Portia’s Week July 2016: Story + Photo Essay

July 22, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 41 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey there APJ,

This week has been wonderful. Jin had 5 days off and we spent it happily hanging out, watching movies, cooking, BAR B Qing, eating, socialising, running around chasing Pokemon and in between that I worked, saw mates, shopped and read books. Seriously there aren’t too many weeks that are so full yet so utterly enjoyable. It’s a surprise that even after being with someone for years you can still have fun like kids and can still enjoy each others company as much as the first months when everything was new.

Portia’s Week July 2016: Story + Photo Essay

So this week started out as a Pokemon Go week. Here I am in the game in my first hour.

My BFF Kath, her sister, nieces and Jin looking super cute. During lunch we invite the nieces to come out to the Parramatta Winterlight Fair. They jumped at the chance.

There was even an Ice Skating Rink. You can see niece 1 and I are there but behind us are Jin & niece 2 having their first ever Ice Skating experience so they needed to use the penguins to help them stay upright. Embarrassingly I was the only one to fall.

Kath, Jin & the nieces on the Ferris Wheel. The girls were a complete joy to hang with. We lost track of time and didn’t get them home till nearly midnight. OOOOPS!

Saturday recuperating with the story of Daphne du Maurier’s family, a rollicking tale that I couldn’t put down.

Sunday morning and BFF Kath & I had our pedicures done, then Jin joined us for Yum Cha (Dim Sum).

Then, into a Lolita Lempicka Bubble Bath. What a lovely way to unwind, surrounded by violet sugared liquorice bubbles.

Over the remnants of Lolita Lempicka I heavily spritzed the Leather Angel. All the Angel fizz and a hit of smoky leather, a perfect drag queen scent.

We spent Monday getting haircuts and then Pokemon Hunting. Jin cooked surprise Spicy Pork Bar B Q and we watched Zootopia that night. Then I wrote the Trivia Q&A. Monday was fun.

LUSH Rose Jam Shower Gel makes fabulous Bubble Bath and this week I had three baths with it. My fragrances over the top were Mohur by Neela Vermeire Creations, Diabolo Rose by Parfums de Rosine and Guerlain L’Heure Bleu. All three were subtly changed and extra roses added through the remnants of Rose Jam.

It was Scott’s Birthday on Wednesday so we met Kerri for some CHANEL sniffing and afternoon tea. We all had single serve cakes, mine was a double chocolate custard filled profiterole. We gave Scott Harrods and Fortnum & Mason teas, a DVD and a DJs Gift Card.

Scott grabbed a 200ml CHANEL Coromandel from our favourite CHANEL SA Esther at David Jones Sydney City Store. Ask for her, she is a fount of knowledge and we love talking to her about the CHANEL fragrance range. We are particularly interested in the big change of the exclusives line later in the year from EdT to EdP. Sadly she was out of CHANEL No 22 200ml so I went down the road to the CHANEL boutique and bought mine there.

Wednesday night Jin & I did more Pokemon Hunting (I haven’t walked this much since our last holiday), had some Vietnamese Pork Noodle Soup, did some evening grocery shopping and came home to watch Kung Fu Panda 3, which we really enjoyed.

Not so long ago they had this Bandit Silkening Shower Gel at the discounters for a song, I stocked up because it smells amazing, makes great bubbles and leaves my skin fresh and soft.

Over the remnants of Bandit I spritzed Exultat by Maria Candida Gentile. Incense and warmer, woodsy resins that is only mildly liturgical. Really easy to wear incense that lasts well and smells amazing.

Here I am tonight hosting Trivia (as a man!) to a full house smelling gorgeously of incense, resins and leather.

My mate Natalie from the now defunct Another Perfume Blog took me walking through the wilds of Mosman today to a fabulous restaurant, Burnt Orange, with a view to die for, both outside & in. Food was delicious and staff friendly.

Sydney put on a perfect winter day and I chose the lavender, herbal, resinous warmth of CHANEL Boy to accompany me.

