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: 24.8-30.8.2026

Monday

Instead of the Morning Routine: 10 Minutes. I jumped out of bed, walked Momo. Then Jin and I hit the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre. He swam laps and saunas. I did two Aquarobics classes.

Lunch was Donna Kebabs. SO GOOD! Surprisingly, a good choice for diabetics.

We did some grocery shopping at the Korean Grocery. Jin’s happy place.

Home.

Sarah Jessica Parker Stash Unspoken. This bottle is nearly dry.

Had a big nap.

Up and ready to write Trivia Q&A. Did about 40 minutes of catching up on social and blog crap. THEN, ready to write.

Got all the Q&A done by 7pm

Gallivant Berlin

Jin took us out for Japanese at his new favourite restaurant Okima. Here is a visual of the devastation when we finished. 19 plates between us. SO full.

Home

Nose and ear waxing with Jin.

Fed and walked Momo.

Watched some Ted Lasso.

Lorenzo Villoresi Musk

Bed

Tuesday

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
• One thing I’m grateful for.

I slept well but have woken up really unbalanced. Mentally and physically. Like I’m on a ship in rough seas.

Dries Van Noten Rock the Myrrh from Surrender To Chance decant

Fed and walked Momo. The hope was to calm this weird lack of cohesion. While not giving me true equilibrium, I do feel much better. It’s cool out and very light spitting rain. We did some extra steps and a different direction to normal. Mom loved the change. She had to sniff everything and dropped about eight wees. She came home bushed. Straight to the couch and asleep in moments.

I had to print off my Trivia answer sheets. Getting things done helps clear the strangeness.

Had some cuddles with Momo and watched some Ted Lasso.

Ate an enormous brunch. Roast Chicken breast, salad and mayo/hummus dressing. SO GOOD!

Cut up all the used teabags, crushed up all the baked egg shells. Will add this to some potting mix, stir in some slow release fertilizer and worm castings then use it as a mulch on the pot plants.

Starting to feel like the regular version of myself now.

Jin came home. We saw each other for about 15 minutes, he went off to meet a buddy.

BUBBLE BATH time. One hour of delightfully dreamy relaxing in such heat. Washed, shaved and cleansed my mind.

Jin’s back. Low key hanging.

Trussardi Femme EdT.

Good face this evening. In drag we say Good Eek Queen. Means beautiful maquillage.

Anthony Kady, who is painting me for 2027 Archibald Prize was in tonight. He was taking photos and doing some amazing sketches. I’m very excited to see what transpires.

There were 113 players in the room tonight. Very fun. We even had three new teams. One new team was a bunch of queer youth. SO COOL to have them in the house. 20 years ago there’s no way they’s have been welcome in a Returned Soldiers League Club (RSL). Times have changed.

Home. HUNGRY!

Watching more Ted Lasso, with Momo cuddling up on the couch.

Berdoues Maasai Mara

Bed

Wednesday

No Morning Routine: 10 Minutes. Rolled over and slept another 30 minutes.

Picked up my phone and Dolly Parton has died. NOOOOOOO

Gave Momo a wee.

Betty came over. She is using my car mechanic. He did such a good job on her Mums and it was time. So we got to spend the day together.

Dropped the car.

Hit the Post Office. Woo Hoo! Arrivals. Some old favourites bought from an FB Sales Doc. Turns out they came from a friend. So cool.

First spritz went to Patou Joy Forever.

We had a very delicious brunch of Fancy French Toasty. Betty got Maple Syrup but I had BarBQ Sauce.

We fed and walked Momo.

Off to the Auburn Botanic Gardens to see if any of the blossoms had come out. YES! There were some. Next week will be abundance.

Dropped Betty back at the mechanic, had her car washed and she drove off into the afternoon.

I wandered home. Momo and I watched some more Ted Lasso.

Jin came home and went off for his golf lesson.

I had a sneaky nap.

UP! Had to wee Momo and get myself together for work this evening.

MORE Joy Forever.

Jin got me to do my blood sugar. Good result!

Jin and I collected the Aunties, then Matt. We all headed to Greystanes Hotel. It was jumping. we had a completely full house. Loads of laughs and an excellent night of trivia.

Dropped Matt, then Jin, then the Aunties.

HOME! Jin is booking holidays. I think it’s his favourite pastime. Some very exciting upcoming adventures.

I’ve blogged.

Fed and walked Momo.

TV.

Bed

Thursday

Morning Routine: 10 Minutes.

Paying some bills. $$$$! Blogging

Tim Curry died last night. One of my heroes. At one pint I could recite swathes of Rocky Horror word for word.

Amouage Figment Woman. This picture is such a lucky shot, under our dining room lights. Makes the bottle look like an artwork.

Watching Ted Lasso

Breakfast Eggs. Showing the foods I’m making to keep myself diabetes accountable.

Fed and walked Momo. It’s sunny, then super cloudy, then sunny again today. Pretty cool even in the sunshine.

Collected a magnum of champagne from BGF, a Sydney based AIDS charity that I’ve been working for and with for decades. They also had a copy of a 2001 fundraising calendar my BFF Kath and I created for a different AIDS charity. Happy memories.

Watched some more Ted Lasso with Momo.

W T F!!?! Yaoi Kusama died today too. Heartbreak. I’ve loved her since she started doing window displays for LVMH in around 2009. It’s always exciting to find something dotty or a pumpkin on our travels.

In better news, my sugars are tracking beautifully.

Jumped in a boiling hot bubble bath of Maurer & Wirtz 4711 bubbles! Frothy and fragrant. OOOPSIE! There goes an hour, much of it underwater.

