Fed Up With Fragrance? Perfumed Apathy!

February 28, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 30 Comments

Val the Cookie Queen

Hello APJ Readers!

The very fact that you are reading this already shows that you are at least one step beyond a normal person. Normal as in spritz and go and pay no attention at all to what you are wearing. I sometimes wish I could be like that, but there is not turning back is there? It is a very real part of the perfume junkie obsessive compulsive disorder, well mine at least. Analysing fragrances can be so exhausting.

Apathy set in a couple of months ago. I´m like, so bored with all this perfume stuff. I have some beautiful perfumes, but just haven´t been feeling the groove. However that most certainly does not mean I have wanted to stop wearing fragrance. That is a point I have not yet reached! I don´t feel properly dressed without perfume and probably never will, it brings great joy.

Fed Up With Fragrance? Perfumed Apathy!

MY CURRENT GRAB AND GO, NO ANALYSING OR DISSECTING NECESSARY FAVES

Fragrantica

CHANEL N°5 Parfum

After years of not having renewed my bottle of this I bought one at the end of last year. Am now half way through it. Sensual, rich and exquisite. Not to be confused with any other version of N°5. This is not all about aldehydes, we are talking vetiver, sandalwood, vanilla, amber …….. Divine. Try it if you haven´t.

Fragrantica

CHANEL Boy EdP

Definitely a rare spray and go for me. Heliotrope, vanilla and musk. Hints of lavender and fruits. Lovely.

Fragrantica

Vero Profumo Kiki Extrait

So familiar with Kiki that it melts into my skin and just becomes a part of me. Luscious lavender, caramelised musks, patchouli, ambergris. Stunning.

Fragrantica

Hermes Osmanthe Yunnan

Came to this beauty extremely late. I only have a 15ml travel bottle and will be purchasing a full bottle. Have only worn it in the winter months. Smoked tea, apricot, bright, juicy, and yet resting on a bed of suede. A vibe of elegance and simplicity. Gorgeous.

Donated Val XX

But fear not! I am off to the Esxence in a month. Not only is NAJA, the new Vero Profumo ready for launch, but rumour has it I will be picking Portia up from the airport too. Coma sniffing, bring it on.

What do you wear when you´re kind of fed up with it all?

Bussis
CQ

Essences Insensees Rose De Mai by Fabrice Pellegrin for Diptyque 2016

February 27, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 11 Comments

Portia

Hey there Rose lovers,

There’s been a LOT of rose chatter on the blogs for February is now the month of roses. Chemist In A Bottle, Undina’s Looking Glass and others are doing roses, roses, roses. The guys at LuckyScent do samples and this rose fragrance arrived recently so I thought I could do a one wear share of how it was. That’s right, the whole 0.7ml decanted and spritzed in one go.

Essences Insensees Rose De Mai by Diptyque 2016

Essences Insensees Rose De Mai by Fabrice Pellegrin

Parfumo

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Rose essence, Rosa centifolia absolute, Rose oil, Red fruits, Honey

HA! Roses. Burying your head in a sweet, fruity garden rose. If roses straight up are your thing then this would be a great addition to your collection.

You know the feeling in the back of your throat when you have been sucking honey straight off your spoon? Add that to a slightly dry, tea-ish, sweet rose. The berries aren’t fresh, they’re glacé and sticky. The honey comes front and centre through the heart and it creates an animalic overlay that is quite wild. Happily ferocious honey drizzled roses. Bloody good stuff. The price is super good too.

I can imagine this glorious rose/honey combo becoming a signature scent and for those that have one display bottle at a time this is so fabulous. I bet it feels amazing in your hand too.

Wikipedia

From LuckyScent: For 2016, Fabrice Pellegrin chose perhaps Grasse’s most iconic flower, the soft, sensual and spirited Rose de Mai. And what an interpretation it is: Essences Insensees seems to positively sweep us into the springtime meadows of southeastern France, to sunstruck bucolic countrysides where men and women in straw hats weave through fields awash in stunning pink flowers, selecting the lushest and freshest among them for the honor of undergoing the intricate steam distillation that will help them live forever.

