Arlesienne by L`Occitane GIVEAWAY WINNERS

September 22, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Hey Crew,

Thanks for getting involved again. This is a super great draw and I am madly in love with the L’Occitane range, to be honest I quite wanted to keep this set for myself.

Portia x

Arlesienne by L`Occitane GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Mandarin, pepper, saffron flower
Heart: Grasse rose, lily of the valley
Base: Violet, sandalwood, blonde woods, tonka bean

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 Winner who will get:

1 x Arlesienne by L`Occitane 250ml Shower Gel
1 x Arlesienne by L`Occitane 75ml Body Oil
1 x Arlesienne by L`Occitane 75ml Eau de Toilette
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 favourite soft & fresh fragrance in your collection and why.

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie APJ Arlesienne by L`Occitane GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-3ap #Perfume #Giveaway

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 21st September 2014 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org

Photo Stolen thegarfieldshow-diary

UNDINA

Congratulations!! The winners will have till Thursday 25th September 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.

Equistrius by Marc Antoine Corticchiato for Parfum d`Empire 2007

September 21, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

Hello Fellow Fumies,

One of the sad things that happens in the perfumista world is that we often have only time to try the new and many of the veteran niche fragrances get left behind in the rush to smell the MILLIONS of latest and greatest. So I thought that I would dedicate as many Saturdays as possible to reviewing fragrances that are older than this current decade. Today we look at….

Equistrius by Parfum d`Empire 2007

Equistrius by Marc Antoine Corticchiato

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Iris, violet, green notes
Heart: Iris, chocolate, woody notes, powder, rice
Base: Amber, sandalwood, vetiver, suede, ambrette (musk mallow)

I thought I’d start with a fragrance that I tried once a while ago and always had on the retry list but it got pushed to the back of the cupboard. Last night for some reason I grabbed Equistrius and spritzed before I went to work. WOW! What most attracted me in the opening is a lovely smokiness, weird because its not talked about and then I wonder if my nose is playing silly buggers but I have just drained my sample for my third wearing and it is most decidedly smoky behind the earthy green opening.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

Then the scent kind of blurs and becomes a soft focus fragrance that never really settles on a note but waltzes through the heart as a sweet bouquet, this is quite long lasting and smells great but no notes jump out and accost me. Sadly the rice note doesn’t appear on my skin or to my nose. One of the yummiest and freakiest smells in our house is the rice cooking in the pressure cooker. It always smells so enticing and I wish someone would capture that exact scent and bottle it.

Dry down is soft and very close, a mere breath of fragrance shimmering softly above my skin. A sweet vegetal nothing that you have to be very close to notice, pretty and a lovely surprise for someone undressing you……..

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

How do I feel about Equistrius? While I enjoy it very much and love the ride I am not fully taken by Equistrius. Something in it doesn’t sing on my skin and after reading some other pieces on it I think the fault is me, not the frag. There are pieces missing from the puzzle and I wonder if its a sign that Equistrius and I are not buddies. There are so many others in the line that I adore so I can’t really complain. It’s a shame because the notes list and others reviews make me want to smell what they all smell, I think it would smell killer on the right person.

Photo Stolen Flickr

Further reading: Olfactoria’s Travels and BOTO
Libertine has $150/50ml with FREE Australian P&H
LuckyScent has $145/100ml in the new bottles
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $3.50/ml

Did you ever try this line? What about Equistrius? Did it ever spend skin time with you? What did you think?
Portia xx

Acqua Di Giò by Giorgio Armani: Scent of Freedom Movie – Introducing Luca Dotto

September 21, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 3 Comments

Woo Hoo APJ,

Who better to advertise a fragrance for men than the Italian Silver Medalist swimmer. He is handsome, great body, successful and has a killer smile. This ad is so freaking beautiful I wanted it to go for 15 minutes.

Acqua Di Giò by Giorgio Armani 2014: Luca Dotto

Photo Stolen ftape (Problem using image, let me know)

Giorgio Armani has always known how to sell their product but this is taking it to a whole new level.

