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Sweet Oriental Dream by Montale

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Hello Happy Huffers,

Today we are looking at a fragrance I procured in a split on Facebook, Fragrance Swap is the crew, and I can’t remember who was doing this split unfortunately. SORRY if you’re reading. I like to buy 10ml in a split, it gives me enough to wear for review purposes and if I drain 10ml then I seriously need to think FB. Usually though I drain 3-5ml during the testing process and it either gets put away or I pass it on to someone who I think will adore it.

Sweet Oriental Dream by Montale

SweetOrientalDream FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

LuckyScent gives these featured accords:
Moroccan rose, loukhoum (Turkish Delight-honey, rose water, sugar, fruit, jam, nuts), almonds, vanilla

The first whiff off my skin is pure nougat. Sweet and jaw breakingly delicious, filled with almonds and vanilla. WHOOOEEEEE! If you want to smell like a gourmand paradise then this is the way. GORGEOUS! There is something so dense and hefty about Sweet Oriental Dream by Montale, something very Indian and I’m trying so hard to put my finger on it but it eludes me, maybe the sweets. I have memories buried of someone or something that smelled just like Sweet Oriental Dream at one of the weddings I’ve been to there. It’s an over ripe and lush scent, sweet but not putrifying, deliriously beckoning but not headache-y.

LuckyScent says: Beautifully rich, sweetly lush and unrepentant in its blatant, edible sensuality, if you like sweet fragrances that pulsate with rare pleasures from the harems afar, you’ve just found your newest obsession.

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I think there may be a smidge of unnamed oudh flying in at a low hum and it’s giving a real Middle Eastern feel rather than an Oriental one. I’m getting a Swiss Arabian fragrance vibe from Sweet Oriental Dream while wearing it for review that I have never noticed during other wears.

TurkishDelight MaiLinTalksPhoto Stolen MaiLinTalks

Further reading ScentForThought and Opalescent
Neroli, Budapest has 50ml for around $65 and sends to the world for 10 euro
SurrenderToChance starts at $4/ml

I love the Montale range. I find it fun and innovative, while still maintaining wearability. Many of you disagree and I love to hear both sides of the story, and the wonderful or ghastly experiences you’ve had so SHARE THEM please.

Love
Portia xx

FIFTY SHADES OF GREY – (a husband’s point of view)

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Hey Hey All,
Remember Fifty Shades Of Grey? Well I have discovered this amusing poem by John Summers written in response from a husband’s point of view. Poor bugger, imagine?
I hope you all get a smile,
Portia xx

Fifty Shades Of Grey BookDepositoryPhoto Stolen Book Depository – Box Set $35 Delivered Worldwide

FIFTY SHADES OF GREY – (a husband’s point of view)

By Pam Ayers (MAYBE!)

By John Summers (DEFINITELY!!)

The missus bought a Paperback,
down Shepton Mallet way,
I had a look inside her bag; ….
T’was “Fifty Shades of Grey”.

Well I just left her to it,
And at ten I went to bed.
An hour later she appeared;
The sight filled me with dread…

In her left hand she held a rope;
And in her right a whip!
She threw them down upon the floor,
And then began to strip.

Well fifty years or so ago;
I might have had a peek;
But Mabel hasn’t weathered well;
She’s eighty four next week!!

Watching Mabel bump and grind;
Could not have been much grimmer.
And things then went from bad to worse;
She toppled off her Zimmer!

She struggled back upon her feet;
A couple minutes later;
She put her teeth back in and said
I had to dominate her!!

Now if you knew our Mabel,
You’d see just why I spluttered,
I’d spent two months in traction
For the last complaint I’d uttered.

She stood there nude and naked
Bent forward just a bit
I went to hold her, sensual like
and stood on her left tit!

Mabel screamed, her teeth shot out;
My god what had I done!?
She moaned and groaned then shouted out :
“Step on the other one”!!

Well readers, I can’t tell no more;
About what occurred that day.
Suffice to say my jet black hair,
Turned fifty shades of grey!

