Diorissimo EdC GIVEAWAY WINNER

September 18, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey there crew. I am so excited to share these babies from my collection. All vintage: Diorissimo EdC, Miss Dior EdT, Dioressence EdT. Can’t wait to see who our lucky winner is.

Portia xx

Diorissimo EdC GIVEAWAY WINNER

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, Green leaves
Heart: Amaryllis, Boronia, Lilac, Jasmine, Lily, Lily-of-the-valley, Rosemary, Ylang-ylang
Base: Sandalwood, Civet

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x Diorissimo EdC vintage sample from my bottle
1 x Miss Dior EdT vintage sample from my bottle
1 x Dioressence EdT vintage sample from my bottle
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Thursday 17th September 2015 10pm Australian EST
Winner was chosen by random.org

Photo Stolen nodepositforum

Michelle U

The winner will have till Sunday 20th September 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.

Fundamental by Ermano Picco + Cristiano Canali for Rubini 2015

September 17, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

Post by Poodle

Fundamental is a new release by the Italian perfume house Rubini. I’d happily sniff the hubby if he was wearing this and it would be a great autumn scent for me too, snuggling with a drink by the fire.

Fundamental by Rubini 2015

Fundamental by Ermano Picco and Cristiano Canali

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Calabrian bergamot, tangerine, flowers
Heart: Grapes, iris, beeswax
Base: Cedar, sandalwood, Java vetiver oil, leather

Fundamental reminds me of a classic men’s fragrance although any woman who likes perfumes that aren’t all flowers, fruit, and sugar could wear this. This is a classy fragrance that makes me think of a business man in a fine suit or expensive jeans and a crisp white shirt. I also tend to think “old money” when I smell it. This isn’t the scent of the man working for the vineyard it’s the scent of the man who owns it, or perhaps his family does.

I imagine driving past the vineyards on a cool autumn day with an extremely handsome man in a fine Italian car with leather and wood accents. The sun is low in the sky and the leaves are bathed in a golden glow. We’re heading up to his estate just over there on the hillside, to sip some wine and watch the sun set over the vineyard.

Photo Stolen Flickr

My initial impression after spraying was that this was going to be a citrus heavy scent. I found it to be sharp at first and perhaps it was my fault for just sticking my nose right in. Some scents need a little room to move at first. Happily the sharp citrus note didn’t last but a minute or two and soon it was morphing into a lovely wood and fruit blend. Even though it starts off bold I found it settled down to a respectable sillage rather quickly. The grape note is there but it’s not that artificial grape of candy nor is it quite the alcoholic note of wine. It reminds me of grapes warmed by the sun that have been on the vine a bit too long.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

There’s a honeyed sweetness which simmers just below the surface but I have a hard time calling this a sweet scent. It’s always tempered by the woods. Vetiver and leather are noticeable and the leather is smooth and well worn. As I wear it I find the scent changes from its soft fruity side to its more serious woody side throughout the duration. I get a retro feel from it most likely from the powdery iris note and the leather but maybe it’s the velvet accord? In the end I’m left with mostly woody notes. Overall I find it to be well done and wearable.

Longevity is good on me which means it’s probably long lasting on the rest of the world. You may want to test before buying since I think Fundamental will wear differently on everyone.

Further reading: Colognoisseur and Persefume
First In Fragrance has €135/50ml
Surrender To Chance has $4.40/.5ml

What scents do you think of as classic men’s fragrances and why?

Hugs
Poodle

Bel Respiro by Jacques Polge for CHANEL 2007

September 16, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 20 Comments

Post by Trésor

Sometimes there is a fragrance that one is taken with, right from the get-go. It’s a bit like finding the perfect pair of black leather pumps or a flawless white shirt, a seemingly simple task but one that in reality it’s never quite so easy. They have to click, tick each box and do so with a comfortable, effortless sensibility befitting their impeccable nature. A sublime marriage of fit, form and fabric that so fluently weaves its way into your life and exhibits as not only an immediate appreciation of fine craftsmanship but as the beginning of a lifelong affection. For me, this is how it began with Jacques Polge’s Bel Respiro for Chanel, a pure manifestation of not only incredible fondness but what it means to be consummately and so unapologetically chic.

