Hey, happy Almost-Friday! It's also International Chess Day. What fragrance are you wearing?
Thanks to a very kind reader, I'm trying the cheerful and fruity Mancera Sicily. I'm also thinking about what fragrance I'll wear tomorrow. I did find a smell-related quote from For Whom The Bell Tolls, and I'm going to use it to pick my fragrance for tomorrow even though that is not my favorite Hemingway book:
He smelled the odor of the pine boughs under him, the piney smell of the crushed needles and the sharper odor of the resinous sap from the cut limbs. ... This is the smell I love. This and fresh-cut clover, the crushed sage as you ride after cattle, wood-smoke and the burning leaves of autumn. That must be the odor of nostalgia, the smell of the smoke from the piles of raked leaves burning in the streets in the fall in Missoula. Which would you rather smell? Sweet grass the Indians used in their baskets? Smoked leather? The odor of the ground in the spring after rain? The smell of the sea as you walk through the gorse on a headland in Galicia? Or the wind from the land as you come in toward Cuba in the dark? That was the odor of cactus flowers, mimosa and the sea-grape shrubs. Or would you rather smell frying bacon in the morning when you are hungry? Or coffee in the morning? Or a Jonathan apple as you bit into it? Or a cider mill in the grinding, or bread fresh from the oven?
Reminder: 7/21 is Ernest Hemingway's birthday. Do what you will with the theme, and tell us why you chose your fragrance.
And for those of you who like to plan ahead, see Scent of the day ~ Friday community projects 2017, where I'll try to always have the next five or six weeks mapped out in advance.
Note: top image is via the University of South Carolina Ernest Hemingway Speiser and Easterling-Hallman Foundation Collection.
SOTD is SPF 50! Today is my first day off in 16 days, and I fully intend to spend it lounging by the pool in a cat-kini. (Don’t laugh, you guys: https://www.modcloth.com/shop/know-an-eccentric-or-two-swimsuit-top/126086.html?dwvar_126086_color=CAT&cgid=#q=cat&prefn1=productLevel&sz=36&start=91&prefv1=variationgroup)
Tomorrow I’m thinking EnVoyage Zelda, to demonstrate which side I firmly come down on in the Hemingway-Zelda Fitzgerald feud
There’s a feud??
They absolutely loathed each other. Hemingway thought Zelda was a drain on her husband’s time and talent (despite Zelda being a huge source of Fitzgerald’s material); Zelda called Hemingway “phony as a rubber check.” I suspect both had a few fair points about the other.
I swear that authors (actors, musicians, etc) can be just as horrible as women with tearing each other down. Henry James, TS Eliot and WH Auden really tore Edgar Allen Poe to pieces. That’s just one example. Charlotte Bronte wasn’t a fan of Jane Austen (I do have to agree with Charlotte on this account). I can name many more feuds.
Charlotte Bronte may also have burnt her sister’s work after they died to protect her reputation, and save herself embarrassment. She found ‘The Tenant of Wildfell Hall’ too personal and embarrassing, and felt it should not have been published. (It deals with alcoholism and domestic abuse.)I’ve just read a great biography of Anne ‘Take Courage; ‘Anne Bronte and the Art of Life’ by Samantha Ellis.
I need to add something to the comment policy about criticizing Jane Austen
And meant to add — my own son was assigned Pride & Prejudice in English last year (possibly my favorite novel ever) and he hated it so much he just figured he’d take the fail on the test and get As on everything else. And that’s just what he did. I’m still pissed. I threatened to dock him a week of computer time and he said fine, it was still worth it.
Plus, Hemingway feuded with lots of other people. He despised Ford Madox Ford. He argued with Faulkner. Some of the characters in his books are thinly disguised, very mean portraits of “friends” and enemies. He was a great writer but he was not a kind man.
Hmm… maybe Fracas would be a good choice!
????
Artists have an age-old reputation for not being particularly nice people. I think it comes from a combination of ego (you can do something most people can’t!) and terror (your muse can desert you without notice and there’s not a thing you can do about it). Singers in particular are famously tetchy people, because they live in fear that their voice — some of them call it “the voice”, not “my voice”, as if it’s a separate entity that they don’t quite control — will simply fail them. (Near the end of her career, Whitney Houston just couldn’t summon her voice at a concert, and she said, “She don’t want to come, my soprano friend. Sometimes the old girl sings, but not tonight.”)
Yep, he also had a brawl with one of my top 5 poets- Wallace Stevens. I think Hemingway won that round…
Interesting. I know very little about Hemingway. And I had no idea he and Fitzgerald even knew each other.
They were all part of the American expat artistic community living in Paris during the 1920s. Also including Gertrude Stein (Hemingway’s mentor), Henry Miller, T. S. Eliot, Man Ray, Henry Miller and Cole Porter aming others.
Among others.
Oh that cat-kini is so cool! How fun!
Awesome cat-kini, i love it!
What is feline about it?
‘splain Lucy.
Zoom in on the print Bear
Thanks hannahmom! !
