It's finally Friday! Our community project for today: wear a fragrance with lavender, if you have one.
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 in good old Hermès Brin de Réglisse. It's the perfect antidote to another cold February day, and I'll be interested to see how many twins I have out there...
Reminder: 2/17 will be Reverse Hemisphere Friday — if you're in the Northern Hemisphere, wear something bright and tropical and happy. If you're in the Southern Hemisphere, wear something spicy and warm and comforting.
And for those of you who like to plan ahead, see Scent of the day ~ Friday community projects 2017, where I'll try to always have the next five or six weeks mapped out in advance.
Note: top image is Lavenders [cropped] by Sonny Abesamis at flickr; some rights reserved.
So you left Brin de Reglisse till Friday. Great choice.
SOTD is by Kilian A Taste of Heaven, absinthe verte. And earlier today I wore Caron Pour un Homme, since many people find these two scents similar.
I, however, think they are very different. Pour un Homme is all about lavender and vanilla with a hint of herbal notes. It is nice, pleasant and cozy, but not very exciting.
Kilian, on the other hand, is a much more complex perfume. My first impression was “Hey! It burns!” – something hot, burning, bitter and spicy. By Kilian website only mentions lavender, vanilla, amber and wood. On other websites, the description includes tonka bean, absinthe (wormwood) and vanilla, and I suspect these notes are responsible for the overall dark and bitter-sweet aura of this fragrance. It makes me think of smoky disreputable bars. It makes me think of someone who used to be nice and sweet (lavender and vanilla) but became bitter and cynical (absinthe and patchouli). A taste of heaven? More like a smell of disillusionment and broken heart.
However, after the first 15 minutes it becomes smoother, sweeter and creamier, which is probably a good thing, since the opening is too intense to be enjoyed for hours. The dry-down is mostly burned sugar and lavender.
A Taste of Heaven leans towards the masculine side, but can be easily worn by a woman, especially if she is a bohemian femme fatale. I am not sure whether I need it in my wardrobe, but it is a very interesting fragrance, so I will definitely keep using my sample.
I meant to leave Jicky til Friday but just felt like wearing it yesterday
Love Pour un Homme even if it is not exciting. Would definitely had worn that this week if I still had any (actually, I suspect I do have a decant but could not find it).
My love for Pour un Homme is steadfast but it really benefits from layering with lavender lotion or EO.
I’m in A Taste of Heaven, too.
I really liked reading your taking on A Taste of Heaven. Thanks for taking the time to share it!
You are welcome! And thanks for reading. It came out rather longer than I expected.
ditto!
Oh I must try this!
I am starting slow then building with:
Caron pour Homme
Phoenix Botanicals ( what adorable bottles & presentation of minis) Vanilla and the Sea
then for this evenings date nite w/ hubby-> Jicky!! I have never worn this before and am looking forward to it.
Loved reading you’re mini review Glannys, I’m definitely going to try it soon now!
Thanks! It is worth trying, interesting scent.
Scent Twins! From a sample. Between this and Back in Black I have no idea which one to get!
Bohemian femme fatale! Now I have to try this one, great description
Thank you for review Glannys! AToH is on my to try list.
Ok, I might just be lavendered out for the week..
SOTD A Taste of Heaven
SOTE Caron Les Plus Belles Lavandes
A Taste of Heaven – twins!
Caron – siblings (or cousins?), since I wore Pour un Homme a bit earlier today.
I just read your comment and thought the same thing! I haven’t tried Pour un Homme but this is a lavender/vanilla combo too so Im not sure they’re tooo different.
You smell great
I really want to smell this one and haven’t yet for some reason. or if I have, I don’t remember it.
Bvlgari au The Bleu.
Robin, I had a feeling you would go with Brin de Reglisse today ☺
Then you win! And you smell great.
Parfumerie Moderne Annees Folles for me since it has enough spice for frigid temps
That’s an interesting one. How dirty do you find it? It was a bit much for me.
SOTD is Boy Chanel. I am enjoying my sample of this one, but definitely don’t need to own it. It’s much to fleeting on my skin for that price. Maybe I need to spray more liberally…?
For all you soap lovers out there: http://www.lusaorganics.com/lavender-organic-skin-care-pure-natural-handmade-soap-s/78.htm
I first discovered these soaps at my farmer’s market and luckily my local Whole Foods carries many products from this company( no affiliation). I’ve tried lots of products that she makes, but the soaps are especially wonderful.
Happy Friday!
*too fleeting*
Twins – I am lavender-ed out though – all of my lav scents tend to be whimsical choices, and I am currently sick to death of the note.
Podenco puppy update,
After an impromptu 3 am potty trip ( which she asked for – yay) I was gently lead back upstairs with her mouth gently on my wrist. Apparently, it was though that I would wander off somewhere .
Awww, cute puppy story. Sounds like she’s settling in quite nicely.
We smell great twin!
That puppy sounds so cute
Awww, how cute!
ThankYou, these look amazing, there are atleast 3 to try!!
Oh, you’re welcome. All of the soaps smell just great! Please report back if you give them a try!
twin.
I had the same experience with Boy Chanel: I liked the scent, but it would disappear from my skin within an hour, I think.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to wear a beautiful parfum that contains an herbal note which makes you wrinkle your nose every time you inhale it.
Accepted. Jicky parfum Guerlain, circa 1996.
Today is the 42nd Anniversary of the passing of my Beloved Maternal Grandmother. I will be anointing her gravestone with her favorite, Jean Nate splash.
Love never dies. Thank you Grandma.
Carpe Diem. Peace.
I love that idea. Anointing her gravestone with her favorite perfume. What a beautiful way to honor her.
What a gorgeous tribute.
What a beautiful way to remember your grandma, Bear!
Love never dies.
LOL! Thank you for accepting the mission.
And our grandmothers loved the same fragrance, although I guess so did many.
My maternal grandmother wasn’t much into perfume, but she was the best grandmother ever.
Sooooo sweet! ❤
Jean Nate splash- oh, what a lovely memory to go with a uplifting and joyful fragrance!
