Blackbird by Ellen Covey for Olympic Orchids 2013

August 12, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 22 Comments

Post by Azar

“BLACKBIRD” AT BLACKBIRD

Hello Perfume Junkies and Indie Lovers,

Today I have news about a wonderful new fragrance debut here in the Pacific Northwest. On Saturday, July 13th, at the Blackbird Apothecary (in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle) Ellen Covey celebrated the third anniversary of Olympic Orchids Artisan Perfumes and introduced her latest fragrance “Blackbird”.

Outside of the Blackbird Apothecary the Ballard Seafood Fest was in full swing. Inside, happy perfumistas enjoyed a cool and fragrant haven. Ellen’s line of fragrances were tastefully displayed along the walls. Blooming orchids decorated the tables set with cheeses, wines and champagne.

As soon as I walked through the doors I headed straight for the new “Blackbird” fragrance. Ellen sprayed the perfume glass and I generously doused my upper arm with the cabernet colored 25% concentrated elixir.

Photo Stolen MorgueFile

The following notes are listed on Olympic Orchids website,
Himalayan blackberry fruit, dry grass and leaves, elemi, cedar wood and resin, amber, fir balsam absolute, musk.

The first notes on my skin were a combination of very ripe blackberries and sweet, dry grass. Ellen used real Himalayan blackberries to create “Blackbird”. These same Himalayan blackberries (Rubus armeniacus) are everywhere in the PNW and, despite their delicious fruit, are considered noxious weeds, perhaps because they have overtaken the even tastier native Pacific blackberries (Rubus ursinus). The blackberry and grass top notes combined with amber to create an almost gourmand and seasonal scent of place, summertime in Seattle.

Photo Stolen MorgueFile

The blackberry, grass and a little amber stayed relatively close to my skin and were later joined by a refreshing combination of cedar and balsam fir. “Blackbird” worked for me like a breeze through an orchard or vineyard. The sillage, as I mentioned before, was quite intimate. Regarding longevity: I was enjoying “Blackbird” well into the evening.

Congratulations to Ellen Covey on her third anniversary and on this beautiful addition to her line. Olympic Orchids’ new “Blackbird” is at once dry and sweet, sensual and refreshing, an incense-jam of a fragrance, gorgeous, relaxing and intimate.

Photo Stolen Olympic Orchids

“Blackbird” is available for purchase on the Olympic Orchids website. A 30ml Parfum will only cost you $68. That is an amazing price.

Here are a couple of questions. Do you have a favorite Olympic Orchids scent? And/or were you in Ballard for the Blackbird event?

Azar

Songe D’Un Bois D’Ete by Thierry Wasser for Guerlain 2012

August 11, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 28 Comments

Hey there Crew,

Sometimes when I am in touch with Birgit from Olfactoria’s Travels she might mention a bottle or two that I love and she is ready to let loose, just such a one as this. I can tell she loved it for a while because there is a fair amount missing, sometimes tastes change or something along a similar vein eclipses your current bottle, a million reasons. Maybe you need to sell off a few to buy a newby, always an excellent way of keeping stuff loved and in rotation.

Songe D’Un Bois D’Ete by Guerlain 2012

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Cedar, jasmine, saffron, cardamom, laurel, oud, myrrh, patchouli, leather

BaseNotes gives theese featured accords:
Top: Laurel, Neroli
Heart: Jasmine, Patchouli, Saffron, Cedar
Base: Leather, Myrrh

Perfume Shrine tells me that Songe D’Un Bois D’Ete means Dreaming of a Summery Wood, cool summer evening maybe? Summer doesn’t really fit for me to be honest perhaps Autumn? Maybe that’s the dreaming bit? Dreaming in Autumn and Winter of the memories of a Summer wood but surrounded by the scents of winter. OK I’m on board with that. I love the beaded curtain on the bottle with tiny little Guerlain logos and bees, also the Arabic/French writing and the squarish, spare design that you can fit loads of on a shelf. Did I mention the box this comes in? It’s so ridiculously luxe all by itself.

