Hey, did you enjoy the polar vortex? I know I did (#sarcasm).
Coming up next Saturday, in addition to another lazy poll, our first freebie meet. Similar to the swap meets (and with like rules)*, but instead of trading your unloved perfume bottles and samples, just give them away to a good home. If there's sufficient interest, we'll do these twice a year. Then our first split meet (to arrange bottle splits) will be on Saturday, February 8, and I'll post the rules for that the week before. The next swap meet is Saturday, March 15.
Meanwhile, today, our standard-issue open thread poll: talk about anything you like — the perfume you’re wearing today, the perfume you can't bring yourself to buy even though you want it, whatever.
Or, ask a question about fragrance, then see if anyone else has asked a question that you can answer…
Note: top image is Blue Cold [cropped] by ejharaldseid at flickr; some rights reserved.
* One thing that will be different is that I will let other readers call "dibs" on specific items in the comments instead of having to email first. So, if you want to participate, you'll need a reader account.
In the 50s here in NJ today but reallyfoggy. Since it’s warm here, I’m wearing Pretty Machine which just doesn’t feel appropriate in cold weather. It was kind of funny to me how people were saying that it wasn’t too cold out once the temps got up to the midtwenties (which is _still_ below freezing)
So true. I’m in Minneapolis and we went from -20 on Thursday evening to +30 on Friday, a 50 degree warm up. Yes, it was TECHNICALLY still below freezing but it felt so much warmer. Our local TV weatherman was outside with just a sweater giving his report like a true Minnesota native LOL
Today I am wearing Volutes and drinking green tea.
Oh I remember those days from when I lived in St. Paul! I certainly went between classes in just a sweatshirt on more than one below freezing day (and was criticized/chastised at least once by the school nurse)!
It’s very warm here today too…but grey & raining, and just heard thunder. So not exactly a nice day.
Great photo! I tried to take a picture of the beautiful ice crystals on my car windows one morning, and I couldn’t get my camera to be focussed close enough to show the details. Clearly there’s a way, but I don’t know the ins and outs of my digital camera to make it happen. 🙁
In any case, back on topic, Happy Saturday! For whomever is keeping tabs, add one more point in favor of Bulgari Omnia as a boy magnet. I wore it for a date with Mr. Spicebomb on Thursday night, and his response was very positive! *blushes*
Haven’t settled on my SOTD, yet. We had a wonderful, dramatic wind storm last night, so I’m tempted to go chilly, like L’eau d’Hiver. But maybe I want something with more presence so I can enjoy it wafting through my blowing hair? 🙂
That’s me, I am the one keeping the official record. Your submission has been duly noted 🙂
Thanks! 😉
It’s funny to me, actually, that it’s so consistent! I did a little “perfume 101” with a couple of party guests last summer, and one of the guys actually liked it well enough to ask me later where he could buy some. I warned him it was a bit of a man magnet, but since he’s gay, he said that was a point in its favor! 😀
Yeah, whether one believes in nature or nurture (…I’ll let you guess which theory I find more persuasive!), clearly gender is a very significant axis of identity for a lot of people, so it makes some sense to me that fragrance tastes might cluster in the same way that other kinds of aesthetic or leisure activities often do.
More concretely, I think I should give Omnia a try sometime soon! I’ve only ever smelled it on paper, but I gather this terrible weather we’re having might be the perfect time for wearing it!
Yeah, I haven’t had the same responses from women, but I haven’t had as many opportunities, either. 😉
And yes, Omnia might be just the thing to keep someone warm during these cold days and nights!
CH – since you are the one keeping tabs, lol! Omnia has not had this effect for me. Can’t win them all, I guess:)
Aha! Hence the importance of the database–science will get to the bottom of this 🙂
As I’ve said a million times here, I love flickr! It’s a great shot, and I couldn’t accomplish it either.
Mr. Spicebomb has good taste 🙂
He *does* have good taste! Thankfully, that includes liking me, too! 🙂
^^this
I just pulled out my sample of l’eau d’hiver, and found it not very evocative of winter at all. I liked it, but I’ll be passing it along to my brother. It seemed more appropriate for warmer weather to me, the drydown especially. I am not good enough at picking out notes to explain why. Maybe the iris, which I associate with spring? I also tend towards much heavier hitters for coziness in winter. How did you like it?
I always wear L’Eau d’Hiver in summer… Bergamot to me always says “summer” but I can see the cool, rooty, metallic aspect of Iris triggering “spring” in your brain.
Mostly, I wear L’eau d’Hiver in the warmer months, but then there are times I like to magnify the coldness of it with a crisp day. The creamy heliotrope feels fresh in the best sense of the word to me.
Hey, MR. I saw ginormous tubes of Bliss Lemon and Sage body butter at Marshall’s today, and thought of you. I think that you like that one??
I don’t know about MR, but I can tell you I do! Thanks for mentioning it. Plus it’s amazing as a deep conditioner for hair.
Hair conditioner, huh? That’s a good idea!
Yes, kindcrow. It’s really good as an overnight deep conditioner for hair. Well, I’ll clarify and say that when I used to buy it from their adorable catalogue it was. Hopefully that formula hasn’t changed. Regardless, I’ll be heading out to Marshall’s to see if I can score some. Thanks so much for mentioning it 🙂
YES! I will make a trip to Marshall’s and take a look! Thank you! 🙂
Here in Poland we have the weather like it was spring! The lilac in front of our house started growing new buds! The forecast says that winter is still to come, I’m afraid that those plants might freeze and they won’t grow or bloom when the right spring comes.
My scent of the day is Fortis from the brand named Les Liquides Imaginaires.
I cannot wait for all the meets ahead!
Stay warm and healthy. Enjoy the weekend
It’s beautiful today here in the UK too, with sunshine, blue sky and now a wonderful sunset. We thought we would never see good weather again after all the storms and floods (I was considering building an Ark in the garden, but I think it would only have been big enough for my husband and me and the two cats, and it would not have floated as we are not practical, so decided not to bother). Yes, it is still winter and I know we will get the rain and frost again, but it’s lovely to see a promise of spring.
Just to remind myself of summer flowers, I wore L’AP’s La Haie Fleurie today, and I smell like jasmine and honeysuckle.
Hope your lilac survives!
It’s good to hear that you had a good weather day in Jillie!
You know, I kind of miss the real winter, when it’s reasonably chilly (lets say -5 -10*C) and there’s a little bit of snow (enough to make the scenery white and not to cause problems with trains arriving on time)
I bet you smell great, Jillie! La Haie Fleurie is one of my perfume regrets – I saw the old La Haie Fleurie de Hameau on ebay once and let it pass.
I feel your loss!
I hate it when we get that sneaky pseudo-spring warm up — It gets my cherry tree and magnolias almost every year! “oh it’s spring! Here’s all my buds!!!” then ZAP a few more freezing weeks and they all turn brown. sigh….I hope your lilac makes it.
Daisy, we had a similar situation last year when pseudo-spring came in January and then in the middle of the month a great winter started and lasted until end of March. Fruits and vegetables were often twice their regular price because many trees and plants froze…
Ugh….I know just what you mean…here in the upper midwest we get this to some degree every year. Luckily this country covers enough geographical area that there are always areas that escape the killing freezes.
Yeah, we have those false springs here in Oregon sometimes, too. Can be a real problem for the farmers–all those apples and pears go into bloom too early. They have these amazing (and kinda beautiful) furnaces in fields that they burn fires in to keep the trees warm enough should the temperature drop too low.
I understand they do this in the citrus groves in Florida as well. And since I love apples, pears and oranges; I appreciate the great efforts the farmers go to to save their crops!
Yes. I have great appreciation for the work that is done to grow me beautiful food!
There was a film with Keanu Reeves – can’t remember the name – in which fires were lit at night to keep the frost at bay from the vines, and people were slowly flapping giant wings to waft the warm air around the plants; they looked like magical butterflies and it was a beautiful scene.
oh! it was in wine country….right after WWII , I think….I seem to remember seeing just a bit of a movie where they were doing that…..I think the daughter of the family was pregnant but her love had been killed in the war and Keanu was pretending to be the father to keep her family from disowning her …or something like that….
Les Liquides Imaginaires is an interesting name for a perfume brand, Lucas. Are you planning to review this one?
I know! This brand name really intrigues me. Yes, I will review Fortis next week
I look forward to hearing what you think, certainly describing it more eloquently than I could 😉
I ordered samples of Fortis, Sancti and Blood Wood from STC and so far Sancti is my favorite. Fortis and Sancti definitely remind me of ritual scents (be it Catholic, Pagan, etc.) 🙂
That sounds right up my alley! Have you tried the CdG Something ….the limited edition Japanese incense fragrance? Its pretty. I have a bottle I would decant some. These exchanges and splits and swaps sound fun!
Summertime in NYC! Cannot believe we’re at 55 today and last week was single digits.
Haven’t decided on what I’ll wear today, and heading out to do some shopping later so probably want to keep it simple so I can try anything new.
Received samples of the Olsen twins new scents and do like Black, maybe I’ll wear that as it doesn’t last more than 2hrs on me. I like it, but not FB worthy.
Happy weekend!
Have seen many comments about the poor staying power of Nirvana Black — I did not have that experience at all, in fact, I can still smell it the next day. Wonder if it is the heavy musks causing olfactory fatigue?
Our weather here in the central Midwest tends to pop up into “summertime” realms too in the middle of winter. We’ve had 60’s in February here and there. Today it’s 44, definitely balmy and almost shorts weather LOL
The polar vortex stirred up a huge hype storm in the DC area (of course) and broke some records. There was dangerous freezing rain yesterday morning and fog, which has yet to lift – so dreary. I’ve had a cold so haven’t been wearing perfume.
