A simple poll: name a flower, or any other natural fragrant material, that you don't think has been adequately captured in perfume yet, and tell us which fragrances have come closest.
Or, as always, talk about something else.
Note: top image is Magnolia [cropped] by Pepper McCarty at flickr; public domain.
Happy weekend, NST! I have to share an SA horror story I had at a Chanel boutique yesterday. It went like this:
Me: Hi, I’m interested in the parfum version of this one (CdR)
SA: This is the parfum.
Me: No, I mean the parfum parfum, not the eau de parfum
SA: This is the only version of these perfumes.
Me: Um, no it’s not. Several of them come in a parfum, an extrait.
SA: Well, I have never heard of that and we don’t carry them, and it’s not something I can order for you.
Me: Is there someone else I can talk to who maybe knows a little more about this?
SA: I’m the store manager, so…no.
So my friend and I left, mostly because if we didn’t, he was gonna get kicked in the shins. Luckily, we were in a mall that had several good Chanel counters with wonderful SAs. I purchased my CdR parfum at the first one and marched my arse back into the store and showed him. No apology from him. Just some fake smile squirming.
So I kicked him in the shins. ???? Just kidding. (Or am I? ????)
It was a bummer of an experience that still has me a little heated. But I’m very happy to have my beautiful bottle.
That person has no business working in a Chanel boutique.
And not just working – she/he’s the store manager!
That is actually in question. When we went back to show the bottle, we didn’t see him, so we asked another SA if we could see the store manager. She said, “She’s not working today.” We told her we meant the man who said he was the manager, and she said, “Oh, you mean Marcus?” So… Not sure if he’s even the manager.
Well, that’s some consolation then. Glad you got your CdR.
+1
++1!! Aghast!
Wow, that’s crazy.
The same thing happened to me in the Honolulu Waikiki boutique. The SA had never heard of the parfums. What kind of training are they getting?
Not much, it seems.
That would not be shocking in a department store but in a Chanel boutique it seems pretty sad.
Right?! The SAs at Nordstrom and Bloomingdales were much more knowledgeable.
Eek! Clearly someone isn’t paying attention!
Or not getting paid enough?
That’s ridiculous. I’d think about emailing the company or boutique directly to relay your experience of poor customer service.
Yes. I did that this morning. Not usually something I would take the time to do, but it felt warranted in this instance. Not because he didn’t know but because he was so incredibly rude and unwilling to consider that he might not know everything there is to know.
Good work. ????????
Unacceptable behavior.
Yes, that’s what would have bothered me too. I have a low tolerance for rude.
That aggression will not stand, man.
Yep +1!!
Wondering if they don’t carry the parfums in certain boutiques? So the SAs ignore their existence to try and drive the uneducated to something they carry.
I had an SA in a department store once claim what I was seeking (not Chanel) was discontinued…it wasn’t. They just didn’t carry it.
Congrats on your purchase!!
I think one of the scariest sentences for many people to say (including myself sometimes) is, “I don’t know.” But it’s perfectly acceptable not to know everything. As an SA, you can just offer to follow up and get the information being sought. Easier said than done, I guess.
The perfume gods are frowning!
They were trying to keep you from the Presciousssssss ?
Glad you persevered
Hahaha! The worst part by far was the thought of telling you I had failed the mission.
BWAHHHH !
Enjoy your CdR
Thank you!
Ughhh that sounds awful. I hope you enjoy your CdR parfum! I hope you did kick him in the shins. Well, no–that would get you in trouble. I hope he ran into something pointy and made of metal shin-first soon after your second departure. Like, really hard.
????
That is annoying and shocking in a boutique. All he had to do if he didn’t know was Google it. Well, glad you found it in the end and good you emailed them. I hope Chanel sends you a nice gift as an apology!
Wow. Reminds me of when we lived in Brussels decades ago and my mother used to get so mad when a shopkeeper would tell her “Ca n’existe pas, madame!” if she asked for a product they didn’t carry.
Well done for standing your ground! I agree re contacting them to tell them about your experience. I’ve had a couple of instances myself where I am better informed than the sales person, & am anticipating another one when I visit the Nicolai store in Seymour Place in July, given a previous chat with an SA in their Fulham Road location some years ago!
I’m so glad there were other stores nearby that carried it – it would have been so frustrating for you to have to order it online after that nonsense.
An SA recently told me that there weren’t any new diptyque fragrances, while standing directly in front of Tempo and Fleur de Peau. When I asked “What about those two?” she told me they had been released in 2012 and weren’t new at all. That was when I walked away.
Now I’m wondering if they even carried it. But it’s a Chanel boutique, so they carry the whole line, no?
Not necessarily- sadly, our Chanel boutique doesn’t carry them and really isn’t much informed on the perfume line. They are there mostly for display- NO SAMPLING.
This kind of story is kind of why I have yet to set foot in a Chanel boutique. Very offputting. I’m pleased to hear that you were able to get the CdR parfum despite the obnoxious SA.
Magnolia! I have not found a fragrance that can be creamy and waxy but also capture the brightness and almost citrus like feel of magnolia. Sud Magnolia by Atelier Cologne isn’t bad and Magnolia Nobile by AdP is adequate. Still waiting for the real deal.
That was my first thought too, hence the image! There are lots of “almost good” magnolias.
I have not found my perfect magnolia either.
Ditto!
FM’s Eau de Magnolia is not really a soliflore but absolutely worth a sniff if you love magnolia! It’s one of my spring favorites.
Me too! But the one I want is very specifically the scent of pink Japanese magnolias, not the white-flowered, evergreen Magnolia Grandiflora.
Yes!! Adore these.
Sniffed Clive Christian’s magnolia today; thought it was quite good! Of course the price point is ridiculous.
I totally agree with your picture, Robin. As a Texan, we have magnolias on every block. Something about that deceptively simple lemon cream scent is hard to find in fragrance. Malle’s Magnolia wasnt bad but did not live up to the hype (mostly from my own head). I liked both Grandifloras but Sandrine’s was closer. Still, their magnolias were a bit raw and stylistic.
I’m lounging around in the barest dab of Deneuve. I’ll put on something else when I’m getting ready.
Yes, me too. There is something airy and light in the real blossoms.
I know! Maybe nobody wants to lean into it.
Malle was going for something I wasn’t interested in — I think it was good but I still don’t want to own it.
I was seriously disappointed in that musky drydown. Don’t bring up the classic Diors and oakmoss and have the whole thing fall into the laundry musk! Granted I wasn’t expecting Eau Fraiche but what a disappointment.
I’ll chime in here with gardenia. Many gardenia scents are very fine, but nothing compares to the real thing, with its salted buttery goodness.
Yes, always looking for a satisfying gardenia.
Ditto!
Hi All (blows kisses to friends here, waves to newbies),
I’ve been MIA around here for the last several months while I’ve been enjoying self-employment after decades in the Thoroughbred horse business (and several years working for She Who Must Not Be Named!)
But I lurk from time to time and still enjoy the great writing to be found here.
I have decided to sell the bulk of my perfume collection (self-employment is energy work/therapy on clients so I’m definitely NOT wearing perfume while I work!). I talked to Robin yesterday and she suggested that I ask here to see if anyone knows of any Facebook perfume groups that allow selling.
Could you please email me at:
rappleyea11 with a yahooooooo address
if you have any suggestions?
A big thank you and have a lovely weekend!
All the best,
Donna
Hi, Rapple, long time no see! Glad to hear you are doing well.
I think there are some FB groups which allow members to sell to each other. I’m a member of at least one; unfortunately, every time I see something for sale there, it’s geared to more masculine tastes than mine (i.e., Green Irish Tweed or Bleu de Chanel). I’ll get a link for you, but also the caveat that I’ve never seen unisex or feminine fragrances sold there. https://www.facebook.com/groups/fragrancecommunity/
And does Basenotes still have a marketplace?
