Penhaligon's Iris Prima GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Woo Hoo APJ!

Another sensational Libertine Parfumerie and Australian Perfume Junkies GIVEAWAY! Thanks for being part of our fab, fun and fragrant family. We are super glad to have you all along.

Let’s see who our lucky winners are…

Portia x

Penhaligon’s Iris Prima GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Iris Prima Penhaligon`s FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, pink pepper
Heart: Iris, jasmine
Base: Leather, sandalwood, vetiver, amber, vanilla, benzoin

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 Major Winner who will get:
1 x Penhaligon`s Iris Prima 100ml bottle
(minus the Secondary Winners Prizes, the lid is wonky but spritzer perfect.)
P&H Anywhere in the world

3 x Secondary Winners who will each receive:
1 x 10ml decant of Penhaligon`s Iris Prima
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

Go to Libertine Perfumes<<<JUMP and find me one of their BATH PRODUCTS and the COMPANY…………….. NO DOUBLE UPS!!

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 30th March 2014 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org

Winners Are shannonmayerPhoto Stolen shannonmayer

Wheelspinner (Bottle Winner)

Hotlanta Linda

Victoria

Becky (Rebecca via Twitter)

The winners will have till Thursday 3rd April 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.

Special THANKS to LibertineParfumerie for these amazing giveaways. Please visit their site because they are so generous and helpful. If you wonder why they are sometimes more expensive than the discounters or OS retailers it’s because they are the only licensed company selling their fragrances in Australia; where you know you are buying new, fresh and genuine product. The cost of importing, and buying the right to import, alcohol based fragrances (and having the right to send alcohol based fragrances throughout Australia, which are illegal to send in the Australia Post air system) is expensive and they must cover their costs to bring you these luxury goods.

Oliban by Keiko Mecheri 2004

Hello Niche Nerds,

Keiko Mecheri houses her fragrances in fabulous bottles. I love the whole enjoyment of holding them in my hand and spritzing, it adds luster to a house that for some reason I feel close to. In my collection I have the fabulous old Loukhoum bottle

Loukhoum Keiko Mecheri LuckyScentPhoto Stolen LuckyScent

  and Jour d’Ete, which was my first salty coconut and jasmine fragrance, one of my all time favourite mixtures. Keiko Mecheri is one of the houses like Guerlain and Patricia de Nicolai that I have often felt as if they are made with me in mind, even though not all the fragrances work on or for me. I just like the houses aesthetic.

Oliban by Keiko Mecheri 2004

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAPhoto Stolen Libertine Parfumerie

Fragrsntica gives these featured accords in one line:
Virginia cedar, incense, olibanum, (blonde) tobacco, (Damascene) rose, palisander rosewood, tonka bean, ambergris

Sweet, jammy rose and woods surrounded by lovely incense. It all smells like a VERY expensive hotel foyer. Loads of woods and beeswax shine, I get a hint of leather too and the tobacco/honey accord is beautiful. Oliban opens so well and with such a heady religious air that I swoon every time.

While wearing and writing this article I chatted to a mate on Facebook at Australian Fragrance Network and during her ride she noticed tea, specifically the spicy Indian cooked black tea with milk and spices called chai. Now through the incense and woods, the honey and leather I get a distinct memory/feeling of chai. It’s like sitting up in Mcleodganj in the Indian Himalayas where the Dalai Lama is in exile. Sitting and watching the prayer flags fluttering outside while in a wooden tea house. The whole mountain top smells of incense and most of the tea shop/restaurants used to smell of wood, cigarettes and beeswax. Progress has smartened them up though and they are much more Westerner friendly nowadays than they were. Still some of the accommodation on the top of the hill has the old wooden beeswax smell, it’s fabulous. Taeko, my friend didn’t get the frankincense till a couple of hours in on her skin but I get it from the very first spritz, it’s warm scratchy resinous scent fueling the whole fragrance for me. Interesting how different people get dissimilar rides, even in the same temp zone.

oliban keiko mecheri  Prayer Flags Shawn Allen FlickrPhoto Stolen Flickr

From I Smell Therefore I Am (sometimes someone else gets it so right, in this case Abigail): It’s a fabulously well crafted incense fragrance with gorgeous whiffs of blond tobacco, woods, rose and honey. The initial burst of incense and cedar are refreshingly spiritual (don’t most incense frags seem rather churchy to you?). Oliban, especially at the start, seems soothing, calming, centering and cleansing. When I feel harried, rattled or just tired, Oliban serves as a meditative pick me up.

