Quick PSAs: the meetup poll is still open for anyone who'd like to connect with local perfumistas! We've also opened the 2016 Prix Eau Faux, and our next swapmeet will be two weeks from today, on 19 March.
Today, our standard weekend open thread poll: talk about anything you like — the perfume you’re wearing today, the perfume you've been reaching for lately to pretend it's spring (or fall, depending on where you live) already, whatever.
Or, ask a question about fragrance, then see if anyone else has asked a question that you can answer…
Note: top image is Purple Hyacinths [cropped] by Roman Boed at flickr; some rights reserved.
I sampled two perfumes yesterday after a late shower
One was Ambre Eternal by Guerlain. The opening is like sticking you nose in a new leather jacket. If this sample would of came sooner I could of used as my crack the whip community project. On the other wrist was Guerlain Ne m’Oubliez Pas, very plummy smelling and my skin must of ate it up because it faded very very fast. One of these two gave me a splitting headache-so much so I had to take something for it.
I will have to re-visit to test again. Was very hard after wearing sampling other perfumes after wearing Divine L-ame Soeur-which is so well done and beautiful.
Wow, don’t think I’d revisit anything that gave me a headache!
Yes- that means it will go into my horde pile to never be seen again 😉
I really liked that Guerlain – and I don’t typically like them. I will savor my little sample for as long as possible!
AE was incredibly smoky on me. Not what I was expecting at all.
I wasn’t expecting so much leather
did you like it overall
No. All I got was acrid smoke and then an indistinct drydown that may have been amber, leather and/or iris. Could not identify notes and didn’t care for it.
Did you get cardamom and cinnamon? I got a lot of that in the beginning.
Yes, but something in it or about it gave me a splitting headache. 🙁
Maybe allergies? Everything is blooming here in North Texas and it’s been really windy. I wore a tiny bit of Chanel No. 5 yesterday and got a bad headache which never happens so I’m thinking maybe allergies? Sad to say I had to scrub it off.
I tried it again today and had to scrub it off. I am happy I didn’t have my hopes up for this one. Anyone else want to try?
I wore a orange blossom cologne yesterday evening and I was ok.
I do have allergies though in the spring. They are the worst
Lonesome Rider, smoky iris and leather a half hour in.
Very nice!
Enjoy Today Everyone! ????
Boo hoo, I am still waiting for my bottle. I can’t wait to try it based on yours and others’ descriptions!
Ditto all of this????
My bottle is scheduled to arrive on Tuesday.
Today I’m wearing Le Labo The’ Noir and enjoying it…a little goes a long way.
Twins????
We both smell great !! ☺
Triplets! Just spritzed on, so will have to wait for dry down, but the orange at the beginning is so delicious it’s making me hungry.
🙂
Dearest Houstonians! If you are interested in meeting up–even if not soon–I posted my information in the meet up poll! Send me an email and I can add you to the group. 🙂
I’m wearing Eau Premiere today, after wearing vintage exclusively this week. I’m stalking some vintage Diors right now….
I guess I could add: I wore Shocking yesterday. I absolutely adored it. Like Absolue pour le Soir but more floralcy.
I’ve been kicking myself for YEARS. I went to an estate sale and found a whole case of old Guerlain. I didn’t know Shocking, so I didn’t buy it (got some Mitsouko and Shalimar, though). It was too early in my perfumista days to know how tastes can change and that perfume never dies, it just moves to someone elses perfume cabinet!
Ha, you were ahead of other people who’d be kicking themselves for bypassing the rest of the Guerlain.
I will send you an email! I felt bad because I started that thread and didn’t add my info, so thank you!
I added my email too!
Happy Saturday! In Palm Springs for the weekend for a little R&R…
Going to break out a sample of Chance eau Vive for today…
Wore a sample of eau Tendre yesterday and was unimpressed. It was very a pretty generic fruity floral to my nose. Seems like Chanel should be churning out better stuff.
Also still mad they made the decant sites remove their products.
Serious R&R jealousy over here- enjoy!
Same here!
Also in the jealous camp. We used to vacation there a lot when I was a kid. I hated the car ride from LA because it seemed sooo long-those 2 hours, and my brother used to torture me in the back seat. Hope you had a good time!
Love the hyacinths, one of my favorite flowers, and one of my favorite smells. Today I’m starting my Friday project early, and dug into one of my baskets of minis and pulled out a Love & Toast scent, Mandarin Tea. Margot Elena’s fragrances are very hit and miss for me, but this is nice.
I love them too 🙂
I know this question has been floated before, but what are the best non-cleaning-product hyacinth perfumes? Pacifica is okay, but I want something…sublime.
If you haven’t tried Parfums de Nicolai Le Temps d’Une Fete already, that’s one I would suggest. It’s gorgeous and FAR from “cleaning product”.
It’s a beauty! Definitely not cleaning product.
There’s always Chamade!
I have a little vintage chamade you could sniff in my sample box…but am curious about something that could be found in quantity
I love Bas de Soie! Spray it on fabric and it’s hyacinth all day.
And can be found for ~$60 at discounters/ eBay.
Thanks for the suggestions.!
Thanks to all for the birthday wishes yesterday. With regret, I must announce I did NOT win the lotto. But my travel spray of FM Vetiver Extrodinaire came in the mail! Not quite the same as winning the lotto, but a girl gets her thrills when and where she can????
SOTD is SL Chergui. Hope everyone has a fantabulous weekend!
You could still win! Your birthday was just the start of a year of hooray, right?
At the very least you get a birthday month to fulfill these aspirations?
Happy Birthday a day late, Dear. Ignore that nasty clock, just keep celebrating. 🙂
Trying some of the Dame Perfumery selections–so far Gardenia and Mimosa soliflores and Desert Rose. After an unusual grapey phase, really like Gardenia’s drydown. Mimosa isn’t what I’m accustomed to thinking of as such–my reference scents are Une Fleur de Cassie, Eau de Charlotte & Heliotrope Blanc. The Dame Mimosa smells like linden to me. Much as I like linden IRL, I’m not wild about it in perfumery. Have enough samples in general that I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed, and just want to fall back to a tried & true fave.
Ooh. Linden might be a bonus in my book. I LOVE Tauer’s Zeta. (Apparently I’m the only one, though, since he’s pulled back production.)
There’s 2 of us, apparently 😉
3 of us :). generally I despise linden but this one is amazing
Aaand I make 4
Make it 5
I’ll be #6, although when I sampled it, it had already been discontinued. It did have a bit of a lemon Pledge smell to me in the opening, but once it settled it was lovely.
5 now! Couldn’t get a bottle anymore but did manage to get some last tins of samples, yeah!
I bought the last bottle they had at The Perfume House. I’ve nearly drained my first bottle, and I couldn’t imagine being without it in my collection. I truly have nothing else like it!
Well, what can I say but clearly you all have excellent taste! 😉
Zeta is the only linden scent I like. So glad to have a bottle.
The mimosa was an odd one on me — it started off with a big blast of something unrecognizable and, to my nose, completely appalling. My sample went directly into the “hell, no” basket. And then about twenty minutes later, it morphed into the exact smell of the mimosas in my neighborhood, all golden honeyed softness, and I sheepishly dug it back out…
I feel the same about perfumery linden. On the tree, swooooon. In a bottle, it always seems to smell like powdered cleanser. It’s teeth-gratingly awful.
The first time I sampled Dame Gardenia Soliflore I got hot butter. I shrugged it off to recovering from a cold and tested it again. I think it is very fine. It is lovely just lightly dabbed at pulse points. It is very nice layered with other fragrances too.
I *just* sprayed the Gardenia Soliflore and got butter, too. Hot butter is a very good description. I was thinking it smells the way hot buttered popcorn jelly bellys taste (not meant as a compliment, btw.) We’ll see how it goes from here… the butter aspect is actually fading pretty quickly.
