The 7 Virtues GIVEAWAY WINNER

September 7, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

Post by Portia

Firstly, thank you to Barb Stegemann for trying to change the world from the ground up. She is so inspirational but also very friendly and wonderful fun. A great way to be a part of this change is to buy the 7 Virtues Custom Blend Box, which contains four award winning vegan fragrances made with natural essential oils from troubled countries trying to rebuild. Buy them for yourselves and for friends, it’s only a few weeks to Christmas.

If you’d like to be a part of changing the world for good then you can do it by emailing Barb Stegemann {barb (at) the7virtues (dot) com} and she will get it sent ASAP.

Portia x

The 7 Virtues GIVEAWAY WINNER

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x 7 Virtues Sampler (from my own 7 Virtues Custom Blend Box bottles)
Afghanistan Orange Blossom
Noble Rose of Afghanistan
Middle East Peace
Vetiver of Haiti
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 6th September 2015 10pm Australian EST
Winner was chosen by random.org

Photo Stolen amberinblunderland

Esperanza

The winner will have till Thursday 10th 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.

Morn to Dusk by Annick Menardo for Eau D`Italie 2015

September 5, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 14 Comments

Post by Portia

I’ve always loved these Eau d’Italie bottles. They are sleek and heavy, love that they are opaque so I don’t need to worry so much about light damage and I imagine they look super elegant on your dresser if you are a one bottle person and you like to show your choice off prominently. It seems a very nice mix between stark, modern design and old fashioned porcelain.

Morn to Dusk by Eau D`Italie 2015

Morn to Dusk by Annick Menardo

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, lily of the valley
Heart: Vanilla
Base: Musk

Vanilla is king in Morn to Dusk. My skin gives the most incredibly warm vanilla opening that doesn’t show a hint of the bergamot and lily of the valley until I’ve been wearing the fragrance for a couple of minutes. Then they come through and add this lovely wet green vibe that seems to be neither and both, it floats above the vanilla giving life and lift, creating a cool breeze over the dry sands of this interestingly desiccated vanilla. Through the heart the vanilla becomes sweeter and warmer like it was originally, not foody but a furry/fleshy vanilla. A rich, chewy consistency like glutinous toffee yet unpalatable in a cake/sweets sense.

Photo Stolen Pixabay

This short note list is totally missing large chunks. The vanilla towards the mid wear mark that lasts for hours is a crackly honeycomb and amber mix and I get something dry grass-ish like bamboo, vetiver or papyrus cutting through the rest making it less intensely vanillic.

I can’t believe the tenacity of Morn to Dusk, it will certainly wear for that length of time, longer on me today in the soft spring warmth. I put Morn to Dusk on at around 10am and now it’s about to turn dusk and I am still nicely fragrant. I like it. A lot.

Morn to Dusk is the kind of spritz & go frag that I longed for before I became a serious perfumista. It lasts all day, smells great and goes through some interesting phases without being a completely different scent. From leaving the house in the morning to getting home after a dinner you will smell good, sweet and dare I say it, delicious. I can imagine the guys wearing it in suits or jeans and the girls in gowns or jeans, across the board yummy.

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

Further reading: Colognoisseur
LuckyScent has $140/100ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $4/ml

Morn to Dusk is so wearable. What is your Vanilla? Which Eau d’Italie do you like?
Portia xx

The 7 Virtues in Australia

September 4, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 34 Comments

Post by Portia

You may remember we have done some stories on the incredible Barb Stegemann (Olfactoria’s Travels), Noble Rose of Afghanistan (APJ), Afghanistan Orange Blossom (APJ) and her world changing idea of creating perfumes from ingredients grown in areas of the world where the poppy is grown for heroin, and basing the campaign towards the women of these countries. Barb is paying more money for flowers that go into our fragrant addiction than the heroin barons pay for their narcotic harvest. What that does is gives women an income, thus a voice. Having an income means they can educate their daughters. Making the world a matriarchy isn’t a bad idea, it’s got to be a better deal than what having it run by men has made it. Imagine…….

