CQ Snippets From The Week That Was.

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Val the Cookie Queen

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Hi there y’all

Been an active couple of weeks here in the heart of the Austrian Salzkammergut.  We are busy moving apartments.  Amazing how much crap there is to throw away after living in one place for twenty-five years.  Luckily we are only moving about 400 meters away, so we have been steadily taking the stuff that we want to keep and setting the place up.  Once we have moved in we have two months to clear this place out.  We are serial renters.  Having chose to live an – uhm – rather wayward life up until our early thirties, we have never been a position to buy.   We already own the home that my husband grew up in, as his parents put it into our names about fifteen years ago, so renting is just fine.  His parents will continue to live in it until they turn their toes up.  And when it is eventually properly ours we will not have to pay inheritance taxes or whatever.  Planning ahead.

CQ Snippets From The Week That Was.

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Not the Guerlain Bee. And other current stuff.

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Val the Cookie Queen

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Hey there APJ.

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I was in Prague last week.  My husband (mental age 23, real age just turned 60) and we went away to celebrate his big birthday in peace.  We rode more than 120 km on old bikes through the streets of Prague, discovering the beautiful city, especially fun over the cobblestones. That was all in 2 days.  As we cycled round we came across a Guerlain store, lovely windows, full of bee bottles and the parfum bottles.  I am not a true Guerlain girl and am just not interested in the tons of news stuff, including the Aqua Allegoria series (pastel colours!) nor the bottles that they are in.  If the bottle sucks you can be sure I am not gonna be interested.  I was recently talking to The Candy Perfume Boy about how incredibly important packaging is…..  Talking of CPB, I hope you have all listened to the recent Fume Chat podcast, it is back.   I did get however get excited about seeing Jicky in the window, and decided to return the next day to go in and try all three versions of it.  I had never tried it.   Yeah, yeah ,whatever.  The SA was marvelous and I sprayed hefty doses of the EdT, EdP, and the Parfum, and left.  I rather liked the parfum, but not enough to fork out the dosh.  I could not detect one single tiny hint of lavender in any of them, and would much rather drown myself in Chanel`s Boy, and I have Shalimar which is Jicky enough for me.  And anyway,  I have my own bee.

Not the Guerlain Bee.  And other current stuff.

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Concrete by Comme des Garçons: Architecture + Perfume

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Kate Apted

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Welcome to APJ!

In researching the link between architecture and perfume, a lot is made of linking a smell with a place, or trying to recreate the scent of the inside of a building. I think it is too far a literal understanding of the two. I believe there is a more subtle joining that allows each their artistic and symbolic existence aside from the other, yet in mutual complimentarity.

Architecture + Perfume

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The Pain of Pleasure and Perfume

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Kate Apted

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G’day APJ family. Really great to have you here!

I have been to a few perfume meet-ups now and I have been able to hear other like minded folk talk about perfumery and scent. It has been brilliant to learn how you all feel about, discuss and approach perfume. But what has become very obvious to me is how differently I process, not just my emotions regarding scent, but the pleasure, and pain, I get from smelling things.

 

The Pain of Pleasure and Perfume

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Calvin Klein Women 2018

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Kate Apted

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How’s things, APJers?

Our summer is pretty much over, and as short as it had been, I found it one of my best summers yet. I discovered a wide range of hot weather loving scents that are not the usual citrus, cologne style or 90s breezy, aquatics. Needless to say, Chloe Nomade got a lot of wear, as did 34 Boulevard St Germain by Diptyque.

Calvin Klein Women 2018

Honorine Blanc and Annick Menardo

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2015: The Universal Number of 8

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Post by Suzanne R Banks

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Hi APJ,

Happy 2015. Last year I wrote about The Universal Number of 7! In this article I wrote about meeting a numerologist and apart from being totally wonderful and charming, she was very insistent I write about the number 7. So following on from that meeting lets see what’s in store for us next year.

2015: The Universal Number of 8

2015 8 MetroDF_Linea_8 WikimediaPhoto Stolen Wikimedia

In numerology the number 8 represents where we are in our journey, through the cycle of 1 to 9. So with 2015, equaling 8, we are almost at the end of the cycle.

