Vetiver Tonka by Jean Claude Ellena for Hermès 2004

Hello Fellow Fumies,

I don’t know what’s going on lately but it looks like vetiver has overtaken my big white flowers as favourite note. This was unintentional, surprising and I hope it doesn’t mean my love for the BWF is dying. Also, I’ve been doing some reading, always a dangerous course for the half educated like myself, and it turns out that vetiver is becoming the plant de jour around the world for a number of things other than perfume. There are 2 types of non invasive, clumping vetiver that are being used world wide for their ability to leech the toxins from soil and water, they are also excellent for stabilising erosion, holding banks/mountains in place and creating sea walls. This is only the tip of the iceberg I feel and will be interested to see it used in the future for self-sufficient-household sanitation and water cleansing.

Hermessence Vetiver Tonka by Hermès 2004

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Vetiver, tonka bean, lily of the valley, tobacco, caramel, praline, sandalwood, hazelnut

The caramel/resinous/LOTV open is joyous all by itself. So full throated and filled with call, like a siren or water bird floating across the brackish water of river and sea land junction. The foody stuff all combines with the tonka to create a wonderful sweet amber or crispy toffee scent that makes me want some salted caramel ice cream and honeycomb. YUMMY stuff indeed.

Photo Stolen vetiver.org

The fragrance then takes a decidedly vetiver turn on my skin, giving me a gorgeous earthy, salty, green smell like sitting on a dock above or the verandah near mudflats at low tide, it must be cooler months because there is a smoky waft carrying across to you from someones fireplace, or maybe it’s a summer Bar B Q and the sweetness still lurking is caramelising onions and sausages.

The feeling I get from Vetiver Tonka is a sense of space and freedom. It’s like a holiday, there is time to smell the unfolding of the story, the sweet warmth and earthy dankness combine to form a welcoming and pretty adventure that is both warm and very, very cool. Though it is not a sillage monster Vetiver Tonka does waft a trail and if you spray a card and leave the room, when you return it has tinted the air with a very slightly foody sweetness underlaid with a wetland breeze.

Heftier than many of the more recent J C E offerings and lasting power is decidedly longer, around 4-5 hours before I lose it, or the ability to notice it. Lately I have been using the Olympic Orchids Patchouli Lovers Soap and it is adding a very green baseline to Vetiver Tonka that darkens it and adds a couple of hours life to the whole also. The tobacco and LOTV seem to completely bypass my skin, with or without the soap, but I probably just miss them in the seamless mix that is a J C Ellena trademark: a scent story that has the most beautifully gradated transitions.

Photo Stolen Hermès

Further reading: What Men Should Smell Like and Bois de Jasmin
Hermès does a great set of 4 x 15ml Hermessence of your choice $180
Surrender To Chance has Vetiver Tonka on sale for $4/.5ml

Are you a J C Ellena fan? Have you tried Hermessence Vetiver Tonka or are there favourite Vetiver or Tonka frags that you’s like to share with us? We’d love to read your thoughts.

See you tomorrow
Portia xx

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APJ Day Out #1: Hermes, Robert Piguet, Tom Ford, DIOR: Photo Essay

Hey there APJ!

Last Wednesday we had our first APJ Day Out. There were 13 of us, normally an unlucky number, but it turned out to be super lucky. We were treated extremely well by all the stores we went to, were given two amazing Masterclasses and loads of samples. It was great to meet some of you for the first time and an excellent opportunity for those of us who are already buddies to catch up, talk fragrance, shop, laugh and generally enjoy each others company. FABULOUS!

As we arrived a little early for our masterclass with Joe Garces, the CEO of Robert Piguet, I thought it would be a great time to pop across to Hermes, where the wonderful Jean was our hostess. She happily took us through some of my favourite scents in the Jean Claude Ellena Hermessence range and also some more of the Hermes fragrance catalogue including the Jardin range and then introduced me to one of their scents that I had never spent any time with, Rouge. WOW!! I can definitely see a full bottle in my very near future. Thank you Jean. XXX

Off to Libertine Parfumerie stand in David Jones Sydney City Store basement to meet Nick, the sexy proprietor, Gary and Dan, the regular SAs and a new boy whose name escapes me, sorry. There too was Joe Garces, and Joe took us through quite a lot of the range. It wasn’t much about notes etc, we were taken through the creation stories of each fragrance, the troubles, the inspiration and the triumphs. It was an illuminating class and I came away better informed about the way perfumes are created in a mass market niche company. Joe has effectively turned a dying dinosaur of a business back into a going concern with his and his teams plans. He is justifiably proud of the company’s achievements and really loves the perfumes he produces and sells, enthusiasm shining from and infectious. I tried a slew of the range that I had thought definitely NOT my style and walked away with a couple of new loves, a bottle of Bois Noir and a special gift roll on of VISA. YAY!! Review coming soon. Everyone was allowed to choose a Piguet fragrance to sample and were given very generous spray samples.

