PSA: We will hold a splitmeet 2 weeks from today, on November 2. Meanwhile, we've got five six! questions to while away the weekend...as always, answer as many or as few as you like, or use the 3 day weekend to answer a couple a day, or just talk about something else.
1. What's your fragrance today?
2. If you were giving advice to a new perfumista — someone just falling down the rabbit hole this year — what would it be?
3. Are you angling to buy a new perfume soon, and what is it?
4. Do you think you will buy a fragrance-related advent calendar this year? If so, which one?
5. What's your absolute favorite home fragrance product lately? It can be anything — a candle, incense, burning paper or spray.
6. Share something wonderful with us! It can be anything: something you discovered, or ate, or saw, or bought, or that happened to you recently.
Note: top image is Thistledown Farm [cropped] by David Geitgey Sierralupe at flickr; some rights reserved.
1. Commando as I wait for my discontinued Encen Mythique to come in the mail
2. Do lots of sniffing and buy samples before committing to an extra large sample. Try taking a break from wearing perfume altogether or switch to a very light, neutral fragrance for a bit to “detox your sniffing palette”. If you have an impulse and have really bought a huge stock of perfume that you are not longer interested in ask yourself “Why certain perfumes no longer appeal to you? It could be due to a shift in lifestyle, mood? Or do you simply desire something new?
3. See number 1
4. Nope
5. Tobacco and Vanilla, Moroccan Amber…candles !
6. I am preparing my commentary for the library as we have a book banning and censorship exhibit coming up. I finished Intermezzo by Sally Rooney-very good! OaklandFresca shared a while back a podcast on Mary Renault. Though I don’t like podcasts I am learning a lot from LRB-I listen to almost every new one that comes out. I usually put it on when I am cleaning or doing the dishes, on the subway etc.
https://www.threadless.com/shop/%40wasabisnake/design/i-read-banned-books-1/womens
A t-shirt to match your presentation
This is AH-MAZING!
Perfume detox is good advice. 👍
Looking forward to reading your report on Encens Mythique!
Happy weekend! Even though I’ve been retired for almost four years, weekends still feel different to me than weekdays. Weird. Anyway, my poll answers:
1. My SOTD is Carthusia 1681, one of my top ten, if not top five.
2. Always, no matter how lovely the notes sound, or how much someone raves about it, always always try before you buy if at all possible. You’ll save so much regret, not to mention money.
3. Nothing on my radar at the moment … with the permanent caveat that if/when I stumble across a perfect, well-priced, vintage bottle of Bel Ami, Bel Respiro or (the holy grail) Doblis, I will pounce with awe-inspiring speed.
4. Adventure calendars are not my thing, so no.
5. My favorite home fragrance in summer and early fall is whatever wafts through open windows. Now that colder temperatures have arrived, my favorite thing to scent a room is some Shoyeido incense found at Beauty Habit, and literally all of the packaging is in Japanese except for the barcode label which says “Baiku-ju”. It’s a stick-type incense and there are enough sticks in the box to last the rest of my life (and then some) so I probably won’t have to track it down again, but in case you’re interested, the notes are listed as sandalwood, benzoin, clove and cinnamon.
6. Something wonderful … well, I saw a bumper sticker that made me laugh out loud the other day, but what it said would probably break the comment rules here. Oh, and our new furnace continues to do a really outstanding job keeping the house at an even temperature — that’s fairly wonderful.
That incense sounds great. I love the idea of incense but never know what to buy. And I’m with you about retirement, weekends just have a different vibe.
It’s funny about how weekends still DO seem different, even though we’re retired.
Especially to this newly retired gal:)
1. Gabriela Sabatini edt. I would have hated this back in the day, but I like it now. Sweet but sophisticated, warm but not powdery, floral but not overpowering.
2. Keep your samples. Your tastes and appreciation will change over time. See #1.
3. I’m still ogling PdE Vetiver Bourbon. I missed a coupon discount at ZGO last week and I’m kicking myself.
4. I don’t buy advent calendars…
5. … or home fragrances.
6. It’s a gorgeous fall day and I’m going for a walk in the park.
Totally agree with #2!
We are having gorgeous weekend weather here too…
BeautyHabit carries PdE and they have 20% off sales multiple times each year
Happy Saturday fragrant friends. Strong coffee and a throw over my legs with a chilly morning here by the ocean.
1. Post shower will be Jo Malone Velvet Rose & Oud in the fancy bottle.
2. Don’t buy fragrance because someone on Tik Tok influenced you.
3. Une Nuit Nomade Memory Motel is calling me. So is Habanero. But I have a bottle of Guiac 10 coming from Japan, so I will hold off.
4. Sometimes I burn SMN papers. Mostly incense from world travels.
No candals, no sprays, no diffusers anymore. I do spray my linens
w/ Sleepy from Lush.
5. No to advent calendars.
6. Something good – in two weeks from today I will be flying to see my sister!
So glad you will be with your sister soon apsara!
Me too, Robin!
Have not seen her since April.
She is having a small procedure so I will be her nurse for a few days.
And that’s what sisters are for, among other things 🙂
Your #6 is so exciting to look forward to, especially after all of the recent worries for her safety💕
Yep!!
Happy weekend everyone.
1. Atelier des Ors Rose Omeyyade
2. Don’t rush, take your time and if you didn’t like something, do revisit after a few years. You might be pleasantly surprised.
