Woo Hoo!
Here you go gang. This was released to YouTube Yesterday! Love the stylings and the music. How about you? What do you think?
Portia xx
Photo Stolen Wikipedia
Hi there APJ,
THANK YOU to our lovely 6 entrants. Well, this was clearly not a winner of a giveaway. It was very poorly subscribed to but I am glad that there are a few of you who thought it would be fun and lavish to have such a thing. OK, so who won?
This week we will have 3 winners who will each get:
1 x Thai Royal First Class Cabin Set
P&H Anywhere in AUSTRALIA
Open to everyone in AUSTRALIA who follows Australian Perfume Junkies 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
Please tell me your favourite holiday destination. It could be one you have been to or one you dream of. There are no time or financial constraints, just a dream, where would you go, for how long and who with?
Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Thai Royal First Class Cabin Set GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-2Vg #Perfume #Giveaway
Entries Close Sunday 29th June 2014 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org
Photo Stolen thegarfieldshow-diary
The winners will have till Thursday 3rd July 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.
Woo Hoo!
Always a little frisson zings through me when I read of a new Serge Lutens. Living on the other side of the world from most of the fragrant action I usually get my sniff on through samples or splits and so I have in my hot little hands a decant from Surrender To Chance, have you seen their New Perfume Releases page? Broken down into the last couple of months of release, it means you can tell as soon as something new hits the store, excellent if you are living in a fragrant backwater.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Citruses, aldehydes, musk, woody cashmeran molecule
So loads of people not loving this one. Usually I don’t read reviews before I sniff but a way back in November 2013 I was introduced to Laine de Verre by Denyse at Grain de Musc and then caught Victoria’s post on Bois de Jasmin both of whom were interesting for the differences in their wear story. Because they had such different experiences, these two women I revere, it caught my attention though I did not feel that this would be a fragrance that I could like, or love. So my sample is here, it’s a beautiful sunny 20C in Sydney and I have been out sunbaking. Time to try Laine de Verre or Glass Wool.
Photo Stolen Wikipedia
Whoa! Cold, sharp, sparkling. The moment I spritz I think “This is what the palace in Disney’s Frozen would smell like.” CLEAN! Stainless steel spoon on tongue. Brand newly finished cycle on the dishwasher after all the heat has gone. It doesn’t stay this shiny for long, maybe 20-30 minutes, then something a bit feral crawls out. All clean, angular, reflective lines and an antiseptic clean hiding filth, well not filth but something jarringly unclean.
I’ll give you an analogy, sometimes after a huge day out on holidays you run back to your hotel lobby and have to use the toilet immediately because you’ve been out all day. So you walk into this frigid, antiseptic and cover fragranced toilet, everything is immaculate. As you sit down to use the toilet up huffs a whiff of your humanity, you aren’t dirty or anything more than a bit sunburned and slightly sweaty but in this arctic smelling environment you are a surprise. All the while though you can still smell the UBER clean bathroom smells. Does that register?
Photo Stolen WikiCommons
So I originally spritzed Laine de Verre at around 5pm tonight, it’s now midnight and there is a lingering metallic musk with a dash of rubber that is both interesting and slightly freaky. It’s very close to the skin but I smell completely other and quite inhuman, I imagine this to be the smell of a humanoid robot trying to pass for life. Though I can’t imagine spritzing this regularly I will keep the sample and see if the mood does take me. Do I like it? Only on an intellectual basis, it doesn’t move me towards it. Actually it might be a good scent for giving the stay away vibe…
Photo Stolen Pixabay
LuckyScent has $110/50ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $5/ml
Did you try Laine de Verre? Lover or hater? Is Serge Lutens a house you feel fits you?
Do something nice for yourself today, something simple like walk for 10 minutes in the day to enjoy the weather if it’s good, or under an umbrella if it’s rubbish. Maybe spend 10 minutes pulling weeds in your yard or cleaning out your fridge. I always feel good after doing any of these.
Portia xx
Good Morning Frag Heads,
Here is one of the most beautiful and inspiring images of fashion this season. Gisele Bündchen looking like a rocker cross pixie plotting her next move in a crystal cave of reflection. Hair shorn and very androgynous looking, it could be a poster for a modern take on Peter Pan.
