A Scent by Daphne Bugey for Issey Miyake 2009

December 14, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 6 Comments

Post by Anne-Marie

Hi everyone,

I ignored Issey Mikaye’s A Scent when it came out. I was happily immersed in niche and vintage sampling then, trying all I could of the latest darling releases: Andy Tauer sample sets, Parfum d’Empire, Parfums de Nicolai … Lutens … the latest Chanel Les Exlcusifs … I practically camped outside the letter box waiting for L’Artisan Traversee du Bosphore to be delivered (it didn’t work for me sadly), and a gift of a bottle of vintage Miss Dior was a thrill beyond words.

A Scent never stood a chance. I tried department store testers but tended to agree with reviewers who generally seemed underwhelmed.
Well, recently I picked up a small bottle for $10 from a shop selling off a bunch of testers. Why not, at that price? Get it while you can…

A Scent by Issey Miyake 2009

A Scent by Daphne Bugey

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives thee featured accords:
Amalfi lemon, lemon verbena, jasmine, hyacinth, Virginia cedar, galbanum

A Scent opens with a tang of citrus followed quickly by a realistic evocation of hyacinth, very bracing, but not as bitter as actual hyacinths can smell. After that the fragrance relaxes and I smell mixed clean green florals over a gentle base of musk (not listed as a note). Longevity is good and sillage moderate. I wore it on warm day during a long car journey and found it a refreshing but gentle presence over several hours, with nothing to offend my fellow travellers.

PDI

The hyacinth is what pleases me about A Scent. I recognise it distinctly but it is not as heavy as the other hyacinth perfume I know well, Guerlain Chamade. A Scent is frequently compared to other great classics, Chanel Cristalle and No 19, and not favourably. ‘Nice, but not as good as … ‘.

But many people would find A Scent easier to wear, I think. It is green all the way through but without sharpness or bitterness, and anyone worried about dirty moss or wet stones need have no concerns here. It reminds me a bit of Estee Lauder Pure White Linen but without the herbal shampoo accord that makes PWL a bit banal for me.

Miyake reportedly does not like fragrance and this one is said to be inspired by the smell of Japanese mountains. It smells clean and cool, damp but not watery, and conforms with Miyake’s minimalist aesthetic.

WikiCommons

A Scent is not a masterpiece, but if it sounds like your thing, grab it while you can. Yes – it’s discontinued, but widely available at the online discounters. There’s a pink flanker, A Scent by Issey Miyake Eau de Parfum Florale. That one is still on the market but I have not tried it. Do comment if you have.

Further reading: Perfume Posse and Perfume Shrine
FragranceNet has AUD$23/47ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $3/ml

Green fragrances can be tricky to wear. Do you have a favourite?
Until next time, keep spritzing everyone!
Anne-Marie

Oliver & Co Samples GIVEAWAY WINNERS

December 8, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 1 Comment

Post by Portia

OOOPS! Sorry APJ, forgot to draw this prize.
Thanks to the amazing Oli at Oliver & Co, go check them out. Great fragrances.
Portia xx

Oliver & Co Samples GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Oliver & Co gives these featured accords:
Ambrosian, amyl salycilate, basil, coriander, dry amber, fig leaves, galbanum, grass, green pepper, green tangerine, guaiac wood, hedione, orris concrete, pharaoh, shiso

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 3 winners who will receive:
3 x 2ml Oliver & Co carded manufacturers spray samples
(You will each get a different set)
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Tuesday 6th December 2016 10pm Australian EdsT
Winners were chosen by random.org

RobertH

Greg

Jaybee

The winners will have till Wednesday 14th December 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

Elixir des Merveilles by Jean-Claude Ellena for Hermès 2006

December 5, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 13 Comments

Post by Claire Vukcevic

Hello APJ!

Christmas time is a-coming! Time to talk about orange scents, in other words. First up – Elixir des Merveilles.

