Santa Maria Novella: Florence 2016: Photo Essay

March 17, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 32 Comments

Post by Portia

Hi there Fragrant Fumies,

Our recent trip was a bit light on the fragrance stops. We really wanted to see what each city is most famous for. While in Florence though Anna-Maria put her dainty foot down. We could look at art & churches all day & night but we had to go to the Santa Maria Novella Basilica which handily combines all three of our interests. It’s a church and cloisters, very old and it has one of the oldest still extant apothecaries/farmaceutica which is now centred around fragrance and tea.

Wikipedia

The church you can see today was begun in 1279 and was finished around the middle of the 14th century.
Inside it resembles Cistercian gothic churches, the nave separated from the aisles by wide bays and covered with gothic vaulting (Edited from museumsinflorence.com). There are some lovely frescoes inside too if you get a chance.

WikiMedia

Santa Maria Novella: Florence 2016

From the moment you enter Santa Maria Novella shop in Florence you are transported back in time. You are also reminded of the extraordinary amount of money the church has at its disposal. The place is exquisite and we were surprised at how busy, and how much money people were spending. It was like a fragrant feeding frenzy.

I have a set of these tablets keeping my wardrobe pest free and fragrant. They were a gift and my very first Santa Maria Novella. I love them and they are still extremely fragrant years on.

The homewares section is fabulous. It took ultimate restraint to keep my wallet in my pocket.

Anna-Maria and Jin being looked after by the extremely beautiful and helpful SA. I was not going to buy anything but then I spied some smaller bottles which turned out to be soliflore extrais. I tried and fell madly in love with the triple distilled jasmine extrait, the sample I tried which lasted 3 days on my skin through showers and general living. Sadly the product they sold me is gone in about 2 hours, it’s really gorgeous while it lasts though I am disappointed.

Anna-Maria was so sweet and bought Jin & I a set of the soaps as a thank you for sharing our holiday! Woo Hoo! Can’t wait to use them.

Here is the Triple Distilled Jasmine Extrait. I am sad now that I didn’t order tea. Next time.

Florence 2016: Photo Essay

The Duomo is the heart of Florence. It’s free to enter and the floor and dome are gorgeous. You can walk to the cupola up the top but Anna-Maria had done the one in Vienna and that was enough.

VisitFlorence

All through Europe we lit candles and asked God to bless our friends and family with bountiful lives, peaceful and funfilled.

On the Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge, no wonder Italian is a romance language) ignoring the jewellery shops but watching the people.

View of the Ponte Vecchio from the next bridge, it was a lovely walk along the river.

Anna-Maria was overcome by David. She needed a few moments to stabilize.

We caught the local bus up to the Piazzale Michelangelo. A perfect winter day with dappled sunlight over the city. It was a beautiful afternoon and from the bus we saw some amazing parts of Florence that you would otherwise miss.

Anna-Maria had a pre-mixed alcoholic beverage at the lookout. She was so happy.

Our dinner in the hotel was a complete disaster so we decided to go around the corner to the international restaurant of choice for the hungry and weary traveller; McDonalds. YUMMY!

Next night we had the best steak I’ve ever had in my life. The three of us shared 1.2kg of steak cooked to perfection. It came with salads and baked potatoes. OMG! So freaking delicious. If you are Florence you MUST go here and have the Special Florentine Steak.

I hope you enjoyed a snapshot of our amazing journey through Florence. There is more holiday to come next week.

Have you been to Florence? What is your favourite part?
Portia xx

Colony by Jean Patou GIVEAWAY WINNERS

March 14, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Post by Portia

Heya APJers,

Nice to be home and able to share the fragrant love again. Good luck everyone.

Portia xx

Colony by Jean Patou GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Pineapple, ylang-ylang
Heart: Carnation, iris, oak, vetiver, opoponax
Base: Leather, musk

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 2 winners who will receive:
1 x 2ml decant of Colony by Jean Patou
P&H Worldwide

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 14th March 2016 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org

prospectsplus

Neva

Nemo

The winner will have till Thursday 17th March 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.

Colony by Henri Almeras for Jean Patou 1938 + GIVEAWAY

March 11, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 14 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey Hey Vintage Vamps,

Looking through my older decants and I found a large vintage Colony EdT decant. I must have bought it 5-10 years ago and it is still in pristine condition; no evaporation or darkening of colour. So clealy I’m not wearing it so I thought lets share the love.

