Fragrance Shopping – USA Premium Outlet Centres

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TinaG

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Hi APJ!

During my trip to Southern California in April 2017, we had an opportunity to check out two Premium Outlet Centres, one in Camarillo on the way to Santa Barbara, and Desert Hills which is just outside of Palm Springs. If you’re ever heading to one of these massive shopping areas, my top tips are:

* Take water, snacks and lunch. Yes there’s food there but you’ll need actual sustenance to get through the shopping day.
* Time evaporates there. If you think you’ll be 2 hours, basically just double it. We had multiple text messages between us saying “1/2 hour more? 1 hour more?”.
* Do you research before-hand of what is top of your hit list, and roughly the RRP. Then grab a centre map and plan your shop visits. This will save you heaps of time and possibly money. Don’t forget that tax is variable and added on at the register.

USA Premium Outlet Centres TinaG 2017

Fragrance Shopping – USA Premium Outlet Centres

Of course I went straight to the fragrance stores. As these are outlets / seconds, the content of the shops varied from place to place. I found the shops such as Perfumania and the Fragrance Outlet very similar to Chemist Warehouse back in Aus. The prices weren’t what I would call a bargain – for example I found Bvlgari Black at $34US, before tax and conversion this is not cheaper than what I can pick it up for at home. One shop (I think Perfumania in Desert Hills) had a whole section dedicated to Paris Hilton fragrances, and a similar display for Britney Spears.

USA Premium Outlet Centres TinaG 2017 a

I did get to try Ivanka Trump’s fragrance which was OK, actually. It was a fruity floral, of course, but it had a coolness about it which I think was brought on by a decent apple accord, keeping the sweetness in check. After I picked this up the sales assistant kept coming over with some horrendous options for me to “try as you might like this”. After the third sniff to be ‘polite’ I had to say no – just – No, you need to stop doing that please! My nose was full of pink gunk smells by that stage and I had to literally run out, much to the SA’s surprise.

USA Premium Outlet Centres TinaG 2017 b

After trying the dedicated fragrance stores I looked at branded stores for fragrances & interest. Barneys and Etro were clothes-only. Aww. I came across a Porche Design store in Desert Hills, which I’d never heard of before. WOW!!!! They’ve got some great gear, the mens shoes were amazing and the handbags sleek and functional. I had a lot of fun chatting with the sales assistant who was beyond helpful, was a great experience and I’m glad I dropped in.

My visit to SoCal did have fragrant leanings but would you believe all I brought home with me were three small samples from Lucky Scent in LA. I think that’s a first. I did get some jeans, jacket, shoes and an iron. But that’s another story.

What about you – do you hit up the fragrance stores hard when you travel, or is it more of a reconnaissance like my US trip?

Till next time,
Tina G xx

NEW! NEW! NEW! Miller et Bertaux

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 48 Comments

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Portia

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Hi there Fragrance Family,

One of the houses that flies under everyones radar is Miller et Bertaux. I really love their lack of trend following and general wearable outrageousness. From people so obviously Arty they work really well to create unusual, challenging, mood altering scents that also can be worn as a daily go-to. My personal thought is that spritz volume makes the difference. When I’m home alone sometimes I do 15 chest spritzes so they fumes engulf me, it’s really trippy. In the world though my usual 5 or 6 spritzes is ample, for some the openings could still be formidable.

At Esxence in Milan this year as I was wandering through the overwhelming tunnel of scent I spied the miller et Beaux stand. Fortuitously the gent manning it was available and I wanted to tell him how much I loved their work. When I’m overwhelmed my social ability goes right out the window and so I walked up and blurted out with zero preamble how much I loved their brand and that I’d paid retail for three of their scents, and also had a backup of A Quiet Morning because something so exquisitely me could never last. So this handsome smiling man offers me the newest bottle in their range, that they’re launching. Embarrassed, I declined but when he offered a full set of the Miller et Bertaux range samples I jumped, knowing you guys would LOVE to try them too.

