I am off on vacation this week! Posting will be much lighter than normal until I return on the 20th.
Today, our standard open thread poll: talk about anything you like — the perfume you’re wearing today, the perfume you bought on your last vacation or will buy for your next vacation, whatever.
Or, ask a question about fragrance, then see if anyone else has asked a question that you can answer…
Note: top image is Tot conflueix / All's conected by SBA73 at flickr; some rights reserved.
Wow, the weekend post is up at the crack of dawn like me. Hope everyone is planning something fun this weekend. I have a bridal shower to go to tomorrow so I will not be having much fun. I really can’t stand those things but I suppose it’s a necessary evil. I haven’t bought any perfume so far this month. I’m trying to make amends for last quarters lack of discipline.
No scent of the day yet but I’m hoping to do some yard work so it may be the smell of wet dirt. Not a bad thing considering a month ago the ground was covered with snow and seeing dirt was only a dream.
I also should mention I got some sort of goofy thrill over being the first to post this weekend. It’s the little things…
Sympathies for the bridal shower! I always feel awkward at that sort of thing, too! Went to an awkward party last night myself–not a shower of any kind, just not quite my mix of folks. Ah well, made my excuses and ducked out early!
As for being first in the list, when it’s me, I often feel sort of sheepish–like maybe I should wait for someone else to break the ice? (Which may shed some light on why I find parties awkward, huh?!)
I almost waited but since I’m rarely first for anything I took the plunge.
I dread those types of parties where you have to make an appearance but it’s not your usual people. I get stuck going to those now and then.
You have my sympathies. Actually begged off of a baby shower last month, because the ONLY person I knew was the mother to be, and it was a 1.5 hr trip ea way. I did send a nice gift…
Oh I really dislike baby showers. It must stem from my fondness for kids. Now if it was a puppy shower I’d be there with bells on.
Showers can be extremely dull, but you might find someone to chat with in the corner while everyone is ooh-ing over presents. Maybe you can pretend that you have something pressing and sneak away early, too. Enjoy gardening!
It’s for hubby’s niece so I get to hang with the in-laws. Oh joy. I’ll probably linger in the kitchen and help with dishes or something to pass the time. And drink wine. Wine helps.
I am not very fond of showers either, but particularly baby showers. For one thing, the ones I have been to have been all-female attendees, and I don’t care much for all-female events. The conversation usually is about children/babies, a topic which I find singularly uninteresting. I always seem to end up sitting somewhere listening to other people’s conversations, with nothing to contribute of my own, and I generally leave as early as I can without being rude.
I have to go to a baby shower for a gal who works for me tomorrow, but after all these months I think she’d rather talk about shoes than babies. As long as there are no silly games….. I always find that you can make due with just about any one of those types of awkward parties as long as there is good food!
I’m with you on the games. I don’t mind showers/parties, but the games kill me.
Sympathies to all. I hate showers too. Especially the ones with games. Oddly, I usually win but I still hate them. I am truly dreading one I have to go to in June. I’m pretty sure I have to show up though, as I am the guest of honor.
Lucy, are you the En Passant gal? Too bad we can’t throw you a perfume shower!
That is one shower I would gleefully attend!
I still haven’t made the plunge on the En Passant. I’ve come close a few times though. Maybe when my tax refund comes in.
I scored a half-used En Passant on ebay recently (so they’re out there!) I am all for buying used, as it would take me forever to use a full bottle.
Diorissimo! It’s spring time…..
Yay!
Wow, Lazy Weekend Poll starts earlier today. Yippie!
In my timezone it’s usually up at around 4:00 P.M and today it’s few hours earlier, good 🙂
Perfume for today is Ramon Monegal Dubai Next to Me. This is an exclusive, limited edition the brand created for Bloomingdale’s Dubai. I met the manager of the brand in Milan and he kindly offered to send me some. I really like the fragrance.
By the way, I cannot believe that Easter is just one week from today! The time is passing too fast definitely! My family haven’t yet decided if we’re going to Granny’s for Easter or if we’re staying at home. We’ll see soon, I guess.
Happy weekend everyone!
I guess we won’t see the Dubai exclusive in the US. I remember Robin posting about it – the packaging is gorgeous with white, gold and royal blue. The new Ramon Monegal that is currently at Bergdorfs smells yucky.
Since it’s Dubai exclusive it won’t be available outside Bloomingdale’s Dubai 😛
You mean the new Bergdorf exclusive named Very Private? I’m sorry to hear that, thought it would be nice too… On the other hand Dubai Next to Me smells great (I can somehow send you a small sample)
One persons yucky is another’s yummy 😉
Tried it too and liked it a lot. Went back for another spray!
Indeed! And don’t they have the “Mariposa” exclusive for Neiman Marcus? It’s pretty, though not extraordinary.
Yes, Pure Mariposa was first Ramon Monegal exclusive.
True that floragal
I’ve been wearing Impossible Iris (decant) for the last few days. It’s nice, but I can’t get away from the association of shampoo. It smells to me like a really nice, really high end version of shampoo, but shampoo nonetheless. Won’t purchase more.
I like Impossible Iris, I would’ve loved it if it wasn’t for the raspberry and mimosa notes that slightly bother me in this perfume.
Lucas, you mentioned raspberry notes. Is it anything like Atelier Cologne Silver Iris, from which I get lots of raspberry?
Lucas, I don’t mind the raspberry per se, but there is nothing to ground it, so it stays too fruity the entire time. I do like that it isn’t very iris-y (at least on me).
Erin, I don’t get any raspberry from Atelier Cologne Silver Iris. I do smell black currant in it!
Happy weekend Lucas! I can’t believe Easter is in a week either. Today feels like spring though so that helps.
Thank you Poodle and a happy one to you too!
It feels like the New Year’s Eve was just yesterday and actually more than 3 months have passed…
I was just reading your post on Rose Cut and definitely want to try it now. I am a big Duchaufour fan, but wasn’t quite satisfied with his other rose perfume, Mohur. Very curious to see how he uses rose in a different style.
Glad you enjoyed my Rose Cut review, it’s a great perfume. Did you try Mohur Extrait?
Not sure – mine is from the first exploration set, when the line started. I sort of liked them but have not felt compelled to order more.
