Happy Back To School Friday! Our community project for today: wear a fragrance that fits the theme, for whatever reason.
What fragrance did you pick? As always, do chime in with your scent of the day even if you’re not participating in the community project.
I took the easy route: I'm in (vintage) Serge Lutens Santal Blanc, my bestest pencil fragrance.
Reminder: 9/1 we're doing Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit! We're all about rabbits today. Wear a fragrance that will bring you good luck for September, or wear a fragrance that reminds you of rabbits, or wear whatever you picked this morning while saying "rabbit, rabbit, rabbit" aloud. Or, refuse to participate in childish, superstitious practices — we'd like to know your scent of the day anyway.
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 Pencils [cropped] by Randen Pederson at flickr; some rights reserved.
Happy Friday! Thank you all for your congratulations yesterday on my promotion. It was really touching and appreciated.
I am wearing on one arm CB I Hate Perfume In the Library. A reminder of all the days and nights spent at the library during my school years. Leather, wood polish, worn cloth. On the other arm a tiny spritz of CK Obsession. The first perfume during my school years that made my passion and love for perfumes bloom like crazy years later.
Whoever is in Texas and any other state affected by Harvey take care and stay safe.
Love your interpretation. In the Library – very fitting. 🙂
I missed that – belated congratulations! I love your writeup about your perfume choices.
Thank you!
A belated CONGRATULATIONS on your promotion!! YAY!!!!! 🙂
Thank you JadainGA!
Nice choices! I never owned it but Obsession definitely takes me back to school.
Obsession has a very special place in my heart and my collection. When I tried it only once, during my college years it changed my whole world forever. Those days I could not afford any perfume. Many, many years later when I was finally able to afford my first bottle of perfume, I knew the time has happily come to purchase Obsession. It was not as rich as it was in the past, but it still smelled gorgeous. I might at some point look for a vintage bottle, but I do not wear it that often anymore.
That is my story with Anais Anais and YSL Paris. I did wear Obsession in high school, but always felt a little uncomfortable in it, then switched to Obsession for Men, which felt absolutely right. I had both the men’s & women’s ads as covers for my binders.
I have a newer version of Obsession, which I actually quite like. It’s everything I remembered about Obsession, but easier to wear than vintage, which is a total sex bomb. I have a huge bottle of the original release and would be happy to send you some if you drop me an email.
Anais Anais and Paris were great perfumes at that time. I wear Paris once in a while and it is always uplifting! The covers were great! Nice that you have and enjoy them on your binders.
Nice picks, and adding to the belated congrats!
Thank you Robin!
Congratulations! Obviously the time spent in the library paid off.
Thank you Wendysue 🙂
Congratulations perfumelover67!
Onward and upward!
Thank you Bear!
Belated congratulations! I’d say you smell great, but I honestly can’t think of how it smells. But I bet you do!
Than you LizzieB. In the Library opens with a milky vanilla note follow by wood. During the development, I can easily smell paper, but from new books rather than old ones . The leather note is always present. I cannot say it smells exactly like a library, but it definitely reminds me of one. It is a very simple scent, pleasant but fleeting. I have a small decant and if I keep reapplying I might finish it today.
Completely missed this yesterday–congratulations!!!
Thank you missionista!
Congratulations! You’ve been working super hard, and it has paid off.
Thank you sistine. It has been a very busy year and it will become busier. Wishing myself good luck now! 🙂
Congrats, that’s awesome!
Thank you!
I’ve never sniffed In the Library; I dont know why, since I love libraries. And there’s nothing like a dab of vintage Obssession.
Adding to the belated congrats as well! Have a great weekend!
Thank you AnnE.
If you have the opportunity give In the Library a try. It disappears very fast, but it is very nice.
All those 80’s and 90’s perfumes in vintage are treasures!
I will try it. And I do have a “ew vintage treasures squirreled away. ????
Belated congratulations!! That is awesome news!
Thank you Eldiyen!
Joining in a belatedly congratulations!
Thank you!
Serge Lutens Chene.
House twins, Robin. And my idea was similar: I picked Chene, because Luca Turin called it a “pencil shavings” scent.
Yep — plus, you get the shot of rum 🙂
I am also taking the easy route…theme is TESTING….
Phlur Moab…one word- SUBLIME
I am not getting anything dry or arid….rather it is warm, vanilla, amber, cinnamon, wood, pudding, sweet, enveloping…LOVE LOVE LOVE
There is something about this that has a Tauer vibe…and yet it is more subtle and refined….it also remind me a bit of Saffron Troublant as it has that gourmand aspect and also reminds me of Clandestine Clara ( or as hajusuuri calls it “Clairvoyant Clara”)
Highly highly highly recommend this one….it definitely “passed” my test…A+++
Phlur is da bomb, aren’t they? Olmstead and Vaux is my fave, but Moab is also a winner!!! I saw your comment yesterday and never did get back to you! LOL
Holy cannoli, Jada!!! You get six enabler pins from me because it was your youtube video mention that put Phlur on my radar to begin with!
I am going to be using some of them for aromatherapy in my office when I go back to work 🙂
And I also LOVE Olmsted and Vaux..I think I might have worn it for seven days straight? And got about 10 compliments..I kid you not!
I am envious of your experiences with Moab! On me it was dry dry dry and leaning on the masculine side. Boo!
cm8, your descriptions keep making break my STOP resolution 🙂 .
I am also in trouble…
Hee hee….:)
LOL! go for it! Like I said, even if they don’t work the presentation of the samples is so lovely you can gift your sampler away….and I really love the philosophy of the company which goes beyond the good smells 🙂
I’m another person on the alert now for this line, ready to spring for the sample set!
Oh boy! I am creating lemmings left and right-LOL! Which ones are you eyeballing? I will add that I really like Hanami…it is described as an aquatic but I don’t get that at all…my skin really amps up the hazelnut and sandalwood (there is also fig in it) which makes me think of Angel Muse (without the vetiver though) when I wear it. And Hepcat is amazing too! It is bold and brash and definitely masculine but I love it…very potent going on and lasts and lasts….I am going to play around and might layer Moab over it ….
Me, too! I’ve got my cart ready and set up an account.
CM8 & JadainGA, do either of you want to do the Give 10/Get10 thing? I’m not sure it would work for sample sets, but you might as well get some extra diamonds for your enabler crowns.
You can click on my SN to see my info.
kpaint-
give the GIve 10 / Get 10 to Jada…she deserves it 🙂
But…I want to know which ones you picked -LOL!
It needs to be the other way around, though – if she or you send me the link, the referrer gets the credit.
OK I’m gonna let jada do it as my email with PHlur is not linked to my CM8 email 🙂
and I have a feeling she might be more inclined to be using that 10 dollar credit 🙂
I had to go and check if it was an actual perfume name or the next “box of eels” that I didn’t get because was not around for a while 🙂
Sounds interesting. I’ll add it to my “to try” list.
