Divine EdP by Richard Ibanez and Yann Vasnier for Divine 1986

October 13, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 14 Comments

Heya BWF Freaks and everyone else too!

The other day at lunch with my buddy Cassandra and she passed across a decant of something I may have heard about but seriously had no recollection of, we had eaten and it was super sniffa time: this was maybe the 10th or 15th frag that had been spritzed on touches. It was like my whole body went en pointe.

Divine EdP by Divine 1986

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Tuberose, peach, coriander
Heart: Orange blosson, rose, spices, patchouli, gardenia, jasmine
Base: Sandalwood, vanilla, musk, oakmoss

Divine is the most aptly named fragrance I’ve come across in ages. WOWIE!! Straight out of the spritzer and WHOOOSH Big White Flowers and peachy/coriander skank bomb. The tuberose is excellent and lushly indolic, I am surprised there is no ylang here because I am reminded of its sensual lushness, maybe it’s the orange blossom/tuberose melange. So this smells like money, good old fashioned money spent on VERY sexy ladies who dress well and swear like truck drivers. A wall of old school glamour from when fragrance was used as a weapon in the arsenal of the huntress. Divine is what movie stars of a certain age must still be wearing.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

Sold as a chypre (Arielle at Scents Of Self writes that a Chypre is defined by a lack of florals) so my conclusion is then FlOriental. With a super Double WOW! So reminiscent of bygone fragrances, deep and soft and satin sheened fragrant magic. The heart stays BWF on me but slowly I can smell the bases creeping in, underneath to bolster but not obscure. The creeping and sneaking continues until suddenly you’re left wondering how the dark green woodsy vanilla has overcome the spicy, sensual florals and now are in charge. The white flowers are still there though, just quietly humming along and adding a breathy counterpoint to one of the prettiest drydowns still left in modern perfumery.

Photo Stolen HollywoodDreamLand

Wear time 6-8 hours and heat helps Divine bloom even more invitingly, though it wears beautifully in the cool also and will be gorgeous in the snow. This is a BIG perfume in a genre nearly forgotten. People say it’s high, dressy evening but I will be more likely to wear it selfishly for cleaning, shopping and other drudgeries that need a glamorous something to help me endure them. Divine may become my paperwork fragrance.

Further reading: I Smell Therefore I Am and EauMG
Divine has an online boutique that sends to the world. I just went and bought 20ml Parfum for 140€ shipped to Australia.
LuckyScent has refillable 50ml goldtone atomisers $120
Surrender To Chance starts at $3/ml

Have you tried this? Can you believe it?
Portia xx

Rive d’Ambre (Atelier d’Orient) by Olivier Gillotin for Tom Ford 2013

October 12, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 7 Comments

Hello Ford Fans,

Tom Ford is an icon in his own right nowadays and still is doing amazing stuff in so many directions. When you look at some of the designers fragrance division it is so obviously a money grab whereas the Tom Ford fragrance line, produced with Estee Lauder, mostly sails so far above the rest that they feel like they deserve to be this expensive. Though to be fair if they were a third less the price I would probably own FBs of them all instead of just one. Are you reading Tom? So midway through 2013 the Tom Ford crew released a set of four new frags under the Atelier d’Orient subcategory

Rive d’Ambre (Atelier d’Orient) by Tom Ford 2013

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Citruses, amber, bergamot, bitter orange, tolu balsam, lemon, cognac, cardamom, tarragon, mint

Boy! There has been some terrible reviews for Rive d’Amber. If you adore Tom Ford’s fragrances for their enormousness then Rive d’Amber will leave you howling for more. To be as honest as I can I too am a little disappointed. The open is so lavish and citrus-y, it’s flirty, fun, fizzy and day-glo brightness is enough to chase the blues away, seriously. What a stunning opening. As the initial heat burns off there is a lovely green-ness that works beautifully with the citrus to bring some light and shade. So good, I enjoy it immensely.

