Impromptu by Roxana Villa for Roxana Illuminated Perfumes 2014

May 2, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 57 Comments

Post by Azar

Impromptu by Roxana Villa for Roxana Illuminated Perfumes 2014

This week I had a great time interviewing Roxana Villa of Roxana Illuminated Perfume. I learned so much and also had the opportunity to try samples of her 2014 re-issue of Impromptu. (ED: Here are links to Azas wonderful interview Roxana Villa #1 and Roxana Villa #2)

As a pianist I understand the term “impromptu” to refer to music that seems improvisatory but is actually very carefully designed to give the impression of being created on the spur of the moment. A musical impromptu is usually a shorter solo piece without extensive formal development, seemingly just “tossed off” by the composer as a reflection of a fleeting mood, emotion or memory. On her website Roxana describes the creation of her first Impromptu (2012) fragrance as a kind of spontaneous amalgam of scents. She relates how she used a botanical version of an historic leather accord by the early 20th century “father of aromatherapy” René-Maurice Gattefossé combined with a variation of her own Chaparral perfume and a number of other purposefully affordable elements to develop a new fragrance. From this information the first Impromptu seems indeed an improvisation, a truly ex-temporaneous creation, almost impossible to faithfully reproduce in every detail. In contrast, the new version that I tried is obviously a well-considered and thoughtfully crafted perfume composition using “over 30 individual plant essences and three complex accords”. http://issuu.com/ladyroxana/docs/impromptu

That being said – I thought I knew what to expect from just about any botanical fragrance. From my very first sniff of Impromptu these preconceptions were totally blown away! I was almost shocked by the sillage and pleasantly surprised by the longevity, depth and sophistication of this new fragrance.

The re-issue of Impromptu is available in three formats: Perfume, EDP and solid perfume. Each version tells its own story, revealing different facets of the perfume’s profile. Of the three I find the perfume strength to be the brightest, most focused and lively. It opens, for a fraction of a second, with a sunny mimosa that is immediately overtaken by what I perceive as lemon balm but what is probably citronella, lemon geranium, petitgrain and myrtle. Artemisia, galbanum and immortelle feature prominently as the perfume evolves to its heart of leather, choya laban and labdanum. This darker side settles close to the skin for several hours eventually drying down lightly to a combination of orris, smoky vanilla, benzoin and balsam.

The EDP opens with similar green and sunny top notes (artemisia, citronella, basil, galbanum, immortelle/helichrysum) but develops a darker, more somber heart reminiscent of a forest floor of dry leaves, mushrooms and cedar wood laced with labdanum, leather, myrrh and the smoky choya. Strangely, the EDP last longer on my skin than the parfum, up to 8 hours and at least 12 hours on clothing, finishing as dusky vanilla, honeyed balsam, choya, incense and various woods.

The solid perfume is the most intimate of the three. The initial and mid notes are once again dominated by citronella, artemisia, galbanum, balsam and leather but this time homogenized in honey and beeswax with very little change over the life of the scent. (BTW I love the handy little pots that Roxana uses to package the solid samples.)

Each presentation of Impromptu seems suited to a particular time of day. The bright and focused perfume works best for me in the morning and early afternoon. I prefer to use the solid and the EDP in late afternoon and evening to help relax and to create an atmosphere of contemplation and meditation. In all three versions the citronella and what I perceive to be something like a green camphor (probably the myrtle) help to project the fragrance beyond the skin creating a surprising cloud of fragrance around the wearer. As the cloud evaporates it is drawn back to the skin creating an almost visible aura of scent.

Despite the name Impromptu and the sunny opening I find this fragrance to be serious, reflective and sophisticated. It is not overtly sexual but instead magical, fascinating and alluring, almost androgynous and suited to either a man or women. Roxana chose to represent her new fragrance with the image of the griffin, the mythological creature of two natures, sacred to the sun.

Photo stolen myprettypaints

Impromptu GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week’s draw is for one prize that includes
1 x sample set of the re-issue of Impromptu including the perfume, EDP and the solid perfume
P&H Anywhere in the world

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 leave a comment about one of Roxana’s fragrances or on your experience with botanical perfumes in general.

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Impromptu: Roxana Illuminated Perfumes GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-2Kg #Perfume #Giveaway @RoxanaVilla

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 4th May 2014 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen any fab way that Azar decides
The winners will have till Thursday 8th May 2014 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.

