White Spirit by JHaG GIVEAWAY WINNER

June 4, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 1 Comment

Post by Portia

Hello Lovely APJers,

Particularly excited to give this magnificent presentation case away today. The scent is pretty darn fabulous too.

Thanks to Libertine Parfumerie and Elysee Collective for sending through this sample pack.
Portia xxx

White Spirit by JHaG GIVEAWAY WINNER

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Jasmine sambac, tuberose
Heart: Ambroxan, tuberose
Base: Amber, cedar, musk, sandalwood

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x White Spirit Manufacturers Sample (my review sample remnants)
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Friday 3rd June 2016 10pm Australian EST
Winners was chosen by random.org

SaffyIsHere

The winner will have till Wednesday 8th June 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.

White Spirit by Romano Ricci for Juliette Has A Gun 2016

June 2, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 36 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey Hey All,

Romano Ricci is a dead set spunk, so sexy and suave. We met him last year here in Sydney and I fell head over heels, we all did. He was warm, engaging, funny and composed. He had some great stories and through the whole afternoon his love for fragrance shone through. Coming down from the Nina Ricci line, she is his grandmother, he has a similar vein of conservative and quirky that I am only now discovering as I work my way through the vintage Nina Ricci catalogue.

This week I am dedicating APJ to a GIVEAWAY WEEK! Yes, every day for six out of seven days there will be a 24 hour GIVEAWAY. That’s right, you’ll have 24 hours to get your comment in and then it will be drawn. Enter every day if you like but only one comment per day. Got it?

White Spirit by Juliette Has A Gun 2016

White Spirit by Romano Ricci

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Jasmine sambac, tuberose
Heart: Ambroxan, tuberose
Base: Amber, cedar, musk, sandalwood

This haute line from JHaG is lovely. I really like the bottles, fragrances and the whole idea behind them. Romano made up a crazy expensive fragrance for his girlfriend, everywhere they went people commented on it and wanted in. He then made up a small batch at a more moderate price to test the waters, still expensive but within reach. Sell Out! So the haute line was born.

The first two are big fragrances, head turning, walk in before you, notice me bitches style frags. On the third Romano has pared back the size and added a more industrial vibe. 21st century fragrance couture. Utterly unisex and, on my skin, devastatingly beautiful.

Further reading: Candy Perfume Boy and Now Smell This
Libertine Parfumerie has $390/75ml with FREE Australian Postage
First In Fragrance has €240/75ml + Samples

White Spirit GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x White Spirit Manufacturers Sample (my review sample remnants)
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

Open to everyone worldwide who follows AustralianPerfumeJunkies via eMail, WordPress, Bloglovin or RSS. Please leave how you follow in the comments to be eligible. I must be able to check that you follow so if you have an email address on your gravatar that’s different to your follow address then please email me so I know. Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged.

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Tell us your addictive scent

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close TOMORROW Friday 3rd June 2016 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Wednesday 8th June 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.

Romano Ricci and the Aussie launch of Gentlewoman for JHaG

April 21, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 15 Comments

Post by Ainslie Walker

Romano Ricci and the Aussie launch of Gentlewoman

Breathe in deeply next time you put your nose near someone who is wearing fresh clean cotton clothing on a warm day, especially if they are wearing a citrus-based Eau de Cologne, like 4711, underneath. That innocent clean cotton scent mixed with citrus, a hint of musk and highly intriguing pheromones is largely my experience of Gentlewoman, the newest fragrance by Juliette Has A Gun.

Last month “We” (Clayton – What Men Should Smell Like, Catherine – Sydney Perfume Lovers Meet Up and Portia Turbo – APJ) met with Romano Ricci in Sydney, thanks to Agence de Parfums (Libertine Parfumerie). We started chatting as champagne was poured, with Romano requesting a ‘piscine’ – champagne on ice – apparently the “In” drink amongst champagne guzzlers in Europe. Romano was lovely, hilarious, and super handsome (we all noticed..!!) Easy to talk to, I enjoyed the facts he shared with us.

Romano does not like to talk about his “fragrance royalty” lineage, however we all know Nina Ricci is his grandmother – I found this picture(<JUMP) I think they look so similar!!

Romano initially avoided working in the fragrance industry, spending 10 years exploring alternatives, including racecar driving, however he was eventually drawn back to his roots. Romano has since forged his own unique pathway, developing his brand alongside a perfumery apprenticeship of sorts.

