Happy Friday, and welcome to edition 3 of the Picture challenge! Our community project for today: wear a perfume that matches the picture, which is David Hockney's Beverly Hills Housewife, from 1966. You can read more about the painting here and here.
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 had trouble with this one, not least because the sorts of fragrances that seem to fit the picture are not fragrances I own. My first pick, if I had any, would be Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche. Instead I'm in a dab of vintage Chanel No. 19.
Reminder: 6/29 will be Opposite Day...wear the opposite of what would be expected. Suggested by Pyramus, who provided a bunch of examples: La Nuit on a bright sunshiny day, Matin Calin in the afternoon, Voile d’Ete in the depth of winter or Winter Delice in the middle of July, Aromatics In White when you’re dressed all in black.
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.
This was hard for me, but the painting made me think ‘white flowers’ and ‘expensive’ – so I’m in by Killian Beyond Love.
That works! And it was hard for me too.
This painting plopped me firmly in the 1960’s, so wearing ’60’s vintage Arpege.
Move went well – only 1 lamp was smashed, and all my perfume arrived safe and sound. I am exhausted, and cannot wait for the weekend.
Glad the move went well and hope you get some rest this weekend!
Yay! Hope you are settled & rested soon.
Glad it went well (and glad your perfume survived)!
Yay for that! Have a good weekend!
I’m glad the move went so well! Have fun expanding into your new home.
Yay! Moving is a pain. Get settled and rested!
Hope you have time to rest in your new nest this weekend.
Hooray! Glad the move went well!
Get some rest this weekend! You’ve definitely earned it.
Glad it went well!
Hooray! Congrats on the move, and I hope you get plenty of rest
Congrats on both you and your perfumes surviving the move!
Whew! Glad it went well but RIP lamp.
Being fairly literal with California Rêverie, since this painting is part of a Hockney series called California Dreaming (according to one of the linked articles.) And because I do love the scent. So very pretty.
A literal interpretation that includes you smelling pretty is a good way to go. I am not fond of my scent!
You smell gorgeous!
California comes to mind when looking at that painting too.
Only in my mind, California smells less like southern beachy sunny side and more a like northern California (I lived in San Francisco for a while) – so i think of herb and sea salt, the redwoods and moss and wind on the coast. I’d wear L’orpheline from SL – but it smells atrocious on me (I bought it unsniffed and literally cannot find anyone to gift it too, even on fragrantica forums).
So I’m going with hermes myrrhe eglantine because it’s feels “expensive” and “classic” .
I’m a Northern California kid myself. SSS Jour Ensoleille is my most “home” scent. That and Sierra Granite room spray by Juniper Ridge.
i have juniper ridge – big sur. also lovely and North Californian on tester, but not me (or the bf)!
I guess California is to be smelled in person
You get points in my ????
Clever!
I chose Chanel No.19 because, as I mentioned yesterday, the picture feels aloof to me as does No.19. I’m wearing current extrait de parfum, that is 2011’ish current. So we are scent twins!
Hey twin! Yes, I would have said “cold” but about the same way of looking at it.
Different words but I guess the same feeling!
No 19 Poudre
Just finished my summer reading novel Freshwater.The past 3 nights I have stayed up and finally finished it. I couldn’t put it down.
Ok now I am off to amazon to check it out!!
It’s bizarre , a warning ⚠️
Tell me more!
I love all the various Chanel No. 19s. Great choice.
Bizarre can be really good.
Just took a look at this book on Amazon and on my list it goes.
I am wearing Lili Bermuda Paradise, if for no other reason than this fragrance says “hot pink” to me when I wear it — not fruity or light pink. I thought the scent matched her dress.
Happy Friday !!
Perfect!
For me it’s Balanciaga’s Rosabotanica – the colors in this picture match the bottle’s artwork! That was my immediate connection.
Rosabotanica has an air of style & sophistication, like the artwork. Both are fresh and unpretentious . Both are sunny and bright and yet offer more beneath the surface.
What a great selection for this project. All the research offered but Nst’ers has been really interesting and insightful. Fabulous choice Robin- thank you!
By not but!! Sorry
Rosabotanica is really nice. I prefer it to the “flora” one. But has it been discontinued? I just don’t see it much.
Coincidently, around 4am this, morning, while I couldn’t sleep, I decided I need to revisit Rosabotancica. I don’t think I’ve smelled it since it came out.
I hope u enjoy it!
Really glad you enjoyed it!
