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Aoud Lime by Montale

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 25 Comments

Hey All,

On Monday I had my first sniff into the big, bad, scary world of Montale (<<Jump to read). Guess what? It wasn’t any of that, um, no, I mean yes, it IS big! Montale has an enormous range and I have a sample group of 10+ and still I have only dipped my toe in their offerings. In the comments on Monday I was asked , challenged, dared even, to try Aoud Lime. People are saying it will take my chest (where I spray all first time frag sniffs), pick me up, shake me, throw me against a wall and leave me there groaning and too sore to cry. Well, never let it be said that Portia Turbo was one to walk away from a Cer Ay Zee Challenge.

Aoud Lime by Montale

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

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Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Pakistan oudh, Indian rose, Italian orris, sandalwood, patchouli, saffron, amber

11am: As my 2 samples of Aoud Lime go into a glass decant spray the juice is the same colour as one of my 1970s Shalimar parfums, rich amber coloured nectar and it smells like ambrosia. The initial rush is reminiscent of Bar B Q’d citrus or limes left in the sun after a cocktail has been drunk. An alcoholic, slightly dry, hot, citrus with a clean, synthetic oudh smell that could be medicinal but is mainly herbal to me so far and has no hint of the pooh smell.

Photo Stolen TheRawRecipe

1.30pm: I have now cleaned the bathrooms, dusted, vacuumed and steam mopped the house. Quite regularly throughout my cleaning frenzy I have been given little huffs that have stayed almost linear with just a push into rose territory, a spicy and honeyed rose. Aoud Lime has become a quiet scent by now, very pretty rather than the audacious, extreme, screamer I was expecting. I think after the first half hour that you could totally wear Aoud Lime to dinner, movies, theatre or not close proximity work environs. It has become a classy and cool fragrance on my skin that I would be proud to wear as a regular day scent or with an extra spritz or 2 for a big night on the town.

3pm: Finished the washing, swam, sunbaked for 45 minutes and still a lovely sweet oudh, citrus and wood, slightly powdery. Heading for skin scent but it really has been through the wringer today. I’m going to wear it again tonight to see if less strenuous activity gives it a different run.

Photo Stolen flickrhivemind

Go see the WhatMenShouldSmellLike review for further reading.
LuckyScent has 50ml/$110
FourSeasons has 100ml/$160
SurrenderToChance starts at $4/ml

Photo Stolen foodmatters

Sorry everyone. I don’t understand what all the fuss was about. this is beautiful and wearable for me. I will seriously be contemplating a full bottle of Aoud Lime after I’ve tried the rest of the Montales.

We wish you painless, easy and harmless world domination in whatever is your chosen field, and at least one beautiful moment before we see you tomorrow.
Till then,
Portia xx

Fendi by Fendi 1985 and Shake Your Groove Thing by Peaches n Herb

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 50 Comments

Hiya Gang,

Once upon a time there were 2 baby drag queens. They were young, thin, glamorous, popular and ready to be superstars. Devoted fashionistas they were caught up in the 1980’s swirl of ENORMOUS fragrances and in the end they both chose their signature scent, the same scent. Roll on 1990 and their worlds collided in fast friendship, creativity and seismic tremors. Together in shows, at parties, in magazines and newspapers, even sharing the funeral scene in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert: you could smell us coming for MILES. What were we wearing?

FENDI

Photo stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives the featured accords:
Top: Aldehydes, bergamot, lemon, mandarin, Brazillian rosewood, cardamom, coriander
Heart: Carnation, jasmine, cypress, rose, ylang ylang, lily of the valley, geranium
Base: Cedar, amber, vanilla, tonka bean, oakmoss, sandalwood, leather, musk, patchouli, spices

