Happy Tuesday and happy Festivus for the rest of us! Feel free to air your grievances in the comments. Birthdays: Madam C. J. Walker, Chet Baker. What fragrance are you wearing?
I'm drinking a cup of Upton Christmas Tea and wearing Hermès L'Ambre des Merveilles.
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.
Note: the Nutcracker Wonderland porcelain teapot from Grace Teaware is $45 at Gracie China.
Wearing Tofino, I am now obsessed with this brand 😂
https://www.instagram.com/chocolatemarzipan8/p/DSm9MQhjoGY/
Cm8, my daughter signed me out of IG and I can’t get back in to see any of the pics. I’m sure they are great!
Awww! No worries!!! Have a great Christmas!!!
Interesting — from my neck of the woods but I haven’t seen them before. What are some of your favourites? I might order a sample set…
I only have the three…. Stoker, Jasper and the one I am wearing today. I love them all and would definitely like to further explore the line. I love that they are all natural but also smell “ finished” if that makes sense?
That makes total sense!
Hello.
Thank you all so much for your birthday wishes. I had a great day!
Sotd is Miss Dior Essence.
This afternoon I’ll be making 2 dozen gingerbread muffins. Might not look as cute as the cookies but the taste sure makes up for it!
So glad it was a great birthday! Those muffins sound fantastic.
Happy belated birthday! Glad it was a good one.
Another belated 💐🎂
morning! Beautiful tea pot:) I’m in one spritz of Heaven Can Wait. I love this fragrance but it’s not an easy wear for me. There’s a note in it that reminds me of ashes, or cinders. It’s unique.
One more day of work till I get a four day weekend 🙂
Does it smell like any other iris perfume?
Kris if it does I’ve never experienced it. It’s unique to me. I’m not as well versed as some of the people here but it’s unique in my experience. I’m not sure I could pick out one individual note.
Thanks.
Two more days before Christmas and working both of them. Today I am wearing Cheirosa 62 lotion and the body spray. I am way too tired to care if it is a little too much. I just want to get through the next few days.
Deep breaths. You will get through this.
Very good luck to you Dawn!
Hang in there, Dawn!
Sending strength your way.
You can do this!
It’s Christmas Eve and some electrical fault has caused us to lose power to the kitchen and living room, affecting the oven, fridge, wifi and Christmas Tree lights. I think the house must have picked up on my Christmas vibes ( like: not again….didn’t we already do Christmas last year?). We’ve managed to use an extension cord to hook the fridge up to another power source, so the food is safe. Tomorrow we’re making dinner for ourselves and three international students from Denmark my son has invited for dinner. We were planning roast lamb ( as it seems more “kiwi” and less northern hemisphere traditional than turkey) but we may have to go full-on BBQ. Who knows? At least it’s summer, though it’s pretty dismal with rain and temperatures around 12C. I will go and buy sausages and chicken pieces as a PlanB and then not worry about it. It might get fixed today. Meanwhile Ambre des Merveilles sounds perfect here, too…so thanks Robin. Every year I read a “ classic” novel over summer. Does anyone have a good suggestion?
Age of Innocence or Portrait of a Lady
I love both those books.
Best of luck with getting everything back again! We lost power in a windstorm last week, and when it came back on the surge shorted out our new-ish (<1 year old) cooktop. Thank heavens no one is coming here for Christmas dinner as I'm on a portable induction cooktop for the foreseeable future, until the part comes in.
Jane Eyre
To Kill a Mockingbird
1984
Anything by Jane Austen
Just realized you are probably looking for something “new” and not a re-read. Sorry! I’m a re-reader.
I’m a re-reader. I love reading books at different times of life, to see the different affects they have on me, what seems new, what stands out.
Yes! I loved Catcher in the Rye in my 20’s, but found Holden whiny in my 50’s
Scent sisters.
I will look it up, thanks.
I am in Eau des Merveilles for your scent sister. Not a book. Sorry, I didn’t mean to confuse you.
We are doing beef as always, but lamb sounds wonderful, and frankly chicken and sausages sound great too.
I doubt there is a book I have read that you haven’t, but…
Trollope, The Way We Live Now or easier going Can You Forgive Her or even easier The Warden
Halldor Laxness Independent People
Ford Maddox Ford The Good Soldier
Great suggestions. I might go with Trollope though Laxness could also be good. I read The Good Soldier not so long ago. I was actually thinking of Hermann Hesse Glass Bead Game or Robert Musil Man without Qualities ( which is a favourite) . Trollope visited New Zealand in the 1870s and stayed here for two months, touring around. I think Trollope it is!!
