It's Sense of Smell Day (and Alice B Toklas' birthday) on Saturday and May Day (don't forget to wear lily of the valley!) on Sunday. We are celebrating with 5 questions. As always, answer as many or as few as you like, or just talk about something else entirely.
1. What fragrance are you wearing today?
2. What's your favorite smell in nature?
3. What's your favorite man-made (but not perfume) smell?
4. What do you think is the best fragrance released so far in 2016?
5. Tell us about some wonderful thing you've discovered this year. It can be anything: a movie, a beauty product, a time-saving device, a fitness program, a book — really, anything!
Note: top image is Purple Emperor Butterfly with Lilies of the Valley (1839) [cropped and background color adjusted] by Swallowtail Garden Seeds at flickr; public domain.
Today I put on Carthusia 1681 for the first time. After an initial burst of citrusy herbs I caught something that I thought was incense. I went back and read the notes and sure enough, there’s incense in there. This is the first time, I think,that I’ve identified a note without knowing it was there! Before it was always, “oh, yes, I smell the rose, and there’s the vanilla.” Today was the first time I said, “is that incense?” And was right! I’m so proud of myself!
Way to go! 😀
Excellent!
Congrats and well done!
Wearing Vetiver Tonka today – I start a new job on Tuesday so indulged in a Hermessence gift set. 2 x Santal Massoia and 2 x VT. It’s lovely and I really like the Hermes boutique in Selfridges. The staff have always been friendly and nice even when I’m just testing things.
My favourite smell in nature is when you step outside on a summer night and suddenly smell the mild air, earth and greenery. But if that’s cheating by counting lots of smells, then the smell of an avenue of lime (linden) trees.
Congratulations on your new job! I’ve been thinking about getting a gift set of Hermessences too though I’ll have to wait to try Muguet Porcelaine.
Thanks! I’ve smelled MP on card – not my cup of tea but I’ve read good reviews. It projected strongly from the card several hours later if you care about that.
Re best scent released this year, I like Cuir Vetiver a lot. Haven’t tried that many – Bergamote Soleil sounded good and was a nice grapefruit on card but I didn’t enjoy it on skin.
Tried Cuir Vetiver today and I think it’s great. Bought the shower gel.
Just looked that up and it’s £5.50 for 200 ml on the UK website at the moment – thanks!
Tempting 🙂
I like it as perfume, but I am skeptical about getting it as a shower gel. The leather smells meaty and thick–like something I’d bite into. It would be like lathering up with a rare steak.
🙂
It’s a bit lighter as a shower gel, there’s an almost fruity aspect there.
Then again, I love shower gels that smell leathery or woody, so this may not be for everyone.
Congrats on the new job. I’m a devoted fan of Selfridges. The staff are uniformly friendly and helpful, in contrast to most other places where I’m routinely ignored.
1. Meeting a local perfumista to do our reverse swap. I’m so excited. Oh the one hand I want to go commando but on the other hand I kind of want to wear Iris Silver Mist.
2. I love the smell of magnolias for sure. If I pass a blooming one with a flower at the height of my head I always stop.
3. The pastry chef at my work makes the most delicious granola at least once a week, and because we’re nit selling it commercially, she puts in all the best stuff: local honey, pistacios, hazelnuts, golden raisins. I find excuses to stay in there and smell. I also adore Japanese incense, particularly the kneaded kind.
4. I don’t think I’ve smelled one new thing yet so I’ll hedge my bets and say Muguet Porcelaine.
5. Today is also Tabletop Day, so pull out your board games! I’ve had a hell of a lot of fun with Matchikoro this year, a simple but surprisingly deep dice rolling game. Kids could play it easily but the strategy would lend itself well to adult play too. If you have a local game store I HIGHLY recommend finding it.
Tabletop day? Never heard of it, but Thanks for the game rec. I also recommend Othello and Bananagrams for adults. My favorite board game ever is embarassing… the long-discontinued “Trump: The Game” board game from the 80s or early 90s. It’s sort of like Monopoly or Corporate Pursuit but for some reason, I really liked it. (I’m not a Trump fan now so please don’t flame me)
Actually own that game and I do agree- for some reason it’s WAY fun.
I’ll have to look into this though I’m sure now prices will be sky high.
Ha! I was thinking your comment verbatim just a millisecond before I read it.
I was raised on Scrabble with my mom–my first board game ever!–so I love that one most. I love going to game stores and finding all sorts of things. I love backgammon as well. Used to play it on Windows 2000!
I just funded a kick starter for a game that my favorite fantasy author used as a sort of go or chess for his series and it looks amazing and rather simple to learn. One could play it without the pieces though so I’m eager to find a partner.
That would be a good weekend poll question…what are your favorite board games. We are obsessed with Dixit as everyone can play it together, all ages and abilities, but it still works your noodle.
Your pastry chef is doing it right! That sounds so yummy and perfect for crumbled over a bowl of full fat yogurt.
I don’t like most granola but hers is my Platonic ideal of granola.
I had so much fun with Sweetgrass! I can’t wait to have a Houston meet up!
1) SOTD– Rochas Alchimie
2)Favorite smell in nature– whatever tree was near where I lived in NJ that smelled so good, lilacs, gardenia, ocean
3)Favorite man-made nonperfume scent–freshly baked yeast bread
4)Have no clue what is released when but I liked Shams Narcissus (must win lottery), Annees Folles, and Narciso Musk Oil of the things that I have tried on skin so far this year
5)Haven’t discovered much this year but am looking forward to going to Somerville Open Studios tomorrow to go discover some art
How could I forget ocean as a favorite smell, but then again I live far away from it.
freshly baked yeast bread!
I am wearing a sample I got yesterday during our perfume meet-up, Hermes Eau de rhubarbe écarlate, I love it so far. It was great meeting other perfumistas, I had such a great time.
We went to Hermes boutique, I was hoping to try the new Muguet but unfortunately they didn’t have it, we also smelled Guerlain Muguet from 2014 which was really lovely.
Today I am going to an antique fair and hoping to find some vintages.
Hera,
I tested Hermes Muguet Porcelaine, I hated it, it’s all melon and cucumber! The Guerlain is more multidimensional, bucolic and feminine.
It was very fun meeting you!
Last night when I went to bed, I was still obsessing over the marvelous bottle and gorgeous scent of Muguet 2014… I *almost* convinced myself that I should buy it! 😉
Me too I was obsessing about the Guerlain Muguet.
That makes 3 of us! But I am forcing myself to wait and smell the Hermes Muguet.
Thanks for a great meetup, it was fun!
Prompted by Annikky amongst others, I’m wearing Après l’Ondée today. The least Guerlain of all the classical Guerlains. It’s a beauty for sure, although I think I prefer it’s more baroque sisters.
A tie between the lavender of the Plateau de Valensole in June, or the smell of daffodils in my garden. For that I have to go on memory. They were all eaten by snails this year. I also love the smell of spring forests after rain.
Tea.
Omnia Paraiba, it being the only one I’ve tried. It’s very cheerful, and I might just snatch a bottle.
The hospitality of old friends. I recently spent a wonderful week in Poland with friends of mine. We hadn’t seen each other for a couple of years, but all of that didn’t matter. We had a great time.
Cheerful Paraiba! And I agree, I think Apres l’Ondee is the classic Guerlain that smells least like a Guerlain. (Maybe that’s why it’s my favorite of the classics. Well, Chamade, too.)
Poland is lovely. I haven’t been there since 1990 but would love to go back.
It must have changed so much since then. I first went there in 2000, returned in 2006 and now in 2016, and each time I notice a lot of changes. It’s such an interesting country, and I love how hospitable people are.
I’m quite sure it’s very different now – but I’m guessing the people haven’t changed. Hospitable, like you say, and friendly.
Oh, the smell of tea is to die for!
Wearing Guerlain Muguet 2016
Favorite smell of nature, it always changes but right now lilly of the valley
Man made smell, a nice glass of rosé
Rose oh yes especially after a hot summer day!
1. Wearing Tropic of Capricorn for now because it is an easy default for me.
2. My current favorite nature smell is the warm, moist limestone scent mixed with the slightly swampy smell of the river that emerges in the cooling evening air. It smells like home and reminds me of sneaking out as a teenager and walking barefoot down the caliche road on a summer night to meet my friends.
3. My favorite man-made scent is diesel exhaust. Yes, I know it’s totally gross but I’ve always adored that scent as well as the smell of old machinery.
4. I’m not sure if I’ve tried anything released this year other than the Dame soliflores, but I love the Gardenia enough that it would probably be on the list if I had sampled more freely anyway.
5. I was recently reminded that I don’t, in fact, hate socializing. I was dragged to a party by my spouse and ended up meeting lots of amazing young people who restored my faith in humanity a bit. Also, the highlight of the party was the antics of the hosts’ cat so it was bound to be my kind of scene even if I felt really old. A PSA to the other middle-aged introverts around here; it won’t kill you to interact with other humans and not all college-age folk are self-involved idiots.
Yay #5! So true.
I am grateful that my Mr. Spicebomb is an extrovert (although not an excessively social on). He forces me out to see people semi-regularly, and it is a good reminder that the awkwardness usually doesn’t last all night.
My boyfriend is definitely a homebody. I wish I could convince him to socialize.
Me toooo! Once in a while, he’ll let me drag him along to a social situation, but then he’ll just skulk in a corner until I feel badly and say we can go home!
As a middle-aged introvert, I can say it is not that I hate socializing, I just prefer it in small doses. A couple of hours at a social gathering can be nice; after that, I start to feel drained and need to get away to recharge. I also just really prefer to interact with people one-on-one rather than in groups. With just one other person, I can talk and hang out for hours, as long as there is some point of connection or some common interest. Even in a large gathering, I prefer to find one or a few people to talk with in some depth. If, in the course of an evening, I have managed to have two or three interesting conversations, I count the evening as a success. I am not one of those people who will go around the room and talk with everyone for 1.5 minutes each.
