Portia

Portia’s Christmas For The Boys Shopping Guide

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 26 Comments

Hello Fraught Funies,

OMG!! How is it Christmas again? I used to be a done all my Christmas Shopping by the end of the July Sales kinda person but the last few years I have put it off and put it off and then end up in a mad December scramble. I am composing a list of the things I’d like to grab for my partner Jin this year and letting you look over my shoulder as I do it. He will probably only get one from this list as I have a couple of other things in mind to add in.

Portia’s Christmas For The Boys Shopping Guide

CasswellMasseySandalwoodSoap GraysOnlinePhoto Stolen GraysOnline

Caswell – Massey Sandalwood Soap 3 x 5.8oz: This is a well packaged and deliciously scented set of Sandalwood smelling soaps. They act as a great base for loads of mens fragrances and give back a little of the rich buttery sandalwood missing from so many modern incarnations. There is also a 243ml body lotion pump pack. They both come in boxes for ease of wrapping. At FragranceNet I found the pair of them after discount for under $35

Yatagan eBay

Caron, Yatagan EdT: Named after the curve bladed Turkish sabre Yatagan is a green, woodsy, leather, spice and sweat mixture that is surprising, interesting, masculine and dead sexy. Released back in 1976 Yatragan is a manly masterpiece for a super great price. FragranceNet has 125ml Edt spray for under $40

LorenzoVilloresiSampleSet FirstInFragragrance

Lorenzo Villoresi – Fragrance Collection – Sample Set: I found this stunning set and have been panting after it for myself. 16 x 1.5ml sprays showing a fabulous selection of the range for only €30 on FirstInFragrance and a little hint, if you are shopping Internationally you pay no tax so spending around €100 and the shipping will be the same as the saved tax. Woo Hoo!

L_Artisan_Batucada_Eau_de_Toilette_100mlPhoto Stolen L’Artisan

L’Artisan Parfumeur, Batucada EdT: Spicy, salty citrus tempered by flowers, flesh and sea in a lovely nod to cocktails and samba in Brazil on Ipanema Beach. Bright, bold, fresh and daring while being a completely modern masculine, and those engraved hexagonal bottles look so rich and have great heft in your hands. Parfum1 has 50ml for $100

JuniperSling lovelypackagePhoto Stolen lovelypackage

Penhaligon’s, Juniper Sling: Recently I was lucky enough to win a bottle of Juniper Sling from TheCandyPerfumeBoy and I can’t stop spritzing. It is a fabulously boozy cool climate forest walk that gives you a sharp slap in the face to wake you up and then warms on skin into a deliciously warm masculine clean body smell. OMG! Seriously gorgeous stuff and EssentialMall has 50ml for as little as $101. BTW The box is even more lavish looking in real life

Maître ParfumeuretGantierDiscovery FirstInFragrance

Maître Parfumeur et Gantier – Les Masculins – Discovery Set: Discover the universe of Maître Parfumeur et Gantier. A choice of 15 fragrances presented in 13 ml refillable atomizers, personally I think this is ridiculously good value and look at the presentation. FirstInFragrance has this gorgeous set for €119

Pear&Olive

Slumberhouse, Pear + Olive: If you want something so completely different to anything else available, you are buying for a perfumista, want to look like you are all over the best new stuff by the coolest crews and are way ahead of the game then this is the best buy you could wish for. The juice is a surprising almost clash of sweet and savoury, is dense and light simultaneously, warm, ferocious, cool and charming and comes in a killer engraved bottle with plenty of heft that will look totally now and retro on every vanity. Get onto the Slumberhouse site where 50ml will cost $150 + $12 International Postage. this is the good shit!

inekeeveningedgedingold LibertinePhoto Stolen Libertine

INeKE, Evening Edged In Gold: I know that you wouldn’t normally pick this as a masculine fragrance but it smells terrific on my partner Jin, a spicy, floral woodsy fragrance that sizzles on him in the most alluring way and makes me want to get really close. The bottle is a beautiful work of art too. Libertine in Australia has 75ml $160 including postage

Picture 3357Photo stolen LucyScent

Amouage EdP Miniatures Men’s Gift Set: Really want to spend some money on a lavish gift? Try the six best selling Amouage Men’s Fragrances in miniatures. Each 7.5ml bottle is a perfect mini replica of the real thing. Included are: Lyric, Jubilation XXV, Reflection, Gold, Dia & Silver. Many of the world’s stores are sold out but Libertine still has some in stock for $280 including Postage

Did that help at all? It has certainly sorted some stuff out in my head. What fragrant gifts are you thinking for the men in your life?
See you tomorrow,

Portia xx

Portia’s Affordable Christmas Giving Fragrance List

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 16 Comments

Hey All,

Today on the PerfumePosse I look at a bunch of Fragrant Gift Certificates. Excellent Christmas option.

