Guerlain

Fabulous Department Store Pick Ups!

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Post by Portia

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AAAARRGGGHHHH! Are you still left with a HEAP of shopping to do? Running out of time & ideas? Want to get something with a WOW factor but just can’t cope with another screaming run around? I get it. Today I wandered around a suburban department store beauty section to see what was still available in regular stores that will give whoever you’re shopping for a thrill. Don’t be afraid, we’ve got your backs…

Fabulous Department Store Pick Ups!

Bottege Veneta Shower Gel Bottega VenetaPhoto Stolen Bottega Veneta

Bottege Veneta Shower Gel 200ml: If you are anything like us then you can’t get enough of the original Bottega Veneta fragrance. Jin has already flown through a big bottle and a small one, he’s getting another for Christmas. The matching Shower Gel is AUD$60 at David Jones.

CHANEL le-vernis-nail-colour-18-rouge-noir CHANELPhoto Stolen CHANEL

CHANEL Le Vernis Nail Colour 18 Rouge Noir: Dark plummy, lavish and elegant. Who can resist the double Cs of CHANEL? Only AUD$39 at David Jones so it’s all the glamour and only a little of the price.

CHANEL HYDRA BEAUTY NOURISHING LIP CAREPhoto Stolen CHANEL

CHANEL Hydra Beauty Nutrition Lip Care Balm: This is the gift that keeps giving. Every time the recipient pulls their CHANEL Lip Balm out in public they will feel like a superstar. The ultimate in nonchalant luxury, and then they can say it was a gift. Cool kid. AUD $54 at David Jones.

Crabtree & Evelyn West Indian Lime Shave Soap In Wooden BowlPhoto Stolen David Jones

Crabtree & Evelyn West Indian Lime Shave Soap In Wooden Bowl: I love the lather and the ease of shaving when I use a brush. My skin feels more ready and is less prone to cuts and abrasions. Great gift for the clean, or partly, shaven AUD$34 at David Jones.

DIOR Addict Lipstick Gotha 967 DIORPhoto Stolen DIOR

DIOR Addict Lipstick Gotha 967: Deepest darkest mulberry red, enticing enough to make a priest blush. Every time they reapply this you’ll be thanked quietly but fervently. Gotha 967 is AUD$52 at David Jones

DIOR Hydra Life Beauty awakening rehydrating mask DIORPhoto Stolen DIOR

DIOR Hydra Life Beauty Awakening Rehydrating Mask: 10 minutes to better hydrated skin! Who doesn’t need this gorgeous DIOR gem. This is a good one to gift the guys who care for themselves too. AUD$75 at David Jones.

Guerlain La Laque Coque d'Or Christmas GuerlainPhoto Stolen Guerlain

Guerlain La Laque 400 Coque d’Or: Shimmering gold for Christmas, Guerlain is for the discerning gift receiver. A little less well known and all the more luxurious because of it. AUD$30 at David Jones.

Guerlain Cils dEnfer Maxi Lash Volume Creating Curl Sculpting Mascara GuerlainPhoto Stolen Guerlain

Guerlain Cils dEnfer Maxi Lash Volume Creating Curl Sculpting Mascara Marine: A little hint of navy blue on the tips of your lashes will make your eyes pop whiter and brighter, giving the effect of larger more doe like peepers. AUD$48 at David Jones.

Tom Ford Conditioning Beard Oil Neroli PortifinoPhoto Stolen David Jones

Tom Ford Conditioning Beard Oil Neroli Portifino: Bearded men are EVERYWHERE! It’s as if suddenly in 2005 the razor became anathema to the cool kids and by 2011 the whole world had caught up. Tom’s on the bandwagon and David Jones has 50ml/AUD$72

Yves Saint Laurent Kouros EdT YSLPhoto Stolen David Jones

Yves Saint Laurent Kouros EdT 100ml: Kouros is still gorgeous. Not the urinous, screechy, sexual monster it was originally but now even more wearable and men still smell great in it. I love the new look packaging and it’s AUD$69 at David Jones.

All this from a quick zip around the beauty area in my local David Jones department store. No, not affiliated with David Jones but I wanted to show you that even if you’re running late, or out of money, that there are a few affordable luxury items left within reach.

