Hello APJ, Welcome to our small scale collaboration project. Old Herbaceous (OH) of Serenity Now Scents and Sensibilities and I will be doing a monthly post on different perfume notes. We are not perfumers but aficionados of fragrance. So lots of our information will come with links for further reading or text references. We are learning as you are learning, or refreshing.
Hello APJ, Welcome to our small scale collaboration project. Old Herbaceous (OH) of Serenity Now Scents and Sensibilities and I will be doing a monthly post on different perfume notes. We are not perfumers but aficionados of fragrance. So lots of our information will come with links for further reading or text references. We are learning as you are learning, or refreshing.
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Portia
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Hey there APJ Crew,
Where the hell did January go? It’s just flown by. Finally back in drag this week. Wore a bunch of favourite fragrances, opened a new weekly event, hung a bit with Jin and our mates and generally had a pretty chill week. Biggest drama being out China & North Korea legs of the February trip cancelled because of coronavirus.
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Portia
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Hey there APJ,
It’s Mood Scent 4 week. WOO HOO! With the first Monday of the dawning of a new decade we thought we might take a little look back at some of our favourite perfumes that haven’t made it this far. Our great loves that have been discontinued. Now I’m also counting reformulations that changed the scent out of recognisable parameters because that fragrance I loved has been killed off just as much. Same outcome, my perfume is dead.
So excited to be blogging with these three superstars again: Esperanza L’Esperessence, Megan Megan In Sainte Maxime and Samantha I Scent You A Day. Check theirs out too.
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Portia
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Hey there APJ Crew,
It must be so boring for you Northerners to read about our heat but I’m getting my ass kicked by it. Utterly enervated.
Still, managed to get out a bit and do some stuff. Nothing enormous, quite a lot of jin and Portia laying around in the cool air time.
Loads of good frags though.
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Portia
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Hey there APJ Crew,
Mardi Gras season is in full swing this week. I only attended a couple of events but my FaceBook feed is chock full of exciting moments happening across Sydney. There were also a bunch of fragrant adventures and LOADS of perfume was sniffed, spritzed, sampled and savoured. Friends old and new dropped in, Art happened, Roller Derby and a slew of other fun stuff.
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Portia
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Hi there Perfume Junkies,
This week has been humid, close to Equatorially humid. I love the warmth and sunshine but find the humidity hard to deal with, especially in Drag. My whole body feels like it should be rippling up with water logged-ness. There has been loads of couch time under the fan, sitting still, drinking water and tea. Mostly my fragrance choices have reflected the heat but a couple have embraced it. There have been a few catch ups, some yummy food and a bunch of fabulous scent too..
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Portia
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Hi APJ,
It’s weird. Many fragrances I write about, fall in love with and buy a large decant or bottle. Sometimes it feels like I’m keeping the perfume world solvent, HA! Then you all never hear about that perfume again unless it’s in my Sunday Scent Diary, and then just a tiny entry or picture. So today I thought we’d gran out some things that have been written about before and still see regular skin time.
There is something deeply satisfying when I spritz Afternoon Of A Faun. It’s a honeyed immortelle, leather, iris and peppery spices smell like nothing else in my collection. One of the last really fabulous, love to wear even though it’s a bit freaky, releases from the ELdO house. It’s like they have taken the late 20th century mens fragrance and twisted just enough to make it interesting again.
Wearing this beauty today inspired the post. I read the fragrance quite differently to the notes presented. My skin throws lily and creamy coconut mixed with the ylang. A tropical scent using all the old tropes but injects an airy freshness and a jaunty lilt. Well into my second bottle and a back up bought just in case. On cool but sunny days like today, boiling summer heatwaves and even the dead cold of european winter Lys Soleia works.
Antaeus is often a sneaky spritz for me as I go walking the dogs or shopping for groceries. I think I’ve told you all before that my first long term partner and I wore Antaeus in the late 1980s and early 1990s. There is something so classic and finished about it, from picking up the black, super smooth reflective bottle to the earthy leather dry down. The whole experience feels special.
Rochas answer to CHANEL No 5 is a clever play on the aldehydic floral. A thicker, more treacle feeling opening. Yellow flowers feel like the centre of attention and the iris, amber and oakmoss create an earthier, less outer space type fragrance. Madame Rochas manages a similar sparkling glamour as No 5 but does it in a more perfumey way. It manages to cut the aloofness and feel like a Christmas hug from a favourite aunt.