Two perfumes that I love completely but have never bought are Heeley Cuir Pleine Fleur and PG Cuir Venenum – both perfect leathers. The problem is that just before I tried them I bought the honking 100-mI of L’AP Dzing! (there were rumors of discontinuation and no longer any 50-ml bottles) and realized I’d never make a dint in that huge vat. I also liked several of the Heeleys and wasn’t sure which I really liked best – I’ve never been able to pick one even though I think Heeley is of the best lines.
The problem with Cuir Venenum, in addition to the curse of the 100-ml Dzing!, is that LT compared it to top-notch Belgian beer, which made me wonder if I’d smell like I’d been drinking when I wore it.
I love leathers and have many other FBs, including vintage leathers such as Lanvin Scandal; fruity leathers like L’AP Traversee du Bosphore, SL Daim Blonde and DSH Mata Hari; straight-up Etro Gomma; ambery Cuir Ottoman; and dandified Knize Ten. But Cuir Pleine Fleur and Cuir Venenum are wonderful, and I periodically fret over only owning decants. Then I wonder if the current versions are as good as they were back in 2007….and soon get distracted by something else.
The moral of this story is, if you are looking for a leather perfume, try Cuir Plein Fleur and Cuir Venenum first!
I love leathers and I share your enthusiasm for Cuir Venenum, I’ve always found it great fun. I do get the beer reference (it’s the hops/rye-like bitter tanginess, I think) although I’m not sure that it’s at all obvious unless it’s been pointed out.
I didn’t adore Cuir Plein Fleur. It reminded me of something else, although I can’t remember what it was now. It’s been ages since I last tested it though, so I might dig it out and see if my feelings have changed.
I wore my Cuir de Russie extrait yesterday and found myself getting a lot of black tea from it which I hadn’t noticed before.
Abyss, eventually I wore my decant of Cuir Venenum and asked someone if it smelled like beer. They said it smelled great but not like beer. So my fears were unfounded. It’s very reasonably priced, too. PG is a great line!
I am adding all of these to my leather list. Have you tried Whips and Roses? I dabbed on a bit of my teeny decant of Cuir de Russie parfum a couple of days ago and then decided to leave it out so I wear it more. Perfection, that one, isn’t it?
I haven’t tried that one yet – I think there were positive comments when it came out. Will sample someday!
Dismal weather!
As for the Dzing bottle, how do you feel about swapping? I just bought the 100ml as well and while I’m not having too many regrets about it, part of the reasoning (…rationalizing??) behind my purchase was that if ever it really began to weigh on me, it shouldn’t be too hard to swap away decants to “spend down” the bottle.
I’m glad I bought Dzing! – it makes me happy every time I wear it – just wish they’d had 50-mil bottles. I haven’t had time for swapping but I do rationalize that I have a great supply for future swapping! 🙂
I so hear you about the 50ml bottles. Shamefully I haven’t even unwrapped my new bottle because I had not one but two decants on hand when I bought it, and I’m only just now starting on the second decant! Absurd on my part, I’ll be working on that 100ml for the rest of my life. But between the sale and the lack of other options…
I love Cuir Venenum but never thought it smelled like beer! I’ve heard of it smelling like skittles, though.
LT referred to a particular type of Belgian beer. I did try one of them (Orval) and noticed some similarity in the aroma, although it’s not a match I would ever have come up with.
I got a Slumberhouse sample set and have been trying them this past week. I love their longevity and the fact that they are full-bodied fragrances ( I mean that they don’t smell weak or diluted). My favorite is Norne, a fir-and-forest scent, but it is so full of resins that my wrists stuck to the top of the laptop–that’s a first for me. I do think I will get a FB as I have never smelled anything similar and I love the feeling it imparts of being outdoors.
Oh shoot. I keep meaning to get those samples! The perfumers are locals here in Portland, but I think there’s nowhere local to try them. . . but they sound right up my alley! I would love another resinous, outdoorsy perfume. 🙂
What, Slumberhouse can’t be sniffed in Portland?! That seems to be a lack of the most basic marketing know-how.
I know. I’ve brought it up at Our Lady, and the SAs agree, but they have limited space, etc., etc.
Are you feeling bold? Maybe you could email and ask for a studio visit!
Oh, I bet that’d be a lot of fun! I’m not sure I’m not that brave, generally speaking. I have trouble just calling friends I don’t speak with regularly, let alone strangers! (I blame it on introversion, but it might be I’m a weenie. . .)
In any case, Angela’s a local, and if she wanted to do it and have a few taggers-along, I wouldn’t be opposed! Or Kevin could drive down from Seattle for a day. . . 😀 (I know, doesn’t solve the problem of me being a weenie.)
Love Slumberhouse. I wish he’d bring back Baque. I waited too long to decide if I really wanted it and it’s gone. 🙁 I have a sample of Sova and it’s perfect in this cold damp weather. I should get that sample set and try them all.
Josh’s scents don’t skimp on the good stuff, that’s for sure. Just remember to spray Norne on the tops (backs) of your wrists. I do that with almost everything now because my desk is wood and over time has absorbed so much perfume that it is always scented! (my desk has sillage) To save my desk I started spraying the tops of wrists — I discovered the additional benefit of being able to snuffle my wrists* much easier while still typing. 🙂
*issues perfumistas worry about
Oh that’s funny! I read that Marie Curie’s desk still glows from all the radium she handled during her research. They’ve had to carefully store it to protect people. Now I’m imagining Daisy’s desk needing similar treatment. . . 😀
You might be on to something — my daughter constantly complains that my desk “reeks!” …..yeah, it does, but I’ll tell you what —It reeks GOOD. Sometimes I give my desk a gentle “whuff” and then sigh. It’s like the mixed waft when you open up your perfume cabinet: I think it’s glorious. Plus the wood has a nice sheen…..
Your desk sounds fabulous – I would love to have a piece of perfumed furniture. Unfortunately, mine is made of cold glass, which only picks up greasy fingerprints.
Daisy, I wonder if I got my desk smelling good I would get more work done, or at least be more tempted to sit down at it!
Haha! That’s great! I found an old lamp at a used homegoods store that smelled of some old perfume, and I almost bought it JUST CUZ. You know some nice lady had it on her vanity!
Daisy’s desk is banned by IFRA! 😉
Gawd! probably….it’s absorbed so much dangerous oak moss and citrus oils etc…..it might cause a rash….a rash of perfume buying!!! 😉
LOL, that’s funny. That is a good idea spraying the top of your wrists for the sniffing ease. Very handy I would think if in the office and want to enjoy one’s scent but not wanting to overpower the rest of the room.
Overpowering the rest of the room is bad? just checking….
Ha that is really an amazing endorsement!
Daisy, so timely that you suggested spraying the back of your wrists! My teenage daughter called me out the other night for sniffing the inside of my wrist when we were watching a movie. I’m not trying to hide anything from her, but she also recently commented on the growing number of perfume bottles on my dresser. She told me I’m “obsessed”! Well, I suppose there could be worse things. 😉
Maybe she’ll fall into the rabbit hole herself, mwaahaaa haaa haaaa
Ha! I like the way you think! I find that if I slowly plant the see of any new idea, she eventually joins in. Sampled Balenciaga L’Eau Rose yesterday. It was very fun and sweet with blackberries. I would love for her to give that a spin!
seed…plant the seed! 🙂
Nightingale — I have over 700 bottles….my daughter gave up on the comments long ago.
If she complains because you sniff your wrists….you know how to put a stop to that— Pull your shirt out in front and start huffing right down your top! Flap it a little…or a lot… then while she’s looking at you all appalled — say “what? you didn’t like it when I sniffed my wrists….”
Ha! I am cracking up – I could just imagine her face if I did that!
Daisy, with 700 choices, how in the world do you decide what fragrance to wear each day?!?!
Yes, I think that would put the ‘inappropriateness’ of sniffing ones wrist in perspective! My favorite is when I have tried a perfume on my upper arm – when all other spaces are taken: when I take a sniff it looks like I am checking whether my deodorant works, lol!
Merlin! I’ve done that too!!! My mini-me walked thru the room one day and said “ARE YOU SNIFFING YOUR PITS????” I said “no, but now that you mention it, this Tom’s Refreshing Lemongrass deodorant smells pretty good! ”
The point: I have no shame.
The other point: no matter what they say, always come back with something worse.
This ain’t my first rodeo.
Yeah, I usually retort – may be time for my monthly bath…
Norne is my favorite as well. It’s fun to wear around my knees and ankles and then a strong rose on the upper half of me. I especially love wearing it in cooler weather when friends host bonfires. Always get compliments too.
That’s an interesting idea for layering! What is a good rose for this?
It’s mid sixties and sunny today, light gusts of wind in Houston, TX. I’ve heard. I’m working inside until 5. 🙁
I’m excited for Split-opia! Quick show of hands, anyone interested in El Attarine? I keep adding a bottle to my cart only to take it out because who am I kidding, $300. Lordy.
A practical question too. Should I go ahead and order 10ml bottles, or wait to see if I have enough interest?
Wearing China White. I still like it but I feel way different now from the guy I was when I bought it.
I bought my boyfriend a bottle of CdG Blue Encens and he loves it. I’d still prefer him to wear Geranium pour Monsieur, but I’ll have to wait till next Christmas to get him some, I’m afraid.
Argh. I am going to have to avoid even reading the split post…I’d love some Attarine, but doubt I’d be willing to even pay for a decant. That stuff is spendy.
My practical answer: wait & order bottles. If you order the bottles when you order the scent, you should get them in time.
I can think of so many things I’d like to split, but Attarine really haunts me. I haven’t sniffed them all but it’s probably my favorite of the FdB offspring.
In my opinion, if you will be swapping at some point in the future, you may as well order your supplies now.
I have to visit Barneys to sniff El Attarine…I don’t recall it at all eventhough I smelled through the entire line several times over in various places; my “problem” (which is really not a problem since perfumistahood is just for fun) is that I don’t take notes.
