Happy Tuesday, and happy Pineapple Day and happy Helen Keller Day. What fragrance are you wearing?
I'm wearing Berdoues Assam of India, because elephants!* I do not know how popular Berdoues was in other countries before they started their Grand Crus collection, but I certainly never saw them regularly mentioned in the scent of the days polls here until they found the magic of lemmable perfume bottles. I wish my tea at the moment was something matchy, maybe from one of the fantastic elephant tea caddies from Williamson Tea (check out that Mindfulness tea!) but alas, I am too cheap to have one shipped from the UK. So I am drinking a very nice Assam from Upton and that is as matchy as I will get today.
*(Although I do have to add that I was happy to hear that Berdoues had done an Assam of India candle until I got a look at the miserly allocation of elephants — nothing on the glass itself, just a single thin border on the label, so narrow as to accommodate no more than a tiny slice of elephant. What do I want with a graphic showing one third of an elephant, even all in a row and in cheerful colors? Do they not understand there are a million citrus + tea fragrances already? The difference between Assam of India and its competition was not the masterful juice, it was ELEPHANTS.)
Reminder: 6/30 will be Bottle Porn Friday...wear a fragrance that you bought because you were drawn to the aesthetics of the bottle, or just wear a fragrance from a bottle you think is perfect. Suggested by chocolatemarzipan8.
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: the Plum & Bow Elephant Mug is on sale for $13 at Urban Outfitters. The Berdoues Assam of India candle is £35 at Allertons in the UK.
For my bottle porn I’m wearing Habanita in the modernized one-ounce bottle, a little slab of perfectly matte black with the sylphs (or naiads or nymphs or whatever they are) overlaid in ultra high-gloss black. It’s an amazing fusion of the old with the new, and so is the scent, which still smells of tobacco and dark flowers but, with more vanilla and less musky aggression, couldn’t (I hope) be accused of being fusty or old-fashioned.
I wore it last week and thought it would be great for the bottle porn week. And yes, the bottle design matches the scent very well.
Ah, I love Habanita but the bottle can’t be mine till I finish my decant! Luckily it will not break my bank when the day does come.
I also love the bottle. I have the L’Esprit version and the bottle is white.
SSS Rose Musc on this very early morning (for me), because those 34-mL SSS bottles are just perfect.
I know lots of you wake up incredibly early for your jobs or even just for life, but if I have to wake up before 6, something serious is going on in my life. Today I’m gripey because I had to get up early to attend a training that started at 6am >.< Tooooo early. Who starts a training that early?? And there is ANOTHER session at the same time tomorrow. Grump. Yawwwwwwn.
That’s so annoying, and a terrible idea on the part of management – way to start off with everyone already mad and bitter about having to be there!
It’s a new program they started a few months before I got there >.< Hopefully lots of people will object and they'll change it!
I understand your frustration Koyel. In my case many times I am already in the office by 5am. So guess at what time I have to wake up to get ready and commute for 1 hour… And besides those days I could easily work more than 12 hours. Not easy, but lots of PATIENCE is required from my side. Cheer up and keep smelling good as usual!
OOF! That is EARLY. Or, if I approach it with my former grad school mentality, that’s late. Thanks for keeping me in perspective
I am up at 6am everyday..that is when the babies rise and are ready to start their day
Seems that if the training organizers wanted any of the participants to actually be engaged, they would wait until *after* everybody had had their morning coffee!
When I was a grad student, I had some discussion classes at 8:30 am, which, IMO, isn’t all that early. But, I always felt bad for the profs who got stuck with that time slot because none of the students wanted to participate at that time in the morning.
It’s funny how relative “early” is. 8:30 felt absurdly early when I was a grad student. It’s the equivalent in my now-“adult” worldview to 7:00–an accessible but uncomfortable hour.
Ridiculous timing for training! Nobody’s brain is functioning at that time, no matter how many cups of coffee ingested! You should let me talk to the organizer of that fiasco, I’ll set ’em straight! ????
Good heavens, I wish you would.
for me “oversleeping” is 6am….I am usually up with the birds..I find my brain is a lot more functional in the wee hours of the morning
Homemade scones with berries and Pleine Lune tea.
Bottle Porn, the Teo Cabanel bottles, SOTD Alahine
What does your Alahine bottle look like? I have one of the old rectangular glass bottles with the etched-looking design, and it’s lovely, but my bottle of Early Roses is cylindrical with the cheesy metallized top. I don’t like the newer packaging much (if at all. boo hiss).
Oooooh I just looked up the Teo Cabanel bottles. Call me cheesy, but I think the new bottles look gorgeous! I kind of want to try some TC scents just for the bottles. Quite in fitting with this week’s theme.
The one I have is the cylindrical gold bottle with pink ribbon. I happen to like it. I also love their solid perfume packaging.
I have just bought the sample set from Teo Cabanel online for 11 euros! Cant wait to try Alahine!
That set’s a real deal. Bummer that they’re dabbers, but appreciated nonetheless. All perfume manufacturers should offer something similar IMO.
Oh my, those are some lovely elephant tea pots, can I have one? Please, please, please!
SotD is Heeley Iris de Nuit.
I had a bumpy relationship with this one. When I tried it for the first time it was a hate. I revisited it 2 or 3 years later and now I really like it.
Expacting 30-35 degrees here over next 2 days. Not looking forward to it…
Mugs, this time! With a space in the handle to hold the tea bag, or a cookie.
How do I get one all the way here to Poland?
I don’t know — Urban Outfitters in the UK has them, if that helps! And they do have stores in Germany and other parts of Europe:
https://www.urbanoutfitters.com/stores/directory/Europe
Not sure if you mean 30-35 degrees Fahrenheit or Celsius, but it sounds unpleasant either way!
In Poland we use Celsius
Oh, Poland! I didn’t know that’s where you were. The US should really get on board with Celsius. And the metric system too, while we’re at it…
I really like Iris de Nuit, I’m so tempted to get a bottle, but I should get a decant first as I worry about the longevity, I sprayed it In store, and it was gone in 3 hours. How’s the longevity for u?
On me it lasts for circa 6 hours, but sticks close to the skin.
You can buy them online from UK, only 7 euros but shipping is 6… I think its worth it. I`ll get one here in Spain, but first I have to check if they have them.
