Quick PSAs: our niche giveaway is still open! And the next freebiemeet will be on Saturday, January 16.
Today, five questions. As always, answer as few or as many as you like, or just talk about something else.
1. What fragrance are you wearing today?
2. When's the last time you wore a fragrance that just felt like the wrong choice for the day, and what was the fragrance?
3. What's the next fragrance you are itching to buy?
4. Did you make any perfume-related resolutions for 2015, and if so, did you stick to them? Are you planning any resolutions for 2016?
5. Share something wonderful with us! It can be anything — something delicious you ate, a great movie you saw recently, the last good book you read, any fabulous news you recently received — really, anything.
Note: top image is Pine cones [cropped] by Olga Filonenko at flickr; some rights reserved.
Good morning (or afternoon), all!
1. What fragrance are you wearing today?
Robert Piguet Calypso. It’s cold out where I am, and this feels really cozy.
2. When’s the last time you wore a fragrance that just felt like the wrong choice for the day, and what was the fragrance?
Chanel Beige, a few weeks ago. I really like it, but wore it two days in a row., and it really bloomed in the heat the second day. By the end of the second day, I just felt like “ENOUGH WITH THE PRETTINESS.”
3. What’s the next fragrance you are itching to buy?
Again with the Chanel…probably Misia, No 18, or Sycomore. I took a long time to warm up to both Misia and No 18, but now I’ve drained my large samples, and am in withdrawal.
4. Did you make any perfume-related resolutions for 2015, and if so, did you stick to them? Are you planning any resolutions for 2016?
To buy less. I failed absolutely miserably until December, during which I haven’t bought even a sample. So I think the same resolution will hold in 2016, and I believe I’ll do better at it!
5. Share something wonderful with us! It can be anything — something delicious you ate, a great movie you saw recently, the last good book you read, any fabulous news you recently received — really, anything.
I made a cross-country move this year, and haven’t done a lot for my cardiovascular health since settling in (more of a weights and yoga junkie, and I haven’t wanted to shell out to join a gym). So I started doing a short run before work in the mornings this week, and I’m loving it! I’m less crabby, less apt to skip weights or yoga later in the day, and I’m getting to know my new neighborhood better (even the less-than-savory parts, because I’m running during others’ morning commutes, so it’s a safe time to be in them). And because it’s not a long run (only 2-3 miles), and I take it at an easy pace, my persnickety knees don’t seem to mind it.
Yay for running! I am still learning how to run (3 miles is a long run for me), but it really is a joy to do, isn’t it?! And I LOVE doing weights. So glad you’re finding a way to fit it all in again! (And if you don’t already have a membership, it’s tempting to suggest you avoid the gyms until February or March–I hate battling with the crowds those first few weeks of the year!)
Oh my gosh — TOTALLY agreed! I’m so happy that people are using the new year to try to get healthier, but OOF. Impossible to get on machines or weights, like you said, until the inspiration wanes for some folks. 🙂
I’m liking running outside now, but I know winters are usually much worse out east than we’re getting this year, so I may break down and “gym it” in future years.
Ha, love “enough with the prettiness”!
I had to “remedy” it with some Bandit. 😉
I’m posting early this morning! That’s what happens when you wake up at 4am and can’t get back to sleep. I’m wearing Le Maroc pour Elle this morning, one of my favorite Tauers. Speaking of Tauer, can someone compare LADDM to Sahara Noir? I have smelled LADDM but not the TF.
I can’t remember the last time I had a perfume “miss.” Generally I like what I put on for the day.
I’m not planning on buying anything, although I have a sample cart at STC with five or six in the basket. However, best intentions often go astray…
I made a resolution in November 2015 when I started selling and trading perfume blunders. I had blindly bought most of them early in my perfumistahood, and found my tastes had refined a bit. I’ll continue to do that in 2016 as well as use up my decants.
I’m anxiously awaiting my Christmas present to myself, an (almost) automatic expresso maker which should arrive today. Saving $$$ on lattes may offset perfume purchases! Also, tomorrow is the first day I’ll be skiing in a long time and I am apprehensive and excited in equal measure.
Have fun on your ski trip, and please make me a latte 😉
It’s amazing how much you can save by making your own coffee if you drink a lot of it, like I do. Enjoy!
From memory as I dont have any SN here, LADDM is a bit sweeter and warmer whereas SN is drier and has a cool frankincense undercurrent. It reminded me of something (the SN) but I still dont know what it was.
Thanks! LADDM sounds more my style.
Yup totally agree with your comparison, Perthgirl. I own LDDDM because it’s a bit sweeter and warmer, but that didn’t prevent me from being totally smitten with the SN frankinsexy vibe.
I’m a bunny slope dropout. Enjoy your skiing!
During my university years I lived within driving distance of great ski areas in two different states. I miss the sights, sounds, and smells found on the slopes, but I’m not sure I’m brave enough to take it up again several decades later. I hope you enjoy your ski day!
Tiffanie, it’s been close to 20 years since I’ve lived close to a mountain, but I loved skiing. I’m hoping my old knees and hips are up to it now!
Hey Foxbins–if there’s any chance you were thinking of buying a FB or BUB of Le Moroc Pour Elle, you may wanna add that to your to-do list. I was just at The Perfume House (Our Lady of the Scented Wrists) giving my tithe, and it was included in the collection being phased out here in the US. I just got my BUB of Une Rose Chypree and I’m trying to decide if 10mL of Reverie Au Jardins is enough for me. . .
Such a tragedy.
I tried Sahara Noir a while back and it was very similar to TF Amber.
Thanks! I’ve tried the amber, but wasn’t bowled over.
I couldn’t get past something cumin-y in LADDM. Fragrantica says top notes include coriander and caraway. That said, I’ve never read anyone on NST mention it; maybe most people don’t find it that noticeable. I found Sahara Noir a true rose & incense, but just too intense for me.
1. SOTD: Angel. Got a sample yesterday from the Perfumed Court, and I’ve always wanted to try it. I can see why it’s loved so much…it’s a winner!
2. As a perfume newbie, I make wrong choices quite often! Last week I wore Brasil Dream on a really cold day, and although I got a tropical vibe I was looking for, it was just too heavy and rich. Oh well!
3. Itching to buy Black Jade by Lubin. The hubby was going to buy it for me for Christmas, but it’s not in our budget. If I get some Christmas money (usually from my inlaws!), then I will probably splurge on it! 🙂
4. No resolutions for 2015….but in 2016 I’m going to expand my sample collection and continue to learn more. The more I learn about perfumes, the more I LOVE them!
5. 2015 has been such a GREAT year! My husband got a full time job teaching at our high school (where our kids will be going), and he loves it. This has helped us financially more than I care to say….let’s just say he NEEDED to find work, so finding the perfect job was a true blessing. We are healthy and happy….God is good, all the time.
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND Y’ALL!!! Planning to bake cookies later, but 1st, we’re having a new sofa delivered today! Our 20 year old sofa is being hauled away too by 1-800-GOT-JUNK. Goodbye old sofa! 🙂
Fun — enjoy your new sofa! Sounds like a good year.
I love getting new furniture. Enjoy it!
1. I’m undecided so awaiting NST inspiration.
2. Chypre Mousse a couple days ago. It warmed up a lot more than I expected and I was tortured by the thick, herbal miasma. Now I understand why some folks don’t like CM 😉 It will be a while before I indulge again.
3. Iris Cendre is currently at the top of my list.
4. I’m going to try to sample more discriminately and buy the FBs I love instead of decants that evaporate.
5. It’s a beautiful day and the kittens caught a mouse. I’m going to go outside and celebrate with them by disposing of it and distracting them with a pile of leaves.
I learned my lesson on #4 too!
THICK HERBAL MIASMA. You have nailed Chypre Mousse right there. Holy (*@&%)*, was that thing just pure awful on my skin. People recoiled from me.
I usually get a slightly herb-tinged mossy loveliness, but now that I’ve seen the dark side I will apply carefully.
1. I’m wearing an unplanned mix of Keiko Mecheri’s Oliban and Natori, because after putting on the Oliban, I felt like I needed more playful lightness than it was offering. We’ll see how this combo works.
2. The last time I chose the wrong fragrance for the day? About two hours ago.
3. Rose Omeyyade by Atelier des Ors is this week’s scent crush, but I’m trying to be more thoughtful about my purchases, and know I should start with a decant before moving on to a full bottle.
4. My perfume resolution started in 2014 and extended into 2015, and that was really just to let myself indulge more, after years of restraint. I may need to reel it in a bit now to ensure I don’t buy a full bottle a week, but treating myself to these things has brought me so much joy. Wheeee…
5. Something wonderful? In much the same way that I have been indulging in perfume, I have recently started exploring the world of cheese (yes). Much more dangerous calorically speaking, but equally delightful. My recent favorite – a cheese called the Other Stephen. Give it a try if you see it anywhere – soo delicious.
I am a cheese freak too! I have too many addictions.
Cheese friends!! ????
I think we’re just passionate and intellectually curious about the things we love. And what’s wrong with that?
(By the way, I may follow you into the world of tea as well. I’m having too much fun with everything else.)
Cheese, tea and chocolate are all cheaper than perfume, and they are easier to use up -> less guilt!
Love to try new tastes. My grocery carries a lot more cheese than most, but I haven’t seen this. Now I’ll try other sources. ????
It wouldn’t surprise me if it was a cheese-shop only kind of thing – I discovered it at a tasting/class I had the chance to participate in at Murray’s Cheese here in New York. Definitely worth trying if you get the chance!
Mmmm, cheese. My favorite of late is Espresso BellaVitano from Wisconsin. I just looked up The Other Stephen. It looks delicious but I’ve never heard of St. Stephen cheese before. Is it like Brie?
