Same old weekend open thread: talk about anything you like — the perfume you’re wearing today, the perfume that had a shorter shelf life than you expected, whatever.
Or, ask a question about fragrance, then see if anyone else has asked a question that you can answer…
Note: top image is Pink berries [cropped] by Rick Ligthelm at flickr; some rights reserved.
SOTD is Youth Dew Amber Nude.
I love that one and will forever kick myself for not buying it when I had the chance.
This one always sticks in my head as one that got away. Saw it on the $19.99 shelf at the drugstore recently but decided to stick to “no blind buys no matter what” vow. Then read more and more about it, decided for the price it was worth the risk, and never saw it again.
I smell like scared white dog! This morning we found a freezing, shivering small white (Lhasa?) doggie on our front porch! We put out all the regular distress calls, but it’s very upsetting. It’s none of our close by neighbors. Our cats are like…wha??? My daughter is like- yeah! We got a dog for Xmas! OMG. What a mess. I reserve my perturbance for the owner who does not use collars or tags, if in fact they have not just fallen off for some reason. I loathe the idea of taking a very nice dog to a shelter right before Xmas and hope someone didn’t just abandon it to the foxes (as they say up here). I hope very much for a happy reunion very soon as I only have dry cat food in the house…. Ugh. Pray for this dog!
Oh, good luck with the dog. Let us know how it likes the cat food.
Poor thing. I hope you find its person soon
Take it to a vet and see if it’s been “chipped”. They might lose their collars but the chip will have owner information. Good Luck.
Yes! Our rescue dog came already microchipped.
Not a choice today w/ work – closest vet is more than 30 miles away!
I’ve never met a dog that didn’t think cat food was a gift from heaven. Good luck to you and the doggie. Hope your kitties don’t traumatize him too much, mine would totally be trying to eat him.
And now I am humming… “I’m dreaming of a white dog for Christmas…” We have three cats with big personalities who frequently “invite” dogs over…. The dogs luuuuuuuve cat food, and racing around the house after the cats (unless the weather is terrible, we leave our back doors open out to the deck and yard). But joking aside, good for you. Someone will want that dog, or is right now missing it terribly. Maybe someone nearby without cats can foster it over the holiday so it doesn’t have to go to a shelter? Best of luck and please keep us posted!
Oh poor lil pup! Hope it finds its home (or a much better new one) soon..
Seconding the vet/read chip idea. And at least call the shelters in your area too to see if anyone has reported the dog missing. On the other hand, someone may have “gifted” you with a dog for Christmas.
I hope the situation sorts itself out very soon.
Dogs do perfectly fine on cat food, so no worries there. The reverse would be more of a problem.
I’m a dog person so I cannot even begin to understand if this dog was left outside on purpose.
Oh poor thing! I am a HUGE dog fan (well, any quadruped in general) and have never been without a dog in my house since the day I was born. I sure hope someone didn’t dump it as they are wont to do. I was recently at the vet, sitting in the waiting room, and struck up a convo with the couple next to me with a puppy on the end of the lead- They were driving behind a car when the car slowed and just chucked to poor thing out the window! Thank God it found a good home with them as they decided to keep it.
Cats and dogs can get along really well……
Just sayin’
Horrible people.
True, but the upside is there were 5 people in the waiting room and six dogs- ALL of the dogs were RESCUES!! That made me so happy =)
As a cat and dog lover, I second all of the above. You may also want to check with petrescuers online to see if anyone’s reported a lost dog in your area – you can also post a found pet. No affiliation, I just subscribe to their emails in case any pets need help finding their way home – I encourage all pet lovers to take a peek:
http://public.homeagain.com/petrescuers.html
Years ago in pre-microchipping days, my dog slipped out of the yard one day to take his own walk. And, of course, that day I took his collar/tags off for reasons I don’t remember. He was missing for 2 days and we were sick with worry. Turns out he was picked up by our local animal control and was taken to a vet in a neighboring town, which was standard practice then. But upon reaching the vet, he slipped away from the officer and was now taking his own walk in a town where he’d never been! Luckily, he was also picked up in that town, taken to the same vet, and we were reunited. So, you just never know what could have happened! Good luck, please let us know what happens.
Oh, not a happy surprise! Everyone had such great suggestions below, so I don’t have any to add – just a “good luck” for resolving the situation the best way you can.
Should have said “above.”
O. M. G.
I second what everyone else already said about checking for a chip and such. Try calling a few local vets to see if anyone has contacted them about losing their dog.
I would love a little ball of fur to magically appear on my doorstep but I’m weird like that. I hope the poor thing wasn’t dumped. Things like that anger me a lot. Hopefully the story has a happy ending.
Poodle, I’m weird like that too!
I’m weird like that, too! Two of my 3 most recent cats were ‘foundlings’ that ‘appeared’ in my backyard and their owners could not be found. After we adopted those two, we had 4 cats and 1 dog (all from rescue/shelter) and I proclaimed loudly to the heavens, I don’t care if the original Lassie appears in my backyard, I’m not taking him in! Since then, none have ‘appeared’ and, sadly, since the last of my pets crossed over the Rainbow Bridge last Christmas, I have renounced my vow to the heavens and glance out my window all the time, just in case . . .
Our last two cats were found by my husband as less than 2 weeks old kittens in shock from being ripped away from their mom, starving, and TIED TO A STICK in a field by our house – again, horrible to say, but “fox food” since it was clearly deliberate. It was just awful. There are too many strays around here – too many old people who give up, too much poverty. It can be awful. I hate people who are bad to animals.
This is so horrible, I can’t even fathom.
Thanks so much for everyone’s comments and suggestions. The vet/chip thing it not a choice right now b/c we are very rural and the closest is more than 30 miles away, and both of us are actually working today. I am very peeved the longer this drags out b/c I realize as I look at this cutie (who does not bark!) that “her” bangs are cut. Who the heck cuts bangs on a dog and doesn’t care enough to put on a collar? I don’t know. I called our HOA security office and they put out an alert. We’ve got calls from FIVE people today who all have a lost white dog. WTF? I don’t understand people. And none of them are matches. Anyway… “Snowball” as my daughter now calls her is still at our house and LOVING the cat food!
