Budget Beauty Reviews

June 21, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 16 Comments

Post by A F Beauty

I love beauty products. I love them more than my wallet loves them. So to try and balance desire with budget I like to keep my ear to the ground for bargain products that do a great job at a brilliant price. I wanted to test genuinely well priced products, not just a fabulous lipstick on 90% discount so I have aimed for items under AU$15.

Budget Beauty Reviews

First the oldies but goodies. I’ve been re-testing Rimmel’s Hide the Blemish concealer – AU$9 and Barry M’s Showgirl Extra Lengthening Mascara – AU$10.

Hide The Blemish. So, it transpires I am the biggest idiot! This concealer is great – why did I stop using this as a teen?!! I’ve gotten on great with the texture and coverage and the way I can layer to build coverage – I will add this as a staple to my make-up bags. (Yes, both!)

Barry M Mascara. This says it is extra lengthening; maybe it is, but in that case, so is it extra time consuming! The wand is one of those plastic spikey ones, not an old fashioned brush, which I think do a better job of lengthening or volumising. That said, it goes on well without clumping, it’s great colour and texture, you just have to apply a few coats to get the extra lengthening.

Next the supermarket products. Here I got lucky! I was in Aldi, which has some well-reviewed products at amazing prices. I tried the 3-in-1 Primer at AU$5.

At $5 I didn’t have massive expectations, but Aldi consistently receives great write ups for their budget skincare line. I really liked the primer, much more than I expected. I am not a huge fan of the silicone type primers which feel overly silky but this is more of a light moisturiser. I used my daily moisturiser followed by the primer, then foundation. The primer instructions were to apply over the face concentrating on fine lines – this seemed odd to me given the lightness of the fluid, but I think my foundation applied well, evenly and smoothly. Although much lighter, I found this similar in concept and result to Clarins Beauty Flash Balm, smoothing the face and leaving me looking marginally, inexplicably, better, but it was less sticky (good!).

Lastly, a wildcard, an eyebrow kit from Priceline (Walgreens/Boots equiv), a brand known as Model’s Prefer. Model’s Prefer Eyebrow kit from Priceline AU$13, the most expensive item in this group, but worth the little extra.
The kit contains a brow powder, coloured gel, a slanted brush to apply and a mini tweezer. I’ve learned to spend 30 seconds of the few minutes I spend on make up each morning on brows to frame the face. I used just the coloured gel usually and this is both reliable and easy to give a decent lasting result.

I have happily added the concealer, primer and eyebrow palette to my daily routine and it’s some of the best money I’ve spent! What are your favourite budget beauty products?

A F Beauty xx

Tubereuse 3 Animale by Gérald Ghislain for Histoires de Parfums 2010

June 20, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

Hey Hey APJ,

Not long ago I bought this 15ml travel size off one of the FaceBook pages. It’s been sitting here awaiting my attention ever since. I think a few things arrived that day and it got shunted aside. Lately I have been searching out some skank and the word animal when applied to fragrance is a high def pointer for me too, add that to tuberose and……..

Tubereuse 3 Animale by Histoires de Parfums 2010

Tubereuse 3 Animale by Gérald Ghislain

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Kumquat, Neroli, Tuberose
Heart: Herbs, Plum, Tuberose
Base: Immortelle, Blond tobacco, Tuberose

How come the notes list for Tubereuse 3 Animale doesn’t say honey? What I am hit with immediately is an incredibly rich honeyed tobacco that sits like a big ole can of molasses in the same room as a vase of tuberose. Front and centre is this rich viscous scent that is absolutely beautiful, mesmerisingly so. It’s hard to focus myself to write this piece and not get caught up in the magic. Citrus I get none, maybe a little way in I get some sweetish fruit but it’s only a very soft side dish. I get the feeling of thick, hot, molten amber-glass before it gets made into stuff.

Photo Stolen Flickr

Later I get a lovely dry whiff of immortelle, that strangely dry green sapless dessicated scent that is both raspy and smooth, like the point where sandpaper scours pebbles into smooth, shiny, cool nuggets. Tubereuse 3 Animale also has a furry something that is what I think of as a perfumers version of a very old mink coat, dry and dusty but still with the faintest whiff of the poor creature it was stolen from.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

This is what I imagine the screen sirens of yesteryear would have LOVED to smell like and I can see some of the more famous 21st century cougars getting a thrill from the overt sensuality that Tubereuse 3 Animale displays. What I did not expect was the general size of Tubereuse 3 Animale, it is a sillage and projection monster compared to most other modern offerings and it has a sweetness bordering on urinous, definately skirting the edges of downwind from junkie alley.

