Five easy questions. Answer as few or as many as you like.
1. What fragrance are you wearing?
2. What's the next fragrance you'd like to test?
3. You've just won the lottery. What's the first perfume you will buy?
4. Read any good books lately?
5. Share something wonderful with us! It can be anything — a great tv show you saw, something delicious you ate, the perfect hand cream you just discovered last week, any fabulous news you recently received — really, anything.
And a quick note to say that the login widget thingie isn't always working properly lately — I'm trying to get it fixed. If you log in and it appears to accept your info but doesn't properly show you as logged in, try pressing Ctrl+F5 to reload the page. Sorry!
Note: top image is aquatic [cropped] by Dan Zen at flickr; some rights reserved.
Good afternoon Robin, friends!
1. Earlier I wore Ulrich Lang Lightscape for the first time but it vanished quickly. Now I smell of Jardin d’Ecrivains Wilde.
2. The next fragrance I’d like to try is Aedes de Venustas Iris Nazarena. I think my sample will arrive next week.
3. Bottles of Carner Barcelona Tardes and Cuirs, maybe Amouage Opus II…
4. A the moment I’m reading The Black Jewels Trilogy by Anne Bishop. I’ve almost finished book 2.
5. There’s a chance I will work in niche perfume boutique in Warsaw for one week. It’s going to be some kind of an internship. I won’t earn any money and can’t afford to move to Warsaw for long that’s why it’s going to be just one week. Better this than nothing, no? I’m crossing my fingers for it to work out.
I hope you’re enjoying the Black Jewels trilogy. Anne Bishop is one of my favorite authors.
I like it a lot! I’m quite surprised I read it so quickly. Will have to get the book 3 from the library next week.
Make sure you don’t get Carner Cuirs on your clothes, Lucas. Months ago I got some on the sleeve of my winter coat while trying it. It still smells, and I’m afraid it will not go away until the coat is send to the cleaners when winter is on it’s way.
Wow, that’s called real longevity! Thank you for the tip Chamade. I will be careful when I get a bottle one day (so far a decant has to be enough) but I love this perfume so much I wouldn’t mind if my coat smelled of it in the winter, I send my coat to the cleaners every year 😉
I hope your Warsaw mini-internship works out!
1. Gardenia Grand Soir – perfect for on a hot day.
2. Amouage Fate Woman
3. I’d hunt down and buy Hermes Doblis.
4. I’ve re-read Tess of the d’Urbervilles. So much better than when I first read it some 30 years ago.
5. I’ve been invited to a cast and crew screening of a documentary about Shakespeare at the BAFTA. I wonder who’ll be there?
So jealous about your cast party–let us know who you bump into (and how they smelled!)
lol I’ll do my best to sniff around.
1. Working out first, but then will probably wear Orange Sanguine on a hot summer day.
2. Anything by Neela Vermeire.
3. Ah, the list is long and I’ve been finance-challenged for a while. I’d buy The Secret Garden and Wild Roses from Aftelier, Guerlain Nahema and L’Heure Bleue, Amouage Lyric Woman, something from l’Artisan, Creed Fleur de Thè Rose Bulgare, By Kilian Beyond Love, Carnal Flower… boring by some standards perhaps but I love the flowers.
Good for you for working out first 🙂
Thanks Robin! That’s the only way I can have ice cream later. Oh, I forgot the books… I’m reading Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff, and just got Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher by Timothy Egan, one of my favorite writers. As for good news, I’m going to Santa Fe for the International Folk Art Market next week. First time (for the market, not Santa Fe), very much looking forward to it.
Oh, lucky you! I have always wanted to go to the Spanish market there, where they sell retablos…not sure if that’s the same market. Have fun in any case!
Ditto, lucky you! I just finished the Egan Curtis book, and man, would I like to go to the International Folk Art Market. I don’t know how well you know Santa Fe; it sounds like you’ve been multiple times. I’ve only been once but would love to be a local! I’ve been trying to get my husband to go with me this year. If you like Curtis and folk art, you probably already know to go to The Rainbow Man, which is one of my favourite stores anywhere in the world: they have a whole back room of original Curtis photographs.
1. SOTD is Hermes Eau de Marveilles
2. I’d like to test anything from Ormond Jayne. I’ve never seen them in person but I’ve been *this close* to clicking the buy button on the sample set several times.
3. A vintage bottle of Diorissimo. Original formulation if such a thing exists.
4. No. I routinely check out books from the library with the best of intentions and take them back three weeks later without even having cracked one open. (Hangs head in shame.)
5. Superfood salad – Kale rubbed with lemon juice and olive oil, cranberries, sliced almonds, cooked quinoa, lemon zest, salt and pepper. I can’t get enough of this stuff. I tried it in a restaurant a few weeks ago and can’t believe it was so easy to replicate at home.
That salad sounds lovely! Will have to try it.
That OJ Discovery Set is a pretty excellent thing, I’ve gotta say! I found one complete love (OJ Woman) and a handful more scents I wouldn’t mind at all having more of in my collection, if money fell from the skies!
The kale salad sounds delicious! How is the kale prepped? Is it chopped finely raw or do you blanch it first, maybe? I’m accustomed to using kale in cooked recipes, but I’m not sure I’ve ever had it in a salad before.
After you wash the kale, rip it off the stem and into bite size pieces. Put it in the biggest bowl you have and use your hands to massage the lemon juice and olive oil into it. As you keep mixing it the kale will soften and get well coated. It never breaks down to a point of wilting, but it will lose that tough, rubbery texture.
I’m thrilled so many of you are willing to try it! I wish I had a recipe for you all to follow. Unfortunately all I can say is 1 bunch of kale, 1 cooked serving of quinoa, 1 lemon for juice and zest,…everything else is to taste. Oh, and I like to put it back in the fridge to chill after preparing it so I don’t put the almonds in until I’m ready to eat. Otherwise they become a bit chewy.
Yum! Thanks for the details!
My mom (at 70!) became a near vegan this last year, and I’ve been trying to introduce quinoa recipes to her–this might be another good one to serve next time she comes around! I love the combination of lemon and garlic.
Whoops. Except I see that I imagined the garlic!
For all I know the one I ate at the restaurant could have had some garlic in it. One thing I love about salads, soups, and pastas is that there doesn’t always have to be rules. Try what you like and if it doesn’t work don’t do it next time.
Oh, and please see my note below about the cranberries before you try this. 🙂
Thanks, Lucy! My mom would probably prefer it garlic-free, in any case! And yes, I had assumed dried cranberries–not too many recipes calling for the fresh ones, although I *do* keep a bag in my freezer for those moments outside of Thanksgiving when I want them. 🙂
That salad sounds amazing. My mouth is watering already!
Yum – I love kale salads, but have never had your variation. Sounds so good!
I will be making this salad this week. Thank you for sharing!
Oopsie…DRIED cranberries! I just realized you will all hate me in a few days if you use raw ones. I hope you all knew what I meant. 🙁
1. Planning to wear PdN Eau Turquiose today. Would love another bottle of this as I am getting low.
2. Testing: sOleil (another PdN). Actually, I’ll probably just blind buy this one. Sigh.
3. Hurrah! I’ve one the lottery! I’m going to buy Mito (extrait, when it’s released) in that fancy Tiffany-style bottle. And since I’ve won, I’ll probably commission perfumers to remake all my favorite reformulated/ vintage/ discontinued perfumes in their original formulations, of course! Shalini,, Ruffles, Apree L’Ondee parfum…
4. I’m currently reading Dance of Dragons. Just finished The Twelve by Justin Cronin… fantastic! Read The Passage first if you haven’t already. Next up, maybe The Perfume Lover or a recommendation from today’s poll!
5.Something else… I am a musician and have a concert this afternoon! Insanely nervous. We’re playing West Side Story Symphonic Dances, a really terrific (and challenging) piece of music. Perfume must be light on concert days as the other musicians don’t want to breathe in a lungful of perfume and try and play. Yes, there’s a “no perfume” rule in place, but I just wear something light with low sillage.
LOVE the symphonic arrangement of West Side Story–wish I could come hear you play. You will be wonderful!! I always thought that Maria would wear White Shoulders, while Anita would wear Tabu!!
Good luck!
Wait, there’s a book after The Passage? I just finished it–guess I need to request the next one from the library!
There is! It’s a part of a trilogy, so there will be a third book out at some point. The Twelve was a good follow-up and a bit of a twist at the end that I did not see coming! I love when an author surprises the reader with a really good twist!
Yay! I’m *nearly* done with the house painting, but there are plenty other projects that will benefit from a good book to listen to as I putter about. I look forward to “reading” it! Thanks for letting me know!
I am a West Side Story freak – good luck at your concert! What instrument do you play?
