Christmas Trilogy: Tom Ford, Profumi Del Forte, L’Artisan Parfumeur

December 24, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

Post by Gabriella

Hello fragrance friends!

Right now most of you are probably preparing for Christmas festivities. It’s Christmas Eve here in Australia and I’m up visiting my Mum and Dad on New South Wales’ north coast. It’s nice and hot and I’m really looking forward to some quality family time, sunshine and good food and, of course, smelling gorgeous.
So, what perfumes did I bring with me and what am I looking forward to scent-wise in terms of Christmas gifts? I present to you my Trio of Fragrant Christmas Trinkets:

Christmas Trilogy: Tom Ford, Profumi Del Forte, L’Artisan Parfumeur

1. Velvet Gardenia by Tom Ford 2007

The scent that I packed

Photo stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Gardenia, orange
Heart: Plum, tuberose, beeswax, honey, rose, jasmine, lily of the valley
Base: Frankincense, labdanum

Christmas and summer for me is all about the smell of pool chlorine, Christmas cake and gardenias. I’ve waxed lyrical about my love of the white flower before and the meaning it has for me. Tom Ford’s scent is the most realistic, buttery and intense gardenia I know, so it was a natural addition to my fragrance packing. The only problem it’s been discontinued and I think I’ll feel a bit lost when my bottle finally runs out.

You might be able to find Velvet Gardenia on eBay.
Surrender to Chance starts at $5/0.5ml.

2. Vaiana Dea by Profumi Del Forte 2013

My Christmas present to myself

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Aldehydes, peach, coconut, bergamot, milky notes, violet leaf
Heart: Tuberose, ylang-ylang, orchid, jasmine, lily, white rose, cocoa, honey
Base: Benzoin, white musk, sandalwood, vetiver, vanilla, oakmoss

This is a recent addition to my collection and an absolutely swoon-worthy one at that. Reading the notes list, one might be expecting a true gourmand fragrance with a hint of tuberose, but on my skin, these roles are reversed. It starts off as a bright and fresh tuberose before becoming a bit more lactonic and sweet. The peach, coconut and jasmine blend seamlessly with the cocoa and the tuberose to create a soft, sweet but dazzlingly pretty scent. And who was I to try and resist that gorgeous art deco bottle?

LuckyScent has $195/100ml and samples

3. La Chasse Aux Papillons by Anne Flipo for L’Artisan Parfumeur 1999

What I am expecting Santa to bring

Photo stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Tuberose, orange blossom, jasmine, lime blossom, white flowers

Well, saying I am expecting Santa to bring this is a bit of a lie as I actually supervised Mr M’s purchase of this the other week. I’d forgotten about this beauty until recently but it is such a pretty girly pink scent that I had to have it again. And it brings back some fond memories. I was visiting Paris with my brother and a friend years and years ago. Already been bitten by the scent bug, I wandered into Galeries Lafayette and asked the saleswoman in (my then perfect) French that I was looking for a pretty white floral perfume. This is the bottle she handed to me. The scent inside is as attractive as the name that adores it. A fun, frivolous blend of linden, tuberose and jasmine, it is indeed summer in a bottle.

Libertine Parfumerie has it for $169/100ml
Surrender to Chance start at $4/ml.

Well, what do you think of my trinkets? What are you wearing over the holiday season? What are you giving or receiving scent-wise this Christmas?

I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Love,
Madeleine x

Curious by Claude Dir for Britney Spears 2004

December 23, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 6 Comments

Post by Katrina

Today I am reviewing my perfume of choice for exercising. I have so many cheap and cheerful celebrity scents that are perfect to use as a body spray. Do you wear perfume when you exercise and if so what is your choice? This year I have started doing hot yoga classes. It can get really smelly in there so I started wearing Britney Spears Curious to class to hide the bad smells. Curious is refreshing and uplifting which is what I need when I feel exhausted from the heat and exercise.

