perfume shopping

Oud Minerale by Tom Ford
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Oud Minerale by Tom Ford

Hiya Looking Glass crew. Tonight I had a big black dog come visit. Out of nowhere, and it’s been a long stretch since the last time. No matter how good a life, how loved and lauded, how beautiful the dogs are. Sometimes overwhelming sadness and crying crash over me. No reason. Sorry to burden you all but I’m talking to you tonight (it’s 3.35am) to help me out of this hole. Yes, I know it’s selfish but perfume can help equalise me. Writing too. A new order came in today from FragranceNet (not affiliated). In it was an 8ml FragNet decanted Travel Spray. Reasonably affordable and hopefully enough to last me for a good while. I’ve finished a 3ml Surrender To Chance decant of Oud Minerale but am not ready to lay down the kind of money Mr Tom Ford is asking for a full bottle (yet).

Originally a 2017 release, Oud Minerale is now a 2023 Signature Collection reissue with a round bronze bottle. Not sure which I’m writing about because the old bottle is pictured on FragNet but they just may not have updated it.

Oud Minerale by Tom Ford

Oud Minerale by Tom Ford

Tom Ford Beauty gives these featured accords:
Pink Peppercorn, Oud Blend, Styrax, Ambergris Accord, Fir Balsam, Marine Notes

Briny woods and burnt earth open Oud Minerale. Dark, atmospheric and feels like the scent of an art installation set in the forest. Say what you like about Tom Ford but his crew know how to load a fragrance with spectacular opening gambits. It’s so brilliant, shadowed and oily. Like Charlize Theron playing the evil witch in 2012s Snow White and the Huntsman. This is what my imagination tells me her character smells like when returning from being a thousand crows. Maybe it’s the smell of the enchanted forrest?

Once that awe inspiring opening burns off Oud Minerale becomes a lightly salted cold spoon, well like the taste and feeling of it. Stark and frosty. So interesting a turn and for the next few hours that is what hums quietly but noticeable. As we head to dry down the fresh cut pine-ish, resinous undertow takes precedence but the salty twang never leaves.

Oud Minerale by Tom Ford

Unisex but leaning traditional masculine. Longevity is excellent and the ride is really interesting, while still managing to be simple and wearable. Will there be a bottle in my future? Maybe, definitely.

Tonight Oud Minerale got me out of a depression hole. The storm has passed and I’m smelling pretty damn fine.

Hope you are all doing well and thriving,
Would you Oud Minerale by Tom Ford?
Portia xx

 

Ilio by Diptyque
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Ilio by Diptyque

Hi ULGers, Ilio by Diptyque was released in 2021. It almost completely passed me by. Recently I saw it at a Diptyque counter and gave it a spritz. Opening was jaw droppingly gorgeous. Sadly, it was completely overwhelmed by other perfume counter scents in the next 10 minutes. I really didn’t feel like we’d had time to bond. So, off to trusty Surrender To Chance and grabbed a decant. I wanted to write a post to tell you about it before finishing the decant.

Ilio by Diptyque 2021

Ilio by Diptyque

These are the featured accords:
Prickly pear, Fig, Iris, Jasmine, Bergamot (Lavender noted in some lists)

Prickly pear has become a huge problem in Australia. Once established it’s almost impossible to remove. We even brought in a specific moth to work as a biological control. Apparently it has worked wonders in certain areas.

The taste is analogous to a near ripe watermelon but a little gritty, according to the internet.

An interesting, floral opening that feels more like real life peony than any of the given notes. Ilio even has the powdery softness of a peony petal. Underneath and making itself known over the first few minutes is a pithy greenery. A bit like the pith of a sweet citrus and the smell after you cut hydrangea flowers, or give them a good pruning at the end of their season. Plus there is a some really dark greenery smell that has a bitter edge, it’s fascinating. Like pulling that thin green bark from a rose branch.

Through the hear a very green and earthy iris that has carroty coolness becomes more pronounced until it takes center stage and every other note creates an uplifting backdrop. For something that seems so simple there’s a lot of story to Ilio.

Dry down is a green amber and some lovely soft white flowers. Yeah, I know. Doesn’t sound regular. It’s not. Even the base is exceptional. Ilio never stops surprising.

Totally unisex. Ilio is refreshing but missing most of the tropes that create that feeling. Longevity is good I’m still smelling the base at 10 hours. Diffusion is excellent for the first hour and settles into a soft pump of fragrance.

