Scent Diary 8.5 – 14.5.2017

May 14, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 29 Comments

Portia

Hello Frag family,

This week has been blissfully uneventful. I love the quiet, fragrant, hum drum of living.

Scent Diary 8.5 – 14.5.2017

Monday 8:

Whirlwind morning. Dogs to vet. Vet looked over them for annual check up. Nails clipped, injections done, teeth checked, heart, condition etc. We took in stool samples to be checked and had to give some Paris wee. Sounds awful but actually having all the checks done is kind of cathartic, relinquishing control to someone who knows.

Update on Finbar the Australian Noisy Minah: We took him to the vet and they said our best course of action was to leave him with them and they’d hand him over to WIRES who would finish his raising and facilitate his release back into the street he was found on. Jin was really upset that I let them take him but the fact is they are trained to do this. We were doing our best but basically flying blind. This was 100% the best possible outcome.

Jin then had to collect his brand new, 8kms on the clock, Harley-Davidson. There was so much rigmarole that I thought was already done and health with. Also, a Harley doesn’t run the same as the Ninja, it’s all automated, keyless, electrically powered. The honour and reverence the man showing Jin how to deal with it all was as impressive as the machine itself. Then I followed jin on his new bike to our lunch date. He was so nervous and excited it was heaven. My boyfriend the middle aged bad ass.

Safely at lunch with one of my besties Phil we laughed and chattered an hour away. Food Court at Rhodes. Everyone got what they wanted and we all came back together to eat. Phil got Japanese soup, Jin got Chinese soup and dumplings and I had a Turkish open kebab. Sorry I didn’t get a pic we were chatting too much.

My choice of fragrance for the day was Michael Bublé By Invitation, I really go crazy with the spritzing for this baby. The zingy fruity opening which is slightly red pepper to me too goes almost directly to the nutty praline base and stays there for hours. It’s probably terrible and full of cheap ingredients but it smells good to me and people around me like it enough to comment favourably. As you can see I’m nearly a third of the way through my bottle.

The new season of Sense8 is on and we have watched the first three episodes. Bloody hell! It is fast moving, faster than the last season. Blink and you miss key plotlines. It is stunningly visual and so intricately thought out. More than oce Jin & I have been sitting watching it, clutching our pillows or blankets and swearing like sailors. It’s so engrossing, we feel like we are part of the action, like we are the ninth joined person.

Tonight I’m wearing the very last of my sample of M Micallef Marine Vanille. At LuckyScent they are having a sale and with the discount I could not put off my purchase a second longer. It is winging its way to me as we speak. YAY!! Apologies, I think I bought the last one because now it’s Sold Out.

LuckyScent

So now it’s Q&A for me till some ungodly hour. See you tomorrow.

Tuesday 9:

Again, slept just before the Q&A finish line. Up at 8am to get them finished and out to the crew. Really am going to have to start putting my foot down and spend a couple of hours Monday day setting my weeks Trivia up so all I have to do in the night is write the Q&A. To get me through I have 7 spritzes of Clinique Aromatics Elixir on. I am a fragrant chypre cloud, and loving it.

Scott came over today. We opened ALL the mail, Paid ALL the bills. My desk and Inbox are clear of bills. Having also spent a bit on fragrance this week I will need to work a few weeks to pay my cards back down but it is a nice feeling to have the outstanding all in one place.

We met up with Millenia to give her all the Bingle Balls stuff and we had Sushi Train for lunch. I love catching up with him.

Hit the Post Office, the Stationary Supply place (OfficeWorks) to buy ink and the bank to yell at them AGAIN (it’s habitual, the cringe when I walk in the doors)

Dyed my beard, bathed and fragranced myself with Perfumerie Generale 25 Indochine. Sweet peppery amber that gets woodsier as it dries down. I find the honey clean and sweet with only the softest hint of animals. Pretty and comfortable for our cooling temps. WOW! I had a few compliments on this tonight. One of the club workers kept coming over to smell me and tell me all the things it made her think of, plus a couple of other random compliments. A clear winner.

Wednesday 10:

Woke up early, turned the alarm off and then sleep till 10am. HEAVEN.

The sun was shining so I popped on a singlet and walked thew dogs, catching some much needed Vitamin D so my body can function properly. Somehow it never seems to run as efficiently if I don’t get a jolt of sunshine every week.

Today I’m wearing some vintage Guerlain Samsara extrait. The memories this mad, beautiful, completely over the top fragrance brings me of my Mum are so strong today they’re palpable. I’m not sure if it was 1989 or 1990 that Australia got Samsara but the year it was released I was working as a holiday squirt bitch for one of our local department stores. My counter was Guerlain, Oscar de la Renta, Worth and Nina Ricci. Knowing my Mum loved Shalimar I thought Samsara the obvious next step because it was brand new and outrageous. I bought her the gift set for Christmas and she was thrilled, the house and her car smelled of Samsara for months. Happy, happy memories.

Not very long ago I found this almost full original extrait on eBay. I paid WAY too much for it but it is perfect, absolutely and utterly pristine. What price joy and nostalgic reminiscence?

Not sure if you know this but I LOVE to cook soup. It’s easy, healthy and delicious. Also, when I make a big vat of it there’s enough to share with friends, that also makes sure that some people get extra veg in their lives. This week I cooked Pumpkin, Potato and Capsicum Soup. The only other things in there are Onions, Garlic, Wostershire Sauce, Pepper, Pure Cream and about 300g of Podravka Hot Vegetable Relish for kick. I cook it, blend it and leave it overnight in the fridge then reheat on the stovetop and serve with buttered wholemeal toast. YUMMY!

For work this evening I wanted something really grand and beautiful. What else but Neela Vermeire Mohur EdP? There is a regal elegance to Mohur that always makes me feel like I’m floating far above the rat race. Roses, spice, incense and a soft background hum of oudh. You can see I’m on my last of the original bottles, I reckon there’s already 6 or 7ml gone. Don’t worry, I have a backup bottle in the new design.

Tonight for bed I have multi spritzed Le Galion Cologne Nocturne. One of the best lavender based colognes I have ever smelled with longevity like an EdP. Such a great house that rarely gets a mention. I wish everyone would try their beautifully crafted fragrances, not groundbreaking but perfectly produced with quality ingredients. I’m ready to grab some ZZZZZs. Nighty night.

Thursday 11:

Morning. Weather is unseasonably warm today. Wearing Olympic Orchids A Midsummer Nights Dream today. I think the names has changed but this old 2ml spray still smells unbelievably gorgeous.So much depth with sparkles of light and glimmers of radiance. The darkness warms through in the heart and suddenly it’s a burnished amber.

Visited Mum Waples in rehab today. She seemed really chipper and walked to the dining room by herself without stops for breathers. It’s a small but significant win. They have her doing exercises too which is making her more confident on her feet.

LUSH Rose Jam bubble bath today. How can something so cheap be so bloody wonderful? Stepping into the bath makes me smile like a fool and sitting in there surrounded by rose scented bubbles is absolutely the most relaxing and posh experience. Can’t tell you enough how happy it makes me.

Vintage Madame Rochas EdC is my evenings fragrance. An aldehydic floral by Guy Robert that I find a perfect feminine adventure with very modern masculine dry down. It’s quite the contradiction. Lasts forever, like a modern heavy hitting EdP.

NEW Carpet in the Kings Park Tavern tonight. They are making so many positive changes. The food has gone up 10 notches, the rooms upstairs are being renovated, the staff seem happier and more ready to please. I’m hoping for another 15 magical years there. Fingers crossed.

For bedtime tonight I’m wearing Oliver & Co Vaninger. As you can see it’s pretty popular around here. MMMMMMM The zingiest ginger cut through with the depth and sweetness of vanilla. There’s other stuff floating around too. Weird but wearable beauty.

Friday 12:

Jinx (Jin’s dog) has been favouring one of his front feet. Yesterday he wouldn’t even put pressure on it and I was worried. Today he’s at the vet having X-Rays so we can dismiss any concerns. Greyhounds are funny dogs. When they are racing dogs the only affection they get is from the vets, so in later life they always look on a vet visit as a happy occasion. They basically run up the stairs to the surgery and once inside they are so calm and placid.