WikiCommons

Further reading: Colognoisseur
LuckyScent has $180/120ml & Samples

I know some of you love your roses. Are you wearing them for rose month? Which ones?
Portia xx

Scent Diary: 20.2 – 26.2.17

February 26, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 23 Comments

Portia

Heya APJ,

This week has gone by in a blur. In between all the fun times I’m currently trying to get all the Trivia Q&A done for the 4 weeks we’re away and APJ posts up and ready too. Things might vibe a bit light on for this holiday, I seem to be running out of time and Jin’s buddy, all the way from South Korea, comes to stay with us on Monday morning for the week before we fly out.

Yes, busy, busy, busy. Happily so though.

Scent Diary: 20.2 – 26.2.17

Monday 20:

Wearing my Nina by Nina Ricci. Sparkling sweetly like our cool summer morning. Did a whole bunch of reorganising and engaging with my Turbo Trivia crew today. We are going to try a few new things in 2017. Fingers crossed for happy outcomes. As the business expands we want to keep it fun and flexible. A few big ticket bills paid today too.

I also went on a perfume spending spree. Bloody hell, sometimes the devil takes control and I go crazy. Bought Amouage Opus I, Burberry Brit woman parfum & EdP, a couple of vintage Miss Dior parfum atomisers and a Serge Lutens Bas de Soie that’s been on my list for ages.

We had dinner with a girlfriend, Korean BarBQ, came home and watched the second Divergent film, Insurgent. The casting for these films is wonderful: Kate Winslet, Ashley Judd, Jai Courtney, Miles Teller. Jin finds Theo james unwatchable but I really believed him in the part. My problem is with the lead, Shailene Woodley, she is supposed to be playing this waifish, shapeless, conflicted, young girl and she acts and looks like your favourite wealthy, private school bred aunty at a wedding. The film is gorgeous though and has some excellent Sci-Fi tricks and ideas.

Tuesday 21:

Woke up early and took the dogs for a wee, then went back to bed till 10.30am. Jin & I did some grocery shopping in the morning, came home and Jin cooked French Toast and Bacon. O M G he is the best. It was delicious, I’m spoiled.

We watched the third Divergent film Allegiant. Jeff Daniels, Octavia Spencer and Naomi Watts join the cast, it’s bloody ripper.

Bath time and I used up the last of my Korres Christmas Set from Vera. The Korres Basil & Lemon Shower Gel has left my skin feeling soft and smelling fresh. I’m going to wear Niki de Saint Phalle to follow the green scent trail and also because she is a designer. Perfect choice.

Tonight I came home from work and decanted my .7ml Bass Solo by The Vagabond Prince vial into a spritz and spritzed the whole lot on at once. If incense and woods are your thing then this is a Must-Try. Review coming.

Wednesday 22:

Morning. Beautiful sleep in this morning. HOT day. Lolita Lempicka original EdP. So sweet and fizzy. Love it.

Today in the mail I received vintage Metal EdT by Paco Rabanne and a Guerlain Samsara PdT in Meteorites bottle. Also the Australian Agency de Parfum new releases for Winter 2017 with some new Penhaligon’s, Floris, Atelier Cologne and Lalique, EXCELLENT! Also a bunch of splits that I’ve bought. Good day in the mailbox.

Jin & I had to return the Divergent DVDs so we popped over to West Ryde and there is a stellar Korean restaurant that feels like you’re in a small town South Korean shop. So real. Jin adores it. He’s a really simple guy, it’s easy to make him happy.

Jin went to work this afternoon and I lay down for a snooze. When I woke it was 8.30pm and the room was dark. So basically I wasted a whole day that should have been spent getting posts ready for APJ so there’s some content while I’m away in March. GRRRRR. I’ll walk and feed the dogs then get some action stations ready and work through the night.

Tonight I tried the Metal by Paco Rabanne. The spray mechanism is dodgy but I got some on my skin and it is amazing. A fabulous green chypre. Review coming.

Thursday 23:

Nothing this morning. Hardly slept last night, little bit zombie.