We are all going a little Christmas Cuckoo here at APJ. I thought I would swing in with some lovely and affordable fragrant gifts. Many of us have had to tighten our belts over the last 12 months and it’s getting harder to find something that gives the feeling of luxury in these straightened circumstances, so here are a few of my favourite cheapies that may help you to fill stockings for less.

Japanese Rose set bathandunwindPhoto stolen Bath&Unwind

Korres: Japanese Rose: I use the shower gel and body butter to layer under rose scents like Rosa Sur Reuse by SOIVOHLE and Midnight Oud by Juliette Has A Gun. They came together as a pack 2 Christmas ago and I have constantly kept a stock ever since, now onto my 4th set I think. You can still get the set from Bath & Unwind for around $30

OneSeed Samples ETSY

One Seed natural perfume sample set: This is a great way to get to know one of Australia’s budding niche perfume houses. You will receive 8 x 1ml samples and including International Postage for only $30 at the One seed ETSY Store

Kiehl's Original MuskPhoto Stolen Kiehl’s

Kiehl’s Original Musk: I have the fragrance and body lotion and often use the body lotion to plump up the funk on modern formulations of old favourite fragrances like Rochas Femme, YSL Rive Gauche and CHANEL No 5. Currently 200ml body lotion is around $35 online at Kiehl’s

MangoMelt LUSHPhoto Stolen LUSH

LUSH You’ve Been Mangoed Bath Melt: This comes in a 30gram tablet that I cut into 4 and use separately so each one lasts for four baths. Here in Australia they retail for only $8.50 which works out to $2.12 per bath. BARGAIN. And it’s a great base for some delicious mango dripping fragrances like NVC Bombay Bling or Hermes Un Jardin Sur Le Nil. Available from LUSHCosmetics

BDep Coming To My sensesPhoto Stolen BookDepository

Coming To My Senses by Alyssa Harad: Whether you are buying for a perfumista or not this is a great tale that keeps you turning pages and wishing for a sequel at the end. The story of a woman’s fragrant searching for where she belongs. BookDepository has the hardback for around $20 delivered worldwide!!

sunset people logo

Smell Bent, Sunset People Sample Pack: If you’ve spent any time at all on AustralianPerfumeJunkies then you’ll know what fans we are of the Smell Bent ranges by that uber hottie Brent Leonesio. Sunset People Sample Pack features 5 x 4ml EdT Travel Sprays of their latest juices for only $28 with such excellent names as Disco Nap and Walk of Shame! Wonderful stocking filler from SmellBent.

Halle carapharmacyPhoto stolen carapharmacy

Halle by Halle Berry: I use the body lotion and the fragrance. This is a fabulously wearable woody floral fragrance which has a slightly bitter chocolate feeling about it while still being sweetly amber. The body lotion adds depth and hours of extra wear life.  At CheapSmells you can get the 50ml EdP and 200ml Lotion separately but they add up to under $30.

BDep DiaryOfANosePhoto Stolen BookDepository

Jean-Claude Ellena, The Diary Of A Nose: I found this an interesting look at a year in the life of a perfumer. Not trying to be a sensational story but a look at how much travel, meetings and associated stuff come with being a perfume creator. At times during it I felt that it must be very frustrating sometimes when you want to create but the world impinges. He also gives some fascinating self observances and all done in great good humour. I already liked him before I read this but felt like I knew something of him after. BookDepository has the hardback for around $22 delivered worldwide.

