Joan Baez is 75 today.* We're marking the occasion with our same old weekend open thread, but first, a quick reminder: next Saturday we'll be holding our first freebiemeet of 2016. The splitmeet will be in February and the swapmeet will be in March.
Today, talk about anything you like — the perfume you’re wearing today, the fragrance you got as a gift and think you will never wear, whatever.
Or, ask a question about fragrance, then see if anyone else has asked a question that you can answer…
* Bonus reading: Joan Baez: Singer, activist, peacenik, lover, legend at The Guardian and The Surprising Ways Joan Baez Faced Down Discrimination at Time.
I am wearing Black Nirvana layered over Yves Rocher Vanille Noire lotion.
Got my hair cut super short yesterday, I stopped dying it last fall and have been progressively cutting it off. It is all gray now. I am 49 and feeling rather old at the moment, but decided I had to move on and accept that I am aging. It will take me some time to digest it all though.
HI Cazaubon-Gray or no gray, there is a Goddess in every woman at every age.
I am not interested in a world where everyone looks glamorous all the time. I find that quite boring.
Here is an inspirational quote for you: The beauty of the soul spreads like a mysterious light on the beauty of the body.
And you smell fab! Have a good weekend
Oh, I bet it looks LOVELY! And good for you for cutting it short! I think that can be even more of a change than going natural with color. Enjoy your faster showers and cleaner bathroom floor!
I agree with Marjorie Rose: I bet you look great! My hair is salt and pepper–mostly salt! My stylist dyes just a small area around my face. It’s a wonderful compromise because I still feel “natural” but I’ve got some darker accents. Even very young women compliment me on my hair! So, what I’m saying is, you can make it work! You may find that you can wear colors you didn’t think you could wear in the past–both in clothes and make up. Have fun with it!
Hi! Enjoy it! I did the same thing with my hair about ten years ago, and I still feel liberated by the wash’n’wear approach! It’s true that one can feel old, but for me, it’s not about my grey hair, it happens when some sprite of a child in a shop calls me “dear” in a kindly tone and tries to help me make my decisions. Your cut suits you, it’s a statement, it’s got style–it has, as a student said to me last year, “swagger”. Red lippy, Cazaubon, tight jeans, pull all your experience and wisdom around you like Superman’s cape, and go out into the world and sparkle at it!
I did the same about 8 years ago. May I suggest a book, available online only, titled “Going Grey, Looking Great”. Very good advice about color adjustments to makeup & clothing. Best advice there: grey hair requires a youthful, modern cut. And my best observation: like a high-low look, the older you get, and the more contrast there is between your outward “look” and your attitude, the more people are drawn to it. So work it. 🙂
I’ve never died my hair, I’m a year younger than you and mine is going gray as well. Mostly I don’t mind, but sometimes I do. I refuse to cut it short however. It’s thick, curly and shiny, so there will just be more gray on display!
I’m generally always in favour of short cuts, but I make an exception in this case. Your hair is fabulous.
Thank you!
I always envy women who have beautiful gray hair. My hair is very short, and I’ve had gray hair since my 20s, but here I am at 58, and its still that salt and pepper gray. My sister has a good friend who has had the most gorgeous spiked short white hair for years. I wanna be her!
I used to work with a lovely woman, Judy, who had the same – it was a gorgeous, glowing halo of spiky white hair. Along with her green eyes, it made her look beautiful in an almost unearthly way.
One just needs to look at that picture of Joan Baez Robin posted and rejoice in the beauty of a 75 year old woman. Really, folks… that is beauty. We all age differently, some better than others, but what develops inside us with age is also reflected outside and it is arguably more beautiful than the beauty of a young pretty face.
I did the same exact thing a couple of years ago and am so happy I did! Much less maintenance and I am surprised by how many compliments I get on the hair these days! I do as little as possible with it (cause I’m lazy!) and generally just put it up in a messy bun after washing and conditioning it. It’s one less thing to think about.
I’ve not colored my hair in months, and I’m enjoying the silvery “highlights” for the time being! I’m 45, and starting graying in my late 20’s, so I don’t associate age with it necessarily…..And besides, gray is in right now! LOL
Thank you all for the nice comments, I really appreciate it! I did indeed put on a raspberry red lipstick and skinny jeans with boots today and got several compliments, plus one look of admiring respect from another woman also with short gray hair as if to say, Right on!
I had long colored hair for the past 15 years so this is a radical change on both accounts but it may be that in fact this makes me look younger as my face is still in pretty good condition – my mom said the short hair accentuates my face/eyes more. And I like the idea of having swagger!
Yes,mis ‘to that an interesting application of the word? When I was growing up, swaggering was the preferred mode of progression for pirates and teenaged chaps. It was not said with approbation! And now it’s a compliment! Quietly, I rather like having swagger too!
My mother started graying in Kindergarten, and I started getting gray hairs when I turned 20, so I’d say you’re doing rather well. 🙂
Attitude defines age rather more than your appearance. My grandfather is pushing 80 and he still builds houses!
Keep active and engaged with the world and you’ll age gracefully without even trying.
I bet you look awesome, sounds more like a question of getting used to the new look.
I envy people who can go gray gracefully. I am not one of them. Just finished coloring my hair.
I also love how good some people look in short hair styles. I have never had short hair so I think I’d need to ease into that gradually as well. It takes a certain level of confidence to do that and I’m afraid I just don’t have it.
I bet you look great.
Pre-shower I am in Divine L’âme Sœur this morning.
Oh, a Divine, and such a beautiful one. I wore L’Homme Sage yesterday.
How is that one? I was thinking of ordering a sample of that because of the great reviews.
It’s a woody fragrance on a base of moss. I bought mine in 2009 I think. So I don’t know how different the current version is. It’s lovely and very Divine. https://nstperfume.com/2005/10/20/he-saysshe-says-lhomme-sage-by-divine/
Great! I will give it a try-thanks for you input!
Read that you are at (now past!) your due date. Hoping that little one is getting excited to enter the world!
I am! I see my midwife on Monday-Hope I am dilating some!!!
Post Shower I am in Songe d’Un Bois d’Été, just discovered this Guerlain line the other day. I tried Encens Mythique which made me swoon.
I have both of those – and L’Ame Soeur as well – all lovely!
Joan Baez – now there’s a lady who is aging gracefully. Happy birthday, Joan!
SOTM is a little dab of Bandit from a sample vial. I think I need to do an arm-to-arm comparison of Bandit and vintage Diorling. Ooh, and I have time to right now!
Well, not surprisingly, the vintage frag was more animalic up front, and the Bandit more tarry and masculine. But much to my surprise, an hour or so in and the Diorling has become VERY soft and rather faint (even though it was from a spray sample), and not very leathery anymore. Not much change to the Bandit. I have to admit I like Diorling better for its complexity and more feminine profile.
Doesn’t she look great?
So is that also vintage Bandit?
No, I think it’s the current formulation. Vintage Bandit vs vintage Diorling would be a really fun smackdown!
Yes! I think Bandit would win in terms of sillage, but Diorling is fantastic.
I have a question. I have a vintage bottle of Cuir de Russie extrait, maybe from the late ’30s, early ’40s, with about 3ml of juice left. It’s wearable and potent but a little…thick? My suspicion is it needs to be reconstituted a bit. How can I do this/should I do it? Or should I just mess less?
Strongest proof vodka you can buy
99% Isopropryl, but just a few drops should loosen the sludge. Then let it sit for a day or two to macerate before you try it on skin. I have done this with some vintage thrift store parfum finds (where there is just a little bit of weird thick perfume in the bottom of the bottle) and it works quite well.
Thanks, y’all!
