Depression

One Minute Robin Williams Tribute Video

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 24 Comments

Hi there APJ,

I know this is late to the party and you are probably all completely over the suicide of Robin Williams. Tonight my BFF said something that really made me think. What killed Robin Williams was depression, suicide was his cure for it. An eternal cure. A man who lived till 63 and finally succumbed to the black dog.

I am more moved by Robin Williams suicide than I have been about the loss of so many other entertainers. I don’t understand why but until tonight I just cry and yearn at the thought of it.

Robin Williams ipernityPhoto Stolen ipernity

To anyone else out there who suffers depression, is suffering depression, please try and find another cure. One that will give you time here on earth and maybe time to pull through your depression. Being dead may last forever. If there is only this one life then you better push your way to freaking fabulous, 100% drive to amazing. If this is all you get, and you have been burdened with depression then the good times are a gift, such an amazing and incredible gift and when they come around this bleak blue will seem like nothing. A whisper, a shadow, a story, it will feel like all the bad happened to someone else and you will feel joy.

Here is the first tribute that I feel I can share with you.

Please watch,

Portia xx

One Minute Robin Williams Tribute Video

Blue Day: To Do List For Today

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 25 Comments

Hi APJ Family,

As we all know not everyday will be a FAB U LOUS one. Some days are full of seven thousand types of shit and heartache. Even if the day has been great doesn’t necessarily equate to happiness either. We are human, this is normal. We are not always dissectible emotionally. There are days when all we can do is count our blessings, be nice to ourselves and others and make it safely to the end of the day.

Some of my mates have a Facebook site dedicated to dealing with less that wonderful emotional rides. Here are some of the latest crop of pieces that resonated for me.

I hope they work as a hug to you all today.
Portia xx

To Do list

Everyone Else

I Love you self

Here’s the new DIOR Homme Cologne ad. I like it.

Depression: Some Sentences That May Help

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 45 Comments

Hi there APJ,

We keep coming back to depression because it is a huge problem. Even low level depression can wear you down. There is help, I know it can be hard to ask for it, but there is help all around you. Be careful of you, you are precious, precious and part of the APJ family. HUG!

Depression: Some Sentences That May Help

Depression Vincent_van_Gogh Sorrowing Old Man WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

We lost one of Australia’s entertainers on the weekend. I did not know her well. Only a couple of times had we even chatted.

Depression is everywhere and here are a couple of famous people’s little lights that may guide you out, or at least help us to think that we are not alone in depression and that it’s a burden born by many. In these quotes we can see that others can survive depression and create great things, or do great things or use it to power them forward to change the world for good.

Don’t misunderstand me, I am not a world changer. I am doing my best to live a joyous, engaged, wonder-full, harmless life. Surrounding myself with as much positivity and as many positive people as I can, sharing my own energy when and where possible, hopefully bringing light.

I purposely haven’t used these quotes all dressed up and prettified. They are here in black and white so that nothing will distract you from their meanings.
There is hope, you are strong, depression will pass, there is light ahead.

Sending you all love,
Portia xx

“When one door closes another door opens;
but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door,
that we do not see the ones which open for us.”
Alexander Graham Bell, Scottish Scientist and Inventor

 

“When everything seems to be going against you,
remember that the airplane takes off against the wind,
not with it.”
Henry Ford, American Industrialist, Founder of Ford Motor Company

 

“When you come to the end of your rope,
tie a knot and hang on. “
Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States of America 

 

 

 

Christmas Depression

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 36 Comments

Hey all. It’s Christmas Day here in Australia.

For anyone who is battling sadness, loneliness or depression this Christmas then that is shit. I am sorry. All I can say is do something that you like, doesn’t have to be something big or crazy or life changing. Just think of something that you like that you can do. When I’m down and there’s nobody around to talk to I spritz some fragrance, light a candle, make a coffee, eat a biscuit or chocolate or read a book. Any of these are guaranteed to change my downward spiral trajectory enough to realise it’s depression and it will go, like rain. It also reminds me that like rain I can’t make it go away but just have to wait it out.

Rain water dripping over a windowPhoto Stolen Horia Varlan Flickr

Another good thing to do is go to the fragrance boards on FaceBook, there are plenty of options. FACEBOOK FRAGRANCE FRIENDS, Peace ☮ Love ❤ Perfume, MyMickers Fragrance Community, International Fragrance Split Association or Aussie Fragrance Network are the crews that I belong to but they are only the tip of the iceberg. They are running 24/7 and no matter what time you are at there is bound to be someone else from somewhere else around who might chat with you, even reading the madness that goes on can be fun. Comment on a post with respect and about fragrance and pretty soon you’ll have a new frag family from the WORLD!

Even the bleakest Christmas can be lightened by watching the Dolce & Gabbana Christmas video below. The singing is atrocious but the sentiment good.

Still I wish you a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS, we love you and are grateful that you drop in to see us.
Portia xx

Dolce&Gabbana Beauty Christmas Greetings

http://www.flickr.com/photos/horiavarlan/4303835161/in/photostream/player/

Quick Quotes for a Better Day!

