Portia

At The Barbers by Maison Margiela
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At The Barbers by Maison Margiela

Hey there ULGers, Can you believe At The Barbers turns 10 years old in 2024? So weird. Replica from Maison Margiela seems like a newish brand to me. HA! Clearly I’m well out of the loop. I’ve seen the brand talked about a lot over the years and it’s always seemed like an upmarket take on the Demeter range. Apparently they have much better longevity than the Demeter’s though, YAY!

Anyway, trawling through the sample box tonight I found this carded sample that I have absolutely zero recollection of ever seeing before. Maybe the sample fairy has been dropping in and leaving little presents. OR maybe I still have way too many samples and decants.

At The Barbers by Replica from Maison Margiela 2014

At The Barber's Maison Martin Margiela

Maison Margiela gives these featured accords:
Top: Bigarade oil, Basil accord, Black Pepper essence
Heart: Geranium oil, Lavender essence, Rosemary oil
Base: Tonka Bean resinoïd, Evernyl, White Musks

OMG! At The Barbers is exactly as the label says. I’m instantly thrown back to my first job sweeping floors, making coffees, washing heads of hair and selling cigarettes at the Barber/Hairdresser/Tobacconist in our local mall, at the tender age of 13-15. This is such a perfect match for the potion they’d spritz heavily on all the men customers. We were the only barber-ish shop in the area and had 6 chairs/2 tubs. There would often be a long queue of families waiting their turn. Especially Thursday evenings and Saturdays. Vince the boss was a nice looking, gentle, engaging man who liked to smile and chat and he chose the rest of his crew to fit that mold. I learned a lot and enjoyed my time there so At The Barbers has super happy memories.

At The Barber's Maison Martin Margiela

Herbaceous greenery and lavender sparked up with the dry rasp of black pepper with a sweet resinous base. There’s no huge trajectory and lasting power is excellent. I can imagine a whole new generation discovering this and swooning. Really, At The Barbers is not like much of the high end fragrance available nowadays. Even at the barber they’ve gone super sweet.

I’d love to smell At The Barbers on women. Bet it would be absolutely amazing.
Portia xx

Eau des Merveilles Bleue by Hermès
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Eau des Merveilles Bleue by Hermès

Hi Crew, The rumor mill has Christine Nagal finishing up at Hermès so I thought it might be nice to look at one of my favorites from her tenure. Though I didn’t LOVE everything she created there were quite a few that I did. The Vetiver Terre d’Hermès, Eau de Citron Noire, Un Jardin Sur La Lagune and à Cythère all have made full bottles bought at retail in my collection. Violette Volinka and H24 EdP are both on the list. I think that’s about half of her output? Pretty good strike rate if you ask me. Yes, I know. You didn’t. HA! So let’s talk about the one that sees the most wear around here, Eau des Merveilles Bleue. A perfect summer spritz for you all in the northern hemisphere right now.

Eau des Merveilles Bleue by Hermès 2016

Featured accords:
Sea salt, woody notes, juniper berry, patchouli

Yeah, I know a lot of the perfumista community sneers at a salty aquatic but it’s probably time to get your nose on a good one again. It may just sway your thinking. Especially as it’s summer up in the northern hemisphere and anything refreshing should be embraced wholeheartedly. Another win here is the fabulous bottle, so gorgeous in my hand. Plus it comes in a few sizes from the 15ml travel up to the 100ml.

Straight out of the gate Eau des Merveilles Bleue smells of salty juniper berries. They are piquant and green but awash with cold sea water. There are also wafts of cutting green chilis and some herbaceous greenery a little like pine needles and basil. We are taught this is a masculine configuration. In reality I can definitely imagine it smelling killer on even the most feminine of women. It would definitely be unexpected.