Bel Respiro by CHANEL 2007

Bel Respiro by Jacques Polge

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Green notes, flowers, leather, grass

The opening of Bel Respiro is, in my opinion, SO bloody Chanel. If you just so happen to be as irrationally obsessed with fragrance as I am (and I sincerely suspect you are) then you know just what I mean. It’s so good, in fact, that it may very well reside within the selection of some of the most beautiful top notes I’ve ever smelled in a fragrance. Upon the first push of the atomizer one is met with a diaphanous aura of desaturated emerald, exquisite in its verdancy but whisked away into a realm of subtlety and utter grace. There is a sunlit radiance emanating from the surface, not particularly warm but a palpable sensation of luminosity and effervescence.

Photo Stolen DeviantArt

The elegant austerity of silken iris soon follows, infusing the composition with an air that feels again so deeply “Chanel”, beauty of the highest order but beauty that has not made an effort to appear as such; it simply is. Pastel hued petals of lilac and rose redolent of a delicate herbal astringency follow suit and create what smells to me of a subdued kaleidoscope of ephemeral floralcy. A flourish of suede reveals itself beneath glorious fractals of efflorescent aroma, but only as an accent much like the the double-C on the button of a vintage tweed jacket. The dry down smells of transparent resins alongside a slightly amplified trace of the aforementioned suede and the scintillant glow of soft white musk.

Photo Stolen Flickr

The longevity and sillage, for me, are largely dependent on how much one applies. A spray or two yields a relatively evanescent outcome, close to skin and lasting just a couple of hours but with a proper dousing in the stuff as I much prefer (quelle surprise!) I can get about 5 hours and a nominally more potent sillage. Bel Respiro is certainly not, as the boys like to say, “beast-mode” but that is where its beauty lays, in gossamer undulations of fragility and grace.

Further reading: Olfactoria’s Travels and Smelly Vagabond
Bel Respiro can be found at most large department stores and stand alone CHANEL boutiques
CHANEL Online has $160/75ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $4/ml

Have you fallen for any fragrances right from the beginning? What was it about them that beguiled you?

Until next time, my darlings.
Trésor xx

Diorissimo EdC Vintage by Edmond Roudnitska for DIOR 1956

September 14, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 34 Comments

Post by Portia

So I’ve learned something about vintage fragrances recently. They are quite different to the original intention. Please don’t shut me down. I’m not saying they are bad, wrong, inferior or unworthy of your attention: they are super worthy. Even the most badly decomposing vintage fragrance can still give you a hint of the majesty once curled within. So the top notes are wonky, who cares? Those base notes made of real animals (and no I don’t condone the killing of animals for our vanity. I do think though that if those creatures are being murdered anyway that we should use every single bit of them, even the fragrant parts for our scents) last forever and ten minutes into the ride you are coasting on a wave of deep furry burnished beauty unattainable today.

Diorissimo EdC Vintage by DIOR 1956

Diorissimo EdC Vintage by Edmond Roudnitska

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, Green leaves
Heart: Amaryllis, Boronia, Lilac, Jasmine, Lily, Lily-of-the-valley, Rosemary, Ylang-ylang
Base: Sandalwood, Civet

Recently I grabbed a bottle of vintage Diorissimo EdC. It came fully and perfectly preserved in its original cellophane wrapping, flawless. When I opened it, a 26ml splash, the juice was crystal clear and only slightly coloured, even less than the colour of Milly-la-Foret. I think the lid on a splash lets zero air in, unlike a spritz, because this is the most perfectly preserved version of Diorissimo of any age that I’ve smelled. Ainslie Walker and I were trying it yesterday because she is writing the Miu-Miu fragrance currently and she wanted to be able to compare the treatments of lily of the valley. We were both seriously enraptured by this perfectly demure dirty slut scent. Unbelieveable that it was the fragrance of young wealthy girls everywhere.

Lily of the valley and civet, frankly I’m a little surprised not to see ambergris in the accord list. The rest of the flowers are a beautiful bouquet with some fresh greenery that has still the soft green sappy scent of torn leaves.

Further reading: Bois de Jasmin and Perfumed Dandy
eBay and ETSY have the vintage, department stores the current versions
Surrender To Chance has vintage samples starting from $6/ml

So today we have a very special giveaway which includes samples of Diorissimo EdC, Dioressence EdT and Miss Dior EdT from my own bottles, all VERY vintage.