No SOTD, yet. Probably will be retesting a changed formulation of Nostalgie that Laurie sent me earlier in the week. She emailed me for feedback yesterday, and I wasn’t ready to reply!
I have been wearing Eau de Magnolia a lot this week. It isn’t really the right weather for it, I suspect, as it is a light and transluscent sort of pretty, and we have had cold and dry the past 5 days. Hopefully, I can force myself to keep some for warmer weather, because I imagine it would be really wonderful!
Sometimes spring fragrances are so nice in winter!
It HAS been a wonderful little pick-me-up!
I decided to go with Histoires de Parfums 1725 today. Not bad at all but I wish I had picked something more spicy or incensy this morning.
Well, tomorrow is another day & another perfume to wear 😉
I was thinking the same thing after I applied this floral perfume, maybe after the shower I will put on something spicy
Let me know what did you pick from spicy shelf 😉
Post Shower I am in Songe d’Un Bois d’Été, just discovered this Guerlain line the other day, I am sampling all three
This one was my fave in the trilogy
That’s the one I have too. 🙂
Oh, and I was listening to one of the fitness/strength personalities that I like (Jen Sinkler) and she said something about how “Women don’t just want to ‘look like,’ they also want ‘to be able to.'” Her argument was in regards to the fitness industry focusing on women working towards aesthetic goals when many have functional goals as well, or instead of.
Anyway, it’s been stuck in my head since I heard it, and I’m finding myself ruminating on its many permutations. Clearly, it is not only the fitness industry focused on selling based on goals around what women “look like” rather than what they “are able to.” We see it in all sorts of sales.
Not perfume chat, specifically, (sorry Robin!), but applicable here as well as anywhere, and I wanted to share (especially in this time of resolutions and self-improvement).
Be well. Be kind to yourselves! 🙂
I utterly agree with “being able to”. I’ve always been very strong and had heaps of stamina, but I learned –painfully– on Friday when I was moving boxes of concrete tiles and a roll of carpet from our lock up that strength can obviously be lost without maintenance. I’ve taken my strength for granted, expecting it to come when I call, but it didn’t. Well, not the way it used to. I hate gyms because of the emphasis on appearance, but I suspect I need to find one that suits me at least a little bit and start weights again. Damn it!
Many years ago, my goals were *only* functional. I had been very sick–life threateningly sick–and as I slowly recovered over the years, all I cared about was being able to do what I could do before my illness struck. Such simple pleasures as walking wherever I was inspired to without being exhausted and being able to carry in the groceries myself! (Really, we take these things for granted sometimes!)
I try to stay in that place of gratitude and appreciation for what I can do, but I admit, there are now aesthetic goals, too! I think there’s a place for both, AND that the aesthetic is generally given too much credence.
This broken leg has put me in a place where I miss being strong (and functional!) and I am craving getting back to the gym, to feel like a toughie again. The aesthetics seem like a side effect at this point.
Absolutely!
What an absolute bother to have a broken leg! I bet you’ll be dancing in the streets when it’s all healed up!
I hear you! I also was very ill a few years ago, to the point of being in a wheelchair. Now that I am well again I am totally focused on being able to do things. I have taken up cycling and started swimming again so I can continue to feel good and move with ease. Previous to that I took my health for granted but no more.
Good for you! Sounds like you’ve found it to be really empowering, as I have!
Oh, and meant to say, I hope you have success finding a gym you enjoy attending! I use the community center in my neighborhood, rather than a chain. It has some downsides (small, and some rather odd characters come through the doors), but on the positive side, no pushy sales people, no preening, and no pressure.
I’m not sure the city centre has a community gym, but if it has, its aesthetic might well suit me. I don’t mind odd characters–I am one myself, in very many ways–so that wouldn’t be an issue. It’s the commitment to myself that’s my problem. However, less physical strength than I used to have is also a problem, or could be, so I’ll face it and deal with it. But, bother!
Your post has made me realise I have gracelessly and thoughtlessly accepted my good health as a given all my life. I get severe migraines– they run in the family like a centipede with a wooden leg–but I have never been troubled by anything worse than chicken pox and a burst appendix. I’ll think on what you have said.
Oh gosh. I don’t mean to preach! I’m sure you have plenty of gratitude in other aspects of your life–I can tell by all the joy that comes across in this forum!
I *do* encourage you to do exactly enough to feel happy, comfortable in your own body, and capable of doing whatever it is you feel inspired to do!
MR, you never preach! I didn’t see your post that wayvst all; rather,mist was thought-provoking and useful.
I recommend finding a gym with mostly male clientale. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but I found being surrounded by macho weight-lifters and triathletes and boxers fascinating and quite liberating. Their goals are very much functional (OK, there’s vanity too, but it’s generally secondary) and their occasional glances in my direction were much easier to bear than being looked over by perfectly tanned, perfectly fit, perfectly blonde gym girls in pink Nike gear.
OK, now there’s a thought! I’ll see if there’s one near by that specialises in businessmen.
This was my gym many years ago! My neighborhood gym was run by a retired professional football player, and all his enormous, super-macho friends would lift there. I *LOVED* working out with them! They were super-cool about showing me lifts or kindly correcting my form, if I wasn’t doing it in the safest manner. And I liked watching them. I found it really inspiring.
Although, I must admit, I own a fair amount of Nike clothes. (In my defense, there’s an outlet in town, since, you know, Portland is Nike HQ.)
Exactly! I would even go as far as saying there was a certain sense of cameraderie. I liked working with weights (unexpectedly) and I think they picked up on that. And they are nerds the same way we are about perfume – often thrilled when someone outside the group shows even the slightest interest in the thing they love.
Nike clothes are completely fine, of course (and I do own several items myself). That was my own insecurity talking.
This makes a lot of sense.
Totally agree that attaining/maintaining physical health is all important. I kind of always did my own thing and was surprised when I did join a gym how many people had no real interest in health. Working out for them is a way of burning off alcohol and other less healthy indulgences, so they look good! I’m always amazed at the conversations I can’t help but overhear while working out! I personally am thankful for every day I can jump out of bed and go about my rather boring life. I am in my right mind (mostly), have some chronic health issues that I’m managing well, can walk, talk, and am continent (mostly!). Life is good but I have a deep understanding that all of that can go south in the blink of an eye. Cherish what you have 😀
You know, my life is boring too, only it’s really not! Yours isn’t either. Our lives are made up of fascinating little things, problems to solve, things that are funny, small guilts, big pleasures, and I want to continue to be entertained by them.. You and MR are right about health. I really don’t want to do this, but I’m going to find a damn beastly bloody gym ???? and will work hard to regain my strength ???? and will be weller by the end of the year than I am now????.
I have successfully avoided the gym and gotten stronger doing a body weight routine at home. (Look up Nerd Fitness online for a basic beginner’s routine.) You could start with that and then look for a gym if you decide you want to do something different.
I’m similar with using DVDs at home. Offers a ton more flexibility but it helps to be discipled as well.
I worked out at home for years before I decided I needed to kick it up a notch. I really like being able to fully focus on my workouts, and I’m not able to do that at home. Seems like the dishes, etc, are always there to call me out of the zone!
Oh, I would find that very hard to be around while working out! Such an unhealthy attitude–although I suppose you could be inspired while feeling superior. 😉
And as for a boring life–bring it on! I wouldn’t mind if all the “excitement” and “character-building” were behind me! HA!
No sense of superiority here- I have been a chunky monkey my whole life and have battled with my weight since I was a teen. While keeping the weight issue in control is very satisfying, the real celebration came when I had an exercise stress test last year and learned my cardiac function is 20% above average for my age range. That’s what its all about and it made me crazy happy 😀
Oh, that’s amazing! That is *exactly* the sort of functional goal that I find so important–and yet, I find it SO challenging to talk about it with other women when they ask me about how I’m doing.
