Alahine by Jean-Francois Latty for Teo Cabanel 2007

October 30, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 20 Comments

Post by Val the Cookie Queen

I spend a lot of my time in kitchens, both at work and in the home. Much as I love to always wear perfume, I can´t. There is nothing that smells worse to me than things baking and perfume together, not to mention perfume and garlic. Ugh. (I once nearly killed myself mixing an Amouage with 7 hours in the kitchen, but that´s another story!) When I finish baking, I usually head off to deliver, which is where a solid perfume comes into play for me. Turning up covered in freshly spritzed perfume is just not my thing. That is not to say that I don´t enjoy having people take notice, (I have worn Rubj EdP to church!) but along with freshly baked goods, it really is not a good mix.

Which is exactly why I enjoy Alahine, the solid perfume. I can put it on anywhere without it being immediately obvious. I must admit it took me a while to look into Teo Cabanel. I am sad (and embarrassed) to say I thought it was some sort of natural line that might have been sold in a health food store! I have no idea as to where I got such a peculiar notion. When I tried this at Bloom´s in London I realized what I had been missing. The House of Teo Cabanel, has been established for well over 100 years, firstly in Morocco, and later in Paris. Their fragrances cannot be purchased along with your wheatgrass juice.

Alahine by Teo Cabanel 2007 Solid Perfume

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured acciords:
Top: Bergamot, ylang-ylang
Heart: Jasmine,orange blossom, pepper, rose of Morocco
Base: Iris, cistus, patchouli, benjoin, vanilla, sandalwood, musk

Alahine is really quite seductive.. A blend of all things lovely; bergamot, jasmine, Bulgarian rose, Morroccan rose, iris, patchouli, benzoin, vanilla, sandalwood ……… Just edgy enough to be different from other bog standard perfumes, but not enough to upset anyone. That makes the solid perfume ideal. Especially in the cooler months. As it says on the Teo Cabanel website, it has been designed to apply to pulse points, décolleté and bare shoulders. (Well, my shoulders aren´t too bare here in the winter, but you get the picture.)

Photo stolen Wikipedia

It takes a few seconds to melt into the skin and then slowly releases the most delicious fragrance. Slowly being the key. After about half an hour you are wrapped in a warm blanket of ambery, spicy, sumptuousness. Now at this point I really must add, do NOT be fooled by this solid perfume. It is strong stuff. Pure perfume. That means it is very easy to overdose on it. You need the smallest amount. Not to be applied liberally, tempting as it is.

I like to dab my fragrances. Not always, but often. It makes me feel refined and debonair, ripped jeans and all.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Alahine is absolutely affordable, comes in a heavy brass, square shaped box which is perfect for the handbag, where mine lives. It means I am never without a perfume. It can´t leak, break, or spill. It comes with 2 x 2 grammes of the solid perfume. Which is a lot more than it sounds!

Further reading: Perfume Shrine and Olfactoria’s Travels
Teo Cabanel has €65/solid, €95/50ml & €120/100ml

Photo Stolen Teo Cabanel

When I received my package from Teo Cabanel I was delighted to find a beautifully packaged set of the entire Teo Cabanel perfume collection. Can´t do better than that!

Back to the oven.
Bussis.
CQ xxxx

by Kilian: Garden of Good and Evil GIVEAWAY WINNER

October 29, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 8 Comments

Hey there APJ,

I think the stuff you had to do was too hard this week, sorry to those for which it was a nightmare, to those that went the whole hog and LIKED our APJ FB page, or were already LIKErs: THANK YOU!! We love and appreciate every one of you.

by Kilian: Garden of Good and Evil GIVEAWAY WINNER

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week there will be one winner, who will receive

1 Manufacturers Carded Sample Spray Pack of Forbidden Games, Good Girl Gone Bad and In The City Of Sin
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DID YOU WIN?

Open to everyone worldwide. LIKE Australian Perfume Junkies on FaceBook. <<<JUMP
Leave a one word LIKE on the Australian Perfume Junkies feed on FB when you do or if you already LIKE so I can enter you.
Winners will be chosen from the FB feed, not from here.

