Happy Thursday! 56 more days of winter, and yes, I am counting down. What's your fragrance today?
I'm wearing Dawn Spencer Hurwitz Fumée d’Or, meant to "evoke the imaginary aroma of a Paris goldsmith's workshop". I love the hot metal + birch tar opening; the dry down is quieter, and a perfect fit with the name. Dawn Spencer Hurwitz recommends using Fumée d’Or as a base to layer the other three fragrances in the Brilliant collection, so I'm going to try that tomorrow.
Reminder: This Friday, 1/23, will be Layered Friday: layer two or more fragrances, or layer fragrance(s) with a scented body product.
And for those of you who like to plan ahead, see Scent of the day ~ Friday community projects 2015, where I'll try to always have the next five or six weeks mapped out in advance.
Note: top image is Tokyo gold [cropped and rotated] by Kevin Dooley at flickr; some rights reserved.
The wonderful Floragal generously gave me a small sample of Une Rose de Kandahar, a scent I had crushed on, and which smelled lovely in its little vial….but it has turned towards sweetened patchouli on my skin. And I don’t like sweetened patchouli.
I feel partially guilty (as she so generously gave me her sample), partially sad (as I really wanted to like it), and also kind of relieved, because that’s one less limited edition fragrance to crave.
Also – I didn’t get any sleep last night, so it may be time to scrub my wrists and spray something comforting to get through this day….
Sorry you didn’t sleep!
Thanks for the sympathy!
Sorry you didn’t get any sleep and that Phi didn’t work out. I’m wearing Phi, today, myself, and I do love this one, but I admit that I’m always relieved when I end up not falling in love with something that’s hard to come by.
I know – me too. I really wanted to love this one, but I will now have to pay Floragal’s generosity forward and make sure this has a happy home.
PHI wasn’t for me, either. Like you, I really wanted to love it, and was simultaneously dismayed and relieved. Ooh – and the guilt was I bought a 5ml decant even though I have a sample drifting aimlessly in a closet, but I’m so glad I didn’t spring for a blind buy of the bottle. It’s even more enticing now that the prices are going up by 20%.
It sounded so appealing – I wanted the rose so much, but my skin just warped it into patchouli. No es bueno.
I’m so sorry!!!!! I feel terrible for not having liked it. It’s all my skin’s fault!
I tried Une Rose de Kandehar last week because so many raved about it. It was a fresh sample, and what I got for the first hour and a half was tobacco, tobacco, and more tobacco (and I don’t like tobacco as a fragrance note). I kept wondering, where is the rose? Finally, an hour and a half later, I began to smell a lovely, velvetty rose – but I still don’t know if I actually smelled it or it was just wishful thinking because I wanted so badly to smell the rose, after all, it is in the name of the fragrance! Will try it again sometime, hoping to have a different experience.
Does anyone know what ‘PHI’ means? I’ve not found an explanation . . .
That’s a good question. Because PHI and ZETA are both Greek letters, I just assumed it was sort of like a numbering [lettering] scheme. But that really doesn’t account for the rest of the alphabet
Sensuous today. I think I have a plan for layering tomorrow, but if that ends up seeming too heavy I might use this as my base layer.
That’s a good one for layering. I keep meaning to try the lotion/cream, if they even still make it.
Don’t know if they still make it, but the body cream is lovely, potent stuff!
Wearing Kenzo Jungle l’elephant.
Looking forward to receiving my sample of this…
Hope you like it!
This is turning into iris week for me. Wearing Iris Pallida, a slightly deeper-voiced iris than yesterday’s Equistrius.
I love the idea of an iris week. You’re guaranteed to smell lovely the whole time
I also love the idea of iris week. I may copy you soon …
I’m wearing the last drops of my vintage Bal a Versailles eau de cologne (I already had the vintage parfum de toilette so I ordered decants of the parfum and EDC so I could compare them all). MUCH lighter and brighter than the parfum, still miles away from anything you’d consider “cologne” but easier to wear and harder to over-apply than its stronger relatives. The base is much more ambery and less animalic (and lasts for hours): the whole composition is clearly the forebear of great modern ambers such as eighties-era Anne Klein II and Obsession.
I don’t know… I think I’ve managed to over-apply the EDC in the past. (Didn’t regret it.) I thought I EDC was pretty civet-y, though, so you’ve got me intrigued by the idea of *more* animalic version!