So now I am dreaming up a smell test of movie theater popcorn jelly belly on one wrist and Stilton jelly belly on the other…
I frequently get a popcorn note in gardenia scents, including Dame’s. It’s persistent but hazy, and so can be kind of disorienting!
Wow, you are like the gazillionth person to love the Gardenia. I hated it. I am starting to wonder if there is something wrong with my sample. All I get is blue cheese (I love blue cheese, but not smeared on my wrist).
Has anyone else really had a strong negative reaction to Dame Gardenia?
(I feel alone and ashamed. Consoling myself this morning with La via del profumo’s Oakmoss.)
See my comment above 🙂 I ordered the Osmanthus, and wasn’t crazy about it. That said, I chose it specifically to see if osmanthus is a note I object to (I haven’t liked the other 2 osmanthus perfumes I’ve tried.) I think I’m just not an osmanthus lover and if you’re going to wear a soliflore, it needs to be a note you really like. Are you generally a gardenia fan?
I do like gardenia…it IS a complicated scent to get right, and mostly I wind up liking if not loving the facsimiles. The same week I tested Dame’s Gardenia, I also tested Penhaligon’s Gardenia. The Penhaligon’s was a pleasant made-up fantasy flower that was “nice” if not terribly memorable. By contrast, the Dame’s was Roquefort–to my ignoble nose.
Aw, sorry the Osmanthus didn’t work for you, kpaint (I think I was one of the early ravers about it here). I think you’re completely right about a soliflore needing to be a note you already really like. I knew the Mimosa wouldn’t work for me, and sampling confirmed it. Ditto with the gardenia. Since they both happen to be notes my mom loves, she happily ‘relieved’ me of those samples.
It was definitely worth testing and I’m open to trying more, but maybe not his soliflores – although I’m curious about the mimosa, which isn’t a note I have any familiarity with.
I am nuts for the Osmanthus and Tuberose, but I couldn’t do the gardenia, either. I wasn’t too surprised – gardenia and I are rarely friends – but I didn’t get the blue cheese gardenia (a la JAR Jardenia), just overwhelming, sensory overload, white floral.
I gave my generous spray sample to my mom while she was out for the holidays, and it was instant love for her (but then, ELTG is a favorite of hers). She’s going to get a FB of the EDT for Mother’s Day.
It wasn’t for me either!
I’ve been reaching for spring scents for a few weeks now! I’m really digging Eau de Magnolia–I wouldn’t be shocked if Barney’s has to send some-more my way some time soon. I’m trying to decide if it’s warm enough to try En Passant again. It was too faint for me on initial testing, but I had a feeling heat would improve that.
It’s not exactly warm in these parts, but I *did* walk out of the hockey game last night in just my hoodie, so that’s improvement! (With appologies to my sista perfumistas in the midwest who still have to wait 6 weeks for such simple pleasures! I always hated my family for mentioning spring in March when I lived in Minnesota.)
I was a bit underwhelmed by Eau de Magnolia. The first hour or so is glorious but the white musks, though not as bad as cheaper fragrances, was still a bit too clean. Needs moar oakmoss. 😉
I don’t usually go for the just-pretty-and-fresh-floral camp of perfumerie, but I’ve been really enjoying this one for some reason! But in general, I agree with you–the world needs more oakmoss! 😉
Marjorie, email me if you want the Dame Mimosa + other Dame samples…crln456 in gee mail world. Happy to pay it forward.
Wow! Thank you! I will completely take you up on that!
I wore En Passant yesterday, and while it faded off my skin rather quickly, the one spritz that had made it onto my shirt collar was glorious all day long — I kept catching whiffs and thinking “What IS that? That’s wonderful! Oh, wait, that’s ME!”
LOVE that! I will be sure to spray my shirt collar.
Barney’s beauty event starts next week. The Malle boys (SA) are taking pre-orders 😉 I always request random samples and they’ve been great about including them!
I used to work with the Le Labo boys but I was not happy with their lack of attention to detail. I have been quite happy with the La Mer SA although she won’t be too happy this time around as I am pretty stocked up on La Mer.
I don’t suppose there’s any chance that would still be happening in a few weeks? Rumor has it there’s a Barney’s in San Francisco I could visit while I’m in town. (There is a serious dearth of proper department stores in Portland.)
So if I were you, I would call and order some things to qualify for the gift, then bring the items and the receipt on your road trip, stop in at Barneys and decide if you want to keep or exchange the items.
Hello, fellow hockey fan! Winterhawks, I assume? Did we win?
Yes! It was a great game, actually. We played the Tricities Americans, and it was a big-scoring game–6-4 or something like that.
Do you make it to many games? My Mr. Spicebomb got me into hockey when we first started dating a few years ago, and now we have season tickets. I’m not much of a sports person, and the teacher in me gets uncomfortable when the boys start fighting, but I enjoy the fast pace and more-or-less understandable rules. (As opposed to, say, American football, which might as well involve an alien tongue, for all the sense it makes to me.)
Hah, totally agree about American football – can’t figure out the rules to save me! I used to be a Winterhawks season ticket holder YEARS ago (in the mid-80s) and still love the game. Can’t watch it on television because the camera is never pointed where I want to look. 🙂 We get to a game every now and then, but Mr. G’s first two loves (aside from me, of course) are non-American football (or soccer, as I’ve always known it) … and warmth. Ice rinks just don’t make sense to him. 🙂
Ooh I’m encouraged to hear you’re liking the Magnolia! Must give it a proper sniff.
It’s very pretty. Has a bit of the popular powdery-floral feel going around these days, but with the quality ingredients of a Malle. Wierd, I just checked Kevin’s review, and his sense is VERY different than mine. He describes it as bracingly citrus in the opening and coolly rose-white floral. I get the bite of the citrus, but it’s much more gentle than his description. To me, it is a soft, airy floral. Maybe the coolness he describes is the vaguely powdery bits I’m smelling. In any case, it’s a good bet this is a scent that wears differently on different people!
Today — inspired by The Black Narcissus’ latest post — I am wearing Lys Bleu by Prince Henri d’Orléans. My MiL gifted me with a small bottle of this glorious vintage floral chypre last year. It gives me hope that despite the snow on the ground, spring is truly here!
This sounds amazing.
It’s really gorgeous. Hours later, and it’s dried down to a very attractive mossy musk.
Sounds like you have a fab MIL!
I do, I do! She’s a fellow perfumista! Whenever she visits, my very patient husband sits back and watches while we get down to swapping…
I am GREEN with envy! How fun to have a partner in crime right in the family, much less a MIL you like! 🙂
You are so lucky! My in-laws freak out if anyone wears perfume so I never wear it around them. I feel like they are missing out on the fun.
I finally caved and ordered a couple of Amouage samples, and I’m trying a wee bit of Lyric today, and trying not to love it. Trying… trying… failing? I was afraid of this.
Well, that one’s worth loving.
Agreed! Amazing stuff!
Fragrance net usually has the travel sets of Lyric for a little over $100. Still a significant amount of cash I know but close to half the price of a discounted bottle.
I’m with you on that one. It’s vying for first place on next fb list.
Isabella, I am thinking about ordering the travel set from Fragrance net and I do not need all 3, so if you are interested in splitting it you can contact me at arzeznik in the comcast land dot net. Wish I had thought of that last week during the splitmeet, but better late than never.
I’m wearing vintage cabochard and a vintage wool dress. Brrrrr winter ):
You smell and look lovely.
I’m feeling very annoyed at myself today. Managed to get too much sun yesterday and am paying the price today. As I am wont to be a bit preachy about sunscreen (and I did reapply like a good girl) it’s just extra aggravating. The husband is being smug and Mom is quoting my sun warnings back to me and trying not to laugh.
I’m heavily armored against their ridicule in Tabac Tabou, which has the most realistic paperwhite note that I didn’t notice until I sniffed a bloom while wearing it. I’m just not very good at identifying notes.
My poor friend. You were out digging and sweating and working yesterday. So you got a little pink. No biggie. Ignore your beloveds and enjoy your beautiful perfume!
