Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who is celebrating today.
Whether you’re celebrating or not, feel free to talk about anything you like: what fragrance you're wearing today, what you're going to eat for dinner, what you're planning to buy on Black Friday...whatever you like, so long as it doesn't conflict with our comment policy.
I am with family and will be answering very few comments though!
Note: image is Wild blue turkey head [cropped] by tibchris at flickr; some rights reserved.
SOTD: Attar Bazaar Sumatran Vetivert, pure autumn smoke. Dinner: Mole de guajolote (roast turkey with mole sauce), fajitas, cornbread, & pumpkin-caramel flan. Happy Thanksgiving, everybody. <3
Oh, I want your dinner *and* your scent, they both sound perfect!
Both turned out well and complemented each other! Hope your holiday was a happy & peaceful one. 🙂
Delicious! I’d love to be sitting down to that Thanksgiving dinner.
Thanks – this entire thread is like a banquet table!
Olenska! That sounds so good! Are you sure your not latina?
Mmmmmm! Salsa verde ? Make it HOT. 😉 😀
Happy Thanksgiving my artist!
Thank you, dear Miss Tamara! I made it superhot– poblanos, chipotles, jalapenos, oh my! You could probably see the flames from your house! 🙂 Hope your holiday was wondrous…. 🙂
Another hand up to come sit at your table!
*sets another place at the table*
Pumpkin caramel flan you say? Sounds amazing and right up my alley.
Turned out great, and easier than I thought it would be. So easy it could become a weekly habit…. “flan night” or somesuch. 🙂
that is one ugly turkey!!
But colourful!
Too ugly to eat, if he’s lucky.
Actually, I’m beginning to view it rather fondly – too CUTE (in an endearingly quirky/odd kind of way) to eat.
My imagination sees a stuffy old man, looking down at me. Actually gives me the creeps….
Well, he’s wild… I’ve eaten wild turkey and didn’t enjoy it much. I’ll take domesticated, thanks!
Saw a wild tom turkey in the field near our house this past summer, and he was extremely colorful.
No Thanksgiving for me here in Germany so dinner will be very simple: bread and cheese. SOTD is Ormonde Jayne Woman which I tried for the first time some days ago. It touches something inside of me, however I’m not even sure I like it. Weird.
I want to like OJ Woman, I really do. I love the idea of this witchy black hemlock scent, but on skin, it makes me sad and irritable. I keep on trying it every six months or so to see if I’ve changed my mind, but no luck so far.
Is it bitter on you, Kristina? It goes all disturbingly boxwood-bitter on me. Stupid skin.
Interesting, Chanterais! No, actually it doesn’t turn bitter at all on me but I get this very strange oily scent from it. I feel exactly like you: I so want to love it given the story behind it. I find it shares some similarities with SL Fille en Aiguilles (okay, that one is definitely more potent) minus the smoke but with a nicer drydown.
The reactions to OJ Woman are always so interesting! When I first heard about the black hemlock a couple of years ago, I instantly ordered a sample, and was horrified. I put it away, and six months later, sniffed it again and was enchanted. Go figure.
I’ve been wearing it this week after a long hiatus. I find it so calming, and I like wearing it in places and situations where I know I’ll wish I was alone in the forest rather than being wherever I actually am.
Lemming gland – Activate! Witchy and black….a trip to the OJ shop is now definitely in order !
It’s definitely witchy. 🙂 I’ve referred to it as “casting spells in the forest at midnight” witchy.
How cool is that! I’ll have to remember that net time I wear it. Spooky
To me it’s just “walking through the forest in autumn “. In fact, last weekend I wore it to walk through a forest, and it was perfect.
50Roses, yes! It is perfect for just that.
OJ Woman is a wonderful elixir of magic and whimsy with it’s dark violets and rich amber, I love it too.
OJ Woman was my SOTD today too! It was a nice little oasis amidst the chaos of turkey day. 🙂
Happy Thanksgiving to All. I am very thankful for meeting up with all of you on this blog this past year! Thank you.
And for all of you who are not celebrating this American holiday today, I wish you a lovely and reflective peaceful day just because!
SOTD: EL’s PC Amber Y-Y.
we do not celebrate Thanksgiving, but would le to wish all od you Happy Thanksgiving, and ditto Fuddy Duddy, I thank God every day for finding this blog and ALL OF YOU : D
sodt: Patchouli Patch
I know how you feel ami, I’m thankful for all of you perfume fanatics too. Be well sweety! Cheers!
love,el amber ylang ylang!!
I wish everyone of you who celebrate the happiest of Thanksgiving’s. We celebrate our a little earlier in the year but it is always nice to share a little vicariously.
