Scent Diary: 11.9 – 17.9.2017

September 17, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

Portia

OMG APJ!
India. I forgot how amazing this mercurial land can be. There are parts up here in the North East that are definitely NOT for the faint hearted and also warm, human connections that happen every time you turn around. The peoples English is the best I’ve come across on the sub-continent, that makes communication easier.

Varun has decided that we need to walk as exercise and so I follow along in his fit, firm and fabulous wake sweating like a farm hand and puffing like bellows. It must look very comical to the average Indian.

Scent Diary: 11.9 – 17.9.2017

Monday 11:

Monday morning. Slept like a baby for 7 hours straight. That is such a rare occurrence that I wanted you to know. WOW! It feels wonderful. Talk about revitalising.

The sun has come out in Shillong and the air is bright and crisp with promise of adventure. I’m currently enjoying my first lazy coffee of the day and Varun is having his Bucket Bath.

I found a couple of extra frags in my emergency section of the suitcase so today I’m wearing Oliver & Co Vaninger. Its warm spicy lactonic vanilla is very reminiscent of masala chai and Yuvrag will later comment how beautiful I smell.

Our destination today is the Natural Double Root Bridge. We have an extra passenger because our driver Yuvrag brought his cousin Shurag to help with driving. The misty mountains were beautiful.

On arrival we then had to walk about 500m down into the bush to get to the root bridge and falls. It was well worth the walk, as we reached the area the sun came out and bathed us in its warmth. Yuvraj said he’d only once seen it in sunlight before, normally it’s draped in clouds anmd drizzling.

The way back up was not nearly so easy. The sun made everything hot and humid. Still, we took it relatively slowly and ate the pre-cut pineapple prepared by the locals at the halfway point.

We got back in the car and cloud once more closed in.

We didn’t get home till well after 10pm and we were all bushed. Bedtime.

Tuesday 12:

5am wake up. Out the door and off to the airport to our next destination Sikkim, an Indian state set between Nepal and Bhutan on either side and China above. We drove from the airport straight up into the Himalayas. I needed to get a permit which was quickly and easily arranged at the border at no charge. I did need a passport photo, photocopy of my passport and my Indian Visa stamp. The gent was charming and helpful and we were duly driven yet higher towards Gantok.

The capital Gantok is a multi hilltop town and we are in one of the highest areas, just below the main tourist shopping boulevard M G Marg. The state university is here and so while not being a university town there are a large percentage of youth around. It’s got an excellent welcoming atmosphere.

There are few tourists here at this time because there has been some insurgency so basically the area is at war with internal guerrillas and Varun thinks that China may be trying to reclaim the area too.

As we climbed in the car this view took me by complete surprise, it was shot as the vehicle was moving.

The beginnings of Gantok at the bottom of our mountain.

View from our room is epic. You can see the village atop the next peak. We are hopefully going there to a temple for sunrise prayers Thuesday.

Wednesday 13:

Lazy day. Well I say lazy day but Varun had me up at sparrows fart walking down the mountain and back up in the drizzle before breakfast. Bastard. It was lovely to be out & about though.

Did the undies and sock wash & had a bucket bath. I freaking love them and prefer it over a shower.

Later we walked up the mountain to drop off some laundry. Then onwards to MG Marg and I did a little souvenir shopping. As we reached the street the sun broke through the clouds and it was surprisingly warm. We also went down through the Lal Bazaar and that was a fun way to see the people of the town shopping and having haircuts. I also bought some Darjeeling, Assam and Sikkim tea as gifts.

Suddenly we were cloudy again and a cool, persistent rain fell so we took refuge in The Coffee Shop. It was lovely and we read magazines, chatted on the phone to Jin and Neela Vermeire and looked out over the nearest buildings as the clouds billowed and flowed around us. It was so peaceful and happy.

Thursday 14:

Mona di Orio Myrrh Cassati accompanied us today. It is a perfect fit for this holiday.

Varun had us up so early that we were ready to leave by 7am. Then, oh joy oh bliss, we walked up and down vertical mountains for over two kilometres till we got to the Chortan Temple. The stupa looks especially lovely in Varun’s blurry pic.

I walked the Prayer Wheel circuit praying for some of my besties. Strangely calming when you wish good things for people you love.

These small cup lights had all been bought this morning to honour a recent decease. The female monks were in charge here lighting and praying. Beautiful.

They were kind enough to offer me a large candle for my Mum. These candles are prayers that help people reach Nirvana. If anyone deserves it, then my Mum does.

