It's Freedom Friday! Our community project for today: wear a scent that says "I’m Free!" to you, in whatever context you choose to define it (and hat tip to Laila for the suggestion).
As always, do chime in with your scent of the day even if you’re not participating in the community project.
I am feeling nearly human again after being sick most of the week. I'm celebrating with (vintage) Diorissimo. It reminds me of a time when I had no real responsibilities whatsoever. Plus, it's gorgeous.
Reminder: next Friday, will be H2O Friday: wear a fragrance with a marine / aquatic / water note, or wear a fragrance that reminds you of the sea (or some other body of water) in some other way.
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 Lily of the Valley [cropped & doubled] by Benson Kua at flickr; some rights reserved.
Oopsies. Totally forgot today was Friday :-/ O/Time shift at work threw me. I’m in Natori
You smell great anyway!
Natori is wonderful!
You smell gooooood girl.
I’m going to blend on skin again. I am free to mix and match, tweak and tinker, smear and spray, the foul but usually fragrant!
Speaking of which, I’d like to organize a DIY meetup in NYC. If anyone’s interested, please feel free to drop me a line: alederberg AT “jee”mail
SOTD for me is Flower Bomb – it’s not exactly office appropriate, but I love it and today I’m Free (at least, according to NST).
The radio just told me it’s supposed to be 95 degrees today, so my choice may not be weather appropriate either!
Ouch!
I’m free to experiment! I selected another vintage sample, Patou 1000, which smelled great and disappeared in 45 minutes! So, I added on the very last spritz of my decant of Attrape Coeur, which I got from TPC at some point, but I checked back with them and they do not have this available, so Attrape Coeur is gone gone gone, except for the lingering currently spicy goodness on the back of my left hand…Why Guerlain canceled this one is beyond me. Although i can see there were administrative or licensing problem with it – why did they change its name 4 or 5 times, that I can count? So odd, to let such a wonderful scent lapse into obscurity…oh, well, now I am free to find another perfume that seems just perfect to me…
YOu know, I just looked again, and TPC has this back! I am free to get more of this! Excellent Friday project, Robin!
LOL! Thank Laila
I couldn’t think of a freedom fragrance and had a doctor’s appointment today so wanted something restrained. I chose AdP Iris Nobile. I fear I over applied because I think I made her sneeze. Poor thing.
Oops!
I’m wearing Carolina Herrera. My childhood best friend’s mother wore it, and I always thought it smelled super grown-up and glamorous. I think I was about 30 when I suddenly realized, “Hey! I’m a grown-up! I could buy that!!” I think often, we choose things not necessarily because they’re what we want most but because they feel most like us, like they fit into our self-conception. Perfume is a permissive space where I feel like I can wear anything I’m drawn too, like a costume, without having to worry about whether it “suits me.” Yay freedom!
when I was younger, I thought the same thing about Caolina Herrera. It smelled very sophisticated. I think about getting a bottle sometimes. Maybe I will.
I have a very small bottle which will last me forever. It’s powerful stuff.
Ha! My earliest epiphanies of “I can buy what I want” were about sugar cereal…Perfume is waaaaaay better
Ha!
I thought that was the best thing ever when it came out! Love your description of perfume freedom!
I too liked your perfume freedom description. As for epiphanies along the lines of age and being grown-up, several years ago, my church was looking to cast the Christmas play: children (check), teens (check), middle-aged parents (hmmm, have to think hard about this), grandparents (check). Guess which character I could have played?
Wearing Freschiiissimo which was my moving scent– I am free of living in NJ and am much happier and free-er now that I’m back in Boston
I’m so happy things are working out for you in the great North!
Ditto!
Welcome back to Boston! Ping me if you want to arrange a meet-up. ann dot dalrymple at g mail dot com.
Didn’t check the theme for this Friday before applying, but my SOTD is Patou Pour Homme (vintage).
This stuff will last all day and well into the evening, so I am set. TGIF
Sounds like you have the Privé and the non. Do you feel like comparing?
They are completely different scents. The “non” is a spice fest, and the prive is a green lavender.
