Portia

Spikenard Giveaway Winner

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 6 Comments

Hello Gorgeous!!

As you may remember we had a sensational week of 1st Birthday Giveaways last week that culminated in a giveaway that was transcontinental and trans-blog. There were 6 blogs involved in an Easter Giveaway for an amount of foot oil that harks back to the Jesus and Mary Magdalen story in the Bible and the washing of the feet. This giveaway was made particularly poignant by the current Pope’s decision to wash 6 young prisoners feet, including 2 young girls one of whom was a Muslim. It was a courageous act that may not change the world and bring about peace but it certainly had us that can thinking. Symbolically the gesture is enormous.

PopeFrancis-washing patheosPope Francis on Holy Thursday 2013 Stolen Patheos

Brie in New York has made a small batch and sent it to The Fragrant Man (Jordan River who is one of our esteemed Guest Writers here at APJ). Would you like to know a bit more about this amazing Brie? Jump to read her Guest Posts from CaFleurBon December 30 2012 and CoolCookStyle February 25 2013. If you like her style, and we certainly hope you do, then you will be thrilled to know that Brie has come on board at APJ as a regular guest writer the first Monday of the month. YES TOMORROW!!

SPIKENARD GIVEAWAY WINNER

SpikenardGiveaway JordanPhoto Stolen TheFragrantMan

If you entered the Spikenard Giveaway then you must jump to TheFragrantMan blog (<<<JUMP) where you will find out if you’ve won. Thank you to everyone who became a part of this wonderful giveaway by commenting, thanks to Jordan river and Brie for hosting it.

Later today I’ll upload some pics from our trip to Kings Canyon this weekend. I hope you’ve had a happy Easter, whether or not you believe the stories, are religious, Catholic, Christian or in fact anyone. We hope that the idea of giving and helping, and doing things for others without counting the cost sometimes becomes a universally accepted mode of action.

Here are the other blogs involved in the Spikenard Giveaway, as well as TheFragrantMan, as it’s Easter and you may have some spare time why not have a little squiz at them. Their names are jumps.
AllIAmARedhead
CoolCookStyle
ScentsMemory
ThePerfumeDandy

Wishing you all great and wonderful weekends.

Portia xx

Lanvin Me Fragrance 2013 Ad Campaign

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Lanvin Me Fragrance 2013 Ad Campaign

Yet again stolen a fresh and lovely advertising image from. art8amby

Released April 2013, Lanvin used a reprint image of Iselin Steiro by Steven Meisel from the mainline Spring Summer 2009 campaign.

Can’t wait to see if they have given us a masterpiece or an insult to our olfactory systems. Could this be the new Arpege? Maybe? A fragrance to stand the test of time and reformulation? Let’s cross our fingers.

Portia x

Image via TFS.

Ambre Gris by Guillaume Flavigny for Pierre Balmain 2008

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 13 Comments

Hello Happy Huffers,

Today we look at a fairly new acquisition for me. I went through a 5ml decant in record time so gave myself permission to indulge.

Ambre Gris by Pierre Balmain 2008

AmbreGris FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Myrrhe, benzoin, pink pepper, cinnamon
Heart: Immortelle, tuberose
Base: White musc, benzoin, amber, guaiac wood (tree of life)

Before I started researching Ambre Gris I was under the impression that it was a vintage fragrance from the house of Pierre Balmain. Not so, released in 2008 it sparked a veritable sensation throughout the scentbloggosphere for a few reasons: the last few Balmain frags had been met with surly derision by the perfumista community, this one was only available in a few select locations in Europe, named after that intriguing and hard to source perfumers magic ingredient ambergris from the intestines of one perr cent of sperm whales and because it was rumored to be fabulous. This was before my time on the scentbloggosphere, at this point I was a lone hoarder.

I love the fabulously hefty 100ml bottle with its thick, greyed glass and the golden disco ball on top is perfect to me, though many do not love it. In fact the whole package screams quality to me, even the understated label and box it comes in. I can imagine it fitting well into a mans or wamans wardrobe.

