As summer winds down for many of us (school here starts on Monday, and I know many of you are already back), our usual open thread poll: talk about anything you like — the perfume you’re wearing today, the perfume that will remind you later of summer 2016, whatever.
Or, ask a question about fragrance, then see if anyone else has asked a question that you can answer…
Note: image is Goodbye Summer 2013 [cropped] by Torsten Scholz at flickr; some rights reserved.
I am sampling to small purchases from TPC during the sale, last night I wore Etat Libre d’Orange Charogne and today I am in Etat Libre d’Orange Bijou Romantique with some Shalimar dusting powder.
Enjoying a quiet of the apartment right now..baby is napping..toddler is napping..husband is napping..why am I NOT napping?!
Enjoy every last drop of summer…
Why aren’t you napping 🙂 !!!!!!!??
Go take a nap with your babies. Nothing is sweeter. I lost my mother 3 years ago, but I still remember napping with her as a child, and the memory of that love and comfort still warms me.
What a lovely memory.. Going to nap ????
My mother did not nap >.< "When you sleep," she used to be fond of saying, "life sleeps with you." Of course, then all the sleep studies came out discussing the importance of rest, and now she won't stop telling me to get more sleep.
What a great combination! I’ve always thought of Bijou Romantique as one of Shalimar’s spiritual successors.
That was my first impression as well..
It is very lovely
Hope you were able to join the snooze fest! Or just enjoying some “me” time.
I shoulda got a decant of Bijou. I’ve tried it a few times and enjoyed it.
SOTD is Soivohle Gardenia Batik, easily my most frequently worn scent this summer
Have you tried the Dame soliflore gardenia…how does this compare? Understand Gardenia Batik has many other notes buttressing the gardenia.
Nirvani Bourbon and Rose…separately and together……
What are your thoughts on it? Sample worthy? Trip to Sephora to try worthy?
yes to sample worthy…in fact I got my samples from Sephora so if you are near one do get samples….the rose alone reminds me of Atelier Cologne Rose Anonyme at the onset and the drydown of Pacifica’s Persian Rose and the combo of Bourbon and Rose reminds me of Jo Malone Velvet Rose & Oud….won’t be getting full bottles but did enjoy testing them….
I wore my Vanilla Bourbon sample today and … knowing OUR taste in vanilla, you may be as underwhelmed as I was. It is tenacious – 3 sprays from the plastic atomizer sample lasted all day.
What vanillas would you recommend?
My Sephora didn’t have it yet to get samples, but the SA had a Rose rollerball that some one returned, and she let me try it. It was very pretty for about five minutes, then it disappeared on me. It may have been the format, or the fact that everything else I was spraying (on strips) overwhelmed it.
Oh and summer of 2016 will most undoubtably be Maison Berdoues Cologne Grand Cru Assam of India which I wore daily from July 1 until August 20 (until my niece decided to “borrow” my half empty bottle to work on those elephant rows)
I got the Assam last week or the week before and it is so lovely. Perfect for summer! Have you trued any other of the grand cru line? I am tempted by the one with iris, the name escaping me at the moment.
yes I have sampled them all and want them all…not just for the juice but for the bottles! I bought my oldest niece the Oud Al Sahraa and decanted and have already started using it…the Arz Al Rab (iris, ginger , cedar) she liked as well so that may be a Christmas present (unless I decide to keep it for myself-LOL!) she also liked the Brazil one (name escapes me) so I could always gift that to her in lieu of the Arz…for my younger niece she has already borrowed my Assam and for her birthday I have purchased ahead of time the Vanira Morrea as vanilla is her favourite note…and I already have my mind set on Scorza di Sicilia for next summer…..ultimately I WILL own all of those bottles, full or empty 🙂 !!
Oh thanks so much. The bottles are amazing and the Ars el Rab and Sicilia are especially calling my name.
I have Arz al Rab and really like it. the Grand Crus are like a trifecta…lovely scent, lovely bottles, lovely price point.
I am figuring that Perfume1 will have a coupon over the labor day and I might get the Oud al Sahraa.
Oh and in case you or anyone else is interested I got all of my samples from smallflower.com…they were only three dollars each and the shipping is free…they have a nice collection of other samples as well….I recommend sampling first before buying a full bottle!
Ooo, I bet they do smell good together! I sniffed them both–separately–on tester strips last week in CA. I think my local Sephora has them in stock, so I’ll have to try getting some samples. I think I see 2 rollerballs in my future.
I haven’t put away my summer scents yet, mainly because I don’t really have strict divisions in my fragrances like that, but I have put away my summer lipstick, a bright coral that just doesn’t feel right anymore. Wearing Lonesome Rider today, which I think is fairly seasonless, and lots of it, Mandom-style, to make up for the fact that I have to be so demure with scent during my work-week. I need to take advantage of my days off!
I am the same- I don’t keep my fragrances separated by season.
The only thing I change from season to season is my skincare…
“Mandom style” hee hee hee. Now I need to go see it on YouTube again.
Mandom style, perfect! Expensive, but perfect.
Same here-also I reallly don’t want to accept summer is edging towards it’s end!
