Niche

Arielle Shoshana EdP GIVEAWAY WINNERS

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Portia

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Hi there Frag Gamblers!

Special thanks to Arielle of Arielle Shoshana who popped some extra juice into my order for giveaways! She is the freaking bomb and we should all be supporting her as she brings us exquisite scents.

Arielle Shoshana EdP GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Arielle Shoshana EdP 2017

Arielle Shoshana gives these featured accords:
Passion Fruit, Grapefruit, Rhubarb, Mandarin, Peach, Saffron, Pink Pepper, Cardamom, Magnolia, Sandalwood, Ambroxan, Vanilla, Vetiver Bourbon, Iris, Musk

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 3 winners who will receive:
1 x Arielle Shoshana EdP sample
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Wednesday 12th July 2017 10pm Australian EdsT
Winners were chosen by random.org

BiancaB

RuthF

JayBee

The winners will have till Wednesday 19th July 2017 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

Go Naked Perfume Oil by Sarah Horowitz-Thran for Urban Decay 2017

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

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Erica Golding

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Hi all!

Hope you are doing well. It’s summer here in the States, and we’re enjoying some gorgeous weather after an unusually rainy spring. On that note, I recently tried a fresh new scent with promises of sun-kissed beachy skin. The concept boasts an aroma that melds with your chemistry and becomes a part of you. Many people read “beach” in the description, expecting notes like coconut, pineapple, or sea salt. *buzzer* Nope!

Go Naked Perfume Oil by Urban Decay 2017

Go Naked Perfume Oil by Sarah Horowitz-Thran

Go Naked Perfume Oil Urban Decay FragranticaFragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, petitgrain, mandarin orange, lemon, sea salt
Heart: Neroli, orange blossom
Base: Lavender, musk, jasmine

Go Naked perfume oil is a citrusy, floral, clean musk. The nose behind this fragrance is Sarah Horowitz-Thran, who is well known for her line of affordable niche perfumes including Perfect Veil and Perfect Nectar. I wouldn’t have been interested in Go Naked otherwise, so I’m really glad that Urban Decay mentioned her in the product description.

I tried several of Sarah’s perfumes about 10 years ago when I had just discovered Luckyscent. A swipe of Go Naked is a darling little time machine that brings me back to that time. I no longer have any of my samples from the Perfect line, so I can’t give any direct comparison, but this scent definitely conjures up scent memories of those little oils.

The opening is sparkling lemonade and freshly soft orange blossom. I would classify the overall accord as borderline aquatic, but it is more of a rounded soapy floral with a splash of citrus juiciness. There’s also a noticeable waft of sharply herbal lavender. These notes all hover over a simple white musk that buffs out the edges of the crisp notes.

Go Naked Perfume Oil Urban Decay beach pixabay

Simple, fresh, clean, and bright. Does it make me think of the coastline? Not really. I think it would be a welcome breath of freshness on a summer beach, but not because it evokes anything about that experience.

Go Naked is a great easy choice to smell shower clean all day, perfect for the office or for hot days when you want to be fresh. Personally, I think it would be a nice first perfume for a youth showing interest in fragrance. It’s a little too sharp and soapy for me to bond deeply, although I do think it’s fun and lighthearted all the same.

Go Naked Perfume Oil Urban Decay California Cow Nude Beach Outtake FlickrFlickr

Urban Decay in the US have $24/5ml Perfume Oil

I hope you’re having a gorgeously scented day, wherever you are!

Peace,

Erica

Maison Mona di Orio: New Launches 2017

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 26 Comments

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Val the Cookie Queen

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Good Afternoon from my computer, Wimbledon playing in the background!

It astonishes me that within the realms of a heavily saturated niche perfume market, that there is still the desire to create more. These two new MdO´s are niche as it should be, edgy and enthralling, but wearable. Accessible to anyone wishing to branch off from the more mainstream perfumes, yet still graceful and alluring. Those who want to smell of dead animals and bodily fluids are surprisingly enough, in the minority. Both Suède de Suède and Dõjima will charm the perfumistas whilst opening up a world to those just discovering niche fragrances.