Thanks for the advice! I have a few supplies, but splits are a whole another affair!
When El Attarine was first launched, I was a perfume neophyte. I ordered my first third party sample set, and it was the one that captured me. Apricot jam, cumin, and sunlight! Turin got exactly right: “When the stars align, nothing else will do.” Or something like that! 🙂
Hi Coumarin,
I just got a bottle of El Attarine from Paris (my husband was the mule). I love it, but it would take me quite some time to finish the bottle. So, If you like, we could do a split and calculate the French cost (not what Barneys is charging).
I’m interested.
You can e-mail me at: jgradycole@lycos.com
Wow, thank you so much for your generous offer! I would love to take you up on it. Just send me an email at Ericbrandonh at Gmail dot com. 🙂
I’m happy your husband is so sweet as to pick you up something special. Should we all be so lucky!
I’m wearing Mitzah on one wrist and Alahine on the other to see how they compare. They don’t. (Many of you probably could have told me that!) Mitzah is a warm vanilla amber today and Alahine is an ambery ylang. Both nice, but on this day of snow melt the Alahine, a gift from a generous gal over on the Posse board, would have been the better choice!
Oooh! yes, very different attitudes in those ambers. I was wearing Alahine one day last week — I hadn’t worn it in a year and I forgot how wonderful it is!— and then I was making someone a sample of AT Une Rose Chypree. Of course I got some on myself ….and liked it so well that I had a nice big spritz! Alahine and URC work very well together!!!
That sounds like a great combination! I wonder if any of the other Tauers would also work with it, since they all have the Tauerade in common…?
I think any good solid rose would do….experiment and see, who knows what fabulous new combo you will discover!!
I wish someone would put out a fragrance called Mitzvah.
Lol, I know! Let’s get away from the oud and the incense and onto the … hmmm… what would Mitzvah’s notes be?
I think that it would be warm and cuddly to represent kindness.
That’s lovely.
Hee, hee. Every time I see Mitzah, I think Mitzvah. I hope that they make one, too.
It recalls the word Mitzvah to me too and this actually puts me off! I’m the kind of person that would be happier in something called Aveira or Gehenom, or something of the sort! Of course I don’t want it to actually smell scary, lol!
Now I really need to control those exclamation marks…
I meant mitzvah in a secular sense 🙂 I just looked up “Aveira” and, yes that would be an excellent name for a perfume or a band!
Well, I guess we already have Lanvin’s Sin which is close enough:)
All this puts me in mind of the Ajmal perfume called Sacrifice. Apparently smells like Angel…
I think I’d feel a bit creepy in Sacrifice though!
For when you want some mensch to become mishpochah, wear Mitzvah?
Oy! I can just hear my bubbe kvetching, they should have called it “Chutzpah!”
Nu?
I am not a winter gal to begin with….so this polar vortex has been pretty hellish. We have piles of snow nearly 4′ high down the sides of the driveway and around the patio….the poor birds are just desperate and we’re filling the sunflower hearts feeders constantly to get them thru the cold. My koi , however, were safe from the mink because the air exchange hole in the top of the pond was tiny. Ha! try to get in there you evil koi eating mink!!! Today it’s 40*F and raining….I hope it doesn’t freeze before it has a chance to dry off the roads.
For my daily fragrance fix I’ve been dousing myself with heavy hitters and comforting scents like Amouage Fate, Krigler Topaze Imperiale, Hilde Soliani Orgasmo, Guerlain Rose Nacree du Desert, Ormonde Jayne Tolu, Dior Mitzah, PG Un Crime Exotique and Shalimar Madagascar. Today I’m giving the weather another slap with Roja Dove Reckless extrait on one arm and Roja Dove Unspoken extrait on the other (I know, I know….but I couldn’t decide!)
Wow. We do not have that much snow, but still, I’ve been basically in hibernation…have only left the house for absolutely essential reasons.
I would love to lock myself in until mid-April. The pile of snow on my back patio (where we were shoveling again and again) is so high that my poor chiminea is barely peeking out the top….
We’ve got piles of snow “smoking”, turning the air above them cloudy and slowly melting onto the streets which I’m afraid may ice over when the weather turns cold again.
Ah, and watch out for those potholes — they are everywhere!
We had piles of snow everywhere….some lanes on the expressway were still two-tracks……and yet the fog was so thick that traffic was creeping. yay winter. 🙁
Have the Mexique and am curious how Madagascar compares. Do those Roja Doves have phenomenal lasting power? Am dying to travel to London, and the Roja Dove parfumerie would be high on the must see list.
The Mexique has a very subtle sweet-chocolate note and overall has a slightly rougher edge…. The Madagascar , to me, seems very smooth. It’s not a huge difference, but just enough for me to go searching for a back up of Madagascar when I have a perfectly good bottle of Mexique in the cabinet. I think I got the last bottle in all of Paris…..
Galbanumgal….do I know you outside of NST?
Oh — I forgot about Roja Dove. Did you know that Roja Dove is now available at Bergdorf’s in NYC (ask for Thomas) and at Osswald’s in NYC (ask for Nik) ….they have the extraits, although be aware that there are some export issues with some of the names. For example in the US market “Creation I” is really Innuendo (in the rest of the world) and “Creation E” is really Enigma, “Creation R” is really Risque. The other thing is that Roja is phasing out the edps…..I don’t know about at Harrod’s but here in the states it’s very hard to find an edp….you could try amazon or ebay….in stores they have the extraits.
Anyhow, yes, they are pretty intense and on me, last all day.
btw — I really really disagree with this plan of discontinuing the edp’s. I don’t understand what crazy marketing strategy is going on here.
thanks for the info, Daisy. As compulsive as I am, will probably need to seek out the Madagascar! I did know that Bergdorf carries Roja Dove…haven’t spent enough time with the line to know if I want to purchase anything. I’m pretty sure I have a sample of Unspoken that needs skin time. I don’t think we know one another–I’m in suburban Chicago.
I meant from another perfume group….or maybe you just seem familiar from being at NST for a long time.
I should probably join one of the FB perfume groups.
BTW, have SNL on right now, which I don’t usually watch beyond the 1st 5 mins. Justin Timberlake & Jimmy Fallon are kinda killing me as the brothers Gibb!
Empress, did you ever try the Fetish? I haven’t seen you mention it. Wondering what you thought of it if you did try – the notes sounded good (right! like I haven’t been taken in by notes before… :-p )
Fetish is leathery ….and leather is not really my thing… so Fetish is one of my least favorites.
Oh, Daisy, my Unspoken angel! Hope you’re warming up. I know you smell terrific in both of the RDs, although I need to try the Reckless. BTW, have you tried the Roja by Roja Dove? If so, what did you think of it? Off I go to a decant site to get Reckless!
Hi! I have not tried Roja….a certain SA said he’d send me one…but since it never arrived I can only assume it just wasn’t available.
And I’m torn anyhow….what were there? 10 bottles worldwide at over $3,000 each? The last thing I need is to fall in love with something that expensive….and I think all the bottles were sold anyhow.
I’m waiting to see if he relents and moves it into the regular line.
Egad! the decant sites are so expensive!!! are you wanting a decant of extrait? PM me and we can talk .
“Polar Vortex” would actually make an incredible perfume name.
I’m over in the Bay Area, where it’s been steadily 60 for the last month or so, so I spent half the week texting pics of the sun to all my friends on the East Coast.
I completely finished my bottle of Calypso St. Barth Lea and am dilly daddling getting around to ordering a new bottle. Why? I’m debating which Lucky Scent samples I just HAVE to include with this order! 🙂
LOL — that is the part that takes the longest every time I place a Luckyscent order!!
Since you like Lea — what about the new Profumum Roma Sorriso?
Or that new trio called Masque Milano? There will likely be splits of those all coming up in the next few weeks and then you’d know if you needed splits or not.
Don’t bother with that newish L’Artisan trio….all meh.
I was out running errands and it was TOO WARM at 56 degrees after that polar vortex earlier in the week!
I am excited about the split meet as I may host 1 or 2 but at least one may be too obscure and I will most likely split half (to equal portions) and keep the other half.
SOTD is Penhaligon Iris Prima. I forgot I have a small decant from STC and Robin’s review reminded me!
Happy weekend everyone!
You smell great! What do you think about Iris Prima sweetie?
I really like the perfume but it doesn’t fit my tight restrictions for iris perfumes.
Enjoy the weekend
I like Iris Prima but it pales in comparison with a lot of other Iris-based perfumes I already have (such as my latest love Atelier Cologne Silver Iris). Once the decant is gone, it’s Iris Prima’s swan song for me, pun intended!
So it’s the same as for me. Yay for twin-hood 🙂
It definitely can’t compare with Silver Iris, D600 or Prada irises
Crazy wind storm nabbed our power early this morning. I have a standing date to meet a pal for a walk at 9am each Saturday, so headed out in rain gear and a spritz of Bronze Goddess to get me through. Fortunately, the power was restored by the time I got home.
Not sure what the final SOTD will be. Perhaps Balenciaga Paris? I am really so fickle. Just recently I was complaining that Paris wasn’t wintery enough. Now, I feel like those violets are just the thing I need to get me through these short dark and dreary days.
So glad your power was restored, there’s nothing worse than losing power in the winter.
Thanks, Robin! Totally agree, feel like we got off easy with power only being out for a few hours.
Stormed all night here; now a bright sunny 70 degrees F.
Things have, as they say, just “gotten real” here: The postal service has showed up with a fully laden Conestoga wagon from TPC. About 125 samples are now at my disposal.
So, Perfumistas, how do I turn these into knowledge?
