Scent Diary: 20.8 – 26.8.2018

/ AustralianPerfumeJunkies

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Portia

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Hey there APJ Crew,

This week I finally hit the pause button. Literally spent two full days on the couch or in bed reading and watching TV. Yes there was plenty of excitement on the other days and I had to work both nights but it was blissful. Amazing how two days can recharge me, do you find that?

Scent Diary: 20.8 – 26.8.2018

Monday 20:

I woke up on the couch 1.30am. Not even sure how I got there. My neck in cricked and my mouth was awful so I cleaned my teeth and then came in here to blog. Over the remnants of my Cartier: L’Heure Convoiteé II I’ve added a huge overspray of Parfum d’Empire Equistrius. MMMMMMM. Now I’m going back to bed…..

I’m up early. Yesterday I found an Australian Noisy Mynah chick (Sidney is his name) next to its dead mother at the base of a tree so I got up early to check on its progress. All good, chirping madly this morning. I’ve put him outside in a box with a grill over the top so the other mynahs can chat with him. BOY are they chatty. It’s become bird central around here.

Scotty and I had office day today and sent out all the Thank You cards from the wedding. Only the Korean contingent to go and that’s Jin’s gig. I’ve reminded him a few times to do it and now I’m done.

After Scotty left I grabbed the vacuum cleaner and the dust collector and cleaned the house. Changed the beds, cleaned my bathroom and the kitchen. Got two loads of clothes washing done and hung.

Jin came home from work and cooked us dinner. Korean Chilli Chicken & Vegetables. It was bloody spicy and delicious.

TRIVIA Q&A! Tonight the slog seemed really easy. I hope it’s not a false sense of accomplishment and all the answers will be wrong. He He He. Some weeks it happens that a few are incorrect and I get a ribbing. Done and dusted by 1am. That is seriously good.

SOTBed: Nothing.

Tuesday 21:

I woke up feeling out of sorts. Our little baby Mynah Sidney died in the night. BUMMED. Fed and walked the dogs in our cool and crystal clear winter morning.

SOTMorning: Mitzah by DIOR

Normally Tuesday would be Office Day and I got all the cleaning done yesterday so I have an unexpectedly free day from 10am – 3pm when I get in the bath to get ready for work tonight. I’m going spend some of that time reading (Walking Free by Dr. Munjed Al Muderis) and drinking tea.

I had a Niki de Saint Phalle oil bath and moisturised with Madonna Truth or Dare Naked. For about an hour I twaddled around the computer and then decided I needed to fragrance myself.

SOTDay: Coup de Foudre by Parfums DelRae. Wearing all the spring fresh roses and feeling fine, I do indeed smell like Love At First Sight.

Scott came to work tonight and though I was already deeply Coup de Foudre he brought a decant of Peau de Bete by Les Liquids Imaginaires. I thought I was spraying my hand but the nozzle was pointing directly for my face/chest and it got all over my fingers. DIRTY KITTY!! O M G! I think I need a bottle.

Wednesday 22:

This morning I wanted to sleep so grabbed the dogs, took them into the spare room and we had an extra hours snuggle. Three of us in a single bed works surprisingly well. Then we went for our morning walk in the cool morning sunshine.

I am lazy again today. The house is clean enough, APJ is up to date (I’ll check the comments at lunch time) and my book, Walking Free by Dr. Munjed Al Muderis is calling me.

SOTMorning: Egypt by Eight and Bob (decant). Very nice modern niche. Lavender and sandalwood with a cleanish patchouli adding depth. It’s not a standout for boundary pushing but simple, comfortable and nicely blended. I could imagine this being a fitting sidestep to the original should you like the brand look and history.

Spent the afternoon on the couch. I started rematching GRIMM from the start and fell asleep.

Up and went to Trivia.

SOTEvening: Guerlain Cuir Beluga. Very satisfyingly sweet and supple leather.

I love the crew at Greystanes Inn. It’s weird to me that the place isn’t HEAVING with Trivia players. The 5 teams that stayed to the end had a good time though. A few friends and some locals. Good night.

Jin has finished his 6 days x 12 hours in a row and is up late watching Korean TV. It’s nice to have him home and awake.

