Scent Diary: 29.5 – 4.6.2017

June 4, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 26 Comments

Portia

Hi APJ,

Food and fragrance are the orders of the week. A few catch ups but mainly quiet as Jin recovers from tonsillitis. Loads of fun frags though.

Scent Diary: 29.5 – 4.6.2017

Monday 29:

Early this morning when I went to bed I lavishly spritzed Cacharel Liberté. I love it zingy sizzling citrus and it wears beautifully in the hot or cold. I’ll never understand why it wasn’t a bigger hit. The bottle is fabulous, it smells amazing and Gisele Bündchen was the spokesmodel? Even the name is good. As you can see I go through quite a lot of it, bottle number 3.

Jin was complaining of getting sick last night and then through the night kept waking up, unable to breathe. This morning he went to the doctor and his tonsils are so swollen they are blocking his airways. Antibiotics for a week. I hope they put him in hospital and rip them out. Poor boy has suffered at least once a year since we got together but never this bad. If not in Australia I’ll fly him home where they are not so stupidly precious about the procedure.

For the dog walk I thought I needed something a bit rosy so the first rose frag that I noticed was Agent Provocateur EdP. I grabbed it and spritzed with abandon. It was a stellar accompaniment to the crisp morning air, sunlit and sparkling.

Sick Jin & I went for sandwiches and hot chips to the local cafe. They girls there are so friendly. It was yum.

This afternoon I suddenly got the urge to douse myself in Bulgari Eau Parfumee au The Noir. It’s tea but with a woody leather and rose tint. I like it a lot, especially in the heat but very nice at 18C too.

Kept spritzing more and more Bulgari tonight while writing Q&A.

Tuesday 30:

Finally, it’s 3.30am and I’m finished the Q&A and sent them all out. All I can think of us how much I want an incense fragrance to ramp up the leavings of the bulgar. So Maria Candida Gentile Exultat was the obvious, and best, choice for my mood. You’ll excuse me while I drift away please?

Saw this yesterday and can’t stop laughing about it. So funny.

Jin is officially off work for a couple of days. Unlike his usual illnesses he is not a whining baby. He must be really sick. Bloody doctors in Australia won’t remove them anymore unless it’s life or death. ASSHOLES!

No scent because it will fight with the lavender & eucalyptus in the burner.

DRAMA! While going in to the bathroom to get ready for work the bath mat slid from under me and I landed on the tile on my knee. It was so fast. Suddenly I’m lying on the ground moaning and in real pain. It was yuck. Anyway, poor old Jin was in a sound drugged sleep and I woke him with my yammering. This wheezy, disembodied voice comes to me from the living room, “You alright?” Even though I was most definitely NOT alright it was amusing enough to get me off the floor to reassure him that I’d live.

Tonight for work I wore Cartier L`Heure Brilliant VI and enjoyed its glittering zing.

I know it will be battling the houses current ambience but I’m going all out with Miss Dior vintage parfum and EdT for bed tonight. I’m worth it.

Wednesday 31:

Last night before bed I ate a couple of donuts. Woke up this morning with a sugar hangover, and a sore knee.

Basically today was a write off. With Jin sick and me having a day off we slowed around the house all day watching TV and relaxing.

Dinner was Chinese Take Away and it was freaking gorgeous.

Thursday 1:

Today was HUGE! Jumped out of bed and doused myself in about 8 spritzes of Oriza L. Legrand Oeillet Louis XV from a sample in the pack you can buy from them and they ship to the world.

Walked the dogs then ran back inside, jumped in the car and fled. Saw this beautiful creamy coloured bottlebrush flowering in our winter.

First stop was Showcase in Sydney’s historic Rocks area. That’s where I buy my Drag make up. It was an expensive but necessary morning shop.

Next up I visited Bronwyn of Gascoine & King candles who is also the importer of Etat Libre d’Orange here in Australia. We went for coffees and some cake at the Bourke St Bakery and talked about our friends, lovers, businesses and new products. It is always fabulous with Bronwyn and we have some super luxe giveaways coming up from her. WOO HOO!

