Do tell us what fragrance you're wearing today! Is it absolutely perfect, or do you wish you could change it in some way?
I am wearing Kai, which seems to have come up several times in the comments here lately. If I could, I would make Kai just a tad less clean. I'm wearing the perfume oil, from a very old sample, so for all I know recent versions are even cleaner.
Reminder: this Friday, July 11, will be Flanker Friday: wear a flanker fragrance, and extra bonus points for wearing a flanker of a flanker! The following week, Friday the 18th, will be Sample Grab Bag: pick a fragrance at random from among your untried samples.
And for those of you who like to plan ahead, see Scent of the day ~ Friday community projects 2014, where I'll try to always have the next six or seven weeks mapped out in advance.
Note: top image is Moonlight in Hawaii. Italian postcard by Cecami, no. 160. Sent by mail in 1958. via Bob's Postcards at Pinterest.
Cheap and cheerful Tuesday here. Dusted of my bottle of original men’s Stetson and oooh la la…does this stuff smell terrific. Best. Blind. Buy. Evah.
The men’s, or Lady Stetson? Both are good though.
The men’s. I can’t even recall ever seeing the women’s version in stores anywhere – although I’ve heard great things about it!
The original men’s version is so incredibly good. I hardly ever wear it any more because my tolerance for that particular sort of powdery amber has diminished a lot in the last few years, but I still recognize its greatness.
When I first read “Perfumes: The Guide” I thought it was hilarious how Tania Sanchez simply COULD NOT GET OVER the fact that it was marketed as a men’s scent when clearly to her it’s a women’s oriental — and this despite the fact that her husband is constantly saying how this or that women’s scent (such as the reformulated Rochas Femme) is so obviously a masculine. Here’s an idea, you two: how about just letting anyone wear anything that smells good and not making such a huge deal about it? How about that?
Yes, he seemed to think that various purportedly female scents could only be worn by a man with any panache! Well, I happily wear some of those, and couldn’t care less what impression I make to the greater public, lol!
Good morning Robin, good morning all 🙂
Today I wore Shalimar Ode a la Vanille…the Mexico one… that arrived this morning. I still have my over half full bottle of Shalimar edt from the early 90’s and haven’t worn it in a LONG time, and from memory the Vanille one smells just like I remember Shalimar smelling, with a slightly cocoa-y drydown. I’ll do a side by side to compare. I got a compliment from the pharmacist so nope, wouldn’t change anything 🙂
Tonight I’m wearing Atelier Vanille Insensee to hunt for that paint thinner I read about. Nope. No paint-thinner. Happy with both choices 🙂
Cute young friendly pharmacist that is 😉 lol
Ooo! That’s the best kind! 😉
Good, glad there’s no paint thinner 🙂
Ditto. It was truly ghastly on me when I tried it the other day. Glad it found some ‘lurrrve’ 🙂
Scent (of the Afternoon) twins! I just got home and spritzed my new Ode a la vanille and am liking this very much! It arrived last night and was a blind buy. I guess I cant resist deals on discontinued scents. Buy now or forever wish that you had.
Earlier, I wore Parfum Initial as that arrived yesterday as well. It’s Shalimar Flanker Day!
I feel the exact same way with discontinued scents- lots of them come to mine to live out their retirement 🙂
Route du Mexique is my favorite of the three. I didn’t think I would like it because I’m not a chocolate fan, but that note is so soft, and not too sweet. You smell great!
My SOTD is Amour Nocturne by L’artisan. In my opinion, it is a perfect scent . It is so unique. The only thing I dislike about it is the price. I would love to purchase a FB of it, but right now it isn’t in my budget.
Yeah, that one is expensive.
In my continuing quest to go through my samples I put on By Kilian Forbidden Games, which initially reminded me of some scented lotion from Victoria’s Secret back in my junior high days, then faded to an inoffensive but boring peach. So I layered the last of my Rose Splendide over it and now I smell feisty.
I initially read that as “now I smell fishy” – glad I looked again, and glad you don’t smell fishy. ; )
I’m glad I don’t smell fishy too! I did sample a perfume once with seaweed absolute in it. TOTAL scrubber.
Kafkaesque just posted an article on the whole IFRA banning thing again, an update, and it mentions that perfumers will/may be turning to seaweed to replace oakmoss..
What a description. I really didn’t like any of that series.
I liked Flower of Immortality but that turned out to be a different series.
