Gri Gri GIVEAWAY WINNERS

April 30, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 1 Comment

Post by Portia

Hey crew,

Don’t you LOVE getting the chance to try new things? Me too. Thanks to Gri Gri Perfumes and Val the Cookie Queen for their remarkable generosity.

Let’s find out who our winners are
Portia xxx

Gri Gri GIVEAWAY WINNERS

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 3 winners who will receive:
1 x Sample each of Gri Gri Perfume (One of the three fragrances in the line. NO you don’t get to choose)
P&H Worldwide

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Thursday 28th April 2016 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org

thegarfieldshow-diary

Tara

Undina

Fanny

The winners will have till Monday 2nd 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.

Pour Homme by Louis Monnet for Van Clef & Arpels 1978

April 29, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 9 Comments

Post by Portia

Hello Fragrance Fans,

Now don’t be put off by the Pour Homme because this is a very sexy unisex only seems masculine on the men. It’s bracing herbal opening hides a chypre base with oriental overlay. Don’t believe me, come for a sniff.

Pour Homme by Van Clef & Arpels 1978

Pour Homme by Louis Monnet

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Basil, bergamot, green notes, juniper berries, marjoram, thyme, lavender, sage, caraway, citrus notes
Heart: Guaiac, patchouli, vetiver, jasmine, orris, rose, carnation, spices, artemisia, cloves
Base: Amber, castoreum, incense, leather, oak moss, musk, labdanum, coconut

One of my first ever fragrant memories is of my Mum giving me a 5ml mini of Pour Homme by Van Clef & Arpels for my birthday. That 5ml lasted me till Christmas of that year when I was given my first ever full bottle, also from Mum, of Aramis. I have a pretty modern bottle and though it’s not exactly the same as my memory the basic scent structure is still there. I can remember the thrill of this completely adult concept, men’s scent. My Dad always smelled good because he wore Tabac Original by Maurer & Wirst so being a fragrant man was not an alien idea.

So how does Pour Homme by Van Clef & Arpels smell to me in 2016? Firstly I get a wonderful herbal opening that sparkles enough to give me a little aldehydes question. It’s rich, green, herbal and bracing but soft (in a touch rather than size sense) and smooth enough that anyone who loves a good green will really enjoy it. This is something that I could easily imagine a Katharine Hepburn or Julia Roberts sporting, a casual, dignified, elegant fragrance that speaks of country estates and effortless grace. A fragrance of time gone by.

Flickr

The heart is a woodsy and rich adventure with still plenty of green and a quiet floral bouquet shimmering above. A dry tea rose and the snap and crackle of carnation, both perfectly surrounded with spices and herbs. The base with its warmth of amber cut through by the smoke and leather, my recollection is that the base was much furrier and more animalic originally but the current creamy amber woods is very nice too. Lasting power is excellent and Pour Homme by Van Clef & Arpels has a wonderful sillage, not overwhelming but noticeable. The perfect scent for a workplace that wants their staff to smell nice without punching people in the nose or making huge grand statements. Towards dry down I get a lovely clean mens soapy feel that lasts until next day. Excellent value and I think you could buy it as a gift for a non-perfumista guy and be guaranteed that he will rock it.

Pixabay

Further reading: From Pyrgos
FragranceNet has $30/50ml before Coupon

Do you have any infallible mens scent alternatives that you like to wear or smell on the guys around you?
Portia xx

Guess by Marciano by Barbara Zoebelein for Guess 2007

April 28, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

Post by Portia

Hello Frag Heads,

You know when you’re going through your fragrances and trying to find stuff to add to your sale doc? You come across something that you can not remember smelling, or the smell of, from when you got it and it’s sat there unloved ever since. You spritz and WOW!!! All of a sudden your searching comes to a swoon filled halt and….

Guess (Woman) by Marciano by Guess 2007

Guess by Marciano by Barbara Zoebelein

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Star fruit, Curacao orange liquor, grapefruit, cardamom
Heart: Peony, pink honeysuckle, jasmine
Base: Vanilla, musk, woody accords

Guess Woman by Marciano is really crunchy and chewy vanilla toffee and amber with a wash of florals piping high above in descant and a fun citrus buzz murmuring in between. It lasts really well and once the sweet citrus booze burns off you are left with a wonderful toffee and vanilla ice cream style floriental. Wearing it the last few days I have not gone a group without a frag compliment, it’s uncanny. Every time I do something new someone asks what my fragrance is or says I smell really nice.

