Sable & Soleil by Pierre Guillaume for Phaedon 2016

April 15, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 29 Comments

Post by Portia

Woo Hoo Crew,

More NEW stuff from my perfumer crush Pierre Guillaume. This arrived today and I couldn’t wait to get it on my skin!!

Here’s some more Pierre Perfume Porn to get you in the mood….

Sable & Soleil by Phaedon 2016

Sable & Soleil by Pierre Guillaume

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Lemon blossom, jasmine, African geranium, coconut milk, sandalwood, vanilla, tonka bean, white musk

Salt. Driest opening for a fragrance I ever smelled. Salt and then some melon, a little oily, seaside breeze, hot day.

Jasmine and citrus over the driest ache in my throat. It’s like the ache of yearning. Yearning for something just out of reach but in your sights. Awkward lactones create a shadowed, shady counterpoint that gives the crisp sea breeze a depth. Maybe a wander through the carpark by the beach, awaiting the arrival of your friends or even an ice cream from the truck, yes there is a metallic edge.

Briny. That’s the word I’m looking for. Briny, lightly sunburned, happy and tired. Fresh sea water and healthy bodies.

Sable & Soleil is not what I was expecting. If you think that you’ll be getting a Guerlain Lys Solea, a Jil Sander Sun or a Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess then think again. They are pretty and vibrant. Pierre Guillaume has created a mood and depth that is lovely but slightly dark. Compelling.

lavanyasrecipes

Sable & Soleil GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 2 winner who will receive:
1 x 2ml Sable & Soleil manufacturers sample
1 x sample Indian Wood by Perfumerie Generale 2016
P&H Worldwide

HOW DO YOU WIN?

Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged. 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 (portia underscore turbo @ yahoo dot com dot au) so I know.

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please tell us if you’ve tried any of the Phaeton range?

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 17th April 2016 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winner will be chosen by random.org
The winner will have till Thursday 21st April 2016 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.

Indian Wood GIVEAWAY WINNER

April 11, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Post by Portia

Hey hey Crew!

You guys were totally into this giveaway, no surprise, I love PGs work too. He was really excited that we showcased him on the weekend, look out for his new Pheadon one coming up soon here on APJ too.

Portia xx

Indian Wood GIVEAWAY WINNER

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Sandalwood, vetiver, moss, spicy mint, nutmeg, cardamom, coconut milk, lemon zest

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x 2ml Indian Wood manufacturers sample
P&H Worldwide

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 10th April 2016 10pm Australian EST
Winner was chosen by random.org

amberinblunderland

ELLEN M.

The winner will have till Thursday 14th April 2016 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.

Indian Wood 11.1 by Pierre Guillaume for Parfumerie Generale 2016

April 7, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 28 Comments

Post by Portia

Hi there APJ,

I meant to have this review out to you by last weekend but stuff got in the way. Sorry. As you know I’m madly in love with Pierre Guillaume so you’ll be getting a review coloured by my adoration.

Beaute-Test

I know, it’s rude how gorgeous he is. My experience of one afternoon was that in life he is sweet as pie, funny, charming and naughty. There is a brilliance to him that I found quite dazzling. he quickly put me at my ease and we talked for a while. Yes, besotted.

Indian Wood 11.1 by Parfumerie Generale 2016

Indian Wood 11.1 by Pierre Guillaume

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Sandalwood, vetiver, moss, spicy mint, nutmeg, cardamom, coconut milk, lemon zest

The Parfumerie Generale site gives an ingredient list: Alcohol, Parfum (Fragrance), Aqua (Water), Limonene, Linalool, Citronellol, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Citral, Coumarin, Benzyl Alcohol, Benzyl Benzoate, Cinnamyl Alcohol, Benzyl Salicylate, Geraniol.

