It's Friday and Nelson Mandela International Day. RIP Connie Francis. Our community project for today is Cheap & Cheerful ... you know what to do! Thanks to ringthing for the suggestion.
What fragrance did you pick? As always, do chime in with your scent of the day even if you’re not participating in the community project.
I'm feeling a bit off this morning, so I'm commando. If things pick up by the end of the day my plan is Demeter Gingerale. I'm also out of town and very behind on reading comments; I'll catch up eventually.
Reminder: 7/25 will be Mystery & Crime Friday...for Josephine Tey's birthday, interpret the theme any way you like...you can scent your favorite fictional detective (or villain); you can wear something that brings to mind a favorite mystery novel, film or genre; or maybe your perfume name contains a reference to a crime, a criminal, or a crime fighter. Suggested by Glannys.
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 Drumstick Allium, Maine Botanical Gardens [cropped] by Michele Dorsey Walfred at flickr; some rights reserved.
Sweet violets, sweeter than the roses…
I’m wearing Berdoues 1902 Violette, which you can buy for a song. But the longevity is very poor and I caught some kind of bug, meaning my nose is blocked and I can barely smell anything, let alone this light cologne.
I love the Berdoues line and they are very affordable. You smell sweet!!!
Hope you are feeling better soon Glannys.
Get well ASAP!
Sorry to hear you’re feeling a bit under the weather, Robin – hope you feel better soon. Demeter Gingerale sounds interesting! I’m smelling vaguely of yesterday’s Eau Parfumee Au The Vert, which I applied prior to taking friends of ours to lunch at Cafe Zera at the beachfront here in Aberdeen (Scotland).
Thank you Carolyn! Have a wonderful lunch 🙂
I’m in the best representation in my arsenal of the CP theme, Assam of India. Even the bottle is cheerful with all the colorful elephants, and the lemon tea scent itself just makes me smile. And while my particular bottle was beyond cheap, having been a freebie from a lovely NSTer (thanks again!), bottles are available online for little more than a song.
You smell great
Thank you!
Gingerale is such a great choice! I should have thought about wearing a Demeter — any one of them would fit the bill, wouldn’t it?
But my favourite all-time cheapo scent is Dana Tabu, which absolutely does not smell like you could buy it at any old drugstore. (At least the late-nineties bottle I have doesn’t: it might have been reformulated since then.) It’s a powerhouse that somehow smells like roses and baby powder (orange-flower + vanilla, I think) among all the spices and carnality.
You smell wonderful in Tabu.
What ringthing said!
I have commented in the past on here when people have mentioned Tabu, but as no-one has for some time I thought I’d repeat a tale concerning an old friend (when we were in our late teens & early twenties) who is sadly no longer with us – Diane wore Tabu rather liberally & nicknamed it ‘instant brothel’! We thought this was hilarious & we called it that for a long time. Whenever I smell it, which is rarely these days, although there was a perfume shop in the old Bayswater Mall years ago that stocked it & I would always pop in & have a sniff when I was in London, it always makes me think of my dear, much-missed friend Diane.
I’m in an old favourite-L’artisan ‘s Fleur de Lianne. Not sure if this is cheating or not but mine was free. There was a wonderful store in Halifax years ago, a bit like Grace Bros in Are You Being Served?. I loved this scent. I used to pop in the store while visiting a relative in the hospital. There was only a tester left, and they couldn’t sell it to me-so they gave it to me. It was so kind. This scent is beautiful-orchid and magnolia and marigolds. The bottle has a gorgeous green ribbon/label. I love this scent. Can’t wait to hear what other inexpensive fragrances they’ve found.
Halifax, Nova Scotia? That’d be Mills Brothers, which I loved inordinately: I can’t even imagine how much money I dropped there but it was a LOT (and I didn’t earn very much — a shocking amount of my discretionary income went to fragrances, as important to me as food). I moved to Halifax in 1985 and quickly discovered that they had an amazing array of fragrances beyond the usual department-store offerings, plus they were always getting new things in. I suppose I went there a couple of times a month. I was an addict and they were my dealer!
yes! It was Mills 🙂 I still have some of their charming shopping bags 🙂 Wasn’t it the best store? I loved it there, and spent a disproportionate amount of $$, too.