Frederik Dalman is the Swedish in-house perfumer for Maison Mona di Orio.

Maison Mona di Orio: New Launches 2017

First Impressions

 

Dõjima by Frederik Dalman for Mona di Orio 2017

Rice accord,nutmeg absolute, ambrette, jasmin, orris, clary sage absolute, labdanum CO2, sandalwood, musks

Inspired by rice, and named for the Dõjima Rice Exchange founded by Samurai in 1697 in Osaka, Japan. Dõjima opens with a vivid green, slightly astringent, warmly spiced top layer; a nutty rice note hovers. There remains a greenness throughout, wrapped in a creamy sandalwood, a possible dash of vetiver, who knows? There is some jasmin and orris but I don´t wanna sniff myself into a coma trying to locate them, it takes away the pleasure. An aromatic delight.

Suède de Suède by Frederik Dalman for Mona di Orio 2017

Cloudberry, Sichuan pepper, suède accord, cedar wood, osmanthus, strawberry leaf, castoreum, patchouli, musks

A soft buttery suede/leather wrapped in a sharp berry shell. Frederik Dalman uses cloudberry, they have a distinctive tart taste, and feature in a number of Swedish culinary delights. The zesty berry opening melts into the supple suede, ripples
itself throughout, and remains until the end, preventing the suede from dominating. Osmanthus and strawberry leaf keeping
the cloudberry alive, castoreum, patchouli and musks giving the base. This is a year round leather and one to invite your civilian friends to try. Sensual.

Please take a look at Mona di Orio for the full scoop. Thanks a million to Jeroen, Frederik and Vera for sending me the beautiful box with enough perfume to wear it properly.

Launch in September. 180€ for 75mls

I have a number of MdO miniatures, and an original bottle of her Vanille. I would love a bottle of Mona´s Musc.
Any MdO lovers out there?

Bussis my dears.
CQ xxxx

Arielle Shoshana EdP by Cécile Hua 2017

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 29 Comments

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Portia

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WOO HOO Fragrance Lovers,

Arielle is the star of frag blog Scents Of Self and is also the proprietor of Arielle Shoshana the fragrance store in Washington DC. We have been online buddies for years and even managed to meet in NYC in 2014. One of the loveliest people in the perfume world so I was EXTRA excited when news leaked that she was going to go balls out and create her own Arielle Shoshana in-house fragrance with perfumer Cécile Hua.

Arielle Shoshana EdP by Cécile Hua 2017

Arielle Shoshana EdP 2017Arielle Shoshana

Arielle Shoshana gives these featured accords:
Passion Fruit, Grapefruit, Rhubarb, Mandarin, Peach, Saffron, Pink Pepper, Cardamom, Magnolia, Sandalwood, Ambroxan, Vanilla, Vetiver Bourbon, Iris, Musk

Imagine you cut open a passionfruit and mix that with the ultra tart segments of grapefruit, add a dash of pineapple juice and eat. The underlying theme that grounds all this freaky fruity frivolity is a creamy amalgam of cardamom, sandalwood and musk. The vanilla doesn’t make itself known to me until well into the LONG life of Arielle Shoshana. A couple of reviews I read didn’t get such awesome staying power but I am fully fragrant nearly two hours later. This passionfruit extract that they’ve found is freaking unbelievable.

Almost photo realistic and the fragrance doesn’t really shift a lot until much later when it becomes creamy passionfruit yoghurt underscored by a soft wood.

BRAVO Arielle. I bought a bottle and got a USA friend to ship it over for me with some other stuff she was sending, THANKS Ruth! Even in the dead of winter Arielle Shoshana shines.

Want to try it?
See below.
Portia xx

Arielle Shoshana EdP GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 3 winners who will receive:
1 x Arielle Shoshana EdP sample
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 jump to Arielle Shoshane<<<JUMP and find a fragrance they sell and ONE of its notes. Put both in the comments below. NO DOUBLE UPS!

