Figment: Man + Woman GIVEAWAY WINNERS

November 21, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Portia

YAY!

Thanks to our fabulous friends at Libertine Parfumerie and Agence de Parfum here in Australia for this generous giveaway.

So excited to get these out to you all. Check and see if you’re one of our lucky winners.

Portia xx

Figment: Man + Woman GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Fragrantica

Figment Man by Amouage 2017

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Lemon, geranium, pink pepper
Heart: Ssandalwood, animal notes, vetiver
Base: Llabdanum, guaiac wood, earthy notes

Fragrantica

Figment Woman by Amouage 2017

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Sichuan pepper, saffron, gardenia
Heart: Tuberose, jasmine, orange blossom, lily, ylang-ylang, cassia bourbon
Base: Orris, papyrus, incense, patchouli

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 5 winners who will receive:
1 x Amouage Figment Man decant
1 x Amouage Figment Woman decant
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Monday 20th November 2017 10pm Australian EdsT
Winners were chosen by random.org

SunnyDay

Ingeborg

Esz

Greg

Ingrid

The winners will have till Monday 27th November 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

SOTD 20 – 26 November 2017

November 20, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 141 Comments

Portia

Hi APJ,

I see these SOTD (Scent Of The Day) threads all the time on Facebook and they are really good conversation generators.

SOTD 20 – 26 November 2017

The idea is you’ll chime in through the week with whatever scent you are wearing. You don’t need to be super knowledgable, have high faluting tastes or be a published author to comment. Just tell us what fragrance you’re wearing, smelling, buying etc.

You probably won’t have time to write every scent, every spritz but whenever you feel the mood take you share your current spritz and a few things about it. Maybe you love/loathe it, want it, are excited by the notes/bottle/SA who sold it: WHATEVER! As always here at APJ, taking sides never means taking offence and everyone keeps it respectful and light, even though we can sometimes trawl the depths.

Hopefully you will come back and see if anyone has responded to your comment and you can reply to them.

Over 100 responses I will draw a Scent Sample Pack (from my collection)
This week:
Guerlain Mitsouko EdT
Pharrell Williams Girl
The Different Company Oriental Lounge
Vintage Fendi original
Vintage YSL Opium EdT
Comment purposefully on yours or anothers comment & you’ll have a chance, random.org will draw on Sunday.

LAST WEEKS WINNER!! Kandice

Please send me your address to portia _ turbo AT yahoo DOT com DOT au

Go To It Crew.
Portia xxx

Saturday Question: What Have You Been Sampling?

November 18, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 49 Comments

Portia

Hello Fellow Fumies,

Every Saturday we have a Question, an idea purloined from Olfactoria’s Travels. Everyone gets to chime in with an answer, chat with other responders and it is a fun event each week. Taking sides never means taking offence and everyone keeps it respectful and light, even though we can sometimes trawl the depths.

The idea is you’ll see it on the weekend or chime in through the week. Hopefully you will come back and see if anyone has responded to your comment and you can reply to them.

Over 100 responses I will draw a $10 Surrender To Chance Gift Card.
Over 200 responses I will draw a $20 Surrender To Chance Gift Card.
Comment purposefully on yours or anothers comment & you’ll have a chance, random.org will draw on Friday.

Last Weeks Winner: Didn’t make 100 comments

eMail me at (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with the eMail you’d like me to send your Gift Card to.

Saturday Question:

What Have You Been Sampling?

I do a lot of fragrance sampling to bring APJ to you every week. I love the thrill of getting a new to me scent and the constant question of will I love it, hate it or be bored by it. I often wonder though what it is that you all are testing lately and how much did you enjoy it. Where did you hear about it or was it a lucky sniffy find? Will you be buying a bottle or is your sample/decant all you will ever own. Do you use the online sample services or do you hope the SA will gift you a few?

My Answer:

OK, obviously I am constantly trying new stuff. I get sent a few samples each month from brands and distributors. Also, I love to trawl through the newest stuff at Surrender To Chance and can get lost there for hours. There are a couple of split groups I’m part of as well as FaceBook groups where there are often excellent splits and decanters.

What have I tried lately that has caught my attention?

Still haven’t given proper skin time to all of the Amouage Library Collection Sample Set. A couple are worn to empty and others neglected.

Criminal Elements: I cannot impress enough upon you all how much I love their new sample set.

My latest Surrender To Chance order was a BIG one. All of a sudden it added up to well over US$200. I know, gluttony gone mad. My only excuse is that there is so much new stuff that I am unable to get my hands on here in Australia. Added to that is loving a spray so that’s 2ml of each. I have Amouage Beach Hut Man, Eric Buterbaugh Nick’s Sunflower, a few Parfumerie Generale that I’ve missed in my sniffing and a couple of Keiko Mecheri same, plus a bunch more I’ve not got my sniff on yet.

