L’Occitane Divine Cream: Week One of Challenge

October 25, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 21 Comments

Hello Gorgeous Australian Perfume Junkies,

So it’s the end of my first week of testing out the DIVINE CREAM by L’Occitane (See original post<<JUMP). I have been such a facial care Philistine for so many years that I had very low expectations of any results at all. I wonder how many of you have taken the challenge and done the first of our 2 week challenge?

L’Occitane Divine Cream: Week One

Photo Stolen L’Occitane

From L’Occitane site :
Divine anti-aging care fights the signs of aging, so you can face up the passing of time with absolute serenity. The divine combination of organic Immortelle and Myrtle Essential Oils offers:
A complete regenerating care: Combined action to stimulate the production of collagens and improve skin microcirculation helps to reduce damage caused by time and restore substance and vitality.
A second youth: Myrtle essential oil stimulates within the skin, the action of the longevity protein- to help increase cellular vitality preserve the skin’s appearance.

Awarded the highest rated Anti-Aging Miracle Cream in the 2011 Anti-Aging Beauty Bible. Independently tested by a panel of women across the UK

My L’Occitane Divine Cream Experience

The first weeks experience starts with the very luxe golden box, shiny and new. Inside is a spatula, Divine Cream and an instruction manual (which I instantly binned because I’ve seen the video, it’s below). The bottle opened easily, fits in my hand well and has a lovely heftiness to it. I wish it were not glass though because it will smash on my tiles if I drop it and I’m barefoot after a bath, must remember to bring thongs into the bathroom just in case. The spatula is a good size but I wish the bottle had somewhere to click it on so I don’t have to keep the box, also mildly annoying.

The creams smell is soft floral clean and is quite thick, silky and rich feeling and way more creamy than my after shave balm, it does go on beautifully though with the face, neck, forehead and temple massage shown in the video. I do it exactly as they show it but I take 2-3 minutes to apply and then cover my ears, take three deep breaths and release them slowly. At the end I feel like I have done something wonderful, pampering and had a little selfish me moment. When your life is hectic it’s hard to find moments I can dedicate solely to myself, I feel a little centered after application of Divine Cream. The soft scent stays with me for about 20 minutes before either it goes or I become anosmic.

Photo Stolen Wikimedia

I have also been using the eye cream which comes in a sensational little pump pack so I know exactly how much to use, it is a little thinner and my skin drinks it up in under a minute. I wish I’d taken a before pic because though I am tired still my crows feet are less than normal, IN ONE WEEK!

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

How is the rest of my face skin? Already it is glowing. Softer, more supple and satiny. Divine Cream hasn’t given me a facelift but my skin does look and feel a lot more elastic, youthful and plumped.

If you’d told me this would be the payoff of taking care of my skin for a week I’d have NEVER believed you.

Next week we will hear from the other test cases and see how my skin finishes up.
Portia xx

Missoni Women by Maurice Roucel and Trudi Loren for Missoni 2006

October 24, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 8 Comments

Post by Chairman Meow

Missoni Women by Maurice Roucel and Trudi Loren for Missoni 2006

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives the following accords:
Top: bergamot, mandarin, orange
Heart: magnolia, peony, rose, Japanese apple
Base: pear tree, chocolate, hazelnuts, amber

What is immediately striking about Missoni is its dual temperament, with both fresh marine and toothsome dessert facets. You immediately start to mentally bandy around words such as “dichotomous” and “personality disorder”. The mind gently boggles as you inwardly spin that fragrance wheel and a struggle ensues to neatly taxonomise the thing. What is this? Is it a gourmand? Is it an aquatic? Is it an aquatic gourmand? Is the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything really 42?

The chocolate is cocoa rich, nutty and heavy, and sits uneasily atop a transparent, calone-laden scent (please do forgive me for dropping the C-bomb, I appreciate it’s a dirty word). It’s the oil in an unshaken salad dressing, queasily yawing and pitching but never quite melding (it probably didn’t help that I was in the throes of food poisoning when I was reviewing this). Citrus is present, but it’s done with a light hand. Its combination with chocolate invariably draws comparisons made with Jaffas, or other orange flavoured chocolates. Whilst it does contribute a slightly tart aspect to the scent, what is more striking to me is the somewhat exsanguinated pear accord, actually very reminiscent to me of a nashi pear. In fact, take Missoni, remove the Nutella accord, and I believe it would have made for a wonderful Pleats Please by Issey Miyake, in which the nashi pear is a central player.

Photo Stolen Charles Haynes Flickr

Give Missoni just a few short minutes, however, and a sort olfactory alchemy starts to take place. Eat a chocolate dipped strawberry, and the initial sensation is akin to having two different dishes in your mouth, with the waxy chocolate bits jostling with the watery fruit blobs but not really coming together to form a particularly satisfying mouthfeel. Just as you start to wish you had picked off and eaten the chocolate first, the whole thing magically amalgamates into delicious choc-berry goop whose sum is inexplicably greater than its parts. And so it is with the Missoni. The chocolate mantle becomes softer, sweeter and less distinct, and the pear starts to take on a little colour to its cheeks, fleshed out with some flowers. Before long it all emulsifies, and makes much more sense. You can still pick out the warm and cool elements if you really thought about it, but by that time the olfactory lithium has kicked in and it all seems rather besides the point. It just smells… good. Somehow.

