Scent Diary: 18.12 – 24.12.2017

December 24, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 20 Comments

Portia

Hello Australian Perfume Junkies,

Leading up to Christmas week here. Getting as ready as we can and trying unsuccessfully to fit hangouts with everyone in. It has been fun wrapping everyones presents and seeing them during the daytime, when normally they’re all working.

Scent Diary: 18.12 – 24.12.2017

Monday 18:

WOW! 10am and 28C. I woke up in a sweat even though the fan is on. Muggy too. Still I want to feel pretty today so a triple spritz of SJP Lovely. Never fails to bring a smile to my face and in summer is perfectly bracing. I feel chilled through.

Wendy came over today so Jin could help her organise her new computer. We had lunch and chattered, then they watched TV while I ran some errands. It was a lovely day.

Then visited Kath’s Mum who was not in a good way at all. Hugs and tears all round.

Jin and I then went and got Baklava from Sydney’s best and most famous Lebanese sweet shop, Abla’s. Baklava is the universal cure all.

SO HOT, it’s like my skin is burning in hot water. I’m bringing the fan in here. It’s so hot that I don’t even want fragrance on me.

Tuesday 19:

Scott and I worked through the 42C heat and it nearly broke us. Bloody hell. 1pm drives to the bank, post office and around about left us sweating and panting.

It is so hot I made a cool Radox Bath Salts Bath. Instantly my whole body started to feel like it could function again and thought became possible. Getting out afterwards into the superheated air was like walking through warm treacle.

I wore CHANEL Boy tonight to work. It got a couple of random compliments but honestly I couldn’t smell it after the first hour or so. It seemed like more than our fair share of crazies were out last night. Had a rather unsavoury contretemps at the RSL with a slightly unhinged person. It all ended with his eviction and was a little unsettling but no harm done to anyone.

Bedtime; So hot and sticky (31C at 1am) I’m sweating just sitting at the computer. We do have the AC on dry mode which has cooled the living room and Jin, the dogs & I will sleep there. Dogs on their beds, Jin & I on the couch. Neela Vermeire Pichola. It’s plush, creamy white floral over green and resinous base is a perfect heat beater.

Wednesday 20:

WOW! Got a fabulous nights sleep. The whole four of us slept till 9am and then Jin had to go for a medical appointment and I fed & walked the dogs. Got their nails clipped at the local vet at the same time. It was bloody hot out thee and we arrived home panting, me sweating as well.

What better heat beater than Frederic Malle Geranium Pour Monsieur?

It was so cooling I respritzed again after lunch while opening this years Christmas Cards. There has been a drought this year and I did only about 10. If one of these is from you then you are a freaking HERO!! Seriously. I love getting them.

Visited Kath’s Mum in hospital in the afternoon and she seemed sunnier, if no better. Having just been for a walk there was a healthy flush and twinkle in her eye. She already had visitors so we didn’t stay overly long.

Jin cooked Korean Chicken Curry and we had it with Brown Rice. He is a wonderful cook and I love it when we eat together. Today we also watched this cute TV show about otters that didn’t like water and how they got retrained to love it.

Tonight Alice has grabbed tickets to the closing night of an original Australian theatre production. Called the Bodybag it’s a spoof on the Bodyguard. Can’t wait to see it. The producer and star is a mate of mine Trevor Ashley, well know around the Drag Scene as Cleopatra Coupe.

Tonight I’m wearing Teone Reinthall’s Antarctica from a decant. It is outrageous in this heat and has nothing to do with the cold icy turn the name suggests to me. It’s very furry and I’m enjoying it immensely.

Bloody Hell The Bodybag was hilarious. We laughed so hard. Excellent show. Here we are before & after

Thursday 21:

Blessed relief. Woke up today to a sensible 24C and some cloud cover. It’s still like walking through a pool, humidity wise, but at least the air isn’t burning my lungs like a sauna. The dogs were 100% more lively on our walk this morning.

Wearing Hermès Eau des Merveilles again. Such a splendid summer staple.

Went and saw Kath’s Mum, with Kath. The doctor was trying to get a canal out and all of a sudden it was rivers of blood. GAK! Poor Mum. I did ask if they would PLEASE get the nurses to do all the needles, canals and blood relateds from now on. They are SO MUCH BETTER at doing it all.

Then Kath & I went shopping for a while. It was nice to just aimlessly hang out, she’s good company.

Jin and I FaceTimed today while he was working. Isn’t he the cutest thing EVER! It’s weird that we both look so serious, and it was an accidental capture, but I thought you should see him in his work clobber.

Salt-Anne sent me a beautiful pic of a similar Niki de Saint Phalle bottle so I sent her a pic of mine. So beautiful.

Tonight I went to dinner at the Kings Park Tavern. A farewell for one of the teams that have played since before I started there. It was a lovely evening, food was excellent and we had a wonderful time. Bittersweet because I probably won’t be back without my Thursday booking. Very sad. We had so much fun I forgot to take a photo. GRRR!

For bed I popped on some Mona di Orio Oiro, a powdery white floral with soft creamy ylang & amber holding it steady. It smells luxurious and very elegant.

Friday 22:

Up early to feed and walk the dogs. It’s freaky outside, cloudy, not very hot but so humid that I feel wet. Big day out today with friends so I’m going to jump a train and get it started ASAP. Wearing Diptyque 34.

First friend I organised to meet today is Phil. He has a brand new new office and I had an Office Warming gift for him. Then we asked across town to see “Rembrandt and the Dutch golden age: masterpieces from the Rijksmuseumat” at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. It’s a special exhibition and I have been looking forward to it. The exhibition is a really good size, not too much so you leave with brain overload and a very nice selection of the genre. We found our guide lacked the ability to engage us, which was a shame. She knew ALL the facts and rattled them off impeccably but I felt no personal attachment to the works, and gained only a little knowledge under her onslaught. Then we went down to the Members Lounge and lunched. It was really nice.

Met Evie in Macquarie St and we had sidewalk drinks and chatter. She is such good company and wet had OODLES of catching up to do. Then we headed off to the NSW State Library to see “The Sydney Morning Herald’s photography exhibition Photos1440: the best published and unpublished images by Sydney Morning Herald photographers from 2015 to the present.” It was spectacular. Some interesting, moving, shocking and heartwarming photos. All beautifully shot and gave us so much to chat about as we wandered. We also managed to squeeze in a fun Aussie Pop Culture exhibition too. All for FREE!

Jumped a train to Kath’s, we had to go do some Bunnings shopping. It’s our major hardware chain and has everything, for the Non Australian readers. Just some planters and soil for a repotting job. Before we got there though I finagled Kath into visiting one of my favourite warehouse reduction places, Victoria’s Basement. A homewares heaven. It’s IMPOSSIBLE to go there and come out empty handed. It was super fun. I even managed to have a bunch of bowls jump off their precarious perch. We saved three but one hit the floor and became shards.

Met Jin outside Kath’s apartment because he works around the corner. We had to do some last minute shopping and grab some of the food necessary. Dinner was at our second favourite Sushi Train and then Jin treated me to a shared dessert (triple chocolate mousse cheesecake: To Die For and of probably) and extra chocolate at Guylian. It was so fabulous and decadent.

Bubble Bath with L`Artisan Parfumeur La Chasse aux Papillons.

SOTBed Issey Miyake A Scent in outrageous amounts. Just kept spritzing and respritzing till I was a fumigation machine.

Saturday 23:

Jin and I were up early and I had a quick spritz of Guerlain Mitsouko EdT.

Walked the dogs, visited Mum at the hospital, did some early morning shopping.

Came home and Jin has started cooking the pork for Christmas. He also does extra crackling and that is superb.

A lovely lunchtime nap. We have the AC on dry so instead of supercooling the air it takes the hot sting and the water out. It leaves our living room a haven and runs at less than half the cost. We have the dogs on their beds and we take the couch. We didn’t even bother to leave the TV on, just a cool quiet room to sleep in.

