Fleurs de Citronnier by Christopher Sheldrake for Serge Lutens 2004

July 12, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 23 Comments

Hiya APJ Family,

This was originally scheduled to go live the day after Lucasz at Chemist In A Bottle but I didn’t want to tread on his beautiful post (follow the jump if you’d like to read it). So mine is happening a couple of weeks later now. Enjoy.

I found a 5+ml decant of todays fragrance and have no idea where it came from or how it’s in my collection. The writing is almost illegible and I had to check Fragrantica for things that might match. Whoever I have to thank for this lavish largesse you have my complete and utter gratefulness, I would never have chosen to try it and am so glad I have. It seems to be quite hard to find, Lucky Scent has almost every other Serge Lutens except this one and a few of the other regulars are either out of stock or don’t mention it at all.

Fleurs de Citronnier (Lemon Blossom) by Serge Lutens 2004

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Lemon blossom, petitgrain, nutmeg
Heart: Lemon blossom, neroli, white honey, tuberose
Base: Iris, several musks, styrax resin

Citrus, spicy, fresh, fizzy and fun. Fleurs de Citronnier is everything I loved about growing up with citrus trees in the back yard. I miss them but in our temperate climate in Sydney they are particularly prone to infestations and disease. Mum spent a lot of time maintaining a lemon and orange tree. We LOVED them. Fresh orange juice, a great shady place to hide, pretending perfume from flowers, leaves and fruit and let’s not forget the endless uses for a stink bug! Sunny winter days drinking sugared, fresh orange juice with lemon to make it zing.

So now you know where it takes me, what does Fleurs de Citronnier smell like on me? Green, citrus and green, later the honey makes a beautiful, almost naughty, appearance with a silky sweet urinous warmth and the tuberose (white flower) is a little skanky but more soapy. Though it stays citrus it becomes warmer and more lived in as it heads into the 2 hour mark. There have been a couple of times during the first two hours that I thought Fleurs de Citronnier was going to fall into a deep hole of cleaning product fragrance but it nimbly skirted the edge of that nasty abyss and continued beautifully.

Photo Stolen AromaPersona

Tonight I wore Fleurs de Citronnier to work, I felt beautiful and floated through the night, catching wafts of myself throughout the evening. Driving home and now back home I can still smell some citrus, some white flowers and the musks have come through very cleanly but the resin is a back up whisper, like a little bit of sweet toffee floating underneath. That’s nearly 6 hours of wear and still going strong, impressive.

I think that unless you have a VERY light hand that Fleurs de Citronnier may be too strong for most workplaces, maybe even a little overpowering for dining unless you have some time between spritz and eat. For my work it’s an excellent choice, a big, phat, bombastic fragrance that takes no prisoners. FAB U LOUS!!!!

Photo Stolen LifeWorksRestaurants

Further reading: Now Smell This and Olfactoria’s Travels
Beauty Encounter has $100/50ml (I have enjoyed FdC so much that I bought one today)
Surrender To Chance starts at $4/.5ml

Have you tried Fleurs de Citronnier? What are your impressions?
Till tomorrow, be nice to yourself and those around you,
Portia xx

Relent by ETRO + Venice Photo Essay

July 11, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 34 Comments

Hey there happy huffers,

While Jin and I were in Venice in January/February he had found us a wonderful hotel. My only rules for him to do bookings were 4 star, less than 300 metres from the railway station and that they include breakfast. In Venice he excelled himself. The hotel was very close to the station and near a bunch of major bridges, attractions, ferries and food. The room was bright, clean, spacious, quiet and sunny with a view of the rooftops of Venice and the Grand Canal and the hotel had wifi in the lobby 24 hours, with a bar that was quite comfortable. One of our favourite things about the hotel was the large, super-clean bathroom filled with ETRO Relent bath products: hair & body wash and lotion! We left the hotel every day smelling beautiful from our bath products and kept arm skin clear for frag testing. We also left the hotel CRAMMED with breakfast each day, HEAVEN!! Needless to say we asked for, and received, a handful of the mini shower gels which are big enough to last 10 days of showering. SCORE! The hotel? The Boscolo Bellini, Lista di Spagna 116/A | Cannareggio quarter, 30121 Venice, Italy

Photos Stolen Expedia

Relent by ETRO

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Lemon, orange, lime, eucalyptus
Heart: Orange blossom, rose, iris
Base: Amber, vanilla, musk (ETRO adds citron in the base)

From the ETRO site: The true Eden is never a precise location; we need to learn to create it inside ourselves, to carry with us some of the serenity that can be evoked by aromas that brighten the heart. Sparkling citrus fruits and the sweetest flowers, a hint of the sensuality of amber and the languor of rose, a drop of solemn musk.

