A Series Of Sandalwood Dreams: Jordan River on BaseNotes

December 17, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

Guest Post by Jordan River

On ya APJ,

This is a night flight…

Fasten your web-belts dear readers. Tonight we are journeying across the web for A Series of Sandalwood Dreams. Let’s see if these dreams take us to a heightened sense of reality over the next 8 nights. Will you dream with me?

Perfume Observant readers may be able to sample something very special somewhere along this journey. Tonight we will meet Mr Purna who is so old that he now resides in the Pali Canon. Tomorrow we will visit The Perfumed Chamber, an ancient place shrouded in the mists of time. I have discovered that the remains of this chamber exist today. There will be clues as to how you can find recreations of The Perfumed Chamber in your own city, home town or village. After that we will explore the northern reaches of a continent that broke away from Gondwanaland many eons ago. We will be visiting perfume plantations and a thriving distillery which uses the principles of alchemy and modern science to turn your sandalwood dreams into reality.

We are starting with a mytho-historical story and this story begins over here at Basenotes…

Let’s go web-traveling.

A Series of Sandalwood Dreams
Basenotes – Part 1 – Myths and Legends

Photos Supplied by Jordan River

Moon Garden by Alexandra Balahoutis for Strange Invisible Perfumes 2006

December 16, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 11 Comments

Post by Maya

Hi APJ,

It’s become too cold for me. I love warm days and warm nights. I want a fragrance that makes me think of warmth and lovely places.

There is a waterfall in Hawaii that I love. It is not especially dramatic and I have seen others that are more beautiful, but I love it. It can be seen from very high up in a botanic garden and is in the jungle. I mentioned to a man in the garden how much I loved this waterfall.

Photo taken by Maya

As my daughter and I were leaving, this man was at the exit gate – we were the last to leave – and he asked if I wanted to go to the falls. Of course I said yes. I discovered that he was the owner of the botanic garden and of the land the falls are on. He had closed off the area of the falls to the public and unless you knew where to go, you wouldn’t find them. He told me where to drive and where to park and told me to go to a stone wall, climb over it and walk the path to the falls. It was in the late afternoon when we walked this path. It was surrounded by jungle growth making it semi-dark. The light that did come through seemed to almost shimmer. It was a bit spooky, so quiet and so still. While walking, I was getting constant and delicate whiffs of pikake, Hawaiian jasmine.

Moon Garden by Strange Invisible Perfumes 2006

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Jasmine, tuberose, African resins

Moon Garden opens with an awful note of kerosene. It hits you with a blast and lasts a very long minute or two. I think it must be the African resins – definitely not pleasant. I’m not sure whether this scent will work for me. Then, thankfully, the kerosene starts to weaken for the next 5 minutes or so. It is during this time that the pikake jasmine appears, but the kerosene note still overwhelms it. The kerosene finally quiets down, still popping out here and there, but it’s become friendly with the pikake jasmine. After about 10 minutes, it’s all but gone and the beauty of the pikake jasmine can show itself. This pikake jasmine is not the ethereal, first opening of the blossom, nor is it the last stage of the bloom when the decay has started. Moon Garden is a clean, not soapy, pikake jasmine in full bloom, at it’s pinnacle and takes me to the path to the waterfall.

Photo Stolen Danny Thompson Flickr

I wish it lasted longer than 4 hours on me, but it’s worth it to reapply and go through the opening to get to it’s beauty. It stays close and wafts wonderfully around you.

Further reading: Perfume Posse and Deborah Lawson
Strange Invisible Perfumes has $160/50ml EdP and $255/7.5ml Parfum
Surrender To Chance starts at $4/.5ml EdP

Do you have fragrances that remind you of beautiful places and special times?

Mayaxx

PERFUME: The Art & Craft of Fragrance by Karen Gilbert GIVEAWAY WINNERS!

December 16, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

Fabulouslyly Fragrant Fumies,

Another great giveaway. Thanks for entering. Loving this book so much and I hope our winner gets HEAPS of enjoyment from it too.

PERFUME: The Art & Craft of Fragrance

by Karen Gilbert GIVEAWAY WINNERS!

Photo Stolen The Book Depository Perfume AUD$17 including worldwide postage

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week there will be one winner who will receive:

1 Press Copy of PERFUME: The Art & Craft of Fragrance by Karen Gilbert. It was sent to me by Karen and I am paying her kindness forward.
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.

