Shalimar + Mountain Adventure Photo Essay

August 15, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 18 Comments

Post by Portia

Hey there Perfume Peeps,

Today was so wonderful. One of the guys (Jean-Luc) that comes to my Tuesday Trivia has recently started an Art Shop in the mountains near Sydney. They are called the Blue Mountains because something in the eucalyptus trees shimmers blue through the air and thus the mountains look blue from afar, it’s lovely if you have them in your view. Another of the boys from Tuesday Trivia (Leo) is a motorbike rider and we have been chatting for a while about going on a bike excursion to Katoomba to see Jean-Luc. Today was the day.

It started out lovely in the sun, warm and toasty. Figuring it would stay that way I eschewed the thermals, wet weather gear, beany and puffer jacket under my riding kit. BAD IDEA! As soon as we got 20 minutes along the highway, freezing, stinging rain and the strongest winds I’ve ever ridden in. OMG! So freaking cold. It was incredibly exhilarating though and I was kept on constant alert, it was like a ride at a fairground except I was the one who had to be in control of the bike.

Anyway, we get to the top and have the most wonderful coffee before Jean-Luc opens the store. It’s a very modern artists place, mainly catering to spray paint artists who have covered the walls of the store with murals and the back alley has been given to artists from all over the world to paint, each wall a different and magical scene. It’s astounding the intricate detail they are able to bring with a spray can.

After looking at the murals in the area we popped across the road to the funkiest food place ever. The Yellow Deli. An ex-hippy hang if ever there was one. It seems to be a cross between rural, historical, hysterical and home improvements. Every piece lovingly hand rendered, something happening everywhere you turn and all seemingly with little rhyme or reason: eclectic and fun. We were ushered upstairs by a friendly waiter who thought we were a band (super cool US!!) and spent a few minutes just drinking in the ambiance. I had been told what to order and I dutifully did. I think it was called a Darling Rose Sandwich. OMG! Disgusting. Ha Ha Ha ha!! It was too much super salty ham, some onion with tomato chutney and tomato sauce AND mayonnaise. BLEAUGH! I was so hungry though that I ate every bite, and by the end of it I kind of got used to it.

Then the unbelievable happened. 2 hours from the heart of Sydney and it SNOWED!! Big, puffy, soft looking gusts of snow that got so heavy the street was obscured. Totally fabulous. Not enough to cover the world white but it was snow, and from our comfortable seat in the deli it was magical.

After that Leo & I went and had a look at a piece of land I’m quite interested in and then we rode home. While in the mountains I purchased (at 50% Discount!) a pair of electric green merino wool leggings and matching beany, I donned my puffer jacket under my bike jacket and the ride home was considerably warmer, and dryer because the snow and rain had stopped.

When I got home to really warm myself up I drew a bath and used Shalimar Gel Douche as my Bubble Bath. It was fiery hot and deliciously scented. There is no better place in the world to warm a cold, tired body and relax an overactive mind. It was bliss. I have spritzed some recent Shalimar EdP and am now bathed in a cloud of my own sweet smelling loveliness. Sometimes life feels really good.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Further reading: APJ Shalimar Parfum, APJ Shalimar EdP and APJ Shalimar EdC
FragranceNet has $73/90ml current EdP before coupon
Surrender To Chance has EdP samples starting at $3/ml

How do you like to wind down? Do you have a favourite bath soak?

Portia xx

Vegan Cupcakes, Tea, Essential Oils + Photo Essay

August 5, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 6 Comments

Post by Suzanne R Banks

Vegan Cupcakes, Tea and Essential Oils

I met with two amazing women the other day to talk about natural perfumery, essential oils, healing, consciousness and chocolate. We drank tea and ate vegan food including these gorgeous vegan cupcakes by my friend That Vegan Lady.

We haven’t saved the world yet but I think we’re on the way!

My choice of essential oil to sum up the day is lavender. Do you think it matches this pic?

I do.

If we all used a drop of lavender everyday we could reach a critical mass and spontaneously evolve.

Let’s do it!

Thanks to Julie Nelson of Aromatique for a beautiful day in the Blue Mountains of NSW, Australia.

Here are some other pictures I’ve taken recently of things I find beautiful to look at and smell.

Suzanne R Banks XXX

Mandarins at the local market Suzanne R Banks

Check out my YouTube Channel too, thanks.