1. Teo Cabanel Oha, I just reached into my purse to grab a decant, and this is what I came up with, (It is one of my favorites, that is why I carry it around in my purse.) Yesterdat was Shiseido White Rose.
2. The new Amouage. I have not cared for their last few releases that I have tried, but with Amouage there is always hope.
3. A backup full bottle of White Rose, then I would seek out a bottle of vintage Guerlain Djedi (hey, I can always dream!)
4. No, I really need to do more reading.
5. My husband and I are finally getting to have a little time together. Lately, it seemed that every time I had time off, he had something going on and vice versa. This weekend, we are both off.
How nice — enjoy your weekend with your husband!
1. No scent yet, heading to the pool. Something crisp and citrus later.
2. L’Artisan Caligna–still haven’t tried it, but want to….
3. This is a long list–Amouage Lyric Woman, Malle Portait of a Lady, and a couple from Andy Tauer, to start!!
4. Funny you should ask about books, I was planning to post on the weekend poll that I just finished The Perfume Collector and loved it. Highly recommended.
5. Prepping this weekend for a full day interview on Wednesday for a job I really, really want. Please send good vibes or novenas or extra karma, whatever works to help me do my best.
I enjoyed reading that book as well. Couldn’t put it down, in fact. Good luck with the job interview!
Good luck with your interview!
Sending good ju-ju your way! Best of luck!
1. What fragrance are you wearing?
TIMBUKTU – surprisingly good in this boiling hot London weather.
2. What’s the next fragrance you’d like to test?
Noontide Petals – haven’t got to Les Senteurs yet, which is where i can find it in London.
3. You’ve just won the lottery. What’s the first perfume you will buy?
Esprit du Tigre by Heeley
4. Read any good books lately?
City of Thieves by David Bentioff
5. Share something wonderful with us! It can be anything — a great tv show you saw, something delicious you ate, the perfect hand cream you just discovered last week, any fabulous news you recently received — really, anything…
Maltby Street Market. Fantastic!
Ooh, glad to hear this about Timbuktu. I’ve only tested it once, but Sephora’s website has the 15ml bottle for $30 so I jumped on it. Hoping I like it as much as I remember!
Timbuktu is awesome in the heat. We had a heat wave this week and it was good. Also for the heck of it layered it with Un Bois Vanille and it worked quite well.
Love Espirit du Tigre! You should save your pennies for it. It is my weird get up and go when I’m exhausted scent because of the mint in the opening. It is one of my comfort scents as well because of the cardamom and spices. Sure, rubbing on Tiger Balm is cheaper, but that stuff burns!!! (I always type Tiger Blam and think, yep, that’s how it should be spelled :D) Be well.
1. Wearing Arquiste Boutonniere No.7
2. Want to sample Mona di Orio’s Eau Absolu
3. Shiseido White Rose if lottery won.
4. Memoirs of Lady Hyegyong and read that because of answer to the fifth question –
5. Discovered the wonderful world of Korean Historical Dramas a/k/a Sageuks. Terrific series called Yi-San is about son of Lady Hyegyong and series made me want to learn more about her and her dramatic life.
How is that arcquiste?
1. No SOTD yet, but there’s some Jacomo #8 lingering on my PJs from last night’s spritz before bed. I plan on doing some painting, and I have found that it doesn’t really make sense to wear much scent on such days!
2. I’m always game to try a new Serge or Amouage, so I suppose I’d choose one of those–but honestly, I’m not really in a sample-sniffing place these days. Not really looking to add something new to my collection other than a few things that have been on the buy list for a while.
3. A *bottle* of Attrape Coeur. I have a decant that I ADORE and it saddens me that this beauty is such an endangered species.
4. Just finished the audiobook for The Passage–a vampire-virus-takes-over-the-country-and-ends-civilization-as-we-know-it type of book. (That *is* a genre, right?! 😛 ) It was good–not original, but the characters were well-developed, which can be unusual for the type.
5. Best thing for me right now is that I’m down to one room left to paint in my not-so-new-anymore house! The end is in sight! Once it’s done, I have plans for some furniture shopping to complete my upstairs–make part of the attic a media space with a comfy couch and finish my bedroom with LOTS of bookshelves!
You’ve set off a lemming to read The Passage. I’m off to go find it for my Kindle. Thanks! Best wishes on your home remodeling and nesting 🙂
Happy to hear it! I’ve read me a lot of post apocalyptic/dystopian fiction, and I wanna say that The Passage made my list due to a recommendation a few weeks back when Robin had the good-reads post. In any case, it was riveting and thought-provoking, and as I said, you get so you know the characters and care about them. It was enjoyable and distracting during my house painting! Hope you enjoy it, too!
Another lemming for The Passage. Sounds like something I would like, so going on the reading list. 🙂
Marjorie Rose – I know how you feel with the house renovations! It’s been about three years since we started serious work on our house and I still only have half a ceiling in our basement/kitchen conversion!
Congrats on your near-completion and hope you are enjoying your new spaces.
Thank you, Emma!
I bought my house in October, and it feels like I’ve been painting ever since! There are some other projects to do when the paint is finally done, but paint is one of the biggest! Good luck on your basement!
1. For the beach today I will be wearing Nuit de Tubereuse.
2. I would really like to test What We Do In Paris Is Secret. I just love gourmand roses.
3. If I won the lottery I would buy and this does not exist, the pure parfum of Osmanthus Interdite.
4. You’re talking to a librarian so yup. For a hilarious summer beach read pick up Kevin Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians. For something short, bittersweet, and lovely Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane. And finally a good thinker: Karen Joy Fowler’s We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves.
5. As for wonderful, OMG the Top of the Lake miniseries is amazing. Deep, intense, with spectacular NZ scenery. Loved it, one of smartest miniseries I had seen in awhile plus Elizabeth Moss is freakin amazing in it! Just really good storytelling. One of the best things I watched this year.
What We Do In Paris Is Secret PSA: A Lab on Fire’s website has 15 ml bottles for $48! I bought one (adore it), and they actually included a second 15 ml bottle free!
Love the new avatar!
Thank you for telling me that. Do you know how much the shipping was to the U.S.?
1) Love and Luck
2) Too many to single out, wait, maybe that Hypnotic Poison flanker
3) Chanel 1932
4) New Testament
Oh and 5! My hubs just made homemade crepes, first time he made them and they turned out great! He is French, so, I guess they better have been! lol.
Yum!
1. No SOTD yet but I have narrowed it down to Atelier Cologne Sous le toit de Paris or my newest acquisition L’Occitane Verveine Menthe EDT because it is quite refreshing and just perfect for this horrid hot weather.
2. Next fragrance I would like to test? There are many: Mona di Orio Eau Absolue, Amouage Fate Woman, La Via Del Profumo – any coffee, chocolate, amber fragrance from this line…
3. Part of my lottery winnings will go towards a 100 mL bottle of Puredistance Opardu
4. Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris. It’s mediocre and not one of her best in the series, but this is the last in the Sookie Stackhouse series. It read like a rushed job. Digressing a little bit, two “series” that ended in a nice way were: The Harry Potter (Books) and Six Feet Under (HBO TV).
5. Something wonderful — I was looking for a sunscreen for the face that will allow me to continue to use my normal face care / make-up routine. I went to Sephora last week to ask for one that does not have a scent and I initially stumped the salesperson (really? I thought that many people would rather not smell sunscreen but then again, I could be wrong). Anyway, she recommended a powder-based mineral sunscreen by Peter Thomas Roth with SPF 45. The powder is in the handle of the brush and you just dust your face with the brush after make-up. It is just like using a finishing powder which I don’t do normally but it seems pretty easy. My only concern is the brush may get gunked up with make-up residue but by that time, it’s probably time to buy a new one anyway.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Hi Hajusuuri, dear twin!
Sous le toit de Paris seems to be a perfect choice. I think I will wear it tomorrow. You made my curious about L’Occitane – don’t having a shop nearby makes me dismiss almost all of their offerings.
You’re read my review of MdO Eau Absolue and that I wasn’t really happy with it. Fate Woman is great, will review it soon (but the planned things first!)
Opardu bottle would be a top luxury.
Dear scent twin Lucas…on the Mona di Orio, sometimes I have to try it to confirm I hate it 🙂
Of course, there are some things that you enjoyed when I dismissed them. Did you get to try Jardin d’Ecrivains Wilde? I can’t wait to try a new perfume from this line and share my thoughts with you.
Not yet…saw them on beautyhabit but did not want to buy a FB unsniffed (has not stopped me before but I’m trying to be more disciplined)
Does beautyhabit have a brick n mortar shop so that you can give it a try.
Anyway, I will be happy to purchase a sample for you and send it your way if you’d like that 🙂 Just give me a shout
I think there is a brick & mortar beautyhabit in LA. Thanks for the offer but I’ll probably manage to snag a sample somewhere. I don’t think I’ll be running out of samples anytime soon (maybe in a few years :-)).
