Paul McCartney is 74 today. We're celebrating with our usual open thread poll: talk about anything you like — the perfume you’re wearing today, the perfume you think fits Paul McCartney, whatever.
Or, ask a question about fragrance, then see if anyone else has asked a question that you can answer…
Wearing my newest scent — Tropicana from Lorenzo Villoresi (mentally known as happy fruit salad)
I wore that one last night! You smell joyful!
Wow, almost twins! Here I was thinking I was in something pretty obscure….
Congratulations on getting your Tropicana! It sounds like a perfect warm weather scent.
A slow start to the morning, which is grey and soggy. NOthing can go wrong if I stay at home with a cup of coffee. I wanted to thank the person who suggested the MAC eye primer here a while back — I bought it last week and it has Changed My Life.
Going through a batch of samples from the cocktail night, and nothing is standing out one way or another. The last round of concentrated sniffing was at Liberty in London: Grace Coddington’s Rose was fresh and nicely done, Le Gallion is doing a good job bringing their classics back, and the Wilhelm hyacinth perfume was pretty if overpriced.
Oh, actually I think it was A Lilac a Day for the Wilhelm…
🙂
I wonder how many people have “A Perfume That Changed My Life?” That might be a fun Friday project. And there could be (or other product) stuck in the to provide for broader interpretation:
Tell us about the Perfume (or other beauty product)That Changed Your Life?
Mine would be embarrassing, though! 😛
Hey N! Mac Eye Primer? Is that for the “before your eye shadow” step? I’ve been wondering how I can keep my make-up in place around my eyes better. . . (rather than the attractive smudginess I usually exhibit a few hours after application).
Hi, Ms M! Yes, the primer goes on before any eye makeup and now I no longer have the shadow migrating to the crease of my eyelid in an annoying manner. Oh, and eyeliner seems to stay put too. Pretty neat, in a couple of senses of the word.
Sounds like I need to go get some, too! I don’t like “fussing” over my make-up once it’s on. I want it done-and-done. The world should feel lucky I put in the effort to wear it in the first place! 😉
I share this attitude.
I knew I liked you, J! 😉
Me too! I even put a little makeup on even if I know I’m not leaving the house.
Nothing wrong with slow starts????
Glad the eyeshadow primer worked well for you!
Today’s scent is a sample of Gypsy Water from Byredo. I see why people love it, but it’s just not “me”. I used up all my Spiriteuse Double Vanille this winter, and now I’m debating between buying a second bottle or buying a different vanilla. There are so many vanilla perfumes out there, it seems unadventurous to do a repeat. But it’s a pretty darn perfect vanilla. Replacement suggestions?
My favorite vanilla is VCA Orchidee Vanille— not too sweet, slightly floral, not overly foody. SDV is great too but if I had to have just one I’d go for OV.
Hmmm I smelled the VCA OV years ago but went with the VCA Bois d’Iris, my holy grail for an iris fragrance (barely beating 28 La Pausa due to La Pausa’s short lifespan. But if there were room in my budget for both, there’s definitely room in my heart.) Might have to revisit OV.
Bois d’Iris is one of my favorites!
Imo, OV is truly an elegant vanilla. Gorgeous!
OV is definitely my favorite vanilla.
The Eau de Missions is pretty close to SDV. Not an exact dupe but close. I have tried both, and of course the Eau de Missions is a fraction of the cost and can be sprayed liberally without a twinge of guilt ????
Gosh, I need to try that.
It’s GOOD. 🙂
Check your local Ulta. Mine carries their line in the store.
Thanks!
And the Eau de Missions lacks the tobacco note that makes SDV a no no for me. I am out of it right now, but it is near the top of my buy another bottle list! 🙂
I’m wearing the lovely Oud Palao by Diptyque today. It smells like a new and improved 80’s scent: big, loud, and kind of syrupy. Of course this doesn’t suffer from the 80’s fragrance problem of ending with either laundry musk or wet hair musk (see Chloe vs Oscar de la Renta). I’m enjoying it a lot.
You smell great. I know this is a divisive one, but I love it.
Bless me Donatella for I have sinned! One of my favorites of my 4160 Tuesdays samples was Says Alice, a rich floral with a good dose of sandalwood, jasmine, honey, and rose. It just so happens that Luckyscent reduced the price on this one by 1/3 because the name has been changed to Babylon Sunset (I like the name Says Alice better for what it’s worth. Makes me think of Alice in Wonderland). The siren call became too much and…..I bought a bottle.
A fave scent goes on sale? Sounds to me like you really didn’t have a choice.
Exactly! And I can feel good about supporting an independent perfumer…right?
We need more name changes 🙂
Yes!
Desperately trying to think of a new name for Songe d’un Bois d’Eté 😕
I saw that it was on sale and wondered why. Love the name but can’t find my sample (so much for alphabetization). My first impression note just says “bubblegum,” but I’m not sure that I gave it a chance and have no idea if I even wore it or just sniffed the vial. Wanted to re-sample Time to Draw the Raffle Numbers too. Off to dig through my stash…
Onda VdE. Nuff said????
Oh, and Happy Birthday to Paul!
What about Onda do you love? I am trying so hard to not collect more samples, but I know this is some thing I should check out.
Expansive. Soaring. Melancholic.
Onda is the color, music, lyrics, voice, and movement seen here:
https://youtu.be/sX7fd8uQles
Although, to be clear, there is nothing oceanic about it. I recommend sampling, it’s a polarizing perfume.
Well said and picked. It really is beautiful beautiful.
Onda is melancholy and really beautiful.
I don’t care how hot it is right now but I’m wearing Epic today.
Yeah, I’m in a go-big-or-go-home mood today, too. Might be a day for some vintage Shalimar. . .
Epic is beautiful! I think Amouge scents are suppose to be worn in the heat, they are made in Oman right 🙂
My first concert was Paul McCartney and Wings! Still love Band on the Run. Today I’m wearing Fille en Aiguille, and pretending I’m in a pine forest. Looking forward to next Saturday when my rescheduled perfume shopping/afternoon tea trip with my niece is scheduled. My Bruno Fazzolari sample set arrived this week and I’m looking forward to trying most of those this week. I’ll think of it as tuning up my nose for the sampling spree next Saturday.
Band on the Run has to be one of my top ten favorite songs.
Totally. It never fails to lift my spirits and make me happy to be human at the same time 🙂
Scent of the day is Aedes Cierge de Lune.
Yesterday there were terrible storms all around Poland and many houses were without electricity. Hope they all have it back by now.
As a side note – I just got a discount coupon from Sephora. Eau de Neroli Dore, I think I’m coming for ya! 😉
Yes, go for Eau de Neroli Dore! I am so glad I bought a bottle of it; I liked it from the get go, but every time I wear it (and I wear it all the time), I get more addicted to it.
