Category Archives: Perfume Friends

by Tara | November 13, 2018 · 7:00 am

A Mini London Meetup – Photo Essay

Last weekend Val the Cookie Queen and her fabulous daughter Hannah (aka Blondes Wunder) landed in London for a flying visit. I met them on Friday afternoon and we had a chilled time after healthy fast food at Leon.

We got on the tube to Oxford Circus and similar to last time, Val and I installed ourselves in the Topshop cafe while Hannah trawled the rails. We had goods to exchange. Val brought me perfume but I was more excited about the world’s best cookies. I immediately ate three which showed great restraint on my part.

Val’s first sniff of the vintage Chanel No.5 I brought back from Sydney for Portia.

Val on Argyle Street with Liberty in the background

The Great Frog

Queen lights at Canaby Street

20181109_162524

On Saturday morning I met Val at the back entrance of Liberty on Canaby Street. We’d be spending the day with Nick of fragrance consultancy Olfiction and Thomas, The Candy Perfume Boy who was coming down from Milton Keynes with his lovely husband, Nigel.

Before they arrived, we went into the store and had a look at Le Labo. The new Tonka 25 is very soft and quiet – likely to appeal to those craving something comforting. Val checked out Vetiver 46 which was better than most in that genre for me. (Later Thomas and I had a laugh about the fact that people regularly tell him that they wear a perfume called Santal 33 that nobody else knows about).

We spent some time at the Frederic Malle counter where Val and I always seem to gravitate. As a collection, it’s hard to beat, especially when it comes to niche.

20181110_114004

Val’s friend Rosie joined us and became totally smitten with Portrait of a Lady. We were shown the new 30ml atomisers which are a nice addition. Prices vary depending on the perfume: Musc Ravageur is £85 while Carnal Flower is £122.

Thomas and Nigel arrived.

20181110_120635

Thomas checked out the Christmas limited edition coloured bottles.

20181110_121022

Nick found us after having to get an Uber thanks to a cancelled train. He was due to be on QVC at 6pm for Miller Harris. We regrouped outside and decided to head to Muji to buy some atomisers for Val.

20181110_122406

20181110_124635

Lunch was at Nando’s. I rarely eat there but luckily I was with aficionados. I had the Fino Pitta with Peri Peri salted chips and it was so good I didn’t stop to take a photo. Before the food arrived we did what my friend Natalie calls ‘table spritzing’. Not to be encouraged in public but we were seated in a corner away from other people. Nick had brought the strangelove nyc perfume samples for Val. Believe me when I tell you the vicinity smelt of oud from then on (it was good oud though).

20181110_132848 20181110_142054 20181110_131119

20181110_140638

Next stop was the bakery Crumbs and Dollies in Kingly Court for Nigel. Hannah found a vegan cupcake too.

Nick and me outside the bakery. He gives excellent advice and is a great listener.

20181110_144430

At this point it began to rain. We made it to Champion for Hannah to get some jogging pants and then went on to Selfridges as the downpour got considerably heavier. Nick had to shoot off to QVC once we got to Oxford Street.

Our last sniff was at the Chanel counter. Bien sûr! We looked at the limited edition red bottles which photograph beautifully but I found a little underwhelming in reality.

20181110_155950

Check out Blondes Wunder’s excellent beauty channel on YouTube here.

I’m currently experiencing extremely high levels of anxiety thanks to a house move so to spend time with such wonderful people was just what I needed.

27 Comments

Filed under Perfume Friends, Perfume Shopping

Tagged as Chanel, Frederic Malle, Liberty, Val the Cookie Queen

by Tara | September 10, 2018 · 7:00 am

Vintage Mini Reviews – Bal a Versailles, Paris and Magie Noire

My Aussie friends gave me so many wonderful gifts when I visited in July. These included sweets, skincare, earrings, boots (2 pairs!) and of course, perfume.

The lovely Scott is a pal of Portia’s and a fragrance fiend like the rest of us. At my last evening attending Turbo Trivia he very sweetly presented me with a selection of decants from his collection which all feature rose to some extent. This was incredibly thoughtful, given my obvious love of the note. They were all perfumes that I didn’t know well – if at all – and I was excited to try them.

