Good Girl Gone Bad GIVEAWAY WINNERS

September 21, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

Post by Portia

Thanks again to my mate Nick from Libertine Parfumerie who has managed to import the by Kilian range to Australia and now it is exclusive to In Store Shoppers at Harrold’s Sydney & Melbourne. Amazing GIVEAWAY buddy, THANK YOU!
Australian’s do go have a look at the Libertine Parfumerie site, it’s amazing.

Let’s see who won,
Portia xx

Good Girl Gone Bad GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Jasmine, osmanthus, may rose
Heart: Indian tuberose, narcissus
Base: Amber, cedar

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 3 winners who will receive:
1 x 10ml Good Girl Gone Bad by Kilian
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 20th September 2015 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org

Photo Stolen thegarfieldshow-diary

sun (via TWITTER)

Greg

Ellen

The winners will have till Thursday 24th September 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.

NEW STORE: Arielle Shoshana

September 20, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 12 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey Crew,

Especially those in the USA, there is a brand new perfumery in town. My mate, blogger from Scents Of Self, glam girl and general fragrant fiend Arielle (Ari) is opening her first store in Washington DC. The Grand Opening Party is on October 3rd 2015! If you’re in the area you MUST drop in and hug her from the APJ crew.

NEW STORE: Arielle Shoshana

I was her very first customer and for a one time only special event she let me buy, and sent all the way to Australia, Maison Francis Kurkdjian’s Absolue Pour le Soir. I am totally thrilled by the speed she delivered in, loads of cute stickers on my package, a bunch of interesting samples as well as my beautiful bottle of skankalicious sexy good times horny juice.

Some of the range includes:
Neela Vermeire Creations
Atelier Cologne
Etat Libre d’Orange
Maison Francis Kurkdjian

and many more…….

Mosaic District

2920 District Avenue

Suite 145

Fairfax, VA 22031

Please go have a look at Arielle Shoshana Scented Luxuries site, prices are competitive and Ari is such a sweetie. Let’s help a fellow frag maniac begin something new, create a place for perfumistas to shop by a serious perfumista. Ari, I’m so proud of you and proud to call you my friend.

GOOD LUCK PRINCESS!
Portia xx

Diorissimo EdC GIVEAWAY WINNER

September 18, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey there crew. I am so excited to share these babies from my collection. All vintage: Diorissimo EdC, Miss Dior EdT, Dioressence EdT. Can’t wait to see who our lucky winner is.

Portia xx

Diorissimo EdC 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 Diorissimo EdC vintage sample from my bottle
1 x Miss Dior EdT vintage sample from my bottle
1 x Dioressence EdT vintage sample from my bottle
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Thursday 17th September 2015 10pm Australian EST
Winner was chosen by random.org

Photo Stolen nodepositforum

Michelle U

The winner will have till Sunday 20th September 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.

Bel Respiro by Jacques Polge for CHANEL 2007

September 16, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 20 Comments

Post by Trésor

Sometimes there is a fragrance that one is taken with, right from the get-go. It’s a bit like finding the perfect pair of black leather pumps or a flawless white shirt, a seemingly simple task but one that in reality it’s never quite so easy. They have to click, tick each box and do so with a comfortable, effortless sensibility befitting their impeccable nature. A sublime marriage of fit, form and fabric that so fluently weaves its way into your life and exhibits as not only an immediate appreciation of fine craftsmanship but as the beginning of a lifelong affection. For me, this is how it began with Jacques Polge’s Bel Respiro for Chanel, a pure manifestation of not only incredible fondness but what it means to be consummately and so unapologetically chic.

Bel Respiro by CHANEL 2007

Bel Respiro by Jacques Polge

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Green notes, flowers, leather, grass

The opening of Bel Respiro is, in my opinion, SO bloody Chanel. If you just so happen to be as irrationally obsessed with fragrance as I am (and I sincerely suspect you are) then you know just what I mean. It’s so good, in fact, that it may very well reside within the selection of some of the most beautiful top notes I’ve ever smelled in a fragrance. Upon the first push of the atomizer one is met with a diaphanous aura of desaturated emerald, exquisite in its verdancy but whisked away into a realm of subtlety and utter grace. There is a sunlit radiance emanating from the surface, not particularly warm but a palpable sensation of luminosity and effervescence.

