Fume by Hans Hendley

June 24, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 7 Comments

Post by Trésor

I am a particularly ritualistic creature, the practice of taking the time to do something in that beautifully precise way has always fascinated me so deeply and afforded me a great sense of ease during moments of chaos and turmoil. An abating constant, a precious microcosm in which time seems to abandon its seemingly accelerated continuity and allows one a glorious moment to simply inhale in the midst of life’s often mercurial orbit. My most cherished ritual and the one which offers me the greatest pleasure is the one in which I partake before I lay my head to rest at night; applying my most treasured potions of beauty, writing in my journal and anointing myself with a fragrance to carry me gracefully into the arms of sleep. Most crucial though, is the final step, which as of late has has been dominated by the inimitable cimmerian beauty of a fiercely hypnotic brew masterfully composed by Brooklyn indie perfumer Hans Hendley. A fragrance by the name of …..

Fume by Hans Hendley

Photo Stolen Hendley Perfumes

Hendley Perfumes give these featured accords in one line:
Conifer resins, smoked tea, galbanum, ruh khus, nagarmotha, oakmoss

Fume touches my soul. From the very first push of the atomizer, I am transported to a sylvan landscape bathed in hues of exquisite emerald and blackened by the sprawling shadows of towering conifers releasing their very essence into the atmosphere as if beckoned by hallowed incantations of the Earth goddess Gaia herself. Chanting in mellifluous harmony with these empyrean conifer resins is the umbral redolence of bonfire smoke, gossamer tendrils of which exist as zephyrs flowing through the undulating branches of this enchanted forest. Such incredible beauty, I wept.

Photo Stolen WikiCommons

Leaves of luxuriant, smoky tea long act as harbinger to your fortune; weaving in effortless synchronicity with utterly haunting beauty Fume’s sonorous incipience. This is a fragrance which radiates like the gentle velvet glow of lambent embers, unfolding in subtle shifts much like the daylight bleeding into placid twilight. An amaranthine scythe of galbanum ricochets fractals of kaleidoscopic light into the onyx sky, a breathtaking aurora borealis to illuminate the glistening bed of luxuriant oakmoss and dulcet vetiver which lay below. I am so profoundly bewitched by this extraordinarily mesmeric sequence that I am at loss for sufficient words to describe just how enamored I am. It is here that my journey with Fume begins to reach its immaculate conclusion and I return to the tangible realm once again.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

Fume wears as a delicately effulgent cloak of fragrance, celestially rich but deeply intimate, intensifying beautifully as one’s body heat begins to rise. I get a proper 8-10 hours of life from Fume, often catching pulchritudinous whispers of beguiling aroma when I wake the next morning. If you happen to be in the market for an indie perfume or simply looking to have your breath taken away I wholeheartedly urge you to get you hands on a sample of this truly remarkable composition, I know I’m smitten.

Hendley Perfumes has $64/15ml and samples

Until next time, my darlings.

Trésor xx

Dab or Spray? Life

June 23, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 41 Comments

Post by Val the Cookie Queen

When I mentioned to Portia a few weeks ago that it was sometimes tough to come up with something to write about, he said to write whatever I´d been up to and include the perfume I had been wearing. That would do it. Let´s test it out.

DAB OR SPRAY?

Murmurings from the Uninspired.
Featuring fragrances I have added to my small collection.

THINGS THAT I HAVE BEEN UP TO

Read an undisputedly utterly brilliant book. All The Light We Cannot See. Anthony Doerr.
Set up a date with APJs Azar in September. We´ll be having tea in Seattle very soon.
Gave up Red Bull and Monster and started to drink water.
Helped my son move into his apartment.
Completed my .vero.profumo. collection with the Rozy Extrait and the Onda Voile d´Extrait.
Located a bottle of Cuir de Lancôme. Purchased it.

LONDON VISIT

Finalised a pefume tour party blogger lunch and cake feast not forgetting the epic ice-cream, kind of thing. In London. Getting to hangout with Volatile Fiction, Olfactoria´s Travels, Perfume Candy Boy, Nick Gilbert and more. Amongst other groovy things we are going to visit Penhaligon`s, the new Bloom, the Chanel Store and the new Malle Store. I am of course taking my daughter the BlondesWunder with me and she will report back as to her second experience of hanging out with a bunch of old perfume freaks.

