Shalimar Cologne EdT by Thierry Wasser for Guerlain 2015

May 18, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 17 Comments

Post by Erica Golding

Hello my fragranced loves! Today, I’m pondering the latest flanker of one of the world’s most timeless, enduring, beloved perfumes. Shalimar has a new spinoff, and she’s lovely. However, the name is a bit misleading….

Shalimar Cologne: Eau de Toilette by Guerlain 2015

Shalimar Cologne EdT by Thierry Wasser

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, lemon, lim, grapefruit
Heart: Freesia, rose, jasmine
Base: Vanilla, orris, white musk

Yes, you read that right! This is not Eau de Cologne strength classic Shalimar; rather, it is an Eau de Toilette strength perfume that represents the emerging secondary definition of the word Cologne: A fresh, bright, inviting, lighthearted fragrance. Don’t let the term cologne fool you into thinking that this scent is a subtle, dilute concentration. Two sprays, and I’d be willing to wager that this beast is Eau de Parfum or even Extrait – it’s intense!

Shalimar Cologne opens with a shimmering lemon bergamot effervescence. The lemon is much more prominent in the first few minutes than any other Shalimar I’ve experienced. Frankincense lends her mysterious resonant signature, a woody incense cloak as familiar as a favorite silk scarf. Innocent white musk purrs at the base. As the scent wears on, the fresher citrus notes fade and the laundry musk really takes over, smooth yet loud.

On my skin, this scent has much more in common with the aroma of classic Shalimar than, say, Parfum Initial or Souffle. It’s still its own creation, but definitely recognizable as Shalimar. I’m not really sensing vanilla or any animalic musk, and the impression is lifted and clean with a whitewashed hazy roundness.

Personally, I like this more than Souffle, but not quite as much as Parfum Initial. I had trouble finding a brick-and-mortar retailer, so my bottle came from Strawberrynet. It was so hard to find that I wonder if this ship has sunk before it’s even had a chance to sail. Why name a new fragrance in such a confusing fashion? Even experienced perfume lovers see this at a glance and immediately assume it’s classic Shalimar in the EdC concentration. Shalimar Cologne is NOT cologne strength – my goodness, I said it already but this fragrance is very concentrated and intense!

FTPhoto

Guerlain counters the world over have Shalimar Cologne EdT, go grab a free spritz

How do you feel about this little variant? Do you think it’s doomed by its confusing marketing? Are you curious or are you sick to death of flankers?

Until next time, let perfume help you appreciate life’s little pleasures.

-Erica

Eau Des Sens by Olivier Pescheux for Diptyque 2016

May 17, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

Post by Ainslie Walker

A Scent to make you Sparkle and Shine – even in winter!

The most sparkling, fresh and vibrating fragrance I have come across recently is Diptyque’s 2016 release, Eau Des Sens. (Water of Senses). The opening notes are so crystal clear, sparkling away, uplifting, amplified yet remaining true to nature. I was knocked sideways as I compared its effervescent and natural nuances to that of Jean Claude Ellena’s work for Hermes and Frederic Malle. Perfumer Olivier Pescheux has really nailed a similar effervescence, yet added even more glistening sparkle to the citrus genre.

Eau Des Sens by Diptyque 2016

Eau Des Sens by Olivier Pescheux

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Orange blossom, bitter orange
Heart: Juniper berries
Base: Patchouli, angelica

Inspired by and encompassing all parts of the whole of a flowering bitter orange tree, Eau des Sens hummmmmmms. In the best possible way.

Overdoses of orange blossom absolute, petitgrain and bitter orange make me feel like I am buzzing. Or even that I should have a cloud of bees surrounding me. I see orange, maybe some green and feel instantly healthier and brighter on first sniff. (Fragrant Berocca anyone?!) I can almost feel the warmth of sun on my skin and I feel transported to the South of Spain/France during the height of Summer. It is officially late autumn here in Australia, however and still this fragrance works. Spice and wood notes of angelica, patchouli and juniper bring with them an edge of coziness, a touch of softer, powdered late afternoon sunshine and ensuring the sunny fragrance is not to glaring.

