It's Hump Day, Human Rights Day and Emily Dickinson’s birthday. What fragrance are you wearing?
The activity I do most frequently and consistently is probably reading, and the fragrance I wear most consistently while reading: good old Diptyque Philosykos.
Reminder: on 12/12, tell us about a personal hobby or interest or any activity you do frequently, other than perfume, and match it to a fragrance. Suggested by Kanuka.
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 large on black [cropped] by Ginny at flickr; some rights reserved.
Hi NST! 👋
I will have to give some consideration to the CP.
Today I’m wearing PdN Vanille Tonka, watching it rain and melt the snow. It’s all supposed to refreeze this afternoon.
Hope everyone is doing well 🌹
Hey ringthing!
Be careful if you have to go out. I’m still getting dumped on.
I have to do some thinking about the cp too.
Ugh. Raining here too but we don’t have any snow on the ground so far.
The wind was so bad last night. We had 71 mph gusts. In fact, we lost power in the middle of the night for a few hours. Tonight, we are expecting more rain/ice and snow. Coming your direction.
I know. With my mom, losing power is my biggest fear. I’m watching the weather. Glad you’re ok.
Is your mom that close so you can check on her?
Yes, thankfully.
Hope that you and your Mom stay safe, ringthing.
Thanks Jalapeño.
Black Phantom by Kilian
No, I’m not about to come out as an amateur pirate. I chose it for the coffee and chocolate: coffee to deal with work deadlines, and chocolate because I simply enjoy it (maybe too frequently).
Aha, I should have thought of chocolate as a personal interest! Great idea.
Good chocolate is worth indulging in! 😋🍫
Lise Watier Neige for a snowy day. They are announcing lots of snow for today.
My hobby is reading and organizing cultural events( book launches, conferences etc). I do that as a volunteer, and loving it a lot.
I have to stop eating chocolates, almond paste and loukhoums and start exercising.
Aw. Can’t you start exercising and keep eating goodies??? (That’s what I do.)
Oh, you smell wonderful! I wore Neiges for a while in the 90s. So pretty.
Organizing cultural events is such a cool hobby! I know that almond paste has a lot of calories, but does it also have a lot of health benefits?
I don’t know if it has health benefits, I am obsessed with it.
Have to agree with Robin. Keep the luscious goodies AND exercise.
I dusted all the bottles over the weekend and rearranged them a bit, which led to going through the sample accumulation, which led to testing Rêve d’Ossian this morning. I acquired the sample during my recent Forest Quest and it kinda got lost in the frantic shuffle. Turns out it’s very nice, but quite similar to Boswellia Scotia, and Boswellia does what they both do a bit better than Rêve. Magical fresh incense-y evergreen forest.
Oh that’s interesting! Now I’m curious. I love Reve d’Ossian and really all of the Oriza Legrand fragrances I’ve tried so far. And I’m not usually one to get excited about packaging and bottles but Oriza does send me into a fantasy realm with all its bottle and box illustrated beauty.
I’m with you on Oriza’s packaging — gorgeous! Jorum’s (the house that produces Boswellia) is rather Chanel-esque in its simplicity. And you might even prefer Ossian over Boswellia; so much of perfume depends on skin chemistry. I could send you a bit of Boswellia to try if you want — you have my email from our other recent exchange. 🙂
Same here. I am usually a minimalist fan for packaging but the Oriza bottles are lovely. I got a sample of Reve d’Ossian when I was on an incense exploration quest, haven’t decided on further investment in it.
Hmmm. I like Reve d’Ossian. Maybe I need to try that Boswellia Scotia.
Would you like my lightly-dabbed sample? I was looking for the forest-y vibe but wound up on the incense channel instead. 😕
AnnE – I’ll text you.
Thanks for the comparison between Reve d’Ossian and Boswellia Scotia. LURVE the Reve; it’s still on my FB wishlist.
I’m in Shalimar parfum-two compliments! Love that this is still available at a (comparitively) reasonable price. I’m wearing the parfum but I also have the EDP and a stunning leathery EDT at home. I love this scent, especially at Christmas.
Have a good day, all you good smelling people 🙂
I am giving you a 3rd compliment from afar…
Also House Twins!
Love twinning with you 🙂
I’m wearing Burberry Goddess today but I need to see how I can fit that into my hobbies. I love to bake and cook, love to read, love walking, hiking and camping. I like to garden, especially flowers and veggies. I guess Goddess works for the lavender I’ve planted (that is now a bit ragged looking–needs trimming!).
And (duh) vanilla for the baking of Christmas cookies that I’ve been doing. Can’t believe I didn’t think of that connection first!
