Happy Almost-Friday! What fragrance are you wearing?
I'm wearing Diptyque Volutes, a fragrance I included in my top 10 of spring last year. It's a good fit with the bit-too-chilly transitional weather we're having here today. Tea at the moment is the last of my sample of Upton Thé Mélange Russe.
Reminder: on 4/29, wear one of your "top 10 of spring" fragrances (unless it's fall where you are, in which case wear one of your "top 10 of fall" scents).
And for those of you who like to plan ahead, see Scent of the day ~ Friday community projects 2016, where I'll try to always have the next five or six weeks mapped out in advance.
Note: top image is Purple Cups [cropped] by Sharon Mollerus at flickr; some rights reserved.
I’m leaping ahead and wearing a summer fragrance instead of a spring fragrance today ~ wearing Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Flora Nerolia (not to be confused with Nerolia Bianca or Flora Nymphea which are both less than mediocre). Flora Nerolia is from 2000 and it’s a beautiful, slightly indolic orange blossom jasmine. Very nice and quite hefty for an Allegoria.
I don’t think I ever smelled it — sounds lovely.
Chilly morning!
I am wearing my decant from the reverse swap meet! Many thanks!
Ylang 49 today..and its keeping me warm as well.
These days are so long and endless..since I resigned at my position I feel awkward at work and excluded. What can you do..Ylang 49 will help even though its just a small dab behind my ear..
How long will you have to stay for?
Sorry you are feeling left out in the cold. It’s a lonely place to be and I have found myself in the same situation in the past. Look forward and leave a fabulous scent trail behind…????
Ditto to this!
Brilliant advice!
I love the idea of the fabulous scent trail! I’ve been thinking that when I finally leave, I’ll get my great nieces to clear the way ahead of me, turning cartwheels as they go, but trailing perfume behind is more subtly effective.
It is hard being in limbo. I’ve also been there, but it will end. And you’re smelling great in Ylang 49, my favorite Le Labo!
Until the end of June..????
That is a very long time! But it will come to an end.
Sit and dream…and set some goals for yourself, as simple as a new purchase or complex as a future career goal. You are now the owner of your time….you get to structure it, and take credit for your accomplishments. Go for it! (Also, plan rewards for yourself as you get through these last weeks.)
You’ve got this!
Sorry it’s feeling unpleasant but think of how little time really there is left and how lovely it will feel when you are able through your notice period. Chin up!
Gucci Rush in the red cassette case bottle. Nail polish, gardenia, peach, lactonic aromas.
Totally synthetic, totally fun. 🙂
Hope the day is synthetically fun to match!
A relatively new love for me. I had to try it several times before realizing how cheerfully fun this fragrance is and to appreciate how different it is from anything else I wear.
I find the nail polish accord totally addictive , and it lasts for the duration of the perfume.
Chanel Coco is my SOTD. I need a comfort scent today, my Coco was the first one that came to mind .
Hope it works its magic
You smelly lovely. Coco is a rather sensual sort of comfort scent, I think.
Good choice! You smell great.
PdN’s Odalisque, such a lovely scent. The weather is still chilly here, but nicer than it was yesterday.
Tea is Macaron Mangue Jasmin, nice but not a keeper.
I keep meaning to try Odalisque. Sounds like something I’d like, now that I’ve become “floral friendly”.
It’s a wonderful perfume, and even if you don’t like it, it’s so worth a try.
Odalisque is so beautiful! ????
You smell lovely!
It’s lovely. I used the last of my sample last night and am contemplating a further investment.
Fleur du Mâle (Gaultier) 🙂
Ah, you smell fantastic.
I nearly choked during the initial application… this stuff is S T R O N G!
Wearing tiny dabs on Invasion Barbare today. Utterly gorgeous. This might be my post tax splurge….
That stuff is just superlative.
It’s not the type I’d usually go for but it’s so gorgeous I have to smell it forever!
I love Invasion Barbare, the first MDCI I ever tried.
Right? It’s perfect.
In the pre shower dry down of Amouage Epic. Out of all my Amouages, Epic and Memoir seem to be the most tenacious of all of them. After my shower, I think that Amouage Lyric will do the trick. It’s still chilly out.
Twin if you choose Lyric, we smell good.
I did go with Lyric. Yep we are scent twins!
trying out Iris Meadow (Aerin), not happy – where is the iris?
Yeah.
This response made me snort with laughter in the most unladylike fashion????
🙂
Ladylike is beyond overrated. 🙂
They could afford to make these Aerin scents exactly the way they want them – why did they they choose to make them thin, and meh, I wonder? I suppose they have been focus group evaluated to death, maybe. But, didn’t someone actually smell the product before they put it into production.. (sorry, carp, carp, must be scads of people who like it just the way it is…)
They are a bit restrained for my taste. I do like the Amber Musk but the longevity is quite poor. And what is up with that? Two powerful perfume accords that should last.
I think they’re probably perfect for her “lifestyle brand” “aspirational casual luxury” audience, which she’s gearing an awful lot like Tory Burch’s — barefoot in expensive linen clothing on your manicured lawn, etc etc. She wouldn’t grab that same audience with things like the Private Collection scents she did for EL, they’d be all wrong. So I do think she knows just what she’s doing, and you either like that stuff or you don’t (the commercials make me a little nauseous, as does her facebook page).
Of course I had to go and look at that page; let’s just say it fits the brand and leave it at that 😉
Yeah. You’re nicer than I am.
I’m sure I’m not, but this kind of self advertising leaves me speechless with a mixture of mirth and what the French so beautifully describe as ‘La Nausée’.
It really does seem to resonate with a lot of people though!
“Didn’t someone actually smell the product before they put it into production?” Substitute “taste” for “smell”…..I say this in restaurants frequently.
