Happy Saint Patrick's Day! What fragrance are you wearing?
I'm wearing green: Gobin Daudé Sève Exquise.
Reminder: 3/18 will be I Hate...Oh Wait. Wear a perfume you love that features a note or style you always thought you hated. (suggested by pixel)
And for those of you who like to plan ahead, see Scent of the day ~ Friday community projects 2016, where I'll try to always have the next five or six weeks mapped out in advance.
Note: top image is 4-leaf clover by Singh at flickr; some rights reserved.
Seattle Chocolate for me today to combat the cool overcast day
Sounds perfect!
That sounds like fun! Speaking of chocolate, I’m in a sample of Montale Chocolate Greedy, which is basically a not-quite-as-good duplicate of CSP Amour de Cacao for twice as much money.
I was wondering about that one. Good to know I’m not missing anything by sticking with amour de cacao????
For Him (Narciso Rodriguez). Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
And everybody please drive safe
Wearing white, or rather BWF: Isabey Gardenia, which I’m finding a tad too sweet, and a tad too dense. Very pretty though.
Tea: milky oolong.
Serendipity! Last night I wore Isabey Fleur Nocturne. I couldn’t find my Isabey Gardenia, maybe it’s gone. At first Fleur Nocturne reminded me of LouLou, which is a compliment. The box and bottle are darling.
I’m glad I don’t like it enough to want a bottle, but I’m very glad that I own a sample!
Love milky oolongs! Have not liked the last few I bought though, and still think global warming is harming traditional oolongs
I’m glad that I’ve only started drinking oolongs recently then
. I’ve got a stunning milky oolong at home, which is simply called Jin Xuan, but the cheaper one I’m drinking right now is good too.
Interested in everyones milky oolong?
I only have one oolong, that is Saphir Himalya from MF
The only milk oolong I have tried and absolutely adore is from The Republic of Tea…and their prices are quite reasonable…there are many from this line that I like/love and when I get a “love” I usually buy the 250 bag count which is even more economical. I highly recommend their “Get Gorgeous” tea which has done wonders for my skin (I am currently on my second large 250 count bag) and the organic ginger tea. I am also currently drinking their Beginner’s Mind Cherry Blossom Green to herald in spring…love that one.
what’s the difference between a milky oolong and regular oolong?
I am wondering the same thing..
It’s really a flavor profile as much as anything. Explanation here:
https://www.teatrekker.com/jin-xuan-milk-oolong
Yes, what’s a milky oolong?
See above
Thanks! Sounds yummy!
Morning! Yesterday I picked up a copy of the quaterly The Happy Reader (Penguin, Spring 2015. Kim Gordon on cover )and the entire second half of the journal focuses on a discussion of the classic text, The Book of Tea and teaism, with interesting articles about tea varieties, how to prepare them, their history, and also a cool article by a guy who spent 30 years in a British jail writing about prison tea and how it is made. Really recommend it to tea enthusiasts.
SOTD is Frederic Malle En Passant, from the travel size atomizer I got on sale. Probably I’ll wear it tomorrow, too, because I could not stand En Passant for years. Last spring I got out my sample spray to try once again and surprise! I loved it.
Maybe it needed to age!
Happy Saint Patricks Day! I had so much fun dressing my toddler in green this morning.
SOTD is Divine by Divine
Had a stressful physical therapy appointment yesterday. I have a lot of work to do, and was trying not to get overwhelmed on the first day. I guess this is what happens when you have two pregnancies back to back. At the end of the day yesterday I had such a headache-Divine is cheering me up today.
Glad to hear Divine is helping. Two pregnancies close together put you’re body through so much, take it easy (when u get a chance) and be kind to yourself. The age gap between mine is 19 month’s, I’m in awe of parents with really small age gaps, it’s very demanding, but my two are so close, and there are so many cross over interests, it’s great.
Seeing them holding hands, or a little conversation between them is so brilliant!
Hope u feel better later, and you’re having some sunshine where u are. Remember you’re doing an amazing job, (if an incredibly under appreciated one!)
Thank you Mayfly. Your words are encouraging. Mine are 13.5 months apart. Divine is gorgeous and I will try to get outside today and go for a walk (and make sure I am engaging my core like my PT wants)
in the sunshine.
My two boys are 18 months apart. It was hard work at first but they’re 7 1/2 and 9 now and excellent friends. A small age gap means they’re really good company for each other and have shared interests which makes doing things together easier. Yours will be even more so! Hope you’re feeling better soon.
Good luck with the PT, and hope things calm down!
thanks Robin <3
I hope you feel better as the day goes on.
Good luck matey! Don’t rush things and enjoy being outside in a new fresh season.
I’m glad you are enjoying Divine! I hope you start feeling better soon, but these things take a little time I guess.
I had to take my car to the mechanics today, so I get to drive around in a nice newer car! I hate it though, because it makes me want a new one. Wearing not vintage Fendi today. I can not believe how less potent it is now.
I’ve been itching to replace my car lately too…the 7 year itch, and I really do get it with cars!
Was going to do a week of violets, but am finding the idea of wearing even my greenest violet (Penhaligon’s) not green enough today!
So it’s PdN Le Temps d’une Fete. It just makes me so, so happy.
Speaking of the Irish today… my sister put up a 3-minute video from #InspireIreland on her Facebook page yesterday, in honor of our heritage. (Ireland’s 250+ years in the past for our family, but we still consider ourselves Irish!) What stunned me was seeing that 5 million people live in Ireland now, but 70 million people of Irish heritage live elsewhere in the world.
Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wmIZEl1nSo
Éirinn go Brách!
curious, are you a DAR?
Nope! My ancestors were here… but they were pretty much hiding from British law in the mountains, not fighting in the Revolution.
LOL! I have some Irish ancestors that left Ireland prior to the potato famine and the troubles, under questionable circumstances, as well…but I do have one branch of the family that was legit way back when, and my grandmothers were active in DAR, but my mother didn’t seem to care much, so I haven’t really participated at all…
Hysterical!
My children could claim membership in the Mayflower Society, through the one (!) English ancestor on my husband’s side.
The reason I know is that my daughter sought a scholarship from the local chapter. Nice people, but the annual dues were a little steep.
I wish I had some Irish in me, but I love the country with all my heart after visiting twice. Thanks for the link–and don’t judge the Irish by that wimpy soundtrack.
Very, very cool. Thanks for the link.
Somewhere on YouTube is a video of me playing the bodhran…
Ooh, really? Awesome.
You smell fabulous, and very spring-y.
TdF is perfect for green spring!
TdF is gorgeous!
You smell lovely! I have a decant of TdF on the way.
SOTD FM Vetiver Tonka. Yum!
Ooopsie! That would be Hérmes.
I put some vetiver fragrance (Guerlain) around as room spray this morning to wake me up before shower. Love vetiver!
SOTD: Eau de Soir
Something green for St. Pattys day!
Perfect!
Robin, you still have Seve Exquise?! I’m so jealous!
Day 4 of my week of violets and I have decided to double up (yes, I have a lot of violets!)
Today, wearing Tom Ford Violet Blonde on one wrist
and Ombre Mecure by Terry de Gunzburg on the other
Originally I had planned to do 5 days but I think I’m going to lengthen to 7 and do this through Sunday because there are a few more I really want to wear (and I’m already doubling up!)
I do, and Sous Le Buis. They are showing their age though.
Happy St Patricks Day, my sweet smellin’ Lads and Lassies! An Irish curse for ya….
May those that love us, love us.
And those that don’t love us.
May God turn their hearts.
And if He doesn’t turn their hearts,
May He turn their ankles,
So we’ll know them by their limping.
SOTD: Tresor Midnight Rose…..
I like that curse.
Ah yes! My sons went off to school in green shirts today (I don’t know how much pinching goes on at the high school, but apparently they weren’t taking any chances), and even The CEO, who’s about 90% Scottish, wore a green shirt as well.
My other half is 100% Scottish and left the house muttering when he saw our youngest decked out in green. I have a grandfather of Irish extraction, but this fact is ostentatiously ignored by my father-in-law.
“Left the house muttering” – love it!
Of course when we Americans say we’re Irish or Scottish or whatever, we usually mean just genetically. And I’d have thought that The CEO’s family, which has been in American since the late 1770s, would be what I like to call “Standard Colonial Mix,” which is a nice term for the English-Irish-German-Scottish gene mixture you get in this part of the world. However, they were making a definite attempt to marry only Presbyterians, and that gets you a pretty solid Scottish background. I think there’s one person of German extraction in his family, and one ancestor who was English, and the rest Scots.
My ancestors, on the other hand, switched from Catholic to Protestant depending on which way the political wind was blowing, even in the border country they lived in in Ireland, so it wasn’t all that big a stretch for them to stay Protestant up in the mountains on this side of the pond. There are several reported instances of them marrying among the Cherokee, too.
If I didn’t put my foot down, my kids would be wearing kilts and claiming predestination.
Well, being a dyed in the wool Glaswegian, my FIL was just fine with me being Jewish, but not so fine when he found out my great grandfather was Irish. Conversation we have about every two years over the last two decades:
“Welsh! You told me your grandfather was Welsh!!” (Imagine thick Scottish accent here.)
“Errr. Nooo. I said his name was Walsh. But his family is Irish, not Welsh.”
“I am certain you told me he was Welsh! You are part Welsh.”
That’s the cutest little curse
Love that!
I shared that with a few friends – too funny
I’m in CDG Ouarzazate today (I totally had the name open in another tab so I could spell that correctly). I had originally ordered a sample of Tokyo, but I guess Aedes didn’t have them available so I got this one instead. It’s nice, but haven’t entirely made up my mind yet. The incense is a bit churchy.
It’s spelled wrong more often than not
It’s a nice place to visit, if you ever get to Morroco, tho – they have a great camel market there….
I wish!
Love that one however it is spelled!
I’m in 31 Rue Cambon (again). I was going to wear a green scent (Panorama) today, but forgot to put anything on before I left the house–so I had to chose from the “emergency” samples in my purse.
I was thinking of testing my sample of Panorama today, but am too lazy to look for it. How do you like it?
I love the opening and the first 1-2 hours. After that it fades to almost nothing on me.
I love that first part too. Too bad it fades so fast.
Thanks – that’s what I’ve heard about it.
I’m wearing a green one today, Ralph Lauren Safari. I could have worn this tomorrow, as I really didn’t like this (blind buy) to begin with, I’ve done a u turn tho, and love it now.
Safari is gorgeous and very green! You smell fantastic and I’m glad that you had a change of heart.
Thank u!
I love when that happens.
Such a nice surprise, and relief that I hadn’t wasted the money too!
I didn’t love Safari when I first bought it – also a blind buy, of a 4ml parfum on ebay. I think I gave it away because it didn’t suit my idea of what a green fragrance should be, and it was sweeeet, too.
