Happy Black Friday / Buy Nothing Day! Be careful out there. And happy Cheap Thrills Friday. Our community project for today: wear something that costs $50 or below, double bonus points if it costs $25 or below. No points for wearing something expensive that you bought cheaply via a sample or decant or somesuch! We’re trying to find real bargains here.
What fragrance did you pick? As always, do chime in with your scent of the day even if you’re not participating in the community project.
I'm wearing a dab of Old Spice, the original. Double bonus points for me — you can get 125 ml of the Classic Cologne for less than $15.
Reminder: on 12/2, wear a perfume by Michel Almairac, if you have one.
And for those of you who like to plan ahead, see Scent of the day ~ Friday community projects 2014, where I'll try to always have the next five or six weeks mapped out in advance.
Note: top image is Carnation Kaleidoscope [cropped] by Shelley Ginger at flickr; some rights reserved.
Yves Rocher’s gorgeous Rose Oud today, which cost me the princely sum of nothing-zilch-nada via one of their ‘first item added to your basket free’ emails (I’ve had 3 or 4 this year). Pretty much anything by YR constitutes as a cheap thrill though, even if you have to pay for it…
What country are you in? Our free gifts in France are dinky things like small hand lotions.
Almost every time I’ve ordered from Yves Rocher, I’ve gotten a full-sized product I didn’t ask for and that wasn’t even mentioned as a free gift during the ordering process — often they’re full-sized facial creams or something. So must depend on where you are.
I once decided to go for a free mystery gift and the cheeky blighters sent me a tub of anti-wrinkle night cream!
Yep — I just use them as hand or foot creams, they’re usually pretty good but unfortunately highly scented.
I should have just waited for you to write “the cheeky blighters” in order to find out what country you’re in 🙂
I’m in the UK. I’ve been on their mailing list for about 2 or 3 years now and get this particular offer 3 or 4 times a year. It’s definitely the one I look out for. Also get mailings through the post – proper old school stuff with order forms and stickers and scratch offs! Occasionally they let you swap out their ‘recommended free product for you’ with one of your own choosing. Definitely worth signing up to receive their marketing if you like their products…
I really like Rose Oud. It is quite the bargain!
Passion For Men (Elizabeth Taylor). Can’t remember exactly, but cost either 7.99 or 12.99 at TJMaxx. LOVE it!
Perfect!
Stetson. My bottle is a good fifteen years old if not twenty and I’ve read that it’s been ferociously reformulated (what hasn’t?), but what I have is spectacular stuff: warm, powdery herbal amber-vanilla, slightly tobacco-y, sexy as hell. You can get it for under $10, and I bet there are thousands of vintage bottles languishing in thrift shops and estate sales.
Nice ! Love Stetson.
I’m wearing it too– stolen from my spouse, whose mom gave him a gift set two Yuletides ago. We both really like it.
Robin you smell fabulous!!!!
Happy day after thanksgiving (I am ignoring that it is black Friday 🙂 !!)
breakfast was a pumpkin bagel with pumpkin cream cheese topped off with two sliced of thick bacon (I am channeling, Deva, the pumpkin goddess 🙂 !!)
SOTD- a body oil made with Eden Botanicals Dark Patchouli and NOW Foods Sweet Almond Oil topped off with Inland Fog’s Dragon’s Blood Perfume Oil (which I paid five dollars for last year).
Happy Friday, everyone!
I just saw Sweet Almond Oil at Wegmans. I didn’t pay attention to the brand. Is it a good carrier oil? When would you use Sweet Almond Oil vs. Jojoba Oil?
I am envious of the pumpkin everything and may have to brave the Dunkin’ Donuts later although they can’t help me with the bacon (I have leftover ham from yesterday so that will have to do).
Your Dark Patchouli sounds fab!
(I’ve already made serious Black Friday damage since Wednesday)
“I’ve already made serious Black Friday damage since Wednesday”…hajusuuri, you are hysterical! and this is why I could NEVER go shopping with you 🙂
I am not familar with Wegmans but I am sure it is good…I use what I have access to at the health food store…either Aura Cacia or NOW Solutions. Sweet almond oil is less expensive and less viscous than jojoba oil and works nice as a body oil..also is super moisturizing and spreads easily on large areas of skin…but if your skin is sensitive and you know jojoba is safe then stick with that…and I highly recommend you play around with making your own body oil…get some high quality essential oils and have fun experimenting 🙂
Of course we can go shopping together! We will probably spend 75% of the time chatting, drinking coffee and/or tea (plus eating a pastry) and 25% of the time stinking up whatever stores we go into and trying to get free samples.
LOL! I am sure I would score TONS of free samples with you by my side !
Wegmans! We were just talking about that last night at dinner. I’ve only been to one (Williamsport) and commented last night I can see moving to a town just to be close to a Wegmans…
It is fabulous! Are you still in CA?
I’m back in NY. So, back to the tiny grocery stores and crowds. ????
Thank you, and gosh your breakfast sounds good!
Pumpkin everything is the only way to go! I had a pumpkin bagel as well, except poor me, I had to suffer with regular cream cheese. I’m going to be on the lookout for pumpkin cream cheese…!
