Last Sydney Sniffy Get Together 2016

January 2, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 1 Comment

Portia

Hi there crew.

On the 30th December 2016 a small crew of fragrance/fragrant enthusiasts got together to troll the Sydney City department store David Jones. Then we headed down the road to extremely Ra Cha Cha hotel and watering hole QT Sydney at 49 Market St for nibbles and beverages. It was a fun, frolicsome crew with loads of smiles and laughs, spritzing, bitching and fabulous repartee. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment and got to spend some quality time with people I’d only ever spent skim time with.

Last Sydney Sniffy Get Together 2016

Normally we would fit in more than one fragrant store but on this particular day David Jones had enough to keep our noses and credit cards working hard for about 2 hours before we all catwalk down to drinks.

Here is a small snapshot of our afternoon.

Here are TinaG, Jocelyn Fullerton of Cult Of Scent and Angela.

With the handsome Simon

Kerri & Gina

Angela, Gina & Chairman Meow

Angela, Gina, TinaG, Chairman Meow, Kerri

At QT Sydney

Maybe you should get together with some like minded frag heads in 2017. It’s amazing how much fun we all have together.
Portia xx

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2017

December 31, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 16 Comments

Portia

Hey All,

Thank You for another year of amazing fragrance chatter and beyond. Last year I wrote that the world was in trouble. SHIT! Seems the world took that as a challenge. Brexit, Putin, Trump, the Middle East, Europe, Africa, almost everywhere there is backlash against saving our planet, it’s flora and fauna and people. Big business has us all hoodwinked and most governments are in the pockets of Pharmaceuticals (drugs), War (guns) and Oil. The big picture is bleak.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2017

Around me though I see regular bright sparks of creative giving and helping that gives me hope for the small picture. Jin cut his beautiful hair for leukaemia fundraising this year and raised thousands. He did it on my Mum’s The gang at Hair by Phd Parramatta Store cut it for free so we could send it off to become a wig for children with leukaemia. Jin is a dead set hero in my eyes.

My friends Rita and Cathy (and a GF of theirs whose name I can’t bloody remember) are fundraising and cooking with the One Meal crew here in Sydney to provide one decent meal a week to families who are right on the edge of the poverty line and street people. We did a Turbo Trivia Fundraiser for them and raised nearly $22,000. In a year filled with fundraising this was a major highlight.

Another mate Matt Moore and his buddies Matt White and Ben Dunley have started the idea of using the Aussie men’s mates’ mantra ‘Grab a pie, Grab a mate, Have a chat’ helping men to talk about their feelings. From Matt’s own depression problems sprung this idea of doing something so regular, so common amongst Aussie mates and making it a moment to discuss life issues. In 2015, preliminary data showed a total of 3,027 deaths by suicide (12.7 per 100,000), 2,292 males (19.4 per 100,000) and 735 females (6.2 per 100,000). Aussie guys are 3x more likely suicide and at a rate of over 6 per day, from a population of just over 23 million. That’s bad, anything that can help is good. Go visit Guys & Pies and donate.

What do I do? Well, I give myself at a heavily discounted rate for fundraisers, help a few people who I know are struggling sometimes with food, time or cash, give regularly to charities that I feel the money is being spent on helping not admin and we rescue dogs. While none of these things are earth shattering they are game changing for the people that are helped. That’s all I can do.

So Happy New Year Australian Perfume Junkies. To everyone that’s contributed, commented, lurked and followed I wish you a peaceful & prosperous 2017. Fill it with fun & laughter, fragrance and stuff you enjoy. Make time to care for yourself, push yourself to be the best you can be and treat everyone you come in contact with as you’d hope to be treated.

We love you all,
Portia xx

Stash SJP by Laurent Le Gurney + Clement Gavarry for Sarah Jessica Parker 2016

December 30, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 8 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey there Fragrance Family,

There is usually a buzz around any Sarah Jessica Parker release. Her story told by Chandler Burr in his Frag-Umentary caused me to fall even more in love with the actress and now 4 of her fragrances are in my collection. Now if you’ve read the story you’ll know that SJP had a 3 fragrance layering daily routine that she really wanted to emulate in her first fragrance but Coty wouldn’t let her so they made Lovely.

Book Depository $13

To be perfectly honest I was not expecting much from this new release because over the last few scents I have noticed a definite diminution in the SJP brands artistic merit and presentation. This though is her first departure from the Coty brand and moving across to Ulta in the USA (info from Colgnoisseur). So it was with mildly nervous steps, even though it had been getting raves all round, I made my way to Chemist Warehouse in Parramatta to check it out.

