March 22, 2025 by AustralianPerfumeJunkies

Saturday Question: Best Perfume Names?

Hello Fellow Fumies,

At ULG we have a Saturday Question. Everyone gets to chime in with an answer, chat with other responders and it’s a fun event each week. Taking sides never means taking offence and everyone keeps it respectful and light, even though we can sometimes trawl the depths.

The idea is you’ll see it on the weekend or chime in through the week. Hopefully you will come back regularly and see if anyone has responded to your comment and you can reply to them. The aim is to generate real conversation and connection even though we are scattered around the globe.

Undina has found herself unwell so I’m filling in today.
Portia xxx

Saturday Question: Best Perfume Names?

SO MANY amazing names for the scents we wear. From the simple to the sublime and ridiculous. Some are long, short, crazy, meaningful, over the top and others are zippy, attention grabbing, exotic, creative, thought provoking, impossible to say or descriptive. What are your favourites? What makes you take notice (or cringe)? What makes you want to tell your friends what you’re wearing? Is the name important at all?

My Answer:

OK, for me the name should be easy to say, simple to remember and hopefully not stupid or douche-y. An evocative name that falls easily off the tongue and inspires interest. Some good ones include: YSL Opium and Rive Gauche, DIOR Granville and Miss Dior, Gucci Bloom and Guilty are all stellar. I like Special For Gentlemen by Le Galion, Slowdive by Hiram Green, Black Saffron by Byredo, Patou Joy and Exultat by Maris Candida Gentile.

I think my favourite name of them all is Shalimar by Guerlain.

Named for the famed Lahore Mughal garden created for Shah Jahan, who also had the Taj Mahal built in honour of his favourite wife. Shalimar Bagh was built in the 1640s and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and major Pakistan tourist destination. When I spray Shalimar all of that names history runs through my wearing of it and I often think about my time in India visiting the relics of past rule.

Just as an addition. One perfume I never bought because the name seemed so dumb and I would have hated being asked what it was: I Love My Man by Dear Rose. If it had have been even a slightly better name I would definitely own a bottle and probably a back up.

My Saturday Question to you is:

What are the Best Perfume Names?

March 18, 2025 by AustralianPerfumeJunkies

Gentry Jockey Club Oriza L. Legrand

Heya Crew. Since their resurrection I’ve loved and followed the continuing brilliance of the Oriza L. Legrand house. It’s a house that has its fair share of devotees but if the style doesn’t work for you then maybe only three or four of their oeuvre will smell good to and on you. Luckily I love powdery, billowing, over the top glamstrosities that wear divinely on men and women alike. Actually wearing a big fluffy powder bomb feels unbelievably subversive as I wander the shops and mall here in Parramatta, or even in Sydney CBD. I feel like we perfumed gents are living in a golden age where not only the gays but the whole bro-niverse is smelling fine. So my wafts are not out of place, just regular Joe. Gentry Jockey Club is one fragrance that might fit for you if the Oriza main body of work isn’t your style.

Gentry Jockey Club by Oriza L. Legrand 2017

Oriza L Legrand gives these featured accords:
Top: Ylang, Saffron
Heart: Iris Pallida, Leathery notes, Birch essence
Base: Sandalwood, Tonka Bean, Vetiver.

That beautiful, creamy ylang, sandalwood and dry cardboard/lipstick iris are totally contrasted by the scratchy saffron and birch. While Gentry Jockey Club is a leather fragrance it is also so much more. PLUS there’s nary a hint of powder anywhere near this perfume.

Things I’m surprised are not in the note list, plum, raspberry or some dark sweet fruit and resins like myrrh, labdanum or even elemi. The notes do not seem to cover the wealth of breadth Gentry Jockey Club displays. It’s in the same wheelhouse as Daim Blond or Bottega Veneta EdP but does it so differently. Dryer, less fashion and more… it’s not like working leather, or even boots. I’m really finding it difficult to pigeon hole. Yes leather, yes some fruit, some smoky resin, plush and creamy ylang and sandalwood but with zero Samsara feel. Through the heart and into the base I get a drying hay waft and some engine oil.

If Bandit was created in the 21st century then I think this is how it would smell. Two enthusiastic thumbs up. Unisex leaning towards traditional masculine with moderate projection and awesome longevity. If you want to smell good all day without the need for touch ups. Different from the crowd but well under the weird factor. If your job is based on solid structure but you need to be (or smell like) an effective think outside the box-er but not a maverick then I’m thinking Gentry Jockey Club might be perfect fit. It’s also bloody sexy on Jin.

