Hey A Bottled Rose peeps. Hello from slightly unrestricted lockdown here in Sydney, Australia. I’d like to take a moment to virtually hug anyone affected by C19, including your crew and loved ones getting sick. We are watching a lot of the world with sad dismay. In Oz we are now allowed to visit in pairs of adults with attendant children. Especially to help the aged, disabled, solo or depressed. It is a small but significant step towards normal life. Our new cases confirmed rate has dropped below 20 per day for all of Australia over the last week. To today we have had 95 deaths in total in all of Australia and only three of them under 60 years old. We know it’s not over yet but it definitely isn’t looking so grim.

What have I been doing with my week?

Quite a bit of phone time, both face and audio, with mates around the world and here in Oz.

Watching Netflix. Jin and I have watched After Life S2 together, a couple of Korean reality serials (nope, still don’t understand a word), The Fast & the Furious series 1-7, everything that has Dwayne Johnson (the Rock) in it and other odds and ends.

Sleeping. Staying up late watching TV means I also sleep in. Some days till 11am! Plus I have an afternoon nap most days. I know right, HEAVEN!

Cooking. With Jin working I have done a lot more of the cooking than usual.

Cleaning. I’m now giving the apartment its thorough clean once a week still but now I’m also doing a couple of mid week spruces. Spending so much time at home I want it to be nice.

Reading. I’m rereading Dune and finding it really hard because my eyes are having trouble with the light reflected off the page. I do have a Kindle but it feels so good to be reading a BOOK even though it’s also torture.

Running Turbo Trivia LIVE in Isolation on Friday and Sunday has been fun. If you’d like to join in go check the Turbo Trivia Facebook page for details. https://www.facebook.com/TurboTrivia/ Even if you can’t be there for it live you can still play the game later. Zoom with your friends and play against or with each other.

Wearing perfume! Here is a small selection of the stuff that I’m spritzing. I have been wearing a lot of the ends of decants as well, grabbing the last few ml and spritzing the whole lot! HUGE!

Hedonist Iris Absolute by Viktoria Minya

I’ve nearly finished my 15ml of Hedonist Rose Absolute. I sent a bit to friends I thought might like it and have worn it a LOT. Now I’m hitting the Iris version hard. It smells so good. For any iris averse peeps out there I think this might be your gateway drug. It’s iris but not as you know it. Darker, more mysterious and charred.

Gardelia by Bogue

No, I do not have a bottle. WISH I did. This crazy assed bottle is to freaking die for. Antonio very kindly gave me a decant before release and I’ve been eeking it out until lockdown. Suddenly I want to smell like this ALL THE TIME! Breathy, poopy gardenia done right. I have not yet had the courage to leave the house wearing this monster.

Granville by DIOR

The loveliest spring style green of them all. It seems to also be fitting my 2020 autumn lockdown.

Samsara by Guerlain

What is it about this OTT diva of a scent that grasps me so firmly? Is it the creaminess, the tropical vibe, the ultra deluxe glamour or the screaming madness? ALL of the above. Samsara is exactly how I want my sandalwood treated.

Tendre Nuit by Isabey

This strange and lovely sweet nothing by Isabey is now about 1/3 empty. I don’t know why I love it so much. Sweetly almond and stuff that just seems to hit the spot perfectly every time.

Misia EdT by CHANEL

Hiding away in its box unloved since my first mad crush on her, Misia is back in action. Lipstick style iris, all waxy, powdery and rose tinted. It’s hard to feel blue when you smell this fabulous. My favourite of all the makeup style fragrances. YUMMERS!

Also, I got challenged to do one of those Facebook seven days of photos. It was really fun to go through and pick some I loved. Here are four that didn’t make the cut. These are the three men I have long term loved. First is Paul, yes he was and still is a handsome rake. This photo was taken maybe 1991 at the inaugural DIVA Awards when the group I was in won Best Show! Second is Varun, also extremely handsome and with a body to die for, we spent an amazing couple of years in Sydney and then another bunch of years long distance because he had to move back to India to run his family’s hotel business. In this 2003/4 picture we are traveling India and up in Jammu Kashmir for our friends’ wedding. The last two are my gorgeous husband Jin. The man who has provided the easiest, most wonderful, fun filled years of my life. Of course it mayn’t last forever, as many beautiful things come to an end, but I enjoy every day we spend together and all our friends, plans, holidays etc. He is a seriously lovely man and I’m still gushy-gushy in love with him. First pic is at the Fullerton in Singapore 2016/7 and the second is Christmas 2018.

Yesterday (Sunday) while Jin was at work I had both Kath and Alice over for lunch. It was the first time the three of us have been together in about 5 weeks and it was absolutely terrific. We chattered and laughed a couple of hours away. I made us Boscaiola Pasta and Kath snapped this shot of it. I was too busy enjoying the girls company.

Hugs and love till next week when we have a Mood Scent 4 project for you all,

Tell me what you’ve been up to, wearing or making while in lockdown?
Portia xxx