So very sweet! We’re twins today in our Jicky, and our grandmas were twins, too.
What a wonderful memorial Bear, I’m sure you’re Grandmother would love that!
Lovely way to remember your grandmother…
I love the idea of anointing her gravestone.
How sweet! I wore Jean Nate when I was a girl.
Excellent idea. And you smell great, Jicky twin.
Lovely tribute!
Thanks to everyone for all your kind words. It is/was a lovely day.
Jicky was less-lavender today than the last time I wore it, which was a hot August day (yes, I keep an actual perfume journal). I like it better in the bitter cold.
A day late but I want to profess my love for all the grandmas who wore Jean Nate. I had one like that too. She was a marvelous lady who gave the best smelling hugs.
Thanks tiffanie !
SotD: One of the original Aqua Allegorias, Lavande Velours. Very Guerlain with lavender, violets, iris, and tonka, it sits somewhere between Jucky and Apres l”Ondee. Very nice.
I wore that yesterday
it was a super cheap blind buy a few years ago and I’ve not seen it since so I’m glad I got it. Fuzzy lavender and violets 
I used to have a bottle of the shower gel, too. It was also very nice. There are several AAs I wish they would bring back and this is one of them.
shower gel?! I missed the shower gel? Damn!! that sounds awesome!
That sounds so pretty.
That does sound lovely – will have to investigate.
luxuryperfume has a mini for $11 and there are still big ones around too..
Hmm, I’ll have to investigate!
I’m not a big lavender person but that’s one that I love. I wish more of the older AAs were still around. There were some good ones.
ooo this sounds very enticing.
Dior Homme for me today. I could’ve gone with my lemming – Esquel – which has a good dose of lavender in it, but I wasn’t quite feeling it today. So I went with calming lavender and vanilla.
LOVE Dior Homme, and hadn’t noticed that it has a lavender note. I should pay more attention.
It’s very light. Definitely predominantly an iris scent, but in the very beginning I do get a little lavender.
I’m wearing L’impact de pour un homme, Pour un homme, Pour un homme vintage and Les plus belles lavandes. All by Caron. I’m in lavender heaven:)
Wow!
What is especially impressive is that you combined three lavender perfumes of the same house.
3 different perfumes and 2 different versions of one of them. There is a noticeable difference between vintage and current PuH.
You smell terrific and are safe from moths!
LOL at this!
Which was the entire purpose of this exercise esp. since there happen to be so many moths on this cold and grey February day.
Wow, winner!
I bow in awe!
Yowza!
I’m in Beloved this morning. I was happy to learn that it features lavender because that’s a note that I have avoided in the past (fearing I’ll smell like a man), and I love being surprised. As in, “Hey, I don’t actually hate lavender like I thought I did.” I had the same experience with white flowers.
On a side note, my husband did tell me yesterday that I smelled manly in Rodin Bis, but I wasn’t too worried about that because A) I love Bis, and B) I love Bis.
Anyway, I’m really enjoying this week’s community project because I now have a whole bunch of lavenders on my To Try list. I’m looking forward to exploring the note some more.
Re: A&B- lol????
????
You smell gorgeous!
Thanks, Creosote! ????
Twins!
Yay! We smell so good. ????
I used to associate the smell of lavender with my great-grandfather, but now I can wear it myself. I really think that if you try enough different perfumes, you will eventually find a wearable version of any note.
I’ve enjoyed the lavender and purple illustrations this week, but I rarely enjoy the fragrance. Wearing Jicky last weekend was all I could manage for this challenge. This morning, I’m wearing Rapple’s vetiver cologne, which is just right.
I’m wearing 4711 AC Lavender & Thyme.
Perfect.
Jicky edt today. The only concentration I have right now. Anyone know how the extrait is these days? One of mine was very rich, the later one was closer to the edt.
I have not smelled the extrait in the last two years, but the one I smelled in 2015 emphasized the flaws in the edt–the unpleasant (to me) woody amber that fills in for the lack of Mysore sandalwood and civet and the changed nature of the vanilla and tonka. I did not care for it at all. Maybe someone has smelled a more recent batch and things have improved (as they have with the most recent batches of Mitsouko).
Sounds depressing. I read somewhere that Guerlain has their own sandalwood plantation. Not in Mysore, but the same species, Santalum Album.
It could be that it has gotten into use only recently since the trees need to be some years of age.
I bought some from the Pacific Islands a few years ago, not wildly expensive, and to my untrained nose it smells just like the Mysore stuff.
So we can allways hope.
Twin!
Quite a few of us in Jicky today. We smell terrific!
Brin de Reglisse for me as well. The first Hermessence I bought a bottle of and the first Hermessence bottle I’ll need to replace. So gorgeous.
Triplets! Although mine has already worn off, so I am now wearing Dzing!
Weirdly, all of the Hermessences I’ve tried have lasted absolute ages on me with the exception of Brin de Reglisse. I like to think of it as a beautiful corsage which was never intended to last forever.
Yay!! I still can’t believe I wasn’t sure if I needed this one.
I’m wearing Kiki extrait by Vero Profumo today. It’s a paradoxical perfume, spiky and sweet at the same time. The caramel note that seems too cloying in warmer weather is kept in check by the dryness of the air on cold, wintery days likes this. This time of year it strikes a kind of energizing balance for me. I have to go outside and shovel snow this morning and I’m hoping that Kiki will provide some comfort and fortitude.
I’ve been curious about Kiki for a long time, but I got scared off by the cumin in Rubj early in my perfume exploration. I figured I just wasn’t ready for Vero Profumo. Plus I had a slight fear of lavender, so Kiki fell from my list. But you’ve stimulated my curiosity once again.
Kiki is one of the most assertive fragrances I own. I really like it on some occasions but I don’t wear it often. If you’re not a lavender fan and Rubj seems too strong, it might not be your cup of tea. But it’s definitely worth a sniff. I think the quality of Vero’s materials and her unique take on them is always extraordinary.
