.
Portia
.
Hey there APJ Crew,
Not sure what’s wrong with me. Totally unmotivated to leave the house in the early part of this week. Then I had stuff organised so had to leave the house, all good. Fairly chill week in all ways. LOADS of good fragrance though.
.
Portia
.
Hey there APJ Crew,
I really dreamed that this week would be a slow one. BLOODY HELL! Quite the opposite. What a week. Even got a three night holiday to Tasmania in with Jin, Kath and Alice.
.
Portia
.
Hey there APJ Crew,
This week has been full on. Every day has been filled with friends and fragrance. We’ve had guests to stay, guests to eat, guests to work. It’s Mardi Gras season, Winter Olympics and Lunar New Year. In between I’ve managed to get some serious TV time watching GRIMM.
.
TinaG
.
Hi APJ!
A friend asked me for advice – she’d been finding her favourite fragrance was not smelling the same in her skin. She was looking for something new. Did I know anything that was similar which she could try?
So firstly we chatted about her signature scent. My friend has been using Dolce & Gabbana – Rose the One, which obviously is rose-centric but balanced out with lychee and peony. Instead of asking what she liked, we started with what she didn’t – this being any fragrance that was overly floral or sweet. But there’s only one way to find out – go shopping!
So off we went on a perfume safari. We went to Myer / Mecca in Sydney city. Myer is open till 8:00pm which was perfect for dropping in after work. This excercise was also helping her to learn how to test & what to watch out for. When we got there I directed her to the Bottega Venetta and Narciso Rodrigues displays where I grabbed a handful of mouilettes. If I’m bulk testing, I’ll put a spray or two on paper & pop the end under the display bottle to let it dry a bit & keep track of what’s what. My nose lasts much longer (ie doesn’t get blown out / insensitive) if I’m sniffing dry paper, not wet.
So then we sniffed everything in those two ranges over about 15 minutes – chatting & learning about first impressions as we went. We chose Narciso Pourdée Eau de Parfum to try on skin, and found immediately that my friends skin amps fragrances in a sour direction. Good to know.
She was super quick to learn about top notes, dry down, what she liked and within 1/2 an hour we split up & she worked her way around Myer, the Libertine section, and Mecca with some wonderful sales assistants. I felt a bit proud when I over-heard her saying ‘my skin amps sour’ to the nods of an SA. Yay!
We had loads of fun in our adventure. I unfortunately fell in love with Gypsy Water by Byredo while she was off gallavanting…. maybe I should have kept my hands behind my back.
Other fragrances she tried on skin were Lady Vengence by Juliette has a Gun, Arcana Rosa by L’Artisan Perfumer – Natura Fabularis collection, Lys 41 by Le Labo, and Gris Clair… by Serge Lutens. Both the JHAG and Le Labo were fantastic and the SAs generously gave her small vials to give a proper run through at home.
Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, Lavender
Heart: Bulgarian rose, Moroccan rose, Patchouli, Hedione, ISO-E-Super
Base: Ambroxan, Vanilla, White musk
The next Monday she came back to me to say she loved Lady Vengence so much she went back & picked up a bottle of it. It’s a rose & patchouli scent and the quirky JHAG branding suits her so well. A win!
Have you ever had a friend find a new fragrance love through your recommendations?
Till next time,
Tina G xx
.
Post by Portia
.
Heya Gang,
Great to have you all involved. Libertine Parfumerie site has an extraordinary range and FREE AUSTRALIAN SHIPPING over $100. They are always great supporters of APJ and we love them. Also you get a BUNCH of samples with every order. Only affiliated by friendship.
Portia xx
This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x 1.3ml Bracken Man spray sample
1 x 1.3ml Mmmm… spray sample
P&H Anywhere in the world
Entries Closed Sunday 18th December 2016 10pm Australian EdsT
Winner was chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Wednesday 21th December 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
.
Post by Portia
.