LOLOLOL
I missed that entirely! !!
I think I need that cat-kini.
Love your suit! I missed the cats first time too, just pretty purple print…enjoy your day off!
That bikini is to die for! Enjoy your day off.
Hurray for the catkini!
Fabulous bathing suit! I’m not a cat person but I’d wear that. Darling!
That cat-kini is adorable! Enjoy your well-deserved day off.
Pleased to see you are on the correct side of the feud.
Triple strength coffee.
Extra long workout.
Opium is the perfume of the people,
Perfume is the opium of the people,
Or somethin’ like that…….
LOLOLOL.
Opium Satin Body Oil, the smell of Opium making my sun-tanned skin glow like a Neapolitan Gigolo.
No gold chains, just that hairy chest.
LOL.
When the moon hits your eye likea bigga pizza ppppiiiiieeeee
Carpe Diem. Peace.
Mmmmmm Opium!
You smell fantastic! I dont feel comfortable wearing Opium to work, so I often wear it in the evening, before I go to bed (vintage perfume concentration, very balsamic and smooth).
Jiji, I have vintage perfume in Opium, it is such a sleek exotic beauty, wish I would have purchased another when I had the chance!
My mother gifted me her small bottle with the tassle (which I remember seeing on her vanity in the 80s)..
So it has some emotional value for me as well (thankfully my mom is still alive and healthy, but a gift like this is always special of course).
I have that same tassle bottle! And I treasure it – it’s under glass so SmokeyToes won’t get his paws on it. He has an attraction for sparkly shiny things (as do we all).
I had a customer a couple of weeks ago, a sixtyish woman who smelled REALLY good, something I didn’t recognize, so I don’t usually but I asked her what she was wearing, and was shocked when she said Opium. Having worn the original since the mid-80s, I had always declined to try the massive 2010-ish reformulation in the updated bottle but that clearly must have been what she was wearing: maybe I wouldn’t like it out of the bottle, especially compared to the epic original, but man, it smelled great on her.
I watched a video review of Opium this morning, and I kid you not, I thought I bet Bear has Opium! You smell great!
Wow! Coffee has worked!
Holy smokes, but you are smelling great!
Thanks for the love, everyone !!!
I am attending a funeral today, and as per the request of the deceased (“no one wearing black is to be admitted to my funeral”), I am wearing a bright floral dress and bronze shoes.
To match the spirit of the man and the atmosphere he so obviously wanted, I am wearing Nobile 1942 La Danza delle Libellule. Dancing dragonflies would have suited this sweet man perfectly.
That’s lovely.
I’m sorry for your loss.
Oh, lovely remembrance. Hope the funeral is as positive an experience as he wished.
So sorry for your loss, may his memory be a blessing.
Good for him! Sounds like someone who will be missed.
I’m very sorry for your loss.
He sounds like he was a joy to be with. I hope you are reminded of him every time you see a dragonfly.
Ditto.
Perfect.
Condolences on losing someone in your life. It sounds like he will be greatly missed.
Today I mixed 2 tiny drops of Narcisse parfum (by Chloe) with a dab of scentless bodylotion and smeared it on my arms and neck.
And after 7 hours i can still smell it faintly.
Its the only way I can wear this fragrance without smothering the whole office.
I used to wear Narcisse edp when I was a teenager. Its a sillage bomb that made even my mom (who used to wear Poison in the 80s) complain about it. Hahaha.
I really loved Chloe Narcisse, but good god it was strong, even by late-1980s standards (it was launched in 1992 but clearly a throwback to the previous decade: it must have been in the works for a few years).
They had those scratch n sniff ads in all the magazines, and i fell in love with it.
That scent is so fierce, when I look back it was a total mismatch with my personality at that time (shy, insecure, like most teenagers). But my then boyfriend loved it on me and said it was sexiest thing ever. Thats almost all the assurance a teenage girl needs, right?
haha
Mixing perfume with unscented lotion is a great life hack. Thanks for sharing!
I love the quote about all the different smells. I love many of those – can’t choose just one or two (just like with perfume…)
Carthusian Mediterraneo today. It is so fleeting, but so wonderful.
We have finally moved from Colorado to Washington and somehow I survived the first part (moving is The Worst) now looking for a place to live in Seattle area. I will need lots of perfume to help me through.
Oh, very good luck with the rest of the move — and you smell great.
Thanks!
We are looking at a move from Alabama to New Mexico and I feel your pain….positive vibes headed your way for a great find in the Seattle area!
Thanks, and best of luck to you. Moving is so much work and a little traumatic, too. However, I absolutely love New Mexico – best of luck!!
Congratulations! I hope you all will enjoy New Mexico. The balloon festival in Albuquerque is amazing. Oh gosh the food. Chilis!
Some of the bluest skies I ever saw were in the Four Corners region, which does include New Mexico. And seconding flopper’s comment about the chilis there… absolutely delicious!
I hope looking for a place is less painful than moving! Sending positive vubes your way.
Sending good moving vibes to each of you!