I think I’m ready to give Vero Profumo a go again. In the beginning of my exploration I was completely repulsed by Cuir de Russie, and now it’s a serious, full-fledged love affair. So…I’m guessing I could have a very different experience with VP now. Do you find Kiki to lean masculine? Have you tried the edp or the voile d’extrait?
It feels unisex to me. It’s not at all a barbershop kind of lavender. I have a bottle of the edp, too. It’s in all ways lighter, softer, with most of the sharp edges rounded off. On me, it’s mostly passionfruit with lavender in a supporting role. Haven’t tried the voile d’extrait.
I am wearing the edp right now, I do not get the cumin note thankfully, although I did get it in the Rubj edp and disliked that one. I like all 3 forms of Kiki but for me the extrait is best.
I have and love Rubj Voile d’Extrait, but the EdP is way too much cumin for me, too. So I reckon there’s definitely hope:)
Noted! And so glad you think there’s hope. I would like to find a VP to love. ❤️
Not in a lavender perfume today, but if I owned Kiki, that would be my lavender of choice for this cool, crisp morning! I have been having fantasies about doing a Kiki test–the edp, parfum, and voile comparison. Been too lazy and cheap to work it out yet.
Hmmm. Maybe I’ll join you! I’m definitely sold on the need to try Kiki.
SOTD is Volnay Etoile d’Or, one of the only scents I have with a recognizable lavender note!
Discovered in the Goodwill lot I got that the mini was not Shalimar but Shalimar Legere, which I am loving. My 9 year old daughter’s current favorite is Shalimar so we are currently arm wrestling for this one but I think I am going to win.
A new perfumista is born…….
Precocious!
My 9 year old took Chanel 19 Poudre sample from my bin and sprayed herself before going to school. At least I know what to gift her several years from now
Ha! That’s fantastic.
I wish you were my neighbor because that would be a fun play date!!!
Happy Friday everyone! For lavender day, I am wearing Burberry Brit Rhythm for her, from the freebiemeet (thanks LizzieB). Flowers, amber, wood. It is very pretty, casual and easy to wear.
Twins!! I agree; it’s perfect for a casual Friday at work.
Triplets! Rhythm for Her is easy to wear and work-friendly, but I’ve found it surprisingly radiant and have to be careful not to overspray.
Glad you like it! Quite the shout out to USPS for delivering yesterday.
That’s what I’m wearing too! One of my favorite cheap thrills. There is something slightly Comet Cleanser about it in the early stages, but that makes me like it even more. It’s so inexpensive, I also use it on sheets, pillows, curtains, etc. and it makes for a wonderful room fragrance. And great for the car too.
Friday at last! Can I get an AMEN? AMEN!!!!!
Wearing one of the very first (if not THE first) perfumes I ever bought for myself….Lovely, by SJP. Top note of lavender that sticks around for the entire wear on my skin.
Have a great weekend y’all!!
Amen, sister! Wish I could smell Lovely properly; I seem to be mostly anosmic to it. To people with good noses, though, I’m certain you smell great!
Yay!!! I wore that yesterday! You smell fab!
*hands up in praise*
You smell Lovely.
I told Friday this morning:”You’re late!!!But glad you’re here…”
Cute ????
Love this! It had been a long week.
Seriously, I needed Friday like 2 days ago…
Twins! I’m not a huge fan of lavender but this is so nice. Long ago I got a trio with the fragrance, a roller bottle and body lotion. It’s nice to have the Friday projects I can put some neglected bottles into the rotation. We smell great!
Yay for Friday and if anyone wants some snow I will gladly send it your way!
My SOTD is Dyptique’s Eau de Lavande.
Ack, I still have not tried that one! Do you love it?
Since it is a toasty 20 degrees today, I went with Ambre Precieux by MPG. It is the perfect comfort scent with a lavender note on this frigid day. I had other choices but wasn’t feeling them on this freezing cold day. TGIF!
??? I have no idea… ????
As what’s-his-name kept saying in Shakespeare in Love, “It’s a mystery.”
See below…oopsy!
Another twin… although not perfume related. It happens now and then, but I have no idea how…
I love that one, my firs exposure to Amber. It is so subtle and yet rich, It feels very expensive and elegant like a classic mink coat but comforting at the same time.
You can inhale it for hours and not overdose.
What a great description… It does remind me of a luxurious fur coat.
Twins!
Hey twin… great minds and all that.
No lavender for me today – I had my mind all made up to wear 24 Faubourg, but as my hand headed toward it, it veered off and picked up Naomi Goodsir Or du Serail instead. The hand wants what it wants, and I have no regrets.
Forgot the lavender project when spritzing and chose L’Eau d’Hiver but have Caron’s Pour un Homme in the gym bag for later!
L’eau d’hiver is amazing.
Still lavenderless. Instead in MFK Grand Soir. Happy 3 day weekend coming up!! WooHoo!
always a great choice!
This is the only MFK I’ve smelled that I have loved
wonderful, warm choice!
Well, I’d say GS more than makes up for being lavenderless. ????
Well, I put on Zoologist’s Rhinoceros today thinking “too bad, not on theme” but – there IS lavender in the top! Well done, Rhinoceros!
I like this one so far. It’s the most “gendered” of the Zoologist scents I’ve tried – Nightingale was sort of strange on me in a way that turned it unisex – and checks a bunch of “masculine” boxes. So far it’s boozy leather, with occasional bits of brightness to keep it from turning syrupy. I’m rather fond of rhinoceroses, so I’m glad to be enjoying this one.
I didn’t get back here yesterday and just saw your response to my question…
My favorites were Nightingale, Bat, Civet and Rhinoceros. Nightingale almost reads vintage-y to me. It started out powdery but the drydown had an almost ashtray-like note that you sometimes find in older chypres, and I enjoyed it. Bat I liked for its weirdness, especially in the top. The combo of fruity notes and mineral/earth was really interesting. The drydown does get a bit raspy, but in this case I didn’t mind it. Rhinoceros was probably a bit more overtly masculine, but I liked the boozy leather, and it wasn’t overly herbal on me.
