PSA: I am traveling on Saturday and Sunday, and will be out of touch even more than usual.
Meanwhile, answer as many or as few of the questions as you like, or just talk about something else. (Note: a couple of these questions were adapted from reader suggestions for community projects.)
1. What fragrance are you wearing today?
2. What fragrance(s) have you not tried yet that you think you should have?
3. What is the weirdest (or most beautiful or most useful or silliest) thing that you ever bought because you were browsing for perfume?
4. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being totally relaxed and 10 being totally stressed, how stressed do you think you'll be over the 2025 holiday period, and what advice do you have for yourself or others to stay chill?
Note: top image is That Golden Moment [cropped] by James Mann at flickr; some rights reserved.
Halfway through the month and this morning we had to turn the heat on for the first time. Since it’s pretty cold out, I wanted something warm and comforting, so I’m cozily blanketed in late-nineties Guerlain Samsara.
My own personal holiday season should fairly stress-free, but at work it is of course going to be utter madness, because retail always is. And those two things are related! I used to do Christmas up big, but a few years of retail saturation kind of poisoned it for me, so now I don’t so anything except put some lights in the window: I don’t really miss it. The first Christmas merch went out in August this year, and the seasonal music (four different versions of “Last Christmas” is its own special torture) started playing the day after Hallowe’en. By the time December rolls around, I’ll want nothing to do with the whole enterprise.
You smell great!
I do still put up a tree but I do a lot less decorating than I used to, and we do far fewer presents. It is no longer a stress for me.
I’m starting vintage week in Vol de Nuit parfum. No real idea of the exact vintage, but it’s from a small decant labeled as being from The Perfumed Court, and since I’ve searched both email and paper records and can’t find that I ordered it, it must have been sent to me by one of you lovely people.
As to the rest of the poll:
Fragrance(s) I haven’t tried but think I should have … is that “should have” as in “should have tried”, or is it just should HAVE, as in should own? I suspect the first interpretation is what was meant, and that list for me is very long, but number one on it is Theorema. Can’t believe I’ve never investigated that one. Also (for some unknown reason), Niki de Saint Phalle popped into my head.
For #3, I’m going with most useful, although it’s beautiful too. A ceramic incense holder that’s a very simple shallow bowl with a raised bump where the end of stick-type incense is inserted. The bowl catches the ash so it doesn’t go all over, no matter which way the stick decides to lean, and the glaze on the ceramic is a very nice blue-green.
Holidays: well, Mr. G and I are outliers on my side of the family, table-discussionwise (ahem), so for the past few years we’ve spent Thanksgiving either with his sons and their wives or just us, and the stress level there stays pretty low. Christmas is trickier, and will be more so this year because this will be our first one since my mom passed away in February. My dad is doing okay, but he and my brother (and my brother’s entire family, really) are very emotional, which I expect will raise my stress level from 7 (where it usually is for family Christmas) to around 9. I plan to bake many wonderful smelling goodies, do a lot of Pilates, and wear a lot of sandalwood (Tam Dao, Carthusia 1681) to maintain equilibrium. And fortunately, one of my nieces is expecting her second child, so that will make for a sweet distraction!
I love a good Baby distraction.
Good luck for happy, baby-related dinner discussion!
1. Commando at the moment.
2. Too many to list
3. I tend to buy a beautiful bottles
but the juice may not be good inside
4. 10
What could help? CBD Toilet 🚽 Paper to calm by a$$ down
🤣🤣🤣Maybe go on Shark Tank with that idea
😂
So… the true meaning of your ass is grass.
OMG, this almost made rum toddy come out my nose. 🤣🤣🤣
lol
You guys!!!
Bwahahahaha!
I’m a bottle fanatic too. Especially if there’s a silk tassel involved.
Hello and happy weekend!
1. Lipstick Rose. Gorgeous, nuff said.
2. I have always wanted to smell Cartier Le Baiser du Dragon. Somebody please tell me how it smells like!
3. I bought quite a few items when I was looking to buy “weaker” perfumes. The most useful is perhaps Travalos. The most beautiful have to be silk scarves. When I wear weak scents I’ll scent a scarf and wear it (given it’s not too hot out!) to prolong the scent.