Azar xx

Roxana Villa of Roxana Illuminated Perfume: Interview #2

April 29, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 17 Comments

Hey APJ,

Yesterday Azar started her amazing in-depth look into the life and work on one of APJs favourite Independent Perfumers, Roxana Villa. Today we continue the fascinating story. I hope you are enjoying this insight as much as I am.
Portia xx

Roxana Villa of Roxana Illuminated Perfume: Interview #2

You use vital, natural materials to create your perfumes. How many of these materials do you distill, tincture and create yourself from what you gather in your own garden?

I prefer using the word botanical rather than natural since the terminology more accurately and authentically represents what I do. The word natural doesn’t mean anything and can be ascribed to all sorts of materials which are far from nature and what I personally would ever term as natural.

I currently do not distill any of my materials, I do work with small distillers and am extremely mindful where my essences come from. I am not interested in working with materials that have anything to do with the petroleum industry, which is where synthetics and most isolates come from. I’m also making more of an effort to use ingredients from companies that do not do animal testing or offer historical animal ingredients such as civet and castoreum.

I do extract scent and vital components from plants in my garden using processes that stem out of herbalism and ancient perfumery such as infusing, tincturing and enfleurage . A few weeks ago my jasmine sambac plants started their flowering cycle. Everyday I check for blossoms that will go into 190 proof alcohol, jojoba oil and a wax+oil preparation. The end result of the process will go into different products I offer and ones that are just for myself.

I find your artwork both profound and light hearted. The pieces entitled “Botanicus” and “Pollinate” are two of my favorites. Could you describe the process that brings your perfume and visual art into being?

Thanks so much for your sweet comment about my illustrations. Conceptual thinking is a skill set I learned while studying illustration at Otis Art Institute in the mid 80’s. The talent for taking an idea and transcribing into a visual image easily translates into a fragrance. For example, the fragrance Q in my line came out of the intention to save seven California native oaks on a lot next to our home. As a visual artist I would do a drawing and or painting to bring attention to the challenge, in this case I decided to take action by gathering leaves from the trees on the high holiday of Beltane, putting them into 190 proof alcohol to extract their essence and scent and creating a fragrance. At the time I did not have a line of perfumes, I was making my living as an illustrator, teaching aromatherapy on the side and creating custom fragrances. The oak is called Duir by the Druids, stemming from the Sanskrit Dwr meaning door. Q was the perfume which motivated me to launch my line so that I could bring awareness to the plight of this glorious native tree. My intention as an artist, whether working in the visual or aromatic realm is to illuminate, bring light, to the connection between humans and the realm of plants so that we may live in harmony.

I am curious about your work with feral bees. Are these bees the same genus-species (Apis mellifera) as our domesticated honeybees? Do you manage them in commercial style hives or just hope they will return to wild hives on your property?

The feral honey bee we have here in the US is indeed Apis mellifera. The difference between her and the genetically modified version used by industrial bee keepers is that she hasn’t been tinkered with in a lab to make her larger with the intention of producing more honey. The feral bee is smaller and contains a diversity of genetics making her resistant to the perils of her larger, frankensteined sisters. She is surviving quite well in urban areas where there is a diverse diet of plants and flowers versus the chemically treated crops of commercial agriculture. A great film to watch that addresses this topic really well is More Than Honey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NT05qEJxUk

There is a lack on consciousness when corporations get involved with nature, greed takes over and methodologies are practiced with no long term thinking. The current situation with GMOs is a great example. The major sources of media are all owned by giant conglomerates which choose what the masses need to hear. They edit information without fact checking and present views that further their causes.

The two hives on my property are feral bees saved from three different locations around Los Angeles. The methods I use are those of holistic beekeepers, or my new favorite term bee guardians. My mentor, Kirk Anderson, teaches us that the bees know exactly what they are doing, its humans who are messing things up. I allow the bees to build their own comb and I use absolutely no pesticides, fungicides, sugar water, etc. The honey bee is very fastidious and keeps the hive very tidy, at 98 degrees and knows what to do if things go out of balance. The more we stay out of the way the healthier they are and the more they can concentrate on the task given to them.

If you could chose only three people who have had the most influence on your life as an artist and perfumer who would they be?

