Happy Almost-Friday! It's also International Bat Appreciation Day. What fragrance are you wearing?
Today, I'm doing the Incense Route - Desert Cities in the Negev:
The four Nabatean towns of Haluza, Mamshit, Avdat and Shivta, along with associated fortresses and agricultural landscapes in the Negev Desert, are spread along routes linking them to the Mediterranean end of the incense and spice route. Together they reflect the hugely profitable trade in frankincense and myrrh from south Arabia to the Mediterranean, which flourished from the 3rd century BC until the 2nd century AD.
My fragrance has incense, but it was made in Italy and inspired by an Indian princess, and it most probably was developed by a French perfumer, so it fits in nicely with the theme of world trade. Plus, I smell great and my bottle is suitably ancient: Etro Shaal Nur.
Reminder: 4/18 is the World Heritage Day / International Day for Monuments and Sites. [This is sponsored by the International Council on Monuments and Sites, an NGO dedicated to the conservation, protection, use and enhancement of the world's cultural heritage.] Pick a place you've visited, or would like to visit, that has "intangible cultural heritage", tell us about it, and wear a fragrance you think fits for whatever reason.
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 Mamshit [cropped] by chany crystal at flickr; some rights reserved.
I’m wearing Bois Farine for Artisanal know-how and culture of baguette bread (https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/artisanal-know-how-and-culture-of-baguette-bread-01883)
Excellent reasoning! I had to pass Bois Farine to a friend as it only smelled like flour on me.
Perfect, plus you smell great.
You smell delicious and clever pairing.
In April Aromatics Calling All Angels, on this Holy Thursday for the Basilica and Dominican Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie housing The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. It is located in Milan, Italy, and it was designated as a World Heritage site by Unesco in 1980. It is a must-visit if you are in Milan. Stunning architecture, and seeing The Last Supper is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Happy Thursday! 🌿
Excellent! And another “almost” for me…it was closed when I was in Milan, ha.
Happy Thursday to you!
Rats! I hope you have the chance to go back to Milan in the future, visit the Basilica and admire The LastSupper. It is amazing!
Remind me never to travel anywhere with you. 😉
Seriously!
Oh that’s a beauty. Smelling great, perfumelover67.
Thank you, DeniseH! Calling All Angels is one of my favorite incense perfumes.
I dream of visiting.
I hope you have that opportunity, Aurora
You smell great, pl67!
Thank you, Apsara!
I can’t even imagine what seeing “The Last Supper” is like in person.
It is quite difficult to explain, but it is a very profound and immersive experience.
Beautiful cold crisp day here, and I’m wearing Annick Goutl’s Quel Amour! Well, house of AG-it was her daughter Camille who is the nose behind this. I used to wear this when it first came out-I was in my 20’s and I had the matching body lotion. It reminds me so strongly of that time-smell is an amazing scent. I do feel like I need to apologize to my younger self-she wasn’t wrong about everything lol. This is a gorgeous scent for a clear spring day.
I can’t wait to read about all the beautiful fumes people are wearing today 🙂
Ha! My younger self needs to apologize to me for always thinking she was right 😉
😆 Me too!
Hello.
Sotd is J’adore l’Or.
Tested out Chance Eau Splendid. Intensely sugary red fruits and musk in a juvenile style blend. Very appealing to teens and girly girls in their early 20’s. No lipsticky violets and roses nor rooty (or powdery even) iris. Shame. Easy pass for me.
Money saved! No surprise, it is getting fantastic reviews in the print magazines.
This morning I’m in Hermes 24, Faubourg, for the palace and gardens at Versailles. In my imagination this is how all the ladies of court smelled, and even the bottle’s shape and etchings look like something one might have seen in the palace.
Perfect match SheriG!
Great fit, plus you smell so elegant.
Almost done with my travel spray of Iris Poudre.
We need an “almost empty bottle” emoji!
Or an “almost empty bottle” CP!
I like that idea!
Oh yes, I have four or five almost finished bottles.
We also need a regular perfume bottle emoji!
Robin, you smell wonderful today in Shaal Nur.
I’ve been doing some volunteer work this week that puts me in a car with several people, so I have been commando until I get home. Yesterday was sunny and beautiful but still cold, with a piercing wind. When I got home, I marinated in many sprays of Shalimar edc. So much better! Today is warmer and I am wearing White Linen perfume and body powder. So good.