Oliban Keiko Mecheri Buddha Teaching Wonderlane  FlickrPhoto Stolen Flickr

If you are after an incense bomb then please look elsewhere. Oliban is incense, with a lovely softening rose accord and a warm honey/tobacco accord that also stop the incense and woods from being too hefty and unfeminine, anyone can and should wear Oliban. It will never be so loud as to override your own skins fragrance but will work harmoniously with it and create a patina of scent that could be worn anywhere and will be particularly good for very up close and intimate encounters. Soft enough for work, different enough to set you apart from the crowd. I think it is a tad too soft for it to be a fb in my collection; too tasteful, sophisticated and too suavely elegant to really fit with my bigness. I could buy this for almost any of my friends though and know that they would be incredibly happy with my choice for them, and that it could be a signature for quite a few of them too.

Further reading: Katie Puckrik Smells and I Smell Therefore I Am
Libertine Parfumerie has $195/75ml including Australian postage
First In Fragrance has €145/75ml and €5/4ml Samples

Oliban is worth a try.

Portia xx

 

 

Carnal Flower By Dominique Ropion for Frederic Malle 2005

Hello Fellow Fumies,

The story goes that this fragrance was created around the idea of Frederic Malle’s aunt, Candice Bergen, star of the movie Carnal Knowledge with Jack Nicholson, Ann Margaret and Art Garfunkel. I’ve not seen the movie but I love this little tit bit of information garnered from Fragrantica. It makes my enjoyment even sweeter as Candice was one of my great TV glamour girl loves from Murphy Brown and who could ever forget her in her 2000 star turn as Kathy Morningside in Miss Congeniality, awesome. Many of you will have loved her too as Shirley Schmidt in Boston Legal but i digress.

Don’t forget to enter our Libertine Parfumerie and Penhaligon’s Iris Prima GIVEAWAY

Carnal Flower By Dominique Ropion for Frederic Malle 2005

Carnal Flower Frederic Malle FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line (but writes them tiered):
Top: Bergamot, melon, eucalyptus
Heart: Ylang-ylang, jasmine, tuberose, Salicylates (natural, toxic product of herbal origin, a sort of a herbal pheromone which is used by plants as a warning)
Base: Tuberose absolute, orange blossom absolute, coconut, musk

I love how Carnal Flower opens with a huge plastic white flower surrounded by sharp citrus and greenery. I know the notes say melon and eucalyptus but I don’t get them definitively in the open. I get a sweet and sappy greenness like when you cut hydrangeas and lovely white flowers that move to fatty pretty quickly, they are potent and exciting but not as outrageous as the hype leads you to believe and they become quite dry through their life. Not dried or dessicated but the oily wetness, the sappy green loses its potency and becomes a high white floral with a green tiara on sending out occasional flashes and sparkles.

Carnal Flower Frederic Malle Cleaning tiffany terry FlickrPhoto Stolen Flickr

Just so you have placement, I am writing this on Wednesday which is my cleaning day. I do the house from top to bottom once a week. It’s a big job that can take 5 hours but usually I get it done in 3-4 hours. Today I decided to see how Carnal Flower copes in warm weather while active. At midday it’s 26 degees Celcius and I started cleaning at 9.30am. At just over halfway point so I’m taking a sneaky break to write to you.

Well I’ve dusted, vacuumed and cleaned the bathrooms. All that’s left to do is empty the kitchen benches and give them their full scrub. Still there are delightful wafts of coconut-y white flower and now I smell like summer. My sweat and Carnal Flower have come together to create something that smells like a beautiful deadly night flower that calls insects and small animals to their graves, it may even work on the men. I find sneaky reminders at this point of one of my favourite summer scents Bronze Goddess, though they have different stories at the Carnal Flower 3 hour mark they have a crossover.

