It's World Poetry Day and National Fragrance Day! What fragrance are you wearing (and what poem are you reading)?
My fragrance: Monocle + Comme des Garçons Scent One: Hinoki, thanks to a very kind reader who helped replenish my stock.
My tea: a mix from my big tin of Earl Greys that I did not like. I blend them all together and add some Lapsang Souchong and some Harney & Sons French Super Blue Lavender.
My poem: It Is A Spring Afternoon by Anne Sexton, originally published in the New Yorker in 1968.
Reminder: on 3/24, wear one of your "top 10 of spring" fragrances (unless it's fall where you are, in which case wear one of your "top 10 of fall" scents)
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: shown is the ForLife Dew Teapot, available in 14 and 32 oz sizes. I own the larger size and it is my favorite teapot. For smaller amounts of tea, I use one of these.
That teapot is just perfectly proportioned! And such a suitable color. You have such good taste!
SOTD = Annick Goutal Songes, from a little dark bottle with stars on it – don’t know what era. When I first applied it this morning, it didn’t appeal to me as much as it usually does. But now it is just lovely on my skin…
Still trying really hard not to look at Twitter or read political stuff.
Twitter can be hard! The discussion there has really been dominated by politics. Good luck with the avoidance
SOTD is Houbigant Orangers en Fleurs – a joyful orange blossom.
I did not know it’s World Poetry Day, but I’ve been reading and watching Julius Caesar by Shakespeare, and, as all Shakespeare’s plays, it contains verse.
There is this very interesting version of Julius Caesar that is staged in a men’s prison in Italy. It’s part cinema verite, part staged reading, and I think it’s rather fascinating. It’s called Caesar Must Die (English Title)
http://www.npr.org/2013/02/08/171287119/caesar-comes-alive-in-an-italian-prison
Thanks! I checked your link and it looks quite interesting. I think it’s great that Shakespeare keeps inspiring people to make new versions of his works. I saw some extracts of 2012 Gregory Doran production of Julius Caesar, and it seems that the play works well in the setting of modern Africa.
Yes- I have seen that one (the excerpts, that is! ) Please do check it out ‘Caesar Must Die’ when you can!
You smell great!
Lush Vanillary — usually a bedtime scent and I might have made myself a touch cozier than is strictly a good idea for a work morning, but I’ve been in a jasmine mood.
Drinking Natural Vitality Calm Magnesium powder like the party animal I am, and the first poem I stumbled over on Twitter this morning was Browning’s my star: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/43769
I love Calm but tend to drink it at night.
Sometimes I do an extra 1/4 teaspoon at night, but I’m not as good at a consistent evening routine as an early one!
Wearing L’eau d’Hiver from Mr. Malle – Body Milk + EDP
This scent is perfect anytime, but especially when one is grasping with hope for spring.
Twins
Grasping here too!
I’m looking for good spring/summery scents. I’ll add that one to the “must try” list.
I would like to thank all of you for your encouraging and supporting words yesterday regarding my dad’s health. I really appreciate them from the bottom of my heart and make me feel that being part of such a caring and loving community is a gift. Thank you!
My SOTD is one of my Spring favorites: Jour d’Hermes. Green, flowery, shiny, delicate. It always makes me smile. Drinking my second cup of coffee and waiting for the sun to show up today.
You smell delightful.
Thank you ????
That is a lovely spring scent.
Your package is in the mail…
Thanks
Excellent description! Jour d’Hermes is a springtime smile in a bottle. I’ll join you in wearing it today.
SotD: A tiny drop of Caron Farnesiana. Violets, almond, incense and sandalwood with the lovely Mousse de Sax base.
S(ip)otD: Harney Golden Blend with Assam and Golden Monkey.
Oh, your perfume sounds ravishing! That’s one perfume I never find in all my antiquing.
I’ve never smelled Farnesiana. I regret not spending enough time in the Paris Caron boutique last September. We only had two days in Paris, and we were rushing from shop to shop.
I think I could’ve spent a half day just in Caron, then the other half in the Guerlain store.
Mmm this sounds lovely . . .
Happy Nowruz! Happy Persian New year!
SOTD is Mon Précieux Nectar
Lets forget the headlines that divide us and have a fresh beginning, happy spring! Wishing health and happiness to all
Rumi:
The minute I heard my first love story,
I started looking for you, not knowing
how blind that was.
Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere,
they’re in each other all along.
wow, very romantic poem
Beautiful poem! Wishing you the same ????
Wow. Wow. Thank you and the same to you.
Rumi is wonderful. So is your perfume – you smell lovely.
Thank you. I love the orange blossom note in MPN
That Rumi poem was read to my husband and I at our engagement party, years ago.
I will be busy this weekend making a Persian herb soup and a yummy dessert.
That sounds very interesting….Persian Herb Soup…
more or less the recipe I follow if you are interested
http://www.mypersiankitchen.com/asheh-reshteh-persian-noodle-soup/
Love MPN! Thank you for the link – I’ll make that recipe this weekend too.
At my daughter’s Hindu engagement ceremony/party, I read, “The Family Book” by Todd Parr, “Some families are the same color, Some families are different colors (picture of yellow, green, orange and purple fish). . . All families can help each other be strong.” Maybe yours was a little more romantic?
Happy nowrouz!
