Scent Diary: 5.6 – 11.6.2017

June 11, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 28 Comments

Portia

Hi APJ,

WOW! What a week of friends, food and fragrance. I can’t believe how much we all got through.

Scent Diary: 5.6 – 11.6.2017

Monday 5:

Good morning sunshine! It was absolutely glorious for our walk today and when we got home I de-flead the pooches.

Very little on the agenda today but I did book my flights for India in September. Going to hang with my last Partner Varun for about 10 days. The plan is to get up to Assam and Darjeeling for alittle adventure, a couple of days in Delhi and some time with his family in Alwar, Rajasthan. Jam packed but it will be fun. I realised we haven’t seen each other in 3 years! Time to go hang. Here’s a pick of us 15 years ago at one of our birthdays.

I’m totally loving my original Lolita Lempicka EdP again today. LOADS of it. Then this afternoon I decided I wanted to keep the purple theme but a new direction so Hermès Brin de Reglisse got a full workout. I freaking love lavender, so cool and calming.

At night Jin & I went to dinner with our besties Kath & Alice. The Balkan Restaurant on Crown St, I have been eating with this family in three or four different locations since 1988. The menu has barely changed in all that time and I usually get the Fillet Mignon, which in Australia and all civilised countries means perfect steak wrapped in bacon and cooked over an open fire BarBQ. Tonight I was not so hungry so I had a little bit of meat off everyone’s plate and a salad. DELICIOUS!

Tuesday 6:

Scott came to help with Office Work today. There wasn’t much to do except the brain numbing receipt naming, invoicing all venues and queens for Turbo, the mail and a few other incidentals. Jin is working tonight so he got us all lunch, dukka on soft pizza and cheese, YUM!

At the Post Office there was my prize from Pia & Nick at We Love To Smell. SO generous, full of fun things.

Had the most fabulous Annick Goutal Musc Nomade bubble bath, followed by Kiehl’s Musk Body Lotion and topped off with enormous amounts of Frederic Malle Musc Ravageur. I am a little musky! YAY!

Tonight for bed I wanted to continue the musks but add some sweetness so I multispritzed Olympic Orchids White Cattleya. its ultra-sweet citrus is backed by vanilla and musk. Just the right side of freaky, and a perfect narcotic fragrance to lead me to the land of nod. Night Night.

Wednesday 7:

Today is wet. Had to use a big umbrella to walk the dogs. I love how clean the world feels while it’s raining and the breeze is so refreshing. Dogs were fine in their winter coats, they look like a couple of yearling colts trotting along. I wore Elie Saab Le Parfum for our ramble, it was perfect, all musky white flowers.

Had a good meeting about a new venue that would like me to produce some stuff for it. The best bit was that the meeting was expedited by my longest friend who I was in kindergarten with and we have remained buddies ever since. We don’t see each other every week but when we do it’s nice and his Mum & mine were great buddies too. I didn’t take a bloody pic. BUM!

Tonight I was feeling a bit like I needed some super sweet crunchy caramel hugging so instead of turning to Jin who is at work I lavishly spritzed the original Guess woman by Marciano.

Fragrantica

Trivia was fun and dinner delicious. I had the grilled chicken with bacon, avocado and hollandaise with chips & salad. Bloody good food and a lovely night at Greystanes Hotel.

These are two of my fave boys from my Wednesday night gig. Razz & Andrew are contractors that drive from the Gold Coast to work in Sydney every few weeks, their boss sometimes comes and his family has joined us too.

These two dogs are so lovely. We walked in the pouring rain three times today and they loved it. Both got soaking wet heads and legs. Each time I had to dry their coats. Night time wander was in torrential rain, bucketing down, it was Biblical. They loved it so much, couldn’t care less. They’re curled up on their inside beds in the lounge room right now with Korean Air blankets on them. SO CUTE!

I’m done for today. More Guess by Marciano and bed.

Thursday 8:

Jin has crashed on the couch after his nightshift. I found him there this morning when I awoke. His happy snores fill the apartment. Morning couch cuddles made the world look even more lovely as I took the dogs for a damp but crystal clear ramble.

There were still ashy, vanilla remnants of my Guess by Marciano this morning. They were such a perfect fit I decided to stay on the sweet side so it became a Guerlain Samsara vintage EdT & parfum morning.

Jin created a brand new meat marinade today. Shallots, Onions, Garlic, Kiwi Fruit, Soy Sauce, Cooking Wine, little Sugar, Sesame Oil and fresh cracked Black Pepper. Pour it over pork neck cut into thin slices, like the Chinese cut meat for take-away. The meat has gone into the marinade, in Tupperware and into the fridge. The whole house smells amazing.

He cooked some and it tastes even better than it sounds. We have dubbed it Shallot Pesto and I wanted to eat it as is but Jin is making it into a stew! Crazy boy.

