Curious by Claude Dir for Britney Spears 2004

December 23, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 6 Comments

Post by Katrina

Today I am reviewing my perfume of choice for exercising. I have so many cheap and cheerful celebrity scents that are perfect to use as a body spray. Do you wear perfume when you exercise and if so what is your choice? This year I have started doing hot yoga classes. It can get really smelly in there so I started wearing Britney Spears Curious to class to hide the bad smells. Curious is refreshing and uplifting which is what I need when I feel exhausted from the heat and exercise.

Curious by Claude Dir for Britney Spears 2004

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: fresh lotus, mouthwatering pear and magnolia.
Heart: tuberose, jasmine and pink cyclamen.
Base: musk, vanilla and precious woods

Curious is the first perfume from Britney Spears and Britney Spears perfumes are generally very good, Curious is no exception. The packaging of Curious looks great as well, with its blue glass bottle and dangly pink charm. You can get larger bottles of Curious with an atomizer that makes it so pretty and girly and would make a lovely gift. I think this would be very special to a teen girl and the perfume is perfectly suitable to that age group.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

Curious opens with the distinct smell of fresh crisp pear. It is as cool and refreshing as the sparkling pear cider I crave after hot yoga. It feels light and breezy making it perfect for summer. There is also an aquatic element to Curious matching the gorgeous blue glass of the Curious bottle. Slowly the white florals emerge from the fragrance and they smell beautiful but not very strong. This is a good introduction to white florals for anyone new to perfume.

The strength and longevity of Curious is reasonably good until we get to the base notes. The soft sweet vanilla and musk smells lovely but fades away too quickly. Luckily by then I am home and showered after my hot yoga!

Photo Stolen Sam Lavy Flickr

Further reading: Now Smell This
FragranceShop has $14/30ml with Coupon
My Perfume Samples starts at $2/ml

If you are interested in more Celebrity Perfumes, check out my website at Celebrity Perfume Store

Happy holidays everyone!

Katrina xx

Here is the ad.

The destruction of Issaquah, WA, USA

December 23, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 43 Comments

Post by Azar

Hello APJ,

During the winter holidays we enjoy our cut Christmas trees and evergreen bows fashioned into wreaths and swags. Evergreens brighten up the dark winter days, scent the dry air and bring the beauty of the forest into our homes. The City of Issaquah, WA USA, my home for over 35 years, prides itself on its concern for the forests and proudly announces on its website the designation by the Arbor Day Foundation as a “Tree City USA”.

The Arbor Day Foundation awards the “Tree City” designation to communities who “meet their core standards of sound urban forestry management”. Sadly, preserving old, established urban forests does not seem to figure into The Arbor Day Foundation’s idea of urban forest management or into the City of Issaquah’s permitting plan that allows for what is simply “clear cutting” of established forests within the city limits.

Earlier this year the acre of forest upslope from our home was sold to a developer and permitted for one large spec house. I had seen this man in action before as he clear cut another lot in the vicinity. I was concerned about the forest, potential run off and the habitat that would be destroyed. I approached the city several times with my concerns and was assured that they would be monitoring every step of the process and would preserve as many of the large trees as possible. HA!

As the old trees were felled and their roots were ripped out by backhoes I felt like I was experiencing a personal assault or a physical trauma. The smell of “tree blood” was almost overwhelming. Eventually two large logging trucks hauled away the remains of the huge cedars and firs. What I describe below in a letter to the city is not an isolated incident but has been going on in Issaquah for sometime now. I knew that this “permitted” destruction of forests and habitats was nasty and wrong but I just didn’t know how horrible it was until it literally happened “in my own backyard”.

Azar xx

(ED: Dear Azar. This makes me sad. I think it should be shared so people can get angry enough to stop it one day. P xxx)

The destruction of Issaquah, WA, USA

Hello,

Issaquah promotes itself as a “Tree City USA” and posts that information on its website. I would like to know what it means to be a “Tree City” and wonder how Issaquah can consider itself to be tree friendly.

