COMPETITION

La Favorite by Fabrice Pellegrin for Dear Rose 2014

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 15 Comments

Hey there APJ Crew,

La Favorite is one of six fragrances releases in 2014 by new fragrance house Dear Rose. The two women who own the company are a mother/daughter team. Chantal, the mother, has worked at the top of the beauty pyramid in Yves Saint Laurent, Issey Mayake and Jean Paul Gaultier and was in control when such blockbusters as Opium, Kouros, Paris, Jazz, L’eau d’Issey and Le Male were brought to life. This is a serious player with a real knowledge of what sells. Alexandra, the daughter, has a history in music. two creatives together making fragrance.

La Favorite Dear Rose Chantal AlexanraPhoto Stolen Dear Rose

La Favorite by Fabrice Pellegrin for Dear Rose 2014

La Favorite Dear Rose FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Pink pepper, saffron, oud, patchouli

I was given a fabulous Dear Rose Press Sample Set by Nick from Libertine Parfumerie a while ago and life has been so freaking hectic that I’m only getting to them now.

La Favorite is a rose oudh with a twinkle of pepper and a little soft smoothness provided by saffron. I’m pretty sure there’s some citrus and geranium up the top too. Not nearly as in your face as the Montale oudhs, not even as hefty as Juliette Has A Gun’s Midnight Oud, here we have a safe oudh, a mainstream offering that will give a lovely thrill of the harem and a reserved nod to the Middle East to those that love the idea but from the distance of a painting, reading about it in a book or sitting in an armchair watching the Discovery Channel.

This is only the mildest medicinal oudh and I think those that have problems with the note could find La Favorite an excellent gateway frag, the spicy, slightly fruity red rose that’s so dark it verges on purple in La Favorite is beautiful though. There is also a lovely hint of cut rose branches, not the stem for flowers but pruning at midwinter. The patchouli down the back is clean and I get a white musk & amber vibe too but that could be my super sweet skin.

Projection is excellent, one spritz on the back of my hand tonight and not even 5 minutes later my BFF Kath walked into my office and said “Oooh, that’s very nice. What is it?”. So you can put La Favorite on the crowd-pleaser list too because every time I wear it (only three times so far) there have been compliments. Though La Favorite is not a BIG fragrance it does change the air around you and I think is probably too noticeable for work but for everything else I say Go For It. It lasts for hours, I can wear it to work and then sleep and still smell remnants in the morning.

Further reading: Candy Perfume Boy and BaseNotes
Libertine Parfumerie has $210/100ml with FREE Australian postage
First In Fragrance has €125/100ml

Have you tried the Dear Rose line yet? Have you been frightened of oudh before? Coulfd this be your gateway frag?
Portia xx

giveaway TheTruthAboutMummyPhoto Stolen TheTruthAboutMummy

La Favorite GIVEAWAY!

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x sample La Favorite by Dear Rose
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 (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 comment with any rose fragrance in your collection and why you love it

Extra Chance?
Tweet:  La Favorite by Dear Rose    

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 19th March 2015 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Thursday 26th March 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.

Moon Dance GIVEAWAY WINNERS

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 3 Comments

Hi There APJ Family,

Great turn out for this beautiful scent. Thanks again to the incredible Nick at Libertine Parfumerie for his continuing generosity and support. He does so much to keep niche going in Australia. Please, even if you don’t enter today’s competition, go and have a look at the amazing fragrant beauties that Libertine Parfumerie has for sale, you will be astounded. Lately Nick’s buying power has become so good that some (not all) of his products are the same numerical value as you would buy them for in the USA, that means with the current Aussie dollar that they are in fact 15-20% cheaper!!! AMAZING! Also any purchase over $100 gets FREE shipping within Australia.

Let’s find out who won….
Portia xx

Moon Dance GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Moon Dance Juliette Has A Gun FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot
Heart: Tuberose, rose, violet
Base: Patchouli

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week we will have 3 winners who will receive:
1 x 10ml decant of Moon Dance by Juliette Has A Gun (from my broken Press bottle)
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.