Watched some more Grimm and hit the hay.

Thursday 23:

Started the day with a bath. Yes, probably TMI but I like this shot. Afterwards I fragranced myself with Niral by Neela Vermeire Creations.

Got the bus and train to town and took a different set of stairs up to the surface. This took me past a new to me store gentSac. Run by this gorgeous girl Shira and with a wealth of men-centric beauty and fragrance. Shira loves to find and help Aussie start ups too. Lapp Fragrances are one of their success stories.

Met my girlfriend for some lunch at David Jones Food Hall. The Fish and Chips was delicious and I might have had a sneaky prosecco with it. MMMMMM

We then wandered through the beauty department and were appalled in 2018 to be confronted with the Guerlain Patrimony Collection. It’s never ending and completely stone deaf in the current climate. Would Heritage Collection not have been a better choice?

Woo Hoo! It’s Libertine Winter Launch day. There were about 10 of us in the 2pm group. Margaret Khoury (Fragrances of the World) and Ainslie Walker were there but I forgot take a shot of us. Lubin has produced an affordable lighter and less complex range a bit like the Guerlain Aqua Allegorias, while I don’t like him the fragrances are solid and pretty.

Floris has a sensational rose release called A Rose For. The rose is cut through with dry raspy tea, a sharp blackcurrant note, earthy iris and a lovely soft vanillin woods dry down.

L’Artisan has added Mont de Narcisse (Yawn! I smelled no narcissus really) and Mandarine Corsica which is stellar. I love the candied mandarine which is almost honeycomb, resinous heart and everlasting daisy base.

Robert Piguet has done a woodsy aquatic that will blow your mind. L’Entier is good. Really really good. A 21st Century reply to L’Eau d’Issey.

My favourite launch by far though was Miller et Bertaux Tulsivivah! Basil as the main note in all its gorgeous greenery backed up with lemon, tea, jasmine and woods. It’s freaking fabulous and like nothing I’ve ever smelled before. As always Miller et Bertaux deliver.

Ainslie and I then wandered the city from Oxford St to Kings Cross and stopped in at various stores on the way. We hit cafes, art galleries, chocolatiers and a sushi train. I was having so much fun that I completely forgot to take photos. It was an excellent afternoon wander.

Then I found myself in situ for dinner but 40 minutes early. So a pot of tea and some reading on my Kindle to refresh my spirit.

Dinner with my Mardi Gras bike rider man. We have been trying to organise a time since March and only now have we done it. I loved hearing snippets of Luke’s life story and sharing bits of mine. It turns out he was at school with a mate of mine in Cairns, Travis, who Tara and I had dinner with while we are up there. We had Chinese and it was OK.

Back on the train home and Jin picked me up at Parramatta Railway Station. I was BUSHED! Walked 13,500 steps, 10km!, when my daily aspiration is 5,000. That’s a big deal.

Jin went to bed, he is feeling under the weather and I watched some Grimm.

Sprayed on some Kiehl’s Original Musk for bed and slept like dead people.

Friday 24:

Lazy morning this morning. Jin woke me in the spare room by bringing Paris in for a cuddle. Perfect way to wake up. Then went and had breakfast together on the verandah with our puppies.

Had an arrival of some vintage Opium for Kath’s Mum. It’s all she wears and is getting harder and harder to find the real deal. This is it. Cost me an arm and a leg but I’m so excited to have a backup EdT and EdP for her.

I gave myself a little smudge of each to be fragrant for the journey to town today.

Jin kindly dropped me at Parramatta Station where I caught a 2 stop to Central Station train. It was only one more to my destination Town Hall. I was about 40 minutes early so took the opportunity to grab a coffee at my favourite bookshop in Sydney, Kinokuniya.

Met my mate Tim and we went to the Lapp Fragrances launch at gentSac. It was heaving in the small store and people were getting their Lapp on. Two scents: Ascension is a shimmering piney cool aquatic and Darkness is a warm resinous woods. This is Peter who is the creative director and owner. He’s very involved in the creation process and worked closely with his unnamed perfumer.

It was too crowded for me so Tim and I fled to lunch in the food court. I totally forgot to take a pic because we were in full catch up and smell stuff mode. Loads of laughs and some happily inane chatter.