Yes, it lasts all day. The jolt of citrus over vanilla starts this beauty out with a zing but it’s the vanilla heart that goes on all day long. A crunchy, caramelised vanilla that changes with your mood and the weather. Some days it’s more sheer and weightless and others Morn To Dusk can be sweet, thick and heavy. It seems to feel my mood and offer its own magical accompaniment. Simplicity with levels.
Most of these are available as samples & decants from Surrender To Chance.
What are your not so new Perfumes You Love?
Portia xx
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Portia
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Hi APJ,
Food and fragrance are the orders of the week. A few catch ups but mainly quiet as Jin recovers from tonsillitis. Loads of fun frags though.
Early this morning when I went to bed I lavishly spritzed Cacharel Liberté. I love it zingy sizzling citrus and it wears beautifully in the hot or cold. I’ll never understand why it wasn’t a bigger hit. The bottle is fabulous, it smells amazing and Gisele Bündchen was the spokesmodel? Even the name is good. As you can see I go through quite a lot of it, bottle number 3.
Jin was complaining of getting sick last night and then through the night kept waking up, unable to breathe. This morning he went to the doctor and his tonsils are so swollen they are blocking his airways. Antibiotics for a week. I hope they put him in hospital and rip them out. Poor boy has suffered at least once a year since we got together but never this bad. If not in Australia I’ll fly him home where they are not so stupidly precious about the procedure.
For the dog walk I thought I needed something a bit rosy so the first rose frag that I noticed was Agent Provocateur EdP. I grabbed it and spritzed with abandon. It was a stellar accompaniment to the crisp morning air, sunlit and sparkling.
Sick Jin & I went for sandwiches and hot chips to the local cafe. They girls there are so friendly. It was yum.
This afternoon I suddenly got the urge to douse myself in Bulgari Eau Parfumee au The Noir. It’s tea but with a woody leather and rose tint. I like it a lot, especially in the heat but very nice at 18C too.
Kept spritzing more and more Bulgari tonight while writing Q&A.
Finally, it’s 3.30am and I’m finished the Q&A and sent them all out. All I can think of us how much I want an incense fragrance to ramp up the leavings of the bulgar. So Maria Candida Gentile Exultat was the obvious, and best, choice for my mood. You’ll excuse me while I drift away please?
Saw this yesterday and can’t stop laughing about it. So funny.
Jin is officially off work for a couple of days. Unlike his usual illnesses he is not a whining baby. He must be really sick. Bloody doctors in Australia won’t remove them anymore unless it’s life or death. ASSHOLES!
No scent because it will fight with the lavender & eucalyptus in the burner.
DRAMA! While going in to the bathroom to get ready for work the bath mat slid from under me and I landed on the tile on my knee. It was so fast. Suddenly I’m lying on the ground moaning and in real pain. It was yuck. Anyway, poor old Jin was in a sound drugged sleep and I woke him with my yammering. This wheezy, disembodied voice comes to me from the living room, “You alright?” Even though I was most definitely NOT alright it was amusing enough to get me off the floor to reassure him that I’d live.
Tonight for work I wore Cartier L`Heure Brilliant VI and enjoyed its glittering zing.
I know it will be battling the houses current ambience but I’m going all out with Miss Dior vintage parfum and EdT for bed tonight. I’m worth it.
Last night before bed I ate a couple of donuts. Woke up this morning with a sugar hangover, and a sore knee.
Basically today was a write off. With Jin sick and me having a day off we slowed around the house all day watching TV and relaxing.
Dinner was Chinese Take Away and it was freaking gorgeous.
Today was HUGE! Jumped out of bed and doused myself in about 8 spritzes of Oriza L. Legrand Oeillet Louis XV from a sample in the pack you can buy from them and they ship to the world.
Walked the dogs then ran back inside, jumped in the car and fled. Saw this beautiful creamy coloured bottlebrush flowering in our winter.
First stop was Showcase in Sydney’s historic Rocks area. That’s where I buy my Drag make up. It was an expensive but necessary morning shop.
