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Post by Suzanne R Banks
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Hi APJ,
Looking though my photos and everything seemed to be purple. Peaceful, perfect, poignant purple.
I might just stop talking again and not do interviews. Prince
Vale Prince
Check out my YouTube Channel too, thanks
Suzanne R Banks Blog
Suzanne R Banks Aromatherapy
Suzanne R Banks FaceBook
Please check out my new book REVELATION! – Reveal Your Destiny with Essential Oils
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Post by Suzanne R Banks
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Sometimes photographing the small beauties around me reminds me to be grateful and helps me enjoy my day. Here are some shots taken as I wandered or around my home.
If a picture paints a thousand words ……… I can’t wait til we have smellevsion and scentagram!
I’ve got these gorgeous chamomile flowers in a teapot next to my bed – sweet dreams!
Keywords: “cool down: less tension more inspiration, de-stress“
Little roses from my back lane
Keywords: “divine love; self love; self nurturing”
Caught on camera somewhere in Sydney
Keywords: “solidarity; solid foundations; acceptance; regeneration”
Divine jasmine!
Keyword: “sensuality”
Home grown
Keywords: “clarity; open your mind”
What can you be thankful for? Look around, probably more than you think
Suzanne R Banks
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Like our Facebook page to stay tuned for more info on the inaugural
Australasian Artisan Botanical Perfume Expo in Sydney, 24th April 2016
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Check out my YouTube Channel too, thanks.
Suzanne R Banks xx
Suzanne R Banks Blog
Suzanne R Banks Aromatherapy
Suzanne R Banks FaceBook
Please check out my new book REVELATION! – Reveal Your Destiny with Essential Oils
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Post by Val the Cookie Queen
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vero.profumo. aficionados. Shared thoughts.
“Vero Kern is one the real gems of the perfume world. She is an amazingly talented and inspiring woman who proves that you can make your dreams a reality at any age. Her perfume line, Vero Profumo, is a master-class in excellence and demonstrates the way perfumes used to be made, but rarely are now.”
TARA SMITH. Olfactoria´s Travels
“Vero’s fragrances honour the classics while having a strong identity of their own.”
“My first encounter with Vero’s fragrances was a couple years ago in Milan, around the time she introduced Mito at Pitti Fragranze (in Florence). I had been wanting to try Rubj for quite a long time (I had even pondered -insane me- to purchase it unsniffed), so I headed straight to a small but smartly stocked perfume shop which I knew carried the line. I was a bit puzzled by Rubj because it was not what I had been expecting (a few days later I realized we had mistakenly sampled Onda for Rubj!) but was amazed at its complexity. There was something extremely compelling in that dirty almost fetid aroma that kept my wrist glued to my nose, it felt almost perverse.
Some days later, at Pitti, I was finally able to meet the creator herself and sample the whole of her line and, after a few wearings of each sample, Kiki chose me. I didn’t want to love it. A lavender? Something so lacking in drama? Something my father wore? But Kiki grabbed me and refused to let me go and I became fascinated by it. I had never before found a fragrance I felt so represented by if it makes any sense. I felt like someone had distilled me 🙂
I affectionately use the word “chanchito” when referring to Vero’s fragrances (chancho = pig). That naughty dirtiness that is both repelling and compelling.
Though I am not too often complimented on my Veros, when I am, I find the compliments come from people with an artistical background who notice and appreciate them: the opera lovers, the ballerinas, the actors, the film directors.
These are perfumey perfumes but they meld with the skin in a special way, becoming something infinitely more powerful than either the perfume itself or my skin.. When worn, they seem to radiate from within, like an aura. I love the fact that they smell rich and substantial, yet not “in your face” or agressive.
There are a few -VERY few- other lines I feel a special affection for but this was as if I had discovered a whole new dimension.
They have soul and body (and most definitely sex), they are perfumes for those who aren’t afraid of their own bodies.”
CARO. Té de Violetas May 2015
“I will swear on a pile of ripening passion fruit, ravaged roses and caramel-drenched lavender that Vero Kern is an addictively fabulous olfactive pornographer. In Spring 2013, I was asked by the Scottish Poetry Society to curate nine poems to nine fragrances. One of these just had to be Vero’s extraordinary Onda, still my fetish VP scent. I married it to one of the most poignant poems of the 20th century, ‘For My Lover Returning To His Wife’ by the doomed and torn Anne Sexton, a woman driven by desire and the rollercoaster shocks of life and love. Of the nine scents, there was only ever one I was going to wear. I wore Onda on the night, my skin drunk on sex in the truly beautiful setting of the Victorian Palm House of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh. When Vero knew I would be wearing Onda and writing on her perfume, she very kindly sent me a bottle of her divine Onda Extrait as a gift to wish me luck. It was a heartstopping gesture. I wore the two strengths together. On the night, people inhaled me greedily, dirtily. It was glorious.”
