Happy Fourth of July weekend to everyone in the US! Many of you have Monday off, I'm sure. We're celebrating with our standard-issue open thread poll: talk about anything you like — the perfume you’re wearing today, the last fragrance you wore that delighted and amazed you, whatever.
Or, ask a question about fragrance, then see if anyone else has asked a question that you can answer…
Note: image is Fireworks [cropped and background extended] by Holley And Chris Melton at flickr; some rights reserved.
Sampling Fleurdenya from Francesca dell’Oro, a lovely gardenia centered white floral. This seems to be my year for gardenia– sampled the Olivine line, then Gardenia Batik from Soivohle is my favorite recent purchase, and this one is probably on my buy list
I would not mind having a year of gardenia!
I haven’t sampled Fleurdenya, yet. It sounded like *too much* for summer weather. . . how is it cooperating for you? I do like some BWFs in warm weather (a dab of Carnal Flower or something jasminey), but mostly, I think they are too quick to overwhelm.
I planted a couple “hardy” gardenias in my yard this year, and I fear they are failing. They flower wonderfully, and as I put them at the front door, they waft their fragrance into the house, but the leaves are very yellow. My research online says that this is a common problem, even with the hardier ones. I’ve sprinkled my coffee grounds around the base of each the past few days. *Fingers crossed* it’s just a pH issue. . .
I tend to prefer big white florals in warm weather so it’s fine by me
This from a woman who totally rocks the White Shoulders.
I’m not a white flower person, but I do like smelling it on other people.
I gave this a try this morning. I got a big whiff of Big League Chew bubble gum with the gardenia! And it didn’t last more than a few hours. I’ve decided to switch to Carnal Flower this afternoon.
Generally, I’ve been very pleased with the quality of this line. Have you tested any other of her scents?
I’m continuing my Olivia Giocobetti theme with Fou d’Absinthe. All of a sudden I’m loving it.
Yay 🙂
I was thinking about Fou, Azemour and Robin last night. When I sampled Fou (dabber) I thought it was very pleasant but I probably didn’t need it. Later at Ari’s I changed my mind and am glad I bought it. Now I’m wondering about Azemour also, as I had the same reaction to it initially. The “pleasant” dabbers seem to indicate easy wear in spray form. Robin, as I recall, you went for Azemour right away, but came around to Fou in time?
Yes, that’s true! But Azemour reminded me of fresh chypres I already loved, so that was an easier sell 🙂
Fou d’Absinthe smells like a gin and tonic—refreshing!
So, I should be outside in the garden on a day as perfect as this one is where I live. But instead I’m inside — obsessing over perfume. I’m pretty new to this, but have been driven over the edge by a huge haul of mostly unopened old perfumes I bought at a garage sale. There are some bottles of old Cabochard and I can’t stop sniffing it! I’m truly, truly in love. There’s something in there — is it the leather, or something animalic, maybe? — that’s just entrancing. People describe this perfume as a sex-worker’s perfume (can’t bring myself to use the other word). But it doesn’t smell “dirty” to me — just rich, complex, with something that literally almost makes my mouth water. Wish I had a better nose so I could really tease this out!
Woohoo! Sounds like you have an excellent day ahead of you! 😀
Congratulations! What else was in the box? There are plenty of Cabochard fans over here, it’s definitely a tough-smoky, and not inappropriate vintage frag.
I’m with JJ, inquiring (and impatient) minds want to know– what else was in the box? 🙂
That doesn’t mean I’m not looking forward to individual reviews as you sample each one.
Sorry so slow to answer. I finally got myself out to work and away from perfume bottles! There’s so much stuff in that carton. I haven’t begun to try it all. She seemed to like chypres… Seems like mostly things from 70s, 80s. Will report in as I try them!
Happy Fourth of July to all US friends out there.
I’m wearing Dilettante by Hiram Green today. The sample has arrived earlier this week and today I’m wearing it for the first time. It’s a lovely summer fruity-floral I will definitely review on the blog soon.
By the way, did you hear the news that L’Oreal has acquired Atelier Cologne? There are articles around on the internet. It’s one of the first fragrance houses I fell in love with after discovering the perfume world outside department stores perfumeries. I don’t know how much independence the brand will have… gives me shivers.
I think I should just buy Mimosa Indigo and Encens Jinhae, been wanting to add them to my collection for a while.
Oh no! Loreal has not done well by it’s fragrance lines.
