While you are trolling the internet today please jump on over and check out the newest post on My Perfume Samples. The My Perfume Samples gang have given me a really great new outlet for fragrance writing and this fortnight we decided to look at Summer Scents that may have slipped under your radar. Some really good choices as it heats up in the Northern Hemisphere and even if you want to remember the fun fizz of summer in the Southern Hemisphere.
So please jump across and check the list out on My Perfume Samples<<JUMP. Leave a message with something you think should be there or a favourite from the group so we can have a bit of a natter about it, I’ll be dropping in regularly over the next week to answer any and all comments.
Looks like the Sample Packs are popular. Good. I love to pay it forward. We had a great response and I am so happy that you all want to help me clean house. Thanks.
Portia xx
SAMPLE PACK #2 Giveaway WINNER
SAMPLE PACK #2
Champagne de bois by Sonoma Scent Studio
Charogne by Etat Libre de Orange
Rose Anonyme by Atelier Cologne
Amber Woods (oil) by Seplasia by Bruno Acampora
Opardu by Puredistance
Dark purple by Montale
What We Do In Paris Is Secret by A Lab On Fire
Precious Oud by Van Cleef & Arpels
Aromatics Elixer Gel by Clinique
Plume Manufacturers Sample
Tubereuse by Le Galion Manufacturers Sample
L’Homme Infini by Divine Manufacturers Sample
Ambre Rayonner by SOIVOHLE Manufacturers Sample
Mad Madame by Juliette Has A Gun Manufacturers Sample
A Taste of Heaven by Kilian Manufacturers Sample
Flora Azteca by Primordial Scents
Tobacco & Tulle by SOIVOHLE
Vamp a NY by Honore des Pres
Shalimar by Guerlain
Mitsouko by Guerlain
WHAT COULD YOU WIN?
This week we will have 1 winner who will receive: 1 x SAMPLE PACK
P&H Anywhere in the world
HOW DID 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 sampled recently that took your fancy
Entries Closed Sunday 21st June 2015 10pm Australian EST
Winner was chosen by random.org
Photo Stolen EverythingHealth
Nikki
The winner will have till Thursday 25th June 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.
I love beauty products. I love them more than my wallet loves them. So to try and balance desire with budget I like to keep my ear to the ground for bargain products that do a great job at a brilliant price. I wanted to test genuinely well priced products, not just a fabulous lipstick on 90% discount so I have aimed for items under AU$15.
Hide The Blemish. So, it transpires I am the biggest idiot! This concealer is great – why did I stop using this as a teen?!! I’ve gotten on great with the texture and coverage and the way I can layer to build coverage – I will add this as a staple to my make-up bags. (Yes, both!)
Barry M Mascara. This says it is extra lengthening; maybe it is, but in that case, so is it extra time consuming! The wand is one of those plastic spikey ones, not an old fashioned brush, which I think do a better job of lengthening or volumising. That said, it goes on well without clumping, it’s great colour and texture, you just have to apply a few coats to get the extra lengthening.
Next the supermarket products. Here I got lucky! I was in Aldi, which has some well-reviewed products at amazing prices. I tried the 3-in-1 Primer at AU$5.
At $5 I didn’t have massive expectations, but Aldi consistently receives great write ups for their budget skincare line. I really liked the primer, much more than I expected. I am not a huge fan of the silicone type primers which feel overly silky but this is more of a light moisturiser. I used my daily moisturiser followed by the primer, then foundation. The primer instructions were to apply over the face concentrating on fine lines – this seemed odd to me given the lightness of the fluid, but I think my foundation applied well, evenly and smoothly. Although much lighter, I found this similar in concept and result to Clarins Beauty Flash Balm, smoothing the face and leaving me looking marginally, inexplicably, better, but it was less sticky (good!).
Lastly, a wildcard, an eyebrow kit from Priceline (Walgreens/Boots equiv), a brand known as Model’s Prefer. Model’s Prefer Eyebrow kit from Priceline AU$13, the most expensive item in this group, but worth the little extra.
