It's Tuesday and International Men’s Day. What fragrance are you wearing?
I'm currently commando for a morning exercise class, and finishing off a cup of Upton Christmas Tea.
Reminder: on 11/22, we're off to Nepal! Wear a perfume that is named for a place in Nepal, or that reminds you of a (real or imaginary) trip to Nepal, or that features a local ingredient, or ?
And for those of you who like to plan ahead, see Scent of the day ~ Friday community projects 2024, where I'll try (but usually fail) to have the next five or six weeks mapped out in advance.
Note: the Josilo teapot ("These AURA QUE stoneware ceramics are handmade near Bhaktapur, Nepal by a family business run by two brothers, Santa and Laxmi. The production is organised by a World Fair Trade Organisation certified collective in Kathmandu") is $42 at Aura Que in the UK.
Just FYI, AURA QUE also has an Etsy store.
Thanks scaresbears!
I don’t have anything directly related to Nepal, but I did some research and found several connections.
Geography and Landscape: Mountains and woods suggest that fresh, crisp, and woody notes would work well.
Incense: An obvious tie to Nepal’s religious and cultural traditions.
Festivals and Rituals: The use of red and gold, such as the red tika on the forehead, the red and gold attire of the Kumari, and the Teej festival, where women often wear red.
Spices: Cardamom is one of Nepal’s main exports. Cumin, coriander, and ginger are also commonly used in Nepalese cuisine.
Tea and Honey: These are also significant Nepalese exports.
I plan to layer perfumes daily, creating my own scents loosely inspired by Nepal.
Today, I’m going for a green, woody, fresh vibe with some resins and incense:
Lush Fresh As + Ormonde Jayne Woman + Tom Ford Vert d’Encens
Fir, pine, hemlock, coriander, cardamom, and incense — imagine a mysterious airy mountain temple in the forest.
Glannys, your combination sounds fantastic! Hope thigs are going well in your corner of the world.
I have two of the three components of your layering formula (missing the Lush). I’ll give it a try later this week!
I hope you like it! I enjoyed it a lot. OJ Woman dominated, but maybe it’s because I sprayed it the closest to the face.
You’ve given me my SOTD, thank you. I’m so happy to see you here today because of the dramatic uptick of “activity” in the Ukraine over the last couple of days. I was worried. As always, wishing you peace and safety! 🇺🇦 Hugs to Mom and Kora Kitty, too!
The news from Odesa are tragic.
But our town was not affected.
That sounds like a beautiful combination! Letting us know the results of your research is very generous. I will try to follow your lead.
You are always so good about finding information for the community project. I tried looking, but didn’t have as much success as you!
Thanks for the research!
Wow, thanks as always Glannys!
Thank you for researching this.
Wow, that “recipe” sounds good!
Very helpful research!
This is perfect!
Pretty sure your TF Vert d’Encens is a Perfume Unicorn by now!
Glad to hear from you, as always.
I am running out of it, but I am okay with not replacing it. While I like it, I prefer to layer it with something else instead of wearing it on its own.
MY SOTD is Heaven Can Wait (again!). This scent seems very different depending on the application. My preferred way is to spritz once, then walk through it. It has enough presence that one spray is enough and if I apply it like this I really smell the peach note, which I love. If I put the nozzle closer to the skin it reminds me of some kind of ash made from a beautiful wood.
Hope everyone’s day has one nice thing in it. Looking forward to my sauna after the gym tonight.
HA, I was about to say I’ve already had a sauna — so one nice thing, check 🙂
Time to pull out my I Profumi di Firenze Ambra de Nepal.
The weather here is perfect (43 degrees outside) for a stonking amber vanilla spice bomb lashed with woods and incense and this fits the bill. This one was HUGE on MUA with good reason about 15 years ago when I first landed there, and I wore it a lot then but have neglected it of late. It’s unabashedly likeable, warm, cuddly, sexy and yummy. I will be the best-smelling dog mom at the dog park!
I remember that one from MUA! It was a beaut.
I remember those MUA days as well: Ambra de Nepal and POTL!
Pulling my bottle out, also!
Yum!!!
Yes, but does your dog like it? 😄
I remember lots of talk about Ambre de Nepal from MUA, too! Somehow, I don’t think I ever tried it. I bet you smell mahvelous.