(Yes Portia and Michael, my heart aches that you won´t be there.)

DAB OR SPRAY?

Wearing a lot of extraits, and only dab them. I love the sensuality of using a glass stopper to apply the perfume. I do like to spray the back of my neck though. However, spraying everywhere gives me a grand mal seizure, and since my kids do that to me anyway, I prefer to keep them to the minimum. I reckon I might be in the minority though. This is a much discussed subject but what do you APJ readers do? What interesting application techniques do you use? I stand in front of a mirror and conduct my perfuming ritual. I do not like perfume on my clothing at all and make sure I get nothing on it from the application of the fragrance. Clothing goes on after the perfume.

Am about to start a new book. A Brief History of Seven Killings. Marlon James. “It´s like a Tarantino remake of The Harder They Come but with a soundtrack by Bob Marley and a script by Oliver Stone and William Faulkner ……..” New York Times. And a lot of it is written in Jamaican Patois. I spent some time in Kingston but that is another fragrant story. 😉

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Blood orange
Heart: Iris pallida, rose
Base: Incense, patchouli

Have been wearing Maria Candida Gentile´s Burlesque for the last two days. Alluring. Gorgeous. Ordered.

Irie Bussis
Peace and love
CQ

Maria Amalia by Morris, Italy 2006

June 22, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 21 Comments

Post by Azar

Hello APJ!

I love to shop the discounters. It is not unusual for me to find a fragrance that I once coveted available online for less than half the original price. There is, of course, the issue of fakes. I rarely encounter one of those but when I do I consider it collectable, not unlike the antique replicas of precious wentletrap shells (Epitonium scalare) that are now worth far more than the real thing. There will be more on my fake fragrance collection in another post.

Maria Amalia by Morris, Italy 2006

Photo Stolen Perfume Emporium

Today I am considering the mass marketing mistakes that result in so many fragrances being relegated to the online and the brick and mortar discount bins. One recent find, Maria Amalia EdP by Morris Italy, has me wondering just what it takes to make a fragrance attractive in today’s mass marketplace.

The packaging and presentation of Maria Amalia EdP are beautifully done. Meticulously pleated cellophane, sealed with the perfume logo, wraps a silk textured box enclosing a heavy urn-shaped pressed glass bottle. Information about the fragrance is presented in a tiny foldout illustrated with the art of Pre-Raphaelite painter John Waterhouse (somewhat anachronous) and with stunning photos of the Maria Amalia product line.

Photo Stolen WikiCommons

The EdP itself is a bracing, totally unisex brew opening with a cool fruity/citrus accord lasting a moment or two before morphing into a combination of ginger, cardamom and angelica that creates an arresting impression of dusty gunpowder, spice, citrus and sweet herbs. This odd but exhilarating beginning expands to include scents of wet earth, lemon and may rose peppered with nutmeg and a touch of cinnamon. Maria Amalia dries into rosewood, myrrh, sandalwood and a residual aura of lemon and green herbs, a perfectly refreshing summertime spritz.

Photo Stolen WikiCommons

This fragrance was purportedly created from an original recipe of the favorite perfume of Maria Amalia of Austria (1764 – 1804). She was the daughter of Empress Maria Theresa and Emperor Francis I (the Holy Roman Emperor) and sister to Marie Antoinette. Maria Amalia was known for her flamboyant, cross-dressing life style and (unlike her sister) for her genuine generosity to the poor. Her life story reads like a novel.

That is all well and good but why did Maria Amalia – the perfume – end up in the discount bin?

I suspect that the historic references did not resonate with today’s consumer. Maybe the packaging and presentation were too old fashioned. Was 2006 too early for a real unisex fragrance or was Morris, Italy too closely identified with its German parent company, the hair-coloring experts, Schartzkopf/Henkel? Perhaps the demise of Maria Amalia had nothing whatsoever to do with marketing but was simply a result of the EU or IRFA fragrance regulations. Whatever the case may be I feel lucky to have stumbled upon Maria Amalia the fragrance. I have stocked up.