Portia, Jin, me and Scott

There were five decants in all but I’ve decided to focus on the three that impressed me the most. (The other two being Voleur de Roses by L’Artisan Parfumeur and Parfum de Peau by Montana).

Bal a Versailles Vintage EDC, Jean Desprez

Rosemary, orange blossom, mandarin orange, cassia, jasmine, rose, neroli, bergamot, Bulgarian rose, lemon, sandalwood, patchouli, lilac, orris root, vetiver, ylang-ylang, lily-of-the-valley, leather, Tolu balsam, amber, musk, benzoin, civet, vanilla, cedar, resins

Bal a Versailles is a busty oriental from the days when you could find animalic perfumes on the high street. I thought it would be a real ball-buster: loud and skanky. On me however, it radiates a warm and furry hum that is suggestive rather than obscene. I’m not at ease in pornographic perfume but on me, this is lightly draped curves and candle-lit seduction. I actually find it rather comforting in small amounts, though I have little doubt spraying liberally from the bottle gives you a decidedly different effect.

The musks are silky, fuzzy, moreish and of course, sensual. The powder is pitched just right. It’s the kind of perfume that I imagine being dabbed on the décolleté and mingling with the wearer’s skin chemistry. It positively blooms with body heat. The musky base is embellished with flowers and gilded with aromatics, woods and sweet resins. Bal a Versailles is enticingly intimate and gloriously lavish.

bal a versailles

Paris Vintage EDT, YSL

Bergamot, orange blossom, rose, mimosa, cassia, hawthorn, nasturtium, violet, hyacinth, geranium, violet leaves, jasmine, orris, ylang ylang, lily of the valley, lily, linden, sandalwood, amber, musk, moss, heliotrope, cedar and ambergris

I flip over good powdery rose/violet perfumes. They tend to be feminine, glamourous and often reminiscent of vintage cosmetics. In short, they give me my pin-up girl moment.

I imagined vintage Paris would overwhelm me with chilly and jagged aldehydes, but it is surprisingly warm and velvety. That’s not to say it is a quiet perfume – quite the opposite. A full spray from the bottle must envelop you in a dazzling pink cloud. Its personality is charmingly optimistic, carefree and elegant. The only thing that puts me off seeking out more juice, is the tell-tale Playdoh effect caused by heliotrope. For some reason the dominant presence of that almond-tinged note gives me a headache.

Although I may not be able to wear it, Paris is still a standout fragrance.

paris-yves-saint-laurent-perfume-review

Magie Noire Vintage EDT, Lancome

Bulgarian rose, blackcurrant buds, jasmine, ylang-ylang, sandalwood, amber and patchouli

I remember sniffing this at the very, very beginning of my slip into perfumania. I didn’t get it. It seemed too sour and austere.

Now I’m ready for it.

This sophisticated virago brings to mind black and white movie femme fatales like Bette Davis. Maybe not conventionally beautiful but absolutely magnetic. The individual elements shouldn’t work but the overall effect is compelling. As time wears on, I find myself constantly bringing my wrist to my nose. This potion is bewitchingly good.

There are hissing blackcurrant buds and dark, bitter greens tempered by white flower petals. It’s like escaping to an enchanted hideaway, concealed by a curtain of moss. Originally released in 1971, I can’t envisage Lancôme launching something like this today (more’s the pity). Vintage Magie Noire is magnificent.

Huge thanks to Scott for sharing these fabulous decants with me. I know these perfumes are dear to his heart and in short supply, which makes it all the more special. It’s been a real education and filled a lacuna in my knowledge. An added bonus is that I’ve found more fragrances to covet.

Do you know and love any of these treasures?

29 Comments

Filed under Perfume Friends, Perfume Reviews

by Tara | August 15, 2018 · 7:00 am

Shopping Portia’s Perfume Collection – Photo Essay

Portia did a very brave thing recently. She employed a couple of friends to catalogue her extensive perfume collection. They took two days and came up with a figure of 1,208 bottles.

20180715_130712

Not many of us fragrance fanatics know the exact number we have and I dare say even fewer of us would want to publish it.

Some thought it might actually be more considering Portia often refers to her “perfume room” but this hallowed space functions as an office as well as providing storage. This is where the hard work of keeping Australian Perfume Junkies motoring takes place.