4. Flexible 6. I am lucky that I don’t usually host Christmas gatherings but I do help out (just don’tmake me do the dishes!). Good thing I really enjoy cooking/baking so it’s somewhat fun. My advice? If you’re hosting, get people to make and bring in some dishes/desserts or help with clean up. You don’t need to do everything. We should all get to have fun!
Le Baiser du Dragon smells like amaretto by the fireside to me: the heart of it is gardenia, with vanilla, patchouli, and amber in the base, and it’s unexpectedly genderless — some people even think it leans masculine and they’re not wrong. It’s one of my favourite winter wears for that fireside quality.
Thank you! It sounds really really good. I might need to hunt for one…
Wow! Now I want to try
Agree with you about LBdD. I’ve haunted Ebay, etc. for an OG bottle many times but never took a chance.
1. Shalimar L’Essence
2. At the moment I wish I would have tried LPRN Honey Rose. I wish someone would report on it. I am curious what it is like.
3. Can’t think of anything at the moment.
4. Probably around a 3. I don’t let relatives get to me too much. It’s not worth it. I try to remember what the season is all about. To me it is about being grateful during Thanksgiving and blessed during Christmas.
Agreeing with your 2 and 4.
I feel like someone on here talked about Honey Rose
No, Lillyjo and I have been watching for a report😉
I really love Honey Rose, it has the LPRN dna with lots of honey, I smell the rose too.
It is sweet but at the same time it has this freshness that I love a lot. It reminds me a little Miele Rosa.
Sounds delightful! Thank you!
For today, I’m thinking AG’s Le Chèvrefeuille to celebrate a sunny day.
Things that I should have tried – too many to count! So often I need to rely on buying samples shipped from overseas, or go overseas myself, and I can’t do either of these every day 🙂 .
I don’t think I’ve ever bought anything else while browsing for perfume, but I do come across mentions all sorts of things when I’m reading about perfume!
I think Christmas will be a 3, and that’s only because I will be helping my mother get around. It will otherwise be relaxed. I hit 10 a few weeks ago when I saw the costs of airfare and rental car to get to my mother’s place, but I’m recovering.
LC is perfect for any sunny day!
Hope it does not cost you a fortune to get to your mom.
1. Commando but will pick something subtle for later.
2. Nothing right now.
3. Coach cat keychain, among other things. Holy smokes, this thing is HEAVY! It is currently hanging on a (cat) magnet on the inside of my front door until I decide where to wear it.
4. 0 so far although it may change. The relatives have been planning stuff for my cousin and family who are coming in mid-December. So far, we’ve been planning since … September 😵💫 all good things though and of course no one is talking about those plans going awry with weather!
Well I don’t need to tell you that anything CAT always piques my interest 😻
It sure does!
1. Starting vintage week with an older bottle of Molinard de Molinard. It reminds me of a beloved “house mother” in my college sorority who wore this fragrance. She was so kind and interesting and my friends and I spent hours in her cozy “apartment” in our sorority house listening to stories of her well lived life.
2. I’d love to smell SL’s Muscs Koublaï Khan, La Myrrhe and a few others from the line.
3. Can’t think of anything other than maybe a Mac lipstick if I bought a fragrance at Nordstrom.
4. I’m about a 4. We’re hosting family so there’s always a little stress connected to the dinner but Mr. allo usually handles most of that so I’m trying to stay focused on being present with everyone. In past years, I haven’t liked feeling that I missed connecting with people because I was too worried about the meal.
Molinard de Molinard reminds me of one of my ballet teachers. It was her signature so I could never wear it to her class but I certainly had a bottle of my own at home.
Scent memories are so powerful🌸
Hello fragrant friends,
Cozy today in Philosophy Cashmere cream and fragrance. It’s such an easy never fail.
Lots of rain today.
Sometimes I am tempted by incense, but usually come to my senses and pick some up on a trip. I don’t buy diffusers anymore.
We don’t really do Christmas, so I am okay there.
My sister is excited her grandaughter is flying home for Christmas from Dublin. I am happy for them.
After my mom died, my sister and I decided to not attempt travel over the holidays and we are good.
I love those easy never fails. I’ve been wearing Blanche nonstop on workdays and have made quite a dent in my 100 ml bottle.
I hope eventually you will get to S. I. with your sister.