Suzanne R Banks Blog
Suzanne R Banks Aromatherapy
Suzanne R Banks FaceBook

Please check out my new book REVELATION! – Reveal Your Destiny with Essential Oils

Amazon USA Amazon AU Amazon UK

Beards, Bloggers, Bloom and Vero + Photo Essay

July 28, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 37 Comments

Post by Val the Cookie Queen

Salzberg to London to Innsbuck. A crazy perfumed week. In pictures.

It really is too warm here in the middle of Europe to write much. Looking at pictures is less strenuous. And by warm, I mean hot. Yesterday was 40 degrees in Vienna and my flip-flops stuck to the hot pavements.

Beards, Bloggers, Bloom and Vero + Photo Essay

I went to London with Hannah, sometimes known as The BlondesWunder. The trip was documented by Tara on our favourite Olfactoria´s Travels, and by Pia on the wonderful Volatile Fiction. After returning from England, I drove to Innsbruck with my trusty therapist Dr. Fox for a lunch date with Vero Kern. I will share a few of our photos.

Sazburg Airport. Heading to London.

Met straight off the train by Antonio Gardoni of Bogue. Whisked off for lunch.

Talking with Oxsana of Bloom Perfumery.

Antonio explaining the secrets of MAAI at Bloom Perfumery in Covent Garden.

Ummm, NO

Bloom. Spitalfields. I was there with Portia and Michael.

Pia´s perfume guests!

The whole bunch of perfumista nerds in Fortnum and Mason

Perfume Candy Boy, Tara and me.

Innsbruck. Lunch with Vero and Isi.

I am grateful for the perfumed friendships I have formed. They enrich my life and add a vibrancy that would otherwise be missing.

Where do you dream to travel to meet perfumistas or do you already have stories? PLease share in the comments.

Thankful Bussis
CQ

vero.profumo. Aficionados

May 26, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 26 Comments

Post by Val the Cookie Queen

vero.profumo. aficionados. Shared thoughts.

“Vero Kern is one the real gems of the perfume world. She is an amazingly talented and inspiring woman who proves that you can make your dreams a reality at any age. Her perfume line, Vero Profumo, is a master-class in excellence and demonstrates the way perfumes used to be made, but rarely are now.”

TARA SMITH. Olfactoria´s Travels

“Vero’s fragrances honour the classics while having a strong identity of their own.”

“My first encounter with Vero’s fragrances was a couple years ago in Milan, around the time she introduced Mito at Pitti Fragranze (in Florence). I had been wanting to try Rubj for quite a long time (I had even pondered -insane me- to purchase it unsniffed), so I headed straight to a small but smartly stocked perfume shop which I knew carried the line. I was a bit puzzled by Rubj because it was not what I had been expecting (a few days later I realized we had mistakenly sampled Onda for Rubj!) but was amazed at its complexity. There was something extremely compelling in that dirty almost fetid aroma that kept my wrist glued to my nose, it felt almost perverse.
Some days later, at Pitti, I was finally able to meet the creator herself and sample the whole of her line and, after a few wearings of each sample, Kiki chose me. I didn’t want to love it. A lavender? Something so lacking in drama? Something my father wore? But Kiki grabbed me and refused to let me go and I became fascinated by it. I had never before found a fragrance I felt so represented by if it makes any sense. I felt like someone had distilled me 🙂

I affectionately use the word “chanchito” when referring to Vero’s fragrances (chancho = pig). That naughty dirtiness that is both repelling and compelling.
Though I am not too often complimented on my Veros, when I am, I find the compliments come from people with an artistical background who notice and appreciate them: the opera lovers, the ballerinas, the actors, the film directors.
These are perfumey perfumes but they meld with the skin in a special way, becoming something infinitely more powerful than either the perfume itself or my skin.. When worn, they seem to radiate from within, like an aura. I love the fact that they smell rich and substantial, yet not “in your face” or agressive.
There are a few -VERY few- other lines I feel a special affection for but this was as if I had discovered a whole new dimension.
They have soul and body (and most definitely sex), they are perfumes for those who aren’t afraid of their own bodies.”

