Cafe V by Ellen Covey for Olympic Orchids 2013

July 5, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 26 Comments

Wooo Hooo Fellow Fumies,

Don’t forget to enter our Anya’s Garden Giveaway <<<<<JUMP

Two lovely, new and unusual fragrances arrived and have been sitting on my desk waiting for me to do their review since before I went to LA. Finally I have picked up the box and am getting some skin time with one of my favourite niche brands, Olympic Orchids. There’s a special 3rd BIRTHDAY Discount Code at the bottom of the page, a discount on Olympic Orchids already extremely reasonable prices. YAY!! Today you get to meet…..

CAFÉ V by Olympic Orchids 2013

Photo Stolen GreatCafes

From Ellen Covey at Olympic Orchids: Café V is … inspired by one of Seattle’s many cozy neighborhood cafes….. It’s not quite gourmand, and not quite a fragrance of place, but something in between with notes of espresso-roast coffee, dark cacao, vanilla, cream, spicy chai bursting with cardamom, leather, and well-worn wood, and just a little skank from all of the rain-drenched actors who have over the years congregated in this little café in Seattle’s Capitol Hill.

Photo Stolen Olympic Orchids

Top: Cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg
Heart: Spices, dark roast coffee, cacao, cream, sarsaparilla, leather, Madagascar vanilla tincture
Base: Myrrh, cedar, vanilla, dark woods, musk

I love the strong opening like coffee beans being ground with spices and then as the coffee is made the smooth rich black liquid streaming into espresso cups, adding a spoon of demera sugar and cream. This is not just about coffee though, this story and fragrance really is about a cafe. The leather banquets and beeswaxed old, unmatching wood tables, some newspapers, magazines and books on a shelf mouldering and gathering in all the great smells of humanity, then breathing out their vanilla scented decay. There are old forgotten and fresh wet umbrellas by the door, bread and cakes on the bench under glass domes. There is a porch where five tables are set for smokers and you can smell their delicious smoke inside in gusts, or is it the remains of the open fireplace, it could be smoke from the kitchen? All around the drama of life plays out daily, celebrations, disasters, first dates, divorce proceedings, babies in prams, authors, neatly put together ladies in cashmere and camel coats, journalists, the council workers, businesswomen, teenagers, actors and harassed 40 somethings taking a well earned break. The smell of new and old handbags, leather jackets hung behind chairs, shoes, feet and fragrance. Ellen has hit the nail on the head with her CAFE V, it’s exactly what I hoped it would be but even better.

The dry down on my ski is charred wood, amber, sweat and leather. Totally sexy and very old school. Sexy enough to wake the sleeping in our house certainly, he he he.

Photo Stolen McGill

OLYMPIC ORCHIDS 3rd BIRTHDAY!!

Photo Stolen weddingnot

THIRD ANNIVERSARY IN JULY!
It’s hard to believe that our third anniversary is coming up this year! Everything still seems so new and such a work in progress that I don’t feel like any time has passed since I first set up my website. On the other hand, we now have a regular line of about 20 fragrances as well as quite a few special editions, and wonderful customers all over the world. We’ve won awards, and received loads of recognition. I would like to send out a huge thank you to everyone who has sampled and purchased Olympic Orchids perfumes over the past three years, and to those who have reviewed and written about them in so many different venues. I appreciate it all!

THIRD ANNIVERSARY DISCOUNT CODES
To celebrate our success over the past three years, I’ll be offering a 10% discount on any order of $10 or more placed between July 1 and July 7, 2013. Enter the code THREE at checkout to receive your discount.

DISCOUNT EXTENDED TO JULY 15 2013

Ellen

There you have it, Cafe V, and it is a doozy. I will be talking about the other new release very soon.
See you tomorrow,

Portia xx

Matt Lukjanenko Interview about Olfaction and Personality Survey

July 5, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 3 Comments

Guest Post by Jordan River

Matt Lukjanenko Interview

Olfaction and Personality Survey

Sydney. Photo: Matt Lukjanenko

Tonight The Scented Salon is in Sydney. With us we have Matt Lukjanenko, an Australian student writing a thesis on Olfaction and Personality. Olfaction is the science of smell.