DIOR: Miss Dior 2012 Perfume Review + 2013 Ad. and Making of with Natalie Portman

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Hello Lovelies,

With all the kerfuffle and change happening around Miss Dior I thought we should take a new look at the frag and we also get to have a sneak peek at the ads. Enjoy

DIOR: Miss Dior 2012 by Francois Demachy

MissDior2012 FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Italian mandarin
Heart: Egyptian jasmine absolute and rose
Base: patchouli and musk

Sorry but this is about as far away from how I want to smell as you can get. Not a bad fragrance, just so completely not my cup of tea. I know there are many fans of 2012 Miss Dior and I wish you well wearing it. The ads on the other hand are FABULOUS!!!

DIOR: Miss Dior 2013 Ad. and Making of with Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman is Jin’s favourite actress, mainly for her perfect beauty, and via osmosis one of mine. I love the 2013 mini movie and here we also get to glimpse a moment behind the scenes. This movie was shot by Sofia Coppola and has a transcendent, ethereal quality that feels very big screen and Natalie Portman is exsquisite. I love to feel a little like I’ve been there, don’t you?

Portia xx

The Making Of…

The Final Mini Movie

14 Noontide Petals by Tauer 2013

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Guest post by Val the Cookie Queen

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14 Noontide Petals by Tauer 2013

noonetide SmellyThoughtsPhoto Stolen SmellyThoughts

Top: Bergamot, aldehydes, Bourbon geranium
Heart: Rose, ylang ylang, tuberose, jasmine
Base: Patchouli, frankincense, vanilla, sandalwood, iris, styrax and vetiver

We are stuck in Narnia here in Europe. April and so damn cold. I would have preferred to have tried Noontide Petals on a gorgeous Spring day. Not a hint of Spring in sight.

About 18 months ago I ordered a Sample Set from Tauer Perfume. Five fragrances of my choice.

TauerDicoveryPhoto Stolen TauerPerfumes

After 10 days I still had no samples. I emailed Tauer Perfume, and within minutes I had an email back from Andy himself. He apologised profusely that the precious package had gone missing. He sent a replacement package himself, and registered it, and I had it 48 hours later. How nice is THAT??

Two weeks ago I mailed Andy again, on the off chance that he would send me samples of Noontide Petals. Three days later there were samples on my doorstep with a handwritten note from Andy. What a privilege. I had never tried a brand new fragrance with the intent of writing about it.

I test perfumes on Monday when I am alone in the shop preparing cookie dough. I sprayed it on with great excitement. Very sparingly because I know that Tauer´s are very intense. Shock Horror. I did not like it. Perfume Junkies, I was so upset, and angry. Yes angry. Can you imagine that? I was in a freaking bad mood the whole day. I wanted to like it so badly. I did indeed get a little bergamot. But it was short lived and left a weak soapy smell behind.

The second testing of Moontide Petals. Ah ha. I used more. Better. A burst of very bright bergamot. I could almost see the sun! It did have a swirling feel about it, kind of up and down. Bubbling aldehydes. I could understand them a bit now. (I watched a 30 minute lecture on aldehydes before trying this scent!! Never too late to learn.) Nearly glittering! OK. NOW I know, this is eau de toilette! Duh.

YellowLightBurst CavalierSwimPhoto Stolen CavalierSwim

Third time. A man-sized spray!! Hurray! I like it. What a contrast to the first tentative mini scaredy cat spray!! This time it was so bright and light and lovely, it was another experience. After about 40 minutes, I noticed jasmine, vanilla and frankincense popping their heads up. Especially the vanilla. Suddenly there is rose. It comes and goes. I know there are other notes in there too, but I am not experienced enough (yet) to pick them out. And truthfully I don´t know if I even want to. This fragrance lasts such a long time and is so soft, and beautiful.. Yep, beautiful. Definitely not so full on as some of the earlier Tauer scents, with the well known Tauerade base. This is elegant and understated. But certainly no weakling. What I love about Tauer is their tenacity. That is why I love them in the summer. The perfect swimming scent. Because it is still there after lots of dips in the lake. Noontide Petals will be my swim scent of 2013. It is light in a bottle.