Who would and when could Tubereuse 3 Animale be worn? Well let’s just say straight up that for most work situations it is completely over the top, especially for the first hour or two. I think you would have to be careful to use a light hand if food is involved or confined spaces. Personally, I will wear it to my Turbo Trivia work and definitely for my own selfish pleasure at home, it may even get a spritz for the grocery shopping.

Photo Stolen Pixabay

Further reading: Smelly Thoughts and Perfume Polytechnic
Parfum1 has $36/15ml
Posh Peasant has samples starting at $4.75/ml

Do you DO tuberose? What about tobacco? Are there fragrances with these lovelies that you wear? Share.
Portia xx

Silences by Jacomo 1978

June 15, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 17 Comments

Post by Holly

Hi guys!

I recently saw a basenotes link for fragrances to be discontinued this year, and Silences is one of them. I’m not astonished or outraged, there’s no hissy fit lurking about nor rants about IFRA. I feel grief.

Of all the fragrances I own, Silences is THE ONE. I can’t say it’s the most beautiful, but to me it is a friend and a lover who embraces me at my core and allows me to fully inhabit my own skin and self. There are a lot of fans out there and many reviews, but what they describe is not at all my experience. Thus it feels quite singular in the way it belongs to me. It is a relationship.

Silences by Jacomo 1978

Silences by Gerard Goupy + Jean-Claude Niel

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Orange blossom, galbanum, bergamot, lemon, green notes, cassia
Heart: Iris, jasmine, narcissus, hyacinth, rose, lily-of-the-valley
Base: Vetiver, musk, sandalwood, oakmoss, cedar, ambrette (musk mallow)

Like all the best things in life, Silences is difficult to describe. It transcends description in the way that meaningful dreams do. In this way, it is both corporeal and yet other-worldly. It shimmers on the edges. When I look at the notes listed, many of my favorites are there. But to be honest, if I didn’t cheat and read them, I would never be able to tell you what they are when I smell Silences. I simply can’t pick them out at all. So, I can only offer you my own personal sensations, impressions.

Photo Stolen WikiCommons

Silences is usually described as being intensely green, a floral chypre or a green floral. When I think of green, I actually think of very bright, brash scents. Cut grass, clover. If I had to pick an epitome, it would be either vintage Lauren or Aftelier’s Trefle Pur. Silences may be a chypre, but I feel it does not have that density. Standing apart from those, Silences is pigeon-coloured. Muted dove grey, flashes of green and mauve iridescence. Weeping willows, fog, silvered trees in a mist viewed wistfully from a window. The sound of wind as it ripples through spring leaves in anticipation of rain, a slight hiss and sigh, the leaves gracefully dancing with anticipation. The dense somber sense of thunder in the distance.

It is gentle, reflective, introspective and yet there is a subterranean shadow, a bruise. Walking alone through a carefully constructed maze at Sissinghurst, a hint of danger and excitement implicit. Beyond the maze, the quiet white gardens thrive but do not beckon. Silences is a spector, bestowing grace as a nimbus, an enigmatic presence that you can sense but cannot fully know. It is enigmatic. At times it is a Mary Cassatt painting of an all-embracing mother, and at others it is a minotaur.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

Silences has beguiling floral notes with wisps of glowering deep forest shaded green on a moonlit, austere base. It does not sparkle or shine, but shape-shifts from inviting to threatening. A fairy tale and a dream that resonates and invites you to explore what is on the surface and what lies beneath. You may carry this secret with you wherever you go.

Further reading: Perfume Shrine and Olfactoria’s Travels
FragranceNet has $29/100ml before coupon

Silences is my Goldilocks fragrance. Do you have one? And on a more practical note (heaven forbid!) what would you do if you discovered your Goldilocks fragrance was to be discontinued?
Holly xo

FAREWELL Badgley Mischka FAREWELL

June 14, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 11 Comments

Hey there Peeps!

In honour of the recent discontinuation of the Badgley Mischka fragrance line I thought I would take a reminiscent look at the original in parfum form. While finding the EdP too sweet, tooth achingly sweet, I was surprised at my reaction to the parfum.