While attending Otis Art Institute in downtown LA I had an illustration teacher named Laurence Carroll that was really different because he was passionate, full of energy and visionary. He encouraged me to follow the personal style he was seeing in the drawings in my sketchbook instead of doing standard representational type of illustration that was acceptable. Since then I’ve been using my own authenticity as my guiding light.

Here’s a quote by Steve Jobs that sums up what I learned from Laurence:
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”

Second on the list is Dr, Streicher who I heard speak at the very first World of Aromatherapy Conference in San Francisco. At the time I was still a newbie to aromatics. During his presentation he made a comment that really resonated with me about how some individuals entering into the field of aromatherapy have been called upon by the plants. That simple phrase resonated very deeply and made me feel like I was on the correct course.

The third person is the support of the collective from my family, which includes my mother, daughter, husbands, uncle, grandmother and ancestors.

I understand you will be launching an exciting new project soon. Can you describe it now or will you let us know when and where we can learn more about it?

I have multiple projects going on all the time, most of them are kept secret until they have manifested, they seem to have their own schedule. I’ve learned to stay in the act of flow. The one that is about to be birthed is still in secrecy mode. I can’t wait to shout about it from the roof tops. I may have more details once this interview is published.

Last question – I’ll keep it short: Do you have a favorite flower?

As a visual artist I would get asked “Do you have a favorite color” which as a perfumer is similar to having a favorite flower. I like different flowers for different reasons. In terms of my palette I seem to be most drawn to all the jasmines, particularly jasmine sambac, although auriculatum and grandiflorium are also favorites. The earthy, sexiness of labdanum and the soft, powdery cucumber notes of orris are others I am constantly attracted to.

Thank you so much, Roxana, for answering these questions and for taking the time to join us at APJ. I’m looking forward to reviewing the new version of your Impromptu and perhaps the 2014 edition of Gracing the Dawn as well. Best wishes for every success. I hope to make it to the NAHA conference this year to hear you speak in person.

It’s been a pleasure to chat with you Azar, I appreciate your intellect with the research and mindfulness you’ve displayed in preparing these questions.

All Photos Stolen Roxana Illuminated Perfume

If you would like to try Roxana’s Illuminated Perfume <<<JUMP

Stay tuned Friday for a review and MAYBE a GIVEAWAY…….

Roxana & Greg at home May 2013 taken by Portia

Roxana Villa of Roxana Illuminated Perfume: Interview #1

April 28, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 14 Comments

Hello APJ,

Today it is my privilege to speak with Roxana Villa of Roxana Illuminated Perfume about her life and work as artist and perfumer.

Roxana Villa of Roxana Illuminated Perfume: Interview #1

Welcome to APJ, Roxana! You are a multi-talented artist with abiding interests in various fields including aromatherapy. Has your professional training in aromatherapy contributed to your skills as a perfumer?

The skill sets I learned in professional aromatherapy training have absolutely influenced my work as a perfumer! I use what I learned in aromatherapy training and working as a practitioner everyday. I came to aromatherapy via a little bottle of Juniperus viriginiana at a sweat lodge. That little amber bottle had me witness firsthand the power of essential oils as agents that facilitate mind body wellness in a very holistic framework. Later on, as my knowledge and experience deepened on the healing power of plants, I yearned to combine my two skill sets. At an artists’ workshop in Austria titled “Old Masters, New Visions,” I witnessed the divine interconnection between the visual arts, alchemy and perfume. I then decided to weave all my talents into a perfume business highlighted with the word “illuminated,” referencing the 15th century, when the arts were united by the use of raw plant matter.

Do you consider your perfumes to be therapeutic as well as beautiful and if so could you give us an example of what you consider to be a “therapeutic” perfume and explain how (why) it works?

All my fragrances have a therapeutic imprint because of the intention I hold when creating them and due to the vitality of the materials in my palette. Just today one of my customers sent me this note: “A simple note to say a tremendous thank you for doing what you do. I have not found another perfumer quite as outstanding as you. Your perfumes make me feel instantly uplifted when I am enveloped in their mystical fragrances.” On a more scientific level, looking at the ingredients contained in my fragrances, you will see that my palette is composed of elements that contain life force, vital energy from the plant world. My fragrances go beyond being a “chemical soup”, I use materials that are as close to nature as possible, no hybrids, no isolates, no historical animal ingredients, etc.

