Hello my lovelies,

I’ve had this video knocking around and kept forgetting to share it.

Arrived safely in India, Stayed a couple of days in Delhi to do some shopping and organising for my mate Varun’s hotels and a new property the family is developing. Yesterday the main thing we did was buy lights for 2 floors of hotels and 3 residences. BEDLAM!!! Then to cap it all I drove the car about 20kms in peak hour traffic! I know, I am amazing. It was not without incident though, plenty of good natured swearing and screaming, a near car crash and a couple of whisper touches by other cars and some bikes. Hair raising but fun

Enjoy the video.

Portia xxx

Scarlett by Cacharel

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Post by Katrina

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Hi everyone, Funny story. Hubby and I were in a taxi heading out to see a band the other night. I asked him what he thought of my perfume and he said, “I thought it was the cab.” I was wearing today’s fragrance that I’ll be reviewing. I couldn’t stop laughing; it made my night.

Jessica Simpson Fancy Nights by Steve Demercado 2010

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives the following notes:
Top: Bergamot and Egyptian papyrus
Middle: Indonesian patchouli, Bulgarian red rose and night blossoming jasmine
Base: Sandalwood, oak moss, amber, vanilla

Does Fancy Nights really smell like a cab? Well it certainly doesn’t smell like air freshener or shampoo, its not clean and fresh or sweet like many celebuscents. Fancy Nights is smoky, spicy and has a kind of musty smell you get from patchouli. Maybe hubby has a point. I have been in cabs that have smelled smoky, spicy and musty but to describe a perfume as smelling like a cab just sounds so unflattering. I love Fancy Nights; it smells wonderful!

Photo Stolen News.com.au

Jessica Simpson’s Fancy Nights is a strong, sophisticated perfume and the initial blast reminds me of Shalimar. It smells opulent and expensive. I notice an intense almost astringent type of smell at first like aniseed. The vanilla is very strong but not sweet. This is straight up vanilla – there is no cupcake or ice-cream influence at all. The vanilla is strong but the patchouli is just full on in Fancy Nights. It smells smoky and spicy with an earthy amber base. I really enjoy wearing this perfume, it smells absolutely gorgeous and when the patchouli eventually fades away, a sweeter vanilla and musk lingers.

Photo Stolen People

Fancy Nights smells expensive but it is sooo cheap. You can get a 50ml bottle for $12.95 from Fragrance X.

Fancy Nights is the third fragrance in a range of Fancy perfumes from Jessica Simpson but the bright emerald green colour of the Fancy Nights bottle makes it stand out from the rest.

Further reading:
Now Smell This

By the way, when we got out of the cab and he took another whiff he said it smelled really nice. Have you ever had any unexpected reactions to your perfume?

Please visit my website (celebrityperfumestore<<<JUMP) for more celebrity perfume news and reviews.

Katrina xx

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Post by Madeleine

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My Fracas Story – Fracas by Robert Piguet 1948

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

In my ever changing and expanding fragrance collection, there’s one particular perfume that deserves pride of place. Other scents have come and gone, but Fracas by Germaine Cellier for Robert Piguet has been a mainstay for me for 15 years. It hasn’t been a smooth ride, but my altercations with this perfume have been mostly due to circumstance and other people rather than my own feelings of the scent.

I acquired my first Fracas bottle not long after the scent was reintroduced in 1998, before online shopping and the first fragrance blog. Until then, I’d worn popular scents available in department stores and Fracas’ exclusivity enthralled and enchanted me. It was expensive, only available in one boutique here in Sydney, had a cult following and was one of my idols favourites – British model Sophie Dahl. And it looked so chic in the shiny black bottle.

Photo stolen vk.com

I returned to the Sydney boutique time and time again to catch beautiful whiffs while I saved my hard earned pennies to buy a full bottle. Fracas was going to be my fragrance, something that I loved rather than a perfume that all my girlfriends wore or something to impress a boyfriend. I still remember the thrill when that bottle was finally wrapped lovingly in tissue paper. I was all woman now, and nothing was going to stop me. I proudly put some on before going down to dinner that night. I was still living with my parents at that stage and thought I’d wow them with my new acquisition.

Not so. “Oh my god, what is that AWFUL perfume you have on?” was my mother’s reaction. Dad and my brother also looked suitably unimpressed. I told them in vain of the story of Fracas and how it had been inspired by Rita Hayworth but they just didn’t budge. Such was the level of dislike for my scent that my brother actually renamed it with an expletive (I’ll allow you to use your imagination here): “Oh no, you’ve got that awful *&^% #$$ perfume on again.”

Thus, Fracas and I became clandestine. She now accompanied my on my morning gym visits where I could spray with abandon without my family’s misgivings. However, one day, I managed to smash an almost full bottle on the changing room floor. I was mortified and more disturbed still when I saw dozens of girls recoil in horror at the pungency and loudness of the tuberose. That changing room had my scent on it for months.

Photo Stolen photo-curs

Fast forward some time and suddenly it seemed like every woman was in on my secret. Fracas became ubiquitous and our relationship went more underground. I refused to wear it out now, only sneaking a precious few drops when I could enjoy it at home alone. It would be my guilty pleasure after coming home from work; my comfort scent that I would put on to wear to bed.