Weight control has been there with me most of the way as well, and maybe that’s a complicating factor in keeping the actually important stuff front and center? What other people notice, what I get positive comments on, is my outward appearance. But I haven’t quite figured out how to turn that around when it comes up! When another woman says, “Geez, there’s half of you left! How did you do it?!”
What I *wish* I had the presence of mind to say would be something like, “Yeah, I’m a smaller size these days, but you know what is really great? I can RUN for the first time in my life! And I’ve increased my Romanian deadlift from sets of 40 lbs to sets of 90 lbs!”
There’s so much more I want to do, but I find this journey of figuring out “what I’m able to” SO MUCH more empowering and satisfying than figuring out the limits of “what I look like.” I find it difficult to put into words, though, and maybe that is why I have been contemplating Sinkler’s quote so much this week.
I know about “crazy happy” feelings from beating the betrayal of the body! I’m holding off Type 2 diabetes and winning by the skin if my teeth, but every blood test that comes back under the magic indicator is a triumph for me.
Carrying on the theme from yesterday, I’m wearing SSS Champagne de Bois. Just a dab with the most gentle sillage. I’m running errands and we’re finally taking down our Xmas tree that my daughter has named Colorado b/c it’s a Colorado spruce. It’s going to rest in the woods behind our house.
Nice that you have a spot to out the tree!
A dab is all you need of that one! You smell great!
I wore this about a week ago, and sadly, the top notes on mine have soured pretty badly. I’m hesitant to buy a new bottle, though, as it takes SO LITTLE to be fragrant, and the dry down is still plenty pretty.
I only bout 3ml from her site and I think it’ll last me a long time. I literally used dots if it yesterday and I could smell it all day.
I believe it!
On the flip side, I put 4 sprays on, then wanted a little more oomph and sprayed 4 more. All told, it lasted about 4 hours. This is not atypical for me, though. What was totally out of the ordinary was wearing Winter Woods the day prior. I put on an equal amount at 10 a.m. and it was still going strong at 6:30 p.m. This is unheard of on my skin.
But I swear some days my skin just won’t hold on to any scent and Friday was one of them. I followed CdB with vintage Paloma Picasso (lots of it) and got about 2 hours of wear out of that one. Sigh.
You smell wonderful!!! We also took our tree down today. It was beautiful but took up a lot of real estate in our cozy home.
I’m still in bed, ‘cos it’s not quite 6 a.m. here and my SOTD thus far is the remnants of Sublime from last night. I love it–a warm, slightly spicy muddle of flowers. It’s one of my “golden” smells, not complex or cerebral, just very pretty and easy. Happy.
Patou’s Sublime? If so, it’s a favourite of mine too. Easy-wearing but chic, good for work.
Mmmm. Not old or anything–in fact, I seem to remember it as being a cheap thrill–but it’s just so easy and…easy. Wore it again today to take Isabella-cat to the vet for her “blunderbuss” treatment. Sublime is easy-going and gentle, just right for such an exercise.
Is yours the older round bottle or the new re-issue? I think that the re-issue edp is the first time I’ve ever preferred the new over the original.
It’s the new issue, I think. It’s an angular bottle. I have a quite old Joy, which is the colour of old kauri and rather skanky, but Sublime is much more demure.
I’m wearing Byredo Rose Noir from a sample vial but just on the back of my hand. It’s lovely, wearable and not very “noir”. I’m going to spray myself with Byredo 1996 or Chanel Misia in awhile. A cold front is coming through in a few hours. Right now it’s warm, so I’m thinking “flowers” but soon it’ll be cold, so I’m thinking “comfort scent”. Decisions, decisions.
Its grey in NC, with rain later today/tonight, and spicy sounds perfect. No decision yet though.
Wearing Nuit Andalouse from my MDCI sampler set. It’s another classy floral, not my favourite from the line though.
I’m working through my Demeter florals, trying to decide which I will give away to my co-workers teenage daughter. Today I’m wearing Daffodil. I wore First Love yesterday to bed, and that one is definitely going to the teenager. I’ve already given her all of my Love & Toast rollerballs. What was I thinking when I bought them? Fruity floral bombs.
I am happy for you both–
You will let go of scents that don’t suit you,
and she will receive all sorts of goodies!!
Nice way to start the year.
Ooh, how is daffodil??
Sampling Iridel from Nomenclature which is a gentle, woody work appropriate Iris that doesn’t activate any of my excitement sensors
Epic layered with Rose jam shower gel and Fille de berlin, just a tiny bit to bring out the rose in Epic. Its early evening now and the 3 sprays of Epic on each wrist have gone, but fille de Berlin still smelling gorgeous. Going to spray some more Epic, as i do love it with the rose, but i don’t like the opening- i see what people on fragrantica mean by ‘dill pickles’ in this one, luckily once it softens it’s lovely and spicy, and warms up a bit.
The first time I tried Epic I remember it warming up nicely and liking it after an hour. Every subsequent time it’s just pickling spice for me. I still have a smidge left. Maybe I’ll give it another go and I like the idea of layering with rose.
When I first got my Epic I loved it-after the pickling spice. It was waaay too much and it gave me a headache. But then I started craving it and now it’s a good part of the reason why I love Epic so much.
Thanks perthgirl!- this is encouraging to know! it’s definitely growing on me. when i first sprayed it, i was so dissapointed that i hadn’t asked for Jubilation 25 instead (it took me 3 months of twoing and throwing as to which one i wanted hubby to get me for christmas, and i fell hard for Epic from a carded sample, whereas jub i have a sample vial).
Jub is no. 1 on my christmas list for this year (LOL!)
Much to do today on this Saturday, but try as I might I couldn’t get out of bed before 10am! I think I’m recovering from a week of work after being off for the holiday.
I’m wearing what is becoming a regular habit for me, Narciso EDP.
Found a distributor that sells 30mls of this and went wild & crazy and bought it yesterday — ha! First purchase of 2016. Couldn’t even make it to February……………………. 🙂
It’s NINE whole days in – given the various post-holiday sales and other reminders to keep on buying (flash sales, extra discount coupons, etc.), I think you’ve shown some restraint. Good for you, and congrats on acquiring a 30ml bottle of anything (why don’t more perfumers distribute in this size, anyway?)!
Exactly! Thank you very much. 😉
Happy happy weekend 😀
Today started with box of eels to take me through spin class, then post shower it PdE Musc Tonkin edp from a small decant. Still practicing self-flagellation and wearing of the hair shirt for not getting a bottle of the extrait. I guess it will be remembered as the one that got away…
FYI for any Marnie Rose lovers out there- I bottle spotted just now at TJ Maxx…
I’m with you on the Musc Tonkin Extrait. I love the EDP, but cherish every drop of my sample of the heavy stuff.
My favorite Joan Baez – Diamonds and Rust
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MSwBM_CbyY
I was just listening to that the other. Lovely. Sigh…
I love that whole album.
OH! I haven’t even thought of that song since “a couple of light years ago”! 😉 Thank you for posting!
No SOTD yet, will be testing later, haven’t decided what…
Last night I tested Smell Bent’s Bohemian Rhapsody, which they describe as ‘intense incense’. I didn’t get that, but I did immediately get a full-blown olfactory memory of my grandparents’ library. That makes them sound more posh than they were, but they loved books, and had a huge addition on the side of their old house that was their library — floor to ceiling bookshelves, leather couches, big fireplace. One sniff of BR and I was there! Cedar shelves, bit of smoke, musty old book smell. When I was growing up, we had all our family get-togethers there, and when I got older, they would hire me each summer to dust the whole thing: each shelf had to be cleared, each book dusted, and everything put back in order. I loved the task.