Yeah, I read a few reviews that said how amazingly civetty it is, but to my nose (which is not infallible) its endgame is much less feral than the vintage parfum, which obviously you are now going to have to try, aren’t you?
Obviously
Heh–already your restraint about buying a bottle is paying off!
I am lucky – my nose never pulls a lot of civet in any fragrance, let along BaV. I do try and put on small doses though, just in case I would offend anyone else. It is so rich and powerful. I have very vintage edc, and about 90s era edt, and they are both about the same power. BTW – this is the only fragrance I’ve ever worn that someone has commented is very sexy. So that was a nice surprise.
Mmm hot metal and birch tar sound great!
Today I wore Mandragore edp, and this evening I craved Kingdom (Alexander McQueen). I dont have a lot of love for the massive cumin blast, though I do love that it’s interesting. I do however love the drydown of this a couple hours in, and it makes me want to keep coming back.
I salute you for dealing with the cumin blasts. Usually perfumes that start off with that end up turning me off so much I don’t care about how nice the dry down is, I can’t get past the cumin enough to like it and want to wait for the dry down.
Today is Chanel #19 EDT. Worked late last night and needed something to keep me motivated today. Every email fire bomb has me huffing my wrist to keep calm. So far, it’s helping!
Perfumophobes will never know the comfort we get from our wrists!
They will not. I am fairly certain I look like a weirdo huffing my wrists at regular intervals, but I don’t even care anymore.
Huff away!
Indeed! I always wonder if people notice. I probably think that I’m being more subtle than I actually am. Whatever though … wearing perfume is kind of like having an invisible blanket around you at all times
I used to work in a hot kitchen and washed my hands so often that perfume on my wrists would disappear, so I sprayed my chest and would stick my nose down my shirt!
No 19 is a great frag for maintaining.
So true!
Perfumista salute!
I finally found some vintage Tabu by Dana parfum concentration – it was my mom’s scent and IT IS HUGE! Just a couple of dabs and I think it will still be going strong tonight!
Tabu in any concentration is the very definition of “too much”, in the best possible way. Do I even need to tell you that you smell great?
Aw, thanks! I can’t stop sniffing my wrist!
I’m wearing Marni Rose, a bottle of which arrived this morning *sigh*. I’m quite happy to have snagged it at more than 50% off, since it has now gone back up to full price.
I think this will be a nice floral go-to, especially in the warmer months although it doesn’t seem to last quite as long as the original Marni. I don’t usually layer different fragrances, but I might try Robin’s suggestion and do it with these two tomorrow.
I’ve wanted to try this one. I love Marni, but I already find it doesn’t last as long as I’d want, so maybe Marni Rose wouldn’t be for me.
I haven’t actually tried this, but I do know they make lotions as well–maybe layering with that would give it more staying power?
Totally, I think you’ll like it still more in the warmer months. The bit of mint works so nicely in hot weather.
Blerg! I really wanted to wear a serious leather today and I forgot to put on perfume before I left my house. Luckily, I keep samples at my desk at work – including a sample of Bottega Veneta. I am saved by the refined suede. Not feeling like such a melodramatic crabby pants anymore
Good use of “blerg”.
Good scent too.
Ha! It’s amazing how something as seemingly trivial as scent can change us all from being melodramatic crabby pants
Yes, putting on BV and then reading about what everyone else is wearing really changed my mood for the better.
Ha- I keep a few vials in my desk just in case too! And BV is definitely going to soothe the soul. It’s my fav leather – so soft and cuddly.
I really wanted a loud and aggressive leather today, but I am very much enjoying BV (it’s also one of my favs). Probably wound up being a better choice!
Way to channel Tina Fey/Liz Lemon – love it!
Good thing you had your Emergency Backup Perfume…
EL Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia this morning. I think it’s really well done. Sometimes the gardenia is in the forefront, sometimes the tuberose, and sometimes it’s a blend. I keep sniffing to see which it will be.
I like that one, and lately I never remember to wear it.
We are finally getting a good, heavy, long lasting rain. Wearing Lubin Korrigan to celebrate.
With a cooler weather, I’ll be able to go nuts with the layering tomorrow!
Perfect!
Love it.