The cabinet you can see in the left of the photo below holds boxes with various groupings of fragrance.

We had a really fun couple of evenings going through some of the boxes on Portia and Jin’s dining room table.

20180715_130659

20180716_191721

We did some serious spritzing and I was in danger of running out of skin real estate.

20180715_131628(0)

I was particularly interested in Portia’s stash of Geurlain and Chanel. There were so many vintage gems. Lots of Mitsouko, Samsara, No.22 and No.5.

I also tried all three Les Eaux de Chanel and liked the herbaceous citrus breeze of Paris–Deauville the most.

20180715_132100

20180716_191307 20180715_131517

20180715_132252

Mahora Parfum, Guerlain

Portia gave me a partial bottle of vintage Miss Dior Parfum when last in London and as it is all but finished, I asked if I could buy one of the many back-ups. I wore it to Portia’s wedding and you can read my review of it here.

I also bought a full bottle of the EDT which I’d never tried before.

The perfume that was on my To Buy List at the time was Chanel No.19. I didn’t know which concentration to get so we tried them all. I totally fell in love with an old bottle of the Parfum. The galbanum is so smooth and silky that it made me swoon.

I decided to buy the EDT version along with the Parfum. We thought I could wear both at the same time to give the Parfum some throw. Well, that was my excuse.

No.19 Parfum and EDT

Portia kindly provided me with two ‘Gifts With Purchase’. One was Niki de Saint Phalle EDT, which I liked a lot but had only owned a sample of. It’s a gorgeous, powdery green scent that I find easier to wear than Jacomo’s Silences but is in the same vein (my review is here).

The other was Caleche Parfum by Hermes which I’m looking forward to getting to know.

20180717_174057

20180727_101903

Portia only charged me what she paid for them less what she had used (if any). I got a great deal and did my bit to help reduce the Aussie fragrance mountain 🙂 It was also the perfect way to buy vintage without risk.

20180717_175059

Just before I left Australia, Portia very generously gave me a partial bottle of vintage Mitsouko. It’s the EDT which is my favourite concentration. It is glorious.

20180815_033825

They will remind me of Portia and my trip of a lifetime every time I spray.

20180716_191936

Are any of these favourites of yours?

27 Comments

Filed under Perfume Friends, Perfume Shopping

Tagged as Perfume Collection, Vintage

by Tara | August 7, 2018 · 9:45 am

Portia and Jin Tie The Knot – Photo Essay

With a bit of planning, it worked out perfectly that I was in Australia for the wedding of my dear friend Portia (from Australian Perfume Junkies) to the adorable Jin. The Big Day came on the 28th July, towards the end of my stay, but I wanted to start with it and then post about the rest of the trip.

Me and Jin

It was an emotional day, maybe more so because I was there for the run-up to the event and attended a planning meeting the day after I arrived in Sydney. It was held at a local Italian restaurant and the dress code was casual. The informal vibe suited the happy couple perfectly, however a string quartet kept it classy.

20180729_165038

Eleven of Jin’s South Korean family had flown in and he was given away by his father. Considering being gay isn’t even acknowledged in South Korea this was a big deal and a testament to what an exceptional person Jin is.

Portia was given away by his cousin, Mark, who flew in just for the day. They all walked down the aisle to Amazing Grace which is Jin’s mother’s favourite hymn. I understand she shed a tear. The Celebrant was a fellow drag queen and long time friend of Portia’s, Sandy Bottom, which made proceedings more personal.

We were very firmly – and understandably – asked to put our phones on silent and not to take photos during the ceremony. A funny thing happened when Jin realised he had not in fact switched his own phone off. This may have been Portia’s faovurite moment of the whole day.

Portia and Jin with their Best Men and Women

The couple said their own vows to each other and exchanged Tiffany diamond earrings. This was harder than they expected because their hands were shaking. It was extremely touching. These two are such a great match.

The rose-cut diamond stud in situ.

Speeches took place after the starters. Portia’s BFF Kath gave a moving speech and read out messages from those who were unable to attend. The words from Val the Cookie Queen and her family were received with “aaaahs” around the room.

BFF Kath

Portia’s Best Man Phil came up with my favourite line of the event “Portia has found the Jin to his Yang.”

