CHANEL Les Exclusifs EdTs

October 27, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 39 Comments

Post by Portia

Hello CHANEL-ophiles,

I was looking through my sample drawer the other day and noticed I had some of the CHANEL EdT carded manufacturer samples. Seeing that that are now discontinued for the EdP I wondered if you’d like to have them as reminders of that which went before? Thank you to the gorgeous Esther at David Jones Sydney City Store for her friendly and informative service, it’s always a pleasure buying CHANEL with you.

CHANEL Les Exclusifs EdTs

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Powdery notes, violet, iris, orris root, Turkish rose, Grasse rose, Laos benzoin, tonka bean

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Tonka bean, rose, musk, lavender, jasmine, vanilla, grass, wildflowers

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accordfs:
Top: Bitter orange,citruses, neroli
Heart: Jasmine, rose, patchouli, orris
Base: Musk, woodsy notes, benzoin, olibanum, incense, vanilla, white chocolate

CHANEL Les Exclusivs EdTs GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x manufacturers carded sample of CHANEL Misia EdT
1 x manufacturers carded sample of CHANEL Jersey EdT
1 x manufacturers carded sample of CHANEL Coromandel EdT
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 tell us which is your favourite CHANEL fragrance or the one you’re most interested to try?

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Saturday 29th October 2016 10pm Australian EdsT and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Wednesday 2nd November 2016 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

Stress and Perfumes!

October 26, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 26 Comments

Post by Sandra

Hi there fellow perfume aficionados. Hope ya’ll are doing well.

We received a life changing phone call a couple of weeks ago and it is now official – we are moving from Vienna, Austria to Rotterdam, The Netherlands! Yikes! I thought I would never leave Vienna, and yet here I am planning our move which comes unfortunately during the holidays this year.

Stress is of course the norm now but so is the anticipation and excitement. I have lived a largely nomadic lifestyle until I landed in Vienna and got married. Being a global nomad brings its challenges but also its treasures. Home is everywhere. Learning a new language and culture feeds my soul. Meeting new people and making new friends adds color to my life. As I grew up living in a number of countries I find the process of moving painful but the end effect and the nesting period exhilarating. For my husband and son it will be a different experience and I have to try and make it as smooth as possible for both of them. Hence, the stress.

Stress and Perfumes!

Perfumes have always given me a sense of comfort – a cloak in which I am invisible and I can be stronger than I am currently feeling. Here are a couple of perfumes I have been frequently wearing lately.

Fragrantica

Micallef Cuir Vanille has given me a shield with which I protect myself. I can face the day knowing that the leathery vanilla will be there to soothe my anxieties.

Fragrantica

Guerlan Cuir Beluga is my old trusted friend whose shoulder I can lean on for support and guidance. The soft suede laced with vanilla done as only Guerlain can do.

I tend to reach for amber or vanilla in stressful situations, but the other day I encountered a stunning perfume which made me feel like I was prepared for anything that may come. I wore Hermes Le Galop and was blown away at its morphing capabilities. It started out all fruity and slightly sour then moved to a leathery suede which made me feel strong. In the evening I noticed that the gorgeous gentle rose tinged with suede. My world seemed ok.

Fragrantica

Last but not least – Neela Vermeire Creations Mohur – deep velvet red cushions embroidered with royal purple and golden threads. I rest my head and breathe a deep sigh of relief. Home.

Fragrantica

My husband has turned to Serge Lutens Ambre Sultan – it smells completely different on him – smooth, rich, dry amber deliciousness. He has never before been complemented by a man on his choice of perfume until the other day … .

Fragrantica

My son, seven years old, has always enjoyed a spritz or two of Hermès Un Jardin Sur la Toit until recently when he keeps wanting a spritz of Stéphane Humbert Lucas 777 Mortal Skin. It must be that he is also needing an extra layer of perceived protection with all the stress.

Fragrantica

As the moving date nears I will find it interesting which perfumes I will reach for most. Let me leave you with some of my recent pictures of Vienna which has been home for 22 years.

