What fragrance did you pick for the first Monday in May?
I'm wearing Jour d’Hermès Gardénia.
Reminder: this Friday, 8 May, will be Bottle Porn Friday: wear something you bought in part or in full because of the bottle, or a fragrance you think has a beautiful (or otherwise perfect) bottle.
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 detail from a Hermès Rêves d'Escargots scarf.
Osmanthus Interdite this morning.
Pretty!
I’m quickly going through my decant of this one. So lovely!
I’m wearing the new Stella EDT from a scent strip. From what I can tell it’s very pretty.
Do you know how close it is to the old Stella Nude? I don’t remember if there another edt beyond that….
There were the many Stella Sheer summer EdTs…
Sorry, never tried that one so I can’t compare! It smells a bit like Roses de Chloe, a nice airy pink rose with violet.
You inspired me to do the same! I tend to hoard those scent strips and then forget about them. I already have Stella EDP, so I won’t buy the EDT but I’m interested to see how similar/different they are.
I am delighted and amused that there’s a “Dream of Snails” scarf.
I used a bit of my Rose Jam shower gel this morning, and now I want roses. That really is a big sweet jammy rose… now I’m craving plain black tea sweetened with cherry jam, and I want a sweet rose frag too. Somewhere I have squirreled away my sample of Rose Flash, which would be perfect. Just have to go find it. If I can’t, then I think I know where my sample of Une Rose Vermeille is.
Ditto on the scarf!
I think Rose Flash is the perfect match. The Lush Rose Jam perfume from what I heard was too sweet — but never got to try it.
I would also recommend Jeffrey Dame’s Cassis, Rose and Sandalwood for your cravings.
I’m in a rosie mood as well – wore Rose Flash last night
OOh! I am waiting for a few more weeks to start using my Rose Jam shower gel! I bought WAY BACK for Christmas so I can use it in the summer!
What do snails dream about?
It’s Monday and that’s reason enough to pick one of my favorites- Box Of Eels, a cherished decant from a generous NST’er.
My cable is down and I am not able to work. Not a good way to start the week, but I smell great and that is the most important thing for a Monday!
Sorry about your cable — that’s crappy.
I used a stronger word this morning, but kind of along the same lines
Arghhh. That happened to us for a couple of hours last Thursday I was annoyed and slightly mortified at how much it impacted my work, and even my sons’ ability to do their homework!
If the grid goes down, we’re doomed! :0
I am now on week 4 of unreliable flaky internet access. I’m on DSL and my provider had sent me 3 modems in 3 weeks. The modem works fine and so does my wireless router. Anyway, I was promised a fix today – we’ll see.
Well, compared to your situation, I will zip my lip! Lucky for me the tech arrived within an hour of my customer service call, correctly identified why I was getting no signal, and fixed it in a jiffy. I will ask him to stop by your place to see if he can help you as efficiently as he helped me!
Wearing my sample of Mogador by Keiko Mecheri today. Haven’t decided how I feel yet. It isn’t love the way Attar de Roses is, as this is almost watery, but it is supposed to get into the high seventies today, so maybe it will be perfect this afternoon.
Attar de Roses is just super gorgeous! I tested Mogador a long time ago, and don’t remember it that well. But long time lust for a bottle of AdR sticks in my mind for sure!
Maybe this is something you and I can split at some point. I have lust in my heart for AdR!
GOOD IDEA!!!
Nice image, Robin. I love spirals. I love snails (I’m not a gardener
). Google yields some cute translations for the name of that scarf. My favorite is “Wish Snails.”
I’ve had a cold for over a week, so I haven’t been wearing much perfume. Bleargh.
Ha…yes, gardeners do not generally wish snails.
And so sorry! My husband is home sick today with a bad cold, I’m knocking on wood like crazy.
A week or so ago a neighbor was accidentally hit by a flying snail while she was crossing our cul de sac. My husband, who is Scottish, mentioned the following story to me when I told him about it. You might enjoy it too! (Those darn flying snails!!)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2608203/One-five-gardeners-admit-throwing-snails-garden-fence-rid-them.html
LOL!!
LOL, I can see that being the motive in a cozy murder mystery! No one suspects the “old dear” in a thatched cottage of doing away with her neighbor. However, Ms. Marple notices that the garden of the deceased is curiously lacking in snails compared with those of her neighbors and unravels a web of treachery surrounding the village garden contest.