Sadly I have no memory of where this decant came from. There’s maybe 4 of 10ml left and I’m enjoying it immensely.

Are you a leather or Oriza Legrand fan? Favourites?
Portia xx

March 4, 2025 by AustralianPerfumeJunkies

Ambre Mythique by Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier

Hi there Looking Glassers, While you’re still stuck in cool weather but heading into warmer I thought we could look at one more gorgeous amber. Just for the love of it. Most of you would have heard of Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier ‘… founded in 1988 by the renowned perfumer Jean-François Laporte. Rooted in the tradition of 17th-century French perfumery, the brand draws its inspiration from travel, the world of opera, and baroque aesthetics.’ You’ll know Jean Laport from creating l’Artisan Parfumeur in 1976. He is quite the innovator and even when he is working within a trope he does it so flawlessly it’s like the idea has been perfected. Sadly the house has been lost in all the noise of new.

Ambre Mythique by Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier 2016

Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, Geranium, Coriander, Incense
Heart: Myrrh, Lavender, Ciste labdanum
Base: Patchouli, Vanilla, Sandalwood, Tonka Beans

For many of the readers here a new amber perfume is the last thing on their list of needs. Yes, I’m much the same. Amber is one of my great perfume loves and the wardrobe is bristling with them. Last winter less than half of them even got worn. Yet, had I been in a shop with funds for spending I’d own the 120ml bottle already.

Opening with a deep patchouli/labdanum/incense smokiness, Ambre Mythique is furry and goat-ish but also has a whisper of crisp rose and greenery. A seriously warming fragrance that is leaning heavily into the heat here in the dying gasps of Sydney summer. Fire, smoke, woods and that beautiful animalic resinous sweetness of amber. So rich and burnished.

Very diffusive but not a screaming beast, longevity is off the charts. Spritz at 6am and you’ll still smell the rich remnants at midnight. GAH! I really want a full bottle of Ambre Mythique right now.

You can see I just shook the decant in the photo before spritzing because some of the ingredients had sedimented over time. There’s only about 2ml left and it is a glorious amber colour.

LuckyScent still has bottles and samples

Are you a too many ambers person or is there room for one more?
Portia xx

February 18, 2025 by AustralianPerfumeJunkies

Bois Sikar by Atelier des Ors

Heya Crew! Do you have brands that you sincerely love yet you have never bought a full bottle? This is my story with Atelier des Ors. Way back when I went to Esxence Megan even offered me a bottle of their newest release but I knew my bag was right at the limit so asked for a couple of sets of samples, one for me and one for a giveaway. Kicking myself ever since. Their bottles are so beautiful, I love the gold flakes and the fragrances are all so thoughtfully produced. Dozens of times I’ve had them in my basket but they just never seem to make it all the way through checkout. So I’m currently retrying a few to decide which one I’ll buy to congratulate myself on finishing my Celebrant Course (when I finally do!).

Bois Sikar by Atelier des Ors 2018

Atelier des Ors gives these featured accords:
Top: Nutmeg, Precious Wood, Guaiac Wood
Heart: Vetiver, Styrax, Cedar Leef
Base: Tobacco Absolute, Cyrpiol, Incense

It’s easy to know why Bois Sikar is near the top of my to try list. Tobacco/wood/incense are all in my wheelhouse, add some spices and resins and I’m right there, front and center. of course, Atelier des Ors does it in their own way so let’s chat about it.

Dark, charred, smoky woods open Bois Sikar. There is also the smell of greenery torn and trodden. Like the cold dawn on a campsite with only coals left in the fire pit and the smell of dew drying on the trees. Add the scent of kicked up leaf mulch and someone not very far away cooking super crispy bacon.

As we head towards the heart resinous tobacco becomes noticeable and Bois Sikar becomes a warm fragrance. Lightly spiced and cozy with the smoke of burning incense wafting through. Some of you may remember the spicy woods of the 1980s mens fragrances? Imagine that genre but elevated by interesting, modern style. It’s almost oudh-y and has a deep whiff of band aid and barnyard.

The base is very traditionally masculine woods, dark and mysterious. It stays interesting and a little raunchy right to fade. Having said traditionally masculine, I know you are mostly for sex free scenting, me too, but giving you the traditional names means you have a place to start in your head while reading. So, obviously, if you like the sound of Bois Sikar then it doesn’t matter where you lie on the scale, try it. You never know.

