.

Portia

.

Hello Frag family,

This week has been blissfully uneventful. I love the quiet, fragrant, hum drum of living.

Scent Diary 8.5 – 14.5.2017

Monday 8:

Whirlwind morning. Dogs to vet. Vet looked over them for annual check up. Nails clipped, injections done, teeth checked, heart, condition etc. We took in stool samples to be checked and had to give some Paris wee. Sounds awful but actually having all the checks done is kind of cathartic, relinquishing control to someone who knows.

Update on Finbar the Australian Noisy Minah: We took him to the vet and they said our best course of action was to leave him with them and they’d hand him over to WIRES who would finish his raising and facilitate his release back into the street he was found on. Jin was really upset that I let them take him but the fact is they are trained to do this. We were doing our best but basically flying blind. This was 100% the best possible outcome.

Jin then had to collect his brand new, 8kms on the clock, Harley-Davidson. There was so much rigmarole that I thought was already done and health with. Also, a Harley doesn’t run the same as the Ninja, it’s all automated, keyless, electrically powered. The honour and reverence the man showing Jin how to deal with it all was as impressive as the machine itself. Then I followed jin on his new bike to our lunch date. He was so nervous and excited it was heaven. My boyfriend the middle aged bad ass.

Safely at lunch with one of my besties Phil we laughed and chattered an hour away. Food Court at Rhodes. Everyone got what they wanted and we all came back together to eat. Phil got Japanese soup, Jin got Chinese soup and dumplings and I had a Turkish open kebab. Sorry I didn’t get a pic we were chatting too much.

My choice of fragrance for the day was Michael Bublé By Invitation, I really go crazy with the spritzing for this baby. The zingy fruity opening which is slightly red pepper to me too goes almost directly to the nutty praline base and stays there for hours. It’s probably terrible and full of cheap ingredients but it smells good to me and people around me like it enough to comment favourably. As you can see I’m nearly a third of the way through my bottle.

The new season of Sense8 is on and we have watched the first three episodes. Bloody hell! It is fast moving, faster than the last season. Blink and you miss key plotlines. It is stunningly visual and so intricately thought out. More than oce Jin & I have been sitting watching it, clutching our pillows or blankets and swearing like sailors. It’s so engrossing, we feel like we are part of the action, like we are the ninth joined person.

Tonight I’m wearing the very last of my sample of M Micallef Marine Vanille. At LuckyScent they are having a sale and with the discount I could not put off my purchase a second longer. It is winging its way to me as we speak. YAY!! Apologies, I think I bought the last one because now it’s Sold Out.

LuckyScent

So now it’s Q&A for me till some ungodly hour. See you tomorrow.

Tuesday 9:

Again, slept just before the Q&A finish line. Up at 8am to get them finished and out to the crew. Really am going to have to start putting my foot down and spend a couple of hours Monday day setting my weeks Trivia up so all I have to do in the night is write the Q&A. To get me through I have 7 spritzes of Clinique Aromatics Elixir on. I am a fragrant chypre cloud, and loving it.

Scott came over today. We opened ALL the mail, Paid ALL the bills. My desk and Inbox are clear of bills. Having also spent a bit on fragrance this week I will need to work a few weeks to pay my cards back down but it is a nice feeling to have the outstanding all in one place.

We met up with Millenia to give her all the Bingle Balls stuff and we had Sushi Train for lunch. I love catching up with him.

Hit the Post Office, the Stationary Supply place (OfficeWorks) to buy ink and the bank to yell at them AGAIN (it’s habitual, the cringe when I walk in the doors)

Dyed my beard, bathed and fragranced myself with Perfumerie Generale 25 Indochine. Sweet peppery amber that gets woodsier as it dries down. I find the honey clean and sweet with only the softest hint of animals. Pretty and comfortable for our cooling temps. WOW! I had a few compliments on this tonight. One of the club workers kept coming over to smell me and tell me all the things it made her think of, plus a couple of other random compliments. A clear winner.

Wednesday 10:

Woke up early, turned the alarm off and then sleep till 10am. HEAVEN.

