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Portia
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Hey there APJ Crew,
Not sure what’s wrong with me. Totally unmotivated to leave the house in the early part of this week. Then I had stuff organised so had to leave the house, all good. Fairly chill week in all ways. LOADS of good fragrance though.
Scent Diary: 2.12 – 8.12.2019
Monday 2:
Up till 4am doing the laundry and watching GRIMM! on Netflix.
I did not go to Aquarobics this morning.
There was a delivery that didn’t ring the doorbell! SO ANNOYING!
Fed & walked the dogs.
SOTMorning: Madonna Truth or Dare
Took the dogs for a wash at the groomers. Went to the Post Office. Visited Scott at work but he was on a day off.
Spent the morning answering APJ comments. What a lovely load there were too. Amazing. I love you guys.
Brought in the clothes washing from the line.
Why am I so BLEAURGH! Just cannot seem to make myself clean this house. NAUGHTY!!
TRIVIA Q&A
3.30 and I took a break. Still haven’t cleaned the house.
Jin came home around 5pm and we had a little chat and hung around a bit.
The house is not cleaned. I don’t care and neither does Jin. Our bed and the couch cocoon are all laundered and clean. My bathroom has had a quick going over. Thursday we have guests and I will do the full Mother In Law’s First Visit Clean then.
TRIVIA Q&A
8.30pm and my Q&A is done.
SOTEvening: Midnight Oud by Juliette Has A Gun
Jin and I walked the dogs together in the brisk evening air. We are having a very UNsummery cold snap. Lovely!
Got a call from Tara in London (from A Bottled Rose) and through a delightful misunderstanding she got to open her Christmas present a couple of weeks early. As she opened it I serenaded her with Christmas tunes over the phone. It was really fun for me, hopefully for Tara as well.
Faffed around doing nothing stuff. Finally got the TRIVIA Q&A sent to the crew at around 11pm.
Going to watch some GRIMM!
SOTBed: Joy EdP & extrait by Jean Patou. MMMMMMMMMM
Tuesday 3:
SOTMorning: Rose Oud by Yves Rocher. Inspired by Esperanza’s Festive Event Fragrances on our Mood Scent 4 project.
Took the loose hair remover comb out on the dog walk this morning. The boys are still moulting and I got hanks of hair out of them. Better in the park in bunches than all over our house. The birds will use it for their nests.
Spent the morning making PPPs (Portia’s Perfume Packages) to send out.
Post Office, visited Scotty.
Dogs and I watched some GRIMM! while I had lunch.
BATHTIME! In L’Occitane Cherry Blossom bubbles.
SOTAfternoon: CHANEL No 18 EdT
Work was fun with 70 players and LOADS of laughs.
Home.
GRIMM!
SOTBed: Nefertum by Teone Reinthal. Dark fruit and lustrous resins. A deep and intricate weave of sweet, woodsy spices overlays the whole. Arresting fragrance that is a perfect match to the Christmas vibe.
Wednesday 4:
I slept really late. Heavily, like there was a mountain on top of me. Woke up dry and disoriented.
SOTMorning: Fragile by Jean Paul Gaultier. Bought many years ago in a tester sale at a local chemist. Fragile is a perfect pick me up to clear the cobwebs after a strange awakening.
Did some blog organising and commenting.
Walked the gods late, not very long walk because the air is thick with bushfire smoke and it was hurting my eyes. You should be able to see the Parramatta skyscrapers beyond the treelike but they’re smoke obscured. I’ve lifted the colour up a bit but the whole world looks reddish and the sky this eerie, toxic yellow/grey.
Jin called and we met at the supermarket after he finished work today. Grabbed a few essentials then home to laze.
BATHTIME!
SOTEvening: 4711 Remix Cologne. All the citrus and some cooling refreshment. YUM!
Work was heaving tonight. We had over 50 people playing at Greystanes Inn. It was fantastic. This was the sun as I went into work. No filter or colour juggling.
Home and I’ve been doing some blogging.
Hey! Guess what my mate Alice bought for me. The L’Occitane Advent Calendar! WOO HOO! Seriously spoiled around here. I’m loving it sick already.
SOTEvening: Teazzura by Guerlain. It only lasts an hour or so but I really love this refreshing chamomile, tea and citrus scent.
More computer shit. Invoicing etc.
SOTBed: Mohur by Neela Vermeire Creations
Thursday 5:
I’m awake at 7am. Took the dogs for a wee.
SOTMorning: Mimosa Love by Amouage. Dewy, creamy white floral with tropical undertones. So pretty and every now and then slightly feral. This morning I got beautiful whiffs of near decaying melon and yoghurt.
Came to the computer, had coffee, did my invoicing for the month, checked social media and answered some blog comments.
Later in the morning I popped on some Aftelier Rose Face Elixir! This stuff smells so good.