Shipping to Poland (if even possible) would probably cost more than this mug itself.
SOTD Frederic Malle En Passant.
I find FM bottles very pleasant to look at, if not quite porn level
I do too! And you smell lovely.
SOTD and bottle porn #2 is my final Linari sample, “Eleganza Luminosa”.
Top: bergamot, lemon and orange;
Mid: rose, jasmine, freesia, iris and lily-of-the-valley;
Base: cedar, sandalwood, white musk, patchouli and amber.
What can I say? Lovely bottle (duh). Inspiring name. The juice isn’t dreadful (this one is Egon Oelkers rather than Mark Buxton). All the same, a sweet floral doesn’t really float my boat, no matter who does it. FWIW, Fragrantica reviewers suggest there are other things that do the same as this one for less money
I’m grateful to chocolatemarzipan8 for the challenge theme, because it’s hard to see what else would have made me reach for these last 2 samples yesterday and today. Now my Linari sample packaging (beautiful, of course) has gone to recycling and I have more space for better things. :^D
Oh no! so frustrated with the Assam candle label. I agree with you Robin. WHERE are the full elephants??? Wearing Bvlgari Rose Essentielle. I just needed something super light, easy to wear and that it is not in my way. One of those busy days that I would not want to be bothered with anything. On my second cup of coffee and craving for some pineapple cheesecake…
If they’d done a full on elephant design like they did with the bottle, I would already own one.
Hey, pineapple cheesecake would hit the spot right now!
They should have put the candle in the elephant mug- I would have bought one for sure!
Yes, that would be perfect!
Must… resist… fulfilling millennial stereotypes- but that elephant mug in millennial pink!! If it were a cat, I would be done for.
Lolita Lempicka was my bottle porn yesterday, which hopefully makes up for Comptoir Sud Pacifique Vanille Mokha today- that aluminum CSP bottle is pretty much the opposite of bottle porn. (There, there, Vanille Mokha, don’t cry- you’re beautiful on the inside, sweetheart.)
Luckily the US seems to be out of the pink and the blue. All I could find here was the grey. And it is not just a millennial thing because I am several millennials old and I want one
Those mugs are totally awesome!
The cupboards in my very small kitchen hardly offer enough space for the basics, so more and bigger mugs are out of the question. But…..i could buy one of those for use at work of course
See, problem solved!
Wearing Ann Gerard Rose Cut. Not for the bottle porn week – just because I wanted a rose scent and remembered I have a sample.
An interesting, multilayered scent. Rose is prominent, but I can smell rum, patchouli, vetiver and vanilla, too. Aldheydes are somewhere in the background, lending crispiness to the scent. Unfortunately,while the top notes are fresh and bright (fruity rose), the fragrance becomes somewhat stale and musty later. So I am not sure about this one.
I always forget about Rose Cut. I’ll have to pull it out to wear soon.
I actually like the bottle and the beautiful calligraphy. The color of the juice is also spot on!
SOTD is Diorella again; I’m noticing almost a urinous note today which I rather like!
Tonight I’m having a mini 80s party to watch the Netflix GLOW series with some friends. There will be glitter makeup and Pat Benatar, and I want to put out my 80s-est scents in case people want to wear them. Suggestions?
We love the 80s! Your party sounds so fun!
Fun! Haven’t seen the series but now I’m curious. We were playing 80s music last night at home (partly because my husband just got tickets to see Alphaville).
Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZqDO6cTYVY
Regina, that party sounds like a blast – I’m imagining you jumping up on the couch and belting out “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” at the top of your lungs!
I think of Giorgio as very 1980’s!
Oooh 80s! Lovely!!!
I was a young girl in that decade but everything pop culture made a big impression on me.
The scent that defines that era for me is Poison (my mother had it).
YES!!! the 80’s!!! It comes to my mind Obsession, Opium, Stetson. Enjoy the party!
I have lots of perfumes from that era and wear them all the time
Love the sillage monsters (Poison, Obsession, Fendi, Paris) but there’s also lighter fare (Anais Anais, Perry Ellis for Women, White Linen, Bill Blass, Eau de Hadrien,) the somewhere in-betweens (Oscar de la Renta, Ombre Rose, Paloma Picasso, K de Krizia, Teatro alla Scala, Lauren) and the timeless classics (Nahema, Samsara, Heure Exquise, Odalisque, Coco.) [some of these are from the late 70s, but I think of those cusp years as belonging to both eras]
Thanks for the great suggestions! Among these I can bust out Opium, Eau D’Hadrien and White Linen – and now that you mention Lauder Knowing also comes to mind! I wish I had my old bottle of Anais Anais; that is pure 80s for sure.
I love Anais Anais. I just wore it a couple of weeks ago, and it’s still one of my favorites. Some day I’ll graduate from a mini to FB.
80s-y scents off the top of my head: any Giorgio Beverly Hills you have, CK Obsession, Opium, Poison. I’m planning to watch GLOW soon myself. Your party sounds like it will be a blast!
Shalimar for today. Love the bottle!
me too
Me three. That will be my Friday fragrance.
????????????????
Chanel no. 19 for me today. I wanted something green.
Perfection!
Woke up too early and felt slightly meh-hungover without the benefit of a fun night-before. Went with a light spritz of Bel Respiro since nancyleandros mentioned it in an e-mail. Nice cool green with a hint if powderiness.
Hajusuuri-like commute observations today:
1) more woman than usual applying their makeup on the train but the woman near me was applying layer after layer after layer of mascara for the entire length of the train ride. She must have gone over each side 10+ times. It looked good up til 3 layers and I kinda wanted to tell her that the look was starting to go south.
2) a woman begging for change walking up and down the car wearing only a stretched out bra with one strap down and some jeans with the button and zipper open.
Wakes you right up! And it’s only Tuesday ????
The older I’ve gotten, the more often I’ve felt hungover without alcohol. It seems horrifically unfair.
That waking up early thing does it to me. And by early I mean before 6am. Sorry you had to be at that thing so early. Makes me queasy just thinking about it!
Agreed. Having to wake up via blaring alarm at 5 am and then rush to get somewhere by 6 ruins my entire day. I am convinced that this “live to work” culture we operate in is terribly unhealthy. Commiserations, Koyel. On the up-side, you smell gorgeous.
oh..you are not suppose to apply mascara 10 times on each lash?
