FR! 01 / N° 02 GIVEAWAY WINNER

September 14, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 1 Comment

Post by Portia

Thanks everyone for getting involved.

Let’s see who won.

Portia xx

FR! 01 / N° 02 GIVEAWAY WINNER

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Rose absolute
Heart: Tuberose absolute
Base: Cocoa resin

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x 15ml FR! 01 / N° 02 La Dame Blanche by Julie Massé for Fragrance Republic 2013
(there are about 3ml gone)
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 13th September 2015 10pm Australian EST
Winner was chosen by random.org

Photo Stolen HighestSelf

Bernadette Winfield-Gray

The winner will have till Thursday 17th September 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.

Blackwater Thistle GIVEAWAY WINNER

September 13, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Post by Portia

Hey Hey APJ,

Firstly, THANK YOU to our incredibly generous guys at Criminal Elements who supplied this sample of Blackwater Thistle, Corey Newcombe and Aelfrik Spektor. Do please go to the Criminal Elements site and get your freaky sniff on some of their stuff. It will blow your mind.

Secondly, let’s see who our winner is.

Portia xx

Blackwater Thistle GIVEAWAY WINNER

Photo Stolen Geograph

Criminal Elements give these featured accords in one line:
Grass, violet, moss, soil, bullrush, thistle

WHAT CCOULD YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x Blackwater Thistle pre-release sample
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Thursday 10th Septembert 2015 10pm Australian EST
Winner was chosen by random.org

Photo Stolen cemre-ile-hertelden

SCOTT

The winner will have till Sunday 13th September 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.

Le Jardin de Monsieur Li by Jean-Claude Ellena for Hermès 2015

September 12, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 18 Comments

Post by Portia

It’s time to bid farewell to Jean-Claude Ellena at Hermès. I’m sad because he really came to embody so much of what I think Hermès is famous for: the interesting, not fashion, best of, made to last, made to use, made to love and for people who can still feel love. JCE being the nose at Hermès felt like their visions were aligned, sheer beauty could sum up Hermès or Jean Claude Ellena’s fragrances for Hermès. Here is Le Jardin de Monsieur Li: his last opus for the company, his last fantastical garden……

Le Jardin de Monsieur Li by Hermès 2015

Le Jardin de Monsieur Li by Jean-Claude Ellena

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Kumquat, jasmine, mint

The garden series are polarising, as much of Ellena’s work is. One of the interesting things about them is that we have been able to see into this particular artists creative journey with some of these scents through his own, and others, written words. Though we know little it’s more than we know of other perfumers and that for me makes JCE a bit of a mate, a friend or acquaintance that has let me a little behind their eyes into the workings of their brain. WE have been there when the unripe mango triggered a fragrance, through some of the depressing routes that led to failure and we also know something of his love of fragrance, his bringing home freaky scents the kids asked for, the love for his wife and his engaging personality that has made him a fragrance lovers household name.

So, how does Le Jardin de Monsieur Li smell? Bittersweet, ethereal, sweet and cool, sparkling yet curiously oily too. Le Jardin de Monsieur Li is about drinks in the shady garden in the afternoon as the sting of the days heat abruptly cuts off, the gardeners are watering or maybe there’s just been an afternoon storm so the air is clearer, less dusty and the fragrance has changed from dust to fecund wet earth and grass and you have a champagne fruit punch that is so delicious and the first one hardly even touches the sides of your thirst. Refreshing, lifting, light and elegant, Le Jardin de Monsieur Li is a fond and fervent farewell.

Photo Stolen Hermès

The Le Jardin de Monsieur Li artwork looks like they have a new artist too. The modern/retro feel of the watercolour is so much more computer-generated looking than previous pictures and while I think it lovely there is a feeling that the Hermès crew is already moving on from the JCE years. Moving away from the lovely home made feel of the naughties and into a more hipster/art-without-creativity/big-business-boring feel for the future. It’s a shame if it’s true, one of the things I love about Hermès is their quaint and homey version of world domination. The free spirit has been caged and trained.