The Baruti sample set is wonderful, freaky and interesting

The Maison Incens samples that Kate Apted sent me are also intriguing.

My Saturday Question to you is:

What Have You Been Sampling?

Monsieur Eau de Matin by Francis Kurkdjian for Jean Paul Gaultier 2008

November 15, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 13 Comments

Portia

Hi there APJ,

What did I wear today to go hang with thousands of people in Prince Alfred Park for the Same Sex Marriage results? JPGs Monsieur Eau de Matin.

Monsieur Eau de Matin by Jean Paul Gaultier 2008

Monsieur Eau de Matin by Francis Kurkdjian

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Citruses, bergamot
Heart: Spices, petitgrain
Base: Guaiac wood, cedar

A bracing citrus burst opens and a cool green undercurrent is present, like shade on a very warm sunlit morning. It’s pretty, simple and very comfortable to wear. A real spritz and forget scent that pushes no boundaries, creates nothing extraordinary. Fresh citrus with a s;right green and a little swirl of creamy basil.

If you are looking for a masterpiece then you will be bitterly disappointed. Here Mr Kurkdjian has kept a very simple cologne scent that smells excellent but is as joyously lacking in depth and breadth. Two hours maximum and then Monsieur Eau de Matin is pretty much gone, just the merest whiff of wood.

FragranceNet has $35/100ml before coupon

Same Sex Marriage Results

Monsieur Eau de Matin was a perfect foil to the roiling emotions of our morning as the Same Sex Marriage Vote findings were announced. Jin got me out of bed bright and early, we caught bus and train to town where we had breakfast under a mocking image of our last Prime Minister and famous NO advocate, Tony Abbot, marrying himself.

Then we trotted around the corner to the Official Announcement Event in Sydney’s Prince Alfred Park with thousands of others. It was a tense and nervous wait but fortunately we were surrounded by friends. It was wonderful bumping into people from my life since school and all the way up to now. So many familiar faces, old and new. When the numbers were announced, nearly 62% in favour, it was a tearful and elated Jin I got to cuddle. So many of us were completely and utterly overwhelmed with joy.

Today was a big deal in Australia. The people voted nearly 2:1 for Same Sex Marriage. Hopefully we are on the road to real and full equality here in Oz.

Now we await the legislation. Fingers crossed it will be soon.

I hope your day is as full of joy as ours has been.
Portia xx

Boxwalla October Beauty Box

November 14, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

Val the Cookie Queen

November Greetings APJ

From L.A. The Boxwalla October Beauty Box
From L.A. to New York, from New York to L.A.

I chatted a lot with the charming Lavanya as she was in the process of setting up www.theboxwalla.com. Talking about it is one thing, and doing it quite another. Two years on Boxwalla continue to offer four different subscription boxes; the Beauty Box, Food Box, Film Box and Book Box. The boxes themselves are superb. Boxwalla have them made by a small company in India, who make the paper from cotton scraps. Tree-free handmade paper. I keep my decants in an empty box. They are very strong and tough.

Boxwalla October Beauty Box

The October Beauty Box is nothing short of divine. I am most impressed that products are either full sized at least a large travel size. I am not partial to tiny samples that you need to rip open with your teeth, squeezing out the three drops from within. Boxwalla´s Beauty Boxes treat you to amazing green beauty products. We have most certainly moved on from what my daughter and I refer to as “Müsli products” which we wouldn´t touch with a bargepole.

The October Beauty Box showcases www.hforlove.com products. The Rapha Harmonizing Cleanser feels stimulating on the face. I wear a lot of makeup, which I chose to remove in my normal way. I followed it up by massaging the cleanser into my face, soothing my skin and removing with a hot flannel. Skin is noticeably softer each time I use it.

The Propolis Regenerative Mask felt wonderful, I don´t know if anything has regenerated yet as I have only used it once! The Kinu, a decadent body balm is so good, leaving my skin hydrated and amazingly soft for hours. It smells divine, laced with essential oils of grapefruit, cedar wood, bergamot, rosemary, and vanilla.

Shipping within the US is free, and Boxwalla ship their boxes abroad too, with the exception of the food box. Fifty bucks every two months? Worth every cent and more.

Next time: We go to New York: Aroma M Geisha Marron Eau de Parfum

From sea to shining sea.
Roasted marron bussis
CQ

(ED: All Photos supplied by Val. XX)

SOTD 13 – 19 November 2017

November 13, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 118 Comments

Portia

Hi APJ,

I see these SOTD (Scent Of The Day) threads all the time on Facebook and they are really good conversation generators.

