Heya Crew,
I was lucky enough to smell a couple of these lovelies in Chicago with Musette from Perfume Posse last year and I fell madly in love with Oriental Express and quite liked Supra Floral too.
Photo Stolen YouTube
Chyprissime, Fougere Furieuse, Oriental Express, Over The Musk, Supra Floral are the five Les Exceptions and I think they are definitely worth a sniff.
Enjoy the film,
Portia xx
Hi there Crew,
I am LOVING this bottle. So freaking beautiful. The notes sound like they might overload my sweet spot but I am going to force myself down to the shops to try it anyway. That bottle makes it all seem worthwhile.
The ad is straight out of the 1980s, enjoy,
Portia xx
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Raspberry, lychee, passion fruit
Heart: Bulgarian rose, violet, lily of the valley
Base: Praline, vanilla, patchouli
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Hi there Crew,
Chance has been given a quick facelift by Olivier Polge with its newest flanker Chance Eau Vive. I tried Google translate but the closest I could get was Eau Vivre = Living Water. That works well enough for this language trog.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Grapefruit, red orange, providing citruses
Heart: Jasmine, white musk
Base: Vetiver, cedar, iris
CHANEL usually does amazing ads. Whenever one pops up in my YouTube feed I get excited so of course I clicked on this one. It’s not really what expect from a CHANEL production but it is fun and silly and what it lacks in glamour it makes up for in cutesy. I’m clearly not its target audience and that’s cool.
Enjoy,
Portia xx
Photo Stolen CHANEL
Hi there APJ,
Love them or hate them it’s hard to ignore One Direction. With their catchy tunes, fun matesy boys club attitude and perfectly produced handsome, on trend good looks they are a force to be reckoned with. I quite liked their first offering Our Moment, the sweet but not disgustingly cloying opening to the lingering forever toasted almond dry down. It was way better than I expected.
I haven’t tried the new one but the ad came out yesterday. Sadly Zane has moved on but the remaining four guys are here and camping it up again, my favourite is Niall anyway.
Enjoy,
Portia xx
.
Post by FeralJasmine
.
I do love BIG white florals, and recently I acquired a crush on Tatiana. I am not referring here to any of the numerous reformulations, all of which carry a bug-spray note to my nose. But recently a Facebook friend reminded me with a picture what the original bottle looked like, and I realized that the original does show up on EBay periodically and isn’t even all that expensive.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, hyacinth, orange blossom
Heart: Gardenia, jasmine, narcissus, rose. tuberose
Base: amber, musk, sandalwood
Tatiana is a diva. You might think it’s a jasmine diva, or a gardenia diva, or a tuberose diva, depending on what stage you encounter. When I dab on the original Eau de Parfum, I smell jasmine first, with some bergamot and a faint suggestion of the bug-spray note which is so prominent in the reformulations. Fear not, it’s quickly gone. The jasmine has a warm creamy quality, rather the way you encounter it wafting around in Hawaii if you’re lucky and visit at the right time, and is a touch indolic. Gradually, over twenty minutes or so, gardenia creeps in under the jasmine and intertwines with it. At no point is it a gardenia soliflore, which is a pity because the gardenia accord is quite pretty. Rose drifts around underneath, and the musk is more noticeable now. After an hour there is a fair amount of tuberose, the rose continues to make its presence felt, and there is a definite animalic undertone. Over the following two hours ( on my skin; your mileage will probably be longer) Tatiana is a mixed white bouquet with a smoldering musky undertone. Periodically I get a sudden whiff of pure narcissus when I move during this stage, but this is not noticeable when I hold my wrist up to my nose. It’s an occasional surprise. After three hours it’s a skin scent, and quite a pretty one.
I have to emphasize that I am talking only about the original stuff, in the bottle shown in one of the original ads. I have tried the juice in every other bottle that it ever came in and have found it all to be substandard. You should also know that sometimes you find the old bath oil in the same bottle style as the old perfume, but it often has a rancid smell. You can tell the bath oil even in a photo because it is deep yellow, while the EdP is pale straw-yellow.
Photo Stolen WikiCommons
Is Tatiana a great perfume? No way. It’s too big and bold and simple and has no patience for surprising you and keeping you guessing. It is, perhaps, a reminder of the time when you could get perfumes at the drugstore that actually smelled nice. This is not an office-safe perfume, at least on me. But for a romantic summer evening on the deck, it’s a beauty. Ms. von Furstenburg herself, at age 68, is bold and sexy enough to give us all hope, and her perfume in its original form has the same qualities.
Further reading: Yesterday’s Perfume and Non Blonde
FragranceNet has the bath oil $13/120ml before coupon
FeralJasmine XX
.
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.
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
Hey there Crew,
I loved doing this so much, LET’S DO IT AGAIN!!