Hi Mals! I hope you and yours are all well. Strangely enough I thought about you just the other day because I came across a sample you had sent me. Whoohooohoooo…
Ah, good point about Basenotes. Not sure though..
Thanks for the suggestions!
Basenotes does have a marketplace, but you need to have been a member for a year, have 500 posts, or belong to Basenotes Plus in order to list in the sales forum.
Thanks! I’ve either been a member for over ten years or not a member at all. I honestly can’t remember! :-p
Rappleyea, there’s a great FB MUA Sale or Swap group. I think that’s the best one for frags marketed for women (as others stated, a lot of the others lean heavily male).
Some of my best purchases have been through there, in fact. PSA for other NST readers!
Thanks!!
Hi — Facebook Fragrance Friends lets members upload a document under Files listing fragrances they want to sell, with info like prices, how much is left in the bottle, where the seller is willing to ship, etc.
Yes- I’ve sold more there than on eBay.
I’m playing hokey pokey in vanilla Hinoki. It’s okie dokie.
Sorry, long. night! I’ll have to give some thought to the weekend question after coffee…and sleep…
hee-hee, you smell great.
I have a neighbor with this sign on their fence:
Welcome to the Hokey Pokey Clinic
A great place to turn yourself around
♥
Love that, need that! ????
Address please? ????
Wait…shouldnt that be sleep then coffee?
I was born backwards. That’s my excuse. Also, don’t ever go to Ulta bare faced, sleep deprived, and hopped up on caffeine. I came out of there just now and looked in my mirror to realize I am 10 different colors, with glitter, sparkles, and technicolor accents when the natural light hits me. Not a good look for a 53 year old…????
You are ready for a music festival in your glitter glory!
Hi all – happy Saturday! Just breezing in quickly to ask a question. What do we all think about testers? Say on Fragrancenet for example. I’m not concerned about it being authentic, but I am concerned about any degradation from being stored without a box. Thoughts?
(I’m back in OJ Osmanthus to brighten up an overcast, rainy day.)
I suppose they’re stored in some sort of a warehouse so I doubt they have much exposure to direct sunlight. Don’t testers from them come in simple cardboard boxes?
Thanks. Maybe they do come in a box. I don’t know – haven’t ever ordered one before.
All the testers I’ve bought from discounters have come in a plain box.
And you were happy with the condition of the fragrances?
Chiming in to say I’ve never had an off tester. Stone aren’t very pretty but I’m not really a bottle collector.
Some*
Thanks!
Ditto this! I’ve always been happy with the testers I’ve purchased.
Yes, they’ve all smelled fine.
Thank you!
If I have a choice between a standard Guerlain bee bottle or a tester without the cap I’ll always take the tester. The little plastic caps Guerlain puts on those bee bottles are like an afterthought, hardly worth the effort.
Thanks!
The testers that are sold weren’t necessarily sitting out on a counter. I think many were just packaged and slated to be testers but never got used. I’ve bought testers that were boxed in a white box and completely full, but with a cardboard “cap” covering the nozzle.
Thx – that’s helpful, too.
Like Elisa P. I have bought many testers, most of them from FragranceNet, that come in a white box with cardboard caps and all have been fine so far. I do not think you will have any problems.
The only thing I worry about with testers is the no cap issue. It makes me worry about evaporation, but that may be unfounded.
Yes, I wondered about that, too!
Thanks, everyone!
Happy weekend everyone. We went to a vintage steam locomotive parade with my parents today. It was held in a nearby town. The weather is quite lovely – warm and with pleasant wind and fluffy clouds in the sky.
I’m wearing Eau d’Italie Acqua Decima. It’s almost a mojito perfume.
I think there’s still some work that can be done for pink grapefruit. Atelier Cologne Pomelo Paradis was close though. Or a magnolia! Yes, magnolia!
Have you smelled JO Loves Pomelo as yet?I think that one is pretty close!
Ah yes, I did… but it was long ago, so I don’t remember how it smelled like.
The sun is out and there is literally not a cloud in the sky. Neighbors are already out working on yards. Full disclosure: I hate yardwork. I like the look of a well kept yard, I just don’t want to spend my time doing it. Terrible, I know. I’m gonna head to the car wash instead.
SotD is Atelier Bois Blonds. I sprayed with a heavy hand today, so I’ll see how long it lasts. They need to make this one in a body or hand cream for layering.
Happy Saturday!
I always think that if I had a yard I would enjoy yard work, but that’s probably a big lie. I don’t even sweep the floor inside. I have a robot for that. I rarely ever wash my car either, so you’re way ahead of me there. I hope you enjoy your weather and your perfume!
I know I hate yard work and I also hate gardening. I don’t have a yard and don’t want one. And I’m with you on the housework, too.
The tens of millions of yards being watered daily also stresses me out, and is not something I want to participate in.
I also like yardwork…in theory. What I like, and miss, is the suburban sounds of yardwork. Not a loud chipper or anything, but the sound of a lawn mower or other such things, is relaxing to me.
The equivalent here is the sound of someone rummaging around in the recyclables before the truck shows up. I know it’s Saturday morning when I hear the glass bottles being gathered from the bags piled up outside our apartment building.
I like the sounds of yard work, too.
I remember being home sick as a kid in LA and trying to sleep and the lawn mower sounds drove me crazy. But the silence after was quite sublime!
I hate yard work too. My yard is a close cousin to the yard on Malcolm in the Middle. Lol,
Ha! They definitely had too much going on to worry about yard work.????One of the funniest shows ever. There are days that I feel Lois’ pain.
I loved the show too! The finale of the first season with Bea Arthur as Dewey’s babysitter when the rest of the family goes to the waterpark and the episode where Hal teaches Malcolm how to roller skate… brilliant comedy! Highly recommended if you’ve never seen the show.
Pulling weeds out of the lawn is my therapy. I can tell I’ve gone a little way “around the bend” when I start looking at the dandelions in the neighbor’s yard and wonder if anyone would notice me there . . .
Haha! I imagine they wouldn’t mind, though it might seem a little strange for them to find you in their yard unannounced.
So far I can resist the temptation to pull weeds not in my own yard, save for once when I was house sitting for a neighbor on vacation!
I’m laughing… you sound exactly like my best friend. She calls me while she’s out weeding and gardening (20-ish acres), and if you could have heard her this week waxing poetic about how perfect the dirt was for gardening – not too wet, not hard and dry, etc. etc. She also calls it her therapy. But hey, cheaper than regular therapy and productive!
Oh gosh, that’s me as well. I’m not a farm girl, but I always loved visiting several family members who have a lot of property. The smell of all that dirt is amazing, digging in to it is heaven.
The only yard work I ever enjoy is mowing grass. I think I like it because it’s almost instant gratification. An overgrown lawn looks messy and neglected. But even if your yard is all weeds, once you mow them all down, everything looks neat and tidy. I also find going back and forth, around trees and other obstacles a bit of a mediation. But pruning, pulling weeds, fussing about- no thanks!
I can’t stand yard work. So of course I live in a house with an extra-large lot. Grrr.
Hi, I’m new!
Haven’t been able to investigate this, so there might be a ton of great ones, but what I’d like to see in florals, is a nice Linden Blossom. I have some hand cream that has a really wonderful linden blossom scent, and I would love to wear it all over
I’m also in search of a perfume with a specific note. Maybe you could help me?
I recently got a sample of Paco Rabanne Olympea Aqua from a SA, and I have a serious push/pull relationship with that scent. It’s way too loudly…young and clubby, I suppose, and I can’t stand that part. BUT I’m oddly addicted to that salty-vanilla accord.
Do you know of a perfume, hopefully not an insanely expensive one, with a salty vanilla note? Otherwise I might have to buy OA, and I just don’t know how to feel about that. : I
It’s a bit expensive for something I don’t like.
Don’t buy it if you don’t like it. I can’t stand a salty accord, but the bath and body works have some beachy scents that are salty and sweet and affordable. I think the new one is called Sun. It’s pretty nice imo
I’m sure others here will chime in with more options.