Through the heart and base of Eau des Merveilles Bleue have a much more seaside vibe. A little bit of seaweed, some driftwood, walking through the soft sand to sit under an enormous beach umbrella and order some margaritas. The salt dries on your body, you’re relaxed, maybe there’s a breeze and you can watch the beach and bar go by happily for a couple of hours. Some desultory conversation and a really good book.

Eau des Merveilles Bleue by Hermès

The patchouli is shorn of all things natural and comes across sheer and modern. It hardly resembles the patchouli of the head shop, chocolate or earthy varieties we wore in time gone by. As Eau des Merveilles Bleue heads towards full dry down I smell like me coming home after swimming in the ocean.

Are you game to try some aquatic fragrances this summer?
Portia xx

 

 

 

Saturday Question: What Three Would You Bring Back
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Saturday Question: What Three Would You Bring Back

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.

Saturday Question: What Three Would You Bring Back?

So many fragrances have been Discontinued, Changed or Reformulated over time that it’s hard to wrap your head around it. Anyone buying Opium, Magie Noire, Diva or Miss Dior in 2024 will be gobsmacked by how different they smell to the originals. Even some less vintage fragrance lines like CHANEL exclusives, Maison Christian Dior Collection, Serge Lutens or the Malle line have been hacked into and given refreshes. We await changes on other brands bought out by big fragrance. Then there are the slew of fragrances that have gone from the counters forever, impossible to find for less than a small countries annual GDP and then you better hope it’s not a fake or refilled.

So what are the three you REALLY wish you could have 200ml of in pristine condition? Imagine there was a perfume fairy that could grant these wishes. No question of expense or postage, snap and the three bottles appear.

My Answer:

Guerlain Paris-Moscou

This is an old photo of my bottle which only has maybe 3ml left in the bottom. I really don’t know why this overly sweet, sticky, glug of a perfume captured me so completely and utterly. Plum cheesecake? Is there such a thing. Screamingly sweet. Still, whenever I spritz the smile goes from ear to ear and I huff deeply for about 5 hours. Loving every minute. Sadly these travel perfumes were not popular and went the way of the dodo in what felt like minutes.

Niki de Saint Phalle

While I love many of the mossy floral chypres, Niki de saint Phalle is the one that speaks loudest to me. I’m pretty sure that at least some of the reason is Niki’s story, art and sheer brazen ability to make her way in such a mans world. Fortunately I was aware they were coming to the end of the road when the discounters were practically giving bottles away and I bought a drawer full. Even if I wore Niki de Saint Phalle exclusively my stash might last 10 years.

Versace Blonde EdT & extrait

Don’t worry. I also have a stash of this magnificent tuberose/jasmine/ylang sillage monster. What makes me sad is something so fabulous and glamorous, created the year before Versace Dreamer (another favourite), heralded the pinnacle of Versace fragrances. It was the diamond that came before they seemed to give up on making fine fragrance. Yes, they still make fragrance and they are not terrible but they also miss the interest, aspirational creativity and magic of the Versace mid 1990s releases.

 

My Saturday Question to you is:

What Three Would You Bring Back?

Saturday Question: What Would Your City’s Le Labo Exclusive Smell Of?
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Saturday Question: What Would Your City’s Le Labo Exclusive Smell Of?

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.

 

Saturday Question: What Would Your City’s Le Labo Exclusive Smell Of?

Found this amazing question on  Facebook many years ago. Audrey posed the question and there were some really terrific answers. Don’t worry if your city has been done. Give it your own twist, tell your story through scent.

If Le Labo did a city exclusive for your closest city, what would be the note focus? You can only choose one city for the name but include a bunch of notes that you think would be symbolic of the atmosphere there.

My Answer:

Sydney: Aquatic, Ozonic, Salty, Car Fumes, Eucalyptus and Mown Grass with the smell of baristas making sweet, clean Coffee running in and out through the whole life of the fragrance. There would also need to be some Spices, Sydney is very multicultural and one of the things I love about walking its streets is the diversity of food smells coming from shops and homes. I’m thinking there should also be hints of smoke from the famous Aussie BarBQs.

