Perfume Shopping Surprise: SWS Spring

December 14, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 17 Comments

Heya APJ

Last weekend Jin and I were out doing some fixing for the kids at the apartment, afterwards as a Thank You for helping I took Jin to Sydney’s Chinatown because they are open late and the food is yummy. As we were walking towards the restaurant I spotted a shop that I have never noticed on my previous Chinatown forays. Bright pink facade and looking full to the brim of frou frou I couldn’t resist a peek inside and was astounded to see walls lined with fragrance both personal and ambient! It is like an Ali Baba cave.

SWS Spring: Chinatown Sydney

Our hosts were two charming and handsome gentlemen. Moody K is the proprietor and his partner (whose name has slipped my mind and I lost the card, maybe Tam?) both showed us around their lovely store. Here is Jin with them both, isn’t he a damn cutey!

I got a pic with the boys too and you can see in the pics how crowded with goodies the store is. Every time you turn your head there is another fabulous thing or brand that you were not expecting. Business was brisk even at 9pm on a Friday and we had about 8 other people shopping while we were.

Sorry about this shot, I was so freaking excited to see a table and stand filled with Penhaligon’s, L’Artisan Parfumeur, Rance and other companies that have left my memory. Quite a detailed inventory from all these houses and some great Christmas ideas.

This side is more about ambient scenting and there were loads of candle, diffuser and oil choices. If you look in the left hand corner you can almost see a few frag bottles hiding away there and some Penhaligon’s above them.

A L’Occitane wall, yes a whole wall. I got to try some of the fragrances that I was unfamiliar with and it’s nice to see that they had a good stock of the Christmas L’Occitane boxes (We’ll be giving away three of those next week here on APJ). Here we are in front of the L’Occitane, Jin looking handsome and suave, me looking like myself happy and a bit vacant.

What did we leave with? 3 x Voluspa candles, some Tokyo Milk Shea Butter lotions and a Tokyo Milk fragrance. Only the fragrance is for us the rest are Christmas presents.

Where Do You Find SWS Spring?

SWS Spring Site<<<JUMP

Address:
SWS SPRING
48 Dixon St,
Haymarket Chinatown
Sydney NSW 2000

Telephone:
+61 2 9212 7356

What Are Some Of Their Brands?

Annick Goutal
Fragonard
L’Artisan Parfumeur
L’Occitane
Rance
Tokyo Milk
Tesori d’Orient
Voluspa
and many more…

Bee Bottle PORN! Guerlain 160 years

December 14, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

Hey Guerlain lovers,

If you are anythin g like me then Guerlain is one ofd the great mother ships of fragrance and one of the ultimate symbols of Guerlain is its Bee Bottle. Made for 160 years this year. The crew at Guerlain have released this video to celebrate.

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

Cheers Guerlain Bee Bottle. Happy Birthday
Portia xx

160th anniversary Bee Bottle – GUERLAIN

Sirocco by Lucien Lelong GIVEAWAY WINNERS

December 13, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 13 Comments

Hey there Fellow Fumies,

Hotly contested last Azar giveaway of the year. I love how much amazing stuff we giveaway on this blog. it’s extraordinary and I am happy there is such a cross section of offerings.

If you are in the Northern Hemisphere you may very well be freezing today! My daughter Lauren in New Hampshire commented that she could “use a hot fierce wind about now”. I hope the two winners enjoy the warmth of their 2ml of Sirocco (and an extra little surprise) no matter where they live. Happy holidays!

Sirocco by Lucien Lelong GIVEAWAY

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

This week there will be two winners, who will receive

1 x 2ml decant of vintage Sirocco by Jean Carles for Lucien Lelong 1934
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DID 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.

To be eligible leave a comment on Jean Carles or a vintage perfume/fashion creation that you love and also mention how you follow the APJs (by e-mail, WordPress, whatever).