Hehehe…she’s got a name now…perhaps she’ll just fit right in? Just think of her as a funny looking cat.
That sounds like true Christmas spirit,poodle!
Oh my goodness! I hope everything comes out all right. You’ve gotten great suggestions and are doing the right thing. Crossing all fingers and toes for a good outcome.
Good news – last night about 6:15 pm the real owner showed up. The dog just lit up like a firecracker so we knew it was the right person. We were insisting on papers and such, which she had, but the dog was all we needed to know. She was very apologetic and thankful we’d screened all the calls we got so well. She also promised to put on a collar and use a leash from now on (which I doubt she’ll do), but at least the dog is home. Apparently she’d let both her dogs out before she went to work, and this one didn’t come home. Not a good practice. She’s lazy and saves 5 minutes, and my husband is on the phone and we’re stressing about this dog for over 7 hours! Anyway, so thanks for everyone’s comments, etc. I appreciate it!
Good to hear, Ann.
I can hear your frustration with the owner, and I can completely sympathize! There’s an adorable chihuahua mix down the road–a teeny thing–that gets out of its yard often enough that the entire neighborhood seems to know its name and where it lives. The owners seem to rely on the rest of us to keep the dear thing safe whenever it wanders off and shows up (wagging her tail and pleased and peas to see you!). I guess it’s worked for them so far, but some day . . .
Glad to hear things worked out.
A few years ago, a beautiful golden retriever showed up at my office. We took the dog inside our offices to make sure it did not run back out onto the street. After, a certain amount of fuss over whether the spring water in water cooler for us humans would be satisfactory for the dog, we then had to figure out what to do. Everyone wanted to take it home, but I insisted on calling the local animal control officer. When the animal control officer showed up, everybody kept trying to tell her that they would adopt the dog rather than let it suffer in the shelter.
The officer just and the dog just took one look at each other. The dog started wagging his tail like he had just found a long lost friend and the officer rolled her eyes with a slight “you again” exasperation.
“I know this dog,” the officer said “his owner tries to keep him inside the yard with one of those invisible fences which is supposed to keep the dog penned in. The dog just leaps over it about once a month. I’ll get him back home before the owner even realizes the dog has gone.” With that, a dog biscuit to bribe the dog into the officer’s truck, they were gone.
Everyone at the office sighed and went back to work.
Glad there was a happy ending in the end!Still::New Year’s fireworks and crackers are ahead,we always get scared,frightened stray doggies in our garden.I really wish people would be more considerate.
Well, I guess I’m glad the dog and owner were reunited but I think the owner letting the dogs out like that is totally irresponsible so there’s part of me that wishes she became your dog.
So happy the dog had a good outcome (this time!). It really burns me up to NO END that animals and children suffer so from the lack of SENSE in some adult bipeds! Hasn’t this “owner” ever heard of a leash, a fence, a dog run, or anything that would keep the poor thing SAFE?!?!
But I am happy your anxiety, concern, and frustration have been rectified before the holiday =)
Thanks so much for letting us know!
I’m glad the dog can celebrate Christmas at home! Sorry that it took so long, but all’s well that ends well!
Oh good!!!!! I know it’s too much stress but you did the right thing!
Happy Solstice tomorrow! Brighter (and longer) days are ahead! Yay!!!
I have two pre-shower scents: Eau de Missions by Le Couvent des Minimes on my left hand and Prada Candy on my right hand. There is too much tobacco in the first 90 minutes of EdM for me, but it has now been replaced with a pleasant woody note. The melted butter note in Prada Candy is really turning my stomach
If it weren’t for that note, Candy would be FBW for me.
Its not just me then.. I bought a fb of Candy really cheap, and whilst i ‘like’ it, theres something in it that makes me feel a bit queasy too. Will have to see if it’s melted butter when its cool enough to wear it again
Do report back!
Kindcrow, if you’re willing to take the risk (!) try spraying Candy on your chest on a cold day. The musks get released with your body heat, balancing the sweetness beautifully. That’s my experience anyway. Maybe wear it to bed so you can sleep through it if you hate it!
I have one spritz left in my sample. I will give it another try.
The EDM is a nice vanilla but I am anosmic to the charms of Candy. Have tried it several times – directly on skin – to see what the fuss was about, can only smell the very faintest of something, even with nose pressed to skin.
I loathe the smell of melting butter. Glad to know someone else dislikes it too. Most people just look at my like I’m crazy when I flee the kitchen to avoid the stench.
I can’t even walk down the aisle at the grocery store with the microwave popcorn!
Oh, no! Sorry that Candy does not work for you. I love it, and it’s one of the few gourmands that I wear. I don’t get melted butter at all. Strangely, that’s my SOTD–I had a haircut, and the stylist put in MoroccanOil, a highly fragranced finishing oil in my hair. I thought about what might blend well with that scent, and went with Candy. You might try the second one, L’Eau Candy, very similar notes, but may be missing that one note that’s bugging you. Be well!
I am wearing Cuir Beluga, a gift decanted from a lovely NST swapper.
Trouble is- now I’m in love. Anyone know a comparable perfume at a fraction of the cost?
Oh the perils of testing expensive, hard to get fumes….! Heartbreaking when you fall in love with one that is out of reach
Wish I knew a good dupe, but alas I have steered clear of those Guerlains….
I don’t know a dupe, but if you haven’t explored some of the softer leather scents, that’s the direction I would go–Cuir de Lancome can be had for a steal. Traversee du Bosphore is a little harder to come by, but not expensive by niche standards (with a sweet, foody touch softening the leather).
Thank you ladies for responding!
