Samples

Le Galion Discovery Sets: Portia
by

Le Galion Discovery Sets: Portia

Hey All. Firstly, I need to tell you that Jin and I are good mates with the guys from Le Galion. Nicolas and his partner Enno are always on our MUST SEE list while in Paris and we had a blast with them down here in Sydney for Mardi Gras a few years ago too. We know how hard they work to make Le Galion as good as it can possibly be and build upon the foundations set by……. WAIT! Why don’t we have a little look at their history?

In 1930, Prince Murat, a descendant of Joachim Murat, brother in law of Napoleon 1st, and King of Naples, founded Le Galion Perfume House.
In 1935, Prince Murat sold his company to perfumer Paul Vacher, who was already famous within the industry at that time. (Aged just 25, he worked with Marcel Guerlain and then joined Lanvin. In 1927, he created Arpège with Andre Fraysse. Following this success, he decided to launch his own perfume house.)
In 1946, when Serge Heftler-Louiche and Christian Dior wanted to develop a fragrance for their fashion house, Paul Vacher created Miss Dior and in 1963 Diorling.
In 1980 Le Galion was sold to a US company and it collapsed.
2014 and Nicolas Chabot buys the name and original formulas. He then gets a dream team of perfumers to recreate the original fragrances as nearly as possible with modern ingredients. He also starts creating new fragrances for the brand with the same perfectly curated, poised, thoughtful and beautifully blended feeling of Le Galion of old.
2020, Le Galion celebrates 90 years with the release of nine fragrances.

OK, you’re all caught up.

Le Galion Discovery Sets

This is really exciting news. The boys have created three Discovery Sets that you can now buy from the Le Galion site and have shipped to the world. The cost is €35 + P&H for a box of 8 individually packed 2ml samples.
You also get a €25 discount voucher for your next purchase of a full size 100 ml bottle. I KNOW! Right.
It looks really shmick too.

OK, so here’s a look at the three Discovery Sets. You could buy all three for around €100 + P&H and only have three doubles to share with friends.

Latest Releases

Lily of the Valley, Bourrasque, Brumes, Champs de Mai, Tilleul, Tulipe, Jasmin and Chypre

Masculines

Spécial for Gentleman, Esquive, Sang Bleu, Aesthete, Tilleul, Cologne Nocturne, Whip and Cuir

The Icons

Sortilège, Brumes, Bourrasque, La Rose, Tubéreuse, Iris, Cologne and 222

If you are after super weird assed fragrance that makes children run and adults question their existence. If you only love super beast mode bro juice or are into the deep artisan indie scene then Le Galion is probably not going to suit. These fragrances are made for people who love the best, who are wanting to smell luxuriously poised. You won’t get an “Oh My God what is that?” but you will get a raised, perfectly couture eyebrow and a knowing smile. I feel like Le Galion is for people who don’t need to showboat but want to smell wonderful to themselves and those who are close enough to notice. Niche for the truly discerning wearer of scent.

You all know how I love to have several fragrances from a brand I love. In the collection currently I have bottles of Aesthete, Cologne Nocturne, Cuir, Sang Bleu, Sovereign, Tilleul, and Whip. Most of them I bought but the guys gave me a couple too. I’m on my second, paid retail for bottle of Aesthete because I was so excited about it that I sent samples to everyone. I wanted them all to fall as madly in love with it as I have. Still on my list to purchase are 222, Brumes and Sortilege.

Have you had the pleasure of spending some sniff time with Le Galion perfumes?
Portia xx

Amyris Femme and Homme by Maison Francis Kurkdjian
by

Amyris Femme and Homme by Maison Francis Kurkdjian

Hey there ULG, Here’s a bit of a story. Back in 2015 the gorgeous Tara from A Bottled Rose sent me a package. It must have arrived with a few other packages. Maybe I was about to go off on a holiday, moving house or extremely busy but these packages all got put in a box. On top of the packages were a few small sniffed sample packs and some papers. Over the six years the box has been in various places in my office and I never went through it, thinking they were only already sniffed sample sets. Slowly, through the last year I’ve been going through my boxes and finding lost treasures. This box is one of the last to be explored and what treasure! Tara sent me a big decant of Tart’s Knicker Drawer by 4160 Tuesdays and a pair of Amyris 5ml(?) manufacturers samples! WOW! So let’s meet this 2012 duo together, eh?

