beauty

Parfum Divin by Jacques Cavallier for Caudalie 2014

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Post by Willa Zheng

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Hello APJ,

Often mentioned in the same breath as Nuxe’s Prodigieux Le Parfum, Parfum Divin is Caudalie’s capture, in spray perfume form, the scent of the brand’s cult dry oil. If Nuxe Prodigieux is a tropical beach vacation in a bottle, Caudalie Divin is a late-summer picnic in verdant wine country.

Whilst I am very ambivalent about the bottle packaging of Nuxe Prodigieux, I want to squee to the world that this bottle is très divine. It’s an understated, elegant, high-quality ombre-gold bottle topped with a wooden (non-cheap!) lid. The robust cylindrical shape makes this perfume perfectly portable to throw in your everyday handbag.

Caudalie’s website describes this as a ‘delicate, sensual’ fragrance. I think the good folks that write copy at Caudalie HQ do not know the difference between spicy and delicate. For Parfum Divin is a spicy scent; delicate it is not.

Parfum Divin by Caudalie 2014

Parfum Divin by Jacques Cavallier

Parfum Divin Caudalieb FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Grapefruit, rose, pink pepper, vanilla, musk, cedar

Parfum Divin opens as a blast of fruity, floral musk. It’s a dry, clean-skin kind of musk as opposed to a dirty, animalistic one. The fruity-floral notes are green, rosey and sweet, with an artificial-grape note floating at the top. About an hour in, the ethereal floral-top notes have faded, revealing a dry layer of vanilla pods. At the same time, the rubbery artificial grapes start to be pushed out by punchy, pink peppercorns At the two hour mark, this fragrance is in full flight – it is indubitably about spicy peppercorns and vanilla pods. The peppercorns are just enough to stop you from wanting to lick your yummy sweet self.

Parfum Divin Caudalie The Narratographer Freckles the Rotherham Cow Whisperer... FlickrPhoto Stolen Flickr

Bath and Unwind say: The scent evolves into a sophisticated and sensuous blend with an exotic allure. Combining the essence of Moroccan and Bulgarian rose absolutes, its heady floral bouquet is tempered with sharp grapefruit and spicy pink peppercorn, warm sweetness from Uganda planifolia vanilla beans, deep Virginia cedar and a blend of musks. 

The overall experience of Parfum Divin is fresh, elevating but also comforting, like being nuzzled in your favourite clean, fluffy, bath robe. Accordingly, Parfum Divin wafts close to the wearer, for your own personal pleasure. Longevity is 8hrs+, however a mid-day top-up is strongly recommended.

Parfum Divin Caudali romantic Pexels

Further reading: Bois de Jasmin and Geek Wearing Make-Up
Sephora has the line but I can’t find it online
Bath and Unwind has AUD$76/50ml (Sadly NOT to Aus & NZ)

Nuxe or Caudalie? Which do you prefer?

Whips and Roses GIVEAWAY WINNERS

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Post by Portia

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Hey Hey Crew,

Thanks for getting involved. It’s nice to share a discontinued gem.
Good luck,
Portia xx

Whips and Roses GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Whips and Roses Kerosene FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Bergamot, Blood orange, Bulgarian rose, Iris, Jasmine, Leather, Musk, Rose stems, Sandalwood

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 2 winners who will receive:
1 x Sample Whips and Roses
some extras
P&H Worldwide

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 3rd January 2016 10pm Australian ES
Winners were chosen by random.org

Winners Are Bodie Strain Sydney Opera House Fireworks FlickrPhoto Stolen Flickr

Fazal

Jaybee

CONGRATULATIONS!! The winners will have till Thursday 7th January 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.

