Yves Saint Laurent

Fabulous Department Store Pick Ups!

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Post by Portia

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AAAARRGGGHHHH! Are you still left with a HEAP of shopping to do? Running out of time & ideas? Want to get something with a WOW factor but just can’t cope with another screaming run around? I get it. Today I wandered around a suburban department store beauty section to see what was still available in regular stores that will give whoever you’re shopping for a thrill. Don’t be afraid, we’ve got your backs…

Fabulous Department Store Pick Ups!

Bottege Veneta Shower Gel Bottega VenetaPhoto Stolen Bottega Veneta

Bottege Veneta Shower Gel 200ml: If you are anything like us then you can’t get enough of the original Bottega Veneta fragrance. Jin has already flown through a big bottle and a small one, he’s getting another for Christmas. The matching Shower Gel is AUD$60 at David Jones.

CHANEL le-vernis-nail-colour-18-rouge-noir CHANELPhoto Stolen CHANEL

CHANEL Le Vernis Nail Colour 18 Rouge Noir: Dark plummy, lavish and elegant. Who can resist the double Cs of CHANEL? Only AUD$39 at David Jones so it’s all the glamour and only a little of the price.

CHANEL HYDRA BEAUTY NOURISHING LIP CAREPhoto Stolen CHANEL

CHANEL Hydra Beauty Nutrition Lip Care Balm: This is the gift that keeps giving. Every time the recipient pulls their CHANEL Lip Balm out in public they will feel like a superstar. The ultimate in nonchalant luxury, and then they can say it was a gift. Cool kid. AUD $54 at David Jones.

Crabtree & Evelyn West Indian Lime Shave Soap In Wooden BowlPhoto Stolen David Jones

Crabtree & Evelyn West Indian Lime Shave Soap In Wooden Bowl: I love the lather and the ease of shaving when I use a brush. My skin feels more ready and is less prone to cuts and abrasions. Great gift for the clean, or partly, shaven AUD$34 at David Jones.

DIOR Addict Lipstick Gotha 967 DIORPhoto Stolen DIOR

DIOR Addict Lipstick Gotha 967: Deepest darkest mulberry red, enticing enough to make a priest blush. Every time they reapply this you’ll be thanked quietly but fervently. Gotha 967 is AUD$52 at David Jones

DIOR Hydra Life Beauty awakening rehydrating mask DIORPhoto Stolen DIOR

DIOR Hydra Life Beauty Awakening Rehydrating Mask: 10 minutes to better hydrated skin! Who doesn’t need this gorgeous DIOR gem. This is a good one to gift the guys who care for themselves too. AUD$75 at David Jones.

Guerlain La Laque Coque d'Or Christmas GuerlainPhoto Stolen Guerlain

Guerlain La Laque 400 Coque d’Or: Shimmering gold for Christmas, Guerlain is for the discerning gift receiver. A little less well known and all the more luxurious because of it. AUD$30 at David Jones.

Guerlain Cils dEnfer Maxi Lash Volume Creating Curl Sculpting Mascara GuerlainPhoto Stolen Guerlain

Guerlain Cils dEnfer Maxi Lash Volume Creating Curl Sculpting Mascara Marine: A little hint of navy blue on the tips of your lashes will make your eyes pop whiter and brighter, giving the effect of larger more doe like peepers. AUD$48 at David Jones.

Tom Ford Conditioning Beard Oil Neroli PortifinoPhoto Stolen David Jones

Tom Ford Conditioning Beard Oil Neroli Portifino: Bearded men are EVERYWHERE! It’s as if suddenly in 2005 the razor became anathema to the cool kids and by 2011 the whole world had caught up. Tom’s on the bandwagon and David Jones has 50ml/AUD$72

Yves Saint Laurent Kouros EdT YSLPhoto Stolen David Jones

Yves Saint Laurent Kouros EdT 100ml: Kouros is still gorgeous. Not the urinous, screechy, sexual monster it was originally but now even more wearable and men still smell great in it. I love the new look packaging and it’s AUD$69 at David Jones.

