ylang, violet, iris, leather, cedar
Base: Agarwood (oud), sandalwood, amber, musk

As a fig scent, it is unique, particularly because of the addition of the oud note, which is not principally sweet or smoky. It opens with a strong, deep fig; much like the late season figs that drop onto the ground. This lasts only moments before the oud barges in to give a heavy hand, along with a striking dry leather note. The scent stays linear throughout the three hours of arm’s length projection I get. The ylang ylang is brought to the fore after that time and becomes a skin scent for another hour or so. The notes listed on Fragrantica include iris and bergamot, which I got nothing of, but I do detect a faint backing of violet in the first hour.

Figue Aoudii by Jean-Claude Gigodot and Irina Zhurikhina-Nesa for Maison Incens 2014

You are now wondering, rightly, what Figue Aoudii has to with my son’s declared intention of migrating and a pair of smelly toddler’s shoes? Figue Aoudii is reminiscent of the scent of D taking off his shoes as a child. I kid you not! (Pun most definitely intended.) So, should D actually move out of home, I have no sentimental reason to ask him for his pillow, or a toy he slept with, in order to keep his scent alive. I have Figue Aoudii!

Now that I have needlessly placed this connotation in your mind about a beautiful fig fragrance, let me assure you that it took quite a few weeks for me to understand why Figue Aoudii was so instantly recognisable. I wore it simply because it is sublime in the cooler months of autumn. The falling brown leaves and the last of the summer harvest of figs begs for such a scent to be worn.

Figue Aoudii Maison Incens schleichpost0 pixabayPDI

Further reading: Perfume
Maison Encens has €139/100ml (FREE World Shipping)

Do you have a fragrance that reminds you of someone you love? Or someone you once loved but have gone from your life?
KA

Black Perfecto: La Petit Robe Noir by Thierry Wasser for Guerlain 2017

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 29 Comments

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Portia

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Hey there Frag Crew,

Recently while purchasing Black Perfecto the SA asked me if I wanted extras for a giveaway! I was so freaking chuffed that she recognised me from my previous begging visits. It was nice, she was nice and I got Black Perfecto. Now honesty compels me to mention that I only bought it because of the bottle. Yes, I’m disgusting but cum’on, it’s freaking gorgeous.

Black Perfecto by Guerlain 2017

Black Perfecto: La Petit Robe Noir by Thierry Wasser

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Sour cherry, almond, black tea
Heart: Rose, liquorice
Base: Leather, musk, patchouli, tonka bean

So yes, Black perfecto opens noxious, the first minute is quite overwhelming. Once the crazy settles I’m left with a plastic and sour cherry that surprisingly leaves the taste in my mouth of a cherry flavoured tea infusion. The almond is real and the liquorice noticeable too. It’s kind of medicinal, like cough mixture and band aids. I like how the whole fragrance dries out in the heart like biscuit base.

AND THEN IT HITS ME

Black Perfecto smells and tastes like the slices of mass made cherry cheesecake that look so incredibly delicious in the window and are invariably a slightly plastic version of the real deal.

PDI

Is Black Perfecto bad? Nope, I like it. Will I ever go through my 50ml? Probably not. To be honest I think Mon Guerlain a much better fragrance and I would choose to spritz it ahead almost always.

That bottle though! It is PERFECTO!
Portia xxx

Black Perfecto by La Petite Robe Noire – GUERLAIN

Black Perfecto GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 3 winners who will receive:
1 x Black Perfecto carded manufacturers sample
1 x Mon Guerlain carded manufacturers sample
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

Open to everyone worldwide who follows AustralianPerfumeJunkies via eMail, WordPress, Bloglovin or RSS. Please leave how you follow in the comments to be eligible. I must be able to check that you follow so if you have an email address on your gravatar that’s different to your follow address then please email me so I know. Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged.

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please tell us which bottle in your collection is your favourite.

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Wednesday 19th July 2017 10pm Australian EdsT and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Wednesday 26th July 2017 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit

Saturday Question: Sample Size & Format

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 33 Comments

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Portia

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Heya APJ,

Taking an idea from Olfactoria’s Travels. Once a week there used to be a Question. Everyone would chime in with an answer, chat with other responders and it would be a generally fun event each week. Taking sides never meant taking offence and everyone kept it respectful and light.