Over the past three days the acre of old cedars and fir trees adjacent to our property was permitted by the city to be basically “logged off” by a developer. I’m sure a few of these felled trees were growing here well before our house was built in 1969. I spoke with the city several times before this happened hoping that, in line with the tree cutting permit process, some of these large, old trees could be preserved. All that the city was able to manage was the preservation of one large fir, several small acer macrophyllum and a small cedar.

Yesterday the air outside was thick with the odor of cedar and fir sap. Huge piles of logs and limbs were everywhere. A large female bobcat and two almost fully grown kits were running around our yard in fear and climbing our trees, while the backhoe on the adjacent lot ripped the cedar roots from the slope. The day before a large buck wandered through our property looking frightened and puzzled. The whole scene reminded me of the destruction depicted in Hayao Miyazaki’s animated movie Princess Mononoke. How can the city of Issaquah consider itself to be environmentally friendly when it allows this kind of habitat destruction?

According to Issaquah’s website it looks like, with the loss of this acre of trees, we will now have 13 more tons of dust and gas in the atmosphere. I know it is too late, that the damage has been done and cannot be repaired, but I think someone on the city staff should come out here and take a look at this mess before the developer hauls it away! I would like someone on staff to see what the permitting process allows to happen in “Tree City USA”.

Sincerely,
Azar

Vaara by Penhaligon`s GIVEAWAY WINNER

December 23, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 7 Comments

Woo Hoo!
Firstly, thank you to LibertinePerfumerie, Nick especially. You are always ready to go the extra mile and we at APJ love you and are grateful. To the contestants, thank you for participating so whole heartedly on everything we do here at APJ all year. We write for the love of communication, you guys make it all amazing with your looks, likes, comments and shares. THANK YOU!!!

Vaara by Penhaligon`s GIVEAWAY WINNER

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week we will have one winner who will receive:

1 x 100ml TESTER bottle with lid of Vaara by Penhaligons (with about 15ml missing)
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DID 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 go to Libertine Perfumes<<<JUMP and find me a perfume and its manufacturer. NO DOUBLE UPS!!

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie @PenhaligonsLtd Vaara GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-2jm #Perfume #Giveaway @LibertineParfum

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 22nd December 2013 10pm Australian EST
Winner chosen random.org

Photo Stolen EverythingHealth

Susan Burgess

(and let me tell you I could not be happier)

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! The winner will have till Thursday 26th December 2013 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.

Special THANKS to LibertinePerfumerie for these amazing giveaways. Please visit their site because they are so generous and helpful. If you wonder why they are sometimes more expensive than the discounters or OS retailers it’s because they are the only licensed company selling their fragrances in Australia; where you know you are buying new, fresh and genuine product. The cost of importing, and buying the right to import, alcohol based fragrances (and having the right to send alcohol based fragrances throughout Australia, which are illegal to send in the Australia Post air system) is expensive and they must cover their costs to bring you these luxury goods.

Afternoon Of A Faun by Ralf Schwieger for Etat Libre d’Orange 2012

December 22, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 3 Comments

Hey Fragrance Fiends,

Having loved the Claude Debussy Prelude to Afternoon of a Faun as a child, it was on one of my Dad’s records and it had some heavy hitters after it but I thought that this was so beautiful and soft by comparison. A gentle, pastoral piece of loveliness. I could imagine the naughty faun watching beautiful languid girls going down through a paddock to the water to bathe, laughing and carefree, the trill of their voices mixing with the gurgle of the river. Anyway enough of that, Etat Libre d’Orange released their fragrance in 2012 with a sister, Dangerous Complicity (which I found a bit meh) but…

Afternoon Of A Faun by Ralf Schwieger for Etat Libre d’Orange 2012

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Bergamot, pepper, cinnamon, incense, immortelle, orris root, myrrh, leather, benzoin, rose, jasmine, oakmoss

