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Sandra
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Hello fellow perfume lovers.
Fall is a time when the mornings are cool, almost cold, but the days can still get really warm, sometimes hot. I have the darndest of times figuring out what to wear. My best bet is to layer up and peel the layers off as the days get warm.
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Kate Apted
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How you doin’, APJ people??
I am a self confessed gym addict. I need to be at the gym 6 days a week. I have been on and off for years, but since 2010, I have taken my weight training seriously. I count macros, do compound lifts before isolation and have even done the odd body building comp or three.
I do have certain perfumes I keep just for the gym. Granted I am there for one hour maximum, it seems kind of superfluous to have dedicated scents. So, why do I do it?
Many people stink whilst exercising. It is a fact. Either the ciggie they snuck in before entering the gym, or a day’s worth of BO. I like to use my perfume as a sniffing salt, so it has to slice the environmental smells and pierce my brain.
I need to be incredibly focused whilst lifting heavy! One hundred kg on my shoulders requires my full attention and my scent can actually help or hinder that focus. Through trial and error, I have found what works for me. I thrive on beating personal bests; no room for relaxing scents.
During my working week, I get to the gym by 5pm or so, and by then, my afternoon scent has been worn off by the accumulation of dirt, grease, and absorbtion by my hefty overalls. I am ready for a new perfume and I probably stink of clutch dust and diesel, if I am honest with you.
My most beloved gym scent is Notorious by Ralph Lauren (2008). I have been using it since 2010. Acquisition is becoming more difficult and I will need to arrange a replacement. What I love most about it is the black currant. The heady hit of that note makes me alert, but in a kind way. Si by Armani has a similar note, yet it hits in a more laser like way, and I find it distracting.
The other notes are carnation, lively pink pepper and peony – a note I struggle to like when it is the focus. Luckily, here it is a supporting note that softens the black currant and carnation. I don’t get any heat from the pink pepper.
As I have never worn this at any other time, I actually cannot comment on the dry down or longevity. Notorious does not last beyond the training session, strangely. Might be because I am constantly wiping myself with my towel and it is evaporating with my rising body temperature.
I don’t notice many other people wearing perfumes whilst training. I do get the odd whiff of Axe body spray, but it is the usual fougere type. Oh, I lie! At my last gym, I caught the trail of a guy wearing Egoiste. I did follow him and do a confirmation sniff.
I know Val is an avid lifter too. Are you an active sort, and if so, what is your take on dedicated scents for that activity? And what can I replace Notorious with? I am very keen to hear your suggestions, beautiful people.
Til next time,
Kate – bear hugs!
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Val the Cookie Queen
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“She comes in colours everywhere, she combs her hair, she’s like a rainbow ..” 1967. The Rolling Stones.
Hey Happy Trippers
Perfume is my drug of choice, these days at least. As I was writing up my recent psychedelic special in Strange Tales Part II, I got to thinking about what fragrances I consider as trippy.
Do colours smell? Are they light, or dark, or sparkly? Do they appear in layers? Do they move? Can you taste them?
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Sandra
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Hey hey APJ!
Autumn, my favorite season of the year, has arrived in all of its glory. The days are getting noticeably shorter and yet the sun can be so warming on my face. As the leaves start to morph into their various shades of yellow, orange and crimson, the low lying sun kisses them with a warmth of gold making the sunny days an endless joy to be outside.
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Kate Apted
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Hello APJ folk!
I went through a phase last year of buying up random perfumes to store in a pile of unopened ones under my bed. Someone suggested I buy things when I see them cheap and open them up in the future when I think I may like the sound of the notes. So, I saw Incredible Things on massive discount at a little chemist in a tiny shopping centre and bought it. About Christmas time I was feeling depressed through my enforced no-buy period and thought I’d open it to see how it compared with Ms Swift’s other very fruity and sweet offerings.
Instant love!
Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Grapefruit, Pink pepper
Heart: Passion flower, Vanilla orchid, Suede
Base: Haitian vetiver, Madagascan vanilla, Musk, White amber
I imagine Ms Swift has a serious, contemplative side to her personality. Though she is marketed as girly and romantic, I think there is a marvellous deeper side to her. I glimpse this through Incredible Things. It is a quiet, almost serious scent, in that it does not project with laser like capability and does not pierce with high pitched notes. There is a calm leather and pale violet quality in the opening of Incredible Things. Her other scents are seriously sweet and hit me with an immediate punch to the front of my brain. Incredible Things slowly sings its way to me, and it is a welcomed relief.
Longevity is a problem with Incredible Things, I get about an hour of the leather and violet unfolding to a powdery floral, which then dies down to nothing after three hours. At the price this fetches, I can justify regular spritzes. I have tried spraying a lot on at one time, but it makes no difference to the opening effect. It is simply a serene scent that works best with two or three sprays, reapplied often. I find it is best applied and left to do its magic. I rarely lift my wrist to my nose. Projection is modest enough to allow people to notice I am wearing it, but loud enough for me to catch wafts of it now and then.
If Incredible Things were released by a niche house, I’d bet it would be more favourably received. The fact it is housed in a garish bottle and seated alongside the numerous celebuscents might contribute to the lack of noise over it. I must admit to being floored by the combination of notes done in such a demure yet classic manner. Especially given the harsh sweetness of Ms Swift’s other scents.
Now, let me tell you that the major notes (as listed by Fragrantica) are vanilla, suede, passion flower, musk, vetiver and orchid. It surprises me that vanilla is voted as the most prominent. I registered the florals and vanilla as a mild violet and I get a light trace of the vetiver, but I needed that pointed out by the notes list. Do I love it enough to be eyeing off a back up bottle.
Have you been surprised by a celebrity scent?
Til next love,
K xx
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Val the Cookie Queen
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Hey APJ
I seldom binge watch anything on TV. I don’t have the attention span, nor the time, and am pretty fussy about what I watch. Not that I wanna appear as a snotty bitch, I am an EastEnders fan after all. Still it is autumn and cookie season is in full swing. I spend a lot of time in my kitchen, which makes it ideal for hammering my way through several hours of TV, as I make and weigh hundreds of dough balls.
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Sandra
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Hiya APJ! Anybody smell anything wonderful recently?
First things first, the winner of the Neela Vermeire Creations sample pack is AnnieA. Congratulations! Please get in touch with Portia with your address at portia (_) turbo (@) yahoo (.) com (.) au so that I can get your package out to you.
Stress?! Did somebody say STRESS? I am not one for coping well with stress so I have decided to call it hiccups. I am a creature of habit and when I get thrown a curveball or two or twelve, I start to fall apart. Continue reading
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Val the Cookie Queen
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Greetings APJ Brats
Although the Sale Gosse was launched in 2017, it is only now that it has become semi-available. Initially it could only be bought in Paris, and only earlier this year did it become available in some stores, London, Italy, and maybe somewhere in the US? However you can now purchase it online from Frederic Malle. I was informed by Malle in the Burlington Arcade, London that it would not be going into every Malle point-of-sale. Which basically means you would have to buy it blind, and we never do that huh?
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Sandra
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Hey there APJ! How have you all been doing?
Summer has gone by in a flash here. The schools only have six weeks of vacation which in my mind is too short. That aside, it was a fantastic summer here in the Netherlands with high temperatures and no rain. You see, I love the heat and sunshine.
So, in order to get my yearly fix of heat and sunshine I flew with my son to Atlanta to visit my parents and see family and friends. I decided to travel with a couple of Neela Vermeire Creations perfumes.
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Val the Cookie Queen
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How’s it hanging APJ?
It is still too bloody hot to move here. Major heatwave over most Europe and it has been going on for months. Up to 38° on some days. Too damn hot.
Australian Perfume Junkies 