When I lived in Iran this was such a wonderful time. Haft seen tables, school kids carrying goldfish home, and the mountains turning lush green after cold winter snows.
Such a beautiful poem, thanks for sharing.
Thank you for sharing the wonderful poem!
Love Rumi! Such a wonderfully optimistic poet????
SOTD – Becoming another spring favorite is Chanel No. 5 L’Eau.
Seriously contemplating a purchase of this. You smell great!
Oh but that is a lovely version, sin’t it? It is perfect for spring and summer!
It really is and I used the Chanel 5 body cream to go with it.
You smell great!
lovely!
You smell great! I really like L’Eau. It’s even nice in winter!
You smell lovely.
SOTD: Duel (Annick Goutal). Happy Fragrance Day!
You smell great!
I am in one of my favorite lines and one off its best scents, FM l’eau hiver (which spellcheck always wants to change)
I never liked poetry in school, ever! I considered it indulgent and that is just the beginning. Then I heard Poet Laureate Billy Collins speak and read at a lecture series. What a great sense of humor! I love one he does at reading about staying in a hotel and kids playing Marco Polo in the pool. Another about what a dog is really thinking about its owner is great too. His serious stuff good too. He has a great recording done at symphony space if you want to hear him read.
Twins – isn’t this scent glorious ??
Billy Collins is a poet who wins over most non-poetry people. Both the man and his work are so accessible, he has a real talent for making magic out of the everyday.
SOTD is Un Jardin Sur le Toit, which is my favorite Un Jardin for the spring.
You see this cat Shaft/Bear is a bad mother…….
Shut your mouth! !
But I’m talkin’ ’bout Bear/Shaft
Then we can dig it! !!!!
LOLOLOL.
Fate Woman for this bad mother………… today.
Triple strength coffee.
Onward and Upward.
Carpe Diem. Peace.
Thanks for the smile ????
Ha!
You smell lovely!
I can dig it!
Not a poem, but I had to post this Turkish proverb for you today:
Coffe should be black as hell, strong as death and sweet as love.
Excellent cazaubon!
I agree completely!
Well, not sweet.
I can’t drink sugar in coffee, only in tea.
We all have our idiosyncrasies.
Thanks Everyone!
Smellin good!
Jean Patou Joy Forever today!
very pretty!!
I wasn’t feeling spring-y this morning due to a very bad night’s sleep, so I’m in PG Cuir d’Iris today. It’s delicious. And I need the color of that teapot in paint form for the walls of my guest bathroom!
I recently painted a bathroom in a color much like the teapot: Sherwin Williams Copen Blue. I love it. Sea Salt would also be a close match, which we used in our old house. CB is a bit more fresh/pastel and SS is more muted/gray. Both are lovely.
Ooh, I brought home the paint chip for S-W Sea Salt and was thinking it was just a little too muted for the room. Copen Blue is probably exactly what I need – thank you so much for the tip!
Hope things go better for you tonight, that was me yesterday. I painted my bathroom a pale celadon green, it’s very calming.
Feeling fresh in No. 22.
Smelling gorgeous!
AH! Beautiful
Gorgeous!
My newest love, going to wear no. 22 tomorrow, u smell gorgeous!
Lovely.
Your franken-tea sounds lovely, Robin!
I picked Bandit EdP today. Too bad it disappears on me in two hours. I love it.
Great choice.
As I’ve probably said before, I have a hard time throwing away tea. So I always try to doctor it.
You smell fantastic!
That’s why I rarely buy tea I’ve never tried, though I’m eyeing that MF Rooster Oolong pretty hard.
I’ve done especially poorly with MF — the descriptions always sound lovely! I need to stick with Upton and Harney where I can buy samples.
I’m in Chanel 19, my newest buy. Drinking Bao Zhong oolong tea. I am not a great poetry reader, but the poems by Eugenio Montale have always moved me. You made me check them out again, and yes, I will always have a place in my heart for “The Lemon Trees” (even better in Italian).
Which version of no 19 did you get? I have all three current versions.
Edp!
Wearing Sarrasins today, inspired by yesterday’s conversation. I didn’t really like florals when I got this sample, but glad I kept it! So good.
I think it’s fantastic. You smell amazing.
It’s sooo good!
Putting that on my to try list
Beautiful! Sarrasins is one of my favorites jasmines ever.
you smell fabulous.
I love Sarrasins. It’s one of my favourite perfumes!
In Annick Goutal Heure Exquise extrait for my birthday. I plan to work from home for the latter half of the day, and have some bubbly later on
Happy Birthday! You smell fabulous!
Happy Birthday! Sounds like a great plan. I’m a recent convert to HE and I imagine the extrait is lovely.
Happy Birthday! You smell spectacular in one of my favorites.
Hope you have an exquisite day/year!
Have a lovely (and bubbly) birthday!
Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you!
Wishing you a joyful year ahead
Happy birthday!
And I love your scent choice. I may wear Heure Exquise later this week (although mine is not an extrait).
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday to you! Enjoy your end of day bubbly!
Happy Birthday! You smell fabulous in Heure Exquise. I have the EdP and alway enjoy it during this season.
Enjoy your day! You smell wonderful!
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday!
Happy Birthday!Hope it is a wonderful day and a fragrant year!
