Six Weeks Till Xmas
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Six Weeks Till Xmas

Hey crew, I’m from the RC family and Xmas is what’s engraved in my mind. No matter what religion, or lack of, whatever you are doing or celebrating over this time gifts are often attached to the events. Anyone who says religions aren’t big business for big business, haven’t been paying attention. So today I thought we could look at some excellent value fragrant presents. Nothing over US$100 and some below US$30. Six Weeks Till Xmas! Let’s get looking.

Six Weeks Till Xmas

Six Weeks Till Xmas

Wavertree and London are an Aussie home scenting company that do candles, diffusers and body care BUT the thing I love them for most is their soap. We have been using them around here for the last year and they are so satisfying. Suds, softness and scent are all so good. Ive picked the Dreams Soap Trio Set to show you today. The presentation is Betty and good to look at, easy to wrap too. To buy here in Australia it’s only AU$25, aprox US$18 for 3 x 200g individually wrapped soaps.

Have you seen on FragranceNet that the Floris 10ml travel sizes are around the US$25 mark? They come boxed and are a really beautiful quality. They fit in handbags or gym bags and are tough enough to take the knocks.

Six Weeks Till Xmas

Gascoigne & King are an Aussie home fragrancing company that do some of the best candle fragrances I know. Every year they do a GK20 code for getting a 20% discount and they send to the world. They also have world outlets: Georges of Dubai, Dubai UAE: Studio G Home, Sarasota Florida: The Runyon Group, Los Angeles. My favourite two candles from them are Gritty, Paddington and Stem. Just over US$40 for a 400ml candle with 80 hour burn time, before discount.

My most worn fragrance through Aussie Autumn/Winter 2026 has been Maasai Mara from Berdoues. It’s a warm spiced amber with fruity, resinous bells and whistles. I find so calming, warming and satisfying. Available at discounters for around US$50/100ml, the bottle and box are also very nice without being over the top grandeur.

Maasai Mara from Berdoues

Perfumer H is doing incense and they are so luxurious. I was given a set of Ink and they get used before guests come. There’s only a couple left and I’m thinking to put them on my list of wants for this year. 30 sticks, beautifully packaged are £38 or just over US$50. If someone you know loves incense then this is the bomb. There are a range. If you really want to spoil them, there is a three pack that flies just over US$100.

Completely unrelated, and I had it on my list last year but did not get it. Wedgwood has done the Fortune Mug. Made of bone china, 330ml and with the loveliest design, who doesn’t need a little extra fortune? Around the US$75 mark at Wedgwood I can find it for les at the discounters. For around US$100 they have a double set. Perfect for giving to couples.

 

So there you go. Six ideas with Six Weeks Till Xmas.

Do you have any good ideas to share?
Portia xx

 

 

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Saturday Question: What Is the Most Fleeting Perfume That You Still Love?

For most of my readers, this is a season for heavier and usually more tenacious perfumes. But we all know our collections well enough to discuss different aspects of them regardless of whether they’re appropriate for the weather.

 

Saturday Question on Undina's Looking Glass

 

Saturday Question #306:

What Is the Most Fleeting Perfume That You Still Love?

Do you reapply it? Or do you just enjoy it for whatever short period it lives on your skin and move on to something else?

My Answer

When I started thinking about my answer, I was sure that I’d end up with one of Jo Malone perfumes. But I cannot really complain about any of my favorites: they all perform decently enough (at least a couple of hours, many longer).

Then, while going through my perfume database in search of a nominee for the “shortest-lived-on-my-skin perfume” category, I realized that I had a tie: two perfumes from the same brand, Hermès. The first one is Hiris. The second is Iris Ukiyoé. I think that both are beautiful, and I enjoy them… for the entire 15 minutes I can smell them on my skin. It doesn’t bother or upset me. Working from home, I do not mind, in principle, reapplying perfumes that perform a disappearing act, but I rarely do that. So, I get the most out of these two during application – and that’s fine.

How about you?

 

What Is the Most Fleeting Perfume That You Still Love?