I got an F from ElisaP because it was apparently featured at Sniffapalooza last year and I don’t remember it at all except for CM8’s attempt to conquer the world 🙂
SOTD is Chanel 19, a Christmas gift from my mother when I was a high school senior in the 70s, and remains one of my all time favorites.
What perfumelover67 said about Hurricane Harvey. We have lots of family and friends in southeast Texas and Louisiana who have weathered many hurricanes but I can’t imagine 30+ inches of rain 🙁
Aw, what a great story. (Not the one about the hurricane! The one about No 19! 🙂 )
You smelled great! And it is nice that perfume you love is associated with a person you love.
No 19 is one of my all-time favorites though I got to know it much later than school years.
Sotd is vintage Poison edt from Dior, because thats what I wore when I stated university way back in -93. Have a happy weekend everybody!
Yes! OMG, Posion brings back the college years…
I thought about wearing that this week. It’s one I wore in HS but I love it even more now.
I swear, every girls’ dorm hallway smelled like Poison in 1986.
I am also wearing In the Library because that is where I spend every school year. The fact that I have to reapply VERY frequently is sort of a metaphor for the fact that I have to regularly reapply myself to being the best librarian I can possibly be for these munchkins and not just go through the motions.
It is true. In the Library is very fleeting. I brought my decant to work to spray a couple of more times during the day.
It was a librarian who instilled a love of reading in 6 year old me. Librarians rock!
I admit, I have the best job in the world. I get to buy books with someone else’s money and read out loud to children and get paid for it.
My first (and best) job was as a page in the children’s dept at my local library. I loved referring books to parents for their kids and got to show Disney films (on reels!) on weekends. And I got to work under a fantastic librarian, who was sort of the epitome of an awesome book lady who ran all kinds of wonderful programs for kids.
One thing I remember (as a child, not as her employee) was that she’d record a reading of a book that you could call and listen to over the phone.
That’s the best first job ever!
My first job was as a page in the cataloging department of the public library. Best job I ever had! Ended up working as an administrative assistant for the rest of my career, but I have the soul of a cataloguer. 😉
Not sure if back to school but I am in Chanel 31 Rue Cambon. I thought of it as a fragrance for a fancy teacher who is liked by all the students at school.
Love your interpretation!
I do, too!
Thank you both ????
Perfect description!
Thanks
It’s an interesting approach 🙂
I tried to remember – and I’m not sure if any of our teachers wore any perfumes. Maybe it wasn’t allowed? Or maybe they just couldn’t get perfumes to wear for every day? I would love to have my favorite math teacher to wear 31 Rue Cambon.
Glad you liked my imterpretation of this theme.
I actually never paid attention if my teachers wore any perfume. I know for sure that 2 were, but probably not more
You smell fantastic! Ha, I imagine I would’ve ended up liking even a bad teacher if s/he wore 31RC!
Your remark made me giggle. Thanks!
My last back-to-school experience was college at Portland State, which today sprawls over several city blocks at the south end of downtown Portland and probably smells mostly of wet asphalt and bus fumes. But when I was there, MANY years ago, it was a small campus centered over the very end of the South Park Blocks, so the scents that come to mind are those of the many trees – oaks, elms, a few maples, and of course firs. At the start of school the leaves haven’t started turning yet (meaning Forest Walk, and even Pacific Forest, aren’t quite it), so what could I do but wear OJ Woman? Thick trees, some grass … if it had a faint “wet concrete” note it would be spot-on, but I think it’s pretty perfect just as it is.
You smell fantastic!
Nice!
SOTD AP Iris Celadon.. connection to school.. testing? I can tell I will need a bottle of this- I am greedy when it comes to nice irises. I will probably try to organize a split during the splitmeet.
It is cold and rainy here. I am picking up my nephew from the airport in a few hours. He is coming from tropical climes where it rarely drops below 80’F to attend the U of Minnesota. He is in for a shock to his system!
For now, drinking coffee and eating the last of my Vosges truffles as breakfast. I saved the best for last – a rosewater-pistachio one and a candied violet one. Yum. Happy Friday and weekend, lovely peeps of NST!
Those chocolates sound delicious! And good luck to your nephew.
A friend of mine gave me a small box of the Exotic Truffle Collection for Christmas. The Olio d’Oliva and Budapest truffles were heavenly. I have been tempted for a while to stop by the store in Soho to get a small box of the milk chocolate collection. I guess a visit is already due….
ZOMG those truffles sound AMAZING. Best to your nephew! I live in the Pacific NW and I know I couldn’t handle one minute of a MN winter! I’ll to look into that iris for split potential.
Oops! Meant to post under TTBC’s original post. Not sure how it ended up here!
Hint hint – Iris Celadon smells similar to VC&A Moonlight Patchouli
Hermes la Toit…. because…..apple
That’s clever!
🙂 cute!
Ha you and I had the same idea! I’m also wearing Sur le Toit for the apple note. ????
Nice!
Good thinking! 🙂
A+! Maybe I’ll wear By Kilian Apple Brandy tomorrow…or SSS Equestrian.
Definitely a “back to school” day for me today as my son left this morning to head back to Virginia Tech for his second year of college. I don’t have any perfumes that fit the theme though so I’m just wearing VP Rozy because I love it.
Which version are you in? The EDP is one of my desert island scents.
I have the VDE but I wish I also had a bottle of the EDP – they’re both gorgeous.
Waving at your Hokie!
Back at you. It’s a great school- my son’s in the aerospace engineering program and loves it so far.
Wearing the last of my summer purchases. I had a bit of a freewheeling summer in terms of perfume purchases-more than usual for me-mostly decants bit they sure add up. So I’m prepping to “crack the books” of my current collection and have a little more discipline in the coming months. I was never a disciplined student so we’ll see…
SOTD is Goest Perfumes Smoke and Violets which is perfect for this cool morning. A bit of smoke and leather mingling with a slightly powdery violet. Reminds me of a smokier Cuir Ottoman minus the sweetness and baby powder. Sort of urban femme. I’ve been eyeing this one for over a year at a local shop and finally caved on the annoying but adorable overpriced 5ml splash- the only size, unfortunately.
Thinking about those in the path of Harvey and hoping everyone is safe!
That sounds lovely!
It is and it’s actually more soapy than powdery, I’ve decided. The downside is it only seems to last about 3-4 hours which would be fine if it weren’t a measly 5ml. Something to savor, I guess.
Hi Elisa P., I hereby award you an enablers pin. Remember the sample of Cuirelle you sent me awhile back? It turned into a lovely 50ml bottle purchased from Beautyhabit recently. Between the price cut and additional 20% off, it was time to make my move. Thank you! ????
Great! But I honestly have no recollection of even having that sample in my possession! If it was me (and I’d love a pin since I get so few) than it was a swift turnover. Huh. Well, enjoy your new lovely, lovely 🙂
This may be a bit of a reach but here goes. In 1980 when I started university my father promised that if I did three consecutive semesters (including summer 1981) and got all As, he’d send me on a trip to Europe in the fall, so I did and he did. In Paris I stumbled across the monolithic black slab that is Jacomo de Jacomo and have been wearing it ever since — I’m on my second bottle and it’s a mainstay, very eighties (it really takes me back) and very, very good.
