Friday is finally here! Our community project for this week: wear a fragrance from Yves Saint Laurent, if you have one.
What fragrance 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 Yves Saint Laurent M7, which debuted in 2002 under the direction of Tom Ford. Earlier that same year, Yves Saint Laurent had announced his retirement from haute couture, having already retired from ready-to-wear a few years earlier. He passed away in 2008.
Reminder: next Friday, 11/27, we are giving thanks: wear a perfume you're thankful for. (suggested by thegoddessrena)
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.
Wearing vintage Rive Gauche, my one remaining YSL. If I had vintage Opium I would have preferred that
We should all have a bottle of vintage Opium!
I do, but my co-workers are thanking me for not wearing it today
Ha!
I’m also wearing Rive Gauche, from a mini that I got in the late nineties I think.
I’ve raided my partners closet today for a good old dousing of Opium Pour Homme. He’s not worn it in ages. I think I might have to adopt – can’t have it sitting there unloved.
You’re doing him a service then
I don’t have any YSL fragrances. So I’m wearing Shalimar.
I do have a Shalimar Ode a la vanille question. I didn’t realize that there were different versions? Until a fellow an NST was generous enough to give me a sample of her O a la V Mexique version. I never kept the box to my bottle and when I sprayed the one that she gave me it’s is completely different than the one that I have. Hers was more radiant, lemony, beautiful. Mine is more smoky and deep. I bought my bottle from BG a year or 2 ago? Any idea which version I own? Sorry for the long question.
Ode à la Vanille Sur la Route de Madagascar was 2012…I am guessing that’s what you have.
Ah! So my smokey vanilla is that version. Thanks Robin!
Yvresse! The funnest, most joyous chypre ever! It makes me happy every time I smell it.
Btw, I bought the original Champagne back in 1993, tired of it as I do, swapped it away, regretted it years later, and bought Yvresse in 2006 or so. I’m confident it’s unchanged or nearly so, if my memory is reliable: the latest iteration in the cube bottle has zero oakmoss and who knows what other changes wrought upon it, but the older stuff, by whatever name, is incomparable.
Yvresse for me today, too! Gorgeous, gorgeous stuff.
Ditto for me: Yvresse
I’ve noticed I have a thing for “tart fruit” – I love the tartness of Yvresse, also Canturi and JM Pom Noir and especially Cartier So Pretty. I only seem to like fruit in my perfume when it’s tart!
I forgot Yveresse is YSL. Could have worn my sample today. And this is a good reminder that I need to buy a full bottle on eBay soon, before prices go up even more.
You all smell amazing! Love the original Champagne/Yvresse. And my most favorite vintage fume is Champagne parfum. So that’s my SOTD.
Oh, that Champagne parfum is a nice one! I have several tiny bottles of it stashed away.
The only YSL I have is Opium (vintage and a tiny bit of the modern), but it didn’t feel like an Opium day so I’m wearing Shalimar EDP. It’s my anniversary and I’m going to be taking part of the day off and will probably treat myself to a little pampering and pick up some nice, unhealthy dessert for later.
Happy anniversary! Please share what dessert you pick up! Yum
Happy Anniversary! May the beauty of Shalimar make your day even more special !
Hope it is a lovely anniversary!
Let’s us know what dessert it is! Happy Anniversary, and may you have many more.
Happy anniversary!
Happy Anniversary!
Happy anniversary!!
Oh happy day! What number?
My guy has somehow been putting up with me (or vice versa) for 7 years. Funny to think that we’ve been together for longer than I’ve been at any one job or any one school.
Happy Anniversary!
Happy Anniversary!
Just to add to the happy anniversary wishes.
Happy anniversary! Here’s to dozens more!
Happy Anniversary!
Happy Anniversary!
Thanks everybody! You guys made my day (seeing as how my plan to play hooky from work this afternoon fizzled)! Hopefully the lemon tart…or passion fruit donuts… or both will make up for it.
Hope u have had a wonderful anniversary, those passion fruit doughnuts sound delicious! (and i bet the lemon tart not bad either)
Since Opium Orchidee de Chine is way too much for work, I’m in Champagne edt
Twins!
I raided my husband’s collection and am wearing YSL La Nuit de L’Homme. This is my favorite on him but not so much on me. I may change to Nu or Cinema after a shower!
I do have some vintage Opium from a generous NSTer but in a room full of people for meetings today.
So I went with SL Chergui. Again. I’m a broken record. Happy weekend to all- stay safe and smell great
I wore Opium to work today, but the tiniest of spritzes, and I don’t have a presentation!
I don’t have any YSL scents currently.
I’m wearing Divine Spirituelle and drinking a cup of cranberry hibiscus tea.