Found out today that the hotel that has finished Turbo Trivia after about 15 years will be bringing in a new crew after new year and moving it to a better area. I’m glum.

What better way to beat the glum than triple spritz some perfume? One of the newest DIOR Privee, Souffle de Soie from a decant. Review coming soon.

In the evening I went into town and Kath & I went on our annual prawn buying expedition to the Sydney Fish Markets. We catch public transport down on the 23rd night, grab some dinner and shop. The markets are open for 36 hours in the lead up to Christmas and usually they are jam packed. Tonight was not so busy and we even got harbourside seats for dinner and watched the sunset. It was unbelievably beautiful. I could have stopped there for another hour and just chattered away.

Tonight for bed I spritzed The Scent Of Departure DPS Bali. A fun coconut-centric tropical perfume filled to the brim with yellow and white flowers over a vanilla base.

Sunday 24:

Woke up and gave the house a vacuum, boy cleaned the bathroom, fed and walked the dogs. Gave myself some healthy spritzes of Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Teazzura. A cooling, dry, tart and lightly creamy sweet concoction that lasts about an hour, two if I’m lucky. In this heat I’m getting about 40 minutes before I’m left with a soft laundry musk and a sparkle.

TinaG dropped by on her way to family Christmas and we had Sue’s Christmas Cake and fresh cream with Fortnum & Mason Royal Blend tea and Wirra Wirra Mrs Wigly Sparkling Moscato. Jin was awake and we had a lovely festive time.

Did some blogging in the afternoon but it was pretty lethargic, it’s too hot for prose. Felt the need for some divine beauty this evening so Fort & Manlé’s Charlatan got a lovely wear in the heat.

Made tomorrows Potato Salad, cut the Pork & Crackling and then lay around the couch under the fan till walking the dogs tonight.

It’s YOUR turn. What’s happening in your world?

Did you do anything Fun or Fragrant, with Friends and Family or maybe even had some less than Fabulous news you want to share? Now’s the time, in the comments below.
We love to read what’s happening to YOU.
Portia xx

Vintage CHANEL No 22 EdC WINNERS

December 11, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

Portia

YAY! A wonderful competition, thanks for getting involved crew.
Let’s see who the winners are!
Portia xx

Vintage CHANEL No 22 EdC WINNERS

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Aldehydes, Lily, Lily-of-the-valley, Neroli, Orange blossom, Tuberose
Heart: Jasmine, Nutmeg, Rose, Ylang-ylang
Base: Iris, Vanilla, Vetiver, Frankincense

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 3 winners who will receive:
1 x Vintage CHANEL No 22 EdC decant (from my bottle)
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Closed Sunday 10th December 2017 10pm Australian EdsT
Winners were chosen by random.org

ClaudiaS

Alice

Hamamelis

The winners will have till Thursday 14th December 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: 4.12 – 10.12.2017

December 10, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 24 Comments

Portia

Hello Australian Perfume Junkies,

SO MUCH PERFUME this week. It seems I have spritzed every two hours.

Also loads of fun and excitement in the rest of my life. BIG week.

Scent Diary: 4.12 – 10.12.2017

Monday 4:

MONDAY morning! It started out sunny and warm while walking the dogs but just as we came home soft persistent rain appeared. It’s misty and warm rain, very nice.

Lunch with Jin at a Vietnamese place up the road.

Working tonight, filling in for one of my girls because tonight is Sydney’s gala Night of Nights; the DIVAs. Drag Industry Variety Awards. Every queen and her hairdo will be out to see who won and who lost. It used to be my favourite night of the year, something changed and now I don’t think I’ve been for a decade.

Annick Goutal Musc Nomade bubble bath, Keihl’s Original Musk lotion and Frederic Malle Musc Ravageur fragrance. It’s a musky moment here at Chez Turbo.

Great fun tonight at Stonewall filling in. It was nice to catch up with all the girls and have hellos. I didn’t stay to party but came home, had dinner, watched a movie and cleaned the kitchen.

Now I’m sitting down to finish and send the Trivia Q&A. Just spritzed Parfumerie General Suede Osmanthe. I sit swathed in beauty.

Busy boy, busy life.

Tuesday 5:

I was up at sparrows fart to clean the apartment. Just the regular weekly vacuuming, bathroom (Jin cleans his own bathroom), kitchen and bin emptying. I had it all done by 9am, sat down and had a cuppa then got the dogs fed and out walking.

Wearing Goldfield & Banks Wood Infusion and loving myself sick.

Scotty is here. We got so much done today. Emails, Post Office, Bank, APJ Mailouts, Lunch and general chatter.

Bathed in Bath & Body Works Rainkissed Leaves, wearing Aedes de Venustas Palissandre d’Or. So pretty, a woodsy fragrance but the woods are tempered by a zing of pink pepper and the earthy smoothness of modern patchouli. Aides de Venustas are clever, they do fragrances that are interesting and extremely wearable, this is no exception. Not a big scent but quietly confident.

Wednesday 6:

Up early, well early for me. Dogs fed and walked, had a cuppa and off for a perfume adventure with my mate Tim. A couple of chest spritzes of Guerlain Meteorites from a decant to keep me fragrant till the real sniffing starts.

So first stop was the Annual CosMax SALE. It was quite fabulous. We were like kids in a candy store. I bought Guerlain Angelique Noire and Oriental Brulant, 2 x Burberry wet packs and a 30ml each JPG Classique and Le Male. There was SO MUCH great stuff I could have spent $2000 but only spent $360! YAY!

Then we went to the Estee Lauder Staff Shop where we bumped into Willa Zheng, ex APJ writer and all round good time girl. I bought 2 x Clinique Aromatics Elixir Shower Gels and Scott’s Xmas present, sorry can’t tell you in case he reads it.

Then home for a nap on the couch, then off to work tonight again.

I’m home now but tomorrow is a very early start. Good night.

Thursday 7:

3am bedtime. Original Lolita Lempicka EdP. Sweet liquorice cotton candy. Perfect to float off to la la land.

Woke up in a sweet violet liquorice fog, beautiful scent. Straight in the bath, even before feeding and walking the dogs, because I have a daytime Christmas party gig today.

What to wear for a daytime Christmas Party? Mugler Womanity! What else?

Came home and got undressed, had a little lie down. Got back up, fixed my makeup and went out to do tonights gig. This time I was wearing CHANEL Boy. It fit in perfectly over the Womanity and I got three lovely compliments on how good I smelled. YAY!

Now I’m home and completely stuffed.

A sneaky spritz of Tom Ford Ombre de Hyacinth before bed. NIGHT!

Friday 8:

Neela Vermeire Creations Pichola for a warm morning, full sunshine and not very humid. Perfect dog walking morning. The grevillias are blooming.

Jin and I were approved to buy a new townhouse nearby. This is a big deal. Having sold the Tasmanian properties we now have an excellent deposit for it. With it being so close it means there will be no travel to fix problems. It’s already tenanted with a family that loves it and doesn’t expect us to do a thousand improvements. Borrowing this kind of money makes me very jumpy and nervous and I relied on my Pichola to act as a calming agent, it did.

Parfum d’Empire Equistrius for a shot of gorgeous after lunch.

I can say honestly that my afternoon/evening was spent sleeping and watching TV. Nothing got done, no Trivia work, no house work, almost no blog work. It was blissful. I ate junk food, drank coffee, juice, water and was generally a slob. Currently re-watching The Crown on Netflix. Wonderful time, by myself with the dogs.

Saturday 9:

Arrivals Guerlain Lui & Insolence parfum

For the afternoon/evening I was wearing vintage Miss Dior parfum. Took Kath out for her birthday to our fave steak joint, Alice came too. It was bloody delicious. Afterwards we had ice-cream in cones YUMMMMM.

Bed Guerlain Floral Romantique from a decant.

Sunday 10:

Annick Goutal Songes inspired by a SOTD post this week. Great choice for this warm humid weather.

Jin and I grabbed charcoal chickens for Kath’s Birthday Lunch. It was a very nice morning hanging with the family.

