Happy Almost-Friday, happy Burger Day and happy birthday to Sean Connery! What fragrance are you wearing?
I'm barely awake in Calvin Klein CK2.
Reminder: on 8/26, wear a fragrance by Calvin Klein, if you have one.
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.
Inspired by Annicky wearing Coco Noir a few days ago, I am in the Parfum version.
Went thrift store shopping to some places NSTers recommended and I scored a Carven warm thick sweater, Emilio Pucci flats and a nice flannel shirt for $110 bucks
Nice haul!
Sounds like a great shopping trip. Haven’t found bargains like that in a very long time.
Oh, excellent deals!
And you smell very lush.
Wow!
Wow! Nice deals.
Have you tried Second Time Around? The UES shops are not bad.
I got some nice stuff from those UES locations over the years. They can be pricey though.
You do need to wait for the special extra savings.
That is where I went..not bad prices for what is on sale and I am surprised these fall items were on sale…. and the things I got were like new. The sweater you can still buy online on sale new for 279.00
Oooh – where’d you end up? Definitely sounds like 23rd Street served you well, though I could be guessing incorrectly.
Sweet! Where’d you go?
You did really well with the shopping.
What do you think of the Coco Noir parfum, is it worth getting it? I have the edp and wondering if the parfum is much different.
Personally, I like the parfum better than the EDP.
Do give it a try…
After I bought the parfum I basically gave up wearing the EDP
Here is a review Denyse over at Grain de music on the parfum
ttp://graindemusc.blogspot.com/2014/08/coco-noir-extrait-de-parfum-by-chanel.html
I’m still trying the Mugler Collection (or whatever it’s called) and my choice for today is Oriental Express. I really, really like it. It’s a soft, ambery iris with a slight gourmand twist.
To liven things up a notch I’m also wearing Vamp à New York and the combination works remarkably well. It’s very hot here in the Netherlands, at least by my northern standards.
Oooh, that Mugler sounds interesting.
I have been surprised it has not found more fans here — but maybe the distribution is too tight.
I tried all of them in a shop in June and they were kind enough to give me samples of the whole line. I must admit that I was more smitten with them then, than I am now. But Oriental Express is very, very good.
I didn’t know distribution was that limited, but it might explain why they are not more popular. I find them a tad too expensive for what they are, to be perfectly honest. I think they are all good, but none have blown my socks off, so to speak.
I suppose none of them really blew my socks off either — but thought they were just as good as any number of other overpriced luxury collections, let’s put it that way 🙂
And leave it at that 😉
I don’t know Vamp but I really like Oriental Express too. It’s a beautiful scent but quite expensive.
Vamp is absolutely gorgeous. It’s one of my most worn scents and I am more than halfway through my bottle.
Vamp is so much fun! What a shame if it is discontinued, as it seems.
It isn’t, the site still clearly shows it. Maybe it’s no longer available in the USA?
That is good news. In the US does not seem currently available, but maybe that will change.
Oriental Express proves that it is possible to update a classic theme and create something new and beautiful. It is unfortunate that the distribution is so limited, and that the collection is only available in those huge, heavy lead crystal bottles.
I agree. I would happily buy a set of smaller bottles but I don’t think I will invest in any of the big ones. However beautiful OE is.
This is my favorite and the only one I bought. Love it!
SOTD Robert Piguet Fracas. I think today I am sadly and finally breaking up my poor relationship with it. For years I have tried my best to love it or at least like it and I always fail. Just one spritz is overwhelming and very aggressive. Too creamy and sweet. It is a tuberose masterpiece without any doubts and I feel frustrated that it did not work for me.
We can appreciate a masterpiece, but we don’t have to like it.
Yes. I’ve heard others say they like a perfume ” intellectually”. Those fragrances are worthwhile for comparing, to revisit now and then, and to have for giving samples to other interested perfumistas. It’s ok if they aren’t worn. I think of them as museum perfumes-carefully curated.
Fully agreed with you.
I can’t imagine there’s a perfume fan alive who doesn’t hate some classics (Chanel No. 5 is famous for that) and appreciate others intellectually while not actually liking them. Shalimar is something I steer well clear of, though I get what it is from a historical and intellectual point of view. And I really tried!
I still have good and bad days with Chanel No. 5. The more I revisit it the more I like it. I have big hopes for this one to succeed.
I forced myself to enjoy it and feel good about it and it was a mistake. I know it is an amazing scent and I have a great appreciation for it. It is just not for me.
There are so many masterpieces I do not love! Leave the Fracas for me and you take something I don’t like 😉
Robin, you are more than welcome to take my bottle. Please let me know how to send it to you. I will be so happy if it goes to someone who really enjoys it 🙂
Oh dear, I did not mean literally, I meant theoretically — so sorry if it sounded like I was after your bottle! You are very kind but I have enough to last me 🙂
Robin, no need to apologize. Fracas will find another home and it will have better times there! ????
I can’t wear it full-on myself, either, but I like to give it a sniff occasionally. I have a smidge left of the shower cream and prefer the hint it leaves afterwards. I may take some of the parfum I have and mix it into some unscented body wash.
It is good that it works for you, at least partially. I tried the body lotion also. Even though the scent was softer, I could not handle it well.
I have a shoulder if you need one for your Fracas break up
Lovestosmellgood, sorry I missed your comment earlier. My pleasure if you want to give Fracas a new home. Please send me your email and I will get in touch with you.
The same thing happened to me, and I was very disappointed in myself. Then I fell for Carnal Flower… and then just the other day I started wondering if CF is following in the footsteps of Fracas… My solution? I put them both in a drawer for several months will see what happens when I revisit.