What’s your last minute gift buying advice? What did I miss?
Portia xx

Shalimar by Guerlain: Back To My Favourite

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 33 Comments

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Post by Portia

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Hiya Frag Fiends,

Shalimar has been my enduring fragrant love. Since it was the fragrance of my Mum for years and some of her friends continued to wear it right through our childhood. Then working a couple of summers at the fragrance counter in a suburban mall, Carlingford Grace Bros. and getting to know a slew of fragrances it still held sway as the most beautiful of them all. Even now after being down the fragrant worm hole for years I still come back to Shalimar regularly and every time I do I quietly ask myself why I ever needed to stray from its billowing extravagance.

Shalimar by Guerlain 1925: Back To My Favourite

Shalimar by Jacques Guerlain

Shalimar Guerlain Ad FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Citruses, mandarin orange, cedar, lemon, bergamot
Heart: Iris, rose, vetiver, jasmine, patchouli
Base: Civet, musk, tonka bean, opoponax, leather, incense, vanilla, sandalwood

All I knew of Shalimar through my childhood was that it smelled incredible: its sweet, lemon ice-creamy vanilla over a hefty dollop of animal warmth, woodsy incense and plush leathers was so alluring and engulfing.

Named for the Shalimar gardens of Lahore (and Kapurthala’s homage) but the back story is of the love of Shah Jahan for a princess from the Persian nobility who he fell in love with, married and made her his favourite queen, after she died giving birth to their 14th child he nearly bankrupted his kingdom building the Taj Mahal as her crypt. The second time I was at the Taj Mahal the whole experience was so overwhelming that I needed to sit on the steps leading into the park and have a little moment. Yes, I was wearing Shalimar.

Shalimar Guerlain Collectionj 2015

Above is a picture of my Shalimar collection. Only the bottles of open boxes are shown, quite a few remain unopened because they are doubles, I have decants or they are discontinued and having/holding/looking at them is as good as smelling them. One of my parfums is not parfum at all (maybe EdC?) and another smells like it has been stretched with perfumers alcohol. The rosebud bottle is still sealed as are the 16oz watchface bottle and the little parfum on the navy box. The batwing bottle that is 1/3 full is my 4th bottle of EdT over the years, I really want to buy one of the newest but feel naughty as I have 2 backups bought at extremely reasonable prices when buying this one. What is interesting is that though the Shalimars are all different, they are so similar that if you’re wearing them for pleasure rather than parsing and blogging they are all pretty much one. No matter what era though the lemon ice-creamy fizz with the vanilla and an animal growl fits me like a glove. My number one.

Further reading: Erica Golding at APJ and Portia on EdC at APJ
FragranceNet has EdT $49/90ml before Coupon
Surrender To Chance has EdP samples from $3/ml

What is your number one?
Portia xx

La Petite Robe Noire: Eau Fraîche: Guerlain: Film

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Post by Portia

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Hi Guerlain-o-philes,

One of the cleverest fragrant advertising coups has been the huge success of the La Petite Robe Noire ads for Guerlain. They are fun, sentimental, naughty and spot on across age groups. Using These Boots Are Made For Walking as the theme song, the cartoon images, naughty seduction of a bell boy and adding in fashion and Paris all at once, Genius.

Here is the latest in the line for the 2015 flanker. In GREEN! My favourite.

Portia xx

 La Petite Robe Noire - Eau Fraîche - GUERLAINPhoto Stolen Guerlain

La Petite Robe Noire – Eau Fraîche – GUERLAIN

 

Vintage Parfums: GIVEAWAY WINNER

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

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Post by Portia

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Heya Crew,

Hotly contested tonight. I wish you all could be the winner. Really excited that one of our newest APJ Family members has won today.

Portia xx

Vintage Parfums: GIVEAWAY WINNER

CHANEL, Guerlain, DIOR, Rochas

Vintage Giveaway APJ Oct 15

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x sample of all six vintage fragrances in extrait/parfum
CHANEL No 5
CHANEL Coco
DIOR Diorissimo
Guerlain Mitsouko
Guerlain Shalimar
Rochas Madame Rochas
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 1st November 2015 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winner will be chosen by random.org

Winner Is amberinblunderlandPhoto Stolen amberinblunderland

Latai

The winner will have till Thursday 5th November 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.