O M G !! Walked into the house after work tonight and Jin had been cooking stuff. It stank. On top of that he had candles of all different scents burning to muffle it. My head exploded in a headache immediately. It was like being in a scent nightmare. I grabbed the dogs and fed and walked them as soon as I could to get some fresh air. Came back and it is much better, not perfect but bearable. PHEW!

It’s YOUR turn. What’s happening in your world?

Vintage CHANEL No 22 EdC

December 7, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 46 Comments

Portia

Hi Vintage Vamps,

There’s something incredibly special about vintage. Sure, I know people bang on about them changing over time and that you’re not smelling the perfumers original intent. BAH Humbug. I’ll enjoy fragrance any which way I like and please don’t try and ruin my fun. Chasing the elusive, finding a near perfect gem, wearing something never to be created ever again that has been kept sometimes for over a century. THAT is fun, exciting and special.

Vintage CHANEL No 22 EdC

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Aldehydes, Lily, Lily-of-the-valley, Neroli, Orange blossom, Tuberose
Heart: Jasmine, Nutmeg, Rose, Ylang-ylang
Base: Iris, Vanilla, Vetiver, Frankincense

This is the cleanest vintage CHANEL No 22 EdC I’ve smelled. The aldehydes are still fizzy and a little oily as they rise off my skin in combination with the most magnificent bouquet. What can I smell? White flowers and creamy ylang over incense and a bunch of stuff I can’t place or name. What they smell like for me is CHANEL No 22.

I can tell you how it feels to wear it though. Carefree. Like a burst of warm sunshine on a gloomy day. Maybe the thrum of your blood through vines after a hearty belly laugh. Lunching with friends somewhere cheap and cheerful with a water view.

Warm winds, hot sand and a convertible car ride.

Sure, No 22 EdC is a glamour puss, bold and sophisticated. It does seem to me when I wear her that she may be all that but when it’s a 22 day she’s on holidays. It may be nearest beach or it could be the Greek islands, wherever no 22 lands she’ll be welcome.

Vintage CHANEL No 22 EdC GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 3 winners who will receive:
1 x Vintage CHANEL No 22 EdC decant (from my bottle)
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 what your favourite CHANEL fragrance is

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 10th December 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 Thursday 14th December 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: 27.11 – 3.12.2017

December 3, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 24 Comments

Portia

Hello Australian Perfume Junkies,

It’s heating up here in Sydney. Summer has arrived and this year it’s showing us a very humid face. Not horrible but it will take a couple of weeks to get used to.

Jin has been around the house sick so the upside of that is we get to hang together. Obviously the downside is that everyone turns into a 5 year old when they’re sick.

Scent Diary: 27.11 – 3.12.2017

Monday 27:

Woke up on my own time at 9.30am, fed and walked the dogs then made myself a big glass of 50/50 pomegranate juice & water. Excellent start to the day. Dabbed some modern Gres Cabochard parfum on this morning so leather has ben my jam for today.

Jin is home today and working tonight. It was a very pleasant surprise to have him around the house while I did the laundry and Trivia invoicing. We went on a quick grocery shopping trip and he cooked up a load of meals for the week. Brown rice, fried Tofu, steamed Bean Sprouts. Not really my thing but he is currently combating his fatty liver and we are trying to save a few dollars extra so we can travel lavishly in 2018.

It was a calm, lazy, productive day; beautifully warm and humid. The dogs spent most of the day on their beds indoors. They love it when Jin’s watching TV or one of us is cooking. They just lay there and sleep, occasionally looking up to make sure we are still around.

This afternoon, instead of working, I watched MiB II & III. Last week I’d caught a rerun of the original and it was so fun I wanted to enjoy the others. Excellent binge.

IUNX Splash Forte, Olivia Giacobetti’s under the radar incense masterpiece. Why the hell is it not the most talked about incense of all time?

TRIVIA Q&A. Guerlain’s Mitsouko EdT. Woo Hoo. I smell amazing.

Tuesday 28:

It’s 5am and I woke up to go to the toilet. While I was there Jin came home from work, so now I’m wide awake. Better finish my Trivia Q&A. A sneaky spritz of Dawn Spencer Hurwitz Ma Folie de Noel. Spicy citrus and milk.

Back to bed till 9.50am. OOOPSIE! I was supposed to have the dogs fed and walked before Scott arrived at 10. Oh well, he arrived and we walked them together. Then we office worked, went to the Post Office and Bank, did some decanting and had lunch.

Then dyed my beard, jumped into a L’Artisan La Chasse aux Papillons bubble bath and spritzed with Serge Lutens Datura Noir.

Went to have a nap and just as I was drifting off the bloody phone rang. Now I’m wide awake. GRRR! Smell amazing though.

It’s bloody hot here, sticky for getting into drag. I keep sweating. A good deal less glam in the warmer months.

Work was busy, we had a great time. Someone even commented how much they loved my Datura Noir! YAY!

Watching Netflix The Punisher. Pretty good

Before bed, Gres Cabochard parfum. Yeah, I’m worth it. He He he. smells fabulous.

Wednesday 29:

Up early (for me). Fed & walked the dogs, organised my backpack, jumped a bus and off on a big day out with friends. Fragrance? Vintage Miss Dior parfum. Yes, I smell like a million $$$.

Jumped a bus and a train to town and walked across the domain to the NSW Art Gallery where Lisa and I did the 11am gallery highlights tour. After, we went to the Mapplethorpe exhibition and did the midday tour. Both our guides were erudite and added so many extra titbits, some of then salacious scandal and others more to do with technique or timeframe. Two wonderful hours appreciating and learning. We then needed refreshment so swanned down to the Members Lounge where Lisa treated me to lunch.

We wandered back to the heart of Sydney for coffee and dessert in the David Jones Food Hall and then wandered the halls looking for fragrance and beauty. We swished over to Myer and Mecca (where I made my only purchase, the Diptyque Christmas Travel Set). Throughout the 4 hours of meandering we smelled maybe 50 or 60 scents and I think I ended up with 15 of them upon my person. It was a splendid effort and we both had a great time.

Then we coffeed and juiced, finding out that Same Sex Marriage had gone through the Senate with a YES vote and Monday it will go through the House Of Representatives. Fingers crossed. I admit we had a little cry. One of our days visual highlights was noticing that the Westfield Christmas Trees were GUM TREES! So good.

Then dinner with my frag friend Tim. He’s excellent company and we nattered away a couple of Burger filled hours. Laughing, sniffing and having fun.

Back home on a train and bus and walked the dogs. I’m BUSHED!

Jin had cooked a huge lot of roast pork and crackling. Seriously enormous. So much that I took some to BFF Kath’s Mum & Dad and another lot to Wendy, my trivia mate. You have NO IDEA how well he does it. The crackling is crunchy and mainly incredibly easy to chew, he buys and makes extra. There are a few super crunchy bits too which are my favourite. I feel like Rockbiter from The Never-Ending Story. The pork is moist, melt in your mouth delicious tenderness. For someone who grew up never knowing the joys of roast pork Jin has taken to it like a duck to water.

I’d like to take a moment to apologise for my lack of photos today. We were having WAY too much fun to spoil the moments with photos. So while it’s true that I’ve let you all down a bit, it was imperative that I live in the moment today and just float along.

Thursday 30:

Divine EdT

HOT here in Sydney, sweating.

Ran around all morning doing errands, had lunch at home with sick Jin who has tonsillitis AGAIN!

A card from Tara of A Bottled Rose arrived. HAPPY DANCE! I love postcards.

Bathed in Bath & Body Works Rainkissed Leaves, Jacomo Silences PdT to cool me down.

For work I put OODLES of Thierry Mugler Womanity on. It was a perfect heat beater and a few of the players at trivia mentioned how good it smells. YAY!

Vintage CHANEL Pour Monsieur for bed. HEAVEN!

