Happy Friday and happy National Oatmeal Muffin Day! It's the 6th night of Hanukkah and there are 12 more days to go in the year. Birthdays: Italo Svevo, Carter G. Woodson, Jean Genet, Cicely Tyson, Richard Leakey, and, the subject of today's community project, Édith Piaf. Your task: scent an Édith Piaf song, or honor Édith Piaf with your fragrance in any other way you see fit.
What fragrance did you pick? As always, do chime in with your scent of the day even if you’re not participating in the community project.
For La Vie en Rose (music by Louiguy, lyrics by Piaf, and you can see the lyrics and English translation here), I'm wearing a fragrance that makes me see life through rose-colored glasses, Aftelier Candide.
Reminder: on 12/26, we're doing Best of 2025...wear your favorite new release of the year, or your favorite purchase of the year, or the fragrance you wore the most in 2025, or interpret this project however you like. (We've done this project several times.)
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.
Bonus listen: Édith Piaf singing La Vie en Rose live, followed by a recent take by Nick Cave (in English, lyrics adapted by Mack David), and below that, one of my favorite modern versions, by Madeleine Peyroux.
Was planning on errands today, but not in this awful weather…
“Le Droit d’aimer” No. 5 L’Eau’s
https://youtu.be/kw_NvWHKkBc?si=lF9KoBxj-hCtQpc1
Robin, this has been one of my favorite CP’s!!
I ADORE Edith-all week I have been listening to her greatest hits albums..nice switch from the holiday music
I am so glad!
If Kris is reading today she gets an enabler pin for my SOTD. Bought a large sample size lol 😂
And do you like it? Thanks for the enabler pin😊
I bought the small size at Sephora (no affiliation) and was surprised, that it was on sale! Chanel is never on sale…
I liked it enough to buy it, I always feel very elegant and Chanel and I feel that it is a easy fragrance to wear as well
A lot of people here really like this one though I know the other iterations have a lot of love as well.
I like the Premiere, but they only had a huge bottle of that.
Along the same lines, I like 1932 by Chanel (31 RC) but they are sooo expensive.
Such an easy yet sophisticated way to wear No. 5 🤍
I agree!
No. 5 L’Eau was the first Chanel I fell hard enough for to get a bottle of. Yeesh, that sentence feels super awkward…
The bottle is so iconic
Exactly how I felt, though
I know two Piaf songs: “Non, je ne regrette rien” didn’t call anything to mind and I was not in the mood for a rose today, so I just wore s
dangit this is what comes from typing on a phone with my big clumsy meathooks. As I was saying, I wore something I was in the mood for, CSP Vanille Pineapple. Today is grey and blustery and it’s going to get worse, so I figured a little tropical sunshine wouldn’t go astray.
I am happy to be wearing a summery fragrance too! It is DREARY here.
Je porte Portrait of a Lady, et, non, je ne regrette rien !
Excellent Daniel!
Bravo Daniel! (I’m throwing roses at your feet!🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹)
❤️ this!
Scent twins 🌹🌹🌹
Definitely. POAL was one of my possible matches for “non, je ne regrette rien”.
Allons-y! 💐
Gourmand on this rainy day……one of my favorites because it’s not too sweet. I captured it with the last of the snow last night
https://www.instagram.com/chocolatemarzipan8/p/DSbBHEhEWEl/
Lovely, the light is perfect!
The rain (happily) took away all our snow and ice.
The lights are from my car 😝. Our snow is now completely gone too.
That is even better!
Very cool. Not familiar with the scent. What is it like?
To my wonky nose a not too sweet gourmand with a touch of sweet tobacco. That’s what I’m smelling. I could be totally wrong because I don’t know the notes 😹
It sounds nice.
💖😻👍
This is my favorite picture of the week!
I hope you do more.
I will have something for you today!
Oh wow! That picture is stunning!
Thanks dear! Now all the snow is gone though
I chose Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien because that’s what I generally think when I look at my perfume shelf. Given that, it didn’t really matter which scent I selected. In the end I went with vintage Caleche because it’s trés français and is what I would have worn in a (most likely vain) attempt to attract Yves Montand’s attention. 😉
This post! lol 😝
I regret nothing. 😉
Excellent!! And I wish that is what I thought when I looked at my perfume shelf, I will have to work on it.
I admit that I put the regrets into a box about which I refuse to think. 🙂
Nice.
I thought I was the only person who did that. 🙃
Thank you, SheriG. This is my new perfume collection anthem!