I don’t kow what I want to wear for the SOTD. I am actually waiting for the postperson so I can see if I have a sample pack to try out or not. If not, I think I will try my Sexy Turtleneck sample again.
So Happy (insert applicable) Day to evreyone!
Hope something good comes in the mail then!
I have a sample of that Sexy Turtleneck too, but haven’t been inspired to put it on skin yet. It’s a little freaky. (Butter and musk? I’m skeptical.)
My teenage daughter says the name is an oxymoron.
Guessing she doesn’t go for the intellectual sort, then… 😉
She’s picky. I don’t think there ARE many intellectuals at her high school… but the ones she knows wear tee-shirts.
She’s planning to go to the magnet school for math and science next year, though, and I’m sure there will be boys there more to her taste. Wink wink.
I’m not getting much butter (maybe just missing it) but I am getting some incense. But that, of course, could be the fault of my honker! Not bad, a little heady though. It will have its’ uses.
I think women can look sexy in a turtleneck! Not sure about men, though I’ve seen them look sexy in cardigans.
I’ve just finished Tilar Mazzeo’s newly-published book, The Secret of Chanel No. 5. Has anyone else taken a gander at it? I have issues, and need a little talk therapy to get through ’em. Will you let me bleat for a moment?
It was such a disappointment. I was hoping for something really wonderful, but Mazzeo spends 95% of her time recounting the history of Coco Chanel, and barely mentions Ernest Beaux at all. When she does, it’s with the frankly disinterested air of someone who really doesn’t care very much about the funny little people who sit in labs and mix smelly stuff. I found myself getting hopping mad at the obsessive attention paid to Chanel’s supposed expertise in perfumery, when we all know that just isn’t so. Chanel may have had an unerring ability to give excellent direction, but I can’t believe the fairytale narrative that she alone “created” No. 5 is still getting such play. I mean, I love a good story as much as the next girl, but I was really hoping this one would have something compellingly new to say. Instead, we end up with the same old exasperatingly vague PR bumf (with a ladelful of Chanel’s virulent anti-semitism to round things out.) And surely I can’t be the only one who thinks that breathless prose devoted to how sexy No. 5 is is amusingly off-point? No. 5 is beautiful and elegant and dazzling, but sexy? Nah. It’s the scent of a woman with more important things on her mind.
Now, which one of you is going to write that crackerjack biography of Beaux, eh? IF YOU WRITE IT, I WILL COME.
OH GOD. Apologies for the eye-bleeding block of text. This is the voice of resigned experience speaking: carriage returns are your friend.
Thanks for taking one for the team, Chanterais. I was going to buy this, but I’m glad now that I didn’t. Sounds VERY disappointing. Hmm… I have a lot of downtime at work, maybe I’ll get crackin’ on the Ernest Beaux bio. 😉
That does sound disappointing, but I can imagine reasons for it, even if I don’t like them. First, everyone has heard of Mlle. Chanel, but who, aside from us crazy perfumistas, has heard of Ernest Beaux? If you are wanting to sell books, why bother writing at length about someone no one has heard of? Give the space to the famous person, the one people will want to read about . Second, it is possible that the author simply didn’t do very good research, came upon the myth, and believed it to be the truth. Sloppily researched biographies are abundant.
If I were to write such a biography, I would of course devote ample space to the obscure, funny little perfumer toiling away in the lab with all the vials of smelly stuff. There is something I have always been curious about–supposedly Beaux presented Chanel with a range of numbered bottles to choose from, and the one she chose became no. 5. I wonder what all the rest of them were like? Did any of them later go on to become no. 22, Bois des Iles, Cuir de Russie, etc., or did they simply fade into oblivion?
Oh, good to know, thanks! I think Cheryl is going to review it but not until January.
I’m reading this now and she’s just starting to talk about Breaux now.
Oops! That’s Beaux!
I was disappointed too–and the breathless “it’s so sexy” note did become very tiresome. And while I know you’re not looking for a Chanel bio, there is a much better one on the market–Justine Picardie’s Coco Chanel is much more interesting, more honest about Chanel’s real involvement with the perfume and much better written.
Hm. I’ve requested this at the library, but I assumed it would be a Beauxfest, as he’s the real protagonist of the No. 5 story. I’ll still give it a shot, but I’m glad to have read your assessment on it so that I can steel myself against any letdowns.
Happy Thanksgiving, Robin, and don’t worry–we can entertain ourselves.
