Guerlain: Sylvaine Delacourte in Sydney: Photo Essay

December 3, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 11 Comments

Post by Ainslie Walker

Hello lovely Perfume Junkies!

How are you all coping in the slippery slope into the festive season? Have you sent your fragrant orders to Santa? Have you been naughty or nice?

I have a confession: I couldn’t wait! I just bought a bottle (with a free additional bottle) of Sylvaine Delacourte’s new Florentina from her new La Collection Muscs. (An independent side project, i.e. not Guerlain)If you’ve not tried them, go on her website and pay a tiny 4 euros and order the sampler – then it’s a one off buy one get one offer on a full bottle – irresistible!

Sylvaine Delacourte Adventures Down under!

We had the pleasure of greeting Sylvaine Delacourte in Sydney in November – THE QUEEN BEE OF GUERLAIN. She really is personable, fun spirited and of course extremely talented and knowledgeable in person. Hopefully you’ve had a chance to read my interview with her for APJ while I was in Paris in October, which fills you in on all things Sylvaine Delacourte.

Guerlain: Sylvaine Delacourte in Sydney

Photo Essay

Cosmax, the distributers for Guerlain in Australia hosted a lovely lunch in Paddington at the Four in Hand Hotel for press and important people like Michael Edwards from Fragrances of the World. Here we ate and drank amongst beautifully set tables full of flowers and bee bottle factice. Sylvaine talked about her more than 20-year history with Guerlain and she held the group captivated. It was also at this lunch the newest Guerlain Exclusif was launched, Neroli Outrenoir.

Table setting at the Neroli Outrenoir launch in Paddington

Michael Edwards and Sylvaine Delacourte

Guerlain Bottle Porn

Now available instore – David Jones – the exclusives collection is to die for and worth popping on your list to Santa. I bought myself Angelique Noire (the greenest one) when I was in Paris, however I have popped pretty much the rest of the collection onto my wish list. DEELICIOUS! The core theme is Sylvaine’s desire to showcase raw materials in unexpected spotlights so the gardenia is presented in a lacey way. In Cuir Beluga we have leather, however it is more of a light soft caress of suede rather than something tart from a tannery. Neroli Outre Noir’s magic lies in the top notes seeming to remain throughout nearly the whole dry down. Any perfumer will tell you this can almost only happen by pure MAGIC. Notes of combined citrus, orange blossom, smoky, earthy tea for me also makes it a win.

Angelique Noire I bought in Paris in Septermber!

Bee bottle Factice from table setting to swoon at

Lily of the Valley that was on my table setting at home in my Mud vase!

Sylvaine then spent a few days upstairs at David Jones level 7 where she did a question and answer style talk for VIP’s and the Sydney Perfume Lovers Meetup Group. In addition and a highlight for me were two workshops where participants created their own Guerlain-esque floral fragrance. After learingin all about the raw materials from Sylvaine herself! I spent the entire time with jaw on the floor, inspired and absorbing everything. How lucky we were to have her visit and share this wonderful insider knowledge and experience!

Have you experienced the Exclusifs range? What are your thoughts and favorites?

Xx until next time! XX Ainslie XX

Coast Sydney: NEW True Collection Perfume Oil

December 2, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 23 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey there APJ,

You may already be aware of the Coast Sydney Candle Range. They are a cool crew with a natural leaning candle range using sustainable soy with no Paraffin and Palm Free. They use high quality fragrance oil or essential oils and a natural untreated woodwick that creates a soothing crackling sound. Cool stuff.

Go see COAST at their site.

COAST

Coast SUPPORTS: Women for Women International supports female survivors of war with tools and resources to move from crisis and poverty to stability and self sufficiency. Two dollars from the sale of each candle will benefit Women for Women International.

Coast Sydney: NEW True Collection Perfume Oil

Got it? Great. So they have decided to create a new fragrance range, well priced stocking stuffers in rollerballs. Simple, wearable fragrances for day to day living. Perfect for handbags, beach totes, gymbags and for travelling. They are perfumed oils so instead of throwing the scent ahead of you it wraps itself around you in a soft focus, fragrant scarf or sarong, depending on your season. Now of you are a hardcore perfumista these may be a little simple and wearable for you, I get it. For anyone who wants to smell good for an excellent price then these are worth a sniff.

Coast

Nice by Coast: True Collection Perfume Oil
Tuberose Touch

Top: Petitgrain, Clematis
Heart: Tuberose, Rhubarb, Ylang Ylang
Base: Peru Balsam, Patchouli, Vanilla

A green interpretation of tuberose that has a very crisp pettigrain keeping it interesting and refreshing while the ylang adds creamy tropical depths. Nice is about 250% better than I expected it be. I could easily imagine many of friends falling madly in love with this fragrance, mainly the women but there are a few men I think could rock it. Scott liked Nice the best and was very interested in knowing who the fragrance came from etc. when he smelled it. There is an underlying dissonance between the cream and the green that gives Nice frission. Base is a sweetened soft patchouli with creamy overtones.

