Happy National Apple Cider Day! And, rest in peace, Azzedine Alaïa.
Today, we're marking the last weekend of calm before the holidays with our same old open thread poll. Talk about anything you like — the fragrance you’re wearing today, the fragrance that will keep you calm no matter what is happening around you, whatever.
Or, ask a question about fragrance, then see if anyone else has asked a question that you can answer…
I am in Woman in Gold by Killian
My better half is traveling today, so I had a neighbor watch the babies while I did my morning green market routine. Some of the farmers I won’t see until Spring.
Sending out some non-holiday cards to my friends for the holidays, mostly the ones that are in recovery and have a hard time this time of year. I usually write something like keep the cork in the jug during the holidays
Its a over cast today, and it may just be me, but it has felt like it is 4pm all day! Show your face sun!
One thing about this By Killian fragrance..it last and last and lasts.. Reminds me when I tried Cruel Intentions once..I think it lasted for 2 days straight. What does he put in these perfume bottles? I think his brand is more like an “invisible tattoo” then mon guerlain
I’m pleased to hear that someone is still sending paper cards – it’s a very comforting thought for me
I’m curious about the new Kilians – but not enough to pay for samples. I should try to get to the city and try them at Saks. Though if one to count the parking prices, ordering samples online might be cheaper
I do to! I have sent one for you for Christmas 1 or 2 years ago.
I got one – you have very neat handwriting!
True. I was very pleased
I need to get on this christmas list .
I really fell for the Daily Lemming, those 10-minute incense matches, but when I found out the shipping cost as much as one box of matches, I made a rude comment and quit the site.
SOTD is Bulgari’s Omnia Indian Garnet edt. It was on my bureau but will be given away or traded next year.
Karen B-I am right with you! I was so excited and then…what..that much for shipping? huh? Ok..maybe they will do a special for the holidays
That is not the only place that sells them, so might be worth looking around…
Triple strength coffee
Workout
Mauboussin EDP
Plum and benzoin, on my skin
Just had to shop for Pineapple Upside Down Cake ingredients at the Acme.
Insanely crowded at 10AM, but I was very Zen/calm/chillax, then again, I didn’t have that much to purchase.
So many talented people have passed away in recent years.
May they all R.I.P.
????????????????????
Carpe Diem
Peace
????
Tonight, Jim Beam Black, here I come! !! Prepare !!
LOLOLOL
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AND just heard about Malcolm Young of AC/DC.
R.I.P.
Responsible for one of my favorite lyrics,
Sing it loud! !!!
“She told me to___________,
But I was already there ”
Jim Beam Black, indeed.
????
“Have a drink on me” Bear????
????✌
????
????
and me too Bear!
and right now I am on Mr. CM8s computer as he is finishing up our laundry and I can finally see all of those amazing emojis……love em!!!!!
Thanks CM8!
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Started the morning in Vanira Moorea which is gorgeous in the cold weather…more of a sweet amber with a touch of citrus.
Spent a good chunk of time making decants for gifts from the three Dames I received from the freebie meet thanks to ltsg. I used pretty metal travel sprays that I bought from amazon and made several sets of each. What remains in the full bottles I will be using over the next few weeks as my sample collection has been whittled down and I don’t have anything that relates to the community projects for the next two weeks…..I tend to “conehead” my way through my perfume collection (ie; use copious amounts throughout the day on my scent eating skin) and also drain the samples immediately if I really love something so my lemmings are all gone.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coneheads
for those of you not familiar with these Saturday Night Live characters…my best friend coined the phrase for me in particular due to my skin’s ability to “goggle up” the juice and my consumption of copious amounts of fragrance on a daily basis.
So many good memories!
“We’re from France.”
You smell lovely today
Thank you, my dear…somehow I knew you would say that
Have you tried it yet in really cold weather? I think I like it better in cold than in warm.
No real cold here yet, so no, not yet
If and when you do let me know if it reads different to your nose in the cold.
Glad you enjoying those bottles and spreading the juice around!
I cannot thank you enough for those bottles! I share everything with a family and a few very close girlfriends who are either perfumistas or getting into perfume….so this is a really nice way to spread some liquid love….also, for those who want to “justify” buying a new full bottle, decanting into fancy little metal spray bottles which sell for a very reasonable price on amazon (I got a whole bunch that came out to a dollar a piece) makes for really nice gifts and stocking stuffers…
thanks again,ltsg! Since I don’t have any samples left for the community project I may be wearing the three Dames all week long!!! I like layering them
that would be “my family”
Omg, I walked into Anthropologie yesterday after work and they have 3 of the Berdoues in the store now! The Vanira, Asssam and Somei. I need to get back over there this week and try them on skin…maybe Friday, I’m sure it won’t be busy, lol. Those bottles are too cute.
What??? really? oh that is good..the local Sephora does not carry them
. Somei has the most gorgeous bottle but I like that scent the least out of all the ones I have tried in sample or reside as full bottles in our house. Assam is a great citrus tea and I am really loving the Vanira in the cold. Whether you love em or hate em do let me know what you think when you get around to trying them.
I don’t know why it’s going to be the last weekend of calmfor you but good luck!
I’m in Fan Your Flames by Nishane today. I don’t wear it too often but then this is not a perfume to wear too often. I don’t want to smell of rum and coconut regularly.
I’m slowly starting to put down a list of perfume from which I am going to treat myself to for Christmas
Have a peaceful weekend!
Thanksgiving is next Thursday here in the US… the traditional (ahem) start of holiday season madness. Especially shopping.
Ah, I didn’t realize that. Here in Poland such event as Thanksgiving doesn’t exist.
To my frustration the season for Christmasy commercials here started right after All Sants’ Day. Way to early.
