Les Nombres d’Or Musc by Mona di Orio 2010

November 9, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 22 Comments

Hi There My Lovelies,

Mona di Orio has long been in my adore list, her strikingly stark and beautiful face, fragrances that can make me tear up because they are so beautiful and tragic death all mark her house with a patina of magic. Just recently my friend Birgit from Olfactoria’s Travels was having a bit of a clear-out and I snaffled this much coveted and super elegant bottle from her.

Les Nombres d’Or Musc by Mona di Orio 2010

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Neroli, angelica, rose, heliotrope, tonka bean, musks

With the sad fact that I am repeating myself firmly in mind: These bottle are FREAKING gorgeous. They feel good in your hand and spritz a good amount of fragrance, the whole feeling is luxe and elegant, feels reminiscent of Hollywood glamour but looks bang up to date. Anyone who tells you packaging and presentation mean nothing has never held a Mona di Orio bottle, they exalt the experience.

One of the things I love about Musc is that some of the musks are completely beyond my ability to smell so there are times when I get musk and times when it is a soft floral. So powdery and ethereal one minute and then sheer but hefty and slightly worn the next. This is a friendly, fluffy and sweet biker. Maybe a prim but tough girl/woman, or maybe cuddly and playful but with teeth and claws that come out when needed (See below picture)

Photo Stolen DeviantArt

Musc is all these things, and none of course, when I wear it I feel powerful, plush and pampered. Comfortable and wearable at any time, like a big wooly cashmere rug that is both warmth and solace.

The nearest feeling I can give you is when the crew go out for Chinese at our favourite restaurant, the time when we are sitting at the bar having a drink, enjoying the atmosphere and catching up while we wait for the stragglers to arrive. There is happiness and smiles, kisses and hugs, laughter and anticipation of a great meal. We know the food and service will be excellent and that someone (usually Jin lately) will tell a story that has us laughing till our sides hurt. My friends are all wonderful, generous, warm and fun business people who are clever and successful in their diverse fields, I am proud to be part of our gang and each one is very special to me. Sometimes in their work worlds they have to be tough to get the job done and none of us get a lot of down time. Musc is the warmth and linking of like minds having a good time, and the friendly, hopeful buzz of anticipation.

Musc has great longevity too, I’ll think it’s gone at about 5 hours but later I will get a sensual but clean-ish waft. If I wear Musc at night and put a couple of extra spritzes on then next morning it is beautiful and a little me-funky added in makes it sexy too.

Photo Stolen Thomas Leth-Olsen Flickr

Further reading: Olfactoria’s Travels and Candy Perfume Boy
Peony Melbourne has $230/100ml
LuckyScent has $230/100ml
First In Fragrance has €160/100ml
Surrender To Chance starts at $7/ml

Are you an MdO fan? are there any in the line that you have, or wish to have? Have you held one of the bottles? please, this is meant to be a conversation and I love to read your thoughts<
Till tomorrow,
Portia xx

HOLLY, wOUD & VINE by Jane Cate for A Wing and A Prayer 2013

November 8, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 29 Comments

Hello Natural Niche Nerds,

My friend Jane Cate from A Wing & A Prayer perfumes has sent me her two latest fragrances. They came in a glittering and sparkly blue post pack and when I opened the post pack up I could smell the most incredible, beguiling and glorious green scent. There was a perfume inside the pack so eager for me to smell it the second I opened the bag that some of it had got loose and was wafting its crackling crispness at me.

The scent was created for A Wing & A Prayer’s 5th anniversary of the perfume shop on Etsy. The launch date was Nov. 5th! That’s right folks, you read it here FIRST!

HOLLY, wOUD & VINE by A Wing and A Prayer 2013

Photo of Regular A Wing & A Prayer bottles

Top: Mimosa, bitter orange, tomato leaf
Heart: Violet leaf, jasmine sambac, neroli
Base: Galbanum, oud, fir absolute

The crisp crackle of tomato leaves softened by citrus and flowers opens HOLLY, wOUD & VINE, it’s fun and green and ever so slightly waxy. There is even something of the dusting powder that my Mum used to put on the tomato plants. I am taken back to the earliest gardening days with my Mum and I in the garden, it’s absolutely uncanny how real it all seems, she is showing me how to prick the suckers out of the elbows of the tomato plants because too many branches means less tomatoes. I’m trying to tell her that it doesn’t make sense because more branches will mean more tomatoes but I am overuled and we get a bumper harvest that year, tomatoes in everything.