Bali by Coast: True Collection Perfume Oil
Chempaka Charm

Top: Bergamot, Lime, Mandarin Red
Heart: Champaka (White Magnolia), Nag Champa (Orange Champaka), Jasmine
Base: Violet Leaf, Clove Bud, Amyris Wood, Vanilla

Bali is my favourite of the True Collection. It smells to me like cuddling with someone wearing a tropical fragrance on a beach with a fire burning. For something that I expected to be a floral with vanilla undercurrent it’s a huge surprise. Smoky, sweet, spicy and aromatic Bali is totally unusual. Slightly challenging in its potency when your nose is buried into it but as a waft while you’re going about your day Bali is exquisite. It could very well make the perfect incense scent and wears like a sweet and floral incense. An overtly feminine incense that smells a bit raspberry-ish and the incense is spicy hot and still burning in the next room. As you can tell I really like it.

Want to try them? I have a bunch of samples to giveaway.
Portia xx

Coast Sydney: True Collection GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 3 winners who will receive:
1 x Bali carded manufacturers sample
1 x Nice carded manufacturers 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

Please tell us what perfume oils you like or which of this pair you’d rather try

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 4th December 2016 10pm Australian EdsT and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Sunday 11th December 2016 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit

Japan & Korea Beauty GIVEAWAY WINNERS

December 2, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Post by Portia

Hey Crew,

This was fun. Thank you all for getting involved. We LOVE a giveaway here at APJ.

Let’s see who scored.
Portia xx

Japan & Korea Beauty GIVEAWAY WINNERS

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
18 Beauty & Fragrance products from Japan & Korea
1 x Travel Purse to hold samples
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Thursday 1st December 2016 10pm Australian EdsT
Wine was chosen by random.org

RuthF

The winners will have till Wednesday 7th December 2016 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit

What Ruined That Perfume For You?

December 1, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 29 Comments

Post by Portia

Chatting to a buddy the other day and she said, “No, I can’t wear that. A hideous person at (a job they hated) wore it and I can only think of her when I smell it.” Then in a comment on the What Perfumes Remind You Of Mum? post a couple of weeks ago Nelle said she wouldn’t wear the exact fragrance her mum would wear so that cuts them out for her too. So because of these two unrelated events I started asking other people if they’d had a fragrance ruined or made unwearable. It’s surprising how many people do have a story along similar lines. So I’d like to know your story if you have one too.

What Ruined That Perfume For You?

My story? Well mine are not quite the same as most of the stories I’m hearing. Only in the last couple of years, about 2 decades since the event, am I able to smell A’Men without retching. here’s why…..

Fragrantica

A*Men by Thierry Mugler

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, Coriander, Lavender, Peppermint
Heart: Heart Notes Honey, Jasmine, Caramel, Lily-of-the-valley, Patchouli, Cedarwood
Base: Amber, Benzoin, Coffee, Musk, Sandalwood, Storax, Tonka bean, Vanilla

A*Men by Thierry Mugler was totally ruined for me one night while I was hosting a club. It was the launch of the fragrance in Australia and we had to give out samples and spritz people with A*Men. A gust of it got caught down the back of my throat and in my nostrils and stayed there for three days. It’s ALL I could smell for three days. It has taken me nearly two decades to be able to smell A*Men without dry retching.

The final fix was after I had a shower at Thailand airport in 2014 on our way to Europe and I forgot to take my glasses into the shower room where I clumsily dropped and smashed my 10ml Oriental Lounge by The Different Company. That got me really flustered so I just grabbed any old decant from my Wetpack and guess what it was? Yep, A*Men. I don’t even know how or why it was in there. I didn’t hate it. Anyway, thank goodness we were up the front so I wasn’t sitting next to some poor bugger in cattle, fumigating them. Even at the end of the flight into Vienna Michael could still smell me, softly but persistently.

Fragrantica

LouLou by Cacharel

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Aniseed, Iris, Jasmine, Cassia, Lily, Mimosa, Plum, Violet, Cinnamon
Heart: Heliotrope, Orris root, Orange blossom, Pot marigold, Tuberose, Ylang-ylang
Base: Benzoin, Musk, Sandalwood, Vanilla, Frankincense

LouLou by Cacharel was a HUGE hit amongst my age group as I became a young adult. Almost every girl in our circle was gifted it for birthdays & Christmas in the first three or four years it appeared. What started out a fabulously different divergence from everything else that was going on quickly became overwork and in doses that could dry clean your brain.

In another exciting turn around though nowadays LouLou brings back happy memories of fun and laughter in times where the most pressing obligations were getting Fashion School assignments done and most important decisions which club we were going to get plotless in that night. Heady, happy days. We knew we were blessed and made all efforts to squeeze every last drop of enjoyment out of our youths.

