Not about perfume at all, just my online version of a Christmas card: Straight No Chaser of Indiana University sings The 12 Days of Christmas, courtesy of YouTube with thanks to Erica for the link.
The Tim Gunn of perfumery
I have paid attention to fragrances my whole life, and I smell scents every day. Part is just gut instinct. And part is ... I really don't know. But I know how much of the raw material should be in there, I know if there needs to be a more sophisticated balance. I can almost see it. If it's a spicy fragrance, I can tell if there's too much cinnamon.
— Frederic Malle on how he knows if a scent is developing on the right track, in Whiff of haute couture fragrance in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Perfume budgeting, part 3, and a “true confessions” poll
Back in May, I reported that I had not bought a single bottle of perfume so far in 2007. That didn't hold true for long, but unless I fall prey to a vicious lemming between now and the end of the year, I'll end up with a total bottle intake of 7*. Not too shabby for an addict, and about the same as I did last year. In 2005, I bought 11 bottles, and we're not even going to talk about my shameful, completely out-of-control intake in 2004 (let's just say that most of my perfume collection was purchased in 2004).
A few random factoids about this year's spending: I bought 3 of the 7 bottles at full department store prices, something I haven't done in years (and a practice I wouldn't encourage, although so far, only 1 of the 3 has appeared at the discounters). 1.5* of the 7 bottles were purchased unsniffed. And every single one of the 7 bottles was a mainstream fragrance…
Online fragrance shopping
Deal at b-glowing: get a free Crazylibellule Crazystick (your choice) with any purchase of a Crazylibellule L'Olfactives and/or Le Baton, using coupon code clp, good through 12/31.
Deal at miomia: buy any 2 Histoires de Parfums fragrances, get a 3rd fragrance at 1/2 off, plus a fragrance sachet of assorted Histoires de Parfums samples and a deluxe travel-sized Histoires fragrance. Offer good through 1/5.
New at sephora: Escada Moon Sparkle.
Perfume for squirrels
Animal researchers say California ground squirrels and rock squirrels mask their scent by chewing up rattlesnake skin and smearing it on their fur.
— From Squirrels use snake scent for safety at earthtime.org.