I have yet to sample Carnal Flower, but as you say I am afraid it follows Fracas footsteps. I will try and hopefully I will be luckier 😉
If you live in the US, I would be delighted to send you some CF! I’d love to hear your feedback on the set up date with the newer hipper tuberose… Let me know your email and I’ll get in touch.
Okland, that it is very sweet of you. Thanks a lot. And I would also be delighted to try CF and let you know if a new tuberose wins my heart and senses this time. My email is monica67@aol.com. Thanks.
I never fell in love w/ Fracas either but I keep trying
Good luck Elisa! I hope you can finally enjoy it in full.
Back to the grind today (reports….). Had a lot of fun at yesterday’s Spirit Day. We played games outside next to the building and it was HOT! I don’t know how people could keep drinking. I could barely finish one beer and then had to drink iced water the rest of the day.
It’s very chill in the office with most people taking advantage of the voluntary WFH that was offered for today. I’m struggling to stay awake, sucking down my cold brew coffee and wearing Eau Premiere.
Sorry it is back to the grind today — I might need a cold brew coffee pretty darned soon myself.
It’s ok. I pretty much knew what was going to be like when I saw that Spirit Day was in the middle of the week. It’s nice that there’s so few people here because I’ve gotten a LOT of work done.
I am surprised after all of that you showed up for work..:) And you smell great..
I didn’t drink a lot and took it easy when I got home. It’s a skeleton crew in the office and easy to get a lot of work done with so few people here.
Cold brew coffee+Eau Premiere is a perfect morning. Keep at it!
Thanks! Cold brew coffee has been my savior this summer.
Oud and Bergamot (Jo Malone). Dry and crisp to counteract the heat and humidity.
Nice!
Twins!
A very nice one for this suffocating weather.
JM Oud and Bergamot is so nice!
As Austenfan comments, it is hot here for us, a bit too much for my comfort zone.
I am wearing Diptyque’s Lait Frais bodylotion, with a few spritzes of one of my early Perfumista purchases: Pacifica Nerola Orangeblossom. It is lovely and fits the heat.
Lucky you….that is a discontinued one.
It is still available in the Netherlands in on-line natural cosmetics shops.
It’s hot, isn’t it? Mind you I am at work right now where the AC is doing it’s work.
Your fragrance sounds interesting.
It is a nice orangeblossom, but your remark about Vamp reminds me I was going to buy a FB, it is such a gorgeous scent.
I must say, I am glad this heat won’t last long, I do much better in cool temps. My home office is on the south, so it gets really hot! I feel for all those NY NST’ers who suffered the heat for weeks on end.
Did Place Vendome give you the Mugler samples? I received a whole bunch found them also a bit overpriced.
They did!
I wish I could go with you! I would love to go.
I hit reply to the wrong thread. Sorry.
As chocolatemarzipan says, you are lucky to access the Nerola Orange Blossom! It’s a very realistic neroli, isn’t it? (I learned not to wear it if I will be outdoors a long time because the one time I did, a bee kept following me around trying to pollinate me! ????)
I’m wearing Shalimar Initial today.
In less than two weeks I leave for my vacation in France (Paris, Bordeaux, Grasse, Cannes). My husband and I have been planning this trip for almost a year. He is very patient with my perfume “lovelife”, and the first day we arrive in Paris is going to be my perfume day.
I’m planning visits to Chanel, Caron and Guerlain. I’m also looking forward to shopping at Galeries Lafayette and seeing their beauty department.
I’ll take any suggestions for eating, shopping, sightseeing and perfume sniffing anyone here has to offer ☺
Oh have a great trip!
My rec would be to go to Jovoy which isn’t too far from Galleries Lafayette. Great sniffing and a calm oasis. It was the highlight of my one and only trip to Paris.
That, and pastries…and cheese
The Jovoy shop is a great experience; I left with a bunch of samples despite not buying a thing. I shall return.
If you’re on Rue de Castiglione anyway, you have Annick Goutal a few doors down, Le Labo and Roger & Gallet around the corner, and both Serge Lutens and Parfums de Rosine in the Palais Royal very nearby.
Meanwhile a stroll through the Renaissance Marais district (lunch on Rue des Rosiers if you fancy Middle Eastern Jewish food?) you have Parfums de Nicolaï, État Libre d’Orange, L’Artisan, another Goutal and Sens Unique.
When I visited the Roger & Gallet shop last Nov. it was late in the day and the SAs were waiting on a very elderly woman who was the epitome of chic. I just enjoyed lingering in the shop listening to her speak french with the SAs as she decided on which soaps to buy.
how wonderful! I would’ve stayed also and listened 🙂
I wish we had more time in Paris. We’re only going to be there for two days. The Middle Eastern Jewish food sounds wonderful, but I know we won’t have time to visit all the different fun places in Paris.
1 day for the Marais incl Jewish lunch, Notre Dame with ice cream at Berthillon on the Isle St. Louis, and the Left Bank including a pop into the Cluny museum and Alsatian food at Brasserie Lipp for dinner (that’s sausages and sauerkraut, not Pedigree Chum). 1 day for Jovoy and the Palais Royal, a peek at the Louvre, a 1-hour cruise on the Seine, Eiffel Tower visit and evening in Montarte. Sorted.
Montmartre! Stoopid Samsung autocorrect!
Which Jovoys did you like the best, Koenigsberg?