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday! Hope today is epicly AWESOME!!!
Happy Birthday and Heure Exquise EDP is one of my favourites, so you must smell amazing in the extrait!
Happy Birthday, HE must smell incredible in extrait, it’s a firm favourite for spring for me too.
Thank you all for your birthday wishes! I am excited about the bubby
Good call on the bubbly! Happy Birthday!
Happy (scented) birthday!
I guess I ought to put Heure Exquise on my to-sample list… it’s been getting a lot of love here lately.
I can send you a sample of Heure Exquise if you want. Please, let me know. monica67@aol.com
I hope you’ve had a wonderful day!
Happy Birthday! Enjoy your bubbly
Happy fellow March Birthday, Enjoy your beautiful fume and the bubbly!
Tried a sample of Bal D’Afrique (Byredo) last night and found it lovely, but went with FM Lys Mediteranee today.
nice!
I’m in Apres L’Ondee – the weather is nicer here today, but still not particularly warm, so the gentle powderiness of Apres l’Ondee works very well. And it just smells so good.
On a different note: turns out I’m going to be in Rome this weekend. I’m relatively broke and don’t have much time for shopping anyway, but if you had to pick one perfume shop to visit in Rome, what would it be?
Oh goodness. There are too many exquisite, independent shops that have been open since the time of Caesar, I swear. But because I love the Travestere neighborhood, I would suggest the Roma Store Profumi.
Feel free to suggest several, if you can be bothered. I don’t even know where my hotel is yet.
Campamarzio 70 are lovely niche perfume shop’s, the staff are very helpful, they’re a chain of beautiful perfume shops, near the Pantheon, and the Piazza del Poppolo are the ones I visited.
You smell lovely.
You smell lovely.
This article is a few years old, but may be helpful:
https://olfactoriastravels.com/2012/12/18/scent-and-the-eternal-city-perfume-shopping-in-rome-italy/
Scroll down and you’ll also see a comment from a Roman reader regarding where to shop.
Mazzolari has lots of good stuff. Have a great trip!
SSS Equestrian today. I bought the small bottle but when I’m finished with my “finally go through all of those samples” project I expect to need to upgrade to the large bottle. I find to be very wearable for work – present but not in your face; and so unlike anything else I have.
Reeking havoc! First day of surfing The Sample Sea, inspired by meredifay to up my game and deal. I have successfully ignored my more rational self which was hissing at me this morning about the folly of plunging in with abandon. Fie upon thee! I will never figure it out nor get it perfect and I don’t care! Success will be mine!
I’m sampling Unum Lavs, Sauf Contre Bombarde, Voix Humaine 8 and Plein Jeu III. I would like to have some giant paper strips shaped like a body that I can label. Actually, I think ALL perfume testing strips should be like that, so you can write on it and remember what went where. I don’t actually ever spray anything on paper. Oh yes! Off to find out how to make a paper doll chain!
(Apparently some incense scents do not lead to a subdued mind.
)
LOL! You go, girl!
Oh, so of the ones you have one today, are there any clear winners? That the thing, for me, about testing several samples at once. They may all smell good, but sometimes it is just very clear that one smells better that the rest.
Unum Lavs is quite hefty and I didn’t like it for the first couple of hours. Now I do like it, but I would prefer it as a candle or room scent. I’ve just dumped on more of the other three, since Lavs overwhelmed them from the get-go. None of them is calling me as of now, which usually means that I will move on. I’ll add a couple other things later! I should figure out some sort of exercise routine to couple with sniffing various parts of my anatomy.
I love your writing style. And I love the paper homunculus to mark what scents I put where!
Thank you! That’s it – homunculus! There should be an app for that.
Great idea! I liked the Saufs, but found other incense scents had better longevity. How about you?
As I replied to meredifay, they’ve been blown out of the water by Lavs, so I can barely smell them at all. Good to know about your experience with longevity, as I have the feeling that they’re rather fleeting.
Thanks for the smile. ????
What a great idea — small paper dolls for sampling perfumes !!!
It’s one of those things that just seems so obvious, right?
I lay the sample vials out on a table in the order in which I sprayed them on my arms, 3 scents per arm. I do this in the morning an hour before my shower. Then after my sampling session I wash everything off and go to my scent of the day.
I position my samples on a table in the same way. I think three scents per arm would overwhelm me, and I’ve realized I have yet another quirk, which is that I believe that perfume applied to my legs will not smell the same as that applied to arms. Where did I get that notion from? I suppose it doesn’t matter, since I’m going to be utilizing my legs from now on anyway.
Go for the legs and ankles! I went perfume shopping with a friend who put a different fragrance on the knuckle of each finger. 10 fragrances at once!
I have a hard time with more than 4 at a time. I like to use each wrist and the inside of each elbow for easy wafting.
Thanks, tiffanie, I’m definitely gonna go for the legs and ankles! Wrists and elbows have been my mainstays, too, but I’m okay with moving out of my comfort zone.
Bulgari Black for me today. Happy National Fragrance Day to everyone – it’s our day – spray away!
And you picked the perfect scent!
Excellent choice!
I’m wearing Chloe Love today, and I’m about to make a cup of hot tea.
Robin, I love the teapot. Perfect for a springtime day!
Love that scent.