There is a part of me that associates this fragrance house with what niche could have been if greed, laziness and cynicism didn’t become the overriding factors.

Libertine has the range in Australia
Aedes has the range in the USA

Here’s a snapshot of the ones I’m giving away today. Many reviews to follow.

Miller et Bertaux

Fragrantica

New Study/Postcard 2017: Opening citrus is air mail adventure, the hearts warm fig is the arrival and dry down is a woodsy/sweet-fig-milk that could be the postcard on the fridge in the kitchen that gets looked at and brings a smile.

A Quiet Morning 2008: This saffron, turmeric, woods fragrance doesn’t seem so new nearly 10 years from its inception but though the imitators have tried they miss the sheer effortlessness and comfort of wearing A Quiet Morning.

Shanti Shanti 2008: Shanti (from Sanskrit शान्तिः śāntiḥ) means peace, rest. Rose, iris, spices and sandalwood, all backed by patchouli. It opens so cool and dewy before sizzling through the heart to a creamy, earthbound base.

For You/Parfum Trouvé EdP 1 2006: Sweet and spicy like Indian cooking, yet a dewy rose keeps the whole fragrance cool. Once the woods flow through they stay focused and linear till dry down. The perfumes idea is to be a base/dry down.

Spiritus/Land EdP 2 2006: Ahhhh, new incense sticks, soap and spices. Clean without the well worn connotations of marine and citrus. Like the ghosts of Australian Aboriginal Dreamtime Spiritus/Land floats through and above the earth.

Green, Green, Green and Green EdP 3 2006: HA! Surprise, surprise this is a super green fragrance, yet through all the broken leaf and twig shines some soft focus florals and sweet herbs. A soaring green, like the birds smell at the top of trees.

Miller et Berceaux GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 1 winner who will receive:
1 x set of Carded Manufacturers Samples of the above
NB: The A Quiet Morning will be a decant from my bottle
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 in the comments which of the above Miller et Bertaux scents most interested you?

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Wednesday 3rd May 2017 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 10th May 2017 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

 

Scent Diary 24.4 – 30.4.17

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 23 Comments

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Portia

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Hey Hey Frag Family,

This week has been a watercolour about getting life back to normal. We are both back working, looking after the dogs, trying to scrape together time and see our friends. There have been a few losing control moments, where everything has seemed to spiral and grow overwhelming, skating the edges of darkness. Jin still seems to be existing in the fog lands of grief but we will come out OK.

Scent Diary 24.4 – 30.4.17

Monday 24:

Jin and I both had the day off today so we decided to go into Parramatta and get my hair cut and his sexual health tests done.

From there we trained into town to organise our trains across Australia trip later in the year. We are hoping to do the Indian Pacific from Sydney to Adelaide, then the Ghan from Adelaide to Darwin. It’s already heavily booked so Jin has to get his motor running to make it happen in 2017.

Todays fragrance was brought to you by IUNX Splash Forte. I’m nearly out.

After that we wandered around Broadway & Chippendale seeing the new areas opened up as public green spaces, foodie areas, shopping and how much the UTS university has spread. It’s the most modern and happening part of Sydney right now and reminded us of Asia with its high rise apartments and shared green (faux grass) living areas. High density living which still manages to feel spacious.

We caught the train in and back and felt pretty good about using that much less petrol and not clogging up the roadways.

I wore Parfum d’Empire Equistrius tonight. LOVE it. One of the best iris + scents I know.

Tuesday 25:

Woke up, walked dogs, cleaned house. THEN I spritzed a bit of Daniel Barros Cuir Mojito. Freakiest damn shit I ever smelled. LOVE IT! Perfectly named, smells like drinking booze in a horsetack shop. Bit rangier than an Hermès event.