Elixir des Merveilles by Hermès 2006

Elixir des Merveilles by Jean-Claude Ellena

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Peru balsam, vanilla sugar, amber, sandalwood, tonka bean, patchouli, Siam resin, caramel, oak, incense, orange peel, cedar

God, Elixir des Merveilles is such a weird perfume. The first time I tried it, I remember thinking –this right here is why people hate perfume. It was overly rich, sweet, muddy, with all the elements jumbled together in that overdone blur that defines “Rich Bitch” perfumes to me. The second time I tried it, I thought “I should learn how to read labels better” because I’d been aiming for the Ambre bottle.

Third time round, something clicked for me and I began to like it. Now I have odd, sudden cravings for it. I think it’s because I was finally able to figure out its structure. There are two sides to Elixir des Merveilles – the syrupy orange peels dipped in dark chocolate and sprinkled with sea salt on one side, and on the other, a massively butch clutch of resins and moss. It’s basically a super-gourmand grafted onto a super hairy-balled aftershave.

Flickr

Both sides are as oversized as clown shoes. The oranges dipped in caramel and chocolate are sweet to the point of being grotesque. One minute you think it’s gorgeous, the next you think, Christ, this stuff is absolutely gross. The sprinkling of what feels like celery salt over the treacly mass is probably one step too far. I swing between feeling repulsed to wanting more. The countermanding element is rather chypre-like: a brusque, musky cedar, smoky balsams and resins, moss. It’s really quite dry, bitter, and smoky.

The exaggerated forms of the two parts give the perfume a cartoonish Jessica Rabbit shape. It’s like watching an overloaded plane trying to take off or Kim Kardashian walk across the road in a tight skirt. You half fear it’s going to topple over any minute. But somehow the whole thing seems to hang together and work quite well. It’s a great winter gourmand, and the oranges and resins make me think of Christmas and oddly, Theorema.

Just don’t put this on if you’re not in the right mood for it, because it sticks like glue and seems to grow grander by the minute. At times, I find it enveloping and rich – just right for a cold winter’s day. But at other times, it begins to wear me down. When my hand glides over the small bottle of it that I bought, I have to think twice before putting it on.

PDI

Further reading: Perfume Shrine and Non-Blonde
Hermes stores and department stores stock Elixir des Merveilles
FragranceX has it around the $100/50ml mark
Surrender To Chance has samples from $3/ml

What about you guys? Do you have any perfumes that you hesitate before putting on because they are either such a huge commitment? Or because sometimes you enjoy them and other times they make you want to hurl? M/Mink and Myrrhe Ardente are both a little like Elixir des Merveilles in that way for me.

Slán!

Claire

Claire also writes for Take One Thing Off<<JUMP

Coast Sydney: True Collection GIVEAWAY WINNERS

December 5, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 3 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey APJ,

We love to introduce new Australian Independent outfits. These guys are doing nice work. Try them. They do fragrance, candles and home fragrance.
Go see COAST at their site.
Portia xx

Coast

Coast Sydney: True Collection GIVEAWAY WINNERS

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 3 winners who will receive:
1 x Bali carded manufacturers sample
1 x Nice carded manufacturers sample
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 4th December 2016 10pm Australian EdsT
Winners were chosen by random.org

Willa

Jaybee

Morrigan

The winners will have till Sunday 11th December 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

Ambergreen by Oliver Valverde for Oliver & Co 2016

December 4, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 38 Comments

Post by Portia

Hi there Niche Nerds,

Recently I wrote about Oliver & Co bringing out 16ml Travel Sizes, I also bought a pair of them in the new scents Ambergreen & Vaninger. Oli Valverde the perfumer got in touch almost immediately after my purchase to thank me (I know right, super sweet) and offered to send me some samples through for all of you to try. YAY!

I love this house, that’s how Oli knows me, because I shop there at full price regularly. They are way under-rated and don’t get nearly enough love on the blogs or chat rooms. Fiercely independent fragrance house with scents that are unashamedly boundary pushing while still being totally wearable on a day to day basis. They are often so far off the beaten track though that I find description troublesome and sit dazed and amused in front of my computer enjoying the ride without typing a word.