We will, cm8.
who knows, maybe this spring.
👍
A happy Saturday from Stormy LA!
1. Sotd Angeliques Sous La Pluie
2. Almost all of them because the thread is regularly filled with houses and scents I’ve never experienced or heard it. Truly still a n00b perfumista.
3. After finally chasing down Shalimar L’Essence in person after visiting 4 department stores over weeks, I went and purchased one lavender truffle (too many calories & $). Then I waited all of 5 minutes (such self-control & delayed gratification) to eat it. At least I took multiple bites 😇
4. Let’s see Thanksgiving will be 9, Christmas a 7, and New Years Eve a 10 on the stress scale I fear, without interventions of the spiritual, religious and libation kind.
LesLiesse Your scent is spot on for today in Los Angeles, where it has been raining nonstop for those of you who don’t live here.
And congrats on your willpower, you pass the ‘marshmallow test.’
DeniseH, I apologize for my irony not coming through. 5 min was the short time it took me to walk a few blks to my car, where I devoured it even if it wasn’t one large mouthful but rather a few bites. Thank you for giving me the benefit of the doubt but I think I got a D+ on that marshmallow test!
If the only “extra” thing you’ve bought was one truffle, I commend you!
My son has three international student friends in his university chemistry lab so he’s invited them all up to our place for Christmas as they’re alone ( from their families). It will be their first summer Christmas so we will probably just have a BBQ and then something Kiwi, like pavlova…haven’t really thought about it. The two Danes say they eat pork at Christmas so we might do pork belly for them? Who knows. We might go to the beach if it’s hot ( it never is). Today I’m wearing Bracken. Peonies are in full bloom now so I am tempted to buy some, and maybe paint them. Happy weekend!
That sounds lovely, Kanuka.
That is a really lovely thing to do, Kanuka.
Peonies are so fabulous. I just planted some peonies from Old House Gardens (a US Midwest regional shop I learned about at NST), which I have long wanted to add to my garden. I think I finally found the right spot. They are the Indiana State Flower. Here’s hoping those tubers agree with my choice. I have tried to grow them before but the quality of the roots were not as good, and my location may not have been either.
SOTD is an essential oil blend that I recently made from a bunch sent to me by a good friend and fellow NSTer.
Not really looking to try anything new
For question no 3….. not sure? Don’t remember?
Now that the kids are adults I try to keep holidays low key. This year when I announced that I won’t be doing Thanksgiving my son said he would cook and bring it to our house. So my advice is, keep it low key and if the holidays stress you don’t celebrate or think outs of the box for how you want to do it ( non-traditional)
Outside of the box
And once again I failed the test 😂 I was supposed to rate the stress of holidays. I’m a zero
Don’t stress! 😉
😂
Oh yay for Mr. CM8 Jr! That is lovely.
Speaking of “outside of the box”, how are your grandkitties doing?
And then the rains came…
I’m in Encre Noire, and its dark woods are perfect for this grey, cold, wet day.
Off the top of my head, I’d love to try Sarrasins from Serge Lutens. I’m sure I could think of many others.
I tend to browse for perfume in perfume stores, so I haven’t really had the opportunity to spring for something unexpected.
Stress level during the holidays is likely to be around a 6. (I like to cook, but I feel the pressure of cooking for others.)
Hope everyone has a lovely weekend.😊
I would so love to smell Encre Noire on a man’s skin. Sadly, Mr. G has no interest in trying it — he requires sweetness and spice in his spritzes.
My wife would really prefer that I never wear fragrance! To keep peace in the house, I try to apply when I’m outside, and in moderation. I must be ready to scrub or shower at a moment’s notice if my scent bothers her. She’s fine when I wear Aramis, Bel Ami from Hermès, or Bigarade Concentree from Frederic Malle, (and she didn’t complain about Encre Noire,) but given a choice between my spritzing something or nothing, she’d choose nothing.
Other than my obsession with perfume, we get along just fine.😊
Is that a Ray Bradbury reference? 🤔
It sounds like one, doesn’t it. His writing is often lyrical.
“And then the rains came?”
I was thinking of a Shelby Lynne song.😊
Looking it up, I see a bunch of literary references, including Bradbury, Sara Teasdale, Tom Robbins, and others.