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DSC18721002.2.31
An article about Trollope’s North Island trip. He was given V.I.P treatment.
https://teara.govt.nz/en/document/1915/anthony-trollopes-australia-and-new-zealand-1873
Part of Trollope’s account of NZ: he says we like getting drunk
Thank you, will read those over the holiday!
Read most of Herman Hesse in college and shortly after but for some reason have never re-read, although I still have some including Glass Bead Game, although mine is called Magister Ludi and I can’t remember why, maybe that was the US title?
Have never read Man Without Qualities.
Huh, got curious so looked at Wikipedia to see if I could find out why the 2 titles, and I did NOT read most of Hesse, I read six of the novels, none of the non fiction or poetry or novellas or short stories, and had totally forgotten how much he wrote.
War and peace.
Fantastic book!
The Day of The Jackal, Frederick Forsyth
Vanity Fair. I read it over and over and always find something new to laugh and/or squirm about. Sorry about your power situation and I hope it won’t interfere with your hospitality!
I’m wearing Jovoy La Liturgie des Heures, my favorite church incense. Sunday’s Messiah sing-along was at a Presbyterian church, so no incense, and I was nearly voiceless yesterday but can croak some today. It’s always a nice day when I sing with other people.
Christmas is nearly here and I am ready!
Yay for being ready and yay for getting your voice back!
SOTD is Eau des Merveilles.
Went out to do a few errands and it was crazy out. I think I am done for the day so may curl up with a book.
Isn’t it just nuts out there?! I think this is the busiest I have seen Christmas shopping in quite awhile.
I have to admit though that everywhere I went people were very friendly. I was just doing a few errands and not Christmas shopping.
I was pleasantly surprised by traffic in my area today. But I think if I had gone to more populated places I would have been a little grouchy.
The big rain is hitting us here in Los Angeles.
My bathrobe smelled so delicious from La Fille de Berlin I went with it again for the day.
Off to post office with some eBay sales and then perhaps a good book as Kris is doing, cozy on the couch.
Stay dry, and hope the post office was not a nightmare!
SOTD = Imaginary Authors The Abandoned Mansion
Cool – one of my favorites this year! Also, SOTDY = Yves Rocher Vanilla (bottle just found and definitely not used) and SOTDBY = Fzotic Ummagumma Exxxtra.
No winnings yet on Powerball (other than a $4 showing) and now I will need to slog in to get my ticket 🎟️.
In other news, here’s a gift article from The New York Times on how seniors end up foregoing continued GLP-1 medication. I may have mentioned my BIL takes Mounjaro and it did not work well for him; however, he has been back on it at once every two weeks but it is still not working right for him. If I were him (but I’m not), I would be more mindful of what and how much I eat, NOT rely on whatever injection he takes before every meal …
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/21/health/older-people-glp1-weight.html?unlocked_article_code=1.-U8.S769.MklFMdFeoI4G&smid=nytcore-ios-share
How’s the Ummagumma Extra? I have a travel size waiting on me at my sister’s, so I’ll get it Christmas Day. Merry Christmas to me. 😀
Ha, and here I was thinking that Ummagumma already was Extra,
E-XXX-TRA!
It is absolutely wonderful! You will need to wait a little bit (1-2 hours) before the fabulous, long-lasting dry-down.
I’m with AnnieA on the OG Ummagumma! That one was Godzilla-strength on me.
Ha! You may find EXXXTRA a little extra on the dry down.
I’m in PdN Bourbon Macaron from my Paris trip last December, for planning a Paris trip in the spring. (Mr. Ockeghem has a conference during Ockeghem Teen’s spring break, so why not tag along?) I’m also supposed to be working but right now it’s more just about monitoring things than working on major projects. I’ll need to bear down soon, though.
Hey, why not tag along is right!
I am sampling Imaginary Authors A Little Secret and really enjoying it. Some IA perfumes last forever and others are more fleeting, this one is on the fleeting side. I ordered a travel spray.
I recently ordered A Little Secret as a sample from IA. Plus a couple others. It’s an option for Friday.