A beautiful floral presence weaves throughout the fragrance; a clean soapiness enters midway, with musk and amber adding undertones of more sensuality than I first anticipated during the opening. I’m reminded of skin after a day in the sun, freshly washed and moisturized.

The spirit of the scent does seem to replicate, even amplify nature and there is a feeling of lively health and happiness each time I smell it – perhaps green ginger contributes to this.

Diptyque aim to touch our emotions with each of their scents, evoking olfactory moments and memories of travel. In this case an extraordinary tree – the whole tree – fruit, leaves, wood, peel and blossoms. Fresh, zesty and sparkling with an underlying caress which is sensual and soft. Perhaps the senses evoked the most are happiness and humor,

Packaging features drawings of all parts of the bitter orange tree on the front label and on the back, a spiral design perhaps indicating vibration or movement? Promotional material features and a silvery black moving optical illusion. Something I had not experienced before was, appearing suddenly on the scent blotter card, once sprayed, is the three cheeky monkeys hear no evil, see no evil and speak no evil. Over the dry down they again disappear and the paper becomes white…until you top up again! HOURS of entertainment inspired by the three founders of Diptyque – who originally met as art students in the 1960’s.

Available in 50ml, 100ml, a soap. The closest candle to this fragrance is Choisya. If you want to pair a lotion under for longevity I would suggest Diptyque’s Fresh lotion.
In Australia Diptyque is available exclusively from Mecca. (not on the site yet)
LuckyScent has $125/100ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $3.75/ml

What’s your favorite uplifting fragrance to put a spring in your step? Have you stumbled upon a new release recently, which has captured your attention?

Thanks for stopping by,
Ainslie X

Cologne Du 68 by Sophie Labbe for Guerlain 2006

May 16, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 9 Comments

Post by Robert Herrmann

So APJ,

Cologne Du 68 by Guerlain 2006

If you love Guerlain, but have overlooked this beauty, do yourself a favor and think again.

(ED: Azar is currently off taking some care of herself, back soon. Robert kindly offered to fill for her today. Thanks buddy xx)

Cologne Du 68 by Guerlain 2006

Cologne Du 68 by Sophie Labbe

Fragrantica

68 notes as per Guerlain…….(You might want to sit down for this……phew!)

1. bergamot, 2. green mandarine, 3. lemon,4. clementine, 5. citron, 6. Blood orange, 7. Lime, 8. grapefruit leaves, 9. basil, 10. fennel, 11. star anise, 12. lavender, 13. laurel, 14.cypress, 15.elemi, 16. thyme, 17.myrtle,18.orange blossom leaf,19.mandarin blossom leaf, 20. lemon blossom leaf, 2. Pear, 22. Violet leaf, 23. ivy, 24.violet, 25.sap, 26. cassis, 27. freesia, 28. lily of the valley, 29. hazel leaf, 30. cyclamen, 31.cardamon, 32. coriander, 33. black pepper, 34. bay rose, 35. muscat, 36. gingerbread, 37. jasmine, 38. frangipani, 39. magnolia, 40. orange-blossoms, 41.peony, 42. rose, 43. carnation, 44. ylang, 45. lychee,46. fig, 47. mure 48. immortelle, 49.Pistachio leaf, 50. opoponax, 5. amber, 52.benzoin, 53. vanilla, 54. rock rose, 55. heliotrope, 56. iris, 57. tonka, 58. sage, 59. musk, 60. patchoulì, 6. oud, 62.cedar,63. sandalwood, 64. vetiver, 65. green notes, 66.praline, 67. myrrh, 68. Lichen

Why this one doesn’t get much love from either men or women, is a mystery to me.

Every scent of every Guerlain ever made, all jumbled up into an EDT that works really really well. Especially in these ever-changing days of spring.

Light, bright and citrus-zesty at the top as you would expect, with a big floral middle, but not sweet. A bitter herbaceous edge keeps the floral notes in check. For me a slight root beer vibe, which is just lovely.

