It's Hump Day and National Sugar Cookie Day. Birthdays: Oliver Sacks, Tom Hanks. What fragrance are you wearing?
DeniseH commented yesterday that what she would miss after nine months in space were natural odors, not perfumes, and that is pretty much how I feel. For the next three days I'll wear perfumes that come close to natural smells on earth, starting with the scent of soil, CB I Hate Perfume Black March.
Reminder: on 7/11, imagine you are an astronaut and you've just returned to earth after nine months in space. What scent did you miss most, and what perfume would you reach for? Suggested by Kanuka.
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 Best-ever Ultraviolet Portrait of Andromeda Galaxy [cropped] by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center at flickr; some rights reserved.
Hello.
9 months in space with those horrible dehydrated kibbles? I’d be craving REAL FOOD! So my CP week will be filled with none other than gourmands.
Sotd is Prada Candy. My sweet tooth will definitely be screaming for something sweet.
I’m sure they have some dehydrated candy. Oh dear, that doesn’t sound too great…
Freeze-dried candy is A Thing. It’s interesting….
I would agree! 😋
Chocolate? I wonder if they have decent chocolate in space.
Black March is amazing. My decant of it is long gone and I don’t think I have any “natural” (in the perfumery sense) fragrances, but I have been on the hunt recently for more forest-y scents so there are several I can choose from for this CP. This morning’s choice is Profumum Arso. Forest, campfire, and amber.
That sounds perfect!
Molecule01+Iris
They are due a new release I would think…
I’m wearing good old Batucada, perfect for hot, humid Texas days.
It is? I need some!
My heart is breaking for Texas these days…
Yes the news is very bad. I just heard on the car radio that 160 people are still missing! I am sorry to say they’re probably going to be added to the death toll.
I heard 173 still missing on the ABC news a half hour ago. So sad.
Today it’s Bulgari Omnia, no reason, just felt like it. It’s a vintage bottle from 2003 (although I see there’s a sticker on the bottom giving it a 30-month shelf life once opened: nobody seems to have alerted the scent, which is as good as it ever was): apparently it was reformulated, much to its detriment, at some point before being discontinued, but this is the good stuff.
I have Omnia too, its my favorite from that line and I am so mad they discontinued that one…shame!
I love this one, too. One of the few I have a BUB of.
SL Fleurs de Citronnier. Wearing scents I haven’t given much love lately. Which, I suppose, ties in with the CP – perfumes I have not used for the longest time.
Smelling lovely, a lot like my back yard when my Meyer lemon tree is in bloom, Glannys. If I had tuberose growing next to the citrus, it would be photorealistic.
I am in Omnia Crystalline again today. This one, Eau de Mervielles and Songes will be on heavy rotation for Hell’s Front Porch weather…
We had some nice showers last night that cooled things down a bit. My gardenia plant has been really moody and not blooming. Well this morning I woke up to 5 buds opened! The smell is gorgeous.
I bought some books today at one of my favorite independent bookstores as a gift for someone who loves nonfiction page turners. They even wrapped it for me-so that is one thing checked off the list!
Lots of errands today..
Sending love and hugs to Texas.
Have fun with errands! I just started reading The Ride of Her Life: The True Story of a Woman, Her Horse, and Their Last-Chance Journey Across America, by Elizabeth Letts. Will let you know if I enjoy it. I’ve been in a bit of a book dry spell, hoping this will break it.
This sounds right up my alley!
After I read Horse by Brooks, I got back into horseback riding and also wanted to go to a horse race… so books are a big influence.
In the journal there was an article about a woman who rides from England to Scotland 🏴 Jane Dotchin
https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/jane-dotchin-pony-scotland-england
https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/jane-dotchin-pony-scotland-england-d7139cae#:~:text=She's%2084%2C%20needs%20two%20knee,the%20Scottish%20Highlands%20and%20back.
I loved smelling real gardenias in bloom. They could survive in sheltered spots in New Jersey.
Taking one of the dogs to the vet today for something strange on her eyelid. Wearing the extrait version of Gris Charnel today that I did manage to find a decant of yesterday.
I love Gris Charnel
Both versions smell really good but I think I like the edp a little bit better.
Good luck to your little doggie.
Hope the vet appointment for your pup was No Big Deal.
Having some welcome rain this morning. Wearing Arid by Piper & Perro, and ironic name for today.
We are having very unwelcome thunderstorms tonight, for what seems like the umpteenth day in a row. Glad your rain is welcome!