Therapeutic can be defined differently by individual human experience. I am looking at therapeutics on a very holistic level from how and where a plant is grown, the manner the essence is obtained and distilled to the integrity of the company that sells the aromatic. For example I choose to buy and support companies that are having a positive affect on the planet because that energetic is all part of end product.

At one of the many aromatherapy conferences I attended in the nineties Jan Kusmirek of Fragrant Earth showed us the difference between a lavender essential oil obtained from plants that were harvested by hand using a sickle versus one where a machine was used. These kind of subtleties contribute to quality and what might be considered a therapeutic perfume.

This year you will be one of the main presenters at the National Association of Holistic Aromatherapy (NAHA) “Beyond Aromatics” conference at the Bastyr University campus near Seattle. Your topic “The Tree of Life: A Mystical Approach to the Art of Botanical Perfumery” is fascinating to me. Can you give the APJ a brief overview of your presentation? I am especially interested in your take on “essential oils and the elementals”.

The presentation I am giving at the Beyond Aromatics conference is based on ideas of intuition and creativity from William Blake combined with a book proposal I created in 1998. There are many ways to approach creating a fragrance, a mystical approach requires freedom from rational constraints and strict rules. To be in creative flow requires the ability to break free of guidelines and courageously jump into the watery realm of the circle and intuitive mind. In the end both the left and the right brain are important but its crucial for those seeking to ascend the art of perfumery and their consciousness. I will delve into the multiple meanings of The Tree of Life and how it is the perfect metaphor for creating botanical perfume.

I discovered essential oils at a time when I was working as an initiate with a shaman, learning Celtic and magical wisdom alongside with aromatherapy studies. As I did so, I began to see parallels and thus created content for a book and card deck. Publishers back then felt the content was too niche and progressive. Over the years I’ve refined the ideas which are part of the presentation for the conference. Here’s a link to a post on my blog that gets into some of the elemental aspects I will be referring to.

Since I was a child I have been convinced of a type of sentience unique to plants and to the earth itself. I believe that there is much more to a creating a real fragrance than using an analysis derived from headspace technology to chemically copy the scent of a flower. Is it possible to make the life and the sentient spirit of flowers, plants and the earth really come alive in a fragrance?

The fragrance industry is very much like the art world, there’s a lot of variety in the equation from those who work as an art director or figure head to those working on a deep level with the plants and earth elementals. I completely agree with your observation on the sentience of plants and the earth. The challenge is to assist humans in connecting to the refined, subtle energies of the plant divas. When we do this as a collective then Mother Earth will begin to sense our awakening and respond to us. One of my teachers said that dancing outside on the land is acupuncture for the planet. The simple gesture is a conduit between heaven and earth that gets us out of the logical brain, away from electronics, connecting to our physical bodies and the subtle earth energies.

There have been a number of recent scientific studies of plant communication involving enzymes and mycorrhizal networks. Do you believe that there is a historical precedent or background to this work?

It’s fabulous how modern science is now validating ideas that great yogis and masters have been communicating for centuries within sacred texts like the Bhagavad Gita and our more modern sages like Rudolf Steiner and Machaelle Small Wright. In the answer to your first question in this interview, I briefly mentioned an experience a little bottle of Juniperus virginiana. Inhaling the aromatic molecules of the red cedar produced a moment out of time where I was transported to a dense forest of ancient Redwoods. I felt as if I was deeply rooted, connected with the trees and a feeling of expansion that traveled upward up to the sky. Then, pop, I came back to the scene of the women and sweat lodge feeling with a sense of profound gift from the plant kingdom.

Where do you stand on plant communication, plant sentience and this “secret life of plants”?

I stand amongst the ancient redwoods and the California native oaks. The mycorrhizal networks is another example of how the plant, insect and segments of the animal kingdom function as a collective. For example in an ancient forest you will have a “Mother” tree while in a hive of european honey bees you will have a Queen, in both instances the Mother and the Queen are integral to the whole. These are examples of systems that work together as a team that benefit their own community and the greater good. As humans we seem to be stuck in a cycle, like the Karmic Wheel, we have periods of enlightenment like the stage in the mid 50’s when we became conscious of civil rights. Then the wheel turns and dark forces of unconscious behavior of corruption and greed take root where we once again must awaken and ascend. There are many metaphors of this cycle in traditions throughout the world, one of my favorites from western story telling is the trilogy of the Lord of the Rings.