As I was leaving we noticed that today is the Cancer Council of Australia’s Daffodil Day. Every cent of profit from the sale of daffodils going to Cancer Cure Research. While cut flowers are traditionally bad luck for drag queens I thought Jin might like some and it’s for an excellent cause.

Walking home from the bus stop a guy beeped his horn and yelled out “Hi” on the street. I’m blind so I ask, “Hey who is it?” He waves me over to the car and proceeds to proposition me and also be weird as anything. He’s cute though so I’m asking, “What exactly do you want out of this exchange?” He can’t really reply but unzips and flops his gorgeous donger out at me. OMG! So still I’m not getting in the car because in the back of my mind I’m getting VERY LOUD warning bells. So I ask his name. Never saw anyone zip up and zip away so fast. #adayinthelifeofportiaturbo

Because I bought Jin daffodils and today was so springlike I gave myself a few hefty spritzes of Penhaligon’s Ostara for my SOTAfternoon.

Jin got us tickets to see The Book Club. I was not excited. Turns out it was freaking wonderful. All star cast, excellent writing and some really touching moments. Needless to say Jin and I bawled through the second half. HEAVEN!

Afterwards we went for a very quick bite at our favourite Sushi Train. Really good date night.

Now Jin’s on the couch snoring and I’m watching GRIMM

I had a late night bath in Olympic Orchids Amber/Labdanum Bath Oil. I smell and feel so good it’s sinful.

Saturday 25:

SOTMorning: New arrival Antique Ambergris solid perfume by Aftelier perfumes. WOW! Very cool. All the skank overlaid with a resinous salted caramel. So good.

Got up and walked the dogs with Jin. He’s still feeling a bit crook but trying to shake it off.

About 15 minutes after we got home from the walk my stomach and guts decided to fully revolt. It’s been a day of examining the bathroom tiles.

Between visits to the bathroom I have done a bunch of blogging and catching up on stuff.

Wearing Taj Garden by DSH Perfumes. It is a lovely green floral, very pretty. Like sitting in dappled shade near a fountain. Dawn sent me a sample and I like it a lot. It’s so pretty.

Jin and I tried to go to the Wentworth Park Greyhound Races but when we got there it was closed. So we drove to Hungry Jacks, had dinner and came home. Jin has gone directly to bed.

I’m now sporting Andrea Maack Sharp. I love it. Sadly, I loathe her new bottles and won’t be shopping with her again. BUM!

I’m going to watch some more GRIMM, drink a few cuppas, walk the dogs and then go to bed.

Sunday 26:

WOW! I slept till 9am. Today is cool and overcast. It was beautiful to walk the dogs through damp air. After so much drought here in Australia any rain is appreciated, especially in Winter when we are quite dry. The dogs were very frisky this morning, running to every new scent and marking territory copiously. It was cute.

It’s now 10.30am. I’m going to make some coffee and toast. Then I’m going to make a little cocoon on the lounge and watch TV till time to get dressed and ready for work.

SOTMorning: Tuberosa by Les Voiles Depliees. When I first sniffed this at First In Fragrance in Germany the girls there were surprised that I liked it. Consequently it rarely gets wears because I remember their disdain. When I wear it I get what they don’t like. Sure, it’s a big plastic while flower that clobbers rather than intrigues and it has a sharp medicinal backbite. Seriously though, that’s why I like it.

Seriously lazy guys. It was a heavenly day with near zero movement. Only got off the couch to eat junk food and bathe. Bubbles courtesy of C O Bigelow Lime Coriander. Smells so good.

SOTEvening: Guerlain Mitsouko EdT and vintage parfum.

Caught up with the incredible Anna Maria tonight at Austral Bowling Club. Her team won the night but no one won the jackpot.

 

 

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

49 thoughts on “Scent Diary: 20.8 – 26.8.2018”

  2. Oh Portia I am so sad about the bird 😦

    Love you in the bubble bath!

    Insane week which I already mentioned throughout the week…long drives to university twice, a boatload of super deluxe cleaning of bedrooms and linens (now that they are gone I can get into nooks and crannies) and the usual yardwork.