Bois Farine this morning. I rarely wear it but really like it a lot. I might sell my back-up though – was tempted by the TKMaxx huge bargain but will I ever get through 200ml…
Now in Felanilla, as I finally found my missing sample. I do like it but already have (and don’t wear) VC&A Bois d’Iris.
Schools have another week’s holiday here, then they’re back back back…
Yum, you smell fantastic!
You do indeed smell lovely.
SOTD = Guerlain Cuir Beluga
I normally would not wear this in hot weather but since the Mygler Les Exceptions Oriental Express I wore yesterday reminded me of Cuir Beluga, I had to indulge.
I went to Newark Airport today for my Global Entry interview and was 1.5 hours early. I went to the Duty Free and was underwhelmed by the perfune choices. The worst offender today was Poison (green bottle). As soon as I unleashed the atomizer onto a blotter, the strong smell of a dirt bathroom came out. Yuck! I ended up buying chocolates so the shopping was not in vain.
Barqs, you got some great suggestions for Paris perfume shopping. I suggest going to Louis Vuitton if they’ve already launched the new perfumes. Also, if you are looking for cheapie lunch, tge Galeries Lafayette cafeteria has sonething for everyone, including wine on tap.
Ah Paris..
I would suggest some “perfume for the mouth” Or more specifically, a croissant ispahan from Pierre Herme which is filled with raspberry jam and has crystalized rose petals on top. Seriously divine.
I have sweaty dreams about Pierre Herme and his Ispahan macarons…
This sounds delightful!
That sounds delicious!
Mmm, you smell spectacular!!
Thanks!
Hajusuuri, thanks for the Le Galion tip last week – I think it was you. They are to be found on line in the U.S.! I like both Le Rose and Iris, but not sure yet if FB worthy. Sortilege is not for me, and Eau Nobile is too classic men’s cologne, but I have some others to try still.
I can share some Le Galion Iris if you need more to evaluate, not to enable or anything…
You are so nice! I’ve got my little mini and I figure whichever one I go through first I’ll buy!
Are you a fan of Oriental Express? I’ve been trying the Mugler collection and out of the ones I tried Oriental Express was the clear winner. In the shop my favourite was Chyprissime, but it’s too hot for chypres today.
I love Oriental Express. I am now semi-frantically looking for my Les Exceptions sample set so I can decide which one to get next, not that I need another bottle of perfume 😉
Ah, Cuir Beluga, one of my favorites. It is supposed to get down to 21C this week Thursday so I am hoping to wear it soon too.
It is so good, isn’t it!
(I didn’t want to clutter up aspara’s thread below…) OMG, we’re fringe twins! I have just-above-the-brows bangs, too. I went without fringe briefly when I had my hair cut very short for a dig, but I couldn’t handle it after that. I’m like Patsy in that AbFab episode (“Donkey”) where she tries to wear her fringe brushed into her updo: I need my bangs! ????
OMG – too funny. My hair is pretty easy to handle as it is just straight straight straight and does not frizz in the Northeastern US steam bath.
Mine’s straight, too. And resistant to curling. And in humidity, it just goes flatter and flatter…
Oscar de la Renta Esprit d’Oscar is my SOTD.
I purchased Jo Malone White Jasmine & Mint in the winter time, thinking it would be a good summer time scent. I’ve learned that I like it more in the colder weather. It turned really sharp on me on a HOT day last week. I’m saving this delightful scent for when autumn comes.
I hear the Esprit is similar to the original Oscar which I wore a lot back in the day (early 80s)…and White Jasmine & Mint is lovely….I think it would be nice in a few weeks!
Hermes Eau de Merveilles today! Bois de Jasmin’s tantalizing review of their new Galop put me in an Hermes mood.
SOT4th date with physicist last night was Amour Nocturne, but it should have been mosquito repellant! We went to an outdoor screening of Karate Kid, and the mosquitoes seem to have had just as good a time as I did.
Does physicist wear any fragrance?
Sounding promising so far!
Congratulations on date 4!
As for SOTD, you’ve inspired me to give Eau de Merveilles a run.
Oh this is delightful. I look so forward to following the story of what sounds like might soon be a relationship!!!
Sounds like its going well! 🙂
Box of eels today. So glad I took the plunge and bought untested. Hair color and cut day followed by workout with trainer and stop at the library for books for my car.
A good Saturday.
Sounds like a fine Saturday
Box of eels is great. I love getting my hair cut. It’s a bigger treat for me than a massage. It helps to have short hair. I go about every 4 weeks.
Audiobooks from the library are so great. I never have enough time for reading and it’s great to be able to catch up on it for free.
I, too, go just about every 4-5 weeks. I have bangs and i always get it cut to right above my eyebrows and the back of my hair is page boy style.
Now why did I picture you with very long jet black hair (and very petite and slim? I have this bad habit of trying to visualize the regular NSters….I am sure I am way off on everyone-LOL!)
Black hair (mostly) yes, slim no, petite no assuming petite is 5’4″ and under 🙂
Me too
Nothing can come between me and hair day. I have a pixie cut. A half inch growth and in ready!
Books in cars
I have such long commutes books in cars get me through
Yay for pixie cuts! Me, too! The hair color is on the cheap, though. Clairol Natural Instincts every 4 weeks or so and the color rotates depending on the season. Hair is for changing.