It’s still raining in Sydney but I was craving icy cool scent so I thought a few spritzes of Cartier: L’Heure Convoiteé II a good choice. It is indeed. Every time I spritz it reminds me of buying it in Prague’s Cartier store, off the main square. It was an expensive purchase and thrilling to be doing it on my first visit to the city. It was Jin and my first holiday together, very happy times to remember. Even now the heady joy of finding him comes flooding back.

Then for work some vintage Fendi EdT, their original fragrance. BIG perfume.

Friday 9:

It’s Friday and Jin is off work. We walked the dogs together this morning, one of my fave things to do together.

I was supposed to be meeting with the Parramatta Council because I want to start Drag Queen Story Time at the local library. They are into it but we had to postpone for a couple of weeks. I love the idea of bringing diversity to kids.

So I cleaned the house top to bottom. You could eat your dinner out of my toilet right now, though if you’re that hard up I could probably find you a plate. Everything is glistening and the only thing I haven’t done is oil the table. Tomorrow I’ll do it.

Lunch with the sweetest Korean boy, Jacob, from our local Korean store. He is going back to Korea soon and I wanted to take him out for a farewell. He loved it so much that I spoke a few sentences of Korean and he likes to talk English with me. Sweet. I’ll miss his happy face at the shop.

Tonight we had a perfumista dinner at mine. A few mates and a bunch of frags. Jin was out boozing with a work colleague so I filled the house with friends. Instead of cooking I went and got some Arabian chicken with pickles, garlic mayo & chips. Add a few bread rolls, a garden salad & voila, dinner. Everyone was asked to bring a bottle of bubbles and we went through most of them.

TinaG decided to create a Pavlova for dessert and it was freaking sensational. Here she is looking justifiably proud. We ate it up and then were all on a sugar high for fragrances.

Scott stuck around after everyone had gone and we kept on sniffing well past midnight and on to one.

Saturday 10:

Today dawned cool and wet. The thought of getting out of my comfortable bed, with a super warm Jin beside me was not exactly my dream scenario but the dogs will not feed and walk themselves. They did have to wait an hour after their normal routine though. I am a selfish man.

Went to lunch for my mate Nikki’s birthday. It was excellent fun. We laughed and reminisced. By the end it was three cackling hens. Perfect Saturday afternoon.

Following lunch I felt the need for a little warmth so a Robert Piguet Bandit bubble bath ensued and a liberal spritzing of the original Trussardi Donna, with it’s faux white croc bottle and greyhound insignia in leather. All about the leather chypres this afternoon.

Aunty Tracey arrived this evening and Jin did Korean BarBQ at home. She’s staying with us for the week and hopefully we will go visit the rest of the Aunties while she’s here.

Sunday 11:

Walking the dogs this morning I was confronted by this tree that seems to have coloured up overnight. Every other deciduous tree on the block is almost bare but this lone liquidambar is only just turning. Beautiful.

Aunty Tracey is rugged up in the beautiful patchwork quilt created for me by Lyndall Woods. She’s feeling the cold further from the equator and the quilt is exactly enough to keep her toasty as she watches Netflix. Her show of choice is 13 Reasons Why.

For work I decided to go Old School so it’s vintage Guerlain Mitsouko EdT & parfum all the way.

Now it’s your turn. How was your week? Tell me anything fun or fragrant you did or wore, maybe you have a new purchase or refund an old love. Please tell us your story in the comments, we love to read what’s going on in your world.
Portia xx

Scent Diary 8.5 – 14.5.2017

May 14, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 29 Comments

Portia

Hello Frag family,

This week has been blissfully uneventful. I love the quiet, fragrant, hum drum of living.

Scent Diary 8.5 – 14.5.2017

Monday 8:

Whirlwind morning. Dogs to vet. Vet looked over them for annual check up. Nails clipped, injections done, teeth checked, heart, condition etc. We took in stool samples to be checked and had to give some Paris wee. Sounds awful but actually having all the checks done is kind of cathartic, relinquishing control to someone who knows.

Update on Finbar the Australian Noisy Minah: We took him to the vet and they said our best course of action was to leave him with them and they’d hand him over to WIRES who would finish his raising and facilitate his release back into the street he was found on. Jin was really upset that I let them take him but the fact is they are trained to do this. We were doing our best but basically flying blind. This was 100% the best possible outcome.

Jin then had to collect his brand new, 8kms on the clock, Harley-Davidson. There was so much rigmarole that I thought was already done and health with. Also, a Harley doesn’t run the same as the Ninja, it’s all automated, keyless, electrically powered. The honour and reverence the man showing Jin how to deal with it all was as impressive as the machine itself. Then I followed jin on his new bike to our lunch date. He was so nervous and excited it was heaven. My boyfriend the middle aged bad ass.

