Happy Almost-Friday and happy World Kindness Day! What fragrance are you wearing?
For all the haystacks (I considered a few by Victor Vignon as well), I'm wearing my favorite hay, Hermès Brin de Réglisse.
Reminder: on 11/14, for Claude Monet's birthday, wear a fragrance that reflects the spirit of Impressionism (Wikipedia: "characterized by visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage of time), ordinary subject matter, unusual visual angles, and inclusion of movement as a crucial element of human perception and experience") or scent a favorite Impressionist painting, or do something else creative with the theme.
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 detail from Haystack at Giverny, Claude Monet, 1886, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
Hello.
Sotd is Lush 29 High Street. Smells exactly like a Lush store and it makes me so happy.
If anyone’s looking to try new shampoos I recommend Lush’s seasonal Snow Fairy shampoo. It smells great and makes your hair quite soft. I wouldn’t skip conditioner completely but you can get away with using half the usual amount. I also use Sticky Dates hair primer before blow dry and it smells absolutely delicious!
Sticky Dates hair primer! I will have to think about that 🙂
I was supposed to go to the dentist to get the show on the road to get a crown but my dentist is sick and had to reschedule the appointment. I didn’t want to go but didn’t want to put it off any longer. Dinner options tonight are either chicken Cesar salad or BBQ chicken sandwiches with a side salad. I have homemade Ranch dressing that I want to use before it goes bad. I think I will wear L’heure de Nuit today and haven’t worn this in forever.
Sorry you couldn’t get that crown over with Dawn!
https://collection.dunedin.art.museum/objects/5256/la-debacle
New Zealand has only one Monet painting in a public art gallery permanent collection ( and another on long term loan) . It’s called La Debacle and was painted when the Seine froze over. Luckily for me, it lives in my city’s art gallery …originally bought by a wealthy merchant, art-loving family (1900s) who were instrumental in starting an art gallery, and public collection. They donated many works. It’s a small painting but a beauty. Wearing Cristalle to match.
You smell wonderful and I love the name of that painting “La Debacle.” It could be applied to so much these days😊
Beautiful painting. I love the rose tones to the snow/ice.
Very pretty painting.
I have not seen that painting before. It’s beautiful.
What an enchanting painting, thanks for sharing!
I did not know that! I quite possibly saw the painting visiting the art gallery as a child, but had no idea.
It’s pretty much always on display
Kanuka, this type of insight is one of the joys of the NST worldwide community! Very intriguing! and you smell fabulous and oh so apropos for the art!
Wonderful painting, thank you Kanuka.
Oh, your wealthy merchant chose well!
That’s beautiful. I’ve been planning on a painting from the same series, but quite different feel and look.
Excellent choice with Cristalle!
Beautiful painting, thank you for sharing!
Wonderful! Thank you.
Thanks for the painting link!
I’m borrowing the hay stack motif and wearing one of my all time favorite fragrances and one loaded with hay, Roberto Greco Oeillières. Thank you, AnnE, for my precious decant!💕
So many things can be done with the haystacks!
Great choice! ☺️
Today’s Monet is Leister Square at Night, one of the few urban landscapes by the Impressionist, and I’m pairing it with niche Bright Lights from Aton Perfumes. The nose is Aton Gerasimov, stepbrother of “Russian Adam” Adam Gerasimov who is the perfumer behind Areej Le Dore. Thanks to the NSTer who provided the sample.
I did not know that one! Your perfume name is perfect, hope it smells good 🙂
oops, it’s Leicester Square, not Leister, my bad. The fragrance is ok, it faded quickly, perhaps I under-applied. It’s not a huge one like some of the others of his that I’ve sampled – Kinamo and Murasakino, both of which contain civet and oud.
Sounds like a perfect pairing!
I’m joining Robin (and allo and maybe there will be others) in celebrating the Impressionist haystacks by wearing Pierre Guillaume Bois Blond. I can’t believe this one is discontinued. An early favorite of mine!
Yes, we are a trio so far 🙂
I remember that one – it’s yummy.
I went with Eau des Merveilles and the painting is Monet’s Wood Lane that depicts a forest with the typical fall colors.