Olympic Orchids samples deluxePhoto Stolen Olympic Orchids

Olympic Orchids Deluxe Sample Set: 16 x 2ml samples of the Olympic Orchids range for only $40 including International Shipping! This is the ultimate affordable gift for any aspiring perfumista or already deep in the wormhole devotee. Go have a look at Olympic Orchids Samples

JeRiviensLotion ProductReview

Worth, Je Riviens body lotion: I know, I know! The fragrance has been cheapened and thinned beyond a whisper of its former self. The lotion is still lovely though and at around $7 for 200ml you can’t go wrong for keeping those wintery ambers in place all day long like L’Artisan’s L’Eau d’Ambre and Ambre Narguile by Hermes. I buy it from CheapSmells

$10GiftCert seekcheaper

Gift Certificates: Many of my favourite online stores do Gift Certificates too. Part of the joy of my fragrance addiction is the seeking and finding what I want for myself so here are a few links to sites that offer them, from as little as $1. Jin often gets me a $50 Posh Peasant Voucher that gets mailed to me and I love them. That can be as many as 20 samples and postage, depending. See what I mean, cool and classy gift for a perfumista to receive.

PoshPeasant from $25
ThePerfumedCourt from $10
SurrenderToChance from $1 – $100
MyPerfumeSamples from $15
AftelierPerfumes from $20
FragranceNet from $20
FragranceX from $5 – $500

I hope this has helped you all shop smarter.
With huge wafts of fragrant love,
Portia xx

Victoria’s Secret 12/13

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 15 Comments

Hey Perfume buddies,
Tonight we are TOTALLY off topic. Sorry. I have a blocked nose and can’t even smell a fresh blast of Montale Black Aoud. KAPUT!!
Don’t worry I’ll be back and better tomorrow, I’ll just let it ride for 24 hours.
.

Vic secret izismile.comPhoto stolen izismile.com

So what are you getting instead? The most amazing show on earth. Victoria’s Secret 12/13 Runway. It is beyond words, please enjoy,
Portia xxxx

.Vic Secret fanpop.comPhoto stolen fanpop.com

Muguet des Bois EdC by Henri Robert for Coty 1941

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

Hello Gorgeouses!

Sometimes I like to go totally opposite from the high end of the fragrance register because I just want to smell good, not challenged or have to work hard to understand what I’m up to in the life cycle or even worry about the respritz value. Sometimes I want simple, pretty, cheap, cheerful and ultimately wearable fragrance. Lily of the valley is not a flower I am knowledgeable about in smell or growth. I do remember one year Mum and I bought and planted some pots of what was sold as lily of the valley but they did not live long enough to flower and that soured me on the whole plant so I have often overlooked it in fragrances.

Muguet des Bois EdC by Coty 1941

MuguetDesBois FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Aldehydes, orange, green leaves, bergamot
Heart: Cyclamen, lilac, jasmine, lily-of-the-valley, rose
Base: Sandalwood, musk

A bright green citrus opening  sings out sweetly and quite syrup-ish. The bouquet is pretty and light, perfect during winter for reminiscence of spring and as a coolant in the hot summer months, the flowers remain green throughout the life of Muguet Des Bois. I currently have a vase full of Asiatic lilies, not Casablanca, and the scent is so like Muguet Des Bois that it’s uncanny. They are beautiful big pink and white flowers, huge! This is what they smell like too. Even as it fades towards dry down at the 3 hour mark the sandalwood is only a slight buttery warmth, leaving only the softest whisper of a skin scent that’s completely lost to me for another hour or so maximum.

AsiaticLily25.73895Photo Stolen sito

Compared to Vintage Diorissimo Parfum (which is all I have) it is more sugared and way less stark, it also feels more transparent and gauzy, and let’s be perfectly honest cheaper. Looking at their respective price points though Muguet Des Bois is WAY better value because you can only tell how much cheaper side by side.

I think that Muguet Des Bois would be a wonderful work scent, as long as they aren’t fragrance phobic or too cramped quarters. It is also a lovely shopping, dining, dating fragrance, so fresh and light while being fragrant but not “clean”. Know what I mean?

LilyOfTheValley ausgradenerPhoto Stolen ausgardener

The most expensive I found 50ml on the discounters was $14, what a sensational bargain. Thank you Coty.

Further reading NowSmellThis and YesterdaysPerfume
Parfum1 has 50ml for $8

Have you smelt Mugeut Des Bois? Do you have a fave Lily Of The Valley scent?

