Copal Azur by Bertrand Duchafour for Aedes de Venustas 2014

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Post by Poodle

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I was pretty excited to receive a sample of the Aedes de Venustas perfume Copal Azur in the mail. When I read the promotional material I was a bit skeptical. Oceans and incense? Could they really pull it off? Honestly, I had my doubts. I’m an incense freak but can’t say that fresh, oceanic scents are something I’m drawn to.

Copal Azur by Aedes de Venustas 2014

Copal Azur by Bertrand Duchafour

Copal Azur Aedes de Venustas FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Ozone, salty notes, frankincense
Heart: Incense, cardamom, patchouli
Base: Incense, myrrh, Tonka bean, amber

I’ve been to Tulum, which is the locale that inspired this perfume, and I don’t remember it smelling anything like this. I’ve also never smelled actual copal so I have no point of reference for it. Copal Azur is a mix of salt air and plumes of incense rising to the heavens. There’s a freshness that brings to mind blue skies and lush green foliage. It smells like the sea without smelling like an air freshener. The incense in it is a bit woody, not too smokey, and meditative without being churchy.

Copal Azur Aedes de Venustas Tulum-Seaside WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

The other bright incense perfume that I love is Heeley’s Cardinal. In comparison, that one is more like sunlight streaming through the stained glass windows of a church. Copal Azur is like sitting at a seaside temple at the point where the sand meets the jungle. It opens like a powerful gust of wind over the waves. You can imagine the sea spray hitting your face. The incense is there in every phase of the perfume’s development yet it never overpowers or gets very smokey to me but bear in mind I have a high tolerance for incense.

The salty mist gives way to warmer and greener notes almost like you have stepped away from the water to the shelter and shade of the trees. There’s a sweet, almost earthy quality that begins to emerge. As you’re walking towards the temple you can smell the branches breaking underfoot. The perfume takes a journey from coolness in the top notes to a definite warmth in the base. It is here where the Tonka bean and patchouli blend with the incense and woods and linger a bit until finally fading away like smoke on the breeze.

Copal Azur Aedes de Venustas tulum_sunrise lamassu72 DeviantARTPhoto Stolen DeviantArt

I thought this leaned masculine but hubby disagreed and said he liked it on me and I didn’t smell like a guy to him. That being said I still think I’d rather smell it on him. He likes fresh, clean scents that don’t thrill me in the least. It came close to being too chemical and clean in the opening but very briefly. Copal Azur blends the stuff he likes with the incense notes I love. There may be a bottle in his future.

Further reading: The Non Blonde and Goodsmellas (Vlog)
First In Fragrance have €210/100ml
Surrender To Chance have samples starting at $7/ml

So, do you like ocean or marine scents or do you avoid them at all cost for fear of smelling like an air freshener?

Hugs
Poodle

Pivoine Suzhou by Giorgio Armani Prive 2014

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Post by Trésor

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I have an aunt on my father’s side of the family, his older sister, with the most exquisite garden you could possibly imagine. An utter celebration of splendid visual and olfactory delights, hues of emerald, titian, crimson and goldenrod dancing in the summer sunlight. This is one of my happy places, one of which I remember so vividly visiting as a child and finding myself in a state of inimitable euphoria; in awe all of the mind-blowing pulchritude which surrounded me. Of all of the flowers in this exquisite garden there was one in particular which I found to be the most beguiling, the sweet aroma of which stays with me to this very day and reminds me of some of the most beautiful summers I’ve ever had as a child; the peony. Recently a dear friend within the fragrance community generously gifted me a selection of samples one of which is a breathtaking interpretation of peony and the latest addition to Les Eaux from the Armani Privé collection: Pivoine Suzhou. One sniff and it’s safe to say that I was in love.