Anyway, Barb got in touch this week and they now have a distributor here in Australia. That means that if you’d like to be a part of changing the world for good then you can do it by emailing Barb Stegemann {barb (at) the7virtues (dot) com} and she will get it sent ASAP.

The 7 Virtues in Australia

My mate Alice bought me the 7 Virtues Custom Blend Box, which contains four award winning vegan fragrances made with natural essential oils from troubled countries trying to rebuild. I wear them solo or layered.

So I thought it would be interesting to chat to Johanna who will be bringing the 7 Virtues into Australia.

How did you hear about Barb Stegemann and the 7 Virtues?

Barb and I met at University. Once out of Uni, we forged a close friendship when we both began working for the same company. I remember evenings spent in fabulous conversation about how we were going to make a difference in this world. We didn’t know then where life would take us but Barb has certainly been true to her word.

What is your personal favourite 7 Virtues fragrance and why?

I adore The 7 Virtues Noble Rose of Afghanistan! The femininity of the Rose is balanced beautifully with the spicy notes. Coming in a close second is The 7 Virtues Patchouli of Rwanda which I find fresh and easy to wear. Recently, I was having a difficult time making up my mind on which fragrance to wear, so I decided to wear both layered together and the blended results are divine!

How did you become the 7 Virtues distributor in Australia?

Barb and I have been talking about the possibility of bringing The 7 Virtues Fragrances to Australia for four years. Barb contacted me at the end of 2014 and said that the time was right. I jumped at the opportunity, I believe in The 7 Virtues with all my heart. It is such a privilege to be involved.

What kinds of trials and tribulations have you suffered to get 7 Virtues to Australia?

No suffering yet but with any “new to you” experience you don’t know until you know… Now that The 7 Virtues Fragrances are finally available in Australia we want to be able to share them with as many people as possible, so far they have been received extremely well. The fragrances are beautiful and the 7 Virtues story is empowering to everyone involved in the process, from farmers to consumers. It touches everyone along the way, including me!

Photo Stolen AllSteele

The 7 Virtues 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 us a fragrance that makes you feel empowered

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie 7 Virtues Sampler GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-4ek #Perfume #Giveaway @BarbStegemann @the7virtues

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 6th September 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 Thursday 10th 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.

Empressa: Penhaligon’s GIVEAWAY WINNERS

September 4, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 3 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey Hey APJ,

This has been totally fun. Thank you all for getting on board and thank you especially to Nick at Libertine Parfumerie. We love you buddy.

Portia xxx

Empressa: Penhaligon’s GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Blood orange, bergamot, mandarin orange, peach, pink pepper
Heart: Rose, geranium, neroli, dewberry, cassis
Base: Vanilla, cacao, olibanum, amber, musk, patchouli, sandalwood, brown sugar

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 4 winners who will receive:
1 x 10ml Empressa by Penhaligon’s (decants from my bottle)
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Thursday 3rd September 2015 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org

Photo Stolen propercourse

Fazal

Willa

Morrigan

Nemo

Ellen

The winners will have till Sunday 6th 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.

Please Aussies, go and have a look at the amazing fragrant beauties that
Libertine Parfumerie has for sale, you will be astounded.
Lately Nick’s buying power has become so good that some (not all)
of his products are the same numerical value
as you would buy them for in the USA,
that means with the current Aussie dollar that they are in fact
20-30% cheaper!!! AMAZING! Currently €195 is AU$309!

L'Heure de Nuit by Thierry Wasser for Guerlain 2012

September 2, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

Hello Stink Monkeys!!

In 2012 L’Heure Bleue had its 100th birthday. In honour of that extraordinary milestone Thierry Wassser and the Guerlain team put together a fabulous set of three new fragrances built around the L’Heure Bleue magic but in essence dedicated to different hours of the day and the only one that made it the regular range is…….

L’Heure de Nuit by Guerlain 2012

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
White musk, orange blossom, iris, heliotrope, jasmine, rose, sandalwood

I have been trying to get this post written for years. I buy a decant and wear it for a day or two, get ready to write my post and “swoosh” the damn decant disappears. Clearly I have been putting them down and in a rush to clean, for one reason or another, the decant gets put away. WELL….. I found one of my earliest L’Heure de Nuit decants (I think) from a Ruth K split. It’s the softest violet grey colour in a smaller decant, so pretty.

