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Portia
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Hey there APJ Crew,
Mardi Gras season is in full swing this week. I only attended a couple of events but my FaceBook feed is chock full of exciting moments happening across Sydney. There were also a bunch of fragrant adventures and LOADS of perfume was sniffed, spritzed, sampled and savoured. Friends old and new dropped in, Art happened, Roller Derby and a slew of other fun stuff.
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Portia
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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!!
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?
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
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Post by Portia
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Heya Fumie Family,
It’s been a riotous week here in Sydney. So much happening and I was so involved I forgot to take photos of everything so here’s a smattering of what my week looked and smelled like.
KFC Brunch with buddies and BFF Kath’s family. It was short and sweet because I had to work that night, fun though.
Hosted the most sensational Hen’s Night that night. The girls were hilarious and we had a wonderful time.
Pedi Sunday. You can tell my Hobbit feet a mile off.
Yum Yum Cha Cha Cha with the crew. These are the heart of my friends circle and I love them.
Sunday night the JACKPOT went off at Austral Bowling Club. $1000 split 4 ways. Wonderful.
Tuesday it was head shave day and now you can see why I get it done so regularly. What a spunky barber. So sweet and he does a good job too.
Down at the local pool I’m up to 700m. Weather is perfect for getting my swim on. At 9am I have the pool pretty much to myself.
Morn to Dusk by Eau d’Italie: A vanilla-centric fragrance that is perfect for me. It’s warm, sweet and I’m surprised it doesn’t have more notes because it tells a beautiful story.
Divine EdP: Old fashioned BWF glamour done for the 21st century. I know it’s older than that but never feels dated or retro.
Mohur by Neela Vermeire Creations: All the roses set as a centrepiece with an enormous backing lineup that makes Mohur smell only of itself and slightly different every wear.
The Aoud by Mancera: Simple synth oudh with a minty kick in the heart and a longevity that beggars belief. Don’t get it on your clothes because they still smell after washing. I love this baby though and wear it quite a bit.
Tokyo Bloom by The Different Company: Lovely soft green cologne. Wears for me like an EdT but loads of people have problems with its longevity. Like walking on grass after the rain, so fresh and alive.
Antaeus by CHANEL: Just scored this vintage tester and it smells exactly like the bottles we had of it in the 1980s/90s. Jin stole my other bottle so I had to replace and it was well worth it. YUM!
Cabochard parfum by Gres: Not sure how old this baby is. I thought it was a vintage buy but it smells absolutely perfect, clear as a bell with that heavenly chypre dry down. Calm , cuddly and ever so elegant.
Le Male by Jean Paul Gaultier: The original and best. One of my partners in the 1990s and I wore this exclusively for nearly a year. Good times, great memories. I just opened this new bottle so it’s getting quite a bit of wear.
No 19 EdC by CHANEL: One of my great green loves. The old EdC is surprisingly tenacious and spectacularly furry in dry down. MMMM
Boy by CHANEL: I had about 20ml left after I split this and it’s down to 5ml or less. I love it. Easiest wearing thing in my wardrobe right now. It’s very lavender-centric on me with a soft focus dry down of sweet nothings. I really like it.
So! How was your week? What did you do and what fragrances did you wear?
Portia xx
Hey Vintage Fumies,
Recently I was lucky enough to find a 2/3 full bottle of the vintage Cabochard parfum in its gorgeous black & white pedestal box. It wasn’t cheap but it wasn’t outrageously expensive either and I had long wanted to own a bottle for myself, having sampled earlier in my fragrant life.
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Aldehydes, spices, tarragon, fruity notes, sage, lemon, asafoetida
Heart: Orris, jasmine, geranium, rose, ylang ylang
Base: Tobacco, vetiver, oakmoss, coconut, musk, patchouli, amber, sandalwood, leather
Bernard Chant: Cabochard 1959, Aramis 1966, Aromatics Elixir 1971. A trilogy or family of fragrance. His three masterpieces, all similar but riffing different elements. If you want to know what a car looked like then, below is a 1959 Cadillac.
Photo Stolen Wikipedia
Now my top notes are slightly rusty, not in a big way but they have changed from the sample I had worn. I will have to use this up in the next year or so and I don’t think that’s any great hardship. The fruity sparkle is herbaceous, aromatic and dense. Imagine being in the storeroom of an Indian bazaar, the spark and buzz of faulty electrics, fruit and veg in waxy cardboard boxes, sizzling spices, bitter herbs, and the scent of dozens of boxes of sandalwood soap. That’s as full on as you can imagine, heavy, hectic, psychedelic scent that manages to be all this and warm & classy too. That is quite a feat to keep something so big from flying out of control.
Photo Stolen Wikipedia
The flowers are a bouquet and I can’t pick any of them out, not really pick them out though I get flashes of ideas of flowers. It doesn’t matter anyway because already the base notes are coming through: sandalwood, tobacco, patchouli, leather and oakmoss are the ones I can detect but what I really smell is Cabochard. It’s the base of Cabochard that IS Cabochard to me. A gravel voiced granny with a fabulous high end leather handbag, a cigarette, hair done and nails painted and attitude. She’s lived and loved her life, and is reveling in her twilight years. A little bit creakier but mind as sharp as a tack and still ready for fun, a drink and a laugh.