Then you didn’t try Mohur Extrait… it launched this March
Have a GREAT vacation, Robin!! But I’d be very surprised if *you* bought any perfume! 🙂
It’s true…but sort of hoping to run across some Bronze Goddess Body Creme because did not find time to buy it in the US before I left.
It wouldn’t occur to me to go to a store. 🙂
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NIB-Estee-Lauder-Bronze-Goddess-Whipped-Body-Cream-6-7-oz-200ml-/291121437232?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43c8309a30
Ha, good point.
Have a great vacation, Robin, and everyone else who is lucky to be going away.
I am content with staying at home, playing with my perfume bottles. Today it is Jacomo’s Silences as I fancied its astringent green-ness. Inspired by Meredifay, I shall wear the more dewy Diorissimo tomorrow: I’ve got quite a little range to choose from – old parfum and eau de parfum, newer eau de toilette and even the latest reformulation (which I am not fond of). Suppose I should use up the vintage before it turns and breaks my heart …..
I need to try Silences and Diorissimo. Silences is often mentioned along with 19 for gorgeous greenness and I love that for spring.
Elena I always think of No 19 and Silences as cousins, with No 19 being the sophisticated one with the metal fist in a suede glove, and Silences the extrovert, untamed one, straight out of a mossy cave! They are so similar at times, but veer off in different directions!
It is yet another good thing about vintage–you simply have to wear it with abandon 🙂
Yep, CH, my resolution is to splash my vintages on all over – every day, from now on! No point saving for best as they might have self-destroyed by then!
So glad we’re discussing this–I think I better wear Diorissimo today too 🙂
Love Silences.
Last time I wore Silences-well ,it wore me instead . Had a bit of a migraine (perhaps from seasonal allergies ?)and have been a bit leery of wearing it since. Funny as # 19 does just fine and is often called a ice queen and other perjoratives by others ,apparently Silences takes that role for me.
Hi Bookwrymsmith! I often get headaches from perfume, even my favourites sometimes, and I must admit I got one yesterday from Silences. Maybe on another day I’ll be lucky as it hasn’t happened before with this one. Just occasionally No 19 will do it to me too.
Thank you! So far so good.
I wasn’t that crazy about Silences when I first got it a couple of years ago, but this spring I’ve worn it several times. It smells rosy to me this year, with just the right amount of green. Fickle nose! 🙂
Fickle nose indeed, NK! I got roses immediately the very first time I smelt it (along with a strong link to No 19), but now I don’t get this so much and have been wondering if it is my silly nose, or if the juice has changed.
Good morning! I wish I was sleeping in right now, but apparently it’s not in the cards. . . so, no SOTD, yet.
Today, Mr. Spicebomb and I have a busy day planned–we’re driving out to the tulip farms to take some pictures and enjoy the spring weather, and then this evening we have a costume party to attend. I go to this party each year, and the hosts go all out. This year’s theme is Vaudeville, and I’m pleased that Mr. Spicebomb is game enough to attend with me! I don’t know anyone but the hosts, but usually I find someone interesting to chat with. 🙂
You can amuse yourself by scenting them 🙂
Yeah. . . so what would you recommend to a fella with dreadlocks and who permanently dresses as a pirate? (and sings bawdy songs on his ukelele)
Mitsouko, of course.
I was going to say Black Afgano, but Mistouko really would smell good on anyone!
Mitsouko was strictly tongue in cheek! 🙂
A bay rum scent?
Yes!
Caravelle Epicee!
Hmmm, how about L’AP Patchouli Patch? (pun absolutely intended but I do think Patchouli with incense is appropriate!)
What are you going as, MR??
Mr. Spicebomb and I went as audience members. He wore a suit with bow tie and suspenders. I went in a period-ish dress. We both carried a pail of veggies (potatoes, cabbage, and tomatoes, naturally!) and chocolate “gold coins” to throw at the performers–depending on if we enjoyed the show or not! The costumes were a big success! Folks found it pretty funny, and I enjoyed hefting a tomato and saying I was there, ready to be entertained. 😀
So, I went sniffing all over Vegas this week! I didn’t buy myself a vacation bottle but did get an STC order of small decants of a couple of the most intriguing things in Barney’s: FM Le Parfum de Therese, Le Labo Rose 31, i Profumi Frangipane e Cocco, Tom Ford Shanghai Lily, and Serge Lutens Clair de Musc.
I was also quite taken with the Byredo line (which I totally did not expect but I guess I just have to accept that I am a hipster) and of course several of the Chanel exclusifs. Going to mull on those and probably get more samples later.
If the Christian Dior private collection came in anything like regular sizes, I might have walked out with a bottle of Grand Bal. I told the salesperson, it’s so funny to hold this bottle — they’re so big! And she was like, um that’s the smaller one. Holy cow, yall.
And finally, if anyone was feeling conflicted about having to line Kim Kardashian’s coffers because the combination of honey and rose in Pure Honey sounded so appealing, let me put your mind at ease. NOPE. I’d call it honeysuckle, “fresh” florals and laundry musk. I didn’t hate it — I think it tapped into a very specific scent memory, honeysuckle bushes and laundry on the line in my great-grandmother’s backyard — but I got little honey and less rose.
Hope everyone has a lovely weekend! I am going wine tasting with my mom today, but I sneaked in a spritz of Azemour Les Orangers anyway because I am a monster.
The idea of wearing a Kim Kardashian scent appeals to the rebel in me, but when I told my husband I wanted to try this one, because it was roses & honey, he looked plain scared, like Wow, this woman is changing fast! Glad to know I can just forget about it. Keep on looking for my honeyed rose.
Have you tried I Profumi di Firenze Miele Rosa? Honey and roses… a tiny bit naughty, very nice.
Huuummm, I like naughty. Copied to my sampling list, thank’s!
My favorite honeyed rose is Ungaro Diva – a rich rose-based chypre.
Diva’s really nice! It’s got so much chypre stuff in it that I didn’t immediately think of it as “honeyed rose” – there’s tons of patchouli and moss and leather in there.
