Ambergreen by Oliver Valverde for Oliver & Co 2016

December 4, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 38 Comments

Post by Portia

Hi there Niche Nerds,

Recently I wrote about Oliver & Co bringing out 16ml Travel Sizes, I also bought a pair of them in the new scents Ambergreen & Vaninger. Oli Valverde the perfumer got in touch almost immediately after my purchase to thank me (I know right, super sweet) and offered to send me some samples through for all of you to try. YAY!

I love this house, that’s how Oli knows me, because I shop there at full price regularly. They are way under-rated and don’t get nearly enough love on the blogs or chat rooms. Fiercely independent fragrance house with scents that are unashamedly boundary pushing while still being totally wearable on a day to day basis. They are often so far off the beaten track though that I find description troublesome and sit dazed and amused in front of my computer enjoying the ride without typing a word.

Ambergreen by Oliver & Co 2016

Ambergreen by Oli Valverde

Fragrantica

Oliver & Co gives these featured accords:
Ambrosian, amyl salycilate, basil, coriander, dry amber, fig leaves, galbanum, grass, green pepper, green tangerine, guaiac wood, hedione, orris concrete, pharaoh, shiso

The opening moments are like pulling the lettuce out of cold water where it’s been soaking, then fresh cut grass. It’s clearly spring in this scent. BASIL! OMG! A photo realistic basil from when you water your basil plant in the garden or window box, then it deepens to become the first whirr of making pesto at home. After about 15 minutes the whole fragrance stops being about notes and turns into a green bouquet lightly overlaid with cozy/sharp galbanum and bitter citrus. It’s bloody excellent stuff.

Green like walking under the trees near a creek in summer, hot, sweaty green like nothing I’ve smelled in fragrance before. It’s the brushing past shrubs and trees, the breaking of grass under your feet, the smell of healthy, damp earth disturbed and all of this in a warm dampness, cool after being in the blazing sun but not refreshing really. Ambergreen feels like respite, a quiet moment to yourself reading in the park trees shade, or your yard if you are lucky enough to have one. When the darkness of ambergris stirs the sweetness of amber counters its marine hue, the work against each other to create harmony over the green, quite a journey.

Oliver & Co

Oliver & Co has €35/the new 16ml Travel Size
FREE WORLD SHIPPING over €100

Here are some other posts on APJ about Oliver & Co fragrance: Vetivers and Resina,

Oliver & Co Samples GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 3 winners who will receive:
3 x 2ml Oliver & Co carded manufacturers spray samples
(You will each get a different set)
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 go to Oliver & Co<<JUMP and tell us a fragrance and ONE of its notes in the comments below (NO DOUBLE UPS!)

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Tuesday 6th December 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 14th December 2016 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit

Steals, Deals & Holiday Gift Giving

November 25, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 3 Comments

Post by Portia

Woo Hoo APJ,

More and more fabulous things are being dropped in my email inbox every day. Here are a few of the highlights.

Portia xx

Steals, Deals & Holiday Gift Giving

Oliver & Co has their 8 x 16ml Travel Set available for a short time. I love this brand and their freaky frags for people who don’t even understand the concept of playing it safe. You can check out the whole set, and the range, at Oliver & Co Illustrated Series Travel Set.

Smell Bent’s biggest sale of the year is back! Till Monday 28th November, save up to 40% off all your favourite smellies. Everything is on sale! and like that’s not enough, shipping is free on all orders over $40 – anywhere in the world. Stock up on classic scents or try our newest holiday collection. Smell Bent is your oyster until Monday, go to Smell Bent Sale Of The Year.

Imaginary Authors have Free Shipping from 21-28 November
USE CODE: THETRAVELERTOO

Have you seen the new Imaginary Authors 14ml Traveler? You probably need to get yourself over to Imaginary Authors Shop

LuckyScent has a trillion fragrant gifts for yourself or the ones you love. The LA based crew are always grabbing the best of the best for you. You can check out gifts from candles to manufacturers sample packs, I’m particularly lemming the Diptyque set this year, at LuckyScent Holiday Gift Guide.

Twisted Lily has a great selection of gifting stuff too. This Brooklyn NYC based store is a great place to source inspired scented gifts from around the globe. They often have things I’ve seen nowhere else and the staff are so helpful, knowledgable and friendly too. Check them out at Twisted Lily Holiday Gift Guide.

Perfumed Inbox Excitement!

November 16, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 6 Comments

Post by Portia

Heya APJ Crew,

It seems everyone is getting their news out this week. New fragrances, new packaging and the Christmas deals. Here are a few interesting things that arrived in my box that I thought you should know about.

Perfumed Inbox Excitement!

