Emeraude EdC: Vintage by Francois Coty for Coty 1921

July 24, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 16 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey Hey APJ,

My mate Natalie from the sadly defunct site Another Perfume Blog was cleaning out her unwanted samples and decants and gave me an enormous bag of things that she thought I may be interested in trying. The bag is so huge that I find it completely overwhelming and rarely open it. I do look at it often with love for Natalie and thanks that she thought me worthy of such an amazing gift. I’m not sure why but today I was inspired to go rummaging through and found something I’ve been keen to try.

Emeraude EdC: Vintage by Francois Coty for Coty 1921

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Orange, bergamot, lemon
Heart: Jasmine, ylang-ylang, rose, Brazilian rosewood
Base: Amber, sandalwood, patchouli, opoponax, benzoin, vanilla

I’m not sure what the vintage is of the decant that was in the bag but it is a lovely chartreuse colour, pale yellow green, it looks like dangerous poison. Nothing like the modern day-glo green fragrance in the picture above which I have tried in the plastic crowned bottle and quite liked.

Citrus and what smells like galbanum to me are already warmed through by the creamy ylang, resins and woods. This older version is softer and less strident than my previous tries of the modern Emeraude. A furrier, fuzzier green that is so much more than a green. This is a really complex warm green that both cuddles and cools. I could see this being sold as a high end niche in the 21st century, there’s something decidedly balmy about the whole scent. As if it’s not a perfume but a pomade, a thick lotion in a pot or a solid.

Photo Stolen Pixabay

Calming and beautiful this Emeraude wears close but still has the power to change the air around you and make the world seem a little more technicolour, slightly more splendid and imperial. Emeraude vintage is like a glamour cast before your nose that makes the world seem lovelier by far to the rest of your senses. The dry down becomes resinous and the vanilla/amber wafts discretely for a couple of hours after the fireworks have burned off.

Further reading: Muse In Wooden Shoes and Yesterday’s Perfume
FragranceNet have $6/12ml before Coupon

Photo Stolen YouTube

Emeraude EdC GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x Emeraude EdC vintage decant (about 2ml)
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 (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 us what you love about Coty or any vintage fragrance

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Vintage Emeraude EdC: Coty GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-46C #Perfume #Giveaway @COTYUKPR

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 26th July 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 30th July 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.

Why is Pluto not a planet? 4 minute answer

July 24, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 14 Comments

Hi there APJ,

Here is a question I have been asking myself quietly but without enough force to bother looking for the answer until now. Here are my answewrs all related easily and in a friendly fashion in under 4 minutes by the BBC! Sometimes I get really excited over the smallest things and this is no exception.

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

Enjoy the answer,
Portia xx

Why is Pluto not a planet? – Sky at Night: Pluto Revealed Preview – BBC Four

Jersey Parfum by Jacques Polge for CHANEL 2014

July 23, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

Hello to my fellow fumeheads!

Today, I am zeroing in on a breathtaking parfum that surprised me when I sniffed it in person. Last year, I wandered into Boston’s Chanel boutique with fragrance friends, eyes sparkling with delight in the luxe venue. I went in with laser focus, intent on purchasing Chanel No. 22 parfum from the Les Exclusifs line. I then went on to sniff the other boutique-exclusive offerings, and was shocked to fall in love with:

CHANEL Jersey parfum Les Exclusifs de Chanel

CHANEL Jersey parfum by Jacques Polge

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Lavender, musk, vanilla, wildflowers, grass, rose, jasmine and tonka bean

Wearing Jersey today, I sense a spark of clean lavender, awash in the white-hot rays of the solstice sun. The meadow rolls over tumbling hills, emeralds and amethysts glistening as far as the eye can see. Freshly laundered sheets billow crisply on a clothesline, as signature Chanel aldehydes pierce the air. The lazy breeze carries these cool, soothing fragrances like a drifting song, the hollow tones of a silver flute choir.

