Eau de Cartier Essence d`Orange by Mathilde Laurent 2010

April 19, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 7 Comments

Hello Lovely APJ Family,

Eau de Cartier Essence d`Orange 2010

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Oranges, bergamot
Heart: Violets
Base: Patchouli, cedar

I love the sparkly, fresh burst of opening here, all bright ORANGE! It’s so fun and frisky and perfect for warm weather wearing as the Northern Hemisphere heads towards summer. For us down here it is still eminently wearable on warm Autumnal days like today, we are rocking 25 degrees celcius and the sun is shining gloriously. The violets at the heart of Cartier Essence d`Orange are like woody and powdery soft whispers awaiting the magic of very clean patchouli and woods to round them out and make them more interesting. I love the barely there dry down, it really acts as if my skin smells better than it does, as if it has melded with my scent. Cartier Essence d`Orange becomes a shimmering subterfuge that makes it an excellent date night fragrance, especially if your skin needs to smell 100% on point for the late night playtime.

I am not swept away in a cloud of magical and wondrous memories, nor am I transported to other lands when I wear Cartier Essence d`Orange but it is a lovely scent, quiet and restrained, that gets quite a bit of skin time. I’ve nearly finished my second 5ml decant and ordered a FB online. Honestly, I am lucky to get 2 hours of full fragrance here but that whispering dry down is a killer on my skin and I love it.

Photo Stolen mosleyLane

Further reading NowSmellThis
FragranceNet has 100ml/$50
MyPerfumeSamples has $2/m but I bought $6/5ml Cer-Ay-Zee CHEAP!!

You better get a sample first, this may only be so good with my chemistry. If you have tried Cartier Essence d`Orange, what were your thoughts?
Portia xx

Kampot Pepper from Cambodia GIVEAWAY WINNER ANNOUNCED!

April 19, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 3 Comments

Hello all.

We had a sensational response to the Cambodian Kampot Pepper Giveaway. Thanks to the amazing Jordan from TheFragrantMan and to all of you who participated. I love a little pepper in my food too, and in my fragrances.

Kampot Pepper GIVEAWAY WINNER ANNOUNCED!

Gifts – one bag of black and one bag of red Kampot peppercorns from Cambodia

HOW COULD YOU WIN

You had to leave a comment below telling us your favourite use of pepper in food, fashion or fragrance or Like The Fragrant Man on Facebook to be in the random draw.

WHAT YOU CAN WIN

One of 8 gifts consisting of one bag of red peppercorns and one bag of black peppercorns each so that you can taste the difference.

Included is P&P to anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Friday April 19th 2013 10pm AusEST.
Winners were chosen by putting names on same sized papers, folded similarly, put on a tray and TSO Jin picked them while he was cooking Terriyake Sauce for our Nori Rolls. YUMMY!! Whenever he cooks it the house smells AH MAY ZING!

Photo Stolen berryreview

Mim, SuzanneRBanks, Patricia (FB), Brie, Musette, Azar, Tomate Farcie, Tora (FB)

CONGRATULATIONS!! The winners have till Wednesday 24th April 2013 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or Portia will give the prize to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.

Excellent work everyone,

Portia xx

WE ARE BEAUTIFUL

April 19, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 13 Comments

Hello Everyone,

It’s interesting to me that people can not see how beautiful they are. This three minute movie inspired me to share with you all, because you are all beautiful. We are all beautiful, and so lucky to have life. It’s rude for us not to squeeze every drop of joy out of it that we can. Self worth and self respect,

Photo Stolen TheIdeasLab

WE ARE BEAUTIFUL

Portia xx

DOVE Real Beauty Sketches

Dries Van Noten par Frederic Malle by Bruno Jovanovic 2013

April 18, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 40 Comments

Hello Fabulous Fumies,

If you have been anywhere around the scentbloggosphere this year then Dries Van Noten par Frederic Malle by Bruno Jovanovic would certainly have registered on your radar. Uber famous frag royalty meets Belguim’s fashion icon in a scented cloud of mutual admiration. Quite the story…

Dries Van Noten par Frederic Malle 2013

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Sandalwood, guaiac wood, tonka bean, vanilla, saffron, jasmine, musk, bergamot, lemon, nutmeg, cloves, patchouli, woody notes and peru balsam

With all the hype I was totally ready to be underwhelmed by this offering, which is always a good place to start smelling because you can’t be let down. Warm marshmallow sweet and slightly spicy vanilla opens that smells so familiar, like someone I love is nearby, even though I’m sure that I’ve not smelled this mix before. Every time I wear Dries Van Noten it has instantly calmed and unruffled me, and today I am wearing the dregs of a 5ml decant.