Andy Tauer is an artist, and it takes time to understand what it´s all about. Moral of the story? Don´t under spray an artist`s work, otherwise you miss half the colours!

Now, if only the White Witch of Narnia would use this, I believe it would melt the winter away. It is an alluring, appealing and an original scent for the Spring.

Further reading ISmellThereforeIAm and PerfumeShrine
TauerFragrances has 1.5ml manufacturers samples US$5.30

GIVEAWAY COMPETITION!!

THE PRIZE

Want to try Noontide Petals for yourself? I have a sample to give away. And if you don´t live in a place where the pony express takes a month to get to, I might well put a cookie in too.

HOW DO YOU WIN?

You have to leave a comment telling us your favourite cookie or cookie ingredient. That’s IT!

For an Extra Chance you can Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie http://wp.me/p2fQBU-1tn Noontide Petals new Tauer perfume GIVEAWAY

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday April 14th 2013 10pm AusEDST and will be announced in a special post that day.
Val the Cookie Queen and her crew will do the draw honours. The names will be placed on the same sized papers, folded similarly, placed in a bowl and a winner picked.

The winners will have till Thursday 18th April 2013 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or I will give the prize to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.

Bussis
CQ xxx

Flower by Alberto Morillas for Kenzo Fragrance 2000 Perfume Review and 2013 Ad Campaign

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 17 Comments

Hello Lovely APJ Family,

Flower by Kenzo Fragrance 2000

KenzoFlower FragranricaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Mandarin, hawthorn, Bugarian rose, blackcurrant
Heart: Parma violet, rose, opoponax, jasmine
Base: Vanilla, white musk, incense and woody notes

I was given an ENORMOUS bottle of this by my girlfriend Annie, every time I spritz, or smell someone in the street wearing, Flower I think of her and the great big hugs she gives, her warmth, fun and joyfulness. Because Flower is so sheer and spare it’s hard to believe there are so many ingredients that make it come together. Also there have been so many imitations of its style that I am at a loss to remember how ground breaking it was when it was first released. That hefty airiness that doesn’t skunk but has impressive sillage, so that as you waft fragrantly past someone they are entranced by your scent, a la Perfume by Patrick Suskind, or a room slowly fills with your fragrance and you can smell it softly on return to the room, but not in a pushy intrusive way, just a haunting memory.

It opens green and fresh on me with a sharp sweetness, then the warm resinous bouquet slowly takes over until a clean, warm musky vanilla finishes the story in around 4-6 hours depending on the day and whether I’m moisturised.

PoppyField girlservesworldPhoto Stolen GirlServesWorld

Interestingly Tania Sanchez in Perfumes: The A-Z Guide says that, “Albert Morillas almost certainly knew Caron’s Royal Bain de Champagne (now Royal Bain de Caron) by heart when he replicated it and added a splash of hedione to make Flower, but it seems no one else knew….” but I have only a modern incarnation of Royal Bain de Caron for comparison and they seem only distantly related.

I love the 2013 ad campaign, the lightness and airiness of the poppies flying through the air isa a perfect symbolism for this still lovely fragrance.

See you tomorrow,

Portia xx

Flower by Kenzo Fragrance 2013 Ad Campaign

Picture provided by one of my go-to fashion bloggers art8amby

The campaign girl is Chinese/Taiwanese actress, Shu Qi.

Image via TFS.

DIOR – New Flagship Store in Sydney!

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Hey Hey All You Fashion & Fragrance Lovers,

We have a wonderful new DIOR flagship store in Sydney. That means that the exclusive collection perfumes are now here for me to sample at my leisure. WOO HOOO! Not quite as lavish as the Harrods productions but Andy has twice taken friends and I through the store, been incredibly helpful and knowledgeable, and shown us absolute courtesy. If you happen to be in Sydney, ask for Andy, he is the best SA DIOR in Sydney has.