This may very well become one of my top Guerlains, I can see wearing this ALL the time.
Totally unisex, totally captivating, like an herbal love child of LhB and LHdLN.

From Guerlain: Cologne du 68 is directly inspired by Corsican landscapes: between the salty freshness of the seaside and the spicy warmth of the scrubland. At the heart of this fragrance shines everlasting flower and its incredible slightly syrupy scent. Between wood and resin, we also find honeyed yet salty dashes of fenugreek and anise aromas.

And did I mention reasonable? Well under $100, usually in the $50-$70 range for 100 ml.

Further reading: What Men Should Smell Like and Olfactoria’s Travels
FragranceNet has AUD$90/100ml

Absolutely full-bottle worthy!

What’s your favorite Guerlain? Have you tried this one?

Replacing Discontinued Beauty #1

May 15, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 9 Comments

Post by AF Beauty

Hello loves.

If you’ve been keeping up with me, you’ll recall one of my last posts was about discontinued products – the love of having known them, and the pain of them being gone.

To this end, I have been searching for a replacement of my daily cleanser, the Body Shop cleansing gel. The key for me, was that this gel wasn’t a gel in the traditional sense – it was an oily gel that melted away make up and turned to a milky texture on contact with water leaving the skin feeling perfectly soft and clean – but not stripped and not greasy.

Replacing Discontinued Beauty #1

Body Shop + Soap and Glory

Body Shop

When the SA at the Body Shop staggered me with the announcement of discontinuance she offered me a replacement product, the Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter. This is a good product. I’m not overly disappointed. It comes in a flat container the size of a large coaster and the product inside is a solid that looks like a pale candle – and the texture isn’t overly different either. I don’t know what the intention is, in terms of how they expect you to dispense the product, so I’ve innovated and basically use my thumb backwards to scoop out an amount. The problem with this is that it’s best guess – I’ve no idea what amount they actually intend for use.
Once applied it melts down relatively well – probably the only downside is that creating the soft oiliness of an easy cleanser is a little bit difficult, not insurmountable – it does dissolve, it removes make up and cleans off easily, imitating the milky texture of its predecessor. As I like things that smell nice, this is also a positive, the smell is pleasant and light. Once washed off, the feeling on the skin is clean and soft – all in all a decent substitute. The only other thing to note is it says the product is suitable for contact lens wearers. As I don’t wear lenses, I don’t know exactly what that means – but I do know that it stings my eyes a bit and is quite uncomfortable – but really I just need to take more care!

Amazon

The second product I’ve tested is from Soap and Glory and is called The Ultimelt. This comes as part of a cleansing “package” as it comes with it’s own muslin cleaning cloth. Although I’ve used it with both muslin and just a regular flannel, the difference isn’t that much to me. The product is not overly dissimilar to the original Body Shop Gel, perhaps thicker and more like a cream than a gel – but it melts down very quickly and has a lovely texture and removes my makeup.

This also turns milky on contact with water and washes off well. Probably my only criticism is the strength of the lavender that is contained in the product – it is a lovely smell but it is very strong, probably a little stronger than I’d choose. But the product is a good replacement for my Body Shop original, albeit a little more difficult to source in Australia.

These two were the nearest to the Body Shop Gel that I could find, but in searching for a replacement I’ve also tested two oil cleansers – I’ll review these in the next post – so keep an eye out – and if you’re interested in an oil based cleanser, hold off before heading out to purchase!

Until next time, AF x

Cuir Cannage by Francois Demachy for Christian Dior 2014

May 14, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 24 Comments

Post by Portia

Hiya APJ,

Leather! One of my favourite perfume notes. It took me a while to warm to todays fragrance but now I can’t imagine my collection without it. To be honest, when I first smelled Cuit Cannage I think I missed the point.

Cuir Cannage by Christian Dior 2014

Cuir Cannage by Francois Demachy

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Orange blossom, ylang-ylang
Heart: Rose, jasmine, iris
Base: Birch, juniper, leather

A sweet, supple leather that has been fragranced in the manufacturers to hide the tannery smells. Comfortable, chic and utterly wearable in warm or cool weather I reach for Cuir Cannage when I want leather but a more floral version. DIOR has provided a perfect bridge between the sweetness of Bottega Veneta original and the dryness of Hermès Cuir d’Ange.