All this from a quick zip around the beauty area in my local David Jones department store. No, not affiliated with David Jones but I wanted to show you that even if you’re running late, or out of money, that there are a few affordable luxury items left within reach.

What’s your last minute gift buying advice? What did I miss?
Portia xx

Gabriella’s Top-Five Rose Scents 2015

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Post by Gabriella

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Hello fragrance friends! While I’m a huge floral lover, I’ve got to say that when it comes to rose, I’m pretty finicky. I tend to love darker, spicier roses or those with a chypre edge rather than the perfumes that make you feel like you’ve stuck your nose into a big bouquet full of blooms. It’s ironic really as the rose is where perfume all started for me. As a young girl (I’m quite sure many of you did this too) I decided to create my own perfume by plucking the petals off Mum and Dad’s rose bushes and soaking them in water, desperately hoping I’d get some glorious ladylike scent in the process. What resulted was a rank and fetid smelling water, but thank god, this did not put me off perfume or roses forever.
My favourite rose perfumes smell much more glorious than those failed experiments, so without further ado, I present to you:

Gabriella’s Top-Five Rose Scents 2015

Paris Yves Saint Laurent FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

1. Paris by Sophia Grojsman for Yves Saint Laurent 1983

Fragrantica  gives these accords:
Top: Bergamot and violet
Heart: May rose and iris
Base: Sandalwood

The formative rose. I was 14, I wanted to be all woman and this bold, shapeshifting scent in its iconic pink and black topped bottle was it. Paris, now vastly reformulated and lost in a mass of flankers, was a mesmerising concoction of violet, rose and iris, that managed to be bold and confident but demure and sweet all at the same time. I wore copious amounts underneath my school uniform and how I didn’t get expelled for overpowering the whole school with my sillage, I’ll never know.

Further reading: Bois de Jasmin and Now Smell This
Fragrancenet starts at $43.99/30ml before coupon
Surrender to Chance starts at $3.00/ml

Stella Stella McCartney FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

2. Stella by Jacques Cavallier for Stella McCartney 2003

Fragrantica gives these accords:
Top: Rose oil, peony and a gentle touch of fresh tangerine
Heart: Rose
Base: Amber

The funny-story rose. I started to wear Stella around the time I was dating Mr M the first time around many years ago. I asked him what he thought of the green-tinged, but voluptuously warm amber rose creation. He said: “Smells like Grandma.” So, I stopped wearing it and it became my very expensive room spray. But then, every time Mr M came round, this is what my place and I smelt of. So, it was to my amusement a month or two later that he presented me with a bottle, completely forgetting the backstory and thinking that he done something wonderfully romantic because it “reminded him of me.”

Further reading: Bois de Jasmin and Now Smell This
Escentual starts at GBP35.70/30ml
Surrender to Chance starts at $3/ml

Agent Provocateur Agent Provocateur FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

3. Agent Provocateur by Christian Provenzano for Agent Provocateur 2000

Fragrantica gives these accords:
Top: saffron
Heart: Magnolia, Indian jasmine and gardenia blend together with strong woodsy-chypre scent
Base: Amber and musk notes

The va-va-voom rose. I tried Agent Provocateur firstly because the whole ethos of the scent was something I had to have. I was called “cute” even at age 30 and I all I wanted to be was a sexy and sultry goddess. The first whiff of Agent Provocateur had me in a spin because I had smelt nothing quite like it. A dark woody and utterly captivating chypre rose that says strength and sex all at the same time.

Further reading: Perfume Shrine and Dear Scent Diary
Fragrancenet starts at $33.99/50ml before coupon.
Surrender to Chance starts at $3/ml

Lady Vengeance Juliette Has A Gun FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

4. Lady Vengeance by Francis Kurkdjian for Juliette Has A Gun 2006

Fragrantica gives these accords in one line:
Italian rose, vanilla and patchouli.  