Am seriously considering a pixie cut but my niece tells me I would look like a middle school boy from far away…until you get up close and see all of the wrinkles on my face!
Nice niece!
Another member of the pixie cut club here – just got it cut at the beginning of summer, and it’s been so perfect I can’t imagine letting my hair grow out.
Love love love pixie cuts. I have a very curly hair do pixie is nonono – but love it on other peopli
Sounds like a really good day.
French Leather would remind me of summer 2016 here in San Francisco. Just right for those sunny, mild and breezy summer days.
I bought a Sultan Pasha sample pack a couple months ago and I am just getting around to trying one. Today is Aurum d’Angkor and for the tiny swipe I put on I’m getting remarkable projection. It’s a smoky incense on me right now.
Nothing I wore this year was terribly Summer 2016 specific and I tend not to think of scents as seasonal–I wear whatever I feel like on the day. Granted, in summer it’s often a citrus, light floral, or something coconutty but I’ll wear Bronze Goddess in winter if the right mood strikes me.
I can’t wait to break out my sweaters. I love sweaters in fall.
I’m dying for fall weather to kick in here – Oregon in the fall is just so perfect, isn’t it? 🙂
I too am looking forward to fall and sweaters. I am tired of tank tops and shorts.
I don’t think any of Sultans creations are summary 🙂 – maybe except for the new fougere that Kafka reviewed
Have many many errands to run today, and am in Le Temps d’Une Fete to keep me company in the car. So beautiful. Have a lovely Saturday everyone!
So beautiful, indeed. That’s good company ????
Research trip continues… Yesterday was hot and I accidentally tipped too much out of my Panache decant, a scent I previously thought impossible to overdo, and then made my research partner queasy in the car???? I applied hand sanitizer in attempt to scrub it, and spent my afternoon in some dusty archives, so it all turned out OK…
Today it’s a conservative tiny spritz of Eau d’Hadrien and much cooler weather so hopefully I won’t offend…
Enjoy your research
What are you researching…or is it top secret. I remember reading about interviewing a 90 year old man but that was it.
Not top secret at all, but we’ve had very limited internet access. We got a small grant to travel the sites of the former Japanese Canadian internment as part of the development process for a project we’re making for the next year. Really great, but really exhausting. Today more twisty roads, an incredible interview and a brief pause now before we head on to the next town and our last day…
My in-laws were in Japanese Canadian internment camps. Sad part of our history.
Probably too late for you to see this, but if they are around and would like to answer some questions/be a part of the project, I would love to send you a questionnaire.
A an interesting and worthwhile project, IMHO. Best of luck with it!
Thanks to all for the well-wishes on Thursday– more tests and appointments ahead, and a lot of stress. Forgot perfume AGAIN yesterday and haven’t yet put any on today. I can’t go this long without it, though, and I think a medicinal dab would do no harm. Having missed out on CK Day, I’m going to wear one droplet of vintage Obsession parfum as a consolation.
Wishing you well and rock that tiny dab of Obsession!
It got to be more than one dab, I must confess to you. I think people in the next county know I’m wearin’ it. 😀
I really hope you’re ok, Olenska! And hope the homeopathic dose of Obsession does the trick.
Many thanks. I think I’ve gone beyond homeopathic doses of Obsession and turned it into a marinade, though! 😀
No perfume and more medical appointments sounds terrible! Hope that everything works out and you are scented up soon.
Thanks. It’s really hard though really necessary to abstain from perfume when visiting my doctor. We’re all migraine sufferers in his waiting room…
Hope everything goes well!
Thank you.
SOTD is Un Jardin sur le Nil. We’ll have another 6 weeks of summer here before the humidity and heat fade, so I’m really happy we have a trip to Canada scheduled soon. Canadian Maritimes, I’m headed your way!
Enjoy! The weather should be cooler for you.
Good Morning to all of my NAT friends. This past week was our students first week back, and boy was it bananas. I haven’t had a chance to really post within the last few weeks. I missed chatting and reading all of your posts.
I chose to wear one of my favorite scents today; Nectarine Blossom &Honey by Jo Malone.
Edit: NST, not NAT
I am in exactly the same boat – I’m trying to remember to breathe, it’s so busy now that my students are back. I’ve read the SOTD posts every day but haven’t been able to participate because something always pops up. Hope everyone is well! I’ve been thinking fondly of all of you lovely people.
Scentfromabove, you smell lovely. I love that Jo Malone on other people – my skin amplifies the sweetness too much for my liking, but it smells dynamite on everyone else!
For me the vacation is only about to start as I’ll be off to Italy for 2 weeks on upcoming Wednesday, August 31.
SotD is Eau d’Italie Acqua Decima. It felt very refreshing to smell of lemon, mint and neroli in 30*C that we had today
Have fun in Italy!
Buon viaggio! Have you mapped out a perfumista itinerary? :^)
Are you covering Pitti again? If so looking foward to your posts!
Still a little queasy today and on my last day of vacation. I’m happy that I have two more weeks to take. Since bombastic perfumes are out of the question, I am wearing Jicky today, while I look for my Kindle.
Sorry to hear you’re still queasy! You do smell great, though. ????