Yay for hibiscus tea! I love it year round- the tart flavor reminds me of Panama and Belize, where my parents are from. Very tart, and very comforting at the same time.
Spirituelle is very beautiful, you smell great.
I’m going to have to hunt for that tea.
I’m in vintage Opium EdT for one of those sweet netsuke minis. I could really use some more!
I remember having a sample of Rice Gauche partum likely from its launch and I thought it was the most gorgeous thing ever. Sadly the partum is hard to find and the lesser concentrations just don’t do the same thing. Sigh.
Yvresse, which is the only YSL I own I think. I’m always surprised at the herbal touches it has.
YSL Nu today from a decant I got in a swap. I really enjoy it’s spicy goodness. Great Fall scent!
Scent twins! And from the same bottle even!
Triplets!
Thanks for sharing it! It was a blind swap and a real winner for me!
If you have any, it layers beautifully with LADDM (hate typing out the full name of that)
I have a bit. Will try it out.
Oh I’m going to try that combination sometime soon. Just plain old lovely nu for me today.
I have both those beauties. On Sunday temperatures are going to drop by ten degrees, so I think it will be the right day to test that combination. It sounds infallible to me. Thanks, Elisa, for the idea!
Mine, too. This thread smells great!
Nu here also. My one and only Yves Saint Laurant. It is the old version. The hockey puck. Anyone can compare it to the newer version? Liked Opium, but really liked Cinnabar or Coco better. Nothing discreet about any of them though.
I tried the new one last month(before trying the old version) and it seem d pretty sheet, less spicy, more floral if my memory serves me correctly.
*sheer*
I tried the new Nu and didn’t recognise it as the same perfume. Much more insipid and soapy.
Thanks, all. *sigh*. That’s too bad. I did buy a backup of the hockey puck, so I’m set for awhile.
I have to share, because this is my little community and it’s too much fun not to:
I’m not socially awkward at all but I get very nervous around attractive guys, and a BEAUTIFUL man was on my train today. I’m having a third round interview for a job today and was feeling pretty confident (wearing Bois des Iles, which certainly helps) and I decided – “what the hell?” I went full on high school and wrote him a note which I handed to him as I got off the train.
I NEVER do this and my heart was pounding….
But HE JUST TEXTED ME.
Even if this goes nowhere, it is such a shot in the arm. I’m going to continue rocking this Bois des Iles and feeling beautiful.
I hope you all have as lovely a day as I’m having – I really do.
High school, you probably would have had a friend pass the note, right? That was courageous, good for you! And good luck at the interview.
Haha – at least I’ve progressed then!
Thanks so much for the encouragement!
Good luck with round 3 interview…..and that text!
Thanks so much Jada!
How brave of you…and I’m sure that totally made his day too!
Thank you! I’m actively trying to push myself in all ways lately, and I was just sitting there thinking “You have to do this – you HAVE to do this!” Maybe leaving yourself with no other option is the key.
How thrilling…do keep us posted!
I shall! And again – even if it’s not my Foreverman, it’s still a lovely feeling. I have never had the greatest success with guys, so if it leads to just a date, it will be a good thing!
Dear heart, the key is going on many dates! Don’t zero in on one. So easy to fall for someone at your age. I say ask two more guys out by the end of the month. Make sure at least one of them makes you laugh, even if he isn’t the handsomest. And don’t go out with them again if they don’t open the door for you or put their phones away during your date. Keep in mind that they will likely be on their very best behaviour the first few dates, and if their best behaviour is boorish, it will only get worse as time goes on.
All of this! Good behavior/manners and sense of humor are sexy and mandatory
Have fun#
Applause for your brave beautiful self
Thanks so much honey! All your sweet advice has absolutely helped me. Thank you so much for it.
Exciting!
Yay for both!
Keep us posted with this exciting adventure! (And your job interview too)
I met my husband in NY – such a great city to fall in love in. <3
Aww – congratulations to you on finding a good one here! How did you meet?
So much good stuff in that post!
Oh, that is very courageous. Good luck with making a new friend, and good luck with the job!
Thank you so much!
Oh I love this and am in awe, such a great idea! Thanks for sharing and fingers crossed!
Thanks Mariann! It means so much to get such encouragement from you all.
Wow. Congrats on your bravery and best of luck in your interview.
Thank you! Trying to harness the momentary bravery for future use, and all this encouragement helps!
Ah! I love that you did this!
I did something very similar a long time ago, so I totally understand the whole nervous, crazy feeling of it.
It’s SO. DIFFICULT. to do that sort of thing, but then you give yourself a little fist pump and think: YES! I. CAN. DO. THIS.