I’m writing down the name of your favorite. 🙂
I don’t yet know enough cheese terminology to give a perfect description, but I would say that while it is a softer cheese, its flavor is richer than Brie. To me, it was almost like eating rich, delicious butter straight – completely decadent. A little mushroomy in the best sense.
Hope that helps!
I have to sign up for that cheese class!
It’s fun!
Hey Hajusuuri-if you ever want to explore Lambertville, I live about 20 minutes away…..lots of great shops, food and natural beauty…just sayin’
Yes you do!
Ahhh. Cheese. We went to Lambertville, NJ last weekend looking for an antique desk. We didn’t find a desk but found a great cheese shop that was very generous with samples. So came back with lots of cheese(and a lamp) 😀
LOL. I have never been to Lambertville but have heard many good things about it!
It’s very quaint. Worth a trip. It’s near New Hope, which was our second destination, but we ran out of time.
What more could you want in life? 🙂
I have a cheese tooth.
D’Auffinois Poivre sets me free.
Writing it down- thanks for the tip!
Rose Omeyyade is lovely, one of those perfumes where I’m compelled to sniff my wrist continuously while walking along the street – probably disturbing for passers-by, but I’m happily oblivious.
I think it is similar to Rose d’Arabie, which is a huge relief for my credit card. I’m too scared to do a side by side comparison because I might find out that they are sufficiently different that I want both 🙂 I’ve come to realise just how much I love rose.
Ooooh – which Rose d’Arabie are you referring to? I would love to have a cheaper option, but when I entered that name into Fragrantica, I only found Armani Prive scents, which would decidedly not be cheaper! Do tell me which brand of scent this is that I should be seeking out! 🙂
Just bought a favorite of mine today as a holiday treat: Camembert au Calvados. You really can taste the calvados!
Adding it to my list!
It’s very important to get those bones strong before middle age.
*Exactly*. That is my entire motivation!
1. No SOTD, yet, except perhaps a few lingerings of last night’s heavy sampling of Iris Poudre. Still working through my Malle toybox! I think the Iris Poudre is going to go into the “pretty but 10mL will be plenty” pile. Not much of an iris girl, in any case.
2. Not in recent memory . . .
3. Well, my to-buy list has mysteriously gotten A LOT shorter in the past few weeks, but the final remaining bottle is a back-up of Une Rose Chypree. I’m gonna drain the one I have some time this year. Hopefully, I’ll get over to the Perfume House this morning or early in the week to get that. And while I’m there, perhaps something else will fall into my hands as well. . .
4. Not really a resolutions kinda lady. (Plenty goals, but nothing related to perfume.)
5. I am looking forward to hosting my family for Christmas dinner once again this year, and I’m still trying to plan the menu. I love the excuse to make something “fancy”–In previous years, I’ve done mussels or another seafood, because it feels special (and I don’t eat red meat, so other traditional options don’t usually apply). If anyone has a favorite dish they think I should consider, please feel free to reply! Otherwise, I’m gonna enjoy digging through my cookbooks the next few days!
Settled on Musc Ravageur for my SOTD. Georgeous stuff, this! And it seems just perfect for Christmastime.
You smell great! I was so very tempted to wear that today, but my hand, which seems to have a mind of its own, grabbed Indochine instead.
You smell terrific–I just got that one semi-blind (had a last minute perfume mule offer with nothing to request!!) but it really couldn’t have worked out better–completely perfect this time of year.
MR, google Hung Huynh’s Baked Shrimp. Stupidly easy, goes with lots of other things and incredibly delicious. I sop up the sauce with a baguette.
I have a FB of Le Maroc; is Rose Chypree going away also?? I might need a FB.
He’s not ending the scents, but limiting distribution. There’s a handful staying here and easy to get–the ones that get the most sales, notably PHI, L’air du Desert Morocain and the Tauerville scents. I was surprised at URC being in the “not enough sales” list, and Tracy was too. Interestingly, she also said that Andy had said that Orange Star was a huge seller, but they’ve not found much interest in it here. (It’s going on the limited distribution list, too.)
WHEW that he’s not ending production at least!!
That sounds delicious, thank you for the suggestion! Very similar to how I do my steamer clams–and the bread really is essential, isn’t it?! How else can you enjoy all the fine sauce?
1: Nirvana Black Body Oil with two generous spritzes of PG Indochine to top it off.
2 & 3: Can’t remember wearing the “wrong” scent and can’t remember when I’ve worn something I didn’t love. I’m on a NO BUY (for as long as I can make it last), so I’m not sampling right now either.
4: I did make resolutions for 2015 and I was a total failure. See above for my 2016 resolutions. I’m not optimistic, but we shall see…
5: Gorgeous day! Finally cool in the 60’s, zero humidity, and the sun is shining like it’s on steroids. T-Rex is doing wonderful with her puppy training and I’m off to get an oil change and tire rotation. T-Rex is tagging along for socialization and training purposes, but really, she’s just planning on charming the pants off everyone 🙂
My house is a hot mess and I need to do a ton of yard work but it will be in the 80’s again by Monday, so I’m just going to enjoy the weekend and to h*** with the boring chores 🙂
Hope every has a fabulous weekend and Happy Holidays to all ✌????
I envy you — it is chores day here.
No need for envy because I spent 3 HOURS waiting for a simple oil change and tire rotation. The Gods got their revenge for my lackadaisical attitude. Oh, and that’s 3 hours with a 16 week puppy in tow. She was better behaved than me ????
A puppy? What kind of puppy?
Well, near as they can figure (I got her at a local shelter) she looks mostly like an Australian Cattle Dog, the red version.
She is a very intrepid little dog and lacks all sense of caution or self-preservation! I have had dogs all my life, and used to train and compete in AKC Obedience Trials back when I was young and spry. I have never met a bolder puppy than this one.
She will either keep me on my toes or induce a fall that breaks my hip. People who know the breed tell me to stick with it and that once they mature, they are great companions and guard dogs. Fingers crossed!
We’re in the same boat it seems. My puppy is an absolute doll but she is the devil in disguise. She’s smart as can be but stubborn and strong willed. There have been times I’ve wondered if her hearing was bad but no, she hears just fine, she just chooses to ignore me. Ugh. She has no fear and will try things no other dog I’ve ever had has tried. I’m constantly watching and waiting for her next mishap.
Good luck with yours. Cattle dogs are smart and so cute. Hopefully we will both survive puppyhood. Lol.
Deva, I was raised with our dog, Spike, who was an Australian Blue Healer, very similar to the Cattle Dogs. He was wicked smart (seriously scarily aware of what was going on around him sometimes!), and I think he was most happy when he knew *exactly* what to expect.
I wish we’d done the obediance school thing, because he was so protective, there were some awkward scrapes when he was trying to “protect” us at the wrong moments! (Chasing after and biting the tires of a moving motorcycle–with a motorcycle cop astride it–for example!)
SOTD is freshly brewed coffee and Jo Malone Orris and Sandalwood left over from testing at Nordstrom last night.
My resolution for 2016 is only buy after sampling. I have really cut down on purchasing and have made only 3 purchases this quarter.
The swap meet and cleaning out my collection made me much more aware of expensive mistakes.
I will buy the Orris and Sandalwood. Buttery smooth, warm and exceptionally well blended.
It’s been a rough couple months with my 94 year old mothers health continuing to decline, but I am looking forward to 2 weeks in Thailand with my sister in January.
So you liked Orris & Sandalwood, obviously. I sprayed it on a paper tester yesterday and was not bowled over. Was hoping to obtain a sample to take home for skin testing, but I could not be bothered to wait for an SA to help me. Another day… Your vote of confidence has encouraged me to try again.
Luna, do give it another try. I am usually underwhelmed by JM, but this one is in the intense group or whatever they are calling it these days and I surprised how much I liked it. I think my JM collection these days is only Wood Sage and Sea Salt and Dark Amber and Ginger Lilly.
Love Dark Amber & Ginger Lily!
This past Monday, I walked through the fragrance gauntlet at Macy’s Herald Square intent on getting the Philosophy Fresh Cream ornament (success x 3). Since I missed the launch announcement, I did not think to sniff this. I’ll brave Macy’s again next week. I have $10 in Macy’s money which is good towards any purchase and may use it for that if I like it.
Ooooh, must try Orris & Sandalwood.
Yeah that sounds great!
Is that a new one? It sounds interesting to me but I haven’t had too much luck with JM fragrances. There is something in the dry down that puts a hitch in my giddy up and I don’t know what. I have tried the bergamot and oud body oil, which I really liked because it seemed to be missing the “hitch” I smell in the edp’s. Maybe I’m nuts…
And forgot to say that I’m so sorry to hear about your moms decline. It’s so hard to witness that process and feel so helpless as it unfolds. Wishing you and your mom the best, and hope this holiday season is kind to you and your family 🙂
Is it new. The dry down was smooth, nothing weird happened. Thanks for the kind words about my mom. She is one tough customer, let me tell ya. We could trade my running after that 16 week old pup or my mother in Macy’s and I’m not sure who would crack first????
Sorry to hear of your Mom’s decline. But enjoy that vacation, sounds beautiful.
1) Nothing yet as I’m prepping for an annual solstice party tonight: part social, part ritual, then the fun Kris Kringle anonymous gift lottery. Always a hoot and an eclectic crowd.
2) Putting on new samples before leaving the house has resulted in some unpleasantries. So I try not to do that anymore.
3) I’m eyeing a bottle of vintage Cristalle EDP… Also looking for interesting minis for my new, growing collection. I found a nice display case, too.
4) No serious resolutions just yet. Just to keep an eye on my spending so I have $ for stuff like vacations, interesting classes, and whatever else.
5) I bought myself a ukelele and lessons for Christmas! I started 2 weeks ago and so far it’s a lot of fun, but not as easy as I thought it’d be.(I’ve only played piano which is many years ago now). My husband says he’s confident I’ll be the next Tiny Tim 😉
The party sounds fun! Have a great night!