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Wednesday 12th July 2017 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 July 2017 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

Horizon by Oriza L. Legrand 1925

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 20 Comments

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Portia

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Hey Independent Perfume Lovers,

Back in 2014 while travelling with my mate Michael we went and met the guys who recreated the Oriza L Legrand fragrance line. The men were really sweet and seemed to be genuinely involved in trying to create an incredible fragrance house. Their shop in Paris is absolutely gorgeous and they took a couple of hours out of their busy schedule to give us a history lesson and to let us smell the collection. It was a lovely afternoon and we had a ball.

Oriza L Legrand

Horizon by Oriza L. Legrand 1925

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Petitgrain, tangerine, marmalade, rose
Heart: Cognac, amber, tobacco leaf, cacao, almond, oak, patchouli
Base: Benzoin, ambergris, white tobacco, vanilla, honey, leather, peat

OK some clarification, Hugo Lambert is Creative Director at Oriza L Legrand. He oversees the magic. I have erroneously put him down as perfume before. Sorry for the misinformation.

Citrus backed by a boozy amber and honey float straight off my skin. Chocolate and tobacco fold through like marbling on paper. It seems everything, every note, wants me to smell it at once. The opening fireworks are like the overture for a big show, all the major themes are played to give you a taste of what’s to come. Horizon lets all its secrets out in a fabulously symphonic rush and then calms to a sense of fragrance rather than a rush. It’s really fun, like a ride.

PDI

Warmth, dry tobacco and vanilla, dark and dense yet not a huge projection bomb. Horizon is a masculine leaning gourmand that would smell so Katherine Hepburn on a woman. A dark chocolate and patchouli heart with woodsy undertones and boozy tenors. Dry down is a patchouli rich amber with some leathered honey buoying it up. I can imagine wearing it as a go-to scent for someone who wants to smell really good, luxurious and interesting, but who sticks with a couple of scents for ease and through general lack of addiction like us.

Longevity is excellent, Horizon has lasted through a 3 hour vacuuming, floor steaming and bathroom clean.

PDI

Oriza L Legrand has €120/100ml FREE World Shipping
Surrender To Chance has a Sampler Set of Seven Oriza L. Legrand Fragrances from $17

Have you tried any of the Oriza L Legrand fragrances?
Portia xx

Un Jour d’Eté by Keiko Mecheri 2012

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 16 Comments

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Portia

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Hey there Fumies,

It’s winter here in Australia and while it’s no snow filled wonderland where I am it is grey & cool. My morning and night walks with the dogs have become rugged up affairs and my corduroy jeans are getting loads of wear. Personally I’ve never really followed seasons with my fragrance, though the ambers do get quite a bit more action in the cool. Today I was after a ray of sunshine, a happy, warmth infused scent that would give the day a lift  from the wintery blues and hit me with fond memories of summer.

Un Jour d’Eté by Keiko Mecheri 2012

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Bergamot, jasmine, coconut, ambergris, woodsy notes, lemon, petitgrain, tangerine, white musk, green notes, floral notes

Take a selection of citrus and give it the shimmering snap of pettigrain (and maybe some aldehydes). Fold in a thick, creamy, fluffed with musks coconut. Lightly salt it with the marine overtones of ambergris and driftwood. Whip it up into an uncooked meringue mixture, light, airy and sweet. Spritz yourself liberally and waft summer scented waves of fragrant air for hours and hours.

Un Jour d’Eté is French for A Summer Day and the name is not hype. Perfect to wear on a summer day or to reminisce about them in the depths of winter. Not nearly as in your face as Estee Lauder’s Bronze Goddess, here everything is less about the suntan lotion (though it does not to it) and more about wandering tropical beach side gardens. This is a swanky holiday floating around in gossamer thin silk caftans on the grass by the pool with a view of the ocean rather than rollicking around in the surf in a sand encrusted bikini. Here we drink some fabulous creation that the clever barman has made especially for you of white & dark rum, curaçao, cream, coconut and lime zest.