Le Lion today! 🦁 My fragrance theme of late has been Shalimar and Shalimar-adjacent. 😆 I say that tongue in cheek b/c people seem to be overusing adjacent nowadays and it appears I am not wrong.
https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=adjacent&hl=en
Yesterday I wore L’Essence which to my nose is a beautiful mash-up of Shalimar MT and Cuir Beluga. I sniffed the current version of Cuir Beluga a few weeks back and it’s weak sauce. Low projection and fleeting to boot.
Ha! It’s a good thing I have a BUB of the oldish (not vintage) Cuir Beluga from around the time that they inexplicably switched to the bulb atomizer and then switched back.
You smell great. Hope you have a happy Christmas. How is your sister doing these days? Strong and healthy, I hope.
I agree about “adjacent” I will add the word “narrative” to the list of overused word’s that irritate the crap out of me.
And don’t get me started on “curate!”
Curate is annoying.
Agree…especially dislike the phrase curated content ehaeheh 😆
ehaeheaeh love this…narrative bothers me too 😆
LOL at “weak sauce”! I haven’t heard that in a stone’s age.
When “chemical” is used as a derogatory epithet, it annoys the bejeezus out of me. Everything is chemical!
Another word I am sick of hearing is “problematic”
Wearing Boy today and lazily tidying up the house as I await my family’s arrival for the holidays. They pushed up their drive to try to avoid the crux of the rainfall, but they might end up encountering lots of traffic.
Hope they get there in the end.
You smell wonderful while tidying and waiting😊
Lazily tidying up?? That phrase was most definitely NOT in my Mom’s vocabulary! She would go all out every time.
I was MIA last week, still catching up on comments. The main reason was the delivery of a quite big cabinet which forced me to rearrange furniture in the guest bedroom, still a few odds and ends to take care of like a mirror needing to change location.
Had two delicious pears from Portugal and now finishing a red berries and yogurt smoothie which proved too much to drink yesterday evening. O L. Legrand Royal Oeillet this morning, a favorite carnation, and tonight the last (I think) purchase from last quarter Rose Chérie (200ml £137) which is just delightful and happy.
Glad you are back posting Aurora. Is your Brother there for Christmas?
Also.. is the big cabinet for perfume?
For linen but a few bottles may end up on the bottom shelf😉. The delivery man was a real sweetheart and so careful of the two glass doors, he got a good Xmas tip.
Thank you Lillyjo, yes, and I had to have the room ready for his arrival hence the big project.
Glad to have you back here posting. I wondered what was up.
Thank you Jalapeno, I missed the daily interaction, hope Teflon is not acting too fussy about her allergy meds.
Still haven’t been able to administer those. I am slowly trying to desensitize her to the process.
Teflon does NOT handle oral medication well at all. But the other option would have been shots. And I am afraid of needles.
Nice to get your fruit and smoothie report again!
And love your scent today, you got such a fabulous deal on it as always!
So kind of you not to be bored to tears by the smoothie and fruit updates! Having shopped for fifteen years on ebayuk I have a network of trusted sellers, well established, so it’s pretty much worry-free but you have to be patient and check their listings often😀
Today’s surprise gift from Mother Nature surprised even the weather people! It was forecast to be in the mid-40’s with fog in the morning and then mostly cloudy all day; instead temps reached 54 with bright 🌞 most of the day. What a treat! Despite having lots to do, I couldn’t let this opportunity pass without a soak in the hot tub, haven’t been in weeks. It felt fantastic!
Made my Mushroom Barley Soup and Hot Apple Cider Punch for Christmas Eve dinner and presents are all wrapped. I’m as ready as I can be; still, my favorite part of Christmas is the day after!😅
SOTD is PB Jolie Madame. Haven’t worn this one in awhile and one spritz was sufficient to smell good w/o interfering with cooking smells.
☮️❤️🤞to all!
Your soup sounds delicious!
It’s made with dried mushrooms added to the fresh mushrooms to give added depth of flavor. Always better after it sits a day.
Mmm, barley and mushrooms! I’ve made a soup like that before and should try it again soon. 😋
Yes, definitely yum! 😋
Whereas we got totally unannounced snow and sleet! Now I feel cheated 🙂
You weren’t cheated at all, Robin. We graciously gifted you with our excess that we didn’t need so we thought we’d share it with you!😉
Ha! Thanks.
Your holiday meals always sound so delicious!
Wore Au Delà Narcisse at bedtime last night and loved it so much that I wanted to repeat today … but I had an early dentist appointment and had to go with something lighter. Chose Myrrhe Églantine which, ironically, is still going now, 7 hours later. Rose isn’t usually my thing, but this one works beautifully. 🥀
I can see why you’d want to repeat Au Dela Narcisse!
