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Portia
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Hi there APJ Crew,
It has been a week of complete opposites. The pro and con advocates for Equality are getting meaner and the whole event has turned into a slow bone crushing depression releaser. Currently I’m appalled at a large section of both sides of the argument and I hold our elected government officials personally responsible for the whole rotten mess. To be constantly equated with predators, rapists, pedophiles and beastialitists by the church, Radio & TV chat guests, politicians and people in the street is becoming unbearable. That’s the worst of it but seriously, to have a nation debate whether Jin and my 6 year relationship is as valid as theirs is galling, to say the very least.
Why aren’t I equal?
On the flip side there has been loads of fun, friendship, fragrance and food. Jin has been the Rock of Gibraltar, standing strong, cool and silent against the onslaught and a perfect companion through birthday and illness.
Scent Diary: 25.9 – 1.10.2017
Monday 25:
SICK!! I am hideous. Coughing, runny nose, sweating, AWFUL. Cancelled my Birthday Party. Too sick.
Did get some beautiful postcards though.
Bath in Guerlain Shalimar and wore DSH Perfumes Ma Folie de Noel
Jin and I had dinner and opened some presents. It was quiet, chill and sweet.
Wrote Trivia Q&A
Tuesday 26:
Woke up and walked the dogs with Jin.
Met Scott at the coffee shop and then we office worked.
Wore OODLES of Penhaligon’s Savoy Steam. It is the weirdest smelling stuff but utterly addictive.
I thought it was going to be a triumphant return to work in drag but I’m still coughing and sneezing too much. Two Cold & Flu tablets and I’ll be able to go host as a guy. I’m a bit sad because there are new coats to wear.
It was a really fun night. I love my Tuesday crew.
Tonight someone I’ve loved for years reached out. We have been friends and he stayed with me for a while, then we lost touch except for sporadic cyber communication. It was really nice to have a messenger conversation.
Wednesday 27:
It’s early morning and I can’t sleep. Just watched the Kathleen Hanna story on TV. WOW! She is amazing. So many levels, what a brain. Totally inspiring human being.
Woke up and walked the dogs in a lovely cloudy morning. The air was crisp and smelled like greenery, almost no traffic on the roads and so peaceful.
Spent a second day in Penhaligon’s Savoy Steam.
Today was a total write off. I dozed and dallied. Tried to focus on work but was crap at everything so I threw in the towel until about 10pm when my cold and mind started to unthaw.
I did see this picture on my friend Haans V Siver FaceBook page. I love the soft, pastel beauty of the sky, skyscrapers and sea juxtaposed with the hard lines and darkness of the Steve Irwin and other watercraft. For me it looks like some of those huge surreal prints that used to be in living rooms.
Thursday 28:
Morning. My head is fuzzy.
The walk was really good with the dogs. It cleared my head a bit walking through the cool, breezy, cloudy morning with the boys. Birds are chirping everywhere and as you walk through the suburb all the smells of spring flowers catch me by surprise. Beautiful.
Jin is working nights this week so I get to spend some day time with him, which is really nice.
Trouble by Boucheron bubble bath and fragrance. YUM!
At the end of Turbo trivia tonight I got a selfie with my fave barman Aaron. What a honey.
Friday 29:
Jin has today off so we visited the banks. Just making bookings for next week to refinance his mortgage. I quite like visiting them now that I know a little bit about how they work.
Afternoon met Rasei Fort of Fort & Manly at Becker Minty in Kings X. Have you ever been there? What a collection of fabulous homewares and fragrance. I may have had a sneaky spritz of the new Trudon scent by Cire Trudon. WHOA! Super green. YUM!
Then we trotted across to Redfern and met the ever glam Kerri who is on her first day of holidays. We sniffed some stuff and chattered while I had lunch and they had coffees. It was really nice.
Jin came and met us as lunch was breaking up and we went and got him a beer at the local pub. Then we went to the cinemas to see Kinsmen II (Freaking hilarious, laughed all the way through) and afterwards dinner.
Saturday 30:
At around 3am the dogs were alarmed by a possum and caused a huge ruckus. That was the end of sleep for me. I jumped up, grabbed a drink and hit the computer. Feeling like I can get a couple hours more sleep now at 6am I’m off to bed till dog feeding time at 9am.
Vintage Guerlain Mitsouko EdT & Parfum today.