I’m with Denise, I would miss natural smells terribly. I love the smell of fresh pineapple, a freshly peeled tangerine, gardenias and the peppery smell of nasturtium and the greens of tomato leaves.
Now to find a fragrance that encapsulates all those! Sounds like something L’Artisan would have done in the past.
It does, doesn’t it?? One reason why I adored that line, so many to love. I really miss their L’Ete en Douce, lovely, realistic, linden blossom on sun-warmed skin perfume.
No kidding! I’d buy it in a flash!
My SOTD is White Tea perfume oil, from Life Perfumery SF. It’s nearly an exact dupe for Bvlgari’s Au the Blanc but at a nicer price point…
When I bought my Omnia crystalline at a perfume depot near 34th street, the guy there was trying to give me a deal on Au The Blanc and the Green Tea one also…
I haven’t smelled either so I passed
I enjoy the Green Tea by Bvlgari, it’s refreshing in Summer! One line that I really (really!!) wish would return to drug stores is Green Tea Therapy by The Healing Garden. It came in the full line, including a candle, shower gel, lotion, edt spray, and it was so glorious. Probably my favorite green tea scent and cheap as chips.
I still have some of the Green Tea products and would agree with you.
Oh, lucky you!! That scent, Wrappings, and New West captured the scent of the 1990s for me.
Oh, and in other news, we’re picking up a rescue kitten on Sunday, he’s a tabby/Siamese mix and he has HUGE ears.
They named him Oriole (baseball reference), I’m searching for another name, Radar, Kiwi, or Tater.
His personality is described as gentle and sweet. I may opt for Schatz, which I think in German means sweetheart. 🙂
I’m open to any name suggestions! I’ll be posting pics on IG at some point…
In the past my cats names were, Bumble, Finster, Georgie, Jasmine, Roe, Marcel
Feel free to steal, as they have all passed away
Oh how wonderful! A new kitten!
Congrats on the new kitten! 🐈⬛
Radar from M.A.S.H was gentle and sweet, and loved animals.
and I loved his character on M.A.S.H., Radar would be my first choice!
How about Spock, if you don’t mind a Star Trek reference?
If something more science-y would work, what about LIDAR?
That’s another good one! And Mr. SmokeyToes is a huge Star Trek fan, I bet he’d go for that one.
If it smells like Au The Blanc, it must be good!
It’s enjoyable, and surprisingly long lasting. I switched to the oil as the last reformulation of AtB didn’t quite smell right on me..
Another comforting fragrance, L’Eternel féminin, Divine.
Comfort always works and Divine always works 🙂
Great choice Robin. I would miss the smell of rain. Either petrichor or damp forest scents, ferns after rain. So, I couldn’t decide between Jardin apres la mousson or for a fern forest walk in Amouage Bracken. One of each, probably. Beautiful moon this morning; it’s huge and lighting up the garden and hillside with shafts of silver light.
nice description, Kanuka. Your moon imagery makes me think of Bois d’Argent.
We get the full Buck moon here tomorrow, does NZ name the full moons? If so they must be different names…
I’m wearing Eau de Sens today. I’ve been reaching for it quite a bit this summer and it works for the CP too.
At the Met last week, I saw the John Singer Sargent exhibit and came across this wonderful painting, Fumée d’Ambre Gris. I immediately thought, I have to share this with my NST friends! Then I found this lovely essay on the painting.
https://artsfuse.org/76003/fuse-visual-arts-ambergris-and-alchemy-a-pilgrimage-to-john-singer-sargents-fumee-dambre-gris/
The painting is really mesmerizing in real life, the white on white composition and the portrayal of the lady, so inward-looking.
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing!
Mesmerizing tulipani! Thank you!
Cool!
It’s only 79 degrees here, but very humid. I am putting out Halloween decor at the store. A sure sign that Summer is on its way out. Lol.
My sotd is Chanel Paris-Venise. It’s about gone though. I am going to switch to BBW Tropedelic from the purse stash after lunch.
Halloween decor?!? 🤬🙈🙉🙊
Way, WAY too soon for that!
Just saw all the new Halloween stuff at Ikea online. Way too soon for me too.
lalala clamping hands over years cuz I do NOT want to hear that summer is on its way out!
I am wearing Bulgari Au The Rouge from a mini I found. I have both the clear and the red bottles. I think the red was a re-issue. I should do a side by side. This is lovely while it lasts, but since it doesn’t last that long on me, it’s not a commitment like the other fragrance I considered this morning: Eau Sauvage Parfum, with its resinous myrrh that lasts and lasts. Maybe that will be for after the shower.