Awww, thanks 🙂
Heh, you can be the entertainment the next time we see each other! The party sounds like a lot of fun!
Uh oh. I better start practicing then. So far my repertoire includes “Twinkle Twinkle” and “Amazing Grace”.
Happy Yule! When I lived in Minnesota, I had wonderful, magical friends who would build a 7-gated labyrinth in the snow with ice sculptures, cedar boughs, icicles and such, lit by candlelight. I miss walking that labyrinth in the darkest of nights each year!
Wow! That sounds amazing!
It truly was (is?) amazing! There can be such power in beauty shared in community!
Sounds magical.
Yes! The best labyrinth walks I’ve done have been at winter solstice, even in the *biting* cold of Minnesota!
Ukulele! How fun!
Every so often I think I would LOVE to learn to play hammered dulcimer, but I don’t know where to get lessons or where to even find one. (And not sure how much money I want to put into it, in any case.)
Taking a break from pre-holiday cleaning. You know, the nights are so long perhaps I could just light candles and let the dust bunnies play in the shadows.
Wearing Guerlain Winter Delice to be all seasonal. There is a promise of snow for Christmas Eve, but otherwise it’s supposed to rain rain rain. Holding off this morning at least.
Might have to go and buy a bottle of L’Eau d’Hiver in the new year. The parental cheque is wining its way over here and that might be how it’s going to be spent.
Wrong choice was wearing Ambre des Merveille on a warm day. Felt quite oeverheated even though I wasn’t overdressed.
On a sleety night this week I ended up with a roast chicken dinner and it warmed me thoroughly.
Hooray for L’eau d’Hiver and roast chicken!
I love my bottle of L’eau d’Hiver, although I’ve had to decant it into a small sprayer–the Malle bottles really shoot the juice at you! I prefer more of a misted approach. . . In any case, I hope you go for it! Such a lovely scent!
Happy weekend everybody! I am having a wonderful lazy Saturday, see #s 1 and 5 below.
1. Finally got a whole Saturday to just be alone at home, therefore I am finally testing the vintage Lanvin Rumeur I found a tiny sample of in an antique store. Holy moly. There is something about these old Lanvins (well just this one and My Sin) that makes me feel actually a little insane when I smell it. It might be the civet? Or probably it’s something that’s illegal now. Anyway I am smelling cloves, leather, and MADNESS. Good stuff.
2. I put on Chinatown recently, thinking it is never a bad time for Chinatown, but it was totally a bad time for Chinatown!
3. Moss Gown, and I sort have my finger on the trigger for My Sin, which I don’t love exactly but am fascinated by and only have a teeny micro-mini. I should use up the mini first.
4. I have done a good job coming in well under $100/month – thank you, estate sales. Now that I’m done with school and buying things again, my resolution is to pay forward all the kindness I experienced from this community while I was broke by participating in the freebie meet from the other side for once!
5. I’m rewatching Better Off Ted today. I know this is not new, but if by any chance you missed this series, Netflix it up immediately! Kind of like a super corporate Arrested Development.
Chinatown has pulled that cheeky stunt on me before too. Such a betrayal 😉
I tried it at bedtime once! My husband was not amused.
Me too, just a few days ago!!
Cloves, leather and madness sounds perfect 🙂
I’m becoming a bit of a Lanvin addict but I haven’t tried Rumeur yet. I will have to keep my eyes peeled for some in a forgotten dusty corner because you make it sound really intriguing!
Love your description of vintage Rumeur!
I have a small bottle of Moss Gown that turned out to be a disaster on me, and I’m trying to find it a new home. PM me if you want some details on it (malsnano86 AT the googley mail DOT com).
I love those old Lanvins, and I’d better get busy since this is the time of year when it’s cold enough to really enjoy them.
1. No SOTD yet… will be sampling. Got a bunch of samples from Soivohle during her Thanksgiving sale, working my way thru those. So far, no hits (helloooo, freebiemeet!)
2. Most recent fragrance miss… wore TF London the other day, which was nice most of the day, but shifted into too-much-oud by the end of the work day. ah well
3. Next frag I’m itching to buy… probably Profumum Ambra Aurea. Or Aftelier Ancient Resins.
4. Perfume resolutions. Didn’t really make any for 2015 (as Donatella knows all too well), though like foxbins I did start purging purchase mistakes, and will continue to do that in 2016 — got a box of things ‘to go’ already, just didn’t get around to Ebay-ing yet. 2016 resolution: purge more, buy less 😉
5. Something wonderful: inspired by chatter about PG Wodehouse a few weeks back, I got DVD’s of Stephen Fry & Hugh Laurie’s ‘Jeeves and Wooster’, which I remembered loving back in the day. And they are still wonderful 🙂
Jeeves and Wooster is the best! It’s so comforting somehow. Just makes you feel as if everything will be all right.
Oh yes! I love Jeeves and Wooster. I’ll always think of Hugh Laurie as Bertie Wooster first and foremost.
Me too 🙂
Ambra Nera is awesome. LMK if you are interested in a split
Oh, I *loved* Jeeves & Wooster. Taped a bunch of episodes of PBS, back in the day… I’m sure they’re unwatchable now, just due to age. Maybe I need the DVDs. 🙂
Hello, hello, hello! I’m not wearing any perfune except the smell of baking, so I expect my scent is brown sugar, vanilla, golden syrup and chocolate. It’s in my hair and clothes. I love to bake, but I don’t eat much of what I cook– my husband thinks this is deeply suspicious behaviour, but he forces himself manfully to eat my share! I’m making Anzac biscuits, chocolate chippies, and melting moments. In other words, all the way recipes from my childhood, the first things I ever learned to cook.
The last perfume mistake I made was Arabie, any time I put it on., like last night at bed time. I live in the constant expectatnt hope that it will be better on my skin than it was at the previous application, but it never is. It’s meant to smell like a spice souk, but all I get is dates and wet camel. I’ve not so far located a mood that matches this smell.
My To Try and Buy list is HUGE because A-NZ affords so little access to the niche and the off-beat. I approach it the way a mountaineer might view a particularly daunting clmb: I’ll get to the top one day feel triumphant.
I choose one strong verb as my yearly resolution. This year — what a joke! — it was “relax”. I decided when I was walking home on Friday, that my word for 2016 would be “enjoy”. That seems to apply to perfume as much as to people, work, colours– everything, really.
Something wonderful? Honestly, there’s too many, and none in particular. I think I’m a child inside, and I get intense pleasure out of meeting Governor Grey, a self-possessed Blue Burnese, in the Uni gardens, or seeing a cute baby, or buying a shirt in a pretty colour, or –well, you get the idea. Lots of small things strike me as amusing, too. I long to be able to say sonething wise and important here, but my wonders are small and just made up of everyday STUFF. Sorry.
I believe that it’s the seeking and seeing the joy and the beauty in even the smallest things that keep me aware of the joy of life and the divine, stunning beauty of our planet. Why choose anything else if we can choose happiness? I always try to take the time to smell the flowers, to stop and really feel the breeze caress me as it passes by, to look up at the sky and the trees, to say hello to the bugs and spiders, to wave hello at curious toddlers. To be grateful. I think ‘enjoy’ is the prefect motto for the coming year Waterdragon 🙂
Yes, gratitude. It’s important.
I’ve just taken the second tray of Anzac biscuits out of the oven, and they’re perfect for once. Even the ones on the V edge are a uniform golden brown– they often get overdone. You know what? I wish I could make NST a cup of tea and we could all sit around eating Anzac biscuits and melting moments and chatting about everything. What fun! The first batch of chocolate chippies will be out of the oven in 20 minutes too, but I don’t know if warm chocolate chippies are very digestible. I’d hate to cause NST a wide-spread case of indigestion.
But that’s when the chocolate chips are all nice and gooey!
😉 But even if you nicely smack my hand away from soft biscuits for the sake of my digestive comfort, I’d happily enjoy a tea and a chat with you (all of you!) 🙂
See, I don’t appreciate chocolate enough to understand that, but if you like them that way, so it would be. The dear man has decided that 2x chocolate chippies (warm) with a latte can be his breakfast today, and I just don’t get that either. He announced that the universe has a special health dispensation for Christmas breakfasts!
What a cheery thought. If only …
Since I can’t join you physically, I’ll turn on my oven and join you in spirit. Someone ate all the date bread (who? Who could it have been? It honestly wasn’t me and Mom denies all knowledge. Do the cats raid the ‘fridge? If so, why isn’t all the butter gone?) so I must make more. I’m thinking brownies are a good idea too, so Mom leaves the date bread alone.
MikasMinion, you inspire me! Date loaf! Yes, I’ll make that as well. I have my mother’s recipe, and it’s another blessedly easy fail-safe one. Even I eat that– it’s gorgeous warm, with butter.
I’m loving my return to the kitchen!
I would love to join you! Those biscuits and fun, good smelling company.
Warm chocolate chippies are magical…
I had a manager when I did home care who was a bit of a nut job and not a particularly effective manager. But I admired her uniqueness and it was fun when she tagged along with me on my visits-she would stop and hug trees here in NYC. She had 2 tattoos: “I am enough” on 1 arm and “I have enough” on the other. It’s true that there are enough free things in front of us to notice and enjoy all the time. Our Solstice event celebrates the natural world and we set intentions for the new year(it’s not as New Age-y as it sounds. Really.) and I think I’ll borrow “enjoy”. It’s a good one 🙂
Your solstice celebration holds much appeal for me. I’m going to think hard on it.
Nut jobs are the best 😀
We are, aren’t we 😉
Love those tattoos!
1. I am currently wearing Bois des Ils while at work. Planning to switch to Beloved this evening for the family Christmas party.