🙂
Just got back from the grocery store and discovered Twinning Earl Grey Jasmine which is delightful…especially on sale for two dollars a box! and I am enjoying a chocolate covered marzipan bar from Europe…my parents brought six of them yesterday…I am down to three 🙁
Love that tea. Excellent price too!
I’m in Paloma Picasso’s Minotaure. It costs about €40 in my neck of woods but can be found for around $30 on Amazon. It’s also lovely, although I’d love to try the original formulation.
Ooh, and I’ve only now noticed it covers the next week as well!
Dang. I almost bought a bottle of this at a yard sale. At the last minute I changed my mind… wishing I hadn’t!
Failed the assignment…going through a new set of samples, and I randomly grabbed Tauer’s Noontide Petals, which is not exactly a cheap trill, but I like it. It’s like the classic aldehyde fragrance, reformulated for hippies. It’s going nicely with my steaming cup of Marley Buffalo Soldier coffee (a high recommend! Deep, rich, incredibly lacking acid) with left over whipping cream and ginger sugar, and the last two lemon poppyseed mini-muffins.
Adorable hubbie gives it (the perfume) an “It’s ok, yeah, it’s nice” which is pretty high praise from him. Plan for the day do as little as possible. Possibly buy a pair of those Ralph Lauren two tone riding boots, the black ones with the brown band on top, if there are any left in my size, if I go out 🙂 Right now may take a nap.
I read “hubbie” as “hubble” and liked it just as much. 🙂
I meant to grab the original Lolita Lempicka but grabbed my Happy mini instead. Will be picking up gift cards after work aND will order decants.
Double bonus points for me: I am wearing ZUM Frankincense and Myrrh Aromatherapy Room & Body Mist. Lovely incensey spice and sweetly woodsy. A couple of rooms in my house are also wearing ZUM. 🙂
I am going to walk downtown with my mom to our adorable Main Street and wander a bit in some of the small indie shops. Happy Day after Thanksgiving to other US posters.
We don’t really have Black Friday here in Poland (just as we don’t have Thanksgiving). There are some bargains in shop going on but they’re not as big as the US ones.
I forgot about community project today and decided to give a try to new Aftelier Amber Tapestry. It’s gorgeous!
I can’t wait to try Amber Tapestry! I may have to do a samples order since I didn’t know about this when I finally triggered my Vanilla Smoke extrait order 2 weeks ago.
It’s a nice amber, elegant, a bit subtle in the drydown. And it has that signature vintagey vibe that all Mandy perfumes have
Trying out Robin’s combo of Tauerville Amber Flush with Rose Flash. I like it! Rose Flash is $60 but if you go in with a group on an ambassador set, it’s only $37 per bottle. And Amber Flush is only $25. 🙂
I am enjoying Buy Nothing day by going for a walk down to the beach with the dogs.
It’s too late for me to do Buy Nothing Day 😉 I failed several times over.
Glad it works for you!
My Golden Retriever and I would like to join you and your dogs on your walk to the beach!
Yardley Lily of the Valley. $13.59 for 1.7 oz of fragrancex.com.
of = on
Queen Latifah Queen for double bonus points today. This really is quite nice and cozy and an absolute steal for $9.99!
Thanks to all for your good wishes for my kitty yesterday. She’s so happy to be home (as am I) and doing well, except for the dreaded cone on her head : /
That’s a great bargain.Love the Queen.
All hail the Queen! And happy your kitty is home even though she must suffer the decidedly Un-queenly cone!
She’s pretty enough to pull off a cone of shame.
Glad kitty is ok. Ah, the cone of shame…
Queen is another great “cheap thrill” that I enjoy.
Poor baby. I can’t stand the traditional E-collar so we have an inflatable donut style one that is still horrible feline abuse (say the cats), but means they can at least be comfortable and reach their food.
Wearing Pacifica Spanish Amber which cost 22 dollars and it is pretty nice for the price. Pacífica has some decent fragrances like Tibetan Mountain Temple, French Lilac, Persian Rose, Mediterranean Fig. I always enjoy them and are easy to wear.
I have about five bottles of their body wash, courtesy of Winners (TK Maxx’s sibling).
I have not tried Spanish Amber, but I like my French Lilac and Tahitian Gardenia. This is a good house with affordable perfumes.
You smell great! I have so many Pacificas (could probably do two weeks of wearing) and agree they are lovely and very economical…I get my bottles for fifteen dollars at my local health food store….
Hello, scent twin!
Erm, vintage Mitsouko parfum, from perhaps the 70’s. My 1/4th full bottle rang in at $30. I know that’s cheating so I’ll add that one can buy Cartier Roadster for ~$25. And I have. ????
Definitely cheating, but of course you smell too fabulous to care 😉
Chanel No.5 body lotion.Not quite in the $50 range,BUT!It is a very potent,much cheaper version of the grande dame,for a fraction of the price.I don’t need to add any perfume/edp/edt to smell fabulous.I bought some essential groceries at the local market.Some were “Black Friday Specials” so I paid around $40 less than usual.The crowds though(to get a bottle of Cocoa Cola for $0.0000002 lol) are just ridiculous.Happy Weekend!!X
Wow! They may as well give it away for free!