Anyway, objectively I’m not sure I love BR, but for the memory it invokes, it’s a keeper.
That sounds like an amazing library and some wonderful scent memories! I’ve never had anything quite so vivid or exciting happen when I wear a perfume 🙂
I would have loved that job too! And that library sounds like the most perfect space.
Today I’m wearing Prada No.3 Cuir Ambre. Gosh, I really love that one, should wear it much more. Lovely, plush and nice raw/sweet/tanned leather and amber. Especially good in really cold weather. Bought my bottle way back in 2010, on a perfume-themed trip to London, fond memories.
I’m wearing a cheap thrill today: Queen Latifah’s Queen. And it’s great. How can you go wrong with a nice, boozy oriental?
I have wanted to try this. Maybe, I will try and get a decant of it.
Great scent. Are they still making it? I sort of assumed not.
I don’t think they are, but the discounters have it – amazingly cheap, too. I paid less than $12 for my 100 ml bottle and you can find it for even less on ebay. Not to enable, or anything.
Wow!! That’s perfect.
But you cannot enable me for anything over 30 ml anymore, I am resolved not to buy 100 ml of anything.
I got the body butter in this scent just before Christmas, and think it’s great fun! Just a dab works for me.
Thanks for the reminder. I was surprised to find that I really like this one. For $12, I think I will get it before it’s gone.
Today I’m wearing SSS Joie Ensoleille. So beautiful! It’s been a while since I’ve worn this, but I was reminded of it after sampling Yin and Ylang yesterday. Happy weekend everyone!
I like this one a lot! It’s my Queen of the Forest Fairies scent 🙂 You smell great.
I love that characterization of it 🙂 Many perfumes from SSS make me think of a forest, in the best possible way.
I love how evocative her perfumes are. They really capture the beauty of the Northern California landscape.
I put two samples on this morning then ran around like crazy and now they are both gone gone gone, I don’t even remember what they were. Failed the wear test! Rehoming basket for both of them when I get home! I am going to have something for the freebie meet after all!
Well, its been a long, hard first week back to work. I am exhausted. One of the kids at my school who rides his bike home got hit by s truck Thursday afternoon. Luckily, he is okay, but it sure was scary! My SOTD is Jasmin Rouge by Tom Ford.
So, I think that I told all of you that I had purchased Misia around this past summer. When I first purchased it, I really liked it. It didn’t last as long as I would have liked, but it was still pretty. Well, I found that I was never wearing it and it was just sitting there. So, I gave it to my mom for Christmas. Needless to say, she loves it. I hope everyone had a great weekend.
Good heavens — I’m glad he’s okay! Biking around cars is so scary, even for us grown-ups. I wish we had more dedicated bike paths in this country.
Yes, me too. Our car-rider line is crazy at my school. Parents end up parking in no-parking zones and are impatient. They start speeding out of frustration. We were just saying that our district needs to come up with a better system. We had several police officers there Friday to help us enforce the rules and to keep the traffic moving.
I was going to reach for something warm and resinous/spicy today, but after an unwelcome interaction with our scary landlady, I found myself needing something more optimism inducing and went with Vanille Galante. Mmm, I’d forgotten about its cream-and-sugar pink jasmine heart. So nice.
I love anything with vanilla
Wonderful scent.
Ugh. So sorry about the scary landlady! Never good to have the person in charge of your home someone you don’t communicate easily and pleasantly with! Any chance for a relocation any time soon?
Sampling Rose Ikebana today. Reminds me of Fresh’s Memoirs of a Geisha perfume from several years back. Not particularly interesting in my opinion.
I’ve now sampled 2 of the 12 Hermessence fragrances. I am going in chronological order of release. 10 more to go. Who needs the excitement of Powerball when I have these to sniff?
Still…I shall buy a ticket in hopes of one day quitting my job and running a nonprofitible perfume shop. The dream remains the same. ????
When the holiday sales perfume shopping fog lifted (I’d righted all the upturned chairs and mopped up the crumbs and spills), I found the four bottle Hermessence box I bought in a moment of fragrance dilerium–cheifly characterized by an inability to recall the pain of paying credit card bills. So this weekend I have begun wearing them. So far, Brin Reglisse and Poivre Samarcande. The latter has a stronger ceder/cumin thing than I remember from the sample, but I have a weird stomach ailment these days and I think it is making me more sensitive to some scents. They both feel elegant and just a little edgy, but so ephemeral! I wish they had more longevity.
Yes, ephemeral is the right word. They all seem to be on the lighter side.
What other 2 fragrances did you opt for in your set please?
I’m wearing Ambre Narguile today and it is ephemeral as well. Many on Fragrantica sum it up as apple pie. 😉 I get cinnamon and some general bakery goodness myself. I’m in San Diego and it is lightly raining and overcast today and this suits me just fine.
And I agree w/ noting these all as elegant…something w/ the way they evolve..they all progress and change a bit.
My other two are Ambre Narguile and Osmanthe Yunnan. Both are very pretty. I get a bit of sweet pipe tobacco with AN as well.
Working through the sample stash again, some more. Anne Pliska today, which turned very soft and powdery on me. I don’t need this in a universe where I already have warmer, more delightfully incense-orangey Theorema, but I can see why it gets mentioned near it.
No Theorema in my world. Good thing I have have Anne Pliska 😉
I really came to enjoy it as the day went on, and if I found it in a discount/thrift store situation I’d certainly pick it up. It goes in the category of samples I like but do not need to take further action on…
Perfume heaven today!
I took my 2 girls with me to the mall, and we stopped at Lush for a bath bomb each (crazy expensive…I’ll be making my own, henceforth!), and some Dream Cream lotion. $50 spent in 10 minutes…we’ll be avoiding Lush for a while! Yikes! Not in my price range.
Next, a stop in Sephora. I had a voucher to redeem from one of their sampler kits, so I got a bottle of Si. Great stuff! Lest ye think we got outta there with a “free” bottle and nothing else, my oldest spent some Christmas money on a bottle of La Vie Est Belle, and my younger girl got a rollerball of Flowerbomb. She sniffed that little bottle in the car the entire trip home! HA HA It really is great stuff. Got a sample of Polo Red for the hubs too…..
Finally, stopped in Belk to sniff the newest Modern Muse flanker, but they don’t have it yet. Next time! The dept stores look naked after Christmas…time for some Spring displays and such soon.
As for the 10 year old boy….brought some candy home for him! LOL Perfume shopping would be akin to getting a root canal in his world! 🙂 He and Daddy are happy to let the girls get out sometimes by ourselves!
Have a great weekend everyone!
Sound like a great perfume day!
Lush is pricey, isn’t it.
They do create some unusual and fantastic products.
What a sweet time with your daughters. Always wished I’d have a girl to share these girly things with.. but wasn’t meant to be.
It really is stealthily expensive! I had never been in before I got into perfume, and their perfumes are so reasonably priced that I got the idea that the whole store was… but this was really mistaken! I remember an SA showing me some product, and then pointing out I could get it in a small gift set with maybe three other things… and the fairly puny gift set was like $75! I left with just my $11 perfume solid.
Dream Cream is my staple moisturizer. It is a bit pricey but I love it, and it stops my dry skin itching.
Good to know – must try this!
If you/they don’t already know, a lot of the bath bombs or bubble bars can be split in two so you don’t use them all in one bath (I love Lush, but I’m cheap, so
that’s my trick).
And yay for the Si. It doesn’t always get a lot of love, but I really like it (love the bottle) and am thinking of getting the roller ball. Enjoy!