Un Jour d’Eté goesa on smooth and continues that way to dry down. No screaming huge event but a soft focus beauty I think it perfect for both sexes who want something casual but unusual. I could also imagine Un Jour d’Eté be an excellent choice for weddings.

Further reading: Bois de Jasmin
Libertine Parfumerie has AUD$279/75ml with FREE Australian Delivery

What are you currently wearing that goes against the seasonal regulations, and why?
Portia xx

 

 

Cuir Caraïbes GIVEAWAY WINNER

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 1 Comment

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Portia

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Hey Hey all,

Thanks to Mia at Perfume Profiling for her generosity and thank you guys for getting involved.
Let’s see who won,
Portia xxx

Cuir Caraïbes GIVEAWAY WINNER

Cuir Caraibes David Jourquin Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, citruses, green mango
Heart: White flowers, Jamaican pepper, ginger
Base: Vvetiver, guaiac wood, patchouli, leather, amber

 

Perfume Profiling has AUD$215/100ml EdP

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 1 winner who will receive:
1 x 5ml Cuir Caraibes manufacturers sample (minus my testing)
P&H Anywhere in the world

 

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Wednesday 28th June 2017 10pm Australian EdsT
Winner was chosen by random.org

Morrigan

The winners will have till Wednesday 5th July 2017 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

Bitching, Blind Buying A Bottle, Three Books

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 48 Comments

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Val the Cookie Queen

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Midsummer Greeting APJ

Coming to you from the lake.

Bitching, Blind Buying A Bottle, Three Books

The Bitching

I have come across three similar posts over the last fortnight on various Facebook perfume groups going something like this: “I ordered a sample pack of 20 new frags – and none of them smelled good. What is wrong with my nose?” And yesterday on Twitter: “Something weird is going on. I´ve tested several perfumes in a row that smell like “dryer sheet” scent variations on my skin. I´m worried ….” Dearhearts it is not your nose, nor your skin, nor the weather, there is a lot of really crappy perfumes around. Lazy top notes over ISO – have- no- idea middle notes, on a bed of base note chemicals, cheap vetiver and worst of all straight up frankincense. Eau de Niché and I hate it. And it´s not just niché …… Is it possible that folks try and convince their noses that what they are sniffing is good and that they just don´t understand it? Or are they rubbish? Hmmmmm? Now don´t get huffy, it´s only my opinion – I say it´s them, not you.

A Blind Buy

I can´t say I broke my rule of no blind buys because I never made one. When I saw the Guerlain Black Perfecto by La Petite Robe Noire bottle, I had to have it. I ordered the small one. Simple as that. I have not tried any of the other nine LPRNs, no interest whatsoever. Monsieur Guerlain wrote very favourably about the Black Perfecto perfume so I hoped I might like the contents of the bottle too. Black tea, black cherry, black liquorice, a touch of almond, slightly smoky, and not the sweet bomb I expected. Dead chuffed, it´s really nice. Reckon it´ll be great in cold weather. And yes, it is worth having for the bottle alone.

Three Books

We are having a heatwave here which means I spend time at the lake and read more.

Book Depository

You might wanna be careful with Donald Ray Pollock´s Knockemstiff though, if you have trouble with dry dark humour, kids raised on abuse, alcohol, drugs and cigarettes. Eat your heart out Deliverance. This is Knockemstiff, Ohio. Dr Fox, my ever-loving therapist told me to read it.

Book Depository

I had Donna Tartt´s The Secret History around for about three years and not picked it up. How was I to know it would turn out to be one of the best books I have ever read?

Book Depository

Just started Burnet´s His Bloody Project, set in the Scottish Highlands, 1869. Murder and violence. Recommended by Lady Jane Grey. I´m just off to the pool to read some more.

SOTD is Malle´s Eau de Magnolia.

If you have any bitching to do, blind buys to share, or indeed a book I should read, drop me a comment.