Photo Stolen DeviantArt

Sydney is in 30+C heat today and Rive d’Amber fits the bill exactly for about 30 minutes when it becomes a very soft amber with just a hint of citrus memory floating through, so soft a skin scent that lets my skins fragrance shine through, like they are working in tandem. After two hours I’m basically left with a very soft wash of nothing, I think Mona di Orio did the same idea but much better carriede out in her Vanille. Rive d’Amber is not a bad fragrance but it’s also not the way I want my scent to live. I’m going to give the rest of my decant to one of Jin’s friends, I know she will love it for exactly what it is. For me, please pass the Neroli Portifino.

Photo Stolen Jennifer McCready… Flickr

Further reading: Kafkaesque and Notable Scents
Tom Ford is available in some Department Stores next to the Estee Lauder counter
Surrender To Chance starts at $4/.5ml

Thanks for dropping by,

See you tomorrow,
Portia xx

The Creation of a Natural Perfume #2

October 12, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 13 Comments

Post by Julie Nelson

The Creation of a Natural Perfume #2

Perfume for Portia by Aromatique Essentials

Let the creation be created.

As the journey of creating a perfume for Portia continues I am getting more and more excited!

To date Portia’s perfume has 36 essential oils and has now been sitting and synergising for a good 4 weeks. It has a balance of woods, citrus, spices with a hint of mystery from a few favourite oils that I shall keep to myself for now… Over the past few weeks while this blend has been sitting and maturing I have been anointing myself with it most nights. I love it and secretly found myself thinking that I could bathe in it!

Not being a perfumer of the commercial world, when creating a perfume there are many aspects of pure essential oils/plant extracts that I take into account. Of course the aroma is number one, what emotions and feelings a client desires to feel and experience, how each individual oil melds in to another to become one.

Essential oils are pure plant extracts and are 70 times stronger/ more potent that the original plant they are extracted from. Many do not smell like they do when inhaling the scent as a flower for example Rose or Jasmine. This is because they are very highly concentrated, however when diluted they become more the like the original scent. I love using co2 extracted essential oils as they are more true to the original nature of the plant, there is no residue left behind of the co2 as it completely dissipates during the extraction process. It is a far more gentle method of extraction and from an energetic point of view the vibration of the oil is more pure. Why bring up the energetic and vibration properties of an essential oil? Well science has now caught up and can measure energy. We are all energy and this can play an important role on the psychological and emotional benefits of a perfume. You may feel this is irrelevant and that is fine, however for me it is important and something that I feel is important to take into consideration. It is my training and my belief.

As we know the simple act of breathing in a beautiful scent instantly shifts our mind, moods and emotions. If we love it we smile, we are uplifted, I personally feel like I can take on the world!

Photo Stolen Ray Bodden Flickr

Before I begin the process of creating a Bespoke one of a kind perfume I ask my client, in this case Portia, to fill out a perfume consultation form this includes favourite colour/s, food/s, smells, what there perfume represents, what emotions and feelings they want to evoke and feel and if a client wishes to share their astrological birth details I spend time researching their birth chart and certain aspects such as what sign their Moon is in as the Moon rules our emotions and what ever sign our Moon is in is how we deal with things on an emotional level.

Why you ask?

Having this information gives me insight in to ones emotional responses and what planetary energy is surrounding them at that time. This assists me in understanding my client on a more personal level. I can begin to build a personality profile in their perfume. Think of it as capturing the essence of someones soul and placing it in a bottle..

When I first started working on Portia’s perfume I created 3 different samples. I tried them separately for a few days enjoying all 3 and then I decided combine them and that is where we are up to at present.

Photo Stolen nosha Flickr

Portia is coming to the Blue Mountains and that will be the first opportunity to smell this creation…I wait in anticipation, excitement and pray that Portia loves it! Of course there maybe more oils to add or I may start from the beginning again. We shall see 😉

Julie X

Niche & Mainstream Manufacturers Sample GIVEAWAY OCT13

October 11, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 37 Comments

Hey There APJ!!