Chai! I smell chai, in the pot being made by my last partners maid in Gurgaon, just outside New Delhi, India. Sweet, milky, spicy and warming but with a green facet that gives it a papery rasp and picks Indian Wood up. Interestingly I am finding it very hard to parse the notes, though I’m sure someone better at that particular trick could do it, and after a couple of wears I’m finding myself thinking of Indian Wood in the opening as chai and then Indian Wood. A smell unto itself.

Yes, as Pierre’s way is, this is a sweet fragrance. Not sugar sweet though. His sweetness comes from the sweetness of milky woods, piquant spices and the warm memories of cooking with Mum.

Through the heart Indian Wood dries out and becomes a solid, smooth, resinous and sheer cloak. I feel wrapped safely in a cocoon of softest wool that is spiderweb light yet warming and tough.

If you are already a fan of Pierre Guillaume’s work then you’ll love this new warmer and spicier extension on Harmatan Noir from 2006. If you don’t like his style then I can’t imagine Indian Wood winning you over, though I have been wrong before…..

First In Fragrance will have Indian Wood very soon

kbaird

Indian Wood GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x 2ml Indian Wood manufacturers sample
P&H Worldwide

HOW DO YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please tell us if you like Pierre’s work? Is there a favourite already or are you awaiting the one?

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 10th April 2016 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winner will be chosen by random.org
The winner will have till Thursday 14th April 2016 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.

Tranoï Paris 2016: Photo Essay

March 5, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 27 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey APJ Crew,

One of the great things about being in the frag crowd is getting to do things that few other people do. An invitation from a frag buddy can turn out to be something incredible. One of our great holiday highlights was hanging with the cool niche crews at Tranoï in Paris.

Tranoï Paris 2016

Tranoï

At the entrance I was met by Nicolas Chabot of Le Galion, he had invited Jin & I to come see the show and have some fun with the crew. Suitably attired with my PRESS PASS it was inside to the enormous room and the entryway was an aisle of some of Europe’s Independent Fragrance Houses. WOO HOO!

First stop was Le Galion, Nicolas and his partner Enno. They are a freaking RIOT! Here they are showing me the new range and they gave me a slew of stuff for giveaways. Coming very soon. My current favourite is Cologne Nocturne, a lush cologne that suits me to a T.

Tranoi Paris 2016 #4

Here with Roberto Greco who is the creative genius behind the Le Galion advertising and product look. He was really sweet and I admit to crushing on him madly.

Tranoi Paris 2016 #14

I really like Laboratorio Olfattivo’s clean style and want to spend some more time sniffing their brand. The couple I have smelled were YUMMY!

Woo Hoo! Neela Vermeire was there. So excited to see her and hang out. Any time in Neela’s company is good time. Her frags were very popular on the day and we had to leave her to the retailers and come back at intervals for mini chats.

The gorgeous Ulrich Lang was there too with his girl friend Erin. I noticed Lightscape before I noticed them and exclaimed how much I love it. Ulrich was thrilled and we spent a very happy half hour or so laughing and having a fine time, Neela wandered over because we were making so much noise. It was a really nice moment captured with some lovely people. We will be having a super Ulrich Lang giveaway soon here on APJ so keep your eyes peeled.

Tranoi Paris 2016 #8

OMG! Really? Pierre Guillaume is here! WOO HOO! I’ve been freaking crushing on him for YEARS! The sea of people parted, he looked across and our eyes met, Pierre smiled an uncomplicated welcome and I was lost. Absolutely fucking lost. He had all his ranges there but was hoping to gain more interest in his Pierre Guillaume Croisiere Collection. They are at the freaky end of the fragrance spectrum and I didn’t really feel able to focus to smell anything because the man’s charisma had me firmly in its grip.

Pierre tried to get my opinion on his newest from the PG range but my head and nose weren’t communicating. To be honest I had to get away because I couldn’t breathe or make coherent or cogent conversation. Ha Ha Ha What an ass-hat I am.

Histiores de Parfums are so freaking cool. I love the way they make fragrance and the display was fun too.