Jin and I had our mate TinaG over for lunch, it was a fun catch-up after her USA holiday. I forgot everything closed on ANZAC Day here so I grabbed a loaf of bread from the local Convenience Store and we had ham, cheese, tomato waffle sandwiches and loads of tea. TinaG had bought us some souvenir USA chocolate and we made that our dessert. We were having so much fun I forgot to take photos so I text and asked them for a car shot, this is what they sent……

The only thing new-to-me that TinaG wanted was Ulrich Lang Lightscape so I thought she better have 5ml. VERY happy girl.

For work I heavily spritzed my Lolita Lempicka Au Masculin. I have gone through a couple of decants and saw it for a good price in someones sale list a while ago so I jumped on it. Not really much different from the rest of the range, male and female centric, but I do like the bottle.

Wednesday 26:

Sleep in. I know, gloating is so unattractive. 8.22am my body woke up of my own accord. It was a blissful rising from the depths of slumber. I feel alive, awake, refreshed and ready for the day. A couple of spritzes of Armani Prive: Cuir Amethyst and I’m ready to feed and walk the dogs in the cool autumn sunshine.

Today is about playing catch-up on the blog so I’m kind of desk bound. It seems very naughty and ungrateful to be inside on a day so gorgeous. I’ll have my lunch in the park across the road to make up for it. Almost ZERO catch up done but the sun was lovely.

Boring for you but exciting for us, new screen door! Now we can have full cross ventilation through the apartment. This is a BIG win. We ordered the damn thing in January but then we were overseas and when we came back he was booked out for mornings weeks in advance. So today it finally arrived and I am so happy. Yeah, little things.

Work tonight in the original Agent Provocateur EdP rosiness. This frag is so good and still cheap as chips. I predict it will become a very expensive, highly sought after vintage in 40 years time.

Going to bed before midnight! Unheard of. Keiko Mecheri Un Jour d’Ete and a sleeping tablet. Fingers crossed for 8 hours of blissful sweet nothingness.

Thursday 27:

WOW! Woke up at 7.49am and it was like rising from the dead, surfacing from deep slumber is beautiful when your body does it of its own accord. That’s only my second sleeping tablet this year but sometimes I need to get the ultimate sleep, this was it.

Sun is shining on a newly chill Parramatta, the air is crisp and frosty. I can still smell soft, floral/vanilla hints from last nights Keiko Mecheri Un Jour d’Ete, I’m not wanting to smell exactly like that this morning and am happy to divert slightly so I’m hitting the Tom Ford Vert Boheme.

This evening it’s all the fabulous shit with Thierry Mugler A*Men Kryptomint. PHWOAR! Outrageous.

Friday 28:

It’s Friday morning and Jin has arrived home from work. Apparently I left the door to the apartment open last night and now I have the heebejeebees, as if people were wandering through here last night. To dispel any lasting discomfort I gave myself 5 big spitzes of Ramon Monegal Umbra. It’s a non candy kinda sweet, herbal concoction. Very grounding and beautiful.

For lunch I wanted to add some candy so some Guerlain Spiritueuse Double Vanille was a perfect, sweet, boozy, vanilla custard slice. Already more than halfway through my 10ml decant but I’m pretty sure when it’s done I won’t repurchase. It is fabulous but the wearings are few & far between.

Tonight it was Ainslie Walker’s birthday. We had too much food & fun to take any photos but I wore DIOR Mitzah. Loads of it. I was 100% fragrant. Fuck the world, I smelled so good.

Saturday 29:

DIOR Mitzah. Still smelling it as I wake up and lay peacefully in bed in half slumber.

Today I’m trying to get as much of next weeks blog done as possible. Having no post ready on Friday and then doing a half assed job after arriving home from a beautiful dinner upset me. I’m finding it hard to shift the disquiet so my best plan is to action myself out of the angst hole.

Currently I have a couple of the Miller et Bertaux fragrances on my fingers because there’s going to be a Monday GIVEAWAY. Finishing a sample of a Dawn Spencer Hurwitz on the wrist that has been on the back burner to review for a while now, review next week. There’s also some Maison Francis Kurkdjian from 2016 on my left forearm. I like having a few scents around my person, especially if I know them, it helps compare & contrast and brings out things I’d otherwise miss.

