Azar

Peety by Angelo Orazio Pregoni for O`Driu 2013

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 47 Comments

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Post by Azar

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Hello APJ,

When autumn arrives in the Pacific North West I head for my stash of vintage, spicy orientals. This fall I’ve been using a lot of Basile EDP (I prefer it to Opium), Lagerfeld KL (the perfume strength) and my new favorite spice with a twist, the Italian, musky oriental O`Driu Peety.

Peety by Angelo Orazio Pregoni for O`Driu 2013

A Review and a Problem

Peety O`Driu FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Tobacco, jasmine, rose, sandalwood, tonka bean and pink pepper

I’m sure all the scent savvy APJs are well aware of the quirky marketing that pushed Peety, for a brief, smelly moment, to the forefront of the fragrance blog-o-sphere. Just in case you haven’t heard, Peety can be your very own personal fragrance (be-spoke, so to speak) simply by adding approximately 1ml of your very own pee to 49ml of Peety. Yes! That’s right! Perfumers have been doing this forever. What’s a little pee among friends compared to musk pods, whale poo (and goo), civet secretions and African stone?

After a brief flurry of Peety excitement, repulsion and even outrage, not much more has been said about Peety. To make up for that, here is my brief review of O`Driu Peety:

Before personalization Peety is definitely a classic, animalic oriental. On my skin the top notes are a quick blast of sweaty cinnamon, perhaps some clove, bitter orange and pink pepper. This spicy mélange dries to a luscious blend of jasmine, tobacco and rose eventually finishing with sandalwood, dark patchouli and oak moss or some sort of mossy lichen. Amber and tonka bean seem to float through the life of the composition, in varying degrees, from beginning to end. The sillage is moderate to strong and longevity at least eight hours on the skin and considerably more on clothing.

giveaway hemodernhomePhoto Stolen hemodernhome

Peety by O`Driu Problem + GIVEAWAY

Here a question for you, a sort of “story problem”. I have never been employed as a lab rat. I’m not particularly good at math, hate measuring things and am notoriously cheap when it comes to buying fragrance. I would like to purchase a full bottle of Peety but I don’t want to add pee to more than 1ml of the scent. In order to personalize Peety it is necessary to add 10 drops of urine to 49 ml of fragrance. Keeping in mind that 1ml can contain from 10 to over 20 drops (depending on the dropper size), what approximate fraction of a drop of pee would I have to add to a 1ml decant to make O`Driu’s Peety my Peety?

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 2 winners who will each receice

2 x .8 ml vintage carded sample of KL EDT
1 x 2ml decant of vintage Opium EDT
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.

To be eligible for the draw just mention how you follow APJ and if you make any attempt to solve this problem or comment on your favorite oriental fragrance or voice you opinion about perfume marketing you will be included in the draw.

Extra Chances?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie O`Driu Peety Review + GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-2c5 #Perfume #GIVEAWAY @ODRIUperfumes

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 14th November 2013 10pm Australian EDST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Sunday 17th November 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.

 

Oriental Rose by Marguerite Caro for Bourbon French Parfums

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 75 Comments

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Post by Azar

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Hi APJ

Bourbon French Parfums has been creating fragrances in New Orleans, LA since 1843. The firm’s history and the fragrances they offer have intrigued me for several years. In December of 2012 I finally placed an order, choosing one of their best sellers, Voodoo Love.

Bourbon-French-Parfums TheTastefulLifePhoto Stolen TheTastefulLife

I found Voodoo Love to be a real time trip, a nostalgic fragrance that I knew I’d encountered many times before; a sort of déjà vu in a bottle! I love Voodoo Love but my true love from the Bourbon French line came as a free gift with purchase, BF’s new/old fragrance Oriental Rose.