I tried MUGLER Cuir Impertinence today and am now in the process of scrubbing it off. For science, I am scrubbing with various products and frequency. I haven’t decided what true SOTD will be yet…may try the Amber Flush and Rose Flash combo or go with really really cheap thrill Al-Rehab Choco Musk.
Yesterday and the day before, I wore Hiram Green Arbole Arbole and Frederic Malle The Night (boutique exclusive with POAL base – Patchouli); I wanted both to stick around and they sure did. The Night won but Arbole Arbole put up a valiant effort.
And my confession…I’ll just start from Nov. 11th, the last time I had a few days off from work. It’s dangerous. I probably should be chained to my desk at work or be away on vacation because then I probably would not be online to purchase stuff.
– Aftelier Vanilla Smoke extrait (I waited a year. A Year! Because of my discipline, I’ll consider this free)
– SJP Stash gift set (free because under $50)
– Hiram Green Arbole Arbole (I split off 30mLs so…really free because partial bottles don’t count)
– M. Micalef Advent Calendar (I would not have known about this were it not for Robin. For 145 mLs at under $100, I’ll count this as free as well)
– Frederic Malle stuff — I haven’t been to the boutique in a year so because of the discipline, these are also free as well — Eau de Magnolia Shower Gel, POAL Shower Cream, Carnal Flower Hair Mist, Valextra 100 mL case (which I will use as a travel jewelry case so it is not even a perfume item)
– Twisted Lily (20% off) – Slumberhouse Jeke, April Aromatics Discovery Set, MCG Sideris and Exultat Travel Sprays
– Soap & Paper Factory Pipe Eau de Cologne (under $50 so free)
– Terry de Gunzburg Ombre Mercure (blame BobH or pyramus or perhaps it was someone else)
– CSP Vanille Abricot travel spray (blame BobH…but free since under $50)
– Elizabeth & James Bourbon travel spray (free since under $50)
– Derek Lam 10 Crosby Street Discovery Set (this one is for science, so free)
– ELDO Discovery Set (will likely give it to a niece, so free)
– Indult Tihota (I am running VERY low and LuckyScent had a GWP of 3 x 10 mL atomizers of 3 Memo fragrances)
– Pre-confession — It is possible I may get Puredistance Sheiduna, but I am waiting for my sample to arrive before making a decision.
Apple is having it one day per year gift card event on selected products. I briefly considered getting something but decided that my devices are still good and will likely get a Kindle instead. I just found out yesterday from a friend that many of the free movies or tv shows for Amazon Prime members can be downloaded to a Kindle but not to an iPad.
Happy Friday everyone!
That is a serious haul.And all for free??Awesome…lol.Enjoy!I need to smell The Night asap!!X
You really have to considering your POAL love!
Nice!!!! I am in awe :). How do you like Carnal Flower hair mist? I have been debating on Twisted Lily and Ormonde Jane coupons 🙂
Ha! I think we end up enabling each other. The Carnal Flower Hair Mist smells exactly like the perfume but it does not have alcohol.
I saw the OJ deal (and free shipping too) but really don’t have anything I am hankering for.
Hehehe. I have had my eye on the hair mist for a while but almost feels like a waste given I have EDP already 🙂
I need to give Sheiduna another try as on the first sniff (I truly hate these little dabbers!!!!) it did not vow me but who knows.
Hajusuuri, Queen of the free wheeling deals! Enjoy your goodies!
Thanks! I am spending some of the money I saved from not buying something else and I may still be a few $s to spare from all that I saved (see my OJ comment to clarissa)
😉
Hajusuuri I bought the Kindle Oasis a few months ago, and I couldn’t be happier with it. Worth every euro!
Thanks for the recommendation!
it’s on the pricey end but will do a comparison with the other models (there are so many it feels like I am shopping for a perfume).
Oh boy you went all out! Love your reasoning for “free”…and yeah to the Soap and Paper Factory….I have their OWL solid and my mother has the EDT spray….
Must investigate this one
If you do I am also going to recommend their hand creams…every Christmas season they come out with limited edition ones and I would recommend any one that has vanilla…one year it was combined with sandalwood and another year with bourbon and both were outstanding in both scent and moisturizing the hands …..
There’s a sale going on too…20% off. Will look it up in a little bit and post in on the online shopping thread.
Goodness, you are an inspiration, Hajusuuri!! I’m finally going to get those small sizes of Sideris and Exultat.
Ha! I saw your note that you bought one of the two. As I may have mentioned here and just recently at the Posse, I donate an equal or greater amount to charity for every $ I spend on perfume (free or otherwise 🙂 ) to balance out the universe.
What a wonderful thing to do!
This coming Tuesday is Global Giving Tuesday. My company is double-matching contributions made via credit card through our Philanthropic website. Last year, I was able to give to an Inner City K-12 Christian / Educational organization based in NYC, Doctors without Borders and Faith in Practice (similar to DWOB … my brother goes to Guatemala every year for a week, performing surgeries).
Nice haul of (free) stuff! Lots to enjoy????
:-)….and share!
Wow! I’m impressed!