Portia xxx

Photo Stolen kbaird

Diorissimo EdC GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

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 (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 tell me your favourite DIOR, old or new, and why

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 17th Septembert 2015 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winner will be chosen by random.org
The winner will have till Sunday 20th September 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.

FR! 01 / N° 02 GIVEAWAY WINNER

September 14, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 1 Comment

Post by Portia

Thanks everyone for getting involved.

Let’s see who won.

Portia xx

FR! 01 / N° 02 GIVEAWAY WINNER

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Rose absolute
Heart: Tuberose absolute
Base: Cocoa resin

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x 15ml FR! 01 / N° 02 La Dame Blanche by Julie Massé for Fragrance Republic 2013
(there are about 3ml gone)
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 13th September 2015 10pm Australian EST
Winner was chosen by random.org

Photo Stolen HighestSelf

Bernadette Winfield-Gray

The winner will have till Thursday 17th September 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.

L’Occitane Immortelle: 28 Day Divine Renewal Skin Program

September 13, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 12 Comments

Post by AF Beauty

L’Occitane Immortelle

28 Day Divine Renewal Skin Program

Opening the product was VERY EXCITING. I had no idea what was in the box, it being given to me by the lovely Portia to review. I cracked the cellophane and opened the box and saw the four panels of oil before me. Quite possibly the most extravagant packing I’ve ever seen for what amounts to 28ml of oil!

L’Occitane Immortelle First week: Gentle Exfoliation

My first point of note was the instruction booklet which detailed very specific instructions on how to apply the oil, down to a pre-application inhalation of the oil aromas. The first oil smells very green and plant-like, not unpleasant. The second, and most surprising revelation was that 1ml of oil is a HUGE amount. I did as instructed, dropped the oil into my hands, rubbed, inhaled and applied – and lo, I was an oil slick! The oil felt a little grainy and took a while to settle in. Having applied at night, it did sink in overnight, but I was still a bit oily in the morning. At this point I wasn’t using any other moisturiser on top of the oil. Towards the end of the week I realised I was starting to get tiny spots on my cheeks and forehead.

L’Occitane Immortelle Week Two: Hydration and Nutrition

Immediately on this week I noticed the aroma was a lot sweeter than the previous week, much less plant-like and more flower. I really liked this week’s oil although, given the choice, I would probably only choose to apply half the amount. Because the pods are “single serve” there is no choice but to apply once open.

L’Occitane Immortelle Week Three: Balance

At the start of this week, I’ve not noticed a huge difference in the oil from week two. The aroma is comparable, still sweet and light. The texture is slightly less fine than week two, but this is almost imperceptible. Nightly, I am still an oil slick but the spots have ceased.

L’Occitane Immortelle Week Four: Renewal

By week four I had started to apply a tiny amount of moisturiser on top of the oil in an attempt to encourage more absorption and to prevent the oily residue on the skin. At week four, I can’t tell the difference between the previous three weeks in both texture and aroma.
But with all this, how was my skin? That’s really the question! Well…. overall, not great. Towards week four I had started to dwindle in my commitment to the product. My skin texture had lost some smoothness and I was really missing my usual routine. I didn’t perceive the benefits each week proposed to offer. But in defence of this product, I used it in almost isolation, just after cleansing my face each night, unlike almost any other product in my arsenal. And in fairness, the reviews of the product on the L’Occitane website shows that people truly love it – I am completely open to accepting that not every product works in the same way for everyone.

I would love to see the best oil in this collection sold in a bottle by itself with a dropper and to be able to use that oil in amongst other products. (And now I check, I see they now do this at L’Occitane)

Will you try this set? Do you use other facial oils? Which ones and how do they suit you?
AF Beauty xx

Anne-Marie Sniffing in Paris 2015

September 13, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 8 Comments

Post by Anne-Marie

Hi All

Last month I spent about a week in Paris on a work trip, all expenses paid. This is NOT the sort of thing that normally happens to me, and right up until I boarded the plane I was expecting the dream to evaporate. But no, I got there, and had a fabulous – albeit hurried – trip to the City of Light.

