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Portia
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Hey there APJ Crew,
So half of 2019 is over! That sped by. WT A F!
Back in the pool this week! YAY! Feeling good for it, proud. Some adventures, events, fun, friends, food and it has been a stellar week for fragrance.
Saturday Question: Name One Perfume Released In Your Birth Year?
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Portia
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Hello Fellow Fumies,
At APJ we have a Saturday Question. Everyone gets to chime in with an answer, chat with other responders and it’s a fun event each week. Taking sides never means taking offence and everyone keeps it respectful and light, even though we can sometimes trawl the depths.
The idea is you’ll see it on the weekend or chime in through the week. Hopefully you will come back regularly and see if anyone has responded to your comment and you can reply to them. The aim is to generate real conversation and connection even though we are scattered around the globe.
NIVEA: When the blues hit, Nivea to the rescue
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Kate Apted
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Hey APJ community!
Now and then we all get hit by the blues. Life seems devoid of joy and the usual things we do for comfort lose all appeal. It has been one of those months, and worst of all, I have hardly any interest in perfume.
NIVEA 2015
When the blues hit, Nivea to the rescue
Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Mandarin, Bergamot, Lavender
Heart: Lily-of-the-valley, Rose, Freesia, Ylang-ylang
Base: Sandalwood, Musky notes
I devote an hour everyday to doing things fragrance related, such as taking a bubble bath in my latest shower gel, researching on my favoured perfume sites, catching up with perfumistas and/or re-sorting my collection. I haven’t even been doing that!
The only things I have been taking little sniffs of are related: my tin of Nivea cream that I never put on my skin, and my little sample of Nivea edt I bough a few weeks back. There is a gentle comfort to the Nivea scent that goes all the way back to when I was 8 years old.
I did try to wear Monsieur by Frederic Malle, but it made me kind of itchy in an internally restless way, so I washed it off. The smell of food has been off putting and actually made my appetite weaker than normal. I am definitely in the midst of something rather unsettling and only time will tell what it is.
Strangely, I am not inclined to sell any of my perfumes, yet a week ago, I put aside a stack ready for me to list on Facebook in various markets. Some bottles are even annoying me. My shower gels are unused and I have taken to using a bar of Allure (Chanel) soap I tucked away for when I needed a soap with minimal scent.
See? I am not myself right now. I have faith I will come out of this and my zeal for perfume shall return. But in the meantime, I need to ride out whatever it is.
Just yesterday, my eldest, H, sprayed his usual haze of Lynx (or Axe) Australia around his body and I felt I had been gassed with WWI mustard gas. I had to leave the house for frezh air! It is a pretty decent oud-like scent and I have no qualms with him spraying with abandon.
So, back to the blue tin of Nivea cream. There is something so simple, so universally appealing about the vibrant dark blue tin with the bold white lettering. It is a piece of ‘home’ found the world over. The tin makes a marvellously alive sound as it is opened. And inside is the thick cream that used to remind me of the purest double cream I’d see at the dairy as a child. Then the scent… Oh, how does one even put that heavenly powdery, metallic, hyacinth smell to words?!
I guess I want to be around the familar; things that are pleasant, yet not overbearing or complicated. I don’t even need to think about the Nivea experience. I can visualise everything about it with hardly any effort.
What brings you comfort when the blues hit? Are there any scents you warm up to, or perhaps avoid?
May you shine on, you crazy diamonds,
Kate xx
Villanelle’s Vero’s
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Val the Cookie Queen
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Well hello there.
I had not planned to write anything more about Vero Profumo. However I had a message last week from someone asking me what I thought was Vero´s best work; something I have been asked this many times over the years. I never answered it, as there is obviously no correct response. “Best work” is a a different question to the “what is my favourite Vero?” question, another one that I am often asked. I cannot answer the favourite question as whatever Vero I happen to be wearing is my favourite at that given moment. And despite there being no factual reply to the original question, I do have an answer. So what is her best work?
Villanelle’s Vero’s
SOTD 1.7 – 7.7.2019
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Portia
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Hi APJ,
A SOTD (Scent Of The Day) thread is a really good conversation generator. The idea is you’ll chime in through the week with whatever scent you are wearing. You don’t need to be super knowledgable, have high faluting tastes or be a published author to comment. Just tell us what fragrance you’re wearing, smelling, buying etc. and how it makes you feel and/or anything else about it that tickles your fancy.
