It's Tuesday, Ada Lovelace Day and National Dessert Day. Birthdays: William Penn, Katherine Mansfield, E. E. Cummings, Hannah Arendt, Roger Moore and Ralph Lauren. What fragrance are you wearing?
I'm in Ormonde Jayne Ta'if. Tea at the moment is Hao Ya Keemun from The Jasmine Pearl Tea Co.
Reminder: on 10/17, wear the perfume you would like to be buried or cremated in. (This was a suggestion from Deva, who did note that it is a bit macabre, but also that many cultures include fragrance materials of various sorts in their funerary rites. I was saving this project until Deva rejoined us, but since it looks like she has moved on to other interests, I'd like to take this opportunity to honor her since her presence here brightened everybody's day for so long. If it's too macabre for you, don't join in, obviously!)
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: the Sunset teapot from the 70s ceramic collection at Dutch brand HK Living is $58 at Nordic Nest.
Mood of the day: angry
Scent of the day: Portrait of a Lady
Some things at work got me feeling frustrated and annoyed. And you know what felt right for this? POAL – it must be the drama radiating from it.
Which got me thinking – do you guys have a rage scent? A fury ’fume? An anger frag? Should we have a CP for that? We’ve had plenty of mood-themed challenges before, but I don’t recall one dedicated to wrath.
I can’t smell POAL, but I get lots of compliments when I wear it..
Deep breaths!
I don’t have any “angry” perfume, but like to use perfume to transform anger into warmth or something else..or help me cool off a bit! Perfume helps me hit the “reset button “
I do have a few scents that feel angry to me, although I don’t actually wear them when I’m angry, just when I want something that takes over — that wears me. CdG Carnation (spiky carnation) and SL La Fille de Berlin (thorny roses) seem like barely contained fury, all teeth and claws, and vintage Mitsouko also has a little of that bottled rage, not a lot, just a suggestion.
There can be something angry about spicy scents – some are cosy, yet others feel downright furious. Speaking of carnation, SL even has (or had?) a fragrance called Vitriol d’Oeillet, though I don’t recall it smelling particularly angry.
I always found ELO’s Eau de Protection to be an angry rose, although one that was on my side.
I do not wear any scents when I am angry. I would not ruin any of my perfumes with bad associations.
I like that cp idea. The fragrance itself doesn’t have to be angry. One could also interpret it as what to wear to stay calm despite the anger or a fragrance that helps you work through the anger.
Exactly. Or even embrace it.
Yes!
I think ‘embracing’ one’s anger can propel one to positive action leading to strength so could certainly be a positive rather than a negative.
I want to clarify that I don’t think anger is always a negative experience, even though it often is. Today, it actually gave me much-needed energy and pulled me out of apathy.
Precisely!
It can be really helpful at times. As women we are often raised to believe that being angry is wrong.
I always think of JHAG’s Mad Madame – the name is cathartic in itself!
What a great CP idea. Anger can be very nuanced, like you said, not always negative. I have found that it can be a motivating emotion.
Agree it’s a great CP! I have to think more about what I wear what I am angry…
Great Cp idea. I guess when I am angry, I would go towards a statement perfume.
I agree that being angry is not a negative thing for me, I feel more inspired, energized when I am angry.
I am in the same came as perfumelover67. I don’t wear perfume when I am angry. Or nauseous. Or extremely upset.
You should check out a song called “Bitin’ List” by Tyler Childers. Leave it to a good country song to make being that angry funny.
Hello.
I.LOVE.THIS.TEAPOT. It looks like a ceramic trifle topped with thick custard or Eton mess, sooo pretty.
Sotd is L’Occitane Glycine. 1 of the 14 perfumes in their new lineup. Aldehyde fresh clean soap and there is a faint aquatic note in it too. I think it’ll make a great pillow mist also or just something after shower for that freshness oomph.
This week’s CP has tempted me to look for the most heavily spiced thing I own so I’ll smell like a delicious barbeque in my imaginary cremation just to troll the mourners. Lol.
I adore that teapot too. If it did not have to be shipped from overseas I’d buy it right now.
(Just FYI in case you care, none of those L’Occitane perfumes are new, they’re all just repackaged. The Glycine is one of the “newer old” ones though, since it launched in different packaging in 2024.)
I looked up the teapot website, and almost the first thing that came up was a warning about tariff final cost. That discouraged me. Great teapot though.
Yep, it’s discouraging!