Friday 1:

The humidity, even as early as our morning dog walk, is equatorial monsoon levels. Yet still I manage to be sweating buckets as I sit and type this. The CHANEL is still humming around softly but I need some coolant. Niki de Saint Phalle EdT to the rescue. It’s cooling, dry bones, arctic wash is exactly the refresher I need.

Jin has added a hacking phlegm filled cough to his tonsillitis. Poor little fucker. He’s on the couch with food and juice, out for the count.

Today is my only proper day off this week and next. I’m going to spend it getting myself ready for the week, catching up on eMail backlog that I’ve been ignoring since Tuesday and getting the blog and Trivia Q&A started for next week. Trivia first.

So Jin and I booked Anna-Maria, Scott and my Paris adventure Korean Air Tickets today. Also found five choices for Air BnB places to stay, now they get to choose which one they like best. It’s getting VERY fricken real right now. YAY! We are off to Paris in APRIL!

7.30pm and I’m feeling sweaty and unglamorous. The day has been wasted looking for Paris shit and I’ve hardly done a thing for REAL work. GRRR! Going to have a quick, cool bath and come back to the desk refreshed.

Nope, had dinner, walked dogs. It’s now 11pm and I’m about to start Trivia Q&A. What a wasted day.

It was nice to hang with sick old Jin though and watch some TV with him. We did go to Bunnings and get a replacement shower cord and come home and fix it, so not a whole day wasted.

Went to bed scentless, didn’t put any on after my bath. Needed a rest.

Saturday 2:

At around 1am I finally got to work and did half my Trivia Q&A.

Slept late. 10.30am I slumped up to feed the dogs and walk them. Jin was uncomfortably unwell so I slept on the couch under the ceiling fan. I keep forgetting to bring the pedestal fan up from the garage to put in the spare room. It needs some air movement to be comfortable in summer.

Diptyque 34 this morning. So smooth and comfortable. A slightly green white floral with lovely resinous underlay. Perfect warm weather fare.

After a HOT bath I headecstraight for the Hermès Monsieur Li. It’s oily citrus both balm and coolant.

Tonights gig was an eighties inspired Christmas Party for Seasonal Concepts. A design crew just outside the heart of Sydney in Redfern. I’ve known Ken the proprietor for decades and he regularly gets me in to be the Door Bitch because when I say Invitation Only everyone gets the point quickly. I went as Crystal Meth-Carrington and had a ball. I wore Yves Saint Laurent Opium Poesie de Chine, a summer version of the 1980s classic.

My BFF Kath picked me up from the gig and I went and had coffee with her and chatted for an hour before jumping in my car and zooming home to poor sick baby Jin.

It was late so I had a little bread roll with the last of the pork & crackling and some salad. Delicious!

Then I came to the computer to do blog stuff and now I’m ready for bed. I’m going to spritz some more Opium Poesie de Chine and then hit the hay. NIGHT!!

Sunday 3:

The dogs seemed especially pleased to see me this morning, we wandered a few blocks in the early humid heat and headed home. By the time we got there sick Jin was up and rumbling around the apartment coughing like a person with a very bad chest cold. Poor little man. I’m feeding him the Korean team and he has a backlog of heat in the microwave Congee (a thick rice soupy thing he loves and is full of goodness)

Rita, one of my mates (a stellar fundraiser, helper, organiser) is getting Christmas Hampers together for the less fortunate. She’s doing a drive to get food and small gifts together so people with less will have a little more. I raided my collection of hotel soaps, shampoos, conditioners and body lotions (perfect size for homeless), grabbed all my unwanted gifts and went shopping for some food. With $110 I was able to get a selection of Tinned vegetables, Twinings 10 pack teas, Biscuits, Chocolates, Sanitary pads and Tampons, Crisps and Nuts. I know that the crew will be mainly buying super healthy stuff but this is a Christmas Hamper, there needs to be some slightly luxurious fun stuff.

Bath in L’Artisan La Chasse aux Papillons and wearing Hermès Rouge again. Cool, sharp rose, creamy ylang and the insistent green snap of myrtle create something very different to anything else in my collection. Perfect to cut through the humidity.

It’s YOUR turn. What’s happening in your world?

Scent Diary: 13.11 – 19.11.2017

November 19, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 18 Comments

Portia

OMG APJ,

This week has been lived completely on the fly. I seem to have spent most of my time running and the rest sleeping. Usually I sleep only 4-5 hours a night but I’ve been clocking 7-10 this week. Weird. So much has been happening, and tonnes of great frags.

Scent Diary: 13.11 – 19.11.2017

Monday 13:

Was woken by Westpac, my Credit Card had been hacked during the night and someone in Israel had made some significant purchases on it. GRRRRR!

Guerlain Vetiver EdT. Great way to start the week.

Went to a meeting with my mate Thierry from City Perfume. I grabbed a dreaming bottle of Tom Ford Arabian Wood which I then split among the Aussie Fragrance Network crew on FaceBook. 850ml went in about 16 hours, amazing.

Then met my BFF Kath for lunch at our fave Macquarie Centre dumpling store Lok Lok. She’s great company and we talked over developments in her work and crystallised some ideas for my near future, well fleshed out some pending plans anyway.

Dogs had to go to the trainers kennel because Jin & I are off to Tasmania later in the week.

On the way home from the kennels I dropped in on Anna-Maria & Johnny because they live nearby. It was fun to sit around and have cups of tea and chats at their place. I so rarely get to do it and we love them so much.

I really tried to write my Trivia Q&A. It was a very unfocused try and I was making mistakes so I headed in to the TV to watch some The Good Wife to clear my head.

Tuesday 14:

Came back to the computer at around 2am but could not focus. At 3am after wasting half a night and only getting half my Trivia Q&A done I decided to hit the hay and get up a couple of hours early to finish them. So 8am I jumped out of bed, spritzed some vintage Eau de Gucci concentred and got to work.

Scott arrived at 10am and we got to Office Work and general duties.

First order of the day was doing the split and organising the send. Big job, loads of fun and we both ended up smelling fabulously of Tom Ford Arabian Wood.

Dropped into Westpac to check updates on my new replacement Credit Card arrival. I need it. Thank goodness for Aurio who went straight to the source and made sure there would vibe a replacement at the branch by tomorrow.

There was untold amounts of Post this week so we methodically went through that. Jin had to pay bills because my Credit Card was dead. That meant I had to pay hime from my reserves, which depleted them to the low three figures, yep minor crisis.

Got my hair buzzed.

Dyed my beard and became a beautiful lady. Tonight I wore vintage Miss Dior parfum, no one even noticed how utterly spectacular I smelled. Assholes.

Wednesday 15:

JPG Monsieur Eau de Matin, perfect foil to a day filled with trepidation.

On our way out today, at breakfast, I saw a poster for a new Sydney production of Shakespeare’s The Merchant Of Venice. I always love to see it being done because Portia dresses up as a man in the play and saves her partners life. It’s part of the ironic reason that Portia was an acceptable name for me when the choice was being made with my crew how my Drag Persona (which is my only persona now) would be named. It’s funny looking back on that time 29 years later.

Anyway, I start looking at the poster and then realise that the man is my buddy Mitchell Butel. What a freaking superstar. If you’re in Sydney, make the time to see this, Mitchell is genius.

Same Sex Results Rally. It was amazing. Bumped into some wonderful people that I don’t get to spend enough time with. One of my mates from the year above me at school, others who I have known and loved for decades. Loads of peripheral friends and some that have been super close over time. It’s funny, Jin sometimes gets this incredulous look on his face when we wind up in big groups of people that I’ve known forever. It’s like, “Who are you?” as if I’m from another planet. My life sometimes does seem like a million light years away, and that it happened to another person. We got a yes, over 60%. HAPPY DAY! Now the government needs to legislate fairly. Fingers crossed.

Thursday 16:

JPG Monsieur Eau de Matin was a perfect starter for our grand adventure to Tasmania to do up one of our houses for sale.

We met Johnny at the Sydney Domestic Airport as early as you can imagine. Here are three bleary eyed men awaiting boarding.