The tomato leaf stays quite well into the heart of HOLLY, wOUD & VINE but slowly the jasmine and galbanum take centre stage, it’s still fresh and crisp but now we get a sweeter green with a hint of skank. The green stays beautiful and fresh through the whole life of HOLLY, wOUD & VINE until the very last gasps at just under 3 hours where the oud dirties it up and makes HOLLY, wOUD & VINE a very naughty fragrance indeed. FABULOUS!!

Photo of the New A Wing & A Prayer bottles

The new bottles were created especially for A Wing & A Prayer by Michael Smith , who is the designer & owner of http://www.daydreemdesigns.etsy.com/ and they come in 2oz and 1oz etched bottles with the A Wing & A Prayer logo on both sides. The fragrance also still comes in the “regular” bottle with the label. Holly, wOUD & Vine is the first fragrance to be offered in the new bottle and slowly all stock will be in them, very exciting developments.

Photo of the New A Wing & A Prayer bottles

A Wing & A Prayer has an ETSY Store<<<JUMP. The 1oz is selling for $75.00 and the 2oz is selling for $150.00, both are in the etched bottle. I love the $10 3 x 7.5ml Sample Set, it’s a great way to try 3 of the fragrances at a time.

Photo stolen Kesha&Co

HOLLY, wOUD & VINE GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 3 winners

1 winner will receive:
1 x 7.5ml A Wing & A Prayer mini of either Kismet or HOLLY, wOUD & VINE, you get to chose!
P&H Anywhere in the world

2 winners will receive:
1 x 1ml decant from my own test mini
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.

To be eligible for the draw just mention how you follow the APJs and tell us any green perfume that you like

Extra Chances?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie HOLLY, wOUD & VINE: A Wing & A Prayer GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-29a #Perfume @janetheperfumer

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 10th November 2013 10pm Australian EDST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Thursday 14th November 2013 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.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!

Portia xx

BLACK by Puredistance 2013 GIVEAWAY WINNER!

November 8, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

Hello Australian Perfume Junkies,

I knew when Michael gave me the vial of Puredistance Black that this was going to be a ripper competition and that a lot of you would jump on board. Thanks crew, we love your enthusiasm and are so glad that we are able to make some frag dreams come true for you.

BLACK by Puredistance 2013 GIVEAWAY WINNER!

Further reading about Puredistance Black: Perfume Posse and The Fragrant Man

If you’d like to purchase Black
Puredistance has samples for sale already
LuckyScent has pre-order for December shipment

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week’s winner will receive

1 x 2ml Manufacturers Spray Sample of Black by Puredistance
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DID YOU WIN?

To be eligible for the draw just mention how you follow the APJs and tell us any perfume that is black or noir that you like

Extra Chances?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie PUREDISTANCE Black GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-2ah #Perfume #Giveaway @puredistance

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Thursday 7th November 2013 10pm Australian EDST.
Winner was chosen by random.org

Photo Stolen ganjer

MARY P

CONGRATULATIONS!!! You have till Sunday 10th November 2013 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.

One Seed Special Offer! HURRY!!

November 6, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

Hi there Gang,

One Seed is having a terrific deal at the moment. When I saw it I knew you would want to be the first to know. Offer is only available till December 1 2013.

GO FOR IT,

Portia xx

Buy your perfume travel set before December 1st, and you can choose a gift for your friend for free! (valued at up to $20)

Choose from a 5ml travel atomiser, or four perfume or cream samples of your choice! And we’ll even post it to them!

Simply make note of your selection and the recipient’s details in the ‘notes’ section at checkout, and we’ll do the rest!

Be quick – offer ends December 1st, 2013.

BLACK by Antoine Lie for Puredistance 2013

November 3, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 53 Comments

Hello Lucky APJ Readers!

One of our contributors Michael has been in touch with Puredistance and they kindly sent TWO sample vials of BLACK for him to try. He is keeping one and has given the other to Australian Perfume Junkies to give to a lucky reader.

BLACK by Puredistance 2013 GIVEAWAY!

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

To find out about Puredistance Black here are some posts that we’ve enjoyed:

Bonkers About Perfume

Confessions Of A Perfume Nerd

Kafkaesque

The Scented Hound

If you’d like to purchase Black
Puredistance has samples for sale already
LuckyScent has pre-order for December shipment

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week’s winner will receive

1 x 2ml Manufacturers Spray Sample of Black by Puredistance
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

To be eligible for the draw just mention how you follow the APJs and tell us any perfume that is black or noir that you like

Extra Chances?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie PUREDISTANCE Black GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-2ah #Perfume #Giveaway @puredistance

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 7th November 2013 10pm Australian EDST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Sunday 10th November 2013 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.