Beaver and Macaque were “almosts”. I wanted to like them but there was just one note that didn’t sit well. Beaver had an aquatic thing that I didn’t like, and I would’ve liked more of the castoreum note. And Macaque had a really spiky wood note that annoyed me the whole day when I wore it. When I got in my car later in the day, though, I discovered that it had gotten into my seatbelt a bit, and it smelled great, so maybe it’s just my skin.
Hummingbird was pretty but seemed really generic to me, like a lilac-y soap. I didn’t give it a full day because I thought it was kind of boring when I tried a spritz on my hand.
Thanks for your thoughts! I’m really looking forward to Civet. Hummingbird, not so much – but I don’t have the affection for lilacs lots of other people do.
Same here with some lilacs….there’s a lot of love for Desarmant but to my nose, it was just a chemical mess.
I am a huge fan of Panda and Civet, and I like the entire thought process behind the brand.
Yes, I like it too. There’s enough wit to keep it from just being gimmicky, and the perfumes are quite thoughtful and interesting.
Wow, I didn’t realize Rhinoceros had lavender in it. I’ll give it another try. It has been fun to cycle through the sample set but perhaps I settled too quickly on just the few I liked the most (Civet and Bat, really). I’ll have to give others more of a run for their money.
Le 3e Homme (though I definitely don’t need a special reason to wear this).
Love this (and Pour in Homme)
Stupid autocorrect (but you know what I mean)
I love autocorrect,esp here at NST!!Daily chuckles…????
Showered with L’Occitane Lavande shower gel (well, foaming bath, same thing), spritzed on some SL Fourreau Noir (black licorice and lavender, heaven) and topped it off with smoosh of L’Occitane Lavande hand cream. I think I’m pretty well covered, lavender-wise.
Yum!
I rarely post these days, but I just realized I accidentally participated in the SOTD project by selecting Patchouli Intense from Parfums de Nicolai – so really, I have to post, don’t I? It’s one of my all time favorite frags.
Hope everyone is well!
Hi squirrely, good to see u!
Nice to see you!
Inspired by yesterday’s teapot, I tried Tokyo Milk Honey and the Moon with the Helmut Lang Pafum again, which I think may or may not have lavender…?
Jean Patou Moment Supreme for me. I wish the Ma Collection scents were easier to find buy I’m also afraid IFRA would have destroyed them.
Omg, I didn’t realize there was lavender in that one! One of my favorite ambers, I shall have to revisit now????
You smell lovely!
This was meant for Petunia above, have no idea how it got down here.
Oh well…
JHAG Lady Vengeance, which has some lavender in there somewhere
mmm.
Good stuff!
Didn’t go for lavender. Wearing Rihanna Rogue, my poor man’s version of Botegga Venetta. This one makes me feel a bit like a bad ass, an attribute that may come in handy today!
If Rihanna can’t make you feel like a bad ass, who can?
Exactly!!
Delighted to be wearing Epiphany by House of Matriarch. It came just in time, yesterday, as a gift with an order of Woo. Lavender isn’t usually my thing but I’m very taken indeed.
I love Epiphany! It is a really beautiful lavender perfume. It’s nice to see someone else mention and enjoy it too.
I’ve spent the week sampling Le Labo, and today is Bergamote 22!
Earlier this week, I wore Thé Noir 29 and have now fallen in love with something I can’t really afford. Can anyone recommend some fragrances that are similar to Thé Noir 29 that I can try out?
I just got a sample of Bergamote 22 last weekend and tried it for the first time. I am in loooove! Isn’t it wonderful?!
Scentsplit carries decants of LeLabo if you don’t want to financially commit to a whole bottle- I hear you on those prices.
You smell fabulous!!
I also love The Noir 29 … I’d probably be interested in that during splitmeet – that is soon right? I also think Bergamote is great.
For those of you looking for Le Labo splits, you can get a good price through the Basenotes Fragrance Splits Board. You have to commit to increments of 50 mLs and you have to wait until the split fills and it could take some time – Monica buys the 500 mL bottles to split. I’ve gotten Vanille 44 (I have a bottle but I don’t ever want to run out) and The Noir 29. I am still waiting for Limette 37 for probably 2 years already…the other ones fill up much quicker than that!
And for those who isn’t FB-averse, there is “International Fragrance Split Association” group, Monica is taking a smaller decants offers in there (starting from 10 ml): as I understand, 50 ml is Basenotes’ limitation, not Monica’s (I’m not affiliated in any way – just a happy customer).
I sniffed through all the non-exclusives, ended up with samples of Lys 41 and Labdanum 18, and was very relieved to discover that I liked but did not love them. Now I just need to avoid the City Exclusives (easy), and never re-try any of the others. Good luck finding something similar, or a decant, or, who knows, a miraculous eBay partial bottle.
NST community to the rescue! Thanks for all these suggestions, friends. I will certainly try a split.
I’ve also since discovered that Le Labo has liquid balm version of everything, which are less prohibitively priced and stay closer to the body. Gulp.
Aroma M Vanilla Hinoki which has noticeable lavender in the top notes. Despite me not liking the combo of lavender and vanilla, this doesn’t have “that smell” that makes me queasy. Instead it’s fresh and uplifting. I still think it smell like ginger chews.
I really need to get to Twisted Lily to get samples of some of these….
I only liked 2 of the ones they carry there, but I like them a ton!
I think I know what you mean about “that smell,” and Vanilla Hinoki doesn’t make me queasy, either. It smells like juniper and Jeffrey pine to me, and the lavender has never jumped out at me (maybe thankfully?)
Funny, I’m not translating anything as woods either and I know it’s supposed to be about hinoki…
Wow, I really get the cedar smell from it. I know it’s a kind of cypress but it smells cedar-y to me. And vanilla-y. It’s a very smooth round smell and I don’t notice any lavender at all. Funny. I have the rollerball, maybe that makes some difference??
I think the rollerball might make a difference with Geisha Vanilla Hinoki. I have a spray bottle and a dab sample. They do smell a bit different to me.