It might be hard to get Bath and Bodyworks in my country, but I’ll see if I can locate it online somewhere.
Thank you for the suggestion! I’m very in favour of budget friendly fragrances.
Hi and welcome! These might be on the spendy side, but Lubin Korrigan has a salty vanilla/caramel accord, but doesn’t smell clubby/loud. Also Stephane Humbert Lucas smells like salty vanilla to me. Maybe also Dame’s Black Flower Mexican Vanilla. I always got a bit of a salty vibe from that. Hope you find something!
Thank you both!
Elisa, I will look those up.
April Aromatics Unter der Linden is a really good linden scent, I believe. Not cheap, unfortunately, but perhaps you can find or buy a sample of it.
The 15 ml travel sizes are under $100. Still quite pricey, unfortunately.
D’Orsay Tilleul also used to be a great linden. I have no idea if it still is, though.
I liked it when I tried it last summer, but boy is it hard to find nowadays.
In the UK, a small chain called Cologne and Cotton carry it, they do ship within the UK (I love Tilleul by Parfums D’Orsay) but not sure if they ship overseas.
Glad to hear it was still good a year ago!
I can’t swear to this, but between getting my original sample and my birthday gift of a full bottle of Tilleul, some generic white musk seems to have crept in. Just not the honeyed warmth I bathed in from the sample. So I’m still looking and am putting Unter der Linden on my list. I like Dawn Spencer Hurwitz’s Linden also, but it is very slight and the lightest zephyr dispatches it.
Fingers crossed that will be my Mother’s Day gift. Love that one.
When I think of salty-vanilla, either Eau des Merveilles or L’Ambre des Merveilles come to mind. Or the super cheap Calvin Klein Reveal.
Oooh, I’ve been eyeing that Calvin Klein, but the reviews calling it ‘briny’ scared me off. I don’t want to smell like bladderwrack!
But maybe I’ll see if I can find a sample, even if I kind of really want to order something blind for once.
Thank you for the suggestions!
I’m going to second CK reveal. Even though I don’t like salty, Reveal smells very nice to me.
Thank you, Lillyjo, it does sound promising if even someone who doesn’t like a salt note finds it nice!
I didn’t know I liked salty before I smelled it, to me it’s an odd note in a perfume. I’m actually not absolutely certain if I DO like it, or just like it with vanilla, or even just like it in Olympia Aqua. It’s the first time I came across salt in a perfume, so who knows.
But I think I’ll blind-buy the CK anyway, which is what goes for thrilling in my life.
Thank you all for those linden suggestions!
Warm Fall day in South Africa,one of those days that starts out as Winter but ends up as a Summer afternoon.It confuses the wardrobe.Lol.SOTD John Varvatos Artisan Pure.Clean-cut citrus-y cologne that fades all too quickly.I hate when I test something I really wanted to like and it disappoints SO badly.I’m quite happy with the flowers/notes I smell in the perfumes I love.I have-to my nose at least-the best of all my favorite notes in my collection(Iris/Vanilla/Black Cherries/Almond/Heliotropin…in that order).
Something I DO wish for:Getting a bunch of carnations at the florist-ANY FLORIST!!!!-that actually smells like carnations!!You know??That smell that sends people afraid of dentists screaming out the room…I last smelled a good live carnation when I was a young boy.Anyway!
Happy Weekend All!
X
I love carnations, so much… and you’re right, they’ve been bred for longevity and hardly have any smell at all now. The few exceptions I’ve found have all been white.
Yes, I agree. I love that scent too. I used to find a lot of Sweet Williams in bouquets and they have the same spicy smell. (Also members of the dianthus family.) I could grow them when I lived in the north, but not any more. And the ones I find sometimes at florists’s shops just aren’t the same.
A treat in my mailbox last night!
A friend sent an early birhday gift of O Unknown!
I will get to this this post shower. Not waiting till birthday.
Going to weigh myself at gym today as I am halfway through my 30 day skinny ms plan. Fingers crossed.
Good luck at the gym! I hope you are pleasantly surprised with your results!????????
2nd that!
Good luck! I bet the hard work is paying off.
Still commando after a scentless day yesterday. I had another set of medical tests yesterday, and since biopsies hurt like the dickens, I went without.
Slept in with cuddly Greyhounds, sipping coffee and debating what scent I fancy today.
Enjoy your Saturday.
Ugh – medical tests and biopsies. I feel your pain. Hope today is wonderful to help make up for yesterday.
Sorry that yesterday was so rough. Hope you get good news soon, and that your weekend makes up for it.
I am sorry about your day. I hope you pick out something very special to wear today. Keep snuggling with your adorable greyhounds — pets bring so much happiness.
Oh, gosh. I’m sorry. I’ve never had a biopsy. I’ve heard they hurt. ???? Glad you had your pups for comfort.
This was a retest of a cervical biopsy after my surgery in Jan, so I at least knew it was going to hurt. First one took me by surprise.
PSA: Yearly pap smears save lives. Please go have one. You all smell too good to lose.
Is there anything you can do ahead of time to minimize the pain? Or is it the kind of thing where you can’t eat or drink ahead of time?
Empty stomach required in case a cursory view meant another ( emerg) surgery. Nothing topical allowed as that changes the cell composition. So, it was a day to put my big girl undies on.
I went for my yearly physical this month and they said I didn’t need a pap due to new regulations. I insisted on one even though my insurance might not pay for it. It’s a stupid regulation. I’ve had that same biopsy myself, they are painful. I’m sorry you had to go through it again.
Zomg I’ve not had a biopsy but I did have a colposcopy some years back and was totally unprepared for how painful that SOB was going to be. My sympathies to you and your cervix.
Incidentally, I went for an annual last week at Planned Parenthood and they told me (as I was already naked and ready to go) that I only need them every 5 years. I’ve never missed one in 30+ years, so that was news to me!
Hope all is well and you’re feeling much better today!
Hope you feel better. Get plenty of rest and snuggle with those pups.
Wishing for a good report, and for your discomfort to fade soonest.
Sounds very unpleasant. Hoping the doggie cuddles are helping today!
Oh no, hoping for the best response! Glad you have cuddly greyhounds <3
I hope the greyhounds helped you feel better. Sending healing vibes your way.
Ouch on having to get a second biopsy! I hope that you get good results and the optimal outcome with it. Glad that you have your greyhounds and perfumes around to help you deal with this.
I’m wearing FM Iris Poudre this morning that I discovered in the back of the cabinet and had forgotten I owned. It’s nice, but not me. It smells too naïve, if that makes sense. I’m old and not surprised by much and IP would have suited me better 40 years ago.
I love Iris Poudre, so gorgeous. BUT I always think it smells too “Sunday best and white gloves” to really fit my jeans and flip flops lifestyle.
Ohh – what an interested description. I think I need to find my decant and see if I am too old also
Wore Iris Poudré last night out to dinner for my our fifth wedding anniversary. (We are both much older than a fifth anniversary may suggest.) I wore it often last fall, but not at all since early December. I liked it, but kept wishing I smelled like something else. 31RC, probably. I cannot say if IP felt too young, or too prom, or what, but it was not quite perfect. (The meal and the company, however, were!)
*our anniversary
*too PRIM — although I am giggling about what “too prom” might smell like!
Actually, too prom is a perfect descriptor
Pink Sugar?
Happy anniversary!!
Iris Poudre and I just aren’t a good match. When I wear it I feel like an imposter and can never relax comfortably into my own skin. I don’t remember who coined the phrase here, but it’s like “wearing another woman’s pajamas”. In this case, the pajamas are probably silk and have buttons.
Iris Poudre is lovely but it feels like wearing a white ostrich feather coat while giggling into a roatary phone. Not a scenario I find myself I often.
Hahaha!!!!! The number one best perfume description ever.
I must have this now, after the description ????
I have not tried yet IP, but you are forcing me now to get a sample. Your description is unique!
