DIOR Giveaway Winners

June 8, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Hiya APJ Frag Family,

Seems we hit a jackpot with a giveaway you all really loved. I’m glad.

Let’s see who scored.

Portia xx

DIOR Giveaway Winners

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x Fève Délicieuse + Cuir Cannage + Oud Ispahan DIOR manufacturers samples
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 tell us a favorite DIOR fragrance, from any of their ranges and any vintage

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Christian DIOR Privée GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-330 #Perfume #Giveaway @Dior

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 7th June 2015 10pm Australian EST
Winner was chosen by random.org

Photo Stolen HighestSelf

TIM

CONGRATULATIONS!! The winner will have till Thursday 11th June 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.

Bright Lipstick for EVERYONE!

June 7, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 33 Comments

Post by A F Beauty

Hi APJ,

I have been on this planet many years but in that time, I’ve never really cemented my relationship with lipstick. I have tried multiple variations, colours and brands. A few months back I was a maid of honour at a wedding and the bride asked me to bring a lipstick that I could wear for the day, or I could buy one from the makeup artist. I knew I had a few lippies on the go, so I gather them all to take with me so all eventualities were covered. I counted them; I have over 60 lipsticks!! With that many you’d think I was wearing lippy every day, but I’m not – I still struggle with colours and textures, things like how long it’ll wear, how it matches my clothes, my skin tone. Of all make up, this is my nemesis!

So it’s odd, you’ll be thinking, that I would choose to write about lipstick, but I’ve had a bit of an angels singing moment when it comes to lippy, so I thought I would share.
Last year on Australian TV a couple of twins on a cooking show would appear nightly with some variation of THE brightest lipstick I’ve ever seen and instead of thinking about the food, I’m thinking, “Why can’t I wear lipstick like that without looking like a clown. Harrumph!”

Bright Lipstick for EVERYONE!

Fast forward a few months and I’m celebrating my birthday and want to look lovely for the day, recalling that cooking show, I think to myself, “Dammit! I’m going to buy a new lippy to celebrate!” I wasn’t brave enough to head to a luxury store to buy a delicious lipstick, Chanel and Tom Ford stand out in my mind as future purchases! No, I was in Target, glamorama (!), I found a L’Oreal Colour Riche lipstick in shade Raspberry Rush. I put it on and I LOVE IT!! I swear heavenly trumpets played and angels sang.

Creamy texture, bright colour, texture not too soft, colour not quite pink, not quite red, not quite orange! For all occasions it has become my go-to lipstick, it is soft enough to apply lightly for work, or apply strongly for a night out. And since then, I’ve ventured more into colours and brightness, Maybelline ColorSensational in 904, Vivid Rose – bright but amazing and several of Revlon’s Lip Butters, a great first leap into colour, soft in texture but with varying colours – a gateway lipstick!

I thoroughly recommend you all to try just one bright lipstick – not just because I suggest it, but because… now this is our secret… people treat you differently. I know, I sound like a mental case and I’m prepared to be shouted down, but I feel people in shops are more engaging, the bus driver acknowledges me and the people at work – well I can tell they are bursting to comment.

Photo Stolen Flickr

I’d love to know your favourite lipstick, are you bold enough to try colour? Have you had an angels singing moment?
A F Beauty XX

Portia’s 15 Must Smell Fragrances + Coupon Code!

June 7, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Hey Hey APJ,

It would make me extremely happy if you’d jump on over and check out the newest post on My Perfume Samples. Writing for My Perfume Samples has given me a really great new outlet for fragrance writing and this fortnight we decided to think about some of the most important, or best in category, fragrances that have maintained a lot of what they were originally famous for. Obviously some have changed a bit over time due to cost, availability and regulation of components but here are 15 fragrances we believe that are still excellent reference points.

There is also a huge $15 DISCOUNT CODE

Portia’s 15 Must Smell Fragrances + Coupon Code!

So please jump across and check the list out on My Perfume Samples<<JUMP. Leave a message with something you think should be there or a favourite from the group so we can have a bit of a natter about it, I’ll be dropping in regularly over the next week to answer any and all comments.