Then Varun, bastard supreme, suggested we walk back. ASSHOLE! So we did in the warm sunshine and I was most uncomfortable by the time we reached the hotel. Dripping wet and only able to breathe in ragged, desperate gasps.

I complain but really it was lovely, just a bit overly energetic.

Breakfast was really yum. I know, it looks disgusting but it is so freaking delicious. Aloo Mutter, spicy Sambal, Yoghurt and Puri. MMMMM. Washed down with sweet milky coffee.

We went up to MG Marg later and then the heavens opened. It was belting down for a little while. Great gouts of water splashing all over the pavements. MONSOON in Gantok. Actually, they are saying that this part of India has had a very soft monsoon and that we were very lucky.

Super yummy Chinese. Quite different to the Aussie and Chinese versions. How good are those two story dragons?

Every day I try to have at least one Garlic Naan. It was Kath’s favourite and we called her the Naan Devi while she was here in 2012. I send her daily pics.

Wandering back to the hotel (a 1500m descent at an alarming angle with cars whizzing by inches away and 100m drops at your elbow with no railing) in the cool drizzle we HAD to stop at the Tara Palace and see what all the fuss was about.

Well, it is indeed worth the raves. From the back verandah where we had coffee the view was breathtaking. A constantly changing mountain and cloud show over the rice paris and farms of the hill villagers all the way down to the river in the valley. Magic!

Tonight we stayed in the hotel, read, chatted, listened to some music and I wrote some postcards. Very chill evening. Now I’m for bed.

Friday 15:

Slept like dead people. Woke up to sunshine streaming in the windows. Miss Dior parfum. Off to breakfast.

Walked to the top of the drive, no mean feat as it’s 100m upwards, as we get there a cab appears and we ask how much to do our days adventures. 1500 rupees. There are 50 rupees in an Australian dollar. Basically this kid has offered to drive us around all day for AUD$30, and he has jacked the price up by a third so we can haggle him to the 1000 he expects to get. I smile and say fine. He has already saved us 2000 extra rupees the hotel was going to put on top to call and have him come to the front door.

So you know, we took him to lunch with us and had him sit with us to eat. Drivers in India sit outside in the car and wait. Then after a gruelling day of about 7 hours taking us to temples and the zoo I paid him 2,100 rupees (what I had) and he was so sweet. First he reminded me how much he had quoted, then he got really emotional and happy. 7 hours for AUD$42. It’s heartbreaking. When will the world become a more level playing field? Sometimes the injustice gets to me.

The temple, monastery and university is the first refugee temple in the world. The Tibetan buddhists had to flee Tibet before China stole their country. India gave them this site first and another in McLeod Gang.

This is the university. Monks must study for 13 years then do six years of service.

We grabbed a thali for lunch at a roadside hole in the wall.

Then off to the ZOO! We saw this incredible leopard. They are so much bigger than I expected and we were about 5 feet from him. He was lovely.

Then we went to the Ganesha Temple where the priests prayed for us and gave us tikas & wristcords.

Off to the Tara Palace for chai. This is the view from the balcony. It’s one of the more expensive hotels in Gangtok but it looks worth every rupee to us, inside and out. Very swish.

Here is Benjamin, our nighttime driver and will be driving us tomorrow. HOW CUTE?

Saturday 16:

Good morning Gangtok. It’s our last morning in the Himalayas and I’m feeling a bit glum about leaving. This week has been a perfect idyll, really relaxed and seeing so much. The people up here are some of the most welcoming I’ve met anywhere.

Driving, flying, arriving, eating, sleeping.

Did spritz original Burberry Women on my way through Delhi Duty Free. Smells so otherworldly here in India. That seems to make it even more interesting. Also I really noticed a peony note in it that sprang out. Mix that with some sweetness and almonds and voila, smells good.

Sunday 17:

Morning. I’m lazy. Slept in, awake of my own accord, got up and did some computer stuff. I will have a shower in a minute, or 10. Hopefully a bucket bath.

Breakfast of champions and the view from the Matsya Aravli room where I’m staying.

Went and visited Varun’s Mummy and Pappa. Always great to see them. His niece was home sick from uni and we took her shopping with us. So much fun buying new saris and ordering the tailor to make them into coats for me. Mine are starting to fall apart.

Then home for a nap.

What all have you been up to?
Tell me in the comments please, I love to know.