You can assist his research, if it suits you, by filling out the survey on the link below:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/personalityandexpertise

The study will provide useful information regarding the differences in how thoughts and emotions are processed and expressed between those with a keen interest in fragrances and those without.

The study takes approximately 15 minutes to complete. Further details about the survey are after the interview with Matt.

Now let’s find out more about Matt.

G’day Matt, welcome to The Scented Salon. Thank you for joining us. I know some people may like to know more about you before they fill in your research survey.

Matt Lukjanenko

Thank you for your kind welcome.
A little bit about me – I was born in Sydney as were both my parents but both families are from Ukraine and Belarus. My parent’s first languages were Ukrainian and Russian and there was definitely an eastern European influence on my life growing up.

What was your first fragrance?

The first fragrance I bought for myself was Acqua di Gio by Armani. I liked the citrus and saltwater scents and its softness.

What did you waft in the 80′s and 90′s?

I am the youngest of 3 boys so whatever I wore was usually passed down from my brothers.

Do you buy for yourself?

I do buy for myself but I remember a while ago my partner at the time left for the UK. He gave me a bottle of what he used to wear as a parting gift which was Calvin Klein Crave. Whenever I wore it it would remind me of him. I thought that was a very smart and sweet gesture.

Or possibly completely debilitating. What are your perfume preferences or notes that you like?

Frangipani, Sandalwood and Lavender. I also love anything citrus or marine and natural.

My favourite at the moment is the Bulvgari Aqva – anything to remind me of the ocean when I’m not near it.

Perfume Collection – theres some Bulvgari, Paul Smith, Boss, Burberry and Natio which is a natural Australian brand.

What are you studying?

I am currently in my honours year of a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at Macquarie University.

Which career will this lead to?

Following this year, I hope to get into a Masters program in Clinical Forensic Psychology either in Canada or here in Australia. I went on an exchange semester to Canada as part of my undergraduate degree and would love to spend some more time there. After Masters I hope to work for a government agency in correctional services or some other forensic setting.

What is your current research about?

The current study is about olfaction and personality. It builds on previous research looking into the effect that expertise in a particular field has on the brain. Expert musicians, athletes and even taxi drivers have shown functional and structural changes in the way their brains are organised when compared with novices and we are interested in how expertise in olfaction elicits similar changes in the brain and how this then relates to certain personality characteristics.

What about a fragrant experience?

Travelling is my absolute passion. I’ve been fortunate to rake up a number of stamps in my passport and the scents from each of the countries I have visited have always stayed with me long after I’ve left.

One of the most memorable pieces of information I learnt during my degree was that the pathway for the olfactory system has quicker connections with our memory when compared to any of the other senses. I experience that when I pass a person walking in the street who smells like someone else I know or somewhere I’ve been and all those memories come flooding back.

Just two of the highlights for me on my travels have been the smell of burning cigars in a Havana street in Cuba – it was exactly as how I had imagined it and it is one of my favourite cities. The decaying grand buildings, old cars and joyous people. We were fortunate to stay in a homestay with a great host and the lady upstairs would cook our meals and bring down roasted meats, rice and beans, cakes and fresh fruit. You would be intoxicated by the smells alone. But I remember the cigars most vividly.

Cuban flag draped from a building in Havana. Photo: Matt Lukjanenko

Also the smell of freshly baked bread from a Parisian boulangerie as you walk home from a club in the early hours of the morning and knock on the back door to buy a baguette fresh out of the oven and eat it on the way home. Simple things like that bring me a lot of joy.

Machu Picchu – I had always dreamt of visiting Peru and in particular Machu Picchu. We also climbed Huayna Picchu which is a bigger mountain next to Machu Picchu and it was probably the most physically challenging thing I had done. A steep vertical climb for almost an hour hugging onto the side of the mountain with a sheer drop if you put a foot wrong.

What suits you for work?

I work alone most of the time so I could come in smelling like anything really and no one would notice but for everyday wear I prefer natural fragrant oils. Just taking a twig of lavender from a neighbour’s garden and rolling it between my fingers and dabbing it on my neck and wrists.

What do men smell like in Sydney?

Sydney is a summer city, it comes alive during summer and people, men and women in my area usually smell of the beach: saltwater, sunscreen and coconut oil. Having said that it does changes from season to season; in spring it’s more floral and in winter more cedar and spices.