Marjorie, Cuir De Lancome is very lovely and you’re right, reasonable. I actually wore Traversee du Bosphore to bed last night : )
Sounds like you love your leather scents! I find TdB very comforting, so wearing it to bed sounds perfect! To my nose, it’s one of those endlessly versatile scents. I keep a small decant in my luggage, and it is almost always a good choice.
Such a great perfume!Hoarding some samples myself!!
Wearing tom ford white patchouli today from a tester.
What do you think of it? Do you like it?
I kind of do. This is the first time I’ve tried it on skin. I’ve tried it on paper before and wasn’t that mad about it (it just wasn’t me) but I like it more now. I like the spiciness that it gets from the coriander, as well as its plushness, the hints of rose and the incense. I don’t know for sure though if I’ll get a bottle of it yet. Have you tried it?
No, but I have been curious about it. Might try to get a sample. I like most of Tom Ford’s fragrances.
Just got my Discovery set of L’Artisan fragrances in the mail. Can’t wait to try it.
How cool. Have fun!
Have fun! Although it can be a slippery slope – I got one a few months ago and now I have a bottle of Séville à l’Aube waiting to be opened on Christmas day.
I envy your willpower – I’d never be able to wait.
I don’t really have that much will power. I receive all my packages at my work address, since I spend most of my time there. Also one Saturday a month, which is today. Anyway I will be opening it as soon as I get home. I noticed that Fragrancenet has some of the L’Artisan fragrances at what seem to me to be good prices. That was one of the reasons I finally decided to explore these scents. Now if I could only find good prices on Atelier…
I had to put it away in a cupboard to lessen the temptation to rip the cellophane off
Only a few more days to go and then I shall be bathing in that sunny orange blossom goodness!
PriscillaE,
I got the deluxe Atelier sample set for $15 instead of $25 using a code from Olfactirias Travels. The code is still working- OLFACTORIASAMPLES. If of course, you are looking for samples and not a FB.
Heh, ditto!
I bought the L’Artisan perfume box 3 weeks ago, and I’ve been trying them one by one. So far I’ve fallen in love with Timbuktu and Nuit de Tubereuse. I ordered a full bottle of Nuit de Tubereuse, and I’ve been using it. Its wonderful!
Timbuktu is next. Maybe for my birthday.
I want to order the L’Artisan box real bad! NST swappers have given me just enough Traversee du Bosphore and Timbuktu to get me hooked beyond rescue! I suspect I will like a lot more from this house. I already ordered the Atelier set, two vintage Mitsouko minis and won the Tauer advent sample box. So I need to give my skin (and my wallet!) a chance to breathe. But in the new year, who knows…
SOTD is SL Vitriol d’Oillet. Today I’m getting a spicy and perfect carnation, it’s not too soapy like the other times I wore it. go figure…
I wanted so badly to love Vitriol d’Oeillet, because I love SL and I love carnations, but it just bored me, possibly because I was comparing it to such monsters as CdG Red Series Carnation (savage claws) and Roget et Gallet Oeillet Mignardise soap (a soliflore which means business, even if it is just soap). I’m glad someone is getting pleasure out of it!
I thought it was dull as well.
OOH, I should get my bottle of Prince Matchabelli Potpourri out… the weather is appropriate now.
That … soap … is … AMAZING!!! It’s so hard to find in the U.S. now
I rather like that one – enough to have snapped up a partial bottle on ebay.
Wearing SL Rahät Loukoum. The opaque Vaporisateur Tout Noir has taken up permanent residence on my computer desk and tempts me all the time, so today I gave in. Sweet, but with a bit of a cutting edge, like a shard of sugar glass.
I’ve had some scents turn over the years — it’s inevitable with a big collection — but only one really went before its time: a bottle of Givenchy Hot Couture, which couldn’t have been more than two years old. It turned in a matter of weeks, going from a normal pinkish juice to a brownish, rancid muck. I can’t imagine how it happened so quickly or thoroughly: it was a sealed spray bottle.
Yum, I love Rahat Lokoum.
Love the Rahat, and sorry about the Hot Couture, one of my faves. My bottle is old but, fortunately still smells good and looks, at least, faintly pink. Wonder what happened to your?
I don’t know! Bacteria, I guess. It was SO SUDDEN, and it wasn’t even an old bottle, more than half full. I wore it one day and it was fine, and then literally a few weeks later I noticed that it had changed colour completely, like a mood ring, but not in a good way. (It never did change back, either, so obviously not a mood-ring thing.)
Pyramus, which others have turned? And how long did they last, and in what kind of conditions? I always try probe for this info so I know what I need to be cautious with
So, if you have the time for any further details it would be much appreciated!
I keep all my scents and samples in light-tight boxes and drawers except for the opaque containers like CSP’s aluminum bottles, and at room temperature. (I’m not buying a fridge just to store them in.)
Most of the ones that have turned over the years have been pour bottles, decants, or sample vials which were therefore exposed to air and bacteria, but a few in spray bottles have gone south: I had the original Gap Grass (SO GOOD!) that turned viscous and muddy and smelled revolting, but that took years, and my twelve-year-old bottle of Ambre Précieux finally gave up the ghost this year, going syrup-thick and hideously sweet. (But I was kind of tired of it anyway.)
Now I just wear what I have and enjoy it, and if it goes off, well, I got my pleasure from it and nothing lasts forever. I don’t save anything for best, because I know it might not be there tomorrow.
I tried it this week for the first time and it was instant love. And don’t you love those black sprays. I much prefer spraying out of those than the bottles.
I love the black spray so much that I am actually considering getting one I already own in a bell jar (Fumerie Turque) so that I’ll have a nice sprayer for it. And the two thirty-mL sprays that come with the spray are refillable (there’s a funnel included, as if any serious perfume hound doesn’t already have a collection) so that would be easy to manage.