Haven’t been able to comment much, since it’s been so humid & periodically rainy…my SOTD is usually Off! While the yard looks fabulous for July, the weather’s interfering with perfume wearing. And why is the stuff labeled “unscented,” when it reeks?!
Hahahaha! They usually just mean that there’s no added fragrance. You’re probably just smelling the less-than-appealing aroma of the all product’s ingredients.
Hey, you can always check in to tell us you’re wearing OFF 🙂
I have a lightweight long-sleeved insect-repellant shirt that I wear while gardening along with the Off clip-on; both of these together work pretty well (no scent) and I don’t have to slather my skin with that stinky stuff. Perhaps worth a try?
you know, the Off clip-on worked well last yr. But despite regularly changing the chemical strip & batteries, it’s not cutting the mustard this yr. Very annoying.
I’m wearing C.O. Bigelow Musk Oil. It is absolutely perfect for the narrow, specific territory it occupies in my perfume wardrobe: cleanliness without screechiness. I might feel wilted, but I smell neatly starched. I also used Lush Silky Underwear dusting powder this morning, although that scent is long faded.
That’s a good one, melissa! Love that oil!
Wearing my sample of Rochas Femme, but not much, as I have my second to last perfume class tonight and I don’t want it to conflict with what I’ll be working with.
Also, I just have to say – on bad days, it’s so comforting to hang out here with all of you.
Thanks for being great, fellow fumies..
Second! It’s been a rough few weeks in nebbe-ville and this positive, welcoming, supportive community is one of my sanity spots.
It’s awesome.
Sending happy thoughts to Nebbe-ville. Sounds like a charming place.
Aww, thank you! Getting better every day.
SOTD is Loewe 7, I like it, the only thing I’d change (but maybe it’s all in my imagination) is that when I had just purchased it, it smelled better, the drydown seems to have gone slightly stale, so I’d like to go back to that “version/moment”.
And it can’t be that old…too bad.
I’m wearing Hiris again. I’ve been turning to it a lot lately, I find it goes well my summer wardrobe palette of crisp white and navy.
Ooh, Hiris does sound like a great match for white and navy! I love to match my perfume to my outfit.
Robin-
I am wearing Kai today too. I had a meeting this morning with several people and didn’t want to smell up the room. It seems to stay pretty close to the skin so my hope is it didn’t bother others.
We’re twins 🙂
Bombay Bling from Neela Vermeire Creations is a perfection. No need to change anything in this one!
You’re so right!
SOTD is a sample of Eau d’Italie Jardin du Poete. On the quest for more green scents! I just can’t seem to get enough of them. i like Jardin du Poete, but so far it isn’t standing out above the other green scents. I can’t see myself buying a bottle, but I would definitely get a lot of wear out of it if I had a bottle already 😉
I love Jardin de Poete! It’s on my one day I’ll buy list. I find it similar to Diptyque L’ombre dans l’eau, but different enough to want both 🙂 I don’t think there are enough of those kind of green scents
I am wearing a sample of Diptique Eau de 34. It’s nice, nothing I must have, but good on a warmish day. I would like to tone down the juniper in this just a tad–juniper on me smells masculine and although I appreciate what it lends to this fragrance, it does make me smell a little like my brother.
SOTD is Field Notes from Paris by Ineke and I would absolutely not change anything about this gorgeous scent! Love every part of it.
sorry, meant to post this down below!
but I did want to comment that I really like 34, and yet the juniper is a bit too much for me as well 😉
Today’s SOTD is Silver Iris Mist. I’m still kicking myself for not getting a bell jar when I had the money but wasn’t quite willing to part with almost $300 at the time.
I think you can now get the gorgeous travel spray version. I am looking for an excuse to buy something (that I don’t already own) in that format!
Hello everyone! I’m new to this site but a hopeful fumie in the making 🙂
Today I tried my hand at layering a couple perfumes and so far they seem to have complimented each other well. I started off with See by Chloe and topped it with Mermaid No. 1. I happen to also be wearing bright colors today, so I feel like I smell about as bright as I look!
Hi! Welcome!
Welcome, and congrats on the successful layering experiment!
I’m wearing Caron’s Pour un Homme this morning. I’ve been looking for a light, elegant lavender scent for a while and even though this is marketed towards men, it smells great on me!
I tried CpuH on one wrist and Gaultier’s Le Male on the other and Le Male came off much more masculine!