Hee – I’d read that!
LOL!
Thanks. I hope that you are able to avoid your husband’s cold. My husband and I are both home with colds today. I got sick before he did, and he’s dreading all of the symptoms that are yet to come
Hope you all feel better soon! It’s worse to be sick when the outside world beckons.
Thanks
I’m layering today due to having grabbed the wrong little bottles. Vetiver Pour Elle and Liu work pretty well together, thankfully.
I have a Hermes “dream of snails” scarf-I purchased it at the Hermes sample sale -mine has more of a deep purple look to it. Absolutely adore it but wish I could tie it better. I know they have some videos to show you how but it would be better in person.
Hope everyone is having a good Monday and week ahead!
Check out the blog Mai Tai’s Picture Book for a bunch of ideas plus videos for tying scarves.
will do! thanks for your suggestion
My mind just seized up at the thought of a sample sale at Hermes!!! That would be amazing!
I started out in Chamade EDT this morning and smelled great for about 4 hours. But now its worn off and I’ve switched to Love, Chloe from my office stash. I need to remember to make a purse spray of Chamade for next time.
I am wearing Dia Man which is a lovely spicy incense with dried fruit. It is a bit too exuberant for work wear, but I am working from home today.
It is feeling like summer today and I am wearing Chanel Coco Mademoiselle extrait. I tried this during winter and I wasn’t crazy about it but today it is great. I am not working today but I have a lot of things to do around the house.
I put on Smell Bent’s Little Miss Panda Gets Lei’d this morning for the first time. By the time I got to work, less than a mile away, it was already gone. This is unusual for a Smell Bent fragrance. Usually they have good sillage and decent staying power. I’m going to put on Origins Spring Fever. I keep a roller ball of this in my desk drawer. I really should keep more samples at work instead of taking them home.
I’m in En Passant again, so nothing exciting to report. But I wanted to unashamedly use the collective brain of NST and ask, what fragrances say “seventies” to you? Not the hippy seventies or the disco seventies, but the preppy-casual side of it: high-waisted trousers, blazers, button-down shirts, roll-neck sweaters, denim midi skirts… Although platforms would still be added, I think
I have no first-hand experience of this decade and my knowledge of perfume history (especially the American one) is also lacking.
The original Chloe and Oscar de la Renta make me think of frags that preppies used to wear. Or, “Cie” by Candice Bergen – grown up preppy?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5WDHN2bwzo
I love all those old commercials- takes me right back to childhood
Charlie!!
Totally second Charlie, which I wore with high waisted jeans, and another 70 scent: Blase by Max Factor.
YES!!!
My sister, is who older than me by 11 years, wore this almost exclusively. As a baby I have memories of her carrying me around and wearing this.
Ciara and Halston but I also second Charlie.
More are coming to mind…….White Linen and Aliage.
Cristalle, no 19, rive Gauche, Fidgi, Magie Noire, Chloe, Karl Lagerfeld, Ann Klein and Lauren.
seconding Rive Gauche – what I wore then – and adding Coriandre. My mother wore Ma Griffe, my sister Caleche, my dad Equipage, my brother-in-law Gentleman Givenchy…
Gentleman Givenchy was so beautiful and, to me, could be worn by a woman as well. Also, Grey Flannel (but I am not sure this one was released in the 70s).
Ha! I’m in White Linen today! It’s definitely very seventies. My grandmother used to wear it, so it reminds me of her. When I was in my twenties I would have been horrified at the idea of wearing my grandmother’s scent. Now I couldn’t care less. If it smells good, I wear it!
Seconding Aliage, and adding Byzance.
And seconding Ciara! I always forget about that one.
I adore Byzance, but it was actually launched in 1987 so not a 70’s frag. But hey, it was a great one!!
Although it’s late 70s I always thought of Ralph Lauren Polo. It’s a men’s cologne, but that’s all I could smell when it came out. It seemed like EVERYONE was wearing it.
Yes! And then they switched to Kouros.
Late 70s? Definitely Bill Blass for Women. If you find a bottle now, the reformulation does it a great injustice. But in its day it was the scent of penny loafer wearing lasses out for a Sunday sail!
