Vintage Cabochard Parfum by Bernard Chant for Gres 1959

April 12, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 20 Comments

Hey Vintage Fumies,

Recently I was lucky enough to find a 2/3 full bottle of the vintage Cabochard parfum in its gorgeous black & white pedestal box. It wasn’t cheap but it wasn’t outrageously expensive either and I had long wanted to own a bottle for myself, having sampled earlier in my fragrant life.

Vintage Cabochard Parfum by Bernard Chant for Gres 1959

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Aldehydes, spices, tarragon, fruity notes, sage, lemon, asafoetida
Heart: Orris, jasmine, geranium, rose, ylang ylang
Base: Tobacco, vetiver, oakmoss, coconut, musk, patchouli, amber, sandalwood, leather

Bernard Chant: Cabochard 1959, Aramis 1966, Aromatics Elixir 1971. A trilogy or family of fragrance. His three masterpieces, all similar but riffing different elements. If you want to know what a car looked like then, below is a 1959 Cadillac.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

Now my top notes are slightly rusty, not in a big way but they have changed from the sample I had worn. I will have to use this up in the next year or so and I don’t think that’s any great hardship. The fruity sparkle is herbaceous, aromatic and dense. Imagine being in the storeroom of an Indian bazaar, the spark and buzz of faulty electrics, fruit and veg in waxy cardboard boxes, sizzling spices, bitter herbs, and the scent of dozens of boxes of sandalwood soap. That’s as full on as you can imagine, heavy, hectic, psychedelic scent that manages to be all this and warm & classy too. That is quite a feat to keep something so big from flying out of control.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

The flowers are a bouquet and I can’t pick any of them out, not really pick them out though I get flashes of ideas of flowers. It doesn’t matter anyway because already the base notes are coming through: sandalwood, tobacco, patchouli, leather and oakmoss are the ones I can detect but what I really smell is Cabochard. It’s the base of Cabochard that IS Cabochard to me. A gravel voiced granny with a fabulous high end leather handbag, a cigarette, hair done and nails painted and attitude. She’s lived and loved her life, and is reveling in her twilight years. A little bit creakier but mind as sharp as a tack and still ready for fun, a drink and a laugh.

Photo Stolen YourStyleJourney

Further reading: Bois de Jasmin and Perfume Shrine
My bottle from Ebay
FragranceNet has modern EdP $28/100ml before Coupon
Surrender To Chance has Vintage Parfum $6/.25ml

Do you have a vintage you love? Something that has changed in its newest form or is it gone altogether?
Portia xx

Vintage Fragrance Finds: How To Traipse the Treasure Trail

April 2, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 3 Comments

Post by Greg Young

Hi fragrance fans.

Some time ago, I decided to become a fragrance treasure hunter.

One day in a suburban op shop, I noticed a couple of bottles of men’s after-shave on the counter.

Donated by Greg Young

Although not familiar with either, I picked up these two on a whim. When I mentioned my find to some fragrance friends, they went crazy. I concluded that I’d better keep an eye out for perfume in op shops in future!

Photo Stolen WikiCommons

With op shopping, the joy is in the hunt. Most days you will find nothing, but just occasionally you will spot something that makes your heart leap. That is the adrenaline rush of the big find; it happens very rarely, but it is wonderful when it comes.

The secret is to do a lot of searching. Lee Trevino once said, “The more I practice the luckier I get”; this is very true of op shopping. If I have time to spare and I’m near an op shop, I nearly always take a look. You never know.

Of course Trevino didn’t practice by swinging wildly at a ball. You have to give yourself a chance by being a bit smart: Here are a few tips:

• Ask yourself which localities are likely to have people nearby donating luxury items. It’s not universally true, but well-heeled suburbs are a good place to start.

• Check any locked cabinets in the shop, and the shelves behind the counter, where the upmarket stuff is displayed.

• Most op shops have baskets of soaps and make-up. Find them and check for samples, minis, etc.