Would you believe I didn’t know Jovoy as a brand, so wandered in and asked for recommendations. They tried a bunch of things from Parfums d’Empire through to Profumum Roma, but nothing from Jovoy itself. Favourite was Ambre Russe. :^)
Pd’E is a great line! I’ve tested a couple of Jovoy samples that were very excellent but not quite me. I’d try more if they were nearby.
yes – definitely cheese!!
I just looked up Jovoy. Very nice!! I’m going to put it on my list.
It’s exciting just to imagine it. Can you bring an extra suitcase 😉 ?
Well, I’ve thought of this. But we are only allowed one suitcase and one carry on 🙁
Post your clothes home! :^)
or else take clothes that you are willing to discard at the end of the trip!
Hmmm…I think I better understand luggage weight restrictions. 🙂
Grasse? You have planned a visit to the Fragonard museum and factory, right? You shouldn’t miss it.
In Paris you would really regret not going to the Serge Lutens boutique in the Palais Royal, I think. It’s a little church of perfume and well worth a visit, even if the Lutens catalogue isn’t quite what it used to be.
Second the Fragonard Museum, as well as the Musée International de La Parfumerie. The former is a bit of a tourist trap, but very nice (my husband bought one of his favourite scents there, Homme Elegant), and the latter is much more of a museum, with a collection of perfume bottles, and sort of olfactory tubes which release e.g. vetiver, sandalwood etc. My husband really enjoyed both museums!
Grasse is such a lovely town, busy ofcourse, but it has such a beautiful location.
We will spend one day in Grasse, where we will visit Molinard and do the perfume workshop there.
I also want to visit Fragonard. I will look up Musee International de La Parfumerie — it sounds fun!
Third for Fragonard…it is neat. 🙂
I will have to check out a map of Paris to locate Serge Lutens.
I want to try everything !! I know — impossible to try everything.
In the Palais Royal, across the road from the Louvre. SL is in the arcaded Galerie de Valois; Rosine is further on, and at the end is a nice restaurant. All this on one side of a courtyard with gardens and fountains in the centre.
How wonderful! And cheering you on for your perfume day in Paris!
I second Jovoy and there’s a Nicolai shop at 22, rue Saint-Louis en L’Ile and I point this location out because on the same block is probably the best gelato I’ve ever had – Marron Glace – at Berthillon.
Now I’m craving gelato!!
Any outstanding scents from Nicolai you’d recommend?
Many! This blog has a good number of fans of her ‘fumes as well.
I own Juste un rêve, L`Eau à la Folie and Weekend (but the older version I like much better). Fig Tea is one on my ‘to buy’ list, as is Amber Oud.
Her packaging is simple but the quality of the perfume is quite good and I believe she really has a gift with citrus.
I’m sure others could chime in here!
I was very unexpectedly smitten by Patchouli Intense.
One of my favorite lines! I own five: Eau d’Ete, L’Eau Chic, Odalisque, Sacrebleu, and Week-end.
Have a wonderful time!
If they have a bottle of the discontinued L’Temps d’une Fete languishing behind the counter… Although, someone here-can’t remember who, now- said if you email them, you can still get it, special order maybe? That’s my favorite and agree with floralgal about her way with citrus.
It’s so easy to try all of them. The shops are nice and refreshingly unpretentious. I’ve visited two. The one on Rue Grenelle and the one on Rue des Archives (this one is close to Etat Libre d’Orange). I preferred the latter, as it’s bigger and had more room to browse.
Don’t forget to sniff some of her candles/roomsprays as well. They are very good and the collection is big.
I hope you have a ball and buy some lovely things for yourself!
Please report back! I would really love to visit Guerlain myself. I am hoping you can test some of the rarer fragrances. I worry that I would be too intimidated to have the experience of my dreams.
As for other perfume suggestions–another under the radar spot is Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier, where I had a lovely visit over 20 years ago.
I’m with you. I’d love to visit all the houses, but I think I might not come back out of Guerlain once I’d gone in! And I’d say, “Let me smell everything!” ????
You smell great and I hope you have a great trip!
Oh, you’re going to have so much fun! My eyes just teared up with joy thinking about your smelling adventures. ????
In the Grasse/Cannes area I’d recommend to maybe visit Vence and St.Paul de Vence. Close to the latter is the Fondation Maeght which I’ve never visited myself but seems a very interesting museum.
May I be impertinent and suggest a visit to Nice as well? It’s a much more interesting city than Cannes and has some amazing museums. Cannes is just the sea-front and the Boulevard de la Croisette while Nice is a beautiful city with a very charming old city centre. The countryside behind Nice/Cannes/Grasse is incredibly beautiful. Rugged mountains, gorges etc.
Have a wonderful trip!
Eau de Neroli Dore
Excellent!
Wish it lasted longer than 15 minutes, though……
I’m so in love with that one. It’s just so incredibly lovely.
Beautiful, but sadly so fleeting…..
You smell great!
For a cologne, it has a fine lasting power on my skin.
I get much better lasting power from other colognes such as Jo Malone and Maison Berdoues Cologne Grand Cru Collection….a pity because I was sorely tempted to buy those four piece Hermes travel sizes until I realized that the longevity is abysmal on my skin.
SOTD is Fragonard “Fragonard F!”. This was the one I liked best on paper in the shop. Sadly the supposed notes of coniferous leaves, wood and leather just don’t do anything on my skin. Not doing to well this week, am I? :^)
That said, evening perfumes have been good. Tonight it’s Montale “Dark Aoud”. There are other rose oud combos out there that I prefer, but this is a great antidote to the Feeble Fragonards. :^)
Vetiver Tonka for a hot, hot forecast. This is always a winner in my book.
Love that. It is too hot here as well. SOTD Iris de Nuit.