Ambergreen by Oliver & Co 2016

Ambergreen by Oli Valverde

Fragrantica

The opening moments are like pulling the lettuce out of cold water where it’s been soaking, then fresh cut grass. It’s clearly spring in this scent. BASIL! OMG! A photo realistic basil from when you water your basil plant in the garden or window box, then it deepens to become the first whirr of making pesto at home. After about 15 minutes the whole fragrance stops being about notes and turns into a green bouquet lightly overlaid with cozy/sharp galbanum and bitter citrus. It’s bloody excellent stuff.

Green like walking under the trees near a creek in summer, hot, sweaty green like nothing I’ve smelled in fragrance before. It’s the brushing past shrubs and trees, the breaking of grass under your feet, the smell of healthy, damp earth disturbed and all of this in a warm dampness, cool after being in the blazing sun but not refreshing really. Ambergreen feels like respite, a quiet moment to yourself reading in the park trees shade, or your yard if you are lucky enough to have one. When the darkness of ambergris stirs the sweetness of amber counters its marine hue, the work against each other to create harmony over the green, quite a journey.

Oliver & Co

Oliver & Co has €35/the new 16ml Travel Size
FREE WORLD SHIPPING over €100

Here are some other posts on APJ about Oliver & Co fragrance: Vetivers and Resina,

Oliver & Co Samples GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 3 winners who will receive:
3 x 2ml Oliver & Co carded manufacturers spray samples
(You will each get a different set)
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

Please go to Oliver & Co<<JUMP and tell us a fragrance and ONE of its notes in the comments below (NO DOUBLE UPS!)

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Tuesday 6th December 2016 10pm Australian EdsT and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Wednesday 14th December 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

Coast Sydney: NEW True Collection Perfume Oil

December 2, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 23 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey there APJ,

You may already be aware of the Coast Sydney Candle Range. They are a cool crew with a natural leaning candle range using sustainable soy with no Paraffin and Palm Free. They use high quality fragrance oil or essential oils and a natural untreated woodwick that creates a soothing crackling sound. Cool stuff.

Go see COAST at their site.

COAST

Coast SUPPORTS: Women for Women International supports female survivors of war with tools and resources to move from crisis and poverty to stability and self sufficiency. Two dollars from the sale of each candle will benefit Women for Women International.

Coast Sydney: NEW True Collection Perfume Oil

Got it? Great. So they have decided to create a new fragrance range, well priced stocking stuffers in rollerballs. Simple, wearable fragrances for day to day living. Perfect for handbags, beach totes, gymbags and for travelling. They are perfumed oils so instead of throwing the scent ahead of you it wraps itself around you in a soft focus, fragrant scarf or sarong, depending on your season. Now of you are a hardcore perfumista these may be a little simple and wearable for you, I get it. For anyone who wants to smell good for an excellent price then these are worth a sniff.

Coast

Nice by Coast: True Collection Perfume Oil
Tuberose Touch

Top: Petitgrain, Clematis
Heart: Tuberose, Rhubarb, Ylang Ylang
Base: Peru Balsam, Patchouli, Vanilla

A green interpretation of tuberose that has a very crisp pettigrain keeping it interesting and refreshing while the ylang adds creamy tropical depths. Nice is about 250% better than I expected it be. I could easily imagine many of friends falling madly in love with this fragrance, mainly the women but there are a few men I think could rock it. Scott liked Nice the best and was very interested in knowing who the fragrance came from etc. when he smelled it. There is an underlying dissonance between the cream and the green that gives Nice frission. Base is a sweetened soft patchouli with creamy overtones.

