Portia

Scent Diary: 13.3 – 19.3.17

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Portia

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Hey there Fragrant Family,

This week sees more of Europe. More buddies, more scent and much more diary.

Scent Diary: 13.3 – 19.3.17

Monday 13:

OK, 5.30am wake up. NOT relaxing. We’re off to Berlin via Prague on the trains. Plenty of time to flake out. I should be reading my book but the scenery has me spellbound.

Guerlain Mitsouko EdT for the journey. It was an excellent accompaniment. Jin was bathed in L’Occitane Cedrat L’Homme yesterday and I could still smell it on his clothes in the train. So sexy and cuddly.

Dinner in Berlin and Jin got a beer nearly as big as his head.

Tuesday 14:

I bought a decant of Louis Vuitton Turbulences away with me and was totally going to wear it today but was ambushed in my choice by vintage Miss Dior parfum, which is a perfect Berlin morning fit.

Jin has booked us into the Melia Hotel on Friedrichstrasse, right next to the railway and river. We have a tiny little balcony which overlooks both, heaven. It’s a businessman’s hotel with an impressive buffet breakfast included and the room is very nice, even has a bath so I had a delicious soak before bed tonight.

Today we are doing the Hop-On Hop-Off bus. As we are only here for one full day as a Berlin taster we thought it best to get as much of the tourist stuff ticked off the list as possible. We have also been given a list of Nicolas Chabat from Le Galion and his partner Enno’s favourite spots in Berlin. Fingers crossed we get some time for a couple of them too.

We saw pieces of the Berlin Wall. A stark reminder about how destructive politics is.

Then we climbed to the walking parapet of one cathedral where I proceeded to have a vertigo meltdown. Sweats, knees buckling, delusions of the floor moving and heart thudding uncontrollably. Basically a panic attack at height. Jin kindly captured the moment.

Nivea has a dedicated shop here and I’m dying to go in but they weren’t open yet.

Gallery! We spent hours wandering the halls. Here are some of the artworks we loved.

We may have gone back at night when the Nivea shop was open and bought the Nivea EdP.

Wandered past the Brandenburg Gate

and down to the Holocaust Memorial. SO spooky at night.

Then burgers.

Now I’m going for a bath and then bed.

Wednesday 15:

Busy morning. Jin has hired a car, so we’ll go get it. O MG! Can we talk upgrade? Eurocar was supposed to give us a VW Golf but somehow we ended up with a Mercedes Sports Car with only 700kms on the clock. Jin is like a 17 year old kid, so freaking excited. We are now a driving holiday! Touring, YAY!

Wearing Yves Rocher Rose Oud again.

Then we met Ann from Perfume Posse and her partner Thomas for coffee and a sniff. We went to Parfumsalon Berlin and met proprietor Mario who is a perfumista himself. It was wonderful chatting to someone who really cared about the fragrances in his stock.

Newest Profumi del Forte called Mythical Woods. New packaging too. Very modern.

Yes, I purchased. When I first smelled Tabac Tabou I was woefully underwhelmed. The 2016 run though speaks volumes to me. Fabulous.

Added the current Sables by Annick Goutal on my arms. WOW! Jin hates it but I adore it.

Back to the hotel, pack, leave for Hamburg! Jin hit 190km/h and I am in a testosterone packed teen movie nightmare. He he he. He’s a pretty good driver, I went to sleep and let him at it.

Ahhhhh, Hamburg is bloody gorgeous. We are staying well outside the city but no problem. A group (up to 5 people) daily ticket across all public transports is under 12 euro! We caught buses, metro, trains and ferry. BEST way to feel like part of the community.

One thing we noticed about Hamburg is how much more multicultural it is than other cities visited this trip, all the skin shades represented in every block of walking. Feels like home. We are most comfortable here.

I don’t have a photo but the Hamburg Ferry 62 is a fabulous round trip at dusk, included in your public transport card.