1. I am wearing Gucci Acenti today.
2. I feel like I should try the Tauer something something Moroccan something.
3. Often when I am browsing for perfume, I end up buying a lip gloss or cosmetic for my daughter. (Retail therapy, less guilt)
4. My stress level is 9 – 10.
My siblings quit getting together after my mom passed. My Brother sticks with his wife’s family, my sister and I are on different awake schedules. It’s fine. I get stressed over working retail and just not having the time or money to make the holidays as nice as they could be. I also get stressed about the snow.
Oh, you smell lovely Lillyjo but sorry to hear your level of stress is so high. I’ll send you an email next week.
Lillyjo, I’m sorry you’re feeling so stressed, the holidays can really amp up expectations and we are conditioned to believe that they have to be extra special and we are fed Hallmark shows about happy families rejoicing together and at the same time non-stop ads to buy/consume but that has never been the reality for most people. You are always talking about your kids and it’s clear you love them very much and worry for them and are close to them and that happens 365 days a year and not on one or two ‘special’ nights. And that is what they will remember and cherish about you.
Whoops, also, I can send you a sample of the Tauer something Moroccan something something, I’ll email you.
Sorry to hear that the holidays are getting to you already.
Did someone show up to deal with your furnace today? I sure hope so.
1. Prada Infusion d’Iris
2. Too many but I’m trying to not have FOMO.
3. Sometimes buying a cheapie bottle just to get free shipping.
4. Just booked a trip to see my sister and her family over Christmas. It should be fun so I’ll say level 2 or 3. There will be baking, drinks and lots of laughs. The worst thing will be the cold weather.
So glad you will get to go to your sister. I am visiting my sister now…it is always good to be with a sister 🙂
It really is! Hope you are having a good visit, Robin.
I’m reading a novel about the Impressionists, particularly Berthe Morisot. She wears a violet perfume in the book (The Lost Masterpiece). So…
1) I’ll be wearing one of my two violets, Hermes Violette Volynka or Penhaligon’s Violetta.
2) I wish I had bought a bottle of Balenciaga’s Paris before it was discontinued! I also wish I had smelled Le Dix before they reformulated it, as from the description it is now an iris perfume instead of violet.
3) Hmmm nothing comes to mind. I should do more perfume shopping!
4) 11. I’m driving for two days each way with three young kids in the car. The only thing keeping me sane will be focusing on a kid-free work trip to California in January.
Balenciaga Paris is really nice, mrsdarcy, and has a very vintage retro feel with all those violets, roses, and powder. Good luck on the drive.
That book looks fun…are you liking it?
And that is indeed a lot of driving with children, glad you have a break to look forward to!
1) The arrival of slightly cooler weather has set off a craving for dark vanillas, gourmands and woods. But today I am trying out a sample of Iris Cartagena. It reminds me of L’Air Du Desert Marocain which I was NOT at all anticipating from the name.
2) I need to try the new Shalimar, which I am sure I will at some point since I think it is in Nordstrom. I want to try many of the Serge Lutens which are not available anywhere around me.
3) I can’t think of anything I bought that was silly or fun when I was perfume shopping. It is always that I am shopping for something else and I end up trying and sometimes buying perfume.
4) I would say my stress level from the holiday itself is a 5. I work every other Christmas (alternates with working New Year’s) so I will be working this Christmas, off New Year’s. We really limit gifts in the family and that helps a lot. We all have too much stuff at this point. My mother is elderly and each year I ask either for copies of key family photos or items in the house that have sentimental value to me that she no longer needs/wants.
Your answer to #3 made me laugh!
We limit gifts too…we really just do stocking presents. It is a big help in keeping the stress down.
Re your #3: those sneaky perfumes!
Hope everyone’s having a great weekend. We in L.A. are having a very wet weekend. We have wet clothes drying all throughout the house because we keep having to take the dog on walks because she won’t venture into the swampy backyard to ‘do her business,’ as we call it.
I’m supposed to meet with a fellow NSTer to have a little sniffa and exchange some swap items and we were going to sit outside at a little cafe but due to the weather we will probably look for a big empty place where we can spread out in a far corner and not fume anybody out. Anyway, most Angelenos stay home when it rains.
