We have no internet access at home at the moment, so I may be slow to join in today.
Our usual open thread: talk about anything you like — the perfume you’re wearing today, the perfume you suspect has been recently reformulated, whatever.
Or, ask a question about fragrance, then see if anyone else has asked a question that you can answer…
Note: top image is Poplar trees reflection [cropped] by The Knowles Gallery at flickr; some rights reserved.
Looks like the hurricane will miss the Big Apple.
We are planning a day trip to New Paltz this coming week with baby in tow – I have never been- so if anyone has feel free to chime in. Just sitting down to look at my calendar this morning and realized that I have 2 more weeks left in this trimester – and headed into the last.
On a perfume related note – I am in Noir pour Femme.
Besides Love by Killian this is one of my favorite gourmets. Stay dry everyone and warm!
I have been! If you’re from the city, just be sure to bundle up more because it’s a lot colder out there. And enjoy, it’s so beautiful!
Great! Thanks so much! I am hoping the mountains are as beautiful as they are in the photos.
J.Crew No.57 for me today. I can easily see this becoming my favorite scent for this autumn
I think I need to buy this one now that it’s on clearance at J. Crew.
Glad to hear it Rena, since I did a blind buy based on sale price and notes. I thought I’d seen you post that you liked it sometime before.
Ari, why not? Price is great. Sale with extra 40% off….
Still debating on SOTD. It needs to be something particularly monumentous for the Arielle Shoshana launch party tonight! Or maybe Trefle Pur- a clover note for good luck!
Congratulations! Wishing you great happiness and success!
Oooooo, so exciting Ari! Have a wonderful time tonight, and i wish for you to get a few moments here and there to let it all sink in throughout the night 🙂
Congratulations, that’s very exciting!
Best wishes, dear one!
Mazel tov! (Spellcheck wants that to be “Mazes too!”) I wish I could be there but you will be gorgeous and smell great, and when I can get to your city next I will be so excited to shop in your gorgeous store!
I hope the party is a wonderful success!
Ari, you looked so fab tonight in your navy sheath and red lips that you could have dabbed cod liver oil behind your ears and no one would have minded!
Congratulations, hope the opening was/is great!
Overcast, 49 degrees here in balmy Michigan. Probably normal weather for this time of year rather than hurricane related. SOTD = LAdDM, a good get up and get going boost!
So disappointed to arrive to Donatella ‘ s poll late. I commented this morning. I thought it would be today. I love reading and commenting on the damage we all have done. Anyway, glad this week is coming to an end. Work was extremely tiring this week. Besides getting my car serviced this weekend, I plan on just relaxing. My SOTD is Deseo by Jennifer Lopez. Hope everyone enjoys their weekend and stay safe during this hurricane season.
I read your post. You obtained some beautiful bottles.
Oh, thanks so much!
I’m kind of relieved I missed it. No confession = no sin, right…? 🙂
It’s not too late – the comments are open … just sayin’ 😉
I have a little rant to make:
As I mentioned previously, I recently bought a 50 ml bottle Christalle EDP and I was really annoyed buy the small price difference between the 50ml and 100ml bottles. It was about 25C$ extra to get double the quantity. And I find that it is pretty much always the case. However I had made the decision to always buy the smaller size available since I pretty much never use up bottles (even with my relatively small collection), and what’s the point to have an extra 50ml if you don’t use it before it goes bad? (I guess I could decant it, etc. but I don’t feel comfortable enough to start hosting splits…) And I tell myself that after buying the smaller size for a few perfume bottles despite it being less value for money, I can buy another with the money saved on each…
I hear you. I have ended up before buying the large bottle because it was a “better value”. I do understand that the price of the packaging, etc., is not necessarily half as much for the smaller size, so the price won’t be exactly proportionate, but I think it should be closer. Say, for example, if the 100 ml bottle is $150, the 50 ml should be $85 or $90, not $120 or $125.
Exactly! As you said, of course it won’t be half the price for half as much juice, but when the difference is so small, I think it shows how much money goes into packaging and marketting, etc, as opposed to the actual perfume.