Portia xx

Saturday Question: Dressed Up Perfume

September 16, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 38 Comments

Portia

Hello Fellow Fumies,

Every Saturday we have a Question, an idea purloined from Olfactoria’s Travels. Everyone gets to chime in with an answer, chat with other responders and it is a fun event each week. Taking sides never means taking offence and everyone keeps it respectful and light, even though we can sometimes trawl the depths.

The idea is you’ll see it on the weekend or chime in through the week. Hopefully you will come back and see if anyone has responded to your comment and you can reply to them.

I’m currently away on holidays in India and will have limited internet but be assured that I’ll read every comment and answer when I can.

Saturday Question: Dressed Up Perfume

You’ve been invited to a Gala Fundraiser. It’s not exactly the Met Ball but you’ll be required to wear a dress or suit. Not necessarily a gown or dinner suit but if you have such refinements then by all means go all the way. The question today is about Dressed Up Perfume. What do you wear when you have to look and smell a million dollars? Do you go soft and refined? Is it a wall of scent situation? Do you want to fly your freak flag? Maybe you want to keep your scent deliberately low key?

Unlike most of our APJ readers my job is dressing up and wearing gowns, looking well over the top and shimmering. So my chances to wear Dressed Up Perfume are far more numerous than most. At least four times a week I’m glammed up to go host rooms. I have a range of scents depending on mood and weather but the ones I reach for most when going for Dressed Up Perfume are these.

What Are My Dressed Up Perfumes?

Fragrantica

DIOR Mitzah

The original Mitzah herself was famous as Christian Dior’s fashion muse. I can’t think of a more dressed up place in the world you could find. She was not a typical beauty either but a fun and frivolous gal pal who was often seen decked out in outlandish leopard print everything. She could command a room with her style and Mitzah the fragrance reflects that chutzpah. Honeyed and spiced rose over a lightly feral labdanum and patchouli with a whisper of burning incense. VERY dressed up.

Fragrantica

Mugler Alien The Taste of Fragrance

Original Alien done with a salted caramel twist. There is something commanding and elegant hiding under the sweetness. I feel like the world is mine when I wear this beautiful fragrance. Sometimes when I really want to stand fragrantly head & shoulders above the crowd I layer Alien The Taste of Fragrance over Amouage Dia Woman lotion. Seriously, you have no idea how magical a concoction it is.

Fragrantica

Divine EdP

There is something restrained and effortless about the slightly OTT aldehydic white floral glamour that is Divine EdP. It’s like CHANEL No 5s uber wealthy, less abrasive sister.Presence without pretence, Divine EdP manages to feel society luscious. A grande dame of a scent that sparkles and shimmers exactly like the most fabulous gowns.

My Saturday Question to you is:

Who would be your three Dressed Up Perfumes, where would you where them and why?

Trouble by Jacques Cavalier for Boucheron 2004

September 15, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 11 Comments

Portia

Hiya Frag Heads,

From the man who brought us Kingdom, L’eau d’Issey, JPG Classique, Stella, Zanzibar and M7. The man who is now the head perfumer at Louis Vuitton. A fragrance that was panned by the critics, Luca Turin famously wrote it was a one star dismal oriental, a murky broth the colour of mud in which float shreds of past fragrances. Ouch! Harsh indeed. It may be all of that and a mess but I love it. Impossible to find nowadays I have stockpiled enough for this lifetime and the next.

Trouble by Boucheron 2004

Trouble by Jacques Cavalier

Trouble Boucheron Fragrantica Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Dyer’s-broom, Lemon
Heart: Jasmine
Base: Musk, Sandalwood

Trouble has been sitting unloved lately. I wore it a lot for years and then it got put in a box and ignored. Searching for something else I rediscovered my Trouble cache and now have worn it for at least part of three days running. The notes seem so straight forward, I’m pretty sure they’ve left out dozens of ingredients, but they are also irrelevant. I don’t smell the parts but the whole scent. Trouble smells like itself only to me and interestingly the fragrances that it’s most often compared to (Allure, Cinema, Addict) are not perfumes that I like for myself at all.

Trouble Boucheron Henri_Rousseau_-_Eve_in_the_Garden_of_Eden WikiMedia WikiMedia

An oriental fragrance with loads of amber and vanilla all the way through, a crunchy biscuit base accord, creamy white flowers and some soft focus woods are how my nose smells Trouble. Let’s be honest here it’s about as much trouble as a cuddle from a loving mother.

Longevity is excellent and though pretty linear it does head even more amber/woodsy in the base. Probably too thick and bombastic for modern workplaces and definitely interferes with your palate at dinner but for smelling fabulous while doing the vacuuming and housework I can think of no better glam scent to life you far above the hum of domestic boredom.