Thursday 16:

Even the view from our outskirts hotel breakfast room is tranquil and serene. It’s the Holiday Inn, make sure you ask to be in the tower block part. We paid an extra 10 euro a day for a room twice the size and with a spectacular view. Bathroom is a bit tired but clean.

Today i wore my decant of Camelia Intrepide by Atelier Cologne. Lovely softly sweet, dry tea scent. A bit powdery and warmed through by resins. Great choice for Hamburg, pretty and discrete without being boring or plain.

Bloody Hell. Ran around the whole day.

We wanted to do a free walking tour but the guide gave us the shits so we fled. If you’re in Hamburg do the Red Umbrella Tour.

We did also go to the Hamburg Museum of Art & Design. I’m sorry I didn’t take more pictures for you, it was amazing. (Applied arts museum with ancient & modern artifacts, from Japanese pottery to Bauhaus furniture.)

We found Jin a Korean restaurant. If he goes a week without it he gets very restive. I can’t remember name or place but it’s the only one on Trip Advisor that gets a good review. we liked it also.

Friday 17:

Drove to Hanover and met my mate Celia. We spent the day laughing, eating, sightseeing and Niki de Saint Phalle-ing.

I wore Yves Rocher Rose Oud again.

Jin posing as the stocking ad woman outside the new Rathaus.

Niki de Saint Phalle donated over 400 pieces of her art to the city of Hanover. It has become a playground for fans of her art and the new modern art museum has dedicated its front room to her. Not just the colourful nanas but some much darker Big Shot pieces where she has shot paint at half formed sculptural works.

I also loved this Walls Have Ears piece.

In the parks drifts of crocus & daffodil have been planted and are all coming out in bloom. I made Celia and Jin go out there and be fools but I think it works as a bit of whimsy.

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
and twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretched in never-ending line
along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
Excerpt from “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” (also “Daffodils”) by William Wordsworth

Saturday 18:

I’m not sure why but I couldn’t sleep last night. So at 5am I got up to have a shower and got onto the computer to do some blogging. It’s good, I’ve caught up with my photos for the last couple of days and got other stuff in order. Jin is snoring rhythmically in the background. BLISS!

Spraitzed myself silly with Ambergreen by Oliver & Co this morning. Excellent freaky green choice.

Arrived in Rotterdam to see Sandra, Sean and Esperanza for lunch. Then Jin had a nap and the rest of us went walking through town, ending up back in our hotel room just chilling till dinner. We were met by Carl at Jamie Oliver’s Italian and had a wonderful night. For dinner I wore a multiple spritz of vintage Miss Dior parfum.

I’m bushed now, here are some pics.

Sunday 19:

Up early and off to Luxembourg via Brussells. We are out seeing the town.

Jin REALLY wanted Belgian waffles. Obviously he got them.

While Jin was eating his waffles I went biscuit crazy. Spent a fortune.

Honestly I was excited to be eating chips & special tasty mayonnaise. No idea why I am looking grumpy.

So we get to Luxembourg, take a bus and find Place Guillaume II. If you’re a perfume lover then you’ll get why I was so excited about that.

Now, tell me about your week please. Anything interesting or fragrant? Purchase or plan?
Portia xx

Thought For The Day from Harry Winston

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Portia

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Hi All,

Here are two looks from long ago in the 20th century. Below that you’ll see a Harry winston quote that I have unwittingly lived by most of my life.

This post is just a gratitude post for how amazing my life is and has been, and to show you what I was doing long before perfume took over my brain….

Sitting at the desk in a cloud of Guerlain Mitsouko vintage EdT. It’s so beautiful  my mind floated back to my younger years in the big shows and how fortunate I was to often be in the right place at the right time. It also inspired me to look for pictures where i’m wearing gold, doesn’t Mitsouko smell golden?

 

Thought For The Day from Harry Winston

So what fragrance takes you back in time to the glamour years of your life? Do you earn stares or shun them?

Be well and waft on,
Portia xxx

Halfeti by Christian Provenzano for Penhaligon`s 2015

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Portia

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Heya Niche Nerds,

I done’t remember this little beauty being released. Clearly I must have read about it somewhere but the name rings zero bells at all. Nick, my mate from Libertine Parfumerie sent me a sample to try and he usually knows what I’ll like so let’s give it a test run together.