Photo Stolen WikiCommons

Opening up I get honeyed sweets, like baklava or sugary real Turkish Delight (some days it’s more a candied citrus) with woods and fairly early on I also get a patchouli/oudh vibe that runs baseline. Songe D’Un Bois D’Ete is woodsy and sensual, spicy, and a little waxy. It washes over me in warm, elegant waves like toffee, making everything seem fluid and the air thick. Imagine looking into a brightly lit room through 1970s amber glass, a teinte, a glow, a wash of luminous whiskey coloured grandeur. Thierry Wasser has made something regal that throws such a luscious nod to the middle east but is ensconced firmly in the heart of Paris, the oudh/patchouli clean and dinner suited. How has he made these notes into a gourmand, I seriously want to eat myself up. There are some hints of smoke and the sweaty green of cardamom/cumin adding depth and variation through Songe D’Un Bois D’Ete life.

Photo Stolen LASZLO ILYES Flickr

Through my wear I am most conscious of how amazingly international I smell. It’s as if all the sweet, delicious and pretty pieces of the middle east have been distilled into a fragrance. No dust or desert, not super sweet rose or oily, cloying, heavy and dark fragrance, no camels, tents, sand or oasis. Songe D’Un Bois D’Ete is sheer but still super fragrant, it’s like Mr Wasser has added air and space to the denseness of what we expect from the middle east. So wearable and still unusual. Guerlain from top to bottom: but 21st century Guerlain.

The deep dry down is clean sweaty skin, softest, most loved, old suede and resinous myrrh but that is far, far, far into the future. Next morning there are still viable traces of Songe D’Un Bois D’Ete. What a fragrance. Wear it everywhere if you dare.

Photo Stolen BBC.UK

Further reading: The Non Blonde and Olfactoria’s Travels looks at the three Les Déserts d’Orient collection
PlaceVendome in Belguim has €190/75ml and also sends to the world (Birgit bought my bottle there)
Universal Perfumes has Les Déserts d’Orient collection $276/75ml and send to the world
Surrender To Chance has Songe D’Un Bois D’Ete from $4.60/.5ml or has Les Déserts d’Orient 3 x .5ml from $13

Have you tried any of the three Les Déserts d’Orient? What was your favourite? Would you like to?
Till tomorrow we at APJ wish you health, wealth and happiness, and the ability to see them all when they come.
Portia xx

L’Heure Bleue EdP by Raymond Guerlain 1912

August 11, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 21 Comments

Hey there Perfumed Peeps,

Tonight I’m giving my fresh bathed skin L’Heure Bleue, the modern EdP from Madeleine’s reject pile. I am totally ignoring my many other new frags for Madeleine’s unloved babies, they are seeing more wear time than anything else right now, even though I’ve still not finished opening bottles from my various travels this year. I am officially a TRAGIC, GREEDY, FRAG HOARDER!!!

L’Heure Bleue EdP (2011) by Raymond Guerlain 1912

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Lemon, neroli, aniseed, bergamot, coriander
Heart: Bulgarian rose, carnation, tuberose, violet, cloves, ylang, orchid, heliotrope, neroli
Base: Vanilla, Tonka bean, iris, musk, vetiver, sandalwood, benzoin

There has been much talk of reformulation, IFRA regs etc, especially around some of our long term favourite and historical hallmark perfumes. L’Heure Bleue is a case in point, especially because last year was its centenary and that century has seen so many changes in fashion, materials and consumers taste. My oldest L’Heure Bleue in the collection only goes back to the 1980s and is an EdT. What happens on my skin with the modern EdP?

There is no denying that even in the 30 years across my L’Heure Bleue collection that it is changed. The opening is still definitively Guerlain, all sugared citrus candy and adding in the very slight spicy/herbal tinge. In fact for me the openings are the most similar part of the fragrance life. I can’t parse all the flowers for you but the bouquet is still gorgeous and beyond. Lighter, floatier, fluffier: the powders are silken soft and they waft gently in spring breezes compared to the heft and depth of the vintage. More floral and its lasting power is considerable less. It still has something glorious and fun, like eating PEZ in a bakery’s back alley. MMMMMMM

Photo Stolen WikiCommons

It has had some of it’s animalics and dirty back end amputated and towards the very dry down end in about 5-6 hours, depending, I get a very clean laundry musk that first wear surprised the freakin’ shit out of me. It is nice but not something I expect from a Guerlain, maybe a Body Shop. Really, it’s not offensive, just unexpected.

