So Boyfriend is not new but I do like the way Kate Walsh has thought out her fragrance. That it is a set for layering, works with most other scents and has a fun boyfriend story to boot. She talks really well and interestingly here.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Woody notes, amber, flowers, dark plum, myrrh, lily of the valley, night blooming jasmine and musk.
What is with the weather in Australia this summer? While Portia has been exploring a winter wonderland in Europe we’ve experienced heat-waves, flooding, crazy storms and bush fires. I hope the APJ family has made it through the extreme weather without any major dramas. The weather in Brisbane this week has been more rain and my backyard is becoming overgrown. Between showers last weekend I got out in the backyard, trudged through the long grass to cut back the overgrown geraniums and prune the lavender. The damp green smell with lavender and geranium leaves reminded me of Covet by Sarah Jessica Parker.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica lists the fragrance notes.
Top: spicy-green-mint note of geranium leaves, Sicilian lemon, lavender and chocolate notes
Middle: honeysuckle, magnolia, and lily of the valley
Base: cashmere wood, musk, vetiver, teak wood and amber
When I dare to wear Covet it’s a bit like entering the wilderness of my backyard to prune my geraniums and lavender. The opening of Covet is energising with some really interesting green notes. There is loads of lavender that combines nicely with the lemon and chocolate. The chocolate is not at all sweet and wafts in and out. There are some really lovely floral notes in Covet too. The warm base notes of musk and woods are earthy and long lasting.
Covet is louder, bolder and more sophisticated than Lovely, the original Sarah Jessica Parker fragrance. However once the initial intense opening of Covet dies down there are a lot of similarities to Lovely with the lavender, lovely floral notes and woody, musk base.
If you like Lovely then you should try Covet for a more intense perfume experience. But if you prefer sweet fruity celebuscents then you will probably prefer SJP NYC. See the Sarah Jessica Parker page on my website for more fragrances by SJP.
Launched all the way back in 1997 when I was a mere 22 years of age, I didn’t buy my first bottle of this until the early 2000’s when the local department stores interest in it started to wane and the cost came down. After you’ve read a few of my “reviews” you’ll see that there is a recurring theme here – I’m cheap and hate paying full price for fragrance, even if it means waiting for a few years til the novelty has worn off and others are onto the next hot thing. Billed as a woody aromatic for men, in my experience it doesn’t stray too far away from the familiarity of other Boss scents. They’ve carved out a deserved reputation for everyday fragrances for men over the years. Not overly adventurous in my experience but for men that aren’t as into this as we stink junkies are, they can safely rely on a Boss fragrance delivering what they need.
The first spritzes (again remember I am a super heavy spritzer) I find to be very pleasing, not overly tart or demanding, but you definitely get a strong tantalizing waft of a lovely fresh masculine scent. I’m usually applying this one as soon as I’ve dried off from the morning shower, and I love the crispness of those opening notes and the way it plays with my senses in those minutes as I get ready for my day ahead. Really peps me up!
There’s a lovely wash of the mint and just a hint of the pineapple that opens this up, and as it starts to settle down the lavender joins in keep things interesting. It’s nearly like a gently softly scented soap at this point but nowhere near as soapy sterile for my nose.
When the mid notes to start to warm it up ever so slightly, its still quite green, which I am learning is most likely the inclusion of freesia. After a good 30 minutes or so, it definitely begins to progress towards a spicier tone thanks to the tea and pepper, coriander and I can detect the beginnings of the base notes coming through. I’m a sucker for sandalwood based smells and actively go looking for them, and although this one tends to be a little light on the sandalwood, it is there and hangs in for the run which tends to fade around the 8 hour mark on my skin.
The real surprise for me in this set of ingredients is the patchouli, which no matter where I smell it always, ALWAYS, reminds me of opening Madonna’s Like A Prayer album all the way back in 1989. When the album was initially released, it was heavily perfumed with patchouli. I was working in a record store at the time and I found the heady smell intoxicating for those weeks when we held and sold an incredible amount of this album. (Does anyone else remember this? It was amazing!)
So I think you’ve got the idea that Elements Aqua has become a firm favourite of mine, I think I may have gone through at least 5 or 6 bottles so far. I usually have a 100ml and a 50ml on the go at once, the smaller one being my travel smell because it just works brilliantly no matter what I’m doing. I find it to be exceptionally wearable just about anywhere, anytime.
I also love that as its notoriety has waned, there are fewer guys that seem to be wearing it. If you are looking for a bargain scent that just about everyone will love, you could do worse than ignore this forgotten gem before it disappears forever.
Hey gang,
No shopping photo today. Last days of holiday and time ran out.
Portia xx
I’d like to share a coke with you.
Coke ad – Three minutes of pure entertainment!!! It’s cool…… You’ll love this … created by some Engineering students.
I was recently lunching with Clayton from WhatMenShouldSmellLike and he brought me some amazing gifts from his OS travels. The loveliest of which, so far, is the 4ml gorgeously boxed CHANEL Les Exclusives Coromandel EdT that I am rocking today. It is my first wear of it and I’m dabbing, so do come on a journey with me.