Thanks for coming along for snapshots of my week. These are just the bits I remembered to photograph but I couldn’t have fit more photos anyway.

What fragrances or bath products did you use this week? Do anything interesting?
Portia xxx

Nocturne GIVEAWAY WINNERS

July 22, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 3 Comments

Post by Portia

Hiya APJ,

Woo Hoo! A piece of Ainslie’s very own magical fragrant history. Lucky winners, I am yet to smell it too.
Portia xxx

Nocturne GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Nocturne Vial 2

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 3 winners who will receive:
1 x Carded Manufacturers Sample of Nocturne
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Thursday 21st July 2016 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org

Steve

Azar

Koyel

The winners will have till Sunday 24th July 2016 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.

Hedonist GIVEAWAY WINNERS

July 22, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 1 Comment

Post by Portia

Heya crew,

Another excellent giveaway thanks to Azar. we are so lucky to have her.

Let’s see who won,

Portia xxx

Hedonist GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Fragrantica

Fragrantica lists these featured accords:
Top: Rum CO2, bergamot, peach
Heart: Jasmine absolute, orange flower absolute, osmanthus absolute, tobacco
Base: Vetiver, cedar wood, vanilla

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 2 winners who will receive:
1 x .7ml decant of Viktoria Minya’s Hedonist
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Thursday 21st July 2016 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org

Nemo

Charlene Cully

Rose Jam Shower Gel by LUSH

July 21, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

Post by Portia

Hi there APJ Bathers,

Yes, you’re reading it right. That ultra cool, Limited Edition, shower gel that you just missed out on because they usually sell out in SECONDS is back. Be quick.

Rose Jam Shower Gel by LUSH

LUSH

LUSH says: Inspired by our love for roses and the benefits of nourishing Argan Oil, this shower gel is as decadent as it gets! Skin brightening Goji Berry Juice and Sicilian Lemon give your skin a boost, while Rose Oil and Rose Absolute leave it soothed, softened and beautifully fragranced. A luxuroius way to start each day.

Sure, the blurb is nice but I wait till the afternoon to bathe because I get ready for work, which usually happens at night. One of the ways I really love to pamper myself is by drawing a bath. Now what better way to laze away the better part of an hour than laying in the warmth (or cool in summer) of a glamorously scented bubble bath? NONE! I tell you truly that it is the most relaxing, turn off the world, indulgent me time that I have.

Portia in the bath

Rose Jam Shower Gel makes a wonderful bubble bath. It foams well, smells great and leaves me with a soft skin tinged with the fragrance of a sweet garden rose in full bloom that then creates the perfect base for some of my favourite rose scents. Mohur by Neela Vermeire Creations, Rosa sur Reuse by SOIVOHLE, Ballets Rouges by Olympic Orchids, Diabolo Rose by Parfums de Rosine, Midnight Oud by JHaG and Agent Provocateur to name just a few of my faves, there are oodles more.

I bought my Rose Jam bottle in the sale at the end of the last time it was in. The last bottle too because I thought I should get an extra and by the time I went back in the next day to get another they were sold out. Anyway, I bought it and tried it and thought it was awful. So it sat here for ages unloved. Not so long ago as I was organising the frag room I stumbled across it again and have been using it a couple of times a week since. The sweet jammy rose is so much like putting your nose right up to a garden rose that is in full bloom, so simple but also so incredibly nuanced.

LUSH Australia has $18.50/250g

Do yourself a favour. Go grab it.
Portia xx

Aeon 001 Eau de Parfum

July 20, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 6 Comments

Post by Erica Golding

Hello to my fragranced kindred spirits!

Today I’m dwelling on the lure of limited edition, small batch perfumes. Perfume oil companies such as Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, Nocturne Alchemy/VApothecary, and Haus of Gloi have enjoyed great success with strictly limited releases of their little vials of perfume. Oil collectors like myself love the concept, jumping at blind buys when the notes sound promising, and swapping and selling “The Precious” in our communities. (Yes, you need to read that in Gollum’s voice.)