A PSA so you won’t miss out 😉 , My email from Amazon had Kindle Fires at ridiculously low prices – some for $33.00!
Thanks! I need to do a comparison of the Kindles. I do have a gift card balance and some gift cards to add so it may end up being “free”.
Wow, that is interesting. I really like cuir impertinent!
Anais Anais for $20, which admittedly was the pharmacy holiday-perfume price, but I think it’s usually pretty reasonable the rest of the year.
I will be taking a spritz next time I’m at the drugstore. How is it even possible that I’ve never smelled this classic?
PSA!smellbent has 40% off orders over $50,code SECRETSALE!Today only…just saying….(off to shop!!)
International orders shipping NOT FREE.Not buying just because of that,then.
SOTD is (again) Amber Flush Body Oil. $25 well spent in my humble opinion (although I “accidentally” bought 2 bottles, which added up to $50).
I thought about Queen since I would get double points, but I’m off to test drive another van and didn’t want to gas out the sales guy. I’m torn as to whether or not to sell/trade in my FJ Cruiser. It’s my baby and it’s in great shape with low miles. I may cry. Great heaving, shuddering sobs. Or I may just keep it…
One of my cousins was a car guy (now he’s in construction). I got these tips from him. For a car in great shape / low mileage, you get better value selling it on your own…or you should at least negotiate for a higher trade in value or tell the dealer you’ are considering trading it in so you get the best deal for the car you’re buying and then take it off the tabke at the last minute (I know this sounds underhanded but the dealers do the same thing with other parts of the deal).
Also, if you can pay off the balance immediately, go for the maximum you can put on a credit card to earn points.
Good luck!
thanks for the tips! And thanks the car-turned-construction cousin, too!
And lucky me because HE did the negotiations for me – I hate dealing with car dealers.
I’m apparently doomed to fail today’s challenge and next week’s. All of my cheap thrill fragrances are too light and summery for the weather today, and I have not a single Michel Almairac to my name. Ah, well. This morning I have SSS Voile de Violette on one wrist and vintage Caron Violette Precieuse on the other. I love them both, but violet is really all they have in common. The Caron has that gorgeous “Caron-ade” base (Mousse de Saxe, I think?) which renders it velvety-soft and lush, and the SSS is much woodier and sort of … I want a word like “rustic” or “countrified”, but neither of those is quite right. “Natural” or “outdoorsy” might be closer. Both wonderful scents that I would love to add more of to my perfume closet.
Hey, fail with pride! Or violets 🙂
😀
Happy “Black Friday” to everyone that celebrates. I’m sitting it out this year. I may take advantage of “Cyber” Monday, though.
My SOTD is Deseo by JLo. I love this scent. It’s probably one of the cheapest fragrances I own, but it could easily compete with several niche fragrances. Its so well done…..I get so many compliments when I wear it. I can’t remember how much I paid got it, But I know I paid a lot less than $50. I know you can get it for under $25 from some sites. So, I think that I probably should get double points for this one
The bottle looks very pretty in photos, too.
Si Lolita, which can be had for well under $50. I was originally thinking of Jungle L’Elephant for the post-Thanksgiving spices, but I usually save that for night… it packs a bit of a punch. This one gives me some of the same effect without overwhelming.
SOTD = Prada Candy Kiss and while it wasn’t exactly free, it was a pretty good price at around $38 for the flower edition. The bottle’s cute and after blowing through two samples of it over the weekend, I had to cave and buy some. They also had a VIB deal where I got a Derek Lam Crosby Street discovery set of 2ml sprays of each of the 10 scents, so an additional 20ml of perfume for free. I couldn’t pass that up.
Thanksgiving was rather hard this year so I’m standing on the edge of finally buying Tauer’s PHI Rose de Kandahar since I think Twisted Lily is having a sale today… My screen reading software can’t make out the graphic in the email, but I’m about five minutes away from calling them to find out. It was originally going to be on my gift list for myself for Christmas so I could place an order through FiF and dodge the shipping cost, but if it’s a good enough sale I may take the plunge. Most of my holiday shopping is done, I’ve been saving up for this weekend to treat myself and it’s very tempting…
Happy Friday and/or holiday weekend, everyone.
It’s 20% off with some brand exclusions. I also think it is free shipping above $75 (but best to check with them).
stop stop stop! cause I really want the new Berdoues with the Russian name and notes of cade and cardamon…..sitting on my hands…sitting on my hands …..
I think half Mother’s Day is coming up? Perhaps a gift for mom which you can borrow?
Darn, just realized half Mother’s Day is over but half Father’s Day is coming up!
naughty naughty naughty is what you are 🙂
@Hajusuuri, thank you! Oh, I’m so tempted… 🙂 I have been pretty good this year (I did buy a YSL Mon Paris set from Sephora during their 20% off sale because that perfume comes so very close to my beloved original Miss Dior Cherie) but other than that have been totally well behaved. And I do love this particular Tauer… Hmmm… *teeters dangerously*
Caved! It was such a good sale price I couldn’t pass it up.
Congrats on your new bottle!
