La Favorite GIVEAWAY WINNERS!

March 20, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

Woo Hoo APJ,

Lovely to have you guys getting involved in our GIVEAWAY this week. I hope you’re all happy and well and that life is treating you kindly. Let’s see who our lucky winner is….

Portia xx

La Favorite GIVEAWAY WINNERS!

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Pink pepper, saffron, oud, patchouli

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x sample La Favorite by Dear Rose
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DID 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 comment with any rose fragrance in your collection and why you love it

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie La Favorite by Dear Rose #GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-3G0 @LibertineParfum #Perfume

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Thursday 19th March 2015 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org

Photo Stolen amberinblunderland

Undina (via Twitter)

The winners will have till Thursday 26th March 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.

La Favorite by Fabrice Pellegrin for Dear Rose 2014

March 16, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 15 Comments

Hey there APJ Crew,

La Favorite is one of six fragrances releases in 2014 by new fragrance house Dear Rose. The two women who own the company are a mother/daughter team. Chantal, the mother, has worked at the top of the beauty pyramid in Yves Saint Laurent, Issey Mayake and Jean Paul Gaultier and was in control when such blockbusters as Opium, Kouros, Paris, Jazz, L’eau d’Issey and Le Male were brought to life. This is a serious player with a real knowledge of what sells. Alexandra, the daughter, has a history in music. two creatives together making fragrance.

Photo Stolen Dear Rose

La Favorite by Fabrice Pellegrin for Dear Rose 2014

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Pink pepper, saffron, oud, patchouli

I was given a fabulous Dear Rose Press Sample Set by Nick from Libertine Parfumerie a while ago and life has been so freaking hectic that I’m only getting to them now.

La Favorite is a rose oudh with a twinkle of pepper and a little soft smoothness provided by saffron. I’m pretty sure there’s some citrus and geranium up the top too. Not nearly as in your face as the Montale oudhs, not even as hefty as Juliette Has A Gun’s Midnight Oud, here we have a safe oudh, a mainstream offering that will give a lovely thrill of the harem and a reserved nod to the Middle East to those that love the idea but from the distance of a painting, reading about it in a book or sitting in an armchair watching the Discovery Channel.

This is only the mildest medicinal oudh and I think those that have problems with the note could find La Favorite an excellent gateway frag, the spicy, slightly fruity red rose that’s so dark it verges on purple in La Favorite is beautiful though. There is also a lovely hint of cut rose branches, not the stem for flowers but pruning at midwinter. The patchouli down the back is clean and I get a white musk & amber vibe too but that could be my super sweet skin.

Projection is excellent, one spritz on the back of my hand tonight and not even 5 minutes later my BFF Kath walked into my office and said “Oooh, that’s very nice. What is it?”. So you can put La Favorite on the crowd-pleaser list too because every time I wear it (only three times so far) there have been compliments. Though La Favorite is not a BIG fragrance it does change the air around you and I think is probably too noticeable for work but for everything else I say Go For It. It lasts for hours, I can wear it to work and then sleep and still smell remnants in the morning.

Further reading: Candy Perfume Boy and BaseNotes
Libertine Parfumerie has $210/100ml with FREE Australian postage
First In Fragrance has €125/100ml

Have you tried the Dear Rose line yet? Have you been frightened of oudh before? Coulfd this be your gateway frag?
Portia xx

Photo Stolen TheTruthAboutMummy

La Favorite GIVEAWAY!

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x sample La Favorite by Dear Rose
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please comment with any rose fragrance in your collection and why you love it

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie La Favorite by Dear Rose #GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-3G0 @LibertineParfum #Perfume

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 19th March 2015 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Thursday 26th March 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.

Moon Dance GIVEAWAY WINNERS

March 16, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 3 Comments

Hi There APJ Family,

Great turn out for this beautiful scent. Thanks again to the incredible Nick at Libertine Parfumerie for his continuing generosity and support. He does so much to keep niche going in Australia. Please, even if you don’t enter today’s competition, go and have a look at the amazing fragrant beauties that Libertine Parfumerie has for sale, you will be astounded. Lately Nick’s buying power has become so good that some (not all) of his products are the same numerical value as you would buy them for in the USA, that means with the current Aussie dollar that they are in fact 15-20% cheaper!!! AMAZING! Also any purchase over $100 gets FREE shipping within Australia.