Trouble Boucheron Thomas_Cole_The_Garden_of_Eden_detail_Amon_Carter_Museum WikiCommons WikiMedia

Further reading: I Scent You A Day
eBay sometimes has bottles pop up

Do you have an ignored or soundly trashed fragrance in your favourites list?
Portia xx

Clair de Musc by Christopher Sheldrake for Serge Lutens 2003

September 14, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 11 Comments

Portia

Heya Fumies,

So recently there have been wild rumours going around about the Serge Lutens brand. Bottle changes, discontinuations, export going to bell and vice versa. It has freaked me out so I finally bit the bullet and bought a few I’ve been humming and having over. Grabbed some of them on the discount sites and others I paid retail. Got a couple of the DCd vaporisator bottles and a brand new 100ml of La Fille de Berlin. Expensive couple of months but I am glad.

Clair de Musc by Serge Lutens 2003

Clair de Musc by Christopher Sheldrake

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Iris, musk, neroli, bergamot

My noses telling me fruity musks but it doesn’t smell like citrus. Actually it has a kind of metallic smell like icy gutters. Sheer and weightless yet surprisingly full of scent. An interesting oxymoron.

In Clair de Musc the iris is earthy and only slightly cardboard, a very cool, aloof, spacious iris that whispers elegant restraint.

I have some problems smelling some musks but these are fragrant to me. Both clean and animal come through, there’s a very soft funkiness but the focus is laundry clean.

Clair de Musc by Serge Lutens -John_Downman_-_The_Ghost_of_Clytemnestra_Awakening_the_Furies WikiMedia WikiMedia

My mind keeps wandering to who this scent could be created for. It seems to sit at a weird crossroads between animal and mechanical. As if a robot or computer are trying to generate human smells to cloak their inhumanity. It seems they can only work within the confines of their AI scented vocabulary though. Though Clair de Musc gets furry, it’s not a puppy or even a piglet but the scratchy glass fibres of roof insulation or the petrochemical created fake fur in flour colours. Everything seems just a bit off true. It makes the journey really interesting.

So I’m thinking it would be an excellent scent for work, to project the scent of absolute industrial strength dedication and a computers focus. Brilliant job interview scent, especially for someone in IT, engineering or construction.

Will I wear mine? I’m not sure that it will reached for often but the times that I want to smell just like this it will definitely get a triple spritz.

Clair de Musc by Serge Lutens chipmunk lilac & green field jil111 pixabay PDI

Further reading: I Scent You A Day and Non-Blonde
FragranceNet has around $100/50ml before Coupon
Surrender To Chance has samples from $6/ml

Also, having read a few reviews of Clair de Musc it seems everyone gets entirely different experiences from it. So even if my review has you gasping to grab a bottle do test first.

Have a lovely day.
Do you like musks?
Portia xx

Nuda by Alessandro Gualtieri for Nasomatto 2010

September 13, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 5 Comments

Erica Golding

Greetings all of you fragrance lovers! I hope this little note finds you well.

Today I am having a nostalgic mommy moment. I took a pause to think about what kinds of perfume my 7-year old tends to react to, and he is just all about the florals! Every time I ask him to help me pick a scent, he always selects a floral aroma. Sometimes I let him sniff a few sprayers and he chooses my perfume that way. Other times, I name general categories like “woodsy, sweet, soapy, or flowers?” Without exception he always picks florals, with a high affinity for jasmine and orange blossom.

Nuda by Nasomatto 2010

Nuda by Alessandro Gualtieri

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
French jasmine, animalic notes

I got to thinking why he might lean this way, and I truly hope that it’s because of the following shared scent memory.

When my little boy was just a baby, I had a soft blue sling to carry him in, nuzzled into my chest. I didn’t wear perfume when he was an infant because I didn’t want to risk harming him or causing irritation, but once he was about 6 months old, I started lightly applying very small amounts. One of the first perfumes that he probably ever experienced was Nasomatto Nuda.

I had a treasured sample vial from Luckyscent, and one day I swiped a little on. The narcotic fragrance washed over me with a wave of pure euphoria, intensely lush and passionate. I was overcome with the joy of finally enjoying the extravagant yet simple adornment of perfume, after sacrificing that pleasure for so long. I will never forget that snapshot in time, his warm little body cozy against me, his sweaty baby head soaking my blouse, feeling peaceful and like a living safe haven for the miraculous life developing in my very arms. For several days, the sling hung onto the spellbinding perfume, a haze of luxurious delight. I like to think that this sensory association is something that we share, and that subconsciously, he associates the intoxicating perfume of sugared jasmine sambac to my boundless love.