I am not sure what I will be eating for dinner tonight. The last few years we have been going to restaurants and ordering whatever we want, so I have not actually eaten a traditional American Thanksgiving dinner in about 5 years. I also promised myself many years ago that I would never again go near a mall, department store, or discount store on Black Friday. Besides, I have my Christmas shopping about 75% done already, so I don’t have to stress over it.
Good for you, getting ahead on the shopping! I used to do that, before I started spending my Novembers madly typing away whenever I get a spare minute (NaNoWriMo). I still don’t do Black Friday. Ugh. Crowds. Lines. Greed.
Besides, The CEO told me the other day he and the kids had agreed to do a “low-key Christmas” this year. I still don’t know what he means… last year I spent the most I’ve ever spent on my kids’ Christmas presents, and it was < $100 each. Nice but not necessary. Half their loot was school clothes anyway. Off to have a serious sit-down with the hubs and pin him down on what exactly "low-key" means to him…
Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it, and Happy Random Day of the Year to those who don’t! 🙂 We’ll be having a lovely gluten-free meal at my parents house. Not that I’m glad my mom has celiac disease, but it keeps me from ever having to cook a holiday meal. That, and the rest of my family are not cat people, and our horde terrifies them. So no one ever comes here.
Unrelated: has anyone tried Bond No. 9 Washington Square? I was all prepared to dismiss it, but I kind of like it. It seems to be a Gris Clair for the Masses. I don’t think I’d ever buy it for myself, but I could actually see buying it for someone else as a gift.
My cats serve as mother-in-law repellent. We only have three, but MIL hates cats. My in-laws have actually only been in my home one time, and that was right before our wedding twenty years ago.
My in-laws have never been in my home, but that’s because *I’m* there.
Really Miss K? Hmmm well vneuvneugneuvnerugnunv to that!
You sweet dear, no disrespect but screw em’! 😉
And I love kitties too<3 Happy T day Angi<3
Hadn’t tried it, but now you’ve made me interested in doing so.
I just sprayed on Tauer’s Incense Rose. It’ getting cold in Los Angeles ( in the morning and evenings), and I took this one out for a spin yesterday to see how she does. For me, this one works very well in cool weather – I think I might actually prefer it in cool weather. No Turkey day for me – but I’m looking forward to a nice quiet day and the delightful smells coming from my neighborhood! Happy T Day to the US folks…
We Canadians had our Thanksgiving a month ago, so we’re well over that, but I hope all you Americans have a good one.
As for what’s to be worn, it suddenly turned very cold a few days ago, so of course all my warmest winter things are in rotation. Right now I’m enjoying Thierry Mugler A* Men Pure Coffee and its sweetly caffeinated goodness.
I suppose everyone got the latest mailing from Luckyscent? They have the Etat Libre d’Orange coffret that I almost bought in Paris last May, sixteen 10-mL bottles of what I assume are their biggest sellers. I am DESPERATELY tempted to order it and fighting the urge very hard, because I already have tried (or own samples of) at least half of them, and the only one I really ought to own is Je Suis Un Homme, but seriously, just look at it!
I did look at it, and it seems to be a good deal. Sixteen 10-ml mini bottles in a coffret for $150. That works out to less than $1 per ml, or about half the normal price per ml for full bottles. I actually have no interest in this line, but if I did, I would order it. If only Chanel or Guerlain would do something like this!
I couldn’t pass it up! I have wanted to explore this line more thoroughly, and know I can trade away anything that really doesn’t work for me, or keep them for reference. A few I already know I love.
Did you already buy it?
Yes – it ships at the end of the month.
Tama you didn’t!
Aha it’s so funny cause when we talk about what we want then it’s just automatic that we buy it! Enjoy my dear! 🙂
Jealous!
If you don’t end up liking Like This, I would totally take that off your hands… : D (I wish they sold their fragrances individually in a 10ml size, I would be ALL over that.)
Like This is unfortunately not in the set, nor is Tom of Finland or Fat Electrician. None of the newest ones are there: it seems to be all the scents they released in 2006 and 2007 only, with the exception of the seasonal Noel au Balcon.
Still….
I’ll miss Fat Electrician.
Bah! Nevertheless, I hope Tama finds a few new favorites in the set.
Not Etat Libre, but the Penhaligons ladies bath & body gift set caught my eyes, even though I’ve already got scented bath gels and lotions to last 2 lifetimes. Ounce for ounce, you’re getting a 2-for-1 deal if you like the mix. I love Bluebells and was interesting in trying Malabah. Ellenisia sounds pretty and harmless, so it will be like a GWP. Ordered it right way (slaps hands for lack of control)….
Malabah is quite nice, one of my favourites of the Penhaligons line (after Lavandula and Endymion), but it is VERY soft and gauzy, very little presence for an oriental, so you should definitely try it before you invest in a bottle.
