Meldrick the Whippet

May 11, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 59 Comments

Post by Poodle

My whippet, Mel, was diagnosed with oral cancer last spring. You know the film called There Will Be Blood? I had my own version of that at home. When the vet says tumors are vascular and can bleed a lot, believe them. It grew slow and steady for months. As bad as it started to look the vet said things that grow slowly aren’t usually painful until they get too big. The body gradually adjusts. He said we’d know when it was time. When it started to grow quickly everything changed. The bleeding just got to the point where I couldn’t keep up with it. I was cleaning up constantly. You can’t bandage a mouth. His breath had been getting worse too. All I could smell was that and blood. He started having trouble eating. The tumor began growing out of his mouth. It was time. We made the call for that final trip to the vet. He was a fighter but it was time to stop battling. I’d like to think Mel understood.

Farewell Meldrick

Up to then I had been coping with everything but I have to be honest and tell you caregiver fatigue is real and I was an emotional wreck towards the end. Anger, tears, frustration, more tears… every day. I turned to my perfumes for comfort and an attempt to smell something other than Mel’s mouth. I didn’t want to connect any favorite scents with watching my dog die so I used up samples during the daytime. I felt an odd sense of happiness with every empty vial. I was trying to do a “no buy” for other cosmetics as well and use things up. I think in retrospect I should have rewarded myself a bit more. I did eventually cave and buy a new lipstick. Or two. I always reach for incense in stressful times and Avignon and Cardinal were there for me as bedtime scents along with Baiser Vole which really works like an aromatherapy wonder on me. They’d take me to a happier place as I drifted off to sleep.

Watching that tumor grow was a constant reminder that some things are beyond our control. I now have an understanding of how a person can get diagnosed with cancer and die a few weeks later. I took photos of Mel 10 days apart and the change was scary. These things are aggressive and fast and there was nothing I could do to change it. Often, it’s that helpless feeling that tears you apart inside.

The takeaway from this is if you’re caring for someone or something it IS hard and frustrating. It will wear you down if you’re not careful. Make time for yourself even if it’s just a few minutes before bedtime. Have a good cry if you need to. Treat yourself even if it’s just a cheap lipstick or perfume. Hug the ones you love. Find a way to hug yourself if there’s no one to hug you back.

Take care of yourselves my fragrant friends.

Hugs
Poodle

Ellis Faas Cosmetics

May 10, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 32 Comments

Post by Val the Cookie Queen

Ellis Faas was born and raised in the Netherlands. She gave up professional photography to concentrate on her obsession and infatuation with make-up. Her biography makes for fascinating reading on http://www.ellisfaas.com.

As I wrote “Lipstick, Perfume and Pop Heroes: A True Story” I had no idea I would be back a year later having discovered the perfect red from a cosmetic house in Amsterdam, setting of the original post. Red lipstick junkies are on permanent lookout for new reds. How many times do we come home with a new red to find out that it looks pretty much the same as the others?

Ellis Faas Cosmetics

Red Lipsticks for One & All

I stumbled across Ellis Faas Cosmetics in Milan at the Esxence. (I have since found out that a number of my friends do know of the company but I was not familiar with it.) Immediately drawn to the red lipstick on the display, I grabbed one to try. Angelique, representing Ellis Faas explained to me why their Ellis Reds signature colour is different. The red is based on the natural colour of blood she informed me. Theory being that it will then match everyone´s skin colour. We all have the same blood, right? I grabbed a couple of samples to take home.

What can I say? The colour is absolutely fabulous. I squeezed a couple of drops out of the sample onto my
daughter´s hand and asked what she thought of it. “It looks like blood.” she said. Clearly we are onto a winnner here.

There are three textures of the Ellis Red. Creamy Lips, which has pretty much the feel of a normal lipstick. Milky Lips, which has a much lighter texture and is more of a lip stain. (This is what I have as samples and it needs to be applied sparingly preferably with a lip brush.) Great if you don´t care for the feel of lipstick on your lips. And the Glazed Lips, a highly pigmented, but non-sticky gloss. I have all three and cannot recommend them highly enough. Anyone who believes that red is not for them should give the Ellis Red a try.

The packaging is very sleek and stylish.. I was however warned to be careful of too much product coming out of the tube and then possibly drying out. It works by turning in clicks the bottom of the silver tube. I really took time with that and did it very slowly, patiently waiting for the product to squeeze out onto the brush or sponge applicator. It took me ten minutes and about thirty small clicks. I dispense only enough product for an application and then put the lid back on. Next time I go to use it I give it couple of clicks again and apply. Works just fine. If you do it impatiently you will end up with a ton of product though so be aware.

