Friday at last! Our community project for today: wear a scent by French niche brand Parfums de Nicolaï, if you have one. If you don't, wear a perfume by another brand that you think deserves more attention than it gets. What did you pick?
As always, do chime in with your scent of the day even if you’re not participating in the community project.
I'm wearing Parfums de Nicolaï Eau d'Été.
Reminder: next Friday, 28 August, as the summer winds down, wear a fragrance that says "Summer 2015" to you. (If it's winter where you are, wear a fragrance that says "Winter 2015" to you.)
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 Cinnamon sticks [cropped] via Dennis Brekke at flickr; some rights reserved.
I’m wearing PdN Mimosaique. My favorite PdN and my favorite mimosa! Happy Friday!
And to you 🙂
Wearing Violette in Love–nice enough but doubt it will ever cross my mind again
I never fell in love with that one either. Pretty though!
It’s around 20 Centigrades here in Zürich, so cold enough for three spritzes of Serge Lutens’s Un Bois Vanille and a few dabs of A La Nuit.
Sounds like a great combo, I should try that.
I am wearing the only Nicolaï I have – Musc Intense. I half like it. That is, I like it at the stage when it reminds of a clean, soft cream-colored sweater. On the other hand I dislike the pear here – it’s smells like a pear-scented detergent to me. An interesting fragrance, but I do not think it is for me.
I think that’s what nearly all pear smells like to me 🙁
Same thing, unfortunately. Fruits, especially with musk, often have this effect for me. Wild Pears and Petit Cherie are so far the best pear perfumes I tried, but even they have something that bothers me. I also smell pear in Rance 1795 D’Erje and surprisingly like it there, but it is actually not in the notes.
I’m wearing Le Temps d’une Fete, my favorite PdN. It’s beautiful in all it’s stages, though my favorite is the woody, earthy dry down. Perfect for the last days of summer.
Twins! And I second everything you said. 🙂
Triplets!
I know I’ve mentioned before my long history with this scent… I first found it in the early 90s in a boutique in SF that sold all types of French items. It came in a tall, beautiful bottle (how I wish I’d kept it…) and the box was almost Tiffany blue. I LOVED it and got a ton of compliments. The store closed down, and I had no idea how to get more. I happened upon Aedes during a trip to NYC and saw the box/bottles in the window. They became my supplier till they stopped carrying PdN. Then I was in Paris and made a special trip to get more (now in the far less pretty bottles)
After a few more years, it disappeared. Discontinued. I have and love the reformulation, but I still miss my precioussss from days of old. It was less complex but oh…it was so pretty.
I have a big bottle of this and don’t wear it near enough – so thanks for doing a PdN day! Only other PdN I have is about 3 spritzes left from A la Folie…
Quads!
This is the first of tow PdN scents I bought while living in Paris. Of course it reminds me of that time, and the summer heat..
The second is Scareblue Intense, which I actually may prefer, but which seems deeply autumnal to me.
Wearing Kiss Me Tender – a cuddly, fluffy, sweet but beautifully spice-grounded favorite that I’ve somehow missed wearing for a while. I don’t know if they carry it anymore – usually see Extreme.
Twins!
I really want to test KMT! It sounds so pretty. I am not current the past few years with PdN releases.
That’s a lovely, comfortable one. It sounds SO gourmand… and yet I wore it in the punishing heat and humidity of August in DC/Williamsburg a few years ago, and it was quite nice. I’m not sure why I haven’t bought a bottle, or at least a decant.
This is the first time I’ve sampled it, and I’m really loving it. I’m not usually a fan of gourmand or sweet scents, and certainly not in the heat but this one is winning me over. I think it would work in any season. Either my tastes are changing, or it’s really well-done, or both. My wallet is hoping this is an anomaly. 😉
Maharajah. I only have a decant of this so I dont wear it often (i tend to hoard and ‘save’ smaller amounts!), but omg! it’s soooo much nicer than I remember! I’m going to have to buy a small bottle methinks. Maybe I thought i had enough lavenders? Craziness! 🙂
Odalisque for me today. This is one of only two backups I have. I’d heard this was on the chopping block a while back and didn’t hesitate to jump on it. Lovely.