Colony by Jean Patou 1938

Colony by Henri Almeras

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Pineapple, ylang-ylang
Heart: Carnation, iris, oak, vetiver, opoponax
Base: Leather, musk

Colony opens like pineapple jelly with ice cream. It’s fun and silly and a little over the top. This glorious, fun-filled opening is just for the wearer though because before long Colony morphs into a different beast altogether. A rubbery, resinous, slightly powdery and dry leather. It’s beautiful and strange, the pineapple peeping out from between the other notes furtively for a while and gradually disappearing altogether leaving a clean, supple, fully finished and favourite handbag smell. I can think of no fitting place to wear Colony except in my own home so I can enjoy the ride. It’s strangeness is beautiful but you have to be fully present to enjoy its changes, otherwise it’s very easy to dismiss it as less than it is.

Flickr

Click on the links below to find out more about Patou’s Colony. It seems silly for me to go over the story of its creation when it has been so beautifully covered before.

Further reading: Yesterday’s Perfume and Non Blonde
eBay sometimes has older vintage bottles that go for astronomical prices
A fully new version was released in 2014 but I can’t find it

myprettypaints

Colony by Jean Patou GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 2 winners who will receive:
1 x 2ml decant of Colony by Jean Patou
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 where you would wear Colony by Jean Patou?

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 14th March 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 17th March 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.

Azar’s Jan + Feb GIVEAWAY WINNERS

March 11, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Post by Portia

Woo Hoo! Azar has got a HUGE line up of winners today. Thanks everyone for participating and thanks Azar for your outstanding generosity.

Azar’s Jan + Feb GIVEAWAY WINNERS

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

Today I am offering five (yes 5!) more prizes (No, you can’t choose):

1 x 5 ml refillable purse spray of Zoologist Bat
1 x 2 ml carded sample of the same Bat fragrance
1 x complete set of small Pirouette Essentials gift soaps that also includes a 1 ml decant of Pirouette Essentials Wild Spruce and Tobacco
2 x sets of five 2ml decants from the list in my Back-Up Bottles post (The winners of Back-Up Bottle decant sets can specify five different (no double-ups please) fragrances from the list when they contact Portia with their mailing information.)
P&H Worldwide

HOUSEKEEPING

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

propercourse

Fazal wins the Bat purse spray.

Poodle wins the Bat carded sample.

Jaybee wins the Pirouette Essentials gift soaps

The two winners of the back-up bottle decants are Nemo and Patty Pong.

The winners will have till Sunday 13th March 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.

Venice 2016: Photo Essay

March 10, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 32 Comments

Post by Portia

Venice! One of my favourite cities in the world. In 2016 we were sensible enough to have 2 of our girlfriends with us, Anna-Maria and Tara. Jin was under the weather and spent quite a bit of time sick in bed. The girls & I managed to squeeze in SO MUCH of the touristy stuff and also some Venetian secrets. Weirdly I was so busy that I took hardly any scenery shots, sorry. It was super fun and it made me love Venice even more…

Venice 2016: Photo Essay

We are ARRIVED!! Hello Venice

Jin has a fave restaurant. we had to eat there on our first night. It was delicious.

In the VERY squishy lift at our hotel

Hotel bathroom products. POSH!

St Marks Square in the Doge’s palace colonnades

As evening falls we make our way to a cafe.

Next day we go sightseeing

High Tea in a swanky hotel. Thanks Anna Maria

Doge’s Palace Tour

Iconography

St Marks Square

Water Bus

Dinner on the canal in the shadow of the Ponte de Rialto

On Murano Island. St Tara of the tired legs

Buying Murano Glassware

Visiting Peggy Guggenheim. Managed to make all of us look shit in this shot except Jin,
who was sick as a dog and really did look like shit.

Harry’s Bar, where the cool kids go. We sat at the bar and weere entertained by the barman

Tara leaving us.

Venice'16 #28 YAY!

Realising that we missed Tara after 5 minutes and had nothing nice to say to each other

Even Venice was beautifully sad she had gone

On our way to Florence!