I saw my first Christmas ads in October. Much too soon. Here they used to wait to start Christmas stuff until after Thanksgiving, but now the Christmas lights are up in mid-November. Ok, now I’m sounding Grinch-y
The lights are pretty.
To me starting the season too early ruins the magic of Christmas before we even get to 24th of December.
While I LOVE Christmas and everything related to it (lights, decorations, trees, music, etc.), I do not like when it starts before Thanksgiving. I think each holiday should have its space to unfold on its own.
Oh, I’m with all of you: starting too early, IMO, robs the day itself of feeling special. I don’t decorate until Dec. 10 at the earliest, and it all comes down New Year’s Day.
That said . . . if putting your tree up on Nov. 1 makes you happy, well, go ahead.
I am happy for the lights to go up any time after Halloween as it looks so festive, despite the cold and dark and rain. The rest of it should wait until December, but that’s just my opinion!
But rum and coconut sound really good
Unless someone gets the idea you are drunk
Ha! so true!!!
No scent yet… soon.
In the past 10 minutes, Kooky the cat has gotten himself stuck in the closet (I asked him how he managed to get in there, but couldn’t get back out; he didn’t answer). And now he’s hogging my chair and whining for yogurt. Which he already had, but there could be more, he says.
Question for those of you who are hip to Facebook: I would like to join Facebook Fragrance Friends but I can’t find the group when I search for them. Any tips?
My Linus cat gets stuck in the closet because I don’t know he’s in there and shut the door. He’s adept at opening doors without knobs, but not adept at getting out. I keep telling him you just have to push it but he’s not getting it. His English is not great.
Are you searching in the “search Facebook”? If you are, it should come up. Maybe use a lap top if you’be been trying with a phone?
Considering that the closet door was open (sliding doors) and that’s how he got in, I’m not sure why he needed help getting back out. He is a Cat of Very Little Brain.
The other day I accidentally shut him in a cabinet. Found him 10 minutes later when I re-opened it. Not sure when/if he would have managed to get out on his own. A former cat of ours loved playing in the cabinets and drawers — she could open all our kitchen cabinets, and knew how to get herself out if she got shut in. Kook? Not so much. (Former Cat liked to open the kitchen towel drawer and drag all the towels out all over the kitchen. Always a fun start to a workday.)
Yeah I’ve tried ‘search Facebook’ and I’m using a computer. Facebook knows I hate it.
Awww. Poor Kooky. At least he has adorableness going for him.
Many years ago when our fearless demanding smart Alec ol’ black cat was a kitten, he used to try as hard as he could to jump into the oven. One day I open our freezer and he calmly walked out. I screamed so loud you might have heard me in the next state.
I’m sorry that I can’t help with your facebook question, but I love hearing about Kooky.
I will send you invite to join me on FB, and then you can join that group. I used to read the posts all the time, but I have been annoyed with all the ads on FB recently
Perfect, thanks!
Must be a feline trait that’s genetic across the board. Our cat did the same thing..
Me: I think I hear Buster.
Hubs: Haven’t seen him.
Yup, go check out the closet in the spare bedroom where there’s enough room to open it up from the bottom (no thumbs required) and there he is. Crazy cats!
Try this, pixel: https://www.facebook.com/groups/rnocean/ Searching worked fine for me.
I’m wearing Like This and about to go rake leaves for the billionth time. The trees in our neighborhood are majestic and beautiful, but man, I am sick of them right now.
Have a great Saturday!
I wonder how raking leaves became the thing to do? They are so much lovelier when they are left where they fall. Consider all this taking extra exercise and reward yourself accordingly ????
I feel like that about mowing lawns. I like the smell of cut grass but think long grass is better for insect and bird life…and clover smells great.
Ah, but when you leave them piled thickly on the grass and things get damp, your lovely lawn dies.
Sadly, our lawn is not lovely. Our soil is far too sandy. So why am I raking?
Ah, I’m not a fan of groomed lawns so tha explains it. If people landscaped with plants indigenous to the area, I think it would help conserve water, make a welcoming place for birds and bugs, etc. I guess I just like the “natural” look. ????????????????????????
I’m with you. My lawn is a sorry patch because I won’t water it, fertilize, etc. It has to survive on its own. But I do love my trees.
Apologies if I shared this before. But when I decided to take out our front lawns and put in local plants watered by a drip system, I decided to kill the lawn over the summer by covering it in dark plastic and solarizing it. If you can believe it, a neighbor emailed me anonymously through our neighborhood list serve that I was endangering birds who relied on the worms who live in my lawn. Some people just love to lecture, even if they are wildly incoherent!
I’m testing out a decant of Dior Mitzah for about the 5th time to see if my feelings about it have changed. They haven’t. I’m just not that enthralled. Smells too much like other ambers I already have and the drydown gets too sticky sweet on me.
I’ll probably switch it up to Cuir Ottoman later today before going out. Or maybe OJ Tolu. It’s that kind of grey, cold day today…
Went to the VC&A Noah’s Ark inspired jewelry exhibit last night. Quite impressive and really beautiful pieces. Got a free canvas tote bag from the free event. That was nice ????
And RIP Azzedine Alaïa. I just got some Alaïa in a recent swap, which prompted me to read about him and his design history. Interesting man and I like his designs. Not sure how I feel about the perfume. I really like the first half hour or so, but then it falls a little flat to me. Maybe I’ll revisit a bit of that today in tribute.
Love Mitzah, bought the 200ml before discontinuation.
But I love 99.9% of ambers I’ve sampled.
My only issue with Mitzah is that it is quiet and short-lived on my skin. So I spray again.
And again.
Aga……
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????
