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Portia
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Hi there APJ,
A full week with Aunty Tracey down from Cairns. We ran from pillar to post. HEAVEN!
Portia xx
Scent Diary: 12.6 – 18.6.2017
Monday 12:
I stayed up late this morning watching TV. everyone else was sound asleep. Just before bed I gave myself 6 big spritzes of Neela Vermeire Creations Mohur EdP.
Today was a hang around the house with Aunty Tracey, watch Netflix, walk dogs, home made brunch, more Netflix, Pizza Hut dinner and leave her to watch more TV while I went and wrote Trivia Q&A kinda day.
Haven’t even put more perfume on till right now. DIOR Mitzah, and loads of it.
Tuesday 13:
Stuff happened but I didn’t write it down or take photos.
Lancome Tresor Midnight Rose arrived in the post. I’ve been going through decants and decided it was time to plunge when I saw it for an excellent price. Wore it to work and got two very interested compliments from people who LOVED it.
For my SOTBed I went crazy with Van Clef & Arpels Ambre Imperial. Excellent dry, cool amber for sleeping in.
Wednesday 14:
Jin had his birthday today but as he is a dirty spoilsport we are not allowed to celebrate. I brought my Aunty Tracey down to Sydney as a surprise guest and the three of us had a very low key morning with presents and cakes. It was cheesy but fun, we lit him a couple of candles and sang Happy Birthday. Please don’t send him any birthday wishes because it makes him really uncomfortable.
Below are his gifts from Aunty Tracey and me. He has been wanting that Cartier since 2013. I’m a very slow boyfriend but he was really excited to get it. How cute is the mug Aunty Tracey had made? Love it.
Jin made us hot Korean nut and sugar filled pancakes for brekky and we all watched some TV before we sped off to out respective days.
I had a large perfume influx from a friend who I bought a bunch from a mate selling off the good stuff to put a special needs student through school. What better reason to buy perfume than the ultimate top priority, educating our youth. So, I went a little crazy. Guerlain Cuir Beluga, Guerlain Tonka Imperial, Neela Vermeire Nichola, Neela Vermeire Trayee, Neela Vermeire Rahele. Expensive but ultimately helping so I feel pretty good about myself.
Tonight for work I wore lashings of Guerlain Cuir Beluga. It was beautiful. Here I am dining with my mate Wendy and Aunty Tracey.
Thursday 15:
Up early at Chez Turbo. Aunty Tracey, Jin & I were off and out to meet some of the Nursing Aunties. My Mum studied nursing and 10 of them graduated and stayed so close over the years. We went to visit Mum’s grave and the grave of another, Auntie Norma Dally-Watkins. So we met up for coffee and then did the visits. After that we went and had the most delicious Yum-Cha.
Then the night was full of trivia again. Aunty Tracey came and played with the Celts at Kings Park Tavern. They won and it was a great night.
Friday 16:
Neela Vermeire Creations Pichola was my choice of scent this morning. It was a perfect accompaniment to my busy day running around with the crew. Aunty Tracey, Jin & I jumped on a train to town.
First stop was David Jones Food Hall cafe in the patisserie area. After a bummer of an altercation about cutting cakes so we could share it all got really good and we all caffeinated ourselves and sugared up.
Then we shopped. Both Anna-Maria and Aunty Tracey had their lips done at David Jones DIOR counter by the make-up artists. Don’t they look fabulous in their glam reds? Anna-Maria spritzed DIOR Leather Oud, Aunty Tracey wore DIOR New Look 1947. They smelled wonderful.
Everyone bought at least one new piece of clothing. I grabbed a really cute Christmas style jumper and two new pairs of socks. It was the annual 30% Clearance Sale, how could we resist?
Anna-Maria and I bumped into Jules who is the Oroton regional manager. Anna-Maria has a very specific bag she wants and they have sold out of it across Australia but Jules has one, a slightly smaller size but still pretty much what Anna-Maria wants. I’ve passed on the details to her kids for Birthday shopping.
