Fashion

Fragrance Bottle? What Scent?

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 13 Comments

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Portia

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Hey there APJ,

I think I have told you before about my friends Mum & Grandma who is losing the battle with dementia and Alzheimers. When they had to take all the glass, including fragrances, from her reach I was given a box full of treasures.

Fragrance Bottle? What Scent?

One treasure was this bottle. There’s a little bit left in the bottle and it smells ridiculously gorgeous. like an animalic version of Youth Dew. It has no label or identifying marks. It doesn’t feel like an expensive bottle because there are some quite sharp edges and points. I didn’t want to google it though, not when I have all of you out there who may have seen or remember someone wearing fragrance from this bottle. So I’m handing it over to you all today.

What is this bottle from? The house, the scent name, anything you can remember.

Go for it.

Portia xxx

 

 

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 1 winner who will receive:
1 x Bottle and contents
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 leave your guesses or a story about lost vintage scent, or even a mini story about who might have used this perfume. 

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Friday 3rd March 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 Monday 6th March 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

Unicorns! OMG Unicorns!

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 14 Comments

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TinaG

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Hi APJ!

If you haven’t noticed, unicorns are so hot right now! I mean, they even have their own emoticon. Here’s a few colourful and fragrant ways to dive into all things unicorn.

Fragrantica

Les Nez – The Unicorn Spell

I have to cast my mind back to sniffing this when in a violet rabbit hole. Their website elaborates: .. feels like a search for the unicorn in a dark, damp forest. The unicorn’s presence can be felt, the steam of her breath hangs frozen in the air, the trails shimmer under the quiet mist of her magical spell, but we can’t find her yet …

LUSH USA

Lush Cosmetics – Unicorn Horn Bubble Bar

You can let yourself slip into a magical dreamland of unicorn and fairies with a Lush bubble bar, featuring notes of Lavender, ylang ylang and neroli. Shame, I don’t have a bath. Get it HERE

TinaG Photo

Golden Gaytime – Unicorn Breath

For those who don’t know what a Golden Gaytime is, it’s an iconic choc/toffee/vanilla/honeycomb ice cream. The Golden Gaytime pop-up bar in Topshop, Sydney, has a bar where you can order one with a special coating. I chose Unicorn Breath – edible sparkles, popping candy, vanilla crumbs, strawberry candy and musk sticks. You can also buy the coating in a can…..

Mecca

Two Faced – Unicorn Tears

It’s a holographic lipstick by Two Faced. Seriously Want. Apparently it sells in Mecca. I don’t care if it doesn’t suit me, it’s *holographic*!! All the rage with the cool kids.

Unicorn Macarons

These are just too adorable to leave off the list. It’s a recipe. I’d put money on my attempt to make them looking quite different….

The Unicorn Hotel

Sydney even has its own Unicorn Hotel!! No, not really. The Unicorn in Paddington has been revamped under the watchful eye of the crew from Mary’s in Newtown (who do legendary burgers). I used to catch the Bronte 378 bus along Oxford Street and marvel at this classic Aussie pub. It’s nothing pretty to look at but good to see the beige tiled & curves walls out the front, like all good Aussie pubs used to have. Mind you my old fave, The Robin Hood in Waverley still has them too. Watch David Bowie’s video ‘Let’s Dance’ for a taste of what I’m talking about.

And last but never last, coz there will always be something Unicorn coming out…

WISH

Unicorn vs Robot Dinosaur Leggings

….. it could happen. And you’d need to be prepared to run for your life with these sleek leggings. WISH has the goods.

Have you succumbed to any unicorny goodness?

Till next time!

Tina G

Fed Up With Fragrance? Perfumed Apathy!

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 30 Comments

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Val the Cookie Queen

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Hello APJ Readers!

The very fact that you are reading this already shows that you are at least one step beyond a normal person. Normal as in spritz and go and pay no attention at all to what you are wearing. I sometimes wish I could be like that, but there is not turning back is there? It is a very real part of the perfume junkie obsessive compulsive disorder, well mine at least. Analysing fragrances can be so exhausting.

Apathy set in a couple of months ago. I´m like, so bored with all this perfume stuff. I have some beautiful perfumes, but just haven´t been feeling the groove. However that most certainly does not mean I have wanted to stop wearing fragrance. That is a point I have not yet reached! I don´t feel properly dressed without perfume and probably never will, it brings great joy.

Fed Up With Fragrance? Perfumed Apathy!

