Seville a l'Aube by L`Artisan Parfumeur 2012

October 18, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 31 Comments

Hi there Frag Hags,

Going through my samples in preparation for the big move to our new abode has been super fun. So many things I completely forgot I had. It’s like digging through a fragrant treasure chest. When Seville a l’Aube was first released it was unavailable in Australia and I was so excited that I must have ordered 2 x 10ml decants from different splitters, one I found is almost empty but one is nearly full. Then when I could get a full bottle they both went into the box of lost fragrances….. You know how it goes

Seville a l’Aube by Bertrand Duchaufour for L`Artisan Parfumeur 2012

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Pettigrain, olive blossom
Heart: Tobacco, beeswax, orange blossom, lavendar
Base: Olibanum, benzoin

My mate Denyse Beaulieu, from Grain de Musc, is the muse that co-created Seville a l’Aube with perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour. It comes from a story of a night in Spain where she met and trysted with a local on one of their high Catholic religious festival nights. Amusingly, and crassly, some bloggers and perfumistas have said that Seville a l’Aube means Fingered Behind the Church in Seville, in fact it means Seville At Dawn.

Photo Stolen WikiCommons

Orange twigs and leaf, with a dry, feral background that pumps raw sex and ultimate clean simultaneously. Seville a l’Aube makes me smile in delighted appreciation when I spritz. There is a pithiness and the honeyed beeswax id so animalic but not like ass, more like sweet wee, and the resins shine through as wet resin in the beginning rather than dry incense. There is still gum from the trees and bushes. The blossom is sweet and breathy.

You know it all washes over me in terrific clouds of fragrance and though I can smell the parts that make Seville a l’Aube up, what I really enjoy is the whole magic creation. A sweet and dirty, twig and dust, wee and breath bomb that glides around me in rapturous clouds. The first half hour is BIG! I have to be careful if I’m going into the world that I don’t overspritz because this much gorgeousness can be confronting for regular people. I love how the heart gets this great citrus-wood scented wax-candle that is slightly religious but more about cleansing for me, and the lavender keeps it all herbaceously slightly off kilter as if something extraordinary is on its way.

You know the song from West Side Story, Something’s Coming? That is how Seville a l’Aube makes me feel.

Maybe it’s the story in the book or maybe it is Bertrand Duchaufour and Denyse Beaulieu working together on something interesting, fun and magical that transcends the story and just gives the feeling of anticipation all by itself. Seville a l’Aube is thick and hefty, a beautiful, elegant waft of pithy orange, waxes and resins trails out behind you as you walk. If I spritz in a room and then walk out, the room is full of Seville a l’Aube on my return and it stays that way for hours.

Michael Borg, Denyse and I in Jovoy, Paris 2014

I have often talked about The Perfume Lover, and my mate Denyse Beaulieu who wrote it, because it’s a rollicking great read. The story that became this wonderful fragrance and told in such a readable, approachable style that it’s like sitting down with Denyse and listening to her chat. Full of fragrant insider gossip and details of creation that unless you are in the midst of creating fragrance would never be stuff you’d get to know.

Photo Stolen Book Depository

Book Depository has The Perfume Lover from $15 delivered worldwide!

CandyPerfumeBoy, NowSmellThis, BoisDeJasmin, all do amazing reviews filled with stories and information I can only hint at.
LuckyScent sells $165/100ml and ships worldwide
Libertine has $199/100ml FREE delivery in Australia

Have you read the book or tried the fragrance? Did you love it too?
Portia xx

Evocative Perfumes

October 17, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 32 Comments

Hey there APJ Crew,

My mate Mark Evans from Evocative Perfumes has sent me a package. Honestly, he sent it back in June or July and it has been sitting on the To Do Pile but I never seem to have the time to look at a few fragrances at once so it keeps getting shunted. Yes, I feel like a bad friend. Mark is an independent Australian perfumer who is causing quite a stir with his pretty, interesting and evocative perfumes (yes, I know, see what I did there?). He is exactly the sort of micro niche perfumer that we like to showcase on APJ because he is able to create beautiful scents without the IFRA guidelines, meaning we get to wear real amounts of fabulous ingredients. YAY!! Do go have a look at their Evocative Perfumes site, excellent fragrances for a song….