Photo Stolen MorgueFile

Since Venice, every shop that has ETRO gets a visit from me but nobody seems to carry Relent anymore, only the newer ones in the lineup. So I went to the internet and recently I found a Relent 150ml Eau Parfumee at Beauty Encounter for only $70 and the 200ml Shower Gel for only $39!! I am extremely happy about it and bought fragrance and a couple of shower gels. It is such a vivid memory for both Jin and I, a happy, wonderful memory that we cherish, so easy to bring back just by fragrance. Fragrantica gives 2010 as this fragrances release but MUA has reviews from 2003.

How does it smell? The opening citrus and eucalyptus combination is fizzzy, dry and interesting, the citrus fizzes like a soda pop drink fresh from the bottle but the eucalyptus holds the sweetness in check giving a very herbal, green dryness. If you told me there was some cumin with coriander/lavender/basil here I would totally believe you because it’s such a vegetative yet sweaty green opening. I also smell some wood notes that are unmentioned. It takes a while for the opening scene to develop properly and it stays for a while before the orange blossom makes her appearance, not as an entrance but she comes in though the side door unannounced, no fanfare but there she is whispering something naughty in your ear and rose is giggling wickedly beside her. Then, as the star of the show is about to be announced, like a wedding everyone quietens down and there is a fragrant hush, a lull, a pause before IRIS stands tall at the top of the stairs in full spotlight. A woody, powder puff of an iris, gentle and soft and cuddly and furry with musks comes down the stairs to be the star of the night. Everyone gets to dance with her, maybe the best analogy would be a round dance where everyone is involved but only a few are near iris for the rest of the evening before the last slow dance and then gone.

Portia’s first Venetian Bridge

Jin loving Carnivale

The Last Gondola Builders

The Grand Canal

From our restaurant

Peggy Guggenheim Modern Art Museum, so fabulous

Cafe Ceiling

Jin loved this bridge

Main Square at night after the Carnivale crowds are gone

Venice sunset

I think Relent could be worn anywhere, including frag phobic works, it is soft and pretty enough to be passed of as body lotion but interesting enough to wear. Light, cuddly and to Jin and I joyful. Maybe you will think so too.

My scent hungry skin gets about 3-4 hours before there is only a sweet amber musk that smells like me. Jin says the scent continues but I have lost the ability to smell it.

Nobody else on the first 4 pages of Google has reviewed Relent
Beauty Encounter has the best prices I could find and none of the sample shops carry Relent, though some have other ETRO frags.

I hope you enjoyed our ETRO Relent and Venice Photo Essay. All unattributed photos taken by Jin or myself.
See you tomorrow for more fun and madness,
Portia xx

Tubereuse by Richard Fraysse for Caron 2003

July 9, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 15 Comments

Post by Gabriella

Hello fragrant friends!

One of the joys of this hobby is rediscovering a long-lost love. Sometimes, I will rummage around in my (highly disorganised) sample drawer, find a forgotten gem and fall head over heels all over again.

This week, that honour belonged to the gorgeous Caron Tubereuse. Such is the depth of its beauty that I am sitting here and scratching my head as to why I haven’t worn it for so long and moreover, why I haven’t replaced my full bottle.

Tubereuse by Caron 2003

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Tuberose, narcissus, citruses
Heart: Tuberose, freesia, jasmine, apricot, peach
Base: Vanilla

Caron’s Tubereuse doesn’t get a whole lot of share of the tuberose chatter on the blogosphere given the omnipotence of the trinity of Tubereuse Criminelle, Carnal Flower and Fracas, but in my opinion, it has a whole lot to add to the conversation.