The sun was shining so I popped on a singlet and walked thew dogs, catching some much needed Vitamin D so my body can function properly. Somehow it never seems to run as efficiently if I don’t get a jolt of sunshine every week.

Today I’m wearing some vintage Guerlain Samsara extrait. The memories this mad, beautiful, completely over the top fragrance brings me of my Mum are so strong today they’re palpable. I’m not sure if it was 1989 or 1990 that Australia got Samsara but the year it was released I was working as a holiday squirt bitch for one of our local department stores. My counter was Guerlain, Oscar de la Renta, Worth and Nina Ricci. Knowing my Mum loved Shalimar I thought Samsara the obvious next step because it was brand new and outrageous. I bought her the gift set for Christmas and she was thrilled, the house and her car smelled of Samsara for months. Happy, happy memories.

Not very long ago I found this almost full original extrait on eBay. I paid WAY too much for it but it is perfect, absolutely and utterly pristine. What price joy and nostalgic reminiscence?

Not sure if you know this but I LOVE to cook soup. It’s easy, healthy and delicious. Also, when I make a big vat of it there’s enough to share with friends, that also makes sure that some people get extra veg in their lives. This week I cooked Pumpkin, Potato and Capsicum Soup. The only other things in there are Onions, Garlic, Wostershire Sauce, Pepper, Pure Cream and about 300g of Podravka Hot Vegetable Relish for kick. I cook it, blend it and leave it overnight in the fridge then reheat on the stovetop and serve with buttered wholemeal toast. YUMMY!

For work this evening I wanted something really grand and beautiful. What else but Neela Vermeire Mohur EdP? There is a regal elegance to Mohur that always makes me feel like I’m floating far above the rat race. Roses, spice, incense and a soft background hum of oudh. You can see I’m on my last of the original bottles, I reckon there’s already 6 or 7ml gone. Don’t worry, I have a backup bottle in the new design.

Tonight for bed I have multi spritzed Le Galion Cologne Nocturne. One of the best lavender based colognes I have ever smelled with longevity like an EdP. Such a great house that rarely gets a mention. I wish everyone would try their beautifully crafted fragrances, not groundbreaking but perfectly produced with quality ingredients. I’m ready to grab some ZZZZZs. Nighty night.

Thursday 11:

Morning. Weather is unseasonably warm today. Wearing Olympic Orchids A Midsummer Nights Dream today. I think the names has changed but this old 2ml spray still smells unbelievably gorgeous.So much depth with sparkles of light and glimmers of radiance. The darkness warms through in the heart and suddenly it’s a burnished amber.

Visited Mum Waples in rehab today. She seemed really chipper and walked to the dining room by herself without stops for breathers. It’s a small but significant win. They have her doing exercises too which is making her more confident on her feet.

LUSH Rose Jam bubble bath today. How can something so cheap be so bloody wonderful? Stepping into the bath makes me smile like a fool and sitting in there surrounded by rose scented bubbles is absolutely the most relaxing and posh experience. Can’t tell you enough how happy it makes me.

Vintage Madame Rochas EdC is my evenings fragrance. An aldehydic floral by Guy Robert that I find a perfect feminine adventure with very modern masculine dry down. It’s quite the contradiction. Lasts forever, like a modern heavy hitting EdP.

NEW Carpet in the Kings Park Tavern tonight. They are making so many positive changes. The food has gone up 10 notches, the rooms upstairs are being renovated, the staff seem happier and more ready to please. I’m hoping for another 15 magical years there. Fingers crossed.

For bedtime tonight I’m wearing Oliver & Co Vaninger. As you can see it’s pretty popular around here. MMMMMMM The zingiest ginger cut through with the depth and sweetness of vanilla. There’s other stuff floating around too. Weird but wearable beauty.

Friday 12:

Jinx (Jin’s dog) has been favouring one of his front feet. Yesterday he wouldn’t even put pressure on it and I was worried. Today he’s at the vet having X-Rays so we can dismiss any concerns. Greyhounds are funny dogs. When they are racing dogs the only affection they get is from the vets, so in later life they always look on a vet visit as a happy occasion. They basically run up the stairs to the surgery and once inside they are so calm and placid.