SOTD PdE Wazambaaaaaaaa ahhhh
????
Wazamba is gorgeous!
SOTD is Ambrecuir attar from Sultan Pasha. Not at all a spring/summer scent, but who cares? It’s absolutely stunning!
I need stunning today since I am having one of this soul searching days and finding disappointment and self judging. Yikes, I need to skip the perfume blogs today and head straight to a self help blog! ????
I’m so curious about those attars, but last I checked, you couldn’t order the sampler.
Try not to be too hard on yourself. Have you ever read anything by Pema Chodron? She’s helpful in those times of existential angst and she’s pretty down to earth(she’s a Buddhist nun).
Ditto Elisa’s suggestion. Much as I love this blog, it can sometimes add to my self-judging. Pema never lets me down, though. Wishing you forgiveness.
I know he is quite swamped. I ordered the 8 sample pack and because he was so inundated, it took about 3 weeks or so to arrive. Totally worth the wait and he refunded my shipping and sent 12 samples instead of 8, as well as a signed letter of apology for the delay. I certainly didn’t mind the wait, but was concerned the package had gotten lost while crossing the pond. So far I have tried Insence Royale, Ambrecuir, and Cafe Ambre Noir. I even found a rose that I like! Scandalous!! I am really a fan of perfume oils since they can pack a real wallop but stay mostly close to the body so one doesn’t have to worry about offending the scent sensitive, especially in work environments. If money was no object, I could see myself purchasing many, many scents from him. They are really outstanding, complex, and long lasting. Plus I believe in supporting small business whenever I can. I would say give them a try but realize they are created by hand and the wait will be worthwhile.
And yes, I have heard (and read) of Pema Chodron. I was a serious student of the Buddhist Philosophy when I was younger and did a lot of reading on the subject. If you haven’t read “Going to Pieces without Falling Apart: A Buddhist Perspective on Wholeness” by Mark Epstein, I heartily recommend it. You don’t necessarily have to be ” Going to Pieces” to read and learn from it. My “pieces” are loved and accepted by me. However, I also realize my room for improvement is exponential????
Thanks for the info and that was really cool of him to add all those extras and a personal note! Even more of a reason to support small business, or his, anyway.
I’ll look up your book rec. I like reading Buddhist philosophy based books. Helps shift my perspective when I’m in a certain, not-as-pretty-as-my-perfume, head space.
He is a psychiatrist who is also Buddhist. I liked this book a lot because it blended the best of Western science with the the best Eastern philosophy. It’s a winning combination because it confronts and explores the whole “nature vs nurture” issue.
Ah, the days of soul searching are not the most fun days, are they? I remember liking that Mark Epstein book, but I don’t remember the details of what he said.
One of my favorite books for the dark days is The Mind of Clover, by the Hawaiian Zen teacher, Robert Aitken, which is full of good bits about applying the teachings to the situations in which you find yourself, from a Zen perspective. Do you know this book?
I do not know it but I soon will! Thanks for the recommendation????
Thanks for the suggestion, Deva. I’m going to look for the book. Maybe I sounded patronizing, and I apologize for that. ????
What? No, not at all! No apologies necessary! I didn’t take it that way at all. All input/comments/ideas/thoughts always appreciated. The book is good though, but very dense. It’s one of those books that requires attention and reflection. I suggest it to everyone because I found it so beneficial ????
We all have room for improvement. Exponential? Rather harsh! We love you, Deva. 🙂
Love ya’ll back. Thanks for your kind words????
Actually I think perfume blogs are a perfect distraction from negative thoughts. I encourage you to just let those judging thoughts go and concentrate on your excellent qualities which far outweigh your flaws!
I agree – we can all get so harsh on ourselves and while I am sure I have massive room for improvement sometimes a little light distraction helps me find my centre again.
Yes, this blog is a great place- vibrant, open, accepting, and giving. Hats off to Robin for creating such an unusual and much needed space for all of us. And hats off, too, to all the supportive and giving commenters. All perspectives are worthy and highly appreciated here at Chez Deva ????
A most excellent group of fine human beings comment here. This is my respite from the storm of life and serious and worthy topics are touched on albeit through the nose. Big belly laughs have come from the wit found here and I need that! Thank you! A thousand times, thank you! NST, you are my tribe!
Well said and couldn’t agree more.
Ooh–please instead of self-judging, instead tell us all about that Ambrecuir! Somehow I don’t even know this line, very eager to hear.
Ambrecuir is deliciousness wrapped in sexy and tied with a swaggering yet understated bow! I love it. I learned about it here:
http://www.kafkaesqueblog.com/2016/02/19/sultan-pasha-attars-cafe-ambre-noir-ambrecuir-cuir-au-miel-ocean-of-flowers/#more-19479
Apparently, I have a high tolerance for animalic notes. Or, my skin amps floral notes. I definitely get an animalic leather in the beginning, but it quickly becomes luxuriously refined and the iris comes to the fore. A must try for iris/leather fans. Jenkr, I’m looking at you!
Taking notes….
Luca Turin spoke highly of the line on his blog,
Yes, I saw that! It made my anticipation of delivery rev up a couple of notches for sure. I so admire his honest struggle to try to only say good things! I know that’s something I struggle with as well. It’s hard being human????
I’m sorry, Deva. I was in a black-ish place exactly a week ago. It faded to grey and then the light came back, so the world is full of colour again. NST and perfume helped; the dear man and Dakkie-Dog-Hoople-the-Cat and the knitted mice helped, and oddly, some specific self-help sites helped by being exactly wrong for my head-space. I hope your dark corner lightens soon. I made a Bakewell cake yesterday evening: if I lived close by, I’d bring it and make you a cup of tea. My dear mother used to say that when the heart is sad, feed the stomach. it might work: mothers often seem to know good stuff like that….
