Monday, yet again. Plus, where I live, ice, yet again. What fragrance are you wearing?
I'm wearing L'Artisan Parfumeur La Chasse aux Papillons Extrême. It is from perfumer Anne Flipo, who did lots of the brand's pretty florals between 1999 and 2007. I wish they'd have her come back and do more.
Reminder: this Friday, 6 March, we're celebrating International Women's Day — wear a perfume by a female perfumer.
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 n21 papillons [green background added] by patricia m at flickr; some rights reserved.
SOTD: Signature Black Mark (Jack Black)
Nice pick.
Sampling The Dark Heart of Old Havana from 4160 Tuesdays and so far it is definitely running quite sweet
I found that one sweet too. Nice though.
What do you think of 4160 Tuesdays? Have heard some interesting things about them, but after last year’s completely fruitless sample marathon I hesitate to try any more samples.
I have samples of Urura’s Cafe. Kind of love it but can’t quitre seem to buy a FB. Very sweet.
How was your shopping/sniffing excursion on Sat?
I hope you found a beautiful scent to treat yourself with!
SOTD is PdN’s Jardin Secret. It will be so easy for me this coming Friday, plenty of female perfumers in my collection. Have a great week.
Oh, and I wouldn’t mind some more pretty L’Artisan florals either.
I have plenty too 🙂
You smell great! 🙂
SOTD: Petals From My Garden! Yes! That Floris LE Bottle! It’s mineee 😀
A delicate and realistic rose. Pale pink, I say? Will see how it develops throughout the day (or not…)
Oh, I’m always a sucker for a pretty rose. Sounds beautiful 🙂
You are brave to buy unsniffed! Glad you like it.
SOTD is Diptyque Volutes. I very much enjoy wearing this one. Today is my first day at my new role at work (same company, but different job). Now I share an office, so this week I’ll prob just wear non offensive or low sillage perfumes. Luckily my office mate is an easy going guy, but I will let him know to tell me if he hates something.
Hey, you smell fantastic…hope the office mate likes Volutes! And congrats on the new job.
I originally expected ‘interesting’ and ‘unique’ when I sampled Histoire de Parfum Noir Patchouli for the first time yesterday. I did not expect heartbreakingly beautiful which it is. It is thick and deep and voluptuous- just the way I like my fragrances. Seeing how I also really enjoy Angel and Mon Parfum Cheri I must like Patchouli much more than I realized.
Oh! Its my SOTD again today : )
Mon Parfum Cheri is one of my favorites, so Noir Patchouli is going on my sample list.
Mine, too!
And mine…
My SOTD is their Ambre 114 – I’ll have to see if the shop where I bought that has the Noir Patchouli to try out.
I can tell this is soon to be one of my favorite houses. After my shower I applied some 1740 to my wrists and neck. Their fragrances are complex and beautiful.
Have you tried Jovoy’s Psychedlique? Wondering how it compares…
I’ve never tried it….delicious Patchouli?
Ok, just read the review, it sounds thrilling. This is definetly going on my sample list!
Sorry, just saw your comment. Unfortunately I only got to try it once, but I really loved it. Unfortunately the top notes were more striking than the dry down which was very close to the skin.
L’Artisan La Chasse Extreme is one of my favorite spring/summer scents, and I’m looking forward to wearing it soon.
Today I am trying a sample of Caron Parfum Sacre EDP I received from a kind NSTer in the feebiemeet. The EDP is wonderful and I am really glad I had a chance to try it, but it does make me sorry to only have a bottle of the EDT. The EDP is much, much richer.
Wearing Comme des Garçons Black. I really enjoy it but, for some reason, (maybe I own too many FB) I don’t reach for it often enough. Got to change that! (the wearing of it, not the number of FB! LOL)
I’m jealous of your black! I fell in love when it was released and planned to buy a bottle. Then of course I got distracted and never got around to it. I love the smoky sweetness of black
Agree!
And I’m jealous that it smells good on you! I got it for my boyfriend – he picked it out from about 20 samples I gave him. It smells great on him and I so wanted to wear it, but is is just pepper on me 🙁
I love Black too… I think I will weqr it tomorrow in fact.
Wearing Aqua Vitae from MKK. It’s lovely in a smooth musky floral way and I wouldn’t mind having a travel set of it.
Speaking of smooth musky florals, I tried Idylle by Guerlain yesterday and oh my! I love it! I didn’t realize how pronounced the lily of the valley was in this one. I might need a bit of this as well.