Till tomorrow remember dreams only need persistent action to make them happen,

Portia xx

HOPE FOR HOPE – FRIDAY DECEMBER 7TH – One Seed Perfumes

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 5 Comments

Hi Everyone,

Today AustralianPerfumeJunkies is dropping in early because we think this is a very important, wonderful and amazing offer from one of Australia’s fabulous Niche Perfumers Liz Cook at One Seed. I have stolen the ad copy exactly from the email but down the bottom there is a quick review of the fragrance HOPE

one seed banner vials

HOPE FOR HOPE – FRIDAY DECEMBER 7TH

On Friday December 7th, we are launching our first annual “Hope for Hope Day”, where ALL profits from sales of Hope perfumes and body creams will be donated to one of our favourite charities, Australia Hope International.

Hope for Hope is for one day only, so if you have your eye on a bottle of our Hope perfume, or you are looking for a beautiful gift (and one that gives twice!), then shop at http://www.oneseedcompany.com on Friday December 7th to make your purchase really count.

HOPE image

Australia Hope International works with the destitute people of Uganda & The Congo to bring hope and empowerment, and to change lives. Over 97% of funds donated go directly to the people in need. Australia Hope International is making a huge difference in the lives of tens of thousands of people in Africa. We are proud to be sponsors of this wonderful organisation.

Hope – Eau de Parfum

Hope eau de parfum

From the One Seed Website
Fragrance Family: Soft, mossy & magnetic.
A meditative blend of Australian sandalwood & dewy oakmoss, with a delicate undertone of lavender & cedarwood, and sunny citrus accents.
Top notes: bergamot, lime
Heart notes: cedarwood, lavender, vanilla
Base notes: Australian sandalwood, oakmoss, musk ambrette

Hope is a beautiful, rippling and sizzling citrus that leads into a walk through the woods on a sunlit spring or autumn day where the shade is cool but the sun is warm. A delightfully dappled experience weaving between light and shade that is remarkably tenacious for a natural. The vanilla plays background but keeps a warmth running through the heart that remains slightly fizzy from the lime. A study in contrasts, Hope is interesting enough for a perfumista, pretty and wearable enough for a novice and world class quality. Better by far than many of the mundane offerings currently offered.

Further reading APJ Hope
Here is the link to HOPE on the OneSeedWebsite 50ml/$87

This is an awesome Christmas Gift and at the same time you will be helping the world and some of its less fortunate. Isn’t that what Christmas should be about?
Portia xx

Bombay Bling by Bertrand Duchaufour for Neela Vermeire Creations 2011

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 31 Comments

Hello You Lovely Perfumistas,

Today we are looking at the last of the Neela Vermeire Creations for me to fall madly in love with. I have been wearing Mohur for months now. That glorious hit of sweet and spicy rose is hard to beat. Loved Trayee on first sniff and quickly went through my sample and then 10ml in the Discovery Set and never really got to Bombay Bling.

Bombay Bling by Neela Vermeire Creations 2011

BombayBling FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives the featured accords:
Top: French labdanum, caraway, mango, litchi, blackcurrant, cardamom
Heart: Jasmine, rose, tuberose, yang-ylang, gardenia, frangipani
Base: Virginia cedar, sandalwood, leather, patchouli, woodsy notes, vanilla

As you may know I am so not a fruity patchouli fragrance wearer, those sweet plastic mass produced headache inducers are just not how I wish to smell. Why am I telling you this? Because that’s what I thought Bombay Bling was going to be, and in some ways it is but so much better, more interesting, wearable and exciting. This is the Empress of Fruit-chouli, the benchmark that all others must set themselves against and unfortunately most are found wanting. This is what other Fruit-choulis dream of becoming when they grow up.

MumbaiBling mumbai.olx.inPhoto Stolen mumbai.olx

Bombay Bling opens loud and sweet and fun, though it does invoke the sweltering streets and stalls of summertime Mumbai it could equally be a South American or Pacific Island marketplace. Freshly cut fruits including the majestic mango, are spliced with spice and a creamy warmth, like a masala fruit salad and cream. This rich and intoxicating fruity swirl lasts for ages, nearly an hour and makes me want to go out dancing, flirting and cha cha cha-ing. The bouquet opens up slowly, streaming through the fruit over a long period, unnoticed till near complete take over has occurred and it’s a hot, white and green sensation still with an undercurrent of sweet fruits that slowly becomes sweet woodsy patchouli till the only thing left is a whisper of vanilla and butter that stays for hours and hours and hours. TSO Jin early on claimed Bombay Bling for his own and on him it is glorious and super long lasting, I can smell it next morning and into the day.