Me too. I waited too long to get it here (USA). When I was ready to buy, it was discontinued. I saw it in Galleries Lafayette in Bordeaux, France last September, and quickly scooped it up.
I know. I waited too long too so I scooped up a second bottle last year when I heard it was discontinued.
Today’s spring scent is Azuree. I put on entirely too much so I have pre-emptively apologized to my co- workers. Thankfully we all have our own space so no one is forced to stew in it all day with me.
I too have had to pre-emptively apologize for Azuree!
Hmmm… or should it be “Earls Grey”?
It’s been a long time since I wore the same fragrance even two days in a row, but I wore First yesterday and I am wearing First today and I may continue all week. I know it’s supposed to focus on jasmine, but for me the heart is just like having your face in a daffodil.
Thanks for the poetry reminder! In honor of the day I’m subscribing anew to the Poetry Foundation’s poem of the day email.
You smell utterly gorgeous, and I can kind of see the daffodil in there. La Haie Fleurie ( First’s illegitimate little daughter) has a stronger jonquille note.
Looks more like February out my window. It was getting lonely in the back of the cabinet so Guerlain Héritage edp today. No one ever seems to mention it.
I tried that one over the weekend, at the new guerlain spa that opened up. I liked it! You smell great!
fantastic choice.
Wearing Aromatics Elixir. Powerful and great.
One of the best! You smell sooooo good!
I’m working up the nerve to spray that one on me! I always smell the bottle and love it.
What a great day to celebrate poetry. I think a poetry course should be mandatory, just like statistics. Can’t wait to read all the posts today. SOTD Cuir de Russie.
Looking Forward to Age by Jim Harrison
I will walk down to a marina
on a hot day and not go out to sea.
I will go to bed and get up early,
and carry too much cash in my wallet.
On Memorial Day I will visit the graves
of those who died for my novels.
If I have become famous I’ll wear a green
janitor’s suit and row a wooded boat.
From a key ring on my belt will hang
thirty-three keys that open no doors.
Perhaps I’ll take all of my grandchildren
to Disneyland in a camper but probably not.
One day standing in a river with my fly rod
I’ll have the courage to admit my life.
In a one-room cabin at night I’ll consign
photos, all tentative memories to the fire.
And you my loves, few as there have been, let’s lie
and say it could never have been otherwise.
So that: we may glide off in peace, not howling
like orphans in this endless century of war.
Lovely- and i agree. I actually use statistics every day, and poetry can give me the strength to see the beauty in everyday.
Opposite sides of the same coin maybe?
Mathematics and literature I feel can define our humanity and our place and way to explain it!
Oh, I love Jim Harrison. RIP. He was such a character.
Man, I loved all his work; novels, novellas, poems. He died while writing. That makes my heart happy, because he was doing what he loved until the last moment.
Love this.
Great poem, thanks!
you smell wonderful.
You smell fantastic.
سال نو مبارک !
So in the spirit, I am wearing my own homemade rose/jasmine body oil and spritzed on Aromatic Elixir in White (from a sample when I re-up on original Elixir). I think I smell pretty darn lovely.
Elixir in White is very, very pretty indeed- softer, very rosy and not as strong with with patchouli. Very easy to wear and not as in your face as original Elixir with the first spraying.
2) Coffee with full fat yogurt, cooked blueberries and a sprinkle of homemade (grain free) granola.
Happy Spring, Happy New Year
Nowruz Moobarak!
Happy Nowruz!
Nowruz Moobarak.
!نوروز مبارک! سال نو مبارک
When I first read this, I thought you were having yogurt in your coffee.????
Ditto!
Me three!
Wearing En Passant and downing an extra cup of coffee (I should figure out this triple strength business). I was hauled out of bed 3x last night – once by a toddler who lost her stuffed dog, and twice by howling cats (I think another cat was prowling around our yard). Apparently a memo went around directing everyone to be extra restless while my husband was out of town . . .
Any lilac perfume recommendations out there? I like En Passant, but it’s too much cucumber and not enough lilac – I would love a soliflore.
An pretty, affordable and very easy lilac to wear is Pacifica French Lilac.
Thanks! I’ve been eyeing this one, along with a few others from the line.
I second (or third, or whatever) that!
We’re twins today, I’m wearing En Passant too. I really like lilac, so I also have La Parfumerie Moderne’s Desarmant and Roja Dove’s Lilac extrait in addition to the Pacifica French Lilac.
+1 on all of foxbin’s recommendations.
Thanks! These are both new to me – I will check them out!
Elizabeth W Lilac is also a very true lilac. I’ve tried the body lotion and it was quite nice.
It’s worth giving Lilac a Day by Vilhelm Perfumery a go as well. But Opardu by puredistance is my absolute favorite lilac. It’s stunning.
It really is, though I’ll need a lotto win to justify a bottle.
I looked it up earlier and thought the same thing! It does sound amazing.
Thanks for all of the recs!
One more: Purple Reign from April Aromatics is lilac + iris + myrrh.
I have a sample of that, off to investigate!
I like it already, just for the name!
AC Jasmin Angelique from a sample today. Drinking a cup of Numi Emperor’s Pu-Erh tea. Thankfully it tastes better than it smells. Something about the smell of pu-erh always makes me think of fish.
