Scent Diary: 25.3 -31.3.2019

/ AustralianPerfumeJunkies

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Portia

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Hey there APJ Crew,

What a sensational week. Perfume, people, life and living. Got to spend time with so many of the people that are important to me. One HUGE thank you to my buddy Scotty, his home made sausage rolls were the hit of our SNIFFY on Saturday and made the whole event something really special. I can’t help smiling at how lovely my week has been.

Scent Diary: 25.3 -31.3.2019

Monday 25:

Up and out the door to do Aquarobics at 6am. Jin was leaving for work at the same time.

SOTMorning: Vintage Van Cleef & Arpels Pour Homme

Home and while waiting for Rose to awaken I have done the TRIVIA Q&A of the Runs and Jackpot Questions, set up the basic framework for my weeks Q&A Games and basically readied myself for tonight.

Rose had breakfast with me. Then we went to the shops for a while. I left her at the train. WAAAH! Already missing ROSE!

Got my hair cut, did some desultory shopping for necessities and came home for a quick nap.

Jin woke me at 4.15pm. GOOD SLEEP.

SOTAfternoon: Traversee du Bosphore by L’Artisan

Up and dusted the house, moved everything off the floor and swept the tiled areas. Came to the computer while waiting for the dust to settle. Blog comments answering.

Vacuuming, 4 loads of washing hung & dried, bathroom and kitchen schmicko!

Jin came home and we had Indian reheats. YUMMY!

Walked the dogs and now I’m back, ready to finish my TRIVIA Q&A.

SOTNight: Shalimar EdC

Tuesday 26:

SOTMorning: Madonna Truth or Dare Naked

Jin and I went off to the Dr early. Jin for his throat and I had a podiatrist appointment because I have a weird flaky thing/area on my foot. He thought it was a tine but it doesn’t seem to be clearing after putting a mild fungicide on so they are upping the anti fungal cream toxicity. Let’s see.

Then we went and grabbed our International Drivers Licenses for Europe in May/June. It’s coming SO FAST this holiday.

Home for some food and I’m getting shit done around the house. Pulling in the washing, paying some bills and generally making myself ready for a week of TRIVIA.

Jin has fallen fast asleep on the couch. Like a snoring angel.

Bath time

After I thunked my sample of Toscanello by Profumi del Forte. Heaven help me, I think I need a bottle.

Home from work and Mitzah by DIOR got some serious spritzes. YUM!

Started watching Turn Up Charlie, a Netflix series starring Idris Elba. Watched the whole damn thing till 6am. It was freaking wonderful. LOVED IT!

SOTBed: Myrrhiad by Huitieme Art. Perfect for an Autumn night with a chill in the air.

Wednesday 27:

MORNING! Jin came home and woke me with a cuddle. Very nice way to greet the day.

SOTMorning: Granville by DIOR

I might have had dome arrivals by post today. The REALLY exciting thing was Neil Chapman’s book Perfume arrived. How bloody exciting when a buddy writes a book and then makes sure you get a Press Copy. I’ve already read 12 pages and am loving his beautiful writing. Even the forward was mesmerising. The book is beautifully presented and the number of fragrances already named (that I know) made it even more personally exciting.

Also a couple of long longed for bottles that I bought off my mate Jesse. Arrived in excellent nick and I’m really happy to have Tom Ford Black Orchid and Montale Oudh Cuir d’Arabie

We met our buddy Kath for lunch at Sushi Train. It was meant to be her last lunch at our particular favourite one in Gordon but it seems that her job may be giving her an extension till they find a replacement. Her HR is a load of bollocks and even on Wednesday they still haven’t given her the new job invitation and outline for a Friday finish. Very stressful for her. Lunch was amazing! Kath hates photos and Jin is a complete dickhead but I love this shot so much because the three of us are being our best selves, He He he.

Came home and had a nap then jumped in the shower and got myself beautiful. I can’t remember the last time I had a shower, maybe on our last holiday? I used Kate’s (??) method of wetting myself down, turning the water off and doing everything that needed doing, then turning the water back on to wash myself clean. It was an excellent, no rush way of doing it and the water was only running for about 2 minutes, including warm up time.

SOTEvening: Eau Absolu by Mona di Orio

Work was wonderful. The room was almost full, we all had a really good time and I stuck around chatting for an hour or so afterwards.