Besides study and travel what occupies your time?

Surfing – at Bondi Beach near my home in Sydney. This photo was taken by the instructor on my first lesson. I’ve since had a few more and am keeping it up.

Aside from travelling, I love swimming, in the ocean or pool and going to the cinema. I go a few times a week and will watch pretty much anything; particularly films from Almodovar or Francois Ozon.

Here I am snorkeling in Cartagena. I met many great people in Colombia and one who is very special. I have Colombian friends all over the world. They seem to travel as much as Australians.

The Gaining of Knowledge

my brother and I went to hear the Dalai Lama talk recently in Sydney and I like reading about his history and that of Tibetans and Buddhists. There's also a lot of travel guides and a few adult comics.

My brother and I went to hear the Dalai Lama talk recently in Sydney and I liked reading about his history and that of Tibetans and Buddhists. There’s also a lot of travel guides and a few adult comics.

Where and how did you gain perfume knowledge?

Online mostly, from websites like yours Portia and The Fragrant Man as well as from meeting people who then pass their knowledge onto me. I’m still very much a novice but I am enjoying the learning experience.

Do you think perfumery is art, artisanal, design and manufacturing, molecular architecture or something else?

All of the above, as someone you interviewed earlier noted it is both a science and an art but has different interpretations for different people.

What is the purpose of perfume?
Simply, to elicit an emotion in a person, whether it is arousal, calm, joy or sometimes disgust haha.

Vivid – Sydney has a lot of great festivals one being Vivid which is a light festival in May/June. There are installations and projections onto iconic sites like the Opera House (see top photo) and Harbour Bridge in this photo. Photo: Matt Lukjanenko

Thank you Matt. All the very best with your research and studies.

Further Information
Research Survey

My name is Matthew Lukjanenko and I am a Psychology Honours student under the supervision of Dr Mem Mahmut at Macquarie University in Sydney (mem.mahmut@mq.edu.au) completing my thesis this year on Olfaction and Personality. I am interested in whether people who have a keen sense of smell, by profession or through interest, have differing scores of certain personality traits when compared with the general public. This is an online study and can be completed anonymously. The study should take no longer than 10-15 minutes and will involve completing online questionnaires. If you complete the study you can elect to enter into a draw to win one of three $20 iTunes cards which will be drawn in late October 2013.

Below is the link to the study

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/personalityandexpertise

Please feel free to share the link with your colleagues or anyone you might think suitable to participate.

The study will provide useful information regarding the differences in how thoughts and emotions are processed and expressed between those with a keen interest in fragrances and those without.

I am hoping to recruit as many people as possible, there are no exemptions.

If people choose to participate, they will need to do so by Monday 22 July 2013.

Any questions please email: matthew.lukjanenko@students.mq.edu.au

Jordan River

Olfaction and Personality Survey

July 5, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 12 Comments

Hey There Fragrant Peoples,

Today I have something quite interesting that you may like to do. My mate Matthew is a student and he is studying Olfaction and Personality as an Honours Student and he is doing a survey to help with his Thesis. You can do the survey by clicking on the link.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/personalityandexpertise

The study takes approximately 15 minutes to complete, can be accessed from any computer using any browser, doesn’t require a download and can be accessed through some smartphones and tablets (it’s trial and error – the website says yes to iPhones, iPads etc but maybe not to some Android phones).

Photo stolen UPenn

Here is Matthew’s standard letter (slightly edited):

*****************************************************************************************************************

My name is Matthew Lukjanenko and I am a Psychology Honours student under the supervision of Dr Mem Mahmut at Macquarie University in Sydney (mem.mahmut@mq.edu.au) completing my thesis this year on olfaction and personality. I am interested in whether people who have a keen sense of smell, by profession or through interest, have differing scores of certain personality traits when compared with the general public. This is an online study and can be completed anonymously. The study should take no longer than 10-15 minutes and will involve completing online questionnaires. If you complete the study you can elect to enter into a draw to win one of three $20 iTunes cards which will be drawn in late October 2013.

Below is the link to the study

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/personalityandexpertise

Please feel free to share the link with your colleagues or anyone you might think suitable to participate.

Thank you for your time.