Platinum 22 by Floris
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Platinum 22 by Floris

Hi there ULGers, Can we talk about how much I love it when a brand releases 10ml Travel Size bottles? Sure, they cost more per ml BUT which perfumista on earth needs 100ml of a fragrance unless they are going to split 60+ml of it? There are a few fragrances in my collection that I’ve emptied multiple bottles of, Shalimar, Mitsouko, Liberté, Lolita Lempicka, Jaipur Homme and Niki de Saint Phalle would be the top thunkers off the top of my head. Almost everything else is still sitting on the first or MAYBE the second bottle. So a 10ml Travel that is sturdy enough to last the rigors of banging around in my luggage, gym bag or daily backpack is a godsend.

I remember being in Fortnum & Mason the week Platinum 22 was launched. They were saying it was created to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee. When I smelled it I chuckled, as if QEII would have worn this. I sprayed some on me and didn’t really pay it much heed. About an hour or so later it hit me how much I liked it, even though it travels a fairly heavily trodden modern trope. It was also FAR out of my price range at the time. So, here I am with a newly arrived 10ml.

Platinum 22 by Floris 2022

Platinum 22 by Floris 2022

Floris gives these featured accords:
Top: Orris, Oat, Blackcurrant, Lime
Heart: Rose, Violet Leaf, Clary Sage, Black Tea
Base: Cedarwood , Tonka Bean, Amber, Musk

The dry, cardboard, rooted iris is front and center as the first lift of fragrance and it has a lovely chocolatey unsweetness, that could be the oats and tonka. It’s such an interesting opening gambit. Yeah, it gets really oaky, like breakfast cereal and the cardboard box.

Then the bouquet comes in under and slowly surfaces.It’s spicy. Like seriously cracked black pepper and chili. Whoever wrote this note list was smelling something unrelated. Ahhhh, it’s not till the deep heart that the lime kicks in but it’s like a lemon/pepper schnitzel.

HA! Platinum 22 is a super strange beast and NOTHING like my memory of it from Fortnums. How interesting is that? I wonder if I might have had another scent on me already or my body wash at the time reacted. This is even better than my memory and much more left of centre.

Platinum 22 by Floris

Dry down is a soft sweet wash, the fragrance doesn’t collapse but it’s a very standard slow burn to fade. A sweet-ish amber, with still tiny tinkles of that blackcurrant in the opening piping above it. Not terrible, very amorphous and after an hour Platinum 22 is an office friendly waft.

TOTALLY unisex.

Does Platinum 22 sound like it might float your boat?
Portia xx

CHANEL No 19 EdT vintage
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CHANEL No 19 EdT vintage

Hi Crew, My girlfriend Ersilia was asking about CHANEL No 19. Went to the cupboard and realized I’d given away or sold off my vintage 50ml EdT so then I hit the resellers. Found one for a very reasonable price and grabbed it. Came with a box and is so pristine I wondered if the bottle had ever been opened. That original bright green has been maintained, so no oxidization, because the older opened and used ones often skew a little more beige. The parfum in vintage was beige-er than the EdT and most of that age group are golden by now. I took some out to give to Ersilia, it’s now getting some wears around here too.

CHANEL No 19 EdT vintage

CHANEL No 19 EdT vintage

These are the original notes given for the 1970 EdT:
Top: Galbanum, Hyacinth, Bergamot, Neroli
Heart: Iris, Orris Root, Rose, Lily-of-the-Valley, Narcissus, Jasmine, Ylang-Ylang
Base: Oakmoss, Vetiver, Leather, Cedar, Musk, Sandalwood

The crisp green of galbanum and flower stalks fresh cut open. It’s so youthful and springlike. When they call CHANEL No 19 a floral chypre it has some very beautiful cousins like Silences, Niki de Saint Phalle, Futur and others. Yes, it’s that but for me the flowers are a bouquet that is really more about the stems and some of the juicier leaves. The greenery is king, with the cool breeze of lily of the valley, feral richness of narcissus and bright dewiness of jasmine all playing supporting roles.

One of the loveliest things about the vintage EdT is how slowly the layers peel back. The opening is a slow morph into the heart and the heart stays for such a long while as the base builds up, overtaking the brightness with furry oakmoss, shiny new leather shoes and slightly petroleum washed vetiver.

Even in the base I can still get memories of the galbanum and bouquet softly coating above the still mainly green scent. No wonder CHANEL No 19 has been such a beautiful, resolve strengthening battle armor since August 19 1970, Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel’s last birthday.