Just as my relationship with Fracas has changed, so too has the scent on my skin. All those years ago it was a bold, brash diva: tuberose with a capital T, a scent that was incredibly beautiful but that took no prisoners. Now Fracas is sotto voce on my skin, it opens up with the bright orange blossom and tuberose before the buttery goodness melds with my skin and becomes one with it. It sings so softly now that I can pretty much wear it without provoking comment.

So it was much to my surprise when I did get one sometime last year. I’d spritzed some on before hopping into a taxi to meet my fiancé. The driver turned to me and said: “What are you wearing? You smell lovely, like a lady.” I told him it was Fracas and she was very much a lady indeed.

Further reading The Candy Perfume Boy and Bois de Jasmin

Fracas is now not so exclusive and available readily online at outlets such as FragranceNet, $68.19/50ml.

Have you tried Fracas? Which one of your fragrances takes pride of place in your collection?

With much love till next time!
M x

Sensual greetings APJs

If I wasn’t a small part of this perfume subculture, I feel very sure I never would have heard of, let alone smelled, the incredible creations of today’s perfumer, who is so amazing..

RUBJ Eau de Parfum by VERO KERN 2007

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured notes:
Top: Neroli, passsionfruit, mandarin, bergamot
Heart: Cumin, Basil, African orange flower, tuberose
Base: Virginia cedar, oakmoss, musk

If I wasn’t a small part of this perfume subculture, I feel very sure I never would have heard of, let alone smelled, the incredible creations of Vero Kern. Vero Kern takes time to create her fragrances. Time to develop them. She says that it scares her; launches every six months. Claiming scents are new, but in fact they are just rehashes of old ones. She gets bored of continually seeing many of the same ideas behind new releases.

Vero Kern Photo Stolen luzernerzeitung

Vero Kern has a spirituality about her (to me) which becomes more apparent in mature women. I love it. She inspires me. A creative artist. Plus she always looks fabulous! Awesomely cool. I want to be just like her as I get older.

I watched part of an interesting interview with her. Ms Kern say she likes to put “something that is a little bit disturbing” into her fragrances. A note that people cannot identify. Sometimes it may disturb in a positive way and sometimes in a negative way. She goes on to say, “A characteristic perfume has to have this disturbance, otherwise it is flat.” She tries to avoid this certain flatness. “For the eccentric and flamboyant.”

RUBJ is everything but flat.

Photo Stolen Pinterest

RUBJ is what I would have wanted on my wedding day.

This is über-sensual. Depending not on the intellect or the spirit. Carnal, fleshly, exquisite, beautiful, unchaste. A fragrance so enrapturing and captivating, I am smitten. Voluptuous. Gorgeous. What more can I say?

Further reading PerfumePosse and Olfactoria’sTravels
LuckyScent has $220/50ml EdP
SurrenderToChance has the original 3 EdPs in the range as a sampler from $14/3 x .5ml

I expect 7.5 mls of RUBJ Extrait in the post tomorrow. Untested. Because sometimes you just have to.
(Ed: Editing this post inspired me to buy the Rubj EdP in LA at Scentsation. You are a wicked temptress Val. XXX)

Love
CQ

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Post by FeralJasmine

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Hi APJ,

I did my undergraduate work at a university that was famous for its campus viburnums. Unfortunately it was even more famous for its student suicide rate, and many of them seemed to occur during the viburnum season, although I trust it had more to do with final exams than the flower itself. For me, on my way to exams, the extraordinary, penetrating, sweet and spicy scent of the viburnum was encouraging. It seemed to act on me as a kind of aromatherapy, and sometimes I would stand next to a bush in full bloom, huffing it up like fragrant crack. Those are times that I still remember as moments of pure beauty, when everything else steps aside and joy wells up in an fleeting but perfect moment. So naturally, when I tumbled into the perfume obsession, I began looking for a perfume that would express that scent.
For those who might be interested in a viburnum scent, the perfumes that list this note are:

Boudoir by Martin Gras for Vivienne Westwood 1998

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

BaseNotes gives these featured accords:
Top: Viburnum, mandarin, bergamot
Heart: Rose, tobacco flower, coriander, orris
Base: Vanilla, sandalwood, amber

Boudoir. That’s it. One. It’s from the line of Vivienne Westwood, the punky fashion designer. Her firm still sells a reformulated version and here are the listed notes: viburnum, bergamot, mandarine, rose, tobacco flower, heliotrope.
I have the original version, and here’s a more accurate list of the notes: viburnum, heliotrope, powder, slight spice, skank. Faint but unmistakable skank. Like I was scurrying on my way to an exam, sweating slightly, and got laid under a viburnum bush. Which, I assure you, never happened. At least partly because it would have made me late for an exam.

Photo Stolen 66SquareFeet

There are viburnums that aren’t fragrant, and then there are the heavenly fragrant ones. If you have never smelled one of the fragrant viburnums in bloom, I can only describe it as creamy heliotrope with spice, especially nutmeg. It’s a sweet scent, you will have gathered, and if you dislike sweet scents then no doubt you’ll dislike this one as well. And I can’t pretend that this perfume smells exactly like viburnum, because nothing does. There is a strong sweet opening, then wafts of near-viburnum with faint undertones of skank, then a somewhat powdery and slightly spicy drydown. On my scent-eating skin, the whole show lasts about 90 minutes.