But the EdP was love at first sniff, and now I just love it. It’s still not a cool green like Silences or No. 19, but rather a warm one. Gorgeous stuff.
Yes, I think the sweetness really turned me off, I thought it would be too much, but actually it settles down really nicely.
I love no. 19 edt, haven’t tried the EDP yet, or Silences- is the modern formulation any good?
Modern Silences? Ahem. (clears throat, prepares to lecture)
Silences is discontinued as of 2015. Jacomo is still making Silences Eau de Parfum Sublime (2013 release), which is sort of, along the same lines, a pale modern interpretation of it, and although I like it, I think it’s more like a summer flanker to No. 19 than a version of Silences. The EdT Silences that was in production until last year is pretty good, but I prefer the more-floral, less dry parfum de toilette (you can still find it on ebay, and the black bottle seems to go a long way toward preserving it well).
I will entertain questions in my office hours.
There will not be a quiz.
Lovely
I have the black EDT bottle which is absolutely fine.
SOTD is Eau Claire des Merveilles layered over Eau des Merveilles again – such a nice veil of salty/floral scent. For years, my brother and I thought we were English on our father’s side and Heinz 57 on mom’s … but then she got into genealogy and discovered she’s nearly all Irish (with the requisite-for-Americans smidgeon of Cherokee). Happy St. Patrick’s Day, all!
Probably “near-ubiquitous” is a better term than “requisite”.
I need to wear that this weekend
I did actually figured out yesterday what I was going to wear today. Since I can’t wear any green clothing at work, it’s Chanel no 19. The color of the perfume is green and it’s a green perfume. It’s not totally weather appropriate today but it will do.
No 19 is perfect. I wore it yesterday and it really was great all day long.
love 19! Happy st pattys day to ya!
Perfect choice for today!
Almost wore it today!
I’ll be wearing vintage Chanel No. 19 EDT from a big splash bottle that I found for $20 at Goodwill a few weeks ago. And it’s still lovely! I’m taking my decant of the current-ish EDT to work in case I need to reapply. And wearing a green top too, of course.
Lucky duck! Vintage No 19 really sings!
Thanks! I was applying it like crazy the weekend that I bought it. And I may have also carried it around the apartment with me hehe.
Wow, what a find! Splashing on No 19 sounds fantastic.
It is really great to be able to splash it on!
What a wonderful find for you! Chanel No 19 is so beautiful! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Thank you! I hope your St. Patty’s has been great.
Lovely!
Fantastic!
Bottle twins! I got a splash bottle of No.19 EDC from Goodwill a week ago as well! I promptly put it into a travel atomizer, but perhaps I should try it dabbed… You smell perfect!
That’s so awesome! I defintely will decant some into a spray bottle too. Right now my decanting supplies are still in a box from a recent move, so I just delight in splashing.
In honor of bountiful spring, early spring flowers and St Patrick’s Day, I’m wearing my vintage Guerlain Chamade edt from an old onion stopper bottle.
I tried Chamade parfum yesterday and it is really a beautiful and complex scent!
It is complex. It’s one of my first galbanum loves, and I always find some new facet to love.
Chamade is so beautiful. Unfortunately I have never smelled the vintage. I *own* the vintage, but I’m either anosmic to it or what I bought off of evilbay was not the real deal.
The vintage edt doesn’t smell that different from the about year 2000 edt that I have. I do notice that it dries down really fast. Maybe you just have fragrance eating skin? There is another fragrance that smells very similar to it, the Hermes Rouge that is no longer being made but still easy to find. It has some incense and woods in it, but basically the same. Maybe you could try that?
Thanks, AnnS! I have the current edt, which I adore. I had put away my older edc and extrait in a fit of pique and have pulled them out to try again and lo and behold, I am no longer anosmic! I’m beyond thrilled, as these are so gorgeous.
I’ve read about Rouge, but I’ve never tried it so I’ll add it to my list. I appreciate the suggestion!
I am very glad that you can smell it now! Enjoy!!!
Lucky!
Oh, Chamade. You smell wonderful.
I do! It is still one of my HGs.
I’m wearing Smell Bent Florist’s Fridge, which is like vanilla hyacinth. Pretty!
I love that one!
That is one of my favorites too, but I’ve never gotten any vanilla from it. I need to wear it again and see.
The notes list “orchids” — I think orchid in perfume language often translates to vanilla. It leans quite sweet on me. Reminds me of Honeysuckle Bird.
Nor I but I do like it, and such a great deal!
That’s a great one! I don’t get any vanilla out of it either.
My 4ml spray is nearly gone, and I’m pondering another.
I love hyacinths in real life. Does this smell anything like real blooming hyacinths? I haven’t found a perfume yet that seemed to hit the mark…
Forgive me if you caught my comments about this a few days ago…! (I am repeating myself.) But I noticed via Frangrantica that hyacinths are prominent in Cristalle edt and No. 19. Now I really smell the hyacinth in both. Wearing Cristalle edt today–voila! Green + hyacinth.
I haven’t smelled real hyacinths in a while — I should do so soon to refresh my memory and then I could answer!
I think that Demeter’s Wet Garden comes quite close to the smell of blooming hyacinths, and so does Smell Bent’s Mirror Ball.
I am wearing Guerlain Herba Fresca. I was going to wear Trefle Pur, but didn’t put my hands on my sample quickly enough this morning.
I am drinking some unmarked Bancha.