• Look for bottles; there may be some that still have a bit of juice left.

• Look for pretty things – fragrances may be put next to such displays.

• When you have a big find, go back a week or so later. That treasure you found may have had some friends out the back.

• Ask the sales attendants if they have any perfume or cologne. They may know what is lurking out the back. It always helps to make friends with the staff.

Photo Stolen Geograph

The same tips apply pretty much to markets. In markets, I tend to look out for:

• Stalls selling bric-a-brac, pretty things, vintage items and so on.

• Stalls being run by young girls who are essentially selling their old stuff. As well as their clothes racks, they will often have celebrity or designer scents

• Stores selling old bottles.

Many of you will be able to recognise bottle shapes instinctively. I once spotted a Bond No 9 bottle from 5 metres away. So always glance around as you wander, and give your subconscious a chance to work.

Check how any scents that you find have been displayed. Buying vintage fragrances that sat in sunlight for hours on end is not likely to end well.

Photo Stolen Pixabay

Antique shops need a different approach. Be up-front about what you are looking for. They welcome you coming back often, and don’t mind if you don’t buy; they understand that they may not have what you collect. I just tend to go straight up to the counter and ask if they have any vintage perfumes in. That’s normally enough, but I always check the displays anyway, just in case.

So what has this treasure hunting got me? Well, that’s a subject for a whole different article.

Have you any tips for spotting vintage treasures?

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

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

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.

Fete by Molyneux 1962

October 10, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 34 Comments

Hey Vintage Vamps,

There has been rather a lot going on around here. To be honest I’m feeling a little frazzled, but happily frazzled. Part of the fun of selling and moving is finding stuff you’d forgotten about. There I was innocently cleaning out my frag cupboard and I stumbled across this lovely vintage decant, and boy is it good? The answer is YES! It is freaking amazing. I bought the decant in a sale on Perfumed Court and they still have some…

Fete by Molyneux 1962

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Caraway, plum, peach, bergamot, Brazilian rosewood
Heart: Lilac, orris root, jasmine, ylang-ylang
Base: Leather, sandalwood, benzoin, civet, oakmoss, vanilla

Opening with a very slightly shrill whistle of fruit and citrus with what feels a bit aldehydes getting near age turn. The fruits are canned and sweet and really I can’t distinguish them very well because they are a jammy blend that only lasts a minute or two before some feral big cal walks in and sits on them all adding its ass to the mix, not suffocating the fruit but changing it and deepening it.

Though I can tell there is a heart and it is very lovely in a vintage fragrance way my enjoyment really comes when all the base takes over. That lovely smooth peaty moss that casts its shadow beside the civet, woods, leather and resins is gorgeous. I am a movie star and dressed in the finest Edith Head gown, with arched brows, lavish long tresses and sitting on a settee looking winsomely out the glass doors over the glittering pool. All the while the man I end up with at the end of the film is wise cracking with the crowd and generally being the most popular sharp at the party. This could even be the type of fragrance Neely O’Hara would have worn. No, not Neely, Helen Lawson. That great grande dame of theatre in Valley of the Dolls, who I proudly modeled my own self upon. IO think Fete would have appealed to the fun in her, its fruity zing a great opening but the rich dark base would be her fragrant calling card.

Further reading: Yesterdays Perfume and 1000 Scents
The Perfumed Court has $6/ml

Photo Stolen sassisamblog

Fete by Molyneux GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 2 Winners who will each get:
1 x 5ml Vintage Fete by Molyneux decant
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Tell us about a fragrance that takes you on a journey, a vintage you love or even a memory of some vintage fragrance

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie http://wp.me/p3PURw-3fJ Fete by Molyneux Vintage #Perfume #Giveaway

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 12th October 2014 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 16th October 2014 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.