2. I wore Byredo Blanche to work on a hot day when the air-conditioning was broken. Not good. I haven’t been able to wear it since.
3. Itching to buy a FB of Beloved, or possibly Lyric after the holiday bills are paid. I also have my sights on 31 Rue Cambon and Parfum de Therese. Oh sorry, was I supposed to pick just one?
4. No official 2015 resolutions, but I did give myself permission to be more bold with my perfume wearing and buying. Excellent success there. For 2016, I plan to be a bit more judicious with my sample purchases.
5. Watched the first 2 episodes of Jessica Jones on Netflix last night. It’s dark, but very compelling.
*Iles*
Though part of me prefers it’s NST nickname.
Bois des Ills sounds like something Daisy would say. . . Like Shalibarf. 🙂
“Shalibarf” almost made coffee come out my nose. 🙂
I watched one episode and was uncertain. Must watch another. I switched to “How to Get Away with Muder,” which I’m going to enjoy.
Great answers.
MFK APOM Femme today.
I cant think of a recent time with a definite perfume regret, but over the last couple weeks I haven’t had any specific cravings which makes choosing difficult and also has the effect of not making anything PERFECT for the moment either.
I do need to concentrate my finances in some other directions so I’ll be re-evaluating my perfume budget for the coming year… I suspect it will somewhat leaner 🙁
I’m currently: trying to pretend Christmas isn’t in 6 days! It’s been a pretty stressful couple of weeks with the car accident and just being told that it’s a write-off and worrying about the whole rigmarole. Computers and cars inspire a certain terror within me because I don’t know enough about them to not rely on help (which I havent got without a fee) I dread anything to do with them and wish I could wake up in the morning with it all miraculously done.. Lol..
But I do have time off work until xmas so I can get that sorted and have some chill-out time and go to Fremantle to do some xmas shopping (havent started!) and because I miss hanging out there like I used to have time to do. And some beach and some reading and cooking and all will be right with the world again. 🙂
Oh and Eau d’Italie Jardin du Poete is now the next on my to-buy list. And then maybe I can afford to wait til winter. Then buy 2 Beaufort London’s 🙂
Dammit. And Lampblack. I need some lampblack.
My first boyfriend was much older than me and for many years after I kept the empty bottle of aftershave he wore. It was fabulous! It was called ‘musk’. Rectangular bottle, red label. No idea what it was and Professor Google seems clueless too. After a decade or so I got rid of it, it seemed strange to keep it when I was with another guy. Then when I sampled Lampblack last week I smelled it again. It has other darker, smokier notes with it, but I smell that memory within it. My ex has now been dead for many years and it seems a lifetime ago, but I’d know that scent anywhere. And it still just smells fabulous.
I think Jovan makes a cologne that is simply called MUSK.
Ah. The smell of an old boyfriend… (SSS Tabac Aurea is that for me, and the great thing is I get the fabulous smell, without all the drama.)
1. SOTD is Lush Snowcake from the hefty decant I pulled when I bought a bottle for my sister two years ago. It’s also my number 2. Answer. Finally figured out that it smells like hand soap to me; Dial maybe?
That said if anyone wants my decant it’s 5 mls or more. Just comment here and shoot me a gmail at my username here and it’s yours. Merry Christmas!
Tempted by a bottle of AG Grand Amour on eBay but mostly because it’s 20$ and I could pick it up from the seller so I’ll try to resist.
I want to sample more classics this next year. Especially Guerlain and Chanel.
And as for wonderful news my best friend and heterosexual life mate is coming to spend the night and I can’t wait to catch up. Best present ever!
I’d be more than happy to take an unloved decant off your hands. Emailing you now.
I *love* the smell of the Snowcake soap, but the liquid fragrance isn’t nearly so nice, IMO. (Or maybe I’m tolerant of soap smelling like soap, where I really hate that effect in perfume.)
1. I’m testing Byredo Rose of No Man’s Land. The day is too cold for it, but I’ve been too curious to wait. The quality of the rose is great, but it has some of those modern wood and musk notes that I’m not crazy about. I’ll try it again in warmer weather.
2. About a week ago, Bruno Fazzolari Lampblack was on my mind for several days, but I wasn’t able to wear it due to appointments, etc. When I finally did, the day was cold and damp, and it was a complete mismatch. 🙁
3. Oddly, nothing is on my must buy list right now. Sure, I’d like a bottle of Roja Dove Diaghilev, but it’s too expensive to consider.
4. No perfume resolutions; I’m still working on the perennial “lose weight.” 😉
5. I had fabulous Moroccan chicken bastilla this week at a small neighborhood restaurant called Fettoosh in Arlington, Virginia. Tender chicken with almonds, parsley, onions wrapped in light leaves of filo pastry, dusted with powdered sugar and cinnamon. Perfection!
Love bastilla but I’m not sure if there are any Moroccan restaurants in Boston. I like the recipe in Cous Cous and Other Good Foods of Morocco by Paula Wolfbert if I’m making it myself
Thanks, I probably won’t try to make bastilla myself, but I just ordered this book for the other great recipes. 🙂
My Moroccan friends rave about Moroccan Hospitality in Somerville. There’s also Baraka Cafe in Cambridge, but that’s a little more Tunisian.
Love bastilla. Yum.
The bastilla sounds amazing.
That Moroccan thing sounds amazing.
Sounds yummy.
Milk of Flowers is my SOTD
This morning I put on Prince Matchabelli Holly Berry thinking to be appropriately seasonal but immediately realized that I just wasn’t feeling it
Fumee D’Or is on its way and now I’m trying to save enough cash tips to buy Orlov Cross of Asia–it’s so expensive that I need to be very deliberate about it
I seem to recall that my 2015 perfume resolution was to try more samples than I acquired which I almost accomplished until a 40 sample lot tempted me on ebay a couple of weeks ago. Oh well. My 2016 resolution is to not break 100 bottles until the weekend of my 25th college reunion (when I’ll be able to visit Indigo)
The good news is that a couple of books that I was randomly looking for have appeared on Amazon cheap so I snagged them. Also looking forward to doing some baking this week
Hi goddessrena! I have a decent sized manuf sample(7.5 ml?) of the Orlov I got at Sniffa that I’d be happy to send you. Lemme know at pretsky35 of hot mail.
Blessings! Yes I want it. Will email you my address later today
What’s the Holly Berry like? I really need to get my PM Potpourri out – it’s a terrific spicy carnation thing, good for the holidays.
I just got some travel sizes of Korres body butter and shower gel in jasmine. which I layered NR for her L’absolu over. I think it works well. The last mismatch perfume I wore was Fresh Cream on a day I was feeling to feisty for, so a couple hours in I switched to Coco. I have so much on my mind, that I can not think of any fb I really want at the moment. I had no resolution in 2015, but for the upcoming year, I only want to buy what I truly love, and not just what I can afford. I want to share what I humbly learned this year. If you tell people you need help, they help you. I am so grateful for good people.
Korres body butter is the lotion I wear every day. It’s the best, IMHO. I always buy Jasmine (and keep back-up stock), but once in a while I change it up with Japanese Rose.
Funny, I was looking at NR absolu this morning after Sephora informed me that they’re giving triple rewards points for fragrance purchases. I haven’t really given it a good testing though, so I’m hesitant.
I really like it, and it has good staying power. If you decide it’s not for you, Sephora really is good with returns.
1. What fragrance are you wearing today?
Black Prestigium by Mancera Para, a house with which I’m totally unfamiliar.
2. When’s the last time you wore a fragrance that just felt like the wrong choice for the day, and what was the fragrance?
I’m not especially sensitive to this. If perfume lasted longer on me, I might feel it had been the wrong choice by the end of the day, but I haven’t experienced that.
3. What’s the next fragrance you are itching to buy?
There are many I wish I could buy, so choosing from that lot I would select an Amouage, Beloved, Journey, et al.
4. Did you make any perfume-related resolutions for 2015, and if so, did you stick to them?
If I did, I didn’t.
Are you planning any resolutions for 2016?
I’m hopeless.
5. Share something wonderful with us! It can be anything — something delicious you ate, a great movie you saw recently, the last good book you read, any fabulous news you recently received — really, anything…
I loved the fruitcake I made (Jamaican Black Cake from the NYT). It didn’t need to sit and age, it contained a hefty quantity of run-soaked dried fruit, and it was baked in three cake pans. It is moist, dense, and praised by fruitcake-loving friends.
Oooh! I love Black Cake. My husband brought me home a slice(VERY rummy!) from a work party the other night.
Wonderful! Nice to find someone to share the experience with. ????
I’m sure yours will be delicious:-)
That Black Cake sounds wonderful. Off to check out the recipe…
SotD: Infusion d’Iris from an almost empty sample vial.
Wrong: yesterday I spritzed I d’I EdP from a tester, and it was not what I was expecting.
Buy: more Infusion d’Iris but can’t decide between the EdT or EdP because every bottle smells a bit different.
Resolution: keep an open mind. Hiris is great too.
Good news: the sun is shining and there is chocolate on the horizon!
Have you tried the Absolue version? I like that the best.
Oh, yes! The Absolue is on my must-try list.
Ditto on the Absolue!
Hi Tiffanie,
I have 2 bottles of the absolute, and would love to gift you one. I will never empty both.
Email me at tfk31 in the land of Yahoo if you are interested.
Thank you so much! I just sent you an email.
Hello!
1. 5 o’clock au gingembre
2. I wore Leather Kreme to bed last night and the burnt plastic in the opening wasn’t particularly calming.
3. Calvin Klein Reveal – a beach scent along the lines of Hermes Eau de Merveilles that is super cozy. I’m waiting for the normal prices at the discount stores after the holidays.