It was YOU!!! I thought she looked familiar ???? It was Benefit They’re Real mascara which I tried before and one coat was almost too much.
Oh dear, I tried a sample tube of that stuff, and it was way too heavy. I can’t imagine someone applying multiple coats of it.
Don’t know much about public transportation…is the ride smooth enough to apply mascara??
It’s not too bumpy but these woman are practiced pros.
I am wearing CG mascara today, I couldn’t find the one you recommended, the one that brings out your eye color. I only do one or two coats.
Lovestosmellgood, after that discussion I checked the Rite Aid where I bought it last and they didn’t have it anymore. Possibly discontinued ????
SMH!
I looked at Walgreens..
I bought lash crusher CG, the one Ari recommended and its pretty good.
Hey Loves, I think It was Elisa P who suggested tinted mascara, so I guess I’m butting in a bit. Anyway, I found this on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Almay-Intense-i-Color-Volumizing-Sapphire/dp/B00AJD0CN8?th=1
AH! Almay is a great brand and good for sensitive skin/eyes
Sorry about your commute. There is a woman who usually takes the train at the same time that I do. She uses her laptop as her “table” to display all her make up. Most of the time she is able to get a seat and it takes her her whole ride to apply on heavy make up. By the time she reaches the station before she gets off, she sprays lavishly in CK Euphoria (no matter the season). I try my best to be as far away as possible from her. And nobody complains….. We could write a huge book about NY public transportation commute! (sigh!)
I’m amazed by people who can do that. It does give you 10 more minutes of sleep that way. And yikes on the Euphoria fumigation. I don’t hate Euphoria but any lavish spraying in a closed space is unpkeassnt to me.
I was at a wedding reception this spring and a lady at the next table reached under her table, and next thing I noticed was a blast of scent. It was pleasant smelling fortunately. Probably a body spray.
Classy???? I’m now amusing myself by imaging sitting at a table at a wedding and whipping out some antiperspirant and applying it at the table.
Well as long as you have your pinky out during application, that would be acceptable. ????
Ummmm,
if it looks like there is a tarantula on your face, too much mascara.
Teen girls and drag queens, exempt. Only.
Ha! Yes, she was neither. And tarantula would have been ok. At a certain point they lost their legs and it was like a solid wall of black.
Now this has me wondering if she takes it all off on the ride home
LOL!
Recently I was at a Walmart to get a money order, waiting in line behind a man who was a whirling dervish on his cell phone, texting away like mad, when he let rip the HUGEST fart ever! Never once paused his texting, no “excuse me” or “pardon me,” nothing! Farts happen, I understand, but this was not some elderly many with poor sphincter control! Jeez Louise! Thank god there was no one behind me, so I was able to make a hasty retreat backwards! Ugh! People kill me!
Hahahahaha oh how awful.
It was, but now I find it hilarious! I wonder if HE wonders if I wonder about him and his eau de boo-tay?!
Oh dear. That one needs obedience school STAT (with the command “HOLD!”).
Apparently, HOLD was against his religion????
Terrifying!!!
It was! Luckily I had room to maneuver, otherwise ????
Imagine being seated, your face at crotch level of straphangers and OH MY GOD, someone farts!
No. Just no!
And straphangers? How in the world did autocorrect come up with that one?!
I know, right? Straphangers – NYC subways ysed to have plastic, and now there are metal, handles attached to the overhead bars for people to hang on to as the subway winds its way through NYC’s underbelly. Next to the metal poles and a bathroim handle, they are the dirtiest surfaces ever.
Now I’ll admit, I love some mascara lol, but two coats is it for me- and that’s IF I have a hot date or party or something. Otherwise one little coat is just fine haha.
Heh, sometimes an don’t know whether to laugh or cry with these true stories.
Shades of Tammy Faye Bakker!
Today I’m wearing ‘Black Orchid’ (edp) by Tom Ford and I’m loving it!
You smell great!
That’s a wonderful one!
You smell fantastic!
I have a fb and I should wear it more often…but I dont consider this very office friendly (well, maybe when apllied very lightly), what do you think?
I agree that it is very potent – I use two max. three sprays on my neck. I also have the edt version and that is definitely lighter and fresher (but still with massive sillage – so go light on the trigger here as well) but it is more screechy, synthetic and sugary sweet. Overall definitely more office friendly due to its lack of initial depth. However, I do prefer the edp – by a long shot.
I tried them both a few times, and I prefer the edp as well, so thats the one I brought home with me.
So I just decided a small spritz is okay for a quiet work day, when I dont have lots of meetings in small spaces.
A co-worker used to wear nuclear levels all day, everyday. Under the guise of sharing my passion with her, I steered her towards some niche perfume and what did she pick? Portrait of a Lady at manageable quantity…and she really smells nice!
I love the bottles of his standard line. Much more than the Private Blends.
I agree, ‘Sahara Noir’ being my favourite (some days of all time) with ‘Black Orchid’ a close second. From the Private Blends the one I absolutely adore is ‘Amber Absolute’. Other than that one I only have ‘Vert d’Encens’ from that line and there is no other that I feel I just HAVE to own. The first 12 ones were excellent but now I find the line a bit messy. The Signature one is much more precise and strong.
Oh, I just meant the actual bottles as visual objects. I’m not a huge TF fan with a couple of exceptions. Sahara Noir was a good one. I also quite like Plum Japonais. Never bought any, though.
Dawn’s Lyric post yesterday inspired me to wear Lyric today. The Amouage bottles are so pretty – the boxes also! Wish I had splurged on the extract. Notino (no affiliation) has the extract but I chose the EDP.
I love the designs on those boxes, too! They should make wallpaper – wait, no, that would be a bit much. Stationery! Gorgeous note cards with lovely coordinated envelopes….
Oh gosh I bet Amouage would make beautiful stationery!
Scented, of course.
Oh gosh I would buy that in a heartbeat.
Yes! …Ooo, and drawer liner papers too!
I have both the edp and the extrait and honestly I can’t tell the difference between them. They both smell great of course.
Oh that’s good to know!
Twins! I wore Lyric today as well.
You smell wonderful!