Haven’t worn it in a while but today Slumberhouse Sana wanted to be worn. It is simultaneously a sharp green mingling with a warm sweet base.
Ooh i have a sample of this ive not tried yet- sounds nice!
You haven’t by any chance tried Sadanne yet have you? I’m wondering what more folks think of it. I am oddly intrigued by the description but it would be a rather spendy blind buy.
Wish I’d known you wanted a report on Sadanne. I could have sampled it when I was at Twisted Lily yesterday but my arm space was used for Russian Tea, Myrrh Casati, Land of Warriors, and Swan Princess
Oh, how are Land of Warriors and Swan Princess?
I love Sadanne. Posted a review of it. The description of it they provide as “Stained glass syrup” is oddly apt. If you like damascones/sweet sharp rose, you might love it. With hay notes. It’s amazing.
Got to work today and realised that in all my trying to decide what to wear i then forgot to wear any! Raided my locker stash on my break and found some Manoumalia
ahhh and all’s right with the world…
I recently discovered how totally divine LUSH Grass showergel is! Why oh why had no-one told me?! I thought it would just be wheatgrass blandness but its wheatgrass and sandalwood and neroli and bergamot fabulousness and is now right up there with the best of ’em!
Hmmm… Interesting. I just don’t feel the love for Lush perfumes, but the shower gels bring joy! Will have to try Grass!
Do try it, even at the sink at the store if you can. I discovered it smells way better when actually lathered than just smelling it from the bottle.
I think it’s so important to have an emergency perfume stash. I’ve dashed off once in a while and I tend to feel naked if I leave the house without perfume
Indeed! It was actually stressing me a little that i had to wait 3hrs before i could get back to my depot to put some on. I love being all alone in my drivers cab listening to music and being in a scented cloud (and it helps disguise the less lovely smells that seep through the door from the train saloon..)
I was on the Lush site last night checking out their other shower gel offerings since I’ve fallen head over heals with Rose Jam. I defenitely will be purchasing a large bottle before the 25th (apparently that’s when it goes away until next Xmas).
I saw the grass option and plan to get a sample from them to try it out. I actually want to try all of them out!!
I had dismissed Grass for the same reason. Heck! I must try it. I missed the goodness of Rose Jam until I finally decided to join the love, and bought some. Once mixed with water and air, it loses some of the sticky sweetness that put me off when I just sniffed the bottle.
My daughter has fallen hard for Olive Branch. She would drink it if she could! She likes So White, but I find the apple too sharp in that one.
Love Grass! That is my favorite from LUSH. Word is, there was a scent that matched it a few years back. (Called Ninja) I would buy that in a heartbeat.
I reckon id buy that in a heartbeat too! Shame its no longer
Oh, I own it and love it! I’ve been meaning to bring it up here because nobody really talks about it, and I’ve thought it was glorious. I’m a big fan of green scents though, and you REALLLLYYY need to like green scents to like this one!
If they made it in perfume form, I would die and go to somewhere or other.
I’m also sort of bummer because I got the mini Breath of God cigarette spray, and while I can respect it and admire it, there’s this sweet melon-y quality at the base that kinda ruins it for me. I wonder if it’s new, because I never smelled it before…
SOTD is the left over bloom of last night’s vintage Chanel No. 19 extrait perfume bender. Hosting a party this evening so will have to shower at some point… What a pity
You could always just reapply.
Yes, my advice also! No 19 could carry you beautifully through a party!
Wearing Eau de Merveilles from my Cute Mini Bottle set. All my recent purchases are lined up on my table for me to admire.
SOTM is l’Ambre des Merveilles – mmmmmmmm.
You smell good
Love!!!
You smell just marvelous!
I forgot I have a decant of that! I’m getting it out right now so I’ll remember to wear it tomorrow.
You have that problem too huh?
Mmmmmmmmmmm indeed. I think I’ll wear this today too
I’m considering a back-up of this at a local retailer(35% off!!)
Add me to the list of admirers. Just got my first bottle the other day for cheap with my Walgreens points as a ‘me’ present, I can’t get enough of anything ‘Merveilles.’
SOTD is Histoires de Parfums 1740, lovely leather, immortelle and amber. I’m so glad the days will start getting longer again.
1740 sounds beautiful!
I love the sound of this one too
It is very gorgeous, but you have to be at least indifferent to immortelle. The note is not as dominant here as in Sables but it is there. 1740 is still my favourite of the Histoires de Parfums but I haven’t tried most of the latest ones.
Started my day off (yes I just got up!) with Knot by BV.
I wouldn’t mind a small bottle of this one as it has grown on me and girl can’t have too many orange blossom scents.
Thanks to yesterday’s project I’ve got a new list of perfumes I would like to try. It goes on…
Read the transcript of the Washington Post’s Home Front Live Chat (takes place regularly on Thursdays) and the guest was Martha Stewart. She says that scented candles are bad for one’s health. Wonder if that’s true? Not a candle fanatic, but do enjoy them at this time of year.
I *have* read that wicks containing lead release nasty stuff into the air. Most reputable candle companies now state that their wicks are lead-free. (I have been checking when I buy them – the Slatkin ones I love at Bath & Body Works are fine.)
Some time ago, I read that those plug in air fresheners lead to decreased lung function. It was by some small percentage, but since 1) I think they generally smell disgusting and 2) isn’t any decrease in lung function something I should avoid?!? I don’t use them!! Maybe it’s the same with candles!
SOTD is Serge Lutens Ambre Sultan just on the back of my hands, easing my way back into my traditional winter rotation. I’ve been on such a floral-woods bender that amber patchouli and gourmands smell strange to my nose now!
It looks like a lot of people are wearing some form of amber today.
I used to love ambers desperately but over the years I’ve found that my tastes have changed, and the only amber I wear with any regularity any more is Ambre Sultan. It’s really fantastic. (And if I’m going to apply one spritz of something, it’s always on the backs of my hands — the best place to get a regular waft, because you’re constantly moving your hands and often bringing them close to your face.)