SotD = Après L’Ondée from a sample. If scents had colors this would be softly transparent violet. I’m not sure why I didn’t like it when I tried it a few years ago, but today it’s a winner.
Summer 2016’s scent has been Geisha Vanilla Hinoki. It has been my mainstay, especially for evening, for the past several months. I’m delighted whenever I wear it, and it never seems to clash with a scent worn earlier in the day.
Hope everyone enjoys their weekend, however lazy it is, or not.
Me too! I’ve been wearing it to bed a lot.
Me three! I love this scent and the way it lingers. I’ve got it both in a small sample spray and a roll-on.
I’m protesting the unseasonably cool, grey, dreary weather we’ve been having, as well as this newfangled notion of having the school year start in *August*, by wearing Terracotta on one arm and Bronze Goddess on the other, on top of BB Beach body oil. I smell like the fabulous summer vacation that I rather failed to have this year. 🙂
I’ll trade my hot humid weather for yours (except the dreary part but I suspect that is subject to interpretation).
You smell delicious.
Great protest and you smell delicious.
Question… Has anyone tried the scents from JolieLaide out of SF? They seem interesting.
No scent yet. Unbelievably lazy today. Husband was watching his Premier League football and has now turned to Little League World Series. I watched a recording from my team’s US college football game played in Sydney. Getting geared up for fall sports, I guess…. Next weekend is huge for college football.
With you on the “unbelievable lazy”.. been a long week, glad to just have time to do nothing once and a while.
So much sports right now. I love EPL! Does your husband follow a particular team? Re the game in Sydney: If you’re a Bear, congrats; if you’re a a Rainbow Warrior, sorry. ????
He’s actually a Fulham fan, which was relegated a few years back. But, so far they’re doing well. So, he gets Fulham on radio and then watches Premier League on TV.
Go Bears! Thanks!
I’m a Chelsea gal, but I generally will support London teams. Except QPR! Likewise, I’m a Wildcat, but in nonconference play I’ll root for any team in the Pac (even SC, Lord help me)–except ASU! ????
It is extremely warm in Brussels, so much so that I couldn’t think of a scent I wanted to wear during the day. My family is returning tomorrow (I’ve been alone for a week, as I needed to start working earlier than J): I’m missing them, but also enjoying my last evening alone. I’ve got figs and cured ham and goat cheese and I made a version of Kir Royal with violet syrup instead of cassis. I’m reading A Little Life in the garden and thinking I’ll put on some Moon Bloom.
Moon Bloom may be suitable operatic!
What a perfect evening alone- bar for the heat I woud be tempted to pair something like Balenciaga with the Kir or Après L’Ondee.
Your supper sounds delicious!
That sounds a perfect solitary evening.
Fresh figs! I had 5 after lunch today: peeled, halved, dotted with balsamic glaze and a crispy Parmesan chip
Started the day in a few drops of L’Artisan “Dzhongka” (or however it’s spelled). I find it interesting to revisit scents like that – in this case, to confirm my indifference to it. SOTD was Tom Ford “Lys Fumé”, a lovely lily scent that lasts half a day on me. I won’t be replacing the decant because (a) I’d prefer something that lasts longer and (b) it’s discontinued anyway. :^)
SOTE is Serge Lutens “Cèdre” with its mixture of spice and woods, perfect for a cool-ish evening.
I tried Cèdre earlier this week and it was absolute cat piss on paper. Is my nose broken, or does it transform on skin?
Some folks read cedar as piss-y. Do you notice this with other SL’s? He does love his cedar.
Mm, I haven’t registered any of the other SLs as piss-y, but now I’ll keep my nose open to check for that!
I wore it earlier this year in cold weather and I remember it being a little astringent (which suited the day, the funeral of my friend’s wife). It was great today with a little warmth. So it could be about skin vs. paper, or it could be the upside of my perfume-killer skin versus any normal person’s. :^)
Cèdre is a sweet woody tuberose on me.
Love Cedre. Spice and woods on me.
Finally back in Toulouse after a MONTH of traveling! I got an eye-refreshing roll-on thing at a Body Shop on the way to the train station, so the nice SA showered me in some Indian Night Jasmine. Most pleasant and refreshing. Bizarrely (but happily), my skin now smells, some eight hours later, like it’s got Passage d’Enfer on it.
I grabbed a box of canelés from Baillardran before leaving, and am regretting not having grabbed a bigger box >.< I know I SAID I was going to go on a diet to lose the 10 lbs I gained on my American food tour, but surely something as delicious as canelés can't be bad for you?
Anything you buy on holiday is calorie-free 🙂 and they are really tiny anyway. A co-worker bought a box back from her trip to Paris and I restrained myself (i started with 1) and waited until its been out a few days before polishing the box.
A little bit of what you fancy is sometimes the best thing for you I think.
Went to the gym for the first time in a while- it’d just been too hot to even think about, but today is tolerable, if not pleasant. I wore a bit of frankincense oil from the Indian grocery store. Had a nice, cooling and uplifting effect during my workout.
I was reading the ad copy for the new Arquiste El and Ella. Oh, boy. Who writes this stuff. Has anyone read it? It’s on the Twisted Lily website.