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Tell me a Juliette Has A Gun story or a new fragrance that speaks to you of the past glory of perfumery.

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Moon Dance: Juliette Has A Gun #GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-3H9 #Perfume @signoricci @JulietteHasaGun

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 15th March 2015 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org

Winners thegarfieldshow-diaryPhoto Stolen thegarfieldshow-diary

SunMiSun (via Twitter)

Willa

Sherry Parker

The winners will have till Thursday 19th March 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.

Moon Dance by Juliette Has A Gun 2014

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 28 Comments

Hey there Frag Family,

We got to spend the afternoon with the gorgeous Romano Ricci today. He was handsome, rumpled, friendly and flirty. Who are we? Ainslie Walker and Catherine de Peloux Menage from APJ, Clayton Ilolahia from What Men Should Smell Like and Yelena from BeautyDirectory. Nick was there from Libertine Parfumerie because he imports JHaG to Australia and the great girls of ÉLYSÉE COLLECTIVE promotions.

Romano Ricci Sydney 2 3.15

We were the last group of the afternoon and it was champagne all round, a fun and friendly vibe and Romano was very happy to have a group who knew fragrance and could talk intelligently with him on his subject. Our half hour stretched into one and a half hours and we had a wonderful time. Romano Ricci is charming, so freaking charming.

Moon Dance by Juliette Has A Gun 2014

Moon Dance by Romano Ricci

Moon Dance Juliette Has A Gun FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot
Heart: Tuberose, rose, violet
Base: Patchouli

Released in 2014 and created by Romano Ricci with a little help from his friends Moon Dance, and its 2013 sister Oil Fiction, is so far sideways to the Juliette Has A Gun aesthetic that I’m surprised he didn’t start a new brand line rather than calling it the Luxury Collection. I’ve always felt that the Juliette Has A Gun label was heavily marketed to working Goths, a dark edged house with well put together and presented fragrances. I have slightly missed Romano’s point though. He tells us that he wanted Juliette to stand for the ill fated Shakespearean heroine and the gun to be her polar opposite but when working together create a new, powerful woman for which such tragedy could be avoided. My limited experience though tells me that a world without guns would be a better place.

Romano Ricci Sydney 1 3.15

When I spritz the bergamot fizzes off in an instant and I have a lush, slightly metallic bouquet with a waxy overtone that I would normally associate with saffron or orange blossom. My skin plays silly buggers with fragrance as you may know and even Romano was surprised how his fragrances live on my skin. What Moon Dance does smell is expensive and elegant, a nocturnal wander through the dream of an island paradise. The tuberose is fatty and yet the rose makes it crisp, the violets play a very lovely background, all is underpinned by animal and I am in paradise. The modern patchouli is sheer and I get very little of the murky depths that I often associate with it, here it is bathed in moonlight and twined through with night blooming flowers that call their seductive siren song. Moon Dance is the call of the temptress: a fairy queen that beguiles and calls to you through her glamour to come die in her embrace as she feeds off your spirit. Irresisistable, you will gladly succumb.

Moon Dance Juliette Has A Gun evil_queen d_godknows DeviantArtPhoto Stolen DeviantArt

Further reading: Grain de Musc and Colognoisseur
LuckyScent has $285/75ml
Libertine Parfumerie has $350/75ml with FREE Australian Shipping!

Are you ready to be tempted by the newest of the luxury Collection for Juliette Has A Gnu? The incredible Nick at Libertine Parfumerie gave me a bottle that had been dropped and the spritzer broken, it was the work of a moment to wrestle the top off and decant for you all to have a chance at winning some below.
Portia xx

Save From YouTube giveaway 4Photo Stolen YouTube

Moon Dance GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 3 winners who will receive:
1 x 10ml decant of Moon Dance by Juliette Has A Gun (from my broken Press bottle)
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

Tell me a Juliette Has A Gun story or a new fragrance that speaks to you of the past glory of perfumery.

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Moon Dance: Juliette Has A Gun #GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-3H9 #Perfume @signoricci @JulietteHasaGun

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 15th March 2015 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Thursday 19th March 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.