Stash SJP by Sarah Jessica Parker 2016

Stash SJP by Laurent Le Gurney + Clement Gavarry

Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Grapefruit zest, Black pepper, Sage
Heart: Atlas cedar, Patchouli, Ginger lily, Pistachio
Base: Frankincense, Massoia wood, Vetiver, Musk

Straight into black pepper that has it’s dryness cut through with some sweetness that I place as mildly citrus and does not feel as outrageous as grapefruit, maybe the green sage and spicy ginger are giving it a broader appeal. Woods, yes plenty. Pistachio? Um nope, not yet. I have respritzed after 5 minutes and interestingly the sage is the most prominent top not before the pepper comes through and then we go smooth. The whole fragrance smooths out beautifully. Still very noticeable but calmer and a sweet, non hippy patchouli tangos with the ginger and the herbs.

WikiCommons

Then I become anosmic to Stash, it disappears for me. I know I’m still fragrant because Jin says I still have a heavy perfume but I can smell almost nothing. A ghost of Stash, a faint woody nothing that lingers softly. BUM. OK, so that’s not 100% accurate, if I go do something like make a coffee or take the dogs for a walk I do get flashes of fragrance. Little huffs of something very nice, dry, a little bit like a dry sauna but not.

Stash smells like the woodsy, scratchy, peppered “niche” that annoys Val but softer and more lighthearted. It’s easier, quite masculine but will be gorgeous on the girls who are unafraid of scentorially standing out.

Interestingly, when I put my top back on to walk the dogs first thing in the morning all I can smell is an oily vetiver and incense. Really good.

Further reading: Now Smell This and Colgnoisseur
Chemist Warehouse has $29/30ml

PERFECT fragrant gift for either sex, wearable, comfortable and really, really good.
Will you be wearing STASH?
Portia xxx

Eau de Sud by Annick Goutal 1996

December 29, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

Post by Portia

Hello Fragrance Family,

Few niche houses have the success or longevity of Annick Goutal. Writing about Nuit Etoilee and wearing it over the Christmas season reminded me to grab out the rest of my Annick Goutal collection. I’ve whittled it down to the favourite few, maybe 6 FBs and some large decants. Here’s one of my oft worn faves.

Eau de Sud by Annick Goutal 1996

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Mandarin orange, basil, grapefruit, bergamot
Heart: Mint, lime, lemon verbena, jasmine
Base: Vetiver, patchouli, oakmoss

Even though the citrus in Eau de Sud is a little sticky it still feels cooling in the heat of Sydney summer. I love it too as a summer reminder in the dead of winter so even if you Northern Hemisphere peeps feel like a spritz it will be perfect. So much citrus in the opening and there is a soft minty pop to keep it refreshing. Add to that a salty zing like eating oranges after swimming in salt water or a Margarita. My nose smells creaminess and I am unsure of the origin, maybe the jasmine adds a creamy note? Anyway, I get a balmy smoothness that equates to creamy in my brain, it’s really galbanum-esque. If I give myself a second spritz after about 20 minutes the basil is quite noticeable compared to the original application.

Cavendish & Harvey

Eau de Sud reminds me of this hard lollies that used to come in a tin with loads of super fine white sugar powder around them, do you remember? They were deliciously sweet with recreations of fruits but had only the merest tenuous connection to fruit, more of a fruit allusion. Here the fruits are more nameable but still that sweetness and mild sharpness is completely here. We used to suck them on planes to stop our ears popping and Mum would use them to give us a sugar hit if we looked like we were flagging and needed to be alert. Especially useful before exams or after a footy game.

The body and dry down of Eau de Sud are still salty/creamy all the way through but the whole fragrance dries out considerably and leaves a dustiness over the citrus and adds a walking over summers-browned-grass brittleness. So easy to wear and longevity of around 4 hours maximum, the first hour sillage is moderate before dropping back to soft.

My bottle is old, apparently Annick Goutal have remade Eau de Sud in 2016 and its note list is bergamot, mandarin orange, grapefruit and resins.