You smell lovely of course!
Shalimar Tonka with Monet’s Sunset on the Seine at Lavacourt, Winter Effect
Such gorgeous colors.
I am wearing Goutal Heure Exquise, a powdery green iris. Apparently, Monet loved irises and painted them many times:
https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/claude-monet-irises
https://www.wikiart.org/en/claude-monet/irises-in-monet-s-garden-03
https://www.artic.edu/artworks/4887/irises
Ed note: see Glannys’ other comment 2 below this…
Heure Exquise was one of the fastest sample/decant thunks I have ever had. It’s a beauty.
Having just learnt from Kanuka about the Monet in my old home town, I’m wearing Guerlain’s AA Figue Iris. I think it goes with the soft pinks in La Débâcle.
House Twins!
My previous comment is stuck in moderation because it had three links to Monet paintings. So, in short: Goutal Heure Exquise = iris = Monet’s favorite flower and his iris paintings.
In other news, I’m going on a short vacation next week! I’m very excited – I honestly don’t remember the last time I had one. Ten years ago?
Anyway, I really need a break from work and a change of scenery – even if it’s just for three days. Hotel booked, train tickets bought. I still haven’t decided what perfume to take, but it’ll definitely be samples or small decants. Probably two – one fresh and one warm.
How exciting Glannys! A well-deserved break! Van Gogh usually gets all the iris love, so thank you for the reminder that Monet immortalized his Giverney irises as well. Looking forward to hearing how & where you relaxed as well as your accompanying scents.
Yeah, I thought about Van Gogh first, but then checked Monet. And I think Monet is a better pairing – the “blurry” effect from Monet conveys the powderiness, in my opinion.
So happy for you, are you taking your cat?
Thank you. No, Miss K stays with my mother. I expect she will be disappointed by the absence of half of her staff, but she would not enjoy the vacation.
Sorry I was so slow, it is approved now for anyone who wants to see links…just above, past Gaynor’s comment.
And meant to say, YAY for a vacation.
Thanks! No worries. It’s my fault, because I forgot about the links – again. 🫢
Yay for vacation! And you smell great. 👍🏻
Glad for you, Glannys. Enjoy!
Huzzah for getting a vacation! If anyone has ever needed one, it’s surely you. Safe travels!
Have a wonderfully refreshing vacation!
My bottle of Deixis arrived last evening, so that is the SOTD.
Off to meet with the public library language coordinator to see about my teaching schedule.
I didn’t realize you were teaching languages apsara! How long have you been doing this and what inspired you to start? I”m unfamiliar with Deixis, but it must be fabulous given the responses to it.
My bottle of Deixis arrived last evening, so that is the SOTD.
Off to meet with the public library language coordinator to see about my teaching schedule.
I love Deixis so I think you smell wonderful. Good luck with your meeting.
I’m also taking scent inspiration from a painting of hay today, but I’ll link it to Camille Pissaro’s Hay Harvest at Éragny. I’m wearing First Cut from St. Clair for its beautiful hay note.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hay_Harvest_at_%C3%89ragny
Love that! I’m the woman leaning on the tree doing nothing!
Ha! You and me both. 😉
First Cut is such a lovely fragrance and perfect for the Pissaro painting.
Happy Almost Friday!
Commando today.
Last night in a veritable sea of Jones Road Beauty’s SHOWER as we went to an author’s talk with Bobbi Brown about her new memoir “Still Bobbi.” Her 10th book, but first about her life instead of beauty topics. Covered wide range of topics starting with her immigrant family (Ukraine, Glannys!), attending 3 colleges before getting a degree, starting a family and Bobbi Brown simultaneously, the soul-sucking nature of working for a big-and-getting-bigger-every-minute corporation, reinvention, failure, and starting a new company at age 63 that is DTC. My bestie and I brought her 24 y/o daughter along since she’s thinking of starting her own company and was looking for inspiration – Mission: Accomplished!
It sounds like the event was a success for you, your friend and her daughter
A great time! Fills you with hope to see such a kind, generous person do well in life!
Commando twins with you today!
I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s CP but I just didn’t not want to wear scent today. It was an odd feeling.