Nasomatto Nuda Erica and Jimmers

Further reading: Olfactoria’s Travels and Memory of Scent
Nuda is discontinued but eBay sometimes has bottles

Have you built a shared scent memory with a loved one? Was it intentional or a happy coincidence? Tell me your story!

With love and light,

-Erica

(Ed: Love the photo Erica. You two look so peaceful)

Individualistic Perfume Behaviour and Biking for a Burger

September 12, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 19 Comments

Val the Cookie Queen

Hello you gorgeous fragrant peepsie poohs,

Individualistic Perfume Behaviour

As I headed off to the hairdresser the other day, not a rare thing as I go every fourteen days, I grabbed a spritz for my wrists and jumped into the car. I never spray my neck as I don´t want the stylist to have to breathe in what they might not like. And to be honest a good haircut is a notch above my perfume habit. Years of perfecting my OCD I´ll be damned if I am just gonna let it go. Actually I take care a lot not to get up anyone´s nose. Dentists, meetings, doctors, stuff like that. I find myself thinking ahead before applying perfume to make sure the people in my day can handle it, or not. Probably another reason I love pure perfume and the sublime art of The Dab. Perhaps I should change my attitude and just Spray for England, whaddayareckon?

Biking for a Burger

There is this great place for burgers, unique Austrian burgers, about a 35km bike ride from here. Well, it would be a 35 km car ride too, but I don´t allow myself a burger unless I have ridden my bike to get. (70km round trip 🙂 ) Talking of OCDs ……… So we took off yesterday on the bikes for a late lunch.

When I was a ten year old I had mega bike crash, one that puts all my husband´s downhilling buddies to shame. I fell off as I was steaming down a hill, and actually have no idea to this day why exactly happened. I was found lying in the street with a couple of teeth next to me, with their roots attached. I had a fractured jaw, and a massive hole in my lip. One could say fairly traumatic. I didn´t look in a mirror for about nine months and spent the next eight years having work done on my teeth, some really weird shit I can tell you!! I didn´t step on a bike again until I was 26 years old, when my now husband
made me get on a bike when we lived in Amsterdam. I was terrified. But yeah, I got used to it and started to love it and even spent a year riding around the city at top speed on an old piece without brakes. Just using my feet. Ha! Can hardly imagine that now. Some sucker stole that bike outside of The Melkweg.
I hope they fell off.

Yesterday I fell off again. Forty seven years after my first fall. Hard to believe it took so long. Luckily Chris was there to take a pic for a later Instagram post before picking my bike up. I was riding so slowly it didn’t matter, although I got seriously nettled. Was glad I had a helmet on as I did knock my head. Teeth stayed in place.

Here’s a few pics.

The stone lion is a statue along the lake, in Traunkirchen. A local artist was commissioned by the Emperor Franz Josef. He cast several bronzes. When the Kaiser inspected it, he saw it had no tongue. He mentioned it to the artist who was so upset he later chucked himself into the lake and died. The Emperor felt so bad he vowed never to criticise someone who had done something for him again. The locals celebrate this event each year.

The coffee is a double espresso Affogato in our favourite place in Bad Ischl We have that after our burger. The mirror in the loo is in the same place. How totally cool is that, that you can fix your makeup whist on the bog? Talk about mirrors in the bathroom ….. lalalala.

Ride on.
Bussis.
CQ

Summertime Favourites and Sharing a Dream

September 11, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 17 Comments

BlondesWunder

How you all doing APJ?

I guess I am in a very lucky position still being able to chose what I want to do with my life. I pretty much have no boundaries (except money, haha), and a world welcoming me with open arms. That makes it freaking difficult to make a choice. It is hard enough selecting a perfume each day, how the hell am I supposed to choose between studying, au-pairing, work and whatever else? (I think I am gonna study and do freelance makeup, but watch this space)

Summertime Favourites and Sharing a Dream

Being honest with you, I do have a dream; one that I have pushed aside for a few years, always finding an excuse not to quite start it. It is scary and even a bit embarrassing. Now that I am going to tell you I will have to go through with it! Maybe some of you will follow along. My big dream is to make YouTube videos, and lots of social media. There, I said it.

Flickr

I know how much work it will be, well actually I probably don´t, and I will need to learn everything, especially editing. I am sure I will get the hang of it.