PDI

Further reading: EauMG and APJ
FragranceShop have the old men’s packaging Testers $44/100ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $3/ml

Are you an Eau de Sud fan?
Portia xx

Merry Christmas APJ 2016

December 25, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 22 Comments

Portia

Hey there APJ Fragrance Family,

I know heaps of you don’t celebrate Christmas, loads of you will be solo or in an unhappy grouping. Some will be fighting so hard to keep afloat that Christmas will pass us by. This time of year can be a freaking bitch. So much expectation, from outside and in, relentless media hype and you can’t go to a mall without being bombarded. For any of our readers that are in any of these boats my heart goes out to you.

My only advice to you is Do Something Special For Yourself. Make sure you take a moment to treat yourself, doesn’t have to cost money, could just be one minute alone in thew bathroom to spritz a fragrance and enjoy its top notes. Whatever, take a little moment for you.

PDI

Merry Christmas APJ

What scent was I going to wear? Nuit de Noel by Caron. It was TOOO HOT for that so I chose Geranium Pour Monsieur by Malle. PERFECT!

What are we be doing?

Lunch with my BFFs family at our place. Here are some pics of the fun.

Lunch was an informal buffet with loads of fabulous food and booze. We all just sat around and laughed and chatted. Those bloody jokes in the crackers were really funny this year, we were all groaning and laughing in unison, so silly but fun.

Present opening time. We were all spoiled rotten and loved it. Really fun and thoughtful presents, very happy here.

My surrogate Mum, Kath’s mum has become mine. We have a wonderful time and I love her so much. Isn’t she beautiful.

This guy. He’s a really good egg. He also does the BEST pork and crackling, BLOODY DELICIOUS!!

How was your Christmas? Yes, if it was shit feel free to vent. We love that too.

Portia xxx

Surrender To Chance GIVEAWAY WINNER

December 25, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 3 Comments

Thanks APJ Crew,

We have a WINNER! Check below.

Portia xx

Surrender To Chance GIVEAWAY WINNER

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x $30 Surrender To Chance Gift Voucher
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Saturday 24th December 2016 10pm Australian EdsT and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winner waschosen by random.org

Saffyishere

The winners will have till Wednesday 28th December 2016 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

Nuit Étoilée EdT by Isabelle Doyen for Annick Goutal 2012

December 24, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 13 Comments

Portia

Hello Fume Fiends,

We forget in the far off lands of 2016 that Annick Goutal the fragrance brand has been around since 1980. Many of its fragrances were groundbreaking fragile beauties that thrilled and surprised fragrance lovers. Mixed with its determined homespun style, interesting note combinations and eye rollingly beautiful floral concoctions they became a hit with the newly borne perfumistas in the heady days of the 1980s and 90s. Sables, Folavril, Eau de Monsieur, Passion and Eau d’Hadrien were ground breaking scents. Now known by perfumistas as a safe, easy to wear brand some of the wow factor has definitely been lost. Especially through reformulation, the changing out of the vibrantly coloured bottles and the bland introduction of plain glass by AmorePacific, the south Korean owners of Annick Goutal. So it comes as quite a surprise to find something so outlandish and weird in the collection as Nuit Étoilée.

Nuit Étoilée EdT by Annick Goutal 2012

Nuit Étoilée by Isabelle Doyen

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Citron, sweet orange, peppermint
Heart: Siberian pine, fir resin
Base: Angelica seed, tonka, immortal

If you like to smell your fragrances 5 plus hours later then most of the Annick Goutal range will give you the shits. Nuit Étoilée EdT is no exception and you better have bought the 100ml bottle because respritzing becomes addictive.

WikiCommons

ZING!! Bright citrus and mint, like alcoholic fruit punch on a hot summers day or Mojitos in the evening. A fresh burst of wake up and live. Every time I spritz it feels like an energy burst for the brain. The mint lasts only minutes and I’m left with a woodsy citrus, green and dry. As the heart dries off on my skin all I’m left with is a very soft wash of musks and something greenish but barely noticeable. This whole process takes about an hour, unless I spray on fabric or card and then I get at least 4 hours on fabric and on card I can smell Nuit Étoilée next morning.

Nuit Étoilée is going to be my Christmas Eve scent this year. In the fresh woodsiness I find an Aussie summer whispered hint of a wintery, white Christmas that still fits with our 30C+ heat, and yes, there will be fruit punch with fresh mint in it. What would an Aussie Christmas be without it?