Limited offerings have also popped up in the world of alcohol-based luxury perfumery, with here-today gone-tomorrow beauties such as Bogue Cologne Reloaded, L’artisan Fleur d’Oranger 2005 (and 2006), Neela Vermeire Creations Mohur Extrait, and MPG Ambre Precieux Ultime.

Sometimes the lure of the note list (and perhaps a sexy bottle to boot) makes a scent so intriguing, so irresistible that sampling first is a risk of missing out on a full bottle. What if it sells out before you’ve even had a chance to sniff? Oh, the horror. Factor in a coupon code that falls from the heavens, and that’s how I ended up with a full bottle of the mysterious vetiver masterpiece:

Aeon 001 Eau de Parfum

LuckyScent

Aeon 001 is the first release from Aeon Perfumes. Limited to 333 bottles worldwide, the nose behind the composition will be announced only once sold out. That being said, word on the street is that the perfumer is none other than the mastermind of Bogue Profumo, Antonio Gardoni. (At the time of writing, there were only 11 bottles left at Luckyscent and then I believe they will be gone forever; First in Fragrance is sold out.)

Aeon 001 opens with a splash of fresh bright citronella, immediately underscored by the smoky sun-warmed hay impression of high quality vetiver. Simultaneously intense and delicate, the aroma is powerful yet lifted, confident yet calm. It has a feral, animalic quality but also evokes a refinement and grace of days gone by. The soft tickle of lush white blossoms teases at the edges, adding a waft of complexity and classic allure. Woody resins (I’m guessing labdanum and frankincense) gently and subtly anchor the aroma. As the fragrance settles and melds with my chemistry, the smokiness thins a bit and the blossoms mingle more prominently in the top with herbal bergamot. The vibrancy of this perfume is just so beautifully unexpected. I was bracing myself for a dark bitter vetiver, but this beauty is lifted, energized, and infused with life!

I’ve fallen hard for this legendary stunner and I have zero regrets. Phew! I’m really picky with vetiver so this was quite a plunge.

Further reading: Colognoisseur and Kafkaesque
LuckyScent has $240/65ml + Samples

How do you feel about limited edition perfumes? Have you scored one that you can’t imagine living without? What’s your favorite rare fragrance?

Scented hugs,
Erica

Nocturne by Ainslie Walker 2016

July 19, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 13 Comments

Post by Ainslie Walker

Hi APJ,

A couple of weeks ago we talked Nocturne: my ambient fragrance designed for the Alexi Freeman fashion show at MONA on Tasmania. Today in want to let a few of you try it for free.

See below,

Ainslie Walker

Nocturne. Ainslie Walker for Alexi Freeman

APJ READERS OFFER: contact Ainslie Walker to order sampler in card, including postage for $20

Nocturne limited edition candle from Ainslie Walker or Alexi Freeman’s Studio in Fitzroy, Melbourne.

Limited edition Nocturne parfum via emailing ainslie@ainsliewalker.com

Nocturne GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 3 winners who will receive:
1 x Carded Manufacturers Sample of Nocturne
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

Open to everyone worldwide who follows AustralianPerfumeJunkies via eMail, WordPress, Bloglovin or RSS. Please leave how you follow in the comments to be eligible. I must be able to check that you follow so if you have an email address on your gravatar that’s different to your follow address then please email me so I know. Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged.

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please leave a comment on why you’d like to try Nocturne, follow the Ainslie Walker page on Instagram and/or like my Ainslie Walker page on FaceBook

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 21st July 2016 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Sunday 24th July 2016 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.

Hedonist by Viktoria Minya 2013

July 18, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 60 Comments

Post by Azar

Hedonist by Viktoria Minya – 2013 – The Power of the Peach III + a Give-away

Hello Perfume Pals,

Have you ever coveted a perfume for years, made short work of several carded samples but couldn’t quite bring yourself to purchase a full bottle? Did you finally give in to temptation only to abandon your pricy love, leaving her to gather dust on the dressing table? It is sad but true that for many of us, in this realm of desire, obsession fades quickly with acquisition and the full bottle of our dreams will, sooner or later, be tucked back into its original box to join an ever growing collection of ignored and forgotten fragrances. I don’t know about you, but it seems I’m always craving a new scent experience, no matter that I haven’t completely explored what I already own.