Evocative Perfumes

Olibanum by Evocative Perfumes

From Evocative Perfumes: When frankincense is used in perfumery, it is referred to with its old name Olibanum. The name Olibanum is derived from the Arabic word “al-luban” which means “that which results from milking”. ‘Olibanum’ starts off with green gassy pine which passes through cypress wood and leaf then to the resin itself at the heart of the fragrance. Later, after the incense is spent, there remains a slightly smoky ash note

Soft, sweet funky resins and woods, clean like walking into the house after it’s been totally scrubbed but warm enough to feel like a soft loving hug. The smoke is a bit like the smoke after you’ve blown a candle out, a slightly waxy smoke crossed with the burning incense. Olibanum is a bit soft for me but I can see it becoming a firm favourite for work because it softly smells gorgeous.

Imogen by Evocative Perfumes

From Evocative Perfumes: Outwardly a refined, feminine, powdery, spicy Oriental perfume that leaves a trail of lemon, bergamot, vanilla, jasmine, rose, orris root, patchouli, balsams and sandalwood. But get in closer to the skin and there lies a rich, provocative Russian leather note that gradually becomes more available as the night wears on.

Imogen opens like a sharp citrus rose from the garden, all bright and green. There is iris through it all, Ainslie brought over some orris this week and now I know its smell, here it plays powder and patchouli plays earth. Together I find them wafting through the other notes creating something bigger and better that themselves. The resins burnish the fragrance and give it a warm sheen. Imogen is lovely, I would be very interested to see how it smells in an EdP. I could imagine wearing Imogen regularly in a spritzable form. MMMMM

Nice work Mark, I’m impressed,

Portia xx

Photo Stolen hemodernhome

Evocative Perfumes + GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 2 Winners who will each get:
1 x Evocative Perfume Oil Sample Sets (Aquarelle, Imogen, Olibanum, Evelyn’s Rose, Fleur de Magnolia)
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

Go to Evocative Perfumes and tell me any fragrance they sell online and a note that it contains. NO DOUBLE UPS!

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Evocative Perfumes GIVEAWAY @EvocativeParfum http://wp.me/p3PURw-3hl #Perfume #Giveaway

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 19th October 2014 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 23rd October 2014 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.

CHANEL N°5: The One That I Want

October 17, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 18 Comments

Hey Gang,

WOW! I write this to you through a misty fog. I just watched the new CHANEL No.5 film. Ah May ZinG! “Baz” Luhrmann has done a spectacular job on the newest film. Gisele Bündchen at 34 is even more beautiful, stylish and poised than she was in the beginning. Please watch the behind the scenes clip first because it explains the film perfectly and will give you an added dimension when you see it.

WOW WOW WOW

CHANEL N°5: The One That I Want

Photo Stolen Indonesian.Style (problem with using image, tell us)

Gisele was also the face of Liberte by Cacharel a few years ago, I thought her a perfect choice then and here she seems to have found her perfect niche. CHANEL and Gisele

Bravo CHANEL, again…….
Portia xx

CHANEL N°5 Set: The Film Behind the Film

CHANEL N°5: The One That I Want – The Film

Fete by Molyneux GIVEAWAY WINNERS

October 13, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 1 Comment

Hey there APJ crew,

Thanks for getting involved in another super APJ giveaway. I think you’ll love testing this beautiful vintage masterpiece.

Portia xx

Fete by Molyneux GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Caraway, plum, peach, bergamot, Brazilian rosewood
Heart: Lilac, orris root, jasmine, ylang-ylang
Base: Leather, sandalwood, benzoin, civet, oakmoss, vanilla

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week we will have 2 Winners who will each get:
1 x 5ml Vintage Fete by Molyneux decant
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DID YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Tell us about a fragrance that takes you on a journey, a vintage you love or even a memory of some vintage fragrance

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie http://wp.me/p3PURw-3fJ Fete by Molyneux Vintage #Perfume #Giveaway

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 12th October 2014 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org

Photo Stolen thegarfieldshow-diary

Peppy Obrien

Renee Groyer (via Twitter)

The winners will have till Thursday 16th October 2014 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.