You’re a doll and T-Rex would love to meet Dakkie-Dog-Hoople-the-Cat! I’m sure they would be great friends. My corner is not really dark per se, just a tight fit at the moment and I’m feeling a bit claustaphobic. This too shall pass and I’m wondering if it isn’t age related hormonal activity that’s really the crux of the issue. Getting old ain’t for no sissies, and that’s a fact! ????
I’m wearing TDC Tokyo Bloom, one of my absolute favourite spring scents. The milky green bitterness of the dandelion makes it quite special in my eyes.
Just had a cup of Chandernagor with milk – I usually start drinking more green teas around this time of year, but it’s chilly and damp, so I’m still drinking chai.
That sounds lovely – I don’t know it and now want to!
PS Champagne will be on its way soon…
I’m sure something can be arranged 🙂
I always take note of scents you wear that I don’t know or not tried because I think we have similar tastes. This one sounds amazing.
I tend to like green teas in spring/summer as well, but it’s very chilly here today so I had coffee.
It’s not as earth-shattering as some more serious perfumes, but it’s such a clever, well-done take on cologne. I wear it a lot and J borrows as well.
This one is pretty special. There are so many photorealistic scents, but when I wore this I *really* felt like the flowers were alive on my skin.
I never thought of it like that, but incidentally, this morning I was thinking how much it really smells like dandelion, especially in the beginning.
Great to see another fan!
That sounds amazing! I will have to try it 🙂
Do you ever drink genmaicha green tea? It has toasted rice – it is a nice green tea for cooler weather.
Yes, I do! Thanks for the reminder, good idea.
I am wearing vintage Fidji edt. Perfection.
Oh wonderful
I wore this when I got married
A very long time ago…
Mmmm, you smell great!
Vintage Fidji!! Sounds divine????
Lovely! You smell terrific and very elegant.
It started out cloudy and cold this morning, so I opted for the warm honey of Back to Black. I need to use this one up since it was decanted into a plastic atomizer. Anyone find that some perfumes go sour in plastic?
Yes they do – use it quickly or transfer to a glass container.
Agreed.
one of my favorite powder scents
Kusmi Irish Breakfast tea for my first day back home in Montreal. It is a brisk 3C so I am going with Dries Van Noten.
I started the day with 2 cups of Irish breakfast 🙂
And you smell great.
I also have had 2 cups of Irish Breakfast (though not as fancy – Trader Joe’s tea bags!).
Hey, mine were not fancy either. Upton’s bottom-of-the-line, pretty basic but hearty stuff.
love Dries, it’s so cozy.
Dries!!
SOTD is CdG 2 Man, which I consider a winter scent but felt/feels perfectly right today
SOTD is Gris Montaigne, from an extremely generous sample sent by a very kind NSTer (thanks again!).
Soooo grumpy about the weather. It’s been 75 for days, and now it’s going to be 57 and rainy for Sniffapalooza! Why, perfume gods, why??
SOTD will probably be Vanilla Galante, but might go for the rice pudding comfort of Kenzo Amour Le Parfum at the last minute.
To keep you inside, shopping? But hope it is fun anyway.
At least Sniffapalooza in the rain is better than a cubicle in the rain. Have so much fun!
I need to try more of the Kenzos, it seems several have great rice-y notes!
I think perfume smells better when the humidity is higher. Have a wonderful time!
That sounds like ideal perfume sniffing conditions. If it were sunny and warm I’d be tempted to ditch across the street to Central Park. I’m sorry I’m missing meeting you this time.
Good morning Y’all…..I think Spring is finally here to stay, and I couldn’t be happier!
SOTD: Bvlgari’s Omnia Paraiba. Got a sample with last week’s Sephora order, and I love it! Will keep an eye out for bargains on Ebay and such….
Friday approaches! Hang tough…. 🙂
I tried that one yesterday. Really nice, but went to a skin scent on me faster than I would like. (Also, the drydown reminds me somewhat of MJ Daisy, which I already own, so I’m not going to buy Paraiba. I do sort of want that pretty turquoise gem purse spray, though…)
Agree. It’s one I would enjoy owning, but I have too many similar scents to justify buying……
It might hit my Christmas wishlist later though…. hee hee 🙂
Spring has not arrived here..
SOTD is “Cuir d’Iris” from Parfumerie Générale, one of the Iris-inflected Spring scents from Blooms’ March pack. As I applied this I got such a smell of blue cheese, I would have been alarmed if I hadn’t read NST folk telling of similar reactions to other perfumes. But my partner didn’t get that at all, and thought it quite nice. It’s worth trying for any iris and leather freaks out there.
I knew I was visiting some perfume shops recommended by Koyel so didn’t apply on my wrists, so I can’t fairly report on its longevity or progression. It certainly didn’t evaporate on contact as some PG stuff has. I shall share tomorrow what I picked up in Toulouse. Let’s just say that the 2nd week of the holiday has not followed the slightly austere pattern of the first. :^)
Iris and leather freak, right here. Adding this to my ever growing must-sample list.
Yes! So glad it’s not just me got stinky cheese from Cuir d’Iris! I sprayed on card and recoiled – wasn’t going anywhere near skin after that.
Your blue cheese reference brought to mind (mine, anyway) Hajusuri’s characterizing Cuir de Russie as “barnyard leather”, with which I concur.
My sample of TM Angel Muse showed up yesterday and of course I had to try it right away. Last night, it was an incredibly sweet and delicious hazelnut and cream. Today, it smells a lot more like Angel, but with a heavy emphasis on the red berries. It doesn’t smell quite enough like Angel for me to hate it, but I’m really hoping it morphs into what I was smelling last night because that almost made me want a bottle.