Carnal Flower today. Love the tuberose in it, and it lasts all day on me.
You smell great!
That is my only tuberose-centric perfume. It is *amazing*!
I did order a decant of Tauer’s tuberose, which never made it through The Perfume House before it wasn’t seemingly anywhere anymore. *fingers crossed* that it’s good!
Day three testing JM Rare Teas collection. Today’s contender is Midnight Black Tea. The distinct tea note is present, and it’s been spiked with bourbon and vanilla. So far it’s working for me on this drizzly morning.
I’ll play, Robin.
As the cicadas create their buzzing wall of noise in the backyard, I’m buzzing with triple strength coffee.
And Obsession Night for Men apres rasage generously applied apres bain, because I only rasage my neck every 6-8 weeks. 😉
Suede and vanilla, like a sweetened DKMen.
Life is good. 😀
*very politely leans forward* You smell really, really good.
;D
Perfect! And please pass a cup of that coffee.
Will do!
Don’t know what I’d do if I had to give up coffee or perfume.
Probably continue with both.
Life is a finite condition, after all. 😀
Amen.
Vintage Eau de Courrèges. Marketed as a women’s scent but I can’t imagine why: it’s spicy lime cologne with a vague nod at flowers and a light chypre base.
But back in the day many women’s fragrances were spicy and super fresh and not at all sweet (see Charlie)
Quite right, but this honestly smells like a men’s lime aftershave. (And I wondered if it wasn’t the age of the thing — it certainly dates from that mid seventies — but the entire construction is clearly intact, even the bright top notes.) The only thing that gives even the suggestion of a women’s scent is the whitish florals in the middle, and even they aren’t far removed from the jasmine of Eau Sauvage. If someone said this was called Courrèges Homme you wouldn’t bat an eye.
I’m probably going to be sorry, but I’m going to be topping off with Taklamakan this morning since I could still smell the (admittedly big) test patch I applied last evening before my shower. No, scratch that. I can’t smell it on my skin anymore but I still get waves of silage when I move my arm. It may be a bit much for the hot and humid day, but I really like it. The silage makes me think of something between Coromandel and Korrigan, but a good sniff up close was much closer to the beautiful Sultan Pasha Pure Incense. I’m surprised to like this since I saw ambergris listed as a note and I’m not a huge fan of gourmands, vanilla, or cinnamon.
I will have to do some more testing of this tenacious but strangely ethereal scent, but I adore it so far. The opening is almost too sweet for me, but not quite. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced a scent that was so surprisingly changeable and whenever I thought it was fading, I caught a strong whiff of it from out of nowhere. I didn’t get the sand note or dryness that everyone else seems to have smelled, but I’m having a very hard time classifying it since it jumps between amber, sweetened patchouli, spicy oriental, and soft incense. Fascinating. I may have to have a bottle.
We have to make a trip to the fancy lumber yard today to pick out finish lumber for our new bed, so I’m looking forward to smelling this with the woody scents as a backdrop. That place smells great on its own.
I tried out my sample the other evening and I was catching whiffs of it coming from my shirt or maybe some got on the couch? I can’t figure out where it’s coming from because it’s been a few days!! Like a ghost! I really like it myself(maybe a split?) and also thought of Korrigan. Or a cross between Tauer LADDM and Korrigan.
I need to dig through my a Tauer samples and re-test LADDM if I still have it. I have a hard time with actually wearing Tauers, though I appreciate them and even really like a few. Now that you mention it, though, I do see a similarity.
It’s interesting how aspects of Taklamakan are really familiar and similar to other scents but the whole is quite different. I have now sprayed a fresh layer and am finding it completely wearable in the warm weather. Spicier and less sweet and the caramel opening bloomed out much more quickly.
Agree about a familiar theme. But a very well done variation IMO. I found it worked really well in the heat. I’m curious to try it in cooler weather to see how it changes, if I can hold on to my sample that long.
The smell of a lumber yard is VERY heady to me. There are places in PDX that work with reclaimed wood and these old logs that were previously buried in river mud. The scent of having those pieces of wood worked is very mysterious and evocative.
Strange how fresh cut wood can be so wonderful and paper mill can be so unpleasant!
Reclaimed lumber is always fun to work with. The doors and windowsills in my Mom’s house are made from a cypress tank that had been in my dad’s family for generations, serving first as a water cistern and later a sauerkraut tank at the old canning plant. The wood smelled amazing when it was planed: like peppery pickled dusty cypress. It was a shame that the rest of it was lost in a fire when I was in college. I expect my husband could have made something really gorgeous.
Oh wow- what a marvelous scent memory and i bet the windowsills look so beautiful!
They do – and they’re plenty wide for lounging cats.
What a wonderful inheritance. If I learned about the lumber industry in the south when I was in school, I didn’t retain it and was surprised when we moved here. And the seemingly endless supply of antique wood furniture has been a delight.
Taklamakan is absolutely amazing
SOTD: In Boucheron (from a sample) Not a daytime scent and not a summer scent*, but darn this is such a pretty floral oriental perfume, and I need to use this sample before it turns. It would be worth a full bottle and if I already did not have a couple of orientals already I would totally buy this. Lovely.
OOTD: Watercolor print top and white pants. Black sandals with heels.
*I am wondering how richer scents bear in the heat. Some have incredible projection and so would feel stifling, but I am finding that sometimes a small spritz on clean, moisturized skin is perfect.
The first few years of my perfumistahood, I had almost only (black) tea scents and orientals. My favorites for summer were Shalimar or a tiny dot of Taboo. I also find Bois des Iles better in the warm weather. I think it’s totally worth testing a beloved oriental in the summer heat–it might amaze you!