Now they have Atelier Cologne in their hands. Wonder if the brand will deteriorate 🙁
I have been reassured, so far, that the Malle line seems untouched since purchase by Estee Lauder. I know, different companies, but I can sympathize with your fears. When such distinctive houses get purchased by giants, it’s hard not to think they will lose much of what made them special.
AC is unique though in that it has had a lot of success on its own, as Ari mentioned below. They have the “easy” line and an expensive line, are represented in various sites around the world…. i can only see more boutiques and perhaps ancillary products like candles and lotion.
I’m actually breathing a sigh of relief that it isn’t a brand I love. Of course I do hope it turns out well for their fans. I’ll be happy as long as they still make Mistral Patchouli.
Lucasai,
Seems that Atelier is very happy with the deal:
“Our encounter and love story led to the creation of Atelier Cologne,” said Ms. Ganter and Mr. Cervasel, in a joint statement. “Today, another dream comes true as we join the L’Oréal Group with a shared ambition to reach new heights keeping the entrepreneurial spirit of our maison.
“We are delighted to benefit from the group’s retail and digital expertise and L’Oréal Luxe’s olfactory expertise to make the brand even more successful.”
Of course they are happy. Their pockets just got filled with handfuls of dollars!
Happy 4th of July weekend!
I am layering Bird of Paradise and Savage Garden by Thorn & Bloom today. Its working..
If bottles from this line fell from the sky onto my lap I would be happy..
Have a great long weekend and everyone smells ah-mazing!
And tea this morning is MF French Breakfast..
L’Artisan Parfumeur Fleur de Carrotte. GIACOBETTI FOR PRESIDENT!
Virginia is looking at thunderstorms all day on the 4th, which is dreadfully inconsiderate. I hope we’ll still get fireworks!
Hi Ari,
what’s your point of view on L’Oreal acquisition of Atelier Cologne? I know you’re a fan of the brand too.
You’ll wish you’d never asked, Lucas! I have a LOT of thoughts on the subject.
On the one hand, it’s such wonderful news for Atelier Cologne. When you think about it, they’ve really taken themselves exceptionally far as an independent brand (aligning themselves with Sephora, Birchbox, etc). They’ve certainly earned this success, and I’m sure that they’ll do everything in their power to preserve the quality and the message of their brand.
From the articles I’ve read, this seems to be L’Oreal’s first niche fragrance brand acquisition. That’s my only real concern. That lack of experience with niche is a little nerve-wracking.
And, last but not least, I selfishly hope that they’re not going to become too big for a little perfume shop in DC! This is the first time one of our brands has crossed over from independent, and I’m honestly not sure what to expect. Hoping for a happy, Orange Sanguine-scented ending!
They surely had a great success just by themselves. They created so many beautiful perfumes, made a deal with Sephora. Those are all great achievements.
I really hope the quality of Atelier Cologne will continue, at the moment I’m seriously thinking if I should get Encens Jinhae or Mimosa Indigo. And I hope they won’t reformulate anything under L’Oreal or I will have to stock Rose Anonyme and Silver Iris.
I put on Roca Lemon Cloud today. Nice for an overcast summer day.
I read that as “Roca Lemon Curd” and the most wonderful lemon custard and caramel flavor came to mind. 🙂
And I read yours as “Roca Lemon Crud” … what the —
Clearly, we all need more coffee. And maybe a lemon pastry. 🙂
I read it correctly. Does that mean I can’t have more coffee and a lemon pastry? 🙁
Here, you go–I have extras! 🙂
Today I’m trying TDC’s Le 15. Uh oh, I might be falling.
Coumarin – this has been on my wish list since released. Please let us know how far you have fallen ?
It’s definitely arresting especially knowing it’s limited edition. And hard to track down. I told myself my next bottle world be MFK’s Absolue Pour le Soir but I could be persuaded. 😉
It is hard to find. I am always telling myself what the bottle is, but something else always pops up!!
I have and love the MFK
I think it is a great scent as well… But since I put it out of sight it’s been out of mind…. But you might have just reawakened the dog! Now where did I put that sample?
What is TDC?
The Different Company.
Sampling today, with Elizabeth Arden’s Pretty on one hand and Vince Camuto’s Fiori on the other. They smell very similar, sort of a laundry sheet floral, but in a good way 🙂
Learned that there is a big difference between osmanthus and linden, and that the gorgeous smelling trees with the little white flowers all over town are linden, not osmanthus. . . .