After the event we went out to dinner at a super cool restaurant with Nicolas & Enno, one of my buddies happened to be in Paris too (Hey Andrew) and he came and joined the crew. As I was recounting my Pierre G story to the table none other than Mr Pierre G walked in with his partner & some mates and so he got to hear the end of my story before I knew he was directly behind me smiling from ear to ear. He’s cool, I like him.

After that we were absolutely smashed and went back to our hotel and slept like dead people. Our first full day in Paris was done.

LuckyScent, Libertine, Peony Melbourne and First In Fragrance have loads of the houses in stock, Surrender To Chance has samples.

I hope you liked the post, which of these fragrance houses do you like?
Portia xxx

Gabriella’s Parfumerie Generale Picks

July 9, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 5 Comments

Post by Gabriella

Hi Perfumed Peeps!

The other week when I was rummaging through my samples, it occurred to me that I hadn’t done many posts on Pierre Guillame’s Parfumerie Generale line. I’m not really sure why as Tubereuse Couture was my very second niche full bottle after falling down the rabbit hole following the discovery of Lys Mediterranee by Frederic Malle.

I’ve smelt quite a few of the PG line and have found a lot of favourites, to the extent that once I’m in a PG mood, I think I could be happy with just a few bottles from the line and nothing else.

Photo Stolen Facebook

It seems that I’m in good company with my thinking as Miss P just recently posted about Pierre Guillame’s creations over at the Posse, asking readers for suggestions from the line. So, I’d like to chip in on the conversation and offer up my top three picks other than Tubereuse Couture:

Madeleine’s Parfumerie Generale Picks

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Gardenia Grand Soir 2010

Fragrantica gives these notes in one line:
Gardenia, sandalwood

I think the name “Grand Soir” led to a lot of confusion and disappointment from the blogosphere when this was released as people were expecting something very rich and opulent along the lines of Tom Ford’s Velvet Gardenia. What you get here, however, is one of the lightest and prettiest gardenias I’ve come across. The gardenia is gauzy and a little bit salty, akin to smelling the white blooms under the shower of surf spray on a hot summer’s day. The subtly luminous white floral accord is underscored by creamy and milky sandalwood, giving some depth and drama to the mix. A pretty and carefree blend that is still elegant.

Further reading: The Non Blonde and CaFleureBon

Luckyscent has $125/50ml

Surrender to Chance starts at $10/ml

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Jardins de Kerylos 2006

Fragrantica gives these notes in one line:
Fig leaf, herbal notes, sycamore

I really don’t usually care for fig fragrances and yet I love this one. But at first, Jardins de Kerylos was such a big scary green monster on my skin, I was a little thrown. After the initial sniff, I went round my business, getting changed for dinner and called my Mum. Whilst talking to her, I kept getting distracted by this wonderfully green, dewy, fruity expansiveness of a scent. What makes Jardins work for me is that its not a sweet milky fig like a lot of others, but a very dry fig scent with beautiful lushness and verdancy.

Further reading: Olfactoria’s Travels and ChickenFreak’s Obsessions

Parfumerie Generale starts at €65/30ml

Surrender to Chance starts at $5/ml

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Papyrus de Ciane 2010

Fragrantica gives these notes in one line:
Galbanum, broom, grass, oakmoss, musk and powdery notes

Speaking of verdancy, this one has it in spades. Papyrus de Ciane starts with a dry bitter green burst of galbanum, evoking the galbanum lade classics of old. The grass note lends some crispness and a slight pepperiness to the mix. Papyrus de Ciane stays all bright sparkly green for a while before the damp, moist sweetness of the mousse de saxe comes to the fore, evoking Caron’s classic Nuit de Noel. The mossy becomes slightly more powdery, offset by the sharp brightness of the galbanum, which evokes staring into a dark forest on a bright day through green coloured gauze. A tremendously beautiful modern green scent for those who like galbanum heavy scents such as Vent Vert and Bandit.