Sometimes it’s easier for me to pick a morning scent when it doesn’t have much longevity so that if I tire of it or change my mind about what I feel like wearing that day, I can start anew in a few hours. But other times I’m like, “I really really feel like vintage L’Heure Bleue today.” And that is it for the rest of the day and into the night.
I do that on Saturdays, I go to the farmers market in a light scent that won’t last and then switch after I shower when I get home..
I so wish I would have grabbed a bottle of Eau Savage Parfum when it was around. That myrrh note was amazing.
Happy Hump Day !
Sotd Desertland by Oribe layered with matching body crème for running way too many errands.
If I had time and fragrance budget available I would buy Demeter Dirt and Grass scents, then layer them for CP.
Errands twin… lol
If I had those 2 Demeter scents in my Sample Stash, I would send them your way. I stuck to mostly floral perfumes with my sample order.
To distract myself from various family members health issues, which I can do nothing about except worry, which is useless, I sorted all the little samples I had resting in a soup bowl on my dresser, alphabetically by name, just to generate some semblance of order. 72. LOL. Only a few of which were completely dried out and useless. There they sit, expectantly. I will remove the ones I know I don’t need to even sniff again – Memo Sintra, I am looking at you! – and then maybe wear one each day until I have sorted through them some more. Today I have on Hiram Green Philtre, a pleasant, flowery, approaching carnation scent, with that “natural” hint of clumsy, less well distilled substances, which I don’t mind, flowers with some meadow gone to weeks behind it, you know? – this smelled nice enough when I put it on this morning, but now, 6 hours later it is gone, gone, gone. Tomorrow I may wear a squirt of the sadly discontinued Malmaison, of which I have about 2 mls of a 10 ml decant left. Sigh. Happy happy everyone.
You have to be doing the most important thing at every moment – you never know when your plans for the future may be rudely truncated by circumstances beyond your control!
I’m sorry for your family health issues and your worry.
I am glad to see you here posting today.
Thank you lillyjo! So kind!
Thanks for the fragrant truth bomb! You’re so right!
Didn’t mean to be harsh at all! Trying to see beauty and focus on solutions rather than problems!
? Maybe we have different definitions of t/b? For me it’s a brilliant observation of a situation that makes you go 🤯🤯🤯. Nothing harsh at all. What you said was 1,000% true and it blew my mind!
The joys of perfume can soothe a lot of life’s pains.
Toss the Sintra if you like, but wear that Malmaison before it evaporates!
Hi all 👋
I’m wearing Phlur vanilla skin and hair mist for no reason except that it smells good.
A splendid reason!
The best reason!
The ultimate reason!
Beautiful picture, Robin!
Visiting earth again, I am wearing Vietnamese Coffee, because I would need freshly brewed coffee right away.
Oh, that makes perfect sense to me. Sign me up for freshly brewed Vietnamese coffee on my pulse points too.
Apsara I’m totally thinking of this tomorrow morning as I hover over my fresh cup brewing!
Great idea!
Continuing the summer-cocktail scent theme today. If yesterdays scent was that of a mojito, today’s is that of my summer favorite, margarita. SOTD is Tommy Bahama Set Sail St. Bart’s for Women. The top notes are lime and margarita! I enjoy it layered over BBW’s Coconut Lime Verbena body products.
Warm and muggy and rainy again today. Yesterday parts of Chicago got hit badly with heavy rain and lots of flash flood warnings and cars stranded. Fortunately, nothing but a few raindrops my way.😮💨
Virtual yoga in a few minutes, then running a few errands. Looking forward to my first margarita of the summer with dinner tonight. 🍹
Wishing all a wonderful day/night ahead! 🌞 🌝
This Midwest humidity has been awful this summer.
Yes, truly awful. It has really cut into my outside a activities.
pHilosophy makes a Senorita Margarita showergel. Have you tried it?
No but it sounds good. Will have to check that.out.
I’m wearing Love Tuberose from Amouage. It supposedly has a whipped cream note, and I do believe I can smell it! It’s a fragrance that is very “stinky “ when it goes on, but by now is playing nice and just very pretty and even relaxing.
That one did sound nice! I did not try any of the series.
Good morning! I thought about incense perfumes as a gentle reintroduction to the smells of Earth, so I’m wearing Bois d’Encens today.
Great idea Gaynor, I like it.
