Happy Almost-Friday and happy National Pie Day! As of this writing, there are 55 days, 19 hours and 42 minutes until spring! Birthdays: Stendhal, Édouard Manet, Derek Walcott. What fragrance are you wearing?
I'm racking up more benzoin points in Prada Infusion d’Iris Absolue.
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 Benedict Cumberbatch for the Prada Re-Nylon Campaign 2025.
Bonus watch: "Follow Cumberbatch as he visits the Arctic Circle to uncover the devastating impact of plastic pollution and how to make a difference and create true and lasting positive change for the environment."
Today, I’m enjoying two orange blossom perfumes with benzoin.
Name of the layering: Redemption at Dawn
Scents: Sweet Redemption by Kilian and L’Artisan Séville à l’Aube
Sweet Redemption is an orange blossom fragrance wrapped in vanilla and resins – smoky and sultry. Séville à l’Aube, in contrast, feels bright and zingy, with just a touch of animalic. They get along just fine, though I’m surprised that Sweet Redemption turned out to be the quieter of the two.
Sounds like a beautiful pairing…
Great when you want that extra orange blossom. 🌼🍊
This sounds wonderful!
So glad Séville à l’Aube in particular made a showing this week. I considered it but it’s really too cold here.
Listening to a clip of Hot for you Baby, a song that was taken off Tina Turner’s Private Dancer album. The joys of listening to NPR at this early morning hour…
I am taking Glannys suggestion of layering, Shalimar and Frangipani by Lili Bermuda-Jasmine, vetiver, vanilla, cassis and maybe some other notes.
I never even heard of Lili Bermuda. I hope this combination works for you!
It’s based in Bermuda.
https://www.cntraveler.com/shops/lili-bermuda-perfumery
Since I am matchy matchy I am wearing lipstick Emilienne by Chanel, a fuchsia color with a pearl finish. Deep pink cardigan
Sounds pretty!
Hello.
Boarding the Prada Candy train today. I haven’t worn it in quite a while. I remember when it first launched over a decade ago I was so taken by it I wore it so much I gone through 3 80ml bottles. Considering the size of my collection, it’s quite a feat! I do still love it immensely and imo it’s one of the best releases from Prada.
Yay. I am boarding tomorrow.
Hiya scent twin!!
I’m wearing au The Noir, from my new full bottle. I’ve been wanting this fb for years so I finally broke down and bought one. A favorite for all seasons.
It’s nice you have a bottle, after thinking about it for so long 🙂
Scent sibling in the The Bleu…
I’m in A La Nuit, just because:) I’ve had this for years and every time I wear it it still feels special. I love it in the cold of winter and the heat of summer.
Another couple of days of super cold weather, then we’re back to just reasonably cold winter weather.
I’m twinning with you in A La Nuit today because it has benzoin and because I don’t wear it nearly enough (Mr. allo isn’t a fan of indols🙁). Thank you for the inspiration!😊
Does it have benzoin? I didn’t know we were CP compilant!
You and Allo smell very nice today. I love that scent!
Yes!
Not that it has anything to do with weather — I once had a business trip to Austin, TX and went out to lunch. I don’t enjoy hot / spicy foods. When the server asked how hot do I want it, I said the mildest of the mild. The server looked at me and said my choices were hot, hotter and hottest 🤣.
oh-an Indian restaurant just opened up here, and they had to dial down their spice to suit the local market! Salt is the big seasoning around here.
But I do remember a Thai restaurant, where you were served your meal with a box of Kleenex 🙂
A la Nuit is beautiful! You and allo smell(ed) wonderful today.
Thank you! And I still smell good, having reapplied when I came home tonight🥰
I decided to wear Rochas Absolu today because I needed that hit of mandarin one gets in the top notes. It always feels like a second cousin of Theorema; both have that mandarin or tangelo note plus orange blossom, pepper, rose, and of course benzoin (bingo!). To my nose, Theorema is much more restrained and elegant which is why I love it, while only very much liking Absolu. Absolu is very cheerful though!
I haven’t smelled that one but now I want to–I really love the smell of a fresh tangelo when you first peel it open! The rest of the notes here sound lovely too. Must find it!