I am wearing Tabac Aurea which is a like but not a love.
I felt the same about TA at first, but by the time I finished my 2 ml sample (powerful stuff so it lasted a while) I fell in love. A 5 ml purse spray is now on my wish list.
TA is very beautiful! I should wear it more than I do. It always makes me think that Chanel got their hands on a Tom Ford fragrance and it came out from SSS.
Not sure about TA either or Winter Woods. Theres just something in the base that doesn’t quite agree with me yet.
Wearing 10 Corso Como today.
I’m not a superstitious person, but I felt a tinge of hesitation putting this on because the first time I tried it was last Monday when I was mugged. Sometimes I can’t help but think some things aren’t meant to be, but I actually do remember getting wafts of it when I was talking to the detective that day and liking it. Now that I can actually pay more attention to it – I do like, but I think Tam Dao wins if I had to choose between the two since they seem so similar.
Hope you are feeling better after what sounds like a very scary situation, Jenkr. I’ve never tried 10 Corso Como, but Tam Dao is an excellent comfort scent.
Thank you. I still get rage-y at times about it because the piece of **** walking around as a human being is still on the loose, but I am feeling better than last week.
Both Como and Tam are sandalwood frags and smell lovely. I think Como is a little warmer with some rose in it, but I like the more cool, woody Tam
Glad that day didn’t ruin the scent for you and instead it gave you some comfort!
Thanks. I knew I shouldn’t let something like that bother me and I am glad I’m giving Como another try.
I agree on the comfort of sandalwood; I wore Tam Dao yesterday after 2 days with a stomach bug, and it helped with the residual wooziness. Didn’t you also mention you’re looking for a new place to live? I have a friend with a cute house in Morrisville if you’re looking in the Bucks County area.
Indeed, I love Tam Dao.
We are looking in Bucks, but the fiance’s job is in Horsham and mine is in Trevose so we’re looking for an in-between (roughly Southampton and Warminster). Morrisville would be a hike for both of us, but thanks for the offer
You were very brave to wear that scent after that terrible experience and how nice you are able to enjoy it again – what a great outcome. Continued good luck in catching that guy, don’t give up! Perhap that Como will turn out to be a scent of strength for you after all.
Haha, I wouldn’t consider myself brave for that, but I greatly appreciate the sentiment. I like the idea of Como or sandalwood scents being a form of strength if only because of how good they make me feel.
I do think people get what’s coming to them, so I’m sure the a**hole will get put in jail or have something craptacular happen to him sooner or later.
I know that feeling; took me about a year to put one particular perfume back on after a really scary incident happened while I was wearing it. I’m okay now though, and I’ve manage to talk myself down from any magical thinking about the perfume being the thing that put me at risk. (Pernicious, victim-blaming mindset, that one!) Happy you’ve felt able to climb back up on the horse–it’s great to be able to get back to the important things, like enjoying perfume
Thank you. I’m glad you got over your incident as well and are ok wearing your fragrance again as well. I think if we let the bad things take us over, then we lose track of what it is to enjoy the little things – like perfume – again, so we shouldn’t be hesitant or superstitious about it
Yesterday I found a bottle of Guerlain’s Aqua Allegoria Winter Delice at a thrift store – $6. A quick google search suggested it might not be a classic but likely worth the $6, so I picked it up and I’m trying it out this morning. I like that I get more of the incense and pine/resin than I do the gingerbread, sugar, and vanilla, though I guess that might still be to come. I’m curious what others think of it….
What a great find for $6! My thrift/discount finds are never any good, and Winter Delice was actually one I had hoped to find. It may not be a classic, but personally, I’m a fan. It comes of as more pine-y to me, too, and I don’t really get the gingerbread aspect. Enjoy it! It’s such a happy wintry scent!
I also found a bottle of Max Mara, another total unknown to me (and to the rest of the internet too from the looks of it!). But again, for the price, I thought I’d grab it. I haven’t tried it yet, but if I don’t like it, then I guess I can offer it up as a swap or freebie.
But it’s the first time I’ve ever found any scent worth buying at a thrift store, despite how often I’ve looked.
I’ve never seen ANY fragrance in a thrift store!
Wow, the notes sound delicious!
Yes, I’m enjoying it. I was worried it would smell too much like a Christmas candle (as some reviews had mentioned), but it’s definitely a perfume, not an air freshener.