I’m re-reading Nabokov’s wonderful memoir Speak, Memory, and he talks about the scent of butterflies in 1900s rural Russia – “Through the smells of the bog, I caught the subtle perfume of butterfly wings on my fingers, a perfume which varies with the species – vanilla, or lemon, or musk, or a musty sweetish odor difficult to define.”
In line with the CP, I don’t think most of us today have ever smelled butterfly wings, and I do shudder at Nabokov’s obsessive lepidoptery, especially with today’s hindsight concerning insect collapse.
But it makes me wonder whether there is an evolutionary reason for butterflies to smell like other things. What alchemical properties do butterflies have that allow them to secrete odors like vanilla, lemon, jusk, etc. Or do their wings merely pick up these scents from the flowers they land on? In which case, bees should also have scent, but I’m not aware of any, outside of honey, perhaps.
That is fascinating. I googled this topic briefly and found quite a lot of information. I have a friend who used to be a volunteer at our Natural Science Museum and for awhile she was in charge of their big (popular) butterfly pavilion, and I went to visit her there a few times. She was checking on the ones in chrysalis stages and taking out the ones that had emerged, putting them into a big basket and carrying it into the butterfly garden (in a huge glass dome) to be released. I honestly do not remember any smells associated with the butterflies there. In the pavilion itself, there were probably too many smells from the plants, humid atmosphere, soil, and so on (they had an iguana there too, and turtles, and of course throngs of children). I gathered in my brief Google research that this is, as one might expect, a phenomenon related to pheromones and sexual attraction.
Just FYI, here’s one article I came across that seems good, and reputable. https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2023/np/d2np00067a#:~:text=Another%20feature%20of%20butterfly%20scent,restricted%20pheromone%20chemistry%20of%20moths
I remember learning not to touch a butterfly’s wings many years ago. It causes tiny scales on the wings to be removed, harming the insect.
Very interesting, I’ve never heard of that before. I have ‘grown’ Monarch butterflies from their egg stage on the underside of milkweed leaves and released them when ready but have never noticed any scent emanating from them. Haven’t done that yet this year but I have lots of milkweed so perhaps I’ll resume that activity and with the purpose of finding a possible scent in mind.
Frozen mango and yogurt smoothie
I was in modern Eau de Patou this morning and tonight vintage Aromatics Elixir.
House twins earlier today with you, w00t w00t!
Wonderful to be house twins!
SOTD = Love, by Kilian, don’t be shy Extreme
Love this one and should wear it more often!
I mentioned having a get-together with friends on July 4th. The family whom we visited has one daughter who finished her first year of law school and is currently interning at the DA’s office. Anyway, she said that once she’s done with school and has a few years under her belt, she will use a matchmaker to help her find an “appropriate” mate. I had to s double-take because using a matchmaker just seems “old fashioned”, unless you go by some of the streaming shows about Jewish, Indian matchmakers. I guess to each his / her own!
It does seem really old fashioned, but IIRC the success rate is higher than picking your own 🙂
Truedat! She did say she has “standards”.
Your 🦄💩 perfume!
Indeed!
Song of the Day: https://youtu.be/EhZba-P7R18?list=RDEhZba-P7R18
As promised, the triple digits have arrived. It was 102F here today, which is 39 for you Celsius folks. The corresponding Real Feel temp was 104F. It’s supposed to “cool down” by 10 degrees tomorrow.
SOTD = still in Patou Collection Heritage Colony. It *shines* in weather like this, smelling even better than it did before.
Are you expecting any rain anytime soon?
The next couple of days will be unsettled. I might get some precip. Might not. Hard to say.
So that is sad that yesterday our temp was 91 and the realfeel was 108, and there is only 2 degrees different in yours. I think I’d prefer your 104 to ours! Humidity is the pits.
Depends on if you can handle INTENSE sun. I’ve had to use a parasol out here a few times.
But I don’t miss East Coast humidity in the slightest. I just laugh at my brother when he complains about the humidity here.
I have been in Tucson when it was 110…it was much better than the East Coast at 95!
Hoping for a cool down day for you soon!🤞
Cool down is already on its way, thanks! Should be in the 80’s here by Friday. As far as heat waves go, this one wasn’t horrible.
Now, that is proper hot.
Yep! Fortunately, the triple digits are not all that common. But not out of the realm of possibility for any given summer day, either.
I should stop complaining but you know how things get in these here parts!
I do indeed know what summer is like in those there parts! Soupy!