Yes! I liked the Atelier one in the tangerine, but generally I have not yet grown into Pu-Erh
I felt really groggy this morning so I’m wearing Guerlain Limon Verde — and honestly wishing it were even sharper because I am still just not perked up.
The poem I always try think about this time of year in the PNW is “in Just spring.” It’s not dreary and gross, it’s puddlewonderful. Right?
Yes! and mud-licious, too.
Happy National Fragrance Day!
I decided to go with a classic, so I “borrowed” a spritz of Coco Mademoiselle from my daughter’s room. While I was in there, I went ahead and borrowed a sweater too….. hee hee
I’ll bet “turn about is fair play” in this case!
I love your post
My mother and I shared scents also, along with my two sisters when we were teenagers.
I share scents with my daughter now. Since she moved out, I’ll have to make her decants instead of asking her to try a squirt.
Quick hello check-in. Looking forward to reading everyone’s poem ideas later!
In Sienna Musk, which I did not mention as one of my top comfort scents when Robin had the pole, but it is! I forgot all about it until this morning… rainy day, sick cat, errant employer… must needs! Or, to quote Shakespeare (as we are in that vein today!), “My poor body, madam, requires it: I am driven on by the flesh; and he must needs go that the devil drives.” –From the clown in All’s Well that Ends Well.
poll! Less polarizing spelled correctly?
“must needs go” fits so many days and moods.
Hope kitty is recovering well.
SOTD is Agonist “Floralust”.
Top: pink pepper, bergamot and freesia;
Mid: rose, magnolia and ylang-ylang;
Base: jasmine, cardamom and musk.
The problem is, I don’t really do floralust or even floralike. I’m more a floratolerate kind of guy. :^)
Floralite?
Had a difficult time picking out a perfume today. Finally went with Deneuve today.
Seville a L’Aube for a not-quite-Spring day.
I’ve been reading a poem or three every morning from Rilke’s Book of Hours, Love Poems to God. Today’s was:
She who reconciles the ill-matched threads
of her life, and weaves them gratefully
into a single cloth –
it’s she who drives the loudmouths from the hall
and clears it for a different celebration
where the one guest is you.
In the softness of evening
it’s you she receives.
You are the partner of her loneliness,
the unspeaking center of her monologues.
With each disclosure you encompass more
and she stretches beyond what limits her,
to hold you.
Have a great day, all!
Gosh, I’m loving these.
Love Book if Hours! Lovely poem and I bet you smell great!
More Wit for me today! Was thinking mainly of my dentist and not wanting to distract him too much
I’d like to become more familiar with the world of poetry. It’s never been my thing but recently I’ve read a few things that have come from poems and my curiosity was piqued.
Any suggestions for poets that a newbie might explore?
Poe is a good start, if you into the macabre stuff. Or Oscar Wilde is another one for beginners.
Oh wow! I almost never see Wilde suggested as a poet outside of The Ballad Of Reading Gaol, but I did a whole research project on Poems as part of my English degree. (The tendency to gloss over the work itself and focus on the man behind it is so strong that there is next-to-no actual literary criticism on it, which I find astounding given his popularity)
Oscar Wilde has tons of material that’s good. Alan Ginsberg is good too if you can get past the profanity.
Thanks!
A poetry anthology that I recently bought is Good Poems, Garrison Keillor. It has a fun and interesting mix of poetry covered. Good luck!
Hmm. I’ll take a look at that as well. Thanks!
I love e.e. cummings and TS Eliot so much- The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock in particular is a wonderful starting place, I think: http://www.bartleby.com/198/1.html
Wonderful! Thanks for these suggestions! Excited to visit that link too.
The National Poetry Foundation has a poem-a-day email you can easily sign up for on their website. Many of them are wonderful, some are not for me, but there’s a lot of variety so you’re bound to find one you like!
Regina’s suggestion is a great way to find poets and poetry you like.
Let me throw a few women poet’s names into the list of great poets above: Elizabeth Bishop, Mary Oliver, Jane Kenyon, Gwendolyn Brooks, Emily Dickinson for starters.
I’ll add to the list with Jane Hirshfield, Ruth Stone, and May Swenson ????
I ditto everyone, especially Aparatchick’s list, plus Adrienne Rich’s ‘Diving into the Wreck.’
YAWN. Windy stormy overnight, there are leaf bits stuck to all my windows.
YAWN. Got up at 6:15am for my 6:30am meeting (I *love* globalization!!) only to find it has been postponed to 6:30am on Thursday, so I will get to do this again on Thursday. Went back to bed.
Finally up again for real. Need some tea, stat.
TF week continues… Plum Japonais today, yay!
This just made the fb list. I really want Bois Marocain, but that’s not happening.????
Decided on Cuir de Lancome today and really enjoying my own scent bubble. I’ve really enjoyed reading the poems posted here today. Beautiful
you smell great!
CdL makes a fabulous scent bubble.????
My SOTD is Chloe. The 2008 version. I think its a beautiful fragrance for this time of year. Happy Tuesday everyone!
Another rainy day here today but there might be hail and thunder later. I am wearing En Passant because I scored a 100ml bottle for $99 and I remember Robin said hers went off after a few years.
I kept no poetry in the Big Downsize, but Sandburg always has a place in my heart.
