Happy Almost-Friday and happy World Emoji Day! It’s also the World Day for International Justice and David Hasselhoff’s birthday. What fragrance are you wearing?
Yesterday my plan was to head north to spend a few days at a lake in Massachusetts; instead, a minor family emergency (all settled now!) derailed me just as I started to get my suitcase in the car. Today, I'm trying again. With any luck, I'll be off the internet most of the day and happily ensconced by the lake before nightfall. Once again, I'm wearing my own cheap and cheerful DIY lotion with ylang and sweet orange.
Reminder: on 7/18, we're doing Cheap & Cheerful Friday. Suggested by ringthing.
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 Chive Flower [cropped] by Mustang Joe at flickr; public domain.
SOTD = La Chasse aux Papillons, the most classic hot weather perfume for me! Linden, pretty pretty, sigh. Someone needs to make a dupe of this and stick some real ambergris in there on the bottom to make it last and hold a while….but then it would cost $700.00 a bottle, I suppose…
Today, I am going to:
Change the sheets
Organize the canning supplies – how many new lids do I really need, and are the tariffs going to destroy the supply of lids and ring? Do I need to buy a new pressure canner before the tariffs kick in? Is this the year I really will make my own spaghetti sauce?
Dig out my oil paints and take up the challenge of painting some 4 x 4 inch square canvases with miniature landscapes in the manner of the Pointillists – a challenge issued by one of my brothers. 🙂
Probably drink a gin and tonic with my new favorite elderflower tonic water, and maybe a drop or two of grenadine, for pinkness, at some point during this day, you know?
Elderflower tonic is my newest obsession! We (well, Mr. G) discovered the Fever Tree brand, and it’s lovely. I have it with rum because gin and I haven’t spoken since an unfortunate New Year’s Eve in the ‘80s. Which brand do you favor?
Oh yes, The Fevertree Elderflower tonic water is what I get- it is give me a reason to go to Target regularly! I drink it with Tanqueray gin, in the green bottle. One time on a trip, my sister and I did a taste test of all the gins in the mini-bar (yes we did have a good time, but don’t ask about anything else!) and Tanqueray won by a mile. Bombay Sapphire disappointingly had hints of fuel oil, and all the others were harsh in comparison and seemed only suitable for removing paint or something! Recently I was given a sample of Hendrick’s Gin, which was surprisingly smooth taken neat, but was being sold for close to $60.00 a bottle. The bottle of Tanqueray I have will last me years, before I have to buy more, since my usual dose is maybe 2 TBS of gin, not even half a shot. I am getting ready to buy a bottle of light rum to make some homemade Kahlua- any suggestions for something better than the classic Bacardi?
Meredifay, I used to run a vintage cocktail catering company, and I can also vouch for Tanqueray over Bombay Sapphire.😊 I like Hendrick’s, but if you’re ever going to splurge, I recommend Tanqueray 10, which is my absolute favorite for martinis.
For light rum, I’d go with Planteray 3 Stars White Rum. (Used to be called “Plantation,” but they changed the name.) Much more interesting than Bacardi, and not crazy expensive.
Kuleana Rum Works out of Hawaii has a lovely blend of white rums called Huihui. I can recommend that. Has a hint of sugar cane on the palate.
That sound good!
You smell wonderful!
This is really my favorite perfume of all….
Deservedly so meredifay, it is a beauty.
Gin and Tonic is my go to drink for the summer
G&T is so refreshing. And since I am a total mosquito magnet , any medicinal effects from the tonic on all the little critters chewing on me is just a bonus.
World Emoji Day? Here is lavender emoji for my SOTD -🪻
I picked 4711 Acqua Colonia Lavender & Thyme – the only 4711 flanker I fell in love with.
Nicely done!
Don’t hassle The Hoff!
🤣👍
When I hear the name David Hasselhoff, I can’t help but think of one of the greatest SNL sketches of all time IMHO, where Phil Hartman references him –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6MPiudd_Hw
R.I.P Phil Hartman. He was so talented and funny.