I really like Josie Maran’s sunscreen/moisturizer, but it’s sold out everywhere, even online! Trying a sample of Boscia’s broad spectrum right now and I find it to be quite comfortable, non greasy or with white casting. I’ve read about the PTR powder you’re referring to and I would just be careful as it doesn’t provide the protection that a lotion would.
Good luck!
Good point re: making sure about adequate coverage! I will keep looking. I may need to use the lotion sticks for babies with a higher SPF but that just makes my face look greasy.
Now since we’re on the subject…do you use anything for your scalp? And how about for your lips? How high of an SPF do you use and if you don’t mind me asking, what brand do you use?
Nothing on lips or scalp, and I really need to look into that.
Skin dr. found something on my scalp recently and we’re keeping an eye on that.
You?
Does lipstick count? 🙂
When I go on vacation, I try to pay more attention to sun protection, hence the questions.
Lipstick with SPF counts 🙂 but I just hate the taste of lipstick so I contend myself with lip balms.
I am hardly ever out in the sun or really spend much time outdoors (sunny or cloudy) and if I am outdoors, I try to stay in the shade, or stand in someone’s shadow and just about always wear a hat which makes me look ridiculous sometimes but prevention is key. While skin has the biggest surface, lips and scalp could burn too. I recently bought a hat from Orvis with SPF 50 which got me thinking that if I don’t wear THAT hat and wear something else, is my scalp protected? Maybe the SPF hat is all hype..who knows? The salesperson who recommended the Peter Thomas Roth mineral powder sunscreen said that she also dusted the sunscreen on the crown of her head — I may just do that!
I like Dior Creme de Rose lip balm. It has spf 15 and a lovely rose scent. It is expensive, but the little pot lasts a long time.
I have to check this out…but I hope they have the twist up tube. I can’t stand having to apply lip balm with fingers or Q-tip.
The Fresh sugar lipbalms are very good – SPF 15 and good color. I keep 5 different ones in my purse for everyday use.
I think that covering up — a hat (and long sleeves, if you can handle that) — makes for very good sunscreen, along with applying something to any bare skin. I’m always on the lookout for a sunscreen that won’t make my already oily face any shinier, that won’t peel off in dry flakes, and that won’t make my brown skin look gray. I’ll have to try some of the products that have been mentioned here.
The long sleeves may be difficult in the heat so sunscreen is what I’ll go with for the most part. Neutrogena now has one with SPF 100+ UltraSheer Dry-Touch but I suppose it is only as good as how much you apply and re-apply for it to truly work. I also of course wonder how high an SPF before the chemicals just end up becoming toxic.
I have a terrible sensitivity to products with SPF. (And every mainstream cosmetics company assumes women want it in their serums, lotions, creams, and foundations. Grrrrrr.) If I get it anywhere near my eyes they burn and tear up. By the end of the day I’m a mess from makeup sliding or touching my face and then rubbing my eyes. Anyway, I started using Bare Minerals powder sunscreen a couple of years ago. It comes in the same kind of packaging as the PTR. It is so amazing that I can even use it on my eyelids. I think you will be really happy with your purchase. -You are right about the brush though. I dont recommend trying to wash it because you may get water into the powder. You can buy a daily brush cleaner that you spray on and wipe off with a paper towel. I just buy a new one for my face when the brush gets dirty and use the rest of the old one on my arms and hands.
Lucy, I have a Bare Minerals kit which I have never used (but should!). Have you tried La Mer? The products I use don’t have any SPF which is the reason why I am looking for some SPF.
I have only used La Mer’s original cream, nothing with SPF in it. The Bare Minerals kit is great, although the sunscreen I described above is different because there is no makeup coverage, just sun protection and a little oil absorption. It doesn’t feel or look like anything is on my face.
I was just trying to say that I have a similar product to the PTR and I think loose powder sunscreen looks and feels better than any liquid for the face, regardless of what brand it is. I really do think and hope you will be happy with it.
I’m always trying different sunscreens, and I’ve been wearing CeraVe recently. It seems good and feels relatively light. I also have a UV blocker parasol (folding umbrella) for portable shade.
I think a Puredistance perfume in the crystal column bottle is a GREAT choice for celebrating winning the lottery!
I just saw the CeraVe sunscreen SPF 50 at the local drugstore under New Items!
As to the parasol, do you mind mentioning the brand or where you bought it? Or email me (click on my name to get contact info). Thanks.
Hajusuuri, there are a few brands of these silvery-coated umbrellas. The one I have now is a UV Blocker, which found it on Amazon. It’s not nearly as cooling as tree shade, to be honest, but it’s cooler than a hat and designed to provide about SPF 50.
I’ve wanted to try that PTR sunscreen powder but another good option in Origins Plantscription day moisturizer. SPF 25, only a light scent, and a good moisturizer as well.
I think the Sephora SAs hate me as I am always getting little samples. I have to check this out, too!
1. SOTD is Divine by Divine – Felt like wearing a big white floral today.
2. The next perfumes I would like to test are Hedonist by Viktoria Minya and Paradis Perdu by Frapin
3. If I won the lottery, I would buy a couple of selections from Profumum and Parfums MDCI.
4. I just finished reading The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday by Alexander McCall Smith. I’ve just started The Square Root of Murder by Ada Madison.
5. A happy thing in my life this past week was the planting of three miniature lilac bushes in my back yard. I’m a townhouse owner, and was upset by the removal of an old pine tree behind my home recently. I asked for a lilac bush, thinking our board of directors might not even plant anything to replace the tree, but was pleasantly surprised to see the three lilacs out there when I came home one day.
Oh, how nice — there is nothing like the smell of lilacs in the spring.
1. I’m embarrassed to say that I spritzed on a sample of Juicy Couture this morning.
2. In this hot weather I’m wanting to wear colognes. I’d love to try the 4711 Acqua Colonia line but they are hard to find in the US.
3. I would buy all of the vintage fragrances that I loved when I was younger. I had Chanel #19 and #22, Lancome’s Sikkim and others from my grandmother’s collection that my mother didn’t want.
4. I’m always reading something, but nothing great.
5. Had my first colonoscopy yesterday – it was totally clear. I wore C.O.
Bigelow’s Ginger Mentha.
Re: #5 — congratulations on the clear report. Now you need to make up for not being to eat much of anything the past few days!
So glad that went OK!
1. What fragrance are you wearing? – It’s finally worming up here so I’m in Osmanthe Yunnan
2. What’s the next fragrance you’d like to test? – that new Amouage, probably.
3. You’ve just won the lottery. What’s the first perfume you will buy? – maybe a big bottle of Osmanthe Yunnan so I can spray with abandon.
4. Read any good books lately? – I’m slowly making my way through The Ancestor’s Tale by Richard Dawkins.
5. Share something wonderful with us! – I won’t go into the boring details but there was a bureaucratic decision that I’ve been waiting to hear about for months. I finally received the good news about a week ago so I’m elated about that, particularly because it means that I can start to seriously research my options for going back to university which is what I really want to do.
Congratulations on your good news!
Ditto! And will join you in the Osmanthe Yunnan, Abyss.
Congratulations!!!
Thank you, ladies!
And sorry for the hideous typos, I’ll blame those on the heat and my eagerness to share.
I’m starting with #5 because I had the most wonderful time yesterday sailing in the NYC Hudson on the Schooner America 2.0. Highly recommend it! Google for details. Of course I had to wear a little Creed Virgin Island Water…
#4 Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn – had me up until 4am Wed. night; great writing and crazy story. Next up? May try a mystery writer I’ve not read yet… any good recs?
#3 by Killian Beyond Love
#2 waiting on samples of Le Labo 41 and Vanilla 44
#1 Guerlain Apres l’Ondee for a chill Saturday in AC while I do a little work and lounge a bit
Enjoy!
Have you tried Louise Penny? Her Inspector Gamache books are set in Montreal…the books set in winter should cool you down :-)…I know summer could get hot as h-ll in Montreal.
I can’t believe you mention her! Love, love, love her mysteries, and just adore Gamache. I’ve read all her books and have purchased her latest due for release in August – cant wait!!
I think I really enjoy the characters she has developed, and Gamache I can learn so much from with how he really has such a high regard for human beings and relationships. Plus, I never get tired of their talk of three pines and drinking cafe lattes and eating coissants 🙂
I wish I could find more characters in mysteries such as those Penny developes.
Yay, another Louise Penny fan! I have not yet read the first 4 books but I will at some point. You are so spot on with her character development which is what makes her books such wonderful reads.
You got me–I just ordered the first Inspector Gamache book online! Thanks!
