Happy Almost-Friday and Almost-Labor-Day-Weekend! Plus, National Red Wine Day. Birthdays: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Edward Burne Jones, Robertson Davies, Janet Frame, Rita Dove. What fragrance are you wearing?
To maintain a sense of hope and joy while stranded on an island: Hermès Eau de Néroli Doré.
Reminder: 8/29 will be Desert Island Friday...come up with a list of 5 fragrances you could live with for some unspecified amount of time while marooned on a desert island. Share your list on Friday and wear one of the fragrances. (Suggested by springpansy)
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 Palau_2008030818_4749 [cropped] by LuxTonnerre at flickr; some rights reserved.
Hello.
Sotd is Miss Dior Essence. Jammy and tart blackberry compote fruitchouli.
I am so excited to read what everybody’s desert island 5 will be tomorrow.
What I also can’t wait, since September is fast approaching, are all the fall goodies – foods, drinks, cooler weather etc. I am so ready to say goodbye to summer.
I am not ready, but neither of our opinions matter, right…fall is coming!
This is a very cooling photo, Robin. From hot L.A., I appreciate it. (Though truly we haven’t had our hideous heat yet, just mid-nineties.) Today I chose Caron Parfum Sacre, which was love at first spray decades ago when I first encountered it. Incense, rose, myrrh, spices, musk. This is how I like my roses. Definitely desert island material. I’m also realizing that most of my faves are not soliflores, they are well-blended complex compositions. regardless of genre.
We were in the 70s, highly weird for this time of year. Too bad we cannot split the difference !
I’m wearing Azemour this morning for some yard work, a Costco run, and some errands. It’s hard to believe that Labor Day here is Monday; I feel like summer just started. But on the plus side, Cormoran Strike book 8 is released on Tuesday! I ordered it in January and it seemed so far off, and now it’s here.
It seems like an especially short summer to me.
Feels like Memorial Day was just 2 or 3 weeks ago.
If I only count “nice” summer days, it was 2 weeks ago! Ok, maybe 3.
I will have to go look at the page count…I skipped the last one because it was just longer than my attention span 🙂
908 pages. She did it again.
10 Corso Como.
Yesterday was no 5 L’eau and Monday was Glossier You, which got me a “you smell good!” I got a perfume compliment while wearing it the week before also.
My older daughter is on her way home today.🤩 She will be home for a quick 2 night visit and to get some of her things, then we’ll take her back to the twin cities on Saturday to help her get settled in her new apartment. I’m hoping to get in an IKEA trip while we’re there. She’s in her final year of grad school and should graduate next May. Then I’m hoping she moves back to madtown lol.
How is this her final year already?! Enjoy the time together!
Thanks lillyjo!
Well, if you are going to Ikea, you will be right by the Mall of America so you might as well go perfume shopping😉
I love that IKEA! I used go for the meatballs whenever I spent the weekend in Bloomington. After hitting the MoA of course!
I know, but unfortunately no time for that this visit. Hopefully next time.😉 I DID hit the Le Labo store when I was there earlier this month, and that was fun sniffing.
In one of my all time favorites that definitely ushered me down the rabbit hole, AdV Signature. The rhubarb/tomato leaf combo surprise me every time I wear it.
Allo, you have raved about this one in the past so I may have to try it. I looked it up and it’s a bit confusing. Is your bottle the square-ish one or the sculptural one that tapers outward with the metal saddle? Two different scents with the same name it seems. TIA!
AdV repackaged their scents a few years ago, I think that might be why you’re seeing Signature in two different bottles. I’ve not compared the two, but they are purportedly the same.
Thank you Tulipani, this is helpful
Joining you and tulipani in this beauty. Not much left in my bottle, alas.
You should definitely try it. I have the older squareish bottle with the cigarette lighter top. I haven’t tried it from the reissue/new bottle.
Thank you Allo, I will try to track down the square bottle
You’ve inspired me to wear this today, so hello scent twin! Signature was definitely on my short list for the desert island picks.
Hello scent twin! We smell good!
I’ve been playing with the idea of 5 desert island scents. It’s tough! If I had an infinite amount of the scent and they wouldn’t spoil…
I think Elysium has to be on my list. I think I’ll wear it today. Be well!
It is really tough! I did not do a good job!
vintage Norell today.
Can I cheat and have 5 vintages and 5 moderns? 😆
You smell fabulous and I like your take on the CP😊
do you think that Donatella would approve?
I do!
Oooooooh, this idea has potential!
I say we need 10!
And I like the desert discs idea of adding a book and a luxury item.
Not on my desert list but today wearing Jo Malone Elderflower Cordial. Mostly because I don’t think I have worn it a while and it caught my eye. Having a hard time narrowing my list to 5 for tomorrow!
I salute everyone who came up with a perfume list of 5. I did not.
Same!
I fear no CP. But that CP… it stumps me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BejeVQUBxAk
🙂
Yesterday’s SOTD was Narciso Rodriguez edp while we were putting in a new vanity sink thing in my bathroom. That was an all day project. Today is just cleaning up from that and I am almost finished. When I get out of the shower, I am going to wear vintage Shalimar edt today.
