Fashion

Beauty You (might) Need To Translate!

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Post by A F Beauty

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Allow me a moment of comedy:

What do you call someone who speaks three or more languages?

Multi-lingual

What do you call someone who speaks two languages?

Bi-lingual

What do you call someone who speaks one language?

English!

Beauty You (might) Need To Translate!

Yes, so my heritage is English and I speak only one language, to my shame. What this does mean though is that there is a whole selection of beauty products where my purchasing choices are dependent on guess, hint or, if I’m lucky, a translation sticker on the back of the product! So here’s a couple of products I’ve bought on hint or guess which have been amazing:

HadaLabo TAMAGOHADA AHA BHA Oil Control Face Wash

Hada Labo Tamagohada AHA and BHA Exfoliating Cleanser – Japanese

Luckily for me, this was positioned front and centre in a pharmacy in Singapore with AHA and BHA in the largest letters on the pack, so I was immediately drawn to it. My skin copes pretty well with acid treatments, so I figured that it would also be OK with the cleanser. It’s texture is not dissimilar to Estee Lauder Perfectly Clean – but it is slightly softer and lathers easier. But the exciting part of this product is that the moment you wipe your skin clean, it is C-L-E-A-N – you have properly exfoliated without any abrasion –your skin is smoooooooth and lovely. I use this about once a week almost as a treatment rather than daily – I personally think my skin wouldn’t tolerate it so well on a daily basis – the acids are more powerful than any other I’ve bought in a cleanser. I’ve had the pack for just over a year and it’s still going (even though I bought three on a whim!)

MYEONGHAN MIINDO HEAVEN GRADE GINSENG FACE CONTOUR GOLDEN GEL MASK

Hwansaenggo Bird’s Nest Pearly Brightening Gel Mask – Korean

This purchase was a pure guess under time pressure – the shop was about to close and I wanted to buy everything, as usual. So I picked up a few bits that caught my eye, and lets face it, Heaven Grade Ginseng – who wouldn’t want this!?

I cracked this mask out of the pack – it’s like an actual mask that sits on the face, you don’t apply it per-se. I peeled off the backing layer and applied to my face thinking it was a bit crinkly with the other plastic layer on it and thought it wasn’t sitting very well against my skin – and then it dawned on me that duh, I was supposed to remove both plastic layers. Genius. I’m here to make the mistakes so you don’t have to!

The mask then sat lovely against my face, felt lovely and soft and smelled good. After about an hour – probably double than advised (I was watching TV!), I peeled off and my skin looked great. Definitely plumper and fuller – this would be a great mask to apply before a big night out.

 

I totally love the excitement of finding a new product, especially one that hasn’t been translated into English, I feel like I’ve found a secret that no one knows! I’ve got a few more of these in test at the moment, will tell you about a few more next time – but what secret buys have you found?
A F Beauty XXX

 

Fig-tea by Patricia de Nicolai for Nicolai Parfumeur Createur 2007

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Post by Anne-Marie

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Love at first sniff: Fig-tea by Patricia de Nicolai for Nicolai Parfumeur Createur 2007

Do you trust love at first sight? Or sniff? On the whole, I don’t. Still, when I smelled Fig-tea in a Nicolai boutique in Paris recently, there was no question that it was coming home with me.

Fig-tea by Nicolai Parfumeur Createur 2007

Fig-tea by Patricia de Nicolai

Fig Tea Nicolai Parfumeur Createur FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Fig, osmanthus, artemisia
Heart: Mate, coriander, jasmine
Base: Guaiac wood, amber

When I was a kid we had an apricot tree in the backyard, and after a swim in the pool I would gorge myself on ripe apricots, water still dripping off me and apricot juice running all over my fingers. This was what I remembered when I first sniffed Fig-tea. I could see, smell and taste apricots so clearly I think I must have laughed with delight, right in front of the (very dishy) young male SA in the Nicolai boutique. He was amused, in typically cool Parisian style, but really I was paying him no attention. It was apricots, sunshine, and the kind of happiness you are still too young to treasure because life has so far delivered no stings.