Taormine by Yann Vasnier for Keiko Mecheri 2010

March 9, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 18 Comments

Post by Portia

Hi there Fragrance Family,

It’s still high summer here in Sydney, 7am and already a humid 22C/72F. We have a ceiling fan in the bedroom and even under that I found it sweaty. So I jumped out of bed (let’s face it, no use lying there grumbling and I know myself well enough to know that there will be no sleep till this afternoons nana nap) and wandered my perfume library looking for a spritz of solace. I was tempted by Amouage Lyric Man, DIOR New Look 1947, JHaG Anyway, Byredo Black Saffron and Cacharel Liberté yet none of them were exactly what I was looking for. Then my eyes alighted upon the Keiko Mecheri boxes, I have two that are summer all over for me Un Jour d’Ete and the one I chose…

Taormine by Keiko Mecheri 2010

Taormine by Yann Vasnier

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Sicilian petitgrain, Calabrian bergamot, Italian citron, bitter almond, aromatic chord, floral notes, leather

That was three days ago and since I’ve worn nothing but this weird salty citrus beauty. There’s not much to say about it really except it goes on all salted citrus, like drinking salty lemonade in India. It stays that way for a while, sweet and refreshing with a side swipe of sweaty. Like a salty Shalimar light.

Then it morphs into something a little bit more biscuit based, like lemon meringue pie eaten in a brand new leather chair.

Pexels

I know that as a review this completely sucks the weiner but that’s it in a nutshell and I freaking LOVE IT. Taormine is excellent. I’m sweltering in 36C in the shade here and the only thing cooling me down is a spritz from Keiko Mecheri’s Taormine.

Further reading: Olfactorialist
LuckyScent has $140/75ml + Samples
Libertine has $279/75ml + FREE Australian Shipping

Have you tried it?
Portia xx

Mardi Gras 2016: Photo Essay

March 6, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 18 Comments

Post by Portia

Hi there APJ Crew,

Last night we had the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras. It’s a hugely popular event down here and with perfect weather conditions the streets of Sydney were chockablock. It’s estimated that 2016 could be the second best attended Mardi Gras in the history of the parade going all the way back to 1978. Police are saying 300,000+ people lined the parade route. There were 103 floats that ranged from the Australian Police & Armed Forces, Politicians (it was the first time ever for a Federal Opposition Leader to march in the parade and our Prime Minister was in the VIP section watching), various businesses (ANZ, Twitter, Google, Facebook, AirBnB, QANTAS + many more), out Health workers (from nurses and doctors to dentists and mental health workers) and the myriad social groups that have grown around Australia across the many different tribes and subcultures of the LGBTIQ community.

This year I was invited to host the Sideshow Glam Stands with Australia’s current Mr Movies Andrew Macardo, with whom I was at MTV many moons ago, though we had different shows. Over the years I have done it at least ten times but last night felt extra special. Why? Well firstly I had organised a bus to bring in 47 people from my Trivia nights and for many of them it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Plus I grabbed some others of my mates tickets too so there ended up being nearly 70 of my buddies in the crowd, I felt like I was having a chat with my mates and explaining some things that they probably didn’t know about the LGBTIQ community. It created a real sense of family for me on the night, and hopefully for the rest of the crowd.

Secondly, the Dykes On Bikes invited me to become part of their parade entry. Doesn’t sound incredible but let me put that in perspective for you. Sydney’s GLBTIQ community is notoriously clique driven. People will find their tribe and stick fairly close to them. The one time in our history when that changed was during the 1980s & 90s when HIV/AIDS hit and suddenly we were all galvanised into a single entity fighting to help our crews who were dying. There were fundraisers, marches, charity events, dance parties and the ever present funerals of the young, beautiful, talented and wonderful friends that we lost too soon to the illness or suicide. Since the diagnosis of HIV is not a guaranteed death sentence and is now a life sentence of drug regime (like diabetes, liver malfunction or any number of chronic diseases) the community has splintered.

So, to be invited to be the first ever non dyke to ride with the Dykes On Bikes was an astounding and momentous occasion. Pillion passenger on the last bike of hundreds and riding in the wake of a mass of womanity and feeling the love and hearing the roar of the crowd was a highlight of my life, a life that has been filled with wonderful. The women could not have been friendlier or more welcoming and I was so nervous and excited that my teeth were buzzing. My only sadness is that most of you will never know how it feels to be a part of that moment, that incredible overflowing magic that I felt (completely drug and alcohol free).

Oh and for those of you who care about fragrance I was wearing Truth or Dare by Madonna. There was a rumour that she was going to close the afterparty so I thought it would be cool to open the weekend with her too.

So thank you Mardi Gras 2016. You were amazing.
Portia xxx

Mardi Gras 2016: Photo Essay

Some of the pictures are mine, some stolen from my friends on facebook and my BFF Kath gave me the video and some pics too. I hope you enjoy a fleeting look at the 6 hours that made up my night.