Eau de Soleil Blanc because Denyse over at Grain de Musc lists it as a scent to wear dipping into a Hockney pool and I just happen to have a sample from Sephora. Feels tropical and the complete opposite of our dreary weather today.
I grew up with a swimming pool in the backyard. Not the fancy in ground type like in the painting, but the above ground version. Nobody else that I knew had a pool, and since I grew up in a very small town, it was common knowledge that I had one. When my parents would leave during the summmer, I might have had a party or two, lol. I can remember people fully clothed getting thrown into it. Good times.
Nice! Did you ever reveal to your parents that you had a few parties? It’s fun as an adult to inform parents what they didn’t know was going on.
Oh, it never seemed to take long for them to find out. Small town, news traveled fast. My dad taught school at our tiny elementary, so everywhere he went, people knew him.
This didn’t seem to stop them from continuing to leave me alone at home. And it didn’t stop me from throwing parties! The beauty of youth and feeling invincible!
As a parent of kids who were notorious for throwing pool parties while DH & I were away, I cringe remembering their shenanigans.????
As a now parent of young adult children, I cringe too! The first thing I think about is the liability that was involved. Luckily, no one ever got hurt and nothing got broken or ruined. It was all, as they say “in good fun.” I’m also glad it was pre- YouTube, Snapchat and Facebook age! The party stayed where the party was!
Social media and underdeveloped prefrontal cortices really is an unfortunate mix. I’m SO glad I came of age just before the advent of AOL. . .
*Nerd translation–the prefrontal cortex is the “judgement center” of the brain, and incidentally, the last part to really prune and mature.
Omg, yes! I was just at my daughter’s college orientation/registration on Tuesday and in one of the break out parent sessions, they talked to us about how even though our child will be living away from home, their prefrontal cortex is not yet developed and they still need our guidance and support.
I have a degree in psychology, so they were speaking my language.????
Exactly!
Great choice
Thanks!
The briefest glance at the painting, that slash of hot pink against all those luscious blues, told me that I had to wear vintage Rochas Byzance, with its dazzlingly pink ribbon tied around a cobalt-blue bottle. (The box is the same colour as the bottle, and lined with that same drastic pink.)
They relaunched it in 2017 in their house bottle: the label and juice are blue but it’s just not the same. I haven’t smelled it, but the vintage is purely astonishing, a dizzying explosion of aldehydes and lime peel atop a very eighties bushel-of-flowers floral oriental. So good!
Great choice, nice connection there by way of colors! I love that old bottle, too.
Byzance is a scent I treasure, I’ve been wearing it since it launched in 1987. You smell wonderful.
When I look at this painting, I immediately think of ELDO You or Someone Like You, or at least the back story. But I didn’t love the fragrance so I don’t have any.
Wearing Chanel 5 L’eau.
And smelling great!
It’s really nice, isn’t it?
I’m with Robin – Nothing in my collection really matches the painting. But I think the BH Housewife would be at home in a sophisticated designer scent like a classic Chanel, or maybe Jour d’Hermes. She seems like a white floral kind of lady to me.
What the heck, I’m finishing out the week in day 3 of Eau de Magnolia. I’ll change it up and wear something else this weekend.
Oh, I could have gone with Jour d’Hermes maybe — the bottle certainly is a total match!
happy friday! to match the painting i chose datura noir, pretty on the surface, but something sinister lurks…
Good choice, and great description. I have Datura Noir, but only wear it occasionally. Sometimes it smells absolutely gorgeous, and sometimes it smells like a vintage handbag holding rotten fruit. Can’t tell what makes the difference between these two states, so I only chance it once in a while.
And sometimes it gives me a headache! I do sometimes get the bathroom air freshener vibe from it!
Nice.
I think the woman in the painting might have worn any number of Chanels, and the top contenders in my mind are 19 and Cristalle. But a new decant of SMN Eva arrived yesterday, and it fits the mood of the painting reasonably well, and I have zero self-control when I get new stuff, so ….. Eva is my choice for today. Happy Friday everyone!
Self-control is sometimes overrated…
So true!
Who needs self control when it comes to perfume
Well, this is ALSO true …
I used to love Eva, and it must still be good if you bought it! Congrats on your new bottle.
Oh, it’s only a decant, but it’s fully as good as my older decant was … if that helps any.
Well, it keeps it on my wishlist, so good to know, thanks!
SOTD is a tiny dab of vintage Fidji, a tribute to all those mid-60s ladies in their pink caftans.