So on a maybe-related note, when I saw Ari and Coolcookstyle last weekend, they were telling me that if a brand only offers bigger sizes of something, it’s sometimes because the ingredients in the juice are sufficiently expensive that the company can only make it financially viable if produced in big batches. Makes me wonder what that’s also what’s going on with the mark-up on smaller bottles–not that the juice is so cheap but actually that because it’s expensive to make, selling us only a small amount is a losing proposition unless there’s a considerable markup.
This is sometimes a problem for me as well. You’d think it would be more proportional.
Sometimes those 100 mL bottlesmare too big to comfortably spray (I’m looking at you Hermes, for the Merveilles original and flankers).
Gosh that is the truth.
I just bought the travel spray of Lyric Woman with 3 10 ml refills on Fragrance net for $108. The 50 ml bottle was approx $150. I was thrilled. The bottles are pretty but I keep my frag’s in their boxes so I really didn’t care. Plus the Travel spray container is pretty too.
So a total of 40 ml for $108… Just to clarify.????
I can’t seem to get motivated today. Just put on Burberry My Burberry. It is so not what I usually wear, but it is such a happy little scent, I thought I needed it. I am wondering if anyone can share advice on ordering from discount sites?
I often buy from fragrancenet and Beaty Encounter – might that be what you’re looking for? I’m also often visiting our TJ Maxx bc so many others find great things there – I find things I want but nothing I can’t live without. (Though I did recently pick up a backup bottle of L’eau de Chloe, a favorite.)
Thank you. I am not very familiar with ordering from online stores. I will look into those.
L’eau de Chloe’s really nice.
I often buy from discounters like fragrancenet or Parfum1. If your inbox can stand it, join the mailing list – you’ll be notified of sales. Parfum1 frequently has 20% off coupons, and they’ve got niche brands.
Thanks for the info!
Hope everyone being affected by the terrible weather in the northeast is safe, dry and warm.
Visiting an old friend in the form of Etro’s Shaal Nur.
I love Shaal Nur! So lush.
I would love to sniff that one but the sample sites don’t have it.
Robin, I hope you are OK other than not having internet. We have some experience with hurricanes here on the Gulf Coast, and I wouldn’t wish one on anybody.
The weather here, on the other hand, is gorgeous. We are finally getting some fall-like temps. I really don’t like heat, which makes life a little bit difficult when you live where I do, as we get so much of it. Add in the temperature-raising effects of menopause (TMI?), and the last couple of summers have been hard to take. We are already thinking about where to live when I retire in 10 years or so. We haven’t decided yet, but it will definitely be somewhere less hot, and out of the hurricane zone.
Right now I am testing two of the samples from my most recent sample pack–AJ Arabia Black III and Black IV. Both are quite nice, but nothing I need to buy. I don’t really get the “cool and crisp” top notes in Black III that are claimed for it. I bought the sample pack because it contained Salome, which sounded very intriguing, and is. It is, however, very intense, and I doubt I would ever use up enough of it to justify a bottle.
I am fine, thanks. We aren’t even having severe weather but a tree took down the fios line near my house and looks like we’ll be lucky if we get service back tomorrow. Hate having no internet!
SOTD is Bottega Veneta. It’s cold and rainy and I’ve got lots to do….. It’s such a no-brainer fragrance for me.
Sorry… Robin, I forgot to say that I hope the bad weather is over soon for you and you get your internet back soon. Does down time = more time in the physical world for testing? I had my emergency supplies ready – batteries and chocolate!! But thankfully we’re just getting lots of rain and not such bad wind. A tree snapped in my back woods though….
Me too Robin (and anyone else affected).
you are reminding me to dig out my BV sample.
Not really having bad weather! But also no, less interested in testing when I can’t easily take notes… Isn’t that silly?
My husband and I have started planning a France trip for next year. We would start in Paris, then Bordeaux, then Nice/Cannes. It is our dream trip, and I am very excited !
