Lovely by Laurent Le Guernec and Clement Gavarry for Sarah Jessica Parker 2005

February 18, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 8 Comments

Post by Ainslie Walker

Last year I read Chandler Burr’s book “A Year In The Perfume Industry, which I highly recommend. The book follows, every second chapter, Jean-Claude Ellena, in Paris, creating a new fragrance for Hermes…every other chapter takes us to New York, in 2005, where Sarah Jessica Parker is ‘art directing’ the development of her first fragrance, with the help of Laurent Le Guernec and Clement Gavarry from Coty. The book does far more than, but helps the reader to understand how perfumes go from someone’s idea, right through to sitting on the shelves in the mass market. It is jam packed with history, ingredients, methods etc etc. A must read!

Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker 2005

Laurent Le Guernec and Clement Gavarry

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Nectarine, bergamot, rosewood, lavender, apple martini
Heart: White daffodil, orchid, orchid, patchouli
Base: Amber, cedar, woody notes, salt, white musk.

That brought me to actually smelling Sarah Jessica Parker’s “Lovely” – something I would NEVER have tried, as my preconceived ideas of it being massmarket/cheap/celeb etc etc kept me well away. My curiosity got the best of me, and I was intrigued however as the starting idea was Sarah’s favourite mix of scents which included Egyptian musk oil, a cheap drugstore scent and and expensive fragrance.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

On first whiff I can really smell the Egyptian and white musks…this develops on skin over time and is a sexy, sultry intriguing part of the fragrance. There’s a touch of patchouli and spice adding to this which makes it sexy-cooling. I am also hit with some major ‘fresh and clean’ notes. Like a breezy layer on top of the sultry base. Reminiscent of the scent of shampoos I used as a kid…apple, orange, lavender, possibly a little peachy. Pretty, feminine, but somehow managing a womanly feel.

I feel like it has given me flashbacks of the bodyshop scents we wore in the 80s/90’s, first body lotions, special soaps, hairspray and the perfumes which came as part of make up sets. (Maybe a few cheaper ingredients in this one.) Descriptions and reviews mention woody, in particular cedar – I don’t get much…maybe some sandalwood…maybe a little cedar after 30mins or so.

Descriptions also mention addition of a ‘martini’ note…I’m not sure if that’s just marketing, but I agree, there is some subtle, salt/savoury edge (maybe a dirty martini) that keeps the sweet, clean musky frag from spreading too far and taking over a room, or in fact from being too ‘lovely’, and gives it more classy-sparkle. I’d call it a fresh floral musk, but putting my finger on which flower exactly deems almost impossible!! Rosewood? It is like a lighter version of Agent Provocateur’s first fragrance, less naughty, and without the depth.

Photo Stolen ShoppingHeavenDotNet

This fragrance is comfy, distinct and still classic in some way…wear it like your favourite jeans and heels combo, for any occasion, when you want to feel feminine AND comfortable.

Further reading: Scents Memory and Now Smell This
Fragrance Shop has $21/50ml
My Perfume Samples start at $2/ml

A 30ml bottle cost me $21. I almost DIED. At that price it is not only LOVELY but super affordable too. The packaging is so cute and great to throw in your handbag for use throughout the day as a top up. I am sure it would be great layered under or over some richer scents, especially with scents that don’t have much staying power…this one lingers and could in theory help hold those – have a play and let me know what works for you.

Ainslie Walker XXX

Stella by Jacques Cavallier for Stella McCartney 2003

February 17, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 14 Comments

Post by Maya

Hello APJ,

I have very little interest in most celebrity scents. I know it’s not fair and I am probably missing some very good fragrances, but there are too many out there and others interest me a lot more. Perfume is a thing of emotions and sometimes visual images for me. It appeals to senses other than smell, which is part of it’s beauty. It can evoke memories. It can awaken feelings. It can create new or revive old visual images. It can create or change a mood. Each scent does something different. Once in a while, I perceive a fragrance as color/s.

Stella by Jacques Cavallier for Stella McCartney 2003

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Tangerine, rose, peony, amber

I tried Stella by Stella McCartney out of simple curiosity and I’m glad I did. It is a scent that I see as shades of pink with a bit of bright yellow in it. It’s uncomplicated and demands nothing. There are times when that is exactly what I want. I also like that the rose smells natural, not artificial. On my skin, Stella opens as a bright rose with wisps of amber floating up. There are some subtle hints of barely-there mandarin. The amber warms up slightly as the scent progresses but the rose stays strong.

