I’m declaring 2018 my “Year of Fun”…in all things — food, travel, clothes, music, movies, books, even perfume. I’m in the mood for smiling, and today’s two subjects, I thought, might make me laugh.
Kudos to the inspiration for Fort & Manlé Confessions of a Garden Gnome!1
One does not often consider the humble nobility of the garden gnome, and yet his stoicism in the face of the ever-changing seasons is, in its own way, quite beautiful….
Last month, I walked into my local Sephora, smelled Atelier Cologne’s latest, Iris Rebelle, and had a travel spray packaged and paid for within about 5 minutes. Must have been fantastic stuff, you say? Well, it’s decent, but I wouldn’t go so far as fantastic. If I’d had a sample at home and spent some time with it, it wouldn’t even have made my buy list — which, by the way, is a looooong list. There are an awful lot of perfumes I’d much rather own than Iris Rebelle. So why did I buy it…
Nik wants to buy the perfect fragrance to give his girlfriend for Valentine’s Day. He lives in London, so has great access to perfume stores, and he’d like to keep the cost below £100 (about $140). Here is what we know about the object of his affections…
The freebiemeet is open! PLEASE read the instructions, even if you’ve read them before! Really, pretty please, with sugar on top! There’s not even that many of them, and you will save us all so much time and confusion. This is not that hard. Plus, it’s free stuff! It’s all good, but it’s even better if you read the instructions. If you have any questions, please post them here.
For people who would like to chat in addition to, or instead of, giving and getting free stuff, there will be a poll along shortly.
If you have perfume-related items you’d like to give away (as opposed to swap for something else), and if you’re reasonably sure you can mail your items within the next month, feel free to list them below in the comments AFTER reading the instructions. If you wish to give away items using any rules other than those listed here (to request payment for postage, for example), you are more than welcome to do so any time in one of the scent of the day polls or lazy weekend polls.
If you see something in the comments that you want, and if you already have a reader account here and have commented at least once (no new accounts today, sorry), you can call dibs AFTER reading the instructions…
Winter is a great time to wear vintage fragrance. Something about the gorgeous-yet-unfashionable waft of an old perfume is perfect when the wind bites at your face and you’re swaddled in wool. In my opinion, wood fires, old movies and long nights all deepen with a vintage fragrance on your wrist.
Here are my top ten fragrances for winter, each at least 50 years old. If you’re new to vintage fragrance, you might be put off by how hard they can be to “read.” Let me warn you, though, once you get a taste for them, they can be addicting. I look forward to hearing about your favorite winter fragrances — vintage or not — in the comments. If you can think of modern takes on these fragrances, please comment! And do check out the winter lists at Bois de Jasmin, Grain de Musc and Perfume Posse…