Oriental Rose by Bourbon French Parfums

Have you ever tried a new scent and immediately knew you were home again, comfortable, relaxed and loved? My first experience with Oriental Rose was all that and more. The EDC opens with a warm, humid aura of buttery, rich and spicy rose. This rosy cloud does not change radically over time but slowly evolves into a milky, floral vanilla and eventually dries down to amber, sandalwood and musk wafting through a southern garden.

Oriental Rose Bourbon-French-ParfumsPhoto Stolen Bourbon French Parfums

The way that the rose is presented in this fragrance reminds me of my favorite confection on the face of the earth, Golo Bol Bol Rose and Saffron Ice Cream! This ice cream is a traditional treat using a recipe that is supposed to be over 2,000 years old. Golo Bol Bol is what Oriental Rose would be (minus the saffron perhaps) if the fragrance were frozen and edible. Yes, it seems strange to compare a warm and humid (and not at all gourmand) scent to a frozen treat! But maybe not! Both the fragrance and the ice cream have the same rich, comforting indulgence at once nurturing and decadent.

Oriental Rose has an interesting back story too! A few years ago when members of the staff at Bourbon French were going through old records, they discovered the formula for Oriental Rose, created in the 1940’s by the firm’s third owner and first woman perfumer Marguerite Caro. For more of the interesting history of the Bourbon French Perfume Company and their creations check the website: Bourbon French Parfums. You’ll notice that the prices for the Oriental Rose fragrance are great.

Further reading: Fine Fragrants talks some others in the line
Bourbon French Parfums has $28/¼oz perfume, $28/4oz EDC and $36/4oz EDT

Here is the info for Bourbon French and also for the Golo Bol Bol Ice Cream Shop in Westwood, Los Angeles, CA. I don’t go all the way to LA to get this rose and saffron ice cream and I certainly don’t make it myself (although I do have a recipe). The local persian/mediterranean market sells it in containers.

Bourbon French Perfume Company (this is their history page)
Golo Bol Bol Ice Cream

Azar xx

giveaway TheTruthAboutMummyPhoto Stolen TheTruthAboutMummy

Oriental Rose by Bourbon French Parfums GIVEAWAY!

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there are two winners, each will receive

1 x 2ml decant Oriental Rose by Bourbon French Parfums
1 x 2ml decant Voodoo Love by Bourbon French Parfums
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.

To be eligible for the draw just mention how you follow the APJs and comment on your favorite rose fragrance, tell us about the dessert/confection you love the most or about your last trip to New Orleans!

Extra Chances?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Bourbon French Parfums GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-21s #Perfume #Giveaway @BFParfums

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 31st October 2013 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by picking your names out of a hot.
The winners will have till Monday 4th November 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.

Bat-Sheba GIVEAWAY WINNERS

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 5 Comments

Don’t forget to enter our Le Checrche Midi GIVEAWAY<<JUMP

Hello APJ,

Another great GIVEAWAY!! Thanks all for getting on board.

Bat-Sheba GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Bat Sheba Bittle

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

A draw for two winners, each will receive

2ml decants of Bat-Sheba Exotic Oriental.
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DID YOU WIN?

To be eligible for the draw just leave a comment on a favorite commercial perfume bottle and how you follow APJ, with an extra chance for tweeting

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Thursday 17th October 2013 10pm Australian EDST

Bat Sheba Dog

Winners will be chosen by random.org (I’m so technically challenged that I can’t even figure out how to use Random.org. Once again B-Azar pulled the winning names, this time from a hat, while Fender the dog observed to make sure everything was on the up and up.?

Winners thegarfieldshow-diaryPhoto Stolen  thegarfieldshow-diary

The winners will have till Sunday 20th October 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.