Great deal he made and great scent memory!
Lovely story. Impressive accomplishment.
Wonderful perfume memory!
I love that story.
2nd.
Impressive! And what a thrill that you still love it!
I have to wonder if that made you: a) really put the nose to the grindstone, and was life changing in that you realized you could succeed at anything you tried, or b) drove you to take all the easy & fun classes you could find and push off the hard ones for later years. 🙂
Oh, I really worked at it, and not just because of the promise of a trip. I was a proper little grind back then, and studied German, calculus and political science in addition to the mandatory classes such as English and psychology — plus I spent a lot of time in the library studying, reading, listening to the music collections, and practicing the piano (they had electric pianos with headphones, which I thought were magic), and on top of that I managed to have a social life. I wish I still had that kind of energy and dedication!
Ah, good for you! I think I’d have done the same as a kid, but the latter as an adult 🙂 The last time I had access to a piano was in college and I played a lot and got pretty good (better than when I was taking lessons.) It was the perfect distraction and stress-release. And, yes, to have that kind of energy and dedication again! *sigh*
It is a good story and a really nice choice for the topic!
Love it! College + travel = a truly excellent scent memory/story.
TGIF
Had a very busy week, therefore less posting and reading here.
Some samples arrived this week.
I tried Madagascan jasmine. Really lovely. And quite different from the sambac or grandiflorum varieties.
Today: Siberian musk, by Areej le Doré. Mmmmm this is great stuff. Love it!
Have a great weekend everyone!!!!
I adore the scent of fresh jasmine flowers. It amazes me how the fragrance varies among the different types. I added Madagascan Jasmine to my perfume sampling list. 🙂
Lucky you, you have Siberian Musk!
Well, I only have 1 ml of it.
But I am really happy with it, to be able to experience it, even for a very limited amount of wearings. It is one of the most extraordinary scents I discovered lately.
Too bad it is sold out. 🙁
I’ve tried it on skin 2 weeks ago from someone else’s sample and it was fabulous.!
Happy FriYAY once again!! It’s been a crazy busy week….
Back to school by TESTING Elizabeth and James French Grey. LEARNING that I’m really enjoying lavender notes, so I give this sample a GRADE of A+ ! See what I did there? hee hee
This is definitely full bottle worthy…..or at least a rollerball soon!
What impressed me the most about the two new E & Js were there longevity on my scent eating skin! I love me a good lavender so I would also give it an A+
Have you tried the Amethyst yet? I like that one too.
I’m gonna try it tonight! I have a sample of it as well….. Eliz and James really has a nice line. I don’t love all of the Nirvanas, but I can appreciate the quality of them all!
Let us know what you think! I get sweet spice from Amethyst…..
that would be “their” NOT “there” (it really irks me when I make these mistakes!)
I liked French Grey a lot, too! The Sephora I went to didn’t have the rollerballs in yet, so I will probably grab one next time I go in for more foundation.
I think they also come in 30ml size which is equally as nice
Yeah, I have Rose in that size, it’s perfect. And I bet that both of the new Nirvanas will be in this season’s sampler pack, so I might wait and see what else is in it and just get it to have the samples, too!
Good plan!!!
I see whatcha did there. ???? Gah, I accidentally left my test strip of E&J in my basket at Sephora the other day and therefore couldn’t sniff it a while later. I give myself: “Requires more effort.”
I bought roller balls of Amethyst and French Grey last week to take advantage of triple points. I will pop off the ball part and decant the contents to an atomizer.
This wasn’t intentionally “back to school,” but I think that PG Iris Oriental feels pretty spot-on: just the right weight, and just the right balance of sweetness, woodiness, and tranquility.
Ooh, you smell great.
I am unintentionally in step with today’s theme, as I learned a valuable lesson ths AM:
Do not layer Tonka Imperial and Rose Nacree, no matter how much you think they will complement each other – they don’t.
Ha!
😀 😀 The perfumery school!
Oh, geez. Ya, I cannot see that working well. Thanks for educating us! 😉
And now I want to try it just to experience what you did 🙂
Back to school always meant new clothes when I was a kid so I’m wearing the newest addition to my wardrobe –Solstice Scents Rose Mallow Cream. We should really do a show off your newest purchase project
That sounds fun!
You really do come up with the best community projects!!! I think at this point you probably have six with your name attached to it 🙂
I like that…show off your newest purchases 🙂
Ironically, I seem to recall that I was anti community project when it was first suggested. I definitely find them fun now!
LOL! Oh that is really funny 🙂
Maybe that is intentional on Robin’s part 😉 ??
Oh yeah, back-to-school clothes-shopping! Those were the days.
That’s a good point! I also remember that “new clothes” part – even though we had uniforms, and there was not much too be excited about – and still I was every year 🙂
I hope there’s a Rose Mallow creamy whipped soap come fall!
Amouage Beloved for me today because I’ve been reviewing–or resmelling–all my Amouage samples to determine which I MUST have more of. So testing.
Have you tried Bracken?? It is such an amazing scent
Yes, I have a sample and loved my first whiffs. Now it’s in the run-offs! Sure it will beat Beloved.
I am probably going to split Bracken Woman, just sayin’
I’m too impatient to wait for it to show up on Fragrancenet, so that’s good news!
You smell wonderful!
Which Amouage samples do you have?
Today is Fracas, for the fracas that the first week of school tends to be. Add to that Hurricane Harvey, and the name describes my part of Texas pretty well. I don’t live on the coast, but we have been impacted by tropical storms and hurricanes in the past.
Stay safe!
Nailed it! And you smell great!
Triple strength coffee.
Back to the Acme.
Because can you every have enough peppers and onions when making a giant pot o’ Chili ?!?!
Compliments from 3 different women (2 customers, 1 cashier) about Halston Man Amber.
Labdanum, geranium, musk, tamed oudh.
A whole lotta sexxxxxxyy !
LOLOLOL
😉
Cheers!
Stay safe everyone!
What doesn’t kill you,
makes you stronger.
Carpe Diem.
Peace.
🙂
ever
I swear I proofread before posting.
Ghost in the Machine.
😉
Nothing better than getting compliments! I don’t remember Halston Man Amber….
and send some of that chili my way (you always make me hungry Bear!)
Ooh, I’ll have to look into that one…
The chile-head’s answer to your question is “No”. You can’t have too many peppers and onions in your batch. 😀
Thanks Jalapeno!
Love Samsara, rock on!
😉
SOTD Smell Bent Incensed. Minding my sanity on an insane Friday. Why can’t everyone be normal? Like me????
And me! 😉
Exactly!????
????