Yes, that’s me waving like a lunatic in the flesh dress on the back of a bike. WOO HOO!

Mardi Gras 2016 #14

I know it’s hard to get a sense of the fun and excitement through these static photos. You need to come to Sydney for Mardi Gras Parade. First Saturday in March. Come, we’ll look after you.

Happy Mardi Gras.

Portia xxx

Tranoï Paris 2016: Photo Essay

March 5, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 27 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey APJ Crew,

One of the great things about being in the frag crowd is getting to do things that few other people do. An invitation from a frag buddy can turn out to be something incredible. One of our great holiday highlights was hanging with the cool niche crews at Tranoï in Paris.

Tranoï Paris 2016

Tranoï

At the entrance I was met by Nicolas Chabot of Le Galion, he had invited Jin & I to come see the show and have some fun with the crew. Suitably attired with my PRESS PASS it was inside to the enormous room and the entryway was an aisle of some of Europe’s Independent Fragrance Houses. WOO HOO!

First stop was Le Galion, Nicolas and his partner Enno. They are a freaking RIOT! Here they are showing me the new range and they gave me a slew of stuff for giveaways. Coming very soon. My current favourite is Cologne Nocturne, a lush cologne that suits me to a T.

Tranoi Paris 2016 #4

Here with Roberto Greco who is the creative genius behind the Le Galion advertising and product look. He was really sweet and I admit to crushing on him madly.

Tranoi Paris 2016 #14

I really like Laboratorio Olfattivo’s clean style and want to spend some more time sniffing their brand. The couple I have smelled were YUMMY!

Woo Hoo! Neela Vermeire was there. So excited to see her and hang out. Any time in Neela’s company is good time. Her frags were very popular on the day and we had to leave her to the retailers and come back at intervals for mini chats.

The gorgeous Ulrich Lang was there too with his girl friend Erin. I noticed Lightscape before I noticed them and exclaimed how much I love it. Ulrich was thrilled and we spent a very happy half hour or so laughing and having a fine time, Neela wandered over because we were making so much noise. It was a really nice moment captured with some lovely people. We will be having a super Ulrich Lang giveaway soon here on APJ so keep your eyes peeled.

Tranoi Paris 2016 #8

OMG! Really? Pierre Guillaume is here! WOO HOO! I’ve been freaking crushing on him for YEARS! The sea of people parted, he looked across and our eyes met, Pierre smiled an uncomplicated welcome and I was lost. Absolutely fucking lost. He had all his ranges there but was hoping to gain more interest in his Pierre Guillaume Croisiere Collection. They are at the freaky end of the fragrance spectrum and I didn’t really feel able to focus to smell anything because the man’s charisma had me firmly in its grip.

Pierre tried to get my opinion on his newest from the PG range but my head and nose weren’t communicating. To be honest I had to get away because I couldn’t breathe or make coherent or cogent conversation. Ha Ha Ha What an ass-hat I am.

Histiores de Parfums are so freaking cool. I love the way they make fragrance and the display was fun too.

After the event we went out to dinner at a super cool restaurant with Nicolas & Enno, one of my buddies happened to be in Paris too (Hey Andrew) and he came and joined the crew. As I was recounting my Pierre G story to the table none other than Mr Pierre G walked in with his partner & some mates and so he got to hear the end of my story before I knew he was directly behind me smiling from ear to ear. He’s cool, I like him.

After that we were absolutely smashed and went back to our hotel and slept like dead people. Our first full day in Paris was done.

LuckyScent, Libertine, Peony Melbourne and First In Fragrance have loads of the houses in stock, Surrender To Chance has samples.

I hope you liked the post, which of these fragrance houses do you like?
Portia xxx

Bal A Versailles by Jean Desprez 1962

March 4, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 18 Comments

Post by Portia

Heya Crew,

Last year Bal A Versailles was discontinued. It was quite a shock because I thought it was one of those fabulous fragrances that would go on forever. Sadly no. So obviously I went crazy buying new and old and now have quite a hoard. PHEW!

Bal A Versailles by Jean Desprez 1962

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Rosemary, orange blossom, mandarin orange, cassia, jasmine, rose, neroli, bergamot, Bulgarian rose, lemon
Heart: Sandalwood, patchouli, lilac, orris root, vetiver, ylang-ylang, lily-of-the-valley, leather
Base: Tolu balsam, amber, musk, benzoin, civet, vanilla, cedar, resins

Why did I feel the need to grab loads? Is Bal A Versailles an incredible fragrance, even still after multiple reformulations, IFRA challenges and a clearly dwindling need to stay incredible?