That’s a situation I’d like to find myself in ????
I don’t often dress for Iris Poudre, but I love love love it anyway. Especially that cuddly drydown.
I love IP though do not wear too often, but mostly because it is much louder than I can do to the office.
SotD = l’air du desert marocain, just a dab
The little 5 ml bottle belies the glory within, fragrance from a higher plane of existence.
Lovely magnolia image up top today, at first I thought it was a lotus flower. The padma is much on my mind.
Pink jasmine flower (jasminum polyanthum) in perfume is my endless quest. Pink jasmine smells sweet and heady, it has none of the mothball sharpness found in some white jasmine. Jasmine essential oils can come close, but the scent of pink jasmine doesn’t seem to exist as perfume.
You smell amazing! And now I have to find some pink jasmine to smell – I didn’t know it smells different from the white.
thanks, jirish!
Pink jasmine is almost finished blooming here in the southwest US. In parts of the world where winter temps dip below about 10 degrees F it is grown indoors. Hope you can find some to sniff.
I love pink jasmine!! It smells very banana-y to my nose, definitely not a hint of sharpness.
Yay! Glad you’re a pink jasmine fan too. I agree about the banana-y note, it reminds me of ylang-ylang.
Wonderful perfume and extremely cute mini.
The cute mini and all the love for the perfume prompted me to buy it unsniffed.
I spritzed PW Tea Rose as a bit of air freshener in my bedroom this afternoon. Some landed on my arm. Swoon! Rose + LADDM is gorgeous.
Mmm, I have that adorable mini too and agree that LADDM is just perfect dabbed.
And even with just a dab I could still smell LADDM this morning, post-shower. Amazingly good stuff in that little bottle.
I love your LADDM description ☺ It is amazing stuff and a magical ride. For that reason, I don’t find it terribly versatile, as it wholly captures my attention when wearing it. It is transportive, in a way that no other perfume I’ve worn is.
Oh, YES, transportive is spot on for LADDM. It feels both ancient and modern, a masterpiece.
Wearing Cuir Ottoman today. Happy because we finally got the broken front door lock replaced – an ordeal that has taken nearly 6 months – mostly because our door is over 100 years old, not standard in thickness, and needed a special order lock, the order was lost, etc. etc. And happy because my dog finally has his cone of shame off.
You smell wonderful.Glad the pup is no longer imitating a lampshade
Haha, I love this mental image
CO= ????! Puppy without the cone is awesome! ????❤️
I am wearing Providence Perfume Co Violet Beauregarde and drinking a cup of green tea. While on vacation last week, I had a beautiful drink with a violet flower on top. I had no idea violets were edible.
A lot of people have mentioned magnolias today, and I just wanted to chime in about this beautiful flower. What a coincidence that I cut one off the tree and put it in a vase. Beautiful smell. I do enjoy AdP Magnolia Nobile.
I will mention another flower — lily of the valley. I love to wear Diorissimo. So lovely!! I would love to see the flower in person. I’ve seen photos of LOTV, but apparently none grow around here. I’ve been wondering lately where would one have to travel to see LOTV in person ?
In German, they are called “May bells” – so you’re right on regarding the season as they bloom in May/April in woodlands.
So – Germany, probably a whole bunch of countries with a similar climate as well!
I liked reading that they are called May bells. In pictures, they do look like tiny bells ☺
Oh, gosh, we used to have lots and lots up in Michigan where I grew up. I’m sure they grow all over the north. I would collect a big bouquet from the yard to take in for my Mom because it’s one of her favorite scents. They are lovely.
I’ve never been to Michigan. Sounds like it would be lovely to visit in the spring.
Yes it is, with many gorgeous peonies and lilacs, too! The air is full of soft lovely scents. Unfortunately, you have to endure six months of winter to get those precious minutes of spring!
I’ve seen a lot of them in the south/southwest of France!
☺
Lily of the valley also grow abundantly in western Canada. Sounds like cooler climates are definitely the place to find them.
If you ever are in LA and go the original Scent Bar location, there is a lovely coffee shop next door. I had an amazing violet lemonade there while waiting for my uber.
They’re very prevalent in MN as well!
Lots of them here in New York. Many gardens in my neighborhood have them. Gosh! the smell is glorious!
My parents had a patch of LOTV growing by the foundation of a house they owned in Colorado many years ago. I would see those kinds of flowers in the older neighborhoods… not so much in the new developments.
I don’t know why I didn’t think to say this til Monday, but plant some if you can! They like partial shade — if you put a few beneath a deciduous tree, they spread beautifully over the years. I have a huge clump of them, nestled underneath some hostas under a tree…so they come up first, bloom just as the hostas are starting to come up, and then essentially disappear under the rest of the plant material until the next year. I’m in PA, but I think you can grow them in most northern latitudes? Someone will tell me if I’m wrong…
A scent I liked when I was growing up was the smell of the white spirea bush growing in our yard. This plant has such a nice slightly powdery, sort of green scent that is very unique, I think. Even now, if I am driving along in the spring and I see one in bloom in someone’s yard, I will stop to sniff it. I had to explain myself once when I did this and someone saw me and gave me an odd look. I have never smelled this in a perfume and right now I can’t think of anything that has a note that would be close to it.
Since it’s still April, I put on some AG Folavril today. The sun is out but the temperature is sort of cool and it just feels right.
Wow, that was a blast from my past! When I was growing up, we had a whole row of white spirea lining the back edge of our lawn. I agree, they smell wonderful. Thanks!
During spring time when I take my dog out for walks, I am always smelling flowers in someone’s yards. People must wonder if I have lost my mind, but that is an activity that I enjoy greatly.
I always spend time smelling the cut flowers at Trader Joes. Yes, I get weird looks. No, I don’t care.
I take time to smell flowers if I can on my walks. The one time I didn’t do it, Mr. Jalapeno asked if I was feeling OK.
I feel as if tarragon hasn’t been well represented in perfumery. It’s in a number of scents (Van Cleef and Arpels Tsar used it pretty well), but always as a grace note: I want it front and centre, in all its grass-green herbal anisic glory. I guess that’s hard to accomplish: I wrote the owner of Demeter once and he said he’d been working on a tarragon for years and could never get it where he thought it should be. But I live in hope.
Brin de Reglisse features a spare touch of tarragon as part of its licorice/ lavender blend but probably not the burst of green anise you’re looking for.
Well, this will certainly date me, but I always thought that the tarragon was very prominent in Guerlain’s Sous le Vent. I don’t know if you can find it anymore though.
Happy Saturday, everyone! The weather is lovely here and I’m in Pamplelune, thanks to KellyC and the swapmeet. Perfect for an afternoon fussing with the herbs and flowers and zinnia seeds that are just starting to sprout.
We’ve tried a couple of times to grow gardenias with no luck, but tried again this spring. They are blooming like crazy! They are soooo fragrant. Success at last. ???? ????
The only natural material I can think of that might not be well represented in perfumes is lemongrass. Oh, and lemon balm, forgot that one. Lemon balm, especially, as it’s just a tiny bit floral to my nose. Any ideas?
Happy for your gardenia success! My attempt failed. It succumbed to an infection, though I did get some blooms out of it before it fell ill.
ELDO Fils de Dieu? I find the lemongrass to be fairly prominent.
A new scent by House of Matriarch called She is supposed to showcase lemongrass/lemon balm. The You Tube reviewer Kristen West (Beauty Meow) collaborated with HOM. There is a You Tube review for the scent on her channel if you are interested.
I just watched the review video; it sounds wonderful! Lemongrass, lemon balm and lemon verbena . . . sounds like just my thing. Thank you for the heads up.
What kind of infection? My plant is happily flowering away, but all the leaves have whitish residue on them, and I’m concerned. What can one do about such an infection?
It was some sort of pseudomonas that they’re prone to. The leaves get brown spots and the blooms don’t open, turn brown and fall off. I think if you buy them from a nursery that knows how to take care of plants, it’s less likely. I got mine at Home Depot ???? Not sure what the white residue is. Maybe you can just wipe the leaves off?