My Saturday Question to you is:

What Would Your City’s Le Labo Exclusive Smell Of?

Assam of India by Parfums Berdoues
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Assam of India by Parfums Berdoues

Hey Hey ULGers! Lovely to have you in the blog-house. Over the years Robin and the NST crew have talked lovingly of Assam of India. I tried it early on and loved it but then completely forgot it even existed till a couple of years ago when it came up again on a few Friday Community Projects over there. Having spent every cent on travel last year and other expenses this year it’s been a financially enforced low buy 18 months. Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel meant I gave myself permission to grab a couple of things. Jin’s signature perfume Bottega Veneta EdP has been DCd, so I grabbed him a backup or two from FragranceNet (not affiliated). While there I noticed Assam of India Testers were cheap, so it went in the cart. YAY! Now it has arrived and I’m thinking you all up in the warming Northern Hemisphere will go ape shit for its super summer wearability.

Assam of India by Parfums Berdoues 2015

Assam of India by Parfums Berdoues

Parfums Berdous give these featured accords:
Menton lemon, Indian tea, Mysore sandalwood

Do you ever wish for a crisp, beautiful, no nonsense but lovely to smell tea forward fragrance that will suit any mood in the warmer months and many in the cooler? Does the bottle make a difference? Is super cuteness without being childish a win? Then we might just have the perfect scent for you here today.

Immediately a sweet citrus, much sweeter and softer than lemon to my nose. Veery pomelo. Soon after there is a hint of those little square travel mints and then, interestingly it turns less sweet and gets the tart edge I expect from lemon.

You’d expect the tea to be very Earl Grey with such a burst of citrus. It’s not. While I do get the dry back of throat feeling that tea in perfume often gives me it’s not black tea. More of a green tea herbal concoction and I get very specific chamomile and dandelion references. Also lovely hints of basil and later a bitter green angelica. The sandalwood never really makes much of an appearance and Assam of India stays fairly green tea and herbs.

Yes, I’m sure you all get entirely different rides but these are consistent olfactory markers for me through a few wears. Funny how it happens.

Assam of India by Parfums Berdoues short shot

Utterly unisex. Lasts surprisingly well before becoming a wash of green nothings. Not a huge perfume but definitely changes the air around you. Like a bit of a creeper that someone will notice after minutes sitting right next to you, then they’ll say something. I do get why it’s so popular and think it would make a terrific gift to non perfumistas who are after something more interesting than most department store fare.

Are any of you fans of Assam of India?
Portia xx

 

Musk by Lorenzo Villoresi
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Musk by Lorenzo Villoresi

Howdy Looking Glassers, Another bottle bought for a song from a friend’s FaceBook Sale post. Though I’ve been to Florence a few times and always hit Santa Maria Novella, so far I’ve not been to the Lorenzo Villoresi store. I have tried a few of them over time but can’t remember where, how or with whom. Another of my mates Scotty is mad keen for Teint de Neige and wears it in glorious abundance. He has a very rude name for it and I can’t for the life of men remember what it is. Bummer. Today we are talking about my first bottle, only half full, from the house; Musk.

Musk by Lorenzo Villoresi 1995

Musk by Lorenzo Villoresi

Lorenzo Villoresi site gives these featured accords:
Top: Galbanum, Cardamom, Flowers, Bergamot
Heart: Geranium, Rose
Base: Musk, Sandalwood, Oakmoss, Rosewood, Vanilla

First breath is all galbanum. That green, smooth, furry resin. It’s quickly underpinned by sharp geranium leaves and a very green rose like torn rose petals and leaves. It isn’t till well into the heart that the cardamom makes an appearance, giving the flowers and resin a powdery green tinge. I’m surprised there’s no heliotrope mentioned, or iris.

