It’s Tuesday and Leo Tolstoy’s birthday. What fragrance are you wearing?
For Pantone Lemon Grass (“Lemon Grass is a lemon infused green with a slightly sweet, floral note”), I’m in Carthusia Mediterraneo, and I went all matchy matchy with my tea: Mariage Frères Thé Vert Au Tibet.
Reminder: on 9/12, wear a fragrance that evokes one of Pantone’s picks for the Autumn/Winter 2025/2026 NYFW Color Palette…
The tenth edition of a poll about transitional fragrances: what are your favorite fragrances as summer turns to fall this year? What scent makes you happy as the nights get chilly and the days take on that crisp edge? And tell us what perfume you wish you owned for chilly weather.
(Or, if you’re like me, tell us what fragrances will allow you to hang on to that summer feeling just a little bit longer. And of course, if winter is turning to spring where you are, adjust the questions accordingly.)
Or, as always, talk about something else…
Happy Friday and happy International Day of Charity! It’s also Freddie Mercury’s birthday (he was born in 1946, and would be 79 if he were still alive today). Our community project: scent a Queen song, or honor Freddie Mercury 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. And a bonus question: suggest an artist, group or theme for a music community project. For reference, I will post a list of what we’ve done so far in the comments. And remember, you’re ALWAYS welcome to suggest a community project on any theme, and you’re ALWAYS welcome to ignore community projects …nobody cares, and you don’t ever have to apologize or explain if you don’t join in. They’re just for fun.
My inspiration today: Somebody to Love, the Aretha-Franklin-inspired, gospel-tinged 1976 song from the album A Day at the Races. It’s easily my favorite Queen song (of those I know, which admittedly is a fraction of the band’s output). The lyrics are introspective bordering on morose, but the music is soaring, and it always makes me happy when I hear it. I’m in Aftelier Candide…
Happy Almost-Friday, and happy National Wildlife Day. Birthdays: Mary Renault, Richard Wright, Beyoncé. Update: RIP Giorgio Armani. What fragrance are you wearing?
Freddie Mercury reportedly fell in love with Japan on Queen’s first tour there, in 1975, and became a lifelong collector of Japanese woodblocks, ceramics and other items. In honor of his kimono collection, which included at least 50 kimonos (only a few of which he wore on stage), I’m in Diptyque Oyedo.
Reminder: 9/5 is Freddie Mercury’s birthday…
It’s Hump Day. RIP Graham Greene. What fragrance are you wearing?
There have been stretches of my life where hearing just the opening of Bohemian Rhapsody (written by Freddie Mercury and released on A Night at the Opera, 1975) made me leave the room, and also stretches where I’d play it loud, usually in my car, not quite at Wayne’s World levels of participation, but still. Anyway, WBUR says it is “probably one of the most recognizable recordings ever made”* and that has to be true. We’re having lovely weather here today, but even with a high of 77 I am not willing to put on the sort of over-the-top fragrance that would properly honor the song. So instead I’m in a dab of vintage Old Spice, because it reminds me of the 70s, and the irony of a carnation fragrance becoming the quintessential aftershave of the era — how did I never notice this as the time? — makes it an extra good fit with Mercury.
Reminder: 9/5 is Freddie Mercury’s birthday…