Very low risk unsniffed purchase. It’s a set of the 3 scents in 100 ml bottles of bath & shower gel and lotion. Already know I love one. A good deal for $60 and free shipping.
Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Americans living abroad! And also to all of you still on home turf- have some turkey, creamed onions and Cran-Jelly for me…
“Cran-Jelly” made me laugh. It IS an odd food product. In my family, there is much feuding between the “jelly” and “relish” factions. (I belong to the latter– I like my cranberries raw and recognizable as berries…. and with orange zest and honey, mmmmm.)
Happy Thanksgiving to U.S.ers! Does anyone have thoughts on Ava-Luxe Sweet Absinthe? Or DSH Ma Folie de Noel? (I’m in a licorice/anise phase at the moment.)
What to wear today that won’t interfere with anyone’s food enjoyment? I always wear fragrance lightly, but thinking maybe a dab of DSH Gingembre.
Actually, maybe I’ll wear my new sample of Hermes Brin de Reglisse…
I started reading your post and I thought, “Brin!” I’m still in love with it though now that I’m more than half-way through my bottle I’ve been preserving it. It’s just so pretty.
Along those lines, does anyone have any Ava Luxes to recommend? There’s a sale this week, and I’m not sure I will be able to control myself, but I’ve never tried a single one.
I want the answer to that one too!
Ava Luxes I recommend:
No. 23, of course; no one should be without.
Roses is a wonderful rose, a mix of all kinds of roses (Turkish roses and tea roses and tuberoses and ROSES. I love all the different rose notes blending together – on a good day, it’s like a bouquet of different but related flowers. Remarkable.
I really like Ambra Tibet – a warm spicy amber that’s a great comfort scent, somehow soothing, with echoes (but only echoes) of gentle hippies in the background.
Moroccan Mint Tea – half my wedding perfume (layered with Calyx, wonderfully spring/early summery) – nothing else quite like it, really like Moroccan mint tea (sekanjibim).
Hope that helps! I really love Ava Luxes, pick them up whenever I can. I’m trying to decide what to buy at the sale too! (I’m thinking Cafe Noir, and Sunday Girl…)
“gentle hippies in the background”! love it!
Oh, oh, I’ve been wanting to try the Ava Luxe line too. When’s the sale? It doesn’t seem to be on yet.
Sweet Absinthe is terrific! Definitely try it out.
I absolutely love Sweet Absinthe. On my skin I get a lot of licorice and vanilla, and that’s simply fine with me.
That sounds great!
A friend of mine posted on facebook that he was going to celebrate Thanksgiving the old-fashioned way – invite all his neighbors over, have a big feast, then kill them and take their land. Ack. So, although we have all grown up with revisionist history, I hope those who celebrate have a grand day of family, warmth, food, and that one big dramatic fight that always seems to happen when you get enough family, wine and over-crowded kitchens together. My Thanksgiving is fairly small but we cook tons of food and have a lot of fun.
I still haven’t decided on my scent. Last night I thought maybe a bit of Theorema… or Balkis… or the lighter l’Olfactive 129…. or my fave spice scent Aurora. or or or
Your friend and I would get along. 🙂
What I celebrate today is not about history, but about taking a day to spend with family and friends to give thanks for many blessings. And that’s a good thing.
Yep! Me too. But I also think we can be thankful every day. This is just a good day to eat stuff you only get once a year! lol And hang out with people you love.
Ditto! One of my Great-Great Grandfathers was Cherokee and one of my Great- Grandmothers was Mingo. Both sides of my family have always celebrated Thanksgiving, and it was my Mingo g-grandmother’s favorite holiday.
She took great joy in life and had a deep reverence for all life; daddy says I am just like her; I won’t even kill bugs! I don’t have many memories of her, but I can clearly recall a day spent walking all over the mountain collecting bluebird feathers and other bits of nature. She would stop and sniff everything, too! I like to think I get my love of fragrance from her.
Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate it, and may everyone else have a lovely, fragrant day!
What a great story! Thank you for telling it.
Tama my husband is Native American (Quechan) and he always cracks jokes to the me and girls about the whiteys stealin’ our land and celebrating today.
All in fun! 😉 It isn’t funny but a sense of humor is key and sarcasm is our second language. Is it too early to start drinking my Framboise? teehee;) 😛
My father is part Osage, and he annually reminds us of the “hidden” history of Thanksgiving (usually while waving around a gigantic turkey drumstick). We have incorporated Native tribal dishes like frybread, corn pudding, etc. into the day to keep the Pilgrim/Indian ratio 50-50. 🙂
Good for your dad!