Then after running around for hours we were all pooped and needed some more caffeine and sugar so we adjourned to the Tea Salon in Sydney City Westfield and shared a cheesecake with cream & ice cream between us and everyone had their own special pot of tea. It was really lavish.
Quickly home to refresh and then we rushed into our favourite Korean BarBQ where we met up with Kath, Alice and Tina. Food, laughs, conversation and general mayhem ensued. These are the times when I am so happy. We all just hang and chatter and eat.
For bed I spritzed Guerlain Tonka Imperial. Sweet, nutty, tobacco with a cool incense backdrop. Very nice for our current night time temps. Going to bed now. Absolutely fricken buggered.
Saturday 17:
Hung around the house today. I wore loads of Van Cleef & Arpels Amber Imperial. It was lovely. There’s something about its dusty dryness that I find very comforting and wearable. YUM!
Did a fundraiser tonight for a local Football Club. My bath scent was Olympic Orchids Amber & Labdanum Bath Oil, moisturiser Madonna Truth or Dare Naked and fragrance Huitiemme Art Ambre Cerulean.
Aunty Tracey and I had a midnight Whitney Houston video singalong. we are both terrible singers and it was a hoot. Heaving breasts and tears streaming as we warbled. WOW! Now I’m so fucking depressed. Crying silently in front of the computer. She was so beautiful, talented, had everything. If she couldn’t survive what hope the rest of us mere mortals? Whitney was my voice for years as I mimed in shows in Australia and around the world. So sad, such waste.
Sunday 18:
Bedtime. 2am. A single spritz of Montana Parfum de Peau. Should be parfum de PEE. There’s a definite cat wee vibe going on here, it makes me laugh whenever I spritz it. the wee gives way to screechy white florals and ass. All ass zero class, I love it.
Jumped out of bed and it’s Aunty Tracey’s last day. We ran to Kath’s house to fix the lights in the kitchen. While there we also cleaned out the exhaust fans in the main bathroom, amazing how much more air they move when air can get through and the blades are clean.
Then we went to Bunnings for a Sausage Sizzle Brunch and to get a refund on shit lights that we’d removed. They were so amazingly accommodating with the store voucher, extremely happy.
Then bath time before work tonight. I had it extra hot and loved every second with mountains of bubbles from L’Artisan La Chasse aux Papillons. My body lotion Robert Piguet Fracas and scent overlaying all Serge Lutens Datura Noir. Yes, I wanted to smell like a spring night flowering bouquet.
Now it’s your turn. What happened in your week? See any friends, try any new fragrances or revisit old ones?
Share your highs & lows with us please. We love to read your life moments.
Portia xx
Australian Perfume Junkies 
Oh, your baths sound divine! My weekly indulgence is the long soak, no interruptions thank you very much.
So, good week over here, my students had mid year ballet assessment on Friday and I wore Papillon’s Anubis in honour. They did an amazing job, I was a proud mother hen!
Have been wearing Mandorla di Sicilia for bed, almondy tangerine, I really like it.
Also planning an update on our 1980’s laundry…Any hints on laundry design gratefully received!
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Hey JackieB,
Yeah, baths are my happy place too. It’s a fairly innocuous stress relief.
Anubis! They must have been buoyed up on your sensational scent. Lucky you to have a successful crew of students this year. Congratulations. I know it was your hard work that got them there.
Portia xx
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Love seeing your perfume choices for the week Portia…Ah nothing better than a Bunnings sausage sizzle brunch, the aroma. Loved spending time with Aunty Tracey, you and Jin..
All ass no class, is the best perfume description ever Portia.
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Thanks Anna-Maria,
Bunnings have a really good thing going with their Saturday Sizzle. Excellent fundraiser and DELICIOUS!
Thanks for coming out on Friday. You made the day extra special for all of us.
Portia xx
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I love Parfum de Peau. BTW, which is that Cartier Jin got? is it Santos de Cartier?
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Hey Fazal,
Yeah, it’s a BIG frag the Montana. I love it too. This is a modern bottle and it is a lot more screechy than the old, still fabulous.