CARO. Té de Violetas May 2015

“I will swear on a pile of ripening passion fruit, ravaged roses and caramel-drenched lavender that Vero Kern is an addictively fabulous olfactive pornographer. In Spring 2013, I was asked by the Scottish Poetry Society to curate nine poems to nine fragrances. One of these just had to be Vero’s extraordinary Onda, still my fetish VP scent. I married it to one of the most poignant poems of the 20th century, ‘For My Lover Returning To His Wife’ by the doomed and torn Anne Sexton, a woman driven by desire and the rollercoaster shocks of life and love. Of the nine scents, there was only ever one I was going to wear. I wore Onda on the night, my skin drunk on sex in the truly beautiful setting of the Victorian Palm House of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh. When Vero knew I would be wearing Onda and writing on her perfume, she very kindly sent me a bottle of her divine Onda Extrait as a gift to wish me luck. It was a heartstopping gesture. I wore the two strengths together. On the night, people inhaled me greedily, dirtily. It was glorious.”

THE SILVER FOX. 12 May 2015

FREDDY ALBRIGHTON. May 2015. Tattoo Artist. No words needed.

“I’ve tried to write about Vero’s work for the past few years but I feel like I haven’t quite gotten it right. Reviewing the individual perfumes is a start, but there’s a bigger picture when I look at her entire body of work. I recognize how beautiful her perfumes are, but it’s more than beauty. How is it that all of her perfumes have such a strong effect on me? And why can’t I put my finger on why her work is so significant to me?

The real question is why on earth I would fret over these details. The fact is that I’ve found the perfumer whose work speaks to me like no other. I might not be able to put words to it, but I’ve found the artist whose work strikes something deep in me and inspires my spirit. The artist and the audience seek each other out, but it’s rare to find such a good fit. I’ve learned to stop worrying and love Vero.”

JTD JTD. Scenthurdle May 2015

“New Year´s Eve 2012. I had a small vial of Rubj EdP. I had been saving it since the autumn. The rest is history. The sociality I share with the above people
has come to be through our mutual love of .vero.profumo.. Perfume is the common interest – Vero Kern´s perfumes the connection. Vero creates with heart, honey
and passion. A piece of her soul in every creation. To some it speaks. The collection from Vero Kern is an olfactory piece of art, each fragrance representing a different part
of the picture. My painting is nearly finished. I am often asked if I have a favourite. Today it is the Mito Extrait. Tomorrow?”

CQ APJ contributor May 2015

First In Fragrance has the vero.profumo range
LuckyScent does too
Surrender To Chance has samples of quite a lot of the range

Rubj Tuesday Bussis
CQ

L'Occitane Launch May 2015 with Scott Steward

May 17, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments

Hey crew,

Monday was a great morning to L’Occitane. Scottt Steward and I trolled down to the Sydney Observatory area and couldn’t find the damn place so I just kept driving till we came across it, AT LAST! Greeted with drinks and some easy finger food at arrival we were wowed by the lovely transformation that the L’Occitane crew had given a very white old-school hanger of an art gallery. There was colour and bunches of real flowers everywhere.

L’Occitane Launch May 2015 with Scott Steward

I apologise that I didn’t get more crowd and happening shots but one of the Sydney Beauty Society Mavins was really rude to me as we arrived and It put me a bit off my game. Not to be deterred we listened to the beautiful French General Manager of L’Occitane Australia Caroline LeRoch who welcomed us and introduced the new Australian face/brand Ambassador of L’Occitane, Australian TV & Radio star Sami Lukis who chatted with Lucy Primrose, international project leader and skincare innovator at L’Occitane.

The spiel was interesting, the finger food delicious and most of the company fun and friendly. The L’Occitane crew are a great bunch of girls and my mate Lesley Bowen the loveliest of them all.

And the swag?

The last photo is the ABSOLUTE FREAKING WINNER! An oil based make up remover that takes every skerrick of my drag make up off in seconds, including waterproof mascara. First time in my life I’ve woken up without PANDA EYES! Thank you L’Occitane.

Portia xx

PS Most of these photos I took but some were donated by L’Occitane after I asked for extras.

South Korea 2015 Photo Essay

May 8, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 26 Comments

Hi there Fragrant Friends,

On to the South Korea leg of our latest adventure. Jin planned this part of our holiday to the millisecond and we filled our days with so much it’s hard to keep it all in order.

South Korea 2015

Jin had decided that this time we would do the history and art/museum tour of Seoul. I had said through the year that we seemed to do everything except see the cultural heritage of South Korea and he was determined to remedy this lack. We had three days in Seoul and two of them were given almost exclusively to the acquisition of aforesaid knowledge. As always Jin was an excellent guide and translator, thank goodness because some of the places we saw were so South Korean oriented that there we no translations for me to follow. The real deal.

