beauty

Other Blogs That I Read Daily. #1

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 39 Comments

Heya everyone,

Welcome to “Other Blogs That I Read Daily. #1”. Some of you already read a bunch of blogs, some read only APJ, some of you may have stumbled across this post and be asking what is a blog? OK, so a blog is a writing outlet for someone who has something to say, show or share. Maybe, like me, they are an enthusiast at something and want to chronicle their journey, could be they are frustrated writers, photographers, artists, musicians, businesspeople, cooks et al and just feel the need to be seen, heard or published. Sometimes they are MAD, CER AY ZEE! Others they are introvertrts who like to live online. As many reasons as there are blogs. There are good blogs, bad blogs, shit blogs, incredible blogs, regular, inconstant, etc etc etc. You get the picture because you are a Clever Clogs, already reading AustralianPerfumeJunkies.

Photo Stolen entrepreneurslife

I must preface by saying that in the interest of brevity this is the smallest cross section and first installment of Other Blogs That I Read Daily. Please don’t be sad if you are not on this list and you know I read you religiously, there will be more. Also, please go and look at these blogs they are all inspiring to me on some level, and the thrill when one drops into my inbox is real.

In my cross wired and buzz sawed brain the reasoning goes like this: If I like something, and they read my blog, we must be at least slightly kindred spirits, maybe they’ll like some of the stuff I read daily. Then my head goes: They don’t care about the shit you read, talk about perfume you dumb ass or they’ll leave. And then: If they are here they have broad interests, can read, are intelligent and want a great cross section of things to keep their mind busy. OK, That’s YOU! He He He So let’s see some of what I read daily…..

FRAGRANCE BLOGS

I have 40+ frag blogs that I read whenever they pop into my inbox, the five I’m giving you today are the people I feel I have most connected with during my short time since I discovered the ScentBloggoSphere, though there are others that I love as much:

Olfactoria’sTravels: The first place I landed in scentbloggerland. Birgit has been unfailingly friendly, interesting and educational. Known around the world as the nicest Frag Blogger alive.

ScentsOfSelf: Arielle is the hostess at Scents Of Self. She is very pretty, fiesty, has ideas and positions, really knows her perfume and often makes me laugh or think well beyond my few minutes reading her every post. She is cat mad, and mad, and I like her a lot.

AlembicatedGenie: Sheila Eggenberger is a modern marvel. Her blog is entertaining and has a rich vein of historical knowledge, writes like she is so full of words that they just have to leap onto the paper and makes perfume sexy as hell. She has also written an as yet unpublished story about the Devil and… you know what? I think you need to find it and read it, and then look up the Devilscent Project, Sheila has her finger on many pulses.

CandyPerfumeBoy: This red hot property is the cutest blogger of them all. A sexy stud from the UK he has an insight and wit only given to a precious few and he knows his perfume. I am unsecretly crushed upon his happy smiling face and the written words he offers.

PerfumePosse: The PerfumePosse is full of mad bitches and so I can’t wait for it to drop into my box every day. They realise that though perfume can change you and that it is art and beautiful and can make you growl when you’ve found a good’un, that it is only perfume. Life would be less lovely without it but we would survive. They are fun, irreverent, sexy and knowledgeable. They let me Guest Post for them every Friday and I am honored every week when they do. AWESOME!!!

NON FRAGRANCE BLOGS

These are a very thin slice of the other blogs that I read for fun, interest, shock value or plain old envy.

SweetMother: A US comedian who writes her life and views and has interesting sidelines and fun competitions. She is the only rational voice left in American Lesbianism. Honestly, I don’t know if that last sentence is true but I wanted to write it. Happily partnered and pursuing a Gayby (Homo Produced Child, usually possessed by the devil) Sweet Mother has had me both laughing and fake crying often.

MrGKids: Mr G Kids draws the essence of childhood for me, all the things that you have forgotten about your own childhood or are watching happen with the next generation. A cartoonist that produces a single cartoon daily that is not always hilarious but will often help you think outside your cubby hole.

