Happy Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop Friday! Our community project for today: wear a perfume from the most saturated category in your collection. Thanks to Coin-op for the suggestion!
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'm in Hermès Vetiver Tonka, which ticks three boxes: my over saturated vetiver collection, my most collected brand, and most collected perfumer.
Reminder: 4/27 will be Next Generation Friday...wear something from a younger perfumer.
And for those of you who like to plan ahead, see Scent of the day ~ Friday community projects 2018, where I'll try to always have the next five or six weeks mapped out in advance.
Note: the Sous le soleil beach towel is $600 at Hermès.
Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop Friday! – my largest category – *I Bought It Because It Smells Bloody Wonderful and I Wanted To* 😛 😛
Mad et Len Petits Papier – Smoky vanilla incense for what is shaping up to be a storm day !!
Which goes in my “jealous I don’t have any” category 😉
My “Jealous I Don’t Have Any” category showed strong growth this year. Ahem.
We don’t know what you’re talking about **cough cough**….
That is an awesome category.
Awww yes, category twins!
I have never even tested this and you smell great!
That sounds delicious. Great category!
I’m really looking forward to trying this! I bet you smell amazing. 🙂
Oooh, I love vanilla incense – on to the list it goes!
SOTD is YSL Opium (modern version) from my long list of orientals. 🙂
Mmm…you smell great!
Ohhh, Opium is always a favorite! You smell great!
Prolonging going into work as long as possible. I have nothing weather related to complain about. Courtesy of a generous Nster, I’m drenched in vintage Fendi. Music of the morning is Indigo Girls. Not really in the project today, but except maybe my most saturated category is smelling damn good.
Vintage Fendi!!!! You smell wonderful. I loved this one many years ago.
It’s still perfect!
Hey vintage twin! No weather complaints here either, the sun is out! Hope it is for you too!
Out in full force. Thanks! Since i get my weather from you????
Could you waft my way, please?
I’m sure you can smell me, I’m doused!
Love the Indigo Girls! They are one of several artists in my most saturated music CD category.
I like their early stuff best.
Absolutely, their early stuff is magical!
Fendi! Adore it, you smell wonderful! And early Indigo Girls are so enjoyable, their music evokes great college memories!
Thank you! I saw them once around 1991. In a small venue. Would love to see them again.
The 90’s were a fun time for concert-going, smaller venus created a more intimate environment (and ticket prices were SO cheap!).
I watched so many wonderful shows, The Church, Run DMC, Peter Murphy, NIN, Psychedelic Furs, Tracy Chapman.
Psychedelic Furs. I’m jealous!
Smelling damn good is the Queen of Categories! Plus, Indigo Girls! Plus, we are weather twins- nothing to complain about here either ????
Hey, i don’t think we’ve been twins before. Cool ????
Indigo Girls! I’ve seen them play live 5 times. Love them!
5! Lucky you!
“Smelling damn good” is a pretty awesome category to have a lot of stuff in, IMO.
Well, it is subjective, but I try my best ????
I’m wearing Le Cri de la Lumière. My largest category is “Decants and Minis I buy unsniffed because I don’t like small samples.” I bought this decant recently and I’m wearing it for the first time. At this point in it’s development I like it a lot. We’ll see how it develops. I am always surprised by the number of fragrances that I like initially and then fall in love with because of the dry down. Of course the opposite is also true.
You smell lovely!
I need to give that one another shot. I sniffed briefly on paper and didn’t like it, which surprised me.
Totally didn’t work for me. But lots of others love it.
Totally into the same category. Or the “it’s just as expensive to send a decant to Canada as it is a teeny sample.”
This is why I have so many minis as well. (And also just because I love minis :D)
I chose AdP Iris Nobile EDT, from my collection of iris fragrances. Happy Friday!
Yum, one of my favorites still. Wish they’d bring it back.
Wearing L’Heure Exquise. While I didn’t like the movie, I do like the phrase “Never Stop Never Stopping”, and it looks like I am taking a world cruise on the SS Iris Toujours.
Carnal Flower, just because it´s one of my top favourite perfumes when it´s hot, as it is today. And it’s floral, and a BWF which is a considerable part of my fragrance wardrobe.
I love that Hermès scarf! And I’ve as yet never tried Vetiver Tonka.
It’s not a scarf it’s a beach towel!!
😳
I still love it, although I would be very reluctant to use it as a beach towel.
Agreed. Can you imagine leaving a $600 beach towel alone on the beach to take a dip? ????
I can’t imagine laying a $600 towel on the ground, much less rubbing my sweaty, sun-screened, salty self on it.
I wonder if it feels different from the one I picked up at Walmart in Hawaii….
I can totally imagine that.
But that doesn’t mean it’ll ever happen 😉
Oh, wait I totally misread that! I read it as “can you imagine laying on a $600 beach towel” which is something I can totally fantasize about. ha
An Hermes BEACH TOWEL for $600?!?!?! Geez, I wonder if I’ll ever manage to understand rich people.
We had dinner at a restaurant housed in the Ritz Vendome in Paris, and we contemplated the kind of money we would need to be able to reasonably afford staying there ourselves. Then we wondered if we’d be able to stomach shelling out that kind of money even if we had it. Fun mental exercise.
It’s kind of mind-boggling, isn’t it?
when I lived in Saudi, the waterfront was covered w/ Hermes beach towels. The women sitting on them were completely covered in abayas and niquabs. and black gloves.
The men went w/ speedos.
that’s one way of putting it:)
Wow. That’s an interesting sight, aspara.
I can’t in-see it, Elisa P.
Hey twin! It is great in hot weather, but I also like it when it’s sunny and cold (like today). We do smell beautiful!
It is, funnily enough I remember having pangs of doubt after acquiring my bottle, whereas these days I wear it more than Fracas and Tubéreuse Criminelle.
I used to think it was Too Much, but, oddly, I don’t find it to be that big anymore. It does seem to die down pretty quickly. Others in my vicinity may totally disagree, though ????
I think it´s pretty much perfect. And I think perfumistas owe it to the great public to educate them about wonderful fragrances 🙂
I think it’s pretty much perfect, too, austenfan, and am in full agreement about our obligations 🙂
I adore Tubereuse Criminelle, it has a tendency to wear me at times.
I got into my Grandmother’s Fracas once, over-applied (in the heat & humidity of Summer, no less) and boy did it pack a wallop!