Jin and I were going to see Guardians of the Galaxy 2 but decided at the last minute we would rather stay home, get pizza and watch a Gilmore Girls marathon. It was super fun. We just slothed around the couch. I had a very hot bath, we fed and walked the dogs. I can’t think of a nicer way to spend a Saturday night.

There was some very late night drama though. Our BFFs Mum fell over during the evening and broke some ribs and fractured her arm. Bloody hell, getting old is tough. Thankfully fully insured and close to good hospital care but nevertheless……

Sunday 30:

This morning Paris, my perfect, gorgeous, smart and beautiful dog decided to wee in the carpeted stairwell as I was locking our front door. Thank goodness Jin was with me to catch it happening so we could run him outside quickly. So I spent some time while they were walking cleaning that mess up. What a way to wake up on a Sunday.

I’m wearing Maison Francis Kurkdjian Grand Soir. I find it a neutered, prettified version of the Le Soirs and it reminds me of Pierre Guillaume’s work, in a complimentary way. Review to come.

Off to work this evening. I’m thinking it might be a Versace Blonde evening but yet to be fully decided at this point.

Mitzah by Francois Demachy for Christian Dior 2010

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 19 Comments

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Portia

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Hey Crew,

I am so sorry but I have no bloody post for you tonight. Somehow we ended up without on a Friday night. I was wearing Mitzah tonight so here’s how it went.

Mitzah by Francois Demachy for Christian Dior 2010

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Coriander, rose, spices, cinnamon, labdanum, vanilla, honey, patchouli, incense

I love how Mitzah opens all hot smoky spices and incense. Honey gives a sweet animalic, tobacco feel and the patchouli & labdanum make me think of flesh, earth and leather.  A cracker of a perfume, swirling around itself, making me feel all glamorous and giving me the va va voom of a Gabor sister in her prime. This is not an intense journey through the perfume with mountainous peaks and troughs, while there are definite start middle and end notes it’s more of a progression. The kick at the start warms slowly and languidly through mildly sweet towards a honey ouded amber dry down. On a good day I get 8+ hours before Mitzah is lost. As the PR says elegant, feminine and mysterious, but I think not so feminine; a man could wear it very comfortably because it is spicy amber.

I was out to dinner with Ainslie Walker and her partner Ben. We have loved Mitzah since it was released and often talk about it. I wore it in Ainslie’s honour and funnily she almost wore it too. It was a lovely night full of good food and laughs.

Further reading: ISmellThereforeIAm and Olfactoria’s Travels

Have you ever swanned around in lashings of Mitzah?
Portia xx

Atelier des Ors GIVEAWAY WINNER

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Portia

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Het Crew,

You all are amazing. Thank you all so much for getting involved and being a part of the APJ family.

HUGE thanks also go to Megan In St Maxime who works for Atelier des Ors and gave me the set to give.
Portia xxx

Atelier des Ors GIVEAWAY WINNER

Fragrantica

Kate Apted

You have till Monday May 1st 2017 to get in touch [portia (underscore) turbo (at) yahoo (dot) com (dot) au] with your address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit

Perfume Discontinuations: Grab them before they are gone

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 22 Comments

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Anne-Marie

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Hi all,

It’s a common thing in perfumista land that you only really start paying attention to a perfume when you hear rumours of discontinuation. You ignore it happily until suddenly you realise it could be too late. Then FOMO sets in – Fear of Missing Out. Oh no!

I got thinking about this recently when, after YEARS of dithering, I finally bought a bottle of Sarah Jessica Parker Covet. This one may have been discontinued some time ago and I’d decided not to bother until a chain of discount chemists in Australia suddenly started stocking it. Cheap – $20. I bought one, and no regrets. Lavender and chocolate; it should not work but it does.