Enjoy,
Portia xx

Acqua di Giò: Scent of Freedom – Giorgio Armani

Acqua Di Giò: Scent of Freedom – Introducing Luca Dotto

Scent With Love: CHANEL No.22

September 20, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

Hi there APJ,

My mate Rose M sent me a package a while ago. It got lost in a drawer during a clean up and since we have been organising the house for Open Houses a bunch of forgotten magic has turned up. What is in the package? Modern & Vintage CHANEL No.22 EdT and some Vintage CHANEL No.22 parfum. OH MY! You may remember I discovered CHANEL No.22 in Paris earlier this year with Michael. Rose M thought I should get some historical juice on my skin and be able to compare, I’ll do my best but this wonky old nose will probably just smell the same thing at different strengths…..

CHANEL No.22 by Ernest Beaux for CHANEL 1922

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Lily-of-the-valley, neroli, aldehydes
Heart: Oriental jasmine, rose, Comoro island ylang-ylang
Base: Haiti vetiver, Bourbon vanilla

OK, so the vintage EdT comes out sweeter and more aldehydic. Current EdT has a fresh, nutty and much cooler vibe than the vintage. Vintage smells animal and sensual while the modern has a metallic edge, a little reminiscent of No. 19. As the top notes blow off the two become more alike and though still different they coulod be the same fragrance family now. Vintage seems smoother and warmer, like the ultimate softness of room temperature ivory against your skin and still the current is cooler, more transparent like cool crystal.

Photo stolen Flickr

Photo Stolen Flickr

Suddenly, at about the 20-30 minute mark it’s like they both come into clear focus and smell nearly exactly the same, there are differences but only the difference that a wear on different days woulds NEVER tell apart. It’s like you are wearing the same fragrance but in different weather or after you’ve used a different body wash in the shower. Vintage lasts for hours longer in the heart section and when modern has almost completely disappeared I can still smell glorious aldehydic bouquet pumping its lavish tune from the vintage. Dry down is warm and subtly earthy but through CHANEL No. 22s life it never loses that aldehydic magic.

They are both incredible and I am going to grab some of the current EdT and Parfum. The die is cast.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

Further reading: Bois de Jasmin and Perfume Posse
You can try or buy CHANEL No. 22 at any of the stand alone CHANEL stores or a very few department stores.
Surrender To Chance has CHANEL No. 22 samples starting at $4/ml and Extrait at $8/ml

Thank You Rose M. I have enjoyed this throw down immensely and you have ultimately made me a complete slave to CHANEL No.22 EdT.

Portia xx

Arlesienne by L`Occitane en Provence 2014

September 19, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 31 Comments

Hey Hey APJ Family,

As you may know one of my girlfriends here in Australia works for L`Occitane en Provence. well this month she has sent me a great set. I gave the hand cream to another girlfriend and she was most impressed by the scent and the softening properties, Anna Maria wore the hand cream for a week to make sure and was very pleasantly surprised with the results.

Arlesienne by L`Occitane en Provence 2014

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Mandarin, pepper, saffron flower
Heart: Grasse rose, lily of the valley
Base: Violet, sandalwood, blonde woods, tonka bean

Something light, fresh and breezy. A lovely wash of fragrance in which the singular notes don’t make huge statements but are a very harmonious and gentle waft. I can imagine Arlesienne being the spritz and go daywear for sunshine days, through spring to autumn. While Arlesienne does not smell wildly expensive or extravagant it does have a sheer, shimmering and youthful zing that will put a spring in your step and a smile on your face.

From L’Occitane Press release: The fragrance is inspired by the Venus of Arles, a Roman statue discovered in 1651 and everything that it represents—the woman of Provence, the ideal of female beauty and the muse of artists such as Van Gogh, Picasso, Léo Lele, Mistral, Bizet, Christian Lacroix and many others.

Photo Stolen AllSteele

Arlesienne by L`Occitane en Provence GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 Winner who will get:

1 x Arlesienne by L`Occitane 250ml Shower Gel
1 x Arlesienne by L`Occitane 75ml Body Oil
1 x Arlesienne by L`Occitane 75ml Eau de Toilette
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Tell me a favourite soft & fresh fragrance in your collection and why.

