GIVEAWAY!! Library of Flowers 12 x 1ml Sampler
Heya Posse Peeps
Portia from AustralianPerfumeJunkies here with an embarrassing story. Recently on Surrender To Chance there was a special deal on the Library of Flowers 12 x 1ml Sampler. Like a fool, I ordered 2 and now have a spare that I’d like to give one lucky reader, so we’ll have a GIVEAWAY.
Photo Stolen Library Of Flowers
From Surrender To Chance: A new line bottled by Margot Ellena of TokyoMilk fame. The line is American small batch perfumery and the fragrances are carefully crafted to create memorable journeys through sight and scent. Each scent features a single top, middle and base note. They are eau de parfum, edp.
I FREAKIN’ LOVE GIVEAWAYS!!
GIVEAWAY COMPETITION!!
THE PRIZE
One 12 x 1ml Sampler Set of Library Of Flowers fragrances
P&P Anywhere in the World!
HOW DO YOU WIN?
You have to leave a comment telling us your favourite flower, or flower fragrance. That’s IT!
For an Extra Chance you can Tweet: @OzPerfumeJunkie @PerfumePosse http://wp.me/p2Ptth-3Y1 GIVEAWAY!! Library of Flowers 12 x 1ml Sampler
HOUSEKEEPING
Entries Close Sunday April 21st 2013 10pm AusEST and will be announced in a special post that day.
My partner Jin will do the draw honours. The names will be placed on the same sized papers, folded similarly, placed in a bowl and a winner picked, often Jin doesn’t even look up from the TV to do it.
The winners will have till Wednesday 24th April 2013 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or I will give the prize to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.
If you think this is good then trot over to AustralianPerfumeJunkies and see what’s going on over there too.
Love and hugs,
Portia xx
Dionne, do you know when 28 La Pausa will be discontinued? I’m new to explroing perfume and I’m TRYING to be judicious about buying everything I want right, which is a lot! I LOVE 28 La Pausa but was hesitating bying it because it just doesn’t last long on me. Should I jump on it? I’m feeling a little panicked that I might never get it if I wait.
I’m sorry I can’t give you more details than that, Maren, all I know is that they’re phasing it out because of the new 1932. I’m not a true enabler (who would be saying “Buy! Buy! Buy!”) because that’s not my style. After three years being down the rabbit hole, I can attest there are a lot of lovely things out there, but you should only be buying the fragrances that you don’t have to think twice about. 28 LP is in my all-time top three, but I have no problems with longevity.
How much of the iris note have you tried thus far? What is it about 28 LP that you loved?
Dionne, thank you for your thoughtful response. Speaking as another iris “ho” I’d say I’ve tried about 15 now. I just can’t get enough of it and my first big purchase exploring perfume is SL Iris Silver Mist. I’m lucky a friend recently picked up a bottle for me in Paris, and I had NO hesitation on that. I like your advise that I should only buy what I don’t have to think twice about. What makes me hesitate on 28 LP is that I love it, but I love No. 18 too. There’s something in them both that has kind of a doughiness that I LUUUUV, does that make sense? Maybe it’s the musk? I’m too new at this to know. I thought maybe it could be the ambrette of 18, but that is not listed in 28, but I definitely get kind of the same scent, just not as pronounced as in 28 LP. I just love them both, they are the softer comfier side of the note, and I can’t decide which to get. I bought 2 ml sprays and ran out of them both in days.. and can’t stop thinking about them. But now that I know 28 is being discontinued…well. I may have to get a couple more samples, just to compare and make sure. You are so right though, so many lovelies to try out there. Gosh, how the heck did I end up falling down this rabbit hole?!!! Anyway, I’m glad to know that if I do decide I have to have it, I should buy it soon. Seriously, your comments were really helpful.
Oh, P.S. I love Après l’Ondée too.
Because it’s over here at the Posse instead of APJ, I’m jumping in on this giveaway. 🙂
You might already know I’m an iris ho in terms of fragrance, but it’s my favorite flower as well. They’re just so elegant, I adore them. My favorite iris fragrance (technically cheating, because we’re usually talking about the root when we discuss iris frags) is 28 La Pausa. Just learned it’s going to be discontinued this year, so I’ll be snagging the BIG bottle
Favorite legitimate floral fragrance is Après l’Ondée.
I love orange blossom, and lately am wearing Ellie Saab.
My favorite flower scent is violet–although violet scent does not actually come for violets. I love how it develops in Bulgari Pour Femme and Apres l’Ondee.
Apres L’Ondee. GORGEOUS!!
Portia xx
my favorite flower is the carnation but i also love Gardenias.
You have great taste, I love a carnation tooo.
Poretia xx
Love all flowers but I especially love to gaze on a bunch of irises or tulips. As for a favorite floral scent, im going to say jasmine, as when I catch a whiff on a cool night breeze. favorite jasmine note in perfume? Samsara by Guerlain. Thanks for the generous giveaway!
MMMMM Jasmine in Samsara! We took the jasmine out because it was knocking down a fence, now there are thousands of runners each year to get,
Portia xx
My scent favorite is honeysuckle – it always reminds me of playing in the evening near the garden gate as a child…
Honeysuckle can read beautiful or disgusting on me, same perfume different wears. Interesting huh?