Now it’s over to you. What or who ruined which fragrances for you?
Portia xx

Diorissimo GIVEAWAY WINNER

December 1, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 3 Comments

Post by Portia

Hello Lovelies,

LOADS of interest for this GIVEAWAY! Thanks for getting involved all.
Portia xx

Diorissimo GIVEAWAY WINNER

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, Green leaves
Heart: Amaryllis, Boronia, Lilac, Jasmine, Lily, Lily-of-the-valley, Rosemary, Ylang-ylang
Base: Sandalwood, Civet

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x 100ml bottle vintage Diorissima EdT (around 30-40% left)
1 x 7.5ml bottle vintage Diorissima parfum
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Wednesday 30th November 2016 10pm Australian EdsT
Winner was chosen by random.org

TIM

Japan & Korea Beauty

November 30, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 27 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey Hey Gang,

While we were away recently I bought a bunch of stuff in the Korean & Japanese Beauty Departments. One of the excellent things about them is how generous they are with their GWPs and Samples when you shop. Now I rarely do any facial beauty regime except a bottle L’Occitane make-up removing oil alternated with Grape Seed Oil. The rest of my life is soap & water. Yes, I know.

5th Anniversary Korean BarBQ in Seoul with Yu Gil, SarahK, me and Jin Nov 2016

Anyway, I have a shitload of stuff here and instead of letting it sit here unloved I thought I should share the largesse. The companies are Etude House, Skinfood and Shu Uemura. All excellent stuff and you and your skin will thank me. There is also an hermes Monsieur Li Bath Gel Sample and some Guerlain products, including a sample of La Petite Robe Noire. You are going to have a ball with so much stuff to try. There is also a little purse that you can keep your samples safely together in your bag.

Japan & Korea Beauty GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
18 Beauty & Fragrance products from Japan & Korea
1 x Travel Purse to hold samples
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please tell us what perfume samples you’ll put in your Travel Purse

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 1st December 2016 10pm Australian EdsT and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Wednesday 7th December 2016 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit

Lumiere Noire Pour Homme by Francis Kurkdjian for Maison Francis Kurkdjian 2009

November 29, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

Post by Portia

Hello Niche Nerds,

Few perfume creators get as much respect and adoration as Francis Kurkdjian. From his early Le Male for JPG and Elizabeth Arden’s Green Tea, through Elie Saab Le Parfum and Narciso Rodriguez For Her to his own eponymous line we have watched and smelled a man in love with orange blossom create some of the most memorable scents of his time, and some dross but let’s ignore that today. I thought that with LVMH circling to buy the brand that I might look at the few MFK fragrances I have in my collection over the next few weeks. I was happily surprised for Francis Kurkdjian to read that the business is generating 25 million euros per annum, that’s quite a slug of money for what my mind had pegged as a small niche house. I hope LVMH pays through the nose but my advice is to buy what you love ASAP because LVMH is a monster and the whole line will be castrated beyond recognition.

Lumiere Noire Pour Homme by Maison Francis Kurkdjian 2009

Lumiere Noire Pour Homme by Francis Kurkdjian

Fragrantica

Maison Francis Kurkdjian gives these featured accords:
Spiced Rose, cumin, cinnamon, patchouli, mugwort herb

My Lumiere Noire Pour Homme is from a decant I bought in a split a year or so ago. Of the 10ml I have used about 2ml in the intervening time, which is pretty normal for something that I really liked but did not go DooLally over. If I had less fragrance choice there would be much more of it gone. Now I think part of the reason that I didn’t go especially crazy over Lumiere Noire Pour Homme is because I don’t seem to get the same ride as everyone else in the blogs professes to have had. My skin throws such a different set of scents that I was wrong footed by the unexpected. So let’s look at how my skin and nose read it and later in the comments you can tell me how it smells for you.

WikiCommons

Roses? Chance would be a fine thing. I hardly get any bloody roses. My skin throws radiant patchouli, lightly herbaceous greenery, soft focus clean cumin and resins, balmy smooth, cool and comforting resins that smell like they have a hint of fluffy, old fashioned musks running through them. Maybe even a whisper of white flower washing everything clean. It smells great in an elegant, understated way and lasts forever on my skin but all the dark roses completely pass me by.

Lumiere Noire Pour Homme does smell expensive and though I’m fully fragrant it manages to feel under the radar and I would really like to spray it on one of my friends after a workout to see how it smells on muscleman.