Hello Everyone!
Doing the challenge a day late (of course!), and wearing Fendi Life Essence. Starts off herbaceous with coriander and geranium, then a sweet jasmine emerges along with olive wood and oak. The drydown is a sweet sandalwood and the remaining jasmine. Very nice.
Also wearing Bergamoss Aftelier Perfumes on my other arm. The eponymous scents (great name!) along with hay (coumarin) and tobacco (flouve) aromas. YMMV
Quite enjoyable.
Does anyone else never purposely apply two (or more) scents on the same area of skin? I can’t do it. Makes me feel like I’m “disrespecting” the respective fragrances. Makes no sense, just one of many quirks I possess. 😉
Makes total sense to me, that’s what we have elbows for.
True solance!
I once did a successful sniffing expedition at the KofP mall (Nordstrom, NM, Bloomingdale’s) and kept track of 12 separate scents up and down my two forearms, then wrote my notes after coming home. But that was 15 years ago, doubt that I could keep track now!!!
Bear, it does seem a bit insulting to the perfumer, doesn’t it? And perfumers mostly hate the idea.
I think early on I tried literally layering and found it not useful. Rather than highlighting each other, the perfumes tended to muddy or cancel out one another. I’ll occasionally wear different perfumes on different hands and find the result pleasing, but it’s accidental.
The one actual combination I really like is to spray Armani Prive Bois d’Encens over Aftelier Ancient Resins hair and skin oil. This mitigates the sharpness of Bd’E and gives some longevity to the scent of the oil.
Bois d’encens is the only perfume I layer too. For the most part I find layering sacrilegeous but BdE is a leeetle too full on and sharp for me too so I layer with either an amber or a vanilla to smooth the edges and warm the heart.
Yes nozknoz, like a slap in the face to the perfumer!
I wear Ancient Resins as a beard oil and on my arms and it lasts quite well.
But I am positive I am more hirsute than you. LOL
The Armani is wonderful but it reminded me of something I already own, Black Cashmere or Avignon possibly ?
Cheers!!!
Sephora had a Philosophy fragrance display today, with info on how to layer their scents. I never do it either….
Yes Jada!
Sometimes I think layering is just a marketing tactic to sell more perfume.
To non-perfumistas. Not US !! No one here needs marketing to buy more perfume !!! LOL
I’ve not mastered the knack either., a Bear. If I put two perfumes near one another, I can generally only smell the second one. I’m rather pleased that other people don’t like doing it, or are u successful, because I had, until I read your post, been assuming it is my unsophisticated, untrained hooter that is the problem, not the perfumes or the technique.
No waterdragon, I don’t layer one atop the other.
Usually I will apply scent on my arms to compare and contrast – whether it be ‘original’ vs. ‘reformulation’ or two scents that feature the identical note prominently.
Sometimes in close proximity on the same arm, but usually left vs. right.
Even if I decide a scent needs more sandalwood and apply a swipe of EO, it is apart from the original scent.
Sophistication comes with experience, enjoy the lessons of scent. That is what hooked me on the hobby.
Parsing perfumes. 😉
Same here, there are definitely creations where I would have to have so much hubris to think I could improve on the master’s work! But given this layering trend, I do think there are also an increasing number of releases that feel like intentionally unfinished and/or partial creations, and I don’t feel any guilt for wanting to amp those up. For instance I think Santal Massoia smells great but it’s a bit too simple for my tastes, so sometimes I like to wear other things over it, including other Hermessences (the iris and/or the vanilla). And of course, this is just what Hermes is hoping I’ll do! But I’ll only do it as long as my samples last me–I would not pay Hermessences prices for something that feels incomplete!
Today I wore Vent Vert to take the kids to see all sorts of snakes, tarantulas and scorpions at a biology museum. They were thrilled, but man, was it hot. Almost 40 Celsius! Now it’s raining hard and I need something cozier. After shower, I’ll go for the white fuzziness of Hypnotic Poison.
40 C equals 104 F – yikes! Sounds like a fun day anyway.
I feel your pain Solanace! That’s the weather we’ve been getting here too. It’s a fabulous 28 and cloudy today after a storm but within a couple of days it’ll be up there again and will be probably be so until at least early/mid Feb.
Hopefully you don’t get as much!
Same here, fabulously cloudy today after yesterday’s big thunder storm, so I’m wearing a.dab of Ambre Sultan. Hope this will last, and that your weather remains mild, too. Sunny summer days are very perfumista-unfriendly!
Big sigh. Among the many things I love about NST is that it’s readers are from all over the world… I’m lying in bed this lazy Sunday morning in Oakland CA where we are getting a little break in the rain (need that rain tho!) and the winter sun is filtering through the white clouds. Lots of silver lichen and green moss on the Oak trees out back, and the cats are finding dry spots on the deck to wash and preen themselves. I am guessing it is a chilly 50 degrees F out there.
Thank you for the evocative description, Oakland fresca. I need to see and smell a Californian forest someday. Your state sounds like a hiker’s heaven. A toast to NST cosmopolitism! Wish our world leaders could get a clue from us..
I’m in remnants of Organza Indecence dry oil. Having a worrisome day. We’re at the vet with one of our cats who’s been vomiting and not quite her energetic little self today. I’m afraid she ate something indigestible as her brother cat has become very adept at opening drawers and taking out ribbon and bubble wrap which are things she likes to eat. We’re waiting on x-rays right now. Keep our little Fiona in your prayers!
I hope she’s okay. My puppy ate a fabric headband of mine. I thought I misplaced it. She threw it up a week and a half later. Had it in her stomach during her spay surgery too! She pooped out a bounce dryer sheet the other day. We need to watch her like a hawk. I feel your pain. It’s so hard protecting them from themselves.
I know! We had child locks on some cabinets he’s able to open, but now it’s the drawers. I caught the little scoundrel on video. We’re running out of places to hide things. Crazy what your pup ate and lucky that dryer sheet came out the other end!
She ate a pretty long ribbon last year, started vomiting a few days later so I took her to the ER. Went home and found the ribbon while cleaning the litter. Probably should have done that first and saved us the stress and money. I’m looking into pet insurance now.
Elisa P:
Having gone through quite an emotional feline emergency a few months back (Da Zoink is thankfully now okay), I empathize strongly with your worry about your cat. I hope she is now (or very soon) recovered. I have to keep a close watch on Zoink, who loves to eat plastic. Just about any kind of plastic, but bags especially. All plastic film objects need to go directly into a covered trash bin, or she’s happily and obsessively chewing on them. My pantry is filled with ziploc bags full of dry goods that spill out the bottom when you lift them off the shelf.
This might not be the time for it, but your post reminds me of a great article I read several months ago, that had me snorting, giggling, and then laughing so hard I was tearing up. Maybe when your cat is back home, safe and sound, you could take a look:
http://www.xojane.com/issues/embarrassing-trip-to-the-veterinarian
Sending you and Fiona positive thoughts!
I feel badly for saying that that article was hilarious when Fiona is currently in such a predicament, but it truly was. Thanks for the laugh it made my night.
Thanks for that! It IS hilarious! I needed that. The Xrays didn’t show anything obvious so they gave her some fluids and anti-vomiting medication and told us not to feedher til this AM. The first thing she did when we got home was run to the food bowl and start chowing down. I felt so bad taking the food away. But she seems back to her usual nutty, energetic self this morning and hasn’t vomited so I’m hugely relieved.