Ha! Longevity wasn’t an issue for me. At All. I don’t dislike the smell, but it smells too much like HdP Ambre 11?, and other powdery ambers. I was hoping for something spicier and woodier. My favorite amber to date is Farmacia SS Annunziata Ambra Nera and am kicking myself for not getting a bottle on sale when Osswald was d/C-ing the line.
I love Mitzah too and flew through my decant because,like you Bear, it lasts about a nano second on my skin and I also have to spray lavishly.
Elisa- I hope you get to read this…I stumbled upon it and thought of you-
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Old-Spice-After-Shave-ORIGINAL-Splash-4-25-fl-oz-Vintage-Procter-Gamble-/332370330639?hash=item4d62d0c40f
Other bloggers have said this is a topnotch company that sells lots of stuff…have never bought from them and I am not affiliated but if you are still interested in vintage Old Spice you might want to check it out.
and there is 99.3% positive feedback
Thanks CM8! I appreciate you looking. There’s lots of vintage Old Spice to be had. I think it’ll be a while before I want to smell it again, though, since it permeated my apartment for a couple of days and it kind of has a negative association now for both of us ????
Glad you enjoyed the exhibit. Tote bag is a nice bonus. I’m impressed how so many pieces of VCA jewelry are multi-purpose.
I would like to know what notes give perfume a soapy character and what are some soapy-type perfumes? I have been wearing SL Bas de Soie most days and it has a real soapiness that I like. It’s almost like iris detergent but also reminds me of real soapwort, so bitter-sweet smelling. A good calming scent: powerful enough to smell, interesting and a bit grey and misty. Not many people like it so sample first. I seem to like the SL rejects.
The roses and irises were all in bloom in the botanic gardens yesterday . A nice day.
If you really want “soap” I will recommend Philosophy’s Pure Grace which is pure soap on my skin. Also, many of the earliest of the Clean line smell like soap to me.
oh and Jo Malone French Lime Blossom smells like very expensive soap due to the linden…as well as Annick Goutal’s eau de Ciel (also because of the linden)
I love linden. It’s the smell of christmas for me because that’s When all the lime trees are at their best down here. So thanks for these suggestions.
I still get fascinated by the fact that some of us live in opposite Hemispheres but meet here every day. Linden as a smell of Christmas is mind-boggling!
I am with Undina…linden to me signals the arrival of spring!!!
Probably more green…old school green. I was just reading about Dia and that sounds like a possibility. But, green soapy not clean soapy.
If you DON’T want clean soapy then don’t bother with the Philosophy or Clean line…they are both clean soapy and NOT green soapy. Good to wear when you want to wear fragrance around someone who hates perfume (it was once the only thing I could wear around a perfume despising co-worker I shared an office with)
Hmmm. I find a lot of neroli-centric scents soapy, of the bitter/fresh variety. I guess there are different soap associations, too-fancy, powdery floral French soaps, liquid hand soap, laundry soap, etc. Aldehydes can smell soapy and some musks as well. I’m blanking on specific perfumes at the moment except LE Labo Neroli which smelled soapy to me(and too aquatic), and maybe MDCI Rose de Siwa- fancy rose soap. Donna Karan Signature which I tried recently-very soapy on me.
I think it’s the aldehydes …green soapy. If you could imagine a soapy Cristalle or something like that.
Have you tried Chanel Bel Respiro?
Yes and I like it a lot . I think that maybe galbanum is the note? I have vague memory of Fidji and Number 19 poudre…maybe iris, hyacinth and galbanum? .
Maybe Madame Rochas or Givenchy III? Old school green. Or even Annick Goutal Heuere Exquise?
Funny how we all perceive scent differently. Rose de Siwa isn’t soapy to me. I get a elegant sheer, slightly green, woody base with a touch of cedar and vetiver along with lots of pink roses, peony and violet.
I find Chanel Beige to be soapy in the prettiest possible way.
I second the French Lime Blossom. I wear a bit of my decant when I want to smell like (what I think of as) expensive French soap!
It’s very tempting. I do love linden.
Perfume Shrine has an interesting discussion of this subject at http://perfumeshrine.blogspot.com/2010/07/soapy-fragrances-more-than-just-matter.html, Kanuka, with perfume recommendations included.
Thanks for that. I am after a kind of soapwort scent…Ostara smells similar in many ways . It used to grow in my mother’s herb garden and a few leaves in water causes the water to suds up and you could use it as shampoo etc. and it has features of Ostara, rive gauche, bas de soie scent …but soapy.
Some combinations of musk and orange blossom read as soapy to me.
I have Fleurs de Oranger but it’s not green enough for the scent I’m trying for.
For me, orange blossom flower + aldehydes = soapy
Demeter has Pure Soap – makes a good layerer for citrusy and/or musky colognes
Thanks for that. Demeter is good for experimenting.
For soapy, I love Provence Sante Linden, it comes in soap, lotion, shower gel and eau de toilette. Lovely and clean smelling, like a very expensive spa soap or French linen spray and very reasonably priced. Their Vervain is also very refreshing!
Sounds perfect. I will try and find it.
oh and some say that Orange Sanguine dries down to soap. That might be an easy one to get your nose on.
Haven’t worn it in a while, but I recall a soapiness in the dry down of Timbuktu that I really liked. Then again, I have not seen others mention soap in relation to Timbuktu so I may be having nose hallucinations.
Early on this morning I spritzed a little Pacific Forest, but it’s mostly gone now. Looking forward to a quiet day of crossword puzzles, nail-doing, and internet research on all-wheel drive small cars. My overly sporty little sedan has finally gotten on my last nerve, skidding and sliding its way over our wet streets. Any recommendations?
Your day sounds lovely! And I love my Honda Fit but it is not all wheel drive.
I think the Fit might be exactly the right size and configuration for me, but I’ve somehow become convinced that AWD is necessary to my happiness.