Ilio by Diptyque STC

My question to myself is. “Though I’ve loved Ilio and worn it to the dregs of 3ml, will I wear it if I buy a bottle? OR will it sit unopened and unworn for the next 20 years?”. I don’t have a crystal ball but have added Ilio to the top of my To Buy List. It’s so interesting, and smells fabulous, all day.

Sound good to you?
Portia xx

 

Gilded Lily by Ineke
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Gilded Lily by Ineke

Hey Looking Glass-ers, If you’ve been a perfumista for a few years you might remember the days when the whole scentbloggosphere was completely full of the brand Ineke? It was really fabulous. There were all the mass-tige brands vying for attention and a few women also getting us all excited. Brands like Keiko Mecheri, Miller Harris, Annick Goutal and Ineke were all high on my radar and every new release from these crews would be met with widespread interest. Gilded Lily always struck me as a bottle that was delightfully festive. Red glass, golden pickings and black. It was the bottle that caught my eye yesterday when looking for something else. I just looked it up and sadly it has been discontinued to make way for their new Jaipur Chai. Ineke’s perfumes have stayed very affordable at US$145/70ml. Unheard of in the modern day of ridiculous aspirational pricing. They also do an affordable 7 x 1.5ml Discovery Set.

Gilded Lily by Ineke 2010

Gilded Lily by Ineke

Ineke gives these featured accords:
Top: Pineapple, rhubarb, grapefruit, elemi.
Heart: Goldband lily
Base: Patchouli, oakmoss, labdanum

The sweet screech of pineapple and grapefruit opens Gilded Lily, almost cartoonish in its intensity. I’m no perfumer but I think there is also the sparkle of aldehydes running through. The fireworks are quickly damped by smooth, calming, resinous elemi. Suddenly we are in the gilded age of perfumes. Very movie star glamour like a vintage Caron or Dior. Smooth but glittering. The lily plays through here. It’s not a white floral but a does have pieces of that scent profile. I’m going to say it sits halfway between a yellow flowering bulb and iris. Beautiful.

The base is not a typical 1970s chypre but a less dry and resinous amber adventure. A clean patchouli and some earthy woods. Forest-like. Calming. Gilded Lily ends in a peaceful mountain retreat.

Were you a fan? Are you sad to see Gilded Lily go?
Portia xx

 

Hydra Figue by Miller Harris
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Hydra Figue by Miller Harris

Hey there ULGers, Back in 2023 my mate Cinnamon from Perfume Posse talked about some new Miller Harris. I’m not sure when or where I got a boxed manufacturers spray sample of Hydra Figue. Maybe it came as a GWP? While going through stuff cleaning up my mess in the perfume room it turned up. YAY!

This from the company: “The scent of the artist’s idyll. Journey, to a Greek Bohemian paradise. A complex woody, citrus and marine fragrance combining the fruit of the fig with sea salt, Greek saffron and upcycled oakwood.”

Hydra Figue by Miller Harris 2023

Hydra Figue by Miller Harris

Miller Harris gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, Saffron Greece, Cardamom, Ginger, Lemon, Ouzo Accord
Heart: Fig, Tuberose, Sea Salt, Sage, Marine Accord, Mirabilis Jalapa
Base: OakWood, Sandalwood, Ambroxan, Velvet Musk

Citrus zest, fig and zingy ginger all lightly salted. So good! A bright burst of glorious sunshine.

Hydra Figue’s heart stays salty fig and becomes enmeshed in a dark, slightly toxic greenery. Stunning, and so far removed from what I expect from the usually safe Miller Harris house. Reminiscent of Mugler Womanity but much less antagonistic. Darker, more interesting and the kind of perfume I could easily imagine the evil witch wearing in Snow White.

The heart lives for hours and gets darker and woodsier. As we head towards dry down there is a definite twist of sweaty humanity underscoring the beautiful woodsy/figgy depths.

How can Hydra Figue not have become a full on stellar fan favourite?

It’s unisex, full on, interesting and has a fabulous life story. I can seriously imagine the beast mode bros falling over themselves to smell this fabulous.

Hydra Figue by Miller Harris

HA! This is so good I just looked it up and bought a bottle.

Probably not for everyone but I’ll be glad to have it.