Afterwards walking home I looked up and saw this unbelievably red Liquidambar. Autumn is here in Parramatta in full throttle. Love how fiery this particular tree looks.

I wanted something warm and pretty to match my Autumn mood so went for Andy Tauer Eau d’Epices. It’s a perfect match. All that spice ready to sizzle in the pan, oranges and amber.

Went and saw Kath’s Mum for lunch. Just as I came in she was leaving a home safely lecture at the Rehab clinic, then they staff pounced on her and did the blood, drugs and heart check. It was over in a minute.

Paris spent the whole day missing his friend Jinx.

Tonight Jin and I had enormous amounts of KFC. It was freaking delicious. Hanging out with him is easy and cool fun, we watched a few episodes of the new season of SENSE8. OMG! Seriously compulsive viewing. On the edge of the couch, grabbing our cushions and screaming at the TV. Super fun really. Wish you all could have been here with us, perfect night.

After all that I rang Arielle Shoshana to enquire about getting one of her bottles of fragrance sent to Australia. I figure if Arielle is doing it then the juice will be freaking amazing. I think we have a plan.

For bedtime I decided I needed some vintage so Miss Dior EdT. MMMMMM Night Night. X

Saturday 13:

This morning dawned cool and slightly foggy. I felt like some watery roses and then added to myself that powdery roses would be just the thing. Perfume DelRae Coup de Foudre hits all three spots and it was eerily quiet on the Parramatta streets at 8am on a frosty Saturday morning. Though I was dog walking I was hardly even present, what took almost my whole attention was the sheer perfection of Coup de Foudre and how magical it made the morning smell and thus feel.

When we got home Jin was stirring a little so, being Saturday and knowing that if he has the dogs with him he’ll get another 2-3 hours of sleep, I allowed them up with him on the bed. Jin’s working a few night shifts now so after today I’m the only one sleeping in the bed before it gets changed tomorrow. One sneaky morning, and look how happy they all are.

Jin got up around 11am and we went out for burgers. I’ve been craving Grill’d Burgers all week, and their chips share plate with Potato, Sweet Potato and Zucchini chips with three yummy sauces, Sweet Chilli Mayo, Herbed Mayo & Chipotle Mayo.

I hope you’ll excuse me today. I’m going to sloth around the house and get some Trivia Q&A started for the week.

Wearing multiple spritzes of the original Carolina Herrera EdT from the 1980s. Mine is somewhere from there till the box changed in the early 2000s, but it is a beat up old tester with the gold shoulders. She is ferocious! I love it.

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Amber, Apricot, Bergamot, Jasmine, Lily-of-the-valley, Moss, Musk, Orange blossom, Sandalwood, Tuberose, Ylang-ylang, Civet

So I started watching Netflix new Archie comic in life, Riverdale, and it’s so good that I find myself up at 2am watching and have come in here to break the trance so I can clean my teeth and go to bed.

Sunday 14:

Wishing all the Mums out there in APJ land a great big THANK YOU. We do know how much work goes into being a Mum, even though we are usually ungrateful shits who only care about ourselves. Sorry for all the pain and drama, worry and angry we’ve caused you all. Without you we’d be nothing.

This family, this Mum, the mum of my best friend who took me in for all important occasions when my Mum died. Like every family they have ups & downs, sometimes even sideways. Without their steadying influence, love, care and the ultimate gift of their time I would definitely not be here to tell my tales today. The family spoiled her rotten and she deserved it. EVERYONE came, including Jin who had to dash off to sleep before the photo. This photo is what love and gratitude looks and feels like, to me.

I’ll be wearing Guerlain Shalimar, vintage extrait and modern EdP, to remember my Mum today. I miss her every day.

So, tell me about your week. Do anything fun or fragrant? Share it with us below in the comments.
I love to read your stories too.
Portia xxx

Scent Diary 1.5 – 7.5.2017

May 7, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 24 Comments

Portia

Hi there fellow fumies,

I’ve learned a new put down. Don’t Get Thin Lipped With Me You Scrofulous Harpy. HA HA HA HA! Isn’t it heavenly, so deliciously awful and will have your opponent diving for their dictionary. Just so you know, Scrofulous is in reference to the tuberculosis illness and general degeneration, Harpies were mythical beasts with womens bodies & heads, birds wings & claws. I know, fabulous isn’t it.

Scent Diary 1.5 – 7.5.2017

Monday 1:

Not exactly sure what’s wrong with my baby Paris but he did another wee, this time in the house. Jin is off later in the week and we are going to take both dogs to the vets to get them checked out.

We caught the train to town. Jin wore Neela Vermeire Bombay Bling and I slathered myself in Mona di Orio Eau Absolue. We smelled wickedly good.

Our beautiful girlfriend Alice is going home to the UK for a month. Jin & I were able to catch up with her in town today for lunch. We went to one of my all time favourite venues the David Jones Food Hall in Sydney city. It’s a really wonderful lunch venue with loads of choice. I grabbed us an antipasto plate for entree and then we all had steak at The Grill. It was a totally fun way to farewell our mate and not very expensive either. The butcher has some of the best meat ever and they will soon be doing home delivery.

After much we went for a bit of a sniff through the city shops. I added Amouage Bracken Woman on my left arm and Estee Lauder Modern Muse on my right. So I was completely fragrant for the ride home too. We felt the need to take a SMELFIE.

OK, so I’ve become obsessed with the Gilmore Girls. Can’t seem to prise myself away from them. Tonight I kept watching one more episode until VERY late and then fell asleep without finishing my Trivia Q&A. OMG! So naughty of me. It won’t be long now because I’m already in season 6.

Tuesday 2:

Had to get up and finish the Trivia Q&A which took till noon. I am a wretched boss feeling very guilty.

I gave myself another healthy spritz of Mona di Orio Eau Absolue to write my questions. I have been trying to finish a 15ml decant for ages and now that its gone I am finally using my bottle. I find it balmy and smooth, TBH I thought it had lashings of lavender in it but it seems to have zero.

Tuesday is beard dying day. The white beard looks very lame with drag so I have to keep it dark and lustrous. I do admit though that I also like it dark as a bloke. It’s youthful, though I am not. I did get excited about my bubble bath today though because I used the last of my gorgeous gift from Jocelyn Fullerton of Cult of Scent. Golden Dreams is TO DIE FOR! Sadly it’s not regular range, special for me. You can get her fragrances and candles from the Cult of Scent site though.

Over my bubble bath scent I spritzed liberally with Guerlain L’Heure Bleue EdP, I think it’s this century. Very nice, perfect for how I’m feeling tonight.

Home now, walked & fed the dogs and back to the Gilmore Girls. Chat tomorrow.

Wednesday 3:

It’s Wednesday late morning. Dogs are fed & walked. I took them by my favourite local coffee joint and grabbed one to go as we wandered the streets. It’s cool and there are some clouds flitting by. Though the dogs are excited to be out and wandering I find it peaceful to wander aimlessly, chat to locals, see the seasons changing. EVERYONE that loves dogs wants to pat the boys so we get quite a bit of chat time, I like it a lot.

Wearing Sonoma Scent Studio Rose Musc. It’s very pretty, red roses and leaves in a bottle. It was a perfect wandering companion. Later, through it’s life a fabulously animal musk came through, not dirty or loud but a friendly musk that wears subtly underneath red roses that last for hours & hours.

Tonight for work I’m wearing 5 big spritzes of modern Guerlain Shalimar EdP and 2 of vintage parfum, this scent is my happy place.

Thursday 4:

Woke up with a jolt, wide awake and jumped out of bed. Fed and walked the dogs on a beautiful autumn morning.

Then I got caught up on a small slice of the Office Work that I’ve neglected. Hopefully Tuesday next week will get it cleared. I love having an empty inbox and all the bills paid and taken care of. There’s some mail still going to the house I sold over 2 years ago. I thought we had redirected EVERYTHING but clearly some stuff slipped between the cracks because the couple that bought it called and left out a BIG bag of it. I just collected it last week and I’m feeling overwhelmed.

