Lady Gaga + Gwyneth Paltrow Talk Fashion Disasters

August 5, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 14 Comments

Post by Portia

Heya Fashion Forward Fumies,

Lady Gaga and Gwyneth Paltrow are about as polar opposite as you can imagine. Back in 2011 they were both on Graham Norton’s couch and the subject of fashion fails creeps up. The very last look of this clip is gold. They are both really charming and I love the way they work together. Comedy comes from such unexpected places.

How would you scent Gwyneth and Gaga? Let’s not say what they do wear but what their personalities match with. I reckon Gwyneth would wear something feminine, overblown and intrusive like Midnight Oud, Ysatis or Songes. Lady Gaga is surprisingly conservative under all that show so maybe something that opens really strong then softens to an elegant wash like Mitsouko, Maai or Jasmine Rouge.

Do please take a moment out of your busy life to enjoy this.
Portia xxx

The Graham Norton Show – BBC One

Lady Gaga on falls, ripped crotches and other disasters

12 Perfumes I Would Rebuy

August 4, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 62 Comments

Post by Portia

Hello Fab Fumies,

Once upon a time you would see these Desert Island lists everywhere. It was a regular question on blogs and Facebook pages. It would be great for me because it would make me think about the fragrances that really matter in my collection. So let’s get hypothetical.

Let’s say you have downsized to a Tiny Home after your whole perfume collection was destroyed and are only allowing yourself 12 fragrance bottles in your new less expansive space (you can change one every time you finish a bottle, gift one away etc). You have bought an In-Cupboard-Drawer that will be the complete size of your collection and it fits 12 bottles exactly. You have no price restrictions only bottle number, what are the first 12 bottles you chose to have in your home?

12 Perfumes I Would Rebuy

Fragrantica

Aesthete by Le Galion: The Le Galion crew are woefully under appreciated. This sexy leather/saffron/incense with a lovely animalic backbone is the bomb. Elegant, wearable, inviting and distinct.

Amoureuse by Parfums DelRae: Freakiest damn sexy lily I ever smelled in my life. A golden witch brew that makes my head pop.

Fragrantica

Dia Woman Extract by Amouage: An animal in couture clothing. All the flowers over an oudh/incense base that sings on my skin all night long till the early morning when it growls and purrs.

Fantasia de Fleurs by Creed: I can’t think of a better jammy rose. Some times in my life just seem to call for Fantasia de Fleurs

Giverny In Bloom by DSH Perfumes: The greenest green I ever did smell. So much galbanum decorated with flowers to lightly soften the blow. I go through so much Giverny In Bloom that it’s nearly time I bought more…..

Mitsouko Vintage Extrait by Guerlain: If you knew how much of this I’ve stockpiled you would be appalled. That furry peachy floral oakmoss bomb that continues to fascinate and delight me every time.

Fragrantica

Mitzah by DIOR: Honeyed, spicy, amber rose overlaid with a glorious smoky incense both fiery and cooly aloof. LOVE IT!

Fragrantica

Mohur by Neela Vermeire Creations: Another spicy rose but this time cooler and more Asiatic. Every wear is slightly different and it tends to bloom differently at different temperatures.

Niki de Saint Phalle: A chypre with a softer floral hue through the heart. So wearable and is such a summer staple that works in all climes.

Olympic Amber by Olympic Orchids: Yes, I have about 30 ambers in my collection and this was the hardest to winnow down to one by there is something incredible simple and wearable about Olympic Amber, it’s the one I seem to reach for as my benchmark.

Shalimar Extrait by Guerlain: The one. Forever and ever. My favourite fragrance in the world. This case is by far my preferred way to apply too.

Truth or Dare by Madonna: I know. Don’t care what you think. This is one of my all time favourites. It gets hauled out and spritzed at least once a week. There’s quite a stockpile here but still I worry that it will run out.