Flew down and got straight to work. The carpet guys are already there and it was looking so much better. We decided to go for a slightly expensive choice but the difference spoke volumes. Yard dyed nylon in a light greige, it’s got a thick, soft, cut pile and won’t get loads of clouds lifting from it, nor will it pill. Johnny and Jin started fixing the bits and pieces that needed it. A couple of new light fittings, wardrobe doors that needed adjusting to shut, wall oven surround, garage odds & ends, a dodgy walkway fix and a bunch of other stuff.

We made a list of jobs for tomorrow, went back to Launceston, shopped at Bunnings and got some dinner & shut eye.

After my shower I spritzed liberally with my decant Phaedon Tabac Rouge and went to sleep at about 10pm on a pillow of gorgeous wafting me to the land of nod.

Friday 17:

Up around 6am (that’s 8 hours) and down to the hotel breakfast. I’m so nervous about getting everything done today that I barely eat.

Phaedon Tabac Rouge again and lots of it. MMMMMM

Garden day. There are three men here to cut the grass, blitz the weeds and get it looking nice so we can newspaper & mulch with pine bark. BLOODY HELL! It’s so annoying, they didn’t edge the lawns. When I asked why not they said they’d not quoted for it. You quote to do a lawn that INCLUDES edging. GRRRR!

I painted a door, to the garage. YAY! Currently pretty damn chuffed with myself. There are a couple of admissions that need to be made though. Johnny did the sandpapering and Jin did the masking tape. All I had to do was cut in the edges and paint but it looks WONDERFUL!C So happy.

One thing I really love about George Town is that they still use cashiers at their Woolworths. They keep PEOPLE employed. Personal, friendly service. I spent three times as much as I would have, just because the place was properly staffed.

Jin and Johnny worked so hard to make the place look fabulous for sale, we laid countless newspapers as a biodegradable barrier to weeds that should last around 6 months. On top of that we put four cubic meters of pine bark. Looks bloody gorgeous. No, I forgot to take photos. There is one really cute one of Johnny and I running off to get some stuff in the car.

OOOPSIE! Didn’t wear sunscreen and my neck, head, ears and face and burned. Back of head and neck are lobster red. I haven’t been burned this severely since my teenage years and it is SORE! The guys say my skin is hot as a kettle and I’m feeling sick. Damnit! This was so bloody easily taken care of, and I even have sunscreen in my bag. IDIOT!

Saturday 18:

Slept from 10pm -7am. That’s 9 hours!!

I’m such a nitwit. Forgot to give the Real Estate the keys back. Instead of a lazy morning in Launceston we left Johnny to snooze and relax ands Jin & I went up to George Town, met Andrew our agent and showed him around the house. He was so happy. If you are thinking of buying in or around George town then call Andrew Michialetto at George Town Harcourts. He is a decent Real Estate Agent, bet you never thought you’d read that.

Jin and I did some sweeping up, handed over the keys, had a last Cream Bun and headed up to Low Head to say farewell. It’s got a lighthouse, an old whaling station and historic homes. It’s also a last breeding outpost of Fairy Penguins. So thankful that Jin was there and we got to talk about plans and congratulate ourselves on doing this Tasmania thing so right, even if we decided it wasn’t for us.

Back to collect Johnny to fly home and multi spritzed myself with vintage CHANEL No 19 parfum. So crisp and fabulous.

It was a bit squishy in thew plane but the boys slept the whole way.

First thing I did on arriving home was get the Aloe Vera onto my burn. My skin was so thirsty that it drank three applications in seconds. It has taken quite a bit of the heat and sting out.

Tonight after my bath I went Guerlain Shalimar crazy. They can probably smell me from the moon.

Then we went to met the crew for Wagyu House Korean BarBQ. It was so much fun I only got a shot of Jin and I before they arrived. We chattered and laughed and ate ridiculous amounts of food. We are so lucky to have such friends. Everything is better in our lives because we are surrounded by some excellent people.

You can see how exhausted we bath are in the shot.

More Aloe vera applications before bed.

Sunday 19:

Slept from 1am -10am. That’s 9 hours AGAIN. What the hell! I’m groggy as.

Aloe Vera application on waking.

Watched The Good Wife, did some computer stuff, ate lunch, watched some more of The Good Wife.

Couldn’t do drag because my burn would not allow me to wear it but I did bathe in LUSH Rose Jam, moisturised with Aloe Vera and wore indecent amounts of Neela Vermeire Creations Ashoka, just opened a brand new bottle. YAY. Smelling fricken fabulous FYI.

So what’s happening in your world? Did you do anything Fun or Fragrant, with Friends and Family or maybe even had some less than Fabulous news you want to share? Now’s the time, in the comments below.
We love to read what’s happening to YOU.
Portia xx

So what’s happening in your world? Did you do anything Fragrant, Fun, Friends, Family or even had some less than Fabulous news you want to share? Now’s the time, in the comments below.
We love to read what’s happening to YOU.
Portia xx

Scent Diary: 30.10 – 5.11.2017

November 5, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 21 Comments

Portia

Hey Hey APJ,

Another action packed week starting in Adelaide and coming home via Indian Pacific. A large Surrender To Chance order came before we left so I have been trying a bunch of those.

Scent Diary: 30.10 – 5.11.2017

Monday 30:

We got up nice and early. Trying a new decant of Perfumerie Generale PG08 Intrigant Patchouli. This is weird. I can barely smell it but Jin complained of it being particularly strong and irritating. Bummer.

Coffee & doughnut breakfast, then went to the Adelaide Zoo. the ONE thing I wanted to do was go see the zoo here. They are Australia’s smallest state zoo but have a really good reputation. We joined a guided tour and it was bloody wonderful. Our guide Jo had been guiding for 10 years and knew so much. She was also totally at ease with answering, “I don’t know.” A perfectly respectable response.

Pygmy Hippo

Otters

Wombat

Meerkat

Emperor Tamarind

Giant Panda

Japanese for lunch. YUMMY!

Lazy

Early evening dinner at Parlamento Italian. I asked the front desk woman to recommend and she didn’t disappoint. Food was excellent, ENORMOUS portions and we couldn’t finish our meals, the pic below is the left overs we just could not eat. Then we went and had a flutter on the roulette wheels at the casino. Jin lost his $20 and I won a bit and played it down to my original $20. It was a perfect last night in Adelaide.

Walked to our hotel and now I’m bushed. Shower, CHANEL No 19 vintage parfum and bed.

Tuesday 31:

Up and off to the station. Over the soft remnants of No 19 I gave myself a lavish couple of spritzes of Amouage Beach Hut Man from my nearly empty decant. This shit is fabulously freaky, especially on a train journey.

Thankfully they provided breakfast and refreshments. I may have had some sneaky champagnes.

Tom McArtney was our terminal entertainment and then he came on board for more.

On board the Indian Pacific from Adelaide to Sydney.

We were running late so had only a 25 minute stop in Broken Hill. We were really bummed because having been a part of and cameoed in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert we really wanted to go to the Palace Hotel and see a Drag Show. It was not to be but we did get an On Station Drag Show. One of the girls, Shelita Buffet, was my lost sister draggleganger. The resemblance is uncanny.

In the evening we had a rare treat. Jin and I got the dinner table to ourselves, it was sweet and romantic. Jin is a complete introvert when it comes to new people. Combine his English as second language with a natural shyness and conversation is very hard for him. Once you get to know him he’s garrulous but initially he finds its very hard. So this twosome breakfast with no need to converse with new people was a dream for him.

Wednesday 1:

Wearing Phaedon Tabac Rouge from a decant. The more I wear it the more I’m falling in love.

We disembarked at Sydney Central Station and caught another train home. A fitting end to the most romantic holiday, it was blissful. We are already talking about getting a group together and doing the whole Perth to Sydney leg of the Indian Pacific. Well worth the expense.

Did four loads of washing and had to stop because the clothes line is FULL! I even dried the towels and bed linen in the dryer but still no space left. Jin’s clothes are all washed and hung, some of mine are but my suitcase is not yet emptied. Hopefully tomorrow.