Moschino Spring/Summer 2015 Fashion Show

October 12, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

Hi There Frag Fashionistas,

So do you want to hear about D R A M A? So in September Nikki Lipstick, independent fashion label, runs a catwalk show based on Barbie and does some supercute, fun and tongue in cheek Barbielicious styling. Next day Jeremy Scott sends his models down the runway in almost exact replicas. All hell breaks loose. Apparently Jeremy scott has been busted before for art theft, including a very excellent “I’m A Mess” slogan from none other than Nikki Lipstick, previously.

Photo Stolen NakidMagazine (Problem with using this image, get in touch)

Here is SS 2015 from Jeremy Scott for Moschino. All drama aside, I am LOVING IT! So drag, so fun, so silly and ultimately totally wearable by trannies everywhere. COOLIO!
Portia xx

Moschino Spring/Summer 2015 Fashion Show

Fete by Molyneux 1962

October 10, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 34 Comments

Hey Vintage Vamps,

There has been rather a lot going on around here. To be honest I’m feeling a little frazzled, but happily frazzled. Part of the fun of selling and moving is finding stuff you’d forgotten about. There I was innocently cleaning out my frag cupboard and I stumbled across this lovely vintage decant, and boy is it good? The answer is YES! It is freaking amazing. I bought the decant in a sale on Perfumed Court and they still have some…

Fete by Molyneux 1962

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Opening with a very slightly shrill whistle of fruit and citrus with what feels a bit aldehydes getting near age turn. The fruits are canned and sweet and really I can’t distinguish them very well because they are a jammy blend that only lasts a minute or two before some feral big cal walks in and sits on them all adding its ass to the mix, not suffocating the fruit but changing it and deepening it.

Though I can tell there is a heart and it is very lovely in a vintage fragrance way my enjoyment really comes when all the base takes over. That lovely smooth peaty moss that casts its shadow beside the civet, woods, leather and resins is gorgeous. I am a movie star and dressed in the finest Edith Head gown, with arched brows, lavish long tresses and sitting on a settee looking winsomely out the glass doors over the glittering pool. All the while the man I end up with at the end of the film is wise cracking with the crowd and generally being the most popular sharp at the party. This could even be the type of fragrance Neely O’Hara would have worn. No, not Neely, Helen Lawson. That great grande dame of theatre in Valley of the Dolls, who I proudly modeled my own self upon. IO think Fete would have appealed to the fun in her, its fruity zing a great opening but the rich dark base would be her fragrant calling card.

Further reading: Yesterdays Perfume and 1000 Scents
The Perfumed Court has $6/ml

Photo Stolen sassisamblog

Fete by Molyneux GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 2 Winners who will each get:
1 x 5ml Vintage Fete by Molyneux decant
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Tell us about a fragrance that takes you on a journey, a vintage you love or even a memory of some vintage fragrance

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie http://wp.me/p3PURw-3fJ Fete by Molyneux Vintage #Perfume #Giveaway

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 12th October 2014 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 16th October 2014 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.

Louis Vuitton Presents "When Los Angeles is a Man" mini movie

October 10, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Heya APJ,
Sorry this is late! As you already know I love the Louis Vuitton aesthetic and the fun they have with their advertising often has me smiling at their audacity, quirkiness and general bonhomie. While we await their fragrance let’s look at how they see their customer in an LA setting.

Lovely, and fun,

Enjoy,

Portia x

Photo Stolen FashionAvecPassion

Louis Vuitton Presents “When Los Angeles is a Man”

Oliban by Keiko Mecheri GIVEAWAY WINNERS

October 6, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 8 Comments

Heya APJers,

Special THANKS to LibertineParfumerie for these amazing giveaways. Please visit their site because they are so generous and helpful. If you wonder why they are sometimes more expensive than the discounters or OS retailers it’s because they are the only licensed company selling their fragrances in Australia; where you know you are buying new, fresh and genuine product. The cost of importing, and buying the right to import, alcohol based fragrances (and having the right to send alcohol based fragrances throughout Australia, which are illegal to send in the Australia Post air system) is expensive and they must cover their costs to bring you these luxury goods.

Portia xx

Oliban by Keiko Mecheri GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Photo Stolen Libertine Parfumerie

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Virginia cedar, incense, olibanum, (blonde) tobacco, (Damascene) rose, palisander rosewood, tonka bean, ambergris

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week we will have 2 Winners who will each get:
1 x 5ml Oliban by Keiko Mecheri decant
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DID YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Go to Libertine Parfumerie and tell me any fragrance they sell online and a note that it contains. NO DOUBLE UPS!