I would love to spend a day in Grasse. Does anyone have any recommendations for this beautiful area? I’ve read about the Fragonard and Molinard tour, but I’d appreciate any first hand information I could get.
My SOTD is Jean Patou Sira des Indes.
Hello, hello–you will love the South of France!! When I visited Nice I took a local van tour (saw the flyer in my hotel) and it was wonderful. A full day that stopped in Cannes, Gourdon (a medieval hill town), Grasse, and St. Paul de Vence. It was splendid–would have liked more time in each location, but at least I got to visit and did not have to drive (which is crazy on those narrow mountain roads). Did the Fragonard tour in Grasse (not much to write home about), but the gift shop at the end of the tour was paradise!! There is a Molinard shop in Old Town Nice, near the opera and the market (don’t miss the market). Might want to consider a visit to my favorite town Villefrance sur Mer about ten minutes from Nice. Don’t forget to visit the drugstores–they have a wonderful selection of skin care products as well as scent and lotions that would be considered high end in the USA but at a much better price. No matter what you do, you will have a wonderful time.
Thank you Jepster. All great suggestions. I am going to write them down.
Hi, Barqs. I did the Galimard tour and took one of their perfume composing “courses” when I was in Grasse. The tour was not without interest, but you may find you are familiar with much of the information and the objects on exhibit if you have done a bit of studying of your own. The course was fun, but don’t expect to be taught anything. I did, and was disappointed. You play rather than learn, but it’s an experience, and you’re on holiday, right? I suspect that the tours of all the houses are likely to cover much the same material, and I think they all end strategically in the gift shops.
Grasse is lovely, as Jepster says, and Molinard is worth a visit. Enjoy!
I am planning a move to the Nice area and have spent 5 months there this year. If you can, sign up for a perfume making class in Grasse at Galimard. It’s about 2 hours long, you get to sit at your own perfume organ with a kazillion oils, and leave with a 3.4 ounce bottle of your creation. They even keep your formula on file for you, just in case you’d like to re-order in the future.
As for Nice itself….oh my, Galeries Lafayette is there on the main street that runs through the city (Avenue Jean Medecin) and their collection of fragrances is quite impressive!
Do try to grab a bite to eat at Attimi if you like Italian food – it’s close to the large fountain as you walk up towards the center of town….it’s not expensive and by far, one of the most popular places to eat simply because the food is fresh and fantastic. For dessert, you must try the gelato at Fenocchio; they have a few outposts as you walk through the narrow streets of the old town.
Have a grrrrrreat time!!!!
Apart from the tours at Fragonard, Galimard or Molinard (all quite similar, you can pick either of these) make sure to visit the Intenational Perfume Museum. Very interesting, and well worth a visit. It starts with perfume history from ancient Egypt until today, with lots of facts about use of scented materials, cultural history etc. They have scent-dispensors in the museum, you push a button and smell things from a machine. They also have a roof-top garden with scented plants and a fabulous collection of perfume bottles from all times. And lots of facts about the industry, from chemistry to the actual techniques to produce fragrant materials. And temporary exhibitions. And a lovely garden. You can tell that I love, love, love this museum – it was the height of my Cannes-vacation this summer, and I dragged my husband & daughter around for hours in this place. (Luckily, my daughter is very interested in photography, if not in perfume, so she took som really amazing photos of their perfume bottle collection).
Have a wonderful trip to Grasse!
Thank you Waterdragon, Sayitisntso & Gardeniagirl. I wrote all your recommendations down.
My husband and I mentioned the trip to another couple, who some of our best friends. They are going to come also. We are meeting them today to go over trip details.
Many thanks to you!! Your advice helps so much.
So, I noticed that the J. Crew website had their rollerballs on sale for $14.99. I’ve noticed a lot of love for No.57, but what about No.31? Is it worth it for me to buy both, since I’ll have to pay shipping? Any opinions. SOTD is Tibetan Mountain Temple. Makes me crave a chai tea latte.
