Scent Diary: 24.12 – 30.12.2018

/ AustralianPerfumeJunkies

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Portia

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Hey there APJ Crew,

All the festivities, fragrances, families, food, fun and fabulousness. Excellent week at and around Chez Turbo.

Scent Diary: 24.12 – 30.12.2018

Monday 24:

SOTDay: Boucheron. LOVE a BWF in summer.

Morning with Wendy and some other wonderful friends shopping, visiting, having a laugh.

Came home and Jin & I spent some time together.

Went and visited Mum’s grave, took her a big Asiatic lily stem and burned incense and hell bank dollars for her.

Did a spot more shopping.

Scotty came around and we chatted, spritzed, laughed and opened presents. SO SPOILED!! You have no idea.

Had the evening to myself. Jin’s at work. I wrapped pressies, cleaned the house, organised the lunch for tomorrow and did a few loads of washing.

Heavenly Christmas Eve.

SOTEvening: Nuit de Noel by Caron.
I smell bloody fabulous.
Merry Christmas all.

Cleaned the house from 10.30pm -12.30am, dust, vacuum, bathroom, kitchen. 3 loads of washing. Feeling clean and festive.

Tuesday 25:

Up, organising.

Potato Salad, cut the chickens, crackling and pork. Decanted apple sauce and mint jelly. Organised drinks.

Jin and I opened a couple of presents each. It was intimate and loving. What a great guy.

Fed & walked dogs.

SOTDay: CHANEL No 19. EdT and extrait.

CHRISTMAS DAY!

We went around to Kath’s families house. It was excellent. Everyone brought food and drink. We chattered and told poo stories. Had an excellent time. Sat down to lunch early because Jin had to go back to bed because he is working night shifts.

Presents? Yeah, scooped the pools here. So much fabulous stuff and craziness.

Jin went to work and I crash landed on the couch. There I stayed.

SOTBed: CHANEL Cristalle EdP. A less uptight sister to No 19, refreshing, herbal and citrus sweet.

Wednesday 26:

Woke up like coming up through water towards the sunlight. It was beautiful.

SOTD: Pluie de Soleil by Phaedon. SO MUCH FRUITINESS!

Jin was too sleepy to come today, he’s working nights and stayed up late yesterday. Really feeling the lack last night at work and today. I let him sleep.

Got the days food organised to go back to BFF Kath’s family for Boxing Day swimming. So much fun. We all had lunch then into the pool for hours. I might have gotten a little sunburned.

I came home and Jin went off to work. Poor boy. The money is unbelievable over the Xmas period though so he’s happy as a pig in chiffon about that.

I spent a lovely couple of hours snoring on the couch. Woke up and It’s already 6.30pm!!

SOTEvening: Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker

Had dinner, walked the dogs, watched some more TV and did some faffing around on the computer. Wrote my Perfume Posse Xmas Frags post and now I’m bushed!

SOTBed: Thunked an old sample of Gucci Envy woman. Sample was almost full, just splashed it on me. It’s so soft I think it might have become oxygenated. A whisper of green flowers and soft broken waxy sappy stems.

Thursday 27:

Jin got home around 7am and we had a little chat. We slept off for about an hour and then I was wide awake.

So I came to the computer to get some stuff dome but couldn’t really concentrate.

SOTMorning: Black Amber by Agonist. Two things of note here. Smells freaking amazing, isn’t as expensive as you’d think.

Breakfast time. Small bowl of cereal with a cuppa in my Xmas gift from Jin. A Tiffany & Co mug. It’s so lavish and soft to my lips and hands. Excellent gift!

SOTAfternoon: Copal Azur by Aedes de Venustas. Thunk! About 1ml left. ALL the incense. BAM!

Phil came over for a cuppa and a chat. Very chill.

Hung out with the dogs watching Netflix, me on the couch under the fan. Especially good because my sunburn is warm.

SOTEvening: Cuir by Carner Barcelona. Thunk! Nice leather, bit safe for my liking but smooth and comfy.

At about 9.30pm I had a cool bath. Used the last of a bottle of Olympic Orchids Amber Labdanum Bath Oil! THUNK! It’s a freaking THUNKATHON here today! Thank goodness I have a backup.

Did stuff but basically watched TV. Very freaking LAZY!!!