MY CURRENT GRAB AND GO, NO ANALYSING OR DISSECTING NECESSARY FAVES

Fragrantica

CHANEL N°5 Parfum

After years of not having renewed my bottle of this I bought one at the end of last year. Am now half way through it. Sensual, rich and exquisite. Not to be confused with any other version of N°5. This is not all about aldehydes, we are talking vetiver, sandalwood, vanilla, amber …….. Divine. Try it if you haven´t.

Fragrantica

CHANEL Boy EdP

Definitely a rare spray and go for me. Heliotrope, vanilla and musk. Hints of lavender and fruits. Lovely.

Fragrantica

Vero Profumo Kiki Extrait

So familiar with Kiki that it melts into my skin and just becomes a part of me. Luscious lavender, caramelised musks, patchouli, ambergris. Stunning.

Fragrantica

 

Hermes Osmanthe Yunnan

Came to this beauty extremely late. I only have a 15ml travel bottle and will be purchasing a full bottle. Have only worn it in the winter months. Smoked tea, apricot, bright, juicy, and yet resting on a bed of suede. A vibe of elegance and simplicity. Gorgeous.

Donated Val XX

But fear not! I am off to the Esxence in a month. Not only is NAJA, the new Vero Profumo ready for launch, but rumour has it I will be picking Portia up from the airport too. Coma sniffing, bring it on.

What do you wear when you´re kind of fed up with it all?

Bussis
CQ

 

Bass Solo by Bertrand Duchaufour for The Vagabond Prince 2016

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 18 Comments

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Portia

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Hello Happy Huffers,

More today from my LuckyScent Sample Pack. Remember when the Vagabond Prince brought out their original scent? The one with the fabulously screechy top of Black Currant and booze? It was called Enchanted Forest and I fell madly in love with it. So feral and outrageous, fruit done to the enth degree. It was a hugely polarising fragrance and much like Thierry Mugler’s Angel it became a hot topic of online conversation. People divided into camps and agued their cases, all of which were correct for them. It was great fun.

The rest of their offerings have not met with such radical hype. I am excited to smell this one though because it has been designed around the idea of musical instruments. Specifically one of the woods that is highly prized for its density in making instruments, wenge. The fragrance is not so much based on that aroma as it is based on the instruments that it makes. Interesting because you might remember Amouage brought out Opus X also in 2016 inspired by the red violin.

Bass Solo by The Vagabond Prince 2016

Bass Solo by Bertrand Duchaufour

Fragrantica

LuckyScent gives these featured accords:
Saffron, ginger, lime, cardamom, lavender, Moroccan cedar, Virginia cedar, fig milk, birch tar, sandalwood, amber, driftwood, wenge accord, musk, oppoponax, amyris, patchouli

Immediately Bass Solo opens a green, herbal, lavender rich fragrance hits me. It’s slightly waxy, softly fruity and quite heavily wooded in the background. Woodsy and an oily, smoky hint of car workshop. Soon enough patchouli joins the fray and is an excellent addition, giving a green dankness.

It’s funny, the moment a piece of the puzzle becomes clear my nose jumps on it but everything comes and goes. I think I have the scent imprinted and then it changes. Glad I’m sitting at my desk to really enjoy it because I think so much of the nuance would be lost in casual wearing.

PDI

Resins fly softly over the wooden base, they are cool but add warmth and depth to the fragrance. Dry down is smoking incense and woods. It’s calm and stylish. I ca imagine it being loads of peoples cup of tea.

LuckyScent has $180/100ml
Surender To Chance has samples starting at $5.40/ml

Did you ever make a FB purchase from a sample pack? Tell us what it was?
Portia xx

Scent Free Day?

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 31 Comments

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Portia

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Hi there APJ,

Sometimes my nose needs a rest. I am not quite sure why. Today I woke up and usually before I grab the dogs to feed & walk them I scent myself so I can enjoy the fragrance as I wander with the boys. It’s usually around 10am and the day is warming up nicely, this summer it’s already been quite hot by the time I get home so I really feel I’ve put the scent through its paces. 30-40 minutes after spritzing I’m well into the heart of the fragrance, in some cases even the dry down already.

Scent Free Day?

Anyway, today I walked into my fragrance room and my body just said no. So I walked back out again with only the merest traces of last nights fragrance on my T-Shirt. I quite liked having my nose open to smelling the various eucalyptus, cars, coffee and toast at the local cafe, the mown yesterday grass in the park and the myriad other scent snippets of a half hour wander around the neighbourhood.

There are other times I don’t like to be scented. Some illnesses, in very enclosed spaces, meeting potential employers for the first time. I do have a little Meeting New Employers Hack though. I always have a softly scented hand cream with me and apply a very smell amount before going in. Int means my hands feel nice and leave a fresh, clean scent on their hands when we shake. You’ll notice people touch their face almost directly after shaking hands, unconsciously they are reading your hand scent.

