It's Hump Day and National Hot Sauce Day. Birthdays: John Donne, Lord Byron, August Strindberg, Beatrice Webb, George Balanchine, Sam Cooke. What fragrance are you wearing?
More benzoin points for me, in Imaginary Authors Dipped in Chocolate.
Reminder: on 1/24, wear a fragrance with benzoin, if you have one.
And for those of you who like to plan ahead, see Scent of the day ~ Friday community projects 2025, where I'll try (but usually fail) to have the next five or six weeks mapped out in advance.
Note: top image is Ice Cream Cones! [cropped] by Infinitographer at flickr; some rights reserved.
Hello.
Stuck to my decision of honouring Christian Dior, so I am wearing Miss Dior Orignale.
Hot sauce. Has anyone seen The Hot Ones on youtube? It’s interviews with celebrities while they eat progressively hotter wings coated in hot sauce. Pretty entertaining stuff.
No but I’ll check it out! The husband cooked hot wings for the college football championship Monday. He makes his own sauce and it’s pretty hot but good.
I’ve seen several episodes; it’s really fun to watch!
Very entertaining! But only saw a few of them. Conan was great.
Today ‘Leather Oud’ by Christian Dior.
Hi and welcome!
Greetings eise.f!
Sam Cooke! Now I’ll be humming “A Change is Gonna Come” and “Bring it on Home to Me” all day! And that’s not a bad thing at all. I’ll be wearing Ambre Fetiche today for a lunch trip to the restaurant at the culinary arts department of the local community college. It’s fun to see all these fresh-faced kids excited about their futures and working their way through all of the roles of restaurant operations. And the food is usually good, nothing innovative but good.
And I’m wondering if George Balanchine ever choreographed to Sam Cooke’s music.
That would be a really great thing to see!
Bring it on Home to Me is a favorite of mine.
Me too.
Lucky you! I’ve been to the French Culinary Institute (NYC) and the Culinary Institute of America’s (Hudson NY?) lunch practice!
“A Change Is Gonna Come” is still relevant after all these years…
Unfortunately. I wish it’s relevance was only historical but it feels more pertinent now than it has in years.
That should be “were” only historical.
IDK, “was historical” sounded all right to me. 🤷♀️ But I understand the sentiment.
Raised by a persnickety grammarian and sometimes can’t help myself.
No worries!
I’m in no 5 L’eau. This one has vanilla, so maybe there’s benzoin in there somewhere?
Speaking of Chanel. I was perusing the website recently and see that the Exclusif line has a “bespoke” set where you can pick five 1.2 oz bottles. I can only imagine how cute those bottles are. Unfortunately for me, only available in boutiques and I think the nearest one is Chicago. It’s been a fun mental game to decide which 5 I’d pick. Doubt this will ever happen, but fun to think about.
I think there is one in Columbus and that would be the nearest one to me.
Oh dear, rather tempting
I wonder what the cost would be. Do you think you can order directly from one of the boutiques and they would ship?
Aw, 1.2ounces is the perfect size!!
Pleasure’s a sin, and sometimes sin’s a pleasure Lord Byron
We have a great exhibit up https://www.nypl.org/events/exhibitions/byron-life-motion
Glannys suggestions layering Shalimar so I am layering it with By Kilian’s typical me that has rose vanilla & plum. Both are “beasts” as Glannys refers to Shalimar this way. Somehow its working..
Warm chocolate brown sweater and Revlon’s rum raisin lippy.
Went to the deli hungry this morning and ate a monstrous breakfast of bacon egg and cheese on a hard roll and a huge cup of half and half with French vanilla coffee lol
Wow, it would not occur to me to pair Liaisons Dangereuses with Shalimar. Must be an outstanding combo. And it sounds like you also matched your outfit and makeup to the scents!
You mentioned florals, and I love the mix of florals in the Kilian. I was afraid I would have to jump back in the shower and wash it off, but it’s actually working out just fine, the two of them are marrying ok. Let’s see at the end of the day.
I am matchy matchy today outfit, lippy, perfume
Your breakfast is making me hungry and I’ve already had dinner!
No benzoin today, I’m wearing Cafe Rose.
So long as. you smell great 🙂
Combo No. 3: Teo Cabanel Alahine + Pierre Guillaume Indochine. Since Alahine’s description references “Frida Kahlo’s country,” I lifted the name from one of her paintings:
“The Love Embrace of Benzoin, Honey and Spices” (after “The Love Embrace of the Universe, the Earth (Mexico), Myself, Diego and Señor Xólotl”).
Both scents are rather fleeting on me today, but they complement each other well: honey-floral from Alahine and honey-spicy from Indochine.
I’m enjoying your layered creations and their names!
Thank you very much!