I risked personal injury this morning hefting that gigantic, but entirely gorgeous, bottle of Jour d’Hermes – an elegant scent in equally elegant packaging.
Even the small bottles are heavy, but agree, very pretty.
I love those bottles, more than the perfume actually.
I still don’t like the white on the cap, but I like all the rest of it. I might have to wear that this week.
It hadn’t occurred to me before, but I agree that’s the least attractive part of the bottle. Would have been nice if it were a nice heavy chunk of clear glass, maybe in a shape that echoes the tapering, rounded-square shape of the bottle. Or something.
Or just another color! I don’t know why but the white just seems to “not match”.
It’s a bit chilly this morning, so I’m in The Body Shop Red Musk. Because I’m cheap, it’s one of the few full bottles I own. I like the ombré red color of the bottle.
Tea of the day is lavender melon Kombucha.
The bottle color is fantastic.
I have been MIA over the last week. My mom had a minor stroke last Tuesday, so I have been staying with her. She seems to be almost completely recovered, which is pretty good for a 91 year old lady. Unfortunately, all the packages I had intended to mail are still sitting in my car, so if you are expecting one from me, please accept my apologies. I will mail them today. My SOTD is Jo Malone Mimosa and something that begins with C -Cardamom? Coriander?
So relieved she had recovered!!
Oh I am so sorry!
Oh dear, so sorry to hear this but glad your mom is getting better. Take care of yourself as much as possible.
Scary but glad to hear she’s revovered!
I’m glad she’s feeling better, and that she had you to help her!
So sorry to hear about your mom! Hoping she makes a full recovery!
Get well wishes to your mom.
Glad to hear she is recovering. Sending healing vibes!
Welcome back and sorry about your mum
So sorry, but glad it was minor.
I am so sorry. I hope that your mom fully recovers very soon. Sending positive thoughts!
Glad you’re mom is on the mend.
So glad you’re mum has made a good recovery, that is such good news.
Sending healing thoughts for your mom’s continued recovery.
So glad she’s feeling better, sending warm wishes to your mother! You smell fabulous btw!
Good to hear that your mom is doing better. I hope you can give yourself some TLC after that experience.
OH gosh, what a scare. Glad she’s doing better!
Monolithic bottle.
Red cap, gold band of the same dimensions as the cap – the top third of the monolith.
Dolce & Gabbana (1992, woman, original release) .
EDT.
Strong floral bouquet of marigolds (honeyed floral note, maybe demode circa now? ???, not to MY nose) , orange flowers, hibiscus (I smell a connection to D&G Sicily) , tuberose, musk, sandalwood!
Lovely, and it will be interesting to note how many people will look around for the bombshell woman only to find——– me!
LOLOLOL.
Carpe Diem. Peace.
Helen Keller, a hero of mine. RIP.
Extra long workout ( gotta prepare for hot dogs and hamburgers next week) ,
Triple strength coffee.
More coffee.
STAT!
…and triple strength coffee. For some reason it gives me energy when you say it!
You smell great in D&G original release. A really good one!
Ha! we posted it at the same time
Thanks perfumelover67!
Happy to energize!
Cheers!
Bear, I always love that you wear fragrances that very few mention…I bought both that bottle and Light Blue many many years ago (before LB became so ubiquitous and popular) because I loved the bottles and because the fragrances were amazing…the original D & G was a fantastic marigold/tagetes fragrance…someone I went to graduate school with broke a full bottle of it in her bathroom and every time I went to visit her it was all i could smell in her house. Luckily I loved it.
Thank you chocolatemarzipan8 !
Red cap has gotten better as the day progresses.
And it was good at the start ! LOL
I never got to smell the infamous Red Cap, I don’t think it ever came to my neck if the woods. Sicily, though, was wonderful. Probably in my top 5 designer perfumes I’ve had.
Sicily is lovely, I can parse the hibiscus note Red Cap shares.
I used to wear that one, it was wonderful!
Oooh I had that Dolce&Gabbana when I was somewhere in the beginning of my twenties, first years of University….memories…!
No idea what happened to the bottle, I have no recollection of emptying it (probably left it with an ex).
Also no idea if I’d still dig it. But my memory tells me you smell awesome!
Thank you, the far drydown is a fantastic sandalwood and musk.
Mmm i remember the dry down, also, it lasted forever.
In those days I was not that perfume-obsessed and taking mental notes and comparing stuff, as I am doing nowadays. And last time I smelled the Red cap was 20 years ago.
So, all I remember: it had a whole bunch of notes, was very flowery, sweet but also a bit bitter, and…i totally agree with you, it has ‘bombshell’ written all over it, like a dolce&g dress
Bear, your SOTD has me thinking that maybe I need to sniff some perfumes with marigold in them. I’ll see where my nose and the Internet take me.
Glad I inspired you Jalapeno!
Enjoy !!
Wearing Azemour today. Not bottle porn for me, but I like the simple lines and I love the juice.
The juice is perfect
Dior Homme for me today. There’s nothing overly beautiful/sexy about the bottle, but it’s substantial. I feel like I could use it as a weapon if necessary. There’s something very satisfying about holding a bottle with some heft to it.
And you never know when you’ll need a weapon.
SOTD is Lubin Grisette. Love these Lubin bottles – curvaceous clean lines, sleek, oh-so feminine… Just like me! In my head at least.
Lubin bottles are so gorgeous!
House twins Robin!!!! I am in Berdoues Grand Cru Cologne Collection Oud al Sahraa….works great in the summer heat!
also, testing Grand Amour EDP on one wrist and the EDT on the other (I happen to love the old AG bottles too!)
Hey cousin!
Oh, those elephants are adorable! I’m in No. 19 EDP today, because I needed bucking up, and because the thick morning fog is forecast to burn off and leave us with a gorgeous early-summer day that calls for a nice, thirst-quenching blast of greeny greenness. No. 19: what wood nymphs wear when they’re feeling haughty.
You smell pleasantly formidable.
I like that analogy!
I rarely drink hot tea, but I want one of those elephant pots! Absolutely adorable!
I’m with the Bottle Porn Program today wearing Hermés Hiris packaged in the original cobalt bottle with brushed gold lid, which arrived in a traditional Hermés orange box. When I feel ugly inside and out, I reach for this perfume because it makes me want to be a beautiful human, inside and out.