One Seed: Christmas Offerings

One Seed is an Australian perfume company, small batch, artisan. ONE SEED is original organic perfumery. I really enjoy their fragrances and am totally excited about their new Roller Ball applicators, perfect for on the run fragrancing and great to travel with. Here’s a link to the One Seed Best Sellers page. The range is surprisingly affordable for such beauty and they have a really good sample set. Last order date is December 12.

Library Of Flowers Free Gift

Margot Ellena is the perfumer at Library of Flowers, she also creates a bunch of other brands including Tokyo Milk, and I find her products extremely wearable. The different ranges explore varied thematic types and I especially like that the Library of Flowers brand has a bunch of adjacent products so Gift Giving looks lavish, even though the products are reasonably priced.

Here’s a link to the Library Of Flowers Field Kits. An excellent travel size set, perfect for gift giving.

Oliver & Co Free Gift

Oliver & Co are wildly under-rated. I love their freaky fragrances. They are both challenging and wearable, fun and lighthearted while often exploring scent combinations that feel like very serious creations. I love their bottles too, hefty and simple.
They currently have updated their website and are now offering 16ml sizes for only €30, including postage! Amazing right?

ALSO: if you buy any full bottle currently they will send you an extra 16ml bottle FOR FREE!

Here’s the link to the Oliver & Co Online Exclusive 16ml bottles (I just ordered Ambergreen and Vaninger……)

The 7 Virtues Buy 2 Get 1 FREE

So this one is canada-centric but I love Barb Stegemann so much and that she is making peoples l;ives better through fragrance that I really wanted to include it.

The once a year Canada-Wide holiday Buy 2 get 1 Free fragrance is on Nov 15 – 19. The free fragrance must be the same size as the two purchased. This short special offers a great way to stock up on gifts while supporting our farmers in nations rebuilding. Visit The 7 Virtues for the specials.

PROMO CODES:
50ML3FOR2 – For 50ml fragrances
100ML3FOR2 – For 100ml fragrances
BLENDBOX3FOR2 – For Blend Boxes

Hope you found something interesting.
Portia xx

Lunch + Sniff: Great Afternoon Fun

January 9, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

Post by Portia

One of the things that we really like to do here in Sydney is organise to meet up with mates and share some happy sniffing times. Over lunch, a cuppa or even an alcoholic beverage should the atmosphere be conducive we sniff and chatter, gossip and parse. No one else ever quite gets the excitement of a vintage find or an extravagant splurge. It’s really nice to be able to use the vocabulary of scent with people who speak it.

Lunch + Sniff: Great Afternoon Fun

Something else super fun about having a lunch + Sniff is that you get to try things previously off your radar, out of your price range or so far out of your personal comfort zone and all at no cost other than a spot of lunch. There’s also the fun of meeting someone else who adores that thing your other friends would prefer you not wear, a scent twin, a J.F. Schwarzlose Berlin, Knize, DIOR, Humiecki & Graef or vintage Rochas Femme aficionado. The thrill of hanging out with someone else who even knows what you mean when you say these things is undeniable. Lately I have been quite lucky and over the holiday period have had two chances to Sniff + Lunch.

Both days were spent in the Art Gallery of NSW Members Lounge. I love it there, food is cheap, comfortable seating and they let us spray (Except one day when we fumigated the place with vintage Ungaro Diva) to our hearts content. Currently the walls are hung with about 12 Lloyd Rees paintings that would usually be kept in the vaults, they change the Members Lounge exhibition regularly and it’s always interesting pieces unseen in the main gallery areas.

Scott, Sonya and I are catching up pre-Christmas and smelling vintage CHANEL, Nina Ricci, Guy Laroche and a few others. Sonya & I are so busy it’s rare that we get a chance to chat properly and it was terrific fun. We all discussed fragrance and our addiction to both the scents and the shopping for them, kids, jobs, family, home and the upcoming Christmas festivities. Besides the catch up stuff it was also really good to listen to Scott & Sonya chat fragrance, their noses and ability to parse are well above mine and it’s always instructional to listen to them when they strike fragrant gold.

Here Tim and I smelling the newest Dawn Spencer Hurwitz fragrances, vintage DIOR & CHANEL and some of the early Oliver & Co fragrances. Tim is an avid enthusiast and his fragrance sniffing history is more the menswear reals so I like to bring him some unusual, interesting and vintage stuff. We spend most of the time laughing. It was really fun getting our first sniff of the new DSH lines together, his assistance invaluable in helping me understand the different levels of fragrance held within their gorgeous folds. Yes, there will be a couple of reviews in the near future.

Do you ever get to spend Sniff + Lunch time? It’s so worth it and you learn a LOT more in company.
Can’t find any perfumistas in your area? Try the facebook fragrance boards, here are three of my favourites: Australian Fragrance Network, Facebook Fragrance Friends or Peace, Love & Perfume. You could also start a Meet-Up group in your area, you’ll be surprised how many people nearby are into fragrance.

