Sample GIVEAWAY May 2016

May 12, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 68 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey There APJ!

I have a bunch of samples that I have tried, written about and loved or not. They are lying around in my office and will probably never be looked for again. A couple of them are only half full but others are only 2 spritzes used or brand new, some I have bottles or doubles of. So what better way to share the love than a FABULOUS GIVEAWAY!!

Sample GIVEAWAY May 2016

Photo Stolen hemodernhome

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

The winner will receive one each of these samples:

Eric Butterbaugh Apollo Hyacinth
Tauer Sotto La Luna Tubereuse
Romance by Ralph Lauren
ELdO Remarkable People
Lutens Laine de Verre
YSL Splendid Bouquet
DIOR Ambre Nuit
Stella McCartney Stella In Two Peony
Osmonde Jayne Vanille d’Iris
Amouage Opus IX
Bulgari Jasmine Noir
Diptyque Eau Moheli
No 1 solid perfume
Mark Buxton Wood & Absinth
Tom Ford Noir

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 a perfume on your wish list.

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 15th May 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 18th May 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.

Cult Of Scent: An Afternoon with Jocelyn Fullerton: Photo Essay

May 7, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

Post by Portia

Hi there Indie Fumies,

Australia has some wonderful indie houses and perfumers. Recently one of the best loved among them, Jocelyn Fullarton, and I organised an afternoon at my place where she could showcase her wares and some of the ingredients that make up the Cult Of Scent beauties. It was a stellar afternoon, we had such a good time that I took only one photo. There was so much to smell and learn it was completely overwhelming. Great day.

Cult Of Scent

An Afternoon with Jocelyn Fullerton

Jocelyn has some wonderful scents and I really like her enthusiasm, joy and sheer, unbridled passion for her work. It’s infectious and we were all fascinated. We got to smell a couple of new scents today but here are the current range.

I find myself spritzing In The Woods the most from my Cult Of Scent Sample Set. It’s a modern Eau de Cologne interpretation and I find it soothing and elegant. 3-4 hours of excellent citrus into soft, lightly creamy woodsy dry down. Take your Travel Bottle with you for respritzes during the day and you’ll get the wonderful energising zing of neroli all over again. It’s a 100% winner for me.

There will be reviews soon.

Cult Of Scent

As you can see we really covered some fragrant ground during the afternoon. Pieces of fragrance, vintage frags that contain those pieces, Cult Of Scent fragrances; we sampled the lot and it was totally fun.

Cult Of Scent Sample Set 8ml per bottle!

Jocelyn brought me a special Thank You gift. WOW! I am spoiled.

Just found a bunch of shots that Scott took too. EXCELLENT!! Thanks Scotty.

Go grab yourself a Cult Of Scent Sample Set. I promise you’ll be impressed. They’re excellent value. You get enough juice to really wear the fragrances and see how they fit in your life. Go on, you deserve something lovely! It’s also really important to support our local talent.

Portia xxx

Day Out In Sydney: Photo Essay

May 6, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 16 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey there Fumies,

Scott and I had a big day out yesterday in Sydney city. Sadly we could not make it on time to the Penhaligon’s Breakfast but it looked amazing and we would have LOVED to be a part of it. What a fabulous arrangement in a sunny outdoor courtyard. Congratulations Libertine Parfumerie.

Men’s Biz

We first hit Men’s Biz in the Strand Arcade where our mate Liam is currently curating their fragrance range. I also wanted to take advantage of the APJ 10% Discount. We sniffed loads and chatted, met the owner(?) Nathan and the crew, fell madly in love with loads of frags and had a generally convivial time. Yes, I succumbed and bough Iris Cendre by Naomi Goodsir, feeling particularly good because she is an Aussie who has made it on the world stage.

Liam, Scott & I overwhelmed by choice

Nathan (the boss) joins us, he is sweet and handsome

Sniffing the wares

Men’s Biz has a great selection of all grooming products

Liam’s first Sydney sale goes to me. YAY! 10% APJ Discount too.

Men’s Biz Discount Code!

A special gift for Australian readers – a 10% coupon code from Men’s Biz. Enter ‘APJ’ at the checkout.

Next we went and visited my girlfriend Jolanta in DIOR’s stand along store on Castlereigh St. She had text me earlier this week and told me she was holding me some of the newest DIOR Privee range samples for APJ (review and giveaway coming). La Colle Noire is said to be a spicy rose and I can’t wait to smell what they’ve done.

Christian Dior

Isn’t Jolanta beautiful? She is a Polish Australian and is the DIOR Ambassador here in Sydney, Sexiest voice ever.

Yes, I shopped. The long overdue purchase of Fève Délicieuse that I have talked of incessantly finally took place. Woo Hoo! I now have an enormous amount and can spritz with abandon.