BFF Kath is home sick so I dropped in there to see her on my way to the next adventure. Short but sweet chats and cuddles with Ruski, her Groodle.

My last partner Varun and I lived with a really amazing girl, Rose. At that time she was a chef at the College St Marriot Hotel where Varun went from restaurant bus boy to night manager in the two years we were together. It was a meteoric rise and we were all proud of him. After the Marriot Rose moved to the Millennium Hotel, then onto a catering company where she got them a shitload of awards and where she really got her name in the minds of movers & shakers. She moved to Singapore and did some stuff there until she was poached by Nobu in Europe where she was overseeing chef for a few years. The Dictator of Azerbaijan stole her to be the top dog in his restaurants, hotels and family kitchen and after 4+ years working for him she decided it wasxc time to come back to Sydney.

Rose is now the top chef in the Lotus group of restaurants here in Sydney and she invited TinaG & I for lunch today so she could gauge the way the restaurant runs with real patrons. We ate SO MUCH! Tried all the delicacies and were given top flight service by our waiter Ben. It was really interesting to hear the stories of the dishes and why this was so good or why that one was sent back and the chef told to take it off the menu for today because the meat wasn’t as good as it should be. These guys take good food really seriously. I only put in pictures of the most spectacular, there was at least 3 x this much food.

Then I went to Libertine Parfumerie for their SALE! I was a glutton but Nick gave me something incredibly special to give away on APJ. VERY excited about that.

At this point I was running HOURS late and got home in time to quickly wash my face, hug Jin and ran out to work as a man. Work was heaving tonight, 50+ patrons at Kings Park tavern and there was loads of bantering and fun. It wa a stellar evening. I wore Exultat by Maria Candida Gentile and it was the perfect woody/incense combo for the evening.

Home, walked the dogs, having a cup of coffee and about to have a very hot bath to soak all todays grime off. I’m bushed.

Friday 2:

A few things arrived in the post today but nothing so exciting as this vintage Rochas Femme parfum. It is a propellant bottle so the first 20 seconds are a mess but then……. bloom. Absolutely gobsmackingly gorgeous.

Jin and I spent the day around the house. We only left it to take him for Vietnamese Pho Soup. I walked the dogs though, he stayed sick on the couch. Can’t wait for him to fully recover

Saturday 3:

Good day today. Jin went back to work and I got to organise the weeks blog posts.

I’m also trying to create some order out of my chaotic office. I’m nearly shoulder deep in fragrance here. CROWDED.

I did take a Gilmore Girls break though because there is so much of the early episodes I missed. Having come in halfway like I did the whole back story is made apparent. My enjoyment levels are going through the roof.

While watching mind numbing TV I also ate Chinese reheats for lunch. BEST thing about getting chinese is having reheat lunch for the next two or three days. I added a can of corn kernels while they were in the frying pan. YUMMY!

This afternoon I wanted a cool amber fragrance. Van Cleef & Arpels Ambre Imperial was the perfect choice. It’s sparse, airy and unlike any other amber in my collection. It never gets bakery, gluggy or creamy but does warm through slightly as it dries down to resinous woodsiness. It’s the ultimate hot weather amber but is also very nice in the crisp, cool of evening. It was never a hit, I read zero rave reviews and it isn’t amber in the traditional sense but if you see it, put some on your skin.

Then I had a bath. It was deliciously hot and frothy with LUSH Rose Jam bubbles. Nearly finished this years stockpile. The wait for Christmas releases starts soon.

For bedtime I have gone absolutely crazy with vintage Guerlain Shalimar extrait, decanted from my bottle and spritzed. I am leaving a coruscating trail of fragrance every time I move. It’s ENORMOUS!

Sunday 4:

Walking the dogs this morning and I came across this beautiful rose. The light was hitting it in such a way that it had become ultra violet. As it caught my eye it was trying to burn my retinas out. It even had some spice tea and rose scent. There is no filter on the pic, you can kind of see what I mean but it was so much more freaky in life.