Canine Hoff interpretation: https://www.instagram.com/teckel_seppl/reel/DIPDoQmiw3L/
Hello. 👋
Sotd is Victoria’s Secret Rapture.💛 Extremely sad it’s been discontinued. It was a cheap but truly fabulous offering from VS.
Rapture and the Original VS were fantastic.
I still have a smidge of the original. I think I thunked about ten bottles of it in the 1990s. It was always in rotation.
I’m wearing Nicolai Cologne Sologne. For me, it meets the cheap & cheerful criteria, because the cost of a full 100 ml bottle is $62. Plus, I always think the cost of the bottles by this perfumer are very reasonable anyway.
They are, aren’t they? Their annual, LE Muguet was 65 euros for 30 ml, but very cheap&cheerful compared to Guerlain for 10 times the price for three times the size,
Plus it’s a gorgeous cologne!
Super cheap and cheerful in Yves Rocher Tropical Tentation, because I got my little bottle as a GWP. Notes don’t say mango but this is like a mango-orange cocktail for me.
Especially since they would so often have sales up to 40% on their already reasonable prices.
I’m wearing Goutal Songes today, perhaps my best Loehmanns find ever. It doesn’t qualify as cheap these days but given where I got it and that it was paid for in pre-2014 dollars it was a steal. I still wonder why so many Goutal fragrances ended up there. Was a reformulation taking place and older stock being offloaded? Was a big department store chain closing and ditching them? Whatever the reason, I’m particularly grateful I found this one; I think it’s a masterpiece.
I remember reading about the Loehmanns finds you all had-maybe back in 2013 or so. I love hearing about other people’s good finds-it’s as good as finding it myself. Songes is gorgeous-I bought mine from a discount site in 2020, and it was affordable. Think they were changing the packaging, and that’s why they were discounted.
Songes is a favorite of mine!
The online discounters also sold the Goutals for cheap as chips. I think you are right in the idea that they were reformulated and repackaged.
So many goodies could be found at Loehmann’s.
I’m joining scaresbears in Goutal, in my case Eau d’Hadrien edt. I don’t remember what I spent on the current bottle, but as it was about ten years ago I’d say it has amortized out nicely. And the BUB I acquired recently was quite affordable, all in all. Am saving the scent that fits this CP best for tomorrow.
SheriG you smell amazing-pardon me for sounding like an obsessed fan 🙂
🤣
The Hoff! The occasional snippet of him on German TV in the ’80s posted on Instagram always gives me a laugh.
Not much time to keep up here lately, but I have been following the CP this week. Cheap & cheerful I can do. It’s been warm here, so 4711 has been on rotation, though yesterday I wore Eau de Gaga, which cost me something like $20. I’ll have to see what I grab after my shower in a few minutes.
Eau de Gaga is a perfect choice!
It always amused me to see how popular David Hasselhoff is/was in Germany.
I’m in a scent that was very inexpensive, whose beautiful bottle I love. It’s L’artisan Poivre Piquant, from a discounter, and it has a cheerful red ribbon on its label, and a picture of a spicy pepper. It’s beautiful and subtle in the extreme heat of the day. I sound like a broken record but I loved the older style bottle with the pretty labels in different colours. I would love D’zing on its own but with the label showing a woman riding a tiger, with her little red shoes-could be one of my favourite bottles ever.
carole,
I stiill have the bottle with the woman in red shoes on the tiger.
About 1/4 left.
Dzing! is/was the perfectly named fragrance, imo.
isn’t the bottle pretty perfect, apsara?
I love that bottle (and Dzing! fragrance), too! I have about 1/6 of a bottle left…
I am in Dusita Douceur de Siam. While not exactly cheap, I’d won a draw at a local perfume store and so it was $100 off, yay!
Great scent!
Nice discount!
My cheerful and cheap scent was given to me by a wonderful NSTer a year or two ago. She gave me a huge bottle and I love it because it reminds me of Iris Poudre. SOTD is Ferre.
Oooo! I remember it from back in the day! You smell lovely 🥰
Thanks so much!
I have a bottle of Ferre, and it amuses me to compare it with Iris Poudre 🙂 Both are beautiful scents, and I got the Ferre at winners for about $8.00, IIRC. Do you prefer one over the other? I like both.
