Dame Perfumery Artist Series Set GIVEAWAY WINNERS

August 28, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 1 Comment

Woo Hoo APJ,

Thanks to Azar and Jeffrey Dame for this amazing giveaway. I’m glad you all got on board and I wish that I could have been in the running, what a great prize.
Let’s see who won,

Portia xx

Dame Perfumery Artist Series Set GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Dark Horse – 2015
Perfumer’s notes: Bergamot, lemon, cinnamon, jasmine, carnation, rose, cloves, guaiac wood oil, vetiver, vanilla and musk.

From Azar: I mentioned in the comments to the post that, in addition to the artist series set, I would also send along a sample of Pear Waterlily and Amber to the winner. I rummaged through my samples but couldn’t find a Pear, Waterlily and Amber (I think they were used up by me!) but I did find an extra set of Artist Series samples…so instead of one winner there are now two.

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 ml sample set of the 3 Dame Perfumery Artist Series
P&H Worldwide

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 27th August 2015 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org

Photo Stolen markmontanoblogs

Patty Pong

lena

The winners will have till Monday 31st August 2015 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.

Coco by CHANEL: Saddest Saga Ever

August 27, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 23 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey there crew,

You know the excitement of buying some vintage lovely for a friend for whom it’s their Holy Grail? The thrill of the hunt, trolling eBay, ETSY and the Facebook pages looking for your current mad perfumista desire? Finding your Holy Grail on eBay at an affordable price, bidding, waiting, last minute flurry bid and then OMG! You’ve won it! High fives and back slapping all around. You rush quickly to your Pay Now button and PayPal the shit outta that thing. Then you wait………….

Coco by CHANEL: Saddest Saga Ever

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Coriander, mandarin orange, peach, jasmine, Bulgarian rose
Heart: Mimosa, cloves, orange blossom, clover, rose
Base: Labdanum, amber, sandalwood, tonka bean, opoponax, civet, vanilla

and you wait………

You write to the eBay seller and ‘Quell Surprise’ it hasn’t been sent yet. “Sending it today. sorry Sorry SORRY”

Now you start to worry because if they send it now and it arrives faulty, for whatever reason, you may not be covered to lodge an eBay claim. So, you wait……

and you fume……

and you wait…….

The worry has turned to mild panic, even though you’ve dealt with this seller before and everything has been 100% perfect there is the gnawing worry at the back of your mind, especially because you have bought a couple of other things from the same seller since. Could they have been above board and now readying to do a grab and run? You know, put a whole load of really excellent pics up of things they’ve sold before and sell their fake stuff for good money before disappearing forever? This is not completely unknown on the net, there are shady enough people in face to face dealings, anonymity adds a whole new meaning to the word dodgy.

Teetering on the edge of a nervous breakdown and obsessing madly over your lost precious you write again. It’s only a few days before the 45 day claim cut-off-period and you worry that this may become unsaveable, even though you paid through PayPal which will cover the loss but who needs the freaking drama. I just want my stuff. They write back, and they are really good Customer Service people. “It’s coming my friend. Please be patient. We are so sorry, it will be there”

Then…… It Arrived! So excited. We did a little happy dance, YAY! As the package is opened, we start to worry. It’s too fragrant. This does not bode well…..

As you can see, disaster has struck. The nozzle has been damaged when they pulled the insert out to show fluid levels and the juice has all run out. It has bubbled the gold foil on the bottle and run riot through the packaging. The smell is unbelievably amazing. At least we know the product is authentic. GAWD it smells incredible in here. Scott has rubbed the box and wrapping all over his arms and smells like a very high class establishment for sexual satisfaction, of a cash for gratification style.

Obviously I am bummed and write to the seller who immediately says they’ll refund my full purchase amount. They are so sweet about it and say that I’m their best customer etc it’s nice. So though I have no fragrance I will give my buddy the bottle and packaging which she can leave in her undies drawer and they will now smell like the rest of her. DELICIOUS!

Sad Sage, an only mildly unhappy ending.

What stuff has arrived imperfect for you?
Portia xx

Deluxe Giverny In Bloom Set GIVEAWAY WINNER

August 24, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Post by Portia

Hiya APJ,

What a sensational giveaway. Thank you to Dawn Spencer Hurwitz for her incredible generosity, and excellent fragrances. What a superstar. Please go and have a look at the DSH Perfumes site.