I ❤️ caftans!!! Boden always has fab caftans. ????
Caftans forever! My aunt wore them in the 1960s all the time. This made me think of her.
That is probably how my kids will remember me too!
I was looking in one of my boxes for a fragrance to match the picture, and I came across a rollerball that I didn’t recognize. I sniffed it and liked it, but I couldn’t figure out the name. Finally, after holding a lamp close and peering at the bottom of the rollerball, I found the brand name – Origins. I looked at Fragrantica and found that it is Spring Fever, which I had bought decades ago. So that’s what I’m wearing.
I used to wear this. Very nice!
I was ignorant of this week’s theme. I’m wearing vintage Jolie Madame extrait, which happens to match the drawing quite well!
Good call!
Nice connection! JM was one of my contenders as well.
Ha, yes it does!
I spent some time thinking about this one! I have very few scents that were actually around in the 60s, so I had to rule out that level of verisimilitude. I decided that this woman would prefer something feminine (because of the pink dress) but not frilly or girly (given the rest of the furnishings). I also thought she would like something fairly bold. Decision: FM’s Carnal Flower.
Happy Friday!
I’m surprised by the number of people who find the Hockney depressing! Could mid-mod finally be on the way out?
I love mid-mod and don’t find it depressing at all, but I find that image lively and attractive, but sort of depressing.
good bold choice!
Sotd: Orchidee Vanille
Several years ago, I was told by a sa at Neiman’s Beverly Hills that this perfume was what “all the Beverly Hills housewives wear.” At the time it was the line’s best seller at that store. So there you have it. ????
Perfect!
That’s ideal!
You win today’s project!
Ooooh, that is interesting! I imagine you smell wonderful!
I chose Madame Rochas, which is both era appropriate and has a cool angularity that seems to suit the style of the painting. I’m also dressed a little bit moneyed boho housewife today, in a long floral dress with clunky shoes and expensive-looking jewelry. So that works!
Clever, and I like your phrase “cool angularity.” Wish we could see a picture of you in your outfit!
I decided not to play today, because frankly that painting has been depressing me all week. (Sorry. And I can’t ‘splain why.)
Chanel 1932. Not sorry.
It looks depressing to me too. Maybe it’s the blank face and the woman standing alone in a housedress in her back yard – it seems like a vision of quiet desperation.
Yes. You summed up my thoughts exactly.
Same, I find it unsettling.
Me too! I find it sad as well.
Glad I am not alone in this! When I read that the subject loved it and kept it hung prominently in her home, I thought I must be seeing something that wasn’t there.
I found that news odd too.
While I can’t say that I find it depressing, I just don’t like it: for me it’s neither aesthetically pleasing nor deep or thought provoking.
Happy FriYAY!!
Well, if I’m being honest (and I am), I have to say that I don’t relate to this painting at all. Not my life, not my aesthetic, not my jam.
But…I figure this is a woman who lives well and can wear any fragrance she pleases, so that’s where I’m gonna land. Wearing ELdO’s Hermann à Mes Côtés Me Paraissait une Ombre. I smell like I borrowed my hubby’s shirt…definitely leaning towards the masculine, but I like it!
Ha, good way to look at it!
I’m wearing Amouage Sunshine Man because that’s a good label for Hockney during his California period. Imagine this poor fellow from gray and rainy England landing in LA and thinking, “Wow! Sunshine! Colors! Pools! Flowers!”
That’s cute. I like your interpretation.
2nd.
No idea what to do with this vaguely depressing picture, so I reached into the back of the perfume cupboard and pulled out L’Artisan Parfumeur Riviera Palace, vintagey floral goodness.
Never heard of that one …..off to research:)
OOO …someone on fragrantica compared it to Eau de Givenchy….you smell fantastic !
I loved Eau de Givenchy too.
Trying to decide on something that will go with the picture but also with a hot day at the zoo…why some 18 year olds want to spend the day at the zoo is beyond me, but I do whatever makes them happy lol.
I’ll report back when I decide..
Do you have any Zoologist scents?
Have a good time! We were going to go to the zoo, but are expecting storms.
Have fun!
I’m wearing the discontinued Lavendar Palm from Tom Ford’s private blend line. I imagine the woman in the painting would have purchased a normal sized bottle, and then when her favorite SA told her it was being discontinued, she would have grabbed the giant decanter size. I imagine it on a mirrored vanity next to a vase of calla lilies.
This painting has really grabbed me – I spent a lot of time imagining the lives of this woman and her unseen family. I wonder why?