It is starting to smell a little off in the top notes, but the dry down is lovely.
Warmer here too, and sunny 🙂
Today I travel from Hue to Luang Prabang.
SOTD will be Dyptique Oud Palao EDP with its’ note of Laotion honey.
Oud Palao is a beautiful fragrance for your UNESCO trip🍯
It’s a beauty, allo.
Is it revisiting a trip you’ve taken in the past? That city looks beautiful and the pairing a great fit.
Yes, I have been lucky and blessed to travel to Laos two times.
Once to Vietiane in 1983 and then up to Luang Prabang in 2005.
Much travel along the Mekong.
I still smell yesterday’s Chanel Chance Splendid flanker on my sweater. I would pair this with a garden in Japan-somewhere with misty mountains..
How about here: Gokayama
Japan is on my bucket list!
Saw this recently and thought of all the NST readers~
https://www.booksaremagic.net/item/ZvBkAoykME-lBadMzI7jdw
that is the ultimate tote
It is a really great tote. I’d be tempted if I would ever ever ever need another tote.
***FREEBIES RE-POST***
Just email me at my NST username at gmail to claim. US only please. Feel free to claim more than one or all three.
1. Jo Malone Cologne Discovery Set Collection 4 x 1.5ml: Ginger Beer, Emerald Thyme (half full), Memento, and Passiflora
2. Jovan White Musk vintage year unknown 2oz 60% full
3. Decants: Le Jardin Retrouve Osmanthe Liu Yuan 5-6ml, Teo Cabanel Lace Garden 3ml, and Bruno Fazzolari Fzotic Fontevraud 2.5-3ml
Starting the day in Providence Perfume Company’s Hindu Honeysuckle. Came home yesterday after work to find a notice on my door that all of a sudden they are renovating my kitchen and Batbroom TODAY, less than 12 hours notice basically. Somehow I got the entire kitchen and bathroom packed but very mad at my rental company on the notice.
That is so inconsiderate of your company. I hope the workers actually turn up today. Good luck.
Thank you
Is this even legal?
Its definitely not professional I think.
It sure is short notice. Well done for having packed everything.
OMG! What a pain!
Wearing Gris Charnel today since the temps are more spring like. Found out on Facebook that if you are in the US, Andy Tauer launched a website that we can order from.
Good to know!
PSA
Shalimar Millesime Jasmin is at fragrance net for a very good price atm.
Almost … but ultimately decided not to …
Money saved!
Thanks, I couldn’t pass it up at that price! I find a 35% code.
Crazy good price!
Ooof, are you able to share the code?
If you Google the perfume and click on the fragrance net picture it should give you the coupon once it takes you to the site
Thank you, lillyjo!
I think the one I used was TR35.
Thank you so much!
Wow! Guerlain must have had trouble getting rid of that one this year.
I thought that too.
🙈🙉🙊!
You have to look at the price! Lol..
I did look..
Happy Almost Friday! (Everyone I greeted this way at the hospital laughed & smiled broadly.)
Sotd Desertland by Oribe. A woody green aromatic full of juniper berries and lavender!
I really must see if anyone makes lavender bitters for a martini. It’s about the only thing I haven’t “lavenderized.”
Scrappy’s Bitters makes lovely lavender bitters – https://www.scrappysbitters.com/bitters/lavender
Yep, I have those, plus Dram Lavender Lemon Balm
https://www.dramapothecary.com/product/lavender-lemon-balm-cocktail-bitters/?v=0b3b97fa6688
Alcohol free will be lovely with some tonic when it gets warm again!
Thank you Allo !
Who knew there were multiple purveyors? What a nice surprise!
Your perfume sounds pretty and aromatic.
Oh I think it is!
Top notes are Juniper Berries, Lavender and Pine Tree;
middle notes are Angelica and Wildflowers;
base notes are Texas Cedar, Sandalwood and Vetiver.
18-21 Bitters makes a lovely Grapefruit-Lavender bitters. Highly recommend it!
Grapefruit-lavender! I adore this combo!
Those bitters can transform an ordinary Gin and Tonic into something special.