THE SILVER FOX. 12 May 2015
FREDDY ALBRIGHTON. May 2015. Tattoo Artist. No words needed.
“I’ve tried to write about Vero’s work for the past few years but I feel like I haven’t quite gotten it right. Reviewing the individual perfumes is a start, but there’s a bigger picture when I look at her entire body of work. I recognize how beautiful her perfumes are, but it’s more than beauty. How is it that all of her perfumes have such a strong effect on me? And why can’t I put my finger on why her work is so significant to me?
The real question is why on earth I would fret over these details. The fact is that I’ve found the perfumer whose work speaks to me like no other. I might not be able to put words to it, but I’ve found the artist whose work strikes something deep in me and inspires my spirit. The artist and the audience seek each other out, but it’s rare to find such a good fit. I’ve learned to stop worrying and love Vero.”
JTD JTD. Scenthurdle May 2015
“New Year´s Eve 2012. I had a small vial of Rubj EdP. I had been saving it since the autumn. The rest is history. The sociality I share with the above people
has come to be through our mutual love of .vero.profumo.. Perfume is the common interest – Vero Kern´s perfumes the connection. Vero creates with heart, honey
and passion. A piece of her soul in every creation. To some it speaks. The collection from Vero Kern is an olfactory piece of art, each fragrance representing a different part
of the picture. My painting is nearly finished. I am often asked if I have a favourite. Today it is the Mito Extrait. Tomorrow?”
CQ APJ contributor May 2015
First In Fragrance has the vero.profumo range
LuckyScent does too
Surrender To Chance has samples of quite a lot of the range
Rubj Tuesday Bussis
CQ
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Post by Catherine du Peloux Menage
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HERE AND NOW – an immersive installation
APJ is all about perfume – so it’s all about smells, not those of everyday life which we often ignore, but the ones that are purposefully created, manufactured, and put in bottles. Many argue that perfume creation is a form of artistic creation. Tamara Dean and Ainslie Walker have turned this idea around by making scent an integral part of a work of art and challenging our perception that only certain smells count as ‘scent’. Tamara is the artist who created the immersive installation Here and Now, and Ainslie (well-known to APJ readers for her reviews) created the scent which forms part of the installation displayed at the University of New South Wales last week.
The idea was to create a piece of nature in the middle of a busy city to remind alienated city dwellers of powerful, primordial connections between humans and nature. It was a truly immersive work. We entered a low-lit penumbral space after removing our shoes and walking through a darkened tunnel (birth canal?), to be faced with a large photograph of a river bank and crouching naked figures covering the whole wall opposite, with wall-size mirrors on both sides. The ground was a pool of water with stepping stones leading towards the image. Walking across the stones, water splashed onto the feet. There was a low buzz of sound and an ambient scent.
The scent was so perfectly appropriate to the surroundings that at first I almost didn’t smell it, but just experienced it as natural. It actually felt as if I really was in a forest, crossing a stream, hearing cicadas and bellbirds, taking in the smell of the earth, the decaying tree trunks, the dampness of water. It was a brief moment of (re)connection with the natural world which many of us rarely experience. All the senses were involved. Touch, as we wore no shoes, sound through the cricket and bird song. We could see the photograph, its reflections and our own image. The air had a scent and smell and taste are so intertwined that the smell of the air almost left a residual taste at the back of my throat.
Photo Donated Tamara Dean
Ainslie said that the process began with research into the smells of the environment of the installation, wet vegetation, water, earth and leaves. She didn’t want to create a pretty ‘bottled perfume’ smell but to draw our attention to the scents around us to which we often pay no attention. As she experimented to create the final ‘Eau de Here and Now’, she avoided obvious ‘green’ smells of grass, mint, or eucalyptus or specific ‘woody’ smells and came back to the smell of the vegetation, the soil and rain. We were given a small vial of the scent to take away so we can plunge ourselves back into that darkened room, back into that artificial recreation of the natural though the perfume of nature.
Installations are ephemeral but if you want to share in the experience see the links below.
Please click here and here
Catherine du Peloux-Menage XX
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Post by Portia & Ainslie Walker
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An Immersive Experience
Viewing: February 5-7 by registration HERE<<JUMP
Address released 24 hours prior
Opening Night February 4 2015 6-8pm Fully Booked
Award winning artist and photographer Tamara Dean’s Here and Now Exhibition opens on 4th Feb and is already booked out for the opening night.