Curious by Claude Dir for Britney Spears 2004

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: fresh lotus, mouthwatering pear and magnolia.
Heart: tuberose, jasmine and pink cyclamen.
Base: musk, vanilla and precious woods

Curious is the first perfume from Britney Spears and Britney Spears perfumes are generally very good, Curious is no exception. The packaging of Curious looks great as well, with its blue glass bottle and dangly pink charm. You can get larger bottles of Curious with an atomizer that makes it so pretty and girly and would make a lovely gift. I think this would be very special to a teen girl and the perfume is perfectly suitable to that age group.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

Curious opens with the distinct smell of fresh crisp pear. It is as cool and refreshing as the sparkling pear cider I crave after hot yoga. It feels light and breezy making it perfect for summer. There is also an aquatic element to Curious matching the gorgeous blue glass of the Curious bottle. Slowly the white florals emerge from the fragrance and they smell beautiful but not very strong. This is a good introduction to white florals for anyone new to perfume.

The strength and longevity of Curious is reasonably good until we get to the base notes. The soft sweet vanilla and musk smells lovely but fades away too quickly. Luckily by then I am home and showered after my hot yoga!

Photo Stolen Sam Lavy Flickr

Further reading: Now Smell This
FragranceShop has $14/30ml with Coupon
My Perfume Samples starts at $2/ml

If you are interested in more Celebrity Perfumes, check out my website at Celebrity Perfume Store

Happy holidays everyone!

Katrina xx

Here is the ad.

Vaara by Penhaligon`s GIVEAWAY WINNER

December 23, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 7 Comments

Woo Hoo!
Firstly, thank you to LibertinePerfumerie, Nick especially. You are always ready to go the extra mile and we at APJ love you and are grateful. To the contestants, thank you for participating so whole heartedly on everything we do here at APJ all year. We write for the love of communication, you guys make it all amazing with your looks, likes, comments and shares. THANK YOU!!!

Vaara by Penhaligon`s GIVEAWAY WINNER

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week we will have one winner who will receive:

1 x 100ml TESTER bottle with lid of Vaara by Penhaligons (with about 15ml missing)
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 so I know. Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged.

You must tell me how you follow APJ and go to Libertine Perfumes<<<JUMP and find me a perfume and its manufacturer. NO DOUBLE UPS!!

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie @PenhaligonsLtd Vaara GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-2jm #Perfume #Giveaway @LibertineParfum

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 22nd December 2013 10pm Australian EST
Winner chosen random.org

Photo Stolen EverythingHealth

Susan Burgess

(and let me tell you I could not be happier)

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! The winner will have till Thursday 26th December 2013 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.

Special THANKS to LibertinePerfumerie for these amazing giveaways. Please visit their site because they are so generous and helpful. If you wonder why they are sometimes more expensive than the discounters or OS retailers it’s because they are the only licensed company selling their fragrances in Australia; where you know you are buying new, fresh and genuine product. The cost of importing, and buying the right to import, alcohol based fragrances (and having the right to send alcohol based fragrances throughout Australia, which are illegal to send in the Australia Post air system) is expensive and they must cover their costs to bring you these luxury goods.

Afternoon Of A Faun by Ralf Schwieger for Etat Libre d’Orange 2012

December 22, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 3 Comments

Hey Fragrance Fiends,

Having loved the Claude Debussy Prelude to Afternoon of a Faun as a child, it was on one of my Dad’s records and it had some heavy hitters after it but I thought that this was so beautiful and soft by comparison. A gentle, pastoral piece of loveliness. I could imagine the naughty faun watching beautiful languid girls going down through a paddock to the water to bathe, laughing and carefree, the trill of their voices mixing with the gurgle of the river. Anyway enough of that, Etat Libre d’Orange released their fragrance in 2012 with a sister, Dangerous Complicity (which I found a bit meh) but…

Afternoon Of A Faun by Ralf Schwieger for Etat Libre d’Orange 2012

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Bergamot, pepper, cinnamon, incense, immortelle, orris root, myrrh, leather, benzoin, rose, jasmine, oakmoss