Thanks. I’m just rather chagrined about it. I’ve decided to blame Doolittle as she was my primary helper yesterday. If she warned me, all I heard was a squeaky little mew that I misinterpreted as friendly encouragement. 😉
Oh, new avatar?! Super cute????
Bummer about the burn, though…
Doolittle cat needed some time in the spotlight. I’ve got a bunch of better photos but they won’t upload.
You’re cat looks like my cat Marmalade! If you ever get too much sun you take take an aspirin and a benedryl. The aspirin works as a anti-oxidant and the benedryl operates as an anti inflammatory. It’s what we recommend at the derm office where I work. The same thing happened to me in Mexico and I’m a sunscreen wearing fool.
Happy weekend, people! When I got home from London last night my partner gestured towards the pile of packets waiting for me and asked humorously if this perfume thing was becoming a problem. Well, not yet it isn’t (and it helped that there were a *few* non-perfume items in the mix). :^)
Today before showering I sprayed on a huge amount of the Grès “Cabaret pour Homme” that was part of the pile. Anyway, either this stuff smells of almost nothing, or it’s a fake (from Amazon). Given that these things sell for only £25 I don’t know which is more depressing, that the perfume really is so drippy or someone would go to the trouble of faking such a low rent item.
After showering, my true SOTD is Eau d’Italie “Sienne l’Hiver”. Oh now, this is the real thing, this is what I read NST for! Even if Robin’s 2011 review was unflattering, it was the comments that sold it to me as an idea. On me this works, it smells fresh and chilly and solitary without being remotely sad. Like being out in the early morning in an old town (not necessarily Sienna) before other people are about.
I have found the best defense against questioning looks from one’s sweetie is to be sure to encourage their own odd collections and hobbies. Much harder for them to look askance when we can fire back with questions about their deluxe carborator rebuild, or what-have-you! 😀
This. 🙂
So true! Adorable hubby has 2 large expensive pieces of farm equipment that serve an excellent purpose around the place and were a really good deal for large heavy metal objects with hydralics, sawblades, internal combustion engines, etc. A total sidelight is that only one time have we needed to have the conversation about how much was my hobby costing us vs how much have we already spent on his toys….
One of the reasons I re-homed my Cabaret (pour femme) was that it was very sheer to my nose. I want my scents to have a little heft.
What a wonderful sounding perfume. I love that early morning walk through a foreign city…when you hear the street sweepers, and roller doors being unlocked and raised, and glimpse lights and moving shadows in the back rooms of bakeries and shops. Everything is still a little dank. Have a great weekend withyour partner…at least he ( or she) gets to share in your perfume pleasure.
I think we’ve all had that convo with our partners. My tactic is generally to point out how much less expensive it is than other obsessions/hobbies I’ve had (or could have.) If you returned to 7 packages full of shoes, for instance, then it would be a problem 😉 Plus, it’s a hobby you can both enjoy since he gets to smell you.
Glad you are finding some satisfaction with Sienne l’Hiver. Sampling is fun (and addictive) but it can be tiresome when most of what one smells doesn’t provoke the hoped-for response.
Frequent conversation between my sons:
12: Oooh. Look at the packages that arrived!
14: But they are pretty flat.
12: I wonder what is in this one (points to a white plastic bubble wrap envelope). It is definitely too small to be a perfume!
14: Samples.
12: Oh. Right. Probably samples. (Heavy sigh.)
14: (Heavy sigh.)
Love this! I just get “You’ve got ANOTHER package. It’s perfume right? Why do you have to keep buying buying buying?” sigh…from me.
Sounds like my house… Every sughting of UPS or Fedex brings comments about The Perfume Truck visiting too often.
Hahaha The Perfume Truck!!
United Perfume Service!
Amun Re from Soivohle for me today. Wish I could wear Songes but that’s too big for work
You smell great! I’m thinking of getting a full bottle of this one.
Rena or Vanie, have either of you tried Soivohle’s Twelve Keys? Rena, I think I may have seen your name on another thread when I googled it… Do I recall that it was a favorite of yours last year? I’d love to hear more…
Chanel No5 EDC. Somehow I’ve managed to half drain my original 1oz find and was anxiously anticipating having to hunt it down on the internetz for steep prices. Luckily the universe conspired in my favour. I found a full 1950s 3oz splash bottle of the stuff at a local antiques shop yesterday for £25 🙂 I should be stacked up for quite a while now.
Anyhow – does anyone know when the EDC was discontinued? According to Fragrantica it disappeared from the radar in the 90s but I remember Robin saying elsewhere that the EDC was practically replaced by the introduction of the EDT in the 60s.
Eeples – 2 and 3 oz respectively (60 and 120 mls) methinks. Makes all the difference.
Jealous of your perfume find! I’m warming up to No. 5, and I’d love to find some older stuff to compare the new one to.
Next time you’re in town I have a vintage mini you can compare to…
Ooh! I’d love to give that a sniff. Thank you!
I have the same question about the EDC (and all the Chanel cologne iterations, for that matter.) I’ve always assumed they stopped making EDCs/spray cologne versions of all of their products at the same time rather than phasing them out 1 by 1 (I have no evidence for that; it’s just a guess.)
I did a fair amount of research on this when I was trying to date my vintage No 5 bottles. I’ve seen No 5 EDC in Chanel advertisements as late as 1982. This is not to say that it wasn’t available after that date, but rather that I couldn’t find any good info past that time frame.
According to boisdejasmine, the EDT of No 5 was introduced in 1952 so I think the theory that the EDT replaced it can be chucked.
Ah aye the EDT was created in 1952. Silly me. Assuming that as a popular fragrance the EDC was produced in large quantities. They might’ve stopped production somewhere down the line and kept selling existing stock for years afterwards until it ran out.
They did EDCs of all their fragrances afaik. I have Nos 22, 19, and 5 in EDC and/or spray cologne, all vintage. They’re old enough that I’ve not been able to date them (raidersofthelostscent is great for dating French perfumes, but only going back to about the 1970s.) It’s always been my assumption that Chanel did EDCs going back many many decades but stopped at some point (post-1982, my research tells me.)
There’s a lot of historic info on Chanel perfumes out there but I’ve never run across any that specifically addresses the colognes. If there are any experts out there, I’d love to hear from you!
Congrats, Schneeze!
I love Chanel EDC. My mom had a bottle in the early 60s, a gift from one of my much older sisters. She wore it only when going out for the evening, but even so used the whole bottle.
I’d love to come across a vintage(ish) bottle. In so many scents the EDC works best for me. Must be something about the structure or slant of EDCs.
I just opened my Dame box and am sampling what I figured would be the least interesting of the bunch, New Musk. I was right. It’s perfectly pleasant, but I will be passing it on. I also have 50 attar samples (if you’re a Kafkaesque blog reader, you’ll know what I’m talking about) and good heavens am I overwhelmed. Is there something in perfume that causes certain neurons to misfire? Is it the same ingredient that’s in potato chips? Some sort of base animal is lurking in my brain that is forcing me to keep buying samples! Logic has flown the coop!
Meetup update! A group of us is meeting at Arielle Shoshana on Saturday, April 16th. If you’re in the DC area or further afield, I hope you’ll come. You can check the meetup poll from last week to get my contact info.
50 attar samples? Holy Holly!? When are you going to get through all that?
Hope there is at least something nice in there?
Speaking of loads of samples, I’m starting to look forward to Esxence in Milan which is coming in a little bit more than 3 weeks.
whispers sheepishly … Lucas, I don’t know when I’ll get through it all. Or *if* I’ll get through it all. I um, have very good intentions? Let’s see, one paperclip dot per testing, with nuclear sillage and longevity, x 50 … more neurons imploding …
I love “Holy Holly!?”
You’ll need a brain transplant because of all the neurons damaged ;P
Lol!
Holy Hollihocks, Bat Man, that is a good nick name!