What it adds is this: a totally different take on the narcotic white flower. If the aforementioned trio are like listening to a bold and beautiful coloratura, then Caron’s Tubereuse is like listening to Mozart being played by a string quartet. Tubereuse is a refined, elegant and almost fragile take on the flower more known as a “take-no-prisoners” diva. It’s tuberose in muted pastel shades; the flower taken in soft focus.

Photo Stolen MorgueFile

Tubereuse opens like a ray of sunshine on a cold spring day. The tuberose here is slightly heady, clear and warm: a radiant glowing yellow. After a while, subtle jasmine lends the composition a sweet, musky vibe, tempering the buttery richness of the tuberose and giving the perfume its well-mannered feel. It is sweet and full, but remains refined and soft and somewhat innocent. Caron’s signature base lends a dark, almost melancholic quality to the scent in the drydown. It adds a rich, velvety feel to the brightness of the tuberose and jasmine.

If Fracas, Tubereuse Criminelle and Carnal Flower are like your best friends at a party – the ones who you crack a joke and have a few laughs with over a couple of glasses of wine – Caron’s Tubereuse is the elegant lady standing in the corner. She’s unassuming, dressed in a simple champagne sheath, hair pulled back with a lick of mascara and lipstick and drinking a gin and tonic. She may be in the background, but you just can’t help but notice her. You’ll have to make sure to go over to talk to her before you leave. She may be quiet, but she is an enigma.

Photo Stolen MorgueFile

As my Mum always told me, “You have to watch the quiet ones.” Caron’s Tubereuse may not be as loud as her contemporaries, but she is certainly well worth watching.

Further reading: Bois De Jasmin and Pink Manhattan
LuckyScent has the EDP for $130/50ml and the parfum extrait for $150/15ml.
Surrender to Chance has samples of the parfum starting at $5/.5ml

Have you tried Caron’s Tubereuse? Are there any other underrated tuberoses in your opinion? Is there a long lost love that you’ve recently rediscovered?
With much love till next time!

M xx

Imaginary Authors: Smell Like James Franco?

July 8, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 7 Comments

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Post by Azar
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Photo Stolen AsGeeks

On May 19th BoTO’s (Beauty on The Outside) Dee offered the “opportunity to smell like James Franco” to the first five people who asked for it. I questioned my desire to smell like the hairy guy in the BoTO photo, but I just couldn’t pass up such an odd opportunity. A few days ago I received a very generous sample of Imaginary Author’s James Franco. I tried it right away. Here are some of my initial impressions:

Photo Stolen FanPop

The top notes are a citrusy take on an old motel room, almost a 4711 eau de cologne. The heart seems to be a hybrid of Royal Secret (the vintage Germaine Monteil version sans the overdose of sandalwood – a little, maybe, but not a lot) and the 1960’s Niki de Saint Phalle. Overall I would describe James Franco as of a kind of retro fragrance, reminiscent of two of my favorite early to mid 20th century chypres; much greener, lighter and fresher than the Germaine Monteil and less edgy than the Niki de Saint Phalle.

Photo Stolen USMagazine

With the James Franco scent Josh Meyer has not only taken the old and made it new again but has also managed a sophisticated, indie twist on the concept of celebrity fragrance, creating in the process a neo-classic pseudo chypre (whoa), more polished and intimate than its predecessors, a thoroughly modern “Mad Man”.
The question remains “would I like to smell like James Franco” ? Yes, indeed! If Imaginary Authors ever makes this bespoke celebrity available I will definitely be smelling like Mr. Meyer’s version of Mr. Franco.

Photo Stolen RollingOut

Thanks for the fun, Dee!

Azar XX

Photo Stolen BoTO’s (Beauty on The Outside)

Duel by Camille Goutal + Isabelle Doyen for Annick Goutal 2003

July 7, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 18 Comments

Hey there Fellow Fumies,

As you may know I love the Annick Goutal house of fragrance. We have covered the Annick Goutal Story, Perfume Reviews #1, Perfume Reviews #2, Perfume Reviews #3, Songes, and Grand Amour already on APJ, so you can see I’m a bit of a fan. And we still haven’t covered all the bottles in my collection yet. Terrifying, isn’t it? This bottle is a mini 15ml that I’m not quite sure where I came across it, I have decanted and spritzed for the purposes of todays review because I find it has better longevity than when I dab.