Are you a CHANEL No 19 fan? Did you ever get to sniff some vintage?
Portia xx

Burberry Brit Woman EdT
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Burberry Brit Woman EdT

Hi there ULGers, Burberry Brit Woman EdT is probably not something you’ve thought about for years. Unless you’re a fan. Thing is, it’s really good. It’s also available for next to nothing on the discounters. FragranceNet USA has 100ml tester for less than AU$50 (around US$35). It’s one of those easy, spritz and go fragrances. It smells good, lasts well and won’t skunk your coworkers. You’ll be softly and comfortably fragrant all day. Can’t believe it’s 22 years old this year, it still smells so modern and relevant (to me anyway).

Burberry Brit Woman EdT 2004

Burberry Brit Woman EdT

Burberry gives these featured accords:
Crisp, icy pear, sugared almond and intense vanilla

The fragrance moves as advertised wit a sweet fruity opening that could even be pear. Yeah, there’s a softly nutty fondant but the vanilla is not intense at all. More like a skin but better wash. It’s pretty, easy and wears well. I love to get huffs of it through the day but know that I won’t be overwhelmed or sidetracked by it.

Burberry Brit Woman EdT 2004

I’ve also got the Burberry Brit Woman EdP and extrait here but the EdT is my current fave. There’s something uplifting and bright about it. A guaranteed lift for sagging spirits. Recently I bought an EdT and EdP off an FB Sales Doc as backups, but they’ve not made it to the collection yet. They’ve stayed out and had some regular spritzes.

Did you wear or try Burberry Brit? Do you prefer another strength?
Portia xx

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Saturday Question: Are You Curious About Dioriginals?

Back after a slightly longer than usual hiatus. I’m not giving up completely yet, at least for now.

I was planning to run this SQ around the (re)launch time, October 1st, but, you know, life happens. alityke’s post Diororiginals Diorella & Dune reminded me about that launch. I am sure that all of my current readers have seen this information already, but just in case, and so as not to assume and send even a single one of you chasing this news: a relatively new Dior Perfume Creative Director, Francis Kurkdjian, “restored” 13 classic Dior perfumes. I used quotation marks because even in a recreation project, they had to follow all the modern IFRA regulations. So, it’s not even expected that these recreated perfumes will be identical to their original formulations. But at least the idea was to make them as close as possible to how they were when originally released.

The collection consists of Diorella, Diorissimo, Dolce Vita, Forever and ever, Eau fraîche, Dioressence, Diorama, Diorling, Higher, Higher Energy, Jules, Dune and Dune pour Homme.

 

Saturday Question on Undina's Looking Glass

 

Saturday Question #305:

Are You Curious About Dioriginals?

Have you tried any of them already? Do you plan to? Is any of the recreated bunch among your current favorites, and are you considering buying this new version?

My Answer

Yes.

 

Would that have been funny had I stopped just there? But of course, I have things to say.

First, I’m actually very appreciative of the idea itself: I always thought that perfume houses should re-release their previously famous and beloved perfumes. Preferably in the original formulation – something like “a collector edition, for research” where the consumer acknowledges that they are buying those perfumes with ingredients that can, G-d forbid, cause a skin rash or induce a headache if applied, and promises not to use them if they find themselves to be allergic (OK, minus animal-harming ingredients – unlike when it comes to medication, I will live without perfumes or skincare if it means sparing lab animals). So, I’m happy that MFK decided to follow Estee Lauder‘s lead and re-release these iconic perfumes.

I am not sure whether this collection will be available anywhere nearby to try in a store, and currently no decanter sites offer samples. But as soon as that changes, I will try them. If I can find them at a store, I’ll try all of them. If I have to buy samples, I’ll probably go only for those that I previously knew and liked – Diorella (definitely!), Diorissimo, Diorling and Dioressence. I might be tempted to try Diorama, which I don’t think I’ve ever tried, and Dolce Vita, which I tried when it was first released and didn’t like, but it might be interesting to revisit it now.

I want to try these as soon as possible because, if I like any of them, I think there will be just a short period of time to get them before they are “re-imagined” again to save a couple of cents for investors.

 

How about you?

 

Are You Curious About Dioriginals?

