Mon Guerlain GIVEAWAY WINNER

May 18, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

Portia

Woo Hoo APJ!

Thanks for getting involved this week.

Let’s see who won,
Portia xxx

Mon Guerlain GIVEAWAY WINNER

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 1 winner who will receive:
1 x 5ml Mon Guerlain EdP Boxed Mini
1 x 30ml Mon Guerlain Body Lotion
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Wednesday 17th May 2017 10pm Australian EdsT
Winner waschosen by random.org

Anna Maria

The winner will have till Wednesday 24th May 2017 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

Mon Guerlain by Thierry Wasser and Delphine Jelk for Guerlain 2017

May 15, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 43 Comments

Portia

Hey Hey Frag Heads,

Well, hasn’t there been uproar on the scentbloggosphere around this one? Guerlain’s first stand alone pillar fragrance since the Limited Edition turned regular range Terracotta Le Parfum and L’Homme Ideal, both arriving in 2014. It seems though that this one was to be launched in the grandest of old styles like back in the 20th century. All over Europe and Australia the bus stations, buses, cinema ads and TV showed Mon Guerlain. They picked a controversial celebrity, Angelina Jolie, to be the face of it and then made her a silhouette. It all seemed like we had returned to the golden age of fragrance and because of all the hype, it being a Guerlain and the strange lack of hype for anything else they’ve done except those fun cartoon ads for La Petit Robe Noire (how CHANEL didn’t think of that I’ll never know) we were all expecting a masterpiece, a stroke of genius. Could it be the new Jicky, Shalimar, Mitsouko or Samsara? How could anything live up to such wild expectation?

Mon Guerlain by Guerlain 2017

Mon Guerlain by Thierry Wasser and Delphine Jelk

Fragrantica

Parfumo gives thee featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, Provençal lavender
Heart: Paradisone®, Jasmine sambac, Coumarin
Base: Iris, Tahitian vanilla, White sandalwood

OK, I need to tell you that I bought my bottle of Mon Guerlain 100% for the bottle. I had sniffed it in passing and found it to be a fairly predictable rehash of most of what is on the market currently. Sweet, candy like cordial with little to help it rise above the celebuscented fairy floss storm except the bottle, which I adore. So, while in a small corner perfumery across the road from Luxembourg’s central station earlier in the year they had a 20% off Guerlain sale. Could I resist? No I could not. With my purchase I was also gifted a 5ml Boxed mini of Mon Guerlain EdP and a 30ml Mon Guerlain Body Lotion. Both of which are up for grabs in our giveaway tonight.

Once I had bought it I was able to wear it on my own, had time to really enjoy it and get to know the personality buried under the uninspiring scent it feels like in the mall or airport. Suddenly I found myself not only enjoying wearing Mon Guerlain but choosing it over other favourites.

I am reminded strongly of recently D/Cd Guerlain beauty Oriental Brulant with added Lavender. Mon Guerlain sparkles with lavender and it makes the whole fragrances gourmand-ness less stickily sweet and adds a historical linkage to one of its all time most popular scents Jicky. Not the same as Jicky but a passing reference to Guerlains history. The dry down is a 21st century Guerlinade reinvention with the same or similar vanilla in pride of place, cooled by iris and creamed by sandalwood.

Is Mon Guerlain a masterpiece? No, not in my opinion. Is it a modern LVMH money making adaptation of a Guerlain? Yes. Some of the heart has been removed but the soul remains.

Further reading: Scenthurdle and I Scent You A Day
David Jones Australia has $102/30ml
Surrender To Chance has samples from $4.25/ml

Want to try it? Now’s your chance.

Mon Guerlain GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 1 winner who will receive:
1 x 5ml Mon Guerlain EdP Boxed Mini
1 x 30ml Mon Guerlain Body Lotion
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

Open to everyone worldwide who follows AustralianPerfumeJunkies via eMail, WordPress, Bloglovin or RSS. Please leave how you follow in the comments to be eligible. I must be able to check that you follow so if you have an email address on your gravatar that’s different to your follow address then please email me so I know. Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged.

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please tell us in the comments which Guerlain fragrance is your favourite?

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Wednesday 17th May 2017 10pm Australian EdsT and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Wednesday 24th May 2017 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

Le Sillage Blanc GIVEAWAY WINNER

May 11, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

Portia

Hello APJers,

Thanks for getting involved.
Let’s see who won.