Anyway, I’ll probably wear SHL 777 Taklamakan for my evening out. It’s becoming a lemming, for sure. I highly recommend it for vanilla-woods lovers.
I am lemming Taklamakan!
Have you tried it yet? It’s right up your vanilla alley!
Not yet…i may have to do an Osswald run although I have not mastered not geting lost yet. I know…but I am now an expert at getting to Twisted Lily without getting lost.
Haha! I’ve finally mastered both of those, but somehow always manage to not find Barney’s right away.
I still don’t see it on the Osswald website. I ended getting my sample from Luckyscent because the suspense was killing me. Maybe I’ll call this week.
If I go FB, I’d get it from First in Fragrance. I think that’s the cheapest option. But nice on the split!
Me too! I really want to find one of the SHL scents to love as I covet the bottles, so pretty.
I like/love a few of his scents. But only have 1 FB (Rose de Petra). And the bottles are nifty. The cap is satisfyingly heavy.
You are killing me. I have only worn Taklamakan twice (not counting the two day later hauntings), and I went ahead with a spray sample from STC since I just can’t tell with those little dabbers. Since the scent lasts forever I probably don’t need a bottle yet, but I’m afraid they’ll raise the price. It is surprisingly reasonable.
I’m waiting for it to show up locally so I can also try it sprayed. I did find the source of my hauntings, though. My iPad! It must have gotten on my fingers from the vial. I thought I was losing my mind. I also want to do a side-by-side with Korrigan.
I decided to go for a 30 mL “sample” via a Basenotes split. It is on backorder at LuckyScent.
We were godparents for my sister-in-law’s new baby today, so I went sedate with a bit if I Miss Violet. It also matched the turquoise and violet dress I was wearing!
Now have small dabs of the new Dusita samples on various appendages. Of course the most outrageously expensive one – Oudh Infini – is my favorite, although Issara, a sort of deconstructed forgere is also very nice.
I haven’t smelt the perfume but from everything I read it sounds like a perfect match for the outfit and more importantly the christening!
Yes I smelled nice but without drowning out delicious baby head aroma or scaring her by smelling too strongly.
Splitmeet is coming up on September 24th according to the sidebar and a PSA earlier this week (i think) from Robin. Anyway, the Bergdorf gift card event is in 2 weeks and is a good way to get a discount on some perfumes. I am intrigued by Hermes Galop and will also be checking their stock of nomads (alas, I don’t think the Hermessences are available). I have my eye on one of the Dior Elixir Precieux (Amber) not to split but for myself and like to plan out near future purchases to see if I can consolidate them to take advantage of discounts. Bergdorfs also has a Chanel boutique with the Les Exclusifs range; if you have been thinking about buying something, you may want to consider the timing of doing so given that rumored price increase although I don’t have a clue as to when that’s happening. All these to say that if you were planning on buying something anyway (whether to keep or split), you may want to check out the event. I’ll probably do a Bergdorfs scouting trip next week!
How does the Bergdorf gift card event work and is it available to online purchasers?
I’m pretty sure it’s available online but best to call them to confirm. It’s “buy more save more”: $25 off $250, $75 off $500 and $200 off $1,000. Assuming your pre-tax purchase was $500, tax will first be added to the total, then $75 taken out of that post-tax total. It makes total sense to do ship items to a state that doesn’t have a BG to make it tax-free!
Hmm tempted 🙂
Thank you all for the lovely birthday wishes yesterday. In Royal Muska today which wears softly in the humidity, and will keep you all updated on perfume present selection. I haven’t really had a defining scent for summer 2016 but have reached for Rose de Grasse by Aerin quite a lot, as well as A Rose for by Floris. Have a lovely late summer weekend everyone.
Scent of Summer 2016 seems to be carnation for me. I’m testing a small sample of Belladogia today, and it is gorgeous. What a freaking pity this one is discontinued.
Can you stock up on Belladogia from a discounter? I love carnation too. Roger & Gallet just started making their carnation soap again and our local perfume store carries it so I have a few back up cakes stashed away.
I’d like to get a small decant. But the perfume budget has taken quite the hit lately. Too many sales and specials. 8)
Oh, Sajini, thank you for the mention of R&G carnation soaps. They are marvelous, and now I can be on the lookout for them.
The carnation in Bellodgia is excellent. I have an itty bitty sample that I’m trying to make last forever.
It’s still incredibly hot here. Today’s scent has been Ubar, which does so well in this kind of weather.
I tried Néroli Doré again today, it is very, very lovely.
I love it too but it lasts all of two seconds on my skin
Ubar smells fantastic in heat and humidity.
To me, on my skin, YMMV.
🙂
I love big fragrances in the heat. It makes them bloom, open up.
I had a little 3ml sample of Hindu Kush in my purse so ended up spraying it liberally. It’s smelling very green and herby (cannabis) on me today. Quite nice in the hot humid weather. I went through my little boxes of smaller decants today and noticed that quite a few have just a tiny amount left in the bottom. My plan is to throw a few of them in my bag for on the road perfume needs – that will get them used up in no time.
My 15 ml decant of j’ai fait un reve pour lui came in the mail today. If I wasn’t covered head to foot in Hindu Kush I would be wearing that one and putting the sample of it I’ve been hoarding in my purse.