Pixabay

I love the way that initially the leather and orange blossom combine to create a modern take on vintage. A cleaner, less animalic version of some of the old time scents. Only very slightly breathy yet very movie star glam. Finally a lovely creamy, worn leather with hints of the warm body of the wearer. A nod to make up, fur, fine living and unattainable beauty perfection. A hint of the sweet musty breaking down of leather bound books in old libraries.

If you are looking for an outrageous, over the top leather experience like Tauer’s Lonestar Memories then you will be bitterly disappointed. DIOR gives us a smooth and seamless leather interpretation that is so obviously geared towards the upper end of the fragrance market, a spritz and go fragrance that still manages to be interesting and beautiful.

Pixabay

Further reading: Persolaise and Colognoisseur
DIOR stores and some larger department stores carry the DIOR La Collection Privée range
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $3/ml

What is your favourite leather? Does it ever take you a while to come around to a fragrance?
Portia xx

Tawaf by La Via del Profumo 2012

May 13, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 15 Comments

Post by Portia

Hello Independent Perfumery Lovers,

Yes, the Indie stuff is the most boundary pushing, interesting and challenging fragrance section for me. I find the perfumes exciting, edgy, sometimes raw and often a little rough. It’s edge of your nose sniffing. Not all the Indies get it right for me but that’s the point, they are making their dream for people who share it. That also doesn’t mean they get an automatic Get Out Of Jail Free Card from me though. I still need to enjoy the ride, be swept up in the fragrant fantasy and moved on some level. La Via del Profumo is a brand that often delivers in the most outrageous and spectacular ways. Today let’s look at a bottle I bought after falling madly in love with and using up a sample size.

Tawaf by La Via del Profumo 2012

La Via Del Profumo

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Jasmine sambac, rose, opoponax, narcissus, myrrh

Jasmine and narcissus together open Tawaf, It’s a green, viscous, aggressive opening that has little to do with sitting in a field or by a fence with either of them growing nearby but the powerful, astringent, shrill uncomfortableness that you get from the purest absolute extract (is that even a thing? You get it though, right?). 15-20 minutes of over the top fragrance that pretty much sends me into raptures of sniffing.

After the initial blast the richness and forcefulness drops back to a dull roar. Still fully fragrant yet there seems to be more oxygen in the room. Suddenly Tawaf becomes friendly, archetypically feminine and very sexy. Still radiant and effusive, excellent wafting in sillage and with good projection: I get about an hour of this warmer heart before the whole fragrance slides slowly into a light resinous hum around me. Very nice, quieter, less remarkable but still alluring. It sits closer and closer to my skin before finally giving up the ghost more than 4 hours on.

Flickr

From La Via Del Profumo site: Tawaf is the name of the ritual consisting in circumambulations around the Ka’abah, the cube shaped building in Mecca, adorned with black silk. The Ka’abah is the geographic center of the Arabian soul, of it’s spirituality, culture and civilisation. The Tawaf fragrance is the aromatic “melody” of the scents that surround those performing the Tawaf.

Further reading: Non Blonde and Perfume Shrine
La Via Del Profumo has a range of sizes from €18

What is your jasmine scent?
Portia xxx

Ellis Faas Cosmetics

May 10, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 32 Comments

Post by Val the Cookie Queen

Ellis Faas was born and raised in the Netherlands. She gave up professional photography to concentrate on her obsession and infatuation with make-up. Her biography makes for fascinating reading on http://www.ellisfaas.com.

As I wrote “Lipstick, Perfume and Pop Heroes: A True Story” I had no idea I would be back a year later having discovered the perfect red from a cosmetic house in Amsterdam, setting of the original post. Red lipstick junkies are on permanent lookout for new reds. How many times do we come home with a new red to find out that it looks pretty much the same as the others?

