WOW! Mongolia, South Korea and home. What a sensational wrap up to nearly six weeks of travel. Jin really outdid himself as Cruise Director, we saw more than I dreamed possible. The whole adventure was planned perfectly, we also had a few very lucky breaks and helpful friends along the way.
We were so busy and there was zero sit time so almost the whole week was blogged from the Asiana Lounge at Seoul Incheon Airport on Friday evening while waiting for my plane. VERY relaxing.
This was fun. Thank you all for getting involved. We LOVE a giveaway here at APJ.
Let’s see who scored.
Portia xx
Japan & Korea Beauty GIVEAWAY WINNERS
WHAT CAN YOU WIN?
This week we will have 1 winner who will receive: 18 Beauty & Fragrance products from Japan & Korea 1 x Travel Purse to hold samples P&H Anywhere in the world
HOUSEKEEPING
Entries Closed Thursday 1st December 2016 10pm Australian EdsT
Wine was chosen by random.org
RuthF
The winners will have till Wednesday 7th 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
On our recent trip to South Korea in May 2014, I had a chance to pick up some local fragrances as a reminder of some of the great places we had the opportunity to visit. Here’s a quick run down of two brands.
South Korea’s JeJu Island lies south of the mainland in the East China Sea, and is a popular romance and honeymoon destination. The island is volcanic in origin, and dotted with the peaks of multiple volcanic vents with the spectacular Mount Hallasan dominating the skyline. The island is well known for its stunningly beautiful sun rises. There is a type of volcanic rock which has little bubbles all the way through it like an aero chocolate bar, and this material is used abundantly in building walls around the island. It is also used to carve “Old Grandfather” statues, Dol Hareubang, which are the main symbol of Jeju Island. These statues are stout, hands on bellies, and have a mushroom shaped hat. Another romantic feature of JeJu is the fields of yellow rape seed flowers – please don’t get caught up over the plants name, it just is what it is. You may have heard of canola, which is the genetically modified version of the rape plant and is commonly utilised to make canola oil. We were lucky enough to visit in late May when the beautiful fields of rape were in full bloom.
Photos Donated by TinaG
At one of the tourist shops I was pleased to find some local perfumes, marketed under the JeJu Tammora brand, “Tammora” being one of the previous names given to the island. I grabbed myself two bottles, one of rape flowers, and one of orchid which was in the shape of the island’s Old Grandfather statues. The orchid was a pretty cool, soft and powdery floral, but I had no frame of reference for the rape flower fragrance. Luckily, on the way home the next day we stopped and had a chance to wander through a field of the metre-high plants in full bloom. Their scent is difficult to describe, as subtle as a breath of wind, green and sweet – and it was quite accurately reflected in the perfume albeit in a more concentrated form.
Etude House is a playful chain of stores filled to the brim with cosmetics including the famous BB cream foundation. The first one we visited in Busan was a treat, pink and sweet and oh so cute! They have an adorable range of mini fragrances based on “romance” slogans “Why Not Me”, “Love Me Forever”, “Before You Go” etc… that kind of thing.
Photo Donated by TinaG
I chose to pick up “Bite Me”. Ha! Love the ambiguity in that statement. One spray releases a sherbet-fizzy grapefruit, fresh and sparkling, as dizzying as an unexpected kiss. Simple fun, and you can imagine scores of young girls picking up a few bottles from this range.
Photo Donated by TinaG
I’m glad I picked up a few cheap and cheerful fragrances during the holiday, it was a special way of bringing home a few extra memories of the trip!
We’ve recently returned from an amazing trip to South Korea – Portia, Jin, Kath, Matt and I travelled around for about two weeks having an absolute ball in a wonderful & welcoming country. Before we left, I had a few chats and did some research on what fragrances I may have access to that I wouldn’t normally get my hands on in Australia. One of the names which came up was Santa Maria Novella, which I happily discovered has a flagship store in Seoul.
“Officina Profumo – Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella” is one of the world’s oldest pharmacies. Originally established in Florence, Italy in 1221 by Dominican Friars, who created herbal potions and remedies for use in their monastery, the pharmacy was opened up to the public in 1612. The original Florence pharmacy still stands, with all of their products continuing to be hand made at their Florence factory site utilising old recipes and classic artisanal methods.
The South Korean store in Seoul is located near pretty Dosan Park in an upmarket shopping district within Gangnam-Gu. We were greeted and kindly looked after by the shop hostesses. I made a beeline for the colognes whilst Portia explored all of the other wonderful goodies on display.
From Fragrantica: Santa Maria Novella is one of the oldest pharmacies in the world. It was opened in Florence, Italy in 1612, taking the formulas of Dominican friars that originate from 13th century.
Their products are all the types of things you may expect to find in an apothecary: high quality and beautifully presented soaps, fragrances, herbal extracts and essences, side by side with more modern home items such as wax candles and dog & cat grooming collection. I could so easily have stayed there for hours on end, but I did manage to get my nose to a fair few bottles including the recently released Alba de Seoul which had a refreshing pine needle note, a nod to the cultural importance of the South Korean pine trees. I wished I could have taken more home, but I decided to treat myself to a full bottle of ….
Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Musk, powdery notes
Muschio is a really gorgeous comforting scent and has quickly become my go-to fragrance this winter. Although technically a cologne, Muschio isn’t one of those which can be splashed on liberally or needs refreshing every couple of hours – there is no need as it has very good longevity and silage. On opening there is a predominant puff of musk with slightly woody undertones, a touch of vanilla and a ghost of lemon hovering over the top. The musk is nothing animalic but it light and airy. The dry white wood in the background keeps it from being overly candy-shop sweet, giving it a lovely powdery feel. It doesn’t change appreciably in dry down, although the musk softens and the woods become more prominent. I also get a cinnamon-stick note, spicy wood without the peppery kick, adding to the warmth.
The visit to Santa Maria Novella was a fragrant highlight of a fantastic holiday. I’m so glad I purchased Muschio, it holds a dozen happy memories for me along with the continued enjoyment of a really fabulous cologne.
Do you have a fragrant holy-grail location that you’ve managed to visit, or wish to? Here are some pics of mine.
Thanks for all getting so involved in this crazy giveaway. I know its not fragrance but it will still be super fun for our two lucky winners to get their Korea packs. So, let’s go….
Korea 2014 GIVEAWAY WINNERS
Photo Stolen Ebay
WHAT COULD YOU WIN?
This week we will have 2 winners who will each get: 1 x Etude House Fresh Cherry Lip Tint 1 x mixed bag of 6 Etude House, Skinfood & Shu Uemura samples
1 x pair faux LV socks
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 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 a memory that involves a travel fragrance experience or a beauty product someone brought back from overseas for you.
HOUSEKEEPING
Entries Closed Sunday 8th June 2014 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org
Photo Stolen brooklodge
LizK
LubkaK (via twitter)
The winners will have till Thursday 12th June 2014 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.
Today I am going to quickly run down my weekends fragrance wear. It’s been pretty hectic around here, loads of work, home shenanigans, friend drama, shopping, living, loving and finally TSO Jin and I have booked a holiday. We will be jetting off to far flung destinations in January. Leaving our glorious summer for your Northern winter. I am so excited, 2010 was my last holiday and I’ve not yet traveled with Jin so that is always a relationship settler or a disaster zone. Can’t WAIT!!!
We spend 3 weeks in Europe so I hope to see all my Euro blogging buddies and then a week in rural, seaside Korea to meet Jin’s parents. OMG! That should be interesting. Oh well. Secure in the knowledge that I’m the most frightening thing in the universe I think I’ll cope, but will he? Will they? HE HE Poor feckers won’t know what hit them,
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Guerlain- Aqua Allegoria- Lys Soleia- I wear this newby to my collection and feel like an Empress. It is gorgeous on me, to me and I am gagging for the bee bottle. Flowers, sunshine, fruit (and to me salt & coconut though they’re not listed) Full review coming.
Olympic Orchids- Golden Cattleya- A guaranteed compliment grabber, unusual, sensuous, a little bit dirty but all lovely night blooming orchid. So good it feels a little bit evil. At 30ml EdP $40 you can’t go wrong!! Sample program excellent.
SIOVOHLE- Wild Ginger Chai- I thought I’d packed Leather Krem but it was Wild Ginger Chai and I had 3 random, unsolicited compliments. one person coming in close and saying, “Wow! You smell so amazing!” and then doing that disgusting hum/moan/purr thing we all do when fragrance transports us. It was spooky but great. At 15ml EdT $30 a very affordable frag and they have a super sample program.
Un named sample- Clayton at WhatMenShouldSmellLike gave me this to try and I think it’s a lavender masculine but it is tenacious and strident and dries down like a year later and generally reminds me of a Tabac type offering. I enjoyed it immensely.
Photo Stolen Parfum d’Empire
Parfum d’Empire- Ambre Russe- What a powerhouse of fabulous this is. Smoky, Russian teas, floral, pipe tobacco, booze, incense, burning, magical and musky firebrand of a fragrance. Why don’t I wear this every day? Ah May ZIng! These guys also have an extraordinary sample program and 100ml is only 90 Euro.
SurrenderToChance 40% off SALE!!! is currently happening too. I have gone with $100 to spend and scored myself some incredible bargains. Yes, I write for Perfume Posse but I get no kickbacks for doing so. I just LOVE THEIR SHIT!!! For $100 I can get 30ml of 10 or 15 fragrances. Such a great way to get to know a bunch of different fumes.
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Photo of Korean Temple Stolen elwood5566
Photo Korean Bridge Stolen 123rf
Thanks for dropping by, please go check out the links and have a little look. Below I have dropped in my new favourite song and video; Battle Scars by Guy Sebastian feat. Lupe Fiasco
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In life I want you to want the best for yourself and go out and get it.
It is waiting for you. Believe it.
Love always,
Portia xx
Australian Perfume Junkies 