Photo Stolen UK in France Flickr

This is a spring and summer perfume for me. It’s bright sunshine and light. Stella is uplifting and cheerful and yes, pretty. I like to wear it when I’m out and about – shopping, doing errands, meeting a friend for lunch. I would actually wear it just about anywhere and I do. It’s one of my go-to perfumes.

After about 5 hours, it fades somewhat. It’s still there, but much closer to the skin and lingers for about another 3 hours. I can spritz and forget about it, knowing I will be surrounded by a lovely scent that is unlikely to offend anyone. I should add an interesting aside: to my nose, this is a true ROSE perfume, but several friends say that to them it’s a light floral and they can’t pick out any individual flowers including roses. They all like it though.

Photo Stolen DeviantArt

Further reading: Now Smell This
Beauty Encounter has $82/50ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $3/ml

Do you have any fun, easy to wear, go-to perfumes?

Maya x

Patchouli Intense by Patricia de Nicolai for Parfums de Nicolaï 2009

February 14, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 9 Comments

Hoiya Perfumed Peeps,

Going through my stuff in the cleanup I came across dozens of samples and manufacturers carded stuff that never got a sniff. I don’t know hot this one got overlooked, it’s on a huge card with beautiful pictures and this from Patricia de Nicolaï: Patchouli oil is an essential oil of great importance in my perfumer’s palette. Among all woody notes, it is the most sensuous. Here I wanted to work with patchouli in a very unusual way, with an accord rose-geranium, on a deep amber vanilla and incense body.

Patchouli Intense by Patricia de Nicolai for Parfums de Nicolaï 2009

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Patchouli, oakmoss, bergamot and musk

Oooh sizzling citrus rush at the open and then quickly it calms to a green, woodsy, earthy scent. No Essential Oil style patchouli from the oil burner here folks. This is forest floor in the just warming, still brisk weather. Sunlight dappled meanderings with no destination till tea time. Pretty and unisex, I can imagine Patchouli Intense could become very addictive if smelled on a new partner or someone you have recently met. It must be the combination of oakmoss and patchouli that gives such a parkland woods feeling. Though there are no flowers named I get some distinctly floral leanings mixed in too, like a marigold (tagettes) flower about half an hour after you crush/crumble it up. I keep thinking the word “verdant” and cannot for the life of me put it into a sentence that reads remotely real. Damnit! I think the word lovely and it does indeed conjure in my mind images of the merry growth spurt that is spring. Now that I’ve thought spring I also get a feeling from Patchouli Intense that is a lot like holding baby budgerigars when you are hand rearing them, they get a particular powdery, earthy, clean, alive smell as their feathers start to fuzz up. Though Patchouli Intense doesn’t smell like that, the feeling, the essence of the experience feels remarkably similar.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

Booze? I get a boozy, casual wisp of something alcoholic, maybe dark rum? It coruscates out through the earthy middle ground. I also get almond milk and something a little sweet. As Patchouli Intense dries down it dries out and gets a very lived in feel, a musky, dusky, dusty cooling like the inside of a forgotten attic filled with the scent of the death of books, leather, wood and fabrics. Then it starts to fade and somewhere between 5-6 hours I can no longer smell it at all.

I have found in my three wears that an extra spritz at the 3 hour mark will more than double the fragrant life of Patchouli Intense, I can spritz before dinner, eat, hang, sleep. Then when I wake up in the morning I can smell it all over again, beautiful and sensuous the patchouli and musk have made sexy smell babies. MMMMMMMM

Photo Stolen DeviantArt

Patricia de Nicolai has worked a wonder in this beautifully nuanced, soft but rugged, comfortable scent. It nods vigorously to mens cologne from a bygone era but is smoother, more sophisticated and easier to wear. This is the kind of scent I would have bought my Dad if he was still alive and Mum would have stolen more than half the bottle because it’s so good.

Further reading: Per Fumus
LuckyScent has $65/30ml
Parfum de Nicolai has €153/100ml

The more I wear Patchouli Intense the less masculine it reads to me, this is a totally unisex beauty, if you like a soft friendly patchouli then this could be the one.
Portia x

01/02 Vapeur de Tubéreuse by Julie Massé for Fragrance Republic 2013

February 13, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 14 Comments

Post by Poodle

Hi APJ,

When I was asked to sample a new perfume I jumped at the chance. I’m usually late to the party with most new releases. When I heard it was a tuberose scent my nostrils really perked up. Mmmmmm….. white florals.