Were/are you a Bois Sikar devotee?
Portia xx

I bought my decant from Surrender To Chance.

February 4, 2025 by AustralianPerfumeJunkies

Sunkissed Goddess by By Kilian

Heya Crew, Yes, I know. MORE recently purchased decants from Surrender To Chance. That this decant cost about half of last fortnights Guerlain may surprise you all, it did me. Remember when By Kilian were one of the most aspirational priced perfume houses in the world? Sure, they’re still expensive US$295 for a refillable Sunkissed Goddess 50ml from the By Killian site but that only seems pricey now rather than outrageous.

Since 2016 when Estée Lauder acquired By Kilian I’ve kept a little eye out, not really focussing but now that they’ve released this Limited Edition fragrance based on the Polynesian staple Manoi oil I’m interested. One of the brands famous pillars is Bronze Goddess which retails about US$85 for 50ml EdT (US$98 BGNuit EdP) and is a favourite of both Undina and myself. My memory (correct for once!) tells me Undina loves to take it on tropical holidays and I tend to use it to blow away the winter blues. It’s a staple. Plus the Lauder crew have also been doing a slew of Soleils over at the Tom Ford counter that range from US$300-405 in 50ml EdP. So they’ve deduced that tropical sunscreen with a boozy beverage sells (rightly so) and made them in accessible to aspirational offerings. Clever.

Sunkissed Goddess by By Kilian 2024

By Killian gives these featured accords:
Ylang-Ylang essence, Tiare Flower, Coconut

On first spritz my mind goes in a hundred directions. Oh yes, tropical beach suntanning in the late afternoon with a Pina Colada in a big glass and sunscreen slathered on. The slight prickle of salt still on your skin and through your hair and the smell of hot sand. I remember a few years ago Manoi oil became a thing here in Oz. Particularly among the early 20s club kids. For a brief moment, maybe a couple of summers, you’d walk in the club and it would smell like you’d found paradise. The older girls sun baking by the local swimming pool, their skin glistening with Reef Oil when we were kids. It’s all here in the first whiff.

Ylang in spades, coconut and vanilla all rolled together in some very luxe body lotion that does smell good. Really good. The heart into the base gets a lovely green banana leaf that lifts the experience. Apart from that Sunkissed Goddess is pretty linear and lasts well. Good projection for the first couple of hours then a whispering skin scent.

So then, does Sunkissed Goddess smell like it’s worth more than three times Bronze Goddess? Yes and no. While Sunkissed Goddess does seem more luxurious and 5* hotel lotion-y I enjoy the story that the Bronze Goddess line tells. They seem more interesting, especially the Eau Fraiche ones with their citrus top over the rest. 2019s Bronze Goddess, with remarkably similar notes list still manages to be less ponderous and more jumping with life.

Now I’d like to read your thoughts please. Do you have favourites? Is this a genre you like?
Portia xx

January 21, 2025 by AustralianPerfumeJunkies

Iris Pallida Extrait 6 by Guerlain

Dear Looking Glass-ers, I have a decant from Surrender To Chance. Yes, it cost an arm and a leg BUT I really didn’t want a full bottle. What I wanted after trying the Les Extrait collection in stores was to have enough to really get to know them in my own time, without the miasma of all the other perfumes beating my nose to death. So that’s what I’ve done. My 2ml spray decant has lasted months because I put some on a forearm and spend the next few hours luxuriating in Iris Pallida Extrait 6.

If you can afford these then I envy you (just a bit). US$630 for 50ml of extrait.

ALSO! arrived this week in the mail from the lovely Ingeborg, all the way from Norway to Sydney! Thank you. I seem to have lost you on social media (if we ever were connected) so I thought the best way to get my thanks to you is here on ULG. Jin and I are really touched. HUG. They will have pride of place on the fridge.

Iris Pallida Extrait 6 by Guerlain 2023

Guerlain gives these featured accords:
Iris, almond, musk, suede, sandalwood

First breath of Iris Pallida Extrait 6 is almond meal, dry orris and something quite bittersweet like nougat with wood chips and some weird greenery darkness. It’s like fermented grass in an unturned pile during the hottest peak of summer. Sounds vile but actually it adds depth and interest to a fragrance that would otherwise be too simple, pretty and dull. As I head into the heart the suede and sandalwood become more apparent and a streak of cold wet cardboard heads in. Cardboard is one of my favourite facets of iris, combined with the other perfectly blended notes it is interesting rather than repulsive. The super glam Guerlain version of cold wet cardboard.