***************************************************************************************************************

The study will provide useful information regarding the differences in how thoughts and emotions are processed and expressed between those with a keen interest in fragrances and those without.

I am hoping to recruit as many people as possible, there are no exemptions.

If people choose to participate, they will need to do so by Monday 22 July 2013.

I appreciate your help.

Matt 🙂

Photo Stolen AlpICT

I appreciate your help too. This is one of the things EvieC and I hoped to do with AustralianPerfumeJunkies, grow perfume knowledge and awareness. Here is the link again,

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/personalityandexpertise

We have an interview with Matthew later today where Jordan River asks a lot of the questions you may have.

Go to it,
Portia xx

Anya’s Garden Perfumes Miami

July 4, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 75 Comments

Hello Niche Nerds,

Today I bring you a perfumer who is doing some beautiful work, Anya McCoy: perfumer for Anya’s Garden, President of the Natural Perfumers Guild and Founder & Head Instructor of the Natural Perfumery Institute.. This is small batch, niche, natural perfumery from Miami, Florida, USA that has been produced by Anya since 1991. The beautiful Anya sent these samples for me to try and so I’m going to spend a couple of days with them and do a review on my 3 favourites.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

The instruction card that comes with them tells you to sniff from lightest to heaviest so you don’t over or under whelm your nose at any point, clever. Even the packaging is beautifully thought out and presented, it all bodes very well.

Photo Stolen VK.com

Light 2010: Crisp, bright, sharp and sexy are the four words that keep springing into my mind here. we have a very citrus fragrance with deep green facets, floral wafts and an animalic backbeat. This is like a 1950s men’s fragrance, before they took all the good stuff out. Slightly outrageous and narcotic, this is exactly how I want to smell. Light must mean physical light rather that lack of heft because this fragrance has a wonderful sillage making my room smell fresh and friendly when I return to it. Being all natural I’m surprised at how long the citrus lasts on my skin, also the incense is cool and rich and hums along nicely, weaving in and around, reminding me it’s there at intervals. I would LOVE to smell this on someone else but I’ve used up my whole sample over the last two days and will have to wait for a bottle to arrive.

LightA truly modern take on a classic cologne-style, blended as a pure perfume. Israeli yellow grapefruit, cedrat (citron) from Sicily, aglaia flower, genet, frankincense.

Modern Citrus Cologne

cedrat Sicily
yellow grapefruit Israel
juniper berry Bulgaria
neroli Tunisia
genet France
aglaia China
aglaia tincture Anya’s Garden
ambergris Ocean
frankincense Oman
frankincense resin Somalia

Photo Stolen HDWallpapers4Desktop

Amberess 2010: At once haunting and riveting Ambress opens sweet, spicy, resinous and a little sweaty. Gorgeous in a way only natural perfumerie can be. Layered, hefty, intricate and deep yet has a sheer floating beauty that slowly unfolds and becomes an ethereal veil that highlights the beauty of my own human smell. Yes i smell rose and spicy/minty geranium, the warm resins, soft and regal sandalwood melting deliciously into vanilla but Amberess is more than all these notes. Amberess is a journey, there is no smoky darkness here it is all smooth glamour and light. Way too over the top for most workplaces before the hour and half mark it is a siren song of entrapment. Lasting power is moderate and sillage excellent.

AmberessRare musk rose from Africa opens this soft, lush amber perfume. Ten carefully-blended base notes provide a gorgeous amber base that melts into your skin.

Floral Amber

musk rose absolute and otto Zambia
rose geranium sur fleurs South Africa
ylang ylang extra Madagascar
balsam of peru El Salvador
styrax Honduras
labdanum Spain
tolu balsam Brazil
amber fossil Himalayas
tonka bean Venezuela
sandalwood Sri Lanka
benzoin siam Laos
vanilla Madagascar

Photo Stolen RealWowz

Temple 2007: Interestingly with Temple my skin skips the oranges almost completely and goes straight to spicy, herby, sizzling BarBQ goodness. The juice is there but it’s not top of nose, I get the warmth, animalics and smoke of ambergris, ambrette, civet, castoreum and oudh. I get a waft of coffee, cool grounds after they’ve been used, slightly bitter and wet. The spices are rich and dry like being in the spice marketplace in Fiji or Vietnam and what feels, or smells, like an incense. This fragrance is killer! I want to start all over again. Temple is beautiful but I think it may need some warmth to really blossom. Currently I’m in Sydney winter and its lovely and lively but I think I’m missing something. Sillage is good and the scent bubble is not too big, but noticeable across a cafe table. The story as it dries to a smoky, soft, warmth is cuddly like polar fleece but stylish like leather.