Ballets Rouges by Olympic Orchids to fit with Lucasz at Chemist In A Bottle‘s rose month. Deep, dark, swampy roses with a sunrise in the heart that shimmers and sparkles before dark descends again. Gothic roses.

Olympic Orchids

Went to work and it was a little quiet at KPT. We still had a great time. Here’s one of my fave teams, the Mulligans.

Not quite sure what’s wrong with me but I’m trying to work tonight and my head is not co-operating. Chucking it in tonight and going to get some shut eye. Spritzing Equistrius by Parfum d’Empire before bed.

Friday 24:

Jin & I took a mate, that I’ve had since around 19 years old, and his partner to brunch. He’s turning 50 while we are away so we did a Yum Cha in a restaurant that Jin has long wanted to try. Best fun. They are interesting, well travelled, fun guys who are great conversationalists. So much to talk about because we hardly see each other anymore. Busy lives. It’s nice to relax into the ease of long friendships. Can’t help thinking how lucky my life has been friendwise, and so grateful that I still see most of the dear ones.

I have continued with Equistrius by Parfum d’Empire all day and night. It’s bloody fabulous in the Sydney heat. The violet and iris are cool and very classy on open.

Tonight Jin & I are trying a pub down the road that I’ve been interested in going to for years. Well, we were going to that pub but the bistro is under construction. We went around the corner to another pub and had the most delicious and melt in your mouth steaks ever. MMMMM. We walked down and back, then walked the dogs when we got home. I feel ultra healthy.

Over the last couple of weeks jin & I have been watching a show called Please Like Me. It’s an Aussie series about a gay guy and his outrageously dysfunctional family. It’s REALLY GOOD. Just finished watching the last of the third season and I’m going to miss the characters, they’ve become my friends.

Fragrantica

Bedtime has me spritzing Maison Francis Kurkdjian Cologne Pour Le Soir. Feral and sweet, like an outdoor urinal in India coming to you on the breeze from about 100m away. The sweet rancid smell of decomposing urine, dusty roads, transportation, humanity and livestock. Why does this smell so good?

Saturday 25:

We had some rain overnight and the world is slightly cooler. I love to walk the dogs through cool drizzle and we came across so many other dogs and their masters out for a stroll. Grabbed a coffee at the local cafe. Sadly the murray is fading al around the suburb so I’m not getting the outrageous wafts of skanky orange blossoms but wet earth and concrete aplenty, the eucalyptus fragrance now subtly overtaking everything. Monsieur Li by Hermès, excellent walking companion and designer to go with my weeks challenge.

Had a bath in Madonna Truth or Dare bubbles, went out to see the Greyhound races but they were rained out. It was cool fun though, we met Alice & Sam and had some dinner in the bistro. Jin shouted us a super cheap bottle of pink bubbles and Alice bought us soft serve ice creams for dessert. Sounds like a shit night but it was great fun. Jin was in vintage CHANEL Antaeus (a present from me) and smelled absolutely freaking gorgeous. I wore original Agent Provocateur EdP, roses and stuff, with a little hint of my baths white flowers playing sotto voice.

For bed I wore vintage 1000 EdT by Jean Patou. Over the top of the Agent Provocateur remnants it lifted the roses and created a shimmering field of gorgeousness.

Sunday 26:

I think I’m a bit tired. Woke up this morning a bit Jin’s head off, then continued to chew him out most of the morning. He did get huffy and we had a soft core fight. I feel infinitely better for it, like the air is clear. We didn’t yell or scream, just bitched at each other.

So this week on Aussie Fragrance Network is Use Your Samples Week. I’ve started by wearing some old formula, whoa nelly, in your face Sables by Annick Goutal. This is so freaking gorgeous.

Righto! Off to work in Fleur Narcotique by Ex Nihilo. Very Fleur, not so narcotic. I like it though. Pretty lilies, bit swampy and green. Very wearable.

How about your week? Anything interesting or fragrant happen?
Portia xx

Heart of Darkness EdP GIVEAWAY WINNER

February 26, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Woo Hoo Crew, We have a WINNER!