When I tell people this is what I want to do the first thing they say is “don´t you think there are enough people doing it?” My passion is still makeup. However, as a makeup artist I think there are too many extreme makeup tutorials out there. Working for MAC has really made me see that the majority of people don´t want to wear neon eyeshadows or green, blue and black lipstick. At least not every day! Here is where I hopefully step in and show you how the right concealer and a touch of mascara not only makes you look fresher, it also changes your mood. I want to do vlogs and short #scentoftheday clips too. I will be myself and see where it leads me. I am going to start working in some videos. If you have any advice for me ….. Join me on my crazy journey if you have time.

Perfume!

This has been my first summer that I have worn perfume. I never liked perfume in the heat, but my nose seems to have changed drastically over the last year and I have been enjoying it a lot. I have been lavishly wearing:

Fragrantica

Guerlain Terracotta
Malle´s Dries van Noten and Malle´s Carnal Flower (The Carnal Flower hair mist is on my shopping list, it is divine.)
Serge Lutens Tubereuse Criminelle (I have nearly emptied my Mum´s old bell jar)

Fragrantica

What have your summer staples been?

If you wear perfume, wear a lot of it! I want people to faint next to me on the train because I smell so fab.

Love and peace, follow your dreams,

xxx Blondewunder
@b.londedswunder

Scent Diary: 4.9 – 10.9.2017

September 10, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 16 Comments

Portia

WHIRLWIND WEEK APJ,

Getting ready, getting out, getting here. It’s been so bloody hectic and 100% fun. Yes, there have been some surprises, not all of them ultimately happy ones, but that’s what holiday adventures are all about. This is hope I would love to live, travelling the world in search of experience. Meeting new people and having a momentary connection, or making new friends. Heaven.

Scent Diary: 4.9 – 10.9.2017

Monday 4:

Getting ready for going away

In the evening Alice, TinaG and Phil dropped around and it was great to see them even though I was preoccupied.

A Press Sample of Parfumerie Generale Suede Osmanthe 5.1 arrived in the mail. It is unutterably beautiful. Sweet, green, fruity, plush suede and very sexy. Imagine if Daim Blond was amped towards canned fruit in sugar syrup and greened out.

Fragrantica

Tuesday 5:

Running around and getting the final things done. Scott came over and helped, Jin was of work so we ran around together. It was fun. I love these guys.

Jacomo Silences PdT was my daytime accompaniment. Excellent mossy chypre. It was about AUD$11/30ml spray from FragranceNet and smells divine.

Worked, back in drag tonight after 2 weeks out with my ankle. All seems good now.

Neela Vermeire Creations Trayee was my choice for work tonight and I smelled utterly fabulous. There were moments when I drifted off into frag head land. BLISS!

Packed the bags tonight. Cleaned the fish tank. Emptied all the bins for bin night. Cleaned up our dining table and put all my fragrances into my perfume room. Folded the washing and put it away.

Just before bed I spritzed some vintage CHANEL No 5 EdP. Sleepy time.

Wednesday 6:

Took the dogs out to the kennels because Jin will be working weird hours and the boys really like their regimented life. They also love going back out to the trainers to brag about their forever home adventures. I wore vintage Caron Infini that comes in a pressurised spritz. The initial aldehydes have become shrill, oily and metallic but one minute in and HEAVEN! My mate margo reckons it’s early 1970s PdC from a gift set. Very cool.

Home for some lunch. The last of the Chinese reheats.

Here are my hairy Hobbit feet and lavish red nail polish. I’m ready for India now.

Keihl’s Original Musk lotion, Olympic Orchids Amber/Labdanum Bath Oil, Cuir Pleine Fleur James Heeley was my bathing ritual for the flight. Fragrant but hopefully not IN YOUR FACE.

Got my gear together and Jin took me to the airport. Happy to be going, sad to be leaving stuff. You get it, I know.

The American Express Lounge is not so much fun solo. I nearly drank them out of sparkling and still water. Hydration pre flight.

Historic entertainment units on China Southern. Actually it was nice not being bombarded with movies from less than a metre away and I got some solid reading done too. Finished Handmaid’s Tale and started on some new thing that was recommended but I’m not sure whether I even understand it yet.

The staff were so good, no problems, full of smiles. I enjoyed the flights immensely.

Thursday 7:

ARRIVED Delhi Airport.

We stayed in Gurgoan and had dinner there.

Showered quickly at night and doused myself in vintage Miss Dior parfum.

Friday 8:

Hotel breakfast, more vintage Miss Dior parfum then off for a flight to Assam. Arrived safely, though the kangaroo style landing left me in doubt of our ultimate survival for a few moments. Careening around like a drunken sailor with St Vitus Dance.