You’re not going to believe this. Today my hubby was folding clothes and Stella went running by me very happy about something. I investigated and found she had stolen a sock. That’s when I found hubby folding clothes. I asked why she wasn’t crated like she should be since he doesn’t watch her well enough. He insisted he was watching and also said all socks were present and accounted for. Late when I went to put my clothes away which were safe behind a closed door, I had 5 socks. Not 6. Five. One missing.
I called a friend who’s a vet for the proper dose and out came the hydrogen peroxide. I fed her two slices of bread and dosed out some peroxide and gave it to her with an oral syringe. And we waited.
Ten minutes later up came the bread. A minute after that I learned where the missing sock was. I can’t imagine how she swallowed that. Hubby is not to be trusted watching her though. That is certain.
Holy cow!!! How big is your pup that she can eat an adult’s sock?! So nerve wracking. Glad you got it out-never heard of that hydrogen peroxide trick to induce vomiting. Sounds awful. I’m always on my husbands case about leaving plastic bags-especially those produce bags-around, so I feel for you on having to be the vigilant one.
It’s good that the sock didn’t make it much further through her system! I’ve got a guy who’s always dropping his meds on the floor, which makes me crazy when it comes to imagining my cats using them as toys and then ingesting them.
Hope things went well for your little kitty. It is so gut-wrenching whenever they are unwell.
Hope your girlie is ok. It’s so scary when you’re not sure what they could have eaten.
Poor little Fiona! I bet she’s regretting that decision. Hopefully it’s something that can be fixed easily and it isn’t serious. Best wishes Elisa.
I hope Fiona is okay!
Oh, no! Hope she’s ok.
Thanks you guys! She seems to be ok today. I’m very relieved and hoping it was nothing serious. I adore our little guys and get nervous when something is off. But they are surprisingly resilient.
Blind bought a bottle of Tea for 2 and am loving every second of it! 🙂 I’m getting a distinct chocolate note that is glorious.
Just bought the wallet and two pairs of earrings that were stolen along with my purse. So lucky the stores are still selling them. And it’s sunny!
Life is good.
Oh, yay! That’s good to hear.
And Tea for 2 is a fantastic scent to boot!
Good for u! glad that u managed to find the same wallet and earrings,
I know that feeling when special things are lost or stolen- so good, and such a relief to get them back!
How is Tea for 2 projection and longevity wise? its on my to try list, but my scent eating skin doesn’t always fair well with L’Artisans.
I recently got a bottle of that as well and fell in love- it’s very smokey on me and not at all sweet, which surprised me, in a good way. You smell great 😀
I need therapy. I know I must. I had vowed, just last week, that I would not buy a single bottle of perfume for six months. I have way too many bottles as it is. Don’t you know I found Marni Rose ($15), Guerlain’s Neroli Blanc ($20), and L’Eau de Chloe ($22) at Marshall’s tonight and bought all three. It seemed like they were too good of a deal to pass up, and I rationalized buying all three. Blind buys, on top of it. Oh my gosh. I have dreadful guilt now. I need more perfume like I need another hole in my head. What is wrong with me? Arghhhh. No self control at all. None. And guess what–I actually like all three. What are the odds of that?! Shoot me now.
They were practically free, and you like them all? You are absolved.
Thank you! I just KNEW someone would understand! They really did seem cheap to me. It would have been wrong to leave them. Wouldn’t it?! 😉
Yes, absolutely. Think how sad they would be now if you hadn’t rescued them from Marshall’s shelves.
Nothing you love is a mistake! And the prices! You did a brilliant thing, not a bad one! Enjoy them in good heart!
Practically free, and you can either return them or re-home them if they don’t work out. At those prices, they can be used as room spray or tossed in a gym bag/suitcase for emergencies.
Nice find and it’s never too late to start over, if you really want to keep that resolution. And they sound like really wearable, useful scents. What strikes me is all the reports of Marshall’s, Maxx etc having great finds in the US. Those stores in NY never have anything tempting. Maybe better for my wallet.
So true, and frustrating! We get none of these great brands in NYC Marshalls, Maxx, or Target!
Great finds & even greater prices!!
My 3 month resolution didn’t quite work out either! But discontinuations of things on my to-buy list and FOMO (fear of missing out)- and the feeling when I HAVE missed out is worse and longer-lasting than the little bit of guilt for having caved. NOW no more perfume til April 🙂
(I so would’ve bought those at those prices too!!)
I didn’t make a resolution so had nothing to break. I have already made several online purchases but they were for travel sizes so do not count anyway, regardless :-). I also find it hard to resist to pass up cheap thrills.
Oh man. I would not have been strong in the face of those either. Well, I think you should just go ahead and revel, because those are great finds!!
I am just like you! You know what I think? We are not being realistic with our goals. We need to take baby steps and not try to go in full speed ahead. Its just like people making resolutions to lose weight every year. People set up goals for themselves that are unrealistic. They automatically set themselves up for failure. It is almost impossible to lose 50 pounds in six months. Just like for a perfumista, we can’t go “cold turkey” like that. Set up a realistic goal like not going to spend over $_____.
I am no expert, just another person like you needing therapy because I need help as well. But, if we all work together, we can help each other be more successful! 🙂
This recent purchase is okay. Just think of how much worse you would have felt if you let this opportunity slip out of your hands. Enjoy them!
You know this has been really true to my experience–I am horrible when I say I’m going to buy nothing, but when I’ve set a monthly budget, I’m way better at sticking to it. Something about getting to make some choices even within a very small budget, versus just feeling deprived.
(FWIW I do my budget on Mint.com and it has a great feature where you can roll over a budget one month to the next, so if I haven’t bought anything for a few months, then the budgeted amount adds up and I have a little more latitude–or if I see something I have to have that’s over the monthly budget, I can “pay it off” by not buying anything in the subsequent months, until I’m back in the black. Useful!)
I agree. My biggest perfume regrets are the ones I didnt get before they were gone!!
Ahhh, those are great buys! I feel like that barely counts at all. I love Marshalls. In fact, I was going to go this morning to…find a gift for someone else (and by that I mean, I wanted to look at perfume) and my car wouldn’t start. I am taking it as a sign that I should not go to Marshalls because I am flat broke and probably do not need to leave with a bunch of perfume and no gift, which is the likely outcome of that scenario. But after reading about your finds, I will be going as soon as I can get my car to start!
Apparently I need to get to a Marshall’s. Those are great finds!
I would have done exactly the same thing and that’s why I am staying out of Marshall’s and TJ Maxx. At least you got great buys.
Spent the day in Voyage, which I’ve been thoroughly obsessed with ever since it arrived.
But I have had a ton of new shiny things come my way lately and want to wear them all! Tonight I’ll give OJ Woman a good wearing.
My nose is so happy.
I’ve fallen back into my rut; Azemour during the day and Salome for evening.
I almost didn’t wear perfume today because I didn’t want to ruin one. My husband called me to say that Newburg came home limping and covered in mud so he got his first trip to the emergency vet. X-rays are all ok, just swelling and bruises. We suspect that a deer finally caught him and rolled/stomped him. I’ve seen a doe with her twin yearling fawns chasing the cats out by the driveway (there’s a huge rat burrow right next to a major deer trail and everyone wants to be there at dawn and dusk), in fact, she charged at me once when she had the kitties treed and I went out to chase her off.
Glad he’s ok. Yikes, didn’t know deer were that aggressive-then, of course, Bambi is my frame of reference 😉
They usually aren’t, except rutting bucks or city deer who are used to being fed, but I suspect the kittens weren’t showing the proper respect. Deer, even the scrawny whitetail we usually have, are quite large animals.
You do have to show proper respect! I have a crazy/frightening photo snapped when I came around a corner paying more attention to my camera than my surroundings (dumb), and found myself face to face with a herd of deer, buck at front, whole phalanx pointed to charge. I stopped short and backpedalled as quickly as I could, at which point they broke ranks and fled but for sure, they are prepared to fight off perceived predators!