Heart of Darkness EdP GIVEAWAY WINNER

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Oak moss, cedar moss, lavender, vetiver, espresso, nutmeg, tonka, cedar wood, rockrose

Providence Perfume Co. has $45/5ml
Providence Perfume Co. also has 8 x 1.5ml sample sets on sale currently

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 1 winner who will receive:
1 x 2 mL sample of PPC Heart of Darkness EdP
1 x 3 oz. complementary PPC Fern botanical hand cream: “Mossy green notes of tonka, lavender, fir and patchouli.”
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 23rd February 2017 10pm Australian EdsT and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winner was chosen by random.org

Jaybee

The winners will have till Wednesday 1st March 2017 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.

Bass Solo by Bertrand Duchaufour for The Vagabond Prince 2016

February 24, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 18 Comments

Portia

Hello Happy Huffers,

More today from my LuckyScent Sample Pack. Remember when the Vagabond Prince brought out their original scent? The one with the fabulously screechy top of Black Currant and booze? It was called Enchanted Forest and I fell madly in love with it. So feral and outrageous, fruit done to the enth degree. It was a hugely polarising fragrance and much like Thierry Mugler’s Angel it became a hot topic of online conversation. People divided into camps and agued their cases, all of which were correct for them. It was great fun.

The rest of their offerings have not met with such radical hype. I am excited to smell this one though because it has been designed around the idea of musical instruments. Specifically one of the woods that is highly prized for its density in making instruments, wenge. The fragrance is not so much based on that aroma as it is based on the instruments that it makes. Interesting because you might remember Amouage brought out Opus X also in 2016 inspired by the red violin.

Bass Solo by The Vagabond Prince 2016

Bass Solo by Bertrand Duchaufour

Fragrantica

LuckyScent gives these featured accords:
Saffron, ginger, lime, cardamom, lavender, Moroccan cedar, Virginia cedar, fig milk, birch tar, sandalwood, amber, driftwood, wenge accord, musk, oppoponax, amyris, patchouli

Immediately Bass Solo opens a green, herbal, lavender rich fragrance hits me. It’s slightly waxy, softly fruity and quite heavily wooded in the background. Woodsy and an oily, smoky hint of car workshop. Soon enough patchouli joins the fray and is an excellent addition, giving a green dankness.

It’s funny, the moment a piece of the puzzle becomes clear my nose jumps on it but everything comes and goes. I think I have the scent imprinted and then it changes. Glad I’m sitting at my desk to really enjoy it because I think so much of the nuance would be lost in casual wearing.

PDI

Resins fly softly over the wooden base, they are cool but add warmth and depth to the fragrance. Dry down is smoking incense and woods. It’s calm and stylish. I ca imagine it being loads of peoples cup of tea.

LuckyScent has $180/100ml
Surender To Chance has samples starting at $5.40/ml

Did you ever make a FB purchase from a sample pack? Tell us what it was?
Portia xx

Scent Free Day?

February 23, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 31 Comments

Portia

Hi there APJ,

Sometimes my nose needs a rest. I am not quite sure why. Today I woke up and usually before I grab the dogs to feed & walk them I scent myself so I can enjoy the fragrance as I wander with the boys. It’s usually around 10am and the day is warming up nicely, this summer it’s already been quite hot by the time I get home so I really feel I’ve put the scent through its paces. 30-40 minutes after spritzing I’m well into the heart of the fragrance, in some cases even the dry down already.

Scent Free Day?

Anyway, today I walked into my fragrance room and my body just said no. So I walked back out again with only the merest traces of last nights fragrance on my T-Shirt. I quite liked having my nose open to smelling the various eucalyptus, cars, coffee and toast at the local cafe, the mown yesterday grass in the park and the myriad other scent snippets of a half hour wander around the neighbourhood.

There are other times I don’t like to be scented. Some illnesses, in very enclosed spaces, meeting potential employers for the first time. I do have a little Meeting New Employers Hack though. I always have a softly scented hand cream with me and apply a very smell amount before going in. Int means my hands feel nice and leave a fresh, clean scent on their hands when we shake. You’ll notice people touch their face almost directly after shaking hands, unconsciously they are reading your hand scent.