One last note about the scent – Lavendar Palm is absolutely gorgeous. And it was the first and only perfume I sampled knowing it was already discontinued. Why? Because it made me sad that I couldn’t buy a bottle. Since then, I’ve only tried contemporary versions of available scents. (Thank goodness there’s eighty bazillion to choose from!)
Oh, I am *terrible* for sampling discontinued things. (Consequently, I probably haunt eBay much more than I should.)
It’s the worst! I’ve got a mini of Balmain Ebene coming to me and am terrified I’ll love it. But how could I not want to try it?
I almost purchased a mini of this from the evil bay after it was discontinued as well, but managed to talk myself down. A tropical-ish lavender just sounded so intriguing!
I rarely try anything discontinued and usually not by my own choice but rather because one of the perfumista friends sent something for me to try.
Words of wisdom…sigh…but civet, oakmoss, sandalwood…
My daughter was up all night, excited for her birthday. I finally gave her, her presents at 7am and went to bed. I’m still wearing Chanel Allure that I put on last night. My plan though was to wear No. 22.
I hope your daughter’s birthday is wonderful. I didn’t get a chance to post yesterday, but want to wish you a belated happy birthday!
Thank you!
Allure smells good.
Oh lillyjo, I was planning on wearing No.22 as well but at the last minute, another perfume prevailed! We’re twins in thought! (Somehow, I never associated BHH with No.5.)
Hi, thought twin! No. 22 is just so much more austere than No. 5 imo.
Happy birthday to your daughter! And happy belated birthday to you!????????
I picked Mojito Chypre today, shockingly realistic strawberry over a subtle dark base. I read a review where someone called it (I’m paraphrasing) a Lynchian pool party. Sounds like a great time!
I’ve gotta try that one. I’m so curious about it, and I don’t have any strawberry centric perfumes
I know a lot of people found it sweet but that description really surprised me. I find it very vivid and smart.
Yeah–sounds really interesting!
Surely a Lynchian pool party would include at least one drowning, and possibly an electrocution as well
Whose to say what’s happening inside the house? All I know is that there’s a blonde and the night looks still.
Ha, so true.
I think the Hockney is cold, still, and a little depressing. For those reasons I chose De Profundis as I think it matches the melancholy, repressed vibes I get from the subject. Glad this cp is over.
Great choice and you smell stunning! I admire the picture, but I don’t really like it.
Thanks austenfan!
I picked Minotaure today, even though its style doesn’t match the painting, for a fairly circuitous reason: both it and the painting might be kind of playing jokes on us.
When I first saw the painting, with its title, my immediate thought was that it was supposed to be about a certain cold loneliness of the Beverly Hills housewife, despite her obvious wealth. (The fact that many of you find it depressing is affirming!) But then I read the background and found that Hockney knew the woman in it and that she loved and kept the painting. I wonder if she saw the sadness in it – it sounds like she was pretty sophisticated, so maybe she did. Or maybe I’m wrong about it. But to me it’s something of a trickster move to paint a portrait of a friend/patron that reveals something sad/cold in this way.
So I tried to think of a perfume that’s likewise tricksterish. I have always thought that Minotaure is masquerading as a pleasant masculine – something any guy might wear – but to a very careful sniffer there is a strong element of barnyard to it. I’ve often wondered if the creators were on to the pun that it smells like literal bulls—.
So that’s my connection – two works that I suspect, but am not sure, are having a bit of a laugh at somebody.
Wonderful.
????????
Really nice!
Wearing Dzhari since the painting seems dry and austere (and also because dates grow in Southern CA). I’m sure I must have also had a thoughtful expression as I contemplated my collection for something appropriate
I sampled that once, many moons ago, and thought it was really lovely. Both sweet and dry at the same time.
Loved the Dzhari decant that I had a couple of years ago, especially in hot weather. I’d love another decant but it seems awfully hard to find.
I am wearing a YSL to participate in the CP albeit 40 years past the time frame…Nu EDT….someone came into my office this morning and said “ooo…it smells so good in here!”
You’ve had a lot of perfume compliments this week.
maybe because I have been spraying with reckless abandonment? There’s something so satisfying about using full bottles (versus samples or decants) where one feels it’s OK to overspray.
Maybe you are getting a lot of perfume compliments b/c you are wearing really good stuff?
Good point
But I will confess that I have been very trigger happy lately and spraying upwards of 12-20.
Impressive!????
