Diorella GIVEAWAY WINNER

November 27, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 1 Comment

Post by Portia

Hey Crew,

Thanks for getting involved. Let’s see who won,
Portia xx

Diorella GIVEAWAY WINNER

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Basil, Bergamot, Green notes, Melon, Lemon
Heart: Cyclamen, Carnation, Honeysuckle, Jasmine, Peach, Rose
Base: Oakmoss, Musk, Patchouli, Vetiver

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x Sample from my vintage Diorella EdT
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Saturday 26th November 2016 10pm Australian EdsT
Winner was chosen by random.org

Bernadette Winfield-Gray

The winner will have till Thursday 1st 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

Penhaligon’s Portraits Collection GIVEAWAY WINNER

November 20, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 5 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey crew,

Great response. Thanks to Libertine Parfumerie for this generous sample selection, they have AUD$369 for 75ml.
Let’s see who won,
Portia xx

Penhaligon’s Portraits Collection GIVEAWAY WINNER

Fragrantica

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x Penhaligon’s Portraits Collection Manufacturers Sample Set
(including all 4 fragrances in atomisers)
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Saturday 19th November 2016 10pm Australian EdsT
Winners were chosen by random.org

José Hernandez

The winners will have till Thursday 24th November 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

Granville by Francois Demachy for Dior Collection Privée 2010

November 18, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 16 Comments

Post by Portia

Howdy Fragrant Family,

Years ago now I bought 10ml of Granville in a split from AndreaW. It was forgotten for a while and then rediscovered and drained to the dregs. As soon as I was finishing my decant the damn thing got DCd so I was lamenting its loss and resigned to never having a bottle to spritz.

On a whim in South Korea last week I asked the DIOR SA if she remembered Granville and she produced a tester saying that she had one bottle left in stock, 250ml at about AUD$100 more expensive than Sydney prices (because S Korea!). We thanked her for her time, spritzed Granville lavishly and went on our merry way. Then, because I was floating in swathes of its green beauty and a bit sad that I would never own it Jin said we should go back and get it next day, he even offered to buy me the bottle (I know right, but I wouldn’t let him). So we went back and grabbed it and I’m so thrilled, it’s a perfect mid-season beauty.

Granville by Dior Collection Privée 2010

Granville by Francois Demachy

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Basenotes gives these featured accords:
Top: Lemon, mandarin, thyme
Heart: Gorse, pine, rosemary
Base: Pepper, sandalwood, woodsy notes

A smooth and rich cologne in EdT built by Francois Demachy to be both an interesting twist on an old trope and a new, fun, pretty masculine for perfumistas of both sex. It’s perfect mid season wear while the sun is shining and in the chill of the evening. Grenville is cool green, bright and slightly fizzy like a Limoncello with a hint of salt. The sweet and tart at the same time opening wafts gently into more green and herbaceousness that warms and dries towards dry down with the pepper crackling and creamy woods.

Flickr

Never a poisonous green, always a gentle, plush, refined greenness; austere yet approachable. Said to be done in homage to the wind at Christian Dior’s childhood home, the greenness of the area, the herb garden and the exuberance of his youth, I get it. Granville is all of this and more. A mellow green with fizz and cream.

Lasting well into 3 hours as fragrant I was surprised to find Granville still smellable on the morning as I wake up, a whispered wash of citrus and wood.

Further reading: Olfactoria’s Travels and BOTO
Still available at some DIOR stand alone stores
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $3/ml

Do you have a favourite DIOR Privee? Which one? Why? Did you try DIOR Granville?
Portia xx

Penhaligon’s Portraits Collection Review

November 17, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 47 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey there Niche Nerds,

Yesterday I was lucky enough to attend the lavish Australian launch of Penhaligon’s Portraits Collection here in Sydney at the Centennial hotel, very Ra Cha Cha! A small group of us were led through the outlandish fictitious stories of this new collection by Michael from Libertine Parfumerie and got to smell the fragrances together and discuss their notes, design and remarkable lids. High tea in a very English from the movies style room, it was a great scene setter organised by Alice and crew at ÉLYSÉE COLLECTIVE.