Dropped in to Coles on the way home and got some necessities. I love Wednesday gigs because I’m not in drag and can wander into the shops without causing n international incident.

TV and bed.

SOTBed: Pacific Rock Moss by Goldfield & Banks. Also a sneaky squirt each of Black orchid and Oudh Cuir d’Arabie. FRAGRANT!

Reading Perfume by Neil. SO GOOD!

Thursday 28:

Woke up of my own accord at around 9.30am. BLISS

Jin is home today, spending it on the couch by the looks of it.

I have to get next months blog posts for APJ set. Did heaps of them today. Mostly up to date for April, YAY!

Found out one of my mates from the heady years of the 1990 and 2000s died this week. Steve was funny and sweet. A barman at a couple of the bars/clubs I worked in. We rampaged around Oxford St for a few years together and then lost touch, as happens. I really enjoyed his company and we even had a few drug fucked rolls around the bed together. I’m feeling guilty because he’s gone and I wasn’t still close enough to even know he was going. This is us in the pic, me mindless on the left, Sigourney in the middle and Steve (Bar Bitch was his drag name) in the Staff Show for one of the venues. It might have been his only appearance in drag but it was legendary.

Bathed. shaved and shitted.

SOTEvening: Youth Dew by Estee Lauder. The spicy darkness overlaid with all the citrus, resins and bouquets of flowers.

Work was super fun. TinaG, Rose and Hyun all came along and there was an excellent crew. The food was delicious and I even had a Sangria! Fabulous.

I would like to draw attention to my utterly perfect eyebrow. They are rarely so good. The lift and arch are exactly what I wish they’d look like every time, but rarely do.

Home and hung out with Jin for a while. Poor guy is still coughing. It’s not as bad as it was but it’s not good.

SOTBed:

Friday 29:

Dogs

SOTDay: Black Orchid by Tom Ford

Train

DIOR

Libertine

Added a couple of sprays of things I can’t remember.,

Nap

SOTEvening: Creme de Cuir by BDK

Dinner Italian with Graham & Phillip, Amal, Phil and TinaG.

Was supposed to clean in preparation for the SNIFFY tomorrow . Too buggered.

SOTBed: Ashoka by Neela Vermeire Creations

Saturday 30:

Saturday dawned rainy and cool. PERFECT house cleaning weather.

Jumped in Jin’s shower because my bathroom is pristine. Showering is so quick and easy. Not so glamorous as a bath but all I needed was to be clean, eh?

SOTMorning: Bulgari Eau thé Vert. I just wanted something clean and fresh smelling that won’t overpower any new magic at the SNIFFY!

Off to Coles to get some eats for the SNIFFY Crew. I was wracked with indecision. In the end I decided a big cheese platter with some dips and stuff would be the easiest all round. Scott will be bringing mini Sausage Rolls so we cover the hot & cold between us. There’s oodles of wines and soft drinks, tea and coffee. Let’s face it, we are all here to sniff perfume, not eat a gourmet meal.

The crew all left around the 3pm mark. It took me only an hour to get everything back to pre arrival tidy and clean.

Jin came home and brought the makings for Vietnamese Rolls. We sat around munching them and chatting amiably. He was buggered so hit the hay early, 5am start again tomorrow.

I did some blogging and am currently watching the Netflix series Peaky Blinders. It’s got the lovely Sam Neill in it. I’ve met him a few times and even played on his Trivia team a couple of times. Obviously he’d not remember me or my name but still he was always welcoming and affable.

STILL fragrant from today’s sniffy. SOTBed: Everything.

Sunday 31:

Woke up late. Nearly 10am. Poor Paris just hadn’t been able to hold it that long and pissed on the balcony. He was so apologetic, with big sad eyes. He only get a low key “Naughty” and no smack because it was really my fault, not his.

The dogs loved their walk in the cool sunshine around the century this morning. I love the feel of sunlight on my skin so wore only a singlet.

We have a homeless person living in the park and he was rugged up so warm after our cool night. I always ask him if he needs anything but the area has some good stuff for homeless. There’s a daily lunch truck and on Sunday they do them a BarBQ.