I hope all goes well!
You smell fabulous
But yes, I feel like a champion right now, even if it *was* just for passing a note!
Thank you!!
No, this guy I just dated for a short while. He then moved away for school and I didn’t want to do another long distance relationship.
I met my husband at a previous work place. He was a technician and I was the service department customer service rep.
It really is empowering to do something like that though. Even if it doesn’t work out, you can always look back on that and smile, knowing you challenged yourself.
Good luck!
Good luck! If it helps, that is how I finally met my husband! It’s a very long and cute story but in short, he had said hi before but finally wrote me a note and gave his number! So you never know!
Thanks so much Elisa!!
Good for you! Nothing ventured, nothing gained, eh?
This is what I keep telling myself, and there is more and more venturing going on all the time over here…thanks Foxbins!
Good luck on round 3 of the interview!
Kudos to you for reaching out, my bubbe always said, if you never ask, the answer is always no – making a new friend, romantic or otherwise is always a grand adventure.
Keep us posted!
Bubbes are such a wonderful source of wisdom – thanks SmokeyToes’ Bubbe, AND SmokeyToes!
What an awesome story. There is nothing more attractive than confidence, and you have it! Good luck with the interview and keep us posted.
It’s newly acquired, but it seems that suddenly I do! Thanks Lillyjo!
Love it!!! And good luck with the job interview!
Thanks Dottie!
What a fun story! Sounds like you’ll nail that job interview.
Thanks Elizabeth!
Go girl!! I would be way too awkward to do that…lol. And good luck on your interview!
I thought I was too – but you can do it! Leave yourself with no other option, psych yourself up, and GO!
A bold and brave move! Good luck with your interview as well as with the “beautiful” man- did you get close enough to get a whiff of him?
Sadly, he was too far away. But rest assured, if an opportunity to get a whiff presents itself, I will most definitely be taking it.
Fantastic story – I suspect your confidence came through brilliantly in the interview and I love what you did with the beautiful man – I very rarely had the guts to do such things but when I did anything like that it always felt so good – hope the text progresses…
That’s great!!! I hope you get a chance to get to know each other! I love that you did it. Braveheart!????
AWESOME! Kudos to you for doing a brave and exciting thing, whatever the result.
AWESOME IN EVERY WAY!!!!
Best of luck with the job interview, and do keep us all posted about mystery man. Having confidence is the best of all!
That is so much braver than I’ve ever been! Whatever happens, knowing that you have the courage is a great thing, as others have said (in better words).
Well done for being so brave!- this sounds like a very positive and exciting chapter of you’re life, can’t wait to hear more!
Goodluck!
Woohoo!! You are a bad@zz!
Thank you for sharing. You rock that box of eels, girl.
You go girl!
YSL Nu EdP, which is probably my favorite YSL.
You smell great!
Hi All,
I’m wearing Vintage Opium extrait, which I’m sure will annoy a few scent phobe co-workers but what the heck.
Wafting loads of spice, amber and resins for my Friday and the beginning of a nine day vacation.
Mmmmm, I wouldn’t mind if you were my coworker!
Thanks Dottie!
I do keep a few goodies at my desk for replenishment like Fendi and Coco to keep me going!
Haha, I do that too. I keep a sample box with my actual faves, and my collegues just smile, when they come in on me, eyes crossed on the screen, brows furring with concentration, and the back of my left hand under my nose… It took a while, but they got used to it. ☺
SOTD: Y by YSL.
Thanks for today’s project since I haven’t reached for this bottle in quite a while!
Only one YSL in my cupboard…Paris. So many memories with this one and I’d forgotten what a beauty it is as I never wear it anymore.
Goes nicely with the remnants of Ambre Sultan, Mohur, and Une Rose de Kandahar that all ended up on me for bedtime last night. This whole scent-bath thing has been way more fun than I’d have guessed. I’ll be doing it more often
I only own two Yves Saint Laurent fragrances. Since you’re wearing M7, I guess I’ll wear the other one: Rive Gauche Pour Homme.
Nice, now we’ve covered all the bases
RGPH is lovely. You smell great Furriner!
Excellent!
I put on my sample of vintageish (1994) YSL Paris EDT. Such a delicious rose/violet perfume – perfect for today’s rainy weather.
Twins!
I’m wearing YSL by association only. Opium was both mine and my sister’s signature scent for an entire year in the mid 80’s. I can only imagine how fragrant our car rides were. My next signature scent was Magie Noire by Lancome, which I am wearing today. Over applied – as I’m sure it was in 1986.
Magie Noire is so good.
I have a vintage mini, and it is AWESOME but it eats my head, so I have to be careful with it.