We ordered an Uber who drove us the four hours into the mountains of Meghalaya state, to the capital Shillong. We only stopped once but the scenery on the journey was absolutely breathtaking. The middle shot is a boarding school, the most spectacular grounds and scenery.

For some reason Varun was expecting a tiny town perched atop a mountain, much like McLeod Gang was back in 2001 when we visited. Sadly it is a HUGE city. Well, sadly for Varun, I’m very happy here. The hustle and bustle leaves NYC for dead.

At night we wandered the markets and had Mo-Mos. A selection of steamed chicken and fried pork.

Saturday 9:

We woke at around 5am and set out on an adventure walk around 5.30am. Varun had found a nearby lake park with a walking track around the gardens. Lodki Park was designed and built by the British while they were here and it seriously looks like time has stood still since then. We wandered around it for about an hour then came back to the hotel for breakfast.

Spectacular hedges of dahlia glowed in the cool morning mist, they lit up the walk and reminded me how precious the gift of adventure is. I’ve never seen such a display and these hedges dotted the walk all around the lake and through the parklands.

Breakfast! Yeah, I know it doesn’t look like much. That’s because it’s my third helping of dal, vegetables, yoghurt and paratha. Happy place reached.

Todays excursion was to the wettest places on earth, Mawsynram and Cherrapunji. What better time to see them than in monsoon. The heavens did not disappoint. We drove through clouds more than half the day with sporadic clearings. When it rained it bucketed down and the rest of the time it drizzled and spritzed. Not terribly cold until you got into the winds.

We hiked to some spectacular waterfalls, three sets in all but we only got real photographable vision of one set.

We had Masala Chai to celebrate. Hint for India travel: buy a large bottle of mineral water and get them to make your tea with this. Saves dirt in your coffee. This place was every sort of gorgeous and the kids who run it super sweet.

We also went into a cave complex. It wasn’t terribly long, about 150m, but there were some very low and tight squeezes. We also ended up knee deep in water a couple of times and the rest was climbing over rocks. All done in bare feet. Sadly it wasn’t really photographable but it was an amazing experience.

Varun had chicken Mo-Mos and chilli jam at a roadside stall. I was feeling a bit queazy from driving the winding mountain ranges so I just drank water.

We stopped at a town and looked around a bit. Some dog started barking at me. That never happens, they always love me. I was extremely downhearted by it.

As we drove home the clouds closed in around us. Visibility was about 10m at the most. It was beautiful and eerie, like floating. Amazing trip.

We wandered around to the City Family Dhaba, Shillong’s #1 recommended restaurant. Everybody we spoke to told us it was a must visit. It didn’t disappoint either.

We were so full at the end we couldn’t even finish the garlic Naan. Sacrilege!!

Varun: What do you want to listen to
Portia (being a smart arse) Karen Carpenter of the Carpenters
Music comes on: It’s Gonna Take Some Time by the Carpenters

Consider this smart arse put in his place. SNAP!

Then we hit the club on the roof of our hotel. Varun and I danced until my t-shirt was dripping wet. We sat for a while and then I needed a shower and then bed. Bloody hell. I’m DEAD!!

Sunday 10:

Couldn’t sleep last night. The dogs of Shillong must be having gang territory wars. It sounded vicious and intense and continued for hours. From the sounds there were dogs being torn apart. Terrifying. Every time I thought it had stopped and drifted towards the lands of nod another round would begin.

So I am sleepless and a trifle sweaty this morning.

Best fixer for that? Jacomo Silences. Freaking perfect.

SORRY I’m a bit late posting this addendum! Out all day. Had a wonderful time seeing more waterfalls and lakes.

This is our Shillong driver Yuvraj, his name means prince destined to be king. He has perfect English and is excellent company, we have asked him to drive us tomorrow and day after too.

Varun took this shot. I think it a very flattering likeness.

We had lunch at the poshest place in the whole area. Took our lovely driver there with us and we all sat and chatted companionably while stuffing our faces. I made the hotel staff pull a table and chairs out of the restaurant onto the verandah so our view and the breeze would be wonderful. It was a huge drama but once we were settled it was absolutely amazing.

Hey! So what have you been doing? Tell us all in the comments below please. Anything, fun, fragrant, friends, family or food related. ANYTHING! Tell us about your week.

Portia xx

Saturday Question: Favourite Leather Scents

September 9, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 30 Comments

Portia

Hello Fellow Fumies,

The idea is you’ll see it on the weekend or chime in through the week. Hopefully you will come back and see if anyone has responded to your comment and you can reply to them.