Pivoine Suzhou by Giorgio Armani Prive 2014

Armani Prive Pivoine Suzhou Giorgio Armani FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Mandarin, pink pepper, raspberry
Heart: Peon, rose, May rose absolute
Base: Amber, musk, patchouli

Pivione Suzhou begins its journey on the skin as the resplendent essence of juicy and ripe mandarin orange, as breathtaking and luminous as the glowing rays of midsummer sunlight, followed by the mouthwatering roseate nectar of fresh raspberries infused with the scintillating fuchsia sparkle of pink peppercorn. I think it would be rather difficult to experience this ebullient sequence without smiling and feeling an aura of joy overcome your spirit, it’s the quintessence of frivolity and cheer.

Beneath the coy sparkle of Pivoine Suzhou’s incipience the velvet pink petals of a peony blossom unfurl, impossibly fresh and glistening with morning dew; a prime example of perfumer Julie Massé’s particular penchant for treating floral notes with absolute elegance and subtle grace.

Armani Prive Ad Pivoine Suzhou Giorgio Armani FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

As the peony continues to bloom it then begins a dance in rhythmic synchronicity with the delicate essence of tea rose. As I am explaining this it has dawned on me that it comes across in text as a traditionally feminine elixir (not that perfume has a gender to begin with, but I digress) but the reality is that even though this composition has been orchestrated around a symphony of delicate florals and flourishes of dancing light it maintains a particular androgyny that you would expect of something marketed as an Eau de Cologne. As it dries down a gentle watercolour ambience of amber begins to materialize, softly variegating the edges of blush toned petals and making way for the blanket of gauzy musk which takes Pivoine Suzhou into its final moments on the skin.

Pivoine Suzhou Giorgio Armani Shuangxi_Park_and_Chinese_Garden_Taipei WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

The sillage with Pivione Suzhou is beautiful tender but most certainly present, a treat for yourself and those you draw near. The longevity on the other hand is something of which I found myself delightfully surprised, it lasted for upwards of 8 hours on my unholy perfume eating skin. That’s bloody impressive for something which is marketed as a warm weather eaux in my opinion. I think this would be a wonderful first foray into fresh, ebullient florals or an excellent alternative to some of the more citrus laden fare that makes a cameo as the mercury begins to rise.

Pivoine Suzhou Giorgio Armani wet peony Liz West FlickrPhoto Stolen Flickr

Further reading: Sandra’s Closet
Larger Department Stores have the Armani Prive line

Do you have a particular flower which transports you to your very own happy place?

Until next time, kittens.

Trésor xx

Esxence 2015: Photo Essay

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Post by Val the Cookie Queen

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There was a time a couple of years ago when I said I knew some perfumers. I now have friends who happen to be perfumers. There is a difference. It is because of this that I was an “Epic Failure” when it came to sniffing anything new at the Esxence – The Scent of Excellence 2015. Fortunately you can read up on what really went down, perfume wise, on Meganinsaintemaxime, Chemistinthebottle, Colognoisseur and Cafluerbon.

Esxence 2015

Milan, Cookie Monsters and Hanging out with Friends

I managed to spend about four hours at the Esxence show itself. Most others spent three days. I hit the show with naked skin, with the express purpose of covering myself in Neela Vermeire´s Pichola. Why mess around with strips of paper? Neela Vermeire was exceptionally busy, but we still managed to grab half an hour together. With both of us talking nineteen to the dozen we managed to catch up quite well. I was thrilled to leave with the ultra-feminine (is that politically correct?) Pichola and a beautifully soft and stylish NVC suede clutch. Neela designed this herself and you can tell. Room for a phone, pockets for a compact, an 10ml perfume bottle, a lipstick and plastic money. Life in a bag.

Esxence 2015 Val #5

I took a look at the Masque fragrances, Aedes de Venustas Palissandre D’Or, Room 1015, and Gabriella Chieffo. I grabbed a bottle of Indult Tihota and will split it up and offer some to the APJers soon. I know, I know, I missed so much. Luckily the fabulous crew at First in Fragrance know what a space cadet I am and are sending me samples of the all important things that I missed. So actually I haven´t missed a thing. Smile.

Which gave me time to hang out with friends. Enjoy the few pictures that I took. I publicly thank Dr Fox, my friend, therapist and all round brilliant person for driving me there and back and for making sure I didn´t overdose on caffeine, tuberose or oud.