Halloween Music Fun

November 3, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

Hey there APJ Crew,

So I was looking through YouTube and found some fun and creepy Australian music to remind you how much fun you had on Halloween. I hope you enjoy some historical Aussie music.
Portia xx

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

Skyhooks – Horror Movie (1975)

AC/DC – Highway To Hell (1979)

Divinyls – Science Fiction (1982)

Kate Ceberano – “Unchained Melody” 2006

Lisa Mitchell – Oh! Hark! (2010)

Inside Hermès petit h – Episode n°3 + n°4 + n°5 – Mini Movies

November 3, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

Hey APJ Crew,

I have a whole bunch of the Hermès fragrances and adore their whole aesthetic, I only own one scarf but I love it and plan to own another soon enough.

Here is the second in a fun series from Hermès. Here’s the link if you would like to see the first Inside Hermès petit h – Episode n°1 & n°2. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have,

Love,
Portia xx

Photo Stolen MadisonMuse

Inside Hermès petit h – Episode n°3 – Mini Movie

Inside Hermès petit h – Episode n°4 – Mini Movie

Inside Hermès petit h – Episode n°5 – Mini Movie

Photo Stolen Maegan Tintari Flickr

Infini Parfum by Gerard Lefortis for Caron 1970 (reformulation)

November 2, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 7 Comments

Hello Lovers of Fine Fragrance,

Not so long ago I splashed out on myself. When life goes right it’s important for me to reward myself if I’ve made something happen and yes, you guessed it, I bought myself some fragrance. A 3ml Caron Infini parfum spritzer from Surrender To Chance. I’m not going to lie, it was a bit pricey at $23 for 3ml but OMG was it worth it! And really it cost around the same per ml as if I’d bought a 15ml bottle, so quite good value for what I was getting.

Infini Parfum by Gerard Lefortis for Caron 1970 (reformulation)

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Jasmine, narcissus, lily of the valley, aldehydes
Heart: Rose, tuberose, lilac, iris
Base: Vetiver, musk, sandalwood, tonka bean, amber

When Infini opens it is with a scintillating sparkle, so outrageously lavish and hefty like a warm comforter made in patchwork of some exquisite silk brocades that is at once heavy and enveloping but at the same time the light plays in and over the fabric making it appear diffuse and spacious. This is a lovely aldehydic BWF that was designed as an ode to astronauts and space travel first created by Ernest Daltroff in 1912 but then recreated and reformulated in 1970 by Gerard Lefortis

There is some green and earthy note behind the white flowers that grounds Infini and makes me feel like someone shooting for the stars rather than going out to see them (Yesterday’s Perfume says it’s a Coriander) and I think the vetiver is more present than as a simple base note. My feet firmly planted on the ground looking towards the infinite, like I am on the brink of something enormous. So pretty and perfume-ish, probably a million times too much for most people’s tastes who are not perfumistas or from an older generation when perfume was beautiful and you were proud to be fragrant. There is still a lovely shot of skank running through Infini and I’m wondering if my decant is a little vintage.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

Distinctive and glamorous as Infini is I think it would make an excellent choice for wedding fragrance, it has such a beautiful floral wantonness that no husband could resist and your sillage will leave the one’s not lucky enough to grab you wishing that they had, at least once.

Infini parfum lasts for hours, even on my skin, and I have amped up the amber sweetness that I can still smell in the morning with an animal purr behind it that could be me and could be the remnants of Infini.

EdT Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Bois de Jasmin writes: Infini: The original Infini is a velvety aldehydic floral with the rich iris, lilac and tuberose heart wrapped in tonka bean and vetiver. Infini today is similar, but the quality feels poorer, with the synthetic sandalwood overtaking the drydown. Still, it is an interesting floral idea.

Further reading: Yesterday’s Perfume and The Non-Blonde
Beauty Encounter has $120/15ml
Surrender To Chance starts at $4/ml

Have you done some Caron time lately? Tried Infini Parfum? Tell me, I love to read what you guys are thinking.
Loads of love,

Portia xx

Oriental Rose by Bourbon French Parfums GIVEAWAY WINNERS!

