Portia’s Christmas Perfumes

Hi there Posse. I’m sorry. Got just about nothing much so, I thought we could look at the Christmas Perfumes I wore in sunny, summery Sydney. What I do have is a groaningly full stomach, yes even on Boxing Day I overindulged. Also a home that looks like it was designed by the Al Quada Christmas Liberationist Front. Jin and I have no family here in Sydney. We do have an amazing bunch of friends, some of whom ended up at ours, plus we also went to Kath’s family for Xmas lunch. Then at night we went for Korean BarBQ with a small crew and ended up at McDonalds eating Soft Serve Ice Cream for dessert.

It was a decidedly non religious event. I was brought up RC by Mum, Nuns then Jesuits and Jin has three religions in his upbringing. We did have a tree and presents and we did say Thank You for each other and our good fortune. A carving of Jesus from a demolished church in India, a blessed silk quote scroll by the Dalai Lama and a picture of Ganesh are in the hallway of our apartment so they were probably the presiding deities, although all the god/esses were welcome if they had time and inclination.

Boxing Day Kath and Alice joined Jin and me for lunch at home. Then I went for a swim at Kath’s but my tummy told me it was probably time to go home and de-cater. Then in the evening and afternoon Jin and I lazed around watching TV and trying to organise next years holidays.

Christmas Perfumes: What The Crew Wore

Portia’s Christmas Perfumes

OK, loads got a look in over the two days. Here’s the Christmas Perfumes breakdown

Christmas Perfumes

SOTChristmasDay: Shalimar Ode de la Vanille by Guerlain

Not very much different to regular Shalimar after the first couple of minutes. Wears beautifully in the heat. This was a Christmas gift from my mate Tim and I adored wearing it for the big day. Perfect for my list of Christmas Perfumes.

SOTAfternoon: Brasil Dream by Estee Lauder

Brasil Dream is a long discontinued, crazily creamy fragrance. It’s so tropical and warm it smells more like a high end suntan lotion than fine fragrance. Overloaded with all the lactonic night bloomers and a bunch of maybe coconut cream. Ridiculously good for the sweaty summer heat.

Christmas Perfumes

SOTBed: Oriental Mint by Phaedon

By this time I needed to cool and calm down. One of the most Christmassy of Christmas Perfumes. What a ride. Oriental Mint is like a crisp, cool, sweet, striped candy cane. A wickedly zingy minty opening that slowly sweetens to choc mint vanilla.

SOTBoxingDay: Niki de Saint Phalle

Niki de Saint Phalle so often hits the exact right spot. Whether it’s hot or cold, casual or high faulting it always smells perfectly poised. A chypre in the 20th century vein. Perfection.

Christmas Perfumes

SOTBoxingDayAfternoon: Exultat by Maria Candida Gentile

Incense from a Roman Catholic mass. This is the closest match I have ever found and it brings back happy memories of singing in the St Aloysius Boys Choir. One of the true highlights of my school fiasco. We did masses (obviously) but were also booked for weddings, events, sang in St Mary’s Cathedral a few times and did a couple of albums. The smell of incense from the burners made mass seem like a theatrical, pagan ritual.

Who knows what I’ll wear tonight? Maybe something cool and calming like Caron Pour Un Homme.

I know many of you aren’t Christian but there are events over this period for most religions and even for atheists so join in, what Christmas Perfumes did you wear over the season?

Portia xx

 

 

 

Portia also writes for Australian Perfume Junkies

  • Musette says:

    I love you!  Happy Holidays, darling!  Missy Denise (who is visiting for the hollerdays) and I send our love to you and Jin (and Kath, of course)

    xoxoxoA

  • rosarita says:

    I enjoy imagining a hot and sunny holiday season 🙂 My husband and I don’t celebrate set holidays but we have a tradition we call Bloody Mary Christmas: we cook up a good brunch and I make something decadent to snack on, accompanied by bloody marys, of course, and we watch the original Jason Bourne trilogy. This year I wore Coromandel.

  • Pam says:

    Well, it’s the season for Nuit de Noel, and I have been enjoying it. Merry Christmas, Portia and the Posse!

  • Gina T says:

    Well, you inspired me on Christmas Eve; so, I wore incense: Annick Goutal Encens Flamboyant and Impeccable Beautiful Tyrant hair gloss by BPAL. I was fragrant. For Christmas Day, I tried to find four different frags I wanted to wear. I was going to layer plum: Serge Feminte with Molton Brown Muddled Plum and Poesie Messe de Minuit with plum. I couldn’t find the SL or MB. This too much fragrance thing is getting to be a real bummer when I can never find things I want to wear in the piles. I decided to wear something else and couldn’t find that either. So, I gave up and pulled out Aphorie Shambala that no one could smell on me though it is an extrait. LOL. It was all good. 

    • Portia says:

      Woo Hoo for Incense Gina,
      Oh yes, I know the “where the F is it tango’ well. Happens here regularly too.
      Could you smell Aphorie Shambala on yourself?
      BTW: Thank you for my fabulous Care Package. WOW! So wonderful.
      Portia xx

       

  • Eldarwen22 says:

    I have been a over the place with perfume but have been wearing a ton of LADDM though. Spent Christmas Eve in PHI Rose Kandahar and Christmas Day in Chanel no 5. I think today might be a Une Rose Chypree kind of day.

  • Tara C says:

    I’ve been wearing my winter favourites: Chopard Wish, PdE Wazamba, Caron Nuit de Noël extrait, Coco Noir, Tauer Incense Extreme, SSS Ambre Noir, Piguet Casbah, Heeley Cardinal, etc.  It’s been cold and rainy in southern California so perfect for my cool-weather scents. Today will be Profumum Ambra Aurea.

  • Carolyn says:

    Greetings of the season to Portia and All!Excellent post! Too bad that Brasil Dream by EL is discontinued! It sounds wonderful. Oriental Mint by Phaedon is a very close second for me so I’ll be on the lookout.My holiday season standby is Pomegranate Noir by Jo Malone because berry and cloves. It has a much-desired warmth to it because Canadian and our winter is the opposite of yours. Brrrr. Supply running perilously low, eek!Can I brag about a superb scent-related gift from my sweetie? Ok, thanks. Drum roll, please…The beautiful hardcover “Cult Perfumes: The World’s Most Exclusive Parfumeries” by Tessa Williams. I am waiting for the perfect quiet moment to slit the wrapping on this bad boy. Planning to be unavailable for several hours. Cheers!