3. I wanted Laboratorium Olfattivo Daimiris but it seems discontinued…
4. Nope
5. Nothing comes to mind
Photo of Diptyque Oud Palao I took today.
https://www.instagram.com/stories/chemistbottle/3482187493388555224?utm_source=ig_story_item_share&igsh=MW5tcXpnbGQ0NmVqeg==
Happy weekend Lucasai!
1. SOTD = Bath and Body Works Pumpkin Cupcake Fragrance Mist. I just realized I have a (small) collection and should use them!
https://www.instagram.com/p/DBUQ1QORQom/?igsh=ejMxZnE5NnZpaDB2
2. Newbie advice? 🤔
3. I don’t have anything in mind right now but when the urge hits, it hits!
4. I have the Wobbles Advent Calendar. I need to be brave and try making the cutesy stuff despite my not so good crocheting hands.
5. I like candles!
6. I mentioned finishing my Civil Mediation Training and I now need to figure out next steps. I updated my resume BUT I am not happy with it. I also have to figure out next steps, including the 5 hours of practical training, etc. Why is this good news? My plans are progressing!
Do you change the amount of sprays for the body mists?
Same … these are generally quite fragrant.
I don’t crochet much but that one from woobles looks fun! ☺️ It’s sold out so I’m safe. 😁
I’ve bought my niece a few Woobles. She loves them. I just got her the little ghost with glow in the dark yarn. It’s adorable.
Glow in the dark yarn! I would love to see that. 👻
1. My perfume so far today is yesterday’s Rouge Sarây which is still on my clothes, but I’m thinking about Annick Goutal’s Le Chèvrefeuille for later.
2. Advice for newbies – I’ve got a few hints: sniff everything, try before you buy and focus on a few notes to avoid drowning. I got very interested in iris notes, I tried many other things as well, but that gave me a path to start learning.
3. L”Ame Perdue from Le Galion is at the top of my list, and I’d already have it if it wasn’t out of stock at the one place that will post it to here.
4. I don’t buy advent calendars.
5. Ditto, I don’t buy home fragrances. That saves money for more perfumes!
6. Something wonderful – we’re finally having some lovely spring weather! My beloved and I went out for dinner last night and we didn’t have to wrap up in coats and scarves.
Yay for spring weather! Le Chèvrefeuille is the perfect thing for it.
1. Demeter Russian Leather. I grabbed a bunch of Demeters from the drawer and will be wearing them for the next week or so (with the exception of Friday, for community-wear reasons). This one is warm sweet leather with a birch-tar edge to it: no lasting power to speak of but that’s what we expect of the brand.
2. Wear it — really wear it, and think about — three times before you even think about buying it, and don’t ever buy something because it smells good on someone else. Fragrance is super expensive these days and you can’t afford to waste money on something you don’t love.
3. Nah, I’m just wearing what I own.
4. I’m not even buying the Diamine Inkvent advent calendar this year, and that’s like $125, so I am definitely not buying a fragrance advent calendar, which is likely to be way more if it’s worth owning. I have enough liquids in small bottles to last me for a long time.
5. A year ago I bought three of the Serge Lutens home fragrances (the Japanese one, the Scottish one, and the Arabian one) and I still love them all. They never leave the bathroom, but they get a daily workout and I swap them out every couple of weeks so I never get tired of a particular scent.
6. This is absolutely not for every taste but the movie The Substance is extraordinary, if you have a taste for body horror with a message. It’s a hard watch in places, and the ending is utterly deranged (it makes the elevator scene from The Shining look like a nosebleed), but I liked it a lot. (Co-workers who’ve seen it would disagree, but as I said, not for every taste.)
Wow, on point 6, that comparison to The Shining is really making me feel shocked already, without even watching this new movie! I’m not usually bothered by horror but this is scaring me!
The ending isn’t actually scary — it’s hilarious, because it’s so over-the-top, and it doesn’t even really make sense in the context of the rest of the film. It’s as if the director was saying, “Oh, you thought we went as far as we could go? How about THIS? Top that, I dare you!”
Ditto on your number 2
NOPE and double NOPE to scary and/or gory movies! Can’t do them at all.
same! 😱😅
same same! Scary movies, haunted houses, tv ads for scary movies and haunted houses — I cannot handle it. I basically can’t watch tv in October. 😂
1. What I’m wearing: Indigo Smoke, by Arquiste, which has been frequently in my rotation ever since I bought it last summer (spring?).
2. Advice: Many people have given good advice. I learned by moving through different fragrance or scent groups (e.g., fig, amber, patchouli, etc.), and don’t think that was a bad idea. As others have said, don’t get rid of samples, because your tastes really may change over time, and don’t jump onto trends.
3. I’m still wanting to get the Arquiste L’or de Louis that was in my sample set and that I didn’t spring for because it was so expensive.
4. Nothing here
5. I often buy some of the Mrs. Meyers soaps that are limited seasonal editions, and I quite enjoyed (and still have) the Dandelion one.
6. I’m going to Chicago next week for a conference and have many plans to see friends and have fun dinners! I won’t have free time until Sunday and am wondering, is there someplace in Chicago that people here might recommend for perfume? Other than the usual department store sorts of places, which I doubt I’ll have time for anyway?
Haven’t actually been, but this is supposed to be a perfumista-appropriate destination: https://www.merzapothecary.com/
It’s a shame Marshall Fields is long gone.
That was going to be my rec too. They are the same peeps as the online store Smallflower.
Love Smallflower! ❤️
Thanks! I have gone there in the past, but forgot until I saw the pictures. I’m definitely going to add that to my itinerary!