Carnal Flower Frederic Malle Lanikai Oahu WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

At the 5 hour mark I have lost all but the merest traces of something musky floral but to all intents and purposes gone. I have to be honest here and tell you I think Carnal Flower not at all carnal and really it is a very pretty white floral with other stuff but not fearsome or challenging at all. Bigger than most modern perfumery but not outrageous, give the opening a moment to calm down and I find it extremely wearable. Maybe not a confined spaces or work fragrance but definitely doable for dinner.

Further reading:
Mecca Cosmetica in Australia have AUD$259/50mlFrederic Malle has €160/50ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $9/ml

Carnal Flower. Have you braved the name? Did you feel it was worthy of such a fearsome title?

Till tomorrow, treat yourself with respect, you deserve it and try to forgive yourself your minor flaws.
Portia xx

Hard Leather by Jerome Epinette for LM Parfums 2014

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Post by FeralJasmine

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Sometimes civilized people have to agree to disagree. There is a lot written about the fecal aspects of LM Parfums’ Hard Leather. To which I say: Really? Seriously? Have these people ever actually smelled feces?

Hard Leather by Jerome Epinette for LM Parfums 2014

A Night in Hard Leather

Hard Leather LM Parfums Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Leather, rum
Heart: Iris, honey
Base: Sandalwood, cedar, agarwood (oud), olibanum, vanilla, styrax

That is SO not what I smell. Initially, I smell clean, healthy barnyard, the kind you get with a really good oud. All the animals here are bursting with animal vitality, and you can smell it. The stroll through the barnyard lasts about 15 minutes on me. Then you come to the rough heavy wooden door into the tack room, and walk in among the leather. Through the scent of the wooden walls and the oiled and polished saddles and bridles hanging all around you, you smell a clean, vital male behind you. He is your wild lover, your animus, the one you’ve never confessed to anyone that you wanted, the one that you dream about and are sorry when you wake, the one you can only see out of the corner of your eye because he disappears when you turn to look straight at him. Dionysus. That’s what I smell.

Hard Leather LM Parfums  Tack Room FotopediaPhoto Stolen Fotopedia

If I were in charge, which I certainly am not, all men in my vicinity would wear Hard Leather at least occasionally. Ah, what a world it would be.

Does that mean that a woman can’t wear this scent? Not by a long shot. There is a honeyed vanillic softness to the leather that makes it lovely on women. Probably all of us have a Dionysus aspect if we admit it, and scent is a splendid way to channel your inner incubus.

So where does the talk about feces come from? I think it’s possible that some people smell all strong animalics as having notes of urine or excrement. I have heard similar talk about Muscs Koublai Khan, which has animal notes but no urine or poop to most of us. To noses of the Fresh’n’Clean type, anything that suggests nature may suggest dirt or even excrement. Or it may be a genetic difference in the way we smell things, which is known to exist with some scents. In this context I always think of Hermès: Vanille Gallant, a lovely vanilla-lily scent to many, a fishy disaster to some.

Hard Leather LM Parfums Horse Beach Sunset Jimmy McIntyre FlickrPhoto Stolen Flickr

Further reading: The Scented Hound and
First In Fragrance have €295/100ml and 9/4ml Samples

So, sample first, by all means. You should always sample first, because your olfactory universe is not like anybody else’s. But if part of your own olfactory realm is out on the fringes, beyond civilization and governed only by natural law, the primal beauty of Hard Leather is likely to produce an interesting degree of shock and awe.

FeralJasmine

 

Zelda by Shelley Waddington for En Voyage Perfumes 2013

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Post by Val the Cookie Queen

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Zelda: NOT the Legend of Zelda

Zelda En Voyage Perfumes legend_of_zelda DeviantArtPhoto Stolen DeviantArt

When this fragrance was brought to my attention, I already decided that it wasn´t for me. After years of computer gaming in my home I fall into the traumatized mother category. I could´t imagine anyone naming a perfume after a computer game, unless perhaps they were traumatized too? Despite hearing good things, it was not on my hit list.