I’m sorry about your gardenia. I’m most definitely not the green thumb in the family, so I don’t have any advice.
Thanks for the tip on Fils de Dieu! Onto the sample list it goes. ????
There are many orange trees in my neighborhood, and, while I enjoy several orange blossom scents, NOTHING comes close to the trees when they are bloom. And, honestly, I’m okay with Mother Nature winning this one . . .
Speaking of oranges, I’m in the last few drops of my last Orange Sanguine sample (Sephora was handing them out like candy for a while – I’ve lost track of how many I’ve spritzed).
This is how I feel about orange blossoms and lilacs. Nothing comes close to the real thing, and that’s ok with me.
I’ve never smelled a lilac perfume that does justice to the flower. (In eastern Canada at the end of May it’s EVERYWHERE and just about one of the most beautiful smells in the world.) I think it’s just not reproducible.
I agree completely. Mother Nature has orange blossoms and lilacs covered.
I love lilacs as well – they’re the #1 plant is I miss, living here in the desert. I used to love BBW Lilac body spray back in the 90s, and I like the Pacifica lilac, but they’re nothing like the real thing.
Ditto this! From Florida and LOVE orange (or any citrus) trees in blossom, and have not been able to find anything anywhere near to the real thing.
Deva, when we were young girls and the parents would stop at Stuckeys, my sis and i would always get the little orange blossom bottles that came in the sea shell. A dollar back then? 5 dollars now?
Forever in my mind thats the scent of orange blossom and why there is no orange anything in my collection.
I think Le Labo Fleur d’Oranger came closest to my memory of the distant smell of OB wafting in the air in the evening in LA growing up.
I’ll give it a sniff! I don’t think I’ve tried a single Le Labo, will have to check out the line.
I’m up north so no orange trees but we have a Moc Orange bush in our yard that smells heavenly when it’s blooming. The bees love it too! Moc Orange may be an old fashioned term but the woman who sold our house to is called the bush by that name. Wish I could bottle it.
I LOVE the scent of mock orange blossoms!!! I had no idea about their existence until I met a couple trees of it outside my lab in Toulouse, France. I actually Googled “fluffy white flowers that smell like orange blossoms” to find it
I wish I could find some here (in California). I’d plant them right away.
I remember a few bushes like that from my childhood (in MN). I think people just called them “mock oranges” then too!
Just found them – Google “mock orange shrub.” One of the most popular varietals is called “Minnesota snowflake.”
So yesterday was such an awful day, I had serious doubts I would ever wear perfume again. I stopped by McDonald’s on the way to work for a giant diet coke and a random compliment gave me a little bit of perpective. My sotd from my purse is Coco Noir. Which is also my pick for a note not represented well. The note of Noir. My whole life I’ve been searching for something dark and beautiful, not to sweet, not to spicy. Original Opium, and Coco come close, but I’m still searching.
I’m sorry you had such a bad day yesterday. Random compliments always help, don’t they? I hope your weekend makes up for it.
Yes, I think sometimes they let you know others see you in a different light. And thank you.
Oh, have you tried Tauer’s PHI? I get very dark maroon, dense, chewy, not too sweet, with a real bit of mystery thrown in kind of fragrance. I always envision the drape of maroon damask gown sliding with a whisper up some medieval stairs, with a sibilant hiss rounding the corner into a bedchamber. Like someone is headed to a ultra forbidden assignation. But, could just be my imagination????
Dang Deva, SOLD! I have not tried it, thanks for the recommendation ????
Well, I just hope you don’t get something like a burned Barbie Doll melting over a campfire, blonde hair curling into singed smokiness..!????
Seriously, and you also just won this year’s L’ Eau Faux competition!
*takes a bow* ????
Wow
I have never ever gotten that but thanks for the mental picture!
I’m weird. Nuff said ????
Have you tried Etat Libre d’Orange Rossy de Palma? It starts out a fresh, dewy rose and then it basically falls down an elevator shaft: dark, enveloping, slightly scary. It’s like being in a moonless rose garden at midnight, with fireflies. It might be the most beautiful rose on the market.
I haven’t tried it, but see that it’s mentioned quite often here. The thing is, I don’t like rose! Which is why I like PHI, because it’s not a rose dominant scent. But, you make RdP sound interesting- who doesn’t want to fall down an elevator shaft? ????
If you don’t like rose perfumes then this is not the one to change your mind, because it is aggressively and unapologetically rose. If you ever get a chance to try it, though (and let it evolve, not just smell it on a card), you should, because it is a truly great scent.
I’ve been tempted to blind buy it many times due to the descriptions. However, I’ve not had good luck with this house yet.
Rossy is really good.
I should probably give it a shot.
Oh I LOVE your description of Rossy!I’ll just add “while taking your dragon for a walk in the mist”…✌????
Lillyjo, so sorry you had such a bad day!
Thanks Robin, I actually had a goodbye post in the works. Just goes to show, you never know what tomorrow will bring.
It is true, but never give up, especially on perfume. Our love for them can sometimes become a therapy during difficult times, at least for me. I hope your day today and the days ahead are better for you. You are strong!
Thank you for the encouragement. My perfumes truly bring me joy. Sometimes I get mad at them for not being problem solvers though. Lol!
I hope your weekend has been much better than your Friday!
Thanks, it’s been much calmer, for sure. Plus the Sun!
Vintage Obsession? Although you may already have some if memory serves. Coromandel edt takes me there, too.
I actually could never wear Obsession because it was the signiture of a friend, and as awesome as Coromandel is, it’s to proper for what I’m looking for, although I should spend more time with it.
I’m so sorry to hear that Friday was such an unbearably horrible mess. But I am glad that you are still wearing perfume and hanging out on NST… I would have missed seeing your posts. I hope that things get much better for you in the very near future.
Thanks Jalapeno. I can’t express enough how much you all mean to me. This place is a soft place to lay a weary head, and a place to jump for joy!
Not any flower has been adequately captured! With the possible exception of rose. Roses have been worked and reworked for so many thousands of years that I’m pretty sure that one has been done right. Sajini extremely kindly sent me some rose attar from India that smells pretty spectacular
Anyway, nothing else is quite right. Right now, I’d love to find a truly realistic lemon or lime blossom fragrance. Orange blossoms aren’t…QUITE right, but they’re pretty well done. The only lemon blossom scents I’ve tried are SL Fleurs de Citronnier (yuck!) and Nest Citrine (nice but too sweet).
Speaking of rose…wearing OJ Ta’if today. Yup, definitely not for me. Back on eBay it goes, from whence it came. Hope someone takes it off my hands.
The only other one I can think of at the moment is Pacifica Malibu Lemon Blossom, which is pleasant but not likely to knock your socks off.
L’eau by Andy Tauer has a nice lemon blossom element.
Ditto.
I’m retrying Twill Rose this morning, and it’s back to meh (my initial impression) after having been FB-worthy a couple of days ago. I want to say “hey, what gives??” but actually I’m kind of relieved because it’s discontinued and very hard to find. I guess I’ll enjoy the rest of the small decant and call it quits. It’s one of the few roses that doesn’t go sour on me so I had my hopes up … but oh well. I’m currently hoping it starts to rain soon so I don’t have to keep feeling guilty about not being outside doing yard work.
Glad you figured it out before you spent the money!
Me too! If I had actually tracked a bottle down, it probably would have ended up in a future swapmeet.
Good morning. I vote for dill, because it’s my favorite herb.
I also like the smell of Gorse, and I know Lush has a gorse scent, but it doesn’t smell like gorse to me.
Commando – I was going to do all kinds of around the house stuff before a choir concert tonight but just realized one kiddo is invited to a b-day party in 40 minutes. Off to buy a present!
I agree, gorse–mmmmm!