Afterwards walking home I looked up and saw this unbelievably red Liquidambar. Autumn is here in Parramatta in full throttle. Love how fiery this particular tree looks.

I wanted something warm and pretty to match my Autumn mood so went for Andy Tauer Eau d’Epices. It’s a perfect match. All that spice ready to sizzle in the pan, oranges and amber.

Went and saw Kath’s Mum for lunch. Just as I came in she was leaving a home safely lecture at the Rehab clinic, then they staff pounced on her and did the blood, drugs and heart check. It was over in a minute.

Paris spent the whole day missing his friend Jinx.

Tonight Jin and I had enormous amounts of KFC. It was freaking delicious. Hanging out with him is easy and cool fun, we watched a few episodes of the new season of SENSE8. OMG! Seriously compulsive viewing. On the edge of the couch, grabbing our cushions and screaming at the TV. Super fun really. Wish you all could have been here with us, perfect night.

After all that I rang Arielle Shoshana to enquire about getting one of her bottles of fragrance sent to Australia. I figure if Arielle is doing it then the juice will be freaking amazing. I think we have a plan.

For bedtime I decided I needed some vintage so Miss Dior EdT. MMMMMM Night Night. X

Saturday 13:

This morning dawned cool and slightly foggy. I felt like some watery roses and then added to myself that powdery roses would be just the thing. Perfume DelRae Coup de Foudre hits all three spots and it was eerily quiet on the Parramatta streets at 8am on a frosty Saturday morning. Though I was dog walking I was hardly even present, what took almost my whole attention was the sheer perfection of Coup de Foudre and how magical it made the morning smell and thus feel.

When we got home Jin was stirring a little so, being Saturday and knowing that if he has the dogs with him he’ll get another 2-3 hours of sleep, I allowed them up with him on the bed. Jin’s working a few night shifts now so after today I’m the only one sleeping in the bed before it gets changed tomorrow. One sneaky morning, and look how happy they all are.

Jin got up around 11am and we went out for burgers. I’ve been craving Grill’d Burgers all week, and their chips share plate with Potato, Sweet Potato and Zucchini chips with three yummy sauces, Sweet Chilli Mayo, Herbed Mayo & Chipotle Mayo.

I hope you’ll excuse me today. I’m going to sloth around the house and get some Trivia Q&A started for the week.

Wearing multiple spritzes of the original Carolina Herrera EdT from the 1980s. Mine is somewhere from there till the box changed in the early 2000s, but it is a beat up old tester with the gold shoulders. She is ferocious! I love it.

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Amber, Apricot, Bergamot, Jasmine, Lily-of-the-valley, Moss, Musk, Orange blossom, Sandalwood, Tuberose, Ylang-ylang, Civet

So I started watching Netflix new Archie comic in life, Riverdale, and it’s so good that I find myself up at 2am watching and have come in here to break the trance so I can clean my teeth and go to bed.

Sunday 14:

Wishing all the Mums out there in APJ land a great big THANK YOU. We do know how much work goes into being a Mum, even though we are usually ungrateful shits who only care about ourselves. Sorry for all the pain and drama, worry and angry we’ve caused you all. Without you we’d be nothing.

This family, this Mum, the mum of my best friend who took me in for all important occasions when my Mum died. Like every family they have ups & downs, sometimes even sideways. Without their steadying influence, love, care and the ultimate gift of their time I would definitely not be here to tell my tales today. The family spoiled her rotten and she deserved it. EVERYONE came, including Jin who had to dash off to sleep before the photo. This photo is what love and gratitude looks and feels like, to me.

I’ll be wearing Guerlain Shalimar, vintage extrait and modern EdP, to remember my Mum today. I miss her every day.

So, tell me about your week. Do anything fun or fragrant? Share it with us below in the comments.
I love to read your stories too.
Portia xxx