Westwood Bridal Photos Stolen TheBestFashionBlog

Now, let’s talk price. Some companies seem to hike the prices of their perfumes to create an aura of unattainability. I’m not thinking of anyone in particular here, just anyone whose initials are Killian Hennesey. If you want the priciest, then save your pennies and best of luck to you. But if, like me, you love a bargain, there are many to be had among the older scents that are all over Ebay. I have to add that most of these former mainstream scents are better than any mainstream perfume released within the last dozen years. Think back to the days when aquatic and ozonic notes weren’t around, melon barely ever appeared, and nobody aspired to smell like fabric softener. That’s what you get when you buy older scents. Some are dirt-cheap, and some are only moderately cheap. This one is moderately cheap. The old one and the reformulation are easy to tell apart; the original is cognac-colored and the reissue is pink. I’ve never tried the reissue, because my little flask of original will probably last for years. If you have no prior history with viburnum, the scent may not mean much to you. To me, it brings back those exciting nerve-wracking days when nothing, not career, not home life, nothing, was in place yet. I wouldn’t want to live there now, but I do enjoy visiting.

Further reading: Perfume Posse and Portia on APJ
FragranceNet has $48/30ml before discount
PoshPeasant starts at $3.50/ml

FeralJasmine x

Hello Fragrance Friends,

You may or may not know that my partner is an electrician, or sparky as we call them in Australia. I had longed for today’s fragrance for ages, just because I thought it would be funny to have in my collection. I grabbed a decant and drained it in record time so then I decided it was absolutely and utterly FB worthy. Every now and then Parfum1 has a 20% off sale and when they had one recently I was all over it like a rash, and here is one of my purchases. Sadly they no longer have stock of

Fat Electrician by Etat Libre d’Orange 2009

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Vetiver, olive leaves, marron glaces, vanilla, opoponax and myrrh

From the ELdO site: His beauty would have been his greatest asset. A midnight cowboy, his splendor was consumed in the service for others. Now, a fat electrician in New Jersey, he is cursed with the memory of his glory days. Because all beauty carries within itself the knowle­dge that it cannot last…

Well, there is a LOT of online discourse about the names and backstories of the ELdO range. My opinion is that it’s fun and harmless story creation at its best. I don’t know the people involved but they seem silly and naughty, not afraid to push a boundary and are creating engaging perfumes that are essentially wearable, with a couple of notable exceptions. Here are my imaginary before & after Electricians, he he he!

Before Photo Stolen 24SevenElectrics

After Photo Stolen Him.UK

How does Fat Electrician smell? On my skin it opens all diesel and woods, which they say is the vetiver, dirty and dark with a greenness and balsamic sweetness all smooshed in together. There is also a metallic tang that reminds me of the years we used to take LSD, that initial metallic almost blood-ish taste as you chew your cardboard. OMG! I just physically shuddered at the memory. Imagine wearing Tam Dao in a mechanics garage, yes? That’s Fat Electrician.

Fat electrician has quite a bit of space between the notes, interestingly it feels both dense and light and bears absolutely no resemblance to my electrician or his ass crack. I get earthy, dirty vetiver and some slight softening and sweetening as the fragrance lives. The resins are not really getting much of a workout today though. Perhaps the cool air does Fat Electrician no favours, I get less growth and the story is far less interesting that in the 20+ celcius weather where it blossoms beautifully. Looks like I’m going to have to put this baby into the return to wear at Spring box and relegate it to the back of the cupboard. DamnIt! I was hoping for a fabulous winter extravaganza with Fat Electrician.

Photo Stolen LaurieFlower

Later the same day: WOW! There is a definitely fresh hewn wood with beeswax polished, finished products and some smoky charred wood nearby. I’m about 3 hours in and suddenly Fat Electrician has started to give me its beauty. In the cool air the life is extended by HOURS! and the release is slower and way more interesting. BRAVO ELdO.

Further reading: PerfumeSmellin’Things and I really like the ambivelence of EauMG’s review too
EtatLibreD’Orange currently has 69€/50ml with FREE WORLD SHIPPING!!
SurrenderToChance starts at $4.75/ml

Where do you stand on the ELdO range? Are you outraged or amused by their names and stories?

We hope to see you tomorrow,
Portia xx

Hey Hey Scenters!!

As you know I was recently in LA and one of the MUST FIND things on my list was something I thought would be super easy to get my hands on. Not so! Tom and I wandered around LA looking for this elusive jewel for two days until a Bloomingdales SA, who said they’d had it but were sold out, looked up every Bloomingdales in the LA area and found us some at Bloomingdales Century City (Century City BTW is owned now by Australian multinational mall conglomerate Westfields) and so off we trotted to find the last 10 bottles in LA, of which I purchased three. A solo in box, a golden unboxed wetpack with a body lotion and another unboxed with body lotion and tote bag. The boxed is for our very own Celebuscent reviewer Katrina the others for myself..

Truth or Dare NAKED by Madonna 2013

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Honeysuckle, peach blossom and neroli
Heart: Vanilla orchid, cocoa flower and lily of the valley
Base: Texas cedar wood, benzoin from Laos, oud accord and Australian sandalwood

What do I smell? It smells so good. A rich, creamy amber with inedible vanilla and bitter chocolate with a delicate wash of flowers over the top that ends in a woodsy vanillic dry down. So good. OH SO GOOD!! A warm fragrance that will be stunning in the cooler months but works beautifully in the heat also. Over the last few weeks I’ve worn it in 35C in LA, 12C in Sydney and 45C in Delhi. At no time have I felt it out of place, in fact Truth or Dare Naked is one of the easiest and prettiest, most wearable fragrances I’ve ever worn.