If we’re going to add herbs to the list (and I wholly endorse dill and tarragon), I must mention basil! I accidentally tried basil + strawberries lately when I ate some of the latter berries after picking basil leaves from my plant on the porch–Zowie, is that a good combination! I don’t generally think I want to smell how flowers smell but I truly would love to smell how the combination of strawberries + basil smells!!!
Morning, all. Hmmm- interesting question, Robin. I think maybe I don’t any longer expect, or even hope for, any photo-realistic representations of flowers in perfume, partly because I never find them, and partly because it seems to me that perfumers interpret rather than reproduce. I’ve been disappointed, so disappointed (looking at you, Wit) when I’ve expected the main flower note to be recognisably itself, and instead found something different. I know it’s my nose and the bio-chemistry if my skin (again, looking at you, Wit, drat you) but still, I’d regularly be disappointed if I hadn’t decided to like the perfume rather than the representation of the flower.
If I could hope, though, it would be to hope for a true daphne scent, not the muddle of musk and boot cleaner that Wit turned into on my skin. Daphne is a favourite for me because it was a favourite of my mother’s: she could grow anything, and she once came home from some event where someone had put a little twig of daphne in her lapel. As she made her way into the house, she popped the twig into the garden, and wonderful to relate, it struck and flourished for years as a healthy bush. I don’t have that gift at all, but I learned to love daphne as a result.
My SOTD is the glorious Queen of the Night. I’ve never smelt the flower, so I had no expectations, but I immediately loved the deep, striking complexity of the perfume. If this perfume were a jewel it would be a deep, deep garnet. I used to see rubies when I wore it, but I decided last winter that the colour of rubies is a little bright to describe it. I want to associate it with a stone that is such a dark red it stops just short of black. The perfume makes me want to wear black velvet….of course, I’m in jeans and a blue-and-white shirt, because that’s my life.
Well, the cats are all lined up in front of their plates. It behoves me to go and apportion beef, bunny and lamb so that Titus’s stripes don’t run into one another, which he assures me will happen unless he is fed NOW, this minute, if not sooner. Be well, all.
Yes, daphne! Such a lovely, complex scent!
Yes, Queen of the Night is a fabulous, sublime perfume. I wore it one day this past week–I think Tuesday, my last day of classes–and felt elegant and in control. Mmmm. I’d like to smell one of the blooming blossoms. I always associate it with datura, but could be completely wrong.
Queen of the Night is on my to sniff list, it sounds so luscious, but no when’re in uk stocks Grandiflora unfortunately. U make it sound incredibly tantalising!
It really is lovely. It’s exotic and uplifting, which don’t always go together. Sometimes “exotic” is daunting.
I’m with you on Daphne! I was going to name it in my answer but now I’ll just join you.
Luckily for me, Wit behaves nicely on my skin (though doesn’t smell like what I wanted it to smell) – so I’d buy a travel bottle if they’d ever released it in a second. For now I’ll finish my decant. But I am on a constant lookout for a realistic recreation of Daphne Odora.
Happy weekend everyone! I agree with Waterdragon’s comment that no perfume is ever quite like the original note. One big disappointment for me was Mona do Orio’s Rose Etoile d’Holland. My mother had that rose when I was a child, and it a is a gloriously perfumed rose. Mona’s perfume didn’t even smell much like any rose to me.
I’m finishing breakfast in a dab of Fort and Manle’s Amber Absolutely. I’d like to get FBs of four of the eight in tbe discovery set. I wonder if I can negotiate a bulk discount
Yes, me too, about the F&Ms, I mean. My absolute favourite is Fatih Sultan Mehmet, but I love the amber and Süleyman Le Magnifique too. Quite like Confessions of a Garden Gnome, but it went a little odd in the drydown. I think that was the point, actually.
Gosh, I’m so unschooled in flowers and smells, beyond all the common and usual suspects.
I am on a bit of an LOTV quest but trying not to go too crazy. Diorissimo is beautiful but it’s really more of a complex perfume than a soliflor.
Jessica McClintock is great when first applied, but something in the mid section goes a little bitter and bugs me.
CdG Lily is more about dewy, juicy greenery. The LOTV is there but plays a supporting role imo.
I did hunt down a pair of 11ml bottles of vintage Coty Muguet de Bois. Apparently Edmond Roudnitska thought this earlier perfume was the standard for LOTV when he made Diorissimo. Haven’t gotten them yet, but if it’s good, one will go to my MIL for Mother’s Day since she has an LOTV themed bathroom and lots growing in her yard.
SOTD is Cire Trudon Bruma which is so lovely, and though I like my scents to be under the radar, I have such a hard time smelling this after about an hour, except wrist to nose. Though, mostly I smell like neem oil from spraying my yard. Neem is surely unrepresented with good reason.
Ooh, LOTV is one of my all-time favorite flowers and fragrance notes! Of the newer ones, I really like Hermes’ Muguet Porcelaine and Van Cleef and Arpel’s Muguet Blanc. I did a series of posts on muguet fragrances, two years ago, for the month of May. You might find something you like there: https://scentsandsensibilities.co/2016/04/30/fragrance-friday-may-muguet-marathon/. Maybe I’ll do another marathon, now that May is looming!
I’ve heard Miguet Blanc was quite nice but never got to smell it before they pulled it ????Muguet Porcelaine had too much melon for me IIRC. Have you ever tried the Molinard Muguet? I’m curious about that one since I think they do some nicely done single note perfumes.
I’m unschooled as well. Odd as it might sound, I’ve never really gone out of my way to smell things in the natural world. #fauxperfumista
Sitting in bed reading blogs, drinking coffee and eating chocolate brioche while a small tuxedo cat slerps in a furry puddle in my lap. So decadent!
Had a fabulous but exhausting day yesterday. The lesson at Mecca was really good. I showed them the items I use and described how I apply them, we talked about what I want to achieve, then they made me up in a similar way but adding a few techniques and tweaks that just gave it a little more polish. It was fun too – I was impressed with how relaxed and non-salesy it was.
The exhibition from the Musée d’Orsay was fab, I want to go again, and I also ran into a friend there I hadn’t seen in ages and we caught up a bit.
Oh and in between was a bunch of sniffing, Beloved (will need to try again – lots to unpack), Citron Noir (nope grapefruit as BO on my skin), Kismet (was already on my wishlist but my sample was finished…) and Fahrenheit Parfum (Gah! SO GORGEOUS with nutmeg and boozy vanilla and was just smelling delightful wafts for the three hours or so that I spent at the gallery). Fell off the wagon and went back after the exhibition to buy both the Fahrenheit Parfum & Kismet… oops…
SOTD: Musc Ravageur
High five for perfume Ooops!
*high fives back* LOL
Love at first sniff as an oops is such a first world problem!
So true!
Hi Lillibet. Where did you find Kismet? Love it and have been stalling, but my sample is almost done.
At David Jones, a department store, here in Adelaide. I’ve only seen it listed online at perfume boutique’s or department stores unfortunately.
Thanks Lillibet. Not my side of the globe! Guess it will be Luckyscent.
Freesia, just freesia… I think any flower scent is never quite the same as the real thing. It’s that watery, green, slight fruity scent that I would love to find.
Good call. I love the smell of the flower, and generally dislike freesia perfumes.
I’d like to add acacia to the list also. This is some kind of yellow flower on a tree. However, I’ve been told that so many diverse things are acacias that I really don’t know what they are any more. In Australia they are wattles. I’ve seen them in tall trees on sort of spiky blossoms in Norway and England, and those are different. And yet another kind in parts of central and west Texas, called huisache. All of these smell gorgeous and very heady. I don’t even know if they are really related at all. But they all smell divine to me. I don’t know if I’d want to wear one on my skin if someone made a perfume from them but perhaps MIGHT like a room spray of one of them.
Ohhh…good one. I think L’occitane had an acacias scent a few years ago. I’m not sure how realistic it was, although I liked it at the time.
Fat fingers…acacia.
