Rahele by Bertrand Duchaufour for Neela Vermeire Creations 2016

October 14, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 45 Comments

Post by Portia

WOO HOO Fumies!

Yes, it’s finally here. The long anticipated and much talked about newest release from Neela Vermeire. As you know Neela is a mate of mine so not only did APJ get a sample but there are two extras to give away!
How freaking exciting is that?
Portia xxx

Rahele by Neela Vermeire Creations 2016

Rahele by Bertrand Duchaufour

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Osmanthus, woody notes, spices, floral notes, herbal notes, leather, oakmoss

Rahele smells of green shady walks on summer days, slightly furry, like running silk satin over your cheeks and cool spices mixed and ready to throw in the pan. I’m surprised that there aren’t resins mentioned in the note list like galbanum or myrrh and my nose tells me there is saffron and some vegetal musks involved as well. Osmanthus is not a note I’m really clear on to be honest but I’m getting a lightly minty powdered green vibe that could be a floral. A bit like stock really….

WikiMedia

Rahele is not a big marching band style of fragrance but a calm, tranquil, elegant and fresh adventure in scent. It has a similar aloof yet cozy feeling that some of the Mona di Orio fragrances have, compelling yet restrained. For anyone who has complained that Neela Vermeire’s Creations are more fragrance than they can handle then this could be your entry point. Same meticulous attention to detail, same smooth transitions and same luxury feel but done in a way that is soothing as well as being commanding.

My mate Scott pronounced it his favourite in the Neela range, big call.

Rahele is not available commercially yet but will be on the Neela Vermeire Creations page soon.
Here’s a chance for you to try it first……

Rahele GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 2 winners who will receive:
1 x sample of Rahele provided by Neela Vermeire
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 Neela Vermeire fragrance or the one you’re most interested to try?

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Saturday 16th 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 19th October 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

Ainslie’s Pitti 2016 Photo Essay

October 4, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

Post by Ainslie Walker

Hi Fragrant Friends,

I popped over to Florence, Italy (Firenze as the locals call it) for Pitti Fragranze in September. The fair showcases the best in Niche perfumery, a whopping 270 brands exhibited this year! If you times that by how many fragrances in each collection, you’ll start to understand how much brain/nose cramming was done over the 3 days – I hope to share some of the magic so you feel you were there too!

Ainslie’s Pitti 2016 Photo Essay

I saw a big sign in front of an almost rundown building, Stazione Leopalda announcing the event. The entrance served as an area where people could relax, interview and of course, being Italy, smoke! The interior was rustic and industrial but with loads and loads of shiny new stalls set up and numbers and flowers hanging from the ceiling. My Pitti app let me know the theme was Numbers and Flowers – an art show running simultaneously expressing connections of numbers and flowers – the right numerical proportions can create palpable sensory experiences.

Die!! I WAS IN NICHE HEAVEN!!

I’d never been to Pitti before, so, full of excitement I began my first day’s journey and spotted Andy Tauer straight away. He was launching his new fragrance Tuberose Flash so I had a chat, sniff and also of newbie, At Coeur Desert…oh and of course had a quick selfie with him.

Turning, I saw the new Atelier des Ors – Iris Fauve and sprayed it, knowing I was more than likely spending $400 if I fell in love – it’s divine: smooth, sensual – I need to wear it some more but the iris was almost caramelised and velvet during the dry down.

Then my phone rang and it was Mark Buxton (OMG!!) – he was running a tad late to meet me – I resniffed his fragrances and neighbouring Eccentric Molecules while I waited for our scheduled interview…which of course you’ll be reading here in the upcoming weeks. HILARIOUSUS chap!

One stall along further, I ran into Nicolas Chabot who not only had his beautifully reinvigorated Le Galion collection, of which I got to smell a few, new to my nose and his novelty for Pitti, Sang Bleu. I had been anticipating experiencing his new brand, Aether for some time as it rolled out on instagram so he took me through the collection – all based on molecules and there were some really interesting scents I need to try on skin STAT. Overall I love the packaging and vibe which is quite dark and apothecary-like.

Montale had The New Rose on sparking and catchy metallic display – they handed me a small sample, so a review will follow (eventually).

Carner Barcelona was showing newbie, Costarela.