Mmmm now I want some frybread. Wish the spousal unit hadn’t emptied the mix into a plain glass jar… I have no idea how to make it. Grumble.
Don’t know what is in your specific mix but………. http://www.manataka.org/page180.html might be of help.
Or, you can always try the visual http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNn0Hjv-jEU (she’s a sweety!)
Ours is flour, baking powder and a little salt, with shortening rubbed in and hot water to bind it into a dough; shaped into flat rounds about as wide across as your hand and cooked in hot lard or oil in a heavy cast-iron pan. SOOO good.
It’s warm here in South Louisiana, but a cold front is supposed to come through today-Yipee!
Menu: Turkey baked with fresh rosemary and garlic under the skin with salt and pepper, crawfish cornbread dressing, praline sweet potatoes, and balsamic basil green beans. I don’t know what is for dessert.
They have these chocolate covered pecans here that are to die for-if you ever get to try them do so! You won’t regret it!
Perfume is the lightest I brought with me-Bois d’Iris due to the heat. Once it’s cooler it’ll be SDV.
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!
Hi Dixie, lovely scent for lovely weather.
I wish I was somewhere warm like that!
Can I come eat Thanksgiving dinner at your house? I love Louisiana cooking.
There are plenty of left overs-for days!
Second the recommendation for the chocolate-covered pecans! Also, the pralines in Louisiana are lovely. Enjoy your meL Dixie, it sounds gorgeous!
Happy Thanksgiving, ladies and gents! I hope everyone, whether celebrating or not, is having a wonderful day.
I am up much earlier than I would be on a day off… to make my FIRST TURKEY EVER! Its in the oven now, all lathered up with butter in an oven bag. I hope that it comes out edible. I’d rather not food poison my boyfriend and I. I keep hovering over the meat thermometer as if that will help it come out better, haha.
My only fragrance so far today is TM Angel hand cream. I must have washed my hands 20 times while handling the turkey, they are super dry now. I’ll probably wear the last of my Etat Libre Like This sample to my friend’s house later. I’m still angsting over whether to buy a bottle of this, but seeing as I accidentally overdrafted my checking account my Thanksgiving day supplies, I’m feeling pretty bad about spending right now.
Don’t fret too much–a turkey is actually one of the easiest things in the world to cook, it just takes more time than most. Just think of it as an overgrown chicken. It is really all the other stuff most people make (dressing, pies, vegetable, potatoes) that requires most of the effort. To check for doneness, cut in between the thigh and the body of the turkey. If the juices are clear (not pink or red), the turkey is done. You’ll know as soon as you start to carve it if it is still underdone.
Ah, but how do you catch the bird before it gets too dry?
Figure the approximate time it should take to cook (from the directions on the label or from a cookbook or the internet or whatever) for the size of the bird and the temperature you are using, and start checking it about an hour before that time is up. The good thing about turkeys is that because the cooking time is so long, the amount of “wiggle room” you have is large as well.
When my bird’s too dry I just serve more wine and have some gravy ready. 🙂
More wine!
I’ve never cooked a chicken either, haha. Meat in general is a cooking mystery to me, I often don’t want to shell out for it at the butcher, and just let restaurants cook it for me. I did buy a fancy digital thermometer though, the kind that has a probe on a wire, and you can set an alarm for the desired temperature. I’ve already called my mom twice today about it, which is 10x less than I called her yesterday about how to make the pies, so… : )
remember to add time if you’ve stuffed the turkey too—because that needs to come to temp. too. 🙂
No stuffing inside, I was already intimidated enough with the process without that little complication.
An unstuffed turkey is much simpler, although I LOVE stuffing. If you do ever cook a stuffed turkey, it is recommended to place the thermometer into the stuffing, as that is the last thing to come to temperature.
I never stuff. I like my dressing with crunchier texture…
Two things: The thermometer is your friend. Use it properly and it will reward you.
I just ordered a sample of Like This because it sounds like something my wife might like to wear-I’ll let you know in some future post.
Third thing: if the turkey’s good, and he likes the Like This, seems like a no-brainer that he should buy some for you. Right? Happy Thanksgiving everybody.
Haha, I might just have to tell him that. I’ll probably get the same arched eyebrow I get whenever I mention fragrance… I’ll turn him yet : )
Just be sure the thermometer is a good one and is inserted properly, into the meat. If it is hitting against a bone, it can give a very inaccurate reading. Those “pop-up” thingies that come in some turkeys are useless.
I THINK I put it in the right place, the thick area above the thigh. Its been in an hour and is only at 80 degrees, not some incredibly high temp, so I think I’m not against a bone. I’ll do the cut test you suggested too, though, just to be sure. I have a new appreciation for how my mother did this for so many years!