Hermès was my runner-up category today! But I went with my most-collected note: rose. Serge Lutens Sa Majesté la Rose. Happy Friday!
Oh, you smell fantastic.
You do too, Robin! I love Vetiver Tonka and oh so many other Hermèses. And I live within walking distance of the Hermès parfumerie in Lower Manhattan. It’s a big problem I’m happy to have. 🙂
Yeah, I could live with that!
I gave my bottle a loving sniff this morning. You smell lovely!
Thanks, and so do you! Carnal Flower is such a beauty; it’s not for my skin, but I love smelling it on other people!
I have been almost buying this for a year! You smell great 🙂
Thanks! I just totally swooned over your list of glorious Parisian purchases. Enjoyyyyy!
Thanks, I definitely will 🙂 I brought some of the cookies to work to share with people, and may have been helping myself to a couple, too….
My theme for today is iris forever (foreviris?) As my most saturated category in a collection.
Van Cleef & Arpels Bois d’Iris feels so good today
I can’t believe I did not manage to wear iris this week!
There’s still Saturday and Sunday until the week ends 😉
Great category! You smell wonderful (“foreveris” 🙂 ).
Thank you, thank you ^_^
If there’s a category called “orientals that crossover into gourmand territory” that would be my most saturated. But the weather ???? isn’t cooperating with that category so I’ve gone to my second: Fig! Lots of Fig! Wearing Jardin de Kerylos and loving it.
I love that category as well!
As do I!
My most saturated category would have to be orientals, so I am going with my first perfume love: Obsession, in the vintage formulation. One spray should last until tomorrow.
I’ve got a fairly busy Friday off lined up. My parents are making a pit stop here on their way home from a winter in Florida, so I will spend some time and a lunch out with them. Then tonight the h and I are going to see a band who’s lead singer was one of our favs in college. His band has been joined by Husker Du’s old bass player, so I will bring my earplugs…just in case.????
Happy Friday!!
Great scent; great weekend plans — enjoy!
Thanks!
madtowngirl, where do they stay? I lived in Sarasota for 20 years and still have family/house there.
This year they spent several weeks in Port St. Joe (they really love the gulf coast) and then they head down to Winter Garden for a couple of months.
The Gulf Coast does have really pretty beaches, Coquina is my favorite, it’s a park with lots of trees, we always see dolphins when we’re out there. If they haven’t visited, Sanibel Island is pretty, with loads of shells.
If they enjoy Cuban/Spanish food, have them try the Columbia Restaurant (family-owned restaurant), their Cuban Black Bean Soup, Sangria, 1905 Salad, Cuban sandwiches and Paella are stellar!
Have you ever been to the original Columbia in Ybor City?
My dad took us there in the early 60s?
It’s great.
I have! I remember hanging in Ybor City a lot back in the day (club kid days)….
I used to work next door to the St. Armand’s location in the mid-90s. Loved the folks there, very friendly and family-oriented.
You smell fabulous! Vintage Obsession is gorgeous.
Thank you! It truly is, isn’t it? If it were bottled under a niche house, it would sell like hot cakes.
I agree! Obsession and Azuree could easily double as niche scents.
A dear friend gifted a bottle of the vintage Obsession and for the life of me, I can’t find it! Grrrrr.
It is, and I am in full agreement!
Have a great visit !
Thanks!
My rose week continues with SSS Velvet Rose.
That one was so nice.
That was the first one I tried (and purchased) from SSS, I adored her line.
I still have a little left of this perfume. I should wear it before something happens to it.
You smell good.
Ooooh that’s good stuff. You smell perfect.
I had to go with Vetiver, as I always do. I’m wearing FM Vetiver Extraordinaire. I almost wore Vettiveru but it’s more of a warm weather Vetiver for me.
Hey cousin!
Oh, you smell fab! ????
Haven’t had the brain cells to spare this week to do any analysis of my “collection” (a word too grand for my mishmash of stuff), so haven’t participated in the cp. I’m looking forward to catching up on everyone else’s posts, though!
SOTD is Amouage Fate. I recently smelled Myths for the first time (yeah, I’m just a little behind…) and would now like to compare the two, as I think they are both narcissus-themed.
Happy Friday!
Fate is gorgeous! And I feel like you about this weeks community project and my brain power????
I’ll be curious to hear about your side by side test of Fate and Myths.
I’m giving La Chasse aux Papillons another go–a bottle I was ready to swap (maybe if I had a smaller bottle its white flower whaawhaa wouldn’t seem so daunting).
However, I did figure out my over saturated perfume category. Bertrand Duchaufour. Yep. Doesn’t matter the house, he pops up all over the place in my collection–in minis, decants, and definitely full bottles–also on my wish list!
Have tried some of his about which I was just meh. Ostara and Vaara come to mind — I remember off the top of my head that those are his (and maybe Penhaligon’s just doesn’t work for me), and I bet there are others. But he appears multiple times on my greatest hits lists, long and short ones.
Ha, you must be my Duchaufour Evil Scent Twin! There are a few of his I like, and he is so prolific that there’s a wide range of his stuff out now, but I own very few of them.
I am glad to here it! We are partners in Plum and few other that I am not recalling right now– but politely disagree on THE MASTER (how can you be so wrong?@#$%!) 🙂 🙂 🙂
*hear , Oy.
Do tell which of his you like best – I think I’m becoming a bit of a Duchafour fangirl, which means I will have to break up with Jean-Claude…
That is interesting. I do have some favorites of JCE, but they are so different from the perfumes of THE MASTER 🙂
Favorites of mine are: Dzongkha, Timbuktu, Traversee du Bosphorem More et Musc Extreme, Pichola, Rahele, Mohur, Bombay Bling, I Miss Violet, Incense Avgnon…
I liked the Madja Bekkalis I tried, and some of them were his… not recalling the names and I don’t have the samples anymore. And many others… recently received a travel spray of Nuit de Tubereuse in a swap and am really happy with it.
And I am looking forward to trying Niral!!
thanks for the list – some of these I haven’t heard of, it will be fun to look them up!
Which ones of his do you love?
PS. That should be Traversee du Bosphore, and Mure et Musc Extreme… Just thinking about all those perfumes I love screwed up my typing! 😉
I like Safran Troublant, Ciel d’Opale, Seville a l’aube, I like Ostara – basically, I haven’t met one yet (but then I haven’t met that many) that I disliked. Wait – take it back – Rose Cut by Ann Gerard. At least on first try it was a big No. But it’s a rose scent, and they are not my thing.