Afternoon of a Faun is a totally different and much more enjoyable piece of fragrant art. Unusual, nuanced, enveloping and slightly awkward it is both fun and pretty. The lovely wet pepper and citrus opening that quickly becomes deepened and broadened by the spices and immortelle, it’s cool and elegant iris all underpinned by a sweet darkness that feels both alluring and a little bit wicked. Afternoon of a Faun is not sensual in the bodily scent or skank way but it does have a wonderful frission of notes that keep me sniffing my hand compulsively because i can’t quite believe that it smells like it does. There is a vegetal funkiness, a dankness or earthiness that must be the oakmoss, immortelle and leather combination (or quite possibly something unmentioned in the notes list). Sadly i am too unschooled to really be able to parse this out. Through the heart I am seriously thinking Afternoon Of A Faun is a vetiver fragrance on my skin, not in the notes but it does have that feel and later the spice and rose make definite star turns.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

Excellent sillage but only moderate projection and a good life at around the 6 hours mark before I lose the ability to smell it completely, Afternoon of a Faun becomes a softly insistent resinous wash in its last couple of hours and I find the ride enjoyable and interesting when I take special note but easy enough to wear as a daily scent too.

Gaia says, “The Afternoon of a Faun” is the name of a French poem written by Stéphane Mallarmé between 1865 and 1867 and published in 1976 (thank you, Wikipedia). Lucasz tells us that it was the 100 year anniversary of original L’après-midi d’un faune ballet choreographed for The Ballets Russes by Vaslav Nijinsky and that the inspiration here are the nymphs and fauns playing together.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

I don’t know if you ever read E M Forsters short stories but The Story Of A Panic tells the story of young Eustace being changed forever by the attentions of a faun. The whole omnibus is excellent reading but I always loved The Story Of A Panic especially. There is something of the foreboding in ELdO’s Afternoon Of A Faun that we get in the E M Forster story.

Here is Prelude to Afternoon Of A Faun by Claude Debussy, the music and fragrance are a perfectly symmetrical accompaniment.

Further reading: Chemist In A Bottle and The Non-Blonde
LuckyScent has $149/100ml
Etat Libre d’Orange has €110/100ml (Delivers to the world)
Surrender To Chance starts at $4.50/ml

What are your thoughts? Tried it? Wanted to?
Come on and join the conversation, I’d love to read your musings too>
Portia xx

The Scent Of Music: Jingle Bells

December 22, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 34 Comments

Heya Blog and Fragrance lovers.

There are a crew of bloggers doing this fabulous theme at EXACTLY the same time. Scroll below the video to meet the rest. Everyone has been asked to pick a Christmas song or carol that resonates and perfume it. I think there will be some fun ones, and from all around the world.

For me there is a kind of madness associated with Christmas when we all listen to silly, often puerile, songs while wearing bakery/spicy/incense laden perfumes. This on top of the great crazy Christmas shopping, more food in one meal than many families eat in a month, seeing family with whom you may have little or nothing in common with and in Australia anyway, HEAT!!

Please enter our Vaara by Penhaligon’s Full Bottle GIVEAWAY<<<JUMP

Photo Stolen Wikimedia

The Scent Of Music: L’Heure Bleue by Guerlain

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Lemon, neroli, aniseed, bergamot, coriander
Heart: Bulgarian rose, carnation, tuberose, violet, cloves, ylang, orchid, heliotrope, neroli
Base: Vanilla, Tonka bean, iris, musk, vetiver, sandalwood, benzoin

Tonight in the 30+ celcius heat I wore 2010 L’Heure Bleue EdP. This fragrance is made for heat. A fluffy blue powder puff of tra-la-laaaaaaa. A perfect fit for the early years of Barbra Streisand and her incredible voice, while she was still fun, camp, hungry and sensational. I don’t have a live video of her performing Jingle Bells but I have been miming to it EVERY CHRISTMAS since 1989. The song feels like a part of me and I never listen to it in between but around December you can be guaranteed that if I have to do a number then this will be it.

