It's Monday, again, and in the US, Memorial Day. Hope everyone had a good weekend! I am finishing up a home improvement project, so posting will be very light today, although Angie will be along with a review later, as always. And a quick reminder: the next Freebiemeet will be this coming Saturday.
What fragrance are you wearing?
I'm in a splash of Florida Water. Tea at the moment: a double-strength Assam.
Reminder: 6/3 will be Leap of Faith Friday — wear a scent you’ve never worn before with bonus points for a scent you haven’t read about and don’t know the notes for. Suggested by Eleebelle.
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.
Bottega Veneta Pour Homme. Happy Memorial Day!
I wish more guys would smell like that. You smell awesome
Strong agree!
Assam will get you through pretty much anything. I’m on my last cup of Early Grey Goût Russe, and I’m wearing Musc Monoï. It’s grey and rainy so it’s nice to have a very sunny perfume. It’s a nice musk, very nice, but I think I like her Musc Intense a lot more.
Happy Memorial Day to all of those celebrating.
Rainy and grey here too.
It has been a VERY long day, but the tea helped
Thinking of my father today who served. He passed over 2 years ago. I was engaged at the time and I feel as though he missed out on the best parts of my life..
Anyways, I am sampling from the Aftelier line. Palimpsest gave me the same reaction as Malle’s LM, I wanted to scrub it immediately. Today I am in Bergamoss, I actually find it nice. It reminds me of a scent from my childhood.
It’s a pity that he hasn’t been able to experience being a granddad with your little ones. That must be difficult at times.
Perfume sampling is such a wonderful way to lift your spirits.
Yes, my little meatball has his eyes, big and blue (my hubby and I have brown) It is hard at times, and I missed him at my wedding.
I am enjoying Bergamoss, it’s very earthy. Not sure if I want to revisit the other one. I will continue sampling
Also , I tried her Rose face oil, so far so good On my sensitive skin and I love the smell.
Nice that your meatball reminds you of him and hopefully you were the best part of his life. And thanks for the reminder of what Memorial Day is all about. Hugs to you.
It’s tough to not get to celebrate the good times with the loved ones we’ve lost! It surprises me sometimes, how fresh the loss can feel in those moments I know my late stepmother or brother would have enjoyed. Be kind to yourself!
Hugs back and thanks for those kind words.
In the those special moments it does feel fresh
I’m so sorry that you lost your father, and far too soon, and at such a time in your life. There’s such an ache in having lost a parent before one’s own children came along — but for my part, I look at my baby boy who has my mother’s mouth and I think, “He’s one quarter her — I’ve brought her back, in some small way.” I hope you feel some similar comfort. Sending you hugs!
I’m alone at the moment with the kid and the puppy, so just grabbed En Passant this morning and sprayed, before running to work.
On a less mundane note, we took our daughter to Paris for the first time yesterday (we did a day trip, thanks to cheap Thalys tickets). She loved the Natural History Museum – especially the sea creatures and the mineralogy exhibition. She also pronounced the interior of Sainte-Chapelle satisfactory, although she said she would add some crystals hanging from the chandeliers and a little gold and silver here and there. (Let’s just say that Sainte-Chapelle is not known for the austerity of it’s design :))
Being inside the Sainte-Chapelle is like being inside a giant jewelry-box-cum-kaleidoscope – an amazing experience. :^)
It is beautiful. I like that the form of it is very simple, so one can enjoy the windows and the walls without distractions.
Oh yes Anniky. A day trip to Paris- how mundane!
i think I live in one of the few places in the world where a day trip gets you, like, nowhere! Lol.
How adorable that Lil has an opinion on design. Maybe Versailles is more her thing?
(when I bought the Dior Versailles eye palette the SA insisted on pronouncing it ‘versallies’ so now I can’t help but pronounce it like that in my mind.)
It takes about an hour and twenty minutes to get from here to Paris, which is amazing for a country girl like me. It’s usually not cheap, though, unless you are lucky.
I would actually like to go somewhere where there is such scale that you encounter almost nothing for a day. In Estonia, you can definitely drive for a long time without seeing anyone (it’s sparsely populated), but after maximum 5 hours you’ll either reach the sea, Latvia or Russia.