Safely at lunch with one of my besties Phil we laughed and chattered an hour away. Food Court at Rhodes. Everyone got what they wanted and we all came back together to eat. Phil got Japanese soup, Jin got Chinese soup and dumplings and I had a Turkish open kebab. Sorry I didn’t get a pic we were chatting too much.

My choice of fragrance for the day was Michael Bublé By Invitation, I really go crazy with the spritzing for this baby. The zingy fruity opening which is slightly red pepper to me too goes almost directly to the nutty praline base and stays there for hours. It’s probably terrible and full of cheap ingredients but it smells good to me and people around me like it enough to comment favourably. As you can see I’m nearly a third of the way through my bottle.

The new season of Sense8 is on and we have watched the first three episodes. Bloody hell! It is fast moving, faster than the last season. Blink and you miss key plotlines. It is stunningly visual and so intricately thought out. More than oce Jin & I have been sitting watching it, clutching our pillows or blankets and swearing like sailors. It’s so engrossing, we feel like we are part of the action, like we are the ninth joined person.

Tonight I’m wearing the very last of my sample of M Micallef Marine Vanille. At LuckyScent they are having a sale and with the discount I could not put off my purchase a second longer. It is winging its way to me as we speak. YAY!! Apologies, I think I bought the last one because now it’s Sold Out.

LuckyScent

So now it’s Q&A for me till some ungodly hour. See you tomorrow.

Tuesday 9:

Again, slept just before the Q&A finish line. Up at 8am to get them finished and out to the crew. Really am going to have to start putting my foot down and spend a couple of hours Monday day setting my weeks Trivia up so all I have to do in the night is write the Q&A. To get me through I have 7 spritzes of Clinique Aromatics Elixir on. I am a fragrant chypre cloud, and loving it.

Scott came over today. We opened ALL the mail, Paid ALL the bills. My desk and Inbox are clear of bills. Having also spent a bit on fragrance this week I will need to work a few weeks to pay my cards back down but it is a nice feeling to have the outstanding all in one place.

We met up with Millenia to give her all the Bingle Balls stuff and we had Sushi Train for lunch. I love catching up with him.

Hit the Post Office, the Stationary Supply place (OfficeWorks) to buy ink and the bank to yell at them AGAIN (it’s habitual, the cringe when I walk in the doors)

Dyed my beard, bathed and fragranced myself with Perfumerie Generale 25 Indochine. Sweet peppery amber that gets woodsier as it dries down. I find the honey clean and sweet with only the softest hint of animals. Pretty and comfortable for our cooling temps. WOW! I had a few compliments on this tonight. One of the club workers kept coming over to smell me and tell me all the things it made her think of, plus a couple of other random compliments. A clear winner.

Wednesday 10:

Woke up early, turned the alarm off and then sleep till 10am. HEAVEN.

The sun was shining so I popped on a singlet and walked thew dogs, catching some much needed Vitamin D so my body can function properly. Somehow it never seems to run as efficiently if I don’t get a jolt of sunshine every week.

Today I’m wearing some vintage Guerlain Samsara extrait. The memories this mad, beautiful, completely over the top fragrance brings me of my Mum are so strong today they’re palpable. I’m not sure if it was 1989 or 1990 that Australia got Samsara but the year it was released I was working as a holiday squirt bitch for one of our local department stores. My counter was Guerlain, Oscar de la Renta, Worth and Nina Ricci. Knowing my Mum loved Shalimar I thought Samsara the obvious next step because it was brand new and outrageous. I bought her the gift set for Christmas and she was thrilled, the house and her car smelled of Samsara for months. Happy, happy memories.

Not very long ago I found this almost full original extrait on eBay. I paid WAY too much for it but it is perfect, absolutely and utterly pristine. What price joy and nostalgic reminiscence?

Not sure if you know this but I LOVE to cook soup. It’s easy, healthy and delicious. Also, when I make a big vat of it there’s enough to share with friends, that also makes sure that some people get extra veg in their lives. This week I cooked Pumpkin, Potato and Capsicum Soup. The only other things in there are Onions, Garlic, Wostershire Sauce, Pepper, Pure Cream and about 300g of Podravka Hot Vegetable Relish for kick. I cook it, blend it and leave it overnight in the fridge then reheat on the stovetop and serve with buttered wholemeal toast. YUMMY!

For work this evening I wanted something really grand and beautiful. What else but Neela Vermeire Mohur EdP? There is a regal elegance to Mohur that always makes me feel like I’m floating far above the rat race. Roses, spice, incense and a soft background hum of oudh. You can see I’m on my last of the original bottles, I reckon there’s already 6 or 7ml gone. Don’t worry, I have a backup bottle in the new design.

Tonight for bed I have multi spritzed Le Galion Cologne Nocturne. One of the best lavender based colognes I have ever smelled with longevity like an EdP. Such a great house that rarely gets a mention. I wish everyone would try their beautifully crafted fragrances, not groundbreaking but perfectly produced with quality ingredients. I’m ready to grab some ZZZZZs. Nighty night.