Cousin! I’m wearing Eau de Liqueur. I bet you smell fabulous!
I never seem to run into the flankers in stores, but Liqueur sounds great, too!
Cold and rainy here in Barcelona. I´m wearing Boxeuses from my sample. No love for it.
Love for Barcelona, tho! All that lovely Art Nouveau architecture, and Gaudi! And really good seafood…
YSL La Nuit de L’Homme today. I know it’s generic and derivative and exactly what makes people fear department store perfume counters. But I like it; it’s comfortable, sweet and easy. Still, I should have cited it for last week’s challenge, because its name doesn’t fit. It really ought to be named Le Matin de la Femme. Morning is when I get stuff done, and this frag makes me feel ready to check items off of my to-do list.
I like it a lot too! I gave it to my sons for Christmas. Now I can enjoy smelling it on them????
I would imagine it’s a great “starter” choice for a young newcomer to fragrance. Better than anything by AXE, by gum.
I love Givenchy Pi. My first big perfume purchase after getting interested in fragrance again. I still love it’s clean, bracing benzoin.
You know, I’ve walked past Pi a million times and I don’t think I’ve ever given it a sniff? I guess I was too scared off by Amarige…
Hermes Cuir D’Ange. I knew nothing about it before I tried my sample this morning. What a great surprise. LOVE!
That is a great one – my favourite Hermessence. Santal Massoia and Epice Marine are very good too.
I made myself a batch of chai, which I’ve enjoyed on yet another chilly morning. Will soon add Volute to the mix. Well, not to the chai …
I am also drinking chai..Tea twins..my in laws make homemade chai and add black tea
My recipe calls for Darjeeling as the tea. It is quite mild but very chai, I think.
Eau Parfumee au The Vert on this overcast day. It’s working very well, and I realized I’m almost out!
Worth restocking 🙂
Having iced decaf hazelnut coffee and enjoying the sunshine; we’re supposed to get showers this afternoon. (I’m not enjoying it enough to decide to hang clothes outside to dry in it… it could cloud up and rain any minute.)
Also enjoying digging through my samples as I arrange them, and puzzling over why I have no problem filing Joy under “J” for Jean Patou, but having trouble putting Ivoire in the “P” for Pierre Balmain instead of the “B.” I don’t get myself.
No SOTD yet, but I wore Safari to bed last night and if I’m not careful, may just decide to re-up with it. In other news, I just found out my sister’s husband is getting transferred to Fort Drum, NY, this fall. That’ll be a 10-hour drive, but MUCH closer than Fort Hood, TX!
The coffee sounds really nice, and at least you are trying to organise your samples. Would that I had the same effort…
I gave up trying to organize my samples specifically because “I don’t get myself” either ????
Well, I got really frustrated with my loose “samples I’ve tried in this box, samples I haven’t tried in that box” so-called organization. Now everything is in the box by house, and I have resurrected my Excel file so if I’m not sure if I’ve tried something, I can check the file.
Accountants. Whaddyagonnado.
I also find it hard to be consistent in filing. I would say though that Jean Patou perfumes are usually labeled that way, where as one usually sees Balmain separately. I couldn’t have told you what Balmain’s first name was.
You know, that’s true, they don’t really use the “Pierre” bit, whereas Patou uses JP in its logo.
So there. It will remain “Balmain” in my mind and in my plastic sample cases. 🙂 Thanks for that.
I manage to keep an excel file but my samples are only half organized in a lipstick tray. Need to stop buying samples….
Guerlain Le Muguet Millesime 2016, very fresh, délicate and subtle, more beautiful than Hermès Muguet Porcelaine which smells like melon and cucumber!
I want to sniff that one. My nose tends to lump muguets into a single type, but I am curious about Guerlain’s spin. Would you know it was a Guerlain if it were in an unlabeled package?
Back in the days you would with its creamy texture.
No, I wouldn’t perhaps except for the fact it’s rendered more feminine than the Hermès and Diorissimo. The 2016 millesime is a new reformulation, Wasser got rid of lilac note. Think VC&A Muguet Blanc with more opulent rose jasmine floral heart and richer base.
Hmmm. I haven’t tried the Hermes, but the current Diorissimo is definitely not opulent. I remain curious!
I have Lily of the Valley blossoming in a pot on the Bonsai bench. The tiny trees like flowers too. They smell so good and have a certain richness that I think is hard to capture in perfumery.
I just ordered Penhaligon’s Lily of the Valley in a tester. I have read the reviews on this site concerning that company and each review has been lukewarm. I have gravitated to this House because they’re cruelty free. Finding scents that fall under this distinction can be difficult.
I’d like a section on reviewing cruelty free fragrances.
Very few brands use real animal-sourced products anymore — probably over 95% of the fragrances on the market are cruelty-free, if that’s your definition. So not sure why you’re finding it difficult to find fragrances, or why Penhaligon’s in particular has struck you as cruelty-free?
I’m jealous of those lily of the valley plants. I’ve never lived in a place consistently damp to grow them. Maybe it was that they take time to get established. We move a lot (or so it seems).
Oh, sorry, this was meant for Kit.
Love this one! It’s just gorgeous!
Sampling Bluebird from Olivine Atelier but it’s too soapy on me. Definitely prefer the gardenia scents from this house
Grey, cool days call for grey, cool scents. I’m in Iris Nazarena. This also works as a spring scent, I think. I do love it and it might actually win over Dior Homme as my favorite iris scent.
It’s quite chilly today! I’m wearing a sweater and had to turn on the heat this morning.
Lyric today for a still cold but very bright and sunny spring day. The weather here has been really odd, really quite cold with rain, snow and hail within a few hours of each other and then sun.