I am also wearing Demeter, in my summer stand-by, Tomato, which smells exactly as I remember when gathering ripe tomatoes from my fathers small garden. Demeter is the best for cheap & cheerful. There are many I love, many that I don’t have, but Tomato and Gingerale are both perfect for hot, humid summer weather.
Tomato was great, I should have bought some!
Hello and tgif!
Cheap & cheerful sotd is Nuxe Prodigieux Le Parfum. Definitely a mood booster.
Talking about mood boosters, I went and saw the new Superman and so so happy they decided to include Krypto the Superdog. He is just sooo adorable!
How is the new Superman actor whose name I forget? (I am so old that Superman is still Christopher Reeve)
The new Superman is played by David Corenswet. He did a good job I think. His Superman had a more “human” side and that was a little different to the last two Supermans.
Thanks.
I saw it last weekend and loved Krypto too!
In my hair is Dame New Musk Hair and Body spray which was $11 for 8 oz. On my neck only three sprays ( because it’s like an edp on me ) is my holy grail musk…. Body Fantasies Fresh White Musk. Bought it at Walmart for $2.99 for 3.2 oz. This could easily be bottled and sold for 30 times the price.
$2.99! We should have asked for prices, I think you’d win.
😂
You win except for the freebies …
😻
My cheap and cheerful pick of the day is Cheirosa 62. Might not be the cheapest since Bath and Body Works sells the body mists for under $20 but the Sol de Janeiro is still more affordable.
I keep meaning to go try all those Sol de Janeiros but so far I have only smelled one of them and I don’t even remember which one 🙂
Earlier this morning I smelled like horse, sweat and hay. Speaking of which, awhile back Kanuka posted a Hermes perfume Paddock. Does anyone have a sample/swap so I can try? It appears to be a limited release, so I will wait and see if they release it again…
I am trying to refrain myself from the Nordies beauty/perfume sales…
SOTD is Shalimar. I’d never dream of calling her cheap—perish the thought—she’s absolute royalty. But you can find it on discounters for a song and a dance and even the Shalimar Millesime Jasmin flanker is offered for a low price…
Was that one of those only-in-France situations? All the best getting your nose on it!
Yes- snubbing us over here across the pond
I think it was a one-off for that horse jumping thing Hermes sponsors — don’t think it went into distribution outside Paris at all.
Ok, well that makes me feel better
Just for fun, I looked up how much Hermes saddles cost: $8,000 to over $100,000. Each. Makes me (oddly) feel better about the price of their perfumes.
Equestrian anything is expensive!
Hope my sister never puts an Hermes dressage saddle on her Christmas wish list, because she won’t be getting one!
🤣🤣🤣
Hay smells really good – Mr. Mossy commented out of the blue how good some bales smelled while we were at Rual King today for some cat food, cat litter and bird suet. Good point on Shalimar; one of the great perfumes of all time…at CVS and Walgreens…
The smell of hay being cut and dried in the fields is wonderful.
Robin, I hope you feel better soon so you can enjoy your lake time. I’m wearing my newly-acquired Encre Noire Homme edt. At about $25 for 100 ml it qualifies as cheap, and I feel quite cheerful about it, so there we go. It was a blind though not completely uninformed buy; I read reviews (including yours, Robin) and I knew that I liked vetiver a lot. When I saw it on sale I thought about first ordering a sample but decided that at the sale price it made more sense to just buy the bottle and give it away if it didn’t suit. I like it very much, as it transpires. I can see it making an excellently amuse-nez between heavier floral and amber courses (I must be hungry) as well as a wonderful “dry” choice for soggy days.
I love Encre Noire – you smell fabulous!
Thank you scaresbear, and so glad that blind buy worked out!
I love Encre Noire so you must smell fabulous!