I have been looking for a Fendi that I could afford for ages and then one of my favourite eBay shops got a 4ml EdT and I was on it!! Boy oh boy! The memories come flooding back. WOW! It opens spicy citrus, all gloriously sparkling and effervescent and the cardamom makes it funky and slightly feral and happily blows your brains out with the back of your head. Trying to pull notes out of this magnificent cacophony is not really possible, there is a bouquet but it doesn’t smell like any flower on this earth yet manages to smell like ALL of them. The only thing shining above the bouquet is a sexy, breathy, bedheadish jasmine and ylang ylang but I’ve been wearing my little eBay 4ml of Fendi for over an hour before it properly started to show. I think I’m in for a seriously long ride. I’m still getting serious cardamom and coriander action too. I start to get some woods and amber at about the 2.5 hour mark but still the fragrance is dominated by this incredible breathy, salty, body scent. Is there unmentioned ambergris here?

It’s 2am here and the woods and amber have moved in. There is a murky depth that I think may be the oakmoss or patchouli and there are hints of old, well loved saddle leather, almost an oudh-ish backdrop all washed over with the lovely smell of humanity, slightly rank but real and beautiful. Nearly 4 hours into the life Fendi and still pumping out full throated power frag. I reckon there’ll be some left in the morning.

Photo Stolen Italymag

Speaking of Priscilla; Queen Of The Desert I have a special treat for you below. My gratitude to Stephan Elliott for involving me in that wonderful film can never be expessed often enough or fully. Way back in 1994-5 I was living in London and had just finished with the Priscilla making when I left Sydney, when the cast and crew were off to the Cannes Film Festival for the opening I was lucky enough to be invited along, more on that another time. Another incredible upshot from being in the film was that because I was easily available to the powers that be there, and Oscar winning Costume Designer Tim Chappell was staying with me at the time, I was asked to be the star of the next single from the soundtrack’s video because the group Peaches & Herb had no interest in doing it. Here are a bunch of the Drag queens who I was friends with and my 2 male dancers for pub and club shows I was doing across the UK and Europe all together having a HOOT! Do please enjoy.

BTW It’s my first Thursday at Perfume Posse and we have a LIVE Video Sniff going on over there featuring Frederic Malle fragrances. Please drop in and say HI.

Thanks for dropping by. Do you remember Fendi? Priscilla; Queen Of The Desert? What are your recollections? I love to read your thoughts and this should be a conversation so leave a comment in the box, even a hello would be wonderful. Till tomorrow,
LOVE YOU ALL,
Portia xx

Grand Amour by Isabelle Doyen for Annick Goutal 1996

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 14 Comments

Well Hello there Fragrant Friends,

AustralianPerfumeJunkies has a long held love affair with Annick Goutal’s fragrances. They are beautiful and interesting without being confrontational or divisive. You are elegantly fragrant and perfumed, without the 1980’s strength but with a nod to the depths and intricacies that went into fragrance then. Even if you are a brand new perfumista, and for many people who will never fall down the fragrant worm hole, they are easy to love. Often it’s the Annick Goutal I reach for because they are so wearable, just add an extra spritz for evening.

Grand Amour EdT by Annick Goutal

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives the featured accords as Floral, Amber & Musk: these are further divided into :
Top: Turkish rose, lily, honeysuckle, hyacinth, fruity notes
Heart: French jasmine, lydia broom, leather, Indian mimosa
Base: Amber, vanilla, myrrh, musk

Annick Goutal’s website says: Grand Amour is the perfume of the serene passion Annick experienced with her husband, the cellist Alain Meunier, who would bring her a bouquet of white flowers every week.

Photo Stolen Annick Goutal

YUM as I spritz the first glorious waft is pure lily and fruit salad with a vegetative greenness that I attribute to the hyacinth but of course I’ve been wrong before. It is lush, ripe and crisp simultaneously and a perfect mid season scent, light enough for Spring and deep enough for Autumn. When the Turkish rose makes its entrance it seems to herald the introduction of French jasmine which does not come through as the sensual dirty ho at first but as a honeyed green sweetness pours in there are definite signs of all primness being forgotten and the rigid bun being let down. As Grand amout turns towards dry down I get a very sweet resinous musk, for some reason it doesn’t read vanilla and is definitely not gourmand, it is alluring though in a soft and calm come hither way.