I used to wear the original a lot back in the 80’s (sounds so dated), but even though I still admire it, I can’t bring myself to wear it very often now. I went through two splash bottles of it when it was available, and I paid and arm and a leg for a chipped bottle of it from the bay of e a couple years back.
The prive was a decant that I splurged on a few years ago, never owned a FB of it.
Thank you!
Hi, all. I’ve been thinking hard about the project this week, but I haven’t a clue what to say. What passes for my mind is utterly blank. I suppose perfume freedom for me is being able to wear what I like when I like, which I can and do. So perhaps freedom is the wearing of Jungle L’Elephant and others of that ilk: big, unapologetic, what’s-that-smell? perfumes that occupy more olfactory space than they are really entitled to. Excuse me while I add another spritz of Rahat Loukhoum….
It’s four minutes into Saturday here, but I hope all your Fridays are full of fragrance and freedom.
Another spritz couldn’t hurt
Big and unapologetic, love this! Go big or go home, hehehe.
Can’t say I’ve a scent that says “I’m free!,” but chose something from an American perfumer today, Aftelier’s Candide. It’s jasminey and uplifting, a great antidote to today’s dreary morning. Speaking of 9/11, the radio just played Wilco’s Jesus Etc–such a beauty.
Yum, love that one.
I had to pick this since the name is so fitting.
SOTD: The Smell of Freedom from Lush.
TGIF everybody!
Nice!
Excellent! You smell great!
I also forgot about the challenge, but I did sort of have an a-ha moment this morning. I thought I should wear something light since it’s still horribly humid out, but really, I can wear whatever so I chose Cuir de Russie. I suppose you could call that “a-ha” moment my realizing the “freedom” of perfume choice.
You smell wonderful.
Vintagey Coty Chypre today. So gorgeous.
What fun! Do you know what is its approximate vintage? (I’m just curious, I have no expertise or wisdom about it!)
This is from a bottle that seems to be late 1960s. Definitely pre-1980’s “Chateau Collection” rerelease (most of the “vintage Chypre” bottles you see on ebay are the 80s stuff). Not that the 80s stuff is bad at ALL – it’s just different enough that I love the older formula and am unmoved by the newer.
I had a pretty good interpretation for “I’m free!” but when this morning rolled around, I just wasn’t in the mood for that scent.
Instead, wearing D.S. & Durga El Cosmico since it references the American Southwest, and–at least to an East Coaster like me–there always seem to be romantic associations with going West and freedom.
Will you tell what your original idea was?
I developed a really bad association with someone I used to know and Angel, and after that, I couldn’t wear the scent anymore. My original plan was to wear Angel to say “I’m free of that bad memory!” But then it just didn’t feel like an Angel sort of day.
Do it another day, when it feels right. I don’t think it’s something you can push, but I love the idea.
I agree with Anniky: try it when the day feels right. You’ve inspired me to try to dissociate certain well-loved perfumes from bad experiences. Samsara, brace yourself, I’ll be home tomorrow, and then we shall see what we shall see!
I’m wearing Lush Flowers Barrow. When I was just out of college, I moved to London for 6 months (then I went back for grad school, but that definitely did not feel free.) Those 6 months were some of the free-est feeling months I’ve had. It was glorious. I wanted an English scent to remind me of that, and Flowers Barrow seemed right today.
I’m on my OJ week, so today I turned to my only FB, woman. I guess that’s as close I can get with “freedom”, good, without really ticking any specific boxes: I have my happy scents (Vamp à NY), my empowering scents (rue cambon, bottega veneta), my summer scents (vetivers), my I-am-not-seeing-anyone-today-so-I-can-smell-as-I-want scents (the “skanky” ones) , but “freedom” is a tricky one, and probably very personal, I’m looking forward to reading about your choices.
SOTD: Jo Malone Mimosa and Cardamom
Today I always think of the events of 9/11 and sort of revisit that day each year in my memory.