Thanks for being my enabler 😉 guess I will pay a visit at Sephora the coming week
Glad you weathered the storm. I can’t wait to try both of those – you’re killin’ me here!
I’ll be happy to send you some Cierge de Lune my dear
Thank you so much, sweetie – that would be amazing!
Send me an email and we can discuss it
I just finished reading your review of Eau de Neroli Dore and loved your comparison of it to Monday mornings!! I ended up with a free mini sample of Eau de Rhubarbe Ecarlate from a very nice Hermes SA and decided to wear it today, but I might have to go back and revisit Neroli Dore…saffron and bitter orange notes sound delicious
Where did the morning go?!? Oh, yeah, I slept till about 11am and then wasted time on FB for a good hour among other social media stuff… arrrgghhh. So hard to not get distracted these days.
I’m wearing a combo of Diptyque’s Oyeda and a jasmine by Fragonard — just a lovely summer mix.
Stopped in Prada yesterday and finally got to try some of the new infusion scents, the carnation being my favorite! Need to figure out how to get a decant/split of that one 😉
Floragal, did they have Infusion de Mimosa already?
No, not yet. The SA did mention it though, said that’s coming out soon.
I saw your review of purple rain, from their other new line. Are you planning on reviewing any of the infusions?
I only reviewed Infusion d’Oeillet from the new ones. I have a decant of Infusion de Fleur d’Oranger but it’s the old one, not the 2015 version. I need to put my hands on Infusion de Iris-Cedre and Infusion d’Amande.
But I’m very much looking forward to Infusion de Mimosa
Oh! you did review the d’Oeillet. I need to go look that one up as I did’t see it listed under your Prada reviews.
It’s there, you probably just didn’t notice.
You’ll find it for sure
I’m envious that you can sleep to 11! I can’t seem to do that anymore as much as I’d like to. Middle age I guess.
I can’t remember the last time I slept until 11..
Rien Intense Incense, which is very nearly as intense as the original. I don’t like the idea of a flanker but this one is stunning.
You smell fantastic!
One of my favorites.
If only they would do a really small bottle. I adore it, but 100 ml of it is way too much.
Which of the 2 do you prefer?
I prefer RII, but Rien really is wonderful too.
When I purchased RII, I wore it daily for 3 weeks.
Both are must-haves.
I’ve never smelled it. Is it new?
Well it is to me 😉 .
It actually came out in 2014, according to this blog. I went on a rather exciting trip to Wevelgem last week and this was one of the many samples. It’s every bit as wonderful as the original, and I find I’m trying to figure out ways to justify a purchase. It would be a great one to split actually. Provided one did the split in a lab, one of those bio hazard ones.
😀 it is good, tenacious, and potent. I’m pretty sure I will replace my little dabber sample when I finish it…in five years or so. I prefer Rien, but RII is very nice.
I am very curious about your visit and what other samples (bottles?) you brought back. I had a really lovely visit to Celeste after an exhausting but satisfactory hearing at the Raad van State, thank you. There was no time left for the Betjeman, good reason to return to the Hague.
I spent over 2 hours there. I bought Rose Nacrée du Désert. Samples of various Guerlains, Cartiers, Oriza Le Grand, the new Muglers…
Ignore my question in reply to your comment at the bottom of this page.
Betjeman is nice, but there is another even nicer teashop near Kijkduin. It’s a trifle random but the owner has an interesting collection of Chinese teas. Google TheevanSander.
I have Berlin Im Winter on one wrist and Anima Dulcis on the other, from a testing expedition in town earlier. They’re both nice but a bit too gourmand for me. Contemplating a proper SOTD once children are in bed.
How would you compare the two? Berlin in Winter sounds good – but I already have Anima Dulcis – just curious what the overlap is?
I don’t think they were all that alike really. Anima Dulcis is chocolatey whereas Berlin Im Winter is like Irish coffee with rose. It’s very nice but both the rose and the booze were a bit prominent for my tastes. One small spray had a lot of presence, even though I was smelling other things, so the 30ml extrait is good value.
My last day of vacation today. I did not accomplish anything I had intended to do. Wearing my much neglected Alien Aqua Chic today. Summer scents are really hard for me to get through, because I am always more attracted to my deeper, warmer perfumes. This summer I am making a conscious effort to wear them though.
I’m trying to do the same thing this summer but it’s challenging, especially since the lighter scents always seem to vanish so quickly.
Then it sounds like you had a REAL vacation!
Sir Paul and I share the same birthday date.
SOTD: Yves Richer Neroli
Present: Floris soaps and a Rowenta iron for my textile projects
Many happy returns of the day! You smell great.
I hope you have time to enjoy your new Rowenta soon. Steamy, freshly pressed cotton fabric is one of my favorite non-perfume scents. 🙂
Happy Birthday, Sajini!
Happy Biryhday! Paul’s in good company????
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday to you!
Have a great bd!
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday! 🙂
Happy Birthday! Have a lovely day.
Happy Birthday! Hope you have a great day.
Happy birthday!
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday!
Happy birthday!
Happy Birthday!
Aw thanks everyone. We had a great day up in Ogunquit Maine. A nice birthday clam chowder, a grilled cheese sandwich and the best iced coffee in the world. then German chocolate cake ice-cream. I’m home now, all happy and bloated. We stopped in at H&M Crumpets and again I tried Elizabeth M Vetiver which again I really loved but cheaped out on buying a bottle ($45 for 2oz of EDP geez what is my problem?) Anyone ever try that one? I love that it smells a bit like guy sweat on me.
It’s actually Elizabeth W (I’m a bit dyslexic)
Sounds like a great day. Happy birthday!
HB2U, Sajini (and Sir Paul of course). Haven’t heard about H&M Crumpets, will have to go. We did back-to-back day trips to Maine this weekend. No point in perfume – cleaning the houses for renters. Today, perhaps Amouage Fate. Trying not to buy Del Rae Amoureuse (sp?). I need a good summer scent, feeling a bit overpowered by Jour d’Hermes.
German chocolate cake ice-cream! Sounds like a perfect birthday 🙂
Happy Belated Birthday
Happy birthday!!
Meeting friends at a breakfast spot, gonna be delish. Wearing Chanel Chance Eau Tendre which is a personal spring/summer favorite. Brings the silver linings out of the Grey skies above 🙂
Hope it was a great breakfast!
Wearing Ex-Nihilo Sweet Morphine from a sputtery-spitty manufacturer’s sample atomizer. When I first smelled this on paper at Sniffapalooza in April, I yawned and moved on. Yesterday, I sent a Dior SA on a scouting mission and she came back with not one but two samples!