In 2006 the Juliette Has A Gun concept was born with Romano wanting to shake up the current world of Niche Fragrance. He wanted to “throw a rock in a pond” and become the alternative niche brand for fragrance connoisseurs. He describes his branding as “dynamic and punchy with the composition and quality of ingredients falling into niche.” Colette, one of the coolest stores in Paris, quickly became his first stockist.

Romano only wanted Francis Kurkdjian as his perfumer and asked him initially for two modern rose flower scents. Romano had no creative role in these and spent his time compounding (mixing) for Francis. The outcome was; Lady Vengeance; the sexy, deep rose. Strong, dark, sexual and powdered. Rose, vanilla, patchouli and musk provide a vibe of strong, sexually confident woman/man to me. AND Miss Charming contrastingly, the very pretty, innocent rose with its fresh dewy fruit-rose notes.

Romano felt ready to be the perfumer for the next release. He aimed to modernize aldehydes; he loves the volume and sophistication of fragrances such as Chanel no 5. It took 1.5 years to make the “chypre aldehyde with animalic dose” (fragrantica). Of the process he swears he “will never do it again, it took away part of my youth!!” I predict one day we will see more from this naturally gifted perfumer.

He explained his best selling, Not a Perfume, rumored to be just 1 ingredient, is in fact a musk molecule combination which is intensified with slowly developed back notes. The juice is macerated for 16 weeks!!

We asked why Calamity J had been delisted and Romano said “the fragrances decide and this one did not work” I have never smelt it and I am sad I may never get the chance!

Have any of you smelt any of the Juliette Has A Gun frags? Favourites? What did you think?
Ainslie Walker XX

Gentlewoman GIVEAWAY WINNERS!

April 3, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Hi there Cyber Frag Family,

Another lovely GIVEAWAY! I hope you enjoyed it. Special thanks to Romano Ricci, Libertine Parfumerie and especially Nick, so generous always.

For those that celebrate, HAPPY EASTER!

Let’s get to the winners.

Portia xx

Gentlewoman GIVEAWAY WINNERS!

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, bitter orange blossom, neroli
Heart: Almond, courmarin, orange blossom, lavender
Base: Ambroxan, woody notes, musk

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week we will have 3 winners who will receive:
1 x decant Gentlewoman by Juliette Has A Gun (from my Press bottle)
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DID 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 (portia underscore turbo @ yahoo dot com dot au) so I know. Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged.

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please comment with any reason you could be called a Gentleman or Gentlewoman

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Gentlewoman: Juliette Has A Gun #GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-3KA @LibertineParfum #Perfume @signoricci

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Thursday 2nd April 2015 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org

Photo Stolen LifestyleSolutions

TaraC

Sun (via Twitter)

Vivian

CONGRATULATIONS!! The winners will have till Thursday 9th April 2015 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.

Gentlewoman by Juliette Has A Gun

March 30, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 35 Comments

Hi Crew,

Having spent some time with the dashing Romano Ricci recently we were introduced to his latest offering, Gentlewoman. One of the things I really liked about meeting Romano Ricci was something that he said, he told us that while he created the fragrances he would often go and seek the help of other perfumers to bring his idea to completion. That kind of open honesty is both refreshing and virtually unheard of in this industry, he won me over in that moment. The fact that he was extremely handsome and an outrageous flirt had nothing to do with it at all….

Gentlewoman by Romano Ricci for Juliette Has A Gun 2015

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, bitter orange blossom, neroli
Heart: Almond, courmarin, orange blossom, lavender
Base: Ambroxan, woody notes, musk

The humble cologne. So invigorating and refreshing. A hallmark of perfumery and still people are finding new ways to improve the genre.

Imagine citrus. All the parts of citrus. Tree, leaves, flowers, zest, pith, juice and body are all part of what makes me think citrus. It seems that Romano has wanted to show all facets of the citrus in one fragrance and not only to do that but then to add some almond in for good measure to mellow, buff and lactonate* what is mainly citrus.

Yes, we have lavender, also courmarin and super cuddly musks (Clayton knows the names of the molecules). Here we have a same same but different cologne. Firstly it LASTS for hours. One of my main problems with Eau de Cologne as a genre is having to tote around a 500ml bottle to respritz every 25 minutes. Secondly, we have a really interesting and enjoyable development that also has this divine almond note that makes the whole heart smell like an almond bread with zest! YUMMY! A dry yummy and not really a gourmand, except of course that it is strictly speaking gourmand.

What do I know? Don’t you want to try this hot little mother for yourself? See below…..

