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Post by Portia
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Hey there APJ,
I love to watch craftsmen. The way they make the impossible for me seem so easy and commonplace. How they are so involved in the creation of their product and the rendering of their craft that there is a kind of graceful flow to every movement. Of course, at CHANEL they employ artisans of the highest calibre and in this 2.2min film it shows. Gorgeous McGorgeous!!
Photo Stolen CHANEL
Enjoy,
Portia xx
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Post by Portia
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YAY!!! Out celebrating with the crew!
I wore:
SOTM: Midnight Oud by Juliette Has A Gun
SOTD: Vintage CHANEL No 19 EdT
SOTN: Blonde by Versace
It’s a great day to turn 47 and enjoying it with my mates. It’s also a good time to think about the many who didn’t last this long, thanks all for looking out for me in the whatever happens next.
For my birthday please close your eyes and think of three things in your life that you like or love. As simple as stationary or complex as partner.DO IT PLEASE.
Done it?
My gift to you is three things to be grateful for. HOW LUCKY ARE YOU?
Thanks for being my fragrant family. Each and every one of you has made this journey special so far, and it’s only just begun.
Portia xx
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Post by Trésor
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Sometimes there is a fragrance that one is taken with, right from the get-go. It’s a bit like finding the perfect pair of black leather pumps or a flawless white shirt, a seemingly simple task but one that in reality it’s never quite so easy. They have to click, tick each box and do so with a comfortable, effortless sensibility befitting their impeccable nature. A sublime marriage of fit, form and fabric that so fluently weaves its way into your life and exhibits as not only an immediate appreciation of fine craftsmanship but as the beginning of a lifelong affection. For me, this is how it began with Jacques Polge’s Bel Respiro for Chanel, a pure manifestation of not only incredible fondness but what it means to be consummately and so unapologetically chic.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Green notes, flowers, leather, grass
The opening of Bel Respiro is, in my opinion, SO bloody Chanel. If you just so happen to be as irrationally obsessed with fragrance as I am (and I sincerely suspect you are) then you know just what I mean. It’s so good, in fact, that it may very well reside within the selection of some of the most beautiful top notes I’ve ever smelled in a fragrance. Upon the first push of the atomizer one is met with a diaphanous aura of desaturated emerald, exquisite in its verdancy but whisked away into a realm of subtlety and utter grace. There is a sunlit radiance emanating from the surface, not particularly warm but a palpable sensation of luminosity and effervescence.
Photo Stolen DeviantArt
The elegant austerity of silken iris soon follows, infusing the composition with an air that feels again so deeply “Chanel”, beauty of the highest order but beauty that has not made an effort to appear as such; it simply is. Pastel hued petals of lilac and rose redolent of a delicate herbal astringency follow suit and create what smells to me of a subdued kaleidoscope of ephemeral floralcy. A flourish of suede reveals itself beneath glorious fractals of efflorescent aroma, but only as an accent much like the the double-C on the button of a vintage tweed jacket. The dry down smells of transparent resins alongside a slightly amplified trace of the aforementioned suede and the scintillant glow of soft white musk.
Photo Stolen Flickr
The longevity and sillage, for me, are largely dependent on how much one applies. A spray or two yields a relatively evanescent outcome, close to skin and lasting just a couple of hours but with a proper dousing in the stuff as I much prefer (quelle surprise!) I can get about 5 hours and a nominally more potent sillage. Bel Respiro is certainly not, as the boys like to say, “beast-mode” but that is where its beauty lays, in gossamer undulations of fragility and grace.
Further reading: Olfactoria’s Travels and Smelly Vagabond
Bel Respiro can be found at most large department stores and stand alone CHANEL boutiques
CHANEL Online has $160/75ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $4/ml
Have you fallen for any fragrances right from the beginning? What was it about them that beguiled you?
Until next time, my darlings.