D600 by Christophe Raynaud for Carner Barcelona 2010

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Post by Portia

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Heya Fragrant Fumies,

D600 is a stupid name for a fragrance, GAK! Then I find out it’s affiliated with their address in Barcelona according to Birgit at Olfactoria’s Travels it stands for Avenida Diagonal 600, the headquarters of the line in Barcelona. Onwards from that the Carner Barcelona site says All senses are captivated by the dynamism of Avenida Diagonal, the grandeur of Paseo de Gracia…A seamless blending of old and new. At night, the pulse deepens and darkens as the city reveals its mysterious and most sensual side.

D600 by Carner Barcelona 2010

D600 by Christophe Raynaud

D600 Carner Barcelona FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Carner Barcelona gives these featured accords:
Top: Madagascan Black Pepper, Sicilian Bergamot, Grapefruit
Heart: Guatemalan Cardamom, Italian Iris, Egyptian Jasmine Absolut
Base: Virginian Cedar Wood, Madagascan Vanilla Absolut, Vetyver.

I love the zip, fizz and sizzle of grapefruit in fragrance. Here Christophe Raynaud has paired it strikingly with fresh crushed black pepper which serves to dry and remove all the ultra sweet, urinous notes that people find so problematic. The introduction lasts very little time before a lovely cardboard and rooty iris come through and the cardamom is playing a lightly green spicy role that is exactly like ground cardamom in the bottle before you cook it. For all its ingenuity D600 is perfectly wearable, actually while remaining quite fragrant it seems to meld with and melt into my skin. Too noticeable to be a skin scent but not air altering enough to become a major, stop traffic statement.

It seems the jasmine and vanilla arrive together, creamy, balmy, smooth and elegant they wander in and D600 becomes a warm, cozy, comfort scent with a hint of cardamom and vetiver keeping the whole fragrance from becoming a gourmand.

D600 by Carner Barcelona Dad AdinaVoicu PixabayPixabay

My review makes D600 seem simple but it’s not, there is a lot of soft nuance and dappled sweet/dryness byplay. The vanilla is fleshy and sensual, human and cuddly. For hard core perfumistas it may be too easy to like, too reminiscent of other comfortable vanilla/amber fragrances and too nice. That’s what I want from a fragrance, I want to smell so good that not hugging me to get a closer whiff would be unthinkable. An excellent mother or father scent worn as a signature and a comfort, being both very intimate and lovingly safe. Perfect as a work scent that would work under the radar to make you even more likable and assured.

Wear is soft and projection mild but anyone lucky enough to get in close to you over the next 6 or 7 hours will get a waft of wonderful. I love it.

D600 had the same luminous, luxurious feeling that I get when wearing Mona di Orio’s Vanille. It’s a plush languor and tranquillity that feels so deliciously me, as if it were made for me alone. LOVE it!

D600 by Carner Barcelona languor PexelaPexels

Further reading: Olfactoria’s Travels and Scented Hound
First In Fragrance has €89/50ml + Samples

Have you tried any of the Carner Barcelona fragrances? What is your languorous fragrance?
Portia xx

 

Louis Vuitton Alphabet Film

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Post by Portia

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Hey there Jewellery Lovers,

Could this be a dream come true for you? Louis Vuitton is doing letter charms or pendants. So if you got a load of shit for Christmas and wanted to gift yourself something fabulous, maybe a little trip to Vuitton could be in order….

Enjoy the video,
Portia xx

 louis-vuitton-lv-me-necklace-letter-a-fashion-jewellery--M61056_PM1_Focus_viewPhoto Stolen Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton: LV and Me Jewellery Collection

Terpsichore by ime Natural Perfumes Australia

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Post by Portia

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Hey lovers of Natural Fragrance,

ime Natural Perfume are run by a girlfriend of mine here in Australia, Tonya Walker is her name. Tonya wanted to offer a set of naturals that were usable alone or in conjunction with the rest of the line, a bit like the Jo Malone idea. The difference here being that Tonya wanted to capture the healing benefits of the ingredients and use these fragrances as mood enhancers or diverters. I have long used fragrance to circumvent downward emotional spirals and Tonya has created the whole ime Natural Perfume series to help you do just that.