Be well, waft on.
Portia xx

Rumba by Jean-Claude Ellena and Ron Winnegrad for Balenciaga/Ted Lapidus 1988

June 6, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 13 Comments

Post by Anne-Marie

Got a spare $20 or $30? Spend it on Rumba. Stop reading this review and go do it. Tell them Anne-Marie sent you.

Still here? Want the full story? Well, Rumba is a complicated fragrance to review. Although it was released by Balanciaga in 1988 (or 1989, according to some sources), the rights were later bought by Ted Lapidus and the fragrance is now packaged (identically) under that name. I don’t know when the switch occurred; less than 10 years ago, deducing from various online reviews.

Rumba by Balenciaga/Ted Lapidus 1988

Rumba by Jean-Claude Ellena and Ron Winnegrad

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured notes:
Top: Bergamot, plum, basil, peach, orange blossom, raspberry, mirabelle
Heart: Honey, jasmine, tuberose, carnation, heliotrope, magnolia, gardenia, lily-of-the-valley, orchid, marigold, rose
Base: Ambergris, vanilla, leather, tonka bean, patchouli, musk, sandalwood, cedar, plum, styrax, oakmoss

I’m reviewing the Lapidus version. The notes are almost identical (mirabelle, ambergris and rose are added). I have not smelled the Balenciaga, so please comment if you have compared them. From reviews, it sounds as if the Lapidus team opened a window to let some fresh air to circulate between the notes. I’m glad of that, because even the Lapidus is one helluva fragrance.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

Spraying Rumba is like letting the 1980s out of a bottle. Hop over to Spotify and pull up a 1980s playlist. That. At opening, intensely cooked fruit is modified – very interestingly – by a damp herbal accord (bergamot and basil). The next phase is not so pleasing. I get a harsh and, well, vulgar white flower accord, tuberose in particular, typical of the era. Oakmoss is supposed to be a basenote, but dear God! Here it is already.

Eventually Rumba calms down, and although it’s been fun, I’m glad. I can’t listen to Bonnie Tyler and Def Leppard all night, sorry. Vanilla is NOT a note I love unreservedly but here, unsweetened, it is wonderfully balanced with dry, smoky, leathery notes. So it’s goodbye to the 1980s, and hello to today’s niche/experimental style of fragrance. (And how much of that can you get for under $40?)

Photo Stolen WikiCommons

Rumba is an unsubtle scent; not a morning fragrance at all, really. Apply it in moderation in the afternoon, well before leaving the house, and it will take you into evening and on until the following morning.

Further reading: Now Smell This and Bois de Jasmin
FragranceNet has $23/100ml before coupon

I suspect that Rumba is often treated as an historical curiosity, more talked about than worn. Because yes, it was co-developed by Jean-Claude Ellena, famous now for his elusive, delicate etudes for Hermes. But give Rumba some skin time, judge it on its merits, and have fun!

Anne-Marie XXX

Fragrance Inspired Cocktail Recipes #1

June 6, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 6 Comments

Post by Ainslie Walker

Fragrance Inspired Cocktail Recipes

Hope you have a lovely weekend planned. I have some scent inspired cocktail recipes to help you on your merry way!

These delicious cocktails I tasted recently in Melbourne at Galerie de Parfum’s Cocktail and Perfume Masterclass in Myers Melbourne. Mixologist Justin Ryann Forsyth has been extremely generous giving me access to the recipes for his own scent cocktail creations.