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Monday 28th October 2013 10pm Australian EDST
Winners were chosen by random.org

Photo Stolen amberinblunderland

Damir Gašljević

CONGRATULATIONS!! The winner will have till Thursday 31st 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

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Katy Perry Killer Queen by Laurent Le Guernec for Katy Perry 2013

October 28, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

Post by Katrina

Katy Perry Killer Queen 2013

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Wild berries, dark plum, bergamot
Heart: Celosia), Sambac jasmine, plumeria
Base: Cashmere, patchouli, praline

The highlight from the celebrity perfumes of 2013 is Katy Perry’s Killer Queen. I wrote of my excitement about the impending release of Killer Queen in my review of the first two fragrances from Katy Perry – Purr and Meow!. Killer Queen is stronger and more sophisticated than Purr and Meow! This is not a sugary sweet girly fragrance. It smells quite intense in the beginning with sweet fruity notes combined with jasmine and patchouli. Along with the sweet berries there is deep plum, tart bergamot and strong florals. The perfume softens after a few hours and the liquid praline and patchouli smells fantastic.

I love the advertising and packaging of Killer Queen, the regal theme is fun, irreverent and dramatic. The gorgeous ruby-like bottle with its gold crown cap lays on its side.

Photo Stolen Pursuitist

Although Killer Queen is more sophisticated than the previous Katy Perry fragrances, it isn’t as edgy as I was anticipating and gets a lot of comparisons to Flowerbomb. In the same way that Lady Gaga Fame didn’t live up to its deep dark promise, Killer Queen is not as dramatic as its advertising campaign but I do love the plum, patchouli and praline in this fragrance. Killer Queen by Katy Perry is a rich floriental fragrance that is perfect for evening wear.

Further reading at Musings of a Muse and Now Smell This
FragranceX has $46/100ml
My Perfume Samples starts at $2/ml

Don’t forget to check out my website for more celebrity perfume news and reviews

Katrina xx
(Ed: Here is one of the super fun ads)

Oriental Rose by Marguerite Caro for Bourbon French Parfums

October 28, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 75 Comments

Post by Azar

Hi APJ

Bourbon French Parfums has been creating fragrances in New Orleans, LA since 1843. The firm’s history and the fragrances they offer have intrigued me for several years. In December of 2012 I finally placed an order, choosing one of their best sellers, Voodoo Love.

Photo Stolen TheTastefulLife

I found Voodoo Love to be a real time trip, a nostalgic fragrance that I knew I’d encountered many times before; a sort of déjà vu in a bottle! I love Voodoo Love but my true love from the Bourbon French line came as a free gift with purchase, BF’s new/old fragrance Oriental Rose.

Oriental Rose by Bourbon French Parfums

Have you ever tried a new scent and immediately knew you were home again, comfortable, relaxed and loved? My first experience with Oriental Rose was all that and more. The EDC opens with a warm, humid aura of buttery, rich and spicy rose. This rosy cloud does not change radically over time but slowly evolves into a milky, floral vanilla and eventually dries down to amber, sandalwood and musk wafting through a southern garden.

Photo Stolen Bourbon French Parfums

The way that the rose is presented in this fragrance reminds me of my favorite confection on the face of the earth, Golo Bol Bol Rose and Saffron Ice Cream! This ice cream is a traditional treat using a recipe that is supposed to be over 2,000 years old. Golo Bol Bol is what Oriental Rose would be (minus the saffron perhaps) if the fragrance were frozen and edible. Yes, it seems strange to compare a warm and humid (and not at all gourmand) scent to a frozen treat! But maybe not! Both the fragrance and the ice cream have the same rich, comforting indulgence at once nurturing and decadent.

Oriental Rose has an interesting back story too! A few years ago when members of the staff at Bourbon French were going through old records, they discovered the formula for Oriental Rose, created in the 1940’s by the firm’s third owner and first woman perfumer Marguerite Caro. For more of the interesting history of the Bourbon French Perfume Company and their creations check the website: Bourbon French Parfums. You’ll notice that the prices for the Oriental Rose fragrance are great.

Further reading: Fine Fragrants talks some others in the line
Bourbon French Parfums has $28/¼oz perfume, $28/4oz EDC and $36/4oz EDT

Here is the info for Bourbon French and also for the Golo Bol Bol Ice Cream Shop in Westwood, Los Angeles, CA. I don’t go all the way to LA to get this rose and saffron ice cream and I certainly don’t make it myself (although I do have a recipe). The local persian/mediterranean market sells it in containers.

Bourbon French Perfume Company (this is their history page)
Golo Bol Bol Ice Cream

Azar xx

Photo Stolen TheTruthAboutMummy

Oriental Rose by Bourbon French Parfums GIVEAWAY!