I like incensed. Also smoked ambergris , and the vanilla tobacco one. Hope the biking is going well. My dogs go mountain biking a lot and love it…though you have to watch their feet
I got the smoked ambergris, haven’t sampled it yet but looking forward to it. Also got a tobacco one but can’t remember if it was vanilla…I did try that one and got a huge indolic jasmine bomb. As to the paws, she got a pretty significant pad abrasion yesterday at the dog park so she’s been skipping about on 3 legs. Good thing I’m working all weekend so she will off of it and give it time to heal. Boots may be in order for biking on rough terrain ???? Hope spring is springing for you on that side of the world????
I associate back to school with cool fall weather rather than what we have here in the DC area. At the right time, I’d wear CBIHP Burning Leaves.
FYI for those in the DC area: I visited the US Botanic Garden yesterday evening and was happy to see, in addition to three corpse flowers, the ylang ylang tree is in bloom and smells fantastic!
Two of the corpse flowers are past peak. Staff cut off the petals so that you can see the interior seeding parts. The wilted petals and a spath are on a table where you can touch and sniff them.
The third corpse flower is projected to be in full bloom on Saturday, Sunday, or Monday. It is still super interesting to see the past and near blooms, especially without the long line that forms as soon as local news stations announce the full bloom. There are staff are on hand to explain and answer questions, and they have interesting educational materials, including jars with chemicals that imitate the smell of the mature bloom.
It is well worth stopping by in the next couple of days; just keep in mind the line could be more than two hours long when the bloom opens fully. Take water, snacks, or whatever you need to stand for that long if you try to see it then.
Also, here’s the website for info and updates:
https://www.usbg.gov/three-corpse-flower-blooms-usbg
Thank you for the information?
The pesky ? – no question intended.
Oh, I’m going to be in DC early this coming week, maybe I’ll manage to stop by!
Oh yay, I’m so glad you were able to catch it this year! I will be in NoVA tomorrow so I may take a detour to see it. Maybe we can catch the third one in bloom!
I have to wonder whether the staff are used to being around the smell, or if they have to rotate out frequently to get a break from it.
Does it smell like rotting flesh? Ewww but fascinating. Ginko smells pretty fleshy but not like rotting flesh, like fresh, clean wound (the nurses here might understand. For the rest, sorry if it’s TMI).
Jack, you can check the live cam on the website to see how open it is. It currently looks like it might open tomorrow night or Sunday night. When that happens, they will probably extend the closing hour to 10 pm. I think it would be worth stopping by if you have time, whether it’s fully open or not.
Since I’ve now seen it closed, I will go back when I know it’s open, steeling myself for the long wait. I’ll post on NST when I do.
What I’ve read is that the smell is only really strong and pervasive the night it opens, basically overnight. I don’t know if they rotate after that.
TBH, I did not stick my nose in the jar so I only caught a whiff of that and what remained on the wilted parts on the table. It smelled bad. Someone said it smelled like a dumpster. It did not smell as bad as dead animals to me, but it was weak at that point.
Hello Nozknoz! Does the scent from the ylang ylang fill the air or do you have to sniff the flower? It looks very prettty.
I have a 2nd Q: is it in a hothouse or open air?
The “conservatory” of the US Botanic Garden is a huge, glass-enclosed green house. Both the ylang ylang and the corpse flowers are there, in fact, the corpse flowers have been set up in the same tall space where the ylang ylang is growing. It’s always pretty warm in there, as most of the plants are tropical or semi-tropical.
There are also a nice outdoor garden spaces around it. It’s very close to the US Capitol, too, with nice views of the Capitol dome from some parts of the garden.
Kanuka, the scent of ylang ylang does fill the air. The tree is quite tall now, with the leaves and flowers all clustered near the glass ceiling, 20-30 feet above ground. Since I knew what I was looking for, I was able to spot a few petals on the ground and pick one up to sniff. It did carry some of that lovely fragrance.
Haven’t been wearing much scent this summer–not oppressively hot, just hasn’t been a priority.
It’s in the low 60s today, so I’ve gone with Eau Premiere for the premier jour d’ecole. Love fall!
Agreed – on Eau Premiere, and on fall. 🙂
Me three! Especially FALL!!!
Me four, Fall can’t come soon enough!
The testing idea is appealing, especially if the grade is pass/pass.
I’m testing the Le Jardin Retrouve discovery set. So far, out of the 7 relaunched fragrances I’ve preferred Cuir de Russie, which is more sweet and floral than leather. The Eau des Delices is a lovely and creamy rendition of eau- and also fleeting.
Wishing safety to everyone in the hurricane path.
I got my set too, along with a lovely pouch!
It sounds like a great shop to visit in Paris- very personal attention. You could walk out with a bottle of each perfume because of the attention 😀 .
I’ll have to put this boutique as a destination whenever I get to Paris…no plans yet!
CdR is my favorite as well (but I’ve tested only 3). I also like the sandalwood one. Should probably get to test the rest.
I liked that also, although it’s lighter and more powdery? than classic sandalwood .
Episode 5 of Back to School. In episode 4, our hero solved the riddle of the key and found a secret stash of maritime documents – and then got chloroformed for his troubles…
SOTD is BeauFort London “Coeur de Noir”. It is six months later. Our hero, distracted by the rest of the crew stumbling in, turns around from the pungent ink of the drawing board. The captain, rum in hand, casts a glance over the design – “good, clean lines there, lad”. The two old sailors have already pulled the sea charts out from the leather holdall. The younger crew are keen to see our hero’s freshly-healed tattoo. Here on the shoulder is the crest of the old school; on the bicep, the face of the strange young woman from the leather shop. The ‘thief of time’ from the ancient clock face spills out his swagbag of treasures over the forearm. It’s the story of his life until the pirates took him. Now he is in a very different school, learning his trade, stepping into his new life. With the needle of his cutlass and the ink of blood, sweat and tears, he’ll draw a new tattoo on the face of the earth. Pupil today, he’ll be master tomorrow, he swears under his breath, “…or my name’s not John Silver”.
Top: rum, ginger and ink;
Mid: paper, leather and vanilla;
Base: cedar, tobacco and birch tar.
The most wearable of the ‘old’ BeauFort London trio, before they went soft and launched ‘Lignum Vitae’ and ‘Fathom V’. Which I also like, but this evocative perfume has a place in my heart. :^)
Cheers Koenigsberg!
Kiss them for me—–
I may be delayed…..
😉
Time and tide wait for no man, Bear. I don’t know how long I can hold them off until you arrive ;^)
You should really write adventure novels. I would read them!
Me, too! Your kitten is too adorable, Calypso!
Thank you! That is Peanut who was my favorite from the litter I fostered recently. Luckily they were all adopted!
Awww.. I had a cat named Peanut when I was growing up. She was a grouchy calico who only liked my dad until she got old and mellowed out.
You are too kind! :^D
I have loved this serial story. Thanks for creating it!
Thanks, it was fun making it up and I didn’t know at the start how it would end. Of course in hindsight it’s utterly daft. There was no reason to buy a scholarship for John Silver and send him hunting for clues in an ancient school if they could achieve the same result by whacking him over the head at the start of episode 1!
