Le Galion: Aesthete GIVEAWAY WINNERS

June 20, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 3 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey there APJ Crew,

Great response this week. Good luck.

Thank you so much to the Le Galion guys. Le Galion has €140/100ml (Shipping is only €10, even to Australia!)

Portia xx

Le Galion: Aesthete GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Italian mandarin, artemisia, incense, saffron
Heart: Leather, guaiac wood, castoreum, oud, jasmine
Base: Sandalwood, vanilla, white musk

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 3 winners who will receive:
1 x 10ml decant Le Galion: Aesthete
1 x 1.5ml decant Le Galion: Snob
1 x 1.5ml decant Le Galion: Cologne Nocturne
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 19th June 2016 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org

Nemo

Claudia S.

Ems

The winners will have till Wednesday 22nd June 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.

Dry Hair Shampoo

June 19, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 9 Comments

Post by AF Beauty

Hello loves,

I am still on my hair journey with my keratin treatment and I am getting more and more used to it – but in an attempt to make the treatment last longer I have been using a dry shampoo about once a week to try and reduce actual washes. It’s not my first foray into dry shampoo, I’ve used it occasionally for a few years – but let me tell you – not all dry shampoos are created equal.

Dry Hair Shampoo

Speedy dirty (!) hair

Batiste

I am presently using one of the most popular dry shampoos on the market. They have seemingly a dozen different varieties, which I assume all are broadly the same but with different aromas. What drew me to it was that they have versions for different hair colours, good especially if your hair is dark and your shampoo usually white! Yes, this is Batiste Dry Shampoo – for brunettes. The various choices can be found at Batiste Hair.

I am quite impressed by this shampoo, I’d used the non-colour version before on a trial and it was equally as good. It is fine enough to distribute through the hair and not so thick that it feels clunky. My hair immediately looks better, cleaner and if I want to look like I’ve got clean hair for a day longer than might be entirely true, then Batiste does the job.

Recreate Yourself

My first use of dry shampoo was based on advice from my hair dresser, so I purchased one from him. It was this one by Matrix. This being my first use of dry shampoo, I did not know then what I know now, which is that this is up there in the royalty of shampoos. The application is super fine, my hairdresser told me to apply, rub the fine powder into the roots (to remove the oil) and then either brush or shake the hair out. The dry shampoo did an excellent job, leaving hair feeling a lot cleaner and refreshed without the claggy feeling that some shampoos leave behind. This will be my re-purchase.

Priceline

And lastly, a dry shampoo you’d expect to be up there, from Pantene. I quite like Pantene shampoo and conditioner – I can’t use it right now with Keratin treated hair, but it is well priced and does the job. So I thought I would be safe buying their dry shampoo. NOT SO! I used this a couple of times before I twigged exactly how bad it was – it made my hair feel very very dry and each wet shampoo after felt like I might never get my hair condition back. There was no obvious indicator of this at application – it was relatively fine, smelled pleasant and my hair did look clean. But there must have been some lingering action, because may hair felt quite nasty afterward, like a cheap wig. In the end I threw the remainder of the can away to avoid further use.

How have you gotten on with dry shampoos? I often use as a pre-styler for ‘big’ do’s – do you? What is your favourite?

And now I’m off to wash my hair! Till next time! X

Pia & Nick on Love To Smell

June 18, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 9 Comments

Post by Portia

Hello APJ,

I’d like you to meet two of my mates, Pia and Nick. They are both ardent frag peeps, have worked and do work in the industry, have excellent noses and senses of humour and are starting their own YouTube channel. The first few videos they are learning how to create content and there are some fabulous clunky moments of heads down, mumbling and awkwardness. Do please go back and watch the first three because you’ll get a real indication of how lovely and real they both are, like two kids set free in a TV studio and having a ball.

What happens here at Episode 4 is that the whole concept seems to coalesce into really fun, informative and engaging TV, so do have a look as they introduce a BRAND NEW bunch of frags from a very famous old independent perfumery.