Because we were so busy I took the camera out less while we were in the middle of stuff. There are quite a few shots of interesting or unusual architecture and light bi-plays, some of flowers because it was spring and the flowers were gorgeous and a few of us hanging out with Jin’s family because we took his Mum & Dad for their first holiday in decades. It was Jin’s Father’s birthday and we thought it would be a fun thing to celebrate. Older Koreans as a rule do not take holidays so it was especially fun to take them and it will give them a story to brag about for years among their contemporaries.

Wood Block Printing of Unified Silla: The Buddhists came to Korea from India in the 5th century AD and landed in Silla in southern Korea which was still a selection of kingdoms. The Silla people had united the lower third of what is now South Korea under their rule. The Buddhist priests learned how to carve wood blocks that would print on cloth and paper and used this technology to create more Buddhist Sutras, currently the oldest still extant piece of printed material in the world was created by these monks in the 7th century AD and it is the Buddhist Sutras. There was war and 80,000 of these hand carved wood blocks were moved hundreds of kilometers by the monks and the faithful to a mountainous region in the middle of South Korea. It is a place that Jin’s Mum had wanted to visit for a very long time and had a very nice hotel with mineral water baths so we decided we would go there. It was Jin’s parent first time staying in a hotel rather than the much cheaper pension style of guest house. They were thrilled and constantly trying to stop us spending money on them, having breakfast in the hotel restaurant an outrageous extravagance. A good time was had by all.

We also went through a lovely Korean Wildflower Park, a Bonsai Exhibition where the woman who owns and tends the bonsai took us through personally and explained some of the more interesting pieces, the Mineral Baths at the hotel and loads of local cuisine (some of which I could not bring myself to eat, yes I’m a food pussy). Jin’s mother wants us to have children, I told her to get stuffed.

South Korea 2015 Photo Essay

Seoul Airport Train Station is a marvelous modern structure that lets light and space feel like its main focus. I love arriving and entering its cavernous platform, every hour has different reflections and shadows

Straight to Lottie Burger for Jin’s Bulgogi Burger and my Cheesy Sticks. MMMMMM. Welcome to South Korea.

Street Food BarBQ vendor, full of students and the working class we knew it would be delicious. So reasonably priced too, I think we paid $40 including Jin’s Soju and my soft drinks.

My only fragrant shopping on the holiday, an Hermes 15ml set: Ambre Narguile, Cuir d’Ange, Poivre Samarcande, Vetiver Tonka

One of the original gates into the capital city, this has stood for a very long time. Centuries.

Changing Of The Guard at the Palace complex.

All pieces by the same artist, Jung Takyoung, whose art reminds me of Liz Zorn’s work

Seoul Art History Museum, we saw about 30 of their most beautiful and famous National Treasures. Our original guide was so shit we ran away from him and took ourselves around some of the exhibits. Finally we met a small group being shown the National Treasures by a very well informed and interesting young woman, she was so passionate that we were completely swept up in her stories. Fabulous.

The lilacs were in bloom, what a beautiful scent they have.

Jin being posh at a chi-chi 33rd floor restaurant & bar, we arrived just before closing thinking it had another hour to go.

All part of another Palace Complex, that door was so fabulous I just had to get a pic.

At the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art there was so much amazing stuff but these are the only two pictures I took. It’s a shame because the works were really great. Currently they have a multi-room exhibition all based around gardens and how they are so many things to the people that are lucky enough in 2015 to have one. So many South Koreans live in high rise apartments that may never know the joys of having their own garden to tend.

This peony bush going gangbusters in the cold foggy early morning spring air across thew road from Jin’s parents house

The modern South Korean garden and a couple of the hundreds of bonsai created by one woman with a great passion, these two were ones she showed particular regard and pride for. She was so shy to show her plant children but became very enthusiastic once she understood that I too loved to garden and that I had been brought up in a garden, tending it and creating it, with my Mum.

We had a little snack on our first night in the hotel restaurant in the mountains. Jin’s Mummy & Papa kept being outraged at the prices and then savouring every morsel that we got for them. Those walls are all carved creamy stone (maybe marble?) attached so perfectly you could hardly see a join. So lovely.

South Korea 2015 #41

These three shots are of the monks mountain hideaway. It’s a wonderful parkland setting and you can take the whole day to walk from the base of the hill to the monastery, there are stations along the way where you can stop for refreshment and a rest, even some street food vendors. We were naughty and caught a cab up and back.