01/02 Vapeur de Tubéreuse by Julie Massé for Fragrance Republic 2013

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: rose absolute
Heart: Tuberose absolute
Base: Cocoa résinoïde

Fragrance Republic 01/02 Vapeur de Tubéreuse is without a doubt a white floral but for those of you frightened by the BIG white florals out there, this might be just the ticket. The idea behind the scent was to create something light and airy, two words not usually connected with tuberose, and perfumer Julie Massé succeeded.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

Initially there’s a wonderful burst of flowers, white roses, tuberose and a touch of green leaves and stems which keeps it from being too, too much. There’s a fresh, just bloomed quality to it followed by a slight creamy softness. The other listed note is cocoa. I had some trouble really smelling it at first because I was looking for something sweet like hot cocoa. This cocoa is more like unsweetened baking cocoa. It’s there but it’s dry and earthier and seems to keep the flower notes from becoming too sweet or cloying. It wears somewhat linear on me with the cocoa becoming a little more apparent as it dries down.

Even at its most intense point the scent maintains an airy, wispy quality about it. That’s not to say you can’t smell it because you can. It just doesn’t have that heavy quality like some tuberose scents do. If the carnal aspect of tuberose perfumes has scared you in the past, fear not, this one is clean but not soapy. The creaminess of tuberose is there but it’s not overly sweet or heavy. I imagine this perfume would bloom beautifully in warmer weather. Also worth noting, on my scent eating skin I can still smell traces 3 hours later. For a lighter perfume that’s actually quite impressive on me.

Photo Stolen Mehul Antani Flickr

Vapeur de Tuberose isn’t a scent I’d normally be interested in because of that airy quality but, I have to be honest, I like it. Right now it’s well below freezing outside but when I sniff this perfume I think spring or summer and I also think brides. Seriously, this would be a great bridal scent. It’s feminine. It’s a scent that is easy to wear without it wearing you. The wispy quality to it calls to mind a veil of chiffon blowing in a floral scented breeze. It’s not a skin scent but it’s also not going to take over the room.

One other interesting thing to note is that my husband actually said I smelled fabulous. He very rarely comments on my perfumes so Vapeur de Tuberose will be in my rotation to give him a break from smelling my usual incense and woody scents.

Further reading: Chemist In A Bottle
Fragrance Republic has $45/15ml + $95/75ml

Until next time…
hugs
Poodle X

Muscs Koublai Khan by Christopher Sheldrake for Serge Lutens 1998

February 11, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 34 Comments

Post by Gabriella

So much has been written about this revered yet polarizing fragrance that I debated for quite a while whether it was worth adding my two cents to the conversation. But sometimes a fragrance is so moving and compelling that you just need to write about it. Serge Lutens’ Muscs Koublai Khan is one such fragrance.

Muscs Koublai Khan by Christopher Sheldrake for Serge Lutens 1998

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Civet, castroneum, cistus labdanum, ambergris, Morrocan rose, cumin, ambrette seed (musk mallow), costus root, patchouli

The scent begins with the oft talked about animalic civet blast but I don’t find it nearly as scary or ugly as some reviews would lead me to believe. In fact, this whoosh of unripe skankiness is something that I find quite compelling and thoroughly enjoyable. Muscs Koublai Khan is very much a jolie-laide fragrance: it’s the nerdy, not very good looking guy that you initially dismissed in your early twenties only to find out when you’re 32 that he is he is the crazy, charismatic guy, full of depth, adventure and the one you should have picked all along. As the cliché says, beauty is only skin deep and so it is with this fragrance.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

Given that, Muscs Koublai Khan takes some time to unfold its captivating charm completely. All the unwashed notes of the opening do indeed transport the wearer to other worlds and olden times when women and men roamed the land, ready for battle clad in loincloths; invincible in their leathery hirsute armour. The fetid character also transports me back to sometime in my not too distant past, say the late 1970s or early 1980s, when it was still ok for women to have a fur coat. I would go to my Mum’s closet and smell the slightly mildewed aroma of her cast off handbags sitting in garbage bags ready for a garage sale and her mink coat smothered in dry cleaning sheets. The slightly perfumed mothballed aroma of the fur spoke of sparkled nights and unspoken deeds.