Portia xx

Giverny In Bloom GIVEAWAY WINNER

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x The deluxe Giverny In Bloom discovery set: 4 x 3ml atomisers:
Giverny In Bloom EdT (only the dregs)
La Danse des Bleus et des Violettes EdT
l’Opera des Rouges et des Roses EdP
Le Jardin Vert EdP
along with a leaflet about the Denver Art Museum exhibit
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 23rd August 2015 10pm Australian EST
Winner was chosen by random.org

Photo Stolen EverythingHealth

FlowerGirlBee!

The winner will have till Thursday 27th August 2015 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.

Patchouli Nosy Be by Perris Monte Carlo 2014

August 22, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 3 Comments

Post by Portia

Hiya Crew,

You know when you see a new brand come on the scene and it just doesn’t move you to go out of your way to try it? That’s what the Perris Monte Carlo stuff was like for me. I don’t know why, maybe the bottles or the names, colourway…. really, I don’t know. Anyway, recently I bought some stuff from the guys at LuckyScent and they added a bunch of samples into my pack. I was putting this into a pack I was putting together to send off because it didn’t interest me but I thought, “I’ll just give myself a little spritz before I put it in.” Spritzed, sealed up the post pack and all of a sudden I am bathed in the most delightful and radiant amber/patchouli bomb I’ve ever smelled.

Patchouli Nosy Be by Perris Monte Carlo 2014

Patchouli Nosy Be by Luca Maffei

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Patchouli, pink pepper
Heart: Cacao, labdanum
Base: Patchouli, vanilla, cedar, sandalwood

Warm, comfortable, smooth and refined are the words that jump into my head immediately. Elegant. This is a very beautiful sweet patchouli amber combo that sings on my skin. I don’t know if it’s a breakthrough scent but it does smell amazing, projects and trails exactly the right amount for notice without skunking, makes me feel cuddly and safe and lasts extremely well.

There’s something stately, impressive and grandiose about Patchouli Nosy Be, yet it still feels fresh and alive and modern. I am going to have to find myself a split and really give it some wear, or could it be my next FB?

Photo Stolen torange

I stole this from LuckyScent because it hits the nail on the head and explains the significance of the stupid name:
Nosy Be (or Nossi-Bé) is an island off the northwest coast of Madagascar, commonly known as the “scented island” due to the abundance of extremely high-quality perfume materials grown on its northern half. But patchouli, a sensitive and delicate plant to cultivate, has never been able to thrive in Nosy Be’s intense heat. Until now.
Perris Monte Carlo Patchouli Nosy Be contains the very first magical harvests of authentic Nosy Be patchouli, made possible through an innovative and painstaking process that involves transplanting developing plants by hand into shaded, protected areas amongst the ylang ylang plantations, which results in an extraordinary patchouli essential oil with unique dry, woody and cocoa-like properties. This precious material is then blended into a fragrance designed to showcase its uncharacteristic expansiveness- combined minimally with spicy pink pepper, smooth woods and a touch of warm resin, creamy vanilla and bitter cocoa…..

Photo Stolen Pexels

LuckyScent has $180/100ml and samples

What have you been completely wrong about lately, fragrant or otherwise. Come on, time to confess. We won’t snitch.

Portia xx

Giverny in Bloom by DSH Perfumes 2015

August 21, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 33 Comments

Post by Portia

Hiya APJ,

The set created for Denver Art Museum’s “In Bloom” exhibit:
Giverny In Bloom
La Danse des Bleus et des Violettes
l’Opera des Rouges et des Roses
Le Jardin Vert

Dawn Spencer Hurwitz is one of the world’s best loved independent perfumers. Partly that’s because she makes seriously fabulous fragrances but I also think that her nature and lovely genuine responses whenever I’m in touch with her adds 100% to that appeal. She sent me a pack of pre-releases back in June and at some point I must have put it in a box which was then packed away for the big move. We found quite a lot of important stuff in this box and I think Jin had done a bit of packing while I was at work one night. Anyway, found it now and really excited because one scent in particular from the set of four has me completely under its spell.

