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Post by Portia
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Hey there Fumies,
Scott and I had a big day out yesterday in Sydney city. Sadly we could not make it on time to the Penhaligon’s Breakfast but it looked amazing and we would have LOVED to be a part of it. What a fabulous arrangement in a sunny outdoor courtyard. Congratulations Libertine Parfumerie.
Men’s Biz
We first hit Men’s Biz in the Strand Arcade where our mate Liam is currently curating their fragrance range. I also wanted to take advantage of the APJ 10% Discount. We sniffed loads and chatted, met the owner(?) Nathan and the crew, fell madly in love with loads of frags and had a generally convivial time. Yes, I succumbed and bough Iris Cendre by Naomi Goodsir, feeling particularly good because she is an Aussie who has made it on the world stage.
Liam, Scott & I overwhelmed by choice
Nathan (the boss) joins us, he is sweet and handsome
Sniffing the wares
Men’s Biz has a great selection of all grooming products
Liam’s first Sydney sale goes to me. YAY! 10% APJ Discount too.
Men’s Biz Discount Code!
A special gift for Australian readers – a 10% coupon code from Men’s Biz. Enter ‘APJ’ at the checkout.
Next we went and visited my girlfriend Jolanta in DIOR’s stand along store on Castlereigh St. She had text me earlier this week and told me she was holding me some of the newest DIOR Privee range samples for APJ (review and giveaway coming). La Colle Noire is said to be a spicy rose and I can’t wait to smell what they’ve done.
Christian Dior
Isn’t Jolanta beautiful? She is a Polish Australian and is the DIOR Ambassador here in Sydney, Sexiest voice ever.
Yes, I shopped. The long overdue purchase of Fève Délicieuse that I have talked of incessantly finally took place. Woo Hoo! I now have an enormous amount and can spritz with abandon.
After DIOR we made a quick sidestep into Hermès and visited my mate Gene. I thought I took a couple of picks but clearly I haven’t. As always Gene was super helpful and grabbed us samples of the newest fragrance (review and giveaway upcoming) Hermessence Muguet Porcelain. It’s really pretty and a clean, aquatic lily of the valley. It smelled WAY better on Scott than me but Monsieur Li is absolutely To Die for and had I not already done my budget I would have shopped there too. Next time.
Then we hit my favourite department store, David Jones. We went to the CHANEL counter and Esther was so sweet and helpful. It was touch and go whether I would finally buy Misia but I kept strong. The Guerlain girl was nice but busy, they did have a partial bottle on sale of one of the gold rimmed bottles but I did not succumb. Bravo me.
Yves Saint Laurent
THEN, we went looking at the Yves Saint Laurent section because Scott wanted to try the Black Opium flankers and I wanted to see their new ultra glam range. After finding the Oriental Collection ridiculously overpriced originally it is good to see that they have dropped the prices, now retailing at $180/80ml which is infinitely more reasonable. There we were greeted by the very glamorous Sonja who was excellent value and really knew her stuff.
We did find the newest Le Vestiaire des Perfumes range which really felt like YSL has hit the luxury nail on the head. $230/125ml and the fragrances we tried were smooth and very luxe, not especially groundbreaking but the smell good. My favourite that I very nearly bought was their Caftan; a fabulous sizzling citrus opening with enough resins and balms beneath to warm the cockles of any perfumistas heart.
Isn’t Sonja gorgeous. We will be going back to do some serious shopping with her in the very near future.
The three we tried were Caftan, Caban and Tuxedo.
And we have a winner. I like that YSL have brought out this range but I really wish they’s started with 2 and built it up over time. Insta-ranges are getting ridiculous.
Anyway, that was our super fun day out yesterday. For those that wonder, yes my knee was less than comfortable today but I really was grateful to Scott that we got out of the house and did some fun stuff.
Do you guys ever go on a frag expedition?
Portia xx