And I CAN’T GET ENOUGH!!

Yes, it seems for this tiny moment in time I have found a new favourite. There are stages where Guess by Marciano could be a caramel aquatic. I know. It sounds disgusting but the thing is. It’s fabulous. I’m enjoying it’s initial spritz, it develops nicely and ends on a sweet woodsy nothings whisper about 5 hours later. What’s not to love?

Food Network

Further reading: Pop Sugar
FragranceNet has $21/100ml before Coupon

I can’t stop spritzing myself with Guess by Marciano. There is a room with some of the world’s most expensive, celebrated and lavish fragrances and I keep spritzing a $20 bargain bin wonder. Hilarious.

What have you fallen madly in love with that’s bargain bin?
Portia xx

Ames Soeurs by Joya + The Book Of Lost Fragrances by M.J.Rose 2012

April 22, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 22 Comments

Post by Portia

Hi there Fumies!

Something I find quite a few frag heads also love is reading, we are sensualists and love to dream. Today I’m looking at a fragrance inspired by a book, a book I enjoyed immensely. It’s a fun, fast paced thriller style pot boiler that has a very generous smattering of perfume and perfumer inside knowledge. Always nice to combine two loves.

Ames Soeurs by Joya 2012

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

Ames Soeurs opens on me as a soft citrus and white flower, lightly laconic and breathy but not overly. It’s a mild mannered fragrance that is pretty and sweet, but not in a confectionary sense. Though I become less able to smell it after about an hour it has good projection and people notice it on me and comment favourably. The orange blossom and amber are the stars of the show for me and I could imagine Ames Sours becoming a popular go-to scent for someone who likes to smell nice but doesn’t want to smell overly perfumy. It shares a mood with such light and lovelies as La Chasse aux Papillons by L`Artisan Perfumer, Guerlain’s Aqua Allegorias and some of the Heeley fragrances.

Lasting power is excellent for a natural fragrance and I would never have guessed it to be one by the smell.

Net-A-Porter has $40/10ml roll on

The Book of Lost Fragrances by M.J.Rose 2012

Book Depository

From Book Depository: Jac L’Etoile is plunged into a world she thought she’d left behind when her brother, coheir to their father’s storied French perfumery, makes an earthshattering discovery in the family archives, and then suddenly goes missing–leaving a dead body in his wake. In Paris to investigate his disappearance, Jac becomes haunted by the legend of the House of L’Etoile. If there is an ancient perfume developed in Cleopatra’s time that holds the power to unlock memories of past lives, possessing it is not only worth living for…it’s worth killing for, too.

kbaird

Ames Soeurs GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x 5ml Ames Soeurs rollerball decant
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 tell us a book you would like to see a fragrance created around…..

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 24th April 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 Thursday 28th April 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.

Elizabeth Taylor Black Pearls GIVEAWAY WINNERS

April 22, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 1 Comment

Post by Portia

And here we have it my fragrant lovelies,

Thank you Azar for your amazing stories and giveaways.

Portia xxxx

Elizabeth Taylor Black Pearls GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Fragrantica

Fragrantica lists these featured accords:
Peach, gardenia, bergamot, water lily, white rose, lotus, amber, sandalwood, musk

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 2 winners who will receive:
Continental USA DRAW: 1 x vintage Black Pearls .25 ounce parfum in the box
Worldwide DRAW: 1 x 2ml decant of the original Black Pearls EdP
1 x a little sample of a rare, impossible to find, weird mystery peach
P&H Worldwide

HOUSEKEEPING

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

Brooklodge

World – Fanny

US – Fazal

The winners will have till Sunday 24th April 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.