Re: No.31–how are you set for plummy roses? And/or, does that sound like a desirable thing to you? It did not tickle my fancy, but at the same time I would still grant it might be the more impressive of the two scents, in terms of just how well it was made. 57 was more my thing, but it has a slight chalky, scratchy quality–only slightly, I’m really nitpicking here, it’s a great scent, but I think 31 might be better blended. For whatever this one opinion is worth!
I did a blind buy on both 31 and 57 and have no regrets. I find 31 to be more elegant, 57 more comforting.
Having a spritz-off this morning: Vierges et Toreros vs Rien. The former is strong coming out of the gate, but I have every confidence in Rien sticking around probably until tomorrow morning.
Putain des Palaces, which is turning out to be my ´morning out with the kids´ staple, lol.
I miss the baby when I am at work. Enjoy your day
Thank you! We watched a nicely put together Cinderella play, my husband was furious because I caught him crying, totally moved, like ‘man, are you crying?’, and he was like ‘I was trying to sleep, but heck, this thing is written for grown ups!’ So funny.
I understand what you say, when I’m at work, the image of my kids keep surfacing in my conscience, and I have this urge of throwing everything to the air and going get them already. Of course it’s worth it, they will thank us later, but let’s face it: it’s not easy to be a working mom!
It’s a lovely sunny fall morning here in the Pacific NW; keep safe and dry, East Coasters, it sounds like you’ll be deluged this weekend. SOTD is House of Matriarch Bohemian Black for a morning at the farmer’s market.
Ah, I love Bohemian Black! It wasn’t rainy here in the New York area at all today. But it’s been cold!
Hello, all. A quiet Sunday morning in the city after the rowdiest night ever! Was I as noisy when I went out to have fun as a young’un, I wonder? I don’t remember that I shrieked and yelled, but perhaps I did…anyway, I decided I needed something gentle and soothing this morning, so I’m wearing Jasmine and White Moss, which is undemanding and very pretty. It is, in fact, getting the soothing job done, and it’s just exactly a match for these a spring days, which look from inside as though they are golden and balmy and then outside are golden and rather crisp.
That does sound like the perfect perfume for a Sunday morning. I’m still in yesterday’s Cinema which has faded to a soft raspberry/plum (like boronia, I realise!). I’m driving up to Nelson today and tomorrow so need a long car journey perfume…can’t think of one off the top of my head. Any suggestions?
Something fresh and cool to help keep you alert. I hate settling so deeply into the rhythm of a journey that I find I’m in Raetihi (for instance) and I don’t even recall passing through National Park…what about one of the Cristalles? Rich enough to be satisfying; crisp enough to be refreshing; complex enough go that you won’t become inured to it. Also, if you’re travelling with other people, it’s not likely to upset their tummies or give them headaches, or anything untoward.
Nelson…so beautiful! I envy you. I’d love a long trip at the moment. Mind you, for the first time in my life, I’ve shifted into “let’s run away from it all” mode. I can’t, of course, and I suppose wouldn’t even if I could, but I absolutely long to deposit all my responsibilities in an untidy pile and turn my face to the road. A powerful motorbike commends itself to me, but my husband had an whole litter of multi-coloured kittens when I told him I fancied buying a bike. They’re not even very expensive, but he put his foot down with both hands, if you see what I mean.
Nelson is lovely!
Isn’t it? I’m glad you got there during your visit to A-NZ. I sometimes feel it’s a rather too mono-cultural city, but the location and scenery are outstanding.
Nelson and surrounds are one of my favourite parts of NZ. I found Bvlgari Black in an unassuming shop there and tried it for the first time, so great scent memories. Also love the very authentic Swedish bakery there.
SOTD Jo Malone wild fig & cassis
Found it during the big clean out last weekend.
Dang, if I just wore what I bought…but noooooo
Stay safe east coast friends
You and me both Apsara!!
Hope everyone near the path of the hurricane is OK.
Looking forward to a quiet day at home, catching up on some housework. I spent the last week in Dunedin helping my mother move back home. She has spent 5 months in care undergoing chemotherapy, which has been very successful, but she is nearly 85, so has needed a lot of help getting things sorted out.
