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Sandra
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Hey there dear APJ community.
Words seem to be failing me at the moment. How do I bid you all farewell? How do I say goodbye to a much beloved safe fragrance space?
Author: Sandra
Vetiver Cœur by April Aromatics
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Sandra
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Happy New Year dear APJ! How did you celebrate the new year? Do any of you write new year resolutions?
We survived the holidays – barely. It was a host of things that just made it terribly stressful for us all. New Year’s Eve was a complete dud as I wrongly assumed that they would be doing loads of fireworks in our village. Not quite sure if it is just not tradition here to do as many fireworks as they do on the national holiday or if it was the thick fog that set in here in the hills. Anyway – we started celebrating on the 1st to make up for the previous night.
Happy New Year and Vetiver Cœur by April Aromatics
So Long 2019 … and a Guerlain December
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Sandra
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Hey there APJ!
Is anyone stressed with the holidays? I am trying to keep the stress at bay but am finding that time is flying by too quickly. This will be the first year where my son will have a three week vacation. Yay!! It will make all the difference to have the week before Christmas off.
Carduus by Jorum Studio: Scent of Scotland
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Sandra
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Hey APJ! How is everyone doing?
It has been busy lately. October was still quite warm and sunny here in Basel. With November, autumn has finally set in with the hills surrounding us finally changing colours.
Every city/country has a scent memory for me. As a child, traveling, I started to notice these scents. For example, Argentina is horses, cows and BBQs. Greece is vegetal, salt from the sea and the smell of sun heated stones. Italy is peach, hay and toasted pine nuts. As an adult lover of scents and perfumes, I am aware of a new city and its smells. My new home city of Basel is currently smelling of roasted chestnuts, spices and wet fallen leaves. So imagine my surprise when I discovered a scent of Scotland.
Carduus by Jorum Studio: Scent of Scotland
Euan McCall
Chanel No. 19 Vintage – My Experience
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Sandra
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Hi APJ, how are you doing?
Yay – I recently bought a bottle of vintage Chanel No. 19 Extrait! I can remember so many years ago wearing No. 19, especially in the warmer months and loving it. I wanted to experience the emotions of joy and strength again.
Chanel No. 19 used to be one of my absolute favorite perfumes to wear over twenty years ago. The memory of the seasons shifting in Vienna made me want to revisit No. 19 again. Following the dark grey days of winter, the sun would inevitably come out and ring in spring. Ever so slowly the trees started to come alive again with the bright young green leaves and when the sun rays shone upon them pure joy washed over me lifting off the weight upon my shoulders during my commute.
Chanel No. 19 Vintage – My Experience
Bohemian Spice by April Aromatics
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Sandra
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Hey, hey APJ! How has September been treating you all?
There is a tangible chill in the air. After months of dry heat, it is finally a bit crisp in the mornings and evenings. The days are warmish, even with sun sitting lower in the sky. For the first time in months I have needed to wear a cardigan on the school run and with that comes the need to pull out the duvets, organize my jumpers and wear sneakers instead of sandals.
Bohemian Spice by April Aromatics
Tanja Bochnig
Hermès: Summer of Hermessences!
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Sandra
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Hey there APJ! How is everyone doing?
Summer is my absolute favorite season. The long bright sunny days full of warmth hitting every pore of my body make my heart pulsate with pure joy. Barefoot feet, leisurely days by the pool side, lazy mornings sleeping in and days where I can decide on a whim or fancy what to do take years of stress and weight off of my shoulders. This is cherished time with my son who enjoys summer as much as or if not more than I do.
Hermès: Summer of Hermessences!
Sharing Perfumes With …
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Sandra
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Hi dear APJ! How are you?
I am feeling blessed at the moment. My mom and dad flew in from the US a month ago and have been exploring Switzerland with us. My mom left this past weekend and my dad will stay on for another three weeks while she tours around Europe. Towards the end of September they will fly back home together.
They are both fit for their age and have quite a bit of energy to run around. It never ceases to amaze me of how much they can actually do. If memory serves me right they are walking over 10,000 steps on an almost daily basis.
Sharing Perfumes with Family
Normally I am quite shy about my love of perfume and I tend to keep this aspect close to my chest. Perfume is such a personal experience, and I get uncomfortable when someone asks me what I am wearing. Will they love it or loathe it? Also, I enjoy being uniquely fragrant! Shallow? Yes, perhaps.
But when my mom comes into town, it is another story all together. She arrives practically empty handed and looks forward to rummaging through my perfumes to find out what she is going to wear on any given day. I enjoy watching her face light up with happiness and joy when she finds something to wear.
Many times, mom will choose a perfume that I never would have pegged her for. For instance, on this trip, she chose Kilian Rose Oud and Kilian Incense Oud on a regular basis. If I am completely honest with you, they both smell fantastic on her (much better than on me) and gifted her my bottles. Incense Oud tends to be quite masculine on my skin and surprisingly the rose really shines on mom’s skin chemistry and leans more feminine. Same thing with Rose Oud.
Now, over the years, I have always thought of my mom as person who cannot stand sweetness in perfumes. Imagine my surprise when I brought out a box of perfumes for her to sniff and she kept going back to the Guerlains and Diors. I only had a couple of empty bottles and was able to decant Cuir Beluga, Myrrhe & Délires, Ambra Aurea, New Look 1947, Bois des Iles and Tokyo for her. Now she can continue on her European vacation smelling like a million bucks!
Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would be able to share my love of perfume with my mom.
Do you open up about your perfumed life? Does your family know about it? Do you like to share your perfumes with loved ones?
Until next time.
Oodles of fragrant kisses.
Sandra xo
Tapping my Inner Beast – d’ambiguité, L’animal sauvage and Poudrextase by Marlou
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Sandra
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Hey there dear APJ! How are you all doing?
Summer vacation is over and even though I am ready for my son to head back to school, I will miss spending the days with him. He is entering fifth grade! Where does the time go?
Tapping my Inner Beast – d’ambiguité, L’animal sauvage and Poudrextase by Marlou
Calling All Angels by April Aromatics
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Sandra
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Hey APJ! How is life treating you? Life is good during summer vacation when the days are long and hot (insane intense heat) and we are preparing for my parents arrival at the end of the month.
Incense and I have had a rocky relationship for years. I have owned two incense perfumes and used the one I adored up. My other incense perfume only feels right for me in the summer heat when the incense is played down and I get more ambergris. So naturally I am curious about what else is on the market. However, my fickle side comes out when I am presented with a cool almost icy incense. It makes my throat close up and I start coughing. Many times I am left cold.
Australian Perfume Junkies 