Giverny in Bloom by DSH Perfumes 2015

Giverny in Bloom by Dawn Spencer Hurwitz

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Ambergris, Australian sandalwood, bergamot, vetiver, bulgarian rose, cabreuva, carnation, civet, damask rose, soil tincture, Indian patchouli, rose geranium, beeswax, lime (linden blossom), galbanum, jasmine, oakmoss, heliotrope, green leaves, lemon, mimosa, orris, parma violet, peony, petitgrain, pine needles, red rose, palisander rosewood, jasmine sambac, lilac, Tunisian neroli, violet, violet leaf, Virginian cedar

On first spritz galbanum is king, quickly replaced by a woodsy white floral, cool and sharp that is cut through with a really lovely cut grass and earthy turned compost. There is so much happening in Giverny In Bloom and so much a fragrance of itself, built in big sweeping light filled strokes and made poignant by almost speckled bit players that both flesh out and buoy the composition. I am lost happily in a wash of fragrance that you really need to stand back a bit from so that the riot of colliding pieces have a chance to become an olfactoric picture. I think it’s the loveliest green I’ve ever smelled. It beats even Nikki de Saint Phalle which was my favourite. So nuanced and beautifully balanced, artfully walking the green resinous line.

Giverny In Bloom softens off to a very quiet hum after a couple of hours yet still manages to make me smell fresher than I am. Pretty.

Photo Stolen WikiCommons

From DSH Perfumes site: Created for Denver Art Museum’s “In Bloom” exhibit ‘scent experience’, a gorgeous green and live flower bouquet fragrance was created to evoke the artist’s beloved flower garden.
Be transported through time and space to a moment in Monet’s flower garden at Giverny. An impressionist style perfume of green budding trees, wet dewy flowers and soil, that transforms to a rich floral bouquet as it wears.

I have just ordered a 10ml EdT from Dawn, this shit is freaking amazing.

Photo Stolen DSH Perfumes

DSH Perfumes has 3 fragrance strengths for Giverny in Bloom, Eau de Toilette, Voile de Toilette & Extrait plus there is a room spray and body butter. It’s a totally cool way to present a set and the only thing that could make it better was if there was bubble bath. They are available from DSH Perfumes in a variety of sizes and range from $5-155

In Bloom: Painting Flowers in the Age of Impressionism
Denver Art Museum’s “In Bloom” exhibit
July 19, 2015 – October 11, 2015
Hamilton Building – Level 2 — Ticketed, free for members. Purchase tickets online or call 720-913-0130.

SUPER exciting giveaway today, see below,
Portia xxx

Photo Stolen kbaird

Deluxe Giverny In Bloom Set GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x The deluxe Giverny In Bloom discovery set: 4 – 3ml mini-sprayers of: Giverny In Bloom EdT (only the dregs), La Danse des Bleus et des Violettes EdT, l’Opera des Rouges et des Roses EdP, Le Jardin Vert EdP along with a leaflet about the Denver Art Museum exhibit.
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 (portia underscore turbo @ yahoo dot com dot au) 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 go to DSH Perfumes site<<JUMP and pick a fragrance + one of its notes NO DOUBLE UPS!!!

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Giverny In Bloom Set GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-4bK #Perfume #Giveaway @DSHperfumes

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 23rd August 2015 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winner will be chosen by random.org
The winner will have till Thursday 27th August 2015 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.

Sì Eau de Toilette – The film – Giorgio Armani 2015

August 21, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Post by Portia

Heya Crew,

The latest Si flanker is here and Cate Blanchett is the face again. I think you’ll like the ad. It’s simple, very reminiscent of the original ads and sweet.

Sì Eau de Toilette by Giorgio Armani

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Black currant, green pear, Italian bergamot, mandarin, neroli oil
Heart: Freesia, May rose
Base: Musk, amber, woodsy notes, vanilla, patchouli

Enjoy,
Portia xx

Sì Eau de Toilette – The film – Giorgio Armani

Dirty Flower Factory GIVEAWAY WINNER

August 17, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Hey Crew,

It was great to have you along for the draw. Thanks to John Pegg for creating such a beautiful scent, whoever wins Dirty Flower Factory is getting a gem. We love giving you the opportunity to try stuff that you may have missed.