Can I tell you honestly that this took me a while because I kept swapping things out and then feeling bad because some of my favourite perfumers, houses and frags would have meant a doubling up of notes or styles. In the end I had to stop myself second guessing by adding that each time a bottle emptied or was gifted away I could swap it out for a different scent. Suddenly it didn’t seem like I was choosing forever and my head stopped exploding. He he he.

OK, so it’s over to you. What are your 12? Don’t think too long, it’s merely hypothetical and not forever.
Portia xx

Goddess GIVEAWAY WINNERS

August 4, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

Post by Portia

Woo Hoo! This was a really fun GIVEAWAY!! Thanks to Azar for her generosity.

Let’s find out who the winners are!
Portia xxx

Goddess GIVEAWAY WINNERS

WikiCommons

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 2 winners who will receive:
6 x 2ml decants of Azar’s Goddess Scents (NO you don’t get to choose)
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Wednesday 3rd August 2016 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org

Hanna

Angela Pritchard

The winners will have till Saturday 6th August 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.

Gardelia GIVEAWAY WINNERS

July 31, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 1 Comment

Post by Portia

Hey Crew,

Thanks to Antonio for his generosity in letting me have some Gardelia to share with you. You are only getting the smallest amount because I don’t have very much and I’m greedily keeping some for myself.

Let’s see who the winners are.
Portia xx

Gardelia GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Gardenia, Jasmine, Rose, Tuberose, Frangipani, Magnolia, Civet, Cognac, Geranium

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 2 winners who will receive:
1 x Sample Gardelia by Bogue (a smidge from my sample)
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Saturday 30th July 2016 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org

Tracy

Anna Maria

The winners will have till Wednesday 3rd August 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.

Child Perfume by Susan D. Owens 1990

July 30, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 13 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey there APJ,

Over the years I am often told about a fragrance that is used by a bunch of the Hollywood stars as their signature scent, it’s even the first thing that Fragrantica mentions in its blurb. When I was told it though I always seemed to forget which fragrance it was, like my brain was totally disinterested in holding the information. I’d come home & wrack my brains to no avail. Anyway, I came across it on Surrender To Chance and it has the SAME Hollywood Stars bit, Ta DAAAA. We have a winner. Let’s see what al the fuss is about…..

Child Perfume by Susan D. Owens 1990

Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Vanilla, Lilac, Magnolia
Heart: Jasmine, Tuberose, Violet
Base: Creamy musk, Rose, Mimosa

OOOOOH! Child Perfume opens with cool, sharp, waxy lilac and the most gorgeous jasmine. Jasmine with all the fat and breath and hefty, heavenly swathes of tuberose. So sharp it could be a cleaning product but also gorgeously alluring and intoxicatingly OTT. It’s reminiscent of the jasmine from my vintage Joy parfums, strident, strong and unstoppable. I’m surprised that Hollywood is wearing something so large and outrageous.

Pixabay

Jasmine is the Child Perfume star and everything else is merely a supporting player. Jasmine, jasmine, jasmine. Cool, slightly astringent, a little breathy and mildly narcotic. If you close your eyes, put your wrist to your nose and breath slowly in & out it becomes engulfing. Letting my mind drift in that state and I go on fabulous fragrant journeys that are pure fantasy, colours: green, purple, blue, ideas: swimming in a waterhole, in the breeze at the top of a hill, winter in Korea, caught in a summer sun shower, laughing around a table with my mates, visiting Val the Cookie queen in her home town in Austria and walking into the cool of a department store in summer. All of these things, and a few that I couldn’t hold onto, pass through my mind in 20 minutes of huffing this way.

Surprising longevity too. I can still smell a pretty, slightly sharp jasmine and some musks next morning.

Child Perfume is surprising and beautiful. I can see why the Hollywood stars love it.
From Beauty Habit: One of the most sought-after perfumes worn by devoted fans world-wide! Celebrity fans include: Khloe Kardashian, Maggie Smith, Jennie Garth, (she made the famous statement that child drives men wild!) Sigourney Weaver, LeeAnn Rimes, Madonna, Mandy Moore, Jennifer Aniston, Rebecca Gayheart, Christina Applegate, Ashlee Simpson, Britney Spears, Denise Richards, Lindsey Lohan, Tiffany Amber Thiesen, Tori Spelling and John Mayer. This is the original and authentic Child Perfume – not a copycat.

