Month: October 2017

New Autumnal Scents and Amouage Lilac Love

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Sandra.

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Hey there dear APJ! How are you all doing? I hope that life is treating you very well.

Autumn has shown its face early here in Rotterdam. Early I say simply because I am not used to it coming this early. Naturally the leaves are changing colour and falling (all in different stages too) but the sun is really low, it is almost blinding. I have only ever experienced this special lighting up in Norway and have found it to be both eerie and alluring. My nose is on high alert here as there are so many new scents that I am taking in this year. It is in part because of the move north but also because we no longer live in a city. We live in a house in a suburb with a garden.

New Autumnal Scents and Amouage Lilac Love

The first smell that comes to mind is the wet damp earth. It is seriously wet here. It was so bad in September for about 10 days that I kept teasing my son that we will need to build ourselves a boat so we can have a ride to school. There is a dampness in the air, especially now in autumn where not only is the asphalt emitting its own scent but so are the fallen leaves.

Some homes are starting to have fires in the fireplaces now and I loooove that smell. Together with the damp earth, the wood and the smoke gives me a sense of calm and a feeling of home. My favorite time of the day is when I walk home with our son after school and all of these homey scents greet my eager nose.

This past weekend we were blessed with plenty of sunshine and warm temperatures. Saturday we biked for 30km and my son will tell you that we broke his muscles with that ride. It was a gorgeous ride in the greenery and then along the Rotte River. We got to smell chestnuts and leaves, but also the last of the blooming flowers. Have I mentioned of how stunning all of the blooming plants and trees are here in the Netherlands? There is always colour outside even in the dead of winter. Amouage Bracken Woman was the perfect companion for our Saturday bike ride. Bracken Woman is herbal, green and woody. All the elements of autumn in a bottle.

Sunday was another glorious day but our son protested the idea of another bike ride so we took a long walk in our neighborhood. We let him lead the way with no destination in mind and we somehow stumbled upon a city garden called Natuurtalent. The herbs alone were intoxicating to smell. They have a wood work area and the smell of fresh wood shavings surrounded by green herbs and blooming plants will ensure our return. It was a perfect place for our son to explore and he was allowed to smell things too. Since it was such a warm day I wore Amouage Lilac Love which bloomed into a floral powdery slightly spicy perfume. It is a beautiful perfume that I would wear often if I owned a bottle.

Here are a few pictures of our sunny warm weekend. Yes, Rotterdam really is this green. Now the fog has set in this week and I need to make a pumpkin soup to really get into the season.

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Jasmine, rose, gardenia, peony, heliotrope
Heart: Orris, cacao, tonka bean
Base: Sandalwood, patchouli, vanilla

Libertine has $499/1ooml FREE Australian Postage
Surrender To Chance has samples from $4/0.5ml

Do you have a favorite season? Do you like any Amouage perfumes? I would love to hear from you.

Stay safe and healthy. Until next time.
Sandra xoxo

 

(Ed: All photos taken by Sandra unless specified)

Baie Rose 26 by Frank Voelkl for Le Labo 2010

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Portia

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Hi there Niche Nerds,

Todays fragrance was released as the Le Labo Chicago city exclusive. You may remember that I find the Le Labo adventure somewhat wankerish. The whole, we’ll mix it for you in store so it’s fresh shit doesn’t wash for me. Just because the ingredients haven’t been blended yet doesn’t make them any fresher, AND it takes months for the damn fragrances to settle properly after you buy them. It’s all a big fat GRRR for me.

Nevertheless when Le Labo get it right they do make some fairly spectacular frags.

One of my mates was doing a decant cleanout and I was lucky enough to buy this baby from them. There’s only about 2-3ml left in a 15ml so it has been well loved.

Baie Rose 26 by Le Labo 2010

Baie Rose 26 by Frank Voelkl

Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Rose absolute, Pink pepper, Musk, Cedar, Aldehydes, Ambrox, Clove, Pepper

Victoria from Bois de Jasmin taught me something in my reading today, “baie rose means pink pepper in French”. AHA! So not only is Le Labo doing its usual name it something and have it smell like something else trick but there is also a pun in action. Clever. Funnily, both the pepper and rose are front & centre for most of the scent.