I think you could wear Grand Amour by Annick Goutal in most social situations and at work as long as they aren’t fragrance phobic. You will be fragrant but not skunking unless you go spritz crazy. Go on, everyone deserves a Grand Amour.

Photo Stolen whitelibratexas

If I am intending to wear Grand Amour for any length of time I have to do a full respritz at the 2 hour mark. This self layering gives me a much greater fragrance life, depending on my movements and the weather up to 8 hours. Otherwise I’m lucky to get 4 hours.

ISmellThereforeIAm does a wonderful review for further reading.
MyPerfumeSamples start at $2/ml and does $7/5ml (What a FRICKEN BARGAIN)

So if you’re looking for a Grand Amour Annick Goutal has you all covered. You’ll smell awesome and don’t have to feed it breakfast.

The whole time I was writing this post Oh L’Amour by Erasure was playing through my head. It has the same sweet, sparkly, engaging sound as Grand Amour has fragrance. I put the video for you to enjoy. He He He.
Till tomorrow only the good stuff coming your way,
Portia xx

Un Jardin Apres La Mousson by Jean-Claude Ellena for Hermes 2008

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 30 Comments

Hello Perfume Aficionados,

There are 2 things that I quite like as a rule. Hermes, I think they are uber-luxe, and Jean-Claude Ellena who is blazing his own trail and is doing it to capture his ideal of beauty. I like his style, the way he can communicate his reasons and some of his motivations through his books and interviews, his mystique and his fragrances. Not all of them are perfect fits for my skin or personal style but I really enjoy their stories and their sheer, light quality that means my own smell is not completely masked but expanded by beauty. By the way don’t confuse sheer with poor sillage or scent bubble, you are decidedly fragrant for the life of the perfumes.

Un Jardin Apres La Mousson by Hermes

Garden After Monsoon is the translation from French and we are to be swept up into a garden at the bottom tip of India in the state called Kerala where the monsoon first arrives in India. Legend has it that if you are standing there when the monsoon arrives your sight will be restored to its former glory and there seems to be some truth to the tale. I read it in Alexander Frater’s “Following the Monsoon”. Now I really want to go back and be there for the beginning of the monsoon, not least because my eyesight is beginning to deteriorate.

Photo Stolen Hermes

Fragrantica givees these featured accords:
Ginger, ginger flower, cardamom, coriander, pepper and vetiver

Un Jardin Apres La Mousson opens wet and crisp like you’ve just cut up a fresh, cool bell pepper and put it in the blender with a very small slice of ginger and some fruit, all done near a fresh garden salad, washed and prepared but still undressed. As the cardamom and coriander show their selves they are interesting and while still cool add a skinnish depth and a citrus pith feeling. When I huff a big breath out into my top it all warms up and becomes almost overpoweringly beautiful. The vetiver is earthy and rich playing background through the life of the fragrance till near the end it has a little limelight all to itself and then the fragrance, around 3 hours on me, is gone.

Photo Stolen ibnlive.in

Not necessarily in India, but there too, I love the bright green world when the storm is rolling in. There is a heightened expectation and an electric charge running through everything. It has never stopped being exciting for me. I also love the vegetative fragrance of wet grass and humus, the spicy twang of wet leaves and flowers. When in Rajasthan there is a grassed area out the front of my buddies hotel where the family often congregates for morning and afternoon tea, it is particularly lovely after rain. Though Un Jardin Apres La Mousson smells noting like any of this it does evoke a feeling exactly like it. I feel refreshed, energised and ready to accept a new, fresh, change. Jean-Claude Ellena has an unerring instinct for making his work capture my imagination and though I think the title of this fragrance has been a clunky wall in the way of it being loved, this is my favourite of the Un Jardin series.