Photo Stolen Flickr

The Pompidou Centre. Sadly, I did not have time to venture inside.

Anne-Marie Sniffing in Paris 2015

I was with a colleague and we were traveling and in meetings nearly all the time. We had very little time for sightseeing and shopping, but, well, it’s amazing what can be achieved with a bit determination!

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

We were staying at Les Halles and working in the Marais. This made it easy for me to get to my most longed-for shopping destination – a Nicolai boutique. Nicolai Parfumeur Createur was one of the first niche brands I fell in love with but never for an instant did I believe that I would step over the threshold of one of its Parisian boutiques. Well, I did, and it was as delightful as I had always dreamed. Purchases? 30 mls each of Fig-Tea, Weekend in Normandy, and some Vetyver soap.

Photo Stolen GoogleMaps

I must admit a grand fail though. I walked right past the Serge Lutens boutique in the Palais Royal and I was too scared to walk in. Okay, time to confess that I’m not a fan of the brand and never have been. I can’t afford one of its darned bell jars even if I wanted one. The shop exterior creeped me out. And I had a meeting at the Australian embassy later in the afternoon and could I turn up there reeking of Moroccan souks and stewed fruit? No. Just no.

But I stopped at the Parfums de Rosine boutique and was nearly – but not quite – charmed into purchasing Une Zeste de Rose. After that I was quite content with a cup of mint tea and a slice of cake in a café opposite Uncle Serge’s little shop. Tea and cake in the Palais Royal and strolling through the gardens were the highlights of the trip.

Photo Stolen WikiCommons

As for perfume sniffed on the street, I smelled a lot. Most of it I could not identify but I’m certain I got a whiff of Narciso Rodriguez for Her, and twice I smelled Terre d’Hermès quite distinctly. Once was as I was queuing for coffee at Gard du Nord, and once in the hotel lift at my hotel.

The Sephora store in the Marais was nothing grand, but I had fun exploring Yves Rocher (the brand is not sold in Australia), and picked up a bottle of Oriental Shower Oil – so decadent! Perfume shopping concluded with a Cartier mini set bought duty free on the way home.

How about you? Do you have Parisian sniffing adventures to share?

Until next time, have fragrant fun!
Anne-Marie xx

(Ed: Sadly Anne-Marie’s photos were in a form I was unable to translate to WordPress so I had to add some stock shots)

Blackwater Thistle GIVEAWAY WINNER

September 13, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Post by Portia

Hey Hey APJ,

Firstly, THANK YOU to our incredibly generous guys at Criminal Elements who supplied this sample of Blackwater Thistle, Corey Newcombe and Aelfrik Spektor. Do please go to the Criminal Elements site and get your freaky sniff on some of their stuff. It will blow your mind.

Secondly, let’s see who our winner is.

Portia xx

Blackwater Thistle GIVEAWAY WINNER

Photo Stolen Geograph

Criminal Elements give these featured accords in one line:
Grass, violet, moss, soil, bullrush, thistle

WHAT CCOULD YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x Blackwater Thistle pre-release sample
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Thursday 10th Septembert 2015 10pm Australian EST
Winner was chosen by random.org

Photo Stolen cemre-ile-hertelden

SCOTT

The winner will have till Sunday 13th September 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.

Le Jardin de Monsieur Li by Jean-Claude Ellena for Hermès 2015

September 12, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 18 Comments

Post by Portia

It’s time to bid farewell to Jean-Claude Ellena at Hermès. I’m sad because he really came to embody so much of what I think Hermès is famous for: the interesting, not fashion, best of, made to last, made to use, made to love and for people who can still feel love. JCE being the nose at Hermès felt like their visions were aligned, sheer beauty could sum up Hermès or Jean Claude Ellena’s fragrances for Hermès. Here is Le Jardin de Monsieur Li: his last opus for the company, his last fantastical garden……

Le Jardin de Monsieur Li by Hermès 2015

Le Jardin de Monsieur Li by Jean-Claude Ellena

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Kumquat, jasmine, mint

The garden series are polarising, as much of Ellena’s work is. One of the interesting things about them is that we have been able to see into this particular artists creative journey with some of these scents through his own, and others, written words. Though we know little it’s more than we know of other perfumers and that for me makes JCE a bit of a mate, a friend or acquaintance that has let me a little behind their eyes into the workings of their brain. WE have been there when the unripe mango triggered a fragrance, through some of the depressing routes that led to failure and we also know something of his love of fragrance, his bringing home freaky scents the kids asked for, the love for his wife and his engaging personality that has made him a fragrance lovers household name.