Next up I visited Bronwyn of Gascoine & King candles who is also the importer of Etat Libre d’Orange here in Australia. We went for coffees and some cake at the Bourke St Bakery and talked about our friends, lovers, businesses and new products. It is always fabulous with Bronwyn and we have some super luxe giveaways coming up from her. WOO HOO!
BFF Kath is home sick so I dropped in there to see her on my way to the next adventure. Short but sweet chats and cuddles with Ruski, her Groodle.
My last partner Varun and I lived with a really amazing girl, Rose. At that time she was a chef at the College St Marriot Hotel where Varun went from restaurant bus boy to night manager in the two years we were together. It was a meteoric rise and we were all proud of him. After the Marriot Rose moved to the Millennium Hotel, then onto a catering company where she got them a shitload of awards and where she really got her name in the minds of movers & shakers. She moved to Singapore and did some stuff there until she was poached by Nobu in Europe where she was overseeing chef for a few years. The Dictator of Azerbaijan stole her to be the top dog in his restaurants, hotels and family kitchen and after 4+ years working for him she decided it wasxc time to come back to Sydney.
Rose is now the top chef in the Lotus group of restaurants here in Sydney and she invited TinaG & I for lunch today so she could gauge the way the restaurant runs with real patrons. We ate SO MUCH! Tried all the delicacies and were given top flight service by our waiter Ben. It was really interesting to hear the stories of the dishes and why this was so good or why that one was sent back and the chef told to take it off the menu for today because the meat wasn’t as good as it should be. These guys take good food really seriously. I only put in pictures of the most spectacular, there was at least 3 x this much food.
Then I went to Libertine Parfumerie for their SALE! I was a glutton but Nick gave me something incredibly special to give away on APJ. VERY excited about that.
At this point I was running HOURS late and got home in time to quickly wash my face, hug Jin and ran out to work as a man. Work was heaving tonight, 50+ patrons at Kings Park tavern and there was loads of bantering and fun. It wa a stellar evening. I wore Exultat by Maria Candida Gentile and it was the perfect woody/incense combo for the evening.
Home, walked the dogs, having a cup of coffee and about to have a very hot bath to soak all todays grime off. I’m bushed.
A few things arrived in the post today but nothing so exciting as this vintage Rochas Femme parfum. It is a propellant bottle so the first 20 seconds are a mess but then……. bloom. Absolutely gobsmackingly gorgeous.
Jin and I spent the day around the house. We only left it to take him for Vietnamese Pho Soup. I walked the dogs though, he stayed sick on the couch. Can’t wait for him to fully recover
Good day today. Jin went back to work and I got to organise the weeks blog posts.
I’m also trying to create some order out of my chaotic office. I’m nearly shoulder deep in fragrance here. CROWDED.
I did take a Gilmore Girls break though because there is so much of the early episodes I missed. Having come in halfway like I did the whole back story is made apparent. My enjoyment levels are going through the roof.
While watching mind numbing TV I also ate Chinese reheats for lunch. BEST thing about getting chinese is having reheat lunch for the next two or three days. I added a can of corn kernels while they were in the frying pan. YUMMY!
This afternoon I wanted a cool amber fragrance. Van Cleef & Arpels Ambre Imperial was the perfect choice. It’s sparse, airy and unlike any other amber in my collection. It never gets bakery, gluggy or creamy but does warm through slightly as it dries down to resinous woodsiness. It’s the ultimate hot weather amber but is also very nice in the crisp, cool of evening. It was never a hit, I read zero rave reviews and it isn’t amber in the traditional sense but if you see it, put some on your skin.
Then I had a bath. It was deliciously hot and frothy with LUSH Rose Jam bubbles. Nearly finished this years stockpile. The wait for Christmas releases starts soon.
For bedtime I have gone absolutely crazy with vintage Guerlain Shalimar extrait, decanted from my bottle and spritzed. I am leaving a coruscating trail of fragrance every time I move. It’s ENORMOUS!
Walking the dogs this morning and I came across this beautiful rose. The light was hitting it in such a way that it had become ultra violet. As it caught my eye it was trying to burn my retinas out. It even had some spice tea and rose scent. There is no filter on the pic, you can kind of see what I mean but it was so much more freaky in life.