20180729_172840

Portia’s wedding day scent was Rahele by Neela Verneire Creations. Jin, entirely coincidentally, wore Bombay Bling! also by NVC. I went for vintage Miss Dior Parfum which I fell in love with after Portia introduced me it to.

20180727_101935

You can tell the food was fabulous from me stuffing my face rather than posing for this photo (top right).

Tina G, Scott and Ainslie Walker

After the cake was cut, Portia and Jin invited us all to have a photo taken with them.

FB_IMG_1532937954732

Below is the Aussie crew I hung out with in Paris earlier this year.

Michael wore Sheiduna by Puredistance, while Anna Maria and Scott both wore Shalimar, which is a favourite of Portia’s.

Me and the married couple.

It was interesting to learn that one gentlemen told Portia he expected the “gay wedding” to be over-the-top and showy. It was the exact opposite, being intimate, warm and relaxed. A Turbo Trivia regular summed it up for me when she said to Portia that she told her mum “You could cut the love in the room with a knife”.

FB_IMG_1532937970774

Huge congratulations to Portia and Jin who I know will continue to share lots of laughs and exciting journeys for many, many years to come. I love them to bits.

Thanks to Portia, Anna Maria and others for some of these photos.

36 Comments

Filed under Perfume Friends

by Tara | May 3, 2018 · 7:00 am

24 Hour Perfume People – A Parisian Photo Essay

Portia of Australian Perfume Junkies invited me to join her and pals for an April trip to Paris a while ago. I thought I had better give it a miss considering I had booked a big holdaiy for July. Then last Wednesday I had one of those “life is short” moments and got on to fellow frag fanatic Lisa, to see if I could travel with her for the weekend. (Look out for her write-up on I Scent You A Day).

On Friday we boarded the Eurostar at St. Pancras.

‘I Want My Time With You’ – Tracey Emin’s new pro-EU artwork.

On arrival at the Gare du Nord, we headed straight for the Metro.

Photo credit: Lisa Jones

Lisa was staying at a hotel in the Latin Quarter while I was sleeping on the sofabed at Portia’s Airbnb, conveniently located in Les Halles. Before we met the others we found time to visit a huge French pharmacy. These places are full of amazing skincare that is often cheaper than back home. My usual Nuxe lip balm costs £9.50 but I got a couple here for 6.99 euro each.

Lisa at Pharmacie Monge

When I arrived at the apartment, Scott was sorting through his precious scent strips from their trip to The Osmotheque the day before. He kindly let me sniff the recreated Iris Gris.

Les Halles

Scott

That evening we walked past the amazing Pompidou Centre on our way to dinner in the very cool Marais district.

Pompidou Centre

The next morning we had croissants by the pond in the Tuileries gardens. Portia harassed the ducks and we messed about in front of The Louvre.

Portia, Anna-Maria and me

Then we made our way to the Jardin du Palais-Royal to meet up with the others (14 in total) for a 10am appointment at Serge Lutens.

Jardin du Palais-Royal

Tim and Lisa, with Margo in the background being fabulous (as per).

A Portia Photobomb

We went up the hallowed spiral staircase where few mortals are allowed to go.

Each of the three tables had 4 different bell jars – and macarons!

After an introduction about Serge Lutens – the man himself – the staff passed around paper strips dipped into each of the twelve fragrances in turn. With strips in hand, they then read some corresponding background information about them.

The bell jars included Santal de Mysore (spiced), Miel de Bois (happily urine-free), Iris Silver Mist (bliss), Borneo 1834 (yum), Cuir Mauresque (greasy leather – in a good way), Chene (great), Un Bois Sepia (ugh), Fumerie Turque (very popular with the room), La Myrrhe (classy) and Rose de Nuit (own it).

20180428_111018

Afterwards, we were able to request others. I asked to try Une Voix Noire (which I thought I might buy) and De Profundis on skin along with Iris Silver Mist.

20180428_100930
Une Voix Noire turned out to be a transparent, almost honeyed, white floral. It was rather lovely but because it wasn’t the smoky gardenia I’d expected, it threw me. I reckoned it was too much of a risk to purchase on the spot (I need a decant first).