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie APJ Arlesienne by L`Occitane GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-3ap #Perfume #Giveaway

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 21st September 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 25th September 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 Celebrating Monogram Collaboration Video

September 19, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 3 Comments

Hey Fashionistas,

Louis Vuitton has been doing some collaborating and I wanted to show you this fun 1 minute Louis Vuitton Celebrating Monogram Collaboration Video. Asking some super great designers, artists and innovators to take their monogram and make something entirely special and new. I think you’ll be suprised with some, desperately want others and be impressed by the sometimes discrete, sometimes overt, pushing of boundaries.

Enjoy,

Portia xx

Photo Stolen Louis Vuitton

From Vuitton: 2014, Six Iconoclasts, One Icon: Christian Louboutin, Cindy Sherman, Frank Gehry, Karl Lagerfeld, Marc Newson, and Rei Kawakubo take inspiration from the icononic Louis Vuitton Monogram.

Louis Vuitton Celebrating Monogram

Black Opium by YSL Mini Movie

September 14, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

Hey there APJ Crew,

Black Opium is here, masterminded by Nathalie Lorson, Marie Salamagne, Olivier Cresp and Honorine Blanc and centred around the smell of coffee beans. Sounds marvelous, so good that I know I’ll be disappointed. The mini movie is wonderful though and stars British model Edie Campbell, shot by Daniel Wolfe.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Pear, orange blossom, pink pepper
Heart: Jasmine, coffeeBase: Vanilla, patchouli, cedar

BLACK OPIUM BY YVES SAINT LAURENT

BLACK OPIUM – THE NEW WOMEN FRAGRANCE

Open House

September 13, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

Hiya APJ,

We have had some problems with our Australian Perfume Junkies host this week and the whole shebang has put me into a spin. Add to that our house is on the market and we are having work done on the pool and Open Houses. CER AY ZEE.

Here are some pics of our home. It has been a sensational family home and I have loved it with all my heart. It’s a 1960s T shaped ranch house and many of the features are original. We have kept it as true to its heritage as we could while maintaining functionability.
Portia xx

Sample Selection GIVEAWAY WINNER

September 12, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

Hey hey APJ,

Today we have such a generous draw from Azar who has cleaned out her doubles in the sample closet. Whoever gets the prize today will have weeks of new scents to try. WOO HOO!
Portia xx

Sample Selection GIVEAWAY WINNER

Gomez Photo Donated Azar

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 Winner who will get:

The draw includes a VM Hedonist sample, an Elektra sample, at least one Amouge carded sample and more good stuff. I’m not trying to unload things I don’t like, not used or rejected samples but new packaged and carded samples and a few fresh decants, I just want to give away duplicates!
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DID YOU WIN?

Open to US RESIDENTS ONLY 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

Reveal, if possible, approximately how many samples you have laying around your house, place of business, in your car, purse wherever. Have you developed a workable plan to store your samples? Let us hear about it!

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie APJ Sample Selection GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-38D #Perfume #Giveaway

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 11th September 2014 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners were chosen by Gomez the parrot

Photo Stolen amberinblunderland

TRACY

The winners will have till Sunday 14th September 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.

Roxana Villa @ Beyond Aromatics Conference: Seattle

September 10, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Hi all you Independent Fragrance lovers,

I just got news that my buddy, the lovely Roxana Villa from Roxana’s Illuminated Perfumes, will be presenting a talk on Saturday at the Beyond Aromatics Conference: Seattle. I am so jealous of all you PNW Americans, please go along and enjoy hearing one of the world’s most beautiful and successful natural perfumers speak about her way of creation.

Photo Donated Roxana Ville

We have talked about Roxana’s Illuminated Perfumes quite a bit here at APJ because they are freaking sensational. Really beautiful, primal uses of natural ingredients that will whisk you away to the enchanted forests of your dreams. You can jump to the Roxana’s Illuminated Perfumes site for more information on Roxana and her sensational fragrances.

Photos Stolen Roxana’s Illuminated Perfumes

The Tree of Life: A Mystical Approach to Botanical Perfume

Talk by Roxana Villa at Beyond Aromatics Conference: Seattle

Engaging both the rational and the creative mind as a rainbow bridge leading to the formulation of botanical perfumes using a threefold structure.

Learning objectives:
History of Perfume
The parallels of making botanical perfume and the path of the alchemists
Essential oils and the elementals
Inspiring the imagination and intuitive mind

Photo Stolen Photos Stolen Roxana’s Illuminated Perfumes