LOOOOVE Linden trees! My favorite city park of all time (Laurelhurst Park here in Portland–an Olmsted park, for those who care :] ) has a section full of Linden trees and it is heavenly when they are in bloom. And the filtered light as the leaves flutter on their petioles. . . sigh.
I would drive down the street with the car windows open, taking great, gasping sniffs. Not quite hanging out the car window, but close 🙂
As an Olmsted lover–we have at least two of his parks in Rochester–I care. But linden trees aren’t as prominent here, boohoo. Did you know that the linden tree motif was common on 19th century gravestones, at least in this region?
Oh, interesting about the Linden motif! I like to wander the old cemetaries around town, and I haven’t noticed Linden designs, but now I will be on the lookout for them. It’s possible Portland is too young.
And somehow, I *knew* I’d find a few Olmsted appreciators amongst this crowd. We all have such very good taste, after all. 🙂
Full on brag: Oakland’s Mountain View Cemetery is by Olmsted. A totally beautiful spot. I think it is his only cemetery. If you are an Olmsted fan, be sure to google it!
Thanks, OF! If I’d known this earlier, we totally would have gone there when we were in the Bay Area this spring. It’s going onto the “next time” list. Looks beautiful!
karen B, I used to chair the House (bldg) Committee at First Universalist, across from Xerox Square – an Olmstead.
I do remember linden trees at the corner of South Ave and Linden Street (appropriately) when I’d park to go to dr’s appts.
Uh, First Universalist is an Olmstead building, not Xerox Square.
Which parks are Olmstead?
Central Park is the most famous Olmsted park. They are distinctive in that they usually have walkways around them with spaces for activities on lawns in the interior. Mature trees are always a part of the design as well.
In Portland, the Olmsted brothers (sons of papa Olmsted), helped design the city so that there wouldn’t be any home further than a mile from a park. If you are “close in” (near the rivers), their vision is pretty much come to be! Sadly, we have not had that much foresight in developing the outer (and poorer) neighborhoods.
We are at the tail-end of linden season here in Cleveland. Heavenly!
Where in Cleveland? The first half of my life was spent in Lakewood!
Love linden! The tree in my front yard has just finished its bloom cycle, but when it’s in full bloom it smells heavenly.
Oh, I did not know that linden blossom can be white. It is golden-yellow here.
This morning only Amouage Gold would do.
I wish I still had some of the original version — that was a great scent.
Other than a remnant of the Bronze Goddess cream + edc dosing from last evening, I am scentless this morning. Might have to return to that combo post-gym today. Really wonderful!
PSA for those who didn’t see it yesterday–a rare discount code for OJ products is available this weekend. 25% off with the code SUMMER. You’re welcome. 🙂
Really is a good deal, thanks for posting it again!
I tend to “hoard” my to-buy list until there are good deals (resulting in buying a lot around Christmas, usually). I figure, in case there’s someone else around who does the same and NEEDS a bottle of Woman, Ta’if, etc, this is a good chance to fulfill that need. Seems like they used to have a deal just about once a month, but it’s been much more miserly over there in the past few years. (Still, better than Chanel, though. Do they EVER do sales?)
I don’t think any designer brands do fragrance mark downs. At least, I’ve never seen it.
I put on Dzing! to relax (and participate!) before bed last night, and accidentally spilled a bunch of the vial, and thus magically still smell it now, in its nutty drydown…
Drat! Dzing was what I intended to wear today and then forgot. Your bedroom smells delish.
It was more on me (and I have wood floors, not carpet) so it’s sadly gone with my morning shower…
Well, if you’re going to end up spilling something on yourself, that’s not a bad way to go! You smell great.
I’ve spilled worse!
hahaha
Unfortunately, I have to work 12 hours tomorrow, and 7 hours on Monday. Drat. Followed by an 8 hour work day on Tuesday, my birthday. But making the most of today, hosting a gathering with friends, and wearing BK Rose Oud. Sometimes it sucks working for a shelter, but the cats and dogs can’t give you a day off. For all the rest of you, enjoy your 3-day weekend!
You’re wracking up so, so much karma by spending your birthday at a shelter. And I’m sure the animals will greatly appreciate you being there on Monday when the fireworks start.
Happy Birthday in advance! Don’t let the world dictate your calendar for you, take several days off later to do exactly what you want to celebrate.
