Hey there APJ Crew,
Black Opium is here, masterminded by Nathalie Lorson, Marie Salamagne, Olivier Cresp and Honorine Blanc and centred around the smell of coffee beans. Sounds marvelous, so good that I know I’ll be disappointed. The mini movie is wonderful though and stars British model Edie Campbell, shot by Daniel Wolfe.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Pear, orange blossom, pink pepper
Heart: Jasmine, coffeeBase: Vanilla, patchouli, cedar
Hey Hey
Over the last two Sundays we showed the “Something old, something new” Part 1 BBC Perfume Documentary and “Bottling The Memory” Part 2 BBC Perfume Documentary. Today we”ll be able to watch the last of these 3 wonderful documentaries. You’ll need to grab a cuppa/juice/wine and maybe some breakfast/lunch/dinner and settle in for an hour, there are no ad breaks but you can pause and come back through your Sunday.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Grossmith, Axe and Avon. From the royal houses of the middle east to the ghettos of Brazil we are taken on a tour of innovation through some very different price points and customer bases. I particularly enjoy this very glammed up go to whoa fragrance build as we follow Ann Gottleib the AXE fragrance evaluator as she tries to predict a Brazillian blockbuster. Cool video.
Enjoy,
Portia xx
Hi there Frag Fiends,
One of the companies in the fragrance world that I really love is The Different Company. I bought some of their 10ml travelers from Zsolt at Le Parfum in Budapest in 2013, and then dropped my Oriental Lounge in the Thai First Class Lounge Shower Room in Bangkok early 2014 (I know, what an asshole I am) but the lounge never smelled better. I still wear Sel & Vetiver regularly and will one day own a FB of Tokyo Bloom. There never seems to be a lot of reviews for The Different Company, they fall through the cracks. Well, I just grabbed Kashan Rose from Surrender To Chance and I think you should know about it, a very reasonable price for 100ml of top quality niche fragrance.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Sage, litchi, pink pepper, cardamom
Hearet: Persian rose, hawthorn, peony
Base: Ambrette, sandalwood, musk
Pink pepper done beautifully. A sweet, wet fruity opening that is made interesting and unusual with what I think is a nod to sage & cardamom but really just reads as a herbaceous green-ness to me. It offsets a very realistic fresh litchi, just peeled from its cocoon. Transparent fragrance, like a shimmering fine silk sari, wraps me delicately but I am still obviously fragrant.
Photo Stolen IranReview
Luminous, that is the word that comes to my mind while wearing Kashan Rose. The colour of the juice is almost exactly the colour you would expect it to be. A fresh pink, light, bright, bubbly and effervescent. The rose when it arrives is a soft garden rose, light and cool and softly green like a fresh cut, not too fragrant garden rose. Very pretty, though a bit sheer for my taste. I can imagine Kashan Rose becoming a favourite work scent, or a first scent for a young woman. The mother of two next door would swoon for Kashan Rose, I will give her my decant and she will drain it in a week. Like the picture above, the rose petals are floating on air. A whispered swish of fragrance that is subtle but noticeable, especially up close.
Tonight I wore Kashan Rose to work and though no one commented I did get soft wafts through the night and now that I’m home I can still smell what I think must be hawthorn and some lovely musks, there may be sandalwood but I don’t get it prominently. Yes, even at the 6 hour mark there is still some fresh rose.
The nitty gritty, will I buy a bottle? Though I really like Kashan Rose very much the answer is “probably” not for me. Why? Well, I have a LOT of rose fragrances from Red Roses to Mohur, Diabolo Rose to Sa Majeste la Rose and on to Midnight Oud. That’s just off the top of my head. This sheer, transparent rose seems too prim for my flamboyant tastes. I will be buying Kashan Rose for friends though. It’s a great price, wonderful scent and the packaging is super luxe. They will be thrilled to have something so unavailable here in Oz.
Photo Stolen Wikipedia
First In Fragrance has €90/100ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $4/ml
I am leaving you with a 35 second video of the Kashan Rose & Rosewater Festival 15-31 May each year. This is something I would DEARLY love to do.
Portia xx
Hiya Fashion Hounds,
When I was studying fashion in the 1980s GUCCI was mainly about shoes and the house had become a bit of a white elephant. It was a slow downward spiral stopped mainly by the arrival of Tom Ford in 1994. There were 10 glorious years of freaking fabulous and though GUCCI is still pretty cool it is slowly sinking again.
