Olfactif: Synesthesia: Smelling in Color and Texture

March 9, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 43 Comments

Post by Azar

Hello APJ,

I subscribe to Olfactif and genuinely look forward to receiving three generous, neatly packaged samples every month. The February Olfactif Collection, “Smelling in Color and Texture”, suggests how synesthetic experience relates to scent. Years of living with this issue have convinced me that we all suffer (or enjoy) some degree of synesthesia.

Olfactif: Synesthesia: Smelling in Color and Texture

Tokyo Bloom by Emilie Copperman for The Different Company 2012

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Basil, galbanum, dandelion, black currant Heart: Jasmine, cyclamen petals
Base: Guaiac wood, musk, amber

Azar’s Perceived Notes:
Top: Sweet basil, Ivory soap, dry synthetic wood.
Heart: Jasmine.
Base: Thin, light musk, a passing reference to dandelion

Olfactif’s Colors/Textures: Green grass and velvety dandelions.

Azar’s Colors/Textures: Transparent blue-green drying to pale chartreuse with the feel of, well…air…

Tokyo Bloom is listed as cologne and is one of the shortest-lived colognes I have ever come across! Six inches of projected sillage, lasting for 20 minutes or less, left me totally frustrated. I kept spraying more juice hoping for some small measure of satisfaction. I finally gave up, washed up and lo and behold – vague dandelions, if only for a brief moment. For me Tokyo Bloom promises but never quite delivers; cologne designed, perhaps, for the very faint of heart?

Roma Imperiale by Bertrand Duchaufour for Profumi del Forte 2008

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, cinnamon, coriander seeds, rosewood, tangerine, tomato leaves
Heart: Iris butter, jasmine absolute, orchid, seringa (Melia azedarach/chinaberry blossoms), Turkish rose essence, ylang-ylang
Base: Grey amber, oak moss, sandal, vanilla

Azar’s Perceived Notes:
Top: Coriander seed, tangerine, tomato leaf
Heart: Iris, jasmine, magnolia blossom
Base: Vanilla, amber

Olfactif’s Colors/Textures: White, silk chiffon.

Azar’s Colors/Textures: Iridescent silk chiffon, contrasting cool and warm tones – glowing white, pink tangerine, a touch of sea green.

Roma Imperiale has a polite, satisfying sillage and a solid ten-hour longevity. It develops slowly on my skin, like a casual languorous tryst on a warm summer afternoon (“If you were here, in this white room, in this hotel, whose hinges stay hot, even in the wind off the sea…”Derek Walcott). Need I say more?

Memoirs Of A Trespasser by Josh Meyer for Imaginary Authors 2012

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Madagascar vanilla, guaiac wood, myrrh, benzoin resin, ambrette seed, oak barrels

Azar’s Perceived Notes:
Campfire smoke, burnt marshmallows, fire ash, dry wood, vanilla, booze.

Olfactif’s Colors/Textures: Rich browns and old leather books.

Azar’s Colors/Textures: Dry browns, crisp blacks, scorched marshmallows crackling and gooey, rough sawn firewood.

Memoirs of a Trespasser begins near a smoky campfire. The moderate sillage surrounds and permeates my skin. After an hour the burnt offerings morph to vanilla and booze, fading over five hours to a rugged version of M. Micallef’s M. Micallef.

SPECIAL Olfactics Deal

If you are not a winner you can still purchase the February collection. Beginning today Olfactif will be offering past collections as part of a special promotion lasting through the end of March 2015.

Azar xx

Photo Stolen sassisamblog

Olfactif: Synesthesia GIVEAWAY!

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x Tara Swords, founder of Olfactif, has generously provided one “Smelling in Color and Texture” collection
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 to be eligible. I must be able to check that you follow so if you have an email address on your gravatar that’s different to your follow address then please email me (portia underscore turbo @ yahoo dot com dot au) so I know. Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged.

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please comment on any of today’s reviewed fragrances or tell us about your own synesthetic experiences

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Olfactif #GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-3GA #Perfume @artofperfume @IAParfumerie @ProfumidelForte

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 12th March 2015 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Thursday 19th March 2015 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.

Arpege Parfum (Vintage) GIVEAWAY WINNER!

March 9, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Thanks APJers,

I’m glad to see you get involved for a vintage frag, and such a lovely one too. Let’s see who won.

