Happy Tuesday! Do tell us what fragrance you're wearing today.
It's a gorgeous cool summer morning here, about 70 F. I'm wearing Diptyque Oyédo, just a dab, and I'm drinking a cup of Upton Yin Hao Jasmine tea.
Reminder: this Friday, August 1st, will be Indie Special Friday: wear something from an indie brand. The following Friday, August 1st, wear a favorite citrus fragrance.
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 mint leaves [cropped] by SummerTomato at flickr; some rights reserved.
I’m wearing SL Douce Amère. It is gorgeous, I had nearly forgotten I have a bottle. I layered it with some Occitane almond cream which works just fine.
I’ve never tried Oyédo, it sounds like such a fun fragrance.
Gosh, and I haven’t worn DA in ages…will have to find my bottle too!
SOTD is chanel cristalle over tocca violette. I initially had a hard time with a lot of the chanels, I think due to the aldehydes and ylang ylang, which may be more of an acquired taste for me. But now I love many of them!
Cristalle was my gateway Chanel too
SOTD is Nasomatto Absinth
I love Absinth. You smell great
Good morning! I’m wearing MCMC Maine, first try from a sample, and I’m finding it merely fine. I might change around the proportions of it a bit, if it were up to me, or perhaps it was just the wrong choice for an unseasonably cool morning.
I love redesigning perfumes in my head, LOL…
Epic Man. Trying to use my Amouage samples before I die.
I love Oyedo — such a strange citrus.
Good luck with that then! I think I’m mostly focused on using up full bottles before I die (which won’t happen).
Tell me about it! I get panicky about needing a back-up for a favourite discontinued or reformulated, but the truth is it’ll take me decades to get through what I’ve got, and my tastes usually change before I finish a bottle anyway, even in the old days of very few bottles.
Ditto! But what if one continues to love this particular perfume?! *sweat*
Samples I can go through in 2-3 wears if I put my mind to it. Full bottles feel bottomless.
I also worry samples are more likely to go off quickly, especially ones that have been decanted or dabbed right from the vial onto skin, if I forget them in a drawer.
I never feel any need to use samples beyond getting a good enough feeling for the scent. If I enjoy it enough I think about buying a bottle. If I don’t enjoy it then I keep it for reference or otherwise pass it on. I’m not sure I see the point of determinedly wearing a perfume I don’t particularly enjoy…
Just used up my sample of Bottega Veneta today. I liked it but didn’t love it enough for a decant or FB. Into the tin box of finished samples it goes!
Oh! A box for finished samples? Brilliant.
That image made me realize that my box would be practically empty. I have a rule about not buying a FB until I finish a sample or decant, but I can count on a couple hands the number of those that I have finished. Unfortunately, I break the rule a lot, and I have lots of frags that I don’t love that make me feel sad and guilty.
Now that I think of it, having a box would really be helpful. It would remind me why I have that rule, because I hardly ever finish samples, so there should be no rush to buy FBs. And chances are really, really good that if I finish a decant it’s a truly loved perfume. I can’t remember ever finishing a sample of something that wasn’t really special.
Life is too short to waste time with samples of perfumes that I don’t really love.
See I have the Opposite Problem… I am always feeling I need MORE! That I am Guzzling up my full bottles like Elizabeth Taylor was Guzzling Booze In “Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf” Most of my full bottles are beginning to be near empty and I need to buy something new, SOON!
LOL!
Terracotta Le Parfum today – this is one beachy scent that I like more and more each time I wear it. I smell lots of jasmine in this one.
I’ve only worn mine a couple times so far- waiting for summer to head this way to make the most of it
I haven’t tried Oyedo or Douce Amere. DM is one I’ve wanted to try for ages, but haven’t in case I like it- can’t get it here.
SOTD The Voice of Reason by Gorilla/LUSH. Discontinued as apparently the buddhawood can cause reactions. When I got this it seemed really smoky and dark, but today I really noticed the camphor from the buddhawood, like a smoky red tigerbalm. Strange how it changed.
Tonight I’m in a big pink cloud of Fracas. It’s been a crappy week for me, and Fracas is helping
helping make it better that is
So sorry it’s been a crappy week! Hope it gets better.
Hope the crappy part of the week is over, and yes, Fracas is quite soul warming.
I hope your crappy week is soon to be over and forgotten.
I am wearing a spritz of vintage Le Dix–you can really smell the civet. I am glad I am in the office alone today.
Smells great though, right?
I’m wearing Amouage Memoir Woman. Normally this isn’t one I wear to work, but I was expecting this to be a rough day and this just seemed right.
I love Memoir. It’s such a *strange* fragrance, and at the same time I find it comforting.
Good choice! It’s chilly here, so I was thinking of Memoir too, but didn’t. It’s so gorgeous! It’s my favorite smoke fragrance, probably b/c is such a small part of the whole.
Jo Malone Velvet Rose & Oud. I over applied this morning, but it’s settled down.
SOTD Tilda Swinton Like This,from EldO.Such a comfort scent,I love the pumpkin+spices.Cold cloudy wintersday here,so it was perfect!Summer may arrive now,please….!