My scent of the day was Atelier Cologne Santal Carmin. It’s been my lemming since I tried it for the first time but I can’t get a hold of myself to buy a bottle. If 30ml was available (in coffret or as a gift for other 200ml bottle) it would’ve been mine already.
We bought out Christmas tree today, will be decorating it tomorrow.
Speaking of decorations, I decorated gingerbread cookies today, few hundrets of them.
“A few hundreds of cookies”???? Wow.
I’m impressed.
I really haven’t made/decorated any cutout cookies since my children were small.
Indeed impressive! I gave up on rolled/cutout cookies a few years ago–my godmother loves to bake and was the annual instigator of the cookie undertaking, but eventually I caught on that while I was trying to make enough to give to friends and neighbors, her approach was to spend one afternoon making about six perfect cookies, and I was left with another some 30 hours of work to finish by myself! Had to switch to a less time-intensive gift approach, in the interests of promoting peace on earth
No SOTD yet! Going to the mall today for holiday shopping and will pay a visit to Miss Dior Parfum. I love her!!! Can’t wait to be hugged in her warm scent all day long! On my Christmas list- along with CoCo Mademoiselle and Chloe. We’ll see what the hubby gets me:)
Superhot Summer’s Day over here in South Africa.Finished “springclean” after renovations!Yay!Had a fantastic late afternoon thunderstorm and took full advantage:Danced in the rain!It rained sooo hard I decided to wash my hair right there…Dirty showergel does the trick!Lol!SOTE Shalimar EDP,after yesterday’s Shalimar EDC I longed to smell the edp on me as well.
What a super day! Congrats on completing your renovations and spring cleaning, too. Shalimar is so celebratory.
Thank you nozknoz!Shalimar felt right for the moment of celebrating completion of a huge task!;-))
Dancing in the rain, how fun! Congrats on finishing the renovations. Mine are finally done, too. What a relief, huh?
SUCH A RELIEF!Lol!Dancing in the rain is highly recommended by me!It’s the little things in life…
Sounds wonderful! I let my daughter puddle stomp during big rain if there is no lightening/thunder. It’s fun!
It sure is fun…even at the ripe old age of 38,it’s still fun for me!Lol
Congratulations! I have a friend who grew up in the Philippines, and he used to shower outside in the warm rain.
I hinted to the contractor who did my barhroom renovations,that I wanted an outside shower as well…In the new year!!Lol!Have the perfect spot on the property,so why not,yes?;-))
Lovely! I used to get to use an outdoor shower at a friend’s beach house – so wonderful.
Started out with the vestiges of Fate Woman left over from last night (outrageous staying power!) and headed to spin class.
Post cool-down and shower and I am now in Black Flower Mexican Vanilla by Dame Perfumery- this was a new find for me in the last few months and I am really enjoying it. Its a nice, non-sweet, unisex vanilla with a wonderful dry dry-down. Alternates wonderfully with my other sweeter vanillas like Felanilla and Orchidee Vanille.
Beautiful day again here in Fl and plan on taking the dog for a nice long walk and then making gingerbread cupcakes with spiced buttercream frosting! Yum! The whole house will smell fantastic due to the cardamom, cloves and ginger.
Hope everyone is enjoying their holiday, whichever one you may celebrate! I have to say, its been crazy busy in stores and malls around me and everyone has been so polite and nice! Haven’t run into any rude cranky people at ALL! Shockingly wonderful =)
I must say,lots of people decided to not go away for their annual trek down to the coast this year.The city is unusually busy and traffic still crazy!I have to work over Christmas period so I HAVE to be here!lol
Oh sorry you have to work the holiday! That’s a bummer- I did it for many years but really didn’t mind (much) as I got time and a half pay and I didn’t have any children.
Now I am very lucky to be working a job that allows me holidays off. It’s a nice change =)
Oh that’s cool.I also don’t actually mind!Plus I only have to go in to work,when there is an emergency.(I’m a theatre nurse at an eye hospital).
Ha! Funny and strange world- I am a nurse preparing for my OWN ocular surgery in January.
Serendipity
Indeed,a funny small world!Hope your surgery is not for something serious?I know of a lot of nurses who are into perfumes as well!And I love my job in theatre!If you like,you can mail me at icloud dot com( johanob at icloud dot com)
Adore gingerbread… I traditionally make a square cake pan of it, to be served with warm lemon sauce. My daughter’s already asked for it.
Holy Cow, just got the cupcakes out of the oven and don’t know if I can wait to frost them- Smell is DIVINE! This is what I was hoping SL Five O’clock au Gingembre would smell like!
That sounds wonderful!!!
My tastebuds are dancing but my waistline isn’t thrilled
I’ve been wanting to make gingerbread all month. Just looked up recipes on NYT, and they’ve got one from Laurie Colwin that I’m going to try. One of the ingredients is lemon brandy (it says you can’t substitute w lemon extract) and it notes that said brandy is hard to find. Kinda enjoy the thrill of the hunt…
Happy Hunting! The recipe I used called for lemon zest which worked great, but is was a recipe for gingerbread cupcakes rather than straight up gingerbread, so there is a little bit of difference in the consistency and level of sweetness. The level of spiciness is just perfect and offsets the sweetness to a certain degree.
I need to get out my Fate.
Sotd is my fave, the original Givenchy Organza Indecence. No more needs to be said . . .
That’s good stuff.
Yah.
That’s what I ended up wearing today – needed something cozy for sure. But mine’s the Les Mythiques. Still pretty good! It’s my favorite “pudding” fragrance.
I made a quick trip to NYC earlier this week to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art. No perfume shopping, but I did see the Bergdorf Goodman holiday windows, which are amazing. The theme this year is the arts, and I was disappointed that they did not feature perfume as one of the arts (especially since they included calligraphy and cartography, as well as literature, etc.). Of course, I enjoyed them nonetheless.