Isn’t it? 🙂
Tee hee Holy Holly – I LOVE it!
Thank you O:-D
He hit the nail on the head with this one! 😉
I have that same brain malfunction when it comes to both sample buying and potato chips, so yes, they must be related!
I knew it!
Yes, me too. At least perfume doesn’t have empty calories????
I’ve got the attar overload too. I was trying to be organized by entering them in my spreadsheet last night and kept getting sidetracked because two of them leaked (#49& #50) and the insert with the names listed smelled so good I had to keep stopping to sniff it. I’m curious, did you get all 50 samples or was vial #31 empty and missing from the list?
You’re a far better person than I. I have given up on organizing for the time being, and am attempting to provoke guilt, remorse, shame and financial responsibility by leaving the evidence lurking about on every surface. I’m optimistic that eventually this method will work! I could even write a book about it, sort of an anti Marie Kondo!
It took me several tries just to wrestle those dang little vials into some sort of container, and I finally gave up and put them in a zip-loc. In numerical order, though! My 49 and 50 also leaked, and I raced to figure out where to put the saturated tape that sealed them and ended up tossing it into my purse. What escaped smells gorgeous, though! My #31 is empty and missing from the list, too. My #13 has the entire contents in the cap where it will scent my person and the entire neighborhood for the next month once unleashed.
Attars (which my auto correct keeps wanting to change to Tartars) are oil based?
Yes, attars are oil-based. These particular ones are very highly concentrated and the testing method is to insert the end of a paperclip into the vial and use less than a drop. I can attest to their potency!
That does sound like fun though! Enjoy.
Thanks! In the event the “fun” doesn’t pan out, I DO still have your address. 😀
I was surprised by New Musk. It put me in mind of two scents…Trilogy Jua and L’Occitane’s au Bresil roller ball…neither of which were anything other than pretty but somehow lacking in substance. I almost see New Musk as suitable for a teenager who wants to smell nice, and is beyond Body Shop. It lacks spirit, for me. It was ‘nice’. I also have the Gardenia but need to try it again to see if it’s butter, cheese or flower.
I liked, if not loved, New Musk. Something similar but with va va voom (by similar, I mean type of feeling, general genre–not a dupe!) is the now discontinued SSS Sienna Musk. It shares some of the fruity musk DNA of NM, but its lightly applied sweet spices give it warmth and gravitas.
You know, it could be that I have trouble smelling the musk. So I’m not getting the right balance in the scent. Imalso suspect that I will wear it quite often, as it’s peaceful.
This might be complete hooey, but it *seems* like I can help my nose break the code of some scents I am anosmic too by way way over applying. I did this when I first tried New Musk as I wasn’t getting much. I can now smell a pretty, fruity skin scent–I even get a hint of vanilla and white flowers.
This may just be totally quack science, but it seems to have worked for me. I find myself doing this most frequently with musk scents.
Thanks for the tip….spray like no one’s watching!
Hey Oakland Genius! You cracked it…what a lovely scented day I’ve had thanks to you.
Oh good! Highly UNscientific, but it has worked for me.
That’s a lot of paper clips! I would be interested in your favorites as even the 8 sampler would overwhelm me!
I got the 16 samples (chickened out at 50) but wish I got all 50. This things are amazing – I only tried 3 and am in love
We like pretty much the same things so I would be interested in your favorites as well!
I got the 16 as well but haven’t attacked it yet – need to buy more paperclips.
My 16 sample order arrived as well (mercifully he was out of the 50 sample set), and I’ve so far tried Ensar Rose, with the paper clip method, as instructed; smeared 2-3 times and liked it well enough (a mildly dirty rose oud) but was a bit disappointed that it disappeared after about 4 hours. I am curious to hear what others’ experience is. Maybe I did not apply enough of it.
Thanks to our dear Holly and Hajusuuri today I can run a test drive of Andy Tauer Lonesome Rider.
It’s dark and leathery but not as dark as I expected it to be which is good because I would probably like it much less if it was darker or more ‘wild’
PS. I’m still waiting for new Atelier Colognes to come to Sephora in Poland so my birthday bottle will be purchased later…
…and here I am still waiting for my FB!
Which one did you order Haju?
The FB of Lonesome Rider at the $75 special price.
Nice score! Thanks to you and Holly I can sample it now (it’s only shipped to Switzerland or US…)
I want to just buy my Mimosa Indigo already
Wearing Xerjoff Irisss. Not from my own bottle (since I’ve sadly and inexplicably not yet won the lottery), but Harrods’. Actually it’s very nice but very similar to, and not that much nicer than, Iris Silver Mist. I’d buy it if it was £120 maybe.
Had a nice wander round Harrods. Determined to get a sample/ decant of Dior Ambre Nuit to explore further. The SA said there is a new Collection Privee scent coming – based on rose as they don’t have a rose-prominent one at the moment.
Oh you should sample the new Alexander McQueen. I’m very curious.
Does curious mean weird in the U.K.? Maybe I’m that too…….lol ????
Oud Ispahan andAmbre Nuit both have a lot of rose… Intrigued about a new rose scent.
I bought some stuff I had been wanting to try and I’m wearing Exotic Island Aroma’s Santal Exotique this morning. It smells like real sandalwood but I suspect it will have poor longevity. I bought a six-scent sampler box from Profumo.it that I am really looking forward to trying. I love Tawaf, and I have read good things about Hindu Kush and Tasneem. He also sells a civet tincture, so I bought a bottle of that to skank up some of the scents I think would benefit.
It does have real sandalwood and has good longetivity on me. You smell fabulous
But you have unicorn skin my sweets…so your skin makes magic whether it be longevity or even how the perfume smells!
Did your sampler come with Oakmoss? It fades a little swiftly, but it is a lovely roll in the hay with vetiver while it lasts.
No, I didn’t pick Oakmoss-Besides Hindu Kush, Tawaf, and Tasneem I got Oasis, the Venetian Garden one, and Fior della Notte. I told him I liked jasmine and tuberose and he included tester samples of those, too.
Just received my pkg from Profumo as well, lots if jasmine and incense.
Thanks to Pixel and the split meet I’m wearing Ambra Aurea today. I went for this one unsniffed but it was totally worth it!
Mine should be here any day now (assuming the USPS actually decides to deliver it – we’ve had nothing but problems in our neighborhood lately). It’s an unsnifffed buy for me as well, so I’m happy to hear positive words!
The weather people have promised that this should be the last of Big snow. So I am wearing Marc Jacobs for women. It is a lot more floral than I usually wear, but it makes me feel very ” pretty” I have a mini, and almost bought a bottle at TJ Maxx yesterday. if the roads improve, I might go back and see if it is still there.
That one is pretty!
Happy Saturday, everyone!
Was soooo excited to run across some lovely iris soaps yesterday at Winner’s. I’ve been sniffing the box every time I walked by it this morning and couldn’t wait to have a shower.
Done. So lovely. Followed up with Misia.
I’m on a mission to find a nice iris body cream/lotion. Does anyone have a rec on one?
I think Acqua di Parma Iris Nobile body cream wight be worth attention? Although it’s a bit more pricy.
Thanks lucasai! Sounds like a perfect treat.
My skin hugs the remains of yesterday’s Evening in Paris. I bought this yesterday and I don’t think it had ever been opened. Beneath the tin cap was a black latex nipple shaped stopper that took an age to ease out, and it was followed by a swish and whirl of heliotrope and violet that filled the room. Goodness me…so much energy in one small bottle. After twenty minutes the scent settled down and I started to enjoy it…well observed it as it waltzed away the night. I think this bottle dates from around 1930 so what an amazing journey…..and what a life story, to find itself in a south Dunedin thrift shop in 2015.