Each previous time I have worn Dries Van Noten for the purpose of reviewing it has grabbed my head and asked me to just sit and enjoy its beauty. The whole fragrance feels extremely uncluttered, though it is dense. It goes through a milky, nutmeg stage that reads egg flip to me. An egg flip was dinner sometimes when we were young and made as a great treat for us kids, whole egg, nutmeg, vanilla, ice cream and milk. It was huge and delicious. Nowadays when I think how strict Mum’s budget was I think that maybe she was eeking out her ration by giving us a liquid dinner out of, at that time, extremely cheap materials. I’ll never know now but my sister Jodie and I would feel so great on an egg flip night.

There is the most beautiful woods here too, some resinous amber references, a soft whiff of jasmine that flies mainly under the radar and patchouli, clean and fresh washed. All there making a beautiful chorus under the egg flip.

You must try Dries Van Noten, it is a rich and glamorous fragrance that has me chomping at the bit for more, I’m so sad to have finished my decant. You know what that means!

Photo Stolen holzbau-brunner

Here’s the Frederic Malle site: A perfume built around natural sandalwood, chosen for its softness and its character, and the fact that it is simultaneously exotic and evocative of the tradition of great classic perfumes. This very short formula made of very precious materials, generates a sober but distinct sensuality. It is, in my eyes, a fair parallel to Dries van Noten’s world. ITS CREATOR: Bruno Jovanovic

Photo Stolen NYTMagazine

Tom at PerfumeSmellinThings reviewed Dries Van Noten today but has had a polar opposite experience to mine and also today ScentsOfSelf’s Dries Van Noten review is filled with ambivilence.

Further reading GrainDeMusc and Kafkaesque and Patty at PerfumePosse
Frederic Malle starts at $125/3 x 10ml (I think this is IDEAL for splitting)
SurrenderToChance starts at $6/ml

What a stunner of a fragrance. Have you tried it? Are you likely to?

Till tomorrow, take good care of yourselves and waft fragrantly,
Portia xx

Uomo? By Moschino EDT 1998

April 17, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 6 Comments

Guest Post by Margeaux

This month I’m reviewing a fragrance that I knew absolutely nothing about when I bought it on sale some months ago. Launched in 1998, UOMO? By Moschino is an interesting fragrance that I am still a lot unsure about.

Uomo? By Moschino EDT 1998

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Basenotes lists the following:
Top: New Hedione, Rose Wood, Transparent Coriander, Kumquat
Heart: Cyclamen, Cinnamon Leaves, Clary Sage
Base: Cedarwood, New Amber Accord, Artemisia, Sunlight Accord, Musk

Moschino is an Italian fashion label started in 1983, and became famous for innovative, colourful and eccentric designs as much as for founder Franco Moschino’s criticism of the fashion industry. The labels first men’s fragrance, Pour Homme, was released in 1990 with UONO? following many years later in 1998. Produced under license by Euroitalia, there are now 4 men’s and 10 women’s fragrances released with the Moschino name.

I love woody scents best of all and that was what originally caught my eye in the description of UOMO? when I was shopping for something new to smell. That and I’d never heard of it so chances were that I’d be buying and wearing something that few others would also own. Win win in my book.

The bottle is sleek and hefty, angled clear glass with a silver cap that is made for masculine hands. Its big but fits just right. The pale yellow perfume inside gives the overall bottle an understated and classic look, and it looks good on my dresser.

But that for me is really where the love ends, as I can’t find anything about UOMO? to really rave about. The opening is nothing remarkable, gently fresh and a little citrus, but without any big pow, punch or hit that I seem to desperately want from it. Some of the online reviews suggest that since reformulation it’s lost a lot of its kick, and that seems plausible to me.

Photo Stolen CulinaryCache

I’m straining to get much from the mids or even the base notes as it settles down, and although I’m sure that something is going on, its failed to command even an ounce of attention. Wondering if it was just me and whether or not perhaps I was immune to its charms, I’ve worn it around several friends with good noses and not a single one has mentioned anything at all about it, when they are usually very forthcoming with an opinion or comment on what I am wearing.

I practically drown myself in UOMO? and it smells nice, but nothing that makes me stop in my tracks. It also doesn’t seem to last very long either, and in fact, it disappears entirely for me after only 3-4 hours.
(Ed: Reads like a good work frag for after the gym)

All in all I find this very ho-hum, and very disappointing. I won’t be purchasing it a second time.