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie Sirocco Lucien Lelong GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-28h #Perfume #Giveaway

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Thursday 12th Decemberber 2013 10pm Australian EST
Winners were chosen by random.org

Photo Stolen berryreview

Carolyn, Jackie Rosen

The winners will have till Sunday 15th Deceber 2013 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

Azar xxx

Street Of Dreams: Martin Scorsese, Matthew McConaughey and Scarlett Johansson

December 13, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

Hello Happy Huffers and Lovers,

In our house there are a few favourite actors and actresses, mostly they coincide like the lovely, versatile and elegant Scarlett Johansson who is Jin’s absolute favourite actress and who I really like too. Then we have the don’t agrees, top of that list is Matthew McConaughey, frankly I will walk over glass to see him but Jin would rather roll in glass than have to see him, in anything. Here is a very interesting pairing of the two and I like the story, the detail, the mood and NYC. Also the fact that Scarlett’s character is coming to Sydney, always a thrill to hear the home town used.

dolce-and-gabbana-scarlett-johansson-matthew-mccounaghey-the-one-for-men-ad-campaign

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Mandarin, bergamot, litchi, peach
Heart: Jasmine, lily of the valley, white lily, plum
Base: Vetiver root, amber, musk, vanilla

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, coriander, basil
Heart: Cardamom, ginger, neroli
Base: Cedar, amber, tobacco

What do you think? Does this piece make you want to at least sniff the product?
Enjoy
Portia x

Dolce & Gabbana Mini Movie

Street Of Dreams: Martin Scorsese, Matthew McConaughey and Scarlett Johansson

PERFUME: The Art & Craft of Fragrance by Karen Gilbert

December 13, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 31 Comments

Heya Happy Huffers,

Christmas is round the corner and if there is anyone interested in fragrance in your life that likes to read then I’ve found the perfect book. Karen Gilbert was in Australia recently and a couple of us down Under Perfumistas had the pleasure of lunching with her and her extremely handsome partner. Not only were they excellent company but they were incredibly knowledgeable about a wide range of subjects and had us enthralled and laughing, enjoying a wonderful afternoon. When it was time to go we were all sad but felt like we had made a couple of new friends for life.

Karen Gilbert will be doing a 1 Day Perfume Introduction MASTERCLASS 20 September 2014<<<JUMP

PERFUME: The Art & Craft of Fragrance

by Karen Gilbert

Photo Stolen The Book Depository Perfume AUD$17 including worldwide postage

Here are Karen and I having a look through a pres copy of the book pre-release. As you can see Karen is gorgeous, filled with good humour and knows so much about fragrance. She has worked for amazing groups including IFF, Neal’s Yard and a couple of others I can’t remember, now runs Olfactory Workshops and Classes, creates fragrance lines fort companies and travels the world. Not a bad life.

Perfume takes us on a journey through Karen’s fragrant life, teaches us some perfume basics (that are only basic when you know them), her take on how we smell and its effects, buying, blending and ultimately some recipes for home dabblers in scent. It is beautifully presented and has some sumptuous photos. Readable for anyone from about age 10 upwards and at every level of perfumista knowledge, there is something here for everyone.

Extremely readable, Karen’s personality shines above all throughout the book and I can hear her Pommy accent and inflections as I read.

There is also her first book, still available, called Natural Beauty. Check that out too.

Portia xxx

Photo Stolen The Book Depository Natural Beauty AUD$21 including worldwide postage

PERFUME: The Art & Craft of Fragrance

by Karen Gilbert GIVEAWAY!

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be one winner who will receive:

1 Press Copy of PERFUME: The Art & Craft of Fragrance by Karen Gilbert. It was sent to me by Karen and I am paying her kindness forward.
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

To be eligible for the draw just mention how you follow APJ and tell me in a sentence how you will spend the silly season.

Extra Chances?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie PERFUME by Karen Gilbert GIVEAWAY! http://wp.me/p3PURw-2gz #Giveaway #Book @karengilbert

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 15th December 2013 10pm Australian EDST and winners will be announced in a separate post
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Thursday 19th December 2013 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.

Happy Holidays!

Pomegranate Noir by Jo Malone 2005: Smells Like Christmas

December 12, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 25 Comments

Post by Poodle

Smells Like Christmas Pomegranate Noir by Jo Malone 2005

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Raspberry, pomegranate, plum, rhubarb, watermelon
Heart: Lily-of-the-valley, jasmine, rose, pink pepper, clove, olibanum, opoponax, guaiac wood
Base: Virginia cedar, patchouli, musk, amber

Pomegranate Noir is the only Jo Malone fragrance I own and I really do love it. It always makes me feel warm and cozy and somewhat happy but I never realized why until I wore it to work one day. Someone came by my desk and said it smelled like Christmas in the office that day. They were right. It did smell like Christmas and I was the source of the aroma.