Further reading: Ca Fleure Bon
First In Fragrance has €99/50ml (Available from mid May)
Libertine Parfumerie has AUD$205/100ml (In Stock Now! Including FREE Australian Postage!)

Good luck all,
Portia xx

Photo Stolen YouTube

Gentlewoman GIVEAWAY!

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 3 winners who will receive:
1 x decant Gentlewoman by Juliette Has A Gun (from my Press bottle)
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

Open to everyone worldwide who follows AustralianPerfumeJunkies via eMail, WordPress, Bloglovin or RSS. Please leave how you follow in the comments to be eligible. I must be able to check that you follow so if you have an email address on your gravatar that’s different to your follow address then please email me (portia underscore turbo @ yahoo dot com dot au) so I know. Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged.

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please comment with any reason you could be called a Gentleman or Gentlewoman

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Gentlewoman: Juliette Has A Gun #GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-3KA @LibertineParfum #Perfume @signoricci

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 2nd April 2015 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Thursday 9th April 2015 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.

lactonate: Yet again I have invented a word that means, in my head, adding a milky touch

Moon Dance GIVEAWAY WINNERS

March 16, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 3 Comments

Hi There APJ Family,

Great turn out for this beautiful scent. Thanks again to the incredible Nick at Libertine Parfumerie for his continuing generosity and support. He does so much to keep niche going in Australia. Please, even if you don’t enter today’s competition, go and have a look at the amazing fragrant beauties that Libertine Parfumerie has for sale, you will be astounded. Lately Nick’s buying power has become so good that some (not all) of his products are the same numerical value as you would buy them for in the USA, that means with the current Aussie dollar that they are in fact 15-20% cheaper!!! AMAZING! Also any purchase over $100 gets FREE shipping within Australia.

Let’s find out who won….
Portia xx

Moon Dance GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot
Heart: Tuberose, rose, violet
Base: Patchouli

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week we will have 3 winners who will receive:
1 x 10ml decant of Moon Dance by Juliette Has A Gun (from my broken Press bottle)
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DID YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Tell me a Juliette Has A Gun story or a new fragrance that speaks to you of the past glory of perfumery.

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Moon Dance: Juliette Has A Gun #GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-3H9 #Perfume @signoricci @JulietteHasaGun

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 15th March 2015 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org

Photo Stolen thegarfieldshow-diary

SunMiSun (via Twitter)

Willa

Sherry Parker

The winners will have till Thursday 19th March 2015 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.

Moon Dance by Juliette Has A Gun 2014

March 13, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 28 Comments

Hey there Frag Family,

We got to spend the afternoon with the gorgeous Romano Ricci today. He was handsome, rumpled, friendly and flirty. Who are we? Ainslie Walker and Catherine de Peloux Menage from APJ, Clayton Ilolahia from What Men Should Smell Like and Yelena from BeautyDirectory. Nick was there from Libertine Parfumerie because he imports JHaG to Australia and the great girls of ÉLYSÉE COLLECTIVE promotions.

We were the last group of the afternoon and it was champagne all round, a fun and friendly vibe and Romano was very happy to have a group who knew fragrance and could talk intelligently with him on his subject. Our half hour stretched into one and a half hours and we had a wonderful time. Romano Ricci is charming, so freaking charming.

Moon Dance by Juliette Has A Gun 2014

Moon Dance by Romano Ricci

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot
Heart: Tuberose, rose, violet
Base: Patchouli

Released in 2014 and created by Romano Ricci with a little help from his friends Moon Dance, and its 2013 sister Oil Fiction, is so far sideways to the Juliette Has A Gun aesthetic that I’m surprised he didn’t start a new brand line rather than calling it the Luxury Collection. I’ve always felt that the Juliette Has A Gun label was heavily marketed to working Goths, a dark edged house with well put together and presented fragrances. I have slightly missed Romano’s point though. He tells us that he wanted Juliette to stand for the ill fated Shakespearean heroine and the gun to be her polar opposite but when working together create a new, powerful woman for which such tragedy could be avoided. My limited experience though tells me that a world without guns would be a better place.