Fragrance Inspired Cocktail Recipes #1

My recent APJ post shared with you the Empressa cocktail, inspired by Penhaligon’s new fragrance for the season

Today I will share some lovely winter warmers, perfect for a cozy evening:

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

1270 by Frapin

You can read Portia’s APJ 1270 review, which first alerted me to one of my now favorite fragrances

30 ml Drambuie
15 ml glenmorangie 10 yr scotch whisky
15 ml Lillet Rouge
3 dashes plum bitters

Add all ingredients to mixing glass, and then fill up with ice. Using a bar spoon, begin to stir the drink quickly, being careful not to break any ice. Stir until desired dilution is reached, then double strain into a coupette or similar short glass. Garnish with a dash of orange bitters or orange peel if desired. We didn’t do this for the presentation, but as a cocktail itself, the orange really brings it together.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Loukhoum by Keiko Mecheri

I fell in love with Loukhoulm during the Myers/Galerie de Parfum masterclass evening (and the moment was photographed, unbeknownst to me). For me it is smooth, sensual and womanly. Summed up, it is vanilla-almond-honey-rose notes, inspired by Turkish delight, which is far from my usual fragrance choices. However Loukoulm is much more than a sweet mess, having depth, warmth and providing some immediate comfort. The “comforting” component may be down to an almost Johnston’s and Johnston’s baby powder/oil-esque note….but far more deluxe. Loukoulm hugged close to my skin and was still there many hours later. Much creamier and deeper than other Turkish delight inspired fragrances such as Jo Malone Rose Water and Vanilla Cologne. There is the hint of the rose and iris smells of makeup -now so trendy with the release of Chanel’s Misia-but this is rounded and less screechy in its rose notes. Mixed in with almond nuttiness, the smell of hawthorn, one of my favorite cool weather notes. Something motherly and beautifully warm.

I would love to wear this on a date, as I am sure it would be perfect for an intimate candlelit dinner for two….followed with the following cocktail for dessert:

15 ml Crème de Cacao (or desired chocolate liqueur)
15 ml Cherry Heering liqueur
15 ml Amaretto
10 ml Monin Orgeat Syrup
5 ml Campari
2 dashes Fee Bro’s orange bitters
Egg white (optional)

Combine all ingredients in cocktail shaker, and shake hard until all ingredients have combined evenly. Double strain into a chilled coupette or similar short glass. If using egg white, wet shake as above, then double strain into another shaker, then shake without ice to create a thick white foam. When finished, garnish with a cherry and 3 dashes Bob’s chocolate bitters.

Enjoy your weekend!

Xx Ainslie

DIOR: Fève Délicieuse + Cuir Cannage + Oud Ispahan

June 5, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 62 Comments

Hi there Perfume Junkies.

The other day Ainslie Walker trotted into DIOR flagship store in Sydney, while there and chatting to our fave DIOR SA Jolanta they started talking about APJ and Jolanta asked where I’d been hiding. So between them they cooked up an idea to get me the newest DIOR releases in their fabulous miniature bottles, which are scale to the real deal. I think they hold 5 or 8ml which is heaps for becoming addicted to their delicious juices. When I went to see Jolanta myself a couple of heavy duty DIOR shoppers came in so we didn’t really get to say more than Hello & Goodbye but I’m going to go in very early one day and have a natter.

DIOR Privée

Francois Demachy has created these beauties for the Privée range. Though not astoundingly new or highly envelope-pushingly-original what I love about the DIOR Privée range is their cool and classic classiness, beautifully blended and nuanced fragrances that fit into my life seamlessly. Sometimes I wish I was a one frag kinda guy so I could purchase an enormous DIOR Privée bottle and drain it to the dregs. I have a fewof the smaller bottles and now that Granville is discontinued I really want to grab some of that too.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

DIOR: Oud Ispahan

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Labdanum
Heart: Patchouli
Base: Sandalwood, rose, agarwood (oud)

Oud Ispahan is a slightly boozy sweet floral leather. A toffee coated leather opening that blooms beautifully into a brand new, extremely luxe handbag smell drenched in roses and a light dusting of oud. It feels like a very posh version of a 1980s fragrance marketed to men. Totally wearable and yummy. I have a bottle of Oud Ispahan bought in Paris, every time I wear it I am transported back to Winter Paris.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

DIOR: Cuir Cannage

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Orange blossom, ylang ylang
Heart: Leather, jasmine, rose, iris
Base: Birch, juniper, leather