I have to go back as I spent yesterday doing some research on the other perfumes and one of the ‘anonymous’ bottles that I didn’t buy is more than likely Worth Je Reviens in a skyscraper bottle ( a beautiful bright blue cap and cut glass bottle. Almost full …maybe sold by now?) And the L’Air du Temps in its butter yellow silk box is possibly also a lalique. I so wish you guys were here …. It would be such fun to share these things in person.
Today I am wearing Roger et Gallet The Butterfly…I would guess my bottle is from around 1940. It’s a beautiful , rich scent…less floral and far more my style.
I wish I were there, too! What lovely finds.
Wow! Jealous of your Evening in Paris!
When I was a kid, my mother had bottles and bottles of Evening in Paris–it was sold at drugstores and didn’t cost much at all. My siblings and I relied on it as a dependable Christmas, birthday, or Mother’s Day gift when we couldn’t think of (or afford) anything else. We must have given her at least one bottle a year. She must have started throwing it out at some point–as far as I know, she didn’t wear it (she was a Revlon Intimate fan). I wish I had them now!
Evening in Paris! One of few things I have from my grandmother’s house is a tiny empty blue bottle, and I discovered a few years ago that it was Evening in Paris. I bought a decant from TPC so that I could find out had been in the bottle.
I have no childhood memories of anyone wearing perfume, so it was lovely to find a perfume connection. My mother was born with no sense of smell, so never wore perfume, and my other relatives of her generation had lived through the Depression and had no interest in frivolous things like perfume – I’m making up for whole generations of frugality 🙂
Good for you! 😀
You guys are awesome and i love your stories.
Goodness what finds!! Congratulations and thanks for letting us enjoy them vicariously 🙂
I’m sampling three scents from the old/new niche line Blocki Perfumes.
Very brief:
For Walks: Soft woody violet, very unisex
This Grand Affair: An oriental that reminds me somewhat of Shalimar, perhaps more floral. I like it.
In Every Season: Floral bouquet with a rich heart of rose, jasmine, lilac. And lots of musk! This one is my favorite so far.
I have never heard of this line! From where did you get your samples?
Twisted Lily in Brooklyn. It’s quickly becoming my favorite NYC niche boutique!
Good to know as I’ve probably just skipped past this due to the overwhelming number of perfumes there. I’ll visit again next month and will make sure to sample these! Thanks!
Thanks for the mini reviews! I’ve been curious about this line ever since I saw them announced in a Twisted Lily email. I think I need to add a sample of This Grand Affair to my next order from them.
SOTM is Gucci EDP, so I’m awash in orange blossoms and a dusting of sweet cumin. I’m just home from a week’s vacation in the desert, and it’s very nice to be back in my own house and state again. I think She-ra has the right idea – a weekend (or maybe a long weekend) is the right length of time in Palm Springs. While I enjoyed the sunshine, it was muggier than I expected, and I discovered that Azemour does not work in extreme heat. Cristalle EDT was about all I could bear. Am enjoying having a couple of days to get resettled and recentered before returning to work on Monday. Have a lovely, restful weekend, everyone. 🙂
I am jealous of your desert vacation even if it was muggy! I would take a week of muggy right now.
Trying out my sample of Dame Perfumery New Musk.
Now that Spring Training is well underway, I’m considering what I could wear–from my limited collection–when Opening Day rolls around. But I don’t think I’ve got anything that could equate to grass+dirt+leather+Cracker Jacks+hot dogs!… 🙂
Well, let’s see.
Grass, Dirt and Leather = three Demeter scents.
Crackers Jacks = the original Miss Dior Cherie which apparently had a caramel popcorn note.
Hot Dogs = you’re on your own!
😀
Maybe Le Labo Patchouli 24 for smoky hot dogs? Or Kolnisch Juchten?
Hmm, I haven’t sniffed those, but that’s interesting–thanks!
Haha! I think it’s kinda funny that I’d be totally willing to blend and smell those Demeter scents, but I definitely draw the line at anything approaching ‘hot dog’! Eww. 🙂
Hi, everyone! I think I’m going to curiously absent, or at least intermittent, in my posts for some time to come. Work is being just awful at the moment, in the sense that there’s too much of it, and there’s madness everywhere. Truly, the organisational insanity has got loose again, and it’s hatching little lime-green babies in nasty corners. Then too, I’ve lost my normal resilience. Normally I bound about energetically, and have a certain amount of imagination, but I’m sleeping so badly that I feel flat and dull and I’m desperately worried that my work is turning dreary and boring. Spent yesterday writing a lecture for Tuesday, and today’s work is already leering at me from my desk, waving snd beckoning. I thought I would relax, eat my breakfast and read NST peacefully, but I can’t stop thinking. I need a seriously spine-stiffening perfume, but 19 still has a faint question mark over her beautiful head, and I’m too tired to find any joy in experimentation, so I’m going with a low risk choice, Narcisse Bleu, fresh and cool and a little earthy. It’ll do.
Kanuka, it’s a wonderful comfort to hear of your explorations and discoveries. Thank you. Your perfume finds sound fabulous, but your walks in the hills sound better still!
There’s a great space where things are challenging and energising, and a completely different space where it gets overwhelming. Sorry to hear that you’re in the overwhelmed space, and at the point you start to question your own abilities. Going by how wonderfully you express yourself here, I don’t think anything you write will be “dreary and boring”.
And there is the solace of perfume 🙂
Thank you, Gaynor. I’m generally a pretty tough old bird, but I need more sleep to be able to navigate my way through the present muddles and puddles at work. I’m lucky indeed that my own team is talented and enthusiastic, but with. the exception of one, they are also moderately inexperienced and having to find their own voices, master the scholarship in a new way, and learn all the teaching ropes and how not to let them tangle. I can’t just point them at the lecture theatre with a pat on the back and an encouraging smile: I have to be in the work with them, or they might flounder. We’ll get through this period, and I’ll be all energetic again as soon as I sleep properly for a few nights. The dear man is threatening to take me up home and deposit me at Mimiwhangata in the DoC house for a week or so….I wish he would!
Well, I will miss your expressive posts very much and hope you can rise above the organisational insanity sooner than you can believe now. BTW, does your spell checker accept Brit English spellings? Here in the USofA, mine does not. I wish I could suggest a seriously spine-stiffening perfume for you, but what stiffens one person’s spine may weaken another’s. Onward and upward, fragranced all the way!
You’re so kind! Organisational insanity is draining, and it seems especially nasty at the moment. Vicious, even.
I’m pretty sure my iPad lets me use UK/Australian spelling. Maybe I’ve forced it to! To be honest, I’ve never noticed. I’m not even always aware of my mad typos, which is silly, given how much of my life is spent reading, assessing, critiquing and editing.
I hope you can find some moments of peace in the next few weeks. There is so much pressure to be ‘on’ all the time …. Personally I prefer quiet, thoughtful intelligence and empathy ( and that’s what you have in bucketfuls). Remember to look up at the sky once in a while!
Looking up. I see clouds, but they’ll pass.
Yes they will pass! And there’s no shame in being simply ‘adequate’ once in a while…the magic will return.
Not that you would be just ‘adequate’ but you know what i mean, I hope.
I hope the clouds pass soon water dragon, I very much enjoy reading you’re posts.
Lack of sleep is so debilitating, hope u get some good nights sleep soon!
I’m so sorry that’s happening to you. My seriously spine-stiffening perfume is L’air du Desert Marocain. Something about that dry amber fills me with strength.
I’ve lived through my share of organizational insanity and it can sap the enjoyment right out of your life. During the worst of it, I had flowers delivered to my office every week, just so I’d know there was beauty in the world. So, my advice (not that you asked, but that’s never stopped me) is, in the immortal words of Donna Meagle, “treat yo self.”
Sorry to hear that life is rotten right now. I usually sleep pretty well, but having too many things going on at once is one thing that will keep me up. Usually helps to read something that is of interest, but fry (history). But it has to be from a real book, as light from electronics is too stimulating. I do have to be toasty warm to fall asleep, even if it means getting rid of socks or pajama bottoms overnight. People always talk about imagining something relaxing like the beach, but I usually have better luck focusing on how comfy my bed is. Hope you get some good Zzzzz’s.