PDI

Further reading: EauMG and Non Blonde
FragranceX has some old blue EdT stock for AUD$75/100ml
Surrender To Chance has samples from $3/ml

Have you tried Nuit Étoilée? Does your family do alcoholic fruit punch with fresh mint chopped into it?
Portia xx

BEST ONLINE DEAL: La Via Del Profumo

December 23, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Post by Portia

Heya Bargain Shoppers,

Just got this in the mail. One of my favourite independent perfumers and the scents will blow your mind. I have a few bottles and two of these fabulous sample cases here at Chez Turbo and they often get an airing to recalibrate my fragrant expectations. Sometimes when I’m bogged down in the mire of conventional scent I open a sample pot of La Via Del Profumo and it reminds me that scent can be astounding, heartbreaking, beautiful and magical.

BEST ONLINE DEAL: La Via Del Profumo

SAMPLES OF THE SCENTS OF THE SOUL

€ 33 DISCOUNT WITH 6 MINIS FROM THE SCENTS OF THE SOUL RANGE

1) The wooden box
2) A mini of your choice of € 18,00
3) A mini of your choice of € 15,00
For a total discount of € 33,00 Write the names of the two free perfume you want in the comment box of the order page

(This offer cannot be combined with Facebook discount)

I have just ordered myself another set too at La Via Del Profumo

African Night
Lake Flower
Pheromone (for men)
Rose Heart
Sea Wood
Tea of the Isles

Which ones look good to you?
Portia xx

Tom Ford: Vert Boheme GIVEAWAY WINNER

December 23, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Hiya APJ,

Thanks Robert Herrmann for being so freaking generous. Lovely response and can’t wait to see who our winner is.
Portia xx

Tom Ford: Vert Boheme GIVEAWAY WINNER

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Galbanum, mandarin, magnolia, honeysuckle, muguet, violet leaf, gustavia superba (heaven lotus), oakmoss, vetiver, white musk

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x 4ml decant of Vert Boheme
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Thursday 22nd December 2016 10pm Australian EdsT
Winner was chosen by random.org

Olivia

What Are You Proud Of: Surrender To Chance

December 22, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 84 Comments

Portia

Hello Frag Family,

There is a lot of drama and hate in the world today, so much bad news, ghastly happenings and unthinkable political chicanery. It’s getting harder & harder to turn on a television or computer without reading or seeing more of the same and nearly all of it doom & gloom.

Let’s do something different today. Let’s look back on 2016 and think of something that you did that makes you feel proud. Doesn’t have to be big or life changing, can be something simple or even negligible to you but may have made a huge difference to someone or something else. We can all read each other’s stories and see that the world is still full of goodness, even in everyday life.

What Are You Proud Of In 2016?

What am I proud of in 2016? Jin & I adopted two Greyhounds. They were ready for euthanasia because they were not fast enough to run on the track. Jin had been badgering me since Gucci was put down in January to get a replacement. He had never had a dog as a pet until he moved in with Gucci & me and since she’d been gone he missed her terribly. The day I took Gucci down to the vet he had to leave work because the poor man couldn’t stop weeping uncontrollably. It ended up being 3 days off before he could go a half day without breaking down. They had spent most of their nights together, while I was at work, curled up on the couch or floor for the last 4 years. It was a big loss for him.

I finally caved and asked a few Greyhound trainers if they had any that needed saving. Then if we could meet them and hopefully take a pair home. It didn’t take long before one of the guys said he had a couple that were good mates and that they were going to the vet the next week, would I like to meet them?

So Jin and I took a car ride to destiny. I knew we’d be taking home two dogs but Jin had no idea. He was so nervous and excited and when he met them he fell madly in love immediately. It was sweet and beautiful. This picture is the moment when Jin found out he was going to be allowed have his first ever dog as a pet that he could call his own.

Don’t get me wrong. The dogs have come with the usual set of drama, teaching them how we want them to live will take a year or more. We are all enriched by each other though and having them is so wonderful and joyful. It’s worth the extra time and energy we have to put in, most days anyway. So that’s one of the things I’m proud of being a part of in 2016.

Here am I with Paris, my lovely man. What a sweetheart he is.

Go down to the GIVEAWAY! It’s a good one this week.
Happy Holidays to you all,
Portia xxxx

Surrender To Chance GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x $30 Surrender To Chance Gift Voucher
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

Open to everyone worldwide who follows AustralianPerfumeJunkies via eMail, WordPress, Bloglovin or RSS. Please leave how you follow in the comments to be eligible. I must be able to check that you follow so if you have an email address on your gravatar that’s different to your follow address then please email me so I know. Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged.

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please tell us what you are proud of doing in 2016

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 24th December 2016 10pm Australian EdsT and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Wednesday 28th December 2016 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