I like both too, although the Ferre might have the edge. Alas, it is gone, while Iris Poudre is far from the shores of Cheap…
I like both too. I don’t know why, but I wear Ferre during the warmer months and Iris Poudre in the cooler months.
Yes, nice one!
It is very nice!
You smell beautiful, as always💕
Thank you, my dear😉
Happy Thursday! I’m wearing xerjoff neorio but I don’t like it. It smells musty and dusty. If you ask me they should only make things that smell good 😤
Musty and dusty sounds like something to wear on Halloween with the right costume. Definitely not in the height of summer!
Cheap and Cheerful in EL Beautiful Belle, you can find it cheap on discounter shops.
I feel like today is a two cup coffee day. I am trying to refrain and maybe make myself an afternoon tea.
it’s at least a two cup of coffee day here, too. I’ve had two and could use one more. Was too hot to sleep last night. I went to drift off, heard a mosquito, went to slap the mossy but hit myself too hard and woke myself up entirely. Nice breeze today so might be a bit nicer sleep.
I refrained from a second cuppa..
I hope you have a peaceful sleep tonight!
The cheapest in my collection because I spent $20 for FOURTEEN oz not that long ago…..LT Piver Heliotrope Blanc. It’s probably my all time favorite heliotrope and do comforting and soothing. I panic bought it when I read an article that the company was bought out and was worried they would go the niche route , repackage everything and up the price ten fold. I’m not regretting this huge bottle because I’ve already decanted for family and friends.
Do you have any other LT Piver favorites? I’ve seen the brand on Fragrantica but never went down the rabbit hole of their many offerings because they are not available locally. BTW – the new kitten is getting cuter every day – his tail is getting fluffy and he shows other signs of being medium- or even long-haired. Overall, he is grey with some tabby stripes on his face. He is a keeper!
Hello fragrant ones. It has been a few minutes.
I am cheap and cheerful (and sad, because it’s discontinued of course) in Lothantique Ginger.
Haven’t been indulging in much perfume related over the past several but did stop in the Kensington Nicolaï a couple of weeks ago while I was in the UK for work and was disappointed to learn that the Muguet release is Paris only. Bah.
Hiya spiderplant!
::waves::
Cheap and cheerful today in le labo Vanille 44 ONLY because it was gifted to me by the team when I was consulting at ELC about three years ago?
I cannot remember all the projects I worked on from Covid onward, but this one sent many lovely smelling things over the 12 months.
My sister and I are meeting in NY for a week in October to see Superfine and the newly opened David Rockefeller wing at The Met.
I am allowed to visit one fragrance store. Maybe Aedes, we will see.
Definitely a journey to Staten Island to have pizza in honor of our Mom and Dad.
I say visit more than one store! Why pizza on Staten Island? I know there’s a story behind that and I’m curious, as I’m originally from the city.
cm8, born and raised on Staten Island.
Went to same high school my parents did.
Family owned funeral home on SI.
Watched the Verazzano Bridge get built, before that we took the car on the ferry to Coney Island.
Pat & Joe’s Pizza and Genes Pizza were a Friday night family given when we were growing up.
Ralphs’ ices on hot summer nights after the drive in.
Fillmore East every Saturday.
Ferry was a nickel.
One fragrance store because I am retired and have cut way back on purchases of all kinds. Spent years buying full bottles; now downsizing all my things. Prefer to buy decants and samples as my tastes continue to change and evolve.
Plus, my darling sister sat outside for hours at Santa Maria Novella. We split our travel desires and destinations.
SI is a given. We will also go to have pizza and honor Mom and Dad and how they made NY a magical place to grow up.
Wowza!!! What beautiful history!!! Thank you for sharing!!! I grew up in Queens but spent half my life in Manhattan as I studied ballet and went to High School of Performing Arts Arts plus sang opera with the Met at Lincoln Center in middle and high school. But Staten Island was always special place…. Different from the rest of the city. I remember taking the ferry there with my dad several times as a child and we took our kids on the same ferry when they were young to experience it. I also had a friend who grew up on Staten Island and I always envied her for that. I hope you and your sister have a wonderful and magical time and please eat an extra slice for me!!!!