Photo Stolen ChristmasStockingPhotos

The Scent Of Music: Jingle Bells by Barbra Streisand

Natalie: Another Perfume Blog
Jingle Bells on Australian Perfume Junkies
Lulajze Jezuniu on Chemist in the Bottle
Winter Wonderland on All I Am a Redhead
O Come All Ye Faithful on Riktig Parfym
In the Bleak Midwinter on Olfactoria’s Travels
Carol of the Bells on Undina’s Looking Glass
Christmas Time is Here on ChickenFreak’s Obsessions
TBD on The Unseen Censer

Just as a little extra Christmas cheer I have added another incredible favourite carol done by another one of the voices that has played soundtrack in my life.

Oh Holy Night: Patti LaBelle

Most Reached For Fragrances 2013: Portia

December 21, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 44 Comments

Most Reached For Fragrances 2013: Portia

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Ambre Ceruleen by Huitieme Art Parfumes EdP

This was a Scent Bar purchase while in LA for the ScentSation Bus tour in May this year with Tom Pease. Ambre Ceruleen is a sweet amber as comfortable as an old pair of jeans that fit you perfectly and have softened into your shape. It has an excellent life length, 7+ hours on me, with good projection and sillage.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Amoureuse by Parfums DelRae EdP

Lily, jasmine, tuberose, honey and cardamom all together in a sensual, sweaty, slightly rank waft of gorgeous. Every time I wear Amoureuse it’s like a glamour assault on my senses and it gets loads of compliments too. I don’t understand why this terrific, well priced, beautifully blended range is not top of more perfumistas love lists.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Bellodgia by Caron EdT, EdP, Parfum, Oil

I am hoping to get to the Caron store in Paris in Jan/Feb. Does anyone know if they do bath products? The only thing that could make this crisp and wanton carnation better is to be up to my neck in bubbles of it in the bath. I love the Caron base, it sits beautifully on my skin radiating warmth and invitation, safety and feral attack. It’s so far from anything that you can buy in department stores nowadays that just for its differences alone it gathers compliments.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Coco by CHANEL EdT, EdP, Parfum

Coco is the naughty sensualist, the oriental blockbuster that can cut a swathe through a room. I love spritzing Coco and lying on the lounge playing Words With Friends (TubbyB9 if you want a game), huffing and cogitating simultaneously. It also gets a spritz for nights out, excellent dinner companion because by the time you have sat to eat it is a murmur playing a siren call style backbeat to everything else. Killer.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fancy Nights by Jessica Simpson EdP, Lotion

This el-cheapo celebuscent is one of my go-to perfumes. It is a milkier, dirtier, longer lasting Shalimar sister. Excellent bed scent that is used by a couple of my perfumista friends to send them to the land of nod. It is a wonderful body scent but also good for sheet and pillow fragrancing and considering how inexpensive Fancy Nights is there is never a question of saving it for best.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Liberte by Cacharel EdP

Yes, I know. Discontinued, cheap as chips, everyone slates it. Good. I will gather my discount stockpile and wear it alone. Liberte has the most fabulous sizzling citrus I’ve ever had the pleasure to wear. It’s bold and silly and festive. I reach for the crazy orange pillar at least once a week and enjoy the fizzy, fuzzy madness that is Liberte.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Lys Soleia (Aqua Allegoria) by Guerlain EdT

To remember spring or to enjoy the summer I think the most delightful Aqua Allegoria in the Guerlain line is Lys Soleia. The lily, Ylang, Citrus fruit and vanilla all collude in a cheerful sunshine bright burst of lovely. Wearable all year round and an excellent choice for gift giving, even a gift for yourself. Nowadays you can get Lys Soleia on the discounters for next to nothing too.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Olympic Amber by Olympic Orchids EdP, Parfum

Warm, dusty, dry resins and patchouli, the amber is gorgeously rich and right from the outset feels like a VERY expensive fragrance and gives me warm fuzzy feelings of love and safety. Not only do I regularly reach for it but I also gift it because it makes everyone smile.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Shalimar by Guerlain in EdC, EdT, EdP, Parfum:

There is something thrilling yet comforting about spritzing or dabbing Shalimar. It was the fragrance of my Mum’s clique, has been worn by many of my friends and every time I wear it I love it so much. That sweet swirl of citrus, vanilla, leather and a bouquet are TO DIE FOR every time, every incarnation and strength, with the same rush of memory and anticipation.