Today I’m wearing Laura Mercier Neroli in the old bottle with the curvy metal cap. (Not the Neroli du Sud re-issue) This is not a cologne neroli, after the first orange blast, it’s woven with spices, woods, incense, vanilla. At times it reminds me of one of my faves, L’Occitane Neroli EdP, which is long d/c. Also, the LM was composed by Maurice Roucel, no slouch he, which is what drew me to it in the first place.
Which leads me to Question No 2, and so the fragrances I’ve not yet tried but think I should have due to the perfumista frenzy over them are Laura Mercier Nuits Enchantees and Minuit Enchante, which sound like they’d be right up my alley. Alas, both were limited editions that sold out years ago, so I’m probably out of luck. I’m not so keen on the sweeter Laura Mercier gourmands like Creme Brulee, etc as I don’t like very sweet scents.
A beautiful thing I bought once while browsing for perfume at the Pasadena City College monthly swap meet was a Karastan wool rug which I gave to my son, who’d just moved into his own apartment. It’s got that lovely ancient complex Persian pattern (they’re no longer made) with a background of indigo blue. It was $100, and part of the fringe was detached so I took it to rug dealer for a tiny repair but it was still a great deal and he loves it.
Thanksgiving stress is maybe a 1 as we’re going to my brother’s for dinner and I only have to make spicy Mexican cornbread and an apple pie. Christmas Eve will be a 4 because everyone is coming to our house including a loud boorish relative who sucks all the energy out of the room. I’m making a turkey, but I like to cook and the DH helps a lot and everybody brings sides. New Year’s Eve is a 10 because I hate going out on that night, too many drunk drivers, and I hate fireworks and they terrorize my poor dog and I can never get to sleep before 2 am due to the noise.
The only advice I have for NYE is to put your air filter on “high” and play classical music to soothe your pets because that’s what I do. And don’t sweat the holiday cooking, everyone is grateful that you made the effort, and even dry turkey tastes great smothered in gravy.
My pup and I feel you, Denise. Over here in Studio City, our bathrooms are strewn with drying rain gear, both hers and mine.
Hope your Christmas Eve goes well despite the boorish relative!
Spicy Mexican cornbread sounds delicious!
Happy Stormy Sunday from LA! Just saw on the news a man airlifted in a rescue harness from his car in a flood. *yikes*
Sotd FM Portrait of a Lady
You smell fabulous. I almost wore that. Maybe tomorrow.
Thank you Kris! I was downstairs doing laundry and a neighbor of my aunt’s from the other tower saw me and hugged me because it had been a long time since we’d talked after my aunt passed. She said the same thing, laughed, then said I smelled so wonderful she was going to hug me again! Can’t beat that kind of fragrant encounter!
Nice! I can’t say I have ever been complimented on it.
I may have been basking and basking w my baskets of laundry…
I am not paying attention to the news, wow, did not realize the weather was that bad.
ZOMG! I hadn’t heard anything about flooding in SoCal over the weekend either.
Hello, all. It’s wet in Seattle, too, but I know it’s wetter south of us in California! I’m about to put on my rain jacket and go for a walk anyway.
1) Wearing Dzing! and loving it, as always
2) I think I should have tried more of the classics along the way: Guerlain Champs Elysees or YSL Opium for example, and I really want to try Le Galion’s more recent offerings.
3. I’m sure I’ve bought many silly things while browsing for perfume. Can’t think of anything in particular though.
4. I think I’ll be at about a 5 — very happy hosting at least one son and partner and maybe more for Christmas, but also stressed just because it’s more meals and more hoopla. I always stress about the gifting as Mr. SP likes to go all out and I prefer to be more reserved. The main thing for me is that I have to work out. It just helps me manage everything else.
If it helps, I tried CE twice and can’t remember a thing. I do know it has fans.
Vintage Opium is definitely the way to go. The current stuff being sold seems watered down in comparison.
SOTD for Sunday is Bum Bum cream and Indochine. Love it!
You smell like a goddess! If you wear POAL tomorrow, then I’ll wear your Indochine + Le BumBum! We can cross-twin!
Ha Ha!
Happy Monday!
Sotd Indochine + Le BumBum!
Not quite cool enough for BumBum creme here. It starts to smell really good when temperatures get below 50 degrees F (10 degrees C).
One spray of an old bottle of Ambre Sultan to go to see an advanced showing of Hamnet. Perfect for a rainy day.