Had an afternoon Radox bubble bath and then used Hermès Monsieur Li lotion and perfume. Smelling mighty good in a fresh citrus and sparkly oil kinda way.

Thursday 2:

I woke lazily, at my leisure, with a wonderful while of half awake/asleep like rising from the depths. It was luxurious in the extreme. Jin has gone to work early and I have the house to myself. It’s so peaceful.

In the mood for calm I went with IUNX Splash Forte. Olivia Giacometti at her herbal/incense best, sheer and insistent. Very glam but cool and restrained. Yes, I’m still on the dregs of this 20ml, I’ll need a refill soon. You can see by the bottles beat up appearance that it gets used for travelling. Stayed softly fragrant right up until bath time.

I thought I was nearly through the washing but it ended up being 4 loads including linens. So I folded yesterdays washing and started again. It took 4 hours and I basically sat at the computer between loads to hang and loafed all morning into the early afternoon. Hard to complain about such a lovely easy day. My bag is unpacked and back in its wardrobe home and there’s not a piece of dirty laundry in the house.

OK, so back to reality, back to dying my beard. I do prefer it black, especially for work, but deep down I’m a lazy person. This is 20 minutes extra grooming ritual each week. Yes, that’s how lazy I am. Sheesh, I’m even disgusted at myself.

Had a lovely bath in Olympic Orchids Amber/Labdanum Bath Oil, Moisturised with Madonna Truth or Dare Lotion and spritzed lavishly with Anna Sui Live Your Dreams. The amber and tuberose base gives live Your dreams a much firmer base to stand on. YUM!

Work tonight was only 2/3 full and we had a new table that really didn’t like my potty mouth, my gayness or my flamboyance. Oh well, if I was holding out for universal approbation I would have a pretty long wait. I looked fabulous though.

Friday 3:

Had stuff to do but most of it got cancelled. Jin and I had our waxing done in the morning then I loafed around watching The Good wife and eating far too much food.

Heavily spritzed Guerlain Champs Elysees and floated majestically on clouds of fresh and cool airy violets with lashings of spring bulb leaves, fruit and white muskegs dry down.

Went for dinner with Kath and her Ma & Pa, that I share. It was fun.

For bedtime I multi spritzed Neela Vermeire Creations Pichola, I wanted similar but much more sophisticated.

Saturday 4:

Stayed up watching The Good Wife. Thoroughly addicted and never want to press stop and go to bed. NOTHING is getting dome around here. Next weeks blog may be a little sketchy. Oooopsie!

Woke up around 10am, Jin and I are going to an Auction up the street. We would have bid but I still haven’t got all my financials together for the mortgage lender. Yes, my bad.
WOW! We went, there were about 8 groups there and not one registered. ZERO bids. The Sydney property market has shown its plunging hand.

Drenched in L’Artisan Premier Figuier. Milky fig. Happy memories of Jin and my first big holiday together. We travelled through Europe and in Budapest I purchased Premier Fig. Never fails to bring a smile. To be honest I rarely wear it because Ashoka and Womanly seem to be my go-to figs but I’m so glad I grabbed it out today.

Tonight went to work raising money for the One Meal group. It’s an amazing crew that makes sure people living on the line or in real poverty get one healthy meal a week. They are spread across Sydney and hoping to go Australia wide. One good meal a week can make a big difference. There were 250 people in the room tonight and Rita, Marijana, Cathy and their mate produced it all, amazing. We raised over $19,000 and it feels good.

Perfect for controlling a huge horde, Serge Lutens La Fille de Berlin. Sweet, jammy roses with a tart, dry bite.

Watched more episodes of The Good Wife and spritzed Parfumerie Generales Ether des Lilas, ozonic lilies? Dunno, weird, wet and gorgeous.

Sunday 5:

Woke up late and came straight to the computer answering APJ comments. Gave myself a big triple spritz of vintage Miss Dior parfum. So good, MMMMM.

Jin is currently on night shift so when he woke up we hung out for a bit. It was nice. Then I came back to the computer.

Had a bath with one of the hotel shower gels I’ve collected on my travels. It’s a very pretty green floral with vanilla. So to compliment that I’m wearing a luscious, chunky caramel vanilla Eau d’Italie Morn to Dusk. So rich and perfect for cool spring evenings.

Scent Diary: 23.10 – 29.10.2017

October 29, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 56 Comments

Portia

This week has been unbelievable APJ crew,

Can’t wait to share our adventures. Seriously, a spectacular week. Fragrance, Travel, Fun and Friends, maybe even a little Romance.

Scent Diary: 23.10 – 29.10.2017

Monday 23:

Jin woke me up with some roughhousing like teenagers. He went to bite my belly as I went to push his shoulder away and I ended up punching him in the eye. Poor baby, he was hurt. Now we are worried that it will look like we have a domestic violence problem while on our Anniversary trip. It’s funny but also worrying.

Running around this morning. Saw the Bank, the Post Office, the Mortgage Broker, talked to real estate guys. Home and packed the bags, had a Molton Brown Energising Seamoss bubble bath, used Madonna Truth or Dare Naked lotion and have spritzed Pierre Guillaume Praline de Santal. It’s a lightly salted woods and bakery scent, like a salted caramel but nuttier and woodsy. Bloody good shit.

While in the bath I used my brand new birthday mug from BFF Kath. Isn’t it gorgeous, from David Jones.

Also, there might have been some fragrant arrivals in the mail. We were a little worried because I’m running low on perfume. Thank goodness these arrived. All vintage. Eau de Gucci, Nina parfum and Miss Dior. YUM

Alright. We are leaving now. I will try and keep you all updated on our journey. You’ll get the best pics on Instagram @portiatbo so maybe we’ll see you there……

BLODDY HELL! Jin mixed up our times and we arrived as the plane was leaving the airport. Poor little fucker was distraught. I jumped online and got us new tickets with points but he was really upset. We went and had some dinner and a few Sojus.

We decided to walk home from the station. Beautiful night, cool but clear, new moon for new beginnings. As we wandered we made a side journey through a beautiful park that has fairy lights in the trees. Jin got down on a knee and gave me a box, all wrapped up. I opened it and it had a Royal Doulton Christmas decoration diamond in it. So beautiful, and a lovely gift. I can imagine us putting it on the tree every year and telling this story. Then came a little white box, inside were two diamond shaped chocolates. By now I had an inkling of what was going to happen. Butterflies buzzing around in my tummy.

Then he gave me a card. Within was a heartfelt and love filled marriage proposal. It was so bloody sweet. As I finished reading it out loud, the end getting a little shaky, I looked up to Jin and there was such light in his eyes. In his hands was an aqua box with white ribbon. It opened to reveal two rose gold, bezel set, 1/2 carat diamond stud earrings, one each to wear once we are married. Exactly as i pictured them in my dreams.

Jin was so excited and nervous, had worked so hard to make this moment, momentous moment, perfect. His heart was in his eyes and I know we love each other deeply, forgivingly and broadly. Of course when the diamonds come from Tiffanys the answer is always YES.

Big day. I’m bushed. A triple chest spritz of Hermès Muguet Porcelaine and I’m off to catch some ZZZZZZZs

Tuesday 24:

Woke up lazily and then started getting the engagement news out to the crew.Some VERY excited people full of love and best wishes. It was a terrific morning.

What better way to celebrate than with fragrance. I decided it had to be bright, uplifting and well named. Anna Sui Live Your Dream. A light filled lily/lily of the valley that seems perfectly chosen on this beautiful sunshiny early morning.

Later, wanting more lily, I overspritzed Cartier Baiser Volé. A drier, less plastic lily than earlier Live You Dreams.

Redox Bath Salts bath and vintage Guerlain Samsara EdT and EdP. I wanted to be serenely fragrant, to float above the travel and arrive still smelling gorgeous.

Arrived at the airport and bumped into our mate Elon who bought Pymble from us. Excellent catch up.