Portia xx

Arpege Parfum (Vintage) GIVEAWAY WINNER!

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, aldehydes, peach, orange bloom, honeysuckle, orris
Heart: Rose, jasmine, ylang-ylang, coriander, sensitive plant, tuberose, violet, geranium
Base: Sandalwood, vetiver, patchoulis, vanilla, musk

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x Arpege Parfum (Vintage) sample
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DID YOU WIN?

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 so I know. Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged.

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Tell me an Arpege memory? Do you have one? Any scent your Aunties wore then?

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Arpege Parfum (Vintage) #GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-3Fm #Perfume @LANVINofficial @lanvin_news

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 8th March 2015 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org

Photo Stolen nodepositforum

FlowerGirlBee!

The winners will have till Thursday 12th March 2015 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.

Une Voix Noire by Christopher Sheldrake for Serge Lutens 2012

March 7, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 8 Comments

Hey there APJ,

This is what I wrote about Une Voix Noire in a mini review. With more wear my views have changed, not hugely but a bit.

Une Voix Noire by Serge Lutens: Gardenia done with a berry intro and a dark breathy dry down. A boozy gardenia that sits quietly on my skin, extremely beautiful, sensual, exotic and alluring but a close set beauty that has good sillage but not too strong projection. Excellent movie or theatre choice.

Une Voix Noire by Christopher Sheldrake for Serge Lutens 2012

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

The stars rise in chorus. The night sky is filled with the light of the moon.

Une voix noire : jazz, drinks and the night, and, beyond all that, a troubling line of white, gardenia-scented smoke.

GOSH! This is an extremely polarising fragrance. Made in honour of Billie Holiday, the sultry voiced chanteuse whose life was grim, grim and tortured. She was abused, a drug addict who came from very little and ended up with tragedy. Yes, her voice was velvet and she sang so heartbreakingly because her life was what it was and so she could sell her pain and angst in song. How does Une Voix Noire bring this life and voice alive?

Hairspray, booze and white flowers to open, that fabulous old fashioned hairspray that they called Lacquer. It is still used by Drag Queens to hold our wigs firm for months. The white flower is not at all Gardenia to me but a mix & match of all the white flowers and there’s a plastic/make up feel like the swipe of an expensive lipstick over a heavily powdered greasepaint and pan-stick. These smells are a Drag Queens stock in trade, so beautifully woven together in Une Voix Noire. I can imagine this being a part of how Billie Holiday would smell after a performance, there is something very lived in about Une Voix Noire.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

The heart feels sweaty and floral, white flowers and some wet-ish lily of the valley or peony perhaps. I’m getting a herbal back beat but no idea what it or they are, it’s sweet green and a little spicy and I think some buttery ylang goodness floating through too. Sweet white flowers, not sugared but like marzipan is both sweet and not sweet, actually there is a mintiness and the whole heart has a very interesting smell that reminds me of those fake teeth you used to get, remember? They were so fun to pretend you had these glamorous buck teeth in ultra white.

Sadly I miss out on most of the smokiness and Une Voix Noire stays pretty linear after the heart merely warming through with some sweet resinous vanilla/amber but still over the top is this white flower, not living Gardenia but kind of a drug store fragrance simile to it, and hairspray.

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

From my description it reads like I don’t care for Une Voix Noire, you couldn’t be more wrong. I freaking LOVE it. The lasting power is not so great for me though so I rarely reach for it to leave the house for work or play. Maybe I’ve used four or five of my 10ml decant that I bought in a split from AndreaW ages ago. When I do wear it I love it sick though.

Further reading: Now Smell This and
Une Voix Noire is available in the Exclusives line from Paris, Barney’s New York (I think) and online at Serge Lutens
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $4/.5ml

How do you feel about Une Voix Noire? Is it one of your Serge Lutens favourites?
Portia xx

Arpege Parfum (Vintage) by Andre Fraysse for Lanvin 1927

March 6, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 13 Comments

Heya Scented Sniffers,

I bought this bottle from Odona on Etsy. They are reasonably priced and when one of their frags had leaked about 70% of its contents in transit they gave me a refund on it. They are very nice people and their frags are fabulous.