So not quite a minimalist then
I bet she would love the big cathedral in Siena. It puts the O in ornamented.
Not quite, no
I googled the Siena cathedral and I’m sure she’d like that. She also likes the Church of Our Blessed Lady of the Sablon (one of my favourites, too).
Ha! Yes, Saint-Chapelle is definitely a little underdone!
Compared to many Southern-European churches, I actually find it rather simple – the windows are of course magnificent and the walls colourful (they almost look like they are from India), but everything is stylistically coherent and the room itself is very uncomplicated. The big cathedrals usually have so many altars and other elements from so many different periods that the become pretty chaotic in the end.
Oh yes I very much agree with you about the simplicity in coherence–it’s grand but it does not have that “everything and the kitchen sink” feel.
Yes, that’s exactly what I meant.
Yes all true. I think of it as a set of perfect gems set in a refined, but not overdone setting. I’m mostly a Romanesque kind of person myself – Durham, the border abbeys! – but I love Saint Chapelle, Coutance, and Chartres. The cathedral in Siena is something to experience, but makes me a little seasick! Actually this is true for a lot of Italy. (I haven’t been to the south of France or Spain.)
I grew up with simple white protestant Gothic churches and the first Catholic ones I saw seemed almost obcene to me. I’m not a religious person, but I could definitely see where those heretics were coming from on that issue!
I love Southern Spain, but that is in large part due to the Moorish heritage. And while I’m not the biggest fan of France, I did enjoy our holiday in the South (near Perepignan). Then again, that is already Catalan country – I’ve always loved border zones where cultures mix.
I had to Google Saint-Chapelle — what a beauty! That ceiling makes it look like an enchanted night sky!
With the light coming through the windows, there is really nothing like it that I know.
It really is beautiful – it was my first time there and I’m very glad that I finally visited.
Your daughter’s remarks made me laugh.
Perhaps St. Isaacs in St. Petersburg would be more to her taste. It’s the most over the top church interior I’ve ever seen. http://www.flickriver.com/photos/foje64/5121146478/
I figured I’d do a whole Leap of Faith Week to try to at least make a dent in the box of samples and decants, so I picked five things more or at less at random that I know nothing about. Today is Roja Dove Enslaved, which is basically SL Ambre Sultan, as far as I can tell.
Never smell Rojo, but love Lutens Amber Sultan
Really? Off to see what Lutenses I have in the unsuited sample pile…
I have some new contributions to my collection, and in the name of this week’s theme Im wearing all of them at once as I wasnt familiar with any of them.
So Im in a heavy base layer of Daisy with a spritz on each arm of Escada Rockin Rio and VS Glamour. I would never usually even try any of these but Im actually enjoying all of them! They’re all fun and summery and a bit of light-hearted fluff. I was also offered the original Miss Dior Cherie which I was excited about- but it had turned! Soo sad.
Fun! Reminds me I should go try the 2016 Escada, which I can’t even remember the name of.
Having a case of the Mondays, so going with Mimosa & Cardamom for something comforting and familiar. But will have a rummage through my samples to see what could suit this weeks theme.
Sorry! Hope Tuesday is better.
Happy Memorial Day to my American friends! I rearranged all of my perfume samples and catalogued them on Basenotes like a good little perfumista, and to celebrate, I selected some Vetiver Tonka this morning. Magnificently dirty as always
Sadly, it wore off after about four hours, but happily, I’ve brought some samples to lab for some mid-day sniffing! Trying to be considerate to my office mates, I’ve brought only roll-ons (so the only thing getting perfumed is my skin), so now I’m enjoying some Chanel Chance Eau Fraîche from Lovestosmellgood, to give myself a little citrus boost through the afternoon 
That is my favorite Chance- I have a bottle. The other flankers I didn’t like as much
Congrats on being so organized with your samples and have a good week ahead
Thanks
You too! And my belated condolences for your father.
Thanks Koyel, he was a military man and I feel sad on days like today. I can still hear taps being played and guns going off at his service.
SOTD is Halston Z-14, very nice and understated
I scored some of this last week after never having even seen it before- it’s delicious!