On the agenda today: fix my jacked up front door lock, then mix and pour the epoxy over my table rehab project. I decided I wasn’t artistic enough to mimic constellations and galaxys, so ended up going all white with grey and silver mandala pattern. I’m going to mix some very fine micro dichroic glitter with the epoxy to give it a bit of zing!
If I lived in a cold climate, that elephant pot would be MINE! ????
Oh, agreed on the elephant mugs! So cute, but I don’t drink tea enough to justify it.
For anyone needing a short refreshing pick me up- hummingbirds at morning ablutions ❤️
https://youtu.be/YAer4rDnA6I
So cuuute! Thanks, I needed that!
This is adorable! Like a hummingbird bathhouse.
OMG! I made the “kitten noise” when I followed your link. So much cute!!
Thank you Deva! We have a couple of feeders in our yard. I love watching the hummingbirds but I haven’t noticed them dipping into the bird bath.
It is not a pot, it is a mug
And it is really probably a better shape for coffee than tea.
Do tea and coffee cup differ in shape? I am tea ignorant, I admit…
Not always, but usually a tea cup flares out at the top, or is straight but wide rather than tall, and a coffee mug is either straight & narrow, or maybe flares in.
The reason is supposed to be that you want the coffee to stay very hot, whereas you want the tea to cool a bit before you drink it. Tea cups are generally also made of a thinner material. From Verdant Tea: “Thin cups encourage aerating while sipping tea, which allows far more aromatics to be delivered to your nose. A thick cup encourages drinking without aerating, making it easier to ignore aroma.”
If you’re really crazy about tea, you might also use different shaped / thicknesses for different kinds of tea.
Call me clueless! I guess there is a reason I always gravitated towards hefty chunky mugs, being a coffee lover! And of course, I’m a klutz, so delicate china teacups and I don’t really mix well. Thanks for educating me ????
I do not use delicate china teacups either, but I tended to use “open” mugs even before I switched to tea — what you might call cappuccino cups or breakfast cups. Why cappuccino cups are usually shaped more like a large teacup than a coffee mug, I could not tell you! It must have something to do with the milk?
Plus, I drink so many kinds of tea that I cannot be bothered to keep the proper cup for each kind anyway.
SotD is French Lover, Frederic Malle. From a sample…though I’d love a FM bottle in my collection one day.
This is a serious contender, what a great scent. I also love Vetiver Extraordinaire!
Love the elephant mugs! I am taking advantage of a cooler (20C) day to wear CdG Black, which I have been inexplicably neglecting.
I’ve been practicing my temperature conversions, is it 72 degrees there?
28 is 82 if you ever need a helpful marker
That is helpful, thanks for the tip!
Thsnks! That’s useful.
I have, too LOL! For a while I had the conversions memorized, when I was traveling to Canada a lot.
I’m in good company then!
Around 68 I believe.
Sixty four degrees today, cold enough to be wearing Coco. I sit and look at my bottles a lot (A LOT!). Most of them I like, but I so love the Coco bottle. I look at it as if I were a little girl staring at jewels. I think it’s really elegant, detailed without being fussy. I think the scent matches the bottle very well.
You are right, it’s very elegant and I adore the way it smells!
Agreed on all counts. You smell wonderful.
Ditto.
Bottle Porn SOTD = Hermes Eau des Merveilles Bleue
All the EdM bottles qualify. The shape allows each to be displayed 3 ways (ripped to the left, tipped to the right and flat). If you have 2 of the same size, you can place them back to back to form a sphere.
The Bleue bottle is a dreamy blue. The juice is mineral aquatic and dries down to a woody musk.
In botle porn, size also matters:
– the 100 mL is too big and difficult to spray. If you have man hands, you may be OK. Price-wise, IIRC, getting the larger size barely yields a discount
– the 50 mLs fits nicely and is easy to use
– Bleue also came in 30 mLs! It was so cute I just had to have it!
– Mini – looks cute…although since I have not seen one lately, I don’t know if it is splash or spray. I have found spraying EdM to be particularly effective
I will probably bring the 30 mLs on vacation (Vancouver and an Alaska inside passage cruise)!
The Bleue bottle is very beautiful. Agree that 50 mls feels nicer in the hand. The EdM mini I have is a splash. Two EdM bottles back to back? Sounds stunning, and now I want another.
I like to lay my EdM bottle flat to see how the air bubble inside has grown as I use it up. And it’s fun to lay it on the round side and give it a spin. Whee!
Enjoy your Alaska voyage, that’s one of my most favorite itineraries. EdM Bleue will smell great with the sea air and green trees.
Bleue and L’eau No. 5 may be my companions and for the very first time, I may bring 2 FBs, because the 30 and 25 mLs, respectively, are simply adorable.
A SA gave me the idea to layer EdM with EdM Bleue on top. They work perfectly together.
oooh, must try EdM with EdM bleue. great idea!
OH wow, I need to try this combo!
The minis are splash. My large womanly hands which are proportionate to my 5’10” frame and long arms could probably elegantly hold the 100 ml bottles, but I’ve often wondered how more vertically challenged women deal with big bottles.
It appears you favor smaller sizes.
I love the Merveilles bottles and wore EdM last night after receiving my samples in the mail. Good stuff! NST is always right.
Ha! My man hands comment can be blamed on Seinfeld :-).
Lol!, I have man hands! I find bottles under 50ml, to be a little awkward. When is your trip? It sounds exciting!
It’s more about the design than the size (usually.) I wore Bvlgari Black (30 ml) the other night and had a helluva time holding onto it. If it hadn’t been rubberized it’d have hit the floor many times.
I will be away July 12 to 23. I need the vacation but boy oh boy,mImam rushing to get things done at work.
I saw the blue 30 ml in store, too cute!
(I almost bought one…)
Buy buy buy, it won’t be around forever
Wafting a cloud of Baiser Vole today, from the simple but elegant bottle. Taking puppygirl in for a groom.
How is it that dogs can look really great for a good long while, and then one day, you look at them and wonder: “when did you move into scruffy territory?”
My dog is the same. His winter coat is magnificent but in the summer he just looks like a big, skinny, black dog.