Photo Stolen Who Cares? Flickr

Underlying all this unripeness is a blast of cedar and the composition then becomes considerably more sotto voce: all soft honeyed rose and the smell of salty damp skin after a night of passion and romp. Mr M immediately dismissed Muscs Koublai Khan as something rank and I hate to say that most of my close circle of friends would probably have the same aghast reaction. Thus, Muscs Koublai Khan is destined to be a very personal scent for me: one when I choose to shut out my benign petiteness and become a warrior princess: six foot tall, bound in swathes of tight leather and high heels and just completely indestructible.

Photo Stolen DeviantArt

Further reading: Bois de Jasmin and The Non Blonde
Muscs is now back in the Paris Exclusives line, but export spray bottles can still be found online. Amazon has it at $113.99/50ml
Surrender to Chance starts at $4/0.5ml

What’s your take on MKK? Are there any skanky scents you love?

With much love till next time!!

M x

L’Heure Attendue by Henri Almeras for Jean Patou 1946

February 9, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 11 Comments

Post by Greg Young

When I visit op shops and second hand shops, I make a habit of scanning the place for bottles and fragrances, just in case. Mostly I find used minis of varying levels of desirability. Sometimes, very occasionally, luck can be a lot more generous. I was idly browsing through the cabinets in an antiques market a while ago. My eye was originally drawn to a large full flacon of Monsieur Rochas, which sadly turned out to only have coloured water in it. As I idly scanned the rest of the cabinet, I noticed this nestled amongst a few other nondescript empty bottles.

L’Heure Attendue by Henri Almeras for Jean Patou 1946

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Basenotes reviewer gives these notes:
Top: Lily-of-the-valley, geranium, lilac
Heart: Ylang-ylang, jasmine, rose, opopanax
Base: Mysore sandalwood, vanilla, patchouli

L’heure attendue. The time that we’ve been waiting for. The name of this perfume celebrates the liberation of France from the Nazi occupation.

After many years of rationing and deprivation during the war years, the Parisian design houses burst forth with an exuberance that was designed to make people forget the hard times, and revel in finally having access to an abundance of pretty and beautiful things one again. Dior’s New Look of 1947 typified this trend, using swathes of previously scarce fabrics to create an ornate and romantic new fashion. The elegant amphora design of the original Miss Dior bottle also echoed a move towards the ornate from wartime-induced privation.

(Photo credit http://www.dior.com/magazine/ge_de/News/Miss-Dior-Staying-In-Line)

In the same sentiment, the house of Jean Patou released L’heure Attendue in 1946. As the photos show, the bottle was highly ornate and luxurious. This formulation of L’heure Attendue is very rare, being discontinued around 1956. As you can see, the bottle is intact, with even some of the decorative tassel left, and the stopper still fits tight. The bottle’s curves and detailing show clear influences of Art Deco design, but moving slightly in Dior’s direction; the stopper bears comparison with Dior’s, but I think Dior’s amphora design uses a feminine styling that reflected Dior’s wasp-waisted models, whereas Patou’s 1946 bottle design is clearly influenced by the geometric sweeps and fine detailing of classic Art Deco designs such as the Chrysler Building.

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

The box is in good shape apart from some peeling, but significant staining has occurred on the front. Shame, because it can’t be hidden if you want to display the interior of the packaging (which I do). I suppose I could always imagine that this is an antique coffee stain left by some chic French lady sipping cafe au lait on the Champs-Elysee. Like the bottle, this is very much an Art Deco design, but a lot plainer and more utilitarian. The cream, gold and royal blue of the packaging is very elegant, and complements the much more ornate bottle styling very well.

Most of the perfume remains in bottle. The colour of the juice is a deep amber and still looks attractive enough, compared to the inky murk of the vintage Gilvo I wrote about a while back on APJ. The juice is consistent and there are no sediments. Without another bottle to compare to, I can’t really say if this is the colour it is supposed to look like. I suspect not, as some degradation has almost certainly occurred in the 50-60 years since this was opened.

