EmmaKate

Bang! by Ann Gottleib for Marc Jacobs 2010

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 7 Comments

.
Post by EmmaKate
.

Bang! by Marc Jacobs 2010

Bang Marc Jacobs FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Black, white and pink pepper
Heart: Woody notes
Base: Elemi resin, aromatic benzoin, vetiver, white moss and patchouli

I am a massive fan of wearing men’s cologne, this is a different smell than I would normally wear but I really enjoyed wearing this.

It opens with an almost sparkling green note which is the vetiver already going strong. There is this warming sensation where the black, white and pink pepper comes through, the spice from the pepper combined with benzoin and vetiver makes this fragrance effervescent yet warm.

Bang marc jacobs Perez hiltonPhoto stolen PerezHilton

I am a very visual person and when I smell this I see a young well dressed guy. He has a good job, very caring and sweet, pretending to be a player. This is a sexy though somewhat comforting fragrance. Very easy to wear, über masculine to boot. Bang guys are date-able, maybe even marriage material.

Further reading NowSmellThis
FragranceNet has $37/50ml before discount
MyPerfumeSamples starts at $2/ml

See you next month
EK xx

Marc Jacobs Bang! Interview

Bang! Ad.

Un Bois Vanille by Christopher Sheldrake for Serge Lutens 2003

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 14 Comments

.

Guest Post by EmmaKate

.

Hello fumies,

As the weather is starting to get cooler my thoughts turn to things that make me feel warm on the inside during Autumn and Winter. I have chosen to write about

Un Bois Vanille by  for Serge Lutens

UnBoisVanille FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Sandalwood, black licorice, coconut milk, beeswax, bitter almond, musk, vanilla, benzoin, guaiac wood and tonka bean.

When I first started working at Mecca Cosmetica I found the fragrances all too much in terms of how different they were to anything I had ever smelt before. I couldn’t sell them because I had no back story, had no understanding of the notes and quite frankly didn’t like any of them. Being the girl I am I set out to find out about these fragrances that had grown women running in and gasping with delight. My first port of call was Serge Lutens. This brand was all round scary due to all that French – Eek! I chose to work with what I knew and selected Un Bois Vanille- a woody vanilla fragrance. And here our journey begins.

The first spray is a sweet creamy vanilla with a slightly bitter tart scent. (Back in the day I used to judge fragrances from the very first whiff, thank god that changed quick smart or I wouldn’t be sharing my thoughts with you all.) I didn’t like it. Not one bit. Oh well, try again with something else tomorrow. Except, about 20 minutes later I caught a whiff of it again and it had evolved beautifully into this full bodied creamy vanilla that I wanted to be engulfed by. It reminds me of pannacotta before it sets and I wanted to swim in it.

Un Bois Vanille PANNA-COTTA lafestaPhoto Stolen lafesta

This is a grown up vanilla that makes me glow on the inside during winter. It makes me feel like I am wrapped up in a thick silk scarf and nothing can touch me. The tonka bean gives it body and cuts the slightly acidic note that vanilla can have, it gives it a milky feel while almond gives it strength.

Un Bois Vanille by Serge Lutens is a Oriental Vanilla fragrance and wears well, I would say around 8 hours, but this always depends on the wearer.

VanillaWood 123rfPhoto Stolen 123rf

Further reading Olfactoria’sTravels and ChemistInTheBottle
SurrenderToChance starts at $4/.5ml
You can also grab a bottle at the usual places, I found an unboxed 50ml for $94 at FragranceNet

EmmaKate xx

L’Eau Par Kenzo by Olivier Cresp for Kenzo 1998

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

.

Guest Post by EmmaKate

.

L’Eau Par Kenzo by Kenzo 1998

This fragrance marks the beginning of my love affair with all things fragrance.

L'EauParKenzo FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Green lilac, mint, reed, mandarin orange, red pepper
Heart: Water lily, amaryllis, white peach, rose, pepper, violet
Base: White musk, cedar, vanilla

I was sitting in the perfume connection, in a group interview for Christmas casual positions and they were testing our noses. They sprayed about 12 fragrances and I can tell you nothing about them, except for l’eau par Kenzo. This fragrance struck me from the very first moment I smelt it. It is light and fresh, with a slightly spicy edge. It opens with a cucumber/watermelonesque fresh aquatic feel, dries down with a subtle peppery warm feel.