It’s cool but sunny today. I’m wearing Lolita Lempicka Au Masculin. It’s perfect. Longevity is appalling so I keep resproitzing every 40 minutes or so. Very satisfying. I love the anise/wet violet combo.
Yet again in LUSH Rose Jam bubble bath. Over the faint remnant I multi spritzed from a split decant of MFK Amyris (pretty sure it’s Femme). Did you know that the Amyris tree is also called Torchwood because it is super inflammable AND the resin it produces is Elemi. HA! I looked it up on Fragrantica. No wonder it smells familiar.
Now it’s your turn. How was your week? Do anything fragrant or interesting?
Tell us all about it, we love to read what you’re doing too.
Portia xx
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Portia
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Hey all. Today was spent at the computer (amazing how much time you can waste doing basically nothing online) and getting my fragrant send outs done. Some of them are a week overdue.
watching some Netflix. Jake Gyllenhaal in Source Code (2011) which blew my mind. Scary real idea.
Also watched the animated Sahara (2017) which was sweet and amusing but not nearly as good as Source Code.
Being Monday I have to write Trivia Q&A tonight.
Did not spritz or dab even a drop of fragrance today. For no reason at all my body wanted a complete rest from it. It did make me notice even more the fragile scent of lavender left on my sheets after changing the bed today. I always spritz it with L’Occitane Lavender Eau de Cologne on change day. It’s scent remains all week and is a perfect relaxant for Jin. He works shift work and needs to be able to fall asleep at any time in moments.
BUSY, wearing Madame Rochas EdC and parfum.
This morning I had a few things on the agenda, firstly tyres. My car desperately needed 4 new tyres and I had known it was coming for 12 months. Went to a tyre place I’ve used before expecting around $1000. The guy that served me was super sweet. He told me that they were importing a new brand and because this company is trying to get a toehold in Australia they are still quite cheap. So, four new tyres and a wheel alignment cost a little under $600 and I can’t believe the difference. The car is more responsive, feels like it is cornering better and the steering is lighter than it’s ever been. WIN ALLL ROUND!
It was Mother’s Day recently and I still hadn’t been to visit my Mum. The guilt was lying heavily on me and so straight after tyres I went down and saw her. Burned some Chinese Incense and Hell Bank Dollars for her and when I’m there alone I talk out loud to her as if we are sitting in the kitchen over a coffee. Anyway, I’d been rambling on about all sorts and wandering around the grave picking leaves etc off it when I noticed two groundsmen watching me and smiling. AWKWARD! They just smiled, said hello and wandered on.
Mum Waples is still in the Rehab and I went to visit her too. We had some laughs and Kath showed up to make it really cozy.
Jin has been aching to make us Peking Duck. We went and got all the stuff today, he made the pancakes himself from scratch. A couple of false starts, some not quite rightness and though it was amazing we decided to leave it and chop it all up for Sang Choy Bow tomorrow. Who cares that it wasn’t perfect, I just love the hanging out with him.
Work. Having to go to work tonight it was beard dying, a bubble bath and shave. Then some quiet nap time and ready to face the world. I spritzed Parfum d’Empire Ambre Russe lavishly and went out reeking of it. Interestingly no one commented on it, maybe they’re scared. I kept smelling old pipe tobacco all night, yummiest frag.
After work Jin and I sat up watching Frankie & Johnny Season 3, first 3 eps. Such good writing and the actors are a unit, a cohesive, perfect unit. We see ourselves and friends in different moments and characters. What a show.
A day blogging so loads of fragrance. I don’t want to ruin all the surprise though so I’ll keep a little hush.
Perfectly wonderful day. Jin and I lazed around the house and I blogged away happily. We had lunch together, a cuddle on the couch, watched some Korean TV with him translating. I grabbed Paris and had a little nap with him in the early evening before work.
Tonight for work I wore Carner Barcelona Rima XI. Sweet amber delight. YUM!
Today started cool and crisp, there were little breath clouds as I walk the dogs. By the time we got home though it was starting to warm up nicely. I was too., a half hour wander is beautiful with these pooches for company.
Jin cooked San Choy Bow with the leftover duck today for lunch. The sad failure of our Peking Duck was well overshadowed by the great San Choy Bow triumph of May 2017! He took some artistic license with the basic recipe, adding extraordinary amounts of garlic, some extra vegetables and a nice soft kick of chilli. He should open a restaurant. Seriously. It was so bloody delicious.