Afternoon of a Faun is a totally different and much more enjoyable piece of fragrant art. Unusual, nuanced, enveloping and slightly awkward it is both fun and pretty. The lovely wet pepper and citrus opening that quickly becomes deepened and broadened by the spices and immortelle, it’s cool and elegant iris all underpinned by a sweet darkness that feels both alluring and a little bit wicked. Afternoon of a Faun is not sensual in the bodily scent or skank way but it does have a wonderful frission of notes that keep me sniffing my hand compulsively because i can’t quite believe that it smells like it does. There is a vegetal funkiness, a dankness or earthiness that must be the oakmoss, immortelle and leather combination (or quite possibly something unmentioned in the notes list). Sadly i am too unschooled to really be able to parse this out. Through the heart I am seriously thinking Afternoon Of A Faun is a vetiver fragrance on my skin, not in the notes but it does have that feel and later the spice and rose make definite star turns.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

Excellent sillage but only moderate projection and a good life at around the 6 hours mark before I lose the ability to smell it completely, Afternoon of a Faun becomes a softly insistent resinous wash in its last couple of hours and I find the ride enjoyable and interesting when I take special note but easy enough to wear as a daily scent too.

Gaia says, “The Afternoon of a Faun” is the name of a French poem written by Stéphane Mallarmé between 1865 and 1867 and published in 1976 (thank you, Wikipedia). Lucasz tells us that it was the 100 year anniversary of original L’après-midi d’un faune ballet choreographed for The Ballets Russes by Vaslav Nijinsky and that the inspiration here are the nymphs and fauns playing together.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

I don’t know if you ever read E M Forsters short stories but The Story Of A Panic tells the story of young Eustace being changed forever by the attentions of a faun. The whole omnibus is excellent reading but I always loved The Story Of A Panic especially. There is something of the foreboding in ELdO’s Afternoon Of A Faun that we get in the E M Forster story.

Here is Prelude to Afternoon Of A Faun by Claude Debussy, the music and fragrance are a perfectly symmetrical accompaniment.

Further reading: Chemist In A Bottle and The Non-Blonde
LuckyScent has $149/100ml
Etat Libre d’Orange has €110/100ml (Delivers to the world)
Surrender To Chance starts at $4.50/ml

What are your thoughts? Tried it? Wanted to?
Come on and join the conversation, I’d love to read your musings too>
Portia xx

Vaara by Bertrand Duchaufour for Penhaligon’s 2013

December 20, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 52 Comments

Hello my Lovelies,

STILL looking for the perfect Christmas Presents? Frantically trying to find something special and unusual for your loved ones? I speak often of my mate Nick from Libertine Parfumerie, he is regularly in touch with new stuff and always sends me product for giveaways. He doesn’t have to do it and it always brightens my day to get a package from him. Please, even if you don’t enter today’s competition, go and have a look at the amazing fragrant beauties that Libertine Parfumerie has for sale, you will be astounded. Lately Nick’s buying power has become so good that some of his products are the same numerical value as you would buy them fore in the USA, that means with the current Aussie dollar that they are in fact 10% cheaper!!! AMAZING! Vaara is a bit more expensive than some of the OS sites though but Nick will be sending out deliveries in Australia till the 24th December!!! How good is that? Using couriers in the last few days.

Vaara by Bertrand Duchaufour for Penhaligon’s Giveaway 2013

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Quince, rose water, carrot seeds, coriander, saffron
Heart: Rose, freesia, magnolia, peony
Base: Honey, white musk, cedar, sandalwood, benzoin, tonka bean

OK so if you have been reading the scentbloggosphere lately then you may think that Bertrand Duchaufour and Penhaligon’s have done something outrageously darstardly and are planning on taking over the world with inferior product (Mwa Ha ha ha haaaaaa with hand wringing and whites of eyes showing). The news is not all grim, gloom and doom but it’s not all super happy sunshine surprise either.