After DIOR we made a quick sidestep into Hermès and visited my mate Gene. I thought I took a couple of picks but clearly I haven’t. As always Gene was super helpful and grabbed us samples of the newest fragrance (review and giveaway upcoming) Hermessence Muguet Porcelain. It’s really pretty and a clean, aquatic lily of the valley. It smelled WAY better on Scott than me but Monsieur Li is absolutely To Die for and had I not already done my budget I would have shopped there too. Next time.

Then we hit my favourite department store, David Jones. We went to the CHANEL counter and Esther was so sweet and helpful. It was touch and go whether I would finally buy Misia but I kept strong. The Guerlain girl was nice but busy, they did have a partial bottle on sale of one of the gold rimmed bottles but I did not succumb. Bravo me.

Yves Saint Laurent

THEN, we went looking at the Yves Saint Laurent section because Scott wanted to try the Black Opium flankers and I wanted to see their new ultra glam range. After finding the Oriental Collection ridiculously overpriced originally it is good to see that they have dropped the prices, now retailing at $180/80ml which is infinitely more reasonable. There we were greeted by the very glamorous Sonja who was excellent value and really knew her stuff.

We did find the newest Le Vestiaire des Perfumes range which really felt like YSL has hit the luxury nail on the head. $230/125ml and the fragrances we tried were smooth and very luxe, not especially groundbreaking but the smell good. My favourite that I very nearly bought was their Caftan; a fabulous sizzling citrus opening with enough resins and balms beneath to warm the cockles of any perfumistas heart.

Isn’t Sonja gorgeous. We will be going back to do some serious shopping with her in the very near future.

The three we tried were Caftan, Caban and Tuxedo.

And we have a winner. I like that YSL have brought out this range but I really wish they’s started with 2 and built it up over time. Insta-ranges are getting ridiculous.

Anyway, that was our super fun day out yesterday. For those that wonder, yes my knee was less than comfortable today but I really was grateful to Scott that we got out of the house and did some fun stuff.

Do you guys ever go on a frag expedition?
Portia xx

2000 Posts GIVEAWAY WINNER

May 6, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 3 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey Crew,

Hopefully you are enjoying the fun over here at APJ too. Let’s see who won.
Good Luck.
Portia xxx

2000 Posts GIVEAWAY WINNER

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x 7ml vintage Guerlain Mitsouko umbrella bottle (about 4ml)
1 x vintage Guerlain Mitsouko soap
P&H Worldwide

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Thursday 5th May 2016 10pm Australian EST.
Winner was chosen by random.org

HighestSelf

Morrigan

CONGRATULATIONS!! The winner will have till Sunday 8th May 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.

Capricci GIVEAWAY WINNERS

May 6, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey Crew,

I am enjoying the fun over here at APJ currently. Loads of great giveaways.
Good Luck.
Portia xxx

Capricci GIVEAWAY WINNERS

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 2 winners who will receive:
1 x Capricci by Nina Ricci sample from my bottle
P&H Worldwide

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Thursday 5th May 2016 10pm Australian EST
Winner were chosen by random.org

Lindaloo

Bernadette Winfield-Gray

CONGRATULATIONS!! The winners will have till Sunday 8th May 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.

Embarrassed and Blue? What Do I Do?

May 5, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 80 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey Crew,

I’m blue. Yes, having a crunchy, grumpy, blue day. Mainly I’m sore, embarrassed and filled with un-named self loathing. The black dog is visiting again. Rude on a sun shiny, warm and perfect autumn day which makes me feel even more depressed because now I’ve added guilt to the mix. Then the spiral worsens because I start getting angry at myself because I am so lucky I have no right to be down. All this happening in my head while coming to full awakeness, already before I even opened my eyes the spiral had begun.

Wikipedia

So, I’ve come to the keyboard to tell you what I’m feeling. Sharing, doing something, anything to change my course, halt the spiral, redirect myself. Thanks for being here, if you’re bored already then sorry, go about your day. Even getting to the computer and writing this much has chipped away a little at the thick morass.

Embarrassed and Blue? What Do I Do?

OK, why am I sore? Last night at work I was returning my plates to the restaurant, walking past some diners and the bar. Floating around in drag, doing the right thing of returning my plates so I could thank the chef. My shoe caught on something, maybe carpet or frock or itself. One second I was upright and the next on all fours, the left over food scattered everywhere and people laughing, shocked intakes of breath, staring and talking to me. I was there in that position for about 5 seconds going over my body to see if anything was really hurt and doing a body count. Everything seemed OK except my knees were already starting to throb. Stood up, and looked down, knees out of stockings, looking like I’d been dragged across asphalt and one already bleeding. It was a mess. GAK!