The surprising rose. As I said, I’m finicky about rose. I’m also especially finicky when it comes to patchouli and as for vanilla and gourmands, they are usually no-go zones, but Francis Kurdjian has managed to create something with all four that I adore. It’s a sweet but dark rose that manages to be both pretty but voluptuous and vivacious at the same time with glorious sillage and lasting power.

Libertine Parfumerie has $186/100ml
Surrender to Chance starts at $3/ml

Gris Montaigne Christian Dior FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

5. Gris Montaigne by Francois Demarchy for Christian Dior La Collection Privee 2013

Fragrantica gives these accords in one line:
Bergamot, rose, patchouli, amber, cedar, sandalwood and oakmoss.

The new rose. I enter the Christian Dior boutique expecting it would be New Look 1947 or Grand Bal I would buy as my upcoming birthday present. And although I’d smelt them before, I was underwhelmed as I stood there, nose to wrist. The SA kept pushing me towards Gris Montaigne with the assurance that “This is the one for you.” One sniff and my eyes rolled back in pleasure as I softly cooed. Gris Montaigne is surprising, because, if you read the notes, one would expect a spicy chypre rose a la Agent. What it actually is a very pretty, sparkling and sophisticated rose bouquet that is imminently wearable and utterly special.

Further reading: Kafkaesque and Cafleurebon
Christian Dior Boutiques have $335/125ml
Surrender to Chance starts at $3/ml

So, do you like any of my choices? Is rose love it or leave it for you? If you like rose, what are your faves?

With much love till next time!
M x

Black Opium by YSL Mini Movie

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Hey there APJ Crew,

Black Opium is here, masterminded by Nathalie Lorson, Marie Salamagne, Olivier Cresp and Honorine Blanc and centred around the smell of coffee beans. Sounds marvelous, so good that I know I’ll be disappointed. The mini movie is wonderful though and stars British model Edie Campbell, shot by Daniel Wolfe.

Black Opium Yves Saint Laurent FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Pear, orange blossom, pink pepper
Heart: Jasmine, coffeeBase: Vanilla, patchouli, cedar

BLACK OPIUM BY YVES SAINT LAURENT

BLACK OPIUM – THE NEW WOMEN FRAGRANCE

RHYMING REVIEWS: Greg Young turns APJ Poet Laureate

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Post by Greg Young

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A while ago I entered a competition on a fragrance forum to write a limerick about perfume. Sadly I didn’t win, but I enjoyed the challenge. I’ve since written a few more, which I thought I’d share with you. I find it quite challenging to both come up with a suitable limerick and try to encapsulate the essence of my opinion about a scent within it. Hopefully I’ve managed it in a fashion that you’ll enjoy.

Don’t forget to jump back and enter our Tauer Perfumes GIVEAWAY!!

RHYMING REVIEWS

Tobacco Vanille Tom Ford FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Dear Desires: Tobacco Vanille by Tom Ford

The exclusive house of Tom Ford

Sells scents no-one can afford.

Still they’ll skip half their meals

To buy Tobacco Vanilles

Leaving his accountants suitably awed.

Aventus Creed FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Hip or Hype? Aventus by Creed

On Basenotes there’s general consensus

On the greatness of Creed’s scent Aventus.

But now a pizza chef type

Told me “Ignore all the hype”.

It smells just like the Hawaiian he’s sent us.

Peety O`Driu FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Visceral Aversion: Peety by O’Driu

The frustrated nose at O’Driu

Was almost about to say “See you”.

Then he said “Why don’t we see

If they’ll add their own pee?”

To which the market mostly said “Eeyew”.

1 Million Paco Rabanne FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

The Popular Choice: 1 Million by Paco Rabanne

Now that every outlet is stocking it

There are plenty of people knocking it.

But the real crying shame

Is that it’s not only it’s name

But the number of guys who are rocking it.

Silver Musk Nasomatto FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Linear Longevity: Silver Mist by Nasomatto

They say scents by Nasomatto

Are as strong and as rich as a gateau.