I’m currently away on holidays in India and will have limited internet but be assured that I’ll read every comment and answer when I can.

Saturday Question: Favourite Leather Scents

Leather is one of my most loved notes. It has so many variations from the stench of tanneries to the finished high gloss shoe or worn and loved glove. It can have the scent ofd its owner as in a leather jacket or sweat from sport and weightlifting. It can be suede, patent, cow, sheep, goat or pony and all of them are peculiar to themselves. Then there are the additives like fruit, incense, oudh, woods, flowers, sweets, vanilla, patchouli and the cavalcade of accords available have all had a go with leather.

What are my Favourite Leather Scents?

Fragrantica

Bottega Veneta EdP

Between Daim Blond, Cuir Amethyst and this is only a question of levels and personal taste. Bottega Veneta is the best lasting of the three on me and Jin has claimed it as his signature scent. Whenever I smell it there are so many happy memories piled on top of the actual smell, which I adore. Fruity leather, soft & supple and so incredibly wearable.

Fragrantica

Knize Ten

people call this a floral leather and though it may be to them on me it’s all about favourite leather jacket. It’s a fantasy scent of a mans jacket after years of wear and it has taken on some of his sweat and cologne. I bought my Golden Edition bottle in Vienna at the original Knize store and my original shopping with Denyse Beaulieu in Paris at a chemist right near Jovoy. Happy memories all.

Trussardi Donna

Long before I was a perfumista I had a bottle of Trussardi Donna. To be honest I didn’t even know then that it was aimed at women. It was a fabulously real leather chypre (Though chypre was not in my vocal either) and I loved to smell of it. Still do.

I find it interesting that my three go-to leathers are all from designer houses. Interesting.

My Saturday Question to you is:

What are your favourite leather scents? Do you have special leather moods? When do you wear them?

Perfume I Still Love

September 8, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 37 Comments

Portia

Hi APJ,

It’s weird. Many fragrances I write about, fall in love with and buy a large decant or bottle. Sometimes it feels like I’m keeping the perfume world solvent, HA! Then you all never hear about that perfume again unless it’s in my Sunday Scent Diary, and then just a tiny entry or picture. So today I thought we’d gran out some things that have been written about before and still see regular skin time.

Perfume I Still Love

Afternoon Of A Faun by Etat Libre d’Orange:

There is something deeply satisfying when I spritz Afternoon Of A Faun. It’s a honeyed immortelle, leather, iris and peppery spices smell like nothing else in my collection. One of the last really fabulous, love to wear even though it’s a bit freaky, releases from the ELdO house. It’s like they have taken the late 20th century mens fragrance and twisted just enough to make it interesting again.

Aqua Allegoria Lys Soleia by Guerlain:

Wearing this beauty today inspired the post. I read the fragrance quite differently to the notes presented. My skin throws lily and creamy coconut mixed with the ylang. A tropical scent using all the old tropes but injects an airy freshness and a jaunty lilt. Well into my second bottle and a back up bought just in case. On cool but sunny days like today, boiling summer heatwaves and even the dead cold of european winter Lys Soleia works.

Antaeus by CHANEL:

Antaeus is often a sneaky spritz for me as I go walking the dogs or shopping for groceries. I think I’ve told you all before that my first long term partner and I wore Antaeus in the late 1980s and early 1990s. There is something so classic and finished about it, from picking up the black, super smooth reflective bottle to the earthy leather dry down. The whole experience feels special.

Madame Rochas by Rochas:

Rochas answer to CHANEL No 5 is a clever play on the aldehydic floral. A thicker, more treacle feeling opening. Yellow flowers feel like the centre of attention and the iris, amber and oakmoss create an earthier, less outer space type fragrance. Madame Rochas manages a similar sparkling glamour as No 5 but does it in a more perfumey way. It manages to cut the aloofness and feel like a Christmas hug from a favourite aunt.

Morn to Dusk by Eau D`Italie:

Yes, it lasts all day. The jolt of citrus over vanilla starts this beauty out with a zing but it’s the vanilla heart that goes on all day long. A crunchy, caramelised vanilla that changes with your mood and the weather. Some days it’s more sheer and weightless and others Morn To Dusk can be sweet, thick and heavy. It seems to feel my mood and offer its own magical accompaniment. Simplicity with levels.

Most of these are available as samples & decants from Surrender To Chance.

What are your not so new Perfumes You Love?
Portia xx