A spritz of 24 Faubourg seems appropriate for housework – appropriately overdressed, and also a get-up-and-go kind of perfume!
I like to be overdressed in fragrance when I clean too! It’s the liquid version of vacuuming in my dress and pearls. Congrats on the success with your mother’s treatment.
Fabulous! You smell wonderful, and 24 RF is the perfect antidote to cleaning blues, and cleaning products too, I should think. I love the idea of your perfume sailing serenely and triumphantly over the scent of Jiff or Janola. And isn’t there a local cook who always wears her pearls in the kitchen?
Congratulations on your mom’s health. This must have been hard for you all, and I’m happy to hear it turned out well. Go rock that Faubourg!
Hello everyone, hope you’re al having a fun weekend.
SOTD is Mitsouko edp, and comparing to a sample of Jub 25, from yesterday on my scarf. I love them both, and already have Mitsouko.
does anyone have both, are they different enough to justify owning both?!
I am very glad to have both – to me they smell quite different (although both wonderful).
I think i will need both too, thanks bastet!
Yes, they are,both brilliant and different enough to warrant owning both. Jubilation 25 reminds me more of the old Femme.
Thanks, Femme, both old and new are at the top of my Blind buy list, i seem to be quite cumin tolerant, so i’m hoping i will like the new one.
Are there any other fruity chypres you would recomend?
i also love Gucci Rush.
The other great modern chypre is 31 Rue Cambon. I wouldn’t call it fruity, though. Still I highly recommend it.
Thanks, that one is on my to sample list- will move it to the top.
I agree with the others who have responded, they are really pretty different, though somewhat similar in feel. I think Jubilation is more herby. Mitsouko can be more heavy and (if you have an older one with oak moss) somewhat more swanky–more of the “old lady” potion that some people dislike about it (but I love!).
I recently bought Melograno by SMN and I think it’s another fruity chypre, you might like to at least try it. Its name means pomegranate, which is a note I don’t get in it at all, but nevertheless it has a similar vibe to it. Very classy/classic, imho.
Thank’s Calypso,
My bottle of mitsouko is a modern one unfortunately, i would love to smell an older, oakmoss rich formulation.
Melograno sound lovely, what does SMN stand for?
Sorry–Santa Maria Novella
Thanks!
I’m wearing No 22 extrait, so that I would have something to say to waterdragon about it. The extrait is definitely softer and mellower and in my view better balanced than the EDT. If EDT is bubbly, the parfum is soapy – in that very refined Chanel soap way. I don’t have the EDT on hand to compare, but I believe they differ most in the opening. I find the lighter version difficult to wear and like the parfum better, but even the latter isn’t my usual territory. I bought it, after 5 minutes, because I have an idée fixe about “getting it”, I like the idea of the far drydown of No 22 mixed the scent of skin – and it is indeed very nice. I also think it would be great (and subversive) on a man.
For people who buy their perfume for less perverse reasons than me, I’d say liking aldehydes and classic florals is not a must, but it helps.
What a wonderul mini-review, and thank you so much for taking the time and putting so much thought into it! I can make just the one purchase this time, and on the strength of your comments, I think I’ll move 22 down my priority list, which leaves Sycomore at the top. Or– I guess– I could have both, because it does sound very beautiful, so long as I completely understand one or the other to be my Christmas present or some such thing. One purchase is an entirely justifiable “We made It!” reward for a hard year and a particularly tough second half to a tough semester: the second has to serve a purpose or I’ll just feel plain greedy.
I don’t know how close our tastes are, but I absolutely love Sycomore. It’s very dangerous to give any kind of perfume advice but if I had to choose, I’d go for the vetiver. (And it was my pleasure.)
Yes, Sycomore it is. It’s gorgeous and wearable and different. I am decided now, and very grateful for your help in choosing.
I think we share a love of the “big” Chanels, and I must admit I smiled and mentally applauded when you wrote about wanting to improve the scent in offices everywhere by wearing (I think) 31 Rue Cambon.