One of my older colleagues wears Shalimar, but only in the winter, and she smells perfect, but I can imagine how lovely this would be in the summer!
I am thinking about wearing Obsession tomorrow (borrowed from a friend). I am sure it has been reformulated, but we shall see!
I’m coming more and more to the conclusion that you can wear pretty much anything during the day and/or summer as long as you apply it sparingly. But it’s dry in the desert, so I can’t speak for super-high humidity…
Infusion d’Iris.
One of my favorite iris. You smell fabulous!
Happy Birthday Sean Connery! My favorite 007!
SOTD is Chanel No.5 L’EAU. The aldehydes are given a nod, and then there is a diaphanous floral musk that hugs the skin. It’s like a simple piece of jewelry perfectly placed. It’s modern without falling in lockstep with all of the sheer light perfumes created for market.
We had a mini meet-up at Santa Maria Novella and then at Chanel at Saks in Chevy Chase, where Holly and Knoznoz also indulged at the fragrance oil table. Akil, the very patient and knowledgeable SA, walked us through just about every oil and essence Chanel makes available. It was a delightful sensory overload. I slept really well after that!
That was a dream day! Akil is the most delightful SA! We got to sniff not only all the current Chanel perfumes (in all the concentrations) but also, as Wendysue notes, the Olfactorum, a collection of 40 individual Chanel notes (such as rose de mai, cistus labdanum, beeswax, ambrette, ylang ylang, aldehydes, dihydromyrcenol, etc.) that Chanel uses to make its perfums.
The latter are not for sale, regrettably. I think I found my soul mate in their cistus labdanum. Off to search White Lotus for a substitute!
Thanks so much for organizing that!
i will also recommend Eden Botanicals for your essential oils….for the summer the shipping is free if you register…I will not tell you how much money I just spent ordering this afternoon, including their 10% labdanum which was 15% off!
Ah, 10% would probably be just right. I need to get busy – thanks for the tips!
It is the perfect percentage for my perfume blends and I also dilute it in a carrier oil to use as an all over moisturizing body oil…..
The one day we were in the area was not long enough. Even though we are 3 hours further away in Charlotte, I may need to plan an annual pilgrimage…
Semi- annual at least, SicilianaNC. 🙂 Let us know when you can make the pilgrimage.
Thanks, will do.
What a wonderful mini meet -up!
It was such a wonderful experience, Wendysue! Thank you so much for organizing it. I’ve never met an SA like Akil, nor seen such an incredibly thoughtful presentation offered by a perfume house – the Olfactorum, the books, the art work! Kudos to Chanel and SFA, and most of all to Akil. This is a perfumista’s dream …
SMN was a lot of fun too, but I think that the SA was a tad perturbed that we were doing our own thing (which was sampling and spraying about thirty different colognes until the strips were gone and weren’t replenished.) It’s interesting when you arrive somewhere for a sniffa and already have read reviews ( plus we had print-outs and notes) and are somewhat familiar with particular notes and have your own agenda and the SA has a different one. My favorite was Gelsomino, which is a straight-up jasmine soliflore which approximates exactly what you’d get if you blended jasmine absolue (definitely some sambac in there) into a cologne. When we traveled on to Saks afterwords, I gave Akil a sniff and he immediately said – ooh! – that’s exactly like an aromatherapy-style jasmine absolue and he was absolutely correct, that’s what it is. Sometimes simple is just what you want.
That Gelsomino was beautiful. If I didn’t already have SL A la Nuit, I would have been very tempted. I’m still tempted by their unusual Iris.
I wonder if she’s new and still finding her way. When I was there two or three years ago, the SA was a charming guy.
And if you are going to get the labdanum essential oil why not throw in a jasmine as well? Eden makes a few jasmines as well as rose in 10%s as well which makes them highly affordable and also straight out of the bottle wearable!
You may be about to hit the enabler’s pin jackpot, chocolatemarzipan! 😉
I happened to love the Gelsomino as I haven’t yet found that particular jasmine anywhere else except in Robert Tisserand’s stuff from … ninety-eighty something? Oh gosh, I guess I’m a nerd of a very particular sort…
I’m guessing that the SMN SA we met is actually really great for the general clientele who come into that store. She provides a tour, is extremely knowledgeable, is highly attractive with a definitive Italian vibe, but maybe while some are entranced by that, there’s our gang who has another agenda. I think perhaps we can be overwhelming, and I’m just now understanding that. This whole experience has opened up a whole new world to me, and a whole new way of thinking about marketing and its effects. I think it’s incredibly difficult for an SA to follow the party line, and to know that if you don’t, your job may be on the chopping block.
I love perfume, and I’m so grateful to have this community to discuss it with. It’s very rare to find those who are open, and we’re all subject to reviews and commentary and there’s just so much out there! I consider myself very lucky that you are all here, and really it’s incredible that we have this global community.
Thanks to you and Knoznoz for your eloquent and erudite descriptions of our memorable perfume outing, and for your fellowship. I also feel so fortunate to have found this brilliant community.
Arrgghhh- sorry nozknoz! 🙂
It’s pretty late, not sure if you’ll see this, but I’ve walked into drug stores where testers of an entire line were put out that very afternoon, but were gone. Every one. Big market for this stuff, so that may be part of their unease. And being a rather rambunctious crowd we’d be perfect cover for an Oliver Twist sort. If we were of that persuasion, which of course we’re not.