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 19 Comments

Hello APJ,

Here’s the thing. The last few days have been a bit wonky. I have been irritable, grouchy, whiney and generally being a big hairy poo head. I have let myself get overwhelmed by external pressures, people’s failure to do it my right, business, late payers, bills, friends, general life really. I felt like I was sinking and it’s not a feeling I relish. So I went to one of those feel better FB pages and stole some short sayings that resonated. Often it’s easy to forget that there is a big picture, a goal or that moving forward can entail change and NO ONE likes change that doesn’t move at a comfortable pace. So it seems that changes are needed, some of them will be painful and some will be easy, and you don’t get to chose.

The other side though, that’s where the payoff is, pain now, gain later. Really pain? Hopefully not but certainly discomfort.

It was Thanksgiving this week in America. Where they thank the Indians for teaching them how to survive in the new country, sadly many of the Indians did not survive their encounter with white mans germs, it was reverse War of the Worlds, the aliens survived. What do I have to be thankful for? So much, I am lucky and blessed on so many levels. What do I need to change? Well change has already been put in motion, there will be more….

I hope you like this little montage for hope.
Portia xx

ChoicesChangeRegretTake the StepDo It Now7 Rules Of LifeYou Are BeautifulCiceroFree VERY Expensive CHANEL

Tubereuse Criminelle by Christopher Sheldrake for Serge Lutens 1999

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 15 Comments

.

Post by Gabriella

.

Hello fragrant friends!

Today I want to share my very personal story on how a bottle of a special fragrance came into my life. Almost two years ago, I was in a very bad place. I had returned to Sydney from London after recently getting engaged to Mr M. We moved in together, I was starting a new chapter with the man I loved and it should have been a tremendously happy time for me. However, one thing stood in my way: employment.

The job market for the sector I was in was particularly dire. I searched and searched and got knocked back either because I was way overqualified or just not senior enough. One month turned into two and then three and suddenly, I had been out of work for the longest time since starting in the job market at 15 packing shelves at a local grocery store.

DepressedPhoto Stolen Sander van der Wel Flickr

Still, it should have been fine. Mr M was happily supporting me financially and for the first time in years, I had time to think. But therein was the rub. Work had been so much part of my existence for so long that I now defined myself through my job. Without one, I felt like I had lost my identity and furthermore, my existence. As time rolled on, I became more depressed. I mooched around, drank more, ate tons and put of masses of weight which only exacerbated my unhappiness. When Mr M came home from work, I snapped at him. I was not a very nice person to be with.

Eventually, I did get some freelance work, but it wasn’t quite enough. My birthday was coming up and I would have been out of full time work for six months by that time, something I desperately didn’t want to happen.

So on Mr M’s advice, I went to see my parents who live up in northern New South Wales. It would be a breath of fresh air, allow me to spend some quality time with my Mum and Dad and hopefully, snap me out of my black dog state.

One day, I was doing some of my freelance stuff in Dad’s study. Rummaging around his desk drawer for a pen is when I spotted it: there in the drawer was a bottle of…..

Tubereuse Criminelle by Serge Lutens 1999

Tubereuse Criminelle Serge Lutens FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Jasmine, orange blossom, hyacinth, tuberose, nutmeg, clove, styrax, musk and vanilla

I was flabbergasted, excited and also perplexed. This was obviously my birthday present but how did Dad know to buy me this? Sure, Dad knew of my perfume love and I’d probably mentioned tuberose as a note here and there, but he certainly didn’t know Serge. And how had he discovered Tubereuse Criminelle, which at that point, had only been recently released into the export line?

I went into the kitchen to see Mum.

“Mum, don’t tell Dad, but I think I have accidentally found my birthday present.”

“Oh really?”

“Yes, the perfume in his desk drawer. But how did Dad know about it and how to get it and that I’d want Tubereuse Criminelle?”

“Well, you’ve been so very down lately darling and we know you love perfume and tuberose and all that. So Dad did some investigation online and found that this was a good one and quite hard to find. He just wanted to give you something really special to make you happy.”

Tears came to my eyes. The thought of Dad reading perfume reviews and doing background research was beyond overwhelming. I was deeply, deeply touched and thankful. It was a very special present in more ways than one. Now when I take that precious bottle out, I am reminded that good can come out of bad. The jolie laide character of Tubereuse Criminelle with the sharp mentholated opening before the full bloom of white flowers is a reminder that things do get better.

And, I’m also reminded that there is a hell of a lot more to life than work. It’s not the thing that defines me.

Tubereuse Criminelle Serge Lutens Trees Sun WikipediaPhoto Stolen Wikipedia

For more in-depth reviews of the scent itself, please see Bois de Jasmin and The Candy Perfume Boy.

Tubereuse Criminelle is available at
Mecca Cosmetica $166/50ml
LuckyScent $150/50ml
Surrender to Chance has samples starting at $4/.5ml.

Do you have a special story on one of your perfumes? What’s your take on Tubereuse Criminelle?