Mummy & Papa saying goodbye at the Busan Train station. It was an excellent holiday and I really enjoyed my time with them.

Jin and I on the plane and ready to come home.

Singapore 2015 Photo Essay

May 1, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 30 Comments

Woo Hoo APJ,

We are home from our 2 week Asia adventure. Traveling with Jin is so easy and fun, he loves to get amongst it and we fit in an extraordinary amount. He is absolutely fearless in his site and adventure planning and often has me doing things I never dreamed to do. This holiday he even planned in a whole day of lazy as a gift for me, we woke up late, lazed around the pool, brunched and generally hung out together till going off to some fab little street food diner for dinner. Bliss.

Singapore 2015 Photo Essay

First time in Singapore as a tourist rather than a transient, the easiest country in Asia to be a part of for us English speakers because English and Chinese are the two official languages so almost all signs are or have English. WINNING! They also have a fantastic Metro and Bus system that you can access with a card like the British Oyster system. It’s clean and the people are friendly, the food is awesome and the weather warm all year round. Our mate Julie gave us the inside skinny on everything and entertained usa to the whole islands highs & depths. We met up with friends not seen in years and really would have liked another week because we just could not fit everyone in.

To be honest there are hardly any photos with the crew because we were having too much fun while we were with them. Here is a selction of photos that I did remember to take.

Singapore Airways very back row

Our mate Julie who had us staying with her, excellent tour guide and hostess. (Whitney in the background)

Drinks at the Fullerton Bay Hotel Rooftop for welcome

Portia swimming in the 14th floor pool of Julie’s apartment

We hired bikes and rode along the seafront, here we are stopped at a picnic point

Julie had organised a crew to see Bjorn Again (ABBA tribute) in the Marina Sands Complex (VERY Guggenheim)

Spent the morning at the Marina Bay Gardens, even did the Sky Walk (big thing if you are scared of heights)

Local breakfast

Navigating Singapore by Public Transport

Portia being an idiot, Jin can’t believe it. I don’t know why, it does seem to be my default setting.

High Tea at The Fullerton Hotel, unbelievably yummy and good value too. They kept filling up out trays till we had to waddle out.

We did manage to get to some museums and art galleries but this is the only piece that I fell madly in love with, ancient version of Conchita Wurst

Found a Bangladeshi boy on the street and asked him where in Little India HE ate, took us to a fabulous restaurant 2 people absolutely full of naan and vegetarian food for $4 each, amazing.

Chinatown and Jin finally gets to use his Selfie Stick (I know, but he loves it and if that’s his worst vice I can cope)

Final Singaporean dinner, Chili crab, Spicy chicken and Breaded prawns.

Esxence 2015: Photo Essay

April 14, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 24 Comments

Post by Val the Cookie Queen

There was a time a couple of years ago when I said I knew some perfumers. I now have friends who happen to be perfumers. There is a difference. It is because of this that I was an “Epic Failure” when it came to sniffing anything new at the Esxence – The Scent of Excellence 2015. Fortunately you can read up on what really went down, perfume wise, on Meganinsaintemaxime, Chemistinthebottle, Colognoisseur and Cafluerbon.

Esxence 2015

Milan, Cookie Monsters and Hanging out with Friends

I managed to spend about four hours at the Esxence show itself. Most others spent three days. I hit the show with naked skin, with the express purpose of covering myself in Neela Vermeire´s Pichola. Why mess around with strips of paper? Neela Vermeire was exceptionally busy, but we still managed to grab half an hour together. With both of us talking nineteen to the dozen we managed to catch up quite well. I was thrilled to leave with the ultra-feminine (is that politically correct?) Pichola and a beautifully soft and stylish NVC suede clutch. Neela designed this herself and you can tell. Room for a phone, pockets for a compact, an 10ml perfume bottle, a lipstick and plastic money. Life in a bag.

I took a look at the Masque fragrances, Aedes de Venustas Palissandre D’Or, Room 1015, and Gabriella Chieffo. I grabbed a bottle of Indult Tihota and will split it up and offer some to the APJers soon. I know, I know, I missed so much. Luckily the fabulous crew at First in Fragrance know what a space cadet I am and are sending me samples of the all important things that I missed. So actually I haven´t missed a thing. Smile.