Further reading: Fragrance Bouquet and BaseNotes
Perfume Emporium has $15.29/50ml

Azar xx

Photo Stolen Kesha&Co

Maria Amalia GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 USA winner who will receive:
1 x 5ml decant of Maria Amalia by Morris, Italy
P&H USA ONLY

HOW DO YOU WIN?

Open to USA ONLY who follow 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. Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged.

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please tell us if you have heard of or have tried the Maria Amalia fragrance or give us your take on marketing perfume in the 21st century.

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 25th June 2015 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 29th 2015 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.

This review of Maria Amalia EdP first appeared last week on Ellen Covey’s blog. You can win there as well!

Portia’s Sizzling Summer Scents 2015 + FREE Summer Sampler

June 22, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Hey Hey APJ,

While you are trolling the internet today please jump on over and check out the newest post on My Perfume Samples. The My Perfume Samples gang have given me a really great new outlet for fragrance writing and this fortnight we decided to look at Summer Scents that may have slipped under your radar. Some really good choices as it heats up in the Northern Hemisphere and even if you want to remember the fun fizz of summer in the Southern Hemisphere.

There is also a fabulous FREE Summer Sampler!!

Portia’s Sizzling Summer Scents 2015 + FREE Summer Sampler

So please jump across and check the list out on My Perfume Samples<<JUMP. Leave a message with something you think should be there or a favourite from the group so we can have a bit of a natter about it, I’ll be dropping in regularly over the next week to answer any and all comments.

Be well, waft on.
Portia xx

Budget Beauty Reviews

June 21, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 16 Comments

Post by A F Beauty

I love beauty products. I love them more than my wallet loves them. So to try and balance desire with budget I like to keep my ear to the ground for bargain products that do a great job at a brilliant price. I wanted to test genuinely well priced products, not just a fabulous lipstick on 90% discount so I have aimed for items under AU$15.

Budget Beauty Reviews

First the oldies but goodies. I’ve been re-testing Rimmel’s Hide the Blemish concealer – AU$9 and Barry M’s Showgirl Extra Lengthening Mascara – AU$10.

Hide The Blemish. So, it transpires I am the biggest idiot! This concealer is great – why did I stop using this as a teen?!! I’ve gotten on great with the texture and coverage and the way I can layer to build coverage – I will add this as a staple to my make-up bags. (Yes, both!)

Barry M Mascara. This says it is extra lengthening; maybe it is, but in that case, so is it extra time consuming! The wand is one of those plastic spikey ones, not an old fashioned brush, which I think do a better job of lengthening or volumising. That said, it goes on well without clumping, it’s great colour and texture, you just have to apply a few coats to get the extra lengthening.

Next the supermarket products. Here I got lucky! I was in Aldi, which has some well-reviewed products at amazing prices. I tried the 3-in-1 Primer at AU$5.

At $5 I didn’t have massive expectations, but Aldi consistently receives great write ups for their budget skincare line. I really liked the primer, much more than I expected. I am not a huge fan of the silicone type primers which feel overly silky but this is more of a light moisturiser. I used my daily moisturiser followed by the primer, then foundation. The primer instructions were to apply over the face concentrating on fine lines – this seemed odd to me given the lightness of the fluid, but I think my foundation applied well, evenly and smoothly. Although much lighter, I found this similar in concept and result to Clarins Beauty Flash Balm, smoothing the face and leaving me looking marginally, inexplicably, better, but it was less sticky (good!).

Lastly, a wildcard, an eyebrow kit from Priceline (Walgreens/Boots equiv), a brand known as Model’s Prefer. Model’s Prefer Eyebrow kit from Priceline AU$13, the most expensive item in this group, but worth the little extra.
The kit contains a brow powder, coloured gel, a slanted brush to apply and a mini tweezer. I’ve learned to spend 30 seconds of the few minutes I spend on make up each morning on brows to frame the face. I used just the coloured gel usually and this is both reliable and easy to give a decent lasting result.

I have happily added the concealer, primer and eyebrow palette to my daily routine and it’s some of the best money I’ve spent! What are your favourite budget beauty products?

A F Beauty xx

Obsession by Jean Guichard for Calvin Klein 1985

June 21, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 14 Comments

Post by Anne-Marie

“When one makes love, there is a certain scent we that give off. I think it’s very sensual – that’s the scent of Obsession.”
– Calvin Klein

Obsession was released in 1985 and by any measure is a mighty fragrance. It is so much more than the sum of its notes….