Saturday Question: Sample Size & Format

Today we are joined by Lillibet who has a Saturday Question

Portia can we have one about the ideal sample size and format (i.e. spray or dab)? I’d be really interested to know what everyone thinks.
Lil Xx

My Answer:

Hey Lillibet,

I like to get 3+ good wears out of a sample. Two or three wears of four spritzes on the back of my hand usually and one full body wear with the remainder. So when I’m buying samples I usually go for the 2ml Spray option, and my go-To for that is Surrender To Chance. If I’m lucky enough to see someone splitting a thing I’m interested in or if it sounds fun I’ll buy a decant of 5ml-10ml.

When I get a smaller dab vial it will be transferred into a disposable plastic spritz bottle and I’ll get a couple of wears out of that. It never seems enough to get a real knowledge of how a fragrance performs and I often wish for more..

So, my question to you is:

What Sample Size & Format Do You Prefer?

The Cannabis Collection by DSH Perfumes 2014

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

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Portia

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Hey Hey Hoochie Smokers and Non,

When parts of the USA legalised Cannabis in 2014 it created a new industry overnight. Well, I say created but actually I mean it brought an old industry out of the shadows, gave it a sheen of respectability, made them pay taxes and hopefully will keep the supply regulated, cleaner and more stable. Reports getting here to Australia talk about governmental areas that were financially suffering now having an abundance of cash reserves. Everybody wins and it also takes the business out of the shady hands of crooks and legitimises everyone involved.

If only the world would do the same with all other recreational drugs governments would never feel the penny pinch, everyone would know exactly what they were buying and the drug wars would be over.

Don’t get me started…..

The Cannabis Collection by DSH Perfumes 2014

The Cannabis Collection by Dawn Spencer Hurwitz

DSH Perfumes

So my mate Dawn brought out a collection of fragrances to commemorate the regulation of the Cannabis trade. The Discovery Set comes with 4 samples and after giving them a quick whiff I think I’ll give you the DSH Perfumes spiel on two and mini review the other two. Hopefully that works well for everyone.

Agrestic by DSH Perfumes:

is a lovely fougere that conjures a sweeping hayfield countryside and the rural locales where many a plant is grown.

I Love You, Mary Jane by DSH Perfumes:

is a flirtatious and fruity cannabis with all of it’s sticky-sweetness showing bright and beautiful.

Rocky Mountain High by DSH Perfumes:

Balsam fir, bergamot, cassis bud, Choya Nakh, cannabis, chrysanthemum, clary sage, juniper, amber, olibanum, galbanum, oakmoss, green pepper, pine needles, sandalwood, sage, basil, Texas cedar, animalic “skunk” accord

There is so much more going on here than just the smell of weed. It’s partly a mixture of all the early Indies. You know that dank, mossy, humus rich, swampy accord that hides behind so many of the naturals? Then I think maybe that’s what bong water smells like in a mountain forest and I’m laughing. Pine backed by warm humanity and dirty water. Actually, 10 minutes in and Rocky Mountain High is beautiful, a balmy woodsiness that smells great.

DSH Perfumes has samples from $6

The Green House by DSH Perfumes:

Grass, vetiver, cannabis, bulgarian rose, chrysanthemum, civet, soil tincture, olibanum, gardenia, woody notes, green leaves, mimosa, parma violet, patchouli, tuberose and violet leaf

Clear, sharp air. The greenhouse starts in the early morning, it must be winter because over the smell of vegetation is the cold smell of snow. You can almost smell the sun coming up and all the plants responding by sending out fragrant whiffs of invitation. Somehow Dawn has created green fragrance that is everything green without the overlording of galbanum. It’s a green alive with promise and a whiff of reckless naughtiness.

DSH Perfumes has samples from $6

These are FUN. You won’t smell like a filthy pot smoking grub but you will smell fabulous, with a minuscule air of mischief.