WindsweptBeach fortunephotographyPhoto Stolen FortunePhotography

How does it smell? Having read the other blogs I feel that I have a completely different product because my skin amplifies the salt in a fragrance, even though there is none in the note list. Ambre Gris opens warm and sweet on my skin, like eating Brighton Rock on the pebble beach.  There is a common complaint about Ambre Gris that it has a plastic vibe through the centre of it, which I often find in real life white flowers, it is not here for me sadly because I quite like that note. My experience with the heart are not everlasting daisies and tuberose, at all, unless it’s a small chemical found in both that also smells like the ocean, it feels breezy and windswept to me, and gives me a sense of freedom. Really, the notes list reads like gibberish compared to what I smell. The dry down is pretty and here I do get a salty amber and a little smoke. In the heat of Sydney summer Ambre Gris is giving me about 4-5 hours of discernible fragrance but I bought it so cheaply that I am very happy to reapply. I like it as my morning scent for some reason.

Ambre Gris works as a super base during its dry down adding a lovely heft to every perfume I have layered over the top for an afternoon or evening refresh, including: Sandflowers, Geranium Pour Monsieur, Bombay Bling, Coco and Songes (And many others)

BeachHorses meteotimesPhoto Stolen meteotimes

Further reading PerfumeSmellingThings and TheNonBlonde

FragranceNet has 50ml around $32
MyPerfumeSamples starts at $2/ml but the $7/5ml is EXCELLENT value

Have you tried Balmain’s Ambre Gris? Was it love or hate? Were you one of the frenzy buyers in 2008/9?

Until tomorrow,

Portia xx

New Ferrari Hybrid Supercar Debut

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Hey Frag Hags,

Normally I would probably not think a car release was news worthy enough for a frag blog but O M F G This is quite the lovely. If you hit the links you can read the full story and see all the pictures.

YEARN, YEARN, YEARN!!!
Portia xx

Posted by in LUXURY By Noah Joseph

Ferrari

Photos Courtesy of Ferrari

It’s not every day that a new flagship Ferrari debuts; the 288 GTO was released in 1984 and the F40 that replaced it arrived just a few years later in 1987. Eight years passed before the F50 came along in 1995 and the Enzo succeeded that model in 2002. Now eleven years later the Prancing Horse marque has revealed its new hybrid supercar at the Geneva Motor Show.

Words courtesy Noah Joseph

Ferrari

Coeur de Vetiver Sacre by L’Artisan Parfumeur 2010 and Be Nice!

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 19 Comments

Hello Everyone,

Sometimes when I read or see things on other people’s blogs or around the internet I then want to share them with you all. From one of my daily blog indulgences Sadie&Daisy here is just one of those things. Sadie&Daisy is a quick look blog, every day they pick a theme and post three photos. Sometimes it’s their photos and sometimes they use found pictures. Every day they are interesting. Sorry, no fragrance stuff today.

Coeur de Vetiver Sacre by L’Artisan Parfumeur 2010

Oh OK, I’m wearing an enormous couple of spritzes of L’Artisan Parfumeur’s Coeur de Vetiver Sacre over the fading embers of Lalique EdT which I have been using lately to finish my decant. I wish they had not discontinued Coeur de Vetiver Sacre but Thank Goodness TSO Jin picked up 100ml while we were in Paris at Galleries Lafayette for only 35 Euro because they are discontinuing. EXCELLENT SCORE!!

Karine Vinchon Spehner created L’Artisan Parfumeur’s Coeur de Vetiver Sacre in 2010 and it can’t have been a super seller for it to already be going to bye byes. Their line reads that it was hoped that three major accords would be produced through the fragrance lifespan, sparkling, spicy and smoky. That’s pretty much how it works and I love it, especially when Jin wears it. Great scent for him.

CoeurDeVetiverSacre FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Bergamot, orange, black tea, pepper, ginger, coriander, saffron, dates, dried apricot, incense, osmanthus, rose, iris, vanilla, vetiver, tarragon, sandalwood, white cedar, guaiac wood, amber, tonka , labdanum, castoreum and musk.

Till tomorrow, please read this sign and take heed.

Love,
Portia xx

Be NicePhoto Stolen Sadie&Daisy

Serge Lutens GIVEAWAY WINNERS

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Hello Gorgeous!