Thank goodness the staff and punters are my mates. We got me sorted, cleaned up as much as possible, disinfected, bandaged etc and I went on and did my nights work of Trivia Hosting. Embarrassing but all OK.

Why am I grumpy? This is not so easy to assess. Maybe I didn’t sleep well because of the pain. Maybe I’m feeling dumb. Maybe I was just due a blue day.

How am I going to react? Well, I got out of bed and cleaned my teeth. Then I came to the computer to write to you all. Already I feel better. Not perfect but better. I have stepped from the abyss. Now I’m going to make an instant coffee with sugar & milk. See you in a moment.

Pexels

Heya, it’s about 30 minutes later. I made my coffee, went onto the balcony and folded Jin & my washing up, cleaned up my knees and re-applied antiseptic and Band Aids, took my shirt off and sat in the sun to drink my coffee. Coming back into the room I gave myself 6 blasts of my current fragrance addiction Calvin Klein Contradiction.

Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Lily, Lily-of-the-valley, Orchid, Mock-orange, Peony, Rose
Heart: Pear, Blackberry, Eucalyptus, Lilac, Jasmine
Base: Musk, Sandalwood, Tonka bean

Sitting here now in my office, typing in a cloud of Contradiction, and though I am not fully functioning in joyful mode I have derailed the train of depression-spiral and now I’m going to write 10 things I can be grateful for.

I am grateful for my home. It’s no mansion but it’s comfortable and functional.
Grateful for food in the fridge, there is even some double cream brie and a few olives. So there’s lunch sorted.
Super grateful for my friends. The handful of really close ones and the wider stretch of buddies and mates.
Grateful for my continued good health. Yes, I’ve had a fall but these bones are strong and I’m already healing.
Grateful I have work. Trivia will never make me a multi millionaire but I enjoy the work, love seeing players every week and having a laugh with them.
Thankful for my parents who gave me so much and left me educated and self assured.
Grateful that I have a kettle, coffee, sugar & milk.
Grateful that I have somewhere to come every day and chat about fragrance, APJ and all of you are a lifesaver. Thank You.
Grateful for my fragrance collection. Yes, it’s ridiculous. No, I’ll never use even 1/20 of it. Yes, it brings me joy.
Grateful for Jin.

Righto. I feel like I’m ready to face the day now.
Thanks for coming on the journey with me. If you suffer from depression try these simple tricks, sometimes they work a treat. If your spiral continues, please seek help. Try a friend but should they all be busy or sleeping there are plenty of Help Lines you can call 24/7.

LifeLine Australia 13 11 14

Beyond Blue Australia 1300 22 46 36

My best advice is to take some positive action for yourself. Even cleaning my teeth can help restore my thought pattern and taking this small bit of care of myself can change the colour of my thoughts. This next meme works for you as well as those around you.

Wishing you all healthy minds and bodies,
Portia xxx

2000 Posts

May 3, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 75 Comments

Post by Portia

Hello APJ Crew,

Momentous occasion. Can’t believe we have made this number. From the smallest inkling of an idea to this is quite remarkable for me.

2000 Posts

Thank you. Contributors past and present, Readers, Commenters, the Fragrance Businesses, Perfumers, Perfume Lovers one and all. We have done this together. All of us, a fragrance family that I am so grateful for.

Together we have made a place that I love to come to, a bunch of aficionados that love fragrance. Nothing too heavy, only the sheerest veneer of knowledge but boundless energy, excitement and dedication to all things fragrant. It feels like my living room with a bunch of perfumistas having a chatter and a sniff together, sharing our interest across the oceans and through time. Doing it in lunch hour, on the way to work, after the family is asleep or any time. Sometimes you guys are the one thing that keeps me grounded. Thanks.

Some special Thank Yous go to
Nick & Paige at Libertine Parfumerie who always make sure APJ has samples of the newest and best.
Patty and the crew at Surrender To Chance who make it easy for an Aussie to keep up.
Everyone at My Perfume Samples for support & kickbacks.
Adam, Franco & Steven at LuckyScent for their friendship & support.
George & the First In Fragrance crew who swap samples for cookies
Neela Vermeire of Neela Vermeire Creations who is always great value and a constant source of fun. I love you.

Please go shop with these guys because they are part of what keeps APJ running.

In the blogging community we also have an amazing group of friends, supporters and helpers.
Birgit, Lady Jane Grey and Sandra from Olfactoria’s Travels
Natalie from Another Perfume Blog (defunct)
Clayton from What Men Should Smell Like
Undina from Undina’s Looking Glass
Tara from A Bottled Rose
Denyse from Grain de Musc
Sheila from Alembicated Genie
EVERYONE at Perfume Posse
Thomas, Gaia, Vanessa, Lucy, Carlos, Neil, Pia, Lila, Musette, Magpie, Maxine, Daisy, Lucasz, Mals86, Steve, Freddie, Victoria, Arielle, Nick: There are so many more I’ve missed and you know who you are.