YouTube

Further reading: EauMG
Beauty Habit has the range from $68/10ml Rollerball
My Perfume Samples has EdP from $8/ml

Have you tried Child Perfume? What is your jasmine?
Portia xx

Amazone vintage by Maurice Maurin for Hermès 1974

July 29, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 20 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey there Vintage Frag Fiends,

There is something really exciting about getting a vintage in the mail. That very first spritz, will it: have propellant, be real, still smell good, work for me? Those days when the top notes are gone off or completely missing can be a bummer. Recently this old chestnut showed up, it’s about 80% full and looks fresh as the day it was made. The nozzle smells great, exactly like a mossy frag from the 1970s should smell like. Come have a first spritz experience with me.

Amazone by Hermès 1974

Amazone by Maurice Maurin

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, Cassia, Geranium, Hyacinth
Heart: Iris, Jasmine, Lily-of-the-valley, Rose
Base: Amber, Oakmoss, Vetiver, Cedarwood

OK, so we have propellant and the opening notes have been totally eclipsed by their greasy cold metal otherness. It takes a couple of minutes for the headache inducing, stomach churning mess to sort itself out. Then this bottle of Amazone has a dry grass, light geranium/spicy fruit rose and furry jasmine/oakmoss scent that softens, plushes out and gets more comfortable and lived in over the next couple of hours. I can easily imagine this appealing to the horsey daughters and youngish wives of a certain social strata as so many reviews allocate its fan base. Being a chypre its slightly floral heart and bone dry dry-down seem a little mature to me, sophisticated and cooly aloof. You can easily imagine the wearer to be wearing Shetland wool and corduroy or denim instead of cashmere, linen and silks. Yet another part of me can see someone, man or woman, in a sharp business suit using Amazone as their tasteful undercurrent of a point of difference.

The far dry down of vetiver, moss and woods is perfectly balanced and shimmers softly over my skin for hours and hours, tomorrow morning I will still have a whisper of wonderful to wake up to.

Hermès

From Hermès: Symbolic of a free, modern femininity, Amazone takes its inspiration from the mythical horsewomen who, according to legend, ruled over the shores of the Black Sea. A novel composed by Maurice Maurin in 1974 and orchestrated around blackcurrant buds, the fragrance is a green floral harmony in which daffodils, narcissi, galbanum, red fruits and vetiver take turns to shine.

Further reading: Yesterday’s Perfume and Non Blonde
Hermès have the modern variation and it still smells very nice but totally different.
Surrender To Chance has samples of the modern version from $3/ml

Which is your vintage or your Hermès?
Portia xx

Gardelia by Antonio Gardoni for Bogue 2015

July 28, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 28 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey There Stank Lovers,

Earlier this year I was lucky enough to get to hang out with Antonio Gardoni. Val the Cookie Queen organised a lunch in London’s Spittalfields at Poppies Fish & Chips. It’s a 1950s memorabilia restaurant and the food is YUMMY! Antonio was urbane, charming, funny and SEXY! We spent the afternoon laughing together in our corner of the table. Antonio also came along to the Perfume Lovers London where I was invited by the wonderful Lila to host A Night With Portia Turbo where we chatted about 12 amazing historic and modern game changing women and scented them. So my review will probably be tinged with my love for the guy.

Portia, Jin, Judith, Chris, Val, Antonio outside Poppies Fish & Chips 2016

Antonio (R) & Portia (L) inside Poppies Fish & Chips 2016

Val, Grant, Lila, Antonio, Portia at Perfume Lovers London 2016

Gardelia by Bogue 2015

Gardenia by Antonio Gardoni

Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Gardenia, Jasmine, Rose, Tuberose, Frangipani, Magnolia, Civet, Cognac, Geranium

Gardenia opens vegetal and earthy, the booze is front and centre. Dazzling, indolic white flowers seem encased in a grassy compost. Though not noted my nose smells leather, smoke and birch but they could all be the civet and flower combination. One spritz is big, room filling and an earthy version of those enormous 1980s powerhouse diva frags.