Didn’t comment yesterday as I was catching on some needed sleep. This morning I wore D&G Feminin, I bought it prior to departure, I was so happily surprised my offer of £42 for an almost full 50ml bottle was accepted for a perfume that has become very rare and expensive. Tonight it’s Molto Missoni and as always I marvelled at its bottle.
*Feminine
I never got to try Feminine. I just looked up the prices here. You got a great deal!
Lillyjo, I would describe it as a floral-musky scent but quite unique and boy it’s tenacious but stays close to the skin, doesn’t project much.
Glad you caught some much needed Zzzzzzzzzzz’s.
Thank you Jalapeno, my sleep pattern is all over the place since my return.
Glad you got sleep! Extra zzz’s are always a good idea! I looked up Molto Missoni- what a great bottle!
Thank you Leslie, isn’t that bottle a work of art?
I love Monet’s work, so today I am wearing Sunset Hour for his Sunset at Lavacourt. I particularly like his bare tree on the far left; I think bare trees are terribly hard to draw, let alone paint.
That one is just breathtaking, nice pick!
Sounds like a perfect match!
This painting – https://www.artchive.com/artwork/sunset-at-lavacourt-claude-monet-1880-france/
?
Very vivid and atmospheric!
I’ve been wafting Zoologist’s Harvest Mouse today for another note of, you guessed it, hay! I really like this one and find it evocative of the harvest season. Of course, this was probably influenced by the ad copy, na d I’ve never harvested hay, but I like the feeling of it. 🌾
My Dad had to harvest hay a few times in his youth, and he hated it! Said it was hot, sweaty, and itchy work.
Your SOTD sounds much nicer than that.
I bet it was! And I would have hated it, too. I’ll stick with the smell-o-version.
Yay, we are now big enough to be a club.
♣️ ….😄
SOTD = Chanel Bois des Iles EDT
Love it! 😍 😍😍 … and I have to wear it more often!
I finally got my Coke Vanilla Cream EXCEPT I had to buy 2 packs! Why would I spend $9.83 for one pack when so can get two packs for $14.93? I probably need to bring a whole pack to my aunt’s place at Thanksgiving!
It is Red Cup Day today at Starbucks. I knew it was coming up and The New York Post had an article about it. Hot chocolate counts as a holiday drink (I was surprised) according to it. Well, the cashier was CLUELESS, totally clueless! She also did not know how to add a shot of espresso to my hot chocolate – WTH double ll using my stars? Anyway, I hope she got reamed a good one based on a solicited survey!
Where did you find the “your” Coke? And how is it?
Wegmans although the shelf was empty the first two times I went to look. The Customer Service agent was very helpful in procuring one for me and I quickly got the other one as soon as I found out the pricing.
I have not tried it yet but will do so and report back!
Bracing for several days of rain here in LA. I actually love it, but my poor pup Maggie hates it. And she HAS to be walked.😔
I’m in Jaipur Homme EdP from Boucheron. Fabulous stuff – right out of the dandiest barbershop imaginable. It’s also ridiculously affordable, in case you’re looking for a perfume bargain.
(And by “dandy” I mean snappy, sharp, stylish, sexy, and sophisticated.)
I think this suits Jaipur. 😉
I love the rain too. I worked in Santa Monica for two years and used to go stand at the window watching during those rare rainy spells, to much eye rolling among my co-workers.
Gotta get those perfume bargains while they’re still around!
I agree with you about Jaipur and was surprised at its complexity the first time I wore it.
Oh Daniel, I’ve been wanting to get it for my brother but not sure if I should get the EDT or EDP.
Aurora, I have both, and I ALWAYS choose to wear the EdP. It’s a richer experience, (and I tend to lean into those.) The EdT is very nice, too, but it’s not the same, sensual vibe. I don’t find it as thrilling. To my nose, the EdP has more of a “wow” factor, which may or may not appeal to your brother’s taste.
I’ve seen a few (online) folks who prefer the EdT, and there’s a favorite critic, Persolaise, who strongly recommends the EdP.
Rest assured, your brother will smell great no matter the concentration!