Terpsichore by ime Natural Perfumes

Terpsichore (Expressive)

IME_Terpsichore_Expressive1Photo Stolen ime Natural Perfumes

ime Natural Perfumes gives these featured accords:
Orange, Lime, Chamomile, Lavender, Ylang Ylang

Terpsichore is the muse of dance and I think she was the one that Olivia Newton John played in the 1980 film Xanadu. Still one of my favourite shit movies of all time and I still find myself singing the songs while cleaning or sewing 35 years later.

Xanadu MusesProblem with image? Please tell us

Lime & lavender open in a sharp, effervescent, ultra high pitched zing on my skin. An awkward pairing that seems to vibrate. It is like plunging into a cool pool on a boiling hot day. Initially your body can’t believe it but withing a minute you’re absolutely comfortable. While Terpsichore remains effervescent through its whole life the pitch softens and becomes far less outrageous. Refreshing? Yes, every time I spritz I find it a perfect work and focus scent as well as giving my energy levels a boost. Like a metaphorical and fragrant cup of coffee.

Basically the two lead notes stay the focus for the whole ride and everything else bolsters their supremacy. Quite linear and fresh all the way through. Even after sleeping there is a whisper of citrus overlaying my bodies scent, that is so unusual for a natural fragrance and a citrus. I have to get my nose right onto my skin to smell it but it’s there faintly.

From ime Natural Perfumes: Free, Spirited, Expressive: The muse of Dance is a free spirit. She will inspire you to find delight in dancing to your own rhythmic beat, lost in the moment. Be a Natural and express yourself.

IME_Terpsichore_Expressive Jônatas Cunha FOLHA FRESCA (Fresh leaf) FlickrPhoto Stolen Flickr

ime Natural Perfumes has $60/30ml and Samples

There are eight more ime Natural Perfumes that you can try too, and they have a sensational sample pack so you can try them all.

Do you ever wear natural fragrances?
Portia xx

Whips & Roses by John Pegg for Kerosene 2012

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Post by Portia

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Happy+New+Year+2016

OK Crew,

Whips and Roses has been discontinued and is SOLD OUT everywhere so while rummaging through my drawers when I found a few ml in a decant I thought it would be nice to share the love.

Whips & Roses by Kerosene 2012

Whips & Roses by John Pegg

Whips and Roses Kerosene FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Bergamot, Blood orange, Bulgarian rose, Iris, Jasmine, Leather, Musk, Rose stems, Sandalwood

Citrus, rose and a dirty, sweaty, amorphous leather open up Whips and Roses. It’s a freaky first few moments that seem a little directionless but wait, one minute in and suddenly cohesion. A fruity and fresh rose, just plucked from the bush, some cool watery facets like filling the vase and an arresting sweetness like the very sugary tip of a watermelon taken from the fridge in the height of summer and that very first bite. A candied, fruity rose that takes a step back about half an hour in to let the other flowers give some of their fragrance.

Whips and Roses Kerose Michelino_da_besozzo Madonna of the Rose Garden WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

Whips & Roses gets a lovely slug of jasmine and sandalwood at this point, so pretty, and I wonder if the incongruity of the name which is kinda tough and the sheer unbridled prettiness of the fragrance has something to do with its discontinuation. I was expecting it to be the dark heart of rose and the bitter dank of leather, a goth fragrance that speaks of the labyrinths and catacombs, the vampires and werewolves. Whips and Roses is way more Disney’s Sleeping Beauty than Interview With A Vampire or Maleficent.

Whips and Roses Kerose Prince_Florimund_finds_the_Sleeping_Beauty WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

Then we are back to rose, petal, branch and root. Beautiful.

Further reading: Australian Perfume Junkies and Memory of Scent
The Perfumed Court has samples starting at $4/ml

Good luck in the giveaway
Portia xx

AllSteele giveaway 1Photo Stolen AllSteele

Whips and Roses GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 2 winners who will receive:
1 x Sample Whips and Roses
some extras
P&H Worldwide

HOW DO YOU WIN?

Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged. Open to everyone worldwide who follows AustralianPerfumeJunkies via eMail, WordPress, Bloglovin or RSS. Please leave how you follow in the comments to be eligible.

You must tell us how you follow APJ?

and

Please tell us any story of discontinued gems, independent loves, Whips or Roses…..

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 3rd January 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 Thursday 7th January 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.

Vetiverus by Oliver Valverde for Oliver + Co. 2012

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Post by Portia

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My mate Scott was over the other day and we were going through some new samples, bottles and decants that had arrived in the week since I’d seen him. Basically I grabbed a piece of paper and pen, some touches and we even used some of our precious skin so we could smell how differently they lived on each of us. It was fun and interesting, when you sniff with someone and they find a new love it’s amazing how that then reactivates my focus and energises the whole process of parsing. This is the winner of our sniffathon and it came in a free sample set because I’d bought their Gincense, which we’ll talk about later.

Vetiverus by Oliver & Co. 2012

Vetiverus by Oliver Valverde

Vetiverus Oliver & Co. FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Oliver & Co. give these featured accords in one line:
Labdanum from Spain, styrax, Haitian vetiver, ambergris, coriander from Russia, osmanthus absolute, orange peel, white musks, Madagascar clove

OK so the opening is a totally enjoyable smoky, greasy, green, oily, metallic, salty, grassy BOOM! A vetiver fantasy that grabs you by the scruff of the neck and gives you a gentle shake, till your teeth rattle. Astounding, fun, green cordial, raspy and smooth are all words we used to describe the opening with is vetiver squared.

vetiverus oliver+co Green Foil Will Culpepper FlickrPhoto Stolen Flickr

As we hit the heart Vetiverus opens up into a milky fig heart with a tickle of salt tweaking the sweet greenness. There are very faint reminders of vintage Emeraude‘s opening through the heart too and a metallic vibe that serves to oppose and highlight the creamy green fruit. Once these heart notes recede the smoke comes back and it’s a dry grassy, smoky vetiver and leather(?) drizzled over musks that fades over hours and hours to gone.

From LuckyScent: If you love the pure, smoky sexiness of vetiver the way we do, it can be frustrating to try fragrances that hide it behind other powerful ingredients in the name of “balance.” …In keeping with this philosophy, Vetiverus opens dramatically with an exquisitely deep and mysterious vetiver, at once smoky and velvety rich… Plenty of great fragrances feature vetiver. But for the true vetiver enthusiast searching for an unapologetic, uncompromising showcase of the sublimely smoky, there is perhaps no substitute for Vetiverus.

Smoke billows from an M18 green smoke hand grenade during a U.S. Marine Corps attack and defend field exercise at Kahuku Training Area, Oahu, Hawaii, May 20, 2010. The training was part of an infantry squad leader course by the School of Infantry-West, Advanced Infantry Training Battalion. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Jody Lee Smith/Released)Photo Stolen WikiMedia

Further reading: Perfumistanns and +Q Perfume
Oliver & Co. has €110/50ml
LuckyScent has $145/50ml + samples

What is your vetiver fragrance? Have you tried the Oliver & Co Vetiverus?
Portia xx

Coco vintage parfum by CHANEL: Live Video Sniff

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Post by Portia

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Hey there Frag Heads,

Yes, Scott and I at it again. We did a bunch of these over a few weeks. Really there’s not much content but the excitement of documenting our opening ceremonies and the sillines we go on with makes me smile while watching them back. We are idiots but having a good time.

Please enjoy,
Portia xxx

Coco by CHANEL 1984

Coco FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Coriander, pomegranate blossom, mandarin orange, peach, jasmine and Bulgarian rose
Heart: Mimose, cloves, orange blossom, clover and rose
Base: Labdanum, amber, sandalwood, tonka bean, opoponax, civet and vanilla

SurrenderToChance has EdT samples starting at $3/ml

 

Vanilla Smoke by Aftelier Parfums: Live Video Sniff

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Post by Portia

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Hi there Happy Huffers,

Vanilla Smoke arrived a couple of weeks ago and we decided to do an opening ceremony with film. Scott is way more on the ball that I am with it and we are both frag fools, as always. Congratulations Mandy Aftel on another fabulous fragrance. We can smell that this is going to be a big hit.