Still my very favourite lavender, and I have smelled a few!
I wish I like this one. I tried it recently and it was too much on the masculine side for me. I too love lavender and have read so much on this one.
So interesting! I find it almost girly with all that vanilla. But then, I am a girl that wears M7 :p
I bought this for my husband but he’s not crazy about it (and doesn’t wear scent at all most of the time), so I adopted it. I love it, and find it especially soothing if I’m feeling stressed and/or tired.
SOTD is Equistrius by Parfum d’Empire- warm and cool at the same time! The scent itself is perfect, however, I am unhappy they are no longer offering 50ml bottles. I have a 5ml decant and was planning on getting a 50 ml FB when it’s complete but not anymore =( Marc Antoine, what were you thinking?!?
A cleansing rain and cool front moved in during the night to bring forth a lovely summer’s day and blue skies: the scent of my still-moist garden (especially the roses and herbs) plus white cotton t-shirts (each a brought-back memory from a special place visited) drying outside in the sunshine makes it a Nantucket Briar kind of day for me. Quintessential New England – my only complaint about the fragrance is I wish it could really bring the seashore to me!
I’m wearing Dune – Dior’s freaky little summer scent, that people seem to associate with beaches.
When I wear it, I think of the movie – Bene Gesserit witches, time/space bending, sandworms, Sting being evil in a speedo with wings. Must have watched that movie one time while wearing this scent. I am sure that this is not what M. Dior intended. LOL.
I am training new radiologists to use the dictation software today – it seemed appropriate.
I guess the association is just inevitable – even if you didn’t wear it while watching the movie, lol!
yup…..there’s no way you’re not going to see glowing blue eyes when you spray this on…..
Daisy, you need to cut down on the spice!
No way! Spice is life!!!
You go girl!
SOTD is LUSH’s Scent of Weather Turning. It is, as always, perfect. I love this one so much!
I have a sample of this one that I need to try. It’s been sitting around for… gosh… months.
I love that one! I like the use of mint, which is interesting without evoking the usual associations of breath mints, gum or toothpaste.
SOTD = Hermes L’Ambre des Merveilles
It is so hot and humid and all sorts of yucky in NYC today. This perfume transitions well from hot to airconditioned cold to hot again — I love it!
Another one I’ve got to sample.
I love this as well- it’s my choice for “Flanker Friday,” and even with the heat and humidity, it’s just right!
L’Ambre des Merveilles is so great in the summer. I also love it transitioning into fall (which I’m sure everyone does…).
This one is in my top ten of all time :-). I hadn’t thought of trying it in summer, though, and it’s over 90 here today.
I’ll wear it tomorrow, it isn’t supposed to be much cooler!
I’m, as per usual, in C&E Lavender. The lavender is a soft floral aromatic type and the scent is warmed by tonka bean and musk. I wouldn’t change it at all – except to increase the longevity which really sucks! It lasts about an hour, or an hour and a half, on me…
My SotD is Anna Rivka Eveil parfum…..It has quickly become one of my most favorite scents….It’s a bit the love child of vintage L’Heure Bleue parfum and vintage Rochas Femme PdT with a dose of a sweetish floral note….hmmmm clearly perfume description is not my forte. But I adore it. I wouldn’t change a thing…..except maybe there should be free delivery directly to my house…… 😉
oh, Olivier Polge! Parisian purchase?
That sounds interesting and I bet you smell fabulous! (Of course, you always do!)
Kelly Caleche today. 🙂
Invasion Barbare. Great stuff. I wouldn’t change it for the world.
SOTD is “Havana” by Aramis. I was tempeted to wear the Paloma Picasso again today but Havana was calling out my name.
Testing Pacifica Tahitian Gardenia. Fading after about 2 hours (from the rollerball). I think I like Kai better. But then it’s a toss-up between Kai and EL PCTG. Hoping to eventually do some swapping to get some of each.
RIght now sitting in O’Hare waiting for a flight to Reagan… after which I must get myself and my sons on the Metro to meet a friend who has custody of my vehicle… after which I must drive almost five hours home. ETA? Midnight.
Wearing Daisy. Sort of wishing I had spritzed a bit of Kelly Caleche edp instead, but it’s okay.
Are flights backed up? The tree trimming guy was supposed to show up today, but claims his absence is due to the fact that we had “about 4 inches” of rain, and he didn’t want to make a mess of the yard (crabby ’cause I sat here w no phone call).