Wearing the current L’Heure Bleue is fear free. I find it polite and wearable in most situations and it has moderate to low sillage now, with good wear life. I will be interested to see how it changes over the next 30 years. If I am extremely lucky.If L’Heure Bleue was released today as it is currently I think we would love it and it would probably come out in the Guerlain exclusives line, especially with DIOR’s Milly-la-Foret and CHANEL’s 28 La Pausa being popular powdery releases by the big guns.

Further reading: Bois de Jasmin and Olfactoria’s Travels
Fragrance Shop has $74/75ml EdP
Surrencer To Chance starts at $3/ml EdP

Have you smelled any of the L’Heure Bleue formulations or strengths? Which is your favourite?
Till tomorrow, waft fragrantly,
Portia xx

Black (Ananda) by Jean-Claude Astier for M. Micallef 2011

August 9, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 12 Comments

Hello APJ Family and Friends,

Recently they had a 20% off sale at Parfum1 and I had been lemming this bottle for a while, so I naughtily purchased. Some people call this Black and some Black Ananda, maybe because the original white bottle was called Ananda.

Black by M. Micallef 2011

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Amalfi lemon, bitter orange, plum
Heart: Jasmine, tuberose, neroli, ylang ylang
Base: Musk, powder, benzoin, vanilla

Before I write about the fragrance I have to tell you the packaging is seriously gorgeous and the bottle feels like a million dollars when you pick it up. The Drag Queen in me adores the cognac rhinestones on the matte black porcelain bottle and the lid is a harem girls dream. Seriously. I know how shallow that is but couldn’t give a rats, this bottle is beautiful.

Black opens prettily perfumey, it is softer and less intrusive than I expected from its packaging, the plum taking dominance over the citrus. There is so much space between the notes, so sheer, a pastel scarf of finest gauzy silk Georgette. My skin gives an interesting brown sugar waft as the opening slides into the heart. Here we have white flowers being slightly indolic, a little bit retro, and the fragrance gets a touch more oomph but is still extremely ambient, a feeling of space and lightness, introverted fragrance that generates the kind of heft that you expect from body products. It’s close and personal. I can tell Black by M. Micallef has used some good product in the juice, the composition is seamless (so sheer it is hard to tell imperfections really) and clean. What I am most reminded of is a less milky Burberry Brit (towards the end of BBs life), it has a similar spare musky/vanillic/floral wash. For most perfumistas I think Black by M. Micallef will be a big fat yawn.

Photo Stolen MySuperficialEndeavours

Maybe as a gateway frag from some of the extremely barely there white musks of Bodyshop etc this would seem a logical step, good for a grown up scent for young girls who have only had those before. Also if you want to feel laundry fresh all day but without being definitively laundry, but close.

Surprisingly for the lack of fragrance Black by M. Micallef lasts well, this is the PERFECT scent if you really want to have perfume but work in a frag phobic environment. Also good for people who don’t really like scent but wear it because ,”It’s the thing you do”. The bottle alone is worth having as a piece of art and looks killer in the bathroom, recently on Perfume of Life there was a conversation about growing up surrounded by people who had The One And Only Perfect Bottle of scent that was displayed on dressers or in bathrooms. If you are that kind of person then Black by M. Micallef could be the bottle for you.

Photo Stolen mararie on Flickr (not the Black bottle)

My question to M. Micallef is how can Black be packaged in this outrageous black, gold and cognac diamond bottle? There is a TOTAL disconnect between the enclosure and the juice. It’s like putting Gendarme into the bottle above when you would expect an Amouage/Lutens/Vermeire/Tauer, weird! It reminds me of the Coco Noir conundrum.

Further reading: I could only find sellers who have written about Black. Sandra on Olfactoria’s Travels does a beautiful job with the original Ananda though
Parfum1 has $115/30ml
Surrender To Chance starts at $7/ml

Are you a Micallef fan? Are there any in their range that you adore? Maybe you’ve tried black? What are your thoughts?

Have a lovely fragrant day,
Portia xx

Strawberry Passion Green by Kedra Hart for Skye Botanicals 2012

August 7, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 17 Comments

Post by Dionne

Hello APJ,

“Why Don’t You Ever Smell Like Strawberries?” My oldest son, Bones, asked me that one day about three years ago when he was 17. I’d fallen down the rabbit hole about six months previously, and was still in the first flush of my new obsession: chatting about perfume incessantly and lifting my wrist as a smell offering to anyone who walked through my front door.