I love the bottle, it’s cool, hefty and the see through glass version is very pretty and feels great in my hand for spritzing. Though you start out very fragrant Truth or Dare Naked quickly softens down to a pretty, better than your skin smelling wash that has moderate projection but excellent sillage. The wear life is average at around 4-5 hours, longer in the cool, and dry down is soft and woodsy/suede-ish.

If you found Madonna’s first offering too close to Fracas or many of the hefty tuberoses this is a complete turn around and a completely stylish, soft and warm fragrance. Bravo Madonna

Photo Stolen NewsPinnacle

I could only find the NowSmellThis introduction of Truth or Dare Naked by Madonna
I can not find a sample or full bottle to buy ANYWHERE on the internet!!!

Loads of love till tomorrow.
Portia xx

Hello Happy Huffers,

There is a lovely lady, Jane Cate, tucked away in Menlo Park of the San Francisco Bay area in California. Her work is wondrous and I have written of it before for you all. Today I opened a package from Jane Cate to find samples of her three new fragrances for 2013, the first you can see reviewed on the Perfume Posse, but I saved this one for APJ because I’m, a selfish bitch and it’s my favourite. He He HE!

La Isla Del Sol by A Wing & A Prayer Perfumes 2013

Photo Stolen Etsy

Jane Cate gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot
Heart: Orange blossom, honey absolute and sweet orange
Base: Amber and tonka tincture

La Isla Del Sol means Island of the Sun and the bergamot opening is sweet, tangy and already slightly resinous, very much like sitting in cool, sunny parkland in the morning near a citrus orchard. It’s lovely, lively and invigorating: a soft and sexy cologne-esque opening that hints at warmth beneath. As the sun warms up the day and thebodies there is a very animalic orange blossom/honey accord that feels slightly feral as if it’s going to turn fecal but never crosses the beauty line into disgusting. There is a definite hark back to old fashioned perfumery in La Isla Del Sol, I really feel that it has depths that are lacking in much of the market today, even some of the niche lines are becoming castrated by their success, not so here.

The amber and tonka move in slowly and take over the whole beautiful production leaving only the smallest trace memories of citrus till about 4-5 hours later I am ready to respritz.

I cannot believe that the A Wing & A Prayer crew can make such fabulous scents at these amazingly good prices, do go check them out. You’ll thank me for introducing you.

Photo Stolen Etsy

A Wing & A Prayer have an Etsy Shop (<<JUMP) where you can grab their fragrances. A great was to get to know them is to buy the Mini Sampler Set with 3 x 4ml spray or roll on in your choice from the whole range for only $10!! What a BARGAIN!

Kisses, hugs and love till tiomorrow,
Portia xx

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Post by Brie

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At the age of six I requested my own perfume and a few weeks later demanded a perfume wardrobe (what can I say? I was a spoiled ‘only child’ and mum acquiesced). For years there would always be five to seven full bottles in rotation. Once one was completely drained into the garbage it went and I would then allow myself to purchase something new and different.

PERFUME AND TEA MUSINGS: A TALE OF MANY BOTTLES

When I was in my late teens it hit me that I really should be saving these bottles as some of them were exquisitely beautiful. Thus began my bottle collection. After a while, word got out that I was a collector and anyone that wore perfume was giving me their bottles. After 30 some odd years of collecting I had amassed over 400 empty bottles.

Photo Courtesy Brittany and Courtney

Several years ago my hubby, eyeballing the multitude of perfume boxes in the basement, requested that I throw them out. The added pressure came from my yoga teacher who was steering me in the direction of ‘simplifying my life’ by letting go of material possessions. Within a week I had discarded almost all of my bottles- from vintage Chanels to matching Annick Goutals all in different sizes. At first it felt cathartic….then I almost had a nervous breakdown when I realized what I had done!

ESCADA’S LIMITED EDITION CHERRY IN THE AIR

Photo courtesy Brittany and Courtney

NOTES IN ESCADA’S CHERRY IN THE AIR: black cherry, raspberry, mandarin, marshmallow, gardenia, coconut, sandalwood, oakwood

Fortunately I stood firm on my limited edition Escadas. From the time I brought home my first Escada limited edition (Un Ete en Provence) from Paris in 1994 I had been collecting a bottle every year. Although the juice has gotten a bit fruitier over the years and not always to my taste I still bought each bottle, knowing that one of my daughters would wear the juice. With the exception of Chiffon Sorbet (1993) I still have every single one from 1994 through 2013.
This year’s offering is “Cherry in the Air” which, surprisingly, I rather enjoy wearing. It begins as a vibrant burst of tart cherry, segues into a creamy gardenia- coconut- marshmallow trio and dries down to a woody accord. This may very well be the one that the girls will have to share with me as I am not relinquishing my bottle to them as I normally would do!

HARNEY AND SONS CHERRY BLOSSOM TEA

Photo Stolen CappoJim

I pair Cherry in the Air with Harney and Sons Cherry Blossom Tea- a green tea with the subtle flavor of plump cherries. And as I enjoy a perfect cup of springtime in tea and wear “cherries” on my wrist I think about all of those lovely bottles my daughters will one day inherit from me (yes, after the discarding debacle I have begun a new collection which is well hidden in my basement…SHHHH…don’t tell the hubby!)

Perfume and Tea Pairings GIVEAWAY!