Enjoy,

Portia xx

Love to Smell Episode 4: Amouroud

Aesthete by Vanina Muracciole for Le Galion 2015

June 17, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 27 Comments

Post by Portia

Hi Frag family,

Recently I have finally got around to opening some more of the stuff from Jin & my Europe trip in Jan/Feb this year. The boys at Le Galion, Nicolas & Enno, were so freaking generous when we were together in Paris. Jin & I went into the Tranoï Paris as guests of Le Galion and Nicolas scored me a Press Pass, it was terribly swish.

Nicolas and his partner Enno.

Tranoi Paris 2016 #4 Nicolas with Roberto Greco: creative genius behind Le Galion advertising and product.

Back to fragrance though, today I have one of the new creations from the house Le Galion,. That’s right. the guys are now creating new fragrances to sit alongside the resurrected vintage scents. Clever!

Aesthete by Le Galion 2015

Aesthete by Vanina Muracciole

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Italian mandarin, artemisia, incense, saffron
Heart: Leather, guaiac wood, castoreum, oud, jasmine
Base: Sandalwood, vanilla, white musk

WHOA!!! I think I have sprayed overabundantly. Le Galion fragrances are usually so mild mannered but Aesthete has brought a big stink. Saffron, woods, balmy leather and a very cool incense stand out right from the start and the fireworks continue well into the second hour. Not overbearingly huge in a 1980s way but hefty and noticeable. If I believed in fragrance sexuality I would peg this leaning towards current ideas of masculine but do not be afeared ladies, it will smell glorious on you too. Liking it A LOT!

I’m not sure that it’s particularly groundbreaking but it is an interesting leather on me. Opens up with saffron & woods then quickly becomes a balmy leather with bells & whistles that I can’t place. A nicely vintage vibe.

Over 12 hours and still going, amazing! I smell beautiful this morning. It’s soft and intimate but discernible. A lightly musky balm, so smooth and with the merest hint of vanilla sweetness till i can’t smell it at all.

Le Galion has €140/100ml (Shipping is only €10, even to Australia!)

Le Galion: Aesthete GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 3 winners who will receive:
1 x 10ml decant Le Galion: Aesthete
1 x 1.5ml decant Le Galion: Snob
1 x 1.5ml decant Le Galion: Cologne Nocturne
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 have you tried any Le Galion fragrances? Which one interests you?

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 19th June 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 Wednesday 22nd June 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.

Boy EdP by Olivier Polge for CHANEL 2016

June 16, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 17 Comments

Post by Robert Herrmann

Hi Fragrant Friends!

Heres I am writing from my small island home in the great Pacific Northwest….

Funny thing about this new Chanel…when I first wore it I was decidedly ambivalent about it. So I wore it the next day, just to be sure. And then the next day and and and…..now I am completely obsessed with it, and find myself reaching for it at some point almost every day!!!

Boy EdP by CHANEL 2016

Boy EdP by Olivier Polge

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Lavender, rose, lemon, grapefruit, rose geranium, orange blossom, sandalwood, heliotrope, vanilla, musk.
The CHANEL website also adds fern to the list.

Boy EdP is classified as an Aromatic Fougere. Now admittedly, the fougere family of scent is not one of my favorites, I find the notes to be scarce and repetitive, and they often go bitter/sour on my skin. However this new Chanel for the Les Exclusifs range is working out just fine and dandy, actually WAAAY beyond my expectations!

CHANEL

Named after one of Coco Chanel’s early lovers, Arthur “Boy” Capel, was a famous sportsman and self-made millionaire who was tragically killed in an auto accident on his way to a rendezvous with Ms. Chanel at Christmas in 1919. Their tempestuous affair lasted for twelve years.

Boy opens with a blast of sweet lavender and heliotrope, but the sweetness quickly dissipates as the herbal qualities of the fougere step forward surrounded by musk, and what I think of as the classic Chanel (Chanelade?) notes found throughout the perfume range.

Solidly unisex, with a feeling of a vintage Chanel, but given a contemporary twist from grapefruit and lemon giving this an almost cologne-like vibe.