The verdict? I can see myself getting addicted to this softly sweetish powdery and vanillic floral perfume. I view this as summer (and likely) spring appropriate. Do I want a full bottle? Sure! Do I need a full bottle? Well, it is kind of addicting so perhaps the name is appropriate after all 😉
Have you tried Sweet Morphine? Thoughts?
Yay! I LOVE Sweet Morphine. I bought a couple of the travel sprays on ebay. I love the soft lilac/vanilla combo, and found I far prefer it to Desarmant.
I actually disliked Desarmant…kept thinking I really should like it but nope. We have another like/love in common!
I would be up for a split – I think our list is growing 🙂 I liked it a lot
All of a sudden, that 100 mL bottle looks more affordable – LOL. I’m up for it and maybe we’ll get other takers as well. I’m hoping to get the surprise 10-15% off coupon from LuckyScent. I am testing out a theory that if I keep searching for it, putting it in my cart and leaving it there without ever buying it and then searching for it again, some bot may take pity on me and flash that discount code. This was how I got that discount for NVC Mohur Extrait. Just a theory…
Failing that, when BG has its spend more save more deal, I will include it in a mega purchase because the discount ends up being around 20%.
Count me in, please!
Will do!
Yes, try leaving it in your cart because that definitely does work on some sites!
Some sites follow me and flashes tbe unbought items in my cart.
The code I have for 10% off at Lucky Scent is Dad.
Oooh, I will try that!
Oh dear… I’m feeling a pull….love lilac…
At first if was just sweetness on me, but then as I slowly realized it was lilac I was smelling I started to like it better. I’m not sure lilac scents are for me, but I should retry.
Oh do retry it!
This one sounds absolutely delicious! I’m not familiar with this line.. must seek it out.
At Bergdorfs, it is around the corner from the By Kilian counter.
I just ordered the Discovery Trio with this one, Love Shot and Fleur Narcotique.
I haven’t tried any of this line yet and can’t wait! 🙂
I debated ordering the Discovery Femme set too but then I figured I would wait and maybe some bot would have pity on me too and bless me with a 15% off code to encourage a second purchase. Great minds… 🙂
🙂
Wearing En Voyage Go Ask Alice and hanging out on the patio today so I don’t have to face cleaning the house 🙂
Works for me!
I’m testing out L’Essence de Mastenbroek Eau de Polder. It’s an oil and smells like warm grass/hay and herbal tea-dry tea bag with chamomile. I love the way this smells and it comes in what looks like a lab beaker. But the price for 40ml to smell like grassy tea for 45 minutes seems a bit steep-no pun intended.
I also got samples of Divine L’Etre Aime & Spirituelle, Vero Mito EDP, and Hiram Green Shangri-la. Will gives those a whirl over the weekend.
I like that oil as well, I tried it once in the Haags Gemeentemuseum, but I found it too expensive for what it is as well. I still might get the small bottle, it’s rather unique.
It does looks like a museum piece. It reminds me a bit if Nasomatto Hindu Grass in that warm hay vibe. But that one also has poor longevity.
I think Sir Paul is beginning to look like a museum piece. Oh did I REALLY just say that?
I think his young guy hair doesn’t really go with the rest of him, but hey he can have whatever hair he wants.
Love all the Divine fragrances
I think I’ll need to try some others. I have a bit of LEtre Aime on my hand. It’s really nice so far.
Hi Elisa, Can you share where you found your Divine samples? STC only had two. Thanks! BTW, grassy, herbal tea sounds nice. I usually love scents with a chamomile note.
I got mine from Luckyscent. The Divine website sells a sample pack as well.
Oh yes. That’s right. I tried the Divine website but the shipping cost almost as much as the samples.
*cues broken record*
SotD = Geisha Vanilla Hinoki
Will be having lunch with close and extended family at a Chinese restaurant this afternoon. We will celebrate and remember the fathers in our lives. I plan on eating too many dumplings.
In a moment of silliness I bought a box of 350 fortune cookies. I will it take with me when we gather at my parents’ house for dessert. The nieces and nephews always wish they could each have a dozen fortune cookies for a snack, and today they can. 🙂 Happy weekend to all.
What a fun idea!
Yum, dumplings. I am officially jealous.
Tabac Citron today
This was suppose to be my last weekend working but it got cut short due to an altercation with my supervisor, and I basically left my id and keys on the desk, and said I am outta here. With wafts of Tabac Citron in my tail!
Go girl, go! ????
Oh no….well, when you’re done, you’re done. Sounds like you made the right decision beside the ever important being with your toddler and the meatball full-time.
I am salary so I still get paid for this weekend 🙂
Glad it’s over for you, but sorry that it ended that way. Breathe easy and enjoy your babes!
I am normally I am laid back, and I did give over 2 month notice (which the never filled my position anyways) but today I was treated very unfairly at work and I said my peace and was out of there!
You go girl!! Sometimes bosses take you leaving as a personal insult. Once when I quit, I had a stapler thrown in my direction (the dude had anger management issues but was able to get away with any I g since his mother was on the board of directors). Other time I gave a 6 week notice and the boss was like ‘You are such a backstabber!! I promoted you and you are leaving!! What is wrong with you??’ I actually was debating between staying and leaving but this sealed the deal.
On a more cheerful note, how are you liking Tabac Citron? This is another one from from Providence I am debating getting – have the Provanilla and love love love it!!
Yes, I had a v.p. boss for many years who took staff departures personally. Eventually he grew out of it, but it was such childish behavior–not to mention unprofessional.
I once gave 3 weeks notice on an awful job I had (I had even told my boss I was looking to leave the company) and he said “You’d better call them immediately and tell them you need to give us more notice.” Always a bit of a smart mouth, without missing a beat, I said “How’s about I call them and tell them I can start tomorrow? Every day that I remain here, I’m losing money.” “I guess 3 weeks is fine.” Funny how that works, huh?
Yes..I think that is what was happening here..insulted and no matter how much time I was willing to give it was not enough in their eyes.
Good for you! That must have been tough, so I hope you’ll be easy on yourself and enjoy your freedom.
Awesome! It is the dream we all have from time to time.
Work and office life can be such B.S. and I say that as a manager.
Almost every day I want to flip a desk and walk out. My desk is far too heavy…so for now, we all must live a bit through you. 😉
I can start working out and help you flip your desk 🙂
Sorry it ended on a down note like that, but good for you! Now you can enjoy he heck out of your time with your children!
Well, good riddance to that supervisor! Enjoy doing you own thing in your own time!
Yes! Good Riddance!
On to bigger and better things
Oh dear, sorry it ended on a bad note, but yay for being done and out of there!
SOTD is California Rivière – thanks to wonderful pixel who turned me on to it.