Scent With Love: CHANEL No.22

September 20, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

Hi there APJ,

My mate Rose M sent me a package a while ago. It got lost in a drawer during a clean up and since we have been organising the house for Open Houses a bunch of forgotten magic has turned up. What is in the package? Modern & Vintage CHANEL No.22 EdT and some Vintage CHANEL No.22 parfum. OH MY! You may remember I discovered CHANEL No.22 in Paris earlier this year with Michael. Rose M thought I should get some historical juice on my skin and be able to compare, I’ll do my best but this wonky old nose will probably just smell the same thing at different strengths…..

CHANEL No.22 by Ernest Beaux for CHANEL 1922

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Lily-of-the-valley, neroli, aldehydes
Heart: Oriental jasmine, rose, Comoro island ylang-ylang
Base: Haiti vetiver, Bourbon vanilla

OK, so the vintage EdT comes out sweeter and more aldehydic. Current EdT has a fresh, nutty and much cooler vibe than the vintage. Vintage smells animal and sensual while the modern has a metallic edge, a little reminiscent of No. 19. As the top notes blow off the two become more alike and though still different they coulod be the same fragrance family now. Vintage seems smoother and warmer, like the ultimate softness of room temperature ivory against your skin and still the current is cooler, more transparent like cool crystal.

Photo stolen Flickr

Photo Stolen Flickr

Suddenly, at about the 20-30 minute mark it’s like they both come into clear focus and smell nearly exactly the same, there are differences but only the difference that a wear on different days woulds NEVER tell apart. It’s like you are wearing the same fragrance but in different weather or after you’ve used a different body wash in the shower. Vintage lasts for hours longer in the heart section and when modern has almost completely disappeared I can still smell glorious aldehydic bouquet pumping its lavish tune from the vintage. Dry down is warm and subtly earthy but through CHANEL No. 22s life it never loses that aldehydic magic.

They are both incredible and I am going to grab some of the current EdT and Parfum. The die is cast.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

Further reading: Bois de Jasmin and Perfume Posse
You can try or buy CHANEL No. 22 at any of the stand alone CHANEL stores or a very few department stores.
Surrender To Chance has CHANEL No. 22 samples starting at $4/ml and Extrait at $8/ml

Thank You Rose M. I have enjoyed this throw down immensely and you have ultimately made me a complete slave to CHANEL No.22 EdT.

Portia xx

Vintage Dioressence by Guy Robert for DIOR 1979

September 4, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 35 Comments

How’s it going APJ?

Hopefully all is well in your world. If not, please don’t stress because as the Medieval Sufi poets so accurately wrote, “this too shall pass.” As, perhaps, has today’s fragrance. I can’t find the modern iteration on the DIOR site and only two of the discounters have it. I haven’t checked department stores but ,maybe some of you all have seen it around? My vintage Dioressence was given to me by Michael Edwards, what a gentleman he is.

Vintage Dioressence by Guy Robert for DIOR 1979

Problem using this photo? Tell me I’ll pull it down

Fragrantica give these featured accords:
Top: Aldehydes, orange, fruity notes, patchouli, green notes, bergamot
Heart: Carnation, tuberose, cinnamon, violet, orris root, jasmine, ylang-ylang, rose, geranium
Base: Musk, patchouli, benzoin, vanilla, oakmoss, vetiver, styrax

So I read what I had written and then when reading for the Further Reading list below I found this from Angela at Now Smell This which made my words look like dreck. This is exactly how I experience Dioressence: …kicked off with an intriguing mix of soap and rot. The rot was not musky like body odor, but decomposed, like the vague dead squirrel smell I catch here and there in Guerlain Jicky and Shalimar. The rot smell faded to the background, and a gorgeous floral bouquet, languorous and spicy, nudged in, supremely blended and supremely French in feel. For all its richness, Dioressence wasn’t heavy, and even though the sample was only of the Eau de Toilette, it lasted for hours….