Fast forward a few months to the legendary Blogger´s Meet in London. In the middle of eating a very nice plate of fish and chips I was handed a bottle of Zelda from the extremely charming Vanessa, her of Bonkers About Perfume fame. I gave myself a hefty spritz, which I promptly ignored. Nevertheless she packed me up a little sample to take home with me.

APJ Bloom 2014 #1

APJ Bloom 2013 #2

APJ Bloom 2013 #3

APJ Fish & Chips 2013 #1Photos supplied by Michael

I now have my own bottle.

A Perfume Trip

I spent several summers in the seventies and early eighties at Stonehenge and Glastonbury, in the days when they were free festivals. I remember very clearly (which is surprising) a particular psychedelic experience. We were sat on the stones of Stonhenge and as my friends and I spoke to each other the words came out of our mouths in sheets of colours. Each more vibrant than the other.

Each time I wear Zelda I have a comparable experience. I exhale, put my nose to my skin, and then inhale deeply. The notes unfold in layers like magic. First the spicy top layer, and then the thick magnolia and flowery layer, and then hidden under that you hit a smoky, musky, vanilla, sandalwoody and who knows what else accord. It stays layered on the skin. Absolute genius, and it doesn´t stop. It is deep and complex, and I wonder how Shelley Waddington came up with this. Be careful though it´s a twelve hour trip! Still there in the morning.

Zelda En Voyage Perfumes Zelda Janie Coffey FlickrPhoto Stolen Flickr

Zelda Fitzgerald (1900 – 1948) “I don’t want to live. I want to love first, and live incidentally.” – Zelda Fitzgerald

Zelda was inspired by Zelda Fitzgerald, quintessential flapper and inspiration for her husband F. Scott Fitzgerald. She lived her life to the full, but hovered on the edge of madness. She was a writer in her own right. Gone are my thoughts of computer games.

Zelda by Shelley Waddington for En Voyage Perfumes 2013

Zelda En Voyage Perfumes FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top:
Italian Bergamot, Spices, Iranian Galbanum
Heart: Magnolia Blossom, Garden Florals
Base: Amber, Musks, Vanilla, Peru Balsam, Sandalwood, Vetiver, Cedarwood, Oakmoss (Mousse de Chêne)

You can order from En Voyage Perfumes and they do samples too. I look forward to exploring more of the line.

Further reading: Jordan River at Australian Perfume Junkies and Smelly Thoughts

“Nobody has measured, not even poets, how much the human heart can hold.” Zelda Fitzgerald

Bussis
CQ

ROZY Voile d'Extrait by Vero Profumo 2014

Dearest APJ Readers, Hangers On (please subscribe) and all Vero Profumo Aficionados.

ROZY Voile d’Extrait by Vero Profumo 2014

CQ Vero Milan 2013 #1

CQ Vero Milan 2013 #3

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Oriental rose, tuberose, currant buds and leaves, honey, spices, sandalwood, labdanum

A huge spritz and a long sniff and nine hours later, I am charmed. Did you expect anything else?

I am not Freddy from Smelly Thoughts who would really do this justice. I will however try.

It opens with a bright burst of cassis and a an atypical rose combined with tuberose undertones. By this I mean it does not scream rose. It’s gorgeous and not like anything I have ever sniffed. I know you want more information but I can’t do it that quick. Droplets of sandalwood are there too. But what has thrilled me the most is the last couple of hours. It is the softest, cosiest, creamiest honey I have ever experienced. It creeps up on you.
And no, it is nothing like any of the other Voiles.

The Rozy EdP is, however another story.

CQ Vero Milan 2013 #2

Don’t forget to enter our 300,00 views Acqua di Parma GIVEAWAY<<< JUMP

Bussis from the Campomarzio70 Happy Nose Days Vernissage!!

CQ

APJ 300,000 Views First In Fragrance Acqua di Parma!!