Here are a couple of shots of a day recently when two girlfriends of mine Domenica (from VogueVandal fashion blog) and her Mum Anna and I went for a grand tour of the establishment. At the top you’ll see them with Andy, then on the menswear level catwalk, the stairs to the underground and Domenica holding one of the fabulous new peachy orange coloured bags. Super fun day. Thanks DIOR.

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DIORLadyNoir wicked-haloPhoto Stolen wicked-halo

From March 14th to April 16th, the department store Harrods in London, UK celebrates the House of Dior, hosting a pop-up store with exclusive items as well as a unique ‘So Dior’ exhibition and a Dior Café.

Most of us can only dream of being there. But dream we must.

Portia xx

Here are the Harrod’s DIOR movies.

How to Scent your Space, Naturally

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 16 Comments

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Guest Post by Suzanne R Banks

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How to Scent your Space, Naturally

Hey all you perfume lovers out there – use your divine connection to scent to create a beautiful natural aromatic moment in your home or office, and even your car.

Of course you could spritz your perfume around and even though that will work, why not try a more natural approach? By using less chemicals in your life and being mindful about your purchasing decisions, you will be helping your brain and body, by giving them a rest from these toxic ingredients. You CAN have beautiful, natural scent. You don’t have to buy synthetically scented household products or personal care products anymore. There are so many fantastic natural and organic products that are reasonably priced and accessible to everyone.

OilBurner MoontreePhoto Stolen MoonTree

The most obvious choice for me is to use essential oils. You can put them in a classic oil burner with a candle, an electric vapouriser or make a mist in a simple mist bottle with oils and water.

For your home try:

“Boudoir”

to get the vibe going for an intimate evening at home add these oils to an oil burner with water, and a candle. The candle also acts as a transformative energy, a cleansing and renewing agent.

Ylang Ylang             8 drops
Orange                   10 drops
Patchouli                  2 drops
Cedarwood Atlas    5 drops

“Doucement”

a chill-out blend for the end of a long day or to get the kids settled quickly

Mandarin                10 drops
Lavender                  8 drops
Marjoram                  6 drops
Vetiver                       1 drop

Office OLX.inPhoto Stolen OLX.in

For the office try:

(If you have your own office it’s great but if you are working with other people in close proximity it may be better to place a few drops of oil on a tissue and keep it close by. We don’t want to offend or upset others in the work environment).

“That’s a Great Idea”

To inspire creativity and focus

Lemon       10 drops
Lime             5 drops
Basil              5 drops
Rosewood   5 drops

“Come On Friday”

A stress-less blend to take the edge off a difficult day

Cedarwood Virginian     3 drops
Pink Grapefruit               17 drops
Spearmint                         5 drops

Porsche-911 carAdvicePhoto Stolen CarAdvice

And for your car, you can simply place a few drops of oil onto a tissue, a cotton makeup pad or even a bit of paper towel and stick it in one of the vents.

Wake up and concentration oils:

Lemon
Basil
Rosemary

Calm down oils:

Lavender
Orange
Geranium
Bergamot
Petitgrain

Cake Taste.com.auPhoto Stolen Taste.Com.Au

And if that gets a bit too hard you can always:

  • For home, office or car – buy or pick some scented flowers like gardenias, roses, jasmine, tuberoses, hyacinths, lilies, and anything else you can think of. It’s a great natural way to bring scent into your environment and as it can be quite seasonal you are also more in tune with nature
  • At home you could bake a cake, roast some almonds or make a crème brullee with real vanilla pods
  • At home – add a few drops of essential oils into your cleaning products and mop the floor (you get scent and cleanliness in one go)
  • In the car – eat an orange or mandarin and squeeze the rind around the seats. You’ll be amazed how effective it can be, especially when you get back into the car – it will be a citrus paradise!

I’m sure you can think of some more too. Let your imagination run wild with the scented bounty of nature.

Ed: If you thought this was good go see the Suzanne R Banks site (LINK JUMP) or like her Facebook Page (LINK JUMP)

Suzanne R Banks

Lanvin Me Fragrance 2013 Ad Campaign

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Lanvin Me Fragrance 2013 Ad Campaign

Yet again stolen a fresh and lovely advertising image from. art8amby

Released April 2013, Lanvin used a reprint image of Iselin Steiro by Steven Meisel from the mainline Spring Summer 2009 campaign.