I have a work lunch today–the official beginning of th end of summer, and I am feeling grouchy and inconsolate about it! I might have to be rebellious and wear a big fragrance despite the 90+ degree heat. That’ll show ’em!
Also, I’ve nearly drained my sample of Ambrosine, and if I weren’t on a perfume-buying moritorium (sort of), I’d be tempted to order a bottle from Indiescents. It is a floral amber, but light and quirky, rather than heavy and overwhelmingly sweet. Really pretty and seems really versitile. sigh.
That looks like a beautiful bottle, too! When I googled it, I was surprised to learn that Ambrosine is a given name, the feminine form of Ambrose. I don’t think I’ve ever encountered an Ambrosine.
Dior Ambre Nuit for me today, and lots of it!
How is this one?
In a word: exquisite.
It’s my middle of the road amber, not to light and not to heavy.. really just right. I’m sure die hard amber lovers would turn their nose up at this one but it has many fans.
I love Amber..I will give it a try
Going scentless today– appointment w/ my neurologist. I mistakenly thought it was scheduled for yesterday, so it’s day #2 without perfume for me 🙁 This time I’m bringing something to spritz in the parking lot immediately afterwards. I think maybe Route du Thé, in honor of the long drive there & back.
Hope all goes well for you! Yes, you definitely deserve perfume treats.
Good luck
Hope it brings the perfect comfort. 🙂
Hoping for the best for you.
Hope it went well and you spritzed afterward!
I hope it goes well Olenska. Two days without perfume is too much!
Inspired by thoughts of pretty and wearable fragrances, I’m wearing my decant of Lutens Un Lys on this cool-ish summer day.
Very pretty, and wearable.. you smell lovely.
I started out in AG Neroli cologne this morning. When I got to the office I wanted something a bit richer so I tried to dab on a small amount of 24 Faubourg from a mini and ended up spilling some on my skirt. Its quite powerful and now I’m afraid to leave my office! It does smell beautiful, and hopefully it will calm down.
Oops! A dab of 24F and a spill of Neroli might have worked better. Sorry!
Ck2 is rather nice. I like the note of wet rocks, unusual.
Today I’m wearing Kenzo Flower elixir. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it mentioned here, but I love it. It’s like if you took one part of Kenzo oriental and one part of the far dry down of the original and then stirred the juice with some high quality raspberry jam.
Hey, that does sound nice!
Heading to my RA doc appt. in the remnants of last night’s EL Tuberose Gardenia, so pretty that one.
It also made me smile to see FKA Twigs up there in the pic as my daughters and I love her, she’s very talented as well as beautiful.
I’m already craving autumn scents and find myself often daydreaming about them…. lol
Last Farmers Market in my dear lil’ town today which always makes me kinda sad, I do love fall but hate to see my summer weather fade away…as our winters are long,dreary affairs!
Have a lovely day,all.
But what about fall apples and pumpkins and other wonderful harvest goodies in the market? I love seeing the change from summer items to fall, especially the pumpkins. Craving autumn scents too!
Hi, Forestmama! My brother has RA. It’s good that you are taking care of yourself. Did not realize that was a performer in the photo rather than a model. Off to YouTube to check her out…
Testing McQueen parfum on one hand and the edp on the other. By itself the edp is nice but it seems so delicate running against the parfum. At least the nice Saks SA made me samples of both
I sampled both of those in S5A over the weekend. That parfum bottle is stunning!
Seriously beautiful bottle!
I am wearing Eau Premiere today thanks to the generosity of She-ra. I recently tried No 5 EDT but had to scrub. However, I vastly prefer Eau Premiere. She-ra labeled the sample as original which make me wonder what the current version is like? Sigh…
Glad you are enjoying it.
The current formula is good too…but I would argue more similar to No. 5 EDT maybe.
I may buy the current formulation too 😉 I have a Sephora gift card burning a virtual hole in my pocket and I am not sure what else perfume-wise I would crave from Sephora. Sephora’s selection for perfumes has gone downhill in terms of variety I think over the last several years. I guess they do have the EldO stuff and JHAG but they seem to emphasize and focus more on make-up these days…maybe I am just less and less interested in mainstream perfume releases.
I remember the first Sephora here in NYC. It was a large store and the entire perimeter was just perfume. Now it’s like 3/4 of one wall between men’s and women’s.
Same in DC – what’s with that??? Of course, conversely, there is so much more make-up now. Weird!
More ‘fume options online at Sephora for sure.
It really hit me how lousy the US stores are with regards to perfume when I visited a store in Paris. Wow. A whole different world.
I don’t buy much perfume from Sephora either but as the others have pointed out, there are more brand choices online.
Sampling Majda Bekkali Fusion Sacree-Elle. Fruity/vegetal initially(rhubarb) which then turns almost buttery. Interesting.
SOT(rainy)D – Silences. I found that Groupon now sells perfumes!?! In one of the four listings for Alaia, they quote NST and Bois de Jasmin in the descriptions!!
I’ve seen those. Just out of curiosity I double check prices with Amazon.com, and even Overstock. It can be a good reality check.
Still a little sick and shaky from yesterday. I developed sun poisining yesterday at Cedar Point. Yeah, wearing Amouage Memoir wasn’t a good idea yesterday. So, it’s no 19 in EDP form today.
I hope you continue to recover and you are smelling great today.
Yuck. Hope you feel better soon and are able to wear Memoir again in better weather. As much as I love it, I think getting too warm in a cloud of it would be torture.
I hope you were still able to have fun. I love amusement parks. Feel better!
Feel better soon!
Oh, sorry to hear that on a day that was supposed to be all fun. Hope there’s at least a happy memory or two and that you’re feeling better.