Trésor xx
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Post by Portia
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Hey there crew,
You know the excitement of buying some vintage lovely for a friend for whom it’s their Holy Grail? The thrill of the hunt, trolling eBay, ETSY and the Facebook pages looking for your current mad perfumista desire? Finding your Holy Grail on eBay at an affordable price, bidding, waiting, last minute flurry bid and then OMG! You’ve won it! High fives and back slapping all around. You rush quickly to your Pay Now button and PayPal the shit outta that thing. Then you wait………….
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Coriander, mandarin orange, peach, jasmine, Bulgarian rose
Heart: Mimosa, cloves, orange blossom, clover, rose
Base: Labdanum, amber, sandalwood, tonka bean, opoponax, civet, vanilla
and you wait………
You write to the eBay seller and ‘Quell Surprise’ it hasn’t been sent yet. “Sending it today. sorry Sorry SORRY”
Now you start to worry because if they send it now and it arrives faulty, for whatever reason, you may not be covered to lodge an eBay claim. So, you wait……
and you fume……
and you wait…….
The worry has turned to mild panic, even though you’ve dealt with this seller before and everything has been 100% perfect there is the gnawing worry at the back of your mind, especially because you have bought a couple of other things from the same seller since. Could they have been above board and now readying to do a grab and run? You know, put a whole load of really excellent pics up of things they’ve sold before and sell their fake stuff for good money before disappearing forever? This is not completely unknown on the net, there are shady enough people in face to face dealings, anonymity adds a whole new meaning to the word dodgy.
Teetering on the edge of a nervous breakdown and obsessing madly over your lost precious you write again. It’s only a few days before the 45 day claim cut-off-period and you worry that this may become unsaveable, even though you paid through PayPal which will cover the loss but who needs the freaking drama. I just want my stuff. They write back, and they are really good Customer Service people. “It’s coming my friend. Please be patient. We are so sorry, it will be there”
Then…… It Arrived! So excited. We did a little happy dance, YAY! As the package is opened, we start to worry. It’s too fragrant. This does not bode well…..
As you can see, disaster has struck. The nozzle has been damaged when they pulled the insert out to show fluid levels and the juice has all run out. It has bubbled the gold foil on the bottle and run riot through the packaging. The smell is unbelievably amazing. At least we know the product is authentic. GAWD it smells incredible in here. Scott has rubbed the box and wrapping all over his arms and smells like a very high class establishment for sexual satisfaction, of a cash for gratification style.
Obviously I am bummed and write to the seller who immediately says they’ll refund my full purchase amount. They are so sweet about it and say that I’m their best customer etc it’s nice. So though I have no fragrance I will give my buddy the bottle and packaging which she can leave in her undies drawer and they will now smell like the rest of her. DELICIOUS!
Sad Sage, an only mildly unhappy ending.
What stuff has arrived imperfect for you?
Portia xx
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Post by Anne-Marie
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I adore soaps and shower gels and rarely hesitate to indulge. My life is always busy, and good soap is an affordable (mostly!) luxury that helps prepare me for whatever the day might bring. So today I thought I’d share a few of my favourites. I have dry-ish skin so I’ll preface my mini reviews by saying that none of these were excessively drying or irritating for me.
Some soaps I love
Chanel No 5 soap is the epitome of luxury, the soap version of what the French perfume industry calls ‘le Monstre’. I’ve bought it for myself, and my son bought me some for Mother’s Day last year. For a 15 -year-old it was a brave thing to front up to the Chanel counter, but he said the Chanel lady was lovely. The soap is a prettily scented pale pink square that lathers moderately and lasts reasonably well. The scent is closer to the EDP than the EDT version of the perfume. With use, the soap splits a bit around the edges, which looks a bit unsightly.