BFF Kath’s Mum has been moved to rehab after a nasty tumble, breaking 3 ribs and fracturing her arm. Grabbed Kath and we went up to see her today. Yesterday was her birthday and it was a sad & sorry one for the poor girl. I think we brightened up her day just a smidge.

It’s cooler today so I wore a few spritzes of Serge Lutens Fille en Aiguilles. Sweet, spicy chutney & herbal woods. Excellent choice.

Tonight at Turbo Trivia we had a completely full house. It was an excellent night and so many of my favourite teams were in the house. It was loud and people were having fun.

I wore original Trussardi Donna, every time I wear it I love the light leather of this fragrance.

Spent an hour or so chatting to Neela Vermeire tonight. She is so funny, we laughed and nattered and fixed all the problems of the world.

Friday 5:

Friday dawned bright, crystal clear and sunny, not too warm and definitely hoodie over T-Shirt weather.

I had a fullish morning planned. The door guy had to come back and add a door closer to our screen door but he didn’t give me a time, hoping to be here by 2pm. When he did arrive the job took less that 20 minutes and he is a sweet man so it was nice to have him come back and fix the lack. Now we have a Self Closing Screen Door, which is what we paid for. YIPPEE!

If the door guy had come early I wanted to go see Kath’s Mum with her over lunch but things didn’t work out so when Jin gets home we can go visit.

Around midday I realised I was hungry so I made myself a little late morning tea. MMMMMMM Toast with Peanut Butter and Vegemite and a cuppa. I sat out on the balcony with the dogs and they were very well behaved. After the initial excitement that it might be for them they skedaddled right back to their beds and watched me eat with hungry, loving eyes.

In my free time I’ve been blogging. YAY! Yes, getting stuff done for next week and organising the Perfume Posse pieces for May. It’s a really relaxing when I put my mind to getting something done and then let my creative juices flow. Industrious, cleansing and cathartic all at once. It also has the added benefit of getting stuff done so I’m not worried about it. WINNING! Currently I smell like MFK Baccarat Rouge 540, Rochas Byzance and Aether Citrus Ester. There is a note in the Baccarat Rouge 540 that reminds me of Aether Methaldone.

Jin arrived home, we went and saw Kath’s Mum in hospital. On the way home we grabbed LOADS of Chinese food, watched the 2017 Winter episode of the Gilmore Girls. It was weird seeing them after 10 years but the good news is Logan Huntzburger, played by Matt Czuchry, my favourite character looks better than ever and they even have a storyline between Rory & him that feels super 21st century.

Fed & walked the dogs. Now Jin has gone to bed and I’m tap-tap-tapping away at the computer keys. Bliss.

I wanted to buy some Grand Soir and Baccarat Rouge 540 from MFK tonight but my mind was on other things and I bloody forgot to get the grand Soir. I’m a bloody idiot.

For bed I wanted something vanilla floral sweet but not too heavy so I went with Guerlain’s Aqua Allegoria Lys Soleia. Perfect.

Saturday 6:

Saturday and Jin went off to work around 4am. Usually I sleep right through but today I woke up. Wide awake. He usually trots the dogs quickly downstairs for a wee when he wakes. He noticed I was awake and brought the dogs in to cuddle with me. It was so lovely. I had to change the bedsheets anyway so no harm and the dogs & I lay around in bed till 9am feeding and walking. CHANEL Boy was my morning accompaniment, lovely soft balmy lavender for an autumnal wander. There’s even more air in the bottle since this show was taken.

When Jin got home this evening it was Chinese reheats (MY FAVOURITE) and the 2017 Gilmore Girls final three episodes. So good. we laughed, we cried. Matt Czuchry is even more enthralling, I melted every moment he was on screen. PLEASE let them do a new series…….

In honour of the Favourite Vintage Scent Question I wore vintage Miss Dior extrait around the house tonight. It was cozy and perfect.

Sunday 7:

While walking the dogs they became very excited and it turned out to be a little Australian Noisy Minah that had wandered from its family, fallen from its nest or something. He would definitely have become cat food during the night so we brought him home and are feeding him a mixture of minced beef, egg, egg shell grounds and lorikeet dry food. He’s so bloody cute we called him Finbar and he’s nearly ready to fly free. We’ll take him to the vet tomorrow and see what they say.

First thing this morning we went to the Sydney Harley-Davidson centre in Strathfield. Jin needed to do some paperwork, buy a new helmet and jacket and show me his Mid-Life Crisis Impulse Buy. While I’m shaking my head at his ridiculousness it’s not so bad. So far he has pierced his nipples and bought a Harley. Any day I’m expecting him to start at the gym and bring home a Toy-Boy. One thing I am proud of him for though is that he is living his life as he chooses, has a solid debt reduction plan to lower the mortgage and pay off the bike and has not overcommitted himself. He even has Life Insurance just in case and is almost the highest level of Health Cover. That’s all pretty good for a man not quite 40 who came to Australia with a suitcase and almost no money in 2006.

I finished off this lovely Angel style bubble bath today. It’s a cheapy from Bath & Body Works that smells great and bubbles like crazy. Mountains of them. YUM! Because my base is so obviously sweet I have overlaid Michael Bublé By Invitation. You have no idea how good I smell. SWEEEEET

So, what’s been going on in your world?
Have you seen, done or smelled anything interesting?
Please share your life in the comments below. I love to read about your weeks too.
Portia xxx

Scent Diary 24.4 – 30.4.17

April 30, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 23 Comments

Portia

Hey Hey Frag Family,

This week has been a watercolour about getting life back to normal. We are both back working, looking after the dogs, trying to scrape together time and see our friends. There have been a few losing control moments, where everything has seemed to spiral and grow overwhelming, skating the edges of darkness. Jin still seems to be existing in the fog lands of grief but we will come out OK.

Scent Diary 24.4 – 30.4.17

Monday 24:

Jin and I both had the day off today so we decided to go into Parramatta and get my hair cut and his sexual health tests done.

From there we trained into town to organise our trains across Australia trip later in the year. We are hoping to do the Indian Pacific from Sydney to Adelaide, then the Ghan from Adelaide to Darwin. It’s already heavily booked so Jin has to get his motor running to make it happen in 2017.

Todays fragrance was brought to you by IUNX Splash Forte. I’m nearly out.

After that we wandered around Broadway & Chippendale seeing the new areas opened up as public green spaces, foodie areas, shopping and how much the UTS university has spread. It’s the most modern and happening part of Sydney right now and reminded us of Asia with its high rise apartments and shared green (faux grass) living areas. High density living which still manages to feel spacious.

We caught the train in and back and felt pretty good about using that much less petrol and not clogging up the roadways.

I wore Parfum d’Empire Equistrius tonight. LOVE it. One of the best iris + scents I know.

Tuesday 25:

Woke up, walked dogs, cleaned house. THEN I spritzed a bit of Daniel Barros Cuir Mojito. Freakiest damn shit I ever smelled. LOVE IT! Perfectly named, smells like drinking booze in a horsetack shop. Bit rangier than an Hermès event.

Jin and I had our mate TinaG over for lunch, it was a fun catch-up after her USA holiday. I forgot everything closed on ANZAC Day here so I grabbed a loaf of bread from the local Convenience Store and we had ham, cheese, tomato waffle sandwiches and loads of tea. TinaG had bought us some souvenir USA chocolate and we made that our dessert. We were having so much fun I forgot to take photos so I text and asked them for a car shot, this is what they sent……

The only thing new-to-me that TinaG wanted was Ulrich Lang Lightscape so I thought she better have 5ml. VERY happy girl.

For work I heavily spritzed my Lolita Lempicka Au Masculin. I have gone through a couple of decants and saw it for a good price in someones sale list a while ago so I jumped on it. Not really much different from the rest of the range, male and female centric, but I do like the bottle.

Wednesday 26:

Sleep in. I know, gloating is so unattractive. 8.22am my body woke up of my own accord. It was a blissful rising from the depths of slumber. I feel alive, awake, refreshed and ready for the day. A couple of spritzes of Armani Prive: Cuir Amethyst and I’m ready to feed and walk the dogs in the cool autumn sunshine.