Arpege Parfum (Vintage) by Andre Fraysse for Lanvin 1927

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Arpege, I know that it was worn by some of the Aunties but it was definitely seen as being for the younger or quieter of them when I was growing up. The louder or more mature were wearing Giorgio, Shalimar, No 5 and Poison. Sometimes, though the memory is faint, I do remember seeing the famously ridged glass atomiser bottle with the black bakelite cap come out of purses for resprays. There is something very soft, and soft focus, about the Eau of Arpege. Today though I would like to chat about the parfum.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

I think my top notes are about to turn, they are a good deal less sparkling and radiant than they should be, but less than a minute in the gorgeous thick and rich scent comes alive, so many aldehydes that it’s almost oily in its intensity. Fruity and thick like the syrup from a can of peaches but more pronounced, more effervescent and way more lavish. A thick sinuous rope of fragrance that is hefty enough to lift you up and carry you away.

Multi-faceted Arpege parfum, so many flowers and fruits, herbs and aldehydes all mixed together in a less sophisticated bouquet than CHANEL No 5 but giving a girlish laugh, nod and wink in its direction. Fascinating in its various hues and gilded like a Klimt painting, imagine the perfumer looking at this one of Adele Bloch Bauer 20 years after it was created and Jeannie Lanvin asking the perfumer to recreate it in scent. And that’s what we have, a big fragrance by today’s standards that is filled to the brim with beautiful notes yet lives as one perfectly cohesive and elegant fragrance.

Photo Stolen Flickr

After the fireworks of the opening subside and we are well into the heart of this vintage Arpege parfum I find myself transported back to my youth and cuddling some of the Aunties who smelled so fabulous.

I only dab so I’m not ridiculously fragrant but I a sweetly perfumed and would be a bit overwhelming in most modern workplaces I think. Though this is so good and lasts so long that I think it would be an excellent day out frag, you’d still be smelling gorgeous even after a huge day of picnics, art galleries or shopping. I have been dabbing myself on Saturdays as we continue the search for our new home and it is a welcome relief from some of the smells we’ve encountered along the way.

Further reading: Now Smell This and Non Blonde
My Perfume Samples has current EdP $6/5ml
Vintage Arpege Extrait is still widely available on Ebay & Etsy

Portia xx

Photo Stolen Kesha&Co

Arpege Parfum (Vintage) GIVEAWAY!

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x Arpege Parfum (Vintage) sample
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 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 so I know. Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged.

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Tell me an Arpege memory? Do you have one? Any scent your Aunties wore then?

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Arpege Parfum (Vintage) #GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-3Fm #Perfume @LANVINofficial @lanvin_news

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 8th March 2015 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Thursday 12th March 2015 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.

Néroli & Orchidée by L`Occitane GIVEAWAY WINNERS!

March 2, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 5 Comments

Hey Hey APJ!

As always we are thrilled to have been able to host this lavish GIVEAWAY with our super generous friends at L’Occitane. If you haven’t yet then please trot down to your nearest L’Occitane stare, I promise you’ll find something to love.

Portia xx

Néroli & Orchidée by L`Occitane en Provence

GIVEAWAY WINNERS!

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Orange, mandarin
Heart: Neroli, lily of the valley, fig milk, peach
Base: Madagascar orchid absolute, iris, musk

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week we will have 4 winners who will each get:
1 x 75ml bottle of Néroli & Orchidée by L’Occitane (Australians will get a special surprise extra)
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DID YOU WIN?

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 so I know. Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged.

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please go to L’Occitane and find me a fragrance and one of its notes. NO DOUBLE UPS!!!

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Neroli & Orchidee #GIVEAWAY @LOCCITANE @LOCCITANE_au http://wp.me/p3PURw-3E6 #Perfume

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closd Sunday 1st March 2015 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org

Photo stolen prospectsplus

Chris Hartnett

Erica Golding (via Twitter)

Katherine Mittas

Jaybee

CONGRATULATIONS! The winners will have till Thursday 5th March 2015 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.

Is Your Perfume Making You FAT?

February 23, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 67 Comments

Post by Azar

Hello APJ Pals,

Spring is here in February and there is no snow pack in the mountains! Despite assurances to the contrary from the local “powers that be” I’m afraid that the PNW may be in for a long drought and one hot, endless summer. The possibility of dealing with year round bathing suit weather has led me to the realization that I need to drop ten pounds – and FAST!