It’s hard to find the right combination of small size, all-wheel drive and creature comforts (like heated seats!), but eventually I’ll find the right thing.
I just got a Subaru Outback last spring and I LOVE it! But I have yet to see snow, so I cannot attest to how it handles in the winter. They sell a ton here, so my guess is they do well.
They’re very popular here too (Oregon). Where is “here” for you? (If you don’t mind saying, of course.)
I’m in Madison, Wisconsin???? I have a friend who lives in the northern part of the state-the snowbelt- who tells me they do well in the snow.
My husband loves his Subaru Forester. I’m steeling myself for the day my ancient, beloved Scion XA finally bites the dust by researching the smaller AWD Subaru Impreza, which is offered in sedan and station wagon versions.
Yes! There’s a variety of Impreza that kind of looks like a small SUV that has me intrigued. Have you test-driven any?
If you drive in snow, a Subaru would be my recommendation. I had one when I lived in the Pacific NW and it got me through all kinds of weather (and up and down some very steep, very slippery hills).
Subaru is definitely at the top of my list. The Crosstrek looks like it might work for me, but I need to at least sit in one, if not drive it, to make sure it feels right. You know? It might be super cute, but it has to have all the pedals and controls and accessories in the right places, and that’s tough for short people sometimes.
As a short person, I know just what you mean. ☺
+1 on Subaru Forester
Mine has aN X-mode button which, when activated, provides more traction as long as the travel speed < 25 mph. I used it last year in snow and it was a beautiful thing.
Best of luck with the car shopping!
PSA: https://www.notino.com/black-friday-sales/ Notino is running 25% off including on Amouage. For those eyeing that bottle of Beloved….
lucky for my credit card the bottle of guerlain I was eyeing is sold out
Oh no, that Amouage Lilac Love is pretty tempting. But, I’m saving up for some 31 Rue Cambon for Christmas. Still, it is a very lovely perfume….
Coumarin, you can buy 8 ml decant of Lilac Love for $14.95 including S&H with the Scentbird subscription, which you can cancel after that. You could probably find some additional deal/coupon for them if you haven’t been a subscriber before. Or you could ask somebody who is a current subscriber to send you an invitation – and both you and that person will get a 1 free decant (I can do it if you want but I’m not pushing). If you previously had a subscription but canceled it since then, login into your old account, and they will, most likely, offer you some type of a deal to come back.
Thank you, clarissa! I used it to get Amouage soap
Fooling around in Austin all weekend! It’s so pretty here. Poor Houston really is a swamp. My boyfriend and I saw Tori Amos last night and she nailed it! Seeing her cover Kate Bush’s Running up the Hill was an experience I’ll never forget.
Today we’re shopping. I’m wearing my brand-new Insolence EdP and it’s fabulous. I can’t tell if it reminds me more of Apres L’Ondee or Poison but I love both.
Bonus question: we’re staying 2 nights. How many perfumes did I bring?
I love Insolence, you smell fantastic! Yesterday I had sprayed some on my exercise shirt so the fragrance was radiating when I was finished.
To answer your question for bonus points, I say you brought 5 fragrances.
It’s great stuff though it fades pretty quickly on me.
Ok, let’s see… You need something to wear 2 days + 2 nights + at least one for the road = 5, but who can plan the mood 3 days in advance? So, I’d add at least 1 (but better 2) to have a choice for day and night. So my final math is 7.
Lol, I like your math.
7! Yes! I brought 4 with me but on my way out I picked up a package from Fragrancenet from my office that had 3 bottles in it. I still feel a bit limited though.
Once I took 21 perfume with me on a 7-day tropical vacation
I like your style! I’m trying to decide what to bring with me for my trip on Tuesday. Right now I have 22 samples, decants and lotions and body butters (for 22 days). I also have a couple bottles being delivered there..
Why does it take longer to decide on fragrances than what clothes to bring?
Gail, 22 samples should be enough: for those that you’ve tested before you’ll be able to decide whether you need more or you’re done with the sample; and if any are new for you, you’ll get a chance to test them properly.
I hope so.. you are right about testing! Plus my niece will be arriving (with her Dad). She’s a budding perfume gal so I will definitely share with her.
I smelled so good yesterday in BoE, I decided to press repeat today.
I ordered a travel size of Bee’s Bliss unsniffed because it just sounds luscious!
Currently sipping coffee with the heat blasting on a very misty foggy morning. Woke up right at 9AM on he dot, which for some reason feels like a good omen. I’m off to find sustanance for my loins, hopefully in he form of a bagel✌????
I was restrained and ordered just a sample – but in addition to two other travel sprays that I wanted to replenish. I think I will still have time to order more if I like it – the shopping cart on the SSS’s site should be up until holidays.
Hope to see you review it soon!!! Which travel sprays did you replenish?
Winter Woods and Fireside Intense. I’m sad that Sienna Musk is gone: I think I’d like to get more of it. And before the holidays are over I might go for Wood Violet. I’m a little upset because my Fig Tree went off. I don’t remember ever that happening with SSS’s perfumes before – and I still have some dab samples from 2011!
O those are great for the cooler weather! I saved a small sample of Sienna Musk as well as Lieu de Reves before I finished off my travel sprays for those. I think the issue with Sienna Musk was that she could no longer get certain ingredients to make it.
I have a small bottle, maybe 17 mls, od SM and I love it so much… eking out the last 5 mls or so on days I want a treat.
I still have about 0.5ml left of SM. And yes, I remember Laurie wrote something about not being able to source some ingredients for it.
Let me know what you think of Bee’s Bliss…thus far I have warded off the temptation to purchase any.
You smell good!