Then I took the crew up to the Tom Ford section at DJs. The SA there was so pretty, knowledgeable and helpful showing us some of the range and introducing many of us to Sahara Noir. I had tried it before in LA but it was a completely different experience in the cool of Sydney, I LOVED it here. At the end she finished by offering everyone a sample of their choice!

It was time for a sit and a cuppa, I had a sneaky Banana Bread too. During our time at the cafe Ainslie, who is a perfumer, brought out some of her current mods for us to share, smell, critique and enjoy. It was wonderful talking to someone on the cusp of a business and finding out how her perfumes are created. Fascinating. Soon I will have a story on Ainslie because she is thinking of setting up a trial where you can buy a small set of her mods to try and critique for yourself, providing useful perfumista feedback and giving us a chance to try new stuff very reasonably. HEAVEN.

Then it was onwards and upwards to DIOR’s outrageously gorgeousbnew flagship store in Sydney, the first in Australia. We were greeted warmly by the staff and Clayton the Oceania head of PR was there to whisk us upstairs to the shoe parlour where we were treated to a stroll through the 10 available Couturier/Privee fragrances exclesively available in Australia through that store. There was also a beautiful DIOR lady there whose name has slipped from my mind, she was helpful and informative and I apologise for my bad brain. It was a delightful ending to an amazing day. I was happy to add bottles of Oud Ispahan and Oud Leather to my perfume library. At the end we were all given DIOR swag bags with a couple of the fabulous 7.5ml FB replicas each and some beautifully presented literature. Just walking down the street with a DIOR bag is thrilling enough but when you’ve been feted by some of the best luxe companies in the world we were all walking on air. Thank you Clayton and DIOR.

As you can see we had lost some of our people along the way, the last photo are the DIOR Late Stayers. Thanks to everyone who came and who helped us have such an amazingly wonderful and special day.

I am currently thinking of other great APJ Day Out ideas. There will definitely be another day soon,

Portia xx

Terre d’Hermes by Jean Claude Ellena for Hermes 2006

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Post by Margeaux

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Hi Stinkies! My my how time flies and here we are in June already. As the days got a little cooler, I came to realise that most of my scents are geared towards summer. As I embark further on my fragrant explorations, I’m becoming more adventurous and so I recently purchased a box of samples from My Perfume Samples. A very big box. I can now safely call myself a junkie because that box contained no less than 36 vials of stink. Junkie = Yes!. Problem = No! I’ll be the best smelling boy on the block or I’ll die trying lol

Terre d’Hermes by Hermes 2006

So the first one out of the box in true lucky dip style is Terre d’Hermes by Hermes. Now this is a decant of the EDT, not the parfum, and was created in 2006 by the talented Jean-Claude Ellena.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica lists the following featured accords:
Top: Orange, Grapefruit
Heart: Pepper, Pelargonium
Base: Patchouli, Benzoin, Vetiver, Cedar

Looking at the ingredients above, this should be an absolute slam-dunk of a fragrance for me. I love woods, pepper, patchouli and vetiver and can’t wait to give this a go. Doing these reviews I’m practically bathing in the smell so that it invades the space and demands my attention. I can get a little distracted so I’ve found that this is the best way for me.

Spritz, spritz, spritz….. wait for the alcohol to go and then inhale. Mmmm, now that is delicious – full of the citrus fruits that smell clean and sweet but not so sweet as to be sickly. Terre d’Hermes is refreshing, delicious sweetness. I’m not usually a huge fan of orange in particular, or perhaps those fragrances from before that include it just weren’t well made. But here, orange and grapefruit work so well.