How stunning is the Ellis Red red? Stunning enough that I asked the company to send me some samples so that I could share them with you. I have ten x 2 samples of the Ellis Red Milky Lips to give away below. Many thanks to Ellis Faas Cosmetics in beautiful Amsterdam.

Red will change your life you know?

MWAH.
Red Bussis.
CQ

ThinkDigitalWorld

Ellis Faas Cosmetics GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 10 winners who will receive:
2 x samples of the Ellis Red Milky Lips
P&H Worldwide

HOW DO YOU WIN?

Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged. Open to everyone worldwide who follows AustralianPerfumeJunkies via eMail, WordPress, Bloglovin or RSS. Please leave how you follow in the comments to be eligible. I must be able to check that you follow so if you have an email address on your gravatar that’s different to your follow address then please email me (portia underscore turbo @ yahoo dot com dot au) so I know.

In the Comments Below,

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please tell us if you are already a red lipstick junkie or scared spitless of the colour?

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 12th May 2016 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winner will be chosen by random.org
The winner will have till Monday 16th May 2016 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.

TinaG’s Fragrant Adventures: Berlin, Germany: Photo Essay

May 9, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 15 Comments

Post by TinaG

Hi APJ!

I’m travelling in Europe for a few months and thought y’all might like a short snapshot of my fragrance shopping in Berlin.

Heathrow Airport Terminal 5

Holy WOW. Terminal 5 at Heathrow is stunning. Duty Free had a fantastic fragrance collection including Miller Harris, By Killian, Memo, Amouage, Dolce & Gabbana Velvet Collection, Guerlain Pera Grantia, Rosa Pop and L’Homme Ideal EDP, amongst others. The staff were super-friendly & very knowledgable.

Étui Noir by Miller Harris 2016

Miller Harris has two Heathrow exclusives – Ètui Noir and Lumière Dorée. I picked up Ètui Noir which is a gentle leather fragrance

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamo, tangerine
Heart: Incens, iris
Base: Vetiver, leather

TinaG’s Fragrant Adventures

Berlin, Germany: Photo Essay

Berlin: I stayed at the Grand Hyatt, Berlin Mitte. All my fragrance shopping was within walking distance of the hotel.

Tourist Tip: check opening times, many places are closed on Sunday.

Frau Tonis Parfum

I had only recently heard of Berlin’s Frau Tonis Parfum so I was excited to visit their one and only store. The display made it easy to try every fragrance so I worked my way around sniffing stoppers & making notes. My poor nose was absolutely tortured from 23 hours of aircraft travel so I was totally surprised to find it still worked! Joy!! Kristiane and Clarice were wonderful & helped me with my many questions, like what does the number mean? It’s simply a catalogue system as it’s easier to remember numbers than names.

Frau Tonis have very sensible bottle sizes – 8ml travel spray, 15ml, 50ml and 100ml. They also take custom blend orders, so you can mix & match and make your own bespoke combination. And yes they ship to Australia.

I chose three 8ml fragrances: 10 Linde Berlin (lime and honey), 14 Grasse à Toi (Jasmine, ylang-ylang, lilly of the valley, iris, peach, red berries, vanilla) and 37 Veilchen (which may also be called 37 Violet) which has violet, liquorice and raspberry.

Tourist tip: the store is near Checkpoint Charlie and Topographie des Terrors, a display & section of the Berlin Wall.

Galleries Lafayette

This department store has an atmosphere of a ‘pop-up’ shop for fashion & makeup. I went to Galleries Lafayete to fine the Berlin-based Schwartzlose.

Yea, interesting. Rausch probably got my attention the most because of the animalistic notes, it was damn dirty & fun. Altruist is their newest which has a cologne freshness with May rose, lemon and pepper. Testing was rushed in a crowded area, I didn’t buy anything.

Tourist tip: save yourself time by asking an SA to take you to this display. The store layout is frustratingly circular with a space in the middle.

Krigler

Krigler currently has stores in Berlin, Beverly Hills & New York. The store in the Hotel Adlon Kempinski has the full range of fragrances and make candles on-site. Their first fragrance was crafted in 1879 – 79 Pleasure Gardenia. The fragrance numbering relates to the year it was made, that one is the only ’18’ prefix. If a second or third is made, a 2 or 3 added to the number. The 2000 series drops the second zero, ie: 214 = 2014, 2142 = the second fragrance made that year.