Today is about playing catch-up on the blog so I’m kind of desk bound. It seems very naughty and ungrateful to be inside on a day so gorgeous. I’ll have my lunch in the park across the road to make up for it. Almost ZERO catch up done but the sun was lovely.

Boring for you but exciting for us, new screen door! Now we can have full cross ventilation through the apartment. This is a BIG win. We ordered the damn thing in January but then we were overseas and when we came back he was booked out for mornings weeks in advance. So today it finally arrived and I am so happy. Yeah, little things.

Work tonight in the original Agent Provocateur EdP rosiness. This frag is so good and still cheap as chips. I predict it will become a very expensive, highly sought after vintage in 40 years time.

Going to bed before midnight! Unheard of. Keiko Mecheri Un Jour d’Ete and a sleeping tablet. Fingers crossed for 8 hours of blissful sweet nothingness.

Thursday 27:

WOW! Woke up at 7.49am and it was like rising from the dead, surfacing from deep slumber is beautiful when your body does it of its own accord. That’s only my second sleeping tablet this year but sometimes I need to get the ultimate sleep, this was it.

Sun is shining on a newly chill Parramatta, the air is crisp and frosty. I can still smell soft, floral/vanilla hints from last nights Keiko Mecheri Un Jour d’Ete, I’m not wanting to smell exactly like that this morning and am happy to divert slightly so I’m hitting the Tom Ford Vert Boheme.

This evening it’s all the fabulous shit with Thierry Mugler A*Men Kryptomint. PHWOAR! Outrageous.

Friday 28:

It’s Friday morning and Jin has arrived home from work. Apparently I left the door to the apartment open last night and now I have the heebejeebees, as if people were wandering through here last night. To dispel any lasting discomfort I gave myself 5 big spitzes of Ramon Monegal Umbra. It’s a non candy kinda sweet, herbal concoction. Very grounding and beautiful.

For lunch I wanted to add some candy so some Guerlain Spiritueuse Double Vanille was a perfect, sweet, boozy, vanilla custard slice. Already more than halfway through my 10ml decant but I’m pretty sure when it’s done I won’t repurchase. It is fabulous but the wearings are few & far between.

Tonight it was Ainslie Walker’s birthday. We had too much food & fun to take any photos but I wore DIOR Mitzah. Loads of it. I was 100% fragrant. Fuck the world, I smelled so good.

Saturday 29:

DIOR Mitzah. Still smelling it as I wake up and lay peacefully in bed in half slumber.

Today I’m trying to get as much of next weeks blog done as possible. Having no post ready on Friday and then doing a half assed job after arriving home from a beautiful dinner upset me. I’m finding it hard to shift the disquiet so my best plan is to action myself out of the angst hole.

Currently I have a couple of the Miller et Bertaux fragrances on my fingers because there’s going to be a Monday GIVEAWAY. Finishing a sample of a Dawn Spencer Hurwitz on the wrist that has been on the back burner to review for a while now, review next week. There’s also some Maison Francis Kurkdjian from 2016 on my left forearm. I like having a few scents around my person, especially if I know them, it helps compare & contrast and brings out things I’d otherwise miss.

Jin and I were going to see Guardians of the Galaxy 2 but decided at the last minute we would rather stay home, get pizza and watch a Gilmore Girls marathon. It was super fun. We just slothed around the couch. I had a very hot bath, we fed and walked the dogs. I can’t think of a nicer way to spend a Saturday night.

There was some very late night drama though. Our BFFs Mum fell over during the evening and broke some ribs and fractured her arm. Bloody hell, getting old is tough. Thankfully fully insured and close to good hospital care but nevertheless……

Sunday 30:

This morning Paris, my perfect, gorgeous, smart and beautiful dog decided to wee in the carpeted stairwell as I was locking our front door. Thank goodness Jin was with me to catch it happening so we could run him outside quickly. So I spent some time while they were walking cleaning that mess up. What a way to wake up on a Sunday.

I’m wearing Maison Francis Kurkdjian Grand Soir. I find it a neutered, prettified version of the Le Soirs and it reminds me of Pierre Guillaume’s work, in a complimentary way. Review to come.

Off to work this evening. I’m thinking it might be a Versace Blonde evening but yet to be fully decided at this point.

Scent Diary 17.4 – 23.4.17

April 23, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 36 Comments

Portia

Hey there Frag Crew,

This week I was hoping for a quiet, relaxing, get shit done and maybe even get ahead of the game but then …… life. So instead of calm & collected it ended up being crowded and cluttered. HA! Loads of fun though, filled with food, friends, a rally and I got some really yummy scents on my skin too.

Scent Diary 17.4 – 23.4.17

Monday 17:

Easter Monday morning and the weather is beautiful. Sunshine is out and we took the dogs for their morning walk. I thought 1889 Moulin Rouge by Histoires de Parfums would be a good choice. It was very nice wandering the quiet North Parramatta streets at 9am. That sweet iris/rose lipstick pluminess was most noticeable this morning, really front & centre. On previous wears it has smelled less intense. I quite like the sweet musky dry down too. Pretty. Bought it from Sonya in one of her sales, thanks girl.

Jin’s been on the couch snoozing and watching re-runs of Gilmore Girls and I find myself strangely drawn to it in a way I never was when it was current. Fortunately he went back to work tonight. Structure will help him back on track.

My evening has been spent swathed in the magic that is Atelier des Ors Aube Rubis. OMG! Where has this sensational beauty been my whole life. Freaking gorgeous.

Monday is Trivia Q&A and Blog day/night.

Tuesday 18:

It’s around 1am. I’m halfway through my Trivia Q&A but I’ve been listening to music, hanging on FaceBook and generally dithering. I’m thinking of spritzing fragrance and my mind instantly went to Neela Vermeire Creations Mohur EdP. Fiendishly good, fruity roses, spice, greenery, incense and oud. Now I’m ready for questions. I’m a bit surprised at how much air is already in my latest bottle, I love it so much and usually overspritz like crazy, serves me right.

YAY! It’s 4am and my Trivia Q&A are done, dusted and sent to the crew. PHEW! More Mohur and a late night snack before bed.

This was the perfect autumn morning for walking the dogs. Sunny and warm, hardly anyone around at 9am. The dogs loved it and I found camellias in bloom. I wanted something barely there this morning so went with Parfumerie Generale 4.1 La Musc & La Peau. It’s pretty and fresh, softly soothing and perfect for sunshine.

For work tonight I’m wearing Burberry Brit Woman EdT & Extrait because I feel the need for sweet. I don’t know why I’m putting it back in its box. Seems to be my current craving.

Wednesday 19:

Another glorious Sydney Autumn day. I’m wearing a couple of dabs of vintage Guerlain Shalimar extrait.

Jin has finally finished his retraining to be an electrician on the NSW Country Trains. It’s a promotion to full team member and a pay rise. He is trying to brush it off as inconsequential but this is a really big deal. It was supposed to take 6 months but due to unforeseen work circumstances the whole crew has been held back. One really good thing is that Jin will be getting the pay rise backdated from the start of the year. That means that quite a bit of the extra money spent to go back to Slovakia and all the things he paid for and facilitated while helping the family deal with our sister in laws suicide will be covered by that lucky windfall. He left the house today in a cloud of vintage CHANEL Antaeus, I think he’s going to be OK.

For work this evening I chose Amouage Opus X. The arctic rose and screechy hairspray fragrance full of woods, ylang and resins. Perfection.

Thursday 20:

Thursday morning and I’m up early in the cool of the half light. I’ve been trolling the net and found some wonderful bargains but held myself firm and only put my name down for a split of Amouage Bracken Woman. I got the dogs inside and they are both curled up on their beds in the living room while I tap away at the keyboard in my office. There’s a coffee in hand and the lingering taste of breakfast cereal in my mouth, wondering if I should also do toast but then think I’ll have that as a morning tea after my 9am dog walk.