Photo Stolen DeviantArt

The elegant austerity of silken iris soon follows, infusing the composition with an air that feels again so deeply “Chanel”, beauty of the highest order but beauty that has not made an effort to appear as such; it simply is. Pastel hued petals of lilac and rose redolent of a delicate herbal astringency follow suit and create what smells to me of a subdued kaleidoscope of ephemeral floralcy. A flourish of suede reveals itself beneath glorious fractals of efflorescent aroma, but only as an accent much like the the double-C on the button of a vintage tweed jacket. The dry down smells of transparent resins alongside a slightly amplified trace of the aforementioned suede and the scintillant glow of soft white musk.

Photo Stolen Flickr

The longevity and sillage, for me, are largely dependent on how much one applies. A spray or two yields a relatively evanescent outcome, close to skin and lasting just a couple of hours but with a proper dousing in the stuff as I much prefer (quelle surprise!) I can get about 5 hours and a nominally more potent sillage. Bel Respiro is certainly not, as the boys like to say, “beast-mode” but that is where its beauty lays, in gossamer undulations of fragility and grace.

Further reading: Olfactoria’s Travels and Smelly Vagabond
Bel Respiro can be found at most large department stores and stand alone CHANEL boutiques
CHANEL Online has $160/75ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $4/ml

Have you fallen for any fragrances right from the beginning? What was it about them that beguiled you?

Until next time, my darlings.
Trésor xx

Diorissimo EdC Vintage by Edmond Roudnitska for DIOR 1956

September 14, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 34 Comments

Post by Portia

So I’ve learned something about vintage fragrances recently. They are quite different to the original intention. Please don’t shut me down. I’m not saying they are bad, wrong, inferior or unworthy of your attention: they are super worthy. Even the most badly decomposing vintage fragrance can still give you a hint of the majesty once curled within. So the top notes are wonky, who cares? Those base notes made of real animals (and no I don’t condone the killing of animals for our vanity. I do think though that if those creatures are being murdered anyway that we should use every single bit of them, even the fragrant parts for our scents) last forever and ten minutes into the ride you are coasting on a wave of deep furry burnished beauty unattainable today.

Diorissimo EdC Vintage by DIOR 1956

Diorissimo EdC Vintage by Edmond Roudnitska

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

Recently I grabbed a bottle of vintage Diorissimo EdC. It came fully and perfectly preserved in its original cellophane wrapping, flawless. When I opened it, a 26ml splash, the juice was crystal clear and only slightly coloured, even less than the colour of Milly-la-Foret. I think the lid on a splash lets zero air in, unlike a spritz, because this is the most perfectly preserved version of Diorissimo of any age that I’ve smelled. Ainslie Walker and I were trying it yesterday because she is writing the Miu-Miu fragrance currently and she wanted to be able to compare the treatments of lily of the valley. We were both seriously enraptured by this perfectly demure dirty slut scent. Unbelieveable that it was the fragrance of young wealthy girls everywhere.

Lily of the valley and civet, frankly I’m a little surprised not to see ambergris in the accord list. The rest of the flowers are a beautiful bouquet with some fresh greenery that has still the soft green sappy scent of torn leaves.

Further reading: Bois de Jasmin and Perfumed Dandy
eBay and ETSY have the vintage, department stores the current versions
Surrender To Chance has vintage samples starting from $6/ml

So today we have a very special giveaway which includes samples of Diorissimo EdC, Dioressence EdT and Miss Dior EdT from my own bottles, all VERY vintage.

Portia xxx

Photo Stolen kbaird

Diorissimo EdC GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

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 tell me your favourite DIOR, old or new, and why

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 17th Septembert 2015 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winner will be chosen by random.org
The winner will have till Sunday 20th September 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.

FR! 01 / N° 02 GIVEAWAY WINNER

September 14, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 1 Comment

Post by Portia

Thanks everyone for getting involved.