Photo Stolen WikiCommons

My husband, The Engineer, and Archimedes (then 15) were interested, and each would eventually discover fragrances for himself that he liked, but Bones just didn’t get it. I have to give him credit that even at the age of 17 he showed enough self-restraint not to tell me how silly he thought the whole thing was, but I’m willing to bet he worked hard not to roll his eyes whenever I proffered a wrist.

When he asked why I wasn’t wafting strawberries, my response at the time was a sarcastic, “Because I’m not a seventeen year-old girl.” To me the question seemed ludicrous; strawberries made me think of Bonne Bell Lip Smackers and Strawberry Shortcake and I, well *I* was a serious perfumista, discovering that iris and incense smelled fantastic on me and getting packages from France and Switzerland and England. Good grief, did he think I shopped at Bath & Body Works?

I cringe a bit now when I type that and face my past snobbery. It’s quite ironic too, when you consider my present love for Pulp, Bombay Bling, Pear + Olive, Philosykos, Bronze Goddess and that apple note in Wazamba. So thankfully I was past my anti-fruit snobbery by 2012 when Monica Miller of Skye Botanicals announced her Strawberry Passion Project.

Strawberry Passion Green by Skye Botanicals

Photo Stolen Perfume Pharmer

PerfumePharmer gives these featured accords:
Top: Pink Pepper/Red Mandarin/Bergamot/Tangerine/ Lemon/ Natural Ivy Accord
Heart : Rose/Tuberose/Boronia/ White Water Lily/ Black Currant/ Natural Peach Accord/ Natural Strawberry Accord
Base: Green Tea/ Amber/ Sandalwood/ Patchouli/ Vanilla/ Vetiver/ Oakmoss/ Beach Found Ambergris

If I understand correctly, the project came about because she’d created some strawberry flower essence at her home in Martha’s Vineyard – flower essences don’t have a smell – and approached Kedra Hart of Opus Oils to create an all-natural strawberry perfume to go with the essence. In the end, two of the mods were so good she offered them to reviewers as semi-finalists with the names Cream and Green, and you could buy samples from her Etsy store.

Cream didn’t get along with my skin chemistry (a pretty common occurrence for me, unfortunately), but oh, that Green! I tend to pull out the sweet notes in a fragrance, so it’s not as green-smelling on me as most of the reviewers reported, but there’s a hint of leaf and stem in there. As I read the list of notes provided, I must admit my nose is not good enough to pick up the disparate threads of pink pepper and mandarin and boronia and tuberose and other ingredients. Basically, I get the most amazing and natural strawberry smell overtop a rich base of vanilla and sandalwood. Holy cow, this is sensual stuff; every time I wear it I get compliments.

Photo Stolen Tricia Flickr

And I have to give major props to the perfumer Kedra Hart. First off, for the 2013 Fifi nomination in the Indie category. But even more than that, this has truly phenomenal sillage and longevity for a natural perfume. Seriously, how did you pull that off? Ten hours in, I still smell fantastic. In fact, even though it’s EDP, I find it wears more like a parfum and prefer it dabbed to sprayed.

Photo Stolen michellehebert Flickr

Considering the fact that 30ml is $115 at Monica’s Etsy store, that’s a fantastic deal. My bottle is going to last me a looooong time. It’s a good thing I’ll never be too old to wear it.

Dione x

(Ed: Dionne is off camping with her lovely family so she may take a day to respond to your messages, Please do leave a “hello” because sometimes it’s nice to get a line to the real world when you’ve gone bush)

Strawberry Passion Green comes in sample form, a 6ml purse spray and a 30ml bottle.

Neroli Neroli Neroli

August 6, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 27 Comments

Post by Suzanne R Banks

Neroli Neroli Neroli

Neroli, neroli, neroli. I love it, I love it, I love it.

The oil is produced from the blossom of Citrus aurantia ssp amara or bigarade. It is a powerful, beautifully enchanting blossom fragrance with a little spice and bitter-sweet citrus.

It is an oil that is precious and expensive to make and therefore is mostly sold in a 3% blend. (see my article “Essential Oils 3% in Jojoba – What are they, and Why?” for more information on 3% blends).