 

 

 

Olfactif: Synesthesia GIVEAWAY WINNER!

/ australianperfumejunkiescom

Hiya APJ

Great response for this giveaway. Can’t wait to see who won.

Special thanks to the generous gang at Olfactif .
Portia xx

Olfactif logo

SPECIAL Olfactics Deal

If you are not a winner you can still purchase the February collection. Beginning today Olfactif will be offering past collections as part of a special promotion lasting through the end of March 2015.

Azar xx

Olfactif: Synesthesia GIVEAWAY WINNER!

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x Tara Swords, founder of Olfactif, has generously provided one “Smelling in Color and Texture” collection
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 (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 comment on any of today’s reviewed fragrances or tell us about your own synesthetic experiences

Extra Chance?
Tweet:  Olfactif      

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Thursday 12th March 2015 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org

winner-is HighestSelfPhoto Stolen HighestSelf

SCAR

The winners has till Thursday 19th March 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.

Olfactif logo

Olfactif: Synesthesia: Smelling in Color and Texture

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 43 Comments

.

Post by Azar

.

Hello APJ,

I subscribe to Olfactif and genuinely look forward to receiving three generous, neatly packaged samples every month. The February Olfactif Collection, “Smelling in Color and Texture”, suggests how synesthetic experience relates to scent. Years of living with this issue have convinced me that we all suffer (or enjoy) some degree of synesthesia.

Olfactif: Synesthesia: Smelling in Color and Texture

Tokyo Bloom by Emilie Copperman for The Different Company 2012

Tokyo Bloom The Different Company FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Basil, galbanum, dandelion, black currant Heart: Jasmine, cyclamen petals
Base: Guaiac wood, musk, amber

Azar’s Perceived Notes:
Top: Sweet basil, Ivory soap, dry synthetic wood.
Heart: Jasmine.
Base: Thin, light musk, a passing reference to dandelion

Olfactif’s Colors/Textures: Green grass and velvety dandelions.

Azar’s Colors/Textures: Transparent blue-green drying to pale chartreuse with the feel of, well…air…

Tokyo Bloom is listed as cologne and is one of the shortest-lived colognes I have ever come across! Six inches of projected sillage, lasting for 20 minutes or less, left me totally frustrated. I kept spraying more juice hoping for some small measure of satisfaction. I finally gave up, washed up and lo and behold – vague dandelions, if only for a brief moment. For me Tokyo Bloom promises but never quite delivers; cologne designed, perhaps, for the very faint of heart?

Roma Imperiale by Bertrand Duchaufour for Profumi del Forte 2008

Roma Imperiale Profumi del Forte FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, cinnamon, coriander seeds, rosewood, tangerine, tomato leaves
Heart: Iris butter, jasmine absolute, orchid, seringa (Melia azedarach/chinaberry blossoms), Turkish rose essence, ylang-ylang
Base: Grey amber, oak moss, sandal, vanilla

Azar’s Perceived Notes:
Top: Coriander seed, tangerine, tomato leaf
Heart: Iris, jasmine, magnolia blossom
Base: Vanilla, amber

Olfactif’s Colors/Textures: White, silk chiffon.

Azar’s Colors/Textures: Iridescent silk chiffon, contrasting cool and warm tones – glowing white, pink tangerine, a touch of sea green.

Roma Imperiale has a polite, satisfying sillage and a solid ten-hour longevity. It develops slowly on my skin, like a casual languorous tryst on a warm summer afternoon (“If you were here, in this white room, in this hotel, whose hinges stay hot, even in the wind off the sea…”Derek Walcott). Need I say more?

Memoirs Of A Trespasser by Josh Meyer for Imaginary Authors 2012

Memoirs Of A Trespasser Imaginary Authors FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Madagascar vanilla, guaiac wood, myrrh, benzoin resin, ambrette seed, oak barrels

Azar’s Perceived Notes:
Campfire smoke, burnt marshmallows, fire ash, dry wood, vanilla, booze.

Olfactif’s Colors/Textures: Rich browns and old leather books.