Well, I didn’t merely buy up new, I also scanned the eBay pages and peoples documents. It became a little bit of an obsession.

So I have told of my using Mum’s miniature Bal A Versailles parfum on the Barbies as a kid. The smell seems to have been with me on and off throughout my life. Comfortable and warm, its richness and plush glamour offset by the very mundane daily sniffings of it through the years. I have hazy recollections of smelling it on my Mum while we’d be sharing the couch and watching TV companionably after dinner or the golf/tennis on a weekend (me bored to death but happy to be hanging with my Mum) when I would make us sandwiches and either milkshakes or coffee depending on season.

WikiMedia

Then later in life to rediscover its beauty in a 4ml vintage parfum. Moving forward to recently when my mate Scott arrives some days lierally bathed in the radiance of Bal A Versailles and then we do office work and go to the various errands that need doing with me awash in his massive sillage.

How does Bal A Versailles smell? Big, fun, over the top. It’s a grand high kitchen sink fragrance that is to scent what Phil Spectre’s Wall Of Sound was to music. Think Tina Turner’s River Deep, Mountain High or The Ronettes’ Be My Baby. A cacophony of fruit and flowers underpinned by resins, woods and animalics. Nothing smells quite like it but I sometimes get Tabu, Aromatics Elixir and Dia mixed up with it when I smell them on other people. Nope, they’re not the same but they all have a similar sillage in dry down.

Is it a Must Try vintage? Probably not. Am I sad to see it discontinued? Yes, there was a place for Bal A Versailles but clearly it wasn’t selling enough to continue.

Wikipedia

Further reading: MuseInWoodenShoes, Australian Perfume Junkies and ThePerfumePosse
Beauty Encounter has a range od EdT and Parfume
SurrenderToChance has all sorts starting at $3/ml

What vintage do you hoard? Do you have a bal A Versailles story?
Portia xxx

Parfum de Peau by Jean Guichard for Montana 1986

March 3, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

Post by Portia

Heya Fabulous Fumies,

For years I thought Montana’s DNA spiral perfume bottle was too silly for words. Nothing’s changed, I still think it’s silly. OK, something has changed, now I own a bottle. It was on such deep discount recently that I could not resist. My mate Scott has waxed lyrical about the fragrance and having spent a small amount of time with a vintage mini that Gino gave me I felt it was time to forget silly and go buy the frag. My new acquisition is the modern incarnation and is quite different in the base to the original, that does change the way the fragrance wears but…..

Parfum de Peau by Montana 1986

Parfum de Peau by Jean Guichard

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Blackberry, ginger, orange blossom, pepper, marigold, black currant
Heart: Patchouli, jasmine, rose, narcissus
Base: Leather, amber, musk, incense

First spritz opens up sharp, bittersweet, tangy, pissy and rich. The metalic/oily twang of aldehydes and screechy super sonic blackberry and black currant are further amplified by pepper and ginger which give uber sting. Eau de Paeu is big, strong, overbearing and in control, even now in its modern form. What is different for me is that the base used to ground the opening a little, give it depth and tonality, make it lush and opulent. Nowadays not so much so I end up with all this crazy treble fragrance that seems slightly artless, all the arch grandeur has made way for trashy, loud, uneducated and poorly outfitted sluttery. How the mighty have fallen.

Flickr

Yet, I still love Parfum de Peau. The huge, shoulder padded, bravado does still lurk within the heart which is muted by comparison to the remarkable opening. Within 15 minutes the whole fragrance has quietened to a dull roar, only seeming less enormous because you’ve just survived a barrage, a wall of fragrance. The heart gives me the dry, raspiness of freshly ground black pepper, narcissus but a sweeter, softer, more friendly narcissus than the absolue. Also Parfum de Peau’s patchouli and leather make their appearance tempered by the flowers and vanilla. The animal which growled and howled through the original Montana has been tamed, caged, bathed and toilet trained, the tramp has become a lady in a bizarre twist of irony.

WikiMedia

Still naughty and outrageous compared to most of the 21st centuries mainstream and designer offerings and it lasts well at a lower level of hum for hours & hours. Once it hits the heart/dry down crossover there isn’t much change but merely fade.

Further reading: Now Smell This and I Smell Therefore I Am
FragranceX has AUD$66/100ml

Do you have a fave that has been reformulated but you still love it?
Portia xxx