Want some Bombay Bling? Order from the e-boutique in www.neelavermeire.com

Darling Portia
What do you think? If they mention “Portia” they get free shipping until 10 Dec. 2012. 
Is that good?
We plan not to ship between 10 Dec and 10 Jan.
Thank you again. NV Xoxoxoxo

MumbaiSari SareeTimesPhoto Stolen sareetimes

Neela Vermeire Perfume Posse Giveaway

Neela Vermeire has kindly given me some wonderful things to be given away on the Perfume Posse this week. So you have THREE chances to win!!

What’s In The Packs:

There are three 2ml vial sets of Bombay Bling, Mohur & Trayee. Each winner will get one set.

How Do You Enter?

Your answer must be entered in the comments on the Perfume Posse where the Neela Vermeire Creations LIVE Video Sniff is happening right now.

You must follow AustralianPerfumeJunkies via RSS, Email, WordPress, please tell me RSS/eM/WP in your comment. Yes, you can join and follow to be eligible. EASY!

You must also tell me any Indian (Subcontinent not Amer-Indian) State/Union Territory or State Capital City. NO DOUBLE UPS!! There are 35 States/Union Territories  and their Capitals before we need to repeat anything. Once the comment number reaches 140, that’s your comments and my replies, then we can start doubling up. Got It? EASY PEASY!! Here’s a list to help you

Housekeeping

Entries Close Saturday December 8th 10pm AEDST and winners will be announced in a separate post on Perfume Posse on Sunday. 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.
Winners will have till Wednesday December 12th 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.

Don’t want to wait? Need your Neela Vermeire Creations fix right nnow? Here you can buy her Try India sets and the Discovery sets

GO TO IT!! The Perfume Posse
See you tomorrow,
Portia xx

Jai Ho

Quelques Fleurs LIVE Video Sniff

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 18 Comments

Hey Hey All You Happy Huffers,

Today Margeaux (David) and I are thrilled to bring you a vintage Quelques Fleurs by Robert Bienaime for Houbigant in 1913. It is the only fragrance created by him that Fragrantica has listed. Soon I will bring you a full post on Quelques Fleurs.

QuelquesFleurs FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Orange blossom, green notes, tarragon, bergamot, lemon, citruses
Heart: Carnation, tuberose, orchid, lilac, orris root, jasmine, heliotrope, ylang-ylang, lily-of-the-valley, rose, violet, iris
Base: Sandalwood, tonka bean, amber, musk, civet, oakmoss, honey and vanilla.

Further reading 1000Flowers
FragranceX has 50ml EdP $39

Thanks for watching, I hope you have a great time watching our silliness.

Till tomorrow take care of you and yours,

Portia xx

Aftelier Perfumes Giveaway Winners Announced

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 5 Comments

Hey Hey All,

We have the best response EVER to a giveaway. Thank You all for getting on board and getting involved. I hope you’ve had as much fun as we have had reading all your great comments and new favourite Aftelier Fragrances.

Thank you Mandy Aftel for bringing us this wonderful week of Aftelier goodness. And yes, Mandy is as lovely, talented, driven and proactive as she looks. What a girl!!

AFTELIER PERFUMES GIVEAWAY WINNERS!

Photo Stolen

How Did You Enter?

You had to follow AustralianPerfumeJunkies via RSS, Email, WordPress and tell me RSS/eM/WP in your comment.

You must also tell me any Aftelier Perfume/EdP/Candle/Tea/Chef’s Essence currently available on the Aftelier Perfume Website 

What’s In The Packs?