Good rec, Mals. I have some of this iPdF Miele Rosa, and it is mucho powerful. Just a dab on the wrists and wow. It’s like sitting in a rose garden, in the sun, and licking honey off a spoon. I am die hard rose fan, and it can even overwhelm me. Another good one is the Parfums DelRae Bois de Paradise – another whopper with tons of honey.
It’s so glamorous and sophisticated to me when experienced perfumistas confess their favorite cheap thrills, and I was really hoping this KK scent would be mine… but nope. I might buy some if I ever found it low enough at a discounter but I wouldn’t expect it to garner surprised compliments or anything like that.
Sounds like you had good sniffing adventures in Vegas! Yay! Did you feel sheepish at all for not buying anything? I nearly always feel a little uncomfortable because it takes me ages to make up my mind about a scent . . .
As for hipsterdom, I think we just have to accept certain proclivities. 🙂 I told a friend a few years ago that I felt like I belonged in a Portlandia sketch due to my hipster identity crisis–I’m too yuppyish to be a hipster (professional job, homeowner, few live shows/late nights in my social life, etc.) but too hipsterish (blue hair, tattoos, art car) to by a yuppie! My friend concluded that to be a true hipster, you couldn’t have the self-awareness that you WERE a hipster, so I was off the hook on that one. . . 😀
And I thought self-conscious irony was the cornerstone of hipster-dom!
Ah well, there you go! Put one more mark in the hipster column!
And I should add, I *do* have a wide selection of nerdy teeshirts. . . but I chalk that one up to being a science teacher. 🙂
…I don’t even know what an art car is!!
(But that would be a great Portlandia sketch 🙂 )
In my case, my art car is a Honda Fit that I painted with flowers; however, there are numerous variations on the theme! (if you can glue it, paint it, sculpt it or rivet it onto a car, someone probably has) I’m a bit of a snob in this department (as I am in so many!), as I feel that many art cars have this sort of “I got together with my friends one weekend, we had some beers and we just sort of had at it,” feel about them. Mine was a carefully designed art project–it took 3 years to complete (but it really is very pretty)!
What sort or paint do you use?
We want pictures!! 🙂
Can you have an art pick-up truck? Probably wouldn’t work would it? I’d love to see my hubband’s face if I painted flowers all over it.
I second the request for pictures: I love art cars! (though mine is a conservative silver:) )
So sorry for the delayed response! I was out all day yesterday
OK. So all these requests for photos have prompted me to make an effort to stick one more toe into the 21st century. I just posted my first pictures on flicr. . . hope I did it alright! Here’s a link to my car. . .
https://www.flickr.com/photos/123176529@N03/13829310943/player/
To answer 50 Roses, the paint is One Shot, which is a sign-painter’s paint. It is a lacquer, so you use paint thinner. I have not clear-coated it, but I really mean to some day. . .
Poodle, you can paint ANY vehicle, as far as I’m concerned! I’ve even seen art bikes and motorcycles. 🙂
Love the photo!
Wowee…love the color of your car AND the art!
Awesome!!
Love it!
Gorgeous!
Wow, you have an art car? I’d love to hear about it!
I’m from Houston, so I see an art car almost daily. It definitely adds some whimsy to our sprawling metropolis.
Yes, I’ve heard Texas has a really strong art car community!
You should come down and put your car in the Art Car Parade!
Also yay for blue hair (mine’s purple at the moment). 😀
My hair is like 30% blue, maybe. It’s natural brown on top with blue peeking through beneath. I think it’s pretty and still lets me look sort of professional when I pull it back. 🙂
I’ve been meaning to attend an Art Car parade some day. . . Portland, oddly enough, doesn’t have any official events as far as I can tell. Used to ages ago, but they aren’t especially well-organized.
I think I fall upon a similar yuppie/hipster line… and of course “hipster” isn’t all that well defined. After all, I’ve heard Byredo called a hipster brand, but what self-respecting hipster would spend $260 on RENT, much less perfume?
As for feeling sheepish… nope! That’s probably just personality, though. I had no intention of purchasing anything, decisive or no. I said up-front that I was just there to sniff and everyone was very nice. Well, the lady at Chanel kept herself well between me and the perfumes, spraying for me, while being nice about it. All the other sales people were happy to just let me play.
Yeah–“hipster” doesn’t seem to have a well-accepted, universal definition, does it? I don’t wear skinny jeans. And I’m not ALL that young anymore. . . On the other hand, I did grow up listening to vinyl and I like industrial art, so I recognize that I’m influenced by and a member to some degree of current pop culture.
Happy to hear folks were mostly accommodating to your sniffing! It’s so much more fun when you can just play.
Wow, I never pictured you that way! Mr. Spicebomb is doing really well for himself. 🙂
Ditto. I did not expect the blue hair part. I used to have blue hair (and green, and purple, and pink, etc.) but not for years now. My primary partner has kept his purple for over a decade now.
And yes, please pix of the art car!
Ah, good for him. I long to die my hair fire-engine red.
Blue has been my preferred color since college. I stopped dying it when I went into teaching, but I guess old fashions die hard! Once I started to feel more established in my career, the whim struck me to go back to blue, and now I can’t imagine NOT having a little color in my hair!
Ha! Thanks! One of the things I love about Mr. Spicebomb is that he’s a really straight-forward, practical fella but he appreciates creativity and some quirkiness in his life. I’d like to think that I have a good mix of both to offer him back!
Thrilled, thrilled, thrilled to be going home for Passover this weekend. Still trying to think of a Passover scent. I have a decant of Arquiste L’Etrog, but that’s a different Jewish holiday entirely! Too bad Smell Bent doesn’t have a Passover collection- their Chanukah scents were genius (“Gimel A Break” is one of the all-time best perfume names, IMHO).
I would think… either the most ebullient springtime floral in my collection… or something orangey, for feminism. And something that won’t complete with tons of food!
Lancolm’s Magie Noire smells just like that really bitter herb, so if you want to impress on yourself, and all, the sorrow of slavery you could go with that, lol!
Or how about Eau Merveilles, to pick up the salt water? Saline is not my thing, so if I were to nominate an Eau de Seder it would probably be something to blend with the apple-and-almond dish that is supposed to be a yummy simulation of mortar!
Tauer’s L’Air du Desert Marocain of course! 😉 Wrong desert, but you get the idea.
Ha! I was thinking the same thing.