Can I add Grandiflora Boronia to the list
the original Aedes de Venustas
Hands down, Bertrand Duchaufour is my favorite perfumer.
Jewel,
I am with you on team BD.
Oh. Brilliant! T-shirts and pom poms?? Go BD GO!!!!
and sparkly shoe laces!!
I didn’t even realize he did Ostara – I love that as well as al Oudh.
I am so with you! I don’t love all he does, although I am not remembering the fails now, but a lot of my top ten or twenty perfumes are by him. I am wearing Bombay Bling today and yesterday was Mohur. I Miss Violet earlier this week. So I was playing and didn’t realize it!
You were talking about face creams the other day for dry skin and an absolute godsend for me ( dry, wind burnt , menopausal redness ) has been Clarins SOS Comfort face mask ( yellow tube) which I use as a night time moisturiser rather than a mask. So i just apply it like a moisturiser and leave it on ( I often use it during the day too ). It can feel a little like an oil on your skin when first applied ( rather than filmy ) but it absorbs well.
Just ordered it. Will give it a whirl. Not sure anything will really make a difference, but I am up for trying different tactile experiences and too vain (and possibly optimistic!) to do nothing at all for my poor old face.
I hope you don’t find it too oily/slippery. I have a very sensitive, sun damaged face and it has improved the comfort and texture of my skin (but it doesn’t fade brown spots or anything fancy). You don’t need much and nothing bad happens from leaving on the skin.
Don’t give up La Chasse until you’re sure. I adored it for several years. Then last year I couldn’t quite enjoy it enough to wear it more than a few times. This spring the love is coming back. Noses are fickle!
SOTD is Byredo Blanche, and I’m trying to decide if a stop at the Glossier showroom can fit into my schedule on Tuesday. Spending just one day at a time in NYC is never enough but I try to fit lots into my schedule.
Ditto to “Decants and Minis” being a huge category.
I keep meaning to go to Glossier – please report back if you go.
Happy Friday! I am wearing the most successful in my can’t-stop-won’t-stop category of vintage minis bought unsniffed because of cheapness/reputation – Equipage! Since I bought this in November, Basenotes confirms it has been my most-worn fragrance.
Sadly, I sniffed the modern version last time I was in a Nordstrom and didn’t like it nearly as much. But this once makes me happy all day like I am in a little bubble of delicious air. It’s very dry also, so it’s a nice counterbalance if I’m feeling saturated with cozies or florals or gourmands.
I’ve never smelled this but your description is tantalizing!
Joining hannahmom in the “I Bought It Because It Smells Bloody Wonderful and I Wanted To” category, but wearing something entirely different: Rozy Voile. Because it really does smell bloody wonderful. And I love it.
(Not the edp though, nope nope nope. Can’t take passionfruit.)
I can’t take passionfruit either – the Vero Profumo edps are completely out for me. However I love the extraits.
More EDP for me !!
YAY
It’s been so enjoyable to appreciate my saturated category. Which, probably, I would have been wearing anyway because it is the best time of year for green florals, but still. It’s the eerily meditative Silences for me today.
Love green florals too and have worn Silences a lot this cold spring. You smell great!
I’d love to see a list of your favorite green florals. I love green!
Carnal Flower today because I needed a jolt to wake me up. Seems I accumulated quite a number of white florals last year, mostly jasmine since that was my obsession du jour. (Alas, that obsession has subsided and has been replaced with LOTV this year.) Could’ve easily gone with rose today since that has not proven to be a passing fling.
My favorite cheap thrill LOTV scent is the original Jessica McClintock, you can get a huge bottle for a song online.
For something exquisite, try Tauer’s Carillon pour un Ange – it’s a heart-stopper of a beauty.
An NSTer sent me a decant of JMcC. I like the initial blast very much, but then I smell a subtle bitter note that almost smells like burnt plastic to me, unfortunately. It could be a pepper note doing that as the new Miu Miu Rose flanker does something similar.
Must try the Tauer, though!
You smell wonderful. I’ve been craving that one lately; will have to wear it soon.
Have you tried Soivohle’s Daybreak Violin? STC has it, and it’s LOTV with spearmint. I have about 1/2 mL of it.
I haven’t tried anything from that line! Not sure how I feel about mint, though. Does it smell like Herba Fresca? I actually like the mint in that, come to think of it
I haven’t smelled the Herba Fresca, so I can’t compare the two. My testing notes for the Daybreak Violin say “Mint Lifesavers and a hint of LOTV”. The mint notes are gone after 3 or 4 hours, then it’s all LOTV.
Yes to Friday! I’m wearing another decant this time from one of my most saturated categories, florals. It’s the lovely Grandiflora Madagascan Jasmime.
SotD = Vol de Nuit edt
Classically-styled florals, both old and modern, plus transparency, are the sweet spots of the scents I choose to wear most often. I could have also gone with “colognes and cologne-adjacent” or “iris” or “Jean-Claude Ellena fangirl”.
It was a challenge to choose a scent today, and it has been great fun. Also, NSTers are fabulous enablers! I’ve just barely hung on to my no-new-bottles pledge this week.
Wonderful project, it is always interesting to learn more of the “why” as well as the “what” of the perfume we wear. Looking forward to reading all the comments later today.
Now, with some inspiration from Vol de Nuit which calls to my mind Jacques Guerlain, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, and Amelia Earhart, I’m off to conquer Friday!
I love VdN. You smell amazing.
Thanks, KellyC! Someday I will have a bottle of VdN. It’s amazing. 😀
I little worse for the wear after a co-worker’s bday celebration last night so commando for now. Later I will be continuing my can’t stop week of iris with No. 19!
Haha, ahh isn’t age great? I remember partying all night and then showing up for 8:30am lectures in college, and then actually LEARNING things at said lectures. There is zero possibility I’d manage that now.
I DO and you are so correct, that’s not possible anymore! I wasn’t even out late but I’m still hurting! 😉 Also my tolerance has apparently gone WAY down with age. I’m definitely at a 2 drink max now haha!
I’m down to only one now, at 52.
Oof, I feel ya. Same goes here, but sometime into the second drink, the alcohol starts to work it’s magic and I find myself saying in my head “oh I can have just one more, or two and I’m sure I’ll be totally fine tomorrow.”