FragranceShop has $21/50ml
MyPerfumeSamples starts at $2/ml but $6/5ml

Until next time, smell good.
Margeaux x

Kampot Pepper from Cambodia Photo Essay

April 16, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 56 Comments

Kampot Pepper from Cambodia Photo Essay + GIVEAWAY!

In the 1920’s every French (restaurant) kitchen worth it’s salt and pepper used Kampot pepper from Cambodia, a former French colony. When Pol Pot became dictator of Kampuchea he declared Grow Rice, Not Spice, a rhyming but odd domestic policy as Cambodia suddenly had no exports. It used to export this to Europe by the tonne.

Like Champagne, this pepper has geographical appellation status because of it’s unique taste… and scent.

Black Kampot Peppercorns

Smell
The Top notes have hints of mint and eucalyptus followed by a floral heart and a base note that can only be described as pepper ++. The smell is enchanting, it is appetite enchanting, this Bordeaux of peppercorns is absolutely aromatic and a taste sensation.

Red Kampot Peppercorns

Taste
Add to strawberries macerated in balsamic vinegar to wow your next dinner guests. Rough pound with pestle for savory dishes or freshly grind to sprinkle just prior to serving. Oh, and throw away the MSG that you have hiding back left of your pantry.

Kampot Pepper is the first Cambodian product to benefit from the status of Protected Geographical Indication. The taste and smell is linked to the terroir, rainfall, the local water and traditional Khmer farming techniques.

It’s got a floral dimension that’s really something special.
Anthony Bourdain
Food and Travel Show Host

A certain sweetness to it rather than straightforward heat.
Michael Laiskonis
Le Bernardin
New York City

Perfect with Kep crab

It just so happens that I was in Kampot recently, eating crab cooked on the beach in nearby Krep, and pepper shopping.

We have 8 Kampot peppercorns to give away!

Let’s make that 8 bags of peppercorns to give away on Australian Perfume Junkies.

For you?

I use 2 parts red to 1 part black and words fail when trying to describe the X factor of the red peppercorns. There are also green and white Kampot peppercorns but these were not harvested when I motorcycled into town.

Gifts – one bag of black and one bag of red Kampot peppercorns from Cambodia

HOW DO YOU WIN

Leave a comment below telling us your favourite use of pepper in food, fashion or fragrance or Like The Fragrant Man on Facebook to be in the random draw.

WHAT YOU CAN WIN

Lets make that 8 gifts consisting of one bag of red peppercorns and one bag of black peppercorns so that you can taste the difference.

Included is P&P to anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Friday April 19th 2013 10pm AEDST and winners will be announced in a separate post then.
Winners will be chosen by putting names on same sized papers, folded similarly, put on a tray and TSO Jin will pick them. He doesn’t even stop watching TV to do it usually.
The winners will have till Wednesaday 24th April 2013 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or Portia will give the prize to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.

Will you buy banana? Looking after in-law’s banana stall while they negotiated local prices for the pepper. Kampot Market, Cambodia.
Photo: Houv Tang

Tiffany + Co. Spring Summer 2013 Ad Campaign

April 15, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

Tiffany & Co. Spring Summer 2013 Ad Campaign

Hello Fragrance Buddies,

Today we are off topic because I think these Tiffany & Co. ads are so damn gorgeous. Please enjoy them, so mysterious, what are these girls stories? It’s not often I am put in a position to ask such a question from print ads but I can tell these girls have all been given some kind of back story that they must bring to life. It’s a lovely set of images, don’t you think?

What fragrance am I wearing while writing today?

Amyitis by Mona di Orio

Photo and Featured Accords Stolen Fragrantica
Top: Cumin, heather, green pepper and green notes
Heart: Iris, violet, Guiac wood and Virginian cedar
Base: Saffron, opopanax, oakmoss and amber.

This is a funny fragrance that I adore and sometimes it irks me. A green and sensual pleasure but with a stickiness that feels like it should be warmer. A honeyed beauty that can offer up sharp dissonance on occasion, like it’s living on a knife edge between gorgeous and disgusting. I keep coming back to it though and I think it a perfect fit for the Tiffany & Co ads, don’t you think these women show tough and soft in equal measure while remaining ultra feminine and uber luxe. This is what the Tiffany & Co perfume could have smelled like. I will do a full review someday.
SurenderToChance starts at $5/.5ml

Tiffany & Co. Spring Summer 2013 Ad Campaign

As my go-to Ad Campaign blog I stole these pics from art8amby

Three new campaign images featuring Liya Kebede, Karen Elson and Liu Wen.

Photographed by Michael Thompson and styled by Paul Cavaco.