So, I’m now 4 weeks into my new programme and 3 weeks in Paris, and somehow I managed to avoid actually flying in on a Monday morning until today. Golly, the immigration queues are bad! It took an hour from landing to come through to the taxis, which by inter-European standards is atrocious. There were some announcements about extra security causing delays, but I’d be more convinced if they put more border guards on duty (half the booths were closed). And annoyingly you have to register somewhere else in the airport (landside of course) in order to use the automated passport booths – in the UK and Spain, the first time you use them you get registered automatically.
Anyway, whinge over. We had it easy compared to the non-EU passport holders.
This is the last week for a while where I can do the community project so I have expanded it to a week of perfumes I haven’t tried before and whose notes I don’t know. Unknown Pleasure #1 is “Galaad” from Lubin. This is so gorgeous, with resins, honey (just a touch; it’s not over sweet), spices and herbs. But what a shame, the Fragrantica reviewers are right: it dies down quickly to a skin scent. If this had lasting power I’d likely be putting it on the FB list; as it is, it’s a great start to the week but after today it’s going nowhere.
I really like Galaad. I was reading you post about the hour queue thinking ‘but it alllways takes an hour!’ until I reached the part about the EU passport. Huh. Lucky you
Im still in the always-takes-an-hour queue.
Hope you get to fit lots of shopping and good food and all those Paris-y delights in around work.
Ha same! But it is discouraging to hear that for EU passports… Worried for the future of the Schengen space.
Yes, it’s because intra-EU travel for EU passport holders is meant to run very smoothly. UK and Ireland are outside Schengen so we have to go through passport control anyway, but I am used to that being a reasonably quick process (although London Heathrow can be awful).
We get our comeuppance on the other side of the Atlantic, shuffling forward slowly while the US passport holders glide past. (Not done that trip for may years though, so it might be pretty crappy for everyone now). I’ve not been to Australia so I don’t know whether Ozzies also get an easy time of it coming back to their own country. :^)
Our customs are really strict (ask Johhny Depp) so the line to declare stuff can be pretty tedious (and the having stuff and NOT declaring even more so!) It’s for good reason though so most Aussies know the drill.
I haven’t tried Galaad yet, but Akkad and Korrigan are both delicious smelling. For anyone who wants to smell yummy, those three Lubins are the ones to try!
I have Korrigan but as I know the notes I ruled it out for this week’s trials. I also loved Idole – got a full bottle – and Black Jade was very pretty but middling lasting power. And I have a bunch of other untried things from them – Nuit de Longchamp, ‘L’, Gin Fizz – for which my hopes are now high. (I don’t expect to love all of them, but I do now expect them to be well done)
Happy Memorial Day, and let us remember. SOTD is Anatole Lebreton’s Bois Lumière, which I fell in love with yesterday and stayed with me into the evening.
Agree, people often don’t remember what the holiday is for.
It must have rained pretty hard last night as there are lots of rose petals all over our yard. I’m in Chypre Mousse which goes nicely with the after-the-rain smell outside.
You smell perfect for the weather. I LOVE Chypre Mousse; it’s one of those where there’s really no gray area.
I really love every phase of this one. I haven’t smelled anything recently that has wowed me this much.
Beautiful all around.
Yesterday I tested out my new leg self tanner, St Tropez Bronzing Lotion, allegedly less smelly than other products. It’s overloaded with masking fragrance and am now in the process of washing my pjs and bedding to get rid of the strong smell. The result is pretty good, but think I’ll revert to my old standby, L’Oreal Sublime Bronze Gelee. Would love to find a product that does the trick without getting on my nerves. Can’t wear perfume till I eradicate all the residual scent, ugh.
Ugh i hate that smell. I’ve never managed to make my tanning attempts look even remotely authentic so I’m slightly envious of those of you who do a good job of it. But I guess me and my white limbs dont have to put up with that smell.
I knew as I was typing that that was meant to be ‘my white legs and I’ so im not sure what made my fingers press those letters :-/ I am educated, really!
Ugh. That self tanning smell is one that I abhor. I gave up on trying them because I realized I can usually smell the chemicals across a room and I would rather project nice (to me) perfume than that scratchy-buttery weirdness.
As far as smell goes, I’ve had better luck with the gradual self-tanners. But honestly, the last few years, I just couldn’t be bothered to keep my skin totally exfoliated and constantly apply tanner, so my whiter-than-marble skin has been blinding people at the beach.