In the other news – Sultan Pasha has released a new creation – Gourmand Iris (well it is called Sohan d’Iris). Of course when I saw it, I broke down and bought a ml of it. Very excited to try it!!!
i haven’t tried my 8 piece sampler yet…I hope they haven’t dried up!
They will be fine. I am still exploring mine but ended up buying a couple larger vessels. Just the weather is not right to wear them now 🙁
Oh man, I added that to my watch list but goodness it’s expensive! I’ve barely touched my gigundo sample set from him! Perhaps my positive affirmation that I am a lottery winner has a downside?
It is expensive!!!! My new money saving strategy is not to buy unless I have sold other things. I sold 2 used large bottles of Jo Malone and a bunch of samples (have been on the cleaning spree) and that barely covered 1 ml of his Iris. I know it is going to last me forever but it is sooooo pricey.
If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em … the ground bees and bumble bees are flitting about all over my yard on this gorgeous sunny spring-like day. I’m in the gloriously honeyed Absolue Pour le Soir … again.
You make me want to smell this. I love bumble bees. And honey.
Oh, then I hope you’ll try it. It’s seriously seductive. 🙂
I opted for a bottle of the Cologne instead of the absolue as it works better in the heat, but I liked the absolue better. You smell great ????
Thank you! The heat should return to DC any day now, so I’m wearing the heck outta this while I can. 🙂
In the midst of a major book reorganization and weeding – it’s been going on all week and there is much more to do. Wearing Fleur de Sel as it goes well with sweat and dust.
And other much nicer things too!
Oh, just did that — you have my sympathies!
I’ve been watching football and reading and working and I broke my iPad – hence the recent absences. But at least I have a new iPad now, so I feel like a part of civilization again.
Wearing Chanel Eau de Cologne that I bought today for J. I’m thinking about buying other exclusifs that I like but don’t owm, before whatever happens to them this autumn.
There’s been a lot of ‘we call it soccer’ watching in my house too. Respite from the book org. I’ve been wondering exactly the same thing about the Chanel exclusives. But now or chance it that they won’t mess things up.
I need to do some organising, too – mostly beauty stuff, I have so much of it. And I need new bookshelves latest this autumn…
Footie every day–it’s Heaven!
Sorry about your iPad; glad you got a new one. (I once was so sleep-deprived and jetlagged I left my iPod that was a birthday gift on a plane. ????)
Yes, the Chanel conundrum. I caved and ordered a bottle of 31 RC this week.
good one to cave on! just got another decant myself 😉
I just ordered a bottle of that too…debating others…
I only recently discovered it and I kind of feel like I’d been waiting my whole life for 31 RC. Just stunning. It’s the perfume I hoped I would get to sniff someday…and then…that day finally came. 😉
Yes! Exactly!
I absolutely love it, too.
Oh my–I wonder if I should buy a back up of 31 RC this week instead of a new Chanel? Of all my perfumes, 31 RC is the one I would run back to save if the house was on fire….along with BdesI, Cuir de Russie, Coromandel. Bother the corporate mentality for confusing my perfume purchase plans!
Yes. My problem is that I love so many in the line and some of them are my biggest loves. How many back-ups should I get? But what if the EDP will be better? Not happy with the coporate mentality either.
I know but it’s not cheap, but it’s also one of the best perfumes out there. Well done, you!
Oh, this I have missed- what’s up with the Chanel exclusives? I’ve been thinking about a bottle of Coromandel for a long time, but never taken the plunge.
The rumor is that they’ll stop the EDT production this autumn and as of 2017, all of them will be EDP – like Boy, and similarly priced. It’s not confirmed, but at least the price hike seems very likely… The Chanel SA today said it’s not sure what will happen, but didn’t deny it outright.
I heard the exact same thing from a SA at Saks.
From the autumn they’re all apparently going to change from being EDT to EDP, with probably a price rise to match the new EDP Boy. There’s a lot of speculation about reformulation, especially as it seems to be in advance of new EU restrictions, so tweaks may need to be made. A Basenotes thread here:
http://www.basenotes.net/threads/423787-Chanel-to-launch-reformulations-in-September
Eva-
I just took the plunge on the Coromandel and received it the other day. I have 31 RC, Misia and Box of Eels and love all of them. Not sure what other ones I would like. I know I felt the Beige was nice, but a little meh.
Doing the Father’s Day celebration today. Will wear some 31 Rue Cambon as a thank-you to the family members whose b-day money-gifts went toward procuring it. And will be staying indoors as much as possible the next few days, as the forecast calls for 111, 117, 113…
You will smell exquisite.
Thanks!! I look at it also as a public service for a family get-together. ????
A drizzly cool Saturday today. I had all kinds of inspiration when I opened my eyes today to do major cleaning and decluttering. It is already 12:30 and all I’ve managed was to wash a few dishes, feed myself and read about (while sampling) perfume. No sign that this will be changing anytime soon…
Puedistance I (nice) and Rose Privee (meh) so far.
I have a lot of those days. In fact, today might be one of them. At least you focused on the important things ????
Good morning, NST. I’m back in the land of the active, the engaged and (most importantly) the scented, after nearly two weeks of doing a major droop. I got a beastly bug that flattened me, and I let life become a four-letter word. I just couldn’t be bothered eating, talking, reading, thinking, smelling…but now, I’m back, and as my SOTD (Lyric) settles deliciously into my skin, I’m sitting here appalled and astounded that for TWO WHOLE WEEKS I didn’t wear perfume. Really, where was my head?
So. To celebrate wellness and re-connection to life, I bought a dress (Donatella, you might want to take up monitoring clothes purchases as a sideline). It’s an odd garment, but I love it. Basically, it llooks like Holly Hobby grew up and turned Goth, but quite elegantly. Such fun! Quite what perfume to wear with it I do not know, but I can tell you I put on my commando boots with it and felt like I could stride out and conquer Russia….well, Australia, perhaps, since I’m going there later this week.
Anyway, enough of me: you all smell gorgeous, and it’s so lovely to be able to step back into the flowing stream of scented life st NST.
You smell great, and now I want a goth Holly Hobby dress to wear with my big boots too.
Excellent! You’ll look adorable. I don’t look sweet in my mine– the dear man says the outfit shouts, ” Drop dead world, I’m coming through!” and that I should certainly wear it to Exam Board. With Femme, I now think.
Me too! And Femme sounds like a perfect fit. Glad to hear you’re feeling better.
Waterdragon, glad to see you back!
Great to hear you’re back on your feet!
Glad you are upright and marching about smartly dressed and smelling spiffy! Take no prisoners on your upcoming travel expedition ????
Ah, but I do want some prisoners…I’m after Hermes Ambre Narguile for sure and maybe Chanel No. 22 extrait and possibly Keiko Mecheri Peau de Peche, but I dunno how my plans will work out. They often don’t. Last time I went to Oz, I was absolutely certain I was going to buy Misia, send ended up with Loukhoum and L’Ombre dans L’Eau instead. No regrets.