Halfeti by Penhaligon`s 2015

Halfeti by Christian Provenzano

The Penhaligon’s story goes: All respectability forgotten, we have travelled far, as far as Turkey! And here in Halfeti, the red roses appear black so intense is their magic. Here, the British Levant Company traded in the opulent treasures of the Ottoman merchants to secure the pick of the crop.

Libertine gives these featured accords:
Top: Grapefruit, Bergamot, Green notes, Armoise, Cypress
Heart: Cumin, Nutmeg, Violet, Saffron, Rose, Jasmine, Muguet
Base: Leather, Oud, Amber, Resins, Tonka, Vanilla, Sandalwood

Dry leather, nutmeg, oud and some sweet resinous funk open Halfeti. I know that Val the Cookie Queen would not enjoy wearing it because the familiar oud/woods/leather trope is front and centre. Here it’s dark, sharp, smoky and animalic. A very masculine leaning woodsy concoction. So nothing incredibly groundbreaking but expansive and powerful for a Penhaligon’s scent, who are usually so quietly reticent.

Obviously I can imagine this on a man but in my head I wonder what sort of woman would wear Halfeti? She would have to be strong willed, happy to break the mold, probably unknowingly walking through life causing change and creating new roads for people to follow. Halfeti strikes me as a comfortable fit for a woman unafraid of being judged, happy in her choices and able to command. There you go, some scent inspired ramblings.

WikiCommons

Longevity is excellent and once the fireworks burn off a sweet, soft and comfortable woodsiness encapsulated within a soft focus vanilla/amber will hum above your skin for hours.

So, do I like it? Yes, I like it a lot but I have something quite similar and I can’t pinpoint what it is, or was. Don’t worry, it will come to me at 4am.

Further reading: Now Smell This and Fragrance Daily
Libertine has $329/100ml plus FREE Australian Delivery

What fragrances do you think of for people who break the traditions?
Portia xx

 

 

Scent Diary: 6.3 – 12.3.17

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Portia

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Hey Hey APJ,

It’s HOLIDAY week. I will try to get pics and stories onto this Scent Diary but when away it gets hard. Doing my best.

Scent Diary: 6.3 – 12.3.17

Monday 7:

BLOODY HELL. Today was BUSY! Finished work last night then came home to finish all the APJ posts. DONE at some ungodly hour. Spritzed some Niki de Saint Phalle and was asleep before the top notes had gone to heart.

Up early, spritzed Equistrius by Parfum d’Empire, saw Jin’s buddy Matt and then to the dentist for a check and clean. All good.

We were going to get public transport to the airport tomorrow but I rang my mate Lyndall and now we are having a Town Car collect us and drop us at the door. Pickup at 4.45am

Then it was Pedicure time. Red with white sparkles for the holiday. Tres festive. Before you say anything, YES, I know I have hairy Hobbit feet. No, I am not waxing them anymore, I like them. Don’t you think it’s more subversive to have painted nails as a hairy dude?

Home and cleaning the house. Dinner at 7pm. Jin made the makings of Vietnamese Rolls and the crew devoured them. It was a wonderful farewell dinner and we had ice creams and tea for dessert. Our friends are so wonderful and Jin made the most delicious dinner. THANK EVERYTHING for the dishwasher. Two loads and done.

Tuesday 8:

MORNING! Packed our bags, did this bit of blogging, having an Annick Goutal Encens Flamboyant bubble bath & spritzing IUNX Splash Forte and then (hopefully) getting 2 hours shut eye.

OUCH! That 4.20am wake up call was a killer. We are off.

Wednesday 9:

Flying. South Korea

Managed to gran the Guerlain Eau de Cologne Travel Set at Incheon Airport. I saw that it had come out but never in my wildest dreams expected to have it. YAY!!

Arrived in Prague!