Yes there might be better scents in the Les Exclusifs range in my opinion, but I would (and have already) gladly add “Boy” to my full bottle collection! Sorry….gotta’ go re-apply!

Wikipedia

Further reading: BLeauG and The Whale & The Rose
CHANEL has €320/200ml
Recently CHANEL stopped all sample/decant stores from selling their products so you must go in store to try boy

Do you have a favorite from the Chanel Les Exclusifs range??

Cardinal by James Heeley for Heeley 2006

June 15, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 27 Comments

Post by Poodle

I went to a Catholic grammar school. Many of my childhood memories are of being in church. Damn, it seems like there was always a reason to have to go to mass. I have to admit I hated it. We’d even be taken to church during school hours to practice singing so that at mass Sr. Carmeline would be happy and convinced that we were loud enough for God to hear. She was a large, scary woman and had this giant bell she would ring to get our attention. The bell meant business, let me tell you, but that’s another story altogether.

During Lent there wasn’t much singing but we had to go to the Stations of the Cross every week. To a kid it was dreadfully boring, but I loved Lent because there was more incense. Incense was my favorite part of church by far. I still love my incense perfumes in times of stress and when I mentioned Cardinal in my last post Portia asked me to tell you more about it.

Avignon was a blind buy for me and I fell hard for it. It was all dark. brooding, churchy incense. It was love. On my quest to acquire more incense fragrances I stumbled upon Cardinal and found another to love.

Cardinal by Heeley 2006

Cardinal by James Heeley

Fragrantica

Heeley gives these featured accords:
White Linen . Baie Rose . Black Pepper
Labdanum . Frankincense . Myhr
Vetiver . Grey Amber . Patchouli

Cardinal is a church incense but it’s more like church on a sunny winter’s day. I remember sitting in church and it was usually cold. If you were strategic you’d try to sit near a window. You wanted to be in that ray of sunlight streaming through the stained glass. It would offer some warmth which was hard to come by in those big, old churches. Cardinal is a lot like that. It has dustiness and cold damp stone notes along with the incense but there’s also that visible ray of sunshine.

Mount Pleasant Granary

It’s all about the aldehydes. They tend to brighten and freshen up a perfume and that’s exactly what they do here. Add to that the amber in the base and Cardinal becomes a much warmer, happier take on incense. My only complaint is with the lasting power. On my skin Cardinal isn’t a powerhouse and it doesn’t last very long. Some days I may get a couple hours out of it but not others. It does linger on clothing nicely. Your mileage may vary.

If you love Chanel No 22 as I do but have always wished the incense was a bit more pronounced then I think you might like Cardinal. If Avignon always seemed a bit too masculine to you then Cardinal’s floral notes and brightness might be just perfect. Yes, it’s still contemplative and calming but it’s also hopeful, like going into dimly lit church, lighting a candle, saying a prayer, and walking out into the sunshine.

Geograph.UK

Further reading: NST and Olfactoria’s Travels
Healey has €125/100ml and sends to the world
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $5.40/ml

Have you tried it? Do you like it? What’s your favorite incense?

Hugs
Poodle

Geisha Vanilla Hinoki by Maria McElroy for Aroma M 2016

June 14, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 23 Comments

Post by Val the Cookie Queen

Hey APJ Vanilla Vamps and Vampettes.

The Fox becomes a mule……..

Dr Fox, my dear friend, CB therapist and partner-in-crime recently spent a few weeks in the U S and A. I decided on the spot that it was time for a blind buy and ordered Geisha Vanilla Hinoki, the most recent of Maria McElroy´s wonderful Geisha collection. The package was posted to Frau Fox-Mule at her US address. It travelled from New York City to Salt Lake City, onto Philadelphia, down to Kitty Hawk in North Carolina, onto Washington DC, and back to New York. From here it took a flight to Munich and then on into Austria by car.

