We're celebrating the birth of P. D. James (she would have been 99 on Saturday) with a few mystery-related questions. (If you need more mystery, I think there are also a few unsolved cases from yesterday's poll.) Do tell us...
1. What fragrance are you wearing today?
2. Your favorite fragrance for projecting an air of mystery?
3. Your favorite fragrance for finding clues and solving puzzles?
4. A fragrance you still can't figure out?
5. Share something wonderful with us! It can be anything — the most fun thing you did this summer (or winter), something delicious you ate, your latest binge-worthy TV series, the last good book you read, any fabulous news you recently received — really, anything.
Note: top image is The Secret Garden [cropped] by JFXie at flickr; some rights reserved.
I am wearing five Auphories today…Miyako, Iris Macchiato, Mayora, Binturong and eau de Nyona….my goodness they are gorgeous!!! Wonder why I haven’t heard much about this house? That’s the mystery!
Oh and something wonderful! The last of the three Marzipans leaves for university soon! And I am on a three week staycation!
Yay, best wishes to junior marzipans in the coming school year, and enjoy your staycation!!
Woohoo! Enjoy your staycation and empty nest!
Staycations are the best! I’m on the last few days of my two week staycation. Enjoy!
I have heard good things about Auphorie, but haven’t met it in the wild so far.
I’m adding these to my ever-growing list of things to try!
Beyond Love
Encens Mythique
Shalimar body powder
When I smell Santal 33 in the wild , I think of the herb dill, and think who wants to smell like that . Go figure
LOL ? ? Would you believe that Stash smells like pickles to me? But apparently I like that smell cause I drained a bottle in three and a half weeks one winter.
?
Stash and Santal 33 both smell like pickles to me. I loved stash until I suddenly got the pickle note.
I too get pickles in Stash and Santal 33. It’s a fairly common reaction in many people. Must be something about how our brains process the aroma in both. We are a special little fraternity!
i smell coconut, not pickles…
Encens Mythique whispers International Woman of Mystery (of Independent Means)…
I gotta get some Shalimar body powder. I’ve never tried it but I bet it’s great.
Thankfully I just smell leather, sandalwood and some floral in santal 33. Stash, I love the bottle, might detect some dill still have to wear it. The Stash oil wears better on my skin.
Did not get any dill when I recently had the chance to sniff Santal 33, but it sure was familiar! I guess I had been smelling it every so often and didn’t know it.
Nobody guessed my perfume riddle yesterday so just wanted to let you all know that “crunch-crunch pom-pom” was for Jo Malone Mimosa & Cardamom. Haha!
1. Courtesy of friends in Perfumeria Quality in Warsaw I’m testing Amouage Love Mimosa today. Oh my goodness! Gorgeous! It’s sweet, flowery, powdery, slightly salty and dewy. Fresh but embracing later on, and very, very sunny on top of that. I think I’m lemming it and might just jump in for a bottle (for split)
2. An air of mystery… Parle Moi de Parfum Orris Tattoo or Heeley Iris de Nuit come to mind.
3. I don’t know… Azemour?
Oh THAT kind of pompom! Love your impressionist clue.
Thanks!
You sound smitten with the Love Mimosa!
Yes, I know.
I am so looking forward to trying Love Mimosa. Your mini review is just amping up the suspense!
Hope you like it.
1. I’m wearing Lys 41.
2. Dzing! No one can ever figure out that someone’s perfume would smell like that.
3. Bois Farine seems like a good scent to wear while solving mysteries.
4. L’Heure Bleu. When I smell it, it makes me so sad. Do people really want to smell like melancholy?
5. I’ve never owned a dog before. But we’ve had one since December, and every day is something new and wonderful. Doggy smooches are the best.
Oh, if anyone was wondering my clue yesterday referred to Jasmin et Cigarette. The jasmine makes oxygen during photosynthesis, and the cigarette destroys your ability to use it.
Doggy smooches are indeed the best, as is doggy cuddling, doggy snoozing, doggy playing…..
Same about your #4. And glad you’re enjoying the doggy!
Thank you, I was really stumped by the photosynthesis reference!
Thanks for solving the mystery of your riddle. Have a happy weekend!
Doggie kisses are the best. 🙂 I got my first dog at 30 and it filled a place in my heart I never knew was empty.
What a coincidence. I got my first dog only a few years later. I think I was 33. Dogs are such wonderful relaxing companions!
What’s your doggos name, Sistine?
Love Lys 41 you smell beautiful.
What fun having a new pup!
Sistine, you snell Divine! I love Lys 41.
I share the same timeline story as Cazaubon & Austenfan although I have been a cat person since birth.
Dogs bring such joy, hilarity and companionship,
That was a tough perfume riddle.
It’s a lovely morning here, and I’m in SMN Eva at the moment. For projecting an aura of mystery, I like Tabac Blond – it makes me think of femmes fatale in noir novels. For clue-hunting and problem-solving, I think Chanel 19 EDT. For fragrances I haven’t yet figured out, I’d have to say all of the Le Labo line – so many of them should be perfect for me, based on notes and reviews, but none has worked for me so far.
And for something wonderful, a book I just re-read. I’m a big fan of Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe series and have read them all, but I recently picked an early one in the series, Too Many Cooks (written in the 40s, I think, and therefore containing some terms we now consider pejorative so one has to make allowances), and to my delight I didn’t remember a single thing about it! It was like finding one I’d never read at all. And it was funnier than most of the series (they’re all really funny), to the point that I was guffawing and Mr. G had to ask repeatedly what was so dang funny.
I frequently laugh out loud over books and my hubs, who isn’t a big reader always just looks at me like I am crazy.
I listen to podcasts (on headphones) while falling asleep, and sometimes my husband catches me giggling, which he thinks is hilarious.
I read the whole Nero Wolfe series last year and adored it. I just watched one of the Italian tv versions but could not get into it, and I did not like the US version with Timothy Hutton either. Somebody needs to do the whole series for TV!
Have you ever watched the Montalbano series? It’s quite lighthearted but it’s fun. Plus they seem to eat really nice things.
Yes, I like that one…I have seen all but the last 2 episodes which I have not been able to get my hands on yet. And watched a season of Young Montalbano, but like Old Montalbano better 🙂
This is so showing my age, but so do I.