Thursday 11:

Morning. Weather is unseasonably warm today. Wearing Olympic Orchids A Midsummer Nights Dream today. I think the names has changed but this old 2ml spray still smells unbelievably gorgeous.So much depth with sparkles of light and glimmers of radiance. The darkness warms through in the heart and suddenly it’s a burnished amber.

Visited Mum Waples in rehab today. She seemed really chipper and walked to the dining room by herself without stops for breathers. It’s a small but significant win. They have her doing exercises too which is making her more confident on her feet.

LUSH Rose Jam bubble bath today. How can something so cheap be so bloody wonderful? Stepping into the bath makes me smile like a fool and sitting in there surrounded by rose scented bubbles is absolutely the most relaxing and posh experience. Can’t tell you enough how happy it makes me.

Vintage Madame Rochas EdC is my evenings fragrance. An aldehydic floral by Guy Robert that I find a perfect feminine adventure with very modern masculine dry down. It’s quite the contradiction. Lasts forever, like a modern heavy hitting EdP.

NEW Carpet in the Kings Park Tavern tonight. They are making so many positive changes. The food has gone up 10 notches, the rooms upstairs are being renovated, the staff seem happier and more ready to please. I’m hoping for another 15 magical years there. Fingers crossed.

For bedtime tonight I’m wearing Oliver & Co Vaninger. As you can see it’s pretty popular around here. MMMMMMM The zingiest ginger cut through with the depth and sweetness of vanilla. There’s other stuff floating around too. Weird but wearable beauty.

Friday 12:

Jinx (Jin’s dog) has been favouring one of his front feet. Yesterday he wouldn’t even put pressure on it and I was worried. Today he’s at the vet having X-Rays so we can dismiss any concerns. Greyhounds are funny dogs. When they are racing dogs the only affection they get is from the vets, so in later life they always look on a vet visit as a happy occasion. They basically run up the stairs to the surgery and once inside they are so calm and placid.

Afterwards walking home I looked up and saw this unbelievably red Liquidambar. Autumn is here in Parramatta in full throttle. Love how fiery this particular tree looks.

I wanted something warm and pretty to match my Autumn mood so went for Andy Tauer Eau d’Epices. It’s a perfect match. All that spice ready to sizzle in the pan, oranges and amber.

Went and saw Kath’s Mum for lunch. Just as I came in she was leaving a home safely lecture at the Rehab clinic, then they staff pounced on her and did the blood, drugs and heart check. It was over in a minute.

Paris spent the whole day missing his friend Jinx.

Tonight Jin and I had enormous amounts of KFC. It was freaking delicious. Hanging out with him is easy and cool fun, we watched a few episodes of the new season of SENSE8. OMG! Seriously compulsive viewing. On the edge of the couch, grabbing our cushions and screaming at the TV. Super fun really. Wish you all could have been here with us, perfect night.

After all that I rang Arielle Shoshana to enquire about getting one of her bottles of fragrance sent to Australia. I figure if Arielle is doing it then the juice will be freaking amazing. I think we have a plan.

For bedtime I decided I needed some vintage so Miss Dior EdT. MMMMMM Night Night. X

Saturday 13:

This morning dawned cool and slightly foggy. I felt like some watery roses and then added to myself that powdery roses would be just the thing. Perfume DelRae Coup de Foudre hits all three spots and it was eerily quiet on the Parramatta streets at 8am on a frosty Saturday morning. Though I was dog walking I was hardly even present, what took almost my whole attention was the sheer perfection of Coup de Foudre and how magical it made the morning smell and thus feel.

When we got home Jin was stirring a little so, being Saturday and knowing that if he has the dogs with him he’ll get another 2-3 hours of sleep, I allowed them up with him on the bed. Jin’s working a few night shifts now so after today I’m the only one sleeping in the bed before it gets changed tomorrow. One sneaky morning, and look how happy they all are.

Jin got up around 11am and we went out for burgers. I’ve been craving Grill’d Burgers all week, and their chips share plate with Potato, Sweet Potato and Zucchini chips with three yummy sauces, Sweet Chilli Mayo, Herbed Mayo & Chipotle Mayo.

I hope you’ll excuse me today. I’m going to sloth around the house and get some Trivia Q&A started for the week.

Wearing multiple spritzes of the original Carolina Herrera EdT from the 1980s. Mine is somewhere from there till the box changed in the early 2000s, but it is a beat up old tester with the gold shoulders. She is ferocious! I love it.

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Amber, Apricot, Bergamot, Jasmine, Lily-of-the-valley, Moss, Musk, Orange blossom, Sandalwood, Tuberose, Ylang-ylang, Civet

So I started watching Netflix new Archie comic in life, Riverdale, and it’s so good that I find myself up at 2am watching and have come in here to break the trance so I can clean my teeth and go to bed.