Hi everyone.
I have consulted with Google and discovered that the Rhododendron is the national flower of Nepal, and here are some spices:
“The most commonly used spices in Nepal are salt, ginger, garlic, szechwan pepper (timmur), fenugreek seeds, turmeric, cumin, cilantro/coriander, asafoetida, and green chillies. Less common spices include ajowan seeds, cloves, cardamom (black and green pods), bay leaves, mustard seeds, and so on”.
The most popular fruit is mango.
So maybe that’s helpful. But today I am wearing the Oil Perfumery version of Coromandel which I really like although of course it’s not Coromandel….it smells great, though.
Great teapot today!
Thanks for the helpful list ringthing!
Yes, ditto!
I read the bit about spices too! Between you and me, we found quite a few ideas for the CP.
Yes, thank you!
Looks like you and Glannys get the prize for getting all the information for the CP. Good work😊
Fragrantica had nothing so it had to be Google 👍
Aha, so if the most popular fruit is mango I will put on some Parfums de Nicolaï Eau Exotique — if I can find it!
Thanks ringthing!
I’m wearing Infusion de Vetiver, from a mini. It has cardamom, so according to Glannys, I fit the CP. I think I would like this as a spray, because the mini is a splash, so it is sticking close to the skin. I do really like it though.
That one was very light, I’m sure it would be better sprayed.
I’m wearing a sample of Byredo Eleventh Hour. I thought I was very clever to spot the connection to Nepal, it being inspired by a quote from a Swiss explore who reached Nepal in 1951. And it also contains a note of Ban Timmur pepper from Nepal. But I think the joke is on me because the scent does not evoke Nepal at all. It’s a iso-e super, fruity spicy thing.
I will pull out my old bottle of Ambra de Nepal for Friday.
Wow, super creative! Well done!
Still, many points!
Well, this morning I smell mostly of bleach solution (long, sad story), but later on I plan to wear something spicy or incense-y. Maybe Indochine, or Hindu Kush. I was kinda hoping that the Hindu Kush range extended over Nepal, but it appears not. Or there’s IA O Unknown — not for its notes, but because the imaginary story that accompanies the fragrance mentions Nepal.
Aha, thank you…forgot that about O Unknown!
Hope your bleach situation is long over 🙂
Thanks to Glannys and her hard work of teasing anything and everything to do with Nepal I’m wearing Korres Safron, Amber, and Cardamom from a bottle sent to my by a very generous NSTer. I’ve really enjoyed this one which has surprised me. It’s not sweet at all, kind of dry, and generally not my “style.” Just goes to show you, you can’t judge a perfume by its notes! Waft on, perfume people!
Go Deva!
Today I am wearing L’Artisan Mont de Narcisse and drinking a cup of black dragon tea.
I’ve always wanted to try this but haven’t yet. What do you think of it?
I love it. Very soothing earthy leather scent.
Thank you! You just might get an enabler pin at some point in the future. 😉
🙂
What is black dragon tea like? Do tell!
Very smooth and flavorful. This was a Christmas gift from my son and daughter in law last year. The tea is formed into little “pearls”, that you put into the hot water and they separate to make delicious cups of tea. I got three cups out of two of the tea pearls.
I’m in Glossier You.
More gray today. I can hardly take much more, but I just keep taking my vitamin d and getting out for a lunchtime walk regardless. Counting the days until the days start getting longer again.
Thanks for reminding me about the vitamin D…
👍🏻🌞
In the fail-safe L’Attesa for a day at the office.
Hope it did its job AnnieA 😉
Perfect opportunity to try my Hima Jomo samples from Indigo: Spring in Bome, and Summer in Paro.
I’ll start with Summer today, for the Nepalese sichuan pepper.
Perfect! Also called Timur pepper / Timut pepper, for anyone else looking for ideas.
SOTD is FM Iris Poudre. Always a favorite of mine!
I do love Iris Poudre. Think I’ll plan to wear that tomorrow. 😀
House Twins
The hand lotion of Iris Poudre was so beautiful. I was able to try a bit thanks to hajusuuri.
I didn’t know there was any hand lotion, but I can imagine it would be very good.
IKR if it was a limited edition or not.