Photo Stolen DeviantArt

When I was younger I loved Christmas. I had many happy memories of it usually involving my favorite aunt. Aunt Wanda loved Christmas. She started shopping for Christmas on December 26th and had a collection of Santa Claus figurines that she displayed year round in her home. She put extra thought into finding everyone the perfect gifts as well. She never used pre-made bows; she bought ribbon and made her own. She was a large joyful woman and some would say she looked like what Mrs. Claus should look like. Sadly, she’s been gone for many years and Christmas just isn’t the same without her.

Photo Stolen Elizabeth Ellis Flickr

Pom Noir does smell like Aunt Wanda’s house during the holidays which is why it makes me smile. The fruity opening calls to mind the fact that she did a lot of canning and I get the smell of jams and spicy compotes that always lingered in the air in her house. Pomegranates were a favorite of hers as well. She’d also make those clove studded orange pomanders. A real Christmas tree was a must for her so the scent of evergreen was in the air and the wood burning stove added that warm cozy aroma that only wood can do. Her house really had that New England holiday feel to it. All of this is in Pom Noir. The florals never dominate and I barely notice they are there. It’s all spicy berries, evergreen, and warm wood. This is a comfort scent to me and it smells like my memories of Christmas.

Photo Stolen WikiMedia

It’s definitely unisex and has pretty good lasting power on my scent eating skin. It lasts longer if sprayed on clothing. I don’t think it’s very sweet since the fruits are offset by the spices and woody notes.

Further reading: Now Smell This and Memory Of Scent
You can buy Jo Malone Products at many Department Stores
In Australia Essential Mall has a range of Pomegranate Noir online
Beauty Encounter has sold out of their bottles but have $5/2ml spray samples
Surrender To Chance start at $3/ml

I love the fact that Pomegranate Noir smells like the holidays to me but what perfume, if any, smells like the holidays to you?

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I hope you all have a wonderful season and I wish all of you a very Happy and Fragrant New Year.

Poodle XXX

Rose Splendide by Isabelle Doyen + Camille Goutal for Annick Goutal 2010

December 8, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 26 Comments

Hello Happy Huffers,

Yes, I have spoken about Annick Goutal (1948-99) before. We have done days of the Annick Goutal Bio, Frag#1, Frag#2, Frag #3, Mandragore Pourpe, Songes, Grand Amour and Duel. You can tell how much I love the whole Annick Goutal aesthetic, it has been a constant house that I love. The fragrances are beautiful, smooth and totally wearable and even the slightly quirky or more arty of the line are still easily worn in most situations.

Rose Splendide by Annick Goutal 2010

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Musk, Centifolia rose, magnolia, pear (Basenotes add vanilla)

A fruity rose, sparkling and shimmering, a gorgeously decadent, full blown, home grown with love bloom that takes flight from your skin the instant you first spritz and initially you can smell the cutting of the plant to bring the bloom inside, or maybe it’s the body of the rose bush as you brush it to smell the bloom. There is a fresh, dew-ish, watery hint of a vase awaiting your plunder. The initial fireworks are great fun and never fail to delight me. Once they calm Rose Splendide stays pretty linear throughout its 4-6 hour journey on my skin with the notes taking different centre stage times but really the whole character of this magnificent rose flower stays in the forefront. Warming slightly as it fades to dry down I am ready for a respritz by the 4 hour mark to relive the opening again.

Photo Stolen T.Kiya Flickr

Rose Splendide and Jo Malone Red Rose are my two photo realistic roses that I go to. Very different in scent they are quite similar in feel and freshness, both feel like early morning all day and both remind me of times in the garden with my Mum when I was a kid and watching the roses grow from sticks to blooms through spring, it was always a magical thing to me.