I was thinking this morning that I’m pretty sure I was wearing Givenchy Amarige as that was my signature scent back on 9/11. It made me realize I felt so much more free to wear bold fragrances and now I feel stifled and have to wear low sillage and “office friendly” scents. Such a bummer. I don’t want to wear obnoxious and overbearing fragrances but I really wish things hadn’t changed so much into this anti-perfume culture we are in now.
You make a really interesting link there… in addition to all the security measures, PC-ness (in America–this is an American-centric observation only!) kind of got a turbo boost after 9/11… in some ways good– in that the languishing ADA got some real attention finally; and in some ways bad– in that more and more people (IMHO) feel empowered to impose their personal rules on others… and I see some of the anti-perfume efforts stemming from this (of course, there are lots of people with genuine allergies!)… But from the plethora of huge signs declaring spaces fragrance free, you would think that spritz on the arm of 4711 amounts to causing lung cancer in everyone within a 10 foot radius. When I think of all the industrial cleaners, paints, fumigants, etc… that saturate office surfaces, walls and carpets, perfume seems an unworthy foe of the chemical police.
TOTALLY agree re: people feeling “empowered to impose their personal rules on others.”
There must be multiple factors enabling folks to feel comfortable doing so, but it is not cute. And causes others to be more stubborn and less cooperative. Real great combo!
I remain hopeful that things will even out, but we shall see….
Fascinating! When I began to lurk around at the edges of NST, one of the things I found hardest to grasp was that perfume was forbidden in many work places. I had never heard of such a thing and still haven’t experienced it for myself. Your comment is intriguing indeed.
Same here. Although, knowing how Americanised we are and we continue to get, I dread the prospect of that ridiculous rule finding its way here. I totally agree with Oakland Fresca- there are a zillion chemicals in use everyday and everywhere that probably dont need to be, yet perfume gets the blame. Insane.
Commando so far since I’ll be going for a swim soon (which is a freedom feeling on its own) but later I’m thinking I’ll go with a generous dose of 24 Faubourg. It’s big and grand, something I never dare to wear to the office. Today, I’m not at work though so…look out world!
I am waring the original Stetson becasue it is so inexpensive (this was a garage sale buy for fifty cents) it is basically free!
I am free to wear whatever I want today without fear of offending anybody – I am not in the office, my boys are at school, and my husband’s at work. So I went with SSS Jour Ensoleille (very skanky but absolutely gorgeous). Its sunny and not too hot here today, so this is perfect. I might go crazy later and layer this with SL A la Nuit.
I was going to wear Gucci Rush today. I fell in love with Marc Jacobs Decadence yesterday, and just had to wear it again today. I feel fortunate to have the freedom to wear what I like and that I am able to express who I am through fragrance.
Ooo, excited to try Decadence!
It is very different than his other scents. On me it is very sweet, although I am not sure why. Maybe when it is reviewed, I can figure it out.
A couple of months ago I read about Maeve Brennan in Kate Bolick’s _Spinster_, in which Bolick mentioned that Cuir de Russie was Brennan’s signature scent. She seemed like an independent, free woman, so I’m wearing my sample. I haven’t really worn leather perfumes, and I’m liking it.
Cuir de Russie is a really wonderful perfume. You will find that it sinks in and lasts ALL day. After using up your sample, it really is worth getting a bottle!
The exact reason why I did buy a bottle. Wearing it today. Love it
This book is on my list! It’s a long list, though… And you smell perfect.
Dior Fahrenheit today! Nothing is more freeing then wearing and enjoying a perfume for which one was not the intended purchaser/wearer!
Yes! And I like Fahrenheit, too.
I’m in Loewe 7, was feeling more “incensed” than free this morning.
I pretty much forgot today was Friday but I over applied Terracotta (didn’t know it was possible, probably the humidity) so I guess I’m free to wear as much as I want. Thank goodness Mr. Minion likes Terracotta.
Ok, I spent six hours at the antique mall and had one of those amazing days where I found several things I had been looking for at amazing prices. Picked up a couple of minis, Y and BaV for a couple bucks each so my day is made and now I’m wafting some nice skank to celebrate my freedom. I don’t think the hubby is enjoying the BaV quite as much as the Terracotta.