Isn’t this primarily a masculine scent?
I don’t think it reads stereotypically masculine (although it has “homme” in its name), it just is a really interesting vetiver which to my (admittedly unreliable) nose has some tartness and a very wee bit of smoke. I love my girly and sultry scents, but sometimes I crave something more…austere. Just as sometimes I like a wee bit of single malt scotch or some lapsang souchong tea! With one foot (at least) firmly in crone-hood, I find a touch of bitterness sometimes is called for. This satisfies that craving quite beautifully.
I was just looking at it in Fragrantica and it says it is for men and most of the reviews say unisex or leans more male. I was just curious. Thanks for your input.
I’m in “Sublime,” by Jean Patou, which is subtly cheerful, and, despite being discontinued (I think,) still remarkably affordable on discount sites.
Happy Friday, everyone.
Daniel Sublime is….sublime! I have a bottle, and yes-the whole line is discontinued. I get some sandlewood from my EDT-is it present in your bottle, too? Have a great day-you smell fantastic!
Carole, there’s definitely sandalwood. I’m in an older version, but I’ve got a more recent edt, and there’s not much difference. (I also have a small bottle of the edp, but haven’t tried it yet.)
It’s not exactly “cheap,” but on a discount site I see it for $50 for an ounce. Not bad!
I thought about getting Sublime when I went on a Patou buying spree a few years ago.
Hope you feel better fast, Robin so you can enjoy the lake!
I’m back in (Arquiste) Vacation GRAND CUVÉE (the caps are theirs) body mist, my most recent cheap purchase which I am very cheerful about. It reminds me of something summery from my teens in the 70s (a suntan lotion? we didn’t call them sunscreen then and they did not screen at all!) It feels summery without the coconut/pineapple theme.
We leave this morning for a short visit to Oregon where SP son #2 of 3 has just moved. So happy to have him + partner in the PNW!
I’m so glad your son and partner have moved closer. Have a great visit!
❤️
Thanks, think I was just overstressed and overtired. Lake is gorgeous, weather is perfect…I will be myself tomorrow I am sure.
Enjoy your visit with your son!
Lake sounds wonderful!
Have fun with your jaunt to Oregon!
In a leftover bit from my bedtime scent Anais Anais. Later in the day I might wear something pretty cheerful, if not as cheap.
I love Anais Anais, do you have a newer or older bottle?
I felt like wearing something light and fresh so I opened the fridge and sprayed myself generously with 4711 Original Eau de Cologne. The two bottles I have are pretty old and the scent is faint but it brings me back to my childhood and one of those tiny little pocket bottles I would cherish like a treasure.
akimon I keep a bottle on my desk to splash on in the summer-a bit on the wrists and temples when it’s hot out. It’s so refreshing, isn’t it? I love how you described your love for this fragrance 🙂
I have the vintage of this one! I opened it yesterday (literally tried) by peeling the sticker but somehow there was some yucky looking brown stuff on top although it still smelled quite good. I need to address this issue before actually trying it.
I wish you a swift recovery, Robin!
I’m wearing the decidedly cheerful (and trashy) Rockin’Rio. It can’t have been expensive, fortunately.
No masterpiece, but great fun all the same.
Feeling much more myself this afternoon, thanks. A bit of R&R was called for 🙂
I miss the old Escada resort series…lots of them were fun.
And I guess I miss them because I never try them anymore…they’re still making them.
I have every bottle from1994 to 2024. I’m waiting for 2025 to show up discounted. They are fun and the older bottles were so beautiful. Beveled matte glass in bold colors with a shiny fluted gold top.
That’s awesome!
What do you think of the 2024 one?( i forget the name)
Never got to try it. My daughter took the bottle lol
In Acqua di Miele from Fresh. Was looking for the L’Air du Temps purchased either on ebay or at an estate sale, but it’s eluded me, and this def qualifies as cheap & cheerful.
I hate it when bottles are MIA! Acqua di Miele sounds nice though.
PG Grand Siecle Intense 7.1
Certainly cheerful, not quite cheap
Yep!
