Dry Hair Shampoo

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Post by AF Beauty

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Hello loves,

I am still on my hair journey with my keratin treatment and I am getting more and more used to it – but in an attempt to make the treatment last longer I have been using a dry shampoo about once a week to try and reduce actual washes. It’s not my first foray into dry shampoo, I’ve used it occasionally for a few years – but let me tell you – not all dry shampoos are created equal.

Dry Hair Shampoo

Speedy dirty (!) hair

Batiste-GroupBatiste

I am presently using one of the most popular dry shampoos on the market. They have seemingly a dozen different varieties, which I assume all are broadly the same but with different aromas. What drew me to it was that they have versions for different hair colours, good especially if your hair is dark and your shampoo usually white! Yes, this is Batiste Dry Shampoo – for brunettes. The various choices can be found at Batiste Hair.

I am quite impressed by this shampoo, I’d used the non-colour version before on a trial and it was equally as good. It is fine enough to distribute through the hair and not so thick that it feels clunky. My hair immediately looks better, cleaner and if I want to look like I’ve got clean hair for a day longer than might be entirely true, then Batiste does the job.

Matrix Design Pulse Clean Remix Instant Dry Shampoo Recreate YourselfRecreate Yourself

My first use of dry shampoo was based on advice from my hair dresser, so I purchased one from him. It was this one by Matrix. This being my first use of dry shampoo, I did not know then what I know now, which is that this is up there in the royalty of shampoos. The application is super fine, my hairdresser told me to apply, rub the fine powder into the roots (to remove the oil) and then either brush or shake the hair out. The dry shampoo did an excellent job, leaving hair feeling a lot cleaner and refreshed without the claggy feeling that some shampoos leave behind. This will be my re-purchase.

PANTENE Volume Booster Dry Shampoo PricelinePriceline

And lastly, a dry shampoo you’d expect to be up there, from Pantene. I quite like Pantene shampoo and conditioner – I can’t use it right now with Keratin treated hair, but it is well priced and does the job. So I thought I would be safe buying their dry shampoo. NOT SO! I used this a couple of times before I twigged exactly how bad it was – it made my hair feel very very dry and each wet shampoo after felt like I might never get my hair condition back. There was no obvious indicator of this at application – it was relatively fine, smelled pleasant and my hair did look clean. But there must have been some lingering action, because may hair felt quite nasty afterward, like a cheap wig. In the end I threw the remainder of the can away to avoid further use.

How have you gotten on with dry shampoos? I often use as a pre-styler for ‘big’ do’s – do you? What is your favourite?

And now I’m off to wash my hair! Till next time! X

Peter Morrissey Bath and Body Products

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Post by Anne-Marie

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Hi all, I recently had a quick trip to Sydney and in a hotel in Darlinghurst found a vanity packed with Peter Morrissey products. These days when I travel I tend to take my own bathroom stuff. Hotel soaps and shampoos can be drying, and it’s a waste to use them once and then leave them. If I take them home I find I don’t use them and they kick around the bathroom drawer until I throw them out.

Peter Morrissey Bath and Body Products

Hotel Room Finds

Peter Morrissey Bath and Body

But I had not heard of Peter Morrissey and I was tempted. Peter Morrissey, I discovered, is an Australian fashion designer and entrepreneur. His clothes and homewares are sold in Australia through discount department store Big W. Grey and white seem to be the theme colours; the style is minimalist. Morrissey also specialises in eyeware, luggage, corporate uniforms and gifts.

It looks like his bath and body products – ‘Peter Morrissey Essentials’ – are available only in hotels. That’s disappointing because I really enjoyed the two I tried, the body wash and the body balm. White musk is the scent for all the products and for me, the white musk that many of us dread in perfume works beautifully in products like these. It’s a warm, clean but slightly earthy musk, skewed masculine. I used the balm after my morning shower and sallied forth in search of breakfast feeling elegant, put together and ready to face the day. I imagine the scent would layer well under something like Narciso Rodriguez for her or Chanel No 19 Poudré.

This and the body wash did not dry my skin. (Some hotel room moisturisers do the opposite of what they say on the label.) The claims for the Morrissey products are that they ‘use the world’s purest essential oils, organic plant extracts and avoid the use of preservatives and synthetics … There are no parabens, petrochemicals, artificial colours or animal ingredients’.