So my mate Jordan River from TheFragrantMan blog really put me in the poo the other day by offering a GIVEAWAY! I had to quickly scramble around to find some stuff that the gorgeous Serge Lutens Palais Royal girls had thrown into my bag when I dropped in in February this year. My mate Neela Vermeire, the famous perfume curator from Neela Vermeire Creations, took me in the day before to show me the store and introduce me to the SAs who were so friendly and welcoming to both of us. It was like old home week. Hugs, kisses and fragrance!!

SergeLutens The MakeUpMolePhoto Stolen TheMakeUpMole

Let me tell you the Palais Royal Serge Lutens store is FREAKY!! All done in purple and black lighting and OMG! It’s like an Addams Family parlour. And a spiral staircase in the middle from which you can see a speck of colour, I think it was yellow. The whole place gave me the willies, the heebeegeebees and stirred my head up so I couldn’t even think about perfume for myself. Next time I will at least do some serious testing.

What Jordan failed to tell you all was that though I have four Serge Lutens fragrances in full bottles,
Muscs Koublai Khan
Fleurs d’Oranger
Five O’Clock Gingembre
Santal Majuscule
(Sa Majeste la Rose, Chergui, Un Voix Noir and Gris Claire are the next on my list and maybe Cedre or Ambre Sultan down the track)
and many more in decants, unfortunately I am not a Bell Jar fan. I know!! PLEASE DON’T KICK ME OUT OF THE CLUB!!! I’m sorry but I like my perfume spritzed and also the square bottles look so neat and pretty together. What did happen though was that I had to buy two Bell Jars for APJ bloggers, everyone that writes for APJ was allowed order one bottle of impossible to find in Australia perfume to be brought back, so Madeleine asked for La Myrrhe and Michael asked for Iris Silver Mist which I dutifully bought, and returned to Australia with, for them.

For those that have never seen one, below is a specially decorated Bell Jar for Borneo 1834. I understand why you all covet them so freaking madly but they just do not ring my bells.

Borneo1834 parfumoPhoto Stolen Parfumo

WHAT YOU COULD WIN

There are 3 prizes today for our lovely readers who left a message in comments with a Serge Lutens fragrance I may have bought from the Palais Royal Store. Courtesy of the beautiful girls who work there there are 3 x Solid Sample Quartets to give away.

#1. De Profundis, Santal Blanc, Iris Silver Mist, Louve

#2. Chene, Un Bois Sepia, Borneo 1834, Vetiver Oriental

#3. Cuir Mauresque, Fumerie Turque, Boxeuses, Muscs Koublai Khan

Included is P&P to anywhere in the world

NO you don’t get to chose!!

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries closed Friday March 22nd 2013 10pm AEDST.
Winners were chosen by putting names on same sized papers, folded similarly, put on a tray and TSO Jin picked them. He doesn’t even stop watching TV to do it usually.

WINNERS berryreviewPhoto Stolen berryreview

Fiberliza

Kandice

LaurenW

CONGRATULATIONS!! The winners have till Wednesaday 27th March 2013 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or I will give the prize to someone else, or even keep it for myself.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.

With all our love in Birthday week at APJ.

Portia x

Karl Lagerfeld Interview

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 20 Comments

Hey All,

One of the men I most revere in fashion for his work and what seems, in a world where it’s so rare to find it nowadays, to be a delightful reticence to bare all every day for publicity. He is always friendly and charming in his interviews but restrained and totally about his craft and art.

Here he introduces his Fall-Winter 2013/14 Ready-to-Wear CHANEL show

CHANEL SeedOfHappinessPhoto stolen SeedOfHappiness

I do hope you enjoy it, the glimpses of the line we see look beautiful, wearable and saleable. BRAVO!

See you tomorrow,
Portia xx

Cuoio Nobile by Atelier Design Fragrance for Pineider 2012

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 15 Comments

Hello you magically scented beauties,

Another fab fragrance I was introduced to, and ultimately grabbed a bottle of, while on the Pont de Rialto bridge in Venice by the wonderful crew there. When they brought the testers out for me to try they even handled them reverently, as if carrying something extraordinary.