No relation to the painting.. wearing Iris Guanache because i finally received my bee bottle and had to try it on. I feel cocooned in warm opulence
I will offer some during the next splitmeet since I don’t see myself going through 125ml of anything in this lifetime.
Congrats on your new bottle!
Happy Friday!
1) “…Hockney decided to focus the work on Freeman(subject in the painting), immediately finding that she, like many Los Angeles residents he had met, was very much a function of the space that she existed in, and the space that she existed in was very much a function of her.”
2) With this in mind, I am a melange of scents today: Vintner’s Daughter face serum, Trader Joe’s lemongrass body oil and SIP Fair Verona. This is a modern Beverly Hills Housewife- she did not marry that wealth, but made it HERSELF. She is warm, but aloof at the same time, and uses beautiful ointments and close natural perfumes to beautify HERSELF- she would have to really like you, or love you, to allow you to draw closer.
Nice updating of the housewife theme.
I have a tiny bit of Dior Bois d’Argent, which might have worked for the lady in the picture.
I chose Andrea Maak’s Smart, because it seemed like an adjective that woman would want to have applied to her house and her self.
SOTD = Amouage Bracken Woman
I had been thinking of wearing this for a while now and decided to go ahead and find a connection to the painting. Here goes:
– the color of her dress stands out starkly; the red orange bottle of Bracken Woman has the same aesthetic
– the various green blade-like images and the slashes on the walls/windows remind me of fern, a prominent note in Bracken Woman
– Bracken Woman is polarizing. BHH the painting is love or hate…same thing is true of Bracken Woman
Other contenders:
– Chanel No.22 mind meld with lillyjo
– FM Music for a While because of her patronage of the music arts
My hair will be shorn short by the time my hairdresser is done with it later this evening!
Ooh, short hair! As you know, I am a fan.
I’ve been thinking about wearing Bracken too, need to find my decant.
Heh, I know you’re a fan ????. Bracken Woman worked particularly well with today’s overcast day.
How short did you (or your stylist) go with the cut?
The longest part goes down to right below my lower lip and page boy cut at about a 20 degree angle. I hope the description makes sense. And she had to fix my bangs because I took my own scissors to it because my hair grows really fast…probably around 1/2 inch every 2-3 weeks, I kid you not.
I love the painting
But found.it hard to find a matching fragrance…..
In the end I chose Poison, Esprit de parfum….for thats how I imagine what the housewife could wear to one of her glamourous parties.
The opulence of Poison Esprit de Parfum is a great match for Beverly Hills, IMO.
There’s something about her body language that I find difficult to interpret. I think it’s the way her hands are slightly behind her instead of being in line with her body? When I stand like that, it forces my chest out–in a proud or “galvanizing” sort of way. So, that is my interpretation of the painting–she is surveying her empty home, steeling herself for something.
I made no effort to match my scent to the painting. I grabbed a sample of an attar to dab and try. It’s odd to sample a scent I know I will never seek out to purchase–I could adore it and have no way to get it. This sample is from a lovely perfumista who bought it far away and then passed it on to me. I am inclined to use it up, enjoy it for now, and then say goodbye and thank you when it is gone. . .
Update: no worries falling in love with THIS attar (although there are many more in the baggie). Post-gym, it is smelling strongly of bunny pee. In fact, I came home and caught a whiff of something *off* and immediately asked the kitten if he had something to tell me . . .
Ummm, what is the difference between the smell of rabbit pee and cat pee? I am familiar with one, but definitely not the other!
Bunny pee is especially acrid and sharp-smelling. (Extra nitrogen, maybe?)
And, of course, the kitten always smells of roses, as he is a perfect little angel. ????
I ❤️ the comment about your kitten always smelling like roses.
I went with a spray of 1970 Chanel No. 5 edc, a pick influenced more by the mid-century modern house in the picture. MCM is my absolute favorite architectural style – CA is chock full of splendid examples – and No. 5 has always struck me as a very ‘architectural’ perfume with very modern, strong edges.
No. 5 left me cold for 30 years, and it wasn’t until I sampled a smidge from a friend’s mid-60s bottle that the light-bulb went off. Still not a fan of the modern version, but I allow myself to enjoy my vintage treasure every so often, when the mood is right.
Great perfume choice for today. I would have chosen No. 5 but I enjoy it most in the afternoon and evening.
I love MCM too. My parents have some of my grandparents “Danish modern” furniture. Their Hans Wegner papa bear chair is my favorite.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/212232201167247920/
SotD = Barbara Bui le Parfum edp
A particular smell comes from cold concrete and pool water. It is expansive, strange, and a little sweet. BB reminds me of that smell, as does the painting.