The gift is Les Heures de Cartier: L`Heure Brilliant VI Cartier. Notes are linen seed, lemon, gin and aldehydic notes. He fell madly in love with it in Prague when I bought #2 and every time we go near a Cartier store or section he spritzes it.
Portia xx
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Yeah, Parfum de Peau is awesome. I get it how the modern version may be a little screechy given the usual trend. I have original version and I loved it so much I got the parfum version as well. That cartier pouch confused me because Cartier used to have covers in similar leather and burgundy color for travel versions of their perfumes in the past. I might be wrong but they were called something like ‘ligne de voyage’.
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Wow – my wek wasn’t nearly as thriling as yours.
I did get a package from that very same fundraising friend though, and have been wearing Iris Ganache and Lubin’s Kismet all week because of it.
On Thursday a new greyhound came to my house with a foster-with-intent-to-adopt label, and things are going well. Yesterday, my adoption group welcomed a new batch of dogs, so it was a full day of volunteering to separate the (uneutered) boys and girls, check for ticks, brush and bathe the 35 new arrivals.
Today (Sunday) is a day to cook, snuggle the hounds and practice the cello.
Life is good
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Hi Tena,
Doesn’t the perfume smell better when you’ve bought it altruistically?
WOO HOO! Good luck with your new Greyhound.
35 dogs! I hope they all get lovely forever homes.
Portia xx
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Tell Jin that I totally support his position on birthdays.
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HA HA HA! OK.
I will do that Lindaloo.
You know me though? Any excuse for a get together. We just don’t get enough time with the gang, and a birthday means we can see a whole lot of them at once.
Portia xx
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Howdy! I fully support Jin on the birthday issue. But the photo mug is absolutely gorgeous. That has made my week. Along with the soup mix. Bahahaha!
Jin’s facial expressions and poses in photos is priceless.
Your week sounded … full, emotionally. And your perfume choices reflected that intensity.
The VC&A Ambre might just be my gateway into ambers. I am openly not a fan, but warming up to them. This VC&A one has turned my head.
Here’s to a week of excellent health, laughter and gratitude. 🍻
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Heya Kate,
How wonderful is that mug. One of our favourite pics together too.
Jin purposely does a different look for every shot. It’s because I always have exactly the same look and he wants people to know they are different photos. Hilarious.
Woo Hoo! Glad to have an enabling hand in your scent journey He he he.
Portia xx
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Rough week for me. Today is Father’s Day in the States. My dad died the day after Father’s Day two years ago. I’ve been crying like a baby the last couple days.
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Gina, I’m so sorry, this must be such a hard time for you. Crying hurts, but it helps, too. Hoping you’ll still be thinking of your Dad, but smiling, very soon.
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Bummer Gina,
That is sad news.
Crying is healing. Get it all out.
Portia xx
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Tena, your comments about your greyhound made me realise we have had a full 2 weeks now with our fostered-but-let’s-not-kid-ourselves-we’ll-adopt, dog. She is a 4 year old Labrador / kelpie cross (we think; but the black and tan colouring could be rottweiler …). She has a beautiful nature, very friendly, and a very soft coat. Her previous owner died but we don’t know much else. She’s desperate to make friends with the cat – our part- Bengal rescue, but the cat makes a big show of just tolerating her.
Apart from that, celebrated Dad’s birthday last night with a Greek pulled-beef recipe trial that ended well (I’m through to the next round, apparently) and the rest of the week has been a bit of a blur of appointments for Mum and Dad, shopping with them, a student-free day that thankfully was partly filled by a birthday party, and my daughter’s latest accident / illness – hurting her ankle tripping over the playground equipment at school.
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YAY! A new rescue baby. How bloody exciting. Congratulations on your family addition.
Give the cat some time. She’s had her house invaded.