Do go check out the Kerosene site.

Let’s find out who won!
Portia xx

Dirty Flower Factory by Kerosene 2014

Dirty Flower Factory by John Pegg

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Rose, jasmine, orange blossom, pink pepper, chili pepper, sandalwood, ambergris, musk

Dirty Flower Factory GIVEAWAY WINNER

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x Dirty Flower Factory decant (about 3ml in a spritz)
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 16th August 2015 10pm Australian EST
Winner was chosen by random.org

Photo Stolen cemre-ile-hertelden

PATTY-PONG

CONGRATULATIONS!! The winner will have till Thursday 20th August 2015 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.

Fougère Bengale by Marc-Antoine Corticchiato for Parfum d`Empire 2007

August 16, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 15 Comments

Post by Portia

Hi there Fragrance Fiends,

I have long lusted after the Parfum d’Empire perfumer. Marc-Antoine Corticchiato is a friggen hottie, so suave and handsome looking, so finished and grand. Here’s a photo to get you in the mood….

Fougère Bengale by Parfum d`Empire 2007

Fougère Bengale by Marc-Antoine Corticchiato

Photo Stolen Parfum d’Empire

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Lavender, tea, ginger, mint
Heart: Hay, tobacco, pepper
Base: Oakmoss, patchouli, vanilla, tonka bean

From Parfum d’Empire: Edwardian dandies scented themselves with fougère, a classic fragrance family based on lavender, tonka bean and oak moss. Fougère Bengale revisits the genre with a powerful, honeyed blond tobacco accord, and carries us off to India…

Smoky tea, spice and hay are what come through initially on my skin and honeyed sweet tobacco. I know there’s lavender here, my brain is saying lavender, lavender, lavender but my nose doesn’t smell it at all. The smoky tea goees pretty quickly and the spice changes, not so energetic and I really do feel like I’m about to light a cigarette in a hayloft.

Photo Stolen WikiCommons

Then the main notes take a balmy turn, everything smooths out and the honeyed sweetness that often catches in the back of my throat becomes a softer, suppler and more comfortable beast all together. All of a sudden I am in a cozy, warm fragrance that is still dappled with light but now it’s a less golden and more burnished copper. Calmer, sweeter, smoother and cuddlier. The tiger is now a kitten purring happily in your lap or cuddled in the crook of your arm.

Photo Stolen Flickr

I still get wafts of tobacco and hay through the heart and into the base but they are quickly quelled by the lovely resins. To be honest I get very little of India in Fougere Bengale at all. It’s too clean and too European elegant, once the fireworks die down I get much more Professor Higgins library than Shah Jahan’s tiger hunt. Yet I find it both appealing and wearable, it’s interesting enough to keep me sniffing and the longevity is excellent.

Further reading: Scented Hound and Non Blonde
Parfum d’Empire has €120/100ml
LuckyScent has $145/100ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $3.50/ml

India! Have you been? Is it on your list?
Portia xx

Shalimar + Mountain Adventure Photo Essay

August 15, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 18 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey there Perfume Peeps,

Today was so wonderful. One of the guys (Jean-Luc) that comes to my Tuesday Trivia has recently started an Art Shop in the mountains near Sydney. They are called the Blue Mountains because something in the eucalyptus trees shimmers blue through the air and thus the mountains look blue from afar, it’s lovely if you have them in your view. Another of the boys from Tuesday Trivia (Leo) is a motorbike rider and we have been chatting for a while about going on a bike excursion to Katoomba to see Jean-Luc. Today was the day.

It started out lovely in the sun, warm and toasty. Figuring it would stay that way I eschewed the thermals, wet weather gear, beany and puffer jacket under my riding kit. BAD IDEA! As soon as we got 20 minutes along the highway, freezing, stinging rain and the strongest winds I’ve ever ridden in. OMG! So freaking cold. It was incredibly exhilarating though and I was kept on constant alert, it was like a ride at a fairground except I was the one who had to be in control of the bike.

Anyway, we get to the top and have the most wonderful coffee before Jean-Luc opens the store. It’s a very modern artists place, mainly catering to spray paint artists who have covered the walls of the store with murals and the back alley has been given to artists from all over the world to paint, each wall a different and magical scene. It’s astounding the intricate detail they are able to bring with a spray can.