Of course the Guerlain mini bee bottle is reason enough to wish for this fragrance but what does it smell like? OMG! How I love this magical fragrance. It is candied violets and musk sticks, sugar plum fairies and hearts desire.

Photo Stolen Flickr

Sheer, smooth and elegant. A cool, sweet smelling beauty that is light as air and hefty as a bowling ball. The first hours sillage is really amazing, especially considering how soft the fragrance feels to wear. I know the notes don’t list licorice or anise but I smell them softly woven through the flowers, lightly rooty and diaphanous white floral that really conjures up the feeling of evening in the placid cool of winter Paris, where the air is crystal clear and you are warmed in your long-johns and puffer jacket. MMMMMM. The sense of quiet expectation hinted at in L’Heure Bleue is fully realised in this modern lilac reinterpretation. Sweet, floral, magical expectation. On a night like this……

Jin having a hot banana chocolate waffle dusk Paris Jan 2013

Longevity is out of this world. I spritzed L’Heure de Nuit at around midnight last night, it’s nearly 2pm and I still have a sweet and creamy fragrance dolloped over a wash of much nicer than laundry musks. It’s still clean and fresh smelling and when I stick my head into my T-Shirt and the freshness is mixed with my after sleep man smell the whole fragrance is really yummy.

Further reading: Candy Perfume Boy and Alembicated Genie
Guerlain counters at larger department stores or Guerlain stand alone stores stock L’Heure de Nuit
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $6.50/ml

Did you get to try L’Heure de Nuit?
Portia xx

L’Heure de Nuit by Thierry Wasser for Guerlain 2012

September 2, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

Hello Stink Monkeys!!

L’Heure de Nuit by Guerlain 2012

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
White musk, orange blossom, iris, heliotrope, jasmine, rose, sandalwood

Photo Stolen Flickr

Jin having a hot banana chocolate waffle dusk Paris Jan 2013

Did you get to try L’Heure de Nuit?
Portia xx

Ubar by Robertet for Amouage 2009 remix

August 31, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 12 Comments

Hi hi hi APJ,

I recently rediscovered an Ubar decant and have been spritzing madly. It is on equal footing with Interlude Man as my favourite Amouage and please don’t ever make me choose. Both are so freaking good and when I wear them I feel that I could rule the world.

Ubar by Robertet for Amouage 2009 remix

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Tangerine, orange, litsea cubeba, violet leaf
Heart: Jasmine, orange blossom, ylang-ylang, tuberose, freesia, lily-of-the-valley, palisander rosewood
Base: Sandalwood, vanilla, patchouli, vetiver, copahu balm, black amber

Ubar is a rarity, a gorgeous spiced white floral and woods extravaganza that is so chock full of ingredients that it’s hard for me to distinguish them. Ubar wears like it’s its own scent and nothing like anything else ever created. Ubar is like soup simmering on the stove: the whole house is filled with the smell of soup and as ingredients get put in the pot if you’re chatting in the kitchen then you’ll be able to pick some of them even if you haven’t seen what went in and if you look in the pot you’ll see some of the ingredients rise and fall. If though you are in your bedroom and the smell is wafting temptingly towards you then all you can smell is the melange, the soup itself. Maybe garlic will be noticeable or beef or tomato but everything else becomes a part of the soup. That’s how I wear Ubar.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

Ubar starts out sharp green and citrus but already you can smell the base underneath them and the white florals just waiting behind the scenes to jump out at you and whirl you away on a veritable cloud of bouquet. The patchouli, resins and sweet vanilla all create the most stridently glorious dry down that hums away for ages on my skin and all the way to tomorrows bath or shower I can smell the magic that is Ubar.

When I think about it Ubar seems to be a cold weather fragrance, and I do love it to warm me up, but to really experience Ubar best you need to wear it in stifling heat. It blooms unbelievably and shows a whole other side to its luscious self.