Perfume Discontinuations

Grab them before they are gone

What else have I made a wild grab for, and what have I let go?

Covet FragranticaFragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Mint, geranium leaves, Sicilian lemon, lavender, chocolate notes
Heart: Honeysuckle, magnolia, lily of the valley
Base: Cashmere wood, musk, vetiver, teak wood, amber

Perfume Discontinuations: The Ones I Grabbed

Sarah Jessica Parker Covet, as mentioned.

Bvlgari Black. Vanilla and fresh tyre rubber! I bought a back-up for my son to own and me to borrow.

Lancome Cuir de Lancome. . A cult leather. I bought mine while it still going for about $50.

Rochas Tocade. A laughing vanilla fragrance, this one is not discontinued as far as I know, just re-packaged. Re-packaging always makes the perfume enthusiast nervous, and I grabbed a bottle.

Yves Saint Laurent Y.  Same as for Tocade. It’s always worth grabbing a chypre if you think it’s under threat. It probably is.

Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Casablanca lily, Black locust, White carnation
Heart: Golden pollen, Gold dust, Violet leaf
Base: Amber, Indian patchouli, Resins

Perfume Discontinuations: The Ones I Let Go

If there’s a bottle out there with my name on it, someone else can have it.

Donna Karan Gold. This has been cheap at the discounters for years and you can still get it. I have tested it thoroughly and decided it’s not for me, but it is wonderful stuff. I’d rather leave a bottle available for someone who loves monster lily perfumes. I don’t, it seems.

Parfums de Nicolai Le Temps d’une Fete. I should love this green wonder but somehow it has never moved me. Anyway, I have YSL Y, as noted, so I’m happy.

Fendi Theorema. I have a decant but I just can’t get on board with Theorema. It’s too much of a gourmand for me. It can still be had I think, not sure of the prices.

Yves Saint Laurent Yvresse. Again, a re-packaging. I could have bought a 75 ml bottle this classic fruity chypre for $60 in the old packaging but I just don’t love it. My only regret is that prices on Yvresse are now so high I could easily have got my money back three times over if I had bought that bottle.

Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Gardenia, Neroli, Tuberose
Heart: Benzoin, Jasmine, Lily
Base: Amber, Musk, Vanilla

Perfume Discontinuations: The One I Missed

Oh darn!

Madonna Truth or Dare. I tried TD Naked but didn’t like it much. The original was apparently not widely distributed in Australia and I decided not to bother. It was a wonderful white floral, I gather. I should have bought it when it was going cheap on Fragrancex.com but I didn’t. Now it’s gone. I’m stupid.

What about you? What are the ones that got away from you? Any regrets?
Keep spritzing everyone!

FRAGs and FRAGments From The Last Fortnight

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 22 Comments

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Val the Cookie Queen

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Felicitations APJ

It´s been bloody freezing here. Between like 1°c and 4°c. Snow flurries, and peach and cherry blossoms hanging on for dear life. It has at least given me the chance to get back to a proper gym routine. This week I will start spinning classes again and I am terrified. Been working out to The Doors, The Lumineers and the Easy Rider soundtrack.

FRAGs Worn

Frederic Malle Le Parfum de Therese. Sunny, tangy, sweet, dry and earthy. It´s a fascinating scent and makes me feel very grownup. Graceful and sophisticated.
Hermès Galop d’Hermès. Sunrise to sunset. A sparkly golden astringent opening, quince and saffron, a bright rose, and a long slow dry down to a dusky copper gold leather base.

Vero Profumo Naja. A green and floral tobacco. A blonde tobacco perfume, highlighted with neroli and bergamot, honeyed linden, and flecked with osmanthus.
Ormonde Jayne Tolu. Sumptuous but not overpowering. Subtly opulent. A vibrant herbal opening, contrasting beautifully with the rich amber heart. Resinous, warm and comforting.