Photo Stolen CanadianHikingPhotography

Canadian Hiking Photography: I seriously do not know how this got in my line of vision but the photos are beyond amazing and you can purchase copies. I am astounded every time I look by how someone can capture the beauty of out world so clearly.

Fashion & Style Guru: There are so many fabulous fashion blogs out there but Fashion & Style Guru is the one that most often speaks to my years in the fashion industry. Always filled with interesting photos, juicy gossip and the newest cutting edge of the fashion world.

Photo Stolen Mountains&Waves

Mountains & Waves: Another photography site and the images are completely encompassing. I feel the cold, the wind, the heat, the awe and majesty of life lived with open eyes. Also a perfect sense of timing makes these pictures move.

The 25th of September is my birthday, so I have given you the gift today of people who in some way inspire, confront, educate, humour, interest or help me. Please as your present back to me go and see their stuff. If it moves you follow or comment, if it doesn’t then move on but for my birthday I would like you all to expand your horizon, just a little.

Thank you, with all the gratitude I have, for being a regular reader of AustralianPerfumeJunkies and part of out APJ family. I hope you get something from this blog because what you are getting is a little piece of my love.

Portia xxx

Bois D’Argent EdC by Annick Menardo for DIOR 2004

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 19 Comments

Hey Hey Perfumista Buddies,
I hope today has been awesome for you all! Of course, if it’s been shite then things will no doubt get better sometime in the near future. Peaks and troughs, or as I say PIGS and TROUGHS. It will get better, the sun will shine again. Promise. Whenever I feel the black dog at my back I try a new fragrance sample and really move into the fragrance and do my best to understand the story and twists & turns of its life cycle. though not currently in a bad patch it’s good to remember them when life is going well and prepare, as much as anyone can, for the next time. So there are a GAZILLION untried samples in this house. When I found these 2 lovely mini movies from DIOR I wanted a fragrance from the house as an excuse to give you these as a present. I have the complete La Collection Privee from SurrenderToChance a while back and today Bois Argent EdC by Annick Menardo took my fancy.

Bois D’Argent EdC by Annick Menardo for DIOR 2004


Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Juniper berries, cypress, iris
Heart: Incense, Somalia myrrh, patchouli, wine, woods
Base: Vanilla, musk, amber, woody notes, honey and leather

I love the fresh, juniper and cypress opening on my skin, it is a very citrus blast that is quickly cooled by the iris and the cypress soon gets quite woody. A surprising reminder of the fragrant Hindu rites in Varanasi as the patchouli and incense/myrrh take their allotted places there is already a quiet waft of vanilla and a honeyed sweetening coming up behind and sitting just under the full radar but hinting at great things to come. It doesn’t say it in the notes but there seems to be a whisper of oudh here also: earth, livestock and dander. I don’t get wine at all, and the musk is well hidden, both must be bit players used to fill the fragrance out or maybe my skin/nose overlooks them. I love that the powdery goodness stays quite a way into the fragrance life and that the leather isn’t even noticeable until a couple of hours in, and then it’s like a change in the wind and back to sweet honeyed amber and then it pops its lovely soft leather head out again to remind you to notice it for a while and then flits away. Though not a big sillage fragrance it is tenacious, pumping out its lovely story for hours and hours, ever more quietly till it is a whisper more than you. I like that this EdC lasts so well and tells a beautiful story while it lives. Wearable even in the most zero fragrance tolerant workplaces, you could get away with saying Bois D’Argent is a scented body lotion because it is quietly gorgeous and rich. A completely selfish guilty pleasure. 12 hours later I am still skin scented and TSO Jin can definitely still smell a difference.

Dashaswamedh Ghat, Varanasi Photo Stolen en.wikipedia

I wish this was easy to get hold of here in Australia but it is not stocked. I will continue with samples till I see a split on one of the Facebook pages, or till I get to the Northern Hemisphere.