SOTBed: Datura Noir by Serge Lutens. The added amber from my bath adds untold depths and animal sweetness.

Friday 28:

Dogs
HEAT!!!

Went to town to meet my buddy Tim, we went to the gallery, saw the Hermitage and had some lunch. It was good fun. You can just see us in the reflection in the top pic with the Picassos behind us.

We popped over to Bronwyn;’s place to check her candles (Gascoigne & King) and might have bought 10. I’ve never seen the candle making process up close before. Also she is the ELdO importer for Australia so she gave me some Press Samples to write about! YAY!

Home to Jin who has just finished 5 nightshifts and is not very responsive. So I wrote a Best Of 2018 post. That was fun trying to remember the things that moved me in 2018.

Had my Secret Santa from Aussie Fragrance Network arrive today. Someone really thought out a diverse and interesting set of fragrances. From Malle Une Fleur de Cassis and Lys Meditaranee, Goutal’s Gardenia Passion, Penhaligon’s Lily of the Valley and Zara Gardenia.

Jumped into a very cool shower just to sluice off the days grime. Not much pressure and only about 2 minutes. I feel guilty using too much while we are in drought.

SOTEvening: Une Fleur de Cassis  by Frederic Malle. THUNKED my sample in one go. It is freaking gorgeous! A perfect sweaty summer foil. So waxy, clear and elegant! Now I want a bottle, like RIGHT NOW!

Fed and walked the dogs. Now I’m BUSHED! Bedtime.

SOTBed: Green Tea by Elizabeth Arden

Saturday 29:

It was so hot and muggy last night that we slept in the lounge room on the couch with the AC on dry mode. Best idea ever. We both slept like dead people. I got 7 hours uninterrupted, blissful sleep.

Jin went off to SCUBA Diving this morning at around 7am.

I sprayed myself silly with Lolita Lempicka EdP

My plans for today all turned to shit so the day is mine and completely free. I’m thinking laziest day ever. Only leaving the house for food. YAY!

It’s so hot my Lolita Lempicka burned off in a couple of hours so I gave myself a couple of squirts of AEON 001. Resinous, animal, bed head and sweetness. Amazing in the heat! I should wear this skanky beauty more. Still going on a 5ml press sample but there’s a bottle here awaiting opening.

Jin came home. We watched some TV and lay like walrus on the couch under the fan, sweating and sweltering.

At about 5pm I had a cool bath. HEAVENLY!

SOTEvening: Monsieur Li by Hermès

Dinner with the crew! Jin has been wanting Korean BarBQ lately so I text a bunch of our mates and got together an End Of 2018 table tonight. It was all very last minute but a surprising number of our peeps were up for it. YAY! Ate SO MUCH delicious food and had a fun time with the gang.

SOTBed: Palissandre d’Or by Aedes de Venustas.

Sunday 30:

Bloody Hell! It’s so freaking hot. Just walked the dogs around the block and I am drenched in sweat.

Went and hung out at BFF Kath’s parents with them and Kath. Had a swim but the water is so warm it’s hardly cooling anymore.

SOTDay: Après la Mousson by Hermès

Tonight the crew is off to see A Star Is Born at the outdoor Moonlight Cinema in town. I’m in two minds. It could be fun but it could also be torture.

I took some Glasshouse goodies to give the girls. They enjoyed being spoiled and the Bon Bons look so good. PLUS! They had Glasshouse body products inside. They were so happy.

Jin had a cupcake!

Well, it was TORTURE. Bugs, bad sound, uncomfortable and sweltering. Jin was HATING it, so we left. Ruski Groodle loved the night though.

 

 

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

41 thoughts on “Scent Diary: 24.12 – 30.12.2018”

  1. Busy week for you, P, the Thunkinator!!! Keep going, especially if you have backups!
    Staycation for me so no work all week. Lots of eating and cleaning. The holidays were low key which is how I wanted it. We had brunch with my parents last Saturday and then the next day repeated at the same restaurant with my BFF of almost 51 years the next day. The mini Marzipan’s were doing their own thing all week but we did see A Star is Born Christmas morning and had Chinese food. Youngest finished up all except one university applications. Between the fees for that and his books for the Calculus 3 and Physics college classes he is taking in the spring we are about 1k poorer ( when did education become so expensive in the States? ). So there goes the perfume budget! Mr Marzipan and I subsidized these expenses with our Christmas money from my parents and the mini did as well. Perfume wise it’s been my new obsession, Casablanca all week. Although I have been cheating on her with Daim Blond, Cuir de Russie and vintage Chloe extrait.