Stooped by Amuse Beauty inside the terminal, lovely selection of niche and beauty.

Wednesday 25:

Woke up at sparrows fart and Jin &I went around the corner for breakfast. It was yum.

The bus came and collected us and a bunch of other Ghan travellers. Our adventure officially begun.

I’m wearing vintage Nina Ricci Fleur de Fleurs parfum. It’s a soft focus floral, brightly aldehydic and not 100 miles from CHANEL No 5, softer though and more curvaceous. I wanted to be old school glam for our train embarkation.

The train is freaking fabulous, like something out of the movies. Wood panelled walls, cosy but brilliantly thought out ensuites, comfy bunk beds. First thing we did was hit the bar and grab an early champagne. PERFECT way to begin our adventure..

First stop Katherine Gorge. We chose the tour gorges boat cruise. Obviously I called it the TOO GORGEOUS Boat Cruise. We had an aboriginal guide who was full of information, history and knew all the creatures habits and their habitat. Unqualified success. We loved it.

Back to the train for dinner in the Dining Car. Food was excellent. We had a lovely couple to dine with, they were witty and charming with excellent anecdotes. We laughed all the way through the meal.

We were bushed so we came to our room and crashed.

Thursday 26:

I woke at 5.30am so jumped into the shower. Today felt so hot and I knew we’d be travelling so I wanted something calming. Fortunately CHANEL No 19 vintage parfum came to the rescue.

Ready early so we went down for breakfast at 6.30am. Our companions were much less interesting this morning. No worries, the food was spectacular.

Our excursion today was the Alice Springs Desert Park. Of all the choices we had I was so excited that we got to go here. It’s a cross between a Botanic Garden and a Captive Breeding Zoo. The only plants we saw were indigenous to the region and we got to see a live, free birds show with a magpie, Tawny Frogmouth, Wagtail, Barn Owl, Black Chested Buzzard and a surprise visit from a Black Kite. Apologies that I forgot to take pics, I was too engrossed.

Alice Springs Telegraph Dinner. This was a fabulous, unexpected event. A true blue Aussie BarBQ under the stars at the starting point for Alice Springs. The telegraph went across Australia from Adelaide to Darwin, there it became a submarine cable to Singapore. This way a telegram could go to England and a reply back to Australia in about a week. A far cry from the previous 6 months out and back on boats. Suddenly Australia was connected to the world in real time. A good analogy is the old snail mail and eMail.

The dinner was beautiful, the whole event like a huge rural wedding. We watched the sunset, ate, drank, chattered and then danced into the night under the moonlit, starry and cloudy sky. Jin and I danced together, with our new friends and the staff; it was terrific. I am smiling so much writing about it and remembering how much fun we had.

Friday 27:

Grabbed a mini of Guerlain L’Heure Bleu a packed it. Today it got a big wearing. In the soaring temperatures L’Heure Bleu managed to keep composed and elegant all day.

Sunrise from the Buffet Car this morning. Food was as good as the view.

Then we were off in a bus on our adventure for the day. Coober Pedi, the home of opals in South Australia. We did so much but I was so busy living I forgot to take photos, so fortunately Jin took some too. I can’t remember which each of us took but suffice to say we share the load.

This is an underground Serbian church, carved from the rock and painted with varnish to make it shine and help keep it intact. We lit a candle for our friends to have health, wealth and satisfaction.

Lunch was in an abandoned opal mine, also an underground, dug out. It’s really cool underground, instead of 40c it was only 23c. So we had a very comfortable lunch. These two girls are Carol and Robin, we spent quite a bit of time hanging out with them, really wonderful girls with great senses of humour.

This is the longest fence in the world. Built to keep the dingoes out of South Australia.

Coming back to the Ghan the train crew had set up afternoon drinks and canapés for us alongside the train. It was wonderful. A couple of the girls joined us and we had a very happy natter. It was a bit windy though so Jin and I took ourselves to the Bar Carriage.

Saturday 28:

This morning was our last Ghan breakfast sunrise. We met a beautiful couple and had an excellent feed.

This is one of our favourite couples, Margie and Iain. The whole trip we chatted and Jin got on particularly well with them.

Here we are with a few of the crew after disembarkation, waiting for taxis. It’s sad to be leaving this crew, we loved them all.

We went and grabbed our hire car, found our hotel and then decided we needed adventure. Jin’s favourite red wine is called Church Block by Wirra Wirra Vineyards. As they are only an hour from our hotel I decided we should pay them a visit. Jin LOVED it. We tasted all their reds from lightest to heaviest. We always have a case of their Church Block at home anyway so we ordered a couple of cases of other things that aren’t available commercially.

We also had some lunch there. It was an excellent afternoon excursion.

Tonight Jin wanted to go to the Adelaide Casino Fortuna Court Buffet. It was fun and yummy. He’s such good company, we talked, planned and ate our way through a couple of hours. Weekends are extra seafood so Jin was in his element. he polished off three plates of prawns alone!

Afterwards we went down to the gaming hall. I have very strict gambling laws on myself and Jin has taken them on also. $20 each is our spend. We can lose it any way we want, Jin prefers the pokies and I love roulette. We watched the roulette for about an hour and then decoded we’d have a go. I lost my chips in 4 goes, Jin had a chip on his lucky number 4 and it came in. BIG WIN. We immediately cashed his chips and he came out with nearly $100.

As we were going to the cashier we ran into Maria and Sam from the Ghan. We were all so excited so we went to have a drink together. It was so much fun that I forgot to take pics, sorry. It’s a bummer, we love these guys and are going to go to Melbourne especially to visit them.

Sunday 29:

Up early. We had breakfast in the hotel. It was pretty awful. No worries, it was close and easy. Tomorrow we’ll eat out.

Wandered around the city a very little bit this morning. Checked out our dinner choice in China Town, looks great. Hey, they have these on a bunch of trees here in Adelaide. So cool.

Hit the Adelaide Art Gallery which is currently having an indigenous artists show called Tarnanthi, which means renewal or beginnings. We started on the tour but the guide was not engaging so we ran away and Jin planted himself in the cafe. I had a question so was sent after another guide. OMG! This guy was clever, informed, passionate and had the most wonderful depth and breadth of knowledge. He was also amusing.

After the gallery we went to the German Hill Town Harndorf, about 30 minutes from the city centre. Wandering among the Sunday sunshiny revellers was fun. We saw loads of great local arts and crafts, had a HUGE lunch of goulash and schnitzel.

I particularly fell in love with this badly photographed lithograph piece but they didn’t have an unframed one. BUM!

We came home, had a nana nap and then met our Ghan girlfriend Carol for dinner. We took her for Korean Bar B Q, which she loved. We had a ball, she’s great company. Food and conversation were flowing beautifully. This is a terrible photo of her, sorry Carol.

Scent Diary: 9.10 – 15.10.2017

October 15, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 44 Comments

Portia

Hi there Fragrance Family,

I don’t know why but there are hardly any pics of this week. I did as much as ever but seem to have forgotten to take happy snaps. That makes this weeks post much more perfume centric.

I’ve also started watching The Good Wife on Netflix and have been reading Vikram Seth’s A Suitable Boy. Both have been really enjoyable.

Book Depository

Scent Diary: 9.10 – 15.10.2017

Monday 9:

Jumped out of bed, rushed the dogs around food and walking. Sprayed a load of Penhaligon’s Ostara and smelled fabulous.

Jumped in the car and headed for my lovely girlfriend Sue’s, grabbed Wendy on the way and we had the most marvellous morning tea. I had a jacket made for Sue in India and so she decided to put on a magnificent spread. It was absolutely divine and I ate like a starving person. SO YUMMY!

There were mini crustless sandwiches, buttered fruit cake, fairy cakes and sausage rolls. All hand made from scratch by Sue. We talked about her days as a caterer and career as a teacher. We even had a business idea Drag Queen High Tea Hens Parties! Imagine how fun that would be.