Starting out light, Silver Musk

Lasts from dawn until dusk

But it never surpasses that plateau.

Mark Birley Mark Birley FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

The Job Interview Scent: Mark Birley for Men

I was wondering what to wear to an interview.

A mate said the result will be sure if you

Wear Mark Birley Cologne

But I had none of my own

So he kindly offered to sell me two.

M7 Yves Saint Laurent fragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

The Scent of the Solstice: M7 by Yves Saint Laurent

When the depths of winter coment

I think that citrusy scents are notent.

What best suits my moudh

Is the rich and warm oudh

Of M7, by Yves St Laurent.

Noble Leather by Julie Massé of Mane for Yves Saint Laurent 2013

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Hey hey APJ,

Loving the house; YSL has been a fave of mine since before fashion school and during became a hero for both his fashion and foresight but also because he lived this incredibly flamboyant life in a time when the world seemed to be quite conservative. He showed me, through his own actions that you could be whoever you choose to be if you have a talent, a little luck, work really hard and choose your friends wisely. That the people in charge of Yves Saint Laurent have taken the name Yves from his fashion house is a complete travesty and I hope never to own anything from the house without all three names on them, so anything pre 2013 and I can still grab YSL fragrances and makeup. I have received this decant in an order from Surrender To Chance, they have a special area where you can find the brand newest things from a year or a month, as you can see I have a backlog….

Noble Leather by Julie Massé of Mane for Yves Saint Laurent 2013

Noble Leather Yves Saint Laurent FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Leather, amber, wood, vanilla, patchouli, saffron, dried fruit

The first time I wore Noble Leather it was late and I was trying to think of what I should write, take some notes etc but my mind was completely blank. Not processing anything. So I decided to do some reading about it on the blogs. There isn’t much around and most of it hates Noble Leather. It was no help because I don’t hate it. In my mind the best leather of them all is the Pineider: Cuoio Nobile, followed closely by Bottega Veneta. Noble Leather is more like Cuoio Nobile with a hefty dash of Lonestar Memories thrown in. Dark, erotic leather, like a whisper of the feeling of the scent of the inside leg of a party monster’s chaps or the saddle that’s been ridden in all day and is still warm.

Noble Leather Yves Saint Laurent Remington Dash Timber WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

Vanilla leather, amber leather, saffron leather an amalgam to begin with, dark, sweet and waxy. It smells birch-ish once the fireworks die down, darker and more tannins, with avery interesting super sweet overlay that must be the dried fruits but is really just an amorphous sweetness to my nose, not the same as the vanilla sweetness though which also play around the edges. There are momentary Cuir Ottoman memories but nowhere near as challenging or evocative. What whistles through my mind are images of cowboys and their saddles, drovers and their sheep, the labdanum having some similarities to the Lanolin we get from wool. I think it’s very aromachemical based because the scent goes in and out of my ability to smell if I am paying it close attention for more than a couple of minutes, when on a hand and it comes and goes from my olfactory vision then it comes back again whenever I put my hand to my chin or face area.

Noble Leather Yves Saint Laurent Walter_Wither Drover WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

There are some spices that tickle my nose and the patchouli makes a lovely dusty cameo for a while, so reminiscent of working the Australian outback, but this is a leather/amber/vanilla for most of its journey and in dry down Noble Leather maintains much the same story to fade.

Further reading: Katie Puckrik and Kafkaesque
House of Fraser has £195/80ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $5/.5ml

Sillage is excellent and longevity quite good, I think I might like it much more if it wasn’t priced so outrageously. £195 that’s 3 – 4 Serge Lutens (Tubereuse Criminelle, Bas de Soie, Muscs Koublai Khan, Un Bois Vanille or Noble Leather’s sweeter and lovelier brother Chergui)  or 2 Neela Vermeire Creations Discovery Packs. Sorry I don’t see the value YSL and I think you, as a consumer, can spend your dollars better elsewhere.