Merz is great, as mentioned above! There are some perfume spots near me in Wicker Park: Le Labo, Diptyque, Lush, Mojo Spa (more bath products and skincare, but some perfume), Aesop, and lots of other fun stores. I’m working next Sunday, unfortunately, otherwise I’d suggest we could meet up for some sniffing!
Actually I take it back, I don’t work the 27th! Let me know if you’d like to meet up!
Hey, thanks! I am meeting another old friend there, so let me check on what her plans are and I’ll get back to you.
Okay, great! My email is skcossocks at gmail.
1) Traversee du Bosphore.
2) Advise for newbies: don’t be afraid to try different scents and different notes, even from brands that you’ve never heard of before.
3) and 4) No and no.
5) I have an old Anthropologie candle that I burn every once in a great while for the nice scent. Otherwise, no other home scents for me.
6) Something wonderful: I recently taught myself the ASL alphabet. I also keep a list of words that I have been learning in ASL. It’s a small list, but the English language is quite vast; Rome in a day and all that.
That great about your #6!
My daughter was non-verbal for a long time and we started learning sign language together. We watched a PBS kids show called Signing Time and it was very helpful and fun.
I’ll have to look up that show. All I have to learn from is YouToob videos, so it’s not very structured.
1. Epic Woman
2. No advice, many great ones already mentioned. I will just say, I don’t envy recent newbies, fragrances have gotten so pricey and there’s so much influencer nonsense to sift through these days!
3. I have bought more than I intended to in the past month or so, so no!
4. Nope. I am amazingly immune to advent calendars.
5. I bought the Diptyque Sapin room spray last year and am looking forward to using it again. Also, for many years now I’ve loved This Works deep sleep pillow spray.
6. We’re taking my son out for a belated birthday dinner tonight. It was canceled last weekend because my in-law had a health emergency. My son is turning into quite a foodie, and it’s really fun to see him appreciating a good meal. We’re going to an old-school steakhouse.
Happy Birthday to your Son!
Sounds like it will be a delicious meal.
Hope the steakhouse was lovely, and happy belated birthday to Mr. Tulipani Jr.
1. I was wearing a sample of Rose de Jamal from Les Indemodables, and I was loving it. Alas, it gave my girlfriend a headache, so if I wear it again it’ll have to be when she’s out of town. I’ve switched to some vintage Aramis, which has her stamp of approval.
2. All the advice above is great. I’d add only this: take notes! A fragrance diary, of sorts. Written or voice memo. Impressions, both good and bad, notes that stand out, etc. It helps to articulate what you like/don’t like about a fragrance, a house, or a fragrance family. (Someone gave me this advice many years ago when I wanted to get a little more serious about wine.)
3. Well, I WAS considering a full bottle of Rose de Jamal, but see above. That would be pretty silly. Nothing else on the horizon at the moment.
4. I’ve never heard of a fragrance advent calendar! Any recommendations?
5. Nothing fancy, but I’m enjoying the Iowa Pine Scent air freshener from Meyer’s. Looking forward to the wintery candles from Trader Joe’s.
6. My daughter got engaged to her wonderful fella. They’ve been together for seven years, so it wasn’t a big surprise, but I’m so happy for her, and for them.
3. It must be love!
4. You should be sitting down when you look at the price of the Chanel and Guerlain advent calendars.
6. Congratulations to your daughter! More love!
Most of the bigger brands do advent calendars. They are expensive for what you get, so unless you’d absolutely delight in opening a little box every day, might be best to skip.
https://www.vogue.com/article/best-perfume-advent-calendars
Thanks, Robin. They do look sweet, but I’m not terribly tempted.😊
Korres has an Advent Calendar this year, but it is not just perfume. Also rather pricey, IMO.
mmmm, Aramis! You smell good. ☺️
TJs candles can be really great.👍👍
Congrats on your daughter’s engagement! Even if it’s not a surprise, it’s always wonderful. 💞
Taking notes to get yourself to articulate what you are smelling is such great advice! I got similar advice when I started getting into craft beer, and the premise was that language uses a different part of your brain than smell and taste, so by doing both you form a stronger scent/taste memory. I don’t know if that is true or just scientific-sounding nonsense, but either way I enjoy the meditative aspect of the process.
Ooooooh, I *love* sticking my nose into a glass of craft beer for a sniff before my first sip. It’s fun teasing out what I get then.
And yes, it is a little meditation.
1. I started the day in Rodin. What a gorgeous jasmine!
2. Great advice so far. Like Gaynor, I started down the iris rabbit hole and it served me well. Get to know the notes you like and don’t like. Follow perfumers/houses you like so that you start to recognize their DNA. Like Daniel said, take notes. And though I don’t always follow this advice, smell before buying. And if you don’t, there’s always the swapmeet and splitmeet!
3. I am falling and falling for Chanel No. 22. We’ll see where that leads me…
4. I usually get the Bonne Maman advent calendar but that’s about it.
5. Mr. allo doesn’t like scented candles and because it’s love, I refrain.
6. A friend is recently divorced and though that doesn’t sound like good news, it is in this case. Not because her husband isn’t a lovely person, just because it was never a good match. And she and I are becoming much closer as a result which is really satisfying for both of us💕
Love your #4. I never would have thought of it, but I’ll have to seek it out now.
Can we give out enabler pins for Advent calendars? 😄
1. Liis Bo sample today. I like this one but I don’t get all the notes others describe. Nice hamster cage/pencil shavings. Not that is altogether a bad thing, since I do like wood scents.