Lunch at Yum Yum Bakery with April & Julie
Went and had my LONG OVERDUE pedicure done. Now I’ve got perfect Christmas tootsies.
Catch up with Ainslie at Glasshouse.
Post office
Home to clean the house for guests.
SOTCleaning: Vintage Shalimar extrait by Guerlain
The crew arrived and we all went out for Chinese dinner. There was booze, food, laughs and outrageous chatter all night long. I forgot to take photos but it was a wonderful night. Anna Maria & Johnny, Domenica & Luke (getting married on Sunday, I’m their MC) and Chris & Jamie (I was their wedding MC 15 years ago). So many stories, such a fun night.
Did a little cleaning a went to bed still smelling of Shalimar.
Friday 6:
Poor Jin came home from work this morning and walked into the corner of the bed really hard. The kerfuffle! Bastard woke me up.
SOTMorning: Eau de Gloire by Parfum d’Empire
Cuppa, computer.
Drove to town.
Collected our Chinese Visas for February. There were so many people in the visa shop. Just to collect our passports were 68 people ahead of me! Everyone is going for Christmas.
Ran around to Becker Minty to collect the Christmas Cakes I ordered. The whole packaging and presentation is freaking AWESOME!
Took the car and parked it in Kath’s carpark. Trained to town.
Wandered fairly aimlessly for a couple of hours. Very proud of myself, didn’t purchase one thing in the afternoon although temptation was rife.
Met Keira and Martin for dumplings.
This is a completely undoctored picture of the sun in our smoke filled sky. Still it doesn’t capture the malevolence of a red sun. It’s like the dystopian future has arrived.
We took an Uber to the Opera House. So glamorous. This picture taken facing the other direction, look at the sky difference. Still murky but without the red sun trying to get through the murk.
Before it started we had the harpist from the orchestra talk us through the piece, its history and her joy at playing it. We arrived early to get the best seats.
We heard Mahler’s Klagende Lied: Simone Young’s Visions of Vienna. Mahler’s first symphony. Full of fun and light and shade. One of the singers was a bit of a let down, every time she looked at her book or down for any reason we lost her voice completely. She was doing all the acting and it meant we missed more than half of her performance. Just bloody sing, sing to the room. Stupid bint. Simone Young, the conductor, was extremely good value though, she was having a ball.
SOTBed: 1000 by Jean Patou. This beautiful fragrance should get a lot more wear around here.
Saturday 7:
HOW is it Saturday already?
Jin woke me getting home at around 7am. He was lively and we chattered for a while before he hit the hay.
SOTMorning: Tea For Two by L’Artisan. I smell amazing. This should definitely have been one of my Festive Season Fragrances. So spicy and smoky. YUM!
Mainly comment replying here. Some computer stuff. Nothing much at all.
SOTEvening: Vanille by Mona di Orio
Tonight Jin and I met Michael and Hyun for Korean BarBQ. It was a stellar catch up, so much news and information exchanged. The food was amazing, seriously amazing. O M G! We all left so bloated. Jin was a little bit drunk as well.
Then we did some grocery shopping and Jin decided he wanted Krispy Cremes. So he grabbed HEAPS!
Home and it’s started to get really hot in the house, even in the evenings.
Dogs fed & walked.
Watched GRIMM
SOTBed: Le Male by JPG. OK, this is the last of my bottle from the late 1990s. It was my second bottle and it was changed before I bought my third bottle. Now I almost never wear it because it smells so freaking good and has a million scent memories that the new bottle only hints at. I wore it to bed tonight for the joy of remembering.
Sunday 8:
No reason but I woke early.
SOTMorning: Cologne du Coq by Guerlain
Walked the dogs. sat at the computer responding to you guys, organised Johnny and Anna Maria’s speech for the wedding today.
BATHTIME!
SOTAfternoon: Equistrius by Parfum d’Empire
Got gorgeous and went to MC Anna Maria and Johnny’s daughters wedding reception, to the handsome Luke. What a night.
Home. DEAD!
SOTBed: Liberté by Cacharel
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
Australian Perfume Junkies 
Amazing week. Lovely pic of you and Anna Maria, your outfits complement each other’s perfectly. And awesome choice for glam house cleaning. Giggled at the idea of the dogs watching Grimm😃 I’m thrilled that you’re giving some love to JPG, as I’ve said before I have had a long love affair with Fragile. You’re bang on when you say Le Male isn’t what it was back in the day. I bought hubs a new bottle last year and it’s lost some of its va va voom, definitely. I’ve been seeing news reports on the state of the air quality in Sydney. The fires are just tragedies of epic proportions, for people and wildlife. If I could send some deluges of rain to you I would.
I’m busy all week both working and socialising. And next week is crazy too. Friday night is my AGM with my oldest friends, since we were tinies. So looking forward to it. Have a great week everyone.