The kit contains a brow powder, coloured gel, a slanted brush to apply and a mini tweezer. I’ve learned to spend 30 seconds of the few minutes I spend on make up each morning on brows to frame the face. I used just the coloured gel usually and this is both reliable and easy to give a decent lasting result.
I have happily added the concealer, primer and eyebrow palette to my daily routine and it’s some of the best money I’ve spent! What are your favourite budget beauty products?
Fragrantica gives these featured accords: Top: Green notes, mandarin, peach, basil, bergamot, lemon Heart: Spices, coriander, sandalwood, orange blossom, jasmine, oakmoss, cedar, rose Base: Amber, musk, civet, vanilla, vetiver, incense.
It’s the damp herbal first blast of Obsession that I adore. Yes, there are softer, easier things to come, but that dark, slightly bitter opening is for me, addictive. After that I get spices of course, although not the florals.
The base for me is mostly amber and vanilla, with incense keeping things cool and dry. The vanilla is far from being sweet and foodie – which is just how I like it. I wear the modern EDT, the stuff you can get for a song just about anywhere perfume is sold.
Obsession is usually classified as an oriental, but through its marketing, Obsession rejects conventional oriental fantasies and metaphors. We get no lacquered spice jars, no souks, no Buddhas or Indian princesses etc. Obsession does not weave sentimental fairy tales; it is about nothing but sex.
The early TV ads were directed by Richard Avedon and make you feel as if you have wandered on to the set of some weird modernist play. Everything is in monochrome, but clearly the scene is vibrant with sexual obsession. In one, an older man laments a young woman (played by South African model José Borain) who has left him (“Was it me? Did I somehow driver her away?”).
In another, that woman is the object of obsession for a beautiful teenage boy (“ … the whispers at my bedside … her arms … her mouth … her amber hair … and oh, the smell of it.”).
The early print ads were shot in Puerto Villata, Mexico, by Bruce Weber and feature, in blue sepia, two (or three) naked, entwined bodies.
Famously, Kate Moss also modelled for Obsession, but that came later, in 1993 when she was 17. Shot by Mario Sorrenti and still in monochrome, the location was a shack on the beach: “Just me and him and loads of film,” Moss later recalled. The ads speak to the photographer’s obsession with his model. Moss was his girlfriend at the time but the relationship did not survive.
All of these ads are edgy. “You walk a fine line, especially in advertising,” Calvin Klein admitted, “if you try and do something sensual.” Sometimes I find them more disturbing than, say, Tom Ford’s quite sexually explicit ads for his perfumes.
Not long ago I bought this 15ml travel size off one of the FaceBook pages. It’s been sitting here awaiting my attention ever since. I think a few things arrived that day and it got shunted aside. Lately I have been searching out some skank and the word animal when applied to fragrance is a high def pointer for me too, add that to tuberose and……..
Parfumo gives these featured accords: Top: Kumquat, Neroli, Tuberose Heart: Herbs, Plum, Tuberose Base: Immortelle, Blond tobacco, Tuberose
How come the notes list for Tubereuse 3 Animale doesn’t say honey? What I am hit with immediately is an incredibly rich honeyed tobacco that sits like a big ole can of molasses in the same room as a vase of tuberose. Front and centre is this rich viscous scent that is absolutely beautiful, mesmerisingly so. It’s hard to focus myself to write this piece and not get caught up in the magic. Citrus I get none, maybe a little way in I get some sweetish fruit but it’s only a very soft side dish. I get the feeling of thick, hot, molten amber-glass before it gets made into stuff.
Later I get a lovely dry whiff of immortelle, that strangely dry green sapless dessicated scent that is both raspy and smooth, like the point where sandpaper scours pebbles into smooth, shiny, cool nuggets. Tubereuse 3 Animale also has a furry something that is what I think of as a perfumers version of a very old mink coat, dry and dusty but still with the faintest whiff of the poor creature it was stolen from.