Today is the first day of my vacation. I get four weeks a year, so I try to take one week every quarter. I am staying home in my jammies, reading and watching TV. No scent today.
So nice! Enjoy 🙂
La Fille de Berlin. Unfortunately, on me, it’s not very strong and doesn’t last very long. Pretty, but hasn’t left much of an impression in the past few days.
That one is very strong on me, two sprays is plenty for me.
Hm, maybe the problem is that I got a sample vial and not a spray, then.
Definitely try spraying..I think it will make a difference:).
I haven’t worn LFdB but most of the line is very so-so in terms of lasting power. I think Bas de Soie is the only one that lasts on me for more than 4 hours. I just bought some Tubereuese Criminelle and I have to spray it on my shirt to really last
Fate woman today-
My maternity leave is coming to an end..tears and more tears.
off to mommy & me yoga and enjoying every second.
Fate seems to really capture what you are going through. You smell lovely.
Oh, that’s a sad time. It will be OK though.
Very tough time! I have two young ones at home and totally feel your pain. Good luck striking the balance.
SOTD = Olympic Orchids Seattle Chocolate
I’ve had this for a year and decided to trot it out to do a week-long version of the woman perfumer challenge. This one is by Ellen Covey. It’s wonderfully resinous, a tad sweet and I am getting some chocolate. I only did one spritz so I am not getting the full gourmand effect; however, I am loving it the way it is. I may respritz although it is still going strong 4 hours into its wearing.
I will try to do a different perfumer per day, otherwise, I may end up with Laurie Erickson for several days since I have a good number of hers in a travel size on up. Samples don’t count for me when it comes to the Friday challenges unless the challenge calls for using a sample.
I like your take on this challenge, hajusuuri, and will try to do the same. However, I already blew it today by putting on No. 5 Eau Premiere. Starting tomorrow…
Cuir de Nacre this morning.
I had a chance to try Misia over the weekend. It’s very pretty but I’m happy to say I don’t think I’ll be pining for a FB.
Ditto on Misia, not for me, but pretty.
Even though we got more snow last night, the sun is out and spring is just around the corner, I can smell it! No clients today so I am breaking out the PHI!
I’m trying to figure out if I need a bottle of Costume National Scent Intense. I haven’t tried it yet, but may be ordering a sample from luckyscent. Anyone like it?
From Ineke Rueland’s Floral Curiosities collection, Angel’s Trumpets….a perfect antidote for my less than perfect Monday morning…….
I like that one. Prob my fave from the FC set.
I’ve been sniffing Angel’s Trumpets (Brugmansia) during my walks on my break. They are yellow and grow over the sidewalk.
It’s pretty cold..we got a little snow over the weekend.
Tested Mentafollia. Actually could use more mint from this and I haven’t been the biggest mint fan. So kudos to Guerlain for making me like mint some.
Having a streak of “nothing to wear”. Ofc I have plenty of bottles to wear, but I am simply not in the mood. Hopefully it’s just a short spell!
Oh, I know that feeling! I plenty to wear–perfume and clothing, but sometimes nothing quite works for me. What’s worse seems to be to wear a scent that really does not fit my mood for the day. That drives me batty!! I acknowledge that for me it is a good kind of problem to have 😉
I wanted Boxeuses again this morning, but I’m going to try to wear female perfumers for the rest of the week!
Vintage Vanille Abricot by CAP. I hope they haven’t reformulated it ever because its mix of heavily caramelized sugar and dried apricots is pretty much perfect.
You smell great!
I am wearing something that would qualify for the Friday project: Vero Profumo Kiki extrait. A freebie meet surprise courtesy of hajusuuri!
Kiki is both cheering and soothing. A deeply lovely thing – the first lavender-centric perfume I would happily douse myself in on a regular basis. But it’s also frustrating: as much as I am enjoying it I can’t bring myself to spend that much on it when lavender EO is so affordable.
Does anyone have any cheap and cheerful lavender perfume recs? Particularly ones that, like Kiki, have a caramelized quality.
Rarely are you paying for the ingredient cost in perfume– you’re paying for the skills of the perfumer and the packaging. Massage oil by itself is fairly cheap but even a massage at a school’s clinic is going to cost more than $20. Flour, eggs and sugar are pantry basics but you’ll end up paying quite a bit more if they’re turned into a souffle in a fancy restaurant. Value is contextural
Yeah- and I get that- but I can plunk down serious cash for perfume when it smells like it’s worth every penny. But Kiki is not in that class for me. It is not an olfactory journey – it wears as straightforward, pleasant lavender with a few yummy embellishments. Yeah, I love it, but it would not feel like paying $10 for a souffle at a restaurant. It would feel like paying $10 for a cup of artisinal yogurt at the grocery store. Like, I love yogurt, but that’s not ever gonna be worth it for me personally.