Here’s are two examples of how in tune nature is, the first explains how the mycorrhizal networks work:

and the second (sorry about the commercial) shows how wolves change rivers:

Everything is connected.

(Ed: Please watch the two under 5 minute videos, they will change the way you see the world)

All Photos Stolen Roxana Illuminated Perfume

If you would like to try Roxana’s Illuminated Perfume <<<JUMP

Stay tuned tomorrow for a continuation of Roxana Villa’s incredible and inspirational journey to now…….

Collection Rouge No.1: GIVEAWAY WINNER

April 26, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Heya Crew,

Another great giveaway. Thanks to out intrepid reporter Azar. You guys are wonderful jumping on board and we love how interactive APJ is, it’s our only way to get to know many of you and we treasure your stories.

Portia xx

Rouge No. 1 GIVEAWAY WINNER

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Peach, tangerine
Heart: Ylang-ylang, jasmine, rose
Base: White musk, vanilla, benzoin

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week’s draw is for one prize that includes
1.5ml samples (or decants) of both M. Micallef Rouge No. I and Rouge No. II
A small wrapped vintage 1960s bar of Pink Camay soap
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DID YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please leave a comment about your favorite scented soap, about any version of Camay or either of the fragrances in the M. Micallef Collection Rouge.

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Thursday 24th April 2014 10pm Australian EST
Winners will be chosen any fab way that Azar decides

Photo Stolen nodepositforum

Fender did such a good job on the last draw that I left the selection of the winner up to him. This time I placed all of the names on the floor and gave the command “Find Key”, Fender’s all purpose command to find missing things. Fender did exactly what he does when he searches for a lost object. He circled and sniffed every name and then sat down next to

Peppy

CONGRATULATIONS! The winners will have till Monday 28th April 2014 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.

Azar xx

Congratulations, Peppy!

Azar xx

Collection Rouge No.1 by Jean-Claude Astier for M. Micallef 2013

April 21, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 44 Comments

Post by Azar

Hello APJ,

Late in September of last year I won a draw for samples of M. Micallef Collection Rouge I and II. Before these arrived I read several reviews that were less than enthusiastic. By the time I tried the samples in October I was so influenced by the negative press that I realized my impressions of these fragrances were not my own and that I needed to wait awhile to get over what I’d read in order to be able to formulate my own opinions.

Collection Rouge No.1 by Jean-Claude Astier for M. Micallef 2013

Soap Operas

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Peach, tangerine
Heart: Ylang-ylang, jasmine, rose
Base: White musk, vanilla, benzoin

Just the other day I tracked down the samples and gave them both another try. No. II still did not work for me. But there was something about Rouge No. I that was so familiar and such a blast from the past that I decided to try it again and yet again. I remembered what Ellen Covey had written in her October 2, 2013 review. She described the Rouge No.I dry down as something like “a new vinyl shower curtain”. She also mentioned the mid 20th century aesthetic “clean is queen”. Her words and my impressions of a sort of soapy nostalgia revealed to me the essence of No. I – the smell of Pink Camay bath and beauty bar!

“You’ll be a little lovelier each day with fabulous Pink Camay…the soap that says ‘I love you’ to your skin.”

I grew up the oldest of a large family of girls (and one lonely brother). My mother bought Pink Camay by the carton. Compared to the other soaps available at the time Camay did seem to make our skin feel good. We all loved the fragrance. Camay was advertised as being “scented like perfume from Paris that would cost $25 an ounce…” and it was “blended with pink cold cream.” Who could ask for more!

Photo Stolen Flickr

Camay was first introduced by Proctor and Gamble as a white bath and beauty bar in 1926. The name referenced the cameo that used to appear on every bar of soap. In the 1930s P&G began sponsoring radio shows that evolved into what we now call “soap operas”. Sometime in the late 1940s Camay appeared in pink, infused with a new light, floral fragrance. When the “soaps” hit the TV screens in the 1950s the new scented Pink Camay sponsored such classic daytime dramas as “Search for Tomorrow” and “As the World Turns”. By 1958 the beauty and bath bar was available in a range of colors including white, pink, blue, green and yellow. I don’t remember if each color had a different fragrance because we insisted on using only the pink variety. At about the same time Camay debuted in the UK and eventually made its way to more than 60 countries around the world. By the 1960s soap advertisements and soap operas had become such a part of mid century Americana that no one gave a second thought to the barely disguised references to Camay that appeared in mainstream movies like the 1963 comedy “The Thrill of It All” starring Doris Day and James Garner.