During the three week waiting period, samples arrived of the Vanilla Hinoki, the EdP and the oil. I put them in the cupboard so that the thrill of the blind buy remained. And I left them there. Hahahaha. Did I hell. The next evening I grabbed the EdP and applied a hefty dose. A gleaming flash of bergamot ignited the room making the blind buy an instant success.

Geisha Vanilla Hinoki by Aroma M 2016

Geisha Vanilla Hinoki by Maria McElroy

Fragrantica

Notes include: bergamot, clove, cardamom, nutmeg, lavender, smoky vanilla, incense and patchouli, amyris, cedarwood

The luscious and sharp bergamot delights for quite some time, until the tantalizing trio of clove, cardamom and nutmeg push through. With a barely touch of lavender a calmness descends. Moroccan vanilla, the star of the show bides her time, until she decides to make a lazy entrance. She rises above her costars and lies herself across them all….. and stays there for hours. Occasionally disappearing to take a breath of the revitalizing hinoki, a beloved Japanese wood, the oil of which is used in medicinal treatments. But she returns. She is not loud but nonetheless quite stubborn. People do not die in her wake, those who come in close will recognize her. Staunch and stalwart she comforts and keeps tension at bay.

I am very generous with spraying, it is not a one spritz nuclear bomb. It lasts many hours, but I do know that my skin hangs onto fragrance for an extremely long time. Vanilla Hinoki feels like something I have always had – but haven`t . It won´t be for everyone but nothing ever is, except perhaps cookies.

Further reading: Non Blonde and Colognoisseur
IndieScents has EdP $90/50ml
LuckyScent has the Perfume Oil $60/7.5ml

Maria McElroy mixes her fragrances drop by drop. The bottles are filled by her and wrapped in exquisite imported Japanese paper. A skilled craft worker creating things by hand, the definition of artisanal. May there always be people who care enough to do this.

Have you found a vanilla to wear or do you prefer to eat it?

Bergamot Bussis
CQ

Amsterdam Fragrance Adventures: TinaG’s 2016 Europe Tour

June 13, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 13 Comments

Post by TinaG

The Netherlands is home base to a number of fragrance houses – Mona Di Orio, Puredistance, Hiram Green and Nasomatto to name a few. When visiting in May this year I mentioned this to my cousin Kylie, who was very interested in finding out more – so we decided to spend a day in Amsterdam hunting for Dutch perfume. What a great way for me to introduce her to the rabbit hole that is the perfume world!

Amsterdam Fragrance Adventures

TinaG’s 2016 Europe Tour

World Atlas Book

Annindryia Perfume Lounge

Our first stop also became our longest as I was totally enthralled and excited. We had dropped in to Annindryia Perfume Lounge and I had walked in to a small slice of absolute heaven. They stock a fabulous selection of Dutch and international fragrances. We were warmly greeted and shown around the display room. Kylie took to the whole experience and I’m happy to say she was instantly hooked. We sniffed and chatted for a few hours. Have a look at Annindryia Perfume Lounge site for an idea of their range. Yes they ship to Australia and yes the do samples.

Le Bienaimé by Erik Zwaga

This brand utilises the concept of up-cycling to create new fragrances from existing brands. The bottles would be familiar to most perfumistas – I spotted repurposed Chanel and Etro bottles, tied up with multi-house-branded ribbons. The names of the fragrances hint at their primary constituents: CHA-CHA-CHA-CHANEL, R-I-O-D (Dior spelt backwards), HERMEJESY. I picked up a sample of S.T.I.N.K (how could I not?) that contains Classic Opoponax, Èdition Rare – Petrolium, Floriental, Musk Tonkin, Obsessive Oudh and Song for a Queen.

Eau d’Amsterdam

Eau d’Amsterdam is a fragrant ode to the thousands of elm trees which line the city’s streets and canals. I had noted the springtime ‘snow’ without realising they were elm seeds, which behave like petals caught in the wind as they scatter themselves across the city. It is described as: Sunny green woody
It’s definitely all that, it has the dry astringency of a freshly snapped twig – really light and perfect for a warm spring day.