4. I’m resolving to finish my samples before buying anymore.
5. The soufflés’ and fresh bread from Panera are delicious. 🙂
Yesterday the parent organization at the school where I teach music gifted lunch from Panera to the teachers and staff. I had an amazing sandwich and salad. I’ve not been to Panera in years. Time to change that! 🙂
And I can walk to a Panera from home :-). They don’t have an extensive menu but the ingredients they use are of very high quality. There’s also unlimited coffee if you are inclined to stay in store to do some work. I don’t recall if there’s wi-fi.
I could die a happy girl in Panera! And the fact that they offer HALF salads is just genius!
FYI- Don’t know if you are in the US but I saw a BOATLOAD of Reveal products at my local TJMaxx, both edp and body products.
Are you enabling again 🙂
Who? Me? ????
Thanks for the advice, I found it in those stores, but I remember it was cheaper before the holidays so I’m waiting. I’ll give you an enabler gold star for trying, though! 🙂
Seconding the TJMaxx recommendation! I got a 50ml bottle of Reveal there for 20 bucks!
Yeah, I saw Reveal at both TJ Maxx & Ross in NC today.
Also, apparently Target is dropping Huile Prodigeuese (sp?) from their offerings, and I saw it in-store today marked down from $39 to $20. Not my cup of tea, but I know it’s popular.
1. Not wearing anything yet, as I’m still finishing breakfast, but will be working my way through my latest batch of samples from TPC.
2. I don’t recall too many occasions when something was completely wrong, but plenty when I’ve thought that I should have chosen the other of the two I was dithering over.
3. My to buy list is always changing. I have categories of definite, possible, less likely, just maybe, and things move around the categories, come off the list, go back on, come off again, etc, etc. Then there are the complicating factors of availability and cost – and all that thinking and listing is lots of fun!
4. My resolution is to buy fewer bottles. I already have a lifetime supply and I tell myself to buy only the occasional really special thing, but I can’tell resist a bargain 🙂
5. Recent perfume-related excitement – finding the Atelier des Ors range here in Wellington. I nearly fell over. Then I saw the price and had to pick myself up off the floor all over again. I’d been dying to try Rose Omeyyade and it’s lovely.
Hallo everyone!OK here goes!
1.SOTD Serge Lutens Fleurs d’Oranger.It blooms and shimmers in the current heatwave we’re experiencing here in Africa!
2.Chanel Pour Monsieur.It stifled me on another really really hot day,and subsequently gave me a nasty headache.I think I sprayed a bit too much.
3.DEFINITELY GOING TO BUY NEXT WEEK:Frapin Nevemore.On the MAYBE list:Olfactive Studio Panorama and Selfie,Byredo Rose of no man’s land and Maubaussin Promise Me.
4.My 2015 resolution was two-folded:curate the current collection by trimming down and selling some lovelies,and to STOP BUYING!I’ve had great success with both!I bought I “think” maybe 8 or 9 new ones,which was considerably less than last years’ haul.Many new lovelies came courtesy of swaps and gifts.I sold a BULKload of unwanteds as well.I feel pretty good about the process in general!
5.For the first time in years(YEARS!!!)my love-life is going pretty well.And that makes me both proud and HAPPY!Also flying lessons have been going very well of late,I just might get that licence after all!(BUCKET LIST!)
Happy Weekend everyone!xo
Panorama has such a fantastic opening! I bought a big bottle even though it doesn’t last long on my skin.
Looking forward to try it especially for the Wasabi note!
Sounds like a lot of success all around! And that flying planes thing makes me nervous just thinking about it. Much admiration. I’m sure it’s exhilarating, though. Nice to see you back here 🙂
Thank you Elisa!The flying thing…well…I’m hooked!;-))
I like Panorama a lot and bought it for J.
I’ve only heard great things so I am eager to test it asap!
So many things to celebrate! How wonderful:)
Thank you Deva!It’s been a great year.
Except for today, it feels like we’re having a heatwave, too, in Winter!
So happy for how you feel about your love life! And the flying! Woo hoo!
Much excitement yes Hajusuuri!I’m turning 40 next year,it’s been my inspiration to throw SOME caution to the wind,and just freakin DO IT!!;-)
yay! nice to see you back. I have been hoping things were going well for you.
Hi Lillyjo!Thanks so much for saying Hi!I’ve got this love-hate relationship with social media and the internet,but I’m regularly here at NST to see what’s up,even if I don’t comment often.Hope you’re doing great as well!xo
1. Nothing, as I have a friend over who’s allergic to most scented things (but I was wearing Olene last night).
2. Tom Ford Tuscon Leather — I was just sampling it, but it had to go!
3. There are soooo many…probably a sample of Chamade or a FB of either Lamp Black or Au Dela.
4. I didn’t have any, which is good cause I bought so much at the end of this year.
5. I’m having some friends over for a mimosa and girlie TV party!
Girlie TV party sounds fun, hope it was!
1. Parfum d’Empire Aziyade.
2. I honestly cannot remember and it doesn’t happen often.
3. Trayee.
4. I didn’t have any this year, but there are two for the next: 1) January will be a no-buy month, also for skincare and beauty; 2) I will organize and wear my samples.
5. I’ve just finished reading Iran: Empire of the Mind by Michael Axworthy and it’s a very good book. Plus, perfect match for Aziyade 🙂
1. Guerlain Vetiver. I’m so happy to have this in my collection now. I’ve wanted it for an age. The bottle is beautiful, very understated and masculine but oh so elegant. It’s a tester so there’s no cap but what can you do.
3. Either Tam Dao or Kyoto. Maybe Eau de Baux? Apparently it’s being discontinued for real this time. I’ll check if I can get a good deal at L’Occitane’s winter sale.
4. No resolutions for me.
5. Hot Thai Kitchen (http://hot-thai-kitchen.com/). It’s a really great YouTube cooking channel I’ve subscribed to. The recipes are very good and I adore the host, Pailin.
I love Guerlain Vetiver! I purchased a tester as well, sans cap, but who cares? It smells fab and it’s the bomb diggity down here in Swamplandia! You smell great ????
Thanks. It really is a good one. I imagine it suits Swamplandia just fine. I thought I wouldn’t care about the cap but I sort of do now that i see the bottle standing on my dresser looking naked and all. I may have to fashion a hat for him.
I’m just back from a shopping expedition:what a day!
1- not “wearing” anything today as I was out shopping for fragrances and wanted to try a few things.
2- This month has seen a few “wrong” fragrances choices. Either I wear a spicy oud, amber thing and the temperature outside shoots way up, or I wear something lighter or citrus and it turns out to be a cold rainy day.
3-I want to buy Y. I even went to the Saint Laurent counter today (after buying Gold Leather AND Oud Saphir for myself and Invictus as a gift)
When I went to try Y, the woman at the counter gave me an icy look and took the bottle away “this is for ladies!”
Rather stupid! I replied that a customer is a customer, especially a week before Christmas.
4-I don’t bother with resolutions. Life is too short.
5- recently I’ve tried (many, many times ????) 2 great cocktails: the Pegu Club and the Bamboo! Perfect after a long day of shopping!
Platinum14, I can’t tell from your screen name if you’re a bloke or not, but actually, either way, that woman was rude beyond belief! If you happen to be a chap, she had no right to limit your choices — you might have been buying the perfume for yourself or, equally, for your mother or lover or sone other important person in your life, and if you’re a woman, she was making the nastiest of classist and gendered remarks about you! I haven’t heard anything like that since the sixties! I’m so appalled I might have to sweeten my Sunday by eating one of my own chocolate chippies….interlude…I tried a chocolate chippie and handed it on to my husband, minus one bite. I try to like chocolate, but it’s got a most peculiar texture.
Preach, waterdragon!
I cannot abide rude sales-folk. Yes, there are loads of lovely ones, but it only takes one jerk to make you feel awkward (even if you shrug it off, it isn’t fun). That attitude of “I will not sell you to because you are unworthy” will bite her in the butt someday.
Ha! I would have replied “Well, I guess that leaves you out!” But then, that might have been rude of me. Does one rude deserve a responding rude? Or is that juvenile, as well as rude? I gues there’s no winning with deliberately rude people…
I like to think of it more as a sarcastic and appropriate response to rudeness. I would have said something similar I’m sure, possibly worse. Sometimes I have no filter.
Hello platinum14!
About #3 – She would have been handed her a$$ for Christmas if she had said that to me.
Juvenile, rude in kind, I don’t care – idiots need their comeuppance.
A certain unpresidential candidate too, maybe? LOLOLOL
Waterdragon: yes I am a bloke! Lol
But I never stated that the fragrance was for me. It’s 5 days before Christmas(at the time). Besides, in my book, chypres are free game. The store was packed with pre-Christmas shoppers but the Saint Laurent counter was dead. Not one customer.
MikasMinion, Poodle, Deva: the fact that I even replied was a shock to her! She turned as white as a ghost.
I usually just shrink away but I stood my ground!
Bear: I just had an extra cocktail to her “health” and I’ll make sure to visit the store again when the Saint Laurent head office rep comes to town.
1. Une Fleur de Cassie. I can only catch occasional whiffs of it, as I have a bad cold.
2. This has never happened to me 😉
3. It’s a tie between Ubar and Rose Nacrée du Désert. I’m very glad that both are ridiculously expensive.
4. No, none at all. I never stick to them anyway.
5. Spent a lovely afternoon in Gent at the Beaux Arts museum. Gent is such a beautiful town/city.
Ubar is soooo worth the money though,I think!
Oh, it is, so is RNdD!
Ubar can be found at a reduced-to-almost-reasonable price on fragrancenet. It’s how I got mine.
Haven’t tried the RNdD. What’s it like?
Gorgeous!
http://boisdejasmin.com/2012/08/guerlain-rose-nacree-du-desert-perfume-review.html
Thanks for the fragrancenet tip, but it wouldn’t work for me at all as the lower price would be more than compensated by the duties/taxes I would have to pay.