SOTD is Heeley L’Amandiere from a sample. I was a bit wary of this one at first because almond as a perfume note doesn’t always sit well with me. But I like it. Its much greener than I would have expected, more of a mimosa kind of thing.
Can someone tell me the name of the dominant opening scent of Amouage Lyric? I’m familiar with it but don’t know its name. Thanks!
If you’re speaking of Amouage Woman, my nose first smells ylang-ylang. Obviously, YMMV
HTH. ????
Thank you, Bear, but that’s not at all what I get. Hmmmm …
I get a bunch of cardamom and a dash of cinnamon along with lots of ylang ylang. There’s a quick burst of bergamot there too, but I didn’t put my finger on it until I looked for it. I was thinking it was a bit peppery and processing it as additional spice.
Wearing Wild Strawberry and Parsley from the new Jo Malone Herb Garden Collection. Outside of the Intense line, I hadn’t found a single JM I’ve liked since the EL takeover, mostly because there is something in the dry down of post-takeover JM that I find very sharp. I succumbed to curiousity yesterday while in Nordstroms and gave them a test drive (except for Sorrel and Lemon Thyme, which was already sold out at that location), and was pleasantly surprised to like 3 of them. They are very fresh and actually different from what’s already out there on the fragrance landscape, and I found their lasting power longer than expected for EDC.
I limited myself to 2, and came home with the Wild Strawberry and Parsley (bright, intensely green, with the unsweetened aroma of unripe strawberries; the parsley and tomato leaf really shine) and Carrot Blossom and Fennel (pale fennel/licorice with a bright carrot top note, floating on a base of Rose and orange waters). They are terrific layered, too. I really liked the Nasturtium and Clover as well, but found these 2 more unusual.
I also got to try the newest addition to the Intense line, Orris and Sandalwood, and thought it was nicely done. Its rootyness reminds me of Iris Silver Mist, but more wearable (for me). The SA gave me a nice sample to take home.
The SA also shared with me that the company has heard the requests of customers, and will be introducing matching body products (shower gel and oil, body lotion and cream) for the Intense line sometime later this summer. She also confirmed that the new Tea line is a go, but that the SAs won’t know much about it until later this year. Apparently it’s a newly conceived line that *might* be released as EDP, instead of the normal EDC.
This line sounds interesting. If I lived anywhere near a Nordie’s anymore, I’d be sampling for sure. Maybe during the swapmeet.
SOTD = VC&A Orchidee Vanille
I’m starting on my “back of the closet” theme because I can probably go on for a month. Anyway, this is a nice vanilla with the classic VC&A base, not as boozy as SDV but it is definitely there.
I am working on the splits and have already sent a batch (Ostara) out earlier this week but have not sent the emails. I have a batch of the Hermes going out today and the rest as well as Mohur should be ready by Monday! The Parfums MDCI is in the works but won’t be fulfilled for a few weeks as that one has to be ordered, shipped, then prepared to go out. Anyway, I am still thinking of splitting Chypre Palatin so if you are interested, please drop me an email – click on my name to get comtact info.
My Mum likes Orchidee Vanilla and she’d definitely buy it if it came in 25 ml size, even 40ml is too big for her she says.
Having a perfumista like me by her side she learned to have a bigger variety of smaller sizes than smaller variety of bigger sizes. Gosh, who knew perfume is contagious 😉
It is contagious!
Have you smelled Chypre Palatin hajusuuri?
Yep, finished one decant, on my second one so it really is time for a FB.mit is everything AND the kitchen sink. I didn’t wear enough when I wore it this week so the next wearing will be 5 sprays and I don’t care who I offend in the first hour 🙂
Yay! Will be looking for the Ostara. I need to get out my Orchidee Vanille.
Me too!
I showered with Smoky Poppy shower gel and layered on the body butter. I added a spritz of Coze from Parfumerie Generale.
Sounds like a great mix! I did not love Smoky Poppy when I smelled from a paper strip, but I should go try the body products.
I found the body products at TJ Maxx. I didn’t try the EDT but I read somewhere that the body products were better. They worked pretty good with Coze.
I’ve been away for a few days (away from my house and perfume, and NST) for un-fun reasons. I took a big shower today with my mini bottles of Rose 31 shower gel and conditioner (thanks, AnnieA, I think?) which has obviated the need for actual perfume yet.
What should go on top? I will be cleaning and laundering, but the activity and the jeans/t-shirt combo won’t be affecting this decision…
When I still had some Rose 31, I did sometimes layer it with lighter / brighter rose scents. But admittedly that is not very imaginative 🙂
I tried a Profumum ambra sample someone gave me, which goes with dish-washing, as it turns out…
Ha, yeah I am not sure what to suggest either because I totally use the Rose 31 shampoo and conditioner as my fragrance on days I use them–so much scent in my hair that it’s hard to think of wanting anything more! That said, as it fades–I’ve often thought L’Air du desert marocain plays nicely with a little rose. Sometimes I’ve (sacrilege!) layered a little Marni on the tail end of L’Addm’s drydown, but it could easily work the other way too, L’Addm over the tail end of Rose 31. Though full disclosure, Incense rosé might be my second favorite Tauer, so, judge this advice accordingly!
if you are my secret scent twin, I really do have to try these combos…I have some LAddm, but not incense rose…
Hi folks! I hope everyone is well. I haven’t had much time to even lurk lately do I have no idea what’s going on with any of you. I need to try to catch up but things have been crazy lately. I’m still dealing with a dog with oral cancer and it’s becoming a messy proposition. My next job will be crime scene clean up. When they tell you that tumors are very vascular and can bleed a lot, believe them. I feel like all I’ve done this week is clean blood off of everything. It’s tiring. Yet he’s eating and acting reasonably okay otherwise. There’s no way to bandage it up and I’ve got throws and pee pads over the furniture trying to protect what I can but it can’t go on much longer like this. I had to give him two baths before work this week because he bled all over himself during the night. Cross your fingers and hope for a little clotting action please.
I can’t remember what my perfume choice was this morning. Some days lately I haven’t even spritzed because of the dog baths and hand feeding and trying to get out the door on time. Last night I just sat down and cried and then got mad at myself for not being more patient. Ugh.
I’m still trying to not buy any perfume for a while. I blew my total no buy with a lipstick the other day because I needed something sparkly and cheering.
Oh that sounds so tough. Thinking of you and your pooch. Very sorry you are going through this!
Oh no Poodle! I’m so sorry you are going through this.
Oh poodle, I’ve been wondering where you’d gone. I am so very sorry that you’re dealing with such a tough situation. You are very courageous and kind. I hope you will forgive yourself for whatever emotions come up – they’re only natural.
Please do reach out to everyone and ask for help, and allow yourself whatever you need to make it through this. I’ll be thinking of you and your beloved dog, sending prayers and big hugs.
That sounds really tough. I’m sure your dog appreciates what you are doing for him.
Sending prayers
Oh NO! I’m so sorry to hear of your distressing situation! I have been having Stella update withdrawal and was wondering where you were, Poodle. So, so, so sorry! T-Rex and I send our love and support to you and your wonderful and brave four-legged friend. I wish I had a magic wand…
Oh, I am so sorry for what you are going through! Sending prayers your way for both you and your dog, and hope you can take some time for yourself. Caring for an ailing pet is both physically and emotionally exhausting, and I hope you are receiving all the support you need.
I’m so sorry! I’ve dealt with two cancerous cats over the years, so I do know how stressful it can be, especially when they seem to feel well but are bleeding everyplace.
I wish there was something I could do to help. Sending you a hug and some healing thoughts.
I am so sorry for you and your sweetie pup. I wish you strength during this hard, hard time.
Sending you and the pup every good thought.
I’m so sorry to hear this. Sending comforting vibes for you both.
So very sorry to hear this – hoping things get better very soon!