That j’ai fait perfume name is quite a mouthful! How does it smell?
It smells divine. Official notes are bergamot, pink pepper, jasmine, atlas cedar, musk, oudh (subtle), cashmere wood, vanilla flower and saffron. It’s smooth as silk and something about the blend dries down to a very refined leather note on my skin. Most scents either go sharp or powdery on me but this one smells and develops beautifully. I was very lucky to find it at TPC for half off, so went for the largest decant I could get. I may eventually need a fb.
Happy weekend everyone! Looks like a lovely spring morning here as I dawdle over breakfast, although I haven’t been outside yet to check what it feels like. Since starting to read NST years ago, something I’ve really enjoyed is reading about the different seasons in the two hemispheres. It makes it much more real than looking at TV coverage of distant snow storms during our summer.
I tried a couple of Calvin Klein perfumes yesterday, but nothing grabbed me on paper. A bit more investigation is needed 🙂
About to start a bit of Sunday morning housework, accompanied by a waft of Chinatown.
Chinatown- YUM!
Goodbye summer! Don’t let the door hit you on the a$$ on the way out!
I was told to pack some warm weather gear for my trip to the motherland next month. How excited I was to hear that! I don’t care if it rains all day, every day, as long as it’s less than 95F.
Absolutely roasting here again, so of course I applied my true love Corsica Furiosa. I swear, it may be the only thing keeping me sane this summer.
Also, just splurged for a new camera since I realized my Sony point and shoot circa 2007 is now apparently obsolete and the “memory stick” has been replaced by some other thingamabob. Sheesh, I’m feeling OLD!
Happy weekend to all and stay cool!
I’ve managed with using my iPhone (sometimes my iPad mini) for all things photo. I used to judge people who use selfie sticks, but no more because otherwise, I would have to judge myself :-). Anyway, 99% of the photos I took with my selfie stick were not selfies; i used it to take regular pictures one-handed and also allowed me to take pictures through bars / gates and throngs of people blocking a view.
Well, I hadn’t thought of that! I have an iPhone 6+ and although I do use the camera occasionally, I’m pretty lack luster in creating good shots with it. I bought another Sony (just now realizing I could have bought Onda instead!) and decided the trip and meeting up with long lost family/friends was worth the splurge. A couple of years ago I went to Yellowstone in Feburary and got some really great shots with my “obsolete” Sony- so good, I designed a digital photo album and had it printed out as a momento. Not sure if I’m “nimble” enough to juggle iPhone + selfie stick. One or both may end up damaged beyond repair…
I’m pretty clumsy with electronics. Using me as the least common denominator, the selfie stick is child’s play.
(@Ari) Instead of a 4th date with a bachelor, I am meeting the 4th bachelor in the summer round of online dating. We’re meeting for iced coffee and a walk along the shore.
What do I wear when meeting a new Bachelor? Whatever I felt like wearing that morning, it seems. Started the day off with Zeste de Soleil, so will probably will top it off before heading out. Got one approving sniff of the Prada iris thingie I wore from Bachelor 3, but no otherwise comments one way or the other.
Hope you have fun with Bachelor #4!
Excited for you, I hope it’s a fun time!
Popped in Saks yesterday to check out what’s new and was delighted to see they now carry the Hermessence line. Had a couple of enjoyable talks with SAs and was even asked by one if I’m “industry” which made me realize how deep down the rabbit hole I’ve gone. I will say that at Saks at least the SAs know their stuff.
Tom Ford’s new vert scents caught my eye, and one that I took away on a blotter (can’t recall which one it was!) has stayed with me and is really gorgeous. Guess I’ll have to go back and try it again 🙂
SOTD is Geranium Bourbon from the recent TPC sale which I find to be more a rose-geranium scent and also more on the masculine side.
Ha! I got asked the same thing about whether I was “in the industry” a few years back in a Saks when I was there sniffing and writing down the names of scents on the blotters. I guess most people don’t put that much thought or effort into what scents they buy.
That is good to know (re: Geranium Bourbon). I hesitated to buy the sample because I’m not a big rose fan, and it sounds like I was right to substitute some other things.
I’m not a fresh or “true” rose fan, and this is in that category.
I will say the geranium is beautiful and I’ll get some use out of the decant but won’t repurchase.
And I’ll spare you what my husband said.
Now I need to know! Have you tried the Diptyque Geranium? I know this discussion occurred, but I can’t recall.
Yes, and I like that one a lot but it doesn’t last on me! The Geranium Bourbon lasted all day on me.
I am very interested in those Tom Ford Vert perfumes. Have to go find them!
I have to say that my previous rants about SFA have now been mostly disproved. I still can’t stand how pushy the Bond No. 9 SAs are and overall, the SAs are a bit more generous with samples.
When you know your likes and dislikes and you’ve sampled hundreds of perfumes, I’m not surprised that you came off confident and knowledgeable and much more so than the average SA!
Bond No. 9 is the worst! They really hold you hostage and don’t let go! They have a new scent coming out called Soho, big surprise, and the guy was trying to convince me to try all the scents that they currently have that will smell like this new amazing scent. Bizarre!