Cuir Cannage is leather, sweet leather. A gorgeous creamy leather that pays as much homage to flowers as it does to the treated skins of dead animals. The iris, ylang, white flowers create a sumptuous bouquet that is brilliantly offset by the dry rasp of leather and birch and the sharpness of the juniper. This softly, softly leather approach is quite prevalent in modern perfumery and I like it very much. If I owned a bottle of Cuir Cannage I think it would see a lot of skin time.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

DIOR: Fève Délicieuse

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Venezuelan tonka bean, vanilla, caramel, cocoa, pralines, woody accords

If DIOR were trying to out-Guerlain Guerlain then Fève Délicieuse is what I would dream they could accomplish. I’m talking about Old School Guerlain, where you could smell a beautiful growling beastie hiding beneath the sweet bakery. Here we have all the sweetness of modern gourmand tempered by tonka and woods, which serve to create a lovely baseline that hints heavily at animal. I’m surprised honey isn’t one of the featured notes. This is exactly how I would like to smell.

DIOR Giveaway

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x Fève Délicieuse + Cuir Cannage + Oud Ispahan DIOR manufacturers samples
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please tell us a favorite DIOR fragrance, from any of their ranges and any vintage

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Christian DIOR Privée GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-330 #Perfume #Giveaway @Dior

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 7th June 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 11th June 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.

Justin Bieber + Lara Stone – Calvin Klein Jeans Spring 2015

June 5, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Heya APJ Family,

No matter what you think about Justin Bieber, he has charisma and having been to his concert in Sydney a couple of years ago I think he also has some talent. The show was fun and he danced his pretty little ass off. I like him even more now he’s doing all the stuff a regular wealthy teenager/young adult does, and doing it large.

I hope you like this little bit of B&W advertising. I think it’s cool.

Portia xx

Photo Stolen Calvin Klein

Justin Bieber + Lara Stone – Calvin Klein Jeans Spring 2015

Roger & Gallet Fleur de Figuier Ultra-Nourishing Oil

June 1, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 15 Comments

Post by Willa Zheng

When it comes to personal fragrance, I don’t think perfume body oils get enough love. They condition your hair, give your skin a healthy fresh-from-vacation glow, and smell ah-mazing for hours. A good quality perfume body oil will outlast any cologne, and most EDP’s.

And that’s the one I’m going to introduce to you today – Roger & Gallet Fleur de Figuier Ultra-Nourishing Oil, nosed by none other than superstar perfumer, Francis Kurkdjian.

Roger & Gallet Fleur de Figuier Ultra-Nourishing Oil

Photo Stolen Escentual

Fragrantica gives these featured accords for the fragrance:
Top: Mandarin orange, grapefruit, cumin
Heart: Fig leaf, fig
Base: Fig nectar, cedar, musk

Now, the deal with body oil fragrances is they’re pretty linear. What you smell from the first spray is generally what you’re still smelling 5hrs later. No hidden unexpected notes. I know that some connoisseurs enjoy the three-stage transformative experience à la Serge Lutens, I personally prefer honest, linear fragrances that can hit the mark from the get go.

So what does Roger & Gallet Fleur de Figuier smell like? Is it fruity and florally? Yes and yes, but in a classy, expensive and French kind of way. Fleur de Figuier is not a green fig that recalls Diptyque Philosykos, nor a sweet milky one like L’artisan Premier Figuier. If you’re after a photorealistic, heavy lactonic and green fig fragrance, look to those houses. Fleur de Figuier is the sweet juicy inside of a fig, combined with sweet juicy mandarin and some grapefruit so it doesn’t become too saccharine. It’s the fruity floral fragrance for the fruity-floral loving gal (and older woman) who doesn’t want to smell so mass market generic.

Photo Stolen Roger & Gallet

Roger & Gallet Fleur de Figuier Ultra-Nourishing Oil is a dry oil so you can put clothes on right afterwards, and you’re not going to feel sticky or greasy. It’s made from a mixture of fruit oils and sweet almond oil. 96% natural origin ingredients, apparently. Sweet almond oil is thin and light, so it’s not as nourishing as other cult oils on the market but you shouldn’t use it primarily as a skincare product. This oil is so perfume concentrated, you’re going to knock your nose out.
Instead, treat it as a perfume body oil, another way to deliver fine fragrance to your person. I tend to do two sprays on each arm and get juicy sweet scent wafting throughout the whole day. And even picking up the bottle is nice because Roger & Gallet is a proud French company that cares about how its products are presented. This oil comes in an attractive, quality glass bottle with a solid clear Perspex lid. Very dignified.

