Happy Almost-Friday! It's also Greta Garbo’s birthday, International Equal Pay Day and National Cheeseburger Day. What fragrance are you wearing?
I am pirating Lovestosmellgood...I'm in Hermès Eau des Merveilles for seawater and salty air.
Reminder: 9/19 is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Get as creative as you like with the theme! Wear a fragrance inspired by a pirate or piracy, wear something you bought so cheap it was a steal, steal an idea from someone else, whatever!
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 shows detail from North African Roman mosaic, dated 2nd century AD: Panther-Dionysus scatters the pirates, who are changed to dolphins, except for Acoetes, the helmsman. Located in the Bardo National Museum of Tunis, Tunisia. via Wikimedia Commons, public domain. You can find details of the myth at Wikipedia.
Wearing Or du Serail. While the Naomi Goodsir website does not provide a list of notes, older sources mention rum, tobacco, mango, coconut, and apple. After all, there were plenty of pirates in the regions where exotic fruit were grown and traded, and pirate loot was typically whatever they found on the ships they captured.
And apples, of course, were crucial for uncovering the pirate plot in Treasure Island.
Besides, there’s “gold” in the name – something pirates loved.
And finally, the “serail” connection – in Byron’s Corsair, the eponymous corsair tries to save and free the women from a pasha’s harem. (Although in reality, as DeniseH pointed out, pirates were more likely to enslave people. And if they freed someone, it was usually to recruit them onto their own ship. But let’s go with Byron’s romanticized version of a pirate.)
Bryon and romance and pirates 🏴☠️ love the connection
Very excellent as always Glannys!
Complex and well thought out Glannys! I looked up the story. Fascinating.
Hello.
Sotd is Diptyque Corail Oscuro. Ocean inspired, more specifically the beautiful coral, gems of the sea. No doubt pirates have seen their fair share of corals and might even be in some their loot!
Perfect.
I’m in FM Heaven Can Wait, cause pirates would appreciate stolen spices, I believe.
Years ago I read a book called Nathaniel’s Nutmeg. All I remember is hat I enjoyed it-nothing else. This CP reminded me of it, and now I’ll have to try and track down a copy.
Cheers to all the good smelling people who have posted, or who are yet to post, or who are quietly reading along without posting 🙂
I love revisiting books!
That book does look interesting!
I’m in the dregs of the Or du Serail spritzed on last night which, as Glannys pointed out, is firmly in Pirate Territory with its rum, coconut, tobacco and gold themes. I have the organization bug lately and rearranged our dish cupboards yesterday so that I have better access to some things that had somehow migrated to shelves that only my 6’4” hubby could reach. Today I’m going to deal with the “junk room” (we’re beyond junk drawer after our garage debacle winter before last) and hopefully extinguish that bug for a bit.
Good luck – I find it always feels better after some declutterng
Ah, a dreaded junk room!! I know them well.
Ha! I stole your scent without realizing it! Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!
I have a 3-room junk basement 🙂
Same 😇.
LOL! Well, our junk room looks infinitely better now, but the garage … did I just relocate the junk? Yes. Yes, I guess I did.
I have a junk room as well. But at least it isn’t a storage unit that I am paying extra for.
Failling the CP this week – today I am wearing Papillon’s Epona, which is a great cold weather amber herbaceous “horsey” scent – I guess the hints of leather are supposed to be horsey, but then again, I have a life long familiarity with how horses smell. I doubt that any perfumer is really going to make a perfume that smells like real sweaty horses. What this smells like is sweet hay and clover flowers and amber and some leathery base. It’s a great scent, and adorable hubby doesn’t really notice it, so I can’t comment on how it projects – he must be a little anosmic. Fall is in the air….
Horse-adjacent? Aka items near horses, if usually not the midden…
LOL! Yes, like someone watch National Velvet and decided to make a perfume.
Wearing No. 5 l’Eau for an in-office day.