Duel by Annick Goutal 2003

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Holly, petitgrain
Heart: Orris root, artemisia
Base: Guaiac wood, leather, musk

I’m going to start my story with another perfumer from another country. While in LA earlier this year Tom from Perfume Posse and Perfume Smellin’ Things were invited to see Roxanna Illuminated Perfumes at her magical home in the hills near Malibu. There, her husband Greg made us Green Maté which Tom and I looked at firstly with revolt and then gulped down like it was a milkshake, Tom even finishing the jug off. I have had random yearnings for the taste ever since. So when Annick Goutal writes on her page that Duel has Green Maté I now know what to expect.

The opening is green and striking and interesting, neither of the notes lists I have give any indication of how this lovely, sensual, slinky green sequined sheath of a fragrance smells. Both sharp and breathy, delicate and deep Duel does not make me think masculine at all, rustic, alluring, sparkling and earthy all come to mind but not masculine, though it will be a fabulous scent on a guy I think it equally beautiful for the girls. Oh and if you were wondering there is a real green mate feeling, green and milky but not sappy, full cream milk-ish and though Duel is all green it’s also sweet.

Photo Stolen CafeVirtuoso

Further along the woods take over with a backdrop of breath, green and leather. I am surprised that this is not more spoken of in the community because it is beautiful, I feel quite beautiful when I’m wearing it and sexy, dead sexy. If you told me there was fig here I would believe you. Though there is no fruit anywhere on the list I do get something fruity, delicious but not sweet like the current5 rash of bright, sweet, juicy frags this is a deep fruity humm below the main story.

More people should wear Duel. I am going to wear it much more often.

From Annick Goutal site: Always once step ahead, never follower, nor a conformist, Annick Goutal Parfums present Duel, the fragrance for men who live life boldly and with daring. Duel speaks of love, as it is the way of Annick Goutal.
Duel, the triumph of beauty, high expectations, sensuality.
Duel, for the new romantics.
Green Maté absolute, Paraguay petitgrain, iris root, absinth, gaiac wood, leather, musk

Photo Stolen RotoFugi

Further reading: Olfactoria’s Travels and Perfume Posse
Beauty Encounter currently has $55/100ml which is less than half price!
Surrender To Chance starts at $3/ml

Which of the Annick Goutal’s, if any, have you tried? Do you like the house? Have you had a hit of Duel?
Hopefully we’ll see you tomorrow for more fragrance fun,
Portia xx

Les Nombre’s D’Or: Vanille by Mona Di Orio 2011

July 6, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 28 Comments

Hey there Niche Nerds,

Les Nombres d`Or: Vanille by Mona di Orio 2011

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Petitgrain, clove, rum, bitter orange
Heart: Vetiver, sandalwood, guaiac wood, ylang-ylang
Base: Amber, tonka bean, vanille, tolu balsam, leather, musk

The box and bottle are the first things you notice about Vanille. They are both so beautiful, sturdy, hefty and both also have a feeling that the creator is fueled by an ascetic of simple, elegant, design and longevity, this lovely glass brick and lid is completed by the useless but interesting, and intrinsic to its look of utter completeness, wire cage and ring pull. I find myself reaching for the joy of the box and bottle as much as I do for the juice inside, which is no less lovely, complete, designed and created.

Photo Stolen Mona di Orio

Before doing this review I had not looked at a note list except in passing in preparation for my purchase after going through a decant at light speed. When I saw a nearly full bottle being sold very reasonably on facebook I jumped on it. Since its arrival it has had the second most skin time of any fragrance in my wardrobe and I reach for it even more often without spritzing, just to enjoy its whole beauty. So it was quite a surprise to come back now and find that loads of people are talking about the amazing top note of bitter orange, which I now completely get. Ha ha ha the joke is on me, I had NO IDEA. My nose gave me only the spicy, fizzy, citrus like clove and some booze on a sweet vanilla and amber. I knew there was much more and the smokiness, earth and woods were more like the dying embers of a BarBQ for me than specifics. I felt the darkness, soared with the sensual ylang and dug down into the grounding vetiver without knowing what or why, Vanille is beyond lovely. It’s interesting, full of twists and turns that unexpectedly jump somewhere new but through it all I find it wearable, unchallenging, accessible and comfortable.