What breed is he? Mine is a Shih Tzu.
He’s a Tibetan Mastiff.
One of the vet clinics in town has a sign out front that says “Lowest vaccination cost, we Shih Tzu not.”
*snort*????
I love Tibetan Mastiffs! Such stunning dogs.
BTW, don’t know if you’re into foreign films, but this one was wonderful on just about every level
http://dgeneratefilms.com/catalog/old-dog-lao-gou-khyi-rgan
I LOL’ed about that vet sign!
Wow, I googled, and Tibetan Mastiffs are beautiful dogs. I can see why he would need to be trimmed up during the summer though.
Sadly my male dog looks scruffy within 2 days… he is a drooler.
Aww, I understand. My hubby just gave mine some cottage cheese, so I know it will all be downhill from here.
Wearing Encens et Lavande from Serge Lutens in my first ( and only) bell jar. That jar and the beautiful purple colour is bottle porn at its’ best
Oooh. I’m not familiar with that perfume, but it sounds lovely and I agree that SL bell jars in purple are stunning.
Oh, agreed… I have one bell jar and it’s De Profundis, which is the most lovely purple….
OMG, I forgot all about the bell jars. Agree they are bottle porn!
SOTD is Guerlain Sous le Vent. I love the bottle with the Art Deco lettering in gold on black and the heavy hexagonal crystal lid. I also love the fragrance. Just realized it has tarragon and so does the one I wore yesterday, Jubilation 25. I must really like tarragon in perfumes. I like it in food, too, especially chicken and omelets! I’ll have to do a search to find what other perfumes have it as a note.
SlV is a favorite of mine as well, but I don’t own a bottle just a decant.
IIRC Diptyque Neroli has a tarragon note
I’m in Stella McCartney Stella today. Nothing to do with the bottle (I just have the travel spray anyway) but I just felt like a modern rose. Kinda wish I had gone with Nirvana Rose though, Stella’s already fading on me and it’s not even 9 am…
I met a friend at the local Open Gardens day on Sunday, and she smelt so lovely, I asked what she was wearing, and she said the original Stella, I might have to get a bottle now!
You smell great. From spritzing testers at Sephora, I’ve noticed the reformulated Stella doesn’t last as long as as the original.
SOTD is Donna Karan Woman. It possibly qualifies as bottle porn on some alien world where they worship dustbusters. Here, well, it is probably the most errrr distinctive bottle I own…
I just looked it up DK for Men.
Holy moly, that bottle is, uh, something.
LOL!
I once found the “robo-duck” (signature) fragrance in its original bottle. It was no dustbuster.
heh, hit return too quick…
it sprayed perfume like a jet.
SotD = Assam of India with elephants because Robin is right, it’s perfect for a warm day, and Yay for ELEPHANTS!
Berdoues would do well to make lots of full-on elephant-adorned lemon and tea scented things. I would buy them. Also that elephant mug? WANT though I have sworn off buying tea related durable goods. This way lies madness and credit card abuse. Ask me how I know, though I’m surely preaching to the tea-drinking/perfumed choir here.
Google follows me around the internet and sends me random links, so in extra marketing-induced scented bliss, I’m also wearing a spritz of Dior Homme from a sample because of the adorable Rami Malek who is gentlemanly PERFECTION (gosh, I’m shouty today) in a Dior Homme suit:
http://tomandlorenzo.com/2017/06/rami-malek-at-the-dior-homme-spring-2018-fashion-show-red-carpet/
Happy Tuesday! Elephants!
Hooray for elephants!!! I am saving my Assam for Friday
Just couldn’t wait! I may join you in Assam of India on Friday.
Ha! He reminds me of this guy:
https://esq-h–cdn-co.cdn.ampproject.org/i/esq.h-cdn.co/assets/cm/15/07/54dae4d015068_-_joseph-gordon-levitt-7-0609-lg-22824918.jpg
If only I were 30 years younger and a lot smarter ????
heh, Joseph is adorable, too.
This brings to mind a YSL museum show I went to twice last year. On the first occasion we went to a lecture where Hamish Bowles spoke and learned that the pinstripes of the Le Smoking were stitched! Amazing.
And I’m saving my Berdoues elephants for a warm, sunny day. It may be a week or two
Pardon my redundancy there with “the Le.” lol
That’s fabulous! Hamish Bowles is dandy
I would have loved to hear him share his fashion insights.
I’m wearing Hermes Eau des Merveilles and drinking a hot cup of Mystic Dragon Tea.
I am about to make some afternoon tea!
Yay for Eau des Merveilles!
Jumping in now with SOTD–hope to get caught up on reading everyone’s comments later!
Bottle pick for the day is my Miu Miu mini. The perfume smells like expensive hair conditioner to me— but the bottle is a smash.
Totally agree that Berdoues is kidding themselves if they think the scent sold their Assam–acceptable tea scent, but super fun bottle. Without even smelling the candle, I know that it needs more elephants. Duh!
I too love the Miu Miu bottle, but feel like the juice is meh. Such a let down!
The blue Miu Miu bottles are so pretty. Now that there’s a flanker that’s two more scents I need to sniff out.
I am still hoping they’ll do some fantastic flanker and then sell it in a size I am willing to buy. Ha.
I had to wear Lyic again today. I don’t know why I am hoarding it when I have travel sprays, a 3.4 ounce bottle and the Bath stuff, it’s too fabulous to be hoarded.
No reason not to wear something so fantastic-smelling again!
SOTD is Bronze Goddess body oil. The bottle itself is basic, but the pale pink shimmering oil is so pretty!
Sometimes the bottle just doesn’t matter
Dilettante. Mine’s a decant from a generous pal, but I know the bottles to be solid and classic.
A bottle I covet. You smell great!
Bois d’Arménie. Heard rumors of it being discontinued, so debating a back up
I can confirm that rumor for you.
That’s unfortunate
I read that somewhere as well. But do try the current one before purchasing, I think it got reformulated along the way and doesn’t have that much staying power on me. But could be different on your skin. Good luck shopping!