PonteDiRialto ItalyTravelsPhoto Stolen ItalyTravels

Cuoio Nobile by Pineider 2012

CuoioNobile FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, mandarin orange, galbanum and lavender
Heart: Cypress and suede
Base: Tobacco, patchouli, musk and tonka bean

The first thing you notice about Cuoio Nobile (Noble Leathers) is the packaging, a fabulous wooden box with intricate detailing that is rustic but finished. The when you open the lever and the lid the bottle has a very streamlined look and the lid has hand stitched softest leather wrapping: GORGEOUS!! Already in the shop it had exceeded expectations and my pulse was racing because this kind of attention to detail bodes well in my mind for the juice.

So the first spritz is leather, new leather, slightly coarse freshly back from the tanners and ready to be cut. The smell of a leather wholesalers or tack makers with wood in abundance. Maybe even in a woodland setting down wind from the woodcutters of old. It’s not till this initial deep, dark fragrance wafts away that the citrus even get a look in, and when it does it is muted, even the lavender is muted and merely in a back up role.

This is a fragrance about leather and woods, a beautiful, indecently sensual leather that you want to wrap yourself in. Like a new leather jacket that your partner has purchased and it already has whispers of his cologne on it. The lavender, patchouli and tonka are all murmering together in the background even through to the dry down. Cuoio Nobile is a fragrance to feel safe and warm in. Like you’ve stolen that jacket and thrown it on in a log cabin, even in an unused, unwarmed, wood sauna. Hard to explain and give you a real idea of how this smells except it is amazing.

I get extremely different wear life with Cuoio Nobile each time I have worn it. 4-8 hours. No, I don’t know why.

The team that created this line of 6 fragrances is ADF, Atelier Design Fragrance who give their address as Florence, Italy, and they are currently looking for worldwide distributorship.

PineiderlogoPhoto stolen Pineider

Pinieder history: In 1774 Francesco Pineider opened his first stationery shop in the heart of Florence, in Piazzdella Signoria, opposite Michelangelo’s David. In the early nineteenth century, at the request of privileged customers, Pineider created a series of extremely elegant writing desk objects such as pens, inks, folders and accessories. Later on Pineider introduced leather objects made in Florence by master craftsmen. The paper today is still worked by hand and is still coloured with natural pigments, the sheets are still water cut, and the watermark is present even in the heavy papers.

AtelierDesignFragrances site has 30ml/€95 which is what I paid in Venice (pricey I know but such a limited distribution and craftsmanship)

Unfortunately none of the sample houses have it to buy yet.

Have you tried Cuoio Nobile? Any of the Pineider scents? Are you as WOWed as I am?

Till Tomorrow,

Portia xx

12 Month Anniversary GIVEAWAY WINNERS

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 8 Comments

Hey Hey Gang,

As you may know we had our One Year Birthday Celebrations this week and to celebrate we did a special GIVEAWAY. Thank you to everyone who entered and wished us well at the one year mark. It has been a fun and wondrous journey. I’ve made cyber and flesh friends from all over the world and this is just the beginning!

Birthday Cake weddingnotPhoto Stolen WeddingNot

12 MONTH ANNIVERSARY GIVEAWAY!!

winners propercoursePhoto Stolen propercourse

Guerlain Soaps – SaffyIsHere

Kerosene Soap – Arielle

Kerosene Soap – KillerRabbit

The winners will have till Sunday 23rd March 2013 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or I will give the prize to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.

THE PRIZES

A four pack of beautifully boxed Eau Imperial 40g soaps in a very desirable presentation case from Guerlain on the first floor of the Galleries Lafayette.

2 x Kerosen X Pegasus Perfumed Soaps made especially for RELIEF Fundraiser out of Coconut, Palm and Castor oils from sexy John at Kerosene Fragrances

HOW DID YOU WIN?

You had to leave a comment wishing us congratulations. That’s IT!

For Extra Chances you had to Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie 12 MONTH ANNIVERSARY GIVEAWAY!! http://wp.me/p2fQBU-1pL @Guerlain

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Tuesday March 19th 2013 10pm AEDST.
Winners will be chosen by putting names on same sized papers, folded similarly, put on a tray and TSO Jin will pick them. He doesn’t even stop watching TV to do it usually. This one was important so he paid attention and was laughing at me because I’m so serious.