Exactly – my head is half gone! Fewer sprays for me next time for sure!
No YSL in my arsenal, so I’m in Eau des Merveilles on a day that promises to be clear and chilly.
Very chilly morning- 35F! Perfect for Opium (modern) which I got sample of and have not ever worn before this morning!
Can I say: Wow, so this is what the 80s were about! Goodness, all you need is a small, small spritz on the body, and maybe on the wrists. Super smoky, sweet, spicy and very rich. I am serious about the small spritz- this is a perfume that does not f*** around. Now I understand why so many women in Brooklyn my sisters age saved up and bought a bottle- it’s sexy as hell and it would last.
Since it’s so darn sexy, I decided to do a black cashmere sweater, a leather skirt, sheer black tights and black short boots with high heels, with a big forest green scarf. No jewelry, Afro just fluffed a bit. This perfume needs subtle, posh dressing- it does all the announcing for you.
Of course, I am at work and all the lab and tech personnel are in casual Friday sweatshirts and jeans, so I do stick out!
Wow! I bet you look and smell fantastic.
Thank you! At the very least, I feel fantastic!
I love reading about your outfit and fragrance combos. Always sounds fab!
Thank you! I try. 1) It’s nice to thing about that final touch to your clothes, even if you are in jeans for the day. 2) I live in a metro area with great vintage shopping, so you can find a lot of posh stuff for very affordable prices and own it FOREVER. So it’s nice to dress nice for a bit, even if you work in tech!
I too love reading about the outfit and perfume matchings. You have inspired me to try my (fake) oxblood leather skirt with a cream silk blouse and Opium next time I get out the Opium…
Girl, you look and smell fabulous. Work it.
I’m not a fan of YSL fragrances, at least now. When I was a teenager I loved Rive Gauche. I also liked Y during the same period. This was in the 70s, of course. I have a current bottle of Y and it’s OK, but I really dislike the Rive Gauche that I have, which I bought in the 90s. My sister wore Opium for a while, and at that time I was into clean fresh scents, such as L’Eau d’Issey, so I didn’t like Opium much. I think that I’d love Opium now (at least in the colder months), so I will try a decant. Anyway my SOTD is Paris, of which, again, I’m not a big fan.
Yeah, I was a tween and a teenager in the 90s, and the scent for me was ck ONE and our household Florida water; my sister wore those big ’80s’ scents like Fendi and Opium. It took a quite a while for me to appreciate big perfumes. The key for me is using small spritzes at a time, rather that the lavish ones people associate with this type of perfume!
YSL Paris edp, from a mini ca 2006, which I decanted to a sprayer bottle. I put on too much (two spritzes) and I’m not sorry. I work from home, so I’m just floating around on this cloud of Gorgeous.
I have not tried EDP yet, but my general impression of Paris is that this perfume is meant to be overapplied, to be worn as a joyful fragrant floral cloud.
Agreed.
One can never wear too much Paris
Sometimes I wish I worked from home, solely to lavish myself in a perfume cloud daily.
Well, that’s the best part of it.
Twins!
High five!
Man, you know… between wearings I sometimes forget how girly this thing is. But it’s like it makes me into the Twirly Pink Ballerina Princess version of myself.
It always amuses me that I have a very soft spot for frilly perfumes, as I’m not that bothered with frills in any other part of my life. But Pink Perfume; bring it on!
Oh, now, me? I like frills. I’m not crazy about frills AND ribbons AND diamante AND ruching AND lace AND pleats AND passementerie all at once – my dear grandmother wanted it allll – but one lavish style of decoration will do me.
I sort of adore that candy-pink butt-bow in the pic up there, to the point that I’ve been wondering if it is satin or taffeta.
I’m wearing my (so far) only YSL, Rive Gauche. Now I need to get my paws on some Opium, because all these descriptions of it make it sound like it’s something I’d enjoy….
Thegoddessrena and I went to the Frederic Malle and Carlos Benaim talk at Harvard last night; they both lived up to the French reputation for charm and wit.
Oh, do tell more. That sounds like a wonderful way to spend an evening…
They talked about their process for developing scents, and their personal histories. (Benaim’s mom wore Mitsouko, and his grandmother wore Shalimar. Many thanks to them for their excellent examples!) During the Q&A, many in the audience seemed to be obsessed with topnotes, for some unknown reason, but fortunately Cathy from Colonial Drug asked them to name their top three scents, or ones they wished they’d developed. Malle said Femininite du Bois was one he would have liked to develop. Also, from the way he talked about their process, as in it takes years, and the only ones making a decision about whether the perfume will be made and sold are himself and the perfumer, it sounds like Estee Lauder does not have a big say in what they are doing. The moderators didn’t seem to know much about fragrance.