Olfactoria’sTravels does a wonderful review and so does TheNonBlonde
SurrenderToChance sells Bois D’Argent EdC from 1ml/$3 or you can buy from VERY select retailers and DIOR shops

Which of this range has taken your fancy? I’ve reviewed a few now and have yet to dislike one though they aren’t all skin compatible for me.

Below are a couple of lovely newish DIOR videos, please take a moment from your life to enjoy them.
Until we see you tomorrow, be well.
Portia xx

Lady Dior Teaser

Lady Dior Web-Umentary

The Aoud by Pierre Mancera for Mancera 2011

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 28 Comments

Hiya All,

I have the best friends in the world. we had a BarBQ get together yesterday with a few of them and I was given a bottle of The Aoud by my mate Alice who has just returned from the UK recently. She was down shopping in Selfridges fragrance floor and the Mancera SA was so good at her job, and Alice so overwhelmed by the incredible amount of choice, that in next to no time Alice was buying herself and me a bottle each of different frags in the line. I’m not sure what Alice got for herself but The Aoud by Mancera is a winner. Don’t go to the Mancera website, it has no information, is totally annoying to navigate and doesn’t even tell you about their fragrances other than 3 of them. GRRRR! So bloody unhelpful and this lack of information only hinders us blogging perfume enthusiasts that like to go see what is what. Even more terrible for shoppers I think.

Fragrantica has this to say:
Perfumer Pierre Mancera opened his first Mancera luxurious perfume boutique at Place Vendo in Paris. Mancera perfumes are made from precious and luxurious ingredients, rare and refined materials, inspired by Art Deco design.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

The fragrance features accords of: Geranium, sandalwood, saffron, incense, rose, agarwood (oud), leather and ambergris.

On opening the beautifully presented package with its shiny gold, very Arabian feeling, embossed cardboard box there is a gold drawstring pouch with the Mancera M in black repeated. It is a luxurious first glimpse and I like the feeling. The 60ml bottle is hefty and simple. Fits beautifully in my hand and the screw cap is a nice touch meaning the bottle is hand or gym bag ready without the worry of cap loss and self spraying of atomiser. V Important.

Photo Stolen lindsaybrothers

I love the opening medicinal notes, they are refined and luxurious. The oudh is noticeable right at the start as a warm, earthy, horse apple, green and grassy waft that lasts through the fragrance but it’s not toxic or heavy like many of the Arabian style of oudh. It is airy and fresh. The geranium adding a bright counterpoint and the sandalwood giving its buttery smoothness almost immediately. Oudh, geranium and sandalwood are triumphant kings through the story of this fragrance for me, their characters working in tandem and against each other to keep The Aoud interesting and unusual. Though rose is a featured note it doesn’t play heavily here, more a light accompaniment with the leather, saffron and incense. At about the 1.5-2 hour mark I start getting a lovely salty beach/sea water smell that I think may be The Aoud by Mancera’s ambergris. A fragrance of many colours, light and shade, an adventure in a bottle, subtle, alluring; I am running out of cliches to describe something far from cliched; even with the completely overwhelming amount of oudh on the market this is different and extremely wearable. No problem wearing anywhere except a strict no fragrance policy or close quarters work environment. The Aoud has good sillage but is not a skunker unless you are extremely lavish with your application, scent bubble around one meter maximum after the first hour.

Photo Stolen ferrebeekeeper

See how bright and new, sleek and lovely this trireme looks, The Aoud by Mancera has a kind of freshness about it that makes me think sea journey in a newly hewn ship with livestock in the hold for food and riding, naked, muscular slaves and the ever present smell of salt water on the cool breeze, but on the deck it would be warm and fragrant, and we of course would be in charge.