Best to you in your pursuit, and welcome!
Best of luck in finding your new place in Seattle, Springpansy!
FM Lys Mediterranee from a sample.
one of my summer favourites, I hope you’ll enjoy it too!
Thank you! It is a refreshing scent for hot temps!
Heatwave has arrived… hopefully not for too long. Feeling splashy in Atelier Cologne Clementine California.
As planned, SOTD is Heeley Sel Marin. The connection with Hemingway is The Old Man and the Sea, which I read a long time ago.
Thanks for quote, Robin. Very appropriate! If I had known Hemingway loved the smell of pine, I would have definitely included a pine fragrance for this week.
You smell great! I have a decant from the generous perfumelover67 – I will wear that tomorrow
I’ve gone with whiskey-and-cigars macho in Slumberhouse Jeke today. I would never wear this in summer if it weren’t Hemingweek, but I am really loving it. All this dang Slumberhouse stuff is so good. And such a tiny amount is needed. Thank goodness for decants.
Hemingweek! Lol
In Guerlain Terracotta. I had 2 sprays and 20 minutes later it made me horribly dizzy. It never happened before. I really love it. By the time I reached work I was feeling better. I can tolerante it now and even liking it, but not loving it. I hope this is not a permanent reacción to Terracotta. It would be very sad.
Glad you feel better and that Terra-cotta will be something you can continue to wear in the future.
Thank you!
Maybe the dizziness was caused by something else? Keep an eye on it.
I will. You never know.
I get dizziness a lot – sometimes vertigo from sinuses; sometimes just from being tired, afaict.
Oh, and I do find Terracotta really overwhelming, so maybe it’s just that. lol
I wondered if it might be nice mixed into coconut oil to use post-shower. Just a hint, and mellowed out.
I came home from work yesterday to excitedly find that my Ormonde Jayne sampler set from Luckyscent had arrived. 11 new perfumes to try!
I am starting with Champaca on one wrist and OJ Woman on the other (I will make it through your 100 perfumes list eventually Robin!). Both are lovely so far.
Our county fair started yesterday and I am off today so I’m taking my girls to see the horses.
I got that set a few years ago and it’s so much fun. If you like roses, wait until you try Ta’if, which is just heaven. It has dates and saffron in it!
I loooooooove that sample set! I am in Frangipani today but I love Woman and Champaca as well. Enjoy!
I was happy to see the Ormonde Jayne line arrive at Luckyscent – there’s something about every one of the perfumes I’ve tried from this line that I really enjoy.
I love county fairs! And I’d love to go to one in the midwest. Have fun!
Oh, that list! It sounds like a burden. Hope the OJs will be fun, though.
Your lists are wonderful and challenging! They opened my perfume world!
Well, good then. Hate to think of anyone miserably slogging their way through one hundred darned perfumes.
Oh no, that list is not a burden at all, on the contrary it’s given me great ideas to explore lines I had never heard of before and revisit the classics. I just meant that I’m a person that loves to check things off a list.????
Well I admit I like doing that too!
Wearing a sample of Diptyque Eau Duelle, which smells like an early draft of Hermes Vanille Galante that was rejected for general boringness. Fine if you like airy vanillas, I guess, but not my thing at all.
Ha – I like Eau Duelle (I like airy), but that’s a pretty good description!
Ouch, I love Eau Duelle????
Me too!
I suspect if I had tried it years ago before Vanille Galante existed, I would have liked it just fine, because it would have seemed new and different, but perfumery moves on and it seems to me that VG took the idea and did more interesting things with it. Sorry!
LOL — love the description.
Wonderful excerpt Robin!
Don’t know if this can be morphed into a Hemmingway reference, but I am wearing Carol’s Daughter Monoi, just put it on. It is reminiscent of Songes, very tropical white flowers, very pretty.
I am making progress with my tropical white florals – I force myself to think of tropical flowers (instead of corn tortillas and household cleaners). It’s sad my references are so banal instead of tropical paradises. My sister just spent a sabbatical in Cyprus, and she told me she smelled the scent of a bathroom cleaner coming from her window – turned out it was a beautiful blooming bush
Is the Monoi an actual perfume? I’ve used one of her tiare scented products (I think that’s what it was) and it smelled really nice.
I rarely have the household cleaner association with perfumes. Maybe that’s the upside of not cleaning very often.
ha ha
This sounds just awful, but I think I’m actually smelling some bathroom cleaner from train and bus stations – it’s awful, I mean its good, but my associations are awful – my parents should have taken me to Tahiti.
Anyway, yes she has come out with a few scents, but they are secondary to her hair care products which are great!
Coin-op – that bathroom cleaner coming from your sister’s window in Cyprus…so funny. I know the feeling, especially when an intense scent coming from a plant is unexpected, or not native to your home. But kpaint, I agree completely – THE UPSIDE OF NOT CLEANING VERY OFTEN!
Oh why not. Zane Grey’s Tales of Tahitian Waters was said to have inspired Hemingway’s Old Man and The Sea, so there’s your monoi connection.