Exactly what happened to me last night…
I have a high tolerance except for sake – if I have some at dinner (maybe 3 shots), I invariably oversleep! So no more sake on a weeknight except Friday.
I couldn’t even do that in college. I had very few early a.m. classes, though. I guess I knew myself well even at that age 😉
I couldn’t either. I had a couple of extra semesters tacked on since I tried to avoid the dreaded 8am class slot as much as possible.
I’m with mals86 in green floral. Not my most saturated category today, but it once was the primary theme in any scent I wore. I moved away and am now coming back to my first love.
So..it’s Le Temps d’une Fête for me today.
Le Temps d’une Fete is gorgeous, such a beautiful floral scent.
You smell wonderful.
Such a beautiful scent. I huff my empty bottle :((
Green florals also used to be my go-to category. I don’t seek them out much anymore either. I should remember to pull my Perry Ellis for Women out soon, though.
Today’s SOTD is Chanel No 22’s eau de cologne, liberally sprayed. This isn’t the most saturated, it’s the older version and more incense-forward, very meditative in feel – but it’s from my most-collected perfume house (Chanel, how I adore thee) and has the honor of being the first gift from a boy (Chanel No 5 edt) so that counts for something!
Happy Friday schmoopies. 🙂
hey, schmoopie! My mum has a bottle of old No. 5 EdC. It’s nothing like any other No. 5 I’ve smelled. I bet your No. 22 EdC is very special too.
Heh, for the first time, I received 31 Rue Cambon Chanel Magazine. Apparently, I’ve arrived.
Oh, when you visit mum, do you sneak a little dab? No. 5 EdC is so beautiful. I love to wear it at bed time, it’s so comforting and cozy.
No. 22 in vintage is quite different from the Exclusifs. (I love both, surprise surprise!), the modern version of No. 22 EDT is uplifting and joyous and the aldehydes have this great fizzy pop to them.
My bottle of No. 22 is beginning to turn, so I’ve decided to use it and enjoy it! Life is too short!
Oh hey that’s really cool! Can they be found on the Chanel website??
I used to love the old commercials, search them out on Youtube sometimes.
I haven’t really bought much from a Chanel boutique or online but maybe I met some kind of minimum over the years? I have not perused the website to know if the magazine is online.
I’m in Vanilla Hinoki (?) from the swap meet. Nice, but I don’t need a bottle.
I had a great sleep last night, now mainlining some coffee along with a berry muffin, then headed out for a hike. Hope everyone has a fabulous Friday that leads into an outstanding weekend.
Sounds like a great day, and I love Vanilla Hinoki.
Hahaha “mainlining some coffee.” I need to remember that.
We’re on the way to lunch celebrating my dad’s birthday. So glad to still have him with us. ????
I’m in AT Lonesome Rider, which is in a couple of semi-saturated categories: iris and Andy.
Y’all have a wonderful Friday!
Smelling awesome today!
“Lonesome Rider” – the name really wants me to try this, but I haven’t found any AT scents that I love – I’ve tried Orange Star (yikes! But my sister in law declared in lovely) and a bunch of the “flash” ones, and they didn’t do much for me. Does he have strong signature in all his scents?
Orange Star is a bit particular. If you like roses, he does some great ones: Une Rose Chyprée, Une Rose Vermeille and PHI Rose de Kandahar in Particular. Plus there’s also his perennial classic, L’Air du Désert Marocain.
Rose is challenging for me – not sure why, but I don’t wear them well. L’air du desert…may have to try that one!
Its reputation is well-deserved. I’d venture to guess that if you don’t like Orange Star, you may not get on well with his roses. To my nose, they all share the Tauerade (with the exception of PHI.) Are you generally a chypre fan, though? As a person who is not, that was the more off-putting aspect of Orange Star for me.
All I remember from Orange Star (I tried this past June from a sample I ordered from AT which came with a handwritten note, which was cool!) that it smelled like orange pledge or some terrible orange soda. Ok, here comes the big confession – so embarrassing – I don’t really know how to identify a chypre note. There. I’ve said it. No clue. I’ve even read up on this stuff – still no idea. Help is appreciated!
He definitely has his Tauerade which permeates a lot of his perfumes. I don’t love all of them, but a few I like very much.
Agree. I’m actually not a big fan of the Tauerade, do not like his roses (except PHI and the oil,) quite dislike some others, but PHI and LADDM (or the flanker) are 2 perfumes that absolutely must be in my collection at all times.
I never fell for his roses, either, mostly since they all share the dr pepper accord and are too sweet for me (except PHI, though I haven’t tried that in a long time). LaDDM, Au Coeuer(sp?), the gardenia, and Zeta are loves, and I like L’Eau. Rose Delight is nice, but I don’t count it since no Tauerade.
awww, enjoy lunch with Dad.
Enjoy lunch with your Dad on his special day! I’m sure he is equally glad to have a lunch with his daughter.☺️
I surprised myself by really liking Lonestar Memories (I’m not usually a leather fan) – I’ll have to give this one a shot as well.
Enjoy your Dad’s special day!
At first I thought the theme was about the most saturated perfume house in one’s collection but I suppose it’s about the most saturated perfume note. I would say mine is iris, followed by incense, rose and wood.
I think it’s really however you want to interpret it! I tend to categorize by notes too.
SOTD is Serge Lutens L’Orpheline. I can’t get enough of this one…it’s addictive to me.
I was going to go with Sample Vials I’ve Already Tested But Nonetheless Still Hoard, since that is my over saturated category. However, while pawing through said category I found a cute mini of Aqaba, sent to me a number of years ago along with a sample set from the very gracious Miriam Mirani. If I recall correctly, the sample set was acquired via Marlen Harrison’s The Perfume Critic blog. My favorite from the set was Aqaba Spring, but finding that would require more time than I’m willing to commit to a perfume search this morning.
Oh, and it’s my birthday! Working today, unfortunately, but smelling good and looking forward to the end of the semester, just a few short weeks away.
Happy Birthday! ????
Happy Birthday, Lisa!! 🙂
Happy happy birthday, Lisa D! Have you got a fragrant birthday-present-to-self coming your way?
I like the way you’re thinking, Koyel – it hadn’t occurred to me yet today, but I’ve just put “Buy Myself a Birthday Smellie” on my to-do list.