FRAGments

B.blondeswunder stole my Portrait of a Lady for the Easter weekend away with the family of her boyfriend. (Note that they live in the boonies of Austria.) She applied four spritzes. Her boyfriend asked if she was wearing something new. To which she replied “Yep. Do you like it?” He replied “It might take me some time to get used to it.” Hahahahahahahahaha. Death by PoaL. I also came across a picture of MY Galop and MY cat on HER Instagram Story. I may have to lock my perfume wardrobe.

B.londesuwnder also practiced her drag make up technique on NoFear Chris, her long suffering Hero Dad.

BJTG (my seldom featured son) had a tattoo, not yet healed.

Great Grandmother turned 101.

A dear friend had a mild stroke. Total shit. Life is not always like it seems in the blogs.

Keep on truckin’
Bussis
CQ

Atelier des Ors Sample Set

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 56 Comments

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Portia

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Hi there APJ,

On Friday a fortnight ago I wrote about the newest Atelier des Ors, Iris Fauve. The house is wonderful and Megan who is their PR woman gave me a full set of samples for one lucky APJ reader. So here’s a quick run down of each scent in the collection, then move on down to the GIVEAWAY section and have a go.

Good luck,
Portia xxx

Atelier des Ors Collection

Fragrantica

Aube Rubis by Atelier des Ors 2015

Top: Bergamot, Grapefruit, Black currant
Heart: Sage, Violet, Iris
Base: Patchouli, Haitian vetiver, Praliné

 

Cuir Sacré by Atelier des Ors 2015

Top: Juniper berry, Cardamom, Cypress
Heart: Frankincense, Saffron, Cedar leaf
Base: Vetiver, Cypriol, Leather

Opens with sharp woodsy incense, like a cold incense stick. Interesting hints of an Indian meal too and slightly soapy. Gosh, they never do anything by the book at Atelier des Ors. The range is happily skew wiff, a sideways slant on each major note. Interesting how they do that without making weird stuff, all extremely wearable. When the leather arrives it is softly and bound by a salted vetiver, like a posh handbag in an Indian restaurant at a temple by the sea. Lastly it sits at plush suede.

Larmes du Désert by Atelier des Ors 2015

Top: Elemi resin, Frankincense, Cypress
Heart: Patchouli, Gaiac wood, Cedarwood
Base: Citric notes, Benzoin, Wolfwood

The resins open sweet and churchy. Woods back this up and keep the whole fragrance grounded. I love this and think Tears of the Desert a perfect name, like the resinous sap tears of those dry, twisted shrubs that produce such exquisite fragrance.

Lune Feline by Atelier des Ors 2015

Top: Cinnamon, Cardamom, Pink pepper
Heart: Cypriol, Cedarwood, Styrax, Cachalox, Wolfwood
Base: Tahitian vanilla absolute, Peru balsam, Musk

Cardamom, vanilla and a softly sizzling pink pepper open. It’s a luxurious beauty and smells like it cost money to create. A smooth milky opaqueness with little hints of booze and greenery. A light fizziness gives me memories of ice-cream spiders when I was a kid.

Rose Omeyyade by Atelier des Ors 2015

Top: Pink pepper, Rosebud, Raspberry
Heart: Patchouli, Gaiac wood, Brown sugar
Base: Sandalwood, Oud, Amber

A very interesting gourmand, fruity rose backed by a deep and mysterious oriental oud base. Clever and beautiful. The patchouli is that interesting clean plastic variety and it usually makes me squirm but here it is so perfectly and precariously balanced that I just want to sniff more and more and more. Excellent.

Go see the Atelier des Ors, Iris Fauve post if you want too.

 

Atelier des Ors Sample Set GIVEAWAY

CLOSED Thursday April 27 8am AEST

Scent Diary 17.4 – 23.4.17

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 36 Comments

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Portia

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Hey there Frag Crew,

This week I was hoping for a quiet, relaxing, get shit done and maybe even get ahead of the game but then …… life. So instead of calm & collected it ended up being crowded and cluttered. HA! Loads of fun though, filled with food, friends, a rally and I got some really yummy scents on my skin too.