“Unmarked bancha” sounds almost like something contraband
SOTD is Coromandel from sublimisomnium’s split. So happy to have this one in my collection now. My husband said it smells like rosemary, which is a wonderful smell, but I’m not really getting anything that aromatic or herbal from it. I suppose patchouli might register that way.
My in-laws are marching in the St Paddy’s day parade here in NYC today. I haven’t been in years as I can’t deal with wall-to-wall people. And seeing my 6’4″ Frankenstein-of-a-guy FIL in a kilt once was enough for me
Ok that does sound like a once in a lifetime sight! I just got some Coromandel too. You smell great, rosemary or no.
Thanks! Hope you enjoy yours, too!
I’m imagining your FIL. Thanks for the grin!
Frankenstein in Law?
Yay! Happy that you’re happy – thanks for participating in the split! Coromandel is remarkably loud (for a Chanel), so I can’t help but wonder – does it smell differently from a distance? Perhaps that is why your husband registers rosemary. In any case, you smell wonderful!
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!
I’m wearing Crown Bouquet! (Hi, mals, this was a blind buy last year based on your love for it, and I adore it. Thank you!)
Oh, I’m so glad! Big old slap of green with that one – I love it so much.
I’m wearing JM Wild Strawberry & Parsley – I’ve just bought a small bottle and I like it. Well, obviously, as I’ve just bought it. It also fits the theme of the week, as I would never have thought I would like a perfume that has a parsley note. But I get quite a bit of parsley in the beginning and it’s great. It becomes sweeter and less interesting as it dries down, but that’s what reapplying is for.
I think DSH Tubereuse smells like parsley in the top notes.
Ashoka has a parsley note too, but it’s my least favourite Vermeire, so it didn’t quite convince me.
I liked that one too, out of the collection. There is a tomato leaf quality to it, which must be how I smell the parsley. It does get a little sweet, but not cloying. Probably a decent commuting scent.
I believe that tomato leaf is listed as a note.
was that your favorite out of the herb garden collection? I’ll have to give it another shot, on first sniff I preferred Nasturtium & Clover and Carrot Blossom & Fennel. (But I haven’t purchased anything.)
Yes, this was my favourite, although I fully admit that my testing wasn’t thorough at all. Carrot Blossom was my number two and possibly had a better drydown; I didn’t dislike any of the five.
My second favorite as well, next to Wild Strawberry and ” Tomato Leaf”. JM does have a Green Tomato Leaf candle that sustains the tomato leaf scent nicely.
Saw on Fragrantica that they are coming out with yet
another tea collection with 6 scents. What are the EL World Domination folks thinking? It seems that they will snuff out their own other brands.
CandyPerfumeBoy reviewed the whole line so it’s been on my radar, but now that everybody else is discussing I’ll put it to the top of my list! Hopefully I can find some time this weekend to go sniffing. Thanks for the extra motivation!
Those bottles are wonderful, too!
If you are interested in trying them, I recommend doing it sooner rather than later: at my local Jo Malone counter, three out of five were already sold out. These are not groundbreaking scents, but I love the concept and they are well timed. And yes, nice bottles.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day. I’m wearing the newer Jolie Madame EdT. I love the bright green classic punch of an opening. Then on me, it has a lot more oakmoss than any leather on the drydown.
I saw the sales at STC and TPC and decided to go through a bunch of samples I had not organized instead of ordering anything. I found some that I had forgotten I had!! They may be taking over the closet. This is much more fun than completing any task on my “to do” list, as is reading NST
!
Just put ‘organising samples’ on your to-do list…
Ah yes! Perfume logic.
Jolie Madame is one of the best of all time. You smell marvelous!
I’m wearing Silences, because it was what I thought of when I thought of a green scent. However, after applying it I realized that I had Demeter’s Clover, Au The Vert, Elizabeth Arden’s Green Tea, and Smell Bent’s The Yard Next Door. And of course reading monkeytoe’s post, I am reminded that I have and love Herba Fresca. Oh, well, I have those to look forward to later this spring and summer.
Silences is very green!
I’m wearing multiple shades of green clothing today and I probably look slightly insane. Topped it all off with Kerbside Violet, which somehow feels appropriate.
Ha! On some days slightly insane is good!
This whole ensemble sounds perfect to me.
Nice! What is your impression of Kerbside Violet?
Balenciaga Paris for me today! Pretty and very green, IMHO.
You smell great!
My SOTD is Hermes Iris Ukiyoe from a new sample (happy that they are now making samples in atomizer bottles). It’s light and pretty for a warm day. I’m determined to get out with the baby for a long walk later to enjoy the sunshine.
In unrelated news, I’m excited to report that we’re now under contract to purchase a beautiful home on 3 acres. I love this home more than the previous ones, so in hindsight it was good luck that the other bids didn’t work out. Closing in 45 days – can’t wait!
Congrats on the house! 3 acres!!
YAY!!! Hugs!
Congratulations on the new house! And aren’t those Hermes samples nice? I like Iris Ukiyoe very much. You smell lovely.
Congratulations! That’s such exciting news, and you must be thrilled that this has worked out so well!
Congrats!
Congratulations!
So glad it worked out even better than the previous ones that fell through. Congratulations.
I’m very happy for you ! Very exciting!
Oh wow! Congratulations!
Congratulations on your new home!
Congrats! Sounds divine!
A new baby and 3 acres! What a lucky spring for you. It sounds like heaven.
Oh yay! I know you’re looking forward to the house.
Congratulations!!!
oh, very cool! Room to spread out…
Congratulations!