BaV is like every perfume I have ever loved and then some. I keep a mini vintage bath oil in our bedroom because my hubs and I like to put a tad on our wrists and pull the covers over our heads on cold winter mornings and enjoy the incredible smell of this fragrance as it slowly unfolds. It is a great way to wake up,
That was supposed to be a period, not a comma. Why do I persist on commenting without my glasses…..
I didn’t want to abandon my leather week theme, so I chose Bandit. It’s the most badass fragrance I own and I associate badassery with freedom
My sons would LOVE the last part of your comment
You should recommend that they wear Bandit
Agreed!
Bandit is my ‘dont even think about approaching’ perfume, but not exclusively. I discovered that wearing it on a stinking hot day (yeah im aware you dont exactly have a lot of them
) kinda melts the hard edges and it becomes rather refreshing
It’s my day off, so I am Free to wear different perfumes on each arm, namely Rien and Verges et Toreros.
Hey! That was “Vierges”!
Rien is a fierce perfume!
Very fierce! I ordered a sample recently. It makes Bandit seem shy in comparison.
Really?!
Very heavy on the tar. If you’re interested in my sample…
I love Rien! I need to wear it again soon.
I love both of them! Although I do find VeT much easier to wear. Rein can be very demanding for nothingness :-/
For Freedom Friday I am wearing Carnal Flower.
After I bought No. 19 EdP, I suddenly remembered Scent of The Day! So, I…freely… sprayed some whilst at the perfumery.
I tried layering Shalimar, Habit Rouge, and … regrettably Kouros all at once. Needless to say that my extremely liberal approach wreaked quite the havoc.
Been there and done that!
Freedom to wreak perfume havoc 8)
*insert sunglass wearing emoji. Lol
Indeed. Btw is your first impression of Kouros cat pee? :S
aromatic cat pee (I love it, but I do find it hard to wear)
I just laughed when I read your comment bc I couldn’t tell if you were having the same emoji issue as I was. Or if :S is a cat’s tail. Hahaha! I’m still laughing
Way, way back in the day (80’s), my hubby wore Kouros. And he smelled great then and now. So I guess I don’t have a problem with vintage cat pee 
Haha, it was supposed to be a :-S face. No cat reference
I might have to give Kouros a second try — and alone. No layering! I still remember the first time I tried Jicky EDP on paper: it smelled like faeces! On skin, it was rich, borderlined creamy, aromatic, and sensual, though.
I’m in Bulgari Black today, and the most casual ‘casual Friday’ outfit I could get away with. Next week is Welcome Week for our incoming first year students, and I’ll be stuck with formal dress and subtle scents for the duration. So Freedom Friday became, for me, an opportunity to wear something a little weird, and to celebrate the fact that I can walk around smelling like bicycle tires if I want to.
Oh my God, i justt left my comment about freedom to wear this weird perfume! Scent twins!
Hello, scent twin! Also, you make a good point below about it being so cheap- nice to have something I can afford to spray with abandon!
SOTD = Bvlgari Black
This is one of my home and office appropriate perfumes, as weird as that sounds for a perfume that smells like rubber and vanilla. It is soooooo gooooood and so inexpensive. Free to wear a perfumista math free perfume
When I heard about the Freedom Friday the first thing that came to mind was Calèche EDT. I’ve heard that the EDP and the vintage are better, but the EDT is so light, soapy and refreshing. I just sprayed to my heart’s content this morning, and it will be a nice break from the heavier fragrances that I plan on wearing this fall.
SOTD = Mitza. Floating on a cloud of Dior-induced happiness
Sounds wonderful!
Happy Friday- it’s gonna be another scorcher (96F!).
I am originally from Brooklyn NY, and while I know some people are donning black ribbons in honor today, I refuse to. That day was full of anger, violence and terror- one that we have revisited, again and again, and have allowed us to be sucked into costly conflicts at the expense of helping people in our country.
Freedom from fear, anger, prejudice, cruelty and stupidity.