The weather is cooling considerably and I’m wearing a decant sent to me by my mate, the gorgeous Robert Herrmann who is a moderator at FaceBook Fragrance Friends and now writes reviews at CFB, when he did a giveaway here on APJ no-one collected the prize so he sent it to me. It’s Tom Ford Vert Boheme, greenest of the green and curiously fitting for an autumn morning. As you can see there is quite a bit of air in the bottle. I like it a lot.

Had a scream tonight as the madcap hostess for a Guerrilla Anti-Fashion Parade as a protest against Levi Strauss using dock workers in Madagascar that are being paid $40/month. Levi’s has 7 factories on Madagascar. The company ICTSI that runs the docks gets $200/container moved, the Dock workers get 2 cents. Their safety gear costs 3 months pay so they never buy it and many of them have to live & sleep under a nearby bridge between shifts.

Levi Strauss is actually a great company with an excellent ecological and workplace agreement history. In 2016 they were ranked #1 in the world for their supply chain code of conduct. Unfortunately the dock workers don’t come under that umbrella and are being treated abominably. The few workers, 43 in all, who have been trying to get better conditions were all fired. It’s a shemozzle and we think that with a multinational like Levi Strauss on board they could help to push ICTSI and governments in the right direction.

Feel free to pop into your local Levis store and tell them how disappointed you are in their ethical double standards in Madagascar.

What fragrance was I swathed in for the evening? Reem Acra EdP. Big, radiant white floral with all the bells and whistles. Done with a very clear nod to vintage but in a super modern way. You can get it for a steal on the discounters now.

Friday 21:

Big day off today. Up, breakfast , fed & walked dogs, got ready, spritzed DIOR Mitzah, out the door by 8.30am to meet my mate Evie for a morning stroll through the Art Gallery of NSW and a guided tour of some of their permanent collection, then to the dentist, had a wander around the department stores (bought the Mon Guerlain Shower Gel and learned how to get my Diptyque Rose de Mai squirter to work, tried 32 Venenum by L`Artisan Perfumer) then hanging with Alice and having Peking Duck!! We are not quite sure what Alice had in mind with the chips but it looks like she is trying to make a chip moustache. We ate the WHOLE DUCK between us.

Amazing day but now I’m pooped. Walked nearly 14,000 steps today. That’s a lot for lazy old me.

Saturday 22:

SATURDAY! I promised myself to Jin this morning. He has been working nights since Monday and it’s his first day off. Today we are going to be able to celebrate his promotion. So I grabbed the makings of French Toast. It’s one of his all time favourite breakfasts and it’s so easy to make. Today I’m adding some off the bone ham, a big dollop of fresh made guacamole and a mushroom, onion, ham stir fry.

I’m just about to take the dogs for a walk. The day is cool and lovely, I’m multiple spritzing Lolita Lempicka EdP down my shirt before I go. On the walk I came across these amazing flowers on a large shrub fully in bloom, heavenly.

Jin’s best friend Matt called and is taking him out to the Rugby League this afternoon so I get to blog and nap. YAY!!! Aren’t they cute in their Parramatta supporters outfits? Such boys.

Then tonight I’m taking him out for Korean BarBQ. A real date night, first one since I went on the cruise in February. Poor Jin was so tired, he fell sound asleep in the car on the way home, snoring and all.

Sunday 23:

WOW! How is it Sunday already? This week has sped by.

This morning we organised to catch up with mates. Sydney really turned on the most spectacular autumn morning for us and I made Jin take a photo out the car window.

I wore my vintage Jean Patou 1000 EdT. Perfect accompaniment to a morning a fun.

We had Pedis & Yum Cha. Kath & I had our feet attended to, then Jin and Phil joined us for lunch in the food court.

Fell asleep and missed my make up cues. Went to work at Austral Bowling Club as a guy wearing Guerlain Moscow. It also has a bit of a Mon Guerlain vibe.

Hung out there with Anna-Maria and her husband Johnny. Anna-Maria was Jin and my 2016 travelling companion through Europe, you might remember that we all met up with Tara of A Bottled Rose?

So how was your week?
Try any new fragrance? Rediscovering old one?
Do something or go anywhere exciting? Watch any good TV or read a book?
Come on, share. I love to know what you all have been up to too.
Portia xxx

Scent Diary 10.4 – 16.4.17

April 16, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 24 Comments

Portia

Hi There APJ,

Scent Diary 10.4 – 16.4.17

Monday 10:

It’s 3am and I just got a call from Jin who has travelled with the family to Vienna to board a flight to South Korea with our sister in law’s ashes. Korean Air was able to find seats for them all on a flight today at extremely short notice. From Incheon Airport they will take two trains to get to Jin’s hometown near Busan in the south. The rest of his family and hers will all meet at the station and tomorrow there will be a service.

Below is a photo of us all together a month ago in Zilina, Slovakia. Our sister in law making the peace sign. How can this smart, funny, beautiful and sweet woman be gone? We are the wreckage left behind. So sad.

So now I’m wide awake and I have a LOT of Lolita Lempicka EdP on. I reek of it because when I got home and got out of drag I resprayed myself heavily. I’m not bored but I think I’d like to add some extra nuance so I’m going with Mon Guerlain. I think it’s basic lavender/toffee/cake batter will play nicely beside the LLs Fizzy Drink. Yeah, I bought it. No, I don’t hate it but I do feel it’s a pretty close fit to Oriental Brulant if you trade out citrus for lavender. The bottle is wonderful though, perfect packaging. I’m expecting Mon Guerlain Noir in a black version next.

Today was a complete write off. Slept. Spoke to Jin and a couple of mates.

Tonight I got up and did some blogging, about to write Trivia Q&A. My mind is mush, doing the best I can. Ate the last of my Curried Sweet Potato & Carrot Soup. Suddenly I am alive.

Tuesday 11:

4.30am and I’ve just finished this weeks Trivia Q&A. I know it sounds late but I particularly like to work at this time in the night. My brain gets this weird late night focus and things that would take forever in the day time take half the time and I do a better job of it too. My Trivia Q&A scent tonight was Amoureuse by Parfums DelRae, freakiest damn lily I ever smelled. So good and beautiful, it’s thick and ropey with this amazingly dense floatiness. This is my second bottle, if anyone has one they’re not loving let me know, I’ll buy it.

Spent today doing office work with Scott before getting ready for work. Wore Palissander d’Or by Aedes de Venustus woodsy deliciousness through the day.

Then for work I wore vintage Nina EdT by Nina Ricci. Smelled unbelievably fabulous through work and kept getting lavish huffs of myself. Weirdly, no one noticed it at all.

Wednesday 12:

Today was the birthday of one of my most loved, enduring friendships. We lived together in the late 80s- early 90s and have remained constant buddies through continental changes, marriages, divorces, kids and all sorts of excitement. I made her wedding dress, TinaG and I are godparents to her beautiful son and fortuitously she happened to be in Sydney for her birthday this year so a small core of her family and close buddies congregated at our place in Parramatta for lunch. Loads of laughs, champagne, food, tea, baklava and the warmth of hanging with wonderful people were the order of the day. TinaG & I went shopping together for the party.

Jin is coming home today from South Korea. Getting on the plane. Will be home by midday tomorrow. I’m so happy that I’m getting a bit emotional.

Thursday 13:

Jin arrived home. He is tired and wretched. He basically lay on the lounge like Camille all day snoozing on & off. He gets a couple of days of this before he goes back to work. He is so worn out that he has refused to meet friends or go anywhere.

Wearing Umbra by Ramon Monegal during the day.

Got ALL the bought and gifted bottles from the Europe 2017 holiday out and took a pic today, did a post about it. Kind of made myself sick at my own gluttony.

For work I wore Burberry Brit Woman EdP & Extrait. I smelled bloody gorgeous. So good I then respritzed before bed.

Friday 14:

Woke up with a stinking sinus headache. OMG! I feel like my heads left hand side is about to explode. So instead of perfume I decided to scent the house with Sweet Potato & Cauliflower Soup. Smells really good. Hope it tastes so yummy when cooked.