The Front Desk women are friendly and helpful, sending us to this restaurant nearby that is so famous and full of locals that we had to go for a walk till our table was ready.

The old Town Square clock tower.

Thursday 10:

Prague.

Jin has picked us a perfect hotel, as usual. It’s an original Prague guest house, very olde worlde, 300m from the Central Rail Station and walking distance to everywhere.

 

Breakfast room in the hotel. Very glam.

Tea at the Opera House Cafe. Booked tickets for a classical mixed bag in the main hall tomorrow night.

Wandering the streets and every turn features beautiful old towers and roofings.

OK, so Jin & I thought we were wandering along the Danube but we were mistaken. Prague sits on the Vltava River. Even though we are dummies the walk was wonderful.

The Charles Bridge with its life sized christian statutory and a greyhound that people touch, so it shines golden against a drab background. People rub the loyal dog hoping to return to Prague one day.

Very interesting statue of fallen angels, screaming people and some pompous, smug, political looking guy seated at the front.

Jin loves to travel local when we are overseas. It’s only about AUD$5 a day for a metro, bus and tram ticket

Goulash for lunch with dumplings. YUM! Came with a beer each. Jin ordered cabbage salad and I grabbed some fries. All for the princely sum of AUD$20 for two.

At 3pm we though we better have a nap. I woke up at 10pm and now it’s 10.30pm. It;’s been great fun blogging but I think I’ll wake Jin and we can have a late night Prague ramble.

We just got home and Jin’s FitBit tells us we walked 19.6km today. BLOODY HELL! No wonder my feet are sore.

Friday 11:

BIGGEST DAY this holiday. Up at sparrows fart. Breakfast, wander the town, Mucha Museum, which was really good. Excellent video that taught us both so much about his life and works.

Then we bused off to Kutna Hora. First stop the creepy Bone church where some crazy bastard exhumed all the excess bones and made them into art. The story is a little more convoluted but sheesh, FREAKY!

Next it was St Barbara’s Cathedral. A very glam Gothic structure with towers and buttresses et al.

Next door is an old Jesuit college turned into a Modern Art Gallery. HIGHLIGHT!!

Jin loves Opera but there was none to be had during our stay. I bought us tickets to hear the Prague opera house String Octet play a mixed bag of classics. There were even a few that Jin knew so it was an excellent choice. Very nice evening and the opera house is lavishly decorated by Mucha. The first pic is a VERY excited Jin before we went in, how freaking cute is he?

Back home to our hotel. We really loved it and recommend it to you should you be staying in Prague. Reasonably priced, comfortable and so clean we thought the bathroom was brand new!

Saturday 12:

We were up bright and early again to get the 7.15am train but the hotel being only a 5 minute walk from the station made life easy. We bought first class tix so the first thing we got was a glass of Czech Bubbly! Posh.

Train travel is so civilised. No waiting in airports, dealing with customs, more roomy and there’s a BUFFET CAR!!

Arriving to see Jin’s brother and his wonderful family was so much fun and they had too much catching up to do. Sorry for the lack of photos but I will tell you that Jin comes alive around these guys. He’s always a great guy but here in the company of his family there is an extra light.

We had a very special dinner at the poshest hotel in town. I even bought a bottle of Moet to make it really special. Then all the adults proceeded to get smashed on wine and soju. I went to bed and they went out and got completely stonkered at the local casino.

Sunday 13:

The upshot of that big night out was this.

The sweetest looking snorchestra ever. Like a steam train running through the bedroom. This Sleeping Beauty is definitely a Beast.

Perfume? I knew you were going to ask. Bought a bottle of Yves richer Rose Oud and have worn it non-stop since. Jin is wearing to too. A really easy high pitched rose and soft focus synth oud. Like a poopy pot pouri. Sounds awful but it is terrific.