Hi twin! I’m a day late but adding my admiration for Geisha Vanilla Hinoki. I do smell the lavender, but the fragrance is so well built that it never overwhelms, it’s just one note in the whole melody.
I like your ginger chews connection. GVH has a fine balance that I love, I think of it as “deliciously inedible.” It smells yummy but I am not reminded of food I would eat. Agree that it isn’t very woody for me either, but it definitely reminds me of childhood days when I would take cones from a cypress tree and smash them so I could smell that greenish-piney-citrus-minty-aromatic wondrous-ness.
Lotioned up with Trader Joe’s lavender lotion, which I normally just use on hands/arms at night. Wearing SJP Lovely on top. I don’t really get much lavender from this but am happy to wear it.
My husband is complaining the apartment is cold, so I may have to pop the front off the radiator and turn the heat back on. We’ve had it off since November. He sleeps with a sweatshirt on; I wear a tank top.
Hahaha! Similar at my house, double blankets for my husband and feet outside any blankets for me!
Would be exactly the other way round in my case unless its hot outside,then I have the opposite problem. I like to joke I’m coldblooded.
Off since November! I am impressed. I keep the radiator in my bedroom turned almost all the way off, but downstairs they are running full blast
We live in an apartment building so the insulation and ambient heat keeps things pretty comfortable. And it is small enough that just cooking dinner or baking has an impact….
PSA for those cat lovers in NYC. I mentioned that movie Kedi a bit back…the cats of Istanbul. It starts tonight at The Metrograph (no affiliation) and will be showing for a number of days. Seats are all reserved and there is no service fee for online purchase. Warning: not the most comfortable seats in town, which makes no sense given how new the space is. Two screens; one is substantially bigger.
I haven’t seen anything there yet, but I’ve been inside. It’s a pretty nifty space. Very LES. And can’t imagine seats more uncomfortable than those at Film Forum. That place needs a serious renovation.
They’re just about as bad…which is just crazy. They obviously don’t ascribe to my view to never sacrifice function for form. The seats look cool, but they’re not comfortable.
My husband has corrected me. Says Film Forum seats are far worse. So don’t let the seats keep you away… ????????
Awwww! I saw this awhile back in Houston at a Turkish film festival at the art museum and LOVED it. It’s not quite what you might expect. Yes there are cute cats but it’s really a lot more about the very quirky personalities of the people there who have unique relationships with very specific and particular cats. Some of the stories are touching and some are hilarious. I’m planning to go see it again when it comes back. (Also, great visuals of the city!)
Nicolai’s Amber Oud for Friday’s project. My favourite lavender, creamy and warm.
Ben Sherman in the black Union Jack bottle(Love the bottle,impossibly difficult to accurately spray though!)I “think” it has lavender,although the liqorice is the main event!I enjoyed everyones’ suggestions yesterday for my perfume room project,thank you!TGIF.And weekend.I need sleep.Happy Weekend!!x
Option two would have been ELdO Antiheros.I hope someone wears it today!!
I don’t even remember what this smells like and I may just have a sample!
Not a fan of lavender. I don’t know why; I’ve just never liked it. So SOTD is Chergui. Tobacco, honey, amber – now there are some notes I like!
Chergui is always a good choice!, u smell great.
<3
Wearing Jicky EDT today. Love that lavender/ citrus opening! It’s nothing like what I usually wear but Jicky is special for me because I remember my great grandmother having a bottle on her dresser. She applied by turning it upside down and then taking out the stopper and dabbing it on her wrists. If they were going out she would dab some on her husband’s wrist too, which he hated! Jicky is also my brother’s nickname. I’m so glad we had a lavender theme because it made me pull out a scent that is attached to all these fond memories!
I love that story about your great grandmother!
Oh, me too! Lovely.
Hi, twin! Wonderful accompanying memories like yours surely make Jicky smell even better. ????
The story about your great-grandmother is really cool!
Shalimar edp, from a little vintage bottle, lovely and cosy on this cold, cold day.
wonderful.
House twin. You smell fantastic!
I forgot that Brin de Réglisse has a strong lavender note in it. I didn’t think I had any lavender-y scents, so I’m in Coeur du Désert today. I packed up almost all my perfumes to send back with the dear, sweet, patient boy when he leaves on Monday, so I will have to rely on just a few travel sprays for the next few weeks. So these were my goodbye sprays of Coeur du Désert, in anticipation of being reunited soon!
I didn’t see yesterday’s posts until early this morning, so I didn’t get a chance to add my congratulations to the chorus. Congratulations Dr. Koyel! Enjoy a great weekend with your boy.
I love Athens so much. What a wonderful city to relax in after a crazy hectic time.
Thank you so much
Congratulations from me too!!
Seconding sistine’s congratulations, so happy for you! (I saw yesterday’s postings quite late)
Congratulations!
Causse Mejean today and I smell like a herbal field. Hope no one minds ????
Twins! You smell maaaaaaaahvelous.
You too, the dry down is the best!
Parfums de Nicolai Maharadjah. Wonderful, spicy, opulent and warm lavender. This is lavender for Shalimar people.
I knew you would pick that one. You smell wonderful!
I do. Even got a compliment today!
It’s such a wonderful fragrance, one of the people working at the gorgeous Place Vendôme shop was instantly smitten; ah Guerlain as he tried it.
Btw loved Sao Paulo, I will definitely be back!
Histoires de Parfums 1725 Casanova — it smells more like smoothly blended barbershop soap than its notes, but there’s definitely noticeable lavender, especially in the sillage.
Twins!! I didn’t think I would like this but I’m enjoying it today.
you smell great.
Wearing Bulgari’s blue tea on one hand and Rose Nacree on the other. I do like Caron’s Third Man, but sadly, it sometimes makes me sneeze.
It’s actually NOT RAINING right now. Though it is completely gray out. We’ve had over 40″ of rain since Jan 1. Enough already.
I do like lavender, and I grow lots of it — it’s one of those rare plants that our resident deer, gophers, and rabbits don’t eat. Goodwin Creek Gray is the variant that works best here.