Is Your Perfume Making You FAT?

Where did this extra weight come from? I exercise daily and eat wholesome food (albeit in mass quantities). OK. I’ll admit that my diet has had an impact on my weight gain but I am beginning to suspect that some of my lovely, vintage fragrances have also had an effect on the pudge. Oh Dear! Perhaps my perfumes are making me FAT!

Photo Stolen DeviantArt

Of course, this statement is mere speculation, based on personal experience and totally anecdotal. This assertion is not tied to any scientific studies about phthalates in perfumes (or in anything else for that matter). Phthalates? No doubt you have heard about those plasticizing, xeno-estrogenic chemicals that have been implicated in obesity, infertility, various cancers, asthma, allergies, etc. Most of the phthalates now being used in perfumes have been deemed safe by the international “powers that be“. Nevertheless, I could swear that when I wear old Fidji for more than a week or vintage Poison for a day I start to pack on the pounds.

From what I hear it is almost impossible to avoid exposure to phthalates. They are present, in one form or another, in cosmetics, hair care, deodorants, soaps, perfumes, cleaning and laundry products, shower curtains, candles, garden hoses, lawn furniture, toys, roof shingles, carpeting, automotive interiors…There is even one fragrance that is reminiscent of the smell of a new plastic shower curtain.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

Let me make this clear: I understand that all phthalates are not equally evil. That being said, if I can lose a little weight by simply changing my perfume I’m all for it!

And so, starting today, I intend to relegate my vintage beauties and all of my yummy, appetite stimulating gourmands to perfume storage. Out of site, out of mind! Until the ten pounds are lost I will be going au naturel! Perhaps you will join me?

Azar xx

Photo Stolen sassisamblog

Is Your Perfume Making You FAT? GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 Winner who will receive:
One set of 5 x 1ml (more or less) samples of natural/botanical fragrances from my collection, perfumes I know or imagine to be phthalate free:
Olympic Orchids – Tropic of Capricorn
On the Nose – Smoked Amber
Illuminated Perfumes – Impromptu
Pirouette Essentials – Wild Spruce and Tobacco
Rosarium Blends – The Rosarium
P&H

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 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 so I know. Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged.

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Tell us if you’ve observed that your perfumes are making you fat (or skinny)? Or do you know (or care) if your favorite fragrance contains phthalates?

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie http://wp.me/p3PURw-3Ee GIVEAWAY! #Perfume #Giveaway @EllenCovey1 @RoxanaVilla @RosariumBlends

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 26th February 2015 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by some fun honest way
The winners will have till Monday 1st March 2015 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.

Wisteria Hysteria by Nathalie Feisthauer for CdG/Stephen Jones 2014

February 22, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 16 Comments

Hi there Niche Nerds,

Sometimes I look at a notes list and an idea of what a fragrance will smell like pops into my head, an olfactory guess. When I first wore Wisteria Hysteria it was a complete surprise. That pretty white bottle, those interesting green/spicy notes, I thought they would be a blind for a modern, sweet, light, slightly green, spicy and creamy composition. BOY was I wrong.

Wisteria Hysteria by Nathalie Feisthauer for CdG/Stephen Jones 2014

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Cloves, mate, carnation
Heart: Wisteria, rose, incense
Base: Musk, styrax, benzoin, amber

Wisteria Hysteria opens GREEN, so outrageously green I find it hard to believe this is a mainstream UK designer release, well Stephen Jones is a milliner and hats are part of design right? This is a fabulously edgy green, very Comme des Garcons metallic science fiction and also verging on a natural perfumery style, quite the dichotomy.

Photo Stolen FashionStroke

Sweet green, a funky, gothic, marshland fragrance. There is nothing here of my memory of our enormous wisteria vine that grew over two 30 foot tall tree stumps in our back yard. Spicy green, that only softens slightly with the introduction of the bouquet in the heart yet still has a cool unburned incense mixed with old BarBQ coals. Weird, unusual, interesting and moreish.

Photo Stolen Flickr

After about an hour Wisteria Hysteria calms down considerably, becomes a softer, creamier version of itself but still holds the green tight. At some point through the heart I get a scent that reminds me of Indian spices on some of their packet snack foods, spicy and delicious but HOT!