Ha ???? Now I might have to purposely where a challenging scent to see if you can come up with something, ha ha
LOL — I will do my very best.
In Guerlain Vol de Nuit parfum. It is almost too voluptuous on this muggy day! I wish I had gone for the EDT or Nahema instead.
Oh, but you smell absolutely gorgeous!
Hello NST! I am back home after a month-long trip. I brought like 8 different perfumes and still got sick of them by the end. Today I am sampling DSH Rubis Rose which so far is beautiful.
Welcome home! I know what you mean about being sick of your perfumes: I usually bring at least a half-dozen samples or minis with me and by the end of the trip I don’t even want to look at any of them. (I have the same problem with fountain pens: I keep a travel journal on every trip and always bring at least six or seven pens, each with a different ink, but by the time it’s all over I’m desperate to write with something, anything, that I didn’t bring with me.)
Ha!
Options, options, options! (What would we have done if we lived in any other era but this one?! And I’m not poking fun, but rather outing myself as a member of the club!)
Tell us what perfumes you bought!
Yes, please — you can’t just say 8 and then move on!
Oh sorry! Here’s what I brought: Narciso, Seville a l’Aube, Lolita Lempicka L’Eau Blanc, Rose Flash, Vanilla Flash, Mona di Orio Musc, AA Pamplelune, Rose d’Ete, Lush Lust, Donna Karan Gold. Wow, that’s 10. For still curious minds, the one I wore the most was Narciso, probably followed by Pamplelune.
Great list. I should get L’Eau Blanc before it disappears.
Month-long.. oh yeah.
Now that’s what I call a vacation. 8 seems reasonable for a month
Sadly it wasn’t a vacation…it was a work trip. But I did take a couple of weekend trips in there.
Welcome back!
Thank you!
Brilliant idea for Hemingway Day, Robin. I will probably copy you since I’ll be among the pine boughs and cut limbs tomorrow up in the San Juan Islands and it will fit right in. Today’s scent, though, is Gucci EDP for its spicy orange blossom/cumin deliciousness.
My uncle lived in that area although I’ve never visited. He was a retired airline pilot who had a charter plane business. His daughter is also a pilot and she runs it now. It sounds like a perfect place to live and to visit.
Oh, hey! I’m heading to the San Juans on Monday (Orcas.) Which island are you going to? We went to Orcas last summer in early August and it was surprisingly warm – in the mid-80s most of the week we were there. I’m hoping for more of the same! There’s a great swimming beach there on a lake and I’m hoping to spend lots of time in the water
Oh, and btw, I got an email from WA Ferries that they’re down one boat and running on an emergency schedule for now.
Oh nuts. We’re staying on the mainland visiting family, and making day trips to Whidbey and Camano. They’re both driveable, but the ferry is quicker (at least as to Whidbey) and more fun. I’ll wave vigorously in your general direction.
SotD: CB:IHP Cradle of Light. I am having a rare meeting free day luckily, because even the tiniest dab on my wrist (I used a sterling toothpick) is scenting me and the air around me intensely. Galbanum, musk, Black March, and an avalanche of jasmines and other white flowers.
A sterling toothpick sounds very glamorous.
I found it in an antique store decades ago for almost nothing. It has cylindrical case with a small worked pattern of scrolls (a little worse for the years). I love it.
I love Cradle of Light! I have only 0.25ml that someone shared with me, so I wear it sparingly.
Today I’m wearing Bond No. 9 Chinatown. My tea of the morning is lemon ginger. This week has flown by
Love Chinatown!!!
Your perfume and tea sound like a fantastic scented combo.
Sampling “nuit à Bali” scents, with “murmure des Dieux” on the left (starts off as a vegetable-fenugreek-conconction, smells more like my kitchen the day after an intense cooking session), and on the right “rosa americana” (smoky-salty-raspberry). Both strange…
Strange good or strange bad?
A nod to Hemingway’s time in Cuba and Key west, I am in OJ’s Frangipani today. I wanted something tropical and this fits wonderfully.
And the lime note=key lime pie! You smell great! Wore that a lot on vacation
Beastly hot and humid, I am fighting the heat with Diptyque Jardin Clos.
Same weather here.
I’m in another neglected favorite, Moschino Couture.
I love Couture!
Neglected favorite. Sigh. Too many to count. What’s to become of my favorites! Are they really favorites? Yes, deep, deep in the rabbit hole I’ve gone.
This summer I’m all about roll-ons, perfume oils, and skin scents, so today I’m in one of my all-time-favorite combos: Sarabecca Neroli perfume oil layered with just a few dabs of Kiehl’s Original Musk. The neroli oil really brings out the orange blossom note in the Original Musk.
Sounds wonderful. Where do you get the S neroli oil?
I found it at a chain grocery store near me called Fresh Thyme, but you can also order it online at Sarabecca’s Etsy shop. Always happy to share the neroli love ❤
We have a Fresh Thyme here! I’ll have to go see if they have it.