Obsession by Jean Guichard for Calvin Klein 1985

“Oh, the smell of it!”

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Green notes, mandarin, peach, basil, bergamot, lemon
Heart: Spices, coriander, sandalwood, orange blossom, jasmine, oakmoss, cedar, rose
Base: Amber, musk, civet, vanilla, vetiver, incense.

It’s the damp herbal first blast of Obsession that I adore. Yes, there are softer, easier things to come, but that dark, slightly bitter opening is for me, addictive. After that I get spices of course, although not the florals.

The base for me is mostly amber and vanilla, with incense keeping things cool and dry. The vanilla is far from being sweet and foodie – which is just how I like it. I wear the modern EDT, the stuff you can get for a song just about anywhere perfume is sold.

Obsession is usually classified as an oriental, but through its marketing, Obsession rejects conventional oriental fantasies and metaphors. We get no lacquered spice jars, no souks, no Buddhas or Indian princesses etc. Obsession does not weave sentimental fairy tales; it is about nothing but sex.

The early TV ads were directed by Richard Avedon and make you feel as if you have wandered on to the set of some weird modernist play. Everything is in monochrome, but clearly the scene is vibrant with sexual obsession. In one, an older man laments a young woman (played by South African model José Borain) who has left him (“Was it me? Did I somehow driver her away?”).

In another, that woman is the object of obsession for a beautiful teenage boy (“ … the whispers at my bedside … her arms … her mouth … her amber hair … and oh, the smell of it.”).

The early print ads were shot in Puerto Villata, Mexico, by Bruce Weber and feature, in blue sepia, two (or three) naked, entwined bodies.

Famously, Kate Moss also modelled for Obsession, but that came later, in 1993 when she was 17. Shot by Mario Sorrenti and still in monochrome, the location was a shack on the beach: “Just me and him and loads of film,” Moss later recalled. The ads speak to the photographer’s obsession with his model. Moss was his girlfriend at the time but the relationship did not survive.

All of these ads are edgy. “You walk a fine line, especially in advertising,” Calvin Klein admitted, “if you try and do something sensual.” Sometimes I find them more disturbing than, say, Tom Ford’s quite sexually explicit ads for his perfumes.

Further reading: Now Smell This and Non Blonde
FragranceNet has $10/15ml before Coupon
My Perfume Samples has $2/ml

A lot of people have memories of Obsession, good and bad. What are yours?

‘Til next time, have fun!

Anne-Marie xx

Tubereuse 3 Animale by Gérald Ghislain for Histoires de Parfums 2010

June 20, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

Hey Hey APJ,

Not long ago I bought this 15ml travel size off one of the FaceBook pages. It’s been sitting here awaiting my attention ever since. I think a few things arrived that day and it got shunted aside. Lately I have been searching out some skank and the word animal when applied to fragrance is a high def pointer for me too, add that to tuberose and……..

Tubereuse 3 Animale by Histoires de Parfums 2010

Tubereuse 3 Animale by Gérald Ghislain

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Kumquat, Neroli, Tuberose
Heart: Herbs, Plum, Tuberose
Base: Immortelle, Blond tobacco, Tuberose

How come the notes list for Tubereuse 3 Animale doesn’t say honey? What I am hit with immediately is an incredibly rich honeyed tobacco that sits like a big ole can of molasses in the same room as a vase of tuberose. Front and centre is this rich viscous scent that is absolutely beautiful, mesmerisingly so. It’s hard to focus myself to write this piece and not get caught up in the magic. Citrus I get none, maybe a little way in I get some sweetish fruit but it’s only a very soft side dish. I get the feeling of thick, hot, molten amber-glass before it gets made into stuff.