I can sort them by Mfg, fragrance group or notes. [I’ll add the perfumer later. —I could kick myself for not making a database from the start like I knew I should : ( ]
I’m thinking to do a quick pass through them all first off, for a general impression and a superficial sort into “Yum”, “Meh” and “Bleh”. I’ve also considered covering the labels so that the first sniff is blind and I don’t get influenced by “wanting” to like a particular one most.
So how would you approach this process …. if you were me and didn’t know anything about “notes” and how they smell in perfumes? …if you didn’t have a partiuclar sense of having many “scent memories” to attach things to?
Other than like, dislike and don’t care, I’m not sure how to start coming away with any more understanding.
Wisdom? Experience? Best Guesses?
Thanks in advance for any ideas; I’ll be in the other room girding my loins.
My experience with TPC:
STOP-Do not open the bags until you check for leaks.
STOP-Do not open the bags until you take pictures of the leak, if any. If you opened the bags before taking the pictures, sorry, you probably caused the leak because you changed your mind about buying that sample.
STOP-Do not open the bags until you report that there was a leak.
STOP-Do not open the bags until you receive a response to your inquiry that your are not lying and yes, you will get a replacement (but they will not tell you it could be a few weeks later).
STOP-Do not open the bags until you confirm with them that you do not need to send back the leaky package.
Now, you can open the package…
That said…they do have a Vintage perfume sale 25% off with code ILOVEVINTAGE going on but I won’t be placing an order.
Oof. Very sorry to hear that but thanks for the head’s up.
lol…. Thanks for the warning. I’d already seen some questions and comments online that worried me a little, but the packages looked not to have been used for hockey pucks and I could only smell a *slight* whiff of frag from one of them, so I’ve opened them.
Nothing POURED of the the bags, thankfully.
I looked at that sale yesterday and put together an order but then decided I had enough to deal with for the moment.
Gosh, hajusuuri. I’ve been wondering why more kudos go to StC than TPC, and here’s a clue.
I also want to say thanks to everyone here at NST who has mentioned sample sets offered by stores, perfumers, houses and so on. That’s been really helpful as there is so much out there I would never have known about.
D.D., now comes the fun part! There are so many ways to approach this, I know…..
I guess that it might be helpful for you to determine what your primary goal is, and then figure out how to achieve it. Does that make sense to you?
I don’t think there’s a right or a wrong way, and there will be many who agree and many who disagree, lol. What would be most enjoyable to you?
Most of all, I sincerely hope that you will experience moments of joy that enhance your life. Perfume does that for me. Magic happens 🙂
Thumbs up on doing it whatever way you most enjoy, and on the magic!
Thank you, Holly. You’re right about the magic.
I’ve tended to be very “task oriented” in my approach so far. That’s probably because my original purpose was, modestly, to find a new “cologne” to wear after having gone scentless for a long long time.
…But then the vortex of the Rabbit Hole took hold and…. you know.
I use to build hand-made furniture, so I know what that moment of magic can feel like. On the other hand, I’ve become enmeshed in the *educational* endevor of learning “all” about perfume notes. (…and while it may not seem like it, I understand that that learning will take a while.)
So I think what I want is to maximise my learning through the methods of my approach to sniffing while giving myself a space and atmosphere for that magic to happen.
Thanks for your note; it calmed me down a little.
I certainly understand. A couple of weeks ago, I noticed myself getting a little out of whack about the perfume shebang in a way I didn’t like.
I started collecting ages ago, lost almost all of that in a fire and only recently decided to take the plunge again. The lists grew. There’s just so much out there! It’s wonderful, but to me overwhelming as well. And the $ signs were flashing before my eyes.
I also had read a post from Angela here regarding World Aids Day, and making a difference. I realized I could combine my love of fragrance with my work in hospice and eldercare and share with my clients something that brings me joy and happy memories, and does the same for them. That list grew. Oh my!
Luckily for me, I read something in a novel at the right moment. “All or nothing invariably leads to nothing.” That speaks to me as I was putting pressure on myself to do it all. And honestly, I don’t WANT to do it all, and I don’t want to have it all, either. I tend to try and keep things simple because that’s what works for me.
There’s a lot of wisdom to be gleaned from everyone here at NST, and it’s such a lovely, welcoming community. I’ve ordered some samples based on what I’ve read and what my clients express an interest in. I received a very generous and unexpected gift. Is there more out there? TONS!
I like to think of this as enjoying art, which I believe perfumery is. The difficulty lies in the fact that perfume needs to be experienced, and in order to do so you have to have it in hand. It’s visceral. And just like so much of the good stuff in life, it’s ephemeral as well.
So ….. I’m looking forward to hearing what your experience is. I know you’ve put a lot of thought into this, and it’s quite admirable. Plunge in!
I have a spreadsheet in which I list perfumes I have samples, with the house, perfume name, my comments on each one, and a star rating (0 stars being a real scrubber and 5 stars being absolute love). You may also find it helpful to have columns for the perfumer and the main notes (you can always add these last two bits of info later. The important thing is to first get the perfume into your spreadsheet with the brand and name and to enter you impressions as soon as possible after testing). I cannot stress enough how useful it has been to have this spreadsheet. After sniffing the odd hundred or two hundred perfumes, it is simply impossible to keep track of what I did or didn’t like just in my head. It also allows you to see if there are trends. For example, a particular house may suit you or not. It is quite common to find that you either like or dislike the majority of scents from one brand. You may also find that a number of your favorites were by the same perfumer of feature the same dominant notes.
To learn about notes, it is possible to buy kits containing various pure fragrance ingredients (Aftelier, for example, offers an oil kit), but these tend to be expensive. Since you already have a large number of samples, try grouping them by main note, and then test several at a time featuring the same note. violet, iris, oud, labdanum, vetiver, or whatever. Sniff and compare them and look for the common thread, which will be the common note. Different treatments of a central note can produce very different effects, for example, some violets are powdery, some are green, some are very sweet, but when smelled side-by-side you should be able to tell that there is a common thread among them.
Most of all, have fun! Perfume really has no purpose or reason for existence other than to give pleasure, so if it isn’t fun, why do it?
Lol. You posted this as I was writing mine. It’s a bit like my reply- but waaaaay more organized! 😉
Ha yep just about the same. Spreadsheet with name, brand, my impressions, and then a few more columns that I’m less diligent about filling out, with listed notes, perfumer and year released. And I agree it’s worth doing–I check against my notes pretty frequently, and then it’s also super interesting to see how my impression of something changes over time.
My brain is incapable of that level of organization. I must say I have a little organizational envy.
D.D.- looking forward to hearing progress reports!
My samples are arranged by house, in alphabetical order, only because I usually order them this way, and as they’re hanging in a clear- pocketed jewelry organizer on my wardrobe door I can see them easily. I tend to remember what smells like what so I don’t need to group by fragrance group.
That said, if you’ve ordered yours with groups in mind- leathers/animalics/chypres etc, it might be easier to keep them as such until you become more familiar with their identities, and/or you start gathering more from those houses. By then you’ll probably know on sight which one is what.
125! Try not to o.d. on them by testing a gazillion at once! 😉
Yup me too, by perfume house in clear plastic pouches, although I keep the pouches in queued up in tea tins rather than a jewelry organizer, with a vague idea of protecting them from light exposure–but on the other hand, it does make it harder to find things.
The good thing about the hangy-thing, is although my room is usually a dark cave, when I open the blinds I just hang the organizer IN my closet. It’s sooo nice and easy having a couple hundred samples taking up almost no room and being so easily transportable!
Oh yeah that’s genius! Thanks for the tip!
Wow, more than 100 samples in one go, that’s a lot of fun ahead of you!
For whatever it may be worth, I’ve kind of abandoned the effort to test things systematically–trying to progress by note or line or whatever led to too many days of wearing things I wasn’t really in the mood for, which is such a waste and also doesn’t really let you get to experience the fragrance at its best. I just pick whatever strikes my fancy to wear for a day and then take some notes on my impressions. After that I usually go read some reviews for comparison, and that often does help me pick out notes I wouldn’t have noticed otherwise. Although I do want to say, you need only make learning notes a project if it sounds fun or useful to you. The good news about perfume is that you’re allowed to wear what you like, whether or not you can name all the notes in it 🙂
I usually put a little of a sample on, write down my first impressions, then look up reviews, usually fragrantica, luckyscent and here. Robin does especially matter of fact reviews . Of course, it all comes down to how something works with my skin chemistry. I don’t recommend testing more than a couple at a time so that you don’t get a jumbled mass of sillage. When I did Mon Mail the first time, I was so enthused that I’d go to Saks or Barneys and spray a half dozen scents on but then my notes kept saying things like retry solo, so I learned my lesson….
Thank you to everyone who took time to reply.
I think I’m ok with managing the information and with the process of sampling itself.
My concern or doubt is that I will have anything TO SAY in my sniff-notes about each scent other than like or dislike. But the only way to find that out is to begin.
So… I have a bunch of frags grouped as Woody. I’m going to start with them and see if I can make any distinctions between the variety of woody scents:
L’Artisan Parfumeur – Dzing! Woody
Etat Libre d’Orange – Sécrétions Magnif. Woody
Le Labo – Vetiver 46 Woody
Commes des Garcons – Wonderwood Woody
Caron – Third Man Woody Aromatic
Etat Libre d’Orange–Tom of Finland Woody Aromatic
Nasomotto – Black Afgano Woody Aromatic
Le Labo – Santal 33 WoodyAromatic
Le Labo – Bergamote 22 Woody Aromatic
Chanel – Antaeus Woody Chypre
Tauer – Lonestar Memories Woody Chypre
Le Labo – Patchouli 24 Woody Chypre
L’Artisan Parfumeur – Timbuktu Woody Chypre
Givenchy – Le De Woody Floral Musk
Chanel – Egoiste Platinum Woody Floral Musk
Frédéric Malle–Dans Tes Bras Woody Floral Musk
Chanel – Egoiste Woody Spicy
L’Artisan Parf – L’Eau du Navigateur Woody Spicy
Guerlain–L’instant Pour Homme EdT Woody Spicy
Vero Profumi – Onda EdP Woody Spicy
L’Artisan Parf – Mechant Loup Woody Spicy
L’Artisan Parf – Dzongkha Woody Spicy
But right now, the dogs say they don’t care what I smell like, come to fix their dinner…
Have a good evening.