As the initial explosion softens a spicy flower, like no other flower on earth, a spiky, snarling, singing Triffod. An alien plant form, ferocious and feral but gorgeous and alluring. Gardelia is the scent of Audrey II, the star of Little Shop of Horrors.

What happens then is the whole fragrance turns fluffy, cuddly, furry and sweet. It’s a complete transformation and continues to become a softly animalic, honeyed amber to dry down. Glorious.

The Mary Sue

From Bogue: GARDELIA is a project commissioned from Profumeria Sacro Cuore to celebrate their 50th anniversary. GARDELIA is created and formulated by Antonio Gardoni.
GARDELIA is a perfume extrait that raises a garden around a flower and from the earth grows following the tree’s lines up to their leaves in the sky.
50 of the best available natural ingredients have been used to celebrate a great flower.
Each GARDELIA bottle is made by hand from the glassmaker maestro Giorgio Giuman in the Murano’s island, Venice.
The over-cap of the GARDELIA’s bottle is hand-made in glass paste through lost wax casting with cobalt blue oxide.

Sacro Cuore Profumi has €850/50ml

Gardelia GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 2 winners who will receive:
1 x Sample Gardelia by Bogue (a smidge from my sample)
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

Tell us your favourite Independent Perfumer or Independent Perfume House

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Saturday 30th July 2016 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Wednesday 3rd August 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.

CHANEL N°5: The One That I Want – The Film

July 23, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 9 Comments

Post by Portia

Hi there APJ,

Gisele Bündchen has been the highest paid model in the world every year since 2004, and in 1999 was credited with bringing sexy back to the runway and killing the heroin chic look. She was born in 1980 making her 36 years old which is basically a model dinosaur. There is still something so fresh and endearing about her, still sexy, that killer body and a smile that men and women fall instantly in love with. Did you know she is 5’11”? So tall yet she always manages to look petite, and enormously strong. Wikipedia notes that: In 2014, she was listed as the 89th Most Powerful Woman in the World by Forbes PLUS Claudia Schiffer and Naomi Campbell have stated that Bündchen is the only remaining true supermodel.

Below we get to see Gisele in the 2014 CHANEL No 5 ad, this is the long play version. A seriously controversial piece of film. The song’s lyric change had feminists up in arms, the billion $ lifestyle and the 2 minute hug with her daughter before relegating the child to nanny care had mothers upset and running off before a job was finished had working women outraged, there were other complaints that have slipped my mind. Yet if you can overlook all that there has appeared a gorgeous and lush piece of escapism that you can get lost in for three minutes to unclog your brain.

I hope you enjoy,
Portia xxx

CHANEL

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Aldehydes, bergamot, lemon, neroli, ylang-ylang
Heart: Jasmine, rose, lily of the valley, iris
Base: Vetiver, sandalwood, vanilla, amber, patchouli

CHANEL counters everywhere have testers, go give yourself a spritz.

CHANEL N°5: The One That I Want – The Film

Portia’s Week July 2016: Story + Photo Essay

July 22, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 41 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey there APJ,

This week has been wonderful. Jin had 5 days off and we spent it happily hanging out, watching movies, cooking, BAR B Qing, eating, socialising, running around chasing Pokemon and in between that I worked, saw mates, shopped and read books. Seriously there aren’t too many weeks that are so full yet so utterly enjoyable. It’s a surprise that even after being with someone for years you can still have fun like kids and can still enjoy each others company as much as the first months when everything was new.

Portia’s Week July 2016: Story + Photo Essay

So this week started out as a Pokemon Go week. Here I am in the game in my first hour.