The Cool Kids Table

The one I decided to buy was Iris Silver Mist because I’m trash for iris and it isn’t as carrot-y or metallic as it used to be. When I thanked one of the SAs on my way downstairs and told her I was buying ISM, she told me it was currently available as a 30ml travel atomiser with a 30ml refill. At 120 euro for a total of 60ml (which I can spray!) compared to 190 euro for the 75ml bell jar, this was a result.

Just about everyone came away with something. In Portia’s case, three somethings – La Myrrhe, Chene and Chypre Rouge.

Le Waft

Below left is the box and then below right is the black travel atomiser full of ISM, with the refill alongside it. I’ve worn it every day since and adore it. Anna-Maria bought the same and accidentally but brilliantly renamed it Irish Silver Mist 🙂

After lunch, we stopped off at Dior on our way to Jovoy. None of the swath of new perfumes in La Collection grabbed me but it’s great they do 40ml bottles now. Apparently Mitzah is released as a limited run each year, but only available in Paris.

Jovoy is a large store stocking a lot of luxury niche brands. I tried Niral by Neela Vermeire Creations and a couple of the fragrances by Anatole Lebreton. I wanted to love Grimoire because of its wonderful name but sadly, did not. (You can read about my visit to the new London branch here).

A few of us wanted to visit the Sacré-Coeur and Montmartre so we left the others to it.

That tiny baby – bottom right – squealed and scared Portia out of her skin. Hahaha.

Before heading back to the apartment we made a visit to Divine Perfumes. Apparently L’Homme Sage went down well.

Divine Perfumes

We spent the evening at a very nice restaurant where I tried my first oyster.

The Last Supper

This fantastic group of perfume people made me feel included even though I was piggybacking on their trip at the last minute.

Lisa and I headed for the Eurostar home the next morning so it was essentially only one full day in Paris but wow, what a day.

Huge thanks to everyone involved for making it so special.

23 Comments

Filed under Perfume Events, Perfume Friends, Perfume Shopping, Travels

Tagged as Divine, Jovoy, Paris, Serge Lutens

by Tara | May 1, 2018 · 6:00 am

Fun in London with The Candy Perfume Boy – Photo Essay

By Val the Cookie Queen from APJ

A Day with The Candy Perfume Boy, BlondesWunder and Kimball Shirley, cartoonist extraordinaire.

received_771534529723890

Up bright and early on the Thursday before The Art and Olfaction Awards saw us heading up to Victoria Tube Station to meet Thomas, The Candy Perfume Boy (CPB) and Kimball Shirley, a very dear family friend of many years. An American spending a little time in London. Formerly of The Simpsons, and now of the animated sitcom Bob’s Burgers, we roped him into being our paparazzi. He is now working on a fragrant comic picture of us all. And we are freaking beyond excited.

Successfully meeting outside the Golden M in Victoria, we all headed to Les Senteurs to meet up with the utterly charming and vivacious Nathalie Vinciguerra, founder of the Anima Vinci perfume range.

Beautiful uplifting fragrances, designed to pull at the heart and the spirit. BlondesWunder fell so in love with one she left with a decant. It was the CPB that introduced me to the Anima Vinci range, albeit virtually, and it led to setting up the date with Nathalie whilst I was in London. (He attended the launch in the South of France).

Suddenly finding ourselves in dire need of refreshment, Nathalie invited us to her office inside the mind-blowing Michelin House in Chelsea, originally opened in 1911.

The building has an incredible rooftop terrace and we took our refreshment up there, happily spending another hour sniffing our way through the scents again.

There are five perfumes in the collection, each one is enchanting. I will introduce them in my next post here.

It was about time to take our leave and head off to The Holy Nando’s. Thomas and I had promised this for ourselves several months earlier. I had never been, and he worships there. This was a serious event and we treated it accordingly.

Undisputedly delicious and I now understand his regular attendance. As long as he works out properly during the week, and runs regularly, I am OK with that. 🙂 Meanwhile I need a serious stash of their Drizzle Oil.

Having found out earlier in the day that Thomas and Nick had won a Jasmine Award for their Fume Chat Podcast, we forced ourselves to eat ice cream at Fortnum and Mason’s in celebration. Why not? Kimball had never been. He had a banoffee cardiac arrest in a glass, topped with honeycomb chunks and a quarter litre side serving of liquid caramel to pour over it, as and when.