Let’s find out who won….
Portia xx

Moon Dance GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot
Heart: Tuberose, rose, violet
Base: Patchouli

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week we will have 3 winners who will receive:
1 x 10ml decant of Moon Dance by Juliette Has A Gun (from my broken Press bottle)
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DID 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.

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Tell me a Juliette Has A Gun story or a new fragrance that speaks to you of the past glory of perfumery.

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Moon Dance: Juliette Has A Gun #GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-3H9 #Perfume @signoricci @JulietteHasaGun

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 15th March 2015 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org

Photo Stolen thegarfieldshow-diary

SunMiSun (via Twitter)

Willa

Sherry Parker

The winners will have till Thursday 19th March 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.

Rima XI by Sara Carner and Sonia Constant for Carner Barcelona 2013

March 15, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 30 Comments

Hey there Fellow Fumies,

Recently I went shopping at Birgit from Olfactoria’s Travels sell out. Sadly Birgit has developed asthma brought on by her great love, fragrance, and there are only a few that she can still wear without them causing her distress. So, obviously, it was time to clear out some of her beauties and I bought a few. The moment I held this bottle in my hand it was love. So heavy and blocky, a gorgeously minimalist black and clear box that fits my hand like it was my measurements that they’d used. I can see these bottles being the choice of the modern, sleek and wealthy suit set who like things to be substantial yet quietly luxe.

Rima XI by Carner Barcelona 2013

Rima XI by Sara Carner and Sonia Constant

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Guatemalan cardamom, Madagascan black pepper, Moroccan mint, saffron
Heart: Ceylon cinnamon, Indonesian nutmeg, coriander, Indian jasmine sambac
Base: Virginia cedar wood, Australian sandalwood, Vanilla absolute, Laotian benzoin, amber, musk

Rima XI is created after the last verse of this Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer poem Rhyme 11 (I am ardent…). I have put the whole poem here in its English translation because I really love how the tone changes and the poem teasingly calls, like a very immature or mixed up person playing mind games with their intended.

Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer – Rima 11 (Yo soy ardiente…)

I am ardent, I am brown,
I am the sign of passion,
of anxiety for pleasures is my soul full.
Are you looking for me?
It’s not for you: no.

My forehead is pale, my braids of gold,
I can give you endless happiness.
I keep a treasure of tenderness.
Are you calling me?
No: it’s not you.

I am a dream, an impossible,
vain ghost of mist and light;
I am bodiless, I am untouchable:
I cannot love you.
Oh, come, you come!

But how does it wear? The opening is fun and herbal and full of the dry sizzle of pepper. Rima XI’s opening doesn’t last long before the spices and vanilla/amber take over and while it is lovely and sweet, and smooth, the spices keep it also dry and a little dusty. Does the fragrance match the poem for me? No, not even a little bit. Rima XI is all about the soft cuddly warmth of surrender in your lovers arms, the deliciously beautiful moment when you feel safe, respected and loved. This is the sweet warm spring or autumn Sunday mornings where you lie between sleep and awake knowing that someone you choose to be partnered with is beside you and that you have beautiful bed linen too.

Photo Stolen EuroNews

Perfect for those crisp spring and autumn mornings and evenings Rima XI is warm, comforting and playful. Quite fragrant for its first hour but after that I get a soft hum that stays around for ages getting quieter and more diffuse till at some point that I can’t even tell it disappears. If you get it on your clothes though you’ll still smell it 3 or 4 days later when you get them out to wash. Seriously good longevity.

Photo Stolen DeviantArt

Further reading: Olfactoria’s Travels and Bonkers About Perfume
Parfum1 has $135/50ml
First In Fragrance has €89/50ml

Have you tried any of the Carner Barcelona range? Is amber your thing?
Portia xx

Fall-Winter 2015/16 Ready-to-Wear CHANEL Show

March 15, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 14 Comments

Hiya Fashion and Frag Nerds,

I don’t normally put the full runway show on APJ but this Pret a Porter range is VERY interesting. For me the point between gorgeous and disgusting are all filled in. there are some monstrosities but done with the usual CHANEL/Lagerfeld attention to detail and finish which takes them out of the merely awful and into a whole new realm.

We are treated to a wide and varied bunch of textures in this parade, in fact the whole show seems to be about texture more than fashion. Layering, pearls, 50’s suit meets 70s retro and all done in a fabulous arena, LOVED the working cafe idea with baristas and waiters serving the models.