I agree! Timothy Hutton just didn’t do justice to Archie (not quite debonair enough, and something else … too Midwestern, or not Midwestern enough?) and while Maury Chaykin is pretty close to how I picture Wolfe, he wasn’t quite right either. If those two parts could be cast as brilliantly as David Suchet was as Poirot, and if they’d keep the scripts as close to the books as possible, I think they’d have a hit. I’m not familiar with the Montalbano series – will have to look that up.
Yeah, he really just seemed off…he got the wise-guy aspect but none of the rest of it.
I had the biggest crush on Timothy Hutton when I was a teen. He attended my high school briefly, six years before me. I feel like he never really became the super star we all thought he would.
Funny – I had an enormous crush on his father, Jim Hutton. Can’t remember now what I saw him in (was a LONG time ago).
I’m a big fan of Nero Wolfe series as well, and now I want to re-read them all 🙂
1. Commando. It’s weekend and I needed a break from EVERYTHING. Went to a Saturday market with the family and an entertaining friend of the family who is sadly having marital problems. Had a nice time nonetheless and the friend was cheered. Lots of people I know are getting divorced after 20 + years of marriage. Will ask some opinions here this week.
2-4. AG Mandragore Pourpre. Cool and aloof. Very mysterious. I still don’t know whether I like it and I’ve had a full bottle for close on a year.
5. My son is very happy in his new school. We only realize now how completely miserable he had been at the previous school.
Have a lovely weekend, NST!
I am one of those in 20+ years marriage! Not sure what the secret is? A co-worker of mine recently asked me. My response to her was that we understand each other’s “nuttiness” and we are still “naughty” 🙂
And that is excellent news that your son is finally content. Makes all the difference in the world with regard to academic success!
I think you’re right that a marriage should above all be “fun”. It should give one a break from all the other seriousness of life. My personal experience however, has been that a man who starts out lighthearted and adventurous can often become morose and difficult to live with. I think females are better at seeing the glass half full.
So happy to hear the new school is working out!
🙂
So happy to hear your son is loving the new school. I know that must be such a relief. Also sad to hear of your friend’s marital problems but glad she was cheered.
Thanks, Kelly C.
Fantastic news about your son. What a weight off your mind
Thanks, Kanuka. And please keep posting about your morning walks. I live in a suburban environment, so my walks are along the streets of my neighbourhood. I live vicariously reading about your morning strolls in the forest or above the shoreline!
I am so glad to hear your son is happy! As for the marriage question, my guess is that people get about 20 years in and start thinking about their own mortality and about whether they are happy and satisfied. If the answer is no, they want to get out and find that happiness and satisfaction before they die. Life is too short (especially when you’re half way through) not to be happy.
Agreed. But some of these people who get out sometimes do not understand that happiness comes from within. They go out seeking external happiness (including other relationships) which will fizzle out naturally and they are back to square one.
You are touching on what I want to ask the forum this week. And that is whether people who have gotten divorced would do it again. Or whether they just traded one set of problems for a different set.
I personally am glad I got divorced, as my husband and I had problems that were not resolvable (because he saw no need for change) and I am now very happily remarried to someone who is a far better match for me. Happiness does come from within, but when there is a true personality mismatch or there are behaviour issues that cause you pain and the other person will not work through them, it is time to leave. No regrets in my case.
Same and same, cazaubon. I am thus both pro-divorce and pro-marriage.
I was married for 20 years and have been happily divorced for 25. Just one gals opinion.
I have been in my second marriage for over 20 years, so count me in the pro-divorce and pro-marriage camp too 🙂
20 years is about the time when most peoples’ kids are out of the house (or soon will be.) So it’s back to just 2 people who might need to reconnect, which leads to thinking about one’s self and relationship. Raising children is about focusing on others and often, for women in particular, becomes one’s self-definition. So when that’s gone one tends to turn inward – which can be liberating, or not so much.
So it seems natural to me that that would be the time that one begins to reconsider things. And in some cases, people are just hanging in for their kids – whether they’re willing to admit that or not.
I got divorced at 30 (? or somewhere around there) and married again at 42. I barely consider the first time around a real relationship because I was young and stupid and it was dumb and he was awful. I now love being married and there’s no other person in the world I’d rather spend time with than my husband. I have great admiration for him and I really, really like him. He’s an amazing human being. That helps 🙂
So in short, I’m both pro-divorce and pro-marriage. It’s bad when it’s awful (no need to prolong things) and wonderful when it’s good (which I wish for everyone.)
You are one of the people who really gave me hope, when you said that going to a different school changed the course of your life. It made me persevere in finding another school.
I am so glad my comments were helpful.
So glad your son is happy!
Thank you so much. I had a lot of good vibes coming from this blog!
I’m so glad the situation improved for your son: many childhood scars stay with us through the life, so it’s great that you were willing and able to do something for him to have less of those.
As to divorces after 20+ years together, I think that if people just want out of that marriage, they should do it: they must have pretty good reasons for that. The cases where I think it’s worth working on are health-related issues (when personality changes because of some undiagnosed conditions) or, as strange as it might sound, uncharacteristic affairs. In the first case, it’s not even “in sickness and health” part but the fact that with treatment one might get back a partner with whom they had good reasons to live all those years. And in case with a “midlife crisis affair,” if it’s a one-off, not something that was present and tolerated for other reasons throughout the marriage, there’s a good chance that the person who’s having an affair is making a mistake (I’m not talking about a moral side of it, just practically, thinking long-term), and if he/she can “snap out of it,” and the other side can leave it behind them, again, in the long run it might be better for both. But when there are no small children, and someone feels really unhappy in the union, life is too short not to try to change it to the better – even if that “better” ends up being something different from what people pictured or hoped for when divorcing.
Wonderful news about your son and his new school, Amyitis!
Thanks to Holly, I’m sampling Paris-Deauville on one arm and Paris-Venise on the other. I’m pretty much loving both. My hubs is crazy about the Deauville.
For air of mystery, it’s still Shalimar for me- especially the vintage that’s smoky and a little skanky. Not sure about #3. And I’m still trying to figure out Iris Silver Mist. Just can’t wrap my head around that one.