What do they smell like, I hear you ask?? But I haven’t yet told you about the long history, the famous people who wore Krigler, or the quality of the ingredients. Or the extravagant prices. £16 for a 2ml sample…. Painful. Yes they ship to Australia.

Established Cognac 66 was the stand out for me. A thick caramel with rich cognac cut through by a sharp juicy apple note, taking the edge off the heaviness. Apparently it used to have 80% cognac but the current formulation is 50% – still quite potent. I also picked up samples of Oud for Highness 75, Schöne Linden 05 and Extraordinaire Camelia 209.

Tourist tip: these guys are right near the Brandenburg Gate.

Ritz Carlton – “Fragrances” cocktail bar

OK this Fragrances cocktail bar was the primary reason I wanted to go to Berlin! And it totally blew me away. I’ll dedicate a separate article to my evening here because the Bar Manager, Arnd Heissen totally took me under his wing and showed me around both Fragrances, and its sister bar The Curtain Club. The bar staff were absolute fragrance & mixology experts, I had a fabulous time, so much fun!

The cocktails are created to emulate a fragrance profile. I think there are about 30 on the menu. You walk in to a display which has a bottle of the actual fragrance, the ingredients, and a photo of the cocktail glass. I chose two cocktails, Serge Lutens Fille en Aiguilles and Bulgari Au Thè Bleu. Both were beautifully done and wonderfully presented. I was curious to see how they managed the incense in Fille en Aiguilles – this was created by using a particular smokey tea. Fab result.

Ok I’m sure I’m over my word count (sorry Portia!) so I’ll leave my fragrant Berlin travels stories for now. It is an amazing city any my short 2 days there wasn’t enough.

Have you visited any of these places? Or do you have more recommendations for my next Berlin adventure?

xx Tina G

White Lilac by Mary Chess 1932

May 8, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 12 Comments

Post by Anne-Marie

A while ago a generous perfume penpal sent me a sample of Mary Chess’s White Lilac. I liked it, but nothing about it struck me very forcibly. Maybe this was because the lilac in my own garden had just finished, and there were roses, jasmine and gardenia on the way. Wisteria was blossoming in public gardens near where I work. I was surrounded by natural floral scents and perhaps I didn’t need another at that moment.

With summer flowers now gone, I spritzed it again and was delighted at last by the fresh, spring-in-a-bottle aroma that leapt joyfully out of the sample vial.

White Lilac by Mary Chess 1932

eBay

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Lilac, wisteria, lily-of-the-valley and musk.

Information about Grace Mary Robinson, née Chess, is scanty and inconsistent, but she was an American woman who, after her marriage in 1907, moved with her husband between London and the US. She loved flowers and in what sounds like a hobby turned into a business, she sold flowers she made herself from metal, clay and parchment. She also created perfumes and White Lilac was the first of many mostly single-note perfumes released between 1932 (some sources say 1930) and the 1990s. She died in 1964.

Chess must have understood perfume as a lifestyle commodity. She sold scented sachets, smelling salts, and even a scented paste that could be painted on the inside of drawers and cupboards. She experimented with charming bottle designs, including a bottle for every chess piece, from a King to a pawn. A chess piece became the symbol of Mary’s flourishing business.

You might think that she was more interested in the decorative and lifestyle aspects of perfume than the actual scent, but White Lilac was popular for many years. Perfume historian Nigel Groom says it was once named as one of the eight great perfumes of the world.

Pixabay

If so, perhaps it was because it offered an alternative to other best-sellers like Chanel No 5, Arpege and Evening in Paris. It is an innocent, rather dainty fragrance with little overt sexual allure, once sometimes marketed to brides. It works best in the opening hour or so, after which it becomes paler and less interesting. That probably just encouraged women to carry it about and spritz again, for the opening is indeed gloriously vivid. I smell mostly lilac and wisteria, green, but also slightly round and fruity.

There are some reviews on Fragrantica and Basenotes. One Fragrantician exclaims:
How can a 50 year old scent smell so fresh and alive? The lilacs are blooming right here in my bedroom.

DeviantArt

I don’t know when White Lilac was discontinued but you still see it on auction sites. Mary Chess has gone now, but undemanding floral fragrances never really go out of style. These days several of the niche houses charge dearly for them.