Chaos Donna Karan 2008 reboot DCd
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Chaos Donna Karan 2008 reboot DCd

Hey there ULGers, Many of you have been along term perfumistas and will get that this bottle is an icon. For the newbies amongst us, Chaos Donna Karan is a 2008 reboot of a 1996 killer perfume that broke all the feminine fragrance rules wide open. A spicy aromatic woodsy amber. It hit all the previous tones reserved for men and did it better, cooler, more sophisticated and in winning style. Instant hit. The original bottle was designed by her late husband: artist and sculptor Stephan Weiss and was a shard of crystal. It was modern and monumental. My 2008 bottle was part of a series, an insta line with a couple of reboots, Chaos was the standout. It’s also the only one I didn’t move on. The only bottle I can see of it on eBay is $800! Whoa.

Chaos by Donna Karan 2008 reboot

Chaos Donna Karan 2008 reboot

 

These featured notes are given:
Spices, Coriander, Exotic Woods, Sage

Super spicy. I’m going with ginger, cinnamon and black pepper with maybe some paprika. The exotic woods are dark, charred and smoking, a bit like forking through the still coruscating left overs of a bonfire. Also, I get a BarBQ sauce back draft. The greenery is very low key for me, maybe it’s mixed up with the smoke and char.

Through to the heart and dry down, as the major fireworks settle, Chaos becomes balsamic, resinous woods. There is still the smoke but now it feels like incense burning near a food market. Eight hours later, I still smell of hot, spicy woodsmoke. It’s calm, sensual and zen.

Totally unisex. Excellent sillage and longevity. Could Chaos be the reason we are now inundated with beast mode, smoking woods and scratchy ambers? If only they made them with this much love.

Did you ever get to sniff Chaos?
Portia

Vetyver by Le Galion
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Vetyver by Le Galion

Heya Looking Glassers, Last week Jin walked into my perfume room while I was writing Trivia Q&A. He started reaching around my grab tray with his eyes closed and came out with Le Galion Vetyver. He does like the note and we have bought three or four vetiver heavy fragrances while traveling, for him. They often end up brought to me to put with my collection. I’m not really sure why, they smell excellent on him and he MUST like the scent profile. Anyway, he LOVED this and tried to sneak out with the bottle. HA! Little brat. One loud OI! and he was scuttling back and putting it in its place. So I thought we could talk about one of my faves. To be clear, this is a total reimagining of the 1968 Paul Vacher creation, rebooted by Thomas Fontaine.

Vetyver by Le Galion 2015 reboot

Vetyver Le Galion site

Le Galion gives these featured accords:
Top: Black pepper, violet leaf
Heart: Turmeric roots & leaves, mastic
Base: Vetiver, cedar

Vetyver is heavily advertised towards the gents. I really don’t understand why. It’s far too interesting and nuanced to be only single sex wearable. So please ignore the advertising guff if you’re a woman who loves a green fragrance, a grassy scent or a pepper. I’m also a proponent of shoulder season fragrances. Ones that seem to fit Spring and Autumn perfectly. Warm-ish days, cool nights.

First spritz is like I’m chopping parsley and bell peppers for a salad. It’s green, fresh and grassy. In a minute or two a hit of cracked black pepper dryness moves in and a ginger sharp fizz rises underneath. One of the things I love most about Le Galion is their beautiful blending and interesting rides. Vetyver is no exception.

As I head towards the heart the dry crushed turmeric is cool and ready to hit the pan. It even has the smell of the feel of the turmeric powder in my fingers. It’s like powder but even silkier to touch. Already in the heart I’m getting the familiar scent of cedar.That pencil shavings and plastic paint smell from my childhood. The grassiness starts to take a dryer smell and that slightly petrochemical oiliness of vetiver really makes an appearance. The heart towards base lasts and lasts. It does warm through slightly and I’m surprised that amber isn’t one of the notes. Maybe it’s the mastic resin, but my memory of that is a much more citrus leaning balminess.

Dried grasses and cedar with some sizzle left from th pepper and a curious warmth take us all the way to fade.

Vetyver Le Galion

The bottle I’m using is an older style (above) bought retail but I also have a modern bottle the men gave me last time we were in Paris. The scents are almost exactly the same with a little variation accounted by annual harvest changes.

See, much too interesting and beautiful to be gate kept for the dudes.