A perfect example of my problem with acquisition and abandonment is my recent purchase of the original Hedonist by Viktoria Minya.

Hedonist by Viktoria Minya 2013

The Power of the Peach III

Fragrantica

Fragrantica lists these featured accords:
Top: Rum CO2, bergamot, peach
Heart: Jasmine absolute, orange flower absolute, osmanthus absolute, tobacco
Base: Vetiver, cedar wood, vanilla

Viktoria Minya’s Hedonist made a big splash when introduced in 2013 and no wonder! The fragrance is the quintessential peach – warm, fuzzy, decadent, juicy, oozing with nectar and what I perceive to be honey. It smells, at once, edible, elegant and sexual with a hot, ripe, buttery opening, a cool, citric, floral heart and an earthy, woody dry down. The addition of lime keeps this big, boozy fruit from spoiling. The osmanthus and vetiver ground the white florals and the lavish use of absolutes creates an expensive smelling, rich and vibrant scent trail that lasts for hours on skin and clothing. This fragrance is so long-lived that, when I drained my first group of samples, I simply added perfumers alcohol to the empties and was able to eek out a recognizable ghost of Hedonist from the thin film of EdP left on the inside of the vials.

Pixabay

So why is my beautiful cut glass bottle of this perfume (complete with sparking crystals sloshing in the jus) nearly as full as it was the day it arrived on my doorstep? I find myself wondering if my craving for novel olfactory experiences eclipses the beauties I already own and if the unknown (or unattainable) is more intriguing and desirable to me than the familiar.

Further reading: Perfume Shrine and Candy Perfume Boy
LuckyScent has $200/45ml
Victoria Minya has €145/45ml with FREE Sample Kit

We have a GIVEAWAY below!

Azar xx

Hedonist GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 2 winners who will receive:
1 x .7ml decant of Viktoria Minya’s Hedonist
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please describe which beautiful full bottle are you ignoring or have you tried the Viktoria Minya Hedonist and what did you think?

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 21st July 2016 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winner will be chosen by random.org
The winner will have till Sunday 24th July 2016 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.

Bringing back the 80’s! Xia Xiang + JCC No2

July 17, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 17 Comments

Post by Robert Herrmann

Hey Frag Friends, Robert H. here, writing from my small island home in the Pacific Northwest…

Today it’s All about the 80’s!

Got these little honeys in a mixed auction lot awhile back and they’ve been sitting on my desk since then. So today when I decided to clean my desk (again) I decided to give them a try!

um……WOW! Just WOW! Shall we talk about absolutely classic late 80’s Chypres? Yes, let’s!

Xia Xiang by Charles Of The Ritz for Revlon (1987) (L)
JCC No2 by Maurice Roucel for Castelbajac (1987) (R)

JCC No2 by Maurice Roucel for Castelbajac 1987

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Aldehydes, lemon, bergamot, fruity notes, galbanum, gardenia
Heart: Carnation, rose, jasmine, lily of the valley, iris, ylang-ylang, sandalwood
Base: Amber, castoreum, labdanum, leather, moss, patchouli, olibanum

One spritz from this bottle and my head was REELING from castoreum, oakmoss and galbanum overload! I had to sit down, the skank was so overwhelming. And gorgeous.

That skank only stays for about 10 minutes then fades into the background and stays there, throwing out tendrils of raunchy beaver scent to mix with the heart and drydown. Phew.

Then leather, labdanum, patch and flowers appear, beautifully blended, and absolutely “old school”!

Rose, ylang, carnation, iris…. it’s all there in typical 80’s fashion, when the hair was BIG, the shoulder pads were BIGGER, and the perfume was potent!