Lovely warm, Neela Vermeire and I had a half hour chat through the range and she doused me in her newest fragrance Raheme, ready for my evening, a lovely osmanthus based floral number made by perfumer Bertrand Douchfour. I left from day 1 in a cloud of exotic goodness!

More Pitti to follow in my next post(s)! Have you ever been?

Ainslie XX

What Fragrances Did You Wear Last Week?

October 1, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 29 Comments

Post by Portia

Heya Fumie Family,

It’s been a riotous week here in Sydney. So much happening and I was so involved I forgot to take photos of everything so here’s a smattering of what my week looked and smelled like.

What Fragrances Did You Wear Last Week?

KFC Brunch with buddies and BFF Kath’s family. It was short and sweet because I had to work that night, fun though.

Hosted the most sensational Hen’s Night that night. The girls were hilarious and we had a wonderful time.

Pedi Sunday. You can tell my Hobbit feet a mile off.

Yum Yum Cha Cha Cha with the crew. These are the heart of my friends circle and I love them.

Sunday night the JACKPOT went off at Austral Bowling Club. $1000 split 4 ways. Wonderful.

Tuesday it was head shave day and now you can see why I get it done so regularly. What a spunky barber. So sweet and he does a good job too.

Down at the local pool I’m up to 700m. Weather is perfect for getting my swim on. At 9am I have the pool pretty much to myself.

Morn to Dusk by Eau d’Italie: A vanilla-centric fragrance that is perfect for me. It’s warm, sweet and I’m surprised it doesn’t have more notes because it tells a beautiful story.

Divine EdP: Old fashioned BWF glamour done for the 21st century. I know it’s older than that but never feels dated or retro.

Mohur by Neela Vermeire Creations: All the roses set as a centrepiece with an enormous backing lineup that makes Mohur smell only of itself and slightly different every wear.

The Aoud by Mancera: Simple synth oudh with a minty kick in the heart and a longevity that beggars belief. Don’t get it on your clothes because they still smell after washing. I love this baby though and wear it quite a bit.

Tokyo Bloom by The Different Company: Lovely soft green cologne. Wears for me like an EdT but loads of people have problems with its longevity. Like walking on grass after the rain, so fresh and alive.

Antaeus by CHANEL: Just scored this vintage tester and it smells exactly like the bottles we had of it in the 1980s/90s. Jin stole my other bottle so I had to replace and it was well worth it. YUM!

Cabochard parfum by Gres: Not sure how old this baby is. I thought it was a vintage buy but it smells absolutely perfect, clear as a bell with that heavenly chypre dry down. Calm , cuddly and ever so elegant.

Le Male by Jean Paul Gaultier: The original and best. One of my partners in the 1990s and I wore this exclusively for nearly a year. Good times, great memories. I just opened this new bottle so it’s getting quite a bit of wear.

No 19 EdC by CHANEL: One of my great green loves. The old EdC is surprisingly tenacious and spectacularly furry in dry down. MMMM

Boy by CHANEL: I had about 20ml left after I split this and it’s down to 5ml or less. I love it. Easiest wearing thing in my wardrobe right now. It’s very lavender-centric on me with a soft focus dry down of sweet nothings. I really like it.

So! How was your week? What did you do and what fragrances did you wear?
Portia xx

Neela Vermeire Creations Take Two

August 29, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 15 Comments

Post by Portia

Hi there Fragrant Travellers,

As you know Neela is one of my mates, we chat on Skype pretty regularly and whenever Jin & I are in Paris we always get some Neela time. Talking about travelling, one of the bummers about having full bottles of fragrance is that when you are abroad it becomes a bit of a pain carrying them in your checked baggage. Isn’t it always great to have a few decants or travel sizes that you can keep conveniently in your carry on? Up till now I thought the Hermès ones were my favourite, all that has changed though because Neela has unveiled her own travel sizes.

Neela Vermeire Creations Take Two

The Neela Vermeire Creations Take Two sets come in a very sensible two pack of 15ml each. The glass is hefty and sturdy and they are perfectly created for life in your bag. As always Neela’s packaging is super swish and the whole shebang looks very Ra Cha Cha.

Another clever idea is to buy the set with a friend and you’ll each have 15ml, meaning you can collect the whole Neela Vermeire Creations set at just over half the price of buying the big bottles. It’s a really good deal. Other fragrance houses make their smaller sizes nearly 80% of the big ones (looking at you sexy Pierre Guillaume, Amouage and a bunch of the others).