: / Damned formatting…
With that many samples to sniff I’d say that like/dislike is a good place to start. You can always follow up on the likes with another testing where you say more about the scent. Save the dislikes for another sniff on another day. Tastes change and what you don’t like now you might like a few months from now.
I would add–be sure you keep everything for a while. (Tuck them away, if it starts to feel like a burden.) As you get to know scents better, what you can sense in them and what you enjoy will evolve!
Wow, I’v only smelled a few of those! How exciting. I always plan on being disciplined, myself, but when I receive samples I lose all self control and try everything:) Then, of course, I need to retry everything multiple times over the next week or so. So far this practice has not injured me, lol!
It goes without saying that I have never received nearly so many at once…
Same, totting them up I realize I haven’t even smelled a third of those! So much still out there!
FWIW, I use excel to track my samples too so I can sort by name, house, note, whatever. I have 200+ samples and keep them in several of those 24-lipstick acrylic organizers from the Container Store (each slot can hold 8 of the 1ml samples, fewer of larger sizes), and have marked each organizer as I, II, etc., and then each organizer is marked with rows and columns. Then I have an entry for location (i.e., IA3) so I can find specific samples without pulling my hair out. I know you weren’t really asking how to store your samples, but thought I’d share. As far as testing, just have fun and try not to be too rigid in how you test (says the woman who just outlined her OCD storage solution!).
Don’t worry too much about the TPC. My order history goes back several years and I’ve never had any problems.
I think you have the right instinct; just don’t box yourself into something that isn’t fun. A spreadsheet or database is nice; a plain old notebook or a text file on the computer (always searchable!) can also be nice. Just writing down your impressions can be both fun and educational. Finding the words – any words! – helps you understand your own impressions more. And remember them to compare later.
Hope you have a ton of fun with all those samples! That sounds like a party to me.
All the weather forecasts insisted that we were going to bottom out at around 20 F on Tuesday morning, so I picked most of the lemons from my tree to keep them from freezing and turning to mush, although I left about 30 or 40 on the tree just in case the forecast was wrong (if they don’t freeze, they will keep on the tree until March or April, allowing me to use them up over a longer period of time.) Well, the lemons on the tree did NOT turn to mush, so obviously it didn’t get as cold as they said, although they still insist we had a low of 18 that morning. When I looked at my thermometer at about 7 A.M., it showed 32, so I doubt it got much colder than 28 or 29.
Right now, it is 74 degrees F, which IMHO is just a little TOO warm for January. I would be happy if it would just stay between 30 and 60 for the duration of December and January. In other words, cold enough so I can wear my sweaters and flannel pajamas, but not so cold that I have to worry about my water pipes or my lemons freezing.
What do you do with all those lemons? I’d love some sort of fruit tree but there’s always the issue of using up the fruit.
I use as many as I can. We drink a lot of lemonade in the winter, and I use them in cooking, for marinating meat, on fish, and so on. I can easily use 100 or so of them over the course of the season. My tree has become so productive, though, that I do end up giving most of them away–to family, friends, neighbors, coworkers–whoever wants them. It usually is not a problem; I know enough people who like lemons and don’t have a tree that I can get rid of any I don’t need for myself. Last year was a bit of a problem, however, as everyone who had citrus trees had a bumper crop, and people just had all they needed. I picked 725 lemons from my tree last year, and that is not counting some that became overripe and spoiled and a few in the middle of the tree that I just was not willing to risk scratching myself on the thorns in order to get.
If you want a fruit tree and don’t want to have to give away bushels of fruit, I would suggest planting something you really like to eat. If I had an orange tree instead of a lemon, we could probably use up much more of the crop.
Seven hundred and twenty five!!! Wow! If I ever need a recipe using lemons I know who to ask. I just bought some lemons the other day and they were 3/$2.
I might add that the lemons from my tree are typically about the size of tennis balls, thin-skinned, and very juicy. I get about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of juice from each lemon. I simply can’t buy supermarket lemons anymore. I look at those tiny, hard, unjuicy things and there is just no way. I juice some of mine and freeze the juice for later use. If it is out of season for my tree (spring and summer) and I have run out of frozen juice, I just do without.
Oh Roses, I’m so jealous right now! I’m a big cook, and I would have such fun with that sort of bounty! Everyone would get cans of marmalade for Christmas, Lemon-Merengue pie instead of pumpkin for the holidays, candied lemon peel candies, and STILL you’d have too much! 🙂 What fun!
The freebie meet is such a great idea! I have plenty of stuff to put up for adoption, so will count the days to the meet.
I agree! Since yours is the first comment here I’ve seen re the freebie meet, maybe it’s not so popular? Or people are frantically spraying their unwanted Christmas goodies or rifling through their samples? Re-purposing unloved fragrance as room spray or potpourri refresher?
Anyway, If those here can’t part with something in the near future, I’d like to mention that many organizations love to receive perfume for their clients: homeless seeking jobs, the disabled and the elderly.
It might not turn out to be popular, but we’ve had lots of requests for it … will be interesting to see how many people really want to give things away!
That’s so good to hear! It’s so hard to let go of stuff, isn’t it? It can represent so many different things: time, memories, money, work, loss, hope (among a few.)
I’m hoping that those of us who can’t get it together for the freebie meet can consider that there’s always another opportunity if they’re so moved.
Thanks, Robin 🙂
I gave a lot away in the last swapmeet, so I don’t have much to contribute this time around. Happy to think that folks have an easy way to pass things along, though!
Crazy hot over here. It was 45°C today, 42 tomo, and it’s still 32 now at almost 4am (yep I’m half asleep just got home from being out at a friends place-it didn’t feel that late!) I just spritzed myself with Voyage d’Hermes edt and realized it’s almost empty. Empty! I haven’t emptied a bottle of anything for about 10 years! It’s such a relaxing go-to for me that it’s a favorite I hardly even think about, but even though I have the parfum, I’ll still get a refill- I think I’d miss that lovely juniper note too much 🙂
And my cat smells like Sel de Vetiver from his cuddle before I left the house this morning. I could always tell if my cats had been unfaithful with their cuddles they’d always come home smelling of another woman’s perfume! 🙂
Yikes! That is HOT and here anything above 45°F is considered balmy given the polar vortex we’ve had just earlier this week. This should teach me not to complain anymore because I never want to experience 45°C.
Staying in for the afternoon to dry off from the rainstorm. Wearing Adam Levine for Her on one hand and Dark Amber and Ginger Lily on the other for a cozy-off, if that’s the correct term.
Went ahead and ordered the Encens Mythique d’Orient from Toronto. I definitely hope my memory of if hasn’t led me astray, as that sure was a fast way to spend some money.
Ah an interesting comparison–I like Dark Amber a lot but haven’t smelled the Adam Levine. I’ll have to give it a shot! Thanks Annie.
Pouring rain and 5c here in Montreal, a good day to stay home and dust/clean the perfume shelves and bake bread. Wearing my new favourite animalic incense bomb from First in Fragrance, Rundholz 3 April 1968. Perfect for winter!
Annie, you are going to love the Encens Mythique, it is great stuff!
Almost always I’ve been wearing Guerlain’s Cruel Gardenia or Eau de Lingerie for a couple of months now.I refuse to NOT wear perfume, but I want to be respectful of others. I do ooccasionally wear the odd sample or two. I only had decant but yesterday I got a full bottle of the lingerie and I already had a jar if the body cream. (Happy dance) I’m looking for some of the newer Guerlain’s. I have an almost full bottle of Eau d’Hiver that I would trade. I also tried a few samples of Roja Drive’s but wouldn’t mind a decant. People can look at my old swap list on MUA.
I have a homework assignment for any of you with a bottle of DK Gold. I am in love with Shanghai Lily, and not so much with the price, especially since we are remodeling our kitchen over the next two weeks, and I have less than zero dollars to spare for perfume. Any ideas of something to layer with the Gold to get the Shanghai Lily effect? I am (unfortunately) wearing Good Girl Gone Bad from a sample, and it’s beem irritating me all day. Scrubbers are always so tenacious, so I don’t think I can play around too much today, plus I am going out to a friend’s house to watch the Pats game and play board games and I don’t want to kill anyone in case it goes awry. File Shanghai Lily under scents I love but won’t buy. Just too expensive right now for me.
I have no idea what to layer with Gold but GO PATS!
Woot! We’re going to a Colt’s fan’s house, though. A little friendly ribbing makes things more fun, sometimes… unless we lose…!
what about a decant? …more than zero but small compared to a full bottle.
will think about the DK Gold question.
Hm. DK Gold has that casablanca lily, which is so distinct, and that heavy vanilla… Isn’t Shanghai Lily spicier? I second the decant idea…
but maybe Xerjoff Bouquet Ideale…
I’ll keep thinking.
It is much spicier. I was thinking maybe l’air du desert marocain? Maybe a teeny bit of that will add the depth I’m looking for. Or, as others have said, I could just get a decant… but I have a FB of Gold already, and I think it would be fun to play around with different things.
Wow. I feel like I’m playing catch up here. I’ve been out of the loop for a few weeks it seems. Not by choice. I hope everyone had a nice holiday season. Mine was pretty awful which is why I’ve been MIA. Dad was taken into the hospital with pneumonia on Christmas Eve and things didn’t go very well. He was pretty sick and in the end they could do no more for him. He died on January 2. The funeral was this past Monday. Let me say it was one of the longest days of my life. I’m having good moments and teary eyed ones and it’s hard to believe he’s really gone. He’s been sick and pulled through so many times in the past but this time was one too many I guess.