TempleOrange juice surprises you, spices warm you and exotic Oud soothes you

Modern Oud Spicey

orange juice Brazil
ginger Indonesia
cardamom Indonesia
aglaia flower China, Anya’s Garden
coffee Brazil
civet Ethiopia
temple spice blend Anya’s Garden
benzoin siam Thailand
oud Laos
castoreum Canada
mitti – India, Anya’s Garden
ambrette India, Anya’s Garden
ambergris Ocean

Anya’s Garden GIVEAWAY!

Photo Stolen kbaird

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

There are 3 prizes this week in our special 4th of July GIVEAWAY. Each winner will receive:

3 x .5ml Anya’s Garden samples (missing what I used to review and no you don’t get to choose)
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. Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged.

Go to Anya’s Garden website and get an ingredient from one of her perfumes not mentioned in this post, and the perfume it came from. NO DOUBLE UPS!!

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie @AnyasGarden PERFUME SAMPLES GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p2fQBU-1Fm #Perfume #Giveaway

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 7th July 2013 11pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post Monday 8th.
Winners will be chosen by putting names on same sized papers, folded similarly, put on a tray and Jin will pick a winner.
The winners will have till Sunday 14th June 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

APJ Day Out #1: Hermes, Robert Piguet, Tom Ford, DIOR: Photo Essay

July 3, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 52 Comments

Hey there APJ!

Last Wednesday we had our first APJ Day Out. There were 13 of us, normally an unlucky number, but it turned out to be super lucky. We were treated extremely well by all the stores we went to, were given two amazing Masterclasses and loads of samples. It was great to meet some of you for the first time and an excellent opportunity for those of us who are already buddies to catch up, talk fragrance, shop, laugh and generally enjoy each others company. FABULOUS!

As we arrived a little early for our masterclass with Joe Garces, the CEO of Robert Piguet, I thought it would be a great time to pop across to Hermes, where the wonderful Jean was our hostess. She happily took us through some of my favourite scents in the Jean Claude Ellena Hermessence range and also some more of the Hermes fragrance catalogue including the Jardin range and then introduced me to one of their scents that I had never spent any time with, Rouge. WOW!! I can definitely see a full bottle in my very near future. Thank you Jean. XXX

Off to Libertine Parfumerie stand in David Jones Sydney City Store basement to meet Nick, the sexy proprietor, Gary and Dan, the regular SAs and a new boy whose name escapes me, sorry. There too was Joe Garces, and Joe took us through quite a lot of the range. It wasn’t much about notes etc, we were taken through the creation stories of each fragrance, the troubles, the inspiration and the triumphs. It was an illuminating class and I came away better informed about the way perfumes are created in a mass market niche company. Joe has effectively turned a dying dinosaur of a business back into a going concern with his and his teams plans. He is justifiably proud of the company’s achievements and really loves the perfumes he produces and sells, enthusiasm shining from and infectious. I tried a slew of the range that I had thought definitely NOT my style and walked away with a couple of new loves, a bottle of Bois Noir and a special gift roll on of VISA. YAY!! Review coming soon. Everyone was allowed to choose a Piguet fragrance to sample and were given very generous spray samples.

Then I took the crew up to the Tom Ford section at DJs. The SA there was so pretty, knowledgeable and helpful showing us some of the range and introducing many of us to Sahara Noir. I had tried it before in LA but it was a completely different experience in the cool of Sydney, I LOVED it here. At the end she finished by offering everyone a sample of their choice!

It was time for a sit and a cuppa, I had a sneaky Banana Bread too. During our time at the cafe Ainslie, who is a perfumer, brought out some of her current mods for us to share, smell, critique and enjoy. It was wonderful talking to someone on the cusp of a business and finding out how her perfumes are created. Fascinating. Soon I will have a story on Ainslie because she is thinking of setting up a trial where you can buy a small set of her mods to try and critique for yourself, providing useful perfumista feedback and giving us a chance to try new stuff very reasonably. HEAVEN.