Fig Tea Nicolai Parfumeur Createur swimming Alberto P. Veiga FlickrPhoto Stolen Flickr

Osmanthus is known for its apricot facet, so it must be is osmanthus that delivers me this powerful memory of apricots ripening in the sun. I’m probably the wrong person to review this fragrance because I smell no fig at all in Fig-Tea. Most people do, but not me. I know what fig smells like as fresh fruit and in perfume, but here I just don’t get it. So don’t ask me if the fig is nuanced with creamy coconut, leaves, earth, or just the fruit. I wouldn’t know.

A number of notes combine to prevent the apricot – so prominent for me – from becoming too syrupy-sweet: mate tea, coriander, and … ahem … calone. Do you hate calone? Yes, me too. Calone is not listed as a note in Fig-tea and you might not smell it at all. I can detect it in parts per billion and I do smell it in Fig-tea. But it’s subtle. It pulls the fragrance in a refreshing direction and after its opening few minutes, Fig-Tea is brisk and cool, slightly salty, and skews unisex.

For reference, Carthusia puts out a fig-tea fragrance named Io Capri. Here I do smell fig quite clearly, rather tart, and accompanied by notes of citrus, tea, mint and eucalyptus. ‘Seaweed’ in the base contributes a briny accent not unlike the calone in Fig-Tea. But Io Capri is rough, outdoorsy and a little strident compared to the walled-garden Parisian refinement of Nicolai’s Fig-tea.

Fig Tea Nicolai Parfumeur Createur France_Cotes_d_Armor_Roche_Jagu_ja WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

Fig-tea was released by Nicolai as an Eau Fraiche but these days is listed as an EDT. Sillage is moderate, but longevity on me is about five hours, at least. Although a warm weather fragrance, at the height of summer I still expect to reach for the invigorating freshness of Io Capri.
Figs, apricots, tea, tangy breezes and sweet memories. It’s amazing what will come out of a perfume bottle.

Further reading: Best Things In Beauty and This Side Of Perfume
Luckyscent has $130/100ml and samples

What’s brightening up your life right now?

Until next time, keep spritzing!
Anne-Marie xx

Paradise Lost by Yann Vasnier for Keiko Mecheri 2011

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Post by Portia

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Hey there APJ Frag Family,

I found this random sample in my clear up around here. I have no idea where it came from, or whom, and certainly can’t remember ever ordering it. I even went and checked my order histories, no luck. So I think the universe is telling me to put some on and wear it. Let’s see how this baby purrs……

“Then wilt thou not be loath
To leave this Paradise, but shalt possess
A Paradise within thee, happier far.”
― John Milton, Paradise Lost

Paradise Lost by Keiko Mecheri 2011

Paradise Lost by Yann Vasnier

Paradise Lost Keiko Mecheri FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gices these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, lime
Heart: Jasmine, tuberose
Base: Sandalwood, musk, Bourbon vanilla

Softest wash, barely there, citrus open with white flowers and vanilla already noticeable. A young, extremely sheer, elegant, out of focus white floral that smells like the fruits are way more tropical, maybe it’s the banana facets of the tuberose and there feels like a coconut kick. All drenched with clean musks and Paradise Lost makes me think it was made for people who love the smell of clean clothes and hair rather than perfume, it’s not a laundry scent but it makes me think virile.

There is a fleshy component but imagining it’s a guy he’s fresh from the shower, dry and cooling on the bed. You are still sleep rumpled but the sheets have been slept in only once and you can smell his clean skin as he wraps you in his still warm embrace. Paradise Lost is a modern fragrance that I could easily imagine myself exhaling for, though it’s not groundbreaking or even very different to a lot of other stuff on the market. What I smell is a beautifully blended version of them, an excellent, better remake done for people who want to smell quietly and subtly luxe.