So what’s been going on for you this week? Anything fragrant or fabulous you’d like to share?
Portia xx

 

Ultramarine Blue by Dawn Spencer Hurwitz for DSH Perfumes 2015

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Portia

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Hey All,

A while ago when I got the DSH Chroma Sample Set I grabbed every dabber out and had a quick sniff. It is fun finding the instant likes, loves and loathes. I will admit that Ultramarine Blue jumped into the WTF category. It was so interesting, unusual and confronting. No, I’m not sure why because it really smells like the beachside in summer but with an undercurrent of menace. Anyway I filed it away under Must Revisit and thought you might like to come along on the ride with me today to see if it lives up to its

Ultramarine Blue by DSH Perfumes 2015

Ultramarine Blue by Dawn Spencer Hurwitz

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Chamomile, cassis, cumin, ozonic notes, musk, sea notes, orris root, petitgrain, sandalwood, violet woodsorrel

OK, so I decanted the whole vial into a spritz and did the whole 18 blasts on the back of my hand and forearm. WHOA!! No turning back now.

Salty citrus, briny seas, a herbal greenness that feels both freshly chopped and mulched. The cassis is green and biting, like pulling ivy off the wood fence and scrunching it up in the summer after swimming in the pool. There’s nothing easy about Ultramarine Blue. I find it disturbing and challenging. Imagine oversalting cucumber, add a little under the boardwalk bilge-e-ness, tear some rose leaves and dig in a super heated grass mulch pile. Then you can smell exactly what my nose is giving me from Ultramarine Blue.

PDI

Doesn’t sound appealing does it? Well, while it’s not exactly my fragrant cup of tea I do love the way it moves through the pieces of the story. Dawn has a deft way with ingredients that means even though it’s not a spritz & go frag it is compelling and keeps drawing my nose back to my hand.

After an hour or so Ultramarine Blue becomes driftwood. it’s absolutely beautiful. Calm, tranquil and an unruffled seaside escapade in the glorious sunshine.

DSH Perfumes has loads of sizes and variants of Ultramarine Blue starting at $6

Want something unusual, interesting, refreshing and ultimately peaceful? I think you might like to try Ultramarine Blue.
Is there an aquatic that you love?
Portia xx

1000 EdT vintage by Jean Kerleo for Jean Patou 1972

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Portia

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Hey Hey Vintage Fragheads,

1000 was a fragrance I had basically ignored. Joy was my Patou fragrance and at some point I had a Sira des Indes too but though it was lovely it didn’t float my boat at the time and I sold it on. Back in 2014 my mate Michael & I went for a 2 hour private class at the Osmotheque in Versailles, Paris (the suburb, not the palace, walking distance though) and when we got there out tutor was none other than Jean Kerleo himself. It was the most fabulously surreal afternoon and I will never forget it. The photo below is taken when Patricia de Nicolai came in to thank us and very kindly tell us it was time to leave. We’d still be there had she not.

1000 EdT vintage by Jean Patou 1972

1000 EdT vintage by Jean Kerleo

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Osmanthus, violet, apricot
Heart: Jasmine, lily-of-the-valley, rose, geranium
Base: Sandalwood, patchouli, oakmoss

A floral chypre! Yep. My knowledge of chypre (sketchy at best even though I love them) is that they have no flowers because Cyprus (or Chypre as it’s also known) is all about citrus, foliage, conifers and herbs. Anyway, so many of my chypre loves have flowers who am I to bitch?

This bottle was a recent eBay purchase and I already have some pristine vintage parfum so I have a pretty good base line to mark it from.

The osmanthus, violet and apricot in the opening are there if I look for them, particularly the violet and I would have picked fruit but not that it was apricot and would add there also seems to be a low-key slug of citrus. Aldehydes too, giving a softly oily radiance to everything.

Wikipedia

The hearts bouquet is basically overrun by the base with only a passing reference to roses that I can pick and without notes I probably would have missed them too. Not incredibly creamy sandalwood and furry oakmoss seem the stars of the show for me and I am 100% OK with that. After reading NST review I realised that there are also animalics that I was totally nose deaf to, having smelled Jean Kerleo’s remaining musk tincture the memory jumped out at me again. Heavenly.