Then it was onwards and upwards to DIOR’s outrageously gorgeousbnew flagship store in Sydney, the first in Australia. We were greeted warmly by the staff and Clayton the Oceania head of PR was there to whisk us upstairs to the shoe parlour where we were treated to a stroll through the 10 available Couturier/Privee fragrances exclesively available in Australia through that store. There was also a beautiful DIOR lady there whose name has slipped from my mind, she was helpful and informative and I apologise for my bad brain. It was a delightful ending to an amazing day. I was happy to add bottles of Oud Ispahan and Oud Leather to my perfume library. At the end we were all given DIOR swag bags with a couple of the fabulous 7.5ml FB replicas each and some beautifully presented literature. Just walking down the street with a DIOR bag is thrilling enough but when you’ve been feted by some of the best luxe companies in the world we were all walking on air. Thank you Clayton and DIOR.

As you can see we had lost some of our people along the way, the last photo are the DIOR Late Stayers. Thanks to everyone who came and who helped us have such an amazingly wonderful and special day.

I am currently thinking of other great APJ Day Out ideas. There will definitely be another day soon,

Portia xx

4 Easy Things To Help You Be Completely Amazing

July 2, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 22 Comments

Post by Suzanne R Banks

4 Easy Things To Help You Be Completely Amazing

Chuck Elliot Photo Stolen PartFaliaZ

1. Use Essential Oils

Yep I know this is a bit obvious coming from me, but it’s true.

Use essential oils as perfume. It’s natural vs synthetic. In this case natural is much better than synthetic.

Use essential oils to clean instead of toxic products.

Use cold pressed carrier oils for moisturiser. Simplicity is back in fashion.

Do it!

How?

Lavender 1 drop on your wrists – it doesn’t need to be any more complicated than that!

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2. Inspire Someone Today!

You’ll be amazed at how great you feel when you inspire someone else. It’s quite infectious and you’ll want to keep doing it, I promise. It gets you into an upward spiral of positivity.

There’s no better way to help yourself, cancel out your self-doubt and quash those little negative self talks. When you inspire someone else – you’ll be inspired 10 fold.

Do it today! And use essential oils.

Sage 1 drop on your throat chakra to speak the truth with others and share your abundance

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3. Be kind to Animals

Always be kind to animals, it’s our duty to protect them. Let’s face it there are some totally fantastic animals out there.

Your kindness will send ripples into the universe. Hopefully some of those ripples will join up to more kindness waves and wash over us all! Maybe then we can all be kind to each other, but maybe that’s a bit too simple? Or not.

Be kind to an animal today. And use essential oils

Rosewood 1 drop on your heart chakra to allow the flow of love, inward and outward.

—————————————————————————————————————————————-Photo Stolen WholeLivingDaily

4. Use Your Intention Everyday

Start each day with an intention. A good intention. Create the vibe of your day. You’ll automatically rise up to meet that intention.

Create your day…..your week….your life.

This is another duty we are bound to, if we want to evolve into a peaceful community. We are living in a time of great expansion. We need your help.

Use your intention today. And use essential oils

Basil open the bottle and take a huge whiff to open your mind to possibilities.

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This is just a start to the influence you can have in your world.

Make it a good influence and share your knowledge.

Talk about what you know and aspire to.

Connect with others.

But most of all use essential oils. You’ll smell great and you will be able to harness their healing power, absorb it, and give it back to your world with joy, times infinity.

Suzanne x

Photo Stolen SodaHead

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

Perfume + Tea: Victoria’s Secret + Harney and Sons

July 1, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 8 Comments

Post by Brie

Perfume & Tea Musings: The Middle Aged Sex Kitten

Victoria by Victoria’s Secret
Harney & Sons Royal Wedding Tea

Harney and Son’s Royal Wedding is part of their Historic Royal Palaces of England collection. I stumbled upon it at my farmer’s market in upstate New York and snatched it up after reading the tea “notes”. A delicate Chinese white tea, comprised of pink rosebuds, cornflowers, marigold petals and notes of almond, coconut and vanilla rounding out the floral, this is truly a royal tea. I have paired it with Victoria by Victoria’s Secret.