I sat here about an hour ago and ate three tangelos – they were just delicious.
I have always liked Absolu although I don’t need replace my bottle. Cool bottle, too.
For the CP, EL Sensuous Noir. I find SN intriguing and discordant. This CP helped me notice benzoin, and in SN the benzoin is there from top to base. However, as it plays with the amber and the vanilla and the honey (the honey force is also strong in this one) and the spices, it starts giving those barbershop vibes that are not my thing. Maybe the purple bottle misleads me, but SN reminds me of Josie Natori Natori. Natori’s amber florals with plum for sweetness are more my style. I prefer the other Sensuous scents to this one. Maybe later today I will have a change of mind – and I’ll have plenty of chances since SN is quite lingering.
And that reminds me that I have not worn Sensuous in eons! And could not remember Noir at all so had to go read my own review, ha.
So many great comments yesterday. I’ve now ordered the John Donne book — he’s one of my all time faves since high school and feverishy reading ahead in The Norton Anthology of English Literature.
I love and resonate with Tiffanie’s comment: “It’s time to surf the scented seas in search of buried treasure. ”
I didn’t have time to read or post yesterday but wore Indochine and smelled it properly for the first time – gorgeous. From a sample in a sample set from a very good friend here in L.A. For whatever reason, it was so light as to be almost indiscernable the last time I tried it in the same weather (cool, dry). Weird.
Last night was Theorema, from a cherished stash, so heartbreakingly beautiful, I love this so much and wish it lasted longer on my skin.
Nothing for me yet this morning, like Tiffanie I need to ‘surf the scented seas’ of my perfume cabinet and samples box (an old cloth sewing box with many compartments), it will either be Bois d’Armenie or Seville A L’Aube, thx Glannys, and I’m surprised that Seville has benzoin, I’ll have to ‘nose-look’ for it if I wear it.
Off to walk the doggo, whose internal walk clock goes off at 7:45 am and grows ever more antic as the minutes tick past.
I hope you are doing well. We were almost twins one day apart but instead of Indochine (for which box I had taken out), my hand went to SDV!
Another Guerlain winner, that SDV. There is definitely some shared DNA with Bois d’Armenie. Wish I’d snagged bottles of each when they came out. & thanks, hajusuuri, the warmth and sunshine in L.A. today and the lack of wind and promise of rain for the coming weekend are a balm. Another big fire broke out yesterday north of Los Angeles and about 30,000 people had to evacuate. It has not burned any structures but I worry so much about the wildlife in all these fires and ecosystem collapse.
Oh, we were twins yesterday (Indochine)!
I can’t say I detect benzoin in Seville A l’Aube, to be honest. Well, when I bury my nose in the wrist, I can smell a bit of resinous sweetness – from time to time. Still, it is listed, so it should count. 😊
I took a class on Donne in college but honestly had forgotten most of it…I need to pull out my Norton, and meant to do that while reading the bio but of course ended up using the internet instead.
It really is a great bio, I am sure you will enjoy it.
Funny how well animals can tell time, isn’t it?
The air is clear, the skies are blue, and the breeze is warm here in my LA neighborhood. Much needed rain is in the forecast this weekend. Fingers crossed.
What an awful start to 2025. I’m (once again) taking comfort from retro “masculines” in my collection. Yesterday was the late-sixties Hai Karate Cologne, a classic fougere in the Brut mold. Wonderful opening, which turns soapy before long.
Today is Musk from Monsieur Houbigant, (1973.). Now THIS is surprisingly good stuff. It’s more complex than Kiehl’s Original Musk, and dries down beautifully, with a lovely, sweet tobacco note. My “gift set” contains a big bar of matching soap, which I’ll have to try one of these days.
Nice to see you Daniel. I have memories of Hai Karate Cologne! During my adolescent babysitting years, all the dads wore it as a “going out” scent. I’d like to smell it with my grownup nose.
I think it holds up really well. It (and Brut) are actually lovely fougeres, more aromatic and gentler than most “masculines” today.
“Be careful how you use it!” was the advertising catchphrase, as though women wouldn’t be able to control themselves if they smelled it on you. Self-defense training was recommended.