The environment matters a great deal as well. At many of the social gatherings I have attended, the music was so loud that it was nearly impossible to have a conversation. It seems pointless to me–why bother planning a get together if you aren’t actually going to be able to interact with one another? At my husband’s most recent class reunion, most of the attendees ended up leaving the ballroom where the reunion was officially taking place and going into the hallway or outside the building in order to be able to actually talk to one another. At my class reunions, OTOH, most of the attendees seemed to be primarily concerned with getting drunk. I don’t intend to go to any more of my class reunions.
I’m like you, I cannot deal with small talk, I don’t see the point. I guess I don’t have great social skills but who cares, it’s about my comfort level.
Totally agree with adhering to your own comfort level being #1. I’m one of those people who could happily chat with a tree for hours. When I am socializing I try to read others’ body language and general vibe, and I used to be really shy (through high school, painfully shy and quiet) and i must say i strive to do my best to make social situations pleasant for everyone involved.
It does help to be reminded that not everyone enjoys small talk, thank you. I always think of it as “how fun, i am getting to know a new acquaintance” but i likely am torturing some gentle souls with my exuberant ongoing banter 😛 I live in a particularly culturally introverted city, too, worse luck for all of us involved 🙂
I’m terribly shy and completely suck at leading small talk (unless I’m acting as hostess or working, then I can switch it on), but I do actually love to chat with people, or at least listen to people chat. I just need to be approached and encouraged a bit if I’m with people I don’t know. If left on my own I’m damned good at standing against the wall and quietly observing, seeking out the resident pet, and quietly slinking around picking up after people and sticking coasters under drinks 🙂
So glad for you on #5. Being an introvert and being forced to socialize can be tortuous, given the wrong sort of crowd. The same goes for college-agers: you can end up with the awesome ones or the ones that are just there to get drunk and get their Mrs.!
Yes, I really lucked out. It was a very diverse group of passionate and very bright people who were all interested in learning about each other’s viewpoints and social backgrounds.
I’m so glad you enjoyed your evening. I’m going back to college and at first I was nervous that the kids in my classes wouldn’t want to form study groups or include me. I’m so impressed with this generation of young people. They are smart and genuinely seem to care about the world. It’s been such an amazing experience. Unfortunately I’m going back to work because my husband lost his job, but I’ve been a friend and mentor to a great group of kids.
SOTD Tea for Two
Favorite scent in nature- Southeast Asia by the Mekong at dusk, a commingling of dust, incense, thanaka wood
Favorite man made – roasting coffee
No favorites for 2016 yet.
Do they roast coffee over charcoal in SE Asia? They did (do still?) in Madagascar when I lived there, and I LOVED the scent of that heavy smoke!
I roast my own coffee using a popcorn maker, and I love how it permeates through the house. BUT I can imagine how lush and deeply spellbinding roasting coffee over smoke would be!
A perfume must be made of this!
Coffee and smoke – you may be onto something. By Kilian Intoxicated is supposed to be coffee and sugar (and other stuff) but I didn’t get that which means that I need to smell it again and/or my nose is broken.
And speaking of roasting your own beans, you live in the land of micro-roasters :-). My brother buys his roasted organic coffee beans from someone in his office and it is mmmm good!
They do in Laos, Marjorie Rose. Coffee in Laos is like drinking a bowl of dark velvet.
Montale Intense Cafe I enjoy for its coffee notes.
Oh, I can just imagine it! Stir in some sweetened condensed milk and the texture of the drink is thick and creamy like a good roux, yes?
Suddenly I have a hankering for trying a coffee scent! Will make a mental note of that Montale.
Someone, maybe my old manager, told me once about some African men (I hate to guess and be wrong but I want to say Nigerian) would buy green coffee beans and roast them over an open fire. Sounds wonderful!
If you live near an Ethiopian restaurant, check if they do a coffee ceremony as an option. It smells gorgeous!
Seconding this! It’s also customary to burn some incense. I wish I knew if it were frankincense or myrrh, but it’s a beautiful clean smell.
I’ve been to exactly 2 Ethiopian restaurants, one in NYC and the other one in Paris. Both are located in the heart of the city in between other commercial establishments. I don’t recall if there’s a working open flame fireplace but without something like that, I can’t imagine such a ceremony happening. I think it would be so cool to participate in one!
1. Wearing now: Soivohle Green Oakmoss.
2. Favorite natural smell: the NJ Pine Barrens in summer. Pine needles, fallen oak leaves, cedar, fresh pollen, ferns, moss, blueberry shrub foliage, salt marsh grasses, crystal-pure air and hot sun. The smell of home.
3. Favorite man-made smell: browned butter. A plan, a pan, and a stick of your favorite brand.
4. Best 2016 ‘fume: no clue. I haven’t sniffed a new release in ages. Envision me ensconced upon my own little existing bottle pile, happy as a clam…
5. I have recently been introduced to Pusheen the Cat. What rock (or bottle pile) have I been hiding under? Never you mind; I’m now 100% smitten for this kitten.
3 — Do you have to go to Panama to make browned butter? 😉
4 — Ditto
I might journey so far if such a treat were guaranteed… I’ll hire the van, man!
😀
I’ve had Green Oakmoss on my w/l forever – what do you think of it?
It’s a classic chypre– but the clove & green notes turn it minty-cold in a way I don’t normally associate with that genre. A chypre with a chill.
Mmm, sounds interesting, thanks! I’ll have to try it.
Happy weekend to everyone!
1. I’m wearing Aedes de Venustas Cierge de Lune
2. The smell of the morning after a storm the night before. Must be something about geosmin in the air
3. Freshly baked cake! Any cake does the trick for me 😉
4. Can I name more than one? Atelier Cologne Mimosa Indigo and Encens Jinhae. Would also vote for Masque Milano L’Attesa and Aedes Cierge de Lune.
I want to try L’Attesa! The only one I tried so far was their Russian Tea and I wasn’t into it, but iris with yeast sounds so appealing.
It’s a really well done one
Ooh, cake, yes!
Yum 🙂
1. I’m trying out Masque Milano by Romanza from the great Femme Fatale sample set at Luckyscent. So far the Fetes Persanes has been my favorite. I was afraid at first this Masque would be too sweet but it has some nice elements in it to counter-balance the initial sweetness.
2. Natural smell: Gardenias
3. Man-Made smell: Freshly brewed coffee! Yay!!
4. Best I’ve tried and bought so far: Agonist Nordic Noir. I love most of their perfumes, which are unisex and have high-quality ingredients. I love the combination of ginger, mint, and woods in this. It’s very refreshing and unusual.
5. I’m a jewelry addict and have to admit the best thing I’ve found are natural-toned sapphires cut to sparkle a lot in somber tones of green and gray. There are some artisan jewelers using these and they’re so unusual and gorgeous, many people comment and ask what that stone is.
Hey, can you name some jewelers you like? Curious…
Robindira Unsworth and Megan Thorne. I think if you do some searches you may find good photos. I am not sure if I’m allowed to post links or pictures here.
But if you want to e-mail me I can send pics of what I’ve bought! cfreeland9999 at yahoo
Here is a link:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/94283635@N00/26480283030/in/photostream/
Uau, what are those Robindira earrings? Lovely, shame there are no stores in Barcelona…
So how is the Romanza? (I wasn’t sure if you were talking about it or Fetes Persanes having something to counter the sweetness.)
In the end I did NOT like the Romanza, just too heavy on the orange blossom/musk and yes, too sweet. The Fetes Persanes isn’t sweet at all. It has bergamot in it which to me comes across as a bracing hit of lime. You might try that Luckyscent sample pack–good deal, 5 for just $12.
I’m not a jewelry person (I guess this sounds rich coming from a person with a custom made tiara featuring actual sea horses, but it’s true), but these sapphires sound extraordinary. Where could I see some pictures to get an idea what they look like?
Would love to see that tiara, ha ha! See my answer just up above to Gabriela for names and my offer to send pics.
1. SOTD is Carven Le Parfum.
2. I love the fragrance of mimosas (silk trees) in bloom.
3. I love the scent of a tobacco shop, but hate the smell of burning tobacco.
4. I haven’t got any of this year’s scents.
5. I haven’t actually discovered it this year because I used to use it, but my doctor put me back on an antidepressant, and boy do I feel better.
Glad you feel better!
Ooh three cheers for feeling better! That’s awesome.
You smell great 🙂
So glad it’s working! Life is too short not to have the energy to enjoy it. 🙂
I really like Carven Le Parfum. I’m waiting for hotter weather to get my bottle out of storage, mostly because I am still digging all my greenie scents now.
1. Not wearing anything today as I am just enjoying my parents garden, the lilac is in bloom.
2. So many, but my top ones petrichor after a summer rain, pine forests in the moubtains, summer meadows, geranium leaves.
3. Baking cakes, a fire, incense in temples
4. Haven’t tried any 2016 releases aside from Jo Malones herb garden and that was a hit.
5. I’ve been listening to podcasts while running for awhile now, but lately I’ve particularily enjoyed The Lively Show. I am also finally trying new recipes in others learning to cook and learning about oolong teas.
Thanks for #5, I need to find a few new podcasts and will look that up.
SOTD: I’m not wearing anything yet, but given the practically frigid spring temps I may try the New Haarlem that Ari was kind enough to gift me at our local perfumeetup. 🙂
Natural smells: That’s tough. I really really love the smell of onions – freshly chopped, cooking, growing. But we recently bought a cedar playset for the toddler that we’re setting up in the garage, and the sweet woody cedar smell is so lovely! I wish cedar actually smelled that way on my skin, but alas, cedar often turns BO’ish on me.
Favorite man-made smell: Hmm… gonna have to agree with apsara on roasting coffee!
Best of 2016: I have no idea what has come out in 2016. Was Misia 2016? I haven’t tried it on skin because it sounded exactly like the kind of stuff I hate, but I surprisingly really liked it sprayed on strip…
Discovered: The value of a prettily landscaped yard. We’ve never put a ton of care into landscaping, but we bought a house in December and now that spring has arrived, we are benefitting from the previous owner’s love of the yard. There’s so many beautiful flowering bushes (mostly azaleas), gorgeous flowering trees, daffodils and decorative foliage. Every single day I look out of the big bay windows and think about how beautiful the yard is, and it makes me happy. I hope we can maintain it!