Towards the end of the heart my ride gives old fashioned make up vibes. Powdery, lipstick-ish and a little of hairspray. Very movie star and every housewife trying to live up to their impossible standards of beauty. This stays and gets more woody, yet still that distinctive iris/orris till fade.

Iris Pallida Extrait 6 is gorgeous. I’m unsure why we got these as a group instead of dropping one each year and why on earth did they come in extrait? I would quite like to have enjoyed it with more effervescence in an EdT and a swipe of the extrait to give it some extra depth (Did LVMH not think these perfumes worthy of pillar status?) This though is what we got and if I could spend that money right now I would without hesitation.

What did you think?
Portia x

January 7, 2025 by AustralianPerfumeJunkies

Silly Season 2025 in Review

Hey crew, Well, it’s all over for another year of mayhem. Hope whatever you did, didn’t do, whoever you were with or without, that you had an OK time. That your mental health survived in tact. we had a roller coaster here in Oz.

Silly Season 2025 in Review

Christmas Eve Eve Jin, Kath and I go to the Sydney Fish markets. There have been others that joined us but for the last ten or eleven years we have been the core. We have some dinner on the waterfront and then Jin & Kath buy prawns for the festivities. It’s a lovely, fun thing to do and we have usually gone around 10pm but this year we went early, at about 8pm and got to see the sunset. Beautiful.

Christmas Eve we always fill the table with friends and Jin does his famous roast pork with extra crackling. He also bakes a cauliflower. I do the rest of the baked vegetables and salads. This year we had 11 at the table and it was a riotous affair. Loads of stories and catching up. There were presents and booze. It never goes late because 4-5 hours of people is my limit. At about 10.45pm I stood up, thanked everyone and they were gone by 11pm. That meant I could clean the table, run the dishwasher a couple of times, have everything packed away and be in a huge, cool bubble bath by midnight. Heaven.

This year on Christmas Day I did my best but honestly, I really did not want to go to my best friend’s sisters house. She’s a bully, a white-ant-er, a liar and a manipulator. I’ve sat by and smiled while she has undermined and humiliated my best friend for 25 years because my BFF has asked me to keep the peace as the sister uses her daughters as collateral. Just being around this woman is skeevy, makes me want to have a shower. Anyway, we were there 15 minutes and it was already pretty grim and then she started in on Kath. Hello Portia explosion. Not my finest moment. Was basically pushed off the property and told to leave or the police would be called. Oh well. Funny thing is, we had brought most of the food and she threw our cooler bags out with us. So there were about 10 people and we brought the prawns, ham, chicken, pork, potato salad, green salad and green bean salad. Don’t know what they ate but Kath came back to ours and we had a very quiet Xmas lunch that suited us perfectly. Jin is the smart one, as soon as he heard it was at the sisters place he said no, not going. So we came home, had loads of stories, some tears and laughter and generally enjoyed being together (as always)

Jin and I had decided to do nothing this year for New Years Eve. He is on call 24/7 at the moment, covering jobs above him on the railways. Then one of our girlfriends who works at the Sydney Opera House found herself with four spare tickets to House Kitchen. It’s the eatery closest to the very point facing the Harbour Bridge and Sydney Harbour. Jin didn’t want to come so I rounded up three girlfriends and we had the most amazing time. All our food was included and it was very extravagant, delicious finger food. There were bands, singers, DJs and a slew of roving entertainment. All we had to pay for were drinks. AMAZING! We had a table to ourselves, seats all day and night, toilets nearby that were clean right to the end. Seriously, we had the chillest, most comfortable NYE of my life. I was driving so didn’t have much alcohol all night, just a sip of champagne with the girls at midnight, less than two fingers of drink in a flute.
We got a lift back to my car from one of my girlfriends. I felt something sharp poke me hard when I sat down but just moved my ass thinking I’d sat on a pin or coat hanger. Suddenly I felt so tired and really out of it just sitting in the back of the car, my eyes were unfocusing and I was just a little nauseous. It was like drugs but not in a fun way. By the time we got to my car I was just sleepy but opened the windows, drank a bunch of water and felt better, but not quite right. Dropped the girls home, drove to my home, fell into bed. Slept like dead people.
Next morning I wake up with a bad head, super dry throat, my bones aching, joints creaking and I feel pretty rough. My guess at this moment is I’ve got C19. I do a test, negative. Can’t think what’s wrong. About 6 pm though I sit awkwardly on a chair and feel this contusion on my ass. It’s a tender lump about the size of the palm of my hand. I get Jin to have a look and there are two really large holes in my ass, about 1.5cm apart. I’ve been bit by a spider. Yes, I have. No wonder. It takes me three days to properly recover. HA! How wild is that?