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there are two winners, each will receive

1 x 2ml decant Oriental Rose by Bourbon French Parfums
1 x 2ml decant Voodoo Love by Bourbon French Parfums
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.

To be eligible for the draw just mention how you follow the APJs and comment on your favorite rose fragrance, tell us about the dessert/confection you love the most or about your last trip to New Orleans!

Extra Chances?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Bourbon French Parfums GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-21s #Perfume #Giveaway @BFParfums

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 31st October 2013 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by picking your names out of a hot.
The winners will have till Monday 4th November 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.

by Kilian: Garden of Good and Evil

October 25, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 6 Comments

Hello lovelies,

If you have read any of the scentbloggospherre over the past few months you will probably have heard and read a LOT of chatter about the Garden of Good & Evil by Kilian range. The amazing offspring down the line of the Hennessy cognac empire that is part of LVMH, Kilian Hennessy, has done some pretty superb work that totally blew me away. My taste is for bolder and bigger fragrances so his initial series were very much my taste, his depth and sensuality in fragrance, the obvious correlations between his families cognac and his creations unmistakeable.

Photo stolen CognacExpert

Then he did his Asian Tales and now the Garden of Good and Evil, both in fabulous packaging and they have polarised perfumistas everywhere. Now it’s your chance to try the original three Garden of Good and Evil fragrances for yourself……

by Kilian: Garden of Good and Evil GIVEAWAY

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be one winner, who will receive

1 Manufacturers Carded Sample Spray Pack of Forbidden Games, Good Girl Gone Bad and In The City Of Sin
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Monday 28th October 2013 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 31st 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

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Good Luck Everyone,
Portia xx

L’Occitane Divine Cream: Week One of Challenge

October 25, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 21 Comments

Hello Gorgeous Australian Perfume Junkies,

So it’s the end of my first week of testing out the DIVINE CREAM by L’Occitane (See original post<<JUMP). I have been such a facial care Philistine for so many years that I had very low expectations of any results at all. I wonder how many of you have taken the challenge and done the first of our 2 week challenge?

L’Occitane Divine Cream: Week One

Photo Stolen L’Occitane

From L’Occitane site :
Divine anti-aging care fights the signs of aging, so you can face up the passing of time with absolute serenity. The divine combination of organic Immortelle and Myrtle Essential Oils offers:
A complete regenerating care: Combined action to stimulate the production of collagens and improve skin microcirculation helps to reduce damage caused by time and restore substance and vitality.
A second youth: Myrtle essential oil stimulates within the skin, the action of the longevity protein- to help increase cellular vitality preserve the skin’s appearance.

Awarded the highest rated Anti-Aging Miracle Cream in the 2011 Anti-Aging Beauty Bible. Independently tested by a panel of women across the UK

My L’Occitane Divine Cream Experience

The first weeks experience starts with the very luxe golden box, shiny and new. Inside is a spatula, Divine Cream and an instruction manual (which I instantly binned because I’ve seen the video, it’s below). The bottle opened easily, fits in my hand well and has a lovely heftiness to it. I wish it were not glass though because it will smash on my tiles if I drop it and I’m barefoot after a bath, must remember to bring thongs into the bathroom just in case. The spatula is a good size but I wish the bottle had somewhere to click it on so I don’t have to keep the box, also mildly annoying.

The creams smell is soft floral clean and is quite thick, silky and rich feeling and way more creamy than my after shave balm, it does go on beautifully though with the face, neck, forehead and temple massage shown in the video. I do it exactly as they show it but I take 2-3 minutes to apply and then cover my ears, take three deep breaths and release them slowly. At the end I feel like I have done something wonderful, pampering and had a little selfish me moment. When your life is hectic it’s hard to find moments I can dedicate solely to myself, I feel a little centered after application of Divine Cream. The soft scent stays with me for about 20 minutes before either it goes or I become anosmic.

Photo Stolen Wikimedia

I have also been using the eye cream which comes in a sensational little pump pack so I know exactly how much to use, it is a little thinner and my skin drinks it up in under a minute. I wish I’d taken a before pic because though I am tired still my crows feet are less than normal, IN ONE WEEK!

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

How is the rest of my face skin? Already it is glowing. Softer, more supple and satiny. Divine Cream hasn’t given me a facelift but my skin does look and feel a lot more elastic, youthful and plumped.

If you’d told me this would be the payoff of taking care of my skin for a week I’d have NEVER believed you.