My grandmother was so fond of onions that she would eat them out of hand, like apples.
My grandfather ate garlic that way. Grew his own.
Your grandmother must have been healthy. Raw garlic is so good for you. I’ve never been able to eat it that way myself.
Yay for a beautiful garden! I bought my first house 4 years ago or so, and I wasn’t sure if I was a gardener or not (but I hoped I was). I am LOVING doing yardwork! And it is so rewarding when you have something beautiful to show for it.
Since I was/am a novice at gardening, I literally walk through the garden center with my copy of Western Garden Book in my arms. It’s helped me avoid some less-than-ideal purchases and seems to have reliable information.
1. Commando. I could wear anything! I feel so powerful!
2. Natural smell. Gonna go with honeysuckle. My childhood day care center had a few truly giant honeysuckle bushes, they smelled amazing.
3. Man made smell. Going to second Apsara ‘ s coffee theme and say ground coffee beans. So rich and amazing.
4. Not sure about best fume so far this year. But am looking forward to finally sniffing the new Mugler Angel Muse.
5. I would like to be recently introduced to a vacuum cleaner that works. The vacuum of my current acquaintance is bust and sweeping just isn’t cutting it. With my current budget, will likely end up with a Swiffer (no complaints! Whatever ‘ s clever)
After years of swearing at various vacuum cleaners that mostly didn’t work, I bought a Dyson. Love it. Pricey, but there ya go.
Is cleaning it out terribly unpleasant? I’m intrigued by Dysons, but the idea of dumping clouds of carpet dust gives me pause.
Just hold it over the trash can and push the lever — the bottom opens and everything falls out. Yeah there can be a bit of dust floating loose, but beats the heck out of a torn vacuum bag :-/
Thanks! My vacuum is hard to find bags for, and is near its last breath anyway. Dyson is going on the list!
Ditto on the Dyson. I also got the hand vac, but for the price, I’m not that impressed. I got it to pick up tracked cat litter and cat food crumbs, but the suction is not strong enough to pick up larger particles.
If you’re looking to invest (and I do mean invest) in a good vacuum, I would suggest Riccar/Sinplicity. I’ve had mine for about 12? years and have had it serviced once (new belt, cleaning, new handle padding) for about $30. I financed the Riccar 8900, as a broke college student, because I wanted an upright with a brush that switched off for hard floors and a light. Nobody else was making such a thing at the time so I coughed up almost a months rent (thank heavens for zero interest financing) and it was worth every penny.
It is a bit heavy but we still prefer it to the expensive Miele that my in-laws had (they have since purchased a Simplicity). At one point we needed two vacuums and tried a Dyson which we killed very quickly and a horrible, cheap Bissell which we still have for litter-box and cat food clean-up since I don’t want my good vacuum to stink. The only vacuum I have ever liked more than my Riccar 8900 was my mom’s old Rainbow. I will re-purchase without hesitation when it dies.
Oops, 8955 is the model I have. I’m typing and eating and appear to have only brain power enough for one at a time.
Have to second the suggestion of a Dyson vacuum cleaner. We’ve had one for 7-8 years, and all that time it’s performed like a champ. It’s well-designed, and the my experience of the customer service is great (I once called them when a pencil got sucked up into the machine and I spoke to an ACTUAL HUMAN BEING who talked me through the process of getting it out again.) Pricey? You bet, but some things are worth it.
Thanks for all your helpful recommendations, I’ll certainly look into these first!
Started the morning with a bagel & cream cheese. So delicious. It’s been awhile since my last bagel & cream cheese, since I am gluten free by necessity and lactose intolerant. But for an additional $1 GF Upgrade and a Lactaid tab, it was mine. So good. Adding cream cheese and GF bagels to the weekend shopping list.
My morning also featured time with The Hubs, cold brew coffee, a pretty jade plant in a cool cement planter for my mom for mothers day next weekend, a little coffee plant & potting soil for my apartment “garden,” and finally getting some traction on project that has been ongoing since 2014. And, the weather is nice.
That is a lot for one day – must be nap time!
SOTD = Bronze Goddess, from my draft summer top ten list.
What a lovely and yummy Saturday!
I actually had several dysons but they all broke on me in different ways. 🙁 Right now I have that tiny Shark Rocket handheld that you can use both ways and I’m loving it! It’s also so light it’s really handy for stairs. Trying to use the handheld portion of the dyson on the stairs was a huge struggle because the expandable hose was SO tight and difficult to expand. I probably won’t go back to dyson, but that’s just me!
Wearing Parfum de Therese.
Best smell in nature Jasmin flowers and the smell of sea.
Best smell ever, my daughters skin and hair.
No releases that are interesting this year.
Loved reading The door by Majda and using Aloe Vera for everything!
🙂
You smell great! So glad to see occasional mentions of Therese.
Yes so am I! That reminds me to hunt for my little bottle of it and put some on!! I have one of those travel-sizes.
1. SOTD is Wit by Parfums DelRae, which I meant to wear yesterday as my spring favorite.
2. Lilacs! No perfume can touch the real thing.
3. I love the smell of garlic cloves sautéing in a pan of olive oil. (I’m married to an Italian-American.) 😉
Yum to sautéing garlic!
I was going to say the same thing about sautéing garlic.
No scent yet… will be sampling later, not sure what just yet (yes, Mount Sample has been growing again lately…)
Favorite natural smell… on my usual walk, I pass through a redwood grove, and the scent — especially on a damp day — is wonderful. Also the blossoms on my lemon and lime trees smell utterly blissful. Then there’s the back of my cat’s head…mmmm, kittyness 🙂
Favorite man-made smell… I’ve been reading all your comments and nodding. Coffee, yes; bread, yes, heck anything from a bakery.
Best new fume this year… drawing a blank. I do like Guerlain Ambre Eternel (I think that’s new this year) but will wait for it to hit discounters. Best new-to-me fume this year is Byredo Pulp.
Best new discovery this year… a beauty product, actually, which is rare for someone like me who is pretty lackadaisical on that front: Missha Time Revolution, which does a wonderful job of softening my face for hours on end.
Happy Saturday all! I sure am glad it’s the weekend. Yesterday at work it felt like I was dragging my brain behind me like a tantrum-y toddler: “But I don’t wanna think! I don’t wanna work!” Thankfully even work days come to an end eventually.
I ve heard wonderful things about Missha Time Revolution. Might buy some!!
Mmmm, warm kitty fur 🙂
One hundred percent with you on warm kitty fur.
Trying out Fils de Dieu this morning. I like it, the rice note is very interesting.
My favorite smell in nature is easily the ocean. I wish I was a water creature so I could just live in it.
Favorite man made smell: as many others above…coffee! Or chocolate, or coffee & chocolate! Hmmm, also love the smell of onions frying in butter. It’s all about food though, that’s for sure.
I haven’t tried anything from 2016.
Not really a discovery but I think it’s cute anyways…I think my bf is reluctantly falling for perfume after all this time. He never forgets to tell me I smell good. Even more telling is that from time to time when we’re just chilling at home he says “maybe I should have a spray” and we’ll go find something to put on for him. One night last week we were on our way out to dinner he kind of stopped in his tracks…”I forgot to have a spray!” and since I had some decants in my purse (naturally) I gave him a spritz. It was so adorable!
Love your #5! How great is that?!
#5 = fantastic!
Oh my gosh that’s adorable. Wow what fun–what are his favorites so far??
(And yes, cooking up onions: smells invariably fantastic!)
He hasn’t got to the point of having a favorite yet, but best reaction has been to Eaux des Beaux when he blurted out “Willie Wonka!!” 🙂
(Whoops, I butchered the name there) s/b Eau des Baux
Ha!! That’s terrific.
1. Haven’t sprayed yet but it just might be my answer to question #4 or perhaps Pamplelune.
2. Nova Scotia in the summer: Pine and spruce trees, salt water and sand, blueberry bushes and Gravenstein apples. Right now in Toronto a bush is blooming up the street called Golden Currant. We call it the chai tea bush as it smells like vanilla and spice. The lilacs can’t be far behind… Then the lindens!
3. Real fireplaces that burn wood.
4. The juicy and fresh Hermes Eau de rhubarbe ecarlate.
1. Wearing Chinatown skin creme, and probably won’t, or can’t wear, any perfume with it.
2. One vote for hyacinth.
3. The smell of water coming out of a plastic hose, the smell of suburban summer.
4. Hmm, haven’t tried out any 2016 releases. Maybe this year I will find a hyacinth perfume I like almost as much as the flower.
Hyacinth perfumes are so few and far between. I wish we saw more of them.
I’m drenched in Hermes Equipage. I’ve just got a vintage bottle of it, but the sprayer doesn’t work properly anymore, and with each spray there’s more leaking from under the pump than sprayed on me. I guess I’ll have to break the sprayer and decant it. It’s a shame. I like the scent and would have liked to keep the original bottle.
Oh, I hate that!
1. Lovely Amoureuse.
2. Cut grass/drying hay, petrichor, lilacs, hyacinths, gardenias.
3. New bike tires, coffee, freshly baked bread, line-dried sheets.
4. Haven’t tried much in the way 2016 releases. Did try the Eris Parfums set and found them interesting but I don’t think I’d wear them. I did like the Dame soliflores I tried, and I did like Omnia Paraiba but found it fleeting.
5. Milani lipsticks smell so good and work well for me – emollient but don’t wear off fast, colors that are not too “blue” for me and are a good balance between sheer and saturated. I only buy drugstore makeup, so it’s nice to find some I like.
Double cheer for Milani lipsticks- and blushes!
New bike tyres. Yes!!!
Line-dried sheets – yes! Thanks for reminding me of one of my favorite smells. Now that I have a back yard, I need to put up a line (or maybe one of those umbrella-type poles).