I wish I could see the work in person, the impact would be different at full scale. There is a detail of the figure’s face here:
http://www.cegur.com/H/BeverlyHillsHousewifeDETAIL.html
Her expression says, both to the antelope head on the wall and to the world, “I am NOT a trophy wife.”
I think so too…rich but not a trophy wife. Would love to see her entire art collection.
I like the idea that she only bought art she liked. I would like to see it all too.
It would have been great to be a fly on the wall at one of Betty’s musical salons.
nice tie in! and thanks for the close up, it would be interesting and certainly impressive to see this painting in person!
Glad the detail was interesting to you, it made me think differently about the whole image.
Not feeling today’s theme. I had noticed that my ’60s ish extrait bottle of L’Heure Bleue seems to be evaporating and I don’t wear it a lot. So I had to put snack sized Ziploc bags on my shopping list. Since I go into work much later than normal, I am still commando. I might go with vintage Miss Dior or go with Theorems. We should have a dessert theme for perfume.
Parafilm or electric tape should be a better solution to evaporating perfume: I’m not sure if a Ziploc bag will work here at all.
Wearing Coty Sand & Sable, because I visited K-mart and spritz my arm. It is surprisingly delightful! No tie to the painting, since it’s from the 80’s and the painting is from the 60’s. But. let’s say Madam BH’s budget is tapped out with all the fine art purchases, so to cut corners she uses her favorite drug store scent, it gives her comfort and reminds of a simpler time, before she was Madam BH
OMG!!!! Sand and Sable!!! I thought Mals and I were the only ones familiar with that one! I had it when it first came out and must have emptied three or four bottles of it…goes to show that drugstore scents can definitely hold a candle to niche
Add me to the list. Loved it, it was so different from the other drug store scents.
i love sand and sable!
Oh, man! That’s a blast from the past! I fell in love with a scent strip of S&S in the very early 90s and found as many scent strips as I could to wear, lol. I couldn’t afford the bottle.
https://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/19/arts/medici-modern-arts-tune-with-composers-betty-freeman-long-patron-americans.html
So, here’s a 1998 interview with Betty Freeman. She gets more and more interesting : supporter of new music, photographer, art collector , and holding small concerts at her home. I like the fact that she supported composers, and supported what she ‘liked’ . I like this sense of individuality, not needing to fit in etc. i almost think she might wear perfume as an afterthought, that she is more interested in sound and visuals than scents and tactile objects…her house is all windows and reflections, and strong patterns. She might tend towards a masculine scent or cologne? Yatagan or Eau Sauvage. I will match the painting with Pohadka…slightly off-key but complex, absorbing.
Meanwhile, back in the real world…pre-dawn, three jumpers, woollen beanie looking at the incredible display of mid winter stars, severe frost, crunchy grass underfoot.
I bet you’re right, she would totally have tried a masculine. If only we could find out what fragrances she wore!
Now that you mention a masculine fragrance I probably could have gone with my Marbert Man which may have been around in the late 1960s.
There was a Dolce and Gabbana men’s perfume with zebra print packaging back in the 90s . I thought one of the Caron perfumes might have had zebra print too? Can’t remember.
Thinking of Ma Griffe packaging…not zebra but maybe a match?
Ma Griffe! I am not wearing that, but it is one that has the same vibe I get from the picture.
Yep. I was reminded of it by the picture – By (an unfortunate name in our SEO age) https://www.fragrantica.com/perfume/Dolce-Gabbana/By-490.html
Oh yes!!! I remember that D & G one.
Picture Challenge time again, yaaaay!
I reall dig this painting. The architecture is as much the subject as Betty Freeman. The bright sunlight on the walls, the dark areas in the shade, and the pool water reflections are salient features. They bring to mind Azzedine Alaïa’s depiction of water poured on hot bricks/stone in Alaïa, so I paired it with that.
(Meanwhile, the one-time architecture student and anthropology/archaeology/art history social scientist in me is absolutely fascinated by the fact that so many people apparently find this painting depressing!)
Happy Friday and Happy Weekend, you NSTers!
My gut reaction to the painting is not depression but there is something a bit unnerving about it…..it doesn’t necessarily put me at ease….
I think the sharp lines and angles of that style of architecture can set people on edge. Plus, there’s some visual tension pulling the eye mort to the right of the image.
Alaïa is a great pairing.
