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Portia
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Hey there APJ Crew,
I really dreamed that this week would be a slow one. BLOODY HELL! Quite the opposite. What a week. Even got a three night holiday to Tasmania in with Jin, Kath and Alice.
Tasmania
Tasmania! Two Days Away: Photo Essay
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Post by Portia
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Hi there Fragrant Fumies,
This week my mate Alice & I decided to take a moment out of our lives and go down to the island off the bottom of Australia. It’s called Tasmania and it is beautiful.
Tasmania is 68,401 km² and has around 500K people. Let’s compare that to South Korea at 96,920 km2 and 49M (July 2015 est.). Yes, it’s a quiet out of the way place full of beautiful mountains and rivers, small towns and larger ones, friendly people and an enormous amount of history, quite a lot of it as brutal and unforgiving as the winds that whip up direct from Antarctica.
What better way to commemorate such a journey than to do a Photo Essay and have you guys along on the trip.
I know you are absolutely agog to know what fragrances I took. EASY! I grabbed my Hermès 15ml travel size of Vanille Galante, a vintage Youth Dew, something I didn’t even look at and what’s left of my Oriental Brulant that I wore for the whole 2 days and LOVED!
Here are the pics of our adventure! All the gorgeous scenery ones were taken by Alice and I took the rest.
Portia xxx
Tasmania! Two Days Away: Photo Essay
Ready for TAKE OFF! One of my besties, Alice, and I off to look at Tasmania. YAY!
Hotel Grand Chancellor in Launceston. Trip Advisor gave it VERY mixed reviews but we found it comfortable & clean and the staff very friendly.
I know, but I love BUFFET BREAKFAST!!!
Serendipitously it was Farmers Market Saturday Morning and we had a wander through. The produce was unbelievably gorgeous and Alice bought some local wines, meringues and fresh picked, unsprayed raspberries! Happy Girl. We also grabbed some spicy sunflower and pumpkin seeds for our BFF Kath.
Home made chocolate whiskey meringues. WINNER!
Spicy Pumpkin & Sunflower Seeds.
That will be Pinot Gris for the sexy bitch please.
Launceston has a wonderful olde worlde feel to it, we really liked the atmosphere and the people. It’s a cool town for a funky bunch.
On the road again. We hired a car and drove ourselves. Way more fun.
Mona di Orio Discovery Set + Tasmania Photo Essay
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Post by Tina G
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Perfume choices are, by their nature, exceedingly personal. I enjoy sharing my enthusiasm for fragrance with family and friends, but how to do this in a way that lets them make their own choices is tricky. What I may recommend could be abhorrent to someone else, and I don’t want to risk putting anyone off the joys of exploring new fragrances! So, while on holiday in Australia’s largest island Tasmania with some friends, I decided to set up a perfume testing session as a bit of fun and see where it led us.
Mona di Orio Discovery Set
Photo Stolen Peony Melbourne
I chose to take along Mona di Orio’s Discovery Pack, which is the set of eight Les Nombres d’Or line presented in 5ml roller ball applicators. Each of the eight fragrances – Cuir, Eau Absolue, Musc, Vanille, Ambre, Rose, Vétyver and Tubéreuse – were decanted into spray containers for travel.
Tasmania is a beautiful part of the world. The island State lies to the South-East of Australia, across the wilds of Bass Strait from Melbourne. The four of us went for a long weekend, staying on the rugged East Coast in a little stone cottage by the ocean. Yes, it was as gorgeous as it sounds! We had a great time exploring, eating, drinking, and just generally resting up. I’ve included a few photos of the trip as a taster of what we experienced, it was wonderful.
For the testing, the Discovery Set was set up with fragrance strips and I explained the way fragrance works, top, mid and base notes and how perfume evolves over time, particularly on skin. We all sat down and tried each of the line. The Cuir was the least popular, with an “Oh, God, no!!” reaction being the strongest of the day! Two friends decided on what they’d like to wear the next day and give a proper run though. One friend decided to decline, as family members are particularly sensitive to chemicals and wearing perfume on a regular basis wouldn’t work for her. The fragrances chosen were Musc, and Rose. I chose Vétyver.
We noted that all three fragrances got us through the day – at least 8 hours. The Rose was BIG on opening, a really full and rich ‘real’ rose scent. My friend was a bit worried that it would be too big, but it did settle nicely into something softer and more wearable. The Musc I had trouble smelling, but my other friend enjoyed it very much. I encouraged them both to keep sniffing through the day and see if there were any changes.
Peony Melbourne has Mona di Orio Discovery Set $145
Parfum1 has the Mona di Orio Discovery Set $145
At the end of the trip I then let them choose a small 1ml decant to take home and play with. Musc, Eau Absolue, and Vanille went to one home, Rose went to another with my encouragement of Amber, and I took back Cuir, Vétyver, and Tubéreuse – which happen to be my favourites anyway. Funny the way things work out!
Tina G
Tasmania Photo Essay
All photos donated by TinaG unless specified
Australian Perfume Junkies 