WHOOO HOOO APJ!

We have hit 300,000 views. An incredible landmark

THANK YOU to everyone who has been involved in any way in our very special family of fragrance freaks. Readers, Writers, Commenters, Contributors, Frag houses, Perfumers, Curators, Marketing people, Friends, Family: every one of you have made this one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life. I am proud to be part of something so fun and global, you who are my friends through Cyber, the ones I’ve been lucky enough to meet, my besties and Jin. THANK YOU.

300000 ArtRockPhoto Stolen ArtRock

 

When Michael & I were meeting the crew at First In Fragrance in Germany. Beate and the crew (Shane, Sabine, Margit, Katharina) were so amazing that they wanted to do something special for the Australian Perfume Junkies blog. I was saying “No No No, You’ve done so much, Been too generous already”  but Beate decided that she was going to gift me with €165 worth of Colonia Intensa Oud by Acqua di Parma to use as a giveaway when we next did something exciting at APJ. It doesn’t get much more exciting than 300,000 views.

Also, did you know that First In Fragrance sample is around 3-4ml and comes in a spray atomiser? They are very reasonable priced and send to the world. Go check their stuff.

www.ausliebezumduft.com
Aus Liebe zum Duft
Wuchsa
Bahnhofstrasse 10
D-76646 Bruchsal

 

300000 dreamhostPhoto Stolen DreamHost

Colonia Intensa Oud by Acqua di Parma GIVEAWAY

 Colonia Intensa Oud Acqua di Parma FragranticaPhoto stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Citruses
Heart: Oud, Russian coriander, amyris wood
Base: Musk, leather

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

WINNERS WILL ONLY BE ANNOUNCED AT Australian Perfume Junkies<<JUMP Facebook Page

This week we will have 1 Major Winner and 4 Mini Winners who will receive:

Major Winner
100ml Bottle of Colonia Intensa Oud by Acqua di Parma (missing the other prizes)
P&H Anywhere in the world

4 x Mini Winners
1 x 10ml decant of Colonia Intensa Oud by Acqua di Parma
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

Go to First In Fragrance <<<JUMP and find me a fragrance and one of its notes. NO DOUBLE UPS!!

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie OUD by Acqua di Parma GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-2wf #Perfume #Giveaway @Acqua_di_Parma

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 23rd March 2014 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced ONLY ON FACEBOOK so go LIKE Australian Perfume Junkies<<JUMP Facebook Page.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Thursday 28th March 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.

300000 FanForumPhoto Stolen FanForum

 

 

Ondine by Lisa Fong for Artemisia Natural Perfume

Hi APJers,

Long ago, my then BFF and I (we were all of 17) were exploring some woods when we rounded a corner and saw in front of us a field of wild, naturalized daffodils and narcissus. It was breathtaking! We walked into this field and were surrounded by the beauty and the scent of the flowers. I see this long lost field every time I wear today’s beautiful fragrance…

Ondine by Lisa Fong for Artemisia Natural Perfume

Ondine Artemisia Natural Perfume FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Narcissus, myrrh, floral notes

Ondine is the name of a Germanic water nymph and the Artemisia site says that this scent is meant to be the “fresh, sweet spirit of water”. I get no water at all from it, none, unless it’s the water that Narcissus looked into when he fell in love with his own image.

Ondine Artemisia Natural Perfume Echo_and_Narcissus WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

Narcissus, narcissus, narcissus is what Ondine is about. The first time I spritzed it on, my immediate reaction was “what a strange little perfume.” Now that I know Ondine better, this hasn’t happened again, but it always grabs my attention. The opening is very sharp with a hint of myrrh in the background. This myrrh is never strong and I lose it after about 3 or 4 minutes. The sharpness stays but mellows somewhat. There is also a delicate sweetness in the mix that stays until the end. Ondine is narcissus, both sharp and sweet until it fades away after about 4 hours, 3 in summer. It has more silage than I would expect from a natural, but I think it would be hard to offend anyone. I like that Artemisia makes it in a solid too so it’s easy to carry it with you and refresh as needed. Ondine is a perfume of springtime. It says – get up, get out, smile, life is good.