That’s great! I’ve wanted to try that one, but I’ve never come across it.
Winter Delice is a favorite of mine on cold and snow days, especially in December and January. I, too, get more of the incense and pine but occasionally I layer it over a sweeter lotion to bring out the gingerbread notes.
Given these replies, it sounds like if nothing else it would make great “swap currency.”
Annick Goutal Heure Exquise : )
You smell wonderful!
You smell very beautiful – ditto!
Big : ) thank you!
I wanted something soothing and warm and chose Dior Homme, it’s a treat. Very soft and easy to wear yet interesting as well.
Nice!
That’s how i am feeling about Prada L’eau Ambre. (Sp?) My first time wearing after quick sample last night, and it is sitting pretty.
L’eau Ambree is one of only two amber scents that I own, and I like it so much. Unfortunately, like Iris Infusion, it doesn’t last long on my skin. Hope you have better luck.
Only a couple dabs tiny this morning, it was long gone by noon. Will be more aggressive next time!
L’Eau Ambrée is the correct spelling as far as I’m aware. I’ve never tried that one. The only Prada I’m familiar with is their Infusion d’Iris.
Gracias!
con gusto
I’ve been sampling a lot lately as I try to reduce my untried samples but I wanted to be in something familiar today so I’m in the ever lovely Iris Ganache
Looks like many of us are doing roses today. I’m in Rose Absolue from Yves Rocher. My mini is about halfway drained. My impulse is to save it, but I love it so much – why deny myself? So sad this was discontinued.
Yes, I adore this one, too, love that soft cinnamony note. It was released as a spring scent but the spice and warmth in it makes it a favorite winter rose for me. Glad I got a backup bottle.
Oh yes I’d be curious to know more about this, having never gotten to smell it but heard it referenced so frequently! I’d always imagined it as a spring rose solifore, so I’m interested to hear more about the spices. How does it compare to say, Marni? Or to some of the warmer Rosines?
I’m wearing this today too!
C.H., it’s sweeter than Marni, more of a vanilla-rose, similar to Rose Praline though less complex.
Oh, that is such a help! I’d somehow gotten it in my head that maybe the bottle of Eau Rose I have is a more expensive yet less enjoyable version of Rose Absolue, and I was feeling regretful about it–it sounds like they’re really not in the same category at all! Thanks so much for the clarification, that’s a load off.
…I’ve really got to stop assuming I would love things that aren’t available to me! Bad habit in one’s personal life, bad habit in perfume
SOTD is Arpege, a fairly new bottle but still vintage-ish smelling. Really nice.
I like this one, too. You smell very fine!
I am in Bond No.9 West Side today. It is powdery when I first put it on, and then the sandalwood and vanilla (and a little amber) kick in later.
SOTD is SSS Champagne de Bois. It’s been too long since I’ve worn it. I wanted something warm but a little edgy and this really fits the bill.
Mmmm, you smell great. I really enjoy that one and I have a bottle, so I don’t know why I don’t wear it more often. You’ve inspired me to wear it tomorrow!
Love that scent!
I love it, too. You smell good!
wearing Poivre Samarkand today. Love the black pepper.
You smell amazing! I love PS, and need to bust it out. Folks above are writing about having an iris week, but I think I could manage a pepper week
Be well!
Pepper week, indeed.
you be well, too, HemlockSillage – what are your favorite pepper scents?
Pepper scents–Poivre Samarcande, LL Poivre 23 are probably my very favorite. I have little samples floating around of CdG Black, Marc Jacobs’ Bang, Satellite’s Padparadascha and LV’s Piper Nigrum. I’m sure there are many more, but those are ones I can immediately call to mind. Conveniently, there are seven, so my week of pepper centrism is theoretically possible. Are there others? NST readers–what say ye?
I’m scentless today,and probably tomorrow/weekend as well,as I currently cannot smell a thing:Summer colds suck!!It sounds like you all smell fabulous,esp the people in Phi and Iris-anything!
Hope you feel better!
Hope you feel better soon and can smell again.
Oh no!
Hope you are taking it easy!
Thanks for the well-wishes…doing OK!Cannot smell properly still,but this congestion will clear up soon enough!