By now though I have given myself a spritz. Ballets Rouges by Olympic Orchids to fit with Lucasz at Chemist In A Bottle‘s rose month. MMMMMM

So, my question to you all today is “When do you need a Scent Free Day?”. Are there specific moments or periods in your life when being scented feels wrong? Is there a friend or colleague that prefers you go unscented? Or are you a give me 10 spritzes no matter what kind of person?
Portia xxx

Heart of Darkness EdP by Charna Ether for Providence Perfume Co. 2016

February 22, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 24 Comments

Erica Golding

Hello out there, you beautifully scented people!

I’ve waxed poetic about Providence Perfume Company many times before. Thanks to Charna’s latest creation, my love for PPC is newly aflame as if I had just discovered her collection yesterday! I’ve been on a woodsy kick over the last year or so, falling in love with scents that feature pine, moss, and other botanicals along those lines. When I read the notes for PPC’s new release, I excitedly set aside a few hours to visit my friend in her luxurious store in Providence and was smitten from the first inhale:

Heart of Darkness EdP by Providence Perfume Co. 2016

Heart of Darkness EdP by Charna Ether

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Oak moss, cedar moss, lavender, vetiver, espresso, nutmeg, tonka, cedar wood, rockrose

Heart of Darkness is a modern interpretation of the fougère, a historically masculine genre of fragrance that typically features lavender and oak moss. With Charna’s inspired creativity, this classic aroma is infused with vivid energy. My first impression was simply that I felt suddenly bold and vibrant, confident with an air of intrigue and mystery.

At the opening, I sense shimmering lavender, smoky vetiver, and dominant oak moss. Aromatic cedar wood and crushed pine needles dance from my skin, an enchanted forest. This wilderness is gracefully accented by a kiss of espresso and a slight hint of honeyed tonka bean sweetness. Overall, I feel like I’m surrounded by majestic ancient pine trees, their proud branches reaching into the atmosphere as sunlight filters through their needles. The forest floor is spongy with moss. The air is silent, saturated with tranquil fragrance.

WikiCommons

To me, Heart of Darkness is more than an accessory spritzed on to complete an outfit. It transcends the typical utilitarian purpose of scent, and instead is truly a work of art that instantly transports me to my own inner peace. It’s complex and intense, assertive yet calm. You’ve never smelled anything like this before, you can’t prepare for it by imagining the notes intertwining. It’s not for the faint of heart and it’s definitely not for beginners. It’s for wild souls who run in the woods, who jump in the water with their clothes still on. It’s for wanderers and pioneers who still make time for daydreams.

Providence Perfume Co. has $45/5ml
Providence Perfume Co. also has 8 x 1.5ml sample sets on sale currently

Have you dipped your toes into the wondrous world of natural perfumery? What are your favorite all-natural perfume houses and fragrances?

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

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 tell us where you would wear your sample of Heart of Darkness

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 23rd February 2017 10pm Australian EdsT and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Monday 27th February 2017 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.

Holiday Scents: Anne-Marie

February 21, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

Anne-Marie

Hi all
Last month my kids and I spent a couple of weeks in my home city of Hobart, visiting family and just generally relaxing. We go nearly every year and never feel especially energetic during our holidays. We have our routines; stuff we like to do and things we like to see.

Here’s a few of the ways I scented my down-time this year.

Holiday Scents: Anne-Marie

Fragrantica

Guy Laroche: Fidji

I bought a bottle of this at St Cloud Perfumery in Hobart, where I have been an irregular customer for more years than I’m willing to admit. It’s a friendly place where I can try some old classics I never see at home. I might have bought Worth Je Reviens but they only had a tester, no stock for sale. I settled on Fidji, but was disappointed. I find it a merely pleasant moist green floral with a twist of citrus. Lamentably short-lived. Wish I’d smelled it in its heyday. Read Azar’s glorious Fidji review.