That is the peril of a perfume-lead plot. ;^D
The story has been fantastic. Keep more coming, Koenigsberg!
“the strange young woman from the leather shop” ???? Hmmmm… Rather fits my SOTD. Thanks for the fun reads!
Right! I think she deserves a spin-off, Koenigsberg! This has been great!
Can you continue the series? It’s so fun to read! I’m stunned to learn you’ve been writing this on the fly. I figured it was highlights from a novel you’d been working on. I’ve really been looking forward to reading each day’s installments. More, please!
Ha, “The Unknown Adventures of Long John Silver” maybe? It would make a great TV series. :^)
Great fun! We are lucky you shared John’s adventures with us.
Nice!
I enjoyed your story a lot. Thank you! 🙂
I’m hoping the coffee note in Zoologist’s civet makes up for the cup of coffee I spilled this morning – over my cell phone, windowsill, and bed linens, of course! I guess I’m lucky I didn’t get any on me. (And my cell phone seems fine – thanks, rice!)
The coffee note puts it on theme, too, I think. I have a departmental party this afternoon to look forward to, and an out of town wedding this weekend.
I hate when I spill my coffee, especially on the keyboard, which it happens often. One of this days I am gong to start getting charged for the replacements.
Enjoy your party and wedding.
I’ve never spilled coffee on my keyboard, but I did spill Coke on it once and the trackpad acquired an immovable rim of grime.
Thank you!
Blurgh. I’m a spiller. I’m also going out of town for a wedding this weekend, if Long Island is out of town. What perfume will you wear? I’m still undecided about what to bring.
I’m undecided too, I’ll have to look at my samples. Maybe Philosykos? That always seems like a nice scent for weddings to me.
I think so too, especially for daytime. I’ll just bring a few contenders and decide what feels right for the temp and setting.
Good luck to us both.
Since I am away from home I had to search in my small bag of samples and travel size scents to find something suitable for today’s theme–and I did! It’s Amouage Journey Woman–because school is always a journey, a voyage of discovery!
Thanks to everyone who expressed such kind support right now for me as we help my mother make a transition from her home into some form of assisted living. I appreciate it very much.
I saw your post but too late to comment and wanted to wish you well in that transition. I personally and professionally know people who’ve had to make the move, but once adjusted, they’ve enjoyed the social aspect and have made friends.
My mom will be going into a nursing home this fall, and this transition has already been hell. I will pray for you both.
I was going to say that not everyone adjusts well. My grandmother hated every place she lived in. I think she resented the whole situation more than anything. (I never understood her deep objections to the first residence, where she lived in a studio apartment in a great neighborhood much nicer than the one she’d left.) But she also hated old people (all her friends were my age) so that didn’t help.
I chose La Danza delle Libellule for the apple note in keeping with today’s back to school theme.
Delicious! You smell great.
I adore that scent
I was kind of busy this week, and barely even had time to lurk here. So I completely missed the theme this week. However, it is slightly cooler than it has been, and it has actually cooled down enough to wear Diorissimo, so that’s what I’m doing.
A sample spritz of Diorissimo a few days ago prompted me to choose Debut this morning.
Diorissimo is so pretty, it deserves the “issimo”.
You smell great!
Portrait of a Lady, for Art History class.
Or for American Literature…which is where I read the novel back in my college days 🙂
Me, too. Still one of my favorites.
It is a classic for sure and every time I see mention of the Malle perfume I think of that novel….
Excellent ????
Wonderful!
Nice, good one!
Feeling uncreative today scentwise…for some reason the travel back to east coast has been harder – staying up way too late the last two nights. Needing Bear-strength coffee.
Back to school for me meant lots of time on lawns. High school big front lawn, where we all congregated in little groups for lunch. And then in college hanging out on big lawns before and after college football games….
Not in the mood for The Soft Lawn but may switch to that later. I sample shopped in the cabinet and tried Green Patchouli from Smell Bent. Yikes this is sharp! Making my eyes water.
LOL! oh boy I loved Green Patch….but then again I am a patch fiend and there is no patch that would make my eyes water 🙂
I hope you recover soon from the trip. Even a couple of hours difference hit hard sometimes.
That 3 hours is always tough! I’ve been wanting to try the Smell Bent patchoulis, including that one. Can anyone comment/recommend?
I have only tried Green Patchouli which smells similar to real patchouli oil (with that minty earthy vibe)….I LOVE patchouli so I did like GP…haven’t tried any other of Brent’s patches….
OOps just saw below…free sample coming your way 🙂
If you are looking to expand your patchouli wardrobe I would also recommend the real thing….to me it is the best!
I’ve actually got some and it would be way too much for me to wear. It’s in a bottle, inside a plastic bag, and it’s the only thing I can smell when I open the drawer it’s in 🙂 Patchouli-forward: yes. Real deal: I don’t think so. Plus too many memories associated with it (not necessarily good ones. Though I do huff the bottle every now and then 🙂 )
Oh kpaint that was too funny….I guess it can be too much at times 🙂 One autumn I made a body oil of patchouli and sweet almond oil ….I used to slather it all over my body in the morning after my shower…my work clothes reeked of patchouli for months.
Took awhile, but it has calmed down. Still not my bag. Kpaint- I’ll email you. Happy to pass this one along.
I normally adjust real fast, so this is unusual. Going to a minor league baseball game tonight, so that should do the trick and get me adjusted. Get outside, eat a dog and drink a beer.
A baseball game sounds like a blast! I’m always surprised by how much 3 hours can throw me off. The other direction is easy-peasy, though 😉 I’d love to try your cast-off! 😀 My collection is patchouli-poor and I’m really wanting to wade into those seas (or, uh, bushes I guess…)
What game are you going to see? I’ve only been to 2. The Cyclones were fun, because Coney Island, and the Staten Island Yankees.
We are heading to SI and they are playing the Cyclones. Oddly, I’m not a Yankees fan at all but in this case I’m an SI fan. Used to go a lot. Couldn’t find my cap. ☹️
I’ve gone Old School with the vintage Diorella I got last week. It is sublime.
Nothing like the vintage Diors!
I like what you did there 🙂
🙂 going “old school” is a good one.
As a teacher, back to school is my absolute favorite time of year. Our first day of school was on Tuesday, so I have been wearing my absolute favorite perfume to school each day – Hiris. Things have been absolutely bonkers busy, but sniffing my wrist every once in a while has helped me ground myself and find some balance.
Hooray for fresh starts and the beginnings of new adventures!
Hooray! I love Hiris and the first day of school. You smell fabulous.
Here’s to a great school year for you and the students!
Happy Friday!! Sitting out today’s theme in Kisti. Do not think I can tie it up with Back to School theme, but enjoying in anyway.
Kiste! Nice!