How was the dentist appointment?
Best I’ve had in a while! It was just a cleaning, but they gave me far less nagging than usually occurs. 🙂
Yeehaw!!
I had an afternoon of running errands. I found out where I need to take my car for its emission testing (soon!), plus went grocery shopping. The second task required 2 different stores to get everything on my list, which is pretty much how it usually is. Laila, I did get my fresh cranberries! And traffic wasn’t bad at all.
Tomorrow might be a day of cooking and food prep. AFAIK, my brother and I are doing Xmas dinner on December 26, since he works until the early morning hours on Xmas Day. He’s typically wiped out on his first day off.
SOTD = still hanging out in Flowerbomb La Vie En Rose etc, etc, etc. I have 2 different colored bottles of it, from 2 different years. Today is the bottle in the fuchsia-colored box with black ribbon.
Do they smell the same?
Near as I can tell, they do now. I think when I got them, there were slight differences. The first FB La Vie En Rose is from 2009, while the second one is from 2011.
I don’t have any testing notes for them in my Word document. Strange. But I can tell they are definitely children of the original Flowerbomb which had a noticeable green tea note and a light-bodied bouquet of floral notes. Less gourmand than the current version.
It’s so lovely that you and your brother are so close. I have two remaining brothers (one passed away young), no sisters, and my brothers and I all seem to have too many issues with one another to be truly close.
Thanks SheriG. Not going to lie, we did have a period of estrangement in the 2000’s. We weren’t talking much due to various types of crap we were each dealing with. Things eventually got better.
A boxing day Xmas is a great way to extend the holidays, Brits always have these two days off.
Boxing Day is very much a British/Canadian thing. The only way people have it off here is to use vacation time. Or they are not scheduled to work that day.
Have fun! I am going to my sister’s for dinner on Christmas Day (need to pick up the food) and on the 26th, an “open house” at my aunt’s place (need to pick up shortbread cookies and a pound cake).
Thank you! Sounds like you have a wonderful time planned with your relatives.
Did you already comment on Flowerbomb Ruby Orchid? Did I already say how much I’ve been enjoying it?
I think lillyjo has previously commented on Flowerbomb Ruby Orchid. I have a mini of it that I haven’t spent time with yet.
Glad that you are enjoying it!
I will be going to the grocery store at 6:30 tomorrow morning before work. We aren’t having a big dinner, but I need regular groceries to get through the Holiday.
My sotd was Prada Candy Night. Tonight I am wearing BBW Frosted coconut snowball.
You are pretty faithful to Candy Night, I bet it’s pretty.
Hope your customers are all in a Holly Jolly mood for tomorrow, lillyjo!
It’s terrible when life gets in the way. Happy food shopping – I don’t think I’ve ever been up that early for food shopping!
Good luck with your grocery run!
I saw Valentine’s Day stuff at Safeway this afternoon. 🤬
ARGH! That was supposed to be for lillyjo!
Creed Vetiver and a cup of Spearmint tea
I love mint teas 🙂
Posting late. Today I wore another 2025 release I enjoyed – Dr. Vranjes Firenze Meriggiare. Linden blossom, orange blossom, honey – while it’s not the same quality as D’Orsay Tilleul, it’s in the same vein. Unfortunately, the linden note fades quickly, but it’s still a very pleasant scent, reminiscent of walking through a spring meadow.
It sounds delicious! I do miss the D’Orsay.
It’s nice, but it also kind of smells like a shampoo, shower gel or body lotion. Still enjoyable!
How do you (and Robin or others) compare the original D’Orsay Tilleul to the re-issue/formulation?
I did not even know there is a reformulation! Thank you for letting me know. I miss Tilleul.
It was done by Olivia Giacobetti when D’Orsay updated/sold? their brand and called Vouloir être ailleurs. C.G
Have you tried Astier de Villatte’s Grand Chalet? It’s also a beautiful Tilleul fragrance.
I think I finally did smell the new one but had none of the old to compare, and sadly I don’t remember what I thought now anyway.
I do think I like Grand Chalet a bit more.
SotD EL Cinnabar. I was reminded and inspired to wear it by a spot-on review today by Portia on Undina’s blog. I have some vintage versions but the one in the 1st generation House of Lauder bottle is excellent and I spritzed amply in spite of Portia’s warnings😸 “xx”
Nice!
Double nice!!