Sunday 14:

Wishing all the Mums out there in APJ land a great big THANK YOU. We do know how much work goes into being a Mum, even though we are usually ungrateful shits who only care about ourselves. Sorry for all the pain and drama, worry and angry we’ve caused you all. Without you we’d be nothing.

This family, this Mum, the mum of my best friend who took me in for all important occasions when my Mum died. Like every family they have ups & downs, sometimes even sideways. Without their steadying influence, love, care and the ultimate gift of their time I would definitely not be here to tell my tales today. The family spoiled her rotten and she deserved it. EVERYONE came, including Jin who had to dash off to sleep before the photo. This photo is what love and gratitude looks and feels like, to me.

I’ll be wearing Guerlain Shalimar, vintage extrait and modern EdP, to remember my Mum today. I miss her every day.

So, tell me about your week. Do anything fun or fragrant? Share it with us below in the comments.
I love to read your stories too.
Portia xxx

Scent Free Day?

February 23, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 31 Comments

Portia

Hi there APJ,

Sometimes my nose needs a rest. I am not quite sure why. Today I woke up and usually before I grab the dogs to feed & walk them I scent myself so I can enjoy the fragrance as I wander with the boys. It’s usually around 10am and the day is warming up nicely, this summer it’s already been quite hot by the time I get home so I really feel I’ve put the scent through its paces. 30-40 minutes after spritzing I’m well into the heart of the fragrance, in some cases even the dry down already.

Scent Free Day?

Anyway, today I walked into my fragrance room and my body just said no. So I walked back out again with only the merest traces of last nights fragrance on my T-Shirt. I quite liked having my nose open to smelling the various eucalyptus, cars, coffee and toast at the local cafe, the mown yesterday grass in the park and the myriad other scent snippets of a half hour wander around the neighbourhood.

There are other times I don’t like to be scented. Some illnesses, in very enclosed spaces, meeting potential employers for the first time. I do have a little Meeting New Employers Hack though. I always have a softly scented hand cream with me and apply a very smell amount before going in. Int means my hands feel nice and leave a fresh, clean scent on their hands when we shake. You’ll notice people touch their face almost directly after shaking hands, unconsciously they are reading your hand scent.

By now though I have given myself a spritz. Ballets Rouges by Olympic Orchids to fit with Lucasz at Chemist In A Bottle‘s rose month. MMMMMM

So, my question to you all today is “When do you need a Scent Free Day?”. Are there specific moments or periods in your life when being scented feels wrong? Is there a friend or colleague that prefers you go unscented? Or are you a give me 10 spritzes no matter what kind of person?
Portia xxx

Best Of Fragrant NEWS!! In My Inbox

December 11, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 12 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey gang,

It seems the frag companies are sending about 200 pieces of news a day at the moment. I’ve sifted through and found you some stuff that I thought VERY exciting.

Best Of Fragrant NEWS!! In My Inbox

A new release, sone excellent Travel Sets and a DISCOUNT CODE!! If this list doesn’t get your Gifting or selfishly wanting juices flowing then I don’t know what will.

Rahele by Neela Vermeire Creations AVAILABLE!

Fragrantica

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

I can’t see it yet on the NVC site but I bet they are working double time to make that happen. So exciting. Neela tells me sometime this week! WOO HOO!

Olympic Orchids Perfumes DISCOUNT CODE

Olympic Orchids Perfumes

Any order totaling $15 or more will receive a 20% discount in either the flagship store or the original boutique.
Enter the code DECEMBERSALE at checkout. The code is good now through December 25.

Olympic Orchid Perfumes are discontinuing Arizona, which will be slightly reformulated and re-released under a new name early next year. In the meantime they are selling the remaining stock at discounted prices.

Parfums de Nicolaï Discovery Kit 6 x 1.5ml

Parfums de Nicolaï only €29

The NICOLAÏ Discovery Kit with :
– 1,5ml of Patchouli Intense
– 1,5ml of Ambre Cashmere Intense
– 1,5ml of Musc Intense
– 1,5ml of New-York Intense
– 1,5ml of Fig-Tea
– 1,5ml of L’eau miXte

Annick Goutal Travel Set & Gift Coffret

Eau d’Hadrien

Annick Goutal €55

Eau d’Hadrien Travel Spray set

Travel Spray case with 2 x 8ml Sprays. Gorgeous for resproitzing the ephemeral Eau d’Hadrien

Annick Goutal Gift Coffret €50

Eau d’Hadrien Gift Coffret

Gift Coffret contains Shampoo 50ml, Conditioner 50ml, Body Lotion 50ml, Shower Gel 50ml, Soap 50g in the Eau d’Hadrien scent. VERY nice, I quite like one of these for myself TBH.