I’m wearing L’Ombre Dans L’Eau for the second time this month. This is relatively rare, because generally I don’t wear the same scent this often. It usually takes more a lot than a month to get back to a particular fragrance. I really love it.
It’s the same for me: I rarely wear the same perfume twice during any 30 days. But I test (not the same as “wear”) perfumes several days in a row when I’m trying to decide if I want to buy it or if I’m writing a post about it.
Wearing Tauer Phi Une Rose de Kandahar (the birthday present to myself). My birthday is tomorrow, but we will be having dinner out tonight at a japanese restaurant and then heading to Lincoln Center to watch the opera Thais. Tomorrow, I will be quiet at home resting.
I am running some errands now. Gray, cold day in the Big Apple.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
Wishing you a very happy birthday! Phi is amazing, nice birthday gift.
Enjoy your evening out and the rest of your weekend.
Happy day-before Birthday! Sounds like a lovely way to celebrate. Enjoy the opera and your perfume gift-to-self! Some light shining for you on this dreary day.
Happy early birthday! And PHI is the PERFECT bottle to gift yourself! You smell outstanding????
Happy Birthday!
Happy upcoming Birthday! You smell wonderful! I should probably also wear Phi this weekend – it’s cold enough here.
Enjoy both – the night out and a quiet day tomorrow!
Happy Birthday! Enjoy your evening!
Happy Birthday!!!! and enjoy the opera at Lincoln Center (many many moons ago I actually performed there…being on that stage at both the Met and State Theatre is surreal)
OOO and I forgot to say you smell delicious!!!! Gorgeous scent to treat yourself to!!!!
Happy birthday tomorrow my dear.
Tauer PHI is a grand choice for a self-gift
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday! I hope you have a healthy and happy year. Your evening sounds amazing, and you smell divine.
Happy birthday!???? sounds like a wonderful evening.
Happy Birthday!
Hey Happy Birthday! Enjoy the weekend!
Happy early birthday to you! I hope you have a lovely weekend. ????
Hey Twin. Happy birthday! Ihope you have a wonderful evening!
Happy Birthday!
Sounds like a perfect birthday!!
Happy Happy Birthday!
Happy birthday! Sounds like a great way to celebrate.
Happy birthday! Gifts-to-self are the best
Happy birthday! How was Thais?
Happy Scented Birthday! I hope that you enjoyed yesterday’s activities.
Hello, all…I feel very tentative about writing much, because our network is so unreliable despite our joint and several efforts to have everything repaired/renewed/re-installed. My posts have simply never made it to the site; my private emails don’t send; but here, outbof the blue today, and for no reason I can give, we seem to have some sustained service. So here goes.
Perfume: I’ve gloriously been bathing in Grandiflora’s Queen of the Night (rich, complex, interesting and exciting), in La Pausa (heartbreakingly pretty, an impression of acdamp garden at dawn), Cristalle (spare and crisply elegant; love it with jeans, ragged sneakers and a white shirt), Baiser Vole Extrait (pretty and— actually, just pretty in a slightly breathless way; I felt quite young wearing it); and from a new FB (Donatella, forgive) Bottega Veneta Velours (grown up, sophisticated, a little demanding — for me, that will be the pepper). Lovely times in my perfume cabinet, in other words, and I wish I could have told you all about them when I told you, if you see what I mean.
The kittens are growing. Eric is just a finger away from 3 kilograms now, and looking well. His little red mask is coming in, and at long last, his whiskers are growing (his mother chewed them off before he came to us). He carries the Golden Fur of Destiny with him most places. The Pink FoD finally and definitively disintegrated a few weeks back. All over the sitting room floor, actually. I was NOT pleased: it was the very devil to vacuum off the carpet. Titus has a hut in the suitcases at the top of the dear man’s wardrobe, and at any time, his little stripey face can be seen peering down at us with an expression of mild surmise. Alexander stalks the boundaries guarding us all from danger.
Work is very busy and I feel more engaged than I have for years. That Student continues to whine at me, but she’s working on her amendments, which is all that matters. So, then:. all is ordinary Chez Waterdragon.
I’ll stop now lest I offend the small mean gods of the network by asking them to work too hard elevating my paragraphs to the site. Be well, all.
Glad you’re here…missed you.
Missed you too, all of you. This thing with the intermittent and unreliable network is deeply boring and frustrating. A man (or men, not sure) is coming on Tuesday to fix things “once and for all”. Huh! And I haven’t heard that promise before. Also, I have to be under house arrest pretty much all day because he cannot give a definite time for his arrival. Harrumph and pish tosh! It’s a city thing: in the Heartlands, tradespeople manage to give a specific time rather than a range of FIVE HOURS! !!! All rests on his success, though, so I fear to be too free, Frank and fluent with him.
We have had to replace our telecom Spark modem three times since getting fibre. They are rubbish. The asus one is much better.
Hi there! May the connectivity gods smile at you going forward!
Thank you. They’ve been turning their faces from me for the last couple of weeks, for sure. Perhaps Tuesday will solve everything, but I feel somewhat doubtful. “Hopeful but unconvinced” rather sums up my attitude at the moment. ,
I plan to treat myself to Queen of the Night for Christmas.
Lucasai, I love it, winter and summer. It’s a joy—different indeed from my much-worn Chanels, but just as beloved. I wear it when I’m feeling complicated. The dear man says it’s a warning to the world, but he’s being silly. I think.
Waterdragon, it’s delightful to hear about your kitties and your renewed engagement with work. Good luck with the internet!
I’m wearing Ineke Idyllwild for the third day in a row. I LOVE the top notes! They’re so calming – but then it fades to nothing really quickly on me. Think Chanel No. 5 L’Eau kinda quickly. So I’m trying to convince myself that it’s not worth buying a bottle if I’ll need to continually re-spritz. Can anyone recommend a substitute with the same vibe and better longevity?