Best thing I’ve had to eat lately was a burger at a diner downtown at 1:00 this morning lol. After an evening of dancing, my girlfriends and I hit up a diner across the street and downed some burgers. We are all fairly healthy eaters but we tore those burgers up haha. They were fresh and juicy and hot. Mine had an egg and bacon on it, with green chile and a dollop of guac. It was amazing!
That burger sounds amazing. I had a pretty basic mushroom swiss on a paltry bun last night, but it was still really tasty. Sometimes only a burger will do.
I had many a bar-time burger in my day.? They always tasted so good. Yours sounds especially amazing!
Those two Chanels are my favourites in that series. Slight preference for Deauville I think.
A burger with a fried egg on top is my favorite thing.
There’s a place here that makes a burger called the Sunshine Burger. The buns are made out of pizza bread, there’s a fried egg on top and then there is gravy. It’s pretty darn good lol.
And we have one at a local place that actually puts syrup on the burger and egg & bacon….I have not had it so couldn’t say if it was good.
1. House of Matriarch Forbidden. Thanks to whoever sent it to me, it’s great and [looks at pricetag] all of this I will ever own.
2. Let’s say Lanvin Scandal
3. I’m a member of the National Puzzler’s League and most enjoy solving puzzles with others, which often requires sitting close together so you can both see the page, so it will have to be something unlikely to bother someone. Hermes Voyage.
4. Ocean Rain
5. I think I’ve raved about this on here already, but since we’re doing mysteries, I’m so in love with Tana French! And I spent some time in the woods in northern Minnesota last weekend (thought of you Robin as I mostly wore Eau du Bugspray), and a wonderful thing is a really clear lake to swim in.
I too have had a kindly (nst) person send me House of Matriarch samples, and have just spritzed Forbidden. I am getting a machine oil vibe from the offerings so far, but am curious about the drydowns.
If you still want more Forbidden during the next swap meet, I should be able to make a 5ml decant for you.
I thought of you this week when I was in St Paul briefly! The weather was gorgeous! Hope it was good in the northern part of the state too!
Today I’m wearing Fleur de Liane and it is one I like to wear when solving puzzles (may do a crossword puzzle later today) or trying to figure things out from clues. It’s very green and I find that good for concentration.
The one I wear when I want to see if I can get any compliments or comments is Child (Susan D Owens) and the mystery comes in when people ask me what it is and then there are usually questions about the name – a mystery to them, in a way.
One that I can’t figure out would be POTL. What I can’t figure out is why I like it so much, after all these years.
Something I really liked happened the other day. I was out in my flower pot garden (I’m a townhouse person) and I saw a beautiful monarch butterfly on my zinnias. It flew off briefly and went right past my head. I could hear the sound of its wings as it went by. It came back and then went off again, this time actually circling my head before it came back, so once again I could hear the “whoosh” as it came past. Summer is great!
Love your butterfly moment! Thanks for sharing!
What a cool thing to happen
Summer IS great!
It’s nice to see a mention of Fleur de Liane. I really like that one and am glad I have a bottle.
I think a saw a monarch butterfly last week in Cleveland, and today in Buffalo. Is that possible? I have to admit that I have no idea what their habitat is.
Based on the Wikipedia article I checked out after reading your comment, it looks like Monarch butterflies are native to the lower 48 states and Mexico. ?
Lucky you to have a friendly Monarch fly by you Mary Carol!
We saw a butterfly in the woods last week that was so big I thought it was a bird at first, then thought it must be a hummingbird because I could hear the wings flapping. No idea what kind of butterfly it was though!
I am back from three weeks of vacation, two in England and Europe. In Dublin I visited Parfumarija for a fun, long chat with the SA there. I ended up buying my long-wished-for 30 ml bottle of L’Eau d’Hiver.
Oh your vacation sounds amazing.
What a lovely holiday! Enjoy your new purchase!
L’Eau d’Hiver is my most recent purchase too but in the 10ml. Congrats on your new souvenir bottle!
1. No SOTD yet because we’ve been lazing about at home eating breakfast and getting laundry done. Both are done now so it’s just chill on the couch time with catching up on blogs and more. I can smell last night’s Philosykos on my pj shirt collar.
2. L’air de Rien
3. In the Library
4. Superstitious – It should work for me, but it is headache-inducing. I really enjoyed the drydown on my way home from work yesterday, but I think I will part with it at the next swap meet.
5. Went to a free concert of one of my favorite bands, Wolf Parade, at Seattle Center last night and saw them play in front of the Space Needle. We were standing very close to the stage too. But the best part was meeting my rock idol, Dan Boeckner, one of the singer/songwriters and guitarist, after the concert. I’ve seen him perform in WP and other bands 6 or 7 times now and this was the first opportunity to meet him. He’s incredibly nice, warm, and humble. I shook his hand and couldn’t think of anything to say except, “I love you so much. We come see you every time you’re here.” What a dork, but I’m ok with it. I’ve listened to them and loved them for 15 years since back in college.
Another wonderful thing is the German show Dark on Netflix. I haven’t watched the second season yet, but the first season was near perfect. I hope the second season lives up to it.
L´Air de Rien is a good choice. And i think i will watch Dark next when i finished Stranger Things.
Funny, I watched Stranger Things season 3 right before starting Dark.
So glad you got to meet your idol!
Thanks, Robin!
I’m in Over the Musk today. Enabler pin to lillyjo for making me want to try this one. It’s lovely. One of those “my skin but better” fragrances for me. It wears close to the skin and I do wish it lasted a little longer but maybe I become anosmic to it and still smell lovely to others.?
I spent most of my week on the road traveling. I took madtownteen to summer camp early in the week, which is always a fun and exciting day. Saw my college girl who was already there working and I was so happy to see her! A short follow up to the post I had earlier in the week about the card under the pillow: so as I was making my daughters camp bunk, she turns to me and says “do you have a card?” Ha! “You’re not supposed to ask!” I said, “it’s supposed to be a surprise!”? That kid.
After camp drop off I headed over to spend time with my aunt and uncle (who winter in Arizona) and visit my 93 year old granny in her nursing home. I gave her two hugs when I left, just because.☺️
Yesterday I finally made my way back home and it was so good to sleep in my own bed! My husband and I are sans kids for the weekend and tonight he’s making us steak on the grill. Sometimes we get a little crazy when the kids aren’t here and do things like eat dinner on cafeteria trays while watching tv, lol.