Photo Stolen article.wn

BoisDeJasmine and OlfatroriasTravels both get very interesting differences in their reviews, great further reading.
FragranceShop has 50ml for $44 and 100ml for $66 after discount
PoshPeasant starts samples at $3.50/ml

Below I’ve added in a 6 minute doco. of one of the palaces I’ve been lucky enough to spend some time in in Deeg, Rajasthan, India. My last longtime partner and his family had a refrigeration plant there. During the torturous, baking, Summer madness the gardens still offer a cool spot to get away. Enjoy!
Heaps of love from us,
Portia xx

Aoud Shiny by Pierre Montale for Montale 2008

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 47 Comments

Hello fellow Fumies,

Have you ever read a bunch of reviews and they have frightened you off something? All I keep reading is about how harsh,  strong, powerful and long lasting the Montale fragrances are. That they are kick you in the head and then jump on your carcass as you lay there dead by asphyxiation. Recently on SurrenderToChance they had a DailyChanceSpecial on the Montale manufacturers samples where you could get them for only 99c each. Of course I grabbed a bunch and they have been sitting there unloved and unsniffed since because I had to wait for there to be nothing involving people to do and nobody awake to skunk. Tonight’s the night!!

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Bulgarian rose, violet leaf, oud, nagarmotha root (Cyperus scariosus), sandalwood, patchouli.

My skin completely explodes with crushed violet leaf, slightly earthy nagarmotha root and a soft, clean, oudh for the first 15-20 minutes. It is fresh and lively, green and summery, and not what I was expecting AT ALL. Ha ha ha! I often read about the moment when you start to think you know something about fragrance and you get all, “Oh, I know what this will be like because I’m a frag DIVA!” It’s at that exact time something will come along and surprise the shit out of you. Well, here it is! While being lush and wet, like walking through the immaculate gardens of a tropical resort after rain, this is not a big fragrance. Yes you are perfumed and fragrant, you have better than good sillage and sit still for a while and people will notice that you smell incredible but Aoud Shiny is not a skunker.

Photo Stolen novinite

Oh MY! This is the part where the Bulgarian roses come in and smack everything else down. I have been wearing Aoud Shiny by Montale for nearly 40 minutes and slowly the roses have been taking over, right now they are all there is. A lavish, slightly spicy, full blown rose: those big fat global roses that open up as big as a salad plate. CooEEEEEEE! This splendiferous rose remains front and centre for a good, long while, maybe 1.5-2 hours and then a spicy, minty, medical/chewing gum experience takes over (almost like the opening of Geranium Pour Monsieur but less intense). It’s not an oudh-ish medicine but a dentist surgery, get  it?

Photo Stolen inspiredbythis

One of the things I really enjoy about this fragrance is the amount of time you get with each stage of the fragrances development, now at around the 3-4 hour mark the sandalwood is making a big buttered wood statement that doesn’t run completely over the lingering violet leaf and rose, it’s a triumvirate with the sandalwood walking slightly ahead. at this point I start to feel like we are really about to arrive in a Middle Eastern fragrance. Here is where the real depths of the fragrance begin to shine. While still retaining its light and freshness Aoud Shiny gives up its hidden depths to us and will continue to do so for hours more yet. By the time I lose the fragrance I’ve stopped checking the time, so some time after the 7 hour mark but before 10 hours. EXCELLENT!

I couldn’t find a dedicated review of Aoud Shiny by any of my favoured bloggers but on Basenotes and Fragrantica there was a mixture of love and hate reviews.
ParfumsRaffy has a selection of Aoud Shiny $100/50ml & $165/100ml
SurrenderToChance starts at $4/ml

There were quite a few complaints that Montale was doing another Rose/Oudh fragrance. I am new to the line so for me it had a fresh, lovely and unusual approach towards these 2 main accords, lighter than the heavy Indian and Middle Eastern oils that I’m familiar with and heavier than almost all of the Western fragrances. A fine, balanced perfume with a great, long story to tell. I can’t wait to try another Montale.