I had the same response to Kiki….really liked it and thought, there must be other sheer lavenders out there for less…..still sniffing around for it 😉
Belle en Rykiel. Definitely caramelized lavender. You can still sometimes see it for super cheap from discounters or ebay, I think mine was $40 or under, but it’s getting harder to find..
Caron’s Le Troisieme Homme is nice, and I think cheap online.
I would recommend some high quality lavender oils from Eden Botanicals…I love lavender absolute and wild lavender straight up! you can also experiment by blending with other oils…a nice lavender centric fragrance with lavender, bourbon vanilla and coconut pulp….really hits the spot if you are craving lavender but are on a tight budget 🙂 !!
Good recommendation. They even have a lavender sampler pack for ten bucks. 30 drops each of several different varieties (including an absolute).
Jonas, do you get your vetiver from this company? Their double distilled sounds really nice!
Hi Merlin. No, my bottle of Vetiver is from Aura Cacia. I’ve actually never ordered from Eden but I’ve heard nothing but good stuff about them. I get so overwhelmed by their selection though. I can never make up my mind about what I want and I start adding all sorts of things I don’t need to the cart. When my cart total balloons past one hundred dollars, I give up.
Huh! I’v never been THAT enthusiastic about EOs 🙂 I have vetiver from two brands and they smell quite different to me – especially in the top notes!
Uh, oh. A lemming is born!!!
Caldey Island Lavender. They will only ship the oil overseas, but it’s not expensive, and is a great pure lavender.
Pixel, how would you compare the oil to the perfume? Does it have any projection at all?
Haven’t spritzed yet this morning, but I’m thinking about something warm, since it’s a little windy and cool today. An amber, perhaps. Ooh, many moons ago I received AG Ambre Fetiche parfum in a swap – that sounds good.
SOTD is Epice Marine, which now smells like Bvlgari Eau Parfumee au The Vert to me.
How’s the cumin for you?
Completely fine! It’s apparently toasted cumin, so it doesn’t have the sweaty quality of raw.
SOTD is a Ambre Nue by AC with Prada Amber Pour Homme layered over it.
24 Fauborg today, and it’s just right.
Me too, on both counts! You smell great. 🙂
Sampling TDC Kashan Rose today and so far, it’s really nice, and it’s not fading away (which is a problem I’ve had with some of their other scents) .
That slightly acid spring green in the image is very very appealing to me today, Robin! Our nasty ice/snow seems to be melting today and we’ve got sun. (Bookworm, returning to CT after last night a weekend frisbee tournament in NJ, had a minor car accident on that ice. She and her friends are fine, but the rear quarter panel is pretty dented. Bridge railing > car. Sigh.)
Testing Hiram Green Shangri-La today.
Glad you like it, and glad she is ok!!
Hi Mals…. Enjoyed your Stephen Wright quote yesterday very much. Decided the XM label fit so many wrong things I’ve struggled to characterize. I was still chuckling about it this morning as I made my kids their medium-sized breakfast and drove them to school in out mid-sized car…..
That’s a favorite SW bit around our house. 🙂 That, and the one where he says somebody broke into his apartment and replaced everything with an exact duplicate.
Portland has had an unseasonably warm winter with almost no snow this year, so the bulbs are standing high in the yard and the trees are flowering. I am wearing Carnal Flower today and it’s just perfect this morning.
Portland spring is the most lovely spring in the world! I very briefly lived on NW 18th and the cherry blossoms! Oh, the cherry blossoms! Blooms and moist drizzly air everywhere. It is something I dearly miss.
Working thru all my new decants and samples by randomly grabbing something out of the new samples box. SOTD= Apres l’Ondee. Very lovely but a little light weight for this cold weather. It goes in the try again come spring weather box! Yesterday I tried Eau de Missiones from Le Couvent des Minimes, which was also very light but lasted a notably long time close to my skin. It too goes in the try again in the spring box.
Turned in the manuscript (sorry if I am repeating myself!) I have been working on for over a year last Thurs, so plan to do very little today of impotance or effort. After I take my belated shower, I think I will pull out L’Heure Bleue extrait for a little glamor. And then maybe some online Scrabble….. Wha? Wha? I caaaaaaannnn’t hear you. Sounded like you said, “go to Jim.” Who is Jim and what do I need him for? Now…back to doing nothing.