I have a bunch of 10 carded and boxed Manufacturers Samples that I have tried, written about and loved or not. They are lying around in my office and will never be looked at again. A couple of them are only half full but others are only 2 spritzes used or brand new that I have doubles of. So what better way to share the love than a FABULOUS GIVEAWAY!!

Niche & Mainstream Manufacturers Sample GIVEAWAY

Photo Stolen hemodernhome

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

The winner will receive one each of these Manufacturers Samples:

Flash Back by Olfactive Studio
Acqua Di Gio Essenza by Giorgio Armani
Accord 119 by Caron
Jour d’Hermès by Hermes
Esvedra by Laboratorio Olfattivo
Coco Noir by CHANEL
Modern Muse by Estee Lauder
Guilietta by Tocca
Angeliques Sous La Pluie by Frederic Malle
Treffpunkt 8 Uhr by J F Schwartzlose Berlin

P&H Anywhere in the world

Photo Stolen Feedio

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.

All I need is you to say a perfume on your wish list, and why, and how you follow for you to be eligible for the draw.

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie PERFUME SAMPLE GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-246 #Perfume #Giveaway

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 13th October 2013 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by putting names on same sized papers, folded similarly, put on a tray and Jin will pick a winner (unless he asleep or studying then I’ll use random.org).
The winners will have till Wednesday 16th October 2013 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.

Good Luck everyone,

Portia xx

Fragrances for Feeling Good: Michael Bublé

October 10, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 11 Comments

Hiya Happy Huffers,

So one of my fave singers is Michael Bublé. I don’t find him sexy or hot but he seems to be sweet and has an endearing way about him in his work. Like he knows he is not the coolest but that his amazing voice completely overrides everything else, he also seems to have a sense of humour. V Important!

Photo Stolen Man Alive! Flickr

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

What does Michael Bublé have to do with fragrance? Nothing really except I wanted a reason to write about a couple of my “Feeling Good” fragrances that I love to spritz at any time.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Amoureuse by Parfums DelRae seems to be a constant winner for me lately, a lovely spicy lily and white flower with some water and honey skank. I just can’t get enough of its feral beauty and have used nearly half a bottle since I got it from Madeleine’s unloved box. I don’t understand why Amoureuse makes me smile but every time I spritz, there it is. Pearly whites aglowing.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Bellodgia EdP and Parfum by Caron are a super stand by glamour set. The EdP gives projection and the Parfum gives glossy, glowing depths. This carnation, white flower and musky woods oldie still packs a punch in its newest incarnations and if you can get some vintage you are in for a very special treat. If Feeling Good is about feeling invincible, powerful, glamorous and elegant then Bellodgia fits the bill.

Photo Stolen Price Rite

Shalimar EdC and Parfum are a killer combination. There is something very bright about the EdC that gives it an extra sparkle above all the other Shalimar strengths, pair that with a couple of dabs of vintage Shalimar Parfum and you know it’s going to be a bumpy night full of fun and outrageous high jinks. A little secret, I hate cleaning, but when I wear the Shalimar combo it goes by in a cloud of extra special glamour.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Aromatics Elixir Perfumers Reserve Extrait by Clinique has been doing loads of work in the last couple of months, though we are warming up here in Sydney it is still being dabbed so preciously. The whole experience of taking the pedestal box lid off, getting the magnificent dark glass molded into a fabulous flower at the front bottle out, tilting, dabbing, breathing in that first fabulous moment of fragrance. It all conspires to make me happy. A beautiful fragrant ritual, and the extrait lasts for hours and hours on me.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Aqua Allegoria Lys Soleia by Guerlain gives fabulous tropical fruits, lily, ylang and vanilla with the teensiest touch of green. It is a super fun Feeling Good scent that is mainly tropical paradise but also harks back to Hollywood glamour. I also love the Aqua Allegoria gold tone cage on the bee bottle, it’s so cool and classic but a wonderful modern reinvention too. Thierry Wasser did such a good job with Lys Soleia