Azar’s Colors/Textures: Dry browns, crisp blacks, scorched marshmallows crackling and gooey, rough sawn firewood.

Memoirs of a Trespasser begins near a smoky campfire. The moderate sillage surrounds and permeates my skin. After an hour the burnt offerings morph to vanilla and booze, fading over five hours to a rugged version of M. Micallef’s M. Micallef.

SPECIAL Olfactics Deal

If you are not a winner you can still purchase the February collection. Beginning today Olfactif will be offering past collections as part of a special promotion lasting through the end of March 2015.

Azar xx

Giveaway Time sassisamblogPhoto Stolen sassisamblog

Olfactif: Synesthesia GIVEAWAY!

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x Tara Swords, founder of Olfactif, has generously provided one “Smelling in Color and Texture” collection
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 (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 comment on any of today’s reviewed fragrances or tell us about your own synesthetic experiences

Extra Chance?
Tweet:  Olfactif      

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 12th March 2015 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Thursday 19th March 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.

 

Arpege Parfum (Vintage) GIVEAWAY WINNER!

/ australianperfumejunkiescom

Thanks APJers,

I’m glad to see you get involved for a vintage frag, and such a lovely one too. Let’s see who won.

Portia xx

Arpege Parfum (Vintage) GIVEAWAY WINNER!

Arpege Parfum Lanvin FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, aldehydes, peach, orange bloom, honeysuckle, orris
Heart: Rose, jasmine, ylang-ylang, coriander, sensitive plant, tuberose, violet, geranium
Base: Sandalwood, vetiver, patchoulis, vanilla, musk

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x Arpege Parfum (Vintage) sample
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.

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Tell me an Arpege memory? Do you have one? Any scent your Aunties wore then?

Extra Chance?
Tweet: Arpege Parfum (Vintage)     

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 8th March 2015 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org

winner nodepositforumPhoto Stolen nodepositforum

FlowerGirlBee!

The winners will have till Thursday 12th March 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.

Arpege Parfum (Vintage) by Andre Fraysse for Lanvin 1927

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 13 Comments

Heya Scented Sniffers,

I bought this bottle from Odona on Etsy. They are reasonably priced and when one of their frags had leaked about 70% of its contents in transit they gave me a refund on it. They are very nice people and their frags are fabulous.

Arpege Parfum (Vintage) by Andre Fraysse for Lanvin 1927

Arpege Parfum Lanvin FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, aldehydes, peach, orange bloom, honeysuckle, orris
Heart: Rose, jasmine, ylang-ylang, coriander, sensitive plant, tuberose, violet, geranium
Base: Sandalwood, vetiver, patchoulis, vanilla, musk

Arpege, I know that it was worn by some of the Aunties but it was definitely seen as being for the younger or quieter of them when I was growing up. The louder or more mature were wearing Giorgio, Shalimar, No 5 and Poison. Sometimes, though the memory is faint, I do remember seeing the famously ridged glass atomiser bottle with the black bakelite cap come out of purses for resprays. There is something very soft, and soft focus, about the Eau of Arpege. Today though I would like to chat about the parfum.

Arpege Parfum Lanvin Berthe_Morisot Young_Girl_in_a_Ball_Gown WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

I think my top notes are about to turn, they are a good deal less sparkling and radiant than they should be, but less than a minute in the gorgeous thick and rich scent comes alive, so many aldehydes that it’s almost oily in its intensity. Fruity and thick like the syrup from a can of peaches but more pronounced, more effervescent and way more lavish. A thick sinuous rope of fragrance that is hefty enough to lift you up and carry you away.

Multi-faceted Arpege parfum, so many flowers and fruits, herbs and aldehydes all mixed together in a less sophisticated bouquet than CHANEL No 5 but giving a girlish laugh, nod and wink in its direction. Fascinating in its various hues and gilded like a Klimt painting, imagine the perfumer looking at this one of Adele Bloch Bauer 20 years after it was created and Jeannie Lanvin asking the perfumer to recreate it in scent. And that’s what we have, a big fragrance by today’s standards that is filled to the brim with beautiful notes yet lives as one perfectly cohesive and elegant fragrance.