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  2. It must have been stinking hot over there last week, it has been lovely here and have been taking the dogs to the beach early. So many great places to go where we can all swim.
    Everyone behaved well at Christmas lunch except for my sister’s ex husband, there’s always one. I wore a sample of Nuit de Noel and later drenched self in Shalimar. Oh, and husband also bought me Bottega Veneta body cream on Boxing Day. Love him.

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  3. I always love your Scent Diaries, Portia but this festive one made me smile all the way through.

    What a fun last minute gathering oh and Jin buys you the best presents.

    Gucci Envy was my signature scent for a few years in my 20s. Still think it’s great.

    Had loads of fun with Lisa and the gang yesterday. Bought Mia a game of Charades which was a good laugh.

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    • Hey Tara,
      Well you know so many people in this post. One day you need to do Australia for Xmas. The crew would be so happy to have you here.
      Jin was surprised about me asking people, poor guy. It was nice to be around the crew for a last happy meal before the year clicks over. They’re all so special and we’d be lost without them.
      I bet Gucci Envy smells awesome on you.
      CHARADES!! That must have been so fun. I’m shit at guessing but good at acting so I nee an erudite team mate.
      Portia xx

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  4. That looks like a lovely week! (btw, “pig in chiffon” is a phrase that is getting stolen, pronto.)

    It’s been super quiet here, which is ideal. There was far, far too much drama in too many past christmases, so I’m quite happy with this slow motion no stress type of holiday. Hanging out, reading, walking, long lie ins. Thoughtful and lovely presents from Mr Crikey. Yep. Nice. Bizarrely mild weather, too, yet somehow my feet live in the 1950s, and I have chillblains on my toes. WTAF is up with that?

    Just back from the gym with one of my very favourite people on the planet–my old training buddy and pal who is just back for a couple of weeks from New Zealand. Lunch tomorrow, then, I don’t know when I next get to hang out with him again.

    Friday I got to spend working away quite happily over at the National Library–and remembered just before leaving the house to NOT put on a giant monster scent (very nearly T-Rex).

    Might read a little, go and have a swim, take a nap… wild times! My NYE will be about the same.

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    • Hey Crikey,
      Ha Ha Ha ha! I love “pigs in chiffon” too. Expecting something quite different until the Fs. Particularly good in speaking voice.
      All the lovely lazy stuff sounds heavenly but what exactly are chilblains? I’ve heard about them but have no idea what happens. Is it a nerve thing?
      YAY for gym buddy. There’s something particularly binding in the gym buddy friendship, working together towards something better and all that.
      HA! T-Rex at the library. “Madam, your perfume is too loud. Please leave. No one can think”

      Congratulations on 4 years in your apartment. Are you a flipper or do you have itchy feet?
      Portia xx

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      • With the four years: itchy feet. Brought up in an army family so we always moved around… and the habit kind of stuck. (Plus a few annoying landlords who sold places I’ve lived in.)

        (ok, now I think about it… that’s a weird coincidence. I don’t have _metaphorical_ itchy feet right now which is a real surprise, but chilblains are physically itchy! You’re right: it’s kind of a nerve thing. When your toes–or fingers–get super cold and then you warm them up too fast. It’s the sort of thing you really encounter in old novels, with drafty boarding schools or little old ladies in picturesque but falling down farmhouses. My own silly fault for walking around barefoot all day in a cold space without realising, then shoving my tootsies against a radiator.)

        My gym buddy and I are unlikely friends on the surface, but it’s one of those friendships that manages to run deep but be daft fun too.

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  5. Ooh, I see PdE Ambre Russe and Cuir Ottoman, my two favourites from the line! And I love Lolita Lempicka and Palissandre d’Or.

    It was relatively quiet here, had a delayed holiday lunch with SIL and her family on the 27th, mostly it was hanging out at home with the DH and the dog. It was DH’s birthday on the 26th so we had lunch at a local Mexican restaurant. Looking forward to a quiet new year’s eve at home.