Happy Birthday! I hope it’s great!!!
Happy birthday! I love Aqaba Midnight Sun, which is probably long discontinued.
Happy Birthday Lisa D! Hope you can celebrate in some way this weekend (cake, for starters????)!
Happy Birthday!????
Happy birthday. And have a great weekend.
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday Lisa D!
Happy Birthday! Have fun picking out your ‘Birthday Smellie’ 🙂
Happy Scented Birthday! ???? ???? ????
Happy Birthday, Lisa D!
Thanks for all the well wishes, my fragrant friends!
Hello from America, dear friends! We got back from Paris yesterday as expected, and then forced ourselves to stay up past 9pm, which was quite a struggle. I stopped being able to do anything useful at about 6pm. I did manage to stay in bed until 6am this morning, though, so I think I’m done with jet lag! Here’s hoping.
Final tally of Parisian perfume purchases (PPP):
– Guerlain Bois d’Armenie 20 mL
– SL La Myrrhe 75 mL
– SL Santal de Mysore 75 mL
– Chanel Bois des Iles extrait 15 mL
– Chanel Sycomore edp 75 mL
The last two were purchased in duty-free, but were not as much cheaper as I had hoped. (Outside of duty-free, they’re actually MORE expensive in France!)
Even the boyfriend says my 20-mL Guerlain “doesn’t count.” “It’s not even a real-sized bottle,” he says. “Wasn’t it only 50 euros? Basically free.” It was 55, but I’m thrilled that I’ve got him thinking in perfumath.
My bell jars made it over in my suitcase with no problems! Smelly purchases that do not count but that might interest you:
– 2345982 Fragonard glycerin soaps
– 1389522 Roger et Gallet soaps
– 582743 savons de Marseille
– Nuxe body oil
Anyway, at least half the soaps are presents.
Also purchased:
– Laduree macarons
– Chocolates from Angelina, Pierre Marcolini, the Ritz, some little boutique in the 5e near my old haunts, and some trufflerie in Brussels where the SAs just did not care about selling things
– Seven (!) boxes of Petit Lu Beurre et Sel de Geurande cookies
– St Michel Cocottes cookies
– Bonne Maman sables, caramel chocolate sables, gaufres de Liege, and Petits Quatre-Quarts
– Michel et Augustin Petit Carres
– Maille mustards (herbes and tomates sechees)
– Viandas de Salamanca (three kinds of Iberico, one chorizo, one enormous boudin noir)
– Foie gras entier, foie gras entier d’oie, blocs de foie gras with various dried fruits, and two kinds of terrines de campagne (lapin and volaille I think?)
– Cassoulet in a jar
– Magret seche
– Eric Kayser baguette, enormous boule, and pain aux cereales (the two latter ones frozen immediately for future consumption)
Given how enormous our suitcases were on the way back, I’m 99 % certain I’m missing a number of delicious purchases. But I wanted to make a list here (a) so I can remind myself of the wonderful things I got and (b) in the hopes that you can vicariously enjoy my purchases! *wafts delicious smells in your general direction*
I wonder how long I’ll last at work today! Hopefully I’ll have the forethought to leave BEFORE I get sleepy, so I don’t drive home in an unsafe way.
SOTD is Ormonde Jayne Ta’if, from an 8-mL mini I ordered on eBay before leaving for France. It’s…fine? Hmmmmmm. This is so universally loved that I’m confused. What am I missing? I gave myself four hearty sprays, so I don’t think it’s a question of underspraying.
Welcome home. Loving your haul…all of it, including the food and soaps.
Thanks, LizzieB! Looking forward to eating/using it all!
I’m glad to see another soap nut here. I always bring back loads of soaps from France, but as I travel by car, it is much easier.
You got great things!
Oh yes, that would be easier 🙂 Though soaps are some of the easiest treats to carry, I think! I’m very, very much looking forward to enjoying my haul!
What are your favorite soaps? (Particularly brands, but also scents.)
I love Fragonard, especially the Jardin soaps. Nicolaï has some really nice soaps as well. She used to do a Eau d’Eté soap that I got twice as a gift with a rather substantial purchase.
Other than that I love visiting local soapmakers in France (Savonneries artisanales) where you can find interesting soaps with fun ingredients. There is a very nice soapmaker in Normandy, she uses her donkey’s milk in her soaps and they are really, really nice. And Marius Fabre does very nice soaps, and of course I love Roger et Gallet.
Scent wise, rose, honeysuckle, linden, lavender….
Thanks for the suggestions 🙂
Welcome back! Sounds like you had a blast and brought home some lovely stuff! I’m thoroughly impressed by the boyfriend’s perfume math! Stellar????????
Me too! He’s trainable! (And thanks! First day at work was…fine.)
What wonderful purchases!! I am so curious about the Guerlain 20 ml bottles. I wonder if the boutique would ship to me, here in America. Also, I think there’s a eBay shopper who ships from France.
Enjoy all your wonderful French things!
Yes on the eBay shopper who ships from France (I’ve heard of others using her services), but I think no on them directly shipping those little bottles :-/ The bottles are quite plain, but that’s ok.
Thank you so much for your detailed response, Koyel! I have so many beautiful Guerlain bottles, that now I just want a nice travel size in multiple scents. My favorite house!
I loved to read your bring home list! I haven’t been to Paris in a loooong time (the only real trip I remember was when I was 15), but I’m playing with the idea of girls trip this summer (we’ll be in Switzerland, so this should be feasible without too much expense). Enabler pins to all those perfume posts!
Oooh I hope you make it to Paris! How long are you planning to be in Switzerland, and where? Enjoy!
Woot woot, welcome home! I am SOOOO jealous of ALL of your purchases! Very happy you has a great time!
Thanks KellyC <3 it was great, and I would've liked to still be there instead of at work.
I can haz cassoulet in a jar?
Cassoulet in jars or cans is pretty ubiquitous in France! (At least in Paris and Toulouse, the two places where I’ve lived.) Actually, I didn’t get cassoulet, but rather just the beans prepared as if it were in a cassoulet (thought that would be too complicated to explain in the original post), because the canned meat never tastes that great, but the beans are phenomenal. That was MUCH harder to find in Paris than in Toulouse. Grump. We got just one jar because I wasn’t 100 % sure of the brand’s tastiness. We plan to stick some fresh sausages/confits de canard in there before baking and eating!