GOOD LUCK.
Portia xxx

Le Sillage Blanc GIVEAWAY WINNER

Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Orange blossom, Neroli, Tobacco, Artemisia, Galbanum, Leather, Ambrette, Patchouli, Oakmoss

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 1 winner who will receive:
1 x Carded Manufacturers Sample of Le Sillage Blanc (Hopefully I can find the card)
1 x Porcelain Esxence Bracelet (Perfect fragrant handbag jewellery)
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Wednesday 10th May 2017 10pm Australian EdsT
Winner was chosen by random.org

Hage Kay

The winner will have till Wednesday 17th May 2017 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

Le Sillage Blanc by Pissara Umavijani for Parfums Dusita 2017

May 8, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 23 Comments

Portia

Hello Independent Fragrance Lovers,

OK, so I’m not sure exactly where my set of Dusita samples came from. I do know they were carded originally and that someone not from their company gave them to me. I bet heaps of you are dying to try the newest one and here’s your chance.

Le Sillage Blanc by Parfums Dusita 2017

Le Sillage Blanc by Pissara Umavijani

Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Orange blossom, Neroli, Tobacco, Artemisia, Galbanum, Leather, Ambrette, Patchouli, Oakmoss

There has been a LOT of talk over the scentbloggosphere about Le Sillage Blanc, I’ll summarise by noting that the house has said they were inspired by Piguet Bandit. People are adding that it is also a kissing cousin of the Aromatics Elixir, Aramis and Cabochard triumvirate. Good, these are all fragrances I love so it will be interesting to see what a 21st century incarnation may smell like.

PDI

The opening is sharp and noxious, like weed poison. It’s so queer I’m immediately captivated and can’t stop smelling my freaky armed self. The greenness is of broken green leaves and slightly off vase water. Le Sillage Blanc’s got a not quite rightness about it that feels like it’s about to drop over the edge into unwearable but it skates nimbly around the edge. It’s on a knife edge whether it’s going to work or fail.

It takes minutes to skate safely into the realms of the beautiful, artisanal style of independent fragrance. Not for the faint hearted or those that have never ventured beyond the safety of the department store. Even against its kissing cousins Le Sillage Blanc is a tough mother. After the super spiky green opening it becomes dry, parched, as if quite suddenly I find myself in the Australian outback riding a camel under the burning sun and surrounded by red dirt with occasional shade created by a scraggly gum or rock ledge.

PDI

And dry it stays, dry and bitter like long lost regret and heartache. Only smoothing out slowly and becoming more comfortable as it melds with my skin scent and becomes ever so slightly human.

Further reading: Megan In St Maxime and Scenthurdle
LuckyScent has $205/50ml and Samples

Le Sillage Blanc GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

HOW DO YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please tell us in the comments if you love the chypre style and which of them particularly moves you or if you hate it and why?

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Wednesday 10th May 2017 10pm Australian EdsT and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Wednesday 17th May 2017 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

Miller et Berceaux GIVEAWAY WINNER

May 4, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Portia

Thanks APJ and Miller et Bertaux,

This was a really popular giveaway. Good luck.

Libertine has the range in Australia
Aedes has the range in the USA

Portia xxx

Miller et Berceaux GIVEAWAY WINNER

Fragrantica

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 1 winner who will receive:
1 x set of Carded Manufacturers Samples of the above
NB: The A Quiet Morning will be a decant from my bottle
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Wednesday 3rd May 2017 10pm Australian EdsT
Winner was chosen by random.org

Robert H.

The winners will have till Wednesday 10th May 2017 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

NEW! NEW! NEW! Miller et Bertaux

May 1, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 48 Comments

Portia

Hi there Fragrance Family,

One of the houses that flies under everyones radar is Miller et Bertaux. I really love their lack of trend following and general wearable outrageousness. From people so obviously Arty they work really well to create unusual, challenging, mood altering scents that also can be worn as a daily go-to. My personal thought is that spritz volume makes the difference. When I’m home alone sometimes I do 15 chest spritzes so they fumes engulf me, it’s really trippy. In the world though my usual 5 or 6 spritzes is ample, for some the openings could still be formidable.