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Hey there Cassieflower,
Anna Maria and I were so happy that we kind of matched. We were telling everyone that I was the OTHER Mother Of The Bride. It was a hilarious reception full of love, music and family.
HA! We all watch GRIMM together.
The air quality in Sydney is currently bottom 10 in the world. I’m not breathing properly and my nose has these crusty snots that are cutting it when I blow. Poor farmers and even some of the outer suburbs are being razed. Tragic.
Enjoy your whirlwind week. I hope it’s super fun and safe.
Portia x
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What a fantastic week you have had,P!!!
Mine was wash , rinse and repeat although there were two birthdays at the end of the week…. middle mini Marzipan and furry granddaughter Pickles. My parents came up yesterday and bought her three birthday presents (the cat…the human is still at University). Mom and I had a sniffathon and she went home with some samples. I pretty much wore DUMP all week but mixed things up every evening with samples and Decants.
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Aw how cute is that, Pickles having her first birthday party at seven 🐈 (there should be black cat emoji) and she’s got great-grandparents to bring goodies. Happy birthday to the middle mini too. It’s great that you and your mum can still do sniffing sessions together. I can imagine the noises making their way up from the basement, all oohs and aahs and wows😃
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You are the best cat mother ever Brigitte, lucky little moggie.
You know I laugh every time you write DUMP. Hilarious.
Portia xx
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That makes two of us! But Cassie’s comment about turning Anaïs Anaïs into Anus Anus damned near split my stomach with laughter. You’d think that by 63 I would have left the bathroom humour behind 🙄
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Very quiet week here, lots of cool weather and rain, the dog is bored and frustrated and chewing on everything. So sorry about the fires and smoke, we’ve had that here in the past in San Diego as well. Eerie and unsettling. Would love to send you our rain!
Found out this morning I’d been hacked by a virus on Facebook, spent hours this morning cleaning it up. Bloody hackers. Seems to be fixed now.
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Heya TaraC,
We would be incredibly thankful for you’re rain. Please send.
Poor pooch, it’s boring inside. Have you thought about putting on your wellies and a raincoat to take it for a wander? They don’t mind the rain and muck.
BASTARDS! Hackers are scum. We still haven’t recovered from the original APJ being hacked. Good luck with it.
Portia xx
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Hey Portia
It was 100% fun for me too.
Love the wedding pics. Bet you were a fabulous MC.
I’ve just got back from Edinburgh. Managed to meet up with crikey which was a real treat.
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HA! How funny are we Tara? That was a hilarious Xmas moment.
All sides of the families have written to thank me for hosting. It’s so nice. that has never happened before. They really know how to make me feel special. Next week I’ll add some dress pics.
Woo Hoo! So jealous of your Edinburgh trip. I miss seeing Crikey around here. Is she OK?
Portia xx
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Oh, that apocalyptic red sun – we had it a couple of summers ago with forest fires, and it felt so creepy. The best, but most stressful part of a friend coming by is running around tidying up, as unlike Some People I am a somewhat irregular house cleaner. Got a backup bottle of Rose Oud for a crazy price in Yves Rocher’s last chance/Black Friday sale.
Went to a Perfume Event on Friday: Scentrique had a Parfums Nicolai event at an art gallery, with rep Damian straight from Paris. He gave us a name-that-note quiz at the end of his talk (I was ca. 2 for 9). We also had the chance to sniff all of Scentrique’s offering, as they do not have a rl store yet.
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Hi AnnieA,
You definitely get how spooky the red sun is then. Quite distressing.
HA! Are you pointing the finger. Yeah, I’m fairly regular at cleaning. It just seems so much easier if I do it properly one day a week. Having said that I have been known to miss bits.
Woo Hoo on your perfumed adventures and the Yves Rocher score. It must have been really fun going into a perfume warehouse. So lucky.
Portia xx
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The pictures of the sun in Sydney are so eerie. It looks like a scene out of some futuristic, post apocalyptic sci-fi movie. Is this a typical occurrence for you Aussies in the summer months?
I had loads of fun testing my PPP this week. I think I’ve mentioned my love for Mitzah (which I always want to spell Mitzvah) and Tonka Imperiale. The sleeper winner was Guess! Very unique and a super fun blend of cozy yet uplifting. I liked it a lot and it’s very wallet friendly.
I wish I could get GRIMM on our Netflix. You and the doggies seem to love it. Fancy my kitties would enjoy it as well?
Hectic week here, but one project has wrapped up successfully lightening the load somewhat.