The original Bill Blass was gorgeous!
I second all those mentioned and I’ll add the Yardleys (Red Roses, April Violets, Oh! de London), L’Air du Temps, Miss Dior, Diorissimo, Love’s Baby Soft and Lemon, Coty’s Muguet des Bois, L’Origan, L’Aimant and Emeraude; Joy, Arpege, Wind Song, White Shoulders, Shalimar, and Chantilly.
Thank you so much, everybody! I cannot thank all of you individually, as it would ruin the entire thread and make it a mile long, but your ideas are very much appreciated.
From the updated Preppy Handbook blog:
“Generally speaking, perfumes are not Preppy. Many Preps have a favorite scent, usually discovered in France or Italy, but this is best saved for special occasions. If perfume is to be worn, it should be subtle. We repeat, subtle.”
I think this is where all those houndstooth checked bottles of Dior colognes on ebay came from.
I think the Preppy Handbook said the only real prepster scent was Eau Sauvage…
Here’s another one – Tatiana Diane von Furstenberg
Oh yes, hajusuuri! I had forgotten about that beauty!
Good morning!
Beautiful colors in that scarf!
I’m wearing Pacifica Malibu Lemon Blossom today.
I’ve been so bad this month! Two blind buys! I bought Tabu as a pat on the back to myself after a good work review a couple weeks ago and then yesterday I bought Bvlgari Black on a whim!
I had to find a closer beauty store now we’ve moved and the one I found had a huge perfume selection! I got to finally try Fracas and Bvlgari Black! I kinda get why people like Fracas and I get why it can alienate people as well. It’s very heady and that tuberose does pack a punch. It’s a really nice white flower scent, but a bit too much for my taste. I tried BB on my other hand and then thought: oh, so THIS is that tire smell they all (they being NSTers) talk about! At first I thought – meh, but the more I sniffed it the more I liked it. It was in the men’s section, which I can see since it does have that slight stereotypical men’s cologne type smell to it, but when it gets going that tea note is fantastic! I hemmed and hawed about it and then said: **** it, NEED THIS NOW. I’m considering it a sort of house-warming-to-self gift and am wearing it today. So Bvlgari Black fans, I have joined your legion. :p
Congrats on moving! Congrats on finding a good shop! Congrats on the BB!
Thank you
Welcome to the club.
well, you won’t regret it, welcome to the club!
French Lime Blossom is my fragrance today.
I spent the weekend in Sephora and got to test/smell the new Ateliers. My companion really liked the Sud Magnolia, as it reminded her of a San Pelligrino lemon soda (I rather liked the Figuer Ardent or whatever fig it was as the name escapes me now). I also tried eau Savage EDT and EDP, Narcisso Rodriguez (in that gorgeous milky pink bottle) and Britt Rythmn (much sweeter than I anticipated it would be) and Hermes Jour EDT and EDP (very grapefrui-yt to my nose) as well as the Eau de Mervielles (I know I am off with the spelling on this one) and all of its offshoots ( I couldn’t really smell a thing on all of them but ,perhaps, my nose was already on overload at this point).
I love Eau des Merveilles, but I can’t smell much of anything in Eau Claire des Merveilles no matter when, where, or how often I try.
Noses are funny things.
I will have to revisit when my nose is fresh! I was in Sephora for over an hour and these were the very last ones I sniffed!
I really love to wear scarves. Someday I’ll have an Hermes! I have this booklet from when I was a girl – the 80s – that shows how to tie Hermes scarfs in different ways. It became totally aspirational to me! I was going to live in Paris and wear scarfs all the time. I still have it. So, at least I’ve got to visit Paris a few times and I wear scarfs all the time anyway, but no Hermes yet. Right now I’m actually kind of obsessed about these Pavlovo-Posad Russian scarfs/shawls. I haven’t got one yet, but I am very intrigued. Nothing like what I already have. I need to diversify my scarfs.
Oh, SOTD is AG Grand Amour edp b/c it is certainly a grand spring day! Cheers!
I also really love scarves. I have such a hard time leaving the house without one. This winter I spent way more than I should have on the most glorious, icy toned grey silk with watery rose and navy blooms on it. My sister thought I was madly indulgent. I guess I was, but I wore it every second day all winter. So worth it! I would also love to live in Paris and wear scarves all the time. What a dream
Your scarf sounds gorgeous!