Photo Stolen CHANEL News

When it all goes right though there are some spectacular beauties. Collar treatments, bejewelled aprons, bomber jackets, at the end a fabulous chiffon set, the CHANEL suit is re-imagined and super wearable. I could see a couple of them on my Mum if she was still with us, especially the beige & black shoe. Fabulously thick and bold woven checks, almost an Issey Miyake use of 3 dimensions but all done in classical CHANEL style. The male models that sprinkle the show are also produced beautifully.

I hope you enjoy
Portia xx

Fall-Winter 2015/16 Ready-to-Wear CHANEL Show

Nirvana Black by Pierre Negrin for Elizabeth and James 2013

March 14, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 14 Comments

Hi there APJ,

I know many of you have already tried and RAVED about this little designer/celebuscent. The Olsen twins launched the fashion label named after their siblings and the fragrances are meant to fit this aesthetic, they do.I also want to say how impressed I am by these two girls who got a lucky break as babies but somehow have managed to transcend their past and create this incredible empire. They are really cool girls and I have really enjoyed following their story which could so easily have ended in train wrecks.

Photo Stolen Sephora

Let’s talk about the bottle, it’s got to be the coolest, Glomesh styled, retro glam offering I’ve seen in EVER. Feels good and heavy in your hand, excellent grip because the bottle portion is rounded dots and the lid is pointy dots for ease of opening, snazzy gold tone side stripes and join band. I freaking love it. The bottle also survived Ainslie Walker dropping it from shoulder height to the tiles in Sydney’s new Sephora, noisy but unbroken. I bought my bottle in America in November and only now am I getting around to writing about it for you…

Nirvana Black by Elizabeth and James 2013

Nirvana Black by Pierre Negrin

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Violet, sandalwood, vanilla

I have to tell you that the hype had me really worried, you know what it’s like when everyone has been raving about something to the point of nausea? So I kept my expectations as low as I could. Yes, I was pretending. This was one very excited perfumista.

Nirvana Black opens with a full on camphorous blast of what smells like the eucalyptal* top of Australian sandalwood, sharp and biting over the top of this lovely creamy vanilla. It’s an excellent, eye popping dichotomy that makes me smile from the get go. My skin gives me little violet, only the merest hint of it because Nirvana Black is ALL about a creamy, sweet, sensual & boozy vanilla/sandalwood/amber with the merest hint of spice and herb to keep it interesting.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

It stays pretty linear to for the 5+ hours I can smell it but by morning there is not even a hint that I’d been wearing fragrance. Nirvana Black is quite fragrant, densely packed and gives good sillage for the first three hours, that’s really good for my skin. After that it softens out and boy is it a smooth musky vanilla, like rubbing the most exquisite chocolate velvet across your cheek.

I like too that the Olsen girls have kept Nirvana Black’s price reasonable. It’s affordable to most, smells great and looks like it cost a LOT more. Now I’m sure most of the die hard perfumistas will poo poo but even though Nirvana Black is simple and wearable it is not boring. This is fun and yummy.

Photo Stolen Pinterest

Further reading: Now Smell This and Perfume Posse
Sephora has US$55/30ml
Surrender To Chance has the manufacturers roll on mini $19/7ml

What are your thoughts on Nirvana Black, or indeed the Olsen twins?
Portia x

eucalyptal: I made it up but you know what I mean

Moon Dance by Juliette Has A Gun 2014

March 13, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 28 Comments

Hey there Frag Family,

We got to spend the afternoon with the gorgeous Romano Ricci today. He was handsome, rumpled, friendly and flirty. Who are we? Ainslie Walker and Catherine de Peloux Menage from APJ, Clayton Ilolahia from What Men Should Smell Like and Yelena from BeautyDirectory. Nick was there from Libertine Parfumerie because he imports JHaG to Australia and the great girls of ÉLYSÉE COLLECTIVE promotions.

We were the last group of the afternoon and it was champagne all round, a fun and friendly vibe and Romano was very happy to have a group who knew fragrance and could talk intelligently with him on his subject. Our half hour stretched into one and a half hours and we had a wonderful time. Romano Ricci is charming, so freaking charming.