2. Don’t have much advice for new perfume lover that isn’t already above. I do think I learn a lot from YouTube reviews.
3. There are a lot of perfumes I want for 2025, especially Perris Monte Carlo Nosy Be Ylang Ylang. The trouble is, my list is so long, I think January will be a release of pent up demand from the end of 2024. I may order a bottle of Jorum Studio Spiritcask, rationalizing the 30 ml small size.
4. No advent calendars here.
5. Not really much of a home fragrance person but there are a few candles I burn some evenings. Nothing fancy. I do have our fireplace set up with an assortment of (mostly) white candles and we burn those on cold evenings in lieu of a fire.
6. I planted a small tree last weekend. Hubby and I bought a small potted tree in June at a native plant sale but it was just too hot to plant it most of the summer. Recently, husband tried digging a hole in the spot I wanted the tree and after about 10 minutes, he deemed the spot too rocky, told me he would have to get a jackhammer to get a hole done. Last weekend, when husband was out of town, I resumed digging. I did hit a lot of rocks but kept digging around them until the hole was done and got the tree in the ground. So I am small and NOT strong but persistent!
LOVE your tree planting story. Was husband surprised?
Sadly, he didn’t notice. I finally had to tell him.
You are Small and Mighty! 💪
Hey, Zephyr2, re your No. 3: if you’re interested in a decant, let me know. Are you in the U.S.? You can reach me here: standing dawt armsakimbo at geemale dawt com.
Love your No. 6! Now I’m thinking of one of my favorite Shakespeare quotes, since I’m small, too. “Though she be but little, she is fierce!”
Yeah, that quote fits me sometimes. I have been small all my life but I rarely feel limited by it at all. Occasionally I have to ask a tall person to reach something at the grocery store.
Thanks for your kind offer. I think I will get a full bottle in 2025, less than 3 months away now. It might have been your comments that I noted after I raved about the sample.
Okay, it’s always nice to have a new bottle to look forward to!
I can relate to your comment about the grocery store. People are usually nice when I ask for help.
Excellent tree planting story! Persistence pays off!
All the lilacs are in full flower and smelling glorious. What a super scent. The cottonwoods down by the river ( I’m in a different town) are filling the sky with blizzards of white cotton-seeds. The ground is deep in them.
My only advice is buy want you want within budget, and cheap does not equal “ bad” ( and expensive does not equal good).
Wearing CDG Peppermint
Great advice!
1. What’s your fragrance today?
Sunday morning here, still in my only perfume I have with me although yesterday evening I visited a nearby perfume shop. Nope, didn’t purchase anything…
2. If you were giving advice to a new perfumista — someone just falling down the rabbit hole this year — what would it be?
Just because everyone else likes it doesn’t mean you have to like it as well.
3. Are you angling to buy a new perfume soon, and what is it?
Hmm, it would be nice to find a perfume that links me to this place but I’m looking at ALL the things including silk scarves yesterday for €450. Nope, didn’t buy one…
4. Do you think you will buy a fragrance-related advent calendar this year? If so, which one?
Nope, more likely to buy an advent calendar for my doggo…
5. What’s your absolute favorite home fragrance product lately? It can be anything — a candle, incense, burning paper or spray.
When I’m my rolling home I’ve been enjoying my latest candle acquisition.
(https://www.glasshousefragrances.com/collections/home-fragrance-candles/products/380g-candle-limited-edition-sacred-hollows?variant=41122667724884)
I will say that every room in this hotel is wonderfully fragrant. They have electronic diffusers everywhere. Noticing lots of perfumes out in the wild as I move through the masses..
6. Share something wonderful with us! It can be anything: something you discovered, or ate, or saw, or bought, or that happened to you recently.
3 different flights to get here and each one went off without a hitch. All on time, nothing overbooked, and no Karen drama anywhere! I’m pleasantly amazed and grateful!
Whoops! Sorry kanuka and allo!
So glad your trip is going well!
So glad the flights went well!!
Smelling all of the blooming lilacs in spring is pure bliss. Enjoy!
Chanel No. 5 EDP on Saturday, Cabochard on Sunday.
For the fans of Nicolaï fragrances who need ideas for Turkey CP: this is the page listing all Nicolaï scents with Tirkish rose:
https://pnicolai.com/en/world-tour-of-raw-materials-turkish-rose/
Unfortunately, I do not have any of these, but I hope someone will find it useful.
edp is my favorite No. 5, so beautiful. ❤️
Thank you for the Nicolai link. I have a sample of Eau Mixte. I hope I remember on Friday. 😊
Hey All,
It’s Sunday night here in Sydney and my weekend is just about done. Just came home from work, doing loads of washing and starting my Trivia Q&A for next week.
This is the first time I have done a weekend poll. So fun. thanks
1. Wearing a new perfume that was a birthday gift: Full Ylang Ylang The Body Shop. Summer in a bottle.
2. Make a budget, and stick to it would be my advice to a new perfumista.
3. I’ve had my eye on Atelier Des Ors Riviera Lazuli for a long while and am thinking it might be my summer spritz for 2024/5.
4. Not buying a fragrance related Advent but an thinking to buy a couple of chocolate ones for girlfriends
5. Recently I opened and started burning the Nespresso candle. It’s very coffee, cafe latte.
6. We filled the table with people for lunch yesterday. Jin did Korean Bone Broth Soup and nine side dishes. Though the soup is not really my thing the crew went ape-sh*t for it and we had an excellent afternoon eating, chatting, laughing and making memories.
What a fun get together.
It was Ringthing.
Hiya Portia! Nice seeing you post, and hearing that all is well with you!
Heya Jalapeño!