I agree with Ari about all the good karma. My best friend celebrates a whole birthday month to deal with such interruptions.
Hope it is a wonderful birthday, whatever day you celebrate it!
Happy 4th US NSTers!
Terracotta for me today.. sprayed a ton of this one and imaging I’m sitting on the beach even though I’m sitting in front of my laptop getting ready to study, ugh.
Gorgeous cool day in NYC. Sun is out, but temps have dropped a bit. Kind of like it. Hope to get outside later for a jog and dinner date with my birthday-boy husband.
Well Happy Birthday to your hubby. 🙂
Belated happy birthday to your husband. Hope it was a delicious dinner.
Testing out my new sample of Miss Dior Original scored at Saks yesterday and loving it! It bears little resemblance to the modern version, which I also like. The original is old-school chypre perfection.
Isn’t “old-school chypre perfection” redundant? ???? I’ve been thinking I’d like Original, so I’m glad to hear someone giving love; I’ll definitely have to try it now.
YES! I highly advocate Original. I also recommend you try out all the concentrations (extrait de parfum, esprit de parfum, & edt). They’re really quite, quite different. I can’t stand the modern pink one though.
Ouch! Sprayed SOTD Sampaquita directly on some new cat scratches on my neck. When being removed, Georgia digs in. Happy 4th of July and Canada Day weekend to all!
Thought we’d miss holiday traffic driving today, but no such luck. Fortunately I am wearing L’Attesa, my half Christmas present to myself. Car friendly and delicious. Happy weekend to all – who get one!
I like the new bottles!
Me too. And the sprayer is excellent.
Well I was boxing and storing some frags that have been sitting on the dresser and saw my humungo bottle of Patchouli Antique staring up at me from the drawer with it’s big, sad, Margaret Keane-esque eyes. I felt sorry for it so I sprayed a little behind each knee. Well I guess there is a reason why I don’t wear it often. Like a flash in the pan affair, I was infatuated with patchouli a couple years ago but it really is not my thing. 🙁
Anyone else have a perfume break up story?
Oh, yes. Mine is equally tragic. I fell in love with the light, clean jasmine of Killian’s Love and Tears. Tore through a spray sample and a large decant in about three months. My lovely mother was kind enough to buy me a beautiful big hand-painted bottle of it for Christmas that year and it turns out that what’s in my full-bottle smells sharp and a bit generic. I know it’s the real thing and so were the samples, but don’t know if there was a little reformulation or if it’s just my fickle nose. I do still wear it, but not nearly enough 🙁
hmm, could be reformulated or maybe the batch got tainted somehow. I wonder how strict the regulations are on batch consistency with perfumes? Some are always good (i.e. the Chanels) and others fluctuate quite a lot (some of the Carons and I”m sure there are many others) In any case, that’s really too bad about your Love and Tears (although the name of the perfume fits your experience of it very well). I’ve had decants of supposedly the very same perfume that I got in full bottle form and they smelled really different. This happened with Parfum Sacre. So far I have aquired three different PS EDP’s, two of them vintage, and nothing compares to the decant that I got from a kind NSTer.
🙁
Sanjini! I had this experience with Parfum Sacre as well! I went through a couple decants (donations from others, so NO IDEA the vintage), and I figured it was safe to buy the bottle. Ugh. Don’t. Like. It.
I have a nearly unused bottle of Parfum Sacre that I really should try to swap or donate to a good cause!
Perhaps it has been done before but perfume break up story would be a good Friday project, Robin…
I love that idea.
The Friday project could be called “Love and Tears: A perfume break up story”
Hard though, to ask people to wear the fragrance they have broken up with! Especially since they have likely gotten rid of it, one way or another 🙂
Good point.
How about “It’s Not Me, It’s You” instead then for all the perfumes you no longer reach for/plan to get rid of via swap or sale/will not replace when they run out because you just don’t have the feels for them anymore but you can still have one last guilt-free hurrah for the Friday project….we don’t judge here… 😉
I think this would be a lot of fun for a Friday theme! I have a couple relationships that ended badly and we are no longer on speaking terms. But, Lolita and I just grew apart and still occasionally get together to catch up over coffee 🙂
Haha! I broke up with Cuir Ottoman, but I still get the occasional bootie call.