Hope everyone is having a great Saturday! I followed along the comments this week and some of you were really good at that cp!!
I think it’s so sweet how much you love your kids. 🙂 I’ve never met you but you sound like a wonderful person.
Oh cazaubon, that is such a lovely thing to say.☺️ Thank you so much! They really are my 3 favorite people in the whole wide world and they have brought my heart so much joy.
You do sound like a warm hearted person and a SUPER mom!
Thanks Amyitis! Right back atcha! I think YOU are a supermom!!?
Retry it in the fall weather.
I will! I’m already thinking I need a larger decant, lol. I just wish it were less expensive.☹️
During Christmas, Mugler usually runs a good sale, but even then its to much for me. Maybe after the Loreal takeover, it will hit some discounters?
A cold start to the day with snowdrifts on the hills. The windows are all condensated, for the first time this winter. For the past few days I have been watching a blackbird ferrying nest materials. I think bird nests should be up there with the seven wonders of the world. Such extraordinary constructions. Anyway, la Nuit for me today, not mysterious. I am reading La Promesse de L’Aube ( Promise at Dawn) but have never smelled the perfume, but now I want to. The author was married to Jean Seberg for a while. The book is from the library, the basement stack and hadn’t been issued since 1995… It had a date stamp card and hadn’t been entered into the digital system. . It smells beautiful, Thanks Austenfan.
I am dreaming of snow in the humid buzzing heat of summer.
I was wondering how low the snow might have come in your part of the world. We’re expecting a southerly blast some time soon.
I tried Promesse de L’Aube a while back, and my very brief note about it reads “classic, very nice” – not very informative! I have included it in my list of maybes, so I certainly liked it 🙂
The snow will be gone by lunchtime and it is sunny now. Keep warm!
You are most welcome!
Both the perfume and the novel have made me cry, actually. At the time it was one of the most beautiful things I had ever smelled and I just choked up. That had never happened to me before with a fragrance.
I wonder what you will make of the novel. Gary is a great storyteller and having lived the life he has lived he had quite a few stories to tell.
I have been amazed this week by the clever riddles and the even cleverer answers. I love perfume and reading about perfume, but I haven’t even scratched the surface compared to some of you!
I’m wearing Amouage Memoir Man this morning. I’ve tried many of the Woman perfumes, but rarely dipped into the men’s, despite reading lots of very positive reviews. So far, Memoir Man is OK, but I much prefer Memoir Woman, which seems richer and deeper. I already have a FB of that, so money saved.
Projecting an air of mystery – I think that would be something classic like Miss Dior or Mitsouko, or anything that I think of as complex.
For solving puzzles – hmm. Either one of the complex ones to get me in the right frame of mind, or something very light and simple in case too much brain power was absorbed by contemplating my perfume 🙂
I’m wrestling with Papillon Perfumes’ Bengale Rouge. I was very excited to try it and my sample from Luckyscent arrived a couple of days ago. The opening reminds me a little of Absolu Pour Le Soir, it’s rich and complex, all which are very good things in my books, but it gets increasingly vanillary after the first hour. It’s not a sweet vanilla, but it’s still not really for me. I’ll keep dabbing with the sample, in the hope that I change my mind!
Wow, that Bengale Rouge sounds right up my alley. 🙂
+1 on that description of Bengale Rouge as I like vanilla in all its manifestations. I have a partial bottle coming my way sometime soon.
I’m wearing Bottega Profumiera Gourmand today, got a compliment out in the park walking the dog this morning.
My air of mystery perfume is Amouage Fate. Not much interested in puzzles. Shalimar has always been my mystery perfume – so many people love it and talk about vanilla, all I get is petrol.
The nicest part of the past week was having my husband’s son visiting us from San Diego, we took him to Quebec City and did all sorts of other fun things.
I spent only 1 day in Quebec City as a cruise stop. I will have to revisit and stay a few days!
HAL has a Boston to Montreal cruise that I’d love to do. Is that the one you were on?
I’d planned to cruise to Cuba in 2021 and turn 50 in Havana until they recently changed the rules AGAIN. Haven’t come up with a replacement plan yet…
That’s the one! I spent a few extra days in Boston before boarding the ship. I went smack in the middle of summer and it was quite nice. If / when I do this cruise again, I will do it in the fall for leaf peeping season!
As to Cuba, not so sure it would be best for a 50th birthday but to your point, the rules changed yet again so that decision may be out of your hands. Plan B: Casablanca? Paris? Bhutan?
1. Mohur extrait de parfum and some Vanille Galante on my arm that I tried in Printemps in Lille.
2. Rien, pardon the pun.
3. Perhaps Aromatics Elixir or Bois d’Encens. They tend to help me focus.
4. Music for a While. I may need a bottle.
I found out in Lille that JCE sells some of his own perfume in one of the big department stores in Paris. I forgot which one, sorry.
Good pun!
I liked the pun!
1. I’m wearing Bronze Goddess today; the cooling body gelee and a couple sprays of the eau fraiche. I think it’s the first time this summer I’ve worn it.
2. Mystery fragrance is SL Iris Silver Mist.
3. Clue finder frag has to be vintage Chanel No 19 edt.
4. Still working on a couple Amouage frags from samples. It may need to be cooler to appreciate them.
5. My massive Juliette tomato (as in Romeo and Juliette) that I planted between our place and the neighbours place is generously feeding us both. I told them to help themselves to what they need.
Yum! Fresh-picked tomatoes really are a wonder.
Yes they are.
And they smell so good!
???! ?
Hello fragrant dear ones,
Two good things…lost 10 pounds, and went to Pilates this morning for the first time in over a year.
15 pounds more to go..I saw myself in the Africa photos and that’s all it took.
Pilates, they only have mat classes at my gym and I like machines so I am doing tryouts of places close enough to get to 3 times a week.
Air of mystery….volutes, Satori, or Indochine, which has been on heavy rotation this past week.
Today one spray of tobacco vanille
Reading….just finished Lit by Mary Karr. It was so wonderful, her voice was like glass on gravel. It is still ruminating in my head as I have moved into my next book.
A fragrance I will never figure out…sarrasins. Everything about it says yes, the minute I put it on it says no.