Poodle, so sorry to hear about your poor puppy. Our little mutts are about nine now and it’s hard to imagine life without them.
Oof that sounds so hard. At minimum I think you can 100% forgive yourself for not being more patient–that is a situation that would test everyone’s patience, I promise you. Take care, I hope this gets easier for you all.
I am deeply sorry for both of you. We went through this cancer with a dog of ours as well and it is quite trying for everyone. Hang in there and cut yourself some slack. You both will be in my prayers.
Oh I’m sorry, hope things improve soon.
I’m so sorry! That sounds very trying and heartbreaking and you actually sound like you’re being very patient and caring with your little one. Having a sick pet is very hard. You deserve any treats you want for yourself. I’m hoping things improve for both of you.
Oh, I’m so sorry to hear about your pup and your struggle. It is hard to care for a sick pet, but they do love us for it….
I enjoyed EL Youth Dew so much yesterday that I’m wearing it again. On my left hand, I have drops from an old, tiny bottle of Skin Perfume, on the right, a spray of circa 2009 EdP in the retro blue bottle. They both smell fantastic. The older one has different musks, and something animalic in the opening. The more recent one has more sandalwood. Both are better than any of the $600-$800 niche perfumes I’ve tried recently. 😉
I’m not a big fan of spring because of pollen allergies, but I enjoying Lindt’s spring catalogue, full of pretty foil-wrapped bunnies, Easter eggs, lambs, carrots, and bees. They also have new fancy chocolate bars for spring:
1. Grand Plaisir Strawberry Almond (white chocolate)
2. Grand Plaisier Hazelnut Almond (milk chocolate with caramelized nuts)
3. Carrot Cake (creamy almond marzipan filling topped with a lemon glaze, covered in milk chocolate)
4. Excellence Roasted Sesame (dark chocolate with roasted sesame seeds)
5. Hello Coffee Blast (milk chocolate with coffee cream and milk cream filling)
FYI, there is a mix & match buy 4 get 1 free deal on the bars. 🙂
Oh, I will have to look for Roasted Sesame, thanks!
Interested in Roasted Sesame too. It’s annoying that they don’t list the percentage of dark on their site. I’m also intrigued by the Arabica Bar and the Zest of Lime Bar–never seen any of these around here, and I’m not in a remote area.
It’s odd: the CVS drug store near me has more of the unusual flavors than does Whole Foods. Of course, the latter has more different brands.
The unflavored chocolate bars have a noteworthy range of intensities – as high as 99 percent cacao. I’m very fond of the 90 percent cacao.
Happy Saturday! Temperatures are going to be above 60 next week in Boston; and suddendly I want to get a rose perfume. Did any one try the new Tory Burch? jo Malone? Stella? Let me know what I should try the next time I go to Sephora/Nordstrom.
To give you an idea about my likes my favorites lately are BV, BV knot, Carven.
Merci.
If you can, try MFK A La Rose; it’s so pretty!
So pretty (unfortunately also costs a pretty penny!)
Yes, I agree.
The Tory Burch one is a light, fresh rose. If Nordie’s has Aerin, Evening Rose is a really pretty, rich dark rose.
Marni and Marni Rose?
Marni is a nice rose for spring and summer
I know this isn’t a rose recommendation, but you seem to enjoy orange blossom and diptyque is coming out with a new orange blossom that is supposed to be lovely. They carry diptyque at my Nordy’s, guessing it could be available at yours?
Otherwise, I second Sapphire 🙂
Thanks. Wil go and try them. enjoy your sunday.
Ooh fun 🙂 Pacifica has a rose that goes for a song, so totally worth sniffing just in case it works. Demeter too–Pruning Shears is a super interesting rose, with a metallic note, but they’ve got numerous others as well I believe. At a higher pricepoint, Stella’s very nice, a sheer, ambery rose. I have the Diptyque Eau Rose, great summery rose. I’ve also got the Marni (sheer incense and rose), Marni Rose (like Marni but greener, light mint) and Aerin Evening Rose (hahaha confession is good for the soul), and I hear the other Aerin rose–Rose de Grasse I think?–is nice too. And lots of people do love the JM Red Roses, and it has lovely matching body products. JM Velvet Rose & Oud is very nice if you like oud. I thought Roses de Chloe was quite pleasant–I didn’t buy it but I do strongly prefer it to the Tory Burch for instance. The annual spring flanker to YSL Paris, “Premieres Roses”, is often quite a nice springtime rose (my sister’s worn it for years). Or the original of course! Or Joy for a classic. Acqua di Parma does a rose that I haven’t tested but remember as pleasant (quite soft, I think)… Hahaha, well, you won’t have any shortage of roses to try! 🙂
Chanel Pour Monsieur for this girl. A more perfect fragrance is hard to imagine.
It IS good, isn’t it? I’ll probably end up getting a bottle when my decant is gone.
It is easy to find and moderately priced too.
SOTD is Love by Chloe. Robin, you mentioned you thought it was discontinued, but I think they still sell it at Nordies so it may not be. I know I buy the lotions through one of the online stores, but the perfume is listed on Nordies website.
Oh you can still buy it lots of places! But pretty sure they are not making it anymore. It can take years for a fragrance to be sold out after they stop making it.
Taurrville Vanilla flash today, yum. 🙂 I may add some lashings of Eau des Missions before crawling into bed too.
I love Eau de Missiones for a bedtime scent! You remind mr- I Ned to get some more of that!
While I was at work, I was wearing vintage Mitsouko. I’m kind of bummed with a bottle of vintage Bal that came in the mail. It barely smells like vintage Bal. I’m thinking that the perfume itself has gone bad or someone wore the original and just filled the bottle with something else. I should have known that the color was too light (it was a lyre bottle). But I’m working up the courage to start selling on E-bay or I’m probably going to see what I’m going to see if Goodwill will take them. One good thing is that I still have quite a bit of vintage Bal to wear and enjoy. Now I’m about to gaze at my collection and see what I will wear for bed.
What a shame, sorry about your Bal!
I hate to complain when a number of people here are dealing with very stressful and painful issues, but . . . I really hate the weekends when I have even more work to do than during the week. Wore Thorn and Bloom’s Birds of Paradise early today, then after a shower Anubis. At least I can smell nice while glued to my computer.
I hope everyone makes it through the weekend with some rest and respite — and pleasant aromas!
I hope you have some fun, too!
It’s ok to complain about life’s little annoyances once in a while. Hope you get a chance to get in a bit of fun.
Hello! I am looking for some recommendations. I will be in Rome next week. Does anyone know of any good perfume shops that sell niche and/or vintage perfumes there? Thanks!
Profumu Roma has 4 shops in Rome that I would be tempted to look at. The streets of the Centro Storico around the Campo dei Fiori/ Panteone/ Piazza de Navone are full of all sorts of quaint and artisan shops, so I would be surprised if you don’t stumble into something perfume related. :^)
Thank you!
When I was in Rome last September, I went to Campomarzio 70. It’s a small shop brimming with niche brands. The SA was genuine, and helpful. There is also an Amouage store on the same street.
Keep an eye out for products by Bruno Acampora–especially the oils. Crazy powerful!
Second that. Sballo is my favorite.
Back home after two weeks abroad, from 36c to 3c and lots of snow! Good excuse to try out Mimosa & Cardamom, its love ????, so cozy and spicy. I also tried out all the Herb Garden collection at the airport and bought my two favorites, Nasturium & Clover and Sorrel & Thyme. Can’t wait for more springlike weather to wear them!
I tried the Strawberry and Parsley the other day and was pleasantly surprised. Not boring at all, and 5 hours was still enjoying the dry down.
Sorrel & Lemon Thyme was my favorite too. Gonna give it another test to consider whether I liked it well enough to buy…
Started the day before showering in Romeo Gigli For Men. Just for a laugh read the official notes – Top: green notes, cypress, bergamot, elemi, juniper, currant buds, pink grapefruit and cinnamon. Heart: nutmeg, geranium, iris, heliotrope and water lily Base: oakmoss, guaiac wood, balsam fir, amber, indonesian patchouli leaf and vetiver.