I have found that the occasional hook-up is never as good as my memories of them. . . sigh. Still, when I get the “how’s things?” email, it’s hard to not reach out for what used to be so much fun! (MJ Bang keeps trying to remind me what a party animal he is, but I’ve since learned it’s just a facade in the top notes.)
hahaha! That’s so funny. Cuir Ottoman actually buys me dinner first, but can’t stay over because he has to go home and feed his parakeet.
Sajini, I’m often sorry I didn’t get Cuir Ottoman when it was available locally. What aspect of it did you fall out of love with?
On me, there’s something a little bit cloying about the leather/iris duo. Maybe it is another note that I can’t identify, but whatever it is sets my teeth on edge. You know when you first get together with a love interest and at first he/she seems so sparkling and smooth and gorgeous and then little by little over time there is something you can’t quite put your finger on that just drives you nuts when you are around them? I think it’s that. If we do the Friday project for this I would be interested in trying it again to see if I still have this reaction.
Interesting! I do definitely have mixed responses to iris-leather accords, in general.
Ah, that could be the way to do it…a last chance?
Yes! That would make for some really funny/interesting posts.
Happy 4th of July!
We had an outright deluge yesterday. Today, however, is blazingly sunny as usual, so I’m chillin’ in Aqua Allegoria Nerolia Bianca.
Have a wonderful weekend wherever you are, NSTers!
Whooohooo…. I am in bed with the French doors wide open to the sunshine, toggling between NST and my Nantucket explorers guide… Less than a week before we leave for ACK. No perfume yet, but I am tilting towards Azemour methinks.
Have not been there in years, but used to love Nantucket! Have a great time.
We’re taking the red-eye Friday night. Cannot wait. It has been over 10 years since my last visit. I am so excited!
I am pretty sure I have not been there in more like 18 years… I think the last I was there was before my son was born. And have not been to Martha’s Vineyard in even longer. We’ve been doing the Cape the last few years, so maybe at some point I’ll take a ferry over and see how the islands are doing 🙂
Meanwhile, wishing you a fantastic trip.
Busy weekend for us here. Lots of cleaning and shopping for our bbq on Monday. We’re expecting more people than we anticipated and still not sure how we’re going to fit everyone in our tiny yard. It’ll be cozy.
I’m wearing my new love Andrea Maack Coven. I think fans of grassy, boozy, earthy perfumes would enjoy this one.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Hope it is a perfect BBQ!
Wore folle de joie for a coffee run along the beautiful California 1 this morning. I will never take for granted how beautiful and wonderful it is to be able to live where I do. This perfume is really nice, I haven’t worn it in a long while.
Hwy 1 is gorgeous, drove it up the Sonoma coasrline earlier this year.
I used to live in Ventura and made it a rule that I had to drive up the 1 to Monterey at least once a year. My favorite portion was from Hearst Castle heading north to Santa Cruz. Of course, heading south on the 1 to Malibu was pretty awesome too!
I grew up in Camarillo. I miss it sometimes. PCH is one of my favorite drives, and love Monterey, too. So beautiful, so different from anywhere else I’ve visited.
Bijou Romantique! Oh my goodness, thank you Ellebelle for the sample 😉 .
This might be a love at first sniff, though I suppose I should wait to see how it wears on me. I have only ever smelled modern Shalimars, which don’t exactly suit my skin. But this might be the Shali for me. (though I will keep eyes open for a vintage cologne etc)
Yay!!! I’m so glad you like it! Bijou was definitely instant love for me. I think I brought a bottle the first time I smelled it and I never looked back
Enjoying my most recent purchase today, a partially used 50ml bottle of Jour d’Hermes Absolu, I have wanted a FB of this for over a year now, so very pleased.
I’ve been enjoying cataloguing my recent samples from AnnE- thanks again Ann!, I’m really enjoying looking them up on Fragrantica, and deciding when I am going to wear each one. I’m particularly looking forward to comparing vintage mitsouko to my more current one, and trying vintage patou’s moment supreme and Miss Dior pure parfum over the next few days.
Yum. I wish I had that one instead of the regular.
I’m doused in Bronze Goddess today. We are scheduled to close on a house outside Charlotte, NC in a couple weeks, and I find myself avoiding smelling anything unfamiliar, as if it would require more mental energy than I’ve got to spare. Go figure.
Have a relaxing weekend, everyone.
My younger son is the same with books. I’ll see him reading something he has read dozens of times before and he tells me, “I need some down time when I know what will happen next.” Don’t we all. Enjoy the familiar!!!