Work has been rather busy so not much commenting at NST which I have missed. Meanwhile I seem to be enjoying rose perfumes more and more, all prompted by Lyric and the Floris a Rose for I mentioned. Would be interested to know what ‘rich’ roses you would recommend to try?
you smell wonderful.
also, off the top of my head: Frederic Malle Une Rose, Portrait of a Lady, Perris Monte Carlo Rose de Taif, by Kilian Rose Oud, Serge Lutens Sa Majesté La Rose, Ormonde Jayne Ta’if, Serge Lutens Rose de Nuit.
Thank you – I recall smelling Taif a while ago and liking it, and will try to get sniff of the others.
I’d add BK Liaisons Dangereuses and Guerlain Nahema.
Thank you nozknoz – onto the list they go.
It is my little one’s 13th birthday, I did not let in the skunk last night who was hanging outside our bedroom door but did safely coax our cat past him to come in for the night, the sun is now out, the birds are making a terrific racket, , my morning is clear, and I am in Mitzah courtesy of Hajusuuri from a while back. It was just the thing for this bright cool morning. On me, its a lush amber, evoking images from Rossetti paintings.
LOVE Mitzah, amber frankincense rose, on my skin.
You smell lovely! Enjoy Oakland Fresca. 🙂
Yes! It has a playful projection in that I smell ambient rose, but when I press my nose to wrist it disappears in the haze of amber, spices, patchouli, and incense.
Good job evading the skunk! There is nothing worse than accidentally bringing a pet who’s been skunked into the house. Been there, done that. ????????
It is only a matter of time. In military parlance, we are preparing for “when” not “if”! Our two cats love love love the skunk families that hang out in the woods out back. We see them prancing around the litters all the time.
Oh, that’s hilarious – when the threat is over 2,000 miles away. 😉
Cute! I love odd animal friend pairings 😀
Happy 13th Birthday to your little one! Skunk dodging, that should be an Olympic event. I remember being trapped in my car several times by skunks that had decided to camp out in the driveway. They eventually waddled off. Is it wrong that I am utterly charmed by these noxious little creatures?
Oh my goodness, I love the skunks. We get families, and when they are very little the babies are blind. The tiny stripies trip and bumble around our bird bath falling down and falling over each other. They are like puppies.
Never thought I’d say this …but I have skunk envy! Never seen one but they sound cute.
Oy, skunks. They rarely come near the house (with the woods so near? with the dog? Dunno), but I see them squashed all over the roads every January, which is prime Find a Sweetheart Time for skunks.
The dog discovered one in the yard last fall, and it took six months and multiple baths for the smell to go away. Pretty sure he didn’t even catch the blast up close, too.
I mean, sure, baby skunks are cute, but then they grow up.
I know! I wasn’t going to admit it, after I confessed to affection for squirrels, , which look so adorable, but are apparently nastiness incarnate. You know what our problem is? No native mammals. No fur to call our own. I know about sea lions, but squirrels…all that tail! And the natty little outfit that skunks wear! Cuteness on four legs!
Not my daredevil, but I found this on youtube. (Warning! The music did not work for me, and it is really loud–maybe turn it down)… But you’ll get the idea.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cVsbL32cVU
Waterdragon, I am hopeless. We have dozens of squirrels racing around outside our house and with great skill defeating the elaborate baffles on our bird feeders, but I still love them. I can sit out on our deck and watch them for hours. They totally make me laugh. More or less the cats and the squirrels have agreed to a detente and can sit and play within inches of each other (but not with each other like the skunks). Every once in a while one of our cats forgets the agreement and chases a squirrel, only to be loudly scolded for the next 30-45 minutes by the irate little beast who has taken refuge high up in one of our oak trees.
And happy birthday to your son, of course! And here’s to many, many more years of good health and happiness,
That’s the plan…
Happy Birthday to your little one.
This is a tad off topic, but I had to tell you I loved it the other day when you mentioned ‘habibi’! That’s my favorite Arabic word besides ‘mishmish’. I immediately had part of the chorus of an Amr Diab song repeating in my head afterward. ????
Back at ya with ‘aceituna’ (which is used in Spanish as well, but comes from Arabic). When I was an exchange student in Tunisia a million years ago, I knew the cutest baby girl that every called ‘Aceituna.” Amr Diab was only a kid then, and the president was Habib(!) Bourguiba.
Oh the times they are a changing…
[facepalm!] The penny just dropped: I should have realized ‘aceite’ is ‘zeit’/’zayt’! (Ana mish shatra awi. ????) So in Tunisia they pronounce it ‘aceituna’ like Spanish?? Dialectal differences are fascinating.
Shwoya (I am not good with transliteration!). You know, I honestly cannot remember how it was pronounced in Tunisia, the c and z are so similar. In Spain I remember hearing the word sounding like “athe-tuna.”
We are really off-topic here, but I love to think about words and their origins. I was 16 when I was in Tunisia, and it delighted me to learn that a very old word was exactly the same in Arabic as in Spanish.
Happy Birthday to your not-so-little-one! You were lucky with the skunk. I don’t mind them, except for the family of five who burrowed under our screen porch, stunk up the place for several weeks, and were extremely difficult to trap. I hate when that happens because they have to be destroyed and I always feel bad about it.
Glad you’re enjoying Mitzah! Happy 13th birthday to your son. About skunk smells. On the thankfully few occasions when some part of my surrounding got skunked, I imagine the smell of freshly ground coffee to psych out my nose.
Volutes is lovely–I’m wearing iri-del to the office today. I was stoked to see Robin reviewed it! I’m trying it for the first time.
How are you liking it? I wanted to spritz some on a week ago, but I believe that my sampler has jammed! No juice will come out. I have to resort to snuffling the top. LOL.
it is exactly as described and I’m really enjoying it! I feel as if I can’t really add anything new. it’s sleek, modern, city iris.