Happy Memorial Day to those who celebrate!
I’m so tickled to have been able to contribute this week’s theme! Of course, I have more than enough unworn scents (with unknown notes) to do the theme all week, so I’m starting with ELDO Hermann A Mes Cotes. Having heard it may not be too interesting, I picked a day when I was home and could put on something else if I got bored. So far, I smell pepper, melon and briefly some nondescript herb (maybe tarragon). Odd mix. Even odder is that it reminds me of the smell of a family member’s house.
I hadnt even heard of that one. It does sound like an odd mix but Im intrigued.
It’s a total weirdo and my one quick try was not auspicious.
I am very nervous for your theme!! Not that I would presume I’m familiar with all the good perfume that’s out there, but if something has attracted so little enthusiasm that I’ve never even heard anyone mention what it’s like… Well maybe I just need to think of it as a community service project: we’ll all try something lesser known, and then collectively rule out a bunch and hopefully identify some unsung gems too!
What else do you have queued up for the project besides Hermann?
All I can say is that I’m glad I picked Hermann on a day I wasn’t at work…
Other than that one, which I’ve had for a while and ignored, I have a few samples that I got in swaps or with purchases that I haven’t tried yet, and while I may have heard them mentioned, I never read up on.
I may not do total unknowns all week, though. I’m really excited to test out Anima Dulcis, and while I know a few of the notes, I’m not going to read anything else about it until after wearing it.
Happy Memorial Day Everyone! I have been spending some time with Montale fragrances and have decided that I really like them. I wore Intense Cafe yesterday and today I am wearing Aoud Velvet. I think AO is supposed to be for men, but it smells fantastic on me. Couldn’t find any reviews on the two here, but found a few on LuckyScent on IC. So, I am looking forward to discovering the others from this line.
Ive only tried Black, White and Red Aoud and Nepal Aoud but I enjoyed all of them.
(I love the smell of oud though. Adore it. I know these are synthetic oud but I still enjoy the smell
)
I’m starting to think I am a fan of “oud” as well.
The Montale bottles are scary-looking! That said, Twisted Lily had some on display, perhaps around 16 or so bottles out of the entire range. Intense Cafe was the best one I smelled, even better than Chocolate Greedy. The ouds were all NASTY!
I agree the bottles are strange-looking to me as well. I just find myself staring at pictures of it trying to figure out just how the fragrance comes out. I like Intense Café the best so far. And the longevity of these fragrances are amazing! They last all day!
Happy Monday!
Our memorial day parade was canceled to day because of rain. Saturday it was 95 degrees in our neighborhood and Sunday the temperature was in the 50’s. Today it’s kind of rainy and cool so I put on about 12 sprays of Tea for Two. For some reason that perfume doesn’t really register on me so I have to use a lot. It’s a great perfume but I really wish it had more body to it. In any case I am smelling faintly of sweet spicy tea.
Today’s tea is Chock full o nuts New York Roast (black).
12? (gulp) That’s one of the stronger L’aPs on me. Is it just you who can’t smell it or others smelling it on you too?
Oh I’m kind of afraid of being that older woman with food down her front (because she can’t see), a screechy voice (because she can’t hear) and a 10 yard diameter people free zone around her (because she can’t smell). I guess the up side of that is that she can’t see, hear or smell…
I might be right there with you, because T42 is quite light on me. I usually do 5 or 6 sprays.
That’s a big drop in temps! It was hot here yesterday and today is just icky warmish damp.
ew. Sticky humidity is the worst. Have you found a perfume for relieving some of that icky feeling?
Wow. T42 is HUGE on me! I get so much clovey-smoke, I almost have stopped wearing it for fear I smell like a gothling! Have you tried Jacomo No. 8? I’ve heard some say that it lasts better on them (although I’ve had the opposite experience). No smoke, but lots of spicy tea.
Jacomo 8 actually does last longer on me, but for me it is a much heavier perfume that T42 so a real cold weather comfort scent. I bought my T42 at a very steep discount I believe from Hautelook. It was around 40bucks for 50mls so I’m wondering if it might be some sort of secondary market watered down version? I know that some perfumes smell like nothing when they go on, but over time the fragrance blooms away from the skin and then is noticeable. Costume National 21 is sort of like that on me, very mild at first spray, but very soon that one spray goes nuclear.