Always nice to see you pop up.
HUG
Hi Portia! I love your description of that candle. I’ll have to see if they have it here. I have a coffee one that I got ages ago at Anthropologie and have always enjoyed it. Especially in the kitchen.
1. Chergui
2. Go slow, get to know the notes and perfumers of your favorite perfumes and build on that, keep samples, don’t be influenced by popularity.
3. Nothing atm except a decant of Montale Black Aoud.
4. No
5. I’m with Calypso on Mrs Meyers seasonal scents. Right now it’s my favorite, Acorn Spice.
6. I have wonderful friends. Lots of love there. We meet for coffee (lunch, to be honest) every month. Everyone gets 10 minutes to vent about whatever, ending with something positive. Very cathartic!
EXCELLENT idea about the 10 minute vent, end on a positive. I’m going to start employing that.
Hi ringthing, I just sent you an email re: your #3
Thank you allo!
Happy weekend everyone!
We had a wonderful afternoon thunderstorm,the air is cool and fresh after weeks of superhigh spring temps!
1.SOTD!Vintage Balmain Jolie Madame.Violets and soft leather,so classic!
2.My advice to a newbie:you don’t need EVERYTHING new or shiny.Don’t believe all the hype,rather trust your personal taste and stick to a budget.Work out a system for yourself,whether it be a seasonal wardrobe,a selection according to your preferred notes,whatever!Price does never equal quality!Also,mix it up!Wear cheapies and expensivo’s together,but most of all have fun with the hobby!Read up on notes,on the history of perfumes,the classics…investigate sustainability,ethical sourcing of materials and make conscious decisions about what you are wearing,and why!And do read NST,of course!
3.apprently I’m always angling for something new…LOL!So yes!
BornToStandOut and Vyrao recently launched over here and I am eager to sample first!A friend is bringing me a bottle of Jusbox 54 from Harrods,a total blind buy because I love The Perfume Guy!
4.I’ve never bought an advent calender,the most recent ones from Chanel etc were so overhyped and mostly trash(in my opinion)
5.I’ve been using the papier d’armenie booklets for years now,it smells so good and functions fantastic to freshen up spaces.I have a couple of local diffusers(Cape Island,Méme)around the apartment,sometimes I’ll burn a candle.
6.I’m just enjoying life at the moment.There’s a lot to be grateful for,with everything else happening around the world!
XO’s
https://youtu.be/FTQbiNvZqaY?feature=shared
Appropriate for today!🕺🏼✌🏻
Always happy to hear it! Amazing because sick of so many other songs from that era, but this one always puts a smile on my face.
Excellent newbie advice, especially about having fun! The research part of this hobby is awesome.
1. What’s your fragrance today?
Belle du Soir solid from the Anthro/Le Labo collab of some years back. Set me back $8 on clearance. Pleasantly ladylike. : )
2. If you were giving advice to a new perfumista — someone just falling down the rabbit hole this year — what would it be?
Echoing much of what others have already said above….
Unless you’re in the business or trying to be, it’s okay to be a dilettante. Have fun. Stop playing if it stops being fun. Samples are your friends. Beware the culture of desire. Just because all the cool kids are talking up a house or a particular frag don’t try too hard to like it. Keep an eye on your budget and your time.
(And, for those among you with female sex characteristics – remember that perimenopause can affect your sense of smell.)
3. Are you angling to buy a new perfume soon, and what is it?
Nope. I’m mostly angling to downsize.
4. Do you think you will buy a fragrance-related advent calendar this year? If so, which one?
Never bought one, not really my thing.
5. What’s your absolute favorite home fragrance product lately? It can be anything — a candle, incense, burning paper or spray.
I move very, very slowly through candles, which I pretty much only light after major cooking enterprises. For the past 6 months it’s been Nette Supernatural. I like the scent well enough, but admit they got me with the marketing spin.
6. Share something wonderful with us! It can be anything: something you discovered, or ate, or saw, or bought, or that happened to you recently.
If you have the opportunity wherever you are in the world, go see the generative Eno documentary. If possible go see it more than once! Even if you’re not particularly interested in Eno.
https://www.hustwit.com/eno
Oh my, I did not even know about the Eno movie, thank you!
Yesterday’s SOTD was Nasomatto Nuda and currently in no 5 edt.
I would order samples to try. Especially the sample sets. It’s easier to get a $20 sample set and hate them all instead of spending $200 on a full bottle you hate. Most retailers don’t accept returns of open perfumes.
I am looking on selling off a good chunk of my perfume collection. I have a good idea of that I want to keep and what to offload. Lyric, Jubilation 25, Coromandel and vintage BaV are definitely staying.
I would like to get Viktoria Minya Eau de Hongrie but it’s going to be a long time before a bottle of anything.
I ignore advent calenders. They don’t seem to be worth the money.
I have a huge collection of candles. While I love candles, my folks don’t like them too much. I would love to finish my Diamond of the Season from Bath and Body Works but it’s not in the cards right now.
I keep saying I’m going to downsize my collection but I never do it…good for you!
Hiya NSTers!
1. SOTD = TF Black Orchid. A single spray today seems to be working for me. I discovered yesterday that the extreme far drydown of Black Orchid melds beautifully with a spritz or two of the OG Angel EdP. Highly recommend if you enjoy big perfumes!
2. New perfumista advice? Smell EVERYTHING, not just perfume. Pay attention to scents in your environment, including the unpleasant ones. Trust your own intuition about what you like and don’t like. Samples are your friends!
3. *sigh* Already pulled the trigger. Further details when said perfume actually arrives.