It’s cool but sunny today. I’m wearing Lolita Lempicka Au Masculin. It’s perfect. Longevity is appalling so I keep resproitzing every 40 minutes or so. Very satisfying. I love the anise/wet violet combo.

Yet again in LUSH Rose Jam bubble bath. Over the faint remnant I multi spritzed from a split decant of MFK Amyris (pretty sure it’s Femme). Did you know that the Amyris tree is also called Torchwood because it is super inflammable AND the resin it produces is Elemi. HA! I looked it up on Fragrantica. No wonder it smells familiar.

Now it’s your turn. How was your week? Do anything fragrant or interesting?
Tell us all about it, we love to read what you’re doing too.
Portia xx

Saturday Question: Excellent Customer Service

June 3, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 40 Comments

Portia

Hello Fellow Fumies,

I have had an idea. Well, actually I’m copying an idea from Olfactoria’s Travels. Once a week there used to be a Question. Everyone would chime in with an answer, chat with other responders and it would be a generally fun events each week. Taking sides never meant taking offence and everyone kept it respectful and light.

I’d like to carry on that tradition, maybe 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.

If we get over 200 responses I will draw a $20 Surrender To Chance Gift Card. Every comment will get a place in the draw, so if you comment purposefully on your own or another comment you’ll have a chance, random.org will draw the winner on Friday and the winner will be announced in next Saturdays question. If you win, send me an eMail to portia _ turbo at yahoo dawt com dawt au

Last Weeks Winner: Sadly we didn’t make the goal last week. Damnit!

Saturday Question

Excellent Customer Service

So often we hear about the terrible product, the poor wrapping and packaging for postage, the snarky seller, the fool SA and the gamut of bad customer service experiences. Today I’d like to turn that around. It’s so rare to get a good service story because where is the interest in sharing that? we SHOULD get good service, getting it isn’t really a surprise, right? Well I don’t agree. Currently I am MUCH more surprised to be given above and beyond service with a smile. So this week I thought we could all share the good news on brands, SAs, fragrant experiences that were better than the soul crushing norm. It will also be a boost to these companies, and who doesn’t want to shop where the product or service is excellent. Win Win all round.

My answer:

Recently I was online looking for The Scent of Departure series of fragrances. I remember loving the Bali one and Jin’s favourite city in the world is Budapest. Wouldn’t it be a perfect birthday present if I could find him a fragrance that combined his love of travel and fave city? I was super excited when I found them at The Grooming Clinic, which turns out to be a UK store.

Because when I arrived at the site they showed Euro I was unaware that they were in the UK, interestingly the do send everything to the world except fragrance because of UK postal bans. So I went right ahead and purchased these two fragrances.

Within the hour they had sent me an email. Very kindly and politely explaining their quandary with postage of frags outside the UK. They asked if I had mates in the UK who they could send it to and then they could post it for me from Europe somewhere. Thoughtful and excellent thinking but no. They also asked if I would like my money refunded with zero charge to my PayPal account. Yes, it was the best option for me.

By morning Sydney time the money was back in my account, The Grooming Clinic sent me an apology email and it was all done in such a friendly tone and seamlessly. Though I don’t have my product I am so happy to recommend these guys because the experience was 100% positive.

So my question to you is

Where Have You Had Excellent Customer Service?

Verveine Figuiere by Pierre Guillaume for Phaedon 2012

June 2, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 9 Comments

Portia

Hey Fumie Freakazoids,

Pierre Guillaume does some fun & interesting stuff in his Phaedon range. The blurb on the Phaedon Website says: The house of Phaedon was founded by two Parisian aesthetes with a passion for travel and the ancient cultures of the Mediterranean. I love that these scents are affordable beauty, Pierre seems secure enough to release at realistic prices yet still produce absolutely luxe scent. When the brand came out Tabac Rouge was all we heard about but the other scents in the range bear inspection also. So let’s…

Verveine Figuiere by Phaedon 2012

Verveine Figure by Pierre Guillaume

Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Verbena, Fig leaf
Heart: Glycyrrhiza, Cedar
Base: Benzoin, Oakmoss

Lemon Balm and Lemon Verbena are different. I just learned that. Lemon Verbena is a hardy perennial South American plant and is used to flavour drinks, meats and salads. Lemon Balm is part of the mint family. Both can be grown in pots and are often brought indoors during winter. Mum used to use Lemon Balm to sweeten fish, add a pop to salad and in her famous alcoholic fruit punch. The net says that they are basically interchangeable in food.