Have you ever tried the Olivine Atelier perfume oils? I’ve been adding a drop to my Everyone unscented lotion and liking that vs actual perfumes on many days too.
Ooh, no I haven’t. Which ones would you recommend?
I ordered the sample set with all 8 of her scents. I started with Gigi, which is the best seller and really yummy. I also really like Full Regalia which is more of a vanilla/creamy floral combo, More Than the Stars which opens with an almond note and Amongst the Waves which reminds me a lot of Bronze Goddess. The other 4 are more centered around big white florals which isn’t necessarily my thing but I’ll probably use them up eventually with a more sparing application. I was dabbing from the samples when I first got them but I’m finding I get better projection now when I add a nice size drop to the lotion.
It’s horribly hot and humid outside and I am inside where the AC is one. I have a follow up appintment at the dentist today and I will wear ISM today, even though I really want to wear L’Heure de Nuit.
Good luck at the dentist!
Received my Luckyscent order yesterday, and am now awash in CdG Jaisalmer. My absolute favorite from the Incense series!
I have a sample of Jaisalmer on the way. Can’t wait to try it.
I think I’ve tried the entire series – I love incense notes – and this is the one that I felt I needed a bottle of. Jaisalmer seems to me to be more peaceful than the others, drier, with more associations of the open air than church interior.
SOTD is Memo “African Leather”, in a gesture (possibly two-fingered) towards Hemingway’s African adventures.
Notes are bergamot, cardamom, saffron, cumin, geranium, patchouli, oud, leather, vetiver and musk.
I got this sample with a bunch of other Memo leather samples before I learned that I usually hate leather as a perfume note. HOWEVER, in this one the leather is dialled back and balanced with saffron, a little oud, and some flower (I would not have guessed geranium). It’s very nice, warm and spicy and will go on my longlist. Which means I shall look out for decants – hah! – or maybe get a bottle around the year 2027.
Oooh, that is a great choice! I have a sample of that at home too, but I’ve yet to try it. You’ve provided some great inspiration!
I really like African Leather too. Memo is fast becoming one of my favourite houses.
I’m a big Memo leather fan If you like juniper, Irish Leather is fab.
Ah, Irish Leather was an absolute shocker on my skin – I was so disappointed! Somehow a lot of leather perfumes end up smelling like shoe polish to me.
Yikes ????????
Have you tried the new Russian Leather? I like it too, and Italian Leather.
No, I haven’t tried the Russian. When I bought French Leather, I narrowed my choices down to FL and Italian Leather. It was a tough choice though. ????
What a lovely Hemmingway quote Robin, thank you. My scent fits the quote I think, April Aromatics Agartha, which to me smells like the long summers I remembered from my childhood, lying in the sweet grass that has turned yellow and haylike. It has a lovely mimosa note, and honey and tobacco. For anyone interested, the 15 mls are back in stock on her website. I took a bad fall with my dog a week ago, injured my right arm and I am pretty much immobilised, a bursitis and tendonitis which may take up to 12 weeks to heal :-(. On the bright side it leaves me time to chime in here more often!
Yikes! Wishing you a speedy recovery. And that perfume sounds right up my alley-I love hay/dry grass smell.
It is truly gorgeous, if you love hay it is worth a try! Happy to send you a sample but my arm needs to heal first!
I hope you get well soon. Sending hugs.
I’m so sorry to hear about your injury! I hope you recover easily. At least you’ll smell amazing as you recuperate.
Hope you feel better soon and the dog is okay too.
So sorry to hear about you’re accident, I really hope u feel better soon, and get plenty of rest! Sending u scented hugs.
Oh dear!, thought first message had disapeared! Sorry about posting twice!
So sorry to hear about you’re accident, I hope u feel better soon, and it heals quickly! That perfume sounds wonderful, I hope it provides comfort and cheer while u recover.
Oh no! Hope it will heal faster than the average, then.
Thank you all for your kind messages! Dog is fine, she was on the stretchy leash and was running off to call two great Danes to order (she is a German Shepherd…) and pulled me over ‘waterski style’ and because of some primordial instinct I held on…
Ugh, being injured like that is no joke! Hope you heal easily and quickly.
I received some terrible news this morning. I am so upset, I don’t dare put any perfume on and risk contaminating it. I guess I’m just here to shamelessly ask for prayers and peace. Or a good old fashion curse on the person who is upsetting me….
I’m sorry to hear that. Sending good thoughts your way.
Sending prayers and peace to you, lillyjo.
sending loving thoughts…
My prayers with you. Sending positive thoughts and hugs.
Thinking of you….
Breathe. Wishing you peace and perspective.
I will have you in my good thoughts and prayers, lillyjo.
And I am not above, or below, believing karma catches up with everyone, sooner or later.
Sending positive thoughts, prayers and peace to you. And lots of virtual hugs.
Ugh. Really? Gawd some people! Hang in there. We love you ’round here.
Sending you positive vibes. And sending evil karma vibes to your tormentor!
Sending positive thoughts your way Lillyjo. I hope tomorrow is a better day!