At this point I am instantly transported to some of my earlier visits to India. I would be there for around 6 weeks and the first 2-3 weeks I would be eating as much Indian food as I could and loving every bite. Then at around the 3 week point I would suddenly get overwhelmingly homesick and turn bitchy. Varun would be waiting for this and produce some Indian snack foods and mandarins or mangoes depending on the season. Those delicious snack foods would tide me over and I would be OK to deal with till the end of the trip. So Wisteria Hysteria brings to mind some incredibly happy reminiscences of some of the best times of my life.

Photo Stolen OpenCage

Then it is softly, softly green to sweet, warm, still green dry down.

Further reading: Now Smell This and Grain de Musc
LuckyScent has $165/55mlSurrender To Chance has samples starting at $4.50/.5ml

Did you get to try this? Is Stephen Jones a milliner that you know?
Portia xx

Vetiver by Jean-Paul Guerlain for Guerlain 1961/2000

February 18, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

Post by Liam

Do we love classics because we have to? Do I utter that Shalimar is the best oriental because of its luxuriously rich history? Do I really think Mitsouko is the greatest perfume ever? In my opinion, the answers don’t matter. I like to surf around ambivalence. I don’t think Vetiver is that great nowadays. Yes, I said it, but hear me out.

Vetiver by Jean-Paul Guerlain for Guerlain 1961/2000

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, coriander, lemon, mandarin, neroli
Heart: Vetiver, cedar wood
Base: Tobacco, walnuts, pepper, tonka bean

My post today draws attention to reformulation, former glory, and in some respects – moving on. For example, I refrain from saying Mitsouko is the greatest chypre in existence, but rather, it was. I own a parfum of Mitsouko dating from 2013. It is marvellous – it is a symphonic fragrance with movements so clear and so obvious it sings from the skin at a tight languid timbre. But I know that once upon a time it was better, and probably more dramatic and poising.

Photo Stolen WikiCommons

The same is true for Guerlain’s Vetiver. Vetiver is vetiver. It either smells smoky in the style of Chanel’s Sycomore, clean like Tom Ford’s Grey Vetiver or in between the two. This falls in the middle, contrasting between both labellings pleasantly with a blurry and crunchy angular-ness.

A revivified lemon opens, with a peppery tobacco note swirling around the predominant root note of vetiver. It begs the question, can dirt be clean? This smells of rich fertile soil dampened with crisp rainwater. Like rich green grass seen through a misty glaze, then eventually cut by warm crepuscular rays from the sun. Our opening accord is dispersive and wet, matured with a base of vetiver and spice. This is unfussy; lax unlike much of Guerlain’s uptight feminine works. It is a still, and somewhat tranquil piece of work as it is neither overly rough or overly smooth. It is merely balanced masterfully.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

But here’s my problem. Balance is great, but shock and awe is better. Chanel’s Sycomore excites me with its wood varnish quality. Terre D’Hermes presents a mineral flintiness unlike anything else. Do I have to love it? No. Rather, I should appreciate this scent for its historical importance and its reference value. On a critical level this is a linear perfume, spiced slowly and worn in with a dry cedar. The unctuousness is made refined, somewhat mellow in its progression; and yet despite this, it feels eternally thin, lacking a few features that cause great desire. Novel then (1959), and nowadays a traditionalist masterpiece that deserves nothing more than reverence. Guerlain paved the way for greats that have crafted vetiver masterpieces like Ellena, Ropion, Sheldrake, and Polge.

Photo Stolen Pixabay

Further reading: Bois de Jasmin and What Men Should Smell Like
FragranceNet has $43/100ml before coupon
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $3/ml

All in all, Vetiver by Guerlain is solid and dependable; for the man who is comfortable in the background. This has an eternally redolent quality, reminding me of my grandfather who would come home smelling of lawn clippings and the industrial smell of fuel. Wear it throughout the working day and it will last all day long without any risk of offence or dangerous projection, as it should be.