Christmas Eve was modern Cabochard by Gres, Christmas Day I wore Sancti by Liquides Imaginaires and NYE Ambre Nuit by DIOR with a couple of swipes of vintage Guerlain Shalimar extrait. These were good choices.

So there’s my run down,
Tell me your high and low lights please,
Portia xx

December 17, 2024 by AustralianPerfumeJunkies

Shalimar Reflections

Hi Crew. We are in the summer heat here in Sydney. It’s gorgeous but there are days when I’d like to shirk my skin and lie around just bones under the fan. The heat itself is fine but the humidly tends to have me wilt just a little. So how does Shalimar fit into the heat? Well, I have a bottle of the extrait on my desk. It was a gift from one of my dearest friends. Whenever the world gets overwhelming I give myself a swipe on my forearm and suddenly everything seems less spectacularly oppressive. This year has had some significant bumps, mainly business related. Though I’ve run businesses for years I’m not actually very good at it. Fortunately my ideas have been good enough to push through my basic inability to function. Of course with every changing of the guard there are growing and dying pains. Study has also been a big part of the year and I’m poor at focus and time management, HA! That’s being generous. Seriously. Add to that the many plates spinning at any given time. Trivia, apartments, blogging perfume, cleaning house and laundry PLUS now studying and doing book reviews. One wheel gets shaky and my whole train collapses in a heap. I know, definitely the problems of the wealthy. I’m super grateful for everything we have. Also, fully acknowledged how fortunate we are in terms of home, work, love and friends. Jin recently moved up and across at his work and if I can get my bloody Celebrant Course done then there will be an extra cash stream to pick up the rising interest cost of the mortgage.

Sorry, I got sidetracked.

Shalimar Reflections

Shalimar and Reflections

There are dozens of note list but here’s a pretty good summation:
Bergamot, lemon, iris, jasmine, rose, patchouli, vetiver, opopanax, tonka bean, frankincense, sandalwood, musk, civet, ambergris, leather, vanilla

This evening the world got overwhelming. Just too much input and it left me breathless.

SWIPE

Seriously, the relief to just let myself revel in the inimitable beauty of Shalimar extrait. Suddenly my shoulders unclench, my back straightens and I can quietly go have a lie down under the fan for 15 minutes and get lost in the fragrance.

Shalimar is also chock full of happy memories of Mum and some of her girlfriends that wore it as daywear. Big fragrant hugs and them all laughing, planning, chattering, sniping over lunch or afternoon tea. Not always happy, there were meetings of solidarity for all of life’s aches and pains, home troubles, illness or financial woes. Still, though there were tears, the love held them all together.

It has since become one of my go-to event fragrances. The event might be a big gig, party, dinner or it may be to make a mundane event like groceries and cleaning into something wonderful.

So with Shalimar I get not only to drift off with the scent but also a plethora of memories.

Do you have a fragrance that gives you surcease but also is full of magical memories?
Portia xx

December 3, 2024 by AustralianPerfumeJunkies

Secret Joly Oriza L. Legrand

Howdy ULGers! I was trawling around in my cupboards this week and wasn’t quite sure what was going to get the spritz. I had plenty of time and a hankering for a forgotten beauty. Something I love but that has sat unremembered for a long while. The box with my Oriza also has Robert Piguet, Andrea Maack and Miller et Bertaux. To be honest, I thought it was going to be a Piguet kinda day. Maybe Bois Bleu or Alameda. When I looked in the box Secret Joly, a fragrance I’ve not worn in ages, called my name. OK. So I spritzed, and remembered why I bought it in the first place. I’ve pulled it out of the cupboard and it’s now own my desk. So wearing it for the third time in less than a fortnight I realized it needed a post.

Secret Joly by Oriza L. Legrand 2020

Oriza Legrand gives these featured accords:
Top: Hyacinth, Ylang-Ylang
Heart: Gardenia, Tuberose, Jasmine Sambac
Base: Civet, Tonkin Musk, Peruvian Balsam

Floral creaminess, a rich and hefty tropical miasma that is utterly entrancing. Secret Joly smells like nothing else but also has hints of a sneaky side eye reference to the BWF stunners of the 1980s. I think it’s the animalic undertow. Already the chosen flowers are pretty meaty but add some civet and musk style depths and GROWL.