Bali by Coast: True Collection Perfume Oil
Chempaka Charm

Top: Bergamot, Lime, Mandarin Red
Heart: Champaka (White Magnolia), Nag Champa (Orange Champaka), Jasmine
Base: Violet Leaf, Clove Bud, Amyris Wood, Vanilla

Bali is my favourite of the True Collection. It smells to me like cuddling with someone wearing a tropical fragrance on a beach with a fire burning. For something that I expected to be a floral with vanilla undercurrent it’s a huge surprise. Smoky, sweet, spicy and aromatic Bali is totally unusual. Slightly challenging in its potency when your nose is buried into it but as a waft while you’re going about your day Bali is exquisite. It could very well make the perfect incense scent and wears like a sweet and floral incense. An overtly feminine incense that smells a bit raspberry-ish and the incense is spicy hot and still burning in the next room. As you can tell I really like it.

Want to try them? I have a bunch of samples to giveaway.
Portia xx

Coast Sydney: True Collection GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 3 winners who will receive:
1 x Bali carded manufacturers sample
1 x Nice carded manufacturers sample
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please tell us what perfume oils you like or which of this pair you’d rather try

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 4th December 2016 10pm Australian EdsT and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Sunday 11th December 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

Japan & Korea Beauty GIVEAWAY WINNERS

December 2, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Post by Portia

Hey Crew,

This was fun. Thank you all for getting involved. We LOVE a giveaway here at APJ.

Let’s see who scored.
Portia xx

Japan & Korea Beauty GIVEAWAY WINNERS

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
18 Beauty & Fragrance products from Japan & Korea
1 x Travel Purse to hold samples
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Thursday 1st December 2016 10pm Australian EdsT
Wine was chosen by random.org

RuthF

The winners will have till Wednesday 7th December 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

What Ruined That Perfume For You?

December 1, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 29 Comments

Post by Portia

Chatting to a buddy the other day and she said, “No, I can’t wear that. A hideous person at (a job they hated) wore it and I can only think of her when I smell it.” Then in a comment on the What Perfumes Remind You Of Mum? post a couple of weeks ago Nelle said she wouldn’t wear the exact fragrance her mum would wear so that cuts them out for her too. So because of these two unrelated events I started asking other people if they’d had a fragrance ruined or made unwearable. It’s surprising how many people do have a story along similar lines. So I’d like to know your story if you have one too.

What Ruined That Perfume For You?

My story? Well mine are not quite the same as most of the stories I’m hearing. Only in the last couple of years, about 2 decades since the event, am I able to smell A’Men without retching. here’s why…..

Fragrantica

A*Men by Thierry Mugler

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, Coriander, Lavender, Peppermint
Heart: Heart Notes Honey, Jasmine, Caramel, Lily-of-the-valley, Patchouli, Cedarwood
Base: Amber, Benzoin, Coffee, Musk, Sandalwood, Storax, Tonka bean, Vanilla

A*Men by Thierry Mugler was totally ruined for me one night while I was hosting a club. It was the launch of the fragrance in Australia and we had to give out samples and spritz people with A*Men. A gust of it got caught down the back of my throat and in my nostrils and stayed there for three days. It’s ALL I could smell for three days. It has taken me nearly two decades to be able to smell A*Men without dry retching.

The final fix was after I had a shower at Thailand airport in 2014 on our way to Europe and I forgot to take my glasses into the shower room where I clumsily dropped and smashed my 10ml Oriental Lounge by The Different Company. That got me really flustered so I just grabbed any old decant from my Wetpack and guess what it was? Yep, A*Men. I don’t even know how or why it was in there. I didn’t hate it. Anyway, thank goodness we were up the front so I wasn’t sitting next to some poor bugger in cattle, fumigating them. Even at the end of the flight into Vienna Michael could still smell me, softly but persistently.

Fragrantica

LouLou by Cacharel

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Aniseed, Iris, Jasmine, Cassia, Lily, Mimosa, Plum, Violet, Cinnamon
Heart: Heliotrope, Orris root, Orange blossom, Pot marigold, Tuberose, Ylang-ylang
Base: Benzoin, Musk, Sandalwood, Vanilla, Frankincense

LouLou by Cacharel was a HUGE hit amongst my age group as I became a young adult. Almost every girl in our circle was gifted it for birthdays & Christmas in the first three or four years it appeared. What started out a fabulously different divergence from everything else that was going on quickly became overwork and in doses that could dry clean your brain.