SOTD is Richard Luscher Britos 44N 03E – Causse Mejean. This is actually by Andy Tauer, and is the reason I keep hoping he’ll do Lavender Flash someday. It’s lavender, pine, resins, and a touch of vanilla. Not sweet, not foody, rather bracing, just up my alley.
I have some Goodwin Creek lavender plants in my backyard in San Diego too, they are doing well. Need to make some sachets.
I would so buy Lavender Flash.
I’m wearing Penhaligon’s Sartorial. I rarely wear it because I don’t always feel comfortable in fougeres, but it’s working for me today.
I mostly dislike lavender notes in perfumes, as they pull completely screechy on me, but there are 2 that I like, as they are blended with notes that temper and soften the pointy lavender. The one I’m wearing today is I Profumi di Firenze’s Terra di Siena, a very soft, clean, and fresh fragrance that balances the prominent lavender with notes of mint, tonka, and sandalwood. The other, Encens Et Lavande, was a delightful, warm, frankincense and lavender beauty that was spoiled by a rather bad reformulation a few years ago, leaving me with lingering regret that I did not obtain a bell jar of it before then. It’s now just a fond memory.
Oh no! This is the only Serge Lutens I love! I have an older sample so I need to get a newer one! Thank you for mentioning this and I am sorry for us both. The
I do not know where that The came from but my comment is complete.
Chanel Boy fits the bill
twin.
When I get my act together, I’ll put on Belle en Rykiel, the only lavender fill bottle I own (but it was fun doing those samples/decants this week, must visit them more often)
Spent the morning in the original Eau Premiere and remembered why I don’t wear it often. I don’t know why but an hour in, it annoys me to no end. Wasn’t quite feeling Jicky today even though it has lavender in it, so I am wearing vintage Bal today.
I started reading The Case Against Fragrance yesterday ( Kate Grenville) . Basically, she used to wear White Linen, got headaches and discovered through talking to friends etc. that fragrance ( perfume, household products, grooming products, room sprays etc. ) makes some people feel sick ( headaches and allergies). Her own headaches were so bad she was forced to tape up the crack around her door when staying in a posh hotel ( the corridor was scented withsomething) . I am only a quarter way through and the frustrating thing is that she is writing from the perspective of someone who knows ( practically) nothing about fragrance….when she learns, for example, that natural essential oils contain chemicals she appears to think she has made a discovery that will surprise and shock people . She is very dismissive of perfume enthusiasts…she must have gone onto Basenotes , found a comment ( which I traced to a response to Poison…it wasn’t acknowledged with a footnote but was possible to word search for) and then makes snide remarks about the florrid ‘tripe’ perfume lovers write. She was surprisingly arrogant and also ignorant and at that point I got irritated and stopped reading. But I will finish the book and report back. But, seriously, I wouldn’t recommend it as it seems to resemble a google researched ( with some back up from peer reviewed papers ) book. It won’t tell you anything you don’t already know ( factually) and the rest is exactly as bad as you imagined it would be. Bof! Wearing Journey cause I feel pissed off.
Just adding a quote ( don’t read it Ede) so you can get an idea :
(Enthusiasts) believe that expensive perfumes are natural, not synthetic, so they would never give anyone a headache (ibook version, p58).
You are really taking one for the team!
I actually thought it would be better than it is. But the argument is quite circular and the research is either lightweight or simply stated ( and modified with no real sense of scientific understanding ). I will finish it though . ( Secretly glad she hasn’t written the book I am working on).
One for the team indeed.
That might be one of my comments about Poison…I have been known to write some florid tripe now and then in the lurid alleys of Basenotes…especially about vintage Poison.
Her quoted example (or “florid outpouring” as she calls it) begins : “This scent opens with an orange-plum-grape syrup accord with hints of underlying jasmine…”During the late dry-down the composition turns slightly powdery…”
You took the comment right out of my mouth!
You’re braver than I am – I have the feeling I’d be so annoyed by the book that it wouldn’t be good for my health! I hope you’re blood pressure is OK
Sounds like the worst kind of pop pseudoscience. Thanks for reading it so we don’t have to!
You can’t fix stupid, unfortunately. I get so tired of ignorant people spouting off opinions stated as facts.
I think she is just trying to understand why she gets headaches from fragrance. She is seeking an answer to a problem. The trouble with the book is that she has unearthed a lot of information and possible answers but lacks the confidence or scientific background to get a grip on that information so her arguments become very simplistic, and very biased and flawed. But, I think she has a right to try and find answers to her problem and write about it. I think some of her points are probably valid but I don’t think she makes those points convincingly enough to make for a good read. It’s all too vague.
First of all – thank you: I’m glad you’re reading it and reporting back, I would have been furious reading it myself
Second, I want to say that I’m not sure why she thought that her searches for answers to her headaches warranted a book: yes, of course perfumes might trigger headaches or worsen them for people who have sensitivities or prone to headaches/migraines. But so does loud music, bright light or strong smells (not perfume-related). And people who suffer learn that and try to avoid known irritants – what to write about?!!
For taking one for the team, you have our thanks and sympathies. ????
Baha ha. But I wanted the book to be interesting and thought provoking! That’s why I started it. That is why it is so disappointing.
Thanks Kanuka for the synopsis/review.
I understand her wanting to find the original of her health problems, but I highly doubt White Linen is the cause and/or major contributor to said problems.
Life is more complex than that.
origin, I DID NOT type original, internet gremlins. LOL
Thank you, Kanuka, for diving into this. I know to avoid that book like the proverbial plague… I can’t stand bad science!
I am cheering on everyone wearing lavender today. I am continuing my Month of Roses.
SOTD = Lush Imogen Rose
I was assigned to wear POAL per Lucas’ calendar but since I am working from home, I had to adjust my perfume choice. Using 1 spritz, it is wafting a nice powdery ( non-lipsticky) rose and Iris.
Jalapeño, thank you for the Rosine suggestion. That’s a line I have not explored!
I’ll be back to comment later. I have continues meeting coming up.