🙁 poor Newburg. Glad he’s not seriously hurt, and hopefully he now knows to avoid playing with deer :-/
Azemour is a great rut to fall into – I do hope it wasn’t ruined for you by the rest of today.
Spent the whole day with Jicky today. I am thinking about either Epic or Memoir for tomorrow.
Yum! Lean over and let me get a sniff!
Oh my word, you smell amazing. I have the tiniest smidge of vintage Jicky left and I am hanging on to it for dear life. That is one wonderful fragrance. I haven’t smelled the new formulation though, but once mine is gone I will have to give it a shot!
Wearing Agent Provacateur, which was in a package from a very generous NSTer, and it’s just lovely! It’s such a joy to encounter something by chance that you never would have thought to try… And even better when you end up liking it!
I feel just the same about AP! I had just assumed it wasn’t what I wanted (maybe Victoria’s Secret has prejudiced me against lingerie company perfume??), so it was a v pleasant surprise that it’s so great!
AP was one of my first FB purchases when it came out I think over a decade ago. I remember smelling it at Sephora and being totally “wowed” by it. I still have it and hold onto to it more for sentimental reasons than anything. I rarely wore it as I found it too big for me, but I like to take it out occasionally for a sniff.
So it’s not even halfway through January and I’ve already had a lapse on my no-perfume-til-April plan.
I had some xmas vouchers to spend so with them I got some Origins face masks (totally obsessed with the clay rose mask!!), a Stila eye palette, and then bought some fabulously obnoxious D&G sunglasses at 30% off instead of getting perfume (perfume here is too expensive so I prefer to buy at online discounters).
Then I was going through my to-buy list and although the ones I want most can wait (Salome, the 2 Beaufort’s, Fate, AdP Colonia Ambre), of the cheaper ones, Thé Bleu: if I wait then I wont have it for summer and it’s $45 less online for the 75ml. Balenciaga l’essence and TF Sahara Noir discontinued and cheap online, and not on my list but the talk lately of RC Oro and memories of my wearing it a decade ago inspired me to get a bottle for $30. Again discontinued.
So now I can happily wait out the rest of my purchase ban and save for the more expensive ones.
SOTM leftover Jardins d’Armide from last night and will probably wear again today.
ooh i love origins face masks, and stila makeup!
Sorry, this is in wrong reply box!- while i’m here, you’re purchases sound wonderful perthgirl! i’m really looking forward to trying the bleu, and thinking about blind buying R.C’s oro , as so many perfume lovers think it’s fantastic,
there are so many bottles calling to me..
I think it’s in the right spot mayfly, that garrulous post was allll mine 😉
I would love to see your collection. It seems so well rounded. You’ve inspired me to delve into trying older mainstream stuff, largely discontinued or severely reformulated, and I’ve found some stuff I really like. But I totally get that pressure of “buy it if you can find it” with harder-to-find stuff.
And I bet the sunglasses are fabulous 🙂
Thanks Elisa. Maybe if Angela wanted to do a down under perfume collection edition I could share with you all what I’ve pretty much had shipped from your country to mine 🙂 it would be fun to share with like-minded souls and not just a couple of friends who utter expletives in disbelief!
(and shhh! dont tell anyone but I think I’ve found a big gap in my collection that needs filling in: Noir. There’s a distinct lack of dark and brooding going on, and the Friday theme brought it to my attention!) lol
I’m sure she’d love to do the Down Under edition, in theory. I could volunteer to be her proxy 😀 I guess I don’t have anything seriously noir, either. I’m trying to think what that would even be, anyway. I’m thinking my sample of Anubis would qualify, as it should with that name. And maybe my SSS Ambre Noir as well. They definitely have a brooding quality.
I went on my sniffing expedition today! Unfortunately none of the stores carried FM or SL or anything super unusual.
I smelled Creed’s new one, Royal Princess Oud – very nice. I’m not a huge oud fan, but this one is quite nice. Great dry down too. I think what I’ve thought of as a dislike of oud is actually just not having smelled well done oud. I can actually still smell this one, and it still smells really good.
I struck out at the Guerlain counters, nothing unusual except an Eau de Cashmere at Saks. I had fun talking to their sales reps though. They seem to enjoy selling the product. I lusted after the giant bottle of Jicky EdP, and sniffed the modern EdT, which I love, so I can order that freely now. I was offered several different scents to smell at the Bond No 9 counter, but the best was Killian. The salesperson showed me everything, even though I made it clear I wasn’t buying anything. She told me about the atomizers, refills, and bottles, and let me smell everything. I think Intoxicated is my favorite out of that line, although Good Girl Gone Bad is surprisingly awesome. All I got out of Light My Fire was honey, and a Doors song stuck in my head. If I decide to buy any of their stuff, I’m definitely going to buy it from her. Those atomizers are gorgeous, but for the price I could buy another bottle of perfume!
I scored samples at Sephora (the only snotty salesperson I encountered all day) and Nordstrom, including one of Joy, which really made me happy. All in all, not a bad excursion!
And one day, giant bottle of Jicky. One day you will be mine, and I will revel in your glorious lavender skank.
Thought I’d throw out that after 24 hours, Royal Princess Oud still smells really good. It might wind up being a FB for me some day.
Hi, all. Back to work today–erk! I am very definitely not ready for this! I have a gazillion things to do here at home that feel more absorbing and real than what lies in my office down the road, but I suppose I will adjust quickly. I’m bouncing off wearing a surprisingly short (heavens! Is all that knee mine?) navy blue tunic dress with sneakers, very casual ‘cos no students, no meetings, and I really want to wear a perfume that suggests navy blue to me. I can do golden perfumes (Fate, Sublime), I can do dark red (Loukhoum), even deep velvety brown (TF Noir), I have a few pink scents and green ones by the bucket, but I have nothing that says navy blue to me. I’ve settled for 31 Rue Cambon, but though it’s as beautiful as ever, it’s not a navy blue smell. Ah, these first world problems! Have a great day, all.
I don’t think I came up with a solution, but I DO have the same problem choosing perfume when I’m wearing blue. You’re not alone!
Wow!! You guys, I had never once thought about this! I will be curious to hear what others suggest!
Wow! What a question! Navy blue! I wear my iris scents with navy blue. Iris Poudre, Iris Silver Mist. But not Bois d’Iris….but I also wear L’Air de Desert Marocain…
Got me thinking as well. I think my “navy” scents are actually my cocoa brown scents, like Dzongkha on the dry side, and Canturi on the sweet side….
Ooh iris is good, as Meredifay suggested. And Wode. Because it’s as blue as blue can be! I also wear Voyage d’Hermes and other cool scents like Dzongkha with blue and with denim. But I guess Dzongkha is an iris too…
Hmm.. this is a good thought to ponder!
I should try an iris, as Meredifay suggests, although now that I’m actually in my office, 31 RC seems more navy blue than it did at home, which is just silly. Now I come to think of it, Oakland, I could have worn TF Noir too, because it is not a perfume that takes itself seriously, although it will insist on smelling deeply brown to me. It would cope with the tunic, the sneakers and the knees…
I can see 31 fitting for navy quite well. It’s elegant and chic, which is how I view navy. Hope your day back goes well!
My husband rolls his eyes when it takes me so long to get ready because I can figure out which perfume “goes” with my outfit. It’s quite an affliction 😉 I’m in agreement with iris but also like the golden florals with navy.