Rappleyea–did you change your picture-avatar-whatsitcalled–thing?
Yes, once basketball season was over (sob!), I changed to the foal picture.
Basketball season?
🙂
I’m in Ky. and a grad of University of Ky. – we’re all psycho here about our basketball team (we start as babies 😉 ). We were just the national runner-up Monday night. U. Conn. won the championship.
I’ve been scanning the pages for days so I could send a condolence message. It never occurred to me that you changed your avatar, although now that you’ve pointed it out I do recognize the current one.
Anyway, I was rooting for you. Your boys had an amazing and unexpected run. Congrats on a great season!
We are KY fans ’round here, too. My uncle worked for the University for years, until he retired a while back. I live near Boston and am a huge Rondo fan, too. Great game the other night, but a heartbreaker. It was a great run though!
Thanks, Lucy! It *was* an amazing run! Before the tournament started I said that I’d be thrilled if we made the Sweet 16!
Hi, Elena – great to know there’s another BBN member on here. I love Rondo too (and Wall, Cousins, Patterson, Meeks, Bledsoe, etc.) – that’s pretty much what we all do here after the NCAA tournament: follow our guys in the NBA, and once their season ends, we follow recruiting, and begin countdown to the start of the next season!
Ha! Too funny!
Glad you’re getting to go home!
For a passover scent, how about something heavy on the wine/alcohol? Maybe Botrytis?
Enjoy your time off, Robin!
Actually hit 70 yesterday in NYC – truly amazing after this winter.
Excited to be sampling a number of spring scents suggested from you all on a poll recently, but today wearing 1932. It’s nice, but wouldn’t do more than the sample I have. I think I’ve come to the conclusion that Chanel=aldehydes, period, and I do not favor aldehydes at all.
Received a sample set of Ineke as well this week and found a couple that I can see enjoying.
Field Notes from Paris, an orange blossom praised here last week(?) is what I was really after, but found a great deal on Ebay. Love her packaging! I think it’s an orange blossom I can see loving. It’s not a note I get excited over, but the smoke and leather take it in a whole other direction.
AND, I’m so grateful to have learned of Prada’s l’ eau ambree from the recent poll on notes we do not like. I really love this and bought a FB just this week. Probably not a true amber scent for all you diehard amber fans 😉
Look forward to hearing ideas on other spring/summer scents!
I wear l’eau ambree too. I tend to like green scents, and light things in the Jean Claude Ellena vein, so I guess it’s kind of amber for dummies. (Or people who don’t really like amber TOO much.) It’s about as heavy as I get in the winter; that, Bottega Veneta, and Violet Blond are my winter go-to scents.
Did you just call me a dummy? 🙂
BV is my other favorite, and I’m a JCE fan too – perfume sisters?
I’ll have to pull out my violet blond sample to see if my nose has changed towards it since I last tried it. I always get tripped up by the name, want to call it violent blond :p
Do try Violet Blond again. I really love it, and get the smallest hint of cumin from it which makes it just a tiny bit dirty and interesting. If you love it, I will upgrade us to scent twins from sisters! 😉
Yay Violent Blonde! (I think of it that way too. I think it is intentional on the part of the company.) I just scored a small bottle of this for spring – I love it. Not sure I would think of it as a “winter” scent but I love that it stands up to cold well enough throughout the year.
I really like Violet Blonde too. Good score. I wish I’d find a small bottle. It is very classy.
Now I’m going to think of it as Violent Blond too! Hah! I snagged a 1 oz. on Ebay a while back. Perfect size. I wish it was easier to find the small bottles. I do wear that and BV all year round, actually, but it has a warmth to it, and a little more heft than most of my other scents.
Or at least intentional for Mr. Ford 😉
VB is one of my “power scents” for work. The sillage is moderate, it’s not too sweet or discernibly floral-great fragrance. I’ll have to stalk eBay for a small size (I’ve drained my decant).
Thank you!
Field Notes is my favorite Ineke 🙂
SOTD = L’AP Seville a l’Aube
I’m meeting up with Daisy (coolcookstyle) for a pre-Sniffapalooza sniffa. This evening, I am having dinner with friends and by then, I would probably smell like some unknown amalgamation of perfumes!
Have a wonderful time on your vacation, Robin.
Have fun with Daisy today! Give her a hug from me and I hope that you’ll discover some nice treats on your private sniffa 😀
Have fun!
I had so much fun with Daisy the last time I was in New York. Lucky you!
I slept in until 9AM today! What a treat! Had a hard time deciding on SOTD- here in Fl it will be in the high 70’s to mid 80’s and the oven that is the Southern US is just beginning to crank up. I wanted something cool and green and was leaning towards SSS Forest Walk when suddenly some unknown force guided my hand to Diptyque Volutes EDT. I’m happy about it.
And because I like to live on the edge, today will be spent doing housework, laundry, and walking the dog. I’m a rebel at heart 😉
Hope everyone has a spectacular weekend!
Ramona
Oh, so jealous of your sleeping! I woke up at 5:45am, apparently ready for the day!
I would think that knowing the long, hot, humid weather to come, spring in the warmer parts of the world might include a bittersweet element to it–a lovely change in the weather with the portents of unpleasantries to come! Here in Oregon, our summers are rarely uncomfortable, so I can just enjoy the spattering of good days as they become more frequent, but in Minnesota, it was like grasping at the few lovely days before the humidity inevitably would come along and bash you upside the head! (Sorry for all the mixed metaphors!)
Yes, the humidity DOES bash you upside the head! And who doesn’t like a few mixed metaphors to spice up the day?;)
Oregon! oh my, what a lovely state!
SOTD: The Different Company Bergamote. I recently got several cologne decants and this is the one I enjoy the most, even if it does not last at all. Honestly, I wish I had not even tried it, because the FB price is depressing. Clouds are gathering and later on it will rain, so I’ll wear Shalimar.
Ages ago, I split a large refill bottle w/ someone, so the price was not too bad. Unfortunately, the shelf life was not so spectacular.
Poor shelf life, to top it all? I’d better find another cologne to love.
Well, it wasn’t in a proper bottle — that may have had a huge impact!