Plus, cool packaging. Have to say I do not love the naming scheme, although I guess it fits with the brand. But I don’t like underscores in my fragrance names 🙂
SOTD = Avignon…perfect for this chilly spring day.
Beautiful!
Sampling Soir de Lune. Soft and elegant.
It is not chilly in Texas at this time, rather the reverse. It is definitely hot. I am wearing one of my favorite Annick Goutal fragrances, Folavril. Perfect for the weather. I wanted to mention that yesterday’s 24 Faubourg lingered on my skin until I showered this morning, and I decided that the very last stage of the fragrance is my favorite. I just loved the last part of the drydown.
Does anyone else feel exhausted these days?
Work is so intense, with technology pushing us to do more than ever, my brain hurts and I’m super tired by Thursday!
Mohur Extrait helps.
🙂
Noisy open plan offices and cubes are tiring, too, as are long commutes. Not good. Mohur Extrait is a just reward for putting up with all that!
Yes, and we need rewards!
The open plan office is the stupidest thing ever. The distractions make work that much harder.
I found cubicle arrangements to mean uneven lighting and air flow, and echo-y noise throughout. Just what designer thought this would make a good work environment? They should be publicly identified.
I’ve been exhausted since last week, but that’s mostly due to having been ill with a cold/allergies/sinusitis flare-up and am just now starting to return to normal. My mode this week has progressed from full on zombie to semi-zombie to only-zombie-until-2nd-cup-of-coffee.
Glad Mohur is helping though.
🙂
It’s so helpful finding people who can really relate. Thank you.
I’ll be having cup 3 in about 2 hrs.
Technology is certainly a mixed blessing :-/
Mohur Extrait is so special. I thought yesterday was Thursday but it’s Thursday again today. I don’t know what happened to Wednesday.
Wednesday came on Tuesday this week ????
Too funny! Why can’t Sunday feel like a Saturday and Monday like a Sunday?
That costs extra.
I’m always tired, but for no good reason except I’m just a low physical energy sort. You have been the traveling a lot it seems, so maybe all the time shifts?
Anyway, you smell beautiful!
Yep, the traveling takes its toll too. I think I’m kind of low energy too, but I work and live as one that needs turbo-level energy.
Yes and glad Mohur helps. The to do list is daunting but busy is better than not busy I tell myself…
Working my way through Nomaterra sample pack. I though I would like the Cape Code (somewhat aquatic rose) and it is pretty, but does not have enough to character. Really like New Orleans (datura) and Boston (tobacco leaf) – but this only come in huge bottles which makes me slow down.
Has anyone had any experience with Nomaterra, esp longevity? I have been battling sinus infection for the last 4 days so hard to judge longevity 🙂
Haven’t heard of them….where are they made? The scents sound nice.
They are a US brand. One of the finalists in the Olfactiv award – Patty at Parfum Posse did a post on one of their frags. I feel like I need to be validated before committing to a fragrance 🙂 I rarely buy anything before I see a review of a recommendation of people whose opinion I trust.
Le Jardin de Monsieur Li by Hermes for today
I just read your review! Wonderful.
VThanks so much Suzy
Wearing this one, too. It goes well with our very quiet, golden autumn.
I’m making a note that it might also work in Autumn weather
kenzo flower! I can understand why it sells so well, it’s definitely very pretty. I prefer fragrances to last one work day but more than 8h tends to feel gently smothering, and Flower is definitely persisting past that.
SOTD Yves Rocher Cuir Vetiver, as recommended on here. It’s terrific! And so cheap (I got 100 ml for £20 shipped on ebay – happy blind buy).
*perking up my ears* I need to investigate this.
I’m wearing Amber Flash today which somehow I never got around to sniffing…
I’d say this is a pretty close approximation to Organza Indecence. I’d have to do a side by side but if anyone was pursuing Indecence this is a readily available alternative…
I was surprised to love Rose Flash, not really a rose perfume fan. Incense Flash is good, too! Together they are spectacular. I shall have to get a sniff of the Amber Flash. Just two years ago, my local Ulta still stocked Organza Indecence and I wanted to purchase it but I still had a child in college so my perfume budget was non existent.
I love Rose Flash too. Incense Flash is next for me to sample in the series. I bought Rose Flash when the first released the rollerballs only and then Vanilla Flash unsniffed. Fruitchouli Flash didn’t really please me for some reason. I would rank them as follows…and we shall see where Incense appears. 😉
Rose
Vanilla
Amber
Fruitchouli
But Amber Flash is reminding me of Indecence quite a bit…maybe better in fact…
I think it shall be Fat Electrician for me today. This will be my very first wearing of a fragrance from Etat Libre D’Orange. Later today, I will sample some Frankicense Oolong from Aftelier. Have a marvelous day, my dears!
Love that oolong — I really should buy some.
I love Fat Electrician!! Vetiver awesomeness!! 🙂
SOTD from my decant of Le Chèvrefeuille by Annick Goutal. It’s a very pretty honeysuckle fragrance, but I’ll never need a full bottle.
Agreed. I’m happy with the decant I got in a swap. Sometimes it really hits the spot.
I got a sample of that recently, looking forward to trying it.
I’ll have to try this at the boutique. A bunch of us had signed up to an event at the Madison Avenie boutique next week. Camille Goutal is scheduled to be there and there’s a discount on purchases!
I hit a wall with the flowery spring perfume. I intended to wear FM Une Fleur de Cassie (i have 3 travel sprays) but since I found a small decant when I was looking for my Sammarco samples, I decided to utilize the small decant. Huge mistake — oh the HORROR of it all!!! Upon spraying and getting my fingers wet from the spray, all I smelled was CUMIN which I hate hate hate! I don’t even think Une Fleur de Cassie is supposed to have any cumin! Did the perfume turn? Was it mislabeled? I cured this by lavishly spraying:
SOTD = Oriza L. Legrand Chypre Mousse
Earthy, mossy, green and walloped the cumin into submission.