About an hour later Musk has turned delightfully carnation and powder with vanilla and oakmoss humming along beside. It’s very pretty and a true powder bomb. Very satisfying.

Musk Lorenzo Villoresi

Projection is moderate to low after initial intensity, longevity is moderate.

Musk is not an eye rolling gorgeous, to die for fragrance. It’s low key, beautifully put together, seamless and a very enjoyable wear. Perfect for when you want to smell goods but not be a perfume bully.

Sound good to you?
Portia xx

 

Ysatis by Givenchy 1984
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Ysatis by Givenchy 1984

Dear Gentle Reader (SORRY! I’ve been rewatching Bridgerton) Hey there ULGers! If you never heard of Givenchy Ysatis then you’re either very young or you’ve been living under a rock. It is celebrating its 40th birthday this year. Yep! Outrageous. Recently I was reminded of it because one of the regular Trivia night patrons wears it so beautifully. More than once I’ve asker her what magical elixir she is wafting to have a very happy reply of Ysatis. She’s so happy that even though I’m a perfume blogger and snob that her not very expensive or posh perfume gets noticed so often. Really, it smells extraordinary on her, so full and sensual and more-ish, I try to sit with her when she’s wearing it and just swim in the gorgeous gouts of fragrance.

Ysatis by Givenchy 1984

Ysatis by Givenchy 1984

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Aldehydes, Orange blossom, Brazilian rosewood, Galbanum  Neroli, Bergamot, Citrus notes, Mandarin orange, Coconut
Heart: Jasmine, Narcissus, Tuberose, Ylang-ylang, Egyptian rose, Florentine iris, Honey
Base: Civet, Amber, Castoreum, Clove, Musk, Oakmoss, Patchouli, Precious woods, Sandalwood, Vanilla, Bay rum, Vetiver

Above you will see the new, modern bottle and the Givenchy site tells us they have reinvented their iconic fragrances and repackaged them as the Heritage Collection. I’ve not had a sniff of the new one so cannot comment on the carnage, if there has been some.

In my life though, on a friend’s recent FaceBook Sale post I saw (and bought for a song) a half full vint-ish tester. Just so I can waft around the house smelling like a ripe old diva (yes, this is how it smells on me, and I’m LOVING it).

This was Dominique Ropion’s first commercial fine fragrance! What a start. Fragrantica has his current release count at 357.

So let’s parse this unbelievably kitchen sink style perfume. Ysatis opens with an aldehydic citrus burst already full to overflowing with a tropical white floral extravaganza. It’s also quite animalic, even this early. Honeyed and boozy. It’s so full on, everything seems to be happening at once but it’s never cacophonous. It feels large, a bit overwhelming but structured and focused.

The heart is animalic floral with shy undertones of suntan lotion and cocktails. No one flower sits atop the bouquet, it’s a big. fat, sexy melange. Here is where my heart swoons and the heart has a most impressive lifespan. After about 40 minutes the whole fragrance softens considerably but still pumps out the gorgeous fragrantly. Base is a very lightly spiced amber/sandalwood and I think this bottle is old enough that there is still some oakmoss swirling around adding its fuzzy lustre. Until writing this post I’d always put Ysatis into the BWF category but it’s categorized as a Floral Chypre.

This is a no holds barred explosion of gratuitous fabulousness that would take a very secure man to pull it off, or a Drag Queen obvs. It’s built for an era of high octane perfume that walked into the room well ahead of the woman wearing it. Probably not office safe anymore and it would definitely clash with your ability to taste food. Projection, sillage and longevity are all off the charts. You are making a real time investment to smelling of Ysatis.