UniversalPerfumes&Cosmetics has 120ml/$130
Selfridges in the UK also has a selection in 60 & 120ml

Thanks for coming and spending a moment at APJ, see you tomorrow,
Portia xx

The Floral Waltz – Miss Dior and Winners Announced

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 18 Comments

Welcome back this lovely Saturday,
We have all been hanging out and had a Bar B Q, a few drinks and loads of laughs. The world seems to be a happy place. So good in fact that I have got a beautiful new video for you to watch The Floral Waltz was released to the DIOR site last week to celebrate Miss Dior, which used to be Miss Dior Cherie

During the week we have had a super draw for the Perfume And Skincare Company fragrances. Here is their WEBSITE JUMP

The Perfume and Skincare Company PERFUME GIVEAWAY

Photo Stolen P&SCo

We’ve been looking at The Perfume and Skincare Company from Australia this week; Monday we Interviewed Sheila Masseti and Tuesday we Reviewed PS&Co Fragrances (JUMP back to catch up if you missed them)

We decided to have a draw so that 3 lucky readers could get to try the 5 awesome fragrances we reviewed too. All you had to do was name the town where The Perfume And Skincare Company is located and your favourite of the 5 we reviewed by review alone. It was EASY PEASY!!

How did it work? The draw was open to anyone in the world who follows this blog by email, RSS etc till 9pm Saturday 22.9.12 Australian EST that correctly included the 2 items of information necessary. All the names were written on pieces of paper and TSO Jin picked three to get the packs.So who did Jin pick?

Photo Stolen berryreview

POODLE, TONY, LUCASAI

CONGRATULATIONS!!! Winners must get in touch by 9pm Wednesday 26.9.12 Australian EST with your address details or I will give your prize to someone else.
Facebook: Portia Turbo-Gear
Twitter: @OzPerfumeJunkie

Miss Dior The Floral Waltz released 13/9/12

Photo Stolen mylusciouslife

Louis Vuitton Mini Movie

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 6 Comments

Hey Hey Perfume People,

I know that Louis Vuitton and master perfumer Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud (Stella McCartney, Dior’s Addict and Jean Paul Gaultier’s Classic) are still preparing LVs first fragrant offering since the 1930s; so to honour their choice to finally cross to the dark side, also to assuage my need for visual stimulation, and to keep me pumped as the time grows nearer, I am gifting you this lovely mini movie. Hopefully it’ll help keep you in a simmering, speculating, craze of what ifs and how wills.

Photo Stolen 1000fragrances

I am hoping for something beyond gorgeous but will be happy with interesting and beautifully crafted. In my minds nose I smell ink, leather, salt and rue. Ink for the money that it will cost, leather for the historical luggage, salt for my tears of longing and bitter rue for my regret and sadness when it is a lazy fruit-chouli. Please Perfume Goddesses, let it be at least GOOD!

Photo Stolen butterflydiary

Don’t forget to go enter yesterdays GIVEAWAY and if you want a full review I am Guest Posting over at PerfumePosse about Sweet Water by Liz Cook for One Seed. Please go over and wish me well there, it is still a huge deal to be asked to Guest Post on one of the world’s biggest and most popular frag blogs.

We wish all the best of everything for you, it is out there, all you have to do is go get it.
See you tomorrow.
Portia xx

LV Paris Perfumeries 2011

The Perfume and Skincare Company PERFUME GIVEAWAY

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 35 Comments

Hey Hey Perfumistas,

We’ve been looking at The Perfume and Skincare Company from Australia this week; Monday we Interviewed Sheila Masseti and Tuesday we Reviewed PS&Co Fragrances (JUMP back to catch up if you missed them). We at APJ are so happy to have been able to bring you a new fresh Aussie perfume crew. What we thought we’d do for our P&SCo Perfume Giveaway is give you all a chance to win one of three sets of spray decant samples of the 5 Perfume and Skincare Company fragrances that we reviewed on Tuesday.

WOW!!!