I would have worn YR Accord Chic but it is the first cold day here in the Lowlands, so I needed something to keep me warm. Mona di Orio Vanille. No cheap thrill, but I bought the travel rollerballs at a very good price. I know, still no points!
I’m in Noir Patchouli (Histoires de Parfums), which kind of counts? It’s a travel spray (15ml) for $36, but I got it with one of Parfum1’s 20% off coupons and free shipping, so…$29ish? I wanted to wear patchouli today, though, and it was my cheapest option per ml (my essential oil is cheaper, but a small bottle), so…
Which brings me to my question! 🙂 Does anyone have recommendations for a good, lasting, patch-heavy perfume that’s not a budget-killer? I like them chocolately and earthy and musty, and somewhere near the middle of the dry/sweet spectrum. Other notes are welcome and appreciated. I love the essential oil, but sometimes I want a little complication to it and want to not wear an oil formulation (can stain the sweaters). 🙂
Be safe on the roads if you go out! My one car accident ever was when I was careened into by a crazy, crabby, sleep-deprived Black Friday sales hunter (I was just heading out to buy toilet paper…MISTAKE to run out that day), so I will be holed up with leftovers and coffee in my apartment! 😉
I will recommend some high end patchouli oil from Eden Botanicals which you can put into a perfumers oil…I have also added patchouli oil to Pacifica’s Mexican Cocoa and Ineke’s Field Notes from Paris to amp up the patch……
Dear chicolatemarzipan I have a question. I got some fossilized Amber from Eden Botanical and it is too much for me – I cannot figure out what to do with it – it is very strong and medicinal for me. What should I dilute it with?
Did you get the original or the 5% solution? If the former which I am assuming it is as you say it is very strong you can dilute in any carrier oil(sweet almond, apricot seed, sesame, jojoba, etc) and sweeten it up a bit with bourbon vanilla or any vanilla essential oil. I would recommend their preblended Amber Pure and Simple which is a bit tamer….or make your own amber by getting the 10% labdanum and adding some vanilla to it….If you can dilute the fossilized amber you can turn it into a body oil or even add it to some unscented body lotion….
Thank you!! These are great ideas. And I really need to try the Eden Botanicals patchouli…I think it’s one of the few oil brands I somehow haven’t tried yet.
or you can add patchouli essential oil to an unscented lotion (I happen to like Alba Botanicals) which serves as a nice patch base for another fragrance you can spray over it and you won’t be worried about staining your clothes…..
Oh my gosh, I LOVE the unscented Alba Botanicals lotion. It’s the only thing that keeps my dry skin in check all winter without seeming to alter any of my scents. I may do this today! I’m intrigued by the idea of layering this (patchouli E.O.-tinged lotion) with Field Notes from Paris…
There are quite a few. Nobile 1942 makes amazing patch and it is priced very reasonable. laborattorio Olfactivo makes a different type of patch – I would call it floral patch – which is great for summer.
While it isn’t necessarily “free”, I’d count Montale’s Patchouli Leaves because it can be found for reasonable prices last I checked and I think a bottle will last you forever! It’s patch up top with more of a vanilla/amber thing going on in the drydown, but I adore it, it lasts forever especially on clothes and isn’t horribly priced all things considered. And it is fun for layering though a light hand is needed as it can easily take over a lot of other perfumes.
I will find a sample of the Montale, too! Thank you! You’re right — they’re not cheap, but the couple of their scents I’ve sampled have been downright nuclear in their longevity/strength, so the cost per wear stays pretty low. 🙂
Ooh! I will see if I can track down samples. Thank you! 🙂
I love Noir Patchouli!
I love it, too! It’s one that hasn’t gotten enough wear this year, so I’m glad I had to poke around the collection for today’s challenge. 🙂
I like Reminiscence Patchouli, although the drydown is a tad powdery. For the price, though, it’s pretty good. And you smell great today!
And it’s earthy, chocolatey, and a tad musty.
Ooh! I need to try this one, too. Thank you!!
Nice there are so many patch-lovers on here… 🙂
Seconding Clarissa’s Nobile 1942 patchouli recommendation. I also love L’AP Voleur de Roses.
I’ve tried several “perfume” patchouli fragrances, but none have the hippie patchouli vibe I was looking for. So I use Aura Cacia’s Tranquility, a blend of essential oils:
https://www.internatural.com/essential-oil-blends-tranquility.html
This really is almost free! If you’re worried about diluting in oil, you can always use vodka.
I LOVE Voleur de Roses. And I am definitely going to sample the Nobile 1942. 🙂
I will check out the Aura Cacia, too! I have a couple of their blended oils, but not Tranquility. It sounds great!
Totally no points for me, wearing Chene (from a sale-priced decant, but still, no points). To be fair to me, I had a writing meeting for the morning and a whiskey tasting scheduled later, and this seemed to suit both.
I also think of it as buy-nothing day, so I’ll experience your cheap thrills vicariously.
I’m wearing Roberto Cavalli Oro, a double points winner since FragranceNet has it for $10.49 today. My bottle was a whopping $14.99. The bottle is gorgeous but a bit of a nightmare to store–it’s so tall and spindly I keep knocking it over reaching for other things in the cabinet. The scent is a spicy oriental, lasts a good while, and reminds me of Organza Indecence.