Ellis Faas Cosmetics

Red Lipsticks for One & All

I stumbled across Ellis Faas Cosmetics in Milan at the Esxence. (I have since found out that a number of my friends do know of the company but I was not familiar with it.) Immediately drawn to the red lipstick on the display, I grabbed one to try. Angelique, representing Ellis Faas explained to me why their Ellis Reds signature colour is different. The red is based on the natural colour of blood she informed me. Theory being that it will then match everyone´s skin colour. We all have the same blood, right? I grabbed a couple of samples to take home.

What can I say? The colour is absolutely fabulous. I squeezed a couple of drops out of the sample onto my
daughter´s hand and asked what she thought of it. “It looks like blood.” she said. Clearly we are onto a winnner here.

There are three textures of the Ellis Red. Creamy Lips, which has pretty much the feel of a normal lipstick. Milky Lips, which has a much lighter texture and is more of a lip stain. (This is what I have as samples and it needs to be applied sparingly preferably with a lip brush.) Great if you don´t care for the feel of lipstick on your lips. And the Glazed Lips, a highly pigmented, but non-sticky gloss. I have all three and cannot recommend them highly enough. Anyone who believes that red is not for them should give the Ellis Red a try.

The packaging is very sleek and stylish.. I was however warned to be careful of too much product coming out of the tube and then possibly drying out. It works by turning in clicks the bottom of the silver tube. I really took time with that and did it very slowly, patiently waiting for the product to squeeze out onto the brush or sponge applicator. It took me ten minutes and about thirty small clicks. I dispense only enough product for an application and then put the lid back on. Next time I go to use it I give it couple of clicks again and apply. Works just fine. If you do it impatiently you will end up with a ton of product though so be aware.

How stunning is the Ellis Red red? Stunning enough that I asked the company to send me some samples so that I could share them with you. I have ten x 2 samples of the Ellis Red Milky Lips to give away below. Many thanks to Ellis Faas Cosmetics in beautiful Amsterdam.

Red will change your life you know?

MWAH.
Red Bussis.
CQ

ThinkDigitalWorld

Ellis Faas Cosmetics GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 10 winners who will receive:
2 x samples of the Ellis Red Milky Lips
P&H Worldwide

HOW DO YOU WIN?

Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged. Open to everyone worldwide who follows AustralianPerfumeJunkies via eMail, WordPress, Bloglovin or RSS. Please leave how you follow in the comments to be eligible. I must be able to check that you follow so if you have an email address on your gravatar that’s different to your follow address then please email me (portia underscore turbo @ yahoo dot com dot au) so I know.

In the Comments Below,

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please tell us if you are already a red lipstick junkie or scared spitless of the colour?

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 12th May 2016 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winner will be chosen by random.org
The winner will have till Monday 16th May 2016 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.

White Lilac by Mary Chess 1932

May 8, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 12 Comments

Post by Anne-Marie

A while ago a generous perfume penpal sent me a sample of Mary Chess’s White Lilac. I liked it, but nothing about it struck me very forcibly. Maybe this was because the lilac in my own garden had just finished, and there were roses, jasmine and gardenia on the way. Wisteria was blossoming in public gardens near where I work. I was surrounded by natural floral scents and perhaps I didn’t need another at that moment.

With summer flowers now gone, I spritzed it again and was delighted at last by the fresh, spring-in-a-bottle aroma that leapt joyfully out of the sample vial.

White Lilac by Mary Chess 1932

eBay

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Lilac, wisteria, lily-of-the-valley and musk.

Information about Grace Mary Robinson, née Chess, is scanty and inconsistent, but she was an American woman who, after her marriage in 1907, moved with her husband between London and the US. She loved flowers and in what sounds like a hobby turned into a business, she sold flowers she made herself from metal, clay and parchment. She also created perfumes and White Lilac was the first of many mostly single-note perfumes released between 1932 (some sources say 1930) and the 1990s. She died in 1964.

Chess must have understood perfume as a lifestyle commodity. She sold scented sachets, smelling salts, and even a scented paste that could be painted on the inside of drawers and cupboards. She experimented with charming bottle designs, including a bottle for every chess piece, from a King to a pawn. A chess piece became the symbol of Mary’s flourishing business.

