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Saturday Question: What Are You Reading?

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 46 Comments

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Portia

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Hello Fellow Fumies,

Every Saturday we have a Question, an idea purloined from Olfactoria’s Travels. Everyone gets to chime in with an answer, chat with other responders and it is a fun event each week. Taking sides never means taking offence and everyone keeps it respectful and light, even though we can sometimes trawl the depths.

The idea is you’ll see it on the weekend or chime in through the week. Hopefully you will come back and see if anyone has responded to your comment and you can reply to them.

Saturday Question: What Are You Reading?

Maybe I’ve bragged about this before but I’ll do it again. When Jin bought me a kindle he also linked it to his credit card. Effectively he has bought me a never ending supply of reading material. It is an incredible gift.

Interestingly though, because I know Jin is paying I am far less likely to indiscriminately buy books than I would be if it were my own money. I know how hard he has to work for every single dollar earned and I feel very naughty when I’m profligate with his money.

My Answer:

Book Depository

The Kindle is currently on The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood. Everyone is talking about the TV series and I wanted to read the book before I watched it. In my head I thought it would take me a couple of nights to read but I’m finding it a hard slog, extremely slow and it hasn’t yet resonated on any level with me. I find myself choosing other entertainments instead. So instead of a couple of nights we are now into week three.

Book Depository

Tara from A Bottled Rose sent me a paperback of The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. It’s the next on my list to delve into. Looks fabulous.

My Saturday Question to you is:

What Are You Reading?

 

 

Chanel | Haute Couture Fall Winter 2015/2016 Full Show

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Heya Fragrant Fashionistas,

I’ve watched the DIOR and Versace FW 15/16 shows and they left me cool to say the least. Here at CHANEL Karl Lagerfeld has brought us a redefined vision of the CHANEL suit and some really interesting fabrics and shapes. The shoes are freaking KILLER and I also love the severe uber Desange bobs that seem to be laughing at the 90s. For every frock I love there are 10 I merely like and three I loathe. Interesting that the last two frocks resemble some shapes and treatments of DIOR’s Belgian designer Raf Simons work over the last few seasons.

chanel-fall-winter-2015-16-haute-couture-ambiancePhoto Stolen CHANEL news

This is the whole show and pay attention at the start, there are some very interesting people at the gambling tables. If you get bored FF to the last 5 minutes, that’s where my favourite stuff happens and I really love the final wedding outfit.

Enjoy,
Portia xx

Chanel | Haute Couture F/W 2015/16 Full Show

LIVE

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 37 Comments

Hi there APJ,

Trésor is busy living, she sends full apologies but right now she needs to be elsewhere. Here is some stuff that I’ve found recently that might give you a pause for thought. A lot of the things I find are aimed primarily at women but guys these are for you too.

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Life is rarely what we were told in future fairy tales by our parents and teachers. Life is tough, full of extremes and drama, there is always something or someone who wants to run you off the rails of your dream life. They are rarely the evil incarnate that you expect them to be but just other people in your life trying to get their own shit on track. It’s very easy to get caught up, lose focus and become worn down with the drudgery of day to day living. It’s so easy to forget yourself, your goals and your well being. Sometimes we all need to take a moment to really ask ourselves if we are OK, what do we need, how can we best reassess and how can we better live this too short a period we are given on earth.

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I also believe that I have to feel the pain and learn from it. Life is evolution and growth. Stagnation, especially mental, is decay.

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If you are suffering depression please seek help. It’s an illness like any other and needs treatment. If you had a broken arm, rash or a continuing cough you would see a doctor for treatment. Depression needs treatment too. For yourself and those around you please treat it with the same speed and diligence you would a child in your cares chicken pox.

Mostly though, please live your life as if it’s worth something. It is. YOU are.

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Cyber hugging you all while wearing Les Voyages Olfactifs 01 Paris-Moscow by Guerlain.
Portia xxx

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10 Things That Are So Sydney It Almost Hurts: Turbo Trivia hits the TOP 10

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 22 Comments

Hey there APJ,

This week we had something super extraordinary happen. You may know that I run other businesses beside Australian Perfume Junkies (though APJ remains largely a labour of love it is a business) and one of those businesses is an event company called Turbo Trivia. In Australia the game Trivial Pursuit was a very popular board game and from that pubs & clubs started hosting versions of the game in-house as a great way to get families and groups of friends into their venue for 3 hours. They eat & drink and spend some quality time that by-passes all the angst of family because everyone is focused on a game and eating. It’s amazingly popular here and at least every second hotel has a trivia night.