I have one Hermes scarf that my mother bought me nearly 17 years ago that I wear all the time. I have to say, has held up beautifully; so well made.
For Mini Monday, digging into my little box of treasures that just arrived from La Via del Profumo. Oakmoss this morning… mmmm.
That scarf is lovely, Robin! I have a drawer full of scarves but I rarely remember to wear them.
Following the recommendations for Big Florals from this weekend’s comments, I’m wearing Amouage Gold and thinking about getting samples of Diva, Fleur09, and POAL. I already have the rest of the recommended big florals!
I’m with you. I have lots of scarves and love how they look on other people, but never remember to wear them. And when I do, I feel self-conscious, like I’m not wearing it properly. I need a personal stylist.
Me too! I am sporting yoga pants and an old long sleeved tee…and wearing Bois de Iles! I may not look stylish, but dang! I smell great
Someone at work mentioned a scarf styling tieing website called Stella and Dot or something that sounds like Stella and Dot. I haven’t visited the site yet. I am looking for ideas to wear mine (all pf them of the cheaper variety – last purchase was 3 humongo square scarves from Uniqlo at $7.50 each!
Today is a beautiful day for DSH White Lilac (I may have oversprayed due to the happy weather)!
SOTD = The classic Apres l’Ondee, for this rainy spring day in Michigan. My decant of the EDT is almost gone – I have been augmenting a spray of the EDT with little dabs of the tiny sample of vintage Parfum. Definitely need to replace my decant…
Nice! I understand this was the classic way to use parfum with EdT.
Yep, that’s me… classic! LOL!
Check your email, by the way…
I wore the last of my decant of SL Cuir Mauresque and I give up. I just don’t like it: I think it’s boring. But I tried! Repeatedly!
Oh, I find that one so entrancing! I got a small decant when I did a swap not too long ago and it’s almost gone, mores the pity. What is your favorite leather?
Money saved!
To my nose, Cuir Mauresque smells exactly like a hippie leather shop. I laughed out loud when I tried it – but wouldn’t buy it to wear, not even a sample.
I must have a thing for hippie leather then!
Oh, that’s not a bad thing to have a “thing” for! Actually, my cousin used to work in a hippie leather shop, and I’ve always liked the smell, just don’t want to wear it. That’s true of many fragrances, as far as my nose is concerned.
SOTD is Encre Noire. It seemed to go with a black and white Breton tee…
Perfect pairing!
It is full-on SPRING in Boston, so I’m wearing Wit.
Yes it is, Bexca! And we deserve it after the winter we suffered through. I wore Wit over the weekend and am now in PdN Eau a la Folie.
I saw some apple trees yesterday, and thought, “They look like they’re covered in snow.” I think we’re all still recovering from the winter!
Scent twins! I’m in my PdN Eau a la Folio too. We smell wonderful if I do say so.
SOTD is Frederic Fekkai Sensuelle, every time I wear it I ask myself why I don’t wear it more often: it is the loveliest, non-indolic orange blossom / neroli (still thank you for it Elisa!).
I hope you will review Jour d’hermes Gardenia Robin!
Nothing is pleasing me as much as Pino Silvestre. I do not know why I want to smell like a freshly shaven Gtrandpa in a leather jacket but I do!
And why not?
My favourite grampy perfume is TF Tuscan Leather.
Grampa Style! I think ther might be a song about that
I love PS! It does give me the same feeling I get when wearing one of my grandpa’s old wool cardigans though, like I should be sporting plaid slacks and a dapper little hat
After reading an article on Fragrantica, i got myself a bottle of Violet Eyes by Elizabeth Taylor and it’s one of those easy wearing scents. I love scents that are fuzzy rather than sharp, and this one is a fuzzy spring sweater.
Curious: what are the other Liz Taylor perfumes worth exploring?
White Diamonds and Passion?
I like Violet Eyes, too, very easy to wear in spring. Black Pearls, woody/warm/sandalwood/amber, is another I enjoy as summer turns into fall. White Diamonds, in parfum form only if you can find it, is nice in small doses. Her other scents I find too strident for my taste.