I bought a smart tv and I love having Netflix on a big screen
Huge congrats on the weightloss!
I actually love Sarrasins. It is my favourite Lutens but it’s not the most likeable of his collection.
thank you!
That just means there is more Sarrasins in the universe for you austenfan!
Congratulations! And continued success!
Congrats on the 10 lbs! I’ve lost 10 myself but have much more than 15 more to go, unfortunately.
me too!
total of 25 is what needs to happen here, LizzieB!
Congrats! I have never done Pilates.
I did it from 40-50 every week.
then from 50 – 60 plus was take care of parents.
Now I want a strong core and balance at 66 and beyond.
Congratulations on the weight loss! Losing any weight is a big thing and ten pounds is a lot.
I have really enjoyed and benefited from Pilates, but it’s expensive.
Congrats on the weight loss! I love watching streaming on our big screen tv too, I hardly ever want to go to the movies anymore.
Congratulations! Also, kudos on getting into an exercise regimen that is working for you, and that you enjoy!
Santal 33. Have a great weekend ?
Hope yours was fun flopper!
1. What fragrance are you wearing today?
A mix of Sultan Pasha’s Dewaniya, Hiram Green’s Slowdive and Bortnikoff’s Amber Cologne
2. Your favorite fragrance for projecting an air of mystery?
Papillon Artisan’s Anubis
3. Your favorite fragrance for finding clues and solving puzzles?
Hmmmm….something incense related or something calming. Maybe Serge Lutens Filles en Aiguilles?
4. A fragrance you still can’t figure out?
Probably oud oils with animalic profiles. I can sort of understand if they are used to enhance a complex composition but on its own? I don’t get it.
#2 – good one. It’s not me but there is something about it that draws me in.
Yep, I also agree with your #2, gunmetal. It’s a beautiful and mysterious perfume.
1. Gardener’s Glove, from St Clair.
2. Silence the sea, perhaps. Though it’s more about wrapping yourself in the mystery than projecting it.
5. I have spent the last month watching a family of red foxes in the overgrown empty churchyard outside my ground-level window. The adults started showing up to eat the food I put out for the squirrels and birds–and then brought their beautiful cubs with them. Two, then three little ones. Now I get visits each evening from *five* curious, playful, fast-growing cubs (growing even faster with some extra food from me) and they are comfortable enough to spend time hanging out within a couple of feet of me. It’s one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever been given.
Heh, I just found my St. Clair sample set! As to the foxes – wow! Whenever you mention fox, I always think of Isabel Dalhousie, a character from The Sunday Philosophy Club series by Alexander McCall Smith as she has her own Mr. Fox!
Interested to know what you make of the St Clair scents. Have you tried them before?
Oh, I had forgotten about that Mr Fox! You’ve seen I’ve been posting daily fox photos in my IG stories, right?
I’ve seen the pics and I am jealous! We posted the same St. Clair scent today. I’ve also tried Casablanca – it BEEEG! Not me but I will cherish my sample because it contains a lifetime’s worth!
Well, I can’t have a dog, so, I am glad I have wild outside puppers for now!
I *love* Casablanca, and I’m glad I risked buying a “large sample” 🙂
Silence of the Sea is a good once. I would have consider it if not for the outrageous price.
It’s a shocker of a price. I was lucky to be given a little of the oil, which I cherish. I don’t think I can bring myself to buy a bottle though, however much I love it.
I’m thinking about buying the small bottle of oil-Luckyscent has a sale on the spray but it’s still super $$$. Is the oil long-lasting?
I get solid six or seven hours from it, but it *is* an oil and so closer wearing than an EDP. I’d be wary of recommending it to anyone as a blind buy, even though I love it.
LuckyScent put it up on sale ?
its still outrageous even after the discount ?
I am having total Fox envy! Three kits? Total envy. ? So cool!
FIVE kits in all! One comes and hangs out a little during the afternoon sometimes, but I mostly see the others in the evening. Sometimes Mama comes by too, at which point all the cubs go into full over-excitement sports day mode with leaping and chasing and wrestling and tail swishing.
Omg, I could watch something like that for hours! I can only imagine how cute they must be.?
I do! I build a nest of cushions in the window, so I can sit up there with a better view for when I am reading or writing…
I really love your Instagram stories of the fox cubs. They’re truly delightful to watch.
thanks, I am so glad that other people are enjoying these too.
I alway see your pics on insta. They are cute!
🙂 I’ll keep posting them as long as the foxes keep showing up.
I have only ever seen a wild fox once in my life, in Australia. I would love to spend time watching your visitors. I imagine the squirrels are a bit put out
I think Britain has the highest density of foxes anywhere, and Edinburgh has one of the larger urban populations. But I’ve never had such close up, regular visits before. Am I right in thinking that NZ only narrowly escaped the “helpful” introduction of foxes?
The squirrels are clearly not amused, especially when they get chased. But they’ve mostly figured out when the foxes are more likely to be off elsewhere, and sneak in and eat fast. I think the woodpigeons might be more at risk, as they are sometimes so daft they forget to fly…
No foxes here but we do have ferrets, stoats and weasels.
We have lots of foxes, and even more rabbits and groundhogs, and deer. And flying squirrels…they are a bit rare but we do see them from time to time in the trees in our yard.
Our neighbor used to keep a ferret as a pet and once it got away and ran in my house…that is the only time I have ever seen a ferret. I don’t even know what a stoat is although I have heard the word.
I had a close encounter with a fox on a Pennsylvania golf course once. It was eerie.
1. I’m in a melange: I layered Jo Malone English Oak and Red Currant with English Oak and Hazelnut (3 sprays each from sample atomizers), then, because I couldn’t smell the hazelnut, I decided to layer 1 spritz of Angel Muse which clobbered the 6 sprays. So it is now 10 hours later and I am most definitely still smelling fragrant.
2. Box of Eels parfum has an air of mystery around it (whereas the EDT does not, go figure)
3. No. 19 EDP makes me feel smarter and able to take on any puzzle.
4. I’ve stopped thinking about perfumes I couldn’t figure out ?
5. I just finished a book on A Bottled Rose’s list – Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata. Quick read, poignant and the author somehow managed to make me feel like I am experiencing the same thing that the main character was going through. I just started a new book, the newest of the new from my library – The Ghost Clause by Howard Norman. The cover of the book will delight many NSTers as the backdrop is a bookcase with books and there’s a cat sitting in top of a pile of books looking straight at you!