Vaara, the story of a fragrance created for the Royal House of Marwar-Jodphur in Rajasthan. In fact created for the newest member of the Royal House, a girl child. Created under the understanding that it would become a worldwide release. I do understand your sense of being let down. You are right, the hype set us up for failure in this case. A romantic story of far off India, Rajasthan no less, one of the world’s best and most prolific perfumers and the venerable house of Penhaligon’s. If the Maharajah had wanted something Indian he would have gone to the perfume wallahs in Old Delhi and had a special oil blend created for his beautiful girl but no, he did not do that he went to Penhaligon’s one of the most English titles of fragrance and asked them to create something inspired by his fabulous home in Rajasthan (one of my favourite parts of the world).

Pushkar Fair Photo Stolen Wikipedia

Why is everyone so surprised that this does not smell like India? The Maharaja wanted a pretty, soft, elegant fragrance that hinted at his homeland but screamed British Upper Crust. We act as if Bertrand Duchaufour can override his employers parameters anytime he wants and we also shout at him for cheapening the references to existing fragrances. We all wanted a budget version of Neela Vermeire’s work and it had to smell as good. Neela Vermeire is famous for using the most expensive concrete in her fragrance to sale value ratio, of course it only hints at her work with Duchaufour, this is a mass market fragrance by comparison though the price points are not that far apart. End rant.

Amber Fort. Jaipur Photo Stolen WikiMedia

What do we get with Vaara? An excellent modern fragrance for the person who wants to take a step from department store to niche or a very pretty go to daily wear fragrance for the perfumista who works and needs to smell good all day but not weird or outrageous. I won’t go deeply into the notes list because many others have before me but this is a clean, fresh, fruity, floral with a sheerness and light through it but still excellent sillage and projection. Vaara lasts for ages on me and my scent eating skin, I can still smell the clean musks and an amorphous wash of other stuff hinting at woods and resins at the 8 hour point and that is impressive. Yes, the dry down is more BBW that NVC but it doesn’t smell bad, just a bit generic. I do like the rose water and think it maintains its hydrosol like wetness well into the heart of Vaara and that the herbs and quince add nice light and shade, that very Duchaufour saffron isn’t as front and centre on me but I do catch it on and off.

Photo Stolen John Haslam Flickr

Further reading: Kafkaesque and Perfume Shrine
Libertine Parfumerie has $245/100ml
Surrender To Chance starts at $5/ml

Photo Stolen ManonEileen

Vaara by Penhaligon`s GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have one winner who will receive:

1 x 100ml TESTER bottle with lid of Vaara by Penhaligons (with about 5ml missing)
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ and go to Libertine Perfumes<<<JUMP and find me a perfume and its manufacturer. NO DOUBLE UPS!!

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie @PenhaligonsLtd Vaara GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-2jm #Perfume #Giveaway @LibertineParfum

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 22nd December 2013 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by putting names on same sized papers, folded similarly, put on a tray and Jin will pick a winner.
The winners will have till Thursday 26th December 2013 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.

DIOR ‘Golden Christmas’ Movie: J’Adore

December 20, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Hello Fumie friends,
One of the things I love about Christmas is the extra gorgeous mini movies everyone puts out. Here we have one of the DIOR offerings for 2013.

Photo Stolen huntlogo

Please enjoy.
Portia xx

DIOR ‘Golden Christmas’ Movie: J’Adore 2013

Photo Stolen Ana_Cotta Flickr

Tihota by Francis Kurkdijan for Indult 2006

December 19, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 13 Comments

Post by Chairman Meow

Hey APJ,

By the time I tripped over my signature bottle of Narciso Rodriguez and plummeted headlong down the proverbial rabbit hole, Indult was already an extinct house, and Tihota had already joined the ranks of Bigfoot and Chupacabra in acquiring mythical status. It was blogged about in hushed, reverent tones, but blogged about infrequently (presumably because of said status) and I knew very little about it, aside from it being a Gold Standard Vanilla [Perfume Posse Best of Vanilla List].