Sycomore is beautiful, the high quality of its ingredients is obvious, it’s a huge compliment getter and I’ve never ever seen anyone mention being over it. Not that I want to enable…
While I agree that Sycomore is beautiful I think it’s no more so than Lalique’s Encre Noir which is a fraction of the price of the Chanel (and comes in an even better bottle).
Austenfan, I do actually agree with you in principle, but somehow Sycomore just works better for me than Encre Noir. Although it might be because I know Sycomore better.
Well to confuse matters still further I have to admit that if I would buy an Exclusif it would probably be Sycomore. And I own a lot of vetivers. It’s excellent, and for once I like the Chanel treatment of the note.
I think the most distinctive of that entire line is probably Chanel No.18. Wouldn’t want to wear it, but very unusual.
Hey, all enabling gratefully received in this quarter. If I knew more perfumes, I’d enable away like billy-oh, believe me.
🙂
I agree with Austenfan on this one, sycamore is just quite ethereal on my scent eating skin, and doesn’t lat for more than 2 hours, and is very quiet, although so lovely,
Encre noir is so similar in character, just stronger and more powerful, i absolutely love it, and it’s such a wonderful bargain!
The far drydown of Chanel and Guerlain scents are among my favorite bits of perfume magic. Today I am enjoying the remnants of Terracotta Voile d’Ete applied last night.
This exactly. Next-day Mitsouko is the best thing. Ever.
I am wearing a sample of Mitsouko edp today. The beginning with the cloves and the middle with the soap are both OK. But it is the dry down I’m really enjoying. I’ve been wearing it for about 4 1/2 hours now, and it is finally starting to be a “wow!” scent, rather than a ‘nice” scent.
I just tried the extrait a few days ago. I thought it was absolutely gorgeous! I like so few modern perfumes, I was really impressed with this one. The SA who was helping me got blissed out herself from sniffing it.
Do you pick up more on the incense in the extrait, Annicky?
I’ve heard that’s one of the nice things about modern no. 22, that the incense is emphasised more than in the older one.
I didn’t really pick up on it in the edt, and was a bit dissapointed, but all the chanel exclusifs in edt are quite weak on me any way.
Frankly, I’m not sure I do. I know it’s supposed to be there, so I go like “hmm, I guess this is the incense”, but I would never pick it out without prompting. That doesn’t mean it isn’t there, of course. I’m probably unable to recognize a subtle incense note even if it waved its arms and wore a YES, IT’S ME, INCENSE t-shirt.
Thanks!
I have to go on memory as I sniffed No.22 in EDT a while ago. I remember finding the EDT almost stiflingly sweet which is odd for a Chanel. The extrait is softer in the opening, all those aldehydes don’t pop out as rapidly as they do in the EDT. I also think the extrait is darker, if that makes sense. I don’t care for 22 in the EDT but remember being blown away by the extrait when I first tried it at Place Vendôme.
It’s certainly gorgeous in it’s own category, I just have trouble with the category 🙂 But I think whatever one’s preferenecs, the extrait would beat the EDT.
I still think it’s hilarious that you bought that bottle. It’s probably the most aldehydic of all the aldehydic florals 🙂
Your assessment is generous, many people would probably seriously doubt my sanity. But I’m enjoying it, for me, it’s something to (very pleasantly) wrestle with. And if I’m going to wrestle I might as well wrestle with the Mothership of All Aldehydes, rather than an unremarkable foot soldier. Although I’m not sure one can wrestle with a ship…
I’ve suffered so many moments of insanity myself that I refuse to recognise them in others.
And shock therapy sometimes works, I believe it’s called flooding.
One can wrestle with anything!
Wearing YSL M7 Oud Absolu.
Chilly weather. I tried napping with the cat between clients but couldn’t get my body warm enough to relax. Rain is coming.
SOTE: Coromandel
ps I just saw that Ari is selling Neela Vermiere on her website so when I get Trayee it will be from her. Unless of course someone wants to offload an unloved Trayee in exchange for some of my bottles in a couple weeks.
Testing out Bottega Knot, lovely but keeps disapearing and returning.