    Tested quite a bit ( Five Atelier Bloem and Sylvaine Delacourte Musc collection and Vanilla Collection) The SD sets are beautiful and will be stocking stuffers for mini marzipans. The Atelier Blooms are going to a perfumista friend.

    Broke my NO BUY with a back up bottle of Gap Heaven …dirt cheap (25 USD for 100 ml) so I can start spraying as soon as it arrives in a week or so. Will save my travel spray for reference as it is a slightly older rendition…I blame cassieflower, Undina and a good perfumista friend who talked me into buying it-LOL! no regrets…..

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  3. When I read your week Ms P, I remember why I miss Sydney so much. There is always somewhere interesting to pop into and check out, food to be tasted, something to sniff…
    We do have a Chinatown, (one street!) here which has some cutting edge fashion and food though. And that yummy BBQ duck.
    Cuir Beluga for me tonight.

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    • Hey JackieB,
      Sorry, I had forgotten you are ex Sydney. Were you here long? Yes, if you look there is always something to do here.
      BarBQ Duck makes up for a LOT of other things.
      Cuir Beluga is beautiful. You may have picked my SOTD, not sure yet.
      Portia xx

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  4. Finally got rid of my last houseguest for the summer and am much relieved. Six more weeks here in Montréal and then we will be headed back to California for the winter, so we have started a bit of cleaning and packing. The dog has been off his feed and not doing very well so we made a trip to the vet and got some meds, hopefully we can get him back on track. He’s 12 so he is winding down, but hoping we can have some more good time together. So sorry your birdie chick didn’t make it. 😦

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    • Hey TaraC,
      I know we’ve talked a bit if this before but….
      Does the big move every 6 months shit you? How do you not constantly wish for stuff at the other house? Is it worth it?
      Watching a beloved dog wind down is hard. Hugging you from here.
      Portia xx

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  5. Ive been working like a fiend all week, but planning an upcoming trip to paris and lots of new perfume daydreaming is getting me through it!

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  6. Patrimony?! Oh bloody hell. Which century is this, Guerlain?

    My Grandfather had a pet mynah who was a chatty wee beast always into mischief–he particularly enjoyed messing with the dogs by calling out commands and whistling at them. Sorry the chickling didn’t make it.

    And Mister Zipper. Oi. Men can be such confusing creatures.

    Me, I’m just super happy to be back training and into a strength programme again not just boring old rehab nonsense. Re-starting very light… I know a fabulous newbie who benched heavier than me this week 😉

    Today was meant to be a day of art wandering with my beloved–but we got caught in torrential rain and came home in a grump instead. Oh well. But tomorrow is a bank holiday, I get the day off, and then I have just four more days of work. Small cat is playing with her rubber bouncy ball, and I am full of very tasty chicken, mushroom and black olive stew. There are worse sundays.

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    • Hey Crikey,
      Yeah, I had visions of this little guy becoming just that but Sidney was called elsewhere. BUM
      Men are hilarious. I’ll be dining out on that story for months.
      Bummer also about your art day. Being with someone you love means those grumps are shared and forgotten. Jin and I are famous for them.
      Portia x

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  7. Is that Opium eau de parfum or secret de parfum. I am a huge lover of vintage opium and acquired both vintage edp and sdp this year though I have a feeling I might have another bottle of vintage sdp or edp in the storage somewhere that I acquired years ago. I dont hear a lot about British food but fish and chips is something I want to test a lot if I ever visit UK.

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    • Hey Fazal,
      Good catch. It is in fact SECRET de Parfum.
      In Australia we have a very particular Fish & Chips. Quite often the fish is shark and we cut the strips this and beer batter them. Consequently we get a mushy yet formed fish with loads of crispy batter that I then drown in lemon juice and tartare sauce to cover the fish taste which I don’t like. It’s the ONLY way to get seafood into me and I know it’s important.
      Portia xx

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    • sorry, Fazal, took your reply thread off track! Most fish and chips is pretty disappointing–a lot of soggy batter, with bland, woolly fish inside. We do have much better and more interesting food than that here, honest!