Bussis
CQ

Esxence 2015: Photo Essay

Esxence 2015 Val #1

Esxence 2015 Val #2

Esxence 2015 Val #3

Esxence 2015 Val #4

Esxence 2015 Val #7

Esxence 2015 Val #8

Esxence 2015 Val #9

Esxence 2015 Val #10

Esxence 2015 Val #11

Esxence 2015 Val #12

 

Travel Scent Choices: Singapore + South Korea Spring 2015

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Hey Y’All,

As you may know Jin is changing jobs so to celebrate this sudden rise in fortunes we are bringing our 2015 holiday forward from November to now, we leave on Wednesday. OH YES WE DO!

singapore trip AdvisorPhoto Stolen TripAdvisor

First stop is one of my long time buddies places in Singapore, hey Julie! I have never done a holiday in Singapore before; though my last partner Varun & I spent 36 hours in the airport because he didn’t have a visa while we were on our way to India. You would think we had a bad time, we did not. It was crazy fun, that Changi Airport is enormous.

korea cherry blossom TripAdvisorPhoto Stolen TripAdvisor

Then we go on to South Korea to visit Jin’s family. Cherry blossom time will just be finishing but I think they will still be slightly in flower. It’s Jin’s Dad’s birthday so we are taking them for their first holiday in years, two days on the west coast of South Korea. They think this is a ridiculous extravagance but Jin is hiring a car and we’ll drive 3 hours each way, fully across South Korea, and spend one night at a pension (not even a hotel because that would be too much). They are adamant that this kind of frivolity should be avoided and that we should be putting our money to better use. Fingers crossed they have a good time, Jin has really been working hard on TripAdvisor to get it just right for them.

Travel Scent Choices: Singapore + South Korea Spring 2015

So spring will be WARM in Singapore and mild in South Korea. I need a small range of fragrances to get me by till I can hit the stores and buy Misia by CHANEL. It’s the only fragrance on my To Buy List right now and I know they’ll have it in both Singapore and Seoul. So I’m thinking 5 frags, 2 bottles and three decants. It’s only 12 days.

Travel Scent Choices: Bottles

 

L'Heure Convoiteé II Cartier FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

L’Heure Convoiteé II Cartier: This arctic, powdery, furball of a carnation/iris is so fabulously elegant and lasts all day. I can spritz and go and know I’ll smell freaking killer until I shower. I also love that it has it’s own sturdy leather pouch which means I don’t have to worry about it in my checked luggage.

La Chasse aux Papillons L`Artisan Parfumeur FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

La Chasse aux Papillons L`Artisan Parfumeur: 7.5ml Rollerball (not pictured). Nick from Libertine Parfumerie gave me this one to test because they are brand new in 2015 and I thought what better place to try it than on holiday. Space will be tight, I need something small and easily accessible and the bottle feels surprisingly hefty. I also find that rolling La Chasse aux Papillons makes it last longer on my skin.

Travel Scent Choices: Decants

Chanel Misia Chanel FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Misia CHANEL: Yes, my decant is almost drained already. Makeup and leather together so beautifully, a delightfully powdery and lightly soapy wash of pure elegance. I can’t tell you what a zing this gives me whenever I spritz, it’s not just its own scent but the memories of all the other scents that it reminds me of through its life and you know what? I love it so much that I’m going to wear it on the plane.

Manto di Rugiada i Profumi di Firenze BaseNotesPhoto Stolen BaseNotes

Manto di Rugiada i Profumi di Firenze: I keep forgetting to wear this lovely green, resinous amber. It’s light enough for spring and will smell gorgeous on the cooler evenings. Softly nuanced and beautifully blended I always enjoy my ride. There’s a couple of ml left in my decant, I might as well use them up.

07 Vetiver Dance Tauer Perfumes FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

07 Vetiver Dance Tauer Perfumes: One of my mates Natalie from Another Perfume Blog (now defunct sadly) gave me a manufacturers sample of this one. I like vetiver very much and Vetiver dance has been sitting in my Must Try box for ages. I’m taking it with me so I can spend some time with one of the few Andy Tauer fragrances that I’ve not smelled.