Which gave me time to hang out with friends. Enjoy the few pictures that I took. I publicly thank Dr Fox, my friend, therapist and all round brilliant person for driving me there and back and for making sure I didn´t overdose on caffeine, tuberose or oud.

Bussis
CQ

Esxence 2015: Photo Essay

Esxence 2015 Val #4

Iris Tubereuse by Creed 2014 + Chicago Photo Essay

December 13, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 16 Comments

Hey Hey APJ,

I’m not sure if you followed our adventures as we traveled across the USA in a diagonal from LA to NYC. Stop number 3 was in Chicago, Illinois. We had a few things on the agenda that needed doing. Number ONE was celebrating Anita’s (Musette from Perfume Posse) birthday. Which we did in high style, morning at the Chicago Art Gallery, Lunch in the Walnut Room at the old Marshall Fields (now Macy’s) and dinner at Hard Rock cafe (idea had by a Chicago native). We also had a meetup of the perfumista crew that started at Barney’s went to Neiman Marcus and ended in cocktails and Chicago deep dish pizza. We met some wonderful people, had a complete blast and fell head over heels in love with Chicago.

I also fell madly in love with two fragrances, the first of which is ..

Iris Tubereuse by Creed 2014

Photo Stolen CreedUSA

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Galbanum, orange, violet leaf
Heart: Tuberose, lily-of-the-valley, lily
Base: Musk, orange blossom, vanilla

What I didn’t expect on my travels was to find a new Creed that I want so desperately in my collection.

The opening of Iris Tubereuse is a big fat punch in the nose of galbanum, there is other stuff but my skin boosts the galbanum beautifully. Then the green is peeled back to let the most glorious white florals emerge, or bloom really. Green notes and white flowers. You had me at hello. This is heady and deliriously big for about 20 minutes, reminding me of the 1980s: big hair, big shoulder pads, bold colours, cinched waists and spike heels (and that was the men!!).

After that initial burst of WHOA enormous Iris Tubereuse settles into a warm, lush, tropical evening stroll. A little breathy, slightly sweaty and humid. Very little iris (or violet leaf) to be smelled on my skin, but that could be me missing it completely. The vanilla/musks in dry down are pleasant and totally unchallenging, this is the least interesting part of iris tubereuse yet I can see that being part of its attraction to the mainstream buyers.

The very handsome young man at the David Jones Libertine counter told me it was his best seller for young women buying their own and all men buying gifts. Interesting. I would happily rock this, and I love the bottle.

My sample came from Libertine Parfumerie who have live sites in both David Jones and Myer, Sydney City Stores.
Libertine Parfumerie has AUD$385/100ml with FREE SHIPPING in Australia (Christmas Delivery cut off December 22)
Creed in the US has US$300/100ml
Surrender To Chance have samples starting at $5/.5ml

Portia xxx

Chicago 2014 Photo Essay

Kim, Jin, Kath, Musette & I at some cool live music bar. Great food & service, can’t remember the name damnit! (Shaw’s Blue Crab Lounge)

At the Neiman Marcus Creed counter. I have no idea what happened to my Barneys photos

My new boyfriend. Looks after the Patou fragrances but I can’t remember his name. Let’s just call him Mr Turbo (Richard Gonzalez)

Julie R and I in the cool of the evening.

DRINKS!!!

Deep dish Pizza.

The crew at the end of the day. we’d lost quite a few along the way. These are the stayers.

My favourite American artist, Georgia O’Keefe. Here are my three favourites from the Chicago gallery of her work.

You have no idea how enormous this piece is, you can still feel reverberations of this look above the clouds from a plane in modern works.

Musette’s BIRTHDAY lunch at the Walnut Room. The extra lady told us there would be a very short wait. We got to the line and the other people said over 40 minutes. We went and chewed her out about that and were seated immediately due to ir being a Very Special Birthday. Thank You Macy’s. Food was really yummy too.

New York City with Jin, Kath & Portia 2014 + Photo Essay

December 7, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 33 Comments

Hiya APJ Crew,

We are home!! Three weeks whirlwind tour of the United States of America went by like a fabulous, crazy, fun filled, roller coaster ride. One of the most action packed and intense holidays of my life. So much so that when I look at my pics there are hardly any!! Basically these are all the shots I took. Though trying to keep these in chronological order I think they have moved around and it was all such a blur that I honestly can’t remember what happened when.

Starting with NYC because it was the easiest to grab photos from. I hope you enjoy the ride.