Ondine Artemisia Natural Perfume narcissus pixabayPhoto Stolen Pixabay

From the Artemesia site: …100 percent natural Artemisia eau de parfums embrace the world of earth, roots and water, along with sweet floral notes. Each captures the essence of a natural, sensual experience and allows it to resonate as the perfume develops on each individual.
Ondine: Essences of narcissus and myrrh and sweet kewda attar relax the senses and unlock memories of river, lake and pond.

Ca Fleure Bon writes: Ondine reminds me of the last gasp of the paperwhites. The sweetness of narcissus combined with the resinous, almost dusty, smell of myrrh is balanced perfectly. There is something unusual about this scent that I can’t quite put my finger on. It has a smell that brings antiquities to mind, as if it were composed of the dust motes from an old perfume cabinet. Ms. Fong created this to be a scent reminiscent of rivers, lakes and ponds, named after the naiad Ondine, but we all have different perceptions of fragrance. This is a perfume I want my coats to smell like; worn and comfortable, but nicely scented.

Artemesia Natural Perfumes has Ondine EdP $68/17ml

This winter has been too long for many of us. What makes you think of spring and takes away the winter blues if only for a while?

Maya
xx

Jardins d'Armide by Oriza L. Legrand 1909/2013

Hello you Gorgeous Frag Geeks,

During out European Frag Tour 2014 Michael and I made a point of going and seeing the boys of Oriza L Legrand at their 18 Rue Saint-Augustin, Paris store. We organised a date and expecting to be given a mini tour of the range and their history, which I had read a fair bit about and then forgotten, we walked to the store. Michael was excited to discover a new fragrance house and I was very interested to meet two men who were able to bring their dream of owning a fragrance house to life.

Oriza Franck and Hugo

Turns out that Franck & Hugo are the sweetest men in the history of the known universe, they explained the history, the ideas, the fragrances and a whole lot else. Charming, amusing and extremely dedicated to perfumery and their brand I foresee great things for them. If the quality of their product and service remain at these standards then I can see no reason why not. Today I am going to introduce you to the Oriza L. Legrand fragrance that rocked my world more than the rest.

Jardins d'Armide Sarah BernhardtPhoto Stolen Oriza L. Legrand Facebook

 Jardins d’Armide by Oriza L. Legrand 1909/2013

Jardins d'Armide Oriza L. Legrand FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Rose, orris, powdery notes, orange blossom
Heart: Iris, violet, carnation, wisteria
Base: Honey, almond, tonka bean, musk

Interestingly I bought the fragrance that quite a bit of the scentbloggosphere has either not loved or actively disliked. When Michael and I were being taken through the range it was all touche spritzing until we got to Jardins d’Armide and withing 10 minutes of it being spritzed on a card I was asking to see how it lived on my skin. A little over an hour of fragrance, fun, good humoured banter and the super great story of the company’s inception and reincarnation I was asking for some Jardins d’Armide. Hugo thought I wanted a sample and had already done me a 10ml to take with me (SO kind and thoughtful) but it was a bottle and some of their delicious soaps that I was after. The boys were even so sweet that they posted the bottle back home for me at a very small extra cost, and they put some sample packs in for me to do a giveaway on the blog!

Oriza Michael #2

So, what does Jardins d’Armide smell like when it hits my skin, and during its lovely long life? The first thing I get is a funky Musk Stick smell that is both super sugared and soapy, like a sweet rose jam soap. It’s fun and neon bright and it stays for around 5 minutes before receding slightly to let a very breathy, indolic, orange blossom play along and here is where we really get to see the full blown spicy fruit rose bloom. There is an accord that I’ve come across lately and Michael and I decided it was the Hairspray and Nail Polish accord, I FREAKING LOVE IT! Jardins d’Armide has this accord in spades and I think it may have something to do with violet and iris together.