Further reading: Candy Perfume Boy and Perfume Shrine
Hermes stores and some larger department stores carry the Jardin range
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $4/ml

What is your favourite Jean Claude Ellena fragrance for Hermès?
Portia xx

FR! 01 / N° 02 – La Dame Blanche by Julie Massé for Fragrance Republic 2013

September 11, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 24 Comments

Post by Portia

Hi Indie Perfume Lovers,

Our lovely Poodle did a super review of todays fragrance a while back and at the time I was intrigued. It now shows up in the ENORMOUS sample and trial baggie Natalie from APB gave to me, in a 15ml size.

FR! 01 / N° 02 by Fragrance Republic 2013

FR! 01 / N° 02 – La Dame Blanche by Julie Massé

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Rose absolute
Heart: Tuberose absolute
Base: Cocoa resin

This is day two of wearing and though Poodle pointed out in her review that this was the tuberose for people who hate BWFs and that it was very airy the absolute accuracy of those two pieces of information weren’t fully clear until I started wearing FR! 01 / N° 02. Tuberose has been shorn of all its lascivious and fatty excesses, all traces of grandeur and overbearing sonic scent projection has been pared back to an extraordinarily sparse and stark fragrance that still manages to create a beautiful aura around you and be daintily fragrant. Modern simplicity in fragrance at its best.

The rose is wet and cool, reminiscent of early spring dawn blooms still lightly frosted. When the FR! 01 / N° 02 tuberose arrives its sheer, misty veil is both prim and luscious. No, I don’t understand and can’t really explain but both words are equally valid. It is tuberose and yet its this new, softer, icier sister of tuberose. Like taking a drink from an icy stream in the mountains but still being aware that you are warm flesh and blood.

I can easily imagine FR! 01 / N° 02 becoming a perfect go-to daily scent. A spritz and go, comfortable, beautiful fresh wash of cool glamour. Excellent for the high powered, or aspirational, person to give an aura of calm competence and quiet fortitude.

FR! 01 / N° 02 is a little too pristine for my tastes, though I’m impressed by the artistry the fragrance itself is just not something I think I’ll use.

Further reading: Australian Perfume Junkies
Fragrance Republic has $35/15ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at #3.75/ml

If you’d like to have the bottle see below.

Portia xx

Photo Stolen kbaird

FR! 01 / N° 02 GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x 15ml FR! 01 / N° 02 La Dame Blanche by Julie Massé for Fragrance Republic 2013
(there are about 3ml gone)
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 Fragrance Republic site and pick a fragrance + one of its notes NO DOUBLE UPS!!!

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie FR! 01 / N° 02 GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-4cY #Perfume #Giveaway @FragranceRepub

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 13th September 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 17th September 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.

L’Homme Idéal Cologne by Guerlain: Film

September 11, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey Hey Crew,

You know how I love the fragrance ads. This one is fun and I can’t wait to sniff the juice.

Have any of you tried it yet? How is it?
Portia xx

L’Homme Idéal Cologne by Guerlain 2015

L’Homme Idéal Cologne by Thierry Wasser

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured acccords:
Top: Orange, bergamot, pink pepper, grapefruit
Heart: Almonds, neroli
Base: White musk, vetiver

L’Homme Idéal Cologne – GUERLAIN

Blackwater Thistle by Criminal Elements 2016

September 7, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 24 Comments

Post by Portia

Hiya Happy Huffers,

I love it when new Indie perfumers come along and surprise me with their beautiful and interesting creations. Here are an Australian crew who have a line of fragrances available from their Criminal Elements site. Today I have been lucky enough to get my sniff on one of their to be released in 2016 advance samples. Um, WOW! You all know that I love green fragrance and recently fell madly in love with Dawn Spencer Hurwitz’s Giverny in Bloom. Here is the other side of green, the stark, solitary, deep green.

