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Portia
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Hi APJ,
WOW! What a week of friends, food and fragrance. I can’t believe how much we all got through.
Scent Diary: 5.6 – 11.6.2017
Monday 5:
Good morning sunshine! It was absolutely glorious for our walk today and when we got home I de-flead the pooches.
Very little on the agenda today but I did book my flights for India in September. Going to hang with my last Partner Varun for about 10 days. The plan is to get up to Assam and Darjeeling for alittle adventure, a couple of days in Delhi and some time with his family in Alwar, Rajasthan. Jam packed but it will be fun. I realised we haven’t seen each other in 3 years! Time to go hang. Here’s a pick of us 15 years ago at one of our birthdays.
I’m totally loving my original Lolita Lempicka EdP again today. LOADS of it. Then this afternoon I decided I wanted to keep the purple theme but a new direction so Hermès Brin de Reglisse got a full workout. I freaking love lavender, so cool and calming.
At night Jin & I went to dinner with our besties Kath & Alice. The Balkan Restaurant on Crown St, I have been eating with this family in three or four different locations since 1988. The menu has barely changed in all that time and I usually get the Fillet Mignon, which in Australia and all civilised countries means perfect steak wrapped in bacon and cooked over an open fire BarBQ. Tonight I was not so hungry so I had a little bit of meat off everyone’s plate and a salad. DELICIOUS!
Tuesday 6:
Scott came to help with Office Work today. There wasn’t much to do except the brain numbing receipt naming, invoicing all venues and queens for Turbo, the mail and a few other incidentals. Jin is working tonight so he got us all lunch, dukka on soft pizza and cheese, YUM!
At the Post Office there was my prize from Pia & Nick at We Love To Smell. SO generous, full of fun things.
Had the most fabulous Annick Goutal Musc Nomade bubble bath, followed by Kiehl’s Musk Body Lotion and topped off with enormous amounts of Frederic Malle Musc Ravageur. I am a little musky! YAY!
Tonight for bed I wanted to continue the musks but add some sweetness so I multispritzed Olympic Orchids White Cattleya. its ultra-sweet citrus is backed by vanilla and musk. Just the right side of freaky, and a perfect narcotic fragrance to lead me to the land of nod. Night Night.
Wednesday 7:
Today is wet. Had to use a big umbrella to walk the dogs. I love how clean the world feels while it’s raining and the breeze is so refreshing. Dogs were fine in their winter coats, they look like a couple of yearling colts trotting along. I wore Elie Saab Le Parfum for our ramble, it was perfect, all musky white flowers.
Had a good meeting about a new venue that would like me to produce some stuff for it. The best bit was that the meeting was expedited by my longest friend who I was in kindergarten with and we have remained buddies ever since. We don’t see each other every week but when we do it’s nice and his Mum & mine were great buddies too. I didn’t take a bloody pic. BUM!
Tonight I was feeling a bit like I needed some super sweet crunchy caramel hugging so instead of turning to Jin who is at work I lavishly spritzed the original Guess woman by Marciano.
Trivia was fun and dinner delicious. I had the grilled chicken with bacon, avocado and hollandaise with chips & salad. Bloody good food and a lovely night at Greystanes Hotel.
These are two of my fave boys from my Wednesday night gig. Razz & Andrew are contractors that drive from the Gold Coast to work in Sydney every few weeks, their boss sometimes comes and his family has joined us too.
These two dogs are so lovely. We walked in the pouring rain three times today and they loved it. Both got soaking wet heads and legs. Each time I had to dry their coats. Night time wander was in torrential rain, bucketing down, it was Biblical. They loved it so much, couldn’t care less. They’re curled up on their inside beds in the lounge room right now with Korean Air blankets on them. SO CUTE!
I’m done for today. More Guess by Marciano and bed.
Thursday 8:
Jin has crashed on the couch after his nightshift. I found him there this morning when I awoke. His happy snores fill the apartment. Morning couch cuddles made the world look even more lovely as I took the dogs for a damp but crystal clear ramble.
There were still ashy, vanilla remnants of my Guess by Marciano this morning. They were such a perfect fit I decided to stay on the sweet side so it became a Guerlain Samsara vintage EdT & parfum morning.
Jin created a brand new meat marinade today. Shallots, Onions, Garlic, Kiwi Fruit, Soy Sauce, Cooking Wine, little Sugar, Sesame Oil and fresh cracked Black Pepper. Pour it over pork neck cut into thin slices, like the Chinese cut meat for take-away. The meat has gone into the marinade, in Tupperware and into the fridge. The whole house smells amazing.