You might think that she was more interested in the decorative and lifestyle aspects of perfume than the actual scent, but White Lilac was popular for many years. Perfume historian Nigel Groom says it was once named as one of the eight great perfumes of the world.

Pixabay

If so, perhaps it was because it offered an alternative to other best-sellers like Chanel No 5, Arpege and Evening in Paris. It is an innocent, rather dainty fragrance with little overt sexual allure, once sometimes marketed to brides. It works best in the opening hour or so, after which it becomes paler and less interesting. That probably just encouraged women to carry it about and spritz again, for the opening is indeed gloriously vivid. I smell mostly lilac and wisteria, green, but also slightly round and fruity.

There are some reviews on Fragrantica and Basenotes. One Fragrantician exclaims:
How can a 50 year old scent smell so fresh and alive? The lilacs are blooming right here in my bedroom.

DeviantArt

I don’t know when White Lilac was discontinued but you still see it on auction sites. Mary Chess has gone now, but undemanding floral fragrances never really go out of style. These days several of the niche houses charge dearly for them.

Is this your style of fragrance? Have you tried anything from Mary Chess?

Gucci No 3 by Gucci 1985

May 4, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 8 Comments

Post by Willa Zheng

It’s no great secret that I love feminine florals and my fragrance wardrobe at home is lined with them. However, every once in a while, a fragrance comes along that is such a departure from everything you already own and thought you liked, and yet you fall in love with it regardless. A love at first sniff. That’s the case with this dearly discontinued fragrance from the House of Gucci.

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Aldehydes, coriander, green leaves, bergamot
Heart: Tuberose, orris root, jasmine, lily-of-the-valley, rose, narcissus
Base: Leather, amber, patchouli, musk, oakmoss, vetiver

Gucci No 3 opens aldehydic, green and citric. Then, a melange of powder (orris root), white flowers (so heavy, so many that you can’t really tell apart the tuberose, jasmine, lily-of-the-valley, and narcissus) and rose push through; and before you know it, you’re smelling like an expensive piece of soap, the kind you’d buy in department stores to give as gifts in yesteryear. Think vintage Arpege.

But whereas Lavin Arpege has a sweet sandalwood, ambery base thus classifying it as a floriental, there is no denying that Gucci No 3 is of the chypre family. Chypre fragrances are all about the balanced contrast between their fresh, sparkling opening notes and their bitter, dark, woody heart. Gucci No 3 is no exception.

Pixabay

The heart merges about thirty minutes in when the fragrance pivots. It becomes darker, more bitter, as the heavy oakmoss base pushes through. On the skin, it’s warm (amber), deep (patchouli), slightly smoky (leather), dry (vetiver) and woody.

Gucci No 3 is the smell of a modern day Marlene Dietrich. She is a woman who is sure of herself and yet is a little bit mysterious. She is sophisticated, worldly and well-groomed. Who wouldn’t mind being a woman like that?

As mentioned earlier, this fragrance has been discontinued for about 15 years and full bottles, alas, are selling for a small fortune online. My bottle is a bit flat in the drydown due to its age. Depending on the condition of your bottle, you’ll get about 6 hours of strong wear and moderate to heavy sillage from the EDT.

YouTube

Further reading: Post Modern Perfume
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $6/ml

Gucci No 3 is truly the chypre for the woman who doesn’t normally ‘do’ chypre. It’s another reason, really, for us to toss Michael Edwards’ fragrance wheel to the wind and just smell everything.

Have you got a favourite Chypre fragrance?

My Motherland by Dzintars 1981: from Latvia with love

May 3, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 9 Comments

Post by Ainslie Walker

Hello lovelies!

The first time I pondered smells of Latvia, I was in my kitchen in Sydney circa 1995 toasting a slice of “Latvian Sweet and Sour Bread.” The smell was divine – spicy, slightly sweet and tart. The bread was a dark rye/sourdough containing aromatic seeds. On further investigation I established the seeds were caraway, a new and delicious flavor to me. The bread, with new and improved politically correct name, is still available from Coles supermarkets in Australia. Particularly delicious toasted with butter- spread thick and vegemite- spread sparsely.