L’Occitane Vetiver Soap intrigued my daughter because when new it looks exactly like an oval of polished wood. The vetiver scent is bolder than in the Crabtree & Evelyn, more masculine. If you love vetiver, this is the better one to go for. I must try the cedarwood version one day too. The bar is fairly hard, lasts well, and is very moisturising. I have to say I once bought a duo of L’O’s Bonne Mere bar soaps and the first one was so drying I dropped both in the bin after just two uses.
Jo Malone’s Lime Basil and Mandarin Soap The mark-up on Jo Malone products is very high in Australia and mostly I avoid the brand. I bought a small bottle of LB&M bath oil once and thought it very weak – not worth even half what I paid. The soap is a different story. It lathers creamily, and the scent lingers on my skin and lasts ages in the bathroom. I don’t live near a JM counter but the next time I travel for work I reckon I’ll be picking up another bar of this if I get the chance.
Crabtree & Evelyn Vetiver & Juniperberry Soap was originally a gift from my daughter (my kids know the way to my heart!) but I’ve bought it myself a few times since. It is SO good for summer. If C&E would bottle this scent I’d buy a lifetime supply. The scent of both vetiver and juniper berry are both clearly discernible, but harmonise beautifully. The big bar lasts ages but does split quite a lot as you use it. I once had a bar of C&E’s Crabapple and Mulberry and found it pleasant, but nothing like as good as the vetiver.
L’Occitane Extra Gentle Soaps Recently I received a threesome set of these from a friend – lavender, verbena and milk. So far I’ve only used the lavender, and it was lovely. Like L’O’s vetiver soap, it was very moisturising. The bar is a bit softer. I’m looking forward to trying the verbena. L’O’s verbena foaming bath is one of my favourite bathroom products – I’ve been buying it for years – so I hope the soap is as good.
Claud Porto Deco Collection Soap A friend brought back a couple of these from as trip to Europe. (I’m not sure if they are distributed in Australia.) I had Chypre and Lime Basil. It was a while ago, but I remember that I particularly liked Lime Basil.
Do you have favourite soaps? Tell us!
Until next time, keep lathering!
Anne-Marie xx
Heya Fragrant Fashionistas,
I’ve watched the DIOR and Versace FW 15/16 shows and they left me cool to say the least. Here at CHANEL Karl Lagerfeld has brought us a redefined vision of the CHANEL suit and some really interesting fabrics and shapes. The shoes are freaking KILLER and I also love the severe uber Desange bobs that seem to be laughing at the 90s. For every frock I love there are 10 I merely like and three I loathe. Interesting that the last two frocks resemble some shapes and treatments of DIOR’s Belgian designer Raf Simons work over the last few seasons.
Photo Stolen CHANEL news
This is the whole show and pay attention at the start, there are some very interesting people at the gambling tables. If you get bored FF to the last 5 minutes, that’s where my favourite stuff happens and I really love the final wedding outfit.
Enjoy,
Portia xx
Hey Hey Crew,
Yes, I’m cleaning out the sample drawers and YOU get to be the winner if you’re lucky. Here are a bunch of samples that I’ve tested but now live in the swap/gift pile. Some of the reasons for being there? Maybe I bought a FB, it had an issue that renders it unwearable, I liked it but have something similar, somehow I have double, I hated it, I LOVED it and completely forgot about it, I’ve moved on. So many reasons, so MANY samples. They are all used a bit but they have heaps for testing and trying. I know you’re going to love at least one thing in this pack, but hopefully a few will tickle your fancy. Whether or not they do I hope they bring someone the joy of testing new stuff that I get.
Most of these samples have been purchased from Perfume Niche, LuckyScent, Posh Peasant, My Perfume Samples and Surrender To Chance since 2010, but some are gifts or manufacturers samples. Mosat are over half full and a couple are double ups I have so full.
Please help me with my clear out and leave a comment.