And yet, although my visions glow beneath the brightest sunbeams, Jersey is an evening fragrance for me. It is a scent for a quietly classic night on the town, freshly showered and dolled up in a favorite new dress and a string of pearls. I strongly associate lavender with the cold light of the stars, as I often use it for sleep aromatherapy. However, as it joyfully dances among distinctive aldehydes and a waft of rose petal, this lavender is calm and graceful, not sleepy.

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

From CHANEL: Jersey had only been used for sailors’ sweaters and men’s undergarments until, in the 1920’s, Mademoiselle Chanel made it the instrument of a new elegance for women. Like Mademoiselle, Jacques Polge has also revealed the chic and feminine treasures of a material considered to be masculine and modest: lavender. He has chosen an exceptional essence and given it the sensuality of musk and the delicious richness of vanilla. And so it is that lavender has been transfigured and become deliciously sophisticated. Successfully transformed, it has lost its masculine connotations.

Photo Donated Erica

Further reading: Bois de Jasmin and A Model Recommends
CHANEL Les Exclusives are available at CHANEL online or larger department stores
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $8/.25ml

Have you tried any Chanel Exclusifs? Do you have a favorite? Let’s dish!

Scented hugs, Erica

Sarrasins by Christopher Sheldrake + Serge Lutens 2007

July 22, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 13 Comments

Post by Liam

Sarrasins: A severe perfume.

There are a lot of noir scents on the market. Or better put, there are a lot of noir flankers on the market. Tom Ford’s Noir, Chanel’s Coco Noir, and Van Cleef and Arpels’ Cologne Noire to name a few fumes.

The word noir, whether it’s used to mod a title or used as a title on its own really fascinates me.

On one hand, noir and nuit go hand-in-hand and evoke feelings of a cool and steely midnight in winter. On another, noir seems to be a term impetuously placed on labels as it suggests a darkened fragrance that is largely more severe.

Unfortunately, this is not the usual case. Coco Noir is described as a ‘nocturnal baroque scent’ … with grapefruit?! No no no. That’s not noir. That’s a flirtatious teen girl late at night.

Sarrasins by Serge Lutens 2007

Sarrasins by Christopher Sheldrake + Serge Lutens

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Blossoms
Heart: Carnation, jasmine
Base: Musk

Sarrasins is noir. True noir. Sarrasins wraps me in its beauty and then strangles me gently. A metallic note opens floating ephemerally at the top of the overdosing of rich moreish jasmine. I suspect a drop of aldehydes lifts the fragrance and adds some initial space in the beginning, as the narcotic flower begins to bloom on the skin. This effect, a floral dipped in a touch of something artificial, reminds me of Serge Luten’s masterful Tuberuse Criminelle where a scene plays out on the skin as a murder occurs in a room full of tuberose flowers. This almost bloody accord is further tweaked with something undeniably clean – a Luten’s style musk note; camphoraceous and cool.

From here, the jasmine reveals itself emerging like a spike from the skin. It poses danger but never cuts as it is placated with its innate white floral creaminess. Thus its sweet and indolic moments are to be expected and these are spiced with a carnation note that recalls many early vintage scents I have smelled before. Despite the linear nature of the scent, the jasmine note pulls itself down into darker regions. It sways between dead and alive like flowers limply wilting and wrinkling like old leather.

‘Warm’ is best used to describe this stage, underscored with a majestic leatheriness and animalics as the jasmine showcases its green facet – here we find resolution between two clashes that learn to exist together in harmony. The sweetness now comes off as fruity and herbal, yet it appears to forever colour itself nostalgically purple and melancholically grey with its impossibly dusty undertones.

So, a noir scent like Sarrasins recalls something tender, tragic and emotionally palpable. Longing but not obtainable. It’s everything you expect from the Serge Lutens’ aesthetic and the noir labelling, a style of fragrance possessed only by truly the most exhaled scents. Anyway, evil is not a bad descriptor at all…

Photo Stolen Pixabay

In terms of longevity and sillage, Sarrasins trails me like a spectre. Close, intimate, and radiating energy and a cold stately mood. Moderate.