Last time I looked all of these fragrances were available to sample at Surrender To Chance

Michael Bublé – “Feeling Good” [Official Music Video]

Burberry Body (Rose Gold) by Michel Almairac 2012

October 9, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

Hello Perfume Junkies,

Over the last couple of days the conversation on FFF (Facebook Fragrance friends) has been quite spirited, I asked if anyone has any mainstream designer fragrances in their closets. Considering the FFF crew are about as hard core a bunch of perfumistas as you’ll find anywhere in the world I was expecting to be chided mildly, ignored or snidely dissed. What I did not expect was an overflowing of love for the designer genre and mainstream in general. Fullsome praise for the YSL, DIOR, CHANEL, Mugler, many of the make up companies like Estee Lauder and even some of the celebuscents. It was a general and obviously cathartic experience and heaps of people let their dirty little fragrant secrets out as if holding them in was hurting.

Burberry Body (Rose Gold) 2012

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Wormwood, peach, freesia
Heart: Iris, rose absolute, sandalwood
Base: Cashmere wood, vanilla, amber, musk

In my reading I have discovered that this is the original Burberry Body in a new bottle, the notes are exactly the same. The first rush is all synthetic peach, a bright, sharp and plastic peach with freesia adding a swoony accompaniment and some green that could be wormwood but just as easily could be something coniferous. One the whooosh of the opening everything settles down to play nice and the whole composition seems to fade to a fancy, wet, shimmering, hum of fruity floral. To be honest I would love Burberry Body Rose Gold in a soap or laundry softener, it has that clean, fresh, breezy attitude and I can imagine it being an excellent workhorse of a fragrance, a spritz and forget, long lasting, fragrant nothing in a fun bottle, though I bet it’s really annoying to try and keep upright.

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

As we wend our way into the heart I can smell the extra rose facets, pretty, murmuring rose-ish, fruity and spicy like a garden rose, I get the correlation though Burberry Body Rose Gold is a nod to it not a realistic replication and behind the rose is a hint of metal, as if you’ve just put a cold spoon in your mouth. The iris and sandalwood are playing way down low, I can’t pick them. The dry down is a soft focus sweet, but not cloying, still fruity wood with a bunch of clean musk, the vanilla only a hint. Through the heart I do get hints of peony though, that sweet, watery, green floralcy that they get as you cut them and put them in a vase, there are moments of real prettiness in Burberry Body Rose Gold that are better than you expect.

Photo Stolen Akban Martial arts academy Flickr

It reads like I don’t like Burberry Body Rose Gold, which is a false impression because I do like it. I don’t love it, probably will not buy a bottle when my decant is finished and think that Burberry can afford to do better, BUT there is definitely a place for Burberry Body Rose Gold. It’s ageless, easy wear fragrance that will not be too strong even if you are a wicked oversprayer. You can spritz it in the morning and know that you’ll still be softly fragrant for drinks after work. Spritzed into your moisturiser or body lotion/oil it will give you a clean fresh feeling all day, there are way worse offerings that cost a lot more.

Photo Stolen Rie Shimizu Flickr

Further reading: Now Smell This and Beauty Basics
FragranceNet has $45/60ml in the Limited Edition EdP
My Perfume Samples starts at $2/ml but I got the $7/5ml

Have you or do you wear Burberry Body Rose Gold? Have you tried it?
See you tomorrow,
Portia xx

Fragrance Oils GIVEAWAY WINNERS

October 9, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 3 Comments

Hello APJ,

Great response, as only you guys can give. Thanks for getting on board and enjoying the fun. Sadly Jin was fast asleep when I remembered to do this so Random.Org it was.