Further reading: The Non Blonde and Smellythoughts

First in Fragrance starts at €95/50ml

Surrender to Chance starts at $6/ml

Photo Stolen Facebook

Do you have any favourites from the PG line?

With much love till next time!

M x

PG17 Tubereuse Couture by Parfumerie Generale

July 4, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 15 Comments

Hey all you lovely Perfumistas,

Recently my mate Sandra in Vienna was having a clear out and she sent me the list. There were some frags not currently available in Oz and a couple that were on my list to own or back up. Over the next little while I’ll be bringing out some to show you, today’s offering is the first. I don’t know if you ever troll the For Sale Docs on the Facebook frag pages but here are a couple that you might like to try: Facebook Fragrance Friends and PLP Splits & Sales.

PG17 Tubereuse Couture by Parfumerie Generale

PG17 Tubereuse Couture by Pierre Guillaume

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured notes in one line:
Orange, green notes, jasmine, ylang-ylang, sugar cane, indian tuberose, benzoin, papyrus

This week seems to be all about the languid, tropical scents that are both alive with the sensual promise of white flowers and sweetened in some way to almost make them edible delights. Today we look at the unhumble tuberose in its sweet and green facets. Loud, pushy, thick, glutinous and a hugely theatrical showstopper Tubereuse Couture is like a neon light burning through the evenings cool. Vivid and stark we are not with the bubblegum sweeties here, this is tuberose for grown ups. A mildly petroleum aurora that is both beautiful and toxic. The green notes resinous, dry, sharp and unsettling. How can something be so desirable, alluring and creamy while maintaining such an unhealthy, fetid glow? Caught on the very fine line between gorgeous and repugnant I think Tubereuse Couture is my new favourite tuberose.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

The first hour is HUGE! Well, maybe not that big but you are heavily fragrant and it is incredible. After that opening hour Tubereuse Couture calms to a lovely sweet white flower bouquet and still maintains excellent sillage and projection for about another hour before going to a softer, wear anywhere, warm yet slightly green amber. Still interesting but not the wild creature it was at all, now Tubereuse Couture is a cuddly, smoochy kitten. I find something delightfully old fashioned about Tubereuse Couture, though it is all of the above there is also something languid and in repose about it that seems poised on the edge of action. It’s like wearing a drowsing tiger or greyhound, the power is there at bay awaiting at a moments notice to spring into swiftly killing action. Tubereuse Couture is thrilling.

Tubereuse Couture is a real heart starter. If you are tuberose or green averse then you’ll probably want to test this on paper or a friend before you put it on your own skin. Having said that I just spritzed it on my BFF Kath and she smells creamy, smooth and deliciously sweet in the next room. A very different ride, or maybe it smells different from afar. Anyway, your mileagae will probably vary from my experience so give Tubereuse Couture a go.

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

Further reading: Olfactoria’s Travels and Non Blonde
First In Fragrance has €95/50ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $5/ml

How do you like your tuberose?
Portia xx

Arabian Horse by Pierre Guillaume for Parfumerie Générale 2012

May 18, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 12 Comments

Post by Holly

Situated in a picturesque cobblestoned mews in the heart of London is the Ross Nye Stables. As a young girl, I spent two glorious years there learning manners, comportment in every situation, sensitivity and of course, how to ride. I was hooked, and fifty years later I am still captivated by these noble animals. I love to watch the elegance and refinement of dressage, the thrilling speed of the Triple Crown. I can sense the rough-and-tumble of buzkashi, I sigh over images of kohl-eyed Arabs racing their thoroughbred stallions across the desert. When I want to experience all of that at once, there’s this:

Arabian Horse by Parfumerie Générale 2012

Arabian Horse by Pierre Guillaume

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Green notes, wildflowers, narcissus
Heart: Musk, cypriol oil (nagarmotha)
Base: Woody notes, amber

It’s a beautiful spring day, and we’re feeling frisky. Let’s go for a ride!