Not yet showered or dressed, but wearing a spritz of Nuit Etoilee in honour of my first day at UBC. “The campus is in a forest!” I thought. Plus, all the students were dressed for a hike…
Ha! My SIL is at UBC and started out majoring in Forestry 😉
Scent of FriYAY! = Parfums DelRae Debut
It’s a springtime scent that speaks to me of beginnings and of tenderness, a feeling I always have at the back to school season.
A big thank you to all the educators and to all who serve in the many professions that foster growing minds and healthy bodies. You make the difference.
You smell fantastic!
I’m also a house twin with Robin today: wearing Serge Lutens De Profundis. It’s a long story (if anyone is curious, I told it here https://undina.com/2013/09/26/my-first-bell-jar-serge-lutens-de-profundis/ ) but in short, opposing the association of perfume with death, I chose to associate it with the traditional in my native country first day of school – through chrysanthemums, which pupils would bring for their teachers on this day, and the first bell of the school year.
Nice custom.
Yes, had never heard of that!
You smell lovely.
What a cool back to school tradition!
Twins! Love De Profundis.
🙂
Well I actually completely forgot about today’s theme and went ahead and spritzed myself in Eau de Protection this morning…whoops. I was actually intending to wear Light Blue Eau Intense, since I wore the heck out of the original during my college days. And if I had some on hand, I would probably wear some Clinique Happy or one of its flankers, since it was my first bottle of “real” perfume. My mom bought it for me for Christmas when I was 12 or so and I wore it all through middle and high school.
FYI: Birchbox is doing half off its summer clearance stock right now, and has a ton of perfumes, including a few Penhaligons!
Nice, thanks!
Back to School loosely interpreted…
SOTD = Atelier Cologne Sous le Toit de Paris
10 spritzes from my 200 mL bottle (from which I had split off 130 mLs). This is one of my desert island perfumes given its. day to evening, hot to cold versatility.
https://nstperfume.com/2013/07/05/atelier-cologne-sous-le-toit-de-paris-fragrance-review/
The back to school connection is that the purple packaging reminds me of the school color of New York University, my grad school alma mater.
Hurricane Harvey – those in the path or have family in the path, stay safe. I have a long weekend ahead but not in a good way – I have to monitor impact for work — eek!
That’s one I love but never wear for some reason.
I have worn it in a while also because of where I stored it. It is a great perfume.
Darn…I meant I have NOT worn it in a while…
You smell great! And purple was the colour of my alma mater too, San Francisco State University.
Thanks! Purple done right is very pretty.
You smell good!
(I like purple 🙂 )
I hope your weekend is uneventful.
Ugh, not by the looks of it and it will be a crazy week next week for work that was not planned for on top of an already full plate.
I thought about which of my perfumes most smells like school supplies and I went with Dzing! And then I layered on a little Tokyo Milk Ex Libris, mostly for the name but once I thought they would play nicely together, and they do!
You smell great!
Perfume Education 102: Blind Buys. Automatic “A” for all the diligent, studious pupils who took heed of Perfume Education 101: Sampling. For the rest of us derelicts, grading shall be calculated as an average of the following:
A for every blind buy that is a LOVE LOVE LOVE
B for every blind buy that is a LIKE
C for every blind buy that is MEH, maybe this will work in winter?
D for every blind buy that is MEH, maybe my sister will like it?
F for every blind buy that is GET THIS OFF OF ME!
Additional points may be earned for “F” blind buys that were turned into successful swaps.
As for myself, I’d say my average grade for the course is a “C”, but today I’m wearing one project that earned me an “A” — Mancera Wild Cherry. It absolutely has a medicinal cherry cough syrup opening, but once that settles it is soooo yummy.
this is too funny!!!!
????
Nice! I don’t blind buy anymore, I just buy ginormous “samples”.
Haha! Automatic A for you, then! 🙂
I didn’t have anything that I really felt fit the theme, so I decided to go with Arz El-Rab today because it’s the closest thing I have to a “pencil shaving” scent, though I wouldn’t really describe it that way.
Actually, what it really reminds me of is what my back fence smelled like when it was replaced a few months ago after the car crashed into it. lol The wood smelled so good, and I would get a whiff on the air when I opened and closed my gate, and sometimes I would lean close to the gate and just inhale… while thinking that now I’m a weirdo who sniffs my fence…lol
And as for the weather.. it’s rainy here in Houston but nothing too crazy at the moment. Still decided to work from home today to be on the safe side.
Yikes! Stay safe! I saw footage this a.m. of Houston and thought it looked an awful lot like Seattle does on just about any day from Oct – April. Hope it doesn’t get any worse for you or those in the area! *fingers crossed*
I am LOLOL at your fence story 😀 Do you know what kind of wood it is?
I hope it doesn’t too. But yeah, right now, it’s basically like a normal rainy day. I think the bad stuff will really be hitting tomorrow. Still..fingers crossed.
As for the fence… I’m not sure exactly, but I’d guess some type of cedar from the smell. The scent reminded me of Atlas cedar oil. It’s dissipated now, but it was pretty nice for a while there.
Oh that is a great one! I could have stolen a few spritzes from younger family member’s bottle…hmmm…might just do that now 🙂
I used up the last of my sample today. Thankfully the bottles aren’t horribly expensive because I might want to get this one.
Don’t pay full price…it shows up all over online discounted…I think I paid twenty dollar less than retail when I bought it as a gift last year. Also, many online companies carry it (Bigelow, smallflower, etc) so if you are subscribed to their emails and get sale announcements a 10-20 percent off sale would take a nice chunk out of the price too.
and I think it is an amazing autumn scent!!!
Ha! I also love the image of fence-sniffing. But how can one resist? Fresh wood smells sooo good! There was a pharmacy near one of my work sites that had the Berdoues for 1/2 off of their price of $60! They still had some left last time I was in there maybe a month ago +. I can check next time I’m there (Tuesday) if you want…
That should be “there *is* a pharmacy”. It’s still there.
Remind me again where this pharmacy is in Manhattan…I might have to send my girlfriend or my mom there if they really are only 30 dollars for full size bottles!
Drugloft on the corner of 77th and Lexington.
If you’re going to be there, I certainly wouldn’t mind if you could take a look. I’ll look at the discounters. I hadn’t given a lot of thought to looking there for the Berdoues. Thanks!
I have nothing good to say about my old high school and took a perverse pleasure when it was destroyed and fell down in the Christchurch earthquake. The teachers were bored, scornful and uninspiring, and unimaginative. We were processed rather than educated and it’s a surprise any of us made university. I guess I was very academic and very scared of authority so that worked. I wore Opium during my school years but don’t have any now. Ugh ugh ugh.