Verveine Figuiere is quite different dabbed or sprayed. I’m going to talk about the spray today because that’s how I’ve applied.The opening is very lemon and a dry background that smells a little eucalyptus, it’s fresh and refreshing without any of the ozonic or aquatic tropes and is quite photo realistic of my childhood memories of cutting up minty lemon balm. So much so that I can even taste it. The woods take it out of fragrant trick into fragrance.

WikiMedia

As the minty lemon zing softens, from nothing to a smellable contender comes a crisp fig smell. It’s only very dry to begin with but as the fragrances processes towards dry down the milkiness and sweetness blooms to a beautiful resinous foggy scent. I really love that Vervain Figure does a complete about face from sprightly zing to warm and mellow hug.

Dabbed the fragrance is more cohesive and has a much shorter story.

The other week I reviewed another of Pierre’s fragrances but didn’t include a pic. Sorry about that. Here’s a shot he sent me a while ago. Isn’t he beautiful?

Further reading: Scent for Thought
First In Fragrance have €89/100ml + Samples

Do you have a favourite Pierre Guillaume fragrance?
Portia xx

Rose Pivoine by Patricia de Nicolaï for Nicolai Parfumeur Créateur 1998

June 1, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

Portia

Hey there fumes,

Only twice in my life have I been engulfed by the scent of peonies. Once a friend who came for lunch brough them as a gift and told me that they only open if the house is filled with love. Needless to say they never opened but they did fill the house with their glorious scent. It was utterly heavenly.

The next time was in south Korea with Jin and a bunch of our mates. We had gone to visit Mummy and Pappa and across the road there was a bush with the most enormous magenta peonies covering it. The bush itself was easily taller than me and in the cool misty morning the scent travelled across to us. Like a zombie I was drawn across the road to get close to these exquisitely fragrant blooms, they were calling me and I could not resist.

So every time I smell even the cheapest, nastiest, ugliest peony scent recreation I am taken to one or both of those moments. Thankfully todays fragrance is all class.

Rose Pivoine by Nicolai Parfumeur Créateur 1998

Rose Pivoine by Patricia de Nicolaï

Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Red fruits, Roman chamomile
Heart: Rose absolute, Rose essence, Geranium
Base: Woods, Musk

Dry, sizzling opening leads to red fruity roses that are fresh and dewy, the change in the first 20 seconds is marked. I love the watery feel that comes through, it’s so pretty. This is the style of fragrance that has saturated the mid-price designer market. Patricia de Nicolai was doing it last century and doing it better than any of the imitators. There’s a fresh, velvet rose petal pressed against your cheek, you’re burying your nose into a blooming peony. There is also the powdery yet crisp snap of geranium leaves rubbed or crushed as you wander past the bush. All done in a transparent, aquatic style, very watercolour.

PDI

I know some women who wear scents like this. I grew up with them and now they are Mums and business runners. Big glasses and beautiful pearly white toothed smiles (not the ultra white of American TV), well maintained and presented women with trophy cars/handbags/houses and a couple of kids at exclusive Sydney private schools. There’s something eternally casual about these women, even when they dress up for galas. They are not brittle social X-Rays but living, breathing women who work really hard on their businesses, families and relationships but can still cackle at a girls dinner or drinks at the club. This is their style, a very fragrant yet sheer, fresh and pretty scent that is absolutely luscious when you get caught up in a hug.

Flickr

Of this style I think Rose Pivoile a very well made version, it’s seamless, reeks of good ingredients and quite gorgeous.