Haha!
Enjoy!
Congratulations on turning in the manuscript!! Enjoy your free time. I just watched an episode on The Idea Channel, and it was suggested that we tend to be too busy, that boredom actually allows for more creativity. So, here’s to some unstructured time in your life 😀
Cold but bright sunshine here on the first Monday in meteorological spring and, finally it’s March! SOTD for Keep-It-Simple Monday is the sunny soliliflore, YR’ d/c Pur Desir de Mimosa, a little bit green, lots of puffy yellow flowers, the smell of sweet spring to come.
Mona di Orio Carnation, which isn’t a carnation-flower scent, but kind of an old-school ladies’ musk.
I soo want to try that one.
S N O W again yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Ha, ha, ha. I’m home sick but that doesn’t stop the shoveling. I’m wearing No 5 Edt today b/c I want to feel more elegant than shovels and boots and head colds allow.
Wearing Guerlain Angelique Noire form a sample I’ve had for ages. Weather finally seemed right for it, based on what I’ve read – chilly and rainy in San Diego, which is always welcome here. It’s kind of a weird one – very sweet, but also bitter, the angelique I guess.
Mona di Orio Vanille over here. It’s a strange one for sure. It smelled like a snuffed out candle for the longest time. The dry down smells like a church washroom.
have wanted to try this one but after your description I am not so sure 🙂
best to be without for I could never afford a FB anyway!
My description wasn’t so unpleasant was it? 🙂 I should add that when I say it smells like a church washroom, I’m thinking of a particular church washroom from my own memory.
Mona di Orio is very spicy and skirts the edge of how hot I can go.
Definitely stay away from Cuir then. 80
Oops, that’s just an eighty. I was going for one of these 😯
Wearing Femme on Keep It Simple Monday. The cherry blossoms are coming out in Vancouver too, and very pretty they are.
Cherry blossoms? How nice. I’m so jealous. Maybe in two months, the crab apples will blossom around here, lol.
I am wearing Lalique White (Christine Nagel). I love that tamarind
That sounds interesting! I don’t know that I’ve ever tried a perfume with a tamarind note. I like the taste of tamarind, so I’d be curious to try it in perfume.
I love fresh tamarind! Some of Holland America’s cruise ships have a Tamarind Restaurant and the food served is mouth-wateringly delicious.
SOTS is Bottega Veneta Eau legere. Although, I can’t smell it very well because I am still battling a cold.
I’m wearing Stephane Humbert Lucas 777 Khol de Bahrein today, from a sample. I definitely like it, but I don’t know that I love it enough to shell out the $$$.
SOTD is SL De Profundis…dabbed on. Every now and then I get a lovely whiff of it.
Love this! It’s on my bell jar wish list.
You smell wonderful.
SOTD is Byredo’s Gypsy Water. It’s one of those perfumes that hooked me at first sniff, but subsequent wearings have made me fall a little out of love with it (it’s so fleeting! the horror!). Either way, I’m enjoying it while it lasts (and happy I didn’t actually pay $$$ for it).
Tocca Colette is similar to GW.
SOTD is Kiki, a random grab from my samples. It isn’t lasting very well, and I don’t like it as much as I remember. A sweet spice, says my untutored nose.
Seriously loving my SOTD which is L’Artisan’s Oeillet Sauvage. Carnation and vanilla combo, and lasts a good long time too.
I’m going to have to try that one- I love both vanilla and carnation and recently have been falling in live with Saffron Troublant!
I have to try this one!
Home from work and wearing Prada Infusion de Tubereuse by Daniela Roche Andrier.
I love the beautiful little bottle and the color of the purple juice inside, but am kind of meh about the actual fragrance. Definitely a candidate for the March swap.
Aroma M Hana-cha oil today, and it was a bit odd. There were indistinct florals and an odd note I can’t quite place. Not my favorite from this line. The new Camellia oil was much prettier to my nose. Be well.
Started off the day in Teo Cabanel Alahine, and have now switched to Mugler Oriental Express.
Had to got to the dentist… I just bought Annick Goutals Eau d’Hadrien, which ist loevly and does not last one second (I knew that, but still…) and I basically took an bath in it (skin, clothes, scarf).
After lots of spraying it lasted the whole day.
In the evening I switched to a sample of Eau d’Empire – Equistrius.
And then it happened, I ordered it (been longer on my wishlist).
Sigh.
I am about to empty my Chasse aux Papillons EdP and wonder if to get an new one. Had the EdT and the EdP and I loved both.
Actually CaP brought me into this whole niche stuff…