He cooked some and it tastes even better than it sounds. We have dubbed it Shallot Pesto and I wanted to eat it as is but Jin is making it into a stew! Crazy boy.
It’s still raining in Sydney but I was craving icy cool scent so I thought a few spritzes of Cartier: L’Heure Convoiteé II a good choice. It is indeed. Every time I spritz it reminds me of buying it in Prague’s Cartier store, off the main square. It was an expensive purchase and thrilling to be doing it on my first visit to the city. It was Jin and my first holiday together, very happy times to remember. Even now the heady joy of finding him comes flooding back.
Then for work some vintage Fendi EdT, their original fragrance. BIG perfume.
Friday 9:
It’s Friday and Jin is off work. We walked the dogs together this morning, one of my fave things to do together.
I was supposed to be meeting with the Parramatta Council because I want to start Drag Queen Story Time at the local library. They are into it but we had to postpone for a couple of weeks. I love the idea of bringing diversity to kids.
So I cleaned the house top to bottom. You could eat your dinner out of my toilet right now, though if you’re that hard up I could probably find you a plate. Everything is glistening and the only thing I haven’t done is oil the table. Tomorrow I’ll do it.
Lunch with the sweetest Korean boy, Jacob, from our local Korean store. He is going back to Korea soon and I wanted to take him out for a farewell. He loved it so much that I spoke a few sentences of Korean and he likes to talk English with me. Sweet. I’ll miss his happy face at the shop.
Tonight we had a perfumista dinner at mine. A few mates and a bunch of frags. Jin was out boozing with a work colleague so I filled the house with friends. Instead of cooking I went and got some Arabian chicken with pickles, garlic mayo & chips. Add a few bread rolls, a garden salad & voila, dinner. Everyone was asked to bring a bottle of bubbles and we went through most of them.
TinaG decided to create a Pavlova for dessert and it was freaking sensational. Here she is looking justifiably proud. We ate it up and then were all on a sugar high for fragrances.
Scott stuck around after everyone had gone and we kept on sniffing well past midnight and on to one.
Saturday 10:
Today dawned cool and wet. The thought of getting out of my comfortable bed, with a super warm Jin beside me was not exactly my dream scenario but the dogs will not feed and walk themselves. They did have to wait an hour after their normal routine though. I am a selfish man.
Went to lunch for my mate Nikki’s birthday. It was excellent fun. We laughed and reminisced. By the end it was three cackling hens. Perfect Saturday afternoon.
Following lunch I felt the need for a little warmth so a Robert Piguet Bandit bubble bath ensued and a liberal spritzing of the original Trussardi Donna, with it’s faux white croc bottle and greyhound insignia in leather. All about the leather chypres this afternoon.
Aunty Tracey arrived this evening and Jin did Korean BarBQ at home. She’s staying with us for the week and hopefully we will go visit the rest of the Aunties while she’s here.
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Sunday 11:
Walking the dogs this morning I was confronted by this tree that seems to have coloured up overnight. Every other deciduous tree on the block is almost bare but this lone liquidambar is only just turning. Beautiful.
Aunty Tracey is rugged up in the beautiful patchwork quilt created for me by Lyndall Woods. She’s feeling the cold further from the equator and the quilt is exactly enough to keep her toasty as she watches Netflix. Her show of choice is 13 Reasons Why.
For work I decided to go Old School so it’s vintage Guerlain Mitsouko EdT & parfum all the way.
Now it’s your turn. How was your week? Tell me anything fun or fragrant you did or wore, maybe you have a new purchase or refund an old love. Please tell us your story in the comments, we love to read what’s going on in your world.
Portia xx
Australian Perfume Junkies 
Oh you are sunshine! Mitsouko o o o forever!
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What a lovely comment Marion,
And yes, Mitsouko 4Eva
Portia x
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I am reconnecting with Cabochard this winter. Always read it being a Leather so maybe tie for me to investigate more cur. I want to come back as one of your greyhounds!
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HA! You would HATE being one of the dogs. I’m really strict with them. Their world is full of parameters. For adhering to that though they get loads of affection, food, low fashion clothing and wanders around the suburb.
Paris, my beautiful Black boy even sighs with contentment when we cuddle, it’s cute.
Portia xx
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Hi Portia, What a wonderful week you had. We started out the week with unbelievable stormy weather (as if a sea storm raged over land). Great sunshine and skies returned for the weekend and enjoyed time with family and friends at BBQ. Sandra xoxo
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YAY Sandra,
I love big storms. was it fun or terrifying?