Photo Stolen Flickr

Today’s Camay, if you can find it, has suffered, like many of our favorite perfumes, from a series of reformulations. The current Camay Classic, produced by Proctor and Gamble in Ontario, Canada, is still pink but there is no longer a cameo on the bar and the fragrance is, how should I put it, washed out and “all washed up”.

Now back to M. Micallef Rouge No. I : The notes listed for No. 1 are peach, tangerine, ylang ylang, rose, jasmine, white musk, vanilla and benzoin. On my skin it is simply the original Pink Camay all the way, from top to bottom with a bit of the new vinyl shower curtain at the heart finishing with a light, musky vanilla base. The sillage is moderate and the longevity up to 10 hours on clothing and at least 6 hours on my skin. I liked Rouge No. I enough to buy a full 100 ml bottle (but I have to admit that I found it at less than a quarter of the list price).

Photo Stolen sassisamblog

Rouge No. 1 GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

HOW DO YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please leave a comment about your favorite scented soap, about any version of Camay or either of the fragrances in the M. Micallef Collection Rouge.

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Micallef Rouge No.1 GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-2Ir #Perfume #Giveaway @MicallefPerfume

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 24th April 2014 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen any fab way that Azar decides
The winners will have till Sunday 27th April 2014 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.

Azar xx

Antonia’s Flowers GIVEAWAY WINNERS

April 12, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Hi APJ,

Another great APJ Giveaway. You guys are so wonderful. The winner is below

Now, to protect myself from – what is that thing in the sky that we haven’t seen for months – the SUN?! – I will don the sun hat and take Fender, the dog, for his much deserved walk. We both enjoy sniffing the cherry blossoms and the magnolias.

Many thanks for your comments and the suggestions of favorite scents to wear to the beach!

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Antonia’s Flowers GIVEAWAY WINNERS

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week we will have ONE Winner who will get:
One complete sample set of Antonia’s Flowers fragrances including 1 ml of each of the following:
Antonia’s Flowers EDT
Antonia’s Flowers EDP
Floret EDT
Floret EDP
Tiempe Passate EDP
Sogni del Mare EDT
Rokka cologne
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DID YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

To be eligible for the draw please comment on any Antonia’s Flowers fragrance OR let us know what scent you will be wearing to the beach this summer!

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Antonia’s Flowers Sample Set GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-2F0 #Perfume #Giveaway

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Thursday 10th April 2014 10pm Australian EST

Today I put all the names into the floppy sun hat and drew the winner myself. I wondered if such a draw would be considered fair. So I stirred up the names again, threw them all on the floor and let Fender choose! Amazing! He picked the same name I did!

Photo Stolen cemre-ile-hertelden

willa

The winners will have till Monday 14th April 2014 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.

Azar xx

Antonia's Flowers by Bernard Chant + Norbert Bijaoui

April 7, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 73 Comments

Post by Azar

Hello APJ,

The sun is finally shining here in the Pacific North West (PNW) – at least for a few more days. March 2014 has been the wettest on record in Western Washington, USA. The rain totaled 9.44 inches, at least three times the normal rainfall for the month of March. With all that precipitation and a little sunshine the flowers are now popping open everywhere. At long last spring is really here and what better way to enhance this natural seasonal bouquet than with a scent from Antonia’s Flowers!

Antonia’s Flowers by Bernard Chant + Norbert Bijaoui

Antonia Bellanca began her circuitous route to perfumery as a visual artist, studying in Boston and later in France. Exposure to Flemish floral art turned her innate love of flowers into a new career. Upon returning to the US she began working as a florist in New York City. In the early 1980s Ms. Bellanca opened her own shop, Antonia’s Flowers in East Hampton, NY. Spending so much of everyday with beautiful natural scents inspired Antonia Bellanca to create her own perfume. She worked with perfumer Bernard Chant (the creator of Aramis, Aramis Devin and Estee Lauder Aromatics Elixir among others) to recreate the scent of freesia, one of her favorite flowers. Her first fragrance debuted in 1985 and was named after her florist shop. Antonia’s Flowers EDT was a great success and for many years a best seller at Barney’s in NYC where you can find her latest fragrance Rokka.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

The popularity of the original Antonia’s Flowers fragrance led to the creation of an EDP and also an Absolute version. In 1990 Ms. Bellanca closed the florist shop to devote her time to the perfumery. In 1995 Antonia’s Flowers introduced Floret EDT, a fragrance with top notes of the illusive sweet pea. Floret eventually appeared as an EDP. (I prefer the lighter quality of the original version.)