Photo Stolen sassisamblog

How do you win? In the comments below you must leave then name of the P&SCo fragrance we reviewed that you think you’ll most love and the city/town in Australia where the P&SCo is located. EASY PEASY! 2 bits of information that could lead to 5 samples to try at home

How does it work? The draw is open to anyone in the world who follows this blog by email, RSS etc till 9pm Saturday 22.9.12 Australian EST that correctly includes the 2 items of information necessary. Yes, you may newly follow the blog to enter, email at the side of the page, RSS at the bottom, wordpress follow at top. All the names will be written on a piece of paper and TSO Jin will pick one three to get the packs. You must get in touch by 9pm Wednesday 26.9.12 Australian EST with your address details or I will give your prize to someone else.


Photo Stolen article.wn

If you Tweet or Facebook you will get and extra chance for each time you do the below
TWEET – @OzPerfumeJunkie https://australianperfumejunkies.com/ are having a GIVEAWAY!!!! Go get you some
FACEBOOK – https://australianperfumejunkies.com/ are having a GIVEAWAY!!!! Go get you some

Don’t forget to pop over and The Perfume And Skincare Company website too

Righto! There it is. Get to it and good luck to you all,
We’ll be looking for you tomorrow so till then, stay safe,
Portia xx

Field Notes From Paris by Ineke Ruhland for INeKE 2009

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

Hi All You Lovely APJ,

Back in July I remember reading a ScentsMemory post about Field Notes From Paris by a perfumer from his town, San Francisco, and thinking “WOW! That sounds like a killer frag, Must try it soon.” So when INeKE fragrances became part of the September 40% off deal going on at SurrenderToChance I felt it was time to get up close and personal with the brand. I ordered 5ml of Gilded Lily, Chemical Bonding and Field Notes From Paris and have only just opened the little anti break baggie (I always feel like I’m in the middle of a drug deal opening this stuff up, perfume crack indeed!) and it all smells so good.

Photo Stolen INeKE

Fragrantica has this to say and gives these featured accords (added INeKE accords): Field Notes from Paris is inspired by Ineke Ruhland’s halcyon days studying perfumery in Paris and Versailles. It captures the romantic, nostalgic feeling of sitting at a café and writing in a journal while lingering for hours over a cafe crème.
Top: Orange blossom, bergamot, lemon and coriander seed
Heart: Tobacco blossom & leaf, patchouli and cedar
Base: Tonka, benzoin, leather, beeswax and vanilla.

Citrus Coriander Blooms Photo Stolen foodarts

I love the opening with its coriander seed and citrus, almost a dissonance but strangely alluring, I keep getting whiffs of interesting and unusual which is a joy rather than outrageous or confrontational. It’s a warm, lived in smell, inviting and unpretentious.

Then it is a citrus, tobacco and leather scent on my skin, warmed by the vanilla and woods but never dominated by them. I know Field Notes From Paris is about the feeling of Ineke Ruhland sitting drinking a single cafe au lait while spending hours updating a journal in Paris & Versailles during her training as a perfumer but I really would have liked to smell the coffee. The citrus, blossom, fruit and rest of the tree, stays through different intensities almost to the dry down and shows its diverse faces from crisp zest to sensual flower through to powdery pith and bittersweet bark and twig.

Photo Stolen secretcitizens

Having worn it to work I had one person ask what I was wearing, I couldn’t remember the damn name GRRR. Somewhere between 4-5 hours I become completely anosmic to Field Notes From Paris but TSO Jin says he can smell something that’s not me but very soft, skin scent-ish and good. He had to get his nose to my chest to smell it though, so rides very close to the skin at that point.

Will this be my next FB? Not sure. I really love the opening and the journey is a good one with highs, lows and interesting things happening, I want to be madly enraptured because the work is so good and the price is not outrageous either. Field Notes From Paris is the kind of niche offering that we wish the big boys would emulate, and the bottle itself is gorgeous. I have a 5ml decant, let’s see where I am at the end of those 5mls because this is definitely the good stuff but it just hasn’t grabbed me, which I am very sad about.

NowSmellThis and PerfumeShrine also do excellent reviews with so much information made easy.
INeKE sends their 75ml/$95 bottles only to the USA & Canada, but they have an awesome WORLD STOCKISTS page which includes 3 great Australian Stockists in Qld & Vic 75ml/$160 delivered to your door.