Next week we will hear from the other test cases and see how my skin finishes up.
Portia xx

Missoni Women by Maurice Roucel and Trudi Loren for Missoni 2006

October 24, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 8 Comments

Post by Chairman Meow

Missoni Women by Maurice Roucel and Trudi Loren for Missoni 2006

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives the following accords:
Top: bergamot, mandarin, orange
Heart: magnolia, peony, rose, Japanese apple
Base: pear tree, chocolate, hazelnuts, amber

What is immediately striking about Missoni is its dual temperament, with both fresh marine and toothsome dessert facets. You immediately start to mentally bandy around words such as “dichotomous” and “personality disorder”. The mind gently boggles as you inwardly spin that fragrance wheel and a struggle ensues to neatly taxonomise the thing. What is this? Is it a gourmand? Is it an aquatic? Is it an aquatic gourmand? Is the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything really 42?

The chocolate is cocoa rich, nutty and heavy, and sits uneasily atop a transparent, calone-laden scent (please do forgive me for dropping the C-bomb, I appreciate it’s a dirty word). It’s the oil in an unshaken salad dressing, queasily yawing and pitching but never quite melding (it probably didn’t help that I was in the throes of food poisoning when I was reviewing this). Citrus is present, but it’s done with a light hand. Its combination with chocolate invariably draws comparisons made with Jaffas, or other orange flavoured chocolates. Whilst it does contribute a slightly tart aspect to the scent, what is more striking to me is the somewhat exsanguinated pear accord, actually very reminiscent to me of a nashi pear. In fact, take Missoni, remove the Nutella accord, and I believe it would have made for a wonderful Pleats Please by Issey Miyake, in which the nashi pear is a central player.

Photo Stolen Charles Haynes Flickr

Give Missoni just a few short minutes, however, and a sort olfactory alchemy starts to take place. Eat a chocolate dipped strawberry, and the initial sensation is akin to having two different dishes in your mouth, with the waxy chocolate bits jostling with the watery fruit blobs but not really coming together to form a particularly satisfying mouthfeel. Just as you start to wish you had picked off and eaten the chocolate first, the whole thing magically amalgamates into delicious choc-berry goop whose sum is inexplicably greater than its parts. And so it is with the Missoni. The chocolate mantle becomes softer, sweeter and less distinct, and the pear starts to take on a little colour to its cheeks, fleshed out with some flowers. Before long it all emulsifies, and makes much more sense. You can still pick out the warm and cool elements if you really thought about it, but by that time the olfactory lithium has kicked in and it all seems rather besides the point. It just smells… good. Somehow.

Photo Stolen Loco Steve Flickr

In true Missoni style even the sillage is a little deranged, throwing itself off the skin in admirable fashion whilst still managing to smell polite. A non-tantrum-throwing diva, if you will. As it wheezes its death rattles at the end of its 4-5 hour life on my parched skin, its aquatic side is nowhere to be smelled, smouldering instead with the embers of a fruity-amber affair.
Missoni shouldn’t leave your colleagues diving for cover, just don’t be fooled by its demure demeanour and do apply with a lighter hand than expected.

Further reading: Another Perfume Blog and The Non Blonde
Beauty Encounter has a mini from $9.90
The Perfumed Court starts at $3/ml

Until next month,
Chairman Meow

Iroaz by Amelie Bourgeois for Lostmarc’h 2008

October 23, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 11 Comments

Post by Maya

Hi APJ,

There was a comment that was recently posted on APJ about the story that often comes with perfume. Since there are so many perfume releases, something is needed raise interest in the perfume. The story, as well as the packaging, do this. I have tried many perfumes based on the story, especially if I like the listed notes.

Iroaz by Lostmarc’h 2008

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top notes: green grass, lemon peel, verbena and pink pepper. Heart: rose, ylang-ylang and lotus. Base: sandalwood, patchouli, musk and iris.

From Lucky Scent about Lostmarc’h perfumes:
“This exquisite new line takes its name and inspiration from the sights and scents of the Brittany region in France – a fascinating mix of glorious coastline, ancient buildings and magical Celtic traditions…….. Lostmarc’h is the last beach on continental Europe –unspoiled and rugged and outrageously beautiful, with the dreamlike feeling of being at the end of the world……..sketches of Brittany – vivid, but with a certain delicacy, capturing the spirit and enchantment of the place with a few precise, perfectly placed strokes. “

Lostmarc’h Iroaz is about wild roses growing on rugged cliffs above the ocean in Brittany, their scent mingling with the smell of the grasses, ocean, and sea breezes. Iroaz means roses in Breton.