Spectacular as always!
I have a doctor’s appointment this afternoon so I will be commando until afterwards. Was thinking of Les Annees 25 BIS after.
Sounds perfect, and hope it went well at the doctor, Dawn.
sotd = CdG Sticky Cake
Goes nicely with that ice cream cone up top today. No benzoin tho. 😅 Have a super sweet Wednesday everyone. 💓
Maybe no benzoin but a great smelling perfume. I have a couple drops left in a sample.
same for me, I’m using up the last drops of a sample. Such a fun scent. 😁
Nice! I know I have this … I just have to find it!
Hope you can find it. 😅 It’s time to surf the scented seas in search of buried treasure. 🌊
“I am such a strange mélange of good and evil that it would be difficult to describe me.” Lord Byron
Well, he had excellent insight into all us bipedals, didn’t he?
I’m twinning with Robin today in Dipped in Chocolate, smelling yummmy!
We are twins 👯!
Triplets!
Only our love hath no decay;
This no tomorrow hath, nor yesterday,
Running it never runs from us away,
But truly keeps his first, last, everlasting day.
These are some of my favourite John Donne lines, from the poem The Anniversary. They used to comfort me a great deal, once upon a time. Wearing Autumn Vibes for this cool start to what looks like a nice day
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/apr/10/super-infinite-the-transformations-of-john-donne-review-masterly-study?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
This is a fantastic book about Donne
I did finally read it, and agree it is fantastic.
What a beautiful quote. I will check out your link; John Donne is very rewarding to read.
Inspired by tulipani yesterday, I’m wearing AdV Oeillet Bengale. The carnation (and benzoin, of course!) really hit the spot this morning.
Yesterday I was basking in POAL.
Smelling wonderful (yesterday and today)!
Just unearthed a decant of Camellia Intrepide and plan to finish it sometime soon. It’s more…smoky? than I’d remembered.
IIRC, a couple of NSTers really enjoyed your SOTD and were rather bummed when it was axed.
Polar vortex still going strong here, and I’m in Daim Blond-delicate suede and apricots/osmanthus. I really love this scent, and I have it in the older style small 50 ml bottle. I think those are the perfect vessels for these fragrances.
Yes, I agree about those 50 ml bottles.
It’s a shame that those 50mL bottles were discontinued.
I don’t think I’ve gotten any benzoin points so far, but I have plans for tomorrow and Friday. Today I’m wearing Mx. And earlier in the week I had a rose thing going with Lancome Mille et Une Roses, then Stella (lots of Stella) and culminating with Hermes Rose Ikebana. Very unlike me (the rose theme) and very enjoyable.
I found a rollerball of Stella recently (I’ve been trying to straighten out my perfume cabinet and keep finding things.) Stella is a good one.
Mine is a roller ball, also. I waited too late to get the bottle for a normal (reasonable) price!
Is Stella McCartney still doing perfumes? Or did she exit that business?
I suspect she has nothing in production at the moment.
Thanks Robin!
A day of errands and grocery shopping ahead; I’m wearing Roberto Cavalli Oro for some spicy warmth. Plus, a small rant: I had a leak in my kitchen ceiling last summer. I called one roofing company who sent out some kid who said the cracks in the ceiling were “normal for a house this age.” A second company came out and repaired sections of the roof cap and vents, a good 30 feet from the ceiling leak. When the remudded and repainted ceiling began cracking in the same place, I called the second roofer back. After much back and forth, in which he tried to convince me that a misplaced nail in the gutter fascia was causing the leak (and apparently making water run uphill) he agreed to remove the shingles over the part of the roof where the ceiling cracks were, and…wait for it…there was a leak. Jeez. Hopefully all is fixed now. But I am so peeved about the whole thing.
good grief!
My retired husband is a good carpenter. Stories like yours make him furious. Just do a decent job in the first place!
How incredibly frustrating. I hope it is fixed now.
Ah, yes! I understand this rant in my heart of hearts! I’ve come to expect shoddy service with just about everything these days. When I had my house, I developed a leak and had multiple roofers in to evaluate and got different answers as to cause and vastly different estimates from all of them. Another thing I don’t miss about owning a home….I hope you can get a decent roofer with some semblance of integrity.
Ugh! Roofers can be the worst.
My brother has had to deal with them twice in recent years for a full roof replacement on his house due to hail damage. And he had issues afterwards.
Taking points in Le Dix, the EDT layered over the dusting powder.
You smell lovely, one of my favorite violet scents.
SOTD a few sprays of Ambre Khandjar.
Volunteering at Red Cross shelter today.
Love the picture, Robin!
The picture made me hungry all day!
We’re having our third nice day in a row – so exciting!