Xia Xiang by Revlon 1987

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, Amalfi lemon, tangerine
Heart: Jasmine, African orange flower, gardenia, ylang-ylang, rose, lily-of-the-valley
Base: Sandalwood, patchouli, oak moss, tonka bean, vanille, peach, plum, chamomile

Xia Xiang (pronounced “see-AH see-AHNG”) by Revlon was launched in 1987.

No less potent, but a bit “softer”. No blast of animalic, but LOTS of oakmoss, and again every flower you can think of with some fruit accords thrown in because why not, right? Powder, sandalwood, patch, tonka, vanilla, it’s all there.

Made by Charles Of The Ritz, my first thought was that this would be a big-hot-floral-mess, but no. It all comes together to produce a perfect harmony of flowers and notes that proves the point that less is NOT always more!

Bring back the 80’s!!!
Actually, no. Don’t. Just the pre-IFRA perfume!

Do you have a favorite 80’s scent that you’ve rediscovered?

Mure et Musc GIVEAWAY WINNER

July 17, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Post by Portia

Hey crew,

Thanks for getting involved.
Let’s see who won.
Portia xxx

Mure et Musc GIVEAWAY WINNER

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x 15ml manufacturers samples of Mure et Musc
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Saturday 16th July 2016 10pm Australian EST
Winner was chosen by random.org

rickyrebarco

The winner will have till Wednesday 20th July 2016 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.

Vetiver Des Sables by Montale 2004

July 16, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 12 Comments

Post by Portia

Hi there Fumies,

Mondale gets some love from perfumistas but they also get a whole bunch of snark. Mainly due to their seemingly endless range, the oh-so-Montale-synth-oudh and their bro-woods. I get it, an enormous range with only the merest difference between them and so many having the half life of uranium, they are an easy target. What sometimes gets lost in the sneer is that they also do some really yum frags. I own a few bottles Dew Musk, Sandflowers and Sweet Oriental Dream. There are a couple on my list too Red Vetyver and Intense Pepper. Today I found this sample in my box and thought it might be fun to give it a whirl, you’ll be getting a first impression ride with me

Vetiver Des Sables by Montale 2004

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Vetiver, mahogany, sea notes, Indian spices

Salty woods. An aquatic woodsy summertime dream. Vetiver Des Sables is a spicy and salted version of the 1990s aquatic. A grown up version that leans heavily on the buff middle management lunchtime gym locker room. The opening is so refreshing and seaside reminiscent, even having that weird greasy petrol and electrical sparks vibe from the outboard motors. I can see why this has been soundly panned because it is such a synthetic feeling blend but it isn’t bad to me.

Respritzing over the top I find the vetiver (grassy, dry reeds, everlasting daisy, salty woodsiness) is much more pronounced. It has some smoky qualities and the spices make a better showing (maybe cinnamon, ground black pepper, cardamom and/or paprika) giving Vetiver Des Sables more nuance and a warmth not experienced on the first spritz, it’s cool and fiery which is a wonderful combination. I also detect some orange zest and dark rum through the heart, but I could be fantasising.

Donated by my BFF Kath

I’d like to smell how this is on a woman. I think it could be very Catherine Hepburn on the right person. It’s certainly interesting and better than I expected after reading some fairly unimpressed reviews. If you already hate Montale fragrances Vetiver Des Sables will probably not change your mind but if you are on the fence or like their work then you’ll find this one of their more easy wear fragrances, it’s aimed at the men and I can easily place it on almost any guy who likes to smell like the modern image of manliness.

Once the open and heart have calmed down Vetiver Des Sables becomes a fairly linear cool vetiver/woods scent, imagine how just picked up from the beach at night driftwood would smell if you could amp it up 10,000x. That’s basically it. Or, better yet, here’s a pic of my mate Michael, he looks EXACTLY how Vetiver Des Sables smells in dry down. Enjoy!

My mate Michael looking like some hot driftwood

Further reading: Scent For Thought and Scent Critic
First In Fragrance has €94/100ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $4/ml

Do you do Montale? Which ones have caught your fancy?
Portia xx