Smart boy!
Hey, twin! We smell good (and familiar)!
Best of luck with the house!
SOTD — after all that talk of gardenia, I went with Yves Rocher Pur Desir de Gardenia — shower gel and EDT. Also, I thought it might work as a sun dance.
I woke up with a lingering Fresh Cannabis Rose from yesterday. Drydowns last forever on me.
Drydowns forever!
I love it when that happens. 🙂
Library art reception over, Saturday shift almost done, and readier than I will ever be to get home to husband, cat, and air-conditioning. Wore Hermès Eau de Rhubarbe Écarlate as planned and feel very grateful to it for putting a much-needed “hustle in my bustle” today.
Enjoy a cool and relaxing evening!
You, too!????
Cool breezy day, perfect for Alien Essence Absolue.
Anoited myself with Andy’s Rose Delight body oil and then topped it off with Montale White Aoud. I smell divine. I’m blissed out on my scents today. 😉
That sounds like an awesome combo!
It really was. The oil by itself is heavenly, so worth it that I bought two more little bottles! lol I imagine you could layer many scents with it. 🙂
I’m wearing Iris 39 today. This is the only perfume I’ve ever worn that has elicited compliments from strangers. People I don’t know seem to love it on me!
I got complimented on this one as well! The other ones that elicited compliments were Kelly Caleche EDP and Puredistance White.
Can you two tell me what is so fabulous about it to you? I recently got to try a sample, and while it’s lovely, I think I don’t understand why it’s special and why everyone seems to love Le Labo so much.
I only have a sample of this, but I think what gets it (and other le labos) attention is that there’s something unexpected in the mix–the motor oil under the iris, in this case. Not for everyone to be sure, but it stands out amongst more expected perfumes. Once I wore this one and the fellow I was dating at the time had a full-on sense breakdown as it reminded him of something from his childhood.
I think that what makes this scent unique among the other iris scents I’ve tried is that it’s a warm scent. I find that Hiris and Iris Silver Mist (just two examples) evoke cool mornings and moist soil, while iris 39 reminds me of going for a walk on a hot day at noon and passing irises in a sunbaked garden. It smells like irises in a hot city.
Testing L’Attesa today…two smears from a dabber sample…I got fizz, the iris in Iris Cendre, leather and sour patch kids. I haven’t given it enough time to develop and will need to wear in again tomorrow with more dabs.
I’ll be packing this weekend for my upcoming vacation, a combination of a few days in Barcelona and then a 12-day Mediterranean cruise with port stops in Spain, France and Italy. Besides No.5 EDT which occupies a permanent spot in my suitcase, I will likely also bring No. 19 EDP, Cedrat Enivrant and maybe my unopened 8-pack sampler of the Sultan Pasha attars (and a paper clip). I’ll be keeping track of how many steps I take and will reward myself accordingly (200,000 steps = $200 and then an extra $75 for every 25,000 miles thereafter). My goal is to “earn” $350 🙂
What a fantastic reward program! Have a fantastic vacation!
Thanks, Sajini!
Huh I fortunately miss the sour patch kids portion of L’Attesa! Have a great trip.
I can actually see the appeal in L’Attesa but want to experience its development before committing to a bottle.
There are wonderful perfume shops in Barcelona!
Why do you need a paper clip? To pierce the sample bag? Or is there a more specific role the paper clip plays?
That’s a wonderful reward program! I should try to institute things like that in my life.
The Sultan Pasha Attars are not diluted in alcohol and are so concentrated that you only need a teensy amount so the paperclip tip will be the applicator
That sounds both fabulous and also terribly inconvenient. Is it unacceptable/sacrilegious to dilute them at home for easier application?
Have a wonderful trip!
Bon voyage, sounds fabulous!
Started the day in Czech & Speake “Cuba”, one of my pre-NST fragrances that I haven’t worn in a long time. In the afternoon, Parfum de Nicolaï’s “Patchouli Intense”, which for some reason reminds me of elderflower.
Enjoyed Canada Day festivities yesterday. After a long bike ride in the sun then too many beverages in the evening, taking everything very slowly today. Happy 4th of July to our American cousins!
Pichola for this evening, this is becoming a summer staple, I just love it.
You smell great — I really need to buy some of that.