Did you? Would You Ysatis?
Portia xx

 

Trajan by Electimuss London
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Trajan by Electimuss London

Hi there ULGers, Hope your fortnight has been a good one. If not then let’s talk perfume and forget the world for a moment. I have an admission to make. Electimuss as a brand has completely passed me by. From the Electimuss site: “Electimuss means “to choose the best” in Latin and that ethos is at the heart of our brand. Exquisite oils and resins in our fragrances are rare and precious and blended with meticulous attention paid to every note and detail… We care passionately about quality. All of our fragrances are 25% or 30% Pure Parfum / Extrait and our blends are unashamedly decadent and daring.” They are inspired by Ancient Rome.

Before we go any further I do not understand why brands are doing extraits and acting as if it’s a better deal. It’s bloody annoying. You could do 50% of cheap as shit ingredients and it is still an extrait. Also, I like the projection of an EdT. Should I wish a stronger % then I’d like to buy a 7.5ml extrait spray like the old Guerlain cigarette lighter case and wear them together. For that extra rich, burnished depth. In my books (clearly I’m a dinosaur) having the extrait should be a glamorous add on.

Sorry, rant over.

Trajan by Electimuss London 2020

Electimuss site gives these featured accords:
Top: Mandarin, lemon, bergamot, blood orange
Heart: Lavender, sage, saffron
Base: Cedarwood, oak moss, ambergris

I’m unsure why I even bought this sample from Surrender To Chance. I was having a little retail therapy late at night. You know how it goes, right?

Trajan is named for a Roman emperor whose claim to fame was the expansion of Roman trade frontiers down the Silk Road. Expanding the empires access to sought after goods from Asia. So I was expecting a heavily spiced incense fragrance with all the dark trademarks of the travel. It was a surprise that citrus came from Southeast Asia, Lavender from mainland Eurasia, Sage is Mediterranean and Asia Minor, Saffron from Central Asia, Cedar is Mediterranean and Himalayas, Oakmoss the Balkans and Far East and Ambergris comes from beaches the world over but the Chinese called it Dragon Spit. After having an early interior sneer yet again I have been brought back to reality. Though these are not the notes I’d have most connected with the Silk Road there is definite relevance. Sorry Electimuss for my judgmental attitude.

Trajan Electimuss

How does it smell? The opening is like a slightly tweaked Baccarat Rouge 540. Much less headache inducing but very reminiscent. The lavender is a very nice touch and it appears magically in the second or third minute and stays for a while. As the initial fury subsides there is a fantastic Play Doh vibe underpinned by bakery or maybe cookie dough and Trajan becomes something much more interesting.

My nose is also telling me there are some flowers hiding within the construct but I can’t pin them down. You know that powdery smoothness of petals, the feeling of peony or crabapple petals without the fragrance of them.

The base smells similar to loads of other mass-tige offerings. Very nice ambery/woodsy/vanilla all smooshed together into that reliably comfortable and wearable melange.

OK, it’s 5.03pm tomorrow now. The base is BR450 and ETERNAL. It will not wash off. 

The bottle looks gorgeous.

Sound good?
Portia xx

 

Bull’s Blood 2nd Edition by Imaginary Authors 2023
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Bull’s Blood 2nd Edition by Imaginary Authors 2023

Hey there crew, I don’t know if you remember the original but I had to sell mine on. It was just too much of whatever it was and drove me a bit bonkers when I wore it. It was relentless, combative and at some points disgusting. Problem was though that I loved that initial rush of opening. Yes, it was awesome and awful at the same time. That kind of contrapuntal can wear a person down after about 16 hours. Seriously. So I was very excited to read that a reimagined, less torturous version was being released last year. So now we have Bull’s Blood 2nd Edition! On my last Surrender To Chance trawl I grabbed a decant. Let’s see how it unfolds together…

Bull’s Blood 2nd Edition by Imaginary Authors 2023

Imaginary Authors give these featured accords:
Geranium, Spanish Rose, Patchouli, Black Musk, Tobacco, Sandalwood, Bull’s Blood

First I’d like to say how impressive the retail price is on a bottle. 50ml is US$105! They also give FREE US Shipping over US$75 spend. Imaginary Authors is seriously niche perfumery and could charge well above for their stellar product. That they are so generous with their talent makes me love them even more.