Although we have an upcoming “cyclone bomb” weather event, it’s fine this morning and I am wearing Wulóng Chá by Nishane which happens to work for both our teapot Tuesday and for Nepal (which I discovered grows and exports oolong tea). It’s lovely, although I may need something a bit heavier duty for tonight! Off for my walk.
Yikes, what is a cyclone bomb weather event?! That sounds scary!
I got it wrong–it’s a bomb cyclone. (Doesn’t sound much better though.) It’s a powerful storm coming off the Pacific that can happen “when a cold air mass collides with a warm air mass” and it’s heading to northern CA and the PNW. I guess what makes it a bomb cyclone vs a regular cyclone is a swift drop on atmospheric pressure. But this is all from googling–basically we’ll get high winds and rain here.
I heard about your impending weather around lunchtime. Hope it won’t be too bad.
Feel free to send that stuff my way! I’ll take all the rain/snow you can spare.
I had thought of incense for Nepal, but thank you to Glannys and Ringthing for so many other suggestions!
I’m wearing Tiger By Her Side for the spices, and I just checked that there are indeed tigers in Nepal.
That’s an excellent pick!
ps meant to say this morning that Now Smell This is finally on Bluesky.
https://bsky.app/profile/nowsmellthis.bsky.social
What is BlueSky?
It is a sort of Twitter replacement for people who are no longer happy at what used to be Twitter
Yay! I’ll follow you there…I’ve been off that other network that it’s replacing for some time now.
I no longer do anything at that other network but post links to here…I stopped reading my feed and interacting with people there some time ago, other than to answer direct questions or dms.
Heh, I was wondering when I was going to hear about this!
I am very very slow. I’ve been pretty much ignoring Twitter for years but still have lots of followers there (I think mostly in Asia? and probably really mostly long abandoned accounts, things definitely slowed down after it became X) so it’s useful to post links there. But I haven’t purposely spoken directly to another human there in eons, ditto with FB which I’ve been ignoring even longer.
SOTD is Hima Jomo Autumn. I bought the sample set and this was the clear winner for me with a cinnamon note in it.
Nepal smells a lot like all of the Himalayas – to me, anyway.
Incense, marigolds, smoke from indoor and outdoor cooking, sewage, wet wood, dry wood, chili peppers and yak butter tea. The tea is an aquired taste.
Sikkim and Bhutan are much the same. In the winter, everything smells cold.
You and SarahN both wearing samples from Hima Jomo! That means I must lay hands on my samples, which I think shouldn’t be too hard to find. Thank you both.
You are so well-traveled, apsara. I feel a small stab of envy. 😉
I need to pick my sister’s brain, she lived there for a few years, but my memory is that Kathmandu was her least favorite posting.
in POAL-
Again..I can’t smell it but those around me love it on me.
Reading Horse, not sure where the author is going with this book but so far I like the back and forth between 2019 and 1800’s.
Sipping a cappuccino with oat milk
I know you are smelling good. It is so sad that you can’t smell it because it is such a great perfume!
I am wearing it for the pure pleasure that some of my friends love it on me
Horse – the one by Geraldine Brooks? She is one of my favorite writers. I highly recommend “March” if you want to read any more of her works.
Yes, that book!
Have you read it
I have. Stick with it! You will be drawn in, I promise.
Ok ok! There is a lot of characters and I am having a hard time keeping them straight
I will stick with it
You are smelling wonderful today!
Thank you!
What do you think of POAL
It’s one of the best dark rose & patchouli scents that I have tried.
I have some dupes like Rose Prick etc but POAL is a the most complimented
Lolita Lempicka. Been obsessed with it lately. Takes me back to being 19 and shopping in the downtown Nordstrom, crossing into the (kind of intimidating) fragrance department and finding that purple apple bottle. Bought it right away.
Pondering that Special Edition Midnight bottle for Xmas…
What a nice memory! I think you need the LE bottle 🙂
I’m days late, but I love the LL Eau de Minuit (Midnight) that I have. Mine is the Midnight Couture Black from 2011, but I bet whatever version you get will be great. I also really like the Fleur Defendue (Forbidden Flower) flanker from way back
Wearing “Le Parfum De Therese.” It’s one of those fragrances I adore and always mean to wear more frequently, but somehow I overlook it. Grateful for it because it lends me an elegance I usually lack in real life.😊
I love fragrances that do that for me. Heaven knows I need all the help I can get in the elegance department.