Arpege Parfum Lanvin Adele Bloch Bauer Gustav Klimt Krishna FlickrPhoto Stolen Flickr

After the fireworks of the opening subside and we are well into the heart of this vintage Arpege parfum I find myself transported back to my youth and cuddling some of the Aunties who smelled so fabulous.

I only dab so I’m not ridiculously fragrant but I a sweetly perfumed and would be a bit overwhelming in most modern workplaces I think. Though this is so good and lasts so long that I think it would be an excellent day out frag, you’d still be smelling gorgeous even after a huge day of picnics, art galleries or shopping. I have been dabbing myself on Saturdays as we continue the search for our new home and it is a welcome relief from some of the smells we’ve encountered along the way.

Further reading: Now Smell This and Non Blonde
My Perfume Samples has current EdP $6/5ml
Vintage Arpege Extrait is still widely available on Ebay & Etsy

Portia xx

Giveaway Kesha&CoPhoto Stolen Kesha&Co

Arpege Parfum (Vintage) GIVEAWAY!

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x Arpege Parfum (Vintage) sample
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

Tell me an Arpege memory? Do you have one? Any scent your Aunties wore then?

Extra Chance?
Tweet: Arpege Parfum (Vintage)     

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 8th March 2015 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Thursday 12th March 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.

 

 

Néroli & Orchidée by L`Occitane GIVEAWAY WINNERS!

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 5 Comments

Hey Hey APJ!

As always we are thrilled to have been able to host this lavish GIVEAWAY with our super generous friends at L’Occitane. If you haven’t yet then please trot down to your nearest L’Occitane stare, I promise you’ll find something to love.

Portia xx

Néroli & Orchidée by L`Occitane en Provence

GIVEAWAY WINNERS!

Néroli & Orchidée L`Occitane en Provence 1 FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Orange, mandarin
Heart: Neroli, lily of the valley, fig milk, peach
Base: Madagascar orchid absolute, iris, musk

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week we will have 4 winners who will each get:
1 x 75ml bottle of Néroli & Orchidée by L’Occitane (Australians will get a special surprise extra)
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.

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please go to L’Occitane and find me a fragrance and one of its notes. NO DOUBLE UPS!!!

Extra Chance?
Tweet: Neroli & Orchidee    http://wp.me/p3PURw-3E6

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closd Sunday 1st March 2015 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org

winners-are prospectsplusPhoto stolen prospectsplus

Chris Hartnett

Erica Golding (via Twitter)

Katherine Mittas

Jaybee

CONGRATULATIONS! The winners will have till Thursday 5th March 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.

Pichola by Neela Vermeire Creations 2015

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 20 Comments

Hey Hey APJ,

Guess what arrived in the mail Friday morning!! Neela has sent me a sample! WOW! WOW! WOW!

Pichola by Neela Vermeire Creations 2015

Pichola with Bertrand Duchaufour

Pichola Neela Vermeire Creations fragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Cardamom, cinnamon, saffron, juniper, magnolia, neroli oil, clementine, bergamot
Heart: Orange blossom absolute, rose absolute, tuberose absolute, sambac jasmine, ylang-ylang
Base: Benzoin absolute, sandalwood , driftwood, Haiti vetiver

As you may know India is somewhere I have spent a lot of time, 15 visits so far and hopefully back there again in 2016. Of all the beautiful, magical, amazing spots that my last partner Varun and I saw (and BFF Kath too in 2008) Udaipur is right up there in my Top 3 beside McLeodgang (where the Dalai Lama is in exile) and Agra (where the Taj Mahal is). When we stay in Udaipur we stay in the Taj Hotels Lake Palace on Lake Pichola. It’s pretty close to heaven. When Kath & I stayed in 2008 we were upgraded to a gorgeous, water view suite with 3 rooms. Incredible.