Wanted to like Kelly Caleche, but doesn’t work on me at all.
THey were. We got home about 1:15 am (and when we got into DC, it was raining BUCKETSSSS). Sorry about your wasted afternoon… sometimes that just happens… 🙁
I did not do well with the KC edt, the original. Too vegetal for me – but I do really enjoy the edp.
I am wearing my new and entirely successful blind purchase both day and night lately: the sadly discontinued YSL Nu edp. My skin seems to eat it right up. It’s a very subtle, velvety, woody-floral-incense on me, which doesn’t seem to be what everyone else smells at all. Dunno — but I it’s great for summer, even in humidity-ville Austin TX!
I love this one, too, on the deepest, darkest days of winter. Have never tried it in summer. My biggest regret was passing up the body cream when it was staring me in the face at T..J. Max. Dang!
Too true — the body cream goes for $100 now!
SOTD is Keiko Mecheri’s Isles Lointaines. This is a tropical floral for people who are a bit put off by big gardenias and tuberoses. It contains both notes, but in very ladylike proportions. It opens with a very realistic jasmine note for me, with a whiff of lilacs (although that’s not contained in the listed notes), then put forth the ladylike tropicals which remain for the balance of the wearing.
I had purchased a decant to wear at a summer, outdoor wedding a couple of weeks ago, and it was a great fit of ‘fume to event.
Personally, I usually like my tropical florals with more bang for the buck, so if it were up to me, I’d amp this up a bit. But a tamer tropical has its place.
Today I am wearing Child and its white and other flower notes smell great! The temperature here is just right for it and the scent is not amplified too much, which can happen for me if it’s too hot outside.
Child is great in the heat! I gave that as a gift to a friend a year or so and she loves it! We were hanging out this past weekend and she was wearing it and smelled great. I so appreciate that I was able to find a scent that she really adores, and I get a kick when I smell it on her.
My bottle of Theo Fennell Scent EDP came in the mail yesterday, so I have a spray on the left wrist to compare to a drop of the last of my EDT sample on the right…the openings are much different (and I maybe prefer the less perfumey EDT’s start) but things seem to be settling down similarly. The box is ridiculous with its pink tassel, but I really don’t know anything quite like this one. It’s rich yet not bossy.
Today I went for a comfort scent and pulled out my almost empty bottle of Angel edp intending to compare what I have left to the refill bottle I recently purchased. Sadly, though the remains of my four or five year old bottle were sprayed and the refill dabbed, there seems to be a lot less of that grab you by the throat patch up top and the drydown wasn’t quite as yummy on the refill, either. I wonder if spraying makes that much difference? Do I need to try and track down some older stock? My refill bottle came directly from Thierry Mugler and while it’s Angel, it isn’t as much Angel as what I’ve been wearing the past few years. I do hope it will be different when I spray some on after I fill my bottle with the refill. If it isn’t, any suggestions for tracking down a bottle of Angel that hasn’t been declawed and neutered? 🙁
My evening scent is Fourreau Noir. I bought the black sprays and I love them as well as the perfume. I didn’t even know I liked lavender until I tried this beauty. It’s more of a winter scent to me but for some reason I craved it tonight even though it’s pretty warm. I wouldn’t change anything about it. Just about to watch the soccer – Brazil vs Germany.
I am wearing Joy EDT from my cute new 30 ml bottle. I found it online at a discounter for a great price (relatively speaking) and was afraid it would be from one of the inferior batches made in England, but no, it says “made in France” right on the box and bottle. It smells terrific and I wouldn’t change a thing! Now I need to try the EDP and parfum versions . . .
Joy is one of my absolute favorites, and the EDT is my preferred concentration. You just inspired me to spray a bit on for my SOTE. I didn’t know to look for an England vs France bottle – good tip!
I read about the English vs French formulations from The Perfume Chronicles review of Joy, specifically the 2013 update citing Patou perfumer Thomas Fontaine. Here is the link http://theperfumechronicles.wordpress.com/2013/08/05/jean-patou-joy-eau-de-toilette/
This weekend summer finally arrived for real here in Sweden and today it was truly hot. I’m not made for this kind of weather though and now have a persistent migraine…
My choice of SOTE therefore is Arquiste Alexandre, it’s wonderfully cooling and works wonders for my aching head.