Photo Stolen WikiCommons

Further reading: Sniffapalooza Magazine and The Scent Critic
Fragrance Shop has $55/100ml EdT before coupon
Surrender To Chance starts at $4/ml

What is your go-to rose? Is it photo realistic like Rose Splendide or amongst a cornucopia like Mohur by Neela Vermeire or maybe hidden in the depths like Shalimar(another two of my faves)?
Portia xx

Escada Pour Homme 1993

December 5, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 1 Comment

.
Post by Kymme CV
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Escada Pour Homme 1993

A Russian ballerina named Doris introduced me to Escada pour Homme (EPH) in 2005. Doris Vidanya to give her full moniker. I say ballerina, I mean a man painted for days (wearing LOTS of make-up), poured into a bodice/tutu and with a very, very tight black wig styled into a tighter ‘ballet bun’. See picture.

Side note: I should point out that I wasn’t soliciting men in tutus in the street! Doris (Grant Thomas) was a dancer with Les Ballets Trockerdero De Monte Carlo (http://www.trockadero.org/) and was in Sydney with the troupe as part of their 2005 Australian tour. I was also painted for days, but not in a tutu.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica Gives these featured accords:
Top: Orange, , lavender, cognac, Italian lemon, bergamot
Heart: Nutmeg, caraway, carnation, bay leaf, cinnamon, juniper, geranium, cardamom
Base: Sandalwood, tonka bean, patchouli, musk, vanilla

I liked EPH immediately. Those of you who’ve read my previous posts may remember my preferences when it comes ticking boxes. For those not up to scratch on my likes here is a quick reminder: Jacques Polge, Hermes: Terre D’Hermes + Voyage, Tiffany & Co., Slumberhouse, fresh, natural, patchouli, woody, musk, spice, tobacco, cedarwood, powdery, niche.

The early 1990s saw fresher, sportier fragrances become more popular than the headier orientals and herbals of the previous decade, but a handful of designers were still looking to update and revitalise them. 20 years later and although now discontinued, EPH still holds its own as a modern oriental that perhaps remains one of Escada’s best fragrances for men.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

I find EPH to be sophisticated, sexy, masculine, prestigious, alluring and warm. On first smelling this scent one could forgive you for thinking it a fragrance an older gentleman might wear, but a confident demeanour will suit this well. It lasts forever on my skin. This morning’s spritz is still knocking a punch and the cognac, patchouli and musk are still coming through exciting my olfactory cilia…but there is still a refreshing citrus note on top of it all. It brings to mind good quality incense…eastern incense, not the mass produced variety.

Apart from Grant (Doris) and I, I can see Henry Cavill carrying off EPH with ease. It’s a bold, refined aroma that demands a bold, refined and elegant wearer. Those not sure of the statement they wish to make with their fragrance should probably tread carefully with EPH.

Further reading: The Perfume Critic
I can find Escada Pour Homme only at Amazon and Ebay now

Kymme CV x

Armani Privé Ambre Orient: LIVE Video Sniff

December 1, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 8 Comments

Hey All,

Margeaux and I are in the studio again and the usual silliness ensues. It’s great to have him give his views and as always we really enjoy ourselves.

I hope you enjoy it too,

Portia xx

Armani Privé Ambre Orient by Fabrice Pellegrin [Firmenich] for Giorgio Armani 2010

LIVE Video Sniff

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Smoke, vanilla, dark wood, sandalwood, patchouli, thyme, labdanum, amber, cinnamon, pink pepper

Quick Quotes for a Better Day!

December 1, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 19 Comments

Hello APJ,

Here’s the thing. The last few days have been a bit wonky. I have been irritable, grouchy, whiney and generally being a big hairy poo head. I have let myself get overwhelmed by external pressures, people’s failure to do it my right, business, late payers, bills, friends, general life really. I felt like I was sinking and it’s not a feeling I relish. So I went to one of those feel better FB pages and stole some short sayings that resonated. Often it’s easy to forget that there is a big picture, a goal or that moving forward can entail change and NO ONE likes change that doesn’t move at a comfortable pace. So it seems that changes are needed, some of them will be painful and some will be easy, and you don’t get to chose.

The other side though, that’s where the payoff is, pain now, gain later. Really pain? Hopefully not but certainly discomfort.

It was Thanksgiving this week in America. Where they thank the Indians for teaching them how to survive in the new country, sadly many of the Indians did not survive their encounter with white mans germs, it was reverse War of the Worlds, the aliens survived. What do I have to be thankful for? So much, I am lucky and blessed on so many levels. What do I need to change? Well change has already been put in motion, there will be more….

I hope you like this little montage for hope.
Portia xx