Blackwater Thistle by Criminal Elements 2016

Blackwater Thistle by Corey Newcombe and Aelfrik Spektor

Photo Stolen Geograph

Criminal Elements give these featured accords in one line:
Grass, violet, moss, soil, bullrush, thistle

WOAH! Green and swampy but with a beautiful airy lift.What does stand out for me in Blackwater Thistle is how sweet the whole fragrance feels on me. There is nothing in the note list to suggest the lovely sweet green I’m getting so I asked Aelfrik what could make that happen. “As for the sweet edge – that’s purely from the actual thistle. We solvent extract dried thistle, and the results are actually quite syrupy. A pain to extract, but worth the effort…..“

Imagine standing on the edge of the moors and spring is here. There’s been plenty of rain and everything is growing apace, grass covers your ankles and there’s a purple blush across the landscape. The soil is thawing and though it’s pretty muddy you can walk without losing a shoe. A cool, fragrant breeze sweeps across the moors and you are standing in dappled sunlight breathing deeply, finally free of winter and ready to wander all day with your hairy hound.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

In my head I’m saying stupid things like, “This is what Charlotte and the other Bronte siblings smelled” and “Jayne Eire would have smelled this when she was poor and living rough”. Ha! I’m an idiot but the journey is really fun with Blackwater Thistle. At around the 4 hour mark I am sweetly washed in a soft hued fragrance that I have no words to describe other than rich, sweet and green. Beautiful.

Want to try it? See below
Portia x

Photo Stolen kbaird

Blackwater Thistle GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x Blackwater Thistle pre-release sample
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please go to Criminal Elements site<<JUMP and pick a fragrance + one of its notes NO DOUBLE UPS!!!

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Criminal Elements: Blackwater Thistle GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-4f4 #Perfume #Giveaway

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 10th Septembert 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 Sunday 13th September 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.

The 7 Virtues GIVEAWAY WINNER

September 7, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

Post by Portia

Firstly, thank you to Barb Stegemann for trying to change the world from the ground up. She is so inspirational but also very friendly and wonderful fun. A great way to be a part of this change is to buy the 7 Virtues Custom Blend Box, which contains four award winning vegan fragrances made with natural essential oils from troubled countries trying to rebuild. Buy them for yourselves and for friends, it’s only a few weeks to Christmas.

If you’d like to be a part of changing the world for good then you can do it by emailing Barb Stegemann {barb (at) the7virtues (dot) com} and she will get it sent ASAP.

Portia x

The 7 Virtues GIVEAWAY WINNER

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x 7 Virtues Sampler (from my own 7 Virtues Custom Blend Box bottles)
Afghanistan Orange Blossom
Noble Rose of Afghanistan
Middle East Peace
Vetiver of Haiti
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 6th September 2015 10pm Australian EST
Winner was chosen by random.org

Photo Stolen amberinblunderland

Esperanza

The winner will have till Thursday 10th September 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.

Sung by Alfred Sung 1986

September 6, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

Post by Portia

Hi there APJ Frag Family,

I’ve had this Alfred Sung bottle for years and at one point it was a favourite. Since falling well and truly down the fragrant worm hole it has been sitting at the back of a boxless bottle box getting zero love. I was sure it was a BWF but couldn’t put my nose-memory on how it smelled so at about 3pm today I opened up my shirt and double spritzed…….

Sung by Alfred Sung 1986

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top Bergamot, Galbanum, Hyacinth, Mandarin, Orange, Ylang-ylang, Lemon Heart
Heart: Iris, Jasmine, Lily-of-the-valley, Osmanthus
Base: Amber, Orange wood, Sandalwood, Vanilla, Vetiver

WOW! Tania Sanchez wasn’t wrong when she called this a “Jasmine Diaper”. We have some serious poopy action going on and I LOVE it. Sung is so 1980s it hurts, we have a creamy citrus floral opening. HA! I know right. What the f*%@k does that even smell like? Well it smells big and naughty and completely over the top. Beyond your wildest BWF Skank Dreams Sung delivers.

Then Jin came home and we went and saw a movie (Ricki and the Flash – Meryl Streep and her daughter play with Kevin Kline and Rick Springfield. It’s wonderful. Do yourself a favour.) so I got to really appreciate the fragrance through the film.

Photo Stolen Nordstrom

Sung smells good in an “Allergies to fragrance, you must be joking dear” kind of way. The “I couldn’t care less if you do anyway” or ” Oh do choke quietly darling, we have guests” school of thought and action. It’s big, it’s floral aldehydic, it’s fruity, it’s poopy and it is obnoxious. I freaking LOVE IT!