Gah on auto-correct. I meant CONTENTIOUS meeting and it was. Thank goodness I am not the final decision-maker!
Wearing Guerlain Heritage. When I bought the edt several years ago, the (generally preferred) edp was noted by many reviewers to be long since unavailable. My search proved fruitless. But prompted by this project I searched again, and Notino had it. So thanks, Robin & community. A bottle is on its way.
Wishing a beautiful, sunny weekend to all.
you smell great.
Thanks!
Skimming comments but looking forward to happy NST read this afternoon.
I’m in Canturi, as my comfort scent day 10. I really like this fragrance and it is up there with my top three very cheap perfume treats.
No lavender, but cozy–and that was my goal!
Not a fan of the scent of lavender, at all. Though, I am wearing “Love, Chloe” today, which is full of other purple florals.
Boy Chanel for today’s project.
I look forward to sampling that one again this summer. It was pleasantly clean when I tried it in October but I bet it will be extra nice in the heat of summer.
it is glorious in the heat.
I don’t have any lavender, so I’m making my way through the sample pile that’s been accumulating all winter. Up today: Novacaine by Tokyo Milk. Smells like a Thai restaurant (in a good way). Not my thing, but it’s interesting. It also has me reflecting back on the discussion of fragrances that smell cheap – I don’t find this one cheap-smelling at all, and I wonder if it’s because of the relatively unusual notes.
Does it remind you of Fils de Dieu? I find that one quit Thai food-y – as you say, in a good way! Thai food and Shalimar.
Maybe a little? Fils de Dieu is more fresh/herbal to me, while this is mostly pepper and vanilla, but there is something similar, possibly the ginger? Of the two, I prefer Fils de Dieu, but this isn’t bad.
Oh, how interesting – I never think of Fils de Dieu as fresh/herbal, but perhaps I’ve never paid enough attention! I’ll have to wear it again soon. What a sacrifice . . .
I get a lot of cilantro, lime/lemongrass, and vetiver from Fils – the heavier notes seem to get lost on me. I’ve been contemplating a bottle of it for awhile now – so nice in hot weather.
I’m in Jicky for today’s project–been looking forward to it all week.
Waft that lavender, NST, and enjoy your Friday!
Enjoy your Friday, too!
Thanks!
Me, too! (Wearing Jicky, and also having looked forward to it.) Have a great weekend!
Not a fan of lavender but I pulled out Brin de Réglisse to follow Robin’s lead….
Not bad…I smell lavender early but it pipes down quickly…this one wears off very quickly as so many JCE creations do….happily this means more perfume spraying later.
It’s Friday!!!
Yes, when I was working I wanted things that would last 9 hours, but now that I’m retired, shorter-lived things are welcome as that means more spritzing in the afternoon!
Ha, I have already put on more BdR twice today
I’ll be doing my Saturday morning supermarket shopping in Gris Clair, but at the moment (pre-shower), I can still detect last night’s Rose d’Arabie. One of my favourites.
Happy Friday Everyone! Wearing Queen by Queen Latifah today.
YUM! You smell fabulous!
Gorgeous.
Generally speaking, I like lavender, but have almost no perfume with lavender in it. After searching for notes on Basenotes, I found MPG Ambre Precieux Ultime has some lavender, and I have a small sampler of that. I don’t get lavender out of it AT ALL, but amber is good on a cold day, so what the heck.
Points for effort, anyway. And you smelled great!
Totally sidestepping today’s project.
Wearing Black Cashmere because a) it is cold and b) I needed to attend several parent-teacher conferences. I smell good.
You smell awesome, actually.
lovely !
You smell better than good… Black Cashmere’s downright wonderful!
I’m also wearing Brin de Reglisse. I love it, nice to have an excuse to wear it! Also – I didn’t realize that there were so many perfumes with licorice and lavender …
Hey, welcome to the party!
sampling La Liturgie Des Heures Eau de Parfum by Jovoy Paris.
This is nice. So cold here today, it is not projecting as much as I expected given the reviews, but it is to my nose a very well blended pretty incense amber honey perfume. I will sample it again when it is not so cold. Not going into the swap pile just yet
Lavender smells awful on my skin, just ugh. Love it in nature, although also terrified of the bees that inevitably hang out around lavender. We had some lavender along the walkway to one of my parent’s houses (my mom loves moving, like it’s a hobby or something) and i would move by those so fast!
And yes, i was stung by a bee as a young child – under my diaper no less. Still traumatized 35 years later!! That buzzing haunts me.
Anyway! Wearing DK Cashmere Mist Liquid Nude. If you squint just right in dark lighting the bottle might be considered lavender-esque. Quarter point for me!! ;D
Happy Friday Everbody!
What an awful association!
For the day time I’m taking a break from a month of roses to join many of you in Jicky EDT. I’ve been looking forward to it all week. But tonight I’ll be rosy again in PHI. This will be my final attempt to join the PHI bandwagon. In my other two wearings I haven’t gotten much rose, just soapy, musky, sandalwood reminiscent of 70s and 80s perfumes. We shall see how it goes this evening!
We’re smelling good, here in the Jicky Club!
I read this quickly and only saw “icky Club”.
I shall look forward to your PHI conclusion. I’ve only worn it once so far and I was similarly disappointed. Something fruity and plasticy reminded me of Strawberry Shortcake dolls was put me off. I intend to try again though.
Well, it went better tonight, but it’s still not love. This was my first time spraying rather than dabbing, and I finally got the rose. It appeared in the middle. So I liked it and enjoyed smelling it on myself as I walked to dinner. I will keep using my decant but probably won’t replace it when it runs out.
Twins! (Or, you know, sextuplets or something. I’m working my way from the bottom of the comments.) With PHI, I could smell the beautiful rose-and-apricot scent everyone else seemed to get, but with a nasty chemical miasma over the top of it. Glad it’s not a full-on scrubber for you.
Wearing Beloved to a) participate in Friday project b) because it is gorgeous.
I received a package from fragrancenet today and discovered a broken sprayer on the bottle of Eau Claire des Merveilles. Ugghh!