As always, I amgrateful that you have chosen to spend some time with us in the APJ Family.
Loads of love and hugs till we see you tomorrow,
Portia xx

Perfume and Skincare Co. Australia Reviews

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 17 Comments

Hey Hey Scent Addicts,

Yesterday we did an APJ Interview with Sheila Masseti if you’d like to meet the perfumer.

What is unusual about these Perfume And Skincare Company fragrances that are made in Australia by Sheila Masseti is that they have between 45-70% fragrant oils per volume. What does that mean to the regular person? It means more depth, character, longer lasting, more nuanced olfactory ride and best of all; you need use less to get an incredible fragrant experience. These amounts are double and above what you would get in a Parfum or Extrait level fragrance from the big players. The prices are beyond reasonable for the quality and you can get a great sample range for $10/5ml which is enough to get a real feel for the fragrance on your skin and won’t break the bank. Imagine having 5 new fragrances in extrait level to try for a week each for only AUD$50. Seriously great value!!

FIG & OLIVE: Fig & Olive is the P&S signature scent. Opening with fresh, green citrus it becomes a fuller, deeper and stronger version of my favourite fig, Un Jardin En Mediterranee by Hermes. There is the familiar broken leaf and branch, slightly salty olive and milky fig, it is an interesting sweet and sour bi-play that offers an absorbing frisson that I can get quite lost in smelling, it has some very definite herbaceous notes through the heart keeping it green and I can’t decide whether I’m getting spice or woods. Interesting and beautiful right through to dry down.

FORBIDDEN FRUIT: This is a huge sweet burst of fruit, I get pineapple, passionfruit and peach though the notes say blackcurrant and lemon, the oudh is extremely clean with the soapy orange flower and sandalwood. Staying power is excellent, I got nearly 7 hours of unrelenting fruit sweetness before I had to shower. Sorry but I can not imagine using this, it is so far from what I’d like to smell like that I can’t express properly how little I like it. If you like the fruity sweet fragrances though this is the one, it has everything you love in the other fragrances like it in bags, plus more interesting journey with real change as it matures on your skin, I wish I could have enjoyed the journey.

GARDENIA: Gardenia is one of the scents I am repeat applying, not only is it a killer soliflor fragrance that people “get” straight off the bat, but it is a huge compliment getter. Every time I wear it at least one person asks what, who, how and how much. One night I had 4 people do this. Now if you wear scent often you will know that 4 people in one night do not ask about fragrance that you are wearing, it was uncanny. If you love white flowers and gardenia especially, then this fragrance will be for you too.

GINGER MILK: Ginger Milk is my favourite of the selection sent. It has everything I want in a fragrance and if I wasn’t such a scent slut I think it would become my signature scent. Every time I put it on I am transported, even making the most embarrassing throaty moans on first application. It is quite linear, there is growth but it’s more circular than a story, going over the same few scents on slow, languid rotation and really does smell like spiced warm milky ginger tea. Almost gourmand, um what am I writing? This is Oriental Gourmand, from the east and delicious. The dogs try to lick it off me when I go out to them, that’s how good it is.

PINK PEONY: Pink Peony opens with a luscious fruit accord, the notes say peach and apricot but I get some citrus too, that is sweet but not like a fizzy fruit tingle or like a sugary sweet but piece of fruit sweet. Then I get a mild anise feeling mixed with a spicy white flower and something that may be peony but I wouldn’t know how a peony smelled if you held me at gunpoint and made me guess, even though I love them as cut flowers I can never recall the scent. Maybe the green-ish scent that comes through after about an hour is peony? Later on you notice the vanilla and sandalwood have been quietly taking over, still giving enough room for the flowers to show but the whole fragrance has warmed considerably. then it dires down to a sooft and mellow, nearly amber-ish vanilla that clings for ever.