Terrific news. Hope the house brings many many yers kf joy.
How wonderful! Happy St. Patrick’s Day, hope your luck continues! (Perhaps you should buy a lottery ticket?
)
Congratulations on your new house!
Congrats Dottie! Sounds like everything is falling into place.
I have an oddball relationship to my Irish heritage, so tend to forego the green. Wearing Thorn and Bloom’s Bird of Paradise, which I love but my person doesn’t. He’s not here though; hence I’m wearing it!
Ditto for me RE: the green. When asked why I’m not wearing it, I tell people I’m Irish every day, not just the one. Or I point at my green eyes.
I do the same thing.
Well put. To which I’d add my father’s line about new year’s eve and St. Patrick’s day: ‘I don’t drink with amateurs.’ Oh dear.
I stopped by for ideas and ended up just topping off my nighttime Memoir. I was too tired to sleep last night and my allergies aren’t fun this morning. I’m going home today and am looking forward to three hours in the car. Since I’m coming back in a week I’m leaving the cats here to frolic in the country so I’ll not only be sitting down but listening to the radio.
Happy St. Patrick’s to all!
Allergies are the worst part of spring. Hope you feel better soon!
Thanks *achoo!*
Bless you! I’m with you today allergywise. It’s as though someone is tickling my nose with a feather constantly, it’s driving me crazy . . .
Wearing eau de Sens today and I applied liberally per Robin’s review…
Nice citrus thus far but close to skin and fairly light even with my dousing.
just got a few samples of this, I’m eager to try it out.
It is very nice but I have to press my nose to my forearm to really get a good whiff of it…more like a body spray/mist in terms of sillage and oomph.
One reviewer on Fragrantica says it has “excellent sillage” which makes me wonder if I am sampling the same perfume…unless Ead de Sens Extreme has come out in the interim…I do not think so…
You know, I actually found this one a whomping willow of an orange tree when I tested it on paper… perhaps it has something in it that some folks can’t smell?
That would be my guess too
Hahahaha…perhaps I am blasting all my co-workers then…I shall have to ask…
I just got a sample in the mail and it smells great. Haven’t get a sense of its sillage yet though as I have liberally sprayed various things around this afternoon.
This one was for me tricky at first. The first time I tried it at the store I could hardly smell it on my skin. Second try from sample right after a shower it smelled really nice but soft. Third try once again fresh clean skin it really bloomed. My husband even noticed and said I smelled good. Not to sure why this happened but now I love it. I even bought a bottle. This happened to me with Jour D’hermes too. Either I have strange skin or takes me awhile to smell the notes. Hope this helps. ????
In lieu of a perfume on my wrists today, I’m wearing one around my neck. I made a blend of essences — neroli, vanilla, styrax, oakmoss absolute & India musk — and soaked a little cotton roundel in them. It just fits inside a Celtic locket that has perforations in it to let the fragrance out. The scent is deep and dark at heart, but with sweet balsamic notes up top. It was fun to make and is fun to wear.
That sounds marvelous.
It’s been unfolding all day and evening, and right now it’s at the down-and-dirty musk stage. Yum!
What a creative idea!
And the materials are very accessible too.
How many hours does the perfume last when you wear it like this? And are you constantly aware of a scent or does it come and go in waves as you move? I have been trying to make scented oils and grasses with moss etc. wrapped in little bundles of leaves to be worn around the neck ( as described in early texts about Maori scent) but i really have to press them against my nose to smell them so I’m super curious. I sometimes wonder if people had a keener sense of smell in pre-industrial times?
Funny that you mention that. I’ve always wonder about the power of nosegays vs Tudor middens…hard to imagine a little wrist bouquet could compete with medieval city sewer canals.
I don’t really understand how the little pouches of dried plants could mask other smells. And when oils from rat or dog (or whale) are used I can’t see how that smell would not overpower the plants. I am going to talk with a university botanist with a knowledge of Maori plant use next Wednesday so will report back if I get any answers. Certainly my experiments with plants have been pretty lack-lustre. Nothing smells as powerful as dried herbs, for example. I think there must be a stronger link between perfume and intimacy, a close to body experience…and I’m just not approaching the topic in the right way. I have to get my mind off ‘projection’.
It’s now 11 hours since I put on the locket with its newly-saturated cotton insert. The floral and balsamic notes faded after an hour, the oakmoss dominated for a good six hours, but the musk…it’s a powerhouse. The first time I tried it out, dang if I couldn’t still clearly smell it two weeks later, emanating from the scent strip stored in my cabinet.
I would say that the locket scent is more of a waft every time I turn my head. As it sits against my skin, the metal it’s made of warms up and the wafts become stronger.
The grass, herb, and leaf sachets you’re making sound very interesting, almost totemic. Reading about them whets my desire to learn more about your research project!
Thanks for that information. I think I need to get onto moss.
My theory is that my Irish ancestors left Ireland so their descendants might have all sorts of wonderful things they never could. So, I’m drinking coffee and trying to figure out what my most expensive perfume is. (I think it’s my sample of Puredistance White.)
But I am taking the opportunity to cycle through some of my Irish music.
That’s astute.
Enjoy the music!
Ahhhh… that is a great idea. I’ll stream some Thistle and Shamrock!
Ooh! I’d forgotten about Thistle and Shamrock – thanks for the reminder!
SOTD = Cacharel Promesse.
Sticking with the Chanel theme and wearing Beige today.
Very elegant and pretty! Happy St. Patrick’s!