PACK #1
Lumiere Spray Tester
Tango Spray Tester
Wild Roses Parfum Splash Micro

PACK #2
Wild roses Spray Tester
Secret Garden Spray Tester
Honey Blossom Parfum Splash Micro

EXTRA!!!
We had nearly 60 Indinidual Commenters and so that means we draw one $25 Aftelier Gift Certificate

Mandy Aftel has kindly offered to match that so we have TWO GIFT CERTIFICATES worth $25

Extra Chances
You could earn an extra chance each for
Facebooking this link: AFTELIER DOUBLE GIVEAWAY https://australianperfumejunkies.com/2012/11/29/aftelier-perfumes-double-giveaway/
Tweeting this: https://australianperfumejunkies.com/2012/11/29/aftelier-perfumes-double-giveaway/ @OzPerfumeJunkie Aftelier Perfumes DOUBLE GIVEAWAY

Entries Closed Saturday December 1st 10pm AEDST. Winners were chosen by putting names on same sized papers, folded similarly, put on a tray and TSO Jin picked them.
Winners will have till Wednesday December 5th 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 too.

AND

winners propercoursePhoto Stolen propercourse

Aftelier Packs

Erin
Joaquim

$25 Gift Certificates

Undina
Tomatefarcie

Winners will have till Wednesday December 5th 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 too.

Thank You, Thank You, Thank you for giving yourselves so generously and being our APJ family. Next week we have another AWESOME GIVEAWAY. Don’t miss it.
Portia xx

Dot by Annie Buzantian and Ann Gottlieb for Marc Jacobs 2012

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 18 Comments

Hello Christmas Shoppers,

Buying for tweens, teens and young adults can be hard. Perfume buying for same a NIGHTMARE! Not only because they are mainly so indoctrinated and brain washed to think that sweet, fruity, patchouli and clean musks are the only things that smell good but also because they are often so damn ungrateful about the time you’ve taken to get something that you feel is just right. In the end it’s easier to go with the flow.

Dot by Marc Jacobs 2012

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Pitahaya (Dragon Fruit), red berries, honeysuckle
Heart: Coconut, orange blossom, jasmine
Base: Musk, vanilla, driftwood

When I first saw that Marc Jacobs was doing Dot with the super crazy bottle I was all, ” Oh Gawd! What a freakin’ SHOCKER! Why bother with that gimmicky CRAPOLA! He has insulted our intelligence with BLEAGH!” And then I read the note list and thought maybe this will be a little different. Still I only gave it a mini spritz as I was wandering the department store counters and smelled sweet fruits, went immediately to the bathroom and after that washed my hands, so the only impression I got of Marc Jacob’s Dot was the Gawd awful bottle and sweet fruit. Then I saw the below interview and read a bit about the 2 perfumers responsible for Dot who between them are responsible for some super great fragrances, Annie Buzantian, Pleasures & Puredistance 1 and Ann Gottlieb, CK Contradiction & SJP Covet. Maybe it’s time to revisit Dot with Christmas coming up because if I buy the young ones fragrance that I would wear then it will sit unused forever.

So it was with great trepidation I decided to go back to the mall. At this point I just finished reading PerfumePosseHATEList and guess what? Dot was #2 after Marc Jacobs Lola. Oh Dear!

OK. Dot was nice, but not amazing, and not something I could imagine myself wearing. I can see the youth market enjoying it and it lasted about 5 hours before I lost it completely. Opens big and bright and fruity, calms quickly and then pretty linear but the fruity sweetness becomes more vanilla towards the dry down. I did not hate it and can’t imagine anyone being offended by your wearing it.

Photo Stolen langhamherbs

If you want to read further NowSmellThis

FragranceShop has 50ml $71
MyPerfumeSamples starts at $3/ml but I got the $9/5ml deal

I hope this has been some help when searching for a more youthful fragrance and idea. It’s pretty and safe but will be an excellent gateway product for budding perfumistas, they will have a cut above their peer celebuscents but not be out of their league.
Good luck,
Portia xx

Marc Jacobs talks about Dot

Dot Ad

Aftelier Perfumes Reviews

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 18 Comments

Hey Fumie Crew,

Don’t forget to have a go in our Aftelier Giveaway in yesterdays post and check my Guest Post on PerfumePosse today please,

Wednesday we were lucky enough to Interview Mandy Aftel, you still have time to enter Thursday’s Aftelier Giveaway and today we are looking at 3 of her fragrances. Two of these, Sepia and Parfum de Maroc, are already in my Fragrance Library on high rotation and I have a feeling the newest release Wild Roses isn’t far behind. I’m putting Wild Roses at the top of my Christmas Wish List and you might think about buying someone you love a set of the samples with a promissory note of a full bottle if they love one.