To be eligible for the draw just mention how you follow APJ and tell me in a sentence how you will spend the silly season.

Extra Chances?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie PERFUME by Karen Gilbert GIVEAWAY! http://wp.me/p3PURw-2gz #Giveaway #Book @karengilbert

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 15th December 2013 10pm Australian EDST
Winner was chosen by random.org

Photo Stolen getentrepreneurial

ShyLotus

WOO HOO! Congratulations!! The winner will have till Thursday 19th 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.

Happy Holidays!

L’Occitane: Christmas Pack GIVEAWAY x 2

December 15, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 50 Comments

Hello Everyone,

If you are reading anywhere in the world other than Australia there is a special L’Occitane World Sites Page so you can see what Special Deals there are in your area.

2013 has been a terrific year for L’Occitane and APJ. Over the back end of the year we have been lucky enough to be sent a load of their wonderful product to try and for giveaways. For a special Christmas Thank You from L’Occitane for all your support and comments they have given me 2 fabulous Pre-Christmas giveaway packs and one for the New Year. WOW!! Do go and have a look at their L’Occitane Australia online store and they have free shipping within Australia on orders over $100, that’s already a $10-$30 saving as well as the amazing Special Deals for Online Customers ONLY!

Now the thing that L’Occitane loves from the APJ readers is to hear what you love and don’t love about their products so that they can continue to provide you, their lovely customer, with the best quality and a great price point and stuff that you’ll love and use. All feedback is good feedback (mean, nasty, badly thought out and unconstructive trolling aside) and L’Occitane loves to get it from you.

Here at APJ we did a L’Occitane Divine Cream Review and Challenge, you can watch the progression in L’Occitane Divine Cream Challenge Week 1 and L’Occitane Divine Cream Challenge Week 2 where we challenged you all to grab a sample and see how it left your skin in 2 weeks. Then we talked about the fabulous La Collection de Grasse twice, APJ La Collection de Grasse #1 and APJ La Collection de Grasse #2 and they are all available at L’Occitane Australia

L’Occitane Christmas GIVEAWAY PACKS

WHAT YOU CAN 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 DO 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 Close Wednesday 18th December 2013 10pm Australian EDST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
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.

Perfume Shopping Surprise: SWS Spring

December 14, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 17 Comments

Heya APJ

Last weekend Jin and I were out doing some fixing for the kids at the apartment, afterwards as a Thank You for helping I took Jin to Sydney’s Chinatown because they are open late and the food is yummy. As we were walking towards the restaurant I spotted a shop that I have never noticed on my previous Chinatown forays. Bright pink facade and looking full to the brim of frou frou I couldn’t resist a peek inside and was astounded to see walls lined with fragrance both personal and ambient! It is like an Ali Baba cave.

SWS Spring: Chinatown Sydney

Our hosts were two charming and handsome gentlemen. Moody K is the proprietor and his partner (whose name has slipped my mind and I lost the card, maybe Tam?) both showed us around their lovely store. Here is Jin with them both, isn’t he a damn cutey!

I got a pic with the boys too and you can see in the pics how crowded with goodies the store is. Every time you turn your head there is another fabulous thing or brand that you were not expecting. Business was brisk even at 9pm on a Friday and we had about 8 other people shopping while we were.

Sorry about this shot, I was so freaking excited to see a table and stand filled with Penhaligon’s, L’Artisan Parfumeur, Rance and other companies that have left my memory. Quite a detailed inventory from all these houses and some great Christmas ideas.

This side is more about ambient scenting and there were loads of candle, diffuser and oil choices. If you look in the left hand corner you can almost see a few frag bottles hiding away there and some Penhaligon’s above them.

A L’Occitane wall, yes a whole wall. I got to try some of the fragrances that I was unfamiliar with and it’s nice to see that they had a good stock of the Christmas L’Occitane boxes (We’ll be giving away three of those next week here on APJ). Here we are in front of the L’Occitane, Jin looking handsome and suave, me looking like myself happy and a bit vacant.

What did we leave with? 3 x Voluspa candles, some Tokyo Milk Shea Butter lotions and a Tokyo Milk fragrance. Only the fragrance is for us the rest are Christmas presents.