Photo Stolen wikinut

My nose is still quite naïve and is slowly starting to work properly again after smoking for over 20 years, and these reviews force me to look closer at the ingredients. I had no idea about Pelargonium but read that it’s a type of geranium and commonly used in masculine fragrances to provide a flowery note. Now that I know this, it’s easy to spot it as the middle ingredients lift the curtain on the second act. The pepper doesn’t run wild and to my nose, it’s the pelargonium that does most of the heavy lifting here.

As we hit the final act of this Hermes production, I’m overwhelmed by just how good Terre d’Hermes is. These last notes swirl together like best friends, in a classy joyous embrace that is at once astounding and yet comfortable too. It’s not overtly masculine (one reviewer described this scent as what a lumberjack would likely wear!), and in fact I could see this easily being worn by women that love the notes offered.

Photo Stolen wallpaper-source

Sillage is fantastic, and many hours later I find that although I can easily smell the Terre d’Hermes that I sprayed onto the back of my hand hours earlier, while I type and as I pause for the next word, I can’t help but draw my hand to my nose for a deeper, full sniff. This is divine and what truly great fragrance should be like.

Further reading: Portia on AustralianPerfumeJunkies and BoisDeJasmin
My Perfume Samples has Terre d’Hermes from $2.50/ml to $7.50/5ml
FrangranceNet offers a 50ml from $67

See you next month.
M xx

Hermes: Jour d’Hermès by Jean-Claude Ellena 2013 Perfume Review and Ad Campaign

Hermes: Jour d’Hermès by Jean-Claude Ellena 2013

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

I wanted to do a review on Jour D’Hermes so I spritzed with abandon down my shirt at Hermes and got a fresh whiff of something lovely but I couldn’t identify it. Then I was captured by our fabulous SA and we talked about the new colourway for the Gloria Petyarre scarf, which in pink, lilac and orange is quite delicious, and a few other bits and pieces. Unfortunately as I left the shop all traces of fragrance had been eaten by my skin. GONE! Had not left a skerrick of anything where once it was. Sadly Jour d’Hermes is an epic fail for me. The ads though are beautiful and elegant, please enjoy them.

Portia xx

Print Media Pics stolen from art8amby

Images via TFS.

Here is the Mini Movie

Voyage d’Hermès by Jean-Claude Ellena 2010 + Hermès S/S ’13 Campaign

Hey APJ Family,

I don’t know about you but Hermes is special for me. Even though I’ve only owned a tie and some perfume from them they are, to me, the last word in mass market luxe brands. Nobody else comes close. Even before Jean-Claude Ellena took over the reigns there was some wonderful fragrance coming from within the Hermes camp. At one point Mum had Caleche, a buddy wore 1970 Guy Robert classic Equipage and another swears by their belts. Consider also that by now I am in Venice or Paris and I think I have good reason to introduce to you…

Voyage d’Hermès by Jean-Claude Ellena 2010

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Amalfi lemon, spices, cardamom
Heart: Green notes, floral notes, tea
Base: Woodsy notes, Musk

What I smell when I spritz Voyage d’Hermès is a clean, fresh, exhilarating swooosh of cold air. A peaceful, citrus plus spice and green-ness follow in a cool meandering, don’t worry about a thing way. Bracing and refreshing Voyage d’Hermès is a little salty and the tea is an ideal of tea rather than a tea-ish fragrance. Something I find really enjoyable is to huff a big breath out of my mouth into my shirt and then breathe the fragrance and me back in together, the warmth and humanity of my breathe give Voyage d’Hermès a whole different feeling before returning to cool, calm and collected. The citrus turns mildly sweet through the heart and it cuts nicely across the tea and general green. Slowly the composition, which is not based in any reality, becomes less intensely frigid and warms through flowers and musky woods. The journey is gradual and not a large change but subtle and quiet. There is something definitively Ellena about Voyage d’Hermès.

Don’t let me make you think that Voyage d’Hermès won’t leave you fragrant; scent bubble and sillage are excellent and it is surprisingly tenacious, by the time it’s gone I have long stopped looking at the clock 6+ hours usually. An extra spritz an hour after the first will keep it on you even longer.

Photo Stolen luxist

Voyage d’Hermès is sold as a unisex scent and I think everyone can rock it. The bottle and fragrance make me think you might like to wear it if clever, interesting and thoughtful design, beauty, Deco modernism or SteamPunk are your thing. Whenever I see the bottle it makes me wish to see a purchaser because I have this notion that we would get along, and anyone who loves this spare, arctic and beguiling fragrance is someone who I would like as a friend.