It’s described on Fragrancenet as a floral chypre. When I sniff my bottle, I get a big, deep blast of what seems to me to be rich, white florals; I think what I am smelling are the heart notes, made richer by the sweet myrrh. It seems very old-fashioned and feminine, but there doesn’t seem to be anything there that you would find objectionable. Not being a connoisseur, it’s a bit hard for me to say.

This perfume is so extremely feminine that I’m simply not game to wear it, so I can’t tell you if the base notes are intact. I guess I will need a Melbourne-based femme to volunteer and help me write a postscript to this story.

Further reading: The Non Blonde and Perfume Shrine

Greg X

N.B. All photos by the author unless otherwise stated.

Champs-Élysées by Jean Paul Guerlain 1996

February 8, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 51 Comments

Hey there Frag Hags,

So much hate for this lovely scent. I have managed to find a couple of other lovers in further reading but the majority don’t like it. Apparently people think it loud, really? I just don’t get loud…..

Champs Elysees by Jean Paul Guerlain 1996

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Blackcurrant, almond, anise, melon, peach, violet
Heart: Lilac, lily of the valley, hibiscus, almond flower, rose, mimosa, peony
Base: Almond tree, cedar, benzoin, vanilla, sandalwood

I have a story, it’s a little bit embarrassing because I’m worried you are all going to kick me to the perfumista curb. I have Champs-Élysées in EdT, EdP and Parfum strengths and also have the body wash. I love it so much and you can get it at the discounters for NOTHING!! Like, seriously, they almost pay you to take their excess stock off their hands. I bet there are a dedicated few who love and wear Champs-Élysées almost exclusively and they are going to be GUTTED when it dies the death of the unloved scent, discontinuation. My belief is that 10 years after this is axed it will be worth a fortune. That core of lovers will be bereft and RICH.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

Today I’m wearing a 2011 Champs-Élysées EdP, it’s the 75ml and while I adore the bottle design, to me it harks back to the art deco era but there is a stupid, ugly whilt plastic shoulder and neck that gives the air of a budget $3 “Smells Like” scent from the dollar shop.

Straight out of the gate I get a watery melon backed up by the soft waxy plastic feel of mimosa, that recedes into the background quite quickly as a sweet milky green-ness flows through. Champs-Élysées is so GIRLY! Soft , fresh, innocent and totally animalic or humanity free. The cleanest of all my Guerlains I can understand why hardcore perfumistas eschew its sheer, even prim and airy charms, there is only floating, no heft or pushiness, just a breeze blowing through that happens to be beautifully scented. The almonds milk stays softly insistent through Champs-Élysées life and is the closest thing to a grounding force that it has. This is what 60% of the celebuscents are trying to be and I can imagine it being a perfect first grown up fragrance for a teen or tween.

Fortunately Guerlain, while keeping Champs-Élysées light and youthful, has done it with such a deft hand that it is ageless, the lilacs and peonies through the heart blend beautifully with the return of mimosa and if you are 16 or 600 years old I think you will be pleased, if this is what you are after. Normally my skin sweetens scents but here I get the almonds all the way through and the woods and vanilla play only supporting roles as an amorphous chorus.

Surprisingly, for something so ethereal and wispy, Champs-Élysées has good longevity and 5-6 hours go by before I lose the scent completely. The sillage is quite mild as is the projection, I think you could wear Champs-Élysées to work as long as the space is not confined or your workplace completely fragrance averse. Really, I don’t get the loud thing, not loud on me at all.

Further reading: Scents Of Self and EauMG
Beauty Encounter has $20/30ml EdT, $55/50ml EdP and $125/30ml Parfum
Surrender To Chance only have $5/.5ml Parfum

Are you a Champs Elysees lover or a hater? Please leave your feelings and a short why in the comments. No judgements made on any answers, either way, as long as you keep it respectful.
Portia xx

The below photo is me standing outside Guerlain 68 Champs-Élysées, Jin and I decided to leave it to the last night we were in Paris February 2013. That afternoon it closed for renovation!! I KNOW!! This photo was the last thing done just before I broke down crying like a little bitch. Poor Jin, he had his hands full. It still makes me sad, thank goodness I have been back to Paris, in fact all going to plan I have just left it for London. From the Sydney Summer of my writing I have everything crossed that this time I will have been able to cross the threshold.

Le Temps d’Une Fête by Patricia de Nicolai for Parfums de Nicolaï 2007

February 7, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 14 Comments

Hey Gorgeously Fragrant People.