By now though I have given myself a spritz. Ballets Rouges by Olympic Orchids to fit with Lucasz at Chemist In A Bottle‘s rose month. MMMMMM

So, my question to you all today is “When do you need a Scent Free Day?”. Are there specific moments or periods in your life when being scented feels wrong? Is there a friend or colleague that prefers you go unscented? Or are you a give me 10 spritzes no matter what kind of person?
Portia xxx

 

Scent Diary: 13.2 – 19.2.17

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 19 Comments

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Portia

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Hiya APJ,

Back into the daily glamour grind. I love returning from holidays relaxed a refreshed, ready to jump on all the exciting developments since I left. This time there have been loads of those but I’ll tell you when it all comes to fruition. What has been wonderful after a week of very slim but awesome pickings is to have my whole collection of fragrance again to choose from.

Scent Diary: 13.2 – 19.2.17

Monday 13:

So bloody bummer. Wake up this morning about Explorer of the Seas and I’m sick as a dog. Nose running like crazy, coughing phlegm, hard to breathe properly and temperature slightly elevated. So I have a very hot shower and spritz myself lavishly with vintage Miss Dior parfum. It takes 6 sprays before I can even smell it. I go eat breakfast by myself so as not to infect my crew and then hit the hay. I read almost the whole third Divergent book Allegiant in a day. I rise from the bed for lunch and dinner, both eaten alone to avoid contamination. It has been a beautifully peaceful day, except for the coughing and nose blowing.

Coffee, tea and cookies for pep through the day.

Tuesday 14:

HOME!! Wearing vintage Miss Dior parfum and it is gorgeous. I can barely smell it through my sick but still I wanted to smell special.

Through Sydney Heads at dawn, docked in cool grey weather. Said my goodbyes to the wonderful cruising crew and headed off to help Jin fix the exhaust fans at BFF Kath’s apartment before heading home to bed. Still unwell but feeling a bit better. My nose is so raw that blowing it has become a problem.

The most excited person to see me is Paris. O M G! You have no idea how excited he is. So cute. He gives the best hello licks ever.

Sleep with my Valentine. I need to feel better for work tonight and Jin has a ten hour night shift ahead..

Wazamba by Parfum d’Empire tonight for work. Its spicy, resinous incense is exactly what this sick little duck needs to wake up and get going. MMMMMMM. It was so good I wore it to bed as well. This is the new bottle too, still potent and expansive, the whole room smells of it.

Wednesday 15:

Up and at ’em early today. This is my only free day till next Tuesday so everything that needs doing will be done today. Poudre de Riz Huitieme Art Parfums with its spicy rice powder and surprising sweet undercurrent, like a fragrant version of rice pudding drizzled in honey and sprinkled with brown sugar. Pierre Guillaume is a genius at understated sweetness. Yes, it’s the original bottle that so many people hated. I love it. Feels wonderful and expensive in my hand, that it’s mainly light blocking and has the tiny front glass window to see fill line. Everyone asks for innovation then bitches when they get it.

Calling people, paying bills, calling more people, organising, hectic but happy. It’s quite hard to keep perspective with this bloody cold, like trying to think while wrapped in wool underwater.

I decided while walking the dogs that I needed Chinese food and a movie so around the corner from our apartment is a sensational Chinese restaurant. I stood at the door with the two dogs and ordered dinner. Walked the dogs for another 10 minutes, grabbed the food and skedaddled home to watch Matrix and half of Matrix Reloaded before I snoozed off. Dinner was YUM! Sweet & Sour Pork, Crispy Skin Boneless Lemon Chicken, King Prawn Omelette and Egg Fried Rice. In my hurry I forgot to order a vegetable dish, oops!

Tonight because of Anne-Marie’s Eau de Sud by Annick Goutal post on APJ I double spritzed. BLISS, off to bed. Goodnight.

Thursday 16:

Oooh! It’s really sticky outside today. I just asked the dogs at 9am and by the time I got home I felt like I was living in the tropics. Hermes Monsieur Li this morning. Easy and breezy, my skin is throwing the smells of sweet citrus and the shade under trees.

Jin & I went and had a late Valentine’s lunch at his favourite Yum Cha. It was totally yummy and we got to do some catching up after the cruise. I took a pic but we both look half asleep so I’m not adding it in.

For work tonight I slathered myself in Silences PdT by Jacomo. Galbanum and stuff. Cool, refined and elegant. I felt the goddess within stir all night.