Amyris Femme and Homme by Maison Francis Kurkdjian

Amyris Femme by Maison Francis Kurkdjian

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Orange, Lemon blossom
Heart: Amyris, Iris
Base: Ambergris, Vetiver

I had a decant of this way back when. Gosh! Now I know why I loved it so much. Like a cologne style but with a lighter, more relaxed approach. The opening is like a breath of fresh air. Softly citrus white floral with green accents. So elegant and utterly unisex. Amyris Femme is a full blown version of those perfectly soft whisperings of the magnolia inspired perfumes. This smells like a perfume for someone who is unafraid to change the air around them and get attention.
Not a blockbuster by any stretch of the imagination, no reflection of those 1980/90s superscents, here we have a fully fragrant expression of refined and luxurious life. I know MFK is quite an expensive brand but Amyris femme smells expensive, thoughtfully produced and beautiful to me.

Amyris Homme by Maison Francis Kurkdjian

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Virginia cedar, Brazilian tonka bean absolute, Saffron, Caribbean amyris, Florentine iris, Sicilian mandarin orange, Moroccan rosemary

So interesting! The opening for me is greenery and citrus with a resinous background. Very pretty, slightly sweet. I would never have picked it as being made for a masculine market. The underlay seems to be one of this ubiquitous modern woodsy bases but tricked up a little to give it more depth and breadth. There also seems to be a lightly salty aquatic note through the heart that is very interesting and really helps to make the fragrance shine. I am finding the whole fragrance a completely unexpected journey. The tonka keeps it sweet but not sugary or ice creamy. Considering this was created 10 years ago I’m surprised it smells so avant-garde.
Amyris Homme smells like a sweet woody L’Eau d’Issey flanker with luxe ingredients. I really like it.

Did you ever wear these Amyris perfumes?
Portia xx

Muguet Fleuri by Oriza L. Legrand
by

Muguet Fleuri by Oriza L. Legrand

Hey there ULG, I know a lot of you are caught in the depths of winter so I thought we could look forward to spring through fragrance today. Muguet Fleuri is Lily of the Valley. That glorious harbinger of spring. On May 1 the whole of Paris smells of it and little bouquets and flowering pots can be bought on street corners. It’s heavenly.

In 2014 I first visited Hugo and Franck of Oriza L Legrand at their 18 Rue Saint-Augustin, Paris store. The brand is a modern resurrection of a long lost perfume house. They took us through their collection and I purchased some soaps and a bottle of Jardin d’Armide. This was the defining moment of my love affair with the brand. The space is gorgeous and chock full of soaps, candles and fine fragrance. Since then I’ve been back to the store a few times. Their affordable product and FREE postage over €100 to Australia means I often buy their soaps and fragrances for gifts.

Did you know that the original Oriza L Legrand patented the idea of solid perfume?

Muguet Fleuri by Oriza L. Legrand 2014

Muguet Fleuri by Oriza L. Legrand

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Green leaves, grass, lily-of-the-valley
Heart : Galbanum, angelica, violet leaf, lily-of-the-valley
Base: Lily-of-the-valley, oakmoss, lily

I love the calm feeling of a Lily of the Valley fragrance, dewy and air conditioned. The Muguet Fleuri opening is cool and slightly mentholated. I get nothing grassy particularly but much more like the juice of Aloe Vera (yes, got a bit sunburned helping my BFF Kath high pressure hose her dad’s driveway). Flore by Carolina Herrera has a very similar plastic Lily of the Valley note but in Muguet Fleuri I find it subtle and refreshing, helped by galbanum and angelica to keep everything super green. None of the modern cucumber/aquatic note like in Muguet Porcelain by Hermès.

It’s excellent to me how they keep the focus so firmly on Lily of the Valley in Muguet Fleuri. The scent feels luxurious and refined while creating  a very nice silage for the first hour or so. Fairly linear througfhout its life, there are slight increments of difference and a gradual earthing of the scent towards the end.

If you often, or even sometimes, wish for a fragrance as true to cut Lily of the Valley stems from the florist as possible but still interesting and beautiful then I would send you immediately to try Muguet Fleuri. Only the first two hours are fragrant, then it hums along quietly as a soft, background wash.

Muguet Fleuri by Oriza L. Legrand

Oriza L Legrand has a €30/choose your 6 x 2ml Sample Set (delivered worldwide). My review today is from an old sample I refound in my collection, looking for something cool and summery.

Are you a Lily of the Valley fan? Do you have a favourite?
Portia xx

Omnia Profumi. Three Samples.
by

Omnia Profumi. Three Samples.

Hi gang. Omnia Profumi is not a house I’ve taken any notice of. Their perfumes have been around since 2004 but the brand seems to have  properly launched in 2009. An Italian jewellery family capitalising on their fame and expanding their business. I’m 100% up for diversification, especially if it pays off for perfumistas.