Photo Stolen YourStyleJourney
Further reading: Bois de Jasmin and Perfume Shrine
My bottle from Ebay
FragranceNet has modern EdP $28/100ml before Coupon
Surrender To Chance has Vintage Parfum $6/.25ml
Do you have a vintage you love? Something that has changed in its newest form or is it gone altogether?
Portia xx
Hiya all,
Picture Stolen from dazzlejunction.com
I wear a lot of perfume and write about surprisingly little of it, hard to believe isn’t it? So I’m going to try something new. I will open this Sunday QuickSniff Review page on Monday morning and every time I spritz and am near the computer I’ll give a 3 sentence review with a rating out of 5 each for
Scent, Obviously the number 1 priority here is how does it smell. My reviews are completely subjective and will differ widely from your own experience with the scent but it’s a good starting point. As yet I am not a trained perfumer so any and all descriptions are merely that, descriptions. There are plenty of blogs that offer technical details and chemistry, in 3 sentences I’ll pass.
Longevity, This is a biggie for me because like enfleurage where flower petals are left in fats to steal the scent, my fatty body works the same and eats it up, yum. So for a scent to last well on me, it will probably last a whole day on you and need a radioactive decontamination shower to defuse it from your skin.
Desirabilty, Wrapped up in this is scent, price, house, history, longevity, packaging, availability and a billion other things.
* in any of these being the, “You couldn’t pay enough to spray this God awful stink on me again, it smells like public toilets in India, long time fridge malfunction while on Summer holiday and the vile stench of poverty all rolled into one.” You are putting innocent people in danger if you wear this.
** means it’s a nothing, wearable, boring, maybe the price is prohibitive for what you get or it’s ubiquitous. You should definitely get a sample of this to stop a buying boo boo.
*** is a perfectly good product that smells good and lasts a while at a decent price. You should definitely think about trying a sample or squirt but should you miss out your life will continue. Sample size worthy.
**** is the one you try, want a lot but can wait for a birthday/Christmas. It’s better than most of the stuff you’ve sniffed and may fill a void in your library. This is also an excellent decant product 5ml will get you through the season and maybe buy it next year.
***** meaning, stop reading this, grab your cash, credit card (or partners), roll the elderly or rob a petrol station and purchase this product. NOW! If you don’t have this fragrance you could die.
AMBRE de CABOCHARD by GRES 2006. This has a bright, warm, almost plastic opening like so much else these days and warms down nicely to a nutty, floral, fruit buzz. Tania Sanchez call this a “chemical fruitcake.. with a thin, oddly waxy floral-and-spice formula so cheap…” and while that is true Ambre de Cabochard is affordable, wearable and fun, FragranceX has it for under $25. S=** L=*** D=**
AROMATICS ELIXER by CLINIQUE 1971. Every time I spritz this massive fragrance on myself I feel joyous, sexy and gorgeous. It is a sure fire compliment fragrance and has uber wattage that lasts and lasts. Flowers, wood, herbs, spices, it has them all in abundance; go to your local Clinique counter and ask for the 4ml tester. S=***** L=***** D=*****
COVET by SJP 2007. In 2007 this was probably very new and cutting edge, 5 years on it smells fresh, light, crisp and harmless. I like this as a daywear/worklife nothing but the bottle is really fun/camp/silly/cute and I wanted it on my dresser, FragranceShop has a coffret for under $25 with 15% discount. S=*** L=*** D=***
EAU MEGA by VIKTOR & ROLF 2009. This is pretty flowers, fruity pears, leaves, musk in a light but slightly muddy scent that never quite reaches lift off for me. I like it, but the bottle that looks cool in ads is cheap and awkward in your hand. People that want a fragrance but not a statement piece will love this because it’s so easy to wear and no one will be offended; 2.5oz $50 and up. S=** L=** D=**
FRACAS for MEN EdC by ROBERT PIGUET. (Not to be confused with Fracas by Robert Piguet) This is a lovely fresh, cheap, sexy fragrance with light but persistent staying power, for someone who likes to smell barbershop, woods and sexy leather all day long. Amazon has 100ml from $10. S=*** L=**** D=**** (extra for the ridiculous price point)
RUSH 2 by GUCCI 2001. Everyone gripes about this bottle but I think it’s fun and quirky, great for a gym bag or purse where you don’t have to worry about a cap. The scent is an interesting soft linear scent that just needs to be ramped up a bit for me but is nicely unusual on a man if you can get him past the hot pink casing. FragranceX has 5ml for $10. S=** L=** D=***
I hope you have enjoyed reading through the new Sunday Quicksniff Review. I’d love your feedback please. Any comments, advice, things you like or hate, any way you think Sunday Quicksniff Review could better cater to you.
Grateful you’ve dropped by, please do so again,
Portia xx
Australian Perfume Junkies 