Ainslie Walker, Portia, Catherine de Peloux Menage (Yay! The APJ Squad)

This one donated by Ainslie Walker. Thanks doll, love it!

Michael from Libertine Parfumerie

This is an expensive Penhaligon’s offering AUD$369 for 75ml. Puig, who recently bought Penhaligon’s and L’Artisan, seems to be making a statement about their new direction with the brand. Luxury is the new order and these lids made of brass are heavy and interesting, though I would very much like it if they offered a choice of with or without. There are only a few sets being released in Australia and apparently worldwide it is very limited production. Love a bit of exclusivity in my scent. So, about the perfumes….

Penhaligon’s Portraits Collection Review

Fragrantica

The Tragedy of Lord George by Penhaligon`s

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Brandy, woodsy notes, tonka bean, amber

Very popular among the people yesterday, a softly sweet masculine that reminded me of a Guerlain. I think it’s the boozy tonks mix that was so reminiscent. Smelled great, ultimately unisex.

Fragrantica

The Revenge Of Lady Blanche by Penhaligon`s

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Narcissus, iris flower, hyacinth

This is my favourite. Opens with a distinctive 1970s or earlier green floral chypre vibe. Sadly it was all top and heart and had basically disappeared an hour later so that even my BFF Kath couldn’t smell it at lunch an hour later. Totally bummed because I thought it was going to make a wonderful replacement for when I run dry of Niki de Saint Phalle. I really want to wear it again a few times to get to know it.

Fragrantica

The Coveted Duchess Rose by Penhaligon`s

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Mandarin orange, rose, musk, woody notes

Personally I think this will be the best seller of the line. It feels expensive and wearable. Not ground breaking or outrageous but it does feel like a quality fragrance, not following the super sweet crowd and being a cut above most of the department store mass-tige offerings.

Fragrantica

Much Ado About The Duke by Penhaligon`s

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Rose, leather, gin, pepper, woody notes

Love it when the rose fragrances are made for the men. I think this will find a lot of love from the men who wear Amouage Lyric Man. It’s different enough to be in the same collection. Here rose is made drier and cracklier with the leather and pepper. I like it a lot and if it was $200 I would be buying it for Jin for Christmas.

Penhaligon’s Portraits Collection GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x Penhaligon’s Portraits Collection Manufacturers Sample Set
(including all 4 fragrances in atomisers)
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 tell us which of the four you’d like to try

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Saturday 19th November 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 Thursday 24th November 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

Sballo Oil by + for Bruno Acampora 2012

November 12, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 7 Comments

Post by Portia

Heya Niche Nerds,

Today I’m looking at the largely ignored piece of the Bruno Acampora line. It’s like no one even noticed it after the success of Blu & Musc. So I never bothered to even try it even though I had a sample here the whole time. Sometimes things have to happen in their own time.

Sballo Oil by + for Bruno Acampora 2012

LuckyScent

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Rose, geranium, violet, orange blossom, musk, resins, sandalwood, vetiver, hay, sage

You know I like green right? Here is a green both stark and comfortable. Hay, green grass just mown, dank water, willow leaves trailing in a sluggish stream. Cool shade found under a burning summer sun but the shade is full of ominous shadows.

As Sballo wears it becomes less ferociously green and lightens up, still full of dark the sun is creeping in . Funny thing about the light, the brighter it is the more marked the contrast that is shadow. While Sballo does brighten it never looses it dark underpinnings. Vegetal, humus rich soil so full of life smells like this after a light rain if you dig through the mulch to get to it.

PDI

I think vetiver takes charge, dry grass, slightly oily vetiver. Useful in so many situations including leaching running water of toxins in you leave the roots dangling exposed across the river and grow it on the banks. It’s being used in poorer countries to clean up waterways that they though beyond repair.