LuckyScent sells Ashoka in the 60ml for $230, the 2 x 15ml Take Two set is only $125

Neela Vermeire Creations has the 2 x 15ml Take Two set €112

You may know that Mohur is my favourite of the NVC range followed closely by Ashoka and then Pichola. I’m going to start sussing out my mates about who would like to go halves in each of these sets. Those three combined with a few Hermès travels will mean I never have to think about my holiday frags, they’ll be packed and ready to go.

So, which Neela Vermeire Creations fragrance would you like to have a Take Two Travel Set of?
Portia xx

100s Of Bottles And Nothing To Wear!!

August 19, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 31 Comments

Post by Portia

Hello APJ Fumies,

Sometimes I go to my fragrance wardrobe and am completely overwhelmed. The choice seems impossible because there is so much but also seems impossible because nothing seems to be 100% right either. It’s the grossest of first world problems and I am ashamed of myself but there you have it. So how do I cope with these titanic traumas?

I don’t cope at all, what happens is I do one of two things…..

100s Of Bottles And Nothing To Wear!!

A Perfumistas Problem

So imagine me, it’s work time. I have bathed, made up and am ready to spritz. Lets say for my bath today I have used a citrus bubble bath because I’m unsure of my fragrance choice and most fragrances have citrus somewhere through them, usually up top, so I feel it’s a fairly neutral choice. I’m at my cupboard, the boxes are all named so while my eyes run down them I get mental images of the bottles inside: Designer, Niche, “Hermès, Piguet, Versace, Jacomo”, “Rochas, Caron” etc etc. NOTHING is jumping out at me and I’m due to walk out the door in 10 minutes, I need to spritz, get dressed, grab my bag and go….

What do I do?

Hit The Sample Box

There are a few sample/decant boxes around here. One of them is my “I really liked this” box. It’s got a bunch of fragrances that worked for me when I tested them, may have stayed on the desk for a week or two and are then cleared away in the next influx. Sure they’re unfinished and I’ve probably not bought a bottle of them but they are fine fragrances awaiting their time to shine again.

Quite a lot of these are 3, 5 or 10ml decants that I have bought in splits, smaller bottles from the Indie houses and a couple of extraits. Sometimes when I sample something new but don’t feel I’d ever go through 50ml of it I go to Surrender To Chance or My Perfume Samples and grab 5 or 8ml. There are the gifts of things that I may like from perfumista friends, perfumers, perfume houses etc. Lastly there are a few manufacturers minis.

I can always come to this box and Lucky Dip. This is a sensational, fun, surprising way to solve the problem for me. It also has led to me finally falling in love with a couple of maybes and buying bottles. Lolita Lempicka Elle L’Aime, Miller Harris L’Air de Rien, Annick Goutal Ce Soir Ou Jamais and Divine EdP all came to be full bottles this way.

Spritz An Old Favourite

All of us have 5 or 10 scents that are our favourites. Having so much and sampling so much these beauties often get ignored. We love them, it’s already decided, they’ll be there tomorrow and all manner of other reasons get in the way of us wearing our special forever favourites as much as we can. This then is the perfect fix. We know that they work, we know they’re eye rollingly gorgeous and we know that they smell good to others while we wear them too.

Some of mine are Guerlain Shalimar and Mitsouko, CHANEL No 5, Neela Vermeire Creations Mohur (You’ll notice I’ve recently opened my second bottle!!), Madonna Truth or Dare, Liberté by Cacharel and SOIVOHLE Rosa sur Reuse. All over the top gorgeous and when I get to wear them it always a surprise that I don’t wear them more.

Do you ever get overwhelmed? What are your coping mechanisms?
Portia xx

Portia’s Fragrant Week 24 – 30 July 2016

August 12, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 24 Comments

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.

Portia’s Fragrant Week 24 – 30 July 2016

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

12 Perfumes I Would Rebuy

August 4, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 62 Comments

Post by Portia

Hello Fab Fumies,

Once upon a time you would see these Desert Island lists everywhere. It was a regular question on blogs and Facebook pages. It would be great for me because it would make me think about the fragrances that really matter in my collection. So let’s get hypothetical.