So I am wearing two scents today: Eau Universalle from L’Occitane and then Jour de Hermes. a bit of repeat, but the grapefruity, herbally fresh scents just smell like a sweet, clean breeze. It’s a scent that make you free to hug and chat with another person.
It’s a scorcher here in Southern California today. I grew up in NY and watched the Twin Towers get built from my HS windows.
Today, I wear Chinatown, a NY scent that brings me joy in face of that horrible day.
I’m in my newly acquired Week-end in Normandy… It was not free, but I, apparently, felt free to buy it.
I have a perfume question about Burberry Brit Rhythm for Her EDT. I sampled this, and thought I liked it… but now that I have a full bottle, I am getting something clay-like or super putty-like in it…not tire rubber but more like wall spackle. I get the same thing from Cartier La Panthère, which is why that one did not work for me.
The weather has been stinky hot, so I am hoping that when things cool down I will like the Burberry again… Anyone else have this issue with this fragrance or another fragrance?
For me, it dried down to pure pepper.
I found a mini of Rhythm at TJ Maxx. It doesn’t work for me either. It has a dry cake-like note that I just don’t like. I also agree that it smells like spackle plus pound cake. ????
This is one of my safe perfumes. I love the fleeting lavender in the opening, so I layer it with lavender lotion or EO.
I usually love me some lavender but I really don’t detect it in Rhythm. For lavender I much prefer Ligea la Sirena or even Crabtree and Evelyn’s lavender Shea butter which has a lovely salty lavender scent.
Today I’m wearing Ebba’s Miss Marisa Tropical. I prefer the original, but this one is quite nice too. Makes me wish I was on a beach with a fruity cocktail in one hand and a good book in the other!
(Well, I ALWAYS feel that way…)
Wearing Gucci Bamboo, have one more application left in my sample, and pondering small bottle.
On me this starts with burst of citrus and white flowers, then quickly dries down to sweet wood.
I liked it at first try, and it’s become a bit addictive. There’s something about it that isn’t for everyone, particularly if you are looking for complexity or richness, but the longevity is great and is not too sweet or gourmand. I’ve been wearing it a few times this week while I’ve been visiting family in Florida, and it holds up!
Think it will be nice in fall, too.
So i feel free to wear Gucci Bamboo, a scent made to appeal to the masses, and keep my perfumista card!
Yep, wear what you like and keep your perfumista card must surely be a good working definition of freedom in this context. I’m not sure that my perfumista card has arrived in the mail yet, but just to get this out there, I really like Fancy Nights….
I think that considering a few of probably bought Fancy Nights due to comments on this blog, we ALL get to to keep our cards. And Im pretty sure you can use your temporary one til the real one arrives in the mail
Thank you! Do I qualify for discounts, or do I have to get my enabler’s pin for those?
I am free in two ways today! I’m wearing Tubereuse Criminelle, because I am free to wear anything I want today, and the bottle I bought was practically free, as it was an export and not a bell jar purchase.
A great scent and a good choice for the project.
Hi Robin – I miss NST! As of about 7 – 10 days ago, I no longer get the daily RSS feeds, email alerts of new posts on NST. Help, what do I do to reset and receive the mails again?
Hey, someone complained about that the other day so guessing you’re using whatever they were using. The feed is definitely working, I get it in Feedly every day. Whatever service you’re using, I’d switch to something else!
(The person who complained the other day switched to Feedly and was happy with it, but to my knowledge, Feedly does not send emails so not quite the same thing — it’s an RSS aggregator)
I like being sent emails, because it’s a nice reminder and break from all the work emails. I went into the FeedmyInbox service to try to re-register, but it just said I was already subscribed to NST. Let me try out Feedly – thanks.
Maybe delete your subscription and then add it again?
I’m sorry but I just don’t know what might be wrong so not sure how to fix it.
I don’t have any rebellious perfume, so I wore whatever I liked. Started the morning in Chanel Allure edt, then after yoga and a quick shower, changed into Guerlain Terracotta. Worked great since it started off cooler and overcast, and now it is summer like and sunny!