And you smell divine😊
Thanks allo! We can sing it together. 🎶 💕
This is perfection, SheriG.😊
Especially the really expensive-but-beautiful ones…
I’m wearing Eau de Diable by LVNEA, an all natural Canadian brand, tied to Milord, one of the earliest Piaf songs I remember hearing, back when I was a kid. I imagine the devil as a dapper gentleman always ready to have a good time, the Lord of Fun, and this perfume skillfully marries ambrette seed botanical musk with very indolic and skanky orange blossom and jasmine, with a touch of cardamom and choya nakh, roasted sea shells, to come up with crystal clear and very beautiful take on carnal pleasures. I also like that it avoids any typical devil cliches like oud or smoky notes. It’s a devil sunny side up. I do love the way another LVNEA perfume, Feu de Follet, goes for total fire and brimstone motif, like a magic forest on fire and it was the first of their perfumes I fell for, but I have been wearing my Eau de Diable sample a lot and I think I will need a full bottle. C’est magnifique!
That sounds like a perfect match, nicely done akimon!
Italo Svevo’s Confessions of Zeno is one of my favourite books so happy birthday to him and I will match the novel with Copper because it contains the smell of cigarette ash ( to my nose). 8C here as we head into the longest day of summer…not exactly beach and BBQ weather.
That is one of my favorite books too. I read it so many times, the last time I had to spend some weeks in hospital. And I am privileged to be able to read it in original 🙂 Happy birthday to Italo Svevo!
Oh no, why so cold???
Joyeux Anniversaire, Édith!💐
I was planning on twinning with tulipani in Eau Capitale and I did spritz some on this morning but I’m pivoting to AG Ce Soir Ou Jamais because this could have been an Édith Piaf song title and I can picture her singing it to Yves Montand. I love this unique flinty rose and it always makes me happy to wear it🌹
That is a perfect song title for her! 🙂
Perfect choice! I have a very old bottle of Ce Soir Ou Jamais, I shall have to unearth it.
Is Ce Soir Ou Jamais still around?
I’m not sure. But I’ve never smelled another rose like it.
YSL Cinéma today for lots of card writing. I have a tenuous connection for the CP: the movies about Édith Piaf that help us to know her a bit better, La Vie en Rose in particular. Have a good Friday, all.
I love Cinema. Great choice. Have a happy weekend.
Happy Friday springpansy!
Happy Friday back atcha, springpansy!
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2006/may/20/featuresreviews.guardianreview27?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Confessions of Zeno also goes by the title Zeno’s Conscience
I went to see what my copy is called but cannot find it at all, so there you go.
Between now and Tuesday, the last of my gifts will be delivered. So from now and Wednesday, I will be wrapping gifts. Since the final push before Christmas begins at work, I will be wearing a whole lot of Kyoto. Currently in Kyoto for my SOTD.
My son is working long hours for Xmas too Dawn. Stay chill if you can!
Today’s pairing is Robert Piguet Fracas – Édith Piaf’s “La Foule” (“The Crowd”).
There’s a wild, sudden passion in both the song and the scent. In the “city in celebration and delirium”, the crowd throws the narrator into a man’s arms – and she falls for him instantly. But in the same mad commotion, the crowd snatches him away, and she never sees him again. The crowd becomes a force of nature – a sea that washes a treasure ashore, then pulls it back under.
That’s exactly how Fracas feels to me – loud and celebratory at first spray, then intensely intimate up close: a rush of infatuation, a crush of bodies, and that unmistakably carnal pull of tuberose. Beautiful, intoxicating and a little ruthless.
Song on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2Tz1yV48NQ
English translation of the lyrics: https://genius.com/Genius-english-translations-edith-piaf-la-foule-english-translation-lyrics
I love La Foule!!!
I love many many of her songs.
One day I will smell Fracas. Its mentioned a lot in these Jilly Cooper books I am reading..
It’s a great scent if you are tuberose lover.
I am! I love Carnal Flower
Fracas could be considered the Grandmother of all tuberose perfumes…
Yes, perfect description of Fracas!
I don’t know as many Piaf songs as I think I should, given how much I love La Vie en Rose, I can remedy that over the holidays.
I’m thinking about FM’s Une Rose for this evening. For the day, I’m thinking about Patou’s Adieu Sagesse, I love the name. Farewell Wisdom seems appropriate to so much about a perfume interest/hobby/mania 🙂 .
I’ve read many reviews saying that the Heritage collection perfumes are nothing like the originals, but I’ve never sniffed any of them so I’m not bothered about that!