It’s supposed to be posted on YouTube by Saturday night, theoretically: http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/#/events-listing/live-stream.html
Sounds like a really stimulating event! I love going to those kinds of things. Will catch it on YouTube. Thanks for mentioning and posting the link.
Lucky girls! This sounds fascinating and I will definitely be looking for the recording on Youtube.
So interested in that lecture…not to mention Frederic Malle, the man. I find him very attractive on many levels. I won’t go into details
I KNOW! I made sure to wear red lipstick and HE LOOKED RIGHT AT ME! He mentioned when he’s developing a new fragrance, after it’s been through a couple of revisions he likes to test it on someone else around him to see its effect. PICK ME, PICK ME!
Ha! What a fun night and I know you rocked it in your red lipstick!!
Trying hard not to be jealous right now
I wasn’t sure I could do Y today, it’s supposed to be very warm and I may have a headache coming on, so I’m wearing In Love Again. Glad I hoarded the pretty original bottles because I love the harlequin pattern cap and the new cubes are boring. This was almost a signature fragrance for me at about the time I met my husband and it’s fun to wear it again.
So many Opium lovers!
I do not have any YSL fragrances, so I’m in Mitsouko today. I really need to wear this one in warmer weather because the spices really amp up on my skin when it’s warmer out. I wore it to a wedding this summer and it was fantastic.
Interesting. I wear Mitsouko only in cold weather. Now I want to try it in the heat, but I have a loooong wait.
I was the same way! I used to only wear it in colder months, but when I wore it this summer everything about it “clicked” and I love it in cold and warm weather now.
Body Kouros, much more office-appropriate than Kouros, which was the alternative.
I have nothing by YSL. Maybe I should change that?
Just a dab of Shalimar Vanille Mexique today. I’m saving myself for a sniffing trip to Barneys this afternoon. One of my best friends is flying in for the weekend, and she’s the only one who loves perfume as much as I do. :). TGIF!
Sounds like a great way to spend time, and maybe money…;)
Ha, yes. I’m going to try to limit myself to one FM travel spray, maybe Dries van Noten for the holidays. Hopefully I’ll get some generous samples to take home with me.
I have those exact same plans for that exact same scent! We are future twins
That’s so cool!
Isn’t it great to have a perfume buddy! Almost everyone I know in town is of the “but I already have one perfume” school of thought.
I went to a late pm spin class one day after an early am spritz of Amouage Fate Woman. Before class started the lady next to me complimented me and asked me the name of my perfume, so I told her how to go about getting a decant so she could try it, and she says to me (with a straight face): “I never go anywhere so there’s no point in wearing perfume”
I almost fell off my bike!
Oh, the poor dear! That’s sort of sad! Do you think you could take her on as an adult education project?
Lol! Right!
Did you point out it’s perfect for wearing to spin class
I have no YSL! I used to have Paris, and Opium, but not now. So I put on my regularly scheduled next in rotation, which is Bourcheron, which is so tender and lady-like. I have also scented my office with a drop of rosemary oil on a tissue, which is hiding under my monitor, but helping me remember all the things I am working on at the moment.
TGIF! At noon today, there is a Diwali lunch which is organized by the Indian contingent of our diverse faculty and staff of the hospital, so I can look forward to some good conversation and yummy food here in a while, as well. And then a weekend. Yay!
Happy Diwali!
Yum – enjoy!
I’m in Opium also, vintage edt, that I bought at a discount store in 1990 or 1991 for less than $10, I’m sure. I wore it in the ’70s and ’80s but my true loves were L’Heure Bleue and Casmir.
Casmir is one of my true loves too.
Vintage Paris, from a big splash bottle. So beautiful….
Mmm.
I’ve got one of those as well. Still not touched it. I’ve a fair number of back-ups for Paris. So unless I live to be 245, I’m fine.
Be careful, Austenfan. There is the notorious story of the Brazilian millionaire Jorge Guinle, from the family who used to own the Copacabana Palace. The guy did the math to find out how much money he could spend each year, but then he outlived his expectations!
HA! Was almost dreading today when I realized Kouros was the only YSL I have. Then I remembered Hajusuuri is an angel and sent me a decant of YSL M7.
On my skin M7 is a cozy delight. I’m mostly getting a combination of wood and labdanum. Thus far I am not finding it too heavy/cloying.
Happy Friyay!
Update for yesterday’s Chloe Narcisse. It kept with me for the entire work day so I didn’t scrub it. 8 hours in it turned woody and spicy, which was much more agreeable. However, I could still detect the off-putting note. I’ll try it again to see if I can identify/describe it better, but for now I’ll continue my hunt for my mother’s new signature scent.
