Portia

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Hello Australian Perfume Junkies and friends, So glad to have you drop by Scent Diary. Grab a cuppa or beverage of choice, sit back and check what has happened, been eaten, spritzed and seen in our lives in Sydney, Australia.

At then end please leave us some comments. What or who did you see, do, eat with. Did you spritz, purchase, have arrivals or finish a sample? What’s happening in your world? If you’re writing or reading opinions, we can disagree but keep it nice and try not to give or take offense. Right now the world needs a web of friendships and connection more than ever. We all have perfume and each other in common. That’s a whole lot.

Scent Diary: 11.5-17.5.2026

Monday

Woke up, all by myself at such an early hour. No reason. The dogs were outside in their coats so I grabbed them for wee and brought them inside to their beds in front of the TV. Gave my teeth and gums the full clean experience. Floss, mini brushes between, mouthwash and brushing.

Morning Routine: 10 Minutes.

• Don’t Touch the Phone
• Avoid Negative Input (TV, Socials, Arguments)
• Drink Water
• Get Sunlight in My Eyes
• Move Body 3 Minutes
• Set One Intention
• One Small Win

Les Liquides Imaginaires Peau de Bete. OR as my mate Scotty says: Pooed the bed.

Got started on my Trivia Q&A. The world is so peaceful this early on a Monday.

Jin was up and had some medical imaging for his chesty cough. I went with him, hit the post office, we did some Korean grocery shopping.

Got all my Trivia Q&A done by 12pm

Jin went off to the golf course. I had a sleep on the couch with the dogs. SO LAZY!

Jin made his pickles and started on Kimchi.

My podcast buddy Lisa is up in Parramatta for some doctors appointments. She is staying a few streets away with her beautiful husband Mark. Jin and I were going to have dinner with them in the hotel room but Jin is still coughing. The last thing an immune-compromised person needs is a chest infection so Jin got uninvited (by me). I grabbed some Thai, some booze and went solo.

Wearing Gallivant Berlin. A sophisticated wash of nothing really. Nothing like the Berlin of my memory.

We had so much catching up to do I completely forgot to take pics. It was a fantastic evening though.

Home and Jin waxed my nostrils and cut my hair. He’s my one stop beauty shop. We clippered each others arms.

He went to bed. I watched some TV, faffed.

Fed and walked the dogs. This is midnight. Sky was so bright tonight.

Swipe of Guerlain Mitsouko extrait. Y U M!

Tuesday

Morning Routine: 10 Minutes.

How is it Tuesday already? Seems like it was only yesterday. Much cooler here this morning. Light sprinkles of almost rain as I gave the dogs a wee.

Gres Cabochard.

House dusted and settling.

Laundry.

Vacuumed.

Watered the patio plants. Here are some of our gorgeous zygocactus.

Lunch was left over Thai reheats. Looks awful, tastes delicious.

Had a hot bath with bath oil. Very glam.

A Drop d’Issey. So much.

Work was fantastic tonight. Had a surprise visit from Clair and Steven with family and friends.

Also, beautiful Celia had left cards! Here’s mine. Gosh, it looks like her..

Home.

Face off. Dinner.

Guerlain Tobacco Honey from a mini.

Fell asleep watching TV.
ZzzzZzzzzZzzs

Wednesday

Woke up at 2.15am. Wide awake. Took the dogs for a wee. Did some reading, blogs and FB. Went back to bed.

4am Jin made a bunch of noise in the kitchen so I got up and we had a little morning chat. He went to work.

I did my Morning Routine: 10 Minutes. It wasn’t very focussed and didn’t happen in order or in 10 minutes.

Went back to bed.

The delivery guy woke me after 10am! Ha. So lots and lots of sleep in weird amounts. Fortunately I have a free day.

Jean Desprez Bal a Versailles vintage extrait 7ml.

Fed and walked the dogs in the cool morning wan sunlight.

Lunch: the last of the lasagna Betty and I made on Saturday. YUM! I make good lasagna with all the fridge leftover veggies. (an Alityke Fridge Forage Lasagna)

Back in Guerlain Tobacco Honey. Writing about it and trying to understand what I think of it.

Jin brought home PIZZA! delicious. Forgot to take pics.

Work was super busy. We had three new teams at Greystanes Inn. Very cool. Also the Jackpot Round Wine went off for the first time in months. Here are the winning gents.

Home

Lalique woman EdP. One of my fave florientals from the 1990s. A shimmering riot of powdery vanilla drizzled florals.

Bed. Dead people.