I love that one!
One of my favorite. I wear also the first one Bottega Veneta. Both have a great and long lasting sillage for me. But yesterday to go to the BSO opening gala, it was Chanel 5 eau premiere.
Today I wore Lavande 44 from Rania J, but alas nearly all I could smell was the Eau Dynamisante deodorant I also wore (from Clarins). That was a lot of linalool for one day.
After Friday’s poll, I made a huge discovery at my local antique store! A nearly full bottle (~90%) of the original Aedes de Venustas (2012) for only… $10! I couldn’t believe my eyes. It’s not really my cup of tea and am considering selling it on ebay. I won’t get crazy since I got it for such a steal, but some extra cash flow would be nice.
Wow, nice!!
Is this the one in the red bottle, with rhubarb? I’m interested! Please let me have an option before you try to sell it on ebay!
Sorry, I just saw this! If you’re subscribed to this comment, you can email me at ericbrandonh at gmail dot com. If not, I’ll try to track you down.
fantastic!
Very excited to see Tauer’s take on Tuberose is now available. Have ordered a sample and continue to be impressed with the good value of his discovery set. Plus he ships it to Oz and doesn’t charge postage.
The library I work at is having a staff conference day, a small part of which is small, TED type 10 minute talks. I’m doing one on the “pleasure of perfume”. Selecting, evaluating, and reveling in it.
I thought to cover the basic types, (aldehydes, florals, orientalist, etc), base, middle, and top notes, artificial vs natural, and sources for information (NST of course, and Luca). But I still only have 10 minutes.
Any suggestions on how to make a thrilling, informative presentation?
Take some with you for them to spray and smell! (I realize they may not allow this–maybe spray a few paper strips and pass them?). I do this sometimes with my students and they think it’s a blast, and love to make faces at the “old lady” perfume classics. I’d also recommend saying some things about perfume and gender–how you don’t have to follow the sex recommendations, feel free to experiment, etc. It might be fun also to comment on perfume in relation to food, e.g. smells that also occur in foods such as vanilla, orange, cinnamon, milk, honey, cumin, even chocolate and coffee, etc. Those are easy for people to relate to.
I find that folks get excited about being let in on perfume “secrets”–e.g. that celebrities’ perfumes and fashion designers’ perfumes often result from basically the same licensing process (I find tons of people have a sense that they should be snobs about celebrity perfumes, but have been led to believe there’s something substantially different about designer fragrances); if you’re in the US, that “cologne” doesn’t just mean “scent for men” but a lighter concentration (and/or, a specific herbal citrus construction); that in different places and different historical moments, specific notes have had different gender associations, so rose, e.g., isn’t intrinsically feminine; and so forth. Perfume myth busters, basically 🙂
And then I’m totally with Calypso, if you can pass around accompanying test strips, people love that, for sure 🙂
I think you’re really on to something when you suggest talking about top middle and base notes. If you’re allowed to pass around scent strips it would be great to prepare them ahead of time at different numbers of hours or minutes before the presentation. If you prepare enough so that people only have to pass the strips to a couple of other people, and if you label them very clearly, you might have a great little conversation about how the perfume changes over time. If you’re allowed to spray perfume in the space, then you could also open up a conversation about how perfume smells on different surfaces. You could offer a few perfumes for people to try on. One last thing, if it’s allowed: you could bring a couple of essential oils or other single note materials and have people compare the smells of those to the smells of perfumes that include those notes. An extra fun activity is to take a long inhale of the single note material and then immediately sniff the perfume. Inhaling deeply temporarily dampens the sensitivity of your neurons to the smell of the material you inhaled, so you kind of get to smell the perfume with that note subtracted from it. It’s so cool. In general I think people find it challenging to describe what they smell, but they also seem to get into that challenge.
Chilly and refreshing today on the Swedish west coast, a day for chunky sweaters and woolly caps. SOTD: the original Bottega Veneta, inspired by some of yesterdays comments – I had forgotten about this pleasant and cozy fragrance, and dug out my sample – enjoying this very much, perfect for this time of year.