What perfumes do you wear when you are under a lot of pressure and stress? On another note, have any of you shopped for perfumes in The Netherlands? Any suggestions?
SX

Samsara EdP by Jean-Paul Guerlain for Guerlain 1990

October 25, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 23 Comments

Post by Val the Cookie Queen

Hello lovely-dovely sweetly-scented Perfumistas,

That was then: This is now
Life before and after the basenotes…….
Val CQ

I was gifted with a bottle of vintage (if you can use that word for a relatively young perfume) Samsara EdP last week. I haven´t worn it since the early nineties, nor retried it during my perfumista journey

PRE-PERFUMISTA
Samsara EdP

I bought a bottle of the Samsara EdP in 1990. Lovely. Nice bottle. I carried on with my life.

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, lemon, ylang-ylang, peach, green notes
Heart: Jasmine, woodsy iris, narcissus, violet, rose
Base: Sandalwood, vanilla, tonka bean, amber, musk

PERFUMISTA

Samsara EdP by Guerlain 1990

Samsara EdP by Jean-Paul Guerlain

“Oh my gosh! This is fabulous. It´s kind of lemony and leathery and is that jasmine, and wait, I think I read once there´s some sort of licorice note in it. Is there, can I smell it, concentrate hard, it must be there. I got it! Yeah, licorice. I found it. And yang-ylang and jasmine, I can’t believe I never knew. It´s so oriental, spicy, and SANDALWOOD? The Guerlain vanilla, tonka, orris, but WAIT I have never smelled sandalwood like this. Really? All this incredible sandalwood, which after Googling I found out was enhanced by John-Paul Guerlain whisking in a dash of polysantol, giving it a massive lift so it wouldn´t sit flat on the skin? Whoa (Thanks Monsieur G)”
I then pass out on the floor into an exhausted sandalwood oblivion.

Photo Donated Val CQ

Samsara EdP Conclusions

The question is which incarnation of me enjoyed it more? I have been pondering this question for the last week. My good grief, I can most certainly say I had NO idea when I wore it in the early 90s and I went through at least three bottles of it, that there were top, heart and basenotes. I just enjoyed the whole experience without having to think myself insane. But once you walk through that field of poppies and end up in Oz there is no going back. (And then you do think yourself insane!) Hard to fathom that I never clocked the sandalwood in it, and this IS a sandalwood bomb if ever there was one. Creamy and divine. I have come to the conclusion that
the younger me delighted in Samsara while the perfumista me delights in, savours, relishes, revels in, and most of all appreciates Samsara for the magnificent oriental Guerlain masterpiece that it is.

Further reading: Bois de Jasmin and Black Narcissus
Any Guerlain counter or store will have Samsara
Surrender To Chance is selling out their Samsara EdT at $15/5ml

Any of you APJ readers had a similar experience? Do tell. 🙂

Batshit Crazy Perfumista Bussis
CQ

Perfect Fragrant Gifts for Annoying People

October 24, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 8 Comments

Post by Azar

Happy Impending Holidays, APJ!

The holiday season is upon us and what better way to please the folks on Santa’s list than with perfumed and fragrant gifts. There are also those other, “special people” who deserve lumps of coal or bundles of sticks. Perhaps these stinkers might benefit from pleasant fragrances too!

Perfect Fragrant Gifts for Annoying People

Poo-Pourri Party Pooper – 2016

Our young friend “L” is a wonderful woman – in all ways but one. This lovely person has a very annoying and smelly habit. When visiting our home, “L” will inevitably unload in the bathroom, closest to where the action is. The fan and air fresheners have no effect. “L” usually emerges from the bathroom giggling, knowing full well that she has gassed the entire assemblage and polluted the party. I consider this “marking behavior” and have chided her often to no avail. So for “L” this year’s perfect fragrant gift will be:

Poo-Pourri Party Pooper Gift Set – Potty like a rock star and leave the toilet smelling better than you found it with a pure blend of mandarin, lily and tangerine natural essential oils.