November 2, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 5 Comments

Hello Halloweeners,

Here are the fresults for another excellent GIVEAWAY here at Australian Perfume Junkies. I hope you’ve all had a wonderful Halloween and that everyone is now safe and sound and all scary monsters have been put to bed for another year.

Didn’t win? Bourbon French Parfums has $28/¼oz perfume, $28/4oz EDC and $36/4oz EDT

Oriental Rose by Bourbon French Parfums

GIVEAWAY WINNERS!

Photo Stolen Bourbon French Parfums

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week there are two winners, each will receive

1 x 2ml decant Oriental Rose by Bourbon French Parfums
1 x 2ml decant Voodoo Love by Bourbon French Parfums
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DID YOU WIN?

To be eligible for the draw just mention how you follow the APJs and comment on your favorite rose fragrance, tell us about the dessert/confection you love the most or about your last trip to New Orleans!

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Thursday 31st October 2013 10pm Australian EST
Winners were once again pulled from a hat by B-Azar

Photo Stolen thegarfieldshow-diary

fleurdelys

tsurera

The winners will have till Tuesday 5th November 2013 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.

Ramon Monegal: Birth of a Master Perfumer

November 1, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 9 Comments

Hi there APJ Family and Friends,

Their extremely covetable bottles, gorgeously plush marketing and lavish juices have put them right at the forefront of modern mass market niche but where did Ramon Monegal the man come from?

It’s not often I take directly from a brands media kit but I was recently reading through the Roman Monegal stuff and it struck me that if I don’t know the history of the man behind the brand that burst onto the world scene so spectacularly last year then many of you won’t know too. Please keep in mind that this is combined from Ramon Monegal’s press kit and Fragrantica, so it will have been polished to shine. This reads to me like Ramon Monegal an extremely talented, driven and lucky man. I would love to meet him one day.

Photo Stolen Ramon Monegal

Ramon Monegal: Birth of a Master Perfumer

Ramón Monegal comes from a long and distinguished line of the most important perfumers in Barcelona and Spain. He represents the fourth generation of the founders of the house of Myrurgia, which was the official purveyor of the Spanish Royal Family, and the most important international perfumer in Spain.

His training began back in 1972 at Myrurgia, where he submerged himself completely and became intimate with the most essential of scents such as the mythical infusions of amber, tonka bean, musk, castoreum, civet and iris. These were the treasured secrets of the house and the key ingredients to the only couture perfumes existing at the time.

Monegal’s training continued in Geneva with his mentor, the maître parfumeur Artur Jordi Pey (Firmenich), then in Grasse with Marcel Carles (Roure Bertrand and Argeville) and finally in Paris with Pierre Bourdon (Takasago and Fragrance Resources).

Photo Stolen Ramon Monegal

From his beginnings as a perfumer, Ramón Monegal showed courage, good taste and mastery of the most complicated and costly ingredients. Early on he began to develop the concept of olfactory image — the images we conjure with the smell of a fragrance. He embarked on the preparation of perfume creations with great sensitivity, thoroughness and zeal. It took him years to refine his skills in the search, selection, acquisition and evaluation of the finest natural ingredients —the defining qualities of a nez. In addition, Monegal was very active in the processes of conceptualization, design and communication and, in 1977, to broaden his knowledge in these areas, he studied at the Barcelona Design Center.

In 1979 Ramón Monegal created his first fragrance, Alada. It soon flowered into an unexpected success within the house of Myrurgia, leading the domestic market for decades. From that time on he took over the artistic management of the house and began to create fragrances for the licenses of Adolfo Dominguez, Antonio Miró, Aigner, Inès de la Fressange, Don Algodon and Massimo Dutti. Myrurgia grew even more in prestige and as a company.

Photo Stolen Ramon Monegal

In 1985 Monegal joined the board of Myrurgia and later was appointed vice president. In 2000, just as the company reached its peak, Antonio Puig acquired Myrurgia and Ramón Monegal was asked to head the fragrance development of its brands and licenses for the group, which included the new Maison Parfum.

In 2007 he left the Puig Group and became independent. After a period of reflection, he decided to realize the project of which he had always dreamed: create without any limitation.

Ramon Monegal is a new 2012 fragrance brand. Designer Ramon Monegal has 16 perfumes all launched in 2013, he is curator, director and nose.

I hope this has given you an insight into the man behind the scents. I have a few of his fragrances that we will be looking at in future months.
Portia xx