My BFF Kath, her sister, nieces and Jin looking super cute. During lunch we invite the nieces to come out to the Parramatta Winterlight Fair. They jumped at the chance.

There was even an Ice Skating Rink. You can see niece 1 and I are there but behind us are Jin & niece 2 having their first ever Ice Skating experience so they needed to use the penguins to help them stay upright. Embarrassingly I was the only one to fall.

Kath, Jin & the nieces on the Ferris Wheel. The girls were a complete joy to hang with. We lost track of time and didn’t get them home till nearly midnight. OOOOPS!

Saturday recuperating with the story of Daphne du Maurier’s family, a rollicking tale that I couldn’t put down.

Sunday morning and BFF Kath & I had our pedicures done, then Jin joined us for Yum Cha (Dim Sum).

Then, into a Lolita Lempicka Bubble Bath. What a lovely way to unwind, surrounded by violet sugared liquorice bubbles.

Over the remnants of Lolita Lempicka I heavily spritzed the Leather Angel. All the Angel fizz and a hit of smoky leather, a perfect drag queen scent.

We spent Monday getting haircuts and then Pokemon Hunting. Jin cooked surprise Spicy Pork Bar B Q and we watched Zootopia that night. Then I wrote the Trivia Q&A. Monday was fun.

LUSH Rose Jam Shower Gel makes fabulous Bubble Bath and this week I had three baths with it. My fragrances over the top were Mohur by Neela Vermeire Creations, Diabolo Rose by Parfums de Rosine and Guerlain L’Heure Bleu. All three were subtly changed and extra roses added through the remnants of Rose Jam.

It was Scott’s Birthday on Wednesday so we met Kerri for some CHANEL sniffing and afternoon tea. We all had single serve cakes, mine was a double chocolate custard filled profiterole. We gave Scott Harrods and Fortnum & Mason teas, a DVD and a DJs Gift Card.

Scott grabbed a 200ml CHANEL Coromandel from our favourite CHANEL SA Esther at David Jones Sydney City Store. Ask for her, she is a fount of knowledge and we love talking to her about the CHANEL fragrance range. We are particularly interested in the big change of the exclusives line later in the year from EdT to EdP. Sadly she was out of CHANEL No 22 200ml so I went down the road to the CHANEL boutique and bought mine there.

Wednesday night Jin & I did more Pokemon Hunting (I haven’t walked this much since our last holiday), had some Vietnamese Pork Noodle Soup, did some evening grocery shopping and came home to watch Kung Fu Panda 3, which we really enjoyed.

Not so long ago they had this Bandit Silkening Shower Gel at the discounters for a song, I stocked up because it smells amazing, makes great bubbles and leaves my skin fresh and soft.

Over the remnants of Bandit I spritzed Exultat by Maria Candida Gentile. Incense and warmer, woodsy resins that is only mildly liturgical. Really easy to wear incense that lasts well and smells amazing.

Here I am tonight hosting Trivia (as a man!) to a full house smelling gorgeously of incense, resins and leather.

My mate Natalie from the now defunct Another Perfume Blog took me walking through the wilds of Mosman today to a fabulous restaurant, Burnt Orange, with a view to die for, both outside & in. Food was delicious and staff friendly.

Sydney put on a perfect winter day and I chose the lavender, herbal, resinous warmth of CHANEL Boy to accompany me.

Thanks for coming along for snapshots of my week. These are just the bits I remembered to photograph but I couldn’t have fit more photos anyway.

What fragrances or bath products did you use this week? Do anything interesting?
Portia xxx

Nocturne GIVEAWAY WINNERS

July 22, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 3 Comments

Post by Portia

Hiya APJ,

Woo Hoo! A piece of Ainslie’s very own magical fragrant history. Lucky winners, I am yet to smell it too.
Portia xxx

Nocturne GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Nocturne Vial 2

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 3 winners who will receive:
1 x Carded Manufacturers Sample of Nocturne
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Thursday 21st July 2016 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org

Steve

Azar

Koyel

The winners will have till Sunday 24th July 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.