Are you a vetiver fan?
Portia xx

Siren by Paris Hilton
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Siren by Paris Hilton

Hi Crew, Bet you didn’t think there’d be a Paris Hilton fragrance on a perfumista blog. It’s spring here in the southern hemisphere and I’ve just opened my Siren by Paris Hilton backup bottle. So, as any addicted to shopping perfumista will do at this point, I started looking for a new backup bottle. OH NO! Quell Surprise! Looks like Siren is DISCONTINUED! The price on the auction sites (the only place I could find a full bottle) has gone ridiculous. Oh WHY didn’t I buy a few bottles when I could get them for a tenner!?!?

Siren by Paris Hilton 2009

Siren by Paris Hilton

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Apricot nectar, Frangipani, Mandarin orange
Heart: Coconut orchid, Honeysuckle, Water lily
Base: Musk, Sandalwood, Vanilla

Siren has been my hot weather fridge fragrance for years.

Don’t get excited. Siren is very nice and suits me BUT it’s no group breaking super scent that you need to knock down other shoppers to get your hands on. It’s a lot like Viva La Juicy from Juicy Couture. Not the same but in the same vein. It’s a watery, tropical, tinned fruit with some peony like flowers and vanilla. In the heat it is a perfect cool down spritz.

While I’m sad that at the end of this bottle I won’t have it anymore, there will be no demented buying up of all the world’s remaining bottles. I’m going to be a big boy and let this be the last summer of Siren.

I’ve only just learned today that the bottle is also the 1990 Daniel de Fasson perfume bottle, with a different lid. Interestingly, that perfume is apparently an amber and the minis are selling for big bank on the resale sites. Amazing. Do any of you remember this fragrance?

Daniel de Fasson

Did you ever try or wear Siren? Any other Paris Hilton Fragrances?
Portia xx

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Saturday Question: What Do You Think Of Perfume Balms?

When it comes to perfume, we’re used to a few familiar formats: sprays or dabs for alcohol-based perfumes, oils and solids. Hair perfumes came in later and earned their place in many brands’ line-up. Perfume balm, however, is a relatively new format, at least to me.

 

Saturday Question on Undina's Looking Glass

 

Saturday Question #304:

What Do You Think Of Perfume Balms?

Have you tried any? Do you consider wearing perfumes in this format? On its own or as a layering base?

My Answer

As I mentioned, perfume balms are a relatively new discovery for me. Last year, at Sephora, I noticed a perfume display for Rare Beauty‘s new perfume, Rare. I hadn’t tried their original perfume, Rare Beginnings, and wouldn’t have tried this one either, but four small tubes captured my attention. They were introduced as a new Fragrance Layering Balm. Four initially released scents were AMBER (vanilla), FLORAL (peony blossom), FRESH (bergamot) and WOODY (oak).

It wasn’t just a curiosity for a new format. Rare Beauty products hold a special place in my beauty universe because of Selena Gomez, whom I like because of Only Murders in the Building (I can’t wait to watch season six!).

Don’t ask me how it happened that until then (hmm… since then as well) I had ignored her perfumes. I will give them some skin time the next time I visit Sephora. But in general, when it comes to most perfumes one can find at my local Sephora stores, I stopped expecting much a long time ago, and I usually skip trying them. But the combination of the brand, a new medium and layering (yeah, one more aspect that has theoretically attracted me for the last 20 years) was irresistible. So, all four balms immediately went on different sections of my wrists. By the time I got home, I liked them all – some more, some less, but none of them was unpleasant. But.

First, I couldn’t remember which one I applied where. Second, even at $19 per tube (currently $20), I couldn’t justify buying all four of them, especially knowing myself: I wouldn’t be doing any “layering.” And finally, after the launch, these were so popular that both the brand’s site and Sephora were sold out.

After a while, new batches were produced. I tried all of them at a store again and decided to buy the one I wouldn’t have guessed to be my favorite if I were going by the name alone – FRESH. It’s lovely. It’s bright, uplifting and extremely long-lasting on my skin – though quite intimate, without strong projection. I think it will make a nice new plane scent for my future trips.

Also, I wouldn’t mind having a couple of my favorite perfumes in that format.

Sephora Display for Rare Beauty Perfume Balms

How about you?

 

What Do You Think Of Perfume Balms?