Oh, I adore Amoureuse, but I have to feel up to the occasion to wear it! Thanks for the tip on the lipsticks too. I’m going to go to Walgreen’s later and find one to try!
1. Coffee breath?
2. Nature smell: Does a field of unpicked, ripe strawberries count as “natural?” I could get drunk on the smell of ripe strawberries.
3. Man-made smell: Cat fur after they’ve been outside a while in the fall/winter and picked up some chimney smoke.
PSA alert!! Today RueLaLa is offering some shockingly non-mainstream perfumes, including Atelier, Xerjoff, and TDC. Forgive me Donatella for any perfumistas I cause to stumble…. ????
Happy weekend, everyone! I fell face-first into this weekend like it’s my favorite pillow. Gah, what a tiring week it has been. Woke up this morning to the sounds of rain dripping off the roof, then the early-arrivals (before 7 am!) at my neighborhood-wide yard sale. I hope everyone shops and sells productively.
1. SotD: Parfums DelRae Début. I’ll wear the last drops of my sample today and tomorrow to celebrate May Day. I love the way this scent layers lily of the valley under lovely greenness. Such a delightful balance. It reminds me of hunting for delicate white blossoms in a vast, verdant field. I hope Muguet Porcelaine is just as pretty.
2. Today I love the gentle sweet-green scent of nasturtiums picked from the flower patch outside my front door.
3. Favorite not-perfume smell comes from the bread baking in my kitchen.
4. Best fragrance released so far in 2016? Um, no idea.
5. Something wonderful I recently stumbled upon is Daiso Japan, a chain of variety stores — think super-kawaii-meets-dollar-store. Beyond cute!
I have to look up those stores!
SOTD is Burberry My Burberry edt. My favorite smell in nature is the smell of a sunny summer morning. Favorite man made smell is the smell of mutual attraction. So far In 2016 I like Prada Candy Kiss. I am still looking forward to Burberry Black.
1. No SOTD yet. I am awaiting a perfume delivery in the mail…
2. The smell of a forest with its mixture of pine needles, leaves, damp earth, and whatever else is in there.
3. A toss-up between freshly brewed coffee and baking bread. For that matter, I’ll take both–just give me some good coffee and some fresh bread (with plenty of butter) and I’ll not ask for anything else.
4. I don’t think I’ve tried any new 2016 releases yet, but I did just get a couple of sample packs from Lucky Scent, that that will change soon.
You are so right about butter with fresh bread – the cool smooth creaminess complementing the crisp crust and soft interior…. Mmmm! :^)
Well, the mail was late today, so I got tired of waiting and put on some perfume. I have been having fun with my growing collection of perfume nips. I put on Black Satin, a lovely vintage aldehylic floral.
5. I can’t think of anything in particular from this year, but last year I made a rather wonderful discovery. It turns out that reagular, moderate consumption of beer (one beer every day or two) really does help reduce menopausal hot flashes (no, this is not a joke!). I had never been a beer drinker before, but I am learning to enjoy it. So far, I like stouts and porters the best. I also made a not-so-wonderful discovery today–apparently spring is over for us, and summer has set in. Gulf Coast summer + hot flashes = misery! Time for a beer!
Wow, that’s so interesting. I wonder what is in the bear that helps?
Beer…
They say it is the hops. That is why it needs to be beer; wine, cider, whiskey, run, gin, vodka, etc., won’t work because they don’t contain hops. Alternatively, you can supposedly get the same results by drinking hops tea or taking hops extract, but I figure just having a beer a day is simpler and more fun.
1. Had some Shalimar Parfum Initial leftover when I woke up this morning, but after some cleaning, the remnants have disappeared. I think I’ll put on Byredo 1996.
2. Childhood summer trips to Assateague Island: salt/ocean+wetlands+marsh grasses+pine forest. Or juniper. Or wisteria.
3. All of my favorite scents in the world are probably food, but if I had to pick one, I honestly think it’s pizza.
4. I think I’ve only tried two of this year’s new releases, so it’s pretty easy to say that my favorite is Angel Muse (“hate to love” is right).
5. I’m way behind the times, but I only recently discovered the magic of lip liner.
Angel Muse is the new release I want to try the most. Waiting on my sample from the Mugler website.
Lip liner is seriously the best. You can either use it as all over, subtle color or just to keep lipstick in place. And it travels so well.
I love clear lipliners–I don’t have to worry about having different shades to match each lipstick.
I didn’t know clear existed, but that’s brilliant!
SOTM is my newest crush, Malle’s Eau de Magnolia. Just absolutely lovely.
Some of my favorite non-perfume scents are combinations of natural and manmade. Like roasting coffee – isn’t that really both natural and manmade? And the smell of rain falling on asphalt after a long hot dry spell. Or the combination of salt water and diesel engines in a boat marina. Okay, I’m weird.
I don’t generally keep track of the year of release when I try perfumes, so have no idea whether I have a favorite from this year’s releases or not.
New thing: the sample of the Malle I’m wearing this morning was sent to me (by a very kind and generous NSTer) in a small but wide-mouthed vial with a flow-restrictor top. She suggested removing it, but it turns out to be quite practical. I can turn the vial open-side down and tap it on my wrist or forearm, and it dispenses a reasonable amount without running all over. Handy!
Your answers to #2 really give away your Oregonian-ness! 🙂
True! I adore Oregon. 🙂
I’m with you on about 2.5/3 of those smells. I would trade out the diesel for sunbaked kelp.
I don’t blame you for wanting to trade that one. 🙂 My love of marina smells comes from having grown up the daughter of a boat owner in the Seattle area. Many happy memories of early foggy mornings on a dock.
Ah yes – the marina! I have had many a good day at Redondo (Des Moines) launching the boat with my dad. 🙂 From a lifetime of fishing, I’m also not against the smell of fish, fish slime, fish bait…
So, here we are sitting in Bordeaux airport at the end of our 10 day holiday. And today I had a perfumista “first”: first time I’ve had to scrub a perfume. It was “East India” from Beaufort London and although I liked it, my partner felt physically ill smelling it. When I first got the 3 Beaufort samples I felt they were bordering on the unwearable; more scent concepts than perfumes. But over time I started to enjoy their power and story. I got a FB of Coeur de Noir, didn’t like 1805 so much, and will have to retest East India in its new guise of “Vi et Armis”.
After scrubbing I sprayed what had been the intended Spring scent, “Esperidi Water” from Merchant of Venice. Orange and Lemon citrus with some pepper, this is a nice little EdC but a pale shadow of the far more robust and much cheaper Agua de Colonia Concentrada.
Favourite natural scent: a real rose blossom is hard to beat, but maybe a pine forest in the sun comes close.
Favourite man made scent: a turf fire or fresh baked bread.
I don’t have a favourite scent of 2016 – they’re all 2016 scents to me, remember. :^)
Great discovery this year is how to network and still be myself. I used to think of it as a way of being pushy and boastful, and boring to myself and others.
I need to add (Koyel will appreciate this) that my partner and I swore we wouldn’t buy anything more in Bordeaux as our bags were over the limit already. But after an excellent tea at a salon de thé near the hotel, I found the next door store was a branch of Divine Perfumes. I had a great conversation with the SA, got an FB of l’homme sage, and was given a heap of samples. Anyway since I cracked first, my partner then also cracked and visited a music store and bought a few more CDs (he already had 22 records and 13 CDs from the trip). So it’s a good job it’s cold today in Bordeaux, because we are wearing multiple layers with pockets stuffed full and just squeezed the hold baggage under the limit. :^D
I’m glad that the Divine shop in Bordeaux is as nice as the ones I have visited. L’homme sage is a great pick. Have a good trip back home.
That was always my trick. My carry-ons have been scary heavy for a long time. And then I went somewhere, Malaysia!, and the carry-ons were being weighed. The gentleman in front of me was frantically making deeply emotional choices between well-wrapped packages of what were obviously home-prepared fragrant culinary specialties. He was in tears when he got to check-in but he tossed six or seven packets out. Heartbreaking. On our return, I was extremely careful with what I smuggled into my carry-on.
Oh that’s heart-breaking.
Oh that is so sad 🙁 My mother often makes me Indian food to bring back to France from the US; I would cry too if I had to throw out her cooking!!
I am so happy and not at all surprised that you went on another shopping spree in Bordeaux!!! I absolutely LOVE l’Homme Sage and am considering getting a FB before I leave Europe forever next year (either that or l’Etre Aimé). Divine must be great at finding SAs–the one in Toulouse is amazing and knowledgeable too.
I didn’t realize that your partner collects not just records but also CDs–you never mentioned the CDs when talking about the 8000+ records sitting in your house!
Thank you for sharing your trip with us along the way!
1. Wearing Trayee today, it’s raining (again) and chilly. I was hoping the warm spices would help but this has a dusty smell today, I think I prefer it in the fall.
2. Goodness, so many – but since the weather is reminding of fall, I do love the tangy smell of dried leaves in October.
3. Another hard decision, I know coffee grows in nature but the smell of it brewing is hard to beat.
4. I am completely out of the loop as far as new perfumes are concerned. No idea.
5. I’ve been exploring the world of vodka this year, especially cheap imports. It’s amazing how good some of them are.
Ooh, enjoy your exploration! I recently had my first ever experience with vodka that I thought tasted good. Such an unexpected and pleasant surprise
Have you tried Russian Standard? It is an amazing vodka
Thanks for the rec!
Ooh any vodka recs?
Yep, believe it or not, Costco American vodka (they have a French and American under their Kirkland brand name.) It’s under $20 for a ginormous bottle and is a nice smooth mixer. I’m still on the hunt for the best sipping vodka. A nearby winery, Round Barn in Michigan, distills a signature vodka that’s very good but not HG material http://www.roundbarnwinery.com/
Oh nice! $20 for a ginormous bottle sounds good to me 🙂
Have you tried Zubrowka, the bison grass vodka from Poland? Particularly good with clear apple juice BTW.
I haven’t seen it anywhere but I’ll keep a lookout, thanks!
My new favorite not-cheap vodka: Charbay ruby red grapefruit. I know people frown on flavored vodka but it really is fantastic.