For the CP, going with Babycat for smoky spices from a pirated trade ship. I’m calling a “happy little accident” for matching the cat element in today’s masthead’s intriguing mosaic and myth. Another great choice, Robin! BTW, Babycat is a statement maker and I find, Vanilla and all, it is masculine. Shout out to She-ra: have you tried it?
Babycat is one of the best perfume names ever. 🐈🐈⬛
IIR, the name played a part in my blind buy! 🙂
I found it to be pretty masculine on me.
Yes – I think it’s all the pepper, and the woodiness, as opposed to sweetness, of the vanilla, maybe?
I’m boarding the Or du Serail ship, taking gold and CP points!
Here is a scallywag after my own black heart! Raise the Jolly Roger, matey, an’ we’ll plunder Or du Serail together!
Aye Aye!
Following up on yesterday’s comments, which I just read: to Robin or anyone who’s not read Treasure Island: it’s worth your time. If you find it slow, try first watching the 1934 movie version with Lionel Barrymore as Billy Bones. The book, in fact, would be one of my desert island grabs. …”’Pieces of eight! pieces of eight!’”
Hear, hear! You’re smart as paint, MossyBerry.
*passes Glannys a bit of parmesan cheese*. Glad to spy another fan! 💰🏝️
I know I should read it!
I betcha if you get through Chapter IV, The Sea Chest, you’ll want to keep going. Jim Hawkins opening of the chest and the description of the contents is not to be missed.
SOTD is Zara Romance d’Iris. I should have gotten a BUB as this has been discontinued for a few months. Regardless, with perfume prices these days, this was a “steal”.
I tried Zara Leather Jardin today despite the sales associate telling me it was not a good scent. I think the fragrance had broken because I couldn’t smell grapefruit rose or leather. I didn’t buy the one bottle they had left. It’s still available online. Do you think the tester bottle scent could be compromised?
Butting in re: Leather Jardin. My bottle is still OK and smells very much of leather. Maybe the tester went off since it’s exposed to light all the time?
I’m wondering if this is the case since I couldn’t smell any of the notes.
Leather Jardin was very much black leather for me, with no floral notes whatsoever.
The stuff available on the website might still be good. Depends if you want to blind buy or not.
And on me it is very much grapefruit and leather. No rose whatsoever!
Wearing the last drops of my Chanel Bel Respiro decant. I wore it a lot this summer and truly enjoyed it. Another favorite green scent that I have to say goodbye to.
Happy almost Friday! 🌷
Congrats on the thunk! You have been thunking all over the place!
Thanks, I am finding decants and bottles with less than 2ml left. I want to finish them before they evaporate.
Happy Almost-Friday to you! The weekend is coming!
One more day, thanks God! Counting the hours!
Smelling great all week!
Thank you, Lillyjo! You too have been smelling fantastic!
I tested two fragrances when I was out shopping at the Hermes counter. One is the new Barenia Intense which is a less sweet, less luminous version of the original. I actually like this version better than the original. Blended really well into my skin.
Last week or so Robin posted an article that reviewed Paddock by Hermes and in that article Nagel mentioned Oud Alezan- and I tried that one as well. Though it smells nothing like a horses 🐴 neck to me, maybe a bit in the dry down, but it was the most elegant oud I have smelled – with subtle 🌹 rose. The oud and rose are not screaming at each other either!
I normally roll my eyes at this combination, because this is not new-let’s be clear, but Hermes just did it better.
Ok- well that is my testing news!
Oh, that is an interesting recommendation. Hermes, roses, well mannered Oud! I will look for that!
I would like to wear Oud Alezan with a cool leather jacket . I would feel super chic
Thanks for sharing your Hermes experiences!
Wearing the original Lolita Lempicka today. Back when I got it off of Fragrancenet.com, it was a steal but now it’s not the steal it used to be.
And that is true of so many perfumes!
It is a weird weather day here in Los Angeles due to a tropical storm.
Kinda sticky out –
Post shower a few sprays of Bon Perfumer 702/encense/lavande/bois de cashmere.
Not pirate like at all.
I do have a beautiful framed Pirates of the Caribbean employee edition poster here in my home office from when I worked at TWDC.
