Heatwave Fragrances for Summer 2015

December 28, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 7 Comments

Post by Greg Young

Hey APJ,

South-east Australia has been sweltering in a heat wave for days on end. Going outside has been like walking into a brickmaker’s kiln, and staying inside hasn’t been much fun either. Conservative businessmen such as myself are dispensing with their ties and looking fondly at the pub over the road from work, dreaming of a cold craft beer.

Choosing the right fragrance for temperatures like this can be tough. I feel the need for something that picks me up in the morning and sends me out feeling at least a little bit chipper. For me, that usually means something with a citrus hit. It also needs to defy the evaporative force of baking Melbourne heat, so classic EdCs are off the list. Here is how I dealt with the heat this week.

Heatwave Fragrances for Summer 2015

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Thursday: the wave begins
The CBD baked in 36 degree heat. Tauer’s Orange Star has a sharp citrus juice opening that is very refreshing on a hot morning. It’s not really my idea of a summer fragrance; the vanilla and tonka bean give it a sweetness that I think is more appropriate for cooler days. The fact that Orange Star lasted the distance in this heat is impressive; I could still smell its amber drydown 12 hours later at home, in the cooling blast of A/C.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Friday: the swelling wave
When the thermometer climbs to 39 and it’s accompanied by a northerly wind Melbourne becomes positively beastly. I chose Penhaligon’s Blenheim Bouquet for my Friday fragrance. This very traditional fragrance was designed for Winston Churchill’s father – Blenheim Palace is the Churchill family seat. It’s lemon and lime scent was just what I needed, bolstered by a refreshing pine. This was a perfect pick. While not exactly fighting on the beaches, it never surrendered.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Saturday: the wave crests – and a special occasion.
It was 41C (106F) on Saturday. We planned to travel for a weekend away to celebrate our wedding anniversary. This meant we had to go out in blinding heat, sit in a car where the seats set fire to you when you climbed in, and moan to one another about how hot it was.

We went to dinner at a rural Italian restaurant of considerable note and I chose D.S. & Durga’s Italian Citrus, with its powerful, complex, almost bitter citrus note that really stays with you. It developed a sweeter musk as the night wore on, but the citrus remained until the end rather than giving way to the base notes. It lasted a good four hours.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Sunday: the wave breaks
Only by comparison to the furnace of Saturday could the 39 degrees we reached on Sunday be considered cooler. We were in the car again travelling home. At the outset we could feel every one of those 39 degrees, cutting short our trip to get into the car and just leave.

I wore Masque Terralba. There is a cedary opening to this, but it’s cut by a little bit of lemon. It has an oceanic note that I can’t quite place, which reduces the woodsiness. Some herbal green notes emerge later as well.

Shortly after arriving home, the heat wave broke. Intermittent showers of rain brought relief from the fearsome dry, and the temperature tumbled ten degrees in just a few hours. The heat wave was over – until the next one.

Surrender To Chance is a great place to sample most of these.

How do you cope with heat?
Greg Young

Miss Dior vintage EdC GIVEAWAY WINNERS

December 28, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Post by Portia

Thanks for getting involved gang, let’s see who won.

Portia xxx

Miss Dior vintage EdC GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Galbanum, Bergamot
Heart: Jasmine, Rose, Gardenia
Base: Oakmoss, Ambergris, Sandalwood, Patchouli

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 2 winners who will receive:
1 x Miss Dior vintage EdC decant
some extras
P&H Worldwide

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 27th December 2015 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org

Photo Stolen brooklodge

Hazel

Lindaloo

CONGRATULATIONS! The winners will have till Thursday 31st December 2015 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.

Amarige by Dominique Ropion for Givenchy 1991

December 27, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 12 Comments

Post by Anne-Marie

A little while ago I did a round-up of print and online reviews of one of the most reviled perfumes on the counter: Givenchy’s Amarige. Now I’d like to share my own views. An astute reader will probably have decided that I would not be going to this much trouble if I hated Amarige, and you are right. I do love it. So THERE!

Amarige by Givenchy 1991

Amarige by Dominique Ropion

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Mandarin, Neroli, Peach, Plum, Rosewood, Violet Heart
Heart: Gardenia, Carnation, Jasmine, Cassia, Mimosa, Orchid, Black locust, Rose, Red berries, Black currant, Tuberose, Ylang-ylang
Base: Amber, Woody notes, Musk, Sandalwood, Tonka bean, Vanilla, Cedar

Firstly, the notes (deep breath):
Top: orange blossom, plum, mandarin, violet, peach, neroli, Brazilian rosewood.
Heart: red berries, mimosa, carnation, black locust, tuberose, blackcurrant, gardenia, casie, orchids, jasmine, ylang ylang, rose.
Base: sandalwood, tonka, amber, musk, vanilla, woody notes, cedar

How does it smell to me? I don’t much bother trying to separate the notes. To me Amarige smells of peaches, white flowers, and sunshine. Yellow is a dominant colour in the marketing and while I don’t dress in yellow, I get my ‘yellow’ from Amarige. It’s a colour – and a scent – of confidence, happiness and optimism.