Wearing New York from a teeny sample. This is making me wish I had sort more time in the NICOLAI store we stumbled across in Paris!
I have no idea why auto correct did that in all caps; maybe my phone is shouting!
It thinks it is important!
I am in Vie de Chateau Intense and like the intense in this one. What I put on this morning should last all day.
Mary Carol, I have the original but have never tried the intense version. How would you compare the two?
To me they pretty much smell the same, but the Intense is just “more there” and it lasts longer. The original faded quickly on me.
Thanks, I only have the original as well. Which lasts really well on me actually.
I will generously spritz Nicolai’s pre-reformulation New York. I hear it has chance but will enjoy this old bottle until the end. Orange-ambery deliciousness!
That’s one I wish I had bought!
Thinking about this poll, I wished for the nth time that I had bought some of the earlier scents like Sacre Bleu. Some of them still exist as “Intense” versions that I’ve never tried. I realized that I automatically assume that the reformulations are not as good as the originals. Please comment if you’ve tried both versions of any PdNs – how do they compare?
I’ve never smelled the intenese version of Sacre Bleu, but I have a small decant if it. I actually have some sort of musk blocking issue with this one – it smells so lovely, but it disappears, comes back – it wears differently for me every time I put it on. On the days I can smell the spicy warm parts I love it, but then I never know how it’s going to be. If you test the SB Intense version and you like it, then I wouldn’t think about missing out on the original too much. Maybe the SBI is better for some people?
I mean that I have a small decant of the original Sacre Bleu and that’s the one I have troubles with.
Went with Number One, snagged a bottle of the pre reform (now “intense”) from New London Pharmacy a couple of years ago. Love my white florals.
SOTD is vintage Eau de Givenchy. Oh the oakmoss! They don’t make them like this anymore (And we know why ????)
I know – anytime now that I smell an older fragrance that has real oakmoss in it, I just swoon. I love the earthy warm golden aroma!
You smell great!
I’d be wearing Le Temps d’Une Fete if it hadn’t been discontinued- & no, I never miss a chance to have a whinge about my no longer available favourites!
Parfum1 still stock it…just sayin 😉
Twisted Lily still stocks. I think there was a rumor last year, which is why I bought a bottle and stuck it back in my cabinet. I still see it out there, though.
Oops. I take it back. Twisted Lily shows it on their page but it is listed as “out of stock.”
I was running late, so I had left my house commando. I keep a bottle of Angel Sunessence EDT Legere in my desk (because somehow I ended up with two minis of the same fragrance), so that is what I’m wearing. I would probably have gone with something from Dame Perfumery or Smell Bent, because I don’t have any PdN. I should probably get some samples to try out, since everybody seems to really like the brand. Any thoughts on what to try for a PdN newbie?
Quick sampler maybe (but curious to hear what others think): New York, Kiss Me Tender, Eau d’Ete, Odalisque, Sacrebleu?
But that misses several of my favorites — Vie de Chateau, Fig Tea, L’Eau du Sport.
I’ve tried a few, liked pretty much all of them, and my favourites are Sacrebleu, Le Temps d’Une Fête and Maharanih. These are all recent formulations, I’ve never tried any older versions (and am trying very hard not to worry about what might have been – what exists now is enough of an obsession!!)
I am wearing the only PdN I have , juste un reve. I bought this bottle years ago in Paris, I love it so much.
I have a sample of Juste Un Reve and it’s my favorite fruity floral. Light flowery and delicious at the same time.
I am not wearing Week-end a Deauville because I recently drained my very small decant… But it has gone on my “FB-Worthy” list. I know people have had widely different reactions to it, but it was lovely for me, especially the dry down which lasted a long time.
I am in Terracotta for the third time, and still have not “gotten” what everyone loves about it. I am a huge Guerlain (admittedly, most of the older fragrances) fan, but this not so much… No need to scrub or anything… just wondering if I should put on some perfume….
I never got it either…
Terracotta doesn’t work for me either, but I’ve not spent enough time thinking about why.
Yep, Terracotta is kinda meh for me as well. I DO like the discontinued Terracotta Voile d’Ete, though it’s a completely different fragrance.
I’m curious about the widely different reactions. What’s yours?