Jin came home. Very nice hello, catch up, chat. He hit the couch and the TV was his. Also he ate some stinky Korean food.

Serge Lutens Un Lys from Surrender To Chance decant

Gisella and I went to check a new Trivia venue. The room is fabulous. Very cool, older style modern. It looks like a refurbed 1920s venue that has had many owners. Still has some fairly good bones though. We had dinner (SO GOOD) a few bevies and played KENO. It was an enlightening couple of hours.

Home.

Jin was on the way to bed.

Fed and walked Momo.

Read

Penhaligon’s Solaris

Friday

Morning Routine: 10 Minutes.

Mila Mila September

Fed and walked Momo. This morning was so springlike. Heavenly.

Made up a bunch of my version of Mum’s Chicken Salad sandwich filling. Loads of veg, mayo, hummus, sour cream, shredded roast chicken and a bunch of parsley, mixed herbs, salt and pepper. Packed some plastic plates, cups, cutlery with napkins and wet wipes. Threw in a tub of Nuttelex.

Drove to the mall where I grew up, Macquarie Centre, bought some bread rolls and Sprite.

Wandered into Macquarie University to have lunch with my BFF Kath. About a 15 minute ramble to get to the Central Court, there she was. We found a dappled shade table and chairs. Sat down and made up our rolls. It was fun. Just chatting in the beautiful balmy day. After lunch we headed down to the building she works in. There are some really incredible artworks in it. Including a Georges Braque! Loads of famous Australian First Nations artists, two of which I have paintings by (yes, I’m pretty up myself about that) and an exhibition of Salvatore Zofrea’s floral-scapes done in blobby thick paint trails that look like a mess till you stand back and suddenly a field of wildflowers appears.

Kath took all these photos.

Home afterwards.

Watched some Ted Lasso and read my book.

Parfums Gres Cabaret

Jin came home and we headed up to Westfield. I had some UNIQLO to collect. Jin needed some body lotion and a gift mug with strainer for his boss.

Then we met up with Matt, Jane, Martin and Rosie for Thai food. Jin took this pic.

Home afterwards. Jin hit the back. Mom and I watched Ted Lasso till I fed and walked her.

How stunning was the full moon last night and this? It felt so close.

Blogging.

Watched some more Ted Lasso with Momo on the couch.

Fath Essentials Velours Boise.

Bed. Read.

Saturday

Morning Routine: 10 Minutes.

I have a NO SOCIAL morning. I’ve been blocking out swathes of time in my diary lately with NO SOCIAL. Yes, I’m gregarious BUT I also need reset time. To potter, loaf, catch up and chill. It’s only really effective if Jin is working.

Jean Patou Joy Forever. For the Now Smell This community challenge

The sun is shining brightly in a Magritte sky. Fed and walked in it and everyone we met along the way was chipper and chatty.

Taking advantage of the sun to do some overdue laundry.

Watching Ted Lasso

Pre-writing the Trivia runs for September. I have attempted to get this done numerous times in the last few days but it always gets eclipsed. Mostly finished today.

Jin came home. Napped on the couch.

Olfactive Studio Flash Back in New York

We had to do some shopping. Jin has some dryness on his skin that can flare into eczema if left that way. His old moisturizer smelled like a chemical plant disaster. Today we went to L’Occitane and CHANEL. He needs three bottles. One for home, one for the gym bag and one for work.

While there I took a moment to put some CHANEL Coco Mademoiselle Crush Absolu on a card. On cardboard it smells like the cherry in a tin of fruit salad tastes. It also reminds me of that very short lived aspartame and cherry flavored Estée Lauder Modern Muse Le Rouge. This is better thought out and produced , more real sugar confectionary and will probably be a huge hit. More power to those who love it.

After we met Phil and Caroline to celebrate Phil’s birthday. We had Lebanese and it was fabulous. Excellent food and good company.

Phil, Jin and I went up to Nick and Nora’s rooftop Bar afterwards and had Cocktails. The moon was utterly stiunning and looked like a searchlight on top of a building. Very bloody gorgeous.

Home and Jin was watching a Korean Soap Opera.

Fed and walked Momo in the cool night air under that phenomenal still very full moon. Yes, we made wishes on it again.

I went to bed to read but fell asleep.

Waking at 2.30am I got up and Scent Diary blogged today. Finished the Trivia Q&A I’d left nearly done.

Lorenzo Villoresi Musk

Sunday

Morning Routine: 10 Minutes.

Took Momo for a wee. Spring is definitely here. That full moon and the changeover seems to have cleared the air.

Jo Malone 154 Cologne (Stoolen from Jin’s stash)

Spent the morning making Pumpkin & Veg Soup for the second last day of Winter! Cooking is so relaxing and enjoyable for me. Obviously I only do it when the mood hits. When we had Home Stay students and I was batch cooking for the week it was less fun.

Kath came over and the soup was a big win. We fed and walked Momo. She was happy as a clam.  These bowls are so huge that a very decent serving looks like nothing. Kath took the shot.

Phil dropped in later. Cuppa on his way to the family birthday event.

BUBBLE BATH! By the time I thought to take this horrible but funny pic it was just a bath, all bubbles gone.

Sugars aren’t very bad today. YAY!

Olympic Orchids Olympic Amber

Works was busy tonight. We had a fabulous time.

Home and this is how I found Jin and Momo.

Finished off this post.

Jean Patou Joy Forever. It’s so bloody good with the remnants of Olympic Amber. SO GOOD!

Bed, read.

 

 

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