Do you like the idea? Could you tell people you were wearing a dope fragrance?
Portia xx

Five O`Clock Au Gingembre by Christopher Sheldrake for Serge Lutens 2008

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 30 Comments

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Portia

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Hi there Fumie Family,

Five O`Clock Au Gingembre has long been my favourite Serge Lutens. When originally testing the range it was the one that stood head and shoulders above the rest for regular wearability. Having recently finished a bottle, opening my new one was full of excitement. Recently it’s been bandied about that Five O`Clock Au Gingembre is on the chopping block so true to form I’ve been wearing it so much more often.

Five O`Clock Au Gingembre by Serge Lutens 2008

Five O`Clock Au Gingembre by Christopher Sheldrake

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Tea, bergamot
Heart: Ginger, cinnamon, woodsy notes
Base: Cacao, honey, amber, patchouli, pepper

My new bottle is different. Not hugely, “OMG, how could they gut my beautiful baby?” different but it feels less intense through the heart. The opening of spiced, champagne fizzy tea cut through with citrus is still eye rollingly beautiful, yet even this seems just a little flatter and less vivacious.

The heart of Five O`Clock Au Gingembre is still an intricate weaving of ginger, wood, tea and honey. Actually it smells more like sweet honeyed tobacco with that slight dry ache in my throat that tea gives me. It does not seem to have former iterations oomph here in the heart though, as if the scent needs to take a little break to ready it for its now much longer dry down life.

PDI

I spritzed myself yesterday lunch time and still I can smell the soft last vestiges of honey. amber and patchouli. They have harmonised with my person and smell beautiful. I think it may be my top that has held the scent but it is very, very nice.

Five O`Clock Au Gingembre is a very easy wear Serge Lutens. I know for many perfumistas that is not a selling point but I really love to walk through my day smelling beautiful and not excessively weird or grim. Sure, there are times when I choose to be a frag freak but mostly I just want to smell good. A lovely light filled, spicy, interesting, unisex scent that lasts all day? Yes please.

Further reading: Perfume Posse and Bois de Jasmin
Available at LuckyScent, Mecca Cosmetica and at discounters.
Surrender To Chance has samples from $6/ml

What are your favourite easy wear Serge Lutens?
Portia xx

 

Arielle Shoshana EdP GIVEAWAY WINNERS

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 1 Comment

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Portia

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Hi there Frag Gamblers!

Special thanks to Arielle of Arielle Shoshana who popped some extra juice into my order for giveaways! She is the freaking bomb and we should all be supporting her as she brings us exquisite scents.

Arielle Shoshana EdP GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Arielle Shoshana EdP 2017

Arielle Shoshana gives these featured accords:
Passion Fruit, Grapefruit, Rhubarb, Mandarin, Peach, Saffron, Pink Pepper, Cardamom, Magnolia, Sandalwood, Ambroxan, Vanilla, Vetiver Bourbon, Iris, Musk

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 3 winners who will receive:
1 x Arielle Shoshana EdP sample
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Wednesday 12th July 2017 10pm Australian EdsT
Winners were chosen by random.org

BiancaB

RuthF

JayBee

The winners will have till Wednesday 19th July 2017 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit

Go Naked Perfume Oil by Sarah Horowitz-Thran for Urban Decay 2017

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

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Erica Golding

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Hi all!

Hope you are doing well. It’s summer here in the States, and we’re enjoying some gorgeous weather after an unusually rainy spring. On that note, I recently tried a fresh new scent with promises of sun-kissed beachy skin. The concept boasts an aroma that melds with your chemistry and becomes a part of you. Many people read “beach” in the description, expecting notes like coconut, pineapple, or sea salt. *buzzer* Nope!

Go Naked Perfume Oil by Urban Decay 2017

Go Naked Perfume Oil by Sarah Horowitz-Thran

Go Naked Perfume Oil Urban Decay FragranticaFragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, petitgrain, mandarin orange, lemon, sea salt
Heart: Neroli, orange blossom
Base: Lavender, musk, jasmine

Go Naked perfume oil is a citrusy, floral, clean musk. The nose behind this fragrance is Sarah Horowitz-Thran, who is well known for her line of affordable niche perfumes including Perfect Veil and Perfect Nectar. I wouldn’t have been interested in Go Naked otherwise, so I’m really glad that Urban Decay mentioned her in the product description.