Photo stolen WikiCommons

In the world of essential oils and plant-based medicine it is a relative newcomer. While some herbs and oils have been used for thousands of years (lavender, myrrh, frankincense, cypress for example), this scent was made popular in Italy in the 1700′s. The story goes that “by the end of the 17th century, Anne Marie Orsini, duchess of Bracciano and princess of Nerola, Italy, introduced the essence of bitter orange tree as a fashionable fragrance by using it to perfume her gloves and her bath. Since then, the term “neroli” has been used to describe this essence.”

The principality of Nerola is close to Rome where the Princess really worked the diplomacy angle in the Italian capital, securing her future in the courts of France, Spain and Rome. The essence was used particularly in Venice to ward off water born viruses and nasties. She later changed her name and title (when the duke of Bracciano died) to Marie Anne de La Trémoille, princesse des Ursins. Apparently the title was created by herself and had no real credit, but her influence in politics remained until her death.

Photo Stolen Flickr

Thank goodness she was a scented visionary and left us with a love of this beautiful flower and perfume.

In aromatherapy neroli is therapeutically used for –

* relieving tension and anxiety, depression and melancholy

* sleeplessness

* improving the look and feel of facial skin by reducing the look of small capillaries

* some claims say it can be beneficial in treating muscle spasms and is also used in heart patients – massaged over the heart

Neroli is best used therapeutically as a sedating agent and for a treatment against anxiety and depression. Perhaps the small white flower allows one to open to the simple beauty of life.

Photo Stolen Pixabay

Try these recipes:

1. Facial Oil

Use Neroli 3% straight from the bottle as a moisturiser or an overnight treatment. The scent will be heavenly and will soothe and calm your skin.

2. Pure Pulse Point Perfume

Once again use this oil straight from the bottle as a perfume. I always get comments when I wear Neroli as it appeals to men and women.

3. Nourishing Body Oil

Add these oils to 3 teaspoons of carrier oil for an all-over body moisturiser –

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

“Princess”

Neroli 3% 21 drops

Photo Stolen Flickr

“Feminine Power”

Neroli 3% 9 drops

Cardamon 1 drop

Rosewood 3 drops

Photo Stolen Flickr

“Influence”

Neroli 3% 9 drops

Fennel 1 drop

Patchouli 1 drop

Orange 2 drops

Photo Stolen WikiCommons

Remember to use your intention when making a blend or using an essential oils as a perfume. You will be creating your life!

Suzanne R Banks

Suzanne R Banks Blog
Suzanne R Banks Aromatherapy
Suzanne R Banks FaceBook

Burberry Brit Parfum by Nathalie Cracia-Getto 2003

August 4, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 15 Comments

Hey there Stink Monkeys,

Recently they had a big sale at Parfum1 and I wanted to know what they had done to Burberry Brit that made them want to produce it as an extrait version. Even why they did it has me baffled, unless it was made purely to sell as a top of the range glam moment for men to buy their girlies when hunting for that elusive something that says “I know you, your taste and want the best for you.”

Burberry Brit Parfum 2003

Photo Stolen 99Perfume

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Green lemon, pear, almond
Heart: White peony
Base: Vanilla, amber, mahogany, tonka bean

The Burberry box and the bottles shape, heft and colouring are all fabulous and fun, I enjoyed the process of opening up the package the first time and continue to do so every time I go back for a spritz.

So Burberry Brit Parfum opens in the extremely popular hefty sheer way that so many perfumes of the new millenium do, was Gucci Rush or Kenzo Flower among the first? It was a step from watery ozonic to floral but with a delicacy like a silk crêpe Georgette scarf that has been heavily printed, or do you remember those Versace silk shirts in the 1990s? You could see flesh and muscle through them but the patterns were bold and intricate. This family of fragrances is a soft shimmer of perfume but with fabulous sillage and projection. They are like a neon light, no heat but extra full on light.

Photo Stolen WearIt.com

The pear is the same fake pear that you would expect , sweet and fizzy, but the almond meal/milk scent grounds it beautifully. I am so embarrassed by how much I enjoy Burberry Brit Parfum. I can understand why it is so popular, well understand why the EdT and EdP have remained constant great sellers and why they decided to do a parfum. The peony has a overblown, blousy, 3 days in their water smell that is my favourite time of peonies, they are on the verge of fully opened and their promise is palpable still. Such a wonderful flower, does anyone grow them? Do you have hints? I’m not sure our winters are cold enough here in Sydney, Australia? The milky almond meal comes back in later and melds beautifully with the amber and vanilla before we hit deep dry down.