Fragrantica

Empire by Donald Trump – 2015

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Spicy mint, tea, orange blossom, apple, jasmine, amber, musk, tonka bean

The next gift recipient is politico, “G”, who would barge into the house, day or night, trying to convert us to his religion, telling us how to vote and advising us on health matters. We don’t see much of “G” anymore, but if he appears around the holidays I will be ready with a gift, one that I know he will appreciate – Empire by Donald Trump. I have not tried Empire but I’m sure that “G” will resonate with the name and the celebrity candidate behind it.

Fragrantica

Star Trek Pon Farr – 2285

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Nectarine, white violet, orchid
Heart: Egyptian jasmine, mirabelle, vanilla
Base: Patchouli, musk, sandalwood

Finally, I’m sure you’ve met someone like the next special person on our list. “J”, a cougar who imagines she is still a sex kitten, is always on the prowl, showing up at parties looking “other-worldly” in micro minis and skimpy tops. Far be it from me to question anyone’s fashion sense or methods of sexual manipulation, but this girl really needs some help. My gift to her this year will be the Star Trek fragrance Pon Farr. Pon Farr is defined as “a neuro-chemical imbalance in Vulcans occurring every 7 years causing them to be extremely horny.” Pon Farr might actually help “J” by postponing her last hormonal gasp for 7 years, effectively by-passing menopause and temporarily clearing any predatory illusions from her mind.

Today’s give-away is a 5 ml decant of Pon Farr – only shipping to addresses on planet earth. To be eligible let us know how you follow APJ and tell us about a special person in your life who could use a fragrant gift this season?

Live Long and Prosper!

Azar xx

Golden Oldies: Worn For Life

October 23, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 27 Comments

Post by Anne-Marie

Hi all

What is the perfume you have worn the longest in your life?

Golden Oldies: Worn For Life

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Neroli, bergamot, green notes
Heart: Iris, narcissus, rose, lily of the valley
Base: Sandalwood, leather, vetiver, oakmoss

I’ve worn Chanel No 19 on and off for … ahem … something like thirty years. I don’t know how I could afford it but I bought my first 50ml bottle of the EDT in the mid-80s when I was a student. Between then and 1991 (still a student) I went through that bottle and bought two more. I still have them all; the first completely drained, the latter two are nearly used and rather on the turn now. (Why did I buy a third before the second was drained? I can’t remember.)

In later years I added more bottles of the EDT and EDP to my collection. I still wear it No 19. It’s the perfume I’ve worn the longest, more than half my life.

In those early years I also bought Estée Lauder White Linen, Lancome Magie Noire, Laura Ashley No. 1, and Eau Sauvage (two bottles). Later, after I moved cities, I remember buying Paloma Picasso, Patou Joy, Estee Lauder Pleasures, and Eau de Givenchy. The last was a souvenir of a trip to the UK and Europe in 1996. I bought it in Paris. Squeee!

Flickr

This was all before I had started having children in 1998, and ceased spending money on perfume for several years.

I don’t wear any of those regularly any more. I’ve moved on from the Lauders, as you do. Paloma Picasso has some sad memories. Magie Noire I wear occasionally still. Joy I never really liked and still don’t. I bought it to celebrate the fact that I could actually afford a perfume once touted as ‘the most costly perfume in the world’. By 1993 it wasn’t, but I loved the idea of it. Eau de Givenchy has to compete every summer with a clutch of other eaux, though it is still the best of the bunch probably.

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Grapefruit, mandarin, bergamot, mint, red fruit
Heart: Ylang-ylang, honeysuckle, pure jasmine, narcissus, tuberose, lily-of-the-valley, rose, cyclamen, orris root
Base: Sandalwood, musk, cedar, oakmoss

Anyway – I’m wondering what is the perfume you have worn the longest, and which you still wear? What is the perfume to which you keep returning, no matter how many other perfumed paths you have explored?