People of the Labyrinths

After leaving Annindryia Perfume Lounge I visited the store of fashion house People of the Labyrinths. Fabulous clothing, exquisite materials… I thoroughly enjoyed looking around & chatting to the sales assistants. They have two fragrances – A.Maze and Luctor Et Emergo. I tried both on skin and they generously gave me a sample of A.Maze.

Skins Cosmetics

Our last stop of the day was a shop & beautician Skins Cosmetics, located in the Het Conservatorium Hotel. They had a wonderful range of fragrances however most of the brands stocked I do have access to in Australia – Hermès, Frederic Malle, Byredo, By Killian, Le Labo. There were a few fragrances that I tried – the Clean range, and some of the Hermès range such as Eau de rhubarb écarlate, and Eau d’orange vert which I hadn’t tried before.

I had a fantastic day introducing Kylie to the fragrance world and checking out some special places & perfumes in Amsterdam.

Do you have a favourite Dutch fragrance house?

Tina G

Ulrich Lang GIVEAWAY WINNER

June 13, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

Post by Portia

Hiya APJ,

Thanks to Ulrich for his enormous generosity. Whoever wins today will have some very exciting fragrant trials ahead.

Portia xx

Ulrich Lang GIVEAWAY WINNER

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Mint, basil, sage, bergamot, tangerine, lime
Heart: Jasmine, geranium, violet, sesame, honey
Base: Patchouli, guava, moss, leather, amber, wood notes

Luckyscent has $120/100ml + Samples

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive these 2ml Carded Manufacturers Samples:
1 x Anvers by Ulrich Lang
1 x Anvers 2 by Ulrich Lang
1 x Aperture by Ulrich Lang
1 x Lightscape by Ulrich Lang
1 x Nightscape by Ulrich Lang
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 12th June 2016 10pm Australian EST
Winner was chosen by random.org

Suze

The winner will have till Wednesday 15th June 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.

Peter Morrissey Bath and Body Products

June 12, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 13 Comments

Post by Anne-Marie

Hi all, I recently had a quick trip to Sydney and in a hotel in Darlinghurst found a vanity packed with Peter Morrissey products. These days when I travel I tend to take my own bathroom stuff. Hotel soaps and shampoos can be drying, and it’s a waste to use them once and then leave them. If I take them home I find I don’t use them and they kick around the bathroom drawer until I throw them out.

Peter Morrissey Bath and Body Products

Hotel Room Finds

But I had not heard of Peter Morrissey and I was tempted. Peter Morrissey, I discovered, is an Australian fashion designer and entrepreneur. His clothes and homewares are sold in Australia through discount department store Big W. Grey and white seem to be the theme colours; the style is minimalist. Morrissey also specialises in eyeware, luggage, corporate uniforms and gifts.

It looks like his bath and body products – ‘Peter Morrissey Essentials’ – are available only in hotels. That’s disappointing because I really enjoyed the two I tried, the body wash and the body balm. White musk is the scent for all the products and for me, the white musk that many of us dread in perfume works beautifully in products like these. It’s a warm, clean but slightly earthy musk, skewed masculine. I used the balm after my morning shower and sallied forth in search of breakfast feeling elegant, put together and ready to face the day. I imagine the scent would layer well under something like Narciso Rodriguez for her or Chanel No 19 Poudré.

This and the body wash did not dry my skin. (Some hotel room moisturisers do the opposite of what they say on the label.) The claims for the Morrissey products are that they ‘use the world’s purest essential oils, organic plant extracts and avoid the use of preservatives and synthetics … There are no parabens, petrochemicals, artificial colours or animal ingredients’.

Now I wish that I had claimed the shampoo and conditioner, but at least I have the generous 30 ml tubes of body wash and balm. I’m sad I can’t buy more, but I’ll just have to go back to that hotel more often I guess!

So I’m curious to hear about other people’s experiences of hotel (and airline?) products. Are they generally awful, or am I staying in too many cheap hotels?

Until next time everyone, keep spritzing!
Anne-Marie