POrtia xx
tweet-https://twitter.com/AnnaKulu1/status/325673969518788608
My favourite flower is the rose
The rose is king, do you have a favourite colour?
Portia xx
My favorite flower is osmanthus, which has a special meaning for me!
What is the special meaning Sabrina?
Portia xx
I have too many favorite flowers… but lately I’ve been attracted to magnolia for some reason: I love how it’s narcotic, indolic facet seems to bond well with musk- like in Profumum Roma’s ‘Eccelso’.
I think I need to go try me some Magnolia, or find some scented ones in Australia.
Portia xx
Violet was my first love and I’m still quite fond of it.
What an interesting first love Mindy, you bypassed all the easy stuff and went straight to perfumista hardcore. What drew you to violet?
Portia xx
I’m a rose and spicy carnation lover.
sweet giveaway, thanks! but i wanted to see what you were wearing today! i love your sense of style!
okay, to answer your question and enter the sweepstakes: my favorite flower is the rose. there are days when i think jasmine is my favorite (like today, when a cool, fresh breeze brought hints of it and i just wanted to stand still and breathe deeply for hours), but deep down, it’s rose.
now, as far as looks go, i think i might like them all. all flowers have character and personality, and i have yet to see one i didn’t like!
cheers,
minette
Sorry Minette,
We have just completed a new set of LIVE Video Sniffs so look out for those. Sadly I am in Track Suit Pants, Polo Shirt and Hoodie today.
I think rose might be my secret fave too and I too have yet to find an ugly flower in life.
Portia xx
Today I am really looking forward to the virburnum blooming, so virburnum it is! Then it will really be spring. I don’t know of any virburnum perfumes, though
Sorry Nemo, Can’t help you with Vibernum perfumes, not one listed in Fragrantica. WOW!
Portia xx
There is one: Boudoir by Vivienne Westwood. Fragrantica doesn’t mention the viburnum note, but I’ve read many times that the fragrance was based on this blossom. Eg: “Boudoir(‘s) … top note is deliberately strong, designed to ‘make men’s heads turn’, with a full nose of viburnum blossom, a fresh and sparkling note that has never been used in perfumery before.” [source: http://www.foundem.co.uk/M/clothes/Fragrances/Vivienne_Westwood/Boudoir.jsp%5D
I LOVE Boudoir Christine W, have you tried the Body lotion? It’s fabulous.
Portia xx
Favorite flower? That’s difficult…I’d have to say lilies, I guess, and Diorissimo!
Lillies and Diorissimo, A classisist MaggieCat?
Portia xx
I’ve been craving rose, right now. My fav.
MMMM Rose is good Lydia. What have you been spritzing? Neela Vermeire Mohur? Une Rose by Malle? Parfums de Rosine?
Portia xx
Maybe a memory is creating this craving for rose scent. Like I craved Iris a couple of years back when I first found Lucky Scent. There was a small Iris farm in the middle of the town where I grew up. The town had expanded around it and simple errands took us by it on a daily basis. Spring was filled with memories of the Iris, moving too fast past me as we drove by, in exaggerated color. Spring is moving pretty fast for me now and I have none of those scents that you suggested, Portia. The other day I decanted the only rose scent I have which is a bottle of culinary rose water. I stood breathing it in. lol. I’m afraid that you are speaking with an olfactory palette on a budget. The memory in my life that is causing this craving for rose is not close to me. I don’t know what it is. However, if I were to describe what I would like to wear within the rose genre I would say something lovely, sophisticated, and modern. Something that would introduce me before a meeting with grace and a bass rift of intrigue. That’s what I would like from a rose scent. When I found Lucky Scent I ordered up a handful of samples only to find that I didn’t like a lot of them. And I realized that all of the years of breathing in simple essential oils and department store scents might have made me unable to appreciate more complex scents? Hmmm, I wonder. Also, I would love to try them all. Really. Educate myself. Pretty sure I’m ready to dig further into my budget to do that. Thank you for this blog.
My favorite flower is the gardenia…and the perfume that does it justice is Marc Jacobs. I have collected many perfumes…some pricey and some not…my favorite has to be Hermes Merveille….Love!
You pick 2 great faves. Gardenia is so lovely, isn’t it.
Portia xx
I’m smitten with rosé/carnation. My favorite right now is Égoïste
I bet you small amazing in Egoiste Ferris,
Portia xx
My favorite flower is probably gardenia. I have yet to find a perfume that captures it for me, but I haven’t tried too many, either! I have your voice saying “leather” in your wonderful Aussie accent in my head all week from the last live video sniff!
Hey Elena,
Mmmmmmm Gardenia, earlier I posted this link to an Aussie perfumer who has done the most spectacularly photo realistic gardenia, extrait strength and sends to the world. Extremely affordable. http://www.perfumeandskincare.com.au/category42_1.htm Perfume & Skincare Co. Gardenia Flower.
Portia xx
Thanks for the giveaway first of all! My favorite flower is orange blossom, and probably my fave scent of it is Ava Luxe Neroli Blossom.
Another Ava luxe lover. They do good stuff, don’t they? Their web address http://www.ava-luxe.com/ Go check them out.
Orange Blossom is gorgeous Stacey.
Portia x
i do love the scent of roses. Le labo rose 31 is currently wafting around me. I’ve never smelled the osmanthus flower. I love Ormonde Jayne’s perfume of it and had a fantastic conversation about the scent of the flower at the dog park, of all places.