Roger & Gallet does other fragranced body oils in its line. Even if you’re not a fruity floral person, I recommend giving the other dry oils a go. You might just get converted.

Photo Stolen Pixabay

Further reading: Fluff & Fripperies and Make Up For Dolls
Escentual has £25/100ml

Now, do you have a favourite perfume body oil?
Willa Zheng x

Nature GIVEAWAY WINNER!

June 1, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 1 Comment

Thanks Gang for joining in. I’m excited to be sending out the remnants of my sample. I hope you love Nature. I’ll add a couple of extras in too.

Portia xx

Nature GIVEAWAY WINNER!

Nature Yves Rocher Fragrantica Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords in one line:
Freesia, Jasmine, Lily-of-the-valley, Mandarin, Peppermint leaf, Rose, Daphne, Cedar

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x Nature by Yves Rocher (left from my own gift from Ainslie)
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DID YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please tell us a favorite green fragrance, in nature or perfumery

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 28th May 2015 10pm Australian EST
Winner chosen by random.org

Photo Stolen FallOutFactory

Patty Pong

The winner will have till Thuesday 2nd June 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.

Sharp by Richard Ibanez for Andrea Maack 2010

May 31, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 8 Comments

Hi there APJ,

When I first fell in love with the Andrea Maack range I remember there being a lot of chatter about it being derivative and boring. There were some bloggers and some of my mates who seemed very upset about this brand. I’m sorry but I never felt them to be either boring OR derivative. First to admit I’ve not smelled everything ever produced, also first to admit my memory is shot but few houses hit me as hard in the heavenly eye roll and full body purring shiver as Andrea Maack’s do. There are two FB in my collection Silk and……..

Sharp by Richard Ibanez for Andrea Maack 2010

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives this list of featured accords:
Orange blossom, angel skin, sweet vanilla, white musk, soothing softness

To my nose Sharp has a remarkably complex fragrance story. The orange blossom is not at all as expected, like they have added some herbaceous spiciness, and the vanilla is an inedible warmth that is fuzzed up by the musk. At once bright and cozy like the smell of brand new polar fleece with dirty, morning bed-hair. Sharp is feral and cuddly, pithy, furry, smooth and enfolding.

Sharp has a sweet indolic weirdness that is at once repulsive and alluring up close but merely pretty and inviting from further away. The name Sharp seems to be a complete misnomer here and I wonder if that is intentional? Sometimes when I wear Sharp my feeling is as if I’ve been up in an attic rummaging and my hair is thick with dust and old air,. Other times the feeling given is that I’m cuddled up in front of a fire near a recently beeswaxed table and the fires heat is warming the scent through the room and I feel warm, safe & loved. There’s even something of dog paws.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

I get a nearly linear lifespan that weaves rather than evolves but as it dries down Sharp by Andrea Maack is sweet vanilla dribbled over musk, the feral has disappeared and it’s all about clean (but not too clean, there’s still an element of humanity).

Who would I spritz with Sharp? That’s hard to say, I think some of my friends who like fragrance very much but aren’t perfumistas would love this as a go-to daily scent regime. Certainly the art connection, lack of ready availability, simple, stylish bottle and the reasonable price bracket would make it a good choice for them. Considering they would pay around these prices for a bottle of designer/department store fragrance Andrea Maack’s scents are a much better and more interesting buy.

Photo Stolen Geograph

Further reading Persolaise and ConfessionsOfAPerfumeNerd
First In Fragrance has €85/50ml
LuckyScent has $135/50ml

Have you tried the Andrea Maack fragrances? Do you think it makes sense to add olfactory experience to visual arts?
Portia xx