Did you get your sniff on the Oriental Collection from YSL yet? Thoughts?
Portia xx

 

Feral Favourites

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Post by FeralJasmine

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I love wildness, and consider it the source of some of the best possibilities we carry in us, hence my screen name. When it comes to perfume, though, you can encounter some serious pushback about wearing your wildness, so to speak, on your sleeve. I often see scents designated “not office-appropriate,” and this distinction makes sense, but there are times to cut extravagantly loose and let your inner wildcat roar.

This evening, for instance. Never mind the tasks that still have to be completed before you head home, and the chores that await you there. Suppose, this time, you didn’t do that. Suppose you rushed home, tore off your clothes and anything else that constrains you, sprayed a carefully chosen something on yourself, and rolled around in a kind of catnip ecstasy. What would it be?

Feral Favorites from FeralJasmine

I have a number of rolling-in-catnip scents, so I’ll keep my descriptions brief:

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

VINTAGE OPIUM by Yves Saint Laurent
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, opoponax, musk, coconut, vanilla, benzoin, vetiver, incense, cedar, myrrh, castoreum, amber

The alpha and omega, the Bitch-Goddess, the sexiest perfume I know of. I have a precious stock of the earliest bottles, not just pre-IFRA but pre- any costcutting that reduced the Mysore and musk component. Glorious. I would never dream of layering it, and would no doubt be struck by lightning if I tried that.

Hard Leather LM Parfums FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

HARD LEATHER by LM Parfums
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Leather, rum
Heart: Iris, honey
Base: Sandalwood, cedar, agarwood (oud), olibanum, vanilla, styrax

A lovely sexy vanillic leather that manages to be firmly male and lusciously female at the same time. A perfume that invokes both Dionysus and Aphrodite is not to be ignored.

Panthere Cartier FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

VINTAGE PANTHERE by Cartier
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Tangerine, grapefruit, pepper, ginger, incens, rose
Heart: Jasmine, gardenia, tuberose, freesia, orris, narcissus, ylang-ylang, vetiver, nutmeg
Base: Oak moss, Tonka, patchouli, sandal, civet, musk, amber, vanilla, cedar

The tuberose that roars. So intense that I’ve seen it referred to as “crass.” I beg to differ. Imagine a passionate night in a breezy bedroom in Mexico, with a huge bunch of tuberoses that have never seen the inside of a cooler tossed across a pillow, and you have the general idea. The modern version is quite genteel and doesn’t deserve skin time on a wild night.

Velvet Gardenia Tom Ford FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

VELVET GARDENIAby Tom Ford
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Orange, gardenia
Heart: Jasmine, rose, honey, beeswax, plum, lily of the valley, tuberose
Base: French labdanum, incense

This tragically discontinued Tom Ford captures to perfection the hint of death that hides within the vibrant life of a gardenia. When I remember growing up in Louisiana, and the sensuality of the climate, I want Velvet Gardenia. A few good sprays and I’m seventeen again.

Noir de Noir Tom Ford FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

NOIR DE NOIR by Tom Ford
Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Saffron, patchouli, rose, tuber, oakmoss, vanilla, oudh

Another Tom Ford, a lovely rose with a delicious truffle note. When your mood is more languid than wild, this one will suit.

Tawaf La Via del Profumo fragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

TAWAF by La Via del Profumo
Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Jasmine sambac, rose, opoponax, narcissus, myrrh

The growling jasmine from AbdesSalaam. The source of my screen name, it smells to me like an a Indian wedding night.

Muscs Koublai Khan Serge Lutens FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

MUSCS KOUBLAI KHAN by Serge Lutens
Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Civet, castroneum, cistus labdanum, ambergris, Morrocan rose, cumin, ambrette seed (musk mallow), costus root, patchouli

A little sweaty, a little cuddly, profoundly sexual with notes of profound innocence, this is a genius creation. It will carry you from the earliest wild thought right through to the afterglow, or give you all of that at once.