Aha!! The secret Dog Park Sniffer got you. Funny where conversations happen, isn’t it. We spend so much time on the internet talking, writing, thinking perfume and then BAM, someone round the corner adores it. I hope you’ve made a new friend,
We have a hideous gorgon of a woman at our local dog park who hates greyhounds, we don’t go there anymore, she is hideous, and obnoxious.
Portia xx
I love linden, lilac, osmanthus, and carnation!
My current favorite floral scent is CdG Carnation. Kind of obsessed with it, though it doesn’t last long on me.
I have not spent enough time with the CdG range and think it is my next frag destination. Osmanthus! Lovely choice.
Portia xx
My favorite flower scent? I love the smell of roses! Also those Japanese Cherry blossoms.
Hey Leanne french,
Cherry Blossom is beautiful, we used to have them in the front yard. I love it when the yard looks like it’s just snowed under them
Portia xx
I would love to be in the draw! I am just starting out in the perfume world, although I have always been sensitive to smells and the memories they bring.
I have really started to enjoy Queen of the Night Cactus. My all time favorite is roses – I have to stop every time I see a rose bush and it also reminds me of my mother’s lipstick. Some of my favorite spring scents right now are White Jasmine and Mint by Jo Malone, Frederic Malle En Passant, and Kai, but they change quite often!
Get used to your favourites changing and evolving. Thank goodness for sample and decant stores so you can buy a decent size to trial,
I hope your adventure down the Fragrant Wormhole is as fun and fulfilling as mine is and has been. Welcome
Portia xx
Lilacs! Yet I haven’t found a lilac perfume that does it for me.
It will happen Michelle. They are probably preparing it at Amouage right now,
Portia xx
I die for tuberose. Just returned from India where I bought the pure oil. It’s heady, seductive, a little dirty and totally mesmerizing. In my perfume closet I have Serge Lutens Tuberose Criminelle, Mona di Orio’s fabulous Tubereuse, Fracas (natch), Heely’s Bubblegum Couture, by Kilian Prohibited, Frederic Malle’s Carnal Flower.
Where were you in India Mary Orlin? Don’t you love it? I will be back there in May and I long for it.
Portia xx
I’m a gardner most and foremost, I love flowers and it’s tough for me to pick one. But my jasmine sambac is so wonderful these days that I’ll have to go with it. And Sarrasins.
Nice choices and I miss my times in the garden. Not enough to change my life but certainly on occasion.
Portia xx
Never heard of this brand before! Very nice bottle!
Favorite flower is orange blossom and in perfumes I preffer the absolute. The steam distilled neroli is not very close to the flower. They are in bloom now and I’m in heaven!
Hey Amer,
They are a new brand. It’s very exciting to be in on the ground floor,
Orange Blossom is the BOMB.
Portia xx
My favourite flower is Jasmine. My favourite flower perfume and overall favourite perfume is Puredistance M.
Aaaaah, jasmine: what a fragrance it has and I have purposely kept myself out of the Puredistance market for fear of FBing
Portia xx
I love carnations, my favorite floral is Iris Silver Mist and I would love to win this draw
thanks a lot, Portia
Carnations are getting some serious love today Irina, and ISM is also getting more than most.
Good luck in the draw.
Portia xx
I don’t think there is a flower I don’t like. Last year however a was in Seville when the orange trees were blooming. Pure heaven walking the streets of this beautiful city while sniffing this beautiful fragrance. I absolutely need a bottle of Seville à l’aube just for those memories.
Dina56,
You need to organise yourself a bottle then. even a decant, Seville a L’Aub is gorgeous,
Portia xx
Without a doubt, iris make my heart swoon. Where I grew up we had a neighbor who grew them commercially, and seeing and smelling that field of those gorgeous flowers in all their variety is an early happy memory for me. I love their scent, and being new to exploring perfume, I have been sampling all the iris I can get. I love the variety of the iris fragrances I have tried, but I was especially thrilled that a friend was able to pick up a FB of Serge Lutens Iris Silver Mist for me on a recent trip to Paris.
You are a VERY lucky person Maren!
Portia x
Magnolias are my favorite flower. So sultry and exotic looking but so innocent and creamy-soft at the same time. A perfect blend of faint sweetness mixed with tree-greenery tartness. And, believe it it or not, the only perfume I’ve found with magnolia notes done to my olfactory satisfaction (suggestions welcome), Is Black Amethyst by Bath and Body Works. So many other things going on in that one, but besides the magnolia note, the whole overall mood of that one reminds me of a humid southern night hanging with magnolias.
Magnolias in Sydney are not so scented I think. Even under the tree in my BFFs families house in full bloom I get nothing much sadly. Maybe there is a particularly scented type in the US.
Portia xx
I absolutely adore asiatic lilies and have them through the house when they are flowering. I love the Ylang ylang type scent. My favourite floral scent it Penhaligons Lily and Spice ? Thanks for the super awesome and generous draw..
Oh yes MonsoonalMusings2, It’s such a green, sappy but still warm and sensual fragrance. Glorious!!
Portia xx
I love casablanca lilies – big, beautiful white bombs of spiciness! It’s not a note found very often in perfume, unfortunately.
Hey LisaD,
I love them too but can’t sleep with them in the house. They give me extremely bad sleep, restless and filled with nightmares.