Is this your style of fragrance? Have you tried anything from Mary Chess?

Purple: Photo Essay

May 8, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 9 Comments

Post by Suzanne R Banks

Hi APJ,

Looking though my photos and everything seemed to be purple. Peaceful, perfect, poignant purple.

Purple: Photo Essay

Flickr

I might just stop talking again and not do interviews. Prince

Vale Prince

Check out my YouTube Channel too, thanks
Suzanne R Banks Blog
Suzanne R Banks Aromatherapy
Suzanne R Banks FaceBook

Please check out my new book REVELATION! – Reveal Your Destiny with Essential Oils

Amazon USA Amazon AU Amazon UK

Cult Of Scent: An Afternoon with Jocelyn Fullerton: Photo Essay

May 7, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

Post by Portia

Hi there Indie Fumies,

Australia has some wonderful indie houses and perfumers. Recently one of the best loved among them, Jocelyn Fullarton, and I organised an afternoon at my place where she could showcase her wares and some of the ingredients that make up the Cult Of Scent beauties. It was a stellar afternoon, we had such a good time that I took only one photo. There was so much to smell and learn it was completely overwhelming. Great day.

Cult Of Scent

An Afternoon with Jocelyn Fullerton

Jocelyn has some wonderful scents and I really like her enthusiasm, joy and sheer, unbridled passion for her work. It’s infectious and we were all fascinated. We got to smell a couple of new scents today but here are the current range.

I find myself spritzing In The Woods the most from my Cult Of Scent Sample Set. It’s a modern Eau de Cologne interpretation and I find it soothing and elegant. 3-4 hours of excellent citrus into soft, lightly creamy woodsy dry down. Take your Travel Bottle with you for respritzes during the day and you’ll get the wonderful energising zing of neroli all over again. It’s a 100% winner for me.

There will be reviews soon.

Cult Of Scent

As you can see we really covered some fragrant ground during the afternoon. Pieces of fragrance, vintage frags that contain those pieces, Cult Of Scent fragrances; we sampled the lot and it was totally fun.

Cult Of Scent Sample Set 8ml per bottle!

Jocelyn brought me a special Thank You gift. WOW! I am spoiled.

Just found a bunch of shots that Scott took too. EXCELLENT!! Thanks Scotty.

Go grab yourself a Cult Of Scent Sample Set. I promise you’ll be impressed. They’re excellent value. You get enough juice to really wear the fragrances and see how they fit in your life. Go on, you deserve something lovely! It’s also really important to support our local talent.

Portia xxx

Day Out In Sydney: Photo Essay

May 6, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 16 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey there Fumies,

Scott and I had a big day out yesterday in Sydney city. Sadly we could not make it on time to the Penhaligon’s Breakfast but it looked amazing and we would have LOVED to be a part of it. What a fabulous arrangement in a sunny outdoor courtyard. Congratulations Libertine Parfumerie.

Men’s Biz

We first hit Men’s Biz in the Strand Arcade where our mate Liam is currently curating their fragrance range. I also wanted to take advantage of the APJ 10% Discount. We sniffed loads and chatted, met the owner(?) Nathan and the crew, fell madly in love with loads of frags and had a generally convivial time. Yes, I succumbed and bough Iris Cendre by Naomi Goodsir, feeling particularly good because she is an Aussie who has made it on the world stage.

Liam, Scott & I overwhelmed by choice

Nathan (the boss) joins us, he is sweet and handsome

Sniffing the wares

Men’s Biz has a great selection of all grooming products

Liam’s first Sydney sale goes to me. YAY! 10% APJ Discount too.

Men’s Biz Discount Code!

A special gift for Australian readers – a 10% coupon code from Men’s Biz. Enter ‘APJ’ at the checkout.

Next we went and visited my girlfriend Jolanta in DIOR’s stand along store on Castlereigh St. She had text me earlier this week and told me she was holding me some of the newest DIOR Privee range samples for APJ (review and giveaway coming). La Colle Noire is said to be a spicy rose and I can’t wait to smell what they’ve done.

Christian Dior

Isn’t Jolanta beautiful? She is a Polish Australian and is the DIOR Ambassador here in Sydney, Sexiest voice ever.

Yes, I shopped. The long overdue purchase of Fève Délicieuse that I have talked of incessantly finally took place. Woo Hoo! I now have an enormous amount and can spritz with abandon.