Great choices, waterdragon!
Welcome back!
Glad to hear you are well!
Glad you are alive and well in body and spirit. Enjoy Melbourne! Such a wonderful city.
So glad you are better, and just in time for your trip!
A lazy Sunday morning here, wafting a dab of Caron’s Infini EDP. It’s what I think of as an old-fashioned perfumey perfume, and very much to my liking.
Perfect 🙂
After two atrocious days of migraine (would have been one, but I relapsed after getting overheated at the junkyard yesterday), I’m back to normal. Sadly, I’m too hot to wear proper perfume so have splashed myself with Florida Water. I mowed the back yard and did all the little fiddly trimming jobs my husband always skips, and now I need to catch up on housekeeping after I’ve rinsed off. First though, I need to roll around in a puddle of coolant in the garage because the dear hubbins has dropped a tiny but necessary gasket someplace in the just-put-back-together engine and my arms are smaller. If we take it apart to get to it, we will have to pay $70 to replace the gaskets we just installed and my perfume budget will take yet another hit.
It must be the weekend to put things to rights, I think. You’re tidying the garden and rescuing missing engine bits; I’m straightening cupboards and catching up on two weeks’ worth of housework. The house definitely looks murky: dusty and indefinably grubby (uggghhh), and Dakkie has left trails of localised chaos behind his efforts to retrieve his knitted mice from the places he flung them.
A headache day so no fragrances, but I used a couple of drops of a Muji EO Summertime, and maybe it is helping …
Hope you feel better!
Thank you!
House cleaning today in Cristalle. It’s making my labor a bit more enjoyable.
My husband did all that for me yesterday..he is a gem
Wow! He is a gem. My hubs works hard both at work and at home but no housework. ????
I hope it worked! I need a good motivating perfume to tackle housework today. Ugh.
It did help Elisa. I hate cleaning but love a clean house.
Today at the library I hosted an art program that has been over a year in the planning– it went off without a hitch, and I’m so relieved. SOTD: Givenchy Organza. Sweeeeet!
Congratulations on your success. Your SOTD is one I’ve always wanted to smell because it earns a degree of devotion here. I bet you smelt fabulous as you accomplished your programme.
Thanks! I hope you get your hands on some Organza. My mini came to me from a fellow library colleague. So nice to have a friendly scent on my “big day”!
Organza is so beautiful.
It is. Sweet, but not overly so, and very distinctive.
Yay!
Whoo hoo! (Collapses in triumph and relief)
Congratulations on being so well organzaised
I couldn’t exist without charts and checklists and timelines and bullet points. ????
Oh wait, I just got it. Brilliant!! (Obviously I’m slow on the uptake in the artfest aftermath…)
Fun! And I’m a fan of Organza.
Super fun! Paintings and petits-fours and a pretty scent to go with them!
I love going to those kinds of things. I’m a frequent signer-upper.
Just a heads up that June 19 is the last day to get a free shipping for any orders over 15 EUR on jamesheeley.com (official website of Heeley house). And they offer a 3×15 ml travel set of Sel Marin as an alternative to a large 100 ml bottle sold in other shops.
Oh thank you so much! I am at the very end of my 100ml and was literally just thinking about how I love to travel with Sel Marin in the summer, but the bottle is sort of big and heavy. Problem solved!
You are welcome. 🙂 I wanted Sel Marin but was not buying it, because the 100 ml bottle is too big and nobody near me was splitting. When I saw that set and free shipping offer, I just had to purchase.
Glad someone else found this information useful.
I have been wearing Alien Aqua Chic today but it’s pretty much faded so I’m switching to Pretty Machine. Went out to with my realtor look at a few houses earlier and now off to find something for my dad for Father’s Day.
Hey, we were twins today! mine faded pretty fast.
I am getting more and more cranky because in the last batch of samples everything seems either terrible, or – like eldo’s something rayon something something violet – I cannot smell at all, despite a long list of interesting notes, which I could have predicted easily from seeing the word “violet” in its name.
By sheer chance I found out yesterday that the little convention centre opposite my short-term apartment in Paris was having an Alternative Perfume exhibition – a trade show that opened to the public today.
Part One:
On the perfumes side I started at the IFF stand because they were showcasing some single note ingredients – perfect for a beginner like me. Sniffed their patchouli, iris, vetiver, geranium and ylang ylang. Very useful to me in identifying the individual scents in isolation.
I spoke to CFFC (Conservatoire Français des Fragrances et Cosmétiques) who were showcasing some rather flashy looking perfumes under the title ‘Promenade à Versailles’. Sniffed and took away a sample of PàV Pour Lui, which is technically a chypre although rather a modern interpretation. Top: orange, lime, mandarin & jasmine. Mid: cyclamen, nutmeg, coriander, violet, marine [sic] & hyacinth. Base: amber, patchouli, oakmoss, cedar & musk.
I then had a great chat with a guy from Olibère and tried 4 perfumes: Balinesque, Escapade à Byzance, Midnight Spirit and Paradis Lointains. Bought a FB of Escapade. Top: black pepper, cinnamon, saffron, ginger, cumin, citrus. Mid: cypress, carnation, incense. Base: Heliotrope, vanilla, benzoin, musks. amber, patchouli, vetiver, Atlas cedar. I’ve since seen it’s a Duchaufour creation.
Studio des Parfums were showing some of their Eastern and Western inspired lines; they also do bespoke perfumes (but I think that would be for people with, um, higher net worth than I can boast). I saw their shop afterwards on Rue du Bourg Tibourg and will pop in another time – it helps that there’s a L’Artisan and three (!) Mariage Frères on the same street.
Next up was a woman called Bettina Aykroyd who had self-published a book ‘Les Enigme du Parfum’ on the history of perfumes. She was fun to talk to and threw in a couple of samples of the re-launched Volnay “Brume d’Hiver”. It doesn’t show the complete pyramid but main notes are rose, oud, vetiver, teak and papyrus.
The romantically-named Intertrade Group were handling perfumes from a bunch of niche brands.
Agonist – tried Black Amber, Nordic Noir and The Infidels – I liked Black Amber best.
S-perfume – they had some stuff with silly names (S-ex? Really?) so I nearly overlooked them. “100% Love” was very interesting, sweet’n’sour but not for me. I liked “Himiko” (plum and mango) and “Kamakura” (Incense, sandalwood & maté) a lot.
Santa Eulalia – I liked Vespers, would want a proper test for longevity as it reminded me of some short-lived things I’ve tried from Carner Barcelona.
Andrée Putman, Boadicea the Victorious, Diane Pernet, Roads – tried a few things, didn’t care enough and to be honest my nose was getting tired.