I did not experience this phenomenon, which is probably for the best, since I am not practiced in the martial arts.🙂
Oh lord, now I remember the ad. I think there was another Hai Karate ad that featured a guy high kicking a gong….I’ll look it up and see if I’m imagining things.
Oh that vintage Monsieur Musk by Houbigant is great, and very reasonably priced for the quality it is. You smell great, Daniel
Happy to hear you had a break from bad air and smoky skies!
I’ve seen that old Hai Karate commercial on YouTube. OMG.
Still on the benzoin train with Bengale Rouge. I don’t know what next weeks CP is, but I might just stay on the Benzoin Bunny Express for the foreseeable future.
Apropos of nothing, I was watching an interview with Tina Turner yesterday where she talked about her relationship with her mother. It was heartbreaking. 💔
Next week we’re doing Backwards Day, and after that, your guess is as good as mine 😉
Oops, nope, just changed it to Lunar New Year…
Well, hajusuuri will have the lunar new year covered with her new Snek bottle for sure!!🐍
I’m always skeptical when luxury fashion houses do something allegedly eco-friendly, so I had to check this out more. Re-nylon sounds suspicious to me. After reading about it I feel I knew less than when I started. Here’s a link: https://www.prada.com/us/en/pradasphere/special-projects/2020/prada-re-nylon.html
That’s interesting. I knew a man who was studying recycling/ecology etc… the subject of recycling came up and he informed me that what most people don’t know is the the process of recycling actually creates more waste than the recycled materials, not to mention energy usage. I’ve also seen many documentaries that follow a drop off at a recycle bin and track it right to a land fill, or shipped to a third world country where it ends up in their landfill. So, I’m still pretty skeptical of any designer recycling program (or any other program that gets hyped and makes a ton of money). I’m sure many people feel more justified by spending money at these designers thinking they are doing “good” for the environment, but it’s pretty easy to psychologically convince oneself of beneficence.
So many stories begin with…I knew a man….:)
Hmmm, meaning..?
Have you watched Casablanca lately?
It’s a classic line from Humphrey Bogart to Ingrid Bergmann.
I have the entire script memorized.
From what I have heard, recycling aluminum is actually more efficient than mining bauxite and refining it. Takes about 90 percent less energy.
Recycling aluminum cans used to be a way to make some decent pocket money.
sotd = au coeur du desert
Feeling ambery, in January a warming scent is just right.
Hope everyone is staying warm and comfy today. 😌
ACdD is perfect for a touch of warmth in January’s chill.
Snowing today so I rescheduled my mom’s haircut for next week, when temperatures are supposed to be in the 30s. I have to lift her up on the curb at the hair salon and doing that while juggling the walker in the snow doesn’t sound like fun.
So I have a free day to blast benzoin! Todays I’m wearing my beloved Memoirs of a Trespasser layered with Phlur vanilla mist. It’s delicious, I put on Native Vanilla lotion too.
No, does not sound fun OR safe. Glad it can be put off! Plus you smell great.
SOTD is Indochine.
Big and little fires everywhere.
Sigh.
I’m so sorry, apsara. Hugs.
I almost was twins with you today but switched gears. You smell wonderful.
So sorry about the fires.
Yes, so worried about all the fires. 🙁
I am sorry, too. And… thank you.
So it was 80F here today and 29F where my sister is in Florida.
Our worlds are reversed.
I am hoping that you all get some rain soon! D@mn drought.
Wearing no 5 edt today and doing a Costco run. The Costco run was delayed for 2 weeks but can’t put it off any longer.
Hope the costco run went ok Dawn.
I’m racing by to say that I’m wearing L’Heure Bleue today, which I was surprised to see on Fragrantica’s benzoin list.
It’s everywhere 🙂
I am wearing Rumba today, which doesn’t have benzoin in it but according to the notes list on fragrantica it has about everything else. A real kitchen sink fragrance.
So it will be useful for most cps 🙂
Benzoin compliant in Hermes Eau des Merveilles.
Another cold day, but it appears to be heading toward the 40’s next week. Yippee!!!
🎵”Having a heat wave, a tropical heat wave!” 🎵
Seriously though I am glad you’ll be getting a break from the deep freeze.