Ah, Sandburg… “the fog crept in on little cat feet.”
you smell lovely!
Somehow I feel like En Passant must smell especially wonderful in the kind of quantity you get when you have a 100 ml bottle in danger of going off
And knock on wood, hope yours will keep for years! My little trouble bottles were many years back and hopefully that problem was fixed.
I’m in BK Back to Black, from a sample, courtesy of a generous NSTer from the split meet.
It has more citrus and honey than I expected, and it wears close to the skin. The spicy underpinnings are perfect. Yum. It is lovely, but will be even more lovely if I save it for cooler weather. It’s a high of 86 here today! I think spring has sprung.
Taking the puppy-girl to the vet for her 6mth senior bloodwork. She is coming up on her 13th birthday, so even routine vet visits always make me a little nervous.
I hope y’all have a wonderful, fragrant day.
Sending good vibes for your vet visit! I will be doing the same with my 10 year old puppy-girl this Friday. You smell great!
Well, she passed the her physical with flying colors, so that’s great news! We will find out in a couple of days about the blood work.
I’ll be thinking positive thoughts about you and your puppy-girl this Friday!
Yay! Crossing fingers for all good news. Thanks for keeping us in your thoughts too.
La Tulipe for this beautiful day! The sun is out, finally!!
Such a lovely scent!
Perfect spring scent!
Morning, all. Bad night here: bad dreams, silly stuff, but frightening; woke early with a sore tummy and a sore head, so maybe I’m growing a beastly bothersome bug. Hope it’s a tiny bug-let, not a huge horrible one. Am wearing Beloved, because I can, thanks to Kanuka, and a pretty blue linen shirt, because the easy colour might lift me above my physical doldrums.
When I saw it was poetry day, I drifted through some John Donne, pottered about in a couple of anthologies, found my way to Marvell, dipped into Barrack Room Ballads, and finished by scooting through Fitzgerald’s translation of the Rubaiyat. It was completely random, but why not? My mind is now full of mis-matched verse, which is far better than being full of grumpy thoughts about work.
Be well, NST. YOu smell delicious and your poetry choices are uplifting.
Hope you feel better soon!
Hope you feel better soon, I’m pretty sure Beloved will help.
Be gone, bug-let, be gone!
Feel much better soon!
Human Rights Day,in South Africa.It is a public holiday,celebrating the lives lost during the 1960’s march against the then passbook laws of the apartheid regime.69 People died for future generations’ right to basic human rights.Nelson Mandela declared it a national holiday,back in the 90’s.An emotional day for many families,too.Still in British Rose.Happy Tuesday!
Thank you for the reminder. It’s incredibly inspiring to remember that
we can effect change, and that it often requires profound commitment and integrity.
A truly worthwhile holiday. I hope it was a good day today.
Prada Candy today. Sex Without Love by Sharon Olds is a favorite poem.
But there were geese on the road on my drive into work, which always reminds me of Wild Geese by Mary Oliver.
You do not have to be good.
you do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile, the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting —
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.
Oh yes, how I adore Mary Oliver. Thank you.
❤
One of my all-time favorites!
You smell great and loved the poem.
You smell great and that is a lovely poem.
Rain – Hone Tuwhare
I can hear you making
small holes in the silence
rain
If I were deaf
the pores of my skin
would open to you
and shut
And I should know you
by the lick of you
if I were blind:
the steady drum-roll
sound you make
when the wind drops
the something
special smell of you
when the sun cakes
the ground
But if I should not
hear
smell or feel or see you
You would still
define me
disperse me
wash over me
rain
O’Sullivan, V. (Ed.). (1979). An anthology of twentieth century New Zealand poetry. Wellington: Oxford University Press.
This was once voted NZ’s favourite poem so worth sharing . The karetu grass I picked on Sunday has filled my room with the scent of marzipan and something like faint wheat…I keep thinking frangipane, almond pastries etc. Hungry! Will wear 1970 again and Angel Muse…a good combination…happy day!
Absolutely worth sharing!
Ditto!
That was wonderful – thanks!
Beautiful!
Both the poem and the karetu grass are wonderful!
Worth sharing and worth being a favorite!
Doing a sampling session this morning, will be wearing Olfactive Studio Close Up after my shower, will report back later today on my thoughts. Glad to hear you got the Hinoki Robin! You smell great.
Drinking Kusmi Windsor tea this morning, one of their store-only exclusives.
Today is my 16th anniversary, a snippet of e.e. cummings for the occasion:
i carry your heart with me
i carry it in my heart
Happy anniversary!
Happy Anniversary! hmmm I need to check and see if I have a sample of that one–I can’t remember what it smells like.
It’s been out for months in europe but I don’t see it anywhere in north america, I had to order a decant from Scent Splits.
Sweet. Happy Anniversary! I’m curious about Close Up. Weird it hasn’t made it here yet.
Happy Anniversary, I hope you’ll have a great one.
(i do not know what it is about you that closes
and opens;only something in me understands
the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)
nobody,not even the rain,has such small hands
Happy anniversary!
Yes! Love that. Thanks!
Happy Anniversary
Only our love hath no decay;
This, no tomorrow hath, nor yesterday.
Running it never runs from us away,
But truly keeps his first, last, everlasting day.
(bit of John Donne, The Anniversary)
Have fun today!