Further reading BoisDeJasmin and Olfactoria’sTravels
FragranceNet has 35ml refillable $55
MyPerfumeSamples start at $2/ml but I bought $7/5ml

Hermès Spring Summer 2013 Ad Campaign

Yet again stolen from one of my favourite blogs: art8amby

Nathaniel Goldberg photographed Norwegian top catwalker Iselin Steiro at Lake Como for the Spring Summer 2013 campaign of Hermès, replacing Dutch stunner Bette Franke.

I think Hermès has done a splendid campaign this year, what are your thoughts?

See you tomorrow, till then wishing you only good,
Portia xx

Images via TFS

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Eau Claire des Merveilles by Jean-Claude Ellena for Hermes 2010

Hey Gang,

This is a long awaited treat for me. I have been watching the Eau des Merveilles story and flankers for a while, even ordered a set of decants that I have misplaced, and now I get to share with you my first wear impressions. This is another extra that a friend threw in to a fragrant care package that I am only just getting to now. I don’t even quite know how to pronounce the name, every time I try I laugh at myself for sounding like a pretentious twat. I will ask the French exactly how to say it while on my trip.

Eau Claire des Merveilles by Hermes 2010

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Floral, woods, amber, vanilla

How does Jean-Claude Ellena make so much beauty out of so few noted accords. Opening with a sparkling/brisk floral that feels like there is also some citrus somewhere around but before long the smell I get is the open ocean when you are out on a sports fishing boat. At once salty, metallic, refreshing and underneath a low level humm of warm excitement. To be perfectly honest I am having trouble believing that this is how these accords have combined but maybe my skin or nose is playing silly buggers. I can smell zero vanilla but maybe I’m anosmic to this particular vanilla? Jin says he smells something softly floral but I still get sheer salty sea spray after 3 hours. Clearly this fragrance is not suitable for my skin, even though I really like the way it smells. So light and gossamer soft for summer. On you it will smell different, which is a shame bacause I’m thinking of getting a bottle for my own selfish enjoyment and everyone else will think I smell merely softly, prettily, floral.

Lasting power is excellent, I still get traces of salty tang after 6 hours and the taste in my mouth that you get from a stainless steel spoon. I know, my nose is broken but I don’t care.

Photo Stolen wakacjenateneryfie

Further reading NowSmellThis and GrainDeMusc where Denyse gets the salt but not as strongly as I do.
FragranceX has 50ml/$57
PoshPeasant starts at $4/ml

Have you ever had a fragrance misbehave on your skin compared to everyone else and still loved it? It’s a first for me, tell us about your experiences too.

Till tomorrow, thanks for reading,
Portia xx

The Eau des Marvielles movie

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

Hello Perfume Aficionados,

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

Un Jardin Apres La Mousson by Hermes

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

Photo Stolen Hermes

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

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

Photo Stolen ibnlive.in

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

Photo Stolen article.wn

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

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

What To Wear Friday Night? Estee Lauder? Hermes?

Hello Perfumed People,

FRIDAY, FRIDAY!!! FRIIIIIDAYYY! That day when the 9-5 crew finish the working week and get ready to let it all hang out. What’s a good Friday drinks fragrance? Do you have something that says; the week is over, hair down, brain in neutral, collar undone? I don’t really have a Friday night fragrance because my week is structured so differently to that but TSO Jin and I try to keep Friday for Date Night. I know, how daggy is that? But if we don’t schedule it then chances are we won’t see each other, and that would be crap because he is a great guy and makes me laugh till there are tears running down my face and I can’t breathe deeply anymore because my tummy hurts. Not perfect, mind you, he is a fecking nightmare in some respects but the good definitely outweighs the bad.