As far as perfumes go, for the funeral I wore Charogne by ELDO. I didn’t want to wear anything I really love for fear I would always connect it with that moment. I do like Charogne but it smells a lot like a funeral home to me so I figured it would mix in with the surroundings and I wouldn’t notice it much. That plan worked.
I’m looking forward to finding new homes for a few perfumes. I just need to go through the collection and decide who needs to go. That’s always hard to do.
Ohhhhh. Dear Poodle. I am so sorry for the loss of your father. So very sorry. It is a terribly difficult thing to endure. Hugs to you.
Thanks for the hugs.
I am so sorry. The holidays are hard enough without an event like this. I hope you can find the strength to start healing soon enough.
He was really sick last Christmas too. It’s been a bad holiday for me for a few years.
I am so sorry for your loss, and at the holidays, too. When my dad died it was so hard for a while. Hoping you will feel better soon.
It takes time. Thanks.
Poodle, I remember you writing that he had pneumonia, but at that point it did not seem a severe case. What a shock 🙁
I hope the good memories bring you much comfort. Thinking of you.
It didn’t seem bad and they had started him on nebulizer treatments right away. He seemed better but then, not so much. 🙁
So sorry for your loss, Poodle! I’m thinking of you.
Thanks.
So sorry to hear this, Poodle. Pneumonia is sneaky and terrible and can get really bad so fast no matter what. Sounds so similar to what happened to my Grandpa years ago…right before Christmas too.
I agree on the scent choice. Wearing something you loved would only have ruined it for you. Big hugs.
It was pretty awful. Sorry to hear you lost you Grandpa around Christmas too.
I am so sorry to hear this. My dear sister in law lost her dad around Christmastime, and she really has a hard time, still. I am thinking of you.
It’s been tough. Oddly enough he actually had his stroke on Christmas Eve years ago so every year he’d be depressed because of the anniversary of that. I know how your sister in law feels.
Poodle, I am so very sorry for your loss. My own father died on Christmas day 15 years ago this past Christmas and I know what a difficult time it is for you. I will keep you in my thoughts.
Oh Rappleyea, I’m so sorry for you.
Thanks for sharing this, Poodle. I am so sorry for your loss. It sounds like you’ve gone through such a lot. I hope you will carry fond memories alongside your grief.
Thanks Holly.
Sincere condolences, it is so hard to lose someone you love, esp. with so little warning.
It was a quick decline it seems but I do feel like I was able to say goodbye in a way whether or not he was aware of it in the end. That helps.
I’m so sorry about your dad. You are in my thoughts.
Thank you.
Oh, poodle, I’m so sorry to hear this. My mom died in August, so I know what you are going through. It’s emotionally and physically exhausting, especially if, like me, you are responsible for the estate and have to deal with all of that. I still feel like I haven’t come out the other side. Give yourself time and know that there’s no one right way to deal with this.
I didn’t wear any perfume to my mom’s funeral. Couldn’t even stand the thought of it, and it took me months after her death before I could wear any perfume at all. Even now, there are only three scents I own that I can still wear.
Hi Jirish, that is really recent as well. Just sending some good wishes your way, and hope joy begins to return!
Thanks. I’m sorry to hear about your mom. I will be a complete mess when my mother’s time comes. We are very close. It is exhausting, isn’t it? I have barely any energy and I keep wondering why since I haven’t really done much. Mom’s making a lot of the phone calls to tidy things up but I’ll be helping her with the paperwork stuff. You’re right, there’s no right or wrong way. It’s just day by day.
Hi, Poodle, it’s Ann from over yonder on the Posse. I am so, so sorry to hear about your father; bless your heart. I hope that somehow good memories of him will help to ease your pain eventually. You will be in my thoughts and prayers. Sending you a big hug …
Thanks Ann. It’s funny. I won something on the Posse right before Christmas and I thought that was fabulous. I joked to my hubby that that was probably going to be the high point of the holidays. Thinking back, it kind of was.
Oh so sorry about your dad. Please remember to take good care of yourself in the midst of everything.
I’m trying. I’m actually shocked I’ve haven’t gotten sick yet.
I’m so sorry, Poodle. What a tough time to go through. I know. Don’t give away too much or do anything too drastic right now. Do give yourself a break and time to adjust to this big change in your life.
I’m so glad to see you back here, though, and chatting with us here. It’s a good place to be and a good thing to see you here!
I’m glad to be back. I was lurking every now and then but just didn’t have the energy to say much.
I’m sorry to hear what you have been through. I don’t know what to say except that with the passage of time it will get better, eventually. Try to take care of yourself, physically and emotionally.
Thanks. It takes time. You’re right. There will be good days and bad days.
Poodle, I’m so sorry! It is tough to lose a parent, and the holidays make for such a difficult “fencepost” for losses. I lost my brother two years ago New Years, and I still have to fully distract myself in order to have a reasonable holiday.
I totally get your choice for scent. I wore Ubar for my brother’s memorial, and it *does* remind me of the loss and that difficult day. However, it has also become one of my favorite scents over the last year, I think in part because of that choice. There would be days that I wanted to feel him near or he was present in my thoughts, and I’d reach for it. Over a few times like that, it has become an odd sort of comfort scent for me. You may find that scent can be a lovely way to heal over time. Whatever process you find yourself going through, may your healing begin! (((hugs)))
Thanks Marjorie. I remember when your brother died and how it was tough for you for a while. And probably still is at times. I did think of you and how strong you seemed to be through it all and I was hoping I could hold myself together like you did. Hugs to you too.
Oh gosh. Did I seem strong? I guess that’s a good thing! It was such a shock–and as these things can be, I had so many mixed emotions. Still do in some regards, although I’ve gotten “used” to it, I suppose.
I’d encourage you to give yourself permission to grieve in whatever way you need to–and that may change from one minute to the next! Sometimes the greatest strength is accepting ourselves for where we’re at. 🙂
Poodle, I’m awfully sorry to hear of the loss of your father. I hope you can feel the wave of warmth and support that NST is sending your way right now. Talk about your dad whenever you need to here, we’ll understand —
I love you guys. Thanks. 🙂
Ugh! What a tough holiday. I am so sorry to hear about your dad. I hope that you are doing okay.
Doing okay I guess. I took Stanley (the poodle in my pic) to see mom today. He provided some comic relief. He was a good distraction for her and had her laughing which was good to see.
Dear Poodle, I am so sorry for your loss. May you find comfort in friends, family, and happy memories.
Thanks Farouche.
Sorry for your loss, Poodle.
Thanks.
We’ve had around 20º C today. It’s been such a mild winter in Andalucia. I’m wearing Ambre Nue by Atélier, a light day-time amber. The 3 Kings also brought Ambre Sultan and Vanille Insensée,so I can”t complain.
I’m bidding for a couple of things on eBay but prefer to keep quiet for the moment!
Now those are the kind of political figures I could get my back behind, lol!
We had 6 inches of rain in 2013 (14 inches below average). It’s dark and gray today, but it’s just a tease — there have only been a few light sprinkles 🙁
We watched a very interesting PBS program on forensic chemistry in the 1920s. It’s called The Poisoner’s Handbook (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/poisoners/).
I taped that show but haven’t watched it yet. I have a book called The Poisoner’s Handbook. I’m guessing the show is somehow based on it.
I think so. I think I’ll get the book or DVD for my father-in-law. His birthday is coming up soon.
Oooh. That sounds good. Gotta add it to the list. . . 🙂
This evening I went out wearing Evening Edged in Gold and also Piguet’s Oud. The first is a really opulent osmanthus with saffron and the second is a very dark polished wood. Both have saffron, and I think they play well together.
They are both quite heavy so it is an intoxicating blend.
Sounds like a great combination for a summer night out!
Yes:) I didn’t want to sound like I was gloating, given the big freeze in the states, but here I’m having a hard time staying awake in the day because of the heat, concentrating or getting anything done. I wilt rather quickly! But evening is cooler which is a plus.
Um, no, I did NOT enjoy the Polar Vortex. Luckily, I am in my first trimester of pregnancy and don’t feel like leaving the house anyway. I’ve been constantly sick and can’t think of a better excuse to stay under the covers than subzero tempertures.
You did the right thing! Stay indoors where it’s warm….and now that H1N1 seems to be going around — continue to stay indoors and AWAY from people! yikes….I hate even a quick trip to the grocery store. People hacking and coughing all over the place!
All the more reason to break out them fancy soaps and wash hands often (followed by fancy hand cream)
LOVE the way you think!
Yes! I was only able to do one morning of Christmas shopping at the mall. Right outside of Macy’s is the children’s play area, aka the petri dish. I hightailed it out of there and did the rest of my shopping online.
How is your enjoyment of perfume affected? I really couldn’t stand most of mine, and was quite nervous that I had permanently put myself off of my precious, Chanel no. 19 because it made me absolutely sick, but luckily I am back to adoring it. I hope you are feeling well! Rest as much as you can.
Sad confession: I haven’t worn perfume in almost two months. I even stayed away from this blog for awhile because reading about them made me nauseous. I am occasionally enjoying Jo Malone Nutmeg and Ginger bath oil and Opium body powder, but it’s usually just unscented Dove soap and Aveda blue oil (peppermint) under my nose to block bad smells.
My sensitivity to taste and smell is off the charts. I have been eating a lot of Clementine oranges lately. On one side of my mouth a piece is too sweet but on the other side it’s nice and tart. I wish I could put my Spidey-senses to better use, but for now I get to smell the kitchen garbage from my bedroom across the house.