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

In the late 90s Antonia Bellanca moved Antonia’s Flowers to the small seaside town of Osterville, MA. The next perfume to appear in the line, Tiempe Passate, was created in 1999 in collaboration with Norbert Bijaoui, the perfumer who developed Esteban Classic Chypre, Givenchy Organza Indecent and TL Pour Lui. Tiempe Passate was named after a love song written by Antonia’s grandfather, the title translating simply as “time passes” in Sicilian. On my skin Tiempe Passate is a light, clean and soapy classic with elements of mandarin and cedar wood.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

My favorite Antonia’s Flowers fragrance is Sogni del Mare (Dreams – or thoughts – of the Sea) launched in 2007. The AF website describes the fragrance as “a watery, fruity floral with notes of Italian bergamot, cassis buds, wild rhubarb, orange and lotus”. My first breath of Sogni del Mare is of salt, rhubarb and lotus, watery but not really oceanic. On my skin this fragrance is kin to OdlR’s Oriental Lace but without the overt gourmand notes of almond and honey. For me Sogni del Mare is an understated, salty floral with a hint of slightly tart rhubarb pie. This fragrance is intimate and ephemeral, lasting only an hour or two on my skin, the perfect scent for crowded places, spring mornings or hot summer days at the beach.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

The latest addition to the line is Rokka, a men’s cologne launched in 2013. This new fragrance was included in a sample pack I ordered in March from Antonia’s Flowers. Rokka opens with top notes of violet and citrus, develops a heart of cedar, moss, nutmeg and tonka bean and finishes with amber and patchouli. I find Rokka considerably lighter and greener than the listed notes imply. It reminds me a little of the Italian shaving products by Proraso but definitely unisex and very fresh. The name Rokka puzzles me. Perhaps it is a reference to the Rokka noYuusha series of novels about the Heroes (or Warriors) of the Six Flowers by Ishio Yamagata.

Antonia’s Flowers site has the complete range and very reasonable sample sets.

Photo Stolen hemodernhome

Antonia’s Flowers GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

HOW DO YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

To be eligible for the draw please comment on any Antonia’s Flowers fragrance OR let us know what scent you will be wearing to the beach this summer!

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Antonia’s Flowers Sample Set GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-2F0 #Perfume #Giveaway

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 10th April 2014 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org or any other madcap but fair way Azar can choose
The winners will have till Monday 14th April 2014 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.

Azar xx

Oscar de la Renta GIVEAWAY WINNER

March 15, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 5 Comments

Oscar de la Renta Essential Luxuries Collection GIVEAWAY WINNER

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

Today’s give-away is for one, brand new complete sample set (about 1.5 ml each) of Oscar de la Renta’s Essential Luxuries Collection, including the following fragrances: Oriental Lace, Santo Domingo, Sargasso, Granada, Coraline and Mi Corazon, all in a small satin monogrammed pouch

P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Leave a comment about what YOUR workplace or home smells like. (Comments on any of the fragrances in the Essential Luxuries Collection are also welcome.)

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie ~~Oscar de la Renta~~ Oriental Lace GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-2ym #Perfume #Giveaway @OscarPRGirl

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Thursday 13th March 2014 10pm Australian EST

Thank yo so much for your wonderful descriptions of the scents of home and workplace. Azar B once again pulled the winner’s name from the hat.

Photo Stolen sistersavealot.com

Jackie

CONGRATULATIONS!!!
You have till Monday 17th March 2014 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.

Oriental Lace by Calice Becker for Oscar de la Renta 2012

March 10, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 62 Comments

Post by Azar

A couple of months ago my daughter sent me a link to the July 3, 2013 Lauren Valenti/Styleite take on Oscar de la Renta’s Oriental Lace. This brief post included a number of comments, one of which likened Oriental Lace to the smell of “a piano teacher’s house”.