There are still places on Thursday and Saturday bu you must register quick.
APJs Ainslie Walker has scented the exhibition, collaborating with Tamara Dean for this fully immersive exhibition and says the experience “involves getting lost, at one with your primordial senses heightened”
Artist bio: Tamara Dean is an Australian artist whose practice explores the relationship between humans and the natural world. In 2013 she was selected for the ArtOmi International Artists Residency, New York. Works produced during this residency won first prize in the 2013 New York Photo Awards – Fine Art series category. Dean’s works have been widely exhibited both nationally and internationally.
Her work has featured in the Hamptons Art Fair, NYC, 2014, Melbourne Art Fair, 2014, Fotofever Brussels Art Fair, 2012 and Pingyao Photography Festival, China, 2012 as well as at leading Australian galleries including Inheritance 2009 and Hijacked 2 – New Australian & German Photography 2010, both at the Australian Centre for Photography; Sydney Now – New Australian Photojournalism, Museum of Sydney 2007; Terra Australis Incognita at Monash Gallery of Art.
Dean is currently Artist-in-Residence at UNSW and is represented by Olsen Irwin Gallery, Sydney and JHB Gallery, New York.
The Sydney Perfume lovers Meet up group, run by Catherine du Peloux Menagé are gathering their forces and attending the exhibition on Thursday evening 5.2.14. They will be privy to a special talk by Ainslie and Tamara and a keepsake of the evening to take home.
Catherine from the Sydney Perfume Lovers Meetup says:
“The artist Tamara Dean has collaborated with one of our members, the talented Ainslie Walker, to create an innovative art installation ‘Here and now’. Our senses will be heightened (including the sense our group is all about, naturally) as we take in the artwork and each one of us will have a different perspective. To say more would be to detract from the evening so you’ll just have to come along to be part of it.
We’ll experience the installation one person at a time, then Tamara and Ainslie will talk to us about the inspiration and ideas behind the installation, as well as the process of creation, over a drink . ‘Here and now’ will take place in the Kensington area of Sydney. The exact location has not yet been disclosed (not even to me!) and I will let you know the address by email nearer the time.
You will take away a special gift which will remind of your experience of the evening by stimulating your limbic system in a unique way. Intrigued? See you there. “
If you prefer to come at a different time or with your friends register with the details below:
REGISTER: Here and Now 2015
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Post by Val the Cookie Queen
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“Myrrhe is mine it´s bitter perfume, breathes a life of gathering gloom …….” The Quest of the Magi by John Henry Hopkins Jnr.
Merry Christmas APJ friends, if you could just tear yourself away from your festivities for a moment …..
This wonderful deep, rich, golden, comforting, soft, chilly, yet warm, aniseedy, bright, beautiful and thought provoking perfume, La Myrrhe, comes in for a lot of flack. Those who love Serge for his reliable potions, and you all know what they are, will probably not care for this. It forces you to look outside of the box, which may be uncomfortable for some. If you´re thinking, awesome, I hope it smells like Chergui, forget it.
However , if it is one you have wanted to try, but not had the chance because it can be difficult to get hold of, I would love to share some of mine. Please leave a comment telling me WHY you would like to try La Myhrre. You have till 10pm December 29th 2014 Australian EDST.
I will get my daughter Hannah to pick the name out of the dead armadillo as always because it is fun!!
There again I might pick the winner myself if someone leaves a good and original reason for wanting to try the stuff. Who knows??
Enjoy the pictures that a good friend and photographer, Dayle Ann Clavin, took of my bottle.
OK. You can get back to your turkey, unpacking of presents or whatever. Our perfume love and hobby is very decadent. Spare
a thought for these who are not so fortunate. Let´s contribute to making our immediate environment a better place to live in.
Peace on earth, good will to all men.
With love
CQ
http://www.dayleannclavin.com
Look at her pictures yourself if you have time at Dayle Ann Clavin.
Hey Hey APJ,
Still looking for the perfect Christmas gift for someone who has everything? here is a beautiful looking book presented by two of Christian Dior’s most famous models. It looks really swanky and elegant and brings us an as yet untold story of the beginning of the relationship between the photographer and the houses of fashion. WOW!
Portia xx
Photo Stolen HuntLogo
Photo stolen wicked-halo
Heya everyone,
Welcome to “Other Blogs That I Read Daily. #1”. Some of you already read a bunch of blogs, some read only APJ, some of you may have stumbled across this post and be asking what is a blog? OK, so a blog is a writing outlet for someone who has something to say, show or share. Maybe, like me, they are an enthusiast at something and want to chronicle their journey, could be they are frustrated writers, photographers, artists, musicians, businesspeople, cooks et al and just feel the need to be seen, heard or published. Sometimes they are MAD, CER AY ZEE! Others they are introvertrts who like to live online. As many reasons as there are blogs. There are good blogs, bad blogs, shit blogs, incredible blogs, regular, inconstant, etc etc etc. You get the picture because you are a Clever Clogs, already reading AustralianPerfumeJunkies.