Are you asking about Week-end? For me, it is a really interesting spin on Lily of the Valley, utterly unisex, with the innocent floral offset by herbs, the most distinctive being tarragon and galbanum. The herbs fade after a bit and the lily of valley gets its moment, but I also detected rose and jasmine, but again, not too girly sweet. The dry down is unexpectedly sophisticated— I get warm woods and spices over a fizz of white flowers… but all very mellow and well-blended. I kept sniffing and sniffing my wrist in delight when I wore it.
Thank you! I’m trying it for the first time today and found admiring blog reviews with one dissenter on Scented Salamander. I like her review, which depends on knowing more Nicolaï scents than I do.
I’m wearing Odalisque today, the first PdN I fell for. It’s still one of my very favorite jasmines.
Wearing Juste Un Reve, which was a suggestion from AnnS when I was looking for a tropical scent. My SO smelled it and couldn’t believe that I was finally wearing something he thought smelled good. 🙂
Now we’re off for a weekend trip for my birthday! Happy Friday and happy weekend!
Happy Birthday!
Glad I could help. I commented above about another JUR wearer, and it is lovely! I’d be happy to have one of those great 30 ml bottles of it! Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday!
Happy birthday!
Happy Friday, Happy Weekend, Happy Birthday Trip!
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday, Eleebelle!
Amber Oud for me today! Love this lavender & vanilla PdN scent!
You smell great! The lavender was my gateway lavender. Stunning!
This is one PdN that lasts foreeevvverr. I purchased a couple of small 1ml vials 6 months ago and I’ve still got a good amount left.
It’s a dab, not a spray, scent for me.
Amber Oud for me too, ????
I used up the last of my Le Temps D’Une Fete quite a while back and haven’t replaced it. It was just a meh on me. Since I don’t have any other offerings of this line, I’m wearing vintage Bal in PdT form.
I’m wearing Nicolaï pour homme which is a gorgeous multifaceted lavender. It was a toss between this and Sacrebleu. I think I love both equally, it’s such a great line overall.
PdN L’Eau Mixte today, and it is fantastic in summer. Light, floral, every so slightly aquatic.
Hmm, I have nothing by this line, but I am tempted by several of the descriptions and mini-rave reviews. 🙂 I am continuing to have sniffer issues, so I am in a little Delrae Debut, a nice soft but energizing summery scent…
I bet you smell gorgeous. I am so looking forward to trying the Delrae line when I get to San Francisco next year. All the perfumes sound beguiling, as in, “Hello, tourist lady, you won’t be back this way for a long while, so let me enchant you into buying a bottle this very minute!”, but the one I’m yearning for is Wit. I’ve only ever seen one poor-ish opinion of it…I’m almost tempted to … but no, I shouldn’t…we’ll see!
I searched high and low for my little sample of Vetyver and couldn’t find it- think I may have used it up as I really enjoyed and was (and still am) contemplating a small FB. So I dug up another sample of Vanille Tonka. It’s ok, doesn’t really blow my socks off but nice enough. That Vetyver though…I really liked it.
I have nothing from this line, so I’m wearing Olivier Durbano Turquoise. It’s incense by the sea. I don’t hearing of this line, but I like all three I’ve tried (turquoise, jade, and black tourmaline).
Wearing Sacrableu, the original, not the Intense. The original is intense enough for me! This is the only scent I’ve ever bought unsniffed, based on the beautiful Turin review.
Same here (for blind buying Sacrebleu). The review is so poetic and fond, and wearing the scent I can understand even better what he means.
I only have a few PdN samples, and one very nice little bottle of Rose Pivoine, which I like a lot and wear reasonably often considering the size of my collection. But today I’m nearly finishing off my small sample of Jardin Secrete which I am coming to like very, very much. I get some sweet soft ambers and spices that remind me a lot of what I can actually smell in the original Sacre Bleu, but also some light sweet rose. Sometimes I think I’m smelling some civet or something a little “old fashioned” in it. I really want to try and find a decant or a 30 ml bottle of it! I’d love to go to a shop and smell more of the PdN line.
Sorry–this is more like being a pusher than an enabler… but Luckyscent sells 30 ml bottles of Rose Pivoine. I checked it out because I had the same conversation with myself about PdN’s Week-End.
Thanks for the tip!