Amarige’s bottle was designed by Pierre Dinand and inspired by a blouse Hubert de Givenchy had designed in 1952 for his model, muse and some time press agent, Bettina Graziani. High-collared and narrow at the waist, the sleeves of the ‘Bettina blouse’ were deeply ruffled with broderie anglaise, and those ruffles are referenced in the cap on the bottle.

Photo Stolen Pinterest

Tuberose? I compared Amarige with other ‘scoundrels’ (Luca Turin’s word) of the era: Giorgio of Beverly Hills and Elizabeth Arden’s Red Door. The tuberose in those is indeed very and harsh and synthetic, to my nose, whereas in Amarige the tuberose is balanced and blended with other notes, especially that joyful peach.

Too strong? Oh for goodness sake! Just wear less. Nobody is forcing you to spritz Amarige 16 times, are they? What? Your Auntie Sharon did actually spritz it 16 times, back in the 90s? Well good on her. She smelled better than if she had been wearing any amount of Issey Miyake. Yes she did.

Speaking of Issey Miyake, some perfume critics write of the 90s as a time of freshness and restraint in perfume. In the 80s, perfumes were too strong and we all wore too much. In the 90s we detoxed, apparently, on fragrances like Calvin Klein’s CK One and Clinique’s Happy. But no, that’s not quite true. The divas kept coming. Not just Amarige, but Lancome’s Trésor and Poème, Liz Taylor’s White Diamonds, Gucci’s L’Arte di Gucci and Rush, Thierry Mugler’s Angel, YSL’s Yvresse, Hermès’ 24 Faubourg, Dior’s Docle Vita and J’Adore, and Chanel’s Allure.

And yet the clean watery fragrances did sell like crazy, so perhaps the only explanation is that they were bought by people who would otherwise not wear fragrance at all – memories of Auntie Sharon – meaning that the fragrance market overall must have expanded in the 1990s.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

FragranceNet has $28/30ml
My Perfume Samples starts at $2/ml

I started out with Amarige and have ended up with 90s fruity florals in general.
What do you think? A good era for perfume, the 90s? Or … not?

Mugler: Interview with David Koma

December 27, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Post by Portia

Hey there Fashion/Perfumistas,

David Koma has been fairly circumspect about his Creative Directorship of house Mugler. It’s nice to see him interviewed and find out a little about the boy who has brought the Mugler label into the 21st century. Don’t be expecting the outrageous shock value pieces of Mugler past, this is a sleeker, cooler and richer model. So sharp you could be bored until you notice the detail, the impossible patternmaking he puts his crew through and the ultimate genuflection to the young, lithe, shapely female form.

Photo Stolen Mugler

I hope you enjoy it,
Portia xxx

Mugler: Interview with David Koma

Boxing Day 2015

December 26, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 18 Comments

Post by Portia

Hi All,

You have survived Christmas or you didn’t celebrate. Either way it’s over for another year. Boxing Day is here in Sydney.

So Christmas here was a lovely, laid back affair. We ended up with only ten people at table and it was a perfect size. There was loads of room for everyone and no elbows getting in each others way. Jin & I were up quite late getting the apartment organised and having an event spurred us on to get some things done that had been on the list since we moved in. We both slept like logs and then up bright and early to do finishing touches. Jin also had to get his dessert ready so we could throw them in the oven when we needed to.

Photo Donated Kath Waples

This year we did something new. Every family had to bring a salad, meat and dessert. It was all planned in advance so we had a fabulous selection and everyone had enough. It cut down on prep time for everyone and meant that we all arrived feeling much less stressed than usual. Jin made mango dacquiris to start us off on the right foot and they were particularly potent so by the time we sat to dinner everyone was feeling convivial. There were a selection of sparkling white or moscato with lunch and still or sparkling water, add garlic bread and a serve yourself buffet and you have an idea of how it all went.

Christmas Tree & Presents

In between courses we did presents. My lovely haul included a new wallet, reading light, back armour for my bike jacket, gift cards and LOADS of chocolates!!!