When I spritz the bergamot fizzes off in an instant and I have a lush, slightly metallic bouquet with a waxy overtone that I would normally associate with saffron or orange blossom. My skin plays silly buggers with fragrance as you may know and even Romano was surprised how his fragrances live on my skin. What Moon Dance does smell is expensive and elegant, a nocturnal wander through the dream of an island paradise. The tuberose is fatty and yet the rose makes it crisp, the violets play a very lovely background, all is underpinned by animal and I am in paradise. The modern patchouli is sheer and I get very little of the murky depths that I often associate with it, here it is bathed in moonlight and twined through with night blooming flowers that call their seductive siren song. Moon Dance is the call of the temptress: a fairy queen that beguiles and calls to you through her glamour to come die in her embrace as she feeds off your spirit. Irresisistable, you will gladly succumb.

Photo Stolen DeviantArt

Further reading: Grain de Musc and Colognoisseur
LuckyScent has $285/75ml
Libertine Parfumerie has $350/75ml with FREE Australian Shipping!

Are you ready to be tempted by the newest of the luxury Collection for Juliette Has A Gnu? The incredible Nick at Libertine Parfumerie gave me a bottle that had been dropped and the spritzer broken, it was the work of a moment to wrestle the top off and decant for you all to have a chance at winning some below.
Portia xx

Photo Stolen YouTube

Moon Dance GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 3 winners who will receive:
1 x 10ml decant of Moon Dance by Juliette Has A Gun (from my broken Press bottle)
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Tell me a Juliette Has A Gun story or a new fragrance that speaks to you of the past glory of perfumery.

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Moon Dance: Juliette Has A Gun #GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-3H9 #Perfume @signoricci @JulietteHasaGun

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 15th March 2015 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Thursday 19th March 2015 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.

Anyway by Romano Ricci for Juliette Has A Gun 2013

February 28, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 28 Comments

Woo Hoo!

I am back on board and in the swing of things again. Life has been quite hectic playing catch up after nearly 4 weeks away. Today I payed as many bills as I could and am left with a much diminished pile of outstandings and none of them are overdue!! It feels really good, though I won’t be buying any fragrance bottles in the next couple of months

Often I write of my mate Nick from Libertine Parfumerie, he is regularly in touch with new stuff and sometimes sends APJ product for giveaways. He doesn’t have to do it and it always brightens my day to get a package from him. Please, even if you don’t enter today’s competition, go and have a look at the amazing fragrant beauties that Libertine Parfumerie has for sale, you will be astounded. Lately Nick’s buying power has become so good that some of his products are the same numerical value as you would buy them for in the USA, that means with the current Aussie dollar that they are in fact 10-15% cheaper!!! AMAZING!

Anyway by Romano Ricci for Juliette Has A Gun 2013

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Neroli, lime
Heart: Jasmine
Base: Musk, hedione, woody notes, ambrox

What was I expecting here? I’m not sure but reading some reviews I was ready to instantly hate Anyway, let’s face it the name is appalling. A throwaway name for what I expected to be a throwaway fragrance. And yes, I get that “Anyway, Juliette Has A Gun” is supposed to be amusing but if less people had guns, and they were harder to get, there would be a far less mass murders done by mad (in both senses of the word) people. I wasn’t even going to try it until Anyway turned up in my postbox and then I thought “What the hell? If I’m going to give some away then I better have a wear of it and see what it’s like.”

Weirdest thing, it starts out SO FREAKING FRUITY. I know I’m supposed to be smelling citrus but I get pineapple, melon, strawberries and it’s jammy too. WOO HOO! It’s like Carmen Miranda’s hat, a Peter Allen showtune and RuPaul all rolled into one. Wildly fruity and feminine. ARARARARrRrRriiiIBAA! Cha cha cha! Normally I hate this kind of thing but for some reason Anyway strikes me as super fun. The opening is almost as outrageous as Bombay Bling on my skin but feels more sticky sweet, less grounded, younger. I like it. It stays around for quite a while in this weird, outrageous, camp, fruity melange. Anyway is completely Drag Queen fragrance and wearing it both last night and tonight at work it garnered some compliments from the crowd, through the whole evening.

Photo Stolen Flickr

As the fruit burns low after about an hour to two hours there is a very interesting woodsy/oudh-ish waft that becomes slowly more apparent, like there are two fragrances on me. A celebuscent and a Middle Eastern rose/oudh oil. I get to smell this for a short while and then it disappears completely from my ability to smell it until I am smelling something else like the hotel’s kitchen, bathroom or even sitting next to someone whose fragrance is quite different, then all of a sudden I notice the whole Anyway fragrance again. Other people can still smell it though because the compliments continue, and it must have an excellent sillage because it’s usually as I’m wandering through the crowd at Trivia that I get three or four people past them and then they’ll compliment. Interesting.