1000 is dressed up and ready to rumble, what I really want to do is triple spritz my chest and go grocery shopping or clean the car. The sheer weight of its glamour would be excellent as a backdrop to the turbines of tedium.

PDI

Further reading: Now Smell This and Non Blonde
The current 1000 is available in department stores and on the discount sites.
Surrender To Chance has EdP & Parfum samples starting at $6/ml

How about you? Ever wear the really flashy good frags to light up the everyday?
Portia xx

Europe 2017: Jin & Portia’s Big Adventure

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Portia

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Hey there APJ,

Jin and I leave for our holidays on Tuesday, yes tomorrow. Bags are packed. Friends over for dinner tonight and Jin has done a huge plate of meat & veg that we all make our own Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls from. He is an artist at it and it’s one of my favourite things he does. So fresh, healthy and delicious.

europe_topography_map_en Europe 2017

Europe 2017: Jin & Portia’s Big Adventure

So where are we off to? Here’s a run down of our dates & cities. It’s mainly a driving holiday with a couple of short flights added in for ease and comfort. So the dates are the nights we spend in each city. All dates are in March. Everything in bold is a city we have never been to before, exciting.

8/9/10: Prague, Czech

11/12: Zilina, Slovakia

13/14: Berlin, Germany

15/16: Hamburg, Germany

17: Hanover, Germany

18: Rotterdam, Netherlands

19/20: Luxembourg

21/22/23: Paris

24/25/26: Milan, Italy

27/28/29: London, UK

So that’s where we’ll be. Should you be in any of this cities or nearby and like a catch up, food, sight seeing or a sniff then please tell us where you are in the comments below and we’ll try and organise something.

What frags am I taking? I’m not sure but I’m very tempted to take only Parfum d’Empire Equistrius and Patou 1000.

Here we come Europe, can’t wait to see you.
Portia xxx

Scent Diary: 27.2 – 5.3.17

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Portia

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Hiya Scenters,

This week on Aussie Fragrance Network we are having a Use Your Samples & Decants week so hopefully I’ll be spritzing a bunch of them empty. It has become quite ridiculous around here.

Scent Diary: 27.2 – 5.3.17

Monday 27:

Jin’s buddy Yu Gil arrived from South Korea at sparrows fart this morning. We collected him from the airport and took him across the Sydney Harbour Bridge to Parramatta Lake Cafe for breakfast. I needed something to give me attitude and focus my brain so Rose Anonym by Atelier Cologne. It’s bold, brassy rose seems drizzled in oudh and honey. Great for a cool Sydney summer morning.

While the boys have gone out to see Parramatta I’m home writing blog articles. I love this house when it’s just me & the dogs hanging out. Currently in a cloud of vintage 1000 EdT by Jean Patou. THIS is the good stuff.

We had a streak at the pub and now I’m home to write trivia Q&A. My 10ml IUNX Eau Argentina will be my Q&A frag. Cool, smoky incense & stuff. After dinner I did some Q&A writing but my head wasn’t in it so I thought I’d lie down for half an hour then get up and finish.

Tuesday 28:

Well, that didn’t work out. Woke up this morning at 7am. AAAARRGGHH! Wrote the rest of this weeks trivia and some of next. It is coming together but slower this time. Dunno why.

Jin and Yu Gil ran around Sydney in the grey drizzle and had a ball.

After the bath today I was looking through my boxes of stuff and found about 4ml of a 10ml decant of Mona di Orio Oud, now known as Oud Osmanthus. This is one of Jin’s bottles and he wears it beautifully but before it was his I used about 6ml of the decant and freaking loved it. It wears creamier and prettier on my skin, much more barnyard and medicinal on him. So good I wore it to work too.

SOTB was vintage Miss Dior EdT & parfum. It raining in Parramatta, alternating drizzle and drenching, and still a little bit warm. I really like this weather. It’s fun being caught outside with the dogs when it decides to really let loose, we run home together with me laughing and them excited to run.

Wednesday 1:

Today was set aside for the three of us, Yu Gil, Jin & I, to go on a bus tour to Port Stephens. I woke up this morning and was like, nope. Poor Jin, he was most upset. So they went on the tour and I went back to bed. Feeling guilty but rested.