Badgley Mischka by Richard Herpin for Badgley Mischka 2006

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Chinese cassia, Peach, Red berries
Heart: Jasmine, Osmanthus, Peony
Base: Amber, Caramel, Musk, Patchouli, Sandalwood

The bottle has been mocked but I quite liked it. Looking, as Tania Sanchez says, like “a set designer’s idea of a classy bottle, with a metal nameplate making it look like an executive paperweight” if you want to be mean and snarky, or looking very streamlined and 80s elegant if you like it. The Badgley Mischka Parfum comes in a cool square silver-tone column, it’s heavy and cold to the touch. Picking it up I get a thrill of luxutry, even though I bought my bottle pretty cheaply and it came with a refill.

How does Badgley Mischka smell? It’s a tart, sweet juicy explosion that is a bit like a tropical fruit punch leaning heavily on the mango and apricot nectars with a lovely fizzy champagne undercurrent. The flowers, when they arrive, are second fiddle to fruit but add a lovely dewy green, sappy freshness. They are a side note on my skin because already the sweet creamy base is coming through creating a fruity caramel melange. Imagine nougat with fruit instead of almonds, that’s the vibe for me.

Photo Stolen Pixabay

It has been said that Badgley Mischka is the grown up fruitchouli and I can see where that has come from. It is an elegant version of a lot of other fragrances on the market and if I wanted something to push the limits of my fruit craving if I didn’t already have Badgley Mischka my choice would be Byredo’s Pulp. What I do tend to reach for more often and vaguely in the same ballpark is Liberte by Cacharel, using sizzling citrus instead of the peach (which reads mango/apricot nectar on me). If you like the original Miss Dior Cherie, Angel or any of the popular fruitchouli genre then this could hit your hot spot. To be honest I think that Angel did it so effectively and with so much panache that most of the wannabes are a pale imitation, Badgley Mischka parfum is very nice though and I’m on my second 15ml so that gives you some idea.

Photo Stolen Flickr

Further reading: Candy Perfume Boy and Bois de Jasmin
SweetBabyPerfumePlus has EdP and Parfum still available
Surrender To Chance has EdP samples starting at $3/ml

Did you ever wear Badgley Mischka? Are you able to do sticky sweet fruits and booze?
Portia xx

Hermès – Voyage en Ikat: Mini Movie

June 14, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

Hi All,

Hermès, even the name conjures images of wealth and luxury. Now the designers at Hermès bring us a beautiful tablewear set inspired by the ancient art of Ikat.

Photo Stolen Hermès

From Hermès: Inspired by ikat, an exceptional weaving and dyeing technique originating in Asia, Voyage en Ikat celebrates intermingled uses and an ongoing dialogue between East and West. More than twenty hues centered on sapphire, ruby and emerald, are enhanced by 24-carat matte gold and come to life in designs composed ‘thread by thread’.

I hope you enjoy the under 2 minute mini movie of the Hermès inspirations for their new porcelain,

Portia xx

Hermès – Voyage en Ikat

Bright Lipstick for EVERYONE!

June 7, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 33 Comments

Post by A F Beauty

Hi APJ,

I have been on this planet many years but in that time, I’ve never really cemented my relationship with lipstick. I have tried multiple variations, colours and brands. A few months back I was a maid of honour at a wedding and the bride asked me to bring a lipstick that I could wear for the day, or I could buy one from the makeup artist. I knew I had a few lippies on the go, so I gather them all to take with me so all eventualities were covered. I counted them; I have over 60 lipsticks!! With that many you’d think I was wearing lippy every day, but I’m not – I still struggle with colours and textures, things like how long it’ll wear, how it matches my clothes, my skin tone. Of all make up, this is my nemesis!

So it’s odd, you’ll be thinking, that I would choose to write about lipstick, but I’ve had a bit of an angels singing moment when it comes to lippy, so I thought I would share.
Last year on Australian TV a couple of twins on a cooking show would appear nightly with some variation of THE brightest lipstick I’ve ever seen and instead of thinking about the food, I’m thinking, “Why can’t I wear lipstick like that without looking like a clown. Harrumph!”

Bright Lipstick for EVERYONE!

Fast forward a few months and I’m celebrating my birthday and want to look lovely for the day, recalling that cooking show, I think to myself, “Dammit! I’m going to buy a new lippy to celebrate!” I wasn’t brave enough to head to a luxury store to buy a delicious lipstick, Chanel and Tom Ford stand out in my mind as future purchases! No, I was in Target, glamorama (!), I found a L’Oreal Colour Riche lipstick in shade Raspberry Rush. I put it on and I LOVE IT!! I swear heavenly trumpets played and angels sang.