I get occasional wafts of it when I’ve come home after work too, that’s around 6 hours, and beyond but I cannot tell you what it smells like exactly except kind of woodsy? Anyway, you should try it. I like it so much that I’m going to keep the bottle but we do have an amazing giveaway for you all below. Good Luck.

Portia xx

Further reading: The Candy Perfume Boy and Katie Chutzpah
Libertine Parfumerie has $186/100ml (with Australian delivery included)
Surrender To Chance has $23/4 x 2ml JHaG manufacturer carded samples (Anyway, Calamity J, Miss Charming, Romantina)

Photo Stolen kbaird

Anyway GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 5 winners who will each receive:

1 x 10ml decant of Anyway by Juliette Has A Gun
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Go to Libertine Perfumes<<<JUMP and find me a fragrance and one of its notes. NO DOUBLE UPS!!

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie @JulietteHasaGun ANYWAY GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-2wf #Perfume #Giveaway @LibertineParfum

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 2nd March 2014 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Thursday 6th March 2014 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.

Special THANKS to LibertineParfumerie for these amazing giveaways. Please visit their site because they are so generous and helpful. If you wonder why they are sometimes more expensive than the discounters or OS retailers it’s because they are the only licensed company selling their fragrances in Australia; where you know you are buying new, fresh and genuine product. The cost of importing, and buying the right to import, alcohol based fragrances (and having the right to send alcohol based fragrances throughout Australia, which are illegal to send in the Australia Post air system) is expensive and they must cover their costs to bring you these luxury goods.

5 Spring/Fall Perfume Loves: Gabriella

September 10, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 27 Comments

Post by Gabriella

Hello perfume friends!

Lately I have been suffering a little bit of there’s-nothing-I really-desperately-want-to test-right-now-and-no-new-releases-are-causing-hissy-fits-of-‘oh-I-must-have-it-even-if-my-credit-card-breaks’ kind of ennui. So, instead of shelling out for new decants and going on stupendous sniffing sprees, I have been focusing on what I already own and rediscovering why I love them.

So, today I present to you

5 Spring/Fall perfumes from my collection that “I’m Loving Right Now!”

Datura Noir by Christopher Sheldrake for Serge Lutens 2001

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Datura Noir was the first perfume I knew I’d love simply from reading the list of notes. However, upon going to test in store, the (very knowledgeable) SA recoiled in horror, exclaiming: “I have never had that smell good on anyone!” One spritz on me and her abhorrence transformed into adoration. Datura Noir is a sumptuous, creamy and smooth white floral, accentuated by notes of bitter almond. And yes, this gourmand floral is probably not for everyone but for me, it’s the carefree, slightly tropical smell of sundrenched skin on a beach in Goa.

There are rumours that Datura Noir is, or is about to be, discontinued (please share if you know more), but it is still available at
Luckyscent, $130/50ml;
Surrender to Chance has samples starting at $3.99/.5ml.

Fleurs d’Oranger by Christopher Sheldrake for Serge Lutens 2003

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Orange Blossom is a love or hate note for me. My skin tends to amplify citrus, meaning that the heady bloom can sometimes end up a hot mess. Not so with Fleurs d’Oranger. Tuberose and jasmine temper the orange blossom with their sweet, honeyed tones and the addition of cumin adds a “come closer and let me sniff you more” vibe. Fleurs also wins the prize for the perfume that has had the most negative reactionfrom another: my friend’s husband actually walked out of my house coughing and gasping for air after kissing me hello one evening (thankfully, he survived and is quite OK now).

Fleurs d’Oranger is available at
Luckyscent: $130/50ml;
Surrender to Chance has samples starting at $399/.5ml.

Lady Vengeance by Romano Ricci for Juliette Has A Gun 2006

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Mr M loves rose. I thought I did not. After Mr M and I got together, we decided to go and find a rose fragrance we would both like (come on, as if I needed an excuse to go perfume shopping!) Some roses we tested were too ripe and green, some were too dark, others too spicy and incense-y. One spritz of Lady Vengeance and we realised we’d hit the jackpot: it is the true Goldilocks rose for me. The full red bloom is tempered by the sweetness of vanilla and a a kick of patchouli. Not too green, not too sweet, not too dark, just sumptuous. Plus, the sillage on this one is simply amazing.