🤯😍
I’m wearing Olympic Orchids Woodcut today for our spectacular Olympic National Park🌄
I love woodcut. I will take my small bottle away with me this weekend.
The perfect travel companion!
I just found my travel spray of Wood Cut, still shrink-wrapped!
One of a perfumista’s favorite experiences🥰
Never made it to that part of Washington state, sadly.
There are many perfumistas here to welcome you to the beautiful PNW🌸
Someday I’ll get out there!
My son’s dog is called Bat and she’s currently snuggled up under the covers in my bed, having demanded to be fed at 4.30am. This is her routine most days. It works well for her as she sleeps for most of the day, and likes to do so on a full stomach. I’m heading off to a World Heritage Site today, the south Westland area of NZ which is, coincidentally, a place where small tailed bats live. It’s an area covered in native beech forest, the southern alps and the rugged coast on the Tasman sea. I have a sample of Bat so will wear that.
Great! You covered all fronts with Bat.
That is early but I’ve noticed you’re an early riser.
That natural area historic site sounds beautiful and unusual!
Sampling Samarkand from DSH which rose and wood on me since Samarkand is a world heritage site
I thought of that one, but of course couldn’t find it…it will turn up in a few days no doubt 🙂
TF Vanille Fatale today because I want to go to any country where vanilla is grown. They are all tropical and that’s what I’m craving. As to Vanille Fatale, it’s nice but a bit meh. I don’t think it adds anything to the plethora of vanilla scents out there. I have a decant. I won’t need a bottle. Money saved.
Robin, you are smelling great! I too love Shaal Nur. It transports me to ancient times, but it is also timeless. Etro has many excellent fragrances.
Shaal Nur is lovely and I wish the top notes were in better shape…my bottle is very old.
SOTD = Lush American Cream
So I was originally going to wear ELDO Fat Electrician, a play on “at the crack of dawn” but I decided not to because it is a more solemn day than, say, 4th of July. I decided to wear Lush American Cream to celebrate having traveled to 30 states instead!
https://www.instagram.com/p/DIjy8rExmdD/?igsh=d2dib3BxZmhwbmVq
In other news, I don’t have a destination in mind at this point but tomorrow is $1 deposit day for select Holland America cruises 🚢! The email I got was from a cruise consultant but it doesn’t mean that I couldn’t just go directly with the company 🤷🏻♀️. Let’s see what I end up with, if anything. Oy, of course as soon as I finished typing this comment, I realized that my passport will expire April 2026 so I may need to do that first before I attempt to book anything that will require me to travel outside of the U.S. Boo hiss.
In this case I blame Lush referring to strawberry vanilla, to me it smells like an aromatic, herbal vanilla and you smell very good. Not sure but is it a cardboard crate in your photo?
Thanks! You are close …
“Wherever I May Roam” is not just a Metallica song. It could be your theme for travel!
Another 17C day with sun and clouds, no complaint. I wanted to run errands this afternoon but felt a little light-headed so they will have to wait until after Easter, in the UK both Good Friday – like in the US – and Easter Monday – like in France – are official holidays.
It was Anaïs Anaïs today, the edp concentration, I’ve developed a fondness for it and confession to Donatella appraising my little 30ml bottle I purchased a backup, it is very like my beloved EDT concentration but more balsamic and even vanillic to my nose. Tonight it’s vintage Venezia for the CP.
Got holiday mixed up for the US, my apology.
🙂
Just checked, as I remembered the stock market is closed Good Friday but not everything is closed though.
U.S. banks are open.
Ah, thanks, good to know.
Gosh please take care Aurora of that light-headedness! I would hate to see it cause a bigger problem such as a fall! 🤗
Thank you Leslie, it’s my medication.
🤗
Have to agree with LesLiesse about your lightheadedness. That’s a troubling symptom. IIRC you are taking some medicine for blood pressure, correct?
Yes, that’s right, so far it doesn’t prove a great success🥺
Oh no!
Shoot. Hope they can find you something better!
Thank you Robin, today on Lillyjo’s advice I divided the pill in four pieces, hope that will make a difference.
Good, hope that did the trick.
Aurora have you gone back to the Doctor?
Thank you Lillyjo, no I haven’t yet, just taking half of the recommended blood pressure medication, hoping I’ll get used to it.