It does not have much staying power on me either. 10 sprays 3 hours ago and pretty much gone
Musc 25. A bit annoyed this morning. I got an email yesterday afternoon (incredibly late notice) that I had to attend a roundtable at 9 am today. I had already worked my schedule around a class that I wanted to attend at 9 am this morning, and I had it all planned. The meeting was supposedly mandatory and so I couldn’t attend my class. I show up this morning ready for the meeting and I hear that it was a misunderstanding, and the email sign-up shouldn’t have been sent to me and my colleague, it was a training and we are already trained. So I missed my class for no reason. First world problems.
But effed up anyway. Annoying! Even more so when due to error (or sloppiness.)
Grr. Annoying, indeed.
SO frustrating! Hope the rest of the day improved!
In terms of bottles and aesthetics, I have always loved Chanel. I can remember being in middle and high school and mooning over their counters in stores. Something about the black and white and rectangular bottle shape. I remember pulling the perfume ads for Coco and No. 5 out of the NYT magazine section when I was little to hang on the walls of my room as girls (and boys) are wont to do. Chanel did some really great print ads in the 80s and 90s.
Today I am sniffing No. 22 and No. 18 both in the EDT. I don’t have full bottles of either and was wondering late last night what other Chanel Exclusif EDTs I might have to hunt down…fear of missing out.
No. 22 has always reminded me of White Linen to a certain degree which a great aunt of mine always wore. She had super long blonde hair which always wore up in an elaborate style a bit like this https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/56/f4/8d/56f48da0b643924403331765bc68038a.jpg
I still cannot fathom how she got her hair up everyday like this…she wore it in this style for her entire adult life I believe. And thus, somehow in my mind No. 22 reminds me of 50s or 60s updos.
I wonder if it was a wig? (My aunt wore a similar one in that era.)
I love the Chanel bottles, too. If you’re looking for the exclusifs edts, do it now. They’re already becoming HTF and expensive. And any No 22 these days sells for crazy prices – vintage and exclusifs both. It came as a bit of a shock to me as I bought some not too long ago for a song (I got 3 vintage bottles of No 22, 2 nearly empty but enough to last a couple of years, at auction for about $40.)
It could have been a hair piece on top I suppose. I know it wasn’t a full on wig b/c I remember looking at her roots and all the combs and pins holding it up when I was little and being amazed.
I invested in ( maybe a stretch of the word
) a few different of the Exclusif EDTs when it was rumoured they were being discontinued. And the EDT Exclusifs can still be found Ebay which is nice…and for still less than current EDP prices even.
I remember having a mini of No. 22 in a Chanel parfum set a long time ago but haven’t sniffed the vintage in some time. Those holiday mini parfum sets from Chanel were great…sad they no longer do them.
My aunt, who is now 90, went to get her hair done weekly. She slept with a hair net, and her hair always stayed the same. I think lots of pins and hairspray was involved.
https://www.google.com/search?q=chanel+no+22+vintage+bottles&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwinquXczN7UAhXIVT4KHaHCABEQ7AkIVw&biw=1342&bih=949#imgrc=VvxBhJ8wxr5P9M:
this was the no 22 bottle that I always had in rotation…it was refillable which means you could take the glass atomizer inside the plastic casing out and replace with another one…last time I bought a refill was in the late 1990s and I paid $37.50 for the 1.2 oz refill. They made the same type of casings for no 19 (but it was a silver metal with a gold rim) and no 5 (black plastic with a gold rim) and Coco (larger and flatter black rectangle with a gold rim).
https://www.google.com/search?q=chanel+no+22+vintage+bottles&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwinquXczN7UAhXIVT4KHaHCABEQ7AkIVw&biw=1342&bih=949#tbm=isch&q=chanel+coco+vintage+bottles&imgrc=UPDbCKMsLPAFJM:
Coco and no 5 (I had both..gosh I loved those bottles!!!)
https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=chanel+no+19+vintage+bottles&ei=XJ5SWZnqGMnn-AHywrrIBg&emsg=NCSR&noj=1#imgrc=cvgoYJ7y9WMwCM:
and no 19….that one was different as it was not plastic but a muted metal….the only one I saved out of all of them was no 22…it is floating around somewhere in my basement!
I love the gold-banded Chanel refillable bottles. I have multiples of 5, 19, and 22. The really old ones are metal and have propellant-based sprayers.
kpaint you were smart to save them
Yeah vintage Chanel bottles make me swoon.
I am 100% with you on the Chanel aesthetic. The black-and-white packaging and the ‘classic N°5’ bottles, in particular, are design perfection. Art Deco rules.
Nothing today – I have a mild bug that’s mostly just making me extra worn out (and restless and easily bored!) but I’m feeling queasy enough that I don’t really want to smell anything at the moment, either. Loved reading through the posts!
Glad it isn’t worse, but do get better!
Hope you feel better soon.
Kick that bug and feel better soon!
Feel better soon!
Get well soon!
I am wearing Roja Dove Lilac extrait. I like the bottle, it’s rectangular and fits well in the hand, but the cap is covered in tacky-looking iridescent “gemstones” that I could do without. Still, I think the winner in the tacky gemstone category is Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier, with those really ugly faceted things on the top, they look like a Cracker Jack prize.
I’m not really into gemstones on bottles. I was thinking the same thing about the Micallef bottes. Some of them look like something one would make at a local crafts class-“Decorate Your Own Perfume Bottle”.
Yep! Every time I look at my bottle of Eau Pour Le Jeune Homme I laugh.
Speaking of Helen Keller, I was at a talk last night on determination and resolution. The importance of persistence was underscored by the example of Helen Keller’s mother, Kate Adams Keller.
“In 1886, Keller’s mother, inspired by an account in Charles Dickens’ American Notes of the successful education of another deaf and blind woman, Laura Bridgman, dispatched the young Keller, accompanied by her father, to seek out physician J. Julian Chisolm, an eye, ear, nose, and throat specialist in Baltimore, for advice. Chisholm referred the Kellers to Alexander Graham Bell, who was working with deaf children at the time. Bell advised them to contact the Perkins Institute for the Blind, the school where Bridgman had been educated, which was then located in South Boston. Michael Anagnos, the school’s director, asked 20-year-old former student Anne Sullivan, herself visually impaired, to become Keller’s instructor.”
(Wikipedia)
I’m not sure what perfume to wear this week. My most beautiful bottles are un-summery vintage perfumes. Perhaps the Diptyque Essences Insensees mimosa in the peacock feathered spray atomizer bottle?