Coromandel EdT by CHANEL 2007
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords: Top: Neroli, bitter orange, citruses Heart: Rose, jasmine, patchouli, orris Base: Tahitian vanilla, benzoin, white chocolate, incense, woodsy notes, musk, olibanum
Can I tell you before we start that this packaging has me excited already, the card, beautifully presented bottle and the whole feel is incredibly luxe for a 4ml tester. Also, different sites and reviewers attribute Coromandel to both of these magnificent perfumers Jacques Polge + Christopher Sheldrake but only BaseNotes , that I read, attributed it to both. Interesting huh?
Oh MY! The first rush I get is all the base notes springing up my nose and creating a warm, woodsy and sweet amber-ish waft that was so unexpected from the notes that I gasped audibly. They don’t really leave either as the citruses begin to show their bright and lovely acidic colours. They don’t stay long because patchouli has wandered in shrouded in a lovely powdery floral veil and it seems like I’m sitting in a cafe, there is a breezy cafe au lait waft that is surprising. Maybe it’s the chocolate and vanilla together with the patchouli, ahh, who knows or cares how they’ve created this wonder?The patchouli is like the undercurrent of Coromandel, it comes and goes over time again and again, but I never even get a hint of the flowers.
I am happily and dizzily transported somewhere other. Closing my eyes and breathing deeply it’s as if Coromandel is zen perfume I feel so relaxed and comfortable in it like this is the fragrance I’ve been waiting for. Do you ever feel like you’ve come home? Amazing!!
Coromandel is all about the base for me, and on my skin, it has sped there is under an hour and maintains itself there indefinitely with only a modicum of change as it progresses deeper into itself, warming and becoming more foodish as it fades till all I’m left with is a mildly resinous vanilla around 6 hours later that hums ever so softly above my skin for a while longer before disappearing. I am ordering a large decant to stop myself immediately buying an FB. I am moved.
I love to troll sample sites and discount stores. Often I will be so taken with a bottle design that I just want to own it and screw the juice, unfortunately there is only so much cupboard space so I am now making sure I love the juice before I buy FB even if it’s ridiculously cheap on the discount sites. Depending on what the product is I will stop by all the usual decant/sample stores looking for the best deal and that’s how I grabbed 5ml of
Si Lolita by Lolita Lempicka 2009
Photo stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords: Top: Bergamot, mandarin Heart: Pink pepper, sweet peas, wallflower, heliotrope, elemi resin Base: Elemi, patchouli, tonka, amber
Opening symphony featuring tonka front and centre before fresh cold slices of citrus that warm quickly when the pink pepper and flowers come riding in. The first 5 minutes off Si Lolita is fraught with excitement. A big gushing WOW!! Once the hoopla is over Si Lolita warms beautifully with tonka, clean patchouli and the resins there right through the heart making the bouquet play second fiddle. A background hum of spicy warmth that sits close to the skin if you try to smell it, leave the room though and come back 5 minutes later and Si Lolita has left a gauzy ghost of itself that is translucent but discernible. I am guessing then that the sillage will be fabulous, a scent trail that will turn heads. This is also the sort of “perfumey” perfume that boys know to compliment, and often quite like.
After all that Si Lolita goes a bit every frag and the dry down is a nice amber-ish something but not impressive. Si Lolita is no big statement frag that will give you backbone, sear the eyeballs of your enemies and dry clean the curtains while you sit and read below them. You will smell pretty, sometimes that is all you want, right? And the bottle is a modern marvel, and the price! Si Lolita feels like a scent that almost anyone could rock, won’t offend at work or play and is interesting enough that should you want to focus on it the story will grab you for a while. Otherwise you can spritz and forget it and know that you smell good for about 4 hours, sometimes longer.
Have you tried Si Lolita? Don’t you love the bottle?
Please remember how excellent you are and be grateful for the good stuff, try and think of 3 good things in your life, no matter how small, and give thanks.
Till tomorrow.
Portia xx
Here is the making of the ad, there is a small amount of speaking in French, which I don’t understand, but the rest is extremely interesting.
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Guest Post by EmmaKate
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EmmaKate with something different. Michelle Yeoh has become the new Guerlain Ambassador and takes us to see the way one of their skincare lines has come about. They show some of Guerlain’s help in China too. There are six short pieces, all linked.
It’s hectic here. I will post next month.