Don’t know where you sprayed it, but some essential oils (angelica, cumin, citrus, esp bergamot) are photosensitive, also some meds (which I’m less familiar with). Hope you feel better soon.
Feel better soon. Cedar Point is a great amusement park. So sorry you got sick .
🙁
Hope you got to have some fun. I visited Cedar Point years ago and had a blast.
Feel better and drink lots of water! Hope the horrific weather didn’t reach CP! Scary afternoon in parts of IN and OH.
Trying a sample of Reve de Cuir, which fortunately is light enough for a warm summer day. My main reaction has been “what’s that smell/oh it’s me”, so will have to see how it works out.
????
I am wearing l’Occitane body oil layered with vintage Guerlain Eau de Guerlain edt, the result is very nice.
I did some vintage shopping today and found some great tops and a very nice dress.
ohh…do tell us what you found.. I went thrift store shopping yesterday.
What Body oil are you wearing?
It is the fabulous oil for body and hair.
I found some basics,I was looking for a sleeveless v neck black top. I found a very nice cashmere one with short sleeves and another one without sleeves , the dress is very nice too with small navy and white polka dots.
I love vintage shopping, you can’t imagine the things I found at this place, once I found an Yves saint Laurent red wool dress for 7$. This was my best find so far.
Fantastic! Sounds like your building a great wardrobe
Sounds like a wonderful combo!
Day 2 of our research trip involved a lot of driving around mountainy roads, an interview with a 90-year-old at a historical centre, and a brief dip in some hot springs (it can’t be all work) all were scented with my Chene decant. Today I’ll switch it up to my LD of Sous le Vent, I think… More twisty driving and interviews and archives await.
Even the work part sounds fun.
Love everything about this – Chene is delish!
Missed your post about what you are researching, but I love research on road trips and recording oral histories. Enjoy!
Sounds wonderful, enjoy!
That sounds like a fun trip!
Good morning! I just put on some Pacifica Tunisian Jasmine Lime, from my brand new rollerball. Yesterday was my birthday, so I treated myself! Enabler alert – they have these at Bed Bad & Beyond, so grab some of those enormous coupons and go treat yoself! Mine was like $9 after discounts 🙂
Happy Birthday. You smell nice!
Belated happy birthday and enjoy your treat! Thanks for the tip, didn’t know BBB had Pacifica and that their coupons were valid on that. Ggod to know!
Happy Birthday! Nice deal. Was that in-store or online?
Thanks! And it was in-store. I get 20% off and $5 off coupons in the mail ALL the time and they accept expired ones too (so why put expiration dates on them????), so I just bring in a stack every time I shop. Ours has a World Market inside so I use the coupons on beer & wine too!
Thanks. I get loads of those coupons, too. Yeah, I don’t quite get the expiration date thing. The closest store to us is small with slim pickins 🙁
Happy Birthday!
Those little cheap gets are the best. Happy Birthday!
Happy birthday!
Happy bday!
Happy (Belated) Birthday! And congrats on the score.
SOTD is a spritz of vintage Ivoire de Balmain over Tauer’s Rose Delight body oil, a nice combo for another rainy, very humid late summer day.
I was in the mood for a treat and succumbed to the allure of praises for the Rose Delight and immediately regretted my impulsive blind buy. I dislike some of the ‘masterpieces’ many of you hold dear (I’m looking at you, Chanel No. 5 and L’Heure Bleu), and Tauer’s Phi Une Rose was just awful on me, a very strong tobacco note overpowering everything else. But the Rose Delight oil is quite nice – if not swoonworthy – and will layer well with many of my fragrances, so I’m pleased after all with my ‘treat.’
That’s a great combo. I will try them together.
Glad the blind buy worked out! I like it too, but it doesn’t smell Taueresque.
That would be a good thing in my books. That “tauerade” just doesn’t work for me — too ambery/scrubber.
I do like the Incense Rose, likely because it is much drier.
Perhaps that’s why I like it! Most Tauers just don’t work for me, although I do love L’Air du Desert Marocain very much.
Glad the blind buy was successful!
I am not sure I have ever owned a Calvin Klein fragrance–if I did, it was decades ago. So this week is random week for me. Today I’m in Cuir de Russie, with some Matin d’Orage hand cream that has a pretty remarkable projection. Fortunately, the combo is lovely and I am feeling quite pleased with myself.
I am total liar. I just remember my much enjoyed, but now finished, Euphoria.
I’ve never worn Calvin Klein but I knew I had one somewhere. It’s a vintage bottle of Calvin Klein Escape that I bought purely as a time capsule. I’m not sure I can bring myself to actually wear it now, but I do enjoy sniffing once every year or two for an instant recall of the 1990s. He really knew how to capture the zeitgeist, didn’t he?
I think if were to randomly buy a bottle for nostalgia, it would be Eternity too. It was popular when I was young, single, and the world was my oyster.
I’m on a layering binge these days. This sounds lovely. Leather and orange, yum! Last winter I enjoyed Cuir Beluga layered with Bigarade Concentree.
Portland is having another few days of heat, so I’ve broken out the Jour d’Hermes. One of these days I’ll try the Absolu–the only thing I don’t like about Jour is the longevity. Does the Absolu last longer than two hours?
On me it does. The middle floral roundness fades after about three hours and then it’s a gardenia drydown that lasts forever on my skin.
But, my skin holds on to drydowns like glue.