Mr. LH came back yesterday with an enormous Xmas tree! Nine feet of girthy Fraser Fir. And no, he did not traipse through the forest waving his chain saw around wildly, eyes glassy with the thrill of the hunt 😳 He was very civilized and bought it at a proper Christmas tree farm. It smells incredible! The girls and their SOs will be joining us shortly for dinner and tree-trimming festivities. I put the lights in this morning. A thankless task which I despise. But I don’t skimp. On full power you could wave in a 747 for a landing. We have a very nifty dimmer for the lights that I’ve had for years – a tap of the little brass bell gradually dims the lights.
Anyhow, there’s a nice fire in the fireplace, a chicken is roasting in the oven and I baked a cranberry crumble this morning. High time for a little G&T while we wait for the gang.
Oh! I forgot!! We were at our yearly fancy dress party on Friday. Wore Shalimar in ALL it’s guises: vintage EDC, vintage perfume and a thick layer of body cream. I wore an off the shoulder black velvet gown and I was positively oozing glamour.
Have a good week all 😘
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Aw, why didn’t you let Mr LH go a huntin with the chainsaw, with a backup Swiss Army knife in his pocket? It’s these small pleasures in life that keep a man sane😂 Well Mr C F went up to the attic and hunted down our Christmas tree and stuff. He also brought up the vacuum cleaner and did a bit of a tidy up (wonders will never cease) . Your tree sounds rather fabulous and torturous at the same time. The lights! Still, I’m sure it’s looking great now that it’s all dressed up.
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You mean he actually knows how to work the vacuum cleaner 🤯. Mine feigns ignorance and then dismisses the whole distasteful topic by replying “ well, you do it so much better”. To which I reply “if you ever tried you might get good at it too” 😒
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Hi there Marcella,
This is the first time in my memory that there has been such terrible fires so far north and south. Usually our sea or mountain breezes keep the air crystal clear even through the worst of it but there seems to be no escape currently. It IS eerie.
I’m so glad that you found some things to like and love in the PPP. Having a road map of your wants made it so much easier. That Guess is such a bargain, I love it.
WOO HOO! for your enormous Xmas tree, the dinner ready and family heading over. I bet it was a fun filled night getting the tree dressed.
SHALIMAR! You rocked the party, right? Did you feel like a queen?
Portia xx
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Re: the sky. Yes, I remember some of your pictures from last summer and the sky was always a perfect bright blue.
Did I feel like a queen? You bet I did!
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I’m terribly sorry about the fires in Sydney, the sky and sun are eerie indeed. I’ll pray for relief in the near future, the devastation to people and animals is unsettling.
I love that you brush your pups in the park, the birds and squirrels will love the fluff for their nests!
Isn’t the L’Occitane advent calendar fun? I gifted it to a friend that celebrated her 60th bday last month.
My week was uneventful but productive. Had some car maintenance done including new tires, and had some fun times walking with friends and pups, and a Nutcracker ballet show.
I have been enveloped in Youth Dew all day!
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Thanks Kathleen, all prayers, thoughts and hopes for rain accepted gratefully. They are scared that 60%+ of our Koala population may have been lost and many of our endangered species made even more so. It’s all down to governmental austerity cuts and taking millions of $$$$ from our Fire Services, leaving them undermanned for the crucial winter burning off of scrublands. It’s now a tinder dry hot box out there.
HA! Yeah, the birds get really excited by the fur. Sadly we don’t have squirrels in Parramatta, maybe not in Australia.
YES also for the L’Occitane Advent Calendar, LOVING it.
OOOH! How was your Nutcracker. I forgot to get pre-release tickets and by the time I went back Sydney’s was completely Sold Out. Not even a single seat for me. Bummer.
Youth Dew! So fabulous.
Portia xx
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That le male is awesome. It has a timeless composition. I think it was one of the first perfumes on which I received a compliment, the other being Boss No. 6 (now known as Boss Bottled).
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hey Fazal,
Yep, Le Male was a huge part of my youth. What a scent!
Portia xx
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Enjoyed teading about your week Portia, sounds fun. Mine just been work and more work, nothing special on the horizon. Think that’s why scent is just so gorgeous, gives you a lift no matter what’s going on. I do love joy by patou and no 29. I’ve been reading and learning a lot from all the boys and girls on here as well as yourself. What a delicious voyage of discovery. Tried Shalimat, had high hope but smells so rank on me. Finding some I’m really enjoying,. Haunting perfume counters at Myers and David Jones but the girls and boys are happy to let me spritz away. Just sending thoughts to everyone caught up in the bushfires , just too terrible.
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Hey Sandra,
Great to have you here at APJ. Thanks for commenting.
Yep, scent will lift you quickly out of the morass of life. One of the reasons I love it so much (not that I have much morass TBH)
If Shalimar is too thick and dark you might like to try their Champs Elysees, Chamade, or even a sneaky spritz of Habit Rouge. They might lean a bit less funky.
Are you in Sydney? The crew at David Jones City Guerlain are excellent and so knowledgable.
Portia xx
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