Moon Dance by Juliette Has A Gun 2014

Moon Dance by Romano Ricci

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot
Heart: Tuberose, rose, violet
Base: Patchouli

Released in 2014 and created by Romano Ricci with a little help from his friends Moon Dance, and its 2013 sister Oil Fiction, is so far sideways to the Juliette Has A Gun aesthetic that I’m surprised he didn’t start a new brand line rather than calling it the Luxury Collection. I’ve always felt that the Juliette Has A Gun label was heavily marketed to working Goths, a dark edged house with well put together and presented fragrances. I have slightly missed Romano’s point though. He tells us that he wanted Juliette to stand for the ill fated Shakespearean heroine and the gun to be her polar opposite but when working together create a new, powerful woman for which such tragedy could be avoided. My limited experience though tells me that a world without guns would be a better place.

When I spritz the bergamot fizzes off in an instant and I have a lush, slightly metallic bouquet with a waxy overtone that I would normally associate with saffron or orange blossom. My skin plays silly buggers with fragrance as you may know and even Romano was surprised how his fragrances live on my skin. What Moon Dance does smell is expensive and elegant, a nocturnal wander through the dream of an island paradise. The tuberose is fatty and yet the rose makes it crisp, the violets play a very lovely background, all is underpinned by animal and I am in paradise. The modern patchouli is sheer and I get very little of the murky depths that I often associate with it, here it is bathed in moonlight and twined through with night blooming flowers that call their seductive siren song. Moon Dance is the call of the temptress: a fairy queen that beguiles and calls to you through her glamour to come die in her embrace as she feeds off your spirit. Irresisistable, you will gladly succumb.

Photo Stolen DeviantArt

Further reading: Grain de Musc and Colognoisseur
LuckyScent has $285/75ml
Libertine Parfumerie has $350/75ml with FREE Australian Shipping!

Are you ready to be tempted by the newest of the luxury Collection for Juliette Has A Gnu? The incredible Nick at Libertine Parfumerie gave me a bottle that had been dropped and the spritzer broken, it was the work of a moment to wrestle the top off and decant for you all to have a chance at winning some below.
Portia xx

Photo Stolen YouTube

Moon Dance GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 3 winners who will receive:
1 x 10ml decant of Moon Dance by Juliette Has A Gun (from my broken Press bottle)
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.

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Tell me a Juliette Has A Gun story or a new fragrance that speaks to you of the past glory of perfumery.

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Moon Dance: Juliette Has A Gun #GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-3H9 #Perfume @signoricci @JulietteHasaGun

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 15th March 2015 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Thursday 19th March 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.

Please Be Gentle

March 13, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 7 Comments

Hi APJ,

Sometimes i read some of those dumb memes and they strike me so powerfully that I have to catch my breath. In 2 simple sentences my day is turned around for the better, I can breathe and everything is in a more realistic perspective.

Please Be Gentle

I hope it helps you too.

Portia xx

Olfactif: Synesthesia GIVEAWAY WINNER!

March 13, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Hiya APJ

Great response for this giveaway. Can’t wait to see who won.

Special thanks to the generous gang at Olfactif .
Portia xx

SPECIAL Olfactics Deal

If you are not a winner you can still purchase the February collection. Beginning today Olfactif will be offering past collections as part of a special promotion lasting through the end of March 2015.

Azar xx

Olfactif: Synesthesia GIVEAWAY WINNER!

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x Tara Swords, founder of Olfactif, has generously provided one “Smelling in Color and Texture” collection
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DID YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please comment on any of today’s reviewed fragrances or tell us about your own synesthetic experiences

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Olfactif #GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-3GA #Perfume @artofperfume @IAParfumerie @ProfumidelForte

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Thursday 12th March 2015 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org

Photo Stolen HighestSelf

SCAR

The winners has till Thursday 19th March 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.

Arpege Parfum (Vintage) GIVEAWAY WINNER!

March 9, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Thanks APJers,

I’m glad to see you get involved for a vintage frag, and such a lovely one too. Let’s see who won.

Portia xx

Arpege Parfum (Vintage) GIVEAWAY WINNER!

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, aldehydes, peach, orange bloom, honeysuckle, orris
Heart: Rose, jasmine, ylang-ylang, coriander, sensitive plant, tuberose, violet, geranium
Base: Sandalwood, vetiver, patchoulis, vanilla, musk

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x Arpege Parfum (Vintage) sample
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DID 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.

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Tell me an Arpege memory? Do you have one? Any scent your Aunties wore then?

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Arpege Parfum (Vintage) #GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-3Fm #Perfume @LANVINofficial @lanvin_news

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 8th March 2015 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org

Photo Stolen nodepositforum

FlowerGirlBee!

The winners will have till Thursday 12th March 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.