Post man came this morning. Suddenly I feel that I need all the Opus series, couldn’t I have fallen in love with them as they were released? Don’t know why it’s taken me so long. So Amouage Opus I is now in my collection, joining III, VIII, IX & X. After wearing my Burberry Brit woman parfum recently and noticing that they have changed the bottle for the EdT & EdP I panicked and grabbed a Burberry Brit woman EdP. Serge Lutens Bas de Soie has been on my list for a while and I suddenly felt the need to own a bottle, gone through almost my whole 5ml decant. It has been a slow but stately fall in love with Bas de Soie, or Silk stockings in English.

While writing Trivia Q&A I wore Mademoiselle Guerlain. It’s a pretty confection of a thing, no eye rolling fabulousness but very nice. All sugared marshmallow and sparkly citrus but underneath I swear there is a fishy vibe. Seriously, I would have bet money on ambergris. Not in the notes though.

Bloody hell. I’m going for a bath. Trivia Q&A has me cross eyed.

Today we celebrate 5 years of APJ. That’s a lot of blogging 2,498 posts. Thanks for being part of the magic.

Thursday 2:

TRIVIA It’s driving me bat shit crazy. Nearly there.

Still haven’t started putting APJ posts together. Leave Tuesday. FREAKING OUT! But not really. just feeling a bit overwhelmed.

Fragrantica

Wearing Tabac Rouge by Phaedon from a 10ml decant I bought when it came out. Why is there so much left? It’s bloody good, so sweet and honeyed, syrupy, berry juicy and animalic. TBH it could very easily sit in the Serge Lutens phalanx of frags. What a lovely fragrance, Pierre Guillaume is an excellent perfumer.

We are eating the fridge down because of the holiday so I had a childhood favourite meal. Vita Weets with butter, cheese slices and Vegemite. Bloody yummy! Ate it while thinking about my beautiful Mum, she was a good one.

Tonight for work I grabbed a big decant of Fig by Marc Jacobs. I think it’s an EdC so I spritzed about 20 times and it smelled fabulous for about 2 hours, then I lost it. TBH I think it softened off to a soft skin scent that is still smellable to others but not me. Very nice, pulp & milky fig.

The bloody microphone didn’t work tonight so I had to yell over 60+ people. My voice is now ratshit and I’m grumpy.

SOTBed: Mon Precioux Nectar Parfum by Guerlain. I have a 10ml sample of the parfum but my bottle’s EdP

Friday 3:

OK so today was all about getting stuff organised. There are only 80 more Q&A to write and only 5 more APJ posts to organise of my own plus a couple for others.

Jin & I took a moment from our day to go get our hair cuts and visit my BFFs Mum who was rushed to hospital yesterday with blood clots in her legs. She is up in a hospital that I spent some time in as a kid for all the ridiculous scrapes we used to get into. It was nice to walk around it as an adult and see that though it’s grown the old sandstone structures are still there.

Jin also surprised me with a new pair of pixelated glasses. So silly but totally fabulous.

Writing posts so drenched in a bunch of things Ultramarine Blue by DSH Perfumes, Halfati by Penhaligon’s and a sample grabbed from the box and didn’t read the label, threw it back in and now its LOST. GRRR! It’s fricken gorgeous.

Saturday 4:

Jin took his mate to Sydney City. There they went to St Mary’s cathedral, lit some candles and prayed for the continued improved health of BFFs Mum Marie. He’s a good egg.

Spent the day writing and editing APJ blog posts. Starting to really freak out because it’s Saturday now, Sydney LGBTQI Mardi Gras tonight, working tomorrow, cleaning, packing and farewell dinner on Monday. SHIT! Still a few Q&A left to do for Trivia too. It will happen, I’m good in a sink or swim situation. Coming to tell you about it has cleared my head. Ready for action. By the time I’m done 208 Q&A and 24 games.