Another fun fact: Gamache’s scent is Sandelwood and his wife’s is rosewater.. so he smells like Sandlewood and rosewater combined, something Penny brings up here and there. What fragrance would mirror that I wonder?
Tarquin Hall has written couple mysteries that are set in India — The Case of the Missing Servant and The Case of the Man Who Died Laughing.
That’s an author I’ve not heard of. Thanks! Will check him (her?) out.
Fred Vargas! Angie & I are both hooked.
Oh boy, another series to get hooked on!
The Adamsberg ones, BTW, and best to read them in order 🙂
How about P.D. James? Contemporary mysteries set in Britain featuring the brilliant Inspector Adam Dalgleish- Sleuth by day and poetry writing romantic by night. Quite an extensive series and all are absorbing reads. Highly recommend =)
1.Still wearing the remains of Chanel Bois des Iles extrait from last night. Will probably wear Guerlain Sous Le Vent or nothing if I decide to go shopping.
2. The next scent I’d like to try is Aedes de Venustas Iris Nazarena, because I’ll try any Iris out there, just to make I haven’t missed a good one.
3. If won the lottery, I’d buy the entire line of Chanel Exclusifs. Well maybe not the entire line, but most of it. And back up bottles of Cuir, Bois and Rue Cambon. And oh, vintage No.19.
4. Two good books I recently finished are The Dinner by Hermann Koch and The Fault Lies In Our Stars by John Green.
Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!
I didn’t even know that Herman Koch’s book had been translated into English. I am not at all familiar with his books but know him well as part of the Jiskefet trio. He is a good comedian with a great talent for playing peculiar people.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUVrvOSDQ-s
Herman Koch is the referee in this sketch.
Iris Nazarena is a good one 🙂
Ooh, I just got the Herman Koch novel from the library!
1. Manoumalia, mainly because I adore it, and slightly to pay me respects to it’s creator.
2. Editions de parfums’ Dries van Noten
3. Kiki, Fracas and Rubj in extrait!
4. Iedereen was er by Toon Tellegen
5.-
Currently wearing Pretty Machine
Want to test–I want to try JARdenia and RojaDove Gardenia against each other
Lottery winnings go toward JAR Shadow and maybe comissioning something
Haven’t bought it yet but I know I’ll be buying Applied Channel Theory–my elective class on the topic was so good that I simply must buy the book. It’s on what specific palpable changes at acupuncture points mean in terms of diagnosis
Good news–friends of mine from Boston are visiting relatives so I got to see them on the 4th and will have dinner with them tomorrow
Oh, I would take a bottle of JAR Bolt of Lightning, or whatever it’s called.
1. Earlier today I wore Esprit D’Oscar. Later I’ll put on some Annick Goutal Tubereuse.
2. I’d love to try Encens et Lavande but I’ve never come across it. Maybe it’s time to visit Paris.
3. If I won the lottery I’d buy one of those rare bottles of Nombre Noir that pop up once in a while. And some vintage Vol de Nuit extrait. And Mohur.
4. Right now I’m reading “Heimsuchung”, a very good German novel by Jenny Erpenbeck. “Heimsuchung” means “a search for a home” but it also means an infestation/a visitation.
5. I got a new office chair yesterday and it’s just perfect.
Seriously, we should have an office chair poll some time. I’m curious. I just got rid of my office chair altogether in favor of a cheap swivel stool, so far I’m very happy with it. Glad you like yours!
SOTD is L’air de rien.
I’d like to try 1000 Flower’s Reglisse Noir. I’m on a licorice kick, and wonder if it would be love or scrub.
If I won the lottery, I’d buy Stilettos on Lex (today) or the Aedes’ rhubarb heavy EdP. I’ll be honest, I’d probably buy BOTH and a JAR just for good measure 😀
Recent book? I’ve been rereading things lately. Just reread Ender’s Game, and it was gripping. Can’t imagine a film from that.
Arnold Palmers rock! Mix half iced tea (I’m all for unsweetened) and half lemonade. So refreshing in the summer heat. I have a pitcher of tea and a pitcher of lemonade in the fridge as we speak. Be well!
Oh, love Enders Game! Need to make some iced tea, too.
1. Hermes Eau des Merveilles – i.e. the perfect summer scent
2. I don’t know that I’m eager to sample anything, to be honest. The last batch of samples I’ve received were sort of disappointing; there were some lovely frags, but nothing that would compel me to go out and buy. I’m pretty happy with what I’ve got in my stash, and that’s a pretty liberating feeling!
3. I have two perfumes that have been on my to-buy list for awhile now: OJ’s Ta’if and Champaca. I also wouldn’t say no to Guerlain SDV and Amouage Dia. 🙂
4. Oh, yes! Here’s the list of what I’ve enjoyed recently:
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson (my favorite book I’ve read this year)
The Interestings by Meg Wolitizer (also really good)
Where’d you Go Bernadette by Maria Semple (laugh out loud funny)
5. Just returned from a lovely sojourn in Santa Barbara. Beautiful weather, gorgeous accommodations, and excellent food. It was heaven!
1. Yes it is!
Just to say that Kate Atkinson is one of my husband’s favourite authors, and the BBC have dramatized her Jackson Brodie novels really well for the TV!
1. Nothing just got home from spin class.
2. Le Labo Lys
3. JAR Bolt of Lightening.
4. Reading Carl Hiaasen’s Lucky You. Very entertaining!
5. I’m really looking forward to our family vacation to Mexico in August!
3. Great minds think alike — I just mentioned that one above. Haven’t actually smelled it in years, it probably just sticks in my head because I can’t afford it 🙂
I love that author, and this sticky east coast weather is just perfect for an afternoon of Carl. His last published book (whose name I just forgot- Something along the lines of Star Island)., features an untalented teen singer whose perfume is so awful that bottles are stacked in a warehouse of NJ. As if any teen singer’s bad fragrance would go unsold!
Dilana, I have to get that one. I already bought the new one- Bad Monkey… Can’t wait to read it. The weather here in New York is terrible! It’s so hot and humid! Hope you are staying cool!
I did not know it was out already. I guess I am going to have to run to a book store.
1. What fragrance are you wearing? Vintage Gin Fizz – it’s scorching hot and this wears nicely in the heat, I think.
2. What’s the next fragrance you’d like to test? So many, and I’m so
behind! Being a fan of most things Serge, La Fille de Berlin. Oh – and some lucky folk who have already tried it and RAVED, the soon to be released Amouage Fate.
3. You’ve just won the lottery. What’s the first perfume you will buy? Amouage Lyric – it’s the next spendy one on my wish list, and Liquid Crystal in the artsy fartsy bottle.
4. Read any good books lately? I just started The Perfume Lover as a matter of fact – I ordered it from LuckyScent and it came with a 5 ml spritzer of the perfume. And I recently read The Night Circus which was pretty cool.
5. Share something wonderful with us! I just read about this in Martha Stewart Living and plan to make it tomorrow for Sunday dinner. Place dry pasta, chopped tomatoes, chopped garlic & onion, and fresh herbs and seasonings in a saute pan with a dollop of EVOO and water. Cook until liquid evaporates, and perfectly cooked pasta with a silky sauce is supposed to be left in the pan. That just really appeals to me! And my daughter starts a new job on Monday after being laid off and on unemployment since January. Yay!
I’ll have to look for that recipe, Rustic Dove – it sounds great!
I love the chocolate and zucchini absorption pasta and the Chocolate and Zucchini blog. That one also uses chicken stock – it’s sort of a pasta risotto.
Using stock is a great idea! Noz I always cook rice that way and many vegies too, so why not this? College Inn Culinary Broth with White Wine & Herbs is a good ready made one that I keep in the pantry. Maybe I’ll use that today instead of water. 🙂
I’ve also been meaning to try a recipe I saw on an Italian cooking show for spaghetti cooked in red wine and sauteed garlic. That sounds really decadent!
1. Unscented today due to massive headache. 🙁
2. I am curious about Guerlain’s Encens Mythique d’Orient, and I would love to try any of the Amouages.
3. With my lottery winnings, I’d have bottles of Portrait of a Lady and Le Parfum de Thérèse in my hands.
4. I just finished reading The Woman Upstairs. It was a very thought provoking novel.
5. Watermelon salad, so easy and delicious. Cubed watermelon, finely sliced white onion, basil leaves, crumbled feta, and an olive oil balsamic vinegar vinaigrette. Yum!
That salad sounds awesome!
Even my watermelon-hating hubby loves it!
Hope you feel better!
Thank you I am. Thank goodness it finally rained and I no longer had to be the human barometer!
Sounds like you have what I have? Changes in barometric pressure and changing weather give me headaches and make me dizzy and fatigued. Glad you’re feeling better.
I like a similar watermelon salad with mint and black olives in place of the basil and onion. It’s about the most refreshing thing one can eat in the summer!