As so often is the case I found this at my go to fashion image news page art8amby
Balenciaga’s dark ad campaign for fall features Gisele Bündchen, who in February walked the brand’s runway show in a rare catwalk appearance.
In one image from the campaign, shot by Steven Klein, a moody-looking Bündchen, her typically long locks apparently shorn and slicked, sports thigh-high patent boots against an infinitely reflecting backdrop of cracked mirrored surfaces.
“This is how I see Gisele for Balenciaga; strong, powerful, mysterious and uncompromising,” Balenciaga artistic director Alexander Wang said of the campaign.
Behind the makeup look is Diane Kendal, while Anthony Turner styled the hair for the shoot. (source)
Hey Hey APJ,
Here I have a sampler of an Australian Natural Perfumery AROMANTIK. It was sent to me by the company to try and if I liked the work then to talk about. Well, the jury is back and like? No way, I am loving AROMANTIK oils. They are earthy, deep, interesting and beautiful and I am incredibly impressed wit their smooth rounded fullness. After 5 minutes on your skin they could be from the very best niche house, here is an Australian small batch independent perfumer to be proud of.
From the AROMANTIK site: AROMANTIK is a natural perfume studio started in 2010 by independent natural perfumer & designer Sally Woodward-Hawes. All of our products are hand-blended in small batches using only the finest natural essential oils, resins & absolutes sourced from all over the world. Sally is a professional perfumer with the Natural Perfumers Guild – the world’s largest trade association dedicated to natural fragrance.
There are 8 fragrances in the sampler and today I am testing two, one on each hand: The Blossom Thief and Love & Strife. You lucky ducks are getting a first hand run through of the thrill of wearing a fragrance for the first time. Come along, I hope you enjoy meandering through my fragrant thoughts.
AROMANTIK gives these featured accords:
Jasmine Grandiflorum Absolute, Natural Gardenia Accord, Tuberose Absolute, Natural Musk Accord, Ambrette (musk) Seed, Amber
From the AROMANTIK site: NEW! An ethereal & sensual fragrance built around jasmine & musk, with hints of gardenia, tuberose & white creamy blossoms in full bloom. Auspiciously finished on 1/3/13 this lush & intoxicating fragrance exudes an undercurrent of carnal sensuality.
OK, so imagine it’s early summer. You walk into a florist, the air is cool compared to the outside and there is only the light from the front window. In the couple of moments that it takes for your eyes and head to adjust: this is the smell. The smell of the death of flowers, the last fragrant gasp they give screaming their murder to the world. Jasmine, green, sappy, breathy backed by a chorus of white flowers, interestingly there is no mention of lily because I get a lovely big whack of it. I also smell peony, but a bunch of them not a perfumers reminder. The Blossom Thief smells expensive, luxurious and elegant and though it opens quite like many natural fragrances, after 10 minutes you feel swept up in a beautiful high end niche fragrance that is more nuanced and interesting than more than half of the stuff released last year that I got to smell. WOW! I was completely unprepared for something so devastatingly beautiful.
AROMANTIK gives these featured accords:
French pink grapefruit, Bulgarian rose absolute, night blooming jasmine sambac blossoms, certified organic Madagascan ylang ylang, amber, orris root, ambrette ‘musk’ seed
From the AROMANTIK site: Traditional rose, the flower of eternal love, VS. narcotic night blooming Jasmine, the flower of lust & desire… Inspires love & intimacy and if you’re lucky, a bit of strife!
Gosh! Straight out of the gate I get spicy clove and citrus, not definitely grapefruit but it does have a wonderful sweet/sour quality and then through it weaves a beautiful jasmine and ylang duet that is outrageously breathy and full of naughty and sexy mischief. I also get a whiff of sweet biscuit dough with grainy sugar. The rose on my skin is completely submerged in the other notes for nearly the first 20 minutes, everything else seems to need its moment before giving the rose centre stage. When the rose moves in she is a sweet, musky, vegetative creature that sweeps and glides around the white flowers, in and out of hiding, shy and yet commanding. Interestingly for a natural perfume oil nearly 11 hours on I am still fragrant with a very pretty wash of something indefinable that even in the cool stink of waking up manages to smell quite alluring, I thought it must have been Jin, but no it was the hand I was sleeping on. Excellent.