The Body Shop Shea Shower Cream

One year I wandered into The Body Shop in Hobart looking to treat myself with something nice, and came away with a small bottle of this. I’ve never taken to the other products in the Shea range, just the shower cream. Now we take a bottle every time and holidays would not be complete without it. This time I sensed a new accord: a little twist of citrus in the opening moment. Or am I imagining that? Delicious! Check out the Body Shop Range.

Fragrantica

Annick Goutal: Songes EDT

This is a current obsession of mine. Jasmine, tiaré flower, ylang-ylang, frangipani and vanilla. Nothing more or less is needed for pure, sensual scented pleasure. Songes is not my normal style of fragrance, but contrarily, I adore it. Maybe it works for me at some un-analysable, aroma-therapeutic level because I find it very comforting. For two weeks I wore this more than any other perfume in my little holiday kit. Songs Review.

Fragrantica

Christian Dior: Diorella

This one is going through a revival in my perfume rotation this summer. I’ve had a bottle for some years but felt perpetually disappointed in its longevity. But I thought I’d give it a new chance and oddly enough, I find I can smell it on skin for longer than I remember from the past. Diorella is, of course, a masterpiece of modern perfumery which transcends the sum of its parts (citrus, ripe fruit, flowers and moss). I know some people prefer vintage Diorella but I happily wear the current (well, 2009) version. Diorella review.

Lush Happy Hippy shower gel

HH was waiting for me in my bathroom for my first shower after coming home. It’s scented with juicy grapefruit, not at all weird or sharp, just zesty and refreshing. Welcome home!

Are you dreaming of a summer escape? Or are you on one right now? What fragrances are special for you on holidays?
Happy spritzing until next time everyone!

Anne-Marie

NEW!! Suzanne R Banks: Banks Botanicals Fragrance Line

February 20, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 13 Comments

Post by Portia

Woo Hoo Crew!

One of the things I really love in life is watching friends realise their dreams. Over the last couple of years I have watched Suzanne have an idea to write a book about using scent to promote growth and healing in your life and release a set of fragrances based the chapters of the book. I’ve put a link to the book down the bottom but this week I went to Suzanne’s house to sniff the finished products of her labours. SEE, dreams do come true. It’s amazing to have watched this journey unfold, it’s totally been the old trope of 1% Inspiration, 99% Perspiration, and to see Suzanne smooth the way over & around setbacks, challenges and obstacles has been inspiring.

What’s more I really loved a few of the scents and liked the rest. Only one of them totally didn’t work on my skin. That’s an amazing strike rate. They are all fragrant oils in roller ball bottles so they can be sent all over the world! Also, they’re the perfect purse popping size and excellent for travel. Let’s meet them then.

Banks Botanicals Fragrance Line

These are a hand blended botanical fragrance range and Suzanne has created each one with the intent to help you attain specific feelings and connections with your world. Historic and current knowledge combined to help lift your spirits and create a fragrant aura for your particular need. They’ve all been designed as stand alone scents but can be combined for more complex situations.

Being botanical fragrances it’s a maximum of 3 hours wear time so the rollerballs are great for top ups throughout the day, or changing it up was each one does its job.

Banks Botanicals: 1: Double Happiness

Fizzy and refreshing citrus, mint and rose geranium combine over a soft focus patchouli base to give a joyous mood cleanse that ends with a soft, comforting cuddle.

Banks Botanicals: 2: Oneness

This is the earth mother , Empress. Humus rich garden beds and dark woods at dusk created through Australian sandalwood, cyprus, orange and spikenard. So Australian.

Banks Botanicals: 3: Harmony

My favourite of them all. Harmony is a plush woodsy rose surrounded by green and balmy notes created through Indian rosewood, Virginian cedar, mandarine, sage & myrrh.

Banks Botanicals: 4: Bliss

A medicinal, spicy, fruit rose with all the thorns and twigs over patchouli with a stunning burst of ylang-ylang creating a creamy heart that is inspiring and surprising. Rose otto & rose absolute in abundance.

