thank you so much for your support. I appreciate it a lot. I have prepared the first bunch of perfume empties from 2024 for you. You know I do not take perfume purchases lightly and I am committed to use up my beloved fragrance bottles. If I seriously do not like a scent, I either return it or re-sell it as soon as possible. The most of my perfumes I am using and enjoying my life with them. Fragrance makes makes me feel alive!
Here, on my blog and YouTube channel, you can explore the journey with me. If you want to see Etat Libre d’Orange, Lancôme, Hermes, Dior and Ormonde Jayne and much more, keep on watching …
Sunset Hour by Goldfield & Banks Australia Aromatic Fruity Honorine Blanc
Sunset Hour is Goldfield & Banks’ best seller hence I blind-bought a 50ml bottle. We all know the portion of dopamine it gives us to open a brand-new bottle of perfume. Surprisingly, it was not instant love. It took me time to pinpoint what is this fragrance all about.
First of all, Sunset Hour is a Parfum concentration, it carries approximately 20% of botanicals and essences. In this respect, one would expect a bold fragrance, lasting and projecting massively. But it is not like that! It lasts about four hours and stays close to the skin pretty much the entire time.
Secondly, there are two aspects to it. It opens beachy-like, tropical, and youthful. Pear, mandarin, raspberry and desert peach Quandong – typical for the Southern Hemisphere. I see an orange lollipop that kids get as a treat after visiting a doctor. Or, fruity hair and body products that teenagers love.
Then it sinks into something creamier, woodier, and comfortable on the skin. The heart carries jasmine absolute, ginger, mango, coconut cream, pink pepper, sandalwood and cashmere. Although it has all these exquisite materials, milkiness and delicacy, it is still a fruity perfume.
Long story short, it is a challenge to create a masterpiece when you have a lot of tropical fruits in hand. Sunset Hour smells like a mixture of Marc Jacobs daisies, Miami Glow by J Lo and Cassily by PDM. Designer, celebrity and niche. I like it but it is not a love for me. When it comes to smooth tropical perfumes, I need more flowers thrown in. Narciso Ambree is a perfect example of a creamy beachy floral in my opinion. Sunset Hour is very much on the fruity side which does not add much class.
White Sandalwood by Goldfield & Banks Australia Woody Spicy Francois Merle-Baudoin
Sandalwood is a kind of oriental wood so typical in perfumery – milky, and reliable to boost any note profile. In this unisex fragrance White Sandalwood, Australian sandalwood is harsher and amplified with spicy notes like saffron and black pepper. The scent impression is dry, you do picture Aussie Outback with all its native beauty.
Although White Sandalwood gets mixed reviews online, I am personally impressed. Sandalwood is in general one of the woodsy mossy notes that I can get on board. I put it out there, I have not smelled anything like this sandalwood. I feel the woods, spices and dryness with a beachy touch.
For those who have not been to Australia, this perfume smells like when you enter a Finnish sauna. There are no aroma addictives in the air, just wooden seats and dry heat. I enjoy a traditional Finnish sauna, especially with close friends and loved ones. You guessed well. I also enjoy White Sandalwood, I use it as my bedtime scent and relish the comfort that it brings me.
Southern Bloom by Goldfield & Banks Floral Francois Merle-Baudoin
Goldfield & Banks Australia is a new brand for me. Its founder Dimitri Weber is from Europe, currently located in Australia. He combines French perfumery expertise with Australian natural resources and endemic Botanics. Down under is notoriously known for having only two seasons: summer and winter. Southern Bloom is here to remind us that there actually is spring in Australia. The scent focuses on Brown Boronia which is blooming in spring and is hard to attain.
Southern Bloom is a floral scent. The juice has a gorgeous colour – dark purple – and the opening is somewhat mysterious. Boronia is accompanied by tart mandarine orange, creamy coconut, cold iris, warm jasmine and exotic ylang-ylang. Therefore, do not be surprised to find almost anything within the fragrance structure. Tartness, freshness, creaminess, soapiness and earthiness and all in the right doses.
The opening is wild but when the scent settles it becomes much clearer. A bar soap! The fragrance gets its cold soapy character from the coconut note and iris. In that sense, it is slightly reminiscent of Bubble Bath by Martin Margiela Replica Line. Nonetheless, Southern Bloom’s soapy-smelling coconut is accompanied by a bunch of wildflowers; therefore, is more on the feminine side in comparison to Bubble Bath which is more unisex.
If you are a fragrance newbie you are not going to like it as much. It is an unusual smell. There are days when I am blown away by its aldehydic character and its soft feminine touches. It can be a signature scent if your personality has an edge. On other days I think it is just okay. However, a certain thing is the more I wear it the more I likeit. I would actually welcome a full-size bottle in my collection to explore the scent even more. Right now I have a sample. I have heard a rumour that samples smell better than full-size things. This info has been particularly brought up in the reference to Goldfield & Banks perfumes, just saying. Maybe a different batch?
alexaperfumes 