Will start with your suggestions! Thanks
I’m trying out Shalimar Parfum Initial L’Eau today. I love the opening, which seemed really green/juicy and really creamy at the same time. Enough of the iris comes through to balance the vanilla, so it’s definitely sweeter than what I usual wear, but not too sweet. And while I remember the reviews saying it’s lost all the leather of the original Shalimar, I can still smell a leathery aspect to it that also keeps the vanilla from being to indulgent. I’d like the iris to hold out longer, though.
I went with Dior Dune today!
Question for those with a FB of Amouage Sunshine – can the atomizer top be unscrewed to decant? Thanks.
As far as I know none of them screw off, they are all crimped.
Thanks. I don’t yet have a FB of Amouage though that may get remedied this year.
Lancome Mille et Une Roses yesterday and today. May just go ahead and make it a rose week.
MeUR is such a soft, beautiful rose. I am always peeved that Lancome didn’t/doesn’t distribute this in the US. I’m kind of still stuck on roses. I wore Grand Amour this morning, but I refreshed this afternoon with Serge Lutens Sa Majeste la Rose.
This was a year or so ago, but I got to make a perfumista’s day by reporting that Bergdorf Goodman in NYC was selling Mille et Une Roses. She looked up the number and ordered hers by phone!
Wanted something undemanding since it’s been a tough morning, so went with Fresh Brown Sugar. Sweet and simple.
Vanille 44 today – needed something unchallenging for a difficult Monday morning.
Happy Monday from Portland(ish).
Am wearing EauDe Citrine- a scent I purchased on a whim from Anthroplogie last year when on special. Light and very crisp- jasmine, fruit and vanilla. You get lightest, most comforting vanilla and jasmine on the drydown.
I felt like something light and crisp this morning, particularly as it’s a bit chilly here in Los Angeles (low 60s is chilly for us!). I ultimately settled on Eau de Cartier.
Gentle (much-needed) rain during the night and clouds today create a brief respite from a weekend of warmth and sunshine and full-blossoming spring. I can’t recall a spring when everything stayed in bloom and was just added onto by the next blossoming wonder! The magnolias are still clinging tenaciously to their lovely pink blossoms, the forsythias show no sign of dimming their bright yellow flowers, the pinks and purples of the flowering plums and other shrubs, and now crabapples have joined them this weekend. Best of all, the Korean Spice viburnums in my yard have opened their pale pink blossoms and their intoxicating scent fills my home through opened windows. There is no perfume to equal this, so for Keep-It-Simple Monday, I’m ‘wearing’ the lovely cloud of Nature as she visits my home, and that’s all! The cats and I wait for the migrating Orioles and Hummingbirds to find our newly-hung feeders and watch Mr. Wren prepare several potential homes for his soon-to-arrive mate, she will choose which one suits her fancy.
Happy spring to all, and may the day get better for those of you having a rough start to the week.
I love watching spring bird migrations. We get all kinds of unusual birds on their way to New England and Canada. Sometimes nesting Osprey, wood ducks, red winged black birds, nesting great herons, etc. Mostly birds that like water. I don’t spend as much time as I should looking up the ones I can’t identify, but I do love birds. My husband saw a bald eagle over our house yesterday!
I spooked a Golden Eagle on my walk to the mailbox (3 miles round trip) last weekend. So cool. I only see about one a year, thought I know they’re here all the time. Quite shy birds.
Eagles are so cool. Years ago when I worked in Portland OR, there used to be this big golden eagle who’d fly around the office towers looking for lunch. Probably pigeons. It was really neat to see it swooping around. They are so big!
For big, you gotta see a California Condor in flight, they are amazing. The first time we saw one in Big Sur, my husband and I were so dumbstruck we forgot to take a picture.
They’ve transplanted some to the Grand Canyon too, we saw them there last year. Awe-inspiring.
Ann S. and pixel and anyone else interested, in case you haven’t been watching ‘my’ eaglets since I posted this link back in February, they’re all-growed-up now and ready to fledge. Catch them while you can (nestcam 1 is the best view; if the nest is empty, check the approach cam to see them on nearby branches. Also, the latest snap and update from their FB page is directly below on the main page.) I’ve grown very attached to seeing them several times each day and will miss them when they’re gone:
http://www.berry.edu/eaglecam/
That’s so cool – thanks for sharing! I’ve never really seen a nest cam before.
very cool!