4. Nope.
5. Been really enjoying Method Green Tea and Aloe Foaming Hand Cleanser. Probably the best smelling one I have tried. I will definitely be getting more of it in the future.
6. Gorgeous Autumn weather has finally arrived for me! It seemed to take forever to show up. Now, I am going to be greedy and ask for some rain since the drought situation is getting worse. Please Mother Nature!
Ooh, I am totally copying your sotd! I wore the OG Angel last night bcs you mentioned it recently and I smelled great. Love Black Orchid and haven’t worn it in ages. Tomorrow is my domestic queen day and it needs a big perfume lol.
Glad fall showed up at last, hoping you can enjoy that wet leaf smell of a rainy fall day very soon.
Hope that you had fun copying my SOTWeekend!
I agree with your advice. I smell everything. It’s just a habit now.I am sure I look odd doing it. Lol.
Our sniffing habit might be keeping our brain sharp! There’s a fair amount of research coming out now about that topic. So go ahead and keep on doing it!
I love your advice to smell everything. I sniff random things all the time and get curious looks from people around me. 😄
I know exactly that look you are on the receiving end of! Seen it a time or two myself.
Wishing you comfortable, deep ground wetting, soft rain over a few days.
Thanks Portia! I did get a bit of gentle rain this morning. Folks in the southern part of Colorado got a good wetting over the weekend. (I’m in the northeastern part of the state.)
Unfortunately, I think the rest of the week is supposed to be dry here. Maybe next week I’ll get lucky again?
Hi everyone! It was a beautiful and unseasonably warm weekend here.
1. SOTD is Splendiris, from an old sample. It’s reminding me a lot of Chanel no. 19. Good stuff!
2. Advice: Ignore the perfume snobs, because price does not equal quality. Figure out what YOU like! Work on developing your nose and being able to identify different notes. It’s fun!
3. I’m supposed to have a bottle of Oriza Foin Fraichement Coupé arriving soon from Fragrancenet, but the first shipment never arrived even though they said it did, and the second one is having trouble (I don’t know about this company they’re using for their deliveries…)
4. No advent calendar for me; I’m too picky about what I’d want included!
5. I’ve been working on a geranium rose candle. It’s not heavily scented, which I like.
6. Something wonderful: last week I finished a community fiber art project for work that has taken over a year, and we hung it up and celebrated with a cake. It was such a relief to have it finished, and it looks great! Now I can go back to making things for myself!
Congratulations on No. 6, socks! In fact, 1-5 are good, too. I love rose geranium.
2nd all of that! Congrats socks.
Thank you!
Thank you! Yes, rose geranium is so nice.
Hiya socks!
I’m waiting on something from FragranceNet too. They seem to have put my purchase on the SLOW truck!
Hi Jalapeno! My package finally arrived today, so I have hope for yours too!
Scent of the day is Chanel No.19.
Advice to a newbie is : don’t do it.
There is nothing on my wish list at the moment.
No advent calendar for me
I love to burn papier d’Armenie
I have my daughter’s book launch events to attend this week and during the weekend there was a poetry night with lots of poets and her book signing event at the book fair. So excited and very proud of her.
How wonderful about your daughter!
“don’t do it”. 😂🤣💀
LOL — best advice to a newbie here!
Congrats to your daughter, that’s lovely.
1. sotd = Prada Infusion d’Amande 🌰
2. Samples and decants evaporate or go bad faster than bottles do. Use ’em or lose ’em! 🤬
3. I’m jonesing for more CdG Avignon, but I can’t justify buying more when the perfume cupboard already overflows. 🤯
4. I love advent calendars with sweets but have never had one with fragrance, so I’m unlikely to start now. 😉
5. Trader Joe’s did a eucalyptus candle last year that is delightful. I wish I had bought a back up. I don’t really like buying candles, but this one smelled so good in the store I couldn’t resist. Also, I think it was about $5. 🤩
6. Went to the beach today for a swim. While taking a long walk on the sand we saw a sea lion body surfing in a beautiful wave. He looked so happy. 🌊😌
Hope everyone has enjoyed a lovely weekend. ❤️
So true about samples and decants evaporating! I’ve had that unpleasant discovery a few times. 😢
Love #6, how cool!
I’m tardy to the party!
1) I’m currently commando. I’m in Porto Portugal for 2 months and deliberately did not bring a scent with me. I figured I’d explore.
2) Do not impulse buy or buy what your friends like! Try something more than once before purchasing.
3) I don’t have anything I need to buy right now…as she whispers into the clouds.
4) I sometimes buy a fancy chocolate one and several years ago I won the Guerlain advent in a contest. Most are overpriced.
5) I am a complete sucker for candles and soaps. Robins Daily Lemmings are often my downfall lol. As mentioned I didn’t bring perfume with me to Porto, but I did bring a candle. And I’m already plotting how many Claus Porto soaps I can cram into my luggage, they are cheap here!
6) I stay on the Porto theme. We rented an apartment and are having a grand time. Walking, exploring, trying new food. We love to cook and our place has a decent well equipped kitchen. Weekly train adventures to towns around us get us moving. We discovered we qualify for over 65 half price train tickets! But it pains me to press the “Elderly” button on the ticket kiosk! LOL. And thank heavens for all the hilly walking because I’m melodically working my way through the various Portuguese pastries. Yummm
Methodically!
Have a wonderful time!
What an adventuresome spirit you have! Your trip sounds like so much fun. They use elderly instead of senior? Wow. I sure hope it has a better connotation there, lol!