Fragrance Oils GIVEAWAY WINNERS

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

We will have 2 winners for this draw. It would be more but postage is outrageous! Each winner will receive

1 x 1ml sample vial of all 5 Fragrant Oils (Almond, Carnation, Geranium, Honey, Peony)
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DID YOU WIN?

All I need is you to tell me your favourite perfume note and how you follow for you to be eligible for the draw.

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Tuesday 8th October 2013 10pm Australian EST
Winners will be chosen by putting names on same sized papers, folded similarly, put on a tray and Jin will pick a winner (unless he asleep or studying then I’ll use random.org).

Photo Stolen shannonmayer

Mihaela U, Gilda

CONGRATULATIONS!!The winners will have till Friday 11th October 2013 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.

Thanks All,

Portia xx

Palmarosa – Soft Skin and Happiness

October 8, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 9 Comments

Suzanne R Banks

Palmarosa – Soft Skin and Happiness

Photo stolen Wikipedia

I’ve used this lovely oil with clients a few times in the past couple of weeks. It blends well with so many oils and adds a green, fresh and slightly rosey scent to a formula. This is a relative newcomer to aromatherapy and doesn’t really have a rich colourful history like the spice oils, but is a wonderful addition to a collection. This gorgeous grass originally hails from India and is sometimes known as East Indian geranium. It’s also grown in Madagascar and the Comoro Islands. Although I can’t really find out a lot about this lovely oil I assume, like lemongrass, it has been used in India as a part of their Ayurvedic lifestyle and natural way of treating disorders in the body.

Palamarosa (Cymbopogon martini) is a grass like lemongrass and citronella, and belongs to the same family – Graminae (or Poaceae). This is the family of ‘true grasses”. There’s also a gingergrass plant that creates an essential too, and that is quite close to palmarosa as it is a variation of the plant – Cymbopogon martini var. sofia. One of my suppliers offers gingergrass oil and although I don’t use it therapeutically is has a beautiful soft scent. Maybe I’ll do a story on that oil soon.

Back to palmarosa – which is an oil often used in cosmetics and soaps to enhance the scent and add an inexpensive rose scent to the product.

I’ve always used palmarosa as a skin conditioning oil and one of it’s main components is geraniol so that may give you a hint too, as geranium is a great oil for the skin. However it’s interesting to note that geranium only contains about a third of the amount of geraniol than palmarosa! And while we are on the geraniol track, lemongrass has a high content of geranial – a different molecule with slightly different carbon bonds (with a similar function).

In aromatherapy today palmarosa is used for

* hydrating the skin and hair

* as a stimulant for skin cell growth therefore working well on scar tissue and the uneven appearance of skin

* as a tonic to the digestive system

* as an insect repellent – just like lemongrass and citronella

* I use it as an oil for happiness and for flexibility in the emotions and thoughts

Photo Stolen Cinnamon Vogue Flickr

Try these combo’s –

Scent your space

1. Scent Your Space

In a traditional oil burner with a candle or a diffuser add 25 drops of oil

“Aperitif”

Get your house in the mood for a lovely dinner

Palmarosa 10 drops

Mandarin 8 drops

Juniper 7 drops

—————————————————————————————————————————————

“I’m Going to be Flexible on this Issue”

Palmarosa 8 drops

Rosemary 5 drops

Geranium 5 drops

Siberian Fir 7 drops

—————————————————————————————————————————————

Photo Stolen RamshackleGlam

2. Nourishing Body Oil Blend

For a coat of your body use 3 teaspoons of carrier oil in a little dish and, add 7 – 8 drops of essential oil.

***** Always put the drops of essential oil into the bottle or dish first, then add the carrier oil. It gives the scents time to create a synergistic fusion.