2000 Posts GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x 7ml vintage Guerlain Mitsouko umbrella bottle (about 4ml)
1 x vintage Guerlain Mitsouko soap
P&H Worldwide

HOW DO YOU WIN?

Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged. 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 (portia underscore turbo @ yahoo dot com dot au) so I know.

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please CONGRATULATE US on 2000 POSTS in under 20 words

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 5th May 2016 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winner will be chosen by random.org
The winner will have till Sunday 8th May 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.

Capricci by Francis Fabron for Nina Ricci 1960

May 2, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 25 Comments

Post by Portia

Heya APJ,

Azar is off this month taking some time to get stuff done, she’ll be back in June.

So I thought it might be fun to continue her style of looking at something vintage and little talked about… Some fragrances instantly become hits, some take a little longer and many never ever reach such exalted heights. Then there is another group that become very famous in one continent or country but the rest of the world remains immune to. Today we are looking at such a one.

Capricci by Nina Ricci 1960

Capricci by Francis Fabron

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot
Heart: Rosemary, tuberose, gardenia, orris root, jasmine, hyacinth, ylang-ylang, lily-of-the-valley, geranium, rose, narcissus
Base: Sandalwood, musk, benzoin, oakmoss, vetiver

Capricci was a small hit in Europe and sold there for decades but it was in Asia that it became a bit of a blockbuster apparently. Not in the same way that L’Air du Temps did but considering how much Capricci there is for sale on eBay with three different Asian scripts on their back stickers I hazard the guess that it was quite popular.

Aldehydes, citrus and a floral bouquet open Capricci. Even after all these years my EdT is crisp, fresh and has that sparkling/oily fizz of soda pop and metal cans. A very pretty, youthful fragrance that could easily have been given to a young girl of the 1960s as a less strident, more feminine, early awakening scent. Nowadays it smells slightly dated but still not old, does that make sense? As if a perfumer has tried to recreate the glamour of yesterdays fragrance with a modern palette.

Nina Ricci Perfumes

I can see why Capricci was less popular in America, though it is a lilting and ladylike scent there is the unmistakable Frenchness lurking underneath the sparkling flowers. A lived in feeling that doesn’t point to dirtiness as such but does have a light animals undertone. Less BIG and more animal than L’Air du Temps, a tiger in a clipped hedge next to a cottage garden. Add that to its less in-your-face attack style of scent and you may get an understanding. I am surprised that Capricci became an Asian hit though. It seems a bit too raunchy (not the word I want but the closest in my vocabulary) and intimate in the first hour to fit my profile of what Asia buys.

Capricci wears to a very pretty bouquet with a hint of dried grass and woodsiness. After the first hour it sits very close to the body but still offers a waft in sillage. Imagine a 1980s blockbuster turned down almost to mute, a barely there scent. As if it’s still on your scarf from last week, just perceptible.

So I’ve come back to add that I get a distinctly Arpege vibe from Capricci.

I’m a fan,
Portia xxx

TheTruthAboutMummy

Capricci GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 2 winners who will receive:
1 x Capricci by Nina Ricci sample from my bottle
P&H Worldwide

HOW DO YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please tell us a fragrance that never became really popular that you love, or a favourite Nina Ricci fragrance.

HOUSEKEEPING

Ames Soeurs GIVEAWAY WINNER

May 1, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Post by Portia

OMG!! I completely freaking forgot to do the draw for this. SORRY EVERYONE!

Here is our lucky winner below.

Portia xxx

Ames Soeurs GIVEAWAY WINNER

Net-A-Porter

Net-A-Porter gives these featured accords:
Top: Tamarind, Grapefruit, Cypress
Heart: Rose Bulgar, Ginger, Orange Blossom
Base: Cedarwood, Incense, Amber, Sweet Musk

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x 5ml Ames Soeurs rollerball decant
P&H Worldwide

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 24th April 2016 10pm Australian EST
Winner was chosen by random.org

amberinblunderland

LENA

The winner will have till Tuesday May 3rd 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.

Bottega Veneta: Introducing Felis: 1 minute Making Of

April 30, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

Post by Portia

Heya Fashionistas,

Summer is coming in the Northern Hemisphere. Discover Bottega Veneta’s new pair of limited edition cat-shaped sunglasses. Sometimes I am completely overwhelmed by the incredible attention to detail of the multinationals. This is no exception as the Bottega Veneta crew show us a little of how their newest cool sunglasses are created.

Heavenly.
Enjoy.
Portia xxx

Bottega Veneta: Introducing Felis