The Penhaligon SA was quite generous and I had a lovely time chatting with her. She gave me a great tip: men’s after shave balm is the same as the women’s version of lotion but much cheaper. 😉
Need to shower after yard work and then decide on SOTD. I am thinking of the last of my sample of Coco Noir extrait from the every-generous Hajusuuri. I am hoping that one of the local Dillard’s will have it, but if not, will order from NM. (Maybe I’ll do that anyway during their beauty event and not have to pay shipping, and maybe not sales tax since there isn’t a NM in Arkansas!). My scent of the summer has to be the Lengling a la Carte that I got in Germany. It’s a little heavy for our still-very-warm weather in Arkansas, but it will be perfect in fall.
I think I got dropped from the NM mailing list, when is the event?
Don’t know yet–usually it’s about the 2nd week of September. So far, I am still on the mailing list. I’ll put out a PSA when I know.
Couldn’t decide between FM Cologne Indelebile and Eau de Magnolia, so I wore both, in different spots. 🙂
I like this double/duel fragrance application!
Nice!
The fog rolled in yesterday so we’re having a bout of cooler weather (Isabella nods in agreement) so I’m gassing myself out testing vintage Fath de Fath and Fidji. Individually each bit much even in the cool weather, and together, well, cough.
I’m going to be offering up Atelier des Ors Lune Feline at the splitmeet. Start counting your pennies 🙂
Was completely unmotivated this morning but decided to go for a quick bike ride. It is so lovely, once I got going I didn’t want to stop, and now I have total body exhaustion which is kind of satisfying.
Trying out La Chevrefeuille this afternoon and it is very pretty…kind of a sweet green floral. I have more “pretty” in my wardrobe than I know what to do with, though so not hankering for this one. I think I need to go for something a bit more steamy,…I Am Woman!
You’re “unmotivation” found me this afternoon! I’m seriously considering taking a short nap, which will segue into going to bed for the night????
The last part of my decants from the STC Guerlain closeout arrived today–yay!–so my SOTD is Vetiver. I find it a fascinating sensation to distinctly smell the lemon/bergamot and tobacco at the same time in the opening, as I can’t recall smelling those two notes together before. Overall, the perfume is really reminding me of something, but I can’t put my finger on it. I think it may be that it’s reminding me of a time/place rather than a particular scent, which is going to make it harder to figure out…
So far, there isn’t a scent that’s going to remind me of Summer 2016 specifically–I think mostly because I don’t have any new summer frags. That’s a bit sad, isn’t it? But that’s OK because with my luck, it would be more likely for me to end up remembering this summer by creating a scent-association with a bad experience of some sort. ????
Have a lovely weekend, all!
Were you able to wear 31RC in the heat?
Actually, now you mentioned it, I was. It was pretty warm (but not scorching) when I went to the airport last week, and it worked really well. I only need 2 sprays of it at most, so I don’t know how a heavier application would fare… It’s not that I forgot about it so much as I guess I didn’t include 31RC because it’s off in its very own universe as far as my heart is concerned. ????
3 sprays of 31RC last all day on me and then I get some ghost traces of it for another day or two. It IS special and deserving of its status 🙂
My day has been spent in By Killian samples – I tried Prelude to Love this morning, and put Intoxicated on about an hour ago. I thought they were quite pleasant, but my husband has gone gaga over Intoxicated. I may need to explore a decant of this one.
My scents that I will associate with this summer will be Wood Sage and Sea Salt and Philosykos.
I tested the new Coach fragrance today at Macy’s. I found it soft, and powdery. It reminds me of Salvatore Ferragamo Emozione. Tomorrow and Monday are inventory days at work. The worst two days of the year. I won’t know until the morning what I will wear, but I’m guessing Gucci Rush.
Now, I’m thinking Narciso instead.
I say go for Rush!!!!
Thanks for the report on the Coach, that’s another I need to go sniff.
Wearing Tom Ford Orchid Soleil. It is not what I expected. I really wanted to like it and the bottle is so gorgeous.
I feel the same. I have such bad luck with the Tom Fords I have tried. I so much wanted OS to work for me, but it didn’t.
Today I am wearing a sample from a pack I got from Sultan Pasha. It’s called Cities des Anges and it’s an attar, very thick and sticky and which needs only the tiniest smear from the end of a paper clip dipped into the vial. Any more and it skews off kilter. CdA opens with the brightest most dazzling sweet fruit/floral that smells like an Indian fruit market. after 5 minutes it settles and becomes creamier and the fruit is peachy passionfruit. It’s beautiful and bright and sunny with an undertone of incense but the drydown is gorgeous and lasts for ages…….deep, exotic and has the ability to transport you to India and the east. Wonderful!
My 8 sampler set is still in the wax sealed inner envelope. It will have to be a “project”…perhaps in November when I have a staycation since I cancelled a short vacation because Zika.
A nice cooler morning, wearing Kilian Amber Oud.
Another Sunday, another flight to Paris. It’s not a long way but it makes for a short weekend.