In the bath today I used Olympic Orchids Amber Labdanum Bath Oil, my skin feels soft and has a lovely scent. Thinking Fancy nights by Jessica simpson for tonight but also wondering if L’Occitane Fabulous Shea Oil in the most outrageous BWF would be more appropriate? So excited! MARDI GRAS tonight. This is an old pic and the level has dropped in the bottle considerable since then.

Wore the L’Occitane Fabulous Shea Oil and vintage Miss Dior EdT spritzed liberally over all. It was so beautiful.

Sunday 5:

My head is still spinning. Writing APJ blog posts. FINALLY got all the Trivia Q&A sent out.

Fragile EdT by Jean Paul Gaultier when I woke up, because that’s exactly how I felt. How did I ever become such a lightweight party person? Metal by Paco Rabanne through lunch and for work Un Jour d’Ete by Keiko Mecheri, which I bloody love.

How about your week? Anything interesting or fragrant happen?
Portia xx

HAPPY MARDI GRAS 2017

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 13 Comments

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Portia

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Hiya APJ,

Tonight is Sydney’s Mardi Gras. I’ll be hosting the Sideshow Glam Stands again with my mate Andrew Mercado. We basically do a running commentary for the event to about 2000 people who have bought seats in grandstands lining the route. they get food, toilets and commentators and all the money goes towards producing Mardi Gras. Most people know the parade but Sydney has a 2 week LGBTQI festival that includes theatre, events, art, picnics, tourist welcome parties, a parade and a parade after party. It is wonderful and I extend the welcome to you all next year for the 2018 40th Anniversary. It is going to be the biggest, brightest and best yet.

HAPPY MARDI GRAS 2017

Here I am arriving last year on the back of a Dyke’s On Bikes motor bike. One of my life highlights.

I know, you only care what fragrance I’ll be wearing tonight. I need it to last 10+ hours, smell great from beginning to end and be a comfortable ride. Though I may change my mind I’m thinking a bit fat overspritz of Jessica Simpson’s Fancy Nights.

So wherever you are, whatever sex you feel happiest with or being I want to wish you all a Happy Mardi Gras 2017.
Portia

Metal by Robert Gonnon for Paco Rabanne 1979

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 12 Comments

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Portia

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Hello vintage lovers,

Arriving in the post yesterday from eBay and on my skin ever since is a 30ml old, old bottle of Metal. As I opened it I thought I’d give myself a spritz and sadly the sprayer sends most of the juice down the bottle and what little comes out smells broken and nasty aldehyde turn, GRRRR. I’m going to give it a soak in white vinegar & disinfectant.

Metal by Paco Rabanne 1979

Metal by Robert Gonnon

Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Aldehydes, Basil, Green notes, Hyacinth, Lemon
Heart: Cyclamen, Iris, Jasmine, Lily-of-the-valley, Rose, Tuberose, Ylang-ylang
Base: Ambergris, Oakmoss, Musk, Sandalwood, Vetiver

Chypre! Metal is a chypre. The opening is all about galbanum and some citrus fizzed up by aldehydes. I thought my bottle had turned but a few spritzes without the dodgy atomiser and the scent smells pure, clean and fresh, while also not smelling of any of that because chypre. I am thoroughly surprised at how gorgeously it’s kept.

After only a few moments I can already smell the oakmoss furriness that chypres give me. It’s a cool comfort and it makes me feel safe and invincible. If CHANEL No 19 gives you backbone then Metal will give you armour and weaponry.

Wikipedia

Funnily I don’t really smell metal, no, that’s not exactly true….. maybe the smell of sharpening a Wiltshire knife in it’s plastic casing. The floral bouquet is a beautiful whole and I can’t pick any of the notes because underpinning the heart is this luscious oakmoss with hints of oily vetiver and a touch of salty brine that I’m attributing to the ambergris and vetiver.

Longevity is good and the baseline lasts hours. It hums away quietly in the background but if I change rooms suddenly I can smell it all over again. Fabulous.

Further reading: I Smell Therefore I Am and Black Narcissus

Do you love the chypre genre?
Portia xx