I had to go down to a quarter on the advice of the Doctor. It took a good year to work my way up. It might be worth a phone call.
I wore Cartier L’Heure Fougueuse today and was wondering if there was anything horse related that I could link to it. I was thinking of Friesian horses of northern Europe but they’re not on the list. Lo and behold, the Lipizzan horse breeding traditions are considered an intangible cultural heritage, and encompass many European countries.
Done!
I had a PT appointment so no perfume until late, but now I am home and wearing Memo Tamarindo. I bought some tamarind paste in Asia somewhere and I enjoy the smell and using it in Thai, Indian, or Indonesian recipes.
Ive never had tamarind before. What does it taste like and which recipes? Enquiring minds want to know!
Tart and sweet and almost overripe and slightly citrusy all at once. It is an ingredient of Pad Thai if you’ve had that. You can buy it at most Asian grocery stores including India Sweets & Spices. The big Thai supermarket Silom in Hollywood should have it, and if you go on a weekend, there are vendors outside selling street food, so yummy. I am overdue for a visit there myself!
I’m going to have it try it.!I don’t know that Hollywood market.
Tamarind can also make a great hot sauce ingredient. It is rather complimentary with chilies.
Now I want to cook!
Pushing repeat on Chamade edt and claiming points for sandalwood! Yesterday was my breakthrough moment for Chamade.
I bought a tester quite cheaply from FragranceNet as a blind buy years ago. After a couple initial tests, it moved to the back of the shelf. Although it lacks the scent bubble I expect from Guerlains, I am finally appreciating why it has so many fans. The cool, damp weather seems to bring it out. Behind on comments and I hope everyone is doing well. I love incense and look forward to reading your choices.
Chamade is beautiful. 🥰
Running around getting groceries at multiple places today. Costco was crazy! It’s supposed to snow tomorrow, so I didn’t want to procrastinate.
SOTD = Bottega Veneta Knot EdP, from The Sample Stash. Some NSTers have mentioned orange blossom perfumes lately, and that sounded pretty good to me this morning.
Snow!?
It’s going to be 70 tomorrow but with thunderstorms.
You smell lovely in Knot.
Yep snow. It was 73 degrees F here earlier this afternoon.
I remember quite a few snowy Easter Sundays from childhood.
Oh, glad you’re well prepared. I did like Knot when it came out, you smell good and seasonal but I found I preferred slightly my APdlFd’O Neroli Blanc and that Knot would be redundant.
Would have loved a bottle of Knot but the funds weren’t around then.
I feel like I’m almost cheating here with my CP scent for today, which is Memo Lalibela. It’s named after and supposedly evocative of the Ethiopian Orthodox rock-hewn churches at the historic site of Lalibela. It has rose, peony, patchouli, orchid, vanilla, and incense, and is definitely on the sweet side. I don’t really know what orchids smell like (most of the ones you see in nice arrangements really aren’t aromatic), but this perfume does have an unusual note to it which is what attracted me to it in the first place, so maybe that is some sort of orchid. Here’s the website with photos: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/18/.
Lalibela, the place, is amazing. Scott Pelley of 60 Minutes went there for Christmas Eve pilgrimage. If you can pull up his report, I think you’d enjoy it. Memo did a perfume, inspired by it-wow!
The Harmonist uses Calypso Orchids in several fragrances, like my adored Moon Glory.
Thanks for both tips/observations!
Cattleya orchids have a beautiful floral scent. And some varieties of Dendrobium orchids smell like chocolate.
Like chocolate, really? Wow!
Yep! But it’s been a while since I’ve come across those.
Chocolate -scented orchids! 😍
I’m working a split shift today because we had a corporate visit. I chose Coco Noir, which I love more every time I wear it.
Hoping that time will fly for you Lillyjo, Coco Noir is very good, just not noir somehow.
Smelling wonderful! I love that scent.
That a delightful thing to say – that you love it more each time you wear it!
Yuck on the corporate visit!
Coco Noir was an instant love for me, and from a magazine scent strip no less! One of my first non-vintage, FB purchases, too. You smell wonderful!
You do smell great! I think I was quite surprised at the lack of ‘noir’ as well. I hope the work visit was uneventful.
Ugh, sorry, hope the corporate visit was painless. You smelled wonderful in CN.