I do not have the words to do justice to the absolutely brilliant day that we had. Bucket list date with CPB, hanging with a dear friend, and my daughter along to share my strange habits with both of them. She had them laughing tears. I’m gonna make her pay one day. All my street cred is shot.

Candy Burger Bussis

16 Comments

Filed under Perfume Friends, Perfume Shopping

by Tara | April 23, 2018 · 11:24 am

The Art and Olfaction Awards 2018 – Photo Essay

I had been looking forward to last weekend for MONTHS. So many of my friends from other countries, that I rarely get to see, would be converging on my home town for the fifth annual Art and Olfaction Awards on the evening of the 21st April.

flowers_2_sm

The day before I met up with my mate (from APJ and now a ABR contributor), Val the Cookie Queen and her fabulous daughter, Blundeswunder, over from Austria. We met at the Frederic Malle store in Burlington Arcade and immediately tried the forthcoming Sale Gosse by Fanny Bal. It has notes of pettigrain, neroli, bergamot, rosemary, Malabar and violet. On me, it’s a very lovely, sweet-but-not-too-sweet violet cologne-style fragrance. I didn’t pick up on the much talked about bubblegum.

While Blundeswunder scoured Topshop, Val and I did some sniffing downstaits in the cafe. ABR reader, Crikey, had sent Val some of Dior’s discontinued Mitzah and very generously included some vintage Miss Dior for me – whoop!

Later in the day we met up with Antonio Gardoni of Bogue Profumo for drinks. He is always excellent company and was on the judging panel for the Awards. They sent him no fewer than 180 vials of scent to assess.

Antonio and Val the Cookie Queen

On the morning of the Awards, eight of us met for brunch at The Diner in Spitalfields. This fragrant group included Vanessa of Bonkers About Perfume, Megan of Megan in Sainte Maxime, Lucy of Indieperfumes, regular commenter Lady Jane Grey and the superstar that is Margo, over from Poland. Just as much chatting and sniffing as eating took place, as you can imagine.

Lucy brought us lots of American indie samples to try from brands like Kerosene and For Strange Women. Val brought the new releases from the Hermssence collection. The three perfumes are Cedar Sambac, Myrrh Eglantine and Agar Abene. The two oils are Musc Pallida and Cardamusc. Musc Pallida was beautiful but far too ethereal for £275. The one I really fell for was Cedar Sambac.

After brunch we made our way west to the niche perfume store Bloom, in Covent Garden. I’m very pleased they now stock Aussie brand Naomi Goodsir. Her niche fragrances are distinctive in a world of blah. The latest addition, the striking Nuit de Bakelite, was a finalist in the year’s Independent Category of the Awards – review to come.

The Art and Olfaction Awards celebrates independent and artisan perfumery from across the globe. The city location changes each year (in 2017 it was Berlin) and this year they were held at The Tabernacle, Notting Hill. If you’re interested, you can read the full list of 2018 finalists and judges here. It’s fantastic that the Awards shine a spotlight on the great work indie and artisan perfumers are doing.

The event was very well attended (and rather hot) with musical accompaniment from a samba band.

20180421_202210

I was excited to be reunited with Portia from the back-in-business Australian Perfume Junkies. Happily, I was seated near the dynamic duo that is Nick Gilbert and Thomas Dunckley who recently quite rightly won the Innovation Jasmine Award for their brilliant Fume Chat podcast.

Portia, Nick and Thomas

Michael, Portia, Val and Me

A lot of indie perfumers were in attendance including Josh Meyer of Imaginary Authors, Dawn Spencer Hurwitz of DSH Perfumes and Andy Tauer.

Andy Tauer, Denyse Beaulieu and Sarah McCartney all presented awards (pictured below).