Lunch at our fave Korean BarBQ with Alice, Kath & Tina. It was really fun and good to be hanging out together. Food was excellent, as always, though they were out of their sensational mash potato.
I put both photos in because TinaG looks so cute in the first and Alice & Kath look really lovely in the second. Not one shot had all of them looking so good.
Jin and I visited one of his exes who has become my buddy too. Paul lives around the corner and we popped in for tea and cake quite late this afternoon. He has been struck down with a similar cold to mine except it had him down for the count for three weeks, he’s still coughing 100 times worse than I am.
Tonight we popped down to the local supermarket and I grabbed some ham and cheese and then we came home and I made waffle sandwiches. YUMMO!
For bed I spritzed Hermès Muguet Porcelaine. Lily of the Valley seemed to be what I craved and the Hermès was a perfect, slightly melonish choice. Pretty.
Sunday 1:
Woke up this morning feeling like a bus hit me so I went back to bed and slept till 11am. Now I feel so much better.
Hung around the house. Wearing Miller et Bertaux A Quiet Morning.
For work I wanted something bright and summery with a deeper base than most of those frags. I choose Neela Vermeire Creations Rahele. Citrus & osmathus up top, leather down the back and much much more.
So, how about your week? What happened to you or your crew? Tell us stories, we love to read them.
Portia xx
Australian Perfume Junkies 
Like you, my husband has come home from a trip with a nasty hacking cold, so it’s been that kind of a week. Crossing fingers I don’t get it too. I am also feeling anxious about packing up and moving south for the winter. It’s always a big chore and reminds me I have TOO MUCH STUFF, but I am determined to do better next year. Really I should just pack up half of what I own and get rid of it, trouble is I still like the stuff. The dilemma continues.
Anyway, I have been wearing Gris Montaigne, Mitzah and Dzongkha to soothe my frayed nerves.
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Hey TaraC,
Poor husband. Jin’s tea recipe is one lemon and one lime, six dates and a big knob of ginger all sliced superfine and mixed with a tablespoon of honey. That sits in a Tupperware container in the fridge. We have a two cup infuser teapot and I put a teabag and two teaspoons of the mix in and let it draw for 3 minutes. Pour and drink.
Everyone else has been a mess for weeks but I’m 90% over it in under a week. No other drugs.
Portia xx
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This has been a challenging week. I ran over and killed our barn cat. Horrid and traumatic. My mom had major abdominal surgery. I am staying with her and caring for her while working two jobs. My boyfriend is deciding tomorrow on a job offer that will require him to move and end our relationship. So, it has been a hell week. I spritzed lots of Boadicea Complex because I needed some badass strength when I was feeling less than Victorious.
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Oh Gina,
HORRIBLE F**CKING WEEK! Darling. Hugging you from here.
Good luck on all fronts.
Portia xx
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Oh Gina…..A week you’ll certainly remember. I’m sending healing vibes for your Mum’s speedy recovery. As for the cat and boyfriend, I can only but wish you the best.
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It happens in threes or more. It just seems like events like this come all at once. I can only offer a reminder of a hot tub and some bath oil to drown the tears. Hang in.
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So sorry that current events are getting you down. It was a great thing in the US when marriage equality was achieved. And no, the sky didn’t fall. Sounds as if you have had comfort from some marvelous fragrances, though. I love Muguet Porcelaine! Was lucky enough to get my hands on a full tester for a reasonable price several months ago. I don’t wear it in the fall here, though (it is autumn here, I guess you’re having spring?). I hope your cold is on its way out! Keep calm and carry on …
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Hey there OH,
WOW!! Lucky find, very jealous. My 15ml Muguet Porcelaine is about 1/4 used. It gets a run quite regularly but I hardly need any because it’s a powerhouse.
Yes, we are deep into Spring here. The weather is warming beautifully.
Illness near gone.
Portia xx
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Hope you are on the mend..being sick is a real drag (no pun intended!).
Yesterday i was in Trouble too 🙂
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Hey CM,
Boo for sick. YAY for Trouble.
Portia xx
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hi Portia, glad your birthday arrived and you were able to get well and healthy this week. My mum’s birthday is 26 September so I have a tender spot in my heart for this month’s babies both young and old.