Hi there Frag Fiends,
Some of mates have been doing weekly wrap up shots of their fragrances. I loved the idea but kept forgetting to do it. Last week I put a box in my office and every time I spritzed something it went into the box. It was fun to watch the bottles and boxes pile up in there.
Yes, this is 7 days of fragrant wear for me. I think/hope I got them all. There were a couple of samples that I finished and threw away while not thinking, oops. (Bloody forgot Aesthete by Le Galion and Infini by Caron)
So from top to bottom 4 rows, left to right.
Miss Dior vintage parfum by DIOR: Pretty floral, furry dry down. Why did they have to change it? GRRR
Mohur by Neela Vermeire Creations: One of my all time faves. India meets Europe in a temple rose garden.
Exultat by Maria Candida Gentile: Incense and woods, one of the most comfortable incense bombs ever.
Epice Marine by Hermès: The modern aquatic, lifted by spices and that sheer oily JCE signature.
Aqua Allegoria Lys Soleia by Guerlain: Lily and cool white flowers with a touch of coconut cream. Tropical yet elegant.
Midnight Oud by Juliette Has A Gun: Rose & oudh, smells great, lasts for the whole day, won’t break the bank.
Coco vintage parfum by CHANEL: Coco, is Coco, is Coco. Heavenly oriental, so spicy and full.
Fantasia de Fleurs by Creed: Sweet, jammy roses and marmalade. YUM!
Giverny In Bloom by DSH Perfumes: Put your head in a florists fridge while wearing a heavily galbanum fragrance and you will smell Giverny In Bloom.
LouLou by Cacharel: BOOM! LouLou is like wearing a technicolour shirt that glitters and shimmers. Careful of she’ll wear you out.
Tweed by Taylor of London: MEMORIES!!! Mum. Back then it was Tweed by Lentheric.
Truth or dare by Madonna: Yes. This is my current favourite big white floral. So good and practically free.
Amazone vintage by Hermès: Oakmoss and a little bit of other stuff. Furry and genteel.
What did you wear last week?
Portia x
.
Post by Portia
.
Hey Gang,
Haven’t heard from all our Week Of Giveaway Winners yet. Please check below. You all have till Wednesday night here in Oz to get your addresses to portia_turbo@yahoo.com.au.
If you’ve sent through your details I’ve crossed you out.
Thanks,
Portia xx
Katherine Mittas
Lena
Despina Veneti
Lindaloo
SaffyIsHere
Greennote2
Ellen M
*sophi*
Lori L
Tim
Thank You to those I’ve heard from. HURRY UP to those I haven’t.
Portia xx
.
Post by Portia
.
Hello Lovely APJers,
Particularly excited to give this magnificent presentation case away today. The scent is pretty darn fabulous too.
Thanks to Libertine Parfumerie and Elysee Collective for sending through this sample pack.
Portia xxx
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Jasmine sambac, tuberose
Heart: Ambroxan, tuberose
Base: Amber, cedar, musk, sandalwood
This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x White Spirit Manufacturers Sample (my review sample remnants)
P&H Anywhere in the world
Entries Closed Friday 3rd June 2016 10pm Australian EST
Winners was chosen by random.org
The winner will have till Wednesday 8th June 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.
.
Post by Portia
.
Hey Hey All,
Romano Ricci is a dead set spunk, so sexy and suave. We met him last year here in Sydney and I fell head over heels, we all did. He was warm, engaging, funny and composed. He had some great stories and through the whole afternoon his love for fragrance shone through. Coming down from the Nina Ricci line, she is his grandmother, he has a similar vein of conservative and quirky that I am only now discovering as I work my way through the vintage Nina Ricci catalogue.
This week I am dedicating APJ to a GIVEAWAY WEEK! Yes, every day for six out of seven days there will be a 24 hour GIVEAWAY. That’s right, you’ll have 24 hours to get your comment in and then it will be drawn. Enter every day if you like but only one comment per day. Got it?