Further reading: Olfactoria’s Travels and Now Smell This
AllBeauty in the UK has £68/100ml
Beauty Encounter has $25/7.5ml
Surrender To Chance has a range of samples starting at $4/ml

Photo Stolen manoneileen

Vintage Dioressence by DIOR: GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 Winner who receive:

1 x spray decant of my Vintage Dioressence, courtesy Michael Edwards
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Tell us about a vintage in your closet with a story? Or even a vintage you remember smelling once upon a time.

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Vintage Dioressence by DIOR GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-33y @Dior #Perfume #Giveaway

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 7th September 2014 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winner will be chosen by random.org
The winner will have till Thursday 11th September 2014 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.

Have you seen Dioressence in the stores recently? Smelled it?
Portia xx

L’Heure Attendue by Henri Almeras for Jean Patou 1946

February 9, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 11 Comments

Post by Greg Young

When I visit op shops and second hand shops, I make a habit of scanning the place for bottles and fragrances, just in case. Mostly I find used minis of varying levels of desirability. Sometimes, very occasionally, luck can be a lot more generous. I was idly browsing through the cabinets in an antiques market a while ago. My eye was originally drawn to a large full flacon of Monsieur Rochas, which sadly turned out to only have coloured water in it. As I idly scanned the rest of the cabinet, I noticed this nestled amongst a few other nondescript empty bottles.

L’Heure Attendue by Henri Almeras for Jean Patou 1946

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Basenotes reviewer gives these notes:
Top: Lily-of-the-valley, geranium, lilac
Heart: Ylang-ylang, jasmine, rose, opopanax
Base: Mysore sandalwood, vanilla, patchouli

L’heure attendue. The time that we’ve been waiting for. The name of this perfume celebrates the liberation of France from the Nazi occupation.

After many years of rationing and deprivation during the war years, the Parisian design houses burst forth with an exuberance that was designed to make people forget the hard times, and revel in finally having access to an abundance of pretty and beautiful things one again. Dior’s New Look of 1947 typified this trend, using swathes of previously scarce fabrics to create an ornate and romantic new fashion. The elegant amphora design of the original Miss Dior bottle also echoed a move towards the ornate from wartime-induced privation.

(Photo credit http://www.dior.com/magazine/ge_de/News/Miss-Dior-Staying-In-Line)

In the same sentiment, the house of Jean Patou released L’heure Attendue in 1946. As the photos show, the bottle was highly ornate and luxurious. This formulation of L’heure Attendue is very rare, being discontinued around 1956. As you can see, the bottle is intact, with even some of the decorative tassel left, and the stopper still fits tight. The bottle’s curves and detailing show clear influences of Art Deco design, but moving slightly in Dior’s direction; the stopper bears comparison with Dior’s, but I think Dior’s amphora design uses a feminine styling that reflected Dior’s wasp-waisted models, whereas Patou’s 1946 bottle design is clearly influenced by the geometric sweeps and fine detailing of classic Art Deco designs such as the Chrysler Building.

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

The box is in good shape apart from some peeling, but significant staining has occurred on the front. Shame, because it can’t be hidden if you want to display the interior of the packaging (which I do). I suppose I could always imagine that this is an antique coffee stain left by some chic French lady sipping cafe au lait on the Champs-Elysee. Like the bottle, this is very much an Art Deco design, but a lot plainer and more utilitarian. The cream, gold and royal blue of the packaging is very elegant, and complements the much more ornate bottle styling very well.

Most of the perfume remains in bottle. The colour of the juice is a deep amber and still looks attractive enough, compared to the inky murk of the vintage Gilvo I wrote about a while back on APJ. The juice is consistent and there are no sediments. Without another bottle to compare to, I can’t really say if this is the colour it is supposed to look like. I suspect not, as some degradation has almost certainly occurred in the 50-60 years since this was opened.