I knew some of them are older scents e.g. Herbae is now under a new name etc. But I didn’t know they are ALL old!
Yep, all of them. Most were renamed, although if you’re looking for an old favorite, most of the old names are identified on the L’O website.
Happy Birthday to Ralph Lauren! He’s a designer whose aesthetic I truly love — from his clothing to his home collections, everything he creates feels timeless and inspiring. One of my favorite pieces is a western-style denim button-down I once splurged on; it’s my go-to with jeans and boots. In fact, I think I’ll pull out my two-toned Ralph Lauren riding boots today in his honor.
Funny coincidence — it’s Ralph Lauren’s birthday, and I just happen to be reading Polo by Jilly Cooper, who sadly passed away recently.
And yet, looking through my collection, I realized I don’t own a single Ralph Lauren fragrance. How could that be?
It is a mystery to me why Ralph Lauren never matched their early success in fragrance (Lauren & Safari, Romance, Polo, etc). They just never seemed to hit their stride in modern times, and they also failed to keep those early fragrances burnished as classics, instead they seem dated now and the presentation is not as lux as it could be. Just my opinion — their marketing is off.
Couldn’t agree more.
My first job in high school was filing at the doctors office and my manger wore Lauren and she smelled so elegant. RL missed out..
Totally. To me it is all about preserving the aura of “heritage” via marketing, they just haven’t done that on the perfume side the way, say, Estee Lauder has.
Today is a domestic goddess day while I tackle laundry and some cooking to get ahead of a busy week. I chose vintage Estee Lauder Beautiful today because I am not sure of it’s condition. Sure enough, it smells “off”, so I will be scrubbing soon and wearing Coco instead. Coco is always the right choice.
Oops…sorry you need to remove! Hope those chores get themselves done with minimal effort on your part 😉
When in doubt wear Coco. I never have sprayers remorse when I wear it.
Sorry about your Beautiful.
Aw, that’s a shame about your vintage Beautiful.
About to head out the door to run some errands: it’s sunshiny and cool, and I’m in the mood for something bright and airy to match the weather, so I’m wearing 4711 Acqua Colonia Lavender & Thyme.
How I would love to sniff the whole line of Fancy 4711s. I am inn a tizzy of indecision whenever I see them on discounter sites.
I just grabbed my decant bag of Serge Lutens, and the first to hand was Gris Clair, so that is what I’m wearing. Not my favorite by any means, and maybe I just haven’t tried the right Serge, but so far I only like one of his fragrances, and it’s discontinued.
Which one was that, out of curiosity? I own quite a few of his scents, but I couldn’t say that any one of them is a favorite, or even in my top 10. I wonder why.
Fille en Aiguilles is the one I love.
That’s one of my favorite SL’s too.
Unscented today, as I am meeting a perfume pal after work! There will be a sample exchange and I’ll show off my Paris exclusive as she’s also an LOTV fan.
Oh fun!!
I told Mr. SP it was National Dessert Day and he said “Oh, I thought that was every day!” One of the many things I love about him.
Wearing just a bit of Fiele Myrrha for the cp. I think myrrh and incense and woods fit this well.
We just hosted the grandkids (9 months and 2 1/2) and their dad for several days (mom was attending a wedding out east) and LOVED it all despite the 9 month old having an ear infection and how tired we got. Unfortunately, I now seem to have whatever they had last week and am hanging out on the couch feeling achy with a sore throat. This has happened to me before — disappointed that my immune system just can’t keep up.
Ouchie, sorry springpansy! Hope you are better soon.
Thanks and BTW, I love that teapot, too!
You smell so good (while unfortunately feeling so not good🤒). I hope you feel better soon and nothing like the M’s winning to help with that☀️
Go Ms!!
Sorry you don’t feel well but, hopefully, you can rest and relax and relive those special moments you just shared with your grandkids. They grow up way too fast!
Adding to the Mariner’s rooting section! Would be nice to see someone new in the World Series.
Feel better!
It’s overcast and gloomy today so my SOTD is Killian Oud. Warm, encompassing, a perfume hug for me. I know Oud can be divisive but it smells divine on me and I love it.
I ADORE that teapot!! It looks like it’s carved out of soap. The colors are just so beautiful. The comments on the tariff price…so how fearful are NST folks about perfume? I have a scary feeling prices are going to skyrocket. I’m so tempted to buy a current wish list item now from overseas and not wait.
I thought the teapot was a candle!