The Pacific has been kinda busy for tropical storms and hurricanes this year.
Happy Almost Friday to all me mateys!
Sotd By Kilian Straight to Heaven for its rum notes, singing Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of Rum🎵🎶🎵
Yesterday’s TF Ombré Leather was a very pleasant surprise. My skin chemistry had not had a good encounter with either TF Tobacco Vanille or IA The Cobra and the Canary. But the tobacco notes in TF OL were beautiful. Every time I caught a whiff, I was happy. (And no one hugging me said I smelled like an ashtray! 😉)
who would dare to say you smell like an ashtray lol
My cousin aka Ms Outspoken (Berkeley Class of ´69) 😆😆😆 I did agree it was a total scrubber!
TF Tobacco Vanille was hurl-bait for me. I couldn’t even try it on skin, since the test strip smelled so bad. I have a major problem with tobacco notes.
I had a bad reaction to it after purchasing a sample. But the Ombré Leather with tobacco notes was wonderful on my skin.
We are opposites with Tobacco Vanille. I really enjoy it in the winter.
I’m glad you enjoy it. If I hadn’t chukked my sample I would send it to you. Have you tried the Ombré Leather? It’s a man’s scent but I think it smells unisex.
I really enjoyed Ombre Leather, too and did think it was solidly in the unisex column.
SOTD = Tauer L’Air du Desert Marocain Noir
… otherwise known as “LADDM Noir” because I am that lazy 🤣. Newest of the New! This is one big blast of the great perfume that we know as LADDM, with more power. Love it. I may have a certain volume I may put up for swap this weekend which also means you don’t have to spend $340 for a FB “sample”.
In other news, dental insurance. Is it really insurance or do you simply get a discount? I know preventive measures help (which is what it pays for) but what is left if you do have work that needs to be done es no bueno.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/15/well/live/dental-insurance-problems.html?unlocked_article_code=1.mU8.ozV2.gdYM61OzzqbC&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
Dental insurance is more like a coupon imo. I can’t afford most of the work I need done even after the insurance. I feel like it’s good as long as your teeth are pretty good.
Some dentists will give you a discount if you pay out of pocket. The trick is finding them.
Some dental practices offer “memberships” which then provide discounts on services–my sister swears this is the way to go.
Scent of the day is Fendi Theorema. It is a favorite that reminds me of the gold and glinting jewels in the treasure chest piled atop the sand in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland, an image that occupied a large portion of my brain as a child. To me, Theorema is gold brocade and rich silks, ornate jewels and burnished ancient treasure. My skin also makes the orange note bloom. It’s a spicy ambery orange chypre on me, with all the beauty of an orange grove at twilight when the ripe fruit sends out tantalizing aromas and illuminates the orchard with globes of orange light.
Hmm, I love your thoughts on this scent and its provocative images. I’m in the Leggero version and the orange is blooming on my skin as well. My gold would be a soft gold silk and my treasure wouldn’t be as old as yours so it would still have a soft shimmer to it.
It really is unique, such a shame it’s d/c. (my boring refrain, I know). I also have the Esprit d’Ete version and it’s excellent too. We smell marvelous!
Love this!
Today is almost a copycat of yesterday – very warm and 🌞 with temps well up into the 80’s. And, just like yesterday, I’d planned to wear a scent – Theorema – decided it was too warm for it and exchanged it for a lighter version, Theorema Leggero. It’s still peppery and spicy like the original but less so, less woody and more citrussy and nice on a warm day.
A trip to Aldi and Costco earlier and I’m done with errands for the week. We’ve spent the whole week preparing for a large party we’re hosting Saturday evening with a special guest. Haven’t done this in ages and ages; part of me is excited and looking forward to it and part of me is extremely anxious and can’t wait til Sunday! 😻😽😸 wonder what’s going on? There’s been so much furniture rearranging and all their ‘toys’ have been moved elsewhere.(Wait til they find out they’re not invited to the party and will rejoin their ‘toys’ in the back of the house – they’ll be eager for Sunday, too!)