Have you tried any of the Montales? Do you have a favourite? Please tell me below in the comments,
We at APJ hope that you have enjoyed dropping in and we hope to see you back tomorrow. Till then, take care of yourselves,
Portia xx

Here is a gorgeous Belly Dancing Artist who gives the idea a great new modern spin. Do Enjoy!!

Opium by Jean Amic and Jean-Louis Sieuzac for YSL 1977 and Guo Pei, China’s Haute Couture Queen

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 21 Comments

Hiya Fashion & Fume Heads,

Opium by YSL 1977

It’s 1977 and the reigning king of Parisian Haute Couture is 41 year old Yves Saint Laurent. He has brought the Peasant Shirt and Gypsy Look and is about to do a sensational Oriental Brocade themed Autumn/Winter that will also usher in his most extraordinary success, Opium. So much legend and myth surrounds the launch of this fragrance, so many of our friends mothers were Opium Only girls and my BFF Kath’s Mum still wears only Opium to this day. She is the catalyst for this post because I have been lucky enough to procure a 36ml Vintage EdT for her and I also found a 7.5ml Parfum that I will share with her. Don’t tell her though, it’s her Xmas present. SHHHH

YSL Nude Photo stolen leblogdesovena

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Coriander, plum, citruses, mandarin orange, pepper, jasmine, cloves, west indian bay, bergamot
Heart: Carnation, sandalwood, patchouli, cinnamon, orris root, peach, lily-of-the-valley, rose
Base: Labdanum, tolu balsam, sandalwood, amber, opoponax, musk, coconut, vanilla, benzoin, vetiver, incense, cedar, myrrh

The Parfum opens sweeter than I remember, very fruity, nearly over ripe fruit fermenting on a hot humid day, and then the bay and spices wander in, its big but restrained and the skank is hidden beneath layers. The EdT is similar but much more feral, fecal, bed headish with a skanky jasmine lurking around the edges, there is hardly any citrus at all. The EdT is everything I remember of hugging my mates Mums. This is what they smelled like! Fully fragrant, sensual, wealthy Mums that quite often ran their own businesses, ferried kids, looked a million dollars and made sure all the housework was done. How did they do it? Gods know?! We’d jump in the back of their gleaming cars and this is what we’d smell. 30 minutes in and the EdT is starting to warm into itself and become that lovely buttered sandalwood and spicy, floral bouquet; the Parfum hasn’t really moved much but I am getting the beginnings of the skank attack that I knew was coming. The Parfum is definitely taking its time to show all the loveliness that it has to offer.

When I put my nose up to them they are far more similar that if I get a surprise whiff as a hand goes by my face, the EdT is memories, the Parfum not so much and I get a minty/carnation and cool orris during the heart that I had never noticed before. Maybe they are from different eras and they have tweaked the Parfum a little, or maybe some of the notes have become heat damaged or oxidised. It’s Opium but slightly different, the colour, packaging etc all point to it being the real deal though. Ha Ha Ha!! OK Here it is. Parfum has hit skanky town at just over the 1 hour mark there is a very dirty bitch growl coming from my left hand that matches the EdT’s slightly lived in opening but not so outrageous.

I wonder if there is a major difference between the amount of fragrance you put on in a spritz and a dab? The EdT is bigger and more voluptuous all the way through its 5-6 hour span but the Parfum, while remaining softer all along, is more nuanced, sweeter and less animalic throughout and I can smell a coconut twang towards the 6 hour mark that never occurred in the EdT and I can still smell some sweet woods next morning, just barely.

NowSmellThis does a great review and PerfumeShrine talks about the IFRA regulations causing the big change etc
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Guo Pei, The Queen of China”s Haute Couture

I stole these lavish pictures and the video from Fashion&StyleGuru, the most fashion forward blog I’ve found so far. Never in my years in the fashion industry, the theatre or drag have I seen such work. FLAWLESS!

I hope you enjoy a new to me beyond incredible Haute Couture designer from China. Guo Pei is a name that you will be hearing a lot of.