Wikipedia

Further reading: Fragrance Daily and Memory of Scent
LuckyScent has $195/75ml
Surrender To Chance has samples from $4/ml

So, have you tried Lumiere Noire Pour Homme? How did it smell for you?
Portia xx

Melbourne Launch of Penhaligon’s Portraits Collection

November 29, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Post by Portia

Heya Melbourne crew,

Nick from Libertine Parfumerie asked me to pass along this invitation to you guys for Wednesday 30th November. It looks like it will be a fabulous evening and a great way to get your sniff on the newest range with the outrageous brass animal caps. You can see my reviews of the Penhaligon’s Portraits Collection. RSVP dan@agencedeparfum.com.au cost is $49/person redeemable against cost of any of the Galerie de Parfum range.

Portia xx

Melbourne Launch of Penhaligon’s Portraits Collection

Fragrantica

Diorissimo EdT vintage by Edmond Roudnitska for DIOR 1956

November 28, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 45 Comments

Post by Portia

Hello Vintage Lovers,

Recently a family that I know had a tough decision, their mother/grandmother finally went to a home. Alzheimers has ravaged her mind and sadly it was becoming impossible for the family to keep her with them. Interestingly, she has calmed down considerably, is much happier and more relaxed in the care of professionals. They keep her clean and understand much more how to deal with the moods, aggression, nudity and lack of memory that goes with this debilitating disease. I watched the decline till Nonna was too far gone to come to trivia. Heartbreaking. We used to have so much fun, even in the early stages of Alzheimers she was sharp as a tack and hilarious.

Anyway, the family just cleaned out Nonna’s fragrances and brought then to me. One of the bottles is 1/3+ full 100ml vintage bottle of Diorissimo. Flawlessly perfect with all notes intact. Thing is, I already have a bottle of each strength with more than I’ll ever use in my lifetime. So I thought I’d share the love.

Diorissimo EdT vintage by DIOR 1956

Diorissimo EdT vintage by Edmond Roudnitska

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, Green leaves
Heart: Amaryllis, Boronia, Lilac, Jasmine, Lily, Lily-of-the-valley, Rosemary, Ylang-ylang
Base: Sandalwood, Civet

OK, I have to tell you this to effect full disclosure. My love for Diorissimo has been outshone by both Jessica Mauboy’s Be Beautiful and Muguet Porcelain by Hermès, their melon/LotV mix has me enraptured.

I thought I would add in a vintage parfum to sweeten the deal, just opened the cellophane and had a sniff to make sure that it’s real and fresh. It is. So perfect you will weep. It still has its plastic stopper in place!

Here are some pics of what you’ll win.
Portia xx

Diorissimo GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x 100ml bottle vintage Diorissima EdT (around 30-40% left)
1 x 7.5ml bottle vintage Diorissima parfum
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please tell us why you’d like to try Diorissimo or if you have a Lily of the Valley favourite

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Wednesday 30th November 2016 10pm Australian EdsT and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Wednesday 7th December 2016 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit

Diorella GIVEAWAY WINNER

November 27, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 1 Comment

Post by Portia

Hey Crew,

Thanks for getting involved. Let’s see who won,
Portia xx

Diorella GIVEAWAY WINNER

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Basil, Bergamot, Green notes, Melon, Lemon
Heart: Cyclamen, Carnation, Honeysuckle, Jasmine, Peach, Rose
Base: Oakmoss, Musk, Patchouli, Vetiver

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x Sample from my vintage Diorella EdT
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Saturday 26th November 2016 10pm Australian EdsT
Winner was chosen by random.org

Bernadette Winfield-Gray

The winner will have till Thursday 1st December 2016 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit

Guerlain: Sylvaine Delacourte in Sydney

Photo Essay

Coast Sydney: NEW True Collection Perfume Oil

Nice by Coast: True Collection Perfume Oil Tuberose Touch

Bali by Coast: True Collection Perfume Oil Chempaka Charm

Coast Sydney: True Collection GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

HOW DO YOU WIN?

HOUSEKEEPING

Japan & Korea Beauty GIVEAWAY WINNERS

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

HOUSEKEEPING

RuthF

What Ruined That Perfume For You?

A*Men by Thierry Mugler

LouLou by Cacharel

Diorissimo GIVEAWAY WINNER

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

HOUSEKEEPING

TIM

Japan & Korea Beauty GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

HOW DO YOU WIN?

HOUSEKEEPING

Lumiere Noire Pour Homme by Maison Francis Kurkdjian 2009

Lumiere Noire Pour Homme by Francis Kurkdjian

Melbourne Launch of Penhaligon’s Portraits Collection

Diorissimo EdT vintage by DIOR 1956

Diorissimo EdT vintage by Edmond Roudnitska

Diorissimo GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

HOW DO YOU WIN?

HOUSEKEEPING

Diorella GIVEAWAY WINNER

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

HOUSEKEEPING

Bernadette Winfield-Gray

Nice by Coast: True Collection Perfume Oil
Tuberose Touch

Bali by Coast: True Collection Perfume Oil
Chempaka Charm