I used to buy green apple vodka but realized it is artificially flavoured so now I get natural Smirnoff Pink Grapefruit. Both are terrific with cranberry juice, a cherry, and wedge of lime.
The Charbay is definitely natural — they only make it during whatever part of the year the grapefruit are ripe in Texas or something. Therefore also can be hard to find 🙂
42Below is a good vodka, made in New Zealand. Also comes in nice flavours.
SOTD is MFK Baccarat Rouge. It’s a rainy day and this scent is really working well with the damp cool air.
I love so many smells! I love puppy paws after a romp in the grass, rainy days, wood smoke, pine trees, moss, fresh lavender, lilacs, cedar, that’s a really good one! I even like a whiff of skunk if it’s not too strong.
Man made: coffee, earl grey tea and that mixed spice smell of a spice shop.
I can’t think of a new favorite actually from 2016 but am making a list of things to sniff at Jovoy and Harrrods in my upcoming travels!
This weekend I am going to try some new things; making pasta from scratch tonight and going to try to make popovers tomorrow; wish me luck!
I love your list of nature smells but would need to draw the line at skunk. Last year my mom’s cat got sprayed in the face and when she came inside and we both held her down to clean her off it was unbearable! That was just too up close and personal and I don’t think even a faint version would be tolerable.
1) I am wearing a tiny dab of Lys Mediterranee and a tiny dab of Lys 31 (on separate wrists) as I begin to look for a replacement (or something I like equally as much) as my beloved DSH Madonna Lily. These two are a big NO.
2) Fragrance from nature: pine trees warmed by the sun.
3) Fragrance that is man-made: My Dad’s cracked wheat bread in the oven. Dad is no longer with us, so I will need to make it.
4) No new favorites from 2016.
5) I am thoroughly enjoying Grantchester on PBS. And my Bosch dishwasher. : )
Ooh Bosch dishwasher! I had one in my previous home and miss it desperately. Hard to justify replacing the one in my new house since it still works.
YES! THIS!
I just got a Bosch DW in January, to replace the old Kenmore that died in Nov. ’15. I like it – it’s super quiet and does a good job, but the racks are weird. Consequently, it holds fewer dishes than there is space for.
Hmmmm. That’s one of the things I love about it – I pile tons in and it all gets clean.
Grantchester! Another fan here.
Me three 🙂
Me as well!
Here, too!
Yes and me! The final of the season is on PBS tonight. Can’t wait. It’s been pretty sad this year, though.
1. Started my day in Philosykos, playing flute at a memorial service. Switched to Aerin Lilac Path afterward as I had sprayed lightly this morning.
2. Lilacs; cedar.
3. Coffee – don’t drink it much but I love the scent.
4. Not really up on new releases! I have been discovering a lot of new-to-me samples lately – Histoires, Teo Cabanel, JhaG, ELDO.
5. In the last year or so I started learning how to improvise on the flute, playing from chord charts with the praise band at church. Something I was far to self conscious to do when I was younger. So what I have discovered is how liberating it is to be over 40! (Well, much closer to 50…)
Love your #5 🙂
Me too.
Can’t wait to read everyone’s lists…
1. Gaiac 10. I had never tried this in the spring, and since I just got a refresher to my sample, it’s delightful. It smells a bit like leaves and trees in the sun. Which is close to my…
2. All the things blossoming on the walk to the water, which is blocks from where I live. Salt water+trees blooming is a lucky combination.
3. Certain wines and scotch. Sometimes the smell of a street where you have bits of asphalt, bakery, curry, nuts. Even a little gasoline in there.
4. I’m pleased to have smelled the Hiram Green voyage, I think that’s the newest/only for me.
5. Following people who foster kittens on instagram. And artists and bold photographers, too, of course.
I really think Gaiac 10 is one of the best Le Labos. (Too bad it has a price to match!)
I know! I might have to succumb and get a decant from the same place I got Vanille 44. I also think I should do it now, before the feared inevitable reformulations since the brand was purchased.
That might be a good idea–I was going to mention the Facebook split groups if you’re not already on them, as the price is great, but it can take a while for splits to fill, and if you want to be sure you’ve got the current formulation, might be smart to go with wherever can provide more immediate turnaround.
I am (horrors!) a facebook abstainer. But I think we’re secret scent twins, so if you ever see something that needs an extra buddy, let me know 😉
Oh good yes, mental note taken and starred in my brain 🙂
One of my favourite man- made scents is the faint trace of sun-baked chlorine left on the skin long after a swim…if you imagine at the end of the day, after hours spent lying about in the sun, followed by a long walk home. Reminds me of being a school kid and going to the outdoor public pool.
In nature: bracken would be my favourite as it is a rich leather and fern-dust, hay ( of course), pine needles, schist with lichen…too many.
2016 Perfumes? I have only sniffed mainstreet scents but I have tried Poison Girl a few times and quite liked it. It’s like a custard version of Narciso EDP. Floriental, maybe? Weleda Grenade is good at what it is.
That Coty video is amazing. Makes me want to track down a honeysuckle scent!
Just thinking about Jour de Hermes and if the flanker had been honeysuckle instead of gardenia…that would be about what I’m looking for.
I love the smell of chlorine on sun warmed skin! The best.
Geology joke: Schist happens. ????
Gneiss!
I like you two.
????
Xxx
Haha! I knew someone in school named Gneiss…with 3 siblings whose names were also rocks (and a precious stone) starting with ‘G’. Oh dear.
Is everyone having a good weekend so far? I hope so!
1) I’m wearing Stella (McCartney) again today. Whaddaya gonna do: The purple goes with my shirt.
2) My favorite smell in nature is the smell of the desert after a monsoon. I also love the smell of pine forests in the mountains.
3) My favorite man-made smell is the smell of books, which I totally hold up to my nose and inhale. Can’t help myself, I’m a big academic nerd. I also love the partucular smell that wafts out the back of the kitchen of my favorite Mexican restaurant, where I’ve been eating since *before* I was even born. Then again, I also love the smell of a good margarita! ????
4) I haven’t smelled enough (any?) 2016 releases to weigh in.
5) The best thing I’ve discovered so far this year is Lancôme Lip Lover. It’s like a gloss, lipstick, and balm rolled into one! I have lined and chronically dry lips, so I absolutely can not wear lipstick. This, when it eventually wears down, does not settle into the lines, and the brighter colors act sort of like a stain too. It’s as close to a HG lip product as I’ve found.
I need to try this Lancome. I’m hooked on lip balm so all lipsticks so far drive me batty. This might be an exception.
Exactly: batty! I bought a full-sized tube of a lighter pink, but I originally had a large sample of 355 Framboise Etoile at Sephora. I noticed with that color (I think because it’s more vibrant) that you can apply less than a full glossy coat and get a nice satiny lipstick finish.
Thanks for the Lancome tip. I need to give that a try.
Thanks for the tip on the Lancome lip gloss. I’ve been searching for a good one. I have dry lips too. I recently bought Guerlain’s Kiss Kiss satin lipstick. It is emollient, the color lasts for hours and is very saturated. It actually feels good.
Thanks, I’ll give it a try next time I’m in Sephora!
From an occasional “watch” of Dr. Oz, I learned that petroleum products cause peeling lips, perpetuating the need for balm. I added to the list chemical sunscreens, from experience. It’s tough to find things that have neither, though Whole Foods currently has one, very reasonable ($4?) called EcoLips Mongo Kiss (no color) that I’ve had very good luck with.
Thanks! I’ll try to check that out. 99% of the time I wear the original Burt’s Bees lip balm, which is the world’s best. So I’m good as long as I’m using it. I also have some natural glosses and lipstains, but I have to head outside the green zone sometimes for higher performance products, and the Lancôme ones aren’t too bad in terms of petroleum product content. You’re so right about SPF lip balms being drying!
http://www.compoundchem.com/2014/06/01/newoldbooksmell/
Creosote, I love your list. I haven’t spent any time in a desert but one day. Here’s something about books and their scent.
Thanks, Kanuka! And thanks for the link, which I’m now going to read more closely. Southern AZ would be glad to have you, if you ever get a hankering for a long trip.
Thanks matey!!
Errand Saturday! Cloudy, but only a few sprinkles and very mild and desirable temps- high of 70F, which is lovely and perfect. I cleaned the apartment and did laundry. I use “all natural’ cleansing agents like bicarbonate soda, borax, washing soda, distilled vinegar and essential oils, so the house smells clean and not like a hazmat site.
1) SOTD: West Third Street’s Vanilla Santos. Last dregs from a bottle I bought a few years ago. Fake as hell, but it really smells nice. Will be combined with my homemade rose/jasmine oil.
2) The Oregon coast- seriously, the combination of deep forest, marine life and water is invigorating and somehow life affirming.
3) Along with so many others- the smell of roast coffee. Because I am a special Oregon fairy, I roast my own coffee using an old popcorn maker, and although it can be a bit dangerous (the chaff can catch on fire) the entire corner of my complex smells glorious when I do.
4) The only thing that has really spoken to me this year was the relaunch of the Marc Jacob splash scents, and I liked the Cucumber!
5) I discovered a few new things this year:
a) Clarisonic- I thought that it was some nonsense, but honestly, in using it in conjunction with my night cream (Alpha Hydrox Anti Wrinkle repair- a retinol cream, see below) my skin does look tighter and more even toned.
b) Hot Yoga +HIIT: Yes, I know it sounds like a bougie nightmare, BUT BUT my goodness, if you are feeling a little stiff in the bones, and your middle is starting to remind you that Armenian pastries +coffee in the morning is NOT the best breakfast choice, then a course of a month of Hot Vinyasa plus HIIT two-three times a week is enough to get yourself back on course. You sweat tons, you will drink a lot of water, feel more flexible and fit and at the very least feel more energised doing the two exercises. Of course, you have to switch out the pastries in the morning! No, for real you do.
c) I used to use this awesome cream from France called Avibon- but it’s been discontinued. In it’s place there is a equally wonderful retinol cream from Alpha Hydrox- anti Wrinkle Repair. I don’t know about all that, but my skin feels really firm and tight, with no acne and a very smooth even tone to the skin.