Whatever you do today, give it your best shot. Sloppy work is habit forming, and being less than your best is a quick way to the guilt spiral that heralds depression. The difference between a mediocre job and a brilliant one can be as little as 5% extra effort. It’s worth it for your own peace of mind.
Till tomorrow ,
Portia xx

Mitsouko by Jacques Guerlain for Guerlain 1919 and Lolita by The Veronicas

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 17 Comments

Hiya Gang,

Mitsouko is one of the fragrances that sits high upon a marble Guerlain plinth in my mental fragrance catalogue with Shalimar and Vol de Nuit sitting right there also. They are the extra special “Jacques Guerlain” Guerlains. Of the three my family and their friends circle wore mainly Shalimar though I have a cloudy memory of the Vol de Nuit bottle at a courtesy Aunts house but can’t remember having smelt it previously when I smell it nowadays. I only remember the name Mitsouko but have not an inkling of someone owning or wearing it, having been a Guerlain squirt bitch for a while I would definitely have come across it then but it really does draw a complete pre fragrance craving blank. That was then…

Mitsouko by Jacques Guerlain for Guerlain 1919

Photo Stolen Basenotes

Fragrantica and PerfumeShrine give these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, Lemon, Mandarin, Neroli, Jasmine, Rose
Heart: Peach, Rose, Clove, Ylang-Ylang, Lilac, Jasmine
Base: Oakmoss, Labdanum, Patchouli, Benzoin, Vetiver, Cinnamon.

I am spoiled enough to own a vintage Mitsouko PdT and a modern Mitsouko EdP. The last couple of days I have been wearing them on opposite wrists to see how different the really are to my nose.

The PdT is definitely more animalic on opening and the EdP is fruitier. The heart notes are almost the same but again the fruit & florals (jasmine is very breathy) are cut through with beast in the PdT and the peach, clove and citrus play lead in EdP over the floral heart. If I was not wearing them side by side I would not really know the difference between the 2 but together they are different. Dry down on the PdT is darker and more fetid but the brighter EdP lasts much longer on me and is still giving its sweet, nutty and earthy whisper next morning. Neither is wearable in a work environment if you are near anyone and they may interfere with your food and will definitely upset the people around you at the cinema, opera or even a bus. wear with caution. A big, glorious peachy floral statement that will not be forgotten easily and will leave a coruscating trail behind you as you waft fragrantly through your day. An especially good choice for days you are cleaning, grocery shopping or anything that could do with a lick of glamour to make it more enjoyable.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

BoisDeJasmin does a great modern & vintage throwdown and PerfumeShrine has history, myths, movies and other interesting titbits
FragranceNet had modern EdP 75ml around $55
SurrenderToChance have modern EdT & EdP $3/ml and Vintage Parfum $7/.25ml
I was very lucky and got my Mitsouko 70-80s Vintage PdT from a sale at FacebookFragranceFriends, Thanks Chris!!

The Veronicas are an Aussie band who had to go overseas to get famous. They are sisters and I think they and this song are a great match with Mitsouko, beautiful, dark, alluring and slightly obnoxious. I love their music and think this is a particularly good mini movie too. Enjoy

I can’t thank you all enough for being part of the APJ Family. I am so grateful that you all love to visit regularly.

Do you or have you worn Mitsouko? Is there a favourite incarnation or strength that appeals more? Please share your thoughts because I love it when it becomes a conversation in the Comment section and I know you have something to say.
Till tomorrow,
Portia xx

Lolita by The Veronicas

CB I Hate Perfume LIVE Video Sniff

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 6 Comments

Hey Ho Frag Hags,

We have another mental look at some slightly sideways fragrances with the ever lovely Robert “Radium” Maxwell. This time we give a couple of the CB I Hate Perfumes a go. They are an interesting group led by Christopher Brosius and here is what he has to say on the CBIHatePerfume site.

When I was a child, I wanted to be an artist or perhaps a scientist. Instead I am a perfumer – this is perhaps a bit of both. I’ve been described as one of the most innovative perfumers of the 21st Century. I’ve won awards, my work is in museums and countless people in all civilized parts of the globe enjoy the unique scents I create. Much to my surprise, at least in a small way I have changed how people think of perfume: what it is & how it’s used.