Photo Stolen Flickr

Later I get a lovely dry whiff of immortelle, that strangely dry green sapless dessicated scent that is both raspy and smooth, like the point where sandpaper scours pebbles into smooth, shiny, cool nuggets. Tubereuse 3 Animale also has a furry something that is what I think of as a perfumers version of a very old mink coat, dry and dusty but still with the faintest whiff of the poor creature it was stolen from.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

This is what I imagine the screen sirens of yesteryear would have LOVED to smell like and I can see some of the more famous 21st century cougars getting a thrill from the overt sensuality that Tubereuse 3 Animale displays. What I did not expect was the general size of Tubereuse 3 Animale, it is a sillage and projection monster compared to most other modern offerings and it has a sweetness bordering on urinous, definately skirting the edges of downwind from junkie alley.

Who would and when could Tubereuse 3 Animale be worn? Well let’s just say straight up that for most work situations it is completely over the top, especially for the first hour or two. I think you would have to be careful to use a light hand if food is involved or confined spaces. Personally, I will wear it to my Turbo Trivia work and definitely for my own selfish pleasure at home, it may even get a spritz for the grocery shopping.

Photo Stolen Pixabay

Further reading: Smelly Thoughts and Perfume Polytechnic
Parfum1 has $36/15ml
Posh Peasant has samples starting at $4.75/ml

Do you DO tuberose? What about tobacco? Are there fragrances with these lovelies that you wear? Share.
Portia xx

ICONS: Oudh Perfume Oils by Nocturne Alchemy

June 18, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 17 Comments

Post by Erica Golding

Hello to my favorite fragrance lovers!

Let’s say the O word.

Oudh.

Sigh! You say you’re SO over Oudh Fever. It is trendy, it smells funky, and from Jovan to Dior to Kilian it has become ubiquitous. You roll your eyes, waiting impatiently for this hipster nonsense to just go away already! You probably haven’t experienced genuine oudh, though. As a fragrance nerd, you may already know this. Most of the oudh fragrances on the market (even the expensive niche ones) use synthetics to mimic the aroma, and genuine oudh is by far the most expensive perfumery material out there.

So, are you jealous? Right now I’m luxuriating in gloriously deep, complex, addictive perfume oils rich with ethically, sustainably harvested authentic oudh. But you know what else? They are at an affordable price point. What the what?! How??

ICONS: Oudh Perfume Oils by Nocturne Alchemy

Several years in the making, Nocturne Alchemy’s new limited-edition ICONS line is absolutely mind-blowing. There are currently five oudh oils, each strictly limited to 125 bottles. Let’s walk through them like a wine tasting, from brightest to deepest.

Iconic: Rose, oudh, and a hint of jasmine.
Breathtaking, it makes my whole body feel all the emotions! ICONIC opens with a tender, true, subtly gentle fragrance of newly opened roses blossoming on their bush, the first rays of the sun kissing the morning dew. The harmony of a hint of sweet night-blooming jasmine accents the rose ever so slightly, not really noticeable on its own but rather almost absorbed into the rose bouquet itself. The darkness of oudh smoothly curling around the base is truly a caress, graceful and confident. Unprecedented to my nose. I have never smelled anything this beautiful before.

Leviathan: Woody, distinctive NA amber and oudh.
The finest, perfected signature NA amber blends with just the right balance of shadowy, pure oudh to add a new facet to my beloved NA solar amber. The amber is woody, musky, and lightly sweetened with a whisper of vanilla bean and maybe even a dash of cardamom. This gorgeous amber is transformed with majestic true oudh gliding mysteriously at the base. The oudh, tempered by the softly golden amber, is smoky, woodsy, earthy, and slightly medicinal – but the honeyed facet of the oudh really shines, highlighted in this context.

Samar Oudh: Oudh spliced with vanilla orchid.
Samar opens with a blast, an almost sharp intensity. Creamy vanilla and floral orchid notes hover over hay and forest floor. A hint of fresh rose petal hides quietly. The floral tone of the vanilla orchid smoothes and settles over time, nuzzling into the skin. Every second reveals more depth, darkness, and beauty as the vanilla sweetens and the earthy oudh hums proudly. The vanilla orchid note reminds me of NA’s Kobalt single note perfume oil. My prediction is that this beauty will be the first to sell out, it’s unbelievable!

Arabian Oudh: Smoldering Arabian oudh.
This varietal opens with an almost dirty vibe, distinctly salty and smoky, like smouldering wood chips. Then, a slightly medicinal, almost rubbery note comes in. As it sinks into the skin, the magic starts to reveal itself. In comes the musky, honeycomb shade, rounding out the fragrance and honing all of the strangeness into addictive, exciting uniqueness. A swirl of dark cocoa is even detectable if you narrow your focus. This is the real deal.