FINALLY cleaned my fish tank out. It has been looking neglected and dank for weeks but I keep dropping it to the last thing on the list (which means it NEVER got done). Now it’s DONE! I can walk proud again.

BATHTIME! Thunked my Radox Bath Salts and a Estee Lauder Youth Dew Deodorant.

SOTDay: Youth Dew by Estee Lauder.

Nap time and then get ready for work tonight.

SOTEvening: Cabochard extrait by Gres

Here are three of my favourite girls from Austral Bowling Club. Rita, Marijana and MaryAnne.

Home now and Jin is already off to bed. He’s doing early starts so super sleepy.

 

 

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

77 thoughts on “Scent Diary: 25.3 -31.3.2019”

  1. It’s been an insane week for me. I even went to work yesterday for seven and a half hours (all day basically) for some training. Girls went back to school and the house is quiet. I did a lot of thunking this week. Am completely stumped on the Sat Q so I haven’t even answered it-LOL! Starting tomorrow I think I might focus on my new birthday bottle of Noa as it is just so darn pretty and perfect for work…I can explore the more challenging stuff in the evening.

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  2. That looks like a lovely week! (Though I am sorry about the loss of your old friend.) Wasn’t Turn Up Charlie fun? I also finally watched the BBC series Bodyguard. Holy hell, that got so tense at times I had to take breaks and walk about a bit. Remarkably good. And isn’t the design of Mr BlackNarcissus’s book *stunning*?

    Very quiet week here with the highlight (ha!) being a trip over to Glasgow for lunch with a good pal and to have my hair coloured in again. After masses of new bleaching and balyage magic, I’m no longer in all pink-fuchsia-magenta shades and eight-months of grown out darks, but with bright streaks of copper and a deep ribena purple in the mix. And it’s super-bright underneath, so, when I twist it up there’s a flash of very vivid pink. Yesssss. Even got it cut a bit. Nothing drastic, just back to hip length.

    Might have had a few late night perfume accidents on ebay. No regrets: some Miss Dior perfume and a good sized old bottle of Jolie Madame are on the way.

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    • Hey Crikey,
      Turn Up Charlie and Bodyguard are two of the things that have reminded me of the splendid, understated beauty of British TV. Both totally engrossing.
      WOW! Your hair sounds like ART!
      He He he I love a late night shop on eBay. Wooo Hoo!
      Portia xx

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      • Ahh, Idris. I totally second the recommendation for The Wire, by the way. Superb telly. Grim at times, but, for long-arc storytelling and ensemble cast action? One of the very best.

        It’s art on the level of happy mucking about with finger painting 🙂 Which is just fine, because finger painting is fun.

        I just have to be careful to not watch the end of an auction and succumb to the “oh, just a bit more” bidding. That’s where trouble kicks in. (But I am building up a nice little selection of some favourite vintage scents. *sniffs her jolie-madamed wrist blissfully*)

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        • Crikey,
          Do you not eSnipe your eBay? It means you put in your top amount of money and walk away. The sniper does the bidding. It removes the competitive nature of auctions and lets you keep within a budget.
          Jolie Madame is exquisite, you smell wonderful.
          Portia xx

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          • sometimes, yes! And even when not, I tend to place a bid directly and then just not look until it’s over.
            and thank you! It’s lovely to have this back after all these years. I have so much love for Cellier’s perfumes.

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    • I love your sense of adventure with your hair! Yay for the late night perfume shopping, you have good finds! That means perfume presents in your mailbox soon!

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      • A couple of years ago I was fighting the urge to chop it all off, so decided to play with colour instead. And if it all went horribly wrong, or I trashed my hair with bleach no big deal because I could still chop it. Guess I’m still having too much fun with it 🙂

        And yay for nice post, huh?

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    • Hip length 😯 how on earth do you manage that? I can’t go more than a few inches below shoulders without having a hissy fit trying to brush it every morning.

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      • honestly? It seems less bother at this length than it was at shoulder to mid-back. It pins up more easily, and there’s less upkeep and trimming and tidying involved. And WAY less than when it was a short bob and needed to look all precise to work. I am a lazy beast. Or maybe I just got used to it. Drying it, though… blimey. that’s a performance.