After work I opened a package that arrived. It had a vintage 1000 EdT by Jean Patou. OMG! This is my favourite version of it. So much brighter and with a lift that’s missing from the parfum. The roses are more fun, the osmanthus and violet give a waxy old-style make up vibe. This 1000 smells like the feel of applying YSL lipsticks in the 1990s in their square gold cases that looked uber glam, do you remember those? Do they still make them?

Friday 17:

Sorry not much of a post today. Was doing a Marriage Equality Trivia Fundraiser and Nightclub gig in a town 3 hours south. Left early and got home really late. Here are a couple of photos from the Trivia event, which was a complete Sell Out! I wore my new vintage 1000 EdT by Patou. That powdery, rosy beauty was a perfect fit even though it was so hot & humid that I nearly expired.

Saturday 18:

Woke up groggy and not quite with it. Travelling home so late last night I stopped at a Petrol Station, had a 15 minute nap and bought strawberry milk and some lolly snakes to keep me awake for the drive. So this morning I awoke with a sugar hang over, and a slightly sore back from sitting badly in the car. Feeling a bit sorry for myself actually so I spritzed Amouage Opus III. Gorgeous waxy flowers and stuff.

Tonight I had a gig for a mates 21st birthday party. He had no idea that his Mum had booked me to do a couple of numbers & officiate the event. It was so fun and he was totally sweet and thrilled, and embarrassed. The speeches were funny and heartfelt. He had a cake shaped as BOOBS! Yes, you read it, boobs. Bloody hilarious.

Now it’s late and I’ve spritzed Parfums DelRae Coup de Foudre. Now I’m going to bed is a haze of it. MMMMMMM

Sunday 19:

Today on Aussie Fragrance Network at FaceBook we started a week of Wear Your Designer Fragrances so there’ll be LOADS of the designer stuff in next weeks Scent Diary.

I got the week started with my vintage Miss Dior EdT, the one with the crappy lid. Yeah, it looks like shit but smells perfect. Miss Dior is fast becoming one of my all time favourite scents.

Poor Jinx, Jin’s dog, has broken his bed. When I went out to see them this morning he was so embarrassed that he couldn’t even look at me. Such a cutie. When the possums come around at night the dogs jump out of their beds so fast it must be quite an impact as it hits the wall. We have stopped them barking though, now they just stare. It’s a win.

Tonight for work I’ll be rocking Burberry Brit woman parfum. I love the little bottle and hardly ever get it out. Glad we are looking at designer Fragrances this week on AFN, hopefully I will grab out a bunch that have lain lost, loved but neglected.

How was your week? Did you do anything interesting? Buy or try any new fragrances?
Portia xx

 

Mystery Nina Ricci Vintage GIVEAWAY WINNER

/ australianperfumejunkiescom

Hey APJ,

I think the fragrance is Nina. Thanks for all your help.

Portia xx

Mystery Nina Ricci Vintage GIVEAWAY WINNER

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 5 winners who will receive:
1 x Sample mystery Nina Ricci fragrance
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Saturday 18th February 2017 10pm Australian EdsT
Winner was chosen by getting one of my family to pull a name out of my dead armadillo basket

Neva

The winner will have till Wednesday 22nd February 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.

Surrender by AbdesSalaam Attar for Surrender To Chance 2014

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

Hey Hey Perfume Junkies,

I have some incredibly exciting news for you all. Surrender To Chance have worked with La Via Del Profumo to create two incredible, all natural scents that will blow you right out of the water. I constantly hear and read complaints that many niche and indie perfumers are selling out and going mainstream, that the fragrances we are being offered aren’t pushing enough boundaries, interesting, skanky or outrageous.

I think I have something that might then tweak your interest.

Surrender by Surrender To Chance 2014

AbdesSalaam Attar of La Via Del Profumo

WikiCommons

Righto, toxic, petrochemical oil slick jasmine straight out of the gate. There’s NOTHING quite so ferocious and fabulous as being punched in the nose by 4 million jasmine flowers and they’re ready for action. Like an ice cold river that is both refreshing and agony the jasmine here is frosty and full on. If you like jasmine but never think perfumers capture the freaky gorgeous scent bomb that is sitting just down wind of a full flowering bush at dusk then I have found the perfect jasmine for you.

It’s perfect for me too. Ah May Zing.

From Surrender To Chance: Surrender is a rich jasmine floral that blends different jasmine absolutes with licorice, carrot, myrrh, gourmand notes and hyraceum. We wanted this to be a plush, slightly naughty wedding perfume, but it can be worn by anyone, no wedding required. We love jasmine and we love what Dominique did with this. The addition of the hyraceum makes this fragrance sing! It should be noted that it is an ethical and sustainable source of animal pheromone which does not hurt the animal in any way as hyraceum is the crystallized and petrified form of Hyrax urine. Because of the nature of the ingredients in Surrender and for its function as a sensual aphrodisiac fragrance, animal pheromones have a sense and a place in it. 