As for the media circus regarding equality, I listen then ignore the negative stuff as best I can. It’s ok to silence the noise when you’ve had enough. LOVE WINS.
Highlight of the week for me is the cooler weather which means I can enjoy more fragrance. I’ve hit the irises hard, enjoying Apres l’Ondee, L’Heure Bleue, and Masque L’Attesa for the first time in many months.
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YAY! We early Septembers are a pretty cool crew Tiffanie, wish your mum HBD from us here at APJ.
Excellent news about your cooling weather, soon you’ll be wearing your really heavy ambers and gourmands.
Portia xx
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Ugh! I’ve been fighting the worst cold also! Why can’t they cure this? Also a week of flat tires (2) and broken water pipes. Fought back with some loved scents including Ambre Precieux Ultime. And I heartily concur with ginger and honey for medicinal use. So sorry about the abysmal hate and stupidity…I wake up to our newest version here in the States every day. #lovewins
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Hey Moira,
It seems to have been one of those bits of shit weeks for many of us.
Fragrance will always help us rise above.
Portia xx
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I’m glad you’re feeling better, bummer you were so unwell to have a party, but it is ok coz next year is THE BIG ONE.
I’m still on holidays until Oct. 13th.
We hit a big grey roo 30kms from home on 23rd Sept. so waiting to see if the car is fixable or not.
Fragrance -wise, I’ve been wearing lots of samples, none of which have really piqued my interest. I’m on a no fume buy until I return to work.
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HA! Yes, next year is a big deal. I’m pretty excited to turn 50. Lucky to be here.
Enjoy the rest of your holidays and I hope the car thing works out in your best interests.
Congratulations on your No Fume Buy. Is it hard?
Portia x
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I want to keep this as light as possible but I will say that in America and California (better here in Cali somewhat) things are just as bad. No. They are much much worse. The hatred and the vitriol that people are spewing these days is just a stunning. I truly think Obama was one of the greatest presidents in our nation’s history, smart and a uniter, We have now a tyrannical crazy man at the helm. I also think that love is the most powerful most amazing force in the universe, and I just cannot imagine how anyone could legislate how we love one another. That we can love in so many myriad ways is a testimonial to how powerful nature and the universe is, how diverse we are, how infinite and eternal love is, and complicated. I’m there in spirit with you both.
I also have the sneezes, runny nose and cough. So to that end I’ve gone binge shopping at House of Matriarch which is a Washington state-based house of natural Niche perfumery in the United States. House of Matriarch makes fabulous perfumes but they are ridiculously expensive even by perfumista standards.HOM was having a sale though on their Leathers at 33% off so I availed myself of that and bought some Destrier based on the Game of Thrones. To soothe my cough I went on over to Solstice Scents, also an all natural perfumery. I picked up on their soon-to-be-discontinued pumpkin spice.
I’ve got to try the Savoy Steam. It sounds intriguing and you’ve brought it up a few times.
Hope you feel better soon and that people wake up and stop hating, blaming.
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Thank you Shiva-woman.
Yeah, the USA is getting it really bad.
Portia xxx
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Its the rise of selfishness and self importance that all peoples aren’t treated equally arghhh….#lovewinsintheend #hope *If you think of others this wouldn’t be happening*
Glad your flu getting better Portia, I am still coughing sneezing etc..through a funeral, wedding and work. Today slept in big time.
wore the vintage Miss Dior to wedding and Carven Ma Griffe to funeral.
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Get well Anna-Maria,
You looked so pretty at the wedding, I bet Miss Dior was a perfect fit.
Portia xx
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Dear Portia, I always enjoy your writing but don’t necessarily comment – but today I wanted to express my support for you and Jin, and for everyone who deserves equal rights and respect. My uncle grew up in even worse times than this, he was completely unable to hide who he was but his longtime partner had to pretend to have a girlfriend in front of his workmates. I loved him very much and my whole family supported equal marriage rights in his memory. NZ is lucky enough to have equal rights for marriage now and I hope it’s not long for our Australian cousins to follow suit! I’m off to the NZ launch of Cire Trudon perfumes tomorrow and am greatly looking forward to it.
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Hey Malmaison,
Thank you. New Zealand has been ahead of us in almost everything. It’s no surprise that you all got equality first.
Enjoy your Cire Trudon launch. The only one I tried was Trudon and it is stellar.
Portia xx
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