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  3. Today I was at a wake for a friend who died recently, It was sad but in a way joyful as he was the type of person who embraced life fully and died on holiday in Bali. Having a massage!
    You wore some cracker perfume this week. Have you tried any of Dr Teals bath soaks? Smell great, unfortunately no bubbles!

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  4. Glad you’re enjoying Peaky Blinders. I love it. A new series should start soon.
    I’m in the Uk, a new series of Line of Duty starts tonight. Love that as well. If it’s on Netflix give it a watch I’m sure you will like it.
    You’ve had a very busy week, smelling good everyday.
    It’s Mother’s Day in the UK, I’m going to my daughter’s house later. My grandaughters and greatgrandchildren will be there as well. They all buy me lovely cards and pressies.
    My son and daughter in law live in Scotland. I’ve a box of very posh cup cakes and a beautiful card delivered.

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  5. Portia, your weeks are always so full of your special people, fun, fragrance, and love. Good for you and always an enjoyable read! I am sorry for the loss of your old friend though. And I admire you even more for looking out/caring about the homeless man.
    I am also looking forward to reading the Perfume book, I have it on pre-order and I believe it arrives this week?
    Per your inspiration, I am going to wear Youth Dew today. It’s rather cool after a spring snow this weekend and I welcome the fragrant coziness.
    I’ve been giving my young dog even more love than usual if that is possible. I’ve scheduled a rather significant leg surgery for him to correct an ACL tear. Sweet boy has been limping every time he runs around the back yard and I’m looking forward to him having a stable leg and no pain.

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    • Thanks Kathleen,
      Neil Chapman has me body and soul. the book is pretty close to perfect and I’m enjoying every page.
      Poor puppy! I hope the surgery goes splendidly for him, and he recovers with a minimum of fuss and bother.
      Portia xx

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      • Thank you for good wishes!
        I’m very much looking forward to reading Neil Chapman’s Perfume book even more nowwith your endorsement! I’ve already read very favorable reviews. My book arrives this week!

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  6. It’s been another busy week preparing for the move, final pack of the van is today and hubby leaves tomorrow morning at sparrow’s fart. The dog and I will follow in the plane Friday night. Hoping we all have a safe, uneventful trip. Got the dog fluffed up for our annual photo in front of the wisteria bush today. Will go to the local Cuban pastry shop for one last ritual Sunday outing until October. Than try to relax.

    Sounds like you had a fun week, hope Jin feels better soon and my condolences on the loss of your friend. I ordered Neil’s book but I think it will arrive at my US address after I’ve left, bugger.

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  7. Long week- several evening meetings, concerts and rehearsals. We skipped church this morning so the whole house could sleep in – much needed. Thinking that I will go through some samples today since I’m not going anywhere in particular so it doesn’t matter how much I stink!

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    • Hi MMKinPA,
      I reckon God will forgive you. He wouldn’t be much of a God if he was so petty and got angered at you missing church, eh? Have a chat with him, he’ll completely understand. Who can be a good person without enough sleep?
      Have fun sampling, anything in particular?
      Portia xx

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  8. Peaky Blinders! Such a great series, and you still have so many seasons to go! Isn’t the soundtrack great as well? Thank you for the heads up on Charlie and the Bodyguard, we just finished La Treve, or the Break, a Belgian crime series. Quite good, in a sort of Scandinavian noir mood of things, although based in the Ardennes in Belgium. Now for some Idries Elba. Did you ever watch the Wire? He was so good as Stringer Bell wasn’t he. Possiby my most favourite series ever. Although my favourite character was Omar Little. So good. True that!
    Have only worn Vero this week, I received the kindest gift of Rubj in EdP and Voile, and Kiki in EdP. Wore Mito EdP this morning, and Naja now after a shower. I really don’t think I need to wear anything else ever (hahaha! see Perfume Fantasy comments).

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    • Heya Hamamelis,
      Are there loads of seasons of Peaky Blinders? I think we only have a couple here in Oz.
      I never watched The Wire, a TV series? I’ll look for it when I’m done with PB.
      You are having a Vero Profumo moment. What better way to pay respects to lovely Vero than to wear her creations? I hope she knows how adored she is.
      Portia x

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      • There are lots of Peaky seasons, I think 4. And your are in for a big treat if you haven’t watched the Wire. It is a TV series, I don’t think it is streamed on Netflix. There are 5 seasons, and it was the break through for Idries Elba I think. It is so good, but it is tough, the viewer is not spared the reality of living in the Baltimore projects. Worth buying DVD’s of I you ask me.
        Your so true where Vero is concerned!