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

For the draw Brittany, Courtney and I are offering up 1 x three samples from our limited edition Escada collection: Cherry in the Air, Taj Sunset and Moon Sparkle as well as a sampling of teas.
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

Open to everyone worldwide who leaves a comment on your favorite limited edition fragrance and you are entered to win!.

Extra Chance?
Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie @brie108 @ESCADA Brie’s Perfume & Tea GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p2fQBU-1AW @ESCADAmericasPR

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Friday 7th June 2013 9pm AusEST and winners will be announced in a separate post then.
Winners will be chosen by putting names on same sized papers, folded similarly, put on a tray and Brie’s family will pick a winner.
The winners will have till Monday 10th June 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.

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Post by Suzanne R Banks

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An essential oil from a wood can draw us in to world of intrigue and secrets, ancient knowledge and divine scent. Wood oils bring an oil formulation together and can be considered “grounding” and “centering” – due to the fact the tree roots delve deep into the earth. Oils from woods have been used for thousands of years in sacred ceremonies, embalming techniques and in traditional healing. Cherish these beautiful gifts from nature.

Sandalwood – A Precious, Ancient Oil

Photo Stolen W.A.Today

Today most oils come from renewable plantations but in the case of Sandalwood we have seen a decline in the tree population for many years. Indian Sandalwood has been over farmed, which has lead to a crisis in the industry and in our forests. Illegal felling of young trees has lead to more stringent controls from the Indian government to help sustain production long term. This is the one driving factor in the huge price increase in the last 10 years, and is also the reason why the Australian Sandalwood industry is booming.

The Indian type “Santalum album”, and the Australian sandalwood “Santalum spicatum” have similarities but are wonderful in their differences. The Indian wood is the classic deep, sweet exotic scent that we have come to know and love and in the Australian oil, you can actually smell the bush. It really is beautiful. I use both oils, and both are considered to be premium oils and are more expensive than common oils.

Traditionally Sandalwood has been used for spiritual ceremonies and the spread of the use of this oil is claimed to have come hand-in-hand with Buddhism. If anyone has been to India you would know the widespread use of the scent in incense and temples, in soaps and perfumes.
It is used therapeutically to treat acne, urinary disorders and infections and as a nervine tonic to ease stress and anxiety.

There is also an oil produced called West Indian Sandalwood but this tree comes from a different species and is sometimes called amyris oil. I’ve never used this oil, and have never seen it anywhere. It apparently has a slight sandalwood scent (hence it’s name) and is used in perfumes and fragrant body products.

Indian Sandalwood will usually come in a 3% jojoba blend like Rose, Jasmine and Neroli. This means it is ready to go as a perfume but not good for putting in an oil burner. Oil burners and diffusers need 100% pure essential oils so when an oil is mixed with jojoba, the scent won’t escape the carrier oil and may also damage your diffuser.

Photo Stolen Botanical

Try these simple recipes to invite peace, sacred sexuality and a connection to the divine:

Pulse Point Perfume

Mix together in a little bowl or saucer and anoint your beautiful self

“Good Luck Charm”
Sandalwood 3% in jojoba 3 drops
Mandarin 1 drop

“Gold”
Australian Sandalwood 2 drops
Rosewood 2 drops

Photo Stolen SandalwoodCompany

Scent Your Space

Add these oils to a classic oil burner or diffuser:
“Fluidity”
Australian Sandalwood 10 drops
Ylang Ylang 6 drops
Orange 9 drops

Sandalwood is an oil for softening the edges in your life. Breathe it in and you wont be disappointed.

Suzanne R Banks x

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

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Post by Dionne

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Hello,

Being a frugal perfumista, few things make me happier than smelling fab without spending a lot of money. In my Cheap Thrills category, Queen by Queen Latifah sits at the very top. I bought a bottle about three years ago from the discount shelf at my local Shopper’s Drug Mart, and after all this time it’s still a favorite.

Queen by Queen Latifah: Big, Bad and Beautiful

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Italian Bergamot, Mediterranean Mandarin
Heart: Baie Rose, Jasmine Noir, while Cognac, Moroccan Coriander
Base: Indonesian Patchouli, Sandalwood, Vanilla, Tonka Absolute, Egyptian Incense, Musk

I find that when I talk about perfumes I use a lot of different ways to describe them: visual images, quirky phrases, songs, food, textures, feelings, whatever seems to “fit” that particular perfume. The very first time I sprayed Queen, a full scene popped into my head, and it’s how I’ve described this fragrance ever since. Imagine a dark and smoky jazz club; slow and sultry music is being played and everyone’s sitting back feeling languorous and nodding their heads slowly to the groove. Now we’re zooming in on the upright bass player: he’s wearing a hat and shades. Zoom in even further to the bottom of that upright bass, and we discover it’s slowly dripping maple syrup on the floor.
Basically, this:

In less atmospheric terms, Queen is dark, sweet and boozy. So dark, only my Black Cashmere sits in the same category. It’s chock-full of vanilla, but no worries, this is not your little girly-girl vanilla; she’s all grown up because of the incense, cognac and patchouli. And when Queen goes out for a night on the town, she’s out aaaall night. 24-hours-and-a-shower later, I still smell fabulous.

Photo Stolen BodyShapeStyle

There is only one caveat about this fragrance, and it’s one where Portia and I have a difference of opinion. I think the bottle is Ug-Uh-Lee, and she delights in the trashiness of it. In my opinion, the fragrance is a great fit for the woman, and I adore Queen Latifah, the bottle…. not so much. However, since we’re all responsible perfumistas and keep our bottles in their boxes in dark, cool closets or fridges, (you are doing that, right? Riiight? Do I need to come over there and give you my mom scowl?) it’s not that big a deal.