CHANEL, Guerlain, DIOR, Rochas: Vintage Parfums

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 48 Comments

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Post by Portia

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Hi there APJ Crew,

I have a great penchant for vintage frags and particularly love to find parfum or extrait versions of them. Lately I have had a few really amazing finds and wins and I’d like to share the vintage largesse with you. Below are links to APJ reviews of each fragrance and an approximate year of production, the ones without years means I can’t find the correlating bottle years and/or there is no Batch Code. The samples will not be huge but you’ll get enough to have a couple of decent wears (or one really lavish one) so you have a mental reference when you see these lovelies in stores, on eBay or blogs.

These are the good stuff but I also have had a few fakes and dummy bottles come through too. Many times the seller doesn’t know or care enough about fragrance to tell the difference, a good fake can fool the average seller & headspace technology has made it easier to copy and then other times they are bad people. I have also started to notice that they are topping up their 1/2 full bottles with perfumers alcohol, REALLY annoying because you get kind of the right scent but the open is really alcoholic, which can feel like top notes going. Maybe one in 20 that I buy are not 100% genuine.

Vintage Giveaway APJ Oct 15

CHANEL No 5 (1970-87)
CHANEL Coco
DIOR Diorissimo (1987)
Guerlain Mitsouko (1990)
Guerlain Shalimar (<1980s)
Rochas Madame Rochas

 

giveaway kbairdPhoto Stolen kbaird

Vintage Parfums: GIVEAWAY

CHANEL, Guerlain, DIOR, Rochas

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x sample of all six vintage fragrances in extrait/parfum
CHANEL No 5
CHANEL Coco
DIOR Diorissimo
Guerlain Mitsouko
Guerlain Shalimar
Rochas Madame Rochas
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.

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please tell us which vintage fragrance you wish you had a free unlimited lifetime supply of and why

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 1st November 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 Thursday 5th November 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.

L’Homme Idéal Cologne by Guerlain: Film

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

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Post by Portia

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Hey Hey Crew,

You know how I love the fragrance ads. This one is fun and I can’t wait to sniff the juice.

Have any of you tried it yet? How is it?
Portia xx

L’Homme Idéal Cologne by Guerlain 2015

L’Homme Idéal Cologne by Thierry Wasser

L'Homme Idéal Cologne fragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured acccords:
Top: Orange, bergamot, pink pepper, grapefruit
Heart: Almonds, neroli
Base: White musk, vetiver

L’Homme Idéal Cologne – GUERLAIN

L'Heure de Nuit by Thierry Wasser for Guerlain 2012

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

Hello Stink Monkeys!!

In 2012 L’Heure Bleue had its 100th birthday. In  honour of that extraordinary milestone Thierry Wassser and the Guerlain team put together a fabulous set of three new fragrances built around the L’Heure Bleue magic but in essence dedicated to different hours of the day and the only one that made it the regular range is…….

L’Heure de Nuit by Guerlain 2012

L'Heure de Nuit Guerlain FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
White musk, orange blossom, iris, heliotrope, jasmine, rose, sandalwood

I have been trying to get this post written for years. I buy a decant and wear it for a day or two, get ready to write my post and “swoosh” the damn decant disappears. Clearly I have been putting them down and in a rush to clean, for one reason or another, the decant gets put away. WELL….. I found one of my earliest L’Heure de Nuit decants (I think) from a Ruth K split. It’s the softest violet grey colour in a smaller decant, so pretty.

Of course the Guerlain mini bee bottle is reason enough to wish for this fragrance but what does it smell like? OMG! How I love this magical fragrance. It is candied violets and musk sticks, sugar plum fairies and hearts desire.

lheure-de-nuit-guerlain Sugar Plum Fairy SammyDavisDog FlickrPhoto Stolen Flickr

Sheer, smooth and elegant. A cool, sweet smelling beauty that is light as air and hefty as a bowling ball. The first hours sillage is really amazing, especially considering how soft the fragrance feels to wear. I know the notes don’t list licorice or anise but I smell them softly woven through the flowers, lightly rooty and diaphanous white floral that really conjures up the feeling of evening in the placid cool of winter Paris, where the air is crystal clear and you are warmed in your long-johns and puffer jacket. MMMMMM.  The sense of quiet expectation hinted at in L’Heure Bleue is fully realised in this modern lilac reinterpretation. Sweet, floral, magical expectation. On a night like this……

Jin Waffle ParisJin having a hot banana chocolate waffle dusk Paris Jan 2013

Longevity is out of this world. I spritzed L’Heure de Nuit at around midnight last night, it’s nearly 2pm and I still have a sweet and creamy fragrance dolloped over a wash of much nicer than laundry musks. It’s still clean and fresh smelling and when I stick my head into my T-Shirt and the freshness is mixed with my after sleep man smell the whole fragrance is really yummy.