Something else I really love about the Perfume And Skincare Company is their simple and elegant packaging and bottles. It all fits together in a really well thought out and stylistically simple extravagance, like it’s so good that it doesn’t need bells and whistles to make it stand out. Which is quite true. Do take some time to sample this wonderful Aussie range at The Skincare And Perfume Company.

Also, come back on Thursday because we have a wonderful GIVEAWAY!

Thanks for dropping by, we wish you the best of everything till we see you tomorrow,
Portia xx

Sheila Massetti of Perfume and Skincare Co. Interview

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 11 Comments

Hey APJ Family,

Part of what I and EvieC wanted to do when we started this blog was to ferret out and show the world our emerging perfumers down here in Australia. We are far away from much of the world but our fragrance makers are doing some pretty inspiring, wearable, boundary pushing, affordable scents in the true niche historical context. Going for product over marketing and price.

So when Director, Perfumer and Product Formulator for the Perfume and Skincare Co, Sheila Massetti, from Robertson NSW gets in touch and offers to send some samples to APJ to have a sniff around with I was ecstatic. When those samples arrive as bottles I am overwhelmed. So I sent a few decants around the world to some of my blogging buddies, shared a few with my friends and I have been wearing 3 of the 5 fragrances sent quite a bit too.

We’ve asked a slightly tweaked version of the APJ questions and here is Sheila…

Give us a brief history, who was young you, important you defining moments or early fragrant memories that may have herded you towards the ever moving now and how did you become interested in becoming a perfumer?

I started my career as a Journalist – something that is now incredibly useful as it taught me the art of research, research, research.  My early fragrant memories have guided me into the Perfumes I now formulate.  Gardenia for my Mother off to a ball wrapped in swathes of white chiffon and smelling of Gardenias.  Ginger Milk for my Grandmother who used to make me a “homesickness” remedy with warm milk, honey, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Fig & Olive from a trip to Tuscany etc etc.
I did as I think a lot of little girls did and collected Rose petals, put them in a jar of water and left them for a few days to create my own Rosewater.

How did you get your education as a perfumer?

I trained as an Aromatherapist and discovered my interest in Perfume through blending Essential Oils but they were never enough.  Meeting up with the owner of a company which specialised in the production of Aroma Accords and Synthetics brought my dream to life and he helped me with the basic tenets of Perfume formulation.
Working with Synthetics gives me a much broader base on which to draw and I find them more stable with the ability to steer a fragrance from the “norm” to spectacular.
Training as a Perfumer is impossible in Australia so I became an Artisan Perfumer using my intuition and love of fragrance to steer me in the right direction.  My trips to France lead me to meet Perfumers from Chanel, Issey Miyake and Jean Paul Gaultier and I had the opportunity to work with them, or should I say “play with them”.  This furthered my technical knowledge but I still work from intuition.

Robertson Photo stolen ideal-sydney-getaways

Why did you want to come home and be a perfumer in Australia where the culture of ‘perfume’ seems somewhat limited?

Being a Perfumer in Australia is somewhat limited as the general perception is that “all Perfumers come from France”, but if you can get people to think outside the square they realise that this is not the case.

Do you have any inspirations in the perfume world?

My inspiration in the world of Fragrance would have to be Jean-Claude Ellena.  How could you not be smitten with him.

Do you have a favourite mass-market perfume?

My favourite mass market Perfumes are Tom Ford’s Black Orchid and Tobacco Vanille – very opposite in type but equally beuatiful.

What about a favourite independent perfumer and how have they influenced you?

I don’t have a favourite independent Perfummer as yet but I’m sure that will change.

What does your immediate future at Perfume and Skincare Co hold?

The immediate future of the Perfume & Skincare Company is affected by the market.  It is incredibly difficult to convince Wholesale Buyers to try something new when Retail stores are finding it hard enough (under the global financial situation) to get their customers to spend anything.  This is a situation which will improve over time and I forsee Retailers going back to a time when they want something new to tempt customers.  In the meantime we have our own Retail stores in the Southern Highlands and our Web Site which offers the chance to sample all the different fragrances.

