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
Australian Perfume Junkies 
I have the same Bal a Versailles mini! Didn’t realize it was an extrait, though – I thought it was EdP, but the labels don’t say. The spring pollens continue to torment my nose, and despite taking meds, only lying down really seems to help the allergies calm down. So I’ve taken more naps than usual the last few days. Hope you have a great week!
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Oh YE! You’ve got the Bal extrait Nose Prose. this is a happy win.
Poor thing, allergies are awful. I don’t suffer but watch those around me being tormented. YAY for finding a remedy. Sleep your discomfort away.
Portia xx
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Hello dear Portia. I’m not wearing perfume at the moment ….. having to deal with a lot of stuff and it’s affected my nose and my joy, but I still love reading your diary! A couple of questions – when will Jin get his results, and is that a reference to The Sixth Sense on Wednesday night (dead people!)?
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Sorry to read life is getting in the way of your scent joy. Hope it all gets back to happily abnormal soon.
Dead People? We say “I slept like the dead” and that has been contracted to Dead People, BUT the contraction may have come unwittingly from Sixth Sense.
Poor Jin has a lung infection and is on antibiotics. Fingers crossed it all clears up.
Portia x
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Please give Jin my get well soon wishes – he must feel rough.
Ah, “slept like the dead”! You are not actually seeing ghosts! Phew.
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I will do. He will be chuffed.
Not seeing ghosts currently. Phew indeed.
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The zygocactus is looking great, Portia. I’ll be honest, Tobacco Honey is not my favorite. Initially, I wanted to like it, but upon further contemplation, it seems like other perfumes I just couldn’t put my finger on. I hope you can enjoy it, because I find it a bit too sweet. Simply put, I want more tobacco. You were all over the Cabochard this week. Overall, it looks like your weeks was full and fun-filled. Good for you!
This weeks perfumes were Tiziana Terenzi Telea, Rogue Absolue de Mousse, Serge Lutens Douce amère, Givenchy Monsieur 2, Comme des Garçons Wonderwood, Matin Martin Santorini and Annick Goutal Les Nuits d’Hadrien.
Outside of work, I spent time getting ready for my medical transition from work provided health insurance to Medicare. So much fun, and practically a full time job. Lot’s to get in order in the coming weeks.
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Hey Flacconeur, Thanks. I love the weirdly couture like flowers of the zygocactus.
While I did enjoy Tobacco Honey I also want my tobacco unlike that. My mini went to someone who really loves it. It is beautifully done, just not for me right now.
I don’t think I ever tried Douce Amere. What’s it like?
OMG! Changing anything health related gives me hives. Good luck unravelling it all.
Portia xx
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At least you shared the Tobacco Honey with someone who could appreciate its “unique qualities.”
Douce Amère seems to be still available from Serge Lutens, but I must warn you that it may not be as captivating as my 2009 formulation. I base this assessment on my experience with Sarrasins, which is not quite the same and left me somewhat disappointed. Douce Amère features notes of Artemisia, Vanilla, Tiare Flower, Lily, Cinnamon, Absinthe, Jasmine, and Sugar. I’ll leave the detailed description to Lutens himself.
“A new take on the demonic green fairy, “Douce-amère” is a delightful reminder of the elaborate ceremony of the absinthe drinker. Through a perforated spoon balanced on the glass, the drinker will let the water from his carafe drip onto a cube of white sugar which will slowly dissolve and mix with the emerald blood of the absinthe. For unmitigated bitterness!
“First bitter, then sweet, it’s absinthe of course. As green as wormwood is grey, these two ideas tussle […] … only to kiss and make up on the skin.”
– Serge Lutens
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GAH! Lemming born.
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I had a feeling you would say that.
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HA!
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Hi Portia, here’s a SotD update I posted in a different corner of the internet last week, I think you’ll agree with the last bit:
SotD: Marlou Carnicure. Came back from therapy session feeling down, and Carnicure has disappeared. Now I’m wearing L’Artisan Parfumeur Dzing! Thanks goodness for fragrances.
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I love Dzing! And I was reminded that I have Dzongkha floating about somewhere. It’s one of my favourites!