I would recommend Salvatore Ferragamo pour Femme for a cheap thrill for spring. It’s easy to find at discounters, and I think the green opening and soft florals just shout spring. Anyone else wear it? It’s the tall twisty bottle. SOTD is sweet baby who just finished nursing and coffee with a smidge of maple syrup. I will go to the gym now, then shower and put something on. I guess I’m a true perfumista… I have a drawer full of samples, and all I want to try today is Diorissimo or En Passant, neither of which I have.
I do ! I got a purse size for Christmas one year and liked it so much I asked for a large bottle ( and got it another year). I recently got the Salvatore Ferragamo Attimo L’ eau Florale,which is a nice peony citrus for the warm humid months ahead. Spritzed on a bunch as my car’s A/C is only sorta working and I have to go run some errands before work today.
Boo to working on a Saturday! I haven’t tried that, I’ll have to keep my eyes open for it.
I just drained my sample of Ann Gerard Perle de Mousse for my SOTD. Gorgeous and SO nice in this warmer weather.
Happy holiday, Robin, and happy weekend everyone! Spring literally popped here in DC yesterday with the arrival of the Japanese cherry blossom season. Maybe no SOTD as the air is fragrant with magnolias and hyacinths, soon to be joined by violets just peeking out of the ground thus far. Fresh-cut grass joins the medley as eager weekend warriors combat their lawns.
It doesn’t sound like you need any perfume with so much beauty in the ambient air. A question – I’ve always wanted to visit DC during the cherry blossom season, but the one time we went (during my son’s spring break) we missed it. When is the most reliable time to visit and see the trees in bloom?
jirish, there is a wide range of times during which they might peak, depending on how cold the winter was and other factors. The National Park Service and Washington Post Capital Weather Gang make predictions about a month before the blooms are expected to peak. Take a look at the March 27 and March 28 posts in the listing linked below on the topic of prediction, and the other posts for some great photos. The prediction posts will also show you when the most frequent times are and also the range.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/tag/cherry-blossoms/
Thanks for the link. That is quite a variation in peak bloom time. Makes it difficult to time it right!
nozknoz is on the money with her response, jirish. Most people assume that the cherry blossoms bloom later in the season, but the average peak bloom since 1992 is noted in that Washington Post link as March 31. That being said, planning a trip based on predictions can be a bit precarious, but definitely doable.
I must admit that I am always surprised by the sudden POP! of the blossoms and this year is particularly spectacular as all the other spring flowers have emerged as well.
Well, I’ve done something dumb–even though I really like Lubin Idole in EDP, i.e. the only form currently available, I went and tested the EDT… and I LOVE it. Bah! Of course the worst part is I have only myself to blame. Commence the Ebay stalking, I suppose.
Oh noooo. I was so lucky to get a bottle of the EDT before it was discontinued, and haven’t seen a single bottle on eBay or Amazon since. I don’t think that anyone who has one wants to give it up! Trying to learn to love the EDP.
Just to rub a little salt in my wound, I’d actually noticed one on Ebay last week, but my sample hadn’t arrived yet so I let it go by. What was I thinking?? Should have grabbed, would have been so easy to rehome in the event I didn’t like it!
Luckily I do really like the EDP, but the EDT’s wearing so much more comfortably. Sigh. And that bottle!!
Another thought would be to figure out if any brick and mortar stores in your area carry that line and see if they still have a bottle.
I bought it IMMEDIATELY when I heard it was being discontinued because I love the bottle so much, even though most reviewers seem to agree the EdP better. I hope you find one, too!
It’s a really good idea–thank you! No luck so far, but it makes me think, perhaps I could call stores in other areas and see if they’d ship?
It’s interesting to me that the prevailing preference should be for the EDP. It’s richer (and for certain, the staying power is vastly superior), but it’s much boozier, whereas I find the emphasis in the EDT more on the spices…seems like preferences on that front could cut either way.
C.H. – try Henri Bendel – I thought I saw a few bottles on the shelf recently (late March). Call them and ask for Sergio. Don’t bother looking online (the website selections are anemic), call the store.
Oh my gosh, thank you so much for this lead! Called today and he wasn’t there (and the person I did speak to was not so helpful) but was told he’d be in tomorrow. Fingers crossed! Thank you!!
Alas sold out. Oh well. I guess I have to put the cash toward something vintage, to comfort myself? 😉
I’m wearing CdG’s Black in celebration of its victory. I really do need a bottle of it. I hear quite often that someone doesn’t need 100ml of anything, but as someone reaching the end of at least 4 full bottles (I already have my holiday list for the next year! 😉 ), 100ml doesn’t seem like nearly enough. Plus, this one is practically free! If it was $99.99, I’d be spraying it lavishly right now.
This morning, at 8 AM, I had a huge Organic Chemistry test, with work in only a few hours. I’m back in bed watching some I Love Lucy to help me relax.
Oh, and happy vacationing, Robin! Hope you’re going somewhere warm.
I am in Barcelona, and it could be a bit warmer but it’s not too bad. Thanks!
Oh, wonderful!! Have a great time.
Ahhh amazing! Have such a great time!
Ah, so that explains La Sagrada Familia! It’s also worth looking up the photos by those crazy Russian photographers who climbed the pyramids and a host of other tall buildings.
Dammit, I just got back two weeks ago! I hope you have a great time. I have a post up about Les Topettes, which is just one of many perfume shopping options in Barcelona.
Oh, how funny, we just missed each other! I am probably not perfume shopping this trip at all but will poke my head in there if I pass it, thanks!
Wearing Osmanthe Yunnan. Will see whether it lasts past my leaving the house this morning…
If it were on me, not likely. It’s lovely, but so expensive for something so fleeting.
Luckily i get 3-4 hours out of osmanthe yunnan, though sillage is very moderate. For me it does best in warm to hot weather. I remember it making a repeat appearance once when I had to make a sudden dash for a tram and made myself hot. It was very pleasant to plump down into a seat, surrounded by a renewed cloud of OY. But mostly I agree with you: OY is not worth the money, beautiful though it is.
Answer: no, under two hours. Not surprising, as most Hermes perfumes are very fleeting, the one exception on my skin being Ambre de Merveilles, so definitely agree about value.