I’m wearing Sonoma Scent Studio Yin & Ylang today.
Ooo, I like that one. You smell great!
An Irish great-grandmother is all I can claim for my Irish heritage, but green is one of my favorite colors, and I’m wearing it today. SOTD is Voluspa Linden Blond Tabac, a nice one for a sunny spring day.
Linden Blond Tabac sounds very interesting. Can you describe? I’m crazy for linden…
I don’t get much Tabac from this one, but it’s a very pretty tuberose/linden fragrance with lots of tonka bean and a dash of grapefruit. I love Voluspa candles, but this one is the only perfume I’ve tried from the line and I remember it being quite well priced.
I’m mostly Irish but today I’m not doing green. I’m wearing Panthere de Cartier, for all its floral and civet glory. I really, really love “everything but the kitchen sink” scents that used to be produced before minimalist and clean took the spotlight. I do like some minimalist fragrances, to be sure, but today I wanted something opulent and rich.
Thinking about taking down the ’50s wood paneling in the living room. It was painted over about 10 years ago and makes the place look like an old rec room, but I am hesitant because I have no idea about the condition of the wall behind it.
Ugh, painted wood paneling. Well, sheetrock is pretty cheap (on the house-remodel-$ scale), if it turns out you have to replace whatever’s behind it…
Adventures in remodeling.. .:-)
Have a good bit of paneling in the LR/den too, but it’s pecky cypress and I decided to leave it alone. One neighbor suggested painting it, which I thought was a ludicrous idea. Had them washed, and they look pretty good. Drywall is no fun to deal with while you’re actually living amid installation.
I moved in here 18 months ago and the needed renovations never seem to end!
SOTD Ormonde Jayne Frangipani – trying to make progress on the Ormonde sampler as well as the Atelier one. It’s pretty but not really my thing. I don’t wear many florals and when I do I like them yellower – mimosa like the Diptyque Essences, or daffodil like Ostara.
Wearing Inis Moonlight for St. Patrick’s Day.
Perfect — the only Irish fragrance company I know of!
Oh, but also, Cloon Keen. So I know of two
There’s a part of the West of Ireland called “The Burren”, famous for its weird desolate limestone landscape where you’ll find Alpine, Mediterranean and temperate flowers living together most unusually because they were protected from the Ice Age, or left behind in its wake, by growing in the gaps between the plates of rock. (Google for images of ‘the Burren’ to see what I mean). Hidden in a leafy dell among the bare hills you will find The Burren Perfumery (burrenperfumery dot com) where they distill the local plants and produce perfumes, body lotions and herbal teas – and they have a cafe where you can eat homemade cake and play with the cats (cats permitting!). It’s near a famous dolmen, the Cliffs of Moher, a disappearing lake, some caves where bears hibernated back when there were bears in Ireland and a bunch of historic ruins. When we visit that part of the world we often make a point of enjoying the perfumery’s serene location and wodnerful smells. (Kanuka’s descriptions of using local New Zealand plants remind me of the Burren Perfumery).
That sounds fabulous. I love the old stones so much.
This sounds like such a wonderful place!
Aha! You’ve helped me choose my SOTAfternoon, Burren’s Spring Harvest. Thanks
Hah, what a coincidence. I had never heard of the Burren before, but I just finished Richard Mabey’s The Cabaret of Plants, where he talks about it. And Kanuka read it, too
I love the names of the Burren flowers: Lady’s Bedstraw, Eyebrights, Squinancywort, Common Twayblade…just brilliant. All those orchids, too. Sigh.
Oooh, they make the most heavenly blocks of soap…
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
SOTD – Arquiste/J. Crew No. 57 for the whiskey note
Anybody have any recommendations for a really smooth Irish whiskey?
I jumped in here to recommend By Kilian’s Single Malt–but now I realize you are probably talking about actual whiskey! We’re a Scotch whisky family…
I recently bought a very peaty single malt: Port Charlotte Scottish Barley Heavily Peated (Bruichladdich, Islay)
But here’s a good one: In 2010, bottles of whisky were found buried by Shackleton’s hut in the Antarctic (left from his 1908 expedition), taken away and tested and ‘replicated’ in Scotland. I’ve seen bottles for sale and am very tempted but they cost around $200 and I don’t really like whisky.
Amazing story though
http://www.nzaht.org/AHT/TheGreatWhiskyCrateThaw/
Well the connoisseurs in this family drink Glenlivet 12 yr old and Talisker 12 yr old… I am not a connoisseur (in fact I am pronouncing the word “con-ass-er”!
). Both of these taste pretty peaty and smoky to me.
The By Kilian Single Malt, on the other hand….
Jameson’s did a special a few years back aged in old sherry casks – yum! Maybe they do it still? In principle Irish whiskies are smoother anyway because triple distilled. I like Connemara for the peat flavour – smoke haters need not apply. ;^)
I heard about the special Jameson casks, and also that they are difficult to get your hands on. Connemara sounds wonderful – I’ll have to check for it in the store. Thanks!
I have to say, Jameson’s is still my favorite. The 12 year is very good and about the most I’ll spend on whiskey for myself. I really try not to fall down that rabbit hole
If you want to pay a bit more and can find Redbreast, it’s a quite tasty single pot whiskey. I’m not too fond of the really smoky stuff (I’ll drink and enjoy it at someone else’s expense but don’t buy it) so if you’re looking for the chewy stuff I can’t really help.
Jameson 18 is amazing but pricey and ditto on the Redbreast. Love them both, but don’t drink anymore as my stomach can’t take it!