Further reading: Candy Perfume Boy and Alembicated Genie
Guerlain counters at larger department stores or Guerlain stand alone stores stock L’Heure de Nuit
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $6.50/ml

Did you get to try L’Heure de Nuit?
Portia xx

L’Heure de Nuit by Thierry Wasser for Guerlain 2012

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

Hello Stink Monkeys!!

In 2012 L’Heure Bleue had its 100th birthday. In  honour of that extraordinary milestone Thierry Wassser and the Guerlain team put together a fabulous set of three new fragrances built around the L’Heure Bleue magic but in essence dedicated to different hours of the day and the only one that made it the regular range is…….

L’Heure de Nuit by Guerlain 2012

L'Heure de Nuit Guerlain FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
White musk, orange blossom, iris, heliotrope, jasmine, rose, sandalwood

I have been trying to get this post written for years. I buy a decant and wear it for a day or two, get ready to write my post and “swoosh” the damn decant disappears. Clearly I have been putting them down and in a rush to clean, for one reason or another, the decant gets put away. WELL….. I found one of my earliest L’Heure de Nuit decants (I think) from a Ruth K split. It’s the softest violet grey colour in a smaller decant, so pretty.

Of course the Guerlain mini bee bottle is reason enough to wish for this fragrance but what does it smell like? OMG! How I love this magical fragrance. It is candied violets and musk sticks, sugar plum fairies and hearts desire.

lheure-de-nuit-guerlain Sugar Plum Fairy SammyDavisDog FlickrPhoto Stolen Flickr

Sheer, smooth and elegant. A cool, sweet smelling beauty that is light as air and hefty as a bowling ball. The first hours sillage is really amazing, especially considering how soft the fragrance feels to wear. I know the notes don’t list licorice or anise but I smell them softly woven through the flowers, lightly rooty and diaphanous white floral that really conjures up the feeling of evening in the placid cool of winter Paris, where the air is crystal clear and you are warmed in your long-johns and puffer jacket. MMMMMM.  The sense of quiet expectation hinted at in L’Heure Bleue is fully realised in this modern lilac reinterpretation. Sweet, floral, magical expectation. On a night like this……

Jin Waffle ParisJin having a hot banana chocolate waffle dusk Paris Jan 2013

Longevity is out of this world. I spritzed L’Heure de Nuit at around midnight last night, it’s nearly 2pm and I still have a sweet and creamy fragrance dolloped over a wash of much nicer than laundry musks. It’s still clean and fresh smelling and when I stick my head into my T-Shirt and the freshness is mixed with my after sleep man smell the whole fragrance is really yummy.

Further reading: Candy Perfume Boy and Alembicated Genie
Guerlain counters at larger department stores or Guerlain stand alone stores stock L’Heure de Nuit
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $6.50/ml

Did you get to try L’Heure de Nuit?
Portia xx

Shalimar + Mountain Adventure Photo Essay

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 18 Comments

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Post by Portia

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Hey there Perfume Peeps,

Today was so wonderful. One of the guys (Jean-Luc) that comes to my Tuesday Trivia has recently started an Art Shop in the mountains near Sydney. They are called the Blue Mountains because something in the eucalyptus trees shimmers blue through the air and thus the mountains look blue from afar, it’s lovely if you have them in your view. Another of the boys from Tuesday Trivia (Leo) is a motorbike rider and we have been chatting for a while about going on a bike excursion to Katoomba to see Jean-Luc. Today was the day.

It started out lovely in the sun, warm and toasty. Figuring it would stay that way I eschewed the thermals, wet weather gear, beany and puffer jacket under my riding kit. BAD IDEA! As soon as we got 20 minutes along the highway, freezing, stinging rain and the strongest winds I’ve ever ridden in. OMG! So freaking cold. It was incredibly exhilarating though and I was kept on constant alert, it was like a ride at a fairground except I was the one who had to be in control of the bike.