I forgot to put perfume on this morning as I was rushing out the door for work on a day that would be better spent reading a book out in a lawn chair. Why does it always seem like Mother Nature saves the bad weather for my weekends off? Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Anyway one of my coworkers is an avon lady and I scored a little rollerball set of Fergie’s three fragrances for ten bucks that I’ve yet to take home so I’m testing Viva today. The opening is a little screechy for me but it’s drying down nicely and since no one wants to shop for jewelry on a beautiful day like today I’m not at risk of offending any perfume shy customers!
I feel like I read here once upon a time that l’artisan usually has a mother day sale? I’m dying for a bottle of dzing but can’t work it into my budget at full price. Plus I think they are phasing it out so I don’t know if it will still be around at the end of June when I can drop some birthday hints. Tried the ebay route but I have terrible luck there. Any thoughts on an upcoming sale?
Have a good vacation, Robin!
So I’ve already bought my first bottle of the quarter. I found a bottle of Lolita Lempicka at Ross yesterday for a really good price, so I went for it. They had a 30ml and a 50ml, and since the 50 was only $5 more, I went with the 50. And it’s my SOTD today. It took me a while to come around on this one. At first I thought it was too sweet, but it’s working for me now.
Thank you!
And nice find, I might buy it if I found it cheap enough.
Brand new – well, to me anyway! – partial bottle of Ralph Lauren Safari in the cologne spray version in the mail today, yippee! Now to hope that it doesn’t veer as sweet in the drydown as the parfum does ( I hear it’s drier).
Took Taz, my youngest, to a Native American powwow this morning. Fun to watch the dancers. He was interested in seeing the weapons demonstration, but we got tired before that rolled around. Heading off to see a minor league baseball game later this evening.
Check your local discounters for Pecksniff’s Orange Blossom & Tuberose products they seemed like a good option for bath products to go with it to me.
Thanks for the tip. I was at TJ Maxx today and ended up buying the orange blossom and tuberose soap. The white peach and gardenia one is nice too. I expected something sweeter and fruiter but it’s not fruity at all and kind of has a vintage chypre vibe about it.
I love all those flowery Italian boxed soaps they sell at TJ Maxx – they make great gifts, smell great in drawers and are really good in the shower. I found a lily of the valley one last year that is to die for.
I really like Safari and try it often, then consider buying it… If I see it at a good price I will probably pounce:)
I like Safari too, Mals, although it’s another one that gives me a headache (see above). There’s something about it that reminds me Chamade – don’t know what, and I feel quite sophisticated when I wear it!
I’m wearing Keiko Mecheri’s Loukhoum, which is sweet, powdery fun. Soon I’ll be showering and getting ready to host a BBQ tonight (oh, how excited I am by the blissfully warm weather in VA!), not sure what my SOTE will be.
Oh that one is definitely on my list to try!
Barcelona! Wow! Will you be visiting the Perfume Bottle Museum that is housed in a shop in a passage? Have a wonderful vacation.
It is a gorgeous collection, Celestia. I did get to visit it and love the photos I took in there. The 18th century bottles were perhaps the most surprising!
Am wearing En Passant, from a small pack of samples I recently ordered. I am really loving it… and then it goes away. (Insert sad sniff.) My fragrance eating skin devours all but the most tenacious scents. I’ve reapplied it three times already today.
Had a really fun time on Thursday with an old friend I hadn’t seen in 12 years. It was so great to see someone “who knew me when. . . ” Among the far ranging topics we had to catch up on was perfume (of course). I pulled out about 50 samples and bottles and had a great time grouping them into scent types and making sample strips. She wound up giving Dans Tes Bras the most number of stars from the scent strips… but was less wowed by it on her skin… Testing so many of my fragrances on paper was very revealing. There were several that were completely different perfumes on paper. For instance, Dune. A totally different scent on paper.
Happy weekend everyone. And Robin I hope you have a terrific holiday!
Well, to wit, it may make the scent smell pretty different, given how things develop differently on skin v. other surfaces, but have you tried spraying the En Passant on your hair or clothes? Could be worth a shot, I do find even the more fleeting fragrances hang around a lot longer on those surfaces, even if it means smelling a somewhat different facet of their composition!
Weeeelll… I thought your idea was well worth trying. I sprayed the last of it on my t-shirt and sweater… same problem… That was a couple of hours ago, and while I can still get hints of violet and fuzzy leaves when I inhale deeply into the fabrics–the scent is very faint.
Too bad. It is such a very pretty scent!
Oh, that is too bad. Especially given what it costs! Not cheap to have to keep touching up that one…
Thanks!
All the talk about spring perfumes yesterday had me pulling out Zeta this morning. Lovely linden, honey and rose. Have a great time in Barcelona, Robin! Haven’t been there yet myself, but it’s near the top of my to-go list. Especially look forward to the food there.
We are eating VERY well so far 🙂
And our hotel is perfect, always a relief.
I’ve been wearing Sous le Toit de Paris today. I didn’t like it too much the first time I tried it, but this time I sparayed more generously and loved that blast of violets. Plus, it has better sillage than most of the Atéliers.
Enjoy your stay in Barcelona, Robin. If you have time you could visit La Basílica Galería, very close to the Cathedral. It’s relatively new and is, as the name suggests, an art gallery, but they also sell modern jewellery and niche perfumes. Haven’t been yet, but will definitely go on my next visit.
Sounds lovely! Putting that on my to-do list for someday when I get to go back.
Thank you, will add it to my list!
And you smell great — I am very tempted to get Sous le Toit.
Not very seasonal, but I’m wearing Diptyque Volutes EdP because I finally decided to leap off the cliff and buy it, after months of indecision over which concentration to buy. One revelation is that I actually like the new oval bottle: the overall effect of the actual bottle is very different from the photos.
I had an intense Tai Chi seminar yesterday evening and this morning, so now I’m just resting up and staying indoors away from the pollen.
Oh, we are scent twins today and I have to say, I love the bottle as well!
I wish I had the patience for Tai Chi and other meditative forms of physical exercise but I am more of an high intensity interval spinning kind of person with blasting music and buckets of sweat. Not very attractive! lol Does one get the same effect if one likes watching others do Tai Chi? For me, its kind of like watching fish swim languidly in an aquarium- so soothing =)
I wish one could get the effect of high-intensity-interval-spinning by watching it!