Thanks for all your wonderful suggestions!
I don’t own any YSL. I’m wearing musc ravageur today.
You smell great! We are supposed to have a cool front come through next week and I plan on wearing MR on the very first day of fall weather.
I think you deserve an award, Deva, for something like “longest anticipation of Fall without losing it”.
I’m wearing a little Yvresse layered with In Love Again. It is an interesting combination. It was originally going to be Paris, but I thought I’d save that one for later tonight.
Hope everyone’s having a wonderful Friday.
Sounds great – I keep on being tempted by In Love Again.
I’m wearing the only YSL I have, which is Opium, from a little dabber mini I got in an antique shop. I don’t wear it often, but it’s working for me today.
I currently have two YSL perfumes. Black Opium and Parisianne. I can’t wear the Black Opium today because I am irritated by the person I associate it with. The Parisianne is beautiful, but I only have one spray left. So, I’m wearing Fendi Fendi. If I could I would wear vintage Opium or vintage Paris.
Doesn’t look like the most recent YSL perfumes (Manifesto, Black Opium etc.) are getting much of a look in with this Friday project! Take note YSL!
I’m wearing Cinema. And because it’s Saturday will try and watch at least one French movie….Simone Signoret classic or Miou Miou ( La Lectrice ) . Happy weekend everyone.
Your Saturday sounds great! I’m doing housework, shopping, editing (still!!!!), altering clothes that have become too big. Essential stuff, but a bit dreary. Maybe I’ll walk up town and re-acquaint myself with the older YSLs, in honour of today’s project. Anyway, enjoy your movie.
Scent twins! Cinema is beautiful and one of a handful of fragrances on my criminally underrated radar. I am going to commit heresy here and admit I wear the new Opium in EDT and love it. Do not throw any rotten fruit!
I just went to Ulta to try the Opium edt. I probably way over sprayed, but I find that I like it very much and might just get some. it has been roughly 25 years since I first wore it, and I think I can finally pull it off now.
I don’t have any offerings of YSL, so I’m out. I haven’t gotten around to picking out what I want to wear today. I’m too busy blogging and taking advantage of the STC sale going on. But I think I’ll go with my super skank, vintage Bal today.
You go ahead and Bal it up!
It boils down to which variation do I want to wear. It’s either the EDT or the PdT. First world problem, I know.
Six o’clock on a rainy Saturday morning. I was so tired yesterday evening that I virtually passed out about seven, and woke just enough to put myself to bed about ten. Then I slept deeply until about 4.30 (brilliant for me!) but the bed looks as though I was wrestling bears all night. Goodness knows what I dreamt about, but my poor husband has nothing but the sheet left on his side, and the quilt is in a tight screw at the end of the bed. Most odd. Now I’m lying here listening to cars splashing through the puddles and planning to wear Rive Gauche again. In fact, I just got up and favoured myself with a little preliminary spray. Gorgeous! I can wear jeans or cargos today, and thankfully there will be none of the discord I felt yesterday when my clothes were slightly poshed up and Rive Gauche just didn’t match.
A cup of tea is needed urgently here: enjoy your days, everyone. I’m off to the kitchen to make a pot of the best that Mr Dilmah has to offer!
So funny that you associate Rive Gauche with casual clothes – it smells so sophisticated to me. But then again, I like Mitsouko best when I’m cleaning the house and/or in my pajamas.
I think the association was an accidental development. I bought a bottle years ago, had tried it on my skin of course, and then went more or less straight on to a barbecue/beach party that turned into an all-night, all-over-Northland treasure hunt (my husband is the best navigator on the planet, and we won!) and the party continued until dinner the next day, when we all finally collapsed from pure exhilaration. The Rive Gauche-fun-in-casual-clothes connection was built then and I can’t seem to re-direct it to my present, more sober sixty-plus way of life!
Smell is so evocative, isn’t it? A smell can take you back to a time in such a real sense, not just remembering but really being there.
Love this scent association story!
I love the image of Rive Gauche with cargos – like bastet I always think of it as glam and dressed up but it is so much more fun if it can be more versatile.
I love discord. I’ve been known to wear Narcisse Noir wit Doc Martens.
I love planned discord as you describe it. Lots of people here seem wear glamorous perfumes to do the housework, which I think is the ultimate in cool. I’ll sometimes do Lyric with black leggings and a tunic, or Joy with boots and a leather jacket. The Rive Gauche discord for me yesterday came from quite deep in my memories and I couldn’t quite settle it down.