Perfect! Also, domestic goddess?
Going back to my post about little perfume bottles from antique shops—I’m in Samsara today, dabbed from a tiny mini. Like Robin, I also collect books. I love serious reads, which is really what I do for “work” at the library when I’m pulling together material to present to the public. But when I want something well-written and funny (not necessarily highbrow), you truly can’t go wrong with Jilly Cooper and her bonkbusters featuring the irresistible Rupert Campbell-Black. That’s exactly what I’m reading now.
One thing I love about Cooper is how she gives her gloriously racy heroines signature perfumes that amplify their personalities. Because of her books, I now have a little list of classics I want to smell: Fracas, Narcisse Noir, Jolie Madame, and Ma Griffe. Her descriptions of scent are so vivid you can practically inhale them off the page. And, of course, Queen Camilla is famously a fan of her work. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/queen-camilla-drops-rivals-set-tribute-her-friend-jilly-cooper-2025-12-08/
Books and fragrances absolutely go hand in hand—though in my case, it means I keep buying more of both, even with a towering to-be-read pile waiting for me.
Bonkbusters! 😆💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻😍
Agree LesLiesse. I snorted at my computer at that one.
lol
DeniseH, forgot to answer you question from yesterday. No Shalimar left in any of the bottles but there is some other Guerlain fragrances that have a tiny juice left, the color is liquid brown sugar…
Glad I can make you smile.
I am sending the first 2 books to a friend of mine for her holiday gift.
LTSG I’m sure she’ll appreciate them!
Oh, I love Samsara-you smell terrific!
I love books too, and I used to love Judith Krantz. Years later I liked to read Dominick Dunne in Vanity Fair, and he was once insulted because someone called him-Judith Krantz in pants 🙂
Fracas is a HUGE, buttery tuberose. At least, the stuff I encountered was.
Oh?
We’ll let me know if you or anyone dabs it on and I could probably smell you from my home. 🙂
IIRC, Neiman Marcus had Fracas circa 2016. That’s where I gave it a curious (and cautious!) sniff.
I’m in Pilcro edp from Anthropologie. One of those my skin but better scents that I love, with a note of tangerine.
We got more snow overnight (sorry lillyjo, it’s probably headed your way). The sun tried to peek out for a little bit but then went away again. I have a cut and color after work, so looking forward to that.
Apology accepted 🙂
Happy Hump Day! Although after reading Lovestosmellgood’s post I may have to say Happy Bonkbusters Day! 😉
Re CP: Thank you Kanuka because I have been struggling with this. I’m a volunteer docent at an automotive museum and I would love a car-centric fragrance to wear. I don’t mind if I smell « masculine ». I tried the IA The Cobra and the Canary but it was a busy on me. I do enjoy all the fumes associating with cars except exhaust. Happy to take some recs out for a test drive 😉😉😉
Sotd Abel Laundry Day. I note that Ute this is the scent I’ve worn #3 most. I reach for it when I’m exhausted or haven’t had enough rest (check snd double-check!). It energizes me and most important elevates my mood and heart to a more optimistic state.
Wishing all a wonderful Wednesday!
Oh hmmm LesLiesse. You have laid down an interesting challenge for us.
Well, vintage Fahrenheit for Men by Christian Dior does have a pronounced gasoline topnote, but good luck finding that one.
Tauer has Hyacinth & a Mechanic which I believe someone here said has just been re-released in a LE so maybe there are samples to be found.
I know there are others that would fit your bill but they are not coming to mind. Anyone?
Lorenzo Passaglia has Gasoleather. But I’d prefer something that someone had tried and thought might be suitable. I can’t get a single sample of that, and the discovery kit has 16 scents and cost about $100. I’d rather not spend $100 to figure out if it’s suitable.
oh gosh no. That would be a verrrry expensive sample. The evil of bays sometimes sells samples of niche things. Anyway, I’ll try to think of some others.
Re: cars – how about Bvlgari Black for the rubber tire note? Happy to send you some if you can’t find it. It’s quite unique.
I went to look it up but there’s a lot of them. Could you be more specific so I can check it out?
It’s the funky hockey puck bottle. Discontinued, but you might be able to find it or a sample. Or feel free to reach out by clicking on my screenname above for my email.
https://www.fragrantica.com/perfume/Bvlgari/Black-154.html
I think I would want something being currently produced, but that’s absolutely lovely of you to offer! #SantasNiceList
I get it, but I kind of want you to wear it at the automotive museum. 😀
I work in the field of petroleum distribution, and a few years ago we hosted a mobile lubricant museum 🙂 It was a success. They said if we got 20 people that would be good, and if we got 200 it would be a problem. Guess what-we got just over 200. It was epic 🙂
That’s just the kind of niche exhibit we love to present and the public enjoys! I’m not surprised that the public response was strong. I really enjoy the scent of lubricants and gasoline. I grew up around the automotive and auto-adjacent businesses of my dad, hence my unusual scent leanings.