Now I wish that I had claimed the shampoo and conditioner, but at least I have the generous 30 ml tubes of body wash and balm. I’m sad I can’t buy more, but I’ll just have to go back to that hotel more often I guess!

So I’m curious to hear about other people’s experiences of hotel (and airline?) products. Are they generally awful, or am I staying in too many cheap hotels?

Until next time everyone, keep spritzing!
Anne-Marie

Sample GIVEAWAY May 2016 WINNERS

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Post by Portia

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Heya APJ Frag Family,

Hotly contested competition today. Thanks for getting involved.
Let’s see who our winner is,
Portia xx

Sample GIVEAWAY May 2016 WINNERS

giveaway hemodernhomePhoto Stolen hemodernhome

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

The winner will receive one each of these samples:

Eric Butterbaugh Apollo Hyacinth
Tauer Sotto La Luna Tubereuse
Romance by Ralph Lauren
ELdO Remarkable People
Lutens Laine de Verre
YSL Splendid Bouquet
DIOR Ambre Nuit
Stella McCartney Stella In Two Peony
Osmonde Jayne Vanille d’Iris
Amouage Opus IX
Bulgari Jasmine Noir
Diptyque Eau Moheli
No 1 solid perfume
Mark Buxton Wood & Absinth
Tom Ford Noir

P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 15th May 2016 10pm Australian EST
Winner was chosen by random.org

winner nodepositforumnodepositforum

Caroline

CONGRATULATIONS!! The winner will have till Wednesday 18th May 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.

Sample GIVEAWAY May 2016

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Post by Portia

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Hey There APJ!

I have a bunch of samples that I have tried, written about and loved or not. They are lying around in my office and will probably never be looked for again. A couple of them are only half full but others are only 2 spritzes used or brand new, some I have bottles or doubles of. So what better way to share the love than a FABULOUS GIVEAWAY!!

Sample GIVEAWAY May 2016

giveaway hemodernhomePhoto Stolen hemodernhome

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

The winner will receive one each of these samples:

Eric Butterbaugh Apollo Hyacinth
Tauer Sotto La Luna Tubereuse
Romance by Ralph Lauren
ELdO Remarkable People
Lutens Laine de Verre
YSL Splendid Bouquet
DIOR Ambre Nuit
Stella McCartney Stella In Two Peony
Osmonde Jayne Vanille d’Iris
Amouage Opus IX
Bulgari Jasmine Noir
Diptyque Eau Moheli
No 1 solid perfume
Mark Buxton Wood & Absinth
Tom Ford Noir

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

Tell us a perfume on your wish list.

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 15th May 2016 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Wednesday 18th May 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.

 

Gucci No 3 by Gucci 1985

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Post by Willa Zheng

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It’s no great secret that I love feminine florals and my fragrance wardrobe at home is lined with them. However, every once in a while, a fragrance comes along that is such a departure from everything you already own and thought you liked, and yet you fall in love with it regardless. A love at first sniff. That’s the case with this dearly discontinued fragrance from the House of Gucci.

Gucci No 3 Gucci FragranticaFragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Aldehydes, coriander, green leaves, bergamot
Heart: Tuberose, orris root, jasmine, lily-of-the-valley, rose, narcissus
Base: Leather, amber, patchouli, musk, oakmoss, vetiver

Gucci No 3 opens aldehydic, green and citric. Then, a melange of powder (orris root), white flowers (so heavy, so many that you can’t really tell apart the tuberose, jasmine, lily-of-the-valley, and narcissus) and rose push through; and before you know it, you’re smelling like an expensive piece of soap, the kind you’d buy in department stores to give as gifts in yesteryear. Think vintage Arpege.

But whereas Lavin Arpege has a sweet sandalwood, ambery base thus classifying it as a floriental, there is no denying that Gucci No 3 is of the chypre family. Chypre fragrances are all about the balanced contrast between their fresh, sparkling opening notes and their bitter, dark, woody heart. Gucci No 3 is no exception.

Gucci No 3 Gucci schuetz-mediendesign PixabayPixabay

The heart merges about thirty minutes in when the fragrance pivots. It becomes darker, more bitter, as the heavy oakmoss base pushes through. On the skin, it’s warm (amber), deep (patchouli), slightly smoky (leather), dry (vetiver) and woody.