You’re a star to send me a detailed answer, Daniel, so helpful, so your recommendations are noted and I will chase an EDP bottle, now I have to find the best price during BF😉
I am wearing Jour D’Hermes for Femmes au jardin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_the_Garden
Smells so nice!
Perfect match NinaV!
Despite yesterday’s prediction that the Northern lights would be visible again last night, and despite Mr. Laila’s frequent trips outdoors into the wee hours of the morning iPhone in hand, we saw nothing. Very disappointing, as it’s not predicted for tonight.
I guess celestial thoughts were still on my mind this morning when I chose my SOTD, an old holiday release I don’t even remember buying, VS Starlit Wish. It’s a soft, plummy vanilla, and layered over BBW Fall in Bloom with its plum and mossy/earthy notes, was a surprisingly nice complement to another very nice autumn day.
Another virtual yoga class, then grocery and pet food shopping today – wow, pet food is really getting expensive these days. Their 😻😽😸 ‘groceries’ cost more than ours!
Wishing all a relaxing evening, that’s what I’m doing.😌
I hear you on the expensive pet food! Heaven help you if you need to get a prescription food.
My son tried to see them here after seeing several gorgeous pictures (from our town!) on FB. NADA!!
Now that the Forest Quest is over, or maybe on hiatus, I’ve started experimenting with layering. Today I tried Holy Oak over Boswellia Scotia, aaaaand … no. For two and a half seconds it was a nice combo, but then the Holy Oak went a bit dusty, and fairly quickly Boswellia took over the show. Next I’ll try Holy Oak over Bois d’Hadrien, or maybe Ancient Resins oil. Holy Oak is a natural and so far I’m finding that it is helped by being sprayed over an oil or cream.
Sounds like a real olfactory project! Coincidence that in one of today’s Strategist emails, they mentioned a pine shower gel: Wiberg’s Pine Bath Essence. When I googled it, it showed up on a site called Fruugo, which I’ve never heard of.
Wow, I’ve never heard of Fruugo either. In fact, I’m not familiar with Strategist — is it a newsletter kind of thing? My other go-to for forest-y bath products is Juniper Ridge.
Yes, I subscribe to NY Magazine’s digital zine–they also feature The Cut, Grub St, Intelligencer, Vulture and The Strategist. Plenty of entertainment!
What perfume won the Forest Quest?
LVNEA Holy Oak was the winner. Despite sounding deciduous, it has lots of coniferous notes too.
I love your experiments!
I’m curious; what score did Boswellia Scotia get on your Forest Quest ratings?
Quite envious of all the people talking about rain or snow here lately! If y’all don’t want it, I’ll take it.
It’s been difficult figuring out what perfumes to wear with the temperatures bouncing up and down the last couple of weeks. Some days that means not choosing anything.
SOTD = commando. Wearing Dame Osmanthus body butter in the usual spots.
You can have any we have coming our way!! You can have the wind and the cold too 😉
I’ll pass on the wind (oy, pun most definitely not intended!). Plenty of that here!
So, it’s still dry in your area, sorry to hear that.
For a while, the drought had broken in my area towards the end of September And there are no areas of exceptional drought in Colorado at present.
But snowpack in the mountains is only 19 percent of average right now. That’s worrying. The 6 ski areas that are open are currently making snow, since there isn’t any natural snow to be had.
I’m not really one to pair up a perfume with weather but I definitely hear you on the difficulty of doing so if you were “strict”!
It was a case of nothing that I had handy smelling “right”. Know what I mean?
I wanted to smell pretty and classy today so I wore Lipstick Rose.
I won’t be able to get a new furnace installed until Monday.
It’s going to be a long 4 day’s.
Keeping my fingers crossed that the weather will be mild for you!
Hope you an stay warm.🤞
Oh dear, I am sorry. But meanwhile you do smell fantastic!
I don’t know that fragrance lillyjo but I know waiting for a new furnace! Hope the weather is mild for you!
Do you have any rice pillows? I pop them in the microwave and they always keep me cozy this time of year.
Keep warm Lillyjo, hope you have an emergency heater and that the weather will be mild.
I hope you like Lipstick Rose because it would be one I would vote off my island.
As others have said, keep warm!