 Paradise Lost Keiko Mecheri Love_in_Wiesbaden WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

Paradise Lost could very easily be dismissed as boring, and I almost did, but as you wear it a few times it becomes a second skin. Even well into the heart there is a shimmer of fruit through the flowers and vanilla. After a couple of hours I become almost anosmic to it but I have had someone say how nice I smell nearly 5 hours after application. That’s pretty good for something so amorphous.

Work, date, opera, dinner or casual Saturday with the crew, Paradise Lost will fit them all. I think it especially good though for Booty Calls, this is exactly how I would want someone to show up smelling.

Paradise Lost Keiko Mecheri Study_for_'A_Family_of_the_Forests' William_Etty WikiCommonsPhoto Stolen WikiCommons

Libertine Parfumerie has $229/75ml with FREE Australian Postage
First In Fragrance has €145/75ml

What do you like your lovers to arrive smelling like? Past or present favourites?
Portia xxx

Inside the Wardrobe of Olivia Palermo

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Post by Portia

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I’m not sure if you all know who Olivia Palermo is? US socialite and model turned beauty/fashion blogger off the back of a turn on MTV reality TV show: The City. She now seems to have her finger in everything.

Oliva_Palermo Flickr nick_step WikiMediaPhoto Stolen WikiMedia

Here is a fun and interesting look into the wardrobe of a modern mavin of style.

Enjoy.
Portia xx

Inside the Wardrobe of Olivia Palermo

TEA TOWEL GIVEAWAY WINNERS

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Post by Portia

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This was a fun one APJ. Thanks for all getting involved.

Vintage Beauties samples the winners will be getting are:
Quelques Fleurs by Houbigant
Mitsouko parfum by Guerlain
Oscar by Oscar de la Renta
Magie Noire by Lancome

Let’s see who won!
Portia xx

TEA TOWEL GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Tea Towels 2015a

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 5 winners who will receive:
Tea-Towels (some will be Aussie or International)
4 x Samples of Fragrance from my collection (Vintish/Vintage Beauties)
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Thursday 24th September 2015 10pm Australian EST
Winner were chosen by random.org

Winners brooklodgePhoto Stolen brooklodge

Fifi

Lavanya

jalesley

Pats

odbayar

Azar (extra)

The winners will have till Sunday 27th September 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.

Dark Horse by Dame Perfumery Scottsdale 2015

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Post by Erica Golding

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Scented greetings to my kindred spirits!

Today I am sparkling in a haze of friendly, approachable confidence. I feel bright and serene, energetic and focused. This is because today I chose to spritz my sample of:

Dark Horse by Dame Perfumery Scottsdale 2015

Dark Horse Dame Perfumery Scottsdale FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, lemon, cinnamon
Heart: Jasmine, carnation, rose, cloves
Base: Guaiac wood, vetiver, vanilla and musk

This fragrance is loosely marketed with an air of masculinity, but as with all of Jeffrey’s Artist Collection offerings, Dark Horse can be effortlessly worn by all genders.

I am enamored with this surprising juxtaposition of two scents I normally enjoy only as accents: citrus and spice. They are both finely tuned and harmonized with careful attention. The solar tone features fine shimmering bergamot, sun-ripened lemon, and warm vetiver. The spice is composed of cinnamon and clove (and I suspect nutmeg too), but they are not loud, sharp, or overpowering as they often are in perfumery. The spices are soft and subtle, caressing your skin and your spirit.

Dark Horse Dame Perfumery Scottsdale ArtworkPhoto Stolen Dame Perfumery Scottsdale

The modern elegance and attractiveness of Dark Horse is centered within its personality. This EdP is easygoing and laid back, but cleanly put together. Brilliant, cheerful, and living in the moment – this is the Dark Horse wearer.