I suspect there is a note in there you cannot smell and that’s why it is fading quickly for you…not that that helps you in any way.
Try spraying on the nape of your neck so that you catch whiffs of it from time to time. That may help if the issue is one of olfactory overload. It’s one of my favorite ways of wearing perfume, actually.
Try Bergamoss, if you want your Idyllwild smothered in dirty diapers.
(In case you can’t tell: I like Idyllwild very much, and just cannot stand Bergamoss, though I think they share a lot of notes. Other people like it, though!)
That cracked me up. Because who doesn’t want their Idyllwild smothered in dirty diapers?
Feeling better finally after being sick all week. Going to work, wearing Black Opium, it was as close as I could get to Back in Black, smell wise. RIP Malcolm.
Glad you’re feeling better, lillyjo!
☕????????????????????????your choice.
Cheers !
????
I will take some hot chocolate, extra whip cream. Thanks!
you can pass me a cup
It’s never fun to be sick (well, unless you’re a kid and is not really-really sick but was allowed to skip school), so I’m glad you’re better. Take it slow (and drink one of the choices offered by Bear above).
It would be great if we could skip work! I called in one day, but it’s to hard financially to get the rest that’s actually needed:(
Oh dear…hope the recovery continues and you get back to normal soon.
Thank you!
I hope you reach 100% better soon!
Thanks! I’m getting there.
I hope you are feeling better today lillyjo.
Thanks, I am. Enjoy a restful Happy Birthday!
I’m happy to hear that you are feeling better! Going to work sick is the worst.
Happy weekend everyone! I’m testing Parfumerie Generale’s Indochine over breakfast, very nice so far, but I wouldn’t describe it as compelling.
This is among my latest tiny decants from TPC, and I’ve been reflecting on how tastes change. I went through two bottles of Theorema years ago, and thought I’d try it again before splurging on another FB. It still smells the same and is lovely, but now it seems too sweet for me and I’m not sure how often I’d wear it. Then again, it would be nice to have a bottle…
It is funny how tastes change. I used to dislike vanilla in perfumes. Now I love it.
And a couple of hours later, I can say that Indochine is lovely, and has found its way on to my list of future purchases.
I own Indochine and really enjoy it. You smell great! I think that’ll be my scent of the evening. Thanks for the inspiration.
You smell great! Indochine is one of my top 5.
I’m in Aedes Palissandre d’Or, but actually, it’s wearing me at the moment. It started our very fruity, almost like grape soda. Pepper? Cinnamon? Cedar? Where art thou?!?
I’m so glad I just requested this as a free sample.
Has anyone else tried this one?
It was a pass for me. Only Aedes I don’t like. It just smelled vile and evil on me [shrugs]
Yep, it wasn’t good. Luckily, it didn’t linger.
Yes, I tried it when it first came out. It was actually a scrubber-nauseated me. Too sweet and didn’t get much rosewood.
I very nearly scrubbed it. We took the dog for a walk, so was thankful for the distraction.
How funny, this is the one Aedes I love, and have a FB. Mind you, I’d also have Oeillet Bengale and Copal Azur if money was no object
I hope you can get OP and CA in your perfume cabinet soon!????
Nancyleandros,
I wanted to love it but it just did something weird after about 20 minutes.
The only Aedes I really love and have bought twice is the original one.
Ohhhhh, since my sister and I have a date in NYC I guess I’ll go visit the boys@ Aedes.
I can’t smell it very well. Copal Azure is the one I like (from a split of a travel set).
Sold: Feminite du Bois, a la Shiseido
My current favorite zen-producing perfume is JM Orris and Sandalwood. Enjoying the calm before the storm….????
Started the day in Chanel Sycomore EDP and had to go to Target to pick up a few household things and it was completely insane. I’m contemplating a huge job change/move to a different state so naturally am a little freaked out. Nothing like a little Chanel exclusif to calm you down during turbulent times!
If everything else is crazy, at least you know you smell crazy good.
Good luck with your upcoming changes. The Exclusifs are always light and comforting.
I’m in Berdoues Vanira Moorea (a gift from Deva). For the first few tries, I thought it was pretty, wearable, and that was about it. It’s starting to really grow on me, though. I don’t think it’s getting any more complex, or that my nose is evolving to pick up on its subtleties. I think it’s that its pleasure-inducing-factor is increasing for me, if that makes any sense. A fruity vanilla – who knew I was going to like it this much?
Happy it found a loving home! ????????
Hi, Scent twin….in the cold it reads as sweet amber on my skin.
RIP, Mr. Alaia! Was wearing his eponymous scent just yesterday and it is wonderful. Liked his design aesthetic, too. He will be missed.
E, there is a new flanker coming — Alaia Nude, I think.
Sotd is Vanille Insensee after seeing it mentioned this week. I do love this one with it’s touch of lime.
Back to the salt mines today after my day of r&r& pain meds yesterday. Lol. I am feeling much better today. Thanks to all for the kind words.☺️
For all you college football fans out there, ESPN game day was in my little city today! Unfortunately we are still on our dreary and gray streak so the footage did not showcase how really pretty it is here. Our team is still undefeated!
Enjoy the weekend everyone!
You smell great !
Thanks!
A few years ago my running group accidentally planned a route through the college game day broadcast. You never expect to run into a crowd of over 1000 people at 7 am! We stopped to watch for over an hour – what a spectacle! I think that’s why I like college football – everyone is so passionate.
I thought Madison looked great! I love that Bucky “Thinker” statue, by the way. GameDay came to Times Square, and I regret not going. The handmade signs this week were excellent. Great Harbaugh bashing. Good game. My husband had control of the remote (of course) so was going back and forth between that and his Northwestern Wildcats.