We went shopping for food. Tomorrow night we are having a small dinner party. We wanted to have everything ready to go.
Collected the incoming mail. VERY nice haul today. Vintage Madame Rochas EdC and Serge Lutens Feminite du Bois and Ambre Sultan in the Vaporisators with 2 x 30ml. Same price at Mecca as the 50ml export bottle and hella cuter.
Tonight I jumped in a glorious bubble bath of Hermès Eau de Mandarine Ambrée which then led me to night at work in Guerlain Shalimar, vintage parfum and modern EdP. I sent two of the women hurtling down memory lane to their youths. One was so enraptured she said she had fully fallen back in love. I wouldn’t be surprised if she turns up next week in full Shalimar.
My rose that I was given on Mother’s day is still blooming strong and lightly fragrant.
Suddenly it’s cool enough for a beanie. I particularly love this one I bought from Vanessa Musson from Bonkers About Perfume.
WHAT A DAY! I didn’t think my list was so long but it didn’t go as planned. It was meet Anna-Maria, go to David Jones and sniff, shopping for other people at DIOR, Estee Lauder Staff Store, hang with Bronwyn of Gascoigne & King Candles, Showface Theatre Makeup Store, Home for dinner party with a crew. It didn’t quite go to plan.
Went to town and met Anna-Maria for coffee and cupcakes.
Then we went to check David Jones DIOR to see if they had the 125ml Feve Delicious in case the Flagship store was out.
This fabulous woman at YSL Beauty grabbed Anna-Maria and did her lips. I nearly had to punch her in the face to use a slightly orange red on Anna-Maria but my will prevailed and I think you’ll agree it was the right choice.
Went to visit one of my favourite man SAs at MECCA in Myer where Anna-Maria got the Le Labo Santal 33 oil.
Then we trotted up to DIOR Flagship store and met Jolanta who was devastated to tell us she only had one 125ml DIOR Feve Delicious left. We had a very nice visit though. They are so friendly and helpful.
Latai met us there and we had to go back to David Jones to grab the other Feve and have lunch with Anna-Maria’s son Rocco. Then we realised we were out of time. Rushed home to join where we met up with other friends and all had Japanese/Korean fusion Self Made Nori Rolls. We had so much fun, chatter and laughter that the rest of the night passed in such a blur I completely forgot to take photos, SORRY!
After dinner I brought out a box of random niche bottles and we sniffed them and chatted, leading me to go get other bottles to illustrate, compare, contrast. By 10pm Jin was in bed and I was pooped so everyone herded out and I cleaned up. Bit of blogging and bed.
Spent today lazing around the house doing very close to nothing. I did notice that the Zygocactus are flowering though. these are all from my Mum’s windowsill. I’m pretty chuffed that though she died in 2001 her cactus are still prospering beautifully in the baskets and pots I put them in in 2003.
In honour of having the house to myself and wanting to swan around fully fragrant I gave myself 6 huge spritzes of Neela Vermeire Creations Mohur EdP. It’s so easy to get lost in its intricate folds that I lay down and let my mind wander for half an hour. So relaxing.
When Jin got home we had his Katsu Curry: Korean style. Bloody hell. My guy is such a good cook. Delicious. We watched some Gilmore Girls, season one. Jin had been rematching them and I got addicted a couple of seasons in. I’m doing catch up. LOVE this show.
Before bed I spritzed the white floral and green herbs and spices of Antonia by Puredistance. How luxe it smells.
Woke up & spritzed Niki de Saint Phalle for this perfect end of autumn sunny day. It was lovely as I wandered the dogs around our suburb.
Went and visited Kath’s Mum who is back at home now. We sat around with Dad & Kath laughing and chattering. It was a casual family morning, exactly what my should needed. Sorry but I forgot to take a snap.
Hung around the house and then got ready for work.
This week has been calm and peaceful. It’s been great to take stock and get some rest.
How about you? What did you do this week?
Did anything fragrant or fun happen?
Let us all know in the comments, hearing about your lives makes me so happy. I feel involved in the world outside my bubble.
Portia xx
Australian Perfume Junkies 