Speaking of Helen Keller. That’s a great wxtract. You get so many good events in Washington. I have recently finished a book by John Hull, Notes on Blindness which began as a spoken journal tracing the journey of Hull’s loss of sight. There is a terrific chapter called Touching the Rock in which he describes entering an abbey ‘after hours’ ( he was a theology professor ) and slowly working his way through the space, feeling the surfaces and taking in the smells. There is a lot of tension in the passage as he has to remember his directions so he doesn’t get lost, and can retrace his footsteps back to the entrance. It is an incredible piece of writing…almost painful in the grief for sight, but so rich in the other senses of touch and smell
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/1991/04/11/the-dark-paradoxical-gift/
This is a link to the book. It was made into a film called Notes on Blindness so the book title changed from the original Touching the Rock.
Thank you, Kanuka, for the link to the review by Dr. Sacks. I have a tender spot in my heart for his writing. His compassionate yet scientific explanations of neurological deficit and sensory deprivation are fascinating. I’ve added Hull’s book to my reading list.
Thanks so much for the reference, Kanuka!
That’s why I stay in DC, even though I hate the summer weather so much and would prefer a more natural environment.
3 degrees (37 F) and gloomy. Don’t like the elephant mugs ( sorry! ) but don’t ban me forever Robin because ( in my favour) I re-watched No Direction Home , the Bob Dylan documentary last night and loved it and have been listening to Highway 61 ( added credit , I hope ) Black Cashmere…from Waterdragon. I don’t own the black pebble bottle but it looks good. Was it a Baron design? Will check. Have a happy day everyone!
Too bad I can’t just send you some of my sunlight and warmth! I’d gladly share if I could.
The sun came out , thanks to you!
That doc is wonderful, I have it on DVD, (nice packaging too!)
I want to watch that documentary. Thanks.
Oh, nobody ever loses points for not liking products displayed in the sotd (I don’t always like them myself), but liking Bob Dylan (or even just mentioning Bob Dylan in any mildly positive way) always gets you massive brownie points. Unfortunately there is nothing as yet that you can trade in your brownie points for, except possibly a link to more Bob Dylan stuff:
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/watch-bob-dylan-jam-on-cover-of-lynyrd-skynyrd-s-free-bird-20160611
(Although “watch Bob Dylan jam” should really just be “watch Bob Dylan stand there and maybe sway a little)
You can never have too much Bob (except when it’s Slow Train Coming)
SOTD is D&G Dolce.
The forecasted high today is 108°. After last week, that’s fairly mild. Ah, life in the desert. ????
Ack.
I’m wearing the very lovely Nina by Nina Ricci. The original that came in the lovely Lalique bottle. Not quite as beautiful as the L’air du temps bottle but close. I’m dying for some rain.
That bottle really was lovely.
For some reason SSS Champagne de Bois (I always want to call it duBois – like Blanche, I guess
) entered my mind this morning and I have been luxuriating in it since. This is one that really makes my eyes roll back in ecstasy. Ahhhh. Not the most beautiful bottle but well done on the cheap.
CdB is breathtakingly gorgeous…and it wears nice on a man too so I consider it a unisex scent. I actually like the full size one ounce bottles of SSS..they have some heft to them but hold nicely in my hands (I am the opposite of you…very small hands, bony fingers and my wrist is only five inches all around). btw, given your collection of empty Chanels I would suggest that Chanel might be your bottle porn this week
Wearing Jardin d’Interdit, a pretty but thin rose. I’d bought it unsniffed; what tipped the scales was the pretty bottle (okay, and it was inexpensive). Turns out I have to like the perfume enough to wear it for the bottle to be a good buy – unless, of course, it’s a miniature and then it doesn’t matter.
Just noticed a headline on the Financial Times “L’Oréal sells The Body Shop to Natura Cosméticos – Brazilian group buys lagging cosmetics company in bid to grow internationally.”
I didn’t click the article because I’d hit the pay wall, but I think you could access it by googling the headline.
I’ve been curious about Natura fragrances, which can be found on ebay. Has anyone tried them?
I linked to one today on Twitter, link on right column.
That elephant mug is so cute! I frequently have to remind myself when I see a cute mug that I already have way more mugs than I need. If it were an owl I’d probably have a harder time resisting, though.
So I’m oudy-rosy today in al-Rehab al Sharqiah (not sure if I spelled that correctly). Mostly a skin scent now, but this one doesn’t have huge sillage anyway (the rollerball is stingier on this one than the other two that I have, so maybe the lighter application might have something to do with that too).
My 15ml x 2 bottles of Terracotta arrived from eBay, they are very sweet little things, (rectangular, not round like the full size one)
So that’s what I wore this morning, perfect summer in a bottle! Re sprayed with Madonnas Truth or Dare Naked, later this afternoon, it’s quite a camphorous tuberose, almost minty, which stops it from being too sweet.
Nice find!
Back to the sample stash for today’s SOTD = SL Tubereuse Criminelle. I was curious to see how I feel about BWFs in summer. So far, so good. I definitely get the wintergreen/mentholated notes in the open, and then greenish, not buttery tuberose. A little odd, this is, but nothing that would scare the horses, IMO.
I smell like a middle schooler today in a slathering of Bath and Body Works’ Italian Citrus Sun lotion. I absolutely fail the bottle porn challenge, but it’s a nice change of pace from what I’ve been wearing lately and it works well in the heat. Plus, it was a Christmas gift and I feel like I “have” to use it occasionally, for whatever reason.
Posted twice, mea culpa!
Poof
BBW lotions are a great cheap thrill every now and again. Many of them are saccharine and awful, but a few are quite good.
SOTD is Wood Sage and Sea Salt, which doesn’t exactly have a memorable bottle (although the black-and-cream color palette is pretty much in step with my 1930’s Sears kit house’s bathroom.) But, I love the juice in it enough to almost call it my signature scent. And thanks to hajusuuri very generously gifting me a travel-sized pot of WSSS body cream in the last freebie meet, its lasting power is now significantly better.
Oh but I love the Jo Malone bottles…the 100mls have heft to them and they do look lovely on a dresser…glad you figured out a solution to the longevity issue.
Oh yay that it made the lasting power better!