I stumbled across my Like This sample yesterday evening when I was scrounging around. I need to wear that again once it cools down. It is such an interesting fragrance.
I came across a sample of Like This I had lying around. I had forgotten how much I like it. I’ll probably end up with a bottle.
I wear Like This when I’m in the mood for pancakes knowing I’ll be smelling like maple syrup!
This really is an odd, compelling, comforting scent.
I’m just gonna wear Deneuve today since I haven’t worn it in ages. But I haven’t worn Amouage Epic Woman in ages either.
Today I put on Lostmarc’h L’Eau du Dimanche. It should be in the low eighties here today, and the sun is out. This seems like a good scent for a nice day. Hope I can spend a little time outdoors.
SOTD is Mandarine Basilic (MB). I like it, but it might be too dry for me to wear. It does not smell like a room spray, but I think that I would prefer it as a room spray. As I recall, in your reviews Robin, you found MB to be kind of sweet and Oyedo to be very sweet. So, perhaps Oyedo will be just right for me?
Oyedo is weirder than MB too though. And *very* sweet in the opening. Do try before you buy!
The MB is just a sample, and yes, I will be sure to sample Oyedo first!
Lys med, just because..
Just because perfection!
I’m wearing K de Krizia today and mentally thanking the writer (either here or on PP) that brought the house of Krizia to my attention. I’ve acquired K and Teatro de la Scala and really like them both. K is a great floral aldehydic chypre with the perfect amount of powder. It’s a really lovely alternative to Chanel #5 for those of us (like me) who can’t wear #5 because it was their mother’s scent, but who appreciate its composition.
K de Krizia and Teatro alla Scala were both FANTASTIC back in the day and might still be. Lucky you to have some on hand!
I have Krazy, Moods and Teatro alla Scala, and think they’re fantastic! I tried Krazy initially due to Victoria’s review on BdJ, then got the others. So glad I did.
Just got home from my morning shift at band camp! (I love band camp… was so happy that Kid #2 decided that he did, after all, want to join the marching band even though it had been his older sister’s thing. Don’t know whether Kid #3 will do it or not.)
SOTD is Flowerhead again. So gorgeous.
So how long is band camp? Ours does not start until Aug 11 & is only 2 weeks, I have a feeling other schools do a much longer training period.
One week. They did “pre-camp” – for rookies and section leaders – last week, but they’ve been doing music rehearsals twice a week all summer.
Interesting, thanks! Ours is 2 weeks, most days are 8:30 am to 8:30 pm.
My FM En Passant decant finally came in, as I’ve been searching for a good lilac, and the good members of NST have so kindly suggested it. It’s lovely! But pricy, so I’m going to have to savor every last drop! (I got to go to the FM kiosk at Barney’s in Chicago this weekend, however; what fun! I think I need a decant of Portrait of a Lady and also Musc Ravegeur, which I would have thought to be more of a masculine fragrance, but is surprisingly unisex to me – I think I could rock it!)
A woman could wear MR very easily, I agree. That’s good stuff.
On a positive note, it isn’t as pricey as Opardu….
sotd is guerlain’s insolence edt, limited edition version with silver sparkles. i found it very overpowering when i first purchased & wore it but somehow it always attracted positive comments. over the years it’s slightly softer now, the edge seems to have rounded off but it’s still nice. having sparkly skin is also a plus point !!
I like a little sparkle on my skin sometimes. It gets everywhere, including on my husband. Someone said that I was just “marking” him as mine!
Trying samples of By Kilian Bamboo Harmony – just about gone by now, but pretty while it lasted – and Ineke Hothouse Flower – also pretty, if not quite for me.
Working my way through my sample of JHAG Miss Charming. I never thought anything with notes containing strawberry and litchee could be that nice…
Miss Charming is really really pretty rose, and very well done. There were a number of years after it came out when I struggled with buying a FB or not. I hovered over a shopping cart more times than I can count. If I didn’t have a big bottle of Stella and a few other roses that are similar, I totally would have caved. I think Miss Charming is better than Stella and Bond No 9 Bryant Park. It’s a real beauty.
I own JHAG Midnight Oud and am very fond of it. Sometimes the rose comes out on top, sometimes the saffron, all the time with the spicy undertones present.
In Miss Charming the rose is more in focus. And a very wearable one (says the one who often has trouble with rose scents).
My few other lucky rolls has been Cartier So Pretty and Friedemodin Rosee de Nuit.
Smiles all around: So Pretty is one of my fav summer roses. It is so rich and lively. Great minds! I’ll make a note to try and get my hands on the Rosee de Nuit, which I’ve never heard of.
Enjoying a huge, bright pink cloud of Lipstick Rose. Perfect for this cold, rainy, PMS day.
Maybe I am weird but I think I love perfume more on cool rainy days. Maybe its the humidity?
I started off in Stella this morning, but needed something richer in my cold air conditioned office so have added some Prada Amber (I have a mini of the Prada in my desk drawer stash). I am enjoying the combination.
Xerjoff JTC Birdie, a sample: it’s a perfectly nice vetiver-and-patchouli scent which cannot possibly be worth $200+.