I tried several of Sarah’s perfumes about 10 years ago when I had just discovered Luckyscent. A swipe of Go Naked is a darling little time machine that brings me back to that time. I no longer have any of my samples from the Perfect line, so I can’t give any direct comparison, but this scent definitely conjures up scent memories of those little oils.

The opening is sparkling lemonade and freshly soft orange blossom. I would classify the overall accord as borderline aquatic, but it is more of a rounded soapy floral with a splash of citrus juiciness. There’s also a noticeable waft of sharply herbal lavender. These notes all hover over a simple white musk that buffs out the edges of the crisp notes.

Go Naked Perfume Oil Urban Decay beach pixabay

Simple, fresh, clean, and bright. Does it make me think of the coastline? Not really. I think it would be a welcome breath of freshness on a summer beach, but not because it evokes anything about that experience.

Go Naked is a great easy choice to smell shower clean all day, perfect for the office or for hot days when you want to be fresh. Personally, I think it would be a nice first perfume for a youth showing interest in fragrance. It’s a little too sharp and soapy for me to bond deeply, although I do think it’s fun and lighthearted all the same.

Go Naked Perfume Oil Urban Decay California Cow Nude Beach Outtake FlickrFlickr

Urban Decay in the US have $24/5ml Perfume Oil

I hope you’re having a gorgeously scented day, wherever you are!

Peace,

Erica

Maison Mona di Orio: New Launches 2017

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 26 Comments

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Val the Cookie Queen

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Good Afternoon from my computer, Wimbledon playing in the background!

It astonishes me that within the realms of a heavily saturated niche perfume market, that there is still the desire to create more. These two new MdO´s are niche as it should be, edgy and enthralling, but wearable. Accessible to anyone wishing to branch off from the more mainstream perfumes, yet still graceful and alluring. Those who want to smell of dead animals and bodily fluids are surprisingly enough, in the minority. Both Suède de Suède and Dõjima will charm the perfumistas whilst opening up a world to those just discovering niche fragrances.

Frederik Dalman is the Swedish in-house perfumer for Maison Mona di Orio.

Maison Mona di Orio: New Launches 2017

First Impressions

 

Dõjima by Frederik Dalman for Mona di Orio 2017

Rice accord,nutmeg absolute, ambrette, jasmin, orris, clary sage absolute, labdanum CO2, sandalwood, musks

Inspired by rice, and named for the Dõjima Rice Exchange founded by Samurai in 1697 in Osaka, Japan. Dõjima opens with a vivid green, slightly astringent, warmly spiced top layer; a nutty rice note hovers. There remains a greenness throughout, wrapped in a creamy sandalwood, a possible dash of vetiver, who knows? There is some jasmin and orris but I don´t wanna sniff myself into a coma trying to locate them, it takes away the pleasure. An aromatic delight.

Suède de Suède by Frederik Dalman for Mona di Orio 2017

Cloudberry, Sichuan pepper, suède accord, cedar wood, osmanthus, strawberry leaf, castoreum, patchouli, musks

A soft buttery suede/leather wrapped in a sharp berry shell. Frederik Dalman uses cloudberry, they have a distinctive tart taste, and feature in a number of Swedish culinary delights. The zesty berry opening melts into the supple suede, ripples
itself throughout, and remains until the end, preventing the suede from dominating. Osmanthus and strawberry leaf keeping
the cloudberry alive, castoreum, patchouli and musks giving the base. This is a year round leather and one to invite your civilian friends to try. Sensual.

Please take a look at Mona di Orio for the full scoop. Thanks a million to Jeroen, Frederik and Vera for sending me the beautiful box with enough perfume to wear it properly.

Launch in September. 180€ for 75mls

I have a number of MdO miniatures, and an original bottle of her Vanille. I would love a bottle of Mona´s Musc.
Any MdO lovers out there?

Bussis my dears.
CQ xxxx