I’m also curious about reactions to the painting, it’s not depressing to me. It makes me feel thoughtful and slightly detached from reality.
I don’t find the painting depressing either.
With the pool, palms, and shaded areas, it looks like a calm urban oasis to me. It does have a dreamy feel to it, IMO.
It looks like there was a documentary made about her: Betty Freeman A Life For the Unknown (2005)
It also sounds like the house underwent lots of alterations . I can’t find who the architect was. ( It’s not the Frank Lloyd Wright Freeman House )
Thanks for the NYT article link and the movie info.—I’ll check them out. No, it’s definitely not the Wright house. I’m going to dig around and see what I can find on it…
Nice match between scent and art, Creosote!
Thanks!
It’s totally my aesthetic and I dig it, too. I thought all the “depressing” comments were odd until.I remembered that was the reaction by many to the last picture challenge and it was a completely different style from another era. Different strokes and all that…
As much as I genuinely like the painting itself, I think I may actually dig the house more. That is, I’d love to see it IRL. …Oh, I totally agree the “different strokes” thing usually accounts for how we ‘read’ and react to paintings! But my feeling is that in this case there’s a socio-cultural thing at work on us too.
I went with TF Soleil Blanc EDP, as it is a little more spendy than some perfumes and I thought this would tie into the picture.
I’m pairing Amouage Reflection Woman with the painting. It’s a lovely watery cucumber freesia floral. The BHH can afford Amouage and this will work well in SoCal weather. Also, the name Reflection – literally the reflections provided by so much glass and the painting being a reflection of a real person, home, etc.
My work is moving offices this weekend, so today is pretty nuts. I have a lot of work to do while doing a little last minute packing, and everyone is all abuzz. It will be strange to drive and go in to a different location on Monday!
Good eye noting all the reflective surfaces in the painting!
Why, thank you!
Your description makes me want to try Reflection Woman!
Do try it! It’s easy to wear and pretty.
Will the commute be better or worse or the same?
I was involved in planning several moves and oh my word! I’ve never realized how needy some people are until they had to move.
It will be farther away, but the commute may actually be better and less stressful. Though I was working 2 miles from home, I was driving through some of the most congested streets in Seattle. My drive home has ranged from 11 min (once, best ever time) to 1 hour 20 min.
Our new office will be very nice. We own the building and renovated the space we will occupy, so it’s all fancy, fresh, and new. I will be giving up a shared office (with one other person) for open office environment. That will be my biggest adjustment, I think.
All new spaces at my company are now constructed as High Performing Workspaces…very few offices, mostly bench seating / no cubicles. Most people also have to reserve their seats (“Choice Seating”) as we are trying to fit more people than we have seats. A co-worker thought that that Choice Seating meant he was going to get the best seat (a la Choice meat) ????????????
Ha I love it.
We’re going to have sit/stand desks, so I’m excited for that. We’ll also have a great view of the Olympic mountains from our cafe kitchen area.
Our sit-stands are one per 4 bench seats and are all next to the window. Guess which ones get reserved first? Also, one can request an assigned sit-stand if they can provide our health services team with a doctor’s note. I KNOW several who just got the notes without a true underlying issue…
And I meant to say house twins. There are quite a few of us in Amouage!
Forgot to mention that today is National Eclair Day…..my local supermarket sales flyer advertised a pack of minis on sale but there were none to be found in the store
and I just read that not too far from where I live there is a house that has a pool that David Hockney painted in……
A pool he painted? I wonder how it’s maintained with it being subjected to pool cleaning chemicals?
Perhaps she means a pool he painted a picture of? He did do a lot of paintings OF pools.
Ha! That was probably it!
Nope, he actually painted C shaped waves in the interior of a pool!
When I first saw this painting, I had a scent immediately pop into my head for a match. That doesn’t always happen with these “picture projects” in my case.
SOTD = Guerlain Chamade, from the sample stash. For some reason, a lot of the colors in the painting are also ones I associate with Chamade. Even the hot pink fits in.
Belated RIP to Koko, the sign language using gorilla. I remember learning about her as a kid, and realizing that gorillas were not big scary beasts as a result of what she was doing.
I have no scent impression of Chamsde; will have to rectify!
You absolutely must rectify that! It is so gorgeous.
Chamade is very much a scent of its time, I think. It’s a particular kind of green floral. Kind of hard for me to describe. A beauty, though.