OK so my headache persisted till 4pm when I could take it no more and took some pain relief tablets. It’s so rare for me to get such a monumental ouch headache that I usually can ride them out but not today. Blessed relief.

Wearing Etat Libre d’Orange: You Or Someone Like You made with Chandler Burr. Yeah, kooky and fun, very ELdO. Review to come.

Saturday 15:

Bloody Hell! It’s 4.30am, I’m for bed. A quadruple chest spritz of Jacomo Silences PdT and I’m off. NIGHT!

Today we are off to get our dogs back home from the kennels. Jin and I didn’t wan’t to collect them because they really do have a master each and we were worried that Jinx would be upset without Jin home. I’m pretty excited to have them home. I wore my vintage Miss Dior EdT today, perfect warm autumn day fragrance.

Went over to my BFF Kath’s house. She was minding a beautiful ginger cat called Mango for a friend of a friend while he moved to Melbourne from Sydney. Anyway, this asshole gets to Melbourne and tells Kath she should keep him or send him to the pound. So now she is looking for a new home for Mango, sadly she is highly allergic to cats or she’d keep him. What is it with some people, imagine leaving your fur baby like that?

Anyone in Sydney want a gorgeous, people and other pet friendly, house trained, healthy, inside cat. Not to be let outside. He had a car accident a while back so his face is a little lopsided but otherwise heaven. Softest little purr I ever heard.

Perfect Easter Saturday night. Sushi Train dinner with Jin who is still way too tired to be photographed, walked the dogs, hit the blogs and now a sky high bubble bath in the Bath and Body Works Anti-Stress bubbles and a cuppa in my Free Parking mug that I got for Christmas. This is about as comfortably happy as I get, blissful evening.

After the bath and in honour of meeting Mango today I wore my super spectacular pussy cat socks. Fragrance provided by my sample of Rose Omeyyade by Atelier des Ors. A very interesting gourmand, fruity rose backed by a deep and mysterious creamy oriental oud base. Clever and beautiful.

Sunday 16:

Happy Easter to those who celebrate.

Jin & I only slept till about 7.30am. For a treat I went and brought the dogs in and we all slotted around the bed for another hour. Jin manages to snore like a steam train even with the dogs on board. I love the sound, it soothes me and I feel so relaxed with it.

L’Eau d’Ambre by L’Artisan Perfumeur today. Smells great! Mine is the older bottle but the new one smells good too.

Today is also Jin’s first time seeing our mates since his return. We are having Yum-Cha and then seeing BFF Kath’s parents. I’ve made them some of my Sweet Potato & Cauliflower Soup.

Done. Now I’m going to be a lazy sloth.

So what did you all get up to this week? Smell anything new or go back to an old favourite? What about Easter? Do anything for that?
Portia xxx

Scent Diary: 3.4 – 9.4.17

April 9, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 37 Comments

Portia

YAY! APJ!

Home in Sydney. Back in Jin & my bed after weeks of hotels, having super luxurious baths and getting my head back around the work/life/friends balance.

Scent Diary: 3.4 – 9.4.17

Monday 3:

It’s 6am am I’m wide awake. So I thought I’d come spritz myself with something lovely, grab a chamomile tea and head back to bed for a couple of extra hours shut eye. I’m thinking sweet and engulfing so Guerlain is probably a good house to go with. Now discontinued Guerlain Oriental Brulant is my choice, so sweet and over the top. Perfect.

Had a funny off & on nights sleep and then went to the dentist. Through the last week or so of our holiday I had a tooth really giving me some pain, it was wobbling and coming out proud of its usual position. Hot and cold would hurt like I was being stabbed and eating became torment. I was dosing myself with daily pain killers to mask it all. My gums have been pretty poor since my many years as a drug addict and today I lost my third tooth to gum disease and poor choices. Very sobering and I am sad. Thank everything that my dentist is the most profession, caring, calm and lovely man. We are fighting a rear guard action to save two more but the prognosis is not good.

To lift my spirits I multispritzed vintage Miss Dior parfum. Hard to be sad when you smell this glorious. Here is my hoard.

Trivia Q&A writing all night long. Fuzzy brain from pain killers.

On the Up Side, I got confirmation that I’m a Korean Air Morning Calm Elite Member today! That means I get Double Baggage, Priority Seating and a whole bunch of other great stuff. VERY excited about that. I wish Korean Air were paying me for all the name dropping I do for them.

Tuesday 4:

It’s 3.53am and I’ve finished my Trivia Q&A, sent the packs out, printed my own Q&A and Answer Sheets for the week. It’s raining softly here in Parramatta and I can hear big drips hitting cement from threes around my apartment. Everything else is quiet and still except the tap tapping of my one fingered typing. For bedtime I have triple spritzed vintage CHANEL Antaeus. It’s a perfect fit for the coolish evening here.

Spent the day hanging with my mate who is up from Melbourne, Margeaux. It was super fun to catch up and laugh over coffee and biscuits even though the reason for his Sydney visit is sad.

We had to stay home because I’m waiting for a delivery, it never bloody came. Expecting it early this morning I basically wasted my day waiting GRRR! Only a problem because I need to get to the barber to shave my beard right so I can dye it for work. Can’t be a lovely lady with a salt & pepper beard, it looks wrong. So off to work as a guy tonight.

I had a glorious bubble bath in Fancy Nights by Jessica Simpson bubbles, it always surprises me when an ultra cheap shower gel becomes yummy smelling bubble bath. This one smelt just as luxurious as the expensive stuff. Over that I went crazy with the Jacomo Art Collection #02. It;’s freaky plastic vanilla is a perfect overlay to Fancy Nights base.

Fragrantica

Wednesday 5:

3am and time for bed. Today I need to find a barber to even my beard up and also start a brand new trivia with me as a guy. Very exciting. SOTBed is Neela Vermeire Creations Ashoka. Figs and cream, balmy woods; a perfect way to lullaby land.

FUCK! Today was supposed to be a lazy day before getting an opening night together but drama struck. Jin’s sister in law, who we had been laughing and generally having a wonderful time with three weeks ago, chose to end her life leaving two kids and a grieving, shell shocked husband. PLEASE if you suffer depression, see someone, call a help line or call a friend. PLEASE!

In Australia Call BeyondBlue 1300 22 46 36

The gig at Greystanes Hotel went really well and I think it’s going to be a winner. the staff, patrons and food were all great.

I wore vintage Guerlain Vol de Nuit parfum to work in honour of our lost girl, hoping her spirit will now be free to fly.

Jin was supposed to be home tomorrow morning but now he is flying back to Europe to help. What an amazing man, he was on the train to catch the plane to Sydney when he heard. Thanks go out to Korean Air, who had to deal with his crying melt down and flight changes, all in the middle of Incheon Airport. Now he’s headed back to Slovakia to be with his brother & family. Thanks also to NSW Rail who said when he called to ask for more leave that he should take as much time as he needs to do what he had to and that he would have a job when he returns. Amazing.

SOTBed tonight was Bal a Versailles and it was perfect!

Thursday 6:

Sorry. Not really with it today. I did dye my beard and had a fragrant bubble bath in Annick Goutal Encens Flamboyant.

Talked to Jin on his sad adventure, got the invoices done for March and sent them off, made Curried Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup (it’s not been blended yet in the pot) and have been wearing New Study (PostCard) by Miller & Bertaux to review.

Tonight at work I wore an old favourite Un Jour d’ere by Keiko Mecheri from 2012. I bought my own bottle way back because I love it’s creamy, white floral, beachy goodness and I love to spritz about 15 times when I wear it. So whenever I see it for sale on the FaceBook frag docs I always buy it because I go through it. YUMMY! On my second bottle currently.

Friday 7:

It’s nearly 4am. I’m not sleeping because I’m worried about Jin who has finally arrived in Slovakia to be with his brother’s family. It was a 30+ hours gruelling set of flights and trains to get there so Jin has basically been awake for two days non stop.

SOTBed is Vanille Marine by M Micallef and I love it’s salty, wet, shimmery, vanilla goodness. Why don’t I have a bottle of this gem? Going Trolling for one now. UM, seems to have been discontinued and disappeared. GRRRR!