Creosote – my go to hot, hot/humid tested perfumes:
– Chanel No.19 EDP
– Atelier Cologne Cedrat Enivrant
– Atelier Cologne Sous le toit de Paris
– Prada Infusion d’Iris Absolue
Under consideration is the Chanel Les Exclusifs Cologne – I will test drive its suitability this summer before deciding on a purchase.
And a correction, my first Sniffapalooza was in May of 2013 and not 2014. I’m looking forward to meeting Wendysue (Twisted Lily on Friday!).
I also think Chanel Sycomore will work in hot / hot & humid. I haven’t done a test run since I got my bottle late last year.
UFdC isn’t cumin, but you’re right, it is very skanky. (Or at least goes through a skanky stage.)
I’ll have to wear my travel spray version to see if I get the same skanky bit. I don’t recall that stage though!
I do get a little cuminy, sweaty buzz from UFdC so I don’t think your decant turned. It’s amped in certain conditions, although I don’t recall what turns up that note.
I’ll miss you guys this weekend. Saturday is our last day to clear out our old apt completely, and we’re waiting til the last minute, of course. But I’ll see you Tuesday at AG 🙂
Oh yes!
It probably means your perfume has turned. I once heard a description of turned perfume as stale curry so that might be it.
Good to know!
Thanks! Duly noted. Glad you tamed your cumin disaster!
Me too! Chypre Mousse is perfect for hiding perfume disasters although not for the amber vanilla leather ones. For these, it’s Vanille 44 to the rescue!
I am wearing Teint de Neige once again. I can’t get enough of it. I would love to have the perfume, but it’s not in my budget right now.
You smell glorious.
While it’s still cloudy and cool here I’m giving African Leather another go, testing for longevity. It has a little skanky growl I like. Last night I ordered a decant of Desarmant, because I am saving for a splurge in London in July. “Must count pennies until then” is my new mantra.
SOTD: Chamade pdt, sprayed, and extrait dabbed. Day 4 of favorite spring perfumes! Day 5?–tough decision.
Chamade is so great.
Copying you today. Had to attend a funeral service today so kept it simple. I just read your SOTD and decided to follow suit.
Bvlgari eau Parfumée au Thé Bleu. I bought a little travel spray from Sephora. I would buy so many more scents at 10ml for a decent price.
I am on my third cup of tea. I am drinking some MF Brasilia (a mix of mate and tea) to bolster myself for an afternoon meeting.
Can you imagine?? Dream come true would be 10ml for all brands, even niche!
Do you like The Bleu? I’ve not worn mine in some time but I think it’s lovely.
Chilly and rainy here in San Diego today – it isn’t 75 and sunny every day! And even chillier in our very old uninsulated drafty house. So I put on some La Maison de la Vanille Vanille Noire du Mexique. It is probably the first non-mainstream fragrance I bought. They used to sell these at Anthropologie long ago.
I remember that one! LMdlV seems to be on hiatus — that is, the brand appears to still exist, but ages since they’ve done anything new, unless I’ve missed it.
They had them at Sephora for a while after they were in Anthropologies, but I never hear about them anymore. I got a sample of the Absolu de Vanille, which was the most recent thing I had heard of. Just checked their site to remember what that one was called, and there are a couple I hadn’t heard of – a patchouli and an oud, of course!
Volutes sounds like it could be a good autumn scent too? Maybe I will get to try it next week when I go to visit my mum in Christchurch.
I managed to try three new (as in ‘new’ down here ) scents yesterday: Narciso Poudree, Dot and Floriental.
Narciso Poudree began as a blended powder version of the EDP and EDT ( with something like nutmeg added) but it had an incredibly pungent camphor/ moth balls note that I found overpowering. I see that Robin doesn’t mention this is her review but it was strong enough on me to be unmistakable. A bit gruesome.
Dot was okay but felt very watered down. Not watery but weak, like a thin cordial of something that might have tasted good with a bit more flavour. In style was a but like a Hermes garden series or L’ombre dans l’eau but like someon had stolen half the contents of the bottle and covered their tracks by topping up the juice with tap water.
Floriental. I got a jammy, plum opening from this ( not as rich as Mary Greenwell ) and then, once again, it became thin and stringy, pepper and gasping incense tailing off into ….
Interesting though!
Must try volutes. Funny how all these scents that evoke sea voyages never mention sea sickness.
“A quiet golden Autumn”! Beautiful! How I wish Auckland could be quiet and golden…even quiet OR golden would be good! I tried the Narciso Poudree too, just to smell something new. Didn’t dislike it as much as you do, but didn’t love it either. I’m still on track for Melbourne, I suppose. Be well.
I like the EDP and would be happy to own that so I am a bit perplexed by the
Poudree.
I will try again. Maybe the sight of all the Mothers Day boxed sets zapped my brain.
Volutes is great for fall!
Yes, Volutes is really easy to wear, and nozknoz is right, great for fall.
Sounds worth the 300km drive to test it out!
Very best of mornings to you all. Friday! I have to go in to work because of booked meetings, though I see I’m officially on leave. Damn! I also have a late afternoon appointment with the doctor. Double damn! It might be a little gruesome: I always dread the blood results conversations. I have a tendency to feel as though bad levels are a moral failing. Anyway, in consequence of my “damn and double damn” day, I’m wearing the trumpeting Elephant, which seems to have become my defiance perfume. Take that, world. And that! And while we’re about it, have a bit of the excellent Elephant as well…used to be that I wore 19 for these days, but lately, she’s come over a bit too ladylike.