So did I.
Me too.
Me too!
Same!
Ditto!
I thought the teapot was a candle!
I’d buy it if it was. I just wish I needed a tea pot😕
I do think the perfume prices will continue to rise, significantly, and not just because of tariffs.
My Headspace Rose perfume is out for delivery through DHL. I hope it comes because DHL delivery in the US sucks. Wearing Cheirosa 62 because I have to work today.
Good luck, hope it gets there!
I like the cp this week, a very interesting one. I would choose either an iris or incense perfume to be cremated in.
Starting today with Aedes de Venustas Copal Azur one of my favorite incense perfumes.
Last day of my mini vacation. It was a quiet one at home doing lots of cleaning, putting things away for donation and baking. I couldn’t watch any Halloween movies as planned, and as I do every year. For some weird reason I could not tolerate anything horror related. Instead, I watched some silly romantic comedies which improved my mood on a dark, cold, windy and rainy weekend. Getting ready now to be back to work tomorrow.
Happy Tuesday! 🌞
That sounds like such a great day, pl67. And at the end of the day everything looks so nice, and smells so fresh. Good for you for tackling those sorts of jobs,
Agree! Nothing better than clean, fresh and empty spaces after a good declutering!
Your mini break sounds terrific! And you smell fabulous in one of my favorite scents.
Thank you, Tulipani!
It was a very productive break for sure.
Glad you had a nice stretch of days where you could relax and get some things done.
Thank you, Jalapeno!
I’m wearing Origins Ginger Essence today, such a warm fall scent. I bought my ski season pass yesterday, so I am waiting for snow now. Not much on the mountain just yet.
lovely one, foxbins and I love the body creme in the jar.
SOTD will be Babycat as we have rain in Los Angeles.
A sleepless night full of flipping and flopping, hot and cold, reading What is Goverment at 3am. Yikes.
Many of you know I grew up in a funeral home and have many thoughts about many scents. I will keep mum (pun intended) on lots of them. 😊😊
That’s interesting. I would love to hear your thoughts.
I think I saw Babycat on Sephora’s website recently.
I’m in Bois d’Hadrien. It’s pretty perfect for this time of year. Limes over pine, with an incense note. I don’t think it was a very popular scent-I bought mine at a discounter and it was really inexpensive.
Do you mind if I share a bit of good news-I broke my hand mountain biking last year (makes me sound more interesting than I am). I broke my hand. It’s been giving me grief for the last 18 months. Got into physio. She is amazing. I was doing my exercises last night and my hand gave this incredible snap. There was no pain. I now have almost all the use of it again-I still have some more sessions and I’ll go to every one but shout out to all of you who work in the field of medicine, in any capacity. I’m so grateful she took me as a client, and I’m so grateful to have the use of my dominant hand back.
Great news!
A very big deal, carole. Glad for you after dealing with the aftermath of a broken hand.
Wonderful news! A significant snap would have terrified me, but I’m glad to hear that the results are quite the opposite.
Great news! So glad for you.
How wonderful! 💐
That is so wonderful. Life-changing!
That’s great news! It makes all the physio sessions so worth it.
YeRs ago I broke the wrist on my dominant hand and it took a l-o-n-g time to get back to normal, so I know whereof you speak. Good luck!
Excellent news about your hand!
I share your gratitude towards physiotherapists and other medical professionals like them. They’ve assisted several family members of mine.
That’s amazing, carole! It must have felt magical.
Glad it was the right kind of snap!
Thank you so much for the beautiful comments-everyone here is so kind 🙂 I appreciate all the sentiments 🙂
Friday will be easy. I miss Deva’s voice on here, and hope she is well.
My SOTD is Amouage Myths woman, an angry daffodil, if ever there was one.
“Angry daffodil”? You inspired me, austenfan!
By Bilious Wrathworth
I wandered furious as a cloud
That darkly looms o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of angry daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Threatening and swearing in the breeze.
(Wordsworth must be tuning in his grave)
*turning
Brilliant! Abso-effing-lutely brilliant Glannys!
Thank you, LesLiesse!
Thank you so much for that Glannys!