Who has too many friends? Nobody. Imagine spending some time once a month, or every couple of months, with people who get you…… Be the change you want to see in the new year. Make 2016 the year you connect with some fumies in real life.
Portia xx

Vetiverus by Oliver Valverde for Oliver + Co. 2012

December 31, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

Post by Portia

My mate Scott was over the other day and we were going through some new samples, bottles and decants that had arrived in the week since I’d seen him. Basically I grabbed a piece of paper and pen, some touches and we even used some of our precious skin so we could smell how differently they lived on each of us. It was fun and interesting, when you sniff with someone and they find a new love it’s amazing how that then reactivates my focus and energises the whole process of parsing. This is the winner of our sniffathon and it came in a free sample set because I’d bought their Gincense, which we’ll talk about later.

Vetiverus by Oliver & Co. 2012

Vetiverus by Oliver Valverde

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Oliver & Co. give these featured accords in one line:
Labdanum from Spain, styrax, Haitian vetiver, ambergris, coriander from Russia, osmanthus absolute, orange peel, white musks, Madagascar clove

OK so the opening is a totally enjoyable smoky, greasy, green, oily, metallic, salty, grassy BOOM! A vetiver fantasy that grabs you by the scruff of the neck and gives you a gentle shake, till your teeth rattle. Astounding, fun, green cordial, raspy and smooth are all words we used to describe the opening with is vetiver squared.

Photo Stolen Flickr

As we hit the heart Vetiverus opens up into a milky fig heart with a tickle of salt tweaking the sweet greenness. There are very faint reminders of vintage Emeraude‘s opening through the heart too and a metallic vibe that serves to oppose and highlight the creamy green fruit. Once these heart notes recede the smoke comes back and it’s a dry grassy, smoky vetiver and leather(?) drizzled over musks that fades over hours and hours to gone.

From LuckyScent: If you love the pure, smoky sexiness of vetiver the way we do, it can be frustrating to try fragrances that hide it behind other powerful ingredients in the name of “balance.” …In keeping with this philosophy, Vetiverus opens dramatically with an exquisitely deep and mysterious vetiver, at once smoky and velvety rich… Plenty of great fragrances feature vetiver. But for the true vetiver enthusiast searching for an unapologetic, uncompromising showcase of the sublimely smoky, there is perhaps no substitute for Vetiverus.

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

Further reading: Perfumistanns and +Q Perfume
Oliver & Co. has €110/50ml
LuckyScent has $145/50ml + samples

What is your vetiver fragrance? Have you tried the Oliver & Co Vetiverus?
Portia xx

NEWS!! Oliver & Co. Discovery Set 11-16 November ONLY!

November 12, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Hey hey Fumies,

A really special deal, limited time only, on a new house that I find incredibly interesting.

Portia xx

Oliver & Co. Perfumes Discovery Set

DISCOVERY SET – 2# ONLINE EDITION OF 20

THE SET INCLUDE 7x10ml GLASS SPRAY VIALS OF:

ILLUSTRATED SERIES

M.O.U.S.S.E
LA COLONIA
VETIVERUS
RESINA
M.O.U.S.S.E II

NEBULAE SERIES

NEBULA 1
NEBULA 2

AVAILABLE FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY – FROM 11st TO 16th NOVEMBER
LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON. ONLINE EXCLUSIVE.
THIS ITEM CAN’T BE PURCHASED ON PHYSICAL STORES.

Oliver & Co. has 7 x 10ml Discovery Set €60,00<< JUMP

Oliver & Co Limited Edition Sample Set 2014

August 3, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 1 Comment

Hey there APJ,

If you love niche fragrance and enjoy the good stuff then this is for you. I love this crew.

Oliver & Co Limited Edition Sample Set 2014

DISCOVERY SET – 1# ONLINE EDITION OF 20

THE SET INCLUDE 7x10ml GLASS SPRAY VIALS OF:

ILLUSTRATED SERIES

M.O.U.S.S.E
LA COLONIA
VETIVERUS
RESINA
M.O.U.S.S.E II

NEBULAE SERIES

NEBULA 1
NEBULA 2

AVAILABLE FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY – FROM 1st TO 6th AUGUST.
LIMIT ONE PER PERSON. ONLINE EXCLUSIVE.
THIS ITEM CAN’T BE PURCHASED ON PHYSICAL STORES.

67,00 €

Oliver & Co Site<<JUMP

Resina by Oliver + Co. GIVEAWAY WINNERS

April 21, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

Hi there Fabulous Fragrantists,

We have had a lovely response to the Resina by Oliver + Co. GIVEAWAY. Thanks for getting on board and having a go. I think you’ll be mighty impressed with the brand. They are making interesting frags that skew a little different even to niche but are all easy wear and smell great.