Photo Stolen Loco Steve Flickr

In true Missoni style even the sillage is a little deranged, throwing itself off the skin in admirable fashion whilst still managing to smell polite. A non-tantrum-throwing diva, if you will. As it wheezes its death rattles at the end of its 4-5 hour life on my parched skin, its aquatic side is nowhere to be smelled, smouldering instead with the embers of a fruity-amber affair.
Missoni shouldn’t leave your colleagues diving for cover, just don’t be fooled by its demure demeanour and do apply with a lighter hand than expected.

Further reading: Another Perfume Blog and The Non Blonde
Beauty Encounter has a mini from $9.90
The Perfumed Court starts at $3/ml

Until next month,
Chairman Meow

Iroaz by Amelie Bourgeois for Lostmarc’h 2008

October 23, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 11 Comments

Post by Maya

Hi APJ,

There was a comment that was recently posted on APJ about the story that often comes with perfume. Since there are so many perfume releases, something is needed raise interest in the perfume. The story, as well as the packaging, do this. I have tried many perfumes based on the story, especially if I like the listed notes.

Iroaz by Lostmarc’h 2008

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top notes: green grass, lemon peel, verbena and pink pepper. Heart: rose, ylang-ylang and lotus. Base: sandalwood, patchouli, musk and iris.

From Lucky Scent about Lostmarc’h perfumes:
“This exquisite new line takes its name and inspiration from the sights and scents of the Brittany region in France – a fascinating mix of glorious coastline, ancient buildings and magical Celtic traditions…….. Lostmarc’h is the last beach on continental Europe –unspoiled and rugged and outrageously beautiful, with the dreamlike feeling of being at the end of the world……..sketches of Brittany – vivid, but with a certain delicacy, capturing the spirit and enchantment of the place with a few precise, perfectly placed strokes. “

Lostmarc’h Iroaz is about wild roses growing on rugged cliffs above the ocean in Brittany, their scent mingling with the smell of the grasses, ocean, and sea breezes. Iroaz means roses in Breton.

Photo Stolen mahalie stackpole Flickr

It opens with lemon so strong that I get the image of the juice of a fresh, hand-squeezed lemon. This disappears in seconds, leaving a slight lemony trace behind, almost hidden by the lovely, salty marine notes. The marine works surprisingly well on my skin and stays until the end. There is a problem though. Where are the roses? There is a floral aspect that appears, but it’s all blended together. I keep waiting for roses, I want roses, and they’re not there! I love the idea of this fragrance so much that I keep trying it, but sadly get the same result. After an hour it seems to be gone, though if I put my nose right on the skin, there is some scent there. Three hours later, that is gone too. The silage is average and it could be worn just about anywhere. There is a coolness that makes it better for warmer weather.

Photo Stolen DeviantArt

I was disappointed. Iroaz had so much promise and a wonderful story. I have read reviews on Iroaz and some of them say the story fits the scent. It is a fragrance that doesn’t work on my skin, but it might on yours.

Further reading: Now Smell This and A Rose Beyond The Thames
LuckyScent has $85/100ml
Surrender To Chance starts at $3/ml

Have you tried perfumes based on the story and how did it work out?

Maya
xx

Old Spice in Australia and New Zealand: Isaiah Mustafa

October 22, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 18 Comments

Guest Post by Jordan River

Old Spice in Australia and New Zealand: Isaiah Mustafa

Apparently Old Spice smells…

even sweeter than you average sun-scorched, sea-salted Australian man-sweat…

Hello Ladies…

I’ll get back to to you with a review.

Further Reading
From Pygros – reformulation analysis
From Pygros – The Old and New: Old Spice Fresh and Pure Sport
From Pygros – Old Spice soap

28 by Le Cherche Midi GIVEAWAY WINNERS

October 22, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Hey Hey APJ,

What a great giveaway!! Special thanks to Le Cherche Midi for their super generous support of APJ by providing these giveaways, there’s another one coming very soon for another of their gorgeous fragrances so look out for that.

28 by Le Cherche Midi GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Photo Stolen Le Cherche Midi

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week there are three winners, each will receive

1 x 5ml Manufacturers Travel Spray of 28 by Le Cherche Midi
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DID YOU WIN?

To be eligible for the draw you had to go to Le Cherche Midi<<JUMP find a fragrance NUMBER and ONE INGREDIENT IN IT.

NO DOUBLE UPS

Then leave a comment with NUMBER + INGREDIENT and how you follow APJ.

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Monday 21st October 2013 10pm Australian EST
Winners will be chosen by random.org

Photo Stolen berryreview

Martin, Cheri, DkChocoMan

The winners will have till Thursday 24th October 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.

