Scent Diary: 19.2 – 25.2.2018

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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.

 

Scent Diary: 19.2 – 25.2.2018

Monday 19:

Monday morning 3am and I’ve been up watching GRIMM. Totally addicted. SOTBed: Hildi Soliani 24.9.2011. It’s a simple amber with a few bells & whistles. I have FINALLY finished my 10ml decant and am using the bottle.

It’s hot & muggy today. Jin came home from work at around 6am and tried to sleep but the next door fence is being redone and those guys are really freaking noisy. So being Monday we got up and changed the bed. I’m doing laundry and Jin has gone out. This house is peaceful when I’m the only one in it, even with the noise next door. I wanted something low impact, short lived and refreshing so I grabbed my old Guerlain Du Coq. It’s simple, citrus sweet and very pretty

My day was spent doing laundry and trying to organise some blog stuff. The heat seems to act as a brain block for me though and everything is sluggish.

Jin and I had Korean Fried Chicken for dinner and watched some more of the Winter Olympics. I really loved the brother/sister team from the USA the best and was sad they were beaten.

Annick Goutal Sables this evening. It wears so beautifully in the summer evening heat. So animalic, honeyed and smokey tonight.

TRIVIA Q&A

SOTBed: A little swipe on each hand of Gres Cabochard extrait. It’s so cool and dry compared to the Sables honeyed immortelle.

Tuesday 20:

Scott woke me up this morning with coffees. We did a very lazy office day and had some lunch. Talked to the council about hiring a park, went to the post office and answered some mail. It was nice to have a chance to chat and hang out.

I wore Rochas Byzance EdT today and it was spectacular, as always.

Tonight for work I decided I needed something herbal and springlike. Maybe a bit of mint. Annick Goutal Nuit Etoilee got a run and i love it, so happily weird and wearable. Nobody noticed how good I smelled but never mind, I was loving myself sick. It seems to be a Blue Bottle day.

Can’t believe I’m already up to Season 5 of GRIMM. Can’t stop watching it.

Continuing the Blue Bottle theme for today my SOTBed is Estee Lauder Beyond Paradise Blue. Ice cold gasoline and white flowers is an outrageous opening. LOVE it. Goodnight.

Wednesday 21:

Up early and ready for action. Today was a Motor Bike day. The first time I got on it for the year. Because there were so many stops and starts today I wanted to have mobility and not worry about parking the car or having to rely on public transport. The joy of riding in the Bus Lane and taking 30 minutes to all the car drivers 70 minutes was palpable.

Agence de Parfum Launch. Check back with Fridays post for details. I spritzed Miller et Bertaux Indian Study/Santal +++. Bloody good stuff.

Had lunch with a mate of mine, Les Sampson. He has been a TV guru for decades and currently is employed buying content for Stan in Australia. He also owned a pub I had Trivia in for years and back in the early naughties did a TV Talk Show pilot with me as host. We had so much to catch up on and the food at his local pub was excellent. Obligatory office view selfie but you can’t see our fabulous Sydney Harbour in the background.

Spent some time wandering the fragrance halls of David Jones City Store. Tried some stuff but nothing grabbed me. The stand for new Marc Jacobs Daisy Twinkle range in softest lilac looked fun and frivolous though. He may have forgotten what excellent fragrance smells like but he still has a knack for packaging. Clearly I’m not his market but i can imagine this Limited Edition flying off the shelves.

Afternoon tea with another mate Rod who is currently on final edits of his screenplay. It’s about Drag Queens so I’m helping him with some real life factoids. We met at David Jones Food Court and shared some pâté, cheese, pickles, olives and bread at the Antipasto Bar. Under $30 for both of us and it was super yum.

Got home and wasn’t really hungry so I made up a small plate of cheeses with some tomato, gherkins and some biscuits and ate that with a glass of milk. HEAVEN!

SOTBed: Loads and loads of Floris 1976. I floated away on a bright, sheer, patchouli and citrus raft.

Thursday 22:

Lazed around the house with Jin in the morning. We watched TV and hung out with the dogs.

It was a Vintage Miss Dior EdT and Extrait kinda evening. I wore lashings of both.

Tonight I hosted the opening of MOSAIC. Parramatta’s LGBTQI Art Event for Mardi Gras 2018. We had a turn out of around 140 people. Art was looked at, explained, created, critiqued and lived. We ate, were read to, drank, enchanted, terrified and aroused. It was so good to see such a panoply of Parramatta peeps. Across age ranges, sexualities, fiscal boundaries and everyone was chatting to each other, interacting with the art and their emotions. there were even a live installation and musical performance. Can you tell I had a brilliant time?

Came home and Jin cooked us some Dry Fried Pork Belly which we had with raw vegetables: straws of Carrot & Zucchini, sliced Mushrooms, Lettuce and Parsley. There was some Satay, Chilli and Sweet Chilli sauce and Pickled Radish. It was freaking delicious, sorry I didn’t get a pic.

We watched the Winter Olympics Short Course Speed Skating and some GRIMM before bedtime.