Photo by Brie’s family

Victoria was launched in 1989, the very first fragrance from the highly popular ~~English~~ (USA from San Francisco: Thanks Undina) lingerie company. Sadly, the perfumer is unknown and it was discontinued, to be replaced with light fruity concoctions with cheeky names that are so prevalent when one walks into a VS store in my local mall. I attempted to research the notes for Victoria but came up with nil. This glorious rose amber fragrance came in a regal fluted rectangular shaped bottle rimmed in gold metal with a royal blue cap. The bottle was as stunning as the perfume itself. It was a part of my perfume wardrobe from the time of its launch until it disappeared in the late 90s. Ironically, my perfume despising co-worker, with whom I share an office, had several bottles of Victoria. It is the ONLY perfume she ever purchased. She wore it as a young woman because men would approach her in bars and restaurants, inquiring about her scent. It is thanks to her that I am once again the happy owner of a partially full bottle.

Photo Stolen LippyEyesMUA

Victoria is what I wear when I want to feel a weensy bit regal and a whole lotta sex kittenish: in the late evening, with fragrant candles illuminating a darkened bedroom, in bed with my hubby sipping Royal Wedding Tea and wearing Victoria perfume and nothing else. What do you wear when you want to be the sexiest kitten in town?

Brie x

(Ed: I couldn’t help but add a shot of Australia’s Miranda Kerr as a Victoria’s Secret Angel)

Photo Stolen NYDailyNews

Eau Arpege Mist by Andre Fraysse for Lanvin 1927 (Vintage)

June 29, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 41 Comments

Hello Vintage frag Hounds,

Recently I was lucky enough to find this beautiful perfume and bottle on Etsy, it was a complete bargain and I bought a few other things at the same time.

Eau Arpege Mist by Lanvin 1927 (Vintage)

Photo Stolen Etsy

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, aldehide, peach, orange bloom, honeysuckle, orris
Heart: Rose, jasmine, ylang-ylang, coriander, sensitive plant, tuberose, violet, geranium
Base: Sandalwood, vetiver, patchoulis, vanilla, musk

The box (shown in picture) looks scuffed and worn in real life and I think the fragrance has kept its fresh colour due to being encased in the refillable case: meaning it has suffered no light damage. Mum had Arpege at one point, I think it may have been a gift, and I remember loving her in it. This is the mist and aged so the scent is slightly different but WOW!!

Photo Stolen wPapers.ru

The fizzy, sparkling, slightly unreal growl of Eau Arpege Mist is both lavish, grand and feline. Honeysuckle can take over everything on my skin and it goes very urinous quite often, here is skirts disgusting and is completely in tune with the fruit and citrus, maybe the iris keeps it in check with its cool rooty earthiness? I don’t know but you would never in today’s world of fragrance pick this as made for a daughter’s 30th birthday by her mother, who called in André Fraysse and his helper Paul Vacher back in 1927. Jeannie Lanvin even let her daughter choose the name, Arpege, for arpeggio: from my blog reading I find it was so named because an arpeggio is trickling notes like a cascade of sound rather than chords which is the way Arpege is said to flow. You’ll notice the picture above LANVIN on the box above, legend has it that it’s Jeannie and her daughter preparing for a ball.

If you want to read about the notes do please jump to further reading, parsing this little beauty is beyond me. I want you to know that it feels like I’m a movie star when I wear this beautiful vintage Arpege. The flowers, herbs, spices, woods and grasses all combine to maker an incredible statement, that feels both womanly and iconic. If you ever need a spine stiffener then Arpege will do it for you. Ramrod straight back with a head just floating on your neck and hips that could whip the washing with their sweep, swoosh and sashay. Movie star glamour instantly, even for me!

Photo Stolen FoxSaver

There is always room for the new but don’t forget to remember the old, it tells us some stories of how we got here and what we’ve lost.

Further reading: Bois De Jasmine and Now Smell This
There is a surprising amount of Vintage Eau Arpege Mist on eBay and Etsy for under $30/60ml
Surrender To Chance has Vintage Eau de Arpege starting at $5/ml
My Perfume Samples has (the 1993 or 2009 reformulation I guess) starting $2/ml to $6/5ml

Do you have Arpege memories? Have you ever sniffed the vintage? Here’s your chance in our