Further reading: Perfume Shrine and Smelly Thoughts
Serge Lutens can be purchased at Serge Lutens online or in most larger department stores
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $4/.5ml

So! What do you think a true noir perfume is?

-Liam (turning 18 soon – how should I spoil myself?)

Borsch, Vodka and Tears: Melbourne

July 21, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 19 Comments

Post by Ainslie Walker

I had an extraordinary unplanned evening on Chapel Street, Melbourne. My favorite kind of experience, where I get to learn something fascinating, enjoy a new experience and have all my senses dazzled. I was drawn in to a doorway marked by an intriguing logo painted on a shop window: “Borsch, Vodka and Tears” a few steps and I was suddenly out of the cold and in cozy Eastern Europe!

Borsch, Vodka and Tears: Melbourne

A romantic bohemian style bar and restaurant, inspired by the cellar bars of Krakow. It represents a bygone world, specialising in Polish vodka, absinthe, Eastern European beers and Polish meals. It is a perfect place for a date.

I arrived late and eyed off the wall of vodkas on display. The owners have spent years sourcing the most unusual, historic and rare bottles exclusively importing from Poland. My interest was spiked on realizing the bottles were hand made and painted in Poland too -gorgeously bespoke…very much the same way our favourite niche fragrances reside. One bottle even had a bubble inside with a rose inside! Even the historical stories of the brands reminded me of some of the older niche fragrances houses. I had found a magical sparkling vodka apothecary!

I decided on a vodka tasting session. I was asked about my favorite drinks, smells and flavours and I handed myself over for 3 of the barman’s recommendations -very much like perfume shopping. At this point he put down on the bar, three of the cutest tiny hand cut crystal shot glasses. I will admit I wanted to steal them – of course I didn’t though!!

He then filled them with different coloured liquids – vodka! They could have been made from anything! From potato or grain, tinctures or infusions of fruit, herbs or spices and aged in woods like oak. The idea he had was to test me, as by now he knew I had an interest in guessing notes.

Here are the highlights:

1. Piasecki Miodówka Leśna – Forest like and herbal, juniper and pine needle notes. A touch of something a little more resinous and balsamic, maybe honey. If it were perfume think Dior La Collection Couturier Parfumeur – Granville with its pine, citrus, pepper and herbal gorse notes rounded by sandalwoods and even some elements of Gucci by Gucci Sport – cypress, juniper and a touch of musky ambrette seed

2. Ja-GoPrzepalanka – All natural organic artisanal vodka featuring burnt sweet caramel notes, like the top of a crème brulee but with the alcohol strength being enough to really warm the throat. Smooth and deliciously addictive!

3. Miodula Prezydencka Lezakowana was the highlight for me I tasted smoked beeswax predominantly, along with the taste of wild honey, smoked pine needles and oak wood. Only 4000 bottles are made a year, all filled by hand, with 500 reserved as diplomatic gifts for Poland’s president. Bottles are all hand numbered with batch information also handwritten. The recipe is from 1772. I need a full bottle of this exclusive juice!!!!

Next visit I want to try Soplica Staropolska the menu says: Honey, Walnut, Clove With Jasmine And Lilac Notes. Aged In Oak Then Bottled In Hand Painted Decanters.
How does that not sound like a must try perfume to you? How do you like your vodka?

Ainslie Walker x

Move On Monday Club

July 20, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 39 Comments

Post by Holly

Hiya APJ gang!

I have formed a club, and I’m recruiting members! There are no requirements, no dues to be paid, no meetings and your participation is gonna be mostly in your own head! That’s where most things start anyway, right? You don’t even have to declare your membership. In fact, I will now assume that you are all members of The Move On Monday Club. Welcome!

Move On Monday Club

No doubt you’re wondering “what the hell does this have to do with perfume?” Good question! You see, over the last year I got myself into a pickle with my um, sincerely enthusiastic purchasing of perfume samples. I had my reasons, but now it’s time to move on. No whining, cringing, hand-wringing, sobbing, reviews of my PayPal account, denial or regret. So I’m hoping you’ll help me out. My Move on Mondays are my way of dealing with thoughts, feelings and things that have been lurking in the depths and need to be addressed. I like the alliteration, and the mindset helps set the tone for the week for me.