Photo Stolen Mona Di Orio

Vanille by Mona di Orio EdP

When I think go-to fragrance I like to smell good, want an interesting but ultimately wearable ride, love to have a few surprises for those rare days when I can take a leisurely amount of time to mentally document the progression and note parade but also need it to be spritz and go comfortable for the rest of my life. The boozy citrus, woods, vanilla and resins in Vanille don’t give me a typical vanilla ride but something softer, easier and ultimately more wearable on a daily basis fragrance.

Well, I’ve rambled on for far too long now it’s your turn, what did you reach for most in 2013?
Portia xx

Here are a bunch of other BEST LISTS: Persolaise :: The Candy Perfume Boy :: Eyeliner On A Cat :: Fragrant Moments :: PerfumeShrine :: The Fragrant Man :: I Smell Therefore I Am :: Smelly Blog :: Olfactoria’s Travels

Vaara by Bertrand Duchaufour for Penhaligon’s 2013

December 20, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 52 Comments

Hello my Lovelies,

STILL looking for the perfect Christmas Presents? Frantically trying to find something special and unusual for your loved ones? I speak often of my mate Nick from Libertine Parfumerie, he is regularly in touch with new stuff and always sends me product for giveaways. He doesn’t have to do it and it always brightens my day to get a package from him. Please, even if you don’t enter today’s competition, go and have a look at the amazing fragrant beauties that Libertine Parfumerie has for sale, you will be astounded. Lately Nick’s buying power has become so good that some of his products are the same numerical value as you would buy them fore in the USA, that means with the current Aussie dollar that they are in fact 10% cheaper!!! AMAZING! Vaara is a bit more expensive than some of the OS sites though but Nick will be sending out deliveries in Australia till the 24th December!!! How good is that? Using couriers in the last few days.

Vaara by Bertrand Duchaufour for Penhaligon’s Giveaway 2013

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Quince, rose water, carrot seeds, coriander, saffron
Heart: Rose, freesia, magnolia, peony
Base: Honey, white musk, cedar, sandalwood, benzoin, tonka bean

OK so if you have been reading the scentbloggosphere lately then you may think that Bertrand Duchaufour and Penhaligon’s have done something outrageously darstardly and are planning on taking over the world with inferior product (Mwa Ha ha ha haaaaaa with hand wringing and whites of eyes showing). The news is not all grim, gloom and doom but it’s not all super happy sunshine surprise either.

Vaara, the story of a fragrance created for the Royal House of Marwar-Jodphur in Rajasthan. In fact created for the newest member of the Royal House, a girl child. Created under the understanding that it would become a worldwide release. I do understand your sense of being let down. You are right, the hype set us up for failure in this case. A romantic story of far off India, Rajasthan no less, one of the world’s best and most prolific perfumers and the venerable house of Penhaligon’s. If the Maharajah had wanted something Indian he would have gone to the perfume wallahs in Old Delhi and had a special oil blend created for his beautiful girl but no, he did not do that he went to Penhaligon’s one of the most English titles of fragrance and asked them to create something inspired by his fabulous home in Rajasthan (one of my favourite parts of the world).

Pushkar Fair Photo Stolen Wikipedia

Why is everyone so surprised that this does not smell like India? The Maharaja wanted a pretty, soft, elegant fragrance that hinted at his homeland but screamed British Upper Crust. We act as if Bertrand Duchaufour can override his employers parameters anytime he wants and we also shout at him for cheapening the references to existing fragrances. We all wanted a budget version of Neela Vermeire’s work and it had to smell as good. Neela Vermeire is famous for using the most expensive concrete in her fragrance to sale value ratio, of course it only hints at her work with Duchaufour, this is a mass market fragrance by comparison though the price points are not that far apart. End rant.