SOTBed: To continue the chypre story I spritzed Guerlain Mitsouko EdP & Extrait.

Friday 23:

Woke up and walked the dogs with Jin. It was beautiful outside this morning and the dogs happily trotted along beside us.

Wearing Parfumerie Generale Suede Osmanthus 5.1 from my nearly empty press sample. Will buy a bottle while in Paris.

I love cleaning the house on a Friday. In the summer months I work up one hell of a sweat getting this place done. It’s a full workout too, floors, dusting, bathrooms, kitchen. Them when it’s all done I light an incense stick and wander the rooms burning out all the bad juju and leaving only good feelings, cleanliness and love. It’s my WooWoo moment for the week. Then a cuppa in the cleanliness and a moment to really enjoy it. MMMMMMMM

The afternoon was spent watching GRIMM! Onto the 6th and final season now. It will be good to have my life back.

Watching TV in Ormond Jayne Sampaquita. Its melancholy green whisper simmering happily in the evening heat.

Making some Pumpkin/Carrot/Potato Soup. Smells freaking delicious, can’t wait to get it into my belly.

Late in the evening Mazz and Deb came back to stay for another night. They had some soup and crackers, a bottle of Sparkling Shiraz and went to bed.

Saturday 24:

Up early with the girls. Cooked them Parsley, Onion and Tomato Omelette and percolated Coffee. They are now off for a huge day out. Forgot photos AGAIN! Sorry.

Armani Prive Cuir Amethyst was a perfect cool summer day accompaniment.

TinaG organised for a crew of us to go to the Mardi Gras Roller Derby. It was my first time at the event and the first half was just a melee until we got a handle on some of the rules. It was really nice to see everyone and we had a good time. The Sausage Sizzle was particularly yummy. TinaG, Kerri, Simon, Alice, Karim and I had a ball.

Got home and watched the last episodes of GRIMM! What a bloody wonderful show, right up to the very last 10 minutes when it became a bit shit but nevertheless it was wonderful.

While watching TV I was bathed in my newest arrival, from Sandra. MDCI Parfums Enlevement au Serail is exquisite.

Sunday25:

Woke up to a lovely cool Sunday. Spritzed Hiram Green Slowdive and cleaned the balcony where the dogs live. It’s rich honeyed sweetness a perfect counterpoint to the weather.

Bathed in Elizabeth Arden Sunflowers bubble bath, Madonna Truth or Dare lotion and fragrance. I smell fabulous.

 

 

It’s YOUR turn. What’s happening in your world?

Did you do anything Fragrant, Fun, Friends, Family or even had some less than Fabulous news you want to share? Now’s the time, in the comments below.
We love to read what’s happening to YOU.
Portia xx

39 thoughts on “Scent Diary: 19.2 – 25.2.2018”

  1. Sadly the States Netflix does NOT have GRIMM…wanted to add it to my queue but it doesn’t exist 😦 The consolation prize is the Doctor Blake Series which I am thoroughly enjoying and am now halfway through season 2…..I am wondering if current Ballarat is still as quaint and charming as depicted on the show?

    Perfume wise I am still sampling away….right now going through some Byredo samples and nothing moves me that I need a full bottle which is just as well as this line is a bit pricey. And I won a sample pack of St. Clair Perfumes which should be coming soon. I will sample and report after I get through the Byredos.

    Has anyone tried any of the new Jo Malone Limited Edition spring offerings? There seems to be a bit of buzz about them. Are Jo Malones available in Australia?

    Hope everyone had a great week!

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    • Hi there CM,
      BUMMER on the GRIMM front. You need a VPN so you can pretend you’re in Australia and watch it.
      Saffyishere lives in Ballarat, she’ll be able to tell you.
      I really like some of the Byredo frags. Challenging but wonderful.
      We do have Jo Malone in Oz but my hit rate is very low with them. Only Red Roses in the fragrance line moves me but Jin has the woody number one.
      Portia xx

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  3. Hi Portia, You have been busy. You smell great! We are finally starting a week of vacation. Lots of relaxation and lazy days are in order. Have a great start to the week. Sandra xoxo

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  4. Great perfume week, I love Byzance, Nuit Étoilée and Slowdive! I am still slogging through iris month. What I learned is to never do a single note month again, I am thoroughly sick of iris. You are so lucky to have that bottle of Enlèvement au Sérail, I am hoarding my decant of this discontinued beauty. Love Cuir Amethyst too, and Sables, although my favourite immortelle scent is Blanche Immortelle. I want to wear all the perfume right now!! Only 3 more days of bloody iris.

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    • O M G! I don’t know how you’ve done Iris Month. Congratulations for getting this far TaraC. I think if I was doing a month I’d probably wear something completely not of the specific to bed. You’d still get your day iris in but have some change.
      I didn’t know Enlèvement au Sérail was DCd. Even more special now.
      Portia xx

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  5. Hope your friend will soon get funding for his movie project!
    My week was pretty uneventful but at least I started to buy early birthday presents for me: shoes, les Météorites powder etc., and ordered a bottle of Cuir Amethyste! I haven’t tried it before but I sure hope I’ll love it.