Scent Diary 17.4 – 23.4.17

Monday 17:

Easter Monday morning and the weather is beautiful. Sunshine is out and we took the dogs for their morning walk. I thought 1889 Moulin Rouge by Histoires de Parfums would be a good choice. It was very nice wandering the quiet North Parramatta streets at 9am.  That sweet iris/rose lipstick pluminess was most noticeable this morning, really front & centre. On previous wears it has smelled less intense. I quite like the sweet musky dry down too. Pretty. Bought it from Sonya in one of her sales, thanks girl.

Jin’s been on the couch snoozing and watching re-runs of Gilmore Girls and I find myself strangely drawn to it in a way I never was when it was current. Fortunately he went back to work tonight. Structure will help him back on track.

My evening has been spent swathed in the magic that is Atelier des Ors Aube Rubis. OMG! Where has this sensational beauty been my whole life. Freaking gorgeous.

Monday is Trivia Q&A and Blog day/night.

Tuesday 18:

It’s around 1am. I’m halfway through my Trivia Q&A but I’ve been listening to music, hanging on FaceBook and generally dithering. I’m thinking of spritzing fragrance and my mind instantly went to Neela Vermeire Creations Mohur EdP. Fiendishly good, fruity roses, spice, greenery, incense and oud. Now I’m ready for questions. I’m a bit surprised at how much air is already in my latest bottle, I love it so much and usually overspritz like crazy, serves me right.

YAY! It’s 4am and my Trivia Q&A are done, dusted and sent to the crew. PHEW! More Mohur and a late night snack before bed.

This was the perfect autumn morning for walking the dogs. Sunny and warm, hardly anyone around at 9am. The dogs loved it and I found camellias in bloom. I wanted something barely there this morning so went with Parfumerie Generale 4.1 La Musc & La Peau. It’s pretty and fresh, softly soothing and perfect for sunshine.

For work tonight I’m wearing Burberry Brit Woman EdT & Extrait because I feel the need for sweet. I don’t know why I’m putting it back in its box. Seems to be my current craving.

Wednesday 19:

Another glorious Sydney Autumn day.  I’m wearing a couple of dabs of vintage Guerlain Shalimar extrait.

Jin has finally finished his retraining to be an electrician on the NSW Country Trains. It’s a promotion to full team member and a pay rise. He is trying to brush it off as inconsequential but this is a really big deal. It was supposed to take 6 months but due to unforeseen work circumstances the whole crew has been held back. One really good thing is that Jin will be getting the pay rise backdated from the start of the year. That means that quite a bit of the extra money spent to go back to Slovakia and all the things he paid for and facilitated while helping the family deal with our sister in laws suicide will be covered by that lucky windfall. He left the house today in a cloud of vintage CHANEL Antaeus, I think he’s going to be OK.

For work this evening I chose Amouage Opus X. The arctic rose and screechy hairspray fragrance full of woods, ylang and resins. Perfection.

Thursday 20:

Thursday morning and I’m up early in the cool of the half light. I’ve been trolling the net and found some wonderful bargains but held myself firm and only put my name down for a split of Amouage Bracken Woman. I got the dogs inside and they are both curled up on their beds in the living room while I tap away at the keyboard in my office. There’s a coffee in hand and the lingering taste of breakfast cereal in my mouth, wondering if I should also do toast but then think I’ll have that as a morning tea after my 9am dog walk.

The weather is cooling considerably and I’m wearing a decant sent to me by my mate, the gorgeous Robert Herrmann who is a moderator at FaceBook Fragrance Friends and now writes reviews at CFB, when he did a giveaway here on APJ no-one collected the prize so he sent it to me. It’s Tom Ford Vert Boheme, greenest of the green and curiously fitting for an autumn morning. As you can see there is quite a bit of air in the bottle. I like it a lot.