This is what I imagine the screen sirens of yesteryear would have LOVED to smell like and I can see some of the more famous 21st century cougars getting a thrill from the overt sensuality that Tubereuse 3 Animale displays. What I did not expect was the general size of Tubereuse 3 Animale, it is a sillage and projection monster compared to most other modern offerings and it has a sweetness bordering on urinous, definately skirting the edges of downwind from junkie alley.
Who would and when could Tubereuse 3 Animale be worn? Well let’s just say straight up that for most work situations it is completely over the top, especially for the first hour or two. I think you would have to be careful to use a light hand if food is involved or confined spaces. Personally, I will wear it to my Turbo Trivia work and definitely for my own selfish pleasure at home, it may even get a spritz for the grocery shopping.
There are a bunch a samples & decants that sit here, tested but now in the discard pile. Some of the reasons for being there? Maybe I bought a FB, it had an issue that renders it unwearable, I liked it but have something similar, somehow I have double, I hated it, I LOVED it and completely forgot about it, I’ve moved on. So many reasons, so MANY samples. They are all used a bit but they have heaps for testing and trying. This pack has mainly dabs rather than spritzers but there are some with atomisers. I know you’re going to love at least something in this pack.
Mad Madame by Juliette Has A Gun Manufacturers Sample
A Taste of Heaven by Kilian Manufacturers Sample
Flora Azteca by Primordial Scents
Tobacco & Tulle by SOIVOHLE
Vamp a NY by Honore des Pres
Shalimar by Guerlain
Mitsouko by Guerlain
Please help me with another little clear out.
Portia xx
Photo Stolen TheTruthAboutMummy
SAMPLE PACK #2 Giveaway
WHAT CAN YOU WIN?
This week we will have 1 winner who will receive: 1 x SAMPLE PACK
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 sampled recently that took your fancy
Entries Close Sunday 21st June 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 25th June 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.
Imagine. You’re 18 years old, valedictorian of your class with a 4.5 average and you are about to give your Valedictorian speech to your school. Just before the ceremony starts your headmaster tells you that you are unwelcome to speak because in the speech you out yourself as gay. He also rings your parents and outs you to them. This happened, in 2015, in Boulder Colorado USA.
See how well he speaks and his community responds when he finally gives the speech at an Out Boulder fundraiser.
http://democracynow.org – Eighteen-year-old Evan Young was supposed to be the 2015 class valedictorian of Twin Peaks Charter Academy High School in Longmont, Colorado. But his principal prevented him from giving his graduation speech after learning he would announce he is gay. Instead, two weeks later, Young got to give his speech at an Out Boulder fundraiser before an audience of hundreds, a number of them politicians who congratulated him for his bravery. We air Young’s full address and speak to him about his experience.
Gay High School Student Delivers Valedictorian Speech He Was Barred from Giving
Sigh! You say you’re SO over Oudh Fever. It is trendy, it smells funky, and from Jovan to Dior to Kilian it has become ubiquitous. You roll your eyes, waiting impatiently for this hipster nonsense to just go away already! You probably haven’t experienced genuine oudh, though. As a fragrance nerd, you may already know this. Most of the oudh fragrances on the market (even the expensive niche ones) use synthetics to mimic the aroma, and genuine oudh is by far the most expensive perfumery material out there.
So, are you jealous? Right now I’m luxuriating in gloriously deep, complex, addictive perfume oils rich with ethically, sustainably harvested authentic oudh. But you know what else? They are at an affordable price point. What the what?! How??
ICONS: Oudh Perfume Oils by Nocturne Alchemy
Several years in the making, Nocturne Alchemy’s new limited-edition ICONS line is absolutely mind-blowing. There are currently five oudh oils, each strictly limited to 125 bottles. Let’s walk through them like a wine tasting, from brightest to deepest.
Iconic: Rose, oudh, and a hint of jasmine.