The dry down is pretty sweet vanillic woods, slightly generic. There’s a reason that it is so common, it’s pretty and wearable and doesn’t get cloying or annoying. That fades and your left with very slightly better smelling skin, nondescript but better.

Photo Stolen Platinum

I am getting between 3-4 hours fully fragrant and then a long time in dry down, even next morning there are traces.

Further reading: Now Smell This and Perfume.org(Ellen’s blog)
Parfum1 has $35/15ml
My Perfume Samples has a great Burberry Brit selection starting at $2/ml, sadly no parfum

Have you ever been happily surprised by a fragrance that you thought you’d dislike?
See you tomorrow,

Portia xx

Shanti Shanti by Miller et Bertaux 2008

August 3, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 17 Comments

Don’t forget to enter our La Via Del Profumo GIVEAWAY!!<<<<JUMP

Hello lovers of fine fragrance,

I think this little gem came in my box of goodies from Birgit or Sandra at Olfactoria’s Travels but I could be wrong, it may have been from Sheila at The Alembicated Genie or even as a Gift With Purchase. It is a manufacturers carded sample in a beautiful heavy, matte, white card with silver writing and inside was a 2ml dab vial that I immediately upon opening decanted into a spritzer to get the scent thatv you would get from the bottle.

Shanti Shanti by Miller et Bertaux 2008

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Bulgaria rose, iris, warm spices, cardamom, patchouli, sandalwood

LibertineParfumerie gives this list:
Top: Rose (Bulgarian or Damascene)
Heart: Iris, rose (Baie)
Base: Cardamom, patchouli, sandalwood (Indian)

Rose, ROSE, a big, wet, musky, sweet, spicy rose with tea facets and a little leaf and twig. Clean and fresh, no hint of manure or humus, like sitting in the middle of a field of roses very early in the morning and it’s cold, as the sun comes up it warms the flowers and the dew and fragrance flies, on an icy but stunningly fragrant breeze. Thank goodness for the thermos of tea because otherwise you’d be freezing. Adult rose, manly rose, green, crisp and alive are all things I’ve jotted while sniffing. It’s a wonderful opening.

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

As Shanti Shanti settles the rose stays and is joined by cool, rooty, powdery iris but it feels very musk also, maybe the thing that my nose/brain thinks is musk is another ingredient. At two hours wear time and though the fragrance has softened appreciable it still is a very fresh green rose, I can just detect some sandalwood/patchouli/cardamom but it’s a green, milky softness rather than each note separately. Shanti Shanti has work quite linear really, not much story, but not boring either. That they have kept it so defiantly green is beautiful, I bet this would be a fabulous Summer scent.

Why is it called Shanti Shanti? Shanti (from Sanskrit शान्तिः śāntiḥ) means peace, rest. Yes, this is extremely peaceful and restful, the final dry down has a musk and herbal tinge over the rose that could with your eyes squinted and a bit of imagination be a referral to India, but only the travel brochure pictures of India not physically being there.

Photo Stolen Bulgaria-Trips

Shanti Shanti has opening heft, I am decidedly fragrant but it would take mega spritzes to get skunkish. After an hour it calms to a light, but not too light, fresh fragrance that is green and clean without being generic or laundry. Like a breath of fresh air all day, well for around 5-6 hours.

Further reading: PerfumeNW and Perfume Posse: both these reviews are smaller bites in a post but I couldn’t find others on the first 3 pages of Google. Sorry. They’re both worth a read though because they catch stuff I miss.LibertineParfumerie has $195/100ml including FREE Australian Shipping
First In Fragrance has €94/100ml and does samples €4

Photo Stolen Alianna Logan Flickr

See how this girl is both elegant, dressed up, lovingly thought out but then her hair is artfully disarrayed, that’s how Shanti Shanti feels. Perfect but comfortably so. Miller et Bertaux is a line that I keep coming across and I think I like them very much. Spiritus/Land #2, A Quiet Morning and now Shanti Shanti have all been winners for Jin & I.

Have you tried any of the Miller et Bertaux fragrances? If so, what did you think? If not, are they now on your radar?
See you tomorrow,
Portia xx

Powder Flowers by Montale

July 31, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 14 Comments

Hey there FUMIES,

A few months ago I grabbed a bunch of the Montale fragrance samples, I tried a few of them but didn’t get to the rest, here’s one that I should have tried immediately. There are a few of the Montales that don’t seem to have come from the house, Sandflowers is one and this is another….