You should get your sniff on this mad baby. I think you’ll love it.

How do you like your jasmine?
Portia xx

 

Mystery Nina Ricci Vintage

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 23 Comments

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Portia

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Hello Vintage Fragrance Freaks,

I have a problem, well one we are going to discuss today anyway, let’s leave the rest. Recently I was trolling eBay, as we all so often do. One of my favourite sellers had a pristine 50ml white Nina Ricci refillable bottle with the gold trim. It looked virtually unused and the juice in lightly amber but clear condition. There’s only one problem, it doesn’t have a label. Yep, is completely unmarked.

Mystery Nina Ricci Vintage

So, my response was to snipe bid $7 above the unbid price and see what happened. That still kept my bid to around US$25 including postage. Well there were zero pre bids, but 4 snipe bids and mine won! Woo Hoo! So it arrived and smells fabulous. All floral powder, oakmoss and lightly soapy.

BUT I can’t work out what it is. There are quite a few Nina Ricci frags around here but I can’t seem to place this one. So I thought I’d share the joy and send some people samples.

 

giveaway hemodernhome

Mystery Nina Ricci Vintage GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 5 winners who will receive:
1 x Sample mystery Nina Ricci fragrance
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 share a vintage fragrance you love, or one you wished you’d tried

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Saturday 18th February 2017 10pm Australian EdsT and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by getting one of my family to pull a name out of my dead armadillo basket
The winner will have till Wednesday 22nd February 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.

Eau du Sud by Annick Goutal for Annick Goutal 1996

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 6 Comments

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Anne-Marie

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Hi all,
It’s summer in my part of the world and my citrus colognes are helping me push through the dog days.

I own a number of classic and wonderful citrus colognes, and while I always enjoy trying more, I rarely add to the collection of full bottles these days. After all, there is a certain sameness to them, and I tell myself I have most bases covered: 4711 (of course); Eau de Givenchy (my first citrus cologne); Dior Diorella (never dates because it always surprises); Eau de Rochas (lime and wet stones); Calyx (not really a traditional cologne, but wonderful in humidity); and Hermes Un Jardin sur le Nil (cleaner and more modern than the mossy citruses of yore).

I’ve many times NEARLY bought Chanel Cristalle, Ô de Lancome, Jo Malone Lime Basil & Mandarin, Eau de Patou, and Dior Eau Sauvage. For one reason or other, I talk myself back from the brink each time.

But THIS: Goutal Eau du Sud.

Eau du Sud by Annick Goutal 1996

Eau du Sud: My first impressions

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Mandarin, basil, grapefruit, bergamot
Heart: Mint, lime, lemon verbena, jasmine
Base: Vetiver, patchouli, oakmoss

I gave myself a single spritz of Sud at the airport today on the way home from holiday. About four hours later, before I’d unpacked my suitcase, I hopped online and ordered a large decant.

Full bottle? Not ready to commit yet. But oh my how I enjoyed that single spritz of Sud! It lasted all afternoon and survived a shower (just). I’m not up to analysing notes yet, but what I loved was the mossy, aromatic and yet also dry and almost salty qualities I got as the fragrance developed. Citrus fruit, herbs, and the smell of sunshine on hot stones.

I’m looking forward to figuring out and reporting back on what it is about Sud that clicked the ‘buy’ button for me, when I have rejected those other great colognes. Yes, I’m as susceptible to marketing as the next person, but this really does make me dream of the south of France. The fact that I have never been there makes me all the more suggestible.

Book Depository

If you read romance novels you might know Mary Stewart’s Madam Will You Talk. This was her first novel, published in 1954, before she got into that Arthurian stuff. It takes its heroine, Charity Selborne, on a wild chase through sun-baked Avignon, Nîmes, Les Baux and finally Marseilles. Eau du Sud made me think of this book, not just for the scents, but the effect it achieves of bright sun and deep shade in an ancient, bare but beautiful landscape.

Well, I suppose it’s mostly motorways and apartment blocks now? Hopefully Eau du Sud will help me maintain the romance. I expect it has been reformulated over the years, but please don’t tell me. I’d rather not know.

WikiCommons

Further reading: Now Smell This and Portia on APJ
FragranceNet has $80/100ml before Coupon
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $3/ml

What fragrance conjures up your ideal summer?
Until next time keep spritzing everyone!
Anne-Marie