Yay for getting it done, I’m sure it looks great!
SOTM is TF Violet Blonde. After some consideration, I think DeniseH’s take on the CP is close to where I’ll land. It’s not so much that I think I would enjoy the variety of the naturally occurring island scents and having my five very different kinds of perfumes. For me, I think I would just really miss certain kinds of scents — like pine forests, turning leaves, amber, warm spices, freshly mown grass — and would appreciate having those genres of scents available when I started pining for them. Perhaps I’m taking this CP a bit too literally. 😉
My island needs jasmine, rose bushes, a ylang tree, and maybe a eucalyptus grove? Oh and a lilac bush and a fringe tree, maybe a magnolia tree. Maybe I could plant some vetiver? Ha!
I am wearing Jo Malone Dark Amber & Ginger Lily.
it is very difficult to come up with 5 desert island scents. A list of 10 would be much easier for me. I will try my best to choose those 5 scents for tomorrow.
I am having a very complicated work week. Tons of work, tough decisions to be made, and deadlines to be met in the next 2 weeks. I am very, very stressed. So glad Monday is a holiday because I really need some rest. Having coffee and a slice of zucchini bread now.
Happy Thursday! 🌻
I bet you will have some iris scents on the list😊
You are 100% right! 😄
I hope next week will be better!
Thank you, Austefan! I hope so, too.
You smell wonderful.
As to narrowing down your desert island 5 from your 10, I say either don’t bother or randomly choose 5!
Good luck in meeting those deadlines!
Hope you get lots of rest this long weekend!
Not on the list for tomorrow, but SOTD is Zara Romance d’Iris.
Been a while since you’ve worn that one.
Yes, it has now that you mention it.
Reached into the back of a storage cabinet and found an Amouage I haven’t worn in a couple of years: Journey (Man.) Another perfume I should wear more frequently! It’s fabulously spicy and boozy – intoxicating stuff. I’ve never tried Journey (Woman) – thoughts on it, anyone?
Happy Thursday!
I like Journey woman, Daniel. It’s apricoty with a particularly lovely honey note which is the highlight for me as it is so well done on a leathery (from the osmanthus and saffron) and woody base.
Ooh, that sounds good!
I’m off today but I volunteered to go in tonight for some extra hours. I’m now wishing I hadn’t done that.
My sotd is Bottega Veneta. It was a contender for top 5 but didn’t quite make it.
Are we doing 5 that we actually have or 5 we wish we could take to the island?
Hope the time will go by quickly for you tonight. You smell lovely.
Thanks Aurora. I regret not getting the Velours when I had the chance.
Ooh, good question!
It would be 2 different lists for sure.
Whatever you wish 🤣!
I might do 2 lists!
I am considering Bottega Veneta for the list!
Hope your shift tonight isn’t too much of a pain.
I definitely want a leather for my list.
I say you can interpret it anyway you want.
I don’t see why you need to own all 5! You need to at least have some amount of one so you can wear it Friday?
I am on my fourth rose fragrance of this week. Mille et une roses by Lancôme. I remember being utterly smitten when I first got it. I still like it a lot, but the fact I never managed to get my hands on a BUB is no longer an issue.
The original 1001 was gorgeous. I never tried the later versions.
You smell great Robin.
I am wearing Hermes Violette Volynka today
Love that scent!
I’m wearing Guerlain’s Neroli Outrenoir today. I think that might be one of the five on the island.
Such a gorgeous scent. 💚💛
Go go Guerlain! 🤩
Frozen mango and yogurt smoothie
Chloe Rose Naturelle intense, a pink dewy rose with no nasty aroma chemicals and tonight vintage Miss Dior EDT which I adore, just shy of the list I think, it has such a nice lily of the valley, we always think of Diorissimo for lotv but the mossy one in MD pleases me very much too.
You and lillyjo love that particular Chloe!
We both discovered that Chloe was somewhat underrated.
Inspired by yesterday’s video I shared here, I am wearing Diptyque Eau Capitale.
Nice!
Happy Almost Thursday! Sotd FM Iris Poudre, desert island worthy!
I’ve been doing my long delayed spring cleaning of the bathroom. I got all my samples together in a beautiful bowl and my bottles on a tray. These bottles are works of art, really increasing my pleasure- the heft of the bottle, the satisfying haptics of removing the cap, the true basking of it all as I push the sprayer. Such a kinesthetic experience as well as a visual and olfactory one!
Cleaning can feel so satisfying, especially when there is a sparkling result. 😌
I love perfume bottles. I have five empties I can’t part with. 🤭
oh! and you smell beautiful 😍
Gosh I’d love to know which bottles! And thank you! I reapplied after lunch- such pleasure!
I agree with you on the kinesthetic, visual and olfactory delight. Each month I select the fragrances to be worn that month and arrange them carefully on a mirrored tray my mom gave me as a wedding present many years ago that I display in my bedroom on an antique vanity.. And, like you, I love to look at them each day., feel them in my hand and, of course, smell their beauty!