And I miss Deva too…
The cemetery, where I walk so often, is a treasure trove of scents: the obvious roses ( mostly heritage and very rich and jammy), to daffodils, grass and weeds, hawthorn and holly ( the hedges), rowan, gum trees, pines and pine needles, then the pittosporum lemonwoods ( tarata) that are absolutely beautiful at this time of year…sweet waxy lemon, and then the mosses and lichens, and fungi. To be buried there would be a pleasure. The rabbits who live in burrows under the broken slabs and the amazing bird life would be good company, as would the school kids taking shortcuts over the graves and the dog walkers. I’m wearing Sage’s Rose which I’m really enjoying … a sweet sugared rose.
You have painted a beautiful picture. I think one could definitely rest in peace there.
I love cemeteries in general, some more than others, but I do not really love either of the two cemeteries at the edge of our town, although I do walk in one of them every so often. Both have old sections but almost no plantings and not enough trees. Yours sounds far preferable.
What an interesting CP!
When I go up in smoke, do I want a burst of florals, contemplative incense, the most outrageous thing I think of, or ???.
Today, I’m going straight to my perfume with the most appropriate name, Jovoy’s Remember Me 🙂 .
Great scent choice!
SOTD = Fzotic Creosote
Nice, very nice! I will wear it one more time before I write a very short review. I got the smaller bottle thinking I may get the chance to win one of five gift cards but meh. I will likely split off 10-15 mL because I really don’t need more perfume 🤣.
So with what happened to the 2nd “reservation” for a financial seminar, I decided that IF they call me, I will simply ignore. I just received another invitation for another financial seminar, again addressed to my mom. I called and got it sorted out and now I am signed up for another seminar. It’s at the end of the month and I will report back once it’s over.
I may have mentioned signing up to Libby and how it is generally working out for me EXCEPT over the weekend, I had to sign in! I had no clue what my PIN was so I randomly used one that I had used previously, but that did not work! I finally went in to a library branch closer to me than the one I used to go to and got it straightened out; however, I ended up getting a new card. When I got home, I tried the app again and this time it worked. Let’s see how long this lasts.
And I forgot to mention that I LOVE that teapot. The colors are just watercolor gauzy. I am not so sure that I want to chance the tariffs although one never knows 🤔.
Well if you do, tell the rest of us what it cost! I would buy that in a heartbeat if I saw it for $60 in a store.
Huzzah for Creosote being a good blind buy!
Love Libby!
Adding to all the teapot love! I really fell down the rabbit hole looking at the other tableware from the brand. Such fantastic colors.
I’m wearing Feve Gourmand today just because the decant is sitting in an easily accessible caddy. Looking forward to participating in the CP. I saw Deva posted a reel on Instagram last week or two (of T-Rex, no less!) and said hi.
I don’t usually lemming the tea pots but this one caught my attention!
Glad you had a Deva and T-Rex sighting!
Yes, there are a number of items in that collection I would happily give a home!
Ahh my big work event is behind me now, and it went really well! My part of speaking on stage to about 185 people there in person went as well as it could have – phew. I got to present my work bff of 9 years (and she’s been a mentor as well) with an award. 😀 However, I’m very, very exhausted in my body so I hope to feel back to normal by the end of the week.
I’m wearing a favorite comforting scent today, Organza Indecence. I just switched to fall shower gels after finally finishing up the summer ones. I’ve got a bottle of Rose Jam in there now plus a Bath & Body Works one I bought a few years ago called Vanilla & Patchouli in their aromatherapy line. The latter reminds me a lot of OI but with more prominent patchouli so they’re a great pairing.
Congratulations! So glad you’re on the other side of it now☀️
Thank you, me too! 💕
Congratulations! Now get some rest!
I can’t wait to sleep in on Friday cause I’m taking the day off!
Congrats – now you can relax a bit.
Indeed, those of us very close to the event have a lot of tension and stress to relieve now.
Great pairing! I love both of those scents. Glad your stress is over! I’m
I’m glad to see another fan of this pairing!
Congratulations! Hopefully you can relax and get some good sleep now. 😴
I hope tonight is the night! Last night I sleep solidly for a while but not all night as I’d hoped.
185 people? Wow! You rock!
Aww thanks! It was intimidating, but I was given a reminder that people there all friendly faces who support me. A lot easier than if they were complete strangers.
Yay you! Speaking to a crowd of 185 is quite the accomplishment.
💖
I was amazed at how mostly ok I felt once I actually got on stage and got started. I also practiced a bunch and had a podium to stand behind, which definitely helped.
Twins in OI!
Yay! It’s such a good one.