After DIOR we made a quick sidestep into Hermès and visited my mate Gene. I thought I took a couple of picks but clearly I haven’t. As always Gene was super helpful and grabbed us samples of the newest fragrance (review and giveaway upcoming) Hermessence Muguet Porcelain. It’s really pretty and a clean, aquatic lily of the valley. It smelled WAY better on Scott than me but Monsieur Li is absolutely To Die for and had I not already done my budget I would have shopped there too. Next time.

Then we hit my favourite department store, David Jones. We went to the CHANEL counter and Esther was so sweet and helpful. It was touch and go whether I would finally buy Misia but I kept strong. The Guerlain girl was nice but busy, they did have a partial bottle on sale of one of the gold rimmed bottles but I did not succumb. Bravo me.

Yves Saint Laurent

THEN, we went looking at the Yves Saint Laurent section because Scott wanted to try the Black Opium flankers and I wanted to see their new ultra glam range. After finding the Oriental Collection ridiculously overpriced originally it is good to see that they have dropped the prices, now retailing at $180/80ml which is infinitely more reasonable. There we were greeted by the very glamorous Sonja who was excellent value and really knew her stuff.

We did find the newest Le Vestiaire des Perfumes range which really felt like YSL has hit the luxury nail on the head. $230/125ml and the fragrances we tried were smooth and very luxe, not especially groundbreaking but the smell good. My favourite that I very nearly bought was their Caftan; a fabulous sizzling citrus opening with enough resins and balms beneath to warm the cockles of any perfumistas heart.

Isn’t Sonja gorgeous. We will be going back to do some serious shopping with her in the very near future.

The three we tried were Caftan, Caban and Tuxedo.

And we have a winner. I like that YSL have brought out this range but I really wish they’s started with 2 and built it up over time. Insta-ranges are getting ridiculous.

Anyway, that was our super fun day out yesterday. For those that wonder, yes my knee was less than comfortable today but I really was grateful to Scott that we got out of the house and did some fun stuff.

Do you guys ever go on a frag expedition?
Portia xx

2000 Posts GIVEAWAY WINNER

May 6, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 3 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey Crew,

Hopefully you are enjoying the fun over here at APJ too. Let’s see who won.
Good Luck.
Portia xxx

2000 Posts GIVEAWAY WINNER

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x 7ml vintage Guerlain Mitsouko umbrella bottle (about 4ml)
1 x vintage Guerlain Mitsouko soap
P&H Worldwide

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Thursday 5th May 2016 10pm Australian EST.
Winner was chosen by random.org

HighestSelf

Morrigan

CONGRATULATIONS!! The winner will have till Sunday 8th May 2016 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.

Capricci GIVEAWAY WINNERS

May 6, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey Crew,

I am enjoying the fun over here at APJ currently. Loads of great giveaways.
Good Luck.
Portia xxx

Capricci GIVEAWAY WINNERS

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 2 winners who will receive:
1 x Capricci by Nina Ricci sample from my bottle
P&H Worldwide

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Thursday 5th May 2016 10pm Australian EST
Winner were chosen by random.org

Lindaloo

Bernadette Winfield-Gray

CONGRATULATIONS!! The winners will have till Sunday 8th May 2016 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.

Embarrassed and Blue? What Do I Do?

May 5, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 80 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey Crew,

I’m blue. Yes, having a crunchy, grumpy, blue day. Mainly I’m sore, embarrassed and filled with un-named self loathing. The black dog is visiting again. Rude on a sun shiny, warm and perfect autumn day which makes me feel even more depressed because now I’ve added guilt to the mix. Then the spiral worsens because I start getting angry at myself because I am so lucky I have no right to be down. All this happening in my head while coming to full awakeness, already before I even opened my eyes the spiral had begun.

Wikipedia

So, I’ve come to the keyboard to tell you what I’m feeling. Sharing, doing something, anything to change my course, halt the spiral, redirect myself. Thanks for being here, if you’re bored already then sorry, go about your day. Even getting to the computer and writing this much has chipped away a little at the thick morass.

Embarrassed and Blue? What Do I Do?

OK, why am I sore? Last night at work I was returning my plates to the restaurant, walking past some diners and the bar. Floating around in drag, doing the right thing of returning my plates so I could thank the chef. My shoe caught on something, maybe carpet or frock or itself. One second I was upright and the next on all fours, the left over food scattered everywhere and people laughing, shocked intakes of breath, staring and talking to me. I was there in that position for about 5 seconds going over my body to see if anything was really hurt and doing a body count. Everything seemed OK except my knees were already starting to throb. Stood up, and looked down, knees out of stockings, looking like I’d been dragged across asphalt and one already bleeding. It was a mess. GAK!