BeautyHabit has $45/30ml and samples

Is there a peony fragrance that you like?
Portia xx

Libertine Warehouse Clearance Sale 2017

June 1, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

Portia

Hey APJ,

This is news for all the Sydney perfume peeps. You have no idea how amazing the Libertine Sale is till you’ve been to one.

Libertine Warehouse Clearance Sale 2017

Libertine Parfumerie is hosting their SYDNEY Warehouse Pop-Up SALE

🌟For 3 days only, save up to 75% on selected fragrances, testers, candles & body products 🌟

Thursday 1st of June 4 – 7pm
Friday 2nd of June 8:30am – 5pm
Saturday 3rd of June 9am – 1pm

Address: 1-3 Taylor St, Darlinghurst, NSW, 2010

Kai Rose Oil GIVEAWAY WINNER

June 1, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom

Portia

Hey there crew,

Thanks to LuckyScent for supplying the prize.
Let’s see who won.
Portia xx

Kai Rose Oil GIVEAWAY WINNER

Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Rose absolute, White blossoms, Gardenia

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 1 winner who will receive:
1 x 0.7ml Kai Rose Oil LuckyScent Sample (1/2 full from testing)
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Wednesday 31st May 2017 10pm Australian EdsT
Winner was chosen by random.org

Latai

The winner will have till Wednesday 7th June 2017 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

Mohur: When I Want To Feel Majestic

May 31, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 5 Comments

Portia

Heya Fumies.

You may notice I talk about Neela Vermeire quite a bit, and her perfumes Neela Vermeire Creations. There are two reasons for that. First and foremost I think the fragrances themselves are exquisite. There is something next level about them. I know how much love, drama and time goes into every drop that gets spritzed by perfumistas the world over. Not merely perfumes but labours of love. Bertrand Duchaufour has repeatedly said that Neela is his most exacting client. She has an idea in her head of what perfection is and follows that dream.

The second reason is because she has become, over the years APJ has been going, a friend. The reason I know how much time and heartache go into the perfumes is because we chat regularly and I hear some of the drama that you all never see. Perfectionism is a cross, striving to create reality from dreams is bloody hard work.

The problem though with blogs is there is so much stuff that’s new/wants to be shared/needs to be chatted about that the things that have really given us enormous pleasure get brushed aside in search of the immediate workload. So today I wanted to remind you all of a fragrance that can take me on journeys in my mind while lying on the couch, working, cleaning, walking through the sunlit streets, shopping, dining or anything else we manage to do in the day.

Mohur: When I Want To Feel Majestic

Mohur by Bertrand Duchaufour for Neela Vermeire Creations 2011

Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Ambrette seed, Elemi resin, Cardamom, Carrot seed, Coriander seed, Black pepper
Heart: Hawthorn, Iris, Jasmine, Leather, Almond milk, Moroccan rose, Turkish rose, Violet
Base: Amber, Benzoin, Blond woods, Oud, Patchouli, Sandalwood, Tonka bean, Vanilla

The scent? Roses with spices and resins to jazz the jazziest to the top of the tree. Sweet, jammy roses that also wend through dry tea, sharp pepper, slightly boozy and creamy rich overblown cabbage roses. There is the snap of green twigs, a little grassy and the cool aloofness of carroty iris, leather, woods and smooth as glass resins. Add drops of bakery vanilla and barnyard oud, sweet sandalwood melds with milky almonds.

The day you wear it decides what will be the major backing players and every wear is its own special ride. The only think that’s guaranteed is roses, roses and more luscious roses. How they come is everytime different. The enormous amount of expensive roses in this bottle make it fir for this queen.

I can’t think of a better way to smell all day. Whether you are lazing in the sun or doing the chores, isn’t it nice to smell like you own the known world.

LuckyScent has $235/60ml
Neela Vermeire Creations has €125/2 x 15ml with European Shipping Included
Surrender To Chance has samples from $7/0.5ml

What do you wear to feel majestic?
Portia xx

Sniffs with Lola: My Cat

May 30, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 15 Comments

AF Beauty

Perfume’s toughest critic – Sniffs with Lola
Hello there perfume-ees.