Like many others, my SOTD is vintage Opium EDT. This is from a mid-to-late 80s bottle my sister passed on to me a few years ago. It was a gift from an old college boyfriend, but her husband doesn’t like it (maybe because of the old college boyfriend?) so its just been sitting in a closet for years. Still smells great!
I’d forgotten what an impact YSL had on my youth and olfactory life. Rive Gauche, Opium, Yvresse, and Paris all trigger strong memories for me.
It was amazing how in the 1980s an elevator ride with someone wearing Opium could stay with me (and my clothes) for hours.
I have an office appointment today so I’m scentless now, but I will be thinking of Paris for evening.
An over the top advert for Paris:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lmzITeIZr4
Anyone remember that one?
A very obvious choice for me today. Paris YSL. Early noughties EDP and body cream. So I’m drenched in loveliness. I used to wear this as a student and would happily apply 5-6 sprays. I would still like to do that. Sometimes big sillage is great.
You smell great – I also used to do that and remember getting lots of lovely comments.
Yum.
This is the kind of sillage we want to be big.
By the way…I noticed that Nov 19, International Men’s Day is also World Toilet Day … So I guess we were lucky not to have that as our Thursday perfume project. Every cloud has a silver lining!
There’s a World Toilet Day? Seriously? I can’t contemplate how that’s meant to be celebrated!
It sounds quite good actually….about bringing healthy / clean sanitation to all regions of the world. Re. Perfume: I was thinking about how long drops ( outside/ non flush toilets ) are often covered with vines of jasmine or honeysuckle…so that would be the base of my toilet scent.
You know, they always were! Unlined corrugated iron walls, freezing in winter, boiling in summer and rampant jasmine! I’d forgotten, but you’ve reminded me that when we went to the beach when I was little, I didn’t like using the long drop because my sister convinced me that the jasmine was full of weta, just waiting to drop down the back of my neck. Modern plumbing is indeed something to be thankful for!
I noticed that as well, and in fact found online a lovely photographic tribute to toilets from around the world! Fun stuff!
Eau de toilette!
Touche!
Fun reading what you are all wearing – vintage Champagne for me today – which is very cheering and for the first time today I have understood the connection with the name. Which no doubt makes me very daft but there we go. Might wear it for the rest of the weekend!
I don’t have any YSL, having given away my only sample, Black Opium, to my sister. I’m in Vetiver Tonka today as it’s cold and blustery here!
Yvresse on me, NU on the Man. Oh how I adore both. Yvresse is just like if Mitsy and Rochas Femme went out for some bubblies on a girls’ night out. Never fails to make me feel decadent and gorgeous. NU was my great love in college, not a signature but a party staple (drum’n’bass clubs, don’t ask!) So pulsating, dark, enveloping… My husband often sneaks sprays from my hockey puck, but the new version is simply… thin. So sad. But it was hard to pick even two! I also love Opium and Y. Maybe tomorrow!
Fun comments! Have a nice weekend Fragrants!
SOTD = Vintage YSL M7
Warm, oudy woody vetiver. The last time I wore this, I undersprayed. Today, I decided to go all out and pressed the atomizer 4x! It was a fine mist spray and delivered the perfect amount, in my opinion. I feel like I have about a 3 inch cloud of smooth warm woody vetiver around me.
My other FB candidate for today’s challenge was vintage Opium but it is definitely much harder to pull off in polite company.
Mmm, you smell great! Go waft that sillage!
Twin! I also sprayed 4x! What a coincidence. Thank you for the decants, M7 is now on my To Buy list, and please expect gifts in your near future.
I have to confess that YSL is one of the very few houses from which I can’t find a single fragrance that I like on me ???? I decided to spritz from my new bottle of Dame Perfumery’s Dark Horse instead, and it’s a slightly gourmand, spicy guaiac delight ????.
Twins! I’m wearing M7, too, from a sample Austenfan gave me a while back – together with many, many other things that a green perfume enthusiast absolutely needs to smell. I like it a lot and I knew she would wear Paris, so I thought I’d go for this one
Twin! You smell wonderful
Goodsmellas
I’m utterly predictably, aren’t I?
Only occasionally and in the most delightful way.
Hey twin! We do smell great.
I decided not to participate in the project today. I’m taking baby Jack on his first trip to the theater to see Alvin and the Chipmunks. Something very fun and sweet is in order, so I’m in Prada Candy.
AWw! Have fun.
Thanks! He had a blast. He wasn’t heavy enough to keep his seat down (it kept springing up on him) so he sat it my lap — and danced the whole time. He danced all through dinner too. He doesn’t get that the show is over.
This is such a cute description. I guess he wasn’t heavy enough even with a booster seat?