Let’s see who won.

Portia xx

FR! 01 / N° 02 GIVEAWAY WINNER

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Rose absolute
Heart: Tuberose absolute
Base: Cocoa resin

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x 15ml FR! 01 / N° 02 La Dame Blanche by Julie Massé for Fragrance Republic 2013
(there are about 3ml gone)
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 13th September 2015 10pm Australian EST
Winner was chosen by random.org

Photo Stolen HighestSelf

Bernadette Winfield-Gray

The winner will have till Thursday 17th September 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.

L’Occitane Immortelle: 28 Day Divine Renewal Skin Program

September 13, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 12 Comments

Post by AF Beauty

L’Occitane Immortelle

28 Day Divine Renewal Skin Program

Opening the product was VERY EXCITING. I had no idea what was in the box, it being given to me by the lovely Portia to review. I cracked the cellophane and opened the box and saw the four panels of oil before me. Quite possibly the most extravagant packing I’ve ever seen for what amounts to 28ml of oil!

L’Occitane Immortelle First week: Gentle Exfoliation

My first point of note was the instruction booklet which detailed very specific instructions on how to apply the oil, down to a pre-application inhalation of the oil aromas. The first oil smells very green and plant-like, not unpleasant. The second, and most surprising revelation was that 1ml of oil is a HUGE amount. I did as instructed, dropped the oil into my hands, rubbed, inhaled and applied – and lo, I was an oil slick! The oil felt a little grainy and took a while to settle in. Having applied at night, it did sink in overnight, but I was still a bit oily in the morning. At this point I wasn’t using any other moisturiser on top of the oil. Towards the end of the week I realised I was starting to get tiny spots on my cheeks and forehead.

L’Occitane Immortelle Week Two: Hydration and Nutrition

Immediately on this week I noticed the aroma was a lot sweeter than the previous week, much less plant-like and more flower. I really liked this week’s oil although, given the choice, I would probably only choose to apply half the amount. Because the pods are “single serve” there is no choice but to apply once open.

L’Occitane Immortelle Week Three: Balance

At the start of this week, I’ve not noticed a huge difference in the oil from week two. The aroma is comparable, still sweet and light. The texture is slightly less fine than week two, but this is almost imperceptible. Nightly, I am still an oil slick but the spots have ceased.

L’Occitane Immortelle Week Four: Renewal

By week four I had started to apply a tiny amount of moisturiser on top of the oil in an attempt to encourage more absorption and to prevent the oily residue on the skin. At week four, I can’t tell the difference between the previous three weeks in both texture and aroma.
But with all this, how was my skin? That’s really the question! Well…. overall, not great. Towards week four I had started to dwindle in my commitment to the product. My skin texture had lost some smoothness and I was really missing my usual routine. I didn’t perceive the benefits each week proposed to offer. But in defence of this product, I used it in almost isolation, just after cleansing my face each night, unlike almost any other product in my arsenal. And in fairness, the reviews of the product on the L’Occitane website shows that people truly love it – I am completely open to accepting that not every product works in the same way for everyone.

I would love to see the best oil in this collection sold in a bottle by itself with a dropper and to be able to use that oil in amongst other products. (And now I check, I see they now do this at L’Occitane)

Will you try this set? Do you use other facial oils? Which ones and how do they suit you?
AF Beauty xx

Le Jardin de Monsieur Li by Jean-Claude Ellena for Hermès 2015

September 12, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 18 Comments

Post by Portia

It’s time to bid farewell to Jean-Claude Ellena at Hermès. I’m sad because he really came to embody so much of what I think Hermès is famous for: the interesting, not fashion, best of, made to last, made to use, made to love and for people who can still feel love. JCE being the nose at Hermès felt like their visions were aligned, sheer beauty could sum up Hermès or Jean Claude Ellena’s fragrances for Hermès. Here is Le Jardin de Monsieur Li: his last opus for the company, his last fantastical garden……

Le Jardin de Monsieur Li by Hermès 2015

Le Jardin de Monsieur Li by Jean-Claude Ellena

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Kumquat, jasmine, mint

The garden series are polarising, as much of Ellena’s work is. One of the interesting things about them is that we have been able to see into this particular artists creative journey with some of these scents through his own, and others, written words. Though we know little it’s more than we know of other perfumers and that for me makes JCE a bit of a mate, a friend or acquaintance that has let me a little behind their eyes into the workings of their brain. WE have been there when the unripe mango triggered a fragrance, through some of the depressing routes that led to failure and we also know something of his love of fragrance, his bringing home freaky scents the kids asked for, the love for his wife and his engaging personality that has made him a fragrance lovers household name.