Dessert was extravagant. Jin cooked mini apple pies with cream and Jane, my BFFs sister, created an ice cream cake with 4 layers and that was drizzled with ice magic and sprinkled with berries, we didn’t even bring out the Christmas Cake and there was something else but I didn’t even notice it. With dessert I percolated some coffee and made some Irish breakfrast tea and we sat around chatting and laughing.

Ma & Pa Waples

CHANEL No 5 was the fragrance de jour but to be honest I was so busy organising and eating that it was background hum, it’s completely faded now but I’m thinking that a bath is in order and then I’m craving vintage Mitsouko by Guerlain.

Photo Donated Kath Waples

Boxing Day 2015

Today we are having a sleep in and then going for a swim with the same crew we spent lunch with today. Perfect! It feels like a Liberté by Cacharel kinda day but I’m wavering and think that maybe I’ll wear Skin on Skin by L’Artisan, Teo Cabanel Alahine or V Intense by Piguet.
It’s days like today that remind me how freaking lucky I am in so many ways.

What did you all get up to and what frags did you wear?
Portia xxx

Alien by Thierry Mugler: A Sambac Story – Official Film

December 25, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

Post by Portia

It’s not often that the Thierry Mugler crew bring out a video about their fragrances so I got pretty excited when this landed in my box. Then to watch it and see that it’s not really about Alien the fragrance but more about harvesting sambac jasmine in India and you can colour me thrilled.

I hope you enjoy the 3.30m film
Portia xx

Alien by Thierry Mugler 2005

Alien by Dominique Ropion + Laurent Bruyere.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Jasmine sambac, Cashmere wood, Ambergris

Alien, Thierry Mugler: A Sambac Story – Official Film. Alien was crafted from the powerful idea of the sun’s rays conveyed in the form of a raw block of intense ingredients. This was based on an accord of natural sambac jasmine, the most powerful jasmine scent, echoed by a duo of amber and wood.

Alien, Thierry Mugler: A Sambac Story – Official Film

MERRY CHRISTMAS APJ CREW!

December 25, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 37 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey there Crew,

Whether you celebrate or not we hope the spirit of loving your neighbour and peace on earth will be with you at this time. Here are some helpful hints to get you through Christmas 2015.

Congratulate yourself on surviving another year more or less intact.
Nobody gets what they want as a present, smile and thank them for the thought. Straight to Goodwill on Monday.
Remember in times of family stress over the Christmas period, God gave you legs to walk away from a disagreement.
No ones home is perfect, yours is fine.
Everyone is doing their best to cope and fit in, even though it doesn’t look like it.
Unless someone has died everything else is dealable or fixable.
If alone on Christmas, you have to make your own joy. Spritz or dab lavishly of your most exquisite fragrance.
Nobody wants to do the dishes while in a food coma, clear the table of empty plates, scrape them and leave them neatly in the kitchen for later.
Think of three things you can be grateful for. Say “Thank You” out loud for each one.
Remember you are part of the APJ International Fragrance Family and we love you to bits. Thanks for being part of our fragrant lives.

What’s going on here in Sydney? We are having 3 generations of my BFFs family for lunch and a couple of our mates. Every family brings a meat, a salad and a dessert. Jin & I also supply the booze, drinks and bread rolls. It’s very relaxed, loads of fun and I feel so blessed to have them coming, that our home fits everyone and that we get to spoil them all. The day runs from around 11am through to 4pm and then slowly people move off to their next event, there will be some late stayers who will hang out for dinner and some serious couch surfing.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Aldehydes, bergamot, lemon, neroli, ylang-ylang
Heart: Jasmine, rose, lily of the valley, iris
Base: Vetiver, sandalwood, vanilla, amber, patchouli

What fragrance will I be wearing? This is not set in stone but my idea is to wear some vintage CHANEL No 5 EdC that I bought from the Linda Beth Ross estate and some vint-ish CHANEL No 5 parfum. It’s so easy to wear in the height of summer and that lovely fizzy, out of this world bouquet is timeless. I may change my mind but that’s the plan…. Last year CHANEL No 5 worked so well for Boxing Day I wore it the next day too.

What are you doing for Christmas? Whether there are one or 100 of you please let us know. What fragrance are you wearing?
Peace be with all of you.
Portia & the APJ Crew xxx

Val CQ’s Christmas GIVEAWAY WINNERS!

December 25, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 5 Comments

Post by Portia

Thanks Val for a superv fun and fabulous giveaway. You are so generous.

Merry christmas all,
Portia xx

Val CQ’s Christmas GIVEAWAY WINNERS!