Whew. I thought for a moment that there was a complete, delicious, and very French version of already prepared cassoulet that I had been missing out on my entire adult life. I can live with not having access to really great jarred beans – that’s slightly sad, but it won’t kill me.
Glad you’re back safe and well-stocked. 🙂
On the Ta’if: maybe you don’t smell Iso E Super very well? Some people are anosmic. I can barely smell it myself. Although I once OD’ed on my decant of Ta’if — 4 spritzes and I felt so nauseated that I could never wear it again. Gave it away.
Thanks!
Hmm, maybe? I am fond of Encre Noire, which I hear has tons of Iso E Super? So I don’t know what that means.
Good to be warned that Ta’if is one you can OD on!
Great haul! But how did you get all those illicit food items through customs?
I bought several bottles of Ormonde Jayne, including Ta’if, and sold them all. They just didn’t do anything for me.
I made sure everything was vacuum-packed/hermetically sealed! With clear store labels and things. They also have irradiating machines to kill everything evil nowadays.
Wowza! That’s some serious deliciousry there. I feel the same about Ta’if. I like it well enough, but it doesn’t knock my socks off. And I’m not anosmic to iso-E.
Thanks for inventing the very useful word “deliciousry” 🙂
well played Koyel, well played.
Why thanks, apsara 🙂 I hope you enjoyed visualizing the treats!
Wow, what a fantastic haul!
It really is, though it’s a bit capitalistically embarrassing to spread everything out and think about how very much money we spent on the treats….
Life is short. Smell great on this adventure.
Wow, what a haul! Jealous of the Roger & Gallet most of all – those soaps are so hard to find in the US.
They really are nice soaps, aren’t they? 🙂
Girl, you seriously know how to travel! I literally started drooling reading this 😀
Ahahaha that’s excellent. Mission accomplished! I’ve been eating some of the cookies I brought to lab for my coworkers (tsk on me). Yum.
Outstanding!
I look forward to enjoying all my goodies 🙂
Wow, that’s an impressive haul! Glad to hear that all your loot made it back in one piece. ????
Thanks, Jalapeno! (Me too!!)
Ooooooh, Roger et Gallet. Mmmmmm, Petit Lu. How I miss buying those. Thank you for sharing your haul. 😀
Isn’t Petit Lu the best?? I felt silly spending that much money on supermarket cookies in a country full of patisseries, but those cookies are just so good!!!
That’s one Can’t Stop Won’t Stop suitcase! How did you do with getting VAT back?
No idea…! I dropped them off in these bins, and…I guess I should check back in three months??
Thank you so much for posting your haul, had a terrible day and it made me feel better just to read it, esp. the food!
Robin, I’m so sorry your day was terrible <3 I'm happy to have cheered you up a little with my post!
Wearing two fragrances from my most plentiful category–GREEN!!!
I have a scent by issey miyake on one wrist and Trefle Pur by Atelier Cologne.
Very similar, but, for me, a scent is more floral and Trefle Pur is more citrusy.
Love them both.
I really like the design of the a scent bottle.
Trefle Pur is so great. It sings both green and citrus at the perfect pitch. 😀
Good morning all. My SOTD is the marvelous SL Borneo 1834. From two pretty saturated categories–the brand I own most of, and patchouli.
Love Borneo, you smell great!
you smell great!
Good morning all,
still in my most “holy grail search” category of orange blossom – back in Cap Neroli. This is a great scent for work – hums in the background, makes me feel put together – I think I’ll buy a bottle of this.
However, the hunt for the HG orange blossom continues because Cap Neroli is to me more in the “fresh scents for busy days” category.
Have you tried Art Meets Art’s Like a Virgin Limited Edition? It is lovely. Also Dame Orange Blossom.
Have not, will look those up, thanks!
Have you tried Hiram Green Dilettante?
Happy Friday y’all! Wearing the mother of all vanillas – Tihota. Vanillas/gourmands are probably my most collected category, other than citruses and it’s been a chilly (for San Diego) week, so went with the vanillas. Thanks to the sweet and generous NSTer who sent me this since its price tag has always deterred me from trying it!
You smell delicious!
Yum!
FM’s Cologne Indelebile is my favorite of my many classic colognes and today’s scent. I also love Mugler Cologne, PdN’s L’Eau Chic, Terre d’Hermes Eau Tres Fraiche, 4711, Acqua di Parma, Atelier’s Clementine California, and the original Eau Sauvage. Hoping to try Jean Marie Farina and Chanel Eau de Cologne this summer.
Happy weekend to all!
Chanel’s EdC is fantastic!
That is a great list of colognes!
Eau Sauvage and 4711 are among my favorite colognes too. I enjoyed a largish decant of Chanel EdC. By the time I came to the end of it I decided that, while it is just ever so slightly smoother than 4711, they are both excellent classic colognes.
So for me the price difference between the two makes choosing 4711 delightfully easy. Though if a bottle of Chanel EdC were to fall in my lap I would happily bathe in it every day.
Oops! Also meant to say I hope that if you try the Chanel cologne you will let us know what you think. 😉
Serge Lutens Rousse ticks two boxes for me: Lutens scents (I think I have fifteen) and orientals. I’m just landing (the plane literally just came to a stop) in Vancouver, BC, my first time here, so I didn’t wear much — it’s potent and I didn’t want to bother anyone on the plane. But it’s so great even in small doses.
Enjoy Vancouver! You smell great.
House twin! I have that one too, and used to enjoy it but on more recent occasions it’s just been too cinnamon candy for me. I always used to buy Red Hots when I was a kid and went to movies, and it reminds me of that. I think I can beat you with 18 SL scents in my collection–more than I ever realized I had. It may be because they cover a lot of bases and so if you’re shopping sometimes and in the mood for a certain kind of thing you can probably find it from amongst his varied offerings. The range from floral to spicy to dry, and from rich overkill to more subtle, is actually pretty impressive.
Hey! if you are here in Vancouver, some NST perfume peeps here just so happen to be going on a sniffing adventure tomorrow! You can email me by clicking on my avatar 😉
I’m jealous! Have fun! That said, this puppy is going to Sniffapalooza next Saturday. Woohoo!
I started the day with LV’s Le Jour…. yes yes that bottle is coming.
Or perhaps not? I went to the mall and tried on Aerin’s Hibiscus Palm and omg I’m in love.