A quick note to Gail re: Heure Exquise. I checked my notes, and I don’t have anything down for the EdT version of HE. I’m reasonably sure that I did at least sniff it in passing. Maybe some of the folks who are much more experienced with Annick Goutal can give their impressions on HE in EdT versus EdP.
Late to the party today but I wore CdG Lily because it’s becoming a no-brainer perfume for me. But, to try and string a connection together:
I associate CdG with the pop art aesthetic and modern art so there’s that, and the scent itself is a bit sharp and cool, like the ambience, color palette, and literal sharp, geometric edges in the painting.
Wishing everyone a peaceful weekend!
You pass ????
Is this available at Twisted Lily? I don’t recall a tester, but then again, I have not been there in ages.
Thanks for the pass ????
Yes, that’s where I got it! Recently, at that.
TL has 20% off til 6/25, FYI PSA.
Code SUMMERNOW18
This is pure evil ????
Rive Gauche is an absolutely perfect choice! I grew up in West Los Angeles, and although my mother was not a Beverly Hills housewife, we did have a mid-century modern house and she used to shop occasionally at the Rive Gauche shop in Beverly Hills. She was very chic. I think her perfume then was Yardley Bond Street, but she may still have been wearing Shocking. By the seventies, I was wearing Cabochard and she copied me in that.
Come to think of it, I knew lots of people like the woman in the painting when I was growing up because my father was a graphic designer and had a lot of artsy friends who were architects and designers, etc. who lived in architect designed “contemporary” houses all over Los Angeles, and I visited a lot of their homes, including those of Charles and Ray Eames and Saul Bass.
What cool experiences.
Oddly, my mother WAS a Beverly Hills housewife, but wasn’t chic. Poor, European parents made her exceedingly frugal. It was all KMart “Keds”, JC Penny Fox for Izods, and PayLess shoes, lol.
It’s actually not that unusual for some wealthy people to be very frugal. My parents also had poor immigrant parents. Some people react to that by wanting to spend because they now have the chance but others are fearful of spending. And some people can spend on certain things (houses, art, etc.) but not on others.
Yes, fear of losing what you have, not having enough, and guilt about spending on oneself are common, especially in the depression era generation. “Deprived” can become a permanent identity and almost a badge of honor.
Elisa, your last sentence is so true. It really hits home for me.
I don’t even know how I repressed this memory! My paternal grandparents, an aunt and an uncle had mid-century modern houses! At various points in my life, my family lived with my grandma (grandpa passed before my older sister was born) and house-sat for quite a few years at my aunt’s house which was right next door to my uncle’s, separated by a chain link fence which used to be unlocked until one of my cousins slashed her wrists (OMG…she was already in college when I was 6 or 7 and I remember hanging out with her trying on make up and wearing her jewelry). Growing up, the rumor among the cousins was that grandpa used the same architect who designed his warehouses (he owned an industrial hardware company) who ended up designing the other two (maybe he got a volume discount?). No swimming pools but there were koi ponds!
I don’t have any of this so I can’t wear it, but I’m going to chose a perfume for the woman in the painting: Ma Griffe, because it was an edgy French perfume in the 60s.
Posting late today. I had a very early morning start and will be working late tonight. At least my weekend was saved.
I wore Elie Saab L’Eau Couture, first sample that came out from my stash this morning. Not related at all to the CP, but my brain did not work at all this week to match anything to the painting.
I will catch up with the comments tomorrow. Have a great Friday everyone!
Hurray for your weekend being saved! But, ugh, you’ve got a long Friday to deal with first.
Just got home. Ready to collapse in bed. Happy for a resting weekend in front of me!
I’m sorry for your long day into night. Wishing you a restful weekend.
Thank you Lillyjo! I hope your weekend is not so crazy.
The picture kind of reminded me of Lily Pulitze colors; I have a bottle of Beachy, but didn’t reach for it this afternoon. Instead I reached for my tester bottle of vintage Shalimar EDT.
I can see the colors having a Lily Pulitzer vibe! Reminds me of the Clinique GWP make-up cases.
I already selected Miu Miu as sotd, summery even though our lily of the valley season is over. But looking at the picture, I want to mention my favorite lost in the mist of time scent, Lentheric 12. I think you’d call it a rose chypre, but it has green notes and patchouli and would blend well with heat and cigarette smoke, as I imagine one might find circa 1966 in Beverly Hills. And it just might work with a pink maxi dress.
Interesting, I’ve never heard of this scent. I do know Miu Miu, you smell great. I actually like it more in the fall, for reasons only known to my nose ????