Happy Friday everyone 🌻
My cheap and cheerful choice is Gucci Rush, still reasonable at online discounters.
Unlike so many others! Great pick.
Gucci Rush is an excellent pick for so many CP ideas.
I am wearing several cheap and cheerful products today. BBW Butterfly body wash and lotion is used a lot at my place since it contains iris. Also, I chose Zara Romance d’Iris as this was very cheap when I bought it. Now, it doesn’t seem to be on their website. Not sure if they discontinued it or not, but hope it comes back.
I feel like they churn out perfumes at a very rapid rate. Perfumes are on their website, then gone, only to be replaced by new ones.
This is true.
Nice choice! To answer your question from yesterday, my info on Deva was dated although definitely less than 6 months ago.
Okay. That’s quite a while ago. I just talked to her early this summer.
Would you get a BUB of Romance d’Iris if it came back?
CP compliant in Zara Leather Jardin today, since Persolaise just reviewed it, as well. Overcast and cooler today, so works better than the 4711, Gaga, CBIHP Room with a View I’ve been wearing in the heat this week.
I hope some rest is helping you feel better, Robin!
Love Leather Jardin. I tend to wear that in the cooler months or it wears me.
Leather Jardin is probably one of the best Zara perfumes I have tried.
I’m enjoying reading about everyone’s cheap and cheerful picks. Robin and Glannys, I hope you both feel better soon! My choice for today is Yves Rocher’s Folie de Saisons Delires d’Automne even though it’s still l’Ete. (I don’t like the Ete one as much). And lately at night I’ve been using the Yves Rocher Naturelle Osmanthus perfumed shower gel, which only lasts as long as my shower does but smells fresh and lovely. The entire Yves Rocher line of perfumes and bath products qualify for this week’s CP. My other choice would have been Roger & Gallet, another cheap and cheerful brand which I am always delighted to see a complete wall of in European drug stores. Last time I was there I bought my sister a fig EdT which she loved. I wish both these French companies had better distribution here. Tonight I may switch to the original Halston cologne, which can still be had for a song, long after the demise of the disco days at Studio 54 and even Halston himself. I have several vintage bottles, not sure what the current version smells like but all are pretty cheap.
Thank you DeniseH!
And I join you in wishing R&G and YR were both easier to find here, it’s really a shame.
I am wearing a flanker of yesterday’s scent, Smell Bent San Tropez Dispenser. SOTD is San Tropez Dispenser GOLD. This one is actually a little lighter than the original. Good for another day in the 80’s.
A Smell Bent flanker! Nice.
Scent siblings with you today!
I’m in Clinique Happy which is probably my most cheerful perfume, and nothing is cheaper than a free gift with purchase mini.😅
It is gorgeous here today. 74 and sunny with low humidity. This is the kind of Goldilocks weather I’ve been waiting for!
I met a friend for coffee this morning and we were able to sit outside and enjoy it. Sun and caffeine, it was a great way to start the day.😎
Weather twins in Southern Indiana (a bit warmer here); you smell wonderful; yay for Sun and coffee with friends!
Weather triplets! Glad you had a great morning!
That is definitely a cheerful scent. It really isn’t that expensive even in the larger bottle compared to other scents.
For the CP win: Jessica McClintock. Regularly found at TJX, my bottle has the wonderful LoTV opening, runs through the other notes too quickly, then lingers pleasantly. I find it cheerful because it is associated with weddings, and because I’ve shared admiration for it over the years when I’ve encountered other wearers in the wild.
You smell great! I recognize JM in the wild and compliment the wearer. A lot of times they will say it’s the only perfume they wear.
I’ve encountered it often in the wild over the decades and it smells wonderful every time. To answer your question from yesterday, the three amigos are doing well and despite being senior cats they keep me in my toes! Kisses to yours!!
Sounds like your SOTD has survived the decades in rather good shape.
Glannys and Robin, get well soon.
2 white nectarines. For the CP Yardley Iris this morning and tonight Liz Earle Essence No 1, both affordable British brands.