Photo Stolen CBIHatePerfume

As always I like to remind you that we are fragrance enthusiasts, not professional noses, it’s late after I have hosted a smashing night of Turbo Trivia and we’ve all had a few alcoholic beverages. The long suffering BFF Kath is on the video camera and constantly has to pull us back to focus on the job at hand because EmmaKate, David and a couple of other friends are all sitting off to the side making faces and doing regular dumb ass stuff. The filming of these mini movies is one of the great highlights of being an AustralianPerfumeJunkie.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

I hope you get an inkling of how much fun we are all having and get a smile, smirk or chortle from our videos; and learn something too. Special thanks to Kath for filming and editing and also to the long suffering Jin for making it blog ready.

This is NSFW unless you have earphones on, the language is quite ripe and fruity.

Please go and have a look at the CB I HATE PERFUME site
You can also grab samples/decants from SurrenderToChance

As always we wish you only the good stuff you wish yourselves till we see you tomorrow.
Love from all us MAD FRAG HAGS at APJ,
Portia xx

Please enjoy our look at Patchouli Empire and Fire From Heaven.

Cedar St. Tavern by Prospector Co. 2012

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 15 Comments

Hello Perfumista Bargain Hunters,

I often find hidden gems on my list of non fragrance blog reading. I think this particular beauty came from DesignSponge, a daily design, DIY and decorating blog that has its finger on the world’s good stuff pulse. From my office chair I can see the best design on as many as 4 continents a day. It is rare for them to delve into fragrance and beauty so when the Prospector Co. products were being held up to scrutiny and given honors I was intrigued, especially since 2.7 fl oz costs about the same as a 3ml decant of some of the pricier niche offerings. What is the worst that can happen I thought, it will be average and I will give it as a Christmas present to a family member that will be thrilled. I am now thinking of giving it as presents but not because I think it’s average. Cedar St. Tavern by Prospector Co. is anything but average but it does feel historic. Though I don’t believe in gender lines there is a set of accords that makes up my memories of what the men smelled like as I was growing up, this is it plus a bit.

Photo Stolen ProspectorCo

From ProspectorCo website
Beginning in 1866 in New York’s financial district, the Cedar St. Tavern saw several locations until settling into the 40s bohemian neighborhood of Greenwich Village. It was during this time that many of America’s most prolific painters, writers and musicians congregated over drink and intellectual banter. The 50s brought in the New York School with Pollack, de Kooning, Rothko, Kline, and writers like Ginsberg, Kerouac and Corso. This location signifies an inspiring moment in history, with its stories and creative caché that will most likely never happen again. This scent takes its name from this place in time and an aroma of worked-in attire, old-fashioned 50s cologne, and a carefree regime best describe it. The notes that carry it and the unsubtle attitude of the person wearing it make it happen.

Cedar St Tavern Photo stolen theplathdiaries

Created from an age old perfumer’s technique with the modern man in mind, this light scent is best used as a refreshing wake-up for the face and garb. Midday meetings and post-work occasions call for this scented spray and its rich rustic notes and cooling aftereffect. The formula is safe for clothing and all skin-types and will bring back your pre-day freshness, even at midnight.

ProspectorCo gives this amorphous featured noted list: Patchouli, Oak Moss, Tonka Bean, Lavender and other pure essential oils.

I get a really wonderful warm lavender opening, I know that doesn’t sound right but the lavender has been softened and I think it’s the tonka giving it a slightly sweet bent. Warm, sweet and still herbal with darker depths Cedar St. Tavern is a modern retro-feel fougere style fragrance that will knock your socks off. It has great sillage but its scent bubble is not extreme.  Simultaneously smelling like a modern masterpiece and Grandpa there is a short but interesting story lived withing the notes confines: powdery, lavender fresh, herbal but slightly sweet I can imagine grabbing the sensational bottle after the gym or swimming. It’s not a skunker so most work situations would be good unless you are in a severe no fragrance workplace or you are in very close contact. Have I mentioned how comfortable and retro-glam the bottle is, so cool and understated, and it has a gym beg no spray plastic dooby-whacker that will keep your juice in the can till you want to use it.