I wish they used it more in fragrance too but maybe it’s a little funereal?
Portia xx
I love all flowers, but my favorites to wear in perfume are rose, violet and Iris. Waiting on a bottle of Rosine Rose Kashmirie to arrive, been lusting after that one for years and finally ordered it!
Good one Tara. I LOVE Rose Kashmiri and have been quietly lusting after it myself. I’ve drained two decants already. One day it will be in the collection,
Portia xx
Wisteria! Love it!
I love wisteria, such great memories of a HUGE vine in our back yard as kids
Portia xx
As for actual flowers, I love tulips and lilies. However, in perfume I enjoy neroli and orange blossom, gardenia, ylang-ylang, and sometimes tuberose. Thanks for the opportunity to win the samples!
You are welcome Kandice. we have quite similar taste in flowers for fragrance. I love all your faves.
Portia xx
I have so many favourite flowers! And I have no garden at the moment, not even a sunny windowsill (sigh)… Sweet peas, daphne, poppies, roses, violets, sunflowers, I will grow you again one day!
You will DEFINITELY grow them again one day Amy V. While we were living in London in the mid 1990s we took a basement apartment under Portabello Rd in Ladbroke Grove, the only window to the world that got light was a one foot square pane of glass in the kitchen. I do know how you feel.
Portia xx
favorite flower: lilies, especially white lilies (Casa Blanca). And lotuses. And honeysuckle, forget-me-not, calla lilies, myrtle…
perfume….hmmmm. I love my teeny sample of Ellie D which is jasmine, and Keiko Mecheri Genie des Bois which is violet (and cedar)….Parfum Sacre and Jo Malone Orange Blossom too. Don’t know if I have a favorite.
But I’d love to find new favorites! please count me in!
GOSH! Mim you have a great set of frags in front of you. I particularly love Parfum Sacre.
Portia xx
Iris is my favorite flower today. My most recent Iris love affair is with Hermessence Iris Ukiyoe.
Iris is a firm fave today Melanie wallwork and the Hermessence is a delicious find for lovers of the note.
Portia xx
Do love tuberose, especially as a sexy evening scent, so even with the freaky-weird opening I’m mad for Tubereuse Criminelle. Also favor dark roses, and my first true perfume love was, is and always will be Artisan’s Voleur de Roses.
I have never sniffed Veleur de roses. How does it smell?
Portia xx
Voleur de Roses has that almost pepper-y, earthy, crushed after-the-rain scent dark red roses can take on, with patchouli, plum and bergamot also. It is dark, rich and glorious, never girly or old-lady fusty the way some rose scents can be. A must-whiff by my account. 🙂
Thank you. I will investigate!!
Portia xx
And another fan of Stargazers here! Gorgeous scent and flower. I would be interested in finding a perfume to feature it, even if only briefly. Thank you for the generous giveaway, Portia. Happy weekend!
Thanks, Having a great weekend CC! My day off is Friday. These Stargazers are really getting some attention. I hope the perfumers out there are taking note,
Portia xx
Yosh Han makes a perfume called Stargazer that is supposed to feature that note. I’ve seen it, but it’s been a long time since I’ve smelled it, so I couldn’t say exactly how true it is. Luckyscent has it if nobody near you carries it.
Oh, thank you so much, Jennifer! 🙂
My favorite flower is the daffodil. I like the unique shape of the blossom and how they are among the first flowers to appear in the spring. Since they don’t have much of a scent, I will also mention my favorite floral perfume. It is Creed’s Spring Flower. I almost feel like I should wait to wear it – I live in Minnesota, and we got more snow today!
Daffodils are lovely, and friendly and BRIGHT YELLOW around here. Wear your Spring Flower anyway. Spritz with abandon MaryK.
Portia xx
My earliest scent memory is my grandfather’s lilac trees in bloom…
That is an amazing first scent memory. How old do you think you were annieA?
Portia xx
My favorite flower is narcissus. I would love to enter the drawing
Great choice Sara. i love Narcissus too,
Portia xx
My favorite flower is the carnation, which I do love in perfume. But my favorite perfume flower note right now is definitely violet!
WOW! You are our first vote for violet today I think. So tasteful and cool, classy and understated. MMMMM. Just like you I bet Clara
Portia xx
It’s just too hard to pick a single flower as a favorite! I love garden plants that have a family/sentimental connection. I have a peony that I transplanted from my great-aunt’s garden — I treasure it for the memories as much for the heavenly scent. Thanks for the draw, Portia.
WOW! Hereditary peony! That makes it so special. What colour is it? I don’t think they grow here in Sydney Australia.
Portia xx
I’ve had a lovely time just thinking about all the flowers – still too early here for much of anything to be out. Right now I’m loving daffodils because they’re usually the first bit of brightness peeping up. Thank you for the giveaway opportunity.
Hey Spiker, soon enough you will be inundated with flowers. I hope the daffodils are beautiful for you this year.
Portia xx
Hi Portia, thank you for the generosity. Out of character for me, but right now I just can’t get enough orange blossom. I’m usually a leather, wood, and spice type girl, but mmmm, orange blossom.