Can’t wait to see if they have given us a masterpiece or an insult to our olfactory systems. Could this be the new Arpege? Maybe? A fragrance to stand the test of time and reformulation? Let’s cross our fingers.

Portia x

Image via TFS.

Ambre Gris by Guillaume Flavigny for Pierre Balmain 2008

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 13 Comments

Hello Happy Huffers,

Today we look at a fairly new acquisition for me. I went through a 5ml decant in record time so gave myself permission to indulge.

Ambre Gris by Pierre Balmain 2008

AmbreGris FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Myrrhe, benzoin, pink pepper, cinnamon
Heart: Immortelle, tuberose
Base: White musc, benzoin, amber, guaiac wood (tree of life)

Before I started researching Ambre Gris I was under the impression that it was a vintage fragrance from the house of Pierre Balmain. Not so, released in 2008 it sparked a veritable sensation throughout the scentbloggosphere for a few reasons: the last few Balmain frags had been met with surly derision by the perfumista community, this one was only available in a few select locations in Europe, named after that intriguing and hard to source perfumers magic ingredient ambergris from the intestines of one perr cent of sperm whales and because it was rumored to be fabulous. This was before my time on the scentbloggosphere, at this point I was a lone hoarder.

I love the fabulously hefty 100ml bottle with its thick, greyed glass and the golden disco ball on top is perfect to me, though many do not love it. In fact the whole package screams quality to me, even the understated label and box it comes in. I can imagine it fitting well into a mans or wamans wardrobe.

WindsweptBeach fortunephotographyPhoto Stolen FortunePhotography

How does it smell? Having read the other blogs I feel that I have a completely different product because my skin amplifies the salt in a fragrance, even though there is none in the note list. Ambre Gris opens warm and sweet on my skin, like eating Brighton Rock on the pebble beach.  There is a common complaint about Ambre Gris that it has a plastic vibe through the centre of it, which I often find in real life white flowers, it is not here for me sadly because I quite like that note. My experience with the heart are not everlasting daisies and tuberose, at all, unless it’s a small chemical found in both that also smells like the ocean, it feels breezy and windswept to me, and gives me a sense of freedom. Really, the notes list reads like gibberish compared to what I smell. The dry down is pretty and here I do get a salty amber and a little smoke. In the heat of Sydney summer Ambre Gris is giving me about 4-5 hours of discernible fragrance but I bought it so cheaply that I am very happy to reapply. I like it as my morning scent for some reason.

Ambre Gris works as a super base during its dry down adding a lovely heft to every perfume I have layered over the top for an afternoon or evening refresh, including: Sandflowers, Geranium Pour Monsieur, Bombay Bling, Coco and Songes (And many others)

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Further reading PerfumeSmellingThings and TheNonBlonde

FragranceNet has 50ml around $32
MyPerfumeSamples starts at $2/ml but the $7/5ml is EXCELLENT value

Have you tried Balmain’s Ambre Gris? Was it love or hate? Were you one of the frenzy buyers in 2008/9?

Until tomorrow,

Portia xx

New Ferrari Hybrid Supercar Debut

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 6 Comments

Hey Frag Hags,

Normally I would probably not think a car release was news worthy enough for a frag blog but O M F G This is quite the lovely. If you hit the links you can read the full story and see all the pictures.

YEARN, YEARN, YEARN!!!
Portia xx

Posted by in LUXURY By Noah Joseph

Ferrari

Photos Courtesy of Ferrari

It’s not every day that a new flagship Ferrari debuts; the 288 GTO was released in 1984 and the F40 that replaced it arrived just a few years later in 1987. Eight years passed before the F50 came along in 1995 and the Enzo succeeded that model in 2002. Now eleven years later the Prancing Horse marque has revealed its new hybrid supercar at the Geneva Motor Show.

Words courtesy Noah Joseph

Ferrari