Gucci No 3 is the smell of a modern day Marlene Dietrich. She is a woman who is sure of herself and yet is a little bit mysterious. She is sophisticated, worldly and well-groomed. Who wouldn’t mind being a woman like that?

As mentioned earlier, this fragrance has been discontinued for about 15 years and full bottles, alas, are selling for a small fortune online. My bottle is a bit flat in the drydown due to its age. Depending on the condition of your bottle, you’ll get about 6 hours of strong wear and moderate to heavy sillage from the EDT.

Gucci No 3 Gucci Oak tree YouTubeYouTube

Further reading: Post Modern Perfume
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $6/ml

Gucci No 3 is truly the chypre for the woman who doesn’t normally ‘do’ chypre. It’s another reason, really, for us to toss Michael Edwards’ fragrance wheel to the wind and just smell everything.

Have you got a favourite Chypre fragrance?

Keratin Hair Straightening: *Hair*way to Heaven

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Post by AF Beauty

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Beauty, as you all know is not just about the goo that you apply to your face and body. It covers everything from the tips of your toes to the top of your head. In this post I’m going north to my locks.

Like most people, I wish for the hair I’ve not got. I am lucky in some respects, I have a full head of hair on my head that isn’t in too bad condition. (a particularly impressive outcome since I’ve been dying my hair since about 1988) BUT, it is neither curly nor straight. I have a forehead that could display widescreen movies. I am, underneath many layers of dye, grey, revealing my age to anyone (un)lucky enough to see a grey hair, or million, reflecting in the sunlight.

Keratin Hair Straightening

*Hair*way to Heaven

I am probably my hairdresser’s worst customer. He diligently and reliably colours and cuts my hair every couple of months or so. I leave looking like wonder woman (in the hair department at least), until I turn the corner from his street and tie my hair up, out of sight, where he won’t see his beautiful blow dry wasted! This is where it stays, save washing, until I walk back into the hairdresser 8 weeks later. In an effort to persuade me to let my locks loose, he has been talking up keratin treatments at the cost of a small mortgage, promising easy to care for, smooth, quick drying hair that would be easy to manage and I could wear loose. Also known as Brazilian Blow Dry, Permanent Blow Dry and Keratin Hair Straightening.
Eventually, after reading a random beauty article which mentioned “permanent blow dry” and how evangelical this person was about it, a big call when celebs could easily call out botox or fillers as their best beauty treatment. I gave in and called the hairdresser to get the treatment.

YouTube

YouTube

The keratin treatment process is: Wash Hair, Apply Keratin Product, Apply Clingwrap, leave for period of time, remove Clingwrap, dry hair (with product still on), straighten hair with extra hot hair straighteners to embed product, part with small fortune, wait three days without tying back hair or washing it, straighten twice a day, wash after 72 hours and reveal smoothed and gorgeous hair.

PixabayPixabay

Broadly, this is how it happened for me. The 72 hours of having claggy dirty (with product, not dirt) hair for three days that I couldn’t tie back was my own special hell. That first wash was heaven. Now, having had the treatment in for two weeks I can tell you, it is smoother than it used to be. And I do think it dries slightly quicker, but I’ve never been the type of person to religiously dry my hair, so the benefit (to me) is small.

Is it worth the small fortune I paid…? Right now, probably not. Being wavy curly, keratin did not straighten my hair – and I did know that in advance, but when blow dried, it is straighter than usual, and less frizzy, which is good.

FlickrFlickr

The treatment is due to last between 3-6 months depending on washing frequency and aftercare – I have to avoid certain activities (swimming in salty water) and must use certain (sulphate free) shampoo products. I will update you more in a few months time.

Bottega Veneta: Introducing Felis: 1 minute Making Of

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Post by Portia

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Heya Fashionistas,

Summer is coming in the Northern Hemisphere. Discover Bottega Veneta’s new pair of limited edition cat-shaped sunglasses. Sometimes I am completely overwhelmed by the incredible attention to detail of the multinationals. This is no exception as the Bottega Veneta crew show us a little of how their newest cool sunglasses are created.

FELIS LIMITED EDITION SUNGLASSES

Heavenly.
Enjoy.
Portia xxx

Bottega Veneta: Introducing Felis

1 minute Making Of

Guess by Marciano by Barbara Zoebelein for Guess 2007

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Post by Portia

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Hello Frag Heads,

You know when you’re going through your fragrances and trying to find stuff to add to your sale doc? You come across something that you can not remember smelling, or the smell of, from when you got it and it’s sat there unloved ever since. You spritz and WOW!!! All of a sudden your searching comes to a swoon filled halt and….