Amber Fort. Jaipur Photo Stolen WikiMedia

What do we get with Vaara? An excellent modern fragrance for the person who wants to take a step from department store to niche or a very pretty go to daily wear fragrance for the perfumista who works and needs to smell good all day but not weird or outrageous. I won’t go deeply into the notes list because many others have before me but this is a clean, fresh, fruity, floral with a sheerness and light through it but still excellent sillage and projection. Vaara lasts for ages on me and my scent eating skin, I can still smell the clean musks and an amorphous wash of other stuff hinting at woods and resins at the 8 hour point and that is impressive. Yes, the dry down is more BBW that NVC but it doesn’t smell bad, just a bit generic. I do like the rose water and think it maintains its hydrosol like wetness well into the heart of Vaara and that the herbs and quince add nice light and shade, that very Duchaufour saffron isn’t as front and centre on me but I do catch it on and off.

Photo Stolen John Haslam Flickr

Further reading: Kafkaesque and Perfume Shrine
Libertine Parfumerie has $245/100ml
Surrender To Chance starts at $5/ml

Photo Stolen ManonEileen

Vaara by Penhaligon`s GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have one winner who will receive:

1 x 100ml TESTER bottle with lid of Vaara by Penhaligons (with about 5ml missing)
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ and go to Libertine Perfumes<<<JUMP and find me a perfume and its manufacturer. NO DOUBLE UPS!!

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie @PenhaligonsLtd Vaara GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-2jm #Perfume #Giveaway @LibertineParfum

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 22nd December 2013 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by putting names on same sized papers, folded similarly, put on a tray and Jin will pick a winner.
The winners will have till Thursday 26th December 2013 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.

DIOR ‘Golden Christmas’ Movie: J’Adore

December 20, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Hello Fumie friends,
One of the things I love about Christmas is the extra gorgeous mini movies everyone puts out. Here we have one of the DIOR offerings for 2013.

Photo Stolen huntlogo

Please enjoy.
Portia xx

DIOR ‘Golden Christmas’ Movie: J’Adore 2013

Photo Stolen Ana_Cotta Flickr

Tihota by Francis Kurkdijan for Indult 2006

December 19, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 13 Comments

Post by Chairman Meow

Hey APJ,

By the time I tripped over my signature bottle of Narciso Rodriguez and plummeted headlong down the proverbial rabbit hole, Indult was already an extinct house, and Tihota had already joined the ranks of Bigfoot and Chupacabra in acquiring mythical status. It was blogged about in hushed, reverent tones, but blogged about infrequently (presumably because of said status) and I knew very little about it, aside from it being a Gold Standard Vanilla [Perfume Posse Best of Vanilla List].

Indult Tihota by Francis Kurkdijan 2006

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives the following accords in one line:
Vanilla, musks

Indult themselves are no more helpful, their website providing us with the following enigma in Engrish that even Hello Kitty would be huppy with:
“When the skin is « sugar » under the Polynesian sun: it’s an exotic marriage of muscs in fusion and infusion with the sensual vanilla pods”

So when news came of Indult’s resurrection, what choice did I have other than to do the perfumista’s equivalent of pitching a tent and queuing all night for Bieber tickets? I signed up for a split of the first available bottle of Tihota. But before I tell you what Tihota is all about, please indulge me whilst I tell you what it is not:

It is not the sozzled, macerated fruit compote of Guerlain’s Spiritueuse Double Vanille.
It is not the incense smoked, clove studded orange pomander of Mona di Orio’s Vanille.
It is not the Cuban cigar laced with the fresh urine of herbivores, that is Tom Ford’s Tobacco Vanille.
It is not even the “straight up” vanilla touted by many.