Dame Perfumery Scottsdale says: A scent full of raw charisma; quite unpredictable and completely charming. Animal magnetism at its best. Smooth, balanced and …

Further reading: Looking Feeling Smelling Great
Dame Perfumery Scottsdale has samples $10/7ml, bottles $65/50ml

Have you tried Dark Horse? How about New Musk Man/New Musk Oil (next on my list of must-try)? I’d love to hear your experiences with Dame Perfumery fragrance!

Love and light,
Erica

The Modern Fougere: Kurkdjian, Malle, Penhaligon’s

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Post by Liam

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Howdy Hum Salubrious Scentophiles.

Of the entire gamut of fragrances, I am most cautious of the Fougere.

Why? Do this for me- play a game of covert ops (if you are a man, this is easy. If you are a woman, pretend you are buying a gift for a boyfriend). Head on down to your local department store and ask the question: “I am looking for a safe fragrance at around the one-hundred dollar mark”. Tell them he doesn’t often wear scent, perhaps only for special occasions.

I am willing and happy to wager that if they do not offer you an aquatic to try, they will then offer you either a fragrance in the wood category or the Aromatic Fougere.

The Modern Fougere: Kurkdjian, Malle, Penhaligon’s

What’s wrong with the mass market Fougere? The structure of a Fougere is largely complex, richly layered with a harmonious topdown structure from a vibrant citrus top note, an aromatic hum in the middle, and a weighty wooded base at the bottom. When perfumes mess with these transitions, with cloying drydowns and/or linalool and ambroxan driven facets, piercing top notes, and imperceptible accords – the Fougere has been tarnished.

Jean-Paul Guerlain made a statement that I am inclined to adhere to. He believed that apart from Guerlain’s two Fougere scents – Jicky and Mouchoir de Monsieur, any other Fougere is for truck drivers. Given my current and (of course) personal perspective of the market, I am inclined to say the same.

However! The Fougere begins to shine a pulsating, welcoming, and soft glow when we begin to look at a few more ‘uppermarket’ scents. Here are my favourite Fougeres for a contemporary market.

Sartorial Penhaligon`s FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Sartorial by Penhaligon’s

A superstar in the fragrance community (and when you have the confidence, fragcom is the appropriate blend word to use), I personally really admire Sartorial for its classicism.

I get what I want from Sartorial: a lavender, amber, and sandalwood structure that alloys down a citrus impression at the opening. But Duchaufour takes it a step further. He places the scent in context. In a Saville Row tailor’s workroom. Beeswax, metallic notes, steam-iron notes, and a linen fabric accord intermingle with the classic structure giving depth, definition, and clarity. A wonderful scent.

Masculin Pluriel Maison Francis Kurkdjian FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Masculin Pluriel by Maison Francis Kurkdjian

This is the antidote to my woes. I am saddened by a lack of clarity in Fougere scents – with these instead presenting a musty static that I cannot bare. Much like Sartorial, the name suggests a throwback to what makes a masculine fragrance – a Fougere! Lavender is a must, along with red cedar, leather, and patchouli. A fragrance representing a quest for the ‘eternal masculine’, a ‘timeless scent’, this comes pretty close. It it predicable and forward, like a good gentleman.

GeraniumPourMonsieur FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Geranium Pour Monsieur – Frederic Malle

A minty wildcard, I am currently really liking this one. It is tenacious. It opens with a smooth abrasiveness from Chinese geranium – giving a floral potency lifted with nose tingling mint, anise, and ouzo notes. Combined with the spice of clove, cinnamon and then swept with crystalline musk – Geranium Pour Monsieur omits the toothpaste impression but retains its menthol-like freshness. It is precise; a well-tuned creation that plays on cool and hot. Creating a sophisticated, refreshing and tonic-like fragrance, Geranium Pour Monsieur is probably the best mint-driven scent on the market, and a superb quasi-fougere.