I’m not sure I’ve ever had anything go bad, just the usual problem of sudden random decant evaporation.
Going to a casual holiday potluck this evening. Trying to decide between AG Nuit Etroilee, which resembles their wonderful Noël candle, and L’AP Seville a l’Aube, which smells beautiful, warm and intelligent.
I lost almost half of a brandnew,sealed Lush The Voice of Reason through evaporation!I can literally see it disappear daily!I have the bottle with the pipet dropper,don’t think that packaging was such a good idea!Not sure if decanting into a spraybottle would help though?
Meaning is it the actual perfume’s behavior,or does the rubber pipet definitely play a role in it disappearing that fast?(2 years more or less!)
Years ago when i was massively into aromatherapy, the supplier i bought my oils from used dropper bottles. The chemical constituants of many oils (even the vapours) break down the rubber around the eyedropper, sometimes quite spectacularly!
The Voice of Reason has pretty heavy oils/ingredients so id hazard a guess to say its the perfume itself eating its way out….
Lol…I suspect the poreous dropper-thingy plus the unreasonable VOICE OF REASON are both the culprits!Lol!Maybe that’s why Lush overhauled their packaging recently.
I’m not directly familiar with the rubber pipet packaging, johanob, but I’m pretty sure it would be the packaging rather than the perfume itself that is allowing evaporation. Google shows something like a dropper bottle. I’m guessing either the rubber of the dropper has some porosity or micro cracks, or the seal is bad. Would definitely recommend transferring it to another bottle.
I have some spray bottle decants that I’ve had for years with no evaporation, and a few that evaporated very quickly, unpredictably. Also some screw top bottles that evaporated. I’m not sure why most are OK and a few are not. It seems to be kind of random. Perhaps the perfume gods are exacting a tax?
I don’t find that taping the outside helps necessarily. Some have recommended plumbers’ teflon tape on the threads of the bottle, but I haven’t tried it myself yet.
Good luck!
Those damn perfume gods…lol.It is strange,as I have Hellstone in the same dropper bottle,and it’s still full to the brim!But I do think I’ll be decanting them.Thanks for the input!
I’ve had a few evaporated decants over the years, and it always seems to be random for the different bottles. My saddest loss was a gorgeous LD of Shem el Nessim by Grossmith. I was really, really sad about that one. I was hording it, and then one day it was just gone. Very sad. Now if I have a LD of something really special, I try and use screw top bottles.
That is a VERY sad loss!Lesson probably is that we should use and love our perfumes,before they are gone!
The Bergdorf windows are the best. (They have a darned good perfume selection in the basement “beauty section” as well. This is the place to get those hard to find Guerlains, CHannels and private collection Diors”)
I loved the “literature” window this year with its needle point/embroidery versions of famous book covers.
The literature window was AMAZING! The embroidered portraits of authors and quotes, the stuffed typewriter, the beautiful shades of red – definitely my fave, too, Dilana. It belongs in a museum. The China blue and ivory architecture window was amazing also. Really, they were all wonderful. I had planned to walk along 5th Avenue to see some of the others, but I found I was sated after seeing Bergdorf Goodman (and needed to save energy for taking the subway back to the Met). I’m obviously out of shape in terms of shopping.
I loved all the red.
The architecture window – and gown – was my favorite though.
I finally received my sample of Slumber houses Pear and Olive perfume. I love it. I would love to
have it where I could spritz it on instead of dabbing it on. I am curious about its lasting power? Anyone has it, please share your thoughts.
Lasts all day on me and much longer on clothes. The olive really comes out after a couple hours and the sillage is great, always a compliment getter for me.
Thanks!
Congratulations! I actually prefer dabbing this one to spraying. It seems like the olive blooms more quickly when dabbed. That could just be my imagination. It has great staying power either way. It sticks to your clothes strongly until you wash them so take that into consideration. Maybe that’s another reason to dab: it’s easier to direct.
Thank you too .
I’ve recently been trying several Soap & Glory products and I was really impressed by their scents. I have a body lotion scented with Fruitigo scent which is a really nice, sappy fig and the Orangegasm shower gel which, again, is a lovely green, leafy citrus. I kept thinking that they are the kind of scents that I’d expect from, say, Diptyque or Annick Goutal, but without the price tag! I wasn’t crazy about the original scent that a lot of their products had (Miss Dior Cherie dupe and very strong), but these later additions get a big thumbs up from me! I’m definitely going to get matching shower gels and body lotions to layer with fig and citrus scents in the summer.
Wearing Shalimar extrait – got a sweet deal on a 30ml with a 15% code, so had to be bought really. Pleased to report L’artisan’s reissue of Tea for Two smells the same as it used to; I didn’t like it years ago when it was part of the regular line, but now I love the smoky lapsang with a touch of honey and spice. Wears beautifully in the cold.
Congrats on the Shalimar!
I’m miffed with L’Artisan, having bought a couple of large decants of Tea for Two when it was discontinued. I don’t actually need a bottle, realistically, but their approach rankles. Still, it’s good they’ve done the reissue well, I guess.
Wearing Vetiver Tonka today. Normally I like it, but right now it’s just too much tonka, not enough vetiver.
I’m wearing Shalimar edp today. So gorgeous. I’ll refresh in a little while with more Shalimar when we go out to dinner with some friends later on.
Before dinner, we will have cocktails in our home to toast my son’s engagement which happened yesterday. I’m getting misty again thinking about. Happy misty though, not sad misty.
Congrats on your son’s engagement!And you smell FANTASTIC,of course!;-))
Thank you!!
So I went to Ocean State Job Lot looking for cheap comforters for the dogs crates and of course couldn’t find any. I did find a fragrance set of course. It is Tabu and Chantilly and has two little bottles of each. I’m guessing it’s versions of the older bottles and then the newer one. $3. How could I not get it at that price?