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

Tihota is probably better described as a glamour shot of a vanilla, spray tanned in caramelised sugar and poised in front of a creme anglaise schmeared lens. From here, I wish I could offer you an intimate dissection of its various nuances, to describe, in licentious detail, the story of its top notes unfurling into a heart unfolding into a base, imploding into a crunchy tortilla shell, but it’s a pretty straightforward fragrance. The opening is the crack of the amber carapace of a creme brulee, with the first few seconds dominated a lightly burnt sugar, soon joined by a scrummy, velvety vanilla-flecked custard. And thus it remains, as immutable as an everlasting gobstopper, for hours.

Photo Stolen -Coral- Flickr

I will be the first to admit that I had been expecting a scent that was less literal an interpretation of a desert trolley and something more, shall we say, highbrow. But then I found myself wanting to gnaw at my hand in a slightly troubling, auto-cannibalistic fashion. I noticed that strangers, lips curled asunder, would sniff lustfully in my direction at the shops.

And I noticed that my decant was very quickly running out, and that I was day dreaming of a full bottle.

Further reading: Perfume Shrine and Ca Fleure Bon
LuckyScent has $200/50ml
Surender To Chance starts at $6/.5ml

Have you tried Indult? Old or new? Are you interested?
Chairman Meow

L’Occitane Christmas GIVEAWAY PACK WINNERS

December 19, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

Heya APJ Friends and Family,

YAY!! It’s Christmas time and we have WINNERS GALORE!!

Thank you L’Occitane Australia for your amazing support this year. I am loving your products so much and am using the Divine Cream and Divine Eyes almost daily (one day a week I let my skin completely rest) and I have noticed significant positive changes. Your Ambre & Santal is on high rotation in my fragrance wardrobe and has seen more skin time this month than most of my other fragrances.

L’Occitane World Store Locator is a great way to find your nearest L’Occitane store but I like to go directly to L’Occitane Australia<<JUMP.

L’Occitane Christmas GIVEAWAY PACK WINNERS

WHAT YOU COULD WIN

This week there will be 2 winners and each will receive one of these amazingly beautiful packs. No, you don’t get to choose.
P&H Anywhere in the world

Delicate Cherry Blossom Collection

Delicate Cherry Blossom Collection Photo Stolen L’Occitane Australia

This collection includes:
1x Cherry Blossom Eau de Toilette 100ml
1x Cherry Blossom Shower Gel 250ml
1x Cherry Blossom Body Lotion 250ml
1x Cherry Blossom Soap 50gr
1x Cherry Blossom Hand Cream 30ml

The Retail Value of all these products is $154 but in the pack you can buy it for $110, free Australian shipping over $100 too.

Best of L’OCCITANE Collection

Best of L'OCCITANE Collection Photo Stolen L’Occitane Australia

Here’s what you get in the Best Of L’Occitane Pack with a Retail Value $115: in the pack only $90, and it comes beautifully Gift Boxed for easy wrapping!

1x Shea Butter Hand Cream 150ml
1x Almond Shower Oil 250ml
1x Shea Butter Foot Cream 30ml
1x Lavender Foaming Bath 100ml
1x Extra Gentle Soap – Verbena 100g
1x Pivoine Flora Body Lotion 75ml

HOW DID YOU WIN?

To be eligible for the draw just mention how you follow the APJs and tell us any L’Occitane product that you’ve used or like the sound of and why.
Also if you’ve had a problem with a particular L’Occitane product their L’Occitane Australia Marketing Team would love to read your honest and constructive criticisms.

Extra Chances?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie 2 x L’Occitane Christmas Packs GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-2hY #Giveaway #Perfume #BodyLotion @LOCCITANE

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Wednesday 18th December 2013 10pm Australian EDST
Winners will be chosen by random.org

Photo Stolen shannonmayer

Katie, Kath

CONGRATULATIONS!!! The winners will have till Saturday 21st December 2013 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.

Go on, pop into your nearest L’Occitane Store and check their products, or go online L’Occitane Australia

Loads of love,
Portia xx