James Heeley Discovery Set

The crew at Heeley has put together a little coffer of some of their most popular Eau de Parfums – 5 x 15ml Natural Sprays
Sel Marin . Hippie Rose . Cardinal . St Clement’s . Menthe Fraiche

I can’t think of a better way to get to know this brand which flies under the radar a but. You all know how much I love Travel Size Sprays. Heaven.

See anything that takes your fancy for you or gifting?
Portia xx

Sydney Winter: Summer Reminders

August 11, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 26 Comments

Post by Portia

Hello Fume Family,

I know that if you don’t live in australia you could be forgiven thinking that we never have a cold, wet or grey day. Well that’s simply not true. We know that our weather is very mild and are mostly able to get around in jeans and a jumper if it’s winter. Sydney though is a city of many moods and recently a few of my mates published beautiful non-sunny Australian photos on their social media. I thought you might like to have a look too.

Winter Barangaroo from Ferry by Kath Coulter

Winter Rain Off Bondi Beach by another great, longtime mate: Stafford Hamilton

Winter Sunset in Clunes by Melita white from Perfume Polytechnic

For those of us in Sydney, or indeed anywhere in the Southern Hemisphere, you’ll be past mid-winter by now and probably desperate for a reminder of what it feels like to be warm. Here are a couple of super summer reminders…..

Sydney Winter: Summer Reminders

Fragrantica

Fleur No 1 by 1000 Flowers

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Green notes, galbanum, narcissus, hyacinth, iris, magnolia, violet

Galbanum and the cool wash of florists fridge air meet in this sheer, clean, crisp fragrance that is all about how to beat the heat. It seems counter intuitive to wear something so Arctic-ly bracing but it has so many summer memories for me that it works to remedy my ennui.

Fragrantica

Granville by DIOR

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Mandarin, lemon, thyme, rosemary
Heart: Pine needles, dyer’s gorse
Base: Black pepper, sandalwood, woody notes

Granville is one of the classiest colognes I know. When it was released I bought 2 x 10ml and went through the first in no time but completely forgot I had a second. Now its sweet herbal/citrus opening with cool, dry, cracked black pepper and a very soft whisper of breath or fur, I’m never quite sure which, is still with me. Wearing it tonight has me smiling in remembrance of sunlit warm days.

Fragrantica

Ormond Woman by Ormond Jayne 2002

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Cardamom, coriander, grass oil
Heart: Black hemlock, violet, jasmine absolute
Base: Vetiver, cedar wood, amber, sandalwood

Strangely I find the herbs at the top of Ormond Woman warm and fleshy, I wonder if its the jasmine? There is something delightfully human under all the clean green and synth woodsiness. An oily warmth that makes the whole fragrance really comfortable and while it harks back to summer it also has the feeling of cuddling together under the bedcovers and keeping the cold at bay on a winters Sunday morning.

Fragrantica

Tropic of Capricorn by Olympic Orchids

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Mango fruit tincture, jasmine, frangipani, tuberose, magnolia, osmanthus, maile vine (a common component of floral leis), Bourbon vanilla, Africa stone (hyrax), ambergris, benzoin, New Caledonian sandalwood

I love the fetid, sensual, over ripe swamp that is Tropic of Capricorn. While everything else only list has been cool and green here we have fire and danger, excitement and lush tropical nightmares. This is what the animals of summer smell like, how pan might smell in his erotic goatiness. Tropic of Capricorn is the tribal community gathering, musical beat, the fire and the sacred ceremonies of indigenous people. Hot, heating and full of magical promise.

Sydney from the North Shore at Greenwich taken by my friend-since-Kindergarten, Tim Kelly.

What do you suggest as a memory of summer or if you’re in the northern hemisphere what is helping you beat the heat?
Portia xx

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

Olympic Amber by Ellen Covey for Olympic Orchids 2011

June 11, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 13 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey there Fabulously Fragrant Fumies,

One of the fragrances that I come back to again and again in my fragrant journey is from the Indie Perfumer Ellen Covey. Her fragrances are usually very compatible with my chemistry and this one in particular gets a lot of skin time. It’s the easiest and most likeable amber in my collection, wearable all year round but especially nice in the cool of evening.

Olympic Amber by Olympic Orchids 2011

Olympic Amber by Ellen Covey

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Labdanum, vanilla, benzoin, incense, resins, patchouli, woods

Originally this glorious, burnished beauty was made to be the base of other fragrances but once created Ellen decided it needed to be a fragrance all its own. Olympic Amber was born.

Vanilla, patchouli and lovely smooth resins waft straight out of the gate. It’s a dry sweetness, slightly bakery but more balmy. A crunchy toffee or caramelised sugar effect very reminiscent of the first crackling spoonful of creme brûlée. Crunchy and creamy, yes perfect analogy. Olympic Amber is hefty and I am fully fragrant but it manages to covey an air of spaciousness, not sheer but less dense somehow. Fragrant but not ferocious.