Portia xx
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Sue – I know – why do we even use the term foster 🙂
COngrats on your new baby
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What a delightful read of a life well lived! Thank you for sharing! Those Vermeire bottles look very enticing. The Soup :). For the past few weeks my perfumes have started to bore me except when I wore Serge Lutens’ Chene under Papillon’s Salome and added one drop of cedar oil. Divine. I own about 11 FBs of perfume and all except Chene are down to the last 10-20mls. Craving for something new and different. Something challenging. I ordered 6 samples from Zoologist, longing to smell Bat, Civet and Rhinoceros! But am going to treat myself to two FBs of Olympic Orchids. I’ve never yet been wrong on a blind buy…..I live out in the sticks so buy most nice things online and dollar-wise it makes more sense to plunge for a FB. But I still cannot make up my mind! It’s very cold and very winter where I am. Seattle Chocolate….Olympic Rainforest….Sonnet XVII…..Kingston Ferry…..Hamsa. Hmm….then I read about Juliette Has A Gun’s “Moon Dance”!
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Hey Lisilou,
The Vermeires are very special. Put them on your sampling list, but be aware they are pricey.
WOW! You love to layer. Sounds amazing.
One of the exciting things about being a fragrance junkie is not the making up of your mind but the delicious not being able to. That’s my favourite bit.
Portia xx
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Gotta know which Cartier Jin got. I’m sure it smells lovely on him.
I’ve had a rough week and was on a White Linen kick to combat the heat and humidity. I’m ready for the end of summer and it has barely begun.
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Well, obviously my page hadn’t reloaded properly. Brilliant is lovely.
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Another very full week at Chez Turbo; mine pales into insignificance – the highlight was getting my wife’s car serviced. I guess I could talk about my book reviewing; I’m now one of the Top 50 Australian book reviewers on Goodreads, and have been accepted as a Netgalley reviewer. My first pre-publication review went up this week.
Anyway, this weeks fragrance diary:
Mon- Armani Prive Cuir Amethyste. Big, long-lasting leather. Like this one.
Tue- L’Artisan Onde Sensuell. I can’t talk myself into liking this; maybe it’s the grapefruit. Will be moving this on.
Wed- Tom Ford Cafe Rose. Coffee? Big dirty rose? Say no more.
Thu- Slumberhouse Norne. First time I’ve sampled this. A big woody blast; really liked it. Is there a Slumberhouse outlet in Australia?
Fri- – Vintage Dior Jules. Maybe my best op shop find ever. Love it, but have to use it sparingly.
Sat- Mona di Orio Ambre. Right down my alley, you’d think, but it didn’t grab me hugely.
Sun- Slumberhouse Ore. Instant hate from the wife, who rushed for the antihistamines. This one goes, no matter how nice it is.
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WOW Greg, That’s really exciting about the reviews. Congratulations.
I love Cuir Amethyste too, bought Kerri Clarke’s. It reminds me of Daim Blond and Bottega Veneta. Very nice.
Jin also gets an allergic reaction to the Slumberous frags, I had to sell my collection off. No seller in Oz but if you write to Slumberous direct they are very accomodating, or were when I was buying.
MdO Ambre was shit for me too, zero longevity of an almost non existent scent. Very upsetting because generally I love the brand. I sold it.
Portia xx
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Is the Slumberhouse Ore a bottle or sample? Is it for sale?
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Hi Saffy. The Ore is a small sample decant. If you’re in Melbourne and can pick up, it’s yours, but not really worth posting.
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I think it’s very nice that you meet your mum’s colleagues and friends and honor her in such a great way. The nursing aunties are so lovely.
Montana Parfum de Peau…it is so special. I can instantly smell it in my mind because it’s so characteristic. It screams EIGHTIES! Speaking of the eighties, I was wearing my Armani to a party last weekend and almost killed everyone around me. I forgot how intense it is in the hot weather 😀
My sample pack containing ELDO’s You or Someone Like You arrived. Thank you!!! I really like this perfume. The sample was gone in two days and I will be ordering a FB. I think I need this kind of minty, creamy rose for the summer. The cool mint manages to stay prominent all through the day and it balances the sweetness perfectly. It remains completely linear and I appreciate it very much because it’s beautiful just as it is.
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Hey Neva,
Oh yes, the Nursing Aunties are the best. They bring new perspective to every day.
HA! Parfum de Peau WAS the 80s.
Glad you loved it. I can’t wait to wear Someone Like You in the summer. I think it will be even better then.
Portia xx
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