I have more than 300 samples. All from the last eighteen months. Yep, I went apeshit crazy! Then suddenly, about six months ago, I became overwhelmed. I stopped opening the Olfactif boxes and envelopes from decanters and so on and so forth. I kept ordering. I’d get to it. Then, I put the boxes in a huge box, and envelopes in giant trash bags, and tossed them into closets. Nut job! Move on.

Now I know that there are many people who have tons of samples and are comfortable with that. I personally am not. For a while, I created an image of The Sample Sea, where my samples are gently drifting in and out, and I thought that eventually I’d surf the sea and accept whatever drifts along my way. That has been a comforting image for a while, but now the sirens are singing and the samples are hissing and spitting and demanding attention. The Sample Sea is a gyre, replete with plastic bags, paper envelopes, cardboard boxes and detritus.

So what I’d like to know is what is your perfume sampling journey like these days?
Do you have a clear sense of your style and prefer to stick with it? Has it been consistent?
Do you like to experiment and will try almost anything?
Do you consider what you have to be a collection, or kinda willy-nilly?
Do you plan your purchases?
Do you organize your samples?
How do you sample? Do you pick one at a time, or five or ten?
Do you have a yes, a no, and a maybe pile?

How do you decide what is full-bottle worthy? Do you have particular requirements such as price, sillage, longevity, consistency from the top notes through the dry down?

Some popular Sample Sites include: Surrender To Chance, Posh Peasant, My Perfume Samples

Them there’s a lotta questions! Whew! I hope this doesn’t look like homework, and that you’ll enjoy sharing some of your insights. Thank you in advance.
Love and hugs to all,
Holly xo

Surrender To Chance GIVEAWAY WINNER

July 19, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Thank You APJ,

What a wealth of great feedback. You are the best and I have read and read again your comments.

Our winner of the $50 Surrendeer To Chance GIFT VOUCHER is LENA

Please get in touch Lena with your email address to: portia (underscore) turbo (at) yahoo (dot) com (dot) au and I’ll send your voucher

THANKS,
Portia xx

Salvidor Dali + Rosa sur Reuse by Liz Zorn for SOIVOHLE

July 18, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

Hi there APJ,

Two of my favourite things are art & fragrance. Today when I chose my scent it was Rosa sur Reuse that I reached for. I was pretty liberal (3 to chest and 1 to hair) and now I am sitting in a fragrant cloud that immediately made me think of the surreal works of Salvador Dali. There is something perfectly surreal and new every time I wear it and it’s much like rediscovering Dali’s works every time you come across them, the absolute surprise at his perfectly poised rendering of the bizarre, shocking, humorous and strange.

Rosa sur Reuse is beautiful and completely other-worldly, it is enticing and borders on the edge of way too much yet always remains perfectly blended and disarming. I think that because Liz Zorn is an artist too, that she feels things in an artistic way could be why my mind jumps to art when I’m wearing her creation. That she takes the same palette of notes as every other perfumer and creates this magical scent, something that speaks to me and moves me from such a physical primal level all the way to my art infested brain is prett incredible. Rosa sur Reuse always feels like an old friend and a new love.

So though I’ve talked about Rosa sur Reuse before I really wanted to record my joy today and share it with you.

Salvador Dali

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

Rosa sur Reuse by Liz Zorn for SOIVOHLE 2012

Photo Stolen SOIVOHLE

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Tuberose, red rose, red berries, parma violet, jasmine, lily, lilac, orchid, oakmoss, vanilla, woody notes, musk

Sadly Liz has discontinued Rosa sur Reuse but I stockpiled a whole load of it and feel able to spritz with abandon. It’s a peculiar, particular joy when you spray a fragrance that was never a mainstream blockbuster because the chances of finding more are so slim. So when I do wear Rosa sur Reuse I feel as if I am gifting myself this joy, a real gift to myself that takes little more than the press of a nozzle and a deep breath.