That sounds delicious! I am going to have to try it!
I tried your salad for dinner tonight. What an amazing sweet, salty, tangy, refreshing experience. It was a perfect match for 90 degree humidity. I’m going to try Nozkoz’s version with olives tomorrow. Thank you both!
Hah! We are on the same fruit wave. Wowed foodies this weekend with a watermelon, mozzarella, fresh mint, lime juice salad. I’ll try using basil next time.
1. Fueguia’s Thays
2. TDC’s de Bachmakov
3. I would buy myself a ticket to Paris to go to the IUNX store and buy probably half of the line.
4. Reading Jean Giono’s ‘Que ma joie demeure’
5. I just got a bike yesterday–a Japanese city bike with a basket and big headlamp. I can’t wait to try it out, but it’s been raining for days.
1) alas, it’s soon to be Off! Headed out either to the lake or the park & the stuff’s a necessity. And why does it say fragrance free when it’s in fact rather overpowering?!
2) too many…at least now they’re all alphabetized. I did recently try and enjoyed Une Fleur de Cassie! No diaper or unpleasant note/phase, just liked from the get go. It’s more powdery than I typically go for, but still like it.
3) vintage Diorama, no 19 and other older chypres
4) I’m spending too much time online
5) not a current tv show, but saw “Infamous” via Netflix. One of the 2 Truman Capote movies that came out 6-7 yrs ago. It focused on Capote’s info gathering for In Cold Blood, and his friendship with Harper Lee. Daniel Craig is very skinny & almost unrecognizable as one of the murderers profiled in the book. It was much better than expected! Next up is the Alastair Sim version of Christmas Carol. Put in the queue around Christmas, and it just popped up last week.
Hi fraaands!
1) I haven’t decided on an SOTD yet, but I need something suitable for a first date (as many of you know, I had the best boyfriend in the world but he moved to Ohio, hence first dates!) Maybe Narcisco Rodriguez EDT, which seems popular with the men-folk.
2) Desperate to try the new Le Labos and Amouage Fame.
3) Amouage Interlude Man!
4) All of my books are packed in brown boxes- I move home on Tuesday!
5) I am making good progress in a Zelda video game!
Ari, I was reading along very lazily and at first did not realize it was you due to your interesting new gravatar. It’s a time of change, sounds like.
Checking your blog and seeing that LT plans to write again – can’t wait! There are so many new lines – I’d love for him to sniff out the ones that are worth trying. I don’t think he and TS reviewed any of the Afteliers or DSH previously.
Oh, good luck on the dating, Ari!
Wish I had some amazing first-date clincher of a scent to suggest to you! I’ve found myself reaching for Lipstick Rose a lot this spring. Gotta say, though, keeping a fella’s attentions seems easier than finding one who will keep mine (yours!). Best of luck to you!
(And sorry to hear that your former fella moved to Ohio! Ending things like that can feel so incomplete!)
The Arquiste is a terrific gardenia, green rather than indolic, but sadly not tenatious 🙁
1: mon nom est rouge ( sample) Majda Bekkali
2. Hedonist ( Viktoria Minya)
3. I fly to Paris and go to the Palais royal and buy everything by Serge Lutens
4. Karin Slaugther
5. In august we will move to our new hospital and it is stunning! http://www.isala.nl the architect is Max van Huut
That looks impressive, Mary!
Thank you NOZKNOZ! Do you mean the fragrances or (maybe) also the new hospital???
I meant the new hospital, but your fragrance choices also sound great. I’m intrigued by Hedonist, too, and a pilgrimage to the SL boutique would be a perfect way to celebrate winning the lottery.
1.SOTD is Heeley Sel Marin- Since I can’t get to the beach today this will do. But to the poster who wanted to try the Reglisse Noire- Go for it! You won’t be disappointed, it’s wonderful. I’ve tried licorice, and this is more grown up and sophisticated. Perfect for layering.
2. I’m waiting on my samples of Almond based scents like Mazzolari.
3. I’m tried a few things from the Fragrance Shop which used to have a branch in South Beach, but I guess they’re only in North Carolina. They have some nice oils that are good for layering . I love their Oriental Kush.
4.Book of the Day is “Paris I Love you But You’re Bringing Me Down”- I love travel stories and this is about an American couple that move to Paris. Another place I’d like to be, but New York will do.
5. Watched a Spanish movie called “Don’t Tempt Me” With Penelope Cruz! Wow. She plays a devil. No tails or horns. There’s a scene where she lays down some great dance moves for “Kung Fu Fighting” Why can’t American actresses be like her?
6.If I had untold millions, I would just own my own fragrance boutique!
Pirate, thanks for the encouragement on the Reglisse Noir. I’m not into candied scents, and hearing that it’s grown up and versatile sounds promising. I will seek it out, I believe samples are available through the company and one etailer in the ‘States. The Penelope Cruz film sounds fun. I’ll try to track that down as well. Thanks!
1. Olivier Durbano’s Heliotrope
2. I want to try Fusion Sacree by Majda Bekkali and Patchouli Boheme by L M Parfums. I wish I knew where to even find a sample of perfumes by Von Euserdorff!
3.Vintage Tabac Blonde. That wish would probably require a time machine!
4. Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward, The Shoemaker’s Wife by Adriana Trigiani, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo, and currently reading Life After Life by Kate Atkinson.
5. My newest discovery after a lifetime of Hating any liquor that is brown, is Angel’s Envy Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey finished in Port wine Barrels. Bought it for my husband as a Father’s Day gift, and then tried a sip. Lovely.
1. Malle Dries van Noten. Its so cozy! Like a sibling to Helmut Lang edp, lovely!
2. What’s the next fragrance you’d like to test? The new Penhaligon, Veeta. And the Vagabond prince stuff.
3. You’ve just won the lottery. What’s the first perfume you will buy? Profumum Roma Confetto. I really love it, but its’s overpriced, it really is. But if I’m rich, I won’t care. I think.
4. Read any good books lately? Catelin Moran How to be a woman and Morantology is a must read. Also, last year, I read the Game of thrones-books, and they are fantastic.
5. Share something wonderful with us… – Hmmmm. Maybe not fantastic, but, vintage Ralph Lauren Safari is a really great scent. Also, for a great home made icecream without a icecreammaker: whisk 5 dl cream until whipped soft, stir with a tin of condensed milk. Add 100 gr chopped dark 72% chocolat and the put in a low (like for a loaf) baking tin and freeze for 5 h. Serve with strawberries. Taste heaven.
I also really want to try those new Duchaufours – plus your ice cream recipe!
#5
I swooped on a bottle of Cuir de Lancome going on eBay for $49.50. (Has not arrived yet.) This may not seem like a bargain, but CdL prices are going up. It used to be cheap as chips, but bizarrely, TPC is charging $7.99 per ml. STC is a bit more reasonable. Anyway, if you had planned to get hold of a FB of Cuir de Lancome, hurry up.
#4
Murder on the Homefront, by Molly Lefebure. She was secretary to a famous forensic pathologist in London during the Second World War. This is her account of that time, republished this year to coincide with a TV adaptation, but originally published in 1954.
#3
A trip to Paris to sniff, eat, and look at art.
#2
The new Parfums de Nicolai summer fragrance, and some classics – Fidji and Shocking.
#1
Nothing yet. Maybe Lys 41.
1. Today I’m wearing Youth Dew bath oil-just lovely after a day at the beach!
2. I would love to test some of the new Amouage fragrances. I’ve lost track after Memoir.
3. If I win the lottery I would have Mandy Aftelier design a fragrance for me.
4. I’m trying to finish the last book in Girl with Dragon Tattoo series. I just don’t have much time for reading right now.
5.I love being married to my husband. He cooks me breakfast every morning he is able to, he’s learned to make my tea the way I like it(even when loose leaves are involved), his fun loving cheerful nature is good for my soul. He has taught me to enjoy the beach and love that caribbean blue water.
Oh sure, make us single girls jealous with tales of your fabulous hubby! Very neighborly of you! 😉
No, really, I’m very happy for you. Or would be, if I wasn’t being all green with envy! 😛
Thank you for sharing that about your husband. It makes me feel jealous and hopeful and the same time.
It’s steamy, breezeless and hot today so I’m wearing Cristalle EdP despite my previous revulsion with it, it’s quite lovely now. I think my bottle is pre-IFRA because it’s deep yellow and the recent one I saw was a wan green. New appreciation, love when that happens!
Really want to try Paradis Perdu and Grossmith Shel-el-neem (sp?) and am awaiting my samples from Luckyscent.
Hmmmm lottery winnings short circuit my brain. First thing I’d buy is six bottles of Mito and Farnesiana in extrait, and and and Divine in extrait. Yep, that’ll do for starters.