My car has been in the shop and I felt a bit desperate so I made an order for a grocery store delivery, and later on found out my car was ready to be picked up. C’est la vie, I guess, so I’ll pay more for the delivery and tip but had a much easier time getting everything I wanted. Indeed sometimes when I shop online I feel I am more thorough and forget fewer things than when I actually go to the store! It helps that my store, our Texas beloved HEB, has a selection called “Buy it again” on their site for any given category (wine, vegetables, frozen foods, yogurt–you can see my priorities!) and I can just click on those things and get the items I like. Easy peasy! Our snow is almost all melted except in a few deep crevices here and there such as flowerpots in the shade on my porch. It was pretty while it was here!
I’m not onboard the CP since I’m continuing to revel in my little sample vial of Amouage Reasons. In fact I ordered the very expensive sample set of the three new “Essences” from their site and they’re supposed to be delivered by FedEx AT ANY MOMENT NOW! I”M SO EXCITED! These are 2 ml spray vials and I am feeling that until I know the stuff smells good when sprayed I cannot at all justify paying its truly exorbitant price. The rationalizations we all go through, so absurd, so humiliating.
Has anyone seen the Oscar nominations and having opinions? I’d love to hear them! I’ve hardly seen anything on the list except for Nosferatu, so I have no right to any opinions, but of course I still do. Speaking of irrationality!
I guess I need to understand your comment of “… so humiliating”?
That said, the only Oscar-nominated show I’ve seen is Conclave.
Trying to explain away my lust for ever-more new and expensive things!
Low buy, low buy 🤣
How did you like Conclave?
I think it was overdramatic in an understated way. 6/10.
Ooooooof. Hope your car repairs were nothing major. That can get expensive in a hurry.
Frozen cherries and yogurt smoothie
For the CP I chose Lush What Will Love Do which I haven’t worn in a good while, it didn’t stay very long in production, it has tangerine essential oil, very cheerful and tonight it’s Guerlain Souffle Intense, I wear the original Souffle much more because it’s more versatile.
I bet your smoothie was the prettiest shade of pink today.
A scent with tangerine in it would be a great pick to celebrate the Lunar New Year. I’ve heard that tangerines are considered lucky in regards to that.
Yes, fushia pink to be precise😀
I didn’t know about lucky tangerine, thank you.
I’m wearing Cologne pour le Soir today, loads of benzoin (almost wrote benzene, not the same at all!)
ACK, no, not the same in the slightest!
Spent the morning at the new aquarium in Seattle with grandkids and their parents–very enjoyable. Our new upgraded waterfront area is just beautiful. I wore PG Indochine (cp-compliant) and loved it.
How cool!
Love your scent. I may wear that tomorrow.
So glad you had a fun day with the grandkids. It’s wild to hear you talking in the plural!🐣🐣
SOTD = Guerlain Spiritueuse Double Vanille
Ooh La La! I haven’t worn this in quite a while and my hand KNEW!
https://www.instagram.com/p/DFL73fwRtBx/?igsh=MWttajZzZ3Z4cm1maQ==
In other news, I was wondering where I saw Benedict Cumberbatch and sure enough, it’s a little scary being kidnapped!
https://nypost.com/2025/01/23/entertainment/benedict-cumberbatch-was-kidnapped-filming-tv-show-abducted-for-hours/?utm_campaign=iphone_nyp&utm_source=mail_app
Did your front door get unstuck?
Yes! I had to unscrew the mechanism. I will use WD-40 again and see what happens.
Another bright and sunny day here with temps around 33 degrees F. The calm before the next storm so to speak. Not much snow predicted, though. Just moar cold. I’m already fed up with seeing salt on the sidewalks.
SOTD = back in Prada Candy.
BTW, I have noticed that lillyjo hasn’t commented for a bit. Hope she’s OK.
I looked back and it has been a week since she has posted anything. Now I’m concerned about her too. Maybe if we don’t hear something soon, I will email her.
Oh, no more cold.
Yes, I’ve noted Lillyjo’s absence, she was on holidays maybe she took a break from her computer to go with it.
Prada Candy! I loved it so much I wore it 2-3x per week one summer. That’s the way to thunk a bottle although I ended up including it in a swap.