I think you should be my new life coach/hero. From roasting coffee at home to skin care. And all the everything in between.
I always thought they’d have to pry pastries from my clammy hands even if I got to looking like runaway ectoplasm. Then I got high cholesterol numbers and faced the possibility of pharmaceuticals. Tougher choice now (though I’m still not firm in my resignation).
Morning all, from a chilly Sunday morning, the last day of the students’ break. The rush begins again tomorrow, but we can do anything for five weeks. Watch us go!
I’m wearing Epic, for no reason at all, except that I could. I’m taking my morning tea in a garden with friends, so the intensity will be somewhat diffused, but the gorgeousness should hang about me.
I love so many smells in nature that I can’t choose one. In fact, the one I love at the time will be my favourite. I can do this in the negative: the smell in nature that I hate the most is fish, and anything to do with it, but especially crayfish. The best man-made smell apart from good baking, might be the scent of rain on hot concrete– the playground smell.
I haven’t found a single new (2015 or 2016) perfume that I have loved enough to buy. I smelt the Narciso Poudree last week and found it infinitely unmemorable. I want to love and adopt something new, but there it just jolly well isn’t!
Be well, relaxed and beloved, everyone.
Epic is one of those scents that doesn’t need a reason. You smell lovely and I think I will go spray some on for my emergency grocery shopping jaunt (on a Saturday afternoon – kill me now! Why didn’t I double check my list?). Perhaps I will be so busy enjoying my scent that I won’t mind the hordes of people. Can one get high on Epic? I’ll go find out.
If you can’t get high on Epic, there’s no justice to be had anywhere. Good luck with that project!
<3 the playground smell.
1. Commando at the moment but since I’ve got dinner plans, I might wear vintage Bal.
2. Hyacinth and lilac are my favourite smells.
3. Gas at a gas station. Don’t ask me why.
4. I haven’t worn anything released this year.
5. Haven’t discovered anything new in the beauty department, so I can’t comment.
Ditto on the gasoline, though as I get older I seem to be reaching a saturation point. 🙂
Oh, and I forgot to say something wonderful I’ve found. You know I love to bake. I’m usually prepared to do the whole process the way my mother used to, creaming the butter and sugar, beating in the eggs one at a time, all that Ladies’ Home Journal jazz. However, every now and again, I’ve been lazy and I end up in a hurry needing to take something to a gathering. Enter, stage right, with a flourish, my “Inahurry Cake”, the Bakewell. It’s 140 grams of everything and 2 eggs in a food processor, combine, layer half the mix into a tin, add a filling of fruit–I use raspberries, fresh or frozen– and anything else you fancy (my family always seems to fancy white chocolate), add rest of the mixture as a second layer, and bake till it smells golden and sentimental, top with a glacé icing: result! It’s easy, it’s failsafe, it’s fun. It disappears as snow upon the desert’s dusty face…wonderful!
http://www.annabel-langbein.com/recipes/the-ultimate-chocolate-cake/279/
Hi Waterdragon. I can’t bake to save myself but this chocolate cake recipe never fails and takes 5 minutes. Just tip all the ingredients in together and mix ( but you need a big bowl ). Very rich and moist. And smells great.
No perfume yet, just starting a lazy Sunday.
I can’t think of a single favourite smell, I’ve read everyone’s comments and realised just how many things smell lovely to me too, but my most nostalgic is pine trees in the sun, the smell of childhood summer holidays. And here Christmas is in summer, we had a real tree when I was a child, so I don’t associate pine with winter at all. But I still love perfumes like Fille en Aiguilles, which some Northern Hemisphere folk say smells like Christmas 🙂 .
Seconding “just how many things smell lovely to me”! And it may be that spending so much time on NST has something to do with it …
4. My best fragrance released so far in 2016 is Hermes Eau de Neroli Dore! As Robin pointed out, very enjoyable to wear, and it has that good weirdness to it that wanting a full bottle seems reasonable.
My other answers are boring, so they’ll stay with me. Have a good weekend, all!
So glad someone else loves it!
1. SOTD = Chinatown. Someone here mentioned that it smells like a plastic dollhead on them – and a friend of a friend donated a whole bunch of dolls for my kids. I was going thru them today, smelled the doll heads and decided to check Chinatown. Luckily for me, no plastic doll head.
2. Nature smell – how the California area smells early in the morning during summer. It is so crisp! Other nature smell – Jasmine. I have a whole bunch of jasmine growing in the front yard that I have not killed yet, and it smells divine.
3. Man made smell – grounded coffee!!!
4. Best new release of 2016 – no comment there as I have not tried any 2016 releases yet.
5. Drunk elephant skin care – I am in love with the line (which rarely happens).
I keep hearing about Drunk Elephant– I guess I should really give it a try huh?
Ditto on the Drunk Elephant. I’ve heard very good things, so naturally I’m very curious! What are your favorites of the line?
It’s all been said, but sun sand and ocean; sun concrete and chlorine. I spend winter imagining myself there.
And warm kitty fur is heaven and so are many many flowers and trees.
2016 perfumes all seem like they are on the event horizon. I am dying to smell the new Masque Milano iris, not yet here, and the new tuberose and leather from The Different Company. New things I have tried don’t appeal.
Wearing I Miss Violet and wanting very much to be home with clean clothes and my own bed.
Sun dried clean sheets on your own bed! Paradise.
It’s 3 p.m. here and I’ve just sat down for the first time since this morning. I painted the living room ceiling and it looks so much better. Either the tenants used to smoke or they had many smoky fires, the old paint was yellow/gray. Ugh.
1. I dug a tiny vial of Iris Nobile out of the sample dish but it’s not really what I like my irises to smell like. That’s good because I don’t need anymore stuff on the to-buy list.
2. Favorite nature smell is tied between puppy paws and petrichor.
3. Favorite man-made smell are the mixed smells of explosive powder and smoke and paper after a fireworks show.
4. I don’t think I’ve smelled anything released in 2016.
5. Not necessarily wonderful, but I cracked up laughing at the Dollar Tree store when I spotted a fragrance called “Nice Lady.” It just struck me as so funny.
That is funny. You just know the flanker will be “Naughty Lady.”
My vegan friend uses ‘Kiss My Face’ deodorant and that name always cracks me up.
1. I’m wearing Estee Lauder Sensuous Nude. It’s time to start breaking out the warm weather scents.
2. My favorite smell in nature is sagebrush. I could roll around in it!
3. My favorite man-made smell? I have a Michel Design Works Black Cherry candle that I’m really enjoying right now. I also just put a Tide scented plug-in in my nine year old’s room; it doesn’t smell so “weird” in there now, so that makes me happy! 🙂
4. I haven’t tried any 2016 releases, yet.
Oh, sagebrush! It’s been years since I’ve smelled any.
1. What fragrance are you wearing today? SOTD = Lush 25:43 Perfect for today.
2. What’s your favorite smell in nature? So many – it’s like picking my favorite perfume. How about top 3? Orange grove in bloom, the wet earth of a Pacific NW forest, the deep, rich scent of a Mme Isaac Pereire rose.
3. What’s your favorite man-made (but not perfume) smell? Roasting coffee. Mmmmmm…….
4. What do you think is the best fragrance released so far in 2016? I don’t think I’ve smelled one 2016 release yet. Hopelessly behind.
5. Tell us about some wonderful thing you’ve discovered this year. Not really a complete new discovery, because I’d seen some of her work before, but I was at the Met museum in New York last week and saw their amazing Elisabeth Vigee LeBrun exhibit. She was an 18th century French portraitist – you’ve probably seen at least one of her portraits of Marie Antoinette. The exhibit pulled from museums and private collections all over the world and was a joy to see.
I should have bought that Lush when it was still out.
I’ve learned the hard way when I missed out on a FB of their Orange Blossom – If I like a Lush product, I buy it! There’s a good chance it won’t be there next time around.
1) Original SOTD = commando. Back from the King of Prussia/Philadelphia area meetup, and wearing at least 8 different scents. Some of them are 31 Rue Cambon; Atelier Ambre Nue; Jo Malone Wood Sage and Sea Salt; Jo Malone Blackberry and Bay; Jo Malone Lime Basil & Mandarin; Tam Dao EdP; L’Ombre dans L’eau; and something(s) I can’t remember. I am fragrant, to say the least.
2) The smell of hay being harvested. Pine trees in summer are a close second, as are blooming roses.
3) Baking bread, especially cottage cheese dill bread.
4) Haven’t smelled any 2016 ‘fumes.
5) Meeting other perfume people IRL. So awesome!
We had a great meetup, even if we do live in a perfume-challenged area!
Ha ha, going from a meetup to lunch is tough. I felt like I stunk so bad I risked assassination.
Hello Jalapeno !!
Good to hear the meet-up went well. I hope to go to KoP in the fall, if there is a second one.
Can you answer a question for me, please?
Does Neiman Marcus have the Chanel Exclusifs and the Tom Ford Private Blend scents? TIA for your response. 🙂
Hi, Bear!
I did see some TF Private Blends at NM. I specifically remember Oud Wood, Oud Fleur, and Tobacco Oud. Not sure how much depth their selection had. Were you looking for something in particular?
I also caught a glimpse of some Chanels other than the usual suspects but got distracted by Maison Francis Kurkdjian. Sorry I’m not much help there.
Thank you, Jalapeno! If I ever decide to drive up there, I’ll call NM first to see if they have what I want to sample. 🙂
Tom Ford has its own counter. It is pretty well stocked. There is also a Tom Ford counter at Nordstrom but it is not quite as big.
I did not check Chanel because they never used to have the Exclusifs at NM/KOP, but I guess some day they might and I won’t even know!
Thanks Robin ! I hope there is a second meet-up, I couldn’t attend yesterday. Did you go to Hermes ? 🙂
We will try to meet in the fall. If you send me your email address, I’ll add you to the mailing list.
And yes, of course!