Egyptian Temple Oudh: Smoky Egyptian oudh.
Thicker than honey, this beauty is a richly viscous precious gel. The scent starts out with bonfire smoke and a bit of that distinctive “barnyard” note that typifies genuine oudh, as well as the rubbery medicinal note (again, normal for true oudh). Slow to absorb into the skin, it gradually smoothes and deepens, and the notes become polished and gleaming with burning incense smoke languishing in the air. This is not the perfume of unlit incense; this is the thickly smouldering scent of resin incense combusting in a censer. Meditative, centering, peaceful.

I highly recommend going after this line before it’s gone forever. I am so impressed, and have bonded deeply with each oil on an emotional level.

Nocturne Alchemy<< Jump to visit store

Scented hugs,
-Erica

Santal Massoïa by Jean-Claude Ellena for Hermès 2011

June 17, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 13 Comments

Post by Liam

There is no secret that I dislike gourmand perfumes: I can’t stand them! But, there’s another side of myself that secretly adores the sort of gourmand that doesn’t make itself out to be one. Shalimar and L’Heure Bleue are considered gourmands to an extent, but perhaps because whilst they themselves are totally and utterly edible perfumes (Shalimar oscillates beautifully between incense oriental and vanilla dessert amazingly), they do not actively come across as perfumes designed to be eaten. This is where my distinction is drawn. I am a gourmand loving anti-gourmand fan, who happens to love vanillas, chocolatey patchouli and milky woods when they don’t market themselves as edible.

Santal Massoïa by Jean-Claude Ellena for Hermès 2011

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords: in one line:
Massoïa wood resin from New Guinea, coconut, peach, butterscotch, sandalwood, milk sweets, dried fruits

Jean-Claude Ellena (my favourite perfumer) has treated Santal Massoïa as a meditation on the characteristics of wood notes in perfume. ““There are linear, vertical woods like cedar, and others that are horizontal, round, supple and velvet-smooth, such as sandalwood and massoïa”. Ellena grapples the curvaceous facets of sandalwood and massoïa, and bolsters it to intensify comfort, like an embrace or a soft blanket. Gone are the vertical conventions of wood found often in masculine scents, as Santal Massoïa has been scrubbed down to reveal a genderless woods fragrance, with its apparent lightness an overall illusion.

The result then is a creamy creation, round and indirectly delicious, pushing Ellena’s trademark minimalism to the very edge, described by Chandler Burr as: “maximal minimalism”. Massoïa wood and sandalwood maintain inherent lactic qualities, cradled gently in a bath of warm milk and carmel. To add complexity, Ellena adds an additional dimension of florals and fruits, taking indolic creamy white florals (jasmine, and perhaps tuberose stripped of its carnal severity) with moreish fruits, such as apricots and the sweet skin of green figs. Together, this creates an encompassing impression of coconut and dulce de leche (custard), again, this is warm, decadent and skin-like. A sort of luminism with a clear depiction of calm, and a natural stillness creating beauty.

Photo Stolen Pixabay

The sandalwood here is assertive and importantly doesn’t smell synthetic, opening with a tropical humid quality that at certain angles appears wet and nutty, with a tame oiliness. Thus, there are pleasantly pungent aromatic hits from time to time, which is nasally very pleasing and thankfully breaks the wooded monotony. Inviting yet distant, Santal Massoïa trails away with frothy lactic notes and a green fruitiness, but always pulls back into familiarity with gourmand impressions of creamy desserts and scintillating florals.

This fragrance becomes a very elegant second skin that moulds with the wearer and additionally with the seasons. It smells clean and inviting, with it smelling dense in nature but not heavy. I wear this for quiet periods and nervous moments, as I closely project a welcoming and warm presence.

Photo Stolen Flickr

Further reading: Olfactoria’s Travels and Non Blonde
Hermès stores stock the Hermèssence range exclusively
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $4/.5ml

What’s your second skin fragrance?

-Liam

Silences by Jacomo 1978

June 15, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 17 Comments

Post by Holly

Hi guys!