L’Initial today which I believe is now sadly discontinued. To my nose this is just like Shalimar PI…so it’s like they discontinued it twice. 😆
I have a medical test tomorrow and another next week and am a bit nervous about both. 😬Pondering what kind of perfume purchase may be warranted post-procedures but then I was thinking we are already closing in on 6 weeks or so from Black Friday sales!? Where did 2025 go? 🧐
I’m wishing you the very best with your upcoming tests. I think waiting for black Friday might be a good idea. They will probably start some sales earlier too.
Thank you, lillyjo! ❤️
Thinking of you. Medical tests always bring on anxiety for me. I hope everything goes really well.
Thank you, SP! ❤️
Wishing you the best for your tests and I can relate to the test anxiety you’re feeling. May there be relief and Black Friday perfume deals in your near future😊
Thank you, allo! ❤️
Good luck with the tests. Yes, this text anxiety is a relatable feeling.
Thank you, Glannys! ❤️
Fingers crossed that your tests go well, and you get the results you want from them.
Thank you, Jalapeno! ❤️
Sending positive energy for your tests! You definitely deserve a scent reward.
Thank you, Sapphire! ❤️
We had a chilly, rainy morning here in LA, and now a cool, cloudy afternoon. Wearing vintage Quorum from Puig – a woodsy, leathery, spicy, citrusy masterpiece from 1981. They don’t make stuff like this anymore.
Did you see they’re doing 4 new high end scents?
https://freebox.it.com/2025/10/08/puig-colonias-absolutas-new-fragrances/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
No idea if they will be good but I do like the packaging.
Yesterday was Shaal Nur and today is Iris Nazarena. Both are contenders for my fragrant end😬
Hmmm. Those are good ideas for the CP. I may need to branch out from my initial thoughts of incense and woods. This is a thought-provoking CP!
Shaal Nur is gorgeous and a little melancholy sometimes. So it fits.
I needed something easy to wear today. I chose No.5 L’eau.
A cold front is coming through tonight. I think today was the last of 70’s temps.
You just might get another shot of 70-ish temps after I am done with them.
I thought I had this week’s CP taped, but it seems my sniffer might have been out of order — spritzed some Wood Sage and Sea Salt, usually a no-brainer for me, and didn’t like it at all. I’m now in Au Delà Narcisse and loving it as always … so either my sniffer recovered or I’ve gone off WW&SS for the time being. Meanwhile, our behind-the-oven repairs made some headway today. Gas and electrical fittings now up to code, and next we find someone to patch the drywall. Yay!
Good news about both the gas and electrical fittings! Hope someone can get in soon to do that drywall work for you.
Stunning blue skies today, with nary a cloud in sight. The Baja storm leftovers have cleared out. Had the heat on last night, and it was cycling on and off this morning. Sure was nice this afternoon, though. I wouldn’t be upset at all if I had a couple weeks of this weather.
SOTD = commando, but wearing body butter in the usual spots, and scented sunscreen on my arms.
I wouldn’t mind a whole winter of this weather. Lol. It’s been extremely pleasant lately.
I’m in EL Knowing. On the weekend, I wore Shalimar l’essence for our Thanksgiving dinner. We had a nice get-together with hubby’s family. His sister made dinner, I took a cheesecake with homemade raspberry sauce (for another dessert choice).
We looked at old pictures and had lots of laughs. Bad haircuts with cool clothes seemed to be the theme.
Mmmm… cheesecake.
Happy belated Thanksgiving Gail.
Thanks lillyjo! We usually have lots of fun when we get together.
Sounds like a wonderful time. Belated good wishes! I remember ‘bad haircuts and cool clothes’ 😁
Thank you Laila! The dresses were something else back then. Very stylish!
Happy belated Thanksgiving, Gail!
Thank you! 😊
SOTD is VS Angel, a fruity-floral scent with plum and violet notes and a nice ambergris drydown with a touch of oud. Nice layered over the BBW Fall in Bloom body products I’ve enjoyed so much lately, which also have a nice plummy note.
Went to a very interesting library program today on New Zealand, which has been on Mr. Laila’s list for a long time. The presenter was a local retiree who had been a photographer and zookeeper and had traveled with his wife to many countries, focusing on history and nature (especially animals!) and New Zealand twice. It was fascinating and I’d love to go!
And I finally got a much-needed haircut and can cross that off my list along with yesterday’s booster shots. ✍️.✍️
Hope you’re having an enjoyable evening!🌖
Whoo hoo, haircut!
Jo Loves Green Orange & Coriander
You smelled great yesterday!