The winners will have till Sunday 23rd March 2013 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or I will give the prize to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.

Thank You All.
No matter what happens anywhere else in your life at APJ you are a cherished member of our family.

Portia xx

ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!! Statistics and First Post Reprise!!

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ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!

Tomorrow, the 18th March marks 365 days of continuous posts on AustralianPerfumeJunkies. What started out as two besties having a bash has turned into quite a going concern and I cannot believe I have stuck to it with such tenacity. Many of you have been with us from the earliest posts and I thank you for your support and sometimes forebearance. Also welcome to our newest followers, I hope you enjoy being a part of our APJ family. Your readership and comments keep us coming back to the computer every day, week and month.

A big THANK YOU goes out to all our Guest Post providers. Without you all and your amazing contributions I worry that APJ would be nothing. All of you, past and present, are amazing and I am inspired by you all every week. EvieC, Madeleine, EmmaKate, Katrina, Dionne, Suzanne R Banks, Val the Cookie Queen, Robert “Radium” Maxwell, Tim, Margeaux, Jordan River, Michael: Each of you has brought something new and amazing to APJ and I am proud and honoured that you give up precious spare time to write, sniff and sniff some more. Many of you we have welcomed into our home for wonderful meals and fragrant conversations. YOU ARE AMAZING!!

Another THANK YOU to my bestie and partner Kath and Jin, how blessed am I? Life just got a whole lot rosier now that we are all on site. Nothing I could ever write here would come close to how much I love, revere, adore you both and am grateful for your continued inclusion in my life. You are my family.

OneYear southernshopaholicPhoto Stolen SouthernShopaholic

Some stats

379 Posts
5,594 Comments
129,870 Visitors
Best Month was November 2012 – 22,525
Best Day was November 13 2012 – 1,165
Most Click Throughs from Perfume Posse, Olfactoria’s Travels, Google
Most Click Throughs to Perfume Posse, Posh Peasant, Surrender To Chance

Now I am looking forward to the next 12 months. We have some wonderful things in the pipeline and are prepped and ready to go for some others. Looking into the future is hard because it’s looking so BRIGHT!!

I wish you all Health, Wealth and Happiness on our journey together for the next twelve months.
LOVE LOVE LOVE
Portia xxxx

As a reminiscence, here is our first post on fragrance

Tabac Original by Maurer & Wirtz

Cheapy McCheap! and Cheerful.

So yesterday morning we awoke very late, it was almost time to rush out the door for pedicures and then Yum Cha (or YUMMY CHA CHA CHA!). No time to decide on anything really. Raining outside, meeting besties (big HELLO to Kath & Alice & Jin), no pressure. On went super comfy new sloppy joe, jeans, thongs. Perfume, fragrance, something?? Can’t think. Can’t think. Can’t think. Reaching…….

Maurer & Wirtz Tabac Original EDT spray, modern incarnation, comes back towards me in my hand. Really brain? Really hand? Clearly my mind and body have understood what my inner self would never have said. Spray on my thorax twice, one wrist, one elbow, mash. Wait and waft…………..

An Aromatic Fougere (pronounced Foo zair but the z is almost a j like the Chinese say Beijing) and if you want the notes then Fragrantica is your spot. Woody, herbal, floral, tobacco and aldehydic are the given accords there and on my skin I get a rush of citrus and herbs at the opening, it squeals a bit, then as my skin warms the fragrance (and it does, I can feel a warm reaction, a bit like Vicks Vaporub) then the powdery iris and lavender saunter in MMMMM. By the time I am at our destination Tabac is humming along nicely with the flora, woods and herbs all whiffling up my sloppy joe each time I move. This is a perfect warm but rainy day fragrance for the casual event. At lunch I am complimented by a discerning girlfriend who is gobsmacked that something so inexpensive can be this lovely. I concur. Hours later, snuggling with my partner I can still smell a tiny and very sexy hint of musk and vanilla. So good I’ve come in to reapply and go through the story again. Now, going back to see if it works, it would on me.

PS. Worked a treat!Photo Stolen from Fragrantica

Thanks for reading,
Portia xx

Don’t Forget to enter our 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY GIVEAWAY!!(<<JUMP)