Creamy texture, bright colour, texture not too soft, colour not quite pink, not quite red, not quite orange! For all occasions it has become my go-to lipstick, it is soft enough to apply lightly for work, or apply strongly for a night out. And since then, I’ve ventured more into colours and brightness, Maybelline ColorSensational in 904, Vivid Rose – bright but amazing and several of Revlon’s Lip Butters, a great first leap into colour, soft in texture but with varying colours – a gateway lipstick!

I thoroughly recommend you all to try just one bright lipstick – not just because I suggest it, but because… now this is our secret… people treat you differently. I know, I sound like a mental case and I’m prepared to be shouted down, but I feel people in shops are more engaging, the bus driver acknowledges me and the people at work – well I can tell they are bursting to comment.

Photo Stolen Flickr

I’d love to know your favourite lipstick, are you bold enough to try colour? Have you had an angels singing moment?
A F Beauty XX

Justin Bieber + Lara Stone – Calvin Klein Jeans Spring 2015

June 5, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Heya APJ Family,

No matter what you think about Justin Bieber, he has charisma and having been to his concert in Sydney a couple of years ago I think he also has some talent. The show was fun and he danced his pretty little ass off. I like him even more now he’s doing all the stuff a regular wealthy teenager/young adult does, and doing it large.

I hope you like this little bit of B&W advertising. I think it’s cool.

Portia xx

Photo Stolen Calvin Klein

Justin Bieber + Lara Stone – Calvin Klein Jeans Spring 2015

Roger & Gallet Fleur de Figuier Ultra-Nourishing Oil

June 1, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 15 Comments

Post by Willa Zheng

When it comes to personal fragrance, I don’t think perfume body oils get enough love. They condition your hair, give your skin a healthy fresh-from-vacation glow, and smell ah-mazing for hours. A good quality perfume body oil will outlast any cologne, and most EDP’s.

And that’s the one I’m going to introduce to you today – Roger & Gallet Fleur de Figuier Ultra-Nourishing Oil, nosed by none other than superstar perfumer, Francis Kurkdjian.

Roger & Gallet Fleur de Figuier Ultra-Nourishing Oil

Photo Stolen Escentual

Fragrantica gives these featured accords for the fragrance:
Top: Mandarin orange, grapefruit, cumin
Heart: Fig leaf, fig
Base: Fig nectar, cedar, musk

Now, the deal with body oil fragrances is they’re pretty linear. What you smell from the first spray is generally what you’re still smelling 5hrs later. No hidden unexpected notes. I know that some connoisseurs enjoy the three-stage transformative experience à la Serge Lutens, I personally prefer honest, linear fragrances that can hit the mark from the get go.

So what does Roger & Gallet Fleur de Figuier smell like? Is it fruity and florally? Yes and yes, but in a classy, expensive and French kind of way. Fleur de Figuier is not a green fig that recalls Diptyque Philosykos, nor a sweet milky one like L’artisan Premier Figuier. If you’re after a photorealistic, heavy lactonic and green fig fragrance, look to those houses. Fleur de Figuier is the sweet juicy inside of a fig, combined with sweet juicy mandarin and some grapefruit so it doesn’t become too saccharine. It’s the fruity floral fragrance for the fruity-floral loving gal (and older woman) who doesn’t want to smell so mass market generic.

Photo Stolen Roger & Gallet

Roger & Gallet Fleur de Figuier Ultra-Nourishing Oil is a dry oil so you can put clothes on right afterwards, and you’re not going to feel sticky or greasy. It’s made from a mixture of fruit oils and sweet almond oil. 96% natural origin ingredients, apparently. Sweet almond oil is thin and light, so it’s not as nourishing as other cult oils on the market but you shouldn’t use it primarily as a skincare product. This oil is so perfume concentrated, you’re going to knock your nose out.
Instead, treat it as a perfume body oil, another way to deliver fine fragrance to your person. I tend to do two sprays on each arm and get juicy sweet scent wafting throughout the whole day. And even picking up the bottle is nice because Roger & Gallet is a proud French company that cares about how its products are presented. This oil comes in an attractive, quality glass bottle with a solid clear Perspex lid. Very dignified.

Roger & Gallet does other fragranced body oils in its line. Even if you’re not a fruity floral person, I recommend giving the other dry oils a go. You might just get converted.