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Dzongkha! Another beauty gone the way of the dodo. Sad face.
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Did I tell you I got Dzongkha for $30 from Facebook Marketplace? 😆
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This makes me so happy for you
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Dzing! and Dzongkha are something else.
I’m relatively new to perfumes, and having such luck to have acquired them recently makes me wonder about other unique, discontinued smells I’ve missed out on from that era.
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SO MANY!
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Hi there Yuzu Soda,
Thank EVERYTHING for fragrance. I’m glad Dzing! got you out of the doldrums. Hope you are smooth sailing right now. Mental health is a roller coaster. Here if you need us to cheer you on.
Portia xx
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Oh Portia, thank you. Reading your scent diary and watching Steven Gontarski’s weekly YouTube video journals are pleasant short escapes in my week.
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D’oh, hit submit too early! For Jin’s coughs, has he tried thyme tea? I came across it when I had really bad coughs that wouldn’t leave, apparently it’s a German folk remedy. Just steep a good amount of dried thyme in hot water (you may want to use a strainer). Add honey or whatever else you like, I usually have mine plain.
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Thanks. I’ll try it
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Hi Portia – I’m loving the SotD posts. They help me feel human again after a long day staring at screens.
I got a bottle of Bel Respiro for Christmas and wore it all summer along with the delightful You Or Someone Like You. Now I’m back to spraying my adored Chergui most days.
We (the family) went to see the ridiculously funny The Sheep Detectives on Saturday. Totally recommend!
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Thanks Jyotsna, glad we are saving your humanity.
Three LOVELY scents. Like a mini cool kid line up. Of them You or Someone Like You is a true fave of mine and the others are loves. We have quite similar tastes, I think.
CAN’T WAIT to see Sheep Detectives. It looks freaking hilarious. Nice to have a personalized recommendation. As soon as it streams we will watch it.
Portia xx
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I got to feed my gorgeous granddaughter Millie. My DiL pumps to fill bottles so my son can feed her, I benefited this time. Millie has now regained her birthweight & 6oz more. Doing well & does guzzle. She belches like an old man who’s downed a pint in one!
Thank you for the shout about fridge foraging. Yesterday was spent doing just that. Roasted veggies, including roast radishes. So juicy! Jersey Royal spuds roasted in Greek evoo & sea salt, gorgeous chewy little flavour bombs & bread & butter pudding with dried apple & sultanas. Not overly sweet but a crunchy Demerara sugar crust on top. I might check if I have pasta sheets & do a roast veg lasagna. They may not make it though, we’ve enjoyed them with Greek dips, cottage cheese & multiseeded rye sourdough for brunch! Deeeeelicious!
The weather is cold & wet so vintage Mitzy EdP has been out thought today is vintish No19
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WOO HOO! Alityke, that must be so special feeding your grandchild. Amazing. HA! A good burp will take her a long way.
It’s the PERFECT and a very useful, catchall phrase, Fridge Foraging. It has entered the vernacular here with gusto.
You are eating like a Queen. Imagine how little of that would be readily available to us ordinary folks year round 100 years ago.
We are cool and wet too. Had the No19 EdC out yesterday. Y U M!
Portia x
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How sweet to read about your one stop Beauty shop. I hope it will be clear what is causing his cough and that it is nothing to worry about.
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We have Jin on antibiotics Hamamelis. A Chest/lung infection. It should clear up properly this week.
Thanks for worrying, I’ll let him know,
Portia xx
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Oh, glad to hear. He’ll be tired for a while but a relief once the infection and coughing are behind him.
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Yes, true Hamamelis.
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Gres Cabochard has an EXTRAIT? I’d love to experience that. It might be what I wanted the edp to be. And No 19 is always perfect…she never disappoints. So glad Jin will be well.
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Hey Moira,
Cabochard used to have an extrait. You can still find them on auction sites and vintage resellers if you’re very lucky. They are a bit pricey but not outrageous.
Are you a Cabochard wearer? How do you like the new bottle and juice?
Yeah, No19 is a goddess.
Portia xx
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