It’s described on Fragrancenet as a floral chypre. When I sniff my bottle, I get a big, deep blast of what seems to me to be rich, white florals; I think what I am smelling are the heart notes, made richer by the sweet myrrh. It seems very old-fashioned and feminine, but there doesn’t seem to be anything there that you would find objectionable. Not being a connoisseur, it’s a bit hard for me to say.

This perfume is so extremely feminine that I’m simply not game to wear it, so I can’t tell you if the base notes are intact. I guess I will need a Melbourne-based femme to volunteer and help me write a postscript to this story.

Further reading: The Non Blonde and Perfume Shrine

Greg X

N.B. All photos by the author unless otherwise stated.

Sirocco by Lucien Lelong GIVEAWAY WINNERS

December 13, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 13 Comments

Hey there Fellow Fumies,

Hotly contested last Azar giveaway of the year. I love how much amazing stuff we giveaway on this blog. it’s extraordinary and I am happy there is such a cross section of offerings.

If you are in the Northern Hemisphere you may very well be freezing today! My daughter Lauren in New Hampshire commented that she could “use a hot fierce wind about now”. I hope the two winners enjoy the warmth of their 2ml of Sirocco (and an extra little surprise) no matter where they live. Happy holidays!

Sirocco by Lucien Lelong GIVEAWAY

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week there will be two winners, who will receive

1 x 2ml decant of vintage Sirocco by Jean Carles for Lucien Lelong 1934
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DID YOU WIN?

To be eligible leave a comment on Jean Carles or a vintage perfume/fashion creation that you love and also mention how you follow the APJs (by e-mail, WordPress, whatever).

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Sirocco Lucien Lelong GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-28h #Perfume #Giveaway

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Thursday 12th Decemberber 2013 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org

Photo Stolen berryreview

Carolyn, Jackie Rosen

The winners will have till Sunday 15th Deceber 2013 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit

Azar xxx

Sirocco by Jean Carles for Lucien Lelong 1934

December 9, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 74 Comments

Post by Azar

Sirocco was created for the fashion house of Lucien Lelong in 1934 by the master perfumer and teacher Jean Carles (1892-1966). Carles was responsible for the creation of a number of other Lelong fragrances as well as for Tabu, Miss Dior, Ma Griffe and many other classic scents. He was also the driving force behind the development of the Givaudan Perfumery School.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

The House of Lelong was extremely influential in Paris in the 1920s and 30s. Several famous designers began their careers with Lelong including Christian Dior, Pierre Balmain and Huber de Givenchy. Lelong’s sense of style and fragrance have had a lasting influence on fashion to this day.

Sirocco by Jean Carles for Lucien Lelong 1934

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Coriander, sandalwood, musk, jasmine, lily-of-the-valley, rose

The sirocco is a fierce, hot wind from the desert reaching speeds of up to 55 knots (about100k/h). The vintage version of Lucien Lelong’s Sirocco is aptly named. This fragrance, even in its EDC concentration, is a pungent oriental with top notes that include a triple dose of coriander tempered by lavender and magnolia. The startling opening develops quickly into a robust heart of rose, jasmine, amber and patchouli, drying down to opopponax, sandalwood, benzoin and musk. If you haven’t tried this fragrance or can’t imagine it, just think of Shalimar with an overdose of coriander or Emeraude on incense.

Photo Stolen Frank Kovalchek Flickr (Ed: The Wave in Arizone looks like the word Sirocco sounds to me)

My love for Lucien Lelong’s Sirocco began when I spilled it on my mother’s dressing table. It took several months for the air to clear. Since then I have always managed to keep a vintage stash on hand (the reformulated versions don’t interest me). In 50 years or so I’ve gone through at least three 7ml curly bottles of the perfume extrait as well as numerous hobnailed colognes. Right now I have about 16 ounces (480ml more or less) of vintage EDC on hand so I can easily spare two 2ml decants for a draw.