Also wrapped gifts and watched Nestor, the Long Eared Christmas Donkey and cried like always.
Oddly enough my scent this morning was Covet and today it was a nasty soapy mess on me. Not sure what went wrong. I normally love it but today I’m wondering if it’s turned.
I hope it’s just the dry winter air making your Covet smell different, poodle!
So I was rummaging around today trying to decide what perfume to wear when I came across a small decant of Parfum Sacre.
Now I tried PS several years ago and ….. nothing. None of the great stuff everyone raves about. A great big fat nothing. Huh, I thought. I must be anosmic. And I stuck in the back of the cabinet and forgot about it.
Since I was uninspired by any other choices, I thought I’d give it another try today. And lo and behold, it was a completely different story. Suddenly it was all there, and it was gorgeous.
Moral of the story: keep sniffing! If at first you don’t succeed …..
Thumbs up! love Parfum Sacre. And second chances.
It’s true, it’s worth giving classic frags many chances. The olfactory part of the brain really does evolve over time.
I chose Terre d’H Edt yesterday as my relaxing scent and I’m wearing it again today. This is my favourite, and only ‘beach scent’. To me the smell is like lying on a sun-baked boulder, which is exuding this deep sweet-rock-scent while the salt air drifts in from the ocean…
Mmmmm….that paints a great picture.
Easier than painting a smell I guess
SOTD is Amouage Dia for an office party but I am having a difficult time figuring out what I will wear tomorrow for another party. Should I wear Zagorsk, Theorema, Jicky or go with vintage Diorling?
Dia is such a great choice for an office party – it’s both beautiful, intelligent and impeccable. I guess the choice will depend on your mood and the spell you decide to cast – interesting options!
Went sampling at Twisted Lily and I’m really liking Russian Tea and, a little guiltily–Swan Princess. It is totally not my usual style in that it is a very girly poofy scent and I can’t stop sniffing my arm…
*giggles* We don’t always have to be sophisticated!
It’s not a problem of sophistication –it’s the poofiness. I tend to like denser scents so my synapses are a bit befuddled
Poofy AND sophisticated? Makes me think of 80’s dresses.
That’s the great thing about perfume – I’d never wear a pouffy dress but a pouffy perfume can be fun. Enjoy!
SOTD is Carthusia 1681. I had tried it not long ago and ordered a FB from Luckyscent. I’ve not been feeling well lately with a bad flu over Thanksgiving and then a hip injury that reduces my mobility, and have not wanted anything with even a hint of sweetness. The combination of tangy tangerine and herby wonderfulness plus some incense in this scent is just what the doctor ordered (plus a cortisone shot which I am to get Monday–I dread it but hope it helps). As reviewers have noted, this fragrance has terrible staying power but that’s OK, I just keep spraying on more!
I went with Copal Azur today. Burning some hinoki incense now before bed.
Donna Karan Chaos, mmmmmmmm…..
SOTD is NVC Mohur layered over Solstice Scents Dark Ginger Spicecake (I used the whipped soap in the shower for hair and body, then the matching body creme after). WHOA is the combo delicious (without being toothachingly sweet or cloying)!
That sounds delicious.
Third day in a row wearing my de-stress perfume, Blackberry & Bay. Third time’s the charm?
Maybe it’s time for a destressing bath, too? Or destressing hike? Or destressing bucket of cookies?!
I hope you are able to find some time to take care of yourself, in any case!
Ack. Just went back and read the Friday poll and have a better idea what might be stressing you out! Any sign of family leaving? It *is* Sunday after all–send them back to work!
I know, you’d think, right? And yet… at least today we’re doing a bit of musical chairs–my sister is only just now arriving but she shares my, what shall we call it, strong preference?
for making sure everyone gets adequate time to themselves. And the others have temporarily relocated to one of the other houses…but, they didn’t leave ’til noon and I heard someone mention coming back at 10AM tomorrow.
At this point, I’m sorta despairing about my project, and just trying to make sure I don’t bite someone’s head off.
I recommend strong locks on the doors
Good morning!
Mr. Spicebomb and I arrived in Vancouver, BC yesterday afternoon for a little winter vacation these next couple of days. Went to the hockey game last night and had a great time. Canucks won their first game in a while, and the energy of the crowd was infectious!
I’m thinking today will be relaxed. We have no agenda and Mr. S. is a little under-the-weather. I hope he will let himself rest and relax a while and not feel compelled to rush about because we’re on vacation. So far so good–he’s sleeping in! (I don’t know, yet, what sort of sick person he is–does he take care of himself or does he try to push through it? Does he want me to help him with stuff or does he want to be left alone? Yet another milestone, I guess–the first significant time together when one of us is ill!)
Not sure what my SOTD will be, but it may be Ta’if, which has been in heavy rotation since Mr. S. got me a bottle for my birthday last month. So lovely! And that hit of green with the rose makes it feel so festive somehow. Lots of other options, though–I packed 6-7 vials in my luggage so I wouldn’t feel hemmed in!
Oh hope he feels better! Being sick away from home is not what one hopes for!
Meanwhile, do tell which other perfumes made the trip–I’m always curious about how people handle that. Unlike clothes, where the occasions, weather, etc. make a lot of the decisions for me, sometimes I find myself at a loss trying to guess what perfume I’ll be in the mood to wear! (…then I wind up grabbing a fistful of whatever’s closest as I run out the door to the airport
)
I have a few that seem to just live in a baggie in my luggage, and then I amend that pile with whatever seems like it might be right. I do better with these cool, cozy scent seasons than, say, when I go to Vegas or somewhere warm, dry, and significantly climactically different from Oregon.
The go-to pile has Traversee du Bosphore, Cuir de Lancome, Lyric, and a dabber of Ubar. I think the L’eau d’Hiver has been in there a while, too. There is also, now, a vial of PHI and a decant of Ta’if. Funny, until now–listing them all out–I hadn’t realized how many of them were soft leathers or rose scents!