Does this long-standing choice suggest something fundamental and abiding about your taste? Note, for instance, that my early perfume collection contained no gourmands, and no orientals except Magie Noire which is part-chypre anyway. Note also that I skipped the marine/ozonic perfumes of the 90s altogether. Thank God. I’d rather squirt L’Eau d’Issey in my eye than wear it on skin.
Or, have you completely left behind all your early perfume explorations and discarded those early, embarrassing bottles?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Until next time, keep spritzing everyone!
AM

Introducing ALTAIA: Marina Sersale and Sebastián Alvarez Murena

October 22, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 5 Comments

Post by Catherine du Peloux Menage

Hello Gorgeous APJ Friends,

ALTAIA is the second perfume love child collection of Marina Sersale and Sebastián Alvarez Murena, whom I met at a beautiful dinner organized by Mecca, the brand’s distributors, to introduce ALTAIA to Australia.

Marina and Sebastián’s first joint creation is Eau d’ Italie, which began as a single scent to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Marina’s family’s hotel Le Sirenuse in Positano on the Amalfi Coast– listen to the story here

Bertrand Duchaufour composed the first much-more-than-a- simple citrus Eau d’ Italie in 2004, then went on to make moody, metallic and stone violet-leaf-iris Sienne L’Hiver, rich rose and incense woody oriental Paestum Rose and the intensely orange blossom grapefruit-green Jardin du Poète. Alberto Morillas, Daphné Bugey and Annick Ménardo created the rest of the range. The packaging and bottles in bright vibrant colours are guaranteed to cheer gloomy spirits before even smelling a single note. At AUS$169 or $200 depending on your choice, they are also on the affordable side.

Introducing ALTAIA

Marina and Sebastian’s second collection, ALTAIA, is spare, elegant and contemporary in presentation. The story behind the range is as captivating as the scents. ALTAIA or A Long Time Ago In Argentina was created after the two discovered that their families had been connected 140 years before they met and fell in love in Italy in 2001.Their great-great-grandfathers, an Englishman and an Argentinian had worked together in Argentina in the 1860s. Sebastián grew up in Buenos Aires and Marina in London and Italy before their fated meeting in Positano.

The three EDPs by Daphné Bugey which launch the collection bring together stories from the past and present.

Fragrantica

By Any Other Name is of course a rose, evoking memories of Marina’s mother’s first proposal of marriage aged 16, in the rose garden of Sudeley Castle in England. Gentle rose and osmanthus intertwine and weave in and out of each other in a soft, slightly fizzy blend. They are supported by the musks in the base and invisible (to me) cedarwood. This is no big bold punch-right-between-the-eyes rose but there is no girly pink lollywater effect. Pretty but with substance.

Fragrantica

Don’t Cry For Me revisits Sebastian’s memories of Buenos Aires. Again, it’s soft and airy, an almost dreamlike sweet jasmine, no indolic raunch here. Freesia, sweet cherry blossom (which I can’t pick) and jasmine ,blend with a touch of powder (heliotrope?) and a cloud of soft pink musk and gentle woody notes. Nostalgic and sophisticated.

Fragrantica

Yu Son is love in an Italian citrus grove. For starters, it’s choc-full of mandarin, bitter orange and greenness (is that the green tea in the note list?). On a humid summer when you’re looking for interesting cool, not cologne cool, this would be perfect. It’s got sweetness from orange blossom, a dry iris note gives it backbone and woods bring richness and persistence.

The range will be available at Mecca Cosmetica stores and Mecca online exclusively from 8 November $277 for 100 mls. Eau de parfum.

Which of the three will you try first?
CdPM

Perfume I’m Wearing: October 2016

October 21, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 22 Comments

Post by Portia

Hi All,

Fairly mixed week and these aren’t everything but they did get skin time and I love them. This week has been wholly and solely about our new puppies. They are so wonderful and we are already deeply in thrall to them. Here’s the moment when my beautiful boy Paris discovers the joys of chewing toys.