Orange Blossom ROCKS GinaThompson,
Portia xx
Hmmm… my favorite flower is definitely the rose, followed by bleeding hearts, honeysuckle (I love tasting honeysuckle nectar… my dad taught me how when I was little),peonies, and and any sort of bush or flower that attracts butterflies. Perfumewise, I would have said rose, but lately I’ve been exploring samples I’ve been lucky enough to win and now think I might actually prefer carnation!
Carnation is fun NinaraPoll, I like its many facets from mint to powder, rose is great too. You’ll come back to it I’m sure,
Portia xx
Today my favorite flowers are pansies and white lilacs because they are blooming like crazy in my front yard. In a couple of weeks it will be peonies and lily of the valley. In a month the roses will be out for the rest of the year. I love living in the Pacific Northwest, we have so many plants to enjoy.
You are SO lucky RosieGreen62. it sounds gorgeous,
Portia xx
I think I’d have to say my favorite flower id the tuberose, that said however, my favorite perfume is Vintage Jolie Madame
MMMMM Georgette Stout! Two really great choices.
Portia xx
I could never hope to choose a single favorite flower- I love them all. That said, I’m looking forward to the blooming of delphiniums in summer. Delpiniums are one of my birth flowers and I really like how tall and saturated with color they are. Just like with actual flowers, I could never hope to pick a favorite flower perfume. But I will say, I did dab on a bit of Fracas for dance class today.
Hey Connie,
You would have been a lovely wafting waif in Fracas today. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a delphinium in real life.
Portia xx
My favourite flower is the rose – and perhaps my favourite scent is the one given off by the classical deep red rose. Though i have several rose perfumes I love I have never found anything that even approaches that very particular smell.
I’m not sure I have ever smelled an actual iris, but iris has turned out to be one of my favourite perfume notes – with Iris Silver Mist being paradise in a bottle.
And, since Donna Karen’s Gold, I make sure to sniff a lilly anywhere I see one – I never knew before how wonderful they smelled:)
Are you talking Mr Lincoln rose? Beautiful.
Donna Karan Gold is a fave round here too. Have you tried the Body Lotion Merlin? MMMMMMM
Portia xx
Some of my favorite scented flowers include lilac, carnations, and the old fashioned roses. The newer ones hardly seem to have a scent at all. I’m heading to Denver next week and hope to smell some of Margo Ellena’s scents, but would still be thrilled to win this. Thanks for the opportunity!
If you get to meet Margo Ellena please tell her that Portia thinks her frags are super uber awesomely fabulous.
Portia xx
my faves are peonies and anemones…say that three times fast
I was just caught by my BFF saying it three times fast. No sweat on these elastic lips.
TomateFarcie! Peonies!! You are the first to name one of my all time faves.
Portia xx
I love bleeding hearts but they don’t really smell so for flower with a scent I’ll say jasmine. At least that’s my pick today, tomorrow it could be rose, gardenia, peony…
Another no scent plant I adore is the prawn plant. I LOVE THEM Poodle! Good idea to TWEET! Two chances,
Portia xx
My favorite flower… I’ll go with lilacs though I’m still to find an ideal perfume featuring this note.
Hey Undina! You are also the first to TWEET! So two chances for you today.
Portia xx
Thank you, dear!
You know me: I always tweet – even when I do not want to enter (and here I do 🙂 )
Good Luck Princess. and yes you do always Tweet. Thank YOU>
Portia xx
Thank you for this awesome giveaway! My favorite is probably Sweet Pea…but that changes often! Have you read the Language of Flowers…a novel with some great insight in to Victorian-era flower meanings…so fun to think about!
Hiya Shaney,
I think I do have a recollection of something like that in my shelves, did it have pictures of the fairies attached to each flower? Love sweet peas.
Portia xx
I am smitten by Heliotrope…and while I often stray…thinking I want something edgier…I always return to L’eau d’Hiver from Malle and Mona di Orio’s Musc
Hiya Artist,
Are they not both suitably edgy? Lovely but boundary pushers, yes?
Portia xx
I haven’t met too many flower scents that I don’t like, but my favorite flowers for scent are rose and jasmine. I like darker rose scents since some can be kind of sour/soapy to me (I think it’s citronellol that does it), and for jasmine, the skankier, the better. None of that polite jasmine for me. 🙂 I have a jasmine plant in a hanging basket on the rail of my apartment balcony and it smells really nice when I go outside. I’m also kind of obsessed with gardenia at the moment because whenever I go to the grocery store I smell the blooming gardenia bushes for sale out front. I also really like osmanthus in fragrance, but I’ve never seen osmanthus in person (or in flower, I guess).
Jennifer, it sounds like you and I prefer very similar floral fragrances, may I inquire what your favorite jasmine perfume is? I’m on the hunt, and any leads are greatly appreciated.
I don’t know that I have a favorite just yet. I’m always on the hunt too. For a good and inexpensive jasmine, get to a Lush store if you have one near you and try Lust. It’s a pretty fierce jasmine. It also smells to me like there might be orange blossom in there but it’s not listed in the notes. And if you like that you’d like the Flying Fox shower gel. I just got a bottle last weekend and I’m loving it.