LOL. The Aerin probably comes in a rollerball and it is perfumath free. As a rule, I don’t use rollerballs. I pop off the ball and decant to an atomizer.
Wearing Oat and Cornflower today from Jo Malone. It’s the house I have the most from because it was Jo Malone that got me into fragrance.
Nice to see you pop in! I bought the Honey & Crocus.
thanks! yes, that one is delicious!!!!! 😀
Haven’t seen you in a while! I have a bottle of this as well!
Scent twins! I wear the same perfume for the same reason 🙂 We smell good!
SOTD = Jo Malone Myrrh & Tonka
I didn’t do a count, but based on my multiple bottle purchases over multiple years and a visual survey, I am confident that I have more Jo Malone FBs than any other house. It helps that Jo Malone is easily accessible and comes in smaller sizes.
APB — If anyone in the U.S. has Shalimar Madagascar and can spare at least 3 mLs, I would like to arrange for a swap. Please email me or respond to this comment and I will email you. Thanks.
you smell great!
Thanks. House twins!
Love Myrrh & Tonka! I never used to be a JM fan but in the past 2 years the house has really grown on me.
I actually started collecting Jo Malone even before I fell into the rabbit hole.
You smell wonderful today!
I love that one, you smell fab!
I’m with you on Jo Malone. I’m sure I have the most FB, decants and travel bottles from this brand (and I’m not even counting samples).
I am wearing a new to me, used bottle of MDCI Peche Cardinale. It’s a perfect, peachy scent for today. Aloha Friday, everyone! <3
It’s Aloha Friday, no work til Monday 🙂
I am wearing Cartier Envol, which is from my most saturated category– decants! Heh.
Also unisex/not floral/somewhat transparent?
Put all of those terms in generous quotes.
Hope you are having productive Fridays.
I really like Envol. I tried Chloe Nomade yesterday hoping it would have the character of Envol or Hermes Voyage but it didn’t. Though it wasn’t a fair test as the assistant controlled the bottle.
That is so maddening when they won’t let you spray the tester yourself. They normally give you the barest of spritzes or half miss your arm, how are you supposed to decide from that?
Ha. I like Envol, too. It’s also strong and persistent (possibly because it’s targeted to men? ha) so a little of its apple-tobacco goodness goes a long way.
I agree with “somewhat transparent” as a good descriptor of Envol. Which is why I was surprised by how tenacious it is for me… it is at Mugler-esque levels of longevity.
You smell good!
SOTD – SSS Incense Pure. Incense and more incense in my house.
Incense and peppermints – the color of time.
You smell great apsara!
I’m wearing Desarmant from the OMG it’s on sale buy a bottle quick! category. If I’m teetering on the edge a 20% discount helps make up my mind.
Yep, me too. This ongoing Twisted Lily promo is testing my resolve.????
Me too – there are three bottles I want but my perfume budget is gone. Will have to wait for the next one.
I am curious what you want!
I want three of the Heretic Parfums: Smudge, Holi Water and Coeur Noir.
foxbins – where is the promo code?
Twisted Lily Spring20
I may be using it a second time….
thank you!!
I just bought my birthday gift a few weeks early!!
Ta’if it is and hajusuuri gets a coupon enabler pin.
Great choice. Ta’if is beautiful!!
Woohoo!
Great choice!
You smell fabulous
Neroli Outrenoir ~ perfect for this gorgeous sunny day! Yay spring!!
Category:
Would you like another Guerlain?
Yes please! ????
hahahaha, I think I have fallen for that category a time or two. Guerlains are so easy to love and easy to find!
Gorgeous!
Thank you! ????
Chloe Nomade from my off-site storage collection ( lingering from yesterday’s testing ) . Would fit the “not as good as I hoped for” category.
Week 7, (Hour 21 ) of botanical watercolour class today. We have still not been allowed to paint any plants, still doing cones, cubes, swatches….Lucky for everyone that my art teacher was not the creator/ director of Star Wars as Luke Skywalker would have spent the first seven episodes running around fighting with rolled up newspapers, making whoosh whoosh clink noises.
Funny! What would happen if you just painted a daisy, perhaps badly? Would the teacher get all upset?
I hope I am allowed to paint a daisy before I die . Initially I told him I wanted to paint grass and that got me the evil eye. I meant wild grasses like rye and yarrow but I think he thought I meant lawns.
Profumum Roma Vanitas today.
My coworkers are driving me crazy today.
I am sniffing my forearms and trying not to go off on anyone…wish me luck. ????
Vanitas makes me so happy! Hopefully it will help you keep things under control.
Ha! I know that feeling well! Good luck! ????
Vanitas is so much fun! Hope it helps to keep you in check 😉
The arm sniff can be so useful when people are misbehaving. A little place of calm to escape to!
Hope that your perfume kept you calm and sniffing on!
Hope you made it through the day with your sanity!
Wearing Naomi Goodsir Bois dAscèse with an extra dash of Memo Shams. I do love my orientals!
You smell great! One of my top 10.
I love oriental scents in autumn. They seem to glow.
I am in AG Neroli today, as it has one of my favorite notes and I do have a lot of neroli and orange blossom perfumes in my collection. I also love linden, but it’s not as easy to find perfumes that feature linden prominently. It seems to me that linden, when present usually plays a supporting role. Anyway, I am happy today in my scent of the day and the sun is shining where I am, at least for now.
Have you tried the April Aromatics linden? It’s pretty nice, I think, though I’m not especially fond of that note in general.
I used to buy Roger et Gallet linden soap and that had a true linden smell.
I’ve been going crazy stocking up on linden perfumes lately. Here are some that I like: Astier de Villate Grand Chalet, Aftelier Honey Blossom, Provence Sante Tilluel, Annick Goutal Eau de Ciel, and Library of Flowers Linden.
I wore Black Orchid yesterday after a long absence and it smelled so good that today I’m wearing Black Orchid Voile d’Fleur. Both from the yummy Oriental floral category. I probably have more oriental spicy and /or woodsy but hey, they’re all orientals. I’ve decided my favorite category is Go Baroque or Go Home – big multi note velvety creations like Shalimar and Chanel Coco.
😀 Love the category.
I’d love to hear about your favorite spicy orientals!
Me too!