Carrington Falls Photo Stolen sydney.com

I applaud Sheila for her push to bring the good juice to Australia. They ship worldwide and have a really terrific sample program, you won’t believe how reasonable their prices are for true niche extrait-plus strength fragrances. Do jump across and have a look at ThePerfumeAndSkincareCompany. Then come back tomorrow to have a look at our reviews for 5 of the fragrances they offer.

As always wishing you the best of everything till we see you tomorrow,
Love
Portia xx

In The Mail: New Arrivals

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 23 Comments

Hey Gang,

It’s all been mad CER AY ZEE around here lately. I’ve been getting some great new gigs, TSO Jin has been studying for his final electrical exams and our lovely homestay boy has been off working on movie sets as well as attending to his studies. Spring has sprung and as the weather warms and the liquidamber in the front yard puts forth lovely green leaves we should be in the pool in a couple of weeks. YAY!!! We have seen a couple of 28oC/82oF days and life looks good.

One of the amazing things about being in the perfumista world is the swapping that goes on. Say I have a bottle of something and a few samples that I think will suit one of my buddies; decant, wrap & into a post pack and away. It’s so great getting a little fragrant package from someone who knows your scent preferences, wants to help educate you or simply wants to share the love. I’ve had a few of these super packs lately and would like to share a few of my new discoveries. To understand the ratings please jump across to the APJ Ratings System Page.

At The Beach 1966 by CB I Hate Perfume (Thanks Sonya) Has a lovely fresh citrus-like opening that quickly gives a salty blast and something vaguely white floral. I don’t get the Coppertone analogy, or, um, maybe, OK I get it! Ha Ha Ha The whole white sauce sun protection we used to be covered in by our Mum’s, the sand everywhere, seashells, surf, sun, the big fluffy striped towels with fringing. It’s all here. MEMORIES! And after 5 hours wear it smells like the bug spray we wore too. Still pumping soft white flowers and seawater 9 hours later. CB I Hate Perfume 100ml/$80. S=**** L=***** D=****

Interlude Man by Amouage (Thanks Ruth) OH BOY!! The opening of Interlude Man featuring Oudh from the outset melded beautifully with the oregano and spicy pepper. Get your money and buy this fragrance now, man, woman or child. My tummy has got butterflies and I am having a Stendahl Syndrome moment (Thank you Denyse Beaulieu for the SS reference). Full report soon. Amouage 100ml/215 Euro.  S=***** L=**** D=*****

LouLou by Cacharel 1987 (Thanks Amanda) What a fragrance. Pow when it opens with what seems like everything ever put into a perfume, in bags. Such an outrageously OTT spicy floral that is a super statement fragrance. I can’t believe the girls we grew up with used to think this was a soft girly fragrance, it’s a powerhouse based on the tiare flower, though not including it. Still available to buy in the shops but mine is a vintage 90’s bottle. Sweetness lingers for hours and hours. FragranceNet has 50ml/under $50 S=**** L=**** D=****

Jezebel by Bud Parfums (Thanks Howard) I normally shy away from a burst of fruit as an opening gambit by a fragrance but Jezebel opens so lushly that it already feels lascivious, but wait, there is something dirty hiding behind the fruit. A very naughty girl who has sprayed herself with fruit to do THE WALK OF SHAME. When people talked about Ho Panties in fragrance I kind of understood but now I know. It hits you sneakily and remains behind the glow and glamour of nearly spoiled fruit. Everything about Jezebel is a little overblown, pardon the pun. Probably wear this at home or on the prowl ONLY!! After the initial rush and gush I end up with an enjoyable sweet musky dry down that sticks around for a few hours and then disappears. BudParfums 100ml/$100 S=**** L=*** D=****

What has been on your fragrant agenda, anything new? Have you received a scented care package? What was in it? What do you wish had been in it? Leave us a message because the conversation is often more interesting than the post,
Take care till tomorrow,
Portia xx

PS All Photos Stolen Fragrantica