Salt seems to be having a few years of reprise. I’m so happy for it.
What about you? Does Hydra Figue sound wearable?
Portia xx

Patchouli Paris by Guerlain
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Patchouli Paris by Guerlain

Hi there Looking Glassers, I’m clearly a Guerlain fan, it’s been a brand in my life since childhood. Also, I understand that perfume pricing has gone out of control. What was a fun hobby that could be played with spare change, it has now become a major investment. That’s taken quite a lot of the fun out of being a perfumista for me. Now, when I try a stratospherically priced new perfume it has to be unbelievably special. Tick all the boxes, surprise, delight, ring my bell and make me swoon: at the very least. Especially when some of the Indie Perfume Houses are making spectacular, envelope pushing beauties for less than a quarter the price. So, to be fair, I’m coming to Patchouli Paris with a fairly jaded mindset, eyerolling at the price and grumpy at LVMH. I got my decant at Surrender To Chance.

Patchouli Paris by Guerlain 2024

Patchouli Paris by Guerlain

I found these featured accords:
Top: Aldehydes
Heart: Iris
Base: Patchouli, Ambergris

Opening is a lightly sweet, smoky aldehydic zing that smells very CHANEL and it has a real early 200os radiant white floral effect. This could be a new Les Exclusive. Smooth and lovely, the iris feels so clean, a little bit soapy. Dry down is a very soft focus clean patchouli with only the merest whispered hint of briny whale poop.

Everyone that has talked to me about Patchouli Paris has told me it’s a barnstormer but I find it incredibly polite. An under the radar fragrance that feels totally introverted. If that’s your style then Patchouli Paris will be catnip. A perfect low humming pale wash that elevates your own scent without drawing attention, or histrionics.

Obviously, your mileage may vary. I sincerely hope it does and that it’s just on me that Patchouli Paris lays like a limp lettuce leaf: insipid, uninspiring and sadly undelightful.

Patchouli Paris by Guerlain STC

Longevity and sillage are moderate. Nice on everyone, across gender borders.

SOOO NICE that I can see this becoming a go-to patchouli for those that don’t really love patchouli but do love the very glamorous facets of iris, with a touch of leathery goodness. There is none of the bread dough, carrot or woody dankness that can so often accompany the noble iris rhizome.

It’s like Guerlain has become afraid of making a real statement and has decided to mumble.

What did you think?
Portia xx

Fortnight Perfume Wears
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Fortnight Perfume Wears

Hi Crew, It’s my Tuesday fortnight already and I’ve completely dropped the ball. There are three half finished posts awaiting attention in my Drafts Folder but I’m still trying to get a bead on the fragrances. So here is a picture of most of the perfumes I wore in the last two weeks.

Fortnight Perfume Wears

Are any of these loves, likes or loathes of yours? Do the houses speak to you? Do you wish you’d grabbed any of the now DCd beauties?

Also I did the Boy George look again this week. LOVED my make up this night so thought I’d take a pic. I was wearing Hermès Eau de Citron Noir. It’s mid winter here so this outfit is one of my warmest and it gets a lot of winter wear.

Also, here’s a quick hello from the dogs who now own this apartment and have all the best spots. They’re both in their 10th year, getting old, stinky and rickety. What was once not allowed is now permissible. We will be lucky to have them another 12 months. What are rules in the faces of these beautiful hounds?

The white spot girl is Momo, Jin’s baby, who has decided MY BED is the comfiest spot in the house. She only came to us last year. Her Dad went into care and no-one would take her. Jin saw her on our local greyhound FaceBook page and they were worried that she’d have to go to a pound where old dogs are usually euthenised on arrival. We got her that weekend.

This used-to-be black guy is Paris, my true love, who has taken the prime spot on the couch. You’d think he is watching the TV with us. Paris came from a trainer mate of mine with another Greyhound Jinx (Jin’s) who got cancer. Jin was heartbroken.

So what have you all been wearing? Clothes or fragrance. How are your pets doing?
Portia xx

Lady Day by Maria Candida Gentile
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Lady Day by Maria Candida Gentile

Hi there ULGers, Lady Day by Maria Candida Gentile was a gift from my perfume buddy Scotty. He was complaining about how polite and pretty it is and felt that he’d never wear it. I offered to give it some wear and see if it was more me. Yes, selfless, caring individual that I am. HA! also greedy bitch who wants to have ALL the perfume.