I’ve heard Pacifica makes a nice jasmine (Tunisian Jasmine is the name, I think), but none of the stores that carry Pacifica around me carry that one so I can’t say for sure. But I’ve read that it’s more indolic than you might expect so it might be worth a try if you come across it. And if you do see it, report back and let me know how it is! lol
On up the price ladder, there is Serge Lutens Sarrasins, which might not be the easiest to get a hold of, but Surrender to Chance has samples/decants. I think SL makes a couple other jasmines that would be worth trying, but I haven’t tried them yet either. One of these days I’ll get around to it. 🙂 And MDCI’s Enlevement au Serail would be worth a try as well. It’s really gorgeous if pricey. You can get samples of that one at LuckyScent and probably at STC too.
I hope this helps. 🙂
Hah, I knew we similar floral tastes, I have Lust and the Flying Fox shower gel, and the Godiva shampoo bar, which does indeed give me a great blast of indolic, skanky jasmine! I’ve tried some of Pacifica’s other scents, but will have to check out the Jamine as well. I’ll let you know how it is for sure.
Yes, Sarrasins is one I keep meaning to try and I actually have a decant on order right now! I hadn’t previously heard of Enlevement au Serail so thank you for that!
Actually, you know what.. I still have a little bit left in my sample. I thought I had used it up but I just found it. It’s not much, like maybe 1/3ml or so, but I can send it to you if you want. It’s not as indolic as Lust or Sarrasins, but it is really pretty. Email me at countsjc at gmail dot com if you’re interested.
Cacomixtle, I second Jennifer that you should try the Sarrasins if you haven’t yet, and I have a precious bottle of it and can send you a sample if you want to try it. You can reach me at wooddogs3 awt gmail dawtcawm. Put “Sarrasins” in the subject line so I can find it in my inbox. I’m away right now but could mail it in about a week when I get home. You might also enjoy an attar called Tawaf, a fascinating jasmine-opoponax scent. I’ve used up my sample vial of that one, but Surrender to Chance has decants.
Wow, FeralJasmine, that is incredibly kind of you! I already have a decant on the way, but I am very touched by the offer. I’ve read about Tawaf, and will have to go purchase a sample from StC!
Great, just wanted to make sure that you got a chance to try it.
Have you girls tried Gardenia by The Perfume & Skincare Company in Australia? It is the best photo realistic Gardenia I have ever smelled and is cheap as chips and Extrait strength.
http://www.perfumeandskincare.com.au/category42_1.htm
Portia xxx
Ooh no I hadn’t heard of that one. Thanks for the tip, Portia! I’ll have to check it out. I just ordered a sample of Arquiste Boutonniere from STC to get my gardenia fix. 🙂
Ok I’m easily tempted. I just ordered the 5ml tester. You weren’t kidding. That is a great deal for extrait!
Wait till you SMELL it.
Portia xxx
Eldarwen, I am so with you on the Stargazers! And I can’t find a perfume that smells like them. I have tried Un Lys, Lys Fume, and Lys Mediterraneane and all are lovely but not the Stargazer scent I’m seeking. I did get some Donna Karan Gold and I can’t smell lilies in that one, just a nondefined heavy floral and an undertone of apple. Have you found a Stargazer scent?
I haven’t yet. So many got the whole lily of the valley thing going on but won’t go into Stargazers.
I freakin’ love giveaways too! (As long as I win, ha!). But as they say at the New York Lottery, ya gotta be in it to win it. My favorite flower, as well as my favorite note, is lily of the valley. So far, Diorissimo is still the LOV queen.
Hey FleurDeLys,
Diorissimo! I have a small amount of Vintage Diorissimo Parfum that I am rationing, one day I will drown myself in it,
Portia xx
my favorite spring perfume is santal massoia and my favorite flowers i think are roses and irises.
thanks for the give away
Roses and Irises are proving extremely popular tonight, Santal Massoia is a lovely Hermessence. Good choices,
Portia xx
Thanks for the giveaway, I would love to try Library of Flowers fragrances! My favourite flower is the osmanthus flower and the favourite perfume with osmanthus is Osmanthe Yunnan from Hermes. I also love The Different Company Osmanthus. Would love to smell the actual flower but I can’t find it here in the cold cold Sweden!
Osmanthus! Lovely choice, from China yes? I thought it thrived in the freezing cold? I’m probably wrong,
Portia x
Hard to pick just one flower: I adore jasmine, gardenia, violets, orange blossom, and tuberose, specially gardenias yet for spring I like my OJ Frangipani. I know that plumeria sounds like summer yet this perfume is not a tropical holiday rendition of this flower, at least not on my skin, so it works perfectly when the sun starts to warm up and the breeze becomes warmer. Such a beautiful thing.
Frangipani is gorgeous. I concur. There is an unsniffed OJ Frangipani here somewhere, I should dig it out WeFadeToGray,
Portia xx
Oh yes, Portia, do bathe in its beauty. Its golden and white and just sheer feminine happiness! Thanks for the giveaway
I’m a rose lover, nice and simple. And violets because they bring me straight back to childhood. And hyacinth is my rather new love.
Hyacinth seems to be the new rose for 2013. There is quite a bit of talk about it Emily S.
Portia xx
I have two new spring favorites: iris and linden. I’m still trying to decide which iris-based and linden-based perfumes to pounce on. 🙂 I’m combing through samples at the moment, but I’d love to try the Library of Flowers Linden scent…as well as the others, because they all look pretty fantastic.