I’ll save my rants for another day.
Just reserved the book you started.
Angel Muse is such a lovely clobberer….
So true about Angel Muse!
The description of the plot drew me in from the get-go. And the cat is actually sitting on a pile of files, not books.
Muse is the first TM scent I really enjoyed. I also like Flora Futura a wee bit. Mugler is mostly miss for me though.
I enjoy it too except looking at my 30 mL, it is still full to the top since I can only wear one spritz at a time!
If you turn the bottle upside down, it will look like you have used more?
Hajusuuri, you get an enabler pin for Wrappings body lotion! I had to get another tube of it. ?
Woo hoo! You are good and stuck on Wrappings!
Aloha Tiaré today, layered over Brazilian Bum Bum Cream.
I don’t think it is possible for me to project an air of mystery. But Cuir de Lancôme makes me feel like an adult woman who should be wearing gloves….
I was almost going to wear California Rêverie again today, in honor of the binge-watching I’ve been doing of the latest season of Bosch on Amazon. Then I thought maybe I should wear something crisp, bracing and heathery since we went to see Local Hero again…blast from the 1983 past. Such a charming movie. And Scotland is beautiful.
I too have lost 10 lbs. A long way to go still, and my resolve for August is to get more exercise. Hoping for the next 10 to be gone by my birthday in September.
I’ve read many of the Bosch books and have enjoyed them all.
? on the weight loss! 10 pounds would take me a year so congratulations.
Isn’t it wonderful? I’d seen it on TV since first run, but it’s always so much better in the theater. Our friends had never seen it and loved it. My husband heard Peter Riegert speak last year, with Amy Irving, after a showing of Crossing Delancey. Said he was incredibly charming and lovely.
That was meant for Oakland Fresca below.
I love the books too. Read all of Connelly’s books, including non-Bosch. His locations are great.
I just love Harry Bosch.
Another Bosch fan checking in here. I like the Amazon Prime series a lot too. Titus Welliver is great in the role.
Doubt I could ever project an air of mystery either! I LOVE Local Hero. My favorite shtick is where the same man who works in the post office is the clerk in the shops (its been decades since I last saw it, so I am rusty on the details) etc. Another favorite Peter Riegert film is Crossing Delancy, which was made a few years after Local Hero.
Oops, replied to you in wrong space. See above.
Congrats on the 10 lbs! Thought of you Thursday when I had dinner with my aunt and uncle in Amery. The DQ is still there, on a corner of the main street.?
That Brazilian bum bum cream is really nice and smells goood
Congratulations!
I ended up wearing Terracotta earlier to a late lunch at a favorite Mexican restaurant. Now I’m spending the evening in Soleil Blanc. It really is a skin scent so I’m wearing a ton of it. I’ve been in the mood for beachy, tropical, and suntan lotion perfumes on these sunny, warm weekend days lately.
I’m surprised to hear that any Tom Ford perfume could be a skin scent.
I’m as shocked about it as you are. I used up just under 3ml in two days. Reapplied all evening yesterday and wore it again today with copious sprays. Boyfriend confirmed he could barely smell it on me.
My perfume today was Calligraphy Rose. For projecting mystery I’d say LL Patchouli 24 because it’s decidedly strange. Not sure about solving mysteries, but maybe something intelligent like Yosh Omniscent. A perfume that puzzles me is Angel, because it’s just so popular yet unpleasant in my book. So is Red Door, which a good friend always wears. It makes it hard for me to visit her house. Finally on a good note, I just finished watching Season 2 of the Icelandic mystery thriller Trapped on Netflix. Season 1 was very gripping and intense. Season 2 got almost too complicated to follow, but I still enjoyed it. The lead detective is a large bearded bear of a man who is nevertheless very appealing.
I realised after I posted this that I should have listed as the perfect mystery-solving scent, or perhaps mystery-inspiring scent, Nordic Noir!
I’m not opposed to a large, bearded bear of a man lol!
Looking forward to going back and reading everyone’s comments!
So . . .
1. A smidge of Opardu on one wrist and a smidge of Narciso Rodriguez Musc oil on the other, both from small StC dauber samples.
2. Ubar for cold weather; Mitsouko for warm.
3. Ummmm… no idea.
4. Ozonic perfumes like Week-End and Sydney Rock Pool. Sometimes I love them, sometimes they just DO NOT WORK at all.
5. My younger son, who has a billion health issues and is dxed on the autism spectrum just completed two weeks in a program held at UC Berkeley, for high school kids with autism, living in the dorms, doing his own laundry, cooking, showing up to classes, etc. His report says his hit it out the park–demonstrated leadership, was a calming force for the other kids, was affirming and positive, participated fully, and is a strong candidate for college (not at UC Berkeley–he’d go to a local community college most likely). And that was after he’d spent a week in Sacramento with a youth group with disabilities learning about how to be an activist for youth with disabilities. He was home one night only, in between (not ideal, but we had no control over the scheduling). That is my brief but spectacular brag about my son! (Bowing)
You may brag about your son!!! And I am so happy for you and for him.
And you never know, he may end up going to UC Berkeley.
That is very kind, but I am certain he won’t end up at UC Berkeley. But, wherever he goes, I want him to be as successful crossing the street as he is academically. He loves school so much, I am thrilled to see a little light at the end the tunnel that he may be able to continue post high school.
Thanks for giving more details about your son’s diagnoses. You have been through a LOT. I quickly read up on agenesis of the corpus callosum and was really surprised to read that the patients have trouble interpreting social cues as well as having problems with facial recognition. My son was diagnosed on the autism spectrum disorder and strangely, my father suffered (and I still do!) from prosopagnosia. My father was highly intelligent so people assumed he was just scatterbrained or absorbed in his own world when he didn’t recognize them. I don’t have the Hollywood movie version of the condition, but enough to have had my fair share of extremely uncomfortable social situations when I saw people “out of context” and really did not have any clue as to who they were! Best wishes to your son!