Where Do You Find SWS Spring?

SWS Spring Site<<<JUMP

Address:
SWS SPRING
48 Dixon St,
Haymarket Chinatown
Sydney NSW 2000

Telephone:
+61 2 9212 7356

What Are Some Of Their Brands?

Annick Goutal
Fragonard
L’Artisan Parfumeur
L’Occitane
Rance
Tokyo Milk
Tesori d’Orient
Voluspa
and many more…

Bee Bottle PORN! Guerlain 160 years

December 14, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

Hey Guerlain lovers,

If you are anythin g like me then Guerlain is one ofd the great mother ships of fragrance and one of the ultimate symbols of Guerlain is its Bee Bottle. Made for 160 years this year. The crew at Guerlain have released this video to celebrate.

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

Cheers Guerlain Bee Bottle. Happy Birthday
Portia xx

160th anniversary Bee Bottle – GUERLAIN

Sirocco by Lucien Lelong GIVEAWAY WINNERS

December 13, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 13 Comments

Hey there Fellow Fumies,

Hotly contested last Azar giveaway of the year. I love how much amazing stuff we giveaway on this blog. it’s extraordinary and I am happy there is such a cross section of offerings.

If you are in the Northern Hemisphere you may very well be freezing today! My daughter Lauren in New Hampshire commented that she could “use a hot fierce wind about now”. I hope the two winners enjoy the warmth of their 2ml of Sirocco (and an extra little surprise) no matter where they live. Happy holidays!

Sirocco by Lucien Lelong GIVEAWAY

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week there will be two winners, who will receive

1 x 2ml decant of vintage Sirocco by Jean Carles for Lucien Lelong 1934
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DID YOU WIN?

To be eligible leave a comment on Jean Carles or a vintage perfume/fashion creation that you love and also mention how you follow the APJs (by e-mail, WordPress, whatever).

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Sirocco Lucien Lelong GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-28h #Perfume #Giveaway

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Thursday 12th Decemberber 2013 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org

Photo Stolen berryreview

Carolyn, Jackie Rosen

The winners will have till Sunday 15th Deceber 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

Azar xxx

Street Of Dreams: Martin Scorsese, Matthew McConaughey and Scarlett Johansson

December 13, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

Hello Happy Huffers and Lovers,

In our house there are a few favourite actors and actresses, mostly they coincide like the lovely, versatile and elegant Scarlett Johansson who is Jin’s absolute favourite actress and who I really like too. Then we have the don’t agrees, top of that list is Matthew McConaughey, frankly I will walk over glass to see him but Jin would rather roll in glass than have to see him, in anything. Here is a very interesting pairing of the two and I like the story, the detail, the mood and NYC. Also the fact that Scarlett’s character is coming to Sydney, always a thrill to hear the home town used.

dolce-and-gabbana-scarlett-johansson-matthew-mccounaghey-the-one-for-men-ad-campaign

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Mandarin, bergamot, litchi, peach
Heart: Jasmine, lily of the valley, white lily, plum
Base: Vetiver root, amber, musk, vanilla

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, coriander, basil
Heart: Cardamom, ginger, neroli
Base: Cedar, amber, tobacco

What do you think? Does this piece make you want to at least sniff the product?
Enjoy
Portia x

Dolce & Gabbana Mini Movie

Street Of Dreams: Martin Scorsese, Matthew McConaughey and Scarlett Johansson

PERFUME: The Art & Craft of Fragrance by Karen Gilbert

December 13, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 31 Comments

Heya Happy Huffers,

Christmas is round the corner and if there is anyone interested in fragrance in your life that likes to read then I’ve found the perfect book. Karen Gilbert was in Australia recently and a couple of us down Under Perfumistas had the pleasure of lunching with her and her extremely handsome partner. Not only were they excellent company but they were incredibly knowledgeable about a wide range of subjects and had us enthralled and laughing, enjoying a wonderful afternoon. When it was time to go we were all sad but felt like we had made a couple of new friends for life.

Karen Gilbert will be doing a 1 Day Perfume Introduction MASTERCLASS 20 September 2014<<<JUMP

PERFUME: The Art & Craft of Fragrance

by Karen Gilbert

Photo Stolen The Book Depository Perfume AUD$17 including worldwide postage

Here are Karen and I having a look through a pres copy of the book pre-release. As you can see Karen is gorgeous, filled with good humour and knows so much about fragrance. She has worked for amazing groups including IFF, Neal’s Yard and a couple of others I can’t remember, now runs Olfactory Workshops and Classes, creates fragrance lines fort companies and travels the world. Not a bad life.