All tasks finished for today and will try and relax tonight and watch the Robert Redford special tonight. What a man he was and a fantastic human being!
Happy almost-weekend!📺
I hope your event goes wonderfully!
Thank you, me too 🤞!
Hopefully everyone has a fantastic time on Sunday, 😻😽😺 included!
The party is actually on Saturday nite, but the part of me that is very anxious is looking forward to Sunday so my stress will be over, life returns to normal, and I can bask in the glow of success! Cats just want life to be normal. After all, we left them for 6 days and when we returned we started moving all kinds of things around and turned their world upside down!
Aha, gotcha!
How wonderful of you to host a party – I am sure the kitties will forgive, and maybe even enjoy sniffing around after the guests have departed!
I didn’t make it to work again today. I did go to the Doctor. I now have some medicine.
I am wearing a spritz of Mugler Aura. The bottle looks like a jewel you might find in a treasure chest.
Glad you went to see a doctor.
Very happy you’re taking care of YOU! Feel better with the added rest dear lillyjo.
Feel better soon, Lillyjo! 🌻
I hope you’re feeling better soon.
Hope the medicine helps and you feel better soon.😋
Hope you are feeling better, and you smell wonderful!
Feel better soon my friend!
Hopefully the medicine will make you better!
Late yet again! This time my brother called right as I was going to post. He’s got a drug test tomorrow. And he’s going thru a background check. I might find myself doing more tech support for his new computer in the near future, which amuses me.
SOTD = commando, but wearing Dame Perfumery Osmanthus body butter on my shins. My other perfume-wearing spots are a little irritated now.
I’m so excited for your brother!
Sorry your skin is irritated lately.
Time to find a new spot other than my biceps.
Good luck to your bro! Maybe you have to find some temporary new perfume spots? I’ve never tried wearing body butter on my shins, but that sounds like a nice idea, I imagine a soft drift of scent floating upwards as you walk!
It’s time for me to find another new spot for perfume. If I keep spraying the same spot for a few weeks, things get a little upset.
When I start wearing long sleeves, I will use the crook of my elbow.
I’ve been enjoying Mojave Ghost body lotion on my shins, elbows and forearms. I was naughty on our beach vacation and allowed myself to t-a-n a little.
For whatever reason, I don’t like to wear perfume on my wrists unless I am testing something in store.
Maybe my collarbone will work? 🤔
Looks like your brother is chugging right along!
At Sniffa some years back (I haven’t been in person since 2020), someone ran out of spritzing space and ended up spraying the back of her knees.
I think I get all the points today–I am enjoying the last of summer warmth in “Riviera, Riviera” which is a blast of citrus. Perfect to prevent scurvy for me and my pirate crew!
And, I had a cheeseburger for lunch!
You did a CP hat trick! So yes, you get all the points.
Yep!
I put on Lush Smuggler’s Soul (the oil version), then added a few sprays of ELDO’s Jasmin Cigarette later in the afternoon.
Going through my ignored bottles for the upcoming swap.
Keeping the ELdO?
It might make the cut so far. I have no business buying anymore but as you may know, shiny objects!
Oh yes. Those shiny things can be awfully tempting!
Husband & I are in Oak Ridge North, Texas visiting friends – he took part in National Cheeseburger Day before I told him it was a ‘thing’ in the US, so he’s done his part! I’m wearing Bulgari’s Eau Parfumee au The Vert which is light & refreshing as it’s been so hot here since we arrived a week ago. Apparently it’s also National Negroni Month, as the very nice Italian restaurant we ate in this evening had a ‘Negroni Menu’ to mark the occasion – I did not partake, as our friends have a delicious pinot grigio which I have been glugging! We went to Luckenbach on Tuesday – a highlight of the trip for me, as I am a huge Willie Nelson, Guy Clark, Johnny Cash, Townes van Zandt, Steve Earle & Kris Kristofferson fan & they have all performed here. Given a friend has emailed me to say the weather in Aberdeen (Scotland) has turned ‘autumnal’ – it’s pretty much thirty degrees warmer here than there – we are psyching ourselves up for going home next Wednesday.