Portia xx

Resina by Oliver + Co. GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Tolu balsam, elemi, myrrh, labdanum, opoponax, jasmine sambac, incense, benzoin, coffee, christmas tree or flame tree, mace, rooibos tea, tonka bean, star anise

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week we will have 2 winners who will each get:
1 x 2ml decant of Resina by Oliver + Co.
1 x 2ml decant of Mousse II by Oliver + Co.
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DID YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please tell me a memory that involves resins, incense or a fragrance that includes either that you happen to love.

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie ~~Resina~~ by Oliver & CO. GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-2Ex #Perfume #Giveaway ~~#Oliver&Co~~

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 20th April 2014 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org

Photo Stolen berryreview

Azar, Christine W

The winners will have till Thursday 24th 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.

Resina by Oliver Valverde for Oliver + Co. 2012

April 18, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 46 Comments

Hey Hey Crew,

Before I went overseas this year I received a lovely pack, with excellent presentation, from Oliver & Co. and it is a four pack of their 10ml samples in what was called a Discovery Set. I bought them for €25 but can now find no samples on the site anywhere. Grrrrrr. Some things I love about the Oliver & Co. brand are their very clever FREE SHIPPING TO THE WORLD and their reasonable prices, €95 the highest for the Illustrated Series. That’s less than buying 100ml of Shalimar EdP by Guerlain in a Department Store.

Resina by Oliver Valverde for Oliver + Co. 2012

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Sweet, spicy and furry warmth is what jumps off my skin immediately with a herbal tea, accompaniment but more than anything I get lovely and interesting mixtures of resins, a full on version of the ones you stand in before and during ballet classes to give you traction. This is how Penhaligon’s Iris Prima should have opened and ended. It’s not often I feel I can smell the leaves and bark of the trees that the resins are procured from but here in Resina there is a definite waft of green that cuts through the sweetness, though sweetness is not meant in a cake or biscuit way but in a sweet wax way.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

Then the chocolate, very realistic chocolate, adds its song. The chocolate is a fun twist that never takes over and is only noticeable after the first while if you look for it. It’s not one of the notes though so I could be dreaming. My skin also throws a very slightly breathy jasmine and a little bit of curried star anise, but maybe it’s my using star anise in curies that provides the link. The copy says hypnotic, dense and carnal: I can see and smell all those images. It is densely packed with pieces that play togetrher in beautiful harmony, there is a certain fleshiness or humanity and a furry feel and i think it could become extremely hypnotic if someone you were already falling in love with wore Resina. It would imprint on your memory and is enough unlike any other scents in its style that you would be a stand alone scent memory.

Fragrant? Yes but not a seriously heavy scent for all its density. Wearable, sexy and interesting. I get good longevity too at around 5-6 hours before I’m left with a soft amorphous wash of nearly nothing.

LuckyScent has $145/50ml

Portia xx

Photo Stolen Kesha&Co

Resina GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 2 winners who will each get:
1 x 2ml decant of Resina by Oliver + Co.
1 x 2ml decant of Mousse II by Oliver + Co.
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please tell me a memory that involves resins, incense or a fragrance that includes either that you happen to love.

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie ~~Resina~~ by Oliver & CO. GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-2Ex #Perfume #Giveaway ~~#Oliver&Co~~

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 20th April 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 Thursday 24th 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.

Ambergreen by Oliver & Co 2016

Ambergreen by Oli Valverde

Oliver & Co Samples GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

HOW DO YOU WIN?

HOUSEKEEPING

Steals, Deals & Holiday Gift Giving

Perfumed Inbox Excitement!

One Seed: Christmas Offerings

Library Of Flowers Free Gift

Oliver & Co Free Gift

The 7 Virtues Buy 2 Get 1 FREE

Lunch + Sniff: Great Afternoon Fun

Vetiverus by Oliver & Co. 2012

Vetiverus by Oliver Valverde

Oliver & Co. Perfumes Discovery Set

AVAILABLE FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY – FROM 11st TO 16th NOVEMBER LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON. ONLINE EXCLUSIVE. THIS ITEM CAN’T BE PURCHASED ON PHYSICAL STORES.

Oliver & Co Limited Edition Sample Set 2014

DISCOVERY SET – 1# ONLINE EDITION OF 20

Resina by Oliver + Co. GIVEAWAY WINNERS

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

HOW DID YOU WIN?

HOUSEKEEPING

Azar, Christine W

Resina by Oliver Valverde for Oliver + Co. 2012

Resina GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

HOW DO YOU WIN?

HOUSEKEEPING

AVAILABLE FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY – FROM 11st TO 16th NOVEMBER
LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON. ONLINE EXCLUSIVE.
THIS ITEM CAN’T BE PURCHASED ON PHYSICAL STORES.