Do you have a fragrance that works like this for you?
Portia x

INSPIRED! + Surrender To Chance

July 17, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 27 Comments

Hey there APJers,

Life is happily hectic and the house has most of my attention. There just does not seem to be enough time in the day, though fortunately I am managing to stay afloat. Hopefully you all are coping, if not take a moment to be still and listen to yourself in this moment. You really do know what’s best for you.

INSPIRED!

Not so very long ago though I was reading one of my all time favourite blogs and the piece was so involving and interesting. How your head can work while trying to be involving and engaging. We at APJ are verystructured because I really like that format and it means you can drop in at any time (day or night, ballgown or suit, bus, work, home, in between courses at dinner, just about any time you have 5 minutes) and get a quick fragrant fix from a wealth of voices across the globe.

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

Here though is a piece that really made me think about what we do. I will need some more percolation time but it has caught my attention.

Jump across to I Smell Therefore I Am and have a read, I’d LOVE to know what you think about the piece and how YOU feel it relates to APJ. We are all good for constructive criticism and I want this to be a place everyone feels welcome and has something here to capture and hold their attention.

Surrender To Chance GIVEAWAY

One lucky commenter will receive a $50 Surrender To Chance GIFT VOUCHER to be drawn on Sunday night 10pm Australia EST and they will be chosen by random.org

Go for it crew,
Portia xx

Photo Stolen DeviantArt

ETERNITY NOW Calvin Klein: New Ad

July 17, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Hey hey Crew,

When I was a younger person Calvin Klein always had a great diffusion line of clothes. I would often choose a Calvin Klein T-Shirt, jumper or belt and his frags were what my friends wore. I loved to smell them and really liked the advertising etc but never did I think I wanted to wear the Calvin Klein fragrant dream. To be honest a part of me was a little sneery at their oh-so-mainstream tastes. It’s only now, when everyone has moved on from the scents that I am finding my way to wearing them. NOW I really like a whole bunch and they bring back fabulous fragrant memories of friends long gone, and some still in my circle who don’t smell like this anymore.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Here is a NEW Eternity flanker

Eternity Now For Women by Calvin Klein 2015

Eternity Now For Women by Ann Gottlieb

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Litchi, quince sorbet
Heart: Peony, peach blossom, neroli petals
Base: Cashmere, ambrox, musk

I hope you enjoy the ad, which uses one of my favourite songs from Aussie band INXS.
Portia xx

Australian Perfume Junkies

Olfactory Opinions from Oz

beauty

Emeraude EdC: Vintage by Francois Coty for Coty 1921

Emeraude EdC: Vintage by Francois Coty for Coty 1921

Emeraude EdC GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

HOW DO YOU WIN?

HOUSEKEEPING

Why is Pluto not a planet? 4 minute answer

Why is Pluto not a planet? – Sky at Night: Pluto Revealed Preview – BBC Four

Jersey Parfum by Jacques Polge for CHANEL 2014

CHANEL Jersey parfum Les Exclusifs de Chanel

CHANEL Jersey parfum by Jacques Polge

Sarrasins by Christopher Sheldrake + Serge Lutens 2007

Sarrasins by Serge Lutens 2007

Sarrasins by Christopher Sheldrake + Serge Lutens

Borsch, Vodka and Tears: Melbourne

Borsch, Vodka and Tears: Melbourne

Move On Monday Club

Move On Monday Club

Surrender To Chance GIVEAWAY WINNER

Salvidor Dali + Rosa sur Reuse by Liz Zorn for SOIVOHLE

Salvador Dali

Rosa sur Reuse by Liz Zorn for SOIVOHLE 2012

INSPIRED! + Surrender To Chance

INSPIRED!

Surrender To Chance GIVEAWAY

ETERNITY NOW Calvin Klein: New Ad

Eternity Now For Women by Calvin Klein 2015

Eternity Now For Women by Ann Gottlieb

ETERNITY NOW Calvin Klein