Indult Tihota by Francis Kurkdijan 2006

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives the following accords in one line:
Vanilla, musks

Indult themselves are no more helpful, their website providing us with the following enigma in Engrish that even Hello Kitty would be huppy with:
“When the skin is « sugar » under the Polynesian sun: it’s an exotic marriage of muscs in fusion and infusion with the sensual vanilla pods”

So when news came of Indult’s resurrection, what choice did I have other than to do the perfumista’s equivalent of pitching a tent and queuing all night for Bieber tickets? I signed up for a split of the first available bottle of Tihota. But before I tell you what Tihota is all about, please indulge me whilst I tell you what it is not:

It is not the sozzled, macerated fruit compote of Guerlain’s Spiritueuse Double Vanille.
It is not the incense smoked, clove studded orange pomander of Mona di Orio’s Vanille.
It is not the Cuban cigar laced with the fresh urine of herbivores, that is Tom Ford’s Tobacco Vanille.
It is not even the “straight up” vanilla touted by many.

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

Tihota is probably better described as a glamour shot of a vanilla, spray tanned in caramelised sugar and poised in front of a creme anglaise schmeared lens. From here, I wish I could offer you an intimate dissection of its various nuances, to describe, in licentious detail, the story of its top notes unfurling into a heart unfolding into a base, imploding into a crunchy tortilla shell, but it’s a pretty straightforward fragrance. The opening is the crack of the amber carapace of a creme brulee, with the first few seconds dominated a lightly burnt sugar, soon joined by a scrummy, velvety vanilla-flecked custard. And thus it remains, as immutable as an everlasting gobstopper, for hours.

Photo Stolen -Coral- Flickr

I will be the first to admit that I had been expecting a scent that was less literal an interpretation of a desert trolley and something more, shall we say, highbrow. But then I found myself wanting to gnaw at my hand in a slightly troubling, auto-cannibalistic fashion. I noticed that strangers, lips curled asunder, would sniff lustfully in my direction at the shops.

And I noticed that my decant was very quickly running out, and that I was day dreaming of a full bottle.

Further reading: Perfume Shrine and Ca Fleure Bon
LuckyScent has $200/50ml
Surender To Chance starts at $6/.5ml

Have you tried Indult? Old or new? Are you interested?
Chairman Meow

L’Occitane Christmas GIVEAWAY PACK WINNERS

December 19, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

Heya APJ Friends and Family,

YAY!! It’s Christmas time and we have WINNERS GALORE!!

Thank you L’Occitane Australia for your amazing support this year. I am loving your products so much and am using the Divine Cream and Divine Eyes almost daily (one day a week I let my skin completely rest) and I have noticed significant positive changes. Your Ambre & Santal is on high rotation in my fragrance wardrobe and has seen more skin time this month than most of my other fragrances.

L’Occitane World Store Locator is a great way to find your nearest L’Occitane store but I like to go directly to L’Occitane Australia<<JUMP.

L’Occitane Christmas GIVEAWAY PACK WINNERS

WHAT YOU COULD WIN

This week there will be 2 winners and each will receive one of these amazingly beautiful packs. No, you don’t get to choose.
P&H Anywhere in the world

Delicate Cherry Blossom Collection

Delicate Cherry Blossom Collection Photo Stolen L’Occitane Australia

This collection includes:
1x Cherry Blossom Eau de Toilette 100ml
1x Cherry Blossom Shower Gel 250ml
1x Cherry Blossom Body Lotion 250ml
1x Cherry Blossom Soap 50gr
1x Cherry Blossom Hand Cream 30ml

The Retail Value of all these products is $154 but in the pack you can buy it for $110, free Australian shipping over $100 too.

Best of L’OCCITANE Collection

Best of L'OCCITANE Collection Photo Stolen L’Occitane Australia

Here’s what you get in the Best Of L’Occitane Pack with a Retail Value $115: in the pack only $90, and it comes beautifully Gift Boxed for easy wrapping!