Musc Monoi for me today — Biscayne in a bottle! Not that I’ve ever been to Miami, but anyway.
In Chanel no. 5 eau premiere, as it jumped into my hand this morning.
I don’t have any PdN, had a sample of Sacrebl… (jerk predictive text giving me hard time) but who knows where that is, still in chaos zone known as 2 weeks post move.
Happy Friday, all!
No scent for me today – it’s my migraine prone husband’s birthday and we are spending the day together. I usually just wear accents at work. I did wear Eau d’ete yesterday in preparation for today – you smell great, Robin!
Happy migraine-free Birthday to your hubby!
Thank you, and hope you & birthday man have a great time!
I’m sampling Week-end à Deauville for the occasion. So far… I don’t know what I think of this scent, but I do love it when perfumers tackle mint.
Aha! I didn’t realize you were wearing Week-end today! So, on me the mint goes in the direction of tarragon, with even the teeniest eensiest hint of anise. Let me know your assessment after wearing this for a while!
I like the minty herbal confusion! That definitely included a strong tarragon presence, which to me is a leafy variation on anise, already something that leans aquatic in its perfume incarnations. I only got the lotv (or any floral notes) in the drydown, very clear and still aquatic and salty, pretty interesting, especially for a final act. Before that it was an intriguingly hard to nail down salty minty aquatic. It’s not my thing because those aquatic molecules smell so synthetic, really unpleasantly so in the top. I won’t wear it again, but it was a lot of fun to try it.
Ha. Interesting. I am not bothered by the calone/ozone in this one… actually, I think I am generally okay with calone when it is combined with salty scents… I cannot stand it when it veers to melon and musk…. but it works for me here. Thanks for your impression. It is, at least, a scent to make you think.
I agree, this does a great job of staying salty and out of the cucurbits. I am getting a little quiet clean musk in the very late drydown, but mostly it has been saltwater floral, which is far more interesting than the drydowns I can think of in any genus.
I love to try scents that make me think! This one could be an entry in the “weird, but…” category of admirable perfumes. Weird but smart. 😉
PdN makes so many great scents! I thought about wearing one of the Eaux, but they’re my summer staple and I’ve been using them for months, so I reached deep into the decant drawer and found the long-discontinued Cococabana. Mr. Aparatchick just told me I smell “summery” (must be the coconut), so I’m counting this as a win. 😉
Oops! I forgot about that challenge. Had I remembered, I would have worn my beloved but discontinued PdN Balkis (jammy berry rose).
Today I’m in 3 Fleurs by Parfum d’Empire. I’d say it may be a line that deserves more attention than it gets. I like many of their scents. 3 Fleurs is definitely an homage to the classic Patou Joy. Have a great weekend!
I would agree they deserve more attention!
I’ll second that. PdE is a really good line.
I didn’t have any PdN, that I know of (though now that I’m thinking about it, I may still have a small decant of Maharanih Intense, but I didn’t go looking for it).
So since she’s a Guerlain relative, I decided to go Guerlain today instead, with Mitsouko.
Hello, NSTers everywhere. I’m starting this Saturday, which my pretty but untrustworthy weather App promises will be perfect, wearing Kiss Me Intense. If I owned a pink fluffy jersey, I’d probably be wearing that too, ‘cos there’s something about the first that strongly suggests the second. I thought I’d potter off to buy a pair of summer shoes today, and I’m not sure KMI is the best companion on this mission. Betcha I end up with bright pink, or brilliant yellow, or something else madly unsuited to my advanced years.
Or very fluffy slippers with lilac pompons!
Oh, now that’s just what I need! How clever of you! And as an added bonus –entertainment on the hoof, as it were– the pom-poms would provide the cat Dakkie with hours of innocent amusement….
I’m coming up to Auckland on Monday and I keep imagining that I’ll be walking through the university or art gallery and I’ll suddenly become aware of the faintest trail of some fabulous…and to me unknown….scent , and then notice this really cool Jane Kelsey/ Elsa Schiaparelli woman ahead of me….and it will be like ‘Waterdragon, is that you?’
Oh, Kanuka, if only I were remotely like Jane Kelsey! I’m exceedingly ordinary, sadly, but (brightening up) I do sometimes “borrow” fabulosity with my perfume! How excellent to be able to spray on what my gene pool ignored! Hey, if we do encounter one another, it will make my day magnificent!