Breathtaking, it makes my whole body feel all the emotions! ICONIC opens with a tender, true, subtly gentle fragrance of newly opened roses blossoming on their bush, the first rays of the sun kissing the morning dew. The harmony of a hint of sweet night-blooming jasmine accents the rose ever so slightly, not really noticeable on its own but rather almost absorbed into the rose bouquet itself. The darkness of oudh smoothly curling around the base is truly a caress, graceful and confident. Unprecedented to my nose. I have never smelled anything this beautiful before.
Leviathan: Woody, distinctive NA amber and oudh.
The finest, perfected signature NA amber blends with just the right balance of shadowy, pure oudh to add a new facet to my beloved NA solar amber. The amber is woody, musky, and lightly sweetened with a whisper of vanilla bean and maybe even a dash of cardamom. This gorgeous amber is transformed with majestic true oudh gliding mysteriously at the base. The oudh, tempered by the softly golden amber, is smoky, woodsy, earthy, and slightly medicinal – but the honeyed facet of the oudh really shines, highlighted in this context.
Samar Oudh: Oudh spliced with vanilla orchid.
Samar opens with a blast, an almost sharp intensity. Creamy vanilla and floral orchid notes hover over hay and forest floor. A hint of fresh rose petal hides quietly. The floral tone of the vanilla orchid smoothes and settles over time, nuzzling into the skin. Every second reveals more depth, darkness, and beauty as the vanilla sweetens and the earthy oudh hums proudly. The vanilla orchid note reminds me of NA’s Kobalt single note perfume oil. My prediction is that this beauty will be the first to sell out, it’s unbelievable!
Arabian Oudh: Smoldering Arabian oudh.
This varietal opens with an almost dirty vibe, distinctly salty and smoky, like smouldering wood chips. Then, a slightly medicinal, almost rubbery note comes in. As it sinks into the skin, the magic starts to reveal itself. In comes the musky, honeycomb shade, rounding out the fragrance and honing all of the strangeness into addictive, exciting uniqueness. A swirl of dark cocoa is even detectable if you narrow your focus. This is the real deal.
Egyptian Temple Oudh: Smoky Egyptian oudh.
Thicker than honey, this beauty is a richly viscous precious gel. The scent starts out with bonfire smoke and a bit of that distinctive “barnyard” note that typifies genuine oudh, as well as the rubbery medicinal note (again, normal for true oudh). Slow to absorb into the skin, it gradually smoothes and deepens, and the notes become polished and gleaming with burning incense smoke languishing in the air. This is not the perfume of unlit incense; this is the thickly smouldering scent of resin incense combusting in a censer. Meditative, centering, peaceful.
I highly recommend going after this line before it’s gone forever. I am so impressed, and have bonded deeply with each oil on an emotional level.
There is no secret that I dislike gourmand perfumes: I can’t stand them! But, there’s another side of myself that secretly adores the sort of gourmand that doesn’t make itself out to be one. Shalimar and L’Heure Bleue are considered gourmands to an extent, but perhaps because whilst they themselves are totally and utterly edible perfumes (Shalimar oscillates beautifully between incense oriental and vanilla dessert amazingly), they do not actively come across as perfumes designed to be eaten. This is where my distinction is drawn. I am a gourmand loving anti-gourmand fan, who happens to love vanillas, chocolatey patchouli and milky woods when they don’t market themselves as edible.
Santal Massoïa by Jean-Claude Ellena for Hermès 2011
Fragrantica gives these featured accords: in one line:
Massoïa wood resin from New Guinea, coconut, peach, butterscotch, sandalwood, milk sweets, dried fruits
Jean-Claude Ellena (my favourite perfumer) has treated Santal Massoïa as a meditation on the characteristics of wood notes in perfume. ““There are linear, vertical woods like cedar, and others that are horizontal, round, supple and velvet-smooth, such as sandalwood and massoïa”. Ellena grapples the curvaceous facets of sandalwood and massoïa, and bolsters it to intensify comfort, like an embrace or a soft blanket. Gone are the vertical conventions of wood found often in masculine scents, as Santal Massoïa has been scrubbed down to reveal a genderless woods fragrance, with its apparent lightness an overall illusion.