SOTD is L’Ambre des Merveilles and it’s yummy. On a different note (pun intended), I’m trying a new kind of tea this morning – lapsang souchong, and I’m getting Eau de Bandaids from it. Peaty. Can’t decide if I like it or hate it.
A. L’ambre de Mervailles is awesome
B. Lapsang Souchong is my favorite kind of tea. I love the smoky smell and flavor.
I don’t like to drink Lapsang Souchong, but I love to smell it. I was recently in NYC and had a Negroni mad with Lapsang Souchong infused gin. It was probably the best cocktail I’ve ever had (and based on how much I drink, that’s saying a lot!).
Oooh, I love Negroni, and that sounds amazing!
Ooh you had me at gin, that sounds lovely.
That sounds heavenly! Negroni’s are my favourite cocktail and lapsang souchong up there with my favourite tea’s, so I’d be in heaven!
I’m wearing Y today, an edt splash from the ’90s. I bought a new bottle of Y edt spray last year, and after wearing it twice, I put it into my discard pile. However, the old bottle still smells good. The evils of reformulation…
A decant of Mugler’s new Oriental Express for me today. Verdict? A lighter brighter version of Shalimar, which is good for me since I quit wearing Shalimar when it began to feel like it was wearing me.
A nice ambery scent for cold weather, not fbw for me but glad I got a good size decant.
Hahaha! I always felt that way about Shalimar. Whenever asked about that one I tell people: No one wears Shalimar, Shalimar wears YOU! I do like it though. I’ve never been a Mugler fan, but now I’m intrigued by Oriental Express.
It is the only Mugler that has interested me and reading reviews on a few blogs I was intrigued enough to jump on some when it came up for a split. I’m glad I did
Wearing Ed Hardy Love & Luck today. Not as trashy as it sounds, though it is pretty sweet. It’s fun and sparkly.
Wearing Bendelirious today. Not sure whether cherry candies are the way to go on a grey day – perhaps the iris will make an appearance in a bit…
My favorite party-Iris!
Home for the third day in a row with my youngest who has a terrible cough. Am reading obsorbing candy– Red Rising–at least. And wearing the always cheerful AA Flora Nymphea.
So sorry your little one is sick. Hope for healing soon.
Red Rising was entertaining! I have the sequel, Golden Son, queued up on my ereader. Hope you can enjoy your quiet time. It seems to go so fast.
Sending good health vibes…
Oh, sorr! More good health vibes being sent your way.
Hope the little dear gets better soon.
SOTD = Dior Mizah topped off with Le Labo Vanille 44
I love layering with Vanille 44. It’s calm enough on its own butt when layered with something else, it becomes its own boss AND continues to let the other perfume shine through!
Darn fat fingers! But and not butt!
Another “Cuirass” moment for hajusuuri!
My screen name translates to Big Stink and I’ll leave it at that
I was picturing Vanille 44 sitting calmly with Mitzah!
Ha!
SOTD is PHI, again. As a juror on a trial I need something that lasts all day and is delicious – this qualifies and helps to get me thru!
I bet it smells so much more wonderful on you than it does on me!
Shalimar today, vintage edt that a lovely perfumista sent me. Smells wonderful!
Today I’m in Encre Noir from a sample. I may need a larger decant of this.
Encre Noir is gorgeous!
Question: Does anyone else decide what perfume they are going to wear by what shower gel they use that morning? Maybe its just me.
Well, because I used “The Body Shop’s” Grapefruit shower gel, I am wearing my signature fragrance. My SOTD is Nectarine Blossom by Jo Malone. For some reason, the two together mixes well with me. Gives me tartness and sweetness at the same time!
Oh yes! I have one soap for using before rose and floral perfume (rose Shea butter “good” soap from wholefoods) and another for spicy balsamic perfume (Aleppo olive and laurel soap from Syria).
I’m the reverse – I plan what I use in ter and afterwards based on what perfume I’m planning on wearing.
It was supposed to read, ‘what I use in the shower.’
Me too–I only break out my scented bath products when I’ve already decided to wear the accompanying perfume. (I suppose I could also use them as layers with something complementary–maybe I’ll give that a whirl tomorrow!)
Yes! Whatever hits my nose first is kind of a primer. It’s like a smell appetizer for whatever I decide to wear later.