An hour in and Sballo is a cuddly dry green and softly warming resins, is it galbanum and frankincense. This soft focus woody, creamy green in dry down is my favourite part of a lovely scent. I can’t help wondering now what the EdT is like……

Who could wear Sballo? Someone who wants to be, or give the impression of being, connected with Mother Earth. Someone who needs grounding or strength. I think you need to be slightly unconventional in modern day terms and unafraid to be what you are in front of others.

WikiMedia

Further reading: Non Blonde
LuckyScent has $200/10ml + Samples

could this one be for you?
Portia xx

Infini EdT by Gerard Lefortis for Caron 1970

November 11, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey Fumies,

Recently I found a bottle of Infini on someone’s Sale Doc in one of the FaceBook perfume forums. It was a good price and because I love the parfum so much I thought it a good time to grab the EdT as well. It arrived the other day. WOO HOO!

Infini EdT by Caron 1970

Infini EdT by Gerard Lefortis

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Jasmine, narcissus, lily of the valley, aldehydes
Heart: Rose, tuberose, lilac, iris
Base: Vetiver, musk, sandalwood, tonka bean, amber

I keep returning to Caron Infini, it’s so easy to wear and though it’s a big sensational powerhouse I never feel like I’m skunking a room in it. The EdT has a bit more throw, a lot more sparkle and feels like a light hearted person of the parfum. Less burnished, less intense but with a more gregarious personality. If Infini Parfum is Helen Lawson from Valley Of The dolls then Infini EdT is Gidget.

WikiMedia

Shrieking narcissus, sparkling and fizzy, tempered by cool lily of the valley. Then infinite becomes a bouquet that is impossible for me to pick out the floral notes. A sweet white floral with noodles of backing ingredients creating a lavish silk sari with beautiful mirror work that sparkles and gives lift.

The heart stays around for ages and its all gorgeous creamy flowers till you realise that underneath the bouquet the amber and sandalwood have been creeping in and unbeknownst to you the are taking over the whole fragrance as we head towards dry down. Much less animal than the Parfum Infini EdT is a friendly and engaging younger sister. I love to wear them together so the deep burnished depths float under the scintillating fun of EdT.

PDI

Further reading: Yesterday’s Perfume and The Non-Blonde
The Perfumed Court has EdP samples starting at $3.50/ml

Have you tried Infini?
Portia xx

Celadon: A Velvet Green by Dawn Spencer Hurwitz for DSH Perfumes 2007

November 6, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 6 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey Hey APJ,

It’s no secret that my favourite colour is green and for Dawn to have chosen Celadon, a colour I’ve always associated with the inside of our family home through the 1990s, seemed so coincidental that I was immediately drawn to it. Here’s an edited version of the sites take on The Chroma Collection: Created through a synesthetic approach, this series explores distinct “artist colors” (color pigments or paint that an artist would buy for their work) and a rather obscure textile color (that was all the rage with the 17th Century Paris – Versailles crowd). The CHROMA Collection was a top 5 Finalist for the 2015 Sadakichi (Experimental Use of Scent) Award given by the Institute for Art and Olfaction.

Celadon: A Velvet Green by DSH Perfumes 2007

Celadon: A Velvet Green by Dawn Spencer Hurwitz

The Chroma Collection

DSH Perfumes

DSH Perfumes gives these featured accords:
Balsam Fir, Clover Leaf, Cucumber, Green Grass, Hay Absolute, Liatrix, Lime Peel, Narcissus Absolute, Orris, Orris Root, Tonka Bean, Violet Leaf Absolute

A soft focus green fragrance that is refreshing, smooth as the pale green pottery it’s named for, delicious as freshly laundered sheets and as comfortable as your favourite hoodie/jumper. A barely there whisper of spring that sings around you as ethereal as air, yet you are quite fragrant. I also smell some very low level ripe humanity down the back end of Celadon and I’m not sure where it comes from, maybe the Liatrix whose scent profile is said to run like tobacco, hay, coumarin and the narcissus absolute?