When I wear L’Eau Par Kenzo I feel clean, fresh and summery. I have this sense of calm joy, like walking through the shallow waters of a tropical beach.

tropical-beach ClearViewTravelPhoto Stolen ClearViewTravel

It is my quintessential fragrance, so much so that when a friend has worn this out she has been told she smelt like me. I have even been snorted by a good friend in David Jones (Ed: one of our prestige department stores in Australia) whilst wearing it. 😉

It is a very easy fragrance to wear that makes you feel great!

L’Eau Par Kenzo is becoming harder and harder to find. If you see it buy it!

FragranceNet has 50ml around $35

See you next month,
EmmaKate

Here is the ad

Aqua di Gio Essenza EdP by Alberto Morillas for Giorgio Armani 2012

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 11 Comments

.

Guest Post by EmmaKate

,

Hello fumies,

EmmaKate here to share another great scent of my silly season. I gave this to a true love in my life. It was purchased for my baby brother who is 25 and gorgeous.

Aqua di Gio Essenza EdP by Giorgio Armani 2012

AquaDiGioEssenze FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Cold fresh water, bergamot, grapefruit, calone (melon)
Heart: Jasmine, basil, sage, floral paradisone
Base: Patchouli, cedar, vetiver, ambrox, ambergris, pepper, clary sage

HotTrunks peperonityPhoto Stolen Peperonity

Fragrantica describes Aqua di Gio Essenza EdP- “The composition begins with luminous tones of cascalone molecule, which captures the olfactory experience of cold and fresh water, sparkling citrusy bergamot and grapefruit. The heart bares floral and aromatic accords of jasmine, basil and sage, as well as explosive floral paradisone molecule, while the base combines notes of patchouli, cedar, vetiver, ambrox, ambergris, pepper and clary sage.”

Part of the Aqua di Gio story, Essenza is like a splash of fresh sexy water, which intensifies and evolves into a woody, citrusy full bodied scent. This has been designed to be a more intense version of the original and is an Eau de Parfum, I say- they have succeeded. This fragrance is a classic scent to give a guy who is new to fragrance or wants something easy to wear. Super easy to wear, super easy to smell, it is one of those fragrances that would make you follow that delicious man around the bar.

HOT-GUY carisroanePhoto Stolen carisroane

Me being me, I sprayed the scent and wore it for the day, a few things happened, I wanted to make out with myself, the scent evolved into a very sensual citrus and it wore for about 8 hours. This definitely wears far longer then the original, luckily as this is an Eau de Parfum. Overall this gets a big tick from me for something any of the men in your life would be happy to receive!

Further reading 1000Flowers
FragranceNet has 75ml/$65
MyPerfumeSamples starts at $2/ml or $7/5m

Thanks for reading,
EmmaKate x
(Dear EmmaKate I added some gratuitous man flesh, I hope you approve: Portia xx)

The original Aqua di Gio movie

Coco Mademoiselle by Jacques Polge for CHANEL 2001: LIVE Video Sniff

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 20 Comments

Dear Glamour Girl Frag Hags,

Here we are as an APJ crew, back again, tormenting another poor fragrance with our complete lack of knowledge, or in fact good taste (yes Portia, looking at you!!) but doing it all with a big tongue in cheek and great good humour, to us anyway. The crew EmmaKate, Margeaux and Robert “Radium” Maxwell are here to help me have a look at one of the big best seller blockbusters of last year.

As always we need to remind you that we are merely enthusiasts and that our unplanned LIVE Video Sniffs often contain oodles of crap. Funny crap but nonetheless……
Please enjoy our little bit of NSFW madness!

Coco Mademoiselle by CHANEL 2001

CocoMademoisell FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Orange, mandarin orange, orange blossom, bergamot
Heart: Mimose, jasmine, Turkish rose, ylang-ylang
Base: Tonka bean, patchouli, opoponax, vanilla, vetiver, white musk

Can I please say that I ADORE Coco by CHANEL and think Mademoiselle is nothing to do with it and should have been named CHANEL Mademoiselle instead of building up false hope and then dashing it, had I not expected AH MAY ZING beyond Coco Oriental bliss I would have been less let down and much less likely to sneer. On mature reflection it is a solid scent that crosses loads of boundaries, both sexes love it; albeit for different reasons. We laugh about it in the video but that 5ml decant went in under a week here at Chez Portia and I am still seriously thinking about a small bottle for myself for those girlish moments that come across us all, even the truck driving army dudes.