That is AWESOME!! Your post made my weekend. I am so glad to hear about your son. As a sibling to someone with severe disabilities, I know that his success truly is a result of YOUR hard and strategic work over the last ~17 years. You must be a great mother. The fact that you even knew to get him into the two programs that you mentioned shows it. So many families don’t do the things that you did and it impacts their children forever (no judgment from me to those parents; there’s not nearly enough guidance for parents even if they want to do what’s right).
Bravo!!!!
My son is triple dx— agenesis of the corpus callosum, medulloblastoma (he’s in remission!), and autism, so we are members of quite a few clubs we don’t want to be members of. That said, we have met a lot of smart and engaged parents, and suffered through many useless or even counterproductive “services” and “programs”… we have gotten wiser over the years for sure. Also, we are incredibly fortunate to live in the SF Bay Area, where the issue of supporting and expecting success from people with disabilities is baked in to the social, educational, and political landscape. I also think that having a sibling with disabilities is like a whole university itself in compassion and responsibility. I have no doubt you have scars but also badges from growing up with your sibling.
Thanks for the morning cry! Very awesome news!
Ah Lillyjo, we are doing our damn best, aren’t we? Bad days, but good days too!!
You got that right!
Congratulations Oakland Fresca!!!! That’s tremendous news and every Mom’s dream!!!!!!!!!!
It is! Thank you!
? I am loving your spectacular brag Oakland Fresca! Kudos to you and your son!
Thank you!
How wonderful, you have every right to brag!
Thank you!
I’m so happy for you and your son! And I hope that all the positive energy produced by us reading your news will go somewhere in Universe and come back at your family when/if you need it.
Thanks Undina. I am feeling pretty chuffed at the moment 🙂
You son sounds like quite the guy! You definitely have bragging rights.
I am so glad to hear your news about your son. What champions…all of you.
Congratulations, oaklandfresca! You must have done something right!
what fantastic news. What a very well earned brag! You must be so proud of him, and hopefully of yourself as well 🙂
I love your #5 soooooo much.
That is a worthy and worthwhile brag if ever I heard one! Thanks for sharing it. And I bet he had a great time.
That is a heartwarming brag about your son! Yay for both of you!
Thank you so much for sharing your brag, that is the best news I have heard in ages. Go Oakland Fresca Boy!!
Happy Sunday.
Riddle: I am a sleeping abode, I am heavy….I sound Danish
Answer: Slumerhouse Grev
SOTD: Azermour Les Orangers.
Heh, you stumped NST ?
Aha, thank you for the answer AngelaB!!
Micallef Rouge No. 2 for a beautiful breezy Sunday morning.
Wow, breezy already!
Aedes Copal Azur for an air of mystery.
Best puzzler assistance would be any Imaginary Authors scent for the literal library database and create potential to problem solve.
Perhaps a perfume called ‘clairvoyant’ if one exists.
‘Angel’ in any form or iteration is DEFINITELY the one perfume that I cannot figure out.
Ditto! Plus any and every other scent that has been inspired by it ☹️
So nice to know I am not alone.
so not alone.
I meant my response above
Oh never mind, above and below get confusing with these comments
I think Hajusuuri has a perfume she calls Clairvoyant Clara? Lol, I can’t remember it’s real name.
?
Penhaligon’s
Real name: Clandestine Clara
stuck in hajusuuri’ s brain: Clairvoyant Claire
and the worst part is I have a bottle and I still couldn’t name it right every time this perfume comes up ?
Ok, so I must research this one now.
Copal Azur is lovely:).
?
See my response to lillyjo below ?
1. Sotd is Vanilla Vibes and Orange Sanguine. I’m really starting to dig the vanilla vibes.
2. Coco edp for being mysterious.
3. Bvlgari au the bleu always helps me feel more clear headed, but don’t know that it’s helped me figure out clues.
4. Currently trying to figure out L’ombre dans L’eau. Hated it, loved it. It shouldn’t be for me, but I can’t stop going back to smell it.
5. After a separation and alot of work, my H and I are officially giving it another go.
Good luck, lillyjo! ?
Thanks, Bear. This means alot to me, coming from you. ??✌
I have to get me some Coco! That’s a great scent. Is yours a current version?
And congratulations on your #5.
Thank you! My version is 4 or 5 years old. I still think it’s wonderful. I like the edt too, but for some reason that version turns sour on my skin.
I’ve been married for 26 years and I know that not everyday is (as my husband would say) “wine and roses.” Marriage is a lot of work. Best of luck to you and your H lillyjo!!
It really is! I will add, for me at least, a lot of patience.
Glad to hear about you and your hubby!
Thanks!
Re # 5, you are a spectacular person and mum. We are all rooting for your happiness!
I think the same of you. Thank you.
lillyjo, I am sending you seriously positive energy over the scent-waves in regard to item 5!
Thanks! I love the term scent-waves!
Coco! I was thinking I’d wear that tonight to the ABBA Concert. It seems like a total sideways pick and I want to see how it does in the heat!
And yes I must chime in on #5 w/all the NST’ers above:
Sending you sincere congratulations and the best ‘good luck’ wishes.
You really made me smile!(Glad you shared.)
Thanks! Enjoy ABBA!??
I hope everything works out for you and your husband, and you share lots of love and support
Thank you!
Vanilla vibes is getting good press and I know you love your Orange Sanguine.
So happy for you re: #5. I hope it works out!!!
Thank you so much!
For some reason the saltiness in vanilla vibes came out, and was really nice. I will try it again on it’s own, in case it had to do with the OS.
Sending you lots of good vibes and love! Hope it works out for you.
Thank you!
Best wishes to you and your husband. As you said patience is key. Humor too. (My husband and I have very different senses of humor, and I swear it’s one of our biggest conflicts…at least for me.)
Agree on Coco. I thought of that one too.
Aiyiyi! I am SO with you on having a different sense of humor than my spouse, and it being a conflict sometimes.
Thanks!
I never get tired of Coco. One of the few repurchases in my perfume history.
Your item #5 is incredible news, lillyjo! I wish you all the best luck! Hugs. ???
Thanks, Jalapeno!??
Adding more good wishes Lillyjo!
Thanks, Robin!
An air of mystery..hmm..Exultat probably, which I have always wanted a split of..:/.
If trying to figure out clues..probably go commando..would not want distractions.
A perfume I have figured out but not figured out why it would be worn at all- Arabie. Canned fruit that’s been opened long enough to attract mold and butter chicken..nope. lol.