Just remember that the “target” temperature is different if the thermometer is in the thigh (185 F) than if it were in the breast meat (170). This is because the thigh meat, being smaller, cooks faster. Your goal is to have all the meat at or above a safe temp.
I was aiming for 180, so not so far off! Thanks for all the tips and reassurance, btw. : )
I have not actually cooked very many turkeys, but I have never had a failure. Even my very first one, for my family’s Thanksgiving dinner the first year that my husband and I were married, came out fine. Slightly overdone is better than underdone, which can cause food poisoning, but really as long as nothing looks pink, it is done. Because the overall time required is so long (3 to 4 hours for most birds), the amount of leeway you have is large as well. It is not like making broiled fish or something where it can go from done to burnt in a few minutes.
In case anyone was curious, the turkey came out pretty good! A tiny bit dry, but fully cooked. I’ll settle for that! (and only cook turkey breasts in the future, lol.)
Congratulations!
Well done Halimeade. I am so glad your dinner was a success. That just adds a certain something to a great celebratory day!
Yay! We always do turkey breasts as well.
Congrats on your very first Thanksgiving Turkey! 🙂 now, about Christmas dinner….
SOTD: SSS Sienna Musk. The gentle mix of spices, orange, and woods over musk goes well with seasonal foods and the subtlety won’t take away from anyone else’s dining experience.
Now I wish everyone here a happy, healthy Thanksgiving Holiday!
That’s a good one.
Happy Thanksgiving!
I’ve spent the morning making apple sauce, apple pies, and cranberry-apple pies from the apples that grow in the orchard in front of my house. I haven’t decided on what perfume to wear yet… the smell of the pies baking in the oven is enough for now!
Hope you all have a wonderful day!
I love cranberry-apple pie! We’ll have one of those tonight!
Those pies sound amazing! My mouth is watering…
Hello all, Happy Turkey Day!
Made it really early- I hate dealin’ with the neck and gizzards- eeeeek!
But once that was done, it was easy peasy.
I smell like spices and turkey and potato peelins -gaah my lil’ hands are sore from peelin’ those darn things, I’m letting all my daughters sleep, lazy bones! When I get dolled up I still don’t know what to wear…I thought Un Crime Exotique but now I want Tolu, maybe Alahine?
I need to try Alahine one day – so many people love it. I am still in my nightie and have not budged toward anything Turkey-day-ish. Fortunately most of what I contribute is veggie oriented and can be done at the last minute.
Tama I love that you said you were in your nightie! 😉
Would you like to try some of my lovely lady Alahine?
It grows on you in a way I can’t describe but if your game for amber there is chance you will fall for her.
My email is on FB.
I wore Alahine! Yummy.
SOTD is Bois de Paradis. It always has a winter-holiday feel to me, and we’re having a remarkable cold spell here in northern California, so BdP is perfect.
Nice one!
This one is on my sample list, sounds like a great combination of scent and weather. We actually had snow in the Willamette Valley this week, it was such a nice change of pace from the rain, made it actually feel like winter!
It’s definitely wintery to me, too. I usually layer SDV w/a dab of BdP, but don’t dare do it on a holiday, as it smells so dessert-like, it’s liable to a) make me overindulge and b) make me feel really ill once I have. So I wore it the day before, instead.
I was in a rush this morning so I grabbed a random sample and put on while going for the bus, it was SL Rousse, is that Serge Lutens? I’ve heard of Serge Lutens before but don’t know anything about the brand. anyway it’s nice, it reminds me of ginger, is ginger in the notes? but I don’t think it’s me, and I don’t think the person who I sat next to on the bus thought it was me either lol.
I also have YSL Belle D’Opium on the back of my left hand as I finished college early (02:50) so snook to Boots to get my mum’s Christmas present, Estée Lauder sensuous 50ml gift set. and saw D’Opium so gave it a spray.
I actually got home at the same time as if I’d finished college normal time (4pm). infact I was waiting at the traffic lights and my bus drove past me, so I couldn’t have timed it better. I’m mentioning this because my parents weren’t to know, and they didn’t suspect a thing.
OH I just rememberd something, I mentioned on here that my cousin Ryan got married in May this year so some may know what I’m talking about ?
well his mother-in-law Joan (the bride’s mum) was in Boots with her other daughter’s baby, Joshua. I walked thru the doors and froze, she was right there with the pram talking to a sales assistant and she didn’t notice me as I walked past her into a different isle. I felt so sneeky today 😮 I felt horrible for not saying hello, but I was pushed for time and I thought she’d mention to somebody and it’d get round to my mum. I have terrible paranoia and I know now that Joan wouldn’t have thought anything of bumping into me at Boots but I just couldn’t help it, I get SO paranoid 😮 . well there’s my thrilling tale of today.