In another exciting turn around though nowadays LouLou brings back happy memories of fun and laughter in times where the most pressing obligations were getting Fashion School assignments done and most important decisions which club we were going to get plotless in that night. Heady, happy days. We knew we were blessed and made all efforts to squeeze every last drop of enjoyment out of our youths.

Now it’s over to you. What or who ruined which fragrances for you?
Portia xx

Diorissimo GIVEAWAY WINNER

December 1, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 3 Comments

Post by Portia

Hello Lovelies,

LOADS of interest for this GIVEAWAY! Thanks for getting involved all.
Portia xx

Diorissimo GIVEAWAY WINNER

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, Green leaves
Heart: Amaryllis, Boronia, Lilac, Jasmine, Lily, Lily-of-the-valley, Rosemary, Ylang-ylang
Base: Sandalwood, Civet

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x 100ml bottle vintage Diorissima EdT (around 30-40% left)
1 x 7.5ml bottle vintage Diorissima parfum
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Wednesday 30th November 2016 10pm Australian EdsT
Winner was chosen by random.org

TIM

Japan & Korea Beauty

November 30, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 27 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey Hey Gang,

While we were away recently I bought a bunch of stuff in the Korean & Japanese Beauty Departments. One of the excellent things about them is how generous they are with their GWPs and Samples when you shop. Now I rarely do any facial beauty regime except a bottle L’Occitane make-up removing oil alternated with Grape Seed Oil. The rest of my life is soap & water. Yes, I know.

5th Anniversary Korean BarBQ in Seoul with Yu Gil, SarahK, me and Jin Nov 2016

Anyway, I have a shitload of stuff here and instead of letting it sit here unloved I thought I should share the largesse. The companies are Etude House, Skinfood and Shu Uemura. All excellent stuff and you and your skin will thank me. There is also an hermes Monsieur Li Bath Gel Sample and some Guerlain products, including a sample of La Petite Robe Noire. You are going to have a ball with so much stuff to try. There is also a little purse that you can keep your samples safely together in your bag.

Japan & Korea Beauty GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
18 Beauty & Fragrance products from Japan & Korea
1 x Travel Purse to hold samples
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please tell us what perfume samples you’ll put in your Travel Purse

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 1st December 2016 10pm Australian EdsT and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Wednesday 7th December 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

A Scent by Issey Miyake 2009

A Scent by Daphne Bugey

Oliver & Co Samples GIVEAWAY WINNERS

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

HOUSEKEEPING

RobertH

Greg

Jaybee

Elixir des Merveilles by Hermès 2006

Elixir des Merveilles by Jean-Claude Ellena

Coast Sydney: True Collection GIVEAWAY WINNERS

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

HOUSEKEEPING

Willa

Jaybee

Morrigan

Ambergreen by Oliver & Co 2016

Ambergreen by Oli Valverde

Oliver & Co Samples GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

HOW DO YOU WIN?

HOUSEKEEPING

Coast Sydney: NEW True Collection Perfume Oil

Nice by Coast: True Collection Perfume Oil Tuberose Touch

Bali by Coast: True Collection Perfume Oil Chempaka Charm

Coast Sydney: True Collection GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

HOW DO YOU WIN?

HOUSEKEEPING

Japan & Korea Beauty GIVEAWAY WINNERS

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

HOUSEKEEPING

RuthF

What Ruined That Perfume For You?

A*Men by Thierry Mugler

LouLou by Cacharel

Diorissimo GIVEAWAY WINNER

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

HOUSEKEEPING

TIM

Japan & Korea Beauty GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

HOW DO YOU WIN?

HOUSEKEEPING

Nice by Coast: True Collection Perfume Oil
Tuberose Touch

Bali by Coast: True Collection Perfume Oil
Chempaka Charm