I will send you virtual hugs, and virtual pins to stick in your voodoo doll. :^)
Oh I am sorry, that sounds awful.. Sending positive thoughts and prayers.
Chin up, Lillyjo! Don’t let them get to you!
So sorry! This too shall pass.
I hope you can find your inner warrior! Maybe no 19 can withstand this person and will empower you without being contaminated!
One old-fashioned pox on the person who is being an irritant/jerk, coming up!
So sorry that someone has done this to you. Take deep breaths and pamper yourself. Karma will take care of this, absolutely! “Revenge can be bitter sweet, but if you sit back and watch, karma can be pure entertainment”
Scent of the day is Atelier Cologne Cedre Atlas. I’m shocked by how much I like this. Not that I expected to dislike it, but I like it way more than I expected to. It’s got a rich, fruity tartness that I never expected to find in a perfume with “cedre” in the name.
I’m a little stumped on tomorrow’s theme, because the first Hemingway-evoking scent that jumped to mind for me was Imaginary Authors’ Bull’s Blood, but I don’t own it or even have a sample. (I sprayed it once in a store and it did make an impression, though!) I’m thinking I may go with Terre d’Hermes, because it feels like the type of masculine Hemingway would have liked, or a Ramon Monegal because of the Spanish connection. This challenge has made me realize I don’t have much in the way of Italian, Spanish, or Caribbean perfumery, and I should change that!
That’s a good one…especially in hot weather….I like most of what this brand puts out and surprisingly many of the scents last quite long on my scent eating skin.
Back home this morning. Nice to be at home and see my kitties, but wish I could’ve stayed longer.
Hazy, hot, humid, and just plain ick out. And my potted plants out back are all fried since I forgot to ask the catsitters to water them. Caligna for me after a shower.
Don’t you think the weather would be more manageable if it smelled like Hawaii instead of a big, grimy city?
It would. Coming back to a grey, dirty, concrete slab is a downer.
I am sorry to hear about your plants. I have to water mine every day now. They get dry in just hours. Quite concern about my dog. He is 13 years old and nothing seems to make him feel fresher. I hope the weekend is better. You smell great in Caligna!
Poor puppy. I am glad to have AC to keep my old dogs comfortable, they really suffer in the heat.
It seems for moments that the AC also bothers him. He moves from colder to warmer areas often and drinks plenty of cold water. The older he gets the worse he handles summertime.
Yeah, I should have remembered to ask the sitter to water the potted ones. Poor doggy. I kind of feel the same way as he does. Too hot, too cold. I see people ealking their dogs in the heat and the poor things are panting.
The only time coming home from vacation is good is when you’ve had a not-so-nice vacation. A great vacation can emphasize how rotten and mundane real life is and make for a difficult transition
Sounds like you had a great trip!
That’s true. I feel like I was just just settling in and getting to know the place, too. Hope your trip to the lake is a good one! One day I’ll make it to the PNW. My brother just came back from Oregon and said it was his favorite vacation ever!
INTERNATIONAL CHESS DAY!!!!! I was going to go with Apres L’ondee but I will go with En Passant instead as that is a chess term…and it is French (for Hemingway’s time in France) and it goes nice over my homemade vanilla bean oil..stopped at the health food store and picked up more vanilla beans…they are now marinating in my 16oz Now Essentials Apricot Oil bottle….younger family member is using copious amounts of what is already made so I need to make more!!!
Coffee with coriander seeds (my new spice obsession) was my S(ip)OTM…the farmstand gal told me she puts cayenne pepper in her coffee grinds…anyone else ever hear of that???
I’ve put it in hot chocolate (delish!), but not coffee. I suppose if I sweetened my coffee, I’d try it. Most spices added taste better to me when I add sweetener, which I don’t do except on occasion.
oh yes, i bet it would be great in hot chocolate! i like bar chocolate with chili in it…Mr. CM8 says my tastes are too exotic when it comes to food (he prefers vanilla ice cream whereas I want the “kitchen sink” in there!) but i like odd combinations and concoctions…..you’re right though…maybe cayenne with a huge dollop of honey
I have had cayenne pepper in hot chocolate for years and gosh! it is great! I need to try the coffee with coriander seed. It sounds really good.
Sounds like you and Mr. CM8 are like me & my H, but I’m the one who does the teasing. He likes shortbread, vanilla ice cream, thumbprint cookies, and other such old lady fare.
OOO but those sweets are delicious too !!!
I could go for a shortbread cookie now
That was my thinking too, and we smell very nice, we do.
Yes we do !!!
I wore Apres L’Ondee to bed last night. I won a bottle of the edp some time back. It is sort of stickier than the parfum, but makes a nice sleep scent.????
I will put that on later then
I think you are right in that it makes a nice sleep scent !
I didn’t know there was an EDP version. Unless you have a vintage bottle?
Nope. Having a perfume senior moment! Edp of L’heure Bleu. Sorry! Yeeesh!! ????
SOTD is Sel Marin by Heeley – I decanted a bit so I can respritz at work.