1x Shea Butter Hand Cream 150ml
1x Almond Shower Oil 250ml
1x Shea Butter Foot Cream 30ml
1x Lavender Foaming Bath 100ml
1x Extra Gentle Soap – Verbena 100g
1x Pivoine Flora Body Lotion 75ml

HOW DID YOU WIN?

To be eligible for the draw just mention how you follow the APJs and tell us any L’Occitane product that you’ve used or like the sound of and why.
Also if you’ve had a problem with a particular L’Occitane product their L’Occitane Australia Marketing Team would love to read your honest and constructive criticisms.

Extra Chances?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie 2 x L’Occitane Christmas Packs GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-2hY #Giveaway #Perfume #BodyLotion @LOCCITANE

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Wednesday 18th December 2013 10pm Australian EDST
Winners will be chosen by random.org

Photo Stolen shannonmayer

Katie, Kath

CONGRATULATIONS!!! The winners will have till Saturday 21st December 2013 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.

Go on, pop into your nearest L’Occitane Store and check their products, or go online L’Occitane Australia

Loads of love,
Portia xx

Eau des Merveilles by Ralf Schwieger and Nathalie Feisthauer for Hermès 2004

December 18, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 14 Comments

Post by ElizaD

Holiday Greetings from the Emerald Valley! Here in Eugene, Oregon we have had the most extraordinary weather: it was sunny and bracingly cold, and then it started to snow. Snow in this valley is rare. When the weather gets like this, I always turn to one perfume, which I am wearing today. In fact, it will probably remain my scent of choice through Christmas. And here’s why.

Eau des Merveilles by Hermès 2004

Ralf Schwieger and Nathalie Feisthauer

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Orange, lemon, elemi
Heart: Amber, pink pepper, violet, pepper
Base: Fir, oakmoss, cedar, vetiver

Eau des Merveilles reminds me of fir trees, rum toddies and those chocolate oranges you can only find around here during the holidays. You know the kind–their yumminess is enjoyed by smacking the foil package against a table and eating the “sections”. The tradition in our family is to receive one in our stocking from “Santa”, and to enjoy it a bit at a time.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

Eau des Merveilles opens with that amazing squirt of orange, which never fades throughout the wearing, it just gets warmer and saltier, like the smell of someone who has just come inside after playing outside in the cold. After a half hour or so, the wood notes start to appear, and while I often find wood notes to be screeching, they are again softened, this time by the oakmoss. To me the vetiver and violet are barely detectable, but perhaps they are what also give Eau des Merveilles its saltiness. I am just beginning to learn how different notes play off each other to make another completely different smell. There has been some discussion about whether this fragrance contains ambergris, a waxy substance produced inside of sperm whales as a response to irritants in their digestive tract, and as precious as pearls, but since I have never smelled ambergris, I couldn’t say. With or without it, I love this perfume for its veritable lack of flowers: the salt highlights the sweetness of the other notes the way a few grains sprinkled on an orange bring out its juicy sparkle.

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

The whole package conspires to transport me into the snowy mountains, where I have spent many happy hours cross country skiing through the glistening snow amongst the same evergreens that are used in this perfume.

Eau des Merveilles has decent sillage and longevity and fades away to soft woods and amber after a few hours. I find that this scent is best enjoyed when I wear it on the back of my neck or behind my knees–I am able to wear many fragrances this way, even though I work in a public office where strong fragrances are not always welcomed. And until the weather warms and it starts to rain and the holiday festivities are over, I’ll be sprinkled with drops of marvelous water.

Photo Stolen Alex Flickr

Further reading: Olfactoria’s Travels and The Non-Blonde
Beauty Encounter has $20/15ml
My Perfume Samples start at $3/ml

Have you tried and did you like Eau des Merveilles or is it something that doesn’t interest you?

ElizaD xx

Scents of an Australian Christmas 2013 + Recipe

December 17, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 11 Comments

Post by Ainslie Walker

Christmas 2013 will be my first summer Christmas in 14 years. It’s already scorching and I am in a conundrum about what fragrance to wear on the day…its got to be lighter, brighter, cooler and less spicy than what works for Europe… and yet it needs to be perfect.