EmmaKate
I don’t know about you but Hermes is special for me. Even though I’ve only owned a tie and some perfume from them they are, to me, the last word in mass market luxe brands. Nobody else comes close. Even before Jean-Claude Ellena took over the reigns there was some wonderful fragrance coming from within the Hermes camp. At one point Mum had Caleche, a buddy wore 1970 Guy Robert classic Equipage and another swears by their belts. Consider also that by now I am in Venice or Paris and I think I have good reason to introduce to you…
Voyage d’Hermès by Jean-Claude Ellena 2010
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords: Top: Amalfi lemon, spices, cardamom Heart: Green notes, floral notes, tea Base: Woodsy notes, Musk
What I smell when I spritz Voyage d’Hermès is a clean, fresh, exhilarating swooosh of cold air. A peaceful, citrus plus spice and green-ness follow in a cool meandering, don’t worry about a thing way. Bracing and refreshing Voyage d’Hermès is a little salty and the tea is an ideal of tea rather than a tea-ish fragrance. Something I find really enjoyable is to huff a big breath out of my mouth into my shirt and then breathe the fragrance and me back in together, the warmth and humanity of my breathe give Voyage d’Hermès a whole different feeling before returning to cool, calm and collected. The citrus turns mildly sweet through the heart and it cuts nicely across the tea and general green. Slowly the composition, which is not based in any reality, becomes less intensely frigid and warms through flowers and musky woods. The journey is gradual and not a large change but subtle and quiet. There is something definitively Ellena about Voyage d’Hermès.
Don’t let me make you think that Voyage d’Hermès won’t leave you fragrant; scent bubble and sillage are excellent and it is surprisingly tenacious, by the time it’s gone I have long stopped looking at the clock 6+ hours usually. An extra spritz an hour after the first will keep it on you even longer.
Voyage d’Hermès is sold as a unisex scent and I think everyone can rock it. The bottle and fragrance make me think you might like to wear it if clever, interesting and thoughtful design, beauty, Deco modernism or SteamPunk are your thing. Whenever I see the bottle it makes me wish to see a purchaser because I have this notion that we would get along, and anyone who loves this spare, arctic and beguiling fragrance is someone who I would like as a friend.
Yet again stolen from one of my favourite blogs: art8amby
Nathaniel Goldberg photographed Norwegian top catwalker Iselin Steiro at Lake Como for the Spring Summer 2013 campaign of Hermès, replacing Dutch stunner Bette Franke.
I think Hermès has done a splendid campaign this year, what are your thoughts?
See you tomorrow, till then wishing you only good,
Portia xx
Fragrantica gives these featured accords: Top: Orange oil, peach, basil, bergamot,lemon Heart: Cyclamen, lily, melon, jasmine, Bulgarian rose Base: Patchouli, tahitian vetiver, musk, sandalwood, oakmoss, cedar
My grandmother (on my Dad’s side) was a cultured woman from the north of England with Scottish and English heritage. She relocated to Australia with her husband (who I never knew), in circumstances that seem rather dodgy, and that no one is allowed to talk about. She lived her entire life here only visiting England once. I remember afternoon teas every second Sunday with cakes and lollies and chocolate biscuits. Sometimes we were even allowed to have a sugar cube as a treat!
Anyway, as long as I can remember she always had 4711 Eau de Cologne. And as long as I can remember she always gave me gifts of 4711 Eau de Cologne. There were big bottles, small bottles and roll-ons! I always thought the roll-ons were amazing. Unfortunately as an annoying teenager I think I told her I didn’t like it and she was devastated. It wasn’t the fact that I didn’t like it but more the reason that I wanted something else (like glamourous perfumes my friends had). I insulted her and she never gave it to me again. I think I still feel guilty about that. Sorry Grandma.
I have been a practicing Aromatherapist for over 15 years, solidly using essential oils in everyday life for around 20 years. I have a particular yearning for Bergamot (the first oil I bought), Petigrain and Neroli essential oils, the bittersweet citrus oils. It was only a few years ago I realised that it may have been my grandmother who stimulated my interest in Aromatherapy – although it has taken me 30 years to acknowledge it! And it was my grandmother who introduced me to the clean, fresh bittersweet scent of Eau de Cologne. It’s the Kolnisch Wasser I am referring to, although the house has other fragrances. The original Eau de Cologne has a fascinating story, a beautiful scent and it’s own website!
The description of the scent, directly from 4711.com: “Ingredients and Effects The precious ingredients are carefully harmonised. Bergamot, lemon, and orange provide a uniquely revitalising effect. Lavender and rosemary have a calming and relaxing effect, strengthening the nerves. Neroli, extracted from the blossom of the bitter orange, has a calming effect in the base note, creating a positive mood.”
Yay! We can see that this fragrance, created over 200 years ago, was made to therapeutically address physical and emotional issues. The exact recipe is of course a closely guarded secret and it has a fantastic historical story! The water was originally referred to as “aqua mirabilis” – miracle water, and was presented to a wealthy merchant named Wilhelm Muelhens as a wedding gift. The legend has it that Carthusian monk made the miracle water in 1792. Wilhelm went on to found a production facility to make the water, and to market it as a remedy to sickness and general maladies of the day. The rest, you could say, is history. Although the perfume company has been bought and sold over the years it is now owned and produced by Mäurer & Wirtz, a subsidiary of the Dalli Group.
Regardless of the owners, this is one perfume that has retained it’s amazing scent, unique bottle design, particular label design for over 200 years. The branding is unmistakable, and when I even just look at the label, my mouth waters with anticipation of the bittersweet miracle water.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Australian Perfume Junkies 