Photo Donated Val

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have one winner who will receive:
1 each decants Mito and Cuir d’Ange (from Val’s bottles)
P&H Worldwide

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Thursday 24th December 2015 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosenfrom the armadillo

Photo Stolen markmontanoblogs

Mito

GARA

Ingeborg

Cuir d’Ange

BB Mc

The winner will have till Monday 28th December 2015 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.

Miss Dior vintage EdC by DIOR 1947: Live Video Sniff

December 24, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 22 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey Fumies,

It’s Christmas Eve so I thought we could do with a fun video and giveaway.

There’s nothing quite like the thrill of receiving vintage fragrances in the mail. It’s always a lottery and you never know till it’s on your skin how fabulous, or otherwise, it’s going to smell. Here’s an adventure we had recently.

Miss Dior vintage EdC by DIOR 1947

Miss Dior vintage EdC by Jean Carles + Paul Vacher

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Galbanum, Bergamot
Heart: Jasmine, Rose, Gardenia
Base: Oakmoss, Ambergris, Sandalwood, Patchouli

Recently I had a sealed vintage bottle of Miss Dior EdC arrive in the post. The box was discoloured and as soon as I unwrapped the cellophane there was unmistakable scent. We were pretty worried. Then we opened the bottle and only about 1/4 was missing, that’s pretty good. When I did the first spritz though it all turned to shit and the propellant started spurting and only putting my thumb over the geyser stopped it. Rushed to get a large decant bottle to put it in but the combination of propellant, hot day, inability to get the nozzle out or in and all other drama meant I only got to keep about 10ml of a 100ml bottle.

Here’s a video of the excitement

Photo Stolen AllSteele

Miss Dior vintage EdC GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 2 winners who will receive:
1 x Miss Dior vintage EdC decant
some extras
P&H Worldwide

HOW DO YOU WIN?

Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged. 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 (portia underscore turbo @ yahoo dot com dot au) so I know.

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please tell us any story of DIOR, fashion or fragrance

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 27th December 2015 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winner will be chosen by random.org
The winner will have till Thursday 31st December 2015 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.

Poison by Edouard Flechier for Christian Dior 1985

December 23, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 5 Comments

Post by Joseph Sagona

Hi APJ,

Review #300

I have a history with Poison, it’s one of my Mothers all time favorite perfumes, she still wears it to this day, every time I wear it, it reminds me of her. I can remember being nine years old and going into my Mother’s bed room and on top of her dresser would be that beautiful purple bottle of Poison, I would steal a few sprays here and there, I loved the smell so much, it was so sweet and fruity.

My Mother has no idea that I do fragrance reviews, she would probably wonder why I do them, so I never told her, but she does know I love fragrance. This review I will show her, I want her to know how much I love her and what she means to me, and for her to know that Poison is the fragrance that started me on my love, passion and amazing journey of fragrances today.

Poison by Christian Dior 1985

Poison by Edouard Flechier

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Brazillian rosewood, plum, wild berries, anise, coriander
Heart: Carnation, jasmine, opoponax, African orange flower, tuberose, white honey, rose, incense, cinnamon
Base: Virginian cedar, heliotrope, amber, vanilla, vetiver, sandalwood, musk

Dior’s Poison is the type of fragrance that you have to have attitude and confidence to wear, it is strong, classy, elegant, charming, sophisticated and bitchy.

I get the Plum, White Honey, Incense, Wild Berries, Tuberose and Cinnamon it opens up with a lush, dark plum and a tart, sweet wild berries, the dark plum and wild berries are strong. Then after thirty minutes the plum dissipates, the wild berries soften, in comes a dry, aromatic cinnamon and a whispering, creamy tuberose, the cinnamon is soft, the tuberose is mild.

After three hours the cinnamon dissipate and the tuberose softens. In comes a golden, silky white honey and a warm incense with a touch of sweetness, the honey and incense are mild.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Poison reminds me of Jeanne Arthes Cobra, and Christian Dior’s Poison Extrait, Cobra is spicier, citric and stronger woods, Poison Extrait has stronger florals, softer spices and comes off soapy.

Poison is very fruity, sweet, dark, floral, syrupy and unisex. It leans more towards the feminine side, with soft woody and spicy undertones: a floral fragrance. This can be worn all year ’round, it would be better suited for the Fall and Winter, I get good projection and good longevity, a Christian Dior masterpiece.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Further reading: Yesterday’s Perfume and Black Narcissus
FragranceNet has $73/50ml before Coupon
My Perfume Samples starts at $2.50/ml

What is your Poison? Have you ever worn it?
Joseph Sagona