Only 5.45 hours of work left until vacation!! Feeling light and breezy in Jour D’Hermes.
You smell wonderful Luna! Jour D’Hermes is my latest love from them. I smelled it when I was out and about on a fellow shopper, tried it once and promptly purchased the biggest bottle and body cream. It’s gorgeous!
Have you ever seen it in a body oil?
We are scent twins today!
Like many of you, I’m sweltering. Started the day in Mojave Ghost, which wore off quickly during my early morning walk. (How could it be 90 degrees by 8:00 am?) I’m now wearing Philosykos.
Stay cool and hydrated everyone!
Philosykos is great for these hot, burning days. You smell fab!
You smell super!
B of E today for a semi-quick work day.
Deva, I have great news for you. Vero Kern posted on facebook today that after this special first release, Naja will become part of the regular collection! So you have time to save up for a bottle and not worry it will be sold out. :-). Yay!!
Holy Krakatoa, Batman!! That Vero is such a tease- limited edition/not limited edition????
I just dropped a lonely penny in my piggy bank. It needs a lot of company, (hoping the pennies get busy procreating!)but I feel there may be a full bottle in my (distant) future (or at least a decant).
Thanks for the update!
Lovely Hemingway quote, Robin. I’ve been wearing Sycomore EDT today, which fits quite well with it. Might wear Habanita this evening.
It’s (that should have said isn’t) that nice? And yes, either of those would fit.
Robin, I am noticing for the first time that your comment bubbles are lavender. Is this a new feature, or did I simply never notice it before?
The author of the post always has a lavender comment bubble, has been true since 2009 I think
It’s not a dark shade so possibly not always noticeable, but the original idea was that when you’re commenting on a review, you can see when the author has answered you. On a poll, no real purpose I guess.
Thanks, I can see now it depends on having my screen at just the right angle.
Funny, I’m wearing Bruno Fazzolari Lampblack and thinking that I like it but can’t see the point of any other vetiver when Sycomore EDT exists.
Finally made it to NST….
Back in Clarins Eau Dynamisante. Seems to be my Summer 2017 grab and go!
I love that one…had a full bottle of it when it first came out…did not know it is still in production….great for a hot sweltering day.
Le Plus Beau Jour de ma Vie today.
Ô de Lancôme. Succumbed and bought a bottle ???? Perfect for hot and humid days.
I’ve been tempted to blind buy OdL at the discounters. Would you know if it is similar to Eau de Rochas? These types of scents are wonderful for humid, hot days.
I think it is similar, although O doesn’t have the mineral note and is a bit zingyer or tart-er (maybe I mean O has a brighter citrus note?). Any I love them both.
You can’t go wrong with O.
O is a summer favorite for me.
I’ve never had the opportunity to try the Rochas. If you live in the U.S., I’d be thrilled to send you some. My email:
laugsb @ sbcglobal dot net
You smell great!
Ditto!
Thanks????
Thank you!
Summer is flying by and I feel like I’ve only worn a few of my hot weather scents. It’s Jour d’Hermes for me this morning.
House twin!
I’m in Eau Des Merveilles today which is sort of on track for this week’s Hemingway theme with it’s salty amber notes.
House twin!
That’s on my next to sample list; I’ve seen it mentioned here so much and it seems like something I’d like.
Go to Sephora and score a sample for free (actually three samples per person so if you take YOUR person you can score six!)
Ahh good idea!
Something made me think of Carnal Flower this morning, and that’s what I’m wearing on a cool-ish day with threatening rain.
SOTD is Hermès Eau d’Orange Verte. How did it get to be Thursday already?
How did it get to be July 20 already, that’s what I want to know
Yes, that too!!
Very good morning, all. I have a joyful announcement to make: ITS FRIDAY! ????????????‼️I know that sentence is unmatchable for sheer, banal statement of the obvious, but i could cry from relief and pleasure at having nearly reached the haven of the weekend.
Now here’s some real joy: we think we have found Dakkie a kitten, a red point, so (again with the obvious, uggghhh), Eric. We will meet him this weekend. In celebration of this possibility, I’m wearing the ever-exquisite La Pausa, and honestly, I’d have to be dead not to be uplifted by this perfect mix of iris and vetiver. It’s a stormy day and I’m wearing cords and a jersey and boots to manage the weather, but La Pausa transmutes these very dull clothes into silks that sigh and velvets that drape sumptuously, with perhaps an almost-hidden glimmer of a rich jewel or two somewhere. I look miles better on the inside than on the outside, in other words. That’s a cute trick for a perfume to pull off.
I think you all smell wonderful today. I’m loving your Hemingway days. Be well.
I love you’re description of how transformative this perfume is! Can’t believe I still haven’t tried Le Pausa, I adore Iris and Chanel, so it’s crazy really, but because of the lack of silage/longevity I haven’t gone out of my way to track it down.
Good luck with the kitten!
Mayfly once my arm has healed I will send you some and more!
So now you have Erik the Red?