Le Temps d’Une Fête (Time for a Party) is a fragrance I discovered through The Muse In Wooden Shoes, who adores it and writes so lovingly of it that I really felt I would like to know it but it was always shunted out of the Shopping Basket at the end of an online shopping extravaganza in favour of something more pressing. Then came the news that it would be either discontinued, or made limited distribution, and I realised it may be now or never.

Le Temps d’Une Fête by Parfums de Nicolaï 2007

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Galbanum, opoponax
Heart: Narcissus, jasmine
Base: Oakmoss, sandalwood, patchouli, woody notes

Phwoar!! Just recently I was lucky enough to grab an old bottle of Le Temps d’Une Fête and the difference in opening sequence is astounding. Here I find immediate and awesome ZWOOOSH of narcissus, like you’ve crushed a flower in your hand with back ups by the resins creating a feeling of leaf pulp too, maybe even a bit of bulb. I also get a fruity, fun and waxy vibe floating through. More intense and deeper than my current edition, which I like very much BTW but they are like two similar sisters. If you were to meet them solo they would look alike but to see them together there are a bunch of differences. Patricia de Nicolai has made this very spare note list work super hard and Le Temps d’Une Fête is a full bodied sensual diva of a fragrance, in both old and new forms but now I completely understand where The Muse In Wooden Shoes is devastated at the changes.

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

Someone on Fragrantica describes Le Temps d’Une Fête as having “pollen like skankiness” and I think that sums the earlier hour or so but as it starts to head into its late heart/early dry down that skankiness becomes the clearest ringing bell of narcissus, so lovely and so innocent smelling. Like a young person on the verge of discovery, restrained, pretty, sweet even but underneath beats a heart just learning its power.

The base reads warm, soft and buttery for me. It may be the summer heat that gives it that feeling. What I do get through the whole life of Le Temps d’Une Fête is a shine, luminescence, radiance, a feeling that something wonderful could happen while wearing it. Time for a Party? Yes indeed!

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

I get around 4-5 hours from Le Temps d’Une Fête, though the last hour is not really fragrance but a hint that I smelled quite good earlier. First two hours had good projection and sillage before in moved to a quieter register and began the fade. Where would I wear Le Temps d’Une Fête? Date night, as a pick me up, reading, shopping, cleaning. Anything that could be enhanced by smelling beyond incredible is a good time for a sneaky spritz.

Further reading: Bois de Jasmin and Now Smell This
LuckyScent still has it $45/30ml and $115/100ml
Surrender To Chance starts at $3/ml

Have you spent some time with Le Temps d’Une Fête? Did you think it was time for a party?
See you tomorrow,
Portia xx

Still Life by Dora Baghriche-Arnaud for Olfactive Studio 2011

February 6, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 11 Comments

Post by TinaG

Hi APJ,

One of the many blessings in my life is having whole new landscapes of experience opened up to me through investigation of fragrance. In a lot of respects I still feel very much like a “newbie” and can’t believe how lucky I am when friends drop the topic of perfume into a conversation, or hand me a sample, or take the long way round to lunch through a few shops to try new things. Portia kindly gifted me with a sample set from Olfactive Studio, who are a niche perfume company run by Founder and Creative Director Céline Verleure, with headquarters in Paris. The sample set included Autoportrait, Still Life, Chambre Noir, and Lumière Blanche.

Still Life by Dora Baghriche-Arnaud for Olfactive Studio 2011

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Yuzu, elémi, pink pepper, black pepper, Sichuan pepper
Heart: Star anise, galbanum
Base: Dark rum, cedarwood, ambrox

Usually when I am looking into new perfumes, I’ll do a bit of research on ingredients and accords and work out what it is that I “should” be finding. This time I decided to take a different approach, and to test cold, to see what story the fragrance was going to tell me. First perfume out of the box was Still Life.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

On first spray I encounter a bright harmony of sharp and sweet citruses and peppery notes, containing something slightly resiny and green. Although the top notes in Still Life are full of pepper – pink, black and Sichuan, they are balanced as a supportive counterpoint rather than a triple-barrelled shotgun. After half an hour some warmer notes come through, and all of a sudden I have an image in my head of the inside of an old school desk draw, cedarwood with the ink and pencils and paper that it holds.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

Traditionally in life drawings, “Still Life” subjects are typically fruit or flowers, but the warmth of the drydown as the citrus fades brings a feeling that the fruit bowl has now been overlooked, gently moved to one side for a subject with softer curves and skin. At four hours, I get a sense of focused calmness. There is a lot of wood and furniture, sunlight falling thick with dusty flecks through a closed window, and a female model posing half reclined on a soft sofa. But there is such an intense presence of that moment in time – she being relaxed, daydreaming but enjoying being observed, and the artist who is showing appreciation of her curves with every stroke of the pencil. However, the purpose of the moment is also its totality, and there is no sense of time passing – there is no before or after, no anticipation of “what next”. Just this rich, warm, sensual atmosphere captured in a bubble of time.