Had a scream tonight as the madcap hostess for a Guerrilla Anti-Fashion Parade as a protest against Levi Strauss using dock workers in Madagascar that are being paid $40/month. Levi’s has 7 factories on Madagascar. The company ICTSI that runs the docks gets $200/container moved, the Dock workers get 2 cents. Their safety gear costs 3 months pay so they never buy it and many of them have to live & sleep under a nearby bridge between shifts.

Levi Strauss is actually a great company with an excellent ecological and workplace agreement history. In 2016 they were ranked #1 in the world for their supply chain code of conduct. Unfortunately the dock workers don’t come under that umbrella and are being treated abominably. The few workers, 43 in all, who have been trying to get better conditions were all fired. It’s a shemozzle and we think that with a multinational like Levi Strauss on board they could help to push ICTSI and governments in the right direction.

Feel free to pop into your local Levis store and tell them how disappointed you are in their ethical double standards in Madagascar.

What fragrance was I swathed in for the evening? Reem Acra EdP. Big, radiant white floral with all the bells and whistles. Done with a very clear nod to vintage but in a super modern way. You can get it for a steal on the discounters now.

Friday 21:

Big day off today. Up, breakfast , fed & walked dogs, got ready, spritzed DIOR Mitzah, out the door by 8.30am to meet my mate Evie for a morning stroll through the Art Gallery of NSW and a guided tour of some of their permanent collection, then to the dentist, had a wander around the department stores (bought the Mon Guerlain Shower Gel and learned how to get my Diptyque Rose de Mai squirter to work, tried 32 Venenum by L`Artisan Perfumer) then hanging with Alice and having Peking Duck!! We are not quite sure what Alice had in mind with the chips but it looks like she is trying to make a chip moustache. We ate the WHOLE DUCK between us.

Amazing day but now I’m pooped. Walked nearly 14,000 steps today. That’s a lot for lazy old me.

Saturday 22:

SATURDAY! I promised myself to Jin this morning. He has been working nights since Monday and it’s his first day off. Today we are going to be able to celebrate his promotion. So I grabbed the makings of French Toast. It’s one of his all time favourite breakfasts and it’s so easy to make. Today I’m adding some off the bone ham, a big dollop of fresh made guacamole and a mushroom, onion, ham stir fry.

I’m just about to take the dogs for a walk. The day is cool and lovely, I’m multiple spritzing Lolita Lempicka EdP down my shirt before I go. On the walk I came across these amazing flowers on a large shrub fully in bloom, heavenly.

Jin’s best friend Matt called and is taking him out to the Rugby League this afternoon so I get to blog and nap. YAY!!! Aren’t they cute in their Parramatta supporters outfits? Such boys.

Then tonight I’m taking him out for Korean BarBQ. A real date night, first one since I went on the cruise in February. Poor Jin was so tired, he fell sound asleep in the car on the way home, snoring and all.

Sunday 23:

WOW! How is it Sunday already? This week has sped by.

This morning we organised to catch up with mates. Sydney really turned on the most spectacular autumn morning for us and I made Jin take a photo out the car window.

I wore my vintage Jean Patou 1000 EdT. Perfect accompaniment to a morning a fun.

We had Pedis & Yum Cha. Kath & I had our feet attended to, then Jin and Phil joined us for lunch in the food court.

Fell asleep and missed my make up cues. Went to work at Austral Bowling Club as a guy wearing Guerlain Moscow. It also has a bit of a Mon Guerlain vibe.

Hung out there with Anna-Maria and her husband Johnny. Anna-Maria was Jin and my 2016 travelling companion through Europe, you might remember that we all met up with Tara of A Bottled Rose?

So how was your week?
Try any new fragrance? Rediscovering old one?
Do something or go anywhere exciting? Watch any good TV or read a book?
Come on, share. I love to know what you all have been up to too.
Portia xxx