As I’ve alluded to before, I am in no way as sophisticated with my perfume choices as you all are – I am not adventurous or brave and tend to wear the same perfumes or variations thereof. However, I share a house with a real-life being who, given half a chance, I think could get VERY into the perfume scene, and what’s more, she is not limited to just sniffing the stuff. Let me introduce, Lola!

Lola is a 4 year old Abyssinian who loves food and naps – in that order, and is also partial to perfume, especially licking people wearing perfume. Her absolute favourite is Coco by Chanel – she will lick my arm like I might lick Ben and Jerry’s.

Sniffs with Lola: My Cat

A Cat-centric Photo Essay

Her she is with some of my other favourites:
First, So Nude by Costume National. I really like this, it’s a strong scent and probably not daytime suitable, but I find it quite sexy and alluring. Lola likes it also.

This is one of my all time favourites, Elle by Armani, something I can wear daily without getting bored of it. Lola on the other hand couldn’t be less interested. I think the bottle (not being glass) didn’t interest her. Tough crowd.

This is a relatively new addition to my collection, Miu Miu’s debut perfume, light and floral which is definitely a journey away from my usual perfumes which are more oriental and musk. But it’s a lovely daily perfume, Lola had a sniff too, she quite liked it.

Ah, an oldie but a goodie, Tendre Poison by Dior. This is a perfume from my youth, I used to wear this daily from about age 18-25. Of course I had no idea Dior would end production – talk about devastation. I’ve been ridiculously lucky to be gifted two bottles of this last year and it’s as good as I remember. Lola is cautious and I understand, we don’t want to get too attached to a discontinued perfume.

And last but not least, a new iteration of the ever popular CK One, Gold. To be honest the bottle caught my eye more than the fragrance – but I like the fragrance too – a little alcohol-ly but it settles into a citrussy warmth on my skin – and Lola LOVES it, she gave the bottle a complete lick (yuck) – so I’ll know what to expect when I wear it. ☺

I hope you’ve enjoyed sniffs with Lola, until next time – what do your pets love you wearing?
AF Beauty

Kai Rose Oil by Kai by Gaye Straza 2017 + GIVEAWAY

May 29, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 15 Comments

Portia

Hey APJ,

A few weeks ago I bought a couple of bottles from LuckyScent and asked them to send me their newest stuff as samples. I figured they are far better arbiters of the best of new fragrance than I am. It turned out to be a really good idea. I have dabbed them already and come up with a couple I’d like to wear fully and review. YAY! Don’t you love getting the low down on the newest?

Kai Rose Oil by Kai by Gaye Straza 2017

Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Rose absolute, White blossoms, Gardenia

Original 1999 Kai? Remember it? The glorious white floral that reminded a new generation of the BWFs existence? Gaye Straza created original Kai to remember the scent of her childhood holidays in Hawaii. At the time she had a boutique in Malibu, California. When she sold the store she kept the fragrance line and expended the original Kai scent product range. This is the first new Scent release from the brand since then.

ROSES! How I love roses. There’s currently one on my window sill that I was given 10 days ago and it’s still blooming happily. Well, maybe heading towards the end now but each morning it supplies glorious scent, soft but sweet and jammy rose scent.

Kai rose is a little bit similar. A clean, sweet, jammy rose, smells lilac or deep pink. You can even smell the soft velvet touch of rose petals as you bury your face in the blooms. A dry rose, not dewy at all, even a bit overblown and ready to drop all its petals.

Slowly the white flowers emerge and I’m reminded of original Kai but tempered all the way through with rose. Lovely.

Sillage is low and projection moderate. Can’t wait for the EdP which will be much more diffuse.

LuckyScent has $48/4ml rollerball & Samples

Kai Rose GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 1 winner who will receive:
1 x 0.7ml Kai Rose Oil LuckyScent Sample (1/2 full from testing)
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

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 so I know. Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged.

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please tell us did you wear Kai? Do you still? OR What happy Kai memories do you have?