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Jasmine sambac, tuberose
Heart: Ambroxan, tuberose
Base: Amber, cedar, musk, sandalwood
This haute line from JHaG is lovely. I really like the bottles, fragrances and the whole idea behind them. Romano made up a crazy expensive fragrance for his girlfriend, everywhere they went people commented on it and wanted in. He then made up a small batch at a more moderate price to test the waters, still expensive but within reach. Sell Out! So the haute line was born.
The first two are big fragrances, head turning, walk in before you, notice me bitches style frags. On the third Romano has pared back the size and added a more industrial vibe. 21st century fragrance couture. Utterly unisex and, on my skin, devastatingly beautiful.
Further reading: Candy Perfume Boy and Now Smell This
Libertine Parfumerie has $390/75ml with FREE Australian Postage
First In Fragrance has €240/75ml + Samples
This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x White Spirit Manufacturers Sample (my review sample remnants)
P&H Anywhere in the world
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
Tell us your addictive scent
Entries Close TOMORROW Friday 3rd June 2016 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Wednesday 8th June 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.
.
Post by Ainslie Walker
.
Nick Smart’s desk at Agence de Parfum’s HQ (Libertine Parfumerie) often holds exciting secrets. Last week he had just returned from a buying trip in Europe…Squeal!! I dashed for the pile of boxes and had a quick sniff. These are my first thoughts and REVEALS:
Creed: Princess Oud is an oriental floral for women launching in Australia in March 2016, also created by in-house nose Oliver Creed. Before sniffing I thought of the words “princess” and “oud” and conjured up an imagined scent being sweet, girlie and dense with oud. I was right. An appealing, possibly heading towards ‘crowd pleasing,’ fragrance which paves a pathway between Middle Eastern and Western perfumes. It’s far too icky-sweet for me, personally. Maybe not so original but it’s done very well, this review is from a card so skin mileage will vary.
Creed: Royal Mayfair, a unisex fragrance launching here in December is a remake of Windsor, the limited edition of 2009, renamed and no longer limited. Whoop! Windsor was originally created in 1936 for King Edward VIII of England. Ingredients take us on a tour of the British Empire he ruled and makes for an interesting olfactive tale, in which Australia features, with the inclusion of “our” eucalyptus. Nose Oliver Creed has combined London gin, Jamaican lime, Scottish Highland pine tree atop of “Duke of Windsor” roses and orange from the Bahamas over Canadian cedar and AUSTRALIAN eucalyptus. I stopped and took notice when I first sniffed and it gets better and more beautiful and distinctive on drydown. My current gin based fragrance is Penhaligon’s Juniper Sling…could this be next?
Frapin: The Orchid Man is being compared to Aventus and due in Australia for release in January. Call me an alien but I am no massive fan of Aventus. Obviously I appreciate it, but mostly it’s too macho, and frankly that’s not who I like to nuzzle up too. Add to this all the comments re “panty dropping” I see on fragrance forums and I think its killed it for me (pants definitely up to the point of wedging!) My favourite pineapple note in perfumes is in Frapin’s 1270. So I was intrigued thinking, “could Frapin’s take possibly be a better and more affordable Aventus with 1270’s magical pineapples and woods?” No. It’s missing the pineapple sadly, but it is very similar to Aventus.
Juliette Has a Gun: Another Oud will be released in Australia in Feb 2016 (lets hope this means another visit to Oz from sexy Parisian, Romano Ricci, father of the brand..!) I smell the musks and ambroxan JHAG are famous for with oud floating up eventually from underneath. A dry oud scent. On the skin however Another Oud comes to life and there’s more to it than first expected, including some raspberry fruit and intensifying oud. I’d like to spend more time with this fragrance as it has all the elements to be very sensual.
Libertine Parfumerie has samples and bottles. FREE Australian Delivery over $100
First In Fragrance if you’re in Europe
LuckyScent in the USA
Surrender To Chance is a great way to sample before you buy too
What have you discovered lately that’s new to market or you that has touched you?
Ainslie Walker
Photos Donated Ainslie Walker
Australian Perfume Junkies 