And the winners are:

Susan
and
Roslyn

Azar xx

Judith Muller: Bat-Sheba

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 91 Comments

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Post by Azar

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Judith Muller: Bat-Sheba

Three Legendary Women and a Perfume Bottle

International Flavors and Fragrances (through various incarnations) has been in the business of creating scents and tastes for every imaginable application since 1833. In the late 1960’s the Hungarian born, Israeli perfumer, cosmetologist and entrepreneur Judith Muller (1935-2012) chose IFF to develop a fine fragrance designed for the mass market as well as for her personal and business clients (including El Al Airlines). Her flagship fragrance, Bat-Sheba, named after the biblical beauty, would be one of the first perfumes created by the IFF employee, soon to be super star perfumer, Sophia Grojsman.

judith_muller hetek.huPhoto Stolen hetek.hu

Bat-Sheba appeared as two distinct scents, Exotic Oriental and Woody Modern. A number of other fragrances, including Judith, King David and Shalom, were produced in Muller’s Mt. Carmel plant and exported to 17 countries.

Judith Muller’s perfumery enjoyed over twenty years of success until the sudden death of her husband/business partner forced her to stop production and close her Haifa operation. She moved to Tel Aviv in the late 1990’s where she continued to create bespoke and private label fragrances for personal and corporate clients. Eventually she relocated to Budapest, remaining creative and vibrant as ever, returning at last to Israel just before her death in 2012.

Batsheba - Gerome WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

Sophia Grojsman, the nose who is credited with the creation of Bat-Sheba, was born in Belarus in 1945. She was educated as a chemist in Poland and immigrated to New York in1965 where she began working for IFF as a lab assistant to Ellie Fox. Eventually IFF realized her talent. She was encouraged and mentored by world-renowned perfumers Ernest Shiftan and Josephine Catapano. Her long and productive career at IFF included her appointment as corporate VP in 1998 and the creation of over 30 of the most successful and well known fragrances of our time, including Eternity by Calvin Klein, Prescriptive’s Calyx, Paris by Yves Saint Laurent and Tresor by Lancome.

So much more can be said of these legendary women and we all know the story of passion and betrayal, murder and atonement surrounding the biblical legend Bat-Sheba. Now what about the Perfume Bottle?

Bat Sheba #3

Judith Muller designed gorgeous, collectable bottles for her exotic, evocative perfumes.
Most of these bottles from the Haifa period were shaped like tiny, ancient amphorae painted with one of a kind, watery, organic patterns. The patterns and coloring of every bottle was different, ranging from muted and silky mauves to brilliant, sparkling purples and golds.

Bat Sheba #1

I have several full bottles of different Judith Muller perfumes and perfume “trinkets”. These lovelies should have been displayed but instead have been squirreled away for years in my cool, dark perfume storage. The Exotic Oriental fragrance has been described as a dry, dusty floral chypre with a honeyed heart.

Giveaway myprettypaintsPhoto Stolen myprettypaints

Bat-Sheba GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

I am offering a draw for two winners, each will receive

2ml decants of Bat-Sheba Exotic Oriental.
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.

To be eligible for the draw just leave a comment on a favorite commercial perfume bottle and how you follow APJ.

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Bat-Sheba GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-25k #Perfume #Giveaway

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 17th October 2013 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Sunday 20th October 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.

Spanish Geranium (vintage) by Andre Fryse for Lanvin

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 77 Comments

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Post by Azar

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Spanish Geranium by Lanvin

Hello APJ,

Spanish Geranium (Geranium d’Espagne) was created for Lanvin in 1925 by the brilliant perfumer Andre Frysse.  It sold for a short time, became unavailable for many years, was revived in the 1950’s and finally discontinued around 1970.  The 20th century actress Joan Crawford (“Mommy Dearest” to some) was reported to have said of Spanish Geranium that it was one of the three fragrances she “would never want to live without”.  The other two were Royall Lyme by Anthony Gaade and Estee Lauder’s Youth Dew.  Jungle Gardenia was also one of her favorites.  Unfortunately for Joan (and for the rest of us) Spanish Geranium and the original Jungle Gardenia that she loved so much are long gone while more mainstream, crowd-pleasing fragrances, like Royall Lyme and Youth Dew, remain.

spanish geranium lanvin

In the 1960’s my mother was given a bottle of Spanish Geranium Eau de Lanvin (an EDT).  She favored Arpege so gave me free access to the SG, which I used with a heavy hand.  The scent of Spanish Geranium, as well as the characteristic Lanvin accord, are burned into my memory.  In those days my application of this fragrance was so liberal that one of my music comp professors actually took me aside on a hot Spring day and advised me on the appropriate use of perfumes and colognes.  I remember his exact words and often ignore them.