Perfume takes us on a journey through Karen’s fragrant life, teaches us some perfume basics (that are only basic when you know them), her take on how we smell and its effects, buying, blending and ultimately some recipes for home dabblers in scent. It is beautifully presented and has some sumptuous photos. Readable for anyone from about age 10 upwards and at every level of perfumista knowledge, there is something here for everyone.

Extremely readable, Karen’s personality shines above all throughout the book and I can hear her Pommy accent and inflections as I read.

There is also her first book, still available, called Natural Beauty. Check that out too.

Portia xxx

Photo Stolen The Book Depository Natural Beauty AUD$21 including worldwide postage

PERFUME: The Art & Craft of Fragrance

by Karen Gilbert GIVEAWAY!

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be one winner who will receive:

1 Press Copy of PERFUME: The Art & Craft of Fragrance by Karen Gilbert. It was sent to me by Karen and I am paying her kindness forward.
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

To be eligible for the draw just mention how you follow APJ and tell me in a sentence how you will spend the silly season.

Extra Chances?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie PERFUME by Karen Gilbert GIVEAWAY! http://wp.me/p3PURw-2gz #Giveaway #Book @karengilbert

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 15th December 2013 10pm Australian EDST and winners will be announced in a separate post
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Thursday 19th 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.

Happy Holidays!

Pomegranate Noir by Jo Malone 2005: Smells Like Christmas

December 12, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 25 Comments

Post by Poodle

Smells Like Christmas Pomegranate Noir by Jo Malone 2005

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Raspberry, pomegranate, plum, rhubarb, watermelon
Heart: Lily-of-the-valley, jasmine, rose, pink pepper, clove, olibanum, opoponax, guaiac wood
Base: Virginia cedar, patchouli, musk, amber

Pomegranate Noir is the only Jo Malone fragrance I own and I really do love it. It always makes me feel warm and cozy and somewhat happy but I never realized why until I wore it to work one day. Someone came by my desk and said it smelled like Christmas in the office that day. They were right. It did smell like Christmas and I was the source of the aroma.

Photo Stolen DeviantArt

When I was younger I loved Christmas. I had many happy memories of it usually involving my favorite aunt. Aunt Wanda loved Christmas. She started shopping for Christmas on December 26th and had a collection of Santa Claus figurines that she displayed year round in her home. She put extra thought into finding everyone the perfect gifts as well. She never used pre-made bows; she bought ribbon and made her own. She was a large joyful woman and some would say she looked like what Mrs. Claus should look like. Sadly, she’s been gone for many years and Christmas just isn’t the same without her.

Photo Stolen Elizabeth Ellis Flickr

Pom Noir does smell like Aunt Wanda’s house during the holidays which is why it makes me smile. The fruity opening calls to mind the fact that she did a lot of canning and I get the smell of jams and spicy compotes that always lingered in the air in her house. Pomegranates were a favorite of hers as well. She’d also make those clove studded orange pomanders. A real Christmas tree was a must for her so the scent of evergreen was in the air and the wood burning stove added that warm cozy aroma that only wood can do. Her house really had that New England holiday feel to it. All of this is in Pom Noir. The florals never dominate and I barely notice they are there. It’s all spicy berries, evergreen, and warm wood. This is a comfort scent to me and it smells like my memories of Christmas.

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

It’s definitely unisex and has pretty good lasting power on my scent eating skin. It lasts longer if sprayed on clothing. I don’t think it’s very sweet since the fruits are offset by the spices and woody notes.

Further reading: Now Smell This and Memory Of Scent
You can buy Jo Malone Products at many Department Stores
In Australia Essential Mall has a range of Pomegranate Noir online
Beauty Encounter has sold out of their bottles but have $5/2ml spray samples
Surrender To Chance start at $3/ml

I love the fact that Pomegranate Noir smells like the holidays to me but what perfume, if any, smells like the holidays to you?

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I hope you all have a wonderful season and I wish all of you a very Happy and Fragrant New Year.

Poodle XXX