What do you think of the Guerlain Vetiver? Masterpiece or Museum piece?
Liam x

All I Do Is Beach: Natalie: Another Perfume Blog

February 16, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 21 Comments

Post by Natalie APB

Friends, it’s confession time! My name is Natalie, and I am no longer a perfume junkie. Since I closed Another Perfume Blog last year, my perfume consumption is down by approximately 1000%. So why am I writing a post for APJ? Well, first because Portia asked me to, and no one can say no to Portia. And second, because I do have a little area of specialization to share with you all: beach fragrances! Today I’m going to share my personal categories of beach perfumes, and my top favorite in each category.

Photo Stolen ManlyAustralia

Beach Fragrances 2015: All I Do is Beach

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Beach Fragrance Category 1: The Hawaiian Tropic

Hawaiian Tropic suntan oil is the iconic coconut oil beach smell. Unbelievably rich and full of creamy, coconutty lactones. This category of beach fragrances is also creamy and coconutty, but the best ones invoke some sourness to call up the smell of skin rather than dessert. My favorite in this category is from DSH’s Essence Studios: Hippie Chic. It’s heavy on black coconut and clove, and the longer I have my bottle, the more present the ambergris is. Longevity is excellent, and the heaviness of this scent does well on the beach (naturally) and on a hot summer night when you don’t plan to get home until dawn. If you can’t find Hippie Chic, try anything from Comptoir Sud Pacifique or Indian Coconut Nectar from Pacifica.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Beach Fragrance Category 2: The Bain de Soleil

Ban de Soleil is the sun cream that says “I’m European, bitch,” and so do the perfumes in this category. Less about coconut and less accessible than some other beach perfumes, they are all about solar notes. They can read as space-age takes on sunscreen (MiN New York’s Long Board is an amazing, wearable example) or simply as very chic. I go for the Guerlain’s Terracotta Le Parfum, where the solar notes are matched with spice and white flowers. The scent is elusive, but ce est les francais, non? Bobbi Brown’s Beach and CB I Hate Perfume At the Beach 1966 are a few others in this group.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Beach Fragrance Category 3: The Bronzer

For the beach bunny who could care less about sunscreen, and just wants to look (and smell) sexy, we look no further than Bronze Goddess. The Bronzers are the beach fragrances that makes everyone smell like a supermodel, and Bronze Goddess is the queen of them all. A perfectly balanced, sexy mix of coconut, white flowers, citrus, balsamic, and suntan oil notes. The poor longevity is actually a benefit, since it’s an excuse to re-mist yourself every few hours. I could recommend other “Bronzer” perfumes, but why would I? This category is owned by Bronze Goddess, folks.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Category 4: The Skinnydipper

These fragrances are all about summer nights. Nuxe’s Le Prodigiuex has an introspective feeling, spotlighting white flowers. Its longevity is incredible, especially if you buy the oil and use it in your hair. Or try the less subtle (but more fleeting) Guerlain Lys Soleia. And don’t miss the extra glam Michael by Michael Kors.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

Which category of beach fragrances appeals to you, or do you not agree with my categories at all? Be sure to share your favorite beach frags, too (I wouldn’t mind adding to my collection, even if I’m not a real perfume junkie anymore)!

Natalie xx

Libertine Sydney Perfume Masterclass

February 15, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 7 Comments

Hello fellow fumies,

Nick Smart (of Libertine), Ainslie Walker and I have a special invitation for you to join us and attend a master class at the new Sydney Libertine store.

We are arranging for a small group to go together on the Wednesday 4th March and see the new Libertine Sydney premises.

Nick is Australia’s most knowledgeable importer of niche perfumery, Ainslie is one of APJ’s contributors, perfumer and scent/product designer. They will take us through the Libertine ranges and show things still unavailable in Australian stores. We get to have some fun with the Michael Edwards Fragrance Wheel, sniff, laugh, mingle and shop. What better way to spend a Wednesday evening?

Please come and join us for this FAB event. Hopefully you’ll get to spend some quality time with fragrances you’ve only ever read about on blogs, this is the time you can really smell them on your skin.

Also, selfishly I love to see you all and hang out. Afterwards we can go grab a drink.

HURRY UP, BOOK NOW! 8002 4488
Portia xxox

Australian Perfume Junkies Niche Perfumery Masterclass

Hosts: Nick Smart + Ainslie Walker

Date: Wednesday 4th March 2015

Price: $49 (redeemable against purchases on the night)

Time: 6pm for a 6:30 start

To Book call Libertine Sydney on 8002 4488. Payment is required to secure your booking