Photo Stolen mahalie stackpole Flickr

It opens with lemon so strong that I get the image of the juice of a fresh, hand-squeezed lemon. This disappears in seconds, leaving a slight lemony trace behind, almost hidden by the lovely, salty marine notes. The marine works surprisingly well on my skin and stays until the end. There is a problem though. Where are the roses? There is a floral aspect that appears, but it’s all blended together. I keep waiting for roses, I want roses, and they’re not there! I love the idea of this fragrance so much that I keep trying it, but sadly get the same result. After an hour it seems to be gone, though if I put my nose right on the skin, there is some scent there. Three hours later, that is gone too. The silage is average and it could be worn just about anywhere. There is a coolness that makes it better for warmer weather.

Photo Stolen DeviantArt

I was disappointed. Iroaz had so much promise and a wonderful story. I have read reviews on Iroaz and some of them say the story fits the scent. It is a fragrance that doesn’t work on my skin, but it might on yours.

Further reading: Now Smell This and A Rose Beyond The Thames
LuckyScent has $85/100ml
Surrender To Chance starts at $3/ml

Have you tried perfumes based on the story and how did it work out?

Maya
xx

28 by Le Cherche Midi GIVEAWAY WINNERS

October 22, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Hey Hey APJ,

What a great giveaway!! Special thanks to Le Cherche Midi for their super generous support of APJ by providing these giveaways, there’s another one coming very soon for another of their gorgeous fragrances so look out for that.

28 by Le Cherche Midi GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Photo Stolen Le Cherche Midi

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week there are three winners, each will receive

1 x 5ml Manufacturers Travel Spray of 28 by Le Cherche Midi
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DID YOU WIN?

To be eligible for the draw you had to go to Le Cherche Midi<<JUMP find a fragrance NUMBER and ONE INGREDIENT IN IT.

NO DOUBLE UPS

Then leave a comment with NUMBER + INGREDIENT and how you follow APJ.

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Monday 21st October 2013 10pm Australian EST
Winners will be chosen by random.org

Photo Stolen berryreview

Martin, Cheri, DkChocoMan

The winners will have till Thursday 24th 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.

Jasmine Summer by Liz Zorn for Soivohle 2011

October 20, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 21 Comments

Hi There Indie Perfume Ho’s and lovers of the finest fragrance,

I like to think that Liz Zorn, the perfumer behind the Soivohle range, artist and general creative genius and guru, and I are buddies. I adore her perfumes and own quite a few now, also recently she put some of her artworks up for sale and I was lucky enough to grab the one made for this fragrance, Jasmine Summer. It is a fabulous little painting and reflects the perfume excellently.

Jasmine Summer by Liz Zorn for Soivohle 2011

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Jasmine, lime, fruity notes, white lily, orchid, vanilla, musk

Jasmine Summer is a sheer, very slightly fruity, floral that creates an elegant soft nimbus of the real deal of jasmine, as if you have it growing outside your window and in full bloom. It is heady and intoxicating but not indolic, not a sign of breath or animal. Though Jasmine Summer is sheer it has terrific sillage and projects fabulously for the first few hours. Through the whole fragrance life jasmine is front and centre, it opens sizzling and citric before mildly warming, it does sweeten up a bit but it’s not till a couple of hours have passed that vanilla comes out to play and then it isn’t fully featured till the end dry down where the jasmine and vanilla get funky with the musks.

Photo Stolen Inga Munsinger Cotton Flickr

For anyone who eschews jasmine or big white florals for their nasty sensual breathy indoles then Jasmine Summer could be a good place for you to come and sniff, this is super soft and clean jasmine with plenty of air around it. It is a little like sitting in a wedding in India with all the women sitting with jasmine in their hair and the cool of evening after everyone has eaten their fill and is now sitting around eating fruits and chatting quietly, awaiting the next event.

I also love how Jasmine Summer lingers, around 6-7 hours with the second half softer and more intimate, a come hither fragrance. Sweet sixteen or septuagenarian will love wearing this beautiful fragrance.

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

Further reading: Now Smell This and Best things In Beauty
At the SOIVOHLE site they have $25/15ml or $110/50ml (I love the 15ml bottles and often order a few as gifts
Surrender To Chance starts at $4/.5ml

See you tomorrow, until then take a few deep breaths and relax, just a little.
Portia xx