I’m currently reading The Golem and the Jinni. What a treasure. A beautiful fairy tale like story for grown ups. But it’s so richly written I find myself looking for beautiful colour plates to be interspersed. On lottery winnings, I would have to also search out a book called Once Long Ago by Golden books long out of print that had the most amazing pictures by a Czech or Hungarian artist and all the fairy tales were obscure and from all over the world. I loved that book more than any other and it got lost in a move . . . . . sob.
Awesome products in current rotation are pretty much any skincare product from Ilike (Hungarian and organic and super super super). I don’t reach for anything else anymore. Don’t let the organic fool ya, this stuff is active and potent and my skin has never looked better. And several new red lipsticks by Guerlain, they are RED and stay that way and make me feel very Parisian and sophisticated.
Whew, hope I didn’t bore with this long diatribe, but wanted to tell the world about some great stuff! Have a lovely weekend all!
Holly, you should try searching ebay and some of the used book sellers like Powells and alibris for your lost book. You might be surprised – I’ve found lost favs that were not expensive at all.
Thank you NozKnoz! I will, what a treat it would be to find my “old friend”, it was so beautiful. If I get lucky I will post here to let you know.
1. I’m testing a mini of Organza Indecence. Nice stuff!
2. I’m very much looking forward to Sandrine Videault’s Grandiflora (and very saddened by the news of her passing), as well as the new Duchaufours.
3. If I really won big, I’d get a couple of the Xerjoffs (probably Irisss and the rose one) in the bottles carved from semi-precious stone. Go big or go home!
4. No recent books, but I’ve been reading the Mr. Money Moustache blog (no affiliation). It’s by a couple who retired in their 30s by saving most of their incomes. It’s a few decades too late for me to retire early, but I need to learn to live on less when I do retire, and this blog has interesting perspectives and tips.
5. I’m learning Chen style Tai Chi. That’s the original martial arts form – not that I’ll ever get to that level – it’s an amazing form of exercise, and there are very nice people in the classes here, too.
Hi Everyone,
Happy Saturday!
1. What fragrance are you wearing?
AA Flora Nymphaea
It reminds me of Elie Saab.
2. What’s the next fragrance you’d like to test?
Atelier Sous le toit de Paris – a sample is on the way!
Penhaligon’s Vaara- sounds nice!
3. You’ve just won the lottery. What’s the first perfume you will buy?
Amouage Ayoon Al Maha attar
4. Read any good books lately?
Moab in the Iron Age by Bruce Routledge – very good scholarship.
5. Share something wonderful with us!
A friend in Jerusalem gave my contact information to an Orthodox Archdeacon who was planning to move to the USA and wanted to take a cat, one that he had rescued from the street, along with him. He had no idea how to do it. I was able to guide him through the steps needed to transport animals out of Israel and, this week, I heard back from him. The pair are now in Philadelphia and Cleptis (great name!) the cat is happily exploring his new home. I was very happy to hear that it all went well and another animal has been saved from eating out of rubbish bins and dying young.
Oh, you did a very good deed there with the man and his cat! Good on you!
Good work, Pekefan – and Cleptis IS such a great name!
1: Wearing today: Again with the 1873 Colette from Histoires de Parfums. Can’t get enough of it; I have a large decant but a FB may be in my future. Also, I sprayed my sheets this morning with L’Artisan Fou d’Absinthe, nice in the summer. Also re-tried Fleur de Liane and wondered why I had ever bought it?
2. The new Amouage.
3. I’d buy Lalique Aphrodite, because sometimes, it’s really all about the bottle! ($1500); for a photo, see http://www.lalique.com/media/new-product/Parfum/flacons_de_collection/thumbnail/509x460_B21107.jpg
4. I’ve been reading David Baldacci thrillers–they are like junk food for the mind. Just bought the newly translated Jo Nesbo, The Bat, for my Kindle–it only came out July 3rd. It’s the first one in the Harry Hole series but the latest one translated. Can’t wait to read it. It’s a whole different level from the Baldacci’s.
5. My piece of wonderful news may seem weird to many people, but someone close to me has gone into treatment for alcohol, after about 40 years of abuse, and I have some small reason to be optimistic because of that.
Happy for your good news, Calypso – that’s major!
Congrats on the good news. That is major.
1. No real SOTD today other than Crabtree and Evelyn Citron, Coriander and Honey soap and body lotion (wonderful stuff, BTW). I hoped some samples would come in, and they did. Tried a bit of L’Artisan Caligna and it would make a nice room scent, but not a me scent.
2. Would love to try more Parfumerie Generale scents,having just fallen hard for L’Ombre Fauve.
3. oooh! the lottery! Well, it’s off to the nearest Chanel boutique for 1932, Cologne, Bel Respiro, and Bois des Iles. Then off to Ormonde Jayne for a full set of Woman products and some serious sampling. And the L’Ombre Fauve, of course,
4. Trying to plan a long weekend with my sister this summer hope we can pull it off!
1. Wearing my newest, Portrait of a Lady. Love it.
2. SSS Nostalgie
3. Lottery. Ok, I’d go on a huge, 1st class trip to all parts perfumed: France, India, Middle East and I would test and buy bottles from street vendors as well as niche houses. I would tour both the horses and the perfume of as many interesting cultures as possible. Oh man.
4.. I found this FUN app for phone that does FX on photos and art. It’s just evil and wrong but so fun. I guess it’s like word processing: we all thought it would take away creativity. But maybe it inspires. I don’t know. I look at a simple sketch I did of a horse and hit a button and think, Holy COW, why didn’t I think of THAT?
Getting filmed AGAIN, by HGTV’s House Hunters. I guess we were popular. The “Where Are They Now?” show. Well, I’m older and fatter. I can tell them that. But I smell better.
My mother in law loves that show. Congrats!
1) Bvlgari Black- Where has this been all my life?
2) Ordered a 3ml sample of SSS Spiced Citrus Vetiver and am waiting VERY impatiently for it to arrive.
3) OMG! OMG! OMG! I WON!? Have no clue what would be first.
4) Now reading “The World Until Yesterday” by the same dude who wrote “Guns, Germs, And Steel” (cant think of his name offhand).
5) My dog playing with her brand new squeaky toy soccer ball. Watch out Beckham! She just might out maneuver you! Cant stop laughing at her complete and utter joy over such a simple thing- its just beautiful =)
Ah, a Jared Diamond fan? He’s a favorite science author of mine, too! Loved Stephen J. Gould too, and it’s a loss to no longer have his voice in the mix.
I’m with you on the Bvlgari Black love 🙂
1. SSS Spiced Citrus Vetiver. I am trying it from a sample I recently received. I like it, though the longevity is not great on me. A few hours later and it is very faint, but still a lovely scent.
2. Any of the Neila Vermeire fragrances and the PdN summer fragrances.
3. Win the lottery? Like many others, a trip to Paris and a shopping spree would be in order. 🙂
4. Finished A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness and really liked it. For mystery, Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo was pretty good. Next on my list is Life After Life, although I was not a fan of Case Histories, so I hope this one is better for me.
5. On a wonderful trip right now. In Florida, where I grew up, visiting family for summer vacation. My twin boys are 2 1/2 and are having the time of their lives with their grandparents and the rest of my family. Lots of full, busy, happy days. 🙂
Happy weekend all!
Nicole
Oooh! I just reread A Discovery of Witches. One of my perfume peeps had recommended it, and I enjoyed it. I reread with an eye to all the scent references, highlighting every scented description. The author is very into scent. Certainly a scent oriented person, consciously or not. Have a ball in Florida, and I bet you smell mahvelous all along the way 😀
I wasn’t paying attention to the scent references in A Discovery of Witches. But, I now have the second book – Shadow of Night – so I will definitely pay attention this time. Incidentally, I noticed on Surrender to Chance that they have a curated sample set by Alyssa Harad and Deborah Harkness in which they have chosen scents that they think would persnify Diana and Matthew. I am not familiar with either scent though, so hard to say. Ginestet-Boytrytis for Diana (sweet wine and raw honey) and Etro-Messe de Minuit for Matthew (cloves, cinnamon, and incense).
*personify
1. No pefume yet today, but the last couple of days it’s been either Ylang 49 or Arquiste Boutonniere-glorious stuff!
2. The new Amouage Fate
3. If I won the lottery I would by Jul et Mad Terasse and Stillettos on Lex and at least half the Arquiste line.
4. I’ve read a very original book by a german artist Judith Schalansky-“Atlas of Remote Islands-fifty places I have never set fot on and never will” It’s descriptions of the most remote islands on Earth with maps and tales of shipwrecks, madmen, canibals and the like-very poetic!
5. I’ve aquired a new addiction- Hermes silk scarves. This might prove even more costly than the perfume habit!
Happy Sunday, all!