Thank you Aurora, I am doing well tonight…and now I am wishing I had a nectarine 🙂
Sounds like nectarines are in season for you right now! 🍑🍑
It wasn’t dirt cheap, but it was a real bargain – Adieu Sagesse. I’m going to a fabric sale later this morning, so it’s an appropriately named perfume, I generally lose all sense and wisdom when I see fabric on sale.
Hope you got beautiful things!
Wearing Dame Perfumery Mimosa Soliflore for the CP. I bought this bottle when there was a sale a while ago, so it was almost free. It is a bright, sunny cheerful scent. Love it!
Happy Friday! 🌻🌞
Thinking it must be perfumath free 🤣!
😂
*Soliflore Mimosa*
Some of the Dame soliflores are lovely! Have you tried the Gardenia and LOTV? I have both in the body butters.
I have bottles of soliflore Gardenia, Osmanthus, Mimosa, Wisteria and Honeysuckle and Gardenia
and Honeysuckle body butters. They are all very lovely, but my favorite so far is the Mimosa. I have not tried Lily of the Valley yet, but I am sure it is very nice.
Best wishes for good health this weekend! My cheap and cheerful is 4711. I remember buying little bottles of this back in the early 80s in Brussels (youth orchestra tour). I wish I still had a few!
Thank you! And that is cheap & cheerful 🙂
Mine isn’t super cheap but I am in Yves Saint Laurent Paris, and I think anytime you can get a great scent for under $70 that’s a pretty good deal. It’s a pretty powdery rose with a lot of other notes and my mother used to wear it, so it makes me happy when I spray it on. I. am hosting a friend for the weekend who was a student of mine LONG ago (decades!) and we are sure to have some fun talking, reminiscing, and going to some art exhibits. And did I mention she also loves cats?
Have a wonderful weekend Calypso! You smell great!
Enjoy your weekend plans Calypso!
SOTD = Pacifica Sugared Amber Dreams
So cheap and so perfect and so amazing! 🤍🤎💙
In other news, my nephew actually got home yesterday! I don’t believe he is fully recovered yet but he must have been stable enough to be released. Now it’s a matter of supporting whatever he needs at home.
In other news territory, here’s a WSJ article on leveraging birthday gift freebies from your local merchants!
https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/free-discounts-birthday-freebies-c3500d25?st=BHmvmB&reflink=article_copyURL_share
I watch the first guy in the article. He has a channel where he makes dinners out of inexpensive groceries. He’s fun.
I am wishing a full recovery to your nephew.
Thank you. I may not have read all the side effects of Ozempic …
Glad to hear your nephew is out of hospital.
Pacifica still has a few really good perfumes left!
Thanks! Whole Foods may have stopped carrying them although it may just be a matter of finding its new display case (or shelf portion).
Had a brief gust of rain showers blow thru my area earlier this afternoon. It doesn’t smell like wildfire smoke anymore. But it’s too warm to have my windows open, since the heat has returned. It was at least 92 here today.
SOTD = Smell Bent St. Tropez Dispenser EdT. Got this version from hajusuuri shortly after Smell Bent closed up shop. It’s one of the cheeriest perfumes I have, and smells like summer to me.
I hear next week we are all getting another heatwave.
Anything below 95 doesn’t really bother me. I think of it as typical summer weather. So a week of 92 degrees is fine in my book. 😉
And I had another round of rain before I posted this reply. Plenty of unsettled weather in my forecast.
Woohoo! It just did not work for me but glad you like it!
Inexpensive is relative with all these costly perfumes.
In spirit, I would have gone with Solinotes Tonka, it was about $20 at my local grocery, and not a tiny bottle, I think 30 or 50 ml.. But I was not in the mood for that so I went with Mod Vanilla, which I think was about $45. It’s a fragrance for a younger crowd but easy to wear.
Does the Mod Vanilla bottle look as good in person as it does in pics?