Arabian Horse opens with a high-spirited burst of slightly animalic leather. It’s raw, warm and unpolished, reminiscent of leather goods in a Middle Eastern bazaar. Within a minute or so of leaving the paddock, flashes of bright wildflowers appear in a meadow that is dotted with bales of green hay. Some of the blooms smell dazzlingly spicy and sweet, somewhat like carnations but denser, richer and almost syrupy like a fine attar. I’m not familiar with nagarmotha, but I suspect that is what this scent is. Vibrant yellow narcissus dot the landscape, and as we gather speed the scenery flashes past and each note is experienced briefly and separately in dazzling pops of exuberance, appearing and disappearing in the blink of an eye. Thrumming underneath is the low hum of leather warming, and faint wisps of musk and sweet honeyed amber radiate out from our now-sweating steed.
After a while, the landscape changes and the narcissus are more bountiful and the other wildflowers are mere specks dotting the fields. The narcissus beckons, glowing in the sunlight, and we slow down to enjoy the view and the damp greenish-gold honeyed scent. Dappled woods are seen on the horizon, and the scent of cedar is faintly detected when a breeze blows across the meadow. Our horse’s coat is gleaming underneath the leather saddle, and the musky note is a velvety vanilla balm.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

Before turning for home, we approach the woods. The sun is starting to set, and we’re drawn to the calm shadows underneath the trees. After a full day soaring over the hills and meadows, we’re ready to bask in the calm that comes after an intense and exhilarating ride. The scent of cedar is astringent and restorative and in its presence we gather the strength to make our way back home. It’s been a glorious day.

Arabian Horse has excellent sillage and longevity, but is not overpowering. It is incredibly well-blended, and the progression of the notes is smooth and elegant, each phase lasting for hours on me. The name conveys everything you need to know about the spirit of this fragrance. It’s simultaneously unrestrained and yet firmly grounded. There’s an exquisite tension combined with a sense of expansion that is deeply sexy. I think that both men and women would be comfortable wearing Arabian Horse in any season, in any venue, from dawn ‘til dusk.

Further reading: Ca Fleure Bon and Now Smell This
Parfumerie Générale has €260/100ml
Surrender To Chance has $8.50/ml

Photo Stolen Ca Fleure Bon

If horses aren’t your thing, you can always be inspired by pics of the creator of Arabian Horse, Pierre Guillaume.

Photo Stolen BeauteTest

Have you found a fragrance that just makes you feel expansive, unrestrained and free?
Holly x

Cadjmere by Pierre Guillaume for Parfumerie Generale 2007

January 10, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 18 Comments

Hello Frag Family,

It was very early in 2014 and Michael & I were traveling through Europe, first stop Vienna in Austria where we met up with Birgit and Sandra of Olfactoria’s Travels and Val the Cookie Queen who writes both for OT and APJ. Vienna is its most beautiful in winter but sadly 2014 was not so cold as previous years and there was almost no snow, to make up for that loss we did get loads of rain which meant the city was greener than I’d ever seen it while maintaining its bare branches on the trees. Basically, though we were there in winter it felt like we had arrived in spring, a very pleasant way to see Vienna especially for Michael’s first glimpse of Europe.

Of course, what is it that perfumistas do when they are in a new city? We shopped fragrances! I did a fair spend at the CHANEL store there and a couple of vintage finds in the smaller, niche hole in the wall stores that Vienna seems to have an abundance of yet also these places seem to have stock from 60 years ago too.

Cadjmere by Pierre Guillaume for Parfumerie Generale 2007

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Myrtle, cypress, Brazilian rosewood, blood mandarin, vanilla, sandalwood, coconut milk, amber

Amber, vanilla and something green burst off my skin as soon as I spritz Cadjmere. They turn almost immediately to this weird, funky almost nasty curdled green leafy milk. It’s interesting, intriguing and awkward: LOVING IT! The notes really aren’t correlating to what I am smelling, what I get here in my head is a bakery in a plant nursery and lumberyard that’s in turn right next to a tip. There’s something of that compost sweetness, rotting vegetation and plastic. Ha ha ha ha! I have just read back what I wrote. OMG! I make it sound dreadful but it’s not.

