Happy Almost-Friday! It’s also the International Day for Tolerance. Birthdays: WC Handy, Chinua Achebe, Diana Krall, Lisa Bonet. What fragrance are you wearing?

I am grateful that people on the MakeupAlley fragrance board were still talking about Fendi Theorema in the early 2000s; I never would have heard of it otherwise. By the time I bought my first bottle (around 2004?) it had already been discontinued (why?) but bottles were still easy to come by — I picked mine up at a local mall kiosk at a discount price. It’s still my go-to holiday scent.

Reminder: 11/17 will be Gratitude Friday…

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It’s Wednesday, plus National Bundt Cake Day, Steve Irwin Day and Georgia O’Keeffe’s birthday. What fragrance are you wearing?

Diptyque makes so many of my favorites from my early days as a perfumista, and key point, they still make them. Philosykos, Tam Dao, Oyédo, L’Ombre dans L’Eau…I am so grateful none of them have been discontinued. I like some of their newer — but still old in perfume terms —  efforts, like Eau des Sens and Volutes, but they wouldn’t break my heart if they disappeared. So today I’m in Philosykos, even though I wear it so much at night (or sometimes, just smell it on paper) that it always feels a little odd to be wearing it first thing in the morning.

Reminder: 11/17 will be Gratitude Friday…

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It’s Tuesday plus National Pickle Day, World Diabetes Day and Claude Monet’s birthday. What fragrance are you wearing?

I am grateful that old bottles of Diorissimo (possibly the fragrance I’d grab first if I had to escape quickly) have such a fantastic shelf life, and I’m grateful for the really kind readers who have sent me old houndstooth bottles they’ve come across…I have enough now for life. I’m also grateful for my delicious cup of organic cacao nibs + The Art of Tea Tali’s Masala Chai + Upton Keemun Mao Feng Organic with a splash of cream.

Reminder: 11/17 will be Gratitude Friday…

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It’s Monday and World Kindness Day. What fragrance are you wearing?

I am grateful for Prada Infusion d’Iris Absolue. 10+ years later, it seems a miracle it was made by a designer brand (it’s better than many niche iris fragrances) and sold at such a reasonable price (adjusted for inflation, the bottle would be $157 for 100 ml today). It’s also one of those fragrances that has deepened, rather than spoiled, with age.

Reminder: 11/17 will be Gratitude Friday…

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