I’ve never smelled acacia blossoms in nature, but Une Fleur de Cassie is supposed to be acacia.
Beautiful day today! Sunny and warm. I spent the day at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. I used to spend lot of time there when I lived in Brooklyn for many years. This weekend the Sakuri Matsuri Festival celebrating the Japanese culture is taking place. I enjoyed most of the activities, but as usual the dances, especially the flower hat dance and the taiko drumking are favorites. I indulged in some Japanese confections and treats like Okoicha Baumkuchen and Ohka Shigure which I love. Then I could not resist the temptation and got some Potechi crunch chocolate macca( cookies, potato chips and cornflakes covered in macca chocolate. Also the Strawberry- Champagne chocolates. I would have shopped many more sweets, but I thought I could suffer a really bad sugar crash…. ????
The cherry blossoms are gorgeous now, as well as the tulips and all the trees and plants in bloom. A very relaxing day when I did not wear any perfume, because I wanted to experience the smell of Nature. Quiet at home now with my doggie, watching tv and having some sushi and wine.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Taiko drumming, not drumking
Wow! That’s a nice experience! Was this festival as you remembered when you were living in Brooklyn?
No, the cherry blossom festival many years ago was very simple. Mostly some typical Japanese instrumental music was played, there were some origami activies for kids and bonsai classes. Nothing much. That was 20 years ago. As years passed things were improving and I was surprised after 6 years of not attending that it has become a huge festival. The lines to get tickets today were horribly long and it was very crowded inside, but the organization as usual is excellent. Contemporary and tradional music, dances, art, tea ceremony, ceramic demonstrations different type of worshops, sweets, bonsai displays and classes and many more activities. The tickets sold today were exclusively for the festival, which are more expensive. Regular admissions are cancelled for today and tomorrow. Very, very nice!
Sounds like a lovely day. I did my marketing, cleaned the house and sealed the grout in my downstairs bathroom. Your day sounds way better!
I will be back to housework tomorrow ????. Once in a while it is good to enjoy some nice activities that help me regain some mental and physical stability and energy. It was a relaxing day!
Absolutely! The work will always be there. I wish I could practice what I preach! ????
Sounds like a perfect day!
Very nice indeed! ????
Oh, that sounds lovely. I’m embarrassed to say I’ve never been to that (and I used to live practically across the street ???? Though that was in the 90s).
Yes, the crowds are crazy. Last I was there was a few years ago when the magnolias were all in bloom. The crowds were crazy and too many selfie sticks blocking the way!! I have a real pet peeve with that one.
All my time in Brooklyn was in Park Slope, so it used to take me 10 minutes to walk from home to the garden. I loved to go there especially in spring an summer time, because I wanted to avoid the crowds in Prospect Park when I needed some relaxing time. Today it was insane. I do not know if I will be able to go back again this year. There are more possibilities that I go to the park when I visit my sister who still lives in PS. Many years of good times in the area. However, these days I prefer the quietness and stillness of my neighborhood.
I love Park Slope, but that area has gotten sooo crowded now. I lived across from the BG on the block behind Eastern Parkway. It was quieter in the 90s, but mostly because it was unsafe to be out at night over there. I would get out of the train at night and practically run home!
I remember the 90’s in that area at night time was pretty unsafe. I never went further than the Library. For ice skating at the night session in PP I made sure I went with any of my friends. That area in the other side of the park was and is still very tough. Things have changed greatly in Eastern Parkway. It has become expensive to live there. There are many events held at night time at the Brooklyn Museum and the Garden has now tickets for night visits after 6pm. Prospect Park is set to have 2 entrances open in Flatbush Avenue by 2019 and this year they are working in making the sidewalk wider with benches and more lighting to make it safer. I love to see all those improve ments. I just wonder now how many times maybe you and me crossed each other..
Holy cow, that’s sounds like a fabulous day! I’m went with you in spirit!????
Oh! thank you!. I had a great time! ????
Wow. I went to that festival maybe 20 years ago. It was low key. Kids making masks and paper bouquets sort of thing. Sounds like so much fun!
Yes. There was nothing really especial or interesting happening there 20 years ago, even during the cherry blossom festival. The admission to the Garden was free all the time and there were more people than usual during the festival but nothing overwhelming. Huge difference now with tons of activities taking place. Still, very nice.
Your Saturday sounded fantastic! Thanks for sharing… I enjoyed the vivid description of your adventure. ????
Thank you! Planning to visit the other Botanic Gardens in the city in the next couple of weeks. I love to be in touch with Nature this time of the year.
Sounds like a wonderful day… I especially love Taiko drumming. It’s enthralling.
SOTD = Guerlain Baiser de Russie
At least that’s what I started the day with. And then it became a mush mash of whatever I was sampling on skin at Sniffapalooza. More on this when I write it up as a guest post on Undina’s blog, coming soon to a theater near you ✍️
It was nice catching up with thegoddessrena and unseencenser!
Commuting Woes No. 428 and 429 (close enough):
I had plenty of time to get to Penn Station but decided to take a bus because I wanted to have enough time to eat a snack / dinner. There’s a Q32 bus stop immediately outside the Bergdorf south exit on Fifth. There was a Q32 approaching but for some reason, it stopped way before the actual bus stop. By the time I walked over, the driver had already closed the door. I quickly went back to the stop and since he had a red light, I waved for him to let me on. After a few shrugs and me pointing to the sign, he finally decided to open the door.
The bus was not crowded at all and there was a little boy – 4 years old playing and talking to himself. This went on halfway through the trip when I heard “Daddy”. The bus driver actually had his son riding with him on the bus route! I couldn’t believe it! He had basically left his son unattended and/or if he was paying attention to his son, he was not paying full attention to driving the bus! How is this even acceptable?
Tourists! Why do they think it’s cute to be FaceTiming with friends and family at full volume relaying EVERYTHING about what they did in the City?
Ooh looking forward to your Sniffapalooza post!
Me too!!
Thirding!
Well, I’m glad the kiddo was with him simply because I hate to think of the alternative.
As horrible as it is, I have at times had no choice but to bring my kids to work at times. Due to lack of childcare. This was with my last job, where my boss didn’t mind much, as long as I got my work done.
SOTD was Opardu. Love it to bits. Most of my favorite flowers have been mentioned. I would love a great magnolia scent and a great lilac scent. Especially that don’t fade to laundry musk within an hour.
You smelled darned purdy today!
I have that same beef with orange blossom scents. Many turn into a dryer sheet in the drydown. Though Commodity Nectar might be my OB. No obvious laundry musk detected yet.
I have yet to find a fragrance that captures dry grasses/ hay the way I love it. I was so excited about the British Fields releases but none of them were what I wanted.
But I do love trying to find the one perfect “fields in late summer right before harvest” scent. If you have any suggestions or favorites, let me know.
Yesterday’s SOTD was L’eau no 5, spritzed lavishly (thanks Ulta!). Does anyone else have serious longevity issues with it? It had vanished within an hour.
Hendley Mown has a hay note.
https://www.hendleyperfumes.com/perfumes/mown
This one is really interesting. It seems to have a huge dose of hay absolute in it.
Also, Libertine Sweet Grass, although I haven’t actually tried this one yet.
https://www.libertine-fragrance.com/products/sweet-grass?variant=53695434183
I really liked this one when I sampled it, but it’s very soft and doesn’t have good longevity (it’s an oil). It was such a mellow, calming scent, though.
https://www.fragrantica.com/perfume/L-essence-de-Mastenbroek/Eau-de-Polder-11332.html
Cartier’s L’Heure Fougueuse has a lot of hay in it. I love that one.
L’eau really really lasts on me (and it really projects— more silage than any of my other Chanels for sure). I am betting that you are anosmic to one of the musks.
On fabric and paper it’s reaaaally lovely. I scent my bookmarks and carry a scented handkerchief with it. Because of these, I feel like I really *know* it in a way I don’t know the others in my collection.