What do you think of my choices? What would you pick if you had to take 5? It’s not forever, only a fortnight, so it’s not a really big decision. it is fun planning and choosing though.

Portia xx

Vintage Cabochard Parfum by Bernard Chant for Gres 1959

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Hey Vintage Fumies,

Recently I was lucky enough to find a 2/3 full bottle of the vintage Cabochard parfum in its gorgeous black & white pedestal box. It wasn’t cheap but it wasn’t outrageously expensive either and I had long wanted to own a bottle for myself, having sampled earlier in my fragrant life.

Vintage Cabochard Parfum by Bernard Chant for Gres 1959

Cabochard Gres FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Aldehydes, spices, tarragon, fruity notes, sage, lemon, asafoetida
Heart: Orris, jasmine, geranium, rose, ylang ylang
Base: Tobacco, vetiver, oakmoss, coconut, musk, patchouli, amber, sandalwood, leather

Bernard Chant: Cabochard 1959, Aramis 1966, Aromatics Elixir 1971. A trilogy or family of fragrance. His three masterpieces, all similar but riffing different elements. If you want to know what a car looked like then, below is a 1959 Cadillac.

Cabochard Parfum gres 1959-Cadillac WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

Now my top notes are slightly rusty, not in a big way but they have changed from the sample I had worn. I will have to use this up in the next year or so and I don’t think that’s any great hardship. The fruity sparkle is herbaceous, aromatic and dense. Imagine being in the storeroom of an Indian bazaar, the spark and buzz of faulty electrics, fruit and veg in waxy cardboard boxes, sizzling spices, bitter herbs, and the scent of dozens of boxes of sandalwood soap. That’s as full on as you can imagine, heavy, hectic, psychedelic scent that manages to be all this and warm & classy too. That is quite a feat to keep something so big from flying out of control.

Cabochard Gres Mary_Tyler_Moore WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

The flowers are a bouquet and I can’t pick any of them out, not really pick them out though I get flashes of ideas of flowers. It doesn’t matter anyway because already the base notes are coming through: sandalwood, tobacco, patchouli, leather and oakmoss are the ones I can detect but what I really smell is Cabochard. It’s the base of Cabochard that IS Cabochard to me. A gravel voiced granny with a fabulous high end leather handbag, a cigarette, hair done and nails painted and attitude. She’s lived and loved her life, and is reveling in her twilight years. A little bit creakier but mind as sharp as a tack and still ready for fun, a drink and a laugh.

Cabochard Gres granny YourStyleJourneyPhoto Stolen YourStyleJourney

Further reading: Bois de Jasmin and Perfume Shrine
My bottle from Ebay
FragranceNet has modern EdP $28/100ml before Coupon
Surrender To Chance has Vintage Parfum $6/.25ml

Do you have a vintage you love? Something that has changed in its newest form or is it gone altogether?
Portia xx

Louis Vuitton: Singapore City Guide

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Hello Intrepid APJ Travelers,

As you may know Jin has accepted a new job and we have bought a new abode. Very exciting times and because we are unsure of when we’ll next be able to travel (probably January 2016 UK & Europe) we have decided to bring our November family visit forward to NOW, leaving Wednesday. We’ll do a few days in Singapore, where neither of us have stayed other than the airport, with one of my longtime girlfriends Julie and then go on to South Korea to celebrate Jin’s father’s birthday. We are taking them away to the West side of South Korea for a couple of days, their first holiday in years.

singapore DesignerPoint PixabayPhoto Stolen Pixabay

So I thought it best to give you a glimpse of Singapore through the eyes of Louis Vuitton.
Do please enjoy,
Portia xx

Louis Vuitton Presents the Singapore City Guide

Montaigne by Richard Fraysse for Caron 2007

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Hi there Frag Family,

Caron is a fragrance house that is very hit and miss for me. A bunch of my all time favourite fragrances are from them. With Bellodgia I have a horde of the parfum as well as an ample stash of the EdP. Infini, Parfun Sacre, Nocturnes, 119, Nuit de Noel, Tabac Blond and Royal Bain are all in my collection and that’s a LOT from one house. There are a bunch that don’t work though, and they REALLY don’t work, so it’s always nice to find a new one that does. My frag buddy Scott and I were shopping the importer sale the other day and we spied a Caron I’d not yet tried…..