AROMANTIK has both these lovely natural perfume oils $50/5ml roller ball
AROMANTIK also has a Sample Pack $49/7 x 1ml samples
Please go and have a look at the AROMANTIK site, they are a very small business trying to make it in a tough world and would certainly appreciate your business.
Portia xx
Hey APJ,
Here’s something fun that I hope you Aussies will all get into. Sorry it’s taken so long to do this giveaway but there has been too much going on. FINALLY, here it is…..
Gawd! It seems like a million years since Michael & I took our European vacation in Jan/Feb 2014. It was an incredible experience, made even more so by the fact that we flew First Class to and from Europe. Though Thai was not 100% amazing in everything (we had our share of issues but as my mate Alice says, “Eeeew, my diamond shoes are too tight” moment) it was nice to have that much extra space, excellent food and service (in the air and the lounges) and to be collected at the gate by a buggy to whisk you to the First Class Lounge in each port. Really, incredible.
Would I travel First Class again? Probably not. There were things I liked but for the money I think it should be PERFECT!! There should be no complaint, trouble, drama or fiasco of any kind. Sadly Thai did not deliver this. To be completely honest I can sleep through an economy flight and still arrive in pretty good shape. That frees up thousands of dollars for enjoyment on my holiday.
I am sorry to our world readers but I can only send these within Australia. Postage has become too expensive to send these to the world. SORRY!!
Michael waking up in Thai Royal First Class
On every flight we were given a Thai Royal First Cabin Set. In each Thai Royal First Cabin Set there is:
1. L’Occitanne Eau de Cologne
2. L’Occitanne Body Lotion
3. L’Occitanne Lip Balm
4. Comb & Brush
5. Comfort Socks
6. Earplugs
7. Eyeshade
8. Toothbrush
9. Tooth Paste
10. Mouthwash
It all comes in a terrific wet pack that I will keep and use as my on-board cabin wet pack for years to come. Simple, stylish and really well designed. The one I opened and used is purple but the other three perfectly new in their plastic are white.
I know this is only very slightly in an olfactory vein but while we were flying I was so excited to be able to bring these back for some of you to try.
Portia xx
Thai Royal First Cabin Set with some stuff missing
Photo Stolen manoneileen
This week we will have 3 winners who will each get:
1 x Thai Royal First Class Cabin Set
P&H Anywhere in AUSTRALIA
Open to everyone in AUSTRALIA who follows Australian Perfume Junkies 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
Please tell me your favourite holiday destination. It could be one you have been to or one you dream of. There are no time or financial constraints, just a dream, where would you go, for how long and who with?
Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Thai Royal First Class Cabin Set GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-2Vg #Perfume #Giveaway
Entries Close Sunday 29th June 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 3rd July 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.
Hello Frag & Music Lovers,
Here is a pretty sensational pairing. Givenchy, once the home base of Audrey Hepburn, has taken a new and modern beauty as its face. Although I have loved Alicia Keys voice since “Fallin'” when she was a meer slip of a girl now having seen some recent interviews I am completely smitten. Alicia offers smart, sassy, soulful and a whole truckload of other positive things. I think her a role model for generations to come. Fingers crossed.
Portia xx
Grammy-winning singer Alicia Keys is sitting pretty is a Riccardo Tisci-designed embellished champagne-hued gown for the new fragrance campaign of Givenchy Dahlia Divin. The prices range from $65 to $110 a bottle, with a Skin Dew option for $53. (source)
Hello there my lovelies,
This has been a wonderful giveaway. A very special perfumer lost too soon. A fragrance that can never be repeated. 2 winners. I am so happy to be sharing this marvelous fragrance with you guys too.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Spice, mint, caraway, thyme
Heart: Jasmine, lavender, rose, clary sage
Base: Labdanum, frankincense, sandalwood, myrrh, vanilla, patchouli
This week we will have 2 winners who will each get:
1 x 5ml decant of Amber by Essentially Me
P&H Anywhere in the world
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
Please tell me your favourite Amber fragrance, or why you would like to try this one.
Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Amber by Essentially Me GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-2Jr #Perfume #Giveaway
Entries Closed Sunday 22nd June 2014 10pm
Winners were chosen by random.org
Photo Stolen markmontanoblogs
The winners will have till Thursday 26th June 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.
Hey hey APJ,
Loving the house; YSL has been a fave of mine since before fashion school and during became a hero for both his fashion and foresight but also because he lived this incredibly flamboyant life in a time when the world seemed to be quite conservative. He showed me, through his own actions that you could be whoever you choose to be if you have a talent, a little luck, work really hard and choose your friends wisely. That the people in charge of Yves Saint Laurent have taken the name Yves from his fashion house is a complete travesty and I hope never to own anything from the house without all three names on them, so anything pre 2013 and I can still grab YSL fragrances and makeup. I have received this decant in an order from Surrender To Chance, they have a special area where you can find the brand newest things from a year or a month, as you can see I have a backlog….
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Leather, amber, wood, vanilla, patchouli, saffron, dried fruit
The first time I wore Noble Leather it was late and I was trying to think of what I should write, take some notes etc but my mind was completely blank. Not processing anything. So I decided to do some reading about it on the blogs. There isn’t much around and most of it hates Noble Leather. It was no help because I don’t hate it. In my mind the best leather of them all is the Pineider: Cuoio Nobile, followed closely by Bottega Veneta. Noble Leather is more like Cuoio Nobile with a hefty dash of Lonestar Memories thrown in. Dark, erotic leather, like a whisper of the feeling of the scent of the inside leg of a party monster’s chaps or the saddle that’s been ridden in all day and is still warm.
Photo Stolen Wikipedia
Vanilla leather, amber leather, saffron leather an amalgam to begin with, dark, sweet and waxy. It smells birch-ish once the fireworks die down, darker and more tannins, with avery interesting super sweet overlay that must be the dried fruits but is really just an amorphous sweetness to my nose, not the same as the vanilla sweetness though which also play around the edges. There are momentary Cuir Ottoman memories but nowhere near as challenging or evocative. What whistles through my mind are images of cowboys and their saddles, drovers and their sheep, the labdanum having some similarities to the Lanolin we get from wool. I think it’s very aromachemical based because the scent goes in and out of my ability to smell if I am paying it close attention for more than a couple of minutes, when on a hand and it comes and goes from my olfactory vision then it comes back again whenever I put my hand to my chin or face area.
Photo Stolen Wikipedia
There are some spices that tickle my nose and the patchouli makes a lovely dusty cameo for a while, so reminiscent of working the Australian outback, but this is a leather/amber/vanilla for most of its journey and in dry down Noble Leather maintains much the same story to fade.
Further reading: Katie Puckrik and Kafkaesque
House of Fraser has £195/80ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $5/.5ml
Sillage is excellent and longevity quite good, I think I might like it much more if it wasn’t priced so outrageously. £195 that’s 3 – 4 Serge Lutens (Tubereuse Criminelle, Bas de Soie, Muscs Koublai Khan, Un Bois Vanille or Noble Leather’s sweeter and lovelier brother Chergui) or 2 Neela Vermeire Creations Discovery Packs. Sorry I don’t see the value YSL and I think you, as a consumer, can spend your dollars better elsewhere.
Did you get your sniff on the Oriental Collection from YSL yet? Thoughts?
Portia xx
OMG!!
DIOR is taking a traveling show of DIOR miniature replicas around the world. First stop was Chengdu in China. This is the kind of fabulously amazing thing that makes me so happy. All the creative people that an event like this would employ and the sheer genius of the idea taken from the The Theatre of Fashion, a 1945 exhibition in Paris, a post war French fashion exhibit done in miniature whose inspiration came from Lucien Lelong, Christian Dior’s boss and mentor at that time.
I hope you enjoy a look at the event and a couple of the miniature dress creation movies. Amazing.
Portia xx
Photo Stolen Buro247