Portia xx

New York City with Jin, Kath & Portia 2014 + Photo Essay

At night we met up with Brian who helped us find our way to dinner on the tube. We went to Lombardis (?) Pizza and dined with the lovely Lucy R. It was an excellent way to meet NYC.

We thought it was important to see the Statue of Liberty so caught the Statten Island ferry early on Thanksgiving Day. It’s FREE! Got some great shots and had some fun and silly time together on the trip. I was a bit tired and grumpy at this point.

For Thanksgiving Dinner we had the buffet at The Roosevelt Hotel where we were staying. The Roosevelt is a great choice for a hotel in NYC if you want some where central and reasonably priced. DO NOT go there if you like to take baths, they are DISGUSTING and they flake & peel while you’re in them. We did get 2 upgrades because of the baths and ended up in a suite with a view ( the bath was still freaking shit though). Thanksgiving Dinner with the two most important people to me in the world, pretty special. We all gave thanks for each other and our incredibly blessed lives. BTW I had the best Apple Pie of my life here, nothing before it even prepared me for how incredible it was going to be.

The staff at the Roosevelt were excellent, at every point we were treated with courtesy and friendliness, I recommend you stay there if you like to shower.

Jin had a secret New York City agenda that we were unaware of until we arrived. He had to see Carrie Bradshaw’s stoop from later series of Sex and the City. While there he also wanted desperately to lean on the pole and have a Marlboro Light (even though he doesn’t smoke. This resulted in head spins and delirium). There was a very lovely young girl doing exactly that and Jin asked if he could have one of her ciggies. One happy boy…. Around the corner is the Magnolia Bakery where Carrie would sit and have cupcakes so off we went to indulge. We did get to Friends building but I forgot to take a picture.

All this stuff is right near Christopher Street, the home of the Gay Rights Movement. It was here that the famous Stonewall hotel was where the Lesbians and Black Drag Queens took on the NYC Police and rioted. Interestingly it was the day of Judy Garland’s funeral.

That evening we wandered through Central Park and got 40 minutes in the Guggenheim. I took them to the first floor where we saw some very interesting Impressionist works from the Thannhauser Collection, Wang Jianwei: Time Temple sculptural pieces and ZERO: Countdown to Tomorrow 1950s–60s. Clearly we didn’t spend a lot of time with them but it was nice to see a couple of impressionist works that were new to me, particularly a Picasso, Woman Ironing (La repasseuse): Paris, 1904.

Photo Stolen Guggenheim (Problem using image, get in touch)

OSSWALD welcomed us with open arms. Josie and Clement were incredibly kind, helpful and funny. It was a fantastic get together. Birgit and Michael of Olfactoria’s Travels, Poodle who is one of our APJ North American correspondents, Brian, Gaia and Ori of The Non Blonde, Abdulla and Miryam (working for the Qatar consul in Dubai on their honeymoon), Francesca, Daisy of CoolCookStyle, Arielle from Scents of Self, Kevin Guyer (ex CHANEL), Patty (FleurDeLys) and others. I am so embarrassed to have forgotten a couple of names, please PM me with them because I would love to put you in.

What did I buy? Long have I had Cozé by Perfumerie Generale on my radar so I bought a 30ml (bravo for the smaller sizes Pierre G) and Liquer Charnelle by Huitieme Art in 50ml, also Pierre G.

Then we hit Bergdorf Goodman. I had a mission. The CHANEL counter. When I told the girl in CHANEL in Sydney the Pure Perfume is not a real term but a marketing invention she refused to serve me so I thought FUCK HER! Hideous creature! So it was a New York City must do. The Parfum &Eau are now happily in my collection. BLISS!

On our last day in NYC Carlos J Powell of the Goodsmellas and Peace, Love & Perfume and I organised to meet up in Brooklyn at Twisted Lily. We wanted to do a couple of LIVE Video Sniffs, check them out if you get a chance. we are complete freaking idiots. What a great time.

Eric who owns the store was friendly and welcoming and the range is excellent.

I met my next boyfriend too, Rich from Goodsmellas, hubba hubba!

Straight from Twisted Lily we returned to the Roosevelt Hotel, checked out and then I bought this signed Lithograph and we left the USA till next time. What a wonderful city NYC is, chock filled with Ah May Zing people and places. This is just a mini snapshot, we did SO MUCH MORE!

Be well crew,
Portia xx

All photos my own unless specified.

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