Has anyone else noticed that Kilian seems to have pulled the travel spray refill set (the one they sold sans case)? I was just looking at them online a week or two ago but now, gone! It’s too bad, it amounts to a major price hike, since e.g. the Sweet Redemption travel refills were $75/oz IIRC, but the bottle refill (now the cheapest one available) is $160 for 1.7oz or $94/oz. Sigh.
Boo! I noticed Luckyscent hadn’t had them in for a while but I thought they were just waiting for stock. That sucks. I wanted more Love and Sweet Redemption in the travel refills.
It’s really an enormous difference for the entry pricepoint to be $160 instead of $75…
Oh no!, i’m really hoping my hubby is going to buy me Liason’s Dangereuse for my birthday, but was thinking the travel spray refills..
Why are the bottles so rediculously expensive! (humph)
I guess my one hope is for them possibly to end up on a discounter like Gilt again? Since, at least as far as I could see, Kilian didn’t put the travel sprays on sale or anything–just, one week the Saks website had them, the next week, gone! So that stock had to go somewhere… Maybe we’ll all be able to stock up one last time for maybe even a little cheaper?
But after that, yeah. It’s a big price hike, really.
I was at the Killian counter at my Saks yesterday, and that’s what I was told by the SA. I didn’t realize they had previously offered any other options, but the only was to buy that were available were FB, the $170 refill, or an empty atomizer. She did say that if you buy an atomizer and a refill from her, she will do a complimentary fill of the atomizer, so you get an extra .25 ounce. Still, massively pricey. I really liked a couple of the scents, but not that much.
Oh, you know I had a similar experience but hadn’t pieced together that it was related; at the time I just thought maybe the travel sets were online only. Makes more sense now! (Also unfortunate: I got the same pitch about buying an atomizer and getting topped up for free…but had already been told they weren’t going to have my favorite scent, Sweet Redemption, in store anymore, so, not sure how the top-up would work!)
Anyway all in all, I agree with you–they are very expensive and few seem worth the money to me. I think I’ve had bad luck with them, I can see that if I liked oud or tobacco notes more, I might have a different view of the brand. Back to Black and the Ouds seem to be some of the bigger Kilian hits in perfumista circles, but it’s not really my thing, while the lighter scents feel less impressive, both in terms of the composition and quality of ingredients.
That was my first exposure to them yesterday. I liked Intoxicated, quite a bit, and sprayed it on the back of my hand. It overwhelmed everything else I had on (Jicky, and a bit of Creed on one arm; I was unconcerned about conflicting smells, LOL) and really got in my nose, not in a good way. I don’t know if I could actually wear it or not. If I was going to drop that kind of money on a single perfume, I could buy a lot of other things that I like a lot more.
I agree that the lighter stuff seems less attention grabbing and unique. I liked Good Girl Gone Bad, but it wasn’t a showstopper.
Today I am re-organizing perfume samples and trying to do some whittling down. So now it is kind of like I am shopping in my own closet, which is the best way to shop because it is free! So naturally, I am now covered in scents because I can’t resist a little spritz here and there.
So this afternoon, on arm number one, I have Smell Bent’s St. Tropez, which I threw on because it is 12 degrees here and I am miserable in the cold. It’s so lovely, but is making me feel a little bitter about the weather and the fact that I am not in St. Tropez. But it’s fun and sunny and tropical, so it put a smile on my face. Also on arm number one is Valentina, which I had never tried and a friend gave to me. It’s fine but really seems like a lesser version of Coco Mademoiselle.
On arm number two, I have Tauer’s Une Rose Vermeille. I love rose and although I do like a lot of Tauers, they all seem to have this smell to them. I don’t know how to describe it, but there are only a few of his that I can really wear. Does anyone know kind of what I mean? Anyways, it is lovely, but probably not for me.
I agree w/ the Tauer scents. There is commonality to many of them…some, I believe, refer to it as the “Tauernade”.
I have samples of the majority of his scents and have mixed feelings on them. Some days I quite enjoy them when I wear them and other days I don’t.
Even the recent Sotto La Luna Tuberose…some days I think I need more of it, other days I don’t. His fragrances are all well done it just seems that some days I want whatever is in the Tauernade and other days I don’t. Maybe it is a bit like art…I appreciate some paintings and would love to visit them in a museum but I don’t necessarily want them hanging in my home.
That is exactly how I feel! I haven’t tried the Tuberose but am very interested. The first time I tried Rose Vermeille, I really liked it, but the few times I’ve worn it after that it just doesn’t do anything for me. Appreciating it as art is a really good way to describe it. I had the same experience with Ingrid, Reverie au Jardin, and a few others. But every time I read their descriptions I feel like they would be perfect for me! I am going to look into the “Tauernade”. It’s such a distinctive smell but I can’t find the words to describe it.
I’m wearing Bel Ami from a decant, and I know I’ll be getting a bottle of this eventually. I believe I’ve discovered my “gateway” leather.
Very productive day in many ways, but I’ll stick to perfume news. I made it Nordstroms ready to sniff anything new and was specifically looking for the new JM Orris and Sandalwood, which I found. Also tried Incense and Cedrant, which the SA was nice enough to make me a sample of. I disliked the O&S- very sweet and plastic-y on me. The I&C kept reminding me of SOMETHING which I couldn’t put my finger on until I was halfway home- very similar (in my memory at least) of her Bergamot and Oud!! Might be my imagination, though. Anyway, I arrived wearing Musc Ravageur- doesnt get better than that!
Has anyone ever had any luck UN-decanting? I have an empty vintage bottle of Chanel 22. It’s a 1.7 oz refillable bottle that’s just like the old black plastic-with-gold band No 5 spray bottles (and the refillable purse spray still sold today.) I have a large pour bottle of No 22 that I’d love to get into the empty refill.
I realize this is a case of getting the genie back in the bottle, but if anyone has done something like this successfully, I’d love to hear about it. (My husband suggested filling a syringe with the juice, then threading it through the tube that goes down the length of the bottle.)
Another Chanel Q: does anyone have any expertise dating older Chanel bottles? Raidersofthelostscent has a lot of good info, but their system only works for bottles with a 4-number batch code. All of my bottles have batch codes that are 2 letters followed by a number.
Thanks and enjoy what’s left of the weekend!
I think your husband’s suggestion should work.
Hm so I take it this is not a refillable bottle in the sense that the top just unscrews and you could simply use a funnel? If it’s a matter of getting the perfume back in through the sprayer… gosh. Well this makes me realize I really don’t know how a perfume sprayer works on a mechanical level! But in my ignorance I would be pretty worried about breaking it, sticking anything back down in the wrong direction.
On the other hand, I’d also be nervous about reusing a vintage sprayer at all, even for the same fragrance, just for fear of spoiling good juice if particles trapped in the sprayer have gone bad. So really I’m no fun and probs just go ahead and try it and see what happens, bottle sounds gorgeous 🙂
Sitting in my kitchen in a lovely haze of volutes edt, kids are at pre school this morning, and so i can indulge in my sadness since hearing of the passing of my greatest musical hero- David Bowie.
He was a true game changer, a true post modernist, he reinvented culture and made the world a safer, more enjoyable place for everyone who ever felt different- wonderful tributes pouring in on 6 music, lots of sadness, but much joy in his music which has enriched
so many lives. RIP David Bowie.
Mayfly, I saw that on this mornings news too. Did you hear that even in his illness and subsequent passing, he will be releasing one more album. Not sure if this helps. He was an amazing talent.
Thanks petunia, he had incredible creative control over his death- he released the album on his birthday, a couple of days ago. And his last video is a swan song to his fans.
After shaving, Aramis.
I too am saddened by the passing of David Bowie. He was an amazing talent. It is wonderful that he left us one last gift by releasing his new album a few days before he died.