Devil In Disguise by Mark Buxton Perfumes 2012

April 21, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 13 Comments

Post by Portia

Hi there Niche Nerds,

Yes, I know I’m late to the party. These samples were given to me at least a year ago and they have sat winking at me, reminding me not to forget them, wishing I would just damn well spritz. I did smell them on cards originally and thought they were interesting and fun. Mark Buxton has created many financial and critical hits and done a few things I really love: Salvador dali Laguna, a couple of biehl parfumkunstwerke, Le Labo Vetiver 46, loads of cool Comme des Garcons and the list goes on. He has also put his name to stuff I don’t love too. That’s cool, I like to be surprised. When the news came through that he was doing a self named line there was much excitement and fluttering of touchés (He He he who knows if that’s correct?). So finally I have grabbed them out from the draw and am giving them skin time. Here’s the one I really liked a lot…

Devil In Disguise by Mark Buxton Perfumes 2012

Devil In Disguise by Mark Buxton

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Rhubarb leaf, ginger
Heart: Magnoli, neroli
Base: Patchouli, vetiver, musk

Everyone else gets sweet but I get a softly sweet green, a very olde worlde reminder of my Mum making rhubarb for the family and me thinking it tasted like shit. Everyone else loved it and asked for more. Here the rhubarb is a sweet starting point but not like the celebuscent spun sugar jelly crystals type sweet, more like a healthy sweet. Yeah, I’m making this clear as mud, I know.

WikiMedia

Devil In Disguise opens beautifully, it’s lightly sweetened and edible but not cake or particularly gourmand. I taste no vanilla or biscuit or candy. It’s warm and vegetal, softly zingy. Though I cringe at using gender definers it smells like a sexy masculine that could easily be worn by either sex. While not being strange it is compelling and it lures my nose in to sniff it again and again. Never really offering me anything concrete to write down for you because it’s not the same as anything I’ve smelled or easily correctable to ideas. Bittersweet. That’s the best analogy I have. It’s like the bittersweet feeling of losing your love, slowly and knowingly watching them shut down and yet loving them too much to let go. The heartache mixed with joyful memories. That’s what Devil In Disguise smells like to me.

My nose misses the heart completely and sniff directly to the base, particularly the vetiver and shaded by the patchouli. Vetiver becomes king though and the opening sweet green is repeated over the vetiver to warm its rough rasp and soften and smooth. Draped elegantly in clean musks the whole fragrance fades slowly and a whisper remains for morning, amorphous and pretty.

Flickr

Further reading: Non Blonde and Black Narcissus
Mark Buxton has €140/100ml

Did you spend any time with the Mark Buxton range? What did you think?
Portia xx

Sable & Soleil GIVEAWAY WINNERS

April 18, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Post by Portia

Woo Hoo! Sexy love of my life Pierre was a hit with you all again.

Let’s see who won.
Portia xxx

Sable & Soleil GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Lemon blossom, jasmine, African geranium, coconut milk, sandalwood, vanilla, tonka bean, white musk

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 2 winner who will receive:
1 x 2ml Sable & Soleil manufacturers sample
1 x sample Indian Wood by Perfumerie Generale 2016
P&H Worldwide

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 17th April 2016 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org

prospectsplus

Koyel Bhattacharyya

Fazal

The winner will have till Thursday 21st April 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.

Something Beautiful by Jocelyn Fullerton for Cult Of Scent

April 17, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 8 Comments

Post by Portia

Hello Independent Perfumery Lovers,

A few weeks ago we had Jocelyn Fullerton over at my place to take us through her beautiful range of fragrances. There is a half written piece on the day waiting for me to finalise it (Sorry Jocelyn). A few things struck me during the day but I was most impressed with Jocelyn’s excitement and enthusiasm for fragrance, her broad knowledge and talent for relating an engaging story that told of the creation of her scents. It was a lovely day.

The scent that I wear most from the Cult of Scent line so far is …

Something Beautiful by Cult Of Scent

Something Beautiful by Jocelyn Fullerton

Cult Of Scent gives these featured accords:
Orange blossom, Neroli, Tonka, Honey, Amber

From Cult Of Scent: Something Beautiful began with a story of dawn kisses under an orange tree and was brought to fruition by spring nights filled with music, candlelight, passion and laughter.

Calming, angelic, elegant, refreshing, lively, sparkling, comfortable, summer, clear, happy. These are the words that run through my head while wearing Something Beautiful.

Breathy white flowers float effortlessly over citrus and a sweet amber. The citrus is main player for a while after I spritz but orange blossom is present already and I think I detect a whisper of jasmine and some other flower, maybe lily? There are lightly fruity touches too that peek through the bouquet and later the honey/amber and something coniferous waft gently in and warm it down to fade.