Ooh. Dark, spicy, mossy rose sounds amazing! But everyont knows I *never* fall for those hard-to-get, exclusive and pricey scents! 😉
And shoot–sorry I forgot you are across the pond! Maybe you can arrange for a mule? 🙂
A crooked mule! I’ll just have to wait for the best deal on this side of the ocean. It doesn’t matter anyway. I’ve bought enough in the past month.
I wore Coco Noir today, it was great in the cold air. The last time I wore Chinatown it just didn’t do it for me – need to put it away and try again some other time. I hardly ever wear Bond No. 9 any more and they are basically just decorative items in the collection at this point.
I am itching to buy FM Dries Van Noten, but waiting for funds to be available early next year. My resolution for 2015 was to keep it down to one bottle a month and I totally failed, although the second half of 2015 went closer to plan than the first half. My resolution for 2016 is to wear everything in my collection at least once in the year.
My one great thing this year was I retired on May 29th. Now I just need to stick to my budget and really keep it to one bottle a month!
Oh, happy happy retirement! Do you have any big plans or are you going to kick back, slow down, and watch the future unfold?
No big plans, I decided to take the first year easy and just unwind. Next spring I will probably make some more ambitious plans.
Yay, retired!
1. SOTD = Lalique Encre Noir from a decant from a generous NSTer. It’s fabulous stuff and the sillage lingered in a my car. It had been playing hide and seek all day long. I had just decanted Sycomore for splits and I can definitely smell the resemblance. Encre Noire seems to have more sharp edges whereas Sycomore feels rounder and has a smokier vetiver.
2. I accidentally wore FM Bigarade Concentree instead of Iris Poudre. I saved the day by layering it with NVC Bombay Bling.
3. RojaDoveRojaHauteLuxe$3500fora100mLbottle.
Also, Aftelier Vanilla Smoke Parfum which looks like a bargain in comparison.
4. I was going to abstain from buying shower gels, etc. for 6 out of 12 months. I think I managed to abstain for 2 months. As for 2016, why bother if I know I’ll break them anyway?
5. I have a short trip to Madrid the week after Christmas…looking forward to ringing in the New Year there!
Haha. Is that #3 being said very fast in hopes we won’t notice it?! I heard you! 😀
I heard too! I’m in awe!
I saw and heard that one as well. I am drooling right about now.
LalalalalaIcan’thearyou
Hey, I recognize that tactic! 😀
Haha you two. Dying laughing.
I read Kafka’s review of it and it made me want some too, but probably not happening unless I win the lottery. Or forgo any other perfume purchases for the next three years.
I remember leaving a comment somewhere and just looked it up – it was a comment on NST in response to the launch announcement of Roja Dove Beguiled. It sure is expensive – do I like / love it enough to pay the super-premium prices? Hmmmmm….
I saw Kafka’s review of this, sounds amazing. One would have to be very precise when splitting :).
And the splitting won’t happen because the sprayer does not unscrew from the 100 mL. OTOH, there’s a 250 mL bottle that does unscrew but my head aches just thinking of what it would cost…
There is a 7.5 mL bottle…might have to forgo perfume purchases for 3-4 months…
My head hurts thinking of trying to organize a split of 250 ml!! Even if one makes it a 10ml/say, $300 buy-in–still need 25 participants!!! Woof.
Oh–somewhat more seriously, did you see the 190£ travel spray (7.5ml)? I mean it’s not much juice but…that also a lot less than $3500/2500£!!
Wait. Is number 3 missing a decimal point in there somewhere? I’m sure it’s just a typo, right??
Well now I have got to know (at least second hand) what $3500 perfume smells like!!
Now I *really* think we need to see your collection/storage.
Well, January in Madrid sounds like a much better idea than August in Madrid (I think I nearly died from the heat). Enjoy your trip.
1. What fragrance are you wearing today?
Happy Saturday Everyone! Didn’t really get out of the house today because I am still recovering, but I am lightly scented with my Molton Brown’s Rhubarb and Rose shower gel. Really nice!
2. When’s the last time you wore a fragrance that just felt like the wrong choice for the day, and what was the fragrance?
I wore Orange Sanguine the other day but felt it was inappropriate for the season. This fragrance is nice in spring and summer, so I mixed it with some Vanilla Anise to give it some extra spice.
3. What’s the next fragrance you are itching to buy?
Haven’t run across anything lately that I am itching to buy. But, I do have a few that are on my list. I need to wait until I finish something before I make another purchase.
4. Did you make any perfume-related resolutions for 2015, and if so, did you stick to them? Are you planning any resolutions for 2016?
I always say that I won’t spend as much money as I did the previous year on fragrances, but end up spending twice the amount. So, I am not making any for 2016. We will just have to see what happens.
5. Share something wonderful with us! It can be anything — something delicious you ate, a great movie you saw recently, the last good book you read, any fabulous news you recently received — really, anything…
I’m just happy to be able to spend the next two weeks for the holidays with my family and friends. That the greatest thing in the world to me right now. 🙂
Glad you’re recovering!
I spent the day practicing driving (test on Monday, horror of horrors!! I hate driving and cars in general!!! Might well fail… Again…), doing Christmas crafts with a bunch of friends and children, and the final soup kitchen of the year. I wore Tea for Two because I figured it goes with Christmas crafts right? Only it does not last at all on my skin so I probably smell like glue and ginger biscuits. And soup.
I tend to overspray 24 Faubourg and it’s pretty relentless throughout its lifespan! I mean if you’re gonna stink up the office anyway might as well do it with elegance a la Hermès but I always regret my choice when I can feel it radiating around me in the lift to my office floor.
I’m gonna try to find a good fig scent (fruity/leafy and without coconut!) and sample a lot more! This year I have kept stringently to sales and buying stuff I’ve run out of, very dull. I’m gonna buy at least one sample set next year!
My baby niece just got her first tiny tooth! And I got two Mavis Doriel Hay novels – ultimate cozy 30s whodunnits, excellent for Christmas reading I gotta say!
I went on a fig hunt a few years ago, and I think the prettiest straight green fig (creamy to a point, but certainly not coconut) that I found was SSS Fig Tree. It’s fuller bodied than Philosykos and has that sort of chewy texture that her best scents can have.
That sounds perfect!! I’ve been sampling ol philosykos several times and while it’s lovely it lacks the oomph it needs to make it through January in Sweden. But does SSS ship to Europe? I have a faint painful memory of loading up a cart o samples there only to find they won’t send internationally… Or was that DSH?
Oh gosh, I’m not certain about that! Hopefully someone in Europe can confirm or deny for you.
It’s funny, but whenever I think of perfume mules, I imagine someone carrying boxes over the pond from France, etc., towards our direction. It hadn’t really occurred to me that they would be needed the other way! Maybe if I ever get a trip to Europe, I should send out a note and see who needs what first! 😉
Aw dang it does seem like they won’t ship any alcohol based products. Bummer! There are lots of American brands I’m curious about that we just don’t get here. I definitely need a mule…
I think it has become so very difficult with the current postal regulations to ship legally out of the US, that neither SSS nor DSH ship internationally at this time.
Sighhhh!!! International trade laws interfering with my frivolous spending! I’ll just have to stick to European offerings… Thank you for clearing it up!
I have a FB of T42 heading my way and can’t wait!
Also, regarding fig- another good one is AG Ninfeo Mio. It’s green and figgy, minus any coconut or tropical vibe. It’s one of my favorite summer scents.
I love a good mystery and am not familiar with that series so will check it out asap. Congrats on the baby tooth! Next thing you know she will be graduating from college ????
See I own ninfeo mio! It’s the one fig I have and I love it BUT I can only wear it when it’s very warm, which is seldom the case where I live! I want a plusher fig scent for the rest of the year. But you’ve inspired me to dig out my bottle! Maybe I should give it another chance…
Oh, got ya! Maybe we should house swap for a few months as I am always complaining about the heat and humidity and not being able to wear my big heavy ambers and orientals in a regular basis. Good luck with your fig hunt ????
Hot and humid sounds delightful (imagine that)! I’d happily take a few months of that and escape the icy fog, even if it means less mitsouko.
Thank you! 2016 is the year of the great fig hunt!
1. Frag free today. My son was down with the stomach flu, so I think I am still wearing the leftover vomit. I think he is over that part, so at least I can take a shower and smell clean.
2. Andy Tauer Le Maroc Pour Elle. Oversprayed it once without even realizing it. I was sitting in the office, and my boss (who I am not a fan of) gets in and asks who was burning incense. I was the only one in the office that early, so I knew I overspayed 🙂
3. Next one to buy Victoria Minya. Thanks to a generous NSTer I have a decant of Hedonist. The FB is so gorgeous and Cassis sounds v. exciting.
4. I really need to slow down buying parfums!!!! So, I am not going to buy any FB till next Fall (decants are a different matter)
Happy holidays everyone
Oooh, the flu can be awful for the child and the parent, too. I hope you stay healthy and well-scented. The fragrance molecules might drive away the viruses – ha!
Vomit is the worst! Generally makes me heave when I see another person heaving. Is there such a thing as “sympathy heaves”?
That VM Hedonist bottle is gorgeous! I wanted to fall in love with that perfume simply as an excuse to buy the bottle, but it just didn’t do it for me, sadly.
I just witnessed someone’s projectile vomiting a few days ago. I’m a sympathy heaver as well. I always have to make a conscious effort not to join “in the fun”.
Ugh, stomach bugs are the worst.
And LMpE is pretty potent stuff. Nice, but potent!
1. SOTD is Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Winter Delice. We’re finally having some colder winter weather with a dusting of snow last night, so Winter Delice was just perfect today as we finished decorating the Christmas tree.