Fascinating to hear T42 wears so very differently on different folks! For my two cents, I find it has good body (1-2 sprays suffices to make its presence felt) but not overwhelming at all, and I am easily overwhelmed! By comparison to other L’AP’s, I found it lighter than Timbuktu but heavily than Poivre Piquant, just to pick two vaguely related scents!
That’s good to know. It reminds me a little of Dzing! as well but on me it’s quite a bit lighter.
Yes I totally think Dzing’s in that vein too–I thought about mentioning it but couldn’t decide if I found it stronger or lighter than T42! I don’t find Dzing all that strong but I really love it, and I suspect that affects my perception of its volume–whereas T42 isn’t my favorite so its presence is more noticeable in that “not quite sitting comfortably” way.
Excellent choice of beverage!
Ours was canceled too, and then it didn’t rain! My son was disappointed, he was supposed to march.
Us too! The weather this afternoon was beautiful. Too bad your son couldn’t march in the parade, hopefully he was able to find another fun activity to do instead.
Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir layered with Secrets d’Essences Neroli. On it’s own, PN is very incensey with a slightly sweat-y, masculine note too that I like. Layered with Neroli PN produces a distinctly salty, brine-y note. Brine as in canned tuna. Interdasting.
Then later I did take two and layered PN with JM Orange Blossom cologne. On its own Orange Blossom reminds me of yellow Jaffa orange lemonade I used to drink as a kid. V bright and sweet. PN cuts that brightness and so far the development is delightfully sweaty and salty. Rather like a delightful OB unisex cologne.
your braver then I am with layering..I am always afraid. With essential oils I feel a bit on the safe side
I love to mix JM Pomegranate Noir with JM White Jasmine & Mint.
Your layering smells wonderful, I’ll bet
SOTM is Carthusia Mediterraneo – I always forget that it has a bit of a tea note. Lovely fragrance for a lovely, sunny holiday morning. I did a rather big Leap of Faith yesterday – it was a very late post, so for those who didn’t see it, I tried IA Bull’s Blood. Dust, fungus, rust, and something faintly sweet to cut it all. I only did one small spritz inside one elbow, and this morning the shirt I was wearing went straight into the washer. Perhaps BB is not for me?
Lol. Maybe not. I hope the smell of bulls blood wasnt actually the inspiration…
Like my trying of Nishane Afrika Elephant yesterday. I worked at the zoo 20yrs ago and that stuff rather closely resembled the smell of elephant poo. :-/
When I met Josh (the Imaginary Authors perfumer), I asked him about his process. He said that he usually starts with ingredients he wants to work with and builds from there. I don’t recall which note he was playing with for BB–an aldehyde maybe?–but there’s a distinctly mineral quality to the fragrance. Only after the fragrance is formed does he figure out the “story” and name to go with it.
A fellow zoo employee!
I remember an employee quitting after a few days because “this place smells like animal poop.” **eyeroll**
Oh no! Sorry about your shirt. (I feel vaguely responsible.)
The wash cycle just finished, so I’m going to go find out if the lingering “experience” is gone now (or all over everything). Stay tuned!
Not to worry. Something is all over the laundry, but whatever it is, it’s nice – sort of rooty-iris-y. It’s either what you get when you mix BB with laundry soap, or it’s the combination of the myriad iris fragrances I wore over the last week with a smidge of BB mixed in. Not bad at all!
bwahaha I kinda liked bulls blood, but it was like a spicy fruity thing on me.
I’m on my way to brunch with some friends wearing Fleurs de Citronnier …
I tried that one a year or so ago and liked it very much. You smell spring-y and feminine.
Happy Memorial Day to all the US friends.
I’m in Atelier Cologne Sud Magnolia today
Haven’t quite figured out a SOTD yet but I did test Guerlain Liu yesterday. For a few minutes I could have sworn that I put on no 5 in EDP form. Maybe I should go with Lolita Lempicka.
Liu and no 5 are cut from the same cloth!
Yes they are but after 10 to 15 minutes, they do smell different. I do think that I do like Liu better. Pity that it comes in a 4.2 ounce bottle for $280. But the bottle is so pretty.