Powder Flowers by Montale

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Rose, jasmine, osmanthus, cedar, tonka bean

Clear, sheer and fresh are three words I would never have linked in my mind to Montale who usually go for heavy hitters. Powder Flowers is so far from my knowledge of the brand that I had to check I hadn’t mislabeled the spritzer. Even Sandflowers is more Montale-isah than this. Lovely, pretty and dainty are not words I had previously used either but all of these adjectives are absolutely accurate when talking about my skins reaction to Powder Flowers. If you have a celebuscent crazed teen or a fruitchouli addicted friend then this could be the first step in their rehabilitation. While giving the sheer, barely there feel of many of the current offerings there is a story, a level of interest and change, and it is fragrant. The sillage is excellent, changing the air as you walk past and making it interesting, drawing your nose after it, it sits close though and after leaving my office to make coffee and returning there is no appreciable remains of it.

Powder Tower, Prague Photo Stolen WikiCommons

Like many of the Montale fragrances though the parts are so reduced from naturals that they are barely recognisable, there is something in jasmine that reads salty to my nose and I’m wondering if it was in the sunscreen that I grew up with here in Australia and that the memory of the beach is forever locked in stasis with it, I also notice it in other scents featuring this super clean jasmine. Rose passes me by completely in Powder Flowers and though I have often liked osmanthus fragrances it doesn’t seem present because I get no fruity/lactonic emphasis, the cedar and tonka are there all through but it takes a while to notice them.

Photo Stolen Tanaka Juuyoh Flickr

It’s called Powder Flowers, it is not a typical powder but an abstract, “If I was the Queen of all powders this is how I’d smell.” I don’t think the notes list tells us much here, could we be missing musk, iris, heliotrope and others? Having now drained my second sample of Powder Flowers I am thinking a large decant to see if I go through it as quickly. The only reason I haven’t bought a bottle already is that I can’t believe that I am so in love with a fragrance so definitively UN-me.

Photo Stolen DuboseLawFirm

Further reading: Scent For Thought and I could find anything else specific
Parfums Raffy have $105/50ml
Neroli Budapest has €56/50ml
Surrender To Chance starts at $4/ml

You may wonder why the Prague Powder Tower pic is above, well, Jin and I were in Prague earlier in the year and we kept walking around and through this gate so when I saw it while looking for Powder Pix I instantly wanted to share this reminiscence.

Have you tried this far from usual Montale?
See you tomorrow,
Portia xx

Coco by CHANEL: LIVE Video Sniff

July 30, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 48 Comments

Hello Avid YouTube Watchers and APJ Crew,

It’s been a long while since we had LIVE Video Sniffs. These were filmed ages ago but I have not got them up yet, MEA CULPA 100%. So far this year has been a fabulously hectic whirlwind of adventures, travel and new work. So finally it feels like we have time to do some catch up.

This LIVE Video Sniff is a solo one. I am all alone with a rather special fragrance. It’s filled with my usual screw ups and a bit of silliness, please take it in the fun vein it is intended. My potty mouth doesn’t get too out of control, well, maybe a bit… NSFW unless you have headphones

As always special thanks to my BFF Kath for shooting and editing and TSO Jin for making it ready to watch on YouTube.

See you tomorrow,
Portia xx

Coco by CHANEL: LIVE Video Sniff

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Coriander, pomegranate blossom, mandarin orange, peach, jasmine and Bulgarian rose
Heart: Mimose, cloves, orange blossom, clover and rose
Base: Labdanum, amber, sandalwood, tonka bean, opoponax, civet and vanilla

Thank you, as always, for watching and being a part of the madness that is a LIVE Video Sniff.

Further reading: Coco (Modern) Australian Perfume Junkies and Bois de Jasmin

CHANEL…Iconic CHANEL…Sampler – Posh Peasant has the 5 x 2.5ml Spray $44

CHANEL Gateway Sampler – Surrender To Chance has 4 x 3ml Spray $28

Photo Stolen Jerine Lay Flickr

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Coco by CHANEL: LIVE Video Sniff

Coco by CHANEL: LIVE Video Sniff