Anyway, we get to the top and have the most wonderful coffee before Jean-Luc opens the store. It’s a very modern artists place, mainly catering to spray paint artists who have covered the walls of the store with murals and the back alley has been given to artists from all over the world to paint, each wall a different and magical scene. It’s astounding the intricate detail they are able to bring with a spray can.

Blue Mountains Aug 2015 #1

Blue Mountains Aug 2015 #2

Blue Mountains Aug 2015 #3

Blue Mountains Aug 2015 #4After looking at the murals in the area we popped across the road to the funkiest food place ever. The Yellow Deli. An ex-hippy hang if ever there was one. It seems to be a cross between rural, historical, hysterical and home improvements. Every piece lovingly hand rendered, something happening everywhere you turn and all seemingly with little rhyme or reason: eclectic and fun. We were ushered upstairs by a friendly waiter who thought we were a band (super cool US!!) and spent a few minutes just drinking in the ambiance. I had been told what to order and I dutifully did. I think it was called a Darling Rose Sandwich. OMG! Disgusting. Ha Ha Ha ha!! It was too much super salty ham, some onion with tomato chutney and tomato sauce AND mayonnaise. BLEAUGH! I was so hungry though that I ate every bite, and by the end of it I kind of got used to it.

Blue Mountains Aug 2015 #5

Blue Mountains Aug 2015 #6

Blue Mountains Aug 2015 #7Then the unbelievable happened. 2 hours from the heart of Sydney and it SNOWED!! Big, puffy, soft looking gusts of snow that got so heavy the street was obscured. Totally fabulous. Not enough to cover the world white but it was snow, and from our comfortable seat in the deli it was magical.

Blue Mountains Aug 2015 #8After that Leo & I went and had a look at a piece of land I’m quite interested in and then we rode home. While in the mountains I purchased (at 50% Discount!) a pair of electric green merino wool leggings and matching beany, I donned my puffer jacket under my bike jacket and the ride home was considerably warmer, and dryer because the snow and rain had stopped.

Guerlain Shalimar Satin Shower Gel 200ml

When I got home to really warm myself up I drew a bath and used Shalimar Gel Douche as my Bubble Bath. It was fiery hot and deliciously scented. There is no better place in the world to warm a cold, tired body and relax an overactive mind. It was bliss. I have spritzed some recent Shalimar EdP and am now bathed in a cloud of my own sweet smelling loveliness. Sometimes life feels really good.

Shalimar Fourreau du Soir Guerlain FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Further reading: APJ Shalimar Parfum, APJ Shalimar EdP and APJ Shalimar EdC
FragranceNet has $73/90ml current EdP before coupon
Surrender To Chance has EdP samples starting at $3/ml

How do you like to wind down? Do you have a favourite bath soak?

Portia xx

Vol de Nuit GIVEAWAY WINNER

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 1 Comment

Hey Hey APJ,

Heaps of interest in today’s giveaway. So glad to hit the nail on the head this time. Let’s see who won.

Portia xx

Vol de Nuit by Jacques Guerlain for Guerlain 1933

Vol de Nuit Guerlain FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, galbanum, aldehydes, orange, lemon, mandarin, narcissus, petit grain
Heart: Jasmine, daffodil, rose, violet, iris, carnation
Base: Woods, orris, vanilla, amber, musk, sandalwood, oakmoss, spices

Vol de Nuit GIVEAWAY WINNER

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x .5ml sample from my vintage Vol de Nuit parfum quadrilobe bottle
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DID YOU WIN?

Open to everyone worldwide who follows AustralianPerfumeJunkies via eMail, WordPress, Bloglovin or RSS. Please leave how you follow in the comments to be eligible. I must be able to check that you follow so if you have an email address on your gravatar that’s different to your follow address then please email me (portia underscore turbo @ yahoo dot com dot au) so I know. Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged.

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please tell me if you like the old Guerlain stuff? Have you tried Vol de Nuit?

Extra Chance?
Tweet: Guerlain Vol de Nuit GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-493   

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 9th August 2015 10pm Australian EST
Winner was chosen by random.org

winner-is HighestSelfPhoto Stolen HighestSelf

Mirjam Bayer

CONGRATULATIONS!! The winner will have till Thursday 13th August 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.