Lucky you getting sunny weekend! I hope you had Carl there with you for the fun.
Portia xx
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hi, Portia, it’s lovely to see your week unfold. I also did a thorough clean up and tidy here at my home. Spring and autumn are my nesting and diggin in seasons. It feels satisfying to see things shine, tiring in a contented way. Now I must organize the perfume samples that have piled up. They go into categories of yes, maybe, meh, and no
Have been slightly under the weather with a respiratory virus and looking to Infusion d’Iris, eau de cologne, and other transparent scents for fragrant comfort this week. Today I’m breathing easier and enjoying Jour d’Hermes. Citrus, flowers, and woods, mmmm. Have a wonderful week.
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Hey Tiffanie,
Cleaning makes me feel like the house is lighter and I burn incense after it’s all clean to capture all the bad juju.
Glad to read you’re getting better. Being sick is shit.
Portia xx
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What a fun-filled week, Portia. I wish I could have been there at the perfumista dinner, I would have been in my element!
The past week I wore mostly Shalimar Cologne, my go to comfort scent. I also accidently sprayed a sample of J’Adore on my neck which I don’t adore at all. Should have gone to Specsavers.
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Hey Ingrid,
Next time you’re in Sydney you are most welcome to come eat and sniff. we’ll get a crew together for it.
Shalimar Cologne is very nice, I bet it smells beautiful on you.
Portia xx
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I love these scent diaries Portia, they are a true tonic to the rush of daily perfume info!! This week we were down in Seattle on business for three days, all three had me in Malle’s new Superstitious; blew through my sample completely and will be buying a FB on payday, next thurs!! SO good. Also three dinners at Din Tai Fung (same one as in Sydney) for multiple orders of Xiaolongbao soup dumplings, which I am OBSESSED with. Today is writing catch-up day, and I am drenched in Opium Vapeurs De Parfum, gorgeous. Love the story of your upcoming trip to India! Stories with my ex tend to start with “Oh did I tell you I ran into my ex yesterday? Felt so good, I threw the car in reverse and ran into him AGAIN!😂” You get the picture! Xoxo
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Hey Robert,
Thank you.
EVERYONE is telling me to wear Superstitious. Have you side by sided it with JHaG Midnight Oud? I’m reading that there are some marked similarities after the initial fireworks. I love that one so am very excited to get my sniff on Superstitious.
DIN TAI FUNG!! I love it. Those soup dumplings are yummy. I can eat 10 at a time. Don’t need anything else when I’m there. YUM! Jin started me eating them with chilli oil, makes them even better.
Exes, I’m pretty friendly with all except one. Only really work to keep in contact with two of them though. I was a rotten, selfish, crazy narcissist for the first 35+ years of my life, add drug addicted from 14 – 40 and you’ll get the picture. How they can still bear me is beyond all reasonable expectation.
Portia xx
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I didn’t notice a similarity between the Malle and the JHAG. The Malle is an aldehyde BOMB with tons of (on me) rise and jasmine. DEEEvine! At DTF we’ve also gotten hooked on the boneless porkchop served on fried rice, and the woodtree mushrooms in vinegar for a starter. So freaking good!!
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He He he. You know Robert, I eat a few bits & pieces if we are with mates but I only REALLY care about the soup dumplings. So though I know they serve other food it has made zero impression on me. Pathetic, table for one.
Portia x
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*rose (fucking spellcheck)
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Samsara and Trussardi Donna are amazing. Having Trussardi Donna is, particularly, special for you because you have the same dog species that represents Trussardi and is on the bottle.
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Yaha Fazal,
We were in Trussardi in Milan earlier in the year and they had the most fabulous Polo shirt with greyhounds running across it, but it looked like camp. I tried to get it for Jin but he didn’t like the fit and they don’t make in my size. BUMMER.
Portia xx
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What a nice week you had! Thanks for sharing. Mine was work work work with a thought of catching up on more work this weekend.m I am happy to note that catching up this weekend will not really make me catch up enough to make a difference, so I didn’t. Instead, besides the usual grocery shopping, I took mom to pick up a new mobile phone — still a flip phone because it is simple enough for her to use. That said, she knows how to find her way around an iPad so maybe an iPhone may be in her future. Glad to see Jin up and about!
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Hey Hajusuuri,
YAY! You took some time for yourself. Good. There will always be more work than time.
I bet Mum is happy that you took her, she’s lucky to have you.