Portia poster_new2_LRBack in the first couple of years of this century my life as a showgirl seemed to be slowing down and while looking for a sideways step to keep me employed I had the idea to bring the trivia format to a gay crowd. It all seemed like a simple and fun idea that, if successful, could keep me working in my chosen career (DRAG) until I died. Well, it has been very successful, interestingly the concept works for all groups gay, straight & inbetweenies, and now I have 3 girls working regularly as well as myself. It’s a great way for newer girls to learn microphone skills and how to manage a room and we are also constantly in demand at Fundraising Events and Work Functions. The dream is to have 20 Turbo Trivia nights running weekly in Sydney and we are half way there.

If you’re reading this and you’d like Turbo Trivia in your venue or for your function get in touch. We also sell weekly Q&A if you’d like to host your own event. portia (underscore) turbo (at) yahoo (dot) com (dot) au

Please click on the link below to read our most fabulous write up ever. To say I was blown away is the understatement of the year. It was a surprise and a complete delight to be featured in this article alongside so many Sydney Icons that I personally love.

10 Things That Are So Sydney It Almost Hurts

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Gay High School Student Delivers Valedictorian Speech He Was Barred from Giving

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 5 Comments

Hey Crew,

Imagine. You’re 18 years old, valedictorian of your class with a 4.5 average and you are about to give your Valedictorian speech to your school. Just before the ceremony starts your headmaster tells you that you are unwelcome to speak because in the speech you out yourself as gay. He also rings your parents and outs you to them. This happened, in 2015, in Boulder Colorado USA.

Gay High School Student Delivers Valedictorian Speech He Was Barred from Giving

See how well he speaks and his community responds when he finally gives the speech at an Out Boulder fundraiser.

Portia x

From YouTube:

Published on Jun 1, 2015

http://democracynow.org – Eighteen-year-old Evan Young was supposed to be the 2015 class valedictorian of Twin Peaks Charter Academy High School in Longmont, Colorado. But his principal prevented him from giving his graduation speech after learning he would announce he is gay. Instead, two weeks later, Young got to give his speech at an Out Boulder fundraiser before an audience of hundreds, a number of them politicians who congratulated him for his bravery. We air Young’s full address and speak to him about his experience.

Gay High School Student Delivers Valedictorian Speech He Was Barred from Giving

Hermès – Voyage en Ikat: Mini Movie

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 2 Comments

Hi All,

Hermès, even the name conjures images of wealth and luxury. Now the designers at Hermès bring us a beautiful tablewear set inspired by the ancient art of Ikat.

Hermès - Voyage en Ikat porcelain tablewear HermesPhoto Stolen Hermès

From Hermès: Inspired by ikat, an exceptional weaving and dyeing technique originating in Asia, Voyage en Ikat celebrates intermingled uses and an ongoing dialogue between East and West. More than twenty hues centered on sapphire, ruby and emerald, are enhanced by 24-carat matte gold and come to life in designs composed ‘thread by thread’.

I hope you enjoy the under 2 minute mini movie of the Hermès inspirations for their new porcelain,

Portia xx

Hermès – Voyage en Ikat

Justin Bieber + Lara Stone – Calvin Klein Jeans Spring 2015

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Heya APJ Family,

No matter what you think about Justin Bieber, he has charisma and having been to his concert in Sydney a couple of years ago I think he also has some talent. The show was fun and he danced his pretty little ass off. I like him even more now he’s doing all the stuff a regular wealthy teenager/young adult does, and doing it large.

I hope you like this little bit of B&W advertising. I think it’s cool.

Portia xx

Justin Bieber + Lara Stone - Calvin Klein Jeans Spring 2015 Calvin KleinPhoto Stolen Calvin Klein

Justin Bieber + Lara Stone – Calvin Klein Jeans Spring 2015

L'Occitane Launch May 2015 with Scott Steward

/ 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.

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L'Occitane Launch May 2015 #10And the swag?

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L'Occitane Launch Pics 2015 May #12The 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.