All sounds horribly awkward and uncomfortable, rather than thrilling. Were you worried she would spoil the surprise of the present you had bought for your mother? Or were you worried she would decide you were one of those new-fangled metro-sexual types hanging out in a beauty store! (I assume ‘Owen’ is a male – though ‘Merlin’ is actually a female!) Anyway, hope the rest of the day treats you better!
no it wasnt really awkward, I was in a hurry and thought if she saw me she would have me talking for half an hour lol.
I was scared of spoiling the suprise, I’m not bothered who sees me in Boots, along with Debenhams, it’s my favourite shop 🙂
no Joan would be fine with seeing me in Boots, and I’m sure she wouldn’t have told anybody.
and I am a boy yes :L
I was inspired to wear sensuous today: beautifully fluid, honied and silky – with a touch of woods ( :
I have never given Rousse a very good trial run, but I have to second the recommendation of Arabie – VERY NICE!
Though I’m still hankering over filles en guille
That EL Sensuous set is a great gift. People with all different tastes seem to enjoy it (as I do myself, very much).
yeah, 50ml edp, 4ml edp travel spray and 100ml body lotion
and yes, it’s so warm and woody, it’s just nice
Owen, it sounds like Operation Christmas Present was a resounding success in spite of the close call with relatives….although I imagine they would have kept the secret if you asked them to. Sensuous is a lovely scent and your mom is sure to love it.
As for your scented bus ride—yes, Rousse is Serge Lutens –it’s all about amber, cloves and cinnamon…there’s orange in there too and I think the combination of the orange and cinnamon is what’s giving you the “gingery” note—like candied ginger. SL is a touch and go house for me too—try Arabie and see if you like that any better, it’s a little less “candied spice” than Rousse. 🙂
I know I should have said hi really, I get myself worked up over nothing.
and sensuous is the only fragrance so far that made my mum go “wow” when she smelled it 🙂 I think it’s quite remarkable myself
Arabie stuck out at me I cant rmemeber why, I’ll go smell it again
and I like candied spice 🙂
Yeah, Rousse is Serge Lutens; it’s got a whole lot of cinnamon in it. It’s unusual, but try it a few more times before you write it off altogether–it has hidden depths.
Happy Thanksgiving Y’all! 🙂
Eating: vegetarian tacos made by me. Wearing: Voluspa Jasmine and Brown Sugar. Burning: The remainder of my (LE) Voluspa White Copalli Amber candle. Black Friday sales: Candles Off Main, DL & Co, ASOS, The Perfumed Court, and maybe Naturopathica and Parfum1. Need to choose carefully and not go crazy, which will be very difficult. 🙂
OMG–I just got a call from a falconer friend who’s been in the Middle East and Uzbekistan, and he SCORED–he got me a 30ml bottle of Homage Attar for just over 100 dollars. WOW. I didn’t think he’d find it, but he DID! Grateful for THAT!! Fabulous sillage to all!
SOTD: Chocolate Greedy layered with a bit of Jo Malone’s Black Vetiver Cafe. It’s an experiment.
Congrats on your score!
Wow – now THAT is something to be thankful for! Huge congratulations, mough!
Jealous! Great score!
WHOA! Great deal. I hope you thank your friend profusely!
Whoops, that sounded like I was being your mama… “I hope you remembered to say thank you!”
Sorry. Didn’t mean to. Honestly, one day home with the kids and I turn into my own mother.
Mom’s are good people. They care and that comes form a good heart, it just can’t be bad.
Just wanted to let people know there are a whole lot of sales going on at TPC over the weekend, and especially today…
Are there? I did not see anything on their main page. What kind of deals?
20% of until midnight tonight with code THANKYOU.
Then friday through sunday or monday %15 off with code PUMPKINPIE.
sorry, only back on line now! I got an e mail with the info Dixie has mentioned. I haven’t bought from them yet, but have joined their mailing list…
Happy Thanksgiving! I had to work this morning, but just for a few hours. We’re going to eat dinner with his family, and dessert with my family.
In Longboat Key, Florida for Thanksgiving…
Wore Beyond Paradise for a beach walk this morning.
Making: gratin potatoes with leeks, portobello mushrooms and gruyere cheese. Beef tenderloin with Henry Bain sauce. Roasted brussel sprouts with blue cheese and pancetta. Pumpkin pie with maple-whipped cream. And, because we are in Florida, Key Lime pie, too.