With much love till next time!

M x

SOVA by Slumberhouse and 50 Lessons I Wish I Had Learned Earlier!

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 21 Comments

Hi APJ Family,

It is glorious weather down here in Sydney town. Cool and sunny, possible chance of late rain but right now, GO JUS!! (gorgeous)

What am I wafting while writing to you today?

SOVA by Slumberhouse

SOVA by Slumberhouse, an acrid, burning cigarette, hot chocolate, booze, bark, sweet cakes, honey and resins. Imagine the smoky air of a speakeasy, live jazz, booze, drugs, sex and fun. I would love to smell this on one of my girlfriends, she would need a bodyguard.

SOVA was the first fragrance that Slumberhouse put out and really sets the scene for their total style and character, like a solid base that has been built around and curlicued. I have been told in no uncertain terms by TSO Jin that this is not to be worn to bed because it gives him dreams. I put it on last night and now it’s lunchtime and I am still fragrantly living this wonderful story. Sensational work.

I just finished reading an incredible in depth interview with Slumberhouse’s Josh on NotableScents if you need further reading it is highly recommended.

MemoryOfScent looks at some of the Slumberhouse range and APJ looked at Slumberhouse Pear + Olive recently. Pear + Olive was my gateway scent into this astounding new line.
Slumberhouse has 2ml samples $10 or 30ml/$100

Photo Stolen Slumberhouse

50 Lessons I Wish I Had Learned Earlier!

Life isn’t always great. There are days that grind us down and leave us feeling less. So here are 50 cliches from the PositivelyPostiveBlog. It’s the first step back into the light for me, just reading good things, positive messages, reminders that the sun will shine and that rain makes sunny days feel better because flowers have been able to grow.

Photo Stolen nps.org

  1. You’re stronger than you think you are.
  2. Mistakes teach you important lessons. Every time you make one, you’re one step closer to your goal.
  3. There is nothing to hold you back except you.
  4. You can press forward long after you can’t. It’s a matter of wanting it bad enough.
  5. No matter how much progress you make there will always be the people who insist that whatever you’re trying to do is impossible.
  6. You are limited only by your own imagination. Let it fly.
  7. Perception is reality.
  8. Your instincts can be trusted.
  9. There is only one question to ask yourself: “What would you do if you were not afraid?”
  10. It’s often hard to tell just how close you are to success.
  11. The only mistake that can truly hurt you is choosing to do nothing simply because you’re too scared to make a mistake.
  12. Never let success get to your head, and never let failure get to your heart.
  13. You have to fight through some bad days to earn the best days of your life.
  14. Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.
  15. Do what you love, not what you think you’re supposed to do.
  16. Laughter is the best medicine for stress. Laugh at yourself often.
  17. If you want to feel rich, just count all the great things you have that money can’t buy.
  18. Forgiving yourself is far more important than getting others to forgive you.
  19. If you awake every morning with the thought that something wonderful will happen in your life today, you’ll often find that you’re right.
  20. Be nice to yourself.
  21. For the most part, it doesn’t matter what people think. Follow your own truth.
  22. No education is wasted. Drink in as many new experiences as you can.
  23. Making one person smile can change the world.
  24. Don’t forget to enjoy your journey!
  25. You never know how strong you really are until being strong is the only choice you have.

Photo Stolen jeffreymasson

  1. Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.
  2. You cannot change what you refuse to confront.
  3. Crying doesn’t indicate that you’re weak. It doesn’t always solve your problems either.
  4. No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow you progress, you are still way ahead of everyone who isn’t trying.
  5. Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.
  6. You can learn great things from your mistakes when you aren’t busy denying them.
  7. Give up worrying about what others think of you.
  8. When you stop chasing the wrong things you give the right things a chance to catch you.
  9. You have to accept that some things will never be yours, and learn to appreciate the things that are only yours.
  10. As Henry Ford put it, “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you are right.”
  11. Don’t be afraid to move out of your comfort zone. Some of your best life experiences and opportunities will transpire only after you dare to lose.
  12. Giving up doesn’t always mean you’re weak, sometimes it means you are strong enough and smart enough to let go.
  13. You’ll rarely be 100% sure it will work. But you can always be 100% sure doing nothing won’t work.
  14. Don’t dwell on the past or worry about the future for too long. Right now is life. Live it.
  15. No matter how cautiously you choose your words, someone will always twist them around and misinterpret what you say. Just say what you need to say.
  16. Not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of good luck.
  17. If you are passionate about something, pursue it, no matter what anyone else thinks. That’s how dreams are achieved.
  18. If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting.
  19. What lies before us and behind us are tiny matters when compared to what lies within us.
  20. Don’t pray when it rains if you don’t pray when the sun shines.
  21. It’s not about getting a chance, it’s about taking a chance.
  22. If it were easy everyone would do it.
  23. Be vulnerable.
  24. A problem is a chance for you to learn.
  25. Regardless of the situation, life goes on.

Photo Stolen theage.com.au

Wishing you only good till tomorrow,
Loads of love,
Portia xx