That’s the right attitude…and also why I don’t smell modern versions of things I already love. Best to just love the version you have and not know the others 🙂
Adieu Sagesse is gorgeous. That’s all the information I need. 😉
I decided to go BIG rose for the CP and am twins with Daniel in POAL. I have never had a compliment on it until today when I was in the bank. From two people, no less!
Hiya, Twin! I hardly ever get comments, but I think I’ve received more compliments on POAL than any other perfume. (Coromandel gets a lot, too, but that’s probably because I often wear it to holiday parties where I tend to embrace people.)
I also hardly ever get comments, maybe because I spray my perfumes sparingly, but the one that always get me compliments is FM Musc Ravageur.
I never get comments either for the most part, but I do get compliments on Iris Poudre almost every time I wear it and also occasionally with VCA Bois d’ Iris.
I never have with Coromandel, but almost always do with Iris Poudre. Otherwise, I don’t usually get comments either.
Yay for perfume compliments!
I know. It doesn’t happen very often. I think sometimes I spray too much and probably gas people out.
Congrats on the perfume compliments! They are well deserved for POAL.
It’s a good one!
I’m wearing Love Kills for La Vie en Rose. It’s a really gorgeous rose that reminds me a touch of Eau de Protection.
Ooh, I love “Love Kills.” You smell fabulous!
I’m wearing Chanel No. 5. I reasoned that Edith Piaf and Coco Chanel were contemporaries in Paris, and so probably knew one another.
sort of twinning with you..
I really don’t know much Piaf other than La Vie en Rose; French music is a bit of a hole in my knowledge, especially from that period. I went for SL Fille de Berlin today for the rose. It’s probably bigger than is warranted for the song, and the juice is more purple, but oh well. I’ll stretch a bit and say that also I spent two wonderful weeks in Berlin many years ago and non, je ne regrette rien about them, so…sort of a connection?
Works for me!
Sounds good to me.
That’s a nice scent too.
SOTD = Guerlain Santal Pao Rosa
Rosy! ✅ for the CP!
So I went to Trader Joe’s to buy a chocolate panettone and I was foiled 😡 by nothing on the shelves. I try not to give up so I went to customer service and was told that it sadly ran out last week. Boo hiss…of course I now have to think about getting something else for my cousin. I was VERY impressed that customer service knew when the order was made (11/24) and when the last one was sold (12/11). Neat!
Here’s a gift article from The New York Times on break-up convos. It’s a fun read, esp. the OTT comments.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/15/style/best-breakup-lines.html?unlocked_article_code=1.908.6-5I.6QJ4hXx7zdHJ&smid=nytcore-ios-share
House twins!
Can you get the Panetonne from a different store?
👏
It’s a very specific brand and I have to search for it.
Santal Pao Rosa is beautiful.
Is there another Trader Joe’s within easy driving distance that you could try? Or maybe Weggie’s has panettone?
Thank you. I have to check out Wegmans although it is a very specific brand.
Gotcha!
I love Edith Piaf and when my daughter was a baby, I used to play padam, padam to make her sleep, she was mesmerized by it and right away she used to fall asleep.
Listening to that and wearing Miss Dior Cherie.
Oh that’s a good match!
Oh what a smart mom…I never would have thought of that as bed time music!
SOTD for today’s cp is Givenchy Amarige Mariage, inspired by Robin’s Wednesday 12/17 post featuring Piaf’s performance of ‘Mariage’ and the story behind it.
Givenchy’s Mariage is perfect for Piaf’s Mariage. Although it supposedly is dedicated to the perfect wedding day, it’s not a scent I think a bride would typically wear. Yes, it has floral notes of jasmine and magnolia, but the bitter orange topnote disappears quickly, the cinnamon note is strong from beginning to end, and the floral notes are overshadowed by the strong base notes of benzoin, sandalwood, and especially the patchouli note. I happen to like it very much and it’s a perfect fragrance for a cold winter day. Not a soft scent, perhaps its’ strength and darker side are also perfect for a woman who’s murdered her husband? 🤔
Despite all the rain and melting snow yesterday and the sudden 30 degree temperature drop last night (it was 10 degrees when I woke up this morning and is only 18 now) I breathed a big sigh of relief to find our deck and sidewalk remarkably ice-free and dry. Thank you to the Powers That Be! 🙏
Sending ☮️ and ❤️ and 🤞for a wonderful weekend ahead!
Oh I love your match, and it’s much better thought out than mine was!
Our ice disappeared in this morning’s rain. Sorry you have such cold though, 10 is not enough 🙂
Ça fait longtemps! Smelling fine in Rose Chérie today. 🌹
👋waving hello!
👋🏻🤗
Hiya She-ra! You smell(ed) lovely today.