SOTD was Paul Emilien “Une Belle Journée”; now in Dior “Eau Noire” to take me through the evening. Have a good week ahead y’all. :^)
Oh, and I went to get that little bottle of L’Heure Bleue and then reminded myself only to buy perfumes that I love and that make me feel good wearing them. Not stuff I admire or whose history I appreciate. So in the end I didn’t get it. Sniffed some Tom Ford, Armani Privé and Bentley. I’m now test driving Tom Ford “London” on one wrist and an Armani (Ambre something-or-other, it’s not doing too well so who cares?) on the other.
Amen. And, not stuff I “should learn to appreciate” or “don’t want to waste”.
I have to confess, I have hardly worn any perfume over the last two months, i.e. since I gave birth to our son. So, no SOTD for me. But soon!!! 😀
Taking in all the new born baby smell you can get, eh? 🙂
How lovely… enjoy!
Congrats, two months late!
This has been a really busy summer for me with travel to China (May), London (June), Korea (July) and now Michigan (August). It’s been great but really exhausting! And back to London/Oxford in September. Anyway on the previous trip to London I discovered Terry de Ginzburg Ombre Mercure in Liberty’s, and later bought it MUCH reduced on a discount site. It’s not my usual kind of thing as it’s rather sweet and heavy but it’s been addictive and I’ve enjoyed it even despite being in a lot of very hot and humid places. I think it’s the ylang ylang that stands out for me. Aside from that I’ve been wearing SL Orpheline a lot. I find this a good counter-balance to the Gunzburg as it’s quite dry and reserved rather than exotic and seductive.
I’m not sure what my summer 2016 scent would be, but Rrose Sèlavy it ain’t. First scrubber in quite a while. I had always wondered about rose “going sour” on people, but now I know it’s a literal description of when a rose perfume suddenly smells like wet laundry forgotten in a washing machine for a month. I’m very disappointed because what I sniffed from the bottle was very nice. Have covered it up with 31RC.
That is disappointing when something you like sniffing ends up not working for you! Could it have been a one-off experience with it, or do you think it would do that again? …In any case, you smell fantastic now!
I, too, didn’t get along with Rrose Selavy. I think whatever was used in Le Labo Rose 31 was also used here – two week-old dirty socks forgotten in a sealed plastic bag.
Morning, good morning. I’m a survivor of Open Day! I am NOT a nice person (no surprises there!) because I thought longing thoughts of violence and vicious sarcasm every time a bonny child asked,”How does this university help us get jobs after the degree?” What I contrived to do, through gritted teeth in some cases, was to explain with great courtesy (massive overstatement there) that it was not my responsibility to find students employment, merely to educate….they weren’t interested in talking about education. SIGH. No matter, it’s over for this year.
I’ve decided that even though Auckland doesn’t understand about Spring, I do, so I’m wearing lighter clothes and Chamade. If clothes and perfume make Spring, I’m on a winner. I smell of all things hurrying to be green and free in a soft floral breeze. Yum! I think I might try to find some pretty new bed linen today. It’s a random association, but from the minute I sprayed Chamade, I started envisaging sheets in the shade of peculiarly pearly grey-Vvolet-blue that you see on the horizon in A-NZ just before the sun comes up. Be well for your up-coming Mondays, NST.
Your bed linen-Chamade association seems perfectly reasonable to me. I think of those pretty printed sheets from the seventies, though.
Also, if you didn’t actually throttle any prospective students you are probably a good person. Being able to imagine yourself inflicting creative injury on irritating people is not a sin. I have this on the authority of several elderly priests.
Thank you, MM (forgive the abbreviation — hope it’s not an outrageous impertinence). You’re such a comfort. I had red angry thoughts most of the day, but to be sure, they started with the madness of the marketing department and some hapless child of about twenty-five, wearing three artfully arranged singlets and a backwards baseball cap (sure that’s a look that’s long since passed?) who chased me around insisting that I wear a uni T-shirt and a lanyard “to prove that you work here, because otherwise the guests won’t know that they can talk to you about…things….”
I hope you told the singlet people to Foxtrot Oscar.
On the other hand it ought to be possible to advise any prospective students what they will gain from your or any course, and how that might relate to the world of work. I feel sorry for today’s students who have to shell out £9k min a year for tuition which was free or heavily subsidised for my generation, plus pay for rent/ food/ books. A University that can’t articulate why the game is worth the candle would not impress me.
Abbreviate away. You won’t offend me without real effort 😉
I was looking at some of my husband’s old family photos the other day (from the bootlegging side of the family) and wishing we could convince today’s young man that a wide tie with matching suspenders, an artfully-tilted trilby, and wing-tips made him look tough. I’m not quite old enough to tsk tsk at current fashion but I can roll my eyes.
Congrats on making it through! (I confess that I sometimes resort to imaginary violence, too. It’s therapeutic.) It’s a travesty that so much of the world now thinks of education primarily as a tool for making money. I find it really depressing.
I used to kickbox and a hated ex-boss was a favorite target. He was so rotten that my then new boss called him out on his actions after I stopped reporting to him.
So true! The quest for knowledge has become a quest for a money making marketable skill that requires NOT thinking! I think we’re doomed????
Generous sprays of Pink Grapefruit & Vetiver from a Bendel stash in the back of the cabinet. Very cooling….
This morning tested three from Smell Bent – Peppered Ylang, The Yard Next Door and Brussels Sprouted…Brussels was my favorite as I love tomato leaf accord!