Photo Stolen allposters

So I am going to quickly write about 2 frags that I think are terrific Friday Nighters. 2 never fail gorgeous fragrant hooks to reel them in…

Brasil Dreams by Estee Lauder: I know, you are all laughing at me, but I don’t care. I love this little fireball of a fragrance. Every time I even think of spritzing myself with Brasil Dreams I get a big goofy smile on my face and a little flutter in my tummy like love. Then that first whiff is HEAVEN!! Instantly I’m on holidays, or working somewhere exotic. Citrus, Fruit, White flowers, Patchouli, Wood and Coconut, it’s a lavish, delicious, un-sweet cocktail of wonder. Did I say SEXY? This juice is super-uber-sexy. The boys really like it and want a closer sniff, much closer. This is the kind of scent that has all the girls in the rooms eyes turning to slits and any boy you’re nears eyes popping! Around $20/50ml at eGlobalBeauty it’s cheap as chips so you can spritz with abandon.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Terre d’Hermes by Hermes: This is an amazing fragrance. I have not yet met anyone who doesn’t LOVE it. On every person it smells different enough that you won’t recognise someone else wearing it next to you. It is a regular in the French Top 10 Mens and was designed by Jean-Claude Ellena to be reminiscent of the earth, forest, dirt. What you get with Terre d’Hermes is Citrus, Spice, Flowers, Earthy vetiver and Woods done better than anywhere else. Excellent on women and men it is a beautiful and sensual ride that will turn heads as you waft past, fragrant and intriguing. I have a friend who, outrageously, sprays the sheets with this after making the bed each week. Now that is extravagant!! Excellent for a Friday night and great for picking up sex partners. I found 100ml EdT under $60 at TradeServices

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

What I’d like you to do is tell us all your favourite Friday Night Fragrances in the comments below, doesn’t have to be cool or niche or expensive or anything really, just what you like to spritz on a Friday evening. Come on, join in….

Also, please pop on over to PerfumePosse because I guest there on a Friday and I think there’s a MAD LIVE Video Sniff going on over there. He he he

Below I’ve given you the gift of music. Aussie Kylie Minogue has a new single coming and it’s beautiful, so is the video. Have a squiz at our lovely Kylie, I think you’ll like it.
Till tomorrow we at APJ wish you only the magical good stuff and a great weekend.
Loads of love,
Portia xxx
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Kylie Minogue – FLOWER

Un Jardin En Mediterranee by Jean-Claude Ellena for Hermes 2003

Heya Stink Monkeys,

I don’t know about you but Hermes has always held a special, uber glamorous place in my head and heart. When I think of Hermes (pronounced Air-Mez) instantly I think of class, quality and longevity. Un Jardin En Mediterranee by Jean-Claude Ellena is my equal favourite fig fragrance with Mandy Aftel’s Fig. They are very different, let me introduce you to the way Hermes treats a fig; the one to really start the ball rolling back in 2003.

Photo Stolen Hermes

Fragrantica gives these notes/accords:
Top: Mandarin orange, bergamot, lemon (unmentioned but something very green here too)
Heart: Orange blossom, white nerium oleander
Base: Red cedar, cypress, juniper, fig leaves, pistachio, musk

From the very first moment I get only an extreme green crack of citrus with green bark and split leaves but then a glorious figgy sweetness intrudes, wafting gently through and they try to hover together side by side, one up then the other. It’s like sitting under a tree in the breezy sunlight, sometimes you feel the warmth moving over your face and at other times you are shaded completely. Soon the sweetness wins out and in come spices and some salt, warming the whole confection up and making it almost like a sweet fruit cheese, you can almost taste it. My mouth has watered! HA HA really watered, ohhh this is so good.

Today has been cleaning day and I’ve washed and scrubbed and sweated over 3 bathrooms, top to bottom, there is still the magnificent sweep of sweet spicy fig floating from my wrists. Nearly 2 hours of cleaning and going strong and it has combined with my sweat to give a really briny fresh sea water smell, gorgeous. Le Jardin En Mediterranee is tenacious, the house is spotless, cleaning, vacuming, dusting, steam mop all done, nearly 5 hours since I spritzed a single spritz and wrist mash and the sweet, salty fig is only just letting in the woods. There are hours before the dry down, I’m going to get some winter sun and enjoy the ride.

Photo Stolen static.lookbooks

There is no heaviness to Un Jardin En Mediterranee, except the clunky title. Personally I would HATE to have to tell someone that I’m wearing it and mangle the French beyond recognition, forever showing my absolute blundering year 9 French roots to the world. I think I will call it Hermes, Mediterranean Garden if asked.

WhatMenShouldSmellLike does a wonderful review, as does Olfactoria’sTravels. Undina searches for the ultimate fig in her Looking Glass too.