Dawn has a way with green fragrances, she works from Celadon which feels like the smoothest, lightest touch of green, like cutting hydrangea heads for the house to Giverny In Bloom which basically blasts the back of your head off with florists air-conditioned fridges.

Celadon is prim, elegant and refined. Imagine arriving at CHANEL No 19 after the top notes have burned off but before the oakmoss dry down appears.

WikiMedia

From Wikipedia: Celadon is a term for ceramics denoting both wares glazed in the jade green celadon color, also known as greenware (the term specialists tend to use) and a type of transparent glaze, often with small cracks, that was first used on greenware, but later used on other porcelains.

Further reading: Colognoisseur and Fragrant Journey
DSH Perfumes starts at $6

Could you imagine yourself in the softest Eau de Nil green fragrance?
Portia xxx

Fêtes Persanes by Cecile Zarokian for MDCI Parfums 2016

November 2, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 22 Comments

Post by Sandra

Hey there fellow perfume lovers! Hope ya’ll are doing well.

The pea soup has arrived in Vienna, as it does every year, end of October. The mornings are dark and lately have become murky. My son’s bedroom window overlooks the cathedral steeple and every morning we open up the blinds to see if the steeple is shrouded in thick undulating fog. It is either the pea soup or David Copperfield has managed to sneak into Vienna over night and make the St. Stephen’s cathedral disappear as a Halloween magic trick!

But with all of this looming grey comes the start of my favourite season in Vienna. Namely Christmas! The city goes whole hog and decorates the streets, shop windows, grocery stores with dazzling lights and brightly coloured ornaments. It takes them several weeks to set up which is great for building up the anticipation.

This year I have found a wonderful perfume to accompany me during this transitional phase in the city.

Fêtes Persanes by MDCI Parfums 2016

Fêtes Persanes by Cecile Zarokian

Fragrantica

Fragranticagives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, black pepper
Heart: Rose, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves
Base: Guaiac wood, vanilla, cedar, patchouli

This is a beautiful spicy oriental fragrance that smolders quietly for hours shifting ever so slightly so that the embers can finally die down leaving me warm and cozy.

The perfume starts out quite spicy with a large dose of black pepper and a hint of the spices that are to come. The pepper is thankfully not abrasive or sharp nor sneeze inducing. After spending the summer with family members who are pepper aficionados (seriously – they import pepper corns from all corners of the world – and yes, they do all taste different), I really appreciate the way that Cecile Zarokian has incorporated pepper throughout the entire development of the perfume.

There is a sprinkling of cardamom and cinnamon – but not too much. It never veers into the gourmand territory of a sweet fragrance. The spices bring to mind a celebration where family members gather around together to feast and catch up.

Several hours in the rose is making a debut with just a few tendrils reaching my nose. But with it comes the guaiac wood, cedar and patchouli. Truthfully I do not detect much vanilla but perhaps my skin is just amplifying the woods. The drydown is my favourite part of Fêtes Persanes with the woody notes really whispering and teasing all of my senses. I would love to sit down in a room full of lit candles, surrounded by my family and friends basking in the glow of a big celebration.
sandra-fetes-persanes-by-mdci-parfums-xmas-vienna-2016-3

Further reading: Now Smell This and Colognoisseur
LuckyScent has $250/75ml
Surrender To Chance has samples from $6/0.5ml

Please give this a try – MDCI Parfums have a marvelous selection of perfumes offering something for all tastes.

Do you have a favourite pre-holiday season perfume?

Let me leave you with some images of fog and grey and holiday décor set up.

Sandra xoxo

(Ed: Photos donated by Sandra unless specified. thank you princess, they’re lovely)

Pure eVe by Celine Ellena for The Different Company 2011

November 1, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 14 Comments

Post by Robert Herrmann

Hi there Fragrant Friends.