That’s odd – I know I have samples of some of the older PdNs but they aren’t filed where they should be. Looking in some other boxes I found a decant of JAR Bolt of Lightening – so I’ve ended up at the opposite end of the price spectrum this afternoon. This is to tuberose as SL Vitriol d’Oeillet is to carnation.
Hello Everyone, I am back on terra firma from my cruise! We had great weather on 11 out of 12 days and the anomaly was cloudy vs. sunny. If you have an opportunity to cruise the Baltic, don’t hesitate to do it. I want to go back to Stockholm as there are more things to explore, in particular, all the museums I missed.
As much as I admire PdN’s oeuvre and her work with the Osmotheque, I never warmed up to any of her scents even though I have several 30 mLs and decants and samples. I have never woken up with the thought of “I’m excited to wear PdN [fill in the blanks] today”. Perhaps, time will mature my olfactory senses and I will learn to appreciate and enjoy wearing her scents. So today, I decided to go commando – I am workimg from home.
As for my perfume budget, I exceeded 250,000 steps AND I did not buy a “nice” piece of jewelry so the sky’s the limit :-). For the first ridiculously-priced purchase, I’ve settled on Puredistance White and since I am getting the travel-sized atomizer, I will have $s left over for something else TBD.
Welcome back and congratulations on surpassing your goal! I’m very proud of you, and inspired by your achievement. You deserve your reward!
Thanks, Holly! I was on the edge of my seat on the last day as that was a travel day and there was a lot of waiting around at the airport with the need to keep watch over my carry-on.
Welcome back! Sounds like a great trip. I’ve never done a cruise. I think of them as a country coffret, a sample pack of sorts.
Also great to come back and have some rewards to look forward to.
Haha…a cruise is THAT, a sample pack as one gets to experience each port city but not long enough to get immersed.
Well done! And wonderful to have you back!
Thanks! I hope to finally meet you sometime this year considering we’re within spitting I meant sniffing distance haha 🙂
Well done!!
Thanks! It was a challenge! I did not gain any weight – woo hoo. Now, if I can only lose the 5 extra pounds I was carrying before the trip….
Not wearing a PdN, I’m away for the weekend and didn’t plan ahead. If I had, maybe a day for Le Temps d’Une Fête, it’s dawning cold and frosty this morning in the south of NZ, but the cloudless sky looks very promising. Early blossom trees give a feeling of spring.
I brought SL’s Bois de Violette, good in any climate.
Yes, at last it does seem as though we might be rolling round towards spring. The park is full of impetuous magnolias and a pair of tui were making a great fuss in a rather inadequately-provided kowhai yesterday. I noticed that the university cat, a self-possessed, rather stolid blue Burmese, has come out from his winter lair to warm his belly in the sun, so the signs of are there. Now, if only the temperatures would bestir themselves to get above 14!
Vie de Chateau for me today which is beautiful, but a smidge too much for the heat.
No PdN’s in my not-so-vast collection. Only ever sampled L’Temps d’une Fete which was pretty but didn’t call to me.
Doused myself in ELdO Rossy de Palma and tested TDC Rose Poivree on one hand. Not as skanky as I was expecting. Definitely some allusions to bodily odors, but not unpleasant to me. I actually like it! Not sure how it would go over sprayed and if I’d be bold enough to wear it in public, though. Aspects of it remind me of the early stages of Un Jardin Apres la Mousson (peppery/spicy, sheer melon) which is my favorite of that series.
I’m wearing Odalisque, and it’s gone in an odd direction and is reminding me of Irish Spring soap, though in a good way. It’s really weird; I love oakmoss, but I can’t detect it here.
I didn’t read/plan ahead, so I wore a couple of PdNs Iast week (or maybe the week before): Fig Tea and Odalisque. These two were in first batch of samples I ever ordered from luckyscent back in 2009 (I think), right after I stumbled across a copy of The Guide in my public library (yay libraries!). I wasn’t really taken with either back then, but kept the samples. Either the samples have aged well, or I have: I really enjoyed my lasting wearing of both perfumes.
SOTD: Bottega Veneta