The juice is the color of maple syrup.
oh I’m looking forward to seeing this one, apsara. I loved the book so much. And Ambre Sultan is fabulous, I envy whoever got to sit next to you in the theatre!
DeniseH – the movie was wonderful to me. Jessie Buckley turned in an amazing performance.
Oh good, I look forward to that movie too.
1. Today I’m wearing Tom Ford Myrrhe Mystère.
2. I’d like to try some myrrh fragrances from other perfume lines, since I’ve recently gotten into it. I have this and the one from Le Labo and a nice sample of Myrrhe Eglantine, but am open to more suggestions of things I must try.
3. I’ve probably bought a beautiful scarf at some time while trying on perfume, because usually the scarves are placed somewhere near where perfumes are displayed. I do know that I bought a very pretty Etro scarf on sale once (rare!) at Saks, long ago, while I was giving a few perfumes some skin time, but their store is now so rearranged that I wouldn’t even know where the scarves are any more.
4. I’ll probably be at about a 2 because I’m simply not planning to do much of anything over the holidays, except, I think, get a shoulder replacement. I don’t usually do much to celebrate anyway. Last year and often before that I’ve had Thanksgiving with a cat friend but she got me so irritated last year that I vowed never again.
Some nice neighbors have invited me now for several years in a row on New Year’s Eve along with a very motley crew of their other friends and relatives for a huge dinner out at a Vietnamese restaurant downtown, whereafter we return to their house for delicious samplings of desserts and drinks. There’s our mutual dental assistant and her husband, a cousin who is married to an art history professor I’ve known for years, other relatives and neighbors, and, last year, the personality-round-town known as Merlin the Magician, who looks exactly like his name and is famous for the role he plays each year at the Renaissance Festival here (he was also a neighbor of theirs, and highly entertaining). I don’t do a thing in advance of that and just hope I’ll be able to go. (I’m seeing the surgeon tomorrow after my MRI last week and hope to find out about the schedule then.)
Calypso, Parfum Sacre from Caron has a hefty dose of myrrh, at least to my nose. It’s one of my absolute faves.
Your holiday plans sound perfect. Somewhat spontaneous and with nothing required of you except your presence, which I’m sure is delightful or else they wouldn’t invite you!
Good luck on scheduling the shoulder replacement and may it all go well.
Thanks! I do have Parfum Sacre. I must get it out and sniff it again!
A new shoulder is a great Xmas gift! Hope everything got scheduled the way you wanted.
Calypso, if you haven’t tried Demeter Fragrances Myrrh yet, you should. It is amazingly good for how inexpensive it is.
1. SotD is Angle Innocent. I’m enjoying it on our sunny, mild, blue-sky Fall day.
2. I’m going with Happy888cat in wanting to try Le Baiser du Dragon. I always think of Gaia Fishler’s review of it at The Non-Blonde.
3. I recently got a Chanel eye shadow pallet “Nuit Astrale.” I was perfume hunting and came across a random beauty product reviewer who did a post. I do wear neutrals, but blue and silver-grey look best on me for evenings out so I was happy to find this.
4. Just today, my stress level went way down. Not sure why, but I think it may be that I connected with friends and family quite a bit over the course of this year at various “unofficial” times.
Yay for #4!
Been busy the past couple days and haven’t had the time to really think of posting.
Today I am wearing vintage Jicky. I am already partially done with Christmas gifts and wondering on what next week will bring due to Thanksgiving and my work schedule.
Ah, vintage Jicky is so wonderful!
Happy Monday, all!
Today I’m wearing Dans Tes Bras. It has a vintage-y feel to me, yet is very modern. So good!
So many scents that are often mentioned yet I’ve yet to try but the one that comes to mind this morning is Dune.
While shopping online for perfume, I most certainly have added tea or a candle to round out my order. Nothing really weird or silly that I can remember though.
And lastly, Thanksgiving will probably be a 8 stress level for me, hosting my in laws. Then Christmas will thankfully only be 2 or so. As my son gets older, I do less and less, certainly with the tree ornaments. I’d gladly dispense with putting up the tree and just settle for some lights around the house, but my family would protest.
My Son is 23. He loves the tree and ornaments so much. I want to get a small table tree, but I know it would disappoint him.