In colder climes it’s a time to rug up and reach for spicier, smokier, coniferous, wood and resin filled frags…for those of you out there in the cold this year, here is my hint list:

– Spicy Floral like Carnation by Comme De Garcons
– Frankincense, smoking, straight from a church is Tom Ford Sahara Noir
– For Frankincense, clove and red fruits, I would douse in Jo Malone’s Pomegranate Noir
– Fir/Pine/Woods – a woody gourmand, like Guerlain’s Aqua Allegoria Winter Delice, which combines both the evergreens pine and fir and some gourmand sugary, vanilla odors
– Spicy, Clove and Herbal would be Pot Pouri by Santa Maria Novella. There is even something about this one that will help mask the hangovers, colds and flus of the season…perhaps a medicinal quality and a breath of health!
– Cinnamon and Ginger notes from 5 o’clock Au Gingembre by Serge Lutens
– Resinous and Smoky Myrrh, like Eu Sauvage – Dior

NB I have a feeling some of the above would also fair well, even on a hot Christmas day – see how you go!

Scents of an Australian Christmas 2013

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

Australian Christmas smells include…pine, fir, cherries, raspberries, sunscreen, aftersun, leather (err cricket balls), salty air, coconut, mandarins, vanilla,, frangipanis, lemon merange, trifles, chocolate, mangoes, lychees, tropical fruits and flowers, melons, gardenias, honeysuckle, figs, dust, grasses and tropical summer storms…and the odd bbq!!

A few fragrances containing the above:

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Chanel Les Exclusif Bel Respiro feels to me like the end of a hot summer day, gives the feeling of showering and using after sun lotion after a day at the beach. It’s a gusty summer holiday house. Conjuring lots of green –grass and evergreen trees-fir/pine, some citrus, some crisp moisture as a cool breeze starts to take temperatures down…its definitely outdoorsy…I can almost hear the cicadas now….Oh, and a leather note

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Eau Fraiche 2013 warm, sparkling sunshine, beach, sand between your toes, exotic and sensual this is my top choice for summer nights, hot dates, romance and Christmas parties. When I spray this, I melt…it’s HOT, glamorous and gorgeous – milky white floral, coconut oil, tropical flowers, neroli, and a touch of mandarin, something sweet and edible like caramel all combine. So many ‘Pacific Island” style fragrances smell too sweet, cheap and tacky – not this one

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Cacherel Scarlett From a retro white flacon, blasts a zesty summer, fruity floral fragrance containing jasmine, honeysuckle, citrus, pear and melon. It’s flirty. Drydown is very fruity and strong , good for an outdoor event- barbeque, a park picnic, something sporty, like Frisbee in the back yard.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Comme Des Garcons Amazing Green unisex, green and leafy, aquatic with spice and smoke, woody and fresh –an Australian Rainforest Christmas! When I sprayed this I got green and citrus, followed by a yummy first rain on bitumen/slightly smoky type of lingering scent. It’s fresh, yet smoky.

My gift to you: Here’s my fave fragrant recipe for Christmas Down Under

Mandarin Ice, with Lychees and Vanilla Ice Cream

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

625g can lychees
1 cup sugar
2 cups water
315g can mandarin segments
1 Tablespoon Grand Marnier
¼ cup lemon juice
315g can mandarin segments (extra)

1. Put sugar and water into pan and stir over low heat until dissolved, boil uncovered for 3 minutes – allow to cool
2. put 1 can of undrained mandarins in blender and blend 1 minute- sieve
3. Add mandarin juice, lemon juice, and Grand Marnier to syrup, stir
4. Pour into tray, pop into freezer until set, stirring occasionally
5. Chill lychees and extra segments, drain and reserve syrup of lychees
6. Put lychees and segments into serving bowls with syrup spooned over
7. Flake mandarin ice with fork and spoon on top of lychees
8. Add scoop of vanilla ice cream