Wearing Encre Noire and thought for a second that Encre Noire Homme was an Encre Noire flanker and I had to check it out but sounds like they’re one and the same. Beautiful by any name!
Twins! We smell great. I think you’re right, Homme was the original, and pour Elle and some other flankers came along later.
Hi Twin! I tried the extreme version but there’s nothing like the original.
You smell great, allo!
Thank you, so do you!💐
I’m working late tonight and can’t wait for my weekend off to start. Back to school shopping has started and everything here is a mess.
For the cp I am wearing Fidji. A happy sunshiny perfume that can still be found at a good price. I think I paid $28.00. Enabler pin went to Aurora.
It seems like summer just started and now back to school stuff is everywhere! Phooey!
What gets me is the amount of new clothes people buy. My siblings and I would get 1 or 2 outfits and 2 pairs of shoes. 1 for gym and 1 for every day. People just load up their carts here. Crazy.
Fidji is beautiful; you smell great lillyjo! Back to school seems wrong since summer just started. I remember hating it when the commercials were on TV or the list of “new school supplies” came out.
Kid’s go back mid August here. When I was a kid we didn’t go back until after Labor Day.
Fidji! A stroll down memory lane. You smell lovely, lillyjo.
Thank you!
Fidget! Okay, that was autocorrect! FIDJI !!! I may have a vintage mini!
I hope you’re feeling better by now, Robin.
I took a vacation day today because work has been really just and I have more vacation days than I know what to do with, which is an amazing problem to have. That’s what happens when your work has a generous time off policy and you’ve worked there over 11 years. But I spent the day mostly doing chores, though some relaxing and sleeping in happened too. I finally put on perfume an hour ago and went with B&BW White Tea & Ginger. It’s been a favorite from them for around 20 years now!
Yesterday I wore the delightful Pacifica Malibu Lemon Blossom. I’ll be sad when my bottle is gone.
This has been a fun CP!
I am, thanks, just needed a peaceful day 🙂
Glad you got a vacation day, hope the weekend is restful for you.
Haven’t worn any fragrance this week but I’ve been living vicariously through you all with this fun cp! I’d probably have worn EA Green Tea or JLo Still since it’s been so warm here.
Too warm for perfume where you are at? That sucks.
A little bit, plus we’ve been so busy. Hopefully things will settle down next week!
Jlo Still is very nice!
It is. I’m glad you like it too.
I used to sniff a bottle of a JLo scent at the perfume counter and liked it a lot, but not enough to buy. Now of course I can’t remember which perfume it was, there were so many JLo scents. 😂
It has tea, rice, a citrus and pepper as notes. The bottle is quite flat and is a nice brown(ish) faceted glass.
sotd = Guerlain Musc Noble
From a sample with thanks to a wonderful NSTer. 🩷
I don’t usually enjoy musk forward scents. There is often a nose punch hiding in there for me. 😣
But this Musc Noble went floral powdery quickly on my skin. I like it!
Glad it skipped the nose punch stage 🙂
Posting late tonight due to it being a very rare perfect summer day today – 🌞, temps in the low 80’s, low humidity,and no threat of severe storms (that stuff all returns tomorrow). But for today that meant a long afternoon at the pool followed by an early evening concert in a nearby park – great group doing rock, Motown, and featuring a Michael Jackson look-and-sound-and-dance alike – followed by a later outdoor concert in our town featuring our symphony orchestra and Shakespeare’s characters interpreted in classical music. Wow, that was quite a switch! But it was all great 🎵 🎶
I could do today’s cp easily for a whole month – I have lots of cheap and cheerful. For today I chose one from 2007 that I purchased for $19, BBW Ile de Tahiti. Beach in a bottle: coconut and bamboo with white Iris and musk layered over vanilla and sandalwood. I layered it over BBW’s At the Beach body products for a full post-swim effect.
Hoping to get in as much of the north suburban pond and garden walk this weekend as we can despite some storm predictions.🤞
Hoping for a good weekend ahead for all NST’ers, too.🤗
Laila the BBW sounds perfect! Hope you are doing a pond and garden walk…