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  9. I’ve had a rather quiet week but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it: fewer lessons meant that I had more time to workout, smell the samples from my uber-generous friend and watch TV series. I finished Kingdom a few days ago (was too lazy to write about it on IG until today, though) and started the Spanish series The Ministry of Time. I think I’m in love 🙂 Oh, and I dyed my hair platinum today.

    PS Those eyebrows were perfect, Portia.

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    • I loved the Ministry of Time! I finished it a while ago. Right now I am binging on White Collar. I bet you look stunning in platinum hair.

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      • I don’t mind having quiet weeks, Portia, in fact, I prefer them: too much communication drains my energy.

        Thanks for asking, yes, I like what I’ve achieved there. I wore platinum blonde before, of course but I’ve managed to deepen the colour a little.

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    • Wow, platinum sounds gorgeous. Isn’t it a shame we can’t photo share. On second thoughts, it’s a good thing we can’t photo share😃

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      • Yes because I for one am not photogenic. However, it would be fun to know what all of you look like (although I already do know what a few of you do)

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      • The threads would be bottomless if we could post pictures here 🙂 If you’re curious, type the handle in the Instagram search bar, I think you don’t need to register for that. Mine’s annatarbaby

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        • Ha! so true! I would post my bottles though-LOL! I already know what you and crikey look like because of your IG photos….I might also add that you look extraordinarily similar to how I looked 25 years ago….in fact you could be mistaken for my daughter 🙂

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  10. Last Minute Larry checking in. Have been too busy with travelling and family stuff to gather my mind together. We decided on the spur of the moment yesterday to take off to see hubby’s mum as it’s Mother’s Day here. We didn’t tell her we were coming. We pulled into the drive and just stood outside the window and tapped on it. Mum and Dad’s faces were priceless. Total delight. Spent a while with them and then took Dad out for a couple of drinks and a chat. Met up with some of the numerous siblings and had a lovely night. Hubs had booked a hotel for us as my surprise. He’s the best hubby I ever had😃. Some of us took Mum and Dad out for lunch this afternoon. Pleasantly stuffed for a few hours afterwards. We took them home and spent some time looking at photographs (my second fave thing to do after the perfume stuff). We had to drag ourselves away as we have three hour journey back home. Relaxing in my jammies now. And catching up on homework! I bought Neil’s book and should be here next week. Looking forward to that. Snap on Black Orchid, even though I only got a large decant. I really only needed it for some memory association, so don’t need full bottle. Love your dedication to your friends, you all have good times by the looks of it. And food! Wish I had real live perfume buddies to do Sniffas. You have reminded me to wear my Truth or Dare Nude. And yay for fabulous brows. And headpiece.

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    • Hey Cassieflower,
      That sounds like a terrific weekend. Lucky family.
      I had no memory of that briny twang at the opening of Black Orchid, it’s really fabulous.
      Surely there are some other perfumistas in your area? Start a Meet Up group. Imagine if you even found one or two other people to share your fragrant obsession with? It makes it all even more fun.
      Portia xx

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    • What an amazing weekend!! Having a supportive partner/ spouse makes all the difference in the world.
      I agree it would be fun to have a real life sniff fest. To piggy back on the Saturday question my fantasy is that Portia arrange an APJ meet up in NYC and we all go – how fun would that be???

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  11. Eau Parfumee is really good. Bvlgari had created a certain brand dna with its earliest releases that mastered the tea theme. But later it went in every direction. I continue to treasure my original Bvlgari acquisitions but do not get excited by new Bvlgari releases anymore. The best from Bvlgari remain eau parfumee au the vert and vert extreme, bvlgari black, and bvlgari pour homme extreme (my first love from Bvlgari).

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  12. Portia, I have not tried Noir but yeah BLV is good, too. Brigitte, you are so right. Black is amazing. I am stocked up on it. It is one of those fragrances that should have been more popular. It’s sad but if a fragrance is not getting the appreciation it deserves, it has a high chance of going away. I am actually surprised it lasted this long in the market. I think I have at least 4 bottles of it if not more.

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