Photo Stolen Pixabay

Further reading: Fluff & Fripperies and Make Up For Dolls
Escentual has £25/100ml

Now, do you have a favourite perfume body oil?
Willa Zheng x

Sharp by Richard Ibanez for Andrea Maack 2010

May 31, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 8 Comments

Hi there APJ,

When I first fell in love with the Andrea Maack range I remember there being a lot of chatter about it being derivative and boring. There were some bloggers and some of my mates who seemed very upset about this brand. I’m sorry but I never felt them to be either boring OR derivative. First to admit I’ve not smelled everything ever produced, also first to admit my memory is shot but few houses hit me as hard in the heavenly eye roll and full body purring shiver as Andrea Maack’s do. There are two FB in my collection Silk and……..

Sharp by Richard Ibanez for Andrea Maack 2010

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives this list of featured accords:
Orange blossom, angel skin, sweet vanilla, white musk, soothing softness

To my nose Sharp has a remarkably complex fragrance story. The orange blossom is not at all as expected, like they have added some herbaceous spiciness, and the vanilla is an inedible warmth that is fuzzed up by the musk. At once bright and cozy like the smell of brand new polar fleece with dirty, morning bed-hair. Sharp is feral and cuddly, pithy, furry, smooth and enfolding.

Sharp has a sweet indolic weirdness that is at once repulsive and alluring up close but merely pretty and inviting from further away. The name Sharp seems to be a complete misnomer here and I wonder if that is intentional? Sometimes when I wear Sharp my feeling is as if I’ve been up in an attic rummaging and my hair is thick with dust and old air,. Other times the feeling given is that I’m cuddled up in front of a fire near a recently beeswaxed table and the fires heat is warming the scent through the room and I feel warm, safe & loved. There’s even something of dog paws.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

I get a nearly linear lifespan that weaves rather than evolves but as it dries down Sharp by Andrea Maack is sweet vanilla dribbled over musk, the feral has disappeared and it’s all about clean (but not too clean, there’s still an element of humanity).

Who would I spritz with Sharp? That’s hard to say, I think some of my friends who like fragrance very much but aren’t perfumistas would love this as a go-to daily scent regime. Certainly the art connection, lack of ready availability, simple, stylish bottle and the reasonable price bracket would make it a good choice for them. Considering they would pay around these prices for a bottle of designer/department store fragrance Andrea Maack’s scents are a much better and more interesting buy.

Photo Stolen Geograph

Further reading Persolaise and ConfessionsOfAPerfumeNerd
First In Fragrance has €85/50ml
LuckyScent has $135/50ml

Have you tried the Andrea Maack fragrances? Do you think it makes sense to add olfactory experience to visual arts?
Portia xx

DIOR Secret Garden IV: Rihanna

May 31, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom

OMG!

If you loved the previous DIOR Secret Garden movies then be aware that they are day compared to this vision of night. Rihanna is the model and both she and the soundtrack are beautiful and ethereal and menacing. She is like the perfectly dressed and presented evil queen wandering through her deserted palace in the black of night.

Photo Stolen YouTube

Unbelievably gorgeous….
Enjoy,
Portia xx

Dior Secret Garden IV featuring Rihanna – Versailles

Australian Perfume Junkies

Olfactory Opinions from Oz

shopping

Budget Beauty Reviews

Budget Beauty Reviews

Tubereuse 3 Animale by Gérald Ghislain for Histoires de Parfums 2010

Tubereuse 3 Animale by Histoires de Parfums 2010

Tubereuse 3 Animale by Gérald Ghislain

Silences by Jacomo 1978

Silences by Jacomo 1978

Silences by Gerard Goupy + Jean-Claude Niel

FAREWELL Badgley Mischka FAREWELL

Badgley Mischka by Richard Herpin for Badgley Mischka 2006

Hermès – Voyage en Ikat: Mini Movie

Hermès – Voyage en Ikat

Bright Lipstick for EVERYONE!

Bright Lipstick for EVERYONE!

Justin Bieber + Lara Stone – Calvin Klein Jeans Spring 2015

Justin Bieber + Lara Stone – Calvin Klein Jeans Spring 2015

Roger & Gallet Fleur de Figuier Ultra-Nourishing Oil

Roger & Gallet Fleur de Figuier Ultra-Nourishing Oil

Sharp by Richard Ibanez for Andrea Maack 2010

Sharp by Richard Ibanez for Andrea Maack 2010

DIOR Secret Garden IV: Rihanna

Dior Secret Garden IV featuring Rihanna – Versailles