I’ve always associated the number 8 with abundance and money, but the more I read about it the more I realise these are simplifications. There are many kinds of numerology out there and just as many interpretations, so what I can gather about the number 8 and our year in 2015 is:

* 8 is as much about karmic balance and the Law of Cause and effect than it is about money

* the energy of the infinity sign gives us strength and allows us to express our leadership qualities

* we are confident and fair to others

* we can access our personal power (without too much ego) which can not only help others but can also help us reap the benefits of the past 7 years of hard work

* we may have more abundance and money in our lives but it is less important to us than before

* the number 8 is about balance and a greater expression of money vs abundance

* if we are truly living up to the number 8 we can feel and express the need to help those around us

2015 8 infinity_dragons danmwithatwist DeviantArtPhoto Stolen DeviantArt

So what essential oils can we use to meld with the number 8?

1. Sandalwood (Indian or Australian)

– see the needs of the many are met through social awareness throughout the world

– feel your spirit rise within you and overflow to help those in need

2. Cypress

– inspiration and creativity without the need for ego

– clarity and worldliness, softness

3. Patchouli

– world peace

– connect to mother earth

4. Vetiver

– tranquility, abundance

5. Rosewood

– flow of love through the heart chakra

– true “affluence” (meaning “to flow”)

– this is an endangered tree so please see my article Rosewood – A Story of Ecology and Conservation for more info

– Indian rosewood could be used vin its place – Dalbergia sissoo I MUST Have You!

Good luck.

Best wishes.

PEACE.

Remember to treat yourself first, then everyone will benefit.

Suzanne R Banks xx

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Shanghai Tang 20th Anniversary Art Collaboration Project

Hi there Art & Beauty Lovers,

We have a book here in Australia, written by a buddy of mine Bruno Bouchet, The Beauty of Truth. It was about everyday items wrapped in the art of masters. You could have a Da Vince fridge, Picasso kettle, Pollock microwave. A bit like a Ben Elton book it was a fun look at the world of art, the world and snob value. There was a bunch of human interaction stuff too. I re-read it every now and then and laugh.

Anyway, enjoy these lovely pieces from China.
Portia xxx

Shanghai Tang 20th Anniversary Art Collaboration Project

Shanghai Tang celebrates its 20th anniversary as the global curator of Modern Chinese chic with a series of collaborations with visionary creative talents.

Shanghai Tang: A Garden of Vibrant Dreams

Inspired by the beauty of nature, Shanghai Tang released a captivating pop-art short film entitled “A Garden of Vibrant Dreams” that will take you on a mesmerizing journey through a series of six artworks by the talented Shanghai-born artist Jacky Tsai. His recent works include an exquisite large blue and white porcelain egg for Faberge Big Egg Hunt in New York City, which was auctioned in Sotheby’s New York in April 2014.

The mystic spiral made of round artworks imitate a hypnotic fall where one enters a world within a world (mise-en-abime). The original cinematic music by Charlie Nguyen Kim combines sounds of the East with a modern twist.

The six original artworks (Lotus Porcelain, Flying Tiger, Ginger Flower, Carved Dragon, Petrol Rainbow and Mix Landscape) were inspired by the beauty of nature and filled with colourful energy which reflect the optimism of modern China.

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Floral Play captures attention with the opening gates of leaves, followed by acrobats and ballerinas dancing on tree branches, among a kaleidoscope of butterflies, forming a surreal universe embracing the vitality of life. The sudden splash of ink introduces the world of peaceful Lotus Porcelain inspired by Chinese porcelain. Carved Dragon grown from Chinese motifs of wiggly tree branches and birds on a glowing red sunset.

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The vibrant vegetal universe of Ginger Flower takes you through a tunnel of birds, dragonflies, and koi fish to come together in a picturesque portrait. Petrol Rainbow set in the landscape of an iceberg with dolphins and gold fish and colorful valley. Last but not least, Chinese acrobats and Western performers work together jumping and swinging up in the sky to celebrate the prosperous Chinese New Year on a festive background of Chinese lanterns and dancing lions for Flying Tiger.

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The Jacky Tsai x Shanghai Tang collaboration inspired a limited edition capsule collection of apparel and accessories for women and men. These include the traditional qipao dresses, box clutches, cashmere shawls, porcelain dining set, home products, iPad and iPhone cases and even skateboards.

Source art8amby.