Had Anna-Maria, Johnny and Domenica Calarco over for brunch today. They are super special people and we chatted, sniffed fragrance, drank tea and ate the yummy sweets they brought. Time flew by and suddenly it was 2pm. Best fun and perfect light among the shadows this week has cast. Thank you all for being my mates.

We opened my Kiki extrait by Vero Profumo. GAWD! It’s even better at home. Also opened my new Guerlain Santal Royal, also very nice. Spent time with Detaille Rose d’Oud, vintage Guerlain Shalimar extrait, Mon Guerlain and a whole host of others.

After the guys left I fell asleep on the couch for 5 hours, now I’m wide awake and still fully fragrant from brunch. The Calarcos brough oodles of food so we didn’t get to eat the soup I made for us. It’s a Curried Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup and tastes delicious with Buttered Toast. YUMMY!!

Tonight decanting the Dityque Rose de Mai for a split I’m hosting. The bloody puffer stopped spraying after 3 x 10ml decants with 6 more to go. I’m furious, had to jimmy the whole apparatus off to continue. The scent is good but the puffer is a load of shit. GRRR!

Saturday 8:

It’s 4am here in Sydney and I’m not sleepy at all. Serves me right for having a 5 hour nap today. I plonked myself in front of the TV and watch pap for a few hours. Now I’m missing Jin so having cleaned my teeth and readied myself for bed I’m going to spritz lavishly with L’Artisan Perfumer L’Eau d’amber. I know it’s simple but I love it.

Well sleep didn’t happen till after 10am. Below is me sending MISSING YOU pics to Jin from our super comfy TV couch. The had the service and cremation yesterday, so sad.

Slept from about 10.30am – 6pm and then had to get up and go to a combined 50th birthday party for two mates Neil & Patrick. My evenings choice of scent was Methaldone by Aether Parfums and it got 3 unsolicited compliments, which rarely happens for me in party situations. One friend coming in for an extra cuddle so they could smell it more. So Methaldone is a WIN!

It was a white party with Justin Scott DJing, fairy lights, bunting, all you could eat & drink, and a host of the world’s coolest kids having a ball. I think only about 30% at the event were Sydneysiders, the rest had flown in especially. There was a cabaret singer flown in from the Solomon Islands and all the waiters were from Butlers In The Buff. Yes, you read right. The air staff were all naked with aprons as modesty shields. It was a freaking hoot.

It’s late, I’m home from the party. I’m going to make some Squishy Sandwiches and a cup of Chamomile Tea. Then I’ll watch a little TV, do my teeth and go to bed.

Sunday 9:

Woke up late. Doing some household chores and soon will get ready for work. Sun is shining, it’s warm and a perfect Sunday.

Tonight for work I went crazy spritzing Lolita Lempicka EdP and every group I stood or sat with commented how great I smelled. It was unreal. I’m wondering if I put too much on? It’s a new bottle and smells quite a bit more chemical than my previous one. Maybe the older one was reformulated or had aged quite a bit? Doesn’t matter, this still smells good.

Fragrantica

So how was your week? Do anything interesting or smell something new? I love to read your stories too so leave me a message in the comments.
Portia xx.

Scent Diary: 27.3 – 2.4.17

April 2, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 12 Comments

Portia

Scent Diary: 27.3 – 2.4.17

Monday 27:

Breakfast! Jin is sound asleep. Last night he was feeling a bit poorly so I filled him with a bottle of wine and gave him a sleeping tablet. Breakfast became a chatter with a couple of Scottish girls who work at the Royal Botanic Gardens there, on the way to a convention. Then one of the couple asked if we were perfume….. YIPPEEEE!

Instantly we started talking about frags and I had bought a bottle of their Lily of the Valley fragrance. The group is called Detaille and they have a new bunch of frags out this season, Louis and his wife Christine. He was so sweet and passionate about their fragrances. Even made one of the newest range especially for Christine, with her involvement. She was wearing it to breakfast so proudly.

So, obviously I wore Detaille Bois d’Oud. It’s a nice, wearable, synth oud. Not too swanky, won’t scare the Grandmas or the teens away, and has a very comfortable wear. No boundary pusher but done nicely. Review to come.

Jin & I then flew to London and met up with Tara from A Bottled rose and my Aussie mate Andrew and his partner Renato. We all went and had a fantastic Italian dinner and spent the evening laughing, reminiscing and trying to talk Jin into seeing Dreamgirls the musical. sadly it’s booked out the time we had free.

Tuesday 28:

OMG! Today was huge. Last night Jin decided that our bed was unsleepable, it had prolapsed in the middle and he was having none of it. Realising that my sleep depended on his I went down to do battle. We were upgraded to a suite for our stay! So late night move. Woo Hoo! Don’t stay here though, it’s shit.

Early we were up to have the crap breakfast included. Seriously! No fucking milk?

Spritzed liberally in Rose Oud by Yves Rocher.

Off to get a rental car. Jin just smiles at people and they fall under his spell so instead of a FIAT 500 (which I adore) we end up in a brand new JEEP Cherokee (Tank). Super comfortable though and it was heaven on our adventures.

We set off for Windsor Castle in the dreamy spring sunshine and really enjoyed our castle tour with Audio Guides. We saw the Dolls house, the Royal Apartments and some of the outside. It was really lovely, interesting, historic and a few of the rooms were so ornate they could have been French or Austro-Hungarian.

Then we drove up to Bath. I don’t know why I’ve never been before. It was the site of so many historic societal comedy/drama novels that I read. Anyway, we got there and it’s as gorgeous as they say. PERFECT! Saw the watergate, cathedral and Roman baths. It was an excellent stop and I would love to spend a few days there one day.

Lastly we drove over to Stonehenge. All the advice we’d researched was that it closed at 5pm. That much is true BUT the entrance is closed at 3pm. So at 4pm when we arrived we were unable to enter. Both Jin and I were gutted. It was to be the highlight of a long fabulous day and ……..

The second shot is a weird one, no filters or anything. It was taken a second after the first with the same camera and this is the shot. No alteration of the image has taken place at all. Spooky, huh?

So, off to a Paddington Fish & Chip store we went for delicious dinner and a wander around till we got home. Bed. Bliss.

Had a late shower and wore a big fat spritz of Miss Dior vintage parfum.

Wednesday 29:

So Jin and I both woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning and we had a contretemps. This was not helped one bit by the fact that our shit hotel had no hot water for showers in the morning and we both showered cold. What a fucking shit hole. All was fortunately resolved as we left for breakfast though.

My morning spritz was Bois d’Oud by Detaille again. It’s really nice.

First stop was the National Portrait Gallery near Trafalgar Square where we shared a croissant and pot of tea for 4 quid. I loved wandering around but Jin was bored to death. He sat down and played with his phone while I wandered the halls.

Then off to Liberty London.I had to meet Lila’s son for a fragrant pick up. OMG! He’s so bloody gorgeous that I couldn’t focus on the job at hand and stumbled over my words. Adorable. No I didn’t take a photo.

Jin went to the basement for a haircut and beard trim while an old mate of mine, rock photographer, James Sharrock and his beautiful daughter Eva joined us for lunch at the LibertyCafe on the 2nd floor. Jin came, said his hellos and then went off for an adventure while James and I wandered Liberty for an hour or so before Eva made it clear she was over it.

When I got home I spritzed Palissandre d`Or by Aedes de Venustas. Oh the heavenly woodsy woods.

In the evening we met up with Tara again and her delightful sister Lisa. OMG! We had a ball. Italian food, loads of laughs and then a wander around Paddington. Perfect last night in London.

Shower and a hefty spritz of Mitzah by DIOR before bed.

Thursday 30:

Final morning together in Europe on our 2017 adventure. Jin and I love each other but being in each others company non-stop for a month was starting to wear thin. We had a really nice wander through Hyde Park, grabbed a typical UK pub breakfast, wandered up to Selfridge & Co and Primark and then grabbed an Uber to Heathrow. It was a perfect, low key, holding hands kinda ending to a spectacular holiday.