Banks Botanicals: 5: Fulfilment

Another one I really enjoyed. Petigrain, palmarosa, Virginian cedar, black pepper and cinnamon combine to give the impression of fresh cut capsicum, sunny days and salads. A spicy, compelling fragrance.

Banks Botanicals: 6: Flow

Brush away the cobwebs with a sharp herbal tea that reminds me of the smell of steam from ironing. Roman chamomile, citruses, vetiver, lavandin, marjoram and patchouli will cleanse your mind in readiness for creative action.

Banks Botanicals: 7: Positivity

Basil is supreme in positivity with lemongrass and vetiver bolstering its green, sappy, delicious freshness, everything else is merely backing. Positivity smells like happily gardening on a cool sunny day with no time restrictions.

Banks Botanicals: 8: Purity

Peru balsam, pink grapefruit, lemongrass, juniper & thyme create a sweet resinous fragrance that is as comforting as a cough drop and as healing. A perfect negative energy purge, or wear it as a forcefield.

Banks Botanicals: 9: Immortality

I have already used up my sample of this. Opening with a dusty, earthy incense moving through summer fruit punch and long sunlit days. Immortality combines neroli, bergamot, frankincense, everlasting daisy and clove.

Banks Botanicals: 10: Strength

An uplifting, bright, sensual orange blossom scent. Orange blossom, lavender, Indian sandalwood, jasmine and cardamom meld to create a simple and arresting fragrance that will help you be fully present.

Suzanne R Banks Blog
Suzanne R Banks Aromatherapy
Suzanne R Banks FaceBook

Scent Diary: 13.2 – 19.2.17

February 19, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 19 Comments

Portia

Hiya APJ,

Back into the daily glamour grind. I love returning from holidays relaxed a refreshed, ready to jump on all the exciting developments since I left. This time there have been loads of those but I’ll tell you when it all comes to fruition. What has been wonderful after a week of very slim but awesome pickings is to have my whole collection of fragrance again to choose from.

Scent Diary: 13.2 – 19.2.17

Monday 13:

So bloody bummer. Wake up this morning about Explorer of the Seas and I’m sick as a dog. Nose running like crazy, coughing phlegm, hard to breathe properly and temperature slightly elevated. So I have a very hot shower and spritz myself lavishly with vintage Miss Dior parfum. It takes 6 sprays before I can even smell it. I go eat breakfast by myself so as not to infect my crew and then hit the hay. I read almost the whole third Divergent book Allegiant in a day. I rise from the bed for lunch and dinner, both eaten alone to avoid contamination. It has been a beautifully peaceful day, except for the coughing and nose blowing.

Coffee, tea and cookies for pep through the day.

Tuesday 14:

HOME!! Wearing vintage Miss Dior parfum and it is gorgeous. I can barely smell it through my sick but still I wanted to smell special.

Through Sydney Heads at dawn, docked in cool grey weather. Said my goodbyes to the wonderful cruising crew and headed off to help Jin fix the exhaust fans at BFF Kath’s apartment before heading home to bed. Still unwell but feeling a bit better. My nose is so raw that blowing it has become a problem.

The most excited person to see me is Paris. O M G! You have no idea how excited he is. So cute. He gives the best hello licks ever.

Sleep with my Valentine. I need to feel better for work tonight and Jin has a ten hour night shift ahead..

Wazamba by Parfum d’Empire tonight for work. Its spicy, resinous incense is exactly what this sick little duck needs to wake up and get going. MMMMMMM. It was so good I wore it to bed as well. This is the new bottle too, still potent and expansive, the whole room smells of it.

Wednesday 15:

Up and at ’em early today. This is my only free day till next Tuesday so everything that needs doing will be done today. Poudre de Riz Huitieme Art Parfums with its spicy rice powder and surprising sweet undercurrent, like a fragrant version of rice pudding drizzled in honey and sprinkled with brown sugar. Pierre Guillaume is a genius at understated sweetness. Yes, it’s the original bottle that so many people hated. I love it. Feels wonderful and expensive in my hand, that it’s mainly light blocking and has the tiny front glass window to see fill line. Everyone asks for innovation then bitches when they get it.