2. I wore FM Iris Poudre for the Friday challenge that was Pierre Bourdon’s day. Unlike many of you, I feel just ho-hum about this fragrance to begin with and I prefer to wear a Fun and Frolic scent on casual Fridays. Neither of those words describe Iris Poudre, so it was just all wrong for the day.
3. I’m quite sated with my collection right now and nothing is really callng to me.
4. No resolutions per se, but I’ve been collecting fragrances for a long time and have at least a couple for each category, so I’m trying to use up what I have. I sample if something really intrigues me and treat myself to a bottle around my birthday if the spirit moves me. I do have a fondness (and weakness!) for bath and body-type products and will try to control myself in 2016 – I don’t need anymore!
5. An elderly man who lives nearby rides his bicycle down my street several times a day, slowly pulling a bike trailer with his dog inside (I can see it through the screened sides.) Sometimes when he returns home the dog is walking on a leash as he rides his bike. One day he was returning home (I don’t know him but I’ve seen his bike and trailer parked outside where he lives) when I was walking down the street. We said a mutual hi and I asked him what his dog’s name was and was surprised to learn his cat was also tucked inside the trailer, curled up right next to the dog! Each day he takes them both out with him for fresh air and exercise. Our weather has been so mild lately that even in mid-December he’s still able to take several rides per day, and I find myself looking out the window to catch a glimpse of him at his usual times. I don’t know why, but the sight of him with his beloved pets warms my heart in these troubled times, brings me a moment of comfort and a smile of joy as I see him pedal.
That is the coolest thing, taking your pets for a ride! I love you for loving his devotion. Long may they all give joy to your heart and one another.
What a great story! I was out walking my puppy a few nights back and out of the darkness emerged a woman about 80 pulling a red wagon, a Red Flyer, I think they are called, inside of which was a very large and elderly dog. He took up the whole wagon and spilled over the side a bit! Anyway, we said “Hello” as well, and struck up a short conversation, and she told me her dog had to have one of his legs amputated when he was younger and got along really well for years, but now had a lot of arthritis and couldn’t get around much anymore. So, every night she loads him in the wagon and takes him for a walk. This was no small undertaking as this was a large dog and a very slight elderly woman who had to lean forward at about a 45 degree angle to pull that heavy wagon and dog!
There’s a very special place in heaven for people like this.
Oh, Deva! I just got all teary! That’s pure love, there. I wish I could go to her house and do something nice for her. I wonder if she likes chocolate chippies? M
I love your story of the gentleman neighbor on his bike. I began taking daily walks in my neighborhood about a year ago. It is always comforting to me when I see the same neighbors each evening walking and biking with their pups. 🙂
I love that feeling of being sated with my collection! I went much of this year feeling that way. In fact, other than a big sample (*coughblindbuycough*), nearly all of my purchases were replacement bottles or FBs after draining large decants. It can be so nice to not feel like one is constantly seeking something!
Nice and touching. In NYC, it’s the homeless I worry about when they’re not in their usual spot!
Today’s scent was Ambre Sultan which was great for the chilly day we had. Yesterday I was testing some rose perfumes to review and a few sent me running to the sink. One was particularly traumatizing.
There are a lot of things I’m itching to buy but I think I may just treat myself to one more bottle this year and then try to go on a buying freeze for most of 2016. Easier said than done of course.
Trying to train a sock eating puppy is going to be the death of me. As a distraction I took Wednesday off from work to take a basic firearms safety class. I’d never fired a gun before and I have to say I did pretty darn good. So I think I’ve found my new interest for 2016. Pistols and perfume. Lol.
Much puppy sympathy from this residence! Seems impossible to puppy-proof a household completely.
And kudos to you for getting educated about firearms! I think firearms safety should be taught right alongside sex education in schools. I got interested in guns back in my 20’s and love to go to the range and shoot. If you decide you are serious about it, I would highly recommend getting a concealed carry license if legal in your area. Also, there are great classes for further training and really honing your skills under stress, which is pretty much exactly what you need to prepare for a real life encounter. You’ll be the best smelling shooter at the range!
I am planning on more classes and training and getting my concealed carry. Its been on my list for ages and now seems like a good time. In this wacky state you need a LTC even if you just want to have pepper spray in your purse.
Argh! My dog just turned two and is STILL stealing socks! (He was a rescue; we’ve had him just over a year.)
If she just stole them and chewed on them I’d be happy. She’s trying to swallow them whole. She’s like a furry little land shark eating anything in her path. If she doesn’t end up at Tufts to have foreign objects surgically removed from her stomach at some point I’ll be stunned.
Pardon me while I go remove hubbands slipper from her mouth…
Hunter-doggie steals them, and if he can’t get our attention right away (LOOK MOM I HAVE A SOCK! I HAVE YOUR SOCK! HA HA YOU CAN’T CATCH ME, CHASE ME MOM! PLAY WITH ME!), then he chews on them. He eats anything paper, too, preferably paper napkins.
Our previous dog used to steal my husband’s dirty socks, but she would just take them to her hidey-hole under my daughter’s bed as comfort objects.
1. Poivre Piquant. Wanted something easy and appealing, and I found it!
2. Zeste de rose :/ I thought something crispy and light would brighten a gray day, instead it set off my allergies. Wish I could tell a bit better what my sinuses might react to on any given day.
3. Well honestly I am feeling very lucky about all the fragrances that have come into my life recently!!) I am mainly considering backup bottles which tells you how lucky I am right now! That said, there are a couple candles that tempt me… We’ll see if I start down that road!
4. I would really like to get my samples organized–hopefully to include testing some of the neglected ones that turn up in the process!
5. I am writing this hanging out waiting to see a punk band reviewed as “euphoric as [word that doesn’t adhere to the comment policy 🙂 ]”, so, life is a pretty great at present 🙂
Hope the band was euphoric as @&^*!
🙂 They totally were, thank you!
Wow I missed a lot again today (just got home from clients at 8PM). Really enjoying getting caught up on all the great comments here. Well here goes my answers:
1 and 2: I usually don’t wear scent when seeing clients but there was STILL some Jungle L’Elephant wafting up from the two molecules of it that I sprayed on yesterday. So I had to just pretend it was some random holiday potpourri in the room…. Tonight we were watching the democratic debate and I suddenly had to spray on some LDDM, maybe something to do with all the talk about the middle east… So that’s my SOTE
3: I’ve been hankering for a bottle of Hindu Kush since the mini I got in the last swap. That stuff is wicked good.
4: Nope.
5: Something wonderful! Hubby and I were in Colonial Drug which has moved to our neighborhood. And they have Roger and Gallet Carnation soap, Blue Lotus Soap and Sandalwood Soap! All three kinds are singles in the travel soap dish. They also have the full array of Nesti soaps and a ton of other fabulous items that I usually get on line. Their prices are great and customer service is extraordinarily friendly. Colonial is back on the fabulous walk destination map for me.
The R&G Carnation soap is so nice.
Love “Nope.”
SOTD is Alahine. I finally got it out of the cabinet for the winter! Oh, Alahine… sigh.
This wasn’t the last time I wore the wrong thing, but this one made an impression. I wore Lyric Woman (which I love, and which is usually very delicate on me) on a wonderful 70F day, and it smothered me.
I want a bottle of DelRae Wit.
No resolutions.
Finally got my new dishwasher yesterday. The old one died almost eight weeks ago, and after two failed repair attempts, I gave up on it.
Isn’t it funny how appliances seem to die right before the holidays? Enjoy your new dishwasher!
Yep, true. Actually, the dryer that died was one we bought on Dec. 27, 11 years ago. 😉 I can get by without a dryer in the summer – I have a nice big clothesline out back where I can hang about four big loads – but winter? Nuh-uh.
mals, I think we are polar opposite scent sisters, but I have to say you and many others here have me very interested in Wit. I am wondering if it’s my “one true floral love perfume”? It seems to reel everyone in, no matter what their natural perfume proclivities may be. That makes me think this is a very unique and worthy scent. When my “no buy” is over (I can hear the laughter in the background!), I will sample this.
Well, I *am* very much a floral gal, so Wit is up my alley anyway, but it’s lovely.
It didn’t reel me in (ducking for cover) – I get some kind of melon note from Wit that just doesn’t work for me.
Oh, very good to know, thanks! I have never heard ANYONE say they didn’t like it and I was thinking it must be some kind of magical unicorn floral fantasy that makes floral lovers out of floral phobes like me.
Brakes applied, and I will not be just dying rush to sample. Melon…????
I have sampled it and found it pretty but not immediately swoon-inducing, by any stretch. I kept the sample, maybe it will grow on me?, but I suspect it just isn’t my style.
1. No SOTD, but tried 3 different frags I own, evaluating whether to keep them. Pacifica Spanish Amber, Tauer Rose Flash, and Jo Malone 154. Think Flash is going.
2. I remember something in the past week or so being very annoying, but can’t remember exactly what.
3. I’m trying to minimize purchases, but hope to get Cristalle edt and Bel Ami in 2016.
4. No resolutions, just “intentions.”
5. After my husband’s boss took his employees to lunch at a local crab shack, my husband took me there for dinner. The crabcake must have been 3/4 of a pound, and 95% crabmeat. So good.
Beautiful holiday weekend to all.
Yum, crabcake…
1. SOTD was SSS WInter Woods for the second day in a row.
2. A couple of weeks ago I tried to wear some of my heavier winter scents, and they smothered me in the 80 degree weather we were having. It is much cooler now.
3. Realistically, or in our fantasies? Realistically, some more Aftelier body oils–another bottle of Ancient Resins and one of Patchouli Spice–and maybe a bottle of Wild Roses. In my fantasies–recently, I was in the Houston NM and noticed that they had the Roja Dove perfumes for sale. I sprayed a little A Goodnight Kiss onto a blotter, as all available skin space was already taken. It is gorgeous! It is also ridiculously expensive at ~$2000 for a 100 ml bottle. If I could get 10 ml for $200 I probably would buy it, but I cannot spend $2000 on a bottle of perfume, and besides, I don’t need 100 ml of anything.