SOTD was Le Galion Iris. I love it so much that I refilled the sample spray of it that hajusuuri sent me and gifted it to a friend who is on the hunt for a wedding perfume. She loves it too – here’s hoping her fiance doesn’t hate it. 🙂
Funny. I haven’t given my wedding perfume hardly any thought at all! I have a year to consider, but I suspect I will have to wait and see what the weather is doing. I *think* I’m ok just winging it, but maybe I should consider the fragrance associations more thoughtfully?
Sorry your friend has to convince her fiance of her choice–I feel very lucky that my Mr. Spicebomb doesn’t ever seem to mind my scent!
Last night, after work, my perfume wore off and I did wear Idole Extreme. It’s just nice but not bottle worthy for me even though the bottle is fabulous. Wore no 19 in edt form at work. Now I am wearing vintage Bal.
I am 100 % NOT ALLOWED to buy any perfumes right now. No FBs of course, but also no minis or samples. This is because I have enough perfume to last me two lifetimes, especially after the amazing freebiemeet, and also because it might be nice to start saving some of my graduate stipend for my move back to the US in what I shall optimistically call seven months. (Tips on cheap but reliable international moving services most appreciated; I’ll probably be asking again in a few months.)
Regardless, I stepped into Sephora this weekend to try out some Kenzos to see if I needed to overturn my blanket ban on Kenzo scents after the horror that is Kenzo Flower. I remembered that a lot of people had enjoyed Kenzo Jungle, so I tried that out, and…it is just fabulous! A more riotous, less sophisticated version of Féminité du Bois to my nose. FdB is super-high on my to-buy list–top five–once I am allowed to buy again, but Jungle is < 50 % of the price, and has got a super-cute elephant cap, sooooo I don't know. It's like a less extreme version of the case of the Indian-looking Hermès bracelet Robin once posted. Do you pay vastly more for exactly what you what? Or much less for 95 % of the happiness?
Not that I am buying anything. Because I'm not allowed to. Even though les soldes are raging through this country and things are becoming reasonably priced right and left.
Jungle L’Elephant can absolutely be had at a deal online. It’s been around for a while, and I’m not aware of much monkeying around with the formulation.
I don’t know any moving companies, but I’m loving a new travel app I got–Hopper. You put in your destination and the dates and it notifies you when the price for tickets gets low. It does all sorts of statistical analysis to determine what a good price is, and so far, it’s seemed pretty reliable!
I don’t pay full price for anything, but I particularly wouldn’t for anything sold at Sephora. It’s pretty much guaranteed that anything they carry will also be sold at discounters, and readily available on ebay. Don’t buy anything right now 🙂 because you’re not allowed to, but rest assured when you get back to the US mainstream scents are easy to come by at low prices.
Sit on your hands and wait till you get back to the US, the prices are so much better online there.
Thanks for the advice, everyone 🙂 I’ll do my very best to follow it!
Moving on to citrus colognes this Sunday, and starting with 4711 Lemon & Ginger.
No SOTD as yet. Heading into SF to visit a friend and enjoy the cooler temps. Am hoping she might be willing to venture to Tiger Lily this afternoon, even though fragrance is not her thing….
Theo Fennel Scent. I was so tempted yesterday by my sample of Bijou Romantique, but have been “not buying” since January. Scent is my only bottle in my self-imposed animalic/floral that BR would also fall into. Both delightful. But they are nothing alike. :-p
I spent yesterday layered in Atelier Bergamote Soleil, then added Eau de Cartier Zeste de Soleil to tamp down the Bergamote spices that overwhelm after an hour or so, and a few hours after that, topped it all with a generous dose of Pacifica Malibu Lemon Blossom. My skin doesn’t generally hold scent well, but some of the Ateliers last eons on me. I sprayed Bergamote around 9:30 a.m. and could still smell it past midnight.
I’m hoping Jour d’Hermes Gardenia’s lush cheerfulness will help to make today less bleak. I’m heading out to the farmer’s market in jeans, long-sleeved tee, fleece and a denim jacket. I’m in Seattle where June and the first half of July can’t usually be classified as “summer,” but this year seems exceptionally cold, wet and grey.
I’ve got to stop checking the weather forecast. Beginning in early June, it was 10 days of rain and temps in the 60s every time I looked. That persisted all through the month; same thing this morning. *cries*
A sunny but very windy day in Montreal – I doused myself in the cheerful Tauerville Fruitchouli. Need to get a vat of this stuff, I love it.