After carefully considering my collection, my main category is “Scents I Like Enough to Spend Good Money On” and my SOTD is the glorious Iris Ganache
Nice thinking 🙂
You smell special! See you at Sniffapalooza!
Wearing Guerlain Terracotta, my theme being inspired by a yesterday’s post! (Cannot wait to try the new Guerlain release!!)
METOOMETOOMETOOOOOOO
Guerlain is absolutely my most “saturated” house. I loved the old Meteorites perfume and wish I had a bottle of that, and while I’m not sure about the green apple note in the new one, I’ll definitely give this new Meteorites a sniff.
I adore Terracotta. You smell fabulous.
I didn’t spend much time accessing my collection due to lack of time and energy. I went with De Profundis by Serge Lutens for a few reasons. I own several FBs, a few decants and many samples. I also have a lot of florals in my collrction. Plus, I just love this earthy floral scent and wanted to wear it today. Happy weekend!
You smell fabulous!
Happy weekend, Petunia!
I think this might be the first time ever that I’ve participated in the community project 5 days in a row (!) My most saturated category is Shalimar and I’ve worn 6 versions this week. Today is vintage spray cologne and it is glorious.
I went on a bit of a spending spree this morning. I am so excited about the Meteorites release that I decided that I don’t need the home fragrance, then decided that of course I need both. (Has anyone tried this? I had no idea of its existence until I ran across it on ebay. All the sellers are in Asia, which makes me wonder about how widely it was released.)
Then I realized my husband’s bday is right around the corner so gifts need to be purchased. He is FINALLY turning 40. I have been waiting for this day to come for almost 7 1/2 years. We’ll have ages that begin with the same number for a few short years, then it’ll be another long wait – and surely more excruciating when my age begins with a 5.
I bought JM Red Roses (he loves roses but has a hard time finding ones that aren’t too feminine, and really liked this in the store. I’d never have thought it a good option, but there you go); Mr. Burberry (which he describes as “country club locker room”); and Habit Rouge (more for me than him; he likes it but I love it.)
Happy Friday and hope everyone is having lovely spring (or autumn) weather!
Oh, and I love the print of the Hermes towel. I’d love to have a print of it for framing.
Agree about that towel! If ever I were to have a scarf from Hermes it would be hard to decide should I wear it or frame it. I hope I’d decide to wear it.
Agree again, again, and again! Shalimar cologne is fabulous, that Meteorites scent has me tied up in knots over my no-new-bottles pledge, and JM Red Roses is a fabulous choice of rose. I love it.
And I can attest that having lived to see the day, coming to an age that begins with a 5 is a great reason to buy a momentous amount of No. 5 or whatever perfume floats your boat. Shalimar, perhaps? (wink-wink!)
Go YOU on being on theme multiple days!
You have smelled mighty fine this week in all your Shalimar!! And please keep us posted on Meteorites…I would love to know what you think of it!
My husband and I also have a bit of an age gap so I totally get it. This year my age will start with a 4 and his will stay a 3 for awhile. At least he is finally getting some greys whereas I have been going grey since my mid twenties!!
My fiancé is 7 years younger than me…I can’t wait until his age starts with 4 ????
Oh and you smell wonderful, but you already know that!
I have a friend who’s about 10 years older than I am and his H is turning 40 this year, close to the day my H is. We were high 5ing all over the place 😉
Hello, NST! My “Can’t stop, Won’t stop” category is samples! I’m well into triple digits for samples, or was the last time I counted them. It’s been a while.
SOTD = Tauer’s Le Maroc pour Elle, from the sample stash. Needed something warming for this chilly day.
It’s been a craptastic week. First, the issue I was dealing with on Tuesday is going to be a long-term aggravation. Then I found out that a good friend had to take her elderly, ailing kitty to the vet for one last visit. It wasn’t unexpected… poor kitty was painfully skinny the last time I saw her.
Hoping that next week is better.
Sorry about your week 🙁 I hope the weekend helps you recharge!
Thanks Koyel!
Oh no! I hope it is uphill from this point on.
Fingers crossed!
Wishing a better week for you starting right now! And seriously, yeah this week sucked.
Thanks lillyjo. Sorry that your week bit it, too.
We are craptastic week twins Jalapeno! Hope things look up for both of us.
I can’t stop and won’t stop with the carnation scents. I can’t believe I have so many of them! Today I’m wearing Prada No 2 Oeillet. I love it. Do I want to smell the new Prada Les Infusions Oeillet? Yes.
I can send you a decant! Please email me.
How wonderful (and unexpected)! I will email you.
Ooooh, pretty.
I want to smell that Oeillet too!
No2, Infusion or both ????
Lucky you, having a stash of carnation scents!
Are you another carnation lover? A beautiful one you might not know about is Fleuriste by Dawn Spencer Hurwitz.
I am wearing Le Parfum de Thérèse from my saturated category ‘Expensive things on my ever growing wish list where the decant is now dangerously low’. I smell amazing 🙂
You do!
???? on the category!
I have several in that catergory as well! ????
I have tried the April Aromatics linden and definitely like it. I have not tied the Roger et Gallet linden soap and must look for it.
Jo Malone French Lime Blossom? Not as realistic as the R&G linden soap IMO
My first thought was orange blossom, but I realized I only have one FB of orange blossom-dominant perfume. (I do have an ever-growing collection of samples and decants in that category.) My SOTD encompasses three different categories most represented among my FBs, minis, and rollerballs: L’Artisan Parfumeur (house), Bertrand Duchaufour (perfumer), and vanilla scents. You’ve probably already guessed that it’s Vanille Absolument. Boozy, woody, incense-y vanilla. This was a really interesting topic, as it made me look at my collection in a different way, or several different ways. Well done, Coin-op!
Oh, you smell great. BD is probably my second-best-represented perfumer.
Today I am wearing E&J Nirvana Rose, because I have a serious rose problem.
Doesn’t sound like you have a problem to me. ????
I actually love Nirvana Rose. You smell great!
My most-saturated category is “gotten for cheap or free”. I usually put a spritz or two of something behind my ears before leaving for work; this morning it was Jean Nate. A hot 5 minutes later I was putting a sample of Amouage Lyric Woman on my wrists as well. (I got a sample of the latter from a roommate who claims she can’t wear rose fragrances. Lucky me?)
Hallelujah, another beautiful sunny day! I see tulips and crocus popping up, the earth is coming back to life. I’m wearing Byredo 1996.