You can also comment on everyone else choices too. It’s great to tell someone how much you love their choice, ask for more info about it, the house or perfumer. There’s someone here from around the world 24/7 and perfume people love to chat.
SOTD 1.7 – 7.7.2019
Continue reading
Scent Diary: 24.6 – 30.6.2019
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Portia
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Hey there APJ Crew,
It’s a bit chilly around these parts. This week marks 50 years since the Stonewall Riots in NYC, the beginning of the Gay Rights Movement. So I wore fragrances to match the colours of the rainbow flag for the first six days and something very special on the seventh. Loads of catch ups, people, fun and food as well.
Saturday Question: When Do You Back-Up?
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Portia
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Hello Fellow Fumies,
At APJ we have a Saturday Question. Everyone gets to chime in with an answer, chat with other responders and it’s a fun event each week. Taking sides never means taking offence and everyone keeps it respectful and light, even though we can sometimes trawl the depths.
The idea is you’ll see it on the weekend or chime in through the week. Hopefully you will come back regularly and see if anyone has responded to your comment and you can reply to them. The aim is to generate real conversation and connection even though we are scattered around the globe.
Heeley Blanc Poudre by James Heeley: Breath of Fresh Air
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Sandra
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Hiya APJ! How are you all doing?
I survived… The last day of school was on the 20th and we both came home and collapsed on the couch. Phew! What a year it has been so far.
Heeley is a relatively new perfume house to me. I tried Cocobello a couple of years ago and used up my decant quite happily. I never came across the Heeley brand in Rotterdam and therefore it slipped my mind. Imagine my surprise when I walked into a perfumery here in Basel and they had a small selection of his perfumes. I was looking for Iris de Nuit as I wanted to keep living in my iris bliss. Unfortunately they did not have it and instead offered his latest creation Blanc Poudre.
Heeley Blanc Poudre by James Heeley: Breath of Fresh Air
The Heeley website describes Blanc Poudre as follows:
“A powder white sensation
Originally inspired by French porcelain, this scent creates the feel and sensation of pure, white powder. A light floral and luminescent breeze passes over a cloud of fine, powdery whiteness. It’s apparent air of naked innocence, nuanced by an underlying warm, sensuality.
A Floral Bouquet
Cotton Flower, Rice Powder, White Musk, Vanilla, Sandalwood”
Even though the name of the perfume, Blanc Poudre, tells me that I am getting a powdery perfume, it is much more than that. It starts out as if I have dusted myself with a scented body talc. It is not talcum powder per se but something more complicated and elegant interlaced with white musk. I love this combination especially when it is scorching outside. Which by the way, it is blistering here this week (and there is no AC here).
What makes Blanc Poudre stand out for me is that there is a floral note woven together with the rice powder. Rice powder or flour does not necessarily have a scent. I suppose it entirely depends on the type of rice used. But what it does have is a sensual texture and pearly white colour. After reading that Heeley’s inspiration was fine French porcelain I can imagine holding an exquisite piece of Limoges.
After several hours Blanc Poudre has morphed into a luxurious skin scent dusted with vanilla and sandalwood. I bask in the drydown and hope to be able to smell like this all day long. Thankfully it has long staying power and gives me the sense of purity, cleanliness and freshness reminiscent of my recent trip to Lucerne with fresh and clean mountain air next to the lake.
Do give it a try if you like soft billowy powder scents. Do you like powder scents? Can you recommend other powder scents for me to try? Which Heeley should I try next?
Until next time.
Oodles of fragrant kisses,
Sandra xo
SOTD 24.6 – 30.6.2019
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Portia
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Hi APJ,
A SOTD (Scent Of The Day) thread is a really good conversation generator. The idea is you’ll chime in through the week with whatever scent you are wearing. You don’t need to be super knowledgable, have high faluting tastes or be a published author to comment. Just tell us what fragrance you’re wearing, smelling, buying etc. and how it makes you feel and/or anything else about it that tickles your fancy.
You can also comment on everyone else choices too. It’s great to tell someone how much you love their choice, ask for more info about it, the house or perfumer. There’s someone here from around the world 24/7 and perfume people love to chat.
SOTD 24.6 – 30.6.2019
Continue reading
Scent Diary: 17.6 – 23.6.2019
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Portia
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Hey there APJ Crew,
All quiet on the Jin & Portia front. Loads of work for both of us, catching up on our sleep, hanging out when we can. Some sensational perfumes on my skin this week, a wide range of styles and note lists. This is what contentment feels like.
Australian Perfume Junkies 