Actual notes: mildly bitter anonymous green stuff. This was £12.50 for 30ml and I got my money’s worth. ;^)
After showering I am in “Aleksandr” from Arquiste, which has gone from the ghost of a violet to pale soapiness in 2 hours, so not for me. But it’s fun to try new things, so not complaining. If it has the good manners to die away completely, rather than linger on as a skin scent, I’ll put on something more fun later. :^)
Chamade extrait today, it’s Mothering Sunday here, The children, with help from their Dad, made me apple and cinnamon pancakes with tea, and then at church the children gave out little bouquets of spring foliage and flower, made at school on Friday, the aromatic green leaves, and yellow flowers are so cheerful and smell wonderful, similar to the green leaves , hyacinths and daffodils in chamade. It’s been such a beautiful morning, our little village church is over 800 years old, and has very beautiful stained glass, when the early spring sunlight shines through, it’s such a lovely experience, a really special place, and lovely start to the day.
Sounds like a perfect day!
yes, it’s been very lovely, had some stressful times over the past few weeks, with toddler, so it’s been a real pleasure today, they have been really well behaved and delightful this weekend, a real breath of fresh air!
Did u have a lovely birthday, even tho u didn’t win the lottery?!
Yes, even though I didn’t win the lottery, I still count it as a great day since I am upright, walking, talking, and continent (mostly!). Thank you for asking and I’m thrilled everyone was on their best behavior this weekend on your side of the pond. Happy Mother’s Day to you and all the other mothers too ????
Oh, Chamade. Lovely.
I seem to be dedicating this weekend to the gloriously light fragrances of Monsieur Ellena. Yesterday my SOTD was Eau Parfumée au Thé Vert (second bottle!), and today I’m wearing Un Jardin sur le Nil.
Sur le Nil is a masterpiece, and I love that JCE actually went there to get a feeling of the place, instead of sticking to clichés. That green mango note is proof that his hard working ways really do pay off. Glad that the good people chez Hermès are smart enough to see this.
SOTD is The 7 Virtues Vetiver of Haiti. I like it. I may even love it.
I seem to have plunged into the very deep well of vetiver scents. Don’t bother trying to rescue me, I’m quite happy being lost????
3 to look at (if you haven’t already):
– Hermès “Vetiver Tonka” – vetiver and hazlenuts – it was a (false) report that this was being dicontinued sent me on a Google search that landed me in NST!
– Guerlain “Vetiver” – elegant cool. green and spicy vetiver scent
– Carner Barcelona “Palo Santo” – lovely vetiver dry down after a vanilla milk start and spicy/ woodsy middle.
I am sure I am recommending stuff you already looked at 10 years ago! :^)
Oh you are spot on! I’m eagerly awaiting the arrival of a travel size of Vetiver Tonka from the recent split meet, I have a bottle of the Guerlain, which is what sent me down the Vetiver well in the first place, but was unaware of the Carner Barcelona. I will check that out as well. Thanks for the suggestions. The VT is a total blind buy so hoping it works out????
Try Fat Electrician, too! ELDO.
Thumbs up to Fat Electrician! Will also mention Diptyque Vetyverio and Arquiste Boutonniere No. 7, if you think you might like some flowers with your vetiver!
Thanks for the suggestions. A wonderful NSTer sent me a boatload of Vetiver samples and Fat Electrition was one of them. Have not sampled it yet, but come on- I want to love it just based on the name! Vetyverio didn’t last more than five seconds or so, so that ones out. I will definitely hunt down a sample of the Arquiste one, though. I’m quite fond of JCrew/Arquiste #57 collab and have a rollerball of that one which I got for almost free when it was on sale.
SOTD is Pacifica’s Malibu Lemon Blossom. Lemon Pledge.
Oh, too bad. I just tried that last week and happily it wasn’t too cleaning-product-y on me, but, I admit I still didn’t feel any need to buy it. Had just a few days earlier tried the Jo Malone Herb Garden lemon, which I preferred.
Have either of you tried Eau de Rochas?
Have not, should I?
I really like it.. Lemon, mineralized, mossy, natural not a round perfume. Short lived but so pretty. It is fairly inexpensive so I don’t mind reapply. There are versions for men and women. I have only tried the ladies version.
It’s great if you put it in the fridge on really miserable muggy days. Sort of refreshing and cool feeling.
Ooh that does sound great! Thanks for the tip!
I forgot… it does have some patch in it. I really don’t think of it as a patch fragrance though. It is in there is not strong IMO. I honestly don’t notice it but I know some people hate it so…
Stupid spell check. What is in there is not strong.
That is too bad. The Malibu Lemmon Blossom is always more flowery on me and works well in the worst of the desert summer heat.
Showered and washed my hair with Rose Jam (and Lush’s American Cream conditioner), then applied a healthy dose of Mohur Extrait. Death by roses, lol. (No, really, this is totally dreamy.) Hope you are having a wonderful Sunday.
Ooh. Lean over and let me get a sniff!
Come on!
MMMMM.
But what a way to go!????
You smell fabulous!
The sun came out, which wasn’t anticipated for today. I’ve got Belle en Rykiel, a little nutty lavender.
I like that one, I’ve got a 5ml mini, it’s rather unusual, really nice.
I read good things about Belle en Rykiel although I haven’t had the opportunity to test it.
I am glad there is a fan base as I will have an entire bottle of this to trade in the swap meet!
In Dame’s Mexican Vanilla and New Musk; I find I like them layered, or at least interacting with each other.
Poured rain last night and this morning, now the sun is out. I am wearing Montale Spices and Wood over vanilla lotion, husband complimented me. I am getting worn out by the number of foul-smelling perfume samples I have been trying lately. I seem to have gotten more than my usual number of “hell no” scents lately. I think I will take a short break before I start in on my Profumo and Sultan Pasha samples so my crankiness won’t affect my opinion of them.
Wise plan, cazaubon!
My foxie/whippet caught and gulped down a baby rabbit on this morning’s walk. I was very David Attenborough about the whole thing and while I sat on a rock waiting for her to finish up I noticed that my Dame Gardenia Oil (heavily applied! Thanks Oakland F) has a soft, sweet-nutty gorse flower note. I was able to compare it with the gorse growing in the paddock and it was definitely similar (think a very faint version of Lush Furze).
Feeling a bit less David Attenborough now that the dog has just regurgitated the entire rabbit onto the carpet. She must have swallowed it whole as I can still see the rabbit’s pink paws. I had to put on my best DA voice and bark, “Fascinating. Isn’t nature marvelous?’ as I disposed of the body.
Oh dogs! I love mine but I do find some of the things they do quite disgusting…..
Mmmm…I had to remove most of a very squishy little pocket mouse from the kitchen floor last evening. Newburg cat brought it in and had so much of it in his mouth that I didn’t see it until he dropped it in front of my foot (with a small but audible splap sound). I keep reminding myself that it’s a much better diet than kibble and that bunnies and rodents are known for their fecundity.
Ugh, my cat, Meowy, does the same thing. He was a stray and is an excellent hunter. Last week, as I was leaving for work, he trotted by me with a mostly dead chipmunk in his mouth. (Too big to hide) It didn’t seem to matter that he just had his cat food ten minutes beforehand. I feed him really well hoping to curb his hunting habits but he is a cat after all. He keeps our vet busy supplying worming medicine.
It really IS a better diet, ‘cept for the parasites.
I watched a show on domestic cats that said house cats don’t eat their kills because they’re never hungry enough. Whatever. Mine will take a critter any day.
I watch the dogs and cats do what dogs and cats do, and then I wonder what us humans do that is “Oh, gotta love ’em but geez, that is so human…” Covering up our natural odors with lovely perfume seems to one thing humans do…:-)