I interpreted today’s challenge as I’m free to wear (do – ha, ha) whatever I want… so I picked Coco edt. Mmmm-mmm-mm! It was finally cool enough to pull this off. My adorable hubbie was like, Oh, you smell good! So, that was nice b/c he always takes the high road and rarely comments on my frags. Coco was my number 1 fragrance a million years ago when we were first dating.
A former co-worker wore Coco amd she always smelled pretty darn good! She’s a one perfume bottle person.
Coco is fabulous – great choice!
Saturday morning here, so a great sense of freedom from the moment I woke up! It’s a chance to liberally apply samples that I’m not yet quite sure of.
I’m wearing Shalimar Ode a la Vanille today. Doesn’t really have anything to do with the theme really, except I guess that I can wear what I want without having to worry about it being “office-friendly” because nobody in my office cares.
I actually chose it because I had this weird dream last night, and the only thing I remember about it is that in the dream I kept smelling Shalimar and wondering where it was coming from. The second reason is that it’s been rainy and ick outside today, so I wanted something cozy, and I hadn’t worn this one in a while.
I have to be fairly fragrance-free as we are moving around in our office due to major construction and living like sardines. So my free fragrance, since it isn’t very strong, is Nectarine Blossom today. I know scentfromabove will be so proud of me.
Femme de Rochas, which means ´no work today, just stay in bed.´
Found a bottle of vintage Hermes Equipage at an antique store today for $10 and it smells to die for, and totally unisex. Perfect for fall. I’m having an amazing week for perfumes between this and my Marshall’s $30 Marni find!
yay–love those happy surprises!
That is like found money. In perfume dollars, you’ve earned yourself another full-priced bottle!
“Free” should be vetiver, which always smells natural, uncomplicated, interesting and intelligent. However, I used to wear it to the office a lot, until I decided to stop spoiling it with work associations. Now that I’m retired, I can work on rehabilitating vetiver with new and more interesting associations.
SOTD is vintage Lauren. I went with all-American in honor of 9/11. Also, celebrating getting Bois des Iles parfum with the NM beauty event (they apparently have the parfum versions of the Exclusifs now!). My favorite SA threw in manufacturer samples of all of the Diana Vreeland scents as well as a few others that I asked her to send (Living Lalique, JM Mimosa and Cardamom, Atelier Vetiver Fatal). Is it greedy to be kicking myself for forgetting that I really wanted to ask her to include the new VCA Ambre Imperial? Mimosa and Cardamom is very soft, actually reminds me of Gucci Bamboo.
Fragrances that say, “i’m Free!” most often recall experiences in which I’m so deeply immersed that I lose all sense of self and time and exist purely in the moment. Usually these are nature-related events that have a zen-like appeal for me. It could be as common as a summertime swim in a pool of deep blue water under a sunny blue sky or special vacation moments I’ve mentioned previously: cruising down the Pacific Coast Highway in a Mustang convertible; imagining rolling gently down the Smokies I love so much, enveloped in their warm, comforting hug; or losing myself completely attempting to discern the myriad colors of the Mediterranean Sea.
Today I’m wearing the d/c Crabtree & Evelyn Sonoma Valley – fig, mimosa, nectarine, grape leaves. I wrote about this one last year, a wonderful scent memory for me of a wine country tour of Napa/Sonoma a few years ago and its highlight: floating aloft in a hot-air balloon at sunrise above the beautiful valley ever so slowly that time seemed to stand still, sights and scents to be remembered always. Although the land beneath us drifted slowly by in the early goden sunlight, there was absolutely no sense of motion in the balloon itself, as we were one with the wind and the sky. I like to summon up that memory whenever I feel frazzled, and it helps to center and calm me. And Sonoma Valley recreates that moment for me in fragrance.
Thank you, Robin, for acting on my suggestion – hope you are feeling much better by now! I’ve so enjoyed reading everyone’s thoughts and fragrance choices today.
Such a beautiful comment. And I really want to try Sonoma Valley now.