What a lovely time you are having, good for you and yes, I am jealous! I would even accept “elderly” for a couple months in Porto.
Today is the day I meet with my surgeon and I dabbed on no 22 extrait. I would rather be in a cloud of no 22 edt. After my appointment I will have a generous spray of the edt.
How many of you guys have the edp version of no 22? I want to know what you think of it. I tried the edp version of Cuir de Russie and hated it but love the edt.
No help on the 22, but hope the visit with the surgeon went well.
Very late to this party…not on my computer much while on vacation. But anyway…
Friday is the Turkey CP? HOW PERFECT as I will be in Istanbul! So I will smell like Turkey whether or not I wear perfume. 🙂
Answers to the questions:
1. 31 rue Cambon. Yesterday I was commando to try at SMN, and today I wanted something sophisticated but maybe a bit more reined in than some of the scents I’m smelling on people in Florence. Sadly, no SMN bottle spoke to me, especially as they only had 100 mls, which would seriously strain my one baggie of liquids in my carry-on…and yes, I need toothpaste and moisturizer. 😀 (Eva was interesting but I feel like the bottle I have of Wode ticks that box somewhat, Iris was too linear and too straight-up powdery flower for me though I can see where others find it lovely, and while I liked Acqua di Sicilia, it lasted about 20 minutes on me. There’s always Nicolaï at the end of November.)
2. Never, ever buy a perfume off the top notes. Even if you are in a high-end, specialist perfume boutique and the woman who owns it who is supposedly an expert tells you that the perfume is absolutely “you” (when she’s had all of 2 minutes of acquaintance with you). Always leave and walk around and sit with it. If they’re pressuring you, they don’t know what they’re doing.
3. See above. Yeah, definitely eyeing some Nicolaïs in Paris. If none of the new ones speak to me I’m going for Caravanserail.
4. No Advent calendar this year, though I live in the land of Advent calendars. Every drug store and pharmacy and department store has like 10 different adult Advent calendars. But I’m moving home in the middle of Advent, so probably not for me. (I did find the Neiman Marcus Advent calendar a decent value last year, though.) Oh…wait…I did already buy an “Advent calendar” box of tea, but that’s pretty minor.
5. I miss my Francis Kurkdijan Year of Armenie papers at home. SMN, sadly, wasn’t selling their Armenian papers here, just potpourri (€24 for a sachet…sigh) and soap. I kind of feel badly for them as the store has more people in it to take pictures than anyone buying perfume. But they’ve created that monster.
6. Tuscan hill country! Not a surprise to anyone, but it was quite lovely, even in the rain. And the food in Pienza (and Montalcino) was amazing. Also Ravenna and Pomposa, which were so blissfully uncrowded after Venice.
Popping by to say I’m wearing Le Temps d’une Fête from PdN, one of my all-time favourites.
Oh, I love that one! Enjoy!
You smell amazing!!!
I love that one!
You will win the CP for sure! So glad you are having wonderful time traveling…
1. Lolita Lempicka for a day that looks like fall but feels like midsummer.
2. Ditto to everything said in all above comments.
3. Oh dear. I already have more than enough to last the rest of my life but caved and bought a 50 ml bottle of Encens Flamboyant this morning. I have wished that I had bought it back when it came out and finally succumbed. At least I didn’t buy the 100ml bottle which in the past I probably would have.
4. No.
5. Love many of the Linnea and company candles. Woman owned, and they have scents for diffusing as well. For hand washing delicates and hand-knits I really like Soak especially in the Yuzu and Fig versions.
6. One morning up at the cabin I went down to the dock at dawn to greet the day and found a pair of loons looking idly for breakfast between me and the sunrise as a very large fish jumped out of the water in the background—a perfect cliché of a northern lake morning! As it began to rain lightly I saw movement in the water out of the corner of my eye and realized it was a family of otters—probably a mother and her two kits—also hunting for their fishy breakfast. They were not particularly alarmed by my presence and looked at me curiously between dives in the choppy water. It was for me a sublime sequence of events that I will think about all fall and winter till the ice goes out in spring and I can go back!
Congrats on your new bottle!
So the Soak stuff, you really don’t have to rinse? I am tempted!
It is what I always use for my handknits (we sold it in our yarn store too before I retired) and delicates and I only rinse if the item was really soiled. There are a ton of nice scents that are unobtrusive enough that you don’t have to worry that your sweater’s scent will clash with your own. They also have an unscented option.
Thank you!
Encens Flamboyant is SO good.
I love your lake story – we should always look for those moments.
Your morning at the lake sounds perfect and worth looking back on fondly.
I’m super late to the poll as well.
1. I’m in Heure Exquise today; yesterday I wore my carrot-seed oil and lotion concoction.
2. Great question! I’d say to sample first (if you can). And try things in different seasons if you aren’t sure. Most of all, have fun with it!
3. I’m only looking for Zara Romance d’Iris, if it ever comes back in stock. Otherwise I’m trying to stick to a low-buy this year. So far, mostly good.
4. No advent calendars for me.
5. I don’t typically use any home fragrance sprays. I’m sure my heavy-handedness with my perfumes are enough. I hear my hubby coughing once in a while (but that doesn’t deter me). Thankfully he doesn’t say anything.
6. When I was visiting with my sister, I think that we made the best chicken noodle soup I’ve ever had in my life! She had some fabulous home made stock (she said she even roasted the bones a bit); I chopped and cooked the vegetables down, and seasoned each layer. She added some garden fresh herbs and some leftover chicken gravy at the end. Oh, and she used 2 kinds of egg noodles. This was made for her daughter who just had a baby (plus she also had some other complications after giving birth). It was a total joy to make the soup for her daughter! Glad we got to try it as well.