Wearing Miller Harris’s La Pluie, a successful blind buy (it was irresistible at 28 euro’s for 50 ml). Subtle, soft, not aquatic to my nose, but dewy ylang ylang and vetiver. It seems to echo Songes in its tropical feel, but the volume on this one is soft.
Ooooh where did you find that kind of price??
I’m in the Netherlands, on an online discounter, parfumdeo.
La Pluie is one of those perfumes that rather mysteriously never gets mentioned but is actually unusual and good.
This was a Bombay Bling weekend for and the sandalwood dry down is just amazing. (I love the top and middle too.) I don’t have much less from my trial set, so a full bottle may be in the future. Today is I Miss Violet, which is too formal for the day but I don’t care!
Bvlgari Au The Vert here, as it is already muggy and we always attend the Memorial Day service at the local cemetery.
It’s supposed to be really hot here this week so I am looking forward to wearing some of my warm weather scents. I almost wore Virgin Island Water this morning but instead, Jour d’Hermes jumped into my hand. The salty note is prominent on me today, probably because I sprayed about 10 times.
I have also decided to do a Leap of Faith Week, since I buy mostly unsniffed. Yesterday was Nirvana Black from a sample. Today is Fashiony from Smell Bent. I bought a few new unsniffed fragrances from Smell Bent. I love their travel sizes. This one is very interesting.
I decided upon Chanel No. 5 edt for today. The sun is shining, and I don’t have to work. I feel pretty good!
I was thinking of no 5 today but wasn’t quite feeling it today. It was more of a DiorLing day.
We smell great!
You both really do!
I’m in No. 5 and a topper of Eau Premiere… sadly, am just home from the funeral of a friend.
So very sorry for your loss….
Wishing you well.
Oh mals, so sorry to hear. Sending a hug.
Beautiful combo. Sounds like a sad day. Strange to be alive and doing ordinary things when a friend has died. I know the feeling.
Hello perfume world. Coming out of a tough couple of days but all is well. My youngest woke up in the middle of the night Saturday in agony… Spare you all the details but we’ve been in the hospital since. The good news is that he looks great this morning, smiling and playing Mindcraft, the sun is out and we have a room to ourselves. Things got a little dicey and with my husband being in Korea. So let’s say… tough. But things are much better now and I think we may be able to come home today.
Anyway. Life of a perfumista in the hospital? First of all, hilariously, whatever filter is on the internet here thinks Bois de Jasmin and Surrender to Chance are suspicious sounding sites and have been blocked. I guess when you look at the names ‘that way’!!!
My astoundingly responsible 15 year old rock star who threw items into a bag for my stepfather to take to us managed to pack every conceivable electronic toy for his little brother, we both got toothbrushes and toothpaste, and I got two changes of pj bottoms and no other clothes. But I did get a little plastic baggie of 5 ml decants from my decant box. Here is what he chose: Bois d’Encens, Rose of Petra, Bois D’Armenie, Chamade, Chanel No. 19, and Organza Indecence. Not bad eh?
What a sweet kid, this is really moving! And what a good taste, huh? Wishing from another hemisphere that your little one will be fully recovered soon. <3
Gosh, that sounds scary. Glad he’s better now. My younger son had a few scary asthma attacks when he was younger and staying in hospital is strange. Impressive packing from your 15 year old!
My little one has had a lot of health challenges but this was a new one, so scary. I like how single-minded I can be when I am in the hospital with my son. I hate the smells, sticky surfaces, gallons of antibacterial goo I go through, endless requests of busy nurses, all the other super stressed out families with sick children of their own, and the wearing worry.
Hope your son is doing much better now!
Good that all is well and I think your 15 year old rock star should be an honorary member of the NST community.
I hope your youngest recovers quickly and what a great older son you have! Who cares for clothes when one has perfume!
Oh man I am so sorry for the weekend in the hospital. Especially with husband on another continent. So hard. I’m really happy it sounds like the patient is on the mend!
I’m so sorry you are going through so much, but glad to hear that your son is getting better. Your oldest sounds like he knows and has great “scent” tastes. Sending good thoughts and well wishes your way.
Glad your son is doing better and your son is really a rock star. PJ bottoms are in. Just wear them with your Uggs and you’re all set.
Sorry for the tough time, but grateful for your older son. What a great guy you have there.