I guess this is an addendum to my entry above. 🙂
SOTD is vintage Shalimar edp, even though no one will sniff it but me! I *will* be painting later, but I was feeling like I needed a hug, and this fragrance feels like a hug from an old friend who then kicks you in the pants and tells you to get your heals on, cuz dammit, you’re gonna go have a good time! Guess I needed that kick in the pants, too. 😀
Today will hopefully be the last full day of painting. *fingers crossed* I have the final coat of sage green to put down in my attic bedroom and some detail work to clean up, and then. . . well, I guess there’s the closet up there, that they inexplicably painted mauve. Shoot. Maybe TWO more days left of painting.
OH–and they painted the slatted bifold doors to the closet MATTE BLACK. Anyone got an opinion about paint ’em or just replace ’em? I’m tempted to just replace them, but it looks like similar doors are over $100 a piece.
How about splattering different colored paints, one to match the color of your bedroom and others that match and/or complement your furniture?
That’s a creative solution! I think I want a solid color, though. The house is over 100 years old, and I’ve painted the trim white throughout. I feel like white is probably the most logical color for the closet doors, too. :-/
Have you ever used Killz? I’d try the yucky oil based version as it has much better coverage than the water based version, but one to two coats of that covers anything. Really. We had a room with a dark burgundy ceiling from a previous owner that was awful, and Killz fixed it after two coats. (Then we painted with normal matte white ceiling paint) Another thought is hiring it done professionally. Slatted doors are so difficult to paint, and a pro sprayer makes things go on so much more smoothly. You might ask a contractor for a quote just for the doors. Let us know how it goes!
Marjorie Rose, I have a friend who has been painting some dark wood doors, and it has taken her many coats with normal low VOC paint. One thought: there have been a number of posts on the award-winning decor blog Little Green Notebook about Rustoleum, which comes in spray form and will cover anything. If you would be able to take the doors out and spray them and let them dry outside your house, that might be worth looking into.
Thanks, Nozknoz! I had wondered if spray paint might work–as HemlockSillage mentions above, spraying seems like a reasonable solution. I will look into the Rustoleum–it was coverage that had me worried about painting them. Many of the trims throughout the house were painted black as well, and it has been 4 coats of paint to get them back to white each time! And the thought of doing that on slats was making my head hurt!
Four coats on fiddly trim – you REALLY deserve the Amouage of your choice, Marjorie Rose!
Ha! I like the way you think!
I think I’ve said it here before, but I’m pretty sure the reason that I could afford this house was because of the paint. For some rooms, painting the walls would take 2 days and painting the trim another 3! I swear I spent one day just painting trim around one of the bigger windows. It’s beautiful detailing, the sort of stuff you want in an old house, but sheesh! I hope I never change my mind and decide to paint it another color!
We once moved into a rental house in which the previous tenants had painted the kitchen and dining room Pepto-Bismol pink, and the dining room windowsills and the banister of the stair railing were high gloss black. The landlord gave us a month’s rent free for painting it ourselves instead of him having to do it or hire it out. When we bought our current house, we got a good deal on it, probably at least in part because it had ugly wallpaper. The laundry room had plaid wallpaper, one of the bedrooms had a checkered pattern that made your eyes feel funny, and two rooms had really gaudy floral designs. The house was built in the 70s, and no doubt those were the original wallpapers. Of course, not everyone would care for what I have done. The bedroom that had the checkered paper is now painted green, and I mean GREEN, as in a vivid, saturated emerald green, and the laundry room is lavender. All the trim is white, though, so if I change my mind I only have to repaint the flat parts of the walls.
Wow! I’d say you earned your rent painting that kitchen! One of my bedrooms was pepto pink, with the aforementioned black trim. Really something else!
I recognize that bright colors can be done well, but my own tastes run on the neutral side. I collect art, and do some of my own, and I don’t want my walls to take away from them. You’re wise to keep the trim white, in any case! It’s A LOT of work to paint it something else! (Although in my mind’s eye, I can imagine neutral walls with creative trim–maybe in someone else’s house? 🙂 )
I think when it is your house, you should paint it whatever colors you want. If you like neutrals, then by all means paint it in neutrals. I personally prefer more intense colors (although not Pepto-Bismol pink!), and I had spent so many years living in rental properties where everything was white or beige that I wanted color. I figure if I ever decide to sell the house, I can think about repainting then.
Oh totally agree! I don’t mind that the former owners wanted pepto and mustard and mauve, but it does make me wonder why they didn’t take the time to paint before they put it on the market!
I don’t like white everything, but I’m enjoying my calming sage and coffee and blue-greys and such! Very cozy.
I am wearing Jour d’Hermes and the first scent I’d buy with a lotto win would be Jardenia by JAR. The next scent, I’d love to test is anything from O’Driu – a sample set is on the way. About books, I just read two books by Kathy Lette, they always make me laugh so hard, that I break out in tears!
Cheers
Safran
1. Nothing yet, but I will probably spritz on some 10 Corso Como…it reminds me of some place that I can’t quite recollect, but until I figure that out I find it quite perfect for hot summer days.
2.So so many! I have already pretty much maxed out my perfume budget for the year 🙁 but I would love to try the Ineke perfumes, and I just learned about Anya’s garden recently. I would also love to try any perfumes from OJ, Tom Ford Cafe Rose (I’m looking for a darker rose, and I recently was wearing Stella while drinking my morning coffee and it was a wonderful combination!), and SSS Citrus Vetiver. That is just to name a few!
3.I think I would buy bottles of Hermessence Osmanthe Yunnan and Vetiver Tonka to start, then Jour d’Hermes. After that I would probably go a little crazy 🙂
4. I’m on the lookout for something new and probably something fiction for a change. I am finishing up the personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant, and I have just finished Elephant Memories, by Cynthia Moss. I never knew elephants were such complex animals!
5. I just got the stitches out from a deep cut in my hand. It is still not 100%, but I look forward to being back to normal sometime in the next few weeks! I have to admit, once I got over the ick factor it was kind of cool to look a bit like Frankenstein 🙂
1. SOTD is Jo Malone Orange Blossom – it’s sparkling and cool in the heat
2. I’m itching to try Lostmarc’h – searched for a store while I was in Paris recently, only to discover that the address I took from their website doesn’t exist
3. It would have to be big bottles of Chanel no 22 and Bois des Iles. And a bottle of Carnal Flower, too.
4. I’m currently re-reading Oscar Wilde’s the Happy Prince and other stories – I’d forgotten how good it is
5. Exciting news – I’ve just discovered that Shake Shack have opened their first UK store in Covent Garden (this is big news for me. I queued for an hour in blistering heat at their Madison Square park kiosk last time I was in NYC.)
That is hugely exciting re: shake shack in the UK!!
My husband and I try to limit our dining there to once a month , but we mostly fail in that.
1. Nothing yet today – gotta get my workout on and then finish the cleaning I started yesterday. Then not sure – I’m awash in samples right now so probably one of those – maybe Le Labo Fleur d’Oranger 27. I wasn’t super thrilled with it at first sniff but I need to give it a wearing by itself before I make up my mind about it.
2. SL Fille en Aiguilles. I’ve sniffed it on a blotter once, but I didn’t have skin space to try it on at the time. It’s stuck in my mind ever since, so I decided I had to have a sample. Just ordered a sample from STC to take advantage of their SL/ELdO/Byredo sale. As for things I haven’t ordered samples of yet.. I’ve been wanting to try more Parfumerie Generale since I love me some Cuir Venenum.
3. Holy crap, what *wouldn’t* I buy? I’d go nuts! My buy list would be cleared out in a hurry! For specifics, though, I think I’d go to Paris and get a bell jar of Boxeuses at the Palais Royal. And I’d probably buy some Amouages too, for good measure
4. I just finished “The Warded Man” by Peter V. Brett. I borrowed it from a friend. It’s the first book of a series, and now I’m all into it so I’ll probably get the next one on my Kindle app (I don’t have an actual Kindle, so I just got the app on my laptop and phone to read Kindle books)
Ok so the FdO27 was just meh, so after a couple of hours I got bored with it and broke out my little decant of Boxeuses. Not exactly summer-appropriate but I don’t care. 🙂
SOTD is Geranium Pour Monsieur.
I have sniffed the new Aedes. Its opening is similar to Iris Silver Mist, but the developmet is not as interesting.
Currently I am reading Billy Flynn’s Long Half Time Walk about a small group of US soldiers whose battle in the beginning months of the second US invastion of Iraq has become an internet sensation and who are give a brief respite from the battle to tour the country as a public relations sale for the war. The soldiers generally are uncomfortable with the intention and the well meant, but sentimental enthusiasm they receive. Flynn. a nineteen year old from a less than prosperous family, suffers from culture shock a growing cynicism when the (fictionalized) owner of the Dallas Cowboys hosts the squad with the intent of presenting them as part of a half time spectacular for a Thanksgiving Day game broadcast.