Sigh. I spent most of last night and today in bed feeling so sick that when Mr. Aparatchick asked if he could make me something to eat, all I could do was moan “don’t talk about food.”
Obvs, no perfume for me. Hoping to feel better tomorrow.
I hope you feel better tomorrow. Being sick is the worst. I didn’t dare wear any perfume most of this week.
Poor you. I hope it passes quickly!
Sending healing thoughts your way.
feel better!
Feel better soon!
Hope you start feeling better soon!
Hope you are feeling better today.
Sending healing thoughts your way!
Hopefully you are feeling better than you were yesterday.
Finally checking in after a long day. Got to see Yale defeat Harvard and win the Ivy League championship for the first time in almost 20 years. Wore LADDM from a sample that I threw in my luggage at the last minute. Long day of walking, tailgating, and eating and drinking!
Congratulations. We contemplated going up for that game, but conflicts arose.
Woohoo! Stanford beat Cal yesterday in the Big Game, too, so I’m happy (though I don’t care about football at all, so it’s a very passive joy). Also, I think Stanford usually beats Cal? So not that surprising.
Boo, hiss on Big Game. ????
Are you a Cal alumna?? I’m trying to muster up some animosity, but I just do not care enough.
Yes, I’m a Bear. I have way too many Stanford friends to be able to retain any animosity.
This afternoon, Ari hosted Barbara Herman, author of Scent and Subversion and founder of Eris Parfums. Barbara read from her book and explained the creation of her latest launch, the sensual unisex perfume Mx. Unisex can mean different things, such as neutral/neutered, or a men’s fragrance that women can borrow, like boyfriend jeans. (The reverse, men borrowing from women, has been less common.) Increasingly, however, young people are deconstructing gender, breaking the binary, choosing how to manifest gender. In this way, Mx. brings together softness and floralcy, with the tougher notes of leather and vetiver, and irresistible animalics in a way that is beautiful and wearable.
It was an enlightening presentation, a treat to sniff the entire Eris line, and, as always, fun to catch up with NoVa, MD, and DC perfume friends. We are so fortunate to have Arielle Shoshana as a home for events like this and wonderful perfumes!
For everyone who couldn’t be there, here is an article Barbara recommended on the work and impact of gender theorist Judith Butler:
https://www.thecut.com/2016/06/judith-butler-c-v-r.html
(IIRC, Barbara had the opportunity to study with Dr. Butler at Berkeley.)
I wish I could gave been there.
I wonder what perfume would go with the newish trend of being trans-racial?
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/11/17/white-person-claims-to-be-transracial-identifies-as-filipino.html
Same!
How about ELdO Fils de Dieu du riz et des agrumes?
Morning, all, and what a morning! Twice in a row, we have connection! It didn’t last yesterday—in fact, it went down when I was doing some on-line marking,so presumably that’s all wasted— but it’s nice to be chatting again today. I’ll happily take small blessings where I find them.
Yesterday passed in a dark, fascinating cloud of Coromandel. Quite why I decided to do the housework in such a very noticeable perfume, I do not know, but it spurred me on to clean the windows. The dear man came back from his walk and tells me he had heart palpitations when he glanced up at our apartment and saw me balanced on the window sill, hanging out the sitting room windows cleaning the outsides. We live in an old warehouse conversion, and we’re on the seventh floor of eight, so a fall would have been quite painful. The kittens were fascinated and chased the cloth on the inside as I polished the outside.
Today i’m determined It will be summer, no matter what the weather thinks. I’m wearing a little shift dress with random flowers scattered artfully on white background and a pink jacket, and I feel I want a “charming” perfume that speaks of soft days and gentle sun. . Hmmmf….do I need yet another perfume to satisfy this craving? But no: there’s Cardamon (sp?) and Mimosa, the only Jo Malone I like at all. It’s pretty, and it will do. It smells yellow rather than pink, but never mind. And with all important decisions made for the day, it behoves me to potter off and make breakfast. Be well, all.
Snelling and looking good. Internet wies arw the worst! I’m still on okd technology DSL whuch normally works fine unless it doesn’t. I do have an alternative which is to use data from my cell service to get by.
I’ve only just bought a “proper” mobile phone, so I’m still learning about using its data thingy. Until Monday last week, I had a Nokia slide, which was a perfectly good phone, but now I have a thing the size of a bar of chocolate, and it promises to do all these things that I ‘m deeply unconvinced by. I’m most particularly uncertain about The accompanying expectation that I will be available all the time. However, I’ve committed, and it was astonishingly expensive. I should get on and master the thing.
About to start the vacuum, which is embarrassingly overdue. I have been using our sick little cat as an excuse…don’t like to disturb her. But, it’s the day of reckoning, since we have a guest arriving tomorrow. I will make a comfortable spot in the bathroom so she feels safe from the evil machine. Truth be told, our huge boy cat is the biggest weenie – he even sees the machine come out, and he’s under the bed in a flash. The two other girls just look at him like he’s crazy and go back to their snoozes.
One spritz of Mitsouko should get me moving.
Alexander ignores the vacuum, Titus stalks it —it’s clearly prey— and poor darling little Eric hides anywhere he can. He’s incredibly brave about my bag of cleaning materials, but the vacuum is obviously a fiercer enemy than he can deal with.
Good speed with the cleaning.
I had a cat, Gracie (R.I.P.), who was indifferent except that she quite enjoyed the round brush going down her back. She’d enjoy it, then look around and realize that I was vacuuming her. Her eyes would widen, and she’d trot away.
Cats and vacuum cleaners
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=A0Z79ycisDU
Too funny! It would be worth spending money on that thing for pure entertainment value! ????
Love it.