Happy Anniversary! Enjoy.
Congratulations on your 16th anniversary!
Happy anniversary, and hope you got my second email, after not getting my first (phantom) email that I never sent!
Yes, thanks!
Thanks for all the anniversary greetings! As for Close Up, when I sprayed it on it smelled strong, but it quieted down very quickly and in fact disappeared all too soon. It reminds me of something else I’ve smelled but can’t place it. Glad I ordered a 5ml decant, don’t need a full bottle.
I’m a bit late commenting, but… Happy Anniversary!
I am in Lune Feline today…
And for some reason I was thinking about Sandburg’s Grass today…
Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo.
Shovel them under and let me work—
I am the grass; I cover all.
And pile them high at Gettysburg
And pile them high at Ypres and Verdun.
Shovel them under and let me work.
Two years, ten years, and passengers ask the conductor:
What place is this?
Where are we now?
I am the grass.
Let me work.
I am the grass.
Let me work.
I love that.
Thanks for posting.
Ah, those names gave me cold chills. And if he were writing now he’d have a lot more names for his grass to cover. We never learn…
Stunning…
That is such a beauty. It never ceases to amaze me how human ugliness in some inspires incredible human beauty in others.
Today I’m wearing Prada Infusion d’Iris. I probably should have saved it for Friday because it’s one of my all-time favorite spring scents, but I couldn’t wait that long.
I love Warsan Shire’s poetry. Here’s the first verse of one of my favorites (rest here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/90733)
The House
i.
Mother says there are locked rooms inside all women; kitchen of lust,
bedroom of grief, bathroom of apathy.
Sometimes the men – they come with keys,
and sometimes, the men – they come with hammers.
Love it! And one I’m not familiar with; I’ll definitely pursue it. Thanks for sharing.
Chillingly and brutally beautiful.
Thanks, that’s a good one!
I just dusted and reorganized some samples that were sitting in little votive holders on my dresser and found a nearly empty vial of Safran Troublant so I’m wearing that — smelling very musky to me today, in a nice way.
My favorite poem, by Wallace Stevens, is a short one, so here it is (bit sad, sorry):
Depression Before Spring
The cock crows
But no queen rises.
The hair of my blonde
Is dazzling,
As the spittle of cows
threading the wind.
Ho! Ho!
But ki-ki-ri-ki
Brings no rou-cou,
No rou-cou-cou.
But no queen comes
In slipper green.
You’re wonderful to share from Wallace Stevens today. He is one of my favorite poets, and we happen to share the same birthday. When someone is referred to as the “emperor of” anything I think of his poem The Emperor of Ice-Cream. Stevens must have been fond of sweets.
Domination of Black is one of my all time favorites. The first time I read it, I started to have a panic attack. The man is a straight up word wizard.
Bad: another crazy rainy day in NoCal. Traffic was horrible
Good: I guess I get more chances to wear ambers
SOTD – Ambra Aurea. I went a bit crazy with 5 sprays, I hope I am suffocating people here.
Ambra aurea, yum, you smell good!
Ugh. Looking forward to reading all your SOTDs and comments, because I’m feeling pretty down. Yesterday’s networking lunch and phone interview went WONDERFULLY. This morning’s phone interview was pretty awful, and I’m 99 % certain I will not be getting an on-site with that company. In order to cheer myself up for my two upcoming phone interviews this afternoon, I’ve given myself a couple sprays of the wonderful Rhubarbe Ecarlate. It’s working already.
Best of luck!
Good luck! There’s more wonderful to come.
Very good luck, and stay confident!
Best of luck to you! Shake off the bad interview, it’s in the past, on to the next!
On my left wrist Eau de lierre by Diptyque (tested it in a store), on my left hand.
Ophelia by Heeley on my right. Bought a bottle, because super cheap in an outlet sale, and I needed a non offensive, easy flowery scent for everyday/office wear.
Both are lovely spring scents imo. They are NOT very challenging or exciting.
But I think they are both suitable for those few moments when you just need ‘a nice scent’.
Urhm i mentioned left hand/wrist twice…haha….I am a bit tired/short on sleep. The cold has kept me awake last night.
Started the day sampling Heeley Iris de Nuit. It’s not bad, but I prefer SL Iris Silver Mist.
After a shower I switched to Chanel Cuir de Russie EdT. I think it’s from the 80s or 90s but I’m not sure. Most Chanels seem too blonde, cool, or pretty for me, but CdR strikes me quite differently. I find it one of the earthier leathers, although it’s a highly refined kind of earthiness, to be sure.
CdR is my “polite-sexy” perfume (as well as my “I have my invisible Wonder Woman boots on” perfume)!
Great image!
Totally agree with your assessment of the Chanels! And consequently, CdR (in extrait) is the only one I own.
I’ve got a sample of that Heeley iris that I keep meaning to sample (get in line
)! ISM is a wonderful, rooty iris on me for about 15 minutes and then it devolves into a generic, nondescript floral, which disappears from my scent-glue skin in about an hour. Sigh…
That’s weird, I smell ISM for a long time, but maybe I get it on my clothes and that’s what lasts.
“too blonde, cool, or pretty”
I feel the same.
I admire a lot of the Chanels because they are so well crafted, but the only one that worked for me so far is Sycomore.