I agree they do look lovely. I have yet to go through my Library Of Flowers samples but will do so V soon,
Portia xx
I love jasmine. In my former home, there was a huge star jasmine vine that I trained up and around the second floor deck. When in bloom, it was other-worldly and made me so happy! My favorite jasmine scent is Le Labo 17 Jasmin.
WOW! I love jasmine in flower, it must have been heavenly.
Portia xx
A third vote for lilacs. A Wing and a Prayer has a nice citrus-and-lilac scent, inexplicably called Autumn Breeze.
I also love orange blossom, and the opening of Narciso Rodriguez for Her edt really captures the smell of the blossoms as they fall from the trees and carpet the ground.
I love the A Wing And A Prayer crew. They do some excellent scents at a terrific price point. Funnily, I always think of Narciso Rodriguez for Her as a rose until I spritz it.
Portia xx
My favorite flower is a huge, fat English rose. Anything from David Austin, but to be specific perhaps his Evelyn rose. Gorgeous, and the rose which Crabtree and Evelyn used to inspire their Evelyn perfume.
I too love David Austin roses and have a couple of his Wise Portia plants. They are the most fragrant rose I have ever smelled, and the name is TOTALLY COOL!
Portia xx
Jasmine may be my very favorite flower, but I have not yet found my skanky jasmine oriental holy grail scent… in the meantime, I’m quite fond of many heady indolic floral fragrances, including Datura Noir and Fracas.
I am most interested in Datura Noir and keep forgetting to order a sample. Thanks for reminding me,
Portia xx
Hey, Portia, my favorite flowers to plant and look at and bring in my house are peonies, nasturtiums, sweet peas, and zinnias. My favorite-smelling flower are sweet peas, lilies of the valley, the big lilies that fill the yard with scent, and carnations. But, I’m not a single-not lover in perfume so no need to enter me in the draw.
Thanks for joining in LaurenW. Always nice to read you.
Portia xx
My favorite flower scent is lily of the valley. My mother planted a small circle of them in our yard for me when I was a girl and we would uncover them together every spring. For me love a scent is linked to memory. Diorissimo takes me to that place.
WOW!! We tried Lily of the Valleys but the declined to live.
Portia xx
I love lilacs! The fragrance spreads out like a beautiful scent cloud when they’re blooming. Gilly Hicks La Perouse makes me happy.
I definitely want to try this Gilly Hicks La Perouse if it makes you happy,
Portia xx
It happens I love many, but for now I choose 2 different ones: hemlock as in Ormonde man, and immortelle as in AG Sables.
Oh…and my forever perfume is a floral of the nineties: Insensé by Givenchy, of course!
You have managed to pick three fragrances that I have never spent even a moment of time with on my skin. That must be a record!
Portia xx
So,, may I consider I achieved a record in my life? 😉
I’d love to hear your opinion one day, in case you touch my jewels!
Thanks for the draw!
It is a NEW WORLD RECORD Insense. Nice one. Tell the world!!
Portia xx
Hey Portia!! Fav floral perfume? That’s a tough one. So many choices…. I’ll go with Houbigant Quelques Fleurs. So classy and elegant and has stood the test of time!
I have a lovely big decant of the Vintage Quelques Fleurs and I adore it,
Portia x
Based on looks only, hydrangeas are my favorite. For scent, however, there is one rose in particular I especially like and that’s Tropicana. Smells heavenly and it’s a gorgeous salmon color.
I have a white and blur hydrangea growing down the side of the house, My Mum planted it before I was born and though it is old and carunculated it still sets forth enormous dinner plate sized flowers each year. It reminds me of her though it has never been as lovely as when she was looking after it.
Thanks
Portia xx
One flower I absolutely adore in perfume is jasmine. The more indolic, the better. Love it in Patou’s Joy and Sarrasins. I do have a liking for rose but I am picky about rose in perfume. Joy and Chanel no. 19 (EDP) are two examples of how I like my rose in perfume. Right now, I can’t find a perfume that stargazer lilies. Stargazers give off a wonderful smell in the summer and I can’t get enough of them.
I am going to have to find me some Stargazer lillies.
Thanks for the tip Eldarwen22.
Portia xx
My favorite flower is the lilac but my favorite floral perfume is Songes, though I’m currently smitten with Pretty Machine which I am anxiously awaiting to purchase
TheGoddessRena,
Songes is one of my all time fave go to frags. Excellent choice,
Portia x
My favourite floral is rose but its a tricky one – often turns sour on me. I do woshsomeone would do a daphne perfume because the daphne in my backyard is done blooming and I miss the scent, so sharp and lemony. And I freaking love giveaways, as well. Thanks for the draw.
Hi Mridula,
Glad you love giveaways. My Mum had a Daphne by the front hose and it would drink up the drips and smell ferociously gorgeous when it bloomed outside my bedroom. It has long gone sadly,
Portia xx
My favorite floral would have to be iris.
Hiya Zeram,
We have lovely iris in our from yard, they are deepest purple and flower from Autumn through to very late Spring,
Portia xx
My favorite flower in the wild is an oriental lily. I once walked into a greenhouse and followed my nose back to the Stargazer Lillies on display. I’ve planted them all over my garden, but sadly the bunnies like them too. And they like them so much that they’re gone as soon as they pop their crunchy green stems up out of the ground. GRRRRR!