Photo Stolen LittleLuxuryList
Then they go and do a fun ad like this. One of my favourite historical fashion styles was the MOD, from the 1950s & 60s it was a totally cool look featuring loads of black & white with maybe a touch of softest pink cashmere, girls with black eyes and white lips, leather, stretch and boots. Super cool look riding along on a Vespa. There was a brief revival of the look here in Sydney in the 1980s and there were a few MOD (Ska) bands around at the time too.
So here GUCCI goes and modernises the look making it fun and colourful! What a twist.
Enjoy the new ad,
Portia xx
Photo Stolen Flickr
Hi there APJ,
I know this is late to the party and you are probably all completely over the suicide of Robin Williams. Tonight my BFF said something that really made me think. What killed Robin Williams was depression, suicide was his cure for it. An eternal cure. A man who lived till 63 and finally succumbed to the black dog.
I am more moved by Robin Williams suicide than I have been about the loss of so many other entertainers. I don’t understand why but until tonight I just cry and yearn at the thought of it.
Photo Stolen ipernity
To anyone else out there who suffers depression, is suffering depression, please try and find another cure. One that will give you time here on earth and maybe time to pull through your depression. Being dead may last forever. If there is only this one life then you better push your way to freaking fabulous, 100% drive to amazing. If this is all you get, and you have been burdened with depression then the good times are a gift, such an amazing and incredible gift and when they come around this bleak blue will seem like nothing. A whisper, a shadow, a story, it will feel like all the bad happened to someone else and you will feel joy.
Here is the first tribute that I feel I can share with you.
Please watch,
Portia xx
Hey Hey
Last Sunday we showed the “Something old, something new” Part 1.1 BBC Perfume Documentary. Today we”ll be able to watch the second of these 3 wonderful documentaries. You’ll need to grab a cuppa/juice/wine and maybe some breakfast/lunch/dinner and settle in for an hour, there are no ad breaks but you can pause and come back through your Sunday.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Christopher Brosius, Jean Claude Ellena and Givauden are just the beginning….
I love seeing inside the industry, even though I know this is a Hollywood-via-Heathrow-ised version of it. Still there is enough reality and interest to keep me static for more than half before I need a pit stop. Grabbed some sustenance, had a tinkle and watched the rest.
Enjoy.
Portia xx
Hello lovely APJ Crew,
Over the next few Sundays we we”ll be able to watch these 3 wonderful documentaries. You’ll need to grab a cuppa/juice/wine and maybe some breakfast/lunch/dinner and settle in for an hour, there are no ad breaks but you can pause and come back through your Sunday. Two of the fragrances talked about in the doco are Guerlain’s Shalimar Parfum Initial and Loud by Hilfiger. We watch as Loud is released for the first time and go through the creation of it. Also we get a rare glimpse into Thierry Wasser’s rise to the head perfumer at Guerlain, and the fall of Jacques Guerlain. Very interesting.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Enjoy,
Portia xx
Hey Hey Fashionistas,
Well DIOR have finally done it. Made sneakers a couture creation. YAY! I freaking love them and can’t wait to trot down to Sydney DIOR to see if they are made in my size. How much fun would that be? TOO MUCH.
Enjoy the creation of video.
Portia xx
Photo Stolen FashionPost (problem with us using this image, let APJ know)
Hi there APJ,
Today’s post is one of the most wonderful things I have ever seen in my life. Sometimes a little video can make your day seem lighter and brighter. If you haven’t seen it before then I promise you a rare treat. For those that have seen it, watch it again. It only gets better every time you see it. Drew Carey, Richard Simmons: Living Scenery from Whose Line Is It Anyway.
Today I am taking a perfume break. Hanging out with Jin, fixing my BFFs parents electrical problems and riding the motor bikes. Then I’m off to work tonight where I will probably be wearing Vintage Boucheron Femme. Loads of it. YUMMO!
Photo Stolen ScreenInsults
No matter how shit your day, I think Drew Carey, Richard Simmons: Living Scenery may just turn you around
Be well.
Portia x
Hi there APJ Crew.
I just received an amazing deal in the mail today and I thought you would all love to get involved. I have enjoyed all the AQABA fragrances that I’ve been lucky enough to sample.
Portia xx
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
We have been invited to share the AQABA journey through the new AQABA Perfume Film
In celebration of the completion of this film, for 3 days, through July 30th, with a minimum purchase of $125.00, receive a complimentary 1oz/30ml of your choice, with AQABA samples included.
Please specify which 1oz/30ml you would like in the Comments section of the Order Form.
Orders can be received at AQABA Site or via email at info@mirani.com
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Australian Perfume Junkies 