Back at work. Drive in music, Mick Jagger reminding me You can’t always get what you want (dang him) sotd Noir de Noir. Still not Noir enough.
Good luck in finding your ultimate Noir scent!
Obvious maybe, but the stunning scent of hamamelis (mollis) has never been captured in a perfume, and there isn’t any perfume I know of that comes close. It is fresh, with mouthwatering hints of orange and other citrus, and spicy with depth, and it has great sillage! And all that in the midst of winter when it is freezing. Hard to beat!
Hello!, good to ‘see’ u here, hope you’re well. This sounds wonderful, I don’t think I’ve ever smelt it, will look out for it now.
Good to see you too!
Not a perfume so much, but I always look for soaps that smell of Bay, Eucalyptus, sweet humus, and sunshine—summer afternoon walks in the hills near my house. I have come across some Bay-centric soaps, which have been nice but not memorable, and some pretty bad Eucalytus soaps….
Speaking of carnation scents— although far from photorealistic, I really like Prada’s Infusion d’Oeillet. My mini splash bottle arrived yesterday that I bought for a song on eBay. 8 mls for $9?. FREE! I will decant it into a spray bottle today, and no doubt it will be my SOTD. To me it is a soapy (probably the sandalwood), honeyed carnation, with that trademark Prada cool dry down.
This sounds lovely, I might look out for an eBay bargain too!
Truth in advertising! Oops. It was Fragrancenet, and the price was $9.40 (you have to click the 37% off coupon thingy). I just went on the website now to check if I could buy another one at that price, and on my PC the website is acting very strange–but I found my receipt so I know I am giving you the right info now!
Thanks for the Prada nudge! I’m off to the garden centre shortly to hunt down my favorite plants before they are sold out again.
Fumies, Amouage’s Lyric Woman is blowing my mind today! A lovely NST’er sent me a sample in a trade. I think a drop must have spelled in transit, because when it arrived, it scented the whole office, as well as my and my office-mates fingers, where we touched the bottle. It was all a bit much, and I was honestly scared to try it. It’s been in quarantine from my other scents on a shelf in my room ever since…but today I got up the nerve, and gave one good spritz.
Oh holy whoa! This is quite gorgeous! It’s one of those everything-but-the-kitchen-sink fragrances, and throws me back to the 80s in its opulence, but I like it! I keep getting whiffs of all different things–rose, plum, patchouli (or something else that makes my nose tingle), vanilla, loads of other stuff I can’t even name. It seems to change minute by minute. It’s intense and heady stuff.
I probably won’t be wearing it to work any time soon, but it’s a great weekend scent.
I received a partial bottle in a swap, and I just love it. There’s a whole lotta everything in there, just like you said. You smell wonderful!
I’m awash in Vetiver Oriental this morning, never mind the warm and somewhat humid day. This one may need a FB follow up after I drain the decant. Yum. Thanks, Koyel, for hosting the split!
I am on a train to Vancouver BC, where I’ll stay overnight with a friend and catch a plane to Ottawa in the morning. This was a very hastily planned trip, as my sister wanted me to be with her while her husband undergoes his 2nd surgery for brain cancer on Wednesday. The surgery wasn’t scheduled until Thursday last week so it’s been a hectic few days pulling everything together to leave the country. We are all expecting a good outcome from the surgery but it is of course very anxiety inducing.
I’m in Vanilla Hinoki for the occasion, and using my phone for both communication and entertainment as this train has no Wi-Fi! I assumed it would so brought no reading materials and had planned to pull up some articles I’ve been wanting to read that I was also going to save to my tablet to read on the plane tomorrow.
I happened to have saved a pdf of the March 13 House Intel minority report to my tablet that I never got around to reading. So that’s 21 pages then back to my phone I guess. I realize a lot of people exclusively use their phones for such things but I am not one of them and find it frustrating.
Hope his surgery goes fine and he has a speedy recovery. The best for him and the whole family.
Hey Kpaint, I have been there in the hospital cafeteria on sticky seats waiting while my son underwent 12 hours of brain surgery. My heart goes out to you and your sister. Just keep breathing. (Maybe read something more soothing?
)
Wishing a positive outcome, and quick recovery.
Wishing quick healing and a good outcome for your whole family.
Sending positive thoughts and hoping for an easy recovery. You are a good sister to be such an amazing support for her; just being there will be a big help.
Safe travels to you, and healing thoughts to your brother in law.
Best wishes to your brother-in-law for a successful surgery and speedy recovery. Take care of yourself, too.
Fingers crossed that everything works out for the best. Safe travels, kpaint.
Best wishes and prayers for successful outcome and minimal anxiety!
My Sunday SOTD is (I believe) vintage Nahema PDT, a sample made for me by the very generous AnnE. I say “believe” because it’s my one unlabeled sample, and it accidentally got buried in a reorganization spree a few months ago. It’s absolutely gorgeous, and is definitely a rose that works for me. Will have to seek out a sample of the extrait version of this very soon.
Good morning, NST. Well, it’s Monday again, and I’m not even a little bit pleased. The students are back today too, and although my lecture is written, I feel oddly unprepared to teach. I’m spread across too many activities, maybe, to feel totally at ease with and in control of any of them. Ah well. I signed up for it.
SOTD is Süleyman Le Magnifique, by Fort and Manle. Gaynor reminded me about them yesterday. I love this: on me, it’s all sweet smoke and — well, sweet smoke, I suppose. The F&M perfumes don’t have huge longevity or projection, but I don’t care: I am happy to reapply a couple of times during the day. I must get round to organising myself some FBs.
Well, I’ll pootle off and face my day. Sorry that I’m a bit flat today. There’s a budget “conversation “ at 9.30 , and for some reason, “conversation “ seems far more ominous than “meeting”. I think I know what it means, and it probably ushers in a very difficult time indeed. Well, I signed up for this too, I suppose. Be well, all.
Random Freebie offer to folks in CONUS. Pixel passed on to me a set of three dauber samples of St. Clair Scents that are ready for a new home– part of the sisterhood (or brotherhood!) of the traveling perfumes …
https://www.stclairscents.com/new-page/
Please email me your name and NST handle and address at ann dottie eisenberg attagirl comcast dottie net if you’d like them!
If not already taken. I’d like them
I would love to have a perfume centered around the Casablanca Lily. I have occasionally received these lilies as gift bouquets, and have found their scent astonishing. I’m not sure that would automatically translate into a beloved perfume, but I’m game to give it a go.
Any perfumes with a dandelion note?
Yes, there are..
CB I Hate Perfume’s I am a Dandelion. And, Demeter’s Dandelion.
Although I haven’t smelled either I can certainly contribute the raw materials as I just noticed the front patch of grass is covered with them.
Those dandelions are everywhere now in trillions. I happened to grab one on a sidewalk a couple of hours ago and came to mind if there was any perfume with that note. Thank you for the info. I will eventually try those two.
Tokyo Bloom smells like a dandelion flower.
Thank you Tiffanie! To my “to try list” now.
So my obsession continues with tuberose. I wore Fracas last night courtesy of PL67 ????. I bought a Michael Kors edp today. I’ve read that the one available nowadays isn’t the same as the original Michael (reformulated?) released back in the early 2000s. Is this correct, and how can I identify an older bottle?
I’d give anything for original Michael .It was good s tuff.
I’d give anything for original Michael .It was good s tuff.
Testing VC&A Bois d’Iris today, from the sample stash. There are a lot of folks who deserve an enabler pin for getting this on my “To Try” list. ????
I sampled Bois d’Iris yesterday, and blame the enablers too.
It is interesting, especially when the vanilla shows up!
Oh gosh, one of my favs! You smell amazing!
Monday again and my enthusiasm levels for wotk are super low. *sighs* Missed my ‘fallback’ train so I’ll het there when I do I guess. Wearing a bracing but warm couple of spritzes of Coromandel EdP.
Dinner at sons so wore his favorite, Samsara. Always gets a compliment. Hope all of you had a nice wk-end.