My son is 27, and same. I could do without at this point but he would not like it.
Happy Monday tulipani!
I’m so sorry for all of you who have suffered from all the CA rains and flooding, so good to see you all here. Today was our last Golden morning; clouds have finally arrived and some rain is on the way. It will be like this the rest of the week, . We really had quite a lovely stretch of nice weather, with lots of 🌞 and trees hanging on to their colorful leaves. November’s grayness is here.
Needed a boost to get going today, and since I’m dressed in purple, Guerlain Insolence edt is my SOTD choice. I love the violet in this, which somehow manages to be bold and yet soft and powdery at the same time.
As for the poll, no response to 2 or 3, but for holiday stress level, I’d say perhaps a 3-4. We tend to be low key here, and since my son finally took over Thanksgiving starting last year, which I had done forever (and which seems to require more dishes than any other holiday), my stress level has gone way down.
Wishing all a good week ahead!
It is a grey November here in Massachusetts, that is for sure! And cold, at least 10 degrees colder than it is at home in PA.
I will cook at Christmas but it does not stress me like it used to when I was younger. If something does not go right, so what, everyone will live, and anyway other people will help.
Looks like my weather pattern is changing over to something more unsettled and definitely cooler! Means I can start bringing out some of my cooler weather perfumes.
Dunno if that means the 70’s are headed out East.
1. Shiseido Memoire. The bottle caught my eye, so I splashed some on.
2. So many things have come and gone before I got a chance to sniff them, I can’t pick out one in particular.
3. Not sure.
4. My stress level this season should be a 1 for Thanksgiving and maybe a 2 for Christmas. NYE probably about a 2 as well. Since it’s down to just the two of us, we just pick a restaurant for Thanksgiving and let someone else do all the prep, cooking, and cleanup. This year, we plan to eat the buffet at Gaido’s in Galveston; we went there for Thanksgiving last year and it was wonderful. Christmas will be only slightly more stressful since I need to figure out some music for us to play for the Christmas Eve service at church, and I do plan to put up decorations. I just finished up my Christmas gift shopping today. We don’t have any big family get togethers any more, and DH takes care of the gift buying for his side (all out of state), so it is easy now. We do have a number of events (plays and concerts) to attend in December, which I am looking forward to. NYE is still up in the air; I have been trying to find something different to do each year.
Nice to see you 50_Roses 🙂
Hiya 50_Roses! Long time no see!
Hey 50_Roses!
We are having Thanksgiving at my mother’s retirement community, and I am thrilled. They do a good buffett.
Hi 50_Roses!🌹
Serge Lutens Fils de Joie today. Dang, this is gorgeous. Jasmine and honey. It borders on too rich at moments, but the drydown is fabulous. I was surprised this released in 2020. Feels like an older Serge to me. But what do I know!
I almost blind bought this one
Ultimately, I was scared off by the honey. You make it sound good though.
I have trouble with honey notes too.
Fils de Joie sounds downright beautiful. SL has a way with jasmine.
SOTD = CK Truth. Not sure how old the bottle is that I have now. Several years at the very least. But it still smells the way I remember my first bottle did. Good enough for me!
Perfume FOMO(?): I still haven’t come across Encre Noire. Or SL Five O’Clock Gingembre.
Not sure if I have ever come across something unusual while browsing for perfume. Thanks to some of Robin’s Daily Lemmings, however, I do have a nice collection of sake cups. Sometimes I even use them.
Holiday stress? Between 2 and 3. Thanksgiving is going to be pushed off a day because my brother will be getting off shift on that particular day. He’s typically rather sleep deprived on his first day off. Still planning on grilling steaks.
Xmas: I haven’t put up a Christmas tree since 1995, because cats. Looking to send a few cards this year and maybe put some lights up. Haven’t figured out where those lights would be yet.
NYE: Don’t go out anywhere, so I’m good. We shall see how crazy the fireworks situation is this year. The hammer got dropped on overly enthusiastic amateur pyrotechnicians during the 4th of July. They might behave on New Year’s.
Grilling steaks for Black Friday sounds like the perfect Thanksgiving to me…I’d take steak over turkey any day.
My brother is not a fan of most Thanksgiving food offerings, so steak suits us both just fine.