Champagne, from a batch before all the vitriol about the name. Had not touched my bottle for over ten years – too many hard memories, then was afraid it was spoiled… But I take our community projects very seriously, so today was the day. What can I say? I´m smitten, never thought it was that good, a bit like MPCPC, which I´ve been hoarding like a fiend because I only have a couple wears left, but this may be even better and… my gorgeous dab bottle is almost full. Yay. Thankful already.
I remember when it launched that I didn’t like it at all, but I did find it interesting. Tried it many times as I loved Paris so much and enjoyed Rive Gauche a good deal too. Now I wish I had bought a small bottle and kept it safe, as I do love it these days. Haven’t got a bottle though, keep wondering whether or not to get a bottle of the older EDT.
Anyway, you smell great.
I´d say you should get it, not that I want to sound like an enabler.
I take these projects seriously too. They also get me wearing things that I haven’t worn in a while
Cool, ha? This community is so awesome, I´ve even worn Angel for a business meeting with at a very sunny and hot beachfront hotel, so yes, I take them totally seriously, lol.
a meeting with virtually no other gals and all sorts of conservative men – I deleted somehow.
No YSL in my collection now, but years ago I had bottles of Rive Gauche and Yvresse and was very fond of them. I realise I haven’t smelled those in years.
I have no YSL at all, so went French with L’Artisan Parfumer’s Fou d’Absinthe. I like this a lot, but it is really fleeting on me. After only an hour or so, I couldn’t smell it at all.
I liked it too, but had the same experience.
Alas, I do not have a single YSL to my name. It’s OK though, I am very content with the way I smell today.
Have you ever dreamt about a fragrance? As in, you could actually sense a smell in your dream? That happened to me last night and the fragrance was Joy, which I have not worn in quite a long time. It was quite vivid to me in my sleep. So of course that’s what I’m wearing now. Good thing I don’t work today. I’m skanking it up over here!
Interesting! I have never remembered smelling anything in a dream, although I definitely dream in colour, which I thought I’d read was fairly rare.
I’ve heard most people don’t have a sense of smells in dreams. I definitely do, often times they are not pleasant. I have been wanting to ask if anyone else here has dream smells.?
I often dream of associations with noises around where I am sleeping. The first thought established (in my dream) at those times is what direction the sound is coming from, I guess as a form of self-defense. If so, you’d think my sense of smell would give a little assist, but nada.
Cool. I once dreamed I was evting Godiva chocolate, and I could clearly taste it. Way better than those work dreams…
I’ve really ignored YSL, but at least I have Paris, my SOTD.
As there is no YSL in my wardrobe,I went with Rochas Globe instead. It starts out Too Dude, but then turns into something discreet and wearable.
Broke out the Rive Gauche yesterday, so today it’s vintage Paris EdT. I always like it very much at first, but it gets too powdery for me after a while, and somehow the powder is LOUD. I’d probably enjoy it more as sillage from someone else who applied lightly.
My particular perfume neurosis is such that I’m always slightly tortured by the thought that there must be another concentration or one of the several hundred Paris flankers out there that would be ideal for me, and the impossibility of trying them all. I was hoping Misia would be essentially a luxe version of Paris with higher quality ingredients and superior subtlety, but (to me) it fails because it lacks that rush of joy that Paris gives.
Yours is the first description of Paris that makes me want to try it.
Wearing Opium Poesie de Chine, which I bought before falling down the rabbit hole. Didn’t love it, as evidenced by the fact that I never quite finished the bottle. I thought my tastes might have become more sophisticated, but I still don’t love it. To me it smells like an attenuated Opium with a slightly soapy floral atop it. I’m in the camp that liked the bottle, though. Happy Friday, everyone.
A blue day, no scent as yet. Breaking out the Nasomatto Absinth, inspired by Missionista’s mention of Fou d’Absinthe. Wondering if this might keep me awake. Oh well….
Forgot to say, sorry, no YSLs in my collection.
No YSL…and i actually went scentless all day! Got home and found a bottle of Balenciaga Paris in the mail! Full size tester bottle scored for $24 on EBay. So I’m ending the night in a fave scent and a deal!
Inadvertently synced with a sample spray of YSL Black Opium. It’s just okay ,I don’t think that it’s full bottle worthy. I’ll try to wear through my other YSL’s this week.
Yesterday, vintage Rive Gauche which takes me back to my teen days as a weekend SA at the Macy’s fragrance counter.
Today, to carry the theme, vintage Opium because, vintage Opium!
Modern YSL frags get no love, but I do have to say I have a friend who wears Manifesto and she smells amazing. Apparently it was made just for her, because otherwise, it deserves no love.