Lady Vengeance is available from
Luckyscent starting from $90/50ml

Le Parfum de Therese by Edmond Roudnitska for Frederic Malle 2000

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

When I am contemplating my perfumes of a morn and simply don’t know which one to wear, it is Le Parfum de Therese that usually wins. It is just such a happy and radiant perfume and unlike some others, it never gives rise to spritzing remorse a few hours in. But then, I am a big Roudnitska fangirl, and while my faves, Diorella and Diorissimo, are beyond recognition due to IFRA-induced plastic surgery, I’m very thankful that this beauty is still around.

Le Parfum de Therese is available from
Mecca Cosmetica starting from $155/3 x 10ml
Surrender to Chance has samples starting from $6.99/ml

Musc Ravageur by Maurice Roucel for Frederic Malle 2000

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

I will always remember the day I fell in love with and came to acquire Musc Ravageur. I was living in London, it was a few weeks before Christmas and I woke up to find a world blanketed in pillowy white. I had an exciting, girly day planned of shopping, perfume sniffing and getting my hair done before dinner and drinks. I dressed up and blow dried my hair to perfection only to walk out into yet another snowstorm. Whitened coat and wet hair aside, my day went as planned. One spritz of Musc takes my back to that day of joyful chaos that ended with a fabulous meal, good conversation and the twinkling of fairy lights on snow covered streets.

Musc Ravageur is available at
Mecca Cosmetica starting from $142/3 x 10ml
Surrender to Chance has samples starting from $5.99/ml.

So, have I mentioned any of your faves? What perfumes are getting a good wearing from you right now?

With much love till next time,

M x

Midnight Oud by Romano Ricci for Juliette Has A Gun 2009

November 21, 2012 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 18 Comments

Hello Frag Hags,

Every now and then I get to town and at one of our department stores, David Jones, there is a niche perfume store hidden on the basement level and the guys there, Gary and Dan, are so incredibly helpful, knowledgeable and friendly. I love to go there and spend half an hour talking fragrance releases, trying the newest releases to hit Australia and shopping. You pay a bit more than overseas prices but the advice and joy the men have in perfume is astounding, and priceless. Not so long ago I was given a sample of today’s fragrance which has morphed magically into a full bottle.

Midnight Oud by Juliettte Has A Gun 2009

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives thee featured accords:
Top: Damask rose, saffron, bergamot, papyrus
Heart: Morroccan rose, agarwood, castoreum, geranium
Base: Patchouli, musk, sandalwood, amber

Love Oudh? Hate Oudh? Never tried the nearly over madness of the 21st century’s most overused and abused new mainstream fragrance ingredient? Worried that you’ll smell like a Band-Aid, medicine or as if you’ve just rolled in horse apples. Maybe you tried an Oudh and Rose fragrance and it scared the living beJesus out of you, punched you in the nose, picked you up by the scruff of the neck and threw you to the ground? And then stayed on your skin for DAYS!! Quell Horror! Calm down, this is not like those scary Rose Oudh oils from the Middle East, it nods elegantly to them, whispers of souks, harems and Ali Baba but does it with a modern and refined European sensibility.

The opening spritz whiff is the most confronting and oudh-ish that Midnight Oud ever gets, and it is so not confronting. It is beautiful and deep and resinous and dusty with rose floating beautifully and dominantly over all. I love to wear Midnight Oud and it is so deliciously wearable. There is a Blue Moon rose blooming in the front yard and it is so like the rose in Midnight Oud a spicy, citric, leather rose. YUMMY!

Though the fragrance has a story and heads sweeter in the dry down it isn’t a huge story with enormous highs and lows but a short story that weaves in and out of itself and comes back to points you think long forgotten. There is a little side swiping at the gold tone bottle in blogs but I love it and the chocolate coloured suedette cylindrical case it comes in is so unusual and hints at the care taken with the juice. Some days I get 8+ hours out of Midnight Oud and others only four but every time I enjoy the ride immensely, a fragrance that should definitely be on your try list.

Photo Stolen ZeusBox

For further reading 1000Fragrances and BeautifulWithBrains

Libertine is the Australian site for Juliette Has A Gun, and many other niche brands, their prices include shipping and they only do Australia
FragranceX has 100ml $95 + shipping to the world
SurrenderToChance starts at $4/ml

Have you tried Midnight Oud or any of the Juliette Has A Gun range? What did you think? Are there any you really want to try?

I hope you enjoyed wandering through my fragrant musings because there is real joy in bringing them to you and I hope it’s a nice place for you to de-stress and just float along with me. We at APJ are grateful that you do come by. See you tomorrow.

Portia xx