SOTD is Rossy de Palma. I’d been neglecting her for a little while, so I decided to give her some love today.
Wearing Nicolai’s Sacrebleu Intense mixed with unscented lotion. The perfumes is a bit too, well, intense for me, and sweet, so I thought I’d subdue it with the lotion . This seems like a reasonable way of using up decants of stuff that is a bit strong. I might treat Aromatics Elixir and Yvresse the same way. They’ve been hanging around unloved for ages.
Hot, hot AM: Cartier Baiser Vole edp. Cool, rain soaked PM: Diptyque Eau Duelle.
Bear says:
2 July 2014 at 7:53 pm
Hello AnnS!
Yes I have. The original is more powdery, while the current has more of the sparkling aldehydes, florals and woods from No 5 EDT. Both are powdery and long-lasting and I like them both, but they are slightly different. What are your impressions?
SOTD is Aromatics Elixir. My grandma pulled out what I thought was lipstick, but turned out to be a tube of Aromatics Elixir Solid perfume. I haven’t gotten to wear this scent around and it is amazing! I can’t stop smelling myself. I think the solid perfume is actually perfect because it allows for a subtler scent, but I think it may be discontinued
Every time I go to the mall (it’s infrequently!) I like to stop by and scare myself with the AE tester. It’s one of those that smell really great to me on paper or fabric, especially a couple of days later, but on my skin it is total “somebody peed on a rose hedge.” So not my thing… but I do wonder if the solid would be less intimidating. I didn’t even know that existed!
Lauder Pleasures Lotion.
SOTD = ELdO Fils de Dieu. I love its light yet creamy fruity-spiciness (if that is even close to being a word) from the ginger, coconut, citrus and coriander, but I would ideally prefer it to be a tad less sweet.
SOTD is Kenzo Amour Florale. Soapy neroli, which is the only variety of soapy I like. This is the fourth time I’ve worn it. The third time, I got something more (and better) than soapy neroli, and thought maybe I needed a bottle. (So that’s what I’d change about it–I’d want it to smell the way it did the last time I wore it.) Perhaps it needs more humidity to bloom? It’s discontinued, and the price is right, but I keep wasting money in dribs and drabs, when I should be saving up for something I really want.
If I’m not the last one reading this post for once, which would you long-time perfumistas say is more common–regretting not buying something when you had the chance, or regretting buying something you don’t really love?
Oh, the latter – regretting buying something I did not love. I’ve done that a lot, especially with cheapie purchases – say, under $40 – at online discounters. That’s a real danger for me.
Except if you collect very rare vintages, there are not too many perfumes that can’t be had somewhere, somehow, if you are prepared to wait. So if you miss something, a chance will probably come again, even with discontinued perfumes. It’s really just a matter of what you are prepared to pay. I wish I bought my Cuir de Lancome when the discontinued stock first got dumped on to the online discounters, but I did manage to pick up a bottle eventually for $50, and I was pleased with that. Fendi’s Theorema is a much yearned for d/c classic, but you can still get it on eBay if you have enough $$.
I’ve heard that prices are already going up on Shalimar Parfum Initial and L’eau.
Hi, I know it’s late for yesterday, but I didn’t want to wait after what I found out yesterday (I feel asleep last night before I could write–still jet-lagged from family vacation with my two girls). You may have written about this already, but while I read Robin’s post virtually every day while I was away–!!–I couldn’t read all the comments. Wi-fi was too sketchy! Bendel’s (at least in NY) is having an INCREDIBLE SALE–60% OFF–on almost everything in the entire store. Past sales have been at the 25% level, and I’ve stocked up on fragrance stuff then, but the last year, fragrance and cosmetics were limited to a puny 10%. Now, everything including perfume is 60% off. Their stock is somewhat limited at this point, but includes very expensive lines–everything except Illuminum, which has the boutique that used to be Artisan’s. (Artisan is part of the sale.) They are not doing online sales, but told me they have been very busy doing pnone orders. Might be worth calling to see what they have any faves, or scents that seemed too expensive at full price. I found an Artisan I’d never tried before and loved (Neroli). They also have the entire KAI line, and I am stocking up on the body lotion, the linen spray, which I think is multi-purpose, and the travel set, which is now a great bargain.
They seem to be doing a total transformation of the store–everything will be “Bendel’s brand”, I was told. I don’t know what effect that will have on one of my favorite stores, but I”m enjoying the sale for now!