So, how does Le Jardin de Monsieur Li smell? Bittersweet, ethereal, sweet and cool, sparkling yet curiously oily too. Le Jardin de Monsieur Li is about drinks in the shady garden in the afternoon as the sting of the days heat abruptly cuts off, the gardeners are watering or maybe there’s just been an afternoon storm so the air is clearer, less dusty and the fragrance has changed from dust to fecund wet earth and grass and you have a champagne fruit punch that is so delicious and the first one hardly even touches the sides of your thirst. Refreshing, lifting, light and elegant, Le Jardin de Monsieur Li is a fond and fervent farewell.

Photo Stolen Hermès

The Le Jardin de Monsieur Li artwork looks like they have a new artist too. The modern/retro feel of the watercolour is so much more computer-generated looking than previous pictures and while I think it lovely there is a feeling that the Hermès crew is already moving on from the JCE years. Moving away from the lovely home made feel of the naughties and into a more hipster/art-without-creativity/big-business-boring feel for the future. It’s a shame if it’s true, one of the things I love about Hermès is their quaint and homey version of world domination. The free spirit has been caged and trained.

Further reading: Candy Perfume Boy and Perfume Shrine
Hermes stores and some larger department stores carry the Jardin range
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $4/ml

What is your favourite Jean Claude Ellena fragrance for Hermès?
Portia xx

FR! 01 / N° 02 – La Dame Blanche by Julie Massé for Fragrance Republic 2013

September 11, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 24 Comments

Post by Portia

Hi Indie Perfume Lovers,

Our lovely Poodle did a super review of todays fragrance a while back and at the time I was intrigued. It now shows up in the ENORMOUS sample and trial baggie Natalie from APB gave to me, in a 15ml size.

FR! 01 / N° 02 by Fragrance Republic 2013

FR! 01 / N° 02 – La Dame Blanche by Julie Massé

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Rose absolute
Heart: Tuberose absolute
Base: Cocoa resin

This is day two of wearing and though Poodle pointed out in her review that this was the tuberose for people who hate BWFs and that it was very airy the absolute accuracy of those two pieces of information weren’t fully clear until I started wearing FR! 01 / N° 02. Tuberose has been shorn of all its lascivious and fatty excesses, all traces of grandeur and overbearing sonic scent projection has been pared back to an extraordinarily sparse and stark fragrance that still manages to create a beautiful aura around you and be daintily fragrant. Modern simplicity in fragrance at its best.

The rose is wet and cool, reminiscent of early spring dawn blooms still lightly frosted. When the FR! 01 / N° 02 tuberose arrives its sheer, misty veil is both prim and luscious. No, I don’t understand and can’t really explain but both words are equally valid. It is tuberose and yet its this new, softer, icier sister of tuberose. Like taking a drink from an icy stream in the mountains but still being aware that you are warm flesh and blood.

I can easily imagine FR! 01 / N° 02 becoming a perfect go-to daily scent. A spritz and go, comfortable, beautiful fresh wash of cool glamour. Excellent for the high powered, or aspirational, person to give an aura of calm competence and quiet fortitude.

FR! 01 / N° 02 is a little too pristine for my tastes, though I’m impressed by the artistry the fragrance itself is just not something I think I’ll use.

Further reading: Australian Perfume Junkies
Fragrance Republic has $35/15ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at #3.75/ml

If you’d like to have the bottle see below.

Portia xx

Photo Stolen kbaird

FR! 01 / N° 02 GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x 15ml FR! 01 / N° 02 La Dame Blanche by Julie Massé for Fragrance Republic 2013
(there are about 3ml gone)
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please go to Fragrance Republic site and pick a fragrance + one of its notes NO DOUBLE UPS!!!

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie FR! 01 / N° 02 GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-4cY #Perfume #Giveaway @FragranceRepub

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 13th September 2015 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 17th September 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.