Today is the last day of summer in the north and winter here in Australia. Perfect time at both ends to wear Ubar.

Photo Stolen Pixabay

Where do I wear Ubar? I love to give myself a big spritz and do very mundane things like cleaning, clothes washing and grocery shopping. I get funny looks sometimes because I’m so obviously scented for an EVENT yet there I am buying milk, bread and a bag of tomatoes. Fuck It! Fragrance helps me to celebrate the fact that I’m alive, helps me to waft on fabulously even through the most hum drum moments because I am the star of my life. So are you, go live life AND hug yourself from me.

Further reading NowSmellThis and PerfumeShrine
FragranceNet has $185/100ml unboxed Before Coupon
Posh Peasant has $4.50/.5ml

What fragrance makes you feel like the tedious is fabulous?
Portia xx

EDIT: Originally I had Creations Aromatics as the perfumers but the Amouage crew told me it was Robertet so I have fixed it.

Andrea Maack Sampler GIVEAWAY WINNER

August 31, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 1 Comment

Post by Portia

WOO HOO APJ! Thanks for getting involved. Another wonderful giveaway, you are lucky. I hope life is treating you well where ever you are.

Portia xx

Silk by Andrea Maack 2011

Silk by Richard Ibanez

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Citruses, violet leaf, freesia, magnolia, soil tincture, papyrus, vanille, amber, lemon tree, lime (linden) blossom

Andrea Maack Sampler GIVEAWAY WINNER

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x 3ml Andrea Maack Sampler (I have used them a bit, about 2ml in each)
Dark
Smart
Craft
Silk
Sharp
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 30th August 2015 10pm Australian EST
Winner was chosen by random.org

Photo Stolen sistersavealot

gina tabasso

The winner will have till Thursday 3rd 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.

Eau de Gloire by Marc-Antoine Corticchiato for Parfum d’Empire 2003

August 30, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 8 Comments

Post by Portia

Hi there Fragrant Family,

When Michael Edwards of Fragrances Of The World fame had his cleanout this was one of the fragrances he gave me. I had liked it very much from my original Parfum d’Empire sample set (that I can’t find on the site anymore). So my review today is based on an older bottle like the top picture in the review. I have no idea if the fragrance has been reformulated for the new bottle but I’ve read nothing on the boards to indicate there has been a change.

Eau de Gloire by Parfum d’Empire 2003

Eau de Gloire by Marc-Antoine Corticchiato

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, amalfi lemon, lavender, rosemary, neroli, tangerine, myrtle
Heart: Tea, star anise, licorice, immortelle
Base: Leather, tobacco, olibanum, french labdanum, oakmoss

The first fragrance that Parfum d’Empire brought to the world in 2003, modeled on Marc-Antoine Corticchiato’s scent memory of his boyhood home Corsica, Eau de Gloire is literally translated as Water of Glory and dedicated as an homage to all those who’ve left their homelands to go into the world and conquer. Especially to his own home island boy Napoleon Bonaparte.

Photo Stolen HistoryFiles

The first words that jump into my head when wearing Eau de Gloire are Bracing, Citrus, Salt, Squeaky, Floral, Masculine. Yes, I know we don’t deal in masculine/feminine archetypes here but Eau de Gloire definitely skews towards what my upbringing has defined as a masculine scent, which does not minimise how spectacularly it will perform on the girls so please don’t get up in arms.

Eau de Gloire opens with a powerhouse icy cold screech of bergamot, citrus twig and broken branch and briny sea air then the herbs and flowers come and take the edge off. As the rosemary, lavender and star anise waltz in they warm the scent slightly but still it stays cool and laid back. I don’t believe in fragrances for the sexes but I keep imagining Eau de Gloire on a very masculine man though I would love to see how it smells on a woman. There is a squeaky dissonance here, the trilling of the citrus which lasts well into the heart of the fragrance and the rumbling of the incense, anise, oakmoss and tobacco. Unfortunately my nose misses the tea and leather in the composition completely, maybe you will have more luck.