SOTD 13 – 19 November 2017

Hopefully you will come back and see if anyone has responded to your comment and you can reply to them.

Over 100 responses I will draw a Scent Sample Pack (from my collection)
This week:
Guerlain Vetiver EdT
Miller Harris Geranium Bourbon
Perfumerie Generale Praline de Santal
Heeley Esprit du Tigre
Vintage Miss Dior extrait
Comment purposefully on yours or anothers comment & you’ll have a chance, random.org will draw on Sunday.

LAS WEEKS WINNER!! Chocolate Marzipan

Please send me your address to portia _ turbo AT yahoo DOT com DOT au

Go To It Crew.
Portia xxx

Saturday Question: What Do Family And Friends Think Of Your Perfume Obsession?

November 11, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 71 Comments

Portia

Hello Fellow Fumies,

The idea is you’ll see it on the weekend or chime in through the week. Hopefully you will come back and see if anyone has responded to your comment and you can reply to them.

Last Weeks Winner: Sadly we didn’t hit 100

eMail me at (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with the eMail you’d like me to send your Gift Card to.

Saturday Question:

What Do Family And Friends Think Of Your Perfume Obsession?

A particular longtime friends discovery of my addiction and subsequent question this week got me thinking. I’m pretty sure that loads of our friends and families think we are fully bonkers and are flummoxed by our irrational perfume (and often all things fragrant) ~~hoarding~~ collecting. Do you mainly get intrigue, outrage, bewilderment, support, drama or any kind of reaction to your passion? What are some of the hilarious, upsetting, ridiculous or damning reactions that you have met while being part of this amazing world trend?

The hoarde in 2013

My Answer:

My perfume obsession has baffled so many friends and family through the years. Fortunately Mum was always very supportive of all my quirks and wrapped it all up into a huge blanket of acceptance. I think her laissez faire attitude of do what you want but don’t hurt anyone rubbed off and set me up well to deal with and ignore the worlds need to have people work and live within parameters.

Most of my mates have known me to get very involved in whatever takes my fancy at a given time and are quietly surprised fragrance has lasted so many decades in all different levels and forms. Having discovered the online perfume worked, the boards, blogs, niche stores and discounters I became a man obsessed. It was around this time that Jin and I watched the film Julie and Julia and the pilot light burst into a bonfire and then a conflagration.As Australian Perfume Junkies started my reach and scope became instantly much broader and suddenly I had access to the world. The blog has added a sheen of respectability to my outrageous frag spending and continued my trajectory of try and buy.

Jin doesn’t have anything but support for my habit, though he sometimes wishes we could land in a city without me having a bunch of frag meetings organised. My mates are intrigued and I’ve made a plethora of new friends too.

Last week a guy who I worked in bars with through the 1990s and have remained mates with got in touch and gave me some of his current loves and fave notes and asked for recommendations. I gave him 10 from across the price board. He was disbelieving at some of the prices but happy for the info.

My Saturday Question to you is:

What Do Family And Friends Think Of Your Perfume Obsession?

LuckyScent Sample Shopping Haul

November 10, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 21 Comments

Portia

Hi there APJ,

Somehow the day got away from me. Dog Walks, Meetings, Lunch, Art, Afternoon Tea, Dinner and a Movie (Murder On The Orient Express).

While I was doing all this I had a VERY exciting box arrive from a recent Retail Therapy Session at LuckyScent. Con’t wait to get my sniff on these beauties.

LuckyScent Sample Shopping Haul

Histoires de Parfums Sample Set

J F Schwarzlose Sample Set

LuckyScent November Sample set

Atelier Cologne Cafe Tuberose

GWP Parfum de Nicolai Patchouli Sublime and some extra Samples.

Thanks LuckyScent

What came in your mailbox this week?
Portia xx

Grenats by Keiko Mecheri

November 9, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 7 Comments

Hiya Happy Huffers,

Here is an interesting thing, depending on where I read I learn that Grenats, or Grenades on some sites, was created by either Gabriela Domecq or Yann Vasnier in 2001 or 2005. GOSH! I love it when there is a mystery.

From First In Fragrance: Les Parfums Keiko Mecheri
Born in Atami, Japan, Keiko Mecheri was originally an artist and through painting found her way to the world of fragrances. With her partner, Kemal Mecheri she founded in the 1990s the “Bazaar des Senteurs” where they produced perfumed toiletries and candles. “Les Parfums Keiko Mecheri” was created in 1997 in Beverly Hills, California.