Enjoy the video,
Portia xxx

Vanilla Smoke by Aftelier Perfumes 2015

Vanilla Smoke by Mandy Aftel

Vanilla Smoke Aftelier FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Yellow mandarin, Siam wood, saffron absolute, vanilla absolute, lapsang souchong tea essence (tea leaves smoked over pinewood), coumarin, ambergris

Aftelier has $180/30ml EdP
Aftelier has $180/7.5ml Parfum

Heatwave Fragrances for Summer 2015

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Post by Greg Young

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Hey APJ,

South-east Australia has been sweltering in a heat wave for days on end. Going outside has been like walking into a brickmaker’s kiln, and staying inside hasn’t been much fun either. Conservative businessmen such as myself are dispensing with their ties and looking fondly at the pub over the road from work, dreaming of a cold craft beer.

Choosing the right fragrance for temperatures like this can be tough. I feel the need for something that picks me up in the morning and sends me out feeling at least a little bit chipper. For me, that usually means something with a citrus hit. It also needs to defy the evaporative force of baking Melbourne heat, so classic EdCs are off the list. Here is how I dealt with the heat this week.

Heatwave Fragrances for Summer 2015

Orange Star Tauer Perfumes FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Thursday: the wave begins
The CBD baked in 36 degree heat. Tauer’s Orange Star has a sharp citrus juice opening that is very refreshing on a hot morning. It’s not really my idea of a summer fragrance; the vanilla and tonka bean give it a sweetness that I think is more appropriate for cooler days. The fact that Orange Star lasted the distance in this heat is impressive; I could still smell its amber drydown 12 hours later at home, in the cooling blast of A/C.

Blenheim Bouquet Penhaligon`s FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Friday: the swelling wave
When the thermometer climbs to 39 and it’s accompanied by a northerly wind Melbourne becomes positively beastly. I chose Penhaligon’s Blenheim Bouquet for my Friday fragrance. This very traditional fragrance was designed for Winston Churchill’s father – Blenheim Palace is the Churchill family seat. It’s lemon and lime scent was just what I needed, bolstered by a refreshing pine. This was a perfect pick. While not exactly fighting on the beaches, it never surrendered.

Italian Citrus D.S. & Durga FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Saturday: the wave crests – and a special occasion.
It was 41C (106F) on Saturday. We planned to travel for a weekend away to celebrate our wedding anniversary. This meant we had to go out in blinding heat, sit in a car where the seats set fire to you when you climbed in, and moan to one another about how hot it was.

We went to dinner at a rural Italian restaurant of considerable note and I chose D.S. & Durga’s Italian Citrus, with its powerful, complex, almost bitter citrus note that really stays with you. It developed a sweeter musk as the night wore on, but the citrus remained until the end rather than giving way to the base notes. It lasted a good four hours.

Masque Terralba FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Sunday: the wave breaks
Only by comparison to the furnace of Saturday could the 39 degrees we reached on Sunday be considered cooler. We were in the car again travelling home. At the outset we could feel every one of those 39 degrees, cutting short our trip to get into the car and just leave.

I wore Masque Terralba. There is a cedary opening to this, but it’s cut by a little bit of lemon. It has an oceanic note that I can’t quite place, which reduces the woodsiness. Some herbal green notes emerge later as well.

Shortly after arriving home, the heat wave broke. Intermittent showers of rain brought relief from the fearsome dry, and the temperature tumbled ten degrees in just a few hours. The heat wave was over – until the next one.

Surrender To Chance is a great place to sample most of these.

How do you cope with heat?
Greg Young