Sweltering Bussis
CQ

Cuir Caraibes by David Jourquin 2015

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 27 Comments

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Portia

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Hey there APJ,

My mate Mia imports David Jourquin fragrances to Australia through the Perfume Profiling group and she has sent me a 5ml sample to try and give away. Recently Sandra wrote us and introduction to these David Jourquin scents, they all look like they’re going to be really lovely and I adore the bottles. Don’t they look fun with their leather coats?

Cuir Caraibes by David Jourquin 2015

Cuir Caraibes David Jourquin FragranticaFragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, citruses, green mango
Heart: White flowers, Jamaican pepper, ginger
Base: Vvetiver, guaiac wood, patchouli, leather, amber

Cuir Caraibes opens aquatic, spicy, foody, and full of fresh cut fruit. It’s an unexpected delight jolting me from the hum drum into a fresh, juicy daiquiri of a fragrance. The fruit is buoyed by the sizzle of pepper and the zing of ginger. The whole has a lovely soft creaminess keeping it from going supersonic and I think that might be a very clean jasmine mixed with the patchouli.

The heart maintains the crisp fruit from the opening as a whisper as we find a more relaxed, lightly smoky elegance. There’s something very unusual about the way these flavours all blend, piquant.

As we head towards dry down Cuir Caribs becomes very smooth and balmy with only quiet hints of the named ingredients. Very wearable and lasts for ages.

Perfume Profiling has AUD$215/100ml EdP

Cuir Caraibes GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 1 winner who will receive:
1 x 5ml Cuir Caraibes manufacturers sample (minus my testing)
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 leather scents you love?

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Wednesday 28th June 2017 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 5th July 2017 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

Dama Koupa by Spyros Drosopoulos for Baruti 2016

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 13 Comments

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Portia

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Hey Independent Perfume Peeps,

I got a bunch of stuff a while back from a split group I’m in. For some reason todays fragrance didn’t get sniffed. I’m not quite sure why. Anyway, in the words of Pretty Woman, Big Mistake.

Baruti

Spyros the Baruti perfumer and (I think) owner writes:

THIS IS WHAT MY DREAMS SMELL LIKE
I MAKE PERSONAL AND IMMEDIATE PERFUMES
DECEPTIVELY PLAYFUL
ROOTED IN THE UNCONSCIOUS
PERPLEXING THE SENSES
LIKE KALEIDOSCOPIC EXPLOSIONS OF BEAUTY
THEY CAN BLOW YOU AWAY

SPYROS (AMSTERDAM 2014)

Dama Koupa by Baruti 2016

Dama Koupa by Spyros Drosopoulos

Fragrantica

Baruti gives these featured accords:
Bitter almonds, Grappa, Tonka bean, Vanilla, Cocoa, Iris, Osmanthus, Musk, Amber, White woods, Beeswax, Fir Balsam Absolute.

Before we even start this review I want to tell you that I have already been in touch with Spyros at Baruti and bought at full retail a bottle of Dama Koupa. The website was playing silly buggers so I wrote to him direct and got a response within hours, he offered to send me a PayPal invoice and get my fragrance out to me ASAP. YAY! On its way.

Dry, nutty, boozy, sprinkled with sugar that seems to accentuate the lack of sweetness rather than lightening Dama Koupa up. Woodsy, like sawdust with this completely unexpected feeling of desiccated florals. You know those almond biscuits? Like the first unsweet bite into one of those….. but not. Actually, through the heart I get something grain-ish, like barley broth.

Dama Koupa by Baruti Cabin-Summer MaxPixelPDI

I know other people are getting the scent of Macaroons, the original coconut meringue confection, but my nose is getting something much more masculine, outdoorsy and mountainous.

Longevity is excellent and I smell Dama Koupa almost exactly as it went on hours later. Who could wear it? I think anyone with a sense of olfactory adventure because where I am getting manliness others get this bakery style gourmand.

WikiCommons

Further reading: Persefume and Fragrance Daily
Baruti has €92,56/30ml and ships worldwide

Are gourmands in general enticing or repulsive to you? Do you know another gourmand that skews dry and masculine?
Portia xx