I became a total hound dog during my pregnancies… my husband would walk in the door and I could tell instantly what he’d eaten for lunch–not in a good way. The poor man set up his beloved bbq near the alley out behind our house (we lived in DC then) but I’d still be in tears or with my face in bowl when the tiniest whiffs of smoke filtered in to the upstairs, front of the house! I couldn’t brush my teeth or use any soap whatsoever (washing dishes was way too dicey so for nearly nine months I didn’t touch a dirty dish!). Needless to say, perfume was entirely out of the question. Oddly, coffee was one strong smell I could tolerate–even craved.
Good luck. It is all totally worth it a million times over!
I wanted to wear perfume while pregnant. Oddly, it wasn’t my nose that rebelled, but my skin. I broke out in a rash anywhere I sprayed/dabbed. The midwife just said, “pregnant skin is amazing,” and I didn’t wear anything for 9 months.
The polar vortex was a great excuse to stay home! I had a cold, too, and stayed home until I finally had to make a grocery run today. Hope you feel better soon, Lucy!
I have barely left the house all week! Which is bad because I have a big tote bag full of splits that people are beginning to wonder about!!
I am having a “weather delay” !
Daisy, I know your splits are way bigger than 1 mL samples but do you think the 1 mL samples could get frozen in transit? I’m delaying sending a package due to the weather but perhaps I am just paranoid.
the alcohol content should be high enough to keep them from freezing. They “should” be fine.
It has been pouring with rain and very windy here in Rhode Island, but all the snow has disappeared – YAY!
SOTD= Traverse du Bosphore
I’ve been thinking about fragrances that are better dabbed than sprayed and visa versa. Chinatown gives me a migraine if I spray it. Yesterday, I tried dabbing just a tiny drop on my wrists and it was lovely – all day. What a powerhouse. Has anyone else had a similar experience with a fragrance? I’d love to experiment with dabbing verses spraying so ideas would be appreciated.
VICE VERSA
I’m not the world’s best speller.
I wish the FMs, especially Portrait of a Lady, came in stoppered bottles – many of them really need to be dabbed!
I’m a full -bore sprayer, myself. BUT, I know plenty of folks who are dabbers — you can always make roll on decants for yourself from your own bottles. You can also get small decorative perfume bottles that will allow you to apply fragrance with a dabber.
Chinatown is a big one though….one spray, and one spray only!
(even for me!)
For a couple years, all I had was a precious little dabber sample of Ubar. I loved it. When I finally bought the bottle this year (when all those Amouages seemed to go on sale online), I began to spray it. I still enjoy the scent, but it is unquestionably different.
Dabbed, I find Ubar to be quietly sophisticated, sparkling in the top notes and then settling into this sheer haze of flowers. Sprayed, the top notes are less sparkling and more “bright,” if that makes sense? The lemon comes through more, and it never settles into that subtlety that it has dabbed. It’s more of a STATEMENT. I still like it, but it is nice to have the option of a softer application from time to time.
Hi, Marjorie Rose! I hear you on the Ubar — I felt nearly the same about Amouage Beloved. I adored it dabbed from my sample vial, then I got a bit more and dumped it into a sprayer. One spray — and whoa! — whole ‘nother animal at the outset. It finally came around to the scent I initially loved, but I realize it really does best on me dabbed. I guess not everything is best sprayed.
Oh, I can easily believe that about Beloved! I wonder if the Amouages, and similarly *full* scents have that in common?
I am generally a big fan of full, robust fragrances, and I feel that the Tauer scents carry some of that character as well–although as they are less likely to have the sparkling openings, so perhaps that’s a difference? You get to the meat of the scent, even dabbed, pretty quickly with a Tauer.
I’ve been wanting to try Ubar. I’ll bear that in mind. Thanks!
Totally agree on the Ubar dabbed vs sprayed. That was true even in the old formulation, which was nowhere near as loud. The new version, sprayed, is way too much for me personally.
testing, ignore!
Rebellion! Ha! 😛
🙂
It was 80*F in my house today (rolling my eyes). Are you kidding me? I am in the Tampa-St Pete area of Florida and less than 48 hours ago I was shivering under my electric blanket with the dog velcro’d to me for warmth! This weather is ALL jacked up! Lol
As far as scent goes, I am getting ready to head to the Land of Nod with Phi Une Rose de Kandahar! My sample is just about gone and I will miss it so! I have been giving it a lot of love because it just ENRAPTURES me! My head spins, I have scandalous visions, and speak in tongues whenever I wear it- I will have good dreams tonight!
This morning I went to a 730am spinning class with Musc Ravageur and the harder I pedaled, the more I sweated, the better I smelled. I stepped off the earth and into the music and the billowing cloud of sparkling spice!
Yowza! I love me some beautiful smells! 😉
So much hate for the cold weather. I get the crankies once it drops below fifty to the point where my bf accuses me of being a lizard! I bought my first electric blanket this year and am wondering how I ever survived without one. That and a heating pad strapped to the back of my chair and work is helping things immensely. It warmed up to about 50 today which was good as I had to RUN ALL THE ERRANDS! I got home to find part of my sample order from StC waiting for me so now I’m curled up on the couch watching some Mythbusters and sniffing away. Thanks to all who recommended cinnamony scents to me last week as they make up about half of my order. The rest are just things I’ve been curious about from hearing so much of them on here and the other blogs. Just testing four on paper tonight: Puredistance Black, Ormonde Jayne Woman, Mona di Orio Violette Fumee, and Donna Karan Black Cashmere. BK and OJ woman are neck and neck for what to try on skin after my bath. Hope everyone is thawing out!
I have a heated mattress pad and I’d never go without it. Another wonderful discover this winter was micro fleece sheets. OMG. Beyond soft and cuddly. They make it really hard to get up in the morning.
I missed the poll last week but for cinnamon I just got some Noel au Balcon and it’s got a cinnamon candy kind of note in it.
Just catching up, reading all the crazy funny comments about the weather. Worked really hard today seeing several massage clients. It was so warm here today with light rain and an electrical storm. Such a nice break from winter. I don’t wear scent at work, but as soon as I got home sprayed on some Cuir Ottoman.
I’m liking the idea of a freebie fest. I have at least one full bottle and a bunch of samples to contribute.
Have a wonderful rest of the weekend everyone!
Thunder, lightning, and pouring rain at various points while I was outside doing errands today; but I didn’t care, because it was over 50 degrees F and delightful as far as I was concerned. I weathered the cold fine – I remember someone once said there’s no such thing as poor weather, just poor dressing, and I layered up to the nines while the vortex was squatting over us – but I had started to wither from all the dry heat being pumped out everywhere and I’m just glad for the real air, with moisture, to be back again!
SOTD was Roma by Laura Biagiotti; it was the right level of not-serious, not-heavy, but pleasantly pretty for the day.
Roma sounds perfect! I envy you – I love Roma but it is summer where I live and current temp., at 5.30 pm, is 32C (about 89F), so not Roma weather.
Temps later in the week will hit 39C (102F). Perfect weather for for Calyx, Un Jardin sur le Nil, Eau de Givenchy, AG Neroli …
Perfect weather to camp in front of an air conditioner (in my view!)
Hi all!
I received the full sampler set of Etat Libre d’Orange’s collection this week (minus the newest one, Fin du Monde) and have been working through them! I’d like to know: what is your favorite(s) from the line? Is there anything I should pay special attention to?
And is it just my skin, or does Fils de Dieu carry an undercurrent of gasoline? I just adore the top notes, but I can’t get over the feeling that I spilled some fuel on my wrist! There is castoreum in the list of notes and I’ve never smelled that before, so could that be it?
You lucky devil; I’m jealous.
See my comment just below yours for my current favorite … and, yes, pay close attention : )
I like Divin’Enfant. Its sweet orange blossom on me the whole way! I kind of wish I could smell the diabolical tones:)
I’ll have to try that next 🙂
I bought the ELDO coffret a while back. I like Like This, Rien, Charogne, Putain de Palaces, and Noel au Balcon a lot but I like a lot of the others too. I haven’t spent time with some of them yet.
I’ve tried everything but Charogne so far, and I like those a lot too! I’m in love with Rien, but I’m a young woman who wears a lot of bright dresses, and the amazing dark leather just seems incongruent on me. That’ll be one for around the house 🙂
Personally, I think incongruence is great! I’m not a fan of Rien – though it has a large following. But, I really like the idea of more ‘butch’ scents with ultra-femme clothing and vice versa:)
I have a confession to make: Sécrétions Magnifiques and I spent the night together last night.
It started off innocently enough. I’d checked through all my newly-arrived samples… (TPC did good. The order was complete and no leaking vials.) and sorted out the samples for my woody explorations to start today.
…And there she was, a ruffian tomboy at an LBD, speed-dating cocktail party; all jeans and flannel shirt, sitting in a corner, looking somber and uninviting.
I ambled on over; after all, I like a little edge to my elegance. It adds character and depth.
“I’ve heard about you,” I said.
She was unimpressed. “What’ve you heard?” not offering even the faintest of smiles.
“It’s not important; I’d rather find out the truth for myself.”
We talked a while. Small talk that I could see bored her. It was clear that she was moody and complex. Then music began playing and we decided to dance. I kept wanting to take …and taking… deep breathes in the crook of her neck as she warmed to the occasion and her scent slowly morphed from one to another…. none of which I could identify or grasp to hold onto with my suddenly unbalanced mind.
Before we knew it that night had passed.
We watched the sun come up while drinking coffee at Cafe du Monde. It turns out that her father owns a small vineyard in Amagnac and she spent her youth hitchhiking to Spain and learning to dance Flamenco. Now she’s finishing up a degree in Critical Theory at Vassar with no plans for the future.
We’ve exchanged numbers; I think we’ll talk again.
———–
I can’t imagine where all the hyperbole about SM comes from. Yes, of course, everyone smells something different, but still — I expected some olfactory gangster to throw me against the wall and rifle through my wallet.