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Wednesday 31st May 2017 10pm Australian EdsT and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Wednesday 7th June 2017 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

Scent Diary: 22.5 – 28.5.2017

May 28, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 23 Comments

Portia

Scent Diary: 22.5 – 28.5.2017

Monday 22:

Hey all. Today was spent at the computer (amazing how much time you can waste doing basically nothing online) and getting my fragrant send outs done. Some of them are a week overdue.

watching some Netflix. Jake Gyllenhaal in Source Code (2011) which blew my mind. Scary real idea.

Also watched the animated Sahara (2017) which was sweet and amusing but not nearly as good as Source Code.

Being Monday I have to write Trivia Q&A tonight.

Did not spritz or dab even a drop of fragrance today. For no reason at all my body wanted a complete rest from it. It did make me notice even more the fragile scent of lavender left on my sheets after changing the bed today. I always spritz it with L’Occitane Lavender Eau de Cologne on change day. It’s scent remains all week and is a perfect relaxant for Jin. He works shift work and needs to be able to fall asleep at any time in moments.

Tuesday 23:

BUSY, wearing Madame Rochas EdC and parfum.

This morning I had a few things on the agenda, firstly tyres. My car desperately needed 4 new tyres and I had known it was coming for 12 months. Went to a tyre place I’ve used before expecting around $1000. The guy that served me was super sweet. He told me that they were importing a new brand and because this company is trying to get a toehold in Australia they are still quite cheap. So, four new tyres and a wheel alignment cost a little under $600 and I can’t believe the difference. The car is more responsive, feels like it is cornering better and the steering is lighter than it’s ever been. WIN ALLL ROUND!

It was Mother’s Day recently and I still hadn’t been to visit my Mum. The guilt was lying heavily on me and so straight after tyres I went down and saw her. Burned some Chinese Incense and Hell Bank Dollars for her and when I’m there alone I talk out loud to her as if we are sitting in the kitchen over a coffee. Anyway, I’d been rambling on about all sorts and wandering around the grave picking leaves etc off it when I noticed two groundsmen watching me and smiling. AWKWARD! They just smiled, said hello and wandered on.

Mum Waples is still in the Rehab and I went to visit her too. We had some laughs and Kath showed up to make it really cozy.

Jin has been aching to make us Peking Duck. We went and got all the stuff today, he made the pancakes himself from scratch. A couple of false starts, some not quite rightness and though it was amazing we decided to leave it and chop it all up for Sang Choy Bow tomorrow. Who cares that it wasn’t perfect, I just love the hanging out with him.

Work. Having to go to work tonight it was beard dying, a bubble bath and shave. Then some quiet nap time and ready to face the world. I spritzed Parfum d’Empire Ambre Russe lavishly and went out reeking of it. Interestingly no one commented on it, maybe they’re scared. I kept smelling old pipe tobacco all night, yummiest frag.

Fragrantica

After work Jin and I sat up watching Frankie & Johnny Season 3, first 3 eps. Such good writing and the actors are a unit, a cohesive, perfect unit. We see ourselves and friends in different moments and characters. What a show.

Wednesday 24:

A day blogging so loads of fragrance. I don’t want to ruin all the surprise though so I’ll keep a little hush.

Perfectly wonderful day. Jin and I lazed around the house and I blogged away happily. We had lunch together, a cuddle on the couch, watched some Korean TV with him translating. I grabbed Paris and had a little nap with him in the early evening before work.

Tonight for work I wore Carner Barcelona Rima XI. Sweet amber delight. YUM!

Thursday 25:

Today started cool and crisp, there were little breath clouds as I walk the dogs. By the time we got home though it was starting to warm up nicely. I was too., a half hour wander is beautiful with these pooches for company.

Jin cooked San Choy Bow with the leftover duck today for lunch. The sad failure of our Peking Duck was well overshadowed by the great San Choy Bow triumph of May 2017! He took some artistic license with the basic recipe, adding extraordinary amounts of garlic, some extra vegetables and a nice soft kick of chilli. He should open a restaurant. Seriously. It was so bloody delicious.

We went shopping for food. Tomorrow night we are having a small dinner party. We wanted to have everything ready to go.