I’m wearing SMN’s resolutely idiosyncratic Pot-Pourri. I really enjoy this line. Their versions of notes are unlike anyone else’s. If you are a fan of any particular note, such as iris, verbena, leather, rose, or mimosa, it is worth trying the corresponding SMN cologne. I only wish they did mix and match travel sets, like the Hermes nomads, but at $125 or $135 for 100 mls and with screw-top bottles, they would be ideal for splits. 😉
I particularly wish more men would venture there. There is not a drop of dihydromyrcenol or calone to be found in this shop. What an improvement it would be to smell SMN Verbena or any of a dozen other SMNs wafting from DC’s men instead of the nth sport clone.
Hmm, Clone Cologne would make a plausible Prix Eau Faux entry, wouldn’t it? 😉
I like it.
The initial launch would include Femme Flam, Ho Homme, Eracier Acier, Bois Bogus, Fraiche Trash, Non Noir, Blanche Check, Re Vert, Boriental, and Gratuitously R’oud.
Excellent 😀
I forgot Aqua Toxic and Eau No. 😉
Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner. 😀
I want the discovery set! Em, for a friend, like…
“Eau No” would be my signature scent from your line! ????
That is brilliant. Eau No in the purse spray, for everyday use…
I looked around on line to see who might carry Nostalgia, but it seems to be the least popular of the scents. It’s another idiosyncratic one. I may have to return with my own vial to get a sample.
Did you see Victoria’s review?
http://boisdejasmin.com/2007/04/nostalgia_santa.html
It’s the kind of thing that gets under one’s skin. There’s really nothing else quite like it. I feel like SMN has a very precise Italian way of doing things that are eccentric and harmonious at the same time.
Thanks! Love Clone Cologne.
We are headed back into the 90s after a blessed 3-day reprieve. I am in a rare mood to douse myself in something, but can’t for the life of me identify what. Maybe rose oil topped with something green. May have to sample Rose Delight.
Good morning all. It’s the beginning of Friday here, and it’s half way through the semester. I’ve moved back to a paper diary for the sheer fun of the thing, and since teaching started, I’ve been writing 1/12, 1/6,1/4,etc in my diary to mark off the passing weeks. Today has a huge 1/2, and I’m taking my team out to lunch to celebrate survival and success. Our one bloke is on sabbatical, so it will be a rather girly affair. One member was on bereavement leave followed by a conference right when her birthday fell, so I thought that after lunch, we might go to the new Chanel boutique and she can choose a lippy or nail polish or something as my gift. All in all, a happy, easy interlude and a nice way to end the week. In honour of our likely excursion to Chanel, I’m wearing 31 Rue Cambon. It is, as ever, uplifting in its elegance and beauty, and I am accordingly uplifted.
That’s a thoughtful gift for your colleague.
When I was working, I liked those page-a-day calendars that counted down how many days left in the year, or the ones where you could tear off the corner and get a satisfying visual of how much you’d done/lived through.
It’s fun to write the day away with remarks and ditties (I write scurrilous limericks when I get annoyed) and to collect little pieces of detritus — a delicious typo on an agenda, or a madly ill-considered expression from the marketing people–my favourite at the moment is that the appeal of the Open Day will be “somewhat universal”. I include little visual reminders, too. For instance, next week, a colleague and I are going to Giselle, and I’ve pasted in the main image from the tickets. I doodle meaningless shapes and generally, the linearity of my appointments is accompanied by a jumbled muddle of ideas and memories.
I love it as a piece of understatement though! “If you press the red button, the destruction will be somewhat universal. So best not, chaps, eh?”
????
You smell(ed) absolutely fabulous. And that’s very thoughtful to think to treat your colleague to something!
I will probably skip tomorrow’s poll so I’m playing today in Calvin Klein Truth. It’s a nice one.
Indeed it is!
Happy 100th Birthday, NPS!
Burger Day!? Heck yeah! I can’t think of Sean Connery now without thinking of those SNL Jeopardy sketches. ????
Today I’m wearing a spritz of VS Rose Violet over some of the last drops of my Pacifica Persian Rose (over Andalou 1000 Roses body butter).
You smell good, looks like we’re both thinking roses! Yes, Happy 100 Birthday, NPS! My son and family just returned from Yellowstone and we plan on visiting at least one National Historic site next month. I love collecting the Passport stamps!
You smell great in your roses, too! You know, I was just at Cabrillo National Monument on Monday, and I was lamenting the fact that I still don’t have one of those passports! I live on the the same side of town as Saguaro NP East, so I should head over and get one sometime. I heard on the news they’re going to have birthday cake there tomorrow. How cool is that? I love the NPS.
SOTD = Guerlain Tonka Imperiale
We’re back to hot and humid weather in NYC and I still have not changed my mind about hating it with a passion. To counteract the heat and to try to use my Starbucks Stars rewards before they expire, I treated myself to.an iced Cocout Milk Mocha Macchiato — only 220 calories but eek on the sugar (28g). It hit the spot though as I have to power through the rest of today and tomorrow.
Happy almost Friday!
I haven’t smelled Tonka Imperiale specifically, but I am wild about the tonka-vanilla parts of Guerlinade in the perfumes I have. I bet that really complimented your macchiato! (You’ll probably burn that sugar right up by sweating in your heat! ????)
August can have the cruelest weather. Thank goodness the end of this month means the gorgeousness of October is just around the corner . . . stay cool! 😀
Sneaking in to say you all smell fabulous. I’m unscented today as I was in close quarters with co-workers at a back-to-school training meeting. Don’t want to annoy anyone quite this early in the school year.
But I smelled CK Euphoria on someone and had the nerve to ask what it was. Euphoria smells great in the wild but would probably turn to froot-n-flowers Glade air freshener on me.