Not explicitly, but I guess sort of.. I decide which shower gel to use based on what I feel like smelling that morning, and while it’s not explicitly tied to my perfume choice for the day, I imagine I will probably pick something along a similar line.
MFK Amyris today, in a running spray, after I’d left the house scentless. I thought, I have years of perfume to wear, sitting there, and dashed back to grab a spritz. It even got a compliment on the street. Yay!!! Hey, our lives are too short, not to enjoy our hobby. May your day be joyfully fragrant.
Another day with mum staying with me and having a checkup appointment at the hospital (pressure in the eye down to normal – yay). Pulled through the day with the help of a tiny spray of my beloved vintage Patou Moment Supreme.
Oh gosh, I hadn’t heard about your eye–so glad it’s improved! And that you’re enjoying that vintage Patou
Or is it your mom’s eye? Either way so glad it’s better!
It’s been kind of gray out for the last couple of days (and it’s been rainy and nasty today), so I decided to go with Manoumalia from a sample.
I always have to ask how people do with Manoumalia. What did you think?
Love Manoumalia. I think ive had about 4 or 5 totally- smitten-at-first-sniff-need-a-fb moments, and Manoumalia was one of them.
The tropics in a bottle, I looove it.
SOTD is Bond No. 9 Andy Warhol Lexington Avenue, an interesting combo of notes. The fennel, blue cypress, spice, patchouli and sandalwood give it a nice outdoorsy feel, yet the creme brulee note adds just a bit of that gourmand touch I love so much. Plus it’s a lovely souvenir of a wonderful afternoon I once spent at The Bond No. 9 Bleecker Street boutique!
Wearing one of my comfort scents today, Theorema. Even though I am not supposed to order anymore perfume because i need a new bed, I ordered another bottle of it. The bed can wait a few more months.
Theorema will do that to you, especially since you have to grab it when you can……a bed will always be available.
You can always buy a bed. You can’t always get a bottle of Theorema!
or simply sleep on the floor.
Bas de Soie, because I wanted to give my winter favorites a day off. (But I’m feeling a bit chilly, so maybe back to something spicy or ambery tomorrow?)
Scent twin with you. I’ve had an extra hard week so far this week so extra sprays were needed to counteract.
A sample of escale a Pondicherry. Thank goodness it’s just a sample as it smells like a mans rexona sport deoderant. Not good!
Oh, so glad to be alerted to this–I’d been curious about it ever since a non-perfumista friend mentioned buying it for her mom, but I hadn’t ever found a tester…and now I’m glad I did not pay for a sample! I think Kevin called it “sporty” too. Next!
I’m wearing a nice little dab of vintage L’heure Bleue EDP, gifted from a sweet and generous perfumista. As a newbie, I don’t always love the way vintage things smell (I guess I’m not well cultured), but I do really like this – especially the late drydown!
You know, a nice thing I’ve noticed is that “vintage” perfume is a lot less monolithic than I’d imagined before I started smelling them–while definitely there were specific trends (which differ from today’s in many cases), there was also such substantial variety that I find myself loving some and quite loathing others, even some hall-of-famers. (Sorry Shalimar.) Of course makes sense when you think about it–much like today’s market, “vintage” perfumes were just someone else’s, or many someones’, contemporary perfume, and I’m sure any given individual liked some of the available fragrances and disliked others! So I think we’re entitled to our preferences about them, too
Agreed, C.H.! You know, I also wore a dab of vintage Shalimar pure parfum (gifted by the same sweetheart), but I didn’t love it as much as the L’heure Bleue… but, I’ll keep trying to see if I can discover what so many else adore.
It just seemed like a Lonestar Memories day. I noticed the dry down is smokier in winter. I get a lot more green jasmine in the summer when it is more humid.
hmmm. I’ll have to book this in for a wearing to find that green jasmine
Silences EdP. Yesterday’s discussion prompted me to pull out my bottle, which I got about three years ago I think. I’ve never smelled the EdT or the PdT but would love to know how “true” the EdP is to the older versions.
It isn’t the newish Sublime version, either — though I’d love to smell that, too.
SOTD Balmain Ivoire, thanks to a lovely set of samples from generous Freebie meet friend. First sniff was great, but 45 min later I am not loving it. Seems to be irritating my overly sensitive nose.
We’ll see what happens as the day wears on…