Therese is so elegant and sophisticated, you smell wonderful!
Are you feeling any better today?
Thanks so much – that’s really sweet. Just started antibiotics for (what the doctor thinks) is a sinus infection that started with my bout of Covid a month ago. Makes a lot of sense – the symptoms were worsening. So, yes, I’m feeling much better that I have a plan! Fingers crossed the meds kick in soon.😊
Such a beautiful fragrance!
Gosh, ditto to all of that.
I’m not back to making smoothies yet but I have some lovely plums for dessert. In one of my many little bottles of bpal oils, All joys are due to thee, a persistent but close to the skin musk and honey scent, reviews mention honeycake a lot, I love it and tonight I am in Eau des Baux because I could have worn it for the Tonka CP if I had had access to my collection, it pulls rather incensey tonight, no complaint about that.
You smell marvelous, Aurora. Eau des Baux is a fave of mine & also reasonably priced and has good longevity at least on me. & completely unisex though marketed to men I think. L’Occitane introduced so many of us to excellent fragrances at reasonable prices in casual mall environments.
Glad you love it too. Yes, originally marketed to men, you’re right definitely unisex. Yes, l’Occitane has got some gems, Ambre & Santal for eg.
Haven’t had any plums recently, but I did get some very nice pears at Costco earlier this month. Was sharing them with my brother. 🍐
There were also wonderful pears in Provence.
I’ll be doing the CP on Friday by imagining I’m wearing a perfume that’s at home in Vancouver, because I have a very appropriate one from MCMC.
Today was Anatole Lebreton, L’eau Scandaleuse, which was a straight-up tuberose when I put it on early this morning, and then I got busy and didn’t really sniff the drydown. I’ve just put on Grimoire as my SOTE, and it opens with a big, stonking cumin note, though cumin is only mentioned in the base notes. (Good thing I like cumin!) I’m starting to get a bit of incense, as well, so that should work for the CP, right? 🙂 And I can see where there’s basil and lavender now; definitely balancing as it goes. I’m actually quite liking it, as it admits to the cumin instead of it trying to sneak in as so often seems to happen.
And I forgot to say, Robin, that I kind of love that tea set!
I do too, the color is fantastic, plus comes in lots of other colors as well.
Love the look of the mug too, although that’s not the shape I’d prefer for tea.
The sample I tried from that line today faded has faded and was totally forgettable-I don’t even remember it’s name. Grimoire was far from forgettable, and I am looking forward to sampling it again. Fun to read your impression!
Trying Nectar Olfactif Secret du Nil today and notes are below. Opening is lovely so far…was craving orange blossom for some reason so figured I’d break out this sample.
To continue the notes thread from the weekend poll, I didn’t use to like orange blossom/neroli, etc but that changed a couple of years ago and I love those notes now. 🤷♀️ So long as it doesn’t venture into too soapy that is… ehaeheh 😉
Top notes: Bergamot, bitter orange, bitter almond
Heart notes: Orange Tree, neroli, toasted almond, honey
Base notes: Vanilla, icing sugar, cedar, musks
This might be one for Allo. She has been looking for the perfect orange blossom.
Thank you for thinking of me, Kris😊 I need to check this one out.
My SOTD is Elixir des Merveilles which is wonderfully comforting on a cool, damp day and may coincidentally be CP compliant with its incense and cedar.
I love the original Eau des Merveilles but can’t think of what the Elixir smells like.
Toss-up between Black Cashmere for incense and Tibetan Mountain Temple for the most Nepal-adjacent thing I can come up with.
I miss TMT…but maybe I’ll wear Black Cashmere this week.
I’m in Atelier Oolang Infini today. Many thanks to Glannys and springpansy for doing the note research.
It’s a shame those Ateliers went away. Their travel sprays were an excellent value.