There are a bunch a samples & decants that sit here, tested but now in the discard pile. Some of the reasons for being there? Maybe I bought a FB, it had an issue that renders it unwearable, I liked it but have something similar, somehow I have double, I hated it, I LOVED it and completely forgot about it, I’ve moved on. So many reasons, so MANY samples. They are all used a bit but they have heaps for testing and trying. This pack has mainly dabs rather than spritzers but there are some with atomisers. I know you’re going to love at least something in this pack.
Most of these samples have been purchased from Perfume Niche, LuckyScent, Posh Peasant, My Perfume Samples and Surrender To Chance since 2010, but some are gifts or manufacturers samples.
SAMPLE PACK #2
Please help me with another little clear out.
Portia xx
Photo Stolen TheTruthAboutMummy
This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x SAMPLE PACK
P&H Anywhere in the world
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 what you sampled recently that took your fancy
Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie SAMPLE PACK #2 GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-41b #Perfume #Giveaway
Entries Close Sunday 21st June 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 25th June 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.
Hey Crew,
Imagine. You’re 18 years old, valedictorian of your class with a 4.5 average and you are about to give your Valedictorian speech to your school. Just before the ceremony starts your headmaster tells you that you are unwelcome to speak because in the speech you out yourself as gay. He also rings your parents and outs you to them. This happened, in 2015, in Boulder Colorado USA.
See how well he speaks and his community responds when he finally gives the speech at an Out Boulder fundraiser.
Portia x
From YouTube:
http://democracynow.org – Eighteen-year-old Evan Young was supposed to be the 2015 class valedictorian of Twin Peaks Charter Academy High School in Longmont, Colorado. But his principal prevented him from giving his graduation speech after learning he would announce he is gay. Instead, two weeks later, Young got to give his speech at an Out Boulder fundraiser before an audience of hundreds, a number of them politicians who congratulated him for his bravery. We air Young’s full address and speak to him about his experience.
.
Post by Ainslie Walker
.
Hello all,
Hope you are having a lovely week and are ready for some scent inspired cocktail recipes to help you on your merry way! These delicious cocktails are some of the ones I tasted recently in Melbourne at Galerie de Parfum’s cocktail and perfume masterclass in Myers Melbourne. Mixologist Justin Ryann Forsyth has been kind enough to provide the recipes we tasted on the night.
My recent APJ post shared the Empressa cocktail (Penhaligon’s) and last Saturday’s “drop in #1” shared with you Frapin 1270 and Keiko Mecheri Loukoulm
Today I am sharing with you two fresh and zesty scent inspired cocktails to help you feeling brighter and get the feeling that summer is somewhere on the horizon.
Gentlewoman (Juliette Has A Gun)
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Launched at the end of 2014, the “Eau de Cologne Parfum” and launch was reviewed for APJ. An Eau De Cologne for the “Dandy Woman” is not a typical cologne with its almond and coumarin notes energised by a strong and lasting citrus accord.
Here is Justin’s lovely sparkling citrus cocktail inspired by Gentlewoman:
10 ml Cointreau
10 ml Monin Blood Orange Syrup
10 ml Lemon Juice
10-15 ml Vanilla Syrup
5 ml Aperol
Rose Sparkling wine
Shake all ingredients vigorously over ice, double strain into a champagne flute, filling only about 2/5 of the glass. Top with sparkling wine of your choice (we used Chandon rose). Garnish with a spritz of orange blossom water and an edible flower if desired.
Batucada (L’Artisan)
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
The name of this fragrance is a style of samba from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and one spritz instantly provides some escapism and optimism in the depths of winter. Inspired by Brazil and its infamous caipirinha cocktail, notes of lime, mint and cachaca are combined with tropical ylang ylang and tiare flower, drying down with a salty-sour coconut note. I believe it is the coconut with citrus that makes this an enjoyable wear for winter. I had never thought to wear it in winter before the event, so thank you to Ricky and Lucy of Galerie de Parfums for shedding this light on it. (I now have it on rotation)
Justin served the cocktail with a roasted coconut rim, which provided an additional textural element. The magnificent barbequed pineapple flavor mixing with the rum had me on the beaches of Brazil in seconds! (hic!)
45 ml Appleton VX Jamaican Rum
30 ml lime juice
15 ml Sugar syrup
Shredded coconut
Barbequed pineapple
Add lime juice and sugar syrup to cocktail shaker, and then drop in a few cubes of grilled pineapple (or fresh if you prefer). Muddle until incorporated, then add rum and fill with ice. Shake hard for 7-10 seconds, and double strain into a short glass of choice, rimmed with coconut (toasted if you prefer). Garnish with a sprig of mint and a pineapple leaf if applicable.
Batucada and Gentlewoman can be sampled at Surrender To Chance<< Jump to them
Cheers!!
Perhaps you can experiment and try coming up with a cocktail of your favorite fragrance?
Xx Ainslie
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
Australian Perfume Junkies 