4. No and no. Some years ago, I resolved not to make any more New Year’s resolutions, and I have kept that resolution faithfully ever since.
5. Recently, I got to audition for Jeopardy! in Houston. I had taken the online test first, and was among those invited to attend an in-person audition, which includes a written test, a mock game (with real buzzers), and a short interview. It was a fascinating experience whether I get to be on the show or not, but I really hope I do get picked to be on it.
If you are chosen as a contestant for Jeopardy, please let us know when your episode will air so we can watch!
That’s impressive that you are in the running to be on Jeopardy. I hope you make it. If you do, maybe that Roja Dove wouldn’t be so out of reach. 😉
Oh how wonderful about Jeopardy!! I wish you the best of luck but I’m sure you don’t really need it.
Hope Star Wars last night with the hubby was out of this world!
I just can’t. No. Those prices are just ridiculous, IMO. I’m sure the scents must be lovely, but I just can’t. In fact, I find exorbitant prices like that offensive, not just because I can’t afford it, but on principle alone. I think I may drop T-Rex over at Roja’s house for a brief visit to bring the man back down to earth ????
Whoops! That was AnnS with the the hubby/star wars date night! My old brain is fried, apologies for my early onset dementia????
I agree that the prices are ludicrous. I have sniffed several of the Roja perfumes, and for the most part, they are nice, but not nearly nice enough for the price. AGK, though, is really beautiful. I kept that card in my purse and a couple of times a day I would take it out and sniff it. It has been about a month now, so it has faded. I do see that there is a 7.5 ml travel spray for 95 pounds with shipping to the US for 15 pounds. That would be about $165 at the current exchange rate. I may yet spring for it, although not right now. I have spent enough money in the last month or so.
Inspired by 50_Roses above, I am wearing the teensiest spritz of SSS Winter Woods to spin class this morning.
After class and shower I’m thinking about busting out the Elephant as the weather continues to be absolute PERFECTION!
Cold morning+hot coffee+playful puppy=Deva Heaven!
A whole lotta happiness and joy bouncing around my house these days. I am very blessed and appreciate these times more than I can say ✌????️
Scratch the elephant- I went with Zelda and no regrets ????????
A little perfume news: I emailed Laurie at SSS about Nostalgie yesterday evening–the big bottles have been distressingly absent from available purchases for a few months now–and not only did she reassure me that it will be back in stock in the next few weeks, but she is also working on a new release–Pacific Forest! She says she expects PF to be ready soon, and then she can restock my beloved Nostalgie. Relieved and excited!
Ooh, good. I haven’t tried the last few releases so I will wait for the new one before my next order. She has a way with forest scents so I’m looking forward to trying PF.
I have a lot of respect for Laurie’s creations, and I was so excited about Forest Walk’s release. Sadly, I think I was in the minority that found it way too sweet–and oddly creamy–and therefore not what I was hoping for. *fingers crossed* that Pacific Forest will be closer to what I imagine it could be!
I lurve Forest Walk…may be SOTD tomorrow while it is still seasonably cool. We’re supposed to have a 70-degree Christmas which is insanely HOT and crazy opposite weather. Could you imagine having a warmer Christmas in the northeast U.S? than Down Under? Ridiculous!
Forest Walk isn’t my favorite, but it’s great once in a blue moon when I’m in the mood for it. It’s the strong cinnamon-weirdness of the hemlock that gets me. Once that calms down, I’m good.
Oh cool! Always excited about a new one from Laurie.
SOTD yesterday was EL Private Collection Amber Ylang Ylang. I had forgotten how good it is. Was afraid my bottle had turned since the juice has darkened considerably, but it was still great. Wishing I had a backup bottle. Will probably wear Cuir Beluga today since it is similar, and see if I can live without resorting to eBay since AYY isn’t made anymore.
Mistake for me was trying to wear 31 RC to work one day. It was just too much.
Hoping to buy the NV discovery set in the new year if I ever get my board results in. Thinking about the Derek Lam discovery set at Sephora and wondering if anyone else has tried it.
No resolutions other than moderation.
Looking forward to eating some of my mother’s Christmas fruit cake. She’s from Ireland, so it’s the real deal.
Oh, my dad was from Ireland and when we visited, I developed a deep and abiding love for soda bread. I have tried to replicate it and it’s a big fail, sadly. Enjoy that fruitcake! Have you thought about videoing her making it for posterity? I wish I had the technology to do that with my granny back in the day.
I hadn’t really thought about it. She does also make soda bread occasionally, though my Gran was the master at that. Besides, there is a difference in the flour that you can get there vs here. Don’t know if it’s the gluten content or what. But I do know that my mom’s scones are hands down the best. Now that’s what needs a video!
Sunday perfume: Rose Flash layered with Vanilla Flash. Good combo!
Inhave to try this! I bet Vanilla Flash and Amber Flash would play nicely too!
Today I’m wearing a little spritz of le labo musc, which is going well with the end stages of yesterday’s musk ravageur. Both from spray samples that are almost finished, and though I pledge to get the last drops out of everything, I’m going to use them up. Too many things held on to “just in case.”
A wrong choice fragrance would be…Theo Fennel Scent. I got it a month before my mom got sick and went into hospital, and wore it a lot on the first 2 trips to take care of her. Now the association (and somehow even the rosiness?) is too overwhelming. I’m going to give it a rest until spring, which it suits anyway, and see if we’ve all gotten over it.
Like a couple above, itching to buy Ancient Resins. The fastest I’ve ever used up something scented. I also think it is very healing and soothing.
My resolutions for the new year: fix up my new space, change something, do something risky/adventurous in the career sector…And don’t break anything!
I’ve been watching way more streamed TV for semi-obvious reasons. My top 3 of the year: The Knick, Fargo & Transparent. The one I got to the party late, but have made up for lost time: Please Like Me–definitely something wonderful to share.
Just started season one of Fargo and it’s completely, wonderfully, insanely right up my alley! I can only watch one episode per night because too much “twisted” late at night disrupts my ability to sleep. I think William Faulkner would love it, too. It has all the bones of great Southern Gothic Lit wrapped up in an icy package, and delivered with a roundhouse kick right to the solar plexus.
Perfectly described. And then, if you can believe it, season two is even better.
I picked the right time to break a leg…TV, why are you so good right now?
1. What fragrance are you wearing today?
SOTM is Dior Escale a Portofino, to wake me up. Couldn’t get to sleep until about 2 am, and then overslept. Coffeeeeeee … need coffeeeee …
2. When’s the last time you wore a fragrance that just felt like the wrong choice for the day, and what was the fragrance?
I wore Dune to the office recently and for some reason it just never settled into the sandalwoody groove that I love so much. I blame the over-conditioned air, but it could also be that Dune was competing with the “holiday tree” in the reception area.
3. What’s the next fragrance you are itching to buy?
Oh, well, I want to replace the defective bottle of Bois d’Iris that arrived recently, but I’m waiting for that manufacturing batch to wash out of the system, and probably that’s not what the poll was trying to get at anyway. 🙂 My perfume wish list is empty right now (since I have a FB of Azemour waiting to be unwrapped in about a week) – any suggestions? 😉
4. Did you make any perfume-related resolutions for 2015, and if so, did you stick to them? Are you planning any resolutions for 2016?
I did resolve against blind buys … and then promptly broke that one! In my defense, my blind buys have all been fragrances that can be had in FB form for the price of many 3ml samples (Jennifer Aniston, Ivoire, things like that). I plan to continue the resolution, AND do better this year. Wish me luck!
5. Share something wonderful with us! It can be anything — something delicious you ate, a great movie you saw recently, the last good book you read, any fabulous news you recently received — really, anything…
I’m about two-thirds of the way through reading The Secret Garden, and am charmed by it. It took a bit to start growing on me because the protagonist, Mary, begins as such a sour little thing. But I love the descriptions of the secret garden unfolding in springtime, and the way Mary slowly opens up to the world and people.
Boy, I sure rambled on and on for not being quite awake this morning, didn’t I. 🙂
LOVE the Secret Garden! I think part of the magic is that Mary starts off as such an unpleasant thing. Flowers can heal. 🙂
Indeed they can! I ventured into the back yard yesterday, between rainstorms, and discovered a camelia covered in winter buds. Made my day. 🙂
Maybe that should have been my Something Wonderful. 🙂
1. What fragrance are you wearing today?
Reminiscence Patchouli from a decant that a generous perfumista shared with me. I lurve patchouli, but this one is a heavy hitter that I save for the days when I’m not in the office.
2. When’s the last time you wore a fragrance that just felt like the wrong choice for the day, and what was the fragrance?
Alaia, which I did wear to the office. Lovely and delicate in the bottle, but when spritzed it came out of it’s cell with a hell of a yell. Too much “throw” in a setting where people were trapped in close proximity.
3. What’s the next fragrance you are itching to buy?
I’ve fallen for Haight & Ashbury by Wing & A Prayer Perfumes–a soft, wearable rose/sandalwood/patchouli that smells much more expensive than its modest price would suggest. Going to gift myself if Santa doesn’t leave it under the tree.
4. Did you make any perfume-related resolutions for 2015, and if so, did you stick to them? Are you planning any resolutions for 2016?
Like many others, I’m buying more carefully this year. I’ve edited my collection and only want to acquire things that I truly love.
5. Share something wonderful with us! It can be anything — something delicious you ate, a great movie you saw recently, the last good book you read, any fabulous news you recently received — really, anything…
Just found out that my sister and her husband are thinking of retiring near us and are planning a scouting trip next spring. That would be sooo wonderful!