Be kind, and rethink your labelling of the (otherwise almighty) Fougere.
What’s a modern Fougere to you?

-Liam

P.S I’m away for a while, Yr12 exams! See you soon!

Miu Miu – AT LAST!!

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Post by Ainslie Walker

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The unveiling of Miu Miu’s debut fragrance transpired this week in Australia. Very few notes are mentioned and immediately descriptions read as brazen: promising a bold marriage between retro-flower lily of the valley and modern aroma-chemical akigalawood. Perfumer Daniela (Roche) Andrier created the lily of the valley accord with rose absolute, synthetic green notes and real jasmine then fused it with akigalawood, which is extracted from patchouli oil. Apparently the fragrance was accepted only after 1200 attempts!!

Miu Miu by Daniela (Roche) Andrier for Miu Miu 2015

Miu Miu Miu Miu FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Lily of the valley
Heart: Jasmine, rose, green notes
Base: Akigalawood

I first smelt lily of the valley at Petersham Nursery in London a few years ago. End of the season, the plant was looking forlorn, droopy and weathered. Exuding from it was the most exquisite and captivating scent. Green, cool, fresh, earthy, dewy, lightly floral, citrus-rose top notes with jasmine nuances (omitting headiness). Cheerfully understated. It’s little wonder Miu Miu chose to revive this beautiful retro flower and give it a modern shakeup.

My next “run in” with Lily of the Valley was whilst watching TV series Breaking Bad. Walter White pondered exterminating drug-lord Gustavo Fring whilst peering at a potted plant beside his backyard pool. “THAT’S LILY OF THE VALLEY!!” I squealed, jumping out of my chair, recognizing the little white bells. Soon after in the show, Jesse’s girlfriend’s son falls suspiciously ill of Lily of the Valley poisoning and Walter White is to blame! I took to Google and sure enough the reality is lily of the valley is a toxic, exquisitely delicate, scented beast. A Snow White apple, of sorts!!

The Miu Miu brand has always explored juxtapositions and contradictions. They twist rules within their designs encapsulating the demure and the outrageous, the delicate and the bold, seriousness and lightheartedness and of course: retro versus modern. So, why wouldn’t they release a first fragrance based around a flower with bite?!

Miu Miu 2015 Ainslie #3

Adverts show beautiful actress Stacey Martin, stunning bottle and cute kitten. I get it: I felt like a kitten from the moment I saw and touched my bottle of Miu Miu. Seriously! I spent the whole day playing with it, cooing and purring all the while. Distinctive, combining a modern pop feel with a classy retro edge. Coordinating gold, cream, pillowed eggshell blue glass and contrasting them with a large spot of translucent red perspex. Indeed the bottle design is a piece of art.

Miu Miu 2015 Ainslie #2

On first sniff it was clean and pretty. A sheer green floral. I was lost for words and burst into nervous laughter. The anticipation was too much. Wearing it I experience an elegant sweet rosy heart, dewy green apple – yet slightly creamy and a touch of tart rosehip fruit. Utterly surrounded by joyful white floral, lily of the valley. Remaining somewhat linear, with intriguing depth after time. Cool, dark, green-peppered wood – the akigalawood…a new experience for me. The lily of the valley borderlines’ on shrill, before it becomes soapy and rounded, surviving right until the end.

Miu Miu 2015 Ainslie #1

If Miu Miu’s aim was to capture the spirit of the brand they have, ageless and contemporary. Alluring and possibly polarising it’s no fruity floral crowd pleaser and yet hovers close to “safe.” A fresh, youthful, sophisticated and slightly peculiar floral with fun peppery wood effervescent undertones.

Further reading: Candy Perfume Boy and Now Smell This
Miu Miu is available places, um, no idea…..

What do you think?
Ainslie Walker XXX

Life, Friends, Collecting, Tea Towels

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Post by Portia

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Hi there Beautiful APJers,

Friday is my birthday so I thought we should do something special and only mildly fragrant.