Photo Stolen TheCoastNZ

Surprisingly Vanille is becoming my comfortable jeans and favourite hoody. I have sometimes said a fragrance feels like a hug, this is a bear hug under a blanket with the one you love on a rainy day where you have cancelled all plans and have oodles of yummy leftovers and an endless supply of delicious teas, coffee and hot chocolate, and LOADS of Ferrero Rocher. I can wear it to slum, dine, relax, go out and stay home sniffing the story. I urge you to try Vanille and then come tell me if you enjoyed it. It’s pretty enough to gift a non perfumista and intriguing enough to keep a hard core perfumista entertained for hours.

EXTRA: I did a side by side throw down of Vanille MdO and Vanille Absolument L’Artisan the other day. The MdO is more interesting and has a better journey but the L’Artisan is warm amber, vanilla and booze all the way through, it’s richer, grander and sticks like glue in a very linear progression. Of the two I still find MdO a more relaxed and comfortable fit but L’Artisan has done an excellent job if you are thinking about grabbing it before it disappears forever.

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

Further reading: Olfactoria’s Travels takes us beautifully through the scent and Scents Of Self talks of Mona di Orio.
Parfum1 has $230/100ml (and I tell you to join their mailing list for the 20% Discount coupons that come every so often)
Surrender To Chance starts at $7/ml

Have you tried the Mona di Orio scents? Which did you like? Do you have a favourite vanilla other than this? I love them and want to know more.

See you tomorrow,
Portia xx

Cafe V by Ellen Covey for Olympic Orchids 2013

July 5, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 26 Comments

Wooo Hooo Fellow Fumies,

Don’t forget to enter our Anya’s Garden Giveaway <<<<<JUMP

Two lovely, new and unusual fragrances arrived and have been sitting on my desk waiting for me to do their review since before I went to LA. Finally I have picked up the box and am getting some skin time with one of my favourite niche brands, Olympic Orchids. There’s a special 3rd BIRTHDAY Discount Code at the bottom of the page, a discount on Olympic Orchids already extremely reasonable prices. YAY!! Today you get to meet…..

CAFÉ V by Olympic Orchids 2013

Photo Stolen GreatCafes

From Ellen Covey at Olympic Orchids: Café V is … inspired by one of Seattle’s many cozy neighborhood cafes….. It’s not quite gourmand, and not quite a fragrance of place, but something in between with notes of espresso-roast coffee, dark cacao, vanilla, cream, spicy chai bursting with cardamom, leather, and well-worn wood, and just a little skank from all of the rain-drenched actors who have over the years congregated in this little café in Seattle’s Capitol Hill.

Photo Stolen Olympic Orchids

Top: Cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg
Heart: Spices, dark roast coffee, cacao, cream, sarsaparilla, leather, Madagascar vanilla tincture
Base: Myrrh, cedar, vanilla, dark woods, musk

I love the strong opening like coffee beans being ground with spices and then as the coffee is made the smooth rich black liquid streaming into espresso cups, adding a spoon of demera sugar and cream. This is not just about coffee though, this story and fragrance really is about a cafe. The leather banquets and beeswaxed old, unmatching wood tables, some newspapers, magazines and books on a shelf mouldering and gathering in all the great smells of humanity, then breathing out their vanilla scented decay. There are old forgotten and fresh wet umbrellas by the door, bread and cakes on the bench under glass domes. There is a porch where five tables are set for smokers and you can smell their delicious smoke inside in gusts, or is it the remains of the open fireplace, it could be smoke from the kitchen? All around the drama of life plays out daily, celebrations, disasters, first dates, divorce proceedings, babies in prams, authors, neatly put together ladies in cashmere and camel coats, journalists, the council workers, businesswomen, teenagers, actors and harassed 40 somethings taking a well earned break. The smell of new and old handbags, leather jackets hung behind chairs, shoes, feet and fragrance. Ellen has hit the nail on the head with her CAFE V, it’s exactly what I hoped it would be but even better.

