Testa Maura GIVEAWAY WINNER + Moving House Photo Essay

Hey there APJ!

I’m so sorry this is late but I completely forgot, it’s all move, renovate, move here. kinda freaked out. SO MUCH TO DO!!!

Here are some picks of the packing and the new place (still in a mess last Friday!!) and a couple with the newly laid carpet!

IMG_4358

IMG_4359

IMG_4346

IMG_4347

IMG_4348

IMG_4352

IMG_4353

Love you all.
Portia xx

Testa Maura GIVEAWAY WINNER

Carticasi Testa Maura FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

LuckyScent gives these featured accords in one line:
Mastic Resin, Galbanum, Rose, Ylang-Ylang, Cedarwood

LuckyScent has $140/50ml

WHAT DID YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
2 x Testa Maura samples Capo di Feno & Aleria. (Both from LuckyScent and have been dabbed twice)
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 5th July 2015 10pm Australian EST
Winner were chosen by random.org

Winner Is amberinblunderlandPhoto Stolen amberinblunderland

JAYBEE

Congratulations! The winner will have till Monday 13th July 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.

Carticasi by Xavier Torre for Testa Maura 2008 + GIVEAWAY

Hey there APJ Fragrant Family,

I have been going through a few of my older LuckyScent Sample Packs. What usually happens for me is that I try them all on my fingers, just near my nails, when they arrive and the ones that stand out to me in the initial testing get worn till they’re empty and the others languish. It’s fun to go back and have a re-sniff and it’s been nice to find that a couple I like very much and want to share with you. One of them is…

Carticasi by Xavier Torre for Testa Maura 2008

Carticasi Testa Maura FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

LuckyScent gives these featured accords in one line:
Mastic Resin, Galbanum, Rose, Ylang-Ylang, Cedarwood

My first thought on applying is “oh, this is a natural fragrance”. No fragrance I know with synthetics has this green, dark, ferocious depth. If green is your friend then this is a lightless cave by a riverbank, the moss, lichen, grass, and tree resin all combines here in a fragrance that should be the colour of a crows wing, iridescent, oil slick black. This is the scent of the young fairy Maleficent and her kingdom before it was turned into a place of unhappiness, and then again at the end of the tale.

The rose is gorgeous. Right now I have a deep red rose that someone gave me from their garden, the scent is so strong and dark but with glimmers of light and it is this intoxicating fragrance that has been used by Xavier Torre for Carticasi. The opening 20 minutes are incredibly dense and I could imagine it turning people off if they had never spent time with a natural fragrance. For me though it is totally fabulous, the uber green.

Carticasi lasts a couple of hours and 2/3 of that time it keeps extremely close to the skin. After two hours there is a very faint haze of scent but it has pretty much gone. Perfect work wear so you can enjoy your fragrance on the way to work, respritz and enjoy it for lunch and not worry about skunking your colleagues.

Further reading: Scent For Thought and IrideScents
LuckyScent has $140/50ml

Save From YouTube giveaway 4Photo Stolen YouTube

Testa Maura GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
2 x Testa Maura samples Capo di Feno & Aleria. (Both from LuckyScent and have been dabbed twice)
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 (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 fragrances tickle your fancy to sample from LuckyScent<JUMP?

Extra Chance?
Tweet: Testa Maura GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-43m   @luckyscent

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 5th July 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 9th July 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.

SUNDAY QUICKSNIFFS #11

Hello Perfume Hounds,

Click here for more graphics and gifs!

This week I’m doing something slightly different. The Lucky Scent July Sample Pack arrived during the week and I was wondering when I’d get to it. So of the 10 samples I thought I’d try a random selection for you and give you the usual 3 sentences and a star rating. You can find our Rating System Page <<jump.

Aqua di Casta  Eau de Parfum by  Testa Maura
Photo Stolen LuckyScent

AQUA DI CASTA by TESTA MAURA 2008. This crew offers 100% natural and organic products. Spicy, green and woody opening like opening a tea or spice chest. It stays sparkly fresh and lovely, pretty linear for the first hour or so. The wood feels newly hewn and left raw. It continues bright, bitey and delicious till it’s gone in a surprisingly long 6+ hours. S=**** L=**** D=***

MIA MURZA by TESTA MAURA 2008. Green, herbal and deep, this starts like a dense jungle and as you walk you break bracken and pass mossy trees with arboreal night flowers. An earthy, wet, humus rich fragrance that only warms up slightly as it continues to almost nothing. It is kind of there and not there after 5 hours. S=**** L=*** D=***

Vanille Cuir  Eau de Parfum by  M. Micallef
Photo Stolen LuckyScent

VANILLA CUIR by M. MICALLEF 2012. The opening sees a murky frission between the citrus, lavender and mint, something in this is the same as they use in modern Dana Tabu and it really fights with my nostrils. As a dab it then goes very skin scent but in a spray decant half an hour in and the leather really comes to the fore, a rough, unfinished leather straight from the tanners at first and then a mellow suede till the dry down about 4-5 hours later but it maintains that funny scent that torments me for most of its lifespan. I’m sorry to say, I don’t like it particularly. S=** L=*** D=**

VANILLA MARINA by M. MICALLEF . OHHHHH This opens so interestingly; the lemon is a warm hit of citrus (Unusual!!), I couldn’t place because the salty marine note plays with it like a Margherita, white flowers too. Are they orange blossom? So sexy and I can feel the vanilla sliding through it all, almost ambery but sweeter like …. I don’t know what!! WOW!! I am finding a decant of this, even though it’s not completely new, it is a fresh look at a common theme. Far better and lasted till morning, just quietly.  S=***** L=*** D=****

To receive the LuckyScent sample pack simply join their mailing list and they will send you an invitation to purchase their latest loves every month, priced very reasonably with P&H at attractive rates also. The only crap thing is there are only .7ml vials in the pack so if you want to spray them you have to self decant. I have written asking for a 2ml spray set but you all need to do it, go on.

I hope you’ve had a super weekend. It’s been very nice round here.
Love, Love, Love and good stuff to you and yours,
Portia xx