The photos I’ve chosen are some of Alfred Sung’s designs. Yes he is still designing and nowadays he is doing some really fun retro bridesmaids dresses that are affordable and fun. Loads of jewel bright colours but there are also a lovely lot of very pretty more muted shades to pick from too. If you’re thinking Mad Men Wedding then these are totally going to rock your socks off. Below is a ferocious bride-zilla photographed among the chandeliers looking exactly as Miss Haversham must have looked when she was given the news. Aghast, beautiful, rich and terrified. It’s probably how every bride feels inside somewhere deep down.

Sung is exactly the fragrance she would be wearing, to make a big impression as she walked down the aisle. Her sillage a wake that dolphins could gambol in. The unforgettable, once in a life time (yeah right) dream moment when every guest takes a deep breath in homage to a perfect bride.

Photo Stolen Wedding House

So to be honest Sung was a little overwhelming in the film. I was glad that there were only 3 other people in the cinema and that they were up the back. Though I did not find it disatracting, there were a few times when I moved and great gouts of floral and fertiliser flavoured air swooshed out of my top. It was a perfect accompaniment to the film and I bet it’s what Meryl Streep’s character Ricki wore, so it was kind of perfect.

Fragrance Shop has $20/50ml before coupon
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $3/ml

What has been hiding in your cupboards that should get an airing?
Portia xx

Inside the Wardrobe of Lily Allen: Film

September 6, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 8 Comments

Post by Portia

Heya APJ,

I love Lily Allen. When I met Jin she was his favourite and he would make me listen to her stuff every car trip we took. So ingrained with the happiness of finding this cool and funny guy is a soundtrack of Lily Allen’s voice overlaying everything. Every adventure we embarked upon in those first months, dates, shopping, meeting friends, everything we did: Lily Allen was with us.

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

So when I found this fun video showing Lily Allen’s wardrobe I was super happy because she seems as fun and cool as I imagined her and so much of how she dresses is how I like to live my life. Grab great bits from loads of random places and try everything, keep what you love, curate and create a life of bits & pieces that you like and love.

I hope you like this sneak peek into the wardrobe of someone who seems to have looked at life with wit and intelligence and made it fit her.
Portia xx

Inside the Wardrobe of Lily Allen

Morn to Dusk by Annick Menardo for Eau D`Italie 2015

September 5, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 14 Comments

Post by Portia

I’ve always loved these Eau d’Italie bottles. They are sleek and heavy, love that they are opaque so I don’t need to worry so much about light damage and I imagine they look super elegant on your dresser if you are a one bottle person and you like to show your choice off prominently. It seems a very nice mix between stark, modern design and old fashioned porcelain.

Morn to Dusk by Eau D`Italie 2015

Morn to Dusk by Annick Menardo

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, lily of the valley
Heart: Vanilla
Base: Musk

Vanilla is king in Morn to Dusk. My skin gives the most incredibly warm vanilla opening that doesn’t show a hint of the bergamot and lily of the valley until I’ve been wearing the fragrance for a couple of minutes. Then they come through and add this lovely wet green vibe that seems to be neither and both, it floats above the vanilla giving life and lift, creating a cool breeze over the dry sands of this interestingly desiccated vanilla. Through the heart the vanilla becomes sweeter and warmer like it was originally, not foody but a furry/fleshy vanilla. A rich, chewy consistency like glutinous toffee yet unpalatable in a cake/sweets sense.

Photo Stolen Pixabay

This short note list is totally missing large chunks. The vanilla towards the mid wear mark that lasts for hours is a crackly honeycomb and amber mix and I get something dry grass-ish like bamboo, vetiver or papyrus cutting through the rest making it less intensely vanillic.

I can’t believe the tenacity of Morn to Dusk, it will certainly wear for that length of time, longer on me today in the soft spring warmth. I put Morn to Dusk on at around 10am and now it’s about to turn dusk and I am still nicely fragrant. I like it. A lot.

Morn to Dusk is the kind of spritz & go frag that I longed for before I became a serious perfumista. It lasts all day, smells great and goes through some interesting phases without being a completely different scent. From leaving the house in the morning to getting home after a dinner you will smell good, sweet and dare I say it, delicious. I can imagine the guys wearing it in suits or jeans and the girls in gowns or jeans, across the board yummy.

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

Further reading: Colognoisseur
LuckyScent has $140/100ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $4/ml

Morn to Dusk is so wearable. What is your Vanilla? Which Eau d’Italie do you like?
Portia xx