I spent some time looking for just the right fit for this review, and the one and only Stan Getz fit the bill. However, I did have a lot of fun going through the semi-finalists. If you’ve got a mo’, see below and check out Queen Latifah’s spots in Chicago “When You’re Good to Mama” and Hairspray “Big, Blond and Beautiful.” Isn’t she just fabulous?

Further reading: NowSmellThis
GalaxyPerfume has $20/100ml
MyPerfumeSamples starts at $2/ml up to $6/5ml
Happy smellin’ y’all!
Dionne

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Giveaway by Brie

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Perfume and Tea Pairings GIVEAWAY!

WHAT COULD YOU WIN?

For the draw Brittany, Courtney and I offered up 1 x three samples from our limited edition Escada collection: Cherry in the Air, Taj Sunset and Moon Sparkle as well as a sampling of teas.
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DID YOU WIN?

Open to everyone worldwide who left a comment on their favorite limited edition fragrance.

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Friday 7th June 2013 9pm AusEST.
Winners were chosen by putting names on same sized papers, folded similarly, put on a tray and Brie’s family picked a winner.

Photo Stolen FallOutFactory

MIM

CONGRATULATIONS!!! You have till Monday 10th June 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.

Hello Fragrant Fumies,

This is one of my girlfriends, hello Alice I’m looking at you, favourite fragrances. While in LA last week my mate Thomas Pease from PerfumePosse and Perfume Smellin’ Things and I were trolling the malls of LA together. It was super fun and I was looking for a few things including the large 35ml spritz of CHANEL No 5 Parfum which I am finding impossible to get my hands on, anyone know where I can grab it? Anyway, during our travels we spritzed the modern incarnation of

Coco by CHANEL 1984

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Coriander, pomegranate blossom, mandarin orange, peach, jasmine and Bulgarian rose
Heart: Mimose, cloves, orange blossom, clover and rose
Base: Labdanum, amber, sandalwood, tonka bean, opoponax, civet and vanilla

I am usually of the mind that all change is good, progressive, necessary unless it’s an obvious exception like finding ways to log virgin rainforest faster or better and quicker ways to torture people for information, now I’ve added a new one: REFORMULATION!! Yes, I understand that the fragrance community is self regulating and these changes are important but OMfreakingG! If this was not called Coco I would have thought it a summer flanker of Coco. This is what a softened, prettied, lighter and less ambitious Coco should feel like for summer wearings. If it was that I would say, “BRILLIANT! CHANEL have thought this out and done a superb job of bringing the fragrance up to date without losing its original idea completely, as a fun and frivolous, sunny reference point. A Coco water-colour if you like.” But to sell this non-Coco and claim it as the truth, NO! Like claiming the first and second paintings below are as filled with warmth, depth and colour, though both are beautiful they are not the same.

Photo Stolen FranzXaverWinterhalter

Photo Stolen HungArtHungary

Is there anything left to love about Coco Modern? Sure. If you had never worn it before and were just discovering perfume you would think it beyond beautiful. Still with that perfect CHANEL blending, still a Fl-Oriental and still quite a bit more exotic that most of the range. What it lacks is the dirty bitch grind and sexy, sensual, animalic undertones that were a warning as much as a signal for seduction. Coco Modern is almost office wearable and its predecessor is most definitely not in the current frag climate. They have castrated our Coco and I for one am sad.

Coco is available for FREE spritzing at most department stores.
EssentalMall starts at 50ml EdT/$109
SurrenderToChance starts at $3/ml

See you tomorrow,
Portia xx

Heya,

As you know last month we were on the Scentsation Bus Tour of Los Angeles. It was a fabulous day and I can’t wait for next years installment. Our very last stop of the day was at Opus oils where Kedra Hart and her posse were there creating mayhem and glamoursphere. The shop is incredible, and perfectly showcases the magic that Kedra creates. Jitterbug is a sample I was given with my purchases on the Scentsation bus. I will come back with more stories about the bottles I bought very soon.

Jitterbug by Kedra Hart for Opus Oils 2008

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Jasmine, lemon essence, honeysuckle, orange blossom, “beach found” ambergris, blond tobacco and sandalwood

Jitterbug opens with a burst of boozy, almost narcotic, flowers and tobacco. It’s warm and rich and decadent like plum pudding and cream, there is something so food-ish here and I can’t work out what it is. The initial rush leads you to believe that Jitterbug is going to be E NOR MOUS!! but after the opening burns of it settles quickly into a mid range fragrant waft, very pretty and decidedly wearable with a very definite nod to fragrance of the past, there is a depth and seduction at work here that feels like the nuanced magic of naturals and the ambergris is giving it a chiaroscuro effect, dappling the prettiness with a darker denseness that is both salty and vanilla sweet. Helooooo! Did I say sexy? This is sexy, Sexy, SEXY!! I feel like the most beautiful, sensual, siren wearing Jitterbug. This is the good stuff. Thank you Kendra, next year I will be in to buy a shit load of this.

Photo Stolen siliconeer

Jitterbug is a beautifully blended Princess of a perfume, elegant and graceful yet still fun and a little naughty especially towards dry down. You will be fragrant and the sillage is excellent but you won’t be skunking people unless you apply massive amounts. Most workplaces friendly and an enthusiastic 2 thumbs up for dates!