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      • guys keep, going. I am enjoying this thread on fish and chips because I have never tried them but I get the feeling fish and chips is to UK what hamburgers and fries are to US. Its amazing how many versions of fish and chips exist. Didn’t know they use shark meat as well. I was of the impression shark meat is too expensive and only used for very expensive dishes. Silly of me to forget there are many varieties of sharks, not just the Jaws kind 😀

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  8. I’m sad to read that Mont de Narcisse isn’t very interesting; I had high hopes for it, because I love narcissus and daffodil scents (like Ostara!). But Tulsivivah sounds promising, with its basil. Busy weekend for us — we need to redo an old bathroom that has some tricky features and had three different contractors come look at the job to give us estimates. Currently wearing Berdoues’ Vanira Moorea, which I usually like a lot, but it feels a little too sweet today.

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  9. Sometimes you have to have ME time and I’m glad you got that. We’ve had a few cooler days and on one of those days, I wore Cuir Beluga – so freakin’ good!

    Late last week, I dreamt about you – it was a very short dream and the only details I remembered were you had 41 Trivia Quizzes done but you were determined not to use them. I wonder what this means???

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  10. Went to a small, fun Vietnamese festival here in Seattle. I tried a Durian macaron!!!!! I figured the best way to have my first taste of durian was in a pastry and it was really tasty (somewhat like passion fruit). Someday I need to see what a fresh durian is like 😉

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  11. Hope you and Jin are back to full health, Portia. Some lazy time is essential.

    Love the bath selfie!

    After stress over a potential move, a couple of days with Lisa and Mia did me the world of good. ready to get back it to it after a lazy Bank Holiday Monday.

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  12. So sorry about the little Sydney, Portia. It’s so sad ….

    Last week was like a groundhog day: work, cleaning up my perfume drawers with all the boxes and sample bags (I honestly didn’t think there’s so many of them), – being a part of the Thunk! club is not as easy as it seemed. Two of my cats have been sick since last weekend and I’ve been treating them. They hate it, of course, and fight back but I persevere :).

    Portia, I never knew that cut flowers are associated with bad luck, how interesting! Hope it’s not true, though.

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    • I love some downtime. Sometimes I just take some of my TIL from work and treat myself to some Dad downtime. I joined the gym two weeks back from the first time EVER! Last week I went four times and I was surprised how I enjoyed the feelings… All those muscles dormant were brought to life. Anyways the result was I got a horrid bug and ended up taking two days off and doing very little but goof off with my daughter. I did get inspired by Miu Miu L’Eau Bleue to create a new fragrance for my collection. I’m calling it ‘Bless’, for that is how I feel each and every day.
      The challenge is that I really want to do something floral and natural (mostly essential oils based). Let me see… I’ll get back to you.

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  13. I love reading this thread, and I’m determined to read these and more of APJ, every week. I have been trying and trying to ‘get stuff done’ and feeling guilty that I’m not succeeding. This in turn has stopped me from doing the little things that I enjoy. Now I’m wondering, if perhaps I turn things around and allow myself to enjoy things a little more, I might in the end get more done!
    Portia, I am still stunned at your Friday traffic stop! My goodness, who was that unmasked man??? Does this sort of thing happen to you often?
    Thanks to everyone who contributes to these posts, I love seeing all the interwoven threads of different lives, the domestic and the fabulous all rolled into realities so different yet so similar.
    My week consisted of a lot of the afore-mentioned guilt, appointments with my Mum and Dad, which continue this week, watching my daughter learn and the delight on her face when she ‘gets’ something and can demonstrate her new-found knowledge, and stressing over a costume for today’s Book Week parade. She went as a feline character from a book her class is reading. This is the fourth variation of a cat costume and character in six years of parades! Looking forward to next year’s installment!

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    • Hey Sue,
      Juggling the MUST and the WANT is hard. You do it with parents and a kid to look after. You get a karmic gold star from me.
      HA! Yeah, that’s my first ever daytime car hailing pervert. Hopefully more in my future because though I didn’t take him up on the kind offer it was still fun and gave me a thing to laugh to myself about since.
      The APJ crew are so fantastic. I love how we all get the stories, updates, frags and life adventures.
      Book Week! That must be big thing for kids. I don’t really have much memory of them except a year I dressed as a pirate. CATS! Too hard. How do you do it?
      Portia xx

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