I’ve yet to find a perfume that replicates this smell for me. I’m still experimenting with notes. A close second would be lilac, but I like it true to form, and not gussied up with other things. I want it to smell like the armloads I bring in from the bushes in spring. So Pacifica’s French Lilac is just fine with me.
This year I’ve been exploring actual notes, trying to find what I love, so hopefully I can start to pin that down a bit better.
Thanks for the giveaway Portia!!
Naughty Bunnies!! Beth I would be far less tolerant. They’d be made into stew and jackets.
That’s two for lilac, Interesting,
Portia xx
Hi Beth: I think Yosh Han does a stargazer lily perfume!
My favourite flower in the wild is the lilac: I live in a part of the world where lilacs grow in huge abundance, so in six weeks or so the air will be saturated with the smell, and I can’t wait. It’s the best part of spring.
My favourite flower in perfumery is the carnation, but I can’t pick a favourite carnation scent. I guess it’s a toss-up between Caron’s Coup de Foudre and Guerlain’s Terracotta Voile d’Ete, although Comme des Garçons Carnation and Old Spice are up there, too. Oh, and Tabu. And Roger et Gallet carnation soap (Oeillet Mignardise).
Hey Robert Matthews,
You read like my brain. That’s exactly what happens when I try to pick faves. Too many.
I love Terracotta Voile d’Ete and Old Spice.
Enjoy your lilacs,
Portia xx
I actually have two favourites, Portia! Tuberose and Rose. None other than Carnal Flower for my tuberose fix and for rose I love a few; Rose d’Arabie, Portrait of a Lady, Une Rose and Incense Rose.
Love your rose choices, Lovely set, all so different. Who can go past Carnal Flower, even the name is outstanding,
Portia xx
Roses are my favourite flower. So many beautiful varieties; so many heavenly and distinctive aromas. Right now I am exploring rose perfumes, searching in earnest for an absolute favourite.
I love other flowers too, and would be thrilled to win that set of samples! Please enter me into the draw, Portia.
XXChristine
Sure Christine W,
Have you tried SOIVOHLE Rose sur Reuse? It is quite stunning and I think they are having a sale.
Portia xx
Hi, although I’m a man, my favorite flower fragrance is a rose… Incense Rosé from Tauer Perfumes… it takes me to another world!
Hey Kal,
Plenty of great roses for the guys. I have a few round here: Midnight Oud by Juliette Has A Gnu, Red Roses by Jo Malone, DIOR Mitzah and Mohur by Neela Vermeire. And a couple of Malle and Lutens beauties too.
Portia xx
Juliette has a gnu! Best typo ever. 😀
Thanks Connie but in all honesty I do it on purpose. Ever since it was a typo and I laughed at myself. It’s such a goodie that I can’t help repeating it and don’t think of the brand by any other name now.
Portia xx
My favorite for Spring is Iris, and I really like Chanel #19 Poudre. I also Like Lily of the Valley and have Fragonard Muguet to wear on May Day. Thanks for the draw.
Hey Maureen,
I have the Coty Muguet de Bois, I think that’s what it’s called. May for us is Autumn and it still smells great.
Portia xx
Like most perfume fanatics, I find it hard to name just one favorite flower! Today, my favorite is rose, and right now my favorite rose perfume is Une Folie de Rose by Les Parfums de Rosine. Thanks for this very nice draw. And Portia, you are no fool! XO
Queen Cupcake! the rose!! I have a set of Rosine samples around here somewhere, I shall dig them out and see what it is you are loving.
Thanks and kisses,
Portia xx
I absolutely love Une folie de rose too, it has a rose-Mitsouko vibe to my nose.
I’m a sucker for the good old Tuberose! I have many favourite perfumes that contain this wonderful flower but
I would have to say my absolute fav would have to be Carnal Flower by Frederic Malle!
Excellent answer A.T, I am partial to a little tuberose myself,
Portia xx
Thanks Portia 🙂 And thank you for hosting this giveaway!
Amarah xx
You are SO welcome Amarah, you have a pretty name, what is its progeny?
Portia xx
I’ve seldom met a flower I didn’t like. For scent specifically, my favorites include roses, lilies, and tuberoses, and when I lived back East a linden tree in bloom could make me ecstatic for days. I’ve been eager to try the Library of Flowers Linden, and in fact all of them, so please enter me.
You are TOTALLY in the draw FeralJasmine.
Portia x
I love Australian gum blossoms!
A very dear friend of mine had Australian Gum Blossom imported to England for her wedding so she would feel at home RuthF.
True Story,
Portia xx
Hard to tell from the image on my iPad, but the packaging & the bottle look to be just so. I’m sort of fascinated by the Elena concept of marketing – that is to say, package it perfectly and the product will fly off the shelf. In the town where I live there is a store which features many of the Margot Elena products (if not all), and I could spend hours browsing due to the beautiful packaging and decorating. So, O.K., my favorite flower is, um, hard to choose…the tulip. My favorite flower fragrance is rose, but carnation runs a close second.
Hey Martha,
I am with you on the rose and carnation. Lovely scents.
Portia xx
My favourite flower is the iris and my favourite iris fragrance is Iris Silver Mist
You have VERY classy taste TheSmellyVagabond
Portia xx
My favorite flower would be gardenia and I always loved Marc Jacobs first perfume centered on it.
Marc Jacobs did a lovely job on his first fragrance. I totally agree, and wasn’t the bottle lovely too.
Portia x