At Esxence in Milan this year as I was wandering through the overwhelming tunnel of scent I spied the miller et Beaux stand. Fortuitously the gent manning it was available and I wanted to tell him how much I loved their work. When I’m overwhelmed my social ability goes right out the window and so I walked up and blurted out with zero preamble how much I loved their brand and that I’d paid retail for three of their scents, and also had a backup of A Quiet Morning because something so exquisitely me could never last. So this handsome smiling man offers me the newest bottle in their range, that they’re launching. Embarrassed, I declined but when he offered a full set of the Miller et Bertaux range samples I jumped, knowing you guys would LOVE to try them too.

There is a part of me that associates this fragrance house with what niche could have been if greed, laziness and cynicism didn’t become the overriding factors.

Libertine has the range in Australia
Aedes has the range in the USA

Here’s a snapshot of the ones I’m giving away today. Many reviews to follow.

Miller et Bertaux

Fragrantica

New Study/Postcard 2017: Opening citrus is air mail adventure, the hearts warm fig is the arrival and dry down is a woodsy/sweet-fig-milk that could be the postcard on the fridge in the kitchen that gets looked at and brings a smile.

A Quiet Morning 2008: This saffron, turmeric, woods fragrance doesn’t seem so new nearly 10 years from its inception but though the imitators have tried they miss the sheer effortlessness and comfort of wearing A Quiet Morning.

Shanti Shanti 2008: Shanti (from Sanskrit शान्तिः śāntiḥ) means peace, rest. Rose, iris, spices and sandalwood, all backed by patchouli. It opens so cool and dewy before sizzling through the heart to a creamy, earthbound base.

For You/Parfum Trouvé EdP 1 2006: Sweet and spicy like Indian cooking, yet a dewy rose keeps the whole fragrance cool. Once the woods flow through they stay focused and linear till dry down. The perfumes idea is to be a base/dry down.

Spiritus/Land EdP 2 2006: Ahhhh, new incense sticks, soap and spices. Clean without the well worn connotations of marine and citrus. Like the ghosts of Australian Aboriginal Dreamtime Spiritus/Land floats through and above the earth.

Green, Green, Green and Green EdP 3 2006: HA! Surprise, surprise this is a super green fragrance, yet through all the broken leaf and twig shines some soft focus florals and sweet herbs. A soaring green, like the birds smell at the top of trees.

Miller et Berceaux GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 1 winner who will receive:
1 x set of Carded Manufacturers Samples of the above
NB: The A Quiet Morning will be a decant from my bottle
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please tell us in the comments which of the above Miller et Bertaux scents most interested you?

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Wednesday 3rd May 2017 10pm Australian EdsT and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Wednesday 10th May 2017 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

Atelier des Ors GIVEAWAY WINNER

April 27, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 1 Comment

Portia

Het Crew,

You all are amazing. Thank you all so much for getting involved and being a part of the APJ family.

HUGE thanks also go to Megan In St Maxime who works for Atelier des Ors and gave me the set to give.
Portia xxx

Atelier des Ors GIVEAWAY WINNER

Fragrantica

Kate Apted

You have till Monday May 1st 2017 to get in touch [portia (underscore) turbo (at) yahoo (dot) com (dot) au] with your address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit

Atelier des Ors Sample Set

April 24, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 56 Comments

Portia

Hi there APJ,

On Friday a fortnight ago I wrote about the newest Atelier des Ors, Iris Fauve. The house is wonderful and Megan who is their PR woman gave me a full set of samples for one lucky APJ reader. So here’s a quick run down of each scent in the collection, then move on down to the GIVEAWAY section and have a go.

Good luck,
Portia xxx

Atelier des Ors Collection

Fragrantica

Aube Rubis by Atelier des Ors 2015

Top: Bergamot, Grapefruit, Black currant
Heart: Sage, Violet, Iris
Base: Patchouli, Haitian vetiver, Praliné

Cuir Sacré by Atelier des Ors 2015

Top: Juniper berry, Cardamom, Cypress
Heart: Frankincense, Saffron, Cedar leaf
Base: Vetiver, Cypriol, Leather

Opens with sharp woodsy incense, like a cold incense stick. Interesting hints of an Indian meal too and slightly soapy. Gosh, they never do anything by the book at Atelier des Ors. The range is happily skew wiff, a sideways slant on each major note. Interesting how they do that without making weird stuff, all extremely wearable. When the leather arrives it is softly and bound by a salted vetiver, like a posh handbag in an Indian restaurant at a temple by the sea. Lastly it sits at plush suede.