1. SOTD: the wonderful, mis-named Haight & Ashbury from Wing & A Prayer Perfumes, a small, niche line sold on Etsy. From the name and the fact that it contains patchouli, you might expect a hippie headshop fragrance experience, but not so! It is instead a bowl of rose potpourri, slightly faded and mellow, sitting on an oak table in a Victorian house in the evening glow.
2. Favorite scent in nature–gosh, so many. In addition to the rain and garden smells (including plastic hose!), I’ll add fresh mulch–that lovely woody-sweet smell.
3. Favorite man-made scent would have to be the smell of my house. Built in 1926, it has a top note of lemony furniture polish (OK, sometimes!), a heart of the lingering wood smoke from the fireplace, with an undertone of musty basement–maybe a soupcon of mold? If I’ve been away for a few days, just walking in the door makes me feel better.
4. Zero, zip, nada…….
5. Luca Turin’s current blog–perfumesilove.com. Also, some of his essays have been published in a book titled “Folio,” which is available to read for free on Amazon Prime.
Totally agree on Luca Turin’s new blog!
I like Change and SkyDancer from A Wing and a Prayer. Reminds me I should wear them sometime, huh.
I accidentally discovered Wing and a Prayer when a generous swapper threw a sample of Haight & Ashbury into a package as an extra.
I just ordered one of their three-perfume sample packs of Big Sur, Gemini, and Dreams and Visions. Hardly ever see them mentioned in the blogosphere–wonder why?
1. SOTD was Heure Exquise. About 6 sprays just to be sure. We are back from a 3 week vacation from Florida; I was exhausted enough to call in sick yesterday.. It was glorious!
2. The smell of outside after a thunderstorm or the smell of real orange blossoms at the orange grove (it’s a toss-up)!
3. Like several others, the smell of coffee brewing; add to this the smell of fresh cinnamon buns for a delightful breakfast. Thanks Al for the awesome memory!!
4. Nothing new from 2016 so far.
5. A fitness DVD that kicks your butt is JNL Fusion. Kicks your “trash to the curb”..
Happy Weekend Everyone! This weekend, I am enjoying time in a resort in Austin, Tx. to see Motown on Broadway. This was part of my mom’s Xmas gift from me and my brother. Having a nice time so far.
1. SOTD is Blackberry & Bay by Jo Malone.
2. I love the scent of fresh cut grass… strange, but true.
3. Would fresh, baked goods count as man-made? If so, that would be my answer.
4. Not really sure if I have smelled anything new from 2016. The only thing I can think of is possibly one of the Modern Muse flankers??? Not a favorite, but they are nice.
Cut grass smells wonderful. Enjoy your weekend away.
Today I am testing Jasmin & Cigarette and liking it. I have a lot of jasmine perfumes so not feeling like I need to break the bank, but I am appreciating the tobacco note. It doesn’t smell ashtray for anyone who is scared to try this. I don’t like the smell of cigarette smoke, especially stale smoke or cigarette breath. This perfume is more like a fur stole from a vintage shop that someone might have worn while smoking in 1947, but the cigarette smell is now virtually non-existent and burying your face in the softness you pick up indolic jasmine from the last wearer.
I have tried several fragrances launched this year, but not one of them of them left me yearning…
New to me, and currently on my “wish I had more of that” list are Beloved, Cuir Pleine Fleur, and Sublime Balkiss.
PS. A total joy has been listening to “All Creatures Great and Small” as an audio book while I am at the gym. I laugh and laugh. So much fun!
Love this description of Jasmin et Cigarette–just exactly on the money.
I love your selection of ‘new to me’!
1. L’Air du desert marocain. I worried it might feel like too much today, but it’s very soothing. Thank you Andy 🙂 (Oh great now I’m crying.)
2. I tried to think of a more original answer, but, the truth is almost certainly that Christmas trees–we do fir trees–is my favorite.
3. I’m suddenly at a loss–can I claim the Christmas tradition of filling the house with the scent of a live fir tree as my favorite “man-made” scent? 🙂
4. I really liked the Hermes Rhubarbe and was only sorry it was so very fleeting on me. Maybe I need a scented body lotion to go with?
5. In the course of a swap, I found a completely dreamy local chocolate shop that had escaped my attention up to now! That was definitely a wonderful discovery 🙂
I could go on for pages about Christmas trees; it’s is such an inherently happy, magical scent.
(Also, how did I not know there were multiple chocolate shops in the area?! So much for my “diet.”)
I think a diet of chocolate is called for!
Steady diet of happiness, sounds like to me 🙂
1. Today I’m sampling The Unicorn Spell by Lesnez. After the initial “Why am I wearing green beans, this is awful” dissipates, I find it an ok violet scent. If you gathered that I’m not really a fan of this one, you’d be correct. 🙂
2. Pine trees, cypress, any sharp green smell that makes me want to inhale deeply. So invigorating!
3. Freshly roasted coffee is probably one of the best smells on the planet, bar none. And books, both old and new.
4. I haven’t paid much attention to newly released fragrances. Womp.
5. Tomorrow my family will be bringing me fresh cherries from our family farm. They’re super sweet and juicy, they’re like candy. I’m salivating just thinking about it! 🙂
I’ve taken to drying my own cherries when they’re in season. Slow going, but so appreciated during the winter.
Fresh picked cherries? Especially when they are hot from the sun they are the BEST!
There is an area between the Sackler Gallery and the Freer where the Smithsonian arranges large, potted tropical plants (including small trees) every summer. They seem to emphasize scented plants, so there are real gardenias and white ginger, which are some of the most beautiful natural aromas.
I’m not sure how new these are, but I’m very much enjoying the April Aromatics sample set, and a couple of additional samples. I also liked some of the Orlovs I sampled earlier in the year, such as Cross of Asia, although they are from 2015, I think.
I’ve smelt of nail polish remover today (is there one that isn’t so potent?) and I’ve tried Adjatay from The Different Company that I really like. It’s a leathery tuberose that I need to spray a few more times, but so far it’s a winner.
I love the blossoms on the bitter orange tree that have just bloomed and smell divine, jasmine, sun baked rocks at the beach, hot concrete.
The scent of my boys hair is my favourite boy made smell.
I’ve tried quite a few new perfumes from 2016 and L’Attesa from Masque is gorgeous. Also Adjatay from The Different Company. Really want to smell Angel Muse this week. I’m going to make a trip to the local parfumerie to smell it.
The best discovery for me was going to Rome. It’s been on my wishlist for years and it was better than expected. A glorious city that I would love to return to. Even better was that I went with an old school friend and we’ll always remember the trip together. I live in France, she lives in Australia so we don’t see each other often but it made it more special.
The polish removers that are less potent require more pressure, repeatedly. When I’ve tried them I ended up with sore nail beds that left me feeling like an escapee from a torture scene in a James Bond movie. Dreadful.
Thanks for the reminder of the warm beach rocks.
Those are the two I am pining after from 2016. They will get to the US eventually!
Hello. This is my first comment. 1. I am wearing Tauer’s ‘Noontide Petals’. 2. I love the smell of parks. 3. I love the smell of the heat rising from the back of a television in the 1980s. 4. I look forward to smelling Demeter’s ‘Baby Shampoo’. 5. Discovered Wendy Williams’ ‘Hot Topics’ on youtube for comedic respite. Thank you, nst.
Your number 3 must be the most unusual one of all! I’m trying to remember it… drawing a blank. But it sounds evocative!
Hi and welcome! And I remember that TV smell from even farther back…
Hello Mart! Our TV has a really strong plastic, hot wires and dust smell…especially when I give it the once over with a damp cloth. My grandparents used to cover their TV at night because of the threat of radiation.
You totally evoked that dusty TV on a summer day smell for me! Books and heat and plastic. I can *see* it and smell it.
And for me it’s the sixties and seventies and eighties!
Oh, warm TV was a great smell. Our ancient Zenith had a huge clunky remote with chromed buttons that got really warm when you held down the channel up or down buttons and it smelled even better than the TV (which also made the wonderful clunk-clunk sound as it switched channels). Thanks for reminding me and welcome to NST!
1. Today, in keeping with May Day, will be Estee Lauder’s “Pleasures,” which is likely to be the only LOTV fragrance I currently. I definitely get the “cat pee” whiff, especially if I spray heavily.
2. Favorite smell in nature is probably passing by a plant and realizing in the downdraft that it’s laden with its fruit. It’s like a nose bomb. I usually have to resist the urge to go back and look for the plant (the pollinating bugs would not appreciate me harshing their mellow).
3. There’s this little Turkish bakery in St. Augustine that I can smell from blocks away no matter what else is being cooked in the area (a LOT of things). Sometimes when I’m lost in the alleyways, I literally sniff until I find my way back to that little shop.
4. Best, huh? I am liking Modern Muse Rouge. And I was very pleasantly surprised by how much I like VS Rose Bergamot.
5. Probably this site. 😀
Happy May Day! I am wearing my old reliable LOTV scent, Coty Muguet des Bois. This was the first “real” perfume I ever owned, a gift from my great aunt when I was about 10.
Happy May Day. Today I’m wearing Crabtree & Evelyn’s Lily of the Valley. I’m reading Folio Columns 2003-2014, by Luca Turin. Lovely snark.
Yeah, it’s painful to condone snark, but for LT we manage. 🙂
1) Happy May Day! I’ll put on a dab of Diorissimo to celebrate. It’s cool and rainy here which would have been a good day to go to Hone Depot, but there’s the 5 Borough bike ride today so lots of streets closed. Will stay put and start to organize our new apt.
2) I love the smell of all white flowers in nature. Particularly orange blossom. Reminds me of growing up in LA. Funny that I don’t love wearing it as a perfume note.
3)I’m with all the roasting, grinding, and brewed coffee folks. I compulsively go through the bags at the supermarket, squeezing them to smell it through that little valve.
4) Can only think of the Jo Malone Herb Garden and liked the Thyme/Sorrel one best. And if Baccarat Rouge is 2016, I liked that, too.