Comme des Garcons Garage 🙂
Thanks Robin! Will investigate.
Do your vintage cars have leather interiors…you could match with leather perfumes.
Tyres- rubber notes
Gasoline notes
Asphalt or dirt road notes, petrichor
Open top cars- fresh air notes
Yes that’s what I’m looking for in something still produced Kanuka !
DeniseH has already suggested one thing I had in mind, which was vintage Dior Fahrenheit.
How about something metallic, for the car bodies and suspension? Or something with a lot of soapy aldehydes, for a car wash?
I think the two I’ve located that are in production are Gasoleather and Route 66. Now I have to track down a reasonably priced sample of each!
Good luck!
FWIW, something with a vinyl note would work, too. I can still remember how that kind of car seat smelled. And how much it hurt sitting on that in the middle of summer! 🔥🔥🔥
I had my share of burned thighs too!
I’m a writer of crime novels and an editor, so books are also my passion, both reading and writing. So there are many possibilities that spring to mind. First, those fragrances with the word ‘noir’ in them. Narcisse Noir comes to mind immediately, but I’m not in the mood for that sexy beast today.
There are plenty of fragrances that have notes and references to old books, such as In the Library by CB I Hate Perfume and Bibliotheque by Byredo and Whispers in the Library by MMM Replica. These would all work for you, Lovestosmellgood.
These fragrances usually have notes like vanilla that replicate lignin, the polymers, which bind wood, which of course is used to make paper, and they break down with age. That is why old paperbacks have that yummy cozy faint dusty vanillic smell sometimes when you open them.
Pondering old book smells has made my brain hare off in the direction of vanilla, but today I’ll choose a vanillic scent that tilts in another direction – floral – and reach for I Profumi di Firenze Vanilla de Madagascar. I haven’t worn it in ages but it’s time.
Reading = lignin = vanilla is a great path, giving lots of possibilities,
And matches the photo Robin uses today, which might have given me the idea
correction: Vaniglia del Madagascar. It’s an Italian perfumer so I should have known there was a ‘g’ and an extra vowel tacked on to vanilla.
You smell cozy, it’s a good one.
The IPdF is beautiful, an old favorite of mine. Very vanilla-orchid to my nose.
Also, Demeter Old Book.
You write crime novels? Why did I not know this? OMG I just found you on Goodreads. I can’t believe I haven’t read any of your books. I need to change this.
DH, I’m so impressed! Bravo! Now I want to read you too. I’ll get the info from Kris.
Amazing 📚
Hello.
I am pretty much obsessed with food. My bookshelf is mostly filled with recipes or food related books. My internet bookmarks are primarily food bloggers. When I am not looking at cute animals on instagram, I’d be looking at food posts. My favourite amusement park? Why that’ll be the supermarket! I can spend hours just staring at the aisles and reading the packaging labels.
So it’s no surprise that one of my absolute favourite perfume genre is gourmand. Today, I am wearing a gourmand I bought on my last trip to Bangkok from a brand called Voyager and it is fittingly named Fluffy Cake.
😀 Love it.
This made me smile. One of my favorite things to do when I travel out of the US is to go to the local grocery stores. Heck, I don’t even need to leave the US; there are ethnic shops here that I’ve browsed for long periods of time. I look at stuff and think, what the heck is this? 🤔
I agree. I love the ethnic stores in my city – I go to an Asian one and a middle eastern one. There is Japanese store I need to check out. The Asian store had a whole aisle of soy sauce.
I’m having breakfast at a café near the hotel in Auckland. It’s a bit rushed, I didn’t realise that the hotel didn’t have anything on site.
I’m wearing Diorling, which suits the CP. My hobby is sewing, and I particularly love dress patterns from the 40s and 50s, so anything first released a few decades ago is very suitable!
Especially a dress or suit in houndstooth plaid!
Excellent match Gaynor!
I love the dress styles from the 40s and 50s.
Had an assessment to see what I needed to learn how to drive. So there was no perfume this morning.
Outside of perfume, I collect Galileo thermometers. ADHD and autism lead to strange interests/hobbies.
Now since I am home, I applied some vintage Shalimar edt and loving every minute of it.
Hope the assessment went well Dawn!