Further reading: Perfume Smellin’ Things and The Non-Blond
Ebay and Etsy have Lucien Lelong vintage bottles for reasonable prices still

Photo Stolen Kesha&Co

Sirocco by Lucien Lelong GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be two winners, who will receive

1 x 2ml decant of vintage Sirocco by Jean Carles for Lucien Lelong 1934
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

To be eligible leave a comment on Jean Carles or a vintage perfume/fashion creation that you love and also mention how you follow the APJs (by e-mail, WordPress, whatever).

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Sirocco Lucien Lelong GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-28h #Perfume #Giveaway

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 12th Decemberber 2013 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Sunday 15th Deceber 2013 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit

Azar xxx

Scent & Subversion by Barbara Herman: NEW BOOK REVIEW

November 9, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 16 Comments

Guest Post by Jordan River

On ya APJ,

I have just read a book which is hot off the press. Australian Perfume Junkies is mentioned in the book as an indicator that we do not live in scent hostile times.

I am walking along the longest path of the world, searching for the book of my heart.

Vien Tuc
Đà Lạt

Imagine a whole world where everyone smells of CK One. You probably don’t have to imagine; you have probably been there as has Barbara Herman from Yesterday’s Perfume. One day Barbara rebelled against office-friendly scents and went searching for the rude, the loud, the odd, the weird and the impolite. What she mostly found was vintage perfume and then some cutting edge 21st century olfactive artists. This led her on a fragrant journey through the 20th century which became her book Scent and Subversion: Decoding a Century of Provocative Fragrance.

Barbara Herman

Scattered pictures
Throughout the book are pictures that have been collected by Barbara over many years and reveal a lot about perfume, society and marketing ‘art’.

This is not a picture book though there are many full colour pictures. Barbara starts off with the thoughts of Aristotle and Plato and continues through Fliess and Freud to Chandler Burr, Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez.

In Part 1 Barbara courses through the development of ‘Perfume: is it art? I like Barbara’s conclusion that Perfume is a language.

Part 2 is a tour de force of 300+ vintage fragrances, including drugstore, all with back stories that you may have never heard before. I am not a vintage connoisseur so I learnt a lot from this book. If you know your vintage ‘fumes then I imagine you will be delighted with the way they are portrayed in Scents and Subversion.

On Jicky

the personality of a cat… sometimes with perfume more is more.

Barbara Herman
Scent and Subversion

Modern vs Vintage

the difference between modern and vintage perfumery is akin to the difference between polyester and velvet.

Barbara Herman
Scent and Subversion

Part III looks at the future of scent and tells the the story of how the author’s nose lost it’s virginity. Perspective on the work of Étienne de Swardt, Antoine Lie, Christopher Brosius, Sissal Tolaas, Martynka Wawrzyniak, and Christophe Laudamiel make for an interesting read as does the chapter called A Brief History of Animal Notes in Perfume.

This week there have been several collector’s items on The Fragrant Man of which Scents & Subversion would be the most affordable one. I think coffee table for the hardcover and the e-book for bedside reading.

This is a book you could read again and again as your own knowledge grows and as vintage bottles materialize on your own fragrant journey. If you already know everything then here it is all in one place. If you are new to perfume appreciation then a glossary and a guide called Perfume 101: How to become an Informed Perfume Lover, will become your reference points as you begin your own fragrant journey.

On Now Smell This, Aleta describes this book as a “worthy flanker” to Perfumes: The Guide. Yes it is.

In this book you will read about perfume set to music; this book is perfume set to words, erudite words that bespeak a mountain of research. Barbara has walked a long path, searching and researching. This is the book of her heart.

Kindle e-book at Amazon $US9.99
Hardcover Amazon $US24.95

Further Reading
Book Reviews by Dita Von Teese, Mx Justin Vivian Bond, Aleta (Now Smell This), Katie Puckrick and Chandler Burr
Yesterday’s Perfume – website
Yesterday’s Perfume – Facebook
Barbara Herman is @parfumaniac on Twitter