5) The ukelele! After watching a ukelele orchestra based in the UK, I wanted to try it myself so taking lessons has been fun, and the orchestra is great. They play some popular rock songs. It’s sort of tongue-in-cheek.
Unpleasant discovery: the black clusters covering the top layer of a leafy shrub in our yard are black aphids! I did use a pesticide on them which did eliminate a bunch. Anyone have nonchemical solutions?
I’m a total black thumb, but I remember reading that dish soap + water sprayed on aphids gets rid of them.
Ha! I have sort of a “grey” thumb. Depends how attentive I am. I’m aiming for the green, though 🙂
Yes, dish soap works by keeping them from adhering to the leaves.
Aphids switch from multiplying sexually most of the year (slower) to multiplying asexually in spring at a phenomenal rate, so get to them quickly. Dislodging by turning a hose on them, helps. Also you might see if you can find a “systemic” pesticide that enters the plant and makes the chlorophyl poisonous to the aphids. I don’t generally use chemicals, but desperate times….
Is dish soap harmful to the soil? And have you ever tried essential oil blends? Thanks for the feedback!
Have fun in your new apartment. I love the feeling of turning an empty space into a cool individual home…kind of exciting.
Dishwashing liquid mixed with water works a treat and even better if you rub it on the leaves a bit to loosen the aphids. Works well on our basil plants. Pretty sure it is biodegradable.
Thanks Kanuka! This apt is really great. I feel like we got really lucky with this one.
So, I bought a prepared essential oil blend pesticide and the nozzle came loose, and the most prominent smell is garlic oil! So now the smell of garlic is following me around even after a shower. I’ll move on to the soap solution, I think. But, hey! At least no vampires!
Good to tackle the vampires before they get established. Playing ‘Here Comes the Sun’ on the ukelele also helps.
Re Ukulele: Check out the Langley Ukulele Ensemble videos on youtube, especially Tico-Tico (watch what happens a little after 1 minute in); Flight of the Bumblebee; and In the Mood.
For a soloist see Jake Shimabukuro
I’ve seen Jake S and he’s amazing and adorable. I had seen the TED talk where he played Bohemian Rhapsody. He’s also plays with a lot of feeling, which seems unexpected for uke.
But that Langley Ensemble: just Whoa on that Tico Tico number! They must have perfectly balanced brains. Thanks for that!
I use a combination of water, vegetable oil and dishwashing soap in a spray bottle. It works great! You need very little oil or soap.
Happy May Day everyone!
I haven’t put on any perfume yet but still smell vestiges of yesterday’s Onda. But I may put on some VCA Muguet Blanc. In nature, I love the smell of the ocean but to me the best man-made smell is freshly brewed dark-roast coffee, followed very closely by marinara sauce simmering in a pot and freshly made bread. The best fragrance of 2016 that I tried is Aedes de Venusta Cierge de Lune, followed closely by MFK Baccarat Rouge 540.
Happy May Day, NST! To celebrate, I’m in Parfums de Nicolaï Odalisque and ready to enjoy a day that’s shaping up to be nice and unseasonably cool.
1. Wearing Sycomore, prior to Robin’s reminder re LOTV.
2. Love lakeside scents, differing by region: warm rocks + wild roses along the east coast, + pines inland, or + sagebrush out west.
3. The inside of a car when setting out on a road trip (the only time I notice) – food, maps, books, dashboard, the whole nine yards.
4. Can’t keep up, so don’t try.
5. At “Art in Bloom” at the NC Museum of Art a few weeks ago, artists created floral arrangements to echo artworks randomly assigned to them. A local florist assigned a painting of the Virgin Mary created a slightly more specific interpretation than some others. The delphiniums for her robe and white roses for her halo held me spellbound, I think because there were a good quantity of each making the color all the more intense.
Enjoy your May Day!
Well, now we are back home in Birmingham where it is cloudy, cold and windy. Not as much of a shock as it might have been – most of Northern Europe seems to be having this colder-than-usual snap, so although I enjoyed the holiday in France the weather varied between cool and warm-if-you-were-in-the-sun-but-out -of -the-wind. My sandals came back unworn.
There were only 6 people on the flight home, which was almost like having a private jet. It was so nice to sleep in my own bed.
I started the day before showering in Baldessarini Ambré, which was better than I remembered it. SOTD ‘proper’ is Parfums de Marly “Habdan”, which is very nice when fresh on and in the drydown, but doesn’t last terrifically well as anything other than a skin scent.
Most Fragrantica reviewers don’t experience this as a short-lived perfume, and it would actually fit well into a Spring theme. I think other NST folk with more reasonable skin would enjoy the freshness of the apple and sweetness of the caramel notes, neither of which are loud or foody, and work well with the flowers, woods and incense in the background.
Monday morning! Ugghh! I’m bouncing around in 31 Rue Cambon, and really, I must calm down! 31 RC calls for a semi-stately glide that can morph at need into a haughty prowl, not the slightly manic here-there-and-everywhere scuttle I’Ve been in since I woke up. Breathing–I’ve heard of that. It’s supposed to be good for the Monday morning scuttles. Must try it sometime. Gotta dash!
Exhausted today after a great dinner party last night. I am wearing Mugler Oriental Express.
My favorite smells are wood smoke, my dog’s fur and fresh baked bread.
Not sure if it is 2016 but I am enjoying Desarmant and want to try Sweet Morphine. Lilac seems to be in lately, which is great. I also snagged the liquid version of Kerbside Violet here in Montreal after lemming it for over a year. Yay!
Sweet Morphine was way too sweet for me as it turned out. Curious what you think. I am realizing that for spring and summer I prefer grassy and green or salty and green or a green violet or iris – just nothing too flowery or sweet. I guess I knew this, but am more conscious the last year or so as I try more things.
Wood smoke is a wonderful smell. I also like the mix of cold air and incense.
Back to school day …ugh. Not that I have to go back to school, but I hate the end of school holidays and the reappearance of the ridiculously dull and ugly school uniform. Why do we still have scratchy wool and sweaty nylon uniforms in NZ? Need a perky perfume to overcome all the dreariness of packed lunches, uncharged electronics, and lost pencil cases etc. Might give Coco Noir a whirl.
And can someone please explain how to get a teenage boy of out of bed by 7.30am?
Kanuka, the only way to get me out of bed at 7:30am when I was a teenager, was if classes started at 7:45am. 😉
I felt like that when I had a proper job…my feet were walking towards the office but my brain was running in the opposite direction, pleading, Nooooooo
Exact same here 🙂 School started at 8:15? 7:55 seemed like a good time to get up.
Ice cubes.
I suspect Mals might have a number of useful ideas.
In fairness, studies have shown that teenagers would function best if school didn’t start til 10 am. Not because they’re texting at midnight, but because they require 10 hours of sleep.
I think a 10am start would solve most problems…as would transplanting the brains of my dogs into my son. They start demanding attention around 445am as in ‘hurry up, you’re missing the best part of the day. Put your boots on. Let’s go…it’s rabbit time!’
Heh, problem solved–I’m sure he’d be delighted to send the dogs to school in his place 🙂
Oh Lord, I have no idea. Taz (to give my 15 yo his blog name) is an early bird and he’s up by 6:30 on a regular basis. Gaze is 17 and I have to pry him out with a crowbar. However, he’s motivated to get up and get to school on time – three mornings a week he has rowing team practice at 6 am.
Bookworm used to get herself up at 5:30 on her own every day, to make it to the magnet school on time. But again, self-motivated.
Today, in honour of May 1 traditions it’s slatherings of Crabtree & Evelyn Lily of the Valley lotion.
Yesterday was Gucci Envy.
Favourite smell(s) in nature: it’s spring so lily of the valley, lilac and leading to summer roses and honeysuckle
Favourite man-made: rubber (a natural source but extruded by man)
Haven’t smelled any 2016 releases
Favourite recent discovery is British TV series Last Tango in Halifax. Derek Jacobi among others, and realistic portrayals of life for the different classes.
I loved Last Tango! Although sometimes it was hard to watch-especially in the first season. All that sustained emotional tension. I really like Nicola Walker and her character Gillian.
Late as usual.
SoTD: Diorissimo. Sublime.
Favorite nature smell: the beach at full tide
Favorite man-made smell: dark chocolate. Not quite man-made but manufactured.
Recent discovery: Going back to fountain pens and ink. I need to experience writing again, re-learn penmanship. Too many years at a keyboard and I can’t read my own handwriting. Bought a gorgeous Japanese ink – Ajisai – and J. Herbin ink. Breaking out an assortment of fountain pens. Ink has a wonderful smell.
You need to talk to Waterdragon about good fountain pen ink. She has the best turquoise ever.
Thanks, Kanuka, I will.
Wore Tauer Carillon pour un Ange today and smelled lovely.
Unusual happening this morning: on the way to church we passed a rented field where we have some cows and calves pastured, and there were EIGHT buzzards each sitting on a fencepost with wings outstretched, motionless. I had never ever seen that before – they were so still that we started to think that the neighboring farmer had bought some kind of plastic bird-of-prey figures to keep crows or vermin out of his cornfield. But no: they were alive, a mix of turkey buzzards and the super-aggressive migrant black-headed ones.
The CEO had to stop the car and jump the fence to walk into the field and check for dead calves. While he was doing that, Gaze and I saw the dead deer in the ditch by the road and decided that the buzzards had been trying to lay claim to it, or at least to the rights to be first in line at the buffet. But they were an amazing sight.
Did some research. Apparently they dry their wings/expose themselves to UV rays to kill bacteria in this fashion. See pic here (and imagine eight or nine of them instead of just three): http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fblueridgeblog.blogs.com%2Fblue_ridge_blog%2F2004%2F10%2Ftaking_flightpa.html&h=NAQF6g8zA
That is FASCINATING! I can’t believe you saw eight in a row! Nature, man. Wild, in all senses of the word 🙂
Amazing images . Thanks for the story.
That would have made my day. We have loads of Turkey Vultures here, which folks dismiss because, well because they are vultures and are called turkeys. But I still think they are beautiful.
Makes my migraine morning to read this. Thanks.