On a brighter note I have just been outside listening to the dawn chorus: a morepork, this, bellbirds, grey warblers, blackbirds….such a rich sound and no traffic noise. Wearing High Country Tussock as it’s very calming and my mood has taken a dive since thinking about school. Did I say UGH? Gid, and they still used the leather strap….ugh
For some reason the Back to School theme didn’t register with me as actual “school.” Probably because I’ve done my best to block memories of it and recoil from the idea of reliving it in any way, but particularly through perfume. High school was awful; college is a blur (I really don’t remember much if any of it.) The only positive associations I have with either is singing in choirs. Oh, and smelling perfume in hallways and classrooms: RL Lauren, Liz Claiborne, YSL Paris, EL Beautiful, Drakkar Noir, RL Polo. I myself wore Poison, Obsession, Obsession for Men, Fendi, and Colors of Benetton (the last being my favorite at the time, and no wonder – it’s the only one that was age-appropriate.)
I know that trends are not the same for teens as they were in my day, fashion-wise. There are too many options for just one thing to be *the thing* every teenage girl absolutely has to have.
I wonder if it’s the same for perfume? The ones I listed above I wanted because of advertising – I saw them in magazines, then on counters, and absolutely had to have them. Are there a million young girls lining up for a bottle of Twilly so she can wear it on the first day of school and be in *the perfume* of 2017-18?
I don’t remember anyone wearing perfume when I was at school but Hawaiian Tropic Blend ( or similar) was invented and became popular. The smell i associate with school is wet wool (gym slips and kilts), gas and mice ( science rooms) , gin ( head mistress) , incinerators, and mowed playing fields.
gin (head mistress)….now that made me laugh!
So you were the oddball in Opium? 🙂 (Speaking of perfumes not meant for girls… And I wonder when that trend started, too? Perfume was mostly made for women to wear until quite recently, no?)
Having teenage family members I can tell you that with all the options out there for perfume no one is lining up to wear Twilly….kpaint, when we were young there were at most 60-80 releases per year….and no internet…so we wore what was out there and shown in mags and in dept stores…nowadays there is so much available (too much if you ask me)….so anything goes….but I know that Jo Malone and Victoria’s Secret and Bath and Body Works are popular as well as some of the celebuscents…..however, we wear Dame Perfumery and Berdoues and others that are a bit more off the beaten path…and I just sent the eldest back with oddball samples to try with her flatmates…niche and artisanal lines that most 19-20 year olds have never heard of….so starting a whole new generation of perfumistas!
Ya, I figured it was probably the same as fashion choices, the internet being the primary game-changer. But I’m guessing at most high schools there’s a lot of overlap – as in lots of girls wearing the same thing.
I recall no one wanting to be unique as a teenager, just on trend, which meant they all wore IZOD shirts and Tretorns or Keds. Same with perfume. The edgy and different were the exception. I was at a local pizza slice jointlast night and a young woman ahead of me couldn’t decide by looking at the options, but asked which was “the most popular” and went with that. I couldn’t quite relate to that strategy, lol.
Right, that’s exactly what I’m referring to, and I think is probably more the case in middle than in high school, now that I think about it. But even in high school there just weren’t that many perfume options, like CM8 said.
Uh, did she end up with pepperoni? lol. In those situations, my H always asks the server what he/she recommends, and I can’t relate to that either. Though I don’t recall his ever being disappointed.
Almost all schools in NZ have school uniforms so everyone is dressed in grey, black, brown,maroon or dark green…basically the 3 ‘S’ s: scratchy, shapeless, and stinky. The final year of school is mufti. Opium was a great perfume for a teenager as it was a statement, shield and repellant in one
No. It was plain cheese. Yawn. My sense from sizing her up for 5 seconds, lol, was that it was about wanting to get what was popular for popularity’s sake, not for flavor.
I’ve asked for recs when I can’t see the food first. But when the pizza is right in front of me, I just know, darn it! No judgement really, just bewildered in an anthropologic sort of way.
You’re right about middle school vs HS. There was a little more diversity in HS.
Now I have “Another Brick in the Wall” running through my head.
Pink Floyd. That’s a blast from the past. I remember my older brother blasting it when I was a kid. ????
And I this:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/23/business/banksy-art-london-lost.html?_r=0
Old skool Midnight Poison today.
I like it but not sure why it sells for so much on EBay.
I’m always trying to thin the herd and I’m not sure this one will make it.
Ha! I was just looking on ebay for Midnight Poison! All the vintage/dc’d Poisons cost a fortune these days. I’m guessing it’s because there’s just not much of it out there. Children of deceased mothers, grandmothers, and aunts aren’t finding stockpiles of unopened gift boxes of it in their closets – unlike Chanel No 5 🙂
I am happy to send you some of that one too. I will tidy up my perfume list and send it this weekend for you to peruse.
Let me know when you’re in thin the herd mode- I may be willing to pay for stuff you’re “over”!
In Perfume Education 101: Classics with Shalimar Eau Legere. Just when I’d decided non-vintage Shalimar isn’t worth looking at, I smell this. And it is DIVINE. *sigh*
I feel like I have skipped too many courses in Perfume Education and really need to go back to 101: Classics. Oddly enough, I love the thrill of blind buys but don’t love the risk involved with vintages. My one vintage purchase has been Shalimar extrait (I think from the 80s) and I really love it. You smelled wonderful today 🙂
Omg you smell great!
Morning, all. I’m very late today. I could have posted at 4.30 our time, but somehow I just went back to sleep again. Thank you all again for your lovely messages of support yesterday. I read them so late in the afternoon that most if you would have been asleep and would probably have missed them, so I saved my reply for today. You’ve all been so kind, and it has helped. The dear man listened carefully when I read them to him and didn’t say a word. When I glanced at him (because his lack of response surprised me) he was very moist about the eyes. He didn’t remark until this morning, when out of the blue, he said, “They’re very nice people, your perfume friends. I always thought there must be more to it than the smells.” So there’s the evaluation, NST: perfume is more than the smells.
I’m not playing in the project today, because, if you think about it, I go to “school” every day. Instead, I’m in Baiser Vole Extrait, which is perfect for this Springing day. It made Alexander sneeze and sneeze–he is inordinately curious, and stood close when I sprayed, watching my every move. Now he smells gorgeous too!
Be well, all.
We are more than the smells, the though makes me smile.
So glad to read that Alexander is curious about your perfume. He’s Alexander the great smelling cat today.
err uh, the “thought” makes me smile 🙂
Your husband is spot on (and this made me tear up a bit.) Baiser Vole – perfect for spring! Hope it sets in swiftly!
Weekend!!! Hope you get a slice of sponge today. Have you been to the Aesop shop in High St? Any good?
No! I didn’t even know it was there. High street has become so uniformly and depressingly awful (except for Unity books) that I only walk there if I’m going to my hairdresser. I will check it out and report back.
I might be wrong but I thought they were opening in June
This is a wonderfully supportive community, and is one of the bright spots of the Internet. It sounds like one of your kittens might be a budding purrfumista? Sorry, I couldn’t resist the bad pun.
😉
I just wanted to add my condolences – I didn’t get to read many posts over the last week or so. I have certainly been broken-hearted over losing a pet, and will be again.
I am glad to see that you are carrying on with NST. It is really lovely to have friends from all over the world here!