I’m tired of the holiday season already. Since I work retail, I won’t be able to spend Thanksgiving with my family since I have to work that and Black Friday at 5a.m.. So nobody is happy about it right now but the only way I can get of early for a holiday like this is to give me a heads up a couple weeks earlier and then I can make arrangements to have the ability to make it there.
I am spending the day in Lyric and forcing myself to wait until either Black Friday or Cyber Monday to spend that bonus.
Why spend the bonus if you’re looking to spend it on something you’re not sure about?
SOTD = Clinique Aromatics in White EDP
$29.99 at Marshalls. So far, don’t love it but don’t hate it. Life is too short to wear a 3 on a 5-point scale. What say you on the fragrance and/or wearing a so so perfume?
Useless product of the day — reusable straws
1. Unless it is made of gold, I view straws as traditionally disposable. (And I would spend the money on something else other than a gold straw. )
2. How does one clean a used straw well?
3. Where / how would you store a used straw?
4. Would you use a communal cleaned used straw?
A resounding no to so-so perfume unless it’s in the office-friendly sorta category and the rest of your collection is decidedly not.
I like those festive disposable bendy striped straws, and will reuse them because …. the ecology? But that depends upon what has been sipped through them. Then I clean them with an eco-friendly substance that is probably toxic when ingested, and I ignore that probability. I let them air dry because bacteria and viruses thrive in a wet environment, and then I ignore that there may be other nutrients living in the straw that are highly conducive to the growth of said demons because I can’t see them. I would share said straw with loved ones, but would probably avoid using one if offered to me by people I suspect of engaging in similar behavior to mine.
LOL. I.can’t.even…
Ahaha. We have just run out of straws today, and I was just contemplating buying some reusable straws. My boyfriend had the same reaction as you, so another pack of disposable ones is on its way!
I’m wondering if I have “issues”. Is he the type who wouldn’t pick up coins off a sidewalk because they could be dirty?
He says he can’t make a blanket statement. Coins are pretty much never worth it, but he might pick up bills, depending on how dirty they are and how much they are worth
Reusable straws are a big NOPE for me. I can’t get over the idea of them becoming cylindrical Petri dishes if they aren’t scrupulously cleaned.
I didn’t think about it before but after you asked I looked it up and I see that Amazon has reusable stainless steel straws with a special brush. I wouldn’t mind using those at home – I’m familiar with the process of cleaning bombilla for mate so it doesn’t scare me. But I wouldn’t probably either use myself or offer anybody reusable plastic or bamboo straws. And I wouldn’t use any straws – even golden ones – in a public setting unless being positive that I’m the first one to do so.
As to perfumes, I stopped going for “bargains” just for that reason: why to multiply something that just is “nice” when we have collections of something great.
).
But I might still occasionally wear something from the former category if I happened to have it from when I thought it was great (or if it fell on my lap
we have sippy cups that have straws for the babies. So, I use a little device that looks like a toothpick (but thicker) with a brush bristles attached and you basically just use soap and water to clean and then rinse really well. I don’t find it gross or odd if anyone uses anything re-usable. Reducing the carbon footprint is key to a healthy planet.
I would wear a 3 perfume….even a 2 maybe. Sometimes my taste changes as I wear things over time or in a different climate so I like to give fragrances a chance. But that’s just me
I agree. Life it too short to wear a so-so perfume. Wear your favorite(s) everyday, IMHO.
I have stainless reusable straws. You clean them like you would any stainless steel item. There are brushes that look like pipe cleaners to scrub the inside. Having said that, I don’t have them with me because I use them when I make a smoothies. No electricity means no smoothies. Plus, I’m not in Florida anymore and a cold drink of anything is pointless right now????
Oops! That was supposed to be a response to Hajusuuri!
Heh, I should have said reusable PLASTIC straws!
Well then, that changes things! ????
It’s another day and I’m in another perfume to celebrate a No Rain So Far Day!!! Chergui it is- every time I spritz this, I fall in Love all over again.
A blissful Sunday off, T-Rex is again on a time out for being snippy at the dog park, as well as trying to roughly herd a poodle who really didn’t want to be herded. If a dog doesn’t do what she wants, when she wants, she just body slams them and bowls them over. She also needs to learn that she cannot greet dogs or people by rushing them like she was shot out of a cannon. She startles some, they snip at her, and then she gives it right back, and then a lot of drama ensues. Also, she has decided if she’s off lead, she doesn’t really need to come when I call her. She made some bad choices today, received appropriate corrections and is now gazing whistfully out the window wishing she could go out and play.
Yikes! I think raising bi-pedals might be easier.
Actually I think T-Rex may be onto something. I’ve duly put myself on a time-out, but I’m harboring dreams of bad choices which I will unleash at the first opportunity.
Ha! Good luck when you go a-Hollying! Pick your time wisely✌????
Sounds like a teenager.
Right? She’s even giving me lip when I tell her “down”! I hope, for both our sakes, she gets past the teenage years quickly!
Wearing Hypnotic Poison Eau Sensuelle EdT today. This would be on my list of “Dearly Departed” scents… it is gorgeous on me, where the original HP smells like Tiger Balm or some similar liniment on my skin.
Really bummed to hear about Malcolm Young’s passing yesterday. I found out during our monthly game day, and a couple other people at the table also made sad noises at the news. “Rock and roll ain’t noise pollution…”
What (doesn’t really) shock me is how young many of these folks are! I grew up listening to so many of these bands when I was a pre-teen and teen in the Midwest, where kids were weaned on Heavy Metal. It seems they should have years left ahead of them, but I guess many did lead very hard lives and it takes its toll one way or another. Sad.
Yeah, I had heard stories about AC/DC’s hard-partying ways back in the day. And those guys weren’t that old, were they?