Calling people, paying bills, calling more people, organising, hectic but happy. It’s quite hard to keep perspective with this bloody cold, like trying to think while wrapped in wool underwater.

I decided while walking the dogs that I needed Chinese food and a movie so around the corner from our apartment is a sensational Chinese restaurant. I stood at the door with the two dogs and ordered dinner. Walked the dogs for another 10 minutes, grabbed the food and skedaddled home to watch Matrix and half of Matrix Reloaded before I snoozed off. Dinner was YUM! Sweet & Sour Pork, Crispy Skin Boneless Lemon Chicken, King Prawn Omelette and Egg Fried Rice. In my hurry I forgot to order a vegetable dish, oops!

Tonight because of Anne-Marie’s Eau de Sud by Annick Goutal post on APJ I double spritzed. BLISS, off to bed. Goodnight.

Thursday 16:

Oooh! It’s really sticky outside today. I just asked the dogs at 9am and by the time I got home I felt like I was living in the tropics. Hermes Monsieur Li this morning. Easy and breezy, my skin is throwing the smells of sweet citrus and the shade under trees.

Jin & I went and had a late Valentine’s lunch at his favourite Yum Cha. It was totally yummy and we got to do some catching up after the cruise. I took a pic but we both look half asleep so I’m not adding it in.

For work tonight I slathered myself in Silences PdT by Jacomo. Galbanum and stuff. Cool, refined and elegant. I felt the goddess within stir all night.

After work I opened a package that arrived. It had a vintage 1000 EdT by Jean Patou. OMG! This is my favourite version of it. So much brighter and with a lift that’s missing from the parfum. The roses are more fun, the osmanthus and violet give a waxy old-style make up vibe. This 1000 smells like the feel of applying YSL lipsticks in the 1990s in their square gold cases that looked uber glam, do you remember those? Do they still make them?

Friday 17:

Sorry not much of a post today. Was doing a Marriage Equality Trivia Fundraiser and Nightclub gig in a town 3 hours south. Left early and got home really late. Here are a couple of photos from the Trivia event, which was a complete Sell Out! I wore my new vintage 1000 EdT by Patou. That powdery, rosy beauty was a perfect fit even though it was so hot & humid that I nearly expired.

Saturday 18:

Woke up groggy and not quite with it. Travelling home so late last night I stopped at a Petrol Station, had a 15 minute nap and bought strawberry milk and some lolly snakes to keep me awake for the drive. So this morning I awoke with a sugar hang over, and a slightly sore back from sitting badly in the car. Feeling a bit sorry for myself actually so I spritzed Amouage Opus III. Gorgeous waxy flowers and stuff.

Tonight I had a gig for a mates 21st birthday party. He had no idea that his Mum had booked me to do a couple of numbers & officiate the event. It was so fun and he was totally sweet and thrilled, and embarrassed. The speeches were funny and heartfelt. He had a cake shaped as BOOBS! Yes, you read it, boobs. Bloody hilarious.

Now it’s late and I’ve spritzed Parfums DelRae Coup de Foudre. Now I’m going to bed is a haze of it. MMMMMMM

Sunday 19:

Today on Aussie Fragrance Network at FaceBook we started a week of Wear Your Designer Fragrances so there’ll be LOADS of the designer stuff in next weeks Scent Diary.

I got the week started with my vintage Miss Dior EdT, the one with the crappy lid. Yeah, it looks like shit but smells perfect. Miss Dior is fast becoming one of my all time favourite scents.

Poor Jinx, Jin’s dog, has broken his bed. When I went out to see them this morning he was so embarrassed that he couldn’t even look at me. Such a cutie. When the possums come around at night the dogs jump out of their beds so fast it must be quite an impact as it hits the wall. We have stopped them barking though, now they just stare. It’s a win.

Tonight for work I’ll be rocking Burberry Brit woman parfum. I love the little bottle and hardly ever get it out. Glad we are looking at designer Fragrances this week on AFN, hopefully I will grab out a bunch that have lain lost, loved but neglected.

How was your week? Did you do anything interesting? Buy or try any new fragrances?
Portia xx