So here we smell the interesting by-play between rose and pink pepper.

The opening is all rose and metallic sparkling aldehydes shimmering over the pink pepper. It’s a meaty, thick and dense scent that also manages to feel lightweight and airy. Haughty and powerful are the two words that keep coming to my mind while wearing Baie Rose 26, also masculine (which is weird because I try not to subscribe to frag gender unless it punches me in the face wit it).

PDI

Baie Rose 26 is cool, in both the frosty and fun refinement explanations. It has a space age feel about it and a metallic twang, the best way to present roses in my mind.

I get fleeting correlations to other roses CK Contradiction Woman, Amouage Opus X and Oriza L. Legrand Royal Fillet. Not same obviously but there are resemblances.

The musk, ambrox, wood dry down is far less exciting that the first hours of Baie Rose 26 life. It doesn’t implode into banal but it isn’t a showstopper. A comfortable, safe scent that lasts and lasts with a hint of rose.

PDI

Further reading: Bois de Jasmin and Non Blonde

Did you ever get to try this beauty?
Portia xx

Criminal Elements Sample Pack GIVEAWAY WINNER

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Portia

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YAY!

Another great giveaway! Thanks Corey from Criminal Elements for sending us this ridiculously gorgeous sample pack. Can’t wait to see who wins it.

 

 

Criminal Elements Sample Pack GIVEAWAY WINNER

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 1 winner who will receive:
1 x Criminal Elements Base Elements Sample Pack
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 1st October 2017 10pm Australian EdsT
Winner was chosen by random.org

Jaybee

The winner will have till Sunday 8th October 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

L’Insoumis by Lalique GIVEAWAY WINNERS

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Portia

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Hey there Fumies,

Thank you so much to Kate at Sweet Fern for being so generous. Go check out their stock. Great range.

 

L’Insoumis by Lalique GIVEAWAY WINNERS

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 5 winners who will receive:
1 x 2ml spray L’Insoumis by Lalique Manufacturers Carded Sample
P&H Anywhere in the world

 

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 1st October 2017 10pm Australian EdsT
Winners were chosen by random.org

Neva

Gina

Fazal

Greg

Bradley P Woolslayer

The winners will have till Sunday 8th October 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

Scent Diary: 25.9 – 1.10.2017

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 22 Comments

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Portia

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Hi there APJ Crew,

It has been a week of complete opposites. The pro and con advocates for Equality are getting meaner and the whole event has turned into a slow bone crushing depression releaser. Currently I’m appalled at a large section of both sides of the argument and I hold our elected government officials personally responsible for the whole rotten mess. To be constantly equated with predators, rapists, pedophiles and beastialitists by the church, Radio & TV chat guests, politicians and people in the street is becoming unbearable. That’s the worst of it but seriously, to have a nation debate whether Jin and my 6 year relationship is as valid as theirs is galling, to say the very least.

Why aren’t I equal?

On the flip side there has been loads of fun, friendship, fragrance and food. Jin has been the Rock of Gibraltar, standing strong, cool and silent against the onslaught and a perfect companion through birthday and illness.

Scent Diary: 25.9 – 1.10.2017

Monday 25:

SICK!! I am hideous. Coughing, runny nose, sweating, AWFUL. Cancelled my Birthday Party. Too sick.

Did get some beautiful postcards though.

Bath in Guerlain Shalimar and wore DSH Perfumes Ma Folie de Noel

Jin and I had dinner and opened some presents. It was quiet, chill and sweet.

Wrote Trivia Q&A

Tuesday 26:

Woke up and walked the dogs with Jin.

Met Scott at the coffee shop and then we office worked.

Wore OODLES of Penhaligon’s Savoy Steam. It is the weirdest smelling stuff but utterly addictive.

I thought it was going to be a triumphant return to work in drag but I’m still coughing and sneezing too much. Two Cold & Flu tablets and I’ll be able to go host as a guy. I’m a bit sad because there are new coats to wear.