Eau de Gloire comes and goes from my ability to smell it, very interesting, but when i concentrate I can. It’s like it hides from me to make me seek out its loose billowy freshness. At about 3-4 hours I get more soft and flowery notes over the various resins, this fragrance grows more interesting and textured as it matures. At 7 hours it is soft as butterfly kisses and almost as ephemeral.

Photo Stolen Parfum d’Empire

I hadn’t worn Eau de Gloire for a while but last night when I wore it to work there were three compliments on my fragrance throughout the night. One of whom I am making a small decant for because her eyes were shining with enthusiasm. I think we have a new perfumista in our midst.

Further reading: Olfactoria’s Travels and Chemist In A Bottle
Parfum d’Empire has €120/100ml
Libertine Parfumerie has $199/100ml and FREE AUSTRALIAN SHIPPING!
Surrender To Chance has samples that start at $3.50/ml

What have you worn lately that people have noticed?

Please treat yourself well, it’s hard to be happy when there’s someone being mean to you the whole time.
Portia xx

Greg Lauren by Ralf Schwieger for Barneys New York 2013

August 29, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 7 Comments

Post by Portia

Heya APJ,

Here is another from the Natalie APB Gift Bag. As I slowly make my waythrough them I am finding it increasingly interesting the things that she felt I ought to try, or that would be very me. This looks like a 5 or 8ml decant and when Natalie gave me the bag she said to pay special attention to anything larger than a sample.

The backstory is that Greg Lauren is the nephew of “Ralph”, an actor turned artist and fashion designer. His 2016 S/S Mens is very down & out in Beverly Hills, working in a coal mine, plantation worker, op shop chic and sleeping rough. I saw only two pieces in the whole parade that had me even mildly interested but I think perhaps I’m no longer his target market. The boots in the first half reminded me of Van Gogh’s boots and some of the hats were killer in an Oliver kind of way. Actually, even though I hated most of it and thought it pretentious pap I did enjoy the theatricality and the bleak colour palette, there was also a fair amount of whimsy in there.

Greg Lauren by Barneys New York 2013

Greg Lauren by Ralf Schwieger

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Sea notes, tonka bean, vanilla

Greg Lauren for Barneys is really good. Fragrant but demure, yet it is insistent that you notice it. It calmly straddles the department store/designer/niche divide and elegantly plants itself as something other, something a little more interesting. For me the sea notes reign, they are a great crossover between the gym set aquatics of the 1990s and the modern beach scent, there is something oddly disquieting about the notes as if you are near the boardwalk and every now and then you get a hint of the seaweed and scunge collected there.

Tonka and vanilla are there right from the start and in the beginning it is ALL about the thick, sweet resinous warmth which is cut through with this seaside something other. My mind is taken firmly to one of the Andrea Maack frags and also to a crew that did seasonal frags that I liked but can’t remember their name. There is also a salty-buttered popcorn thing that wanders around and in & out.

Photo Stolen Barneys New York

Every Greg Lauren for Barneys wear is different and each time I pick up new things: caramel, dried flowers, burning oil, spices, coconut, hair wax, Indian milk sweets and bread. There is also a salty-buttered popcorn thing that wanders around and in & out. Freaky fragrance but Oh-So-Wearable. This one will definitely get you noticed and it sticks like glue, 19 hours later there is still a hum of difference over my skin.

If I was in the USA right now I would have been on my way to the store by now and have bought myself a bottle, Natalie was right, this is totally freaking YUMMY!

A few of the reviewers talk about the perfumer Ralf Schwieger who has made some fairly sensational niche stuff including Afternoon of a Faun by ELdO, Iris Nazarena by Aedes de Venustas, Orange Sanguine for Atelier Cologne and Christopher Street for Charenton Macerations. Everyone talks about how he hand finished every bottle in a paint splattered, antiqued, derelict hipster way. I think that’s cool.

Photo Stolen Barneys New York

Further reading: Now Smell This and Ca Fleure Bon
Barneys New York site has $195/100ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $4/.5ml

Did you get to try it? Has Greg Lauren shown up on your radar yet?
Portia xx