I had never heard of Galileo thermometers, but now that I google, I have seen them before. That must be a fascinating thing to collect, plus they’re pretty.
My brother has a Galileo thermometer safely stowed in his entertainment center. It’s fun to watch.
I’m wearing Volutes, the EDT, and am not making any associations worthy of the CP. I do have hobbies and interests but so far haven’t come up with perfume links for them. One of my chief interests is cats (and photographs of cats, and pictures of cats, toys for cats, discussions of cats, books about cats… you get the idea!). I’ve tried a few cat-themed scents but nothing clicked for me. (I’m still open for ideas, and maybe I should go for a BIG cat like a lion or panther.) Anyway, I am enjoying Houston December weather–clear blue skies and 60 degrees, such a nice time of the year here!
Envious of your winter weather! Did you see this newish book, Feline:
https://www.lemuriabooks.com/Feline-p/9781419773648.htm
Obvi less expensive at Amazon or Walmart, but this place had a shorter link. Looks intriguing.
Do you own Harvest Mouse? Cat tie-in there😉
Here’s a cat tie-in. Big cats like Obsession for Men:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-norfolk-51301815
Of course there’s always Sex Panther:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ccp-lEmoAE
I remember that, about the Obsession!
Sex Panther! Gosh I loved Anchorman!
Le Lion? Ma Griffe? Felanilla? Cartier Panther? Jungle Le Tigre?
Also, several of your cats have food related names, so you could go with something gourmand.
Finally, I personally associate cats with soft musks.
The best cat-fur-like perfume I have ever come across is Annick Goutal Musc Nomade. It smelled exactly like my Pixel kitty’s head.
I am wearing Kilian Woman in Gold and going for a walk this morning.
Still thinking about the CP…
Hope you had a nice walk foxbins!!
Finally back to the smoothie routine, frozen red berries and yogurt
There was the first storm of the season elsewhere but here it was just a bit windy but sunny and mild. Angel Innocent this morning and tonight Lush Shade, rather linear but with real santalum album which Lush sources sustainably from West Timor which desperately needs it.
The US is finally getting some of the UK goodies from LUSH. Limited editions but at least they’re here for a little bit.
This one is definitely worth checking out but no surprise, just a quiet, incensey, woody scent for those who like natural-smelling woods.
SOTD = Fzotic Ummagumma Exxxtra EDP
It came through – the exxxtra of the exxxtra! I was ever so slightly worried that extra was just extra but the drydown, oh the drydown, was exquisite!
I am still calculating how many shares I can sell and avoid long term capital gains for income net of the standard deductible. It’s tricky, much like deciding when to take social security.
Here’s info on a NY Times gift article on when that may be but there’s no standard answer…
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/07/business/social-security-70-retirement.html?unlocked_article_code=1.7k8.3tGq.JwHxdL53ulBv&smid=nytcore-ios-share
You sound like you are exxxtra enjoying that Ummagumma flanker!
Love it!
I am not following the CP today as I had a dentist appointment. Instead I am wearing Arquiste Venice Rococo.
Ew. Hope that appointment was NBD and just a checkup.
It was just a check up.
👍👍
Guerlain La Petite Robe Noir
Nice!
Guerlain AA Pamplelune today because even though it is technically still autumn, I am completely tired of winter.
One of my time-consuming activities is being a superannuated college radio station dj. Perfectly matched scents would be Demeter Vinyl (d/c-ed?) or D.S. & Durga Debaser, neither of which I own.
You were a college radio DJ? How cool!
i was. and am again (after a few decades haiatus)
Even better! 😎
I was did a little bit of clean-up today and found Demeter Patchouli! It had evaporated some but oy, that smell is ooh-la-la!
Demeters do have a habit of evaporating. I recently found in the archives what was once a fairly full bottle of Honeysuckle…
Oh I bet that is fun!
it is!
Getting ready to leave for the annual Friends of the Library meeting tonight. As a library ‘junkie’ most of my life, I’ve been privileged and honored to serve my community as a Board member the past 5 years. A great group of folks to work with and my favorite place in town.❤️
SOTD is C.O. Bigelow Winter Lemon 1821, a nice combo of citrus and musk along with some floral mid-notes and woody base notes. I’m grateful our weather today wasn’t as bad as predicted, but we do have falling temps with some snow tonight, bitter temps later this week.
Happy Hump Day!☃️🥶
Gosh I love librairies almost as much as museums! Our main library is a crown jewel of our area. I try to go every 2 wks at least. And librarians rock!!!