I’m wearing Guerlain’s Bois d’Armenie, I bought it years ago and it’s in the stupid bottle with the squeeze bulb. It’s hard to spray from the bottle and even harder to get any into a travel spray. It’s a beautiful perfume, but such an effort to spray on!
That is exciting!! We made it up to a high of 17F, ugh.
As the benzoin bloomed in yesterday’s Prada Candy, I was reminded of LouLou, so I spritzed away today from a vintage genie bottle decant. I always thought that the benzoin was the vanilla. But I’m beginning to detect the more resinous aspects of the benzoin as opposed to vanilla or other sweet or fruity notes. LouLou being a “kitchen sink” favorite, there are many notes to be detected. 🧐
LouLou is glorious.
Vintage LouLou is amazing!
“As The Benzoin Bloomed” would be a great soap opera for perfumistas.
Lol love it
Commando for a mammogram this afternoon. When I get home I’m going to layer En Voyage perfumes Captured in Amber (CP) with Stella to give the amber note more oomph. Hopefully the rose will come through.
Good luck for your medical test.
Thanks Aurora.
Nice layering! Good luck with the squishing.
I think mammograms are a lot better than they used to be. Quicker, for sure.
Hmmm. I feel like mine are the same. Although it’s somewhat technician dependent.
I noticed my last mammograms were quicker than the very first ones I had.
Hope you aren’t super sore tonight.
I’m in Love les Carottes. It was because of PL67 that mentioned this one; I immediately bought a bottle when I could. M, if you’re reading, I hope you’re doing well.
I’ll join you in a 👋 to pl67!
Also giving PL67 a shout out! Hiya!
Frozen mango and yogurt smoothie.
For the CP today it was Emeraude extrait (I have a full 15ml little bottle) and oh, the glory of it, kept smelling my wrists and tonight for the CP also Teatro alla scala, my best honey scent.
Plus double points!
Thank you Robin, IIRC you are not a fan of Emeraude but that extrait is a whole elevation on the cologne.
I am wearing Celine ZouZou from a sample, loving all the samples i have from this line, they are all gorgeous, my favourite being Peau Nu.
I’ve been really curious about this line, the discovery set is calling my name!
I didn’t know there was a discovery set!!
I’m in a sample of Regime Des Fleurs Al-Dukhan. I had been expecting it to be cigarette smokey (like their Batsheva) but it is incense smokey, with black pepper, and piney/resiny oud. I’m seeing several people compare it to TF’s Oud Wood, which I haven’t tried but now maybe I will. It is funny to sample something expecting not to like it (I just like to try everything from RdF) and find that I like it very much!
Tea today is F&M Albion, which is strong enough to be an Irish Breakfast.
Incense smoke + black pepper + pine notes? Sounds good!
It could be cousins with CdG Black, which is also good in my book
I wonder how close it is to Yatagan?
I don’t know Yatagam well enough to compare them
Accidental points in Feminite du Bois I quickly spritz some on on my way to work this morning and didn’t know it has a benzoin note.
I decided it might be fun to assemble a basket of work-safe travel sprays/decants/samples that I can grab on my way out the door. I go to the office twice a week.
You smell wonderful and I like your perfume basket idea. I’m always running late and perfume is the first thing to go if I don’t have enough time. I get bored with the decants I have in my office so a home basket rotation would be perfect💐
I keep a couple of decants at work for when I -gasp!- forget to put on some perfume before I leave…
It’s surprising how many perfumes have benzoin! I was shocked, utterly shocked, that Prada Infusion d’ Iris has benzoin!
A grab basket of perfume samples/decants sounds like a great idea!
SOTD = Imaginary Authors Dipped in Chocolate
Love it and “twins” with Robin, Deva and anyone else who decided on wearing this today.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DFJQ0cLRsd0/?igsh=c2R5bjY5OTR3dDVo
I am dealing with record cold (as in a low of 3F) and a stuck front door! Alsooooo, no water 💧. Apparently, there was some kind of water main break in the vicinity and the water was turned off. Hopefully, we’ll get it back sometime tonight!
I was imagining that the authors were being dipped in chocolate, a confusing image…
No water? Oh no!!
Oh no! Hope you got water back AND front door unstuck.
Closest I got to National Hot Sauce Day was a bowl of Korean ramen. It’s spicy!
Plenty of sun and wind here to melt the snow today. Temps were right around freezing today, which felt great! I was able to turn off all those dripping faucets this morning.
But the overnight low is expected to be 5 degrees F. Grump! 🥶🥶🥶
SOTD = Prada Candy. I have a few sample of this, plus a full bottle. Smelling great, and CP compliant!
You are smelling great. I don’t know why I don’t wear Candy more often.
Dunno why I don’t wear it more often, either. It’s a puzzlement.