    I’ve been enjoying fires in the fireplace and my Diptyque holiday candles, so cozy. Yesterday big perfume and jewelry reorg to create better access and visibility. I’m ready to move on to 2019 and kick 2018 to the curb!

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  6. Glorious week, as usual, Portia! Glad to see you’ve had tons of fun with Jin and your friends. Bummer about the heat, though.

    I’ve had a pretty quiet week. Worked a little, went shopping for holiday food, wine and a couple presents. Cleaned the house while watching the second season of Veronica Mars. I think I’ve spent too much time on the Internet this week, I might add “limiting time spent on IG and FB” to the non-list of my NY resolutions. It was a busy Sunday, and tomorrow everything is going to be topsy-turvy: New Year’s Eve might be the biggest holiday for any Russian so there’ll be a lot of food preparation, probably bickering and most definitely lots of fireworks at midnight.

    I’ll pop in tomorrow but just in case I don’t, – dearest APJers, I wish you all a very happy New Year and I hope 2019 will bring you all bliss and prosperity. Love and hugs 🙂

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  7. Wishing everyone a Happy New Year peace health and happiness and full of fun fragrances !!

    Portia once again your weeks inspire me also 🆒💕🤩

    My kids got me Chanel No 5 in the red bottle for Xmas so that made me feel special. In this hot heat of summer I have been mostly wearing O de Lancôme and Paprika Brazil sample from Paris. I have been working nearly everyday and helped our daughter move on a 38 degree day!!!

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  8. So what are hell bank dollars?
    As always, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about your week. I don’t know what it is about these posts, but they’re kind of like sneaking a peak in someone’s diary. Which, of course, I would never do.
    Sounds like you had a wonderful Christmas. The picture of you and Jin is totally adorable!!!!
    I’ve been hanging off every sentence that includes the words heat, swimming and sweating. How I wish.
    We had an exceptional Christmas Eve (that’s when we do the pressies and food deal). Just the family. Everyone was happy and relaxed. Loads of hugs and kisses were exchanged. I kinda miss it already.
    Social events occurred leading up to the day and a bit of partying after as well. Totally partied out now. We long ago stopped the NYE shenanigans. We’ll be going downtown to a comedy club with some friends to laugh the new year in.
    Wishing you and your loves a happy, healthy, drama-free New Year! Keep on gymming and healthy eating, you’ll be in fine form next year at this time 😘😘

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    • Hey there Marcella,
      Hell Bank Dollars are the money the Chinese burn at funerals so people have money in the next life. You can get it at your local Asian market. Almost every time I go to the grave I burn Mum some pocket money, just in case the Chinese have the right of it (as they have in so many other respects). In my mind she is up there buying all her friends a ticket to heaven, having a brandy & dry and feeding them her delicious food, that stuff takes cash.
      Jin makes almost every picture adorable. It’s his curse. HA!
      You’re hilarious. I like the heat but I prefer the nights to be 20C or under and we have about 8 weeks now with barely a dip. It makes me a little more crotchety.
      A happy family Xmas Eve is a blessing. Magic.
      Jin and I keep saying to each other we are peopled out. I hear you. Some quiet time needed all round.
      Thanks Marcella, all the good stuff to you and yours too.
      Portia xx

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  9. Gucci Envy for woman is good. I think this is one of the cases in which they did a good job in almost every area: the name is clever, the bottle design is cool, and the perfume is also not that bad. Its discontinuation took me by surprise because I thought it sells well and I expected it to be a classic that will still be selling few decades from now. I was of the impression Envy was Gucci’s Chanel No. 5.

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      • I have men’s version, too but I think I like a women’s version more. Men’s version was so cheap for a while, even after it was discontinued. it’s only in the last few years that men envy has become so ridiculously expensive. Women version was cheap until 2017 or so but it has also become quite expensive lately.

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  10. Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on Lys Mediterranee – I’m itching to buy it, but the dibs aren’t in tune. Scentwise I took No.19 edt with me on my Xmas trip to see my family, and then have been alternating Mito and Rozy in honor of Vero (whom I didn’t know, but I adored her work, so I hope she doesn’t mind my using her first name).

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