At the Korean Air Check In Desk we scored the beautiful, smiley and super helpful Kristine. We kept coming back to her because of silly dramas and she never once rolled her eyes or gave a hint that we were the asshole passengers we knew ourselves to be.

Upshot of all that was EMERGENCY ROW! Yay! More room but near the babies, comfortable but loud. Still it was a win.

Friday 31:

Arriving in Incheon Airport was bittersweet. On the Upside it’s my favourite airport and there’s so much to see & do. On the Downside Jin went off to catch a train to see his Mum & Dad for a few days. To make myself feel better I spritzed heavily with Parfum d’Empire Equistrius.

Fragrantica

I grabbed 2 hours real sleep in the By The Hour hotel, only $21/hour. Clean, comfortable and you can see me in my undies in the mirror, sorry about that.

Korean Air is excellent and cheap. The bathrooms onboard are kept spotless, food is good and even in the economy rows it’s quite roomy.

Saturday 1:

HOME! In the arrivals hall I triple spritzed myself with the new Guerlain Shalimar EdP which is very nice. Exactly the right amount of growl and purr for a returning traveller.

Sydney put on a beautiful blue morning, my BFF Kath picked me up at the airport and drove me home where Scott, who had been house minding, waited. Perfect lazy day lying on the couch reading, doing laundry and then paying some bills and blogging. Sweet.

Sunday 2:

There’s too much fragrant choice here. HA HA HA! After living with a mini collection for a month it’s all a bit overwhelming to come back to this room bursting at the seams with scent so for something easy, smooth and comfy it was CHANEL Boy. Perfect cool autumn wear. Then one of my BFFs Alice dropped over and we spritzed a bunch of stuff.

I grabbed an old favourite for work today too, 1000 EdT by Jean Patou. Not a new pic but this bottle.

Now you’ve read through my adventures, how was your week? Do anything interesting or wear something fragrant? Share please. I love to read your stories too.
Portia xxx

Scent Diary: 20.3 – 26.3.17

March 26, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 19 Comments

Portia

Scent Diary: 20.3 – 26.3.17

Monday 20:

Luxumbourg has an excellent cafe/chocolatier on the Place Guillaume. we had afternoon tea there and wrote postcards.

I might have bought these in a corner perfumery with a 20% discount. YAY!

Tuesday 21:

Arrived in Paris around lunchtime. We are staying in a new to us hotel near the Arc de Triomphe. Coming out of the Metro on the escalator and being hit with one of the world’s most recognisable landmarks is pretty spectacular.

Obligatory Serge Lutens flagship store visit. Bought Jin a new MKK because he is going through his bell jar rather quickly and got Scotty something too for house minding our place. SHHHH.

Near the Louvre Museum they had a memorial to all the homeless that died in Paris last year. Hundreds of them, not all with names, were represented by a flowering plant. We laid a rose and said a prayer for one who died on Jin’s birthday. Very moving tribute and a woman danced through the memorial to French provincial music played by a smell band.

Yes, went to Guerlain Champs Elysees store but did not purchase. they still have Liu if you’re looking for it.

Dinner with Nicolas & Enno from Le Galion and Aether. They are bloody wicked company and we laughed and chatted the night away. So glad we are mates with such clever, passionate men about life, work and fragrance.

Scored the brand newest Aether scent and will be doing a giveaway when we get back so you can try it too. Based on the smell of hot metal and made with only captured molecules Methaldone is really good stuff. Freaky, wearable and smells good to me.

Wednesday 22:

Since 2013 Jin and I have reminisced about having crepes for breakfast one morning in a market with our mates Aaron & Gerard. They were delicious and it was a great thing to do. Jin decided we would repeat the adventure and painstakingly worked out where the market was and on which days it is open. They were as good as we remembered and it was fun to go back.

Then we went inside Notre Dame. We have been outside a few times but never went in. This time we went in and lit candles for friends & family. Beautiful.

Here I wear the Eiffel Tower as a hat. This is the bridge near Princess Diana’s tunnel where she died. Still sad.

In the afternoon we went to the Grand Palais and saw the Rodin exhibition. Really interesting look at an artist that I know not very much about. We learned a bit but more than anything I loved that he was a great sketcher and we saw a lout of his drawings/inks and that captured my imagination more than anything else.

Jin called this the Beyonce Single Ladies statue. We bloody lost it and all the French matrons looking at us like we were from outer space as we laughed and did Single Ladies singing & dancing impersonations.

Thursday 23:

Ahhh, Galleries Lafayette. I know that Printemps is posher but the shiver of excitement I feel whenever we shop beneath that glittering dome is worth more than anything. Yes, bought the Hermes Collection Colognes. The Hermès SA loaded us up with extras too and made me SWEAR I’d come back and shop with her. Indeed I will.

We saw the Pissaro exhibition, excellent. Seeing the way he grew as an artist. There were all sorts of wonderful pieces in the pointillist, separatist, impressionist genres but interestingly he also had a sideline in simple watercolour and gauche paintings that were really easily sold by his art dealer. That was the way he paid the rent and fed his family. It also meant he could pursue his grand pieces. The last ones were so magnificently painted that they looked like the light was streaming out of them, as if backed by light boxes. Unbelievable.

We tried to go to the Louis Vuitton Foundation but there was no exhibition on. Having paid for the best tickets available we were a bit grumpy. The building is a ridiculous conglomeration of hideous architecture wankings anyway. What a pile of shit.

Friday 24:

OMG! Jin and I flew to Milan in the early morning, had some lunch and then met a few of the frag crew in clouding Val the Cookie Queen. We then went in to Escxence. It is enormous, filled to the gills with perfume houses. So many of them brand new and hardly any of my most loved.

Charles de Gaulle had an interesting selection of Mass-Tige fragrances including Diptyque, Amouage, Lutens and Goutal.

Val the Cookie Queen is mortally afraid of photographs, weird because she’s so beautiful.

Nick (I’m sorry I didn’t get a pic with Pia too) Gilbert and Lucasz from Chemist In A Bottle

Antonio Gardoni of Bogue and Francesco from Luckyscent

Adam & Francesco from LuckyScent, Vero Kern, Neela Vermeire and up the back Judith Fox, Val CQs best friend (and psychotherapist). This is my favourite Esxence pic by far.

It was so overwhelming that I only allowed 3 houses to give me their sample sets. I already love Miller & Bartaux, their product is weird and wonderful while remaining perfectly wearable.
Atelier des Ors is a favourite of Ainslie Walker and I know Megan their rep.
Brand new and winner of the worst brand name ever Homoelegans, I liked one of their frags particularly, more on that later.

We finished the day with a bunch of great mates for dinner. They all really needed a quiet wind down and we found a spectacular candlelit restaurant close by that served wonderful food for very decent prices. Petit is the name and they worked hard to make it a special evening for us all.

Saturday 25:

Started my morning at the Milano Savoy with Aussie milliner to the stars Naomi Goodsir. I bloody love her.

This years offering is Nuit de Bakelite. It’s green with a tuberose heart. The closest analogy I can make is a 21st century Niki de Saint Phalle EdT.

The Duomo. The Pope was in town, he missed us by minutes.

Neela and Jin. The display was gorgeous at the NVC stand and Neela was swamped by people all day, every day.

At Campo Marzio 70. I might have bought a Kiki Extrait at retail, so good.

Farewell to Vero Kern & Antonio Gardoni with Val the cookie queen.

I might have got this to…….

Sunday 26:

Up early for a farewell breakfast with Val the Cookie Queen and Judith. Saying goodbye to people we love is shit.

We dropped into Esxence to see Neela and she gave us a bottle of Bombay Bling to photograph on our travels in Milan today. BIG responsibility. Jin is up for the challenge.

A cup of tea with Neela before bed. The fragrances she creates are as warm, wonderful and delicious as Neela herself. I love her passion and perfectionism.

So what has happened in your week, fragrant or otherwise?
Portia xx

Scent Diary: 13.3 – 19.3.17

March 19, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 16 Comments

Portia

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

Scent Diary: 6.3 – 12.3.17

March 12, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 16 Comments

Portia

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