The dry down on my ski is charred wood, amber, sweat and leather. Totally sexy and very old school. Sexy enough to wake the sleeping in our house certainly, he he he.

Photo Stolen McGill

OLYMPIC ORCHIDS 3rd BIRTHDAY!!

Photo Stolen weddingnot

THIRD ANNIVERSARY IN JULY!
It’s hard to believe that our third anniversary is coming up this year! Everything still seems so new and such a work in progress that I don’t feel like any time has passed since I first set up my website. On the other hand, we now have a regular line of about 20 fragrances as well as quite a few special editions, and wonderful customers all over the world. We’ve won awards, and received loads of recognition. I would like to send out a huge thank you to everyone who has sampled and purchased Olympic Orchids perfumes over the past three years, and to those who have reviewed and written about them in so many different venues. I appreciate it all!

THIRD ANNIVERSARY DISCOUNT CODES
To celebrate our success over the past three years, I’ll be offering a 10% discount on any order of $10 or more placed between July 1 and July 7, 2013. Enter the code THREE at checkout to receive your discount.

DISCOUNT EXTENDED TO JULY 15 2013

Ellen

There you have it, Cafe V, and it is a doozy. I will be talking about the other new release very soon.
See you tomorrow,

Portia xx

Anya’s Garden Perfumes Miami

July 4, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 75 Comments

Hello Niche Nerds,

Today I bring you a perfumer who is doing some beautiful work, Anya McCoy: perfumer for Anya’s Garden, President of the Natural Perfumers Guild and Founder & Head Instructor of the Natural Perfumery Institute.. This is small batch, niche, natural perfumery from Miami, Florida, USA that has been produced by Anya since 1991. The beautiful Anya sent these samples for me to try and so I’m going to spend a couple of days with them and do a review on my 3 favourites.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

The instruction card that comes with them tells you to sniff from lightest to heaviest so you don’t over or under whelm your nose at any point, clever. Even the packaging is beautifully thought out and presented, it all bodes very well.

Photo Stolen VK.com

Light 2010: Crisp, bright, sharp and sexy are the four words that keep springing into my mind here. we have a very citrus fragrance with deep green facets, floral wafts and an animalic backbeat. This is like a 1950s men’s fragrance, before they took all the good stuff out. Slightly outrageous and narcotic, this is exactly how I want to smell. Light must mean physical light rather that lack of heft because this fragrance has a wonderful sillage making my room smell fresh and friendly when I return to it. Being all natural I’m surprised at how long the citrus lasts on my skin, also the incense is cool and rich and hums along nicely, weaving in and around, reminding me it’s there at intervals. I would LOVE to smell this on someone else but I’ve used up my whole sample over the last two days and will have to wait for a bottle to arrive.

LightA truly modern take on a classic cologne-style, blended as a pure perfume. Israeli yellow grapefruit, cedrat (citron) from Sicily, aglaia flower, genet, frankincense.

Modern Citrus Cologne

cedrat Sicily
yellow grapefruit Israel
juniper berry Bulgaria
neroli Tunisia
genet France
aglaia China
aglaia tincture Anya’s Garden
ambergris Ocean
frankincense Oman
frankincense resin Somalia

Photo Stolen HDWallpapers4Desktop

Amberess 2010: At once haunting and riveting Ambress opens sweet, spicy, resinous and a little sweaty. Gorgeous in a way only natural perfumerie can be. Layered, hefty, intricate and deep yet has a sheer floating beauty that slowly unfolds and becomes an ethereal veil that highlights the beauty of my own human smell. Yes i smell rose and spicy/minty geranium, the warm resins, soft and regal sandalwood melting deliciously into vanilla but Amberess is more than all these notes. Amberess is a journey, there is no smoky darkness here it is all smooth glamour and light. Way too over the top for most workplaces before the hour and half mark it is a siren song of entrapment. Lasting power is moderate and sillage excellent.

AmberessRare musk rose from Africa opens this soft, lush amber perfume. Ten carefully-blended base notes provide a gorgeous amber base that melts into your skin.