I’m so happy to finally try Mohur Extrait!! I’ve been lusting after this since it came out.
I’m even happier that in my side by side test, I personally am not finding a whole lot of difference from the EDP, of which I have a fb. I know there are many who would not agree, and both are stunningly beautiful to me but at least my wallet is spared.
I don’t find them hugely different either, although I prefer the extrait.
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! In honor of my (half-ish) Irish ancestry, I’m wearing green. Was going to wear Miller & Bertaux Green Green Green & Green, but it’s a lovely sunny springy day here in California, so California Reverie jumped in my hand instead. Mmmmmm!
Oh I keep meaning to try this one as the descriptions really appeal to me. Green green green is good but we aren’t warm enough here yet for it to suit, at least for me.
Didn’t think of wearing something green this morning, oopsy!
Instead, SOTD is Rose Ikebana, matching my salmony t-shirt quite well.
You smell lovely!
Dia dhaoibh ar maidin!
I’m wearing green today, too. Thanks for the reminder, Robin.
SotD = Parfums DelRae Debut from a sample. Green-ness + spring-time flowers = Gorgeous. I would buy a 15 or 30 ml bottle of Debut (and Amoureuse and Wit) in a heartbeat.
Later today I’ll freshen up with Trefle Pur.
Have a happy day, everyone!
Dia is Muire duit, a Thiffanie! :^)
And let us not forget Pádraig, today of all days.
Puts me in mind of that terrifically silly hero, Martin, and his sidekick, Padraic, from the television series Moone Boy.
I love Debut and wish I’d thought of wearing it today. You smell great!
Thank you! I’m glad Debut has some fans. Such a lovely green scent, it makes me happy.
I’m not wearing green clothing or perfume, but I’m enjoying Cuir de Lancome.
You smell great!
Love this one! You smell wonderful.
Truth by Calvin Klein. Didn’t realise it was St Paddy’s Day but it has a rather fitting clover note :).
Currently wearing l’Occitane Eau d’Azur from a solid I purchased…sometime or other in the rather distant past. This nicely satisfies my occasional mimosa yearnings.
SOTD Lalique Amethyst. I forgot about wearing green (clothing and perfume), although I own a bottle of CdG Green and the discontinued Byredo Green.
Totally forgot St. Paddy’s day. SOTD = Kerosene’s R’oud Elements, which is a rich but light woody oud that gets sweeter as it goes along. This is the most wearable oud scent I have encountered, and it is regretfully replacing Sham’s Oud on my FB to Buy list – I am determined to get a full bottle of each of my scent categories before I get two full bottles of any category, other than the ones I already have….Anyway, R’oud Elements is great, and so is Pretty Machine. Put in a plug for the sort of local guy…
A couple of hefty sprays from my new (to me) decant of Annick Goutal Vetiver, which falls into the green and sunny camp of vetivers… maybe even a little lemony? That should wake me up.
You smell great
This was my go-to refresher during last summer’s heat wave.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
After thinking about a Demeter-like approach to scent for today, my SOTD may well end up being a dab of Jameson behind the ears! ????
That works!
Perhaps I should layer my SOTD (Arquiste No. 57) with some Jameson to amp up the whiskey…Great idea!
Today’s SOTD from Cloon Keen Atelier is “Tulum”. This has notes of green mango, grapefruit, line and blackcurrant buds, and is meant to evoke a Mexican Caribbean resort town. It smells very nice and lasted about an hour on my skin before it became a (lovely) skin scent I can only smell if I press my wrist to my nose. As I don’t propose to spend much of my life pressing my wrist to my nose, this perfume is not for me. :^)
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! SOTD is Tauer Vetiver Dance from my sampler. Vetiver is one of those notes inhale no experience with before NST, except in smelling it on men!
“I had no experience with” – strange autocorrect!
Well today it’s no perfume again as I’ve been knocked out by an evil lurgy. So it’s just the scent of eucalyptus oil burning that I hope is slightly beneficial as I can’t smell it. One good thing is I’m catching up reading blogs that I haven’t done for ages! Happy St Pats to everyone who celebrates it.
So sorry, get better!
Sending healing hugs from Brussels!
I managed to sneak away from my desk yesterday . It’s ID Fashion Week here in Dunedin with lots of events including a bug show on the railway station platform, young designers competitions and exhibitions in all the museums and galleries. Most fashion people in Dunedin wear top to toe black but for a week we have enough visitors with blue and pink hair and fabulous outfits to make dressing more fun.
I passed by the dept. shop and sampled Dune onone wrist and Jour de Hermes Gardenia on the other. I haven’t worn Dune for years and years and it is so good: complex enough that it keeps flitting around your wrist, various notes rising and falling. Beautiful scent and so glad a fabulous NSTer brought it to my attention this week . The gardenia not so good. It is very strong on the gardenia note ( maybe that’s good?) but the beauty of the Jour is completely overshadowed …and in the end ( after hours) I was left with a sun lotion scent. It’s Saint Patrick’s Hangover Day here…the students will be feeling grotty today.
A ‘bug show’ ! I wish! A Big Show…
I’m so behind on knowing what’s in fashion that I just imagined that bugs are somehow a current trend.
No time to read everyone’s comments, I’ll have to catch up later. SOTD is Apres l’Ondee today in synchronicity with last night’s L’Heure Bleue.
Oh, Happy St. Patrick’s Day Everyone!!
You smell beautiful.
Thank you Annikky!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all the Irish and Nigerians out there!