Wild Roses

Photo Stolen PerfumePharmer

Floral: to capture in perfume the experience of walking around my garden and smelling each rose, as their perfumes blended in my nose.
Top: rose CO2, heliotropin, bergamot, geraniol, m-methyl anthranilate, damascenone.
Heart: apricot, Turkish rose absolute, pimento berry, p-ethyl alcohol, rose petals attar.
Base: tarragon absolute, vanilla absolute, indole, aged patchouli.

I love the opening in Wild roses, dark like deep red rose petals left to dry and alcoholic. Imagine rose water and brandy but not mixed; side by side, like that; you get the idea. I dabbed and I find it rich, treacle-ish and warming. Sizzling rose water sherbet so thick you can become lost. I am going to order a bit more for myself so I can spritz. My mind is offerering me no perfume correlation to this magnificent rose. Spicy, boozy, fresh, dark, sweet, narcotic and magical: Mandy Aftel says this is to have become drunk on the scent of all roses. Yes, it certainly gives that feeling, floating o a sea of roses, buoyant, drifting. Only into the first hour but I’m finding it a linear scent that seems to be warming slowly, it feels like it will be around for hours and hours more.

Further reading PerfumePharmer and SmellyThoughts

Parfum de Maroc


Photo Stolen from Aftelier

I forgot what a delicious journey Parfum de Maroc (perfume of Morocco) takes you on. At once spicy, sweet and resinous like the best curries the opening of Parfum de Maroc is so enticing and full of nuance. It is warm here in Sydney and I feel like I’m back in Africa or India standing near a street vendor as the spices hit the ghee on the hot pan under the baking sun.This is the kind of spicy gourmand that makes me salivate in expectation of a flavour explosion. I now remember what saffron smells like because the opening is pure saffron and cardamom, and reminds me of sitting with my BFF Kath on my birthday at the Wildflower Hall in Shimla watching the chefs cook fabulous meals through the glass and flirting outrageously with our waiter. I get 4-6 hours from Parfum de Maroc depending on my day.

From Aftelier Perfumes website;
Spicy floral inspired by an ancient Moroccan spice recipe Ras el Hanout or “top of the shop” – a mixture of the best spices a seller has to offer….
Top: saffron, galangal.
Heart: Turkish rose, nutmeg.
Base: cardamom, myrrh.

Further reading ThisBlogReallyStinks and TheAlembicatedGenie

Sepia

Photo Stolen from perfumepharmer

Sepia is a bit of a blockbuster on my skin. It is warm and dusty, floral and powdery, woody, smoky, dry and sere and smells to me like rural Australia. I can close my eyes and smell the unbroken expanses of sun beaten, dessicated red-earth desert where the properties are 1000’s of square kilometers with sheep, wheat and cattle. Many of the smaller towns have been engulfed in the last 50 years and stand silent, crumbling, with only their stone chimneys left like a mouth full of broken teeth. Sepia is the outback. It is also lovely and surprisingly strong. Still powering at 3 hours, now smelling like attics and bookstores Sepia warms and dirties towards dry down at around 5 hours with a skin scent remnant for a couple more.

From Aftelier Perfumes website;
Dry woods: Sepia is a tint, a watercolor wash, an atmosphere, a memory
Top: blood cedarwood, yellow mandarin, pink grapefruit.
Heart: pink lotus, strawberry, jasmine grandiflorum, cocoa, coffee.
Base: flowering tobacco, oud, indole, ambergris, cepes, labdanum.

Further reading PerfumeShrine and TheAlembicatedGenie

All of these delicious fragrances and many more available as well as candles, teas and cooking flavours at AftelierPerfumeswhere they have a sensational Sample Program

I hope you have enjoyed our Mandy Aftel and Aftelier Perfumes extravaganza this week. Don’t forget to go back to yesterday and have a go in our Aftelier Giveaway, good luck. Also don’t forget to go and check my Guest Post on PerfumePosse today please, say Hi while you’re there, it gives me shivers of pleasure when you do.

Till tomorrow,
Portia xx