Perfume I’m Wearing: October 2016

Fragrantica

Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Nectarine, bergamot, rosewood, lavender
Heart: Apple martini, white daffodil, orchid
Base: White amber, cedar, woody notes, white musk

Lovely smells to me like a spicy-fruit jammy rose and cool jasmine bouquet-fragrance over the most enormous hit of fluffy, powdery, clean woody musks. There are no roses or jasmine in the notes list but even now that I’ve read the note list my nose is not getting the memo. Recently I smelled this on Anna-Maria’s husband Johnny and he smelled fabulous in it.

Fragrantica

CHANEL No 22

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Aldehydes, Lily-of-the-valley, Neroli
Heart: Jasmine, Rose, Ylang-ylang
Base: Vanilla, Vetiver

The big soapy, syrupy, fizz of CHANEL No 22 EdT that tramples the lily of the valley into plush and velvet submission. The sparkly, soft/sharp aldehydic scintillation which makes way for the hearts bouquet, still glittering but with a creamy and slightly fruity warmth. There is even a cool whisper of oily vetiver and incense through the heart that remains alongside the still extant aldehydes.

Fragrantica

Mitsouko by Guerlain

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, Lemon, Mandarin, Neroli, Jasmine, Rose
Heart: Peach, Rose, Clove, Ylang-Ylang, Lilac, Jasmine
Base: Oakmoss, Labdanum, Patchouli, Benzoin, Vetiver, Cinnamon

Normally this space would be reserved for Shalimar but lately I have bought a lovely old EdT of Mitsouko and it has been getting quite a bit of skin time alongside some of my vintage parfum. Its fruity floral goodness undercut by a thick and resinous oakmoss base, creating a brilliant depth for the rest to sparkle above.

Fragrantica

Mohur by Neela Vermeire Creations

Fragrantica, LuckyScent and Neela Vermeire Creations give these featured accords:
Top: Cardamom, coriander, ambrette (musk mallow), carrot seeds, black pepper, elemi oil
Heart: Turkish rose oil, Moroccan Rose Absolute (rose accords around 11%), jasmine, iris/orris, aubepin (midland hawthorn), almond milk accord, leather, violet
Base: Sandalwood, amber, patchouli, oudh Palao from Laos, benzoin, vanilla, tonka bean

Mohair is my rose. Done in a batter of herbs, spices, resins and woods it creates a fabulous cloak of scent around me and fits like a glove. It’s hard to feel anything but regal when floating on such luxury.

Fragrantica

Antaeus by CHANEL

Fragrantica lists the following accords:
Top: Lemon, lime, coriander, myrtle, clary sage, and bergamot
Heart: Thyme, basil, rose and jasmine
Base: Patchouli, castoreum, labdanum and oak moss

Citrus and herbs that open in what we’ve come to think of as men’s Woody Chypre style that dries down to a lovely leathery amber with a hefty dose of animal growling around. Mine is an older bottle but I think the modern is still very wearable.

What are you wearing this week?
Portia xx

NEW! Pierre Guillaume presents L’Atmosphere

October 20, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 3 Comments

Post by Portia

Woo Hoo!
Sexy man and grande perfumer Pierre Guillaume presents his newest idea. It’s about ambient scent and they look fantastic. Can’t wait to try them. I’ve copied and pasted the bits I thought were fabulously exciting from the Press Release.

The 240g Cruise Collection Scented Candles : ARUBA, AMSTERDAM, HIBISCUS, LEAF, SAÏGON and TAÏGA, propose to shade the room with a touch of exoticism, as visual as olfactive.

La Gachette (the trigger) 500ml, available with 4 fragrances : HIBISCUS, LEAF, SAÏGON and TAÏGA, set an olfactive ambience with just a gesture from the index.

Pierre Guillaume presents L’Atmosphere

Peety GIVEAWAY WINNER

October 20, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 3 Comments

Post by Portia

Woo Hoo,

Loads of excitement for this giveaway. Thanks Azar for your generosity.
Portia xx

Peety GIVEAWAY WINNER

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Jasmine, rose, tobacco leaf, moss
Heart: Mandarin orange, bitter orange, amber, cinnamon, pink pepper
Base: Patchouli, sandalwood, tonka bean

LuckyScent has $180/50ml + Samples

Azar xx