For a 50ml bottle of oil add 25 drops and see my articles “Ratios for Blending Essential Oils – A Reminder of the Basics” and “Aromatherapy – It’s Easy as 1 2 3”

“Sweet and Soft”

Soften up your skin and add a little sweetness –

Palmarosa 3 drops

Peru Balsam 3 drops

Lavender 2 drops

—————————————————————————————————————————————

“Gettin’ Vibed Up”

An oil blend to refresh and send you into the day with gusto –

Palmarosa 2 drops

Cinnamon 2 drops

Lemon 2 drops

—————————————————————————————————————————————

Happy blending and remember to use your intention when you are creating your formulas. See my article about intention.

Suzanne R Banks

Suzanne R Banks Blog
Suzanne R Banks Aromatherapy
Suzanne R Banks FaceBook

Chanel 28 La Pausa by Jacques Polge for Les Exclusifs de Chanel 2007

October 8, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 21 Comments

Post by Dionne

All the Iris Fiends in the House say Yeah…

Hey, my niche nerds!
Today I’ll wax effusive about one of my all-time favorite frags, 28 La Pausa. Not only is this my numero uno iris pick, but it sits in my all-time top three perfumes.

Now I don’t know if anyone else is like this, but as I get to know a perfume, associations start to develop: an image or a painting, a texture, a feeling or scenario, a specific memory, a color, a place. Everything eventually gets a story. And for me, the iris note has turned into a woman. She’s tall and slender, blond hair done up in a chignon, elegant and intelligent and often intimidating. I like that about her, her cool strength. And I borrow some of that strength when I wear iris, it’s emotional armor for me.

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

My mental image for 28 La Pausa is that lovely woman now in her early 70’s. She’s still tall and slender, still elegant with her white hair in a chic short cut, but the steel is now tempered with kindness. She adores her grandchildren and has a gentle, easy humor and is quick to smile. Her mind is sharp, but she’s become a master at putting you at your ease. (OK, I’m totally cheating with this particular image, because I know someone exactly like this. She’s marvelous, a good friend, and the perfect match in my mind for 28 LP.)

28 La Pausa by Chanel 2007

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Leather, rose, orris

If I was to place 28 La Pausa in the iris continuum, it’s towards the violet end instead of the carrot, woodsy instead of metallic. Nowhere near as powdery as Infusion d’Iris, and it doesn’t have the cosmetics vibe of Dior Homme, either; the powder aspect in this just seems more natural, like nothing’s been added to augment it. Not as cool as Iris Silver Mist because it’s got a hint of musk, but not as warm as Equistrius either. If you’re starting to sense a Goldilocks theme here, you’re right. This hits my sweet spot of juuuust right in the iris line-up; no wonder it’s in my top three.

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

Also, there’s one thing about 28 La Pausa that I’ve never encountered in another iris frag, and that’s the vetiver hanging out in the background. Luca Turin’s review in Perfumes: The Guide mentions the vetiver in the base, and for the longest time I had no idea what he was talking about. And then all of a sudden one day there it was…. Tadaa! How did I ever miss it? Actually, I know exactly how I missed it. Somehow Jacques Polge managed to wrestle this very distinctive note into playing backup, which to my mind is no small feat. Ladies and gentleman, this is how you blend perfumery notes. Kudos, Monsieur Polge. It’s interesting to see notes listed for 28 La Pausa, as sometimes vetiver isn’t even listed.

Further reading: Perfume Shrine and Olfactoria’s Travels
28 La Pausa is still available in CHANEL Boutiques, you may have to hurry though (the SA in Sydney’s Bondi Junction has it in stock)
Surrender To Chance starts at $4/ml

Photo Stolen DeviantArt

Last off, a caveat and a heads-up. You’ve likely heard about 28 LP’s poor longevity. It’s true that scent-glue skin is a real advantage when wearing this frag, but even if you don’t, the quietness of the sillage means you can go crazy with the sprays without gassing out the neighborhood, and the pale color of the just means you can spray on fabric without staining.