That Oro bottle reminds me of a Giacobetti sculpture.
Twins! I really love Oro and my bottle was a whopping $11.00 earlier this year.
The bottle is kind of a nightmare–I’m so klutzy that I decant it into a 5ml spray, because I know I’ll break it if I handle it too often. You smell glorious, though!
I’m a day late in posting but this is what I wore on Friday too. I’m bragging here but my bottle was only $7 on a TJMaxx clearance shelf because it doesn’t have a lid and the plastic snake is broken off. I forgot how great this smells.
Happy Day After Thanksgiving! I am wearing JLo Still. I read about it on EauMG.net. Pretty, and it was about eighteen bucks for 3.5 ounces of EDP on Amazon.
I have to share my great find at the local Salvation Army store on Wednesday. I go there to buy clothes for my grandchildren and bath towels for the local animal shelter. I always check the perfume counter behind the jewelry, and there was nothing that day.
But hiding on a shelf of toiletries I found an almost full bottle of Chanel No. 5 EDP, 1.7 ounces. For $1.99!
And since it was Senior Day, I got 25 percent off, so this lovely bottle cost me $1.49. Happy me!
You win! Congratulations on the great find. Did you give them $2.00 and say “keep the change”?
What an excellent find! Congratulations!
Wow.Congrats!
What!? $1.49?? Amazing!!
Hahaha! The winner of cheap thrills Friday!
WOW!!! That is a great bargain! I love No. 5.
Also, you smell great today! I really like J. Lo Still: it’s always pleasant, but still interesting. Victoria’s review at EauMG was what caused my purchase of a bottle, too. Makes me wonder how many sales she’s directly responsible for! 😉
What a deal! I’m going to guess you found it because of your buying towels for the animal shelter. Good deeds rewarded! 🙂
Barbara Bui le Parfum which was 26 bucks for the highly desirable 30ml size in Amazon. I love this stuff!
I love that one too. I swapped my bottle and had major swap remorse and got a new one at Amazon also – they have some great deals sometimes.
SotD = Library of Flowers Moon Shadow
For me Moon Shadow smells exactly like the white jasmine flowers growing in my neighbor’s garden, pure white floral with a bit of menthol and a tiny whisper of something rank. A few months ago I bought 50 ml in a very pretty bottle for under $50 US thanks to a review by Portia @ APJ.
Yay for Robin’s Old Spice! Yesterday I cadged a sniff from my father’s bottle. It smelled fabulous. He stopped wearing colognes decades ago, so I’m sure that bottle is going on 25 years old.
Dad used to wear Old Spice, too. Red packaging, white (or off-white) opaque bottle, IIRC.
Yep, that’s the same Old Spice my dad wore. I remember riding my bicycle to the local Thrifty Drug and buying it more than once for Father’s Days and dad’s birthdays when I was a child. Plus an ice cream cone, 3 scoops for 25 cents.
Mine, too. Cannot date any man who wears it.
Voile d’ambre by Yves Rocher. Nice stuff.
It is nice. I should get out my mini.
PSA- Dame Perfumery 10% off until 12/31
code- CXG3
sorry Robin! Wrong place..just put it in the correct thread 🙂
Works here too!
No points for me, but I smell great: testing out and loving Galop d’Hermes.
I haven’t tried it yet, it’s very high on my to try list!
You should try it. It’s pretty great.
SOTD today is Frapin “1697”
Top: rum absolute, dark rum, labdanum, pink pepper and davana;
Mid: sambac jasmine, hawthorn, ylang ylang, cloves, cinnamon, dried fruit and rose;
Base: amber, tonka, vanilla, cedar, labdanum, patchouli and white musk.
Yesterday’s was Frapin “1270”
Top: dried orange, hazelnut, resins, dried plums, cocoa, tonka and coffee;
Mid: vine blossom, linden tree, pepper and spices;
Base: woody notes, guaiac wood, honey and vanilla.
Both of them like caricatures of the ladies in a stock Victorian novel – pretty, insipid, died young.
Well then you probably would not like to hear that you smell good 🙂 I really like both 1270 and 1697!
They smell fair-to-middling going on, and very good indeed in the dry-down, but in between they just went AWOL. :^(
Not really participating this time. Wearing my old stand-by Paris YSL, and some Nuit Etoilée EDP on my wrist. I got it for a song on e-bay and it’s lovely.
I’ve realised that most of my cheap thrills are summery things. And I wasn’t quite feeling Rockin’Rio today.
I love Nuit Etoilee==you smell fantastic.
Was planning to wear my beloved Natori, which is so cheap and so wonderful.
But…without thinking I grabbed the Old Spice Amber body spray I got at Walmart. I spritzed it on yesterday and had my husband sniff it, without telling him what it was. His comment was, “Wow”. So, wore it again today.
You should let him borrow it 🙂
and Natori is a beauty for sure.
Oh, I bought it hoping to get him to wear it. That’s why I didn’t tell him what it was first.
SOTD = Hangover, so unscented. SOTH (scent of the house) = turkey stock, as DH is making stock from the carcass. Not sure this is helpful on top of hangover.