Chinese model Liu Wen is replacing Grace Gao and Doutzen Kroes as the new campaign girl for Tiffany & Co..

Image via TFS.

Hermes: Jour d’Hermès by Jean-Claude Ellena 2013 Perfume Review and Ad Campaign

April 14, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 29 Comments

Hermes: Jour d’Hermès by Jean-Claude Ellena 2013

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

I wanted to do a review on Jour D’Hermes so I spritzed with abandon down my shirt at Hermes and got a fresh whiff of something lovely but I couldn’t identify it. Then I was captured by our fabulous SA and we talked about the new colourway for the Gloria Petyarre scarf, which in pink, lilac and orange is quite delicious, and a few other bits and pieces. Unfortunately as I left the shop all traces of fragrance had been eaten by my skin. GONE! Had not left a skerrick of anything where once it was. Sadly Jour d’Hermes is an epic fail for me. The ads though are beautiful and elegant, please enjoy them.

Portia xx

Print Media Pics stolen from art8amby

Images via TFS.

Here is the Mini Movie

14 Noontide Petals GIVEAWAY COMPETITION WINNER!!

April 14, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

Hey Everyone,

What a super great giveaway this has been. We had heaps of interest and Val the Cookie Queen has asked me to Thank You all for your excellent suggestions. She had never heard about an ANZAC biscuit and will be trying to make them this week. I told her thin and crispy around the edge, a little doughy in the center. How do you like your ANZEC Biscuits?

GIVEAWAY COMPETITION WINNER!!

Photo Stolen SmellyThoughts

THE PRIZE

1 x Noontide Petals sample by Andy Tauer

P&P Worldwide

HOW COULD YOU WIN?

You had to leave a comment telling us your favourite cookie or cookie ingredient. That’s IT!

This is CQ’s daughter (isn’t she super gorgeous)

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday April 14th 2013 10pm AusEDST .
Val the Cookie Queen and her crew will do the draw honours. The names will be placed on the same sized papers, folded similarly, placed in a bowl and a winner picked.

AND THE

Photo stolen winner nodepositforum

ADAM GRIFFITHS

CONGRATULATIONS Adam, you have till Thursday 18th April 2013 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or Portia will give the prize to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.

Bussis
CQ and Portia xxx

CHANEL: 31 Rue Cambon + Little Black Jacket in Milan

April 13, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 18 Comments

Hello Fabulous Fumies,

Recently I was in Paris and was lucky enough to visit one of my fashion shrines. Coco Chanel was one of the people we studied at Fashion School and I was intrigued by her rags to riches story even before then. To finally stand at the gates of her atelier and shop was extraordinary for me. A wonderful moment I will never forget.

CHANEL: 31 Rue Cambon

Photo stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, green notes, black pepper
Heart: Ylang ylang, iris, rose
Base: Labdanum , patchouli

I love the opening of 31 Rue Cambon, it already smells like a CHANEL fragrance from the first whiff. A cool and classy, slightly flamboyant rush of everything in the notes, the labdanum from the base already in evidence giving a snuggly, fur like glamour under the bright sparkle of the citrus and pepper. For about 15-30 minutes I sit entranced and snuffling at myself, enjoying the magic that a CHANEL Exclusive can bring. The whole feeling of richness and lavish excess. GORGEOUS!!

Pretty soon the flowers drop in for a quick hello and they have a slight leather vibe before the patchouli and labdanum take centre stage, from then on in it’s all about the base with faint squeaks for attention from the other players till drydown.

Honestly, I think 31 Rue Cambon is just too sophisticated for me. It’s too refined, soft, gentle and elegant. This is my third proper wearing of it and I really want to try the parfum version. Maybe it has the oomph I need to get me going, I can tell it’s beautifully blended and structured and it’s my skin that’s eating the early parts and events. Don’t let my lack of success here put you off, on someone else I can tell it will be superb. I have about 3 more ml to use, maybe my nose will click as I get to know 31 Rue Cambon.

Photo Stolen MarinaCarlson

Further reading GrainDeMusc and MuseInWoodenShoes both take us on entertaining and interesting historical tours, worth a look.
You can buy a bottle in all CHANEL stand alone stores, they will also let you spritz for free and be extremely gracious about it.
SurrenderToChance starts at $3/ml

CHANEL: Little Black Jacket in Milan

Karl Lagerfeld got a fabulous group of people from fashion, art and big business to wear their Little Black CHANEL Jackets and he photographed them. This is a quick video of the opening night of the exhibition. FAB-U-LOUS!!

Till tomorrow, all the love in the world to and for you.
Portia xx