Grenats by Keiko Mecheri

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica Gives these featured accords in one line:
Pomegranate, citruses, pomegranate rind, rose, angelica, musk

OK, so I don’t understand why Greats doesn’t get more love. It’s not a blockbuster but a sexy stealth frag. It’s all green, fruits and musk with a softly spicy rose. Pretty is the wrong word for it but one that keeps popping into my mind. It’s an unsweet, in modern terms, rose/citrus. Why aren’t non perfumistas buying this by the bucketload. It reminds me of the feel that the softer DIOR Prive fragrances have. Very luxurious, quiet but insistent, elegant sweet nothings.

Not as tart as pomegranate seeds but with the lightly dry bite of pomegranate juice and melding seamlessly with the bright sparkle of citruses. The musk is pithy and plush, fluffy and whipped and a watercolour wash of green keeps Grenats interesting without being intrusive.

Loads of people love the laundry fresh scents and if you don’t then this burst of sunshine just might turn you around. It’s better, more glam than the others in the genre and perfectly wearable at all times.

PDI

From LuckyScent: Vivid, fresh and sparkling, this pomegranate based scent is for the free spirit. If you’ve banished the blow-out and revel in your curls, if you feel comfortable mixing the wispiest vintage blouse with the toughest leather belt, if you are ginger ale in a diet cola world – this one is for you. Clean, light and utterly charming.

Further reading: From Pyrgos
Essenza Nobile has €149/75ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $3/ml

Where do you stand on Grenats? Love it? Hate it? Never bothered with it?
Portia xx

Nuit de Bakélite by Isabelle Doyen for Naomi Goodsir 2017

November 8, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 15 Comments

Sandra

Hi there APJ, I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying spring or autumn. I am actually quite surprised that autumn is so much nicer than summer here in the Netherlands.

When we arrived in the Netherlands I made it a personal quest of mine to hunt down as many different flowers as I could get my greedy hands on. Not only is almost everything available, but the prices are incredibly low! I have been going through the seasons here looking for specific flowers, such as crocosmia in the summer, hydrangeas the size of basketballs, orchids of all shapes and sizes and this summer I finally, after many years of dreaming, was able to buy fresh tuberose. I have always loved tuberose perfumes, but after experiencing the real thing, my expectations have changed slightly. I no longer want creamy or buttery tuberose, or tuberose that is so difficult to smell because of added ingredients that are an onslaught to my senses. I want the real thing.

When I bought my first stems of tuberose I was taken aback at how complex the flower is. The flowers are so delicate in sight and to the touch – they are almost silky. I expected the flowers to be white, when in reality they are more ivory, tinged with pinks, yellows and the slightest green. The stem itself has different shades of green but not a dark green at all. Visually the tuberose is stunning and then there is the perfume. Oh my is it intoxicating! My home smelled divine for a whole week.

I love that the Naomi Goodsir website describes Nuit de Bakélite as “Floral (2017) The premise of a ‘narcotic lady’…”

Nuit de Bakélite by Naomi Goodsir 2017

Nuit de Bakélite by Isabelle Doyen

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Tuberose, angelica, artemisia, ylang-ylang, karo karounde, carrot seeds, cardamom, leather, styrax, green notes

Don’t take these notes too seriously as they differ on several websites because no note list was released.

I was hoping for something out of the ordinary, something new and bit surprising – narcotic. Let’s sniff…

Wow – what an opening! It starts out bright and fresh green – full of juicy (not sweet at all) slightly bitter green leaves. Usually, I shy away from such green perfumes because they are out of my comfort zone. Not to fear, this perfume surprises me with the turns it takes. After such a fresh green opening it stays that way for a while on my skin, only hinting at the merest inclusion of tuberose. As my skin warms and I am moving around, the tuberose becomes more pronounced, but it is not a soliflore at all. The tuberose is accompanied by a little bit of rooty and woody goodness. To make it more interesting I am sensing that there are other things going on here that I cannot pinpoint.

Then to my surprise once again, Nuit de Bakelite shifts slightly bringing in a leather component. It dries down to a wonderful tuberose leather scent sprinkled with woods to make it rounder. This perfume has all the colors of the blossoms that I smelled this summer. The green stalk, the blossom tinged with pinks and yellows all come through in Nuit de Bakelite.

Further reading: BL’eauOG and Persolaise
LuckyScent has $187/50ml
Surrender To Chance has samples from $6/0.5ml

With this new entry into Naomi Goodsir’s lineup I will buy samples of all of the other ones.

Have you tried Naomi Goodsir? Which of her perfumes should I sample next?

Kisses – Sandra

(ED: All photos supplied by Sandra unless specified)