Portia xx
Photo Stolen TheTruthAboutMummy
This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x SAMPLE PACK RAOK
P&H Anywhere in the world
Open to everyone worldwide who follows AustralianPerfumeJunkies via eMail, WordPress, Bloglovin or RSS. Please leave how you follow in the comments to be eligible. I must be able to check that you follow so if you have an email address on your gravatar that’s different to your follow address then please email me (portia underscore turbo @ yahoo dot com dot au) so I know. Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged.
You must tell me how you follow APJ
and
Please tell us which one from the pack you would most like to sample
Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie SAMPLE PACK RAOK GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-486 #Perfume #Giveaway
Entries Close Sunday 2nd August 2015 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winner will be chosen by random.org
The winner will have till Thursday 6th August 2015 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.
Hello to my fellow fumeheads!
Today, I am zeroing in on a breathtaking parfum that surprised me when I sniffed it in person. Last year, I wandered into Boston’s Chanel boutique with fragrance friends, eyes sparkling with delight in the luxe venue. I went in with laser focus, intent on purchasing Chanel No. 22 parfum from the Les Exclusifs line. I then went on to sniff the other boutique-exclusive offerings, and was shocked to fall in love with:
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Lavender, musk, vanilla, wildflowers, grass, rose, jasmine and tonka bean
Wearing Jersey today, I sense a spark of clean lavender, awash in the white-hot rays of the solstice sun. The meadow rolls over tumbling hills, emeralds and amethysts glistening as far as the eye can see. Freshly laundered sheets billow crisply on a clothesline, as signature Chanel aldehydes pierce the air. The lazy breeze carries these cool, soothing fragrances like a drifting song, the hollow tones of a silver flute choir.
And yet, although my visions glow beneath the brightest sunbeams, Jersey is an evening fragrance for me. It is a scent for a quietly classic night on the town, freshly showered and dolled up in a favorite new dress and a string of pearls. I strongly associate lavender with the cold light of the stars, as I often use it for sleep aromatherapy. However, as it joyfully dances among distinctive aldehydes and a waft of rose petal, this lavender is calm and graceful, not sleepy.
Photo Stolen WikiMedia
From CHANEL: Jersey had only been used for sailors’ sweaters and men’s undergarments until, in the 1920’s, Mademoiselle Chanel made it the instrument of a new elegance for women. Like Mademoiselle, Jacques Polge has also revealed the chic and feminine treasures of a material considered to be masculine and modest: lavender. He has chosen an exceptional essence and given it the sensuality of musk and the delicious richness of vanilla. And so it is that lavender has been transfigured and become deliciously sophisticated. Successfully transformed, it has lost its masculine connotations.
Photo Donated Erica
Further reading: Bois de Jasmin and A Model Recommends
CHANEL Les Exclusives are available at CHANEL online or larger department stores
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $8/.25ml
Have you tried any Chanel Exclusifs? Do you have a favorite? Let’s dish!
Scented hugs, Erica
Hey Hey APJ,
You probably know that my partner Jin is from South Korea. It’s exciting for both of us when it becomes a destination for the world stage. Here is a particularly fun look at the CHANEL team taking their Cruise 2015/16 runway show on the road. Lovely sound bites from Gisele Bündchen and Kristen Stewart and at the end the incredible, eternal Karl Lagerfeld.
Enjoy this look behind the scenes,
Portia xx
Photo Stolen CHANEL
Hi there Crew,
Chance has been given a quick facelift by Olivier Polge with its newest flanker Chance Eau Vive. I tried Google translate but the closest I could get was Eau Vivre = Living Water. That works well enough for this language trog.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Grapefruit, red orange, providing citruses
Heart: Jasmine, white musk
Base: Vetiver, cedar, iris
CHANEL usually does amazing ads. Whenever one pops up in my YouTube feed I get excited so of course I clicked on this one. It’s not really what expect from a CHANEL production but it is fun and silly and what it lacks in glamour it makes up for in cutesy. I’m clearly not its target audience and that’s cool.
Enjoy,
Portia xx
Photo Stolen CHANEL
Australian Perfume Junkies 