Here are the winners, who each received ‘The Golden Pear’.

golden pear

ARTISAN CATEGORY WINNERS

Chienoir
by BedeauX
CD/ Perfumer: Amanda Beadle

Club Design
by The Zoo
CD/ Perfumer: Christophe Laudamiel

INDEPENDENT CATEGORY WINNERS

Eau de Virginie
by Au Pays de la Fleur d’Oranger
Perfumer: Jean-Claude Gigodot

Nuit de Bakélite
By Naomi Goodsir
Perfumer: Isabelle Doyen

SADAKICHI AWARD WINNER

(Experimental Work with Scent)

Under the Horizon
by Oswaldo Macia
Perfume: Ricardo Moya (IFF)

AFTEL AWARD FOR HANDMADE PERFUME

Pays Dogon
By Monsillage (Canada)
Perfumer: Isabelle Michaud

CONTRIBUTION TO SCENT CULTURE

Peter de Cupere (Belgium)

Naomi Goodsir & perfumer Isabelle Doyen

Christophe Laudamiel

Above: Naomi Goodsir with perfumer Isabelle Doyen and Chrisophe Laudamiel

It was a fun night, not least because it was a great excuse to catch up with friends from near and far.

See you in Amsterdam for the 2019 Awards?

19 Comments

Filed under Perfume Events, Perfume Friends

Tagged as Art and Olfaction Awards, Photo Essay

by Tara | April 17, 2018 · 7:00 am

A Stunning New Word – And Some Ramblings

By Val the Cookie Queen

Hi Guys

Dropping in for my bi-monthly visit here at A Bottled Rose. About a year ago I heard the most wonderful word used on the radio, sometime around 4.00am. I sleep with BBC World Service playing softly at the side of the bed. I often hear interesting things but have no recollection when I wake up. However on this occasion I got up and wrote the word down. I have been waiting ever since to present it in a post.

ANTICAPPOINTMENT

Forgive me those who are familiar with the word, I was not. It covers a host of events and situations in life.

I will in this case use it in relation to my feelings regarding the current perfume scene. My anticipation at new releases and the continual disappointment that follows. Anticappointment.

Perfume is subjective, we all know that, I name no names. Nine out of ten things that I sniff are awful and the one out of ten that isn’t is not what I would buy. Hahahaha – it makes you wonder that I don’t just give up, huh?

To give up an addiction one first has to want to, and I don’t.

Before anyone jumps out at me, I know there is good new stuff, but let us be honest here, it’s few and far between.

Fear not. I still have classic signs of addiction. I recently bought 50mls of Dior”s discontinued Mitzah from a perfumista friend who scored a half gallon in Paris.

I tried it once years ago and did not like it. LMAO. But I have moved on and I reckon I am gonna love it now. It was shipped to Tara and I will get it next week.

Which brings me nicely to my ramblings. I’m heading to London tomorrow, along with BlondesWunder, and as you read this we will be in Pack’n’Panic mode.

I will get two full days with Tara, an evening with Portia, time with Bonkers Vanessa, a meet up with Megan In St Maxime, and most of us are going to The Art and Olfaction Awards. Keep your eyes out on my Instagram …

I have a date with a favourite blogger, (to be revealed in my next post) and together we will spend some time with Nathalie Vinciguerra, the founder and CEO of Anima Vinci. These perfumes excite me and come highly recommended. Stay tuned.

What perfume will I wear to the Art and Olfaction Awards? I hear you ask. Why Vero Profumo of course. Naja Eau de Parfum, including notes of red apple and leather. Launch date to be announced.

Have you ever been anticappointed?

Britain Bound Bussis

Apple image by John Hyde Phillips

17 Comments

Filed under Perfume Events, Perfume Friends

Tagged as Val the Cookie Queen

by Tara | April 3, 2018 · 9:00 am

PSA: APJ Update

Editor’s note: My dear friends over at Australian Perfume Junkies are going through every blogger’s worst nightnare at the moment, so the Cookie Queen is here today to let everyone know what’s happening.

‘READ ALL ABOUT IT, SHOCK HORROR, HAVE YOU HEARD THE NEWS’ – Shock Horror by Mick Farren & The Deviants (1977)

“There is some corrupted code that allowed malware to enter the APJ site. We have worked so hard but its proving resistant to our efforts. The places that offer a fix are expensive and not even failsafe, so we are seeking other avenues.“ – Portia Turbo

Australian Perfume Junkies as we know and love it has gone. Like the proverbial parrot. As some of you may know, APJ has been having some serious issues over the last months. Portia did think for a moment that they had been resolved, but sadly to no avail.