I recently saw a basenotes link for fragrances to be discontinued this year, and Silences is one of them. I’m not astonished or outraged, there’s no hissy fit lurking about nor rants about IFRA. I feel grief.

Of all the fragrances I own, Silences is THE ONE. I can’t say it’s the most beautiful, but to me it is a friend and a lover who embraces me at my core and allows me to fully inhabit my own skin and self. There are a lot of fans out there and many reviews, but what they describe is not at all my experience. Thus it feels quite singular in the way it belongs to me. It is a relationship.

Silences by Jacomo 1978

Silences by Gerard Goupy + Jean-Claude Niel

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Orange blossom, galbanum, bergamot, lemon, green notes, cassia
Heart: Iris, jasmine, narcissus, hyacinth, rose, lily-of-the-valley
Base: Vetiver, musk, sandalwood, oakmoss, cedar, ambrette (musk mallow)

Like all the best things in life, Silences is difficult to describe. It transcends description in the way that meaningful dreams do. In this way, it is both corporeal and yet other-worldly. It shimmers on the edges. When I look at the notes listed, many of my favorites are there. But to be honest, if I didn’t cheat and read them, I would never be able to tell you what they are when I smell Silences. I simply can’t pick them out at all. So, I can only offer you my own personal sensations, impressions.

Photo Stolen WikiCommons

Silences is usually described as being intensely green, a floral chypre or a green floral. When I think of green, I actually think of very bright, brash scents. Cut grass, clover. If I had to pick an epitome, it would be either vintage Lauren or Aftelier’s Trefle Pur. Silences may be a chypre, but I feel it does not have that density. Standing apart from those, Silences is pigeon-coloured. Muted dove grey, flashes of green and mauve iridescence. Weeping willows, fog, silvered trees in a mist viewed wistfully from a window. The sound of wind as it ripples through spring leaves in anticipation of rain, a slight hiss and sigh, the leaves gracefully dancing with anticipation. The dense somber sense of thunder in the distance.

It is gentle, reflective, introspective and yet there is a subterranean shadow, a bruise. Walking alone through a carefully constructed maze at Sissinghurst, a hint of danger and excitement implicit. Beyond the maze, the quiet white gardens thrive but do not beckon. Silences is a spector, bestowing grace as a nimbus, an enigmatic presence that you can sense but cannot fully know. It is enigmatic. At times it is a Mary Cassatt painting of an all-embracing mother, and at others it is a minotaur.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

Silences has beguiling floral notes with wisps of glowering deep forest shaded green on a moonlit, austere base. It does not sparkle or shine, but shape-shifts from inviting to threatening. A fairy tale and a dream that resonates and invites you to explore what is on the surface and what lies beneath. You may carry this secret with you wherever you go.

Further reading: Perfume Shrine and Olfactoria’s Travels
FragranceNet has $29/100ml before coupon

Silences is my Goldilocks fragrance. Do you have one? And on a more practical note (heaven forbid!) what would you do if you discovered your Goldilocks fragrance was to be discontinued?
Holly xo

Australian Perfume Junkies

Olfactory Opinions from Oz

Review

Fume by Hans Hendley

Fume by Hans Hendley

Maria Amalia by Morris, Italy 2006

Maria Amalia by Morris, Italy 2006

Maria Amalia GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

HOW DO YOU WIN?

HOUSEKEEPING

Budget Beauty Reviews

Budget Beauty Reviews

Obsession by Jean Guichard for Calvin Klein 1985

Obsession by Jean Guichard for Calvin Klein 1985

“Oh, the smell of it!”

Tubereuse 3 Animale by Gérald Ghislain for Histoires de Parfums 2010

Tubereuse 3 Animale by Histoires de Parfums 2010

Tubereuse 3 Animale by Gérald Ghislain

ICONS: Oudh Perfume Oils by Nocturne Alchemy

ICONS: Oudh Perfume Oils by Nocturne Alchemy

Santal Massoïa by Jean-Claude Ellena for Hermès 2011

Santal Massoïa by Jean-Claude Ellena for Hermès 2011

Silences by Jacomo 1978

Silences by Jacomo 1978

Silences by Gerard Goupy + Jean-Claude Niel