If you haven’t had a chance yet to try this lovely fragrance, now would be a good time. With the introduction of 1932 to the Les Exclusifs line, 28 La Pausa is being discontinued. I wish Chanel hadn’t made that decision, but economics rule. And remember how 200ml seemed so large when the line first came out? If you’re going to stock up, it’s good to have options.

Happy spraying!
Dionne

Brie’s Across the Generations

October 7, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 17 Comments

Post by Brie

Perfume and Tea Musings: Across the Generations

Nest Fine Perfumes Midnight Fleur
Zhena Gypsy Organic Green Tea with Coconut/Rum Flavorings

Hello APJ

For many years I have worked with autistic students as a speech language pathologist. All of my students suffer from a condition known as Sensory Integration Dysfunction. In the simplest of terms they cannot process sensory information in typical fashion and are either repelled by sensory input (ie: can’t tolerate loud noises, itchy sweaters, etc) or crave sensory input (ie: only eat highly spicy/crunchy foods, are constantly smelling things, etc). I have my own theory that those of us obsessed with perfume may also possess to a certain degree a mild form of sensory integration dysfunction. Studies have also shown that this condition has a hereditary link.

So it should come as no surprise that my family is a multi-generational band of perfume nuts. For as long as I can remember mum had vintage/classic perfume bottles in our house. Pops had copious amounts of 4711 bottles in every size imaginable. To this day he sprays his socks and underwear with the organic vodka and essential oil blends I make for him. The fact that I am writing this post speaks to my obsession which has naturally been inherited by all three of my children.

Photo Stolen NestFragrances

However, financing perfume for four can be quite challenging. My eldest daughter has quite a resourceful streak and enters perfume draws. Whether you believe in the perfume fairies, the patron saint of perfume or just plain luck, random dot org seems to hone in on her perfume pen name and has allowed her to win several full bottles of high end niche.
The mother lode of all her perfume wins was the deluxe package of Nest Fine Perfumes Midnight Fleur which included the full size bottle, a travel roll on and the decadently thick and luxurious body cream.

Before I even get into the fragrance itself I must tell you that the packaging that the perfume is housed in is stunning. The black matte bottles are substantially heavy and decorated in floral illustrations inspired by the 18th century British artist Mary Delaney who used the decoupage technique. The juice in this work of art bottle is exquisite. Fragranatica lists the notes as jasmine, vanilla orchid, exotic woods, patchouli and black amber. Yet upon first spray the most prominent note to my nose is pineapple: rich, lush and juicy. But this is not your sickly sweet fruity concoction that is so popular in the mainstream perfumes. Midnight Fleur exudes a sophisticated tropical vibe (thanks to the vanilla orchid) before drying down to an earthy patchouli and dark amber.

Photo by Brie’s daughters Britt and Court

For this reason I pair Midnight Fleur with Zhena Gypsy Organic Green tea which includes notes of coconut, rum and pineapple flavors. The tea and perfume are a perfect duo for a hot summer day or night. Whether you are a teenager (like my daughter) or a middle aged woman (like me) Midnight Fleur is a beauty to wear. I am proud that one of my own is developing and refining a sophisticated taste in perfume which I am sure she will pass on to her offspring one day!

Sadly Brie wrote this ahead and can not answer your comments. Don’t let that stop the conversation though, please write if you’d like and Portia will reply. Hopefully Brie is out there somewhere reading. Portia xx

Australian Perfume Junkies

Olfactory Opinions from Oz

Perfume

Divine EdP by Richard Ibanez and Yann Vasnier for Divine 1986

Divine EdP by Divine 1986

Rive d’Ambre (Atelier d’Orient) by Olivier Gillotin for Tom Ford 2013

Rive d’Ambre (Atelier d’Orient) by Tom Ford 2013

The Creation of a Natural Perfume #2

The Creation of a Natural Perfume #2

Perfume for Portia by Aromatique Essentials

Niche & Mainstream Manufacturers Sample GIVEAWAY OCT13