Marjorie Rose: Dang! If only I had known you were coming, I would have loved to have met you. I was working in perfume downtown on Dec. 20th! Hope you had a great time in my hometown.
I’m wearing Iris Silver Mist today from the black spray. I just love this perfume and it has made me appreciate iris as I wasn’t a fan before. I’m the lucky recipient of the Bois de Jasmin EU travelling box and I’ll be picking it up from the Post Office tomorrow. Very excited to try some new perfumes and forward it on with my samples to the next person. It’s such a great idea.
ISM is one of my top ten – what a great perfume! How delightful to take a turn with the traveling box!
Well, its three weeks until my PhD is due. I’m in panic mode. Borderline bonkers. Anything fun I can do is restricted to my computer so this lovely blog has been a much needed distraction, a kind of refuge.
So to put myself in better spirits, I spritzed myself with one of the handful of “gourmande-ish “perfume samples I ordered: Ambre Narguilé. Well, actually, I accidentally spilled half the vial all over my neck. I now smell like very, very, LUXE FRUITCAKE!
Not sure how the folks at the library are going to feel about this.
Anyway, I wonder if I have the olfactory equivalent of being tone deaf, or even deaf deaf because some of the samples I ordered are purported to be intense but on my skin, all they’re barely perceptible, i.e.. Chocolate Greedy, Cafe Intense, POTL’s P &E, and even Angel.
Still trying to find a rich, almondy, caramelized perfume with millefeuille layers. Rahat Loukoum, Hypnotic Poison and Heliotrope are all so sheer and fleeting.
I am smell deaf, aren’t I?
WOW, go you!! Scary but awesome–in three weeks you will NOT be working on it anymore! Real light at the end of the tunnel for you!
In circumstances, I think you get to wear whatever you darn well please to the library!
I’ve never come across that embodied all those things, but have you thought about combining? Acqua di Parma Mandorlo di Sicilia or Ortigia Mandorla plus L’artisan Mechant Loup might give you the right effect.
Combining sounds like a smart approach. Others one might throw in the mix–l’Eau d’Hiver, Jour de Fete?
As for the scent question–can others smell these scents on your skin even when you can’t? Or, if you don’t have someone readily available to ask, you can try spraying on paper–to determine whether the issue is anosmia, versus your skin eating the scent. If the latter, there are definitely ways to work with that!
Layering multiple scents is going to be expensive! But well deserved -if I pass my viva.
Finding someone to smell me, aka a boyfriend, might be harder though… : )
I think sometimes the nose just gets overloaded. You might put some Angel on a piece of paper, leave it in another room, and revisit later to see if you smell it better that way.
Angel is in the other room alright: not a fan but was hoping it would be because it sounds delicious in print.
I find lavender to be very soothing when I am stressed. Sometimes I just put a drop of the essential oil on my shirt and that does the trick!
Have you been interested in scent for a long time? I seldom paid conscious attention to it until it became a dominant interest. So, when I used to have sets of samples I would try a few and feel like I couldn’t smell any strongly. I realise now that this was because I did not classify certain sensations I was getting as scents! I somehow felt like it was just the background to to things around me, like the general atmosphere or something…
As others have said you may have scent eating skin, so you could try put some on a scarf you are wearing and see if there is a difference. And lastly, it makes a BIG difference whether you are dabbing from a 1ml sample or spraying from a bottle.
Gourmand scents that pack a punch: Dior Addict (though apparently the current formula is less nuclear than the old) and Mugler’s Alien Essence Absolue.
One other is Montale’s Red Aoud…
Once everything is cleared off my desk in three weeks time, I’ll conduct an official experiment with a handful of paper strips from Sephora to determine whether or not I do have smell eating skin.
Strangely, although Bois d’Argent is very mild, it persists.
Some of the most delicate scents are the most tenacious! It can be quite strange…
A spray sample or decant comes in a little plastic or glass atomiser. You spray it, just as you would with most full-sized bottles, though of course less comes out. With a spray the perfume is diffused across a larger skin area. A vial, on the other hand, is used only for samples and usually small ones. With this you can only ‘dab’ the perfume and the effect can be quite different. With extremely strong scents people prefer to dab as this allows one to apply it in a smaller amount than the dose given by a regular spray.
By the way, what is the difference between a vial and a spray?
Sorry for the full length ‘dissertations’, lol!
It’s a Rozy kind of weekend for me. Yesterday I wore Vero Profumo Rozy eau de parfum so today I decided to wear Rozy voile de extrait.
I thought those two versions smelled completely different. One of them reminded me of Tabac Blond, but I can’t remember which. How do you find them, Filomena?
Today I’m wearing a mystery perfume, a vintage stoppered bottle with no label that I bought on ebay. It has all those wonderful old ingredients. I can identify it eventually if I spend enough time looking at vintage perfume bottles and ads on ebay.
Wow.
Oh fun! Good luck. I discovered Via Lanvin that way.
I ran across a bottle of Bulgari Black today at Ross. I’ve never sniffed it, but so many people seem to love it I was contemplating buying it. I think it was 40, for what seemed like a decently big bottle. Decisions decisions…
I’ve come close to buying that one so many times. It seems to be pretty easy to find at Winners, Marshall’s and the like. I have to remind myself that I do have a buy list of things I’ve actually smelled that that money could be better spent on.
I’ve also been seeing Nuit Etoilée lately at 40 dollars for the 50 ml bottle. I’ve seen this one mentioned here pretty often the last few days and the notes sound nice but again I’m trying to avoid blind buys. Plus it was in the feminine bottle and I much prefer the rectangular men’s versions.
True – blind buys are scary. And now that I look around – its cheaper online too… probably better to just spend the money on something i know I’ll love, instead of trying to swap if i don’t…
Yay!Was superexcited to receive your email,Deva!And mailed you back!Great to connect with fellow perfume lovers all over the world!!