SOTD = Montale Arabians Tonka
Nice! Brand new bottle! I thought I would NEVER buy a Montale because, quite frankly, the bottles are fugly but my curiosity got the better of me and here I am with bottle, low buy be d-mned!
https://www.instagram.com/p/DCkjRV3RRgh/?igsh=MTNna2lncDZreWhwbQ==
I had been seeing a lot of posts (on Reddit) regarding Owala and how beautiful they are. I couldn’t stand it anymore so when While Foods had it on sale, I grabbed one. I’ve seen some where the bottle had its head surgically replaced so I did that. HOWEVER, I forgot to check my one non-negotiable which was I need to be able to wash it by hand and not have to use a brush. The bottle opening wasn’t small and my hand is not huge but I couldn’t get my hand in there! So, while beautiful, I reluctantly returned it today 😩. Anyway. good luck to the person who next gets the bottle.
I really enjoyed that Montalé from the sample pack I got a couple of years ago. I wouldn’t mind a small bottle of it but it wears pretty big on me. It’s lovely though! As for the bottles, I’m probably showing my lack of taste and class, but I’m really enamored with them. It might be the little dangly bit, I’m not sure. I bet you don’t do typical Hajusuuri level but sprays with this one! 😉
I thought the Nicki Minaj bottles were way fuglier than those Montales!
They are definitely different bottles. Some of Montale scents are pretty good though.
I had a bad customer service experience at Sephora this past weekend. It has really been bothering me so tonight after work I returned some Christmas presents. I honestly don’t think I will ever shop in this particular store again.
My sotd Dolce and Gabbana Devotion. I am almost done with my travel spray. It’s a good thing I have a back up.
Ha, that’s exactly how I feel about luckyscent! High five for backups! 🙌
I remember your bad luckyscent encounter. Their loss!
Sorry to hear about your bad experience at that Sephora. Will you boycott the entire chain?
Also: it sounds like you need more D&G Devotion!
The only thing stopping me from a full boycott is my daughter. I will be trying to shift her attention to other store’s though.
That stinks. I went to supper with an old coworker of mine tonight and we were just talking about how customer service is not what it used to be. Not sure if it is the younger generation or just people in general. Years ago, if you walked in a department store the staff were all nicely dressed and bent over backwards for the customer. Not so much anymore.
House twins with Deva today in Philosia by Korres. Once past the bright citrus opening, this is a green and woody walk through a nature preserve with lots of trees. From the website:
Top Notes: Bergamot, Orange, Mandarin
Heart Notes: Pine, Eucalyptus, Fir Balsam, Anis Star
Base Notes: Musk, Cedarwood, Guaiac Wood, Patchouli
It’s not a heavy hitter, and I’m enjoying it quite a bit!
Hi House Twin! 👋🏼
Hiya back! 👋🏻
Oh, I liked Philosia very much when I had a sample of it!
On me it was a camphoraceous patchouli with a bit of eucalyptus. The citrus notes lasted about as long as a sneeze on me. Always really interesting to see how different people experience the same perfume!
Yes, I did pick up the eucalyptus as well. I thought I didn’t like that note, but this has proved me wrong. I also liked it in one of the Zoologist scents. Panda, maybe?
The first perfume that comes to mind for me that contains eucalyptus is CK Contradiction.
The version of Panda that I tried did not have eucalyptus in it; it was the 2014 version.
Don’t know it. I haven’t tried any CK scents since Obsession, I think. 😳
Contradiction was the first CK perfume I liked when it initially came out back in the late 1990’s. Truth was next circa 2000, and finally Euphoria in 2004.
I had to grow into liking Obsession.
Many thanks to Glannys and springpansy for researching perfume notes that are related to Nepal! I was thinking I would have to punt for this CP.
Had a cold front blow thru today, so lots of wind and chilly temps. I think it maybe got up to 40F here? Teflon kitty has been seeking out the warmest spots in the apartment.
SOTD = Black Opium Neon. I was wondering if it was cold enough for this one today. Verdict = not quite!
Ringthing also looked up a bunch of info for the CP, so a shoutout there as well!
Yes, Glannys and Ringthing much more than me!
My Dog has taken to laying in front of the kitchen heat vent. It makes me think of Teflon Kitty!
Today Tef was hanging out in a sunbeam, camping out on her kitty cat heating pad, and spending plenty of time on my lap. No heat vents at ground level for us; everything comes out of the ceiling.
She is not a fan of the space heater, though.
I love hearing about Puppy Wuppy and Kitty Witty. Mr. allo is allergic so I live vicariously through you both💕
😸😸😸
Very late to the party but I did wear OJ Man earlier today with its warm cardamom for cp points.