Oriza Portia #1

Well into the second hour I think I’m getting a little saffron but it could easily be the violet & iris and honey all smooshing around together. The almond and honey take over somewhere around the 4-5 hour mark but still there lingers a lovely powdery sweetness. It wafts around for a while then slowly fades to nothing. A beautiful ride and I enjoy it immensely. Maybe it’s my skin but I find Jardins d’Armide to be an extremely wearable fragrance that is noticeable, has good sillage and low to medium projection after the first hour. I definitely made the right choice because even here back in Sydney I am reaching for Jardins d’Armide more than almost everything else in my collection.

Oriza L Legrand  Perfumed CandlesPhoto Stolen Oriza L Legrand

Oriza L Legrand Online Boutique has €120/100ml and send worldwide
Oriza L Legrand Online Boutique also has Sample Sets only €9/7 x 2ml spray samples of their line

Have you tried any of the Oriza L. Legrand fragrances yet? Did you know that their Horizon has been nominated for an Olfactorama Award?
Portia xx

Giveaway myprettypaintsPhoto Stolen myprettypaints

Oriza L. Legrand GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 3 winners who will each receive:

1 set of 7 x 2ml Oriza L Legrand samples
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

Go to Oriza L. Legrand<<<JUMP and find me a fragrance and one of its notes, or another of their products and it’s fragrance name. NO DOUBLE UPS!!

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie  Oriza L Legrand GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-2z9 #Perfume #Giveaway

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 20th March 2014 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Monday 24th March 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.

Oriza L Legrand SoapsPhoto Stolen Oriza L Legrand

 

Epic Body Lotion by Amouage 2009

Hiya Perfume Junkies,

I love most forms of scent: Fine fragrance, Lotions, Bath products, Home fragrance etc etc. Obviously spritzing perfume is a joy all by itself but for real, no holds barred luxury give me a fabulous Body Lotion, I love the whole experience and also that it is a good frag base. Body Lotion is another thought re-railer, if I find myself heading towards bleak or morbid thoughts something as simple and fun as applying a lavish body lotion can be exactly the thing to send my mind in another direction.

Epic Body Lotion by Amouage 2009

Daniel Maurel

Amouage Epic Woman Amouage FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Caraway, pink pepper, cinnamon
Heart: Rose, geranium, jasmine, tea
Base: Amber, vanilla, incense, orris root, patchouli, agarwood (oud)

The fragrance notes are repeated pretty closely in the Body Lotion but with less of a story, basically the lotion goes on and smells like it does for its whole life. A very pretty mix of caraway, rose, amber with the rest in background roles. What is does do though is smell fabulous, pumping out a perfect dosage of fragrance and leaves my skin looking and feeling lovely, even rubbing it on it feels great and my body absorbs it super quickly which is great when leaving the house in a hurry, you don’t have to wait to put your clothes on.

I have an admission to make. I did have a decant of Epic woman that I was totally going to buy a bottle of. Then I grabbed this bottle of Body Lotion and the Body Lotion and fragrance together are amazing but so HUGE that ever since I wear the Body Lotion by itself and feel that it is completely fragrant enough for around 5-6 hours. After that Epic Body Lotion makes an incredible base for almost any fragrance I choose to spritz over it and gives that fragrance extra life length too with a lovely depth that only Amouage can bring.

Libertine Parfumerie has this to say: The body lotion contains glycerine, shea butter, aloe vera, almond oil, silicone and a protective film leaving the skin supple, smooth, silky and radiant.

Amouage Epic Woman Amouage lotion Libertine ParfumeriePhoto Stolen Libertine Parfumerie

There are plenty of places to buy your Amouage Epic Body Lotion if you’re looking for a bargain but I buy mine from Libertine Parfumerie where it may cost a few dollars more but I know that they have new and fresh stock and SHIPPING IN AUSTRALIA IS FREE!

Libertine Parfumerie has $107/300ml pump pack including shipping in Australia
Beauty Encounter has $75/300ml

What are your favourite fragrant indulgences? Is there a lotion that really makes you feel special? Do you find a self application of something lavish can be a mood changer?
Portia x