I could imagine this being the signature scent choice of a parent and this smell being part of what the children run to, a scent of comfort and safety. It’s as if Olympic Amber reminds me of something or someone who I felt safe around, there is no memory attached though or person.

Fairly linear, I enjoy the stability of knowing I’ll smell this good all day and evening. Perfect for extra long work, drinks, dinner days because longevity is out of this world. Spray Olympic Amber on your clothes and they will stay fragrant till the next wash. Even in the laundry basket, when I grab the clothes out I can tell if I had it on this past week from the delicious waft I get while putting stuff in the machine.

WikiMedia

Further reading: Perfume Posse and BOTO
Olympic Orchids has $18/5ml Travel Spray
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $3/0.5ml

What is your amber?
Portia xx

White Cattleya by Ellen Covey for Olympic Orchids 2015 + GIVEAWAY

January 25, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 66 Comments

Post by Azar

Happy New Year APJ!

I am a citrus junkie. I love eating and smelling the new crops of grapefruits, pomelos, lemons, limes, oranges and tangerines that come into our local markets in November through early December. I also adore the flowers of the early winter blooming (Northern hemisphere) Cattleya orchid hybrids that, coincidentally, often smell like citrus fruits or flowers. On December 15th Ellen Covey introduced her new White Cattleya fragrance happily coinciding with the arrival of fresh citrus in the stores and the opening of cattleya blossoms in greenhouses everywhere.

White Cattleya by Olympic Orchids 2015

White Cattleya by Ellen Covey

Olympic Orchids

Olympic Orchids give these featured accords:
Citron, lemon, neroli, jasmine, heliotrope, orchid accord, light vanilla, musk.

White Cattleya was created as a wedding fragrance but to me it is the ultimate semi-gourmand citrus perfume opening with an oily-sweet lemon zest. Imagine the pores of a yellow lemon rind exuding droplets of fragrance and you have an idea what I smell right off the top. There are almost fifty varieties of lemons grown commercially these days. In our local stores we see a lot of “Meyers” lemons (a lemon x orange hybrid), “Villafranca”, Florida’s leading lemon and “Eureka”, the top US commercial variety. For me the zesty, sweet opening of White Cattleya is very close to the fragrance and flavor of the sweet Persian lemon “Limoo Shirin” (C. limetta). This mildly sweet, slightly bitter, low acid fruit has a smooth, thin skin and is about the size and shape of a tennis ball.

Wikipedia

As we all know certain citrus top notes are flighty and evaporate within moments of application. Not so in White Cattleya. What I perceive as Persian lemon zest stays in place on my skin for at least 30 minutes before its starts to shift to the scent of one of my favorite Italian liqueurs – Limoncello. As Limoncello comes to the fore I begin to detect one of my least favorite florals, the dreaded heliotrope. Fortunately for me, the gooey sweet marzipan aspect of heliotrope is tempered with jasmine and the tenacious citron. The floral/citrus heart of White Cattleya stays in place for hours, eventually morphing (but not fading) to an ethereal vanilla and musk. White Cattleya is a powerful fragrance with strong to moderate sillage, easily lasting for 14 to 16 hours. Also, on my skin, it does not wash off even after a hot shower. If you are not a lemon lover, be careful how you apply this fragrance! That being said, lemon and jasmine scents are both known to sharpen our wits and help us feel better about ourselves

Further reading:
Olympic Orchids has $65/30ml + Samples

Azar X

myprettypaints

White Cattleya GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x 5ml refillable purse spray of White Cattleya
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 love or hate lemons. BTW – have you tried the new White Cattleya?

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 14th January 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 Sunday 17th January 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.

Ballets Rouges by Ellen Covey for Olympic Orchids 2012

December 10, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 3 Comments

Post by Portia

Hi there Independent Perfume Lovers,

It’s no secret how much I love Ellen Covey’s work as a perfumer. There are numerous full bottles of her work around here but only 2 have made it to the 30ml Parfum strength spray; they are Olympic Amber and Ballets Rouges. So it’s weird for me to discover that I have only briefly mentioned Ballets Rouges and never done a complete post on it. TBH I thought I had done one.

Ellen Covey wears a lot of hats. She is a perfumer, scientist, runner, loving partner and general great girl who lives in the USAs Pacific North-West, near APJs Azar (they are great friends). I think I’ve missed a few of her astounding talents too, yes overachiever dot com. Her range of fragrances is one of the broadest, from very pretty florals through to the beastly Dev series, and so many of them speak to me. They are 100% original, even something as ubiquitous as amber becomes an intriguing and marvellous new genre once Ellen gets her teeth into it.