What an ideal use of that marvelous wedding gift from your mom!
Yes, I think of her every day when I put my fragrance on; she loved scent, too!
Big hugs to your lovely lovely mom! Her memory is a blessing!
Most of my perfumes live in my closet, protected from Colorado’s intense sunlight. I have a couple of opaque Agent Provocateur bottles that do hang out on my dresser.
Good job with the cleaning!
I keep mine packed away, too, except for those on my mom’s monthly tray.
sotd = Bogue Mem from a sample.
I was in the mood for delicious lavender. 💜🌿
I’m about done with my third sample of Mem. It delights me every time. 🥰
Sniffed my way around the perfume cupboard today, and I decided Cologne du 68 and No. 5 will be on my desert island. Three more will be hard to choose. 😆
Cologne du 68 is not a bad idea, I did consider it. Then I decided it was crazy to have 68 if I didn’t have Eau de Guerlain and Apres L’Ondee. And then to have 68 but not Jicky?? My brain is not organized for the task at hand.
SOTD = and Patchouli
Nice! Another one that I should wear more often!
In other news, not great news re: traditional Medicare. I hope this trial ends sooner than the six years it is projected to run!
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/28/health/medicare-prior-approval-health-care.html?unlocked_article_code=1.hk8.2Ptp.5S2fMgZcgvwe&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
Just how many of the and perfumes do you have? I can think of 3 right off the top of my head.
Just 3 … I got them on sale.
Some rain last night that watered everything nicely and then we had another nice 🌞 day with highs again in the 70’s. Grocery shopping, a yoga class, and finally, after too long a time without hearing its lovely chimes,we had our long-silenced grandfather clock repaired and it’s singing again!🎶
SOTD is another fragrance I won when Marshall Field & Co. had their perfume parties, Dior J’Adore. I won a large bottle along with the matching lotion; the lotion is long gone but I still have a lot of the fragrance left. I remember how popular it was when it came out but it didn’t work for me. I get a very strong blast of a rather sour pear that lasts a long while, then when it finally softens and mixes with the florals it still smells slightly sour and rather unpleasant. Perhaps it’s the tuberose, which along with tobacco, is another note I dislike. I still try it every now and then but I always have the same reaction.👎
Happy red wine day and almost weekend!🍷
The original J’Adore never worked for me either. I wanted it to, because of that bottle.
Glad I’m not the only one! Yes, I like the bottle, too.
You won some good one’s.
Once I won and it was something from the guy that did the Ed Hardy perfumes. I can’t remember the name but it was so sweet I gave it away.
I should probably give the J’Adore away or trade it; just haven’t gotten around to it.
Still unsettled weather here, but it got up to 80 today. Looks like I will be getting leftovers from Tropical Storm Juliette for part of the long weekend.
I agree with Robin’s comment yesterday that only 5 perfumes for the desert island is stingy! I’ll figure out something…
SOTD = Lady Gogo from SmellBent. Got this bottle in the SmellBent closing sale. It’s not part of my Top 5 list but is something pleasant for a late summer day.
5 really is hard.
Sure am glad that it’s not for real!
Oy! I did not even know about Juliette!
Juliette was a Pacific storm that hit Baja California.
Hope you will get some decent weather in between the tail of Juliette.
I’m late today but happy to read other people’s choices. I wore L’Artisan Premier Figuier today–I have the Extreme version. Fig was the first note I began to explore systematically when I began my slide down the enticing rabbit hole way back when. I found this and it was just plain True Love. Of course, there are other good fig perfumes, but the coconut in this one just lends it a silky caress on my skin. It’s definitely coming onto the island with me. It’s comforting. sensuous, calming, and just so lightly exotic. It makes me feel happy.
There has to be a fig!
I was easily influenced by pyramus from earlier this week and had to pull out Vanille Galante for today. I am still a bit in denial they discontinued it and wish I’d snapped up a couple more travel sprays. I have two that are about 75% and 90% full so I’ll be fine for a little while longer. This one made the top 15 list that I pulled together but it’s so hard to narrow it down from there.
Yesterday’s tropical scent of the day was Montale Intense Tiare, a bit of a hidden gem in the beachy white floral category. My bottle is old and smells wonderful. It’s not too intense like the reviews of more recent bottles say.
I remember Intense Tiare…that was a good one.
I’m in Dior Addict. It was quite humid but cloudy and warm today so I put on 2 sprays (maybe 1 too many). In winter I’d spray at least 4 or 5.
I had a perfect peach today at lunch time. It was so delicious and am glad there’s 2 more to go.
Smelling like perfection Gail!
A summer peach at the height of its perfection is one of the joys of the season. 😋
I took a break from the desert island choices to test out a travel spray of VS Bare Rose. It was just ok. In 2024 I was serially testing out rose scents, never settled on anything that seems to meet my expectations. Maybe Delina was the closest. I am hoping I will find the perfect rose when I am not looking for it, specifically.
I tested Bare Rose and felt the same. It was ok.