After that I grabbed Anna Maria and we drove up the Blue Mountains to a Perfume Sale, where I bought a few things. Don’t get excited, only the Mona di Orios (Oiro & Carnation from 2006) are destined for me, the rest are Christmas gifts.

While Anna-Maria and I were shopping I asked her if she’d ever been to the Hydro Majestic. OMG! She hadn’t so we decided to pop up there and have a look. Secretly I was gunning for us to have High Tea there. He He he. TWO lavish tea parties in one day. We had the Champagne High Tea and it was stellar. Anna-Maria is the best company and we laughed and chattered the afternoon away. It was excellent fun.

Got home and really wanted to fall into a diabetic coma but Jin had organised to go to Kath and Alice in the evening to fix their electrics, and Kath’s shower screen.

We were so tired after that that there was no energy for dinner, nothing decent open at 10pm and we saw the golden arches. McDonalds it was. Delicious but, you know, awful, but DELICIOUS!

DEAD

Tuesday 10:

So, there was NO WAY I could then write this weeks Trivia Q&A because my mind was mush so up at 5am to start. Though I was still a bit groggy the work got done in time for Scott to arrive bearing coffees.

We went through some boxes and did a big cull for sale. Sorry, there are only available to Australia. There’s a Sale Doc on Aussie Fragrance Network on FB if you are Aussie and something grabs your fancy. Most are used but almost all are back up bottles of fragrances that I’ll probably never use the original bottle up.

Wore some vintage Guerlain Shalimar Parfum to bed and asked myself again why I wear anything else.

Wednesday 11:

I gave Jin a small amount of money for our Anniversary this year and his Christmas present to buy a shitty little run around car. He has been having a marvellous time looking up websites, meeting owners, test driving and genuinely enjoying the whole experience. Every couple of days he has been giving me updates about it and he is wholly invested in finding a bargain but workable car.

I have no recollection of Wednesday day at all. Seriously. I must have been sleepwalking. I know I took the dogs walking because I took a pic of Paris looking so happy as he sits on command.

I also indulged in a fruit salad, banana, apple, watermelon, cantaloup, pomegranate seeds and dates smothered in Greek yoghurt and honey. So freaking delicious and fulfilling.

Thursday 12:

We spent the early morning looking at complete wrecks for Jin’s car obsession. So no new car today. Bloody hell, the things people think are worthy.

My mate Aunty Sonni died. She left the house to friends. It’s in a VERY nice part of Sydney that I always used to tell my Mum I’d live in one day. We went to have a look at purchasing it but once we did the math it was going to make our very comfortable life a tight budget fit. Neither of us want to give up the luxury we currently enjoy so it’s a no. BUMMER!

I did have a fragrant arrival. Something I’ve been Jonesing for a while and it’s getting rare as hens teeth so I finally bit the bullet and bought it. It’s such a bummer because I remember when these babies were being run out and I could have got it for less than half the price I paid. Trust me to wait till now to fall in love. GRRRR! Tom Ford Ombre de Hyacinth.

My day was spent waving some CHANEL Antaeus Pour Homme vintage EdT, what a bloody gorgeous fragrance. Total immersion for the first 20 minutes and then a perfect scent story to dip into over the next few hours at will.

Friday 13:

Jin came home with a car. He had been talking to this guy and wife around the corner from his work. The car was a good price so he and a couple of his car savvy mechanic workmates jumped in the van and went round to see it at dinner time. They went over the car with a fine toothed comb, test drove it and were given the complete history of servicing receipts in a folder. The car is immaculate, looks brand new and drives beautifully. A 2002 Daihatsu, baby blue for nearly half the amount Jin had to spend. So I bought his first year of insurance and he will be getting new number plates.

Look at that happy face. How could you not love this goofy, handsome, sweetheart?

Dentist day! Went to town for a teeth clean. I love my dentist, so handsome and careful.

Today was spent wandering in original Fendi. one of my great perfume loves. There have been a new rush of Fendi to the market but it doesn’t have the size or longevity of the original, I have a few of both and this one is the real deal. Blow the back of your head off, happily.

TinaG’s birthday today and I am in charge of the birthday present shopping from the four of us. WOO HOO! I walked around the whole ground floor of David Jones City Store and finally settled on CHANEL. No 19 Shower Gel and Body Lotion, a mascara and lip gloss. Beautifully boxed and presented by Laura.

It was a huge hit. TinaG was so excited. YAY!!

We had dinner at our favourite Chinese restaurant Liu Rose. It has the same decor from when I was a toddler and used to come with my parents because it was two doors down from my parents jewellery, watchmaking and gift store.

The birthday cake was Bomb Alaska. OMFG! I seriously couldn’t finish my piece. Amazing.

For bedtime I spritzed some Guerlain Mitsouko EdT. Perfect bedtime scent.

Saturday 14:

At the computer most of this morning surrounded in a cloud of Guerlain Champs Elysees EdT. It is so dewy, fresh and elegant. I don’t understand why more people aren’t raving about it.

Had the most fabulous LUSH Rose Jam bubble bath, moisturised with Madonna Truth or Dare Naked lotion and spritzed Bal a Versailles EdT like crazy. I’m a little bit fragrant, Good Night. XX

Sunday 15:

Early morning wake up spritz of Neela Vermeire Creations Pichola.

This morning I was up early to give the house a quick zjush because my mate Evie came over for brunch while daughter Lola had singing lessons nearby. We walked the dogs and grabbed coffees from the local parklands coffee shop, chatting with residents and dogs along the way. I love the village atmosphere of North Parramatta. Then we came home and had a yummy brunch of left over chicken ratatouille chopped small and mixed with mayonnaise, cheese and lettuce on fresh wholegrain bread. Delicious.

Now I’m back at the computer organising blog posts till I get ready for work tonight.

Bubble bath in LUSH Rose Jam and work fragrance courtesy of DIOR Mitzah.

How was your week? What went on? Anything, any little tit bit that you want to share, we love to read it. Jump into the comments below. I can be fragrance related or not, help us get to know you just a little please.
Portia xx

Friends: Circle of Pedicures

October 12, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 20 Comments

Portia

Hello APJ Crew,

Veering slightly off topic today. A couple of the comments on Scent Diary lately have loved how many friends we fit into our lives every week. It’s super important that we catch up with the inner crew but also there are mates that we see much less. This is one of the ways I manage to keep seeing as many of the crew as possible.

Just so you know I’m sitting in a lovely cloud of CHANEL Antaeus Pour Homme vintage EdT. It is fairly gorgeous.

Friends: Circle of Pedicures

Here’s the trick.

Choose a day that’s really easy for you 90% of the time. This is about YOU having a group of friends around. If some people can’t fit your schedule, no worries, others will.

We chose 10am Sunday morning. We are the first people in the shop and even if it takes an hour we still get to Yum-Cha (Dim-Sum) before it gets too busy to find a table.

Find a good nail shop somewhere in the middle of you all. Look up reviews online. It needs some kind of food next door or nearby. We prefer Yum-Cha but a cafe, restaurant, milk bar is fine as long as you can sit and chatter some more.

Select about 20 people that you like, love or would like to know better and find out which of them gets pedicures done. This bit is best done face to face to get the most positive response. People will make up excuses in their head if they’re not looking at your earnest, honest face asking to spend extra time together. Currently on my Pedicure list there are 12 people. As time goes by you’ll delete and add to the list, some people get busy on the day you .

Every 2-4 weeks send your group a text asking who’s free and interested. You will rarely get everyone but it is an excellent way to catch up with whoever is available. Also, as soon as your Pedi Time becomes a thing new people will want to join.

Sometimes I only target the friend/s that I really want to see and we go as a two/three/four some.

We find it a zero stress way of getting together, exactly the right amount of time for catch ups and no one has to clean their house for guests.

Some people will choose to skip the pedi some weeks and just come for the food or vice-versa. No sweat, whatever works for them.

Always ring the Pedicure Store two days before so they can have enough staff on hand.

So there’s the trick, it works a treat.
Portia xx

Yes, I know. My hairy Hobbit feet look funny with polish but I don’t care.