A favorites list is always a moving target, and all I can say is that, today, these are the seven sexiest perfumes that I can think of. But the id contains an endless supply of wildness (mine does, anyway) and needs its outlet, so if you favor other perfumes for your wildcat moments, do tell…

FeralJasmine x

Supreme Bouquet by Yves Saint Laurent 2013

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Hey there Fellow Fumie Family.

Today we are chatting about one of Yves Saint Laurent’s newest lineup, the Oriental Collection. These are a new last year, extremely spendy, designer try at regaining some of their lost consumer ground through their own, and enforced, ruthless reformulations and cheapening of many of their products. Here is the big ticket item to lure us back. There are now four in the Oriental Collection with the addition of Splendid Wood this year.

Supreme Bouquet by Yves Saint Laurent 2013

Supreme Bouquet Yves Saint Laurent FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Fruity notes
Heart: Ylang ylang, tuberose, jasmine
Base: Patchouli, amber, musk

Supreme Bouquet, seems like they have made the bar pretty high, Supreme? Really Supreme? I was already pre disposed to not like it just from the name, which seems both overblown and lame. Who is in charge of this stuff at YSL Fragrance, it just makes me squirm with embarrassment that out of the WHOLE English language (and the thousands of others available) that Supreme Bouquet is the BEST name they could come up with. Let’s wear it and see if it lives down to it’s moniker.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAPhoto Stolen WikiMedia

Peaches from a can, mango and pineapple? Like a fruit cocktail with added sugar syrup, actually, like the syrup that canned fruit comes in. YUMMY! I am taken directly back to my childhood in the first spritz, sadly this crazy fun, 100% unnatural scent only blasts for about 3-5 minutes before it is lost in a very honey-like sweetness that still manages to be dry, as the white flowers come strolling in with a sinuous, sensuous, insouciant abandon and wrap their lovely coils around the fruit till all you can smell are sweet, buttery, green, fatty white flowers. So beautiful there is almost a fairytale quality, Supreme Bouquet is ethereal but solid and wafting gently around me like a nimbus. It is like you have sat yourself in an arbour of exotic dream flowers that bear only a passing resemblance to anything of this world, more like the flowers I would expect Queen Amidala to cultivate. Sometimes I worry that I have TERRIBLE taste in fragrance, I think these are nearly completely aroma chemicals but still they smell fabulous to me. I love it.

Trichome, Arabidopsis leaf hairPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

The amber highlights and warms the flowers as they start to fade, they don’t really leave but they do become less assertive, relax their hold and give some space to everything else, sadly the uber clean patchouli and musks smell a trifle generic and that lets the whole composition down a bit, after the fireworks of the opening and heart it would have been nice if the patchouli had given us a raspy, earthy depth. It doesn’t.

Supreme Bouquet Yves Saint Laurent Fairy Queen maf04 FlickrPhoto Stolen Flickr

Further reading: Katie Puckrik Smells and Kafkaesque
Available in department stores (not in Australia yet) UK YSL site £195
I bought my sample from Surrender To Chance from $5/.5ml

OK, so is this the SUPREME Bouquet? Naah, but it is lovely, wearable and sexy, super perfume-y and a look back at fragrances of the past till its slightly boring, but very nice, dry down. Would I pay £195 for a bottle? Probably not. On 50% discount? I’d be definitely thinking about it. Actually, for US$100 I would have been online and purchased a bottle already. It is very nice, great gift for someone but extremely overpriced to me.

Have you tried any from the new Oriental line at Yves Saint Laurent yet?
Portia x

Manifesto by YSL Mini Movie

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 9 Comments

Heya Perfumistas,
Do you remember having a Kaleidoscope? My Mum knew that no matter how naughty or outrageous I was being that the Kaleidoscope would shut me up. Bored? Kaleidoscope. Cranky? Kaleidoscope. Couldn’t sleep? Kaleidoscope. It was the universal cure all for a while at Chez Turbo. Sadly it didn’t last but sometimes I wish I had one, just to remember the magic.

Manifesto by YSL Mini Movie

jessica_chastain_ysl_manifesto_adJessica Chastain YSL Manifesto Ad.