Hugs!
My Back to School scent is VS Heavenly body spray, which a couple of my circle of friends would freshen up with for marching band gigs in college. (Sweaty uniforms, ugh.) That was fun times, and one of those friends passed away last year, so I chose it in honor of her. I then also topped up with a spritz of Narciso Rodriguez For Her, which I bought when it was launched, during my last grad program.
Have a great weekend!
Stay safe if you’re in Harvey’s path!!!
HA HA sweaty uniforms! As a band mom, I know whereof you speak. (I mean, I was in marching band too, but our drill squad uniforms were washable, and they DID get washed.
These were dry-clean only, and they were already 10+ years old my freshman year. In the desert. ????
The sweaty uniforms comment made me smile. My best friend in junior high and high school was in band, and I thought of her. We’re still friends to this day.
Yep, band friends are the best!
Woot marching band!! I played in high school and really wish I had continued on in college.
Well, to be honest, I lucked out. I did it all the way through because we happened to have a truly extraordinary director. If it had been a typical college band, though, I would’ve done just one year and been fine with that.
Is there any sort of fun local ensemble you can join?
I do hope to someday! Right now it’s a little tough because it seems most community ensembles meet in the evenings and right now I feel I need to be home for dinner and bedtime routines. It has been so long, I probably need to re-teach myself how to read music and the fingering!! It’ll come back, like riding a bicycle right??
Right! One hopes, anyway. That’s funny because just recently I something made me think, “Geez, I probably can’t read music for crap now!”
I love school. When I was little, someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up and I said, “I want to go to school forever” and I have, mostly. A bachelor’s, two masters, and a doctorate later I am still taking university internet courses just for fun. Today’s scent in Zoologist Civet. I sprayed this in the spring and I think it was the original formulation. The sample I have now is new and smells much less animalic and more spicy. I still like it, and have some civet tincture if I want to dirty it up.
I have a friend like you. Every time I think she’s done, she’s back in another degree program. I never loved school but I was always good at it, so it was satisfying. That hasn’t been so much the case in the real world.
Hee hee. I have the same degrees as you but for opposite reasons – cause my English teacher repeatedly told the class we’d all be pregnant and married by 20 so that motivated me to prove her wrong. Loved university!
I see we have the same perverse personality. ;-). I majored in French because everyone said I would fail to get a job with that degree. Two weeks before I graduated I landed a job at Hewlett Packard’s Intercontinental sales division.
French must come in handy for advanced perfume studies, non?
Oui, tout à fait!
For 15 years or so, after having earned a bachelor’s and an MBA, a friend had been taking classes and earning degrees while working full-time. 2 years ago, his company was bought out and he got a severance package. This year, he took the MCATs and intends to go to med school. He is 55 years old.
Wonderful! I wish I had the stamina for another degree program at this point in my life.
We all think he’s having some kind of mid-life crisis.
OMG, foxbins, are you my long-lost twin?!? At this point, I’m the same minus the PhD. (Which I should’ve had by now.) Honestly, I would be in uni forever if I had my way. In fact, the itch is really bad right now because Noam Chomsky just officially joined the faculty locally–gah!
So late today. Robin, you were right about the Cire Trudon Le Coffret just not yet being available in the US. It is now. I am ridiculously impatient and don’t know why about this particular batch. I guess because I love their candles so much.
Wearing Anatole LeBreton Eau de Mirzhen today for no particular reason. Likely to have a shower and switch to Douceur de Siam as I am suddenly craving flowers.
Wearing a dab of vintage parfum for Back to School day: Coty Imprévu. I used to love this in the fall back (way back) when I was in high school. I was naïve in countless ways, but precocious in my perfume appreciation, lol!
Will change to Parfum des Merveilles this evening, since it is perfect for these end-of-summer/almost-fall days. The glory of summer days at the beach tinted by a darker touch of amber.
SOTD = Samsara EdT. This takes me back to my college days in Colorado. I have no idea why, since I barely had money for the occasional pizza, let alone perfume. If I were to wear something closer to the scent of my actual school experience, it would definitely smell like chemistry lab, for the work-study job I had. And diesel fumes, from the buses I used to commute on.
ELdO Jasmin et Cigarette smells very much like a friend of mine in college who wore Samsara and smoked. It’s more evocative than Samsara itself, actually. Anyway, you smelled great, much better than diesel fumes.
Started the day out in my new bottle of Cuirelle, ending it in Breath of God, appropriate, considering the atmospheric conditions in south/southeast Texas right now. Trying to find some irreverent humor… ????
LOL!
Good luck! Err on the side of caution, please. You do smell wonderful, which always helps.
Thinking about school today and this memory came back to me and I just had to comment. I was in high school, and we had some kind of competition in the city where the main university is located (I grew up in a very rural area, so not many colleges/universities). We got to do some tours with current students and I was paired up with 3 of my male peers and our tour guide was female. She was emanating the most amazing aroma – I mean, the guys were going ga-ga (she also had a little star tattoo behind her ear and just oozed cool factor). The boys asked her what perfume she was wearing and I remembered it being something very exotic and French sounding. At that point, I felt pretty cool wearing Colors by Benetton when all the other girls were wearing Exclamation, Vanilla Fields, and that Debbie Gibson one – but this amazing scent made me feel soooo juvenile. My high school self longed to have guys drooling over my aroma and “presence” that way. Years later, as my perfume obsession started increasing, I had an epiphany that it was Givenchy Amarige!! I will spritz it tonight (lightly!! ha!) in honor of the fact that I now have one amazing man who drools over my presence 😉
That is an awesome story! And how lucky you are to have your amazing man. ????
Debbie Gibson Electric Youth!!! Yeah, I had it. ????
It is a good scent story and a great reason to wear perfume that brings up these memories.
Great story, thanks for sharing!
I didn’t have much time to comment today but I did participate by wearing Bonbon from a sample received in my Sephora Play box. I think this is just the sugary kind of juice a teenage girl would wear in hopes of catching the attention of a boy she likes- although she’d probably pick something cheaper because Bonbon is quite expensive.
I was an Exclaimation girl myself in middle school, so I know all about sweet haha! I then graduated to the oh-so sophisticated Obsession and CK One in high school. 😯
*Exclamation
Is Exclamation sweet? I was thinking peppery. Maybe I’m thinking of Declaration? I’ll have to see if I can find testers and give them a sniff.
It’s a little sad to me now, how eager we all were to be sophisticated. Everyone should enjoy being young and goofy while they have the chance.
Late as usual. I couldn’t come up with anything too creative, so today it’s Demeter Paperback, courtesy of Koyel and the Swapmeet. It does remind me of the smell of the decaying paper in cheap paperbacks, and generally of the smell of Powell’s used bookstore (not that one, the one in Chicago), which I frequented in college. I’ve topped it off with Love and Toast Candied Apple lip balm, which smells just like the green apple-flavored Jolly Rancher candies I favored in junior high. Have a great weekend, everyone.