Been spectacularly unmotivated today. I did manage to call the vet and give her an update on how administering Teflon’s allergy medication is going. The punchline: not well. Tef freaked out the first and only time I was able to give her a dose. I ended up with a bandaged finger for a week. Guess I am going to have to do some desensitization work with her, so the dispenser doesn’t scare her.
Maybe I need a scent that has a Band-Aid note? 🤕😵
Ridiculously mild weather here at present, except for the wind again. Wish I could send some of the pleasant temps back East.
SOTD = Dior Addict, from The Sample Stash. Back to playing around and trying new (to me) things.
Oh no! For your finger. Is this a liquid medicine?
How are you liking Addict?
My finger looks a little rough now, but it’s healing up pretty well. No infection.
The medicine is liquid, but it gets aerosolized by the dispenser. I am supposed to give her 2 squirts daily. The stuff smells pretty strong and probably tastes terrible. It’s a sublingual formulation, so it gets absorbed under the tongue.
Addict is gorgeous! I did not try it when it came out because I hated the name so much.
Glad you’re enjoying Addict. ( I agree, the name is a bit ?, but it’s such a great scent).
Your poor finger, glad it’s healing well. Poor Teflon has had a long run of taking hated medication.
IDK if you were following NST when I discovered what the root cause of all her ear infections is. Teflon has allergies. So it’s a chronic condition and will probably require medicine for the rest of her life.
I take it that Teflon is not declawed?
Nope. She has all her pointy bits. The state of NJ pretty much stopped declawing cats shortly before I got her and her sister Pixel.
I remember I was quite horrified when first moving to America to discover it was a common procedure for pet cats there.
I really haven’t has any issues with Teflon, Spooky or Pixel kitty scratching furniture. They much preferred their cat condos, or cardboard. Teflon has also likes using the indoor doormat for scratching.
After I found out what the procedure actually entailed, I decided that I would never again put a cat thru that.
UGH. “Haven’t HAD”, not has.
Anything with our for the Band-Aid note!
Holy everything that is wrong with spellcheck 😡! I meant OUD!
I usually don’t get Band-Aid with oud. About the only thing I can think of right off hand is certain kinds of single malt Scotch such as Lagavulin and Laphroig. I’d much rather drink those than wear them. 😉
Try SL Daim Blond. I got a huge band-aid note from this one.
Some red wines have big bandaid notes
I forgot to mention — my Smallflower package arrived yesterday but the top of the conditioner bottle was cracked. I will call tomorrow to see what’s what.
Oh, boo hiss! That sucks, getting something damaged.
Our weathe sounds similar despite all those miles apart. The Dior has always sounded like a Tom Ford hasn’t it. I have a partial vintage bottle and have to be in the mood but it’s a glorious classic.
I do hope that you aren’t dealing with any sort of Red Flag Weather, or whatever the UK equivalent is.
Dior had some incredible perfumes back in the day, for sure.
poor TK, poor you. : (
Thanks spiderplant. We will muddle thru eventually. After all, we have before.
Tubereuse Criminelle smells like bandages to some people (but not to me).
Oh Teflon…. I get it. In Kora’s case, pills are hit or miss. But once we tried giving her a suppository – it did not go well at all (no pun intended). Teflon, please be a good kitty and cooperate.
ZOMG, a kitty suppository! That sounds Very Not Good! 🙀
I don’t get bandages from Tuubereuse Criminelle either. That topnote smells like menthol, while old fashioned Band-Aids smelled of phenol (at least they did here in the US).
Ooops. Typo up there with “Tubereuse”. I had a Teflon kitty on my lap, which can make typing on the laptop a challenge.
Today was a school snow day. I wish they would have told me before I got up so early.
I went through another box from the basement today. I found my Dad’s birth certificate and high school diploma. I also found 2 yearbooks. One is my Dad’s from 1946. The other one is a mystery. It’s from 1939 and I don’t know who it belongs to. I’m going to ask my aunt if she might know.
My sotd is BBW Gingham Gorgeous lotion.
I remember seeing my Dad’s high school picture when I was a teen and exclaiming “Wow! He was hot!” Immediately followed by “Ewwwwwwwwwwww!”
I was struck at how much they dressed up in those pics, and how mature everyone looked then.
Oh the pictures are so neat to look at. I read through some of the autographed sayings and so many people said to my Dad “you’re a swell guy” it made me smile. ( it also made me think of Eddie Haskell. Lol)
Interesting about the 1939 yearbook!
I know! I hope my Aunt can remember. I don’t even know why I would have it!
That’s such a fun find! I hope you get an answer on the mystery yearbook.
What a find, Lillyjo.