Going to the post office to send it back! What a bummer!
Bummer, indeed. But you smell wonderful!
Thank you!
You smell great!
Thank you!
Too bad about the broken sprayer. That had to be an annoying discovery.
It really was. Especially, since I was planning to make a decant from the newly aquired bottle for a wonderful NSTer and include it in the package.
SOTD and lavender #5 is Maria Candida Gentile “Luberon”.
Top: lavender;
Mid: rose and mint;
Base: oakmoss and cedar.
It has the signature MCG feel (a good thing) but it’s not rocking my world. :^)
Too bad. The notes are really interesting.
It’s nice, but some of the other MCGs are really special. I’m holding out for that these days. :^)
Hi Koenigsberg,
I just received my decant of this from TPC’s special. It sounded great on paper, and I have never tried a MCG thus far, so I am excited to try his one.
I love the combination of notes, it feels summer fresh.
Please let me know how you feel after wearing it a few times and I will do the same.
Do you have a favorite Maria Candda Gentile?
Hi AngelaB. So far my favourites have been Elephant & Roses, and Exultat. I have several more to try! :^)
Thank You! Now on my list!!
A splash of skin bracer (it has a loud lemon note followed by a loud lavender note accompanied by a loud vanilla note, followed by a pushy, musky leather note) and several sprays of Pour Un Homme, which I actually don’t find dull at all, owing to its texture (someone said: rough, like burlap). The 6.7 OZ bottle is about 5 years old and about 7/8’s empty, and feels quite strong now (I find the bottles after 2011 have more vanilla on balance; this is more musky, with the sage and cedar notes more pronounced too. I’d swear I get a bit of geranium). For some reason I associate this fragrance with all the difficult periods in the past when I used it therapeutically for weeks at a time. Now, I can’t wear it too often, but am always quite conscious of its history when I do.
Ha! Nothing like starting off the day with a loud, loud, pushy, musky companion.
You smell wonderful. Congratulations on getting through the difficult periods in the past, too.
Thanks! That Caron really does shore a person up. I plan to never be without it…
SOTD = Les Parfums de Rosine Rose d’Homme, from a sample. I never saw any of the Rosines around where I am at, so I grabbed a few of them from The Posh Peasant a while back.
What do you think of this one?
Here are my testing notes when I first tried my little dabber sample: A quiet, dark rose with a bit of lavender. Maybe the barest hint of suede in this… getting patchouli instead of leather. I did not find it masculine, despite the Homme in its name. I did like it.
You smell wonderful.
Thank you!
Sotd = Geisha Vanilla Hinoki + lavender essential oil
Adding a bit of lavender brings out the aromatic feeling of this scent. It’s wonderful.
About 250 comments already. I’m looking forward to a read through and learning how lavender was embraced and avoided today. It was a greatly fragrant week. I hope we can do another single note-themed community project again.
Yes I get so many good ideas from these explorations of single notes!
I started out in a small spritz of Bel Respiro, just to give it another chance to impress me. It did not. Now I’m off to dig out the sample of Diptyque Eau de Lavande, which I’m pretty sure I have somewhere. It came in a set and I’ve never tried it. Today’s the day!
Oh dear. This smells like Band-Aids.
Oh no.! ????
I wanted to participate in this project so much and I had just a perfect perfume for that, so I decided to start with the lavender scent for the day, and then in the evening I’ll wear my “designated” perfume for the Month of Roses project, in which I participate.
My SOTD is Lieber Gustav by Krigler. I love this perfume and enjoy it every time I wear it. I know that the brand is quite obscure (and expensive!), and I wouldn’t have found it if it weren’t for a parfumista friend who shared with me her find. I loved it so much that from the sample went to the full bottle – even though my friend had offered to give me a decant of it from her bottle.
I somehow knew you were going to wear this one
If it weren’t for this one, I wouldn’t have given up a day in the rose I planned to wear – not for Jicky, not for Hermès Brin de Réglisse, not for Kiki, all of which I like and enjoy wearing.
But I came home and for the last 4 hours I’ve been enjoying my planned perfume for today – Portrait of a Lady. It’s interesting that we both had to switch this perfume for something else. But I fixed that
Since I completely forgot today’s SotD, I’m at least going to spritz some Caldey Island Lavender on my pillowcase to give me some nice dreams
Perfect!
I went with Jicky, the modern edp, and it really was perfect for a rainy day, made me feel something approaching cheerful. I’d like to smell it on a man some day. (Sigh.)
I’m thinking of throwing caution to the wind on Valentine’s Day, and treating myself to either half a glass of wine or a piece of dark chocolate. Also some vintage Knowing, courtesy of the very generous Laura. Okay, now I’m actually looking forward to it. Perfume, making everything better!
Just checked my decant, and the Jicky is actually the edt. Might as well spray a little more while I have it out.
Okay. so reporting back: I had not tried Caron Pour Homme before and sadly I agree with the NST’ers who said the mix of Vanilla – Lavender combo on their skin, did not work well. I wanted to love this, maybe my hubby will rock it as a Valentines Day gift.
My Phoenix Botanicals Vanilla and the Sea was a nice surprise! The opening has a slight whiff of cinammon – which I find with every natural perfume I have tried so far but quickly shifts to something smoky in the background – maybe lavender coming forward?
Not much vanilla to my nose, just refreshing and clean and unusual. I really enjoyed that.
Another first.
Jicky was the perfect choice for later and it has well known appeal.
I am excited to try some of the others mentioned here, specifically By Killian A Taste of Heaven.
I’m late to the party, sorry. Yesterday I dabbed my last few drops of Tauer Reverie au Jardin on my left hand and sprayed SJP Covet on my right arm. I hadn’t worn or sprayed Covet for years–forgot I had it even, until this project. I find it pretty boring. Nice enough but dull. The Tauer was sparkling and intriguing. Unfortunately when I still had a full decant and sprayed it, in the past, it would make me sneeze and sneeze. I love the smell and it got me compliments but I couldn’t seem to tolerate it. Sad!