Best “perfume” ever! Sigh …
amaranthine today, it’s always a season kickoff for others (looking in your direction, manoumalia)
Random purse perfume=Sous Le Toit which is appropriate for the warm sunny day here in Boston. I had to get a rideshare last night to get my cat up here and then I go home tomorrow to finish packing before moving here next week
I look forward to your reports from Boston! Hope the move goes smoothly.
Best of luck with your move.
Good to know that there are other scarf lovers out there.
Check out the Metropolitan Museum o Art scarf collection, they have really beautiful scarves, for much, much less than the Hermes prices.
I am wearing no scarf today, but am wearing Shanghai Lily which I got out the Lauder outlet over the weekend. It is working surprising well in the Spring/Summer weather.
Agree on the Met scarves. Other museum shops have great scarf selections, too.
My most worn (and a favorite) scarf is from the Met. It is based on the floral textile shown in the portrait of Madame Jacques-Louis Leblanc by Ingres. I love that scarf with my black winter dress coat. I no longer need my winter coat or the scarf to stay warm in winter. And I miss the Met!
Does your SOTD mean a Jour Gardenia review is in the offing? The original Jour doesn’t work for me, but I like gardenia, so I’m curious.
Yes…might be this week or next. I don’t think I love it though.
Lush 25:43, which is a lush burst of citrus on this lovely day! I’m in DC at the moment, normally based in Durban, South Africa. If you know the story of why it is named 25:43, it can be a bit pretentious, or maybe a dig at the long processes and focus groups often involved in creating a perfume
Wow,still in the US?Safe travels Ida!Owe you a phone call!!x
Not still, again!
Let’s talk later in May.
En Passant.My goodness this is addictive!!lol.I also must confess:Kusmi Anastasia tea is now my replacement beverage of choice at work.Fantastic stuff.If ever there was an enabler:Her name is Robin.Happy Week people!
Twins
Yay awesome!;-)
Giving Ancient Resins a spin. The top notes of turpentine are fading, and maybe AR as a whole is fading. Perfume-eating skin strikes again?
Is that the skin and hair oil? If so, I never find that it lasts very long unless I layer it with a related perfume for the fixatives.
Ancient Resins lasted for a while on me (2 or 3 hours, IIRC), and it was all one very unpleasant and medicinal note. I can’t really describe it, but it did not smell like turpentine to me. I was so disappointed because I’m a Leonard Cohen fan, and I really wanted to like his celebuscent
Coty L’Origan. Never tried this in warmer weather before.
I was lucky enough to find a bottle of vintage parfum L’Origan on eBay. Love it, will have to buy more soon (if I can!)
Lucky indeed, and I hope you find some more! I’ve never tried the parfum, but I would give a lot of pomanders for the chance.
Possibly to console myself, I’ve decided mine works so beautifully on a warm sunny day *because* it is but cologne.
I’m wearing Crown Bouquet, because I forgot to wear it earlier in the spring – a great lilac perfume!
SOTD is Dior Escale a Portofino. I just love it – today the almond note is shy and the overall effect is of a not-too-sweet lemon cream. Just lovely and refreshing.
SOTM was Trefle Pur. But even with about 5 or 6 generous sprays, it is all gone now.
Sometimes that’s for the best…?
I was so taken with the top of Orange Sanguine that I bought one of their little bottles, only to find that the base was not at all to my liking. I thought I had tested it thoroughly, too, but maybe they reformulated very quickly after releasing it.
For the time being, I’m not buying this Cologne Absolue story, but I love an Old-Fashioned Cologne Limitée. More time for sampling!
Orange Sanguine’s base ruins the frag for me. The woods smell extremely artificial to my nose.
Hermes Eau D Mervellies elixir, my go to and so many compliments I get, I was followed and stopped in Costco!
I really enjoy Eau des Merveilles, and this is the second time I’m reading about the Merveilles scents today here on NST today, so I better go put some on right now. Thanks for the inspiration.
I need to try the Elixir as well. I wonder how they compare.
Elixir is more amber and longer lasting.
Love it!!!
Found my misplaced Khol de Bahrein sample last night, so I decided to wear it today.
Mmmm. You may have just helped me choose my unwinding after a shower scent.