That extra slice will be on a piece of wax paper – the way it tastes best!!
I saw Nureyev dance Swan Lake for my 15th birthday at Lincoln Center. if we weren’t at the Fillmore, we were at Alice Tully Hall.
When I was a child I danced with London Festival Ballet at the Metropolitan Opera House. Nureyev was a guest artist. He was kind and gracious as he allowed all of us “ young fans” to take photos with him after the performance, even though he was exhausted and sweaty!! I still have those photos of him and I in my basement. Barishnikoff, on the other hand, not nice 😂 I met him as well as a child dancer with American Ballet Theatre
Great stories!!
Is there a big difference between Staten Island pizza and the stuff in NYC?
My CP scent for the day is Fils de Dieu. Not super cheap but much less than many, and it is very cheerful. It makes me think of our fun friend Deva and hope she’s doing well.
It seems ages since her last time commenting on here.
You smell wonderful!
Is Deva ok?
She seems to have gone off the grid.
Literally or figuratively?
Deva is in the Midwest for the summer. I emailed her a few months back and I don’t believe she was wearing perfume for a while. Anyway, she was doing ok. I thought she would be back soon. Maybe I will email her again.
Thanks for letting us know, Kris
She mentioned working as an accountant but things could have changed!
Thanks, y’all for Deva news – I was thinking of her, too.
Was that recently?
Tell her we say hi! I was recently thinking of her when I sampled Ambre Liquide, she’s the one who brought it to my attention.
I’ve missed Deva’s comments on the places she’s been and her escapades with T-Rex.
I am wearing the cheap (free!) and cheerful Imaginary Authors Mint 26. About 10 years ago some Portland perfumistas visited Josh in his workshop, smelled a bunch of aroma chemicals and all of the IA line. Mint 26 was his tribute to Le Labo’s style, and he gifted us all with a bottle. I like to think he used us as a focus group for the official IA mint fragrance, Saint Julep.
A mint scent sounds perfect for summer.
Relatively cheap, Adieu Sagesse, Patou, bought at a discount.
House twins with you again!
I’m wearing Cabochard, which is available for very reasonable prices at online discounters. Even better, I bought it locally, so I paid very little postage!
My sotd is the inexpensive BBW Tropidelic. It’s a beachy scent and is pretty cheerful. The travel spray perfumes at BBW can be had for as little as $6.00 if you can catch a sale. I think they are $15.00 full price.
It’s very cloudy here but low humidity and 70 degrees.
I haven’t been to the mall; definitely a good thing considering my low buy 😇.
If you can catch a coupon, one can get the travel spray perfumes for FREE!
Agree about Tropidelic. I have the hand cream. B&BW moisturizer products work well for me.
I used a few things from BBW back in the late 1990’s. Haven’t tried anything of theirs recently.
I love many of their body wash and lotions/body butters. Surprisingly, some work really well with the perfumes I own.
We don’t have BBW in the UK, glad they’re such a good deal.
SOTD = Amouage Molook Attar
I couldn’t decide what type of rose 🌹 🥀 this is so I’ll go with green and sweet with a smidgen of oud. Nice! It’s a decant from long ago and yup, it’s the first time I am wearing it!
My nephew is still in the hospital. Hopefully he will be discharged tomorrow. My niece, other nephew and SIL are figuring out a way to support him. Of course I am thinking he really should not be in an apartment on his own and move back in with my brother / SIL. They have since downsized to a fraction of their previous home (by choice) and I did not want to be meddling …
In other news, how would you like to do the same distance for a full year of your age and keep going? I am not into this but it does sound like a plan!
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/16/well/mind/walking-ritual.html?unlocked_article_code=1.XE8.sGUI.LAGY6OoDSUXM&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
That is an interesting article and a fun idea! I will say I wish I’d seen that idea when I was 35 and had only to do 3.5 mile walks. I missed the news about your family; I hope he can get the support he needs!
It’s a great plan and I love the idea. I restarted my walking routine and am doing daily 8-10 miles. But I guess I need to do it for the number of days that equates to my age?
I loved this article, thanks for sharing!
Good luck to your nephew!