After a visit to the dentist, Parfums DelRae Wit today. It is just lovely and the best thing I have smelled in a while. I hope it lasts on me, if it does I’ll be getting a bottle.
SOTD is Ashoka from a sample…it is lovely.
Hey Robin, I was wondering if we could ever to freebie swap of self-decanted samples… What I mean is that I have several bottles of great fragrances that I’d be more than happy to decant into samples to share–as I cannot imagine I will ever get through the entire bottle…and it would be nice to share them with another perfumista. And I am sure others have fragrances they adore and wouldn’t mind sharing… Each person would say how many samples they are able to send out in total (some people might only want to do one, others might be fine with many more), and then list the perfumes they own that they want to share via sample. I often hear about a fragrance someone is wearing and think that I’d love to get a sniff of it, and at the same time, I have bottles of loveliness that I want to keep, but to siphon off a samples-worth for someone would be my pleasure.
I am not opposed to the idea but in practice, gosh, if everyone listed all their bottles (!) So would have to think about how to do it right. Open to suggestions. Also though, you know you could offer decanted samples as part of the regular swapmeet…
Hmmm…maybe the instructions could be to limit your list to 10 or fewer scents you love and you’d like to share. It would have a different feel than the swapmeet because these would be fragrances the owners really like and want to share, in small doses, rather than samples and FBs they want to give away because they don’t like them enough. Anyway, it is just a thought. I don’t know if others would be interested.
Will think about it! A blind sample swap in which you send samples of your 5 favorites would be fun too.
Yup, that would be fun!
I like the idea of a Super Special Samples or Scented Secret Santa swap. Or just a Bag O’ Niche Samples swap.
I hardly ever think of listing a big bag of samples on the swapmeets, since I normally use it to swap out My Guilties (the FBs that are sitting unused and unloved). I think you have to be in the mood for samples to really, really enjoy a sample swapmeet, but it’s a great way to try new stuff, and if you go into with the right attitude, it’s WONDERFUL– like a scented secret santa . I find that when people want to swap samples on MUA these days, they want 1, 2 or 3 specific things, and it’s a negotiation just to get that done, with tons of messages back and forth (“Hi, I’d really like to swap for a sample of your Vintage Cuir de Russie parfum. I have a half used Juicy sample. Do you want to swap?”). I much prefer a recent swap that I did with a lovely woman on MUA, where we both sent 25+ samples to each other, each with a few things that we really wanted, plus a bunch of other NICHE and HTF items.
Maybe we could each list a handful of samples that we really want to try and a handful of samples that we have, and then separately, a number of niche/htf samples that we’d be willing to send in addition in a grab bag. It’s such a good DEAL doing it that way— you get some things that you really want to try, plus a bunch extra, for a very small shipping cost. Way cheaper than buying samples.
I needed to shake things up a bit. Since it’s rather cool here today (if we make it past 68 degrees it will be a miracle!), so I wore Mitsouko edp. Yowza! It’s like having a gorgeous drill sargent cracking whips at you.
I thought about Mitsouko edp myself but it is freakin’ hot here and decided it would be more like being bludgeoned by a big hairy drill sergeant in this weather.
SOTD is Lancome Tresor Midnight Rose.
I am administering the Bar Exam for the state of Texas this week, so my fragrance has to be light. I will be wearing Atelier’s Orange Sanguine this whole week. I don’t want to irritate any of the thousands of testers.
SOTD is Prada Infusion d’Iris. My husband and I carpool today and half way in he said, “You smell so good today!” Guess I should look for some other iris perfumes.
I don’t think Seattle weather could be any more perfect in the month of July. Loving our time here, and still in Carnal Flower.
I wore Bronze Goddess this morning. Every year I get a sample and by the time I decide I still like it they are sold out. I remember it lasting longer in years past but I hear it hasn’t been reformulated so maybe its just me.
This afternoon I dabbed on some Iroaz from a sample. It is nice and much better than the sillage from the heavy smoker who just left the office. Clean aquatic rose may actually be enhanced by the tobacco trail.
Mona’s Tubereuse for me today. DH was working outside and after a shower and applying I opened a window to the porch to ask him something and a good 15 feet from me he said, ‘ah, Tubereuse’ !
Now that is what I call sillage
Either that or DH is a blood hound!
DANG, I’m impressed
Today was a modest spritz of 24 Faubourg. In the summer an almost salty accord which I haven’t noticed before is very obvious in this fragrance! I really enjoy it – in the winter it’s more of a glowing but stern orange blossom with amber, in the summer it’s salty and bitter with whiffs of orange blossom. Not a soap sud in sight either! I loathe soapy notes.
I also tried on Aramis Havana on one wrist (leathery and tobacco-y and sharp, very manly-man) and van Cleef and Arpels Oriens (vaguely sweet and fruity) on the other. Quite the mix! I wonder how I smelled to my surroundings, haha…
LezNez Turtle Vetiver Front – I wanted something real today.
Testing Elixer de Merveilles this evening, and just getting salted lemon. Boo for me.