Collected the incoming mail. VERY nice haul today. Vintage Madame Rochas EdC and Serge Lutens Feminite du Bois and Ambre Sultan in the Vaporisators with 2 x 30ml. Same price at Mecca as the 50ml export bottle and hella cuter.

Tonight I jumped in a glorious bubble bath of Hermès Eau de Mandarine Ambrée which then led me to night at work in Guerlain Shalimar, vintage parfum and modern EdP. I sent two of the women hurtling down memory lane to their youths. One was so enraptured she said she had fully fallen back in love. I wouldn’t be surprised if she turns up next week in full Shalimar.

My rose that I was given on Mother’s day is still blooming strong and lightly fragrant.

Friday 26:

Suddenly it’s cool enough for a beanie. I particularly love this one I bought from Vanessa Musson from Bonkers About Perfume.

WHAT A DAY! I didn’t think my list was so long but it didn’t go as planned. It was meet Anna-Maria, go to David Jones and sniff, shopping for other people at DIOR, Estee Lauder Staff Store, hang with Bronwyn of Gascoigne & King Candles, Showface Theatre Makeup Store, Home for dinner party with a crew. It didn’t quite go to plan.

Went to town and met Anna-Maria for coffee and cupcakes.

Then we went to check David Jones DIOR to see if they had the 125ml Feve Delicious in case the Flagship store was out.

This fabulous woman at YSL Beauty grabbed Anna-Maria and did her lips. I nearly had to punch her in the face to use a slightly orange red on Anna-Maria but my will prevailed and I think you’ll agree it was the right choice.

Went to visit one of my favourite man SAs at MECCA in Myer where Anna-Maria got the Le Labo Santal 33 oil.

Then we trotted up to DIOR Flagship store and met Jolanta who was devastated to tell us she only had one 125ml DIOR Feve Delicious left. We had a very nice visit though. They are so friendly and helpful.

Latai met us there and we had to go back to David Jones to grab the other Feve and have lunch with Anna-Maria’s son Rocco. Then we realised we were out of time. Rushed home to join where we met up with other friends and all had Japanese/Korean fusion Self Made Nori Rolls. We had so much fun, chatter and laughter that the rest of the night passed in such a blur I completely forgot to take photos, SORRY!

After dinner I brought out a box of random niche bottles and we sniffed them and chatted, leading me to go get other bottles to illustrate, compare, contrast. By 10pm Jin was in bed and I was pooped so everyone herded out and I cleaned up. Bit of blogging and bed.

Saturday 27:

Spent today lazing around the house doing very close to nothing. I did notice that the Zygocactus are flowering though. these are all from my Mum’s windowsill. I’m pretty chuffed that though she died in 2001 her cactus are still prospering beautifully in the baskets and pots I put them in in 2003.

In honour of having the house to myself and wanting to swan around fully fragrant I gave myself 6 huge spritzes of Neela Vermeire Creations Mohur EdP. It’s so easy to get lost in its intricate folds that I lay down and let my mind wander for half an hour. So relaxing.

When Jin got home we had his Katsu Curry: Korean style. Bloody hell. My guy is such a good cook. Delicious. We watched some Gilmore Girls, season one. Jin had been rematching them and I got addicted a couple of seasons in. I’m doing catch up. LOVE this show.

Before bed I spritzed the white floral and green herbs and spices of Antonia by Puredistance. How luxe it smells.

Sunday 28:

Woke up & spritzed Niki de Saint Phalle for this perfect end of autumn sunny day. It was lovely as I wandered the dogs around our suburb.

Went and visited Kath’s Mum who is back at home now. We sat around with Dad & Kath laughing and chattering. It was a casual family morning, exactly what my should needed. Sorry but I forgot to take a snap.

Hung around the house and then got ready for work.

This week has been calm and peaceful. It’s been great to take stock and get some rest.

How about you? What did you do this week?
Did anything fragrant or fun happen?
Let us all know in the comments, hearing about your lives makes me so happy. I feel involved in the world outside my bubble.
Portia xx