I see on the Canada website the Zara you want is “coming soon”. Did you email them?
I did sign up to be notified. I’ve done that before with another company but never did get a reminder so I’m not sure how reliable that can be.
OK. Well, it said coming soon so I would check frequently.
1. SotD Insolence edt. I’m enjoying it, but I prefer the edp.
2. I admit I am not very sensible about my perfume hobby *except* I do budget – be sure you don’t want to save your fun money for vacation, movies, dinner out, etc. before those mad impulse purchases. Otherwise, I am one for taking chances. I’ll just leave it at that.
3. I do sample sometimes, and have been very intrigued with a sample of Comete. One reason I am wearing Insolence today is because I wanted to compare them. I’m going to wear Apres l’Ondee again too. Comete made me think of both of these favorites of mine so I may not need it.
4. I’ve never gotten one but they appeal to me. I am sure I’d be tickled with Guerlain’s selections.
5. You guys finally got me onto candles. I’ve enjoyed a Guerlain Orchidee Imperiale and a Scent Bar Indonesian Woods.
6. One of our newer neighbors came to our neighborhood Fall Potluck and meeting last night. He is from Sicily and he made his Grandmother’s Tiramisu recipe. I was swooning it was so good and he and his wife were so sweet – a young couple expecting their first child, so yay for more young’uns. Plus, I found out another neighbor is expecting a baby about the same time so perhaps we will have the basis for a new “gang.” We’ve watched one group of kids grow up and go off to college since we moved here, so I am excited for the next group to come along!
1. What’s your fragrance today?
Bois 1920 Sutra Ylang, which smells as good as some vintage perfumes but was made in 2005. This weekend I thunked my decants of Kilian Love Don’t Be Shy (had it since way back in the MUA swapping days) and Mad et Len Petits Papiers (why did the discontinue this??).
2. If you were giving advice to a new perfumista — someone just falling down the rabbit hole this year — what would it be?
Lots of good advice here already, but I really second sampling like crazy to figure out your interests before buying a bunch of bottles. And seek out perfumes beyond the new launches.
3. Are you angling to buy a new perfume soon, and what is it?
I’m trying really hard to remind myself how many beauties I have in my collection and wear some of my lesser worn and forgotten perfumes. We’ll see come the black Friday sales though.
4. Do you think you will buy a fragrance-related advent calendar this year? If so, which one?
Maybe if my boyfriend becomes employed soon, I’ll splurge on a Lush advent calendar to share with him. He’s the one who’d probably use all the bath bombs and bubble bars.
5. What’s your absolute favorite home fragrance product lately? It can be anything — a candle, incense, burning paper or spray.
I’m excited to start burning a D.S. & Durga Breakfast Leipzig candle. I got one last year in their sample sale and fell in love with it. During their last sample sale in July, I bought two. It smells like coffee, pastries, and tobacco. It’s so good and cozy! I also love Mala by Hi Wildflower and will be sad when I finish up that candle since it was discontinued soon after they rebranded to Tanäis. It smells of marigold, carnation, rose, and tobacco.
6. Share something wonderful with us! It can be anything: something you discovered, or ate, or saw, or bought, or that happened to you recently.
I’ve got some fun events to attend soon including a movie showing and Q&A with actor Kyle McLachlan. We got 3rd row tickets!
Re: your #3, I hope that your boyfriend is happily employed soon and I love that he uses and enjoys bath bombs and bubble bars😊
Re: your #6, How fun to see Kyle McLachlan up close and personal! I’m old enough to remember him from my undergrad days at UW when he was there studying in the Professional Actor Training Program.
Thank you! It’s been a long bout of unemployment, but it’s not been a bad time at least. And I love that he loves baths and fun bath products. He’s a cool guy.
And how cool you went to UW when he was there!
Commando today.
After a weekend of heavy hitters, I took Lovetosmellgood’s advice up above, and decided to take a perfume break. Time for a bit of a reset.
1. SOTD: Eau de Garlic since I have been roasting lots of veggies and such for freezer meals.
2. Advice to a new perfumista:
There is so much good advice here. I’ll add: come up with a good organizing system for samples and use it. The only thing worse than accidentally buying a duplicate of a sample you didn’t remember you already have is KNOWING that you have a sample of something and not being able to find it.
3. Are you angling to buy a new perfume soon, and what is it?
I subscribe to Indigo Perfumery’s monthly samples, and I loved the September mystery scent. If it is reasonably priced, I may pounce.
4. Advent calendar this year?
I usually get a tea advent calendar. This year I’ve been planning to get the one from Adagio, but if I wait much longer they may be gone
5. What’s your absolute favorite home fragrance product lately?
I got a few Lafco candles on sale. They came in beautiful murano-glass-esque jars that I’m planning to use as whisky glasses once the candles are done. Both the jasmine and orange blossom scents have been gorgeous.
6. Share something wonderful with us!
Jepster and I met in person this weekend and it was so much fun!
Nice! I had the good luck to meet up with Jepster once. Enjoyed it very much!
So sweet, it’s been a while, but I also remember you fondly!!
So delightful to spend time with you!!! And those cookies were amazing…….
2. Eventually you may realize that you are fondest of a certain category.
Please don’t throw out empty bottles. They are precious to
collectors, if not to you. Some perfumes have distinctive bottles
that make them easily recognizable in the hoi-polloi of the market
place.