This week I’ve been wearing the hell out of a light-as-air almond powdery beauty that is what I imagine angels must smell like….

Pure eVe by The Different Company 2011

Pure eVe by Celine Ellena

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Aldehydes
Middle: Flax, mimosa, white rose
Base: Cedar, musk, candied almond, sweet notes, dried fruits: TDC gives: Calisson (A French cookie made of candied almond, sweet notes and dried fruits)

When I was a kid growing up, one thing that always enchanted and mystified me were my Mom’s four silk scarves from Hermés. Often redolent with leftover traces of Joy or Maja edp, these not-to-be-touched-by-small-hands towel sized (to tiny me) pieces of fabric heaven were as light as a cloud, yet felt like pure magic, smooth and silky, softer than anything else in my child-sized world. When my mom would let me handle them, it was always a wondrous and very special moment. When she passed away twenty years ago, these silk scarves were the very first thing I put in my suitcase to take home. They are with me still.

Originally released as Pure Virgin and subsequently renamed as Pure EvE, wearing it is soft and sheer, a skin scent meant for you alone. The perfect wear-it-to-bed scent (especially when married to a perfume allergic sneeze-fest, as I am). Ironically mimosa, which is so prevalent in the dry-down is also know as “shabkhosb” in contemporary Persian which translates to “night sleeper” alluding to the flowers that close up at night.

WikiMedia

And given that the nose behind it is Celine Ellena, that makes it pretty much a slam-dunk for me, as I love her father’s (Jean-Claude) work. Sheer and breezy olfactory watercolors clearly run in the family….

Opening with the champagne-like sparkle of the aldehydes, this gorgeous unisex edt brings to mind soft freshly laundered sheets drying in the sun and gently waving in a soft summer’s breeze. The flax bring an earthy base to the scent all the while supporting the gorgeous floralp notes. The scent of the Calisson provides the cookie-like almond and sweet notes, and the musk wraps it all up in a pure white dare I say virginal, cashmere blanket.

This is a perfect scent to wear all year long for work or play. In the cooler months, you will be a walking tray of cloud-like soft Chantilly Creme and when the warmer months roll around you’ll smell positively as fresh as a laundered crisp white shirt.

Wikipedia

Further reading: Now Smell This and Daly Beauty
The Different Company has €95/50ml
LuckyScent has $135/50ml + Samples

Have you tried Pure eVe? Are there other “fresh” powdery scents that you absolutely love??
RHX

Civet by Zoologist Perfumes GIVEAWAY WINNER

November 1, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

Hey Crew,

What an incredible response. You must be loving the Zoologist brand.

Don’t forget it may be up to 8 weeks before being sent out because we are waiting for the fragrance to be bottled. Our winner is the lucky recipient of one of the first bottles of Civet to be done. SO EXCITING!

Thank you to Robert Herrmann and Victor Wong from Zoologist.

Civet by Zoologist Perfumes GIVEAWAY WINNER

Zoologist gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, Black Pepper, Lemon, Orange, Spices, Tarragon
Heart: Carnation, Frangipani, Heliotrope, Hyacinth, Linden-blossom, Tuberose, Ylang
Base: Balsams, Civet*, Coffee, Incense, Labdanum, Musks*, Oakmoss, Resins, Russian Leather*, Vanilla, Vetiver, Woods

*Synthetic notes, Zoologist does not use animal products.

Civet will be available December 31st 2016 from the Zoologist website, and you’ll find a list of stockists there as well.

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x 11 ml Civet by Zoologist travel spray
(It will be sent as soon as Civet is bottled, yes we are THAT far ahead)
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Monday 31st October 2016 10pm Australian EdsT
Winner was chosen by random.org

Arlene Buekis in South Africa!

It may be up to 8 weeks before being sent out

The winners will have till Friday 4th November 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