The notes listed for Oriental Lace on various websites include honey, bitter almond, cacao, wax plant (Hoya carnosa) and patchouli. I wondered what any of these scents had to do with the headspace of this piano teacher’s house?

The Smell of a Piano Teacher’s House

A lot of smelly things find their way to the first floor of our home where I maintain my music studio. In addition to the library of musty musical scores, anthologies, sheets and shelves of books there are the various musical instruments accumulated over 40 years of studio teaching. Each of these has it’s own peculiar odor. An inventory includes: Three violins and one viola smelling of lacquer and French polish, various bows and cakes of piney rosin, an old dusty harpsichord, two seven foot grand pianos – metallic and woody, a Persian setar (not a sitar), a Vietnamese dan bau, a couple of saxophones that reek of old brass and spit when the cases are opened (obviously I rarely play the saxophone anymore), a flamenco guitar, two ukuleles, a clarinet, various percussion instruments and an old accordion that reminds me of the scent of a long neglected closet in my grandmother’s house. In addition to the signature scents of these “tools of the trade” there are the often ripe odors of the younger students, the distinctly pungent smells of the high school girls and guys who come to their lessons directly from cross country and soccer practice and, of course, the scent of the piano teacher herself, oozing tuberose or some other powerful concoction. Add to this blend the odors from the upper floor – sandalwood incense, cooking odors, the smells of Fender the dog and Gomez the pionus parrot and you have my own L’Eau de Studio, the notes of which go something like this:

Turpentine, dust, mildew, paper, rosin, wood, salt, spit, sweat, tuberose, honey (from the pionus parrot), sandalwood, a general animalic, onions and toe jam.

Whoever made the Styleite comment was certainly not a student of mine! This person must have visited a piano teacher who baked buttery, almond cookies for her students (I don’t do that), wore a patchouli-scented shawl (not me), sipped hot chocolate (occasionally) and cared for an old, blooming Hoya carnosa (I’ve not been there).

Oriental Lace by Calice Becker for Oscar de la Renta 2012

Oscar de la Renta Essential Luxuries Collection

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Honey, almond, cacao, hoya carnosa, wax plant, patchouli

On my skin Oriental Lace opens with a greasy version of imitation butter. Thankfully that aspect is gone very quickly leaving something like buttered popcorn coated in vanilla-sugar and honey. After about 20 minutes the popcorn morphs into a honey-almond cookie and then to patchouli and what is probably Oscar de la Renta’s version of the scent of a blooming wax plant (the H. carnosa). This hoya-patchouli bouquet lingers for 10 or more hours finishing with a faint whiff of vanilla, cacao and butter. I’ve gone through a couple of samples but am not yet convinced that I need a full bottle of this gourmand, lightweight floral. There are five more Essential Luxuries in the collection, a couple that I like better than Oriental Lace and will probably review sometime soon. But for now, Oriental Lace is not a fragrance that is essential to my luxurious life as a piano teacher, although it is many times more appealing than L’Eau de Studio!

Further reading: Perfume Posse and Now Smell This does a great run down of the line
Oscar de la Renta has $150/100ml
Neiman Marcus has $150/100ml

Photo Stolen manoneileen

Oscar de la Renta Essential Luxuries Collection GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Leave a comment about what YOUR workplace or home smells like. (Comments on any of the fragrances in the Essential Luxuries Collection are also welcome.)

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie ~~Oscar de la Renta~~ Oriental Lace GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-2ym #Perfume #Giveaway @OscarPRGirl

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 13th March 2014 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Monday 17th March 2014 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.

Azar xx

SWEET ANTHEM WINNER

March 3, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 3 Comments

Hi APJ,

Moments ago the alternate Man of Mystery (son Andy) pulled the winner’s name from my sun hat. I couldn’t find a picture of Andy (that he approved of)

Sweet Anthem Perfumes US GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have ONE USA winner:

Who will receive:
A 2-season subscription to the Sweet Anthem “SA List” sampling program for one lucky US resident. The winner will receive two different sample sets. The “Spring Anthology” will be sent right away and the “Summer Anthology” at a later date (see the subscription FAQ on the Sweet Anthem Perfumes website).
P&H to the USA

Photo Stolen FallOutFactory

Stacey

Congratulations! You have till Thursday 6th March 2014 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.

Azar xx

Photo Stolen Sweet Anthem Perfumes