Yikes! I’m glad your youngest is on the mend. Your 15 yo deserves a round of applause from the community – he knows his mommy well and knows his priorities!
Glad to hear your son is doing better. And what a great packing job from the rock star
You know, now that you mention STC being rejected by safety filters, the entry on my Amex bill was something to the effect of “suspicious retailer”.
Your wonderful boy did so well with the perfumes, and who needs PJ tops anyway? It’s good to know that your junior rockstar is doing better. Hope all scares are over and he has a wonderful summer break.
Oh dear! Wishing your youngest a speedy recovery! It sounds like your 15yo is indeed a ‘rock star’–what a sweetie!
Adding to the good wishes for your boy!
Glad your kid-o is okay. You are obviously a great mom. Just look at the priorities you’ve instilled in your 15 year old
He obviously knows that the most important thing to take to a hospital is lots of distractions. Practical clothing items be damned!
You folks are so awesome.
Your 15 year old truly is a rockstar!
Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery for your little guy. And a big hug for you.
Wearing vintage Jolie Madame. It’s cold, it’s rainy and this one is REALLY nice. An old, chatty friend coming along and improving this dreary Monday. TGwe’re perfumistas!
Chatty friends are the best! Monday was dreary here as well, and rainy, although not cold.
Twins!
Soft rain outside and cozy indoors with my spouse on a rare day off together. SOTD: Canturi EdP.
Along with sage, smoke, and sea salt, I use Florida Water as a spritz to cleanse and energize my living space. I’m using it in our new car, too– and scattering new pennies on the floorboards for luck, a family tradition.
Do you have any superstitions about cars and driving?
A sort-of superstition with driving on one side of my family: we call to check in and confirm we’ve gotten home safely. That same side of the family always puts new pennies in new wallets given as gifts.
My house is due for a sage cleansing again. That is, a cleansing of the non-living.
I’m wearing Diptyqye Vetyverio today, courtesy of the lovely Missionista. Vetyverio is so easy and pleasant to wear.
Splashed on some Goutal Vetiver cologne from a fridge-cold decant as a pick-me-up this morning, but will join in on trying untested samples post-gym today.
Untested sample for the day? Or du Serail. Very rich, but much sweeter than my normal taste. I like complexity and tobacco, and we’ll see how it develops.
Morning, everyone, from cold, rainy, windy Auckland, where winter, having dithered about in an irresolute way for weeks, has suddenly organised itself and is making a massive effort in misery. It’s yucky out there, but I am wrapped up warm in a small cloud of gorgeous Black Cashmere, all sweet woods and tendrils of incense intertwined with hazy memories of iris blooms and a far distant citrus grove. Love this stuff! I’m wearing my new red coat and I feel I contribute a suitably cheerful splash of colour to this perfectly horrible day!
You smell wonderful! Red coats are so very cheery.
Black Cashmere. Red coat. You definitely sound like you’re properly equipped for tackling nasty weather
Is your coat like a wool peacoat or a puffer? Short or long? (I love red and totally want a red coat, so I’m going to imagine it and live vicariously through you.) Stay cozy and warm!
Oh, it’s a short-ish (above the knee) swing-ish (fits over the chest, but flares out below the waist) with a shawl collar: does up with a single button somewhere just below my diaphragm. It’s a cheerful blue-based red cashmere-and-merino: v. warm. I love it with a mad passion, but then, I love most things with some sort of passion….
That sounds fabulous! I have a swing-ish coat that I love, too. It’s a near-black charcoal wool pea coat with a traditional collar but only one row of double-breasted buttons (so the rest of the length sort of swings). And in addition to the traditional slash pockets on the sides, it also has patch pockets (with a button) right up front. It seems ‘normal’ at first glance but isn’t. So I think it’s subversive, which I can’t help but love.
I’m wearing VC&A First EDT today. Aldehydes aren’t always my thing but it’s working for me.
And I’m putting in an offer on the place I saw on Saturday!! I found out yesterday that there were already multiple offers so I’m just trying not to let it get away! Kinda sucks that I’m going to have to go a little above asking and I won’t have any negotiating room but that’s how it goes sometimes. That property has only been on the market 4 days now so I guess the market hasn’t cooled down as much as I thought.
Good luck, sweetgrass!