Pichola Neela Vermeire Creations Udaipur_Lake_Palace WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

From Wikipedia: …built between 1743- 1746 under the direction of the Maharana Jagat Singh II (62nd successor to the royal dynasty of Mewar) of Udaipur, Rajasthan as a royal summer palace and was initially called Jagniwas or Jan Niwas after its founder.  The palace was constructed facing east, allowing its inhabitants to pray to the Surya, the Hindu sun god, at the crack of dawn. The successive rulers used this cool haven as their summer resort, holding their regal durbars in its courtyards lined with columns, pillared terraces, fountains and gardens.

Neela has worked with Bertrand Duchaufour to recreate the play of light across the waters of Lake Pichola, the luxurious feeling of being part of the majestic history of India’s Maharajas yet with all the mod-cons that make current day life comfortable. Water in the desert, which Udaipur’s state Rajasthan is, is not just beautiful it is life. Twice, that I know of, since the turn of the century Lake Pichola has been bone dry with crops and livestock growing.

I have only had one wear of Pichola but I will say that is you love white flowers then Pichola is going to blow you away.

I will review Pichola in the next week or so after I have worn it a couple of times and have a real feel for its loveliness. Does it remind me of Lake Pichola? Well it certainly is as rich and luxurious as staying at the Lake Palace.

Neela will be revealing Pichola in Milan. I wish I was coming to hang with you all there.

Portia xx

Néroli & Orchidée by L`Occitane en Provence!

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 32 Comments
Hey Crew,
As you may already know one of my mates is on the marketing team for L’Occitane Australia. We often get together to chat about the world of fragrance, beauty and L’Occitane (we also chat about heaps of other stuff but none, or very little, printable HA!) and how the crew at L’Occitane have repositioned the company and its products in the last decade or so. From what was a small, provincial French company making really good products on a small scale to a huge brand that has really good recognisability the world over and stores in around 60 countries. They have tried to stay true to their great product, reasonable price credo and I think they’ve largely achieved that too.
One of the things that L’Occitane really wanted to do this decade was take their fragrances to the next level. That’s how La Collection de Grasse came into being with perfumer Karine Dubreuil. Designed to be easy wear, casual fragrances that are better smelling and filled with more expensive ingredients than their price competitors. In Australia a 75ml bottle of the La Collection de Grasse fragrances is around $80. As a comparison at David Jones online $80 will buy you 30ml Versace Bright Crystal, Armani Acqua di Goia or Belle d’Opium, 50ml Crabtree & Evelyn Evelyn Rose, Tommy Hilfiger Tommy Girl or Gucci Flora By GUCCI.  I think La Collection de Grasse as good or better than these mainstream offerings and you get more juice. Win win.

Néroli & Orchidée by L`Occitane en Provence

Néroli & Orchidée L`Occitane en Provence 1 FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Orange, mandarin
Heart: Neroli, lily of the valley, fig milk, peach
Base: Madagascar orchid absolute, iris, musk

Néroli & Orchidée opens bright and fresh, a crisp citrus with a slight pithy undertone. If it reminds me of anything it is a Guerlain Aqua Allegoria, the same pretty and energetic opening so summery and lively. Suitable for young girls, mums and grandmas Néroli & Orchidée seems happy and uplifting, also excellent for the gents. I could imagine it being a go-to fragrance for the warmer weather or when the dreary greys and cold days of winter are starting to get you down, then Néroli & Orchidée would be a fabulous panacea.

Through the fruity floral heart L’Occitane has cleverly kept it bright but left out the sugar hit so many modern frags have, I would love to try it in a more concentrated parfum form. The base is a soft, furry wash that smells clean and fresh. Nothing terribly groundbreaking here and the die hard perfumistas will be bored but Néroli & Orchidée is definitely good value and you will smell great.

Portia xx

AllSteele giveaway 1Photo Stolen AllSteele

Néroli & Orchidée by L`Occitane GIVEAWAY!

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 4 winners who will each get:
1 x 75ml bottle of Néroli & Orchidée by L’Occitane (Australians will get a special surprise extra)
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 go to L’Occitane and find me a fragrance and one of its notes. NO DOUBLE UPS!!!

Extra Chance?
Tweet: Neroli & Orchidee    http://wp.me/p3PURw-3E6

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 1st March 2015 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Thursday 5th March 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.