Opus Oils Jitterbug Perfume Parlour opened August 2008 in Hollywood, CA, USA after Kendra Hart being a successful underground and above ground perfumer. Here’s a little (edited version) of what the site says:
Kedra Hart was one of the developers of The Apothecary at Barneys New York in Beverly Hils and founder of the natural perfume and aromatherapy line Precious Petals. She designs custom scents, teaches perfumery in LA and Paris and is blender and co-founder with Joshua Hart of Opus Oils Jitterbug Perfume Parlour.
“It’s hard to describe our Jitterbug Perfume Parlour when people ask,” says Joshua Hart, “I usually say it’s a cross between the movie “Beyond the Valley of the Dolls” and the book “Jitterbug Perfume”. Mix that with the TV show “Hart to Hart”, sprinkle it with “Moulin Rouge” and then add a dash of Flapper Speakeasy Culture. Yeah, I think that about says it all.”

Photo Stolen VickieLester

Do go and check the Opus Oils site, here a few of the ways you can buy Jitterbug and the prices. Had I done my homework I would now own a 100ml Body & Bath Oil of Jitterbug. DAMN!!! Oh well, there’s always next year
1 Dram Parfum (Airport travel size) Roll-on $40.00
1oz Eau de Parfum Oil Spray $65.00
3.3oz Bath & Body Oil $50.00

Have you tried any of the Opus Oils? How do you rate them?
Portia xx

Hello Stink Monkeys!!

This fragrance I’ve had a decant sitting in my cupboard for a while. I often see it for a good price and read reviews but it has never reached my skin until recently. To be truthful I was a little Ho Hum about it and wasn’t sure that it would be my thing. Honey, hay, dust, sweet tobacco and balmy amber, hang on, that sounds exactly what a fragrance should be made up of…

Chergui by Serge Lutens 2001

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Tobacco leaf, honey, iris, sandalwood, amber, musk, incense, rose and hay

I love the entrance to Chergui, the super honeyed tobacco and amber rise up softly and gracefully on my skin. It is sweet and dusty at the same time, like an old forgotten second hand bookstore in the desert at dusk. The smell of wood and paper and earth and that chill as the daylight leaves. I only get the merest hint of hay, though there is something like it hiding behind the honey/tobacco sweetness which is amplified on my skin. Has anyone else had the honey/tobacco take over during the first hour or so?

Photo Stolen TripAdvisor

Once the sweetness burns off for me the whole fragrance becomes more dessicated and interesting, like dried out greenery snapped or crumbled in your hands with a very cool smoky incense, before you light it, and here I get a little spicy rose and a whisper of something that smells like orchid.

For some reason I had it in my head that Chergui was a difficult fragrance but I find it pretty and wearable. Not too strong, not too outrageous in the cool of Sydney late Autumn and definitely wearable by both sexes. On my skin this is reminiscent of some of the best vintage women’s fragrances and some of the 1990s excellent mens, all of which have been discontinued or reformulated out of even a whisper of themselves.

I wish I had taken my decant of Chergui to LA with me because I think it will bloom even more beautifully in the warmth. As it is I’m getting moderate life of about 4-5 hours and moderate sillage. This is only my second wear though, I can’t wait to wear Chergui to work and see if people love it.

Photo Stolen DailyTelegraph

Further reading Olfactoria’sTravels and Kafkaesque
FragranceNet has $97/50ml and with the oft available 15% discount that’s around $83!!
SurrenderToChance starts at $4/.5ml

How did Chergui live on your skin? Was there a note that really stood out and was surprising? Did you have a similar experience to most others?
Please join the conversation, I love it when people tell us how a fragrance affected them,
Portia xx

Hi All,

After some missing of planes and arriving 12 hours late and a whole bunch of stuff I must apologise that this is very little and late. Still it is interesting to see Christopher Sheldrake talk about CHANEL No 5 Exhibition. He is quietly handsome and engaging. I hope you like it.

Portia xx

Stolen from SeedOfHappiness

N°5 CULTURE CHANEL – Interview with Christopher Sheldrake, CHANEL Perfumer

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Post by Madeleine

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Hello fragrance friends. Hope you are well and enjoy today’s post.

Well, like any other perfume obsessive, I’m pretty unfaithful when it comes to scents. Sometimes I’ll wear several a day, let alone dozens in a week. So it’s surprised me that I have been pretty much faithful to one scent for several weeks now:

Chamade by Guerlain 1969

Chamade was created by Jean-Paul Guerlain in 1969, and it was inspired by the Francoise Sagan’s novel “La Chamade” which was later adapted into a movie starring Catherine Deneuve. The word, from French means a drumbeat signifying a retreat from war.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords (Ed: different in the blurb and pictures, I’ve melded):
Top: Hyacinth, Turkish rose,  jasmine, bergamot, aldehydes
Heart: Lilac, cloves, jasmine, rose, lily of the valley, iris, galbanum, ylang-ylang, blackcurrant buds,
Base: Sandalwood, vetiver, musk, benzoin, amber, tonka bean, Tolu balsam, Peru balsam

Many others have written of the fragrance so beautifully, that I can’t really add much more to what’s been said already. However, the perfume, as many have noted, feels like a perfume in three separate acts. The first is the bright green, spring-like opening of galbanum and hyacinth at first fresh and then powdery; the second act is all about dewy rose and lilac, underpinned by juicy blackcurrant; the final act is another beast entirely, where the green rosiness segues into smooth and sweet vanilla and amber.