Larmes du Désert by Atelier des Ors 2015

Top: Elemi resin, Frankincense, Cypress
Heart: Patchouli, Gaiac wood, Cedarwood
Base: Citric notes, Benzoin, Wolfwood

The resins open sweet and churchy. Woods back this up and keep the whole fragrance grounded. I love this and think Tears of the Desert a perfect name, like the resinous sap tears of those dry, twisted shrubs that produce such exquisite fragrance.

Lune Feline by Atelier des Ors 2015

Top: Cinnamon, Cardamom, Pink pepper
Heart: Cypriol, Cedarwood, Styrax, Cachalox, Wolfwood
Base: Tahitian vanilla absolute, Peru balsam, Musk

Cardamom, vanilla and a softly sizzling pink pepper open. It’s a luxurious beauty and smells like it cost money to create. A smooth milky opaqueness with little hints of booze and greenery. A light fizziness gives me memories of ice-cream spiders when I was a kid.

Rose Omeyyade by Atelier des Ors 2015

Top: Pink pepper, Rosebud, Raspberry
Heart: Patchouli, Gaiac wood, Brown sugar
Base: Sandalwood, Oud, Amber

A very interesting gourmand, fruity rose backed by a deep and mysterious oriental oud base. Clever and beautiful. The patchouli is that interesting clean plastic variety and it usually makes me squirm but here it is so perfectly and precariously balanced that I just want to sniff more and more and more. Excellent.

Go see the Atelier des Ors, Iris Fauve post if you want too.

Atelier des Ors Sample Set GIVEAWAY

CLOSED Thursday April 27 8am AEST

Bois d’Oud GIVEAWAY WINNERS

April 20, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 1 Comment

Portia

Hey crew,

Thanks so much to Louis from Detail for his generosity. Very excited to be doing a giveaway of this lovely juice.
Portia xxx

Bois d’Oud GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Agarwood (oud), bergamot, labdanum
Heart: Saffron, cedar
Base: Tobacco, agarwood (oud), cedar, patchouli

Detaille has €90/50ml

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 2 winners who will receive:
1 x 10ml decant of Bois d’Oud by Detaille
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Wednesday 19th April 2017 10pm Australian EdsT
Winners were chosen by random.org

JackieB

Fanny

The winners will have till Wednesday 26th April 2017 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

Bois d’Oud by Detaille 2014 + GIVEAWAY

April 17, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 16 Comments

Portia

Hey APJers,

You may remember that I met the owner of Detail and his wife at the Milan hotel we stayed in for Esxence? Louis and his wife Christine. He was so sweet and passionate about their fragrances. Even made one of the newest range especially for Christine, with her involvement. She was wearing it to breakfast so proudly.

As we chattered over breakfast about his company Louis told me that they’d released some new fragrances recently. I tried a couple but the one I liked for me was Bois d’Oud. He gave me a bottle right there on the spot and Jin & I have both enjoyed wearing it since then.

Bois d’Oud by Detaille 2014

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Agarwood (oud), bergamot, labdanum
Heart: Saffron, cedar
Base: Tobacco, agarwood (oud), cedar, patchouli

As I was wearing Bois d’Oud I was telling him what I thought I smelled. Synth oud, loads of pencil shaving cedar, honey & patchouli. Well, I was almost all correct and Louis was thrilled that I had been able to place some notes. Really he was a complete gent.

Bois d’Oud opens with a lightly fecal synth oudh that quickly calms into a animalic, creamy, resinous labdanumwith only hints of the oudishness. Very nice, comfortable, easy. Then the cedar mines in underneath and you can smell it almost rising through thew scent to become front & centre. It’s beautifully played and smells good to me.

As the hours pass the tobacco, which smells delightfully honeyed and browned, and patchouli float through. Patchouli is pretty clean, no headshop shenanigans going on here and all backed by a soft blur of creamy oud. Smooth, the whole fragrance is very smooth.

It’s a nice, wearable, synth oud. Not too skanky, won’t scare the Grandmas or the teens away, and has a very comfortable wear. Bois d’Oud is not a groundbreaking perfume, won’t challenge the wearer and is at the cleaner end of the oud spectrum. It is a very nice version of what it does though.

Detaille has €90/50ml

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 2 winners who will receive:
1 x 10ml decant of Bois d’Oud by Detaille
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please tell us your current favourite woods or oud fragrance?

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Wednesday 19th April 2017 10pm Australian EdsT and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Wednesday 26th April 2017 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