Thanks, Jalapeno! 🤗
This was my other pick!
You can’t go wrong with Guerlain!
Great one!
👋🏻🤗
Hi She-ra!
👋🏻🤗
Bonjour mon amie!
Bonjour, allo! 🤗
I was going to skip frag altogether in honor of the CP, because rien.
But day of annoying meetings required Silences.
Now on vacation until Jan 7 and about to mix up a perfect Manhattan.
Enjoy your vacation!
Thank you! I need it. (Even though I was off in the lands beyond on a real vacation for 2 weeks at the end of October.)
Enjoy that Manhattan!
🥃
Prost!
Happy vacation, spiderplant!
thank you!
Happy celebrating!💐🥃 Do you have enough Bourbon or Rye for 2???
Inspired by tulipani, I am honoring Piaf by wearing Diptique Eau Capitale 🌹
Lots of wonderful rose scents in the comments today.
And Robin, I love the modern interpretations of La Vie en rose you included in the post.
Happy weekend, everyone!
Have a good weekend NinaV!
💕
Oh good! I was surprised by the Nick Cave, never heard it until this week.
I was going to wear Paris today, but Shalimar Millesime Jasmine called my name. I enjoy this perfume more every time I wear it.
We had a work potluck today. A coworker made coconut flan. This has to be one of the greatest food’s I have ever tasted. I could have eaten the whole thing.
Did you get the recipe for that coconut flan? 🤣😋
She said she will give it to me another day.
We stopped for a while with the potluck. And even then, I only ate the pizza 🍕 after it was reinstated.
The flan sounds delicious.
The Shalimar MJ has grown on me too. Surprisingly, I don’t care for the MI anymore and that was my favorite. Weird how things change.
Record breaking temperatures out here in the Centennial State today along with more wicked winds. Niwot had a gust of 102mph. One TV meteorologist said that the humidity in my area this afternoon was an arid 11 percent. Highways closed and trees blown down. More power outages in areas by the foothills.
But my area had less wind than what I experienced on Wednesday. Small mercies.
SOTD = Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb La Vie En Rose Eau de Ete Acidulee. I took the easy option with a scent that has “La Vie En Rose” in it. It’s a very pretty limited edition flanker that suits the 70 degree weather I had today.
That flanker is very pretty.
I’m glad the wind wasn’t as bad in your area. I can’t even imagine 102!
The Flowerbomb flanker reminds me of Love’s Baby Soft, but with more fruit notes and less powder. Plus a noticeable green tea note. They do have similar floral notes.
102mph is equivalent to a Category 2 hurricane.
yikes – stay in! I have a colleague who has been working from CO this week and warned us there might be power outages.
It’s a mess to the south and west of me. My area has been windy, but not dangerously so.
Some people might not have power thru the weekend.
Oy with the weather! We had our own version of the windy / rain crazies in these here parts.
La Nina winters can be nasty out here! Just not in the way you would think.
I haven’t tried that flanker. In fact, I don’t think I have even heard of it. Did it just come out?
We had high winds, but west of us, on the other side of the state, the Black Hills had 101 mph. I think we had 50-70 and that was bad enough.
I just looked and it came out 12 years ago. I don’t think I ever saw it.
For a while back in the early to mid 2010’s, Flowerbomb had some wonderful flankers. I only knew about them because I spent too much time on Nordie’s website.
🤣🤣🤣
I used to too but must have missed them. Now I have learned to look at the cheaper sites that sell perfume first.
I was a latecomer to the discount sites and paid full price for quite a few bottles of perfume. Live and learn!
My goodness, that is wind!
We are having high winds but nothing like that. Still, took a huge limb off an old tree out back, right after I finally got a tree removed that had been down since the summer. UGH.
(And as I typed that my lights just flickered again. Oof.)
NCAR in Boulder had a gust of 112 this afternoon. That’s a Cat 3 hurricane.
The wind has kicked up out here in the evening hours. I started hearing strong gusts around 8:30 or so.
Hope your lights stay on tonight!
Gosh, that is intense. Ours got no worse…lots of branches down but nothing else and power stayed on 🙂
I got nothing for the CP, and haven’t been wearing much perfume lately but I did pull out Nicolaï Sacrebleu Intense today. It gives me a stewed fruits vibe. I have a vague memory of my mom having a jar of boozy fruits in the kitchen during the holidays, to put on ice cream or some such. It was 50 degrees yesterday and it’s currently 18. Weird weather! Enjoy the weekend!
Ha, I have a jar of boozy cherries waiting in my fridge!
You have a great weekend too.