Let’s say you have downsized to a Tiny Home after your whole perfume collection was destroyed and are only allowing yourself 12 fragrance bottles in your new less expansive space (you can change one every time you finish a bottle, gift one away etc). You have bought an In-Cupboard-Drawer that will be the complete size of your collection and it fits 12 bottles exactly. You have no price restrictions only bottle number, what are the first 12 bottles you chose to have in your home?

12 Perfumes I Would Rebuy

Fragrantica

Aesthete by Le Galion: The Le Galion crew are woefully under appreciated. This sexy leather/saffron/incense with a lovely animalic backbone is the bomb. Elegant, wearable, inviting and distinct.

Amoureuse by Parfums DelRae: Freakiest damn sexy lily I ever smelled in my life. A golden witch brew that makes my head pop.

Fragrantica

Dia Woman Extract by Amouage: An animal in couture clothing. All the flowers over an oudh/incense base that sings on my skin all night long till the early morning when it growls and purrs.

Fantasia de Fleurs by Creed: I can’t think of a better jammy rose. Some times in my life just seem to call for Fantasia de Fleurs

Giverny In Bloom by DSH Perfumes: The greenest green I ever did smell. So much galbanum decorated with flowers to lightly soften the blow. I go through so much Giverny In Bloom that it’s nearly time I bought more…..

Mitsouko Vintage Extrait by Guerlain: If you knew how much of this I’ve stockpiled you would be appalled. That furry peachy floral oakmoss bomb that continues to fascinate and delight me every time.

Fragrantica

Mitzah by DIOR: Honeyed, spicy, amber rose overlaid with a glorious smoky incense both fiery and cooly aloof. LOVE IT!

Fragrantica

Mohur by Neela Vermeire Creations: Another spicy rose but this time cooler and more Asiatic. Every wear is slightly different and it tends to bloom differently at different temperatures.

Niki de Saint Phalle: A chypre with a softer floral hue through the heart. So wearable and is such a summer staple that works in all climes.

Olympic Amber by Olympic Orchids: Yes, I have about 30 ambers in my collection and this was the hardest to winnow down to one by there is something incredible simple and wearable about Olympic Amber, it’s the one I seem to reach for as my benchmark.

Shalimar Extrait by Guerlain: The one. Forever and ever. My favourite fragrance in the world. This case is by far my preferred way to apply too.

Truth or Dare by Madonna: I know. Don’t care what you think. This is one of my all time favourites. It gets hauled out and spritzed at least once a week. There’s quite a stockpile here but still I worry that it will run out.

Can I tell you honestly that this took me a while because I kept swapping things out and then feeling bad because some of my favourite perfumers, houses and frags would have meant a doubling up of notes or styles. In the end I had to stop myself second guessing by adding that each time a bottle emptied or was gifted away I could swap it out for a different scent. Suddenly it didn’t seem like I was choosing forever and my head stopped exploding. He he he.

OK, so it’s over to you. What are your 12? Don’t think too long, it’s merely hypothetical and not forever.
Portia xx

Mohur Extrait GIVEAWAY WINNER

April 8, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 1 Comment

Post by Portia

SHIT! Sorry APJ,

Sandra and I completely forgot about drawing this giveaway! You all are so great and got really involved.
Let’s find out who our lucky winner is.
Good Luck everyone!
Portia xxx

Mohur Extrait GIVEAWAY WINNER

Sandra

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Cardamom, coriander, ambrette (musk mallow), carrot seeds, pepper, elemi
Heart: Iris, jasmine, rose, violet, almond, leather
Base: Sandalwood, amber, woody notes, patchouli, agarwood (oud), benzoin, vanilla, tonka bean

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x sample pack of all of Neela’s creations including a tiny bit of the Extrait
P&H Worldwide

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Tuesday 5th April 2016 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winner will be chosen by random.org

HighestSelf

Helen Burrows

The winner will have till Monday 11th April 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.

Mohur Extrait by Bertrand Duchaufour for Neela Vermeire Creations 2014

April 3, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 82 Comments

Post by Sandra

When Val, the Cookie Queen, comes to Vienna I know that we will have a great day chatting, laughing, walking and perhaps sniffing some perfumes together. New Year’s Eve 2014 she came into town to have brunch together with Birgit from Olfactoria’s Travels and Lady Jane Grey. This day was a celebration.