FragranceX has 50ml for $65
eGlobalBeauty has 100ml under $100 including world wide postage
MyPerfumeSamples has decants starting at $1.99/ml and $7.99/5ml (The Un Jardin collection will be on sale there this weekend)

I hope you’ve enjoyed a little look at Un Jardin En Mediterranee, thank you for your wonderful support. Please leave a message telling me your favourite Hermes or Fig Fragrances? Go on, send me some lemmings!
Love to you and yours,
See you tomorrow.
Portia xx

SUNDAY QUICKSNIFF REVIEWS #10

Hello Perfumistas,

Every Monday morning the Sunday QuickSniff Review page is opened and each time I spritz during the week and am near the computer I’ll give a 3 sentence review with a rating out of 5 each for, well, see the key after the reviews. These can be samples I’ve bought or had sent to me by friends, or a FB that I may fully review later, or have done before and want to remind you of its existence. It gives me a lovely Sunday to hang with friends away from the computer, I hope your Sunday is great too.

DZING! by L’ARTISAN PARFUMEUR 1999. On my skin I get warm shiny pleather-ish, dirty hay, play-do, new formica, then a kind of aqueous ginger, something like a recently lifted lotus root, still wet. Then we get back to the plastic, leather and resins with a late showing of caramel. Interesting, but I think I like the way Jacomo Art Collection #2 takes the idea further in a slightly different pentameter. S=*** L=*** D=**

IN BLOOM by REESE WITHERSPOON for AVON 2009. Another from my AVON mate Penny, YOO HOO Gorgeous!! This is an aquatic fruit and white flowers, it’s nothing new or particularly gripping but it is quite pretty. A perfect scent for anything really, totally inoffensive, and the price is great. Amazon has 50ml $12. S=** L=*** D=**

COMME DES GARDCONS EdP 1994. WOW! This opens on me with a huge hit of clove and cardamom, phew! Nearly blew my head off and it is beautiful, maintaining an interesting spice and wood combo for hours that weaves around itself rarely hitting the florals. No wonder this caused such a sensation when released; and is still available.  A 5ml spray decant was on special at ThePerfumedCourt S=**** L=*** D=****

ROUGE by HERMES 2000. Rouge is the reinterpretation of 1984’s Parfum d”Hermes, they have modernised and freshened the old blockbuster in a very palatable way that will probably have outraged the old guard but enticed a younger market. The iris opens cool but it doesn’t take long for the scent to warm up bringing the ylang-ylang and woods in a breathy, sensual mix that already heads towards its spicy amber base, kept inedible by the myrtle green, that lasts around 4 hours till gone. EssentialMall has 50ml under $70 S=**** L=*** D=***

Photo Stolen from shirtsays

Scent, Obviously the number 1 priority here is how does it smell. My reviews are completely subjective and will differ widely from your own experience with the scent but it’s a good starting point. As yet I am not a trained perfumer so any and all descriptions are merely that, descriptions. There are plenty of blogs that offer technical details and chemistry, in 3 sentences I’ll pass.
Longevity, This is a biggie for me because like enfleurage where flower petals are left in fats to steal the scent, my fatty body works the same and eats it up, yum. So for a scent to last well on me, it will probably last a whole day on you and need a radioactive decontamination shower to defuse it from your skin.
Desirabilty, Wrapped up in this is scent, price, house, history, longevity, packaging, availability and a billion other things.

Photo Stolen from bittbox

* in any of these being the, “You couldn’t pay enough to spray this God awful stink on me again, it smells like public toilets in India, long time fridge malfunction while on Summer holiday and the vile stench of poverty all rolled into one.” You are putting innocent people in danger if you wear this.
** means it’s a nothing, wearable, boring, maybe the price is prohibitive for what you get or it’s ubiquitous. You should definitely get a sample of this to stop a buying boo boo.
*** is a perfectly good product that smells good and lasts a while at a decent price. You should definitely think about trying a sample or squirt but should you miss out your life will continue. Sample size worthy.
**** is the one you try, want a lot but can wait for a birthday/Christmas. It’s better than most of the stuff you’ve sniffed and may fill a void in your library. This is also an excellent decant product 5ml will get you through the season and maybe buy it next year.
***** meaning, stop reading this, grab your cash, credit card (or partners), roll the elderly or rob a petrol station and purchase this product. NOW! If you don’t have this fragrance you could die.

The sniffing around your house been good? What have you tried and how did you rate it?

Portia xx