After looking at the murals in the area we popped across the road to the funkiest food place ever. The Yellow Deli. An ex-hippy hang if ever there was one. It seems to be a cross between rural, historical, hysterical and home improvements. Every piece lovingly hand rendered, something happening everywhere you turn and all seemingly with little rhyme or reason: eclectic and fun. We were ushered upstairs by a friendly waiter who thought we were a band (super cool US!!) and spent a few minutes just drinking in the ambiance. I had been told what to order and I dutifully did. I think it was called a Darling Rose Sandwich. OMG! Disgusting. Ha Ha Ha ha!! It was too much super salty ham, some onion with tomato chutney and tomato sauce AND mayonnaise. BLEAUGH! I was so hungry though that I ate every bite, and by the end of it I kind of got used to it.

Then the unbelievable happened. 2 hours from the heart of Sydney and it SNOWED!! Big, puffy, soft looking gusts of snow that got so heavy the street was obscured. Totally fabulous. Not enough to cover the world white but it was snow, and from our comfortable seat in the deli it was magical.

After that Leo & I went and had a look at a piece of land I’m quite interested in and then we rode home. While in the mountains I purchased (at 50% Discount!) a pair of electric green merino wool leggings and matching beany, I donned my puffer jacket under my bike jacket and the ride home was considerably warmer, and dryer because the snow and rain had stopped.

When I got home to really warm myself up I drew a bath and used Shalimar Gel Douche as my Bubble Bath. It was fiery hot and deliciously scented. There is no better place in the world to warm a cold, tired body and relax an overactive mind. It was bliss. I have spritzed some recent Shalimar EdP and am now bathed in a cloud of my own sweet smelling loveliness. Sometimes life feels really good.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Further reading: APJ Shalimar Parfum, APJ Shalimar EdP and APJ Shalimar EdC
FragranceNet has $73/90ml current EdP before coupon
Surrender To Chance has EdP samples starting at $3/ml

How do you like to wind down? Do you have a favourite bath soak?

Portia xx

Classic Patchouli GIVEAWAY WINNERS

August 15, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

WOO HOO! Great giveaway thanks to Val and the Von Eusersdorff crew. Thanks everyone for getting involved and Val got so excited she wants to send 4 packs. YAY!!!
Portia xx

Classic Patchouli by Von Eusersdorff 2011

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot
Heart: Patchouli
Base: Vanilla, tonka bean, sandalwood

Classic Patchouli GIVEAWAY WINNERS

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 3 (NOW 4) winners who will each receive:
1 x sample Classic Patchouli by Von Eusersdorff
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Friday 14th August 2015 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org

Photo Stolen prospectsplus

HOLLY
BEC
PATSI
TIM

The winners will have till Monday 17th August 2015 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.

Dame Perfumery Artist Series Set GIVEAWAY WINNERS

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

HOUSEKEEPING

Patty Pong

lena

Coco by CHANEL: Saddest Saga Ever

Giverny In Bloom GIVEAWAY WINNER

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

HOUSEKEEPING

FlowerGirlBee!

Patchouli Nosy Be by Perris Monte Carlo 2014

Patchouli Nosy Be by Luca Maffei

Giverny in Bloom by DSH Perfumes 2015

Giverny in Bloom by Dawn Spencer Hurwitz

Deluxe Giverny In Bloom Set GIVEAWAY

HOW DO YOU WIN?

HOUSEKEEPING

Sì Eau de Toilette by Giorgio Armani

Sì Eau de Toilette – The film – Giorgio Armani

Dirty Flower Factory by Kerosene 2014

Dirty Flower Factory by John Pegg

Dirty Flower Factory GIVEAWAY WINNER

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

HOUSEKEEPING

PATTY-PONG

Fougère Bengale by Parfum d`Empire 2007

Fougère Bengale by Marc-Antoine Corticchiato

Classic Patchouli by Von Eusersdorff 2011

Classic Patchouli GIVEAWAY WINNERS

HOUSEKEEPING

HOLLY BEC PATSI TIM

HOLLY
BEC
PATSI
TIM