I hope all is well at the Doctors.
Thank you. I’m fending off T2 diabetes and also dealing with another inherited condition. Mostly I’m pretty disciplined about pursuing wellness, but I know I’ve gained a little weight, which will make the doc shout at me. He’s predictable and his reaction is boring: I can always change my diet a little and slowly lose thecweight again, and I will. I really, really don’t want to have to take drugs, or not for years yet. Most of the solutions are still in my own hands, which is good. The Elephant is cheering me up, too, and Dakkie has just fished out his tartan knitted mouse from where he stashed it a few days ago. He’s so funny!
Best wishes for getting through the doctor’s appointment! I’m just terrible with those things.
OMG! I love the elephant and it’s the perfect scent when you want the give the the world the what for! Hope you appointment goes smoothly????
Today I’m wearing one spray of my last bottle of Anna Sui. Bummer it was discontinued.
Hello, Creosote. I saw your question from yesterday… I am originally from Colorado, so I was in the SW. No longer, though. But I still have a taste for spicy food!
Ah, got it. (Colorado is fantastic.) Yes, the need for spicy food, once established, is permanent in my experience!
Oh, Anna Sui, beautiful purple goth bottle, lovely raspberry/rose scent. I’m on my ‘only’ bottle, too.
The bottle is awesome. My first one was the very first thing I bought at Sephora (c.2000?). Oh wait! I thought it was discontinued because it’s kinda hard to find, but I just looked and saw it’s still on her website! Joy! Must get more…
Bois des Iles today. Its cold and grey and this is cozy. Between traveling and a stomach bug I haven’t worn perfume for over a week! I had a great time traveling (other than the stomach issue) – I got to visit in San Diego and meet one of my best friend’s baby (he is 5 months),then went to Portland to see my nephews and visit another good friend. I’ve slowly been converting my Portland friend into a perfumista, and we visited The Perfume House. She bought a bottle of Ciel from Annick Goutal and I got La Fille de Berlin (finally!). We also went to the tea room at the Chinese Garden and got a tea flight – so fun! But, I think the best part of the trip, other than seeing people, was that my sister complemented my perfume. She is a serious perfume phobe and she actually gave me a straight up complement. It was Osmanthus Yunnan and I should probably jut buy it and wear only that when I visit, heh.
This is one of the best justifications for a FB that I have heard in a long time, rose pepper!
Sounds like a wonderful time and now you have a FB of LFdB to remember it ????
Perfume, tea, and cookbooks are my go-to souvenirs now, because I know I will use them!
Speaking of different, I am testing La Curie Incendo, which recently got 4 stars from Luca Turin:
https://perfumesilove.com/2016/04/07/incendo-la-curie/
It’s wood smoke. Not too harsh. It works on a cold, rainy spring day when you’d like a fire in the fireplace, if you had one.
I’m looking forward to trying the other scents in their sample pack if only for the names: Faunus, Ossuary, and Larrea.
Ossuary sounds especially nice: palo santo, violets, incense and smoke. I plan to apply heavily, visit a museum, and hope someone asks what I’m wearing. 😉
I saw that on his blog, and until then I had no idea there was an artisan house in my town! (Although I do know Dame Perfumery and Tauer have warehouses or something here.) glad to hear you don’t find Incendo too harsh, which is what I was wondering. I really have to try Larrea because (a) it’s a leather and (b) it’s the namesake of my screen name.
I found some other smoky scents unbearable (Tauer Lonesome Cowboy and Amouage Tribute Attar), so it’s not that I have a high tolerance, either. I haven’t tried Larrea yet but it sounds really interesting and unique to the Southwest: chapparal, desert ozone, monsoon. Please report back!
Will do!
Fruday here already – yay! So wearing a favourite autumn perfume, Chambre Noir by Olfactive Studio.
I meant to tell you in my earlier comment that I love the photo of the tulips!
Good, me too!
Another cold and rainy day here. Wearing Lou Lou to feel pretty, and confident. Or, more accurately, like I don’t care.
Teo Cabanel Barkhane today. I like it… The curry and cumin don’t go all weird on me. It went to a skin scent fairly quickly. This afternoon I received my Auphorie samples and couldn’t resist a little spray of Miyako. Lots of apricot, woods, and some serious sillage from one little arm spray.
Dune for me today. I had been neglecting this one because it got shoved back to the back of my perfume shelf where I never see it.
That’s just where mine is! I’ll have to do a rotation in there so I don’t neglect so many lovelies. I wish my cupboard was only one-bottle deep for just this reason. Even when I target something I know is in the back, I usually get distracted by something else on the way back there 😉
Hello, NST. SOTD is CK Euphoria, which I bought on my first bounce down the rabbit hole and still enjoy a lot. It feels like March where I am, and spring-y scents just won’t cut it today.
A question for the community at large, especially the tea drinkers: Have you ever accidentally made the wrong tea? I did exactly that last night, and was kind of annoyed. It felt like I had sprayed the wrong perfume!
Wearing Jasmine White Moss, nice enough for a nice enough day. Want to go home and wear something really loud, though.
Wore Les Nuits d’Hadrien today. Nice. Need to look around for a bedtime scent. Pleasant evening, all.
Cold and gray here again today. It’s the first day I really wanted to just burrow under the covers but I didn’t. Warming up the day is one of my old favorites, vintage Helena Rubenstein Heaven Sent edp. Mmm, spicy carnation, lots of (real) oakmoss, and soft powder as it fades. Despite its name and image, the original has quite a bit of heft and lasts the entire day. I loved this when I was a teen and probably never dreamed I’d still wear it when I was a grandma, but then I probably never thought about being a grandma!