OMG, love this!
Erik! Great name.
I love all sorts of cats but I have a soft spot for red/orange ones. My first cat (not being my family’s but my own) was a ginger tabby.
Glad your week has picked up. And good luck with La Pawsa the kitten
A cold and miserable rainy Friday morning ….makes me want to say grrrrrrrr. Wearing Lush Death and Decay as a match to Martha Gelhorn’s short story “The smell of lilies” ( available online and worth reading ).
I got contacted yesterday by a perfumer in Queenstown (NZ) who has made a series of scents based on NZ landscapes. She is going to send me some samples. One of them is based on high country tussocks and sounds nice. I hope i can go and meet her
http://queenstownperfumiers.nz/
Interesting to see which plants they are highlighting: kowhai, koromiko, manuka, harakeke etc.
These sound beautiful, do report back when you’ve tried them!
Seconding this!
Thirding!
Sitting out most of the week because I am down with pneumonia in both lungs. My temperature is finally coming down, but I still feel like I’ve been hit by a truck and moving around is like wading through peanut butter. No perfume all week, but I am enjoying people’s Hemingway picks and strongly recommend “The Paris Wife” to anyone who hasn’t read it.
U poor thing, hope u feel a lot better soon. Will give that story a read, thanks.
Oh dear. Hope you are better soon and take it very slow/careful.
Lots of healing!
Please take care of yourself, pneumonia is quite something.
I hope you recover very soon. Sending positives vibes!.
Oh no, do take good care of yourself. I had forgotten about that book, which I had on my read list at some point but never got around to.
Yow, pneumonia just flat-out sucks! Best wishes for a speedy and uneventful recovery from it.
That’s awful – hope you get back on your feet soon. Poor you.
Take good care of yourself. That is no fun, ever.
Goodness???? Sure hope you start to feel better really soon!
Not Hemingway for me today… just was pawing around samples looking for inspiration and spritzed on Diptyque Eau de 34. Harsh for quite a while…in a way that I don’t like… but it has softened a bit now. Difficult anyway since I’m slightly stuffed up today with a low-grade headache. I know what I’m wearing tomorrow, at least in morning. Still need to decide evening scent as I host a few friends at a favorite restaurant for my husband’s birthday. It’s a big one…and he’s NOT happy about it.
Took my girl Penny to the vet yesterday. She’s the orange tabby who put up the faux illness act the morning we were heading out of town. She’s about 16/17 now and was off her feed the other day in a way that made me anxious – so I figured it was time for a full work up. Much yowling and complaining in the carrier. But she behaved impeccably once she was able to explore the exam room, jump up on the counter (easily) and settle in behind the sink faucet. Hoping for blood results Friday that reveal no serious issues. Tried a new vet just up the street…really liked her, so that’s good.
I like the idea of this poll, but I’ve never read anything by Hemingway that I can recall (surely there must have been a short story in our high school literature books). Hence, I’m having a hard time focusing on it and just wearing random things. I enjoy others’ responses, though.
Same here.
Of course Hemingway is also well known here, and lots of dutch high schoolers choose The old man and the sea for their reading list, because it is quite a small novel.
But i am not familiar with his work. I love all the ideas mentioned here. And he sure had a NOT boring life that is probably very inspiring for lots of people.
I will be more stumped next week as I looked at both lists and don’t have anything from either one of those perfumers…so may do random like you.
btw, my computer has always shown Robin’s comments surrounded in a hue of lavender.
Good point – and, in general, fewer people seem to have been stumped by this poll than those focused on specific perfumers.
Always skip any project that does not interest you!
I was thinking that Skive could be good..or Olympic Studio Bay Rum. It looks like Skive isn’t sold through Canoe anymore so it’s going to be difficult to get down – boo hoo.
I’m wearing Paestum Rose by Eau d’Italie, bought many years ago as one of my first niche purchases. I still love it, but I don’t wear it very often.
I love the idea of this poll but though I know I’ve read 3 of his books I can’t remember him very well. I might just honour another author tomorrow.
Feel free!
Final day of roses for me this week, since I have some options for Hemingway day tomorrow. SOTD = Les Parfums de Rosine’s Un Zeste de Rose, from the sample stash. Pink roses, lemon peel, and a hint of salt. Great scent for the grody weather in my area.
Zeste is such a lovely fresh rose.
Totally agree with you.
Nice! I wore that last week. It is great.
Thank you. I’ve discovered some awesome hot weather scents this year.
I’ve had such a stressful day, this is my first chance to even glance at this blog, and I am even surprised I remember what I wore this morning, but it was Musc Manoi (and I can still detect it).
Happy Birthday to Ernest Hemmingway “For Whom The Bell Tolled” many years ago.
I’m coming in late today, but I am wearing Penhaligon’s Sartorial. Nothing to do with Hemingway. I went with it because I am wearing a dress today — really more out of laziness and not wanting to put on pants than wanting a particular look — and since I felt like I look more girly than I feel, I needed a non-femmy scent to balance things out. It sorta works.