WikiMedia

I can easily imagine Something Beautiful as a perfect wedding scent. It’s joyful bursts of citrus and the elegant swish of white flowers, soft yet insistent, would make an excellent pairing with either the traditional wedding in a church (or whatever the religious centre is called in your religion) to a windy, sunlit day at the beach. Beyond gorgeous and I think it would be so memorable. Better still it’s completely unisex, you could both be rocking it.

Today I hosted my first TUPPERWARE party coming back into the business after a 6 or 7 year hiatus. Something Beautiful helped me rise above the nerves and get straight to the excitement. Well not COMPLETELY rise above my nerves, I was sweating like a farm hand at the summer round ups but Something Beautiful huffed out of my top and I remembered to breathe and that everyone here was on my side. The party went splendidly and I have one booking, hopefully 2. If you’re in Sydney and want a party leave a comment below and I can come hang with you and your buddies for a couple of hours. Just so you know I do EXCELLENT scones and it makes a wonderful snack at the party.

Cult Of Scent has 3 sizes starting at $35/8ml

If you like to dazzling opening of a cologne but the herbs and mossy patchouli bases get you down the I heartily recommend you get your hands on Something Beautiful. It really is perfectly named and I have quite a bit of air in my 8ml already.

Portia xxx

Sable & Soleil by Pierre Guillaume for Phaedon 2016

April 15, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 29 Comments

Post by Portia

Woo Hoo Crew,

More NEW stuff from my perfumer crush Pierre Guillaume. This arrived today and I couldn’t wait to get it on my skin!!

Here’s some more Pierre Perfume Porn to get you in the mood….

Sable & Soleil by Phaedon 2016

Sable & Soleil by Pierre Guillaume

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Lemon blossom, jasmine, African geranium, coconut milk, sandalwood, vanilla, tonka bean, white musk

Salt. Driest opening for a fragrance I ever smelled. Salt and then some melon, a little oily, seaside breeze, hot day.

Jasmine and citrus over the driest ache in my throat. It’s like the ache of yearning. Yearning for something just out of reach but in your sights. Awkward lactones create a shadowed, shady counterpoint that gives the crisp sea breeze a depth. Maybe a wander through the carpark by the beach, awaiting the arrival of your friends or even an ice cream from the truck, yes there is a metallic edge.

Briny. That’s the word I’m looking for. Briny, lightly sunburned, happy and tired. Fresh sea water and healthy bodies.

Sable & Soleil is not what I was expecting. If you think that you’ll be getting a Guerlain Lys Solea, a Jil Sander Sun or a Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess then think again. They are pretty and vibrant. Pierre Guillaume has created a mood and depth that is lovely but slightly dark. Compelling.

lavanyasrecipes

Sable & Soleil GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 2 winner who will receive:
1 x 2ml Sable & Soleil manufacturers sample
1 x sample Indian Wood by Perfumerie Generale 2016
P&H Worldwide

HOW DO YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please tell us if you’ve tried any of the Phaeton range?

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 17th April 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 Thursday 21st April 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.

Cologne? What Does It Mean?

April 14, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 20 Comments

Post by Lindaloo

Hey Hey APJ,

Recently on APJ we had a very pertinent question about the different uses of the word cologne in fragrance. One of our regular readers and commenters came up with the best description I’ve ever seen of the differences.

Here’s what dictionary.com says:
Cologne
1: Noun: a mildly perfumed toilet water; eau de Cologne
2: Noun: an industrial city and river port in W Germany, in North Rhine-Westphalia on the Rhine

Cologne? What Does It Mean?

Wikipedia

Lindaloo says:
Good reasons that the word “cologne” can be so confusing. Sometimes it does mean a name for men’s scents versus women’s, as it hard to convince an average man that a scent labelled as anything other than cologne is only for women.
Other times it refers simply to the the strength of the scent — EdP/parfum has more fragrant oils compared to EdT/toilette compared to EdC/cologne. Often it is more complicated in that different strengths are different in what aspects of the scent they emphasize.
Then there is “cologne” as a style of scent, ie lots citrus and herbs at the start moving to a mossy drydown. So traditional cologne starts off very refreshing and moves to a cool dusty base. With the current restrictions on oakmoss, drydowns often involve different elements.
So Atelier colognes are EdP strength but a cologne structure.

Atelier Cologne

Surrender To Chance has a great range of Atelier Cologne samples and minis.

Have you been to Cologne? What is your EdC?
Portia xx