So, how does Le Jardin de Monsieur Li smell? Bittersweet, ethereal, sweet and cool, sparkling yet curiously oily too. Le Jardin de Monsieur Li is about drinks in the shady garden in the afternoon as the sting of the days heat abruptly cuts off, the gardeners are watering or maybe there’s just been an afternoon storm so the air is clearer, less dusty and the fragrance has changed from dust to fecund wet earth and grass and you have a champagne fruit punch that is so delicious and the first one hardly even touches the sides of your thirst. Refreshing, lifting, light and elegant, Le Jardin de Monsieur Li is a fond and fervent farewell.

Photo Stolen Hermès

The Le Jardin de Monsieur Li artwork looks like they have a new artist too. The modern/retro feel of the watercolour is so much more computer-generated looking than previous pictures and while I think it lovely there is a feeling that the Hermès crew is already moving on from the JCE years. Moving away from the lovely home made feel of the naughties and into a more hipster/art-without-creativity/big-business-boring feel for the future. It’s a shame if it’s true, one of the things I love about Hermès is their quaint and homey version of world domination. The free spirit has been caged and trained.

Further reading: Candy Perfume Boy and Perfume Shrine
Hermes stores and some larger department stores carry the Jardin range
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $4/ml

What is your favourite Jean Claude Ellena fragrance for Hermès?
Portia xx

Je t’aime Jane by Bella Freud 2014

September 10, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 11 Comments

Post by Gabriella

Hello perfumed peeps!

Today, I want to focus on a scent that has recently been launched in Australia – Je t’aime Jane by UK fashion designer, Bella Freud.

Bella Freud is the daughter of painter Lucian Freud and the great granddaughter of the famous psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. She has launched a range of perfumes named after the slogans that adorn her fashion collection and Je t’aime Jane is a the white floral of the bunch. The perfume celebrates actress Jane Birkin, and more specifically, her famous duet with Serge Gainsbourg, Je t’aime…moi non plus.

Je t’aime Jane by Bella Freud 2014

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords in one line:
Jasmine absolute, Ylang-ylang, Orange blossom, Queen of the night, Oud, Sandalwood, Musk

So, how does it smell? Upon first blast, Je t’aime Jane feels like a perfume in reverse. Rather than starting out with the traditional top notes of bergamot and other citruses, this scent opens up with a mammoth does of black oud and sandalwood, so much so that on first application, I was completely overwhelmed and thought I’d sprayed the wrong perfume. Where were the white florals?

But slowly, slowly, these accords in Je t’aime Jane reveals themselves. It’s a gentle unfolding, like peeling back layers of onion skin, that the perfume morphs and softens in a gentle segue from dark to light.

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

After the initial woody rush, the orange blossom comes to the fore and it’s thick and sweet. But it is not cloying, there’s enough of the woods in the background to anchor it and prevent it from becoming overly shrill and overblown. It is warm and comforting and melds to the skin like a big warm fluffy coat. The orange blossom also tempers the gothic like quality of the opening – there’s a prettiness and hopefulness to it, but there’s still a hint of melancholy. The dark clouds of winter have started to part from their recent dose of driving rain and the spring sun is starting to peek through, but not all the greyness of the day has lifted, just yet.

But wait a little longer and the scent gets lighter and more airy – the jasmine starts to peek its head through it all and unveil itself, at first all heavy and indolic and then getting greener and more transparent. It’s pretty-pretty at this stage and all flirty, but the woods are still there. This girl may like her lipstick, but she’s dressed in all black with tortoisehell framed glasses and a vintage camel hair coat rather than a cashmere twinset and pearls and coral nails.