Like Hajusuuri, I have been wonderfully self-indulgent recently, in part because work has been so awful lately (so I deserve treats), and in part because the dollar has gotten much stronger vs the euro, so that’s saving me significantly on those First In Fragrance purchases. Who am I to turn down a free discount?? I think I’ll save my confessions for Donatella though. (Need some time to work up my rationalizations…)
I will unsee the First in Fragrance comment. clarissa mentioned it previously…
Yes, turkey stock is quite rich, I can imagine it not helping a hangover. 🙂 Feel better!
C & E Iris EDT over the shower gel and lotion. An inexpensive iris/vetiver scent. I bought my bottle off Ebay but I’m sure that it didn’t sell for more the $50. Happy Friday all!
I have to pull out my C&E Iris!
My idea of a cheap thrill are free samples. A good price isn’t as thrilling to me as going on a sniffing expedition, smelling new things, talking with the SA and then either getting manufacturer’s samples or having them make samples for me. Back home from FL and am wearing Kilian Incense Oud (from a sample of course)
Can’t get any cheaper than free…oh wait, yes, they can PAY you to wear it!
Where can we sign up for that?
I’m wearing Sung today, which is gorgeous and seems to be near-ubiquitous at TJ Maxx and Marshalls. I think I got my bottle at Marshalls and I believe I paid around $8 for it.
Does anyone have any thoughts on an Ormonde Jayne discovery set? It’s 30% off as well today and I’ve only tried Tiare from the line. But I can think of other things to grab as well (seriously considering DSH’s take on Opium for instance) so thought I’d check the general consensus on whether or not I should snap one up.
Pixel, I can totally relate and it’s been a rough year, so may as well indulge a little while the indulging is good. 🙂
all of her scents have a base woody amber that grates on me, for what it’s worth…I got the discovery box one year on ridiculous sale/free shipping, but gave it away this year as I can’t wear them
I like or love most of them, but they are packed with Iso E Super.
Thanks. I’ll sleep on it, then.
Are you in the U.S.? I have a set I can send you – far too strong for me. Reach me at andrea deveto at g m x dawt calm.
Jolie Madame for me today, from Fragrancenet a few years ago. I forget what it cost, but it was very cheap. I’ve never smelled a vintage version to compare, but this is very nice, and I don’t know why I don’t wear it more often.
I can’t help mentally (mis)translating that one as “jolly madam”, which gives it a rather saucy Barbara Windsor image. :^)
This morning I used up almost the last of my Parfum Sacre decant from STC, so will be ordering a new 8ml of the “older version” today to take advantage of their sale.
I was totally inspired by our very own Hajusuuri’s huge list of free items. I’ve been hankering for Sideris and Exultat for a few years now and since the Haj has such good taste decided to follow her example. In any case when I got to the check out on the Twisted Lily site, I had some remorse because that money goes a long way in india, so decided to just get the Sideris for now.
I’m really holding back on getting a lot of things this year because I already have a lot and trying to cut back. But I’m totally with Pixel, Absolute Scentualist and others in that it’s been a tough year so far and perfume goes a long way to soothe the bruised and weary soul.
🙂
Are you all set with your Rupees? My co-worker mentioned the still long lines at the ATM and it had been..2-3 weeks since the changeover. At the Thanksgiving dinner table, several friends mentioned other currencies changing (or changed)…like the English Pound. I have a tendency to just retain currency from my travels and I really need to pay more attention.
Well, my friend in India has arranged and paid for the cab from the airport to where I’m going (a three hour trip) so I’m all set there. I have some small rupee notes to pay for a couple chai’s for me and the driver en route. After that, I’m going to be winging it. My friend has access to rupees from her bank account so my guess is I’m going to run up a bit of a tab (she owes me money anyway) till I can change money myself. Thanks for asking!
I’m wearing Krazy Krizia today which I got a few years ago for about $13.00.
I always like that one much better than Obsession–you smell wonderful.
Scent twins!! 🙂
I put on Tokyomilk Dark Tainted Love my cheap thrill, but I can’t say i like it. So I took a shower and slathered myself with Bobbi Brown Beach body oil, which i hope still counts as a cheap thrill 🙂
My cheap thrill SotD: CSP Le Roi Santal. It is a very nice woody scent with very little projection or sillage. I bought my bottle years ago for twelve dollars. It has gone up in price. Had I checked, I would have picked Barbier des Isles, which is under twenty dollars at Beauty Encounter.
Maui Fantasy by alleged best-selling celebuscent maven, Britney Spears cost $19.99 for 30 ml. I was worried about the coconut in it but I can hardly smell it and the fragrance does smell like Maui. Returned from there Nov. 8 where I had worn it almost exclusively. The bottle has a beautiful hibiscus on it so I display it openly. This from a person who has a huge perfume bottle collection and works for a major French perfume house!
I’ll have to look for that one. I was pleasantly surprised by Island Fantasy–very fruity, and not long-lasting, but fun.
Coincidentally, I want to get Island Fantasy next because I think I might like the juice and the bottle is really pretty!
Krazy Krizia – $15.00 from Parfum1 a couple of years ago. It was in their clearance section so they must have been clearing out stock since this is discontinued.