HotGirl leftosPhoto Stolen leftos

Further reading BoisDeJasmin and KatiePuckrik
TradeServices has 100ml EdP Aus$113
SurrenderToChance starts at $3/ml

Have you tried Coco Mademoiselle by CHANEL? Are you the demographic? Did or do you love or loathe it?

See you all happy and well tomorrow hopefully,
Portia xx

Festive + Fragrant LIVE Video Sniff: Nuit de Noel by Ernest Daltroff for Caron 1922

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 16 Comments

To the amazing APJ Family,

From the whole crew here at AustralianPerfumeJunkies we want to wish you a magical, safe and fun Holiday Season. For everyone who celebrates it
.

MerryChristmasRed stevemelan

.
for everyone who doesn’t celebrate Xmas we still wish you all the joy, love, fun, silliness, bickering, food, drink, heath, wealth and happiness that goes along with this time for us who do.

For those who are feeling alone, sad, angry or useless. We love and need you. Please spritz yourself with something exquisite, have a cup of tea and a biscuit and if possible have a nap. There will be better days, promise, maybe write a list of 10 things you are grateful for, like your ability to read, cogitate, eat, smell. Write them down and give genuine thanks. No matter how small they seem compared to the bigger issues.

 

Nuit de Noel by Caron 1922

NuitDeNoel FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Ylang-ylang, tincture of rose and jasmine
Heart: Sandalwood and oak moss
Base: Musk and amber.

Here is a little APJ MADNESS. Some of the crew all got together to send you a special message filled with love and the joy of Christmas. My BFF Kath was in charge of filming and Jin made it blog ready. We all had a great laugh and, as always, made complete twats of ourselves for your enjoyment. Please take everything we say with a grain of salt we are fragrance enthusiasts who have had a great night of trivia, booze, dinner and laughs. By the time we have made this particular video we had already shot 9 others and are all, frankly, mental by this stage. Do please enjoy.

Thanks for coming along on this fragrant journey with us, we are grateful that you do.
Loads of love to you, and yours,
The APJ Family & Crew
Clayton, Dionne, EmmaKate, Jordan, BFF Kath, Katrina, Madeleine, Margeaux, Suzanne, Tim, TSO Jin and Portia  XXOX

Flowerbomb by Olivier Polge, Carlos Benaim, Domitille Berthier and Dominique Ropion for Viktor+Rolf 2005

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 7 Comments

.

Guest Post by EmmaKate

.

EmmaKate here sharing another fabulous scent for the silly season.

I was at the launch of this fragrance when it came to Australia and that will always influence the way it sticks in my mind. Launched at Mecca Cosmetica in Paddington, the entire space was filled with masses of flowers. It was literally an explosion of colour and scent. Champagne and fabulous finger food were served all adding to the opulence of the event and thus scent itself.

Flowerbomb by Viktor & Rolf

Flowerbomb FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, green tea
Heart: Sambac jasmine, Centifolia rose, freesia, Cattleya orchid
Base: Musk and patchouli

When I heard about this fragrance I expected a big white floriental, not so. It opens with a sparkling candy floral, reminiscent of a moscato or excellent sticky dessert wine, it rounds out to be a full bodied sweet floral, the amber making it almost syrupy, with the patchouli giving it a grounding and anchoring it to the skin and removing any sense of sickly sweet. The freesia and osmanthus give this fragrance a light airy, almost effervescent feel.

PinkBallet GalaxieAndrews bridalcookieGalaxie Andrews Photo Stolen BridalCookie

When wearing Flowerbomb by Viktor & Rolf, I imagine the girliest version of myself- very dainty, high heels, a feminine almost ballerina style dress in fairy floss pink, glass of crisp champagne in hand. I am surrounded by bouquets of white and pink flowers. It is a romantic scent for me.