SAve some leftovers for me, please! 🙂
Happy Thanksgiving to y’all!
Here in Argentina of course we do not celebrate it, but at the same time I have many american coworkers both here at the BA office and in the states.. so we are always aware of it.
SoTD: Brin de reglisse… enjoying one of my Miami purchases 😉
No 5 Eau Premiere. Perfect time for it. :3
But when is the wrong time for EP? I’ve never found one… such a versatile thing.
Happy Thanksgiving, and thanks to all for wonderful food and perfume ideas!
No cooking here – most of the DC museums are open on Thanksgiving and not too crowded, and the National Museum of the American Indian has a delightful restaurant, Mitsitam. The food based on various regional native American ingredients and techniques, and the setting is lovely.
SOTD: AG Encens Flamboyant, tea-like smoke with the sparkle of pine needles – just right for a cool, rainy late fall holiday.
That sounds so perfect! I grew up in the DC area and spent lots of time in all the museums and galleries, but moved away before that one opened. Will have to check it out next time I visit back east!
Had a lovely meal, wore Bd Iles today and now trying out Tauer L’air d Moroccan…dang. I like it!
Happy Day all!
Had to wear something gourmand as I was elbow-deep in food. Chose JM English Pear & Freesia as not competing with the food, but a little scent oasis in the middle of a fun but chaotic day!
Can anyone recommend a good perfume with ginger? I’m in the mood… Thanks and happy thanksgiving.
Hey, try Jo Malone’s Dark Amber and Sweet GInger, OR their Nutmeg and Ginger OR Roget and Gallet’s Ginembre, I think it’s called. Happy Ginger hunting!
Luckyscent carries the Farmacia ss Annunziata line and their Aurora is a great ginger. Also Serge Lutens 5 O’Clock au Gingembre, and for a cheaper thrill, Origins skincare makes a ginger perfume and body products.
SOTD: Mitsouko, parfum with some EdP layered over it. It goes so well with dinner! (Plus, I got to pick out some of the animalic facets a few hours into it that I never had before, which was fun)
SOTD: Guerlain Rue de la Paix! Found a small bottle, with a stuck stopper, in an antique store the other day. Used the freezer trick to get it open-it’s a lovely lilac , with musk and spices, to my nose. The drydown is creamy sandalwood, almost Shalimar-like. But, I also found some vintage Shalimar, which is scenting the entire room, so it’s hard to say. Need to study this some more!. Feeling thankful–and it sure smells good in here. Happy TG day to you all!
Nice find! 🙂
I cooked in Tocca Cleopatra, then reclined post-dessert in the original Ava Luxe Madeline. 🙂 Happy Thanksgiving, all! I love this site and I love reading all your comments!
I’m an ex South African, living in Hong Kong and have learned to celebrate thanksgiving though my American friends!!! go figure!!!
Happened to wear my new Ormande woman…and it felt PERFECT for the wonderful evening>
SOTD Ode de la Vanilla Shalimar, oh yummmmm
And I am stil thankful today, and tmrw…and so on
Hi HongKongMom,
Your six-year old sounds cute!
Would you say Ode de la Vanilla is OK as a day scent? I adore the orginal Shalimar but never wear it because it feels to “evening-y”. Unfortunately never got hold of a bottle of Shalimar Light.
SOTD Bois des Iles
PS My six year old brought me a cup of water and told me that he thought the water smelled like turkey!!!!!
If you learned to celebrate thanksgiving properly, I guess EVERYTHING smells like turkey by now! South Africa to Hong Kong – that must have required an adjustment! Glad there were Americans to smooth it over ( :
I am South African too, but spent a year in the middle East and found most Americans really open and friendly.
Happy Thanksgiving!
No Thanksgiving here, I’m having a quiet dinner with my mom, then drinks, in red sequinned shoes and maybe some of the elderly Rochas Femme parfum I found earlier this week, with a friend who is having an exam today. Hopefully some sleep, too, I could use that.
I keep reading that Dzing! is discontinued. Is it really, or just discontinued in some sizes/not in American distribution? I am trying to figure out if I should run out and buy a bottle this minute, or maybe wait a month or two.
I wore SSS Champagne de Bois yesterday, it was 27 degrees yesterday, it seemed cozy and appropriate.
We do the whole family thing, more family time than one person needs LOL! Went to my Grandma’s and everyone comes, no turkey, but we had ham balls (probably a Midwestern thing, they have BBQ sauce on them) stuffing, mashed potatoes, rolls, pumpkin pie, etc.
And we celebrated my son’s 4th bday, a pretty good day! I’m very thankful!