The result then is a creamy creation, round and indirectly delicious, pushing Ellena’s trademark minimalism to the very edge, described by Chandler Burr as: “maximal minimalism”. Massoïa wood and sandalwood maintain inherent lactic qualities, cradled gently in a bath of warm milk and carmel. To add complexity, Ellena adds an additional dimension of florals and fruits, taking indolic creamy white florals (jasmine, and perhaps tuberose stripped of its carnal severity) with moreish fruits, such as apricots and the sweet skin of green figs. Together, this creates an encompassing impression of coconut and dulce de leche (custard), again, this is warm, decadent and skin-like. A sort of luminism with a clear depiction of calm, and a natural stillness creating beauty.
The sandalwood here is assertive and importantly doesn’t smell synthetic, opening with a tropical humid quality that at certain angles appears wet and nutty, with a tame oiliness. Thus, there are pleasantly pungent aromatic hits from time to time, which is nasally very pleasing and thankfully breaks the wooded monotony. Inviting yet distant, Santal Massoïa trails away with frothy lactic notes and a green fruitiness, but always pulls back into familiarity with gourmand impressions of creamy desserts and scintillating florals.
This fragrance becomes a very elegant second skin that moulds with the wearer and additionally with the seasons. It smells clean and inviting, with it smelling dense in nature but not heavy. I wear this for quiet periods and nervous moments, as I closely project a welcoming and warm presence.
Hope you are having a lovely week and are ready for some scent inspired cocktail recipes to help you on your merry way! These delicious cocktails are some of the ones I tasted recently in Melbourne at Galerie de Parfum’s cocktail and perfume masterclass in Myers Melbourne. Mixologist Justin Ryann Forsyth has been kind enough to provide the recipes we tasted on the night.
Today I am sharing with you two fresh and zesty scent inspired cocktails to help you feeling brighter and get the feeling that summer is somewhere on the horizon.
Launched at the end of 2014, the “Eau de Cologne Parfum” and launch was reviewed for APJ. An Eau De Cologne for the “Dandy Woman” is not a typical cologne with its almond and coumarin notes energised by a strong and lasting citrus accord.
Here is Justin’s lovely sparkling citrus cocktail inspired by Gentlewoman:
10 ml Cointreau
10 ml Monin Blood Orange Syrup
10 ml Lemon Juice
10-15 ml Vanilla Syrup
5 ml Aperol
Rose Sparkling wine
Shake all ingredients vigorously over ice, double strain into a champagne flute, filling only about 2/5 of the glass. Top with sparkling wine of your choice (we used Chandon rose). Garnish with a spritz of orange blossom water and an edible flower if desired.
The name of this fragrance is a style of samba from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and one spritz instantly provides some escapism and optimism in the depths of winter. Inspired by Brazil and its infamous caipirinha cocktail, notes of lime, mint and cachaca are combined with tropical ylang ylang and tiare flower, drying down with a salty-sour coconut note. I believe it is the coconut with citrus that makes this an enjoyable wear for winter. I had never thought to wear it in winter before the event, so thank you to Ricky and Lucy of Galerie de Parfums for shedding this light on it. (I now have it on rotation)
Justin served the cocktail with a roasted coconut rim, which provided an additional textural element. The magnificent barbequed pineapple flavor mixing with the rum had me on the beaches of Brazil in seconds! (hic!)
45 ml Appleton VX Jamaican Rum
30 ml lime juice
15 ml Sugar syrup
Shredded coconut
Barbequed pineapple
Add lime juice and sugar syrup to cocktail shaker, and then drop in a few cubes of grilled pineapple (or fresh if you prefer). Muddle until incorporated, then add rum and fill with ice. Shake hard for 7-10 seconds, and double strain into a short glass of choice, rimmed with coconut (toasted if you prefer). Garnish with a sprig of mint and a pineapple leaf if applicable.
Australian Perfume Junkies 