Photo Stolen Ben Sutherland Flickr

So, here I am in the middle of the day, overwhelmed and slightly disorientated by the strength of the image that this fragrance has managed to evoke. But how? How has that kind of beautiful false memory been triggered? One of the basenotes in Still Life, ambrox, I’m not at all familiar with so I do some research. Perfume Shrine describes ambrox: “(ambrox)…oscillates between an impression of ambergris (salty, smooth, skin-like), creamy musky & labdanum-like …something that smells warm, oddly mineral and sweetly inviting… approximating a person’s aura rather than a specific component…” Wow. That quite accurately explains how this story unfolded for me with Still Life. What a wonderful ride.

Further reading: Olfactoria’s Travels and Scentrist
Olfactive Studio has €85/50ml
LuckyScent has $195/100ml
Surrender To Chance has $20/the boxed set of four 1.2ml manufacturers samples

Tina G

24 Faubourg by Maurice Roucel for Hermès 1995

February 2, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 25 Comments

Hi to you Lovers of Fine Fragrance,

My mate Birgit (Olfactoria’s Travels) sometimes has amazing clearances from her Frag Wardrobe and last year I snaffled this little beauty from her. I think she grabbed the Limited edition bottle and knew two was more than she’d ever use. COOL! I have often nearly bought 24 Faubourg but there seemed to be something more pressing at each near buy and it was deferred, now it’s mine (Cue evil laugh and gratuitous hand wringing Mwa HA haaaaa HAAAAAAAaaaa)

24 Faubourg by Maurice Roucel for Hermès 1995

Photo Stolen Hermès

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Orange, peach, bergamot, yalan ylang, hyacinth
Heart: Black elder, iris, jasmine, gardenia, orange blossom
Base: Sandalwood, amber, patchouli, vanilla

What I get in the opening is ylang, peach and sweat, like a beautifully perfumed person has gone a little bit long without a shower and they’ve added more fragrance instead of a bath. Maybe 24 Faubourg even smells like the smell of perfume on a scarf the next morning, beautiful, elegant, memorable and a little tired. It is so good, without being totally in your face, that tiny hint of bed head, that après un rapport sexuel (probably a terrible translation by google).

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

The berries/citrus doesn’t really appear on me till well into the heart and seems woven through the white floral accord so beautifully that it’s hard to separate anything. Currently I am sitting in 31C (88F) inside the house! The fan is doing a lovely job and 24 Faubourg is sublime. I sit in a fragrant cloud of what feels like big money, old money. There’s a dry rustle of patchouli and amber towards the end that I feel is missing some of its buttery goodness from a cool temp wearing.

In this heat I’m lucky to get two hours of fragrant wear before 24 Faubourg becomes a sheer patina of woodsy vanilla that will then stay around another two to three hours and slowly fade away to nothing.

Photo Stolen Wikimedia

By the time you read this I will be in frozen Europe, Paris by now and I have lunch at Guerlain, 68 Champs Elysees booked with Neela, a catch up with Denyse Beaulieu, off to do a private English class at the Osmotheque and stomp around Versailles and hopefully two full mornings in the Louvre. YAY! Sometimes I can’t believe my good fortune.

Further reading: Olfactoria’s Travels and The Perfume Magazine
You can buy 24 Faubourg online at Hermès Hermès World Site Page<<<JUMP
Surrender To Chance starts at $3/ml

Is 24 Fauberg in your collection? When do you wear it? What magical fantasies does it give you?

Portia xx

I know this is late but I love it. Hermès shoes! YES PLEASE!!!

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Still Life by Dora Baghriche-Arnaud for Olfactive Studio 2011

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24 Faubourg by Maurice Roucel for Hermès 1995

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