Montaigne by Richard Fraysse for Caron 2007

Montaigne Caron FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Jasmine, coriander, bitter orange, mimosa, tangerine
Heart: Narcissus, black currant
Base: Sandalwood, amber, vanilla

So my batch code tells me my Montaigne is a 2007, so re-released with the reformulation and I think it did not do so well. It’s certainly not one of the Caron’s you read or hear much love for, Victoria at Bois de Jasmin delightfully scathing of the sandalwood accord and the frag in general. Her nose is 100 times better attuned to picking such things and I miss the screech completely. Maybe my bottle has had a lot longer to settle?

Opening spritz has me smelling this fabulous fruity hairspray and makeup scent, there’s something completely over the top and carnival about Mointaigne, it feels irrepressible to me. It’s so perfumey it’s almost a caricature of perfume. honestly the notes bear very little resemblance to what my nose and brain smell. I get a high octane, 100% synthetic, dance all night, laughing, singing along, party girl scent. If ever a scent swang from the chandelier then Montaigne is it.

montaigne-caron disco PixabayPhoto Stolen Pixabay

Part of me is just laughing inside at how much fun someone wearing Montaigne could have.

Basically Montaigne wears pretty linearly for me, hairspray, nailpolish, makeup mixed with fun fruity tingles and a very thin dry down with a little amber/woods but really it is just a soft wash of sweet woods with a shade of fruit. This wash wafts softly around me for a few hours, longevity is quite good.

Further reading: Perfume Posse and EauMG
Beauty Encounter has $45/50ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $4.50/ml

Do you have a Caron favourite? Tell me…. and why?
Portia xx

Costume National GIVEAWAY WINNERS

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WOO HOO! Thanks for getting involved APJ, this is a particularly good giveaway. Thanks again to the whole crew at Libertine Parfumerie. You guys are amazing.

Portia xx

Costume National GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Costume National 10 ml Rollerballs

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week we will have 2 winners who will receive one of these sets:
1. 10ml Rollerballs of Cyber Garden and Pop Collection
2. 10ml Rollerballs of Scent Intense and Homme
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DID 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 (portia underscore turbo @ yahoo dot com dot au) 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 go to Libertine Parfumerie<<JUMP, find any Costume National fragrance and ONE of its notes…. NO DOUBLE UPS!

Extra Chance?
Tweet:  Costume National Rollerball  http://wp.me/p3PURw-3Mn  

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Thursday 9th April 2015 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org

winners-are prospectsplusPhoto stolen prospectsplus

Connie

Gregory Young

The winners will have till Monday 13th April 2015 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.

Patrick & Wayne: Magnolia Grandiflora

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Hi there APJ,

I don’t have a perfume post for you tonight. Life has been very hectic around here and somehow there is no post for now. OOOOPS! Jin & I have been out to dinner with a couple of totally top blokes that I have been friends with for 20 years and some other long standing friends. Though Jin & I have been together for 3 years still they’d not met him. So to make it happen they organised a dinner party. Roast goats chees stuffed figs wrapped in prosciutto and drizzled with honey & balsamic vinegar. Slow cooked curried chicken breasts with cous cous and sugar snap peas with a spicy jus. Chocolate souffle with raspberries and clotted cream. Fabulous drinks served to suit each course and basically a heaven night out.

Patrick & Wayne: Magnolia Grandiflora

Through the whole dinner though I was mesmerised by the perfection and beauty of the centerpiece, a couple of dinner plate sized magnolias from the front garden. Their ginger, lemongrass, citrus, vanilla and sweat scent wafting over towards me and completelyt breaking my train of thought again and again throughout the evening.

I stole one and brought it home. Here it is in the kitchen.

Perfection.
Portia xx

Patrick & Wayne Magnolia 2015b

Patrick & Wayne Magnolia 2015a