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  6. Nothing much here. Work, kids, gym when I can and chores. Perfume has been hit and miss.

    Highlight of the week was to meet up with Teone Reinthal, while she was in Melbourne for a very quick visit. Loads of talking, some Brunetti’s food was eaten and a fair bit of walking. Down to earth, brilliant gal.

    Now the cooler weather has set in, I rotated my scents. Feeling a lot more settled because of it. I obviously prefer heftier scents.

    K xx

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    • O M G! So jealous! That must have been very interesting to meet Teone Kate.
      Did you do a little interview?
      Portia xx

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  7. I got my perfume drawers organised! I oredered a four-drawer chest of drawers and it finally arrived. It was assembled on Friday and I spent a large part of Saturday organising, reorganising, then reorganising again as I couldn’t decide what to put where. I finally devoted the top drawer to favourites, then second favourites etc. Next weekend I’ll be organising my samples – and after rigging up a couple of different boxes myself, none of which worked super well, I found the perfect thing to hold my samples – a freezer rack from a lab supply company. Who’d have thought? It’s just the right size to hold the small .7 – 1 ml sample bottles. I’m going to their store this afternoon to check out the larger sizes for the longer sample bottles. Family dramas mean I’m feeling stabby already and it’s only just turned 7:00am 😦 So to cheer myself up I’m wearing Ambre by Reminiscence – it’s a lovely; soft, warm and comforting. Have a great week all!

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    • Oh yes, the 7am STABBY DAY! Good luck with the family.
      So exciting that you’ve organised your frags, isn’t it a blissful feeling? Every year or so I have a stab at it but within a couple of days disarray rules again.
      Portia xx

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      • I got them from Super A-Mart – and the good thing is that the top three drawers are all the same size but the bottom drawer is a good bit deeper, so it holds most of my taller bottles 🙂 Don’t you just loooove family crap? Hugs – hope yours get sorted soon.

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  8. Dear Portia
    OMG 😮 MDCI Envelement en Serail….. boy oh boy…. how lucky you are to have a bottle of that glorious stuff. Now discontinued of course. It is by far, my fav MDCI.
    As fate has it, I am a friend of Claude who is the owner creator of MDCI.
    I had a lovely champagne fueled luncheon with him in Paris last year, during which he revealed to me that he is working on a reformulation of EeS.
    I treasure my last dregs of the original elixir.
    This week for was one of supporting m6 siblings through their personal crisis’s.
    The lighten the heaviness of mood I wore some DKNY Apple and violet variety,
    More seriously, spritzed on Bronze Goddess EDP and Body Oil Shimmer and the crowning olfactory moment of the week was Bubblegum Chic by Heeley. I luv a cloud of creamy tuberose.

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    • Hey there Melissa,
      How freaking cool that you know Claude. Do you know him well enough to orchestrate a meet up so I could interview him while in Paris in April? No sweat if it’s impossible.
      I love those DKNY apples, so joyful.
      Portia xx

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  9. Oh my gosh, you have MDCI Parfums Enlevement au Serail. I love love it. I don’t have as full a bottle as you but I bought 2 quite used ones so together I hope I have at least 30ml or so.

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  10. What a busy week you had, Portia. Love your fragrance choices.
    I haven’t done much of anything, it was just too hot and humid to move. So I have been reading mostly, and watched one episode of ‘Married at first sight’ – just to see how bad it can possibly get. Definitely not my thing, or any other reality TV.
    Hot and sticky again today, so no perfume at all.

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    • Hey Ingrid,
      I watched an ep of ‘Married at first sight’ and felt my IQ dropping. It was terrifying, so I haven’t gone back.
      Do you have a 4711 in the fridge? That will cool you down in seconds.
      Portia xx

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  11. Hi Portia, thanks for sharing your week. Pretty quiet for me. Have enjoyed being able to walk to work, but not the humidity we had. Slogging thru S5 House of Cards – has got quite complicated so it really needs one’s total attention. Doing some knitting, finished Jodi Picoults’ novel Small Great Things. Perfume highlights – well i ordered some more decants from my wish list – oops. I might have ordered two lots!! I get so many ideas from reading here and SOTD that the list just keeps growing, and growing. And my Serge Lutens bottles arrived Ambre Sultan and Un Bois Vanille) – so happy.

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    • Oh yes Melanie,
      We all have the sample bug. Reading blogs and SOTDs is like creating more wants and needs on a daily basis.
      So glad your SLs arrived. Two of my faves in the line too. Enjoy them
      Portia xx

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    • Hi Melanie, where is a good place to get decants from? I’ve got a gazillion scents on my wish list, some of them quite expensive, so decants might be a better way to go.

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      • Hi Tess, the wish list grows every day! check out scentsamples – an australian site with good collection but i’ve been ordering from Surrender to Chance and Decant Shop. I’m just new to the whole decant idea but it makes perfect sense to try before committing to larger bottle. And its awesome being able to try scents we couldnt otherwise get to smell. Enjoy x
        Our other scented friends here could probably recommend some more….

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