Thanks!
Best of luck!
Enjoying a relaxing day off today. Yesterday’s pancake breakfast went off without a hitch — 210 folks served. Glad it went well, and glad to be done with it
Just finished testing the new Jo Malone Rare Teas collection. I have to say that one note I *don’t* get from any of them is tea, unless you count the mate in Jade Leaf. To my nose the notes listed in Fragrantica are correct. I’d say they’re all nicely made, and true to the brand’s aesthetic — low projection, low duration, and none of them click with me. It would be fair to ask why I keep trying JM’s when they never suit me
Ah well, more for the freebie meet next weekend….
JMs are tough, especially with the volume they churn out–they have a few I love, but for every fragrance I like, they put out, no kidding, ten more I don’t. So yeah testing them can be really discouraging… (And that’s even before you get to the matter of the pricepoint on the tea collection! Goodness they ought to be spectacular.)
I agree! They jolly well ought to be spectacular, but they only ever seem to reach “rather pleasant” or “nice but forgettable” on my scale of classification, so I never buy them.
I’m vicariously sniffing everything you all are wearing… So much sounds so nice. I had my husband hand me Elie Saab L’Eau Couture from my cabinet because I wanted fresh, light and pretty. And it is!
How’s the recuperation coming along, LizzieB?
Slow…. It is going to be a long slog, I can tell. And I’ve been told that’s what to expect… But there is improvement… There’s just not much I can do to speed it other than to stay off my feet as much as possible in order to avoid further strain and let the self-repair work… Thanks for asking.
That one is pretty
I think PdN’s Sacrėbleu for me today. I find it a wonderfully warm scent, just right for a winter’s day.
I can’t participate in this week’s project, I haven’t got anything I haven’t already tried i the safety of home. I’m just not one of life’s risk takers
Twins!
SOTD = Jolie Madame vtg.
I got this gem from the reverse swapmeet – thanks SheriG. It is my leap of faith perfume as I have never smelled this in any formulation / vintage and all I remember from comments is that it is a fantastic leather. Guess what??? It is true! I would summarize it as a powdery spicy green floral musky leather. I nave no clue what flowers are in there as they seamlessly integrate with everything. It reminds me of Dior Cuir Cannage with the difference being Cuir Cannage is more in your face, impressive ( though not always welcome) sillage and is less complex than Jolie Madame.
Have you tried vintage and modern Jolie Madame? How do they compare?
The modern’s still good perfume (I’m delighted to have some!) but the leather’s not as rich, is my experience–tilts more green floral to me. Which is fine (would advise fans of No 19 to try it!) but the leather’s my favorite part so if I could only have one version, I’d pick vintage.
Glad you’re enjoying it!
I’ve tried both, and honestly couldn’t tell you the difference between the 2-never did a side-by-side. But, I remember testing the newer stuff and thinking it smelled like the vintage. But I have a large bottle of what I think is a newer formulation so if you ever want some, you know where to find me
Happy Memorial Day to everyone in the US; Happy Monday to everyone across the globe!
I’m gettin’ Jicky wit it today. ????
You smell great!
Sacrebleu for me today.
Is that PdN? It is only in Intense now, is there a difference?
I’ve been intrigued by two perfumes that I tried recently and just realized that they are both by Françoise Caron: Astier de Villatte Commune de Paris and nu_be Carbon. She also did Hermes Eau d’Orange Verte, which is excellent.
Grateful for all those that have served our country, keeping us safe and free and very proud to be an American. That goes especially for my grandfather and uncle who served in WWII and Vietnam.
I have no idea where this day went, but it’s been one of deep rest and relaxation, good food and drink and the ever lovely Seville A L’Aube.
I had to take a break from this one since I spilled a bunch of it in my dresser draw and for months that’s all I could smell whenever I went in there, but since it’s pretty much gone at this point I’m back to wearing it and loving it.
Happy Memorial Day and a big thank you to all our veterans!
I’m finally home, after being trapped by “flooding” with my in-laws and without my husband. Fortunately, we had boxes of my MILs aunts old photos that needed to be sorted so I wasn’t bored. Boy, my husbands great aunts were a couple of glamorous women!
I’m wearing a nice big dose of Azemour and recovering from too much food, drink, and family.