Turns out to be quite a charming fellow, actually.
I think SM might react very differently on different people. An SA told me about someone who it smells wonderful on. I tend to dislike most metallic scents – and I like even less a salty metallic effect – but the truth is, I’v put things on that have smelled as bad – if not worse.
Turin, as I’m sure you have seen, gives it a top rating, and not just as an interesting experimental scent, but as a real perfume. I’m not sure if the difference is in different peoples scent receptors, or whether its a matter of different skin chemistry.
Also interesting, my boyfriend by far prefers it on me to Bandit (which I have grown to quite like). His reaction to Bandit was
‘Yuck!’, lol!
By the way, I love your characterization of a sensual but moody bohemian with a culturally interesting background and a highly theoretical bent. lol!
Quite an evocative review.
What a cogent summation of Ms SM’s character. I couldn’t have written that before or *after* writing my comment (I won’t seriously call is a review.)
Fabulous description DD. I thought you were talking about a real person till I went back and read it again. Oh sorry I guess it is a real person kind of.
Bandit in perfume form smells like a skunk’s butt on me, but my husband loves it. To him it smells like an old creosote-y railroad trestle that’s overgrown with dandilions. Sometimes I wish I could stand a couple of feet away from myself to find out what the projected scent actually is.
Sajini, thank you.
I *was* trying to let her be real …in a way I don’t think I can describe. It was a new experiment for me.
— “smells like a skunk’s butt on me” — I think it’s a guy thing, lol
Yes, is it the way the scent reacts on skin, or is processed in the brain?
Same question could be applied to any scent, but with SM it’s critical. I have not tried it, but even if I love it and think that it smells wonderful on me, what if the person standing next to me, or the person I share a house with, loathes it?
Annemarie:
“but even if I love it and think that it smells wonderful on me, what if the person standing next to me, or the person I share a house with, loathes it?”
It’s a difficult question of course and probably rhetorical 😛
But at home, yes, I agree. If I had an SO who disliked something, I wouldn’t wear it.
Public space is different. I think in that regard, wear what you want to wear and enjoy it.
I guess it’s the nauseous effect that SM apparently has on some people. I wouldn’t want to be the cause of that, even for a stranger, and certainly mot friends or colleagues.
DD, if its any encouragement, I think ones nose does get a little more sensitive after paying attention to scent over a period. I can now smell, and even like, things I couldn’t even detect some years back.
My nose I think is still relatively blunt and I often use multiple scents because (I think) I crave olfactory stimulation and do not get it easily.
Sorry, that comment was meant to go under your reply to Rosemarygypsy…
I’ve heard from a scientist who studies olfactory reception that some people simply cannot detect certain molecules. Their nose isn’t even capable of picking it up! Interesting, right?
Yes; I’ve heard that too and have doubt’s about my own olfactory sensitivity in general. I have a feeling I like “stronger” scents because I can’t discriminate enough to appreciate others.
Merlin:
Hmm, I have some Bandit here too. I’ll keep this in mind and sniff the two side-by-side when I get to Bandit (going by fragrance groups).
Are you saying that SM has a “metallic” or “salty metallic” effect for you? I’m wondering only to know if I should sniff it trying to “find” those impressions …. or if you’re describing something completely separate from SM?
I understand what you’re saying about different people. SM smells fine on me to me (and Zena approved it as well.) but I’m going to wear it dancing Thursday night and see if I get any side-ways looks lol…
If you have anything particular in mind for scents that smelled worse on you, I’d love to hear what they were…. I’m perverse in that way : )
I don’t think it has much in common with bandit – just that after my b.f smelled it he brought up how much better the notorious S.M smelled:)
To me it smelled sort of saline-metallic, which (perhaps because of marketing, etc) I assimilated to the scent of semen or blood. But I’v heard others report floral notes. I have to admit that it made me queasy after a little while.
Well, I know some people adore it, but I had to scrub Womanity off very quickly when I tried it. I think the caviar note was responsible. re: metallic saline, lol
If I think of any others that repulsed me I will let you know: who knows, perhaps you will end up adoring them!
I don’t think Womanity is on any of my lists but I do remember seeing the name…. not that that means anything.
….Sure, I’d be happy to know them if it’s not a bother.
Marketing? Are you saying that they actually marketed SM as smelling like semen and blood?
I’ve seen those two things referenced over and over in comments about SM. I wonder how much is conjecture and supposition versus personal experience.
I just didn’t get anything like that at all.
I’m off to walk the dogs now.
Womanity is by Thierry Mugler – most famous for Angel, which comes in a blue star shaped bottle. Its main notes (I think) are caviar and fig… (You can try it in just about any department store).
I think the semen reference is pretty much implied by the name together with the picture on the bottle. As for blood, well, many reviewers comment on it, but blood does have a slight metallic scent. I get a hint of that metallic note in some darker rose fragrances – I think my skin brings it out.
Thoughts, reviews one reads, expectations all necessarily interface with what one is actually smelling in order to form a definite impression. I think this is inevitable. But, notice how you had the opposite response to what you expected, and I often have that too, which suggests that there is some autonomy to the actual smell itself! But I agree that hype does have a way of running away with itself:)
Oh, and Byredo’s Pulp, M/Ink and Bal d’Afrique were all, if I remember correctly, scrubbers on me – each however has many adorers!
Well Guerlain’s Encens Mythique d’Orient probably one of the most elegant perfumes ever, smells like RAID! on me. But somehow it smells like perfection on my coat sleeve. MKK makes me smell like a camel’s nuts and Womanity smells like the men’s bathroom at the Vanderbilt Y (which I have never smelled in person but my brother tells me it smells like baby powder and diapers).
lol…. I was gonna ask about the Vanderbilt Y, but now that you explained that…. “camel’s nuts” ???
More, more!
I’ll try; I’ll try! ^.^
Great story! I don’t find it to be that horrible either but I let someone who was afraid of it have a sniff without telling them what it was and they cringed. They got all metallic and bloody notes and really didn’t like it. Once I said what it was she really didn’t like it even more. Part of the hype is the mental stuff people have built up in their minds and part of it is that to some noses it really is that bad.
Hi, Poodle.
Well, I’m wearing it dancing this Thursday so I’ll have a chance to test the hearts and minds — and maybe the noses too — of the local ladies lol. Or at least of the ones who come out to dance with scoundrels like me.
….I’ve only known you a short while, but my deepest condolences. I didn’t know when I replied to your previous comment.
I hope all is going well.
Oh boy, Secretions Magnifiques.
When I tried it, the first blast was truly disgusting. It was sharply metallic and made me feel nauseated — not sure what top notes I was smelling, but I didn’t want to find out! After it settled down, though, it became this creamy, soft, milky iris and some other florals. The top blast was still hanging around, but definitely subdued. I still didn’t like it, but I can see how someone else might. The dry-down actually reminds me of Barr Co.’s Original scent, which is supposed to be oatmeal, milk, and vetiver. But then again, I also don’t like the Barr Co Original even though it’s rather popular.
From online reviews, it seems like when it’s unleashed on unsuspecting bystanders don’t get very negative feedback. It’s often tried on husbands, and maybe men just aren’t as negative about the scent of blood, semen, etc. as women are, lol.
“…unleashed on unsuspecting bystanders…”
lol, sounds like a chemical-warfare agent.
Blood and semen? …In the “Man Cave” we call that furniture polish.
Lol!
Today I cracked open my FB of Ambre Sultan and went out for a walk in the sun, smelling divine. Later, at home, I foolishly did several perfume – unfriendly tasks, like cleaning the shower curtain, first with vinegar, then with bleach, and I made a curry for lunch. Now, 12 hours after application, the Sultan is still shining through, above the bleach and the curry. Does that count as layering?
I figure the perfume goes on first and ev-er-y thing else is layering.
Big news from our little neck of the woods: Colonial drug has moved from Harvard square to Newton (Nonantum). Mr. Friendly is now sharing space with a knife sharpening business that’s been there for years. There is so much Colonial drug stuff in the space that the knife business is crammed into a corner. Hope nobody gets stabbed. I wasn’t brave enough to go inside to see if the “perfume bar” is actually up and running.
Harvard Sq is so much more convenient than that area of Newton(speaking as someone who used to live a few blocks away) but kind of amused at the combo of Colonial Drug and that knife sharpening store. At least there’s a bus stop across the street. Too bad it isn’t staying in Harvard Sq–little local stores add character v(as compared to more banks for instance)
It’s sad how many little businesses have had to close or move away from Harvard Square. The rents must be very high. The part of Newton where Colonial drug moved is just a short (20 minute) stroll down Watertown Street from the Watertown bus hub from Harvard Square. And it’s right next door to the most wonderful antique/curio shop I’ve ever been in. The proprietor there is the antidote to “Mr. Colonial”. Last time I was in there, she pulled out several trays of fabulous one of a kind jewellry and encouraged me to play.
SOTD is Enlevement au Serail. I am girding myself to tackle three and a half feet of unfiled paid bills, etc. in preparation for tax filing… and need something to vivify me for the task ahead. Also, I’ve been washing my hair with Kai products– I haven’t made up my mind whether radiating gardenia (I feel a little like those gothic paintings of saints with rays emanating from my head every time I step out of the shower) is a good or bad thing for my perfume experiences–and the MDCI fragrance seems like a decent complement.
I know we’ll have an earthquake or mudslides soon enough, and we are having a terrible drought… but Oakland is 55 F, sunny and bright. The cats are stretched out in the sun on the back deck…
I love the smell of Kai. I haven’t tried the hair products. Do they really leave your hair smelling like gardenias? That’s tempting to me. I love when my hair smells good.
Yup. For several hours I’m like a gardenia bombshell! I have curly, dry hair, and the shampoo and conditioner are only so so for keeping things manageable… but the fragrance is fun 🙂