Ooh lovely, really need to get a bottle of BV, its near the top of my list!
Wearing Cuir de lancome again today.
Perfumes of this weekend are:
Nicolai Ambre Cashmere Intense worn on Saturday
Jul et Mad Amour de Palazzo worn today
Hope everyone is having a nice and enjoyable weekend.
Hi Lucasai – what did you think of the Nicolai? Very tempted; love much of her stuff, and she has 30 ml bottles, a huge plus. Also curious to experience the collaboration with her son.
No SoTD yet. Yesterday was Fate; thinking of going sniffing.
Yes, please more intel on the Nicolai? Also appreciating the smaller bottle and price point.
Am dithering on that one or Berdoues Assam Tea or Ambre Merveilles.
Can only buy one ( silly game I play in my head)
SOTD – fresh coffee in my cup and whatever is on my bathrobe from the last 3 mornings, it’s all quite delicious. We had rain in Los Angeles during the night and this morning is cool, fresh, clear California air.
Just reviewed it on my blog 🙂
SOTD Sweet William by Ineke. It is so perfect for this sunny/cloudy fall day on the east coast.
Does it smell like the flowers Sweet Williams? I have not read about this one. I love their scent–carnation/clove/spicy.
Hi Calypso, I’ve never smelled the actual flower. SW is a sheer scent. Mainly a realistic peach with clove, carnation, sandalwood, cinnamon, patch, cedar, etc…. It’s just a perfect scent for fall in New England. It reminds me of unsweetened peaches seasoned with cloves and cinnamon and then baked in the oven until it scents the whole house. Makes me happy this time of year.
Thank you, it does sound nice! The clove and carnation are right on for the flower. I’m going to try it!
Ineke offers an adorably packaged sample set called Floral Curiosities. The samples come in what looks like a book with typed cards that describe each scent.. The samples are a good size. I gave them as gifts to my nieces last Christmas and they loved them….only $25 for 4-5 samples.
Monday morning: it’s cold, in a half-hearted sort of way, and I have decided to lighten the general gloom by wearing 31 Rue Cambon (nod to Anniky–our conversation yesterday fixed Chanel in my mind). To all in TOH, do enjoy the last of your weekends; to all of us down here, hope your week starts well and gets better.
I am wearing Perris Monte Carlo’s Rose Taif which I got a small sample of. It is OK but I prefer other roses including the Ormond Jayne Rose Taif more. This one seems very one-dimensional.
Yesterday I wore a sample of Miller Harris Fleur Oriental as someone here called it something like a “wearable Shalimar,” and though I’d liked its nutty, woody qualities before, it was even better smelled through that lens. So to speak.
Need to try more of my samples through more of your lenses.
Settled on Susanne Lang Red Ginger. I found a box of 3 – Red Ginger, Pashmina and Cashmere during my cleanout. I bought these when she had counter space at Saks in NY. OMG.
SOTD is Sexy Angelic. It’s not really seasonally appropriate, now that our weather has turned both cold and rainy, but chatting about it in the damage poll set off a craving for it once again! Maybe I do need that backup bottle…
Sometimes E-bay cracks me up or rather the sellers crack me up. I won an auction of vintage Bal PdT and it in the description the seller stated that she was trying to open the bottle and the top of the bottle broke so they poured the remaining portion of perfume in an empty Halston bottle. My mind kind of went why would you do that? Open the bottle if you were probably going to sell it. So yeah, I have a really busted bottle and vintage Bal in another bottle. I did wear a little bit because I was suspicious that the perfume itself would be goofed up. Let me tell ya, it smells like the vintage PdT decant. Heavy on the florals and really light on the patchouli. That is what I fell in love with.
That was a close one! Lol, what kind of mad scientist ebay sellers are you dealing with!? 😉
I did a drive through spritz of Chanel no 5 Eau Première. I’ve been developing the ‘smart, slightly-less-eccentric’ side of my clothing wardrobe, and this is a great scent to go with that project. And awfully pretty and charming.