My life is pretty blessed, without going into great detail I feel pretty lucky and have been given an enormous amount of advantages and every now & then good fortune has shone down too. The friends that have shared my life are amazing, fun, self sufficient, supporting, driven, caring, whole hearted and thoughtful (as in Full Of Thought) people with whom I share the big & small triumphs and tragedies, time and sometimes cyberspace. My work is fulfilling and suitable, homelife is sunny & comfortable and I get to travel regularly.

Something that is quite obvious is how much I love to collect things, each piece in the house has a memory attached (or several) and even my wardrobe is filled with happy memories and momentoes, wearable pieces of my personal history and a joyful life shared around the world. There is art collected from nearly 30 years of world travel, my parents 6 seater Royal Doulton mid 1960s wedding-gift starter set is now a nearly full 20 seat set with all add ons. Books have been culled by 50% need another 30% to fit into this apartment and you know how crazy my fragrance collection is.

In that same way I started collecting Tea-Towels. Tea-Towels are the ubiquitous collection for travelers because they are light, transportable, reasonably priced, useful and beautiful. Every time I grab one from the drawer I can instantly see where I bought it or who gave it to me (yes, once people know you collect they feed your collection on their holidays too). I try to use them all in rotation but it is becoming less possible to see any one towel even once a year, which is starting to make me a little sad, which in turn is diminishing my enjoyment. There is also a question of space in the new apartment.

Tea Towels 2015

Time to cull. The Tea-Towels have all been washed. The ones that I grab and can be bothered to iron (yes, I know but I find ironing Tea-Towels zen) will get to stay and the rest will be making journeys around the world to grace your kitchens.

So here’s the deal, I know some of you also have Tea-Towel collections and many of you use them only as things to wipe dishes and tidy messes. It doesn’t matter how you use them, or if you’ve never used one before in your life. Here is a chance to be sent a little bunch of Tea-Towels that have my and my friends love, travels, home and away happy memories. What you will be getting is a little package of joy that can be used every day, just throw them in the washing machine after use and they come back to life ready to be used and loved again.

giveaway kbairdPhoto Stolen kbaird

TEA TOWEL GIVEAWAY

Tea Towels 2015a

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 5 winners who will receive:
Tea-Towels (some will be Aussie or International)
4 x Samples of Fragrance from my collection (Vintish/Vintage Beauties)
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.

Please leave in the comments below your country and your fragrance today.

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 24th September 2015 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winner will be chosen by random.org
The winner will have till Sunday 27th September 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.

NEW STORE: Arielle Shoshana

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Post by Portia

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Hey Crew,

Especially those in the USA, there is a brand new perfumery in town. My mate, blogger from Scents Of Self, glam girl and general fragrant fiend Arielle (Ari) is opening her first store in Washington DC. The Grand Opening Party is on October 3rd 2015! If you’re in the area you MUST drop in and hug her from the APJ crew.

NEW STORE: Arielle Shoshana

Storefront_grande

I was her very first customer and for a one time only special event she let me buy, and sent all the way to Australia, Maison Francis Kurkdjian’s Absolue Pour le Soir. I am totally thrilled by the speed she delivered in, loads of cute stickers on my package, a bunch of interesting samples as well as my beautiful bottle of skankalicious sexy good times horny juice.

Some of the range includes:
Neela Vermeire Creations
Atelier Cologne
Etat Libre d’Orange
Maison Francis Kurkdjian

and many more…….

logo

Mosaic District
2920 District Avenue
Suite 145
Fairfax, VA 22031

Please go have a look at Arielle Shoshana Scented Luxuries site, prices are competitive and Ari is such a sweetie. Let’s help a fellow frag maniac begin something new, create a place for perfumistas to shop by a serious perfumista. Ari, I’m so proud of you and proud to call you my friend.

proff-240

GOOD LUCK PRINCESS!
Portia xx