Portia x
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So beautiful to see you happy and among people that love you, it’s so important, sometimes we forget this amongst all the other demands in our lives. Fragrance-wise here, I’ve been sorting the overflowing samples. I now have a way forward and it feels so good. Not tested, retest, to go and ‘you’re completely safe to wear this, you love it’. So now when I feel like testing, I know what to reach for, and for days when I don’t want to be pushed and pulled, I can just dip into the ‘good to go’ bag. Today is Le Labo Vetiver 46 from the latter, gorgeous.
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Hey Greennote,
Oh yes, it’s the people that make life worth living.
Good for you. That is such a great idea. There are SO MANY samples around here vying for attention that it becomes overwhelming and I shut down. I’m going to take your advice and clean them up.
Portia xx
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Great to hear you’ve booked your India trip. Fabulous.
What a fun night with perfume friends. Tina is so talented!
Have a fun week with Auntie Tracey.
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Hey Tara,
Yah! India. it’s been 3 years! Before that I was there twice a year for nearly a decade.
Tina is a gem, with uncanny Pavlova abilities. YUM!
Having a very fun week, hope you are too.
Portia xx
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The more I read your scent diaries the more I concentrate on the fantastic food you eat. Jin sounds like a great cook and his recipies are yummy. I loved the marinade for pork neck. It’s my favourite piece of meat. Can I borrow the recipe?
Drag Queen Story Time at the local library sounds fun. What’s the concept?
During my recent trip to Oslo I’ve visited the Hermes boutique and was able to try some of the Hermessences. A nice lady gave me 5 x 4 ml samples of perfumes from this line, so I was testing them last week. Cuir d’Ange and Rose Ikebana are my favourites of the 5 I’ve tried. I was able to get a sample of Galop d’Hermes and of course I loved it. It’s like a perfect mix of the 2 Hermessences I found best. I want a FB!!!
Oh yes, the chandelier above your table is beautiful. I don’t think I’ve noticed it before.
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Hey Neva,
Yeah, we are so lucky in Australia to have enormous amounts of quality food at our fingertips. Jin is a sensational cook and yes, please use the recipe. He doesn’t use measures or anything when making stuff up so I can’t give you any but keep blending till it tastes good cold, then add it to the meat.
The concept is to have a Drag Queen come read to the kids once a week. Doesn’t even need to be a queen every week, I would like to have some disabled, obese, tattooed, multicoloured skin people from all walks of life to come read. The idea is to create a place where diversity is brought to children attention without it being the key to the event. Normalising diversity through exposure.
Cuir d’Ange and Ambre Narguilé are my two faves but I also use a lot of Vanille Galante. None of the Hermessence are bad. Gallup though leaves me a little cold, I think I need more time with it.
Jin made that chandelier to look like the harry Potter Hogwarts tables. Isn’t he a freaking genius?
Portia xx
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I always love reading about your jam-packed week Portia. I feel very sedentary when I read about all that you guys get up to.
This week’s fragrances were:
MON: By Killian Incense Oud. You know the cold weather has arrived when the oud starts getting air time.
TUE: Heeley Cuir Plein Fleur. A fellow member recommended this to me and I’ve never regretted this blnd buy. It’s damn lovely.
WED: Vintage Givenchy Gentleman. Another rare treasure that I love but have to go sparingly on.
THU: Heeley Cardinal. Following on from Monday, incense is starting to get a workout now.
FRI: Prada Amber Pour Homme Intense. I haven’t worn this much and I was surprised by hw long it lasted and how much I liked it. May be a FB in my future.
SAT: Guerlain Habit Rouge EDT. Good solid everyday scent.
SUN: Tauer L’Air du Desert Marocain. Every bit as good as its rep; another FB once my sample dries up.
The highlight of my week was a trip to central Victoria to visit my sister. We went on a tour of Noorilim Estate and it was absolutely jaw-dropping. I’ve posted photos on FB but the best part was the art collection, which we weren’t allowed to photograph. Arthur Boyd, Sidney Nolan, Frederick McCubbin, Rupert Bunny, Margaret Preston, Jeffrey Smart, James Gleeson, Russell Drysdale, Clifton Pugh, Julian Ashton, Howard Arkley, Brett Whiteley, Fernand Leger and Andy Warhol were among the works on the walls. A couple of hours drive from Melbourne; anybody in the vicinity should check this place out.
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Hey Greg,
Nice frags but I am much more interested in your trip. What a fabulous collection of art. Can you stay in this place or nearby?
You’ve inspired my SOTD Heeley Cuir Plein Fleur
Portia xx
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It’s a private home, so you can’t stay there. Nearest town is Murchison, but almost anywhere nearby would offer accommodation options. We drove up from Melbourne for the day; it’s freeway nearly all the way.
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