Lady Day by Maria Candida Gentile 2012

Maria Candida Gentile site gives these featured accords:
Top: Galbanum
Heart: Gardenia
Base: Balsam

I wore Lady Day the next day after my acquisition. Considering how short the advertised note list is I was surprised by the depth and texture of the fragrance. There was something very repellant in the first wear, an unease that felt like malaise or the slip from sadness to melancholy. Normally I’d be glad and give the perfume back but Lady Day isa so strange. I wanted to smell that feeling again. Did it REALLY smell like that or was it projecting my own preconceived ideas of the Billy Holiday story.

The opening is green, smoky and sweet. The green is smooth like beach glass and super cool like frost. It has a smoky texture that also smells like the feel of old burned wood ash in a BarBQ. So silky but with the acrid scent of char. The sweetness is uncomfortable, a bit ripe sweat and whispers of confectionary like those strawberry and cream lollies we had as kids. Yes, I told you. Strange and unsettling but Oh SO More-ish.

Lady Day Maria Candida Gentile

The heart of Lady day feels more floral but not gardenia. It smells like a bunch of wildflowers picked while out walking and dandelions. It’s so pretty and calming. A bit like your first sip of chamomile tea, that fresh but green/tart warmth. Poor description, I know.

Dry down smells to me like smooth greenery and some vanilla rich amber. It’s very calm and serene at this point.

Longevity is better than moderate and though not a powerhouse Lady Day does give a soft wave of sillage after the first 30 minutes that lasts a few hours before becoming very close to your body.

Strange but alluring, like much of Billy Holiday’s music. I will not be returning this bottle, I’m captivated.
Did you ever try Lady Day? or have a favourite Maria Candida gentile?
Portia xx

Escapade a Byzance by Olibere
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Escapade a Byzance by Olibere

Hi there ULGers, A perfume crew that is rarely cited on the scentbloggosphere is Olibere. I’m not sure why. Here are my thoughts. They’re not a huge conglomerate with millions to spend on hype, they don’t use influencers, they’re a bit too good for the modern perfume bro but not classic or strange enough for the super perfumista crowd. I’ve got a couple of faves from them but today I thought we could talk about Escapade a Byzance.  Mainly because this year it turns 10 years old ! That’s a big deal in modern perfume years. Especially from a fairly under the radar house. I’ve had a 20ml travel of it for a while and it gets enough wear that it’s nearly half gone.

From Olibere: “A gourmand, warm, spicy and carnal fragrance, which will take you to the heart of a Moroccan souk. Perfume inspired by the film « The sheltering sky », shot in Morocco.”

I’m also loving that the brand’s blurb and my recent Morocco holiday are so well aligned.

Escapade a Byzance by Olibere 2015

Escapade a Byzance by Olibere

Olibere gives these featured accords:
Top: Black Pepper, Cinnamon, Saffron, Ginger, Cumin, Citrus
Heart: Cypress, Carnation, Incense
Base: Vanilla, Benzoin, Musk, Amber, Patchouli, Vetiver, Atlas Cedar

Opening is a warm vanilla rich amber that is given some extra spicy bells and whistles and interestingly the ginger gives it a very sharp green spiced effect, like biting into really expensive bitter dark chocolate ginger. It’s such an attention grabbing first few minutes.

Once we head to the heart Escapade a Byzance becomes a fragrance wholly blended to become itself, rather than outstanding notes. It’s a surprisingly dusty melange of spices, flowers, woods and a smoky overlay on a base of patchouli/amber. Today I’m wearing it in 27C/80f and it is blooming beautifully. I love that the bells and whistles last longer than just the opening and head with us into dry down.

Escapade a Byzance by Olibere

Dry down becomes more about the patchouli and a raunchy musk. The amber, spice and smoke are much more noticeable as the heft of Escapade a Byzance lowers. Maybe two hours in and the fireworks have calmed. I’m still fragrant 7 hours later but at a much lower projection. Now I need to move a bit to get a proper huff out of my top.

Unisex but leaning traditional and with excellent longevity. Does Escapade a Byzance remind me of being in a Moroccan souk? Yes and no. This is a fantasized glamorous rendering that amps up all the good bits and leaves out most of the cooking and less attractive parts. So a beautiful, technicolor dream of a Moroccan souk.