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

Pierre Guillaume has a way with fragrance and often combines beautiful sweet notes, comfortable and comforting notes with something dark, less desirable. What then happens for me is that I will happily smell the sweetness and every so often I will be surprised by an off kilter piece of the puzzle that will draw me in again, searching for it.

Into the heart of Cadjmere I find most of the sharp edges rounded nicely and we are in sweet woods territory, I don’t know if Pierre Guillaume was using Australian sandalwood or a chemical sandalwood but it has some of the lovely eucalyptus menthol hints that the Australian one displays (or it could be some of the greenery). I don’t know and am often getting stuff wrong note wise, it doesn’t matter.

Photo Stolen WikiCommons

What does matter is that Cadjmere is ridiculously gorgeous, a totally beautiful fragrance that will warm the cockles of your heart and give you comfort if you are low. Later on I get a fabulously animal fur and resins mingling with the woods, glorious.

Longevity is above average and for the first couple of hours sillage is moderate, you are fragrant without skunking, after that Cadjmere hums along quietly for hours and hours. If you spray your clothes they will still smell fabulous next day MMMM MMMMMM!

Further reading: Olfactoria’s Travels and The Non Blonde
I was given my sample at Le Parfum in Vienna, Austria
First In Fragrance have €95/50ml
Surrender To Chance have samples starting at $5/ml

Have you tried or bought Cadjmere? Are you a Pierre Guillaume fan? Do you have a favourite?
Portia xx

Vohina by Pierre Guillaume for Huitieme Art Parfums 2010

June 30, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

Hiya Niche Nerds,

I know how much you all love Pierre Guillaume’s physique, handsome face and abject fear of wearing too many clothes. The fact that he makes lovely, wearable, interesting fragrances can be bypassed quite easily for a lingering look at some of his images, he is quite stunningly spectacular. One of the great things for me about this man and his frags is that all three of his perfume companies, I think they are his businesses but he may be their perfumer only, feel like they are a good fit for me. Huitieme Art Parfums, Parfumerie Generale and Phaedon all have something intrinsic that invites me in, as if I’m already part of the gang and I can just come and have a casual sniff that may tuirn into full blown love at any moment. I feel much the same way about Guerlain, Olympic Orchids, L’Artisan and Estee Lauder: not that all of these companies offerings work for or on me but they feel friendly.

Vohina by Pierre Guillaume for Huitieme Art Parfums 2010

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
White honey, peach blossom, hay (LuckyScent calls it Lavender Honey)

Huitieme Art Parfums is a brand that I particularly like. The scents that I have spent any real time with have all worked on some level for me. So today I want to look at Vohina, I tried it in BLOOM Perfumery in London back in February and because I was too excited and couldn’t concentrate properly the girls have me a lovely carded sample which I’ve only just come across. Now I can spend some dedicated sniffing time with Vohina, YAY!

SMILE! This is so different to my memory and expectations. The white honey is waxy and animal, peach blossoms are pretty and surprisingly sweet (to be honest I get more fruit than blossom) and the hay seems still green at the beginning. I love how Birgit says in the middle of her winter, “I need the warmth of the sun, not an oven, I need blue skies and green meadows, not my living room. I need the sparkling freshness of a light summer scent.” Yes, Vohina is spring in a bottle, perfect for wear in any season and shot through with the splendid zing that can only come from the huge resurgence of life that spring is, like the world’s annual heart beat.

Photo Stolen Flickr

The honey takes a waltz with the peach right through the centre of Vohina, they are beautifully paired and in constant frisson. There are more things going on but if I told you I get a soft BarBQ and smoke through the heart you would think me bananas, and when I say that there is also a candy sweet sugariness like the strawberry part of Strawberries & Cream lollies and the pink Musk Sticks I know you will think I’ve gone barmy but there they are for me. Bold as brass.