Ballets Rouges by Olympic Orchids 2012

Ballets Rouges by Ellen Covey

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Aldehydes, bergamot, mandarin orange, red thyme
Heart: May rose, rose, ylang ylang
Base: Musk, oakmoss, patchouli, labdanum

Ballets Rouges is the ultimate rose soliflor for me. Yes it has the smell of roses on the bush, it also has the smell of the earth that the roses grew in, the humus, fertilisers, mulch, add to that the smell of the cut stem and the torn leaf and on top of all that it has the smell of life and living to my nose. There is something of the uneasiness of finding yourself alone in the dusk dark swampy forest and yet it has all the joyful pleasure of a sunny summer meadow. Bright and dark simultaneously, Ballets Rouges is everything I love about Independent Perfumery: it has not followed a formula, never been panel tested, is full of gorgeous ingredients that are probably banned in 27 languages and it has a wonderful big voluptuousness and scent story.

Photo Stolen DeviantArt

There was much talk around the release of Penhaligon’s Iris Prima and how it was lovely and floaty yet completely failed to capture the agony beneath the facade that ballerinas project. It was all about the pastel glamour that 6 year old girls dream of when they want to be dancers. In Ballets Rouges Ellen has captured the stark beauty of a rose, the glittering deep plum sparkle of the dream and also managed to capture the gruelling and monotonous solo hours of perfecting the art, the heartache of watching your feet turn to pain wracked bleeding caricatures of themselves, the relentless drive and dark heart of ballet. Ballets Rouges is a little insight into The Black Swan.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

It’s open of green and scintillating herbaceous citrus which quickly morphs into a dark plum and citrus scented rose, still on the bush and planted in a freshly turned and fertilised bed, you have excised some of the dead heads so there is a brittle green of torn leaf and the wet/dry oxymoron of cut stem. I am fully and divinely fragrant, Ballets Rouge is not the scent for close quarters it’s a prima and needs its space to shine. As we progress the dark heart warms through considerably. While we never lose sight of the starring rose the oakmoss, amber and musks come in and form a magnificent corps, dancing around and through till full dry down around a day later.

Orchidscents has parfum travel $18/5ml
Olympic Orchids has samples and EdP $120/100ml

Have you tried Ballets Rouges? What is your rose?
Portia xx

A Full Speed Perfume Trip Around the USA Photo Essay

September 29, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 51 Comments

Post by Val the Cookie Queen

A Full Speed Perfume Trip Around the U S and A

Seattle. San Francisco. Los Angeles. New York.

I do not know where to begin. Everyone that I met in the US were absolutely amazing. They took time out of their schedules to meet up, made me and my family so welcome, showed us around the cities and were generally mind-blowing. I was so touched. A lot of it is personal and has no place on a blog. However over the months I will include things that happened as there are perfumed tales to tell. I am not too reliable at taking pictures, but I hope you enjoy the few that follow. New York was so much fun that nobody even remembered to take photos. An absolute highlight was meeting Azar of APJ. I have many samples of perfume to brighten up my winter.

The one question I have been asked by a number of people is did I find anything new that really impressed me. I absolutely did. It will be my
next post. You will have to tune in again.

Jetlagged Bussis
CQ

Perfume Trip Around the U S and A

Photo Essay

Sniffing Ellen Covey´s überfragrant Cattleya orchid. iIhad NO idea how narcotic an orchid could be.

The very elegant Azar. Australian Perfume Junkie´s very own!

One of Ellen´s orchids.

Ellen and her husband and a basket of Azar´s homegrown tomatoes.

Me with Mary. A San Franciscan perfumista and Verophile.

Part of Ellen Covey of Olympic Orchids work materials.

A not very clear picture of the beautiful Virgina of Té de Violetas.

Shelley Waddington of En Voyage and Mary on the comfy sofa in Tiger Lily.

Antonia. Owner of Tiger Lily in San Francisco. Such a charming store.

Ellen Covey’s Olympic Orchids shelf!

Leaving Twisted Lily in Brooklyn. Daisy from Coolcookstyle leading the way. The charming Arielle of Scents of Self and of Arielle Shoshanna Scented Luxuries.

Mary, Virginia and me trucking`through San Francisco.

The most beautiful toffee apples I have ever seen. Seattle.

Ellen showing a tiny orchid in her greenhouse.

Jtd Jtd of Scenthurdle. Los Angeles.

Hannah the BlondesWunder in the makeup store at midnight. NYC.

Carlos Powell of Peace, Love and Perfume having a dhosa for lunch. NYC.

Hannah me and Daisy. Daisy organized a New York perfumista extravaganza for me. However what happened in New York, stays in New York.

Laundry rates in then hotel we stayed in. NYC.

Tonka beans in a golden bag. On the recommendation of Barbara Herman, author of Scent and Subversion. An old voodoo spell. brings love and luck. I have left one in the bag and the rest I shall use in my baking.