Part 2 to follow.
How fortuitous and fun! In January I stayed in a hotel right next to Studio des Parfum but despite much perfume shopping elsewhere across town, didn’t go in. Silly.
I am just about to pull the trigger on Carner Barcelona’s Costarela, the one worry being it is too soft. So hard to tell wth samples. Is this one you had longevity issues with?
Hi Amy – no, not tried that one yet. :^)
Thanks! I think it’s just one to spray with abandon.
Ooh! If you’re going back, try to see if Eris is there. The woman behind the line, Barbara Herman, is a sweetheart and I think the perfumer Antoine Lie will be around for some of the event.
Psa announcement…I just saw Zulily has Hermes, Guerlain, some Tom Ford on sale this weekend. Also Creed and Bond no 9.
Enabler 🙂
Hey, I’m just trying to fit in with the crowd:)
Part 2: As I was saying, by sheer chance I found out yesterday that the little convention centre opposite my short-term apartment in Paris was having an Alternative Perfume exhibition – a trade show that opened to the public today.
I’ll post separately about candles and cosmetics, but in passing I got a freebie of an EDT called “Orange flower, amber & vetiver” from Irish company Brooke & Shoals. It does what it says on the tin, more floral than I would normally choose (there’s ylang ylang in there too).
Another Irish company, Waters + Wild Perfumery, claims to be the only fully organically certified in Ireland or Britain. I loved their very natural aesthetic and bought 15ml rollers of 2 of their 3 perfumes (“Rose + Oud”, which is not heavy like some, and “Cognac + Cedarwood”), plus a 2ml sample of the 3rd (Tuberose + Frankincense”) which on sniffing was a bit floral for me bit I want to re-try. As all-natural perfumes, W+W did say these would sit close to the skin and not persist as long as synthetics, which is why I went for the smaller sizes in case I find them frustrating.
I’d never heard of Ajmal from Dubai, but they are huge regionally (so ‘alternative’ in Paris, but hardly niche), I smelled maybe 10 of their scents, the cheaper ones weren’t great and the good ones were ohmylordhowmuch? The rep was happy to offload a FB of their new “Signify” for €20, and it is worth more than that to me. I guess I would describe it as a fruity floral for men, which won’t entice many NST folk.
Essence of Chi from Germany was showcasing ‘Elementals’, a set of 5 perfumes inspired by Chinese thought on the 5 elements of Water, Wood, Fire, Earth and Metal. I like Fire most but could easily wear several of them so I got the discovery box of 5 x 15ml.
Fire’s Top: red cedar, cinnamon, bitter orange & ginger
Mid: rose oil, geranium, redcurrant and neroli.
Base: cashmere wood, red pepper and moroccan rose.
My last perfume conversation was to pick up again with Barbara Herman who was representing her Eris Parfums ‘La Belle et La Bête’ line in person. The idea of Eris is to create perfumes inspired by the great vintage scents of the past. In fact the company grew out of Barbara’s love of vintage, and I picked up a copy of her book “Scent & Subversion: decoding a century of provocative perfume”. Fabulous vintage posters in there along with story of perfumes like Bandit, Emeraude and many NST favourites – and my copy is signed and dedicated. :^)
(Vintage lovers may like her blog ‘yesterdaysperfume’)
I tried all 3 of the LB&LB scents early in the day and was torn between “Night Flower” and “Ma Bête”, so I left them on all day to decide before leaving. Throughout that time I preferred first one and then the other, as the developed different facets, now with florals coming to the fore, now with animalics or other notes. I ended up opting for “Night Flower”, which the other Mr. Koenigsberg got me as a birthday present (so it needs to be hidden away for a while). But I am going to get an FB of “Ma Bête” some time soon, because it is still there on my skin 14 hours later, growling and purring in its animalic way. (But not very soon, because going to a perfume exhibition turned out not to be a great way of demonstrating financial restraint).
Night flower – Top: bergamot, birch tar & cardamom
Heart: suede accord, tuberose & cinnamon
Base: patchouli, tonka & musk
Ma Bête – Top: neroli, aldehydes & nutmeg
Heart: cypriol, styrax & jasmine sambac
Base: cedar, patchouli & animalic notes
I’ll do a ‘Part 3’ tomorrow on the candles and body products.
This is so cool to hear about. What luck for you to be just exactly in the right spot at the right time! Looking forward to The Parisian Perfume Adventures of Koenigsberg, Part 3…sorry if that sounds like the title of an Enid Blyton book!
Oh yay! I commented about Eris after seeing Part One. I’m so glad you got to experience the line. Ma Bete was my favorite of the three, with Night Flower a close second.
That’s brilliant. What a great experience to have had. Hurry up with episode 3.
Chance or destiny, Koenigsberg? 😉
A tiny bit of Mitzah to warm me up and quell some bad stomach vibes 🙁
Hope it worked!
Testing Le Mat by Mendittorosa, which seems to be an incredibly delicious rose. Will definitely be testing this one further. 🙂
Lazy Sunday morning here…just cooked breakfast for my husband (we’re following the Canadian Father’s Day calendar because I didn’t get it together to celebrate German Father’s Day…oops). I wore Tauer Lonesome Rider yesterday, and I can still smell a hint of it around. It was a bit of an offbeat choice from the sample basket yesterday, but it worked. We’ve had weird weather in Germany for weeks, and yesterday was no exception: alternately sunny and warm-ish (20C) and stormy and colder. It was a nice to catch a whiff of smoke and leather while being attacked by a herd of marauding baby goats while we were at the zoo, anyway. I doubled down on it for the evening, when we had dinner with a friend of my husband’s, which is probably why I’m still smelling it.
I probably had Tauer at the back of my mind, anyway, as I saw a post on Facebook about his Rose Delight body oil this week and bought a bottle (I’m a sucker for rose and reasonable prices, and I’ve got to order this stuff while I’m still in Europe and shipping is easier, right?).
Now to get ready for my day and figure out what to wear for Sunday’s SOTD…
I saw that Tauer announcement too. Do please report back — would love to hear how it is.
Wearing Aqua di Parma Iris Nobile EdP from a lovely package by Ann S, it is a treasure, thank you!
I really love this iris-mimosa so far, it is a warm iris and fits the day perfectly. I am better after an exhausting few weeks, and wish everyone here well.
Good to hear you are feeling better. Did you make it to Céleste after all?
AdP Iris Nobile is a wonderful scent, you smell great.
Yes, see my reply to your comment on visiting Wevelgem! I made it, and it was a treat after an intense hearing at the RvS (our appeal to lax provincial permits that will cause damage to the forests here may have a good chance according to our lawyer, after a last minute stressful hickup we did well, and I was impressed with this institution). I loved the Hague, and ofcourse, saw various governmental VIP’s in suit and tie on bikes…Loved Celeste, see my reply to you. Lovely shop, went home with loads of samples.