In a recent order from Australian perfume distributors and sellers LKNU I was sent three samples of the earlier fragrances in the line. Thought you might like to joinmme on initial sniffs?

Omnia Profumi. Three Samples.

Acqua Marina

Briny spray as you skip across a sunlit sea towards  your fishing destination. Clean, fresh, free and glorious.  I can feel the wind in my hair, the anticipation of catching dinner for the crew, the fun and camaraderie of spending a day on the sea with buddies.

How are salt and water not mentioned in the notes. The opening is ALL about it. I know it’s probably the ambergris but the whole fragrance has this beautiful rich feel.

The floral heart is only a secondary player on me. It hardly registers with my nose. Maybe it is there to give lift and life rather than be the focus. I bloody love this, so beautiful.

Peridoto

This citrus opens weirdly on me. I’m not sure if it’s the perfume or me. Something a bit wonky.

After about 2 minutes Perdito settles into a pretty citrus underpinned by lightly salted vanilla woods. Think Guerlain Aqua Allegoria style and heft.

This is not my favourite.

Platino

WOW! The very first waft of Platino takes me back to the caramel coconut slice my Mum made for us. It’s uncanny. I could be anywhere school age, come home and sit at the kitchen bench, there would miraculously appear a glass or milk or juice and a snack of some kind. Usually Mum, my sister and I would have a chat about the day and give a rundown of our homework needs. In summer it would then be swim time before hitting the books before dinner. Great memories.

The heart is a floral vanilla and dry down soft focus vanilla and some smoke.

Does any one, or more, of these sound like you’d wear it?
Portia xx

Portia’s 2020 Noted Things
by

Portia’s 2020 Noted Things

Hey Crew, 2020 has been so unexpected. Here in Australia it started with bushfires, then we got floods. The world got C19 and we watched the USA plunge into anarchy. Brexit has been exactly the shit show that any person with an ounce of rationale could see coming. While all this was going on my business collapsed completely, leaving myself and the five drag queens who work for Turbo Trivia jobless for months. Many people whose lives were previously affluent, the world over, find themselves in dire straits and it’s terrifying to watch and live.

I’m one of the seriously lucky few. Jin continued working through the whole crisis, though only about 2/3 of his regular income. He has been incredibly generous with his money, gave me a weekly stipend and paid for all our groceries. The Australian government gave me a Job Keeper handout that kept me paying my half of the major bills. Quite a turnaround from being the major breadwinner in the house and my ego took a small battering.

For any of you doing it really hard in these times my heart goes out to you and wish you a speedy financial recovery in 2021.

Portia’s 2020 Noted Things

There were the usual squizillion launches this year and I was fortunate enough to get to smell quite a few of them. Libertine Parfumerie in Sydney is Australia’s largest niche distributor and they have kept me in the loop. PHEW! Here are a few fragrant things that I really loved.

Amouage Meander comes in a celadon green bottle and had me sold before I even smelled it. Thankfully it is as beautiful as it looks. Dark, resinous iris with interesting floral highlights. I’ll grab a bottle when I’m more flush.

Amouage Interlude Black Iris is mainly powdery iris and amber with a very generous nod to the original but nowhere near as iconic, large or as resinous. I was given a Press Bottle and am loving it.

Etat Libre d’Orange Spice Must Flow is a take on the rose/oud/incense trope. HUGE! For most perfumistas it will be an unnecessary addition to their wardrobe because it’s not a very new story. I really like it though and it smells different in village than up close. Worth a sniff.

Le Lion de CHANEL was the biggest hype train here in Sydney of the year. A Shalimar style offering with extra labdanum rich amber in the whole fragrance. Many people find it leather or incense heavy too. A different ride for every wearer. To make it less of an investment I hosted a split.

Maison Crivelli Fleur Diamantine from 2018 made it’s way to my nose. WOW! One of the most beautiful fragrances I’ve ever smelled. Sparkling white floral with rich warmth and surprising minty undertones. It’s a freaking knockout and very high son my full bottle wish list.

Miller et Bertaux Pimiento is the first cut of a capsicum/bell pepper on a summer day. This oddball design duo always manages to create beautiful, weird surprises. The base is a little generic but the opening and heart are fabulous. Libertine gave me a Press Bottle of this beauty too.

Trussardi Behind The Curtain Piazza Alla Scala is a powdery leather. Beautiful but not stunningly original. The racing green bottle with the greyhound cap had me at hello. Thankfully it smells amazing and I found it on an Australian discounters for an amazing price.

So what were the things that grabbed your attention in 2020?
Portia xx