What an hysterical description Omega!
+1 with Angela’s comment re: hysterical description.
On the Exultat, do check out Twisted Lily as I know it was on sale. I just have a travel spray of it.
Thanks..looks like it’s outta stock..my wallet just took a sigh of relief.
Lolol on the Arabie.
I simultaneously laughed and cringed at your rather vivid description of Arabie!
On the road from Buffalo to Prince Edward County ON in Angel Innocent. We’re just outside of Toronto and about to stop at a churrasco for Portuguese chicken for lunch (my H will have a pork sandwich.) Then back on the road.
Safe travels kpaint!?✌️
Thanks mtg
Having a pang of jealousy. Lying in bed reading, but girding myself for a couple of hours of work, and then cooking for guests today. Being on a road trip to Canada, stopping for a bbq sandwich, and singing along to CDs . . . Sigh. Enjoy!!!
If it makes it any better, my ass hurts, my arms are cramping up and my bladder was about to explode before we stopped for lunch ? Oh, and the Portuguese place was closed ? (but we had some quite tasty chicken and rice elsewhere. )
But in a couple of short hours we’ll arrive at our cottage on Lake Ontario, so there is payoff!
Good point. My view may not be as good as yours. . . I am sitting here staring at a blank computer screen which insists on remaining blank (having nothing to do with my frequent check-ins at NST of course). BUT my bladder is fine. So there.
Sounds so good. All of it.
Safe travels!
Begging for help.
My dog is sick. Do hospitals admit animals for fluids, meds, antibiotics and an ultrasound at maximum? I don’t want to put her through any pain, just ease her. She’s had enough pain.
?
Yes. A pet hospital will work with you to make her more comfortable. If she is in pain, please take her to a vet or pet hospital as soon as possible.
I took her. She had to wait 4 hours to get fluids. Tomorrow is the ultrasound.
So stressful to wait all those hours, but I bet she felt tons better once she got fluids. Will be thinking of you and your girl.
Thank you so much.
I’m wishing the best for your dog, and really hope she isn’t in to much pain.
Thank you so much. My little girl?
I hope you were able to keep her comfortable. Hugs.
I just checked in and a lovely tech is going to kiss her good night for me.
If there is an emergency veterinary practice near you, they would be able to help. Or they could refer you to someone else who can.
That’s where we went. Her neurologist is at the same place.
Seconding Jalapeno, a nearby veterinary practice will help you idendify problems and refer you to an hospital if necessary.
Thinking of you at this anxious time.
Thank you so much. Your thoughtfulness means so much.
I saw another man exiting, leash in hand, bawling his eyes out. My heart ached for him and I started crying.
Wearing Batucada, dreaming of a Caipi and a beach
Salome for an air of mystery
Cristalle or Chanel No 19 for solving mysteries.
I cannot figure of all those Petite Robe Noir scents, do grown women want to smell like sugar?
My boyfriend is recovering nicely and we got the message that the tumor was completely resected. So at the moment it looks good!
Great news for your boyfriend! Wishing him continued good health!
Good news about your boyfriend.
Adding my good wishes for his continued recovery! That’s great news.
Wonderful news, tannina. I salivated over the bread he made (or maybe you both did!)
Hallelujah re the resection! Good days indeed!!!
What excellent news! Fingers firmly crossed for a strong recovery.
Such great news!
Great news!
LOL on LPRN comment.
Awesome news on your boyfriend! I hope that his healing continues without incident.
Great news about the boyfriend!
I love Batcuda, you smell fresh and summery and wonderful.
Great news on the BF!
Another freezing cold day with blustery wind and squalls, and occassional snow flurries. It’s Monday and a film crew is coming to my home and I feel very unsettled – about the invasion of privacy ( it’s a condition of a $$$ award that they make a short ‘artist at work’ type thing which would be ok if it was just shown at the presentation ceremony, but they want it to go on the internet too which really upsets me). I also imagine that at some point I will be dragged off to a windswept beach to gaze at the horizon. I wish the day was over or the airport closes. I will wear Fleur des Oranges
That does sound unsettling. But I imagine that there will be young (and also old!) women who may catch a glimpse of you and your story and feel inspired to write as well. You may have to put your foot down about horizon gazing, but I have no doubt your warmth, humor, and brilliance will carry the day!
As for perfume, are you in the Le Labo or Serge Lutens?
Ugh! This is why I sometimes don’t want to win the lottery!
How squirmfully and invasively horrid. I hope it’s less awful than you fear. (Congrats on the award and the dosh, though!)
I would feel exactly the same way!
I’m thinking of the movie What about Bob? Now, and how different Richard Dryfous (I know, spelling) was getting filmed. Lol.
Congratulations to you!
Yeeek! I don’t blame you one bit for not liking being posted on to the Internet.
Sprayed myself with some Vol d’Nuit this morning. I can still smell traces of it right now.
We just got back from a long hike up to a little pond area and spotted a 4-point buck having lunch eating someone’s zucchini or pumpkin blossoms. Not sure if he was more surprised to see us or we were to see him. We have lots of deer in the area but I haven’t seen one that close up!
I love wild animal sightings!
I’ve been in that “accidentally came across something wild” situation, too.
I came back totally exhausted from a day of volunteering at the museum (my pedometer says I’ve walked 10 miles).
1.Wearing the obscure Yves Rocher Flower Party by Night a calming, botanical scent
2. Vol de Nuit makes me feel mysterious
3. Anything citrussy like my favorite Eau de Rochase keeps me alert while doing mind stuff
4. Mitsouko is my less loved Guerlain which means really that I still like it a great deal but sometimes it puzzles me.
Eau de Rochas not Rochase, I think it’s time I went to bed.
Sweet dreams ?
Thank you Lilijo.
Mitsouko puzzles me as well.
It’s such a complex perfume, it seems to have so many phases and sometimes some of them I don’t really like. Other times it’s wonderful.
Reading Luca’s comment I am reminded of Friday’s CP, the answer was Venezia, I got distracted otherwise I would have put more clues.
1. Loewe 001 Woman
2. air of mystery? Cabochard, Moonlight Patchouli, Chanel 19 EDP
4. I really can’t figure out Alien!
I totally agree with Cabochard!