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Green wave, bergamot, black currant
Heart: White flowers, Sambac jasmine, lily of the valley
Base: Cedar, sandalwood, vanilla, tonka bean

Please enjoy the new Manifesto Mini Movie.
Portia xx

Bringing Grandma Up To Date At Christmas: A Gift Guide

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Guest Post by Tim

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With the Christmas gift shopping window of opportunity slowly getting smaller in the lead up to Christmas do you get stuck on what to buy? Perhaps you do a Chris Cringle like my family. Sometimes I am wandering aimlessly around under pressure, amongst holiday crowds scratching my head thinking of what they would like.Out of all the people in my family I buy for it’s my Grandma that I find I am at my most inspired when things need to be wrapped and under the tree by the 25th. Bless her heart, she excitedly accepted my presents given over the years. Sometimes fragrant, sometimes not. This year I’m

Bringing Grandma Up To Date

Photo Stolen TheBookwood

I’ve been referencing the past to find new interpretations and variations on the popular and classic fragrances that were trending at a time when our grandmas were becoming women. I have included some new flankers of vintage classics from iconic houses and beautiful compositions she will relate to and make a new connection with. These are a festive selection of fragrances suitable for a woman.

EauPremier stylefrizzPhoto Stolen Stylefrizz

Chanel,  No 5 Eau Premiere 2008 by Jaques Polge. An inspired choice for a Classic Alderhydeic floral. Fresher and lighter on the  Alderhydes,  it strips away time and date,  softening the edges and modernising the famous formulation. Eau premier presents a little rosier than iconic No 5. Grasse grown jasmine,  neroli and ylang ylang from the Comoro Islands keep it luxe. Generous in 125 ml bottle .

Photo Stolen dezire

Chanel, Crystal eau Vert 2009 by Jaques Polge. Introducing an ozonic citrus white floral. Retaining the original ‘honeysuckle’ accord and adding magnolia with abstract white flowers, 1974 classic Crystal has been given a breath of fresh air, greener and cleaner. Sicilian lemon noticeably flaring on opening, quickly settling into a powdery green heart that wears fresh and cool, this to me feels perfect for summer.

Photo Stolen ThePerfumeShop

Christian Dior, Les Creations de Monsieur Dior, Dioressence 2009 original by Guy Robeert. Everything old is new again  is the theme song of this classic chypre. Representing a review on a vintage edition, Dioressence presents a timeless opus of Dior which resists time and trends. An olde worlde opening of alderhydes under tart citrus which fades to a bouquet of violet, tuberose, jasmine, carnation, Lily of the valley , ylang and iris root. I’m hoping for a bottle too. Hint hint.

Photo Stolen TheMakeUpDivas

Estée Lauder Private Collection, Jasmine White Moss  2009 by Aerin Lauder , nose Jean Mark Chaillan. Hardly stock standard or obvious, this release is packing earth moss and wet woods. Rumour has it this is an unfinished fragrance from 1980, there are subtle hints of jasmine floating through this superb mossy green floral. New notes added by Aerin are mandarin and black current absolute, this is a fragrance created to honour heritage and family tradition.

Photo Stolen CHANEL

Chanel, No 19 Poudre 2011 by Jaques Polge. A new directions for this classic green alderhydeic floral. Sheer powder, more balmy and musky. Iris  is the angle on the tree in this rendition of my personal favorite No 19. Poudre is adorned with jasmine, galbanum, vetiver and hyacinth which subtly floats into a soft focus musk with sweet tonka bean. My favourite Chanel flacon.

Photo Stolen Escentual

Guerlian,  Shalimar  Parfum Initial 2011 by Thierry Wasser.  Entirely representing the outer trappings of the original and giving it rose coloured glasses. It’s vaguely related to the famous Shalimar, but think of it as the basics rethought,  while still being able to tie it back to the original. No dirty bits to be found anywhere with white musk , Wasser uses  popular iris paired with nutty almond nuances, over time drying down to  woods and amber; less smokey and vanillic than the original.