From the Imaginary Authors site: “The women and men in these pages are lovers and brawlers, bullfighters and boxers, soft talkers and hard drinkers. They inhabit dusty Spanish villages and dank, dark brothels…” Some of the best and funnest ad speak I’ve ever come across. There’s more too.

How does Bull’s Blood 2nd Edition smell? Straight out of the gate (see what I did there) sharp geranium and tobacco. Less car crash and more perfume than my memory of the previous iteration. Lightly salty, brine, under the boardwalk. It’s just enough to add colour and far less metallic. Bull’s Blood 2nd Edition feels more Arabic Rose/Patch/Oud and infinitely more accessible to me as a fragrance wearer. Maybe I was overcome by the marketing last time but it could also be a swapping out of costus for other accords.

Bull's Blood 2nd Edition by Imaginary Authors 2023

Still excellent longevity and above average projection. If you found the original version unwearable but loved the idea then this new Bull’s Blood 2nd Edition will probably float your boat on much calmer seas. Yes, it’s still a big deal, over the top and a little confrontational but now it does it with a smile and a cheeky wink.

Did you smell the original? Memories? Does Bull’s Blood 2nd Edition sound like a better option?
Portia xx

Bloom Where You’re Planted
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Bloom Where You’re Planted

GAH! I’m caught with my pants down ULGers. Why Bloom Where You’re Planted? Well I was reading March’s Moving On post of Perfume Posse while having a late morning congratulations on getting so much done already today cuppa… I do it at 11.30am when I’ve been a good drone and got shitloads done. 30 minutes on the computer just doing some catching ups, reading a blog or two and commenting. It’s a perfect breather so I can go back, do 12-1pm more work with renewed vigour and then quit for lunch hour. The reason I’m giving you a rolling conmentry from my mind is that I just realized it’s my day to write on ULG and I’d completely forgotten. There’s a half written piece on the updated Bull’s Blood by Imaginary Authors but it’s not finished and I just don’t have the bandwidth today to get it done. I’m trying to get all the bank statements together for last years tax, pay all the bills, fold the washing and get ready for work tonight. Suddenly I remembered. CRAP! So, instead of a piece dedicated to a perfume you’re getting a snapshot of my life and some perfumes that have been getting a spritz lately..

Bloom Where You're Planted ice flowers

Bloom Where You’re Planted

Yeah, I know. I’m starting to be a Hallmark card. Bloom Where You’re Planted! It’s so tired but when you ignore how often you’ve heard or seen it and how condescending it can feel then I love what it says. Bloom Where You’re Planted. It’s more than “Make the best of a bad situation” or “Lemonade from lemons”. It’s like, find a way to flourish and be your best you no matter where you find yourself. Anyway it speaks to me. Maybe because it’s the way I try to be.

So what have I been spritzing?

Iris Rebel by Atelier Cologne

Cold, rooty, slightly doughy iris. It’s transiently gorgeous before becoming a quiet wash of earthy woodiness. An easy wear that feels so cool.

Midnight Fantasy by Britney Spears

Fruity floral banger with a sticky vanilla baseline. It’s like a Christmas rom-com. Awful but so good and so easy to wear.

Ombre Indigo by Olfactive Studio

A blue metallic amber that whispers salt. Nothing I own hits the same spot. If you’re looking for a cozy cuddle of an amber then look elsewhere.

Rahele by Neela Vermeire Creations

Osmanthus done in a leathery style with backup fruits and other florals that ends up a smooth glasslike leather, so shiny you can see your reflection in it..

Bloom Where You're Planted

What do you think when you hear or see Bloom Where You’re Planted? What have you been spritzing lately?
Portia xx

 

PS: Just so you know, I completed this post in under 25 minutes. Back to work. See you in a fortnight with Bull’s Blood.