Cedar St. Tavern lasts quite well at about 4-5 hours until it dries down to a skin scent that reminds me of something but I can’t quite put my memory to it sadly, that soft powder and woods skin scent lasts till morning.
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Cedar St. Tavern Prospector Co. 2.7 oz $32.00

Need a stocking filler? Don’t know what to get your Secret Santa? This is something interesting, wearable and very reasonably priced that will look good on any bathroom vanity and not be an embarrassment in a locker room.

Till tomorrow be well and try and take 5 minutes just for you somewhere along the way.
Portia xx

Here is the 2nd Brad Pitt CHANEL No 5 Movie

Tea For Two by Olivia Giacobetti for L’Artisan Parfumeur 2000

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 24 Comments

Hiya Stink Monkeys!!

,I have been reading about Tea For Two on blogs, trying it irregularly and when it was discontinued there was wailing, tearing of hair and gnashing of teeth by perfumistas all over this lovely globe. I have tried it a few times, a spritz here or a dab there, and never been enamoured by it. Not that I didn’t like it, I did. There just seemed to be so many other fragrances that I was more charmed or captivated by. Perfumes that I NEEDED to own a bottle or large decant of and thought that life without would be unbearable, you know, general frag hag drill. So when the lovely Undina, from Undina’sLookingGlass, sent a generous sample with some other stuff recently T42 got shunted aside in preference for things more top of mind, till yesterday and now today.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives the featured accords as:
Top: Bergamot, star anise, tea
Heart: Cinnamon, ginger, spices, gingerbread
Base: Honey, vanilla, leather, tobacco

I love the fresh yet warm opening where the bergamot shimmers over the anise which is warm and breathy and surprisingly sweet, like the gingerbread is already there warm from the oven, and the honey and vanilla seem to be floating around nearby also. This fragrance is what I think of when I think of a gourmand, my mouth has been watering since I sprayed earlier in the day and I want cookies and cakes so bad. Not to mention a hot steaming cup of tea. Back in a moment….

Photo Stolen dorisday.net

Don’t get me wrong, though this is sweet the tea holds everything in check so it doesn’t become annoying or sickly. Olivia Giacobetti has walked a very fine line and I know the notes don’t say it but I have something very white flowers going on too, maybe orange blossom (just read in BoisDeJasmin that it is! Fist Punch! Woo Hoo!), that buttery warm human scent plays background for the first couple of hours when Tea For Two is strongest on my skin. The smoky tar laden tea so spicy and strong is just given the lightest touch of cream and then the leather comes rolling in, across and through softly but decisively to give heft and depth to the lovely cuddly sweet vanilla and tobacco. Then somewhere between 4-6 hours, depending on the day etc, my skin eats all remnants of having worn fragrance at all.

Photo Stolen huntington.org

Not a sillage monster but you are definitely fragrant and do leave a lovely bright trail behind you that lasts a touch more that a moment, just enough time to tantalise, though this is more a warm comfort scent than a come hither and get you summa this. Perfectly acceptable to wear anywhere except frag phobic offices, even when spritzed with abandon.

BoiseDeJasmin for further reading and PerfumeSmellingThings does a hilarious husband and wife take, must read!
eGlobalBeauty has 100ml delivered $135
SurrenderToChance starts at 1ml/$4

So thank you Undina from Undina’sLookingGlass for another MUST OWN fragrance, you are an enchantress and and enabler and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for making me go back and retry Tea For Two.

What are you wafting? Is there tea in it? Do you have a favourite Tea-centric fragrance? Share with us in the comments please.

Till tomorrow we wish you the good stuff you wish for yourselves and a moment of magic,
Love,
Portia xx