You would think in this digital day and age, where everything is there to find, and it is virtually impossible to remove anything from the Web, that there would have been a way to have at least kept the content of APJ hovering in cyberspace . But no. The only way to even start to fix things is to have the slate wiped. Where did it go? We have no bloody clue. I managed to screenshot what I considered my three best posts, so I have something.

I know how sad Portia is to lose the Scent Diary, her personal journal for over a year. Not to mention the hard and loving work from all the other contributors.

But yeah, APJ will regroup in one way or another. In the meantime Tara has offered to let me carry on with my twice monthly posts here on A Bottled Rose. I couldn’t be more honoured. And excited.

“The parrot is definitely deceased, and when I purchased it not ‘alf hour ago, you assured me that its total lack of movement was due to it bein‘ tired and shagged out following a prolonged squawk.“ – Monty Python

APJ is merely resting.

Bottled Bussis

73 Comments

Filed under Perfume Friends

by Tara | February 14, 2018 · 8:00 am

A Month of Irises

Who needs roses on Valentine’s Day when you can have irises?

You may already be a reader of Undina’s excellent blog, but she came up with the idea of making February ‘A Month of Irises’. There is a new post each week on Undina’s Looking Glass which she is adding to each day with a little iris-related review or fact, so do check in there for the rest of the month and share your SotD. Other bloggers are getting involved in the fun too and I’m hosting here on A Bottled Rose today.

I’ll be posting a full review of my current No.1 iris, Iris Poudre by Frederic Malle Editions de Parfums at the end of the month, but today I wanted to talk about another iris in my collection: 28 La Pausa by Les Exclusifs de Chanel.

I own a 200ml vat of the original EdT and while it is notorious for poor longevity, strangely I don’t have any problems on that score. It would be tough to produce an iris-centric perfume that wasn’t elegant but I think you’d be hard pressed to find one more refined and coolly charming than this Chanel.

28 La Pausa is a silken iris, being low on rootiness and much more floral in character. I find it soothing and minimalist yet radiant. It stops short of aloof and floats pleasantly around me in the palest blue aura.

When I tried the new EdP version I found that it progressed rather too quickly to its vetiver base on my skin. However Victoria of Bois de Jasmin recently wrote that she prefers it, in her brilliant Top Ten of Winter Iris Perfumes so do see how you find it. That post also spawned galloping lemmings of On Lipstick from Maison Martin Margiela Replica and Mythique by Parfums DelRae.

Iris Silver Mist by Serge Lutens is surely the ne plus ultra of iris perfumes but it has too much of a cold knife edge for me to wear it comfortably. My “lottery win” iris would be Irisss by Xerjoff at £560 for 100ml.

Chanel No.19 EdT is the iris-forward perfume that is currently on my To Buy list. Another fantastic iris that I’m sure I’ll own one day is Prada’s Infusion d’Iris Absolu.

Some others that I admire and have reviewed in the past are Hermes Hiris, the white iris of Nirmal by Laboratorio Olfattivo, the moonlit Iris Nazarena from Aedes de Venustas and the fabulously smoky Iris Cendre by Naomi Goodsir.

If you missed it on Olfactoria’s Travels back in the day, you might be interested to read my write-up of Incredible Irises, an evening of iris at Perfume Lovers London. It features some background information about this luxurious ingredient as well as a good selection of scents.

irises

Please let us know in the comments which iris perfume you are wearing today or which one/s you love!

24 Comments

Filed under Perfume Friends, Perfume Reviews

Tagged as Iris

Category Archives: Perfume Friends

Vintage Mini Reviews – Bal a Versailles, Paris and Magie Noire

Shopping Portia’s Perfume Collection – Photo Essay

Portia and Jin Tie The Knot – Photo Essay

24 Hour Perfume People – A Parisian Photo Essay

Fun in London with The Candy Perfume Boy – Photo Essay

The Art and Olfaction Awards 2018 – Photo Essay

PSA: APJ Update

A Month of Irises

Recent Posts

Follow Blog via Email

A Bottled Rose

Follow me on Twitter

Instagram @abottledrose

Top Posts & Pages

Past Posts

Tags

Copyright Notice