Photo Stolen Clemence-cahu

Yves Saint Laurent, Opium Vapeurs de Parfum 2012. The tender salmon pink bottle that was once home to super elixir Opium. Pink pepper in the opening gives it initial sparkle, orange blossom and mandarin take it up a notch as the oriental citrus incense becomes gentle and caressing. The Vapeurs edition has  less spice than the original and is thankfully low on the sugary calories.

Lancôme,  La Vie est Belle 2012 by Oliver Polge, Dominique Ropion and Anne Phillip. The latest mainstream release representing the gourmand sweet fruitchouli  category. With three noted noses behind its release, 5000 claimed variations  and given a three year probation you would hope ‘life is beautiful’ with this latest from Lancôme.  Well I can say it is,  grown up and  elegant. Feeling over all polished in it’s composition, reflected through the pretty glass bottle design. Heart notes praline and patchouli mix festively with vanilla and the almond-like accords in the base pushing it well into a gourmand territory.

See you in a fortnight,

Tim XX

Rive Gauche by Jacques Polge and Michel Hy for YSL 1970

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 11 Comments

Hey Hey APJ Fumie Family,

A lot of the time we smell, think or write about perfume is spent on the memories it evokes when we smell them. It is amazing to me that when I get a whiff of many fragrances popular during the 1970s, 80’s and 90’s I am instantly transported back. One of the most glamorous girls in our circle as teens was Margie G. she had a horde of older sisters and they were the coolest of the cool. In many ways Margir G. was the diffused collective knowledge of her older sisters as well as her own striking personality. She was the first to bring back the mini skirt, corduroy, black wool skivvies and a host of other marvelous things in our crew, needless to say we all adore her. I remember her also as the one who wore Rive Gauche.

Rive Gauche by Yves Saint Laurent

Recently I wanted to be transported and went to a counter to spritz. The bottle is pretty much the same but I can’t smell my memory of Rive Gauche in Rive Gauche. Maybe the reformulation has changed it, said I. So off to eBay.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Aldehydes, honeysuckle, green notes, peach, bergamot, lemon
Heart: Carnation, rose, lily of the valley, ylang ylang, jasmine, gardenia, iris, magnolia
Base: Sandalwood, musk, vetiver, tonka bean, oakmoss, amber

Vintage Rive Gauche EdT opens sharp, metallic and green but also seriously sweet: it is an interesting counterpoint and has a very retro feel to it. I think my smell-o-vision has changed somewhat because though this hints at my memory it is not as I remember. Already in that opening half minute there is a fecal feral snarl though that is decidedly of the time and now IFRA and animal rights removed via Tom Ford’s direction of Daniela Andrier during the early 2000’s. That sweet citrus metal welcome warms enchantingly as the flowers come in, it is a big bouquet and no one flower makes a huge stand on my skin but it is honeyed, sweet but not the modern sugary sweet more fresh breath sweet. Beyond flowers but floral, when you smell it you’ll know what I mean but my vocabulary is not up to the task. The heart lasts for hours before allowing the base accords to shine, they are there but very background buoying the whole composition up. It is sweet amber/tonka and wood over dark oakmoss and something animalic that may be the musk. It is quiet by this time, around 5 hours, and will remain so on my skin for longer than I take notice of it, or sometimes I want a respritz before it has gone.

Leroy Neiman CafeRiveGauche Photo Stolen MyNewMaster

BoisDeJasmin and PerfumeShrine for further reading.

FragranceShop has 100ml/$60
MyPerfumeSamples has modern Rive Gauche EdT starting at $2/ml & 5ml/$7

Though my memory wasn’t served perfectly this is a lovely fragrance. Is there a fragrance that should ring bells for you but doesn’t? Have you had a similar experience? I love to read your stories too in the comments below.
Till tomorrow, oodles of love to you from us at APJ,
Portia xx

1980’s Rive Gauche ad, French