Spanish Geranium is a bracing, in your face, almost masculine rendition of its floral namesake.  The top notes are a combination of the familiar scent of the flowers and foliage of the zonal geranium (Pelargonium zonale) and the crushed leaves of the hybrid spicy rose geranium (P. ‘Graveolins’).  Citrus, perhaps unripe lemon or bergamot, and what might be pepper add a sparkle to the floral mix.  The opening never truly fades, giving Spanish Geranium the illusion of a soliflore, which it definitely is not.  After about five minutes oakmoss, palmarosa and a touch of patchouli join the geraniums, eventually drying down to a light amber, a woody resin and something animalic, perhaps civet.  The entire SG fragrance mélange floats on the same Lanvin accord that supports Arpege and My Sin.  I can’t really describe this accord, but if you have used vintage Lanvin you will know what I’m talking about .The sillage can vary between quite intimate to moderate and the longevity up to 4 hours on my skin and more on clothing.

Spanish Geranium Lanvin Geraniums

When I first tried Spanish Geranium I thought it was the strangest fragrance I had ever experienced.  Admittedly I was quite young at the time but, even now, I find SG to be hauntingly beautiful and (for lack of a better word) just a little bit “odd”.  I LOVE odd!  Perhaps you will too! Remember that this is a very vintage EDT. It has faded somewhat but has not turned.  What I perceive to be a fascinating, odd smell is the same scent I’ve encountered, bottle after bottle, from my first sniff over 50 years ago up to and including what I’m enjoying today.

Further reading: Cleopatra’s Boudoir
The Perfumed Court has .5ml in with 6 other Lanvin fragrances from $28

I just asked Lucie Joly (the Assistante Chef de Produit, what does that title mean?) if there would be a modern revival.  She was very cordial but said that an SP revival was not in the works right now, thanks for asking and she would let me know if they decided to do a reissue.  I suppose it doesn’t hurt to put a “bee in their bonnet”. It might be interesting to see what kind of Spanish Geranium would emerge to suit modern tastes and restrictions. When I think of a modern revival of SP I get the the image of a strange mutated butterfly with a vague memory of another life as something else.  This image was probably a result of reading Ellen Covey’s most recent post referring to butterfly memory, among other things.

AzarX

 giveaway hemodernhomePhoto Stolen hemodernhome

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

There will be 2 winners this week, each will receive:

1 x 2ml decant from my stash of Spanish Geranium EDT
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.

To be eligible just leave a comment about anything related to geraniums or pelargoniums and mention how you follow the APJ’s (e-mail, wordpress, whatever).

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Vintage Lanvin Spanish Geranium GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-1Vs @LANVINofficial #Perfume #Giveaway

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday October 6th 2013 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
The winners will be chosen by B-Azar or by Gomez the pionus parrot from same sized folded papers on a tray.
The winners will have till Wednesday 9th October 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.

DATES FIXED! OOOOPS! Naughty Portia with the cut & paste

 

Anat Fritz’ Tzora by Geza Schoen for Anat Fritz 2012

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 13 Comments

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Post by Azar

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Dear APJs,

Never in my wildest, most fragrant dreams could I have imagined that one day I would be tempted to purchase a perfume that was named after a kibbutz and tucked into a hand made sock! If this image isn’t strange enough just try to picture the following: A geriatric shopper mobbed by several young sales associates all attempting to provide the most thorough customer service in the history of office supply stores. If you can imagine either of these scenarios perhaps you too have tried ……

Tzora by Anat Fritz 2012

Tzora Anat Fritz FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Black currant, clary sage, bergamot, pepper, magnolia, osmanthus, jasmine, cedar, vetiver, patchouli, musk and moss.