Guess (Woman) by Marciano by Guess 2007

Guess by Marciano by Barbara Zoebelein

Guess Woman By Marciano Guess FragranticaFragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Star fruit, Curacao orange liquor, grapefruit, cardamom
Heart: Peony, pink honeysuckle, jasmine
Base: Vanilla, musk, woody accords

Guess Woman by Marciano is really crunchy and chewy vanilla toffee and amber with a wash of florals piping high above in descant and a fun citrus buzz murmuring in between. It lasts really well and once the sweet citrus booze burns off you are left with a wonderful toffee and vanilla ice cream style floriental. Wearing it the last few days I have not gone a group without a frag compliment, it’s uncanny. Every time I do something new someone asks what my fragrance is or says I smell really nice.

And I CAN’T GET ENOUGH!!

Yes, it seems for this tiny moment in time I have found a new favourite. There are stages where Guess by Marciano could be a caramel aquatic. I know. It sounds disgusting but the thing is. It’s fabulous. I’m enjoying it’s initial spritz, it develops nicely and ends on a sweet woodsy nothings whisper about 5 hours later. What’s not to love?

Guess by Marciano Caramel_Toffee_Squares Food NetworkFood Network

Further reading: Pop Sugar
FragranceNet has $21/100ml before Coupon

I can’t stop spritzing myself with Guess by Marciano. There is a room with some of the world’s most expensive, celebrated and lavish fragrances and I keep spritzing a $20 bargain bin wonder. Hilarious.

What have you fallen madly in love with that’s bargain bin?
Portia xx

 

Devil In Disguise by Mark Buxton Perfumes 2012

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Post by Portia

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Hi there Niche Nerds,

Yes, I know I’m late to the party. These samples were given to me at least a year ago and they have sat winking at me, reminding me not to forget them, wishing I would just damn well spritz. I did smell them on cards originally and thought they were interesting and fun. Mark Buxton has created many financial and critical hits and done a few things I really love: Salvador dali Laguna, a couple of biehl parfumkunstwerke, Le Labo Vetiver 46, loads of cool Comme des Garcons and the list goes on. He has also put his name to stuff I don’t love too. That’s cool, I like to be surprised. When the news came through that he was doing a self named line there was much excitement and fluttering of touchés (He He he who knows if that’s correct?). So finally I have grabbed them out from the draw and am giving them skin time. Here’s the one I really liked a lot…

Devil In Disguise by Mark Buxton Perfumes 2012

Devil In Disguise by Mark Buxton

Devil In Disguise Mark Buxton FragranticaFragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Rhubarb leaf, ginger
Heart: Magnoli, neroli
Base: Patchouli, vetiver, musk

Everyone else gets sweet but I get a softly sweet green, a very olde worlde reminder of my Mum making rhubarb for the family and me thinking it tasted like shit. Everyone else loved it and asked for more. Here the rhubarb is a sweet starting point but not like the celebuscent spun sugar jelly crystals type sweet, more like a healthy sweet. Yeah, I’m making this clear as mud, I know.

Devil In Disguise Mark Buxton Rhubarb WikiMediaWikiMedia

Devil In Disguise opens beautifully, it’s lightly sweetened and edible but not cake or particularly gourmand. I taste no vanilla or biscuit or candy. It’s warm and vegetal, softly zingy. Though I cringe at using gender definers it smells like a sexy masculine that could easily be worn by either sex. While not being strange it is compelling and it lures my nose in to sniff it again and again. Never really offering me anything concrete to write down for you because it’s not the same as anything I’ve smelled or easily correctable to ideas. Bittersweet. That’s the best analogy I have. It’s like the bittersweet feeling of losing your love, slowly and knowingly watching them shut down and yet loving them too much to let go. The heartache mixed with joyful memories. That’s what Devil In Disguise smells like to me.

My nose misses the heart completely and sniff directly to the base, particularly the vetiver and shaded by the patchouli. Vetiver becomes king though and the opening sweet green is repeated over the vetiver to warm its rough rasp and soften and smooth. Draped elegantly in clean musks the whole fragrance fades slowly and a whisper remains for morning, amorphous and pretty.