Ha, what Merlin said – I hate to sweat! I started doing some stair climbing to get some more intense cardio, but my legs are now sore from overtraining. Need to work up more gradually. I know Tai Chi is good for health; it might be good just to watch it!
Happy weekend everyone! It is finally nice weather up here in the Poconos, but there is *still* snow on the ground!!! I am very sad this week b/c I’ve just discovered that the No 5 square bath soap that I’ve been using for years for my “No 5 showers” (with creme and dusting powder afterwards), no long smells the same. Why would I stock up on the soaps!?! I could kick myself a thousand times. They ditch the Sensual Elixir (Why? bastards! and, again – no backups) and alter the soap. What am I to do? I’d ordered 2 bars for a mother’s day gift, and when I opened them, blech. Soap, soap, soap with screechy flower backup. It smells like some imitation of the No 5 soap you’d find in cheap restroom dispenser. Just a hint of the gorgeous soap it used to be. If anyone is in the same boat, let me know, and we can virtually cry on each other’s shoulders. The new soaps have packaging with a floating “5” in the cellophane wrapper, like the other “new” No 5 5 re-boots. Good luck to anyone who can scrounge some of the old ones. Oh, Chanel, don’t keep breaking my heart! It is just so disappointing when you know that Chanel is not exactly losing money on the No 5 brand. I will go and hold my deep collection of vintage parfum and my other bottles of Eau Premier and Sensual Elixir close to my heart, and hope whoever in development changed these products and this line is suffering from fragrance guilt and will come back in the next life as an ant!
I’ve had this experience recently with other things I use regularly (not perfume related) – so maddening and such a waste of time and money to search for adequate replacements. I hope you find some old stock tucked away in shops to tide you over.
THanks – me too – I’m looking around for sure online etc.
Hello AnnS!
Have you smelled Eau Premiere in the new ‘classic bottle’?
I just can’t force myself to go to the mall to smell it, though I know it is now in stock.
Sorry about the soap – no Chanel ancillary products are inexpensive!
Bear
Bear, they had a tester of Eau Premiere in the new classic bottle at my local Nordstrom, but it didn’t occur to me to try it. All they had was the tester–no bottles available for sale as of Fri.
Now I’m worried about Eau Premiere!
Hello galbanumgal!
An SA posted in the female discussion board on basenotes that she had attended a training session for the new EP and the only difference was an additive that increased longevity. Obviously an SA is not an unbiased source.
Take a foul for the team and go to Nordstrom and spray with wild abandon. LOL
I used to love the mall, now not so much!
I hope it is the same. The SA stated all unsold column bottles were sent back to Chanel. Knowing their tight distribution, it wouldn’t surprise me to find out Chanel destroys them rather than have them sold in the grey market.
God, this comment makes me want to cry. I think of all the unsold bottles of the Sensual Elixir, and it is just totally disheartening….
Checked the Neiman Marcus website and they still have the column bottle in the 2.5oz size for $88. Hope that helps!
Bear: They had the new bottle in packaging under the counter, and the “old” tall bottle on the displayer for testing. I was definitely interested in testing, but I couldn’t do it. I imagine if I go back in a few weeks they’ll have switched it. I was kind of making jokes and hinting to the SA that I’d buy the tester bottle… but she wouldn’t bite. It will probably be for sale on ebay in a few months! ARGH!!
AnnS,
I feel your pain about purchasing the tester bottle.
Once, I purchased the last available bottle of Castelbajac in Bloomingdale’s when it had been discontinued and they had a 90% full tester that I requested to purchase at full price. No go! I’m sure it was on ebay in a few weeks.
Sapphire,
Thanks for the tip about Nieman Marcus!
Neiman Marcus!
Ann – I really feel your pain. I sometimes think that companies find out what products I love then set out to change them just to make me miserable!
You will feel MY pain when I tell you that I bought my sister a bottle of Sensual Elixir for her birthday and sent it to her in Australia (I’m in the UK). I was beyond horrified and distraught when I had a letter from our Royal Mail informing me that this was a “prohibited” item and that they had destroyed it! Oh, the horror!
That is just so awful!! I am sad for you. RIP to all our beloved products.
The mail was like Christmas today. Got a package from STC with my Pretty Machine decant and Black Vines sample, as well as a couple of vintage goodies from eBay. I’m trying out Black Vines, and I like it a lot. I was thinking it would remind me more of licorice candy but I get a pretty good dose of cinnamon that I didn’t expect.
Have you tried Reglisse Noir?
I have, and I love it. It’s different from Black Vines to me in that it’s less sweet, and the licorice takes on a dryer, almost irisy effect that i really like. I don’t have any at the moment, though. I got a sample some time back, I think it was in a swap. It was just an extra that the person threw in, and I ended up liking it more than what I actually swapped for. I used it up pretty quickly. I’ve been thinking about it off and on ever since, but haven’t taken the buying plunge.
SOTD was Fragonard’s Fleur D’oranger. I had a single-use sample (those scent impregnated wet wipes) I was trying out. It was OK, but my 4 year old piped right up and said, “I smell something. It smells like sunscreen.” And it really did.
Hi perfume peeps! Robin, I hope you have a fabulous time:) A nice hotel does make a difference.
On some recent travels, experimenting with other brands I discovered Jovoy ( in the wavy bottles with black labels on the sides). There was not time to test them over a long enough period to justify actually buying a bottle, but I did ‘love’ Psychedelic. Though I adored the opening and heart it dried down to a silky and delicate vanilla and patchouli. So the dry down was nice, but not nearly so spectacular. I came close to buying it the next day but the shop carrying it closed earlier than expected so I ended up being saved from myself! Anyone have experience with Jovoy and or Psychedelic?
Its Autumn where I live and I’v become highly attached to Etro’s Gomma. It’s often compared to Knize 10, but I find it smoother and less ‘dirty’, though next to an ordinary amber Gomma does read as quite skanky:)
Have you guys seen this petition about IFRA regulations?
http://www.parfumo.net/petition/petition.html?pxID=0728821fa7aad8d6da5f497f535bf345
I signed it. It was suggested that we maybe indicate we live in the EU to give more weight to our petition, but the ‘au’ at the end of my email address was a bit of a giveaway, so hopefully my lil ol opinion still counts!