As Vohina moves through its lifespan the spring turns to summer, the honey becomes less apparent, fruitiness recedes and the green haystacks brown off to straw. There is a clean-ness to Vohinas dry down, the musks? Could it be the lavender? Is there a whisper of it twisting through?

Sometimes I think my nose has gone a bit haywire, Vohina bears closer inspection.

Photo Stolen Geograph.org.uk

Vohina is lovely but my skin eats most of it in under two hours and leaves me with a very soft, a faint sweet musky woodsiness. It is pretty and wearable and I could imagine Vohina being an excellent gateway fragrance for someone who is testing the niche waters from a steady diet of designer.

Further reading: Olfactoria’s Travels and Scented Hound
LuckyScent has $125/50ml and samples
First In Fragrance has €95/50ml and samples

Which of this line have you tried? Do you like Pierre or his fragrant aesthetic?
Come on, join the conversation, we love to read what you think in the comments below.
Portia xx

Felanilla PG21 by Pierre Guillaume for Perfumerie Generale 2008

June 15, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

Hiya Happy Huffers,

I hope this finds you happy and well. Obviously, it may not. If you are not either or neither happy nor well then I hope at least we can take your mind off your troubles for a few minutes. If you can, or want to, go grab a cup or glass of your favourite. I have a cup of Korean tea here, it has a freaky nutty flavour that is both repulsive and more-ish. Jin also tells me that it is a good aid in digestion, cool, I’ll take that too. Hang on, I’m going to grab a refill…. I put some honey in this one to soothe my throat, trying to make yourself heard above rowdy pub crowds can take it out of your voice and my throat is a little tender tonight.

Felanilla PG21 by Pierre Guillaume for Perfumerie Generale 2008

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Italian iris, amber, hay, saffron, Tahitian vanilla, banana leaf

My mate Lakshmi swapped me a 10ml split decant of this for something in my collection, I didn’t even try it for a while after he gave it to me. One day though it made it to the front of the to try box and I think I was running out the door and grabbed the first thing to hand without really looking, mmmmm warm was all I thought till in the car I was assailed by the most beautiful and sensual vanilla/amber and I was lost. That 30 minute journey became all about Felanilla,

Photo Stolen Pixabay

Felanilla is beautiful, interestingly I can’t find most of the listed notes, for me and on me Felanilla is a vanilla/amber/saffron bomb that has some other stuff in the background that stops it smelling like a bake sale and keeps it firmly in the un-gourmand sweet range, a warm, dry, comfortable, sweetness that is both enveloping and welcoming. A hug, fire, fresh coffee, hot bread feeling. There are definite nods in Felanilla to the perfumery of years gone by. The amber is soft and resinous with none of the dark or scratchy backbite of an Ambre Russe, here we smell a caramelled amber both smooth and weathered. The story is not a long one, basically Felanilla continues in much the same vein till dry down only getting slightly dryer through the heart (I think it may be the iris/hay), a little bit of a bed-head/fur thing happens and comes & goes and then the whole fragrance grows sweeter towards the end as it fades. Having now read a few reviews and most people get a much more varied journey than I do with Felanilla, maybe I’m not paying enough attention or maybe my skin throws a different ride.

Photo Stolen Flickr

Longevity is excellent but after the first couple of hours Felanilla gets very close to the body and you need to be quite close to notice fragrance.

Even though there is not much story on my skin I totally enjoy wearing Felanilla, the fragrance hits a sweet spot with me and I find myself reaching for it quite regularly, of the 10ml there is now only about 3ml left. Will it be a full bottle in my future? I’m not sure, though it’s different I don’t think it enough different from L’Eau d’Ambre by L’Artisan or Ambre Ceruleen by Huitieme Art. When I finish those bottles though it could be the one I go for.

Further reading: The Non-Blonde and Grain de Musc
First In Fragrance has €94/50ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $5/ml

Have you tried Felanilla? Did you enjoy its warm silky caress?
Portia xx