Floral Amber

musk rose absolute and otto Zambia
rose geranium sur fleurs South Africa
ylang ylang extra Madagascar
balsam of peru El Salvador
styrax Honduras
labdanum Spain
tolu balsam Brazil
amber fossil Himalayas
tonka bean Venezuela
sandalwood Sri Lanka
benzoin siam Laos
vanilla Madagascar

Photo Stolen RealWowz

Temple 2007: Interestingly with Temple my skin skips the oranges almost completely and goes straight to spicy, herby, sizzling BarBQ goodness. The juice is there but it’s not top of nose, I get the warmth, animalics and smoke of ambergris, ambrette, civet, castoreum and oudh. I get a waft of coffee, cool grounds after they’ve been used, slightly bitter and wet. The spices are rich and dry like being in the spice marketplace in Fiji or Vietnam and what feels, or smells, like an incense. This fragrance is killer! I want to start all over again. Temple is beautiful but I think it may need some warmth to really blossom. Currently I’m in Sydney winter and its lovely and lively but I think I’m missing something. Sillage is good and the scent bubble is not too big, but noticeable across a cafe table. The story as it dries to a smoky, soft, warmth is cuddly like polar fleece but stylish like leather.

TempleOrange juice surprises you, spices warm you and exotic Oud soothes you

Modern Oud Spicey

orange juice Brazil
ginger Indonesia
cardamom Indonesia
aglaia flower China, Anya’s Garden
coffee Brazil
civet Ethiopia
temple spice blend Anya’s Garden
benzoin siam Thailand
oud Laos
castoreum Canada
mitti – India, Anya’s Garden
ambrette India, Anya’s Garden
ambergris Ocean

Anya’s Garden GIVEAWAY!

Photo Stolen kbaird

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

There are 3 prizes this week in our special 4th of July GIVEAWAY. Each winner will receive:

3 x .5ml Anya’s Garden samples (missing what I used to review and no you don’t get to choose)
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

Open to everyone worldwide who follows AustralianPerfumeJunkies via eMail, WordPress, Bloglovin or RSS. Please leave how you follow in the comments. Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged.

Go to Anya’s Garden website and get an ingredient from one of her perfumes not mentioned in this post, and the perfume it came from. NO DOUBLE UPS!!

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie @AnyasGarden PERFUME SAMPLES GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p2fQBU-1Fm #Perfume #Giveaway

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 7th July 2013 11pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post Monday 8th.
Winners will be chosen by putting names on same sized papers, folded similarly, put on a tray and Jin will pick a winner.
The winners will have till Sunday 14th June 2013 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.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE,

Portia xx

Perfume + Tea: Victoria’s Secret + Harney and Sons

July 1, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 8 Comments

Post by Brie

Perfume & Tea Musings: The Middle Aged Sex Kitten

Victoria by Victoria’s Secret
Harney & Sons Royal Wedding Tea

Harney and Son’s Royal Wedding is part of their Historic Royal Palaces of England collection. I stumbled upon it at my farmer’s market in upstate New York and snatched it up after reading the tea “notes”. A delicate Chinese white tea, comprised of pink rosebuds, cornflowers, marigold petals and notes of almond, coconut and vanilla rounding out the floral, this is truly a royal tea. I have paired it with Victoria by Victoria’s Secret.

Photo by Brie’s family

Victoria was launched in 1989, the very first fragrance from the highly popular ~~English~~ (USA from San Francisco: Thanks Undina) lingerie company. Sadly, the perfumer is unknown and it was discontinued, to be replaced with light fruity concoctions with cheeky names that are so prevalent when one walks into a VS store in my local mall. I attempted to research the notes for Victoria but came up with nil. This glorious rose amber fragrance came in a regal fluted rectangular shaped bottle rimmed in gold metal with a royal blue cap. The bottle was as stunning as the perfume itself. It was a part of my perfume wardrobe from the time of its launch until it disappeared in the late 90s. Ironically, my perfume despising co-worker, with whom I share an office, had several bottles of Victoria. It is the ONLY perfume she ever purchased. She wore it as a young woman because men would approach her in bars and restaurants, inquiring about her scent. It is thanks to her that I am once again the happy owner of a partially full bottle.

Photo Stolen LippyEyesMUA

Victoria is what I wear when I want to feel a weensy bit regal and a whole lotta sex kittenish: in the late evening, with fragrant candles illuminating a darkened bedroom, in bed with my hubby sipping Royal Wedding Tea and wearing Victoria perfume and nothing else. What do you wear when you want to be the sexiest kitten in town?