Yes, and thanks so much for posting the link. That’s one off my to-do list today! I hope everyone will take a moment to sign it. These restrictions will affect the industry world-wide from the ground up.
Yep, I signed it.
Done my duty, too.
My brain is obviously being affected by this hobby–I was trying to figure out what perfume I should wear for CPR class and whether I should put it on my chest, before I remembered that if someone is practising on me, it means that I’m dead
Then even more important to smell great if it’s your last hurrah! Plus, maybe those administering CPR will do their utmost to revive you so they can find out what scent you’re wearing. 🙂
*snort!*
Isn’t that sort of like the old line that you should never leave the house without putting on clean underwear–because, you know, in case you’re in an accident, you wouldn’t want to be caught wearing old, dirty underwear?
LoL. you could wear Demeter’s Funeral Home though… 😉
Ha! Good one. 🙂
So, several people commented on Jacomo Silences and I was looking forward to receiving my sample from STC any day now. I got a message from them this morning: they’re out of it and won’t restock. I browsed online briefly, and am wondering if I should be seeking the vintage or if anyone likes the current formulation.
I haven’t smelled the vintage potion, but the recent formulation is perfectly fine, in my opinion. I had a bottle but swapped it a few years ago
Thanks!
All ready to go out and see the Easter processions, which involve hours of walking round the streets, from now until the early hours of Sat. morning. It’s a stunning show of faith and baroque art in the street. But I’m wearing Putain des Palaces…I just thought I would.
Love your sense of humor! 🙂
LOL!
Lately almost all I have been wearing are Agonist fragrances. I found them at Kuhl-Linscomb in Houston, our perfume mecca. (Neiman-Marcus also carries them.) I have bought three now and find myself wanting to wear Isis almost every day. They are from Sweden, and maybe that influences me but they do seem different and “Scandinavian” somehow: bracing and fresh, herbal and woody and mineral, not very floral–except, ironically, Isis, which is dominated by broom. I had a great day yesterday on a drive in the country with my neighbor to view Texas wildflowers–bluebonnets galore–paradise! Today I am going to the opera (Wagner). I’ve put on Sous le Vent. Ha ha, citrusy and herbal, kind of the same territory as the Agonist line but of course more elegant and subtle. I hope it is not too much for anyone sitting near me, I would hate to asphyxiate someone–but I put it on early enough that it ought to have lightened a bit by curtain time.
I’ve seen the Agonist fragrances at Kuhl-Linscomb and Neiman Marcus but haven’t tried any of them. Glad to hear your take on the line. I’ve been wanting to try Isis. I haven’t been by K-L in a while. Maybe I need to make a visit.
Yes, definitely try them. The ones I bought are Arctic Jade, The Infidels, and Isis. If Andrew is there you can ask him for samples. They have cute little boxed samples of a lot of them, because the couple who are the founders of Agonist paid them a visit a couple of months ago. The one I’m contemplating now is Onyx Pearl.
Remember the freebie meet? I sent some samples to a fellow perfumista in South Africa. I took almost 3 months for the samples to travel from Central Europe to SA, I’ve given up hope, but got an email a couple of days ago that they, indeed, arrived. I now fully understand the meaning of ‘snail mail’ 🙂
Just wanted to share this with you.
International mail can be unpredictable like that. Usually it seems that things I send to others arrive pretty quickly (from the US), but receiving is another story. Sometimes it’s relatively fast, but I once had an exchange with someone in Canada that was kind of like you experience. Not for her to receive my package, mind you. But hers took about a month to reach me. From Canada!
I was the very lucky recipient of Zara’s wonderful freebies!
I think there has been some kind of delay with the post because it usually takes about 6 weeks. Things I send to the US and to Europe, however, seem to take a month or less, so I’m surprised to hear that you have the opposite experience
Despite the absurd lags I have somehow always received things sent to me, and those I’v sent have always arrived, so perhaps I am just very lucky:)
Went sniffing after class today and tried the new Killians, Rose Velours, the new Bottega Veneta and the new Elie Saab. Elie Saab L’eau Couture isthe clear winner. Fresh enough to smell appropriate in 80 degree weather, but with a satisfying density of white florals
I like the Elie Saab L’eau Couture as well. Very pretty, and good for Spring into Summer.
We visited Table Mountain (http://www.dfg.ca.gov/lands/er/region2/northtable.html) today, and thoroughly enjoyed the wildflowers, California newts, waterfall, birds, butterflies, basalt outcroppings, and weather. Spring can be impossibly beautiful, and today was one of those days. Sigh …
SOTD is Pacifica Indian Coconut Nectar.
I have been sampling Pretty Machine by Kerosene this week. The first hour is blissful, and at first, I was sure that I had found my spring scent. Then, the magic of the linden and orange blossom fade, and something green and unpleasant is left (I do like green, but there is something “off” about this) for hours. I’m going to keep trying it, though.
Orange trees and roses are blooming near my office building, and I’ve been huffing their blossoms during my breaks. Glorious.
Oh, and there will be a total lunar eclipse on the night of April 14-15. Should be very pretty. http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/11/tech/innovation/blood-moon/.
Was in New Orleans last weekend for a wedding. The event was wonderful, lovely AA couple who did all the local wedding things: Second Line Parade after the wedding, a cake pull, fabulous red velvet grooms cake, very Southern and traditional. While there I visited Hove Perfumer in the French Quarter. A really lovely little shop, wood cases, antique dresser top items, vintage perfume bottles, etc. I bought a sampler of 6 where you could pick what you wanted, they offer about 40 different scents (men and women). I got Amber, Carnation, Helitrope, Flame, Spring Feista, and Violet. They are all pretty basic, the Spring one is my favorite so far, light and mildly vanilla. Nothing I will buy in a larger size when finished as they have limited staying power. I did buy some fabulous body oil in the helitrope scent, that I LOVE! I have been putting it on after my morning shower and sniff sniffing my arm all day. The scent of the oil really lasts, so I may replace that at some point. They offered oil, soap, shower gel and old fashioned dusting powder in the full line of frags, so it was fun to wander around and play.