The scent is described on the Viktor and Rolf website as “Full-bodied and opulent, the Eau de Parfum explodes in a bouquet of sensations with its addictive floral notes which leave their trail, like a whirlwind that is distinctly couture. A millefleurs around the freesia, Centifolia rose, osmanthus and Sambac jasmine, supported by a background of patchouli”

Freesia .sycamoretrading.co.ukjpgPhoto Stolen sycamoretrading

In terms of longevity, this fragrance wears well. I get about 6 hours, which is huge for me.
Flowerbomb by Viktor & Rolf is the perfect scent for someone who likes a sweet scent, perfect scent for young girls and those young at heart…like me.

Further reading NowSmellThis and ThisBlogReallyStinks

FragranceX has 50ml EdP $76 before discount
SurrenderToChance starts at $3/ml

Happy smelling 🙂

EmmaKate xx

Lys Mediterranee by Edouard Flechier for Frederic Malle 2000

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 14 Comments

.

Guest post by EmmaKate

.

Hello hello fumies,

It is EmmaKate here to spoil you with fragrance for Christmas. One the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me a bottle of Lys Mediteranee… from Frederic Malle. 🙂 This particular fragrance appeals to me because of the fresh white flowers, sea water and green spice make this feminine without being at all cloying.

Lys Mediterranee by Frederic Malle 2000

nd.4640
Image from Fragrantica.
Fragrantica lists the notes for this scent as
Top: sea water and ginger
Heart: angelica, orange blossom, lotus and lily
Base: vanilla and musk.
.
When I spray Lys Mediterranee by Frederic Malle it takes me to a beach side cliff where the white flowers grow. I feel the sun on my back with a cool breeze playing through my hair. It is like I an escape to a place we would all rather be.  It is the scent I could see myself wearing on my wedding day. Something fresh, beautiful, floaty, a little bit mysterious and long lasting, it makes me smile and lends a sense of contentment.
BrideBentley weheartit.Photo Stolen weheartit
It opens with a burst of lily with a true green edge, mellows out to let the sweetness shine through and becomes a mysterious blend upon dry down, almost powdery, yet not at all. Lys Mediterranee by Frederic Malle wears incredibly well on me and I am a renowned scent “drinker”. This is such a clean fragrance. I want to spray this in the middle of summer when I have come from the extreme humidity inside and don’t feel like a shower.
.
This composition is an interesting choice, the combination of such fresh smells such as ginger and sea water combined with the white flowers makes sense, even the white flowers combined with the grounding warmth of vanilla and musk, it is the idea of these three together that gets me every time. The warmth and cool freshness is an interesting mix. To combine the ultimate in freshness, sea water, with the warmth of vanilla, is what truly sets this fragrance apart from all other lily fragrances.
Casablanca_Lily imagesofdannadsignPhoto Stolen imagesofdannadsign
.
SurrenderToChance starts at $6/ml
.
I hope you enjoy Lys Mediterranee by Frederic Malle as much as I do, or know someone in your life who will.
Have a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays 🙂
EmmaKate

Grab Bag LIVE Video Sniff

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 19 Comments

Hey Happy Huffers,

Today EmmaKate and I take a little look at 3 entirely different perfumes, not only in scent but in price and availability. As usual we only give you the top notes and development is left for full posts which may happen in the future.

If we have made mistakes, left anything out or generally have misfired in any way, please leave us a message in the comments so everyone else can have a good laugh at us too. We don’t mind but we do like be put straight when we’re wrong.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Jennifer Aniston (NOT- Lolavie) – Jennifer Aniston 2010
Fragrantica gives these featured accords
Top: Citruses, rose
Heat: Jasmine, violet, lily
Base: Musk, sandalwood, amber

Photo Stolen fragrantica

Amber Oud – by Killian 2011
Fragrantica gives these featiured accords in one line:
Amber, oud, Madagascar vanilla, benzoin from Laos

Photo Stolen news.bbc.co.uk

Jackeroo – Bud Parfumes by Howard Jarvis
Fragrantica gives only the note leather
Buy Jackeroo $20/10ml at Bud Parfums

This week we have some really exciting stuff happening on the blog. I hope you come back and have a squiz,
Loads of love,
Portia xx