Brie x

(Ed: I couldn’t help but add a shot of Australia’s Miranda Kerr as a Victoria’s Secret Angel)

Photo Stolen NYDailyNews

Petit Fracas 2012 by Aurelien Guichard for Robert Piguet

June 30, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 22 Comments

Hello Fragrance Family,

For many years tuberose lovers, white flower lovers, would talk lovingly of Fracas: that saucy, sensual, bubblegum fragrance that lured many a perfumista through the doorway and down the wormhole. Even the Fracas haters would compliment its artistry, its sweet green sappiness that could read as erotic or toxic, depending on your viewpoint and skin chemistry. I have a very old spray set of Fracas parfum that has weathered time quite well and a bottle of the modern EdP.

As you may know we had Joe Garces from Robert Piguet in Sydney this week and he kindly offered us a special APJ Piguet Masterclass. You’ll find some of the snaps here at APJ on Wednesday if you’re interested in the fun day we had. It was EXCELLENT!

Petit Fracas 2012 by Robert Piguet

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, mandarin, pear
Heart: Tuberose, jasmine, gardenia
Base: Cocoa, musk, sandalwood

Recently I got a bottle of Petit Fracas from Libertine Perfumerie and can’t believe how similar and different the Petit Fracas and original Fracas are. Joe Garces tells us that when he went to be CEO for Robert Piguet the house was in deep shit. It needed to be turned around somehow so they decided to add some new fragrances and revitalise some of the old ones with reconstructions that are as close a nod to their same name predecessors as can be produced in modern perfumerie. As they still had a bestseller called Fracas why would they tamper?

Well the story goes that Joe’s daughter hates Fracas, detests it. Which is highly believable in the current age of fragrance tastes. So Joe had the idea to bring something completely new and modern to Fracas to make it more youth oriented, a better version of the fragrances that what many younger fragrance wearers are spritzing now: with its basic body coming from the Fracas mold. I can’t remember who had the idea but someone said gourmand was in and they should add chocolate. ADD CHOCOLATE? To FRACAS?!? So someone DID add chocolate to Fracas, lightened it up, gave it a fruity punch at the beginning and a more interesting and traveling story than original Fracas.

Photo Stolen TelegraphUK

How does it smell on me? Well the fruit leads the way and it’s a milky fruit, like pear and citrus zest whipped cream with a dash of vanilla ( but that could be early chocolate signs). The white flowers are already a part of the equation but they don’t fully take centre stage because there is no room for them until about 20-40 minutes in. It’s fruit, fruit, fruit but not in the ubiquitous modern designer fragrance way, this is hefty fragrance and you feel fully perfumed though in a modern way. There is still some air between the notes, like a glossy, bright and very slightly fizzy aura. The bubble gum, sticky, sappy green candy swoosh heralds the moment of white flower take over. It is regal and alluring, a powerful intoxicant that is less herbaceous than Fracas original and a little bit more fun. Maybe I’m imagining it but Petit fracas is not Petit, it is younger but not smaller and I think it would be an excellent choice for brides and girls on a night out.

The chocolate is not as pronounced as I expected it to be and reads more vanilla in my nose, and milky, and there is something dark that may be a nod to chocolate, but it seems like dark, bitter chocolate, and only a hint.

Wear time is better than average wit whispers left after 7 hours and I think it way too fragrant for most offices but try it, see if they let you. It’s worth it.

Joe Garces: Robert Piguet CEO

Joe was honest about the need to continually tweak to maintain currency and to stay within the IFRA guidelines, also the need to keep the juice consistent because some years the naturals that are used come in extremely different to previous years, or way more expensive or less product because of drought etc so every batch is tweaked to make it as much the same smell as every other bottle you’ve purchased as possible. Interesting.

Further reading: The Candy Perfume Boy and Ca Fleure Bon
Libertine Perfumerie has $198/100ml
I could not find a sample of Petit fracas on any of the major sites. SO ANNOYING!! You’ll have to go to your nearest department store that stocks Robert Piguet.

See you tomorrow. I hope your weekend was good.
Portia xx

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