Victoria did an excellent review of it:
http://boisdejasmin.com/2012/01/krazy-krizia-perfume-review.html
You smell great, Robin!
I hope everyone who celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday is OK today after all the feasting.????
My SOTD is Stella (again). It should count for Cheap Thrills Friday because it’s from a limited edition set of 4 rollerballs I bought nearly 10 years ago. It was somewhere around $50 full price, and even if it was a bit over that, each bottle would still only be like $13 each. …If I were home with my full collection, I’d go with Pacifica Island Vanilla for the double points.
SOTD = Pacifica’s Spanish Amber. YUM! I picked up a bottle due to some rather passionate advocates (also known as enablers) of this scent. And since it retails for around $22, double bonus points! w00t!
Avoiding the malls today like the proverbial plague. Instead, I’m doing laundry and watching football games on TV.
YUM is right 🙂
I was planning on wearing Gucci Rush, or Donna Karen Gold edp, both ridiculously cheap favourites from eBay, however I’ve been in bed with a cold, and I like to wear an orangey perfume when I’m sick, either Seville a ‘l’aube, or Azemour les Oranges, went with Azemour, as I haven’t worn it for a few weeks.
Hope you feel better soon! I own and love both Rush and Gold and agree, they are excellent cheap thrills.
SOTD was vintage Shiseido Murasaki, a really lovely chypre somewhere between Deneuve and Lauren, with more of something – maybe iris?
In terms of cheap thrills, earlier in the week I was enjoying Perles de Lalique, which can be found readily for under $50.
I am finally feeling better today! I went to work at 430 this morning wearing Coco. It was perfect for the Black Friday rush. Fresh Cream is my nominee for a Cheap Thrill. It comes in many forms, and ranges from $15 to $45 dollars. It’s great on it’s own and layer’s well.
Glad you’re feeling better. I have a sample of Fresh Cream somewhere–I’ll have to dig it out for tomorrow. I think it might go well with leftover pumpkin pie.
Wore Latifah’s Queen today. Had the day off and after a hectic Thanksgiving, decided Queen’s hint-of-incense dry down makes a great comfort scent for a day at home. (My Black Friday shopping is done online.) Two “other cheap” thrills I reach for often are SJP’s Lovely and Stash.
The first mention of Stash! I thought I would see more today. My gift set arrived this afternoon and I can’t wait to try the oil.
The oil is fabulous. Really helps lengthen the wear of the scent when layered with the edp. 🙂
Gorgeous! I started off the week in Queen.
This morning I finished off a decant of Parfum d’Empire Aziyade, which I also wore yesterday for Thanksgiving and find to be quite underrated. I saved my cheapie scent for after my shower, so I am now in Coty Emeraude cologne spray. I got it for $5.99 at the drugstore. It’s a linear, simple powdery balsamic. It wears very light on me. Of course, it is no match for the vintage stuff, but it is nice tonight.
I’ll have to look for Emeraude the next time I’m in a drugstore. I like powdery balsamics.
Forgot about the challenge and accidentally just made the cut: Fresh Cannabis Santal, currently showing up online at $50 for 30 ml, though I think I recall paying $48 at Sephora.
Did no shopping – can’t stand the crowds. I need to get more comfortable with online shopping. Wait, no I don’t, what am I saying?!
Yes, we should be careful what we wish for! :^)
I’m not very fond of floral fragrances, but I do love rose! And a favorite fall rose scent is YR’s long d/c Rose Absolue edp. I think I paid $25 for it when it first came out back in 2007 and somewhere along the way also got a free back-up bottle. A soft, jammy almost-gourmand deep pink rose; its distinctive, haunting cinnamon note lasts through all the layers of the fragrance and is absolutely delicious! My SOTD for today’s community challenge.
I wish YR wouldn’t discontinue everything so quickly, especially since it seems to take forever for things to be available in the US.
SOTD is the lovely and lasting Mauboussin Mauboussin. Not suitable for those who like their perfume light and fleeting, nor those who can’t abide powder. It is indeed reminiscent of Anne Pliska, with peach replacing the orange of AP. I think AP is a bit prettier; on the other hand, Mauboussin never turns to Play-doh on me. No double bonus points for me, although it is easy to find for around $30.
Yesterday I wore Tauerville Rose Flash. I got mine in a swap (thanks, Katrina!), but the rollerball is still $31. It’s quite sugary-sweet on me, but when it comes to rose perfumes, I much prefer that to sour.
This was a fun week! I tried to stay away from anything I knew for sure was discontinued, and still had no trouble coming up with five.
Oh, Mauboussin is wonderful and I love the bottle. I have a mini and it’s so rich I really don’t need a bottle but it’s so pretty. Much less pretty but equally fabulous is Histoire eau Mauboussin which could be by a pricy niche line and everyone would think is wonderful. Smells nothing like the original but it’s my favorite early fall scent. Twenty nine bucks on eBay and Amazon.
Didn’t play today since we were traveling. But – despite not planning a purchase, I hit the Belize Duty Free and bought a 75ml splash bottle of Egoiste for $55, which I thought was a pretty good deal.