Photo Stolen Temptalia

I acquired my bottle of Chamade a few months ago, knowing it was hard to find here in Australia and a classic. I initially regretted my purchase and wasn’t entirely sure how I felt about it. Fast forward some time and Chamade is now so perfect to me, I’m actually wondering how I lasted without it as long as I did. The perfume is everything I’d like to think I am and everything I want in the idealized version of myself: sophisticated, elegant, intelligent, beautiful and warm. It is at once a perfect adornment whilst at the same time being innately part of me. For note, I have the EDP version.

Photo Stolen TrendsEve

Further reading:Bois de Jasmin and Now Smell This

SurrendertoChance has samples starting at $3/ml

Have you tried Chamade? Have you been more faithful to one fragrance lately? What perfumes are currently in rotation for you?

With much love until next time!
M x

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Post by Val the Cookie Queen

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Rubj: Extrait de Parfum by Vero Profumo 2007

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Sweet orange blossom from Morocco, in a mellifluous shimmery dress of the finest notes of musk, earnestly courted by tempting Egyptian jasmine & cumin.

I fell in love with Rubj EDP on New Year´s Eve. I had saved my sample for that evening. So I knew it would only be a matter of time before I had to try the Ruby Extrait. Every time I attempted to get a sample, they were temporarily unavailable. Very annoying. So after writing my last APJ piece on the EDP, I thought, that´s it. I am waiting no longer. I ordered it right then and there, untested. So the waiting game began. I am sure all you APJs and other readers are familiar with the sensation? Adrenalin starts to pump, and our ears become sensitive to the sound of every UPS van within a 5 mile radius!! It only took 4 days, and that included a weekend. I snatched the package and put it into my wardrobe, to be opened in the evening when I wasn´t knee-deep in dough.

I ordered the 7.5 ml bottle. One and a half teaspoons. Gulp.

Such a petite, pretty, feminine bottle. And, luckily for me, the fragrance is ravishing. It won´t please everyone. Which as some of you know, is just the way I like it. It might be a good idea to try it before buying. I don´t want to encourage buying blind. On the other hand, the thrill is exhilarating!

Photo Stolen CrystalMountain

On my skin it starts out very softly. As it heats up it conjures up strawberries, incense (the hippie kind), saltiness, menthol, rose, musk and ice lollies (the fruity sweet and sour kind). Utterly warm and sensual, and perhaps a little wanton. Not straight up sexual, like the edp. It is kind of radio-active. My whole body glows from it. Ambrosial. Wholly unique. I know of nothing else like it, but I am just at the beginning of my perfumista journey ………..

Photo Stolen KarmaYogaCenter

Don´t confuse the Rubj EDP with the Rubj Extrait. Related but definitely not identical.

I am chuffed to bits that I bought it. The cat that got the cream. Thank goodness vanilla extract runs a little cheaper!!

You can find more thoughts on Rubj from Olfactoria, Bois de Jasmin, The Candy Perfume Boy
VeroProfumo has an info page with worldwide stores.
LuckyScent has $235/7.5ml or $325/15ml
SurrenderToChance starts at $10/.25ml

Bussis
CQ

Hi there Perfumistas,

Today I have the most incredible exciting offer from Libertine Parfumerie (who are always so supportive and generous with APJ), David Jones and Robert Piguet. I hope you are all as excited as I am.

Photo Stolen vk.com

What is happening? The CEO of Robert Piguet fragrances, Joe Garces, is in Sydney, Australia in June to celebrate the 65 years of Fracas by hosting four one hour Masterclasses that will take us through some of the Piguet fragrance line notes, creation and intent with a Q&A section afterwards. The seats are limited to only 14 per class and Libertine Parfumerie has offered the 2.30pm class on Wednesday June 26 to AustralianPerfumeJunkies! Already from the APJ Contributors we have Madeleine, Margeaux, Michael and Portia coming, from Aussie Fragrance Network Sonya Yu, Jack Seven and Scott Steward and one other person. That leaves SIX places for our lucky readership!!

What: FREE Fragrance Masterclass hosted by Joe Garces
When: 2.30pm Wednesday June 26 2013
Where: Meet 2pm David Jones Sydney City Store cnr Elizabeth & Market St Sydney

Should you purchase any Robert Piguet Fragrance Product on the day there will be a VERY special gift to take home.

If you are taking time off work then you should be back there by 4pm or if you take the afternoon off I thought we could sniff through the halls of David Jones, have a spot of afternoon tea and then trot down to Christian Dior’s flagship store and smell the Couturier range.

Would you like to come and talk perfume with people who are TOTALLY interested and won’t think your habit absurd or you mental? Maybe you can’t wait to pick the brains of someone who makes the perfume world run? It could be that you have never yet smelled Fracas, or any of the other wonderful Robert Piguet line and you’d like to remedy that. Personally, I hope we get a run through of one of the newer fragrances, Bois Noir, which I love and am already considering a purchase of.

Please add your interest in the comments below. Don’t worry if there are already six names, we may be able to siphon you into the other three classes if there are any spaces. Also, it would be terrible if we held a space for you and you did a no show, genuine interested parties only please.

I AM SO FRICKEN EXCITED ABOUT THIS!!!

Portia x