Sandra

Val and I first met at Starbucks with our men in tow and she pulls out a cosmetic bag and whispers “Hey, Sandra, try this new perfume from Neela Vermeire – Mohur Extrait.“ Knowing how precious the extrait could be I was still hesitant and wrinkled up my nose carefully smelling the lid. Ha! As if I could get an idea of what was to come! Gingerly I spritzed the tiniest bit on my wrist, had a good sniff, promptly forgot about it and we were off chatting and laughing.

Mohur Extrait by Neela Vermeire Creations 2014

Mohur Extrait by Bertrand Duchaufour

Fragrantica

Little did I know the burning ache that Mohur Extrait would light in my soul. After I came home I discovered the true beauty of this elixir and spent the next 6 hours with my nose glued to my wrist and dreaming.

On to the perfume… Let me begin by saying that I absolutely adore Neela’s bottles. The box arrived and as I unwrapped the paper and removed the bottle from the box my breath was taken away with the beautiful amethyst colour of the glass. The feel of the bottle in my hand is a perfect fit. The lid is solid, heavy and embossed with her logo.

Sandra

The first spray of Mohur Extrait opens with a smooth spicy rose accord. The spices are not, to my nose, distinguishable from each other. They mold the rose so that it quietly whispers come hither to me. The almond milk is swirled together with the roses and spices and makes the whole impression comforting, warming and welcoming. This is not a rose soliflore perfume. Don’t be afraid of the list of notes nor of the spices, the extrait is extremely well balanced and just stunning. Longevity is excellent but on me it sits close to the skin. It brings to mind the deep red roses or the velvet smooth texture of the scarlet amarylis that I had in the flat on New Year’s Eve 2014. The lights twinkling in the background resemble the sparkling elegance of the Extrait.

Sandra

The drydown is where my love affair began and continues with Mohur Extrait. Sandalwood is interwoven with the rose to create a most scrumptious combination of creamy, slightly sweet woody rose which beckons every fibre of my soul to let go of all of the stress and worries in life. There is a tinge of vanilla but it is not sweet at all, in fact it is a dry vanilla if that makes any sense at all. The star of the Extrait for me is where the sandalwood sings its loving ballad to the roses and releases me to a dreamy state.

lavanyasrecipes

Mohur Extrait GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x sample pack of all of Neela’s creations including a tiny bit of the Extrait
P&H Worldwide

HOW DO YOU WIN?

Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged. 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.

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please tell us if you have tried any of the NVC perfumes and which one is your favourite. If you have not tried any please tell me which one most appeals to you.

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Tuesday 5th April 2016 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winner will be chosen by random.org
The winner will have till Friday 8th April 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.

Cookie Queen + Portia on Tour: London/Vienna 2016

March 29, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 17 Comments

Post by Val the Cookie Queen

Greetings APJ Readers.

Each time I attend some perfume related gathering I intend to take lots of pictures.

Cookie Queen & Portia on Tour

London/Vienna 2016

Fact is I suck at it. I am overwhelmed by everything that is going on and never quite get it together as I planned. Still, the following pix will give you an idea of what went on. Tara has covered the event brilliantly on both A Bottled Rose and Australian Perfume Junkies.

Dr Fox, partner-in-crime, therapist, and she’s driving me to Milan.

Poppies Fish & Chips, Spitalfields. Second visit together. ?

Spitalfields Market.

“How do I look Val?”

Bonkers, Lady Jane Gray and me way in the background.

Grant (Basenotes). Antonio Gardoni (Bogue). Lila (Perfume lovers London). Val & Portia. Chris the Cookie King taking photo.

My dearest friend Kirk about to get a nipple twist.

Lady Jane Gray. Smitten.

My favourite shot.

Purchasing a bottle of Neela Vermeire creations: Pichola at retail in Vienna.

Vero Profumo: Kiki.

Val, Anna Maria, Sandra, Portia at a fabulous Greek restaurant

After dinner sniff of the newest Le Galion: Cologne Nocturne.

Val, Sandra, Anna Maria, Birgit and Portia brunching at Le Bol.

BlondesWunder arrives in Vienna 22:00. To a Portia welcome of donuts & tea.

Around the time that you are reading this I am either packing my bag or on the road to the Esxence in Milan. I have a theory. Three days in Milan, six decent pictures each day, eighteen pictures. That ought to do it. Plus some pictorial updates on social media. My hands are shaking already.

Arrivederci.
Bussis.
CQ