Watched 4 soccer games yesterday, which was probably one too many. (But the Euros and the Copa America are happening! Too much goodness at once.). I tested Jo Malone Nectarine Blossom and Honey, which ended up being too sweet for my tastes.
I have a question about the Hermes travel sets – are they available at the boutiques, or online only? I didn’t see any evidence of them at the store.
In Europe they are for sale at the boutiques. Single ones are also often for sale on Ebay.
I think NYC has a Hermes boutique just for their perfume-you can give them a call
In the U.S. at least you can order them on-line. There’s the nomad set and the hermessence set – with scroll down lists for you to pick your four. Hope that helps!
Even the tiny Hermes boutique near me has them. They aren’t on display, you have to ask.
Sunday morning here. Sent Adorable Hubby off to a day of learning how to Scythe. I stayed here with the plan of tending to the sadly neglected garden, but now that he has found where he was going, he won’t be calling for more directions and what not, so I think I will make myself a nice cup of coffee and read the newspapers…
Today, I am sampling Diptyque’s Do Son, as a potential gardenia fragrance for my collection. I have used up a sample of Creed’s Gardenia, which is very nice, but $$$! Do Son so far is also very nice. I am trying to avoid getting a sample VCA Gardenia, which by all accounts is extremely nice, and more $$$. Anyone have favorite alternative Gardenias?
Actually, I googled VCA Gardenia Petale, and Beauty Spin came up with a 64% off sale, so I went to Beauty Spin, and they also have VCA Bois d’Iris 64% off, so I got a big bottle of that for $138.00, down from the $300 or so it normally is. PSA here, not affiliated in any way…
You got a fab 25% discount but not 64%. The normal price of the 2.5oz is $185….unless there’s a larger bottle….
Good morning everyone- it is looking to be a beautiful warm Sun(ny)Day, right here next to the Chesapeake Bay! Thanks to all for your good wishes, as I prepare switching from working nights to days. I was so exhausted driving home from work the other morning, that I could feel myself drifting off to sleep while I was driving. So I pulled over to a rest stop on the highway, to take a nap in my car for a couple of hours before I could finish driving home. Well a 2-hour nap later, I woke up feeling refreshed to continue the journey home and…nothing…dead battery…I fell asleep with my headlights left on!! So I had to notify someone in the rest stop to send a vehicle recovery truck out to give me a jumpstart; oh my did I feel embarrassed, but the guy was really nice and said that his job was all about rescuing damsels in distress. Well that little adventure clinched it, I just cannot do night shift anymore.
So celebrating the day with my first trip this year to a local farmer’s market with the intent to find culinary inspiration for dinner tonight. Whatever I find, it is definitely going to involve some kind of grilling outside and I will be dining al fresco….. I decided to wear Hermes Eau de Rhubarbe Ecarlate layered with some body lotion & soap of L’Occitaine’s Pamplemousse Rhubarbe for my trip to the farmers market. Still contemplating what to wear later tonight while dining. I am saving Dasein’s Summer for tomorrow to celebrate solstice and I love the unusual cilantro note in that one; which brings me to 2 quick questions about food notes in fragrance for my fellow NSTers
1. What is your favorite food, herbal, or spice note in a fragrance and a perfume which it takes center stage in the composition?
2. I absolutely adore the smell of basil! I have grown all kinds of basil in my garden; anise, cinnamon, several Italian & Thai varieties, purple, holy (tulsi), lemon, lime, bush, African Blue, even an heirloom variety from Eritrea. I never get tired of the smell and I find each variety has subtle differences in aroma, although when you sniff them, you know you’re smelling basil. So I know of Demeter’s Basil, but would love to hear of any recommendations of other perfumes out there that feature basil as the predominant note.
Off to the market smelling like a walking rhubarb!!
🙂
I’m not well-sniffed enough to have a list of basil-centrics, but I quite liked Guerlain AA Mandarin Basilic though the citrus is really the star. And the unfortunately discintinued Diptyque Virigilio, of which I had a decant, but should’ve bought while it was still around.
And I rear ended someone while driving home after working a night shift many years ago. I stopped driving to work after that. Pretty scary. I’d done a few of those pull-over-and-naps which were equally uncomfortable and disorienting. I’m sooo glad I don’t do that anymore.
Yes, those few moments when you wake up and realize you are not sleeping in your bed are very disconcerting. Driving while sleepy is no laughing matter; I am glad that you did not have a major accident – my father had a car accident when he was only 39 years old because he fell asleep while driving and crashed into a telephone pole. He didn’t survive.
Thanks for reminder – I remember sniffing several of the Guerlain AA line and the Herba Fresca pops to mind, but I should revisit this one.
I think my favorite gourmand is Frapin 1697, which smells like cognac and creme brulee. Next would be S-Perfumes 100% Love which is a chocolate rose scent that reminds me of chocolate raspberry truffles.
AG Eau du Sud is a wonderful cologne with a touch of herbs, including basil, although not so much that I think “basil!” when I smell it. I love it in late August/September when summer is coming to an end and wild plants start to dry out and smell good.
100% Love is a very original perfume :^)
Yes, noticing now that you found it sweet-sour, which is very different from my experience with it. I bought mine around 2009 or 2010, so I wonder if reformulation has changed it?
Anything with herbal notes and “Sud” in its name is worth a sniff for me. I don’t think I have tried this one – only Eau d’Hadrien.
Outdoors and daylight and fresh air and BBQ – yay!
Favourite ‘food’ note probably the rhubarb in Hermès “Rose Ikébana”, with honourable mentions to spiced milk in Carner Barcelona “Palo Santo” and banana custard in Guerlain “Cuir Beluga” (YMMV on this last one).
Basil is a recognisable note in Caron “Yatagan” and Tom Ford “Italian Cypress”, but not *the* featured note in either of them.
I found one farmer who had fresh fava beans!!! And when he found out I had cooked in the south of France while doing my culinary apprenticeship, he threw in a bunch of sorrel for free!! Then I went to the Middle Eastern grocery store to buy rose water (which I use as a face toner), and ended up buying way more than I should, but the store owner gave me some Turkish bread and fresh basil (!) for free as well. I was trying to convince him to import some perfumes from the Middle East to his shop as well.
Thanks for the suggestions. That is what I was suspecting —there are perfumes out there that are basily, but don’t really feature it as the note. I will be on the look out for these.
I just got a small bottle of California Chocolate (Olympic Orchids) which is like a liqueur chocolate/ jaffa cake. Not too sweet or syrupy.