2 nectarines. For the CP, this morning EA Green Tea and tonight Molton Brown Rosa Absolute EDT which is POAL light.
Green Tea is a hidden gem. I thunked my bottle but should consider another one. It’s cheap as chips!
Agree, and for extreme hot weather I have Iced green tea, a flanker with eucalyptus.
I should get Green Tea again. The shower gel is excellent.
So is the green tea honey drops body cream, Lillyjo, with real honey.
Palisade peaches are available here!! SO excited!
Hurray!
Chive flowers are so pretty! For the CP, Champs Elysees edt. I love it in all its forms, but the edt is the one that is cheerful through and through. I checked around the web, and I *think* it counts as cheap. Fra’net has a travel spray for under $20, and FB’s can be had for under $80. Busy with the garden and yard these days; flowers and veggies are finally starting to get up and grow. Also, still on Cloud 9 about adding the new kitten to the family. He is healthy, friendly, playful, companionable to our other cat – the total package 🙂
Great news on the new fur baby!
Thanks – I hope all yours are doing well!
Congrats on the new kitten – they are so fun!
And you smell wonderful!
Thanks, on both accounts, SP! I may get that travel spray just to test the current version. I feel like CE and Mahora are two Guerlains that found me as much as I found them!
Very happy to hear that your new kitten is settling in so easily! Sometimes the current cat is less than pleased to have a new furry friend around.
Ain’t that the truth?! Because our current cat has been proven to be a mellow fellow, and because the newbie was from a well-socialized, indoor-only home, I had high hopes. But cats will be cats, and some don’t get along. Big sighs of relief from Chez Mossy!
This CP has reminded me to find my Donna Karan Gold, a lovely spicy incense lily scent that I bought online for $10 years ago. Not sure why this one is so cheap as it’s a great well-constructed fragrance that is also long discontinued. Its basenotes according to the BN site are: amber, patchouli, resins. Just checked resellers and it’s still about $30, so: cheap as chips. And cheerful for me too, though some associate lilies with funerals. Any love for that one here?
I almost picked Gold this morning, but didn’t know if it was still a good deal off hand.
I think it’s a beautiful perfume.
Yay for another DK Gold fan. They must have made a lot of it, thinking it would be a big hit, because it’s been at the discounters and/or online retailers for years.
And also, the Outremers are excellent value at 3 x the price. Great little indie French brand!
Oooooooooooh. You’re making DK Gold sound very tempting! How does it compare to Baiser Vole?
Ashamed to say I can’t quite remember that one but it seemed greener and more floral whereas Gold seems more spicy incense with lily. Others may be more qualified than me to comment on this.
Hey, I appreciate you sharing what recollections you do have!
I’m still catching up on comments, so I’m days late, but I like Gold too and should wear it more often. Maybe I’ll put it on tomorrow.
Yesterday I wore L’Outremer Vanille, definitely cheap and cheerful and today I’m twins with chocolatemarzipan in T Piver Heliotrope Blanc.
Hi twin!!!! Yesterday’s scent for you is a great one too! I had two bottles but each daughter “ borrowed “ one 😆
😊
Wearing Nemat Amber fragrance oil for the Cheap and Cheerful CP. Not sure if it’s completely cheap on a ml for ml basis, but certainly cheaper than many! It smells very similar to Kuumba Made Persian Garden and to Essential Faith.
The mountains here are shrouded in a haze of wildfire smoke today. I could smell a hint of it when I went to the mailbox. Yuck. It isn’t bad enough that I need to use a KN-95 mask outside or use my air purifier inside. But I definitely need to keep my windows closed.
SOTD = Heritage Collection Colony by Patou.
I was able to keep my windows open today. I hope the air clears up for you soon.
Thanks lillyjo. Unfortunately, until all those fires on the other side of the state are contained, air quality here is going to be sketchy. And I think some of the smoke is coming in from out of state.
So many fires this year.
The fire season has been better than last year was in my area.
But other parts of the West are still heavily in drought.
I’m wearing a sample of a Jacques Fath cheapie that foxbins mentioned yesterday, Tempete d’automne. It’s good, it’s cheap! I’m trying to resist getting some.