My experience with Tzora began with Olfactif’s September Sample Collection (Pleasant Promenade by S. Poncet, Siam Proun by Ellen Covey and Tzora, the kibbutz in a sock). Tzora proved to be a pleasant enough fragrance. The musky woods, wafting in and out of my scent consciousness, caused me to suspect that the cassis and peruvian pepper (among other notes) were laced with GS’s “signature” aroma chemical, iso-E-super. On a whim I loaded my skin with 2 hefty sprays and went out on my morning errands.

My first stop was the bank. The usually serious bank teller gave me an odd look and then greeted me with a big smile and a sparkle in her eyes. Everywhere I went people were in a great mood, smiling, laughing and wanting to chat. I attributed all the friendliness to a day of sunshine and headed for my last stop, the office supply store.

Anat Fritz' Tzora Shopping Assistants limerickrose2012Photo Stolen limerickrose2012

I walked into the store in a big hurry, made a beeline for the tape aisle, found what I needed and was just about to zoom over to bubble wrap when a young man appeared, determined to help me find what I already had in my hand, a single roll of packing tape. He insisted on carrying it for me! Usually, when I shop at this store, I have been carefully ignored and prefer it that way. I made my way to the next aisle where another salesman joined the first. Eventually I managed to pick up not only all the supplies I needed but six very helpful young men as well. I was becoming a little self-conscious. Didn’t these guys have anything better to do with their time? Were they trying to look busy for the management or were they just helpless moths attracted to the flame that is Azar? Other customers were staring, coming closer and smiling. It was then I caught a whiff of myself. AHA! All the attention and solicitous customer service must be a reaction to the perfume that Geza Schoen had created for Anat Fritz and that I had so recklessly applied earlier in the day.

Anat Fritz' Tzora Shopping michigan.govPhoto Stolen Michigan.gov

Further reading: The Perfume Diary
LuckyScent has $150/100ml
The Perfumed Court starts at $5/ml

Yes, it felt great to be waited on, smiled at and chatted up but would I want such treatment every day? Why not? $150 for 100ml of Tzora, the kibbutz in a sock, seems a small price to pay for so many smiles and such great customer service. Now here’s a question. Have you had any interesting public reactions to the scents you wear (perfumes, pheromones, aroma chemicals, whatever)? Try not to go too private or explicit with this one.

Azar xx

Lanvin GIVEAWAY WINNERS

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

Hey there all you lovely entrants in the Lanvin Giveaway.

Thank you to Azar for hosting this wonderful chance for someone in the USA. I know whoever wins will be thrilled. Thank you all for your fab responses. we love to learn more about you.

I tried to convince Gomez to do the draw but he is such a chicken pionus he is even afraid of slips of paper.
B-Azar has been home sick with a raging fever for a week but he was able to draw the names.
This is a photo of Gomez examining the names for the draw, just before he flew up to the ceiling scattering the papers everywhere!
Azar

Lanvin Arpege Azar Bird Winner

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

There are 2 prizes this week in our Lanvin Giveaway. Each winner will receive:

1 x 2ml Eau de Lanvin
1 x 2ml Lanvin Extrait
P&H USA ONLY

HOW DID YOU WIN?

Open to everyone USA who follows AustralianPerfumeJunkies via eMail, WordPress, Bloglovin or RSS. Please leave how you follow in the comments to be eligible.

All you have to do is tell me a favourite perfume from yesterday and who used to wear it around you: along with how you follow for you to be eligible for the draw.

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Thursday 12th September 2013 10pm Australian EST
Winners will be chosen by putting names on same sized papers, folded similarly, put on a tray and someone at Azar’s house will pick a winner. (It was B-Azar)

Winners thegarfieldshow-diaryPhoto Stolen thegarfieldshow-diary

Monoatomic, HotlantaLinda

The winners will have till Sunday 15th September 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.