It was a really fun night. I love my Tuesday crew.

Tonight someone I’ve loved for years reached out. We have been friends and he stayed with me for a while, then we lost touch except for sporadic cyber communication. It was really nice to have a messenger conversation.

Wednesday 27:

It’s early morning and I can’t sleep. Just watched the Kathleen Hanna story on TV. WOW! She is amazing. So many levels, what a brain. Totally inspiring human being.

Woke up and walked the dogs in a lovely cloudy morning. The air was crisp and smelled like greenery, almost no traffic on the roads and so peaceful.

Spent a second day in Penhaligon’s Savoy Steam. 

Today was a total write off. I dozed and dallied. Tried to focus on work but was crap at everything so I threw in the towel until about 10pm when my cold and mind started to unthaw.

I did see this picture on my friend Haans V Siver FaceBook page. I love the soft, pastel beauty of the sky, skyscrapers and sea juxtaposed with the hard lines and darkness of the Steve Irwin and other watercraft. For me it looks like some of those huge surreal prints that used to be in living rooms.

Steve Irwin by Haans V Siver Sept 2017

Thursday 28:

Morning. My head is fuzzy.

The walk was really good with the dogs. It cleared my head a bit walking through the cool, breezy, cloudy morning with the boys. Birds are chirping everywhere and as you walk through the suburb all the smells of spring flowers catch me by surprise. Beautiful.

Jin is working nights this week so I get to spend some day time with him, which is really nice.

Trouble by Boucheron bubble bath and fragrance. YUM!

At the end of Turbo trivia tonight I got a selfie with my fave barman Aaron. What a honey.

Friday 29:

Jin has today off so we visited the banks. Just making bookings for next week to refinance his mortgage. I quite like visiting them now that I know a little bit about how they work.

Afternoon met Rasei Fort of Fort & Manly at Becker Minty in Kings X. Have you ever been there? What a collection of fabulous homewares and fragrance. I may have had a sneaky spritz of the new Trudon scent by Cire Trudon. WHOA! Super green. YUM!

Then we trotted across to Redfern and met the ever glam Kerri who is on her first day of holidays. We sniffed some stuff and chattered while I had lunch and they had coffees. It was really nice.

Jin came and met us as lunch was breaking up and we went and got him a beer at the local pub. Then we went to the cinemas to see Kinsmen II (Freaking hilarious, laughed all the way through) and afterwards dinner.

Saturday 30:

At around 3am the dogs were alarmed by a possum and caused a huge ruckus. That was the end of sleep for me. I jumped up, grabbed a drink and hit the computer. Feeling like I can get a couple hours more sleep now at 6am I’m off to bed till dog feeding time at 9am.

Vintage Guerlain Mitsouko EdT & Parfum today.

Lunch at our fave Korean BarBQ with Alice, Kath & Tina. It was really fun and good to be hanging out together. Food was excellent, as always, though they were out of their sensational mash potato.

I put both photos in because TinaG looks so cute in the first and Alice & Kath look really lovely in the second. Not one shot had all of them looking so good.

Jin and I visited one of his exes who has become my buddy too. Paul lives around the corner and we popped in for tea and cake quite late this afternoon. He has been struck down with a similar cold to mine except it had him down for the count for three weeks, he’s still coughing 100 times worse than I am.

Tonight we popped down to the local supermarket and I grabbed some ham and cheese and then we came home and I made waffle sandwiches. YUMMO!

For bed I spritzed Hermès Muguet Porcelaine. Lily of the Valley seemed to be what I craved and the Hermès was a perfect, slightly melonish choice. Pretty.

Sunday 1:

Woke up this morning feeling like a bus hit me so I went back to bed and slept till 11am. Now I feel so much better.

Hung around the house. Wearing Miller et Bertaux A Quiet Morning.

For work I wanted something bright and summery with a deeper base than most of those frags. I choose Neela Vermeire Creations Rahele. Citrus & osmathus up top, leather down the back and much much more.

 

So, how about your week? What happened to you or your crew? Tell us stories, we love to read them.
Portia xx