Thursday

Morning Routine: 10 Minutes.

Bulgari Man Wood Neroli

Fed and walked dogs.

Today has been utterly lazy. Apart from some much needed washing and rooting out this years winter woolies I basically just hung out with the dogs in front of the TV till Jin came home at 1.30pm. Ate some left over pizza.

Abdes Salaam Tawaf. Sensual resinous BWF.

Ersilia and Maria joined us for Korean BarBQ at our fave nearby. They’ve dropped the price from $45 to $29.99. Some of their products have been deleted to match the new price but we hardly noticed. Delicious.

Home. Jin went straight to bed.

TV.

Diptyque L’Eau Papier from Surrender To Chance decant.

Bed

Zzzz

Friday

Morning Routine: 10 Minutes.

Cool and grey outside. Everything looked so clean on the dogs wee walk.

CHANEL Jersey EdT

Miranda came over and we had an office day. Got some things finished and some things started. I’m SO terrible at tech and admin, it’s always good to have someone playing in my corner.

While Miranda got into the tech stuff I folded this weeks laundry, then I made us some Squishy Toasted Sandwiches.

We fed and walked the dogs together. So much catching up to do. It was a lovely afternoon.

Jin came home. Slept on couch.

We went and had very Japanese, seafood oriented Sushi Train. Mostly disgusting to me, but they did have a few chicken and beef choices. It’s always nice when the two of us get an evening to hang.

Came home. Jin went to bed.

I’m still watching Person of Interest.

Fed and walked dogs.

BUBBLE BATH. Nesti Dante Philosophia shower gel bubbles.

Gres Cabochard extrait.

Sleep

Saturday

Morning Routine: 10 Minutes. Wasn’t much sunlight for my eyes but the dogs were very happy for their morning walk.

Did some computer stuff.

Trussardi Behind The Curtain Piazza Alla Scala. Only bought this for the bottle colour but it’s very nice. Spicy leather amber. Warming for cool and grey days.

Jumped a bus and then train to town.

Stopped by to see my mate Esther at David Jones Elizabeth Street store. Though she has no stock yet, there is a Shalimar Rose tester in store. WOW! We both got entirely different rides. Esther gets a very Arabian style rose water with a fizzy lemonade spider drink. My skin throws rose water nougat, nutty and sugarfilled with vanilla and some other miscellanea. Almost zero Shalimar DNA on me.

Wandered to the Art Gallery of NSW. Met Evie for a cuppa and then we did a lecture. Portraiture for beginners. It was really not for beginners, definitely above mid-level. SO MUCH information. I’m going to be processing it all week.

Then we wandered back across the Domain, a large swathe of grassy land that gets used for concerts and events to my favourite hotel lobby bar, The Kimpton Margot Sydney. Boozy beverages ensued. Phil joined us, more boozy bevies. Nibbles of thin, crispy hot chips and honey coated nuts. Conversation ran riot. See sawing threads of disparate genres, subjects and seasons. It was invigorating and fun.

Eve went to the ferry and Phil and I walked up to Central Station, catching our trains from the same platform, different sides.

Jin came to collect me from the station. SO SWEET! We came home and he had made Chicken Conji. O M G! Perfect for the cool weather and so delicious. We watched the footy and it was so disheartening he went to bed.

I watched more TV. Fed and walked the dogs.

Bathtime!

Oriza L Legrand Marions Nous. Sweet and warming.

Bed.

Sunday

Morning Routine: 10 Minutes.

Another steely grey day. So good for walking through our neighboring cemetery with the dogs.

Kath came and joined us today for chats ands lunch and general bonhomie. She has accepted a new role at a different university. It’s the jump in position and pay she has been aiming for. Very exciting. This is a Kath photo of lunch because I forgot.

Here are flowers on our balcony bougainvillea and the garage garden zygocactus, planted in the ground.

Saw this beautiful door while interneting.

For work tonight I went spritz crazy with vintage CHANEL No19 EdC. So good, floral chypre done so right.

We had a good room full of fun people at Lockie’s hotel. Jin came along too.

Home.

Feed and walked dogs.

Jin to bed.

TV and Trivia Q&A.

Nina Ricci vintage Fleur de Fleurs

Bed.

 

 

Now it’s your turn. Please tell us something you did, spritzed, ate, wore, bought or finished. Maybe you saw a friend, a show, an exhibition. Maybe you got through the week without having to bury a body. Whatever, please share something with us.

I read and respond to every comment. C’mon, let’s chat.
Portia xx