Have been off perfume for like 10 days (!!) due to a sinus thing, so gonna ease back in today with some Odeur 53, per yesterday’s CDG discussion. Not especially green, but it does work for spring, I find!
Thank you, the well-wishes are so appreciated–it’s crazy how this knocked me flat! Even once I wasn’t sick anymore, I’m just so tired. Too worn out to exercise for closing in on two weeks here, which is really unusual for me.
And of course, two weeks off of perfume–you know something’s really wrong!! Very happy to get back on my feet, er, nose
I’m surprised the doctors didn’t put you on an IV perfume drip. It sounds like you were so sick.
Quick nurse! Find a vein! 100ml Odeur 53 before it’s too late. Phew..saved her>
Would love the follow up prescription too: Odeur 53 to be sprayed 3x daily before meals.
Wearing a green tee ( favorite color anyway ) allergies are somewhat present so I’ve yet to choose my SOTD. I’m considering TM A*Men Pure Malt as a appropriate choice or a green chypre, if all else fails EA Green tea is a favorite standby. My bottle of Silences may end up in the swap meet as last time I wore it I had a awful headache.
Silences is one that I can’t wear if I feel the possibility of a headache. It cuts like a cold green knife if I risk it. It does limit it’s wearability a bit, but I love it when it’s right and the bottle was cheap so I keep hanging on to mine.
I just got a sample of the Pure Malt and want to try it soon!
I was feeling springy today, so I decided to wear Ostara. Or, I saw it on my dresser this morning while I was getting ready for work and thought I’d wear it.
Tea is Shui Hsien (Narcissus) oolong. It’s the cheap kind that you can get in a huge canister at Asian grocery stores for like $5. I like it, though.
No Irish in me but I’m wearing a green scent to celebrate spring’s breath upon us: Bright sunshine, mild temps, snowdrops still blooming, our native scilla pushing their way through the mulch of autumn leaves and winter pine boughs to wave their delicate blue petals in joy, and my Cornelian Cherry Dogwood blooming, its tiny yellow flowers mimosa-like. SOTD is an oldie from YR’s line of ‘Ode’ fragrances, the aptly-named Ode a la Vie. With a lovely bamboo note, it’s the fragrance that introduced me to the word ‘galbanum’ and my subsequent love of that note. A favorite of mine in early spring when my little corner of the world awakens.
SOTD = Ramon Monegal Impossible Iris(h)
I haven’t worn this in forever and I had forgotten how much I enjoy both the fragrance (fizzy fruity flowery iris) and the inkwell bottle and its outer shell.
This morning walking to work, I heard bagpipes being played right outside a pub with the doors wide olen. I think they were serving liquid breakfast.
When I reached the corner I saw an FDNY ambulance. Today, it served as makeshift transportation for 10 beefy men AND their bagpipes. I don’t know how they all fit in there!
At lunch I had our cafeteria’s version of shepherd’s pie. It was nicely seasoned but lacked the peas! I skipped the cupcakes with green icing.
This afternoon, I heard marching bands as they went up 5th Avenue. Inexplicably, a marching band ended up performing on the closed off street below my 4th Floor window. At least all my meetings were over or I would have been annoyed rather than entertained.
On the way home, people were mostly well behaved; plus it’s too early for the newly wasted to be stumbling home!
Your SOTD and even your day sounds lovely! I heard bagpipes over the weekend, but I’ve mostly stayed indoors today. However, I did not skip the cupcakes with green icing.
And I wore a pale green top and wore my scarf that has various shades of green in a harlequin-like pattern!
Iris(h)! Ha! and lovely, too.
Your top and scarf combination makes me miss dressing for the office.
Sounds like an entertaining day in the city! Could have gone downtown (Chicago) to see the river dyed green–it’s really weird–but I’ve done it before. We had a nice sunny day for once–it’s usually gray & damp on St Paddy’s Day. One year I’ll have to see the green river in the sunshine.
When I left to go home, it had just stopped drizzling but most of the day was nice. We’re supposed to get SNOW (yes, SNOW!!!) this weekend. I hope it’s not a harbinger of an Easter Sunday snowstorm like what occurred in 1982!
My little decant of Salome came the mail! I love it!
It’s awfully good, isn’t it! Enjoy.
Just emerged from the wilds where we had no internet connection for days. Haven’t been wearing much perfume either, having been out in the woods, but today I finally got internet service and a shower, so I spritzed on a decant of BV The Knot. I was contemplating a FB but I’m still not sure. Doesn’t last all that long and is a bit soapy.
I was not wowed by Knot either! In better news, Promesse de l’Aube arrived with the requested humongous splash samples. Will be emailing everyone this weekend!
I like Knot. I think it smells very pretty and really classy. Nice choice for this time of the year too.
Gobin Daude Seve Exquise?! Well, I don’t have to worry about finding my one green top – I can just be green with envy all day.
Wearing Guerlain Meteorites today. I don’t generally like pale, cool, “make-up” scents, but this one is perfectly done and especially nice to put on before going to an exercise class. It will probably burn off before I even get there, and certainly wouldn’t offend anyone even if it didn’t. Meteorites really is lovely while it lasts, too. I’ll either reapply later or maybe go into a violet trance with SL Bois de Violette.
I was just thinking today — there could easily be a new sort of fabulous Gobin Daude brand out there, and I wouldn’t even know — there are so many niche brands, not possible to pay attention, much less try them all.
I know, and that drives me crazy if I let myself think about it, which I try to avoid.