Photo Stolen entrepreneurslife
I must preface by saying that in the interest of brevity this is the smallest cross section and first installment of Other Blogs That I Read Daily. Please don’t be sad if you are not on this list and you know I read you religiously, there will be more. Also, please go and look at these blogs they are all inspiring to me on some level, and the thrill when one drops into my inbox is real.
In my cross wired and buzz sawed brain the reasoning goes like this: If I like something, and they read my blog, we must be at least slightly kindred spirits, maybe they’ll like some of the stuff I read daily. Then my head goes: They don’t care about the shit you read, talk about perfume you dumb ass or they’ll leave. And then: If they are here they have broad interests, can read, are intelligent and want a great cross section of things to keep their mind busy. OK, That’s YOU! He He He So let’s see some of what I read daily…..
I have 40+ frag blogs that I read whenever they pop into my inbox, the five I’m giving you today are the people I feel I have most connected with during my short time since I discovered the ScentBloggoSphere, though there are others that I love as much:
Olfactoria’sTravels: The first place I landed in scentbloggerland. Birgit has been unfailingly friendly, interesting and educational. Known around the world as the nicest Frag Blogger alive.
ScentsOfSelf: Arielle is the hostess at Scents Of Self. She is very pretty, fiesty, has ideas and positions, really knows her perfume and often makes me laugh or think well beyond my few minutes reading her every post. She is cat mad, and mad, and I like her a lot.
AlembicatedGenie: Sheila Eggenberger is a modern marvel. Her blog is entertaining and has a rich vein of historical knowledge, writes like she is so full of words that they just have to leap onto the paper and makes perfume sexy as hell. She has also written an as yet unpublished story about the Devil and… you know what? I think you need to find it and read it, and then look up the Devilscent Project, Sheila has her finger on many pulses.
CandyPerfumeBoy: This red hot property is the cutest blogger of them all. A sexy stud from the UK he has an insight and wit only given to a precious few and he knows his perfume. I am unsecretly crushed upon his happy smiling face and the written words he offers.
PerfumePosse: The PerfumePosse is full of mad bitches and so I can’t wait for it to drop into my box every day. They realise that though perfume can change you and that it is art and beautiful and can make you growl when you’ve found a good’un, that it is only perfume. Life would be less lovely without it but we would survive. They are fun, irreverent, sexy and knowledgeable. They let me Guest Post for them every Friday and I am honored every week when they do. AWESOME!!!
These are a very thin slice of the other blogs that I read for fun, interest, shock value or plain old envy.
SweetMother: A US comedian who writes her life and views and has interesting sidelines and fun competitions. She is the only rational voice left in American Lesbianism. Honestly, I don’t know if that last sentence is true but I wanted to write it. Happily partnered and pursuing a Gayby (Homo Produced Child, usually possessed by the devil) Sweet Mother has had me both laughing and fake crying often.
MrGKids: Mr G Kids draws the essence of childhood for me, all the things that you have forgotten about your own childhood or are watching happen with the next generation. A cartoonist that produces a single cartoon daily that is not always hilarious but will often help you think outside your cubby hole.
Photo Stolen CanadianHikingPhotography
Canadian Hiking Photography: I seriously do not know how this got in my line of vision but the photos are beyond amazing and you can purchase copies. I am astounded every time I look by how someone can capture the beauty of out world so clearly.
Fashion & Style Guru: There are so many fabulous fashion blogs out there but Fashion & Style Guru is the one that most often speaks to my years in the fashion industry. Always filled with interesting photos, juicy gossip and the newest cutting edge of the fashion world.
Photo Stolen Mountains&Waves
Mountains & Waves: Another photography site and the images are completely encompassing. I feel the cold, the wind, the heat, the awe and majesty of life lived with open eyes. Also a perfect sense of timing makes these pictures move.
The 25th of September is my birthday, so I have given you the gift today of people who in some way inspire, confront, educate, humour, interest or help me. Please as your present back to me go and see their stuff. If it moves you follow or comment, if it doesn’t then move on but for my birthday I would like you all to expand your horizon, just a little.
Thank you, with all the gratitude I have, for being a regular reader of AustralianPerfumeJunkies and part of out APJ family. I hope you get something from this blog because what you are getting is a little piece of my love.
Portia xxx
Australian Perfume Junkies 