Was it just an odd Australian-ism naming this bread Latvian or was it traditional to the country? Thanks recently to Google (which was not really around back then) and some further international travels, I learnt caraway is used in a lot of Latvian cooking, including in their traditional cheese. I still always ask about the bread to any Latvians I come across and it usually starts an interesting conversation…or a really odd stare!!

Recently my wonderful Latvian friend was speaking to her mother about Latvian scents when her mum wandered off, coming back with a small collection of old bottles and boxes she called me straight away. The bottles were treasures she had collected and brought over from Latvia when immigrating and also gifts she had received from travelling friends and relatives over the years. In the package was plenty of vintage bottles of Joy by Jean Patou, but the one that caught my attention the most was something I had never seen before. They requested I do some research for them, so here goes:

My Motherland by Dzintars

From Latvia with love

From the site (Thank you Undina)
Top: Lily-of-the-valley, geranium, bergamot
Heart: Rose, jasmine, neroli, iris, hyacinth, ylang-ylang
Base: Musk, amber, black pepper, cinnamon

Dzintars by Dzintars – a product house based in Riga dating back to 1849. With 188 fragrances in their back catalogue, they are deemed the largest manufacturer of cosmetics and perfumery in the Baltics.

You can see in the photos, the beautiful cut glass bottle, silk covered and lined box – complete with hand embroidered ribbon and medallion pinned to it. Just gorgeous! Opening the bottle, which is now empty I can smell traces of patchouli, civet, musky oakmoss and balsamic sweet, sticky notes. Research says the fragrance from 1981 is a chypre containing bergamot, lily-of-the-valley, cyclamen, iris, orange blossom, jasmine, tuberose, patchouli, cloves, musk, sandalwood, oakmoss and civet.

The word Dzintars is Latvian for amber and more than 4000 men in Latvia share the name – it is often also a surname! On eBay I found a CD called Dzintars: Songs of Amber by the Latvian Women’s Choir! Anyone who knows me knows how much I love amber, so this is hugely impressive to me!! Perhaps I have found my calling in the Baltics? Ha ha.

My own mother was a “10 pound Pom” back in the 50’s, emigrating from the UK to Australia with her parents via boat with 1 suitcase between them. Have you ever considered what fragrant treasures people bring from country to country and what their stories are? It is interesting to ponder the trails fragrances take before landing in our possession. It’s fascinating to get people talking about the fragrance bottles they have stashed away when empty, yet not thrown out – there is always a sentimental tale to discover.

What’s your favorite and sentimental fragrance story? Have you any Dzintars fragrances? What can you tell me about them?

Until next time! X

Ed: There are some changes to the original post because Undina has found extra information and can read the language. Thanks Undina. XXX)

Australian Perfume Junkies

Olfactory Opinions from Oz

Review

Shalimar Cologne EdT by Thierry Wasser for Guerlain 2015

Shalimar Cologne: Eau de Toilette by Guerlain 2015

Shalimar Cologne EdT by Thierry Wasser

Eau Des Sens by Olivier Pescheux for Diptyque 2016

Eau Des Sens by Diptyque 2016

Eau Des Sens by Olivier Pescheux

Cologne Du 68 by Sophie Labbe for Guerlain 2006

Cologne Du 68 by Guerlain 2006

Cologne Du 68 by Sophie Labbe

Replacing Discontinued Beauty #1

Replacing Discontinued Beauty #1

Body Shop + Soap and Glory

Cuir Cannage by Francois Demachy for Christian Dior 2014

Cuir Cannage by Christian Dior 2014

Cuir Cannage by Francois Demachy

Tawaf by La Via del Profumo 2012

Tawaf by La Via del Profumo 2012

White Lilac by Mary Chess 1932

White Lilac by Mary Chess 1932

Gucci No 3 by Gucci 1985

My Motherland by Dzintars 1981: from Latvia with love

My Motherland by Dzintars

From Latvia with love