Je t’aime Jane has average longevity and minimal sillage and whilst it is thick with white florals and woods, its lack of sillage makes it a personal and introspective scent. The scent was the perfect accompaniment to a recent chilly day here in Melbourne when I was clad all in black, praying for spring to finally arrive and only getting more cold and gusts of rain. The only think that struck me was I would have expected it to be a little bit more bohemian and quirky in character to truly encapture the enigma of Jane Birkin. Nevertheless, if you are an oud fan, or like florals thick with woods, this is a good one to try.

Photo Stolen Flickr

Further reading: lips so facto and Fashion Editor at Large
Mecca Cosmetica has $168/50ml
Luckyscent has samples $4/.7ml

Have you tried any of the Bella Freud scents? What’s your top pick for a scent for Jane Birkin?

With much love till next time,
M xx

(Ed: There seems to be some confusion on the perfumer so I left it out)

I Scream For Green!

September 8, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 7 Comments

Post by Ainslie Walker

I’m in Bondi. The sun is shining and I am toying with several green scents intending to put the spring back in my step after some heavy times. It generally always feels like spring/summer in Sydney and right now is my favorite time – not too hot! Warm, sunny, not humid and thankfully no tropical downpours. That’s why when Sydney was hosting the Olympics “they” chose September…Sydney at its best.

I Scream For Green!

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Clementine, cassis, apple blossom, sweet pea, lily-of-the-valley, lily, amaryllis, bellflower, narcissus, jasmine

Lulu Guinness: Lulu Guinness had five fragrances in her collection, however she is best known for her better-than-fabulous handbag/purse designs. I have two: One, a giant circular flamingo basket and the other a sequined lobster clutch. I feel like I am in the freaking B52’s when I strut along with them. Nose, Rodrigo Flores-Roux created Lulu Guinness in 2003, the initial fragrance launch for the brand. Talented and gifted I love many of his works:

The bottle is super kitsch, ceramic-look printed glass. The 50 ml is handbag friendly and feels nice in the hand. The scent is strong, distinctive, fresh, green and floral. Lily of the Valley I rarely wear due to the plethora of toilet sprays and cheap talc’s from childhood that have ruined it for me. In this blend however I like it. Not everyday, mind you, but the days I do, it hits the spot. Its bold like the brand rather than shy like the flower. Fresh and just-walked-into-a-florist-like. All cut flowers and screaming greens with no obvious crowd-pleasing attention given. The opening hour is uncompromisingly fresh and green and if you get past its polarising narcissus punch you are in for a treat. An all-floral flush of slightly powdered lily, apple blossom and sweet pea as it dries down. Blackcurrant (cassis), jasmine and clementine contribute to a hyper-surreal evolution towards natural nuances. If you don’t like this one instantly, I do suggest to try again.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Grass, rose, thyme
Heart: Geranium, lavender, violet
Base: Patchouli, oakmoss

Ealing Green by 4160 Tuesdays: In England “greens” are beautiful natural spaces designed to provide relief and a breath of fresh air from the hustle and bustle of city life. A place for reflection, picnics and to host happy little fairs and markets. Ealing Green is in West London and the inspiration for perfumer Sarah McCartney’s green floral delight – one of my favourite perfumes from her 4160 Tuesdays collection.

I love the green grass and rosy geranium balance. I often find geranium masculinised and more than anything think it a little unfair. In Ealing Green the floral aspects take the spotlight. Shiny, bright and rosy. In addition violet and patchouli laydown a cool, sweet and soapy depth to the mix and continue throughout. A fresh-out-of-the-shower-herbal and clean feeling emanates from a sparky combination of thyme and lavender and works well. Dry down is soft salty oakmoss and powdered rose absolute like a dusting of makeup. Softer and prettier than expected. I had my Marilyn Monroe moment with it, waking still engulfed. I look forward to wearing more throughout summer. Now available to buy shipped to Australia at eScentuals! Bliss.

What is your green?

Ainslie Walker xx