I made a visit to Twisted Lily yesterday eve to sniff the new Amouage Myths and to spend a gift card from my birthday last month. PSA they’re having a 15% off Father’s Day discount in store only, for any locals out there.
I only sniffed the Myths on paper and was not struck by either. And the women’s pink to purple ombré bottle looks a little Britney Spears-ish in person, frankly.
I ended up buying Jardains D’Ecrivains Marlowe of which I drained 2 samples. But I’m also really smitten with Andrea Maack Coven and am resisting the temptation to buy it. It’s grassy and earthy and a tad boozy. Love it, but thinking that it’s a bit too strange for everyday wear.
Contrats on your new bottle of Marlowe! I just reread Kevin’s review of this one, sounds a bit daring.
Thanks! I read that review, but am not finding it quite as daring as he did. I actually think it’s pretty wearable. Mostly I get a peachy osmanthus and what smells like frankincense. I maybe get something only slightly musty and old.
Happy Simple Sunday! SOTD is CSP Coco Figue which is appropriately nonsensical and matches my Simple Sunday OOTD which is nonsensical obnoxiously bright spin crops, oversized grey boyfriend T-Shirt, and .50 cent flip flops. Cheers from a Style Maven ????
You look and smell mahvelous, darlink! LOL!
Lazy Sunday here, lying under the fan with the dogs, wearing Tauerville Fruitchouli. It’s a good day. 🙂
Morning, all. Meh. It’s Monday, and though I am almost perfectly well, I somehow am not excited about going to work. I spent an indecisive 5 minutes wondering about a perfume to conquer mehness, but nothing sprang to mind, which says far more about my mind at the moment than it does about the perfumes I own. Anyway, I asked the dear man to choose: he selected Angel Innocence because, he says, I am neither angelic nor innocent Hmmmm. I thanked him sincerely for his help and sprayed Coromandel….
LOL. 🙂 Men are so helpful.
Someone else’s choice often brings into relief what we really prefer. 🙂
A fabulous frosty morning after a wonderful night of bright full moonlight. Almost the shortest day here and off for a walk soon through the dark forest with the city lights and harbour below. I love these pre dawn walks when the air is cold and the birds are calling and the forest is a bit spooky and has an enchanted quality. Very primal…possibly because the emphasis is on sound rather than sight. The pine needles catch the light first and have a weird orange glow…like street lamps. I want a crisp cool perfume so will go with Cristalle and then add Eau Premiere.
Oh, how beautiful! Your post brought tears to my eyes. I am so glad your sort of experience still exists in this poor little country of ours! Don’t come to Auckland, Kanuka. It’s a silly place. The lunacy is definitely loose here!
Part 3: As I was saying, by sheer chance I found out Friday that the little convention centre opposite my short-term apartment in Paris was having an Alternative Perfume exhibition – a trade show that opened to the public on Saturday.
Although I went to see the perfumes, there were some interesting cosmetics and other exhibitors there as well. In fact the first people we spoke to were Prismologie, who have a very colourful line -m check out the images on Google. Their idea is matching shower gels and lotions that use gemstones, scents and colours to map out a ‘dawn to dusk’ routine. I really liked the citrus blast and bright yellow of their early morning offering (citrine & bergamot), and the massage candle for evening was also glorious (sapphire & oud). If I hadn’t run out of money by the afternoon I would likely have picked up some gel, despite the €40 price tag.
We also spoke to ‘Ho Karan’ from Britanny, who unite products from the sea (seaweed, crushed shells) and land (hemp, herbs, sand). The idea is to evoke a walk along the shoreline, with the sea on one side and the land on the other. They aim their range at men; I bought a moisturiser and the other Mr. Koenigsberg got an after-shave balm.
‘Un Soir à l’Opéra’ was set up by a woman who wanted to unite her passions for perfume and for opera and ballet. I loved her set of scented candles, inspired by Swan Lake, The Magic Flute and more. The candles are pricey but we couldn’t resist the 2015 version of ‘Swan Lake’, which smelled of a grassy walk beneath the trees alongside a flower-rimmed lake. (The 2016 version has moved to pure coconut wax and reformulated scents, which is what we smelled and liked. It is the 2015 version that is a bit of a risk for us). The price lists were done up as scrolls of sheet music tied with black ribbons, so as well as smelling great their visuals were spot-on.
A company called ‘Caron’ – but not *the* Caron – was promoting their range of coffees. They had a cold drip coffee on the stand, the first time I have seen such a thing in person although it was mentioned here on NST not long ago. Very tasty, but I don’t think I’m the ideal customer because when I want coffee it can’t come too soon. I won’t be planning it 8 hours in advance. Also we have a small kitchen and I can’t justify the space those cold filter units take up.
The Irish company ‘Brooke & Shoals’ was looking to get their scented candles and reed diffusers into the French market. These were pleasant, not as accomplished as the ‘Un Soir…’ crew but about a third of the rice and clearly targeting a different market. I got a spicy/woodsy candle which will be nice later in the year.
Our last non-perfume purchase was from eJove, who were showing Aloe Vera products. We’ve seen aloe vera grown in the Canary Islands and it turns out that’s where these guys source theirs too, so we had a nice chat. Got some gel and eye balm – the gel was fabulously refreshing just rubbed onto the hands. They were however more expensive than we had expected, so next time we’ll get them on the islands!
At this stage we had been 4 hours at the exhibition and the other Mr. Koenigsberg was getting restive, so we went off to walk around Paris. Of course the weather, which had been clear and sunny while we were indoors, changed to clouds and rain and we got pretty wet walking down to the Ile de la Cité. A visit to Mariage Frères and great Jewish food just off the Rue des Rosiers cured the resulting grumpiness.
It feels like an aside – it *is* an aside – but SOTD yesterday was Etat Libre d’Orange “Delicious Closet Queen” and today was Profumi del Forte “Roma Imperiale”. Neither was a success on me; short lived raspberry yesterday, and the ghosts of flowers dancing on the grave of an anaemic vanilla today.
Hello Koenigsberg !
Very interesting 3 posts.
Thanks for sharing.
I have an Ajmal oudh scent and it is strong and sh$tty – but in a good way! LOL. 😉
Thanks Bear. I didn’t sniff their oud, for fear I should love it. It was €290 exhibition price!
The whole day–the perfumes, the walk, the food, the company, too–sounds perfect. Pity about the rain, but you get that sometimes.
Perfect for me, for sure. Some other weekend I’ll do 4 hours at a record fair to make it up to the other Mr. K. :^)
Thank you for the interesting reports from Paris, I really enjoyed reading them!
It was a pleasure to share – both because it was fun, and because I’ve learned so much from NST that it was nice to have something to contribute. :^)
I started the day with Osmanthe Yunan, again so pretty, and so brief. Will have to follow it with something fun and not overwhelming…