Stilettos on Lex by Dorothee Piot for Jul et Mad 2012

October 21, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 13 Comments

Post by Michael

Hi APJ,

The imagery this fragrance conjures is surprisingly specific. I almost always completely dismiss the stories and not-so-covertly imposed imagery fragrance houses like to peddle. Seldom does a fragrance actually evoke any imagery in my minds eye, but this one certainly does.

Stilettos on Lex by Jul et Mad 2012

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Pear, lemon
Heart: Carnation, iris, heliotrope, rose, lily of the valley, violet leaf
Base: Patchouli, vanilla, musk, cedar

So, Stilettos on Lex by Jul et Mad…….WOW! Now, the images are mine to keep ☺ but in essence there is a woman (not a girl) and she is absolutely sexy and feminine – certainly in nylons and heels and wearing elegant designer clothes, make-up and lipstick.

Photo Stolen Lies Thru a Lens  Flickr

Stilettos on Lex possesses a combination of olfactory impressions that somehow manages to take what is ultimately a fruity floral (which I usually abhor) and make it interesting and different by making it smell luxurious and lived in. It’s obviously musky, but it’s neither the pristine cleanliness of white musks nor overtly carnal musks that are present. Instead it smells lived in. That perfect balance of muskiness that’s almost of human skin – wonderful and so seldom used. There are some high pitched notes that give me the impression of worn stockings.

Photo Stolen Christine Flickr

There’s also that rose, violet, vanilla combo that smells ever so slightly augmented by aldehydes and gives the impression of expensive lipsticks and make-up. Texturally it provides subtle impressions of both butter and powder which adds to the lux feel. Patchouli, cedar and some subtle spices are perceptible in the base adding some contrast and further texture without being overtly noticeable.

In terms of performance, on my skin, longevity is excellent and sillage is medium to high.

Aedes de Venustas have Stilettos on Lex Parfum $280/50ml
Fragrance & Art do Stilettos on Lex Parfum 2000 Swedish Krona (around US$305)/50ml + 7ml (and samples)
First In Fragrance has €235/50ml (and samples)

Photo Stolen Maegan Tintari Flickr

Honestly, I don’t want to say much more. I wrote three pages of notes and impressions as I tested this fragrance but please, just go ahead and try it. I’d love to know what you think. Just don’t blame me if the men start following you around all starry-eyed.

Well, a fruity floral done right……who would have thought it……
Until next time
M

Jasmine Summer by Liz Zorn for Soivohle 2011

October 20, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 21 Comments

Hi There Indie Perfume Ho’s and lovers of the finest fragrance,

I like to think that Liz Zorn, the perfumer behind the Soivohle range, artist and general creative genius and guru, and I are buddies. I adore her perfumes and own quite a few now, also recently she put some of her artworks up for sale and I was lucky enough to grab the one made for this fragrance, Jasmine Summer. It is a fabulous little painting and reflects the perfume excellently.

Jasmine Summer by Liz Zorn for Soivohle 2011

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Jasmine, lime, fruity notes, white lily, orchid, vanilla, musk

Jasmine Summer is a sheer, very slightly fruity, floral that creates an elegant soft nimbus of the real deal of jasmine, as if you have it growing outside your window and in full bloom. It is heady and intoxicating but not indolic, not a sign of breath or animal. Though Jasmine Summer is sheer it has terrific sillage and projects fabulously for the first few hours. Through the whole fragrance life jasmine is front and centre, it opens sizzling and citric before mildly warming, it does sweeten up a bit but it’s not till a couple of hours have passed that vanilla comes out to play and then it isn’t fully featured till the end dry down where the jasmine and vanilla get funky with the musks.

Photo Stolen Inga Munsinger Cotton Flickr

For anyone who eschews jasmine or big white florals for their nasty sensual breathy indoles then Jasmine Summer could be a good place for you to come and sniff, this is super soft and clean jasmine with plenty of air around it. It is a little like sitting in a wedding in India with all the women sitting with jasmine in their hair and the cool of evening after everyone has eaten their fill and is now sitting around eating fruits and chatting quietly, awaiting the next event.

I also love how Jasmine Summer lingers, around 6-7 hours with the second half softer and more intimate, a come hither fragrance. Sweet sixteen or septuagenarian will love wearing this beautiful fragrance.

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

Further reading: Now Smell This and Best things In Beauty
At the SOIVOHLE site they have $25/15ml or $110/50ml (I love the 15ml bottles and often order a few as gifts
Surrender To Chance starts at $4/.5ml

See you tomorrow, until then take a few deep breaths and relax, just a little.
Portia xx

Voyage d’Hermès mini movie

October 20, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

Hello Gorgeous APJ Peoples,

We do a full Voyage d’Hermes review<<<JUMP but I thought you may like to watch the mini movie again, I think it supremely beautiful and love coming across it.

Portia xx

Voyage d’Hermès mini movie

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Amalfi lemon, spices, cardamom
Heart: Green notes, floral notes, tea
Base: Woodsy notes, Musk

Bat-Sheba GIVEAWAY WINNERS

October 19, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 5 Comments

Don’t forget to enter our Le Checrche Midi GIVEAWAY<<JUMP

Hello APJ,

Another great GIVEAWAY!! Thanks all for getting on board.