If you’re expecting some gardenia blue cheese you will be disappointed. Well, it doesn’t show up on my wearings.

Normally I save Secret Joly for cool weather wearings. It is so ripe and warm and feels really cozy. Today is 36C and super humid here in Sydney and THIS PERFUME HAS BLOOMED! I just took the dogs for a walk and the combination with the days heat and my bodies extra walking warmth and a bit of sweaty man. WHOA NELLY! I smell amazing. Eye rolling, mind blowing, heart racing amazing.

The last few wears since rediscovering Secret Joly have been fairly sedentary. Yesterday, by the time I went to aquarobics most of Secret Joly must have burned off beforehand because I just got some pretty reawakening and then the last vestiges washed off.

Definitely aimed at the girls but only a minor stretch to the guys and it smells F I N E!

Did you ever get your sniff on Secret Joly?
Portia xx

P.S. I also really loved Oriza Scotch Lavender and wish I’d bought a bottle.

November 19, 2024 by AustralianPerfumeJunkies

Portia Reconnecting with Etat Libre d’Orange

Hey there Looking Glassers, I have long loved the fun and whimsy of Etat Libre d’Orange. They have so many distinctive fragrances, do a fabulous job of reimagining old tropes and twisting them with a new skew. Plus they are very reasonably priced in relation to modern niche as a whole. They were a lot more outrageous in their earlier years, playing for gimmick and shock in their marketing and presentation. I’m not terribly sad they’ve pretty much left that behind in favour of more staid and general public oriented display and scent.

Portia Reconnecting with Etat Libre d’Orange

Maybe you’d like to have a wander through my collection of Etat Libre d’Orange bottles with me? Just for clarity, some of these bottles I paid Retail for, bought off Sale Docs or at the Discounters and others are Press Bottles. My mate Bronwyn was the Australian distributor for ELdO so I’ve been lucky enough to try almost everything. This selection are the favorites I own, maybe I’ll do the others another day.

Fat Electrician

Vetiver and sparks from electrical wires. Slightly salty, dark and weird. One of my favourite vetivers ever.

I Am Trash

Worst title, loveliest scent. The apple is all loads of people talk about but it’s peripheral to me. My ride is a creamy floral, I’m constantly surprised it’s rose and not ylang or jasmine. Dry down is floral woods. So pretty and wearable.

Jasmin et Cigarette

This was on my To Buy List or a very long time but never seemed to make it all the way to a check out. Well, it finally did not so long ago. Bubblegum jasmine that pretty quickly gets a dark coating of tar and smoke. It’s bloody amazing how two such diverse scents work together in perfect harmony.

Noel au Balcon

Very elegant honeyed fruits and Christmassy cinnamon underpinned by vanilla rich amber and musks. I don’t know why this gets so little attention. It’s a stunner.

Spice Must Flow

True to its name. Spicy. Not ALL about spice though. Here we have the perfumers rose/saffron mix that has been so popular in the 21st century niche market. The way we smell it here is a little different though. Add on pepper, cinnamon, incense and patchouli in bucketloads. It’s beautifully created, hits my nose exactly how I’d like it to. Starts a bit rough and ends up smooth as silk.

The Afternoon Of A Faun

Immortelle and a bunch of other stuff. Thick and gluggy on arrival, freshly windswept by the end. So wearable but it’s HUGE so maybe a few less spritzes Portia.

Tom of Finland

Tom of Finland is not a filthy, sex laden, piss soaked, leather bar in Berlin. Shame really, that would have been revoltingly alluring. What we get is the waft of someone wearing their leathers in the next room while we are in our high heel cupboard, but a very soft version of that. It smells luxuriously subtle.

Yes, I Do

Sheer soft focus Lily of the Valley (LotV), sweetness added by the marshmallow and a very clean jasmine/orange blossom. Very little of the oft hyped funk and a bit of plasticky patchouli, but on the whole fresh, youthful and prim.

You or Someone Like You

The fragrance made to fit the mother of writer Chandler Burr in his semi autobiographical novel of the same name. What it smells like to me is a hike in the Australian scrub near a watercourse in early summer. Magic!

So what are your Etat Libre d’Orange loves and loathes?
Portia xx

Undina's Looking Glass

Perfumed Reflections of Life

Portia

Saturday Question: Best Perfume Names?