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie http://wp.me/p3PURw-3eU @LibertineParfum Oliban by @KeikoMecheri #Perfume #Giveaway

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 5th October 2014 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org

Photo Stolen shannonmayer

SCAR

LeanS12 (via Twitter)

The winners will have till Thursday 9th October 2014 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.

Under My Spell Noelle by Benefit 2013

October 5, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 12 Comments

Hiya All,

While in London earlier this year Val CookieQueen, Hannah BlondesWunder, Michael & I were on our way to BLOOM and we stopped by a benefit store. One spritz was enough to sell me on Under My Spell Noelle (hereafter Noelle) and so I bought a bottle for my BFF Kath, which she adores. Then I started craving it myself, for my own……. recently I was in our Myer, just a suburban mall about to close up for the night, roller door down, and as we walked past the Benefit counter there it was!!!! On special! only $29

Under My Spell Noelle by Benefit 2013

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Lingonberry, black pepper, cardamom
Heart: Violet, wild orchid, jasmine, vanilla flower, rose
Base: Patchouli, oud, black amber, vanilla, benzoin, raspberry

So I basically ran it home and have worn Noelle part of two days in a row and I think I got a super bargain. I’m worried because it’s only a 30ml bottle, should I grab another? Being in a metal canister there will be no light penetrating and I keep my stuff in fairly moderate temperatures, it should last for decades. There doesn’t seem to be a huge amount of naturals in here but that is purely guesswork. I love the bottle and the box, they’re super fun and I can imagine having one in a few years time and bringing it out, everyone surprised because they remember Benefit but didn’t credit them with having a fragrant winner.

Photo Stolen Pixabay

If this was an oil it would be fairly eastern but the alcohol gives it a better throw and sillage. There are still plenty of references to North Africa or the Western Asias. Imagine, you are in the harem and this gorgeous amber/wood/oud/jam fragrance surrounds you all, the dry, dusty heat of desert countries and the tinkle of fountains over mosaic tiles and splashing into pools filled with fish, lilies and lotus. Not a breath of air and you wish you could take off your skin and lie around in your bones.

Photo Stolen Flickr

On first spritz I get a lovely amber and faux oud, it smells great. The berry, pepper and cardamom are not really noticeable for me though there is a jammy, sweet, rose-ish vibe behind the base, which really plays at full speed through the whole life of Noelle on my skin. Yes there is a little movement, more in the way of light and shade rather than featured notes appearing so Noelle is fairly linear. In this particular case that is a good thing in my books.

Really, the base line of the notes is all I get. Patchouli, oud, black amber, vanilla, benzoin, raspberry in a very delicious combination. The only thing I get that’s not mentioned in the notes is a dark chocolate note that sort of wraps up the raspberry/rose accord.Projection is good for the first 1-2 hours and then Noelle becomes a softer, more intimate fragrance. You are still fragrant for at least another 3 hours and sillage remains quite good till then too. After that 5 hour period there is still a gentle wash of something but nothing discernible as a note.

Photo Stolen DeviantArt

Further reading: The Plastic Diaries
Myer Australia has Noelle online for $29/30ml
Benefit USA has $36/30ml

What is a bargain fragrance you may have picked up lately? Is it performing well?
Portia xx

GUCCI: Gucci Première Eau de Toilette + Blake Lively: Ad Campaign

October 5, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Hiya Fashion & Frag Lovers,

Blake Lively and GUCCI, together they look to be the perfect match. Fun, lovely, easy going glamour. Blake lively makes it all seem completely effortless and spontaneous.

From GUCCI: As captivating as the original fragrance but with a lighter point of view, Gucci Première Eau de Toilette is a flirty new scent. Watch the short film, shot in Los Angeles and starring Blake Lively.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, orange blossom, vintage champagne
Heart: Freesia, Bulgarian rose, jasmine, musk
Base: Smoke, leather, creamy woods, patchouli

Blake Lively stars in Gucci Première Eau de Toilette

Gucci Première Eau de Toilette, behind-the-campaign