 

Thanks again everyone,

Portia xx

Memories of Lanvin and Cocktail Parties

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 62 Comments

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Post by Azar

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Hi  APJ,

Like most perfume junkies I began my fragrance obsession at my mother’s dressing table, re-arranging her perfumes, copping a quick sniff or just admiring the beautiful bottles. My mother would encourage my budding habit, buying smaller versions of her favorites just for me or padding my weekly allowance so that I could try something new on my own.

Memories of Lanvin and Cocktail Parties

Arpege Cocktail Dress Mccalls Laineys Repertoire FlickrPhoto Stolen Laineys Repertoire Flickr

Mom’s mid-century fragrances were representative of what most American women were wearing at the time including, of course, Chanel No. 5, Shalimar, Arpege, My Sin, Diorissimo and Jungle Gardenia. To me her bottle of Germaine Monteil Royal Secret was not quite mainstream and there were a couple of others that my inexperienced nose perceived as downright odd! One of these was Lanvin’s Spanish Geranium, the greenest, spiciest geranium I’d ever encountered floating atop the unmistakable Lanvin accord. I still love it and wear it to this day. The other was Lucien Lelong’s Sirocco, a potent oriental with a triple dose of coriander. My mother’s favorite was (and still is) Ritual by Charles of the Ritz.

Mom’s room was filled with treasures. Not only did she have a cache of perfumes and costume jewelry but also a closet filled with shimmering cocktail dresses. Mom is a very tiny woman, petit size “00”. Her cocktail dresses were like gorgeous doll clothes, strapless, pencil thin (Barbie? – no, no!) and complimented by a collection of tiny, exquisite shoes. Cocktail dresses were, of course, to be worn at cocktail parties. In the 1950’s and 60’s formal and semi-formal cocktail parties were serious social and business obligations for my parents and their friends. Shopping for dresses, perfume and accessories was more than just a frivolous pastime for my mother and the women she knew.

Arpege RetroCocktailParty FormalFringePhoto Stolen FormalFringe

Today these parties are no longer part of my mother’s social life, or mine either for that matter. The last truly formal cocktail party I attended was over 40 years ago in Tehran, of all places! I wore dark green silk and Guy Laroche Fidji. Times certainly have changed.

Do you have memories of your mother’s perfumes? How has your mother’s taste in fragrance affected your own? Oh – and what did you wear to that last cocktail party?

Azar x

Giveaway Time sassisamblogPhoto Stolen sassisamblog

LANVIN USA ONLY GIVEAWAY

Eau de Lanvin RubyLanePhoto Stolen RubyLane

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

There are 2 prizes this week in our Lanvin Giveaway. Each winner will receive:

1 x 2ml Eau de Lanvin
1 x 2ml Lanvin Extrait
P&H USA ONLY

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.

All you have to do is tell me a favourite perfume from yesterday and who used to wear it around you: along with how you follow for you to be eligible for the draw.

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie @LANVINofficial Arpege GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-1SM #Perfume #Giveaway

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 12th September 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 someone at Azar’s house will pick a winner.
The winners will have till Sunday 15th September 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.

Blackbird by Ellen Covey for Olympic Orchids 2013

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 22 Comments

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Post by Azar

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“BLACKBIRD” AT BLACKBIRD

Hello Perfume Junkies and Indie Lovers,

Today I have news about a wonderful new fragrance debut here in the Pacific Northwest.  On Saturday, July 13th, at the Blackbird Apothecary (in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle) Ellen Covey celebrated the third anniversary of Olympic Orchids Artisan Perfumes and introduced her latest fragrance “Blackbird”.

Outside of the Blackbird Apothecary the Ballard Seafood Fest was in full swing.  Inside, happy perfumistas enjoyed a cool and fragrant haven.  Ellen’s line of fragrances were tastefully displayed along the walls.  Blooming orchids decorated the tables set with cheeses, wines and champagne.