Thank goodness the staff and punters are my mates. We got me sorted, cleaned up as much as possible, disinfected, bandaged etc and I went on and did my nights work of Trivia Hosting. Embarrassing but all OK.

Why am I grumpy? This is not so easy to assess. Maybe I didn’t sleep well because of the pain. Maybe I’m feeling dumb. Maybe I was just due a blue day.

How am I going to react? Well, I got out of bed and cleaned my teeth. Then I came to the computer to write to you all. Already I feel better. Not perfect but better. I have stepped from the abyss. Now I’m going to make an instant coffee with sugar & milk. See you in a moment.

Pexels

Heya, it’s about 30 minutes later. I made my coffee, went onto the balcony and folded Jin & my washing up, cleaned up my knees and re-applied antiseptic and Band Aids, took my shirt off and sat in the sun to drink my coffee. Coming back into the room I gave myself 6 blasts of my current fragrance addiction Calvin Klein Contradiction.

Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Lily, Lily-of-the-valley, Orchid, Mock-orange, Peony, Rose
Heart: Pear, Blackberry, Eucalyptus, Lilac, Jasmine
Base: Musk, Sandalwood, Tonka bean

Sitting here now in my office, typing in a cloud of Contradiction, and though I am not fully functioning in joyful mode I have derailed the train of depression-spiral and now I’m going to write 10 things I can be grateful for.

I am grateful for my home. It’s no mansion but it’s comfortable and functional.
Grateful for food in the fridge, there is even some double cream brie and a few olives. So there’s lunch sorted.
Super grateful for my friends. The handful of really close ones and the wider stretch of buddies and mates.
Grateful for my continued good health. Yes, I’ve had a fall but these bones are strong and I’m already healing.
Grateful I have work. Trivia will never make me a multi millionaire but I enjoy the work, love seeing players every week and having a laugh with them.
Thankful for my parents who gave me so much and left me educated and self assured.
Grateful that I have a kettle, coffee, sugar & milk.
Grateful that I have somewhere to come every day and chat about fragrance, APJ and all of you are a lifesaver. Thank You.
Grateful for my fragrance collection. Yes, it’s ridiculous. No, I’ll never use even 1/20 of it. Yes, it brings me joy.
Grateful for Jin.

Righto. I feel like I’m ready to face the day now.
Thanks for coming on the journey with me. If you suffer from depression try these simple tricks, sometimes they work a treat. If your spiral continues, please seek help. Try a friend but should they all be busy or sleeping there are plenty of Help Lines you can call 24/7.

LifeLine Australia 13 11 14

Beyond Blue Australia 1300 22 46 36

My best advice is to take some positive action for yourself. Even cleaning my teeth can help restore my thought pattern and taking this small bit of care of myself can change the colour of my thoughts. This next meme works for you as well as those around you.

Wishing you all healthy minds and bodies,
Portia xxx

Australian Perfume Junkies

Olfactory Opinions from Oz

Meldrick the Whippet

Farewell Meldrick

TinaG’s Fragrant Adventures: Berlin, Germany: Photo Essay

Heathrow Airport Terminal 5

Étui Noir by Miller Harris 2016

TinaG’s Fragrant Adventures

Berlin, Germany: Photo Essay

Frau Tonis Parfum

Galleries Lafayette

Krigler

Ritz Carlton – “Fragrances” cocktail bar

White Lilac by Mary Chess 1932

White Lilac by Mary Chess 1932

Purple: Photo Essay

Purple: Photo Essay

Cult Of Scent: An Afternoon with Jocelyn Fullerton: Photo Essay

Cult Of Scent

An Afternoon with Jocelyn Fullerton

Day Out In Sydney: Photo Essay

Men’s Biz

Men’s Biz Discount Code!

Christian Dior

Yves Saint Laurent

2000 Posts GIVEAWAY WINNER

2000 Posts GIVEAWAY WINNER

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

HOUSEKEEPING

Morrigan

Capricci GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Capricci GIVEAWAY WINNERS

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

HOUSEKEEPING

Lindaloo

Bernadette Winfield-Gray

Embarrassed and Blue? What Do I Do?

Embarrassed and Blue? What Do I Do?