Of course it doesn’t help that the name Chanel always calls up the image of Catherine Deneuve in my mind!
Haha no, That does not help at all.
Vanessa paradis was the face of Chanel when I was a teenager, also “blonde, cool and pretty”.
Their lipsticks sometimes work for me. I like their lip lacque (matte finish).
I often wonder if I gravitate towards things that are quintessentially me, or towards things that are not and therefore achieve some sort of balance.
Dull and wet Wednesday here, so perking myself up with Chinatown.
Yum! I think there is no upbeater perfume.
Hi y’all! I’ve been quiet (and mostly fragrance free) lately due to some health woes, but feeling a titch better today and celebrating spring in Eau Sauvage. I hope you’re all well, and feeling poetic! I have some recordings of Dylan Thomas reading his work that I’ll have to listen to on my way home. I used to listen to him reading Fern Hill and In the White Giant’s Thigh on my wee ipod under the stars in my sleeping bag on wilderness work trips, in my former workplace. Magical.
You smell wonderful!
I hope your health improves Isabella.
Eau Sauvage is perfect for spring, you smell lovely.
I hope you feel better soon. You smell great!
Inspired by perfumelover67’s beautiful post yesterday, I am in Alahine today thinking of her and her father. Drained the rest of my sample and thinking about ordering another or a decant. Such a warm sunny day here, thankful for the beautiful weather.
Alahiiiiiine!
Thank you KellyC. I appreciate it deeply. Hugs.
SOTD is Pacifica Malibu Lemon Blossom. It’s cheery scent, so I guess that’s a good gift to the air around me on National Fragrance Day.???? Oh dear me, since my AP English class back in the day, about the only poetry I’ve read has been some translated Ancient Near Eastern and Classical hymns and poems.
SotD = Jour d’Hermes, with thanks to perfumelover67 for the inspiration today. I’ve missed wearing this one. It does the job nicely.
I recently ran out of new books to read (eep!) and so began re-reading an old volume of “The World of Jeeves.” It’s not poetry, but these lines make me smile:
“Jeeves, bring me my whangee, my yellowest shoes, and the old green Homburg. I’m going into the Park
to do pastoral dances …”
So glad you chose Jour today. We smell fantastic!
Jeeves! Yay.
SotD was Le Galion Cologne Nocturne.
Off to Milan tomorrow. So excited!
Hope it is a wonderful trip
SOTD is Amouage Honour Woman. It is spring-y and cheerful. I needed something cheerful because yesterday I had to put my 16-year-old cat to sleep. She had been failing lately but took a sudden downturn and it was time. The passing was peaceful and she was in my lap the whole time but I was heartbroken.
Here is a favorite poem of mine by William Carlos Williams. It does mention a flower and an odor. Be warned, it is pretty tough going (not in the literary sense but emotionally.)
https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/asphodel-that-greeny-flower-2/
I’m terribly sorry about your kitty, Calypso. It’s so, so hard to let them go…
I am so sorry about your loss. I hope you find comfort in memories of your happy times together.
So sorry that you had to let go of your kitty,
So sorry about your loss.
Its one of the hardest things to do, to make that decision, and to let them go. Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps. I hope you find comfort thinking about the good, cuddly and goofy times you had with her!
Please accept my condolences on having to say that goodbye to your cat. I have done that more than once, and it is one of the hardest things ever. So sorry.
Oh Calypso, I’m so sorry about your loss of your beloved cat. It’s so hard to say goodbye.
Thank you for sharing such a poignant poem.
I am so sorry about your cat. I am sure good memories will make you cherish the years spent together.
Oh, Calypso. There’s nothing harder than that letting go. I’m so sorry for your loss.
So very sorry.
So sorry about your cat. ????
I am so sorry about the loss of your beloved kitty. Big hugs to you.
My condolences to you, it’s so hard to let go. They work their way so deep into our hearts. May you find joy in each memory.
I’m sorry for your loss, Calypso.
So sorry about your kitty Calypso.
I know I’m a day late, but I wanted to offer my condolences on the retirement of your kitty. Thank you for staying with her and honoring her last moments. You would be amazed at the number of people who chicken out and leave. Wishing you peace and comfort.
SOTD = SL Sa Majeste la Rose, from the sample stash. Not my thing, I think.
Late to the party!
SOTD -= Guerlain Neroli Outrenoir
Gorgeous orqnge blossom, neroli, smokey tea.
When ai get home, I have to vet ready for another meeting with Asia -Pacific colleagues.
My Poem for World Poetry Day is Those Winter Sundays, by Robert Hayden. The last two lines are killer:
Sundays too my father got up early
and put his clothes on in the blueblack cold,
then with cracked hands that ached
from labor in the weekday weather made
banked fires blaze. No one ever thanked him.
I’d wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking.
When the rooms were warm, he’d call,
and slowly I would rise and dress,
fearing the chronic angers of that house,
Speaking indifferently to him,
who had driven out the cold
and polished my good shoes as well.
What did I know, what did I know
of love’s austere and lonely offices?
SOTD (possibly to counteract a poem filled with regret) is Flirt by CJ Scents. Well-named; it’s like something that teenage me would have worn.
Beautiful poem! It so reminds me of my own father. I didn’t tell him “Thank You” and “I love you” often enough.