As soon as I walked through the doors I headed straight for the new “Blackbird” fragrance.  Ellen sprayed the perfume glass and I generously doused my upper arm with the cabernet colored 25% concentrated elixir.

Blackbird MorgueFilePhoto Stolen MorgueFile

The following notes are listed on Olympic Orchids website,
Himalayan blackberry fruit, dry grass and leaves, elemi, cedar wood and resin, amber, fir balsam absolute, musk.

The first notes on my skin were a combination of very ripe blackberries and sweet, dry grass.  Ellen used real Himalayan blackberries to create “Blackbird”.  These same Himalayan blackberries (Rubus armeniacus) are everywhere in the PNW and, despite their delicious fruit, are considered noxious weeds, perhaps because they have overtaken the even tastier native Pacific blackberries (Rubus ursinus). The blackberry and grass top notes combined with amber to create an almost gourmand and seasonal scent of place, summertime in Seattle.

BlackBerries MorgueFilePhoto Stolen MorgueFile

The blackberry, grass and a little amber stayed relatively close to my skin and were later joined by a refreshing combination of cedar and balsam fir.  “Blackbird” worked for me like a breeze through an orchard or vineyard.  The sillage, as I mentioned before, was quite intimate.  Regarding longevity:  I was enjoying “Blackbird” well into the evening.

Congratulations to Ellen Covey on her third anniversary and on this beautiful addition to her line. Olympic Orchids’ new “Blackbird” is at once dry and sweet, sensual and refreshing, an incense-jam of a fragrance, gorgeous, relaxing and intimate.

Blackbird bottle Olympic OrchidsPhoto Stolen Olympic Orchids

“Blackbird” is available for purchase on the Olympic Orchids website. A 30ml Parfum will only cost you $68. That is an amazing price.

Here are a couple of questions.  Do you have a favorite Olympic Orchids scent? And/or were you in Ballard for the Blackbird event?

Azar

Imaginary Authors: Smell Like James Franco?

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 7 Comments

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Post by Azar
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Imaginary Authors james Franco asGeeksPhoto Stolen AsGeeks

On May 19th BoTO’s (Beauty on The Outside) Dee offered the “opportunity to smell like James Franco” to the first five people who asked for it. I questioned my desire to smell like the hairy guy in the BoTO photo, but I just couldn’t pass up such an odd opportunity. A few days ago I received a very generous sample of Imaginary Author’s James Franco. I tried it right away. Here are some of my initial impressions:

kinopoisk.ruPhoto Stolen FanPop

The top notes are a citrusy take on an old motel room, almost a 4711 eau de cologne. The heart seems to be a hybrid of Royal Secret (the vintage Germaine Monteil version sans the overdose of sandalwood – a little, maybe, but not a lot) and the 1960’s Niki de Saint Phalle. Overall I would describe James Franco as of a kind of retro fragrance, reminiscent of two of my favorite early to mid 20th century chypres; much greener, lighter and fresher than the Germaine Monteil and less edgy than the Niki de Saint Phalle.

Imaginary Authors james Franco USMagazinePhoto Stolen USMagazine

With the James Franco scent Josh Meyer has not only taken the old and made it new again but has also managed a sophisticated, indie twist on the concept of celebrity fragrance, creating in the process a neo-classic pseudo chypre (whoa), more polished and intimate than its predecessors, a thoroughly modern “Mad Man”.
The question remains “would I like to smell like James Franco” ? Yes, indeed! If Imaginary Authors ever makes this bespoke celebrity available I will definitely be smelling like Mr. Meyer’s version of Mr. Franco.

Imaginary Authors james Franco RollingOutPhoto Stolen RollingOut

Thanks for the fun, Dee!

Azar XX

Imaginary Authors james Franco BoTOPhoto Stolen BoTO’s (Beauty on The Outside)