Devil In Disguise Mark Buxton brett jordan Follow Dark Green Damask FlickrFlickr

Further reading: Non Blonde and Black Narcissus
Mark Buxton has €140/100ml

Did you spend any time with the Mark Buxton range? What did you think?
Portia xx

 

A mixed tape from Geza Schoen? Ephemera by Unsound

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Post by Ainslie Walker

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Hi Fumees! Hope you are well?

I am a big fan of nose, Geza Schoen’s work, which includes creation of the Eccentric Molecules collection, many Ormonde Jayne fragrances, Beautiful Mind Series, the naughty Kinski and plenty beyond.

Late last year I observed Geza was working on a project linking sound and scent, so I reached out and got in touch. A week later I received three fragrances with specific and intriguing instructions, printed on transparent paper, explaining the method behind creating the fragrances and allowing me to follow the same journey as the nose himself.

 A mixed tape from Geza Schoen?

Ephemera by Unsound

The project was called Ephemera, the initiative of Unsound – one of the worlds leading electronic and experimental music festivals.

The letter clearly indicated not to open the fragrances, instead diverting me to a link, suggesting I also pop on some headphones:

Clicking on the first video is a track by Steve Goodman (aka Kode9) which inspired Geza to create the fragrance ‘Bass” I open the fragrance whilst listening and watching the video by Marcel Weber. With bass sounds interspersed with crackling white noise, I inhale and smell earthy woods, dirty, smoky cigar, rum, lapsang souchong tea, mossy robust leather and castoreum seeping into my olfactory system. I see tan/reddish brown but I feel a dark green presence too…something slightly soapy. A woody, kind of dirty, aromatic.

Neutralizing my nose I pop on the second track called “Drone” by Tim Hecker, whilst smelling the accompanying fragrance and watching the video, which I feel is a perfect match. Otherworldly…out-of-spacey and surreal to begin with visually…I hear an ethereal airiness in the music. Aldehydes sparkle and an almost citrus sharpness mix in a more hyper-real way with juniper trees, cold, possibly covered in snow…and there’s some definitely ‘unnatural’ aspects. Earthy and in time, getting more oily and rounded. Notes of patchouli, ambergris and vetiver pass by leaving a kind of cannabis and papyrus scent, which is not unpleasant, but strange.

After a third break, Noise by Ben Frost begins dry, peppered and pencil case-like-cedarwood with a saffron sour tang. Birch tar smoulders, reminding me of the scent after an Aussie bushfire, very thick and ashy in its nature. (Seen before in Naomi Goodsir’s Bois d’Ascese, but still quite different) Continuing smelling the ash turns a little like welding, metallic. The notes make total sense when watching the film, which to me looks like X-rayed smoke!!

ProEXR File Description =Attributes= cameraAperture (float): 36.000004 cameraFNumber (float): 8.000000 cameraFarClip (float): 1000000015047466200000000000000.000000 cameraFarRange (float): 1000.000000 cameraFocalLength (float): 35.000000 cameraFov (float): 49.621471 cameraNearClip (float): 0.000000 cameraNearRange (float): 0.000000 cameraProjection (int): 0 cameraTargetDistance (float): 13.629815 cameraTransform (m44f): [{-1, 0, 0, 5.92825}, {0, 1, 0, 18.4688}, {0, 0, -1, 0.45842}, {0, 0, 0, 1}] channels (chlist) compression (compression): Zip16 dataWindow (box2i): [0, 0, 1999, 1499] displayWindow (box2i): [0, 0, 1999, 1499] lineOrder (lineOrder): Increasing Y pixelAspectRatio (float): 1.000000 screenWindowCenter (v2f): [0.000000, 0.000000] screenWindowWidth (float): 1.000000 =Channels= A (half) B (half) G (half) R (half) Z (half)

Wearability: I like Bass best, followed by Noise, then Drone (based on the drydown on my skin after an hour or so)

Interestingly the bottles are handmade in Krakow (see my article involving Polish glass and vodka tasting for APJ last year: Borscht, Vodka and Tears) I like them a lot, especially the design printed on the thick glass.

Naomi Goodsir, Andrea Maack, Byredo, By Kilian, Nasomatto and Comme de Garcons fans, these will most certainly be up your street

Which of the three fragrances do you want to try the most and why? What scents do you have at home that you would match to the videos/music?

X