Last night I saw the Bling Ring, a movie about a true story of some Los Angeles Teenagers who kept breaking into TMZ celebrities to steal luxury clothes, and accessories. The kids are lacking in any moral or common sense that they post photos of themselves wearing the stolen purses and clothes, and casually talk at parties of “going to Paris’s” to get their stuff (Paris Hilton, of course).
Their are several shots of purloining (or at least lavishly spraying) fragrances as part of the raids. I think I saw shots of Serge Lutens, Frederick Malle and Anick Goutal bottles and YSL bottles. Paris Hilton (whose house really was repeatedly raided by the kids) made her house available to the filmmakers, and also made sure there was a shot of all her own fragrances on a counter. (In contrast, she made no pretense of preferring her own show line over Pradas etc.)
Interesting movie, but it would be really depressing if I thought those kids were at all representive of American youth,
SOTD is Eau Parfume au The Vert as it’s suddenly too hot to think.
Next to try would be Marni and others that can’t be found locally, on a jolly to London.
A lottery win would find me testing all the Amouages, starting again with Memoir, and some of the Parfumerie Generales scents.
Reading, after a 30 year break, the works of William Least Heat Moon who is (for my money) the best chronicler of small town and back woods USA. RIver Horse was amazing!
1. SL Douce Amere
2. Heeley Coccobella
3. All the JARs – just because I can 🙂
4. Reading a load of Rex Stout (the Nero Wolfes) and P.G. Wodehouse
5. Champagne and awesome cheese last night. Again, just because!
1. SOTD – Norma Kamali Olive You – bright for a rainy day and a counterpoint to all fruity florals that will be worn at church today.
2. Tom Ford Violet Blonde – just got a sample, but haven’t tried it yet.
3. Parfums d’Imperfiction line (Alice in Wonderland, Eleven Minutes, O Alquimista) – sampled them, love them; if I had the money I would buy full bottles (if I could find them).
4. In the middle of Patricia McKillip’s Bards of Bone Plain
5. Birthday dessert last week was Citrus-Scented Wine Cake from Vegetarian Times – so good, very similar in texture to a pound cake.
SOTD is Petite Cherie.
I’d like to purchase tons of samples from Ayala Moriel.
I haven’t read anything great lately, but I am looking forward to the new book by David Sedaris.
1. SOTD is AG’s L’heure Exquise
2. I’d like to try something from Eau d’Italie
3. Hmmm… maybe one of Agonist’s Black Amber sculpture bottles?
4. Haven’t read much over the last month because of work, but did treat myself today to the mind-candy of a murder mystery by G.A. McKevett.
1) I’m going to sleep in Like This. Lately I’m finding it very cosy!
2) I want to test some tuberose perfumes: Tuberose Criminelle (again), Gardenia&Tuberose, Fracas and Carnal Flower (which I have never smelled). I would like to have some more scents that my boyfriend enjoys on me and he seems to have a definite preference for jasmine, lily and tuberose – a category quite under-represented in my collection!
3) If I won the lottery? …um, perhaps Fourreau Noir. I’m loving my wax sample of it but not sure I could justify it when I own Chergui. And, while others take a trip to Paris I may decide to go to America first to smell the I Hate Perfume range and other quirky artisan offerings.
4) James Hanley’s Boy.
5) My perfume obsession has partly given way to a nail polish obsession??? Not exactly wonderful, but bizarre!
1) SOTD: Sample of Couture LaLa.
2) Would love to wear Laura Mercier’s Eau de Gourmond almond and coconut milk for a day, because that stuff nearly makes me faint whenever I sniff the tester at the counter.
3) See above
4) Mary Pickford: Queen of the Movies. By Cristel Schmidt. Big, beautiful coffee table book loaded with gorgeous pictures.
5) (see above). I had attended a screening of Sparrows starring Ms. Pickford back in May at which the author of above book was the introductory emcee. She raffled off a copy of her book to the person who gave the answer to the question, ‘Who was Pickford’s first husband?’ Needless to say, fan I am, I won the copy. (Answer: Owen Moore). That was pretty cool.
1. What fragrance are you wearing?
Odeur 71 CdG
2. What’s the next fragrance you’d like to test?
The new yohji homme. Curious as if it is as good as the original..
3. You’ve just won the lottery. What’s the first perfume you will buy?
I’d go in a vintage hunt for unopened Globe de Rochas bottles, and many other vintage things I used to love and are no longer available.
4. Read any good books lately?
I am reading Arsene Lupin books, currently The Golden Triangle.I think I lived in the turn-of-the-century (19-20 of course) because of how much I like these books.hehehehe. My all time favorite is The Crystal Stopper. These books are free to download @ The Guttenberg Project. They een have Kindle formatted versions!
5. Share something wonderful with us! It can be anything
Last year I started , as a side business, doing remote computer support (I log in to your computer and fix stuff up) and some IT consulting for people in the U.S. All while being here in Argentina. Looks like before
the first year is through, I’ll make enough to pay for my early U.S. trip. 🙂 very happy and thinking of expanding the following year.
1. What fragrance are you wearing?
Calvin Klein Truth
2. What’s the next fragrance you’d like to test?
Sad, but atm there is no fragrance I’d specifically like to test. Unless I can find one with better sillage and staying power than TDC’s Un Parfum des Charmes Et Feuilles.
3. You’ve just won the lottery. What’s the first perfume you will buy?
Rose Barbare. But that’s only the first. Eventually I’ll start liking fragrance again.
4. Read any good books lately?
ATM I am into watching some of the latest Egyptian movies that I missed , but have just bought “The $100 Startup”. Whether it’s good or bad, time will tell.
5. Share something wonderful with us! It can be anything — a great tv show you saw, something delicious you ate, the perfect hand cream you just discovered last week, any fabulous news you recently received — really, anything.
Spotted! In a leafy park, high above river and buildings, six couples were dancing old-fashioned Argentinian tango. I listened, entranced, until the lovely nostalgic music stopped and the dancers finished their complicated steps. By the time I realised I should’ve whipped my mobile out and record them or at least take a picture, they had separated. But they made my day!
Forgot to say I love this pic, It matches my feelings!
Ooh I love this thread. So many interesting responses.
1. What fragrance are you wearing?
Today I am wearing kenzo armour mixed up with guerlain lys de sol. It’s summery vanillery, because it’s a very hot day!
2. What’s the next fragrance you’d like to test?
I would love to test some of aftelier perfumes, a few le labos, Gucci made to measure and the new keiko mecheri perfumes.
3. You’ve just won the lottery. What’s the first perfume you will buy?
Roja dove, reckless or scandal. Amaouge Fate, and Clive Christian no.1. Or a limited edition of something encrusted in a re-usable diamond flanker!
4. Read any good books lately?
I read a good self help book lately called “it’s called a break up, not a breakdown”.
5. Share something wonderful with us! It can be anything — a great tv show you saw, something delicious you ate, the perfect hand cream you just discovered last week, any fabulous news you recently received — really, anything.
I had never watched a Jason Statham movie in my life. The first one I watched was just on the weekend – a recent release called “the hummingbird”. I really recommend it. It was a little cheesy in parts, but a really entertaining film. I’m enjoying the one or two (or even 3) rare days of proper summer that we are having here in the U.K. And when I say rare – I mean it!
Here I am, late to the party, as always!
1. Infusion de Vetiver
2. Fumerie Turque
3. If I end up being THAT rich, I will have a few top noses on standby just for me! (I would probably hunt down my Bois Noir)
4. No books yet, redoing the washroom and roof at the cottage is keeping me busy.
5. Blueberry-basil sorbet! Got to try it!!
1. What fragrance are you wearing?
Eau des Mervelilles (Hermes) topped with a bit of Miss Dior Eau Fraiche – very interesting combination.
2. What’s the next fragrance you’d like to test?
Vanille et Coco by E. Coudray
3. You’ve just won the lottery. What’s the first perfume you will buy?
Love and Tears – by Killian
4. Read any good books lately?
I am reading Les Memoirs d’Hadrien by Marguerite Yourcenar. In French. I am absolutely captivated, like transported to another world. Fascinating.
5. Share something wonderful with us! It can be anything — a great tv show you saw, something delicious you ate, the perfect hand cream you just discovered last week, any fabulous news you recently received — really, anything.
I am watching “The Wire”, Season 3 now. So good, I saw some great acting by virtually unknown actors, I have no idea how they cast these people. It’s so odd, there are such amazing actors out there, like this guy James Ransone, a young actor whom I had never seen before. He is just awesome, not particularly good-looking, but very beautiful eyes…I could easily picture him playing opposite Robert deNiro.