Do you know the Olibere Parfums brand?
Portia xx

 

Grenadille d’Afrique by Aedes de Venustas
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Grenadille d’Afrique by Aedes de Venustas

Hi there ULGers, Another find in the Decant Demolition 2025 oeuvre Grenadille d’Afrique by Alberto Morillas is one of the much lesser known Aedes de Venustas fragrances. It was released in 2016 and had a flurry of scentbloggosphere reviews and then radio silence. So it’s quite nice to refind it, even though about 70% has evaporated and it’s definitely had oxygenation. I’m seriously loving this extrait version though and you can still find it available at Aedes and other major niche retailers.

Grenadille d’Afrique by Aedes de Venustas

Grenadille d'Afrique Aedes de Venustas

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Bergamot, Lavender, Violet, Juniper, Vetiver, Labdanum, African blackwood, Vanilla, Musk

Lavender, Juniper and dry grass vetiver all jump out immediately when I spritz Grenadille d’Afrique. This is a calm and classy fragrance with no screech or overwhelming fireworks at opening. A smooth, clear, cool and unusual opening. Like walking into a very expensive wooden hotel in the mountains that has a spa on site and forests outside. I can smell the beeswax and resins used to keep the wood pristine.

Grenadille d’Afrique or Grenadilla of Africa, means African Blackwood. A small tree from the driest parts of Africa, Senegal and Eritrea to South Africa that is threatened with extinction from overharvesting. The wood is used in musical instruments and furniture.

Once we reach the heart a spicy, charred wood emerges. It’s dark and meditative. Deep. Slowly it sweetens as the vanilla and labdanum come through. Not amber or candy sweet, just a lift. A smoothing off and rounding of the ingredients. Now Grenadille d’Afrique starts to smell very expensive.

Dry down is very nice too. An amorphous vanilla/woodsy fade to nothing

Did you try, or buy, Grenadille d’Afrique? Might you?
Portia xx

No. 09 L’Eau Blanche by IUNX
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No. 09 L’Eau Blanche by IUNX

Hiya ULGers. Yes, here’s another decant found in my Decant Demolition 2025 adventure over on Perfume Posse. I’m one of the few who ever had a good experience with the staff at the Paris IUNX store. Obviously the grumpy old guy was a steaming turd but Anna Maria and I happened across a delightful girl one day that had come to Australia and knew her family through a job she had in Oz. It was utterly surreal. If you remember the stupid bottles their fragrances were housed in? Totally unacceptable, top heavy towers that fell over and smashed if you looked at them. Idiocy. So I only bought the travel size and only Splash Forte. Then they closed their doors for the second or third time and died. Once when we were in the shop with old grumpy guts salesman and the gorgeous Denyse Beaulieu two women of some Asian heritage came in and bought complete sets each of the big unsteady bottles. It was so cool and a LOT of $$$. We were gobsmacked. Anyway, on to L’Eau Blanche. My decant is from a Surrender To Chance sale a few years ago and has probably evaporated 60% so I’m writing about an oxidized extrait version.

No. 09 L’Eau Blanche by IUNX

These were the featured notes:
White Iris, Floral Notes, Teak Wood

Olivia Giacobetti is a famous nose. She created such fabulous firsts as Premier Figuier and Tea for Two at L’Artisan, Costes Hotel fragrances, Malle En Passant and Hermès Hiris and many more. Her IUNX range was very low key but beautifully subtle, I called them introverted perfumes and stand by it. Funny thing though, the hard core perfumistas went ape shit for them. While I was still pushing the envelope with intensity and weirdness the cool crew were eating this up. I think it’s how I came to them.

Soft iris but not a heavily woody or bready open, much more like scrunching up crabapple and stock petals, maybe even a couple of roses. It’s powdery like running a petal across your cheek but also a little vegetal and sappy sharp, like broken hyacinth stems. There is a feeling of the modern designer peony fragrance but done